Tagged: Forbidden Planet

Mark Millar confirms Emerald Fennell as “Nemesis” screenwriter for WB

Mark Millar confirms Emerald Fennell as “Nemesis” screenwriter for WB

Mark Millar – creator of Kick-Ass, Jupiter’s Legacy, The Secret Service & Kingsman – has confirmed to retailer Forbidden Planet that Emerald Fennell – winner of the 2021 Oscar for Original Screenplay (Promising Young Woman) – will pen the script for Millar’s hotly-anticipated Warner Bros adaptation of his critically acclaimed comic book, Nemesis.

Speaking exclusively to Forbidden Planet TV, Millar said: “Emerald Fennell, who just won an Oscar for best screenplay for Promising Young Woman, has just delivered the latest draft of the Nemesis screenplay, which is extremely cool, especially after the initial development of the movie by the late Tony Scott, who established some amazing visual ideas for the movie!”

Nemesis is a tale of one man with a plan for vengeance! Who is Nemesis? He is a son of privilege, an inheritor of billions from his deceased parents. He owns a fleet of the finest cars and a hangar full of planes, and has countless technological gadgets at his command. He’s the ultimate super-villain fighting relentlessly for a nihilsitic cause in which he believes.

Forbidden Planet TV host Andrew Sumner said: “This interview with Mark Millar is another example of the pop culture status that enables Forbidden Planet to attract high-profile creatives from the comic book and entertainment industry, whether it’s for an interview for our newly-launched online TV show, a store signing or an exclusive edition. Fans won’t want to miss out on this special interview, as Millar introduces his new Netflix show Jupiter’s Legacy, chats about a new Netflix spy show he’s developing, previews the latest Kingsman movie and reveals an all-new anime adaption of his comic book Supercrooks.”

The new Forbidden Planet TV channel is available to watch on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/c/Forbiddenplanetdotcom/videos – over 150 episodes are already available to view and four new episodes are posted every week featuring influential & creative guests from all spheres of the global entertainment industry.

The full interview with Mark Millar will be available on Forbidden Planet TV from May 19th, 2021. For more information about Forbidden Planet, visit https://forbiddenplanet.com/

Mindy Newell: Shopping For My New Comics Shop

variety-comics

So yesterday afternoon I turned on the TV to watch the live Global Citizen concert and caught one of my favorite artists, Yusuf Islam – formerly known as Cat Stevens – performing songs “Wild World” and, joined by Eddie Vedder, “Father and Son,” both from one of his best albums, 1970’s Tea for the Tillerman. I was singing along and getting back into my ‘60s groove when, all of a sudden, right as he started to sing another song, fucking MSNBC went to commercials!!!!

C’mon, are you kidding me? And to make it even more frustrating, the network did one of those “little boxes” so that you could see Mr. Islam singing, but you couldn’t hear him. AAAGH! Global Citizen’s mission is to end extreme poverty around the world, so I found it extremely disturbing and in incredibly bad taste to have a concert meant to raise awareness and encourage support interrupted by “come-on’s” and enticements to buy something.

I changed the channel.

I also went by my local comic book shop to pick up my “reads” and found the door covered with “To Rent” and “For Lease” signs. I didn’t bother parking. Now I have to search out a new place, one that’s close and easily accessible. I could go over to Forbidden Planet in Manhattan (where I believe my friend and fellow columnist Martha Thomases picks up her reads); it’s not far, and it’s in on of my favorite areas of the city, just south of Union Square on 13th and Broadway and it’s a really easy commute for me. I’m really tempted to start doing that, because Forbidden Planet has what I think is the best inventory anywhere – with Jim Hanley’s Universe, aka JHU Comic Books, on East 32nd running a very close second. Jim’s original store is on Staten Island, and it’s still there, on New Dorp Lane, but construction and traffic make that drive a nightmare.

