Articles by robert-greenberger
Fri Dec 26, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
Miller & Gibbons Think 'Martha Washington' Good for the Screen
Futuristic Tale SPans 500 Pages
Dave Gibbons mentioned to Digital Spy that another of his comic properties is being eyed for the big screen. "There's been nothing picked up,” he admitted. “There was a series I did with Frank Miller called Martha Washington, which in fact is longer than Watchmen, it's about 500 pages. Frank's enjoying a certain amount of success in Hollywood and I wouldn't be surprised if something happens with that. I think that would make a great movie. People misunderstand Frank, they think he's very grim and right-wing, but he's got his tongue very firmly in his cheek. Martha Washington is a war story but it's quite satirical and I think has a strange resonance with what's happening in the world today."
Miller also seems interested in the project, telling Splash Page, “It’s just a matter of finding the right venue, because Martha Washington isn’t a movie, it’s a series. It would have to be like 12 episodes to fit the whole story in. I would not let it be truncated.”
First published in 1990 as Give me Liberty, Martha has appeared in subsequent tales by the duo, all published by Dark Horse Comics. They announced a Martha Washington Omnibus, collecting every page, but it remains off their schedule.
Fri Dec 26, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
'Gilligan's Island' the Movie?
Sherwood Schwartz Eyes Big Budget Remake
In the "oh my” department, Sherwood Schwartz and his son Lloyd have been talking up trying to make a feature film version of the classic 1960s sitcom Gilligan’s Island. They envision Juno’s Michael Cera as the perfect Gilligan and imagine Beyonce Knowles as a modern day Ginger.
The legendary producer, perhaps best known for creating The Brady Bunch, told TV Guide of his plans at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, where Sherwood was inducted into its Hall of Fame.
The notion “just happened in the last 48 hours. I can't take this much excitement at my age," he told the magazine. Dawn Wells, who played Mary Ann, approved of the casting concepts. "There isn't anybody sexier than Beyonce!"
We’ll see if a studio snaps up this high concept given the iffy reception movies based on 1960s TV series have received from The Avengers to Bewitched.
Fri Dec 26, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
China Will Not See 'The Dark Knight'
Warner Decides Not to Release Film There
With The Dark Knight earning $465 million overseas, it’s hard to imagine that the world’s most populous country has yet to see the movie. According to Variety, Warner Bros. has decided not to open the film there at all.
"Based on a number of pre-release conditions that are being attached to The Dark Knight as well as cultural sensitivities to some elements of the film, we have opted to forego a theatrical release of the film in China," Warner said in a release on Tuesday.
The Dark Knight’s scenes shot in Hong Kong might be the points of contention. The country remains touchy regarding how they are depicted in films made by other countries.
At present, it remains $4 million shy of $1 billion in worldwide box office, a number likely to be reached by the time of it January 23 re-release.
Fri Dec 26, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
Artist Edd Cartier Passes Away at Age 94
Edward Daniel Cartier passed away on Christmas Day.
According to pulp historian Anthony Tollin, “Edd was one of the all-time greatest pulp illustrators, legendary for his whimsical work on John W. Campbell's Unknown and Astounding Science Fiction and 800 illustrations for The Shadow Magazine. He also drew stories for Street & Smith's Red Dragon and Super-Magician Comics.
“The favorite artist of Astounding editor John W. Campbell and writer L. Ron Hubbard, Cartier also illustrated the beloved Hoka tales by Poul Anderson and Gordon R. Dickson, and stories by John D. MacDonald, Isaac Asimov, Henry Kuttner, L. Sprague de Camp, Clifford D. Simak, Walter B. Gibson, Lester Dent and many others.”
Born in 1914, he studied at the Pratt Institute in New York before beginning his professional illustration career in 1939.
He once said of his work: “I put a bit of humor into what I drew. I was even told at times that I put too much humor into drawing science fiction. It’s a serious thing. When I started out doing science fiction, it was all kind of a weird thing. I had started out in art school drawing the Shadow magazine. The art director from Street & Smith happened to like my work and he gave me some work to do on Western Stories and from there he asked me to do some work on The Shadow magazine as that artist was leaving. He insisted that I follow the previous artist’s type of work. Later on I expanded into my own type of work, my own technique.”
Fri Dec 26, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
Judge's Ruling Favors 20th Over Warner on 'Watchmen'
Urges Both Sides to Cut a Deal
Judge Gary Allen Feess handed Warner Bros. a legal lump of coal on Christmas Eve, as he issued a brief ruling indicating 20th-Century Fox has the distribution rights to Watchmen, according to Variety.
His five-page ruling said, “Fox owns a copyright interest consisting of, at the very least, the right to distribute the ‘Watchmen’ motion picture.”
