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Mofac Animation Unveils Animated The King of Kings
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Mofac Animation Unveils Animated The King of Kings

Mofac Animation Inc., South Korea’s most decorated visual effects studio, proudly announces its first-ever full-length animated movie: The King of Kings, an animated family film inspired by a little-known short story by Charles Dickens depicting the life and times of Jesus Christ.

The faith-based movie is in its final stages of production at Mofac Animation, as well as in performance recordings from the United Kingdom to the Hawaiian Islands – and numerous locations in between. The ever-growing, A-list cast will be announced at a future date. Mofac Animation is currently seeking potential distributors.

In the film, Charles Dickens finds trouble balancing his writing and performing with the parenting of his children – particularly his youngest son, Walter. Charles discovers the perfect bonding element via the sharing of his short story The Life of Our Lord – the reading of which would become an annual tradition in the Dickens’ family Christmas celebration. Master storyteller Charles and his imaginative son Walter find common ground within the entrancing story of Jesus, his well-known trials and tribulations, and his notable colleagues and foes – with animation allowing the Dickens pair (and the family cat Willa) to become intrinsically immersed in the ancient tale. The result is an animated film that makes the biblical journey easily relatable, readily understood and captivatingly entertaining for families and, especially, to children of all ages.

The King of Kings is the labor of love for director and co-writer Seong-ho “Jay” Jang, one of the most respected filmmakers in Korea and an unparalleled pioneer in the visual effects realm. His 100+ credits across the past three decades include Grand Bell Awards Best Film honoree Joint Security Area, Starz’s popular Spartacus television series, Cannes Film Festival entry The Taste of Money, the Clive Owen/Morgan Freeman starrer Last Knights, and the fantasy adventure comedy sequel Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back, which shattered several Chinese opening weekend box office records.

The film is co-written by Jang and Rob Edwards, best known for scripting Disney’s animated feature films The Princess and the Frog and Treasure Planet, as well as episodic contributions to popular television series like In Living Color, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, A Different World and Full House. Edwards recently completed an adaptation of The Great Escape for Academy Award-nominated director/producer Reggie Hudlin (Django Unchained) and a feature film adaptation of the popular video game series Call of Duty for Academy Award-nominated producer Stacey Sher (Pulp Fiction, Erin Brockovich) at Activision Productions.

The King of Kings features an all-star lineup of international production talent, including BAFTA-winning cinematographer Woo-Hyung Kim (Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or nominee The Taste of Money), much sought-after composer Tae-seong Kim (all-time Korean box office record-holder Roaring Currents), and Emmy Award-winning dialogue & casting director Jamie Thomason (Spirited Away, The Spectacular Spider-Man, The Tigger Movie), who also serves as an executive producer alongside veteran filmmaking aficionados Andrew Mann (Imperium, Outcast). Anfernee Kim (Last Knights, John Woo’s The Crossing 2) is the film’s producer.

“For the past 2000-plus years, the story of Jesus has been told and re-told in countless ways across virtually every country on the planet,” explains Jang. “This is a deeply personal story to all of us on the production crew, and we know it resonates with so many around the world. The added joy of this little-known iteration is that you see the story unfold not only from Charles Dickens’ unique literary perspective, but through his son Walter’s eyes – which ultimately provides young viewers with even greater access and understanding of who Jesus was and all that he represents.”

The King of Kings represents an obvious opportunity for superior filmmaking and significant box office success. “The universal story of Jesus Chris transcends all cultures, creating an automatic entry in theaters across the global marketplace,” explains producer Anfernee Kim. “More than 2.5 billion Christians across the planet enthusiastically embrace faith-based entertainment, and that demand expands with a presentation in the form of an engaging, inspirational, appropriately fun yet obviously heartfelt, high-quality animated film that the entire family can enjoy.”

Mofac Animation is actively seeking a distribution partner who will provide the most advantageous match to effectively reach the film’s multi-tiered fanbase that captures fan of faith-based films, animated faire and general entertainment. “Obviously, this is a universally appealing story to a wide audience, and we look forward to partnering with the appropriate entity for maximum distribution,” Anfernee Kim added.

Roaming by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki
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Roaming by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki

The publisher says this is an adult book, but it’s about young people (nineteen; at my age nineteen is very young) figuring out what they want out of life and how to live in the world, so it’s at least thematically appropriate for not-quite-adult readers. I’m tagging it thus; complain in comments if you think high schoolers should be shielded from the view of first-year college students traveling to New York, drinking and smoking pot, swearing and causing trouble, staying in hostels and getting busy. (And then I’ll point and laugh at you, because you are just wrong.)

Roaming is the third major graphic novel by cousins Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki, after 2008’s Skim  and 2014’s This One Summer . (So we can expect their next book together about 2035, assuming three points can be extrapolated infinitely.) I don’t know how they work together. Jillian is a cartoonist who does other projects all on her own, both writing and drawing. Mariko has written other comics, but I don’t think she draws. So my assumption is the art is all Jillian, but not that the writing is all Mariko. And we all know what they say about assumptions.

