Tagged: Graphic Novel

Zack Snyder on ‘300’ Sequel/Prequel

Zack Snyder on ‘300’ Sequel/Prequel

With the wild success of Zack Snyder’s 300, it’s hardly a surprise that there’s a sequel in the works. Yes, most of the cast is dead by story’s end, but before you call call madness, remember that this, is, SPARTA!! we’re talking about here.

IESB caught up with Snyder at a Watchmen event in Hollywood the other day, and got his two cents on the film’s follow-up. According to the director, development on the film project will only occur when Frank Miller has finished writing and illustrating the graphic novel’s sequel. Snyder wants Miller to have full creative control of the novel’s story, as was the case with 300.

It’s hard to imagine a sequel to 300 with Leonidas and the gang considering the film’s ending. There’s been speculation that the project would be a prequel rather than a sequel, thereby allowing Leonidas to return to fight again. Snyder set the record straight by pegging the film’s timeline between the Battle of Thermopylae and the Battle of Platea. In the film’s final narration, which takes place just before the Battle of Platea, Dilios reveals that Leonidas "died barely a year ago." Snyder says that the sequel will take place during this time, so the odds of Leonidas returning are pretty slim unless it’s in rotting carcass form.

300, based on a graphic novel of the same name by Frank Miller, is a dramatization of the famous Battle of Thermopylae where 300 Spartan warriors battled against the Persian Empire. The film, released in March 2007, was the biggest March opening weekend of all time and the third biggest opening for an R-rated picture. The untitled sequel will be based on an as yet completed graphic novel, also by Frank Miller.

New ‘Watchmen’ Production Diary

New ‘Watchmen’ Production Diary

In the sixth production diary to be released, director Zack Snyder and his gang reveal some of the techniques utilized in filming Watchmen. In related Watchmen news, DC Comics has printed nearly one million new copies of the collected edition and you can barely enter a retail outlet of any kidn without seeing it on sale.  Speaking of sales, Tower Records is offering it at less than 50% cover price while Things From Another World has it for exactly 50% off. Its sales remain brisk and it remains the number one graphic novel and number two book in Literature & Fiction at Amazon.

 

 

‘Torso’ Seeks Tax Breaks in Cleveland

‘Torso’ Seeks Tax Breaks in Cleveland

Torso, the film adaptation of Brian Michael Bendis’ graphic novel, is looking to start shooting in early 2009.  The movie, set to star Matt Damon as the famed Elliot Ness, is looking to film in Cleveland but is seeking tax breaks to make extended shooting financially reasonable.

As reported in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, producer Bill Mechanic is seeking tax breaks or will lens interior scenes in Michigan, with its 40% tax incentives, and only shoot on location for exteriors.

"It all comes down to what’s the best place to get our movie shot for the least money," Mechanic said. "We want to shoot the entire movie, the interior and exterior shots, in Cleveland because that’s where the action takes place and so we wouldn’t have to relocate the crew. But without incentives, it doesn’t look like we can afford it."

The state’s legislation is stalled at the capitol.

Torso tells the story of the grisly Kingsbury Run murders where 13 people died between 1934 and 1938.  Ness, then the city’s safety director, never found the killer. It inspired Bendis and Marc Andreyko (Manhunter) to cowrite the graphic novel version of other story with Bendis providing the artwork. The six issue miniseries was later collected by Image Comics as Torso: A True Crime Graphic Novel, releasing it in 2001. The miniseries won the 1999 Eisner Award for "Comic Book Excellence, Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition".

The film rights were sold in January 2006 with screenwriter Ehren Kruger handling the adaptation for director David Fincher.  Mechanic is set to produce alongside Don Murphy, Todd McFarlane and Terry Fitzgerald.

‘Watchmen’ Lawsuit Explained for You

‘Watchmen’ Lawsuit Explained for You

In a story that has had more twists and turns than the graphic novel it’s based on, the legal battle over the movie rights to Watchmen is in the final stretch.  Gary Allen Feess, a federal judge, set a trial date of January 6th for the copyright suit between 20th Century Fox and Warner Brothers.  The date is two months before the film’s scheduled release.

The comics readers, wary of anyone attempting to adapt Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ seminal graphic novel, was set ablaze once they saw the trailer in front of The Dark Knight.  Unfortunately shortly after the trailer was released the fate of the film was almost immediately put in doubt when a federal judge’s ruling allowed Fox to seek to block the release.  Fox claims that the film infringes on their rights stemming from their attempt to adapt the acclaimed graphic novel in the early ’90s.

They key to this story legally is the concept of "turnaround".  When a studio abandons a property they put it into turnaround, basically saying that another studio can take the property and develop it but they have to compensate the original studio for development costs plus interest. 

(more…)

Margaret Cho Writes a Comic

For anyone in that weird cross section of humanity that enjoys Margaret Cho and superhero comics, this next item of news is sure to bring nirvana to your soul.

Cho is doing a comic book called Last Hero Standing, a riff on the Last Comic Standing reality TV show, I guess.

Here’s the info:

Cho has joined up with Märchen Dreamfaktory’s Creative Director, Tony Mark, to create a graphic novel. With a working title of Last Hero Standing, the comic will follow the exploits of super heroine Misty, an aspiring comic and the only super hero to survive an all-out attack from the super villains.

"Margaret’s fans will definitely recognize her edgy humor," says Mark. "I think the premise gives her a lot of room to express herself in her own voice, but also the freedom to have fun in a way she never has before."

