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Monday, April 5, 2004

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED UPDATE

Paul Dini said he is contributing an episode of Cartoon Network's Justice League Unlimited feature Zatanna.

Dini also wrote Zatanna's appearance on Batman: The Animated Series, which originally aired on Feb. 2, 1993. The character appearing in Justice League Unlimited will seemingly be more powerful.

"She's kind of on a par with Doctor Fate, so you see major magic from her," Dini said during a panel at the recent Wizard World Los Angeles.

Dini also wrote a Zatanna Vertigo comics one-shot. He said he won't be doing another, but that DC Comics does have plans for the character.

Dini continues to work on Duck Dodgers and said the new Krypto series will have "a Hanna-Barbera feel."

In other Justice League Unlimmited news:

* The Continuum has learned that an episode of the show will be an adaptation of sorts of the Alan Moore Superman story "For the Man Who Has Everything." Eric Roberts is returning as the voice of Mongul.

* One of the more humorous upcoming episodes will spotlight Booster Gold.



HELLBOY MOVIE TOPS BOX OFFICE

Buoyed by good reviews and positive word of mouth, the Hellboy movie finished first at the box office over the weekend with $23.5 million, slightly better than anticipated.

Hellboy, which opened in 3,028 theaters, beat out The Rock's Walking Tall ($15.3 million) and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed ($15.1 million).

On the film's official web site, writer/director Guillermo del Toro wrote he was "so happy" with the film's performance.

"I feel really delighted with our weekend," del Toro wrote. "Just last Friday there were a lot of naysayers that kept predicting we would do between $15-18 million at the box office. Others kept saying that the critics were never going to get the movie etc, etc...

"Well, the movie connected with the audience and -- in spite of direct competition from other movies -- made a whopping $23.5 million dollars opening weekend. No. 1 position and with an incredible critical reception. Variety, N.Y. Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Joel Siegel, L.A. Weekly, etc., etc., etc.

"As a matter of fact we rated around 7-3 positive reviews or over in all media. The only high-profile negatives I could spot were Roeper and USA Today. This from a movie that costed almost the same as Walking Tall with no 'marquee name' star and adapted from an 'unproven' comic book.

I feel very happy and hope you feel the same way. Most of you guys have been along for the ride. It's not over - not yet - but we have reached port safely and happily. We are starting editing the 'Extended Edition' which features around 20 minutes more of material (mainly focused on relationships) and new VFX. As I write this I feel the overwhelming need to say 'Thank you' to each and all of you guys."

"I think anyone who sees this movie will not be disappointed," said Selma Blair, who plays Liz Sherman. "I just wish all the success for it and its filmmakers. It was a true labor of love."



FIRST LOOKS

For covers and four-page previews of upcoming titles, CLICK HERE.

Titles include Devil May Cry Book Two: Superbeast from Dreamwave Productions, Cloudburst from Image Comics and Challengers of the Unknown #1 from DC Comics.



NEW MUTANT X EPISODE

"Age of Innocence," a new episode of Mutant X, will air in syndication this week. The episode is written by Mark Amato and directed by Bill Corcoran.

For a thorough plot synposis, with spoilers, CLICK HERE.

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THE PUNISHER MOVIE UPDATE

Costume designer Lisa Tomczeszyn, who previously worked on Spider-Man and Daredevil movie, created the T-Shirt worn by The Punisher in the upcoming film.

"Lisa understood what we were doing with The Punisher T-shirt," said director Jonathan Hensleigh.

"It's a bit heightened in design; it comes from the comic book and you've got to capture that just right. But Lisa also has a perfect classical sense of wardrobe as well, and that was important because all the additional characters had to be dead real."

The logo is part of a plot device in the film as Frank Castle receives a T-shirt from his son.

Thomas Jane, who plays the title role, said the logo is important and meaningful.

"The skull means two things," Jane said. "It means if you see me coming, I am the angel of death. It also means that I'm dead. All of the contraints, the physical bounds of society and the rules that you live by and all the things that physically constrain you to a social and a more life, I am dead to all of that. Which makes me extremely dangerous. Because I don't (care) if I live or die or if I'm right or wrong. It's not for me to say or judge or do.

"I think the skull being more than a target -- something for the bad guys to shoot at -- the significance is that I am not of this world and fear me. Because I am dead."

In other Punisher news:

* Lions Gate Films and Marvel will celebrate the premiere with a giveaway reprint of Amazing Spider-Man #129, the 1974 Marvel Comic book that featured The Punisher's first appearance. Participating theatres will give away one comic book with one paid admission to The Punisher, while supplies last.