It’s set in 2009. Two friends who grew up together in some random Toronto suburb, Zoe and Dani, are meeting up at Newark Airport on spring break, to spend a week together in NYC, after going away to different Canadian colleges for the past year. Zoe is aiming for a STEM-ish degree; Dani is studying art – again, they’re second-semester freshmen, so all of this is new and somewhat tentative.

When they meet in Newark, Dani has brought along a new friend: Fiona, another art student, assured and opinionated and a former New Yorker herself. We think this will be the story of how Fiona’s presence affects Zoe and Dani’s old comfortable friendship, and that’s true…but not in the way we first expect, seeing quiet Zoe react warily to brash Fiona.

It’s organized into five sections, corresponding to the five days. We open with Zoe alone in that airport, and we close on a subway, all three women heading to one last new experience on the day they’ll fly out. And much-too-old me ended the book thinking they’re heading in the wrong direction, even if they do have most of the day, to be sure to get to the airport on time. But that’s old-person thinking; they’re trying to cram as much experience into a few days as possible – to be somewhere they’ve dreamed about for years. So I can worry about them, but I can’t fault them.

The plot is deceptively simple: they wander around the city, doing things – apparently from a list Zoe and Dani worked out ahead of time. Fiona, who was not part of the planning and is vastly less go-along and vastly more opinionated about everything NYC, pushes them in very different directions – not always the ones you’d expect. And Zoe connects with Fiona. And Dani and Zoe talk, eventually, about who they used to be as friends and who they are now after a year away at different universities.

My fingers wanted to type “universes” there. It’s almost equally true. They’re doing different things, living different lives, and we get only snippets of those new lives here – but enough to know they’re as tumultuous and often uncomfortable as most lives. They have idealized visions of each other – their dreams from high school, mostly – and Roaming is, in part, how they learn that they each are not the people they dreamed about being – maybe not yet, or maybe not ever.

What it’s mostly about is circling back to someone who was really important in your life, thinking you can pick right back up where you left off, and you both have changed. You may still be friends, you may still be really close friends, but you’re not sixteen anymore: you’ve both already changed, and you will both keep changing.

And the dialogue is great; true, in that broken, rambling, random way that people really talk. Half-thoughts, cut-off sentences, pasts alluded to rather than detailed. The Tamakis don’t tell us everything about Dani and Zoe, but they tell us what we need to know, and they show us how Dani and Zoe used to be with each other, and how they are now.

This is a lovely book about an important time of life, and an important kind of transition. We all have old friends, and we are all changing, all the time. Even if we’re no longer nineteen, Roaming has a lot to say to us.

Reposted from The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.

REVIEW: Madame Web
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REVIEW: Madame Web

Sony has been struggling to find the secret formula to make their Spider-Verse movies satisfy audiences in the same way Marvel Studios has managed for the last decade-plus. Boiled down, it seems to come form a lack of coherent vision and weak scripts.

The critical despair and box office indifference to Madame Web is misplaced because it’s not the worst of the lot, but viewers are clearly tired of Sony misfires, which doesn’t bode well for the forthcoming Kraven.

The incredibly weak script from director SJ Clarkson, Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless, and Claire Parke mars the potential found deep within the very disappointing Madame Web, out now from Sony Home Entertainment. The basic premise that four women are brought together as part of a woven tapestry of spider-powers is fine, as is importing Ezekiel (Tahar Rahim) from the Spider-Man comics to be the bad guy.

However, the script them all. Cassie Webb (Dakota Johnson) is scarred after her mother, Constance Webb (Kerry Bishé)’s death, hardening herself with a shell of indifference even as she works as an EMT, which requires a desire to interact with mankind. Her only friend, it seems, is Richard Parker (Adam Scott), whose pregnant wife Mary (Emma Roberts) is carrying an unnamed baby boy (Peter, for those who miss the breadcrumbs).

At the same time, Ezekiel, who is responsible for the death of Cassie’s mother, receives the psychic impression that three young women are a threat to his future. He maniacally and one-dimensionally tries to find and kill them to save his life, coming across Cassie, who, as fate would have it, unites the girls.

Cassie’s emergence as a leader and mothering figure for Julia Cornwall (Sydney Sweeney), Anya Corazon (Isabela Merced), and Mattie Franklin (Celeste O’Connor), all abandoned by their own parents, could have been a wonderful arc. Instead, she herself abandons them for a week to track the Amazonian spider tribe and learn more about her powers and destiny. We see little of what happens to the girls during this time, which is a wasted opportunity. While a worthy goal, the abandonment derails the core plot. The three teens aren’t deep, with surface personalities that rob the actresses from doing anything meaningful.

