STUFF DADDY

Saturday Night Live. Someone's been stealing..

2010-09-26T10:33:00.004-04:00

Flipping through SNL last night, I was surprised by the blatent rip off they did. Seems like the writing staff is spending their research time on YouTube.
You decide:

Last Night's SNL faux commercial "Hair Restoration"

HBO Hardcore TV from the 80's "Pubic Hair Club for Men"

Here's another example from last nights show, this is not as blatant, but it's pretty damn similar and not quite as funny.

Saturday Night Live: Wedding Venue (Muslim Pray Center)

College Humor's Fun Ground Zero Mosque (September 14th 2010)

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

The Greatest Thing Since 1983!

2009-08-18T20:27:00.013-04:00

Back in the day, my friends Karlan and Pete told me that they had VHS copies of the live action G.I. Joe and Transformer movies. "Yeah" Pete told me, "George Peppard plays Duke! It's awesome!"

Like a fool I believed them. It took me weeks of cornering them to get the confession that was to come. Infact, there were no live action versions of our favorite cartoons, comic and toy characters. Why would there be? We were just kids! We didn't matter and our silly cartoons were not the stuff of feature films. There would never be a Spider-man, X-Men or G.I Joe movie.

Now, I've lost touch with Pete and Karlan at the time when I most wish I could talk to them. My inner 12 year old wants to share the shock and amazement that it all happened. That as bad as they are, The Transformers has smashed head on into the stream of the popular culture. Optimus Prime will be remembered for another generation. Snake-Eyes is the baddest ninja to ever slice across the screen.

I want to talk to them! I want to see the expression on their faces. I want to know they're out there feeling the same way.

Honestly, The G.I. Joe and Transformers movies, just don't capture the love I had for those characters, so long ago, but this does and I bet a few of the people who helped create it, felt the same way. This is a very funny and star-studded little video. It's made with the same love that I had for these properties and it made me feel like it was 1983 again and it was time to collect all three precious elements to fight Cobra and build our own "M.A.S.S. Device!"

Hey Karlan, Hey Pete!
Go Joe!

The Ballad of G.I. Joe from Olivia Wilde

(Kevin Umbricht -Writer/Producer, Daniel Strange - Writer/Director )
Two forces waging endless war, and they daily waste more
But when the day is done, and they go home...
What do they do for fun?

Night falls on G.I Joe HeadquartersShipwreck just got season one of The Wonder Years (Alan Tudyk)
Doc is reading Dostoyevsky (Laz Alonso)And Snow Job's drinking beer (Zach Galifiankais)
[I heard he likes to drink quite a bit]
Snake Eyes is painting landscapes (Andreas Owald)
It makes him feel at peace
His latest is a series of sunsets on the beachAnd Scarlett lies awake and wonders (Julianne Moore)
Will Duke still love me when I'm old?I see the way he looks at Lady Jaye (Alexis Bledel, Henry Rollins)
Some day he's gonna leave me in the cold....

No Duke don’t go.
(Geoff Mann produced, arranged, recorded and performed the music)
Night falls on the Cobra Terror DromeStorm Shadow's taking out the trash (Frankie Kang)
Tomax is boosting Xamots wallet (Joey Kern x2)
He needs the extra cash
Cobra Commander loves 70's boo-gie
And he's a big fan of Three Dog Night [one is the loneliest number]
When he takes over the world
The first thing he'll do is make 'em reuniteAnd Zartan sits up late and wonders (Billy Crudup)
[I wonder, wonder who]
Who, who is the real me?
And in the end, do I really have any friends
Who love me for being Zartan
Who love me for being me?Destro! (Vinnie Jones)[Destro]Destro and the Baroness (Olivia Wilde)Destro and the Baroness
Practicing the clarinet
Destro and the Baroness
Practicing the clarinet
Practicing the clarinet
They're practicing the clarinet!
} clarinet solo {
Dr. Mindbender's talking on his ham radio (Tony Hale)His best friend is some guy he doesn't even know (Chuck Liddell)
If things could always be this way, wouldn't that be nice?
But no dice.
Cobra's got the M.A.S.S. Device

Ting..... (you know who)

Ok, I'm gonna say it:

2009-06-27T09:31:00.000-04:00

I'm sad for the tragic lost potential; the early death of a brilliant, but abused man-child of enormous talent, and the social order that created, allowed and now excuses him and ignores the horror of what he became. I loved him too, but he was a very sad and sick man and I can't be a part of this sick media whitewash. At least he is at peace..

Fellini meets Apocalypse Now, meets X-men

2009-03-12T23:44:00.009-04:00

God Bless Patton Oswalt.
David Hayter, Roger Ebert, I especially like Margaret Pomeranz (an Australian TV reviewer who hadn't read the book"

The problem is our lack of reference and our dulling numbness to anything but intense stimulus. This movie will do better outside the US. Surprise, we are idiots and arrogant snobs, mixed like a stripe soft serve cone.

I think this movie has taught me why Sci-Fi deserves to live in mediocrity.

TV shows like Battlestar Gallactica and movies like Watchmen are made because someone who cares and is a fan has gained a little power, when they fail, that voice is extinguished and replaced by another idiot Hollywood douche. I can find fault with this film in comparison with the masterpiece the book is, but not in comparison with other films.

Then again, I'm not obsessed or bothered by minor moments of blue nudity or soundtrack choices, two things that went beyond me, but are mentioned in almost every negative review.

In its imperfection it is Fellini meets Apocalypse Now, meets X-men. An entirely new movie, like we have never seen and I can't wait to view the director's cut.

We will never see Hollywood even try this again because its not mainstream enough for popcorn movie fans and "Arthouse Film" lovers are too snobby to watch a "supehero movie."

It is a hybrid and an original vision, no matter how much it owes to the book, it is flawed but brilliant and all the people who vehemently hate it will forget their arrogance as it follows "Blade Runner" and other "under appreciated in their own time" milestones into historical beloved status.

Those who call it "pseudo intellectual" are snobs in decline.

Those who tell you it's a comic and should not be made into a film, forget that it is indeed still a comic, and that 90% of all film, from the beginning of time is inspired from literature.

Those who take their children and then get angry that its an R rated movie, well...grow up...it's an R rated movie.

So I'm walking out after Watchmen. I peer out into the world seeing little connection to my peers. Like Silvia Plath during the Rosenberg trials, I have no idea who to relate to and where I'll find my bearings. A world so obviously lost to its own context. If I were to design a context to all the views and voices that have lashed out with arrogance and populism, it would be like this:

We live in a cultural mix of sophisticated infancy. On one hand, those striving to be considered as well thought and tasteful vacillate between two poles.

The scornful erudites; those who truly get the profundity of culture, art, science, craft and all refined achievements while often missing many of the shifting paradigms that break from their precious cannon of formerly rebellious and now commonly held conventions. Paradigms that often re-ignite the very lust to create that birthed the things they find precious in life.

The hollow but sly trend watchers, who possess uncanny but limited vision into the heart of practical one-upsmanship. Not spectacularly concerned or able to cope with profound and deeply unmanageable "big picture" bits of philosophical, theological or sociological systems, these bureaucratic chameleons study the guise and traits of the positions they find most fulfilling or personally aspiring and make their nest there, happy and content in the bitter, but structurally protective institutions of "after the risk" and "before the fall."

Neither are prepared or inspired to take chances. They have not witnessed the burden of those who do, but they have great appreciation for the calamity, the spectacle and the risk it will incur their nests and utopias.

On the other hand, somewhere off in a more definable realm, people want shit to do. They want to throw off their jobs and responsibilities, relax with a fucking beer, talk some shit with friends, fuck their chick or dude and make the time between 9 and 5 go as far away as it possibly can.

They don't connect with big brained bullshit, they don't question shit that makes them upset or gives them a fucking panic attack.

They don't aspire to luxury in the form of the profundity of the collective accomplishments of humanity.

They share the perspective of the social construct.

They know only short escapes.

They are bored with all but the most intoxicating thrills and numbing agents.

They are for the most part, unaware or excited by the heights of their visual sophistication and numb to modern communication methods that would keep their forefathers in their closets, bible in hand, wishing away hellspawn.

None of them, the snob, the hack nor the laymen appreciate the goods that have been put in front of them.

Many have written essays on why they won't be watching Watchmen. Alan Moore, the book's author complains that in hindsight Watchmen, meant to be a watershed book to birth a new force in groundbreaking comics, became instead intellectual license to gratuitously realize higher levels of violence and sexual content.

Moore is right, instead of inspiring us to break convention the film's impact is reflected through pompous bloggers, film critics and others who hug convention and use critique to soapbox their self oreinted "look at me" anger. For the most part the "Watchmen reaction" in its explosive nature and volume, is proof of it's impact.

I'm a bit sick with the loss of true film critique. The snobs deem it unworthy by genre, the simple ones think it's boring because it doesn't cater to their need for fast paced thrills, the fans deem it not the book... as if it could be.

The people who seem the most clear are the folks who never read the book, who, when they love it, recognize it as something entirely new to film.

Their honesty holds the keys to the kingdom.

Make Your Own Virtual Movie Theater

2009-01-10T10:05:00.001-05:00

Is It In The Spirit......Frank?

2008-04-20T08:26:00.012-04:00

Man.....

I warned of this...

yeesh...

Ok..
clear my head..

I am not going to over judge the Coked-up Raymond Chandler finds Metropolitan Theology soaked monologue that is contained in this heartfelt, well intentioned, piece of crap that is passing for the first Spirit trailer..

Shit.

Ok.... Get my bearings...

I love The Spirit. I'm not going to gush, but let's say I've read around 93% of Will Eisner's work. He is the first great complete artist (art and script) of the comic book art form. Frank Miller knew Eisner. He loved him. I believe that Frank Miller wants to do right by him. I want him to as well. Other than Watchmen, there is no "comic to film" property that I would rather see succeed.

But I have to ask, "who was this guy talking in this trailer?"

"That was The Spirit?"

"The Spirit is running and jumping across roof tops, while engaging in metaphoric soliloquy?"

(not going to complain about the hokey cg jumping, because I believe that's on purpose)

Denny Colt......The Spirit, is a "man's man." He's a classic good guy hero; charming, good natured, lovable, punch drunk, and extremely hard to kill. This is not a man who thinks about the nature of heroes and totems as it relates to himself and his city!!

Where did this "My City" crap come from? He's not Batman! Since when is The Spirit, a dark vigilante who dances upon the city skyline like DareDevil in a dark duster? Where is the brutish, but lovable guy in the blue suit? Where is the gloved underdog, who seemed more a mix between Cary Grant and Li'l Abner?

Oh yeah... I forgot... this is really Frank Miller's The Spirit isn't it?

Both men describe a gritty urban city, but Eisner paints a city filled with the entire spectrum of emotions; humor, horror, beauty, lust, innocence, silliness. Miller is black and white, unable to grasp the subtle human quality of Eisner's work. Where Eisner sees a depth, Miller see extremes. Eisner heightens the impact of violence by adding goofiness, seduction, moments of extreme action. Miller is like a coked up Raymond Chandler, every moment is booze, broads, bazookas, blood, boobs, butts and bomb blasts.

Miller's violence is porn, it's fantastic porn, but it's about anger, empowerment, control and domination, it's always about the guy kicking ass.

Eisner's violence is about the pain felt, the victimization, even when The Spirit is kicking ass, he's barely getting it done against overwhelming odds.

By the way, for those who are in the know, The Spirit's most deadly enemy, The Octopus, who has never, ever, ever, been shown in any form other than in a deep disguise and normally, is only recognizable by his oddly three striped gloves..

Well, here he is...
and again...

and...

Shit.

Not sure this isn't Constantine all over again...

Man of Independance

2008-03-24T16:56:00.004-04:00

I love the founding fathers. With all their faults, they were well rounded intellects that had the vision to create a modern world and change government forever. But one fella is always left out of the pack. A gruff, brutally honest and ethically noble man who, with advisement from the woman who was his best friend, closest confidant and adored wife, would drive this nation to independence. Unlike many societies after revolution, he would help it cling to it's founding ideals.

HE IS JOHN ADAMS and he is unlikable, vain and without charisma, but his deep love of ethical ideas and his acknowledgment that people needed laws to keep order and not fall into a rationalized violent quagmire, makes him, perhaps the most fascinating founding father of them all. The only founding father who never owned slaves (this was on principal, not opportunity) John Adams was the architect of it all.

HBO and Tom Hanks have brought us a 7 part series starring Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney as John and Abigail Adams. I think it's remarkable and very, very real.

Take a look...

Snake-Eyes!!

2008-03-21T17:16:00.003-04:00

So, like Transformers, could be good, could be bad. I thought Transformers was a "dilute the robots with people" Micheal Bay disappointment. Where was the Optimus Prime?

Now we have our first look at everyone's favorite Joe. What can I say? In Transformers, the people took the spotlight and the robots stood in the background. Since the Joes are people, let's hope this will be a more character driven Lara Hana inspired, return to the original comic book, we all know and love.

Here's Snake-Eyes!!

Fuck You HeMan!

The Name Is Stark, Tony Stark

2008-03-07T10:20:00.007-05:00

Updated!! Here's another one!!

I found this beauty Here!

This takes me back to the old James Bond and Star Wars movie posters.
A few bloggers are calling it "Cliché."
They're almost correct.
Its "Gloriously Cliché!"

It was a time when a movie poster wasn't about being different or creative or strange.

It was a time when a poster could say:

"Hey yuze guyz!
Ya want ta see a movee?
Dis one's got a smart looking serious, determined hero guy ready ta fight,
a big, bad, bald guy who's evil (so watch out!),
planes flying,
explosions,
some big robotos,
a buddy
and
a redheaded goil!"

Okay, maybe that's more of what Popeye might say, but you get the idea.

Popeye would, make a great movie reviewer.
I got nothing..

We Watches The Watchmen!

2008-03-06T13:42:00.011-05:00

Here they are, like something stepping out of my indy fan boy dreams, there really is a movie and it's been shot and is going into post.

Here are some incredible promo shots just officially posted HERE!

The Watchmen are flesh and blood.
Let's gawk! (wiki in blue)
(don't forget to click for a bigger image!)

The Comedian/Edward Blake
(Jeffrey Dean Morgan)
A vigilante superhero who is commissioned by the U.S. government. Prior to Morgan's casting, producers Lawrence Gordon and Lloyd Levin met with Ron Perlman to discuss portraying the Comedian. Morgan found the role challenging, explaining, "For some reason, in reading the novel, you don't hate this guy even though he does things that are unmentionable. My job is to kind of make that translate, so as a viewer you end up not making excuses to like him, but you don't hate him like you should for doing the things that he does."

