The Transformers and G.I. Joe have had their time to shine, now "Star Trek" director and "Lost" creator J.J. Abrams could be granting these franchises' action-figure forebearers a chance at the big time.
According to The Wall Street Journal Abrams is currently in discussions with Hasbro to produce a Micronauts film, the latest in a line of properties the toy company has optioned.
Hasbro recently acquired the rights to the Micronauts from Japanese originators Takara. Originally marketed under the Microman banner, the interchangeable-style action figures were imported by the now-defunct Mego toy company in 1976, later to be revived by Palisades Toys in 2002. Read more...
Back in August, Jason Schwartzman got cryptic when he addressed his upcoming "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World" battle. Even though he could only hint at his role in the film's final fisticuffs, the star was keen on sharing his overall experience playing the evil Gideon.
In an interview with Access Hollywood, Schwartzman praised director Edgar Wright, as well as his Scott Pilgrim challenger Michael Cera for contributing to an enjoyable experience.
“I had so much fun [on ‘Scott Pilgrim’],” said Schwartzman. “I was working with two people I admire so much, Edgar Wright, [the director of] ‘Shaun of the Dead’ and ‘Hot Fuzz,’ and Michael Cera, who in my view is the best [actor] working. I got to learn how to sword fight and battle and I got to go up on the wires for some flying kicks and stuff.” Read more...
When it comes to comic book movie adaptations, fans can usually spot source-material unfamiliarity in the actors. Fortunately for fans of Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.'s "Kick-Ass" comic book, at least two of the film's stars have done their reading.
Turns out both Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Clark Duke were already in a pretty strong position to tackle the research that came with their roles.
"I got the script and said 'I've seen this name before,' and went through my dad's comics, pulled out the first issue and read it," Mintz-Plasse told MTV News. Read more...
It's been more than seven years since the last time the Men in Black donned their plastic Ray-Bans to take on extraterrestrial threats. Now, Columbia Pictures is moving forward with a sequel in the hopes that those years hasn't acted as a Neuralyzer to fans of the property, greenlighting "Men In Black III" for development just in time for nostalgia to kick in.
Variety reports that Etan Cohen, the screenwriter behind "Tropic Thunder," has been hired to handle scripting chores for the franchise's pending third installment.
So far, the studio hasn't commented on the project's pending plot, cast or general tone, but given Cohen's comedy background, the perceived "dark" trend in comic book adaptations doesn't seem to be suspect in this instance despite the source material's intensity. Read more...
A lot of folks are afraid of zombies, but when the flesh from a face has finally melted away, skulls remain to strike fear into the hearts of, well...pretty much everyone.
Comics have historically provided a home for the fleshless to do what they do best—represent death. Naturally, given their penchant for death-dealing, villains have coveted the concept. But just as Batman took on the mantle of a feared icon to terrify criminals, so have heroes masked themselves with skulls to intimidate evil.
Read on for a mixed bag of the good, the bad and the ugly use of skulls in the pages of superhero titles and take a moment to properly admire the bone structure of some of the genre's most handsome skeleton-heads. Read more...
Clark Kent has had something of a strained relationship with his paternal Kryptonian father over the years. But that's just what happens when a guy has to deal with the disembodied psychic computer version of a dad he never knew.
Well, as we reported back in September, a kinder, gentler Jor-El may just meet his son in the flesh for the first time in the Nov. 6 episode of "Smallville" entitled "Kandor."
ComicsContinuum has an image gallery that previews actor Julian Sands portraying Superman's scientist father Jor-El in traditional Kyrptonian threads, plus an episode synopsis from The CW. While it was originally believed that Sands would star in a flashback of some kind, it looks like his character could be entering mainstream continuity. Read more...
Every year, baseball fans sweat through months of America's favorite pastime anticipating a national champion. It's not a mania exclusive to mere mortals either, as comic book characters aplenty have expressed their unique love of the game throughout the history of the medium.
This is no surprise, really, given the abundant portion of comic book creators who boogie to the baseball beat. Everyone from contemporary Marvelites Joe Quesada and writer Matt Fraction to baseball-collecting Spawn creator Todd McFarlane to classic creators like the late Gardner Fox (who named DC's premier super team the Justice League after professional baseball's organizational stylings) have demonstrated just how deep their love of the game runs.
With that in mind, it's time to take a wacky trip through the magical, slightly out-of-context baseball imagery selected from around the Internet!
Read more...
THE STORY: "Pinocchio: Vampire Slayer" by Van Jensen (W) and Dustin Higgins (A) – SLG Publishing
WHAT IT'S ABOUT: After vampires claim the life of his father Geppetto, Pinocchio takes up arms (and wooden stakes replenished every time he tells a lie) against the undead in his kooky little corner of Tuscany and beyond.
WHY IT WORKS: Van Jensen's Pinocchio is a brooding man-child forced to confront the darkness that lurks in the corners of his fairytale-like existence. Tragedy pushes him to come to terms with the bizarre Carlo Collodian world he inhabits, meaning his former selfish mischief—and current personal quest for revenge—must take a backseat to mowing down monsters and fighting for those closest to him. Read more...
For most, the concept of a "devil" conjures images of the nether realm's most prominent demonoids—horned, hoofed and possibly tailed red dudes poised to torment with gusto. In short, devils are freakin' scary, and that's just what certain heroes count on to do their work in style.
Sure, calling yourself "devil" while doing good might seem like some kind of weird, ironic misnomer for those fighting on the side of the metaphorical angels. Whether by choice or circumstance, however, these heroes sport their archetypical underworld looks that haunt the nightmares of evildoers.
Here are five characters who fight like demons to protect the innocent, even if it means getting their horns dirty. Read more...
Traditionally speaking, Halloween Week is a time for the carving-inclined to sharpen their tools of the trade and dig into a pumpkin. Yeah, there's some gross seed scoopage involved, but after a gourds' chewy center is removed, the plants present a perfect canvas for inscribing a fans' glowing facade of choice.
Unfortunately, too many carvers have turned to lives of crime, adopting the glowing jack o' lantern for fiendish purposes—especially in comic books.
It seems like no universe is safe from pumpkinheaded hoodlums and their equally affable and/or evil ways. That said, Splash Page counts down five pumpkinheads of note on this, the spookiest and most pumpkin laden week of the year. Read more...
