You've turned the page to the place where panels and popcorn meet. From coverage of comic-inspired flicks to that buzzed-about graphic novel that's being primed for the big-screen, you'll find it all here at MTV's Splash Page. Check throughout the day for breaking news, exclusive chats with Hollywood stars and comic legends, and first looks at the blockbusters of tomorrow. tips@mtvmoviesblog.com
Cover Artist
Splash Page welcomes Ed Tadem to our cover artist family (our custom-designed theme up top). Currently working on the forthcoming "Avengers" animated series, Tadem's work can also be seen in the "Jackie Karma" issues of Image's "'76," and in "Pop Gun, Volume 1." Ed Tadem can be found online at EdTadem.com.
It would've taken 20 longboxes to hold all the news that hit this week, so here's a quick recap of some of biggest stories from your friends at Splash Page:
- Cher won the "Rumor of the Week" award when it was reported that she had landed the coveted role of Catwoman in the next "Batman" film...only to find out later that it was all just a big ol' rumor. Shocking...
Following up on what was clearly the wildest (and arguably most hysterical) rumor of the week, Warner Bros. have released word that Cher has in fact not been cast for the role of Catwoman in the next "Batman" film, tentatively titled "The Caped Crusader." Earlier this week, the UK’s Telegraph reported that the 62-year-old singer/actress was in discussions for the role, and that she was Director Christopher Nolan first choice for the role of an aging cat burglar in her twilight years, but a spokesperson for Warner Bros. insisted that "those casting rumors are untrue." Read more...
Dr. Horrible hasn't given up on his plans of world domination -- and neither have his creators. The promised soundtrack so you can actually sing along to “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog" will be downloadable on iTunes as of September 2, and the next comic is already being written by Zack Whedon.
"The soundtrack is rapidly approaching," Whedon said. "And all those cut-offs, where the songs would just end," such as on "Freeze Ray," when Neil Patrick Harris sings, "I will stop…" just as he's interrupted and forced to stop singing, "they will be on there as they are on the show. They're just in a much higher quality, and no sound effects. I sing along to everything and it'll be weeks before I can stop. It's driven me mad. Luckily, I can still hold down a job." Read more...
One of the funnier videos to hit the YouTube circuit this past year was "Robin's Big Date," which starred Justin Long as Robin, working up the nerve to ask out a girl he's got a crush on, only to be blocked by Batman, played by Sam Rockwell. According to a recent interview with MTV, Rockwell and Long are planning on producing another Batman and Robin short, this time with some possible guest stars.
"We still want to do a sequel to that," said Rockwell. "Someone wants to produce it. Somebody wants to give us some money to do it. It’s under wraps and top secret but there would be a few more superheroes and super-villains involved. And some dating prospects."
And if you happened to miss the first vid, check it out below -- believe us, it's worth seven minutes of your time.
What did you think? Wanna see more of Rockwell and Long take on the Caped Crusader and Boy Wonder's love lives? Talk to us in the comments.
Gameindustry.biz has reported that Traveler's Tales -- developers of the upcoming Lego Batman video game -- will be moving into the realm of animation with a cartoon based on the latest installment of their franchise of Lego-based games. In their exclusive interview with Traveler's Tales Producer, Rich Earl, the company plans on helping to produce one, 20-minute cartoon, which they hope would then springboard into a TV series for kids.
Unlike many of the other Lego game titles (i.e. Lego Star Wars and Indiana Jones), Lego Batman is unique in that it is actually not based on a movie franchise, but rather the comics, lending itself to a world of Batman heroes and villains.
Would you check out a cartoon based on the Lego Batman video game? Let us know in the comments.
With the upcoming "Red Sonja" film starring Rose McGowan hitting theaters next year, is it too early to start talking about a possible sequel? Not if you're Splash Page!
Catching up with director Douglas Aarniokoski, we asked if there were any preliminary thoughts on any follow-ups or other films from the Red Sonja universe of characters, and while Aarniokoski obviously wouldn't (or quite possibly, couldn't) elaborate, he did drop some clues. "I mean, if we start to talk about that, I start to give away the third act," he said. "Yes, let’s just say yes. It’s definitely got franchise written all over it." Read more...
Rosario Dawson does it. Amber Benson does it. And Jasika Nicole from the new J.J. Abrams television show "Fringe" does it -- online. (They're all actresses who write comics.)
"I like to write and I'm an illustrator and I have a blog," Nicole said, "and I thought, 'Maybe this is the link to put it all together.'"
Nicole's autobiographical comic "High Yella Magic" can be found here, for now, until she re-does her website. She almost signed with a publisher once, but decided to stay independent after the publisher wanted to change "a lot of things," she said, "and I wasn't ready for that."
"They were like, 'You shouldn't talk about this,' or, 'This should be your angle,'" she said. "It's not about an angle. It's about my experience." Read more...
One of DC Comics' biggest announcements coming out of this year's San Diego Comic-Con was that writer/director/fanboy icon, Kevin Smith, would be making his triumphant return to the DC Universe this fall with a three-issue Batman series titled, "Batman: Cacophony." Smith was last seen in DC's sandbox revitalizing Green Arrow with a 15-issue run that introduced a new villain to the DC fold named Onomatopoeia -- a serial killer targeting non-superpowered superheroes who speaks only in sound effects.
For "Cacophony," Smith will be bringing Onomatopoeia back to the mean streets of Gotham, this time setting his sights on the Caped Crusader, which Smith is quick to point out is the "apex" of non-superpowered heroes. "He’s just a dude in a suit, he’s not like Superman," elaborated Smith. "Onomatopoeia would never go after Superman -- what’s the point? You can’t take him down. But Batman is a prey he can get his head around, like, if I can do this it’d be great." Read more...
If you were so inclined, you could smell like your favorite characters, places, or even concepts from several works by Neil Gaiman, courtesy of Black Phoenix Alchemy . “American Gods,” “Anansi Boys,” “Good Omens,” and “Stardust” all have scents with names like Spider, Fairy Wine, and War. (If you really get into the whole “Stardust”-scent thing, you might want to also try the Stardust bath bomb).
There are also limited edition scents for the short stories “Orange” -- with a touch of orange and a touch of chocolate, “so you will be followed by people with sweet teeth,” as Neil puts it -- and “Snow, Glass, Apples," which should appeal to Twilighters as well because "it smells like vampire apples: vaguely vampiric, very sexy, and amazingly crisp and apple-y,” Neil says. Read more...
In between roles as nice-guy Oliver in "The House Bunny" and a guest stint as the noble Father Gill on AMC's "Mad Men," Colin Hanks has been catching up with his inner-geek...or rather, his "dark" inner-geek.
After all, given his current choice of graphic novels -- "Superman: Red Son," which reimagines the Superman origin if he were to land in Soviet Russia and the consequences that brings, and "Watchmen," which goes without saying is the quintessential dark superhero tale -- it seems like Hanks needs at least a mental break from his good guy image on screen. Check out the video clip below to hear Hanks talk about his current favorite comics.
Did you read "Red Son?" Agree with Hanks that it's one of the best Superman stories out there? Let us know in the comments.