Warner Brothers Restructuring DC Comics

Even though Marvel is clearly ahead in the race, DC is slowly (but surely) catching up. 2010 will bring forth The Losers and Jonah Hex for fans, the offensively-pricey Green Lantern starts production this coming Spring and we'll eventually get Batman III and that Superman re-whatever.

Now Nikki Finke of Deadline Hollywood Daily reports that Jeff Robinov (who himself was recently given a new juicy contract-renewal as he's being suited to take over the company) plans on restructuring DC Comics from the leg up with an official announcement coming as soon as this afternoon.

Long story short, a number of DC properties that have been lingering into nothing-ness (read: Wonder Woman) have been recalled back to the studio away from their long-time producers. If said properties return to their perspective parties, it will be at a reduced deal. The studio doesn't want to hand over too much damn money to the likes of Joel Silver and Chuck Roven. No offense, guys.

I know, I know. My first reaction was also, "Oh so this is their way of stealing Marvel's thunder!" But that's just not the case, says Finke's source(s). Said plan has long been in the works. It's just conveniently timed to be announced after that whole "Disney buying Marvel" thing. You might have heard about that.

If this means we get the next Superman film out sooner rather than later, I'm game.

UPDATE: And as earlier promised by Ms. Finke, Warner Brothers officially announces their new plans including new title (read: DC Entertainment) in additon to long-time big-cheese Paul Levitz stepping down. So it appears a fire has in fact been lit under WB's ass. Good. And who benefits from all of this? Fans eagerly awaiting DC-related films.

The Hobbit Legally Permitted to Move Forward

New Line Cinema has been doing quiet a bit of "willin and dealin" over the Lord of the Rings trilogy. As expected, this has come back to bite them in the ass as the former big-player studio (now subsidiary of Warner Brothers) has been hit with several lawsuits - chief among them from the estate of Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien.

Long story short, they're owed money over profits earned from the trilogy. If you'll remember, it made a couple of bucks in theaters over the course of three years (read: close to $3 billion box-office!)

This in itself threatened to prevent the two-part Guillermo del Toro-directed/Peter Jackson-produced Hobbit films from moving forward. According to THR, that problem has been nipped in the bud as New Line has settled the case out of court with the Tolkien estate.

Of course, this outcome isn't surprising. There's just too much money to be made by all parties for this to be further dragged out into the courts (said trial would have started next month had a settlement not been reached!) Now let's hope we'll get more definitve news-items on The Hobbit. Perhaps they'll soon reveal the idenity of the new Bilbo Baggins - the one that Sir Ian McKellan said had just been cast.

Akira Lives!

It appears that the reports of Akira's cinematic demise were greatly exaggerated. That is according to Collider. Quoting a trusted source, word is Warner Brothers has been keeping the project on the down-low after it failed to meet its originally-projected June 2009 release date.

The studio brought in screenwriters Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby (credited for both Iron Man and Children of Men) awhile back who should be handing in their script soon. If it gets the thumbs up from top executives, the film could possibly start up next year as one of Warner Brother's major 2011 tentpoles.

But I see that being quiet a big "if" personally. Lest we forget that Watchmen was a box-office thud this past March, folks. To be fair, its an apples and oranges comparison between that and Akira. But neither were exactly that well known by the general public and yet had complex (read: dark) material.

And I figured they already had their ludriciously expensive film for 2011 in the form of Green Lantern.

Movie Moan - Not So One Hour Podcast

It's a tad more relaxed than usual on this week's Movie Moan here at Think McFly Think. You see, Ed, Lou and Jamie don't have work tomorrow (God bless you, Labor Day!) And unfortunately, everyone's favorite British gentleman agent Phil does.

As we're experiencing a "Dead Zone in film-news" (as Ed puts it), the group touches upon Disney's recent purchase of Marvel Comics and 20th Century Fox's announcement of rebooting the Fantastic Four franchise. But the remainder of this edition is dedicated to chatting up District 9 to great length and detail. Yep, Phil finally got the chance to see it this past weekend.

