SYNDER DEBUTS FIVE WATCHMEN CHARACTERS - NEWSARAMA

Holy @#%@#!!  This movie might get done after all!!

SYNDER DEBUTS FIVE WATCHMEN CHARACTERS On his Watchmen Production Blog, Director Zack Snyder has posted five “first look” images of the film’s main cast, writing: “Here we are, officially one year and counting until the release of Watchmen on 03.06.09. Being a fan that follows production blogs, I know that the time a film is in post can often seem like an eternity with interesting bits of information few and far between. So to help pass the time, here is your first look at some of the Watchmen characters.”

 

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WONDERCON ‘08: THE LUCASFILM PANEL

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by Peter Svensson
The premiere of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars theatrical trailer was the endcap to Lucasfilm’s first panel of the convention season. Head of Fan Relations for Lucasfilms, Steve Sansweet, introduced the company’s newest plans and upcoming releases. After first reminding fans that they’ve been proven wrong about there not being any new Star Wars films twice before, he affirmed the theatrical release of a Star Wars animated feature, Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Set between Episodes II and III, the feature and upcoming weekly TV series will flesh out the period previously explored by the traditionally animated cartoon shorts.
A short video about the history of organized Star Wars fandom at conventions followed. The clip started with San Diego Comic Con in 1977 and continued through the series of Star Wars: Celebration conventions that have become an annual event for fans, ending with the announcement of Star Wars: Celebration Japan. The convention will occur on July 19th through 21st in a convention center outside of Tokyo. More information will be announced on the Star Wars website. http://www.starwars.com
The upcoming video game, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed was the next topic of conversation, as game producer Brett Rector entered the stage. After the trailer for the game was played, Rector explained the basic plot. The Force Unleashed casts the player as Darth Vader’s apprentice in the time period between Episodes III and IV, charged with exterminating the Jedi and not leaving any witnesses. He also confirmed that the player really does get to use the force to pull a Star Destroyer out of the sky, as portrayed in the trailer. Responding to comments from Sansweet about the extreme depiction of force powers in the game as opposed to the films, he explained that the Clone Wars cartoon by Genndy Tartakovsky was his main inspiration. “It’s not breaking continuity, but a new way of looking at force powers.” said Rector.
George Lucas was involved to some extent with the creation of the videogame, giving guidelines for what they needed to include such as comedy and a love interest. According to Rector, the game is at the Alpha stage, having been completed and free of all major bugs. It’s set for release summer 2008. The game was delayed due to the need to create new technologies for the new generation videogame systems that the game will be released for. The Wii version will use the Wii Remote for the lightsaber, and the Nunchuck accessory for the other Force powers.
Familiar faces from the films and the expanded universe are set to appear. Confirming rumors stated in the recent Vanity Fair article, Rector explained that players will be able to play Darth Vader in the first level of the game. Vader is said to play like people would expect, not running but walking briskly. Gameplay footage from the XBOX 360 version was shown, which had the player kill a large number of stormtroopers, then face a Jedi Master on the planet Raxus Prime.
On April 29th, the fourth and final volume of the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles comes out on DVD. A short trailer was played, after which it was announced that there would be ten DVDs with seven full length episodes and thirty hours of bonus documentaries.
Indiana Jones returns to movie theaters on May 22 with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The film’s trailer was shown, followed by a trailer for Lego Indiana Jones: The Video Game.
A short video from Robot Chicken creators Seth Green and Matthew Senreich was next, interspersing clips from their recent Star Wars themed special on Adult Swim with their answering questions from fans and apologizing for not attending the con. After explaining that they named the show from a Chinese take-out menu as the reasoning for why they chose Robot Chicken instead of Droid Chicken, and commenting on how George Lucas smells good, they said that they probably will include a new Star Wars parody of some sort in their upcoming fourth season.
Then, a short video about the upcoming Star Wars: Clone Wars animated film and series, set to air on Cartoon Network and TNT as a weekly series after a premiere movie shows in theaters August 15th, aired, featuring supervising director Dave Filoni, who explained that fans have been interested in the Clone Wars since their first mention in Star Wars back in 1977. The series is set to further explore the character of Anakin Skywalker, his relationship with mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi, and introduce new character Ashoka Tano, Anakin’s padawan apprentice. The young girl Jedi Knight will be introduced in the animated feature.
Producer of the upcoming Star Wars animated feature film and TV series Catherine Winder with Dave Filoni then took the stage, flanked by stormtroopers. Claiming the union cost was exorbitant, the stormtroopers were then ordered to leave by Sansweet. They discussed the series as being what George Lucas wanted to do now that he wasn’t constricted by the need to complete the six film series. Each thirty minute episode will tell a complete story, that will over time form a larger story arc. While the panelists couldn’t discuss the plot for the film, they did talk about the production’s desire to be faithful the original designs for the 1977 film, as well as the work of every designer who followed. George Lucas, who was originally planning to not be very involved with the production meets with the team every week, approving or disapproving of their work as he sees fit. “George will say, ‘Guys, what are you doing? That’s not Star Wars!’ or ‘That’s Star Wars.” said Filoni.
The panel ended with the trailer for the upcoming Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie.

