“The Hobbit” with Peter Jackson announced!
PRESS RELEASE:
NEW LINE CINEMA JOIN WITH MGM
TO PRODUCE “THE HOBBIT,”
EAGERLY-ANTICIPATED FANTASY ADVENTURE EPIC
NEW LINE CINEMA AND MGM TO CO-PRODUCE AND
SHARE WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS
PETER JACKSON AND FRAN WALSH TO EXECUTIVE PRODUCE TWO FILMS BASED ON “THE HOBBIT”
Los Angeles, CA (Tuesday, December 18, 2007) Academy Award-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson; Harry Sloan, Chairman and CEO, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM); Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne, Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOs of New Line Cinema have jointly announced today that they have entered into the following series of agreements:
* MGM and New Line will co-finance and co-distribute two films, “The Hobbit” and a sequel to “The Hobbit.” New Line will distribute in North America and MGM will distribute internationally.
* Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh will serve as Executive Producers of two films based on “The Hobbit.” New Line will manage the production of the films, which will be shot simultaneously.
* Peter Jackson and New Line have settled all litigation relating to the “Lord of the Rings” (LOTR) Trilogy.
Said Peter Jackson, “I’m very pleased that we’ve been able to put our differences behind us, so that we may begin a new chapter with our old friends at New Line. ‘The Lord of the Rings’ is a legacy we proudly share with Bob and Michael, and together, we share that legacy with millions of loyal fans all over the world. We are delighted to continue our journey through Middle Earth. I also want to thank Harry Sloan and our new friends at MGM for helping us find the common ground necessary to continue that journey.”
“Peter Jackson has proven himself as the filmmaker who can bring the extraordinary imagination of Tolkien to life and we full heartedly agree with the fans worldwide who know he should be making ‘The Hobbit,’” said Sloan, MGM’s Chairman and CEO. “Now that we are all in agreement on ‘The Hobbit,’ we can focus on assembling the production team that will capture this phenomenal tale on film.”
Bob Shaye, New Line Co-Chairman and Co-CEO comments, “We are very pleased we have been able to resolve our differences, and that Peter and Fran will be actively and creatively involved with ‘The Hobbit’ movies. We know they will bring the same passion, care and talent to these films that they so ably accomplished with ‘The Lord of the Rings’ Trilogy.”
“Peter is a visionary filmmaker, and he broke new ground with ‘The Lord of the Rings,’” notes Michael Lynne, New Line Co-Chairman and Co-CEO. “We’re delighted he’s back for ‘The Hobbit’ films and that the Tolkien saga will continue with his imprint. We greatly appreciate the efforts of Harry Sloan, who has been instrumental in helping us reach our new accord.”
The two “Hobbit” films – “The Hobbit” and its sequel – are scheduled to be shot simultaneously, with pre-production beginning as soon as possible. Principal photography is tentatively set for a 2009 start, with the intention of “The Hobbit” release slated for 2010 and its sequel the following year, in 2011.
The Oscar-winning, critically-acclaimed LOTR Trilogy grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide at the box-office. In 2003, “Return of the King” swept the Academy Awards, winning all of the eleven categories in which it was nominated, including Best Picture – the first ever Best Picture win for a fantasy film. The Trilogy’s production was also unprecedented at the time.
For more information about “The Hobbit” films, please visit www.TheHobbitBlog.com.
X-Play names ‘BioShock’ game of year
“BioShock” was named as Game of the Year, in X-Play’s special awards episode on Monday night.“BioShock” was a winner in four categories. “Portal” and “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare” also won in multiple categories, with two wins each.“‘BioShock’ is one of those rare games that I can see myself playing in 10 years,” said Adam Sessler, host, “X-Play,” in a release. ”The story is great, the music is amazing, the art direction is stunning and the overall execution just feels amazingly fresh. There were a ton of amazing games this year, but ‘BioShock’ was the best.”Winners of “X-Play Best of 2007 Awards”* Most Original Game – Portal * Best Gameplay Innovation – Assassin’s Creed (free-running/climbing)
* Best Multiplayer Game – Rock Band
* Best Action/Adventure Game – Super Mario Galaxy
* Best Sports Game – Forza Motorsport 2
* Best Shooter – Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
* Best Role Playing Game – Mass Effect
* Best New Character – Portal (GLaDOS)
* Best Art Direction – BioShock
* Best Animation – Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
* Best Writing/Story – BioShock
* Best Original Soundtrack – BioShock
* Best Sound Design – Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
* Best Downloadable Content – Pac-Man Championship Edition (XBLA)
* Best Strategy Game – Supreme Commander
Past “X-Play” Game of the Year award winners have included Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (2003), Halo 2 (2004), Resident Evil 4 (2005), and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2006).
More information on the winners and clips from the “X-Play Best of 2007 Awards” are available at www.g4tv.com/bestof2007.