Rorschach/Walter Kovacs
(Jackie Earle Haley)
A vigilante superhero who continues his vigilante activities after they are outlawed. He was transformed over time from a "soft" costumed hero into a killer who sees the world in black and white. Rorschach wears a mask with ink blots that morph to reflect his emotions: motion capture markers were put on the contours of Earle Haley's blank mask, for animators to create his ever-changing expressions. Small holes were made for him to see.

Ozymandias/Adrian Veidt
(Matthew Goode)A retired vigilante superhero who has since made his identity public. Adrian Veidt has been deemed the "smartest man in the world" by many, mainly the media. He has proven to be incredibly intelligent with his genius plan to help Earth towards utopia.

Nite Owl/Daniel Dreiberg
(Patrick Wilson)A retired vigilante superhero with technological experience, former partner to Rorschach. Dan Dreiberg relied more upon technical wizardry than toughness, which set him apart from his fellow costumed adventurers. Still, he has demonstrated more than adequate skills when defending himself. All of his gadgets and costumes are based on an owl theme. He uses an owl-shaped flying vehicle nicknamed "Archie" (Archimedes, after Merlin's owl), equipped with a variety of offensive and defensive devices.

Silk Spectre/Laurie Juspeczyk
(Malin Åkerman)A retired vigilante superhero. Åkerman described her character as the psychology and the emotion of the film due to being the only woman among the men. The actress worked out and trained to fight for her portrayal of the crimefighter. Sally "Jupiter" Juspeczyk (the first Silk Spectre) pushed her daughter into the "family business" of crimefighting. Laurie Juspeczyk never held much interest in becoming her mother's successor, but went along with Sally's wishes anyway."

SIGH... only a year away..

And if you're jonzing even more for some Watchmen goodies after that, calm down with this pre-production interview with director Zack Snyder in which he lays down his Watchmen philosophy..

Marvel on Ol' Walt's Path..

2008-02-28T10:26:00.009-05:00

(Images from Empire Here!)

Marvel may have made a name for itself these past eight years by dominating the action movie market with the reinvention of the superhero film, but with the release of Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk this Spring, Marvel will finally have the possibility of making some serious cash for itself. These movies Marvel has made with it's own funding, so the losses or gains will be all Marvel's. If Iron Man makes Spider-man money, Marvel could be the next Disney and Marvel seems very aware of this fact.

Iron Man isn't a throw away like Ghost Rider, DareDevil, Elecktra or The Fantastic Four. The cast is filled with Oscar winners (Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges), and a director (Jon Favreau) driven to breath the kind of real personalities and humor into Tony Stark, Jim Rhodes, Pepper Potts and Obediah Stane that Toby Maguire and Hugh Jackman created in Peter parker and Wolverine.

If that's not enough, how about a new Incredible Hulk movie, written and staring Edward Norton, William Hurt and Tim Roth? I've read a script review that got me pretty excited, for a real Abomination VS. Hulk type of action!

Marvel is connecting these two films to the same universe, Robert Downey Jr. "apparently" has a cameo in the Hulk movie and Samuel L. Jackson is "apparently" playing Nick Fury in both movies. With plans to make Thor (directed by Matthew Vaughn of Stardust and Layer Cake), Captain America (directed by Nick Cassavetes of Alpha Dog)and Antman (Directed by Edgar Wright of Shawn of the Dead) Iron Man director Jon Favreau has let it be known that Marvel has dangled the carrot of helming and Avengers movie in the near future.

So that's Marvel's plan.. build five big films, all with extremely talented actors and directors, then combine them into one giant tent pole film that would have Robert Downey Jr., Edward Norton and whoever the other stars are working in the ultimate superhero team movie, under the command of... Samuel L. Jackson... Man that is the definition of synergy!!

And that doesn't mean that Marvel's past success is over. Hugh Jackman is going forward with a huge cast filled with unused or underused X-Men characters like Deadpool, Gambit, Beak, Sabretooth and Silver Fox among others in creating a prequel: X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I'm kind of iffy on this one, because I wanted to see the Claremont/Miller Wolverine story in Japan first, but you can't deny it will make a lot of money. Wolverine is now an American (Canadian) icon.

Comparably, Warner Bros./DC's management of Smallville, Batman Begins, Superman Returns, Green Lantern, The Flash, Wonder Woman, and Justice League, which are all happening in stand alone universes that require two different actors to play Superman, Batman and The Flash, looks as awkward as Micheal Jackson at the Playboy mansion. Maybe they should take a que from Marvel and build on success, with some kind of plan to integrate. Still, this is the big role of the dice for Marvel and the future is still a surprising opponent. I wish them good luck.

Racism VS. Sexism.... is there a winner?

2008-02-28T10:21:00.002-05:00

I try to keep my political blogs on my other site, but this is an interesting time and some interesting allies are at each others throats. My little comments on the issue are HERE!

Get Smart... Got Funny?

2008-02-28T10:20:00.001-05:00

God help me, this trailer looks like a movie I want to watch in the theater!!

Starring ...

Steve Carell
Anne Hathaway
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
Alan Arkin
Terrence Stamp

Check it out...... GET SMART!

In the all-new action comedy “Get Smart,” Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell) is on a mission to thwart the latest plot for world domination by the evil crime syndicate known as KAOS. When the headquarters of U.S. spy agency Control is attacked and the identities of its agents compromised, the Chief (Alan Arkin) has no choice but to promote his ever-eager analyst Maxwell Smart, who has always dreamt of working in the field alongside stalwart superstar Agent 23 (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson). Smart is partnered instead with the only other agent whose identity has not been compromised: the lovely-but-lethal veteran Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway). As Smart and 99 get closer to unraveling KAOS’ master plan—and each other—they discover that key KAOS operative Siegfried (Terence Stamp) and his sidekick Shtarker (Kenneth Davitian) are scheming to cash in with their network of terror. Given little field experience and even less time, Smart—armed with nothing but a few spy-tech gadgets and his unbridled enthusiasm—must defeat KAOS if he is to save the day.

Bruce Leeroy Is Still My Hero!

2008-02-26T16:33:00.005-05:00

I just joined one of those facebook/myspace things which asks me for my favorite movie list. My favorite movie is easy, anyone who knows me knows it's "The Third Man." My favorite second film is a hard pick, I probably have hundreds of them.

Anyway, I had the film "The Last Dragon" on my list and a friend asked me if that was the Bruce Lee story. It is not. It couldn't be farther from it. It is a piece of low grade 'B' movie, 1980's silliness. It is a dumb movie, but I really love it, especially the end. Where else do you get Motown music at its worst like Debarge's "Rythym of the Night" bad karate and a super cool hero named Bruce Leeroy. Its not art, but when the kicking songs like "The Glow" and "The Last Dragon" kick in, my ten year old self is jumping up and down on the couch Saturday morning style.

To me, the next few minutes may be perfection in the eyes of childhood's heroic redemption. I won't be offended if you disagree.

And since we're talking about it, here's a list of films on the thumbs up list, not at all a full list, but a good start. Number one doesn't change.

Long Live Harry Lime!!

1. The Third Man
2. Lost In Translation
3. Spider-Man 2
4. Ghost World
5. Do the Right Thing
6. Rushmore
7. The 39 Steps (1935)
8. High Fidelity
9. The Seven Samurai
10. Mad Dog and Glory
11. True Romance
12. Murder, My Sweet
13. Spirited Away
14. Leon - The Professional
15. The Lady from Shanghai
16. Spider-Man
17. X2: X-Men United
18. Blazing Saddles
19. The Last Dragon ing
20. Clerks
21. Reservoir Dogs
22. Almost Famous
23. Yojimbo
24. Batman Begins
25. Grand Illusion
26. Hollywood Shuffle
27. Apocalypse Now
28. X-Men
29. Catch Me If You Can
30. Love Actually
31. Princess Mononoke
32. Raiders of the Lost Ark
33. Unbreakable
34. Sin City
35. Pulp Fiction
36. The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring
37. The Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers
38. The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King
39. Star Wars
40. The Empire Strikes Back
41. Good Will Hunting
42. The Shawshank Redemption
43. The Hidden Fortress
44. Rashomon
45. Down by Law
46. The Sixth Sense
47. Trainspotting
48. My Life as a Dog
49. Ghostbusters
50. Diva
51. The Silence of the Lambs
52. V for Vendetta
53. GoodFellas
54. Blade Runner
55. The Usual Suspects
56. Ghost Dog - The Way of the Samurai
57. The Godfather
58. What's Eating Gilbert Grape
59. The Incredibles
60. The Fifth Element
61. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
62. Young Frankenstein
63. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
64. The Sound of Music
65. Caddyshack
66. The Nightmare Before Christmas
67. The Shining
68. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
69. Full Metal Jacket
70. Platoon
71. One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest
72. The Wizard of Oz
73. The Rocky Horror Picture Show
74. The Breakfast Club
75. Snatch.
76. Memento
77. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
78. The Bourne Identity
79. There's Something About Mary
80. The Abyss

Update: I forgot "The Muppet Movie!" I put that at number eight. Knock everything else down a peg. -SD

Michel Gondry on Michel Gondry!

2008-02-23T00:24:00.001-05:00

Michel Gondry has more heart, soul and creativity in his work than many folks who are sensitized to media can take. I don't think people really understand how much conditioning a viewer of a certain genre or era of media undergoes. We expect and want the sugar sweet roller coaster we are promised and we can't always taste the subtlety of daring artists.

People complain when comfortably "qwirky" becomes unclear, unexpected and avant-garde. They say the artist has lost his meaning or way. What they mean is, "This is not what I expected or wanted. I am lost. I am feeble. I'm a big douche."

Here's the trailer for Gondry's new film and his sweded trailer of his trailer. You'll understand after you see it in order

1)

2)

A Peek at Batman: Gotham Knight

2008-02-15T11:05:00.005-05:00

Batman: Gotham Knight, The Origin

Batboy: Mmmm, I love me some Batman.

Anime Girl: Oooh, this Anime is soo honey!

(violent collision here!) Crash!! Zang!! Queeerp!!
(don't ask, I just like 'queeerp')

Batboy: Hey manga mouth, you got your Anime all over my Batman!

Anime Girl: Hey yourself, you ugly American clown, you got your Batman all over my luscious Anime!

Batboy: Bitch!

Anime Girl: Asshole!

(they both pause and stare at the goopy mess of Batman and Anime scattered everywhere..)

Batboy: You know, it kind of looks... cool..

Anime Girl: And kind of... badass...

Batboy: I love you.

Anime Girl: You had me at bitch!

(cue lurid fan orgy)

And then all of a sudden this came out..

Looks good!

The trend is curving up again for DC/Warner Animation!

A Heap of Iron Man Pics!

2008-02-14T17:30:00.005-05:00

Comics 2 Film has a bunch of crazy new Iron Man stills, I don't know if they are "exclusive" or not, they didn't say, but you can go over there and see them all. These are my favorites.

Click em and they Grow!

See the rest here!

The Guy Who's The Best There Is At What He Does

2008-02-14T16:40:00.005-05:00

I got nothing.. They aren't making the film I want to see based on Chris Claremont and Frank Miller's Wolverine limited series from the 80's where Logan slices his way through heaping helpings of ninjas and angst while trying to reconcile with his love, the lady Mariko, who's father just happens to be one bad dude with a sword.

All the great lines come from this one..
"I'm the best there is at what I do. But what I do isn't very nice."
"He cuts deep... I cut deeper"

But USA Today does have a great picture! The first from the film.

Check out the rest HERE!

Superhero Movie Trailer

2008-02-12T13:55:00.000-05:00

This thing kind of looks funny and kind of looks stupid in the kind of funny way that stupid looks when it's actually quite funny, except for the bits that seem a little too obvious, which are just too blatantly stupid to be funny except when sometimes they are, but you don't want anyone to know you watched it, so you cleverly wait until it comes to cable, but uncleverly not long enough to show on the movie channels you pay for, just the pay the pay-per-view channel that charges half of a ticket price to watch it, which then you forget you ordered and then have to admit to your roommate that you rented, in a big bubble of shame.
Enjoy the "Superhero Movie" trailer Here!

Iron Man Screen Shots!

2008-02-04T13:21:00.000-05:00

Like the immortal Casey, Tom Brady is only human and perfect is a tall order. An order we almost made. While the rest of the country thinks we're cheating, pompous losers, who got what they deserved, we stiffen our lip and remember that we have a special team, one of the greats, something special and more Spartan then most teams will ever know. We will show them all next time and the "cheating," issue will be put in perspective, as it becomes more and more clear that its as common in football as steroids in baseball (football, and the Olympics too).

While my fellow Bostonians whimper and shuffle their feet at what could have been, I will try to lose my self in the future: what could be and what will be.

The truth is, football is way out there. Far, far away. On the other side of Summer. On the other side of The Dark Knight, The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man! So let's enjoy something we all can get behind. Iron Man ass kicking stills from the Super Bowl commercial!

(click em all to see em big!)

Anthony & His Sunday Best!

2008-02-01T13:10:00.000-05:00

Here comes the Superbowl, a boring, usually unevenly matched game, watched by people who like to giggle at silly, expensive commercials and talk about their hybrids during gameplay and people who like to paint themselves blue and commit bodily harm to people who are not from their city, state or region, because "We Ahh Da Winnahs Mudda Fukkas!" But... The Patriots are playing the Giants, which should insure a seriously tough game, with historical significance on the line and... at approximately 4:30, Marvel will present the new Iron Man trailer, which should, if nothing else, completely destroy my ingenious plan to avoid Budweiser commercials. Shortly after that, the trailer will be available on Apple.com, Marvel.com, and the official Iron Man website at IronManmovie.com.

(click this sucka)

I'm looking forward to this movie, let's hope this is the beginning of the Silver Age of comic book films.

See, I Told You They Were Working Behind The Scenes

2008-01-26T06:34:00.000-05:00

I'm not going to dwell on poor Mr. Ledger's passing, we have all done that. Just wanted to add that as I said is the last post the powers that be were indeed, doing the smoke filled room thing, big powerful men were meeting hours after his death, determining how to better market the movie.

From the ever vigilant Variety, posted just under 30 hours after Ledger's death:

(Fate of Ledger's last films uncertain - Gilliam, WB mull fate of 'Knight,' 'Parnassus')
By DIANE GARRETT
Posted: Wed., Jan. 23, 2008, 5:24pm PT

Production on Terry Gilliam's indie "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" has temporarily shut down, while Warner execs are still determining how to adjust their marketing campaign on "The Dark Knight," which is keyed to Ledger's Joker character in its early stages....

