Fanboy Cornucopia.

Thanks to ShoWest and otherwise, there’s been quite a bit of fanboy news to come down the pike in the past few days…

  • In the casting department, Parker Posey joined the legion of Superman as “Kitty Koslowski,” one of Lex Luthor’s minions. Hopefully, it’s a better villainess turn than in Blade: Trinity.
  • Not to be outdone by the son of Krypton, a spiffy new Batman Begins poster premieres online.
  • Rounding out the DC trifecta, Buffy mastermind Joss Whedon is signed to write and direct Wonder Woman.
  • On the Marvel end, AICN uncovers the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters’ new additions for X3…this time around will include Beast, Gambit, and a female Angel.
  • In the midst of the press junket for Woody Allen’s Melinda & Melinda, Chloe Sevigny inadvertently lets on that the Black Cat will likely complicate Peter Parker’s life in the next Spiderman.
  • Looking for direction (and cash flow) in the upcoming post-prequel era, George Lucas announces he’ll be re-releasing the OT in Cameron-style 3-D.
  • Ang Lee prepares to go back to the well with a prequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (I’ll take it over another Hulk.)
  • Among the recent new trailers is our first look at Michael Bay’s The Island, with Ewan MacGregor, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi, and Michael Clarke Duncan. I generally can’t stand Michael Bay films, but it is sci-fi and the cast isn’t bad.
  • The new Hitchhiker’s Guide site goes live, which includes this splendid shot of Arthur and Marvin enjoying (as much possible, given the terrible pain in all his diodes down his left side) an intergalactic sunset.
  • Finally, the very Independence Day-ish full trailer for War of the Worlds is out-and-about, which involves a lot of Tom Cruise running, Dakota Fanning crying, and random things detonating. Is Spielberg trying to out-Bay Bay?
  • Dent, Arthur.

    Don’t forget the llama foodHitchhiker’s meets Douglas Adams’ Bureaucracy in this new shot from the forthcoming film. Apparently, in a deviation from the book, Arthur, Zaphod, and Ford [Spoilers — Click to Reveal] have more problems with paperwork in an impromptu visit to the Vogon homeworld.

    Zarquon!

    Clever, clever…UGO obtains the rumored new Internet-only and Guide-centric Hitchhiker’s trailer. It mostly conforms to the earlier one, but still, it’s nice to finally hear Stephen Fry, as well as Alan Rickman as Marvin.

    One of those Days.

    Attention, People of Earth…I had a devil of a time downloading it at first, but nevertheless, a 95%-complete version of the long-awaited Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy trailer is now online. I’m really looking forward to seeing this on the big-screen — all the characters look great (sass these hoopy froods), and right now I’m definitely digging the DIY, low-fi aesthetic — that Away-Team moment at the end (on Magrathea, presumably) looks like it could’ve been taken right out of an old Doctor Who or Blake’s 7. Update: It’s now up at the official site.

    > Enjoy Poetry.


    Some big, swollen, vaguely tumescent Hitchhiker’s news today — IGN obtains several pics of the Vogons (designed by the Henson Company — as one AICN wag put, “OMG! Rygel ate Harry!“), including this one at left of unwitting poetry-enthusiasts Arthur (Martin Freeman) and Ford (Mos Def) in the clutches of Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz. (The Intergalactic Highway Bypass Planning Room is also worth a gander.) Very nice.

    That Ol’ Janx Spirit.

    “Being asked to do the voice of The Guide is like having your birthday on Christmas Day, discovering a winning lottery ticket in your stocking and having chocolate poured all over you.” Longtime Hitchhiker’s fan and Adams compatriot Stephen Fry talks about his role in the upcoming film. I’d say his inclusion is another touch of class that bodes well for this project.

    Groop, I implore thee, my foonting turlingdromes.

    In anticipation of Hitchhiker’s, Disney and AICN have banded together to offer a spiffy and brutal Vogon office desk set — mug, stapler, and pen — to whomever composes a lousy poem worthy of the Vogons (or, for that matter, Paul Neil Milne Johnstone of Beehive Court, Redbridge.) The contest notwithstanding, the idea that all Vogon construction is based on the square is exactly the type of clever design flourish that gives me hope for this film. Update: Even more Hitchhiker’s news: ComingSoon talks with Hammer & Tongs (a.k.a. the producer and director) about the movie’s progress.