While WANTED broke the string of comic book movies opening at #1, it was still boffo, with $51.1 million at the box office. It also set some R-rated records:

“Wanted” scored the best opening ever for an R-rated film released in June and the sixth best of all time for any R-rated pic. Film, also starring Morgan Freeman, placed No. 2 for the weekend and played well across ethnic groups. U said it’s already eyeing a sequel.

Now this is interesting, because at the Friday screening we attended, the audience seemed to be, well, demoralized by this film. The Beat was the ONLY person to clap at the end (a nod to comics pals Mark Millar and JG Jones)–which was pretty shocking given the hype for the movie, the relentless action and the packed theater. After the screening, we noted a bunch of young men looking glum as they waited outside the restrooms — apparently their dates had been so appalled by the movie (probably the rat gimmick near the end) that there was no hope of getting lucky later on.

Was the big turn-off for the audience the moral ambiguity of this MATRIX meets FIGHT CLUB mash-up? Perhaps the idea of rooting for bad people for two hours was more than the audience could bear. Afterwards, we were shocked to overhear a cluster of young men dissing the film. “It was so unreaslistic!” one complained. “Bullets can’t do that!” Like you could really make a flying suit that worked? The second week drop off on this movie could be fierce.

As for The Beat, we liked the movie just fine — we like moral ambiguity, and a kick-ass action movie that posits bad vs worse without any easy answers was long overdue. James McAvoy’s Midwestern accent was dead-on, and Angelina Jolie was scary good — she is the action hero for our times. Sure, without the Wachowskis having existed, director Timur Bekmambetov would have to make up a visual style on his own, but he uses what he’s piked up well and some of the action pieces (particularly those involving trains) are nifty. WANTED was a gripping action flick with some clever twists on the form. It’s also very violent and nihilistic, and knows it.

Guillermo Del Toro is not entirely sanguine on a HOBBIT II movie

“We believe there is a second movie,” del Toro said during a discussion at the Majestic Crest. “If there isn’t, there will not be. If we find it, we will shoot it, but by God, if we do not find it, we will not shoot it. I am anxious to shoot the book, and I’m willing and able to dedicate myself to shooting the [second film].”

Technorati Tags: Tolkien

Did you notice a couple months ago when there was an IRON MAN themed phone?

Well, it’s Batman’s turn.

I only found out about this when I was paying my cell phone bill and saw the ad for the new Nokia DARK KNIGHT Edition. Article about it here.

Posted by Mark Coale

[NOTE TO COMMENTERS: PLEASE NO SPOILERS!]

Before you see HANCOCK, the new Will Smith movie about a dissolute superhero, I advise you to heed two terrible words of warning: AKIVA GOLDSMAN!!!

It also invokes Heidi’s Law of Movies: The quality of a film will be in inverse proportion to the number of short films based on production companies that precede said film. The list of producers includes Ian Bryce, Akiva Goldsman, James Lassiter, Michael Mann, Jonathan Mostow, Richard Saperstein and Will Smith…that’s a lot of cooks.

This is a very odd movie. It’s like some production assistant was walking along carrying a Steve Gerber superhero movie script and a Thor movie script and then dropped them on the floor and mixed up the first half of the Gerber movie with the last half of the Thor movie. I know this movie had a loooong development process, but perhaps one of my Hollywood pals can chime in on just what happened, because there is so much tinkering evident with the premise that the resulting film doesn’t make any sense. A lot of stuff happens but it isn’t about anything in particular.
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WB released a bunch of Dark Knight press materials today, and we’re too lazy to check which photos have already been put up on the web.
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I know I just shut down another thread, but here’s the link to the whispering women of the Spirit. It’s esp. fun when you run your cursor over it real fast.

A few more posters from the upcoming Frank Miller-directed SPIRIT movie have been released, showing Scarlet Johansson, Sarah Paulson and Jaime King’s characters. Enjoy.

At the London premiere of HANCOCK, signmakers had a

bit of a laugh.

Via Val.

