Some of these links may contain mature material, and MRFH is not responsible for their content.
Quantum of Solace (Thanks to Al)
Hellboy II: The Golden Army trailer 3
Hotel for Dogs
Kabluey
Traitor
20th Century Boys (Japanese) [click the continuously playing thumbnail for the large version]
Mirrors
REPO! The Genetic Opera trailer 2
Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog teaser (webshow)
Monday, June 30, 2008
Trailers
Videos
Some of these links may contain mature material, and MRFH is not responsible for their content.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army animated comic
Hellboy II: The Golden Army featurette
Hellboy II: The Golden Army 7 clips
The Dark Knight behind the scenes
Batman: Gotham Knight 1 clip
X-Files: I Want to Believe 2 clips
Sky Crawlers promotional video (Japanese)
Sunday, June 29, 2008
G-Fest XV
July 4-6, in Chicago, Illinois, at the Crowne Plaza O’Hare, G-Fest XV:
“G-FEST is the largest regular gathering of Godzilla and Japanese monster fans in the world. Held each summer, G-FEST typically attracts about 1000 attendees. In 2005, more than 1300 attended.
"G-FEST is a family-oriented convention which caters to a wide variety of interests within the kaiju genre. G-FEST features presentations and Q & A sessions by actors and crew from the Japanese Godzilla films, fan presentations on topics of interest, contests and gaming, new and classic kaiju movies, the western world’s largest kaiju-oriented dealers room, and lots of fun and camaraderie.”
Guests include:
Haruo Nakajima
Don Frye
Robert Scott Field
August Ragone
Jörg Buttgereit
Don Glut
Films:
Godzilla vs. Biollante
Godzilla X Mechagodzilla
“A Kaiju Filmfest double, double-bill will be featured at the Pickwick Theatre on Thursday, July 3rd to accommodate early arrivers. A full line-up of classic kaiju eiga – Matango (Attack of the Mushroom People) and Destroy All Monsters in the afternoon, along with Godzilla vs. Gigan and Yamato Takeru (Orochi The Eight-Headed Dragon) in the evening, after a break for dinner.”
More info here.
Movie News
Darren Lynn Bousman’s Repo: The Genetic Opera will have its world premiere at Fantasia Film Festival on July 18.
Lindsay Macgowan about Stan Winston Studios’ future: “So the studio is going to continue. We are not stopping, because as we said in an announcement that went out yesterday, that before Stan passed away, we had been talking for quite a long time, a number of years actually, about becoming partners with him. Now of course, the plan has slightly changed, but we are continuing the studio with his blessing. It’s now going to be called The Winston Effects Group that will be a partnership between Shane [Mahan], John Rosengrant, Alan Scott, and myself. “
Relativity Media is developing and Tarsem Singh will direct War of Gods. Written by Charley and Vlas Parlapanides, it “is set in war-torn ancient Greece, as the young warrior prince Theseus leads his men in a battle against evil that will see the gods fighting with soldiers against demons and titans.” 300-esque green screen will probably be used.
Michael Brandt and Derek Haas have a script for Sony and Neal Moritz’s All Creatures Great and Small. It’s set in North America in a world where animals control the planet and people live in forts.
Anita Briem, Wes Bentley, and Katharine McPhee will be in the Robert A. Masciantonio written and directed The Storyteller. Says Briem: "Wes is the writer to my illustrator, and we create children's books together. My character suffers from an extreme case of agoraphobia, so the friends and family of Wes Bentley's character start to believe that I am a figment of his imagination." Shooting starts later this summer, with a possible 2009 release.
Prequels, Sequels & Remakes
Robert Rodriguez will be producing a remake of Red Sonja, with Rose McGowan starring of course, for a 2010 release. "I was surprised when Rose brought me a script of Red Sonja that she liked. I found it very entertaining. Sonja was strong, smart, cunning — just about everything she'd have to be to survive." (Submitted by Sitting Duck)
Louis Leterrier will direct a remake of 1981’s Harryhausen special effects showcase Clash of the Titans for Warner Brothers. Lawrence Kasdan has written the script based on the Greek myth of Perseus, and it’s expected to use the same green screen technique as 300.
Guillermo del Toro on The Hobbit and the unnamed Middle Earth movie: "I'm trying to be faithful, like, when I was trying to create a screenplay about Tarzan and people asked me, 'Is it going to be horror?' I said, 'No, no, no.' The thing is, I'm trying to re-create on the screen the feeling I had when I was 11 in my bed reading the book. How excited I got. How great I thought it was. That's what I'm trying to honor. I'm not trying to honor either my style or what I'm gravitating normally towards. I know that for a fact I gravitated towards the novel. So there's something there that echoes with me very strongly, which is not the case with most fantasy, in my case. We've [del Toro and Weta Workshop] had chats where we sketch out what we think of the two movies, but there's no writing. There is note-taking, there is breaking down the novel, there is a lot of work already being done on our parts, but real preproduction will not start until late July." He also says that he will be focusing on them only, and won’t be working on any of his other projects from now until December.
The official synopsis for X-Files: I Want to Believe:
“In grand 'X-Files' manner, the film's storyline is being kept under wraps. This much can be revealed: It is a stand-alone story in the tradition of some of the show's most acclaimed and beloved episodes, and takes the complicated relationship between Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Anderson) in unexpected directions. Mulder continues his unshakable quest for the truth, and Scully, the passionate, ferociously intelligent physician, remains inextricably tied to Mulder's pursuits.” That’s, quite possibly, the least informative thing ever.
