Tagged: Hulk

Cherry Lane Makes Marvel Music

Cherry Lane Makes Marvel Music

  • News
  • November 28, 2008

Cherry Lane Music Publishing Co. entered into a long-term worldwide music administration deal with Marvel Entertainment according to Variety. They will oversee the lucrative music publishing from the Marvel movies starting with Iron Man and Incredible Hulk and extending through the 2011 live action releases. The deal also covers the currently in production animated series Wolverine and the X-Men, Super Hero Squad, Thor and The Avengers."

Cherry Lane also reps music for DreamWorks and Lakeshore Entertainment.

CW Drops Plans for ‘Graysons’

CW Drops Plans for ‘Graysons’

  • News
  • November 7, 2008

Fans can breathe easier now.

The CW has dropped its plans for The Graysons, which would have dramatically altered the character of Dick Grayson in stories set before he became Robin the Boy Wonder.  According to Variety, Warner Bros. Pictures president Jeff Robinov rethought the premise and decided it didn’t fit in the company’s overall plans for its DC Comics super-heroes.

With Smallville likely in its eighth and final season, the CW network was seeking a replacement series and settled on Dick Grayson.  The reimagined premise, announced on October 1, saw him growing to his mid-teens and still performing with his parents, the renowned trapeze act, the Flying Graysons. Rather than call him Dick, he was also renamed “DJ”, all of which set off alarms throughout comic book fandom.

"Warner Bros. TV never had 100% clearance," one executive told the trade.

Robinov had told The Wall Street Journal back in August that the studio wanted to create a more cohesive plan for the DCU, largely after it faltered to keep up with Marvel which this year introduced connected elements between its Iron Man and Incredible Hulk films. Among those decisions was halting the Justice League film and possibly rebooting Superman, going with a darker approach.

Christopher Nolan, talking about directions he might go with a third film in his Batman franchise, dismissed adding Robin at any time but word had it that he never gave his blessing to the CW series. The idea that having Batman in theaters and Robin on television was considered by some executives to be a mistake.  They also thought Smallville might have had something to do with Superman Returns’ poor box office.  Clearly, none of them saw the film.

The Graysons, as a result, did not fit with the plan at all.

"The studio has opted not to go forward with the development of The Graysons at this time as the concept doesn’t fit the current strategy for the Batman franchise," the studio said in a statement. "Warner Bros. Television is currently working on several replacement options for the CW."
 

Henry Cavill, Sam Worthington to don Competing Togas

Henry Cavill, Sam Worthington to don Competing Togas

  • News
  • November 6, 2008

War of the Gods has cast Henry Cavill (The Tudors) to headline the cast.  According to Variety, he will portray Theseus. Tarsem Singh (The Cell) is directing the film from a script by Charley and Vlas Parlapanides for Relativity Media.

Meantime, the competing Warner Bros. remake of Clash of the Titans, with a script from Lawrence Kasdan, is said to be negotiating with Terminator Salvation-star Sam Worthington for the part of Perseus.  The remake of the 1981 Ray Harryhausen film is to be directed by Louis Leterrier (Incredible Hulk).

Both movies are expected to begin production within the next four months and both announced intentions to follow the 300 model with principal photography relying heavily on the green screen process to allow sets to be digitally created.  As a result, both movies are said to be budgeted below $100 million.

All that Greek mythology you read in school will come in handy as you sit through not one, but two feature films using the Olympian Gods and Goddesses. On June 26, both films were annoucned in the trades with one porject suddenyl split asunder. Warner Bros. was initially interested in something god-like and at one point was tempted by Relativity’s War of the Gods. Instead, Warners proved fickle and instead partnered with Legendary Pictures for the Clash remake.  The script from Lawrence Kasdan has been done for a while. They finally gave the project a green light when Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier signed on.

 

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Review: ‘Incredible Hulk’ DVD

Review: ‘Incredible Hulk’ DVD

Ang Lee’s [[[Hulk]]] film failed because he spent too much time on the Jekyll/Hyde aspects, the very ones that inspired Stan Lee.  After all these years, people wanted to see the Hulk leap and smash things.  When he leapt, we cheered, but there just wasn’t enough of it.

