Kyle Roberts and Matt Price review X-Men vs Agents of Atlas 2, Haunt 2, Black Widow: Deadly Origin 1, Stumptown 1.

The direct-to-DVD “Battlestar Galactica: The Plan” promises to explore the “Battlestar Galactica” series from the Cylon point of view. While it’s interesting in places, ultimately it’s not likely to bring anyone new to the franchise.

In “Battlestar Galactica,” the 50,000 human survivors of an attempted genocide search space for their mythical home planet, Earth. They are pursued by Cylons, the mechanical life forms who attempted to wipe out humanity.

Edward James Olmos, who played Admiral Adama in “Battlestar,” directed “The Plan,” which merges existing footage from the series with new footage, primarily exploring the motivation of Cylon Number One (Dean Stockwell). Two versions of Number One, aka John Cavil, have very different experiences after the attack on the humans, leading them to different conclusions on the effectiveness of their plan.

If you’re hoping for vast revelations about the Cylon plan, you’ll likely be disappointed. There’s not much in the way of insight beyond what viewers got in “Battlestar Galactica” proper, and one character intimates that the plan is, in fact, not a plan.

The destruction of Caprica is shown here in much greater detail than in the original series.

Ultimately, “The Plan” requires too much foreknowledge to be a good entry point yet uses too much recycled material to be of interest to all but serious “Battlestar” watchers.

It’s good but not great, and the four seasons of “Battlestar Galactica” set the bar high.

— Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman

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.”

“Deadly Origin” is written by Paul Cornell, who wrote an acclaimed revamp of “Captain Britain” for Marvel Comics and is known for his work as a writer on the “Doctor Who” television series. The art is by Tom Raney.

“A hidden enemy is killing everyone our heroine, Natalia, has ever been close to: romantic partners, friends, people she was kind to in passing,” Cornell wrote on his blog at Paul Cornell.com. “The first issue has guest appearances by Wolverine, the Winter Soldier and Joe Stalin, flashbacks courtesy of John Paul Leon.”

Several of Black Widow’s earliest appearances, in “Tales of Suspense,” “Amazing Spider-Man” and “Daredevil,” as well as her own solo story in “Amazing Adventures,” are collected in the hardcover “Sting of the Black Widow.”

The Black Widow also pops up in two hardcover collections from Marvel slated to come out before “Iron Man 2.” The first, “Iron Man: Deadly Solutions,” collects the first seven issues of writer Kurt Busiek and artist Sean Chen’s work on the title in 1998.

“I’d assume the decision to reprint it has something to do with the second Iron Man movie coming out, and maybe the way my run has a fair amount in common with the movies — Pepper Potts as a major character, the goatee, the ‘smart’ house — or because they want Iron Man/Black Widow material out at the moment, and there’s not as much as people might think,” Busiek wrote at his Web site, Busiek.com.

Several of Black Widow’s solo appearances will be collected in the premiere hardcover “Black Widow: Web of Intrigue,” slated for a March 2010 release. This collection will include the George Perez-drawn Marvel Fanfare Nos. 10-13 from 1983, as well as Bizarre Adventures No. 25, and the graphic novel “Black Widow: The Coldest War.”

Writer Devin K. Grayson wrote a Marvel Knights miniseries starring the Black Widow in 1999, with a sequel, co-written by Greg Rucka (“Whiteout”) in 2001. In 2006, sci-fi novelist Richard K. Morgan wrote a Black Widow miniseries titled “Black Widow: The Things They Say About Her.”

Speaking at Comic-Con International in San Diego this summer, Johansson played close to the vest with how the Black Widow character would develop in the “Iron Man 2” film.

“We don’t know necessarily whether the character is villainous,” Johansson said. “She does have a dark past, and I think that she is very seductive and distracting and … we’re not sure exactly where she’s coming from and what her intentions are necessarily.”

Though “Iron Man 2” won’t focus exclusively on the Black Widow character, there’s a good chance the character could return in more Marvel films.

“I would love to see the character come back and, as I was saying, kind of reveal more about herself,” Johansson said.

Until then, Marvel fans can discover more about the character through the pages of Marvel’s comic books.

- By Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman

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:

Although Spade is the best-known hardboiled detective, The Maltese Falcon is the only novel in which he 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.

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

It could be the power of nostalgia, but I didn’t find the new pilot for “V” to be as intense or as creepy as the original.  ”V” is a new ABC series detailing aliens who come to earth, professing peace, but with a dark secret.   Spoilers ahead as in this review of last night’s episode.