Production on Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins" sequel is believed to largely completed -- principal photography concluded in the fall -- but the initial marketing campaign focuses on the ghoulish Joker character.

To complicate matters further, the studio has just restructured its marketing operation. International marketing topper Sue Kroll now oversees all marketing for the studio in the wake of the exit of former domestic marketing president Dawn Taubin, who developed the "Dark Knight" campaign.

Kroll will likely have to move quickly to rejigger the studio's current phase of the marketing campaign for "Dark Knight," focusing on Ledger's Joker character. This phase of the campaign had been set to run until March.

Hey, I told you they were doing the repositioning thing, they spent a lot of money on The Dark Knight. You think Tony Soprano is vulgar when he talks business at a funeral, forget about it. As I told a girl I work with who says she likes bad boys, the real bad boys are the big businessmen, they do all the shit the gansta does, they just don't get their hands dirty and they leave with all the money.

It will be interesting to see what kind of marketing perspective they employ, and when they fire up the pr machine again.

Funny bit in this article, the reporter reflects on other projects that have had to deal with this awkward death business:

Over the years other productions have employed a variety of techniques to work around the death of the actors portraying major characters.

-For better or worse, advancements in CGI and digital effects made it easier for producers to finish "Gladiator" and an episode of "The Sopranos" after the deaths of Oliver Reed and Nancy Marchand, respectively.

-James Dean's final scene in "Giant," for example, had to be looped after his death in a car crash because he mumbled so much in the shot.

-Brandon Lee died during an accident on set during production of "The Crow," director Alex Proyas used a stunt double to complete scenes; Lee's face was added using special effects.

-a look-alike for Natalie Wood was used after her drowning death during production of "Brainstorm."

-The producers used several techniques to finish "Wagons East" after John Candy died of heart failure, rewriting scenes or using a body double.

-Louis B. Mayer threatened to scrap "Saratoga," when Jean Harlow died suddenly, but relented after fans demanded he release it; a body double finished the remaining scenes with her back to the camera.

-River Phoenix was supposed to co-star in "Interview With the Vampire," but when he died, they recast Christian Slater in the role.

-Chris Farley was working on "Shrek" for DreamWorks when he died; Mike Myers took over the lead voice role after his "Saturday Night Live" cohort overdosed in 1997.

Hey, this stuff happens, I'm not crying because people don't commit their lives to vishnu, after an actor dies, just remember that this was all reported a day after the death, which means they were making decisions "before the autopsy" early. If your one of those folks who worship stars, you can take great solace that you and your favorite actor probably have one thing in common, you're both walking meat in the eyes of you're employer.

Next post: something more fun, don't know what, but no more on this.

Variety Shows Us... That Business Is Business!

2008-01-23T05:32:00.000-05:00

Not 12 hours after the tragic death of Mr. Ledger, Variety show us how the gears of commerce begin again to turn.

Sure, the poor man's dead. Sure he left a young daughter and stunned family and after the media's tactless accusations of suicide, it looks like it may have been accidental. Groups like TMZ and even Good Morning America are ready to swoop in and make all that reactionary and crocodile tear memorials that the public can eat up with our sociopathic appetites. All this in a few hours? What a way to mourn premature death.

Well Variety shows us what it all means and it all means CASH! From the article "Heath Ledger dead at 28 - Warner Bros., Focus react to tragedy" by Diane Garrett:

-In Gotham, a crowd of several hundred media members, looky-loos and bereft fans gathered late Tuesday afternoon outside the apartment building on Broome Street where Ledger’s body was found. The actor had been living in the Soho neighborhood since splitting last year with partner Michelle Williams.

Flashes from paparazzi and cell phone cameras lit up the building’s narrow façade next to the Nanette Lepore clothing boutique next door. As a lone policeman guarded the entrance, several people stood on window ledges across the street to get a better view of Ledger’s body being wheeled out on a gurney.-

Are you kidding me? Gotham? Do you mean New York City? What kind of tasteless tongue and cheek writing is this? The kind that gets down to what really matters.. what will happen to the latest Batman movie. Oh don't worry folks, the movie is done! Phew! What a relief, that Bat-fans won't have to wait for rewrites and re-shoots! That would have been inconvenient, wouldn't it!

-Principal photography on “The Dark Knight” finished in the fall; as of Tuesday, the pic is still skedded for a July 18 bow.

The status of the pic’s marketing campaign, however, is uncertain. The first phase is built around the Joker and pics of his character are particularly ghoulish. Warner execs were still grappling with the news on Tuesday and had no comment on how they would proceed.-

Wow, they probably didn't expect the vultures to circle, only hours after the death asking heartless questions. Don't get me wrong, as I said in my last post I'm sure the execs are coldly talking about these issues in private, but they're not stupid or tactless enough to comment on it publicly, at least not until the poor man is remembered and eulogized.

-The “Dark Knight” rollout will present more than a few challenges en route to opening weekend. One poster shows the Joker character drawing a clown’s smile on a mirror with red lipstick and scrawling the words, “Why So Serious?” Tagline was also used to launch a Joker-centric website that the studio used to bow new photos from the pic and a viral scavenger hunt, among other games.

“The Joker character is dealing with chaos and life and death and a lot of dark themes,” one insider with knowledge of the campaign said. “Everyone is going to interpret every line out of his mouth in a different way now." -

Wow, we really are callus and sadly socipathic. If we are not bombarded with Heath Ledger memorials and "inside story" content from every morning show, talk show, punditry and cable news cycle for the next week to month, I'll eat my yarn hat. I'm so sorry that being a public figure now means the public doesn't give people's families any respect at all. What a tragedy this is, such potential. What a sad thing that we can't learn to just hang our heads and count to sixty before coldly looking through the man's wallet.

I hear the Westboro Baptist Church is now planning to picket his funeral because of his role in “Brokeback Mountain," which just adds to the spectacle and sadly, to the length of its potential airplay. The media will eat this up! I can only hope his funeral will be in his native Australia and that they have better ways of dealing with Westboro Baptists if the dare to venture down under.

My most heartfelt respects to those concerned..

Heath Ledger Dies... But Just As Sad Is Our Spectacle

2008-01-22T22:42:00.000-05:00

I can be happy with myself and honestly say that my first thought on hearing this was, "I hope it's not true, how sad, he was a talented, fearless artist." But I am shamed that my second thought was "How does this effect The Dark Knight?" Even though I didn't allow myself the luxury of expanding upon this thought, even though I only felt this thought pop into my consciousness for a moment and immediately ejected it, I did think it and what's more upsetting is that I kept thinking it, it kept popping back into the stream of thought.

It makes me wonder. It makes me wonder about all the things that we spend our time doing. It makes me wonder if Warner Bros execs are throwing their coffee mugs against the walls, because they just lost the break out star of their Bat franchise. It makes me wonder, good or bad, how much time people will take, in considered decorum, before they start calling each other to figure out what has to be rewritten or postponed or repositioned. When an actor puts himself alone in a room for days and days just to find his inner psychotic, just to make an entertainment, is that really worth the toll?

I remember Christian Bale's extreme weight loss and gain and how it was the "neat trivia fact" of the Hollywood promotion shows. Wasn't that beyond reasonable? Death is a great equalizer and it blows away the mists of promotion and pomp. At least it does for me. I don't want to think about comic book movies right now and I don't like the strange uncomfortable feeling that people are bowing their heads in sorrow, but darting their eyes around the room looking to see when it will be appropriate to turn on the hype machine that will no doubt come storming at us with the Spring melt, as Mr. Ledger's last film role becomes a morose but unstoppable Juggernaut of cash, that just adds to the pain and spectacle that his family now will begin to endure.

I'm really sorry that I thought of the fate of a movie when I heard of a young man's death. Here's to respecting the dead. On comes the media storm.

How Spidey 3 should have happened!

2007-09-24T18:41:00.000-04:00

Okay, this says it all:

FU Frank! Do "The Spirit" Right!

2007-05-14T14:54:00.000-04:00

Okay, this story started as a nice piece about Frank Miller's Hollywood love affair. I was calling it "Frank Miller.... Hollywood's Boyfriend!" But while looking up pics for the text, I found this, vile, sad thing:

I originally thought it was a mock up, made by a fan or a prankster, to emblazen Spirit fans with hateful murder toward Miller, but looking here, I found out that this seems to actually be part of the early marketing?

This ugly piece of lazy modern Miller art is used, instead of work like this?:

or this?

or this?

or this?

And to top it all off that Miller quote to Variety, I'd read many times before, hung sharply at the bottom of the page:
“I intend to be extremely faithful to the heart and soul of the material, but it won’t be nostalgic. It will be much scarier than people expect,”

Apparently we shouldn't expect the art direction to encompass the art of Will Eisner? Instead we should expect Miller's crappy "Dark Knight Returns Again," simpler, middle-aged, lazy style? Please...Don't let that poster be indicative of Miller's art direction...

Thank you, and now on to the original story...

This is a nice piece I read, about Miller taking over Hollywood. See Alan, it only took decades of pain! Come back in five years and let's get Tim Roth to make a real John Constantine movie!! Miller deserves some power, even though if you read the entire article (here!) you'll see the posturing of a crazed law and order meathead, but that is why they love him....

Revenge of the Dark Knight
Hard-edged comics guru Frank Miller is hot in Hollywood. Now for the graphic details.
By Geoff Boucher, Times Staff Writer
April 29, 2007

......Miller, the most important comic book artist of the last 25 years, is enjoying his moment in the Hollywood sun. There was, of course, the record-breaking March box office of "300," a lovingly faithful adaptation of Miller's bloody 1998 graphic novel, but there's also the two sequels to "Sin City" now in the pipeline and the Batman project now being filmed in London that borrows its title from Miller's 1986 masterpiece, "The Dark Knight Returns." "They finally got the title right," Miller said with a pretend sneer. "I was wondering when that would happen."

....Like most stars of the comic-book community (where he is the rare artist who became equally celebrated as a writer), he had become accustomed to be treated like a valet by Hollywood — Hey, kid, thanks for the keys and the vehicle, here's a couple of bucks — and then forced to watch the studios wreck everything on screen. The 1990s Batman movies, for instance, would not have happened without Miller's work, but they often ignored or trampled his contributions to the character. ..... Elektra, a beloved character he created, tanked badly on the screen in the hands of others.

Now there's a sweet satisfaction in the fact that the new Hollywood approach is to hire fan-boy directors and show fawning respect for the source material. "Sin City's" Robert Rodriguez even insisted on sharing director credits with Miller on those films (a maverick stand that cost Rodriguez his membership in the Directors Guild), and that led directly to a somewhat shocking development: Miller has now been tapped to write and direct his own film based on Will Eisner's classic noir hero "The Spirit."

One of the producers, Michael Uslan, also the producer of "Constantine" and executive producer of "Batman Begins," said the filming will start this year and that there already is intense interest from distributors given the splashy success of "300," which grossed $70 million in just its first weekend. Uslan was an executive producer on more than half a dozen superhero movies, including the Tim Burton "Batman" films, and he said Miller's relative newcomer role to Hollywood is not a problem.

"Honestly, to me, there's nobody else that could do this film. I saw him at Will Eisner's memorial service last year and I told him that I'd been turning comic books into movies for years, but that with 'Sin City' he's doing something better: He was making movies into comic books. I told him he had to make 'The Spirit.' He said there was no way he could do it. Then after three minutes he said, 'There's no way I can let anybody else do it.' "

....The mid-1980s brought the shift of comics toward more mature ambitions and Miller (along too with Alan Moore, writer of "The Watchman") was at the center of the renaissance. His defining characters — Daredevil, Elektra, the aging Batman of "Dark Knight," the disgraced samurai of "Ronin" — were solitary, haunted, honor-bound and extremely efficient at hurting other people. Reading Miller, Mickey Spillane and Clint Eastwood sprang to mind, especially when one Daredevil cover was an overt homage to "Dirty Harry."

Miller also became an outspoken champion of artist's rights in the industry, and he engaged in serious work to celebrate the legacy of past stars, among them, Eisner, who died in 2005 at 87 and was the creator of "The Spirit," a work often hailed as the "Citizen Kane" of comics. The artists had a close friendship, and Miller seems more nervous about his film living up to the expectations of his late mentor than he does about any pressures from producers or the public.

"There's quite a standard there, and I feel a tremendous responsibility and honor doing it," Miller said. He chewed on the thought some more. "It is a lot of pressure, though, yes."

...Miller will need all his supporters and his strength to pull off the new role as solo director of a major Hollywood film. He surely learned a lot at the side of "Sin City's" Rodriguez, but the new job requires not just artistic antennae but also an efficient dictator sensibility.

"He can do it, absolutely," said "300's" (director, Zack) Snyder, "because he has the respect instantly of the people around him because of his vision. I saw on the set of '300,' he won people over because he knows what he wants, and what he wants is great. He's in this unique position now where he is a brand name. Like Quentin [Tarantino], there's this perception that his take on pop culture is so singular and right that he gets to break the rules."

The Dark Knight .WarnerBros.com

2007-05-14T14:06:00.000-04:00

UPDATED!!!
Aintitcool has a possible little, tiny, trailer description I thought would go nicely with this little post.
I found it here!

Hey Harry,
My brother IM'd me a moment ago with a description of the Dark Knight teaser, saying I may report this to the nearest movie site or whatever. Apparently news about this has not been heard yet, but here goes: Black background, cards begin to fall in slow motion, the joker whispers things directed at Batman, the audience, the final card to fall is the joker, with also a picture of the bat signal on fire. My bro works in Holywood, got the video from a guy who does the credits for videos. yep.

Warner Bros. has put up a site called
http://thedarkknight.warnerbros.com/

and it has this picture displayed.
Not much, but hopeful...

Meet The Cybertronians!

2007-05-11T14:50:00.000-04:00

Micheal Bay's blog posted some Transformer goodies you just had to see! (here) (click pics for larger views)

Personally, I have to say they look fantastic! The Autobots especially look amazing!!

Bumblebee,
Jazz,
Ironhide
and
ol' Optimus Prime
really look particularly stunning, if not traditional.

Honestly, Megatron looks like a He-Man villain and StarScream looks like a beast-like slasher movie robot.

Frenzy isn't anything but the name and it's all completely original and unlike the show....

But it looks damn well designed!!

We shall see if these designs a breathed life on screen or left hollow..

More Bad FF Tie-ins: Milky Sweet Mustache

2007-05-09T14:12:00.000-04:00

Another day, another sad attempt to tie in the 'FF' movie with a commercial product. I wonder if Yahoo or Hostess Cream Pies said: No! (click em all!!)