Korea’s Chungeorahm and China’s Stone Man Films will co-produce a Chinese sequel to the Korean monster movie The Host. Written and directed by Ning Hao, lightening the political tones of the first to avoid criticizing the Chinese government, it’ll focus on people ignoring a monster because of greed.
Producer Laura Ziskin says that Spider-Man 4 is tentatively scheduled for May 2011. There is no finished screenplay, and Tobey Maguire and Sam Raimi aren’t yet committed, but Sony has renewed the rights and they and Ziskin think it can be ready in three years.
Director Matt Reeves says that any Cloverfield sequel will have to wait until the creators can find a story they’re happy with. "The thing that we sort of promised ourselves is we only wanted to do another one if we could come up with something that felt as fresh to us to make as that one did. We're still kind of toying with what it's going to be and whether or not we're going to find something that will be as exciting for us to make and, hopefully, for an audience to watch. So we'll see. It's really in the baby, baby stages. And right now it's definitely on hold until we come up with what that would be."
Adaptions
John Favreau says the current lineup for The Avengers that Marvel is shooting for (by summer 2011 no less) is “Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Ant-Man and Iron Man.” Kevin Feige confirmed, saying he’s working toward when "heroes can cross into each other's adventures and occasionally team up if there's a foe too great for any one of them to handle." Feiger and Zak Penn are already working on it.
The new title for G.I. Joe? G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra.
Zack Snyder on editing Watchmen down from 3 hours: "The balancing act for me is, you want the movie as tight as possible for, I don't know why, I guess so people can enjoy it. But for me, the hardest part is just, when is it not Watchmen anymore? I don't think that's a danger, but it's a thing that I am trying to be the gatekeeper of while other forces conspire to say, 'No. Length, length, length. Playability.' Whatever the hell that means. I've lost perspective on [what scenes should be cut] now, because to me, the honest truth is I geek out on little stuff now as much as anybody. Like, people will go, 'We've got to cut. You don't need that shot of Hollis Mason's garage sign.' And I'm like, 'What are you talking about? Of course you do. Are you crazy? How will people enjoy the movie without s--t like that in it?' So it's hard for me. I think it's probably good, because I think we're going to end up with that stuff in the movie."
Hisae Iwaoka's science fiction manga Dosei Mansion (Saturn Apartments) will be made into a live action film. “Set in a future era when all of Earth is declared a giant nature reserve, and humans are prohibited from stepping foot on ground. So, humanity has migrated into a massive aerial ring system — a series of mid-air structures circling about 35,000 meters above the ground. Human society is now literally stratified, with the upper echelons of society living on the highest level of the system while the lowest classes live down below. A boy named Mitsu has only known life on the lowest level of this ring system. He loses his father just as he graduates from middle school, and thus inherits his father's job: washing the windows of the ring system.”
Writer/director Andrew Stanton says that the decision of whether John Carter of Mars will be live action won’t be answered “for about a year.” He also confirmed that he’s writing it.
Rogue Pictures has bought Ehren Kruger’s adaptation of Jennifer Egan’s supernatural novel The Keep. The book, a follow up to Look at Me, is a thriller about prisoner who seduces a woman with a story about a supernatural secret that can change her life.
DreamWorks has the rights to Scolastic’s The 39 Clues. Launching September 9, The 39 Clues will be a ten book series, with collectible cards and an online game/contest with a grand prize of $10,000, that will run over two years. Through 39 clues readers will have to solve the mystery behind the powers of the Cahills, the most powerful family in the world that includes Napolean and Houdini among its members. Steven Spielberg is circling it to direct.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
"Disgustingly cruel, or vice versa"
Tim Curry narrates Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events – 12 books in 120 seconds:
(Spoiler warning, yo)
Whispering stamps from the speculative wall
The 2008 Saturn Awards winners.
You can go over to Yahoo! and listen to the ladies of The Spirit whisper sweet nothings by hovering your mouse over the posters.
July 2, 2008 will be the world premiere of David Cronenberg and Howard Shore’s The Fly: The Opera. Debuting at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France on the 2, and dates following the 5,8,11,and 13. US dates start September 7, 2008 at Los Angeles’ Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.
The Weinstein Co. are developing a musical version Finding Neverland, likely for 2010, to be followed by a stage version of Pink Floyd’s The Wall. The score for Neverland will be by composer Scott Frankel and lyricist Michael Korie. Floyd’s Roger Waters in on board for The Wall, as well as writer Lee Hall to adapt.
Winners of the Watchmen “Veidt Enterprises Advertising Contest.”
The Japan Post Service will add Mobile Police Patlabor to its Anime Hero/Heroine Series stamps August 22.
A look at the new LEGO Death Star.
Robot USB Drive. It’s... adorable.
Doctor Who speculative fan fiction, The Ten Doctors.
DVD releases
Hell’s Ground – June 24
Kiss of the Spider Woman – July 22
Supernatural: The Complete Third Season – September 2 (Submitted by Sitting Duck)
Blood Car – October 9
Icons of Horror: Hammer Films (The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb / The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll / Scream of Fear / The Gorgon) – October 14
Comics and books
Junko Mizuno at Marvel?
You can try to win an advanced reader copy of Neil Gaiman’s the Gravyard Book. Submission deadline is July 1.
Tobias Buckell will write the sixth novel set in the Halo universe - Halo: The Cole Protocol. It "reveals the location of the Spartan Gray Team and takes readers into an unexplored conflict of the Human-Covenant War where unlikely alliances are formed and shattered." Tor is scheduled to publish the book this autumn.
