Knowing IS Half the Battle

So, late last night, it was announced that Jon Chu will direct next years GI Joe 2. On paper, I thought that this was a horrible idea. The man most recently directed....well, you know. I'm not going to actually type the words here, because I don't want to get swarmed by teenage girls and spambots. Before that he directed Step Up 2 & 3 and another dance movie. Pretty ballsy choice, Paramount. Not that a director cant' switch genres and be good, but still. C'mon. Dude. He's makes DANCE movies.
Then, Mr. Jon Chu opened his mouth(to MTV) .
“‘Joe’ is something I’ve loved since I was a kid,I still think there’s a movie out there that can be done for the real ‘Joe’ fans, the one we’ve been waiting for that hasn’t been done before.”
-OK, dude. You've got my attention. I'm one of the few people who liked-all right, LOVED-GI Joe:The Rise of Cobra. But I still can't help but feel there was some missed opportunities with that film. The one that stands out most in my mind-Zartan should've had a costume. At LEAST a hood. Then he talked more, this time to moviehole:
“I am trying to figure that out right now. I have a bunch of stuff written down. I have done a bunch of drawings and things. We’ll have to see where that goes. Joe, to me, is iconic. It is as American as Coke and the Boy Scouts. To have that kind of history in a brand is so rare these days. And that is so powerful. So you can’t treat Joe like its just another action movie. You can’t treat Joe as just another petty commercial movie. Joe has history. Joe has always been a part of what America is, and now the world. What it means to be a leader and a hero. For me, it is about the fun stuff like Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes, and all the gadgets. All of that stuff. But it has heart. Its heart is what America, and what heroes and leaders around the world, strive to be. I think that is what the brand needs. It needs the respect to be treated in that way.”
-And suddenly, I'm a huge Jon Chu fan. If this guy puts HALF as much enthusiasm into the movie as he has in that statement, it's going to be great. And the script by the writers of Zombieland(Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick) can't hurt either. There's rumor of recasting a couple of the main roles(Joseph Gordon-Levitt & Sienna Miller)and I think I'm OK with that. As long as the replacements are good. Bottom line, I just hope it's a good GI Joe movie. That's not too much to ask, is it? Oh, and also-Serpentor.

A hot Wonder Woman...could work.

Word came flying in later today that actress Adrianne Palicki has been in cast as Dianna Prince/Wonder Woman in David E. Kelly's Wonder Woman pilot for NBC. The press release describes the pilot as:

"The series pilot is a reinvention of the iconic DC Comics title in which Wonder Woman – a.k.a. Diana Prince – is a vigilante crime fighter in Los Angeles but also a successful corporate executive and a modern woman trying to balance all of the elements of her extraordinary life."

-Not ridiculously too far from the comics material. Although Wonder Woman has mostly been based in Washington, D.C.(when she's in the US), I don't see her being in Los Angeles as a game-changer. I'm not bothered by Dianna Prince being a corporate executive, either. And from the looks of the shows star, she could pretty much be reading the phone book in the Wonder Woman costume and I'm not really gonna care.

Klytus, I'm NOT BORED.............

I'm gonna TRY and be as spoiler-free as I can in this. Here's the solicitation copy, from Ardden Entertainment:

"THE INVASION BEGINS! After the apparent demise of 'Ming the Merciful,' Flash Gordon, Dale Arden and Dr. Hans Zarkov continue their attempts to return to Earth. Meanwhile, Prince Barin, King Thun and Prince Vultan are hard at work trying to create a peaceful new environment on Mongo. However, when a mysterious group of Earth soldiers violently invade the planet, our heroes are separated and must band together once again to save the lives of every race on Mongo!"