Known Fact: Superheroes eat Hostess fruit pies!

IRONMAN: The BIG Picture! (bad pun)

2007-05-08T15:52:00.000-04:00

UPDATE!!! Pics of IRONMONGER have popped up! I got these at IESB, but I don't know who had the original scoop!

Superherohype has some big, meaty pics of "ol' Shellhead" straight from the source. Notice that the armour is called Mark III, as in third suit maybe?
(from here!)

Paramount Pictures has provided us with these hi-res versions of the Mark III armor and a new shot of Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark in Marvel Studios' Iron Man, opening May 2, 2008.

The film tells the story of Stark, a billionaire industrialist and genius inventor who is kidnapped and forced to build a devastating weapon. Instead, using his intelligence and ingenuity, Tony builds a high-tech suit of armor and escapes captivity. Upon his return to America, Tony must come to terms with his past. When he uncovers a nefarious plot with global implications, he dons his powerful armor and vows to protect the world as Iron Man.

Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Shaun Toub, Leslie Bibb and Bill Smitrovich co-star.

Ronin: Hollywood Love's Frank Miller

2007-05-02T16:22:00.000-04:00

Oh, why did this happen now?

When I was 12 and Frank Miller was the long haired, cool looking rock star among comic creators, I wished that Hollywood would worship him and see him for the genius he was. Now, as a 34 years old, I still see Miller's work as brilliant, but also sadly pubescent and overly macho the way a four or five year old boy is macho when he wants ice cream now and that means he gets ICE CREAM NOW DAMMIT!

I still enjoy Frank's long overdue rise to power and I hope he finds great achievement in his film version of the great Will Eisner's The Spirit, which is genius on a more eloquent level. I only wish that Alan Moore could be heralded the way that Miller is. I wonder what Moore thinks of this.

Ronin is the next thing I read after Batman: The Dark Knight Returns kicked my ass into my brain. It's good. Really good and really violent. Not Watchmen, not even close, but good.

Five year old violent kid. Is it really a wonder that Hollywood loves Frank Miller, but doesn't get Alan Moore? Someday someone will..

The Hollywood Reporter has the story (here)

Warners ready for Miller's 'Ronin' comic

By Borys Kit

May 2, 2007
The next Frank Miller adaptation is one step closer to the big screen.

"Ronin," an early Miller comic miniseries from the early 1980s, has landed at Warner Bros. Pictures, which has acquired feature film rights. Sylvain White ("Stomp the Yard") is in negotiations to direct.

Miller, a comic book auteur, has developed a Hollywood following, with such titles as "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" and "Sin City," which Robert Rodriguez adapted into a 2005 film. Miller's "300," adapted by Zack Snyder, cut its way to $206.9 million at the domestic boxoffice. Miller created "Ronin," published by DC Comics, after his acclaimed run on the Marvel Comics series "Daredevil" in the early '80s.

The story centers on a ronin who is reincarnated in a dystopic near-future New York populated by squatters, factions and mutants. The ronin must try to destroy a demon with a mystic sword, which also is found in New York.

Here's Ironman!

2007-05-02T15:04:00.000-04:00

Look what just popped up at EW.com (here)
I must say this looks like Ironman!
I have high hopes for this to be the next great Marvel franchise!!

Exclusive: This is ''Iron Man''
Sneak a peek at the new robo-suit that will turn Robert Downey Jr. into a comic-book legend in the May 2008 movie

By Jeff Jensen

Iron Man is the latest Marvel Comics superhero to jump from splash page to big screen. (The film is due May 2008.) Director Jon Favreau (Elf ) began shooting in March with star Robert Downey Jr. — in his first comic-book role — as the man inside the cybernetic Mark III suit (pictured) and Gwyneth Paltrow as his trusted assistant. In the film, Downey plays Tony Stark, a playboy industrialist who decides to don high-tech armor to fight baddies after suffering a life-threatening heart injury in war-torn Afghanistan. ''This is a decidedly adult superhero story,'' says Favreau. (Fanboy FYI: Look for Stark's legendary drinking problem to pop up in possible sequels.)

Faithful to the comics and constructed by Oscar-winning F/X maestro Stan Winston, the Iron Man togs — a far cry from Stark's normal black-tie attire — are robo-cool but make for restrictive, sweaty duds. ''Robert was very bullish on wearing the suit whenever possible,'' says Favreau of his star, who bulked up for the role. ''Now I don't know if he's such a fan of that idea.''
Posted May 02, 2007

The Real MARVEL Phoenix: IRONMAN

2007-04-27T11:03:00.000-04:00

UPDATE: From Mr. Favreau's Myspace Page (here)
Posted: Apr 28, 2007 7:58 PM
I just got back in town. The company has been on the road for many weeks. We started off in the mountains of Lone Pine which doubled for Afghanistan. We then moved to Edwards Air Force Base. We finally closed out the out of town work with Fontana, CA.

Let me confirm a few things: The movie will contain both the gray suit and the gold and red. The light you see in the photo on Robert's chest in the USA Today article is the chest piece glowing through his shirt. He is in captivity and forging the mask of the Mark 1. Both suits have been built practically by Winston Studios and are busily at work as we speak. We are exploring ideas for teaser trailers, though no date has been decided. We are planning to attend San Diego Comicon. Bridges is bald and plays Stane. The movie is on schedule and could not be going better.

We know Spider-man 3 will, at worst, be better than anything else Marvel's come up with this year, but what do we really have to look forward to in a sea of GhostRider/Elektra/Fantastic Four/Punisher/DareDevil mediocrity?

MARVEL is finally helming it's own films. With cash in hand and a deal with Paramount Pictures to distribute, Marvel will call the shots alone and will reap the rewards or failure by itself. So what's on tap?

Let's stick with the certainties for now.

A new Hulk movie, more action, more savage, more hitting, but starring Edward Norton, so we know the acting will be an important factor. MARVEL regained the rights to the Hulk when Universal opted out of making a sequel to Ang Lee's controversial father/son epic "Hulk," which I liked a lot personally, but which was apparently to cerebral and boring for most.

But first we have Jon Favreau's IRONMAN, (the Howard Hughes of Superheroes) the first solely MARVEL produced feature, and on paper, it is a dream come true.

The Cast (as you might already know):
Robert Downey Jr. ... Tony Stark/Iron Man
Gwyneth Paltrow ... Virginia 'Pepper' Potts
Jeff Bridges ... Obadiah Stane
Terrence Howard ... Jim Rhodes

This is the real barometer for the future success of MARVEL. If this is successful, and I mean really successful, then MARVEL may become the next Disney and we are hopefully in for great things. So make it count guys!

Below USA TODAY has a peak at Downey forging the metal tuxedo (here) and the full suit picture is from all over the net.

First look: Downey forges a bond with 'Iron Man' role
By Scott Bowles, USA TODAY

LOS ANGELES — Robert Downey Jr. is hardly the obvious choice to play an iconic crime fighter.

After all, this is the guy who became a poster boy for Hollywood excess, serving a year in prison on drug and alcohol-related charges and checking in and out of rehab like it was the Four Seasons. But it is exactly that past, says director Jon Favreau (Elf), that makes Downey the only choice to play playboy millionaire and recovering alcoholic Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, the comic-book superhero who hits multiplexes next year.

"We didn't want to just go with a safe choice," Favreau says from the set of the film, due in theaters May 2, 2008. "The best and worst moments of Robert's life have been in the public eye. He had to find an inner balance to overcome obstacles that went far beyond his career. That's Tony Stark. Robert brings a depth that goes beyond a comic-book character who is having trouble in high school, or can't get the girl. Plus, he's simply one of the best actors around."

"I'm more diligent than I used to be," Downey says. "I want to show Jon he was right to have faith in me. Whatever questions might have arisen about my life weren't issues with him." It wasn't until Downey matured that he came to appreciate the man in the iron suit. "He struggles with his lifestyle, he struggles with the drinking," Downey says of Stark. "He faces the same issues a lot of people do."

Fantastic Four: Pimp My Ride

2007-04-27T05:03:00.000-04:00

I thought this was a funny, albeit harmless, new story on the marketing lows a distribution company will go to, to "Pimp Our Movie!" Plus, since this movie is possibly ruining an iconic hero like the Silver Surfer in great Elecktra style, I thought it was fitting that it is his image that is pimped!

This is from the Hollywood Reporter (here):

While MTV has engaged in content partnerships with Hollywood's film studios since its inception 25 years ago, it has recently been shifting the type of content it offers. According to the network, the results speak for themselves and benefit both the studios and MTV.

For Fox's "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer," MTV will use a different strategy to promote that film. On "Pimp My Ride," tuner experts will transform a viewer's car into a Silver Surfer-themed vehicle complete with a built-in plasma screen and an Xbox 360. As the great Jack Kirby always said, "Nothing says Silver Surfer like a plasma screen and an Xbox 360!"

"If the studios generate more boxoffice revenue and we generate more viewer interest, then the partnership was a success," Shea said. He continued, "Money equals money! Who has a baby I can sell? What! I'm a soulless marketing guy! What!"

Ben and the Bear

2007-04-26T16:52:00.000-04:00

I found some FF pics over at this Russian site: (here)

Fun, fun, fun... Boy I wish I was looking forward to this..

Product Placement By The Light of a Dimwit

2007-04-16T14:53:00.000-04:00

I just don't get it. First, why would a hovercar even need a "Hemmi?" Second, who thinks looking at a spaceship with a Dodge hood ornament will make anyone buy cars that rental places won't buy?

First, Ainititcool has been serving up the rumors on the new film (here):

1) Well... turns out that they've found a voice for Galactus... Laurence Fishburne - now it's still a rumor - but a reliable one. Okay, not bad... I love Larry!! Great voice casting!!

UPDATE!!! According to Variety (here), Fishburne is the Voice of The Silver Surfer, not Galactus!!

Laurence Fishburne is waxing his board for sequel "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer." Actor will voice the role of the Silver Surfer in the summer tentpole, which 20th Century Fox bows June 15. Internet buzz had suggested that Fishburne was up to voice the role of the evil Galactus, but the studio hasn't decided whether Galactus will even speak. Silver Surfer, who rides his surfboard through space, is the herald for the planet-destroying Galactus. Fishburne, who has strong credibility among fanboys for his role in the "Matrix" franchise, joined "Silver Surfer" this week.

And over at Aintitcool News (here) the rumor is that Galactus isn't a large man in pink and purple, he's a storm cloud!! Yeesh!!

Wanted to let you know what Galactus is going to look like / be represented as in the FF2 sequel:
A storm cloud. Yep.
That's it. That's the solution from the creatives.
(clears throat).....pretty lame.
Think Superman/Silver Surfer flying through clouds with Galactus / Jorel VO.

2) In Seattle on the night of April 10th - Fox had a test screening of FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER and the word on the screening that has reached me is that the film was "sooo bad that they felt dirty and wanted to write letters of complaint." Nice!

UPDATE!! As good ol' Anonymous says below in the comments, IESB disputes rumor #2. (here)

Fantastic Four Rumors You Shouldn't Believe!
Written by Robert Sanchez
Friday, 13 April 2007

A few days ago, a rumor hit the web that a test screening for Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer took place in Seattle. Guess what?

Not true, the movie has not had any test screenings at all according to Fox and Marvel. Interesting thing about the initial report is that there was no review to go along with the scoop except for typical fanboy bashing.

So to all you Fan Four fans, take a breath, it was all a big lie. (Again, is this more or less credible than Ainitcool? A little more, because the studio has apparently put it on the line and answered a question, but then again, I wouldn't want people to know if it really stunk in testing. My bet, if they hold this from the critics like GhostRider did, then there was a test screening and FF2: Silver Surfer Bugaloo got a big "F.")

In keeping with the destructive, wasteful crapfest that I now believe FF2: Look it's the Silver Surfer, will be (and I'm talking wasteful like putting caviar on Velveeta covered Pringles) here's another piece of wasteful advertising that shows the complete difference between Sony and Marvel making Spider-man movies and Sony and Marvel destroying Jack Kirby's legacy. (here):

Super Dodge for Superheroes
No. 5 U.S. brand lands product placement rights to 'Fantastic Four' film, inspires supercar's design.
Scott Burgess / The Detroit News

Superheroes need super wheels. So it only makes sense to pimp their ride with a cross-haired grille and drop a Hemi under the hood. (yes "pimp their ride" is the "Bomb!" "Raise the Roof!!")

When the Fantastic Four start up their Fantasticar on June 15 in theaters, the car will be a Dodge. America's fifth-largest brand has confirmed it landed the product placement rights to "Fantastic Four: The Rise of Silver Surfer." ("America's fifth-largest brand" says it all. Spam is America's fifth favorite meat byproduct.)

"We saw this as a great opportunity," said James Kenyon, a Chrysler Group spokesman. "We like the demographics of the movie and think it will play well with Dodge." (I want to look at those demographics. I bet it says: People who tape their wallet on the outside of their clothes. That would be an opportunity!)

The sleek vehicle, inspired by the shape of a manta ray, took about 10 months to design and build, said the Fantisticar's designer, Tim Flattery, the conceptual artist for the film. (I does look nice, but does it look like a Dodge? Thank God no! Not one that I ever saw.)

Once it was complete, it lacked the branding of any carmaker until Dodge struck a deal with 20th Century Fox last fall. Kenyon declined to say how much Dodge spent on the deal. (I see, its just an added brand, It could have been anything. "GoldBond" foot cream, "Twinkies" or "Preparation H.")

Flattery, a Michigan native and 1987 graduate of the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit, didn't have to look past his driveway for inspiration.

"I drive an SRT8 Dodge Magnum," said Flattery, who designed the Batmobile for the movie "Batman Forever." (Let's be fair, below... the Dodge Magnum SRT8. Yeah....... it looks just like the Fantasticar above. He was inspired by Lamborghini, Hummer, Rolls Royce and BMW. Dodge called back.)

The 4,000-pound prop measures 20-feet long and 13-feet wide and has amazing on-screen abilities; in real life, however, it needs a crane to move. (The crane is sponsored by TONKA.)

TransFormers & Micheal Bay

2007-03-27T03:44:00.000-04:00

Good Bad Stuff Up Ahead: Number Two: (of 20)

First up! These amazing one shots came in at Aintitcool over here!
(click to enlarge!)

Also interesting... Bay posted this little rant Friday on his blog here that really gives you a bit of insight into just who's kissing whose ass and the whole "Bay approach" to Transformers. love it or hate it.