WONDERCON ‘08: THE LUCASFILM PANEL - NEWSARAMA

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WONDERCON ‘08: WARNER’s 10,000 B.C./GET SMART PANEL

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Report by Blake Morse
Saturday afternoon a Q&A panel was held for two upcoming Warner Brother’s films, 10,000 B.C. and Get Smart. The panel started with an introduction from Director of Programming for WonderCon, Eddie Ibrahim.

Ibrahim explained how delighted WonderCon was to be able to get such major coverage from Hollywood on the weekend of the Oscars. He then went on to quickly introduce Jeff Wattley. Wattley was only out momentarily to show a trailer for 10,000 B.C. and then introduce the film’s director Roland Emmerich (Stargate, Independence Day).

Emmerich thanked the crowd for coming and explained how pleased he was to be at WonderCon, telling the audience, ”You are the kind of guys who watch my movies.”

The audience was than treated to a special, never-before-seen trailer for 10,000 B.C. that featured a Wooly Mammoth hunt and a few brief glimpses of what appeared to be a dinosaur. The trailer also revealed some new information on the plot of the film which follows one primitive man, played by Steven Strait, whose life is changed when his village is attacked by slave traders who kidnap his love-interest, played by Camilla Belle. She is taken to what appears to be Egypt and the epic journey of our hero’s journey begins.

After the trailer Emmerich invited the stars Belle and Strait to join him on stage for a question and answer session.
Emmerich was first asked how difficult this movie was to film. He said it was the hardest movie he ever made. Since it was shot in both New Zealand and Africa balancing the complexities of shooting on two continents was a hardship.

When asked of his influences for the film he remarked that he had watched a documentary on the history channel about primitive man and a book entitled, Fingerprints of God, which is book on the theory of lost civilizations. He also stated he was big fan of The Quest for Fire and has always been inspired by ancient Egypt. He also stated, “My Mother always said I had a vivid imagination.”
One fan noted how similar Emmerich’s world was to that of Conan the Barbarian’s. Emmerich admitted to being a big fan of the Conan world and said his world had a lot to do with Conan’s in a weird way, since no one knows what happened in prehistory. He felt it gave him chance to be creative in the same way.

Emmerich also responded to rumors that his next film was indeed going to be 2012. He simply said that it was, “true” and he could discuss nothing about it.
The actors discussed what type of preparation work was done before filming. Strait said he spent time getting comfortable with the dialect which was a mix of English and Arabic as well as extensive physical training for the action scenes of the film. The actor did most of his own stunts for the film but was not too worried or afraid of which he accredited to having a great, well organized team, saying, ”I got nothing more than some cuts and bruises.”

Belle said that she prepared for the film by “Trying to simplify mannerisms” such as the way she walked and used facial expressions. She also said that the make-up and shooting on location was a great way for her to get into character.
Next they were questioned as to the difficulty of working with CGI. Both described it as awkward at first. Belle said, “You always feel stupid with stuntmen in jumpsuits running around trying to scare you.”
Finally the entire panel was asked who their favorite super heroes were, since this was, after all, a comic book convention.
Emmerich replied, ”Batman. He has no super powers”

Strait said he loved the Punisher when he was growing up. And Belle stated she liked Batman for the same reasons Roland did.
Next the audience was treated to a surprise sneak peek at the upcoming animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars film, which comes out August 15th.
The film continues the story of what happened in between episodes 2 and 3 during clone wars. It will also leads into a new animated series which, “will be unlike anything you’ve seen before” according to the director.
It was a brief trailer and quickly the panel was back on track to the next topic, the upcoming film Get Smart.

Get Smart is based off the TV series from the late 60s/early 70s of the same name. It is directed by Peter Segal (Tommy Boy, Naked Gun 33 1/3) and stars Steve Carell (The Office, 40-Year-Old Virgin) as lead character, Maxwell Smart. The film also stars Anne Hathaway (Princess Diaries, Brokeback Mountain) as Agent 99, Max’s partner.
The audience was shown an exclusive trailer that was put together just days before the event. It was full of slap-stick humor and included some of the trademark catch phrases from the original TV series such as, ”Missed it by that much”

You could tell Segal was a big fan of the original calling it, ”one of greatest shows of all time” and said he was really trying to embrace its spirit. He also said that having a great cast to work with helped a lot in trying to capture essence of the original while adding the sensibilities of a modern generation.
Most of the questions were directed to Steve Carell or were about working with him. Hathaway and Segal both said they loved working with Steve.
Segal remarked that it was the most fun he’d had making a film and that sometimes him and Carell even hung out in real life.

