Details of the first of the upcoming figures tying into June’s Green Lantern film are now out. There’s 2814 of these made (because that’s the number of the sector Hal patrols), showing actor Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan, with a wearable ring, from Mattel. Also at the same site you can discover more details of the tie-in game, called Rise of the Manhunters, which goes on sale on June 1.
The costume on the figure looks the best we’ve seen so far and I’d imagine it’d be pretty close to the final version in the film, and the game intrigues me as it’s Hal teaming up with his mentor Sinestro to fight the Manhunters, who were basically the Guardians of the Universe’s first attempt at galactic justice before they realised aliens with rings are better than robots.
I really need to get the Scott Pilgrim DVD. It looks like it’s filled to the top with some sure to be amazing extras. Anyway, here’s a great selection of Scott Pilgrim art inspired by the film and the Bryan Lee O’Malley comic from Oni Press which inspired it. Some of my faves are below.
Film news site Dark Horizons have been running a very useful series of posts about next year’s intriguing films, running through every genre you can think of. The 3rd entry is focused on titles beginning with C and apart from the obvious choices like Conan and Cowboys and Aliens, I was pleasantly surprised to see this:
Courageous
Opens: September 30th 2011 Cast: Alex Kendrick, Kevin Downes, Ben Davies, Matt Hardwick, Ken Bevel Director: Alex Kendrick
Summary: Four men, one calling: To serve and protect. As law enforcement officers, they face danger every day. Yet when tragedy strikes close to home, these fathers are left wrestling with their hopes, their fears, and their faith. From this struggle will come a decision that changes all of their lives.
Analysis: When it comes to business models, Sherwood Pictures has one many film companies would envy. A production company outlet owned by a Georgia-based Baptist Church, Sherwood produces low budget independent features about various subjects with strong Christian moral messages. It then uses mostly word of mouth marketing amongst churches and faith-based organisations to garner support to help promote and distribute the film.
Scoff all you like, Hollywood certainly did at first. Then in 2006, their football drama feature “Facing the Giants” hauled in a solid $10 million from a budget of only $10,000. Two years later, the fireman & marriage-themed drama “Fireproof” started out with a more serious budget ($500,000) and managed to outpace quite a few studio titles in the quiet early Fall period of that year, hauling in an impressive total of $33.5 million. That got a lot of attention, so much so that reportedly around 170 media outlets visited the set of their new film.
This fourth feature is an exploration of father/son relationships against the backdrop of the police force. With a bigger budget of just over $1 million, a stronger rating (PG-13 rather than the usual PG for these films), and use of the Red One camera to give the film much higher production values than the previous ones, the obvious aim is to deliver a feature that will not just energise the faithful but potentially crossover and reach a mass audience. It’s doubtful this will be that film, but as Sherwood have demonstrated before – one shouldn’t underestimate them.
I must admit that of the 3 films this faithful and resourceful church have made so far, I’ve only see their 2nd one, Facing The Giants, which really was their breakthrough. It’s a great emotional and spiritual film, helped greatly by the uplifting extras on the DVD too. If you haven’t already, go watch it, as it deserves more recognition than simply being seen as a “Christian movie.”
I’m looking forward to Courageous, and as someone who’s made a few short films in my day, and who firmly believes in God’s creativity as a gift, this will be on my must see list.
Find out more about Courageous here and the fine folks at Sherwood Pictures here. The film opens on September 30 next year.
70 mins. Our Tron: Legacy special in which we dissect the 3D sequel to the classic 1982 film and the latest comic news and reviews. Also, sexy angst, inner beauty and the Star Wars planet naming method.
Your chance to appear as an artist in Udon’s upcoming Mega Man tribute book, Japanses creators band together in protest against new ratings, Crossgen comics launch from Marvel in March, Mark Waid leaves BOOM! Studios, BOOM! to publish Michael Moorcock’s Elric series, the first Marvel TV series to focus on spy/mother Jessica Jones.