And then we get to the climax, which sees cars crash, buildings burn, and Cassie coming into her own. It’s all cookie-cutter and less than original. The potential is squandered from beginning to end, yet another Sony misfire demonstrating that they just don’t know how to make these super-hero movies work. SJ Clarkson’s direction is perfunctory when it could have been revelatory.

The movie is available in all the usual formats, including the reviewed Blu-ray, which has a superb 2.39:1, 1080p High Definition transfer, and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. A digital HD code is also included.

The disc is rounded out with a fine, if unexceptional collection of Special Features including Future Vision (7 Minutes), Casting the Web (9:09), Oracle of the Page (4:54), Gag Reel (4:31), Fight Like a Spider (5:31), Easter Eggs – The Many Threads of Madame Web (3:55), and a single Deleted Scene – You Died (1:00).

Thorn by Jeff Smith
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Thorn by Jeff Smith

It’s always complicated looking at the early stuff. Especially when “the early stuff” hasn’t been publicly available for a few decades, and was very much a trial run for the later stuff, which used a lot of the same elements and ideas in a more coherent, consistent way.

That’s why it took until 2024 for Thorn: The Complete Proto-Bone College Strips 1982-1986  to be published; Jeff Smith knew that as well as anyone, and Bone, even now, is his major work, the core of his resume, and probably still his largest source of income. Add that to any creator’s standard disinterest at looking back at juvenilia, and this is work that could easily have stayed moldering in a vault indefinitely, only to roll out in some posthumous Complete Works or similar exercise.

But, for whatever reason, Smith decided to look back, to clean up, and to publish a comprehensive collection of his earliest major work: it shipped to his Kickstarter backers recently and is scheduled to hit regular retail channels this summer.

It’s a big book: over three hundred pages, on good paper, in a wider-than-tall format suitable for printing strip comics two-up on each page, in a large, clean presentation. And the material is equally comprehensive, with all of the strips Smith did in college – the full run of Thorn from his college paper The Sundial, a short try-out called Mickey & Rudy that ran very briefly during a Thorn hiatus, and a book-formatted one-pager from another campus publication – surrounded by notes, introductions, and other material to put it into context and explain how it all came to be.

So, physically and technically, this is impressive. It’s the best possible presentation for this material, treating it all seriously and presenting it all well and clearly. The material itself if a bit more of a mixed bag, which is what we all assumed.

Thorn was a daily strip – five days a week, during the four quarters of the Ohio State academic calendar – and it has the rhythms of a daily. It wanders, it digresses, it has one-off silliness and gags. Dailies, especially by college students, tend to be “about” everything in their creator’s worlds, almost equally, and that’s the case here. The first two years of Thorn feature a shorter, substantially different version of the main plot from Bone, alongside other material and including topical elements that dropped out of the later comic-book version.

Most obviously, Thorn was a Reagan-era strip. There’s a Reagan caricature that shows up late in the run, and other digs earlier on. Smith has a whole quirky subplot about Thorn’s religious mania, which loosely ties into a storyline about a con-man evangelist – it was the 1980s, and shady evangelists were big in both pop-culture and the real world. There’s also plenty of Cold War material, including a major antagonist – a Russian-accented pig who denies he’s a pig – that dropped out between this version and Bone.

It’s not all successful, or artfully done, but it’s all authentic. Smith was young, working on deadlines, and getting his stuff down on paper to tell stories. Some of the threads don’t go much of anywhere, or are phrased weirdly – the Thorn religious material, and her subsequent feminism, have particularly stilted phrasing a lot of the time, either because that’s how those topics were discussed in Ohio in the ’80s or because that’s how Smith could phrase them for a general newspaper.

The art runs through the same variations, too: some of it is as crisp and clear as early Bone, and some is a lot sketchier, or with half-formed ideas left in the drawing or half-erased. Thorn herself in particular isn’t as pretty as I think Smith wanted her to be: her face is usually an only-slightly-younger version of Grand’ma Ben’s. Or maybe what I mean is that she’s treated as an adult here, and turns into an ingenue for Bone. She clearly does seem to be somewhat surer of herself, and possibly older, here than in Bone.

All of that is reading Thorn with one eye on the future. It’s more difficult to think of it as a thing complete in itself, to imagine how we would look at it if Smith had never reworked this material into Bone, if he’d, for example, done something like RASL or Tuki first in the comics field. That’s also partially because a few years of a daily, even one with a clearly defined central story (at least for those first two years) like Thorn, isn’t generally one thing: it’s a conglomeration of dozens or hundreds of things, one per day, for as long as the strip runs. Dailies generally stop rather than end – even this one, with that clear plotline, kept going almost as long again after the big climax.

Thorn is a fun ’80s-era college strip, and a fascinating signpost on the way to Bone. Smith was a solid artist even this far back, and does at least workmanlike art all of the time, and quite nice art fairly regularly. It’s a quirky, interesting precursor to a major work, and it’s great to see it get published in this definitive edition.

