Archive for 2013

Reblog: Adaptation Of DC Comics’ Constantine From Daniel Cerone & David Goyer Lands At NBC

Posted in News and Editorials, tagged , , , on September 27, 2013| Leave a Comment »

via Deadline

Constantine #1EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros. TV and DC Comics are on a roll this development season with a third high-profile project. Constantine, a drama based on the characters in DC Comics’ John Constantine stories, has sold to NBC with penalty. It is written/executive produced by The Mentalist executive producer Daniel Cerone and David S. Goyer, the go-to writer for Warner Bros.’ feature DC adaptations. Constantine centers on John Constantine, an enigmatic and irreverent con man-turned-reluctant supernatural detective who is thrust into the role of defending us against dark forces from beyond.

John Constantine, who first appeared in 1985 as a recurring character in the horror series The Saga Of The Swamp Thing, was created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette and Jamie Delano. He was portrayed by Keanu Reeves in the 2005 feature Constantine and is rumored to be featured in the Justice League Dark feature Warner Bros. has in the works with Guillermo del Toro.

Constantine joins Warner Bros. TV/DC’s The Flash at the CW, a spinoff from hit Arrow, and a Gotham City/Commissioner Gordon drama at Fox, which has a series commitment.  WME-repped Goyer has co-written The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Batman Begins, Man Of Steel and the upcoming Batman vs. Superman. On TV, he is the creator/executive producer of Starz’s Da Vinci’s Demons. WME-repped Cerone is the creator/executive producer of Canadian drama Motive, which aired on ABC this summer and is awaiting a second-season renewal.

The thing is, they tried a similar show in 1998 called Brimstone, it wasn’t the greatest, but it wasn’t bad either, only lasted a season. But with Constantine being based of a comic book character, and it’s a different age/generation in the major demographic now, this could have a better chance at working as long as it’s written well. Though it’s possible non-comic book people could just see it as an attempt to piggy back on recent hits like GRIMM, Once Upon a Time, and Sleepy Hollow.  It really depends on how they play it.

The most notable in all this is that NBC, which is Universal, picked up the show. The Gotham City show is going to FOX which is, of course, FOX. And The Flash is staying with Warner Brother on the CW along with Arrow. DC, which is owned by Warner Brothers, is being very free with their tv licensing of the DC characters. The only two network channels left to have a DC property is CBS and ABC. ABC has SHIELD and is owned by Disney, so I’d bet even money we’ll never see a DC show there, but there is nothing stopping CBS except they are the #1 network so they probably don’t care if they have one or not.

All these shows coming out of the woodwork, but yet still no Wonder Woman.

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On Air – 1X01 Sentinel

Posted in Season 1, tagged , , , , , on September 27, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Now On Air:

1X01 – Sentinel
Air Date: 9/27/2013
The X-Men must decide what to do about Sentinel and just how far are they willing to cross the line into Brotherhood territory.
Rated TV14 for violence.

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Review: Gambit #17

Posted in Reviews, tagged , , on September 25, 2013| 4 Comments »

Gambit #17With this issue, Gambit’s latest Solo comes to an end… so why didn’t Asmus end it?

I seriously sat for twenty minutes just staring at the comic thinking there should be another page… and there wasn’t. Which wouldn’t have been so bad if there had been some concrete evidence of where Gambit would be next. Uncanny Avengers is out, maybe Wolverine and the X-Men but that doesn’t seem as likely either, and that ending… it definitely shuts down on the options.

But let’s ignore the ending for a moment and look at the two big things, the first off being Remy and his dad. While it was nice that they kinda had that father/son moment, I can’t help thinking that Jean-Luc is playing Remy because, well, that’s what Jean-Luc does. He took Remy in, yes, because he thought he could use him. It’s always been about what’s best for either Jean-Luc or the Guild. And Remy’s almost casual use of the L-word here? It’s nice, it’s what you want to see from Remy as it heals a fractured relationship, but it doesn’t feel like it would really happen.

Conversely, Remy’s moment with Rogue was pretty spot on. The uncertainty in Rogue is palatable. She wants to tell him to just come with her, but she can’t, both because it’s a choice Remy has to make, but mostly because she’s also very much unsure about herself still. Yes, she did say that he’s not completely trustworthy because he’s a thief at heart, but it’s the truth, they both know it, and ultimately Rogue doesn’t care… she trusts him regardless.

