So with all this Star Trek talk this week I decided to post these clips from the original, which is my personal favorite of the Treks.
Worst Fight Scene Ever (No it's not in slo-mo)
I think Lizard Guy needs to cut down on the cigs!
He's Dead, Jim!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Bad Fighting to the Death
Chats, Trailers, Scripts, Wax!
Participate in First-Ever Live BD Chat with Director Guillermo Del Toro November 23
Trailer Reveals Who’s Hooking Up With Kirk and Why Scotty’s All Wet (Thanks to Justin)
Warner Brothers has posted the script for The Dark Knight (Submitted by dex)
Tinker Bell becomes the smallest wax figure in the history of Madame Tussauds.
Women Who Pretended to Be Men to Publish Scifi Books
The different Terminators of The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Kaiju Eiga.
Darth Toaster.
Comics and Books
Bluewater and Lionsgate are developing a Leprechaun comic. The first story arc will be written by Zach Hunter, the second by Michael Kingston, with art by Kris Carter. In it Lubdan will travel all over to track down his gold "Battling greed, the genocidal Cluracan and new mystical adversaries, Lubdan must save all life to save himself." Says Hunter, "Leprechaun is an immensely popular horror franchise and I'm excited about expanding the mythos.”
Bluewater and Lionsgate will also make a comic version of Warlock. Written by Nick Lyons, it takes place after second sequel (Warlock III: The End of Innocence) with the Warlock trying to destroy a book that imprisoned six other Warlocks in order to release them. It’ll be drawn by Jacob Bear, colored by John Hunt, and alternate covers by Matt Billisle.
Broccoli has decided to shut down its subsidiary Broccoli International USA due to “competition in the subsidiary's fields of business increased sharply in recent years, which resulted in a drop in revenue and profits.” This includes the imprint Broccoli Books which directly published manga and artbooks in North America.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
TV News...
HBO has green lit the David Benioff and D.B. Weiss written pilot for the fantasy drama Game of Thrones based on George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series.
After 14 years Fox has canceled Mad TV. It came “after the show failed to see a ratings boost during the recent presidential campaign.” As compared to Saturday Night Live, that saw some of its best numbers in a while.
NBC has canceled new show My Own Worst Enemy and Lipstick Jungle, in its second year, both due to low ratings. It is unknown whether NBC will let the already filmed episodes for My Own Worst Enemy run out, or yank it out of rotation.
SciFi Channel has green lit the second season to Santuary for thirteen more episodes. It will resume production in Vancouver for an early 2009 premiere.
Mayuri Yamamoto’s horror anthology manga Reset will become a live action TV drama. “Each episode will follow a different person as he or she deals with an ultimate choice.” Naoki Tanaka will play a "time guide" who visits each episode's main character as they choose whether to reset their lives. Premieres in Japan in January.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Trailers and Video
Some of these links may contain mature material, and MRFH is not responsible for their content.
Trailers:
Star Trek
Watchmen
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
The Spirit
The Day the Earth Stood Still
2012 teaser
Race to Witch Mountain
Cadillac Records
The Lodger
The Alphabet Killer
Alien Uprising
B**** Slap NSFW
Video:
Resident Evil: Degenration 2 clips
Transporter 3 1 clip
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Movie News
Dark Horse Entertainment founder Mike Richardson said that the publisher will partner with Universal Pictures to develop movies based on their comics and graphic novels. "We have a slate of projects that we're setting up over at Universal. We've just done a new partnership with Universal. We're very excited about it. We're going to bring some great movies from them. They'll have an announcement very shortly, a press release very shortly about our slate. ... They're great people over there, and they really understand the kinds of books and movies that we do." Titles include R.I.P.D., Emily Strange, and Freaks of the Heartland.
Dentsu will transfer majority ownership in Geneon Entertainment to NBC Universal’s Universal Pictures International Entertainment (UPIE). UPIE will merge Geneon Entertainment with Universal Pictures Japan. UPIE will own 80.1% with Dentsu retaining 19.9%.
Greg Mottola will direct Working Title and Universal’s extraterrestrial comedy Paul. “The story revolves around two British slackers who, after visiting Comic-Con International, go on a road trip to Area 51, where they encounter a small alien named Paul, who enlists them to help him find his way home.” Simon Pegg and Nick Frost will star, and Edgar Wright is exec producing. Filming starts April in New Mexico.
Martha Fiennes’ espionage thriller Blown will star Jim Caviezel and Samuel L Jackson. It’s about “a top MI5 operative whose routine investigation of a global corporation leads him to discover an imminent terrorist attack. Jackson will play Julian Lezard, the businessman who engages him in a high-stakes game of wits and deception.”
