Press Release
IDW Publishing will publish STAR TREK: COUNTDOWN TO DARKNESS, the official prequel series to Paramount Pictures’ upcoming movie, Star Trek Into Darkness. Like the best-selling Countdown series before it, COUNTDOWN INTO DARKNESS will be the only place for fans to experience the events that set the stage for J.J. Abrams’ sequel to the 2009 blockbuster film Star Trek.
I’m really torn over the announcement that the Doc Savage movie now has writers on board. On the one hand, I’m super excited about seeing a new Doc Savage movie hit the big screen, as the 1975 version really blew (for many reasons) and caused more than one career to crash and burn. On the other hand, writers are Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman are producing. Don’t get me wrong, I think the duo are exceptionally talented – especially when it comes to Star Trek. However, these are also the brains behind Transfomers 2, and after that experience, anytime I see their names attached to a project a red flag goes up.
Fortunately, it looks like they won’t be writing the Doc Savage script. Instead, those duties fall to Shane Black, of Lethal Weapon and Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang fame. And it looks like he’s going to do it right.
I did inquire if they were modernizing the character. I asked this with dread in my belly, and Shane passed the test by saying the character can not be separated from the 30s. This is correct. Right now, he is preparing to write the script. He has decided that Doc needs to have his Fabulous Five. It will be an original DOC SAVAGE story that attempts to encapsulate the feeling of the whole collection of Lester Dent’s work.
Well my hopes have been raised, and it’s great news to kick off the week.
UPDATE: Ain’t It Cool News is now stating Orci and Kurtzman are not producing the Doc Savage film, but instead the producers are Neal Moritz and Ori Marmur. Makes me feel a bit better about the film. Now let’s go find us a Doc Savage!
via Ain’t It Cool News
Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, the brains behind Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, are planning on rebooting the Hawaii Five-O franchise for CBS Television. While there probably won’t be any transforming robots, visitors from the stars, or X-Files type conspiracies, one would hope the famous “Book ‘em Dano” will survive intact as Steve McGarrett takes on the state’s toughest crimes, and investigates the mob.
There’s so much movie news coming out of H’wood this morning, that we’re bringing back the Rapid Roundup of Hollywood News. Some of it is clearly in the rumor category, while other entries are confirmed fact – we’ll leave it up to you to decide which is fact, and which is fan boy fantasy.
While the second installment of the Iron Man series is in post production, word out of H’wood is that Robert Downey Jr. and Jon Favreau are set to team again in another movie. This isn’t news about a third Iron Man (although I wouldn’t write that one off), but rather Platinum Studios Cowboys and Aliens movie adaptation. Downey has been signed to star in the movie for a while, but now with Favreau on board as director, expect this movie to start moving through the Hollywood Machine pretty quickly.
The sci-fi Western explores what would happen if the traditional Old West enemies — cowboys and Native Americans — found the prairie attacked by aliens in mid-1800s Arizona.
And even though there is a pretty bad taste in everyone’s mouths about Platinum Studios (go check the archives) the company has been able to bring some pretty big names on board the project, including Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who wrote the relaunched Star Trek franchise movie, and that Transformers movie as well.
Press Release
Star Trek: Countdown, the official prequel to the new Star Trek movie being released by Paramount Pictures on May 8, 2009, is going to mobile devices! The four-issue mini-series is now available on Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch, and Google’s Android Mobile Devices through iVerse Media’s digital distribution technology. Visit IDWPublishing.com for more information about Star Trek: Countdown.
From director/producer J.J. Abrams (Mission: Impossible III, Lost and Alias), producer Damon Lindelof (Lost) and screenwriters and executive producers Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman (Transformers, MI: III) comes a new vision of the greatest space adventure of all time, Star Trek, featuring a young, new crew boldly going where no one has gone before. The film stars Zachary Quinto, Chris Pine, Zoë Saldana, John Cho, and Eric Bana.
Dreamworks has announced it is making an adaptation of Platinum Studios Atlantis Rising, and currently has Len Wiseman attached to direct the sci-fi action flick. The film will be produced by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, and Platinum Studios CEO Scott Mitchell Rosenberg.
In “Atlantis,” an underworld civilization is discovered after seismic rumbles announce its presence. Hostilities with Earth’s land-dwellers ensue.
“In all the classic versions of this kind of movie, the threat is always from the stars,” Orci said. “The idea that it’s somehow our cousins who went off in a different path of evolution who have been here, literally, underneath our oceans. … That’s fascinating, the idea of secrets right under your nose.”
Currently Joby Harold is wooing the studio and producers to write the adaptation. Harold is currently writing the adaptation of Frank Miller’s Ronin for Warner Bros.
The Wednesday Night and Thrusday schedule for the San Diego Comic-Con has been posted on the Interwebnets. Take the jump for the rundown, and please note that of everything happening at the Con on the two days that have been announced 32 of the events are related to movies and television, 6 web comic and podcasting, 1 opera, 24 panels devoted to a particular celebrities, creators, and artists, 6 panels for gaming, 17 company panels, 13 theory or history panels, 4 devoted to toys and collectibles, 9 “how-to” panels, 7 manga and anime, and 4 Star Wars and Star Trek events.
There’s certainly a lot of things to see and do, and while collectively there are more “comic” related events planed for the first day, it is clear San Diego is happy bringing in H’wood to hype their wares. 32 panels! Geez!