18:10 WHAT WE’VE BEEN READING
The bad Jonah Hex film, Dexter Season 5, Sandman: Book of Dreams short story collection, Magus #1 from 12 Gauge Comics and Black Panther: The Man Without Fear #513.
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost teamed up in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Now they’re bringing a CG alien, voiced by Seth Rogen, along for the ride. Paul opens next year.
There’s no mention of where the writers got this info from, but it’s an interesting read nonetheless. Essentially it’s what Bryan Singer’s plans were for the sequel to Superman Returns. It certainly seems much more action packed and features Brainiac and removes (if harshly) the whole bad idea of Superman’s son, but I’m still glad this film wasn’t made. Read the article here.
Also on the net are more costume concepts from another Supes film attempt, this time for the J.J Abrams version, though they may have carried over to Singer’s film too in the early stages. Steve Johnson released those Nic Cage/Tim Burton costume test pics a while ago and now you can see them and more recent ones at his Facebook page.
This is something I’ve been meaning to review for a while. We talked about it on our Extra Sequential podcast a few weeks ago, in episode 15, but I thought it might be worth an extra mention as we come close to Christmas, as it is a great present for the fanboy or girl in your life. For comics newbies, it’s not that acceessible. That is to say, if you don’t know who Grant Morrison is, then this won’t convince you of his awesomeness. Produced by the fine folks at SequArt, who are known for their insightful literary criticism of comics, this 80 minute documentary did surprise me in at least 2 ways. Firstly, I was sure they’d need to put subtitles on the film as every other time I’ve seen Morrison talk in his thick Scottish accent it was barely decipherable. Maybe he’s softened now that he’s spending more time in America, but it was fine and his casual revelations were easy and entertaining to take in. Secondly, he’s not as weird as I thought. He’s one of those creators, like Alan Moore, whose work is often examined and criticized, because we expect so much of him. Like Moore, he shares an interest in magic, but Morrison seems more public and approachable. When he discusses his dealings with the subject thanks to an influential uncle it just seems matter-of-fact. He also talks about his drug use (but no cocaine) and the strange visions that he experienced, and usually worked into his scripts on Vertigo series The Invisibles.
Of course, there’s many interviews with his fellow creators who aren’t shy on praise, including Frank Quitely, Phil Jimenez, Dan DiDio and many more. Though they’re not always revealing, they at least show Morrison’s down to earth nature and reinforce the fact that he is loved by critics, fans and fellow professionals.
It’s only $34 at Amazon bundled with the unsuprisingly more slick Secret Origin doco on DC Comics, which make perfect companion pieces, especially as most of Morrison’s work has been with DC in the last 20 years. It was Morison’s dynamite run on JLA for DC in the ’90s that cemented my love of comics and from that to WE3 to Seaguy to All Star Superman to a stint on X-Men for Marvel he’s shown that he’s a capable scribe of big ideas.
Talking about his upbringing, his love life, his artistic skills and the respect he has for the storytelling power of superheroes is all fascinating stuff. Unfortunately there are no interviews with loved ones, but the man himself is revealing and honest enough to paint a real self-portrait.
Director Patrick Meaney does a grand job of keeping it visually interesting and although it can divulge into a series of talking heads at times, generous use of the man’s comics work, and convention footage, make sure the visuals stay as interesting as the subject himself. The back cover of the DVD states that it contains, “mind bombs, psychedlic ideas and transgressive concepts,” which sums up Morrison’s work aptly. Of all the possible creators the film makers could have chosen Morrison is in the top 5 most obvious ones for he’s led an interesting and highly creative life. Their next film is on writer Warren Ellis and although I’m less familiar with his work, I’ll be sure to grab it too.
On a related note if you like behind the scenes on creative types, Chronicle Books is releasing Art Work in April which has looks at the notepads and journals from creators from many fields, such as Wes Anderson and Will Self.
61 mins. It’s Christmas time! Well, almost. Mladen and I throw out a few suggestions for present buying. Let’s call it our Generous Geek Goodies Giving Guidelines. Or something. We also yak about the manga 2001 Nights, two titles from GG studio and a lesser known character from the creator of Conan.
