Fanboy Fangasm Friday!

It's just after midnight here on the east coast of the U.S and that makes it technically Friday.  While the plethora of news didn't all come on this day, you got to admit alliteration makes the title of the article more fun.  These past few days have been pure bliss, and the news has all been exciting to say the least.  Goyer and Jonah Nolan writing the Man of Steel, Brainiac as the villain; goodness gracious!  More on that can be read below in an article by my colleague Mike Shadwick.  Let's see what else do we have?  Hmmmm...oh yeah now I remember.  A shortlist of candidates for Captain America which includes some surprising, some contreversial and unexpected names.  Gee could there possibly be more?  Why yes, dear reader.  TMT Co-Founder, my colleague, and friend Peter Georgiou has scooped who the favored director of the Scarlet Speedster.  Greg Berlanti.  If that name sounds familiar, it should.  He was once attached to Green Lantern before Martin Campbell settled into the directors chair.  His passion and work on Green Lantern clearly gained him some fans at the studio.  If his enthusiasm for The Flash is the same, we should get one hell of a movie.  A gut feeling tells me it will be made...wait for it....fast.  Okay sorry for the bad pun.  Read the full exclusive over at IESB.

So, the names for Captain America, according to the HeatVision blog from THR.  Our candidates include, Mike Vogel, John Krasinski, Scott Porter, Wilson Bethel, Michael Cassidy, and Patrick Flueger.  A deal made with Garret Hedlund to test seems to have fell through.  One more name rumoured to be getting a test is Chace Crawford.  Should he land the role, perhaps Gossip Girl is where we will find our next big superhero movie star.  Blake Lively is already getting set to film opposite Ryan Reynolds in Green Lantern.  Can Leighton Meester or Penn Badgely be far behind.

Not to mention, but amongst the tidal wave of genre news, almost lost is the fact that Mickey Rourke, has been confirmed to play Conan's father!  Expect a barabarian sized Conan article from yours truly within the next week.

As I stated above  Mike Shadwick has already touched upon the Superman news.  I will focus more on Steve Rogers, the frail art school student who becomes the embodiment of the American ideal, and a stoic leader and badass super soldier, and the three candidates I feel most likely to win the part, sorry to the others. 

Oh captain my Captain!  The most intriguing name on the list, beyond question is John Krasinski.  He is best known to viewers of NBC's The Office as Jim Halpert.  A tall, young, somewhat known commodity, who has a ton of talent, but not many would instinctively think of for a leading superhero role.  The idea is either brilliant or foolish, I'm not sure I really dont see a middle ground with him.Up next we have the almost Captain Kirk, Mike Vogel.  A young actor who facially looks the part most to my aging eyes, and a ton of talent but yet to have a true breakout role.  Could he lead the Avengers, and be one of the worlds greatest heroes for years to come?  That's for the powers that be to knwand us to find out.  And find out soon we shall.

Last but certainly not least is fanboy casting threads favorite and afanboy himself Scott Porter.  The guy clearly wants to be a superhero.  He's gone out for Flash in the now defunct Justice League Mortal, Gambit in Wolverine, went hard after Green Lantern, and is in the final running for Captain America.  I know that endears him to many of us, and rightfully so.  What makes him even more of a fan favorite is that he actually is a quite capable actor, 6'1 (and my people are sticklers when it comes to height issues), and is at that right age to be able to carry a franchise for years to come.  Captain America will sign a 9 picture deal just as Nick Fury (Sam Jackson), and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) did before him.

The rapidly approaching announcement of Captain America's casting has me feeling like a six year old awaiting Christmas morning. That's all for now folks, and sorry for the stereotyping picture leading the article, I just saw it and smiles thinking that was perfect.

Tekken Movie Trailer and Stills.

Rarely, if ever do movies based on video games turn out well.  I remember being around fourtheen years old when Mortal Kombat starring Robin Shou came out.  I enjoyed the hell out of it then, and it remains a not so guilty pleasure of mine to this day.  Now, while I cannot in  any way claim to be a "gamer", I am a video game fan and do enjoy playing them, specifically fighting games.  The aforementioned Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, and Tekken, the point of this here article are all among my favorites.

Now, when adapting from a source material, like a novel, comic book, or in this case videogame I've always had the same feeling.  Stick as close to the source as you can.  Silly costumes and all.  These franchises are popular for a reason, and that's because, story, fighting, costumes and whathaveyou work as a whole to appeal to a desired audience.  Cater to the desired audience, the ones who made it successful, and limit the changes.  Show WHY this audience cares so much for the franchise and hopefully the general audience will care too.