Broken Lizard and Adam Duritz are producing Freeloaders. It’s about “five guys and a girl who live in the lap of luxury in a rock star's mansion. But their sweet situation is threatened when the rock star decides to sell the home.”
Director Jeffrey Lau will be making the tentatively titled Robot, a Chinese version of Transformers. A longtime dream for Lau, he has partnered with Le TV.com to make a film company for the film. Le TV.com investor Zhuo Shungo has said it “will present a refreshing look at Chinese robots for people who are used to stereotypical Hollywood figures like Spiderman and Superman.” … “The Chinese robot, in comparison, would feel closer and more human to audiences, as it is the incarnation of Oriental wisdom and strength.”
Prequels, Sequels & Remakes
Columbia Pictures is doing a “new version” of 1984’s The Karate Kid. Chris Murphy is writing the script for what’ll be a vehicle for Jaden Smith. Filming starts next year in Beijing. “While the new film will be set in that exotic locale, it will borrow elements of the original plot, wherein a bullied youth learns to stand up for himself with the help of an eccentric mentor.” [E: Because it totally won’t spit on the ‘80s fun of the original at all, and y’know, that last Karate Kid movie was just so awesome.]
Sam Worthington will star in John Madden’s action thriller Debt, a remake of Israeli movie Ha-hov.
George Millar’s Happy Feet 2 will film in Sydney Australia. It will take 3 years, and be done by new digital production studio Dr D.
Director Catherine Hardwicke on adapting Twilight sequel New Moon: “Well, here's the challenge. Book two is literally about twice as expensive as this one, because they turn into werewolves, and they go to Italy, and they do all these stunts. So this one definitely looked like when you add it up, OK, how much does it take to market a movie? $35 to $40 million. Took almost $40 million to make it. That's $80 [million]. Then another $40 [million] to make the more expensive one; that'd be $120 [million]. So this thing has to make way more than that before somebody'll really be able to afford to make it. So we don't know if it's going to do that. That would be quite extraordinary, to make that much money on such a low budget.”
Dolph Lundgren talks Universal Soldier 3: “’Absolutely untrue,’ Lundgren insisted, clearing the air with a surprise call to MTV News HQ. ‘I’ve met with the producers many times, and I AM the one resisting.’”
Director Darren Lynn Bousman hopes to start a Repo! The Genetic Opera sequel in 2009. "I would love to follow up Repo and finish the story, because it was conceived as a three-part movie. But I’m doing an action film next. I can’t say exactly what it is yet. It’ll be announced next week. But I’m doing a big action film next, which is really exciting.”
Adaptations
Zack Snyder talks Watchmen’s ending.
Latest Dragonball release date: April 8, 2009.
Joe Johnston has signed with Marvel Studios to direct The First Avenger: Captain America. Kevin Feige will produce. There are no writers currently, but the studio is hearing pitches. The movie is due May 6, 2011.
The Cowboys and Aliens movie is now being written by Kurtzman and Orci. With Imagine producing, and Ron Howard is developing it for Robert Downey Jr.
Dark Horse’s Mike Richardson: "The most immediate is R.I.P.D. ... David Dobkin is directing. We're doing it over at Universal Studios. We have a great script by [Matt] Manfredi and [Phil] Hay. R.I.P.D. stands for Rest in Peace Department. It's based on a graphic novel by Peter Lenkov. It's about dead cops that died in the line of duty that are sent back, basically, to get people who don't want to come peacefully, people who stayed behind. It's a lot of fun. ... It has a few of the elements of something like a Men in Black, except this one has real scares in it. It's not sort of cartoon scares. A lot of humor, but real scary stuff going on."
"I will say we'll have a good announcement [about Emily Strange] coming up very shortly. I'm working with Rob. Yes, we've set it up with a studio, ... but there'll be an official announcement coming up soon. ... [There's a] very interesting story that we've come up with, too. It'll add background to Emily."
"We just set up Freaks of the Heartland over at Overture, with David Gordon Green directing. And the writers just started working on that."
Guillermo Del Toro on The Hobbit, Frankenstein, and At the Mountains of Madness.
The 39 Clues is still in scripting phase with Jeff Nathanson adapting the first book.
Simon Beaufoy has finished a draft for a screenplay based on Steven Hall’s novel The Raw Shark Texts. "OK, get this. It's about conceptual sharks that eat your memory. It's like Memento and Jaws and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Just pair it all up. It's the most amazing flight of imagination I've read for 20 years."
Guillermo Del Toro will be producing a stop motion adaptation of Carlo Collodi and Gris Grimly's Pinnochio. Says Del Toro, "The idea came from Gris, and everybody loves his book about it. The original story is far more perverse and spooky and semi-necrophilia vibe to it in certain aspects. Gris certainly has that vein in him, he wants to do this with that original spookiness in it, we are trying to get it going. The Jim Henson Company is the behind it and we are currently working on the screenplay! Its not coming to a screen near you any time soon, even if it were to begin today it would be about three years in the making, but we are working to make it happen. A full-scale puppet universe takes time.” Grimly will direct.
