It’s hard to tell what the costume really looks like.  But I can at least tell it isn’t going to look like Michelle Pfeiffer or Halle Berry’s costumes.  If anything, she looks like she might be more like Julie Newmar’s Catwoman, which isn’t bad either.  However, there isn’t much to go on.

Source: EW

EW (Entertainment Weekly’s internet site) has exclusive information that Lawrence Fishburne has been cast in the role of Perry White, Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Planet in the Superman reboot: The Man of Steel, produced by Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins, Inception) and directed by Zach Snyder (300, Watchmen).   My first thought: Here we go again.

I don’t have a problem with stunt casting.  At first glance, it  seems that Man of Steel is going to suffer the fate of a movie propped up by stunt casting.  However, due to the sheer number of big names, I don’t think stunt casting is an issue.  Casting Lawrence Fishburne as Perry White isn’t as odd as one might think.  Michael Clark Duncan as the Kingpin and Angelina Jolie as The Fox were not bad choices at all and didn’t change anything about the spirit of the source material.  

Once again, this is not going to rant about replacing black characters with white actors/actresses, or vice versa.  There seems to already be a rumbling among fanboys about changing Perry White’s race.  I believe that if race is not an essential part of the character, then the race of the actor isn’t important.  For example, casting Morgan Freeman as Magneto would not work since an essential trait of Magneto is his experience as a Jew and his treatment by Nazis.   The outrage over Idris Elba as Heimdall in Thor was ridiculous.  Heimdall is a being from another plane of existence where one’s skin color was way less important than one’s race (Frost Giant, Elf, Dark Elf, Dwarf, etc.)  I don’t know of any extra dimensional being who could be cast as Heimdall or Thor, so where’s the outrage of casting mere mortals in those roles. .  Is there something like that preventing a black actor from being cast as Perry White?  Do we know anything about Perry White other than that he’s a career newsman? (excluding fanboys who know everything).  Of course this is going to bother "purist" and fanboys because they live in a state of misery and unhappiness because nothing ever pleases them.

I think this is a good move by Nolan and the Studio.  What’s going to set this Superman movie apart from all the previous ones?  They dropped Superman from the title and taken some bold moves with casting.  All in all, I think that the movie is headed in a good direction regardless of how the end product turns out.  That’s my 2 pennies.

The Thing is a prequel to the 1982 John Carpenter classic horror movie The Thing, which starred Kurt Russell, Wilfred Brimley, and Keith David.  John Carpenter’s movie is a classic, but it is also a remake of 1951′s The Thing from Another Planet.

The mood in the trailer makes me think of Whiteout (2009) which starred Kate Beckinsale.  I thought that was a good movie.  Check it out:

DC  Comics caused quite a uproar with its new line wide  reboot this September.   The entire universe is being rebooted and restarted with issue  # 1.   I’m going to ignore the stuff that usually gets talked about the most like Batman and Superman  etc,  you can get that stuff other places.   Here’s some of the books that have me interested.  

Batwing  #1, starring the first ever black character to don the mantle as the Batman of Africa

Static Shock # 1

During the G4 coverage of E3, G4 has been touting that Marvel anime is coming to G4 this fall.  One of the titles is Blade. 

He must really want the role if he is going to shoot mock trailers.

HBO decided to release the first 14 minutes of Game of Thrones just to tease us.  But check it out.

Couldn’t let another week go by without posting a preview for HBO’s Game of Thrones.  The show is going to be epic.

Its real sad about the passing of Dwayne McDuffie.    I think this clip will give us some insight into his struggles as a black writer in comics.     The man was a pioneer  in comics and animations.  RIP

Source: ABC News

ABC News reported that D.C. Comics has announced that Dwayne McDuffie has died. Time and place of his death are not yet known. He was a co-founder and creator of Milestone and the popular character Static. He was also a prolific comic and animation writer. He was an inspiration to all comic book fans and aspiring writers and creators.

Here’s another teaser from HBO for Game of Thrones.  I can’t wait for this show to start.  I think it’s going to be a hit.  By the way ladies, there is no Jason Momoa in this teaser.

I read the first couple of books of the fantasy series A Song of Fire and Ice by George R. R. Martin.  I thought the first book was brilliant and after the second book, I stopped reading the series.  I was excited to hear that HBO was basing a series off the books and this trailer looks really cool.  But anything with Sean Bean in it and I’m watching it.

Not really okay with Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern, but it is a superhero movie and I will be there when it opens.  I am sure this footage isn’t really finished so watch with that in mind.  Looks okay for what it is.