-THE GOOD: EVERYTHING! And really, that about sums it up. One of my favorite hooks in this comic *SPOILER* is that Mongo's Global Translator breaks, causing Flash and his team to not be able to speak to each other. And instead of falling into "Lassie" mode(where one character speaks, and the other impossibly knows that there's a bridge out up ahead), the characters actually communicate through different means and actually are able to pick up bits and pieces of each others language. Brilliant!!!
-For the most part, I just couldn't get over how much F-U-N this comic was. Writer Brenden Deneen has got the characterization down pat. His best work is with the character of Flash Gordon himself. Just a decent, good guy hero. There are NONE of them in comics right now. There's no angst, no "I wish I wasn't in this situation" thing going on, he's just a guy trying to help people. Let's face it, how many people REALLY know the Flash Gordon characters beyond what they've seen in the 1980 movie or the 1979 Filmation cartoon? Yeah, not that many. The writing familiarizes the reader with the characters in about 2 pages and you feel like you've been reading this for years. VERY well done!! In the art department, Eduardo Garcia steps up to the plate and does a SPECTACULAR job. No complaints.
THE BAD: Well, this book was supposed to be out last October. OCTOBER. Yes, "Raise Your Glass" by Pink was on the radio, the San Franciso Giants were on their way to becoming World Series champs and......OK, it's not "Battle Chasers" late, but still. That's a 4 month wait.
THE VERDICT: BUY IT!!! NOW!!! GO!!!

Could Yvonne Strahovski be Ms. Marvel?

Maybe. Here's the RUMOR going around courtesy of CBM

"Though it’s not often that we get the scoop on anything here, I’ve just received information from a protected source inside Marvel that points to Yvonne Strahovski being cast in the upcoming Avengers movie as Ms. Marvel.

Could it be true?

I, for one, have long hoped to see Yvonne crop up in a comic book movie. She’s got the action chops to easily pull it off and it was really just a matter of time before the right character came along."

-My take: This could be a 50/50 chance. Joss Whedon is know for casting "nerd friendly" girls in his stuff. And, she definitely could pull this off. She's not a "big enough" star that she wouldn't sign on for 3 or 6 or however many movies Marvel/Disney will want her to sign for. And the fans will GO NUTS. If true, well played. And, just cause, here's some more picture of this smokin' hot lady!

"It's a great day to be great"

I'm SUPER excited for...............

A book.

But, it's not just ANY book. After 2009's less than awesome Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks, I was looking forward to a new Bond novel by ANYONE ELSE, and Flemming Publications did not disappoint by choosing Jeffery Deaver to pen not just any Bond novel, but basically a reboot of the literary Bond.

“The book will be set in mid-2011, which is when the book will be coming out. Bond is a 29- or 30-year-old agent for British security, doing what he did in the original books. And he will be a veteran of the military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. You’ll see the cast of characters readers are familiar with – Miss Moneypenny and M – but updated for the present day.”

Here's the formal press release from Flemming Publications:

Press Release

The new James Bond book, due to be published later this year and written by best-selling thriller writer Jeffery Deaver, is to be called Carte Blanche. Its title and cover artwork are unveiled today (Monday 17th January), at a special launch event at the InterContinental Hotel in Dubai.

Like Fleming, Jeffery Deaver takes inspiration from exotic locations around the world, and after visiting Dubai for the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature last year he decided to set part of Carte Blanche in the United Arab Emirates City.

Carte Blanche is due to be published by Hodder and Stoughton in the UK, a few days before Fleming’s birthday, on 26th May 2011. It has been commissioned by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd.

Jeffery Deaver comments, “I’m really excited about being back in Dubai. It is an inspirational and awe-inspiring city and makes a perfect Bond location—especially for a novel that pushes our hero to new extremes.”

Regarding the book’s title, Deaver added, “In the world of espionage, giving an agent carte blanche on a mission comes with an enormous amount of trust and constantly tests both personal and professional judgement. Part of the nonstop suspense in the novel is the looming question of what is acceptable in matters of national and international security. Are there lines that even James Bond should not cross?”

Unlike the most recent James Bond book, Sebastian Faulks’ period piece Devil May Care, Jeffery Deaver’s Bond will have a contemporary setting. As part of his latest assignment, the modern-day secret agent travels with Emirates Airline and spends a number of thrilling hours in Dubai both meeting up with an old friend and tracking a very disturbing villain.

The novel’s setting encompasses Deira and Port Saeed, and the history of the Emirates provides an exciting backdrop for some heart-stopping action.

Bond is renowned for visiting the most exotic and glamorous of cities and this is the first time Dubai has featured in a James Bond novel.

Jeffery Deaver will be making a special appearance at Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, on Tuesday 18th January, when he will be speaking about his love of Bond and his experience of writing Carte Blanche.

Carte Blanche also features Fleming’s favourite car – a Bentley. Historically, Bond owned three Bentley cars in the course of the fourteen original novels written by Ian Fleming and, bringing the plot completely up to date, Bond drives a Bentley Continental GT in the new book.

