By Steven Roberts
It’s not every day that an Eisner Award-winner teams up with a Los Angeles streetwear company, but judging by Stan Sakai’s collaboration with The Hundreds, it might not be a bad idea. The Hundreds will release two t-shirts Saturday, November 21 at their flagship store in Los Angeles and their store in San Francisco celebrating the 25th anniversary of Stan Sakai’s series "Usagi Yojimbo."
For those who haven't tapped into the world of "Usagi Yojimbo" yet, Miyamoto Usagi is a rabbit ronin samurai (the series' title translates to rabbit bodyguard in Japanese, kids), and the main character of Sakai’s long-running Dark Horse comic series. Sakai created the character in 1987 and modeled him after legendary samurai Miyamoto Musashi. Read more...
The classic military sci-fi comic “Alien Legion” is moving forward as a film adaptation over at Disney with producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
"Alien Legion has been optioned for some time," confirmed “Alien Legion” co-creator Carl Potts in an interview with USA Today. "The script is currently in its third rewrite."
"Bruckheimer's never done a science-fiction [movie] before,” Potts continued. “So that challenge, I think, is something that would hold his interest. The success they've had with blending CGI and live-action characters in ‘The Pirates of the Caribbean’ series could translate easily to an ‘Alien Legion’ film." Read more...
Joss Whedon fans distraught over the recent cancellation of "Dollhouse" might find a silver lining in at least one piece of news today. It appears that "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" could find new life above and beyond Dark Horse Comics' well-received "Buffy" comic book series, as a casting notice recently popped up online for a "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" motion comic.
Over at SciFi Wire, they've posted the full breakdown of voiceover casting calls for the "Buffy" motion comic, which offers a nice indication of which characters fans can expect to see in the series. Among the notables are slayers Faith, Robin Wood and Kennedy, as well as "big bad" villain Twilight. Curiously, there's also a call for a voice actor who sounds like current James Bond actor Daniel Craig. Read more...
The Terminator franchise made comics news earlier this year when "Terminator: Salvation" spawned releases for the iPhone and iPod touch from IDW. Now, Zack Whedon says his work on a "Dr. Horrible" comic has inspired him to write more for the medium, and his next step will be bringing new "Terminator" stories to comics from Dark Horse.
"I am currently working on a six issue 'Terminator' series for Dark Horse," Whedon revealed in a column for Techland.com. "I just turned in the first script and I’m very excited about it."
Read more...
The U.S. distribution rights for the film adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s “Solomon Kane” have been acquired by Lionsgate.
[UPDATE: "Solomon Kane" director Michael J. Bassett reports on his website that the film has not been picked up by Lionsgate: "Lots of notes and emails coming through telling me that Lionsgate have picked up Kane. Yes, it seems like a good fit but no, it isn’t true – as far as I am aware. Don’t know where this rumour started but sorry folks in North America, you are no nearer to seeing Solomon Kane. Everyone else; early next year."]
According to Fangoria, the rights were picked up at the American Film Market and may lead to “Solomon Kane” having a full theatrical release before coming out on DVD.
The $40 million film was written and directed by Michael J. Bassett and stars James Purefoy as the title character. Bassett’s previous films include “Deathwatch” and “Wilderness” while Purefoy is perhaps best known for his role as Marc Antony on the HBO series, “Rome.” Legendary film actor Max Von Sydow also stars in the movie along with Rachel Hurd-Wood, Pete Postlethwaite and Alice Krige. Read more...
As “Conan” gets closer to making his return to the big screen, two of the top FX alumni from Zack Snyder’s “300” adaptation have joined the project.
Shaun Smith has signed on as a creature designer on “Conan” and Scott Wheeler will head up the makeup department. In addition to their time on “300”, Smith created makeup FX for “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” and “The Forbidden Kingdom” while Wheeler has worked extensively on two “Star Trek” movies, “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” and Joss Whedon’s upcoming film “The Cabin in the Woods.”
Read more...
News has been very quiet on the "Oldboy" front since Steven Spielberg and Will Smith were initially announced for the project — and according to one source, that's because the film is no longer happening.
Latino Review reports that Smith and Spielberg are no longer attached to "Oldboy," saying that official news should make the rounds sometime soon.
For now, the report is far from official, but the alleged demise of "Oldboy" would certainly explain why we haven't heard much about the project in close to a year. Read more...
We all know last year's award-winning online musical "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" is getting a sequel at some point, but just in case you can't wait for the next chapter of Nathan Fillion and Neil Patrick Harris' hilarious (and occasionally heartbreaking) battle, a prequel of sorts arrives this month courtesy of Dark Horse Comics.
Written by Zack Whedon (who co-wrote the "Dr. Horrible" musical with brothers Joss and Jed and Jed's wife, Maurissa Tancharoen), the one-shot "Dr. Horrible" comic tells the tale of Dr. Horrible and Captain Hammer's first encounter.
I spoke to Whedon about his plans for the project and received an exclusive preview for Splash Page readers. Read more...
A recent casting call for the upcoming "Conan" film described the titular Cimmerian as "very smart, almost inhumanly strong, and very cunning." Essentially, we're talking about the perfect human being.
Casting Conan isn't easy, and not just because the description is so specifically tailored for a god-like actor. The widely adored character also comes in different shapes and sizes, from the Arnold Schwarzenegger-styled muscle man to the more agile but still powerful warrior featured early in Kurt Busiek's comic book series for Dark Horse.
On either end of that spectrum, whoever is chosen to play Conan must be a capable actor. Finding a bodybuilder that can slay dialogue as easily as he slays his enemies is not an enviable task. Read more...
The long-awaited "Sin City 2" will finally begin production in the second half of 2010, to be followed by a possible adaptation of Frank Miller’s "Hard Boiled."
According to a report on Mania, “Sin City 2” producer Stephen L'Heureux confirmed that the story will be based upon an original script by Miller, who will once again co-direct the sequel with Robert Rodriguez .
Additionally, L'Heureux revealed that Miller is writing the screenplay adaptation for “Hard Boiled”, which Miller is also attached to direct. Read more...
