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THURSDAY, JUNE 12, 2008
COMING FRIDAY
Marvel First Looks, Image First Looks -- and much more!
THE INCREDIBLE HULK ROUNDUP
Kurt Williams, visual effects supervisor for The Incredible Hulk, said the filmmakers wanted to make the Hulk a consistent size, unlike the character's portrayal in 2003's Hulk.
"We didnšt want him to grow. We didnšt want him to ebb or flow," said Williams, whose credits include Fantastic Four. "We wanted him to be one size the whole time, so we picked 9 feet, because it would still allow him to relate to human beings and not be so big that he would be almost alien or unbelievable.
"It allows you to believe he's really there, but you still have the ability for him to believably pick up a car and throw it and show other great feats of strength like slamming the
ground and creating a giant chasm in the street."
In other Hulk news:
* TV Guide Channel will premiere a Hulk special stemming from last weekend's world premiere on Thursday at 8 p.m.
* The scene between Bruce Banner and Leonard Samson, in which Bruce explains he has troubles containing his emotions, did not make the final cut of the film. It has been featured in trailers and commercials.
* A Marvel creative consultant crew, including Joe Quesada, is listed in the final credits.
THE MIDDLEMAN'S MIDDLEMAN
Javier Grillo-Marxuach, creator and executive producer of ABC Family's The Middleman, said that casting Matt Keeslar in the title role was simply a matter of getting the guy he wanted all along.
"There really wasn't a tremendously protracted audition process because, since I conceived of this thing, my wife and I have sort of played the game of who could be the Middleman," Grillo-Marxuach said. "The Middleman is one of those characters who is so specific in how he speaks and how he carries himself and what he does.
"I remember I had seen this movie The Last Days of Disco, my wife and I had seen it together and then we catch it on cable every once in awhile. It's one of those movies that every time it was on, we would watch the whole thing. And Matt in that film gives a monologue about Lady & the Tramp and his character gets very wound up in this speech. It was one of those things where I remember seeing that and going, 'You know, thatšs him.'
"And when the pilot got bought up by ABC Family we kept talking about, 'Who do you think would be a good prototype for the Middleman,' and I kept going 'Matt Keeslar. Matt Keeslar. Matt Keeslar' and finally somebody said, 'Why don't you just make Matt Keeslar an offer and see if hešll do it?'"
Grillo-Marxauch said Keeslar has helped to maintain a sense of realism with the character, even with all of the show's fantastic situations.
"Middleman is not a freak of nature, Middleman is not an alien who somehow behaves this way, and Middleman is not a guy doing an impersonation of Robert Stack in The Untouchables," Grillo-Marxuach said. "The Middleman is a guy who is a former Navy SEAL, who decided at some point in his life that this is how he was going to live, and that he was going to drink milk, not use profanity, live a straight-edged life. And lo and behold, the perfect job with no gray areas presented himself at his doorstep, and now he can kind of live freely this way and wear an Eisenhower jacket and be this persona that he wants to be.
"Does that imply a dark side to the character? Maybe. But it maybe also implies that you can choose to be good and succeed at it. And that in a way is kind of the message that I'm trying to send with this show, is that the path to heroism is not necessarily laden with limitless angst."
The Middleman premieres on Monday, June 16 at 8 p.m. (ET) on ABC Family.
BLUEWATER TO LAUNCH VINCENT PRICE COMICS
Bluewater Productions has entered into an agreement with the estate of horror film icon Vincent Price to produce a new monthly comic book series titled, Vincent Price Presents.
The ongoing series will feature the iconic Price in a myriad of roles including host, muse, background player, and protagonist.
Price's daughter, designer Victoria Price, was instrumental in brokering the deal. This is the first time her father's name and likeness will appear in a licensed comic book series.
"I'm really touched and excited about the series because it will help energize my father's legacy for a new generation," Victoria Price said. "We're planning a big celebration for his 100th birthday in 2010, and this comic series fits into those plans perfectly."
"After the success with the Ray Harryhausen comics, we wanted to work with another film legend. Vincent Price was always at the top of everyone's short list," said Bluewater president Darren Davis. "We find his body of work and presence on film to be really inspirational, so we wanted to recreate his legacy for a new generation of comic book readers. Not only are we developing sequels to his specific films, we are also developing gothic horror stories in the spirit of his legacy."
The Vincent Price Presents series will launch in October in conjunction with another new horror series from Bluewater. Bartholomew of the Scissors, by writer Chad Helder and artist Daniel Crosier, will feature gothic horror elements with innovative twists.
ULTIMATE ORIGINS SELL-OUT, PREVIEW
Marvel Comics on Thursday announced that Ultimate Origins #1 -- the launch of the five-issue mini-series by Brian Michael Bendis and Butch Guice -- has sold out.
According to the publisher, it will not be going back to press on the issue.
Marvel also released preview image from Ultimate Origins #2, which will be in stores on July 9.
Here's how Marvel describes the issue:
"Just what is the truth behind the Super Solder experiments? How does Captain America's transformation from soldier to super hero affect the very core of the Ultimate U?"
The issue will feature 50/50 covers by Simone Bianchi and Gabrielle Dell'Otto, as well as a sketch cover by Dell'Otto.
Click on the thumbnails for larger images.
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RED AT SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT
Summit Entertainment has acquired the feature-film rights to Red, the DC/WildStorm-published series created by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner.