While I like Elizabeth Mitchell, her character seemed pretty clueless about her own son (Logan Huffman), who immediately supports the visitors (largely because he’s attracted to the character played by Laura Vandervoort.)

Morena Baccarin plays Anna, the leader of the Visitors, who addresses the world first via their spaceships, and then later via a very controlled interview with a TV anchor played by Scott Wolf.   Joel Grestch portrays priest Father Jack Landry, who finds his small congregation growing in size once the visitors arrive, though he still doubts their intentions.

As it turns out, the aliens aren’t here for the first time – some of them have been here in disguise for years.  (Though at this time, only a small group are aware of this.)  The infestation of the aliens prior to their arrival was a little too similar to Marvel’s “Secret Invasion” for my taste, though that’s obviously just coincidental.

Slate points out one interpretation reads as pretty hostile towards President Obama.  (The original V was an allegory about the Nazi occupation of Europe.)  In the new “V,” aliens promising hope and universal health care are scaly aliens with secret plans.  Meanwhile, the only people who know the truth are gun-toting conspiracy theorists.

Troy Patterson writes at Slate:

Indeed, if the show is to have the symbolic import that we expect from a science-fiction story, this is the only possible way to read V as a coherent text. The only problem with this analysis lies in its generous presupposition that the text is, in fact, coherent.

And that’s a fair point: the old “V” showcased a thoughtful allegory in the guise of a high-action sci-fi miniseries.  The new show showcases better special effects and higher production values, but I’m not convinced there’s even intended to be an allegory behind it.

ABC is airing the first four episodes this fall, then holding the remainder for spring. (Perhaps somehow like the original “V” aired as a miniseries and was followed up with a season.)   I’m intrigued enough to watch a few, but so far this “V” doesn’t seem to improve appreciably on the original.

- Matt Price

I had missed this NBC PSA about personal responsibility. I found it today via Olivia Munn’s site. It’s a fun little video with a good message, written and directed by Milo Ventimiglia, who stars on “Heroes” and has his own comic book, “Berserker,” from Top Cow.  Masi Oka stars as a guy who just can’t catch a break, and Olivia Munn also appears.  Check it out.

- Matt Price

According to MTV’s Splash Page blog, Tulsa author S.E. Hinton will bring several projects to comic books, from Bluewater Productions.

The first project will adapt Hinton’s young adult novel “Taming of the Star Runner.”  That series is planned for early 2010.

According to the Splash Page, Hinton’s children’s book “The Puppy Sister” is set to be adapted, and Hinton

S.E. Hinton

plans to create an entirely new title for Bluewater.  Don Smith, CW Cooke, Guilherme Rafid and Yasir Fajardo will collaborate on Hinton’s projects, according to the blog.

“I grew up reading S.E. Hinton’s books, so to bring these to a graphic novel format is a dream come true for me,” said Bluewater publisher Darren G. Davis at MTV Splash Page. “The best part is getting to work with Hinton one on one. We have talked about the new title, which is on the lines of her iconic work ‘The Outsiders.’”

Hinton is one of Oklahoma’s best-known authors. It’ll be interesting to see the local response to comics based on her work.

- Matt Price

Elizabeth Mitchell (”Lost”) headlines “V,” a remake of the 1980s series about an alien occupation. Mitchell plays FBI Counter Terrorist Agent Erica Evans. The rest of the cast, as reported by NewsOK’s TV blog, includes Logan Huffman as Tyler; Scott Wolf as Chad Decker; Morena Baccarin as Anna; Joel Gretsch as Father Jack; Morris Chestnut as Ryan Nichols; Lourdes Benedicto as Valerie; Laura Vandervoort (”Smallville”) as Lisa.  The show airs at 7 p.m. Tuesdays on ABC.

With Mitchell and Vandervoort, the show has some Nerdage-friendly actresses on board.    Last year, I talked to the show’s original creator, Kenneth Johnson, about his book continuing the series.  The new ABC series is a reboot rather than a continuation, however.   You can check out a trailer here in advance of watching tonight’s show.

- Matt Price

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!

Thanks to Ryan, Wyatt and Cody as well as the attendees at Ryan’s Halloween party for getting in on the fun and sending me some Halloween costume pictures!

Identify who said the above quote in what film in the comments!

Happy Halloween, Nerdage readers!  Hope you enjoy the spooky holiday.