Just did a search, and found Carmine Street Comics on Carmine Street in the West Village, which is even closer than Forbidden Planet, a few blocks south of Christopher Street, the first stop in Manhattan on the New Jersey PATH train. Really like their website – hmm, Carmine just doesn’t sell comics, its an “interactive” store with their community. They have a storefront studio with an Artist Space for illustrators and writers (though watching a writer at work can be pretty boring, if you ask me), plus podcasts, a video talk show, and a webseries. And for comics consumers they have a deal with ComiXology so that you can reserve comics weeks in advance and then pick them up at the store. This is a really interesting place. Definitely checking it out – next weekend, fer shur!! (And I have to talk to Martha about Carmine – I have a feeling she already knows about it.)

There’s 4:00 left in the Giants-Redskins game, Giants are up by 1 (27-26); I’m getting that sick feeling in my stomach I always get with my Big Blue. (Never an easy win with them, and they tend to beat themselves.) Washington has the ball, and is moving the ball down the field with their running game. Now the ‘skins are in field goal range and we are at the 2:00 minute warning. Fuck, fuck, fuck! Defensive line held them to a fourth down. But Washington just kicked a field goal. Now they are up by 2. 1:51 left. Fuck, fuck, fuck!

I gotta go watch this, guys.

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Eli’s pass was intercepted.

Game over.

Ah, well. It’s a long season…

And next weekend, a visit to Carmine Street Comics. I think I’ll call Martha.

Martha Thomases: So This Is Thanksgiving

Bugs Bunny“When I’m worried and I can’t sleep

I count my blessings instead of sheep

And I fall asleep counting my blessings”

“Count Your Blessings” by Irving Berlin

Next week is Thanksgiving, and so I’m trying to remind myself that I have many reasons to be thankful. First, of course, I am grateful for my family and my friends (human and otherwise) who make my life so entertaining.

But you didn’t come here to read about how fabulous my life is. You want to read about comics. And so, I present to you, Constant Reader, those things about comics for which I am most grateful.

  • Image Comics. Back in the 1990s, I agreed with the founding principles of Image (creator ownership and control) but didn’t really like what they published, which to me looked like a lot of scratchy drawings of women with gigantic tits and tiny little ankles. Now, however, I find myself buying a few Image titles every week. Was I wrong in my original impression? Maybe. Are they publishing a more diverse list now? Definitely. In any case, they provide me with more joy.
  • Boom! Studios. I confess that I originally mostly picked up the Boom! titles when Mark Waid worked there, because I strive to be loyal. He is no longer editing their books, but they publish a lot of things I like. I told you how much I like Americatown. I started Last Sons of America and that looks promising, too. They publish lots of cool stuff, including Last Sons of America, Adventure Time, Lumberjanes, and Mouse Guard. You could do worse.
  • Forbidden Planet. I am fortunate enough to live in a place where there are many different comic book stores near my home, and a high percentage of them are excellent. However, for more than three decades, Forbidden Planet has been the one I go to most often. A lot of that is location (they are near the subway station that goes where I need to go on Wednesdays), but I also like the vibe. When I go, I’m greeted by name. The folks at the check-out know I want a paper bag, not plastic. They recommend books they think I’ll like. Some people have a favorite bar where everybody knows their names. I have Forbidden Planet. I hope you have a local comic shop that makes you feel just as special.
  • Kids. Every day, there are opportunities to turn kids on to the fun of comic books. After I get my stack on Wednesdays, I go to the hospital where I volunteer on the pediatric floor. I’m there to teach knitting, but there are some kids who don’t want to knit. If I have a Simpsons comic or another age-appropriate title with single-issue story, I’ll often give it away. Every child, even those without hair or with a port in his chest, lights up in beauty with a glorious smile at the sight of a new comic.
  • The revenge of the nerds. Sometimes I wonder if comics are really mainstream now, or if I simply live a life in which that can pass for truth. But, really, there is at least one television show based on a comic book on prime time just about every day. “Superhero” is now a movie genre, one taken (mostly) seriously by respected film critics. The New York Times Book Review publishes best-seller lists for graphic novels in hardcover, paperback and manga formats. Comics are now so respectable that parents try to make their kids read them.
  • Comics! Let’s not forget how great they are. Even when I’m irked by some current controversy and what it means about our sociopolitical climate, I still love the feeling of sitting down to a fresh stack of comics, with my cat purring next to me on the armrest.