I used to watch Antiques Roadshow all the time and be amazed by the treasures people would find in their attics, or at yard sales, or even just lying around the house.  But this new show on SyFy, Hollywood Treasures, is right up my alley.  They are basically taking the same show and making it about Hollywood items.  Here is a clip of an interview with Stan Lee about Fantastic Four 12 which was the first Marvel crossover where the Hulk makes an appearance.  I posted this really because Stan Lee is a legend, and he is great to listen to.

Source: INEWSWIRE

“Despite notable efforts from many in the industry, comics and graphic novels continue to be repeatedly mislabeled as just another children’s book category,” said Warren Pawlowski, online publishing manager for Simba Information and an analyst within the company’s Trade Books Group. “With nearly a quarter of the comic reading audience beyond the age of retirement, there is a misconception that needs to be corrected.”

I always wondered why the ads in comics are still aimed at kids.   They average comic reader is around 28 years old, but the  ads are for yogurt,  breakfast cereal or toys.     The industry is messed up.

Blair Underwood – August 25, 1964  (“Deep Impact“, “Gattaca” and )

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje – August 22 1967  (“Lost”, The Mummy Returns, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra )

J. August Richards –  August 28th, 1973  (“Angel”)

Souce: Movieweb

Saw some of this footage already during ABC Family’s Harry Potter weekend  several weeks ago.  But its cool to see it again.  There is a 30 second Ad pre-roll before the video starts.

I guess this week is Blade week,   we get a double dose of the Vampire Hunter. It amazing how he can be such a star on the big screen and yet he struggles as a comic. Over the years he has had several on-going series but no ongoing series.    I wonder if its simply the concept of a vampire hunter thats limiting. Is it something thats only good in small  doses?  Does it get stale after 12 or so issues?   Or is it simply another victim of the minority character curse in comics.

Maybe, we are waiting on some writer to write the defeinitive Blade story something along the lines of Frank Millers run on Daredevil.   It’s my understanding that Daredevil was on the chopping block before Miller saved it. Maybe that’s what Blade needs that one great story to get things going. While you are waiting on that to happen you probably need to check out Ultimate Comics Avengers 3 #1 (of 6) and X-Men #2.

Here’s a trailer for Black Star Warrior which was screened at Comic-Con.  I really don’t have much to say about it other than fandom knows no limits.

Malik Yoba who starred as Ted Shaw in ABC’s Defying Gravity has signed on to SyFy’s new show titled Alphas.

From SyFy’s announcement: Alphas follows a team of ordinary citizens whose brain anomalies imbue them with extraordinary mental and physical abilities. Taking the law into their own hands, the unlikely team, led by Dr. Lee Rosen (David Strathairn) investigates cases that suggest other Alpha activity to uncover what the CIA, FBI and Pentagon have not been able or willing to solve. These gifted individuals must balance their quirky personalities and disparate backgrounds with their not always visible powers as they work to solve crimes, stop the ticking time bomb and catch the enemy.

I will probably watch the show even though it reads like several other shows and comics that I’ve seen or read before.  I won’t pass judgment on a show without having seen it, but let’s just say I’m a bit suspect about where the show might be going.  SyFy isn’t known for cancelling underperforming shows without giving them a full season to get an audience, so at least it won’t be cancelled the way ABC cancelled Defying Gravity.  I liked Defying Gravity and thought the show had potential.  I even liked Yoba’s portrayal of Ted Shaw.  SyFy has launched some great shows over the last couple of years, Eureka, Warehouse 13, Sanctuary, to name a few.  Maybe they’ll keep up the good track record.

SEGA under the weight of requests has released a teaser for the Thor video game.  It was be available for the PSP, PS3, XBox 360, Wii, and Nintendo DS.

LeVar Burton released an 8 page comic short with Dark Horse Comics called Con-CERNed.  ComicsAlliance has posted the short in it’s entirety here.  LeVar isn’t the first celebrity to try is hand at writing a comic book.  Almost a year ago, we posted a story about Tyrese Gibson’s Mayhem, which he was seen promoting at this years Comic-Con in San Diego.  I don’t have a problem with LeVar Burton and Tyrese Gibson venturing into these types of projects.  I kinda wish more guys like them would do more comics. Click HERE to read the whole comic.

Souce:
ComicsAlliance is pleased to debut the entire eight-page comic short, entitled "Con-CERNed," which follows physicist Simon Barstow as he confronts the mystery of his bizarre new abilities obtained while investigating the Large Hadron Collider.

Source: The Flickcast

Mark Ruffalo To Be The New Hulk In ‘The Avengers’ | The Flickcast.

I think Rufflalo will be a better Bruce Banner than either Eric Bana or Edward Norton.

