Tagged: Paramount

Depp and Verbinski Reteam for ‘Rango’

Depp and Verbinski Reteam for ‘Rango’

  • News
  • September 11, 2008

Rango is a new CG-animated feature film from Paramount Pictures, set to begin production in January.  It is being directed by Gore Verbinski, making his animated debut, and he’s being joined by his Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp as the lead voice, that for a pet that goes on an adventure. The script is from John Logan (Star Trek: Nemesis) using an idea by Verbinski.  Industrial Light & Magic will handle the actual animation chores.

The studio has staked a March 2011 release date.

The ambitious method of animation, Verbinski told Variety "will allow us to capture and translate every aspect of Johnny’s performance, using it to drive the computer-generated character in a way that has yet to be seen in an animated feature."

According to the trade, Verbinski and Logan have are also collaborating on Bioshock, a video game adaptation for Universal Studios.
 

‘Ciudad’ set up at Paramount

‘Ciudad’ set up at Paramount

  • News
  • September 6, 2008

Oni Press has sold the film rights to their forthcoming graphic novel Ciudad to Paramount Pictures.  Anthony and Joe Russo (You, Me and Dupree) wrote the comic and will pen and direct the screen adaptation according to Variety. The comic was drawn by Ande Parks (Green Arrow).

The trade describes the premise as “story centers on a weary hostage extractor who travels to Paraguay’s Ciudad del Este, a border town considered one of the world’s most dangerous and corrupt locales, to save a kidnap victim.”

The duo researched the story for years, traveling to South Africa and intend to return to their grittier filmmaking style.

Oni Press has optioned four other properties to Universal Studios where they have a first look deal.  Their Scott Pilgrim film begins shooting in a few weeks.

 

‘Watchmen’ Lawsuit Explained for You

‘Watchmen’ Lawsuit Explained for You

  • News
  • September 4, 2008

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…)

Paramount to use Mobile Comics

Paramount to use Mobile Comics

  • News
  • August 29, 2008

Paramount Pictures is embracing the mobile content aspect of movie marketing by hiring Singapore-based Omnitoons to craft comic stories based on current films.  According to Variety, the first film will be Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, a British feature from Gurinder Chadha (Bend it Like Beckham). The movie is currently in release throughout Europe but lacks a domestic release date.

The Manga-style stories will appear on enabled phones in single panel manner with each strips taking up to four screens and short stories up to 20 screens. The next release to receive this treatment will be the Shia LaBeouf actioner Eagle Eye. Mission: Impossible, not currently an active film franchise, was also mentioned in the story indicating Paramount is examining their library for appropriate series to work with.

The mobile comics are now available in MMS and J2ME formats in the U.S., Australia, Europe and India. The phone companies will likely treat these promotional comics as premium content and will charge users for downloading each installment.

"By adapting movies to the mobile comics format, we believe fans will be able to extend their entertainment experience at their own pace, with the privacy of their phone," Karen New, CEO of Omnitoons, told the trade. "Omnitoons aims to continue our pursuit of bridging the mobile and movie industries by creating even more comics based on popular film titles through innovative and cost-efficient techniques.”
 

The New Star Trek 4

The New Star Trek 4

  • News
  • August 11, 2008

After teasing us with just four close-ups of selected cast members of next May’s new Star Trek film, Paramount has released four additional teases. This time we can see Scotty, McCoy, Chekov and Sulu. While we can’t see the modified uniforms, we can tell the pointy sideburns remain in tact for which there will no doubt be much rejoicing.

 

Paramount’s publicity roll out appears to be carefully designed to release drips and drabs of clips and information before the first full trailer which is now not expected until the holiday season. Word is that a rough assemblage of the film was shown to enthusiastic execs at the studio and director J.J. Abrams indicated the film would have been ready for its initially planned Christmas release. Of course, the last few Trek films to open during the holiday season haven’t fared well so slotting it to kick off the summer 2009 season may actually be a blessing.

 

The Iron Man Ultimate DVD Commeth!

The Iron Man Ultimate DVD Commeth!

  • News
  • August 9, 2008

If you’ve grown tired of watching that bootleg copy of Iron Man that you’ve crammed onto your iPod/iPhone, then you will be happy to know that details of the Iron Man DVD release are now available for you to drool over.

First off, you can get your hands on the movie on DVD and Blu Ray September 30th, and rather than aim for the wallet and release seven versions over a period of two years, Paramount is putting out the two-disc "Ultimate Edition" first. This doesn’t mean that there won’t be a Super Deluxe Buy Me Now Edition with a piece of Robert Downy Jr.’s hair.
 
One of the coolest features announced is that the Blu-ray disc will include an exclusive "Iron Man IQ", which will allow you to create quizzes based on clips from the film and share them with your friends. This probably won’t enhance your movie-watching experience, but will allow you to educate your friends on "how many buttons Tony Stark’s suit has." Here are the rest of the details.
 