“Consumers in many locales have a choice of comic shops in which to buy their comics so we wanted to offer fans the same variety of digital storefronts to be able to purchase and consume Marvel comics,” said Ira Rubenstein, Executive Vice President, Marvel Digital Media, in a release. “It’s all about giving the consumer the best experience possible and the widest possible choice.”

Selected Marvel Comics will also be available for the PSP, and a selection is available online at Marvel’s Digital Comics Unlimited.  Of course, the chief distribution of Marvel Comics remains in print, in direct-market comic-book stores.

- Matt Price

The 1988 “Superman” animated series was the first version of the character to come to television since comic-book writer/artist John Byrne’s noted revamp of the character in the 1986 “Man of Steel” miniseries. In the new “Superman” comic-book line, Byrne and writer Marv Wolfman introduced the idea of Lex Luthor as a corrupt industrialist instead of mad scientist. That characterization is followed up here, as Wolfman was the animated series’ head story editor.

Even though the Christopher Reeve film series was over by the time this series aired, after the dismal failure of 1987’s “Superman IV,” the 1988 animated series still paid homage to those films. Luthor’s assistant, Jessica Morganberry, is a version of the film’s Miss Tessmacher, and Luthor, though an industrialist, speaks in a manner consistent with Gene Hackman’s Luthor from the films. Furthermore, the theme song for the Ruby-Spears “Superman” uses a bit of the famous John Williams “Superman” score. The series calls back to Superman’s past in another way, too: The opening narration was the same as the 1950s “Adventures of Superman” television show.

Superman/Clark Kent was voiced by Tulsa-born Beau Weaver, who later voiced Mr. Fantastic in the 1990s “Fantastic Four” animated series.

Each episode of “Superman” featured an 18-minute Superman adventure followed by a 4-minute segment called “Superman’s Family Album,” which touched on his days as a youngster in Smallville.

While “Superman,” produced by Ruby-Spears, only lasted one season, it provided an intermediate step between the silliness of the “Super Friends” of the 1970s and the more modern take of the 1990s series.

— Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman

Vampires are as hot as ever in popular fiction, with movies such as “Twilight” and shows such as “The Vampire Diaries.” Vampires have been big in comics, too, and none more so than Dracula.

While the word “vampire” dates from the 1700s, the 1897 novel “Dracula” by Bram Stoker popularized the vampire. The book’s main character could have been partly based on former Transylvanian governor Vlad the Impaler.

IDW Publishing has created a new version of Stoker’s book (now in public domain) illustrated by Eisner-winning artist Ben Templesmith. Templesmith, who with Steve Niles created “30 Days of Night,” provides full-color illustrations for all 27 chapters of the novel.

Multiple movies have made Dracula the world’s most famous vampire. The 1931 film starring Bela Lugosi is a horror classic selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. Longtime “Dracula” fan Mike Mignola (“Hellboy”) brought his take on Dracula to Topps Comics in the 1990s, with an adaptation of “Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” the film by Francis Ford Coppola. Mignola also was an illustrator for the film.

The most famous adaptation of Dracula in comics is the long-running “The Tomb of Dracula” series. Gene Colan was the artist for the series’ entire run, beginning in 1972. Marv Wolfman took over as writer with issue No. 7 and stayed on through the series’ conclusion in 1979.

This series introduced Blade the vampire hunter and is one of the longest-running horror series in Marvel Comics’ history. The entire run of “Tomb of Dracula” as well as the stories from “Dracula Lives” and the black-and-white “Tomb of Dracula” magazine have been reprinted by Marvel as “The Essential Tomb of Dracula” Vols. 1-4.

DC Comics also has its version of Dracula, which faced off against Batman in the story “Batman/Dracula: Red Rain,” by Doug Moench and Kelley Jones. “Red Rain” along with the two sequels, “Batman: Bloodstorm” and “Batman: Crimson Mist,” are collected in the “Batman: Vampire” trade paperback.

In “Red Rain,” Dracula comes to Gotham City. When Batman tries to stop him, he himself is bitten, becoming a vampire.

The silliest version of a comic-book Dracula came from Dell Comics in the 1960s. In 1962, Dell adapted the Lugosi feature into a comic book, but four years later, perhaps inspired by the “Batman” TV show, Dell made Dracula into a superhero.

