Posts Tagged ‘Marvel Comics’
Posted by Jesse in Comics, Latest News, Movies on January 6th, 2010
As Sony Pictures and series director Sam Raimi reportedly continue to clash over the fourth film’s villain, sources inside the studio have confirmed that the proposed holiday break for the filmmakers has become a full-fledged hiatus. The February production date is now being postponed.
Reportedly, Alvin Sargent (of Spidey 1 and 2, not to mention the classic Ordinary People) is the screenwriter currently charged with retooling the project. Previously, writers Gary Ross (Pleasantville, Seabiscuit), James Vanderbilt (Zodiac, X-Men Origins: Wolverine), and David Lindsay-Abaire (Robots, Inkheart) had submitted drafts of the superhero sequel.
Raimi has so far been set to return as director, but this is now understandably in question. It’s widely known that Sony and Marvel insisted Raimi inject Venom into Spider-Man 3, a character Raimi had little desire to feature. The resulting film was undoubtably weak compared to the previous two, and Raimi himself has stated he wants to go out on a higher note. Wanting to feature another classic villain, in this case the Vulture (a role rumored to be desired for John Malkovich), Raimi is reportedly being pressured by Sony to choose another villain. Raimi had wanted to feature the Vulture as Spider-Man 3’s 2nd villain, but the studio apparently found the character noncommercial.
Here’s the thing: Sony still has Spider-Man 4 scheduled for a May 6, 2011 release. It’s clear that this date is nigh impossible without quick thinking by all concerned.
Personally, the thought of Raimi returning to Spider-Man is a frustrating thought. Raimi is a passionate filmmaker who displays genius when working with material that really speaks to him. The Evil Dead films are fan favorites, and A Simple Plan is a classic, not to mention gems like The Gift and last years Drag Me To Hell (which, in 10 years, will be a classic). He did wonders for Spidey, but the frustrating development of Spider-Man 3 was evident in the final product, a toneless mishmash of too-many elements, burdened by studio interference and a palpable sense of malaise by most all concerned.
Unless Raimi feels like he wants to go back to the Spidey well, I sure don’t want him to.
Posted by sean in Comics, Latest News on November 9th, 2009
Marvel’s released a trailer for its Siege event, which will be introduced with the Siege: The Cabal one-shot in December, with the main action happening in a four-part miniseries starting in January.
Basically, everything that’s happened since Brian Michael Bendis was put in charge of the Avengers has led up to the current bizarre status quo that exists in the Marvel U. The events of the Avengers Disassembled, House of M, and Secret War crossovers led up to schism among the superheroes in Civil War. The events of that crossover, along with other events like Messiah CompleX and The Initiative, eventually culminated in the disappointing but visually stunning Secret Invasion. And, of course, the climax of that event – which saw Norman Osborn save the day while Tony Stark basically failed in every possible way – brought us to where things stand now. Where things stand now is that some of the most nefarious megalomaniacs in Marvel continuity – and Osborn in particular – have more power and influence on a global scale than they’ve ever had before. And Siege, it seems, will be where they finally get their due.
In the miniseries, Osborn will set his sights on what 
may be the very last force that could oppose him: Asgard. And I can’t really blame him: if there was an immortal city of omnipotent god-people floating above your country, you’d see it as a threat, too. The point is, this is promising because clearly Thor will be involved. Captain America, meanwhile, has just been resurrected, which is a pretty weak plot point, but I think it’s pretty clear where it’s all going. With Iron Man’s “World’s Most Wanted” arc just wrapping up and Tony coming back home, is it time for a classic Avengers reunion? Methinks so.
Bendis, who’s joined on this event by House of M and Thor artist Olivier Coipel, has also said that the Young Avengers and the Secret Warriors will also have a part to play. Nick Fury “is there front and center,” which is both fitting (Osborn does have his old job) and awesome (Nick Fury is, in fact, awesome).
But back to the trailer. Basically, it paints Siege as the culmination of everything that’s happened in the Marvel Universe in the last five years. This is almost, but not quite, true. Certainly, Dark Reign, as an extension of Secret Invasion, is the climax of all these events – Bendis was planting seeds for Invasion as far back as the very first arc of New Avengers, and Norman Osborn’s rise to power has been bubbling since the beginning of Civil War. And Siege will certainly be the climax of Dark Reign. So, in a way, it’s the culmination of the culmination – but to suggest that five years of Bendis’ Avengers-driven, universe-wide events have been leading up to this one four-part miniseries really sets the bar unnaturally high. I’d rather view it as the conclusion to Dark Reign and enjoy it for what it is. One thing seems sure, though – this will be the end of an era in Marvel continuity.
The trailer’s below. It’s mostly art from previous events with some over-the-top narration, but it’s worth your minute and twenty-four seconds. Enjoy!
Posted by dominie in Arts on January 9th, 2009
I remember trying this years ago… not quite like a biologist’s work, but similar–the classification of my favorite Marvel characters. Anatomize each character independently. Cut, sort, rearrange. Time to amalgamate into a single lineage… To say the least, my research was inconclusive, and I’m thankful for Michael Mallory…
For all the Marvel Comics fans, I’m very excited to announce Universe Publishing’s latest release, Marvel: The Expanding Universe Wall Chart. Coming soon in October 2009, this hardcover release will feature a 10 pages + fold-out wall chart and 300 color illustrations. With witty and energetic text, Michael Mallory, the internationally recognized authority on 20th century pop culture, leads us through the expansive, and sometimes complicated, lineage of Marvel Universe characters—both the legendary figures such as Spider-Man and lesser-known heroes and villains—as well as well as the history of Marvel from when it first came onto the scene in 1939 under the company name Timely.
For more details, see the full press release below.