Reposted from The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.

REVIEW: Devour: A Graphic Novel
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REVIEW: Devour: A Graphic Novel

Devour: A Graphic Novel
By Jazmine Joyner & Anthony Pugh
Abrams ComicArts – Megascope/208 pages/$24.99

Anansi has had a bit of a revival in the last decade or so. The African trickster god has played a significant role in comics and prose, soon to conquer television in the adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys. Until then, we can sit back and enjoy this debut work from writer Jazmine Joyner, who makes their fiction debut after writing for numerous places, including /film, SyFy Wire, Ms En Scnee, And Comics MNT.

The Turner house stands in a small town in a Louisiana suburb. It’s been around for a long time and garnered much gossip and speculation. When its current occupant, Vassie, develops dementia, her son brings his family to live and care for her.

The only daughter, Patsy, is a talented artist who carefully navigates her way through her new high school, making just one friend, fellow artist Stu Everett. Most of her time, though, is spent at home, and the reason becomes clear: as the sole female in the waning family line, she is destined to replace Vassie as the guardian of Anansi.

Deep in the basement, trapped in a pocket dimension underground, a manifestation of the story-hungry spider screams for release. Slowly but surely, Patys comes to accept that Vassie’s stories and her magic are both real. She does not take well to having this destiny revealed to her and eventually takes comfort when her brother Demetrius is taken into their confidence.

Nearby are the Everetts, white rednecks who harbor a decades-old grudge against the Turners, feeling the plot of land is rightfully theirs. Their enmity and bitterness represent the lingering racism that mires the deep South to the past. They want to learn the Turner house’s secrets, hoping to find a way to gain control of the property once and for all.

The various threads are leisurely paced, giving plenty of room for the plot to percolate and boil in the story’s final quarter. The sense of dread is palpable throughout, and the Truner family is nicely delineated. The Everetts, though, are one-dimensional stereotypes that I wish were as nuanced as their black counterparts.

Anthony Pugh’s artwork conveys the horror and the ordinary with clear storytelling and fine coloring. Some of his figures are stiff, or the proportions feel off, but this veteran illustrator at least provides details and backgrounds, grounding the story’s fantastic elements in a realistic setting.  

Unfortunately, the story does not end but continues into another volume. What’s here is good, but a done-in-one might have felt more satisfactory.

Kenneth Branagh, Uma Thurman to Voice Charles & Catherine Dickens in The King of Kings
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Kenneth Branagh, Uma Thurman to Voice Charles & Catherine Dickens in The King of Kings

April 25, 2024 (Seoul, South Korea) – A trio of stellar actors give voice to the featured members of the Dickens family as Academy Award winner Kenneth Branagh portrays Charles Dickens, Oscar nominee Uma Thurman plays Catherine Dickens and Golden Globe nominee Roman Griffin Davis gives life to Walter Dickens in Mofac Animation’s upcoming The King of Kings, an animated family film inspired by a little-known short story by Charles Dickens depicting the life and times of Jesus Christ.

Renowned for his big screen adaptations of William Shakespeare and Agatha Christie tales, Branagh changes gears to portray one of the greatest authors of the ages for The King of Kings. As Charles Dickens, Branagh portrays a man conflicted between his burgeoning career and his role as father to the Dickens clan and, in particular, his youngest son Walter (Davis). It’s his wife, Catherine Dickens, brought to animated life by Thurman with an even balance of wifely wisdom and motherly compassion, which suggests Charles might find a common bond with “king”-obsessed Walter in the sharing of the former’s story of Jesus. From there, the father-son duo embarks on an adventure like no other.

“It is through the Dickens family that our audience experiences the life of Jesus Christ, and Kenneth Branagh, Uma Thurman, and Roman Griffin Davis bring all the emotion, awe, heart, and gravitas to these essential characters,” says producer Anfernee Kim. “These three actors are at the core of our story and anchor a truly impressive cast – many of whom we look forward to sharing in the near future.”

Branagh, an eight-time Oscar-nominated actor, director, writer, and producer, won his first Academy Award for penning Belfast, the 2022 Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Branagh has also received Oscar nominations for Best Picture (Belfast, 2022), twice for performance (My Week With Marilyn, 2012; Henry V, 1990), twice for direction (Belfast, 2022; Henry V, 1990), once for Best Adapted Screenplay (Hamlet, 1997), and one for Best Short Film/Live Action (Swan Song, 1993). He has been nominated for six Golden Globe awards, winning in 2022 for Best Screenplay (Belfast). Branagh has also been a fixture among the BAFTA awards, winning five times from amongst 12 nominations. His performance in the 2001 miniseries Conspiracy earned an Emmy award, his first win from four nominations. 