Marc Foster will direct World War Z. The movie, based on Max Brooks’ zombie novel, is being produced by Brad Pitt owned Plan B, leading to rumors that he may star. It “tells the story of the world's desperate battle against the zombie threat with a series of first-person accounts ‘as told to the author’ by various characters around the world. A Chinese doctor encounters one of the earliest zombie cases at a time when the Chinese government is ruthlessly suppressing any information about the outbreak that will soon spread across the globe. The tale then follows the outbreak via testimony of smugglers, intelligence officials, military personnel and many others who struggle to defeat the zombie menace.”
Pamela Pettler will write Hasbro-Universal’s Monopoly movie. Already producer, Ridley Scott has officially signed on as director “with an eye toward giving it a futuristic sheen along the lines of his iconic ‘Blade Runner.’"
Ron Howard on an Arrested Development movie:
"I really hope we do it. The reason there's been so much back and forth is... well, for two reasons, is the business understanding coming from the studio side was not clear, so even though we were wanting to do it and said, 'Yeah, maybe we could' but things weren't defined. I think that's really come into focus in the last week or so. Mitch's full-on commitment to not only write it but direct it is something he's been wrestling with, he's been launching a TV show at the same time, so he couldn't let it really be at the forefront of his mind creatively. It is now. He seems very committed. We still don't have a script. Yeah, he's got some great ideas, and the cast seemed very excited about it and I certainly am. I'm very, very hopeful—more hopeful now than ever—that it's really going to happen."
Friday, November 14, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
The Dark Knight and Bruce Campbell, my week is complete
Hey, Look… The City of Batman Is Suing Christopher Nolan For ‘The Dark Knight’
Dark Knight Score Loses Oscar Contention
Dance Dance Revolution – The Musical
Props and costumes from Battlestar Galactica will be auctioned off January 16-18, 2009, in Pasadena, California, with proceeds in part going to benefit the United Way.
Lupin III Theme Attraction to Open in Tokyo in Spring
An interview with Bruce Campbell “The only major issue I have directing myself is when I refuse to come out of the trailer. I then have to go banging on the trailer and ask myself to come out of the trailer. But in doing so I find myself out of the trailer and then back inside the trailer and then I just get confused and tend to give up and just wait till I am ready to come out.” And what he says about ‘Torture Porn’ is spot on. I love you Bruce Campbell!
80 Great Posters of Not So Great & Even Worse Sci-Fi Movies 1950 - 1965 I’ve seen, at least, 38 of these (I didn’t count the ones I wasn’t sure about)… and, um, kinda own quite a few too....
William Shakespeare, Science Fiction Author of the Forbidden Tomorrow Zone
Crossing Charles Schultz with H.P. Lovecraft (Submitted by Sitting Duck)
“The aim here is to poke fun at the seemingly endless variant cover themes Marvel comes up with.”
Games
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Press release: ESRB Announces New Video Game Rating Summaries (PDF)
IMAGI and D3Publisher have an agreement for a video game based on the film version of Astro Boy. It’s slated for all handheld systems in 2009’s fourth quarter.
“The rights to the ‘Heroes’ video game have reverted back to NBC Universal. Ubisoft will no longer produce a video game based on the TV series.”
Street Fight IV’s Seth trailer.
Kingdom Under Fire II - Gameplay Trailer
Comics and Books
A rundown on the Terminator comics out there.
IDW has the rights to a comic book adaption of IMAGI’s CG Astro Boy, an adaption of Osamu Tezuka’s comic. Tentatively, there will be a four part prequel and a four part straight adaptation of the movie. Pending approval the prequel will release May 2009. The movie comes out October 2009.
Hellboy creator Mike Mignola is developing a new occult comic series called Witchfinder, centering on a Victorian-era occult detective first introduced in Hellboy.
Bat-Manga Ignites Online War Of Words Between Fans And Author
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
The Brothers Bloom
November 16, Melbourne Australia. At 6:30 pm The Cinema Nova will have an early screening of The Brothers Bloom (release is 2009). It’ll be followed by a Q&A with director Rian Johnson.
“Rian Johnson's BRICK was one of the most audacious directorial debuts in a long time - injecting film noir with a teen sensibility. His follow-up is a fun caper film about the best con men in the world (Mark Ruffalo and Adrien Brody), swindling millionaires and the occasional heiress (Rachel Weisz).”
Tickets and info here.
