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2012 Flickerfest Winners Accounced Plus...Flickerfest Hits The Road

2012-01-24T15:03:00.001+11:00

FLICKERFEST NEWS: WINNERS ANNOUNCED; HITS THE ROAD, BYRON BAY ALL SHORTS

WINNERS OF THE 21st ANNUAL FLICKERFEST

After a highly successful 10 day festival in Sydney with capacity crowds and fabulous parties in the Pavilion bar, Flickerfest Australia’s leading short film festival, announced its International and Australian awards at a star-studded ceremony at the Bondi Pavilion, Bondi Beach.

Across the 10 days Flickerfest audiences were treated to a selection of award winning short films from Australia & across the world, selected from 2200 entries with audiences experiencing various cultures and a range of Australian stories all united by their creativity, innovation & excellence in the short film form.

Attended by celebrated guests from the Australian and the International film industry, the Closing Night ceremony honoured those entrants with award-winning films within the Academy®Accredited competition.

And the winners are:

Movie Network Channels Award for Best Australian Short Film ‘The Palace’ wr/dir Anthony Maras, prods Kate Croser, Anthony Maras, Andros Achilleos

Icebergs Dining Room & Bar Award for Best Direction in an Australian Short Film ‘Bear’ dir Nash Edgerton, prod Lauren Edwards & John Polson

The SMH Award for Best Australian Screenplay ‘Cockatoo’ wr/dir Matthew Jenkin, prods Matthew Jenkin & Oliver Leimbach

Yoram Gross Award for Best Animation ‘It’s Such A Beautiful Day’ wr/dir Don Hertzfeldt(USA)* Academy ®Accredited

ING DIRECT Award for Best Short Film ‘Ebony Society’ wr/dir Tammy Davis, prods Ainsley Gardiner & Chelsea Winstanley(New Zealand) *Academy® Accredited

...

Flickerfest International Short Film Festival kicked off it's 37 venue national tour in Byron this past weekend.

Celebrated it's 21st birthday in style, & it's 14th year in the Byron region being hosted by the IQ Arts & Eco Centre; with over 1100 people attending over 4 sessions.

A highlight of the shorts packed weekend was the 4th Annual Byron All Shorts - Northern Rivers Short Film Competition, of which 14 finalists films were screened from over 50 local entrants;

The audience as well as the jury, consisting of Emma Moroney, former Supervising Producer from
Movie Network Channel. Bronwyn Kidd, documentary maker and Flickerfest Director, Kathleen
Drumm who helms Screen Australia’s diverse marketing activities across theatrical and innovative distribution. Nerida Moore Screen NSW’s Senior Development and Production Executive and Lisa
Shaunessy independent producer, formerly the Creative Executive at Hugh Jackman’s Seed Productions awarded the following:

The iQ-Flickerfest Jury Award for Best Short Film went to SAE students for 'The Cottage', a moving story about the homeless in Byron Bay, Dir Lorraine Bell / Prod: Rani Willis.

A Special Mention of the Jury went to 'Face Value' by Ellie Alford from SCU- an innovative story about the dangers of internet predators.

The Essential Energy Audience Award went to 'Shall We Dance' the Tommy Franklin story (Byron's own dancing man) by Kurt Mayes & travis Hanley.

A new prize this year, the SAE Emerging Talent Award went to 'Zombie Taco'
a very creative music video clip by the Kamikazi Katz clan, Max Quinn, Callan Brunsdon & Scott Sowter.

...

The National Tour Continues...

Don’t miss bite Size chunks of great cinema coming to a town near you!
Next stop on the 37 venue tour is Adelaide and Avoca on Feb 3 & 4.
Showcasing the Best in Australian, International and Avoca will also showcase the best in Comedy shorts.

AVOCA- 3/4 Feb
Friday 3rd @ 7pm- Best Of Australian Shorts
Saturday 4th @ 7pm- Best Of International Shorts
Saturday 4th @ 9pm- Best of Comedy

ADELAIDE- 3/4 Feb
Friday 3rd @ 7pm- Best Of International
Saturday 4th @ 7pm- Best Of Australian

The tour continues until May so make sure you check out the touring tab at www.flickerfest.com.au for details in your state!