Below is a still from Tekken

If you like what you see,  there are a slew of more stills at IGN.  I chose this one as it had the most characters.  Now, when I first saw that, I thought cool they're sticking close to the games look!  Upon watching the trailer however, my thought was "This is destined for the 2:30am slot on Syfy".  I leave you to decide for yourselves.  And in case anyone was wondering, yes, I will watch this in its entirety at somepoint

Captain America Finalist?

Captain America?One more for the rumor mill.  And, please, keep note of the use of the word rumor here.  I know my fanboy brethren can create a frenzy quicker than the Flash can tie his shoe laces.  Captain America is nearing a start date in June and we have known for awhile that auditions have been taking place.  Not long ago director Joe Johnston said we were a few weeks away from an announcement and that there was a "short list'.  Could that list be down to two already?  Could be according to a scooper over at Big Shiny Robot .  One of the two and perhaps the leading contender is Chad Michael Murray. 

A snippet from the scooper below:

So I work in a place outside of LA where some celebrities frequent. Chad Michael Murray is one of these people. He was in the other night and one of his friends with him told me that the casting for Cap is down to Chad and one other person. He didn’t tell more who the other person is perhaps he didn’t know, but I found it interesting.

The full could be scoop can be read in its entirety over at Big Shiny Robot which I highlighted above.  As for Chad Michael Murray in the part, he's not someone I'd ever considered, but wouldn't be the most horrendous of choices.  He's got a good Captain America look, is the right height, and a good age to carry the franchise, and most importantly is a decent actor.  He also has some name recognition that could be very helpful to his getting the part, but not so much so that him getting cast would ruin the illusion of Captain America.  It certainly wouldn't be like a Brad Pitt getting the role where the star power overwhelms the fantasy.

The nearing of Captain America filming, and the inevitable casting of the lead has me giddy as a school girl.  Got a problem with that?

Captain America Auditions

 

                                                      It has been a lenghty absence for me. But, it feels good to be back at TMT. For my re-debut, I've been juggling over what to write an article about. Each day brings us new news items on projects of various interest. In deciding, I went with a great lovbe of mine, and many of our loyal TMT readers. Superhero movies. I will focus on one movie in particular which is getting underway as I write this article. Captain America! As I am sure our eagle-eyed readers have deduced by now, thanks to the picture accompanying this article.

Thanks to Twitter, and love it, hate it, or don't give a rats patoot, it gets us information out fast, we know that Captain America auditions are currently going on. Thank you Rick Malambri. Because of Mr Malambri's tweet, which was subsequently deleted it tells us a couple of thngs. One, that the aforementioned Captain America auditions are underway, and secondly that Joe Johnston, the man who will helm The First Avenger as it will be called is searching far and wide for the right man to wield the star-spangled shield, and inevitably lead The Avengers. In laymans terms, he wont just be picking from a select group of marketable names.

While  it was initially Mr Malambri who set the geek world ablaze, there have been a couple others, who've voiced their desire to portray the good Captain. One notably, is Robert Buckley. His name might not seem familiar, but you likely have seen his face before. He's been on several tV shows, including One Tree Hill, Priveleged, and Lipstick Jungle.

Could he be our Steve Rogers?

He's a good actor from what I have seen, possesses that handsome look our superheroes need, and is already in "Captain America" shape, as any google search will clearly show you. Best of all, he is one of us. A comic geek. How could you not root for a man who not only wants to be Captain America, looks the part, and has read Watchmen and Fables?

I think I've found my Captain  America.  So, what do you think true believers? Now, let the universe howl in despair for I have returned! (Kudos to any who realize where I stole that last line from. For those interested, my next article will be about a certain Avian Avenegr that none but me seem to take all too seriously.

Looking forward to some comments, and I'll be writing agin very soon.  Hope to entertain and hopefully bring some exclusive new salong the way.

Sony Acquires He-Man

Back in 2002, there was the excellent animated updating of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. It took the nostalgia of the 80's cartoon and reinvented it into one of the most ass kicking cartoons ever, in my humble opinion. Hard to believe seven years have passed since then.  Anyway, since that toon, I and many others dreamed of a live action version and the epic adventure that could unfold on screen. It would truly be a sight to behold.