Director Louis Leterrier achieved a far better balance in this year’s [[[Incredible Hulk]]] which builds on the mythos while firmly settling into the new Marvel Cinema Universe. He wisely covers the obligatory origin materials during the title sequence and then gives us a story.

Unfortunately, the story just wasn’t as gripping as we had hoped.  The film, arriving Tuesday on DVD, is largely the Army hunting the Hulk as Bruce Banner searches for a cure.  While that worked fine in the 12-page [[[Tales to Astonish]]] stories, it’s not nearly enough for a feature film.  The biggest problem with Zak Snyder’s story is that the Super Soldier formula that is now linked to the Hulk and the Abomination is clearly able to turn people into weapons of mass destruction and all the military sees is a weapon.  Not a single person in uniform saw it as anything else and frankly, we’ve seen this theme before and done better elsewhere.

The notion that Emil Blonsky is a soldier towards the end of his career, with nothing to lose, and therefore more than willing to become the Abomination is a nice way to integrate the character from the comics to the film.  But, he’s as single-minded as everyone else in the story, which is a shame.

Penn’s script lifts the Mr. Blue character from Bruce Jones’ celebrated run on the title but reveals him to be Dr. Samuel Sterns, and frankly, I just didn’t buy their connection or the way Sterns suddenly switches from dedicated scientist to Colin Clive in [[[Frankenstein]]]. The fact that in the comics Stearns evolves into the Leader complete with big green head means he’s around should the movie franchise continue so hopefully he’ll be rounded out.

As presented, Leterrier’s film is pretty much A to B to C with pauses for Hulking out and destroying things until the climactic fight in Harlem.  I’ve certainly seen worse, but had hoped for something better considering [[[Iron Man]]], released just weeks prior, showed that serious issues could be addressed through fantastic means.
 

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Comic Mix Six – The Six Worst Comic Book Video Games

Comic Mix Six – The Six Worst Comic Book Video Games

  • Uncategorized
  • October 18, 2008

Comic books, admittedly, don’t have a great history when itcomes to video game adaptations.  Hell,most games based on licensed properties have a certain stigma about them.  It probably stems from the fact that theyfeel like a cheap cash-in…a way to make a quick buck on a popular fad such asmovies, TV shows, and yes, comics.  Now,that’s not to say ALL comic book games are bad, no; but the genre does have itsshare of stinkers.  Out of all thepossible crap-fests out there, these are the top six games that should never beallowed near your console of choice…EVER.

Marvel’s Uncanny X-Men– 1989: NES

Back in the heyday of the Nintendo Entertainment System,they were making games for EVERYTHING. At the time, publisher LJN held the rights to the Marvel license, andsadly, churned out turd after turd.  Oneof their biggest steaming piles was this mess, based on Marvel’s MightyMutants.  What made this game sobad?  Well, sadly, the technology of theday seems to be the biggest culprit.  Thegame took a top-down view of the action, and since there was only so much youcould show in 8-bit, character details were pretty much non-existent.  That, combined with the muddy, dirty colorsof the backgrounds and you were lucky you could see anything at all, let alonewhich character you had selected. Nothing was recognizable, despite the fact that it had a decent sized rosterselected from the books.  Thankfully, it’sone of the few bad marks on an otherwise mostly successful game franchise.

Fantastic Four – 1997:Playstation

Ugh.  When you talkabout ugly games, two system generations ago, we had some DOGS.  3D graphics were all the rage, and polygoncounts were climbing higher and higher. Sadly, they still couldn’t figure out that muddy background thing, andso stuff tended to blend together – badly. At least this time you could see what was happening…but it wasn’tpretty.  Take a tried and true gameplaystyle, affectionately known as the “beat ‘em up”, and add comic’s firstfamily.  What could go wrong?  Well, how about poor control, terrible plotand just plain shoddy gameplay?  First,the game is about the Fantastic FOUR…so you have Mr. Fantastic, InvisibleWoman, Human Torch, The Thing and…She-Hulk? Wouldn’t that be FIVE?  Then, you have repetitive, lazy combat (anormal pitfall for the “beat ‘em up”) of miscellaneous enemies that are largein number and small in variety.  Add to thatthe poor hit detection, lousy control response and just a general sense of “whybother?” and you have this mighty gem.  Fantastic,indeed.