Hathaway called Carell,” one of the great comedic masters of our time.” And, “Just a nice person.” She also said she was nervous about the amount of improvisation that would be involved working with him.
Steve Carell in turn described Hathaway as, “In person funny, kind and goofy, but once camera rolls her demure and sophistication brought another side that was riveting.”
Carell was then asked questions about his hit show, The Office. He said a recent experience serving on jury duty had inspired him to perhaps write an episode in which his character went through the same experience. He also told everyone that they start shooting in two weeks, now that the writer’s strike is over.

When asked why he had originally gone into improv Carell said, ”I didn’t want to learn lines”, which drew a laugh from the audience.
When asked if he would be taking on anything different from his comedic roles Carell said he said, “As long as I get paid, I’m fine.”
Carell was then asked if he tried to emulate the voice of the original Maxwell Smart, Don Adams or use his own voice. The actor said he tried to use his own voice but found it difficult to deliver catch phrases without reverting to the classic Don Adams.

The final question went to Segal who was asked about how trying to make a Shazam movie was going. He stated that there had been delays due to the writer’s strike and that they were trying to get a first draft for the script as we speak. He also stated that as previously announced they were still in talks to get The Rock, who has a supporting role in Get Smart, to play Black Adam.

WONDERCON ‘08: WARNER’s 10,000 B.C./GET SMART PANEL - NEWSARAMA

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STAR TREK RELEASE MOVED TO MAY, 2009

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According to Paramount, Star Trek, the newest film which is to be a re-imagining/restart of the franchise by J.J. Abrams has seen its opening date move by over five months.
The film was originally supposed to open this Christmas Day (December 25th), but is now slated to open on May 8, 2009.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Paramount is making several changes in its upcoming film slate as the studio reviews its movie plans post writers’ strike. As THR reports:
”Star Trek” arguably was the biggest film moved, with the intended Christmas Day release now set for the first prime date in the following summer boxoffice season: May 8, 2009. But “Trek” appears something of an exception in the mix of itinerant pics, with its shift unrelated to script or cast considerations.

“‘Star Trek’ is moving to summer because its has so much boxoffice potential,” Par spokesman Michael Vollman said. “It does not need any script tweaks. They’re two-thirds of the way through shooting, and we would have delivered a great movie at Christmas.”

The studio has now moved The Curious Case of Benjamin Button from a November 26th release to December 19th, most likely to boost its holiday box office. Not that Button (based on an F. Scott Fitzgerald story about a man who lives backwards and is aging in reverse, and growing younger) will pull in the same audience as Trek would have, but it has Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett in it.
Star Trek is now poised a the third of the “summer” movies of 2009 - Wolverine is due to open on May 1st, and Watchmen is slated for a May 6th release.

STAR TREK RELEASE MOVED TO MAY, 2009 - NEWSARAMA

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TOLKIEN ESTATE SUES NEW LINE - NEWSARAMA

TOLKIEN ESTATE SUES NEW LINE

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ALEX VEIGA
AP Business Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) The estate of “Lord of the Rings” creator J.R.R.
Tolkien is suing the film studio that released the trilogy based on his
books, claiming the company failed to pay a cut of gross profits for
the blockbuster films.

The writer’s estate, a British charity dubbed The Tolkien Trust, and
original “Lord of the Rings” publisher HarperCollins filed the
lawsuit against New Line Cinema on Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court.

The lawsuit claims New Line was required to pay 7.5 percent of gross
receipts from the films to Tolkien’s estate and the other plaintiffs. A
call to a spokesman for New Line, a unit of Time Warner Inc., was not
immediately returned.

The films - 2001’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the
Ring,” 2002’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,” and 2003’s
“The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” - have reaped nearly
$6 billion combined worldwide, according to the complaint.

The plaintiffs seek more than $150 million in compensatory damages,
unspecified punitive damages and a court order giving the Tolkien
estate the right to terminate any rights New Line may have to make
films based on other works by the author, including “The Hobbit.”

Such an order would scuttle plans New Line has in the works to make a two-film prequel based on “The Hobbit.”

“Rings” trilogy director Peter Jackson has already signed on to serve
as executive producer on the project, which is tentatively slated to
begin production next year, with releases planned for 2010 and 2011.

“The Tolkien trustees do not file lawsuits lightly, and have tried
unsuccessfully to resolve their claims out of court,” Steven Maier, an
attorney for the Tolkien estate based in Britain, said in a statement.
“New Line has not paid the plaintiffs even one penny of its
contractual share of gross receipts despite the billions of dollars of
gross revenue generated by these wildly successful motion pictures.”

