October Avengers...

The beginning of the transformation of Disney XD into the Marvel Channel is almost upon us...

The Marvel Press Release:

New animated series "The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes!" will premiere Wednesday, October 20 at 8:30 p.m., ET/PT on Disney XD. Produced by Marvel Animation, the series features Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, The Hulk, Ant-Man/Giant Man and Wasp. They form the Avengers, a team assembled when the powers of a single hero are not enough to save the world.

Beginning Wednesday, September 22, Disney XD, DisneyXD.com/Avengers, Marvel.com, MarvelKids.com and Disney XD Mobile will roll out 20 micro-episodes introducing the team's core members. Each five-and-half-minute episode focuses on the back story, allies and nemeses of the heroes before the Avengers were formed.

In the two-part series premiere, "The Breakout," Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Ant-Man and Wasp have defeated some of the most dangerous Super Villains on the planet. But when the Super Villain prison system mysteriously shuts down, chaos is unleashed on the world. Earth's Mightiest Heroes must now band together as the Avengers to protect the planet from the threats that no single Super Hero could face alone. Their first task is to try and stop Graviton, a being whose power dwarfs anything ever seen. He's after Nick Fury, but will destroy the world to get to him. Individually the heroes have no chance, but together they can make a difference.

The complete multiplatform rollout is:

Wednesday, September 22

Disney XD will air a special sneak peek of the first micro-series episode, "Iron Man is Born!," at 8:30 p.m., ET/PT directly following premiere of the network's newest series, "Pair of Kings."

DisneyXD.com/Avengers, Marvel.com, MarvelKids.com and Disney XD Mobile will unveil a new micro-episode every day, for 20 days, leading up to the micro-episodes' premiere on Disney XD. DisneyXD.com/Avengers will also feature a gallery of each of the Avengers and offer inside information about Kang, Loki and the rest of the "most wanted" Marvel Super Villains.

Tuesday, October 5

Select micro-episodes will be made available as a free preview on iTunes.

Monday, October 11

Disney XD will roll out all 20 micro-episodes during "Avengers Week" from Monday, October 11 to Friday, October 15, with four micro-episodes stacked each night at 8:30 p.m., ET/PT.

The complete micro-series becomes available on Disney XD on Demand on AT&T, Verizon, Charter and Cox.

Wednesday, October 20

The series premiere of "The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes!" airs with two back-to-back episodes from 8:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m., ET/PT. The series also launches on DisneyXD.com/Avengers, Marvel.com and Marvelkids.com.

Thursday, October 21

Full episodes launch on iTunes, Xbox Live, Sony Playstation and Disney XD Mobile VOD.

Monday, October 25

The series becomes available on Disney XD on Demand on AT&T, Verizon, Charter and Cox.

And there are still two more Marvel series that will premiere next year. Not to mention several other projects in the work for XD.

Maybe they could call it the Men-In-Tights Network...

Mass Hysteria...

It's dead, I tell ya...



Dead, dead, dead...
Drama is dead...

That's a phrase you would have heard over and over by many producers and studio suits if you had been in Cannes this year. With today's audience and the current state of technology there is little desire to do an old fashioned, slow paced romance. Big, loud and bombastic are the new coins of trade. As I've said in earlier post, right now if you plan on pitching something it had better be 3D or involve someone with powers a normal human being wouldn't have.

Such is the case with all the Marvel/DC films that are being made. All the films from Disney and other studios that are being released in the third dimension, not counting all the films that are being converted into that format. Let's face it, no one wants to deal with a normal story anymore. Not that it's permanent, but the current times, like the Thirties, have people looking for escapism. No one wants to pay money to see a realistic war film that shows a realistic enemy. The world wants a vacation from the reality of our fears and films are supplying that. Why watch a drama like "Ghandi" when you can have a "Clash of the Titans" instead? Or who needs a serious tale of love of cars and women, growing up and innocence lost like "American Grafitti" when you can have "Alvin and the Chipmunks" as an alternative?

What Hollywood is looking for, for better or worse, is a sure thing. A marketable idea that can apply to mass appeal across many demographics. And even though they have yet to make one that is a smash hit, video games tend to fit into this niche just like guys wearing underwear and capes. If you remember, last year I had a post called "Game On/Over" about what video games would/could make great or at least interesting adaptations. Well, some of those games are already now in heavy development. But now comes news about a game that I've never played (hard to believe, I know) that is wildly popular which may be the next project studios try and turn into a franchise...