Source: Pop Culture Shock

Sony Online Entertainment announced that Gina Torres will be voice of Wonder Woman in the upcoming DC Universe Online MMO. She is currently starring in the new ABC Family series Huge, Torres’ most notable television credits are her performances as assassin Anna Espinosa on Alias and Zoe Washburn, the shotgun-toting mercenary on Joss Whedon’s Firefly (and the feature film Serenity), in addition to her roles in Xena: Warrior Princess and Cleopatra 2525, which earned her an ALMA award. Her film credits include The Matrix Revolutions, The Matrix Reloaded, I Think I Love My Wife and Hair Show. She has also voiced the characters of Vixen in the Justice League animated series and Superwoman in the DC Universe animated feature Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths.

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]]> http://blackgeekdom.com/blog/2010/06/16/free-animated-black-panther-preview-on-i-tunes/feed/ 0 http://blackgeekdom.com/blog/2010/06/16/vote-for-lando/ http://blackgeekdom.com/blog/2010/06/16/vote-for-lando/#comments Wed, 16 Jun 2010 19:55:14 +0000 Lobo http://blackgeekdom.com/blog/?p=2342

Who would have thought that there could possibly be more to Greedo shooting Han than we already knew.  Apparently, George Lucas decided to make a quick buck and let Adidas re-imagine the sequence as a commercial for a new shoe.  Great job guys…I mean that with all the sincerity of a Sarlacc Pit.

The recent passing of passing of Gary Coleman got me thinking about his connection to the genre and it hit me he was in Buck Rogers.   He played a super genius named Hieronymus Fox who ruled the planet Genesia.     This episode aired in 1979 which was over 30 years ago,  in some ways it feels like yesterday.

It was a fun movie. I enjoyed it a lot. It’s a perfect summer popcorn flick.  Prince of Persia doesn’t require any heavy lifting.  Its plot is simple and predictable.  The action sequences are excellent and switching between the actors and their stunt men is flawless.  The special effects are good.The movie is really pretty and as most Jerry Bruckheimer films go there is no shortage of action packed scenes.

Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney brought us Pirates of the Caribbean and National Treasure franchises.  Unfortunately, this movie for all its fun and action is not anywhere near the same level as those movies.  But if you are looking for a good time and a fun movie, check it out.

Joss Whedon is apparently all but cofirmed as the director of the upcoming Avengers movie and is also going to do a rewrite of the Captain America and The Avengers scripts. I recognize the importance of having a unified cohesive story, but Joss Whedon?  So he’s a great script doctor: Speed, Twister, X-Men, Alien: Resurrection.  Those were some great movies……Did you sense my sarcasm?

I am somewhat underwhelmed and distrurbed by the announcements.  I understand that fanboys have a huge crush on Joss Whedon.  I must not be a fanboy because I don’t get it. Forget the fact that people are excited about him rewriting scripts.  I mean, who gets excited about a screen writer? Yeah, I watched Angel and Buffy, and thought they were pretty good shows.  Buffy: The Vampire Slayer the movie, however,was one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Did I watch Firefly? Yes. I watched it on Netflix way after the fact.  Did I like it? Not really. I got the concept, but I thought the execution was poor.  I watched Serenity, I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t any better than Aeon Flux or Ultraviolet or Equilibrium.  I watched about 10 minutes of Dr. Horrible and even though I think Neil Patrick Harris is brilliant, I tired very quickly of the show and lost interest.  Dollhouse was a good concept.  I was looking forward to the show.  I watched every episode of Dollhouse, and never thought it delivered.  There were a handful of well written episodes but overall the show was lackluster.

One of my biggest issues with him is that whenever things he writes aren’t successful, he always blames others.  It’s the studio’s fault that Dollhouse failed.  It was Fox’s fault that Firefly didn’t succeed.  But he wants to take credit for things that do well.  Dr. Horrible is some of his best work, according to him, and it’s an internet sensation.  I guess what I’m trying to say is that I just don’t get fanboys’ love of Joss Whedon.  He doesn’t seem to be any more special than any other screen writer.  I am excited about the movies, but the fact that Joss Whedon is screen writing doesn’t have anything to do with it.

You may also want to check out Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #1 (of 6) and Siege #4 (of 4)

Here’s a brief but informative article  on the history of War Machine.

Souce: Superhero Hype, SciFi Wire

Marvel’s slate of movies to be made included Luke Cage.  We have been hearing about a Luke Cage movie being produced and directed by John Singleton with Tyrese Gibson attached.  I would have liked to see that movie made, but it seems that version of the movie might not happen.  Apparently, there is a top actor currently in talks to star in Marvel’s Luke Cage.

Preferably, I would have liked to have seen a Black Panther movie first, but I’ll take a Cage flick.  The only question is who is Luke Cage?  I still think Tyrese would be a good choice.  I have seen different places on the net and in the comments section in the above sources the actor Terry Crews as a possibility.  I like Crews, but I don’t know about his acting chops.  He definitely has the look.  I don’t want to see Will Smith. There’s Morris Chestnut, LL Cool J, and even Lee Thompson Young (Smallville, Flash Forward).  So, I think casting will be important.