– Matt Price
DC Universe Classics action figures reviewed
A quick shout-out to my brother Chris, who has posted several pictures, and the first review that I have seen, of the new DC Universe Classics action figure line over at fwoosh:
Overall impressions: A great start of things to come. You can see from this first wave the potential that exists within this line. Mattel’s plan is to produce 5 waves per year for the next 5 years and then possibly more from there if they renew their contract with DC. Mattel has addressed a couple of the issues I had with the DC Superheroes line. The neck articulation is spot on and all the joints have great range of motion. 
Collecting all the figures in the wave allows fans to build their own Metamorpho figure. Future plans for the DC Classics line include a “Gorilla Grodd” series featuring figures of Superman and Firestorm, and a “Solomon Grundy” line with Hal Jordan and Sinestro.
– Matt Price
Read a free comic, help a creator in need
A recent press release from Smashout Comics announced the return of “Swords of the Swashbucklers” as a free online download at wowio.com. In addition to getting to check out a sci-fi/fantasy epic from the 1980s, the proceeds will aid in the care of the writer, Bill Mantlo.
From the press release:
With the cooperation of Bill’s brother Mike Mantlo, co-creator (Jackson) Guice and series artists Geof Isherwood and Colleen Doran, all royalties from Swords of the Swashbucklers will be redirected to Mike, to assist with Bill’s quality of life.
In 1992, Bill Mantlo was struck by a car and suffered extensive brain injuries. Today, he requires 24-hour care and is not expected to fully recover. Though Medicaid covers his basic needs, the project will help with new clothes and other life improvements.
“I have to thank to Roger Stern for the idea,” says Steve Horton, Smashout Comics publisher. “He suggested I contact Bill’s estate about Swords of the Swashbucklers, as I had wanted to see it back in print. And now, here we are! I couldn’t be happier that we’re able to assist Bill and his family this way.”
As a special bonus, with participation of artist Polly Law, the first issue of the regular series includes the hard SF short story Rising of the Moon, originally published in EPIC Illustrated 5.
Also, Guice has provided promotional artwork and original art scans, which appear as back covers of the books.
“In the early 1980s, I had the tremendous blessing of finding myself working with writer Bill Mantlo on my first regular assignment in comics (The Micronauts),” says Guice.
“In addition to taking a nervous young artist under his wing, and helping guide me through some very intimidating first few months of experience in the industry, Bill and I soon discovered a strong collaborative spirit between us — constantly on the phone — bouncing ideas back and forth for potential new characters and projects to come. It became something of an ongoing joke between us, as we invariably would drift off topic into discussing — yet another — new project idea, whenever we spoke.”
“As our run on Micronauts was coming to a close, Bill and I had several project ideas we felt strongly enough about to consider submitting to EPIC, the then new creator-owned line of books at Marvel. We weren’t entirely sure yet what we wanted to work on next, only that we were determined to continue working together. I had recently acquired studio space for myself in a rented loft and had dubbed the place, Swashbuckler Studio. Bill called shortly after the studio phone was hooked up, and I answered, ‘Swashbuckler Studio — Butch speaking.’”
“Without pause, Bill said in his usual enthusiastic way — “That would make a great name for a comic series someday!” — and we laughed.”
“A day or two later, however, Bill called once more and excitedly began describing his broadstroke initial ideas for a space-faring pirate series he wanted us to pitch to EPIC –SWORDS OF THE SWASHBUCKLERS.”
“And that’s how it all began.”
“Wow, I don’t know what to say,” says Doran. “It is some of my early comics work, and definitely not good work from me, but what a privilege to get to have a chance to work with Bill Mantlo! Bill Mantlo was not only a wonderfully prolific and imaginative writer, he was an outstanding human being.”
“I met him while working on Swords of the Swashubucklers, and he was so good and kind to me. I was having a legal problem with a publisher who had claimed all rights to my work, and Bill Mantlo was in his early days as a lawyer. He was able to go over my contract, and was able to tell me that I was not only in the right, but he helped me find the contacts and get the representation I needed to wrest my book away from the publisher who was trying to get my copyrights and trademarks.”
“Bill owed me nothing. I was not a good artist, and was not an important person. I was a beginner working on my first job for Marvel Comics, and all Bill knew about me was that I was in trouble and needed a hand. He was incredibly generous with his time and attention, and I will never ever forget that out of all the hundreds of people in the business, he was one of a small handful that stood by me and helped me when I was a complete nobody. He wasn’t interested in sucking up, he wasn’t interested in making a lot of money, he just wanted to do the right thing.”
“My only regret is that I could not be a better artist for Bill.”
“After all these years, I hope my small contribution to Bill’s work can help him out in some small way to make up for the invaluable kindness he did me.”
“I guess…I knew what to say after all.”
“Thank you, Bill Mantlo. I love you.”
Joker-man, Joker-man, does whatever the Joker can!
Those salivating for a look at the new “The Dark Knight” trailer can stop wiping the drool away and just enjoy this:
Oh man, oh man, oh man — I am really looking forward to this one. Heath Ledger looks creepy and Batman’s bike looks like a land-speeder with wheels.
