The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision: Mandeville, Top Cow to Adapt Silvestri's 'Crosshair'

Top Cow comic "Crosshair" has been targeted for feature film treatment.

Mandeville Films partners David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman, best known for producing the romantic comedy "The Proposal," have teamed up with Top Cow to produce "Crosshair." The duo also has comic book adaptations "Earp: Saint for Sinners" and "Alibi" in the works.

Mandeville execs, in Comic-Con for the unveiling of Radical Publishing’s "Earp," closed the deal over the weekend after furious negotiations.

Read the full story here.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter

CBR: The Top Cow: 'We Create' Media Panel

A herd of devoted fans flocked into a packed room for the Top Cow: "We Create" Multimedia panel at Comic-Con International in San Diego on Saturday, sitting before a panel consisting of Top Cow publisher Filip Sablik, president Matt Hawkins, CEO Marc Silvestri and American Original founder Jeff Katz, with plenty of guest panelists and prominent announcements to follow.

The Top Cow panelists kicked things off with a first look at a trailer cut specifically for Comic-Con. Featuring a flashy music video with quick cuts, concert footage and all sorts of burning fanfare, the trailer teased a project built around September Mourning front woman Emily Lazar that's billed as a cross-media entertainment endeavor across comic books, digital downloads, video games, jewelry and much more. Lazar briefly joined the panelists on stage and Silvestri described the mysterious project, saying: "It's coming out real fast and we're going to start teasing it out through the Top Cow Universe. If David Bowie had technology today, this would be Ziggy Stardust."

Although he wouldn't tip his hand on what exactly the Lazar-centric project entails, Silvestri made a promise to the panel's attendees. "I'm being very genuine here," he said. "You're going to remember this day."

Read all our panel announcements here.
Source: CBR

IGN: Top Cow in the Crosshairs

At the Top Cow panel at Comic-Con this weekend, the comics label's reps revealed that they'd just made a new movie deal during the convention.

Crosshair, which was created by Marc Silvestri, written by Jeff Katz, and illustrated by Silverstri and Allan Jefferson, will be turned into a film by Mandeville Films. Top Cow and Mandeville have previously teamed on adapting Alibi, which was announced at last year's con.

"We already sold this as a film," revealed Top Cow's president Matt Hawkins at his company's panel. "This is a major announcement for us. That's never really happened where we've literally [come here] with something this early in development and have these guys jump on it."

Read the full coverage here.
Source: IGN

Comic Vine: Why Didn't Angelina Jolie Return for Wanted 2?

Had things gone as originally hoped for, WANTED 2 would be on the bill along with SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD at Universal’s SDCC panel next week (squeezing in with the host of other panels going on.) Director Timur Bekmambetov would probably be there with all the cast, talking about how they were going to start shooting the Millarworld sequel next month for a release later next year. That was the schedule that was floating around back when we were reporting on the starting and stopping of this project back in February. The last we heard of it was when TWILIGHT-star Kristen Stewart was rumored to step in as a new “hot chick” for the sequel.

Read the full coverage here.
Source: Comic Vine

Twitter Report: Phil Hester Comments on The New Spider-Man

Andrew Garfield pt. 2: @ChrisSamnee Super nerdy question: What artist's interpretation of Peter Parker do you think Andrew Garfield, our new movie Spidey, resembles most?
-Chris Samnee, Artist ("Siege: Embedded," "Area 10")

Andrew Garfield pt. 3: @philhester @ChrisSamnee Romita Sr. Just a bit too good looking. Not as plausibly nerdy as Maguire.
-Phil Hester, Writer/Artist ("Green Arrow," "The Irredeemable Ant-Man")

Read more tweets from July 2, 2010 here.
Source: MTV Splashpage

MTV Splashpage: Kristen Stewart Talks Wanted

Back in April, a rumor surfaced that "Twilight" star Kristen Stewart was in the running to play the female lead in a sequel to "Wanted," Timur Bekmambetov's follow-up to the 2008 film based on Mark Millar and J.G. Jones' comic book series.
When MTV News sat down with Stewart during the press junket for "Twilight: Eclipse," we checked in with the actress to find out if there was any truth to the rumor that she'll be following in Angelina Jolie's footsteps alongside returning "Wanted" star James McAvoy.
The original report had Stewart tagged to play a "young, ass-kicking assassin in the Fraternity," and Bekmambetov's top choice to star opposite McAvoy's reluctant assassin, Wesley Gibson. Though she wouldn't confirm or deny the rumor, Stewart did say she'd be interested in doing an action movie — if the right one presented itself, that is.

iFanboy Talks The A-Team

In 2010, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire... iFanboy.

This week Ron Richards and Conor Kilpatrick take a look at Joe Carnahan's The A-Team! Does it do justice to a beloved 80s TV classic? Find out now!

As always, from here on out, in the podcast and comments, you have been spoiler-warned.