DVD Releases
Burn After Reading – December 13
Mamma Mia! – December 16
Death Proof (Blu-ray) – December 16
Death Race – December 23
Serenity (Blu-ray) – December 30
Babylon AD – January 6, 2009
Ring of Death – January 19, 2009
Boogeyman 3 – January 20, 2009
Raging Bull (Blu-ray) – February 10, 2009
A History of Violence (Blu-ray) – February 10, 2009
TV News...
Fans are campaigning for Pushing Daisies with daisies.
Fox will premiere Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse February 13, 2009, and will continue at Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT -what’s been called the “death slot”- following Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
Reiko Aylesworth is in negotiations for, at least, four episodes in the next season of Lost. The recurring role is for “Amy, a smart and successful professional woman with a love for the outdoors who is looking for the right man.” [E: Quite possibly the most personals sounding character description ever]
In retooling the show, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Yancey Arias, and Bruce Davison will not be returning to Knight Rider. Says show runner Gary Scott Thompson, "It's a reboot. We're moving away from the terrorist-of-the-week formula and closer to the original, making it a show about a man and his car going out and helping more regular people, everymen."
Fox TV, CTV, ProSieben, and BBC will team up for 13 episode science fiction drama Defying Gravity. From James Parriott and Michael Edelstein, it’s “set in the near future and revolves around eight astronauts from five countries who take on a mysterious six-year mission through the solar system.” Ron Livingston and Florentine Lahme have been cast, and David Straiton will direct the first episode. Filming starts January in Canada.
A&E is developing paranormal procedural drama Signs & Wonders. Produced by Jed Mercurio, Mandalay Television, and Fox TV, “Signs & Wonders tracks a psychiatrist who runs the cognitive sciences research department at a prestigious university and leads a team of grad students in solving suspicious medical cases.”
CW and Warner Brothers TV have already axed Robin/Dick Grayson pre-Batman pilot The Graysons. Warner Brothers Pictures Group president Jeff Robinov, after initially green-lighting the project, has changed his mind. [E: Darn, I was hoping for another Birds of Prey *rawr*.]
“Keep an eye out for ‘BSG: Essential Elements,’ a half-hour special on Sunday, January 11 at 11:00/10:00c. And if that wasn't enough ‘Galactica,’ it's understood the latest wave of webisodes for the series will be broadcast during the network's January 15 presentation of ‘Pitch Black.’"
SciFi’s Warehouse 13 has hired executive producers Jack Kenny, David Simkins, and Dana Baratta, supervising producer Drew Greenberg, co-producers Matt Federman and Stephen Scaia, and staff writers Bob Goodman, Tamara Becher, Ben Raab, and Deric Hughes. Production is set to begin February in Toronto, with a July 2009 premiere.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Trailers
Some of these links may contain mature material, and MRFH is not responsible for their content.
The Tale of Despereaux
Up
Monsters Vs. Aliens
Marley and Me
Confessions of a Shopaholic
Pink Panther 2
Drop (Japanese)
Nobel Son
The Dukes
Dark Streets
Valkyrie
Dollhouse (TV)
Videos
Some of these links may contain mature material, and MRFH is not responsible for their content.
REPO! The Genetic Opera 1 interview
Watchmen 1 featurette
Terminator Salvation 1 featurette
Monsters Vs. Aliens 1 featurette
MW (Japanese) 1 promotional video
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Movie News
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Fanboys will open on February 6, 2009 (the original release was August 2007).
December 18, 2009, is the release date for James Cameron’s Avatar in IMAX and conventional 3-D theaters.
Director Peter Winther and special effects designer Patrick Tatopoulos have signed on for Arclight Film’s Speed Demon. Based on the last designs of Stan Winston, and written by Randy Vampotic and Mike Sorrentino, it’s about “a talented female wheelman and an enigmatic mob enforcer as they chase her slimy ex-boyfriend and some missing diamonds to a remote desert road that holds a monstrous test for them all.” Filming starts spring 2009.
Alan Cumming will direct, and star in, indie straight to DVD Ghost Writer. A supernatural thriller, it’s about a composer/music teacher (Cumming) who mentors a struggling writer who it turns out is just using him. When the writer accidently dies working off his rent, he comes back to haunt Cumming, who has taken credit for his book. Also cast is David Boreanaz, Anne Heche, Carrie Fisher, and Henry Thomas. Release date January 6, 2009.
Voltage Pictures has the foreign sales rights to Jason Connery’s supernatural thriller Devil’s Tomb. Starring Ron Perlman, Cuba Gooding, and Ray Winstone, it’s about “a team of mercenaries sent on a rescue mission in a Middle Eastern desert who uncover a mystery that has been hidden for thousands of years.”