Mass Effect.

Legendary Pictures ("The Dark Knight," "Superman Returns," "Clash of the Titans") has secured the rights to the BioWare title. Now, normally I'd brush this off as another attempt to get an incredibly difficult/expensive production of something like Halo. We all know how that movie turned out, don't we? But then I read who they are negotiating with to write the script and my interest immediately went from zero to sixty.

Mark Protosevich.

If you've read my post, "Unfinished Business" then you know he's written a couple things that I absolutely love. Sadly, both of these projects will never reach the light of day. The first he did was one of my two favorite scripts, "I Am Legend," which is not the mediocre film you went and saw with Will Smith. That was a pedestrian version of script that would have been amazing. The second is "Thor" which you won't see because it has already been rewritten to figure into the modern world so that the God of Thunder can interact with Earth's Mightiest Mortals. Sometimes the best work stays on the page, not the stage, I'm afraid. Let's hope this doesn't happen with the adaptation of this game. If Protosevich is working on it there could be a huge, awesome piece of cinema waiting to be filmed. Now, unfortunately, if it turns out great or not will depend on the whims of some, faceless development suit.

Because drama is dead and action killed him...

Disney To Make Live-Action Incredibles...

It had to happen with all the live-action remakes that Disney has been doing...

But it won't be in theaters. It'll be on television. On ABC, to be exact. And it looks pretty good. It's called "No Ordinary Family" and it certainly has a very talented cast led by Michael Chiklis. He's played superheroes before in the extremely flawed "Fantastic Four" and its sequel. I don't blame Chiklis because he was perfectly cast as Ben Grimm/The Thing. But his choice of not doing it CG made him look like a man in a suit. And a clunky script and the wrong director didn't help either.

But this could be interesting. If you've seen my post about the coming fall season on the networks you'll notice that I had very little from ABC on there. Not much interested me. NBC for the most part, and Fox have the shows that interest me when it comes to filling my valuable time with a boob tube. I had heard of this show, but didn't add it to that post because I wanted to wait and see what it was exactly. It could turn out to be great or incredibly cheesy. Well they've released the trailer for the series that will appear on the Alphabet Network this fall and it looks like it lands closer to the great side.

I'll have my remote/Hulu ready for watching...

The Superhero Error...

It appears that Sony Pictures is pushing back the release of there holiday super-hero film...

There are a lot of films being made now with guys and gals wearing the underwear on the outside of their clothes. Seriously, if you are in the know in Hollywood right now there are two things that are white hot. One is 3D. The other is comics. I'm kind of happy that the Suits in the studios are taking note of how there is a built in audience for these properties. But I also worry about people looking to make an easy profit on these things that simply take a comic/character and twist and turn it into something it's not. These projects more than typically bomb and then the brilliant Suits and Producers blame the properties they licensed instead of the ego reflecting back at them in that executive bathroom. There are many that I can and will list, but I'll start with one coming out next year:

Green Hornet.

If you don't know, this is Seth Rogen's new film was to come out on December 22, 2010 where they would take a classic, yet not well known character and turn it into a parody. A PARODY. Now, before you start saying that all comics don't have to be serious, please listen. I agree. You're right. There are certain properties that would be ripe for parody or satire. Captain Carrot, Cerebus, The Tick and several other characters could easily fall into this line. Not all comic book heroes/characters have to be or should be dark. Parody can work, just look at "The Venture Brothers" which pokes fun at Jonny Quest. It's vulgar and crude, but it is also funny and in a twisted way is a homage to classic Hanna-Barbera series.

But Green Hornet is not one of those that can be used for humor. And the Suits at Sony are starting to understand that. They hate the film. HATE the film... it's a disaster that tries to play edgy and hip, but plays way too weird and tongue-in-cheek. It looks like when this comes out, Rogen will have his first truly box office disaster. They could have asked me, but sometimes the studios have a blind spot and this is one of those times. Having talked to people in the know and several who have seen the film, I can say it's more than likely going to turn out how I feared. A total screw up of a property that could have made a great film/franchise.