Who do you think should play him?

Its that time again.  As the name implies, Free Comic Book Day is a single day when participating comic book specialty shops across North America and around the world give away comic books absolutely free to anyone who comes into their shops.   Who doesn’t love free stuff.

Source: Yahoo Movies

Seriously, after seeing this clip, who wouldn’t want to see the movie?

Source: SuperheroHype

It’s got new footage, and the suitcase armor.  Cool.

You have to love photoshop.   This guy has more pictures check them out.

Predators Trailer

Here’s a better question who is Nick Jones? According to the article he is  a former Marine who is currently an actor and model

Source:  Comicbookmovie.com

Source: HOT TOYS

Just in time for the Movie.  I wish I has the disposable income and the space to buy more stuff like this.   click the image for more photos.   Also check out the Blade action figures on the site as well.

Gina Torres in a interview with Wired Magazine on Women in Comics

There aren’t really any skinny bitches in the world of comic books…they’ve got muscle. . . . in that comics world they’re all curvaceous. They’re strong. And it’s important to have strong images of women out there, women who aren’t afraid of expressing themselves, women who aren’t afraid of taking chances, women who aren’t afraid of their own power.”

Read More http://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/02/gina-torres/#ixzz0h1pLPZxJ

I must admit that I had never heard of Percy Jackson until I saw the teaser trailer last fall.  I am a huge mythology nut, especially Greco-Roman mythology, so this movie looked like it was right up my alley.  After watching the movie, I was more than a little pleased.  I kinda liked how they made Percy similar to Perseus, whose exploits were fictionalized in Clash of the Titans starring Harry Hamlin, and will be reimagined in this years Clash of the Titans starring Sam Worthington. 

Percy is the son of Poseidon (Kevin McKidd) God of the Seas and Earthquakes and one of the Big Three (Zeus and Hades).  Being the son of one of the Big Three gives him a considerable amount of power.  We saw him use his power over water; it will be interesting to see if they work in the earthquake powers if the series continues.

I haven’t read the books and don’t know how closely it tracks to the source material.  I am not sure if they are going to make this a franchise, but considering how popular the book is, I am sure that there were discussions.  The story was decent and the pacing was good.  When it ended, I seemed to want more, and as a movie goer that’s a good sign.  However, it ended in a way that if they don’t ever do another Percy Jackson movie it isn’t as if the story left you hanging.

The effects were good and the CGI was seamless with the live action.  All of the actors were perfect in their roles, though I did have a hard time buying Alexandra Daddario (Kate in White Collar) as a 17 year old.

Oh, and don’t think of this post as just another reason to post a picture of Rosario Dawson.

http://www.mania.com/10-influential-africa…cle_120722.html

I really hate these list when people don’t put more than 5 min worth of thought into it. The fact that you have Richard Roundtree and Michael Jackson on the list tells me this list is @$#$#!$ up.    Seriously “Mania”  what the hell does Richard Roundtree have to do with Sci-fi even in your article you only mentioned his small role in “Se7ven”.    This has to be one of those list where you wanted to create some buzz by putting MJ as #1, instead of taking the time to put some thought into a  meaningful list.

Last night I had to watch The Deep End, Grey’s Anatomy, and Private Practice.  Some might say, “hey, that’s a pretty good night of television.”  No it isn’t for a scifi fan.  I can’t remember a time when I watched a whole night of ABC.  Of course I could have put in a movie or two, but I want my sci-fi TV.  Fox is trying to throw us a bone by giving us a new show Past Life.  I watched about 6 minutes and 30 seconds of it before I realized how inferior it was to Medium, besides being a wee bit slow.

Could I have watched the Olympics? Sure.  I tried that the other night, and found myself bored to death by the skating event, and then I was unmoved by the women’s alpine skiing (congratulations to Lindsey Vonn and Shani Davis for their gold medals.)  But after last night, I draw the line.  I want Fringe, V, Bones, The Mentalist, Flash Forward, and all the other “be back in March” shows back on right now.  Don’t make me have to start watching America’s Best Dance Crew, Project Runway, or some other “fun to watch” reality show.

Source  CBR

In a interview with CBR writer Jeff Parker talks about the addition of 3-D man to “Agents of Atlas”.   Here’s a few excerpts

The idea for forging the various characters of “Atlas” into a team first came in 1978′s “What If?” #9, a book that featured 3-D Man. However, when you brought those characters into the current continuity with “Agents of Atlas” #1, you left 3-D Man out because he was a character created in the ’70s and not from books published by Marvel Comics’ predecessor, Atlas. Now it appears as though the current 3-D Man is going to play a large role in May’s “Atlas” #1. What made you want to look at him now, and is this the original 3-D Man or the new one who adopted the identity during “Secret Invasion?”