Thurman, an Academy Award nominee for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance in Pulp Fiction (1995), gives a smart, heartwarming, calming portrayal of Catherine Dickens, providing the perfect balance to Branagh’s spread-to-thin Charles Dickens. Thurman’s career is filled with memorable performances, including winning a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture for Television in Hysterical Blindness (2003), as well as three additional Golden Globe nominations for her efforts in Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2004) and Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2005). Next up, Thurman will star opposite Richard Gere and Jacob Elordi in Paul Schrader’s independent film Oh, Canada, premiering in competition at the 77th Cannes Film Festival and in Netflix film The Old Guard 2 opposite Charlize Theron.

At age 11, Davis made his major motion picture debut with a bang – starring as the title character in 2019’s Jojo Rabbit, for which he was nominated for 34 notable acting awards, ultimately claiming The Critic’s Choice Award for Best Young Performer as well as nominations for a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award. Davis knows well how to capture the true nature of a young person, elevating the rambunctious, excitable, and curious Walter to follow Branagh’s Charles into this epic adventure playfully. Beyond his key role in The King of Kings, Davis can be seen in Camille Griffin’s Silent Night opposite Keira Knightley and is providing a voice in the popular series Fables. He’ll soon be seen in Cinqué Lee’s A Rare Grand Alignment and is in varied stages of production in five upcoming films, including starring opposite Bill Nighy in 500 Miles and with Nick Frost in 152 Days, Rosie Day’s feature film director debut.

The King of Kings is a faith-based animated film is in its final stages of production at Mofac Animation, as well as in performance recordings from the United Kingdom to the Hawaiian Islands – and numerous locations in between. Branagh, Thurman and Davis are the first actors to be announced from a growing, A-list cast. 

The King of Kings is directed by Seong-ho “Jay” Jang (Joint Security Area, The Taste of Money, Last Knights), one of the most respected filmmakers in Korea and an unparalleled pioneer in the visual effects realm. The film is co-written by Jang and Rob Edwards (Disney’s The Princess and the Frog and Treasure Planet). Emmy Award-winning dialogue & casting director Jamie Thomason (Spirited Away, The Tigger Movie) and veteran filmmaking aficionado Andrew Mann (Imperium, Outcast) serve as executive producers. Anfernee Kim (Last Knights, John Woo’sThe Crossing 2) is the film’s producer. Mofac Animation is currently seeking potential distributors for The King of Kings.

A Matter of Life by Jeffrey Brown
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A Matter of Life by Jeffrey Brown

Jeffrey Brown is a prolific, interesting cartoonist (and teacher of cartooning), yet another creator that sits in my head in the category “I need to keep up with their work” until I realize the last book of his I read was in 2015 .

I have reasons, or excuses, for that. The most reasonable one is that Brown has been mostly making comics for middle-graders for the past decade-plus – a couple of Star Wars series, Incredible Change-Bots, and their follow-ups – and that I did read a few of those but lost track of them eventually. A lot of cartoonists are mostly making books for middle-schoolers these days: middle-schoolers not only buy books, but actually love them, and there’s a whole ecosystem of school visits and book fairs and whatnot to provide income and marketing opportunities and fan contact for those creators.

I found A Matter of Life randomly recently, and read it quickly. It was published in 2013 and – if I’m reading Brown’s Wikipedia bibliography correctly – was his most recent book actually aimed at an adult audience. So I might not be as far behind as I thought I was.

This is a memoir comic, like a lot of Brown’s work for adults, in the style of Clumsy and the rest of his Aughts work. I’ve read that he does these stories in sketchbooks – I’m not sure if he just works them out there, and then re-draws them “officially,” or if the sketchbook pages are the final work. But Brown’s stories in this mode do come off as less polished – or maybe I mean “processed” – than the usual modern memoir comic, a collection of short chapters about moments or ideas rather than a long single story with a point of view and an overarching message.

Brown’s autobio work is more about exploration than presentation – this book’s subtitle is “An Autobiographical Meditation on Fatherhood and Faith,” which covers the ground solidly – he isn’t presenting a GN that says “here’s this story of my life.” Brown instead has a cluster of thoughts and moments, little stories and bigger ones, that circle around something important and interesting. In this case, it’s thoughts about the relationships of fathers and sons, primarily Brown to his own minister father and to his then-young son.

The faith piece is less explicit – to tell a story about what you believe, you really need to explain those beliefs, by speaking directly to the reader or something similar. But Brown doesn’t work that way, so other than a short intro, this instead is a collection of moments – some when he was younger, and believed in a traditional flavor of Christianity as much as he did believe (however much that was; Brown, again, keeps it vague) and some when he was older and no longer believed. Brown unfortunately does fall back on the usual “It doesn’t mean I don’t believe in something bigger than myself” vague statement that means exactly nothing – I mean, so do I, because Mt. Everest is bigger than I am and I believe in it, but it’s not helpful in defining any specific belief in the supernatural underpinnings of the universe. There’s no one in the world who only thinks things smaller than them exist.