Frees, over the fall, urged Warner Bros. and 20th to iron out their differences. He repeated the suggestion in the document, saying, “The parties may wish to turn their efforts from preparing for trial to negotiating a resolution of this dispute or positioning the case for review.” Warner is set to release the film on March 6, 2009.
Fox acquired the rights from DC Comics in the 1980s with producer Lawrence Gordon’s production company. When 20th lost interest, Gordon moved the project to Universal and Paramount Pictures before landing it with Warner, parent company to DC.
Fox contends that Gordon never obtained all rights from them and they have a controlling interest in the highly-anticipated feature based on the Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons comic.
Given the holidays, Freees promised a lengthier explanation prior to the January 20 trial date. Warner Bros. had no comment on Wednesday.
Fri Dec 26, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
'The Clone Wars' gets Limited Run on Internet
10 Episodes Stream Unitl Jan. 2
Beginning Monday, while everyone is home from school, kids can catch up on Star Wars: The Clone Wars. While new episodes return in 2009, the ten aired on Cartoon Network will be available at both StarWars.com and CartoonNetwork.com. Supervising director Dave Filoni provides commentary.
The online option lasts until January 2 and that evening, the next original episode, "Dooku Captured," will air at 9 p.m. 6
Thu Dec 25, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
Marvel Announces Kid Friendly 'Wolverine' Graphic Novel
Clearly inspired by Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Marvel is releasing a hardcover graphic novel, Wolverine. The press note says, “That’s right Bub, Marvel is proud to unveil Todd Nauck’s cover to Wolverine, an all-new hardcover graphic novel presenting the history of Wolverine’s life from his days as wimpy kid to just how he became one of Marvel’s deadliest heroes. In stores this April, experience the most unique look ever inside the mind of everyone’s favorite Canadian in Wolverine!”
The question must be asked: is it right to release a kid-friendly Wolverine book just weeks before the not-kid-friendly Wolverine movie opens?
Thu Dec 25, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
'Original Johnson' Makes the 'NY Times'
In today's edition of The New York Times, the Sports section features an article on our Original Johnson strip. George Gustines does a nice job placing Johnson in American and boxing history. If you haven't checked out the story from Trevor Von Eeden, it's still running with new pages every week here at ComicMix.
Thu Dec 25, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
4 New Images from 'Wonder Woman'
Warner Premier provided us with four new images from March 3's Wonder Woman animated feature. Wonder Woman will also be available OnDemand and Pay-Per-View as well as available for download day and date, March 3.
Wonder Woman will receive a big screen premiere at New York Comic Con on February 6, 2009 in the IGN Theater at the Javits Center. The 8:30 p.m. screening will be followed by a panel discussion featuring members of the film's cast and crew. Ticket information is forth-coming.
Here's what you're looking at:
Artemis (center, voiced by Rosario Dawson) takes the lead during a gathering of Amazonians. Princess Diana, later to be known as Wonder Woman, stands immediately to the right of Artemis.
Ares assumes an even more menacing figure in battle as the primary villain, voiced by Alfred Molina.
Wonder Woman gets the upper hand, er, lasso on Ares' henchman Deimos during a thrilling action sequence.
Steve Trevor, voiced by Nathan Fillion, reacts angrily to Ares' affront to an American icon.
Wed Dec 24, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
'Jennifer's Body' gets September Berth
Megan Fox Thriller Hits Schedule
Diablo Cody’s Jennifer’s Body, has been given a September 18, 2009 release date by Fox Atomic. The movie, directed by Jason Reitman (Juno), stars Megan Fox (Transformers), Amanda Seyfried (Mama Mia), Adam Brody (The OC), and J.K. Simmons (Spider-Man).
The official plot synopsis follows: “When small-town high school hottie Jennifer (Megan Fox) is possessed by a hungry demon, guys who never stood a chance with her, take on new luster in the light of Jennifer’s insatiable appetite.”
The thriller's competition that weekend will include the Matt Damon/Melanie Lynskey crime thriller The Informant and Sony Pictures' animated adaptation of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.
Wed Dec 24, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
Stephen Chow Confuses Media
Star May or May Not Still be in 'Green Hornet'
Depending on which report you read, Stephen Chow is Kato but will not direct The Green Hornet. Maybe the Shaolin Soccer star will direct but not act in the Sony film, starring Seth Rogen. He may exit altogether, leaving the June 25, 2010 release without a director or co-star with production set to begin in the spring.
Moviehole was among the first to report that Chow is considering not playing Kato. “He's blaming it on scheduling (saying he wants to film some Jack Black-Superhero film) - but that sounds like a tug,” they note.
An Associated Press story confirms that report, quoting Chow as saying, "If I direct The Green Hornet, the superhero comedy will have to be delayed for two years. The timing might not be right for a superhero comedy in two years. And I want to make a movie based on an original idea."