Director, co-writer, and producer Gurinder Chadha is prepping It’s a Wonderful Afterlife. Chadha describes the movie, about a how a mother’s obsession to marry off her daughter comically leads to serial murder, as “My Big Fat Greek Wedding meets Shaun of the Dead.” Filming begins in February in the UK.
Sylvester Stallone will direct and star in The Expendables for Nu Image/Millennium Films. The movie, which he also wrote, is about a team of mercenaries sent to overthrow a South American dictator. Jason Statham has joined, and Jet Li is in final negotiations. Filming starts February in Costa Rica and Louisiana.
Liam Neeson, Christina Ricci, Justin Long, and Josh Charles will star in Agnieska Wojtowicz-Vosloo’s psychological thriller After Life. It’s about a young woman who gets caught between life and death, and a funeral director who might be trying to bury her alive.
Prequels, Sequels & Remakes
Michael Bay has announced that production has finished on Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and now post-production will begin.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine’s trailer will debut in December attached to The Day the Earth Stood Still.
Dolph Lundgren won’t be in Universal Soldier 3. [E: Nooooo!] Says Jean Claude Van Damme, "I told them, guys bring in Dolph! They said there's no more value [to cast him]. I said, ‘it will have value with me!'" He also says that he doesn’t know if it’ll be a theatrical release or not, and that he’s only working ten days on the movie.
Ashok Amritraj says, depending on how Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li does, he’d like a franchise, and even has the next two in mind: ''I would like to do the Ryu and Ken stories [separately].”
Brothers Peter and Bobby Farrelly will finally be moving forward on the Three Stooges movie with MGM (it was previously developed for Warner Brothers). It already has a release date of November 20, 2009.
Brett Ratner will direct Nu Image/Millennium and Lionsgate Films’ reboot/remake of the Conan series. “The story opens on the battlefield where Conan is born and tells the origin story that sets the stage for what will be the first of multiple films.”
Darren Aronofsky on the RoboCop remake: “It's a real reinvention. Me and David Self are working on the screenplay. He's a great, great writer and we're trying to do something new and fresh. We'll see what happens when the screenplay comes.”
Is Planet of the Apes Getting Rebooted Again?
DreamWorks is securing the remake rights to Oldboy, and Steven Spielberg and Will Smith are in early talks to collaborate on it.
Mickey Rourke, Ray Winstone, Jason Statham, Sam Riley, 50 Cent, and Ray Liotta will star in 13. Remake of French psychological thriller 13 Tzameti, it’s about a “young man who stumbles into an underground competition where the wealthy gamble on human beings in a Russian Roulette-like competition.” Gela Babluani, who wrote and directed the original, will write and direct the movie that begins shooting in New York, November 20.
Universal is in negotiations to remake Seung-wan Ryoo’s Korean crime drama Die Bad. They’re developing it as a vehicle for director Marc Forster, and Brad Ingelsby will write the script. The remake will move the original’s story about the rise and fall of a gangster told in four short stories to New York.
Adaptations
John Boorman will direct a CGI adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Written by Boorman, Ron Mita, and Jim McClain, it’s currently in preproduction and is slated for summer 2010. It won’t be a musical.
Fox is going forward on a movie adaptation of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels. The “contemporary reimagining” will star Jack Black and be directed by Rob Letterman. A free spirited travel writer finds himself amongst the tiny people of Lilliput while on assignment in the Bermuda Triangle. Filming starts March.
Michael Winterbottom will direct the second adaptation (the first was in 1976) of Jim Thompson’s novel The Killer Inside Me. Casey Affleck and Jessica Alba will star in the story of a West Texas sheriff’s downward spiral from small town cop to sociopathic murderer. They are looking for a mid January production date.
Universal Pictures won the bidding war for Electronic Arts’ upcoming game Dante’s Inferno. Both the game (Dante’s Inferno is an unconfirmed title) and the movie are about a journey through the depths of Hell.
Universal has bought the rights to Tony winner In The Heights. Quiara Alegria Hudes, who wrote the multi-generational, mulit-ethnic musical, will also adapt. “Set over three days in the upper Manhattan neighborhood of Washington Heights, In The Heights is an exhilarating musical journey into one of New York's most vibrant communities, where the lives of three generations come together in an unforgettable story of hope and self-discovery.” The music and lyrics were written by Lin-Manuel Miranda who will also be a producer on the movie.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Because truth is stranger than fiction...
In celebration of its fiftieth birthday, the Smurfs will make their first appearance in Macy’s (82nd) Thanksgiving Day Parade. “The Smurf will measure approximately 57.6 feet long, 38.7 feet wide and 47 feet tall, when he is filled with 15,050 cubic feet of helium on Parade day.”
FUNimation Sues CA Retail Sites over Alleged Bootlegs
Stephen Hawking to Retire
Fruits Basket Gets Stage Play — by All-Male Troupe Hey, if you’re interested and in Japan, they’re holding auditions from October 1 - November 28 for "Healthy males 23 years old or younger."