Brown’s style, I think, works best on interpersonal, daily-life questions. His initial fame came from books about his love life, and what works best in this book are the father-son interactions, in both directions. To really get at what his father believed, and how his relationship with his father shifted after he stopped believing, Brown would have needed to work in a different, more explicit style – to define things rather than just show them.

So this is more about fatherhood than faith, and more about realizing that in-betweenness – that you are both a father and a son – and having new appreciation for both roles. That’s plenty for one book, actually, and Brown, as always in this style, tells his story in an organic and grounded way, full of specific moments and thoughts.

Reposted from The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.

The Ultimates Have 2 Years to Save the Universe
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The Ultimates Have 2 Years to Save the Universe

New York, NY— April 17, 2024 — Following blockbuster series launches—ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN, ULTIMATE BLACK PANTHER, and ULTIMATE X-MEN—the highly anticipated next title in Marvel’s new Ultimate Universe arrives this June: ULTIMATES!

Directly spinning out of Jonathan Hickman’s foundation for the new Ultimate line, ULTIMATES will be written by Deniz Camp, known for his thought-provoking and socially relevant work on titles like Children of the Vault and 20th Century Men, and drawn by rising superstar Juan Frigeri, known for his acclaimed work on Invincible Iron Man. The series will introduce the all-new superhero team that will usher in the next wave of bold storytelling within the new Ultimate Universe.

Months ago, Tony Stark sent Peter Parker a radioactive spider to set him back on the course to become Spider-Man. Since then, Iron Lad (Stark), Captain America, Doom, Thor, and Sif have begun to do the same for other lost heroes, building a network of super-powered heroes hungry for change… Over two years, they must band together to destroy the Maker’s Council and restore freedom and free will to a world ruled from the shadows. Fans can see their opening efforts in the all-new ULTIMATES #1 trailer, featuring never-before-seen artwork from both ULTIMATES #1 and FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2024: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN/ULTIMATE UNIVERSE #1.

“The new Ultimates line is the most exciting super hero comics event in years, and it’s humbling to be a part of it!” Camp shared. “We are reinventing these classic characters and archetypes to be as surprising and vital as when they were first introduced. Our Ultimates is an evolution not just of the Avengers, but of the whole super hero team concept; from the grand and operatic to the small and personal, THE ULTIMATES will feel like no Avengers or Ultimates comic ever before! That’s our ambition, anyway; tune in to find out if we succeed.“

Marvel’s Annihilation 2099 to Rewrite the Future
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Marvel’s Annihilation 2099 to Rewrite the Future

New York, NY— April 17, 2024 — Over the last few years, acclaimed writer Steve Orlando has breathed new life into Marvel’s revolutionary 2099 future. This July, he returns alongside a lineup of superstar artists to go where no 2099 story has gone before in ANNIHILATION 2099!

Together with a lineup of incredible artists, including Nick Bradshaw, Ibraim Roberson, José Luis, Pete Woods, Ario Anindito, and Dale Eaglesham, Orlando will introduce a new cast of 2099 characters in a bold new vision of the galaxy-shattering Annihilation storyline. Taking place after last year’s Miguel O’Hara – Spider-Man 2099 series, ANNIHILATION 2099 will continue the tradition of introducing fresh takes on classic Marvel icons. Releasing weekly throughout July, get ready to meet Nova 2099, Starlord 2099, Red Hulk 2099, and Silver Surfer 2099, and witness the return of Dracula 2099. The thrilling saga will be perfect for both newcomers to the 2099 landscape and longtime fans, and it gears readers up for what’s to come for 2099 storytelling later this year.

Read on to discover what awaits!

ANNIHILATION 2099 #1
Written by STEVE ORLANDO
Art by IBRAIM ROBERSON

WHO IS THE LAST NOVA?!

A remote town on a remote world is devastated by the ravenous, unforgiving Knull Set, a gang of raiders and thieves obsessed with offering all life up to the darkness. But that all changes when a stranger comes to town, a stranger from the stars who answers to his own code. The last survivor of Xandar… the last NOVA. Who is the Last Nova, and what great tragedy does he carry on his back? Is he the inheritor of the Nova Corps or its destroyer? Plus, in a special backup by Orlando and Dale Eaglesham, Dracula’s ship set course for the stars, seeking the brave new world his daughter Lilith forged for the vampires of Earth. But what tragedy does fate have in store for his journey and will he ever be reunited with his people?

ANNIHILATION 2099 #2 (OF 5)
Written by STEVE ORLANDO
Art by JOSÉ LUÍS

A WAKANDAN TECH GODDESS!

STARLORD guards the solar systems of 2099! But she faces a villain like no other: Quasar, the Living Star! Born to a fallen star and raised on Planet Wakanda, Starlord risks her life to save a world against a sun gone mad!

ANNIHILATION 2099 #3
Written by STEVE ORLANDO
Art by PETE WOODS

RAGE OF THE RED HULK!

