New Star Wars Flash Drives

Mimoco, the makers of designer flash drives, is releaseing a new wave of Star Wars USB flash drives. The latest wave is an Empire Strikes Back themed release in celebration of the movie’s 30th anniversary. This line-up of MIMOBOTs features Yoda, Wampa, Snowtrooper, Hoth Luke and exclusive to Celebration V was a Lobot drive.

MIMOBOT flash drives are offered in memory capacities ranging from 2GB to 16GB and come pre-loaded with exclusive MIMOBOT-themed content like wallpapers, screensavers, avatars, and videos specific to each character. MIMOBOT flash drives carry a $39.95 price tag and can be purchased online at www.mimoco.com and at fine retailers worldwide.

The Lobot drive was a special limited edition of 1,000 units, which was made available exclusively at Star Wars Celebration V.

New Star Tours Promo Video At Disney World

If you’ve ever been to Disney World, and you’re a Star Wars fan, then chances are that you’ve rode the Star Tours ride. Well, the classic ride is getting an upgrade, and there will be a new promo video that fans will see while waiting in line for the ride. Here’s a look at the new video that was unveiled at Celebration V.

Animated Terminator 3000

Hannover House, the entertainment distribution division of Target Development Group, Inc., announced that they have entered into a development venture with Vancouver-based Red Bear Entertainment, for Terminator 3000. The project is being produced as a 3D animated feature film with an estimated $70 million budget. And the movie will feature the characters and general plot points of the orignial Terminator movie. Eric Parkinson, the C.E.O. of Hannover House, was previously the C.E.O. of Hemdale Home Video, Inc. and Hemdale Communications, Inc., and handled the distribution of the original Terminator movie.

There aren’t many details for Terminator 3000, but the company has stated that they are aiming for a PG-13 rating, so they will be looking to minimize the level of violence in the movie. Hannover House and Red Bear Entertainment is proposing a January, 2011 start, and they will release details of the production timing, financing and principal production personnel in advance of their start.

However, controversy is arising around this announcement. Hanover is laying claim to rights to produce animated Terminator material, but another company, Pacificor, actually owns the rights to the Terminator franchise. And they have sent a cease and desist letter to Hannover House. The letter states:

“We recently became aware through various online media reports that Hannover House, purportedly a division of Target Development Group, Inc. (“TDGI”), entered into a purported feature film development venture with a Vancouver based entity, Red Bear Entertainment, for “Teminator 3000” an animated feature film based upon the characters introduced in the original Terminator movie.

This knowledge came as a surprise to Pacificor. It did not license or authorize any such development or film. Indeed, it has not been contacted by Hannover House, TDGI, Red Bear Entertainment or anyone else seeking such a license or approval.

While some of the reports we have seen mention that Pacificor “retains approval and licencing authority…” over the proposed project, a reasonable inference drawn from the reports is that such approval has been obtained. Otherwise, why would the “development deal” have been entered into in the first place and why would the reports mention a proposed January 2011 start date for production?”

Hemdale produced and distributed James Cameron’s original Terminator feature, but in 1990 they released the sequel rights to Carolco, which later transferred the rights to Halcyon Media. Halcyon went bankrupt and placed the Terminator rights up for auction. Santa Barbara based Pacificor, LLC purchased those rights at the auction in January. However, Parkinson claims that when rights to the Terminator property were sold to Carolco, animation rights weren’t included in the deal. And he insists that he was given the animation rights when he left Hemdale. Further complicating the picture is that even if Hanover does have the animation rights to Terminator, Pacificor still retains approval and licensing authority over the proposed Terminator 3000 project.

“The animation rights were excluded when Hemdale sold Terminator to Carolco and when I left Hemdale,” Parkinson said. “Part of my settlement was that I got those rights. However, the way the rest of the contractual rights are written, it would be dangerous for us to do this without Pacificor’s approval. They have certain intellectual rights. The best way to put it is, they can’t make an animated film without me, and we might not be able to make it without them. We are in discussions with WME (the agency in charge of the rights), and hope we can deal with this expeditiously.”

It seems that Terminator 3000 is stuck in limbo for now, but Parkinson remains hopeful that an agreement can be reached.

“We’ve arranged a meeting, we’ll show them our money and if the rational brain prevails, they’ll take the deal. If not, I can’t do it without them. You’ll have a follow-up next week that we are either holding hands, or not doing the film. At least we now have our meeting. I hope they will can think outside the box, because if we can make a movie that delivers a $20 million to $30 million rights payment, that is an income source they didn’t realize was possible. If not, it was a good idea anyway.”

Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch

Zack Snyder, the director of 300 and Watchmen, is promoting his next movie, Sucker Punch. The movie is coming form Warner Bros., and its an action flick that has plenty of girl power with Emily Browning, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, Jaime Chung, Abby Cornish, and Carla Gugino in the cast.

Sucker Punch is set in the 1950s, and follows a girl who is confined to a mental institution by her stepfather, who intends to have her lobotomized in five days. To try and deal with the pain she hides in an alternative reality of her own imagination. And in that world she begins planning her escape, which calls for her to steal five objects to get her out before she is deflowered by a vile man.

Sucker Punch hits theaters on March 25, 2011.

