Variety on the Comics to Films

[Eric P]

http://weblogs.variety.com/bags_and_boards/2008/07/comic-con-plays.html

Comic-Con plays 'Lets' Make a Deal,' Day One

Announcements are coming fast and furious from all over as we head into Day One of Comic-Con. Here's what's going around:

* "Hancock" helmer Peter Berg is developing the Radical Comics title "Hercules: The Thracian Wars" as a feature film.

* "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" actor Luke Goss and Jenna Dewan are attached to a film adaptation of Top Cow's "The Magdalena" in the works from Gale Anne Hurd's Valhalla Motion Pictures, Top Cow and Platinum Studios.

* WB has picked up the rights to Rob Liefeld's upcoming comic "Capeshooters" for director Bryan Singer to produce.

* "Battlestar Galactica" director Michael Rymer is confirmed to helm Top Cow's planned "Witchblade"  feature.

* Benderspink has picked up "Underworld" creator Kevin Grevioux's "ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction" for feature development. Comic is published by Canuck publisher Red 5.

* "Iron Man" is reportedly coming out on DVD and Blu-Ray Sept. 30 in single-disc DVD, double-disc DVD and single-disc Blu-Ray editions.
* Newly minted Image Comics partner Robert Kirkman is teaming up with MTV to create animated digital comics based on his series, "Invincible." IGN has the interviews.

* Den of Geek reports that Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier — whose retraction of recent comments he made about being approached to direct a Superman film make anything he says worthy of a little suspicion — says a new Avengers character will debut in "Iron Man 2" and that Robert Downey Jr., Ed Norton and Samuel L. Jackson are set to reprise their various roles in the planned "Avengers" movie.

* Director D.J. Caruso is telling SuperheroHype that the absorption of New Line into WB has been good news for his planned adaptation of "Y: The Last Man." Caruso says the studio is high on the pic, which Shia Leboeuf is attached to star in, and it could come out in 2010.

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* Summit Entertainment has acquired the rights to the one-shot comic "Leaves," published by Virgin Comics. Script will be penned by the comic's scripter, Kevin J. Walsh. The studio meanwhile has licensed the comics rights for the film "Push" to DC/Wildstorm. A six-issue prequel is planned, with writers Marc Bernardin and Adam Freeman on board to script.

* "DC: The New Frontier" creator Darwyn Cooke is set to adapt the first four novels in Richard Stark's "Parker" crime series for IDW.

[Madrun Badrun]

Americans really use the word Canuck?

[Howard Alan Treesong]

"I'm the last man on Earth?! nono no NONO!!"

way too many C-rate properties being picked up, the market seems well overdue for a correction

[Beardo]

Ts a good time to be a successful comic writer.

[Beardo]

Not sure how you would do a Y movie, but whatever, wasn't that good in the first place.

Y was pretty good. 

[Eel O'Brian]

80-90% of these will never make it to the screen

[TVC15]

I want someone to try to do a Sandman TV series!!!!!!!

[Howard Alan Treesong]

I want someone to try to do a Sandman TV series!!!!!!!

that would work if you did it like Jim Henson's Storytelling or whatever. episodic. or like Doctor Who, with Morpheus as the Doctor. actually I think that idea is awesome

[Howard Alan Treesong]

It was good, but some it is bloated and fairly juvenile.  The bad parts boil down to little more than "men won't put the toilet seat down, hyuk, hyuk" and there is some garden variety messageboard misogyny as well.

it also features a magical negro superspy

[Eel O'Brian]

nah, do Sandman with animagic stop-motion, like all those old Rankin Bass holiday specials

[border]

Wow, does Hollywood think they can sell anything that was a comic book at one point?  Shit, they are optioning properties before the first issue is even published, in reaction to blockbusters driven by the likes of Batman and Iron Man.

I guess they will learn their lesson when Watchmen tanks at the box office.

[Tucah]

I'm curious to see how the Y movie works out, and looking forward to IM2 and Avengers (especially since, so far, everyone important is reprising their roles)

[muckhole]

I want someone to try to do a Sandman TV series!!!!!!!

I had always prayed that HBO would pick it up and make a limited series out of it. Uncensored and with a decent budget.