This Dracula was a descendant of the original Dracula, who conducts medical experiments on bats, according to Don Markstein’s “Toonopedia.” When he accidentally ingests his own chemical, he gains the power of turning himself into a bat and vows to fight crime and injustice.

Columnist Chris Sims at comicsalliance.com describes the ridiculousness of the series.

“Once in America, he sets up a ‘Dracula Cave,’ adopts the secret identity of — wait for it — Al U. Card, dedicates himself to battling the rampant scourge of zeppelin crime (which actually does sound awesome, but trust us, it’s not) and even manages to rustle up a sidekick, Fleeta, whose name is short for ‘fleidermaus,’” Sims writes. “Unsurprisingly, it lasted for only three issues before it was given the ax, though his series went for another three issues of reprints that gave the world a second chance at his mind-numbing adventures. They probably shouldn’t have bothered.”

- By Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman

Kyle Roberts and Matt Price discuss some of the best bets for Halloween, including Tomb of Dracula, Batman: The Long Halloween, and Angel: Frankenstein.

Want to have a Batman Halloween? NewsOK’s Nick Tankersley will tell you how.   Among his tips: Check out the Jeph Loeb-Tim Sale classic “Batman: The Long Halloween,” and sit down with the Tim Burton Batman films.   Check out the full article here.

- Matt Price

Marvel Comics has provided a preview of “Mighty Avengers” 31, which features The Mighty Avengers, Young Avengers, New Avengers and more versus The Unspoken.   From Marvel’s news release:

Red hot writers Dan Slott and Christos N. Gage, along with fan-favorite artist Sean Chen, present the epic conclusion of the Avengers battle against the ancient enemy of the Inhumans! Hank Pym, newly named the Scientist Supreme, returns to Earth, but is his genius enough to help his Avengers allies turn the tide, after a lethal toxin turns many of the Avengers into a gang of mindless barbarians?

The issue goes on sale on Nov. 18.

Thanks to CJ for pointing out this College Humor video that explores how exactly Batman manages to vanish like that.

- Matt Price

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

World’s Finest #1, kicking off a miniseries teaming Superman and Batman family characters, is in stores today, written by Tulsa native Sterling Gates.

At DC Comics’ official “Source” blog, Gates is called a “writer to watch.”

“Gates has made a name for himself for his tight plotting and knack for strong and precise characterization,” blogger Alex Segura writes.

Meanwhile, at Newsarama, Vaneta Rogers has an extended Q&A with Gates about the series.

“The Batman universe is so full of change right now. So is the Superman universe,” Gates tells Newsarama. “Bruce Wayne is dead and Superman has left the planet Earth to be with his own people on New Krypton. The world is suddenly without its two greatest heroes. To me, that makes it a very exciting time for the DC Universe. You’re seeing new and different characters come to the forefront and stepping up to fill the void left with Superman and Batman gone.”

Gates talked to Nerdage back in September about the project:

“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” 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!”

- Matt Price

The direct-to-DVD “Battlestar Galactica: The Plan” comes to DVD and Blu-ray today, exploring the events of the series from the Cylons’ point-of-view.

It’s also a little racier than the cable series, as there are no particular restrictions on the direct-to-DVD release. (It’s still no racier than an R-rated film, however.)

Tying into the film’s release, UGO is offering fans a chance to win “Dinner with the Admiral.”  The winner will receive a trip for two to Los Angeles for dinner with Edward James Olmos.

At the site’s Battlestar Contest, fans can fill  out a “Viper Pilot Application” form consisting of 10 questions.  According to a news release, entries will be judged on the following criteria: 1) Knowledge of Battlestar Galactica TV series as displayed in the answers; 2) Creativity in formulation of answers; and 3) Clarity of thought in presentation of answers.

- Matt Price

The five finalists — from Los Angeles, New York, New Hampshire and Australia — will each receive $2,000 to expand their motion comic into a full-length story. These five, plus one additional “Wildcard” finalist, will compete for the grand prize of $10,000 and the opportunity to showcase their work across Marvel’s digital network, according to the release.

The winner will be announced Nov. 16, after a week of voting at aniboom.com.

Click past the cut to see the five finalists’ videos.

- Matt Price

Watch more cool animation and creative cartoons at Aniboom

Watch more cool animation and creative cartoons at Aniboom

Watch more cool animation and creative cartoons at Aniboom

Watch more cool animation and creative cartoons at Aniboom

Watch more cool animation and creative cartoons at Aniboom

Identify who said the above quote in what film in the comments!