The concept sounds interesting, and visually the movie looks incredible, but I wonder how well all of the elements will come together. The trailer looks like a dream. A frantic dream that is a mix of a 1940s vision of the future type of sci-fi, dragons and samurai fantasy, and plenty of big special effects and big explosions. It looks awesome. I just hope that the story is as least somewhat cohesive and interesting. At any rate, it looks like an entertaining movie. I’m already buying popcorn.

WizKidz Beams Up A Star Trek Miniatures Game

WizKids/NECA and CBS Consumer Products announced that they have made an agreement that will allow WizKids/NECA to create HeroClix branded  miniature games that are set in the Star Trek universe. The License will include all of the Star Trek television shows and feature films, and the game will be sold both physically and digitally.

“Star Trek changed the way people think about the future,” said WizKids/NECA President Lax Chandra. “We are thrilled at the opportunity to marry our innovative game design and exceptional miniatures with the incredibly rich Star Trek franchise.  We believe HeroClix and the Star Trek Universe are ideally suited for cooperative gaming and table top miniature simulation and will speak to gamers in a new and compelling way.”

WizKids/NECA will have their first Star Trek game released around Christmas, 2010 with additional expansions to follow.

From what I understand this will be a vehicle based game, and not one that features characters. A space fleet battle game could be pretty cool. I’ll be interested to check this one out. I would expect to see more information about this game during the summer conventions.

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.

Discuss it in the forums.

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.

Discuss it in the forums.

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.”

Discuss it in the forums.

Star Blazers Takes Flight Again

26 years after it’s original release, a new chapter is being written for Space Battleship Yamato, one of the most popular space operas ever to come out of Japan. On December 12, Space Battleship Yamato: Rebirth will premiere in Japan. The Space Battleship Yamato saga began in 1974 out of a collaboration between Yoshinobu Nishizaki and Leiji Matsumoto. The series was released in America as Star Blazers. The new film has been in development hell as far back as 1992, with a lengthy copyright lawsuit between Matsumoto (of Galaxy Express and Daft Punk) and Nishizaki being a major part of the hold up. Nishizaki’s arrest and incarceration on drug and weapons charges did not help matters either. The copyright lawsuit was eventually settled in Nishizaki’s favor in 2004, and he was later released from prison in 2007. Now audiences can finally find out what happened to our heroes and heroines after the defeat of the Deingili, and the subsequent detonation of the Yamato in the last movie.

The new movie is set 17 years after the events of Final Yamato, with the Earth is once again imperiled. A roving black hole is moving through the galaxy, leaving a swathe of destruction in its wake and it is on a collision course with Earth. A planet-wide refugee operation is undertaken with the goal of getting everyone to the planet Amahr, a quick 27,000 light years away. Unfortunately, the villainous SUS Empire is standing in the way. After the first transports are attacked, Susumu Kodai a.k.a. Derek Wildstar, takes command of the newly recommissioned Yamato and sets out to, well, save humanity.

Fans of the original series may note that some of the art designs for the characters and the ship have changed. That is the result of the copyright lawsuit which stipulates that while Nishizaki owns the name Yamato, as well as the plot and characters of the original series, Matsumoto owns the conceptual art, character and ship designs from the original series. In other words, there is a good reason why the Yamato’s famed cannons can now fire multiple times instead of just once. Incidentally, Matsumoto, who many fans see as the real force behind the success of the original series, is working on his own Yamato project. There aren’t any details on that project at this time.

Space Battleship Yamato: Rebirth might not see an American theatrical release, but hopefully we’ll see a DVD in the Spring. You can check out the trailers below.

Star Blazers is a classic. And its one of the shows that helped to bring anime to America and make it popular here. Its great news that there will be another chapter to this space faring, sci-fi classic. It will be unfortunate if we don’t see a theatre release in America, but I’m excited to see an eventual DVD release.

Discuss it in the forums.

Ghost in the Shell 2.0

The classic anime movie Ghost in the Shell is getting a make over. The new version of Ghost in the Shell that has been released on Blu-ray is a remastered version that Mamoru Oshii released to a small number of theatres in Japan back on July 12th 2008. The idea for Ghost in the Shell 2.0 was to go back to the original source and enhance it by recreating certain scenes with all new 3-D CG animation and digital effects, whilst also completely remastering the audio in collaboration with Randy Thom over at Skywalker Sound. From the lips of Oshii himself:

“In terms of CGI, there are over 90 cuts that have been altered and enhanced. And with extensive use of filter effects and colour correction techniques throughout the rest of the film, it’s fair to say that pretty much the entire movie has been enhanced in some way.”

Some of the changes might appear to be pretty jarring.

Original 1995 Version

2.0 Version

Original 1995 Version

2.0 Version

Original 1995 Version

2.0 Version

Original 1995 Version

2.0 Version

I don’t know why they would go back to mess with this film. The original movie was ground breaking, and featured amazing animation. I don’t know why you would make changes to that. And looking at these still images, I think that I’ll prefer the original version. There’s a quality to the 2-D animation that the 3-D animation can’t copy. It just doesn’t have the same feel to it. I’ll have to watch the movie to see how it comes together, but looking at these stills I get the feeling that  the 3-D might feel slapped on and unnecessary. I don’t know why they would mess with a classic.

More screen shots from both versions can be seen here.