Ghost Rider to get sequel; Daredevil looks at reboot
Columbia Pictures is looking at making a sequel to Ghost Rider, according to Variety. Variety also runs down activity at all the studios now focusing on keeping their Marvel superheroes employed, and that includes a new version of Daredevil. Fox is said to be “quietly developing” a new version of the blind superhero.
At Fox, Fantastic Four is getting a reboot, and “Silver Surfer” remains in the works, as do various X-Men spinoffs and sequels. Sony has James Vanderbilt writing Spider-Man 5 and 6. Universal has “Sub-Mariner” in development. And Paramount’s distribution deal including “Iron Man 2″ and planned “Avengers”-based films continues for now.
If the studios let the properties lag in development limbo, Marvel can reclaim them – much like it reclaimed “Iron Man” from New Line, Variety writes.
As far as Ghost Rider is concerned, writer David Goyer (“Batman Begins”) is in talks to write the sequel.
Mark Steven Johnson was the director of both “Daredevil” and “Ghost Rider.” While “Daredevil” took a bit of a beating from critics and some fans, the director’s cut is actually a pretty decent take. And I like “Ghost Rider,” despite some of its cheesiness. I think they did about what you could expect with that character. It’s not been reported if Johnson will be involved with either of the sequels. It appears Cage would return as Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider, while it seems unlikely that Ben Affleck would return as Matt Murdock/Daredevil.
- Matt Price
Alan Moore, Kanye West style
Found via The Beat, this photo mashup references Alan Moore’s recent shots at “Blackest Night” in a Mania interview.
Moore said:
I was noticing that DC seems to have based one of its latest crossovers [Blackest Night] in Green Lantern based on a couple of eight-page stories that I did 25 or 30 years ago. I would have thought that would seem kind of desperate and humiliating.
Moore hasn’t, however, read “Blackest Night.”
I haven’t read a book from any of the mainstream companies in years. I’ve read a couple of comics over the last couple of years. But, I’ve certainly not read anything from DC or Marvel.
No response that I’ve seen from Johns, but frequent collaborator James Robinson responded on Twitter. His overall response made several points, including:
I love reading Moore’s work, but I find a sliver of hypocrisy in him taking such holier than though view of things.
My personal take: I also love Alan Moore’s writing, but I don’t see the value in critiquing something that you haven’t read. What something is based on or inspired by doesn’t have much to do with how something is executed.
What stood out to me about the picture included at the top of this article is that it’s based on a photo I took. The Geoff Johns half, anyway. I don’t think it’ll win any photojournalism awards, but you can check out the original photo here.
- Matt Price
Poll suggests demand for Dirty Dancing remake
Movietickets.com asked users of the site what classic dance film most demanded a remake. a remake of “Fame” releases Sept. 25, and a “Footloose” remake is in the works. Voters chose “Dirty Dancing.” The complete results are below:
1. Dirty Dancing (53%)
2. Saturday Night Fever (22%)
3. Flashdance (15%)
4. All That Jazz (6%)
5. Staying Alive (4%)
New Mutants may make way to theaters
According to Slashfilm, the New Mutants of Marvel Comics could make their way to movie theaters in coming years. Lauren Shuler Donner, who’s been involved with the “X-Men” films at Fox from the beginning, said “New Mutants” and “X4″ with the original cast are possible in the future. “X4″ had yet to be officially pitched to the studio, she said, according to the report.
“New Mutants” was a title showcasing teen mutants in training at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. The characters were created by Chris Claremont and Bob McLeod, first appearing in Marvel Graphic Novel #4. They continued from there to a series, by Claremont and McLeod. Later artists included Sal Buscema, Bill Sienkiewicz, Bret Blevins and Rob Liefeld. The issues drawn by Sienkiewicz, including “The Demon Bear Saga,” were highly regarded and well-remembered. Louise Simonson took over the writing from Claremont in 1987.
- Matt Price
Gabriel Macht takes cold in stride
LOS ANGELES — Gabriel Macht moved from the square-jawed hero of “The Spirit” to another comic-book based role, that of U.N. operative Robert Pryce in “Whiteout,” in theaters now.