Here’s an comics-to-movie story we couldn’t be any happier to report: Universal is developing LAST CALL:

Universal has bought the Oni Press graphic novel series “The Last Call” and set it up with Barry Josephson to produce through his eponymous banner.

“The Last Call,” written and illustrated by Vasilis Lolos, centers on two teens on a joyride who get hit by a train — an interdimensional soul carrier — and find themselves on a quest to solve a mystery that will allow them to return to their regular lives. Series debuted last year.

Evan Spiliotopoulos, who most recently penned “The Box” for Fox, is adapting the series for the screen.

We just finished working on THE NIGHTMARE FACTORY 2 with Vasilis and a more talented creator couldn’t be imagined.

UPDATE: we’ve corrected the mention of IDT owning pieces of both IDW and Vanguard Animation. IDT and IDT Entertainment are now two separate entities, having split in 2006. Although IDW’s did make a 2007 deal with the original IDT, IDW has no association with IDT Entertainment, Vanguard Animation, or Platinum Studios.

In all the hubbub last week, we missed this story about Platinum spinning off a new imprint:

Platinum Studios and Vanguard Animation have formed Vanguard Comics, an imprint designed to develop properties that can simultaneously be launched as comicbooks or graphic novels as well as feature films.

Platinum Studios CEO-chairman Scott Mitchell Rosenberg and Vanguard Animation chairman John H. Williams, producer of the “Shrek” series, are launching the imprint.

They’ve already acquired a first property, “Illegal Aliens,” about a skeptical tabloid reporter sent to a Texas border town to investigate cattle mutilations. The reporter uncovers stories of the chupacabra monster.

The comic was created by freelance illustrator Kevin MacDougall.

Vanguard Animation is partly owned by Starz Animation. GIven Platinum’s current money woes (lack of payment to creators), some have seen this as the kind of “split ‘n’ save” financial arrangement that’s all the rage now. A recent stock market filing shows Platinum operating at a $4.6 million operating loss, so you’d expect some kind of financing plan.

Meanwhile, Steven Grant, who has seen it all and done it all in this business, sums up many of the current problems at a number of companies, including Archaia, Tokyopop and Platinum, and it’s a must-read for those following the Platinum saga:

Currently the company [Platinum] is in new hands, following an “infusion of funds” a couple years ago; it’s my understanding that while Scott is still officially attached he’s not much directly involved in the business anymore, though the recent announcement of a new publishing company, Vanguard Comics, by Platinum and an animation company prominently mentions him. (By the way, isn’t there already a Vanguard Publishing on our side of the aisle?) Complicating the scene is that the animation company is co-owned by IDT, which also co-owns IDW. Meanwhile Platinum has reportedly been withholding creator payments, citing the “financial challenges” of “this tough economy,” while a letter to talent from Platinum praises the talent’s patience while repeatedly asserting their confidentiality agreements.

But all is not lost for Platinum! Red hot after Iron ManRobert Downey Jr. reportedly wants to add to his comic book portfolio with negotiations to star in COWBOYS AND ALIENS, the long-delayed comic by Fred Van Lente and Andrew Foley (from an idea by Rosenberg) that’s currently in development:

Robert Downey Jr. is in negotiations to star in DreamWorks/Universal’s “Cowboys & Aliens,” a pulpy mix of the sci-fi and Western genres that could serve as a potential 2010 tentpole.

The deal would be Downey’s first since propelling Marvel Studios’ “Iron Man” to $500 million-plus in worldwide loot (and growing). He next will be seen in the comedy “Tropic Thunder” in August, followed by the drama “The Soloist” in November, both for DreamWorks.

Imagine Entertainment partners Brian Grazer and Ron Howard are producing. Platinum Studios chairman and CEO Scott Mitchell Rosenberg also will produce, along with DreamWorks mainstays Steven Spielberg, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. Ervin Rustemagic and Rich Marincic will co-produce.

One little tentpole and everything would be coming up roses again.