Museum Explores Japan's Old Capital through Manga
Angry online divorcee 'kills' virtual ex-hubby
“A man has launched a campaign in Japan to legally allow comic book-loving humans to marry their favourite fictitious characters.” Just when you thought comic book fans couldn’t do anything to get an even weirder reputation.
Simon Pegg argues for a return to traditional zombie values
A teenager has changed his name to Captain Fantastic Faster Than Superman Spiderman Batman Wolverine Hulk And The Flash Combined.
All James Bond films require two ingredients, a villain and a lair from which they can launch their attempt at world domination.
One step closer to a Terminator future.
Star Trek when Sulu was black and Uhura was white
'70s Frank Frazetta paintings for Battlestar Galactica
Celebrity Muppet Lookalikes Of The Day (Thanks to Justin)
Games
PS2s are out selling PS3s.
Game developer Gameloft has made a deal with Marvel Entertainment to publish mobile games based on Marvel properties. The exclusive multi-year, multi-product agreement starts 2009 with games based on Spider-Man and Iron Man 2. Spider-Man will be released across all major carrier decks.
Bioshock DLC Trailer
Atari has bought publishing rights from Activision Blizzard for a Chronicles of Riddick: Escape at Butcher Bay sequel. The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena will release this spring, also Atari has signed a deal with Universal that will allow a continued Riddick franchise. Rumor has it that they’ll also buy the Ghostbusters based game, with a similar franchise deal with Sony.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
42 VIEWS OF TOKYO
November 1-17, in the Los Angeles suburb of Alhambra, at The Gallery Nucleus:
“Gallery Nucleus presents W+K Tokyo Lab's ‘TOKYO.TEN 42 VIEWS OF TOKYO.’ Never before seen outside of Japan, the show will showcase a visual remix of the nine previously released hybrid CD/DVD albums in addition to the works of 42 artists (graphic designers, illustrators, photographers) who have collaborated and participated in the TOKYO.TEN project.”
More info here.
CBLDF
November 8, in New York City, at the Helen Mills Theater:
“Veteran voice actor Tom Wayland and others, will read from some of the most politically charged excerpts of THE SANDMAN written by New York Times best-selling author Neil Gaiman, in honor of the 20th Anniversary of THE SANDMAN. Hosted by the CBLDF [Comic Book Legal Defense Fund) and Vertigo, the dramatic reading will be will be held at the Helen Mills Theater in New York City on Saturday, November 8 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are available for a $50 donation to the CBLDF. Only 100 tickets are available to this special reading event.”
Reserve tickets here.
Grinchmas
Starting December 6, Universal Studios Hollywood will have “Grinchmas.” The celebration will take place on weekends starting the 6th, and daily from December 22-31, included in the price of admission. Attractions include real snow, character meetings with The Grinch, Cindy-Lou, and Max, a Whoville jubilation at the original sets where Dr Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas was filmed, a whimsical Grinchmas tree, and the Whoville set from the 2000 movie will performers re-enacting scenes.
Tickets here.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
DVD Releases
Twin Blades of the Ninja - November 11
Ninjaken—The Naked Sword - November 18
Female Prisoner Sigma - November 25
Cruel Restaurant - December 2
Attack Girls Swim Team vs. the Undead - December 9
Death Row Girls - December 16
Hit and Run – December 17
Chain Gang Girls - December 23
Gluttonous - January 6, 2009
Mirrors – January 13, 2009
Maid's Secret - January 13, 2009
Maid's Secret—Welcome Home - January 20,2009
Killer Bees - January 27, 2009
New Manager of the Sumo Club - February 17, 2009
TV News...
How Did The Fall TV Shows Fare?
David Tennant says his time as the tenth Doctor is over, "When Doctor Who returns in 2010 it won't be with me." He’ll film a Christmas special and then four more specials in January before ending his tenure. The show’s fifth series is scheduled to premiere in 2010. More here.
“CW and CBS Paramount Network TV are exploring the possibility of reviving ‘Melrose Place.’”
Joss Whedon said in a blog post that Dollhouse’s original pilot has been scrapped.
“Basically, the Network and I had different ideas about what the tone of the show would be. They bought something somewhat different than what I was selling them, which is not that uncommon in this business.” … “Nothing essential has changed about the universe. The ideas and relationships that intrigued me from the start are all there (though some have shifted, more on that), and the progression of the first thirteen eps has me massively excited. The episode we’re shooting now I wrote as fast as anything I have before, not because I had to (although, funny side-note: I had to) but because I couldn’t stop the words from coming. Because I can feel the show talking to me; delighting, scaring and occasionally even offending me.”
