For OUTLANDER fans, the wait is almost over. The mega big book series hits the Starz Network in just a couple of weeks (with a sneak preview on August 2nd). Producer Ronald Moore and author Diana Gabaldon talk about the road from book to camera. Plus actor Jay Hernandez, from the Fox summer hit GANG RELATED, talks about making good choices in acting roles and Marvel revives Tony Stark’s ego.
Have you been noticing that the digital comics scene is a little… active… these days? You’ve got the market getting estimated at $90M for 2013. There are a lot of different reports about how many copies the same day digital editions sell. I’ve heard anywhere from 10% to 25% of the print sales. It seems to vary from title to title and by publisher.
Amazon bought Comixology and it looks like that sale has been completed. Marvel’s announced they’re going to be selling current issues on their Marvel Comics Unlimited app, but nobody is quite sure what that means for Comixology and Amazon. Diamond is bringing back their digital initiative with new partner, Trajectory, after shutting down the old version earlier in the year. It looks like they’re going to be having DC on board with new version.
The money in digital comics in increasing. The distribution contracts are moving around like pieces on a chess board. We’re still largely stuck with DRM – partially at the insistence of publishers and the corporations they license properties from. The formats are anything but standard and the lessons of digital music seem lost on publishing, particularly comics publishing.
Over on the webcomics side of the world, crowdfunding is the new new thing. Oh, Kickstarter’s been a tool of the trade for a while, and an effective tool for pre-orders and financing color print runs. The new kid on the block is Patreon. Where Kickstarter and its class of crowdfunding sites tend to focus on the creation of an object, like a graphic novel or reprint collection, Patreon is more like a monthly subscription. SMBC (the webcomic sometimes known as Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal) is over $8500/month in Patreon pledges. That projects as over $100K/year in crowdfunding income with no books to ship. OK, Zach Weinersmith (the man behind SMBC) might be a bit ahead of curve on this, but there seems to be an increasing amount of money flowing in this direction and the revenue mix is changing for a lot of people.
The digital comics world continues to evolve and we really have two schools right now: an eBook school that’s from the comic book/graphic novel tradition and a webcomic school that’s from the newspaper strip tradition. There’s a little crossover between the two and the world of print. A whole lot of cartoonists see a print book as one of the endgames for making money no matter whether the initial publishing is done on paper or with pixels.
A Colorado judge overseeing the murder case against accused theater gunman James Holmes proposed on Wednesday that jury selection begin in December for the trial that has already been postponed three times, a court filing shows.
In a notice to prosecutors and public defenders, Arapahoe County District Court Judge Carlos Samour said he will ask both sides to accept Dec. 8 as the day jury selection will start for Holmes, who is charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder.
Holmes has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity for opening fire in July 2012 inside a cinema in the Denver suburb of Aurora during a midnight screening of the Batman film “The Dark Knight Rises.”
The shooting spree killed 12 moviegoers and wounded 70 others.
So, as you may have heard, first the scripts from the first five episodes, and then a work print of the actual first episode of Doctor Who leaked last week. And those fans with access to the internet (also known as “all fans”) all felt like Pandora, wondering whether or not they should take just a peek…
Now for a moment, let’s play conspiracy theory. Back when Titanic was in the planning stages, it was largely predicted it’d be a colossal failure that would make Heaven’s Gate seem like a boutique release. But then Harry Knowles got an anonymous tip (from what was certain from Cameron’s office) that there was to be a preview screening in the Twin Cities.He immediately sent out the word, and made sure the screen was packed with his readers. And lo and behonl, the reviews came back glowing, and just like that the buzz did a reversal. Contrariwise, we’ve been hearing stories that all the rumors concerning the Batman V. Superman movie have all been from a fake script, written by Kevin Smith, and deliberately leaked to throw people off the scent.
In short, people know how to manipulate the fans to get them ginned up about whatever they like. So what are the odds that this work print, missing (sorry, allegedly missing) most of the effects, in black and white, and with no new credits, was leaked out there do give the dedicated fans a look at Peter Capaldi’s portrayal of The Doctor, but in a rudimentary form that it’ll only whet their whistles to see the final version on August 23rd? Not likely…but not quite impossible.
The fans who sought out the print are doing a good job of keeping quiet, as the BBC has requested. And those who have asked to hear more don’t really want to know what happens in the story. The real question that everyone wants an answer to is, “Is it good?” More specifically, “Is HE good?” Because the various interviews Moffat has given, talking about how the show needs “an edge” and needed a change, had a lot of fans worried that the show might change so radically that it wouldn’t be fun anymore. They feared an older Doctor might remove some of the energy of the show. They don’t want to have anything spoiled, they just want to know “Is he good?”