Britt Reid aka: The Green Hornet, is a edgy, serious crime fighter. He's the great-nephew of the Lone Ranger for goodness sake! You don't parody him. You glorify him as a symbol of all that is good and right in a morally compromised world. The film should be like a film noir super-hero film, not putting your tongue firmly within your cheek when rolling him out. Action-Comedies are fine, even with comic book characters. Not this character.

Now, instead we'll have some of Hollywood think that it's over. Super-Heroes are done. The cycle may be ending. Naturally, "Iron Man 2" will have already come and gone... and it will be a blockbuster. The adaptions of "Captain America" and "Thor" will be playing next summer after the carnage of Hornet has passed and they won't suffer the same result (financially/critically). And the whines and blames of these Suits will ring hollow because most not insulated by these executives little reality bubble know a good film from a bad one.

Too bad the Suits sometimes don't...

A Ghost Of A Chance...

Things appear to be moving forward with the sequel another Marvel property...

David Goyer has been pretty loose with his lips lately about "Ghost Rider 2" and what the script will look like. Apparently it'll look a lot like his original script for the Hellrider. Which is a good thing. Goyer says the sequel will essentially be the original script he wrote with minor changes. One of the main ones is that there would be no need for an origin story. It's a really good script that I remember reading almost a decade ago. It's far better than the cheesy script that they wound up turning into the first film. Nicolas Cage's hammy role is quite different than Goyer's original take on the character.

Johnny Depp was rumored to be up for Johnny Blaze back then. This was years before he shot to stratospheric levels of fame playing Jack Sparrow. The tone of the script was a straight "R" and it'll probably be toned down a bit, but I wouldn't think much as most "PG-13" films would qualify with an "R" rating a decade or so ago. I think Sony has made a good move going this direction. Hopefully, this turns into the Ghost Rider film I wanted to see when I heard they were making one.

Time will tell...

Who's Your Daddy...

Yet another great American actor joins the adaptation of Marvel Comics' "Thor" film...

Anthony Hopkins is in final negotiations to join the Kenneth Branagh production as Odin, the father of the God of Thunder. This coming after the false news that was circulating a week ago about Robert De Niro and Jude Law joining the film.

A decade or two ago and no one would have believed that rumor. With the power and prestige that has come to these pop-culture creations even those rumors had enough believability to be taken seriously. It shows that the caliber of actors in this film will be amazingly high.

Comic book adaptations have come a long way since the 1930's and 40's when they were relegated to appearing in low budget serials. Studios of the day thought they were beneath appearing in major motion pictures and put them in the back of the cinematic bus. Now they are becoming tent pole films with top stars and huge budgets.

Times change...

What? Are You Casting Me!?

Well now, this is turning into one interesting super hero film...

The casting of two more stars has quietly leaked out and it's another surprising pair. Not exactly who you'd expect to see with someone wearing their underwear on the outside of their clothes.

Robert De Niro and Jude Law have joined the cast of Kenneth Branagh's upcoming Marvel feature. The German edition of Gentlemen's Quarterly seems to be giving us the scoop.

I'm trying to imagine what parts these guys are playing. This certainly ain't the script I read a couple years ago. I just hope with all that talent this interpretation is as good as the one I read. I look forward to the interesting events that unfold around this film.

It looks like this slowly becoming the "it" comic book adaptation...

Hat Tip to Ain't It Cool News.

Last Of The Last Son Of Krypton...

What a strange turn of events the court case of Kal-El is taking...

Warner Bros. lost a big one today. The rights to the Superman character slipped away a bit more. The family of Jerry Siegel won additional rights to the famed visitor from another planet. What rights you may wonder?

Well, the rights to the character almost seem to have been split in half with the Judge in the case acting like Solomon.

The Siegel family gets:

The depictions of Superman's origins from the planet Krypton.

Superman's parents Jor-El and Lara.

Superman as the infant Kal-El.

The launching of the infant Superman into space by his parents toward Earth.

Krypton exploding, the landing on Earth in a fiery crash.

Daily Planet Reporter/Superman's love, Lois Lane.

The Daily Planet newspaper.

The love triangle relationship between Clark/Superman and Lois.

Warner/DC Comics get:

Superman's ability to fly.

The term Kryptonite.

The arch-villain Lex Luthor.