Like there was any question before, but I’m definitely going to be in line with the rest of you for the midnight showing on July 18.
– Greg Elwell
Salon.com weighs in on graphic novels
Not all geeks are like me: pale, unattractive trolls who scrape, Hunchback of Notre Dame-like, from store to store to get their fix of tan, attractive superheroes.
No, some of them are high-falutin’ writers for Salon.com, which just put out a list of this year’s notable comics and graphic novels.
I haven’t read everything on the list, but I’m a big fan of “Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together” — I devoured it in one sitting and I’m eager to read it again — and “All-Star Superman” from DC Comics.
One I was surprised missed the list was “Captain America,” which is notable to me for just being a great comic, but maybe to others because the main character is now long-dead. Marvel Comics foresaw the expectations of most of us (that Cap would be back among the living in no time flat) and defied them, first by keeping Steve Rogers a corpse, but also by not filling his boots immediately.
I don’t know about Matt (really, I know nothing about the guy. Is he tall, I wonder?), but I’m working on a Top 10 comics of the year list which I look forward to foisting upon you and our loyal podcast listeners in the coming weeks.
– Greg Elwell
Keep on rockin’ in the (electricity-) free world
Posting was light from me on Friday, and I apologize, but I was out in the state working on a story about some folks in Carney, Oklahoma that ran in today’s paper.
Carney is a little town that was hit hard by the ice storm. Driving through, it looked like a tornado had come through and just missed all the houses.
Some folks found lodging in other cities where the power had already returned, but a lot of Carney residents stayed right where they are to take care of their town and the people in it.
The hot-spot — literally, since they have a generator working — is the Carney Fire Department. Some people sleep there and many stop by throughout the day for a hot meal. They were making chili while I was there.
With reports that power might not return to Carney until after Christmas, I took note of what they had done to make life bearable inside the station. The kitchen was pumping out food. Cell phone chargers snaked out of every available outlet.
And, standing next to the TV, was one of these:
Because the outage be damned, those kids were going to play some Guitar Hero.
– Greg Elwell
‘Hulk’ writers heading to Texas
Nerdage received a press release from longtime comic reviewer Randy Lander, who is celebrating the first anniversary of his comic book store, Rogues Gallery Comics & Games in Round Rock, Texas, next month.
On the weekend of January 18th-20th, two “Hulk” writers head to town to make the anniversary a smash. From noon to 4 p.m. Jan. 19, several comic-book writers and artists will be on hand to talk to fans and sign comics.
Greg Pak, author of Marvel’s smash-hit event WORLD WAR HULK, will be flying in to meet fans.
Also on hand will be Paul Benjamin, of “Marvel Adventures Hulk.”
Other writers and artists on Saturday, January 19th include Kristian (DMZ) Donaldson, who also designed the Rogues Gallery logo, and Scott (OMEGA FLIGHT) Kolins, who designed their new mascot Maximillian Larch. Writer Matt (JACK OF
FABLES) Sturges will also be in attendance.
Lander has planned several contests and games for the anniversary. Directions to the store, located about 15 miles north of Austin, Texas, can be found at roguesgallerytx.com.
Rogues Gallery Comics & Games, formerly Dragon’s Lair Comics & Fantasy Round Rock, was purchased by long-time co-manager Lander in February 2007.
“We were so excited and pleased by the success we had in our first year that we jumped the gun a month to throw a big party for our customers,” Lander said.
– Matt Price
Oklahoma’s Thor sells out again!
Press release from Marvel:
Marvel is proud to announce that Thor #4 has sold out at Diamond (though copies may be available at the retail level). This is the Odinson’s fourth consecutive sell-out since JMS and Oliver Coipel re-launched the series in July. Due to the overwhelming demand for the issue, Marvel is going back to press with Thor #4 Second Printing Variant, featuring Oliver Coipel’s interior page of Volstagg, Fandral and Hogun — The Warrior’s Three — as the cover!
“Thor #4 uses Thor’s human half to tackle a real world crisis as only comic books are capable… it succeeds quite well in blending fictional gods with very real conflicts,” says Jesse Schedeen of IGN.com
Marvel urges retailers to check their orders on Thor #4 Second Printing Variant and all future issues of the series, as the first four issues have sold-out.
Also, be sure not to miss Thor #5! With Heimdall’s help, Thor quickens his pace, and continues to search far and wide for his Asgardian brethren. But will he be prepared for who he finds next! Where there is Thor, there must also be… Sif!?
—-
“Thor,” written by J. Michael Straczynski, features the Norse god of thunder. He returned from the dead and settled in Oklahoma in “Thor” No. 1 in July. Since then, every issue of the now-local hero’s comic has sold out nationwide!
– Matt Price
Iron Man PS3 trailer
AOL Video has the trailer for the upcoming “Iron Man” game, based on the film, for PlayStation 3. Difficult to tell how exactly this will work in game play, but looks pretty good at this juncture.
– Matt Price