The original Spider-Man #129 is a collector's item and sells for over $900 on eBay. The Lions Gate special edition marks the first time the book has been reprinted.

"We wanted to celebrate the premiere of The Punisher in a way that specifically honored the characterıs comic book roots and acknowledged his many fans," said Tom Ortenberg, president of Lions Gate Films Releasing. "As a film, The Punisher harks back to the classic action films of the 1970s, so it made perfect sense to re-print the 1974 comic that started it all."

Said Avi Arad, the film's producer and CEO of Marvel Studios, "From that first appearance in Spider-Man #129, Marvel readers responded very strongly to The Punisher, so much so that he earned his own comic. We think the movie The Punisher -- not to mention Tom Jane's incredible performance -- is going to make an equally lasting impression."

* Arad on the film's villain, Howard Saint: "At Marvel, we want our villains to have a human dimension. To understand a villain you have to see the man behind the villain, the person that comes home at the end of the day. Howard Saint has a life that he loves, a wife he adores, kids that are the apples of his eye. But in the back of his mind he knows that he's in a business that has a downside. He lives a life of paranoia."

* Laura Harring, who plays Livia Saint described her character as an atypical femme fatale. "A classic femme fatale is somewhat disconnected from her heart," Harring said. "But Livia has a heart, and it belongs to her family. When her son is killed, she becomes lethal."

* John Travolta, who plays Howard Saint, will be featured on the syndicated television series Extra on Monday.

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SPIDER-MAN 2 MOVIE UPDATE

The new trailer for Spider-Man 2 will debut on NBC's The Apprentice on Thursday night.

The two-and-a-half-minute trailer will be shown about 40 minutes into the episode that begins at 9 p.m., according to USA TODAY.

The Apprentice, featuring Donald Trump, is one of NBC's hottest shows, with more than 22 million viewers last week.

In other Spider-Man 2 news, stars Kirsten Dunst and Tobey Maguire were presenters at Nickelodeon's 17th Annual Kids Choics Awards over the weekend.

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BRIEFLY

  • Teen Titans continued to bring in strong ratings for Cartoon Network. First-quarter delivery compared to last year improved 34 percent in Kids 6-11 and 16 percent in Kids 2-11. Ratings in those demographic improved 38 percent and 22 percent, respectively.

  • DC Comics has released a list of upcoming trade paperbacks. For the rundown, CLICK HERE.

  • Coming Tuesday: Image news -- and much more!!!

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    COMICS CONTINUUM BACK ISSUES

    In case you missed The Continuum's recent coverage, here are some links:

    * For Tuesday, March 30, including The Batman animated news, CLICK HERE.

    * For Monday, March 29, including Punisher movie news, CLICK HERE.

    * For Saturday, March 27, including Elektra, Hellboy and Punisher movie news, CLICK HERE.

    * For Friday, March 26, including Justice League Unlimited news, CLICK HERE.

    * For Thursday, March 25, including Marvel news, CLICK HERE.

    * For Wednesday, March 24, including DC first looks and Hellboy movie news, CLICK HERE.

    * For Tuesday, March 23, including an interview with John Singleton, director of the Cage movie, CLICK HERE.

    * For Monday, March 22, including coverage of Spider-Man 2 and Punisher panels at Wizard World Los Angeles, CLICK HERE.

    * For Sunday, March 21, including Wizard World Los Angeles coverage, CLICK HERE.

    * For Saturday, March 20, including Marvel Comics' solicitations for June, CLICK HERE.

    * For Friday, March 19, including Image Comics' solicitations for June, CLICK HERE.

    * For Thursday, March 18, including Marvel Comics first looks, CLICK HERE.

    * For Wednesday, March 17, including DC Comics first looks, CLICK HERE.

    * For Tuesday, March 16, including DC solicitations for June, CLICK HERE.

    * For Monday, March 15, including DC news, CLICK HERE.

    * For Saturday, March 13, including Batman news, CLICK HERE.

    * For Thursday, March 11, including Marvel Comics news, CLICK HERE.

    * For Wednesday, March 10, including DC Comics news, CLICK HERE.

    * For Tuesday, March 9, including Image Comics' The Ride, CLICK HERE.

    * For Monday, March 8, including Dark Horse solicitations for June and an interview with wrtier Tony Bedard, CLICK HERE.

    * For Sunday, March 7, including CrossGen news from MegaCon, CLICK HERE.

    * For Saturday, March 6, including Hellboy and Catwoman movie news, CLICK HERE.

    * For Friday, March 5, including Static Shock news, CLICK HERE.

    * For Thursday, March 4, including Marvel first looks, CLICK HERE.

    * For Wednesday, March 3, including Marvel and DC first looks, CLICK HERE.

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