No Two-Face or Joker in The Dark Knight Rises, Tron: Legacy soundtrack is now available, the trailer for Transformers 3, Anthrax’s Scott Ian is writing The Demon for DC Comics, superheroes become samurai in Marvel’s 5 Ronin mini-series due in March.
17:20 WHAT WE’VE BEEN READING
Twilight: Eclipse, Hard Candy, the original Spartacus film, Kull: The Hate Witch #1 from Robert E. Howard, manga 2001 Nights from Viz Media, A Skeleton Story and The One from Italian publisher GG Studio.
42:34 GEEK CHRISTMAS GIFTS
Mladen and I give you some guidelines for Christmas purchases. If you want to buy something for the fanboy/fangirl in your life, or if you’re a fanboy/girl who wants to get something for the comics curious person in your life, then have we got some great tips for you?! Yes, yes we do.
Yes, it’s pretty bland and the character’s name/film title is miniscule, but fans already know what the film version of Thor looks like. I’d expect the posters that are released closer to the May 6, 2011 release date to play up the fantasy angle and the Marvel angle. Really this one-sheet could be of any action movie, but as directed by Kenneth Branagh and tying in to the Iron Man/Avengers film continuity we know it won’t be.
The trailer has also just been released. Some of the footage has been seen in the Comic-Con footage form July this year, but it also shows Thor’s winged helmet, his hammer Mjolnir and the evil Destroyer in action. Oh, and it’s 3D too. Looks pretty awesome.
The 2:30 long teaser for the third (and now Megan Fox-less) Transformers film has just been released. Apparently Soundwave is in it. Yay! The trailer doesn’t show much, apart from the 1969 moon landing and a probably ancient Transformer. I recall they used a similar NASA approach to the teaser for the first film.
Also, just been released is this teaser for the follow-up to the best comic video game ever, Batman: Arkham Asylum. Again, it doesn’t reveal a lot, apart from some brief Jason Bourne styled beatings. Both the TF film and Batman: Arkham City are out next year.
DC has always had an interesting history when compared to Marvel. Celebrating their 75th anniversary this year, though they’ve kept it quite low key, is this new documentary from the producers of the excellent Spellbound doco. Written and directed by Mac Carter and narrated by Green Lantern actor Ryan Reynolds, this 90 minute look at the publisher’s past and present is entertaining. There are better books out there that offer more exhaustive examinations, including the recent mammoth tome written by Paul Levitz, but considering this is a film made by the very subject it’s about, it was always going to be a cheery look rather than a dirty expose.
It’s no surprise that it’s the best looking doco of its kind, with plenty of pretty pictures from comics new and old and interviewees in professionally lit environments. Speaking of interviewees, the producers have lined up some rather impressive names including the expected writers and artists such as Neil Gaiman, Mark Waid, Len Wein, Louise Simonson, Gerard Jones, Jim Lee, and Dwayne McDuffie, Vertigo editor Karen Berger, designer Chip Kidd fans, head honcho Dan DiDio and fans at San Diego Comic-Con.
Many would expect this to be a glowing account of the awesomeness of DC, but it’s surprisingly frank at times. It does skip over the legal battle between Superman and Captain Marvel, and dismisses Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson’s exit from the company he helped build, but it also has Neal Adams calling Jay Garrick, the original Flash “stupid” and stating that the DC offices in the ‘70s were filled with hippies “ whose hair was longer than their careers.” Classic.
Denny O’Neill, the writer whose output with Adams gave DC a more realistic edge in their ‘70s Green Lantern/Green Arrow tales admits that in the decade previous DC were floundering when compared to Marvel’s much more fresh titles, with Spider-Man, X-Men, Fantastic Four and more exploding from the shelves. While Batman and Superman were still having zany sci-fi adventures, a relic from the harsh Comics Code form the ‘50s, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and co. were creating a new age of superheroes.
