Word officially comes down that Garth Ennis’ Preacher is being developed for HBO by Mark Steven Johnston (Daredevil, Ghost Rider) and Howard Deutch (Grumpier Old Men.) Not the most exciting development team in the world, but it’s nice to see HBO get into the comic game. (And if Zack Snyder’s take on The Watchmen falls apart for some reason, as so many earlier attempts at it have, a 12-hour series on the Home Box Office would be a good place for Alan Moore’s magnum opus.)
Category: Comics
Venomous Veil.
I’m talking about the man in the mirror…Two new posters for Sam Raimi’s Spiderman 3 make it online, showcasing the Spidey-Venom duality.
Sand in your Eyes.
The new Sandman-heavy trailer for Sam Raimi’s Spiderman 3 is now online. To be honest, I think I preferred the teaser — this one doesn’t really grab me (and it seems to give away too many plot points.) Nevertheless, here it is.
Krypton, Kumar, Halo, & Che.
Quite a bit of movie news lately: Bryan Singer’s next Superman achieves liftoff, as does Harold & Kumar II. (I didn’t think much of Superman Returns, but am willing to give Singer another shot, particularly given how much better X2 was over X-Men. As for H & K…yeah, I’ll see it.) Meanwhile, the Peter Jackson-produced Halo is off for now…probably not a great loss, I suspect. And, finally, Steven Soderbergh and Benicio del Toro’s Che is now two films: The Argentine and Guerrilla, to be shot back-to-back.
Time Check.
“1985’s a problem for people. The Cold War’s a problem for people. But these are things I’ve been trying to [tell people] would be cool. I like that Richard Nixon is the president in it. I think that’s important. Those kinds of things tell you exactly what kind of movie this is – it’s not Fantastic Four, you know.” 300 director Zack Snyder offers a brief update on the current state of CWatchmen.
Forth the 300.
Ok, it’s still basically just a lot of flexing and screaming. Nevertheless, the new trailer for Zach Snyder’s 300 is out, and it’s an adrenaline shot…one of the more effective previews I’ve seen in awhile. (And “Tonight we dine in Hell!” seems like it might be an apt catchphrase for all kinds of situations.)
A Dent in Nolan’s Plan.
In an interview with IGN Filmforce, Christopher Nolan discusses The Dark Knight and The Prisoner, and confirms that Harvey Dent will have a role in the former, although he hasn’t yet been cast. Guy Pearce? Liev Schrieber?
A Scanner Starkly.
Method casting? Robert Downey Jr. signs up as troubled alcoholic billionaire Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man, for director Jon Favreau.
Beware the Melting Aardvark.
Via LMG, two bizarrer-than-most comic book creators get in the blog game: Dave Sim and Bill Sienkiewicz.
No Joking Matter.
“It’s definitely going to stump people. I think it’ll be more along the lines of how the Joker was meant to be in the comics, darker and more sinister.” Brokeback Mountain‘s Heath Ledger says all the right things about his upcoming turn as the Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. “I wouldn’t have thought of me, either. But it’s obviously not going to be what Jack Nicholson did. It’s going to be more nuanced and dark and more along the lines of a Clockwork Orange kind of feel. Which is, I think, what the comic book was after: less about his laugh and more about his eyes.” And, in related news, Bob Hoskins hasn’t heard he might be playing the Penguin, so scratch that one off the rumor list for now.