Superman's pal Jimmy Olsen.

Clark Kent's Daily Planet Editor Perry White.

All of Superman's vision powers and the expanded origins.

Strange, but it follows a long fight and an evolving copyright code that have resulted in the creators' of Superman being in a more powerful position than in any case filed before. Both creators have long passed, but Siegel has heirs, Joe Schuster didn't. The expiration of the copyright on Superman only applies to the publication of Action Comics No. 1, all work after it is considered work for hire and therefore owned by the Warner.

The big announcement is that full ownership of Superman will go back to the Seigels in 2013 and Warner will have to be in production of a new film by 2011 if they are going to be able to retain film rights to the character. Otherwise the family will be able to set up a deal for comics, television and films at other studios. Of course, without several of his powers, friends and abilities.

What does this all mean? I'm not a lawyer, but I can tell you that the plans for going forward with a new Superman film just got put on the front burner. All those pitches that Warner was taking just received added importance. The Warner Suits are probably going to have a meeting very soon to decide what direction to go.

Will they go with Mark Millar and Matthew Vaughn's take? The three picture, nine hour epic tale of the Man of Steel from his Kryptonian origins to his last days on a dying Earth in the far off future? Doubtful because it's doesn't set the character on a continuing road of adventures; it's too finite.

Or the other rumor about the Wachowski Brothers rebooting the franchise as writer/producers and James McTeigue directing. I personally would have them direct it, not McTeigue. Neo is essentially a Superman variant in "The Matrix" anyway.

Not that Warner would listen to me, but again... Brad Bird. Get Brad Bird to write and direct it. That would create a Superman film with heart, emotion and set him up for a wonderful series of adventures in the 21st century.

Or it could possibly go with one of many other screenwriters and directors who have been meeting with Suits for the job. Either way, Warner had better get things going quickly or the rights to this famed character will go up,up and away.

Truth, Justice and the American Way...

Your God Of Thunder Has Been Chosen...

It appears Kenneth Branagh has chosen his Thor...

And it appears to be a pretty good choice. Chris Hemsworth who was last seen as the father of James T. Kirk in the new "Star Trek" series will play the long blond haired, hot tempered Marvel superhero. I was very worried that a Pro-Wrestler would get the gig. From what I hear the audition went pretty good and I trust Branagh as he's someone that knows how to stage something like this. I only hope they stick to the script I read. I really don't want to see the son of Odin turn into an ordinary doctor. I was always fond of the Walt Simonson stories which are what the Mark Protosevich script was really like.

Developing...

There's No "R" In Superhero...

It seems that the Suits over on the Warner Lot are laying down the law...

A mandate has gone out that no more superhero films will be rated "R" since the box office disappointment of "Watchmen" a couple weeks ago. This according to a source over at IESB. Like Suits tend to do, they never focus on story. Only the tangible demographics that they perceive to understand. So they're thinking was that the reason "The Dark Knight" did so well was because it was rated PG-13 and not the fact that it had a brilliant story? You got to love them, don't you. Those business degrees are worth so little it seems.

Now, this isn't to say that Watchmen had bad story, because I think Zach Snyder did the impossible in translating that comic and bringing the core of what it was to the screen. But it's not a typical superhero story. In fact, it's a revisionist superhero story the way that Clint Eastwood's "Unforgiven" was. And those that went in for a typical comic book story were destined to be disappointed. The Suits would probably know this if they ever bothered to read the material that they film instead of handing it off to readers that give them coverage. Jeff Robinov made a glaring admission of not knowing what the heck he was talking about when he made the statement that all comic films will now be dark and serious, including Superman(this is a paraphrase of what he said). What he and others don't understand is that you have to be true to the source. You have to make it more accessible to a wider audience that film allows, but you have to remain faithful. That doesn't mean "dark and brooding." "Iron Man" wasn't that way and it worked out fine. When they start filming "Green Lantern" in September they shouldn't film it that way(I have got to get around to reading that script, sigh.). When they take superhero films like "Fantastic Four" and turn them into dysfunctional family sitcoms instead of a really great sci-fi adventure you can tell the Suits don't know what they're doing.