Photo courtesy of MARVEL: The Expanding Universe Wall Chart by Michael Mallory, Universe, 2009
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Posted by EricC in Movies on August 10th, 2008
The Dark Knight continues to rule the box office as it takes the number one position for the fourth weekend in a row, the first time any 2008 release has achieved this. Its estimated haul of $26,030,000 pushes its domestic take to $441,541,000, faster than any movie in history.
In its second weekend Universal’s The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor dropped -60.2%, taking in just $16,113,000. With a total of $70,671,000, it chugs along although there has to be some concern that bad word of mouth, poor reviews and steep drop off may mean the franchise is running out of steam despite director Rob Cohen already talking a fourth film. (more…)
Posted by EricC in Movies on August 8th, 2008
You can’t turn around without seeing an interview with writer/director David Goyer these days. After all, he’s co-written the hottest movie of the century and has his next project in post-production. With The Dark Knight out and The Unborn being finished, he’s been turning his attention to other scripts. He’s completed a new draft of The Flash for Warner Bros. and is lined up to direct from his script for 20th-Century Fox’s X-Men Origins: Magneto.
Then there’s that other project he’s talked about on and off these last few months. He finally sat down with MTV to talk about his take on H.G, Wells The Invisible Man. The movie is being written for Universal Studios, naturally. “I’m working with some conceptual artists in tandem with writing the script,” he revealed to the network. “I’m actually working with one of the artists from Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. So it could be Magneto, or it could be The Invisible Man next.” (more…)
Posted by EricC in Movies on August 3rd, 2008
After a strong Friday showing, it looked as if The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor might topple The Dark Knight from the top of the box office. However, mostly negative reviews seem to have scared enough people away so it opened at number two for the weekend. It took in a healthy $42,450,000, under Universal’s estimates, but was beaten by Batman, who brought an additional $43,800,000 to Gotham City. The film now has earned a total of $394,887,000 in just three weeks and will clear the $400 million hurdle any minute now.
Showing surprising durability, Brendan Fraser’s other summer film, Journey to the Center of the Earth finished its fourth week in fifth place, taking in $6,875,000, totaling $73,140,000. (more…)
Posted by EricC in Comics, Latest News, Movies on July 31st, 2008
Everyone is anxious for details on Sony’s fourth Spider-Man film, already announced for 2011 so fans got surprised when Variety reported this morning that the studio is now focused first on a Venom spinoff project.
Jacob Estes (Mean Creek) had been assigned the unenviable task of writing a screenplay featuring the monstrous alien symbiote that ruins people’s lives while consuming other people. After his draft, the production execs have decided to go in a different direction so he’s off and a new writer has yet to be named. (more…)
Posted by EricC in Latest News, Movies on July 30th, 2008
Transsiberian, which has been performing well on its two screens, will expand starting August 8 in Los Angeles; August 15 in Chicago, Washington DC and San Francisco; August 22 in San Diego, Atlanta, Denver, Houston, Dallas, Seattle; and August 27 in Minneapolis.
Chuck Jones’s classic would-be conqueror, Marvin the Martian, is now in development by Warner Bros. in partnership with Alcon Entertainment. The proposed feature film will use CGI and live action. According to Variety, the pitch involves Marvin coming to Earth to ruin Christmas for all until he gets trapped in a gift box. This matches his other attempts at destroying the Earth, usually to be foiled by Bugs Bunny (starting in 1948) or Duck Dodgers.
What can X-fans expect after X-Men Origins: Wolverine next May? Well, there’s the David S. Goyer-written Magneto origin film in the works. But, what about the rest of the team? Production Weekly has listed a new project, X-Men: First Class, which exactly the name of a Marvel Comic about the original quintet of mutants with a fresh, modern day approach from writer Jeff Parker and artist Roger Cruz. Try www.x-menfirstclass.com and you get taken to 20th Century-Fox’s website. Interesting, no?
Posted by EricC in Latest News, Movies on July 27th, 2008
There are probably no surprises with the box office results this weekend with The Dark Knight firmly in first place, earning another estimated $75,630,000. The drop off is interesting in that it’s a relatively modest -52.3%. To date, the second Batman film from Christopher Nolan has accumulated $314,245,000, faster than any other film in history.
20th Century Fox’s The X-Files: I Want to Believe debuted in a disappointing fourth place, taking in just $10,200,000. (more…)
Posted by EricC in Comics, Latest News on July 25th, 2008
At Thursday’s Mondo Marvel panel it was announced that David Mack (Kabuki) will write a graphic novel adapting Philip K. Dick’s “The Electric Ant”.
Dick’s story first appeared in the October 1969 issue of the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and Dick said at the time, “Again the theme: How much of what we call ‘reality’ is actually out there or rather within our own head? The ending of this story has always frightened me … the image of the rushing wind, the sound of emptiness. As if the character hears the final fate of the world itself.” (more…)
Posted by EricC in Latest News on July 25th, 2008
Stephen King continues to break new ground. To promote his latest short story collection, Just After Sunset, he has authorized a video adaptation for one of the stories, “N”, which was handled by Marvel Comics.
The story, which broke in today’s Wall Street Journal, will be announced and previewed later today at Comic-Con International. The article detailed how the 54-page story has been broken into 25 mini-chapters that can be downloaded for computer or cell phone with five episodes a week available beginning Monday and running through August 29. (more…)
Posted by EricC in Latest News, Movies on July 21st, 2008
Director Louis Leterrier told the French press that he doubts there will be a sequel to his Incredible Hulk given the so-so American box office. On the other hand, he fully expects the jade giant to be a part of 2011’s anticipated Avengers film.
He also discussed that he doesn’t anticipate re-editing the film for DVD but include the cut sequences as extras. Once he said that he also did not rule out the re-edit so we’ll just have to wait for fall. (more…)