Michael Kaminski's Secret History of Star Wars is available as a free e-book.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
TV News
Nicole Yorkin and Dawn Prestwich will be executive producers and show runners on the pilot for ABC’s Captain Cook’s Extraordinary Atlas.
Lloyd Owen, Tricia Helferin, and Morgan Turner have been cast in Fox’s one hour pilot for Jekyll and Hyde story Inseparable. It is under consideration for midseason.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau will star in Fox's two hour science fiction pilot Virtuality.
Kevin Falls will write and exec produce Fox’s pilot based on Argentinean telenovela hit Lalola. It’s about a womanizer who is transformed into a woman, and will take place in a sports management firm and the world of entertainment and fashion.
CW’s Supernatural has been picked up for a fourth season. However, Katie Cassidy will not be coming back. Says creator Eric Kripke, "She's great, but this was unfortunately a financial decision--purely budgetary, because creatively she was terrific." He’s signed a two year exclusive with Warner Brothers TV, under which he will continue on Supernatural and develop other projects, the murmurs are possibly even a prequel to the show. "We have a plan that's as exciting as any we've ever had of how to thread new characters in some unexpected ways."
Sam Witwer and Cassidy Freeman will join CW’s Smallville as villains.
Ever Carradine will play Sheriff Carter’s free spirited sister Lexi as a re-occurring guest star on SciFi Channels Eureka.
Dean Devlin will produce TNT’s science fiction crime thriller Blank Slate. Lisa Brenner plays an amnesiac who becomes part of a government program that uses memory implants to solve murders. Eric Stoltz and Clancy Brown are also cast. The “microseries” will be 80 minutes edited into 20 short episodes. They’ll air in prime time, starting September 8, and will also be available on TNT.tv as a series of webisodes.
David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have turned in the second draft script for the HBO pilot of A Game of Thrones. The project is officially still a script in development, instead of a series in production. If HBO green lights it, the BBC has reached an agreement to partner on the series.
Bob Baker is working on K9 “about a highly refined robot in the guise and personality of a dog.” Production starts next month.
Chihiro Tamaki's manga Walkin' Butterfly will be turned into a live action show and premiere in Japan in July. Model Aoi Nakabeppu will star, playing aspiring model Michiko.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Trailers
Some of these links may contain mature material, and MRFH is not responsible for their content.
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
X-Files: I Want to Believe
Burn After Reading international teaser
Transsiberian
Gemini Division teaser (web series)
Videos
Some of these links may contain mature material, and MRFH is not responsible for their content.
The Dark Knight - Two Face clip
Wall-E – 6 clips, 1 featurette
Presto – 1 clip
Wanted - 7 clips
Bangkok Dangerous - 1 clip
Posters
Hellboy II: The Golden Army international banner
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor international banner
The Spirit
The Spirit
Bolt
The Rocker
Transsiberian
Mirrors
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Prequels, Sequels & Remakes and News
Regal Entertainment Group announced that tickets are already on sale for The Dark Knight The IMAX Eperience.
Director Paul W.S. Anderson says that David Carradine has a cameo in the Death Race remake.
James McAvoy says that him being cast to play Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit is just a rumor.
Freddie Highmore says he’s completed voice work on two sequels to Arthur and the Minimoys (US title Arthur and the Invisibles), Arthur and the Vengeance of the Maltazard (to be released 2009) and Arthur and the Two Worlds (2010). "We just finished the ADR session the other day. Half of this is live action, while half of it is 3-D animation. It's going to take a while before it is released." Other cast includes David Bowie, Madonna, Snoop Dogg, Jewel, Robert De Niro, and Harvey Keitel.
Universal is developing David Auburn’s pitch The Archive. James Mangold will direct the time travel thriller.
Adaptations
Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, Steven Spielberg, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci will produce, and Ervin Rustemagic and Rich Marincic will co-produce, an adaptation of Fred Van Lente and Andrew Foley’s graphic novel Cowboys and Aliens. When a alien spaceship crashes in the middle of a fight between Apaches and settlers the two sides must join together. Robert Downey Jr. is in negotiations to play gunslinger Zeke Dawson.
Universal has the rights to Oni Press and Vasilis Lolos’ graphic novel series The Last Call. Evan Spiliotopoulos will adapt the story of two teens who get hit by a train that is actually an interdimensional soul carrier while they’re out joyriding.
Nicolas Cage and Donald Sutherland will join Freddie Highmore, Nathan Lane, Bill Nighy, and Eugene Levy in the voice cast the CGI movie for Astro Boy. Also, Summit Entertainment and Imagi Studios have a deal where Summit will distribute the movie worldwide except for Japan, Hong Kong, and China, which are Imagi’s reserved territories. The movie is set for a 2009 release.
Lawrence Kasdan will write the Robotech script (there’s no mention on Crag Zahler who was originally set to write), and Akiva Goldsman, Charles Rovan, Tobey Maguire, and Drew Crevello are producing. If you don’t know, Robotech is Harmony Gold’s ‘80s re-edited mashup of three separate science fiction anime series (Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross, and Genesis Climber Mospeada) to become one sprawling epic. An alien spaceship crashes on an island in the South Pacific in the distant year 1999 [oh those crazy days of the ‘80s] which is then repaired and reverse engineered to make transforming fighter jets. And then the aliens come looking for it. There is no word on how Warner Brothers will deal with the copyright issues between Tatsunoko Production and Macross’ creators.
