Tagged: film

What’s “Watchmen” About?

watchmen-cover-00-5610748Over at The Comics Reporter, Tom Spurgeon has asked readers to let him know how they would answer the question, "What’s Watchmen about?" It’s a nice feature, as I believe Watchmen to be one of those projects that has been held in high regard by comics fans for so long that it’s difficult to think outside of our comics fishbowl and explain why it’s such an important story to someone with little knowledge of the industry.

Here’s the answer I gave Tom, which I came up with pretty quickly due to having been asked that same question by someone yesterday:

Watchmen examines the relationship between superheroes and society and the ways in which this relationship changes over time given a variety of real-world factors. What would happen when the shine wears off and things like politics, economics, racism and the knowledge of one’s own abilities far and beyond that of everyone else come to the surface? The story examines all of this by way of a noir-style murder mystery in which one of the former "superheroes" investigates the mysterious death of a former member of the superteam "The Watchmen."

That was my three-sentence answer that skips over so much of what makes Watchmen great to comics fans, but is most likely to hook newcomers to the comics scene. In this case, it seemed to work, as the person I told this to called me up an hour later to say he’d watched the trailer again and now definitely wants to see the film.

You can read more responses over at The Comics Reporter, but feel free to add your own to the comment thread here or email Spurgeon (via the link provided in his post) in order to have your answer added to the feature.

“Voltron” Film Moves Forward, “Robotech” in the Works?

  • News
  • August 20, 2008

Variety reported earlier this week that the big-screen adaptation of the popular anime series Voltron: Defender of the Universe has been moved forward into the "turnaround" phase of production, bringing the project no one really expected to see in theaters closer to fruition. According to Variety, a Fox-based financing and production agency is looking to secure a moderate budget for the film, akin to a film like the recent adaptation of Frank Miler’s graphic novel 300.

The film’s producer, Mark Gordon Co., plans to attach a director within the next week to the script written by Justin Marks — a name which seems to be popping up on a long list of adaptations these days, Marks has also authored scripts for a film based on the DC superhero Green Arrow, as well as adapations of the He-Man cartoon and the Hack/Slash series published by Devil’s Due.

Marks’ take is described as a post-apocalyptic tale set in New York City and Mexico, where five survivors of an alien attack band together and end up piloting the five lion-shaped robots that combine and form the massive sword-wielding Voltron that helps battle Earth’s invaders.

Also of note is a mention at the end of the Variety article that Voltron was one of several "giant robot" stories optioned after the success of Transformers in theaters. Warner Bros. secured the rights to another 1980s anime series with a massive, loyal fanbase in North America, Robotech.

You can read a review of the Voltron: Defender of the Universe script over at The Latino Review, which gave Mark’s adaptation of the series amazingly high marks.

And just in case you’re feeling nostalgic, YouTube has the original opening from the 1980s Voltron series.

“Julius” Latest Graphic Novel Targeted For Film

  • News
  • August 19, 2008

julius-00-7199636Variety is reporting that the Oni Press graphic novel Julius, written by Antony Johnston with art by Brett Weldele, is the latest project optioned for feature film treatment. According to the report, Mandalay Pictures has purchased the rights to Julius, with F. Gary Gray (Friday, Be Cool) named as director.

Mandalay prexy Cathy Schulman said that Gray "has a vision for this adaptation that will satirize obsessive consumerism while providing a thrilling ride for audiences."

Eric Gitter of Closed on Mondays Entertainment, the producing arm of Oni Press, will produce; Oni’s Peter Schwerin and Joe Nozemack exec produce. Schulman, David Zelon and Jonathan Krauss will oversee the project for Mandalay.

Confession time, folks: I’ve never even heard of Julius. However, with the rate at which projects are being released and optioned these days (with some projects optioned well before they’re released), this has become a far more frequent occurrence with me. Has anyone else out there read this one and/or feel inclined to comment on it?

“Kick-Ass” and Matthew Vaughn Go Indie

  • News
  • August 17, 2008

Filmmaker Matthew Vaughn recently announced plans to go the independent route with an adaptation of Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.’s gritty series Kick-Ass after studios balked at the ages of the characters and the level of violence in the story.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Vaughn has managed to raise $30 million on his own, with many crediting his fundraising success to the recent fortunes raised by another adaptation of a Millar project, Wanted. Thus far, the cast of the film is likely to include Christopher Mintz-Plasse ("McLovin" in Superbad), who is in negotiations for the role of the film’s villain, and Chloe Moretz (The Amityville Horror) who has signed on to play another pre-teen vigilante. The series’ main character has not been cast at this point.

From THR:

 

Vaughn first brought the project to Sony, which distributed his "Layer Cake," but the studio balked at the violence, which he refused to tone down. Several other studios expressed interest but demanded that the protagonists’ ages be upped. Vaughn, who most recently co-wrote and directed the international hit "Stardust," now is going it alone.

Production on the film is expected to begin next fall.

“Watchmen” Trailer Prompts 1 Million Sales in ’08?

  • News
  • August 15, 2008

The New York Times is reporting that DC has ordered around 900,000 additional copies of Watchmen printed since the trailer for the film adaptation of the graphic novel debuted last month. Only 100,000 copies of the Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons project sold last year, but DC’s president and publisher, Paul Levitz, says he expects to sell more than a million by the end of 2008.

“As far as we can tell from our conversations with the book industry people, there has never been a trailer that did this,” said Paul Levitz.

As we reported late last month, Watchmen has occupied a prominent spot on various bestseller lists for the last few months due to anticipation of next year’s feature film adaptation of the project, due out March 6, 2009.