As for Gambit himself, he seems to have accepted the fact that he’s a thief, through and through, and not meant to be the hero. I’m not sure I agree with that assessment of himself, but it’s legit for him to think it. He’s always had that self-worth complex going way back forever ago. I had kinda hoped he would get character development out of that trait in his solo but, well, we can’t always get what we want.

Now we come back to the ending that isn’t really an ending. Gambit is running the Guild and sorta still at the school. This is awesome in and of itself, but as a reader, where does it leave Gambit title wise? I want to read more about Gambit in general at the very least, but there is no real indication that we’ll be seeing him again any time soon. It’s incredibly frustrating. It’s really the ending of a TV show which has been cancelled after all the episodes have been filmed. And we all know that is probably the worst feeling, okay, second worst feeling in the world.

Well, at least he won’t be going to Uncanny Avengers… Remender can keep his grubby mits off him.

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Reblog: Fox Nabs Gotham City Origin Drama About Commissioner Gordon

Posted in News and Editorials, tagged , , , on September 24, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Commissioner James Gordonvia Deadline

 

Fox Nabs Gotham City Origin Drama About Commissioner Gordon From Bruno Heller & Warner Bros. TV With Series Commitment

EXCLUSIVE: In one of the biggest drama deals this season, after a bidding war, Fox has landed Gotham, from Warner Bros. TV and The Mentalist creator Bruno Heller, with a series commitment. For Gotham, Warner Bros TV is mining one of DC Comics‘ most popular character universes, Batman. It explores the origin stories of Commissioner James Gordon and the villains who made Gotham City famous. In Gotham, Gordon is still a detective with the Gotham City Police Department and has yet to meet Batman, who will not be part of the series. The Gordon character was introduced in 1939 in the very first Batman comic. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, Commissioner Gordon has appeared in comic books as well as Batman films and series, including in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, where he was played by Gary Oldman. Along with the Superman franchise, the Batman universe is probably the most prized DC property.

While Superman spawned the long-running series Smallville, this is the first series featuring a character from the world of Batman in a very long time as WBTV had been exploring a Gotham City-set show for more than a year. It is the second high-profile WBTV/DC drama in the works for next season, along with Flash at the CW. In addition to Gotham, WME-repped Heller has the Mars drama Red at the CW. Gotham joins CBS’ sci-fi drama Extant as the two hottest drama projects this season, both sparking bidding wars and landing a series commitment and series order, respectively.

So the comic book related tv shows are still coming out of the woodwork, but we can’t get the Wonder Woman movie or a decent TV series off the ground? I wonder though, will we get Harley Quinn in this? That would be worth it, if she’s done right.

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Review: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – S1E01 “Pilot”

Posted in Reviews, tagged , , , , on September 24, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.Today saw the premier of the new Marvel tv series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on ABC which, as the title suggests, centers around a team of ‘not exactly team players’ who do the grunt work that isn’t heavy enough lifting for the Avengers to get involved.

My first thoughts were: Funny but too Self-Aware.

It was by no means a bad pilot, I did enjoy it, the dialogue was sharp, the look fantastic, and Lola… oh Lola. And I will continue to watch because it really did set up for some great adventures that this team can get into. The show isn’t afraid to directly address things seen in the movies (bonus) but there was also a bounty of comic book references to be found, meaning anything is up for grabs in the future (as long as it’s under license).

Also, Arrow needs to take notes about voice overs, cause seriously, as annoying as Sky kinda was, she nailed the voice over.

But as it got to the end, the whole thing just started to tilt on its axis with the cringe inducing moment of “It’s an Origin Story.” My friend thought that piece of dialogue was amazing and I just wanted to stab something, preferably not myself. Yes, being self-aware can be fun, which is why it’s played for laughs both straight and sardonic, but it almost never works when played for serious gravitas. I know there was the whole “the world is now full of superheroes” thing they got going on but do they really have to say it out loud like it’s the next “i’m always angry” line? No. It ain’t nowhere near that epic.

Maybe it was just me but that moment totally pulled me out of it, that and the cosplay comment, but Ward suffered for that one so all’s good.

Speaking of Ward and the rest the characters, we don’t learn a terribly lot about them as individuals for the most part, which is a good thing, you don’t want a pilot laden down with too much exposition and you want to leave stuff for later episodes, but for the moment, they all seem rather cookie-cutter, especially for a Whedon series. Like this is every spy/secret agent team ever put together on film and not in a cool juxtapose way like Firefly. But again, this is Whedon. I’m sure there is a lot more here we’re not seeing yet so I’m giving a very big benefit of the doubt on this one.