Len Wiseman is officially attached to direct a movie version of 2006 humans vs. aliens video game Gears of War for New Line. He and Chris Morgan will develop a script based on a previous script by Stuart Beattie.
Freddie Highmore says he’s no longer attached to the Eddie Dickens and the Awful End movie, and he's not even sure if it’s still going ahead.
Spike Lee will direct and co-write Time Traveler, based off Ronald Mallett’s memoir Time Traveler: A Scientist's Personal Mission to Make Time Travel a Reality. It’s about Mallett’s rise from poverty to become one of the US’s first African American theoretical physicists, and his specs for a workable time machine that he wanted to use to go back and save late father.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
“…And moreover I will go with thee to thy uncle's.”
See, this is why I love you readers! All two of you!
Says submitter Sitting Duck: “Makes you think of other ways the Shakespeare episode of Doctor Who could have gone.”
The ABCs of Godzilla Kissing Barbie
What you can expect at Comic Con 2008. If you’re procrastinating, tickets are selling out.
Geek charity: Can’t Stop the Serenity
Watch Free Movies On FoxSearchlight.com
Kissing girlfriend robots. Riiight.
Star Trek Pez line and Barbie.
Always 2 Godzilla dream sequence.
Blik wall decals. “What do you mean? Donkey Kong is just what the dining room is missing!”
Suckadelic Graff-At at Christie’s.
Star Wars ABCs
Comics and books
Jack Kirby’s original The Eternals have been collected into two trade paperbacks.
1881 New Zealand science fiction novel The Great Romance was republished last month.
Newtype USA replacement magazine PiQ has confirmed that the July issue is the last, due to "a combination of low advertising revenue, poor business management, and a lack of proper marketing and promotion."
DVD releases
The Art of War II: Betrayal – August 12
The Scorpion King 2 : Rise of a Warrior – August 19
Dororo – September 23
Midnight Eagle – September 23
Blu-ray versions of Dr. No, Die Another Day, Live and Let Die, For Your Eyes Only, From Russia with Love, and Thunderball will be released in November alongside Quantum of Solace’s November 22 release.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
TV News
Sci Fi Channel says that Battlestar Galatica’s finale “extends beyond the time allotted for the episode.”
Kenneth Biller is on as a show runner for Sam Raimi's Wizard's First Rule, and Mike Sussman is in negotiations for supervising producer.
Francis Capra will be a regular, and a villain, on the upcoming season of Heroes.
Jamie Kennedy will play a graduate student in psychology on Ghost Whisper, effectively replacing Jay Mohr who plays psychology professor Rick Payne.
Sarah Paulson will play the female lead in ABC’s one hour Cupid pilot.
NBC has acquired the Rosario Dawson starring web series Gemini Division, and will start showing 50 four minute episodes next month on NBC.com. “When Sara's fiancé is killed, she discovers a microchip in her engagement ring that sets her on a journey into a biotech underworld filled with genetically fabricated life forms called Simulants. She locates the Gemini Division, who are trying to reclaim all the Simulant chips and eradicate these rogue terrorists.”
Monday, June 16, 2008
Trailers and Video
Some of these links may contain mature material, and MRFH is not responsible for their content.
Trailers:
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Bottle Shock
Babylon A.D.
Eagle Eye
Transporter 3 teaser
Death Race
Punisher: War Zone
Video:
Hancock
Friday the 13th
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Let's all go to the drive-in...
From The Southern California Drive In Society:
“Wow, what a week for super hero fans.
”This week many drive-ins across the country are offering
IRON MAN and The HULK fans more bang for their buck.
”Double Features of both of these films can be seen for
one low price. What more of a reason do you need to
head out to your local drive-in.”
Movie News
For the moment, Midnight Meat Train has a release date of August 1.
After nearly three years Vukota Brajovic and Milan Todorovic have finally gotten the financing and started shooting what will be Serbia’s first zombie movie, Zone of the Dead. Ken Foree and Kristina Klebe will star. “Taking its title from the colloquial name for an industrial zone that is the setting for the film, Zone of the Dead follows a police escort transporting a dangerous prisoner under armed guard. An ecological disaster has turned the local inhabitants into zombies, and an alliance with the prisoner may be the only way the survivors can get out alive.” They also want to set the film apart by not having any swearing.
Atom Egoyan will write and direct reality and fantasy blending Seven Wonders. After Pandora’s relationship ends, she becomes obsessed with, and follows, a commercials director (currently filming the Seven Wonders of the World) and her boyfriend. The women meet on line, and it’s unclear whether some of their interactions are all in Pandora’s head.
Producers Brad Fuller and Andrew Form on Horsemen: "What happened on Horsemen is we made the movie, and then we had to do a couple of days of reshoots, and then, unfortunately, [star] Dennis Quaid had this horrible thing happen with his kids, and so that put us way behind on that. So we literally just finished that movie a couple of weeks ago, and we're going out to distributors on that now. That is a very challenging movie, simply because the subject matter is so dark. But it's a really good movie. It's just really dark. So we're figuring out that as we speak."
Andrew Form also said that David Goyer’s The Unborn has finished filming, and will be out around Halloween.
Cameron Crowe has announced plans to direct Ben Stiller and Reese Witherspoon in a comedy adventure for Columbia. Still no word on the plot.
Leonardo DiCaprio will produce and star in the Brian Hecker and Craig Sherman written biopic for Atari founder Nolan Bushnell.
