Latest News
Thu Dec 18, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
BBC Orders 2nd Season of 'Merlin'
Series Due on NBC in 2009
The revisionist take on Camelot, Merlin, has been given a second season order by the BBC according to Variety. The series, starring Colin Morgan as the young wizard, has aired on BBC’s coveted Saturday night usually take n by Doctor Who and Robin Hood. NBC already bought American broadcast rights and intends to schedule the series in the first half of 2009.
The premise has the series occurring during the days of Arthur’s father, King Uther, but Camelot already exists. Merlin is an apprentice magician, not aging backwards, and befriends a young Arthur (Bradley James). The series also features supporting characters played by Michelle Ryan (Bionic Woman) John Hurt (Alien), and Anthony Stewart Head (Buffy).
The series was developed by Shine, the BBC, and distributor FremantleMedia Enterprises and is now running in 112 territories. In the UK, its 28% audience share was considered above average, easily confirming a second season order.
Thu Dec 18, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
'Fear Itself' Concludes Run on FEARNet
NBC Summer Series Finds New Home
NBC ordered 13 episodes of the horror anthology series Fear Itself, but aired only eight of the episodes last summer. Ben Silverman, Co-Chairmen, NBC Entertainment told iF Magazine in late July, “No we’re not taking it off.” But that is exactly what they did with five episodes shot and unseen.
FEARNet has announced that the aired epsidoes wil be available on their website and their VOD service.
One of the episodes already available is "Eater," directed by Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator). This installment stars Samantha Moss (Mad Men) as a rookie cop who must spend her first night in the precinct watching over a serial killer, coined "The Eater". When her fellow cops start acting bizarre, she quickly learns that no one is who they seem.
The ratings were lackluster, trailing behind CBS’ Swingtown, which is why Silverman admitted the series was on the “bubble” regarding a second season. Obviously, the bubble burst.
“We’re really happy with the numbers,” Silverman said at the press tour. “On a relative basis it did better than Studio 60 last year at one-quarter of the cost and that was a big reason we put it on. It was a marketing vehicle for motion picture studios, in the summer, when they’re desperately looking for platforms to reach their consumers and Thursday nights have always been the home of the big movie marketers. That’s why we put that show in there. Also by being produced in Canada, by letting the DVD rights go to our partner, we’re able to get that show at 1/8th the price we pay for a show like Heroes.”
Thu Dec 18, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
BBC Radio Looks at Female Comic Characters
Traces Evolution from Betty Boop to Fiona
Drawn to be Wild discussed the changing image of women comic characters on the BBC’s Radio 4.
BBC News previewed the piece by providing a look at how females have changed through the years in animation, comic strips and comic books, both in the UK and America. They first begin with Betty Boop, the reining queen of animated vamps up to Jessica Rabbit.
Boop, popularized in a series of cartoon shorts from the Fleischer Brothers Studios, “was the first character in animation history to fully represent a sexual woman. She regularly wore short dresses, high heels and a garter belt and was an object of affection for many men.”
“Frequently topping the polls as the greatest female cartoon character and celebrating her 20th anniversary this year is Jessica Rabbit, the animated femme fatale of the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, who risks all to help her man. Rabbit was about as sexy as a cartoon character could be, but a look at some of her predecessors and their trademark devices shows that every creation had their own unique appeal.”
Continue reading BBC Radio Looks at Female Comic Characters ›
Wed Dec 17, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
Rob Zombie Returns for Second Helping of 'Halloween'
New Sequel Due in October
Rob Zombie has, not surprisingly, signed on direct a sequel to his remake of John Carpenter’s Halloween. He and Dimension Films have stressed this will not be a remake of Halloween 2.
Production is gearing up so H2 can be shot starting in March and readied for release in October according to Variety.
“The new film picks up right as the first remake ended, following the aftermath of Michael Myers' murderous rampage through the eyes of the sister he hunted,” said the trade.
Zombie initially told the studio that he wasn’t interested in coming back, despite the remake’s $60 million haul last year.