In the end, I liked it… did I love it? Not especially. I loved Coulson… but that was pre-existing. Nothing else really connected with me. Perhaps it’s the back of my mind saying “no matter what happens, there will never be mutants in this show” that is bumming me out? It’s possible, I always favored that side of Marvel. But in the end, the show just didn’t click with me. For whatever reason, these characters didn’t give me a spark or make me want to care about them on a personal level, and it’s not because they’re OCs cause I fall in love with OCs all the time, case in point, Coulson.

So, in closing, other than the two issues listed above, I don’t really have anything bad to say about the episode, structurally wise. It was a well made episode. I would recommend that everyone give it a try and see if maybe they have a different experience because I know my friend is nearly giddy over it. It’s also a bundle of opportunities and I will say I can’t wait to see what they come up with.

I wonder if it will help if I imagine Level 8 is where they keep all the files on mutants and they are never mentioned because none of the characters have clearance and mutants just kinda blend with other heroes? That… that could work…

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500th Post + Thanks

Posted in Press Releases, tagged , , , , on September 23, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Somehow I managed to reach 500 posts here on my blog. I always thought I’d get there, but being here is something else all together!

My first thanks goes to my co-producer, Chellerbelle. I’ve put a lot of work into XMTFFS and she kept me focused and was a bounty of ideas. She knows she’s awesome, but I’ll still call her awesome again.

And speaking of awesome, I wasn’t sure of the response to the series, but checking over the stats from the weekend the response was more than I had hoped. Big THANKIES to all my readers! You will always be the best.

The next episode goes ‘on air’ on Friday, and here is a little Sneaky for you!

“I don’t think we have to bother being discreet at this juncture,” Scott added, giving the man a nod, “not after the incident at M-TAM.”

“Which brings up the question you’ve been ignoring,” Wolverine eyed him carefully, “what are we going to do about Nimrod?”

Bobby raised his hand, “I vote we let Jubilee use it for target practice.”

“I gave my word to Agent Duncan that we’d return it,” Scott told him pointedly, “we’re not the Brotherhood, we’re not thieves.”

“Then why did we steal Nimrod in the first place?” Jean asked, one brow raised.

Scott frowned awkwardly, “Borrowed…”

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Review: Fearless Defenders #9

Posted in Reviews, tagged , , on September 23, 2013| 2 Comments »

Fearless Defenders #9This is the issue that you think you’re supposed to love but really it needs a swift kick upside the head.

I had fair warning not to take the characterizations of certain characters as being typical of said characters, but I honestly didn’t think it would be all that bad. Surely it was just an exaggeration by over protective fans? Yeah… no…

The more and more I think of this issue, the more I realize it’s fallen into a very typical failure of both pro and fan fiction where the female counter parts are reduced to nagging, petty, oblivious characters who are only there to further the plot and show how awesome the guys are… only it’s gender swapped… which I guess they thought gender swapping was a brilliant concept, but not when it’s done with completely flawed trope which should never be used regardless the age/sex/gender/race of characters involved. Purposely dragging other characters down just to make your character look good does a complete disservice to all the characters involved, and it’s just plain grating to read.

Venom is moping about his sex life because banging a goddess isn’t what it’s cracked up to be, pity. Nate and Sam are unsure who’s actually dating Dani because each had ‘a thing’ with her which apparently means she’s obligated to be dating them, obviously. The werewolf is feeling left out because his girlfriend, who is a hunter by trade, found something to hunt, go figure. Strange is apparently completely clueless despite being, well, Stephen ‘Ph.D in Badassery’ Strange. Like he really couldn’t have put two and two together? Really?  Then there is Herc who I’m pretty sure is just drunk, so really nothing different there, but apparently women who don’t want to be with him give him a happy, which, when you think about it, is pretty messed up (though about right for classical mythology).  Iron Fist kinda comes out okay, though he should really know better than to worry about ‘undue influence’ on Misty, no one gets that girl to do anything she don’t wanna.