Neil Patrick Harris guest-stars as villain “The Music Meister” in tonight’s episode of “Batman: The Brave and the Bold.”   “Mayhem of the Music Meister” guest-stars Neil Patrick Harris as the Music Meister, whose power makes those around him break into song and do his bidding.

“Brave and Bold” is always a fun half-hour, and “Meister” is no exception. While the plot’s pretty thin, it’s a lot of fun to see the proceeding turn into a musical.  Black Canary, voiced by Grey DeLisle, is the show-stopper, singing about her unrequited love for Batman, but NPH gets to show off quite a bit as well.  “He Drives Us Bats” is a take on Batman from the villain point of view that’s quite catchy, besides.

The soundtrack goes on sale Saturday on iTunes.

- Matt Price

Director Stephan Elliott (“The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”) adapts the early Noel Coward play “Easy Virtue” into a motion picture starring Jessica Biel, Colin Firth and Kristin Scott Thomas.

Biel stars as Larita, a breezy American race car driver who marries into an upper-crust British family in the 1920s. Mrs. Whittaker (Thomas) is opposed to the marriage, having intended her son John (Ben Barnes) to marry Sara Hurst (Charlotte Riley), whose father owns the neighboring farm. Mr. Whittaker (Firth) responds well to Larita, but he’s barely present in his own life — he’s never recovered from his days in the first World War.

Biel is pretty far from her “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry” and “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” remake days. If casting Biel seems out of place with British mainstays Firth (“Bridget Jones’ Diary”) and Thomas (“Gosford Park”), it only highlights, in a meta-textual way, Larita’s fish-out-of-water presence with the Whittakers.

Differing from the stage play, “Easy Virtue” has moments of physical comedy. It shuttles between comedy and drama but doesn’t completely coalesce as either. Elliott’s decision to insert modern music doesn’t work very well. But it’s charming enough, especially for fans of Coward’s witty repartee:

“Is it true you’ve had as many lovers as they say?” Mrs. Whittaker asks Larita.

“Of course it’s not true, Mrs. Whittaker,” Larita responds. “Hardly any of them actually loved me.”

— Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman

Kristin Chenoweth, left, was chosen as a celebrity look-alike for Sally Brown, right.

Is your child a ringer for Linus, with or without security blanket? If your son or daughter has the look of a “Peanuts” comic strip character, you can submit photos at www.peanutsphotocontest.com.

Entries can be submitted through Nov. 3, and the grand prize is an all-expense-paid trip for four to Cedar Fair amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio, home of Planet Snoopy.

Jill Schulz, daughter of “Peanuts” creator Charles Schulz, will join judge Jo Frost (“Supernanny”) and two Oklahomans — Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood — in selecting finalists. The public vote begins Nov. 11.

Brooks and Yearwood are fans of the “Peanuts” characters, Jill Schulz said.

“They are also great role models for parents today and advocates for children in general,” Schulz said in an e-mail interview. “And, they know the work involved in posing for the camera — not to mention getting your kids to do it!”

Schulz says that, over the years, she’s heard from many fans about “Peanuts” look-alikes.

“Practically every fan we’ve ever met has told us that they have a particular Peanuts character they relate to — or that a family member, friend or child reminds them of a certain ‘Peanuts’ character,” Jill Schulz said. “With the 60th anniversary coming up, this seemed like the perfect time to give people the chance to share their stories — and their pictures!

“Also, our team met Simon Pegg at Comic-Con a year ago, and he said that people are always telling him he looks like Charlie Brown. That inspired us to follow up with a gallery of celebrity look-alikes.”

The celebrity look-alikes include Oklahoma’s Kristin Chenoweth, who is matched with Sally, Charlie Brown’s younger sisters. Chenoweth even played Sally in “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” on Broadway.

“Whether in costume for ‘You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown’ or not, Kristin really captures the essence of Sally’s personality,” Jill Schulz said. “Their physical resemblance is remarkable, of course. Both are petite perky blondes who look great in pink — with spunky attitudes to match, too!”

Jill Schulz is a former professional ice skater, dancer and actress and now oversees Woodstock Ice Productions and also directs and choreographs the All Wheels Xtreme sports entertainment shows. She lives in Santa Barbara, Calif., with her husband, Aaron, and children, Kylie, 11, and Tyler, 7.