"I was so burned out. (But) I took a long break, made a record and I got excited again," Zombie said. "Now, we'll be hauling ass, and that's the problem making a movie called Halloween' If you come out Nov. 1 or after, nobody cares. If it was called anything else, I'd be fine."
Zombie is also at work on other films incluiding the animated film The Haunted World of El Superbeasto, based upon his comic book series, The Adventures of El Superbeasto. He's also directing the live action Rob Zombie's Tyrannosaurus Rex for Dimension.
Wed Dec 17, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
Gore Verbinski Examines the Online Fantasy World
New Film Based on 'WSJ' Article
The fictional online lifestyle is becoming fodder for a new film to be written by Steven Knight (Eastern Promises) for director Gore Verbinksi (Pirates of the Caribbean). Universal Studios acquired rights to a Wall Street Journal article from 2007 reporting on the problems one married couple had when the husband became addicted to his fantasy life according to Variety.
Alexandra Alter’s article featured the 53 year-old diabetic chain smoker who spent as many as 20 hours a day living through his Second Life avatar who was buff in appearance. The man’s wife attended support group meetings for those with spouses addicted to the online life and their marriage nearly dissolved.
The fantasy worlds have been the subject of documentaries, including Second Skin, but this is the first dramatic movie to touch on the subject. It’s part of Verbinski’s recently signed first look deal with Universal. He’s also shooting Bioshock, based on the video game plus producing The Host, a remake of the Korean thriller.
Wed Dec 17, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
'Fringe' Offers Christmas Recap
John Noble, who plays Walter Bishop on Fox’s Fringe, has narrated “Happy Fringemas” to the familiar meter of “The Night Before Christmas”. The video is a recap of the series, which debuted in August, through now as it takes a break for the holidays and is in reruns.
Fringe returns with new episodes in early January.
Wed Dec 17, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
Charlaine Harris Signs for More Books
Charlaine Harris Charlaine Harris writes more than just novels featuring Sookie Stackhouse. In fact, she just signed to writer the fourth Harper Connelly novel for Editor Ginjer Buchanan at Berkley Prime Crime, for publication in fall 2009.
Not only that, but she’s teaming with Toni Kelner to edit Death’s Excellent Vacation, a cross-genre anthology. Stories will play mix and match with the science fiction, fantasy, mystery and paranormal genres, with each story revolving around death and a holiday. Such blended anthologies have occurred before and may become a new trend. Buchanan will produce this for the Ace imprint, due out in spring 2010.
Dead and Gone, the eighth Stackhouse book, will be out in May 2009.
Speaking of vampires, the mother-daughter team of P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast' have signed to write three more books in their House of Night series, plus an illustrated companion with award-winning artist Kim Doner, for Jennifer Weis at St. Martin's Press.
Wed Dec 17, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
Sci Fi Series' Ratings Benefit from DVR Viewing
'Heroes', 'Battlestar Galactica' Chief Beneficiaries
As more and more people time shift their viewing habits, watching hit and cult shows at times of their choosing, Nielsen Co. has released their year end top 10 list of shows that gained the most audience as a result of DVR viewing using live + 7 day numbers. There’s little surprise that the SF genre dominated the list which included Heroes, Lost, and Fringe in addition to popular fare such as Grey’s Anatomy, Bones, and The Mentalist.
According to the list of cable series that benefitted, Battlestar Galactica topped the list, followed by Burn Notice, reruns of Heroes, Sanctuary, and Eureka.
Similarly, over in the UK, the BBC marks the first anniversary of the launch of its iPlayer catch-up TV service. According to the Guardian, Doctor Who was the show that had the most use followed by Top Gear. Genre series Merlin, coming to the US via NBC in 2009, ranked fifth.
Wed Dec 17, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
Warner Home Video to Take Over Viz Distribution
Deal Begins April 1
Warner Home Video will take over distribution for Viz Media’s home video output, according to ICv2. The deal is effective April 1 beginning with Naruto Uncut Box Set 13 and Hunter vs. Hunter Box Set, Vol.2, which have a street date of April 7.