And, as always, I’m thankful for you and your indulgent attention. Happy holidays, folks.

A FEAST UNKNOWN – A PULP-FILLED MAIN COURSE

A Feast Unknown (Secrets of the Nine #1 – Wold Newton Parallel Universe) (Memoirs of Lord Grandrith) comes out in a mere four days in the US, in both print and eBook!

The diaries of Lord Grandrith, the legendary Apeman, Lord of the Jungle and bastard son of Jack the Ripper. Blessed with unnatural long life, his power brings with it a gruesome side effect – one shared by his nemesis, the formidable Doc Caliban, Man of Bronze and Champion of Justice.

But these two titans have more in common than they could ever have imagined. Who are the dark manipulators of their destiny?

A brand-new edition of the controversial novel can be found at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Forbidden Planet, or wherever your favorite pulp fiction is sold.

New York’s Forbidden Planet moving to bigger space

201207061709 NYCs Forbidden Planet comics store moving to bigger space

Long rumored to be moving (perhaps due to the giant FOR RENT sign on the building), Forbidden Planet, one of NYC’s longest-running comics shops, is moving a few doors down the street to larger digs, according to manager Jeff Ayers. The new location, 832 Broadway (between 13th and 12th Streets), provides 3400 sq. feet of space for comics, toys and games, and it’s the largest of the three spaces the store has held on that same block over the years.

“This expansion has been necessary for some time now, and will allow us to provide our customers with even more product selection and depth, while streamlining the store’s layout to one convenient floor,” said Ayers in a statement.

The new store opens Tuesday, July 24th 2012 in a “soft launch,” but there will be a bigger launch party later. The olde shoppe closes on Sunday, July 22nd.

The olde shoppe had a nice corner location but definitely was a bit cramped and narrow…we’ll look forward to checking out the new space.

The new building:
201207061711 NYCs Forbidden Planet comics store moving to bigger space

MINDY NEWELL: The Enemy Within

I stink at writing battles between the superhero and the bad guy.

Oh, I’ve always managed to struggle through – and through the years I’ve learned how to choreograph them pretty well, thanks to watching great action movies, anything from Bullitt to the Die Hard series to the Matrix Trilogy and Kill Bill, Vols. I and II. But I was always happier to write a fight scene “Marvel style,” especially if I was working with an artist I trusted. Full script, though? Talk about pulling teeth!

So why the hell do I love writing comics?

That’s a good question. And here’s the answer.

What has always interested me about the superhero is the what makes them tick?, the what’s going on in their lives?, the how does having special abilities affect a person? Questions. Of course I wasn’t the first comic writer to address these issues. There’s one or two columnists here at ComicMix who have done so and continue to do so – yeah, I’m talking ‘bout you two, John Ostrander and Denny O’Neil. But John and Denny are also able to write great battle scenes. I can’t.

Way-back-when I sat down to try my luck at writing an entry for DC’s New Talent Showcase program, I thought about what was lacking in the super-hero biz. Hmm, I thought. There are superheroes who are men, and superheroes who are women. There are superheroes who date or are married to ordinary women, and there are superhero married couples. But I couldn’t think of any super-hero women who were married to “ordinary” guys. “That could be really interesting,” I thought to myself.

Then something clicked in my brain. “What if,” I said to myself, “these two people are just regular young marrieds, very much in love with each other, expecting their first child, and believing they’ve got the world on a string? And then everything goes wrong. She gains super-powers, but the trade-off is: she loses the baby. And he just can’t deal.  What happens to them? What happens to the marriage?”

And that’s the way I’ve always tried to approach the superhero. Treating them like real people, with real personalities and all the positive and negative traits that real people have. Facing real problems with paying the bills and trying to lose weight.