Stay tuned for post-holiday developments
Wed Dec 24, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
'Star Trek: A Comics History' Coming for Spring
Hermes Press recently signed a deal to publish Star Trek: A Comics History, described as “the complete saga of the Star Trek universe in comic books and comic strips.” The March release is being written by Alan J. Porter, best known for his James Bond: The History Of The Illustrated 007. The 208-page, all color, large format deluxe trade paperback is expected to chronicle the four-color history of Star Trek from the first Gold Key comics to the English newspaper strip, to Marvel and DC’s Star Trek titles and the present-day comic and manga iterations.
Star Trek: A Comics History promises creator interviews, unpublished art work, and a detailed checklist of Star Trek comic publications. At the TrekkBBS, Porter said, “My intention is to include an index of the various comics by Stardate. At least I'm compiling one as I do the research and writing. I probably won't have the time to create a full timeline (ouch - sorry about the pun), so if a story spans several time periods it will most likely only be listed by the establishing introductory Stardate. - But this is a work in progress so who knows.”
He also defended the steep $39.99 for a trade paperback, noting that Hermes Press books are “all published on very high quality glossy archival paper and designed to last. They aren't mass market paperbacks, they are closer to glossy art books - hence the price point.”
Wed Dec 24, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
Disney Leaves 'Dawn Treader' at the Dock
Third 'Narnia' Film Needs New Studio
Disney has officially withdrawn from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader just as the film was preparing to shoot in early 2009. The Hollywood Reporter said Disney and Walden declined to say why but it’s been known for some time that the studio has had qualms about the budget given the lackluster $141 million box office performance of Prince Caspian.
Whole Prince Caspian cost $200 million, Dawn Treader was seen as a $100 million production and recently relocated principal photography from Mexico to Australia as a nod towards keeping costs down. Disney had the film, to be directed by Michael Apted from Steven Knight’s script, pencilled in for a May 2010 release.
Contracts with the returning cast -- Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley, William Moseley and Anna Popplewell – may now be in jeopardy if a new studio doesn’t sep in quickly. The trade speculates 20th-Century Fox may step in since not only do they need tentpole pictures, but they release Walden’s other fare.
While the Chronicles of Narnia spans seven books, the films were seen as a trilogy with the hope of getting every one of C.S. Lewis’ book adapted. For Disney to pull out after two films is quite unusual for a series. It’s not the first though, with New Line abandoning Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials after the poor performance of pricey The Golden Compass.
Wed Dec 24, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
American McGee's Grimm Comes to IDW
Graphic Novel Debuts in April
Celebrated game designer American McGee's Grimm, an episodic videogame that debuted on GameTap, offers gamers the chance to create darkness across traditionally lighter fairy tales. And now Grimm, the game's macabre dwarf who wreaks havoc on these fairy-tale tableaus, will be unleashed in a new comic book series coming from IDW Publishing in April 2009.
American McGee's Grimm is a five-issue miniseries that takes the games' high concept and tweaks it a bit, allowing Grimm to unleash his dark magic across five familiar comic-book universes. In issue one, Grimm exits the latest fairy tale he darkened only to discover bright and sunny superhero comics. He enters the world, kick-starting a "Crisis on Earth 57," where he launches a secret invasion crisis into a domain where villains are doomed to fail... until he gets involved!
Subsequent issues of the series, written by Dwight MacPherson and illustrated by Grant Bond, will find Grimm invading -- and forever changing -- the worlds of romance comics, westerns, teenage high-school comics, and anthropomorphic comics. In each issue, Bond's art style will reflect the archetypal art form of these traditional universes before Grimm's dark influence fully takes over the comic.
About the comic series, creator American McGee said in a release, "It's great fun to see the transformative 'Grimm effect' applied to narrative universes outside the Brothers Grimm tales. The world needs more of this -- exposure to the gritty, sometimes painful truth of the human condition -- be it in Red Riding Hood's well-earned demise, or the reversal of 'good guys win' scenarios that we all know to be far from everyday reality."
Wed Dec 24, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
Russell Davies Promises More than 2 Doctors
Claims no Knowledge of the 11th Doctor's Identity
Doctor Who producer Russell T. Davies was interviewed on BBC Radio 5, chatting about Thursday’s Doctor Who Christmas Special. Entitled “The Next Doctor”, the special was described as "nice and scary, but healthily scary". Practically confirming word the previous incarnations will be glimpsed in the story, he said, “It's not just the next Doctor you get to see, you get to see some old ones as well, which is rather exciting... It's a Doctorfest.”
The inevitable question was asked about David Tennant’s successor as the Time Lord and all he would say was, “Steven Moffat and the series 5 team are casting the next Doctor, the eleventh Doctor and it's literally nothing to do with me. Everyone keeps asking me, begging me, the money I could make out of this, but I do not know what they are planning.”
