Marvel Comics reveals Black Widow’s ‘Deadly Origin’
Marvel Comics’ Black Widow began as a Soviet spy, introduced as a foil for Iron Man in 1964’s “Tales of Suspense” No. 52. While her first few appearances saw her as an antagonist to Marvel heroes, she’s since joined with them, even leading the Avengers for a time.
The Black Widow, aka Natalia Romanova or Natasha Romanoff, will be played by Scarlett Johansson in next year’s film “Iron Man 2.” Marvel is doing its best to catch up readers on the character before the film, starting this week with the comic-book series “Black Widow: Deadly Origin.”
Maltese Falcon was at forefront of film noir
Thanks to everyone who came out today to Southern Oaks Library to hear me talk about “The Maltese Falcon,” the 1941 film starring Humphrey Bogart and the Dashiell Hammett novel from which it was adapted. For Nerdage readers who couldn’t make it, here’s what was said:
appears. Hammett also wrote about Spade in a handful of short stories, and while Spade the character appeared in a series of radio adventures and comic strips, Hammett had little to do with those stories besides, as he said, “cashing the checks.”
The Maltese Falcon was serialized in the pulp Black Mask in 1929. It followed Hammett’s popular “Continental Op” detective stories, but Sam Spade took things a step further.
About Spade, Hammett said:
“Spade had no original. He is a dream man in the same sense that he is what most of the private detectives I worked with would like to have been and what quite a few of them in their cockier moments thought they approached … a hard and shifty fellow, able to take care of himself in any situation.”
Dashiell Hammett’s own life inspired his writing. He worked as a detective for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency from 1915 to 1921, with time off to serve in World War I. During the war, Hammett contracted Spanish flu, which later led to tuberculosis. His health concerns led him to give up detective work, where he was considered one of the best “shadows” in the business, to concentrate on writing.
Film Noir literally means “black film,” and was born out of the popularity of the pulp writing style. Hollywood’s classic film noir period is went from the early 1940s to the late 1950s, though it was only 
assigned the title in retrospect. The heavy blacks in the visual style were influenced by German Expressionist cinematography.
In the 1941 “Maltese Falcon,” which will be shown today, Bogart plays Sam Spade, a hard-boiled detective who is hired by Miss Wonderly, played by Mary Astor, to, he believes, find her missing sister. But that’s just the first of many not-quite truthful things Spade will be told as he’s drawn into the hunt for the Maltese Falcon, a priceless relic of the Crusades.
Contrasting this “Maltese Falcon” with the 1931 version, Bogart’s Sam Spade has a sense of humor, but it’s a dark one. He’s a flawed, jaded hero who follows a moral code he’s not even sure he quite understands.
Directed by John Huston, the 1941 Maltese Falcon is a close adaptation of Hammett’s original, maintaining most of the scenes and much of the dialogue.
Joining Bogart are the hoods: Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet and Elisha Cook Jr. Each were successful actors of the time. Lorre and Greenstreet would again be seen with Bogart in the classic Casablanca, again playing characters of questionable morality. Cook would again join Bogart in film noir “The Big Sleep,” based on Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe.
The Maltese Falcon marked Huston’s first directorial work with Bogart, though Huston had written the script for High Sierra, a film which helped spur Bogart’s career. The two were friends and drinking buddies, and after The Maltese Falcon would work together several more times. Bogart’s roles in both High Sierra and The Maltese Falcon were turned down by George Raft. Bogart’s portrayal of these roles helped to cement him as a top star at Warner Bros.
- Matthew Price
Avatar trailer in HD
Avatar Trailer in HD
Trailer Park | MySpace Video
From MySpace, here’s the trailer for James Cameron’s Avatar in 3-D. For those trying to remain completely unspoiled, it does seem to give up quite a bit of the plot. But then, I don’t know if that’s likely to keep people away. Feel free to share your thoughts on the trailer in the comments!
Monday movie quote challenge #51
“We didn’t exactly believe your story, Miss O’Shaughnessy. We believed your 200 dollars. I mean, you paid us more than if you had been telling us the truth, and enough more to make it all right.”
Identify who said the above quote in what film in the comments!
This Is It appears to be a hit with Jackson fans
U.S. singer Lionel Richie arrives at Japan premiere of "Michael Jackson's This Is It" in Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009. (AP)
Movie-ticket site Fandango reports that “Michael Jackson’s This Is It,” hitting theaters last night, represents 77% of Fandango’s daily ticket sales. Fans ranking the film on Fandango are ranking the film a “must go.”
