Bidi Bidi . . . Buck is Back

Cawley Entertainment Company and Retro Film Studios, LLC announced today that they have secured the rights from the Dille Family Trust to create and distribute a whole new web series based on the  “Generation One” Buck Rogers franchise. Cawley is best known for his massively popular web series New Voyages – Phase 2, a series based on Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek.

Buck Rogers was originally created in 1928 by Philip Francis Nowlan, later, the character became serialized by John F Dille of the Dille Syndication Company. Over their have been various incarnations of the character on television, movies, radio and in books. However, this will be the first live action series of Buck Rogers in nearly 30 years, and the first web based series of the characters.

Executive Producer James Cawley will start by telling Buck’s origin story from the perspective of a 22 year old. He leaves World War One and is propelled into the 25th Century.  “We will be using the technology we have today, to present The Original version of The First Sci-Fi Hero ever!  Previous filmed incarnations never really captured the original Buck from the comic strips, which is what we aim to do” Franchise owner, writer and game designer, Flint Dille will be an Executive Producer and Consultant, and will be instrumental in keeping true to the Buck Rogers mythos. Charles Root & Gary Evans who have been instrumental in the success of “New Voyages” will also be serving as Co-Executive Producers for Retro Film studios.

Cawley says he plans to bring “every attention to detail and historical accuracy of the comics to the series”. “We’ve got our Buck and some other key characters and are in talks with actors who have serious science fiction credentials to join the show” The series has received a boost by adding well known Star Trek designer and illustrator Andrew Probert to the production team.

Cawley has said that the extent of Probert’s involvement still needs to be worked out, but his conceptual design experience will contribute significantly to the Buck Rogers production. “As far as ‘joining the team’… I’m happy to do so and even happier to be a contributor to Buck Rogers,” commented Probert.

Another huge addition to the show is Gil Gerard. Gerard is a veteran television and screen actor, and of course he played the title role of Buck Rogers in the 1979 movie and TV series. The movie premiered in March of 1979 and became one of the highest grossing pictures of that year. Afterwards he then went on to star in the NBC television series, which ran from 1979 through 1981.. He will be a regular on the internet series, and will also serve as Co- Executive Producer. Gerard recently visited Retro Films Studio to pass the torch to the new Buck Rogers, Bobby Quinn Rice. Gerard offered Rice advice and his best wishes during their meeting.

Buck Rogers in the 25^th Century, the Internet series, is currently in pre-production. They are planning to begin airing episodes in 2010, and they have the ambitious goal of producing 20 episodes per year. Recently they have released this teaser trailers for the show.

Buck Rogers is a classic character. Bringing him back and doing a good job of it has to be a large task. I’m hoping that we will get a fun and quality production so that we can enjoy more Buck Rogers well into the future. And I still love the opening to the 1979 Tv series.

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Samurai Jack is Back

Film Junk is reporting that there may be a little movement on the Samurai Jack feature film, based on the popular animated TV series, that has been in development since 2007. The show’s creator, Genndy Tartakovsky will write and direct the movie that will be a continuation of the TV serties for Frederator Films. Tarakovsky was previously on board for the The Power of the Dark Crystal, but with that project being postponed indefinitely, he could put his concentration back on Jack.

According to a post on the Frederator Films blog, J.J. Abrams was revealed to be a huge fan of Samurai Jack, and is now co-producing the movie through his company, Bad Robot Productions. Having a big “name” like Abrams attached to the movie should give a big boost to finally seeing a Samurai Jack movie. In addition to that, Paramount Pictures will distribute the movie, which gives me hope that it will actually end up in theatres and not simply a direct to DVD release.

Samurai Jack was about a samurai warrior in ancient Japan who embarks on a mission to defeat the evil shape-shifting wizard Aku. Before Jack can complete his task, though, Aku catapultes him thousands of years into the future. Jack finds himself in a world where Aku now enjoys complete power over every living thing. So Jack continues on his quest to defeat Aku, while righting the wrongs that have been done by his enemy along the way, and to find a way back to his own time.