Heroes co-exec producers Jesse Alexander and Jeph Loeb were fired November 2nd. The two, who’ve been with the show since season one and who led day-to-day production under Tim Kring, were let go because of NBC’s frustration over the creative direction of the show, budget overruns, and sinking ratings. “Kring has reportedly assured NBC and Universal Media Studios, which produces the series, that he intends to focus on simplifying what's been criticized, even by ardent fans, as an overly complex storytelling structure to get back to the show's comic-bookish good-vs.-evil themes and to emphasize character development more than plot twists.”
Brooke Smith has been taken off Grey’s Anatomy. Smith says it’s because of the direction of her character as a lesbian, while executive producer Sondra Rhimes says, "Brooke Smith was obviously not fired for playing a lesbian. Clearly it's not an issue as we have a lesbian character on the show – Calliope Torres. Sara Ramirez is an incredible comedic and dramatic actress and we wanted to be able to play up her magic. Unfortunately, we did not find that the magic and chemistry with Brooke's character would sustain in the long run.”
Monday, November 3, 2008
Trailers
Some of these links may contain mature material, and MRFH is not responsible for their content.
Fanboys
Neko Rahmen (Japanese) [select the leftmost white text link in the top menu.]
Paul Blart: Mall Cop
Defiance
Angels & Demons
The Grudge 3
Plague Town
Videos
Some of these links may contain mature material, and MRFH is not responsible for their content.
Dragonball 1 promo
Zack and Miri Make a Porno 1 featurette
Twilight 1 clip
Let the Right One In 1 clip
Fear[s] of the Dark 2 clips
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Movie News
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Dominic Sena’s thriller WhiteOut has been bumped back, again, to September 2009.
Amy Adams will play NPR correspondent Jacki Lyden in biopic The Queen of Sheba.
M. Night Shyamalan, through newly formed Night Chronicles, and Media Rights Capital have started on the first of their three horror picture production deal. John Erick Dowdle will direct, and Brian Nelson will write, Devil, a PG-13 supernatural thriller based on an original story by Shyamalan. Shyamalan will oversee selection of talent on the project that should begin production next year.
Samuel L. Jackson will narrate Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds.
Jessica Simpsons Major Movie Star is going to be renamed and go straight to DVD.
Prequels, Sequels & Remakes
Paramount is fast-tracking a Footloose remake, with hopes to start production early in the spring. After seeing the success of High School Musical 3, Paramount will have Kenny Ortega directing and Zach Efron starring, with Peter Sollett rewriting Jon Hartmere's script, and "the studio is working on new songs that will complement some of the memorable original tunes." [E: *sigh*]
J. Michael Straczynski is writing an update of Forbidden Planet for Warner Brothers.
Pascal Laugier is in final negotiations to write and direct the "re-imagining" of Clive Barker's 1987 Hellraiser.
Mike Nichols will direct Miramax’s remake of High and Low. David Mamet wrote the script based on Akira Kurosawa’s detective thriller (which was based on King’s Ransom by Ed McBain) about a businessman who is ruined when he honorably pays ransom to kidnappers who mistakenly took his driver’s son.
Chris Wyatt and Mark Altman are remaking 1963 cult movie They Saved Hitler's Brain as a sci-fi musical comedy. They’ll partner with the original’s Crown Intl. Pictures, with Jon and Al Kaplan doing the songs and book. “The original, set in South America, revolved around a secret attempt to preserve Hitler's brain in the hopes of raising a Fourth Reich.”
Samuel L. Jackson will play Sho’nuff in the The Last Dragon remake. “The updated plot will be along the same lines of the original, centering on young martial arts student Leroy Green in his quest through the streets of New York to achieve the highest level of martial arts accomplishment, known as the Last Dragon. Those who achieve the high ranking possess the Glow, making them the greatest fighter alive.”
Marvel's announcement on Avengers:
"THE AVENGERS will bring together the super hero team of Marvel Comics characters for the first time ever, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, the Hulk and more, as they are forced to band together to battle the biggest foe they’ve ever faced." So Hulk ain't the villain then. Marvel Studios also made some confirmations about the Iron Man and The Avengers movies. Don Cheadle has definitly replaced Terrance Howard as Rhodes, not only for Iron Man 2, but has also for any subsequent Iron Man movies and The Avengers. As part of his four picture deal with Marvel, Robert Downey Jr. will be on as Tony Stark for The Avengers as well as Iron Man movies. Jon Favreau will direct Iron Man 2 and produce The Avengers. Favreau has brought in Genndy Tartakovsky to help with storyboarding on Iron Man 2.
Pulitzer-prize winner David Lindsay-Abaire is in final negotiations to write Spider-Man 4.