Disc 1:
 
– Feature film
– Deleted and Extended Scenes
 
Disc 2:
 
– I Am Iron Man Documentary Series
          o The Journey Begins
          o The Suit that makes the Iron Man
          o The Walk of Destruction
          o Grounded In Reality
          o Beneath the Armor
          o It’s All in the Details
          o A Good Story, Well Told
 
– The Invincible Iron Man
          o Origins
          o Friends & Foes
          o The Definitive Iron Man
          o Demon in a Bottle
          o Extremis and Beyond
          o Ultimate Iron Man
 
– Wired: The Visual Effects of Iron Man
– Robert Downey Jr. Screen Test
– The Actor’s Process (scene rehearsal with cast)
– The Onion “Wildly Popular Iron Man Trailer to be Adapted into Full Length Film”
– Image Galleries

Brett Ratner Makes “Harbinger” Adaptation a Priority

Brett Ratner Makes “Harbinger” Adaptation a Priority

  • News
  • August 4, 2008

In a Variety article discussing director Brett Ratner’s recent move to Paramount Pictures, the man who helmed X-Men: The Last Stand name-checked an adaptation of Valiant comics’ Harbinger series as one of his first priorities with the new studio. We previously reported on the series being optioned by Paramount back in March.

As producers, Ratner and Stern are teamed with producer Alexandra Milchan on "Harbinger," an adaptation of the Jim Shooter-created comic series published by Valiant Comics.

Ratner said after directing "X-Men: The Last Stand," he was eager to build a superhero franchise from the ground up. The studio will set a writer shortly.

Ratner described Harbinger and his planned Beverly Hills Cop 4 project as "mainstream tentpoles" for the studio.

Cartoon Network Adapts Image Books

  • News
  • July 24, 2008

One of the cool early pieces of news out of San Diego has been Cartoon Network’s development of a trio of Image properties for cartoons.

That would be Mice Templar (created and drawn by Hammer Of The Gods co-creator Mike Avon Oeming with Bryan J.L. Glass), Firebreather, and The Vanishers.

CBR has an interview with Firebreather creator Phil Hester who talked about the upcoming two-hour cartoon and the potential for an animated series.

Both Hester and Kuhn credit film producer Julia Pistor for seeing "Firebreather" through the hazards of Hollywood development to find it a home. "Originally, we were optioned by Paramount, and during that time they didn’t really do anything," said Kuhn. When the option was up, it was Pistor who contacted the creators with an offer to help. As a vice-president at Nickelodeon, Pistor has a long history of shepherding successful animation projects. She recognized "Firebreather" as something special.

The executive who had brought "Firebreather" into Paramount had unexpectedly passed away, leaving the project with no champion when the option period had passed. "She said ‘this is too good to just let die," Hester explained. "She offered to take it out herself and find a place to set it up."

I can only wonder (and hope) a Perhapanauts cartoon could soon follow, as writer Todd Dezago recently told me there had been some serious interest in that Image book as well.

‘Iron Man 2’ Has a Writer

‘Iron Man 2’ Has a Writer

  • News
  • July 16, 2008

Fans of David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive might be surprised to learn the actor who played Adam Kesher will be writing the next Iron Man movie.

Writer/actor Justin Theroux has been signed on by Marvel to script the sequel, according to Variety. He’s had quite a varied Hollywood career already.

Theroux, a thesp-scribe best known for roles in "Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle" and HBO’s "Six Feet Under" and miniseries "John Adams," most recently wrote the DreamWorks comedy "Tropic Thunder," which Paramount will unspool next month.

In addition to writing and appearing in "Tropic Thunder," Theroux also exec produced the laffer, which stars Ben Stiller, Downey and Jack Black. He recently made his directing debut on "Dedication," which the Weinstein Co. distribbed.

"Iron Man," released in May, has earned more than $314 million at the domestic box office and collected another $252 million overseas.

The article also indicates deals are close to being finalized for Robert Downey Jr. and director Jon Favreau to return for Iron Man 2, which is supposed to make a 2010 release date.

Casper The Old Ghost

Casper The Old Ghost

  • News
  • June 17, 2008

Sixty years ago next year, the remnants of the Fleischer Studio teamed up with the folks at St. John Comics (Tor, Three Stooges, and the original 3-D comics) to create Casper The Friendly Ghost #1. It lasted five issues. Paramount, owners of the Fleischer operation, took the license over to Harvey Comics and a legend floated off the ground.

While children’s comics have been largely ignored in the American marketplace for the past decade or two, Casper stayed alive in movies and on DVD. His present owner, Classics Media, has big plans for the ghost’s 60th.

They’ve got a major Halloween push coming this fall, including clothing and music and games and toys and greeting cards and tattoos.

They’ve also got a new teevee show which already has been sold in 60 markets, including France, Britain, and Japan.

As for comics, well, Dark Horse recently released a nifty reprint anthology, mostly in black-and-white but still a great value.

Not bad for a small child who’s been dead for 60 years.

 

 

 

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