Technorati Tags: Platinum Studios

Silly tabloid chatter, but for those wondering what’s up with WHITEOUT, the upcoming film based on the Greg Rucka/Steve Lieber GN, apparently some reshoots are being done so that Kate Beckinsale’s “giant rump” will not be seen:

But a source on her new film Whiteout said: “Kate has a terrible self-image. She thinks she is fat and she is always complaining how certain outfits make her bottom look big. Of course, the reality is that she has the most amazing body.

“The script called for her character to be filmed nude in a shower, focusing in on her bottom and thighs. Kate insisted on a double being hired. She was quite open on the set about not liking her body and said she particularly loathed her bottom and was not comfortable baring it.”

A last-minute call for a double went out on a Hollywood casting website last week for scenes that begin shooting tomorrow.

And now, your feminist moment for the day: Kate, you are not fat, honey. You are beautiful.

To no one’s surprise, THE INCREDIBLE HULK came in #1 at the box-office this weekend, keeping up the latest run of #1 openings for comic book movies in general. Ol’ Jade Jaws took in $54,538,000 beating KUNG FU PANDA and THE HAPPENING. Over at Variety, Anne Thompson has the most complete report yet on just what went down between star Edward Norton and Marvel:

Marvel realized they didn’t have time to hire a new writer and asked Norton to do it, offering him an uncredited producer credit as well. With about two months to go before the movie started filming, Norton did a page one rewrite–knowing that he couldn’t do anything radical, because sets were being built, locations found, etc. The entire Brazil sequence was already story-boarded. So Norton mostly changed dialogue, filled in gaps of motivation and developed character. For example, the scenes in Brazil about finding a serum in the Amazon to cure him, and Banner’s emails with Tim Blake Nelson, were Norton adds. Marvel agreed to shoot Norton’s script.

Thompson concludes, “Finally, my sense is that Norton’s issues were with Marvel, which misled him into believing that he would have more control over the picture than in fact he did.” and that Norton didn’t go to the press with the story, save for his explanation in EW. An LA Times story on Norton cements his current rep as “talented but difficult” and many are suggesting he concentrate on directing his own movies, since he seems to like being in control. At any rate, expect a LOT of extras on the DVD.

Nikki Finke rounds up the big picture for Marvel:

Even though The Incredible Hulk is Marvel’s 2nd best-known character (with Spider-Man No. 1), the reboot is only the 5th or 6th biggest pic for a top Marvel character in a non-sequel opening. (To recap: Spider-Man broke the bank with $115M and so did Iron Man with $98.6M. Hulk opened to $62M. Fantastic Four to $56M. X-Men to $54M, GhostRider to $52M (4-day wkd) and Daredevil to $45M (4-day wkd).) In this desperate-for-another-franchise business, that’s probably good enough for Marvel Studios to try to make a sequel.

Bonus: Physicians are smokin’ mad at cigar-chompin’ General Ross in the film:

Dianne Fenyk, president of the advocacy group, A.M.A. Alliance, is particularly infuriated because General Ross did not smoke in “Hulk,” the 2003 film directed by Ang Lee, though he always smoked in the comic books. Moreover, the editor of Marvel Comics and the film’s star, Mr. Norton, have both previously criticized portrayals of smoking in popular culture, Ms. Fenyk said. “Hollywood studios should be especially embarrassed for using comic-book movies, which they market to children and know youth will want to see, to promote tobacco,” Ms. Fenyk said. She spent last week encouraging her 27,000 members to alert local media about the matter.

Cracked take a crack at 20 Superhero Movies We Hope They Never Make and they are all pretty good. here are two of our favorites, but click on the link for the COMET THE SUPERHORSE poster.