Sean Patrrick Flannery and Norman Reedus will reprise their roles as the McManus brothers in the Boondock Saints sequel, Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day. Also returning are Billy Connolly, David Della Rocco, and Brian Mahoney, with Clifton Collins Jr., and JoJo Rhama joining the cast. Willem DaFoe will not be back.
Tyler Mane will play Michael Myers again in a direct sequel to Rob Zombie’s Halloween.
Joe Carnahan has confirmed that a Smokin’ Aces a prequel has been green-lit, and will going straight to DVD.
Paul Giamatti, who will produce, says Ron Perlman will play Elvis in Bubba Ho-tep prequel, Don Coscarelli’s Bubba Nosferatu. “[Coscarelli’s] actually taking a weird, interesting take on the whole Elvis myth and kind of investigating the whole Elvis myth in a really interesting way, so it’s got a lot of stuff about Col. Parker being responsible for a lot of what happened to Elvis and kind of literally making him a vampire in some ways, you know? A kind of a blood sucker… It plays on a lot of things, this movie, in a great way and it’s got Sitting Bull in it and there’s a peyote trip in it that is amazing and it’s just a big leap beyond the other movie. It’s ten times more insane and bizarre and it’s great and hilarious, too. It’s funnier than the other one is even. It still ends up being this great character study of this Elvis guy.’’…"Every effort was made by us, [Bruce Campbell] just didn’t want to do it and he was cool about it. 'He just didn’t want to do it, which is a bummer, because part of the reason I love that movie is him… a big part of it. He’s fantastic and I’ve always loved him. I’m a big fan of his, but he didn’t want to do it, which is totally cool."
David X. Cohen on final Futurama straight to DVD movie Into the Wild Green Yonder and the hope of someday restarting the show: "So we have the rare luxury of a writer who's experienced with writing the last episode of Futurama writing it again. So, in tone, we've gone for a similar approach, where if it is the last thing we ever do, I think we'll be quite proud of it, and it will serve us well as the last episode ever. But we leave ourselves a thin ray of hope in the story--and in real life--of returning." It'll come out in the spring.
Director Rob Cohen on xXx 3, "Yes, they're doing it with me and producer Joe Roth. We made the deal recently, it's named xXx: The Return of Xander Cage. We met the writers yesterday and we're trying to get into production by late spring, to have it out for the summer of 2010."
Chris Nolan on returning for another Batman movie:
“Is there a story that’s going to keep me emotionally invested for the couple of years that it will take to make another one? That’s the overriding question. On a more superficial level, I have to ask the question: ‘How many good third movies in a franchise can people name?’ [E: Right off the top of my head? Indiana Jones, Die Hard, Rocky?] At the same time, in taking on the second one, we had the challenge of trying to make a great second movie, and there haven't been too many of those either. It’s all about the story really. If the story is there, everything is possible.”
Universal is mulling over a third theatrically released direct sequel to American Pie.
Adaptations
Viper Comics’ Villains has had its rights bought by Universal. Adam Cogan and Ryan Cody’s comic about “a young man who is failing at life and finds purpose when he meets a Svengali-style villain who takes him under his wing” will be adapted by Matt Jennison and Brent Strickland.
Sam Mendes will direct Columbia Pictures' movie adaptation of Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's Preacher graphic novel. The 75 issue series is about "the preacher of a Texas town, who is struggling to get by and is driven only by his strong moral sense. When the city is decimated by an otherworldly force, he embarks on a journey across the country to take on the evil."
Sony and Paramount will partner to finance and distribute Steven Spielberg’s Tintin trilogy. Paramount will handle the distribution in North American and certain English speaking territories and Sony will handle the foreign.
Kengo Hanazawa's boxing manga Boys on the Run will be adapted into a live action film by Daisuke Miura. Singer Kazunobu Mineta will star as Toshiyuki Tanishi, a “27-year-old man stuck in a company that sells vending machine prizes, until the day he meets an old acquaintance who is now a boxer. Inspired to try boxing himself, Tanishi joins a gym that happens to have a female trainer named Hana.” A Japanese fall release is planned for next year.
The rights to Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander fantasy novels have been bought by Essential Pictures as a potential franchise. The series of six (soon to be seven) novels are about a time traveling nurse and her 18th century Scottish Highlander husband. Essential is currently developing the first adaptation written by Randall Wallace.
Christopher Lee, Alan Rickman, and Eleanor Thompson have joined on for Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. Lee's role is as yet undisclosed, Rickman will be The Caterpillar [E: Awesome!], and Thompson is an original character that'll be a friend of Alice.
Geoffrey Rush, Ernie Dingo, and Missy Higgins will star in the film version of Aboriginal musical Bran Nue Dae. “The touring musical told the story of a young boy's flight from mission school back to his remote Kimberley community.”
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