In addition, a new feature is introduced "Moain' Bout a Movie" where our heroes dissect a film that currently isn't playing in theaters but instead collecting dust at your local video-store. And since it was the brain-chain of Ed Hocken, he gets first dibs as they discuss Mark Romanek's 2002 film One Hour Photo. AKA there are spoilers all over the place. So you've been warned.

Movie Moan - Not So One Hour Podcast

Tron Legacy Officially Coming December 2010

My TMT partner-in-crime Peter Georgiou and I shoot the shit quiet frequently. Whenever the subject at hand involves the latest bullshit in film-news (which tends to be 99.999% of the time), we come to our conclusion(s) on whatever the topic based on common sense (or specifically the "sense" of your average studio executive), logic and good ol fashioned connecting-the-dots. And it's that state of mind which (in my opinion) sets us apart because we don't simply assume everyone else is excited about a upcoming film 100% based we ourselves are and automatically proclaim that "it's gonna be huge" (i.e. nerdgasm).

Hence why we both knew that Watchmen (as brilliant of a film that it ultimately was) wouldn't "click" with the general public. So when the subject of Tron Legacy arose, Pete simply stated, "It's a sequel to a nearly 30 year-old cult film that bombed in theatres. No one outside of the Internet community will give a shit."

Cut to the 2008 Comic-Con test footage for the sequel being released to the public. Upon seeing it, Peter confessed, "Honestly, that looks pretty damn awesome. I will definitely go see it now." The funny thing is he tends to be the more level-headed and rational one between us. Even more interesting is that I've heard similar reactions from others - the kind of folks who have zero idea of what Tron is/was to begin with. Or in Peter's case, knew about the original 1982 film and simply didn't give a fuck initially.

And that's exactly why I'd be worried if I were Sony right about now. The studio recently announced their Seth Rogen-starring/Michel Gondry-directed Green Hornet had moved from July 7th to December 17th of next year. But now (as per Coming Soon) Disney has "coincidentally" set the theatrical release of Tron Legacy for that date as well where it will also face off against Sony's The Smurfs and Warner Brothers' Yogi Bear.

Of course, who are we kidding? This is nothing more than a game of chicken to see who will flinch. At the very least, one of these four films will move. But it won't be the Tron sequel.

Just When You Couldn't Get Enough "Fat Old Black Lady" Jokes...

In the holy trinity of "comedian dressing up as old black lady" sub-section in the comedy genre, there lies Tyler Perry, Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence.

And while Perry will every-so-often make a film without Madea and Murphy still has shitty kid-friendly fare to fall back on, it's been slim pickins' for Lawrence. Oh sure, Sony is trying to get Bad Boys 3 off the ground and he'll no doubt be the easiest of the key players to agree to come back. But the cost of getting Will Smith, Michael Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer could very-well lead to its un-making.

What is Lawrence to do then? "Fear not!" says 20th Century Fox arriving on their white horse to save the day. That's right, folks. Big Momma's House 3 is in our future.

And since those fart jokes and horny old people gags don't write themselves (until proven otherwise by our crack team of TMT scientists), Randi Mayem Singer will fill in those blanks with the power of his laptop. That is according to Variety.

With horror films, animation and ego-driven James Cameron projects reliant on the technology, what's to stop Fox from making Big Momma 3-D?

Lobo's Latest Target? Guy Ritchie

I never was that much into Lobo to be honest. As a kid, I mostly remember him being used in the infamous "DC vs. Marvel" comic-book mini-series back in the mid 90s where he faced off against Wolverine with the readers deciding on who won. Not surprisingly, everyone's favorite Canadian mutant won the slug-fest.

A film version of the intergalactic bounty-hunter's exploits has been development over the years. I recall Latino Review doing a video review of the script a few months back - which was interestingly enough pulled not too long after with the update:

"UPDATE AT THE REQUEST OF THE PRODUCERS WE HAVE TAKEN THE VIDEO DOWN SINCE IT REVEALS TOO MUCH, AND YES THE MOVIE IS OFFICIALLY NOW A GO."

