Bob Orci Talks Sinister Six and Venom Spin-Offs

 

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Venom and The Sinister Six are getting their own spinoff films and will be hitting our faces thanks to some of my favorite people in the entertainment industry: Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinkner, Ed Solomon and Drew Goddard.

Not much news has been released since the announcement from Sony but Orci recently spoke about the projects during an interview with IGN.

In case you were wondering whether the title characters in “The Sinister Six” would be bad guys or more of traditional anti-heroes, Orci said,

“That’s the discussion we’re having right now; how exactly do you do that, and how do you do it without betraying the audience and making them all mean? Drew Goddard [The Cabin in the Woods] is going to be writing that one, so it’s kind of his problem. [Laughs] I’m kidding. We’re all working on each other’s stuff. So we want to be true to it, but there are some antiheroes in this day and age. There’s been examples of that even on TV — Vic Mackey on The Shield, one of the great antiheroes of all time. There are ways to milk that story. Audiences have seen everything. They’ve seen all the good guys who never do anything wrong. Is there a story in seeing the other side? That’s the challenge, and that’s the fun. I’m not sure how we’re going to do that yet.”

Orci also enigmatically stated that him and Kurtzman and Solomon are planning to surprise audiences.

“I think they’re ready to have things shaken up. I think we’ve all seen everything. You’ve seen everything. You can probably predict the ending of most things even better than a general audience, but a general audience is still pretty good at it. They can see it all coming. So we have to shake it up. You can’t just keep telling the same stories every day.”

Our good friends at Oscorp will also continue to be an important presence in the spinoff projects.

“Oscorp plays an important part in how our villains get created, obviously, in the first one. So because Peter becoming Spider-Man came out of that, rather than saying, “And then this alien came from space,” or whatever, they’re doing human-hybrid, weird stuff at Oscorp. That’s where Gwen Stacy works anyway as well. So the idea of it representing the good and the bad of science, that it can do great things, but it can also mess you up and do weird things and transform people — as all science can be used for good or bad. So it’s nice to have that organizing principal, but it wasn’t like, “We must keep it at Oscorp.” It flowed naturally from the story development.”

Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, and Ed Solomon​ will pen the Venom spin-off, which Kurtzman will direct. Drew Goddard will write and direct The Sinister Six.

Under The Dome, Stephen King, Steven Spielberg, Showtime

CBS Announces Premiere Date for Under the Dome Season 2

Under The Dome, Stephen King, Steven Spielberg, Showtime

CBS has officially confirmed the premiere date for their drama series, “Under the Dome.” The show is based on the novel of the same name written by Stephen King.

“Under the Dome” returns for a second season on Monday, June 30 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT). The premiere episode will be written by the novel’s critically acclaimed author, King. “Under the Dome” was last summer’s #1 program, averaging 15.06 million viewers and 3.9/11 in adults 18-49, ranking as the most-watched scripted summer series in 21 years.

“Under the Dome” tells the story of a small town that is suddenly and inexplicably sealed off from the rest of the world by an enormous transparent dome. The town’s inhabitants must deal with surviving the post-apocalyptic conditions while searching for answers to what this barrier is, where it came from, and if and when it will go away.

The show is produced by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television.

Batman 1960’s TV Series to be Officially Released This Year

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Conan O’Brien announced that the complete 1960’s “Batman” television series will be released in 2014. The news was confirmed by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. While details of the release are still scarce, we do know that the entire series will be sold in a complete box set later this year.

The iconic series stars Adam West as Batman, Burt Ward as Robin, Yvonne Craig as Batgirl, Burgess Meredith as the Penguin, and Cesar Romero as the Joker. The Joker, the Penguin, the Riddler, Catwoman, Mr. Freeze, and Jervis Tetch, the Mad Hatter, all of whom are regular Bat-Villains, appear in the series, which was deliberately villain-driven as well as action-comedy-heavy.

“Batman” was based on the DC comic book character of the same name. It stars Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin — two crime-fighting heroes who defend Gotham City. It aired on The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) network for three seasons from January 12, 1966 to March 14, 1968. The show was aired twice weekly for its first two seasons, resulting in the production of a total of 120 episodes.

You can see the tweet from O’Brien below!

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The CW is No Longer Developing the Wonder Woman Series

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Women super heroes just can’t catch a break. According to The Hollywood Reporter, The CW has cancelled its plans to develop the Wonder Woman television series, “Amazon.” The show was planned to follow a young Diana of Themyscira.

“Amazon” was initially put on hold in July before being cancelled this year. The pilot was being scripted by Allan Heinberg. This is the second time a Wonder Woman series has been put on hold at the CW. In 2011, a “Wonder Woman” pilot with Adrianne Palicki in the lead was shot but never aired.

Thankfully, impressionable young ladies and various other superhero fans will still get to see Wonder Woman materialize in the upcoming film, Batman Vs. Superman. 

There are also rumors that a spinoff film is in the works for the heroine and/or a big screen Justice League feature film being planned.

Batman vs. Superman, which also stars Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Amy Adams, Diane Lane and Laurence Fishburne, enters production soon for a July 17, 2015 release.

Penny Dreadful Releases Creepy New Teaser

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Showtime has officially released a new teaser for their upcoming series, “Penny Dreadful.” The horror series is set to air in the spring and will feature some of the most famous literary horror characters.

In “Penny Dreadful,” some of literature’s most famously terrifying characters – including Dr. Frankenstein, Dorian Gray and iconic figures from the novel Dracula – have become embroiled in Victorian London. The series is a frightening psychosexual thriller created, written and executive produced by three-time Oscar nominee John Logan (Hugo, The Aviator, Gladiator) and executive produced by Logan’s Desert Wolf Productions, along with Oscar winner Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Skyfall) and Pippa Harris (Revolutionary Road), both of Neal Street.

