Tagged: Variety

‘Jonah Hex’ Begins Shooting in March

  • News
  • September 1, 2008

Warner Bros. has given a green light to a Jonah Hex script from Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor (Crank).  "Pre-production will begin January 2009 before principal photography gets underway in March 2009 in either Louisiana, Georgia or Arizona,” the producers told Movie Blog. 

Actor Thomas Jane had himself done up to show what the Hex makeup could look like and essentially was begging to be cast in the title role. The directors have rejected Jane, despite being impressed by his efforts.  No casting has been announced for any of the roles nor has a story synopsis been revealed. The movie, though, is pencilled in by Warner Bros. for a 2010 release.

The antihero, created back in 1972 by John Albano and Tony DeZuniga, is one of the best characters published by DC Comics. Hex reached his creative heyday under writer Michael Fleisher during a long run from the 1970s through the 1980s.  Currently he is enjoyed renewed popularity through the monthly now written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, working with a variety of noteworthy artists. 

Star Wars, James Bond and Daredevil bring top prices at Hollywood Auction

  • News
  • August 7, 2008

xxx-9555757If you wanted that original T.I.E. fighter miniature from Star Wars, you missed your chance.  You could have outbid the person who spent $402,500, and it would have been yours.  At an auction in Calabasas, CA, on July 31 and August 1 from Profiles in History sold a variety of items for more than $4.1 million.

What else was there? 

(more…)

Comic-Con 2008 Programming

comic_con_logo-4267202Half of the four-day schedule for San Diego’s Comic-Con International 2008 is up and running.

Here’s Thursday. Here’s Sunday.

Obviously, much cool stuff to choose from. Too much cool stuff, in fact. Makes me almost not sad that I won’t make it this year (watch out 2009!).

While we’re on the subject, Variety has a retrospective of the early days of Comic-Con, when film people had little idea how to relate to comics fans.

Although it was more than 30 years ago, for example, I keenly recall a preview of the 1978 feature "Superman," where the studio rep described the campy villain Lex Luthor, played by Gene Hackman, as a real-estate mogul, not a master criminal. He was practically hooted off the stage.

Gradually, the studios started to wise up, hiring publicists specifically trained to handle Comic-Con’s savvy but easily riled audience. When Ridley Scott’s space-horror film "Alien" was showcased — using little more than a slide show of surrealist H.R. Giger’s jaw-dropping conceptual art — the crowd was blown away.

DC and Warner Talk Movies

Warner Bros. is apparently looking to emulate the success Marvel has had making its own movies, such as Iron Man and Incredible Hulk.

Variety is reporting some Warner honchos held meetings with people at DC Comics to try to develop a better pipeline from page to screen.

Warners has never had such a strategy, and there have long been complaints the studio has been slow to exploit a potential treasure trove of franchises. And while the studio is basking in critical love for “The Dark Knight,” it has watched studio rivals rake in big bucks from Marvel Comics characters, and Marvel itself get into the tentpole business.

While it’s assumed there will be another Batman pic, there’s been no formal announcement. And Warners has no movies based on the classic DC universe to preview at this year’s Comic-Con.

Few details are coming out, aside from this official statement: "We’re constantly looking at how best to exploit the DC Comics characters and properties." Exploit?

Now, if only someone from Warners would talk to DC about straightening out their comic book line.

Interview: Warren Ellis on FreakAngels, Webcomics and Doctor Who

fapinup01coloured-4448516For anyone familiar with the online presence of award-winning writer Warren Ellis, it came as no surprise when the author announced at last year’s San Diego Comic-Con that he would be scripting an original, ongoing webcomic hosted by Avatar Press and titled FreakAngels. The concept, the preview art and even the name of the series all seemed quite, well… Warren Ellis.

What has been surprising, however, is the ease at which the longtime print author has adapted to the online medium and managed to create a compelling, unique series with very few blips in the weekly schedule he set for himself and FreakAngels artist Paul Duffield. At a time when top-tier print titles are failing to meet monthly schedules time and time again, Ellis and Duffield have managed to create a consistently compelling, unique series worthy of mentioning in the same breath as many of the more established webcomics out there. The fact that the series also has Ellis’ considerable online savvy and the resources of an up-and-coming publisher like Avatar behind it only makes the entire package even more intriguing to anyone with an interest in the digital evolution of the medium.

Avatar afforded me a few minutes to speak with Ellis during the recent Wizard World Chicago convention (where he was the event’s Guest of Honor), and I was glad to have the opportunity to ask him about FreakAngels, his thoughts on the online publishing scene, and how it all relates to traditional British storytelling.