Listen to the podcast here.
Source: iFanboy

Geeks of Doom Reviews The A-Team

The A-Team
Directed by Joe Carnahan
Written by Joe Carnahan, Brian Bloom, Skip Wood
Starring Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Jessica Biel, Sharlto Copley
Rated R
Release Date: June 11, 2010

We are barely into the summer movie season, film analysts in La-La land are already predicting the lowest summer box office intake in many years, but who can blame them? With Sex and the City’s less than sexy opening box office number and Iron Man 2’s less than invincible reviews, this year’s summer lineup looks to be less than stellar. Perhaps what this sagging box office needs is a group of soldiers for hire, who, if you have a problem and no one else can help, can solve all your problems.

Read the full review here.
Source: Geeks of Doom

Furious Fanboys Lists Darkness & Witchblade as Characters They Want to See in the Big Screen

Darkness: There are two genres most beloved by American audiences: mafia and super hero flicks. Directors can tap into both simultaneously with this Top Cow character, who wields dark constructs not unlike the Green Lantern. What differentiates him from Hal Jordan is that he’s a former mafia hitman on the wrong side of the law, but with a strict set of morals.

Witchblade: Back in the early 2000s, the Witchblade saga saw its televised debut, but as of yet, is still awaiting a theatrical adaptation. It’s been in the works for a while, but no progress has been announced despite its past 2009 and 2010 time stamp. Our primary suggestion is that they avoid considering Meghan Fox for the lead role since it’s doubtful that she can carry a movie on her own.

See it here.
Source: furiousfanboys.com

Twitter Report: Marc Bernardin Comments on Donald Glover for Spider-Man

@marcbernardin i will say again, for the stupid seats: I don't think Spidey should be black; I think they should get the best actor, even if he is black.
-Marc Bernardin, Writer ("The Authority," "The Highwaymen")

Read the artilce and other tweets here.
Source: splashpage.mtv.com

Newsarama: THE COMIC BOOK MOVIE DECADE: What the Future Holds?

With the success of Iron Man 2, it appears that comic book movies aren't going anywhere, and several more are coming in 2010.

But whether comic book movies are based on well-known superheroes, quirky independent books, or just "kick-ass" concepts, their success begs the question: What's next?

While Marvel's move toward a shared universe is currently changing the future of comic book movies, their establishment of their own movie studio had a huge impact on comic book movies of the past decade. And that idea of self-created movies may eventually extend to other publishers in the future.

"It's not an easy thing to do, but it's certainly in the realm of possibilities," said Matt Hawkins, president of Top Cow, the publisher behind the Wanted comic book that became a hit film.

In fact, Top Cow is producing The A-Team with Fox. But producing a film and making it yourself are two different things, Hawkins said. "Marvel made a separate company and had something like $600 million of financing come in to set it up. And it was all predicated on the success of the Spider-Man," he said. "The amount of money that's involved and the amount of risk that's involved, and the bonding and all those various things, mean you have to really invest yourself in that before it makes sense."

Read the full article here.
Source: Newsarama

Film News: Kristen Stewart Replacing Jolie in Wanted Sequel?

While it certainly appears that Angelina Jolie's days as a "Wanted" woman are over, director Timur Bekmembatov is already eying a replacement killer in the form of "Twilight" leading lady Kristen Stewart.

Read the full article here

Source: splashpage.mtv.com

FEARNet Recommends The Crazies

FEARNet's Audrey is off on a scary comic kick and dabbles in some The Crazies.

Watch the video here.

Source: FEARNet

CBR Comic Reel: Wanted 2, Green Hornet, Iron Man 2

WANTED 2

E! Online reports the makers of the sequel are eyeing Kristin Stewart to take Angelina Jolie's place in the film. "While details are still pretty scarce, Stewart's character would be a young, ass-kicking assassin in the Fraternity," writes E! "Our insider says Kristen was approached to fill Jolie's hot-woman void in the franchise and met at least once with Timur Bekmambetov, the director of the series." Of course, the whole thing could be a dodge to get Jolie back into the picture. I know I should make some sort of Bella joke here, but I find I'm at a loss for one. No, wait! Here we go: "I guess this is another thing for Bella to be pissy about." Eh ... I'll get back to you on this one.

Release date: TBA

Read the full article here.

Source: CBR

Comic Attack Looks at Wanted

Top Cow Productions published the comic book called Wanted by Mark Millar in 2003. Wanted focused on a cubicle worker named Wesley Gibson who had been pushed around by almost everyone in his unfulfilled life. He meets Fox, who is part of a super villain organization called the Fraternity.

The Fraternity was formed in the 1980s by super villains who realized that they had greater strength in groups against super heroes. The super villains won the battle against the super heroes, and erased all of the world’s memories of anyone with special abilities. Wesley meets Professor Solomon Selzer, a mad scientist, who leads the North and South American chapter of the organization.