“I know my dad would have loved this project,” Jill Schulz said. “Growing up, I would always hear fans ask him, ‘Which character are you most like?’ Occasionally, he would say ‘Charlie Brown,’ but more often than not, he would simply say, ‘Read the strip, and you will know me.’ Personally, I believe there was a little bit of each character in him — and I know he would have enjoyed seeing how other people had fun with it all!”

- By Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman ]]> http://blog.newsok.com/nerdage/2009/10/23/contest-to-reward-peanuts-look-alikes/feed/ 0 http://blog.newsok.com/nerdage/2009/10/23/qa-with-jill-schulz-about-peanuts-60th-anniversary-and-more/ http://blog.newsok.com/nerdage/2009/10/23/qa-with-jill-schulz-about-peanuts-60th-anniversary-and-more/#comments Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:02:33 +0000 nerdblog http://blog.newsok.com/nerdage/?p=5558

Jill Schulz

Jill Schulz, daughter of Charles Schulz, talked to The Oklahoman about the Peanuts comic strip and the plans for the 60th anniversary.

Matt Price: What do you think accounts for the enduring popularity of the Charlie Brown characters?

Jill Schulz: My Dad was a great observer of people throughout his entire life and I know he had great empathy for children and how cruel they can be to each other on the playgrounds and neighborhoods. I know my Dad had a great understanding and very clear memories of what it is like learning to fit in and negotiate social interaction even as a child, which is something we all go through whether we were a very shy child or the leader of the group. In the comic strip we are always seeing the challenges between the characters, their personalities ,and situations which are so familiar to us all, it gives us a chance to relate and say “oh, yeah, my sister is crabby” or “yes, I feel alone at lunch time,” … and of course who doesn’t experience the Little Red Haired girl or some other kind of rejection in their lifetime. These are issues that have been and will always be there for everyone ,which I believe is why Peanuts has become such a timeless strip for all of our generations.

MP:  What kind of events are planned for the 60th anniversary?

JS: Because my Dad created over 18,000 comic strips touching on so many themes and covering every season of the year—from Charlie Brown’s lovelorn Valentine’s Day to Snoopy as the Easter Beagle, from baseball season to Peppermint Patty’s dread at the beginning of the school year, from Linus and the Great Pumpkin right through Christmas and Charlie Brown’s pathetic little tree—we decided to celebrate for a full year.  We’ve kicked things off with the look-a-like contest this fall.  We’re also celebrating at various baseball stadiums around the country.  Earlier this month, we celebrated with The Mets at Citifield.  Next spring, we have stadium events planned with the Twins, the Giants and the Angels.  In November, the Gaylord Opryland Resort will unveil ICE! A Charlie Brown Christmas, which is a colorful, interactive ice sculpture experience.  My Dad’s beloved story will be told with two million pounds of ice!

Also in November, we’re introducing Celebrating Peanuts: 60 Years, a commemorative coffee table book from Andrews McMeel Publishing, and for the holidays, there will be 60 Years of Snoopy Plush at CVS, featuring five different Snoopys looking just as he did in each of the five decades my Dad drew him. But this is just the beginning…there are a host of other events and collectibles in the works for 2010; stay tuned for details!

MP:  Garth Brooks, an Oklahoman who is a judge for the contest, announced recently he’s coming out of retirement. How have Brooks and his wife Trisha Yearwood been involved with the photo contest? Are they longtime fans of the characters?

JS: Yes, they are Peanuts fans!  They are also great role models for parents today and advocates for children in general.  And, they know the work involved in posing for the camera—not to mention getting your kids to do it!   And It was great to hear that Garth was going to be performing again!

Broadcasting & Cable announces that News Corp. Deputy Chairman Chase Carey says “Hulu … needs to evolve to have a meaningful subscription model as part of its business.”  And Carey assumes that will happen by at least 2010.

Paying for a subscription to Hulu when you already pay for a cable subscription seems like double-dipping.  And if you’re using Hulu without cable, it’s possibly because you don’t want to spend a ton of money on your television viewing.

Hulu provided a way to get caught up on shows that you might be behind on in an easy, cleanly formatted way.  And I never had a problem watching a few ads to do that.  I’m not one who wants to pirate anything — I like obeying the law — so going to get illegal torrents just isn’t going to do it for me.  On the whole, if Hulu becomes a pay site, and the cost isn’t relatively negligible, my response will be to simply watch less TV.

Entertainment Weekly already has 200-plus comments on the story, with most promising to stop using Hulu if it becomes a pay site.

- Matt Price

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.