Leslie Easterbrook, Marion Ramsey, Bubba Smith, Corey Haim, Gary Busey, Alisa Reyes, Patrick Kilpatrick, Jackson Rathbone, and Richard Moll will star in Jeff Dean’s Daze Vol. 2. It “takes place over three days where a radio contest provides a series of events that juxtapose the struggle to obtain money or love. The film's three interweaving stories have a different visual style, color, and theme. The red day is about love, the green day is about money, and the blue day is about death.”
Dee Wallace, Muse Watson, Stephen Tobolowsky, Christopher Showerman, Chad Everett, Ivan Cermak, and Ernest Borgnine have been cast in Derek Milton’s supernatural western Death Keeps Coming.
Tsuyoshi Ihara and Mika Hijii will join the cast of Isaac Florentine’s Ninja.
Amada Peet has joined Roland Emmerich’s 2012.
Jack Black has dropped out as the lead in supernatural comedy Man-Witch. Warner Brothers says the movie will continue on schedule, which has a January start date.
Sylvestor Stallone will play himself in the Indian film Kambakkht Ishq, directed by Sajid Khan.
Prequels, Sequels & Remakes
Brad Fuller on the Rosemary’s Baby remake: "There are two or three competing writers who we are talking to. If you would say that Rosemary's Baby is a ... supernatural story, ... one of our takes is supernatural. And then there's another that's not supernatural, that kind of takes that story and roots it in reality. And that's a decision we are going to have to make as soon as we wrap [Friday the 13th] and go back to L.A. and start sitting down with Paramount: ... What kind of story do they want us to tell for them, and what's the smartest way to tell that story? So I don't know if it's going to be supernatural. It might, it might not be, and it might be called Rosemary's Baby and it might not be, but at least ... Paramount was gracious enough to give us the jumping-off point of taking a classic film and seeing what we can do with it."
ICON will be distributing Transporter 3 in Australia and the UK.
Executive Producer Roberto Orci says about a Star Trek XII: “I can give you a spoiler about the Studio’s state of mind (not about the movie itself). The spoiler is that they already want to lock us down to write the sequel. Take that as you will.”
According to Hayden Christensen there’s talks for a Jumper sequel.
After Terrance Howard said that filming Iron Man 2 would begin March 2009, and Marvel says it’ll be out in 2010, John Favreau post this on his MySpace page: “It’s been five weeks since the one and only phone call my reps have gotten from Marvel. I know their hands are full with the Hulk and I’m sure they will get into it shortly, as they tell me they intend to. I ran into the Marvel guys at the Hulk premiere and everyone sounded eager to get to work on IM2.
“I am concerned, however, about the announced release date of April 2010. Neither Robert [Downey Jr.] nor I were consulted about this and we are both concerned about how realistic the date is in light of the fact that we have no script, story or even writers hired yet. This genre of movie is best when it is done thoughtfully and with plenty of preparation. It might be better to follow the BB/DK, X/X2 three year release pattern than to scramble for a date. It is difficult because there are no Marvel 09 releases and they need product, but I also think we owe it to the fans to have a great version of IM2 and, at this point, we would have less time to make it than the first one."
Adaptations
Producer Donald DeLine has confirmed: That Jack Black is no longer attached to the Green Lantern movie, and that it is no longer being considered a comedic project. Right now they’re waiting for Greg Berlanti’s first draft of the script, which is looking like Hal Jordan’s origin story. The stalling of Justice League Mortal will not affect it.
Andrew Stanton says he’s working on a script for Pixar based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ series John Carter of Mars.
Millennium Films will make a movie based off of Alexander Dumas’ The Three Musketeers. It will be about how Athos, Porthos, and Aramis joined up. The fourth Musketeer, D'Artagnan, will either appear near the end or he’ll be in the sequel.
The Weinstein Company has the rights to Allison Winn Scotch’s upcoming novel Time of My Life. It’s about a 30 something housewife who has a chance to go back in time and see how her life would’ve been if she hadn’t married. The book comes out in October through Random House.
Universal has hired Art Marcum and Matt Holloway to adapt Robert Ludlum's novel The Sigma Protocol. Strike Entertainment partners Marc Abraham and Eric Newman, and Paul L. Sandberg will produce. In it, an investment banker is target for death when he tries to expose a secret organization that manipulates the world’s economy.
Katherine Heigl will produce and star in a movie based off of Carolyn Jessop’s (she testified against polygamist Warren Jeffs) memoir Escape.
Crunchyroll has announced that it will host the international premiere of T.O. Entertainment’s CG anime Egg Man in the fall. Based on the short story from Yumeaki Hirayama’s Monologues of Universal Transverse Mercato, it’s about “a death row murderer named ‘Egg Man,’ a female rookie inspector named Karen, and one last unsolved case.”
Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation have the rights to Belgian comic strip turned '80s cartoon The Smurfs. David Stem and David Weiss are in negotiations to write the mixed live action and animation movie.
Marty Krofft says that H.R. Pufnstuf and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters movies are the next things they're working on (Land of the Lost was also one of the Krofft brothers' shows).
Rita Hsiao is the latest writer to take a crack at an I Dream of Jeannie movie script (a decade old idea).
Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel will star in Mandate Pictures’ Jay and Seth vs. the Apocalypse. It’s based off Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s, who will also write the feature length, comedy short.
Adam Beach on the Turok movie: "We just finished the animated movie and now we're going into the feature film movie [which should lens] hopefully in a couple years. We're about to set up meetings to develop a script and put it out there. I'll have to beef up, and be a good guy, and save the world!"
Thursday, June 12, 2008
When a Roomba and a Pacman love each other very much...