Samurai Jack was an incredible cartoon. It had a unigue and dynamic style that set it apart from everything else. The episodes were fun adventures that combined a bit of fantasy with sci-fi. And I don’t think that the show ever had a proper ending. Its surprising that Tartakovsky hasn’t been involved with many projects over the past several years.  Samurai Jack ended its run in 2004, at that time he worked on the Star Wars: The Clone Wars mini episodes that ran on Cartoon Network from 2003-2005, Then he was part of a short lived show called Sunday Pants, and in 2006 he worked on a pilot for a show that never launched Korgoth the Barbarian. Then nothing. I am a big fan of Tartakovsky’s work and would love to see more from him. I don’t car if th movie gets a theatre released, or if it a direct to DVD release, let’s just hope that we finally get a Samurai Jack movie.

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They Are Iron Men

Here’s the first poster for Iron Man 2. Man I can’t wait for May.

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Jessica Alba Becomes An Insider

Jessica Alba is teaming up with her Sin City director Robert Rodriguez to acquire the rights to The Insiders, a series of Belgian graphic novels. Rodriguez will be a producer on the film, and has Mabrouk El Mechri (JVCD) set to direct.

Alba will play Najah Cruz, a Columbian orphan who was raised and trained by a Medellin drug cartel family. Set to become one of the family’s soldiers, Najah disappears during th fallout of a raging family feud. When she resurfaces she is a rebel fighter who is as deadly as she is beautiful, with the weapons expertise and combat skills of a James Bond. The White House blackmails Cruz to take on a secret mission to infiltrate a global criminal organization composed of businessmen and politicians. Through this mission she becomes the bodyguard of the organization’s leader.

The Insiders first debuted in 2002 from Jean-Claude Bartoll and Renaud Garreta. The series of graphic novels encompass eight volumes that have been released in France. Recently, Cinebook has brought the first volume of the series titled Insiders: Chechen Guerrilla, to America.

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Mandarin in Iron Man 3 ?

Somebody’s thinking ahead. Iron Man 2 isn’t even here yet, but already there is some speculation about Iron Man 3. The rumor has started that Shell Head’s arch foe, the Mandarin, will make his entrance in the next Iron Man movie.

Faran Tahir, who played Raza, the leader of the Ten Rings, the terrorist organisation that captured Tony Stark in the first Iron Man movie, has been speaking about his character becoming the moustached-super genius. ”At some point, they want to introduce Mandarin into the storyline and my character, like Mandarin, was the leader of the Ten Rings,” said Tahir. “We’re leaving it open because, partly, it makes good business sense for us to leave a little bit of uncertainty for people to speculate on.”

He continued, “He [Favreau] has known for a long time where he wants to take it and I don’t want to speak for him, but my feeling is that the second movie didn’t want to just follow a singular storyline. They wanted to expand the characters to show that it’s not a linear saga like Lord of the Rings. There’s a linkage somewhere in there, but the big idea is to do at least one more Iron Man movie and then go into The Avengers.”

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IDW Partners with Desperado

IDW Publishing and Desperado have announced a publishing agreement that will bring Desperado’s impressive roster of talented creators and expansive catalog of books to IDW under a new imprint.

Desperado Publishing was formed in 2004 by comics veteran Joe Pruett, as a venue and outlet for creators who have a strong, and passionate desire to see their own personal creative visions and inspirations brought to life on the printed page.

At Desperado Publishing, artists and writers are only limited by their imaginations, as no boundaries or conditions are set upon them to stifle their craft. The publisher does not believe that to be successful a specific genre or formula must be followed. Instead, their only criteria is one of quality. The company philosophy is to bring fans the BEST comic book creators possible and give them a playground in which to play. In that regard, Desperado Publishing has already become home to a number of the industry’s TOP talent. And their titles have been nominated for five Eisner Awards, and won two since 2007.

In late 2004, Desperado Publishing found a like-minded partner in Image Comics and formed a partnership for both companies. Desperado Publishing separated from Image in July of 2007. Recently, Desperado has shifted towards a more boutique style of publishing that centers on Art Books and graphic novels.

“We are very excited to have Desperado join us,” said IDW chief operating officer, Greg Goldstein. “Desperado’s books and roster of creators are both very impressive, and as an IDW imprint, Joe will have the flexibility and support to expand both. It’s really a win-win situation.”