He kept coming up, and Gabe Hardman and I came up with a neat way to build a story  around him. This is Delroy, the current 3-D Man, formerly Triathlon [from Kurt Busiek's run on "Avengers"]. He has a kind of convoluted personal history, but don’t worry, you won’t need to know it. And you will also be seeing Chuck, the original 3-D Man.

Again, don’t fret over the continuity of the character; it will be told in a way that is very easy to get into, yet work with what has come before. Gorilla-Man will not tolerate having to listen to someone’s wending origin story.

Well, the theatrical trailer for M. Night Shayamalan’s and Nickelodeon’s The Last Airbender was released.  I doesn’t look all that great to me, in fact it looks pretty bad.  I suggest you save yourself the trouble and just go watch the animated version.  As a matter of fact, if you’ve seen the animated version, go watch it again.  I don’t have high hopes for this movie.  In fact, it may go down in flames much like the Dragonball movie or Street Fighter movie that came out not too long ago.  But, if you must insist, I have posted the trailer here if you really need to see it.  For the record, I do have issues with the casting since but they won’t be addressed in this post.

‘Robin Hood’ Trailer HD

Looks good.

Source

Aunjanue Ellis (Undercover Brother, True Blood) has been cast as the new director of the CBI.  The Mentalist follows the crime fighting of Agent Teresa Lisbon and her team.  Lisbon is assisted by former psychic/medium entertainer Patrick Jane as an independent consultant whose talents as a celebrity psychic/medium are key to solving tough cases, most times with his intuition and perceptions he solves a case before the investigation begins and spends the rest of the time finding evidence to back up his theories.  I like the show and thought the show was lacking diversity even with Tim Kang as a cast member.  I think she will be a fine addition.

Source: CBR

Here’s a few highlight from the interview with editor Axel Alonso and Scot Eaton.

Doom has turned the Marvel Universe upside down and played a part in making life miserable for any hero who tries to oppose the former Green Goblin’s Dark Reign. Recently, Doom launched a vicious sneak attack on King T’Challa, the former Black Panther and King of Wakanda. Doom’s attack nearly killed the monarch, and the injuries T’Challa sustained from it are why he’s no longer Black Panther or ruler of his country, both titles that now lie with his sister, Shuri.

In 2010, Doctor Doom will experience the consequences of picking a fight with T’Challa, because the former Black Panther has a plan. He’s a man with family and friends, like the Fantastic Four, and his wife, Storm, connects him to the X-Men as well. T’Challa also has the funds to pay for the skills of one of the most unpredictable and dangerous men in the Marvel Universe: Deadpool. All of these characters will collide in February when “DoomWar,” a five issue mini-series by writer Jonathan Maberry and artist Scot Eaton

How important and influential will “DoomWar” be to the future status quo of the Marvel U?

AA: Well, it’s an amped-up-like-you’ve-never-seen-him Dr. Doom and his full arsenal, which includes the full might of the Wakandan army, against the two Black Panthers, the X-Men, the FF and Deadpool, so this is kinda big. There will be some big status quo changes in the Marvel Universe, including one that will have a profound effect on the power balance in the Marvel Universe.

AA: It’s all kicks off in a double-sized first issue that ends with quite a punch. And it’s very new-reader friendly – if you haven’t been keeping up on “Black Panther” or Doom’s role in “Dark Reign,” it won’t matter. It’s a simple setup: A unconquered kingdom has fallen to a bloodless coup. Its former King (T’Challa) and current leader (Shuri) have fled; the current Queen has been captured and sentenced to death by the new regime. Behind this new regime is a nefarious figure with an agenda whose scope goes from beyond the nation’s borders (Doom). To save the Queen and recapture the kingdom, the renegade royals enlist the aid of the Queen’s family (the X-Men) as well as the ubervillain’s most dogged enemies (the FF). Its a war fought in three stages, and around the globe, with twists and turns and dirty tricks -i.e. Deadpool. And victory will require sacrifice.

You drew several “Black Panther” story arcs, including “Panther’s Bride,” where T’Challa and Storm got married. What’s it like returning to these characters, and what do you want your art to say about the new Black Panther, Shuri? What type of character do you see her as?

When I worked on the book in the past, Shuri was just the kid sister. A little spoiled, and showing some of the attributes that almost kept her from becoming the Black Panther when Wakanda need her most. Now I see her as a young woman with a lot to live up to and trying to keep from being too prideful, because even with the pressure, this is what she’s always wanted. And she’s stepped out of T’Challa’s shadow now, so I’ll try to keep that in mind when I approach the art.

Source: EW

Smallville’s coolness quotient just soared to new heights.