[Via Agent M’s twitter stream]

THR reports on DC Comics’ Red getting big-screen treatment. It’s based on the Warren Ellis/Cully Hamner 3-issue mini of a few years agp and very significantly, it is being developed by indie studio Summit Entertainment NOT Warner Bros., although DC”s Gregory Noveck will serve as exec producer. Ellis follows up with his own comments:

For another, RED is more of a graphic novella, a short and tight book, and a novella doesn’t fill out a film’s running time all on its own. This is an adaptation, not a direct transfer/translation from page to print. What the screenwriters will do is take the core concept of RED — a troubled old man still having nightmares of his role as his government’s monster suffering an attempted murder at the remote hands of a terrified political appointee, and bringing the world of covert assassination back to the agency who wanted to drop him and his body down an Orwellian memory-hole — and expand upon it. The book is, if you like, a folded shape that can unpack into a film. And I’m fine with that. Summit bought the right to build upon the story. My only niggle, frankly, is that the news story calls it a Wildstorm/DC book first, and not a Warren Ellis/Cully Hamner book, which is what it is. We went with Summit because they make films like INSOMNIA and MEMENTO with people like Christopher Nolan (and they produced FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS, too).

Technorati Tags: Warren Ellis

§ Early Hulk reviews are sneaking out, including this one by Glenn Greenberg at The Vault of Buncheness:

Now THIS is more like it! Let me say right up front: THE INCREDIBLE HULK is good! Much like STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN was to STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE, THE INCREDIBLE HULK is a vast improvement over its predecessor. It gets right what the previous one got wrong. It has its head and its heart in the right place. Most of all, it feels like a Hulk movie should. Now, I’m not saying that THE INCREDIBLE HULK is as great as STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN, but it’s a giant step in the right direction. THIS is the movie we should have gotten five years ago.

We saw The Incredible Hulk the other day as well, and didn’t like it as much as Greenberg, but have little doubt that it will make some bucks and open strong.

§ Meanwhile, IRON MAN was a certifiable smash hit in every way for the fledgling Marvel Studios, and a sequel is already being teased with a Robert Downey Jr/Tony Stark cameo in The Incredible Hulk and an announced 2010 release date. However, one person is being left out of the party: director Jon Favreau, who wrote this over on his MySpace page:

“It’s been five weeks since the one and only phone call my reps have gotten from Marvel. I know their hands are full with the Hulk and I’m sure they will get into it shortly, as they tell me they intend to … I am concerned, however, about the announced release date of April 2010. Neither Robert nor I were consulted about this and we are both concerned about how realistic the date is in light of the fact that we have no script, story or even writers hired yet. This genre of movie is best when it is done thoughtfully and with plenty of preparation. It might be better to follow the BB/DK, X/X2 three year release pattern than to scramble for a date. It is difficult because there are no Marvel 09 releases and they need product, but I also think we owe it to the fans to have a great version of IM2 and, at this point, we would have less time to make it than the first one.

That sounds dire enough with a mental picture of Favreau waiting anxiously by the phone enough to cause some sympathy. However, IESB.net reports that it’s a bit worse than that:
Marvel hasn’t even signed Favreau for a sequel. It seems that Favreau signed on for only one movie, and after IRON MAN’s blockbuster status, his price has gone up a bit. According to IESB, Marvel has its own ideas:

So according to our source at Marvel, Jon was expecting a moderate bump in his fee for the sequel but apparently Marvel has other plans.

Our source continues that Maisel believes Iron Man 2 will be a success regardless of Favreau’s involvement and feels the studio does not need to pay Jon a higher fee for his services.

This is the most disappointing news that I have heard coming out of Hollywood in years, is Marvel out of their Vulcan mind?

Hm, no way to know how much truth there is to this, but if it is true, it’s a little sad. Marvel’s superhero films have (with a few exceptions, like the FF films, Daredevil and Elektra) been a lot better than they had to be. IRON MAN was a very fun enjoyable movie, and it would be nice to see a sequel just as good. These aren’t nickels and dimes we’re dealing with, but hopefully even Marvels shareholders would agree that a good movie is a better investment than a mediocre one in the long run.

