HBO Pulls Plug on Preacher
Garth Ennis’ The Boys is moving forward a film project but it appears adapting his Preacher series is too controversial for the screen, be it big or small.
Comics Continuum broke the story from screenwriter Mark Steven Johnson that the current management at HBO has shied away from the television incarnation. He was told “the new head of HBO felt it was just too dark and too violent and too controversial.”
The Vertigo series, co-created with artist Steve Dillon, ran from 1995 through 2000 and was an exploration into the relationship between man and God, among several other topics. It was an award-winning project now collected into a series of trade collections that continue to sell well.
A feature film version, possibly starring James Marsden (Superman Returns, Enchanted), has been in the works as an independent feature from View Askew Productions. Rachel Talalay (Tank Girl) was attached to direct with Samuel L. Jackson interested in portraying the Saint of Killers.
HBO stepped in and announced it would develop the series for their pay cable channel in November 2006 with Daredevil writer/director Johnson attached with director Howard Deutch. Johnson initially indicated he saw each issue of the comic as an episode of the hour-long series. He reversed that position and was working with Ennis on crafting new stories when the network pulled the plug.
Lionsgate releases the first season of the CW’s Reaper on November 4. The amusing show with Bret Harrison and Ray Wise comes as a box set featuring all 18 episodes plus the usual assort of bonus materials including deleted scenes and commentary with cast and crew. The five-disc set will retail for $39.98.
With Freddie Highmore on board to voice Astro Boy in the Warner Bros. CGI reincarnation of the classic anime series, one has to wonder what role Kristen Bell will play. She has recently been linked to the project along with Nicolas Cage, Bill Nighy, Donald Sutherland, Eugene Levy and Nathan Lane. The movie is due out in spring 2009.
Meantime, Jodi Benson, the voice of Ariel, comes up from under the sea to lend her voice as Barbie to Michael Keaton’s Ken in Toy Story 3. The film, coming June 18, 2010, of course reunites voice actors Tom Hanks and Tim Allen as the toy’s owner, Andy, moves on to college.
Today’s 
The actual events involved a robber who either shot the 60-year-old Siegel or the event triggered a fatal heart attack. Meltzer’s novel, on sale next Tuesday, uses the gun shot but in an afterward he explores the issue and admitted to Colton the truth was more likely a heart attack.
After rumors began swirling late last week, Publisher’s Weekly now confirms that Virgin Comics has closed. The SoHo offices have been shut down, the staff let go and principals Sharad Devarajan, Gotham Chopra and Lance Leiberman have not returned attempts by the media to get details.
Marvel Comics announced a deal with 
The Dark Knight surpassed Star Wars twice this weekend. First, it firmly grabbed second place on the All Time Box Office charts with a total now estimated at $471,493,000. Its weekend take of $16,790,000 also surpassed the debut of the CGI-animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars which managed a so-so $15,505,000. The film received mixed reviews and little in the way of anticipatory buzz so its performance over the next week or two will be telling.
fter teasing us with just four close-ups of selected cast members of next May’s new Star Trek film,
’ $461,000,000 and become the second highest grossing film in American box office history. 