IDW’s new imprint will continue to offer the high quality books and feature the talented creators for which Desperado is known. The 2010 line up already includes industry greats, such as Dave Dorman, Tony Harris and George Perez. These books, as well as Desperado’s comics and graphic novels, will be released under the new imprint.

“I was sold from the first conversation,” said Pruett. “If there was one company that I would admit to being envious of, it would be IDW. Watching them transform from a start-up company to the present-day publishing beast has been nothing if not inspiring. Everything about IDW speaks to how much they love this industry and love what they are doing. We at Desperado look forward to a long, prosperous relationship. As the famous quote goes, ‘I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.’”

IDW is an award-winning publisher of comic books, graphic novels and trade paperbacks, based in San Diego, California. Renowned for its diverse catalog of licensed and independent titles, IDW publishes some of the most successful and popular titles in the industry including: Hasbro’s The Transformers and G.I. JOE, Paramount’s Star Trek; Fox’s Angel; the BBC’s Doctor Who; and television’s #1 prime time series CBS’ CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. IDW is also home to the Library of American Comics imprint, which publishes classic comic reprints; Yoe! Books, a partnership with Yoe! Studios; and is the print publisher for ComicMix.

IDW’s original horror series, 30 Days of Night, was launched as a major motion picture in October 2007 by Sony Pictures and was the #1 film in its first week of release.

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Indie Super Hero Movie Shoots in Australia

Kick-Ass and Scott Pilgrim vs The World are already heading to the big screen, and now another unorthodox superhero is preparing to hit the theatres in 2010. Griff the Invisible is an indie super hero movie that is currently shooting in Sydney, Australia.

Alien Legion Omnibus, New Series, and Movie

“Footsloggers and soldiers of fortune, priests, poets, killers and cads — they fight for a future Galarchy, for cash, for a cause, for the thrill of adventure. Culled from the forgotten and unwanted of three galaxies, they are trained to be the most elite, and expendable, of fighting forces. Sometimes peacekeepers, sometimes shock troops, the Legion is sent into the Galarchy’s most desperate internal and external conflicts. Legionnaires live rough and they die hard, tough as tungsten and loyal to the dirty end.” 25 years ago this opening was presented to comic book readers who opened Alien Legion.

Alien Legion was published by Epic Comics, a creator-owned imprint under Marvel Comics. The book was launched in 1984 as the pet project of series creator Carl Potts. The dirty dozen type team of aliens traveling through space, and having sci-fi/war adventures has developed a cult following over the years. With tales of war and space exploration, the series redefined the military science-fiction genre. The comic was popular with the readers who helped make it the longest continuously running series to come out of Epic Comics.

“I think what registered with readers is that idea of America’s melting pot in space,” offered Potts. “Different cultures, religions, races, all working together. These differences are a source of strength but also cause problems. I extrapolated on that and thought ‘what would happen if you put that idea into a military unit?’ I wanted to put it in a pressure cooker to test the theory.”

Chris Warner, one of the artist on the series, is amazed that the comic has remained popular after all these years. “I’m always surprised at how many die-hard Legion fans are still out there. The book really was ahead of its time, and those original readers recognize that and still carry the flag for the series.” Potts agreed that the series was ahead of it’s time. “One of the things we did that was ahead of our time was that we weren’t afraid to kill off major characters if the storyline dictated. We didn’t have any Star Trek ‘red shirts.’ There was no cannon fodder among the story characters. To maintain a level of realism, the idea was to occasionally have characters you’ve grown to know get killed or maimed.”

And now Dark Horse Comics is calling the Alien Legion to service one again. This week Dark Horse will release Alien Legion: Omnibus Volume 1. The collection is reprint over 300 pages of the original series in paper back format for $24.95. However, Legion fans aren’t regulated to only reliving war stories from the past. Dark Horse will bring a new four-issue limited series to the front lines in 2010. The new comic series calls some former service men back to duty. Writer Chuck Dixon and artist Larry Stroman return to Legion in the lead creative roles and Carl Potts will handle the inking duties.