Jeffery Deaver has written 28 novels and sold more than 20 million books worldwide. He is best known for his Kathryn Dance and Lincoln Rhyme books, most notably The Bone Collector, which was adapted for film in 1999, starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. Before becoming a full-time author, Deaver was a journalist, like Fleming, and attorney. He started writing suspense novels on the long commute to and from his office on Wall Street. His books are now translated into 25 languages and he lives in North Carolina.

-Man, this 108 day wait is gonna drive me nuts!!! I'm really hoping that they'll be a girl with a sexually suggestive name and a henchman with a trademark way of killing, but I'm not holding my breath.

Maria Hill is gonna be in the Avengers movie....

AND she's be wicked hot! How I Met Your Mother Star Cobie Smulders has been cast as Nick Fury sidekick Maria Hill. Let's take a closer look:



Oh, you wanted a closer look at Maria Hill? We can do that to, I guess:

"Originally from Chicago Maria Hill joined SHIELD and rose to the position of commander. After Colonel Nicholas Fury's "Secret War" Maria was chosen to be director of SHIELD by the President himself after he commended her on her work while she was stationed on assignment in Madripoor. Although many others who she herself admitted were better suited for position were not considered for directorship she was assigned director. It has emerged that Maria was chosen as the other candidates were "Fury Loyalists" and SHIELD needed "new direction".

At first Hill had her differences with Iron Man (Tony Stark) and the New Avengers. Mainly due to the fact they withheld information on the "House of M" event leading to "M-Day". After Hill arrested Spider-Man, unmasked him and used SHIELD psychics agents to probe his mind for information regarding the "House of M" events, Maria redeemed herself to them by not following the presidents advice and bombing the island of Genosha to disable a current threat as the Avengers were present at the time.

Before the "Superhuman Registration Act" was passed as law, Hill met with Captain America (Steve Rogers) aboard the helicarrier and proposed that he lead the Avengers within the law and arrest anyone who would not comply. Captain America declined her offer, stating that he would not arrest people who risk their lives for their country every day of the week. Upon his failure to comply Hill ordered her superhuman response team or "cape killers" to tranquilize Captain America. During the scuffle Rogers avoided being tranquilized and escaped becoming the de facto leader of the Secret Avengers.

After the "Civil War" had ended Hill stepped down as directer giving the position to Iron Man Tony Stark and has resumed her duties as commander for SHIELD."
via Marvel.com

Speaking of Awesomeness.............

All of my 3 personalities are SUPER excited for this comic. Cant' wait til May!

Criticism in comics and in general....

After reading the Robot 6 column this morning, I was really glad that SOMEONE put down into words, what' I've been saying most of my adult life.

“Can I say something I’ve wanted to say for a long time? If you like something, tell your friends. If you love it, tell the world. But if you hate something, just throw it away, don’t buy it again and move on. We spend way too much time tearing shit down. I just want to try the other direction for a while.”

God Bless you, Steve Niles. People who know me, know that I am the eternal optimist. I love everything. Except cheese, I really hate that awful, awful food. But here's my point WHY bother "tearing shit down" SO MUCH? What good is it really doing? I'd MUCH rather tell everyone I know about an awesome comic/movie/tv show that I've experienced than tell someone how stupid they are for liking something that I think is "inferior". You know what you get when you do that? Resentment. I've seen FIRST HAND people come into a store, totally over the moon excited for a comic that was coming out today, only to have a co-worker tell them "Oh my God, I don't believe you still read this! All Marvel & DC put out is corporate shit that's all based on whatever movie or TV project that they have going on!". Really? 1)You just broke that person's heart and 2)You're an asshole.
-Let's get this straight. I'm not a fan of Vertigo comics. At all. When people would come up to me and ask me for a good Vertigo book, my standard answer was "Look, I'm really not the guy to answer that questions. I can tell you what's popular with the other customers, but I don't really read the line. If your interested, I can show you some things that I do recommend, though." and if someone came up with a book that I didn't care for I'd challenge them to convince me to read it and give it another chance. SOMETIMES(Astounding Wolf-Man) they were right.
-The bottom line is this. It's very easy to tear something down. Building something up takes MUCH more effort. I prefer to build things.....like giant robots made of cardboard. ;)