Almost a 100 days left. I guess I should start posting every week? I've been working my ass off - the cut is really coming along -the shots ---awesome. Some of the most difficult renders in ILM history. Sometimes up to 38 hours per frame. The Show West thing was fun to see the scenes play in a 1000 person house. But they just saw 25 minutes so it is hard to feel engaged because they are not seeing the full run of a movie. Harry called me to tell me how he loved it. I see all the dickwad talk back people who claim they have read a finished script. Impossible - I kept the only draft for the last two months before shooting. That's where did major retooling to the script - yes the scene beats are similar but a very different script. We are still writing the robot voices. They talk about just 20 minutes of action at the end - yeah right. This is by far the most action I have ever put into a movie - I have 12 huge set pieces. Boy I get tired of these lame cry babies on the net. -BAY

And of course, purists are mourning the casting of Hugo Weaving as Megatron instead of beloved Frank Welker, the original voice of the dastardly villain, but aren't these same fans secretly "Geekgasming" over Agent Smith's attachment to Tranformers? You bet your mighty Gobots they are! After his performance in "V" I think he should overdub Barney and give him more of an edge.

(I'll be updating this later Today..with an overview)

Spidey 3 Designs... Sony Pulled Again!!

2007-03-08T12:21:00.000-05:00

(CLICK TO ENLARGE)

Just posting the Designs that Aintitcool was good enough to put out there on the WWW before SONY asked them to bend over the desk... Here they are...Originally from HERE!

(CLICK TO ENLARGE)

Good Bad Stuff Up Ahead: Number One: (of 20)

2007-02-12T05:53:00.000-05:00

Yes, I have been absent. No, as Garth so graciously checked, I'm not dead (here)

I like to balance my media intake with generous helpings of silence, song writing and the sounds of my typing holding off a valiant attack from my fingers. Sometimes, I see that 15th picture of Micheal Bay's Optimus Prime and I just want to turn off the hype nozzle. So I did, for a while. After all, you don't pay me do you? Do you?

So here we are, almost through the first month of 2007 and the rusty gears of the Comics 2 Film Genre are starting to turn, breaking the momentum of winter's stagnancy. What are the top twenty good possibilities that could so horribly go bad? Let's start at the pinnacle of achievement and the dream project that may be impossible to film as less than a 12 hour movie.....

(Click on pics for larger image)

Number One: Watchmen

Watchmen may be falling into very capable hands. If it has, it isn't that it fell from poor ones, since it has been falling into capable hands from capable hands, again and again and again, in it's never ending "hot potato" journey through what we call "Production Hell." This has been a welcome resting place for many fans who think that comic's magnum opus should stay clear and away from and real possibility of being fleshed out in the celluloid realm. After all, it is to some, (this one included) near perfect deconstructionist science fiction, fueled with bitter political passion and activism and boiling over with violence, disgust and dear love for the near dead and now much revived modern genre of the superhero.

Alan Moore's "Watchmen" is the kissing cousin to Robert Altman's film "The Long Goodbye" in which Altman destroys the "Hard Boiled Detective" story by casting Elliott Gould as Philip Marlowe and placing the story in 1970's Los Angeles, a world devoid of the drama, passion and the suspense that fueled "Film Noir." Altman positions Raymond Chandler's classic writing against the blandness of casual sex and morals of the 1970's and the lack of titillation and sensationalism nullifies the story's power.

Altman's destruction of "Film Noir" didn't just kill it though, it set "Film Noir" on fire, a Phoenix's fire, which has allowed the genre to be reborn and expand. Because he broke all the rules, Altman freed modern filmmakers to update and experiment in the medium. "Blood Simple," "The Last Seduction," "Blue Velvet," "The Usual Suspects," "Blade Runner," "Sin City," "Dark City," "Angel Heart," "Devil In A Blue Dress," "City of Lost Children," and "L.A. Confidential," all benefit from the ability to change the rules on the tradition of "Film Noir" while keeping its spirit.

"Watchmen's" similar legacy on comics is proportionately much more profound, since the super heroic genre is the mainstay of the medium. "Watchmen" and it's contemporary "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" freed comics to be both cowled, fetishistic and serious, adult and character driven. The down time, the small conversations, the self-doubt and questions of purpose (what I call "Parker Time") all became legitimate sources for deeply driven character building.

Moore's ability to both embrace traditional genre staples and then cast them in bizarre new perspectives, allows both the obvious, never before asked questions like "Why would someone go around in long underwear and a mask?" and the chilling answers we didn't want to know like "Because that person is fucking nuts!" As if he was turning up the lights at a late night S&M party, Moore shows us Superheroes as they truly are, sad and well meaning perversions, living daydreams full of lofty ideals, existing somewhere between childhood and reality. All of a sudden a man in a suit isn't funny, it's scary or sad or deadly serious.

Comics like "Starman," "Preacher," "Hellblazer," "Daredevil (Volume 2)," "Fables," "Powers," "Astro City," "Identity Crisis," "Civil War," "Sandman," and many, many others gratefully acknowledge lying in "Watchmen's" barbaric wake.

So now Zack Snyder, director of "Dawn of the Dead," and more recently Frank Miller's Spartan Epic "300," has been cast comic's ultimate hot potato and plans according to www.firstshowing.net (HERE) to start filming sometime this Summer. Snyder says:

“There has been a push on I think everybody's… on the other scripts that exist about trying to update the movie or make it take place in present day, or things of that nature. I think that by setting the movie in ‘85, by having the Cold War, having Nixon, having all that stuff you reinvigorate what the story is about. It allows all the metaphors...I think what Alan Moore has, in his book, the comic he's made about authority and government and all those things, they're big themes. Maybe if you make that movie right, [then] what that has to say makes people think about what's happening maybe now or in their own lives. That's my hope for what the movie can be.”

For my part the stunning visuals of "300" do greatly whet my appetite for the possibilities of a Snyder helmed "Watchmen," but until I see this film, I'll have no opinion on whether Snyder has the sophisticated chops to handle this deep and complex story of antiheroes, gods and bastards, with the skill needed to bring it off. Truth be told, Watchmen has been in Terry Gilliam's hands and Mr. Gilliam felt it couldn't be done in less than twelve hours.

Recently, Paul Greengrass, a thoughtful and subtle filmmaker had the reigns and an apparently scaled down, but successfully adapted script from X-Men and X2 scripter David Hayter. All of that has been scrapped and truth be told, all this could be too. Snyder advises that the best way to insure his helming "Watchmen" is to go see "300."

"I think that the appetite for me is to make a movie that feel's more like Taxi Driver than like Fantastic Four, again. So it's a balance.....I have to remind them (the studio), I go, ‘look, it's much more Strangelove than Fantastic Four,’ which they don't like hearing.”

Putting down cash to see "300" will also be the best way to see if Snyder SHOULD be directing "Watchmen." Whatever happens, "Watchmen" remains, at least for now, the Holy Grail of comic book film projects, if done poorly, it will "Ishtar" the audience with confusion and a helping of geekiness too awkward for the general moviegoer to swallow. If it nears the greatness of the Comic, the comic book movie will have gained a level of seriousness that will make "Spider-man 2" look like "Winnie the Pooh."

Mayor Menino VS. Aqua Teen Hunger Force!!

2007-02-01T05:48:00.000-05:00

Look, it's illegal advertising with battery powered devices, so I would want police to investigate. It is also possible that a real "terror" device might mask itself as advertising. However, too many people (age 12-30) know the image on the box is from Aqua Teen Hunger Force (An adult cartoon which has been around for over five years) and had it been recognised as a Cartoon Network product, Boston officials could have verified that the advertising was benign with Turner, ending the panic in minutes and saving a lot of cash.

That fact that Boston was the only city that responded this way, either says that Boston is the least hip or the most prepared. The fact that Mayor Menino and the police now feel they have been made fools of and want payback, is going to be unfair and unfortunate to the kids who put up the art. Hopefully, when this dies down they will get some nice street cred in the "dumb ass white boys with dreadlocks" community. Either way if I were Menino, I would hire someone between the age of 12 to 30, so we don't have to go through this next time VH1 decides to paste Flava Flav Clocks all over the Tobin bridge.

From The Boston Globe 2/1/07

Froth, fear, and fury
Cartoon devices spur antiterror sweeps; two men are arrested

By Suzanne Smalley and Raja Mishra

Enraged city and state officials yesterday readied a legal assault against those responsible for a guerrilla marketing campaign that dotted the city with small battery-powered light screens, setting off fears of terrorism and shutting down major roadways and subway lines for parts of the day.

Authorities last night were retrieving the 38 magnetic signs depicting cartoon characters under bridges, on storefronts, and outside Fenway Park, among other locations, that were installed as part of a Turner Broadcasting System marketing blitz for a Cartoon Network television show.

For much of the day, police treated the signs, which measure about 1 by 1 1/2 feet and feature protruding wires on one side, as potentially dangerous. But their investigation shifted when they happened to move one of the signs into a darker area. The sudden lack of sunlight prompted the lights forming the character's image to brighten into color. Sometime between 2 and 3 p.m., according to a public safety official, a Boston police analyst recognized the image as a cartoon character, and police concluded it was likely a publicity stunt.

Turner Broadcasting System Inc. apologized about 4:30 p.m. for the campaign, which included cartoon characters making an obscene gesture.

Last night, in Arlington, police arrested Peter Berdovsky , 27, an artist originally from Belarus, who told the Globe earlier in the day that he installed the signs for an ad firm hired by Turner Broadcasting. Berdovsky, who described himself as " a little kind of freaked out," faces up to five years in prison on charges of placing a hoax device in a way that causes panic and disorderly conduct.

Attorney General Martha Coakley's office announced late last night that a second suspect, Sean Stevens, 28, of Charlestown, had been arrested in the case about 11:30 p.m. Like Berdovsky, Stevens was charged with placing a hoax device and disorderly conduct. Both suspects are scheduled to be arraigned at 9 a.m. today in Charlestown District Court, said Coakley's office.

The deployment of scores of state, federal, and Boston police specialists, from bomb experts to terrorism analysts, exceeded $500,000, according to Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino.

While police responded to the episode with swiftness and gravity, some Bostonians, especially younger adults, were amused by the spectacle and suggested authorities overreacted. But Coakley said the placement of the devices, on key infrastructure points, like highway ramps and under bridges, alarmed even seasoned investigators.

Turner Broadcasting acknowledged that it never sought approval or alerted authorities that it would put up the signs. The company hired by Turner for the campaign, New York-based Interference Inc., declined comment.

The signs, installed about two weeks ago, were part of a 10-city marketing campaign for the cartoon "Aqua Teen Hunger Force." They had not set off terrorism fears in New York, Los Angeles, or any of the other locations, and it was not clear whether they had been widely noticed in those cities. Yesterday Turner Broadcasting scrambled to alert police in the other cities to their presence.

A visibly angry Menino said he would ask the Federal Communications Commission to yank TBS's broadcasting license for what he called "an outrageous act to gain publicity for their product."

The "Aqua Teen" program, launched seven years ago, chronicles the adventures of a talking box of French fries and his irreverent fast food pals. The images on the signs, including the characters with grimacing faces making the obscene gesture, are tiny video game characters that make cameos on the show, which airs during the Cartoon Network's late night programming block called "Adult Swim."

Menino and others said the campaign was especially reckless given Boston's sensitivity to terrorism threats, after planes that left Logan Airport on Sept. 11, 2001, were hijacked and flown into the World Trade Center.

Menino was also upset, he said, because top executives at Turner Broadcasting did not contact him directly to discuss what happened. The mayor said he did not receive a call from the company until about 9 p.m., and it was from a low-ranking press official.

"Give me a break. . . . It's all about corporate greed," Menino said, adding that he wanted make sure "not the guy we arrested today pays, but also the people in the boardroom have some obligation also on this issue."

But others were relishing the story, which rocketed around the Internet. Computer users e-mailed their friends links to video on YouTube that showed young people using telescopic poles to place the magnetic devices on recognizably Boston locations, as electronic music played in the background. Others went to eBay, where someone was already selling one of the magnetic devices, which was apparently removed from a South Boston location, with a minimum bid of $5,000. Read the whole Story HERE!

The Kid even had it all on Youtube!!

Dreamworks Drops Aardman

2007-01-31T12:19:00.000-05:00

Well, at long last, perhaps the end of quality "Stop Motion Animation" comes not with a thud or a boom, but with the unnoticed headline "Aardman, DWA end partnership. "Dreamworks Animation," the only part of the Katzenberg, Geffen and Spielberg company "Dreamworks SKG" to survive, thrive and realize the independent, artistically directed dream created by its three visionaries, has dropped all dealings with the finest and one of the last true stop motion factories, "Aardman Animations." Since the promise of the feature film "Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit" and the competition's "Tim Burton's Corpse Bride," was burst by less than lackluster ticket sales, the last best chances for the original, non computer driven artform was living on borrowed time, (at least in the main stream.) Aardman's follow up CG project "Flushed Away" also had less than stellar revenues, so it's of little surprise that we come to Today's announcement.

Little surprise, but also little faith on the side of "visionaries" like Geffen and Katzenburg, who now run DWA. Aardman is the "Pixar" of stop motion animation and deserves better. Variety has the story (here).

Aardman, DWA end partnership
Move comes after failures of 'Rabbit,' 'Flushed'
By BEN FRITZ

'Flushed Away' cost more than than $100 million to make, but grossed only $63.4 million.
After a critically lauded but commercially troubled six-year partnership with DreamWorks Animation, Aardman is back on its own. The British claymation giant, best known for its signature Wallace and Gromit characters and 2000 hit "Chicken Run," officially terminated its five-picture deal with DreamWorks on Tuesday.

Move was widely expected after the financial failures of "Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit" and "Flushed Away" (Daily Variety, Nov. 13). The former was a claymation pic made by Aardman and distributed by DWA, the latter a CGI collaboration between the two companies.

Aardman is back in development on several films inhouse. Having long established its claymation prowess, company's in the midst of building up CGI capabilities, meaning it could potentially produce pics in both formats.

How it will finance those movies, and how they will reach the market, is now an open question. A rep would say only that Aardman execs are looking at several different options.

Only project Aardman has in production is CBS claymation series "Creature Comforts." Eye net ordered seven episodes last year and hasn't yet skedded the show, though it was announced as a midseason replacement for 2006-07. It could still air in the spring or get pushed back to the summer or fall.

"Chicken Run" grossed a solid $106.8 million in 2000, but 2005's "Wallace & Gromit" made only $56.1 million Stateside, while last fall's "Flushed Away," which cost well over $100 million to make, grossed only $63.4 million. ("Gromit" did better overseas, but "Flushed" was a worldwide disappointment.)