We came close with Justin marks draft of Greystone, which I'd describe as an excellent adventure movie but not quite the He-Man the fans had been hoping for. Thankfully, that fell through, and then we came close again.  This time John Stevenson had been attached to direct a version where Skeletor was seeking to eliminate magic from Eternia. He's off the project and another bullet dodged.

If I'm not mistaken, it was merely weeks ago that He-Man left with Warner Bros. Well, now he and the masters have a new home - Sony.

I'm fairly certain most TMT readers are familiar with the product. But, if not, He-Man is about Prince Adam of Eternia. A young boy who on his birthday receives a magic sword, and when he holds it up and says "I have the power!" he transforms into He-Man the most powerful man in the universe. Aiding him in his quest are Teela, a friend of Adam's who is his age and a highly skilled warrior, her father Man-at-Arms whose suit would make Iron Man cower, the jester with magical powers Orko, and the enigmatic Sorceress.

As reported by both The Hollywood Reporter and Variety, without a doubt the two most reliable industry trades, the property is set up at Sony with heads Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch starting all over again.

This is the property more than any other from my childhood, and young adulthood that I've wanted to see adapted more than any other. I only hope Sony works with Mattel to give us the most kick as action adventure unlike anything yet to be seen on screen.

So, who else is stoked?

Jaimie Alexander joins Thor Cast!

The stunningly beautiful, and talented actress Jaimie Alexander has nabbed the role of Sif, a love interest of Thor, and powerful warrior goddess in the upcoming film based on the Marvel hero to be directed by Kenneth Branagh.

Alexander will be joining the already impressive cast which includes Chris Hemsworth as the title character, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, Thor's human love interest, and Wallander's Tom Hiddleston as Loki.  Her casting was confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter.  The trades go on to list the plot of Thor's film as follows:

The movie's story centers on Thor, a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions re-ignite an ancient war. As punishment, Thor is cast down to Earth and forced to live among humans. Once here, he learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends dark forces of Asgard to invade Earth.

In addition to Jaimie Alexander, Colm Feore who is recently coming off a stint on 24 has signed on to play an unspecified villain role.  Let the speculation begin!

I have to say, as Thor is easily amongst my favorite characters in the Marvel Bullpen, and I've long dreamed of seeing his adventures come to life on the silver screen, the casting announcements here continue to impress me.  As does the enthusiasm of its director Kenneth Branagh.

Thor is scheduled to be released Summer of 2011.

Archie Andrews Signs with CAA

Today's article is a fair bit different than most of the ones I've done lately.  Normally I report news on DC or Marvel comics, maybe Darkhorse, or give an opinion as to what I feel would make a good movie or series from one of the lesser known commodities each company offers.  So, the fact that today's article is all about Archie Comics may come as a surprise.

According to Variety, Archie Comics Publications has signed a deal with CAA.  The Archie brand has been around for seventy years, and their stable of characters include "Archie & friends", "Sabrina the Teenage Witch", "Josie and the Pussycats", and "Cosmo the Merry Martian", "Super Duck" and "Dotty and Ditto".

The agency will seek to create opportunities in both film and television for its newly acquired branded properties.  Talent agencies, as Variety points out, have been the catalyst for matching branded properties with the correct studios.  Just recently CAA has helped "Major Matt Mason" be set up as a starrign vehicle for Tom Hanks, and WME has set up Battleship to be directed by Pete Berg.

Hollywoods been gobbling up these branded properties lately like a Hungry Hungry Hippo. First Disney bought Marvel, then there was the restructuring WB did to create DC Entertainment, and now this pact with CAA and Archie.

While I'm a guy who enjoys his adult oriented and violent comick book movies, I look forward to this arrangement.  Archie has an interesting band of characters in its stable, and Hollywood could use some more quality family films aimed at a slightly younger audience.  Whether it be cartoons, a television series, or a movie, I'll be interested in checking it out.

And before anyone asks, yes I did read Archie when I was younger nor am I embarassed to admit it.  Especially since just like him, I grew up in a town called Riverdale.

A Series Of Questions

Victor Sage aka The Question

As the readers of Think McFly Think have seen, the staff here is fans of the superhero genre.  We eagerly anticipate news about directors, writers, and actors for the live action adaptation of of our favorites, or try to guess which property will be adapted next.  With announcement ranging from the Green Hornet, to Lobo, to Deadman, to Green Lantern, to Thor, to Spider-Man IV, clearly it's anyones guess.  A crapshoot as they say.