Blaxploitation icon-turned-L-Wordstaple Pam Grier is joining the cast for multiple episodes, sources confirm to me exclusively.

Grier has been booked to playDC Comics villainess Agent Amanda Waller. Never heard of her? This should bring you up to speed.

The Golden Globe nominated actress (for Jackie Brown) will make her debut in the second hour of the upcoming Justice Society-centric two-parter, “Legends,” scheduled to air in late January.

Pretty cool, huh?

Let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of “V”, “V: The Final Battle” and the “V” TV series.  However, I am not one of those fans who believed that the show should not be remade.  In preparation for the new series I watched the previous version just to remember how it was.  I have fond memories of watching it when I was younger and even role played with friends on the playground in elementary school.  I don’t think there was anyone I knew who wasn’t watching it.  I was more than excited when I first heard that ABC was going to do a re-imagining of the series.  One would think that with all that, the show was doomed for failure.  It isn’t.

The cast is excellent.  Morris Chestnut, Scott Wolf, Elisabeth Mitchell, Morena Baccarin, Joel Gretsch, and Alan Tudyk make up for a deep and talented cast.  Was I worried about the number of characters? No.  Nowadays, all new shows seem to follow the idea that a large cast of characters make for a wealth of stories.  The unique thing about “V” is that since its based on a fairly well known and beloved previous series, the writers aren’t going to skirt around the obvious.  The strength of this show is going to be its number of characters and the number of stories.  The 1983 miniseries and 1984 TV series had a lot of characters, but it never seemed like it was too many.  I don’t think that the premiere needed to be two hours.  In the one hour that we got, we got the arrival of the Visitors, the establishment of the Friends of the Visitors (I think they called them Friendship Ambassadors or something like that), the beginnings of the resistance, and the true nature of the Visitors.

The thing that I really liked was the notion that the Visitors have been here studying us and may have even had a hand in screwing up humanity in preparation for invasion.  Also, instead of the Fifth Column, there are Visitor sleeper agents (Morris Chestnut’s Ryan Nichols is one example) that are basically founding the resistance in an effort to save humanity.

It would have been better if I didn’t think the premiere was good because now my expectations are high.  I have more hope for this show than I did after the premiere for Flash Forward.

Disney has released a trailer for the video game based movie The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time starring Jake Gyllenhaal.  It looks interesting, and the effects look impressive.  Definitely worth checking out.

Random internet browsing turns up some interesting things. Like the fact that Glynn Turman was one on the short list of people to play Han Solo in “Star Wars” .  Yes that Glynn Turman from “Cooley High” and “A Different World”

Here’s  Turman in a 2007 interview.

Is it true that you were originally cast as Han Solo in Star Wars? That was in George Lucas’ book. Apparently George Lucas had me in mind for the role, and then thought that there might be too much controversy between a white Princess Leia and a black Han Solo – because those were the times – and he didn’t want to get into that. At the time, I had no idea. I just went to the audition, did it and got out of there. Years later, I read his book and said, “What?” I’m waiting to run into Harrison Ford and get my cut of his career.

I had gotten behind on my reading list of minority sci-fi and fantasy writers.  However, I was finally able to get a copy of Warchild by South American born Karin Lowachee.  It wasn’t a bad read, but it wasn’t spectacular either.  The story follows Jos Musey who gets taken at the age of 8 by pirates who killed his parents and destroyed the merchant ship that he was raised on.  He was saved from a life of servitude when an alien race who’s at war with humans attacks a space station he’s on.  He’s injured and taken by the aliens.  We follow him for almost ten years during his journey in learning about the aliens the humans are at war with, and his eventual confrontation with his past.   The space battles and crew battles could have been better.  Also, if you are a bit squeamish about suggested homo eroticism, you should avoid this book.  There aren’t sex scenes between men and young boys, but there is a lot implied.

This trailer has more of the story.  It’s also bootleg, so just be aware of the quality.  I am now convinced that this movie is going to be more about he effects than the story.  We’ve seen this kind of story done over and over again.

The Phantom: Syfy Reimagined Miniseries

I am not digging the costume. But I haven’t ever been a fan of the Phantom anyway. I’ll still end up watching it.

First Look at Zoe Saldana in The Losers – Superhero Hype!

Entertainment Weekly has published this first look at Zoe Saldana (Star Trek, upcoming Avatar) as Aisha on the set of comic book adaptation The Losers.