Maier also claims the film studio has blocked the Tolkien estate and
the other plaintiffs from auditing the receipts of the last two films.

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What a bunch of steaming crap.  Typical Fox move if you ask me

FOX SUES WARNER BROS. TO STOP WATCHMEN PRODUCTION - NEWSARAMA

FOX SUES WARNER BROS. TO STOP WATCHMEN PRODUCTION

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According to The Hollywood Reporter, 20th Century Fox filed suit against Warner Bros. last Friday over the rights to the film version of Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. Fox claims that it holds the exclusive copyrights and contract rights to the property, and is seeking an injunction to “restrain (Warner Bros. Pictures) from taking actions that violate Fox’s copyrights and which stand to forever impair Fox’s rights to control the distribution and development of this unique work,” this according to the complaint.

Fox’s claim – it still has a hold of a piece of the Watchmen movie franchise, and hasn’t been paid.

From The Hollywood Reporter:

Fox claims that between 1986 and 1990, it acquired all movie rights to the 12-issue DC Comics series and screenplays by Charles McKeown and Sam Hamm. In 1991, Fox assigned some rights via a quitclaim to Largo International with the understanding that the studio held exclusive rights to distribute the first motion picture based on “Watchmen,” according to the lawsuit.

When Largo dismantled, the rights were transferred to producer Lawrence Gordon. Under a “turnaround agreement” between Fox and Gordon, the producer agreed to pay a buy-out price to Fox if he entered into any agreement with another studio or third party to develop or produce “Watchmen,” among other things.

Some historical notes about the above: Sam Hamm was brought in to the film project after Alan Moore declined to write the screenplay of the comic series, and Hamm’s screenplay reportedly changed major elements in the original story, including the ending. The project then moved to Warner Bros. and had Terry Gilliam and Joel Silver attached (with an altered screenplay) – this was the “Arnold Schwarzenegger as Dr. Manhattan” phase of the project’s development. Funding problems and Gilliam’s belief (shared by many fans as well as Moore) that the story was unfilmable saw the project die at Warner Bros. the first time, with the rights going back to Gordon.

In 1996, Gordon and Warner Bros. entered into an agreement, which saw the property moved between Universal (with David Hayter writing and directing), Revolution Studios and Paramount (with Darren Aronofsky, and then later Paul Greengrass directing Hayter’s script) before landing at Warner Bros. with Zack Snyder directing from a screenplay by Alex Tse.

As THR reports, Fox now claims that neither Gordon nor Warner Bros. has paid the buyout price or “advised the studio of any other conditions required under the agreement, including procedures necessary to acquire the rights to Watchmen from Fox.”

Fox is seeking unspecified damages in the lawsuit.

Warner Bros. describes the film version of Watchmen as:

A complex, multi-layered mystery adventure, Watchmen is set in an alternate 1985 America in which costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society, and the “Doomsday Clock” – which charts the USA’s tension with the Soviet Union – is permanently set at five minutes to midnight. When one of his former colleagues is murdered, the washed up but no less determined masked vigilante Rorschach sets out to uncover a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes. As he reconnects with his former crime-fighting legion – a ragtag group of retired superheroes, only one of whom has true powers – Rorschach glimpses a wide-ranging and disturbing conspiracy with links to their shared past and catastrophic consequences for the future. Their mission is to watch over humanity…but who is watching the watchmen?

The film based on the graphic novel is being directed by Zack Snyder (300) and produced by Lawrence Gordon (Die Hard), Lloyd Levin (United 93) and Deborah Snyder (300), with Herbert W. Gains serving as executive producer.

Playing the film’s core group of “masks,” the masked adventurers at the center of the story, are Malin Akerman (upcoming The Heartbreak Kid) as Laurie Juspeczyk, aka Silk Spectre; Billy Crudup (The Good Shepherd) as Jon Osterman, aka Dr. Manhattan; Matthew Goode (Match Point) as Adrian Veidt, aka Ozymandias; Jackie Earle Haley (Little Children) as Walter Kovacs, aka Rorschach; Jeffrey Dean Morgan (TV’s Grey’s Anatomy) as Edward Blake, aka the Comedian; and Patrick Wilson (Little Children) as Dan Dreiberg, aka Nite Owl.

Watchmen was originally published by DC comics as a 12-comic book series between 1986 and 1987, before subsequently being collected into a trade paperback. It is the only graphic novel to win the prestigious Hugo Award or to be named among Time magazine’s “100 Best English Language Novels from 1923 to the Present.”

Watchmen is currently in production in Vancouver, and is slated to open on March 6th, 2009. The film’s website can be found here.

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