I did chuckle at two Wonder Woman anecdotes when O’Neill admitted, “boy did I screw that up” when referring to the depowering/white suit karate phase of the Amazonian’s life and hearing that her TV series ‘ theme tune had lyrics such as, “in your satin tights, fightin’ for your rights.” Seeing all the mania that existed over the past few decades during the TV and film adventures of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman around the world is great too, as is some of the merchandise surrounding those characters. Plus footage of actual events such as comic book burning in the ‘50s and news footage of Superman’s death in 1992 never gets old, and this is also the first time I’ve seen actual interviews with Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Superman’s creators.
Two other things I did learn however are that Frank Miller is 1 of 7 kids and Neil Gaiman almost gave up his dream of writing comics after a disbelieving career counsellor suggested accountancy instead. Yes, not revolutionary facts, but having read books on DC’s history before, most of the info that Secret Origin presents, I was already aware of. I did still enjoy it though as a well presented documentary on a fascinating few decades of DC Comics and newbies will find a lot of great trivia amongst all the great visuals.
Unfortunately there are no extras, not even trailers for DC’s existing animated films, which all the other DC films have, and the trailer below makes it seem like it’s mainly made up of TV and cartoon adaptations, which it isn’t.
The latest issue of the Australian version of film mag Empire has just been released (look for the Tintin cover, which was used by the UK edition previously ) and inside is a 4 page article on the next film from the great British comedy duo of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. They’ve appeared in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz and as the Thompson twins in December 2011’s Tintin film. Before that however (April, 2011 in fact) is Paul, a film starring the pair as geeks who discover an alien who’s been on earth for decades. That alien is voiced by Seth Rogen and the film is directed by Superbad’s Greg Mottola.
Well, the thing that stood out for me in the article was that the pair, obvious fanboys, are sporting the kinds of shirts you’d see at Comic Con. On the left is Frost with a Project Superpowers shirt from the Dynamite series, while Pegg wears a Daniel Clowes design, which is very good timing as his The Death-Ray tale is being published by Drawn and Quarterly next year.
I just stumbled across this, but it looks like a fantastic opportunity. The One 80 Project is a chance for creative types to get their work out there, for a chance to become a TV show to be shown on MTV. You have until Jan 14 next year to create a 180 second film to show the potential of a 1 hour drama. You must be an Australian resident, and an expert panel as well as the public will vote on all entries, and $5000 cash will go to the best entrant from a tertiary student.
Sadly, master of the deadpan delivery Leslie Nielsen passed away recently. His most recent films weren’t fantastic, certainly, but he gave the world some great comedy moments on film and TV. Empire have picked their fave Nielsen quotes and most of them made me chuckle out loud, thanks to the actor’s great work with the writing/directing team of Jim Abrahams and Jerry and David Zucker.
The list goes from 1980’s Airplane! (also known as Flying High) to 2003’s Scary Movie 3. His line from Airplane as Dr. Rumack is often repeated (“Don’t call me Shirley”), but he delivered more gold throughout his career, most noteably as Frank Drebin in the short-lived Police Squad TV series and the three Naked Gun films that spun out of the show. Catch the list here and see some merry snippets below.
Frank Drebin: We’re sorry to bother you at such a time like this, Mrs. Twice. We would have come earlier, but your husband wasn’t dead then.
Mr. V: That was nice work. You took a big chance doing that. Frank Drebin: Well, you take a big chance getting up in the morning, crossing the street, or sticking your face in a fan.
Frank Drebin: Jane, since I’ve met you, I’ve noticed things that I never knew were there before… birds singing, dew glistening on a newly formed leaf, stoplights.
Frank Drebin: This is Frank Drebin, Police Squad. Throw down your guns, and come on out with your hands up. Or come on out, then throw down your guns, whichever way you wanna do it. Just remember the two key elements here: one, guns to be thrown down; two, come on out!
Frank Drebin: Well… We shot a lot of people together. It’s been great. But today I retire, so if I do any shooting now, it’ll have to be within the confines of my own home. Hopefully, an intruder and not an in-law, like at my bachelor party.
comicbookjesus 