Click here for information about where you can view the trailer, or you can view a gallery of images from the Watchmen trailer here on ComicMix.

New “Conan” Film Fast-Tracked By Lionsgate

  • News
  • August 14, 2008

The Hollywood Reporter notes that Lionsgate is so keen on pushing a new Conan film into production that they’ve hired two sets of writers to draft parallel scripts for the film. No director has been attached to the film at this point, but sources close to the project have said that the intent is to reinvent the franchise based on Robert E. Howard’s stories of the famed barbarian.

Currently, Dirk Blackman and Howard McCain are writing one script for the project, while Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer (Sahara) have been writing another script.

THR reports that Paradox Entertainment president and CEO Fredrik Malmberg, who is producing the Conan film along with Boaz Davidson, Joe Gatta and Avi Lerner of Millennium FilmsMalmberg, recently explained that the project is a "fast-tracked movie" and that "Lionsgate felt the process was enhanced by having a second team come in and do a script."

As for the decision to return to the film franchise that began with 1982’s Arnold Schwarzenegger portrayal of the character:

"Fans expect (these types of movies) to be more true to the source material," Malmberg said. "There’s no reason there couldn’t be a Conan movie every two years. He’s almost like Batman: He’s a dark hero. He’s a hard hero. He has to be badass, but we also have to like him."

(via ICv2)

Indiana Jones Opts For October DVD Release

  • News
  • August 13, 2008

ICv2 reports that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull will be released on DVD the second week of October. Much like Iron Man, which hits shelves on September 30, the quick turnaround time on the Indiana Jones DVD is part of an effort to generate long-term sales in a crowded DVD market this fall. The fourth Indiana Jones film was the highest-grossing film in the franchise, earning $770 million worldwide.

According to ICv2, the DVD will find its way to shelves in three versions:

The Single-Disc version comes with two extras, "The Return of a Legend,” a feature about the evolution of the new film, and “Pre-Production,” a mini-documentary that follows director Steven Spielberg as he creates animatronic sequences and Shia LeBoeuf as he learns to swordfight. The 2-disc Special Edition contains a host of additional extras created with the collector and the serious fan in mind including “Production Diary: Making Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” a major behind-the-scenes look at all facets of the production, plus seven additional featurettes about various aspects of the filming process (special effects, action sequences, etc.), a special feature about Stan Winston Studio’s contribution to the film, plus galleries galore, production photographs, portraits, storyboards, set sketches and more.

ICv2 also points out that the trio of recent Indiana Jones-themed comics published by Dark Horse in recent months (the adaptation of Crystal Skull and two Indiana Jones omnibus projects) have been selling well, and the DVD release might mean good things for the publisher in October.

The New Star Trek 4

  • News
  • August 11, 2008

After teasing us with just four close-ups of selected cast members of next May’s new Star Trek film, Paramount has released four additional teases. This time we can see Scotty, McCoy, Chekov and Sulu. While we can’t see the modified uniforms, we can tell the pointy sideburns remain in tact for which there will no doubt be much rejoicing.

 

Paramount’s publicity roll out appears to be carefully designed to release drips and drabs of clips and information before the first full trailer which is now not expected until the holiday season. Word is that a rough assemblage of the film was shown to enthusiastic execs at the studio and director J.J. Abrams indicated the film would have been ready for its initially planned Christmas release. Of course, the last few Trek films to open during the holiday season haven’t fared well so slotting it to kick off the summer 2009 season may actually be a blessing.

 

No Shortage of “Watchmen” Books Planned For January

  • News
  • August 6, 2008

With the much-anticipated release date of the Watchmen feature film still 7 months away, there’s still plenty of time for everyone to cash in on the buzz. ICv2 reports that Titan Books will have not one, not two, but four books hitting shelves between now and the film’s March 9 release next year.

Among the books scheduled for January release are Watchmen: The Art of the Film, a hardcover collection of images from conceptual and pre-production periods of the project, and Watchmen: The Official Film Companion, a collection of exclusive interviews with various members of the cast and crew discussing the project and story from which it’s adapted.

However, with all of the amazing visual elements we’ve been shown thus far, it was the third January-scheduled release that caught my eye:

Watchmen: The Film Portraits, a hardcover, will feature the b/w photos of Clay Enos, the official photographer on the set of Watchmen. Enos spent some of his time on the set shooting black and white portrait photographs of the lead and supporting characters, and even extras from the crowd.

Titan will also be publishing original Watchmen artist and co-creator Dave Gibbons’ reflections on the project, Watching the Watchmen, in October.

“Venom” Spin-Off Film Moves Forward?

  • News
  • August 3, 2008

The Hollywood Reporter recently indicated that Spider-Man spin-off project Venom could be moving forward, with the Sony hoping to revive the web-slinger’s movie franchise much like the upcoming Wolverine spin-off looks to accomplish with the X-Men film franchise. The article also notes that the attention Heath Ledger’s Joker is receiving with regard to The Dark Knight has made studios rethink the viability of a villain in a lead role.

Of course, first they’ll have to get past a few pesky details… like, for instance, deciding on a script and a lead actor.

The studio had commissioned a draft of the script from Jacob Estes, a writer of the specialty film "Mean Creek," released several years ago by Paramount Classics. He’s also attached to the Plan B drama "The Gifted."

But the studio is considering going in a different direction from Estes’ script and is seeking writers for a new draft.

Casting also is no simple matter. Topher Grace played the character in the film, but agents have been eyeing the role for their clients, as Sony is not yet convinced the actor can carry a tentpole picture.

Well, all I can say is that it really can’t be any worse than the Daredevil spin-off, Elektra… can it?

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