WHV will take over distribution of Viz’s backlist, which also includes Pokémon, Bleach, Death Note and Inuyasha.
Viz joins the impressive lineup of brands managed by WHV, including the BBC, National Geographic, Peanuts, Dr. Seuss, Cartoon Network, Popeye, American Girl, the NFL, the NBA, and the NHL.
Hidemi Fukuhara, the President and CEO of Viz Media, said in a statement,” We look forward to joining forces with Warner Home Video and are confident that in working with their strength in sales and distribution, we will continue to grow the anime category even more effectively than we have over the last several years.”
Wed Dec 17, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
Review: 'Marvel Chronicle'
Marvel Comics kicks off their 70th Anniversary celebration with Marvel Chronicle, a wonderful hardcover book, published by DK Publishing. The coffee table book comes in a hard box complete with color and black and white reproductions of Jim Cheung’s frenetic cover. (The diecut M for the front cover is a nice touch.) As is sadly too often the case these days Stan Lee’s introduction is full of bombast and enthusiasm but tells us nothing new.
The book is a year by year account of the company from its humble beginnings as an offshoot of Martin Goodman’s pulp magazine line to its place atop the comic book heap in 2008. The book nicely spans from 1939 through June 2008 (following cover date convention). Each decade has been handled by one of four writers – Tom DeFalco, Peter Sanderson, Tom Brevoort, and Matthew K. Manning – and provides month by month highlights with copious illustrations.
The chapters on the 1940s (Sanderson) and the 1950s (Brevoort) are the most interesting in how they show the company’s breadth, lack of depth, and ability to flood the market with titles on whatever is popular at the moment. While it’s fascinating to see the seldom seen funny animals and teen humor characters slowly replace the super-heroes, it’s also interesting to note that after Captain America, Sub-Mariner, and the Human Torch, the company failed to score another major hit character for decades. The write ups also nicely tell us which characters, creators or innovations get revived in the future.
Marvel, of course, finally came into its own with Fantastic Four #1 and the set-up is wonderfully handled by Brevoort, who notes that when the company was forced to cut its output to eight titles a month, Stan Lee took the opportunity to get better as a writer, and use only his best artists – Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and Don Heck for the most part.
Wed Dec 17, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
DC Changes 'Green Lantern' Contents
Revised Stories for issues #37 and 38
DC Comics has announced that the contents for Green Lantern #37 and #38 have been altered. GL #37 will now be a part of the January Faces of Evil event in a story written by Geoff Johns, with art by Ivan Reis and Oclair Albert and a cover by Shane Davis and John Dell. According to DC, the story is a “prelude to The Blackest Night with ‘Rage of the Red Lanterns" part 3.’ Hal Jordan continues his journey into the deepest depths of Ysmault, unlocking the strange secrets behind Atrocitus's crimson power and witnessing a bizarre prophecy all his own." The issue is due on sale January 21.
February will bring GL #38 which will feature a new Origins and Omens backup story. In this issue, written by Geoff Johns with art by Ivan Reis and Oclair Albert and a cover by Shane Davis and Sandra Hope, “the War of Light ignites as the first bizarre battle with the Red Lanterns comes to a blood-fueled conclusion. But what unexpected fate has befallen Atrocitus, the leader of the Red Lanterns, and what new Green Lantern law is unveiled?” The issue is due on sale February 4.
Wed Dec 17, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
Uclick Adds 3 Webcomics
UPS sees Webcomics as the Future
Uclick has announced three more webcomics coming to their mobile store via Apple’s iTunes app store. We the Robots by Christ Harding, Basic Instructions by Scott Meyer, and Pibgorn by Brooke McEldowney were all signed by Universal press Syndicate.
We the Robots has been a part of UPS’ Go Comics site since 2007 with Pibgorn being added this year.
Uclick CEO Douglas Edwards said in a release, “On the near horizon we’ll be offering many more well-known web-based creators in the App Store,” Edwards said. “If I told you any more than that, I’d be ruining the surprise. But I can tell you that we’ve made a firm commitment to bring the best in webcomics to the iPhone and iPod Touch, because we believe this device offers a fantastic comics-reading experience. As comics fans ourselves, we want the medium to be well-represented on these devices, and that means delivering more of the comics people love in the best on-device experience.”