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NBC Scores a Golden Fleece

NBC Scores a Golden Fleece

  • News
  • October 15, 2008

NBC has scored a pilot commitment to Jason and the Argonauts, based on the classic quest for the Golden Fleece in Greek mythology. Argonauts will mark the first-ever green-screen drama developed for primetime television. Films such as Sin City have made use of green screen, but this will be the first time the technology makes the leap to a primetime TV series.

The network secured the projected after a "fierce bidding war" with a rival network, believed to be Fox. Interestingly enough, Fox is developing The Argonauts as a feature film with Zak Penn (The Incredible Hulk) scripting. In fact, Tom Rothman mentioned the project as recently as today in his interview with IESB.net. Variety reports that DreamWorks also has a project titled The Argonauts. Their interpretation of the story would feature treasure hunters from today transported back to the time of Jason. This comes the same time that War of the Gods and the remake of Clash of the Titans are also moving into production.  And let’s not forget competing Hercules films having also been announced over the last few months.

This will be NBC’s second attempt this decade at getting the Argonaut mythology correct. A previous miniseries, from producer Robert Halmi, also titled Jason and the Argonauts (are you keeping track?) and starring Jason London, Frank Langella, and Dennis Hopper aired in 2000. The two projects will be completely unrelated other than in title and source material.

In Greek mythology, Jason was the leader of the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece, which belonged to the winged ram Chrysomallos. Members of The Argonauts include Heracles (commonly known by his Roman name "Hercules") and Castor and Pollux of Troy, both of whom were featured in John Woo’s Face/Off. (Just kidding, kinda.) During the quest for the Fleece, Jason meets and marries Medea the sorceress. In Euripides’ play Medea, Jason leaves Medea to marry King Creon’s daughter. Medea exacts vengeance by killing Creon and her own two sons in order to devastate Jason. Man, and you thought modern times were rough!

Of course, the best recalled version of this tale is Ray Harryahusen’s classic 1963 film, Jason and the Argonauts, compelte with the heroes fighting skeletons. One can only hope one of these projects has something equally thrilling in store.

Captain America Hulks Out

Captain America Hulks Out

  • News
  • October 13, 2008

A while back, The Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier claimed that a scene was shot in which Bruce Banner travels in the arctic. In the scene, the filmmaker hid one heck of a red, white and blue easter egg: Captain America buried beneath the ice, shield and all. The film’s producer Gale Anne Hurd later denied the claim, saying that "Captain America was not visible in that scene."

Welp, time to call bull puckey on that line of defense. Film School Rejects got their mittens on a copy of the Incredible Hulk DVD (available on October 21 and one we’ll be reviewing here soon) and watched the scene in question. Sure enough, Steve Rogers himself is indeed in the film, though you might need a magnifying glass and a few stiff drinks to catch the cameo.

Towards the end of the 2:25 long scene, an avalanche occurs that crashes at the camera. It’s during this sequence that Captain America’s star-spangled body can be seen just beneath the ice. Looks like Letterier has won this round, Ms. Hurd.

For those keeping track, this marks three direct references to Captain America in the Marvel Studios film lore thus far. In Iron Man, there’s a brief shot featuring the fabled Avenger’s shield in Tony’s workshop. In Hulk, there are two mentions of Corporal Rogers: the use of "super soldier serum" by Emil Blonksy and, of course, the hero’s newly discovered icy tomb.

If these references are to be taken as canon, then Hulk‘s snowy prologue takes place before the events of Iron Man, since Steve’s shield is buried beneath the ice. That implies that Rogers’ body was discovered at some point between the two films, possibly before Tony Stark is fully immersed as Iron Man. Keeping the two films’ endings in mind, namely Tony’s encounter with Nick Fury and his conversation with General Ross, it’s possible that The Avengers are already in place by the time The Incredible Hulk concludes. Perhaps, then, the superhero team-up feature will take place soon after Hulk’s ending with the Avengers pursuing the Jade Giant.

So, has Marvel tipped its hand and revealed how the cards are falling together on screen, or do we just have too much time on our hands? Tell us what you think below!