“I’ve always been a comic book movie fan,” Macht said at the press conference for “Whiteout” held recently in Los Angeles. “I started reading comics, based on some of the opportunities I’ve gotten in film, and I have a huge respect for illustrators and writers in the comic world. If they’re amazing, it’s a great entertainment. I have a strong appreciation for comics.”
Macht also was excited to be an action figure, which he was turned into based on his role in “The Spirit,” directed by Frank Miller and based on Will Eisner’s comics.
“It’s an incredible moment in your life,” Macht said of having a figure based on him. “If you grew up watching movies and looking at action heroes, you think, ‘Oh, man, maybe I’ll be one of those, one day.’”
While he thought his figure “looked a bit like William Sadler,” another family member had no trouble identifying the “Spirit” star from his action figure visage.
“I’ve been showing my daughter, who’s 2, my action figure,” Macht said. “I’m like, “Who’s that?,” and she looks and says, ‘Daddy.’”
While much of “Whiteout,” which concerns a murder in Antarctica, was shot in below-zero temperatures in Manitoba, Macht said he surprisingly had more problems with heat while filming “Whiteout.”
“The challenges that we came up against were when we shot in the studio,” Macht said. “We were in 80 degree weather, in late spring, early summer, and we were having to wear extreme weather gear. It was probably the hottest set I’ve ever been on, so I was sweating bullets and probably lost 35 pounds, by the end of the movie.”
From Tuesday’s The Oklahoman
Kirby heirs go after rights to characters
As reported by the Los Angeles Times, Jack Kirby’s heirs have served notices of copyright termination for 45 characters they believe Kirby to have created or co-created. The companies named include Marvel Entertainment, Disney, Sony Pictures (owners of movie rights to Spider-Man), 20th Century Fox (owners of movie rights to X-Men and Fantastic Four), Paramount Pictures (distributor of Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and Avengers) and Universal Pictures (distributor of Hulk).
The Kirby children have hired Los Angeles law firm Toberoff & Associates, which represented Jerry Siegel’s heirs in a similar case involving Superman.
The LA Times explains:
Under copyright law, creators and co-creators can seek to regain copyrights they previously assigned to a company 56 years after first publication and can give notice of their intentions to do so up to 10 years before that.
Kirby’s children would be eligible to claim their father’s share of the copyright of the Fantastic Four in 2017, while the Hulk would come up in 2018 and X-Men in 2019. The copyrights would then run for 39 more years before expiring, after which the characters would enter the public domain under current law.
This is all interesting stuff, though ultimately what exactly will happen? Hard to say. I know Kirby contended he was involved in the creation of Spider-Man, but I can’t really see a court giving him creator or co-creator status, so you’d think Spider-Man would be in the clear. (Except in the event the reclusive co-creator Steve Ditko were to file suit.) Marvel, I believe, owns Lee’s rights in perpetuity as part of the deal they signed with him not too many years ago.
Another question would be the X-Men. While Lee and Kirby created the original team, most of the breakout characters throughout the years were created by other writers and artists. Could Marvel still field an X-Men film featuring Wolverine, Storm and Nightcrawler, for example, and call it “The X-Men”? Not sure if the name of the team is part of the deal. That’s something else I guess we’ll have to see. (And of course, Chris Claremont, Len Wein or Dave Cockrum’s estate could file down the line for other X-Men characters, I suppose. But that would be another 12 or so years down the line.)
I’m also not sure how “work for hire” agreements would enter into this. Kirby’s status at the time of creating these characters may very well have been different than that of Siegel and Shuster at the time of creating Superman.
In any case, a court will likely work all this out. I wonder if plans are afoot to file similar paperwork with DC over the Fourth World characters?
- Matt Price
Monday movie quote challenge #45
“Why, anybody can have a brain. That’s a very mediocre commodity. Every pusillanimous creature that crawls on the Earth or slinks through slimy seas has a brain. Back where I come from, we have universities, seats of great learning, where men go to become great thinkers. And when they come out, they think deep thoughts and with no more brains than you have. But they have one thing you haven’t got: a diploma.”
Identify who said the above quote in what film in the comments!