Brothers Erich Hoeber and Jon Hoeber have been tapped to write. They previously wrote the upcoming film adaptation of Whiteout.
Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian will produce.
"This is an adaptation, not a direct transfer/translation from page to print," Ellis noted on his website. "What the screenwriters will do is take the core concept of Red -- a troubled old man still having nightmares of his role as his government's monster suffering an attempted murder at the remote hands of a terrified political appointee, and bringing the world of covert assassination back to the agency who wanted to drop him and his body down an Orwellian memory-hole -- and expand upon it. The book is, if you like, a folded shape that can unpack into a film.
"And Išm fine with that. Summit bought the right to build upon the story."
AUGUST SOLICITATIONS ROUNDUP
For previously posted August solicitations, click on the publishers' names below:
* Antarctic Press.
* Arcana Studio.
* Archie Comics.
* Aspen Comics.
* Avatar Press.
* Big City Comics.
* Bluewater Productions.
* Bongo Comics.
* Boom! Studios.
* Dabel Bros. Productions.
* Dark Horse Comics.
* DC Comics.
* Desperado Publishing.
* Devil's Due Publishing.
* Digital Webbing.
* Dynamite Entertainment.
* IDW Publishing.
* Image Comics.
* Marvel Comics.
* Moonstone Books.
* Oni Press.
* Platinum Studios.
* Radical Publishing.
BRIEFLY
* Toon Disney will begin weekend airings of The Incredible Hulk animated series beginning June 21.
COMICS CONTINUUM BACK ISSUES
In case you missed The Continuum's coverage over the past month, here are some links. Click on the date to get the day's full report.
* Saturday, June 7: Wanted's Angelina Jolie, The Middleman, Spawn, Boom! Studios First Looks, Dark Horse Comics First Looks and Fear Itself.
* Friday, June 6: Marvel Comics First Looks, Image Comics First Looks, The Incredible Hulk and The Spectacular Spider-Man.
* Thursday, June 5: Dark Horse Comics for September, Batman Gotham Knight's Josh Olson and Top Cow's Starfall.
* Wednesday, June 4: Secret Invasion tie-ins, Wanted, Smallville, The Incredible Hulk, Image Comics First Looks, Archie Comics First Looks and IDW Publishing's Andy Schmidt.
* Tuesday, June 3: The Incredible Hulk's Liv Tyler, Marvel Comics First Looks, Dynamite Entertainment First Looks, Image Comics Firs Looks, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Fear Itself and World of Quest.
* Monday, June 2: Garth Ennis and First Looks.
* Sunday, June 1: Devil's Due Publishing for August and Desperado Publishing.
* Saturday, May 31: From Wizard World Philadelphia -- Marvel's Cup O' Joe, Aspen Comics, Secret Invasion and Dynamite Entertainment panels; Plus -- Antaractic Press for August, The Spectacular Spider-Man and First Looks.
* Friday, May 30: From Wizard World Philadelphia -- Spider-Man, Mondo Marvel and DC Nation panels; Also -- Batman Gotham Knight, The Incredible Hulk and Marvel Comics First Looks.
* Thursday, May 29: The Incredible Hulk's Edward Norton, G.I. Joe at IDW Publishing, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Digital Webbing for August and Archie Comics First Looks.
* Wednesday, May 28: American Gladiators/Hulk, Zenescope Entertainment for August, Radical Publishing for August, Dark Horse Comics First Looks, Fear Itself and World of Quest.
* Tuesday, May 27: The Spectacular Spider-Man, Avatar Press for August, Boom! Studios for August, Platinum Studios for August and Dynamite Entertainment First Looks.
* Monday, May 26: Dynamite Entertainment for August, Oni Press for August, Dabel Bros. Productions for August, Red 5 Comics for August and Transformers: Animated.
* Sunday, May 25: First Looks, The Incredible Hulk and Fear Itself.
* Saturday, May 24: The Middleman, Heroes, The Spectacular Spider-Man and Arcana Studio for September.
* Friday, May 23: Marvel Comics First Looks, Image Comics First Looks, Viper Comics for August and Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins.
* Thursday, May 22: Batman Gotham Knight, Battlestar Galactica, The Middleman, Big City Comics for August, Aspen Comics for August and Archie Comics First Looks.
* Wednesday, May 21: Bongo Comics for August, Bluewater Productions First Looks, Marvel Comics roundup, Iron Man box office and DC Direct's Watchmen.
* Tuesday, May 20: Marvel Comics for August and Dark Horse First Looks.
* Monday, May 19: DC Comics for August, IDW Publishing for August, Archie Comics for August, NBC's Fear Itself, Punisher: War Zone, Top Cow First Looks and Marvel Comics roundup.
* Sunday, May 18: Iron Man, The Cleveland Show and First Look.
* Saturday, May 17: Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Witchblade movie and DC Comics First Looks.
* Friday, May 16: Top Cow Productions for August, Image Comics for August, Marvel Comics First Looks and World of Quest.
* Thursday, May 15: The Spectacular Spider-Man, Fox's 2008-2009 lineup, The Middleman's Natalie Morales, Image Comics First Looks and Dark Horse Comics First Looks.
* Wednesday, May 14: Incredible Hulk's Tim Roth, Batman Gotham Knight's Kevin Conroy, Battlestar Galactica, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Smallville, Archie Comics First Looks and The Dark Tower.
Copyright © 2008, The Comics Continuum