Likelihood that the companies would sever relations became clear in recent months. There was the "Flushed" flop -- and DreamWorks announced its slate through 2009 without any pics from its British partner. All its upcoming movies are in the hip, sarcastic vein of toon studio's franchises "Madagascar" and "Shrek," sequels of which are in the works.

Companies had one pic in development, "Crood Awakening," which was announced at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival and penned by John Cleese. Rights to the project revert to DreamWorks, though it's unlikely to see the light of day.

Aardman was founded by Peter Lord and David Sproxton in 1976. They were later joined by Nick Park, who won Oscars for three of his animated shorts and the "Wallace & Gromit" feature.

Clive Owen is Phillip Marlowe

2007-01-23T11:06:00.000-05:00

From Variety.... HERE!
Universal Pictures and Strike Entertainment have found a new vehicle for Clive Owen: Raymond Chandler's hardboiled private eye Philip Marlowe.

Strike has made a deal with Phil Clymer at U.K.-based Chorion to get rights to a Chandler mystery series that includes "The Big Sleep" and "Farewell My Lovely." Strike's Marc Abraham and Eric Newman will produce the film, with Owen exec producing. The project is in a nascent stage -- they are courting writers and filmmakers -- and they haven't decided which title to adapt.

But they sparked to having Owen narrate the dramas in Chandler's testosterone-laced prose, something Owen did well in "Sin City." The plan is to keep the noir spirit of the Chandler books, and keep the mysteries set in the 1940s in Los Angeles, with Marlowe continuing to be the hard-drinking, wisecracking gumshoe.

This is great news, but many of the news stories covering this are calling it a Bogart role, just because Bogart played him once. Philip Marlowe is not a great Bogart role. Bogart plays Bogart in "The Big Sleep." He isn't really Philip Marlowe. There is no difference between Bogart's Marlowe or his Sam Spade. Dick Powell is Philip Marlow (in "Murder My Sweet" from the Raymond Chandler book "Farewell My Lovely.)" Powell embodies the coolness mixed with humility and great cynical smoothness that Raymond Chandler's pages created. But you probably are asking, what the heck I'm talking about.

Here's the good news in short form: Indiana Jones, Fletch, Han Solo, James Rockford (from "The Rockford Files"), Easy Rollins (From "Devil in a Blue Dress"), John McClane (from "Die Hard"), actually every cool, self doubting hero who takes a few lumps on the head on his way to the truth is based on Philip Marlowe. Philip Marlowe is the original cynical gumshoe with a voice over telling you his story, while he looks where he shouldn't and gets neck deep into trouble with the "wrong people."

Clive Owen is a great actor and if this is done right, Philip Marlowe will be his franchise. Well Done!!

Wiki do your thing....

Philip Marlowe is a fictional private detective created by Raymond Chandler in a series of detective novels including The Big Sleep and The Long Goodbye. Marlowe first appeared in The Big Sleep, published in 1939. Marlowe appeared in none of Chandler's early short stories, though many of his early stories were republished years later with the names of the protagonists changed toPhilip Marlowe; this change was presumably made with the approval of Chandler.

Philip Marlowe's character is foremost within the genre of hardboiled crime fiction that originated in the 1920s, most notably in Black Mask magazine, in which Dashiell Hammett's The Continental Op and Sam Spade first appeared. The private eye is a pessimistic and cynical observer of a corrupt society, yet the enduring appeal of Marlowe and other hardboiled detectives lies in their tarnished idealism.

Underneath the wisecracking, hard drinking, tough private eye, Marlowe is quietly contemplative and philosophical. He enjoys chess and poetry. While he is not afraid to risk physical harm, he does not dish out violence merely to settle scores. Morally upright, he is not bamboozled by the genre's usual femme fatales, like Carmen Sternwood in The Big Sleep. As Chandler wrote about his detective ideal in general, "I think he might seduce a duchess, and I am quite sure he would not spoil a virgin."

Chandler's treatment of the detective novel exhibits a continuing effort to develop the art form. His first full length book, The Big Sleep, was published when Chandler was 51; his last, Playback, when he was 70. All seven novels were produced in the last two decades of his life. All maintain the integrity of Philip Marlowe's character, but each novel has unique qualities of narrative tone, depth and focus that set it apart from the others.

The Drama, The Pain, The New Spider-man 3 Trailer

2006-11-10T00:49:00.000-05:00

UPDATED!! WITH KEEN SCREEN SHOTS!!

Long ago I called this movie as I saw it. It was all about the black suit and yes we found out long ago, (but less long ago) that it WAS all about the black suit. Until recently, everyone has been complaining about this thing having too many villains and being overwhelmed with characters. Don't worry, Sam Raimi has not forgotten the key to Spider-man. No matter how many villains or troubles swirling round in the chaotic tornado that is the life of this tragic superhero, it's always, always, always.... all about Peter and the choice.

And now that we have seen the new trailer that just came out (and is now provided to you everywhere including below) we see that good old Sam has not forgotten this rule. The reason Spider-man will never be defeated in the hearts of his ever growing fan base, is that he is a royal, guilt-ridden mess.

Stan Lee and the boys at Timely Comics (Marvel Comics' original name) spent years writing teen romance focused soap opera comics, before they fatefully decided to merge their characters with colorful costumes and bad social skills, first with the bickering Fantastic Four and the brooding Hulk and then in their most perfect concoction: The Amazing Spider-man, equaling one part dark mysterious hooded hero, one part teen angst ridden pubescent nerd, one part monster movie (I Was A Teenage Fly), and one part internalized Woody Allen monologue.

Spider-man is at heart about the purpose of the hero, not the antihero who has largely taken that role since Clint Eastwood stood in the hot sun and put on a knit rug, but the hero, who has an ethical standard and a selflessness, that sadly many people Today cannot equate to their own choices. Peter didn't do the right thing because he wanted to or because he got rewarded, he did it because it was the right thing to do. His actions held together a larger ethical system, that believed that heroism is not fun, it's damn hard and thankless, but regardless, it is the only thing that elevates us from opportunism and blind rationality.

Perhaps this all sounds rather silly, optimistic and juvenile, and perhaps it is, but as much as I like Wolverine, I don't think he has anything to teach children about ethics they couldn't learn from TV Wrestling or the latest horror movie. The anti-hero is applauded when he kicks ass, and survives to fight again.

Spider-man is about overcoming fear, anger and selfish desires. It's about the pain of sometimes doing what is correct as opposed to sitting on the couch with your friends getting drunk on gin and tonics. In this world where self is all important and kids seem to have no idea how to rip themselves away from the "symbiotic" media monster that sucks at their brain, it's nice to see some piece of popular culture that focuses on something a little more noble than most.

After watching the new trailer I can see that once again, regardless of the cast of characters, Spider-man 3 is about Peter, fighting himself, to do the right thing.

Nuff Said.

More Spider Stuff HERE

Stuff Daddy on Spider-man 3:

Venom, Sandman & Harry, They Don't Want You To See!

2006-11-07T04:31:00.000-05:00

Aintitcool News again....

They put up something.. and it was taken down....
by the request of Sony.
It was Here, But now it's here!!

What are they?

Early designs of the major three baddies from Spidey 3,
Venom, Sandman and the dreaded..
Harry...the green surfer!!
(click em all... go ahead!)

Well, he looks kind of silly,
but I have complete faith in Sam Raimi..
so nuff said!!

Also!
The new Spider-man 3 Trailer will be on Thursday night primetime
on CBS and MTV!
I'm not sure what time on CBS,
but MTV will make you watch
'Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Duel' at 10 pm.
Casino Royale will also have the trailer on the big screen on November 17
and of course, you can just watch it on the web Thursday night at iFilm.

Update!!
From Sony Pictures Entertainment:

Spider-Man fans will get a long-awaited sneak peek at Columbia Pictures' highly anticipated motion picture Spider-Man 3 when a new, full-length, two-and-a-half minute trailer debuts in a special unprecedented "road block" across Viacom Inc.'s brands and on the CBS Television Network on Thursday, November 9, at approximately 10:00 pm. Spider-Man 3, starring Tobey Maguire and directed by Sam Raimi, kicks off next summer's moviegoing season on May 4, 2007.

The television networks airing the new trailer include BET, CBS, Comedy Central, Logo, MTV, MTV2, Spike TV and VH1, with each supporting the event with custom promotions both on-air and online. A total of 14 online destinations from Viacom's networks are supporting the airing of the trailer, including AddictingGames.com, AddictingClips.com, BET.com, MTV.com, IFILM.com, Nick.com, ComedyCentral.com, GameTrailers.com, LOGOonline.com, Neopets.com, SpikeTV.com, The-N.com, VH1.com, and Xfire.com.

Immediately following the television premiere, a high-definition version of the trailer will be available exclusively on MTV Networks' IFILM.com.

In Spider-Man 3, based on the legendary Marvel Comics series, Peter Parker has finally managed to strike a balance between his devotion to M.J. and his duties as a superhero. But there is a storm brewing on the horizon. As Spider-Man basks in the public's adulation for his accomplishments, Peter becomes overconfident and starts to neglect the people who care about him most. His newfound self-assuredness is jeopardized when he faces the battle of his life against two of the most feared villains ever, Sandman and Venom, whose unparalleled power and thirst for retribution threaten Peter and everyone he loves.

Marilyn Manson's Nightmare Before Chirstmas?

2006-10-26T11:47:00.000-04:00

Actually, I find this quite fitting...

At the link below, you can hear Marilyn Manson singing "This Is Halloween." I think he finally found his way into mainstream pop. They say that every 30 years one generation's rebellious music becomes their children or grand children's nursery rhymes. What this means is that if you put "The Wiggles" into a time machine and set it back to 1950, Graceland would suddenly be Australia's biggest tourist attraction and "In The Ghetto" would be sung in four part harmony. Also "Jail House Rock" would probably have references to a Pirate, an Octopus and a Dog.

Over HERE you will find everything you need to know about the release (or re-release) of The Nightmare Before Christmas In 3D including the Manson cover!

Disney says:

Tim Burton's holiday classic, THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, makes a return to the big screen just in time to celebrate the film's 13th Anniversary this Halloween in stunning Disney Digital 3D(TM). The dazzling new make-over of the musical-fantasy was led by the film's original filmmaking team of Academy Award(R) nominated writer/producer Tim Burton ("Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "Corpse Bride") and director Henry Selick ("James and the Giant Peach") as well as the talented technical wizards at Industrial Light + Magic. Audiences will get closer than ever to Halloweentown's beloved Pumpkin King, Jack Skellington (voice of Chris Sarandon), as he attempts to take over the Christmas holiday. Against the advice of Sally (voice of Catherine O'Hara), a lonely rag doll who has feelings for him, Jack enlists three mischievous trick-or-treaters -- Lock, Shock, and Barrel -- to help him kidnap Santa Claus. Jack eventually realizes his mistake but has to contend with the evil Oogie Boogie before he can make things right and restore the Christmas holiday.

"The Nightmare Before Christmas 2-Disc Special Edition Soundtrack"

Disc One of the soundtrack includes the original score and ten songs by Grammy®- and Emmy®-winning, Oscar®-nominated composer-songwriter Danny Elfman.

Disc Two contains nine songs: five new versions of original soundtrack songs specially re-recorded by alternative rock superstars Marilyn Manson, Panic! At the Disco, Fall Out Boy, Fiona Apple and She Wants Revenge, plus four never-before-released demo tracks performed by Danny Elfman.

A pulsing, electric-guitar-driven "This Is Halloween" shows off the dark side of Halloween and the many voices of Marilyn Manson.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Fiona Apple's moody voice echoes Sally's longing and despair in "Sally's Song."

Fall Out Boy contributes a jubilant, propulsive version of "What's This?"

That contrasts with the electronic, post-punk aesthetic She Wants Revenge brings to "Kidnap the Sandy Claws."

Panic! At the Disco delivers their own unique, sweeping and lushly orchestrated twist on "This Is Halloween."

Rounding out the disc are four previously unreleased demo tracks -
"Making Christmas,"
"Oogie Boogie's Song,"
"Kidnap the Sandy Claws"
"This is Halloween" - from the singing voice of Jack Skellington himself, Danny Elfman.

Popeye VS Anime, a Study of Contrasts

2006-10-14T09:31:00.000-04:00

I spotted this on YouTube, and I have no idea if you've seen this or not, but you should.

Who doesn't love Popeye? That lovable muttering-under-his-breath sailor has had it hard lately with the whole "people talking about me spinach" thing, so it's great to see him out and about again, especially for his latest cause "Protecting Children From Anime."

You see, geeks are a fun but trusting group, who greet all manor of genre media with enthusiasm and open arms. Whether it's something of quality like the new "Battlestar Galactica" DVD or something toxicly "B -rated" like the 21st season of "Stargate SG1: Pretend We Are Farscape (Because we hired the whole damn cast)," the geek market opens it's wallet wide, supporting anything that even tries to mention space, aliens, superheros, time travel, monsters or cloned bikini clad women with blue hair (not that I'm complaining...Wait...I am complaining...Sorry I forgot).

Anyway, geek culture needs someone kicking their ass and making distinctions of quality. The past six years has been good to us comic book film geeks or as we call ourselves "Sequential Art to Film Aficionados" (yes....we really don't call ourselves that).

If we want more "Spider-man 2," "Ghost World," "X2," "V For Vendetta," "Justice League Unlimited," "Batman Animated," "Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex," "Samurai Champloo," "Lost," and "Battlestar Galactica," we need to point our disdain at "DareDevil," "Fantastic Four," "X3," "Pokemon," "Yu-Gi-Oh," "Stargate," "The 4400," "The Deadzone," "Inuyasha," and "Who Wants to Be a Superhero." (we all hate that last one right?)

Oh yeah, Popeye!
Popeye is performing an important role, by allowing us to visualize the stark contrasts between traditional western animation and its direct, non-referential "character gets hit in the head and says Ow!" style of story telling and the negative aspects of "Bad Anime," whose, repetitive, bureaucratic rule based hierarchal tournament plots churn out obsessive, gambling children who act like pint-sized heroin addicts in their never ending, lust quenching for the new monster, card or tournament. Check it Out!

I am not an Anime hater, by any means. But I will admit that pre "Cowboy BeBop" I had no use for anything other than "Akira," the work of Hayao Miyazaki and "Gatchaman/Battle Of The Planets," which as a child of the late seventies is my birthright! (Battle Of The Planets Rules!!)