Well here is (further) proof of that, ladies and gentleman. Variety reports that Guy Ritchie has been brought on board by producer Joel Silver to direct. 

The goal is for filming to start up early next year and with a PG-13 rating in mind. I'm sure the hard-core Lobo fans won't be too jazzed about that decision. Maybe it's just me, but it feels like Silver and Warner Brothers hiring Ritchie is clearly a vote of confidence with the forthcoming Sherlock Homes which they just recently worked on together.

It's also a good sign that the studio is slowly but surely getting off its ass and gearing up more DC Comics-based properties with next year's The Losers and Jonah Hex, Green Lantern and now this. And now, ladies and gentlemen, let the "Dwayne Johnson as Lobo" rumors officially begin...

A 3-D Film From a Chocolate Bar? Paul W.S. Anderson, Of Course!

Never before has the quality of a film been so accurately depicted by a single photo! We'll stick with the 100 Calories packs. I can't afford to lose my girlish figure and all.

I tend to give the filmmaker the benefit of the doubt on whatever he and/or she is working on. But it's safe to say that Paul W.S. Anderson has worked that theory out to the bone. I base that of course from his rich filmography including Resident Evil, Death Race and Alien vs. Predator. Not really the best of compliments that his best film was based off a popular early-90s arcade game (that's Mortal Kombat for you retards out there!)

Now THR reveals Anderson's next foray into cinematic God-awfulness with his take on The Three Musketeers. In 3-D! And with such glowing comments about the intention of "modernizing" the adventures of d'Artagnan and the guys while keeping the nineteenth century setting, one can safely assume they're playing off the similarly structured Sherlock Holmes. Of course if Guy Ritchie's would-be blockbuster tanks, will Anderson change his tune? Possibly. But who seriously gives a fuck anyway?

Favreau & Downey to Reunite For Cowboys & Aliens?

With filming on Iron Man 2 finished and now in post-production, Jon Favreau is close to picking his next directorial feature. And surpringly enough, it's not The Avengers after all.

According to Variety, the director (and some forget actor) is said to be hovering around Cowboys & Aliens before returning to the world of Tony Stark, Rhodey & Co. for a third Iron Man go-around. If you'll remember, Shellhead himself Robert Downey Jr. has been attached to the property pretty much since after Iron Man exploded back in May 2008.

Certainly helps matters that the script was done by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindeloff (coming off the killer success of Star Trek, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and currently working on the Trek sequel). Anything they develop right now will be eaten up by studios.

I can't say I'm nuts about the film based on the premise (i.e. cowboys and Indians team up to fight aliens in the Old West). Meh. But it's good that Favreau is taking some time away from Shellhead to recharge his batteries. 

In related news, Aint-It-Cool-News has exclusively learned that the afore-mentioned Iron Man sequel (in addition to the first film) might be converted into 3-D. At the moment, a minute long demo is making the rounds for those willing to pony up the cash to get it done. I'll repeat what I said earlier. Meh.

Fantastic Four Officially Getting Rebooted

Way back in March, our pals at IESB revealed that 20th Century Fox were planning on rebooting the Fantastic Four franchise not unlike Batman Begins, Casino Royale and Star Trek. 

Now six months later (!), Variety "reports" the story (Where is IESB's credit by the way? They were cool enough to rightfully give HitFix props for calling Bryan Singer developing Battlestar Galatica! What gives?) The studio has assigned Akiva "I almost killed Batman!" Goldsman to produce the new film and oversee its production. Phil Gee must be rolling in his grave right now!  

In addition, Michael Green (whose currently working on Heroes and recently did some rewrite work on Green Lantern) has been commissioned for penning duties. Depending of your taste of Heroes, you can interpret that decision as being headed in the right or wrong direction - most likely the latter. Of course, this comes less than 24 hours after the announcement that Disney was purchasing Marvel and would (eventually) be home to its heroes on the big and small screen.

Now studios outside of the Mouse are wisely taking advantage of what Marvel properties they currently have their hands on. So it makes even more sense now that Fox wants to take another crack at it. This despite the fact that the last FF film was released just two years ago.