Thursday, May 3, 2001

MARVEL MOVIES UPDATE

While having two movies - Spider-Man and Blade 2 - in production simultaneously, Marvel also has numerous movies in development, including relatively new movie properties such as Deathlok and Werewolf By Night.

Marvel's Avi Arad said he is especially excited about Deathlok.

"Deathlok is going to be one of the greatest movies we ever make because the movie is so amazing," Arad said. "It's fantastic, really an amazing story.

"It's all about the story. If you get the right story, you'll get a great movie. And you have great stories to begin with. But, again, when you see what we're doing with Deathlok, you'll say, 'Hey, there was a story in the books. This is so much better. This is so interesting.' That's going to be a big studio. It's so unbelievable. It's one of my favorite stories."

Werewolf by Night is being set up at Dimension Films, which is also distributing Ghost Rider.

"We are working feverishly on Werewolf By Night. It will be a totally Shakespearean story," said Arad, who could not yet announce any creative talent with either Deathlok or Werewolf By Night.

Arad said that Universal's Hulk movie looks to be "in very good shape" for a 2003 release under director Ang Lee. "Ang Lee is having the time of his life getting into the technology," Arad said.

The movie version of the Hulk figures to be different than the live-action television series that starred Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno on many levels.

"The television series was great," Arad said. "The far cry is obviously you're doing it now with a lot more money and technology. It's a big movie.

"The television series never got into the psychological reason of Banner being who he is. If you look at the early books, Banner was an abused child. His father was a terrible man. You'll see, it will be a deeply psychological movie."

Arad said that a director for Iron Fist, to star Ray Park, should be named soon. He also noted that films based on the Sub-Mariner and Man-Thing are in the works.

"The toughest thing to do, and the joyous thing to do, is take our movies and build them in such a way that they bring a lot more to the table," Arad said. "When you say a super-hero movie, you almost have a lower expectation. What we're doing, is we're bringing higher expectations. That takes a lot of dedication. And we're lucky we have amazing writers involved with all of our projects."

BLADE ON TNT, SEQUEL UPDATE

Blade, the 1998 movie starring Wesley Snipes as Marvel Comics' vampire hunter, will have its premiere on TNT on Sunday, May 20 at 8 p.m. (ET/PT).

The R-rated movie, which also stars Stephen Dorff and Kris Kristofferson, will be edited for television.

Encore presentations of Blade will be on Sunday, May 20, at 10 p.m.; Saturday, May 26, at 8 p.m.; Sunday, May 27, at 5:30 p.m.; Monday, May 28, at 11 p.m.; and Tuesday, June 4, at 8 p.m.

Meanwhile, production of the Blade sequel continues in Prague.

Although Blade 2 has a much larger cast than the first movie, David Goyer, writer of both films, said there's plenty of screen time for Blade.

"We don't have to be bothered by any of the back story," Goyer told The Continuum. "So in some ways, we have more screen time for Blade. In the first movie, you didn't see Blade for the first six or seven minutes. In this movie, he's on screen immediately, and the story is off and running."

Goyer also said that moviegoers needn't have seen the first movie to enjoy the sequel. "Deacon Frost is mentioned once in the script, but I don't know if that will stick," Goyer said.

Look for more on Blade 2 soon here in The Continuum.

AARON LOPRESTI TALKS ROGUE

Aaron Lopresti, artist of the upcoming The Rogue Files mini-series, told The Continuum that visually it will be influenced in some ways by the X-Men movie.

"You'll notice we're sort of using the Cerebro from the movie, with the circular room," he said, showing some of his early pages at the recent WonderCon in Oakland, Calif. "It's kind of a mix-and-match of the comic stuff and the movie stuff. Unlike the movie, this had two headsets, so I had to put in an extra piece so they (Professor Xavier and Rogue) could both wear it."

The pages show mostly goings on in the X-Mansion, but that will change as the story develops, Lopresti said.