Let’s take Wonder Woman. I don’t remember the issue number, but it was one of the last few issues before the book went on hiatus until George Pérez reintroduced the character. One of my favorite scenes was the one in which Diana tried to make breakfast, only she burned the toast and undercooked the eggs. It was only about two or three panels, but it made sense to me that as an individual who grew up on a magical island on which time had stopped in the Hellenic Age, a toaster and a frying pan would be as strange to her as, well, the appearance of an Amazon princess in the middle of New York City would be to us here on Earth-Prime.

And, although I’m a staunch pro-choicer, I’ve always believed Diana should be a staunch pro-lifer. Why? Well, think about it. An island of immortal women called Themyiscyra, where men are forbidden. For 3,000 years, cut off from the outside world by powerful magiks, babies are unknown…yes, pregnancy, the unborn child, would be ultimate, holy, sacrosanct, untouchable, inviolable object of worship of a woman raised in this environment.

(Of course, when I mentioned this to Karen Berger once, I believe she was intrigued, but what with Jenette Khan, then publisher of DC, being a friend of Gloria Steinem, and Steinem being one of the “ultimate, holy, sacrosanct, untouchable, and inviolable” feminists of the day, along with being editor of Ms. Magazine, she basically told me to “forget it.”)

I’d like to explore the loneliness of the last survivor of an alien civilization. (Superman, J’onn J’onzz.)

What does it do to a person to be able to run “faster than a speeding bullet” and get stuck in traffic? (Flash, Quicksilver).

How do you not go insane when you’re trapped in a body of rock? (Thing, Concrete.)

If you can fly, would you resent having to walk?

If you have x-ray vision, can you resist taking a look the boss’s e-mails? Or your co-worker’s paycheck?

If you can read minds, do you really want to know what people are thinking?

If you have telekinesis, would you ever get up off the couch?

One of my favorite science fiction movies, definitely on my top five list, is Forbidden Planet, in which the monster is a creature risen from the jealousies and fears that lurk within the human mind.

“Creatures from the id.”

Yes.

The enemy within.

TUESDAY: Michael Davis

Review: ‘Atlantis the Lost Continent’

Back in the dim pre-cable days, the independent stations in New York would run movies at all hours of the day. Those of us addicted to television were exposed to movies both great and not-so-great with amazing regularity and repetitiveness. One of those pleasures was in spotting performers we knew from other roles, at different times in their careers. For me, one of those discoveries was Edward Platt, who I only knew as the Chief of CONTROL on [[[Get Smart]]]. But there he was, in priestly robes, in a tale of lost Atlantis. It was years before I remembered its name,[[[ Atlantis the Lost Continent]]]and it was even some time after that before I realized it was from director George Pal. (more…)

Review: ‘Forbidden Planet’

Review: ‘Forbidden Planet’

Last week, Warner Home Video released six of their science fiction films on Blu-ray for the first time. While all were greatly appreciated by genre fans to one degree or another, it can be safely said that the most eagerly awaited one is also the best one of the set. MGM’s Forbidden Planet is clearly a class act and the loving restoration is evident in just how fabulous the movie looks in high definition.

The 1956 was one of the studio’s last major releases before its decline in quality, and it was also their first real attempt at science fiction. All the resources that made their musicals shine brightly were brought to the feature production and as a result, this is the single best science fiction movie made that decade. Its influences go far beyond imagination considering the enduring popularity of Robby the Robot and how much the film’s look and feel influenced young producer Gene Roddenberry when he conceived Star Trek only eight years later.

Sure, some of the science remains implausible, but it was a terrific story inspired by William Shakespeare’s The Tempest transplanted to an alien world. The strong cast was anchored by Walter Pidgeon’s Morbius and Leslie Nielsen as Commander John Adams. Filling out the ensemble was Anne Francis as Morbius’ innocent daughter Altaira and familiar genre vets Richard Anderson and Warren Stevens.  The Bellerophon expedition had gone silent and Adams’ crew was sent to investigate, discovering two survivors and the remnants of an incredible alien civilization, the Krell. Morbius’ genius is evident in the robotic servant, Robby, he designed and built, but Adams is troubled by the man’s reluctance to leave the world and rejoin humanity. Menacing them, though, was an unseen horror that had to be stopped before anyone could leave the world.