Here’s more information from Fandango on “This Is It.”
* 45% say they plan to see the movie in the theater more than once.
* 48% claim that since Michael Jackson’s untimely passing they are more interested in his past works.
* 76% had never seen Michael Jackson perform live in concert.
* 84% plan to buy the DVD when it comes out; 77% will buy the soundtrack album.
- Matt Price
Monday movie quote challenge #50
“Screws fall out all the time, the world is an imperfect place.”
Identify who said the above quote in what film in the comments!
Who is your favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle?
With today’s announcement of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles being purchased by Nickelodeon, let’s find out who the favorite Turtle of Nerdage readers is.
Nickelodeon acquires Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, created in the 1980s by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman, have been bought by Nickelodeon for approximately $60 million. Nickelodeon plans to develop a new CG animated series with the Turtles, and a new feature film is in the works with Paramount.
Nickelodeon is part of MTV Networks, which is a division of Viacom Inc. The rights to the Turtles had been owned by The Mirage Group and 4Kids Entertainment, Inc.
Nick now owns global intellectual property rights to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. While the release doesn’t specifically indicate comics, global intellectual property rights would tend to include comic books.
The new animated series is expected to debut in 2012, as is the new motion picture. Merchandising rights go along with this deal, and Nickelodeon announced it planned to continue to work with longtime Turtles license-holder Playmates Toys.
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shares a comedic sensibility with the Nickelodeon DNA, with added layers of action and fantasy that have kept this property an evergreen favorite with multiple generations of audiences,” said Cyma Zarghami, President, Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group, in a news release. “We are extremely happy to have the opportunity to be able to focus on this property and creatively re-introduce it to a new generation of kids.”
Paramount noted the Turtles could provide the studio a superhero franchise.
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a property that maintains a very passionate global fan base, is rich with opportunity for a tentpole movie, and is exactly the right property for us to work together with Nickelodeon,” said Adam Goodman, President, Paramount Pictures.
Is this insurance for Paramount to grab some of the superhero audience after its deal with Marvel expires? Maybe. If so, $60 million could be seen as a bargain in a few years.
UPDATE: Peter Laird explains on his blog that while he hadn’t been actively seeking a buyer for the Turtles, this opportunity came along, and “the stars lined up.”
“I know that many fans are concerned with how the TMNT will be treated now that they have a new owner,” Laird writes. “I am also concerned, but I have faith that the new owner will treat the property with due respect and make the most of it. And the simple fact is — I didn’t have it in me any more, and the property DESERVED a new owner. Now it has one, with powerful roots in the entertainment business. I am actually quite excited to see where they take TMNT.”
- Matt Price
Michael Jackson’s This Is It tops Dreamgirls
Michael Jackson fans arrive to buy tickets for the " Michael Jackson's This Is It" film, at L.A. Live in Los Angeles, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009. Tickets for the advance screening will go on sale Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009. The film was produced from hundreds of hours of backstage footage of rehearsals last June. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
“Michael Jackson’s This Is It,” which releases on Oct. 28, has moved past “Dreamgirls” in MovieTickets.com’s list of the Top-25 Advance Ticket Sellers of All-Time. “This Is It” now ranks No. 22.
According to Movietickets.com, as of 3:30 PM EST “Michael Jackson’s This Is It” leads all ticket sales at MovieTickets.com. The behind-the-scenes concert film accounts for 33 percent of all tickets sold.
Tickets remain available for the film’s limited, two-week run.
- Matt Price
Planet 51 film is orbiting the Earth
To celebrate the Solar System Premiere of Columbia Pictures’ new animated comedy Planet 51, which will be released in theaters on Earth November 20, 2009, the film (on disc) is currently orbiting the planet on the International Space Station.
What better way to celebrate a space movie than … sending a movie into space?
A copy of Columbia Pictures’ animated comedy “Planet 51,” which comes to theaters Nov. 20, is currently orbiting the Earth on the International Space Station, according to a release. The film was launched on the Space Shuttle Discovery on August 28, 2009. A few days later, astronauts transferred the film to the space station.
The film is now cruising high above Earth at 17,500 miles per hour and orbiting the planet every 90 minutes. As the release notes, 90 minutes is the running time of the film, so the space-bound copy of the movie will make a full Earth orbit as the movie premieres on the ground.