Now, while movies based on comics have become the bread and and butter of the industry as evidenced by The Dark Knight's billion dollar box office, there is an area of immense opportunity that has been largely neglected.  Televison.  I mean, sure, we have Smallville based on the early adventure of a pre-Superman Clark Kent, entering its ninth season.  Despite what you may think of it, Smallville is a highly successful show.  You don't go nine seasons without being successful.  DC's only other foray into live action televeison series, at least that I can remeber was the abysmal Birds of Prey.  before continuing on with the article I'd like to note that I am focusing on the attempts during the comic movie boom which Lois and Clark pre-dates.  Now, back to regularly scheduled programming.

I'm sure, that by now, our readers have all heard of the formationg of DCE (DC Entertainment) to be headed by Diane Nelson.  In various interviews, Diane Nelson has spoken about what a large role the films play, but also expressed the desire to further the DC brand.  That includes the aforementioned film branch, as well as video games, and televison series whether it be a cartoon or live action.  Televison, specifically a live action series is what we're here to talk about today.  When going through DC's myriad of characters how do you choose who should get a series, who should be saved for films, and who should stay on the printed page?  Well, the first thing on an executives mind would be budget.  So, instead of an alien superbeing traveling exotic worlds, you focus on the human vigilantes in an Earthly city.  It's far more cost effective.  Second, they'd look to see if the character has any name recognition, something that would spark a certain something in the average moviegoer or television viewer.  It could be a simple as the mention of 'Gotham City' or  a word, for instance 'Shazam!'.  Thirdly you'd look to the fans and see who they're clamoring for, as their passion is what helped make comic book movies a summer blockbuster mainstay for close to a decade now.  Yes, fellow fanboys I'd say at best we come in third when the execs are thinking what to adapt next.

By their nature, certain characters are suited to certain mediums.  Now, you may have noticed by now that at the top of this article is a picture of Victor Sage aka The Question.  Who is The Question you ask?  He is Victor Sage a famous televison reporter in Hub City.  He's highly outspoken and aggressive investigative journalist.  Soon as he started getting tv time, he began an investgation of Dr Arby Twain.  During his investigation, he was approached by his old professor, and scientist Aristotle Rodor.  rodor tells Sage about an artifical skin called Pseudoderm that he's co-developed with Dr Twain.  The Pseudoderm was/is a skin like bandage applied by a bonding gas.  However, the gas had an unforseen toxicity that was occassionally fatal if applied to open wounds.  With this revelation the scientists agree to abandon the project.  There's one problem, though.  Dr Twain wa sselling it millegally to third-world nations illegally without regard for human health.  Eventually Rodor convinces Sage to use the Psuedoderm to hide his famous face and put a stop to Twains activities.  Which he does, and then reports on Twain's illegal activities on tv.  How does that sound for a first arc of a tv series?

For a second arc, I'd go with Sage's encounter with the worlds deadliest asassin, Lady Shiva.  She watches as her thugs nearly beat him to death.  Saving him from certain death because she believes he has a warriors spirit.  Upon rescuing him she sends him to seek Richard Dragon, world renowned martial arts master, and Shiva's only equal.  He does as she asks and eventually returns.  They fight again, again she his superior and her telling him she was right about his warriors spirit, and he telling her perhaps he was simply curious to find out what would happen, which would make his sensei Richard Dragon corrcect in that he has an instiable urge to fulfil his curiosity.

During his return to Hub City, he'd start to investigate things he couldn't as Victor Sage.  Seemingly random events would somehow be connected, at least in his mind through a vision of sorts.  The more he'd investigate, the larger the conspiracy would become.  he'd get more and more paranoid and withdrawn.  Is he crazy, is the bonding gas a mild hallucinogen, or is he on to something that higher ups in the governmet don't want the public to know?

The very idea of seeing the weekly adventure of Victor Sage give me goossebumps up and down my arm.  it could be a sort ox X-Files meets Batman hybrid, with obscure characters from Lady Shiva, to Richard Dragon, to Ben Turner (Bronze Tiger).  As much as it excites me, could there be an even better choice for The Question as a series?

Rene Montoya as The Question

Enter Renee Montoya.  She started life in Batman: The Animated Series, and was soon brought in the DCU, eventually gaining a leading role in Gotham Central. And recently, and by recently I mean within the last few years she has succeeded Victor Sage as The Question.  He recruited her while he dying of lung cancer, which in the end did him in for good.  Now, you might be thinking 'Why the hell would you choose a show about Questoya over Sage?' or-- 'How the hell could she be better suited for a series?'