Explorer Ross Romero’s team ends up mining Ego the Living Planet! What makes Ross transform into an ALL-NEW RED HULK whose cosmic strength and hyperspace jumps are fueled by the power primordial? And is the new Red Hulk’s power enough to defeat Terrax, the Planet Hunter?

ANNIHILATION 2099 #4
Written by STEVE ORLANDO
Art by ARIO ANINDITO

A FAUSTIAN PACT TO SHAKE THE STARS!

His life cut short, Mephisto offers Jonah Marlo a deal– more time among the living in return for his soul. Now he collects souls for his master…as the SILVER SURFER of 2099! But he can do the devil’s bidding no longer! It’s Mephisto vs the Silver Surfer with a galaxy of souls on the line!

ANNIHILATION 2099 #5
Written by STEVE ORLANDO
Art by DALE EAGLESHAM

FIRST CONTACT WITH THE IMPALER!

After a derelict spacecraft crashes on an alien world, the wreck reveals a deadly discovery – DRACULA! But this is a planet terrified of the daylight, which Dracula couldn’t love more. Soon, he’s their hero. When a Darkhawk attacks from the stars, Dracula fights back! But does he want to save the planet or make it the first world in his new empire?

“2099 is back, and it’s going cosmic!” Orlando said. “ANNIHILATION 2099 has been the best kind of challenge — bringing even more cosmic into Marvel’s iconic cyberpunk line and keeping it all fresh, provocative, and surprising!”

“No pun intended, but Steve, Ibraim, Ario, Jose, Pete, and Dale have knocked this 2099 epic out of orbit!” Editor Mark Paniccia said. “Each issue is action-packed with a unique vibe and tone. There’s horror, western, 50’s sci-fi, superhero, and all COSMIC! It’s hard to pick a favorite, but they’re all so good! And Pete Woods’ character designs are incredible. I hope they make action figures of them all soon!”

“The heroes introduced in ANNIHILATION 2099 are each heroes I could write forever–each with their own tragic beginnings in the Mighty Marvel Tradition,” he continued. “And behind it all? An iconic horror antihero who is taking his vengeance to the stars. Red Hulk 2099! Silver Surfer 2099! Nova 2099! Marvel’s future goes intergalactic this summer, and I can’t wait for everyone to see it!”

Classic Taxi Driver Gets 4K Steelbook Treatment in June
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Classic Taxi Driver Gets 4K Steelbook Treatment in June

SYNOPSIS
Winner of the prestigious Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival (1976) and nominated for 4 Academy Awards® including Best Picture (1976), TAXI DRIVER stars Robert De Niro in Martin Scorsese’s classic film of a psychotic New York cabbie driven to violence by loneliness and desperation. Co-starring Jodie Foster, Albert Brooks, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle and Cybill Shepherd.
DISC DETAILS AND BONUS MATERIALS
4K ULTRA HD DISC Restored from the original camera negative, presented in 4K resolution with Dolby VisionEnglish 5.1 + mono

Special Features:
Making Taxi Driver Documentary
Storyboard to Film Comparisons with Martin Scorsese
Introduction
Animated Photo Galleries
20th Anniversary Re-Release Trailer

BLU-RAY DISC™
Feature presented in high definition, sourced from the 4K master
English 5.1

Special Features:
40-Minute Taxi Driver Q&A featuring Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster and Many More Recorded Live at the Beacon Theatre in New York City at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival
Commentary with director Martin Scorsese and Writer Paul Schrader Recorded by the Criterion Collection
Commentaries by writer Paul Schrader and by Professor Robert Kolker
Martin Scorsese on Taxi Driver
Influence and Appreciation: A Martin Scorsese Tribute
Producing Taxi Driver
God’s Lonely Man
Taxi Driver Stories
Travis’ New York
Travis’ New York LocationsTheatrical Trailer
CAST AND CREW
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Produced by Michael Phillips and Julia Phillips
Written by Paul Schrader
Cast: Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Albert Brooks, Harvey Keitel, Leonard Harris, Peter Boyle and Cybill Shepherd

SPECS
Run Time: Approx. 114 minutes
Rating: R
4K UHD Feature Picture: 2160p Ultra High Definition, 1.85:1
4K UHD Feature Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, English Mono DTS-HD MA
Dune Part Two Coming to Streaming April 16, Disc May 14
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Dune Part Two Coming to Streaming April 16, Disc May 14

Burbank, CA, April 9, 2024 – Coming off the heels of the critical and box office success of its continued theatrical run, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two debuts for purchase and rental Digitally at home on April 16.

From Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures, the critically acclaimed Dune: Part Two continues the adaptation of Frank Herbert’s acclaimed bestseller “DUNE.”