Aisha is a mysterious Middle-Eastern hellion who joins forces with Clay (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), Roque (Idris Elba), Pooch (Columbus Short), Jensen (Chris Evans), and Cougar (Oscar Jaenada) to take down the man responsible for their collective misfortunes, Max (Jason Patric)

Syfy has seen fit to continue the expansion of the Stargate franchise with a new show called Stargate Universe.  The story revolves around a scientist, Dr. Rush played brilliantly by Robert Carlyle, who is trying to dial the ninth chevron on a newly discovered Stargate.  I can’t say that the show was great, but I can’t say that it was bad either.  It was good enough to  give me hope that the show is going to get better.  There is a lot of potential.  It isn’t as dark as Battlestar Galactica, but it does have that same gritty feel.  It isn’t as clean and happy as SG-1 or Atlantis.  It isn’t even as much like Voyager as I though it would be, though some of it felt familiar. Oh, and why do black men in Syfy have to be so angry and angst ridden? Read the rest of my review after the break.

For those of you late to the game, a Stargate is a device created by an ancient race known as the Ancients.  These Stargates were distributed around the universe as a means to travel from one place to another using a wormhole.  In Stargate the Movie, Daniel Jackson in a matter of minutes figured out what the military had been working on for years.  Seven chevrons, based on constellations, need to be dialed to operate the Stargate,  You need 6 reference points and a point of origin.  In that case it was Earth.  Confused? It gets better. 

In Stargate Atlantis, they discovered that dialing an 8th chevron can dial a gate in another galaxy, there it was the Pegasus Galaxy.  That took a ZPM to create a tremendous amount of energy.  Which brings us to SGU.  Dr. Rush is trying to dial the 9th chevron on a gate they found which is powered by the core of a planet.  When i heard this a couple of things came to mind.  If the gate requires the energy of a planet, doesn’t that mean its going to send you very far away?  Its obvious to me that the gate was experimental, why isn’t it obvious to the characters in the show?  Why is the one black character on the show an angry black man?  It would have been much batter to switch his character with that of Scott.  Let him be Young’s second in command.  That would make up for the travesty that was done with the craziness they did to Rainbow Franks’ character on Stargate Atlantis.

I know I wasn’t the only one who thought the ship looked like a Wraith ship.  Also, I need for Eli to do more than just be a guy who solved a puzzle in a computer game.  He needs to do a “Carter” pretty soon.  I do like the fact that they will have only 12 hrs when the ship stops and dials a gate before it continues on.  Even though that reminded me of the Battlestar Galactica premiere episode “33”.  But it wasn’t half as good as that.

All that being said, it was a half-way decent episode of SGU, especially since it was a pilot.  There is a lot of potential to the show, and I’m pretty sure that the writers will hit their stride fairly quickly.

I’ll reserve my rating till i see a few more episodes.  At least we don’t have to worry about Syfy cancelling it too soon.

Official Press Release

Many know Steve Harvey as one of the Original Kings of Comedy, but he is also the face and narrator of the children’s book series Roopster Roux. Now this series is being adapted by Bluewater Productions into an original story graphic novel.

The series chronicles the adventures of a sports-loving rooster who enjoys reading and whose heroic deeds are due in large part to the knowledge Roopster gains through various books. Aided by his super-charged skateboard, Roopster delivers positive educational messages while keeping readers entertained with action-packed adventures.

Harvey will serve as the on-page narrator for the newest comic adaptation written by series creator Lavaille Lavette. The graphic novel is scheduled for release in 2010. The graphic novel with be written by Ryan Burton (Female Force: Stephenie Meyer & Flying Saucers Vs the Earth) and drawn by Erik Thompson (Steve Lawlis & Atlas).

“I’m pleased and excited to partner with Bluewater Productions, said Lavette. Bluewater has a proven success record in the graphic novel universe. The Roopster Roux graphic novel series will be full of exciting adventures, destined to take the Roopster Roux character to new heights’

For those of you who missed the announcement (like me) they are canceling War Machine.   In this week Cup O’ Joe Marvel head honcho goes into the details and the future of the character.

“Why Cancel War machine? Why not put a Big artist on the book to attract attention why not try a little harder to move him from behind Tony Starks shadow and establish him as his own character by putting him on an Avengers book or something?”

Joe Quesada: Here’s the skinny  when you ask, why not just put a BIG artist on the book to attract attention, you make it sound like we operate under a business practice that just tells creators what they have to do as opposed to what they like to work on. Also, let me add that Leo Manco is an AMAZING artist and has done the work of his life on “WM,” and Greg Pak is one of the industry’s top writers, so we put some of our best creative talent on the title. However, in the case of “War Machine,” much like “Runaways,” we’re retooling and eventually looking to relaunch the book in a way that will garner it some extra attention and hopefully some added readers. We’ve done this quite successfully in the past, “Runaways” and “She-Hulk” being perfect examples of this, and also, while I’m not at liberty to say this, with War Machine, we have some very big plans that have been put into motion, but you’ll have to wait a bit to find out what those are. What I can say is that my gut tells me you’re going to be seeing more of Jim Rhodes doing his thing, than you ever thought possible.