Well let's start with the familarity of Gotham City.  Everyone knows who and what is in Gotham.  Now you have the viewers attention, and in the lead you have a Latina, lesbian, superhero.  With those three things combined into a leading role for a strong character the media would be ablaze and have evreyone talking and wanting to see what happens on the show.

It could perhaps start with Vic, knowing that he is dying of lung cancer, and seeking a successor.  This would lead him to former Gotham City Detective Renee Montoya, who is quitting the force after the murder of her partner by some psycho who broke out of Arkham Asylum.  He mentors her until she reluctuntly puts on the faceless mask, just before his death, where she figths street level crime that's too dirty for Gotham's other heroes.  Maybe should catch an Arthur Brown (CLueMaster) before he puts on the costume, or perhaps she can investigate a case that the Gotham City Police Departmetn dropped for seemingly no reason, with only a door shut in her face when she asked about it.  just as with Victor in the lead, Renee as the main character could also bring some great cameos.  A Harvey Bullock, a Lesli Thompkins, a Kate Kane.  I could go on and on but will end here.

Surely a series based on The Question would be fanboy/fangirl bliss.  But, do we go with Victor or Renee?  That is the question.

The Comedian Wants Lobo

As per usual, one of the first sites I check in the morning is Super Hero Hype as they always have front page news that interests me.  Not to mention, if Hype posts a rumor, you can guarantee there's some truth to it.  As I checked in today, there was an article of note that piqued my interest more than any other lately.  It seems Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Watchmen's Comedian, and the star of the upcoming 'The Losers' wants yet another comic book role, Lobo

Here's what he had to say about the upcoming Guy Ritchie film set to start filming in the first quarter of next year:

 "[T]hey're making 'Lobo' right now," offered JDM, "That would be cool. 'Lobo' would be very cool. I don't think that I'm as big  as Lobo is, but if you could, like, transplant Mickey Rourke's body on my head, that would be just great."

"You're always looking for material that's kind of smart and fun and this seems to be where it is right now," says the actor in regards to his interest in so many comic book properties, "The studios are really gravitating towards it, more than I've ever seen them gravitate towards anything in a long time. Comic books are really the thing right now and I don't see that going away for at least the next couple of years."

Now, Morgan isn't an actor I'd have immediately thought of for the role, but once I read it this morning I literally LOVED the idea.  At first, I figured the part would go to a Dwayne Johnson, or a Vin Diesel type.  Now, while both Johnson and Diesel are charasmatic action stars, at least in my opinion, Jeffrey Dean Morgan could just bring so much more to the table.  In fact, I'd find it as perfect as Ron Perlman as Hellboy.

So, dear readers, what says you?  Should Jeffrey Dean Morgan be our Lobo?  Is three characters for one actor too many?  Should JDM get the part he'd be tied with three characters a piece with Ryan Reynolds who is soon to wear the emerld ring of the Green Lantern.

Not only does Jeffrey Dean Morgan want the part, he has a bit of an inside track, too and he knows it.  Both Joel Silver and Akiva Goldsman are the producers behind Lobo, and The Losers, too.

"I do have an in," he admits, "I'll be elbowing somebody soon."

Hey Mr. Ritchie, if you're reading this, get this one right, give JDM the part, and bring the baddest bastich in the universe to the big screen in style.

Deadman to come to life before The Hobbit?

As I was searching one of my favorite sites, Cinema Blend, I came across an interesting article posted by Josh Tyler.  He had an article noting that earlier today, Guillermo del Toro left a cryptic message on The One Ring. The message was as follows:

In a few days there will be a BIG announcement (big for me, at least) that is not-Hobbit related. BEFORE anyone starts wondering the usual "how does he have time?, Is this detracting form The Hobbit?" etc It is a project that started over 2 years ago, before The Hobbit and will render fruits in the mid-term, not intruding on my Hobbit duties. Rest assured.

The key letter is "D"

Best,

GDT

I'd say that bodes well for DC's Deadman, who just recently found a director in Danish film maker Nikolaj Arcel.  Deadman tells the story of a murdered circus acrobat Boston Brand whose spirit searches for his murderer, and helps right other wrongs along the way with his ability to possess the living. 

Could they have found their lead already?  Only time will tell.  So stay tuned folks.