The Professor informs him that his father worked for the Fraternity and was assassinated by an unknown man. In order for Wesley to receive the inheritance left to him by his father, he must join the Fraternity. He is trained by Fox and accepted into the fold later on. When Rictus and Future want to go against the Fraternity’s secrecy policy and rule the world, Wesley and Fox must stop them before it’s too late.

Read the full article here.

Source: Comic Attack

MTV Splashpage Talks Wanted 2 With Mark Millar

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

One thing's for sure: if/when "Wanted 2" hits theaters, Angelina Jolie will not be taking a shot at rising from the dead.

MTV News caught up with "Wanted" co-creator Mark Millar at the South By Southwest Film Festival to get his thoughts on how the "Wanted 2" story and its fraternity of assassins will move forward without Jolie's character, and why the answer could lie in the introduction of other fraternities around the world.

"They killed off the most recognizable character, but I thought it was great to do that," Millar told MTV News. "It was so ballsy to kill off the one person you didn't expect to die."

"What they're talking about is just moving on with the story and doing it properly," he said. "Just bringing in another cool character as this world opens up with all the different fraternities out there all across the world. This could change at any moment, but the last I heard two weeks ago, was that was the plan moving forward."

Read the full article here.

Source: MTV Splashpage

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PLAYBACK:stl Reviews The Crazies #1-4

Released in late February, The Crazies film is a present day take on the old 1973 George A. Romero horror movie of the same name, a story where townsfolk are infected with a disease that causes them to violently kill one another. With this four-issue miniseries, Top Cow Studios offers up four unique, standalone stories that serve up a smart, concise narrative set within the movie’s world. The first three issues each focus solely on one character's descent into madness, while the fourth issue highlights the experiences of a zombie-killing vigilante threesome.

The first issue focuses on the degradation, loss and ultimate demise surrounding a poor pig farmer, Jon Buran and Chris DiBari’s artwork rounding out the quick tale with an elegant flourish whileauthor Ivan Brandon’s script moves the story along at a nice clip.

The last issue is my favorite of the four in regards to art: Rahsan Ekedal’s coloring and layouts are great, moving the story along so nicely you forget you’re just reading a comic. And while Joshua Hale Fialkov’s vigilante plotline is systematic (read: systematic, not cheap), Ekedal’s artistic choices pull the story together.

Read the full review here.

Source: PLAYBACK:stl

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ComicsOnline Reviews The Crazies #1-4

Overall

The Crazies comic series is a great addition to the film. Each of the minor characters shown here really flesh out further details of the how the toxin affects the citizens in the film. As a separate entity, the comics are good, but as a supplement to the movie, they’re great.

ComicsOnline gives The Crazies comic series one-four 4 out of 5 bites from a pig.

Click here to read the entire review with commentary for each issue.

Source: ComicsOnline.com

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Newsarama: Matt Hawkins Comments on the Impact of the Comic Book Movie Decade on Publishing

Some of the changes to comic book publishing are obvious since Hollywood started salivating over their wares. But a lot of changes influenced by the film industry have happened without most loyal comic book fans even realizing it.

The biggest and most apparent shifts within the world of publishing have happened just in the last year. DC Comics is now calling itself "DC Entertainment," reporting directly to Warner Bros. Pictures Group. Marvel now runs its own movie studio under the umbrella of Disney's entertainment conglomerate. And comic book's top writers, like Brian Michael Bendis and Geoff Johns, spend much of their time nowadays consulting on scripts for movie projects and TV shows.

But other changes to the comic book industry have trickled down to even smaller publishers in ways that are less noticeable to readers, but all-too-apparent within the industry.

For smaller publishers, one of the reasons for working with Hollywood is that there's a real boost in sales of the source comic books when films are made.

"Anytime you have a mass market film or TV show or video game, you have a surge in sales of the comic," said Matt Hawkins, president of Top Cow, the publisher behind the Wanted comic book that became a hit film. "Anyone who tells you there's not is just lying."

Another reason publishers sometimes desire Hollywood involvement is the potential for owning licensed characters that can be used for merchandise and other media. From Sin City action figures to Watchmen T-shirts, merchandising of comic book characters gets a huge boost from feature films.

But Hawkins said that, despite many comics companies moving in that direction, it's not always easy to capitalize on licenses when the characters are unknown and less identifiable.

Read the full article here.

Source: Newsarama

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ComicVine: Wanted 2 Is Still On!

When Angelina Jolie revealed that she would not be returning for the sequel to Wanted, we quickly heard the rumor that Universal Studios would be canceling the sequel. According to an inside source close to the project we can confirm that the sequel will still be moving forward even without Jolie, and that she will not be replaced on the upcoming project. And if you still have your doubts about our source, you can put your fears to rest because WANTED writer Mark Millar agreed that the project is still a go ahead.

Read more and catch the video of Matt Hawkins with ComicVine here.

Source: ComicVine

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