As previously mentioned, at last weekend’s BEA we ran into dear Mariah Huehner, who is one of the few people we know who is just a geeky about THE LORD OF THE RINGS books as The Beat is. As we caught up we speculated on the “Second Hobbit” movie, and what might be contained in it. After a few moments of conversation it was narrowed down to “Imrahil” and “Radagast.”

Imrahil, Prince of Dol Amroth was actually cut from RETURN OF THE KING, denying us the chance to see another hunky Elf-blooded warrior walking side by side with Aragorn and Eomer to defeat evil. However, no such problem lies with HOBBIT TWO–sure Imrahil may have been a little young, but he surely went adventuring with Aragorn in Gondor and was involved with other White Council-ly duties.

Mariah and The Beat set upon the idea of spearheading some kind of Imrahil fan club and making sure he appears in HOBBIT TWO. Now no sooner had we joked about this than we happened to run into an artist pal of ours who mentions he may be going down to New Zealand soon to work on the two Hobbit films. SCORE! We immediately called Mariah over and we started yelling “Imrahil!” and “Radagast!” over and over, with a little bit of  “Glorfindel!” thrown in for good measure.

Now we doubt sincerely that our pal will be able to swing the Imrahil/Radagast business by himself. However, we expect that even now word is reaching Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro: Imrahil or bust! Just do the right thing, gents, that’s all we ask.

What the–nearly 15 years after the in-house Disney Comics imprint died an inglorious death, Disney has just announced a NEW graphic novel pact, with Ahmet Zappa, Harris Katleman and Christian Beranek. Zappa is a long time comics fan who’s been hanging around the scene for years. Katleman is a TV exec vet from Twentieth. Beranek is the guy behind Silent Devil Studios.

Apparently this deal includes the ability to develop properties from the Disney vault. Can we just say as one: THE SCARECROW OF ROMNEY MARSH and THAT DARN CAT! Anything with Patrick McGoohan.

PR below.

The Walt Disney Studios has signed a multi-year deal with Ahmet Zappa, Harris Katleman and Christian Beranek to oversee the newly christened Kingdom Comics, an innovative new venture of developing graphic novels to create new film projects for the Studio as well as re-imagining and rejuvenating motion pictures from the Disney live-action Vault, it was announced today by Oren Aviv, president, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Production.

Kingdom Comics will soon announce some of the top graphic novelists and artists in the genre who will collaborate on upcoming projects. Disney Publishing Worldwide, the largest distributor of comic books in the world, will have the first opportunity to distribute publications created by Kingdom Comics.

Commenting on the announcement, Aviv said, “We’re very excited to be working with Harris, Ahmet and Christian in developing this new business devoted to creating stories and properties for the graphic novel audience, as well as for moviegoers. They are three of the top talents in their respective fields and together they have the knowledge, expertise and instincts to create great publications and film properties. Some of these exciting publications will be inspired by films and characters in the vast and storied Disney library, while other original graphic novels are sure to spark great ideas for future Disney classics. Our vision for Kingdom Comics is to bring a fresh, contemporary approach to Disney properties that already have a strong connection with moviegoers and readers all over the world, and to add to that storytelling legacy.”

Zappa added, “The ability to create new publications based on properties from the Disney vaults, and to develop original ideas for graphic novels and possibly future Disney films, is a dream job filled with enormous fun and potential. Being a storyteller myself, I can’t wait to work with some of today’s top writers and artists in bringing a fresh approach to graphic novels and the movies. We’re also excited to discover and develop promising new talents in this field.”

Katleman said, “I have been involved with my share of exciting projects and worked with lots of great talent over the years. Working with Ahmet and Christian in creating Kingdom Comics for Disney is as exciting as anything I’ve ever done. We’re all looking forward to working with Oren and his team in developing some fantastic new projects for the printed page and the silver screen.”

Beranek added, “Graphic novels continue to have an enormous following all over the world and we’re hoping to bring something new and different to those devoted fans. There are a lot of great stories waiting to be told, including some familiar properties residing in the Disney vaults. This is the opportunity of a lifetime and we can’t wait to get started.”