The irony here is that I believe the failure of Watchmen is because of two things. One is that it was marketed more like a superhero movie; which clearly it's not. Secondly, the expectations of Warner were way out of line because of the story that it was. It's not a film that would wind up doing the kind of box office they were expecting. It's more of a niche film that could grow beyond its targeted audience with a more focused campaign. It's strange because to me, Warner has the best marketing department in the film business. The Mouse is a very close second, although they did a bad job of marketing "Bolt" last year. Strangely, they seem to have become better at marketing Pixar films that Disney films, but that is another story for another post. Perhaps not needed after "The Princess and the Frog" comes out and does bofo at theaters.

Hopefully the Suits over at Warner prove me wrong. I loved DK and look forward to many more films that are adapted with thought and care, but not focusing on balance sheets and demographics. Good stories are what we need. As John Lasseter always says: "Quality is the best business plan of all." Maybe the genius planning the next Warner adaption should take a meeting with him. Although, I don't know if he has the time. He's very busy.

That seems to come with success...

Without Tights...

It came to my attention when posting about the Mouse's new line up over at Toon Disney, errr Disney XD, that a lot of their line up are super-heroes. Superheroes that don't belong to Disney and it represented a huge hole in their catalog of films that have come out in the past or are scheduled for release in the future...

Perhaps you've seen the news about Warner Bros. halting all comic book related productions last week? I certainly hope this doesn't screw up the next big production they have coming out, "Green Lantern" but rather is more of a refocusing of the company's strategy on guys running around in tights. It seems the common notion among brainiac Suits right now is that Superheroes have become a genre just like Action, Adveneture, Thrillers, Horror, Sci-Fi and others. I guess when Warner looked at the profits they'd made this year they noticed those silly comic book characters generated close to 15% of their income. So now they seem to think it's no longer just a "kid" thing. These guys could have talked to me and saved a whole lot of times and money... sheesh!

Of course, this doesn't mean they totally get it now that "The Dark Knight" has given them a stiff shot of pop-culture reality. Jeff Robinov, the head of production at Warner happened to mention that now all their properties were going to be brooding and dark. He still didn't get it. Dark Knight succeeded because it was a great adaption, but were they to do the same to Supes I don't think the success would be replicated. A brooding Man of Steel would more than likely turn off the comic book fans as well as general audiences. As I've stated before, if you want a great Superman film then get Brad Bird to write and direct it and then just get out of his way... but they ain't listening to me. Trust me, I know having been in pitch meetings with some of these guys.



Anyway... it seems that Warner now realizes what a gold mine it was buying National Periodicals/DC Comics back in the early 70's. A bargain today, really. And well, Marvel has their own studio practically and a distribution deal primarily through Paramount for the foreseeable future. So where does that leave the Mouse?



I mean, the number one and two comic book companies are taken. So it's not likely there will be anything coming from them. But there are genuine characters and stories that are not owned by the Big Two that they could purchase. I mean, even small independent comic companies have produced comics that have been great at the box office or great critically. Everything from "Men in Black" to "Road to Perdition" have come from small companies with big talent. So the idea would be, if the Disney Suits want to pursue a few characters/comics that they can turn into cash cow franchises then this is the route. But what characters and what comics? Well, Blue Sky Disney has compiled a list of ten properties in the world of comics that would be ripe for the rodents in TeamDisney to pick.

Some of these properties are in development at other studios right now while others are lying in the dark waiting to be discovered. Someone should make these stories into films and if Disney is smart, they'll be the ones to do it...

In no particular order:








The Umbrella Academy - The 2008 Eisner Award winner for Best Limited Series from Dark Horse Comics, written by Gerald Way and illustrated by Gabriel Ba is about a group of superheroes that gather together after the death of their adoptive father, who was a rich, eccentric millionaire that was in reality an alien from another planet. He gathered these super-powered beings together to save the world from an unknown menace. This could be Disney's "Hellboy". The comic it's closest to is "Doom Patrol." Hopefully Universal won't exercise the option it has with Dark Horse and the Mouse can step in...