You can watch the creepy teaser trailer below:

“Gotham” TV Series to Include Classic Batman Villains

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Fox’s upcoming television series “Gotham” will include several classic Batman villains Fox chairman Kevin Reilly (via Deadline) confirmed today.

“Gotham” will focus on Commissioner Gordon before he became “the commissioner.” Young Detective Gordon will also follow the journey of young Bruce Wayne as well.

“The show will track Bruce from a child until he puts on a cape (in the finale).”

Reilly confirmed that fans will see our favorite villains such as The Riddler, The Penguin, Catwoman and more.

“We will see how they get to become what they are as Gotham is teetering on the edge. It is an operatic soap with a larger than life quality.”

“Gotham” has already been greenlit as a pilot with veteran director Danny Cannon behind the camera. Reilly confirmed that the network has the full intention of taking the show to series.

Currently there are no actors attached to the project and there is no word on who the studio is eyeing for the lead role of Detective James Gordon.

Michael Douglas Cast as Ant-Man (And I Feel Conflicted)

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Marvel has officially cast Michael Douglas the role of Hank Pym AKA Ant-Man in the upcoming movie. I guess Marvel didn’t listen to my pleas to cast Simon Pegg in the lead role. I feel conflicted.

Douglas will star opposite Paul Rudd (now confirmed to be playing Scott Lang) in the Edgar Wright film, set for release on July 31, 2015.

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, said,

“With Hank Pym’s rich history in the Marvel Universe, we knew we needed an actor capable of bringing the weight and stature to the role that the character deserves. We felt incredibly relieved when Michael Douglas agreed to step into the part with the charm and fortitude he brings to every character he inhabits, and couldn’t be more excited to see what he will do to bring Hank Pym to life.”

Ant-Man will begin production soon in Georgia. It will be directed by Wright who also wrote the script with Joe Cornish. The film, which is supposed to launch “Phase Three” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, will follow Avengers: Age of Ultron‘s May 1, 2015 release.

Wright also added,

“The idea that we have for the adaptation is to actually involve both… Henry Pym and Scott Lang,” Wright told SuperHeroHype some years ago in an interview that he confirmed this morning via Twitter is still accurate. “So you actually do a prologue where you see Pym as Ant-Man in action in the 60’s, in sort of ‘Tales to Astonish’ mode basically, and then the contemporary, sort of flash-forward, is Scott Lang’s story, and how he comes to acquire the suit, how he crosses paths with Henry Pym, and then, in an interesting sort of Machiavellian way, teams up with him.”

20th Century Fox Adapting Magic: The Gathering

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Magic: The Gathering, the card game in which that one table in the lunch room cafeteria seemed to play religiously (okay I was part of that table for a while, not ashamed) is being adapted into a feature film. According to a report from The Hollywood Reporter, 20th Century Fox has optioned the film rights to the card game with Simon Kinberg providing the screenplay.

The collectible card game was originally launched in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast (which is now owned by Hasbro). Magic: The Gathering is set in n a realm inhabited by Wizards known as Planeswalkers. Using five different colors of magic, players do battle with one another using customized card decks that contain creatures, spells, artifacts and other fantasy elements. The game was so popular in the 1990’s that it helped launch an immense wave of CCG popularity.

There is no word yet regarding what the plot will follow or what talent is being eyed for the project.

Kinberg is most known for his work on X-Men: First Class. Stephen Davis, Brian Goldner and Greg Leeds will produce Magic: The Gathering with Josh Feldman and Aditya Sood serving as executive producers.

Magic continues to thrive, with approximately twelve million players as of 2011. Magic can be played by two or more players each using a deck of printed cards or a deck of virtual cards through the Internet-based Magic: The Gathering Online or third-party programs.

Starz Releases New Photo From Outlander Series

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A new photo has been released from one of the most iconic scenes from “Outlander” courtesy of Starz. The still, which you can see above, features Captain Black Jack Randall (played by Tobias Menzies) delivering Red Coat justice to Jamie Fraser (played by Sam Heughan).

The series is an adaptation of the novel series written by Diana Gabaldon. The “Outlander” series spans the genres of romance, science fiction, history and adventure in one epic tale. It follows the story of Claire Randall, a married combat nurse from 1945 who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743, where she is immediately thrown into an unknown world where her life is threatened. When she is forced to marry Jamie Fraser, a chivalrous and romantic young Scottish warrior, a passionate affair is ignited that tears Claire’s heart between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

“Outlander” will premiere on Starz this year. Ronald D. Moore and Jim Kohlberg are executive producers of “Outlander,” which is produced by Tall Ship Productions, Story Mining & Supply Company and Left Bank Pictures in association with Sony Pictures Television.

Fox in Talks to Pick Up James Frey’s “Endgame”

 

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 (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Images)

The James Frey YA novel, “Endgame,” has been preemptively picked up for a film adaptation by 20th Century Fox. “Endgame” is the first novel completely written by Frey since the author launched his intellectual property company, Full Fathom Five, in 2009.

The novel is intended to be a series and will be published by Harper Collins. Any deal is likely to be in the seven figures and will include Frey writing the screenplay.

Currently, the plot for “Endgame” is being kept under wraps, although it was described as Hunger Games-like in tone by several sources.

Frey’s Full Fathom Five is intended to be a multiplatform IP generator and saw the author co-create works using a factory-like approach of hiring others to co-write the books. The Lorien Legacies, also known as the I Am Number Four book series, is the company’s highest profile issue.

But with Endgame, Frey will be the sole credited writer.

Frey is most known for the novel, “A Million Little Pieces” and the scandal that surrounded it. The best-selling writer’s fame was tarnished after allegations arose that certain elements were exaggerated in his memoirA Million Little Pieces.