Pacmba! Is it weird that I find this genius?
Slurpees! Cylons! Kaiju!
Warner Brothers is offering a seven minute preview from Get Smart exclusively on the iTunes Store as a free download.
Brutal Massacre Trailer Contest
As a promotion for Incredible Hulk, 7-Eleven will have green colored Slurpees, Super Hero sandwiches, and a renamed Incredible Gulp fountain drink. Also Marvel will have a store exclusive Incredible Hulk comic book.
The Japan Animation Creators Association. What is it, and what does it mean for anime?
Creature from the Black Lagoon: The Musical! Coming to Universal Studios Hollywood in 2009.
Roofers accidentally started the fire at Universal.
“Children will learn by downloading information directly into their brains within 30 years.” The whole idea seriously creeps me out.
Crow T. Robot as a Cylon. (Submitted by Sitting Duck)
Anatomical Cross-Section Diagrams of Gamera & Godzilla
Comics and books
E-Reads has acquired the rights for 32 out of print titles by Harlan Ellison (including Shatterday, Strange Wine, Ellison Wonderland, I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, and Deathbird Stories). All of them will be released as e-books and print on demand trade paperbacks (through Amazon and other book retailers) within the year, with the first eight over the course of the next month.
Update on Terry Pratchett.
After cutting back on its US releases, Tokyopop will be scaling back from about 25 releases to 20 in the UK. Also, freelance rewriter and editor for Tokyopop Lianne Sentar says that Fruits Basket, Saiyuki, Tactics, and Rave Master haven’t been cancelled.
DVD releases
The Hogfather – March 4
Otis – June 10
Prom Night (remake) – August 19
Terry Pratchett’s Discworld Collection (Wyrd Sisters; Soul Music) - August 26 (Submitted by Sitting Duck)
Death Note - September 16
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
TV News
Justin Hartley will play Green Arrow as a regular on CW’s eighth Smalleville season.
Jimmy Smits will play ambitious district attorney Dexter’s third season.
Debuting on Starz in October, Crash (based off the movie) has signed on Dennis Hopper, Clare Carey, Luis Chavez, Ross McCall, Jocko Sims, Brian Tee, and Arlene Tur. “Set in Los Angeles, the series will continue to focus on an ensemble cast of characters. It will explore the complexities of social tolerance in contemporary America by digging into the meaning of what it takes to reach the American dream. Characters will intertwine and crash into each other, coming face to face with the daily hurdles and obstacles that threaten to get in the way of achieving that dream.” Sanford Bookstaver will direct the premiere episode.
Tomomitsu Yamaguchi and Yasuko Tomita will star in the live action series based on Tochi Ueyama's food manga Cooking Papa. Premieres in Japan August 29.
Masahiro Matsuoka will play the Kenji in a live action adaptation of Aruko's manga about a former street gang member turned shojo manga artist Yasuko to Kenji. Premieres in Japan July.
Mirai Shida will star in the live action series based on Chiaki Hijiri's manga Seigi no Mikata which will premiere July 9 in Japan.
Rei Kikukawa will star in the live action drama based Yasuhito Yamamoto's manga Dageki Tenshi Ruri, premiering July 7 in Japan.
(Slow week for TV News...)
Monday, June 9, 2008
Trailers
Some of these links may contain mature material, and MRFH is not responsible for their content.
Incredible Hulk
Hancock
The Gene Generation
Kicking It
Swing Vote
Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control
Pink Panther 2
Videos
Some of these links may contain mature material, and MRFH is not responsible for their content.
Transformers 2
You Don’t Mess with Zohan
The Love Guru
Mother of Tears
The Happening
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Movie News
Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit’s horror comedy spec script The Harvard Zombie Massacre has been picked up by the Parallel Zide production company. It’s about how brilliant Harvard minds fend off the undead that have overrun the Ivy League school. Filming is planned for early next year.
Matthijs van Heijningen has signed with Warner Brothers to make his feature length directing debut with Army of the Dead. The action thriller is about a father who tries to save his daughter from a zombie infested Las Vegas.
After her comments on the earthquake in China, Sharon Stone has been dropped from U.S-China produced Mermaid Island.
Stephen Tobolowsky has been cast in Taratino Productions and KarlAdam Entertainment’s supernatural western Death Keeps Coming. Written and directed by Derek Milton, the movie will be about a mysterious gunfighter who comes to save Sara, the innocent victim of a gypsy curse.
John Cusack, Ken Watanabe, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan will star in Mikael Hafstrom’s Shanghai. Paul Sommes (Cusack) investigates the death of his friend’s (Morgan) murder in Japanese occupied Shanghai before the attack on Pearl Harbor, and comes across a government secret. Currently filming in Thailand.
Anthony LaPaglia has been cast, and Gyton Grantley and Nathan Phillips are in talks for Robert Connolly's Balibo. About five Australian television newsmen who were shot dead by the Indonesian military in East Timor in 1975.
Benita Collings will play Nicolas Cage's mother in Knowing.
Prequels, Sequels & Remakes
TV Hulk Lou Ferrigno will voice The Hulk in the movie.
The new name for Transformers 2 is Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen. Matthew Marsden has been added to the cast. Michael Bay says that two will not be a set up for a possible three, it’ll have a stand alone story. Also, “First one was just introducing, setting up stuff, so we can go a lot farther. Let’s just say [this] is not a lame sequel.” Roberto Orci made a post saying, “I'd love and think we could almost barely manage ten on each side, with some front and center and others as more supporting." 20 robots?
On Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins… Bryce Dallas Howard is in negotiations to replace Charlotte Gainsbourg, who had to leave due to scheduling conflicts. Director McG says: “This movie takes place several years after Judgment Day, but prior to 2029. Just like it took a long time to get an HD plasma screen in our world, it took Skynet a lot of research and development to get to the T-800, and this movie explores that 'space between.' We have all been fascinated with the world after Judgment Day. Here it is.”
Brett Ratner says he wants to get a PG rating for Beverly Hills Cop 4, “10-year-old kids, 12-year-old kids don’t really know the old ‘Beverly Hills Cop.’ So it’s an opportunity to make it new for kids. The same way it felt for me watching ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ when I was a kid, that’s what I want to do for kids today.” (*head in hands*)
DreamWorks has released the cast list for Eric Darnell’s Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric The Entertainer, Andy Richter, Bernie Mac, Sherri Shepherd, Alec Baldwin, and Will.i.am. “In the new story, Alex, Marty, Melman, Gloria, King Julien, Maurice and the penguins and the chimps find themselves marooned in Madagascar. The penguins have 'repaired' an old crashed plane. Once aloft, they stay airborne long enough to make it to Africa, where the members of the zoo-raised crew encounter species of their own kind for the first time.”
After Twentieth Century Fox releasing the first two, Transporter 3 will be released through Lionsgate.
After the success of the first movie’s U.S. theatrical run, Viz Pictures has begun exploring the possibility of releasing sequel Death Note: The Last Name in theaters after the DVD release of the first on September 16.
After getting the remake rights, CineTel Films plan to redo I Spit on Your Grave as a theatrical release. In the original, a woman hunts down and kills the attackers who abducted, raped, and left her for dead. CineTel president Paul Hertzberg: “After seeing what was done with an R rating on films like 'Saw' and 'Hostel,' we think we can modernize this story, be competitive with what this marketplace expects and not have to aim for an NC-17 or X rating."
John Moore will direct a remake to 1978’s science fiction conspiracy thriller Capricorn One. Peter Buchman wrote the script for the “updated reimagining of the story about a group of astronauts on an abortive mission to Mars."
Vertigo Entertainment (maker of bland American versions of Japanese films) has hired Vlas and Charles Parlapanides to write the screenplay for a remake of the Death Note franchise. There are already two Japanese live action movies and an anime series based off Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata's Death Note manga, about a teenager who finds a notebook that he uses to put criminals to death by writing their names in it. This leads to a game of cat-and-mouse with the authorities and one idiosyncratic genius detective.
Sam Raimi on Spiderman 4:
“Right now James Vanderbilt is writing the script, and he's working on it, and I'm excited to read it. I think it's going to be done in a few months. I'm hoping it's as great as our discussions were about it and hoping it feels right for me, because I love Spider-Man, and I'm hoping I'm well-enough rested to, like, really embrace it and hoping that Sony wants me at that time to direct it. So if all those things come together, I would love, love to do it. But this is a lot of unknowns about the future."
Sam Raimi on the Evil Dead remakes:
"We [Raimi and Ghost House Pictures] never actually pursued it. We said we were going to do it, and then we got so busy with other projects we never actually pursued it. So we still want to do it. We still think it's worth trying, and ... I've not done a single thing about it."
Steve Carell on doing an Anchorman sequel: "Oh, absolutely... Yeah, in a second. I’ve heard some inklings as to what Adam McKay has in mind for a sequel, and it’s really funny. Everybody’s a friend...That is one of the most fun things I ever did. I laughed until I cried, every day on that movie.”
Adaptations
Alfred Molina and Ben Kingsley have joined Mike Newell’s Prince of Persia movie.
Bruce Willis is in negotiations to play Kane in the Simon Crane directed Kyle Ward written Kane & Lynch movie adaptation. "Adam 'Kane' Marcus, a mercenary who makes an unlikely alliance with schizophrenic killer James Lynch. The pair are forced on a mission to retrieve a stolen microchip."
Director Hitoshi Iwamoto is adapting Osamu Tezuka ‘70s suspense manga MW. The live action film will star Hiroshi Tamaki, as Michio Yuki, and Takayuki Yamada as priest Garai. In it, “Yuki survived a deadly nerve gas tragedy as a child, but this ‘MW’ incident left his damaged brain without a conscience. Yuki grows up to become a handsome bank executive by day, and a mass murderer by night. On top of that, Yuki aims to acquire the MW nerve gas, which leaves his longtime confidante Garai struggling with the right decision.” Tetsuya Oishi and Haruo Kimura wrote the script.
Comedian Hiroshi Shinagawa will write and direct the adaptation of his coming of age autobiographical Drop novel and manga. “Drop's story follows Shinagawa's early life as he grew up in the streets of 1980s' Tokyo. Young Shinagawa decides to become a delinquent after reading the manga classic Be-Bop High School and transfers from a private middle school to a public one. Shingawa's new life of cigarettes, bats, and iron pipes begins when he meets the leader of the delinquents at his new school”.
Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman will star in Clint Eastwood’s rugby drama adaptation of John Carlin’s The Human Factor: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Changed the World. “Mandela, freed from 27 years in prison and elected president, decided to get behind South Africa's Springboks team when the country was selected as host country for the 1985 Rugby World Cup. The Springboks had been banned from international competition because of the country's apartheid practices. The majority of blacks viewed the team as a symbol of exclusion, but they rooted along with white countrymen as the Springboks won in overtime against New Zealand to capture the Cup. Pienaar was the Springboks captain who developed a relationship with Mandela during the team's run.”