The release of the compilations and the new comics is fueling new hope that there will be movement on an Alien Legion movie. ”Alien Legion has been optioned for some time,” says creator Carl Potts. “The script is currently in its third rewrite.” The writing team of Derek Haas and Michael Brandt (Wanted, 3:10 to Yuma) are reworking the script for producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney. Potts is enthusiastic about this collaboration. ”The success they’ve had with blending CGI and live-action characters in The Pirates of the Caribbean series could translate easily to an Alien Legion film.”

“Legion is painted on an immense canvas,” he continued, “and today’s effects can really carry that off. The themes and characters have a lot of depth and resonance, and ultimately that’s what storytelling is about. Good stories are always good stories.”

And if the creator has his way, we could see much more of Alien Legion. “I really see this as having franchise potential,” he says. “Films, books, TV and video games – Legion’s one of those properties that would work well in any medium.”

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Warren Ellis Bringing Gravel To The Screen

Gravel the comic book series by writer Warren Ellis and artist Mike Wolfer, has been optioned by Legendary Pictures, the same production company of Superman Returns. The acclaimed author will apparently be taking a much more active role in the project than he has with some of his previously optioned books.

According to Variety, Ellis will write the first draft of the Gravel screenplay. Gravel has appeared as multiple limited and ongoing comics series that have been published by Avatar Press. Ellis will also be an executive producer on the film.

Gravel follows a soldier in the British S.A.S. who moonlights as a for-hire “combat magician.” Ellis debuted the main character, William Gravel, during the 1999 Strange Kiss miniseries, which was followed by Stranger Kisses, Strange Killings and the subsequent ongoing Gravel series.

Ellis has become well known for his work on the popular comic book series Planetary, The Authority, Transmetropolitan and Astonishing X-Men. And he has been increasingly in demand in Hollywood. Ellis has worked on anime adaptations of the Marvel Comics character Wolverine and Iron Man, and there are movies in development based off of his comics series Ocean and Red.

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Hollywood Sees Red

Pre Production for the comic book movie Red has attracted a team of talented actors to the project. It has been reported that Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, Mary Louise Parker, and  John C. Reilly have joined the project. And now Julian McMahon, Ernest Borgnine, Richard Dreyfuss, and Brian Cox have expressed interest in joining the film. It remains to be seen if every member of this massive ensemble will  make it into the movie, but its making it sound like this movie could be a big deal.

Red is based off the three-issue comic miniseries by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner. The story centers on a former black ops agent (Willis), who has been retired, but now has younger, more high-tech assassins showing up to kill him. There is some intrigue added by the White House some how being involved in the nefarious scheme.

Its being speculated that McMahon would take on the part of the Vice President with a dark side who is at the center of a shadow conspiracy. As for the other new cast members, Borgnine is said to play an agent who is the keeper of the CIA’s darkest records, while Dreyfuss will be a wealthy man who builds a fortune out of lucrative government contracts. Cox plays a former Cold War spy and the nemesis of Willis.

Principle photography on the film will begin in Toronto before moving to Louisiana with an eye on a release in 2010. Robert Schwentke has been to direct the movie, but he sends up some red flags with thoughts on the movie. He has said that the tone of the film would be much lighter than Ellis’ original story.

“I love the script,” Schwentke said. “It’s very funny, which the comic book isn’t. I like switching gears and this is a movie that allows me to do something light hearted in tone and is also an action movie.”

Schwentke claims that the change in tone is necessary due in part to the short length of the original three-issue miniseries. With a shorter comic book series to base the movie on, screenwriters Jon and Erich Hoeber have had to expand the script in order to have a large enough story for the big screen. One of the areas that is being expanded is the back story of Willis’s character, which was not explored in the comics.

We all know that there are changes when you adapt material for movies. Whether its comic books, novels, an autobiography, whatever, there isn’t an exact page to page translation from the source to the screen. Changes will be made, and in cases like this you need to add more to it in order to fill out a feature length movie. However, the goal is to capture the feel and the spirit of the original material. And it seems like they are doingthe exact opposite with this movie. It bothers me is that they are changing the tone of the source. That seems like something that would really take the movie away from what the comic book was supposed to be. I won’t be too hard on it until I see the movie, but I don’t like the sound of changing the tone that was intended by the original creators.

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