NewsOK Comics Podcast: Captain America Reborn 3, Blackest Night 3, Archie 601
Two of the year’s biggest series hit their third issue, and Archie ties the knot. Listen to Kyle Roberts and Matt Price discuss the eternal question, “Betty or Veronica”?
DVD review – Doctor Who: The Next Doctor
The 2008 “Doctor Who” Christmas special, “The Next Doctor,” is out on DVD, featuring David Tennant as the Doctor.
Tennant’s time-traveling Doctor finds himself in 1851 on Christmas Eve. It’s there he encounters someone else calling himself “The Doctor.” The Doctor is a Time Lord who regenerates into different appearances periodically, often when injured. So, he presumes this man, who acts very similarly to The Doctor himself, must be the “Next Doctor.” But the Next Doctor, played by David Morrissey, has gaps in his memory, and he claims not to recognize The Doctor.
Still, there are Cybermen afoot in 1851 London, and it’s up to the Doctors to put a stop to their plot while they try to figure out what’s caused the Next Doctor’s memory problems. The Next Doctor has been investigating strange murders, which he believes the Cybermen have committed. The Cybermen are a race of cyborgs that have often come in conflict with The Doctor. Here, they’re attempting to cause the rise of a Cyber King, with the aid of Miss Hartigan (Dervla Kirwan), a woman who rails against Victorian-era mores.
The show crackles along during the first half, as the mystery of the Next Doctor is explored. Once the mystery is solved, the final conflict with the Cybermen is anticlimactic. Overall, it’s fun but nonessential.
No behind-the-scenes extras on this disc, but there is the hourlong “Doctor Who at the Proms,” featuring the music of “Doctor Who” at Albert Hall, with appearances from the show’s stars.
— Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
Gates, Portacio headline Tulsa show
TULSA — A former “Uncanny X-Men” artist and the writer of “Supergirl” are among the scheduled guests at this weekend’s Tulsa Anime & Comic Expo.
Whilce Portacio, who drew “Uncanny X-Men” during the comics boom and was the creator of “Wetworks,” is among the show’s guests. Portacio is currently the artist of Todd McFarlane’s “Spawn.” He was the plotter and penciller of “Uncanny X-Men” following Chris Claremont’s exodus from the books in the late 1990s, and introduced the Bishop character in “Uncanny X-Men” No. 282.
Tulsa native Sterling Gates plans to return to his hometown, celebrating this week’s release of “Action Comics” No. 881, part one of a four-part crossover Gates is writing with Greg Rucka. Gates said he was looking forward to returning to his former stomping grounds.
“I always look forward to any time I get to spend in Tulsa, but what really excites me is to be a part of Wizard’s Asylum’s convention,” said Gates, current writer of DC Comics’ “Supergirl.”
“I always really miss Oklahoma’s beautiful fall weather, so it’ll be great to see Tulsa in the full fall swing.”
Gates’ next major project is “World’s Finest,” a crossover between characters from the “Superman” and “Batman” families of books.
“Each issue focuses on a different Batman-Universe hero and villain teaming up with a different Superman-Universe hero and villain,” Gates said. “So, you’re getting four great characters coming into conflict, and you just have to sit back and watch the fireworks.”
Gates said “World’s Finest,” which kicks off Oct. 28, also has some of his “all-time favorite villains.”
“Catwoman’s in there, Mr. Freeze, Penguin, Kryptonite Man, Toyman,” he said. “It’s gonna take all of these heroes working together to rein these supervillains in!”
“Dragon Ball” voice actor Sonny Strait also is scheduled to appear at the convention.
Comic-book artists scheduled to appear include Michael Lark (“Daredevil”), Tommy Castillo (“Detective Comics”), Josh Howard (“Dead@17”), Brian Denham (“Violator vs. Badrock”), John Lucas (“Deadpool”), Ben Dunn (“Ninja High School”) and Jeremy Haun (“Berserker”). Writer Gary Friedrich, the creator of “Ghost Rider,” is also a guest of the convention.
The dealer’s room of the show will be open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Evening events will run 7 p.m. to midnight Saturday. The event will be in Tulsa Convention Center, 100 Civic Center.
- by Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