  • On April 16, Dune: Part Two will be available for early Premium Digital Ownership at home for 29.99 and for 48-hour rental via PVOD for $24.99 SRP on participating digital platforms where you purchase or rent movies, including Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play, Fandango at Home, and more.
  • On May 14, Dune: Part Two will be available to own on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD from online and physical retailers. Dune: Part Two will also continue to be available to own in high definition and standard definition from participating digital retailers.

Dune: Part Two is directed by three-time Academy Award nominee Denis Villeneuve (“Arrival,” “Blade Runner 2049”) from a screenplay he and Jon Spaihts wrote, based on the seminal bestselling novel of the same name written by Frank Herbert.

The film is produced by Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Villeneuve, Tanya Lapointe and Patrick McCormick.  The executive producers are Joshua Grode, Jon Spaihts, Thomas Tull, Herbert W. Gains, Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt, Kim Herbert, Richard P. Rubinstein and John Harrison, with Kevin J. Anderson serving as creative consultant.

Synopsis:

Dune: Part Two explores the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a path of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee. 

DIGITAL, 4K, BLU-RAY & DVD ELEMENTS

Dune: Part Two Premium Digital Ownership contains the following special features:  

  • Filmbooks: House Corrino
  • Filmbooks: The Reverand Mother
  • Filmbooks: Water
  • Filmbooks: Lisan-al-Gaib
  • An Ensemble for the Ages
  • Chakobsa Training
  • Creating the Fremen World
  • Finding the Worlds of Dune
  • Buzz Around the New “Thopter”
  • Worm-Riding
  • Becoming Feyd
  • A New Set of Threads
  • Deeper into the Desert: The Sounds of the Dune
  • Inside Dune: The Spice Harvester Attack
  • Inside Dune: Gurney Hallaeck’s Revenge
  • Inside Dune: The Fight for the Imperial Throne

Dune: Part Two 4K UHD and Blu-ray contain the following special features:  

  • Chakobsa Training
  • Creating the Fremen World
  • Finding the Worlds of Dune
  • Buzz Around the New “Thopter”
  • Worm-Riding
  • Becoming Feyd
  • A New Set of Threads
  • Deeper into the Desert: The Sounds of the Dune

BASICS

Premium Digital Ownership: April 16, 2024
4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD Street Date: May 14, 2024
4K Languages: English, Canadian French, Latin Spanish
4K Subtitles: English SDH, Canadian French, Parisian French, Latin Spanish

BD Languages: English, Canadian French, Latin Spanish
BD Subtitles: English SDH, Canadian French, Parisian French, Latin Spanish
DVD Languages: English, Canadian French, Latin Spanish
DVD Subtitles: English SDH, Canadian French, Parisian French, Latin Spanish

Running Time: 165 minutes

Rating: PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, some suggestive material, and brief strong language.

DVD: DLBY/DGTL

4K UHD and Blu-ray: ATMOS TrueHD, DLBY/DGTL

PRODUCT                                                                                        ERP

4K UHD + Digital                                                                              $29.99
Blu-ray + Digital                                                                                $24.99
DVD                                                                                                   $19.99

The Credits

About Dune: Part Two

The saga continues as award-winning filmmaker Denis Villeneuve embarks on Dune: Part Two, the next chapter of Frank Herbert’s celebrated novel “Dune,” with an expanded all-star international ensemble cast. The film, from Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures, is the highly anticipated follow-up to 2021’s six-time Academy Award-winning Dune. 

The big-screen epic continues the adaptation of Frank Herbert’s acclaimed bestseller “Dune” with returning and new stars, including Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet (Wonka, Call Me by Your Name), Zendaya (Spider-Man: No Way Home, Malcolm & Marie, Euphoria”), Rebecca Ferguson (Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning), Oscar nominee Josh Brolin (Avengers: End Game, Milk), Oscar nominee Austin Butler (Elvis, Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood), Oscar nominee Florence Pugh (Black Widow, Little Women), Dave Bautista (the Guardians of the Galaxy films), Oscar winner Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter, Hairspray), Stephen McKinley Henderson (Fences, Lady Bird), Léa Seydoux (the James Bond franchise and Crimes of the Future), with Stellan Skarsgård (the Mamma Mia! films, Avengers: Age of Ultron), with Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling (45 Years,” “Assassin’s Creed), and Oscar winner Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men, Being the Ricardos). 

Dune: Part Two will explore the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee. 

Villeneuve directed from a screenplay he co-wrote with Jon Spaihts based on Herbert’s novel. The film is produced by Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Villeneuve, Tanya Lapointe and Patrick McCormick. The executive producers are Joshua Grode, Herbert W. Gains, Jon Spaihts, Thomas Tull, Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt, Kim Herbert, with Kevin J. Anderson serving as creative consultant. 

Villeneuve is again collaborating with his Dune creatives: Oscar-winning director of photography Greig Fraser; Oscar-winning production designer Patrice Vermette; Oscar-winning editor Joe Walker; Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor Paul Lambert; Oscar-nominated costume designer Jacqueline West. Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer is again on hand to create the score. 

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