‘Wolverine: Origins’ #28 gets Second Printing

‘Wolverine: Origins’ #28 gets Second Printing

  • News
  • October 12, 2008

Wolverine: Origins #28 has sold out at Diamond and will be going back to print with the prologue to X-Men: Original Sin.  The issue cleverly takes readers through Wolverine’s history including his first encounter with the Incredible Hulk, a new point of view ot the classic introduciton of the mutant in Incredible Hulk #181.

Charles Xavier and Logan delve even deeper into Wolverine’s past as they try to save the fragile mental state Daken, WOlverin’es adult son, is in.

The X-Men: Original Sin event will run thorugh the following titles:

X-MEN: ORIGINAL SIN #1
Written by MIKE CAREY & DANIEL WAY
Penciled by MIKE DEODATO & SCOT EATON
Cover by MIKE DEODATO & RICHARD ISANOVE

X-MEN: LEGACY #217
Written by MIKE CAREY
Penciled by SCOT EATON
Cover by MIKE DEODATO & RICHARD ISANOVE
On-Sale—10/22/08

WOLVERINE: ORIGINS #29

Written by DANIEL WAY
Pencils by MIKE DEODATO
Cover by MIKE DEODATO & RICHARD ISANOVE
Zombie Variant by MIKE DEODATO
On-Sale—10/29/08

X-MEN: LEGACY #218
Written by MIKE CAREY
Penciled by SCOT EATON
Cover by MIKE DEODATO
On-Sale—11/19/08

WOLVERINE: ORIGINS #30
Written by DANIEL WAY
Pencils & Cover by MIKE DEODATO
On-Sale—11/26/08

Marvel Begins Original Digital Comics

Marvel Begins Original Digital Comics

  • News
  • September 16, 2008

Marvel’s Digital Comics will begin original material for the first time, with two strips based on this year’s movies, Iron Man and Incredible Hulk. In fact, the content will be based on the film versions not the comic book continuities so as to appeal to a wider audience. The stories will run weekly, with new installments showing up on Wednesday, the traditional “new comic day”.

Iron Man: Fast Friends, starting tomorrow, is said to focus on the relationship between Tony Stark and Jim Rhodes. It’s written by Paul Tobin, with art by Ronan Cliquet and covers by Dave Bullock.

Incredible Hulk: The Fury Files, launching October 8, will feature Nick Fury investigating Bruce Banner. It’s written by Frank Tieri, with art by Salva Espin and covers by Steve Lieber.

Both strips are timed to the impending DVD releases of the films with Iron Man due September 30 and Incredible Hulk due out October 21.
 

Marvel Studios Touts Year’s Successes

Marvel Studios Touts Year’s Successes

  • News
  • September 11, 2008

Marvel Studios Chairman David Maisel told investors at Merrill Lynch that their debut this year was” arguably the most successful" in modern history. He touted facts and figures for the smash success of Iron Man and coupled it with the so-so performance of Incredible Hulk to show their dominance.  While claiming Iron Man is the 21st top grossing film in domestic history, adjusted for inflation, it’s actually 113th.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, he has compared their 2010 Thor film as akin to The Lord of the Rings.  At present, no director or cast has been attached.

Maisel also indicated the films will continue to seed characters and threads from film-to-film comparing it with the Star Wars films as opposed to the organic manner in which Stan Lee populated the Marvel Universe. The cameos were "a taste of what’s to follow."

While announcing nothing new, he reiterated the planned 2010 releases for Iron Man 2 and Thor and the 2011 releases of The First Avenger: Captain America and The Avengers.  He made no mention of the other films rounding out the 10 films Paramount agreed to co-finance including Ant Man. 

Nor did he make mention of Sony’s competing 2011 release, Spider-Man 4, or 20th-Century Fox’s Marvel properties including next year’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

"And with our track record, we can normally keep those release dates pretty clean," Maisel noted. He also indicated the advance scheduling allows them to line up premiere licensing and merchandising partners.  He pointed to the forthcoming theme parks in Dubai and South Korea as partnerships aiming the studio and its characters for global domination well into the 21st century.

Also yesterday, actress Eva Mendes pooh-poohed the notion of a Ghost Rider sequel, telling MTV, "No, I think Ghost Rider had its moment. I don’t know about a sequel, but I don’t think it needs one. I was so proud of it. It was fun…but I think it’s done…but look, hey, if it’s Nicolas Cage again – I’ll do anything with him."

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