Right off the top of my head I can tell you what I'm liking in the Anime world:

Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Cowboy BeBop
Samurai Champloo
Wolf's Rain
Paranoia Agent
FLCL
Fullmetal Alchemist

Each one of these shows is deeply character based, strongly written and unabashedly strange.
(yes I watch Adult Swim) Let me know, if you have any recommendations.

The Green Surfer..

2006-10-13T00:16:00.000-04:00

Not much to say.. except that if you thought that Tim Story was joking about bringing the Silver Surfer and Galactus into his sequel to the tepid "Fantastic Four," here's proof that he was serious.

Flickr has unearthed the first two pictures of a green screened Norrin Radd or in this case Doug Jones (he was the actor who played Abe Sapien in "Hellboy" although the voice was rerecorded by Frazier's brother Niles). HERE

I can't comment on the pictures since its obviously green screened (not "motion capture" like others have mentioned). Since that means they will probably layer computer generated effect on top of him, we will have to wait and see. I just hope that Tim Story understands why fans feel he did a lousy job and actually tries to make a better film.

As I stare at what should be Marvels' most inspiring and philosophical character, I fear him slipping away from us like Elecktra and Kingpin and Frank Castle. Maybe he will make a better film. I liked "Barber Shop" a lot. He did "Taxi" too... Bye Bye Norrin!

Why 300 is the Next Sin City!

2006-10-06T06:08:00.000-04:00

Solace In Cinema has a great comic to film comparison of "300" that should help people understand why "Sin City" will now have it's aire.

Shot in a green screened environment, Director Zack Snyder painstakingly recreates image after image of comic genius. Check it out HERE!!

Comics aesthetic influence on Movies!
The revolution has begun!!

Another Ghost Rider Trailer.. Still Looks Fun..?

2006-10-06T00:47:00.000-04:00

Over HERE is a new trailer for "Ghost Rider," the movie brought to you by Mark Steven Johnson, who made DareDevil fly like Peter Pan.

The thing is, while I still have no doubt that this movie will not be good, I still feel like I want to see it. Now that the effects look complete and they added that Spider-man "Curse is his Gift" line, I think the actual "Ghost Rider" looks pretty damn cool. His bike is cool, the transformation is cool (especially since we get to see that horrid wig Cage is wearing burn off) Sam Elliott is cool, Peter Fonda desperately wants to be cool again and Wes Bently, who I haven't seen since "American Beauty" demonstrates what happens to the actors that don't get picked to be Spider-man. Too bad, he is a good actor, for that matter, what happened to Thora Birch? Since her "Ghost World" co-star Ms. Scarlett Johansson became "THE" actress in Indywood she has faded into the wall, and that is not easy for a girl like Thora, nossir.

Damn, I think I just got infected by the "Entertainment Tonight" virus. I better go before I start talking about famous people who haven't been in good films. Even though I liked this trailer, I think we can be pretty safe that "Ghost Rider" isn't going to get Eva Mendes out of that group. Although, technically..... is she famous?

Holy Crap! Robert Downey, Jr. is Ironman!!!

2006-09-29T06:38:00.000-04:00

"It is true. Robert Downey Jr. is Tony Stark. I am about as excited as I can be. I saw what he can do and he is extremely enthusiastic about playing Stark. I can say with absolute certainty that there is no better choice. The humor and emotional dimension he brings truly raises the bar on this project. Get ready."

-Director Jon Favreau
from his myspace group HERE

This is not the way I would have gone,
as I said back in THIS post, I was thinking Billy Crudup.

None the less, Robert Downey, Jr. is one of the finest actors walking on this Earth
and nobody knows about addiction more than he does, so watch out for the "Demon in a Bottle" story arc that will probably be in Ironman 2: Leaving Las Vegas!!

Robert Downey, Jr. certainly doesn't scream,
macho Italian billionaire and he ain't that young anymore,
but the man was Chaplin!! Chaplin!!

This is a very Michael Keaten/Batman type of move and I wish Director Jon Favreau all the luck in the world.

AINTITCOOLNEWS has the exclusive story:

Brace yourselves for what happens when someone makes the right choice for once.

Tony Stark will be played by Robert Downey, Jr.

I can’t even express how much I love that choice. First of all, congratulations to Paramount and Marvel for having the nerve to pin their franchise on Downey. He’s had some rough years, but if I’ve ever seen anyone aggressively work to rehab their career, it’s Downey.

Even in his darkest days, he was doing good work, but lately he seems more in touch than ever with what makes him great as a performer. He’s excellent with comedy, and he can break an audience’s heart with ease. Rare combination. And when the franchise finally gets into some of Tony Stark’s darkest hours, when he faces down his own demons in the second film or the third, can you imagine how much soul Downey can bring to it? If handled right, that’s some of the most potent dramatic material in any Marvel movie, and now they’ve got the right actor to make it all work.

As an added Bonus, I dropped in some designs for Ironman that didn't get Favreau 's approval.

Okay Tony's in there somewhere, I can see it.

I knew it! The Game Is Better Than The Movie!!!

2006-09-28T15:35:00.000-04:00

As I stated back in THIS post, this game looks so damn good, that the movie may not be able to compete. I don't play video games.... except Spider-man 2, which is a transcendental experience. If you don't believe me, just play it... It is not a game, it's virtual webslinging like it just exploded out of the comics.

This Game looks like the next step up.
Grand Theft Superman!
Running at superspeed, approaching giant killer robots from above, throwing villians miles into the air!
All while you are moving through a to scale city of Metropolis.

Take a Look!!

Much more exciting than growing kryptonite real estate.

Spaceballs The Animated Series...um No.

2006-09-27T18:04:00.000-04:00

In the post Ren & Stimpy world of pseudo sarcastic talking milkshakes and meatwads do we really have need of the Shwartz?

I suppose Mr. Brooks is revamping past works as he has so successfully done with "The Producers." Why not a "Young Frankenstien Transalvainian Style Plastic Surgery" franchise or a "Blazing Saddles All You Can Eat Bean Buffet" chain?

Will Spaceballs work Today? Sadly, while Mel is truly a genius, a poorly done carton will only dilute his library of funny. I would rather leave "Spaceballs" in the 80's where it is timely and fun. The "Space Spoof" is now a tired standard heap of SNL and MADTV sketches along with the obligatory "Star Trek" Captain Kirk parody that every sarcastic cartoon has done since Ren & Stimpy perfected it in the 90's with "Space Madness" to the unfortunate and yet somehow charming rehash of "Duck Dodgers" that ran on Cartoon Network. On top of all that, "Futurama," the ultimate Sci-Fi cartoon parody show, is back from the dead, in all it's brilliance, with new episodes on the way. "Spaceballs" may have been a fresh idea in 1987, but it's been picked over and over in the past twenty years.

The truth is, I don't think "Spaceballs" holds a candle to "Young Frankenstien" or "Blazing Saddles." There is this running theory among my friends, that the first Mel Brooks movie you see is your favorite. For me it's true. Nothing is as funny as "Blazing Saddles," but then again, Mel wrote that with Richard Pryor. (They said you was hung!! ...And they was Right!! --You think Mel wrote that?)

Some one should send Mel some Futurama DVDs and let him know how high the bar has been set. I would, but I'll be busy watching the new and even better season of "The Venture Bros."

Brooks aiding animated 'Spaceballs' series
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 20 (UPI)

-- Legendary director Mel Brooks has begun working with three media companies to produce an animated U.S. TV series modeled after his film "Spaceballs."

The 80-year-old film director is working with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., Berliner Film Companie GmbH and the G4 television network, Brooksfilms Limited, to produce "Spaceballs -- The Animated Series" based on his 1987 "Star Wars" parody, said MGM.

"We are thrilled to be working with two legends of the entertainment industry, Mel Brooks and MGM, on this exciting new series." said Berliner exec Rainer Soehnlein. "The Brooks imagination combined with the creative possibilities of animation will definitely make for something brand new in TV comedy."

The series will reportedly follow the G4 network's goal of targeting the U.S. male 18-34 age demographic when its initial 13 half-hour episodes begin airing in fall 2007.

The film company said that like the comedic film, the new series will follow the adventures of its heroes Lone Star and Barf as they attempt to save Princess Vespa from the clutches of the evil Dark Helmet.

I agree with their reaction.

They would rather watch this.

X3, It's all in the Cut!

2006-09-26T00:25:00.000-04:00

Want to get pissed off?
Now that X3 is coming out on DVD, Fox has released extended and deleted scenes that didn't make the Ratner, pack the opening weekend with as many shows a day as you can, 1 hour and 40 minutes (way too short) theatrical version.

Guess what? Not one shot doesn't play better extended. In fact, each shot plays much better. Whether it's just the added growl of Beast's first meeting with Logan or the much more kickass Storm and Wolverine electrocuting Juggernaut at the Grey house fight, every scene seems to have more life, more punch and more "Not Suck!".

(yes I know Juggie wouldn't be stopped by lightening, shut up Geekboy!
I'm talking film drama, action and pacing!
Go watch StarGate!!)

So... I'm mad as hell!!
This crappy thing was cut so badly, that all the punch was taken out?
Was it?
Hey Fox!!
What else are you hiding on the editing room floor?
Maybe all the character development? Maybe the Angel doing....something??
A bad movie is bad enough, but if this thing could have been good...that is a damn shame.

Ok Ratner, you just made my "SlapYou Around With A Turkey Leg In An Alleyway" List!!

What do you guys think?

300 Reasons to Renew My Faith...

2006-09-21T22:59:00.000-04:00

UPDATED!!! WITH A BETTER TRAILER!!

Okay, I haven't been writing.... Yes, work has been busy. Yes, the summer fun is over and the comic book movies are hibernating.

Yes Michael Bay is making his Transformers movie and I guess, I have been focusing on other things, trying to ignore the sadness of Hollywood's dilution game and trying to be a "good sport" by playing "wait and see those darn robots in motion before I condemn." The truth is, with Spidey a year away, and every major genre film this year, barring "V for Vendetta," a let down of some sorts... I've been kind of tired of superheros and comic films.

Thank the Heavens for "The Venture Brothers," "It's Alway's Sunny in Philadelphia" and the barely better than anything else Marvel has done in animation series "Fantastic Four."

Oh and in case you didn't know, that show with the Bing guy from friends "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" or something like that? It's a great show, and it has just given Bing a new lease on a career.

Anyway, Frank Miller should make Alan Moore rethink the whole "making movies out of his projects" thing. Miller seems to be becoming a god in the moving picture, while Moore, who is miles above him in the comic book world (in my mind at least), has washed his hands of all movies made from his ideas. I think by attacking "V for Vendetta," based on his book of the same name, mostly because of his anger at producer Joel Silver's lies about him supporting the project, he has thrown that one worthwhile "baby" out with a swimming pool size amount of bath water. (the bath water would be, "From Hell," "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen," "Constantine," and "Swampthing")

The truth is simple. Frank Miller's work is being made into movies that seem to be reinterpret film by teaching film all the dramatic visual lessons of sequential art. Maybe that's because Miller is an artist as well as a writer. Maybe Robert Rodriguez changed his mind with "Sin City." "Sin City" changed the course of film, whether or not Hollywood knows it yet.

Alan, look at this trailer for "Frank Miller's 300." And tell me you don't think "hmmmmm, maybe 'Top Ten' or 'Promethia?"

"Watchmen?"

I know I just regained my faith the Comic Book Movies...

You will too..

CLICK HERE!!

"Based on the epic graphic novel by Frank Miller, 300 is a ferocious retelling of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae in which King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes and his massive Persian army. Facing insurmountable odds, their valor and sacrifice inspire all of Greece to unite against their Persian enemy, drawing a line in the sand for democracy. The film brings Millerís (Sin City) acclaimed graphic novel to life by combining live action with virtual backgrounds that capture his distinct vision of this ancient historic tale."

This I need to see on the big screen!!
(or at least a bigger version, can you say QUICKTIME!!)

Whoa.....Bond?......Wow....

2006-09-08T02:49:00.000-04:00

Not much to say about this, I don't think anyone knew what to expect from Daniel Craig as the new James Bond. I knew he was a very fine actor from "Layer Cake" and "Road to Perdition," but this trailer is really exciting...... REALLY.

I'm not saying it's a great film, who knows, I'm just saying that this trailer has put my butt in a theater seat first weekend (November 17th is opening day). It doesn't hurt that the new Spider-Man 3 trailer will debut before the film either. Daniel Craig stars in "Casino Royale," take a look Here.

What do you Think?

Donner Gets His Day!

2006-09-07T16:06:00.000-04:00

Over at DVDActive.com (here) they have the full details on the November re-release of the Superman collection. This collection will include the reconstructed "Richard Donner Cut" of "Superman II." Donner, who directed "Superman" and most of what became "Superman II" was fired and replaced by Richard Lester, who had a more camp view and in my opinion, ruined the sequel, with unexplained powers, confusing cuts and dreadful diologue. Below, is the rundown on a few of the new editions that will be coming your way. If you want to know about Supergirl, Superman III and some of the other sad excuses for franchise building, check it out at DVDActive.com (here) .

Released: 28th November 2006

Further Details: On November 28, in celebration of the year of Superman, Warner Home Video will release a host of DVDs, all starring the late Christopher Reeve in his landmark portrayal of the Man of Steel. Leading the way will be the long-awaited Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut ($24.98 SRP), directed by Donner and representing Superman II as it was originally conceived and intended to be filmed. An overwhelmingly requested title, the movie features Donner’s original footage, shot but never used before, including a never-before-seen beginning, a never-before-seen resolution, with 15 minutes of restored footage of Marlon Brando as Jor-El and much more. Other titles to be released include Superman: The Movie Four Disc Special Edition ($39.92 SRP) which features both the DVD debut of the 1978 theatrical version as well as the 2001 extended edition with commentary from director Richard Donner and Tom Mankiewicz, archival footage of additional scenes and screen tests. Richard Lester’s ever-popular Superman II will be available in a new Two-Disc Special Edition ($26.99 SRP) including a new featurette, vintage television specials and additional vault elements; and Superman III and IV Deluxe Editions ($19.97 SRP). Finally, The Christopher Reeve Superman Collection ($79.92 SRP) will be offered in an 8-disc boxed set including all the above (except Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut).

Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (1980/2006)
Superman II will delight fans who, for years, have been imploring Warner Home Video via voluminous numbers of petitions, letters, phone calls and e-mails to release the Donner cut. In fact, Donner had already shot most of the Superman II footage during Superman: The Movie. But as production on the sequel continued, creative differences between the director and the film’s producers became irreconcilable and Donner left the project. Although Richard Lester was hired to finish production, he chose to make major changes to the film, leaving only vestiges of Donner’s original vision and concepts in the version of Superman II that was ultimately released to theaters. Now, nearly thirty years later, Warner Home Video is honored to grant the wishes of countless Superman fans. With this DVD release, Richard Donner has become the first director in history to be able to complete a film he left during production with nearly all his footage “in the can.” Adding back a substantial amount of that unused footage, the director has seen his original vision restored and brought to fruition. Most notably, the “Donner cut” restores the Marlon Brando role, filmed for, but not included in the final theatrical release version of Superman II. The legendary Brando’s performance as Jor-El has finally been restored in key scenes that amplify Superman lore and deepen the profound relationship between father and son.With so many other changes, large and small, including a variety of Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) schemes to unmask Clark Kent as Superman, this Superman II will prove to be an eye-opening experience and an important addition to film history.

* All new introduction by director Richard Donner
* Commentary by director Richard Donner and creative consultant Tom Mankiewicz
* New featurette Superman II: Restoring the Vision
* Additional scenes
* Subtitles: English, Français & Español (feature film only)

Superman: The Movie (1978/2001) Four-Disc Special Edition
A box-office smash, an Academy Award winner and a fan favorite since it first flew into theatres in December 1978, Superman: The Movie assembles a cast and creative contingent as only a big movie can. At its heart (just as in three sequels) is Christopher Reeve’s intelligent, affectionate portrayal of a most human Man of Steel. Watching Superman again isn’t just like being a kid again. It’s better. The movie’s legacy soared even higher when director Richard Donner revisited this beloved adventure 22 years later and integrated eight minutes into the film. Enjoy more footage of the Krypton Council, a glimpse of stars of prior Superman incarnations, more of Jor-El underscoring his son’s purpose on Earth and an extended sequence inside Lex Luthor’s gauntlet of doom. Reeve, Marlon Brando (Jor-El), Gene Hackman (Luthor) and Margot Kidder (Lois Lane) give indelible performances that fuel the film’s aura of legend.

Disc One

* Original 1978 theatrical version with soundtrack in Dolby Digital 5.1
* Commentary by producer Pierre Spengler and executive producer Ilya Salkind
* Theatrical trailers
* TV spot
* Languages: English & Français
* Subtitles: English, Français & Español (feature film only)

Disc Two

* 2000 expanded edition movie with commentary by director Richard Donner and creative consultant Tom Mankiewicz
* Music-only audio track
* Subtitles: English, Français, Español & Português (feature film only)

Disc Three

* Three documentaries: Taking Flight: The Development of Superman, Making Superman: Filming the Legend, The Magic Behind the Cape
* Restored scenes
* Screen tests
* Audio-only bonus: additional music cues

Disc Four

* Vintage TV special The Making of Superman: The Movie
* 1951 Movie Superman and the Mole-Men, starring George Reeves
* Nine Fleischer Studios Superman cartoons mastered from superior vault elements: Oscar nominee Superman, The Mechanical Monsters, Billion Dollar Limited, The Arctic Giant, The Bulleteers, The Magnetic Telescope, Electric Earthquake, Volcano, Terror on the Midway

Some of the 3rd and 4th discs seem a waste of time, I have all those Fleischer Studio Superman cartoons. To me that seems like filler. I do love "Superman" and I am really excited to see the Donner version of "Superman II." If I feel anything from watching "Superman Returns," it's that I miss the Christopher Reeve movies all the more.

Smallville Ollie....a Teen Green Arrow?

2006-09-06T19:01:00.000-04:00

Hey, I like Smallville. It is a guilty favorite. About a third of the episodes are really fantastic and the rest are filled with vampire sorority sisters, magical possessions by evil spirits, witches and even banished Kryptonians (actually, that was one of the good ones).

The Batman guest appearance from season three, had to be re-written because of Batman Begins, but the writers (Millar & Gough) have brought in a version of the flash and recently a beach boy version of Aquaman.

While Green Lantern would be a natural choice, DC/Warner may not be letting them touch Hal, John, Guy or Alan because of the icky Jack Black movie that may be secretly still in the works. HERE!

So who do you call? Old Ollie!! Oliver Queen aka The Green Arrow!! Okay! I love Green Arrow, but this looks like a huge step backward for the Superhero genre. Gander your eyes at this!!!!!

A great example of being lost in translation "Green Arrow" is not a very translatable character. He's basically an archer who wears.... uh.............. green. Sure, you can make him a badass, but this looks more like an episode of "Who Wants to Embarrass a Superhero."

Check out the full story Here an Here!

TV Guide's July 24 edition, has a BIG scoop -- that the DC Comics character of Oliver Queen, better known to fans as Green Arrow, will be making an appearance in Smallville for a story arc that will go for "at least seven episodes."

"He will start to form the nascent Justice League," Smallville executive producer Alfred Gough tells TV Guide in this week's issue. "He's trying to find like-minded people with special powers and put a more formal structure in place."

The article goes on to say that Clark will initially be wary of Green Arrow, much like he was when future characters such as the Flash or Aquaman showed up in previous seasons. "Ultimately Clark will see the value of what he is trying to do," Gough says. "But as he's gotten older, Clark has become more cautious. He will always be there to help out, but he doesn't want to be part of a formalized organization."

Justin Hartley, who played the role of AC/Aquaman in Millar & Gough's Aquaman pilot will be playing the role of Ollie.

TV Guide also reveals that Lois Lane will take a romantic interest in the emerald archer. The article reveals that the Green Arrow costume is a challenge for Justin Hartley's agility. "The boots have four-inch lifts, so they're hard to walk in, let alone run in," he tells TV Guide. "It's a tough thing to pull off, but hopefully the camera angles will be done right, and you won't see me tripping all over the place."

Okay, I guess this will be one of the two thirds of the shows that suck. Too bad. Ollie wasn't just another teen in a badly designed costume, he was Comix's first raging, angry, liberal, who kicked ass and took the names of the corporate criminals.

Damn... I'm sure Warner Bros. doesn't want to do a movie about an activist superhero, which is why, he is appearing in all of his teen glory on the small screen.

Let's wiki us up some Ollie!! Here!

Green Arrow (Oliver Queen) is a DC Comics superhero. Created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, he first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 (1941).

Dressed like Robin Hood, Green Arrow is an archer, who invents arrows with various special functions, such as a glue arrow, a net arrow, a boxing glove arrow, etc.

Throughout his first twenty-five years, Green Arrow was not a significant hero. But in the late 1960s, after he lost his fortune, writers gave him the unique role of streetwise crusader for the working class and the underprivileged. In 1970, he was paired with the more law-and-order-oriented hero Green Lantern in a groundbreaking, socially conscious comic book series. Since then, he has been popular among comic book fans and most writers have taken an urban, gritty approach to the character.

The Green Arrow character was inspired by a few different sources, including Edgar Wallace's The Green Archer (and the 1940 Columbia Pictures serial of the same name based on the novel), and Fawcett Publications' earlier archery-themed hero Golden Arrow. The Arrowcar was yellow in color and shaped reminiscent of the land-speed record holder of the 1920s, the British Golden Arrow. The name "Oliver Queen" likely alluded to Ellery Queen, a popular fictional detective (and mystery writer) of the time.

Green Arrow was also created as an archery-themed version of the earlier character Batman, as several similarities between the two characters can be spotted, especially in Green Arrow's earlier incarnation: Green Arrow had a teenaged sidekick named Speedy just as Batman has Robin; Green Arrow and Batman were/are both millionaire playboys in their secret identities; Green Arrow had an Arrowcar and an Arrowplane similar to Batman's Batmobile and Batplane; Green Arrow had the arrowcave while Batman had the batcave; Green Arrow was summoned by the Arrow-signal, just as Batman is summoned to police headquarters by the Bat-signal; in the Golden Age stories, Green Arrow had a clown-like archfoe named Bull's-Eye who was a thinly-disguised version of Batman's archfoe, the Joker. Some of these similarities have been explained in-continuity as inspired by a meeting between Green Arrow and Batman in their early careers, as Green Arrow looked toward Batman as an inspiration.

Neal Adams and Dennis O'Neil

In 1969 artist Neal Adams decided to update the character's visual appearance by giving him a goatee beard and costume of his own design. Inspired by Adams' redesign, writer Dennis O'Neil followed up on Green Arrow's new appearance by completely remaking the character's attitude in the pages of Justice League of America #79 (cover-dated November 1969), giving his personality a rougher edge like that of Marvel Comics' archery-themed hero Hawkeye. This revision was explained by having Oliver Queen lose his fortune and become an outspoken and strident advocate of the underprivileged in society and the political left wing. For instance, he once saved a child's dog playing in a railyard, but instead of feeling satisfaction, he brooded on the larger problem of how the poor child apparently had nowhere else in the city to play safely.

In short, he became a kind of superheroic hybrid between Robin Hood and Abbie Hoffman. In addition, the Green Arrow began a long running romantic relationship with Black Canary II (Dinah Lance). As a member of the Justice League, he became an argumentative figure who often acted as the team's political conscience.

In the early 1970s, he became a co-feature with Green Lantern in the latter's series in an acclaimed, but shortlived series of stories by O'Neil and Adams that dealt with various social and political issues in which Green Arrow spoke for the liberal argument (thus a voice for O'Neil himself) while Green Lantern was an establishment figure, half-heartedly serving the conservative viewpoint. Oliver Queen convinced Hal Jordan to see beyond his strict obedience to the Green Lantern Corps, to help those who were neglected or discriminated against. The duo embarked on a quest to find America, witnessing the corruption, racism, pollution, and overpopulation confronting the nation. Denny O'Neil even took on current events, such as the Manson Family cult murders, in issues #78-79 ("A Kind of Loving") where Black Canary falls briefly under the spell of a false prophet who advocates violence.

Later in the series, Oliver Queen would land a job as a newspaper columnist, which allowed him to articulate his political beliefs in a more public field. It was during this period that the most famous Green Arrow story of all time appeared, in Green Lantern #85-86, when it was revealed that Speedy was addicted to heroin. In his zeal to save America, Oliver Queen had failed in his personal responsibility to Roy Harper - who would overcome his addiction with the help of Black Canary. This story prompted a congratulatory letter from the mayor of New York, John V. Lindsay. Unfortunately, the series did not match commercial expectations because of its mature topics and it was cancelled with issue #89 (April-May 1972).

Mike Grell to Chuck Dixon

In 1987, the character was changed once more in Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters, written and illustrated by Mike Grell, who had previous experience dating back to Green Arrow features in "The Flash." In this three-issue prestige format limited series, Green Arrow abandons gadget arrows and fights crime in Seattle, Washington, where he now lives with Black Canary (Dinah Laurel Lance). The series took on a more gritty, violent, and urban tone, befitting the series' mature audience label. While fighting drug runners, Oliver Queen encounters the enigmatic Japanese archer, Shado, whose family suffered in a World War II internment camp. While uncovering the connection between the drug operations and Shado's quest for vengeance, Green Arrow also kills a murderer to save Black Canary. This was the first time that he had deliberately killed someone. He could have disarmed the man, but in his rage over the torture (and implied rape) of Black Canary, he chose to kill him instead. This was the first of many that he would kill during Mike Grell's run. Shado and Green Arrow join forces against the criminals, later becoming occasional allies and, on one occasion when Oliver was injured and delirious, lovers.

Grell tried to redefine Oliver Queen as a realistic and flawed character, purging the series of any superhero characteristics. The Green Arrow series dealt largely with serial killers, terrorists, and street gangs, with Oliver Queen sometimes working with Seattle Police Lieutenant Anderson, who sometimes resents Green Arrow's penchant for vigilante justice. During one story-line, Green Arrow wounds a teenager with a paintball gun, thinking him a criminal. This near-tragedy forces a crisis intervention from Hal Jordan, who rallies his depressed friend. Another notable episode involves Oliver Queen's framing for a terrorist bombing, which destroys his heroic reputation until he is given a presidential apology. During his disgrace, Queen traveled across Great Britain, Europe, and much of Africa before returning to Seattle.

Want more Ollie?? Here!

MSJ Answers His...I mean, Your Questions

2006-09-01T17:21:00.000-04:00

Over HERE at the Sony Ghost Rider Blog, good old Director of DareDevil, Mark Steven "L'll Man Tate" Johnson is answering those hard biting questions we all want to know about his new movie.

Hard hitting questions like:

What's the film making experience like when shooting a flick about a character that's loved by so many fans?

(Is there really an answer to this question? "It's like the film making experience when you're shooting a flick about a character that no one loves, except harder!")

Yeesh! You guys better calm down with the aggressive fan tactics. Be patient. Let Mark tell you the answers to the burning questions like:

OK, first I wanna say I love Nicholas Cage. He's definitely in my top 5 favorite actors and it's great to see him as a superhero, but I have to ask - Why did you chose Nic?

(Because Nick's hopes fell through with Superman, Spider-man (Green Goblin), and pretty much every other superhero film out there.. Nick named himself after Luke Cage, Power Man. Nick likes comics. Its part of his Myth. Ghost Rider was the last movie he could get into unless he wanted to fight Sailor Moon or chase Garfield!)

How about this tough guy:

JW: If this film does well will we see a sequel?

(Yes. No. It all depends on if you get your wallet inspected in time. Run outside now and find the nearest wallet inspector, quick! And don't forget to stand in the middle of the road when you're out there! That's where the treasure is!)

Oh My, those were tough ones huh?

Luckily, your Stuff Daddy had some questions he sent in to slow pitch Mark Steven Johnson's troubled mind:

I was wondering if your questions were written by
a) your PR department
b)imaginary people that live in your head
c)both

Just wondering,
it's hard to tell which.
I'm surprised no one asked you
how much nose you like in your butt.
Here's some real questions, coming from a real Ghost Rider fan:

1) "Do you feel concerned about the possibility that religious groups might be alarmed by what they will see as a sympathetic Satanic superhero?"

2) "Do you feel that the action in this movie will be more successful that the 'Peter Pan Fu' that you used in DareDevil?
(by the way, why the hell could Elektra and Bullseye fly when they jumped?)"

3) "Did you watch 'Sin City?'
Did you learn anything from it?
Is it applied in 'Ghost Rider?'"

4) "You seem to be taking on all of Marvel's 'Gritty,' 'Street' characters.
Have you ever watched a Martin Scorsese film?
Have you ever seen a gritty fist fight?
Have you every been in an alleyway?"

Thanks!
That was fun,
and good luck.....Good Luck.

Director and Imaginary Bike Rider Mark Steven "L'll Man Tate" Johnson