The 2014 Harvey Awards Nominees have been announced with the release of the final ballot. Quantum & Woody leads the nominations with six, followed closely by Hawkeye (five), Daredevil, and Saga (four each).James Asmus got three nominations for writing Q&W.
Named in honor of the late Harvey Kurtzman, one of the industry’s most innovative talents, the Harvey Awards recognize outstanding work in comics and sequential art. They will be presented September 6, 2014 in Baltimore, MD, in conjunction with the Baltimore Comic-Con.
Nominations for the Harvey Awards are selected exclusively by creators – those who write, draw, ink, letter, color, design, edit, or are otherwise involved in a creative capacity in the comics field. They are the only industry awards both nominated and selected by the full body of comic book professionals.
Final ballots are due to the Harvey Awards by Monday, August 18, 2014. If you’re eligible, go vote now!
Palmer Williams Jr is a triple threat, handling music, comedy and….lawn care. He explains it all and talks about his role in the new Tyler Perry series LOVE THY NEIGHBOR. Plus, summer comic sales seem to have started pretty flat, but Archie had a winner.
Apparently the credits included in the leaked Doctor Who scripts (you’ve heard about those, yes? More on those later) say the new credits are by “BBC Wales Graphics based on original idea by Billy Hanshaw”.
Billy Hanshaw posted these credits some months back, which caused many clothes to become stained.
If this is true, it’s an amazingly cool thing for the BBC to admit that a fan inspired them (well, he’s a professional in media, but he is a DW fan), and more importantly, to provide credit.
It’s not the first time that’s happened in the new series. A good bit of the plot of Rise of the Cybermen / The Age of Steel came from a Big Finish Audio adventure, “Spare Parts” by Marc Platt. Showrunner Russell T Davies got Platt a writer’s fee, and he received a “Thanks to” credit in the episode.
We shall see in August how true this is – The premiere episode will be touring the world with the Who crew, including visits to New York City, South Korea, and Rio de Janeiro.
English: Andy Serkis at the Comic-Con 2011. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes could have easily fallen in to the trap that many genre movies fall into of simply being competent. They scarcely have particularly original or surprising stories (and Dawn is no exception on this front) but they usually get by through skillful execution. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes does a masterful job of being a good tense thriller but what elevates it to something special is Andy Serkis as Caesar. He takes a mediocre script and turns it in to Shakespeare without having to actually be on the screen.
Los Angeles, CA – An apocalypse is inevitable when Heavenly Sword slices and dices onto Blu-ray, DVD and Digital September 2 from Cinedigm (NASDAQ: CIDM). Based on Sony PlayStation’s bestselling video game of the same name, the action-packed CG animation boasts an all-star voice cast including Anna Torv (“Fringe”), Alfred Molina (Spider-Man 2, Chocolate) and Thomas Jane (Hung, The Mist).
A dramatic tale of revenge, Heavenly Sword centers on Nariko (Torv), a trained warrior with flaring red hair, who gracefully possesses a titular, heavily sought after blade with incredible powers. As the sword’s guardian, she must face a megalomaniacal ruler King Bohan (Molina) and his unyielding army, who are determined to obtain the powerful sword for their own manipulation.
As one of “the most anticipated movies based on video games” (Gamepur), the Blu-ray and DVD are packed with bonus footage including behind-the-scenes interviews with the cast and filmmakers. The film will also be available on the Sony Playstation Network.
Heavenly Sword was brought to Cinedigm by TriCoast Worldwide, who represent the producers, Blockade Entertainment and Film Financial Services.
SYNOPSIS
Nariko’s clan has long protected the “Heavenly Sword,” a god’s blade of immense power that drains its wielder of their life force. A power-hungry ruler known as the evil King Bohan seeks to obtain the sword to gain its devastating power. As the impending apocalypse nears, it remains to be seen how long Nariko can resist the sword’s deadly curse.
DVD/BLU-RAY BASICS
Price: DVD $14.93 / BD $19.97
Street Date: September 2, 2014
Pre-Book: July 22, 2013
Mat No.: DVD 88152991000 / BD 88152990000
UPC: DVD 025192245473 / BD
BR: MAT NO. 88152990000 UPC 025192245466
Language: English
Running time: 85 Minutes
Rating: NR
The new NBC comedy, WELCOME TO SWEDEN, has a pretty interesting back story. It was created by Greg Poehler (yep, he’s Amy’s brother) and stars Greg, along with Josephine Bornebusch, in the first new U.S. series to be on both American and Swedish TV. Greg and Josie talk about bridging the cultural comedy gap, plus after 11 years in reality TV, Trista Stutter (THE BACHELORETTE, DANCING WITH THE STARS) has a new project. She joins Gretchen Rossi (REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ORANGE COUNTY) and other reality celebs in MARRIAGE BOOT CAMP and they both tell us what we can expect on the series.