Ridley Scott on his mysterious third science fiction movie: "I waited for a book for 20 years and I have got the book. I am not going to tell you what the book is, but that film is going to probably be written within the next month. That will definitely be what I do next after Nottingham, the Robin Hood film that I am doing now in England."
According to IESB, Tim Burton will direct and John August will write the adaptation of ‘60s vampire soap opera Dark Shadows.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
"All they do is eat and make little baby sharks."
If you don’t know what it means, here’s “Jumping the Shark”
And (because I can) Batman’s even awesomer “Repelling the Shark”
Don’t forget the classics, kids!
News, toys, lunchboxes...
“Copyright Act of Canada will include a fine for each ‘personal use download’ found to be shared online through peer-to-peer software programs.”
Making something that lets monkeys control robots with their minds? Haven’t these people even heard of Planet of the Apes!?
Transformers T-shirt gets passenger in trouble.
Yeah, and that’s when the show nuked the shark… Wait, I think I’m mixing something up.
Disney and Star Wars form an unholy union. Is it just me or is Mickey as Anakin more threatening than movie Anakin?
A dark, hard to see, look at Sideshow Collectibles Snake Eyes figure.
Bandai has launched the first official, English-language website for its high end toys.
Science fiction lunchboxes from the '70s.
Comics and books
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa will adapt and Mike Perkins will illustrate a comic version of Stephen King’s The Stand. Marvel Publishing and Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group have a licensing agreement for a limited series based on The Stand: The Complete & Uncut Edition, with the first issue set for September. King, who will oversee the project, says, "There's nothing more interesting--and more fun--than seeing an old work take on new life in a new medium. I've enjoyed working with Marvel on the Gunslinger series and am excited about this collaboration regarding The Stand, which will bring Stu Redman, Frannie Goldsmith, Lloyd Henreid and Randall Flagg to a new audience."
“Dark Horse will release HELLBOY II: THE ART OF THE MOVIE with pages full of concept art and more on June 18th!” Click the link for peek.
Tokyopop’s “progressive reorganization."
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
DVD releases
The Orphanage – April 22
Dead Zone: The Final Season – June 3
Dirty Harry Ultimate Collector's Edition – June 3
Control – June 3
Burn Notice: Season One - June 17
I Know What You Did Last Summer (Blu-ray) - July 22
Starship Troopers 3: Marauders - August 5
The Cell 2 - October 14
Festival of Fear
August 22-24, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre: Rue Morgue’s annual Festival of Fear.
Guest of honour: Wes Craven
Other guests include:
Sid Haig
Brad Dourif
Ruggero Deodato
Tura Satana
Kristy Swanson
Shawnee Smith
Lloyd Kaufman
Sean Astin
Special Appearances:
The Creepshow
Johnny Hollow
Melantha Blackthorne
Gaslight Studio
Suicide Girls
Gord Rollo
More info here.
TV News
The Simpsons’ voice cast and Fox have a deal for four more years. The cast will, reportedly, get $400,000 plus an episode, and Dan Castellanata (aka Homer) has been added as a consulting producer.
Time-Life’s The Real Ghostbusters on DVD this fall. (Thanks to Drew)
SciFi Channel has announced summer premiere dates for: Scare Tactics (July 9 at 10 pm ET/PT), Ghost Hunters International (July 9 at 9 pm), Stargate Atlantis (July 11 at 10 pm), and Eureka (July 29 at 9 pm).
Brandon Routh, Jessie Bradford, Sophia Bush, Jennifer Morrison, Johnny Galecki, and Lisa Lapira will be in Michael Samonek’s Table for Three. An ensemble comedy for Starz, a young man regrets inviting a “perfect couple” to share his apartment when they star meddling in his love life.
The Independent Film Channel and Henry Rollins for three hour long documentaries: Uncut from New Orleans, Northern Ireland and South Africa. They “will pair Rollins with a local host as he explores each of the three areas -- a post-Katrina New Orleans still in turmoil, a divided Northern Ireland and a South Africa facing an AIDS crisis and persistent racial-relations issues.” As part of the IFC News block, they will premiere in October on the video on demand IFC Free.
Shirley Manson will be cast as a regular on the next season of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles as character Catherine Weaver, the chief executive of a cutting-edge high-tech company.
Tony Hale will have a recurring role on NBC's Chuck as Emmett, the new assistant manager of the Buy More Store where Chuck works.
Jimmi Simpson has joined Fox's backdoor pilot Virtuality.
Yara Martinez is cast in NBC's science fiction drama series My Own Worst Enemy.
Frank Mastromauro on Heroes’ "e-graphic-novel": "We just received a whole bunch of new mini-scripts for this [project]. Just in the last couple weeks, [artist and Aspen vice president] Peter Steigerwald designed 12 new characters for Heroes. All these characters are debuting online at NBC.com throughout the summer, and then, towards the end, characters who get the most votes [from fans] will probably wind up making it onto the show this fall."
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Monday, June 2, 2008
Trailers
Some of these links may contain mature material, and MRFH is not responsible for their content.
The Dark Knight
Gonzo
(Okay, everything below this is “red band”)
Burn After Reading
Step Brothers
Choke
Black Dynamite
Zack and Miri Make a Porno teaser
Videos
Some of these links may contain mature material, and MRFH is not responsible for their content.
Mirrors featurette
Kung Fu Panda clips
Get Smart clips
You Don’t Mess with Zohan clips
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