The Mix : What are people talking about today?

Pocketful of Kryptonite

Pocketful of Kryptonite

Via Slashdot, "A mineralogist at London’s Natural History Museum was contracted to help identify an unknown mineral found in a Serbian mine. While he initially thought the miners had discovered a unique compound, after its crystal structure was analyzed and identified the researcher was shocked to find the material already referenced in literature.  Fictional literature."

"Towards the end of my research, says Dr. Chris Stanley, "I searched the web using the mineral’s chemical formula — sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide — and was amazed to discover that same scientific name, written on a case of rock containing kryptonite stolen by Lex Luther from a museum in the film Superman Returns.

"The new mineral does not contain fluorine (which it does in the film) and is white rather than green but, in all other respects, the chemistry matches that for the rock containing kryptonite."

Now we know what museum Superboy is referencing in the panel at right.

Artwork copyright DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Update: No Spider-Man 3 bootlegs in China

Update: No Spider-Man 3 bootlegs in China

Cancel those plane tickets to China. Despite what we just said, Reuters reports that all the Chinese bootlegs of Spider-Man 3 are fakes, they’re all copies of Spider-Man 2.

"Contrary to news reports about stolen copies of ‘Spider-Man 3’ being sold illegally on the streets in China, our investigation in China has revealed no case of the film being pirated to date," Sony Pictures said in a statement.

"After an initial investigation of online sites worldwide, we have so far found no pirated copies of ‘Spider-Man 3’ on the Internet," Sony added.

Just wait…

Spider-Man 3 bootlegs already abound…

Spider-Man 3 bootlegs already abound…

If you want to see Spider-Man 3 and you don’t want to wait until May 4th, the inevitable bootleg DVDs are already out and about – in China. And you can get yours for the low, low cost of $1.00 a piece … plus airfare.

According to Reuters, there is even a warning on the back, printed in Chinese, against pirating the product. But, as always, buyer beware: any specific bootleg DVD might not work on your specific player.

China is almost as well known for its bootlegs as it is for its booming economy, Sadly, these sales will not be incorporated into Spidey‘s box office totals.

Batman burns again!

Batman burns again!

First, it was stately Wayne Manor, as seen in Batman Begins. Now it’s the Gotham National Bank, to be seen in the forthcoming sequel, The Dark Knight.

According to The Chicago Tribune, the city’s former main post office – a 17-story building with an Interstate expressway running right through it – reported a roof fire late this morning. A crew was setting up for the next shoot; the Warner Bros. picture is once again using downtown Chicago locations to provide the look and feel of Gotham City.

The fire appeared to have started in a 16th-story marchine room and was extinguished within a half-hour. It is not clear if the fire was related to the filming, but local officeworkers who saw the smoke initially dismissed it as part of the shoot.

Just last week it was revealed that after filming was completed the building was going to be converted into quality shops, condos and offices. The bit about the expressway cutting through the building goes back 100 years, when architect Daniel Burnham designed the passage for horse-and-buggy transportation. It was finally built in the late 1950s.

I guess they could have had the Batmobile in mind at the time.

Spider-Man 3 $$$?

Spider-Man 3 $$$?

Congratulations may or may not be in order for Spider-Man 3, depending upon how you feel about Hollywood budgets.  According to Radar Online, the upcoming webcrawler sequel is on track to be the most expensive movie of all time. "Industry insiders claim that Sony spent $350 million or more on production alone," writes Radar’s Kim Masters.  "With marketing and promotion factored in, the total price tag will approach a half billion dollars."

That’s at least double what the financial fiasco Cleopatra cost, even adjusted to today’s dollars. Sony is hotly denying the numbers, but producer Laura Ziskin does admit it was pretty dear. "I refuse to say the [real] number because it makes me choke. Spider-Man 3 was a super-expensive movie — the most expensive film we’ve ever made. But there’s no way you can get to $300 million."  Certainly not without choking.

 

Stargate expands, Illuminati escapes, Barbie’s electronic!

Stargate expands, Illuminati escapes, Barbie’s electronic!

A new week and a new ComicMix Broadcast where we lay out miles of four color fun waiting for you at the comic stores this week, plus some DVD treats that range from Blue Beetle to Uncle Scrooge to our pal, Dr. Johnny Fever. From there, it’s a sharp left to Hannibal Lechter’s song debut (you won’t believe it!), plastic Barbie girls get electric, and a lot of truly major Stargate stuff. And now you, too, can sing along to the Marquis de Sade!

Press the button. It’s good for you!

Doctor Who 3 hits Sci-Fi this summer

Doctor Who 3 hits Sci-Fi this summer

The third season of the new Doctor Who series will hit the U.S. cable channels in July, starting with the 2006 Christmas Special, "The Runaway Bride".

The new series will run on the Sci-Fi Channel, home to the previous two seasons of shows. Ultimately, it will be syndicated and appear alongside its "adult" spin-off show Torchwood on BBC America.

The week following "The Runaway Bride" U.S. fans will meet the Doctor’s new companion Martha Jones in the season’s opening episode "Smith and Jones."

 

Babylon 5 novels bite the dust

Babylon 5 novels bite the dust

So much for new Babylon 5 novels and graphic novels. Matthew Sprange of Mongoose Publishing notes on their discussion forums: “ We have agreed to drop the entire novels project – it really wasn’t going to go anywhere. In their place, we have a new B5-related project waiting in the wings. More news on this soon!”

A number of novels were in the works at the time the plug was pulled, including a rumored one by Claudia Christian, who played Commander Susan Ivanova on the show. No reason were given as to why the license for the novels was dropped.

Mongoose will continue to produce Babylon 5 role-playing games.

Cup o’ Joe at Tribeca

Cup o’ Joe at Tribeca

Concurrent with the upcoming Tribeca Film Festival (at which Spider-Man 3 will have its U.S. premiere) will be a series of panels called Tribeca Talks, and right up there with all the other luminaries scheduled to talk is Marvel EIC Joe Quesada, appearing on a panel called "Heroes for Hire."  Presumably the panel will not just be a plug for Marvel’s title of the same name.

According to the program notes, "a genre of entertainment originally devised with children in mind, superhero movies have found real success among bigger babies — adults, to be specific. We unleash the power of some superhero creators to explore why the vulnerable, conflicted, reluctant, and more…well…human superhero is a sure-fire way to a colossal opening weekend. Featuring a sneak peek at original illustrations from the highly anticipated Amazing Spiderman: One More Day comic book storyline!’  That’s the one written by Joe Straczynski with art by Quesada himself.  Only hey, Tribeca folks, isn’t it "Spider-Man" with a hyphen and all…?

FCBD up north, eh?

FCBD up north, eh?

Chris Butcher has announced that Scott McCloud and family are taking a little detour from their Making Comics 50-state sojourn and heading up to Toronto for Free Comic Book Day, where Scott is scheduled to give a talk at the University of Toronto’s OISE Theatre sponsored by the U of T newspaper The Varsity and The Beguiling bookstore.  All appropriate info can be found on Chris’ blog.

The McClouds are currently somewhere in the vicinity of Neil Gaiman’s house, as reported by both Neil and Ivy (Scott’s wife).