The sets and costumes were unlike any science fiction film previously made and the scope and spectacle to the matte paintings and special effects also raised this film beyond so many of the low budget atomic horror films that categorized the genre that decade. Everyone took the film seriously, playing things straight, and making it a tale of humanity among the stars. Also helping us consider this something different was the electronic score, credited in the release as “electronic tonalities”, a dramatic departure from what had been used before.

Warner had previously released this in a nifty package designed for the now defunct HD-DVD format, so this has been an eagerly awaited release. The care that went into restoring it in 2007, especially boosting the fading Eastman Color stock, has been preserved here and the film has never looked better.

The disc is packed with plenty of special features, making this a true celebration of the film and its legacy. All are carried over from the HD release and none were prepared for Blu-ray so appear in standard format. Still, they are all worth your time and attention. Kicking things off is the TCM special, “Watch the Skies!” as you spend nearly an hour listening to Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, James Cameron, and Ridley Scott discuss what SF films were like prior to Forbidden Planet. Nice perspective, terrific clips and a solid Mark Hamill narration make this a strong entry.

There’s also “Amazing!” a well-produced 27 minute feature talking to the surviving cast and crew of the film, talking about its production. Great archival drawings are unearthed to illustrate this piece. Robby gets his due in the 14 minute “Engineering a Sci-Fi Icon”.

There are plenty of deleted scenes all of which comes with captioning to introduce each one and explain what was changed or why it was dropped from the final print. Some are missed, but most are interesting from a historic perspective only.

The robot’s popularity is demonstrated by the inclusion of the 1957 quickie, The Invisible Boy, a feature about a young boy and his robot. When the robot’s programming is altered, he becomes a threat to the Earth and Timmy, who can somehow turn invisible, is the only one who can stop it. Robby also guest starred on countless television series and The Thin Man episode from 1958 is included as an example.

Walter Pidgeon appears in two excerpts from the prime time MGM Parade series when he appeared to promote the film.

No fan of the genre can be without this wonderful film that has been well-preserved and endures the passage of time. If you haven’t seen it lately, now is the time to rediscover the marvels of intelligent science fiction at a time when paranoia ruled the day.

ComicMix Radio: Don’t Fear This Reaper

ComicMix Radio: Don’t Fear This Reaper

The CW’s Reaper gained a lot of fan press when last season’s pilot was directed by Kevin Smith. Now, after a bout with the Writer’s Strike, the show is on its way back for Season Two and we get the inside story from Satan himself,  series regular Ray Wise, plus:

  • The Simpsons anger a gay rights group
  • TinTin struggles to the big screen
  • JMS takes on Forbidden Planet

While the Comicmix Exclusive Interview with Ray Wise continues here on the site in a few days, but for a sneak peek just Press the Button!
 


 

And remember, you can always subscribe to ComicMix Radio podcasts via iTunes - ComicMix or RSS!

 

New ‘Forbidden Planet’ Continuation not Remake

New ‘Forbidden Planet’ Continuation not Remake

Harry Knowles at Ain’t it Cool News provided his site with additional information regarding the just-announced remake of Forbidden Planet.

The movie, to be written by J. Michael Straczynski and produced by Joel Silver will be more a sequel than remake.  The presumption is that Altair 4 did not blow up at the end of the Fred M. Wilcox/Cyril Hume classic.

The report goes on to say that the look will be that of an "enormous, giant, retro sci-fi movie"; likely retaining the original designs.  All concerned have confirmed that the beloved Robby the Robot will return with his design unaltered.

Meantime, Straczynski confirmed that he has just finished a rewrite to the Thor script for director Kenneth Branagh.