Each episode costs $.99.
Wed Dec 17, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
'Wolverine' Film Website goes Live
20th Century-Fox has launched their website for X-Men Origins: Wolverine with the newly released trailer and a countdown clock. You can sign up for e-mail updates as the promotional machine gears up for the movie’s May 1, 2009 release.
Wed Dec 17, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
'Priest' Finds its Director
Korean Comic Headed for Silver Screen
ScreenGems has announced that Scott Charles Stewart will direct their film adaptation of the manhwa (Korean comic) Priest according to The Hollywood Reporter. The movie is being written by Cory Goodman (The Brood) and will adapt the initial storyline of the series which debuted in South Korea in 1998 and continues to today. Tokyopop has produced 16 volumes for English-language readers. The series was created by Hyung Min-woo, after being inspired by a video game called Blood.
The story is set in a “world ravaged by centuries of war between man and vampire and follows a warrior priest who turns against the church to track down a murderous band of vampires who have kidnapped his niece.:
Priest nearly made it before the cameras years earlier with 300’s Gerard Butler in the lead for director Andrew Douglas but it failed to gain a green light.
Stewart is also at work for the studio, making his directorial debut on Legion, a “biblical apocalyptic thriller” that he also wrote. Prior to that, he worked at Industrial Light & Magic before forming special effects house the Orphanage with former ILM staffers Stu Maschwitz and Jonathan Rothbart.
Wed Dec 17, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
'Watchmen' Trial Pushed to January 20
Judge Refuses to Grant Summary Judgment
The eagerly awaited trial pitting 20th Century Fox against Warner Bros. over The Watchmen has been delayed from January 6 to January 20, according to Variety. On Monday, Judge Gary Allen Feess declined to “issue a ruling on whether Fox or Warner Bros. controls the rights to the project.”
The delay is a result of the judge having a criminal matter also scheduled for the 6th, which takes precedence over Hollywood behemoths. He declined both sides’ request for summary judgment regarding the rights, saying, “the contracts between Fox and Watchmen producer Larry Gordon are so open to interpretation that a trial is required.”
Warner insists the movie will still open, as scheduled, on March 6.
Watchmen has had a complicated history from when the rights were first sold to Fox in 1986. The rights have been with Warners once before, when Joel Silver and Terry Gilliam were attached to produce and direct, respectively. Universal had the rights for what seem like 15 minutes where they had David Hayter write a draft of the script. Creator Alan Moore praised this draft saying it was, “as close as I could imagine anyone getting to Watchmen.” The Hayter draft was the basis for the version that was eventually filmed. After Universal the project went to Paramount, who dropped the project because of budget issues as management changed from Sherry Lansing to Brad Grey. Paramount has received the international distribution rights in exchange for their turnaround rights.
The issue of contention comes from an agreement between Fox and producer Lawrence Gordon. Gordon has been attached to the project since it’s inception and when his company, Largo International, dissolved he purchased the rights from Fox and moved it around until the film found it’s final home with Warner, parent company to DC Comics which published the maxiseries in the first place. Fox contends that their deal with Gordon required him to resubmit the film to Fox every time there was a changed element. In this context "element" can mean anything from a new subplot to a new starring actor. Fox says that Gordon’s failure to do this when the project moved to Warner and acquired director Zack Snyder means that they retain some of the rights to make this film.
Fox said they spent in excess of $1 million in developing the film before giving up and Gordon has said he has paid nearly $400,000 to Fox to settle that debt.
Warner contends that they have settled all the rights issues through their settlement with Paramount, the previous rights holder. They dispute that Fox has any claim on the property at all.
Fox's suit, filed in February, contends that it retains distribution rights to the graphic novel penned by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons. It asserts that Gordon's option to acquire Fox's remaining interest in "Watchmen" was never exercised, thereby leaving Fox with its rights under a 1994 turnaround agreement.