Ahmet Emuukha Rodan Zappa, the third of four children born to the late rock musician/composer Frank Zappa and super-powered psychic witch businesswoman Gail, started out as an actor on such shows as “Roseanne” and “Growing Pains.” This led to feature film work and a run as a host on many popular reality shows. In 2006, he sold the rights to his first novel, The Monstrous Memoirs of a Mighty McFearless, to Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer Films. He is currently writing the second installment in that series, and executive producing “Fraggle Rock” with The Jim Henson Company.

Harris Katleman served as president and CEO of Twentieth Television from 1980 to 1992, during which time the Studio developed such landmark programs as “L.A. Law,” “The Simpsons,” “Anything But Love,” “In Living Color,” “Doogie Howser, M.D.” (in association with Steven Bochco Productions), “Civil Wars,” and “NYPD Blue.” He also oversaw production on the final four years of “M*A*S*H,” and “Trapper John,” and guided the development of “The Tracey Ullman Show,” and “Picket Fences,” among others. Following his tenure at Twentieth Television, he joined Mark Goodson Productions as Chief Operating Officer (1993-95), followed by a stint as Chief Operating Officer and Partner in Jonathan Goodson Productions. Katleman continues to be in partnership with Jonathan Goodson Productions. His recent credits include executive producing the syndicated shows “Forgive or Forget,” “House Calls” and “Dirty Rotten Cheater.”

An accomplished writer and editor, Christian Beranek formed his own publishing company, Silent Devil, in 1996, and turned it into an indie powerhouse, producing such hits as Dracula vs. King Arthur and Super Frat. He parlayed that success into consulting for companies such as Universal Music Publishing, Harley Davidson, AOL, and Mazda on graphic novels and their value as both intellectual properties and marketing devices. As a writer, he penned the origin of John Doe for the New Line/Zenescope series Se7en and scripted the creator-owned franchise Willow Creek. He recently finished the latest draft of the “Dracula vs. King Arthur” screenplay.

The deal was negotiated by Steve Katleman of Greenberg Traurig.

A new still from THE WATCHMEN has been released shwing the older “Minutemen” superteam. Check out Carla Gugino - va-va-voom!

Well, it’s not enough that comic book movies have saved the box office, now they are saving the DVD business, which fell 3.2% last year to a mere $15.9 billion. How? Well, using Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, of course. According to the NY Times, Warner is trying a bold new tactic in conjunction with the release of the WATCHMEN movie next year: a concurrent release of the animated TALES OF THE BLACK FREIGHTER as a direct-to-dvd movie.

The second film, tentatively called “Tales of the Black Freighter,” follows a side “Watchmen” storyline about a shipwreck and will arrive in stores five days after the main movie rolls out in theaters. The DVD will also include a documentary-style film called “Under the Hood” that will delve into the characters’ backstories.

Warner, the No. 1 distributor of DVDs, bills the effort as a way to renew retail excitement for little silver discs now that the once-booming market has matured.

The move is an investment in creating excitement for WATCHMEN, which is already a risky business as an R-rated, mature-themed superhero movie.

The immediate goal is for the parallel release to help start a potential new movie franchise. As television advertising becomes less effective because of declining TV viewership, movie studios need to reach a mass audience somehow, and having what amounts to ads sitting on store shelves is seen as a crucial antidote.

The effort is also a way for Warner to get more DVD bang for not many more bucks. The “Watchmen” film, Mr. Synder said, will probably generate at least three DVDs: “Tales of the Black Freighter,” followed about four months later by release of “Watchmen” itself, and then an “ultimate” edition in which the two are edited together into one megamovie.

You don’t say. Warner also plans to create a dozen 22- to 26-minute Webisodes of “The Watchmen Motion Comic” to help make the story more palatable to non-Watchmen initiates. This series, which will eventually be collected into DVD, will be “a panel-by-panel slide show of the graphic novel narrated by an actor.” So that’s at least FOUR dvds that we will have to buy then. Let’s hope Warner does a better job of marketing this movie than they did SPEED RACER!