"She does do some stuff," Lopresti said "She basically runs away from the mansion and they chase her down. There's a lot of her out on her own. She does use her powers; it's not her in a diner eating breakfast for four issues."

The timing of the mini-series, written by Fiona Avery, is a bit vague.

"It takes place right after Rogue joined the X-Men," Lopresti said. "They're being very ambiguous about it because they don't want it set into a specific timeline. They want it so that people who have seen the movie can pick it up and people who have read the comics can pick it up. They're not really specifying the time.

"I think it's pretty much the same lineup back when Paul Smith was doing it. They were very careful that I understood that we're not placing it in any time line."

Lopresti was approached for Rogue after doing a two-issue X-Men project of editor Pete Franco. He was asked to do some sketches of Rogue to see how he would handle the character.

"They sent them to Fiona, and she really liked them," he said. "I don't know how much of it was her pushing for me or them pushing for me, but it worked out."

ONI PRESS COLLECTS THE COFFIN

Oni Press will release a new trade paperback collection of The Coffin, by Phil Hester and Mike Huddleston, on Aug. 15.

The 112-pages trade paperback will collect The Coffin #1-4. The delayed fourth issue of The Coffin will arrive in stores on May 26.

"Readers are going to be surprised by the way we wrap up this first Coffin story," Hester said. "Dr. Ahmad's story is one I've been developing for a while and I can't wait for comic readers to see the whole story."

"Working with Phil and Mike on this project has been a truly unique experience," said Oni publisher Joe Nozemack. "With its roots in the more traditional comic book genres, people were a bit surprised to see Oni publishing a series like The Coffin, but Phil and Mike's story has the kind of in-depth characterization and interesting story that's that has come to be associated with Oni titles. At its heart, The Coffin is story of making amends and overcoming regrets and those are themes anyone can relate to."

James Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment has optioned The Coffin for a movie.

For an all-new color Coffin story, check out the Oni Press Color Special 2001, available in June.

FIRST LOOK: JLA: BLACK BAPTISM #3

JLA: Black Baptism #3 will arrive in stores on Wednesday from DC Comics. The issue is written by Sean Smith and Ruben Diaz, with art by Jesus Saiz and Keith Champagne and a painted cover by Tim Bradstreet.

Here's how DC describes the issue:

"The Black Baptism is upon us. The JLA desperately searches for a way to save Zatanna, Deadman and the Sentinels of Magic as even more heroes fall to the demon mobsters, the Diablos. Meanwhile, the soulless mage Faust has disappeared as the clues to the one behind the sadistic sorcery point straight at him. Has Faust's battle against his evil nature been a ruse? Plus, the terrible fate of Blue Devil."

JLA: Black Baptism #3 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.50.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

FIRST LOOK: ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #592

Adventures of Superman #592 will arrive in stores on Wednesday from DC Comics. The issue is written by Joe Casey, with art by Mike Wieringo and Jose Marzan, Jr. and a cover by Wieringo and Terry Austin.

Here's how DC describes the issue:

"New regular penciller Mike Wieringo joins the book. Jimmy Olsen and his pals are out to play the ultimate video game, but Metropolis's advanced technology soon transports Superman's pal into a deadly virtual world, one that Strange Visitor may be helping to empower. In this game, you don't get extra lives."

Adventures of Superman #592 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.25.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

FIRST LOOK: NIGHTWING #57

Nightwing #57 will arrive in stores on Wednesday from DC Comics. The issue is written by Chuck Dixon, with art by Rick Leonardi, Jesse Delperdang and Mark Farmer and a cover by Greg Land and Drew Geraci.

Here's how DC describes the issue:

"Captured by the minions of Shrike, Nightwing comes face-to-face with the one man who has dedicated his life to exterminating the former Robin. Chained in a warehouse, surrounded by deadly ninjas and staring into the face of his archenemy -- how in the world is Nightwing going to get out of this one?"

Nightwing #57 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.25.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

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