We've seen our share of comic books heroes make the jump from the four-color page to the silver screen over the years, but could we be on the verge of seeing a comic book enemy -- better yet, Public Enemy -- heading to the multiplex?
While we're not in the habit of breaking stories based on anonymous sources, a tipster dropped us a line recently and mentioned that the faces of the iconic rap crew -- Chuck D and Flavor Flav -- are in talks with a major animation studio to produce a feature film based on the band and their recent comic book exploits, with an all-new P.E. album being recorded for the movie. A second, very reliable source then backed up the original tipster's claim, stating a script is indeed in the works, adding, "The first 'Public Enemy' graphic novel collection comes out in May and there is a lot of interest from Hollywood." Read more...
Short of a certain comic book icon threatening to "spit venom" all over the film, you'll be hard pressed to find anyone out there who isn't excited about the March 6 release of "Watchmen." And a major part of that excitement has to do with the Warner Bros. hype machine, offering us fans ridiculously cool viral videos and websites that give us a glimpse into what we can expect from Zack Snyder's take on the revolutionary graphic novel.
And the fine folks at Warner Bros. ain't letting up anytime soon, as today, they've announced the details on both the "Music From The Motion Picture 'Watchmen'" (which My Chemical Romance's Gerard Way recently spoke to MTV about contributing to) and the "'Watchmen' Original Motion Picture Score" soundtracks, as well as info for the upcoming "'Watchmen': The Complete Motion Comic" DVD and Blu-ray box sets. After the jump, we've got the rundown on all of this for those of you looking forward to watching -- and listening -- to the Watchmen. Read more...
At least according to her latest single, Alicia Keys is "Superwoman" -- "Still when I'm a mess, still I put on a vest, with an S on my chest, oh yes, I'm a superwoman," she sings.
And according to her video, superheroes don't need to have superpowers. A superwoman can be an astronaut. A businesswoman. A tribal Somali who supplies her family with fresh drinking water. Or even a welfare mom, taking care of two children but also going back to school. "She's a superwoman because it's hard to do all of those things," Keys previously told MTV News when we visited her on set of the video shoot. Read more...
It's not even Thanksgiving and the hellions of Lancaster, Pennsylvania's August Burns Red are already decking the halls.
Just a few days after returning home from their 70-date, 18-country headlining tour, ABR's breakdown-infused cover of "Carol of the Bells" hit the 'net in a Christmas-themed commercial for Frank Miller's "The Spirit."
"It's an honor," said JB Brubaker, guitarist of August Burns Red, "This is not the kind of thing you expect to happen when you're practicing covers in your garage."
Being selected to promote such a highly anticipated (if hotly debated) film is no small feat for a band whose scream-heavy brand of metal isn't exactly created with commercial usage in mind -- especially since the song was chosen by Frank Miller himself from among a bevy of other holiday themed music submissions.
"We were sitting in a club in Prague in the Czech Republic when we heard the news," said Brubaker, "We were all just super stoked." Read more...
It only took a few months for Bad Horse to get his stable in order, but the Evil League of Evil -- finally -- is accepting applications for new members .
"I would encourage people sending in their submissions to know that the Evil League of Evil is no joke," Neil Patrick Harris told us. "It's legitimately hard-core to get in. I would know."
Those who submit before October 11 have a chance at being included on the upcoming DVD commemorating the league's most recent member, and already there are some interesting prospects of the hundred or so-and-counting who leaped at the chance. For instance, this pair has extensive experience, or so they claim, with guns, knives, hand-to-hand combat, and debilitating bad breath. This vampire even went to the trouble of singing about his plight. And this aspirant doesn't even want to be in the League proper -- she just wants a shot at being Dr. Horrible's sidekick. Read more...
So you’ve seen the trailer . You’ve heard what Brad Meltzer had to say about it . And now, you’ll be able to hear the soundtrack to “The Book of Lies.”
With a combo of popular and classical music, the companion CD to the “Book of Lies” is due out August 26 (available on iTunes and Amazon), a few days in advance of the book itself, which is due out September 2.
“Sony Music had someone score the key chapters of the book – they sent me the songs – and I rejected most of them,” Meltzer told Splash Page. “Then we fought and pulled each other’s hair and finally settled on songs that truly evoked the mood of the novel. You can go to a certain chapter, hit play, and read along with music that I believe perfectly represents that chapter. And that’s cool to me.” Read more...
This morning, Lionsgate released a new synopsis of Frank Miller's upcoming take on the classic comic book series, "The Spirit," updating the cast listing and clarifying exactly what the film's all about.
In synopsis 2.0, it's explained that "The Spirit" follows a rookie cop (Gabriel Macht) who seemingly returns from the dead in the hopes of stopping a criminal mastermind known as The Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson) from destroying Central City for his own devious purposes. It then goes into the cast of female characters which, "[surround] him at every turn." Read more...
Tori Amos loves Death. Who wouldn’t? She’s the coolest chick in DC/Vertigo's Sandman universe, and so when Neil Gaiman asked the singer if she wouldn’t mind contributing a song to his film adaptation of “Death: The High Cost of Living,” she said yes (even if the character Tori is closest to is actually Delirium, who used to be Delight).
“There is a specific song I want her to do on the soundtrack,” Neil told us when he was promoting “Stardust.”. I know exactly what it is, I asked her about it, and she said yes.”
Then the project got delayed. “Now that New Line has sort of expunged itself from existence,” Neil told us when he was in town for New York’s Comic-Con , “we are right now figuring out where in the Warner [Bros.] family it will be and what is happening with it. It’s not back to the drawing board – we do have a script and a lot of stuff – but we’re figuring out where and when.” Read more...
In case the music of Coheed and Cambria ever confused you, the band’s sci-fi mythology makes a lot more sense when it’s presented as a straight narrative in the comics – which are written by singer Claudio Sanchez and collected as “The Amory Wars.”
“The idea for the music and the comics came out at the same time, but the music came out first,” Sanchez said (read about the new comics-inspired album here). “But the concepts are intertwined. And they compliment each other. It’s not like every song is an issue or a chapter, but readers can see the similarities, because the lyrics are part of the dialogue. You can enjoy it on its own, or together. We just go into the next dimension with the comics.” Read more...
Now that we’ve all seen the dazzling first trailer for next year’s “Watchmen” flick, it has officially become my most-anticipated movie of 2009. And the news just keeps getting better, as director Zack Snyder has revealed exclusively to MTV News that the only post-1985 song in the film will feature one of today’s hottest bands.
“My Chemical Romance is absolutely awesome,” the “300” director revealed. “And Gerard [Way] is a huge fan of ‘Watchmen’.”
Like the classic graphic novel, Snyder’s “Watchmen” film will span the decades utilizing a “Forrest Gump”-like soundtrack of period-evocative music from the turbulent Sixties, the me-decade Seventies and the awesome Eighties. But since the film ends in 1985, Snyder’s music needs to be capped after his Hendrix, Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel tracks have had their moments. Finding a way around the limitation, Snyder has launched plans to head into the studio with the emo-punk powergroup behind such hits as “Helena” and “Welcome to the Black Parade.” Read more...