These characters have been reduced to the horrible nagging characters that we so often complain that female characters get reduced it. It doesn’t make it okay because they are male and ‘it’s all fair’ because it should simply never be done to any character. If these characters want to be worried about people they love, then great, all for that, but to sit them around like a bad episode of Sex and the City with extremely empty motivations of relationship woes and ‘can they really handle the role of Defender’? … You know that moment in Emperor’s New Groove where Chicha gets so frustrated she makes some unladylike noises and then has to go clean something? Yeah… that’s me. (I really need that in a gif…)

I know Bunn is capable of much more simply from reading issues 1-8, so I’m really hopping this was just a one-off moment… really hoping…

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Review: Morbius #9

Posted in Reviews, tagged , , on September 22, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Morbius #9Apparently this title was cancelled and I didn’t even notice, not that it surprises me.

It really did start out fantastic, I mean, the first issue just captured my attention like a #1 should. It was different, it was stylish… but a few issues later it just fell apart. Add the fact that Morbius is a lesser known character and it struggled to find an audience. It’s just a real shame, I really would have liked to have seen what Keatinge could have done with Morbius if he had been able to keep going in the direction it started in rather than turn into whatever that last part was.

The ending itself is kinda meh, an obvious rush job with Rose being taken out and apparently the whole thing was about manipulating the housing market, which, okay, that’s an interesting twist considering the current economic climate, but seriously? They did all that manipulation, spent all that money, just to gain building contacts and raise property values? That’s what you call taking the scenic route.

At least this title’s ending is somewhat poetic, going peacefully into the night, something I think Morbius himself would appreciate.

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Review: Deadpool #15

Posted in Reviews, tagged , , on September 22, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Deadpool #15If this issue doesn’t make you feel for Deadpool, then I’m not sure what will.

I mean, the feels that they give Deadpool in this are both blunt and subtle at the same time. It kinda takes a note from Whedon as it would be serious and then tell a joke. But really, how can you not feel those underlying feels of Captain American telling Deadpool he doesn’t have to be alone. Of Wolverine telling Deadpool off for letting himself be in the position he’s in, but then still coming to help him because, damn it, they are friends in some weird messed up ‘we’re both the product of what created us’ kind of way.

And Deadpool himself, just… the way he lives his life, you always knew it was kinda crappy, especially since Blind Al went out of his life, but here it’s given the darkest treatment. This is what they have been hinting at in this series and finally given us.

For everyone who thinks Deadpool is just a joke… shut up.

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Free Loki Petition

Posted in News and Editorials, tagged , on September 22, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Petition to Marvel Studios to produce a film based on the character Loki, portrayed by Tom Hiddleston

The character Loki, as portrayed by Tom Hiddleston in the films “Thor,” “Thor 2,” and “The Avengers” (2012), has become one of the most recognizable and cherished film characters in recent years. Hence, we respectfully yet strongly request Marvel put into action a full-length feature film production based on the Marvel character Loki portrayed by Tom Hiddleston.

The petition is trying to get 30k signatures… which isn’t a lot in movie terms. With an average movie ticket price of $8.38 US, that’s only $251,000 which isn’t even close to the $150m budget of Thor. However, it’s nothing to simply ignore either.

There is always that question: If this many people signed the petition, then how many either didn’t know it existed or don’t sign petitions regardless? Considering that Loki was introduced to the whole MCU fandom through the Avengers movie (which included people who didn’t bother watching the first Thor film), how Loki rocked at ComiCon and exploded the internet, I think it’s safe to assume that it’s likely the number is higher for those who didn’t sign than those who did.

If we look at other petitions, the petition to get Cyclops back for the X-Men movies tapered out at just over 200. Granted, his character hasn’t been around the movies since 2006 but with the character’s current central role in the comics, Singer ‘putting the band back together’, and the internet’s constant complaints about his ‘worse death ever‘, you would think that he wouldn’t be too far behind Loki, but instead it’s like he’s not even in the race.

So, it’s not hard to believe that Loki wouldn’t do at least as well as a Thor movie… in the current atmosphere. We still have Dark World coming out in November and we don’t know what state Loki will be left in. Will he be redeemed? Will he be same ol’ Loki? Will he be dead (not likely)?

Then you have the biggest issue to contend with: If they make a movie for Loki, will it be ‘evil Loki’ or a ‘redemption Loki’? Some fans love that he’s the villain and want to keep him that way. Some think he’s tragically misunderstood and just needs a hug. Since this is Disney and they love their heroes and happy endings (not that I blame them, I like those too) they will probably go with the redemption arc story.

I think that before Marvel!Disney makes any decisions, they will see how Dark World plays out and how fans react to whatever they do with Loki in it.

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