BATMAN ASSAULT ON ARKHAM is the newest direct-to-DVDDC feature with a lot of familiar parts including Kevin Conroy reprising his Batman role, and telling us how he manages to always keep it fresh. Plus, comedian John Lehr goes from Geico caveman to western funny man in the Hulu series QUICK DRAW, and talks about how improv is a huge part of the show.
Warner Brothers’ new disaster flick, INTO THE STORM, features some pretty real weather scenes rather than CGI effects and actress Sarah Wayne Callies tells us how long it took her to finally get dry. Plus more with the Immortal Hulk Hogan including his cut on today’s pro wrestling scene.
It’s been a great week for the folks at SyFy with the combined audience for the second SHARKNADO film plus encores of the first hitting over 18 million viewers. We talk to director Anthony Ferrante about how big ratings don’t necessarily mean big budgets, plus Vivica Fox and Judiah Friedlander explain why they were thrilled to jump on board this franchise. Then we sit down with wrestling superstar Hulk Hogan to talk about how the landscape of the business has evolved light years in recent days, plus the real story behind his flub at Wrestlemania.
Los Angeles, CA (August 4, 2014) – Cracked, one of the United States’ longest running humor institutions has announced its new web series from Cracked Studios entitled Antiheroes. The new 5 episode web series premieres on today.
Antiheroes follows a hilarious, semi-functional group of slackers at a debt collection agency who are inadvertently blessed (cursed?) with superpowers. The Workoholics meets Heroes comedy focuses on this powered group of coworkers going out of their way to not use their powers to fight crime, because fighting crime looks “just, like, way too hard, man.”
Writer Cody Johnston says, “We saw The Avengers and wondered why no one ever tried to take a little nap or just dick around on their phone to unwind, so we made this. We’re hoping Thor is introduced to the concept of ‘vegging out’ in Avengers 2, but in the meantime we hope you enjoy our fun, action-packed series that was made for more or less the same amount of money as all of Marvel’s past and future films.”
Starting today, full episodes of the series will be released every other day, with the 5th episode airing on Wednesday, August 13th. The web series was written by Cracked.com writer Cody Johnston, directed by Abe Epperson and stars Michael Swaim, Soren Bowie, Katy Stoll, Greg Scali as well as Cody Johnston.
Cracked.com, which is known for its non-fiction humor articles containing some of the most insightful and well-written pop culture observations and Webby Award series AFTER HOURS, launched Cracked Studios earlier this year to focus on original narrative shows and miniseries designed for the burgeoning digital marketplace.
I have spent months telling everyone who would listen that I thought Guardians of the Galaxy would be the first flop of the Marvel Studios era. While Iron Man and Thor were hardly household names before their recent turns they were the practically Superman wearing a Mickey Mouse costume compared with Star-Lord and Groot.
There’s also the inherent tendency for cosmic stories to end up feeling pretty nonsensical, maybe not more nonsensical than the Asgard stuff but audiences didn’t connect with Green Lantern and that seemed to be the closest comparable movie. I thought this would be an emperor-has-no-clothes moment and would unravel the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.
I’m happy to report I was a complete moron and while many of those ill portents might have been true James Gunn and his cast made such a thoroughly enjoyable movie that they don’t matter.
Guardians of the Galaxy is easily the funniest Marvel movie but it also derives its comedy in such a different way than most super hero movies. Every super hero movie I can think of either has one character that’s responsible for generating 90% of the laugh lines (your Tony Starks or your Lokis) or by sort of having moments of acknowledging the absurdity of the premise (this was way overdone in the later Schumaker Batman films). Guardians lets all five members of the team be funny and it helps so much. It helps the plot (and I’ll get to why the plot needs a little bit of help) but it also lets the actors shine in these characters.
I knew coming in to expect great things from Chris Pratt but I was not expecting Bradley Cooper to turn in the best performance of his career playing a mutant raccoon. I don’t even just mean he’s funnier in this movie than anything else, although he is, but he disappears in that character and I never thought I was hearing Bradley Cooper. Vin Diesel steals entire scenes despite only ever saying three words. This ensemble might not be better than Downey, Evans, Johansson et al. in the Avengers franchise but they fit their roles as good if not better than the big team and it’s stunning to watch.