This looks hilarious.

Source: SuperHeroHype

Official Press Release

Worldwide leader in family entertainment agrees to acquire Marvel and its portfolio of over 5,000 characters

BURBANK, Calif. & NEW YORK, Aug 31, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) — –Acquisition highlights Disney’s strategic focus on quality branded content, technological innovation and international expansion to build long-term shareholder value

Building on its strategy of delivering quality branded content to people around the world, The Walt Disney Company (DIS) has agreed to acquire Marvel Entertainment Inc. (MVL) in a stock and cash transaction, the companies announced today.

Under the terms of the agreement and based on the closing price of Disney on August 28, 2009, Marvel shareholders would receive a total of $30 per share in cash plus approximately 0.745 Disney shares for each Marvel share they own. At closing, the amount of cash and stock will be adjusted if necessary so that the total value of the Disney stock issued as merger consideration based on its trading value at that time is not less than 40% of the total merger consideration.

Based on the closing price of Disney stock on Friday, August 28, the transaction value is $50 per Marvel share or approximately $4 billion.

“This transaction combines Marvel’s strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters including Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Thor with Disney’s creative skills, unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties, and a business structure that maximizes the value of creative properties across multiple platforms and territories,” said Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company. “Ike Perlmutter and his team have done an impressive job of nurturing these properties and have created significant value. We are pleased to bring this talent and these great assets to Disney.”

“We believe that adding Marvel to Disney’s unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation,” Iger said.

“Disney is the perfect home for Marvel’s fantastic library of characters given its proven ability to expand content creation and licensing businesses,” said Ike Perlmutter, Marvel’s Chief Executive Officer. “This is an unparalleled opportunity for Marvel to build upon its vibrant brand and character properties by accessing Disney’s tremendous global organization and infrastructure around the world.”

Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of Marvel including its more than 5,000 Marvel characters. Mr. Perlmutter will oversee the Marvel properties, and will work directly with Disney’s global lines of business to build and further integrate Marvel’s properties.

The Boards of Directors of Disney and Marvel have each approved the transaction, which is subject to clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, certain non-United States merger control regulations, effectiveness of a registration statement with respect to Disney shares issued in the transaction and other customary closing conditions. The agreement will require the approval of Marvel shareholders. Marvel was advised on the transaction by BofA Merrill Lynch.

Fringe Season 2 Sneak Peek: A New Day In The Old Town

I have set up a league just click here for the link. The draft will be automatic and will be held on Sept 5th.

League ID#: 766655
Password: fanboy

Sisko Defines a Starfleet Officer

Worf and Sisko

One of my favorite scenes from DS9.

Here’s an image of Brian Austin Green as Metallo

He will make an appearance in the September 25 Smallville season premiere for a 2 episode story arc.  I just have one request for the producers and writers of Smallville.  Why not have a cameo by John Henry Irons before you pull the plug on Smallville?  Is it too much to ask for some color?  You already got rid of Pete Ross and you depowered the Martian Manhunter (Phil Morris), even though officially Martian Manhunter isn’t black, but why not throw us black people a bone.  Some of us actually watch the show and if this is indeed your last season, why not at least attempt to give people of colored something on the show, besides the same white bread characters?

Access Hollywood Exclusive Clip New Moon

Source: HeyUGuys Blog

This has got to be the best trailer I’ve seen in recent years.  However, the movie does seem like a retelling of Prophecy starring Christopher Walken.  But I am a sucker for movies about angels, especially warring angels. (The Prophecy 1-4, Gabriel, Michael, Dogma, Constantine, What Dreams May Come, The Seventh Sign, and Fallen are all favorites).  I always imagined Michael as being a bad ass, and finally its going to be depicted on screen in a big way.

Tyrese Gibson’s comic book Mayem hit the stores yesterday.  I haven’t picked up my copy, but I will soon enough.  Its about a vigilante who takes refuge in the the basement of a church.  The cover art looks nice and I don’t mind supporting Tyrese.

I almost let summer pass by without mentioning DC’s the Blackest Night.  I suggest you do what I do and catch up.  Apparently, if you read The Blackest Night #0 you’ll catch up.  After that, you only need to read Blackest Night #1, Blackest Night Tales of the Corps, and Green Lantern #44.  And here are some cool images.  And if you didn’t know Batman was dead?  Sorry.

I’ve always been a fan of both characters.

Just because.

Source:  CanMag

I was a huge fan of the cartoon, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. I was a Flint and SnakeEyes fan.  Didn’t care much for Duke.  Paramount released this featurette covering the history of the G.I. Joe franchise.

I am not a big fan of Kate Beckingsale, but I like the trailer for this movie.  I might give it a look.

‘The Book of Eli’ Trailer HD

I am looking forward to this movie.