Setting aside how positively thrilled Alan Moore must be over all this, we’re thrilled because dear, dear Gerard Butler is going to take time out from his busy schedule of being linked to Hollywood starlets to provide the main voice for Black Freighter! Win-win!

What will be contents of the TWO Hobbit movies now in the works from producer Peter Jackson and director Guillermo del Toro? There is sure to be an unexpected party, and Smaug and Bard and barrels and all that, but what’s in that second movie? It’s purported to cover the 60 years between the end of THE HOBBIT and the start of FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, but what does that mean?!?!? Well, Jackson and del Toro just did a Q&A session with fans and did answer that question:

Guillermo del Toro: The idea is to find a compelling way to join THE HOBBIT and FELLOWSHIP and enhance the 5 films both visually an in their Cosmology. There’s omissions and material enough in the available, licensed material to attempt this. The agreement is, however, that the second film must be relevant and emotionally strong enough to be brought to life but that we must try and contain the HOBBIT in a single film.

Peter Jackson: I’m really looking forward to developing Film Two. It gives us a freedom that we haven’t really had on our Tolkien journey. Some of you may well say that’s a good thing of course! The Hobbit is interesting in how Tolkien created a feeling of dangerous events unfolding, which preoccupy Gandalf. There’s an awful lot of incident that happens during that 60 year gap. At this stage, we’re not imagining a film that literally covers 60 years, like a bio-pic or documentary. We would figure out what happens during that 60 years, and choose one short section of time to drop in and dramatise for the screen. I’m really interested in how it effects The Hobbit - do we show what happens to Gandalg during his trips away? We’ll see. We may well have seeds for Film Two that we’ll subtly sow during The Hobbit.

Dear lord, it really is going to be a movie about Gandalf wandering around talking to Radagast the Brown! Can you say…fanfic? Not that we’re not going to stand in line between now and 2012 to see it, but what a crazy idea!

[Link via Sean T. Collins.]

Technorati Tags: Tolkien

In the recent avalanche of comic book movies, one has been MIA for a while — the Kate Beckinsale starrer WHITEOUT, based on the GN by Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber. Its been in the can for a while, but appears to have been caught (perhaps — this is our speculation only) part of the Warner Bros. edict against female fronted movies — and also moved to avoid going up against the similarly snow-themed 30 DAYS OF NIGHT. However Shock Till You Drop reports that it will finally be hitting this September 19th.

Directed by Dominic Sena, Whiteout stars Kate Beckinsale as a U.S. Marshall investigating the first murder in Antarctica. She must solve the case before the winter comes and plunges the continent into darkness. Tom Skerritt, Alex O’Loughlin and Columbus Short co-star.

You’ve all seen it, right?

Okay spoilers after the jump.

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The Hollywood Reporter reports that a movie based on RUNAWAYS may be coming:

Brian K. Vaughan, who co-created the series with artist Adrian Alphona, is writing the adaptation, for which Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige will act as producer. Vaughan is also a co-producer and writer on ABC’s “Lost.”

As opposed to other Marvel characters getting the silver screen treatment, such as the Hulk and Spider-Man — who have been around since the 1960s and are pop-culture fixtures — the heroes in “Runaways” are relatively new, with the comic series launching in 2002.

Yes, that’s exactly right. Bringing RUNAWAYS to the screen would be a huge boost for Vaughan, as well as Marvel’s ability to adapt newer characters to marketable status.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull should just be called Indiana Matlock. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It was a lot of fun and very enjoyable. We liked the fake, Frazetta-esque backgrounds during the “Jungle Chase” sequence. We also liked Harrison Ford just fine, and loved Cate Blanchett’s villain. We did not like the space aliens. [Spoiler] Nor did we like the CGI orgy in the third act, but what ya gonna do now–you can’t make a movie like you made Raiders any more.

Also, why was Shia LeBeouf’s crotch constantly being endangered?

The bottom line? Nothing well EVER top the first 15 minutes of Raiders. That boulder was REAL.