I mentioned earlier that the plot needs a little bit of help and that’s not entirely fair. As someone who has been reading comic books literally as long as I can remember I had no problem following what was going on. The three people I went with who did not have that background had no idea what had just happened. They enjoyed themselves immensely, and that should be the real measure of a movie, but they could not tell me who the non-Guardian characters were, what their motivations were, or what an “Infinity Gem” did. They push through a lot of stuff without time for anything to sink in or without providing a lot of exposition and just relied on the general charisma of the rest of the film to carry the plot a little bit. It worked flawlessly and is the biggest difference from Green Lantern, which explained everything in laborious detail, and had no joy anywhere to be found.
I still think there are flaws in the MCU road map (honestly, who is clamoring for a Doctor Strange movie?) but I can’t doubt them any longer. I will anxiously await every movie they put out until they prove they can’t do it. I went in to this movie thinking I wouldn’t like it at all and walked out with only a minor quibble about the use of slow motion. Make mine movies Marvel.
Warner Animation has released an all-new clip from Batman: Assault on Arkham, the next entry in the popular DC Universe Original Movie series. The film is now available to own via Digital HD, and will be available on Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD on August 12.
Starting Monday, August 4, digital television provider Retro TV will be presenting the surviving “classic” episodes of Doctor Who weekdays at 8PM. the series will start as it should with William Hartnell as The Doctor in An Unearthly Child, and will continue in order, right through to the Sylvester McCoy series.
When broadcast television switched over to digital, stations received a bonus two digital sub-channels thanks to the extra ability to compress data. Most stations had no plan of their own to utilize these stations, which allowed for the rise of third party programming providers like Retro, Me-TV and many more. Offering mostly reruns of classic television, these channels have greatly expanded the number of classic shows available. While most classic TV station were only available through cable subscriptions, these new channels are available over the air, allowing everyone to enjoy them.
Retro TV scored a double-hit this summer for science-fiction fans. In addition to the adventures of the renegade Time Lord, they brought the travails of a man in space forced to watch cheesy movies with his robot friends back to the air when they premiered Mystery Science Theater 3000 earlier in the Summer.
Retro TV brought MST3K back to the air earlier this summer.
“Bringing MST3K and Doctor Who to Retro TV has been a passion project,” explains Matt Golden, Vice President of Production, “not only for myself, but others in the organization that love the shows and are thrilled to be able to share them with our audience. It’s for fans, by fans.”
Although the original broadcasts of Doctor were without commercials, Retro is doing everything possible to keep from editing the episodes. “A few of the episodes will be slightly edited for time. That said, it’s the minority.” Matt Golden clarifies. “For instance, of the first batch of episodes processed, there are only 20 out of those 121 episodes that are longer than we can support and thus need to be trimmed.”
“For the few that are over our prescribed durations, we’re making extremely judicious cuts, with careful consideration toward content and flow. Moreover, we’re not making any cuts that aren’t absolutely necessary, and the ones we have to make range from 30-60 seconds. We won’t be utilizing time compression, as episode-length speedup is more distracting and detrimental than subtle edits of a few lengthy establishing shots.”
This is not out of the ordinary. Back in its original foray into American television, the Tom Baker episodes were cut for commercial content, not mention adding explanatory narration by Howard DaSilva. Even BBC America edits episodes of the current series after their initial broadcast to accommodate ads.
Retro TV plans to bring the show to the fans by way of attending major Sci-Fi conventions as well. “We had a great time a couple of weeks ago at Con Kasterborous in Huntsville, AL, where we spoke with Sylvester McCoy, Andrew Cartmel, and several groups of fans, clips of which will be making their way onto TV and social media in the coming weeks as we roll out Doctor Who. We plan to continue doing so, and are in the midst of finalizing the details for another couple of cons this year”
In the area of genre programming, Retro had fallen behind ME-TV, which carries the original Star Trek, Lost in Space and many more. But with these two additions, Retro makes it clear they’re back in the game, with more to come. “I have a great love of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror, and feel that those genres have been somewhat underserved in our particular arena.” says Golden. “It’s all about the response, though, so if fans want to see more, they can help us out by making some noise: following us on Facebook and Twitter (and now on tumblr), calling stations in their markets to demand Retro TV, etc.”
Check the Retro TV website for local affiliates in your area, and with your local cable company to see if they carry the channel.
He’s no comic book character, but the real deal when it comes to hunting monsters. Trapper Tice and his team from AIMS (Appalachin Investigators of Mysterious Sightings) tackle creatures that look like Kirby creations on the hit show MOUNTAIN MONSTERS and he stops here long enough to reveal his secret origin. Plus we share our ComicCon memories and SHARKNADO breaks The Internet – again.