The Bozz Chronicles - Written by David Michelinie and illustrated by Bret Blevins, this is an old and little known one from the 80's(1986 to be exact)... Released only as a six issue mini-series from Epic Comics, "Bozz" tells the story of an alien that crash lands on Earth in turn of the century Victorian London, he's depressed, constantly contemplating suicide due to being stranded here amongst what he deems to be dim-witted savages. A prostitute named Mandy,convinces him to become a private detective and solve crimes to keep his superior intellect occupied. Think of this as the "X-Files" meets "Moonlighting" by way of "The Night Stalker" only told from an alien's point of view or an alien Sherlock Holmes versus the paranormal. A truly fun read that was lost along the way. It's just waiting to be discovered(Robert Zemeckis is now at Disney, perhaps he should go back and revisit this like he did a couple years ago)...









Deathblow - Written and illustrated by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi, this story is sort of like Marvel's "The Punisher" with the regenerative powers of "Wolverine" and some of the psionic powers of "Kitty Pride" with religious overtones. This would more than likely be released through Touchstone Pictures as the tone is uber-violent. The rights to this one are murky, because Lee sold the Wildstorm company to DC several years ago and it's unknown if he sold all the characters to them as well. That said, it'd be a really cool adventure with Deathblow or even his former Navy Seal buds known as "Team 7."














Criminal Macabre - Follows a character named Cal McDonald, created by Steve Niles that's a sort of Philip Marlowe for the paranormal. This character would be closest to "Constantine" in the comic book universe. The stories are deeply graphic and very dark so Touchstone Pictures would have to be the ones releasing it, but if you like Horror-Noir then this would be right up your alleyway.

















Mr. Monster - Michael T. Gilbert's darkly comic tale of the worlds greatest monster hunter. A wonderfully pulp superhero that seems drawn from the pages of "Doc Savage," "The Spider" or "The Shadow," Dr. Strongfort Stearnis is the world's greatest expert in the occult. When he puts on his superhero tights he becomes a champion of justice against the world of the dark... Monsters beware.













Youngblood - Created by Rob Liefeld, the group known as Youngblood is a very high-profile team of superheroes that are sanctioned, administrated and marketed by a branch of the American Government. Unlike "Watchmen" which also takes a view of "What if" super powered beings actually existed, Youngblood takes a more positive approach where these heroes are treated like superstars and professional athletes. The comic this is primarily like is "The New Teen Titans" series by George Perez and Marv Wolfman, which is ironically what inspired Liefeld to create it in the first place. The characters would make a great film adaption and possibly give Disney its own X-Men(though younger and more representative of the Titans).















Danger Girl - This comic book created by J. Scott Campbell and Andy Hartnell is a tongue in cheek satire of the spy genre. Imagine it as the Bond Girls meets Charlie's Angels and Charlie is kind of like 007 himself or at least he looks a heck of a lot like Sean Connery. The series is full of action and outrageous villains wrapped in over the top adventures. It would be a very fun romp through the world of spies and spiettes.












Alien Legion - This title is an old one from the early days of Epic Comics created by Carl Potts and Alan Zelenetz with the amazing art of Frank Cirocco, it follow a military unit called Force Nomad, comprised of the worst of the worst losers in the universe, essentially an outer space version of the French Foreign Legion. This title would be a marketing bonanza for the Mouse with franchise and merchandising possibilities beyond measure... oh, and did I mention the stories were good too? For the little boy that wanted to travel the stars with his jetpack and shoot his raygun, this one is for you.














Fathom - I know that this looks like it's just a bunch of cheesecake, but don't let those beautiful girls on the covers fool you. Created by writer/artist Michael Turner, Fathom tells the story of a young girl with amnesia named Aspen, who turns up on board a cruise ship that vanished for ten years, in a story that is one part "The Abyss," one part "Man From Atlantis" and another part mystery soap opera, we follow Aspen and those around her as she finds out about her past and our world's future. The plot is incredibly intricate and extremely detailed, click on the link if you want to know all the details. This is a project I could see James Cameron working on, because it's so heavily influenced by his style of film making. Who knows, if it works out you might see an attraction in Tokyo DisneySEA after it's released...












100 Bullets - A gritty crime drama written by Brian Azzarello and illustrated by Eduardo Risso, it's like "Road to Perdition" or "A History of Violence" and would be one of those more "mature" adaptions. There are no men in tights walking around in this comic. Perhaps the closest other comic to this is "Sin City" as both follow the noble and bad in doing what is often ugly and sometimes good. Disney needs to get the rights to these Film Noir graphic novels and then call Michael Mann to adapt them. Did you hear me, Dick Cook?