Utilizing the in-house talents of Art Director Gary Laib and artist Chris Ewald, Märchen Dreamfaktory plans to have the graphic novel on shelves by early 2009.

Zack Snyder on the ‘Watchmen’ Director’s Cut

Zack Snyder on the ‘Watchmen’ Director’s Cut

Director Zack Snyder has said he’s trying to stay faithful to Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s Watchmen graphic novel, but that has left Snyder with a whole lot of material and a whole lot of cutting ahead of him.

Slash Film does a good job of sorting through Snyder’s comments about his film adaptation, leading to some speculation on what could be in store for future director’s cut releases.

It was already announced that there would be an animated Black Freighter movie being released around the time when Watchmen hits cinemas, but apparently the extent of its involvement in the Watchmen mythology won’t end there. Snyder made mention that they’ve also filmed the transitions featured in the graphic novel that take the main storyline into the Freighter comic. So even though those wouldn’t be a part of the theatrical cut, they would show up the “super duper director’s cut,” as would the other creations they’ve been working on.

Being that the film is already running at about 3 hours, and Warner Bros. wants to cut it down to 2 and a half, this makes me wonder if they’ll actually be releasing two different director’s cuts: one with the original cut of the film, and one with the extended new cut. If that were the case, that would mean the extended version would probably be running at about 5 hours or more. As much as I love all things Watchmen related, that does not sound ideal. I would love to see Snyder’s full 3 hour cut, but adding in more content beyond that seems excessive. I understand the desire to incorporate the outside footage, but I don’t want to see the flow of the storyline get repeatedly chopped up by hopping between that and stuff that’s only thematically related. I assume it’s issues like these that made creator Alan Moore claim the graphic novel was unfilmable. Some of the things he did with the comic are things you just cannot translate straight to a movie. Which isn’t to say I’m not excited to see the extra footage; I just think the segments will operate more smoothly as its own entity.

Much more at the link, including quotes from Snyder.

How Matthew Goode Got the ‘Watchmen’ Gig

You may have heard of actor Matthew Goode. He was in Matchpoint and The Lookout and has a big new movie coming up called Brideshead Revisited.

Oh, and he plays Adrian Veidt in that little Watchmen flick.

In an interview in the Orlando Sentinel about his role in Brideshead, Goode also shared some interesting background on how he got the Watchmen role:

His nerviest turn to date, in The Lookout, is what he says got him the role that will almost certainly make him world-famous. He is Adrian Veidt, "Ozymandias" in the new film of the acclaimed graphic novel, Watchmen, one of the most anticipated movies of 2009.

"I’m auditioning on my hotel room toilet, in front of a sheet [a video audition], reading two scenes, one of which has me remembering that I’ve killed 15 million people," he says, laughing. Brideshead wouldn’t have prepared him for that. "I got that part because of The Lookout.

"I hadn’t read the [graphic] novel, but I did, and went, ‘Oh my God! This is ridiculous. So complicated. But [W atchmen] is everything you want to play as an actor, all those gray areas, and in a movie millions and millions of people are dying to see."

Bryan Singer Options Unseen Rob Liefeld Project?

We may soon see the first film without feet, as director Bryan Singer is reported to be eyeing an as-yet-unseen graphic novel by Rob Liefeld.

Slash Film has the story.

Bryan Singer is in negotiations to produce Capeshooters, an adaptation of Rob Liefeld’s upcoming graphic novel which tells the story of two slackers who become superhero paparazzi. The duo uncover evidence that a legendary superhero is actually an undercover villain. I’m very excited that movie studios are still trying to find original superhero properties, instead of digging through the bevy of bottom of the barrel established franchise heroes. The bad news is that the screenplay is being written by J.P. Lavin and Chad Damiani, both of which work on Ryan Seacrest’s radio show and American Idol.

Liefeld’s art (from Onslaught Reborn) can be seen at right.

DC Comics Relaunches Website

DC Comics’ boring old Web site saw a big relaunch over the weekend, perhaps coinciding with the record-breaking debut of The Dark Knight film.

Not a ton of new features on the site, which you can view right here, but it’s a whole lot prettier than the previous incarnation.

There is a nice feature called "30 Essential," which lists 30 of what DC views as it’s can’t miss graphic novels. That’s sure to be useful for new readers, though it’s old ground for long-time readers.

You can find that feature right here.

Cover for James Bond GN and ‘Quantum of Solace’ Trailer Debut

Fans of the James Bond franchise have a lot to look forward to this fall, as the first ever Bond graphic novel, Silverfin, will be coming out and, of course, Daniel Craig returns as Bond in The Quantum of Solace.

On the graphic novel front, Bond site Commander Bond has some previews of the art and the cover, seen at right. There’s also a little information on the story, right here.

Puffin Books have released the official blurb for the forthcoming graphic novel adaptation of Charlie Higson’s SilverFin. Adapted from Higson’s debut Young James Bond adventure by artist Kev Walker and featuring more than 300 full color illustrations, the SilverFin graphic novel is slated for release on 2 October 2008 in the UK.

The blurb follows: It’s James Bond’s first day at Eton, and already he’s met his first enemy. This is the start of an adventure that will take him from the school playing fields to the remote shores of Loch Silverfin and a terrifying discovery that threatens to unleash a new breed of warfare.

Meanwhile, the Bond central site, 007, has the trailer for Quantum of Solace. It looks like another more cerebral Bond film, hewing a bit closer to the novels.

There’s also a reference that can’t help but conjure up the Bourne films, as Bond apparently goes rogue and M calls out: "Find Bond!"