Divergent is arriving on home video next Tuesday and in anticipation of the Digital HD, Blu-ray, DVD, and OnDemand release, Summit Entertainment has released a deleted scene.
SANTA MONICA, CA (May 20, 2014) – Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), the premier next generation global content leader, will release the electrifying first installment of the blockbuster action adventure franchise Divergent on Blu-ray Combo Pack (plus DVD and Digital HD), DVD (plus Digital), Video on Demand and Pay-Per-View on August 5, the Company announced today. The film will be available on Digital HD two weeks early on July 22.
Based on Veronica Roth’s #1 New York Times best-selling book series which has sold nearly 22 million copies worldwide, the film features an all-star cast including Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Academy Award® winner Kate Winslet and Ashley Judd. To date, Divergent has grossed nearly $150 million at the domestic box office and more than $250 million worldwide in its theatrical release on Lionsgate’s Summit Entertainment label, getting the ?new franchise off to a fast start. The next three installments — Insurgent and Allegiant Parts 1 & 2 — will be released theatrically on March 20, 2015, March 18, 2016 and March 24, 2017, respectively.
Packed with bonus material, the Blu-ray Combo Pack includes the documentary “Bringing Divergent to Life,” an in-depth look at the making of the film plus the exclusive featurette “Faction Before Blood,” detailing the film’s future world. The Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD both feature deleted scenes and two audio commentaries – one with director Neil Burger and one with producers Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher. The Divergent Blu-ray Combo Pack will be available for the suggested retail price of $39.99 and the DVD for $29.95.
Divergent stars Shailene Woodley (upcoming The Fault in Our Stars), Theo James (Underworld: Awakening), Ashley Judd (Double Jeopardy), Jai Courtney (A Good Day to Die Hard), Ray Stevenson (Thor), Zoё Kravitz (X-Men: First Class), Miles Teller (The Spectacular Now), Tony Goldwyn (TV’s “Scandal”), Ansel Elgort (upcoming The Fault in Our Stars), Maggie Q (TV’s “Nikita”), Mekhi Phifer (ShowTime’s “House of Lies”) and Academy Award® winner Kate Winslet (Best Actress, The Reader, 2008). The film is directed by Neil Burger (The Illusionist, Limitless) from a screenplay by Evan Daugherty (Snow White and the Huntsman) and Vanessa Taylor (HBO’s “Game of Thrones”).
Divergent is a thrilling action adventure set in a future world where society has been divided into five distinct factions. But Tris will never fit into any one group-she is Divergent, and what makes her different makes her dangerous. Targeted by a faction leader determined to eliminate all Divergents, Tris turns to the one person she believes she can trust: Four, an instructor for the militant Dauntless faction, and a man full of dark secrets. Together, Tris and Four uncover a mind-bending conspiracy that will put their courage to the ultimate test…and forever link their destinies.
BLU-RAY COMBO PACK SPECIAL FEATURES*
* “Bringing Divergent to Life” Documentary
* “Faction Before Blood” Featurette
* Deleted Scenes
* Ellie Goulding – “Beating Heart” music video
* Audio Commentary with Director Neil Burger
* Audio Commentary with Producers Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher
* Temporary tattoo sheet
*Subject to change
DVD SPECIAL FEATURES*
* Deleted Scenes
* Ellie Goulding – “Beating Heart” music video
* Audio Commentary with Director Neil Burger
* Audio Commentary with Producers Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher
* Temporary tattoo sheet
*Subject to change
Bobby Timony is an artist who’s co-creator of the popular comic strip The Night Owls, published by DC Comics’ Zuda imprint. He has been nominated for multiple Harvey Awards, including Best New Series, Best Online Series, and Best New Talent. His newest project, The Horror Lovers, is currently seeking funding via Kickstarter.
Bobby took the time to talk to us about Horror Lovers, Zuda Comics, and more in this exclusive interview.
ComicMix: Good morning, Bobby. For starters, how did you start drawing comic books?
Bobby Timony: I can’t remember when it started. It seems I’ve been doing it all my life. My brother and I had school desks in our bedroom we would draw at. We had a hollowed out speaker flu of pens, pencils and magic markers. We would spend hours at a time sitting in our room making comics.
CM: What were your favorite comics growing up, and other influences on your work?
BT: The first comics I ever subscribed to were the Disney Duck comics that Gladstone was putting out. I loved Carl Barks and Don Rosa. I remember I set an envelope stuffed with $1 bills and my subscription form. I’m actually surprised the guy in the mailroom didn’t just steal my money.