COMICMIX: Coming from the print side of the industry, did your creative process change much for FreakAngels, Warren? How did the new medium affect your routine?

WARREN ELLIS: The only thing that has really been affected is the length of the episode. But even then, I’m not really writing with six pages in mind so much as I’m writing with 144 pages in mind. I’m writing FreakAngels in 144-page blocks, so I’m really keeping my eye on the bigger picture as opposed to keeping an eye on the ending of page six. So really there’s been no change at all.

I’ve kind of refused to change. [Laughs]

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Happy Birthday: Jon D’Agostino

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  • June 13, 2008

Born in 1929, Jon D’Agostino got his comic book start in the 1940s at Timely Comics. In the early 1950s he did work for several different publishers, including Story Comics, Master Publications, and Charlton Comics. D’Agostino continued to work for Charlton on a variety of titles throughout the ’50s and ’60s, though in 1963 he also did the lettering for the first three issues of Marvel Comics’ new title The Amazing Spider-Man.

In the mid-60s D’Agostino began contributing to Archie Comics and Gold Key Comics, and by the ’80s he was working primarily for Archie and for Marvel.

During the ’90s he inked exclusively for Archie, including work on Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Sonic the Hedgehog, and was still working for them as recently as 2006.

When Superheroes Get Old

Geriatric superheroes appear to be all the rage these days, as a number of sites are linking to Italian artist Donald Soffritti’s illustrations of Superman, Spider-Man and a variety of other super-types in their Golden Years. Soffritti’s work is great, and I can’t help but giggle every time I look at his take on DC speedster The Flash.

(And please, for everyone’s sake, don’t tell DC/Warner Bros. about this stuff.)

(via ComicNerd.com)

 

Along the same lines, BoingBoing points us to a similar piece that fast-forwards the age of popular cartoon characters, including Popeye, Felix the Cat and Dennis the Menace (my personal favorite).

 

M.O.D.O.K. and Genocide = M.O.D.O.G.?

Marvel.com, which recently cleaned up in the Eagle Awards as “Favorite Comics Related Website,” has posted some new art today featuring one of my favorite characters in the Marvel Universe: M.O.D.O.K.

Or, more accurately, M.O.D.O.G.

Yes, everyone’s favorite Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing seems to have found himself a new hobby, as well as a new home, in Invincible Iron Man. The new version of the big-headed bugger has taken a shine to genocide instead of just garden-variety killing, according to information released about the villain’s upcoming appearance in the second issue of the Matt Fraction/Salvador Larroca series.

Marvel.com has posted samples of Larroca’s new M.O.D.O.G. art, including this great image of Iron Man dragging the ever-creepy creature around by his hair.

The thing is, I’m not sure if the decision to shift his focus from “Killing” to “Genocide” makes him more or less dangerous. With a M.O.D.O.G., at least you have a good idea of who’s on his hit list, right? But a M.O.D.O.K. – that’s a different story. He wants to kill everybody.

Unless, of course, he’s discovered the sweet serenity of regular meditation.

Happy Birthday: Mr. Mxyzptlk

mxyzptlk2-2448599

An imp from the 5th dimension, Mr. Mxyztplk is an inveterate troublemaker and jester. Because he’s from another dimension, Mxyzptlk is not bound by our universe’s laws and can produce a variety of magical effects with a single thought.

Shortly after arriving on our world, Mxyzptlk encountered Superman, and the the imp has delighted in tormenting the Man of Steel ever since that first meeting. The only way to get rid of Mxyzptlk is to trick him into saying his own name backwards—this sends the imp back to the 5th dimension for at least 90 days.

It never lasts long, though, and soon Mxyztplk is back to tease and confuse Superman yet again.

 

‘Superhero Movie’ Poster Revealed

  • News
  • February 28, 2008

It was only  a matter of time. After spoofing horror films, teen films, date films, epic films and Spartans, the satire train has finally set its sights on the highly profitable world of superhero movies. Some of the comedic "talent" responsible for bringing you Scary Movie are releasing Superhero Movie on March 28.

If the film is anything like its spoof brethren, most of the jokes will undoubtedly be ripped wholesale from other films and be of the "Hey, I remember that movie!" variety. It will also probably do huge business at the box office, ensuring more films of its like.

Superhero Hype has posted a large image of the film’s movie poster, which includes Tracy Morgan as Dr. Xavier, Regina Hall as the Storm-like Mrs. Xavier, Simon Rex as the Human Torch, Pamela Anderson as The Invisible Girl, Craig Bierko as Wolverine and Leslie Neilsen as, uh, Uncle Albert. With a cast this star- studded, there’s no way this film can’t rock!

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