CM: Tell me about your experience with Zuda and “The Night Owls.”
BT: The Night Owls at Zuda was my first professional comics work. I had been setting up at small press shows with self published books before then, but this was the first time I actually got paid to do it.
I remember catching some flack from other web comics people who claimed I sold out and didn’t value my work as an artist. There were a lot of soapboxes and pedestals about how they could never give up their rights!
Well, I can’t speak for them, but I can say it worked out for me. In addition to getting paid for my work, I made valuable industry contacts, made some great personal friends, got nominated for several awards, grew my fan base exponentially, and in the end I even got all my rights back. So yeah, I think I won that one.
CM: You’ve created a lot of original comics and characters, both with your brother Peter and by yourself. Why is doing creator-owned work so important to you?
BT: I guess it has to do with why you get into comics in the first place. Some people just love the art and want to draw. Some love the characters and want to build on the stories they grew up with. Peter and I loved the medium as a means of unleashing our imaginations. We started by drawing our plushy stuffed toys into comics, giving them personalities. Then we moved on to our own made up characters. Although we had favorite characters we’d revisit, we never really settled on one that was going to be our signature achievement. We’d just say, “That was fun!” and then start something new. It’s just the way our brains work, I guess. By the time we were teens we had a whole rolodex of characters and ideas we had developed. We had fun organizing them on index cards and pulling a couple out at random.
CM: In some ways, Zuda was a pioneer in digital comics. Now you’re working with Monkeybrain and Thrillbent. Can you tell us about these new projects, and how it feels being a part of this second great wave of digital comic books?
BT: Both Chris Roberson at Monkeybrain and Mark Waid at Thrillbent have told me that they really liked the work I did at Zuda. They probably wouldn’t have been aware of me without that, so I guess it does feel like the next logical step in my weird career path. I wouldn’t say I’m a digital comics pioneer. I think its more like I’m a guy whose been lucky enough to recognize and take advantage of a few great opportunities.
My Monkeybrain Comic is called Detectobot, and its about a robot Detective (obviously). I’m collaborating with Peter Timony again on that one. My Thrillbent comic is called Long Ago and Far Away, with Chris Mancini as the writer. It’s about a guy who saved a magical realm from evil as a child. Years later, the magical realm needs his help again, but he’s grown up to be kind of a schmuck.
CM: What attracted you to the Horror Lovers project?
BT: I had been talking with Valerie D’Orazio about collaborating off and on for years. When she pitched the idea to me, it seemed like a good solid idea that had some legs, so I said, “What the heck, lets go for it.”
CM: What specific stylistic approach have you taken with Horror Lovers, in comparison with your previous work?
BT: With this project, I wanted to try something looser, more animated, more cartoony. I asked Val how cartoony she wanted to go with it, and she gave me the ok to do it however I wanted. So I did. The Horror Lovers is more rubbery and exaggerated than the Night Owls or Detectobot.
CM: How do you make the humor and horror aspects of the comic work together?
BT: Humor and Horror go together like Peanut Butter and Jelly. The two styles seem to be made to work together. They’re complimentary opposites. They highlight their own strengths by contrast and comparison, like black on white.
CM: What has been your experience with Kickstarter so far? Have your backed a lot of kickstarters previously?
BT: I have backed a few kick starters, mostly comics, one video game. I’ve been a contributing artist to two kickstarter anthologies. Monster Elementary by Nick Doan, and Schmuck by Seth Kushner. I helped promote them both, and they were both successfully funded. This is the first project where I’m the sole story artist, so although Val is the one running the campaign, it really feels like its my Kickstarter.
And it’s been a lot harder than I thought it’d be. I guess I was hoping it’d go viral and take on a life of it’s own, but no. I really have to work to promote it.
I’d been planning to launch a Kickstarter in October to fund a deck of Monster Pin Up Girl playing cards, and this campaign has given me a lot to think about.
CM: What does your ideal future in comics look like?
My ideal future in comics is one where I have enough clout that publishers want to publish my dream projects without me even having to ask!
Seriously, though. I’ve been wanting to do an original Laurel & Hardy graphic novel for ages. I’ve talked to the license holders and I’ve talked to some publishers, but I don’t think it’ll ever happen unless I can raise up my professional profile enough where I can get someone somewhere to take a chance on Laurel and Hardy and me.
And that’s it, really. Yes I want money and prestige, and its all because those things enable me to work on the projects I love most. What I want is the freedom to do that.