SBS SCREENED FLiCKERFEST SPECIAL

Highlighted films will include:

Franswa Sharl
Directed by Hannah Hillard / Winner, Audience Choice (Most Popular) Short Film, Flickerfest 2010.

Via Gori
Directed by Lazaro Hernandez / Winner, Best Direction in an Australian Short Film, Flickerfest 2011.

The Cat Piano
Directed by Ari Gibson and Eddie White / Winner, Best Animation Short Film, Flickerfest 2010.

Netherland Dwarf
Directed by David Michôd / Best Australian Short Film, Flickerfest 2009.

*contact SBS TV for screening times or additional information

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Kapow! EPIX Pre-empts Stan Lee Documentary Before Slamdance Debut

2012-01-23T10:13:00.001+11:00

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From Bondi Beach to New York, Hollywood, to Africa and beyond, the whole world knows of Stan Lee's Marvel superheroes.

You know - The Hulk, Spider-Man, Captain America - Lee was instrumental in their creation and was co-creator of many of these awesome hero's.

Slamdance has snatched a sweet deal. EPIX is closing a preemptive deal for With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story, a documentary that makes its Slamdance debut this Tuesday.

Lee is the co-creator of hundreds of comic character superheros that include Marvel movie staples Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Hulk, Fantastic Four, Daredevil and Iron Man.

We understand that the documentary will premiere on the pay channel along with EPIXHD, later this year. The doco examines Lee’s life, from growing up in the depression to finding his way to become an iconic comic creator during the Marvel heyday.

We were pleased to learn that the flick features the likes of Tobey Maguire, James Franco, Samuel L. Jackson, Kirsten Dunst and others who’ve starred in Marvel movies.

Lee shows up in all those movies in cameos and is still creating superheroes at age 88.

From comics, to movies, to games and exclusive interviews - its all in the flick.

The film’s produced by Paris Kasidokostas Latsis, Terry Dougas, Nikki Frakes, and Will Hess through 1821 Pictures. WME Global’s Deborah McIntosh is closing the deal.

Superhero fans around the world collectively shout "Excelsior!".

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"Spider-Man" Broadway producers sue director Taymor - 18th January 2012

2012-01-18T19:03:00.001+11:00

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The producers of Broadway's version of "Spider-Man" filed a countersuit against the musical's ousted director Julie Taymor on Tuesday, accusing her of jeopardizing the production by not caring about ticket sales.

The 66-page filing submitted in federal court in New York by producers Michael Cohl and Jeremiah J. Harris, accuses Taymor of "developing a dark, disjointed and hallucinogenic musical," and it comes in response to Taylor's lawsuit against them which she filed in November.

After a disastrous start that saw injuries to actors and opening night delays, "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" has been packing in audiences on Broadway. It made a record-setting $2.9 million from Christmas to New Year's Day, according to figures from industry website The Broadway League.

The stunt-heavy musical based on Marvel Comics' most famous character, which cost over $70 million to bring to the stage with music by Bono and The Edge, was reworked after Taymor was fired from the production in March 2011.

Taymor, the Tony-winning director of "The Lion King," worked on the musical's original book -- the non-sung words -- before she left the show.

Her copyright infringement lawsuit filed against the "Spider-Man" producers last year argued that, after the show was revamped, the producers continued to make "unauthorized and unlawful use" of her written works.

But attorneys for the producers, in their countersuit filed on Tuesday, stated that Taymor breached her duties to co-write and collaborate on the musical.

"Taymore refused to develop a musical that followed the original, family-friendly 'Spider-Man' story, which was depicted in the Marvel comic books and the hugely successful motion picture trilogy based on them," the lawsuit stated.

"Instead, Taymor, who admits that she was not a fan of the 'Spider-Man' story prior to her involvement with the musical, insisted on developing a dark, disjointed and hallucinogenic musical involving suicide, sex and death."

An attorney for Taymor could not be reached for comment.

Her lawsuit stated she suffered over $1 million in damages.

The countersuit filed by producers on Tuesday brought to light what it described as conflicts between Taymor's creative desires and the show's need to turn a profit.

At one point, Taymor used an expletive to say that she did not care "about audience reaction" to the musical, the lawsuit stated.

"Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" received poor reviews when it opened under Taymor's direction in preview shows in late 2010, and the production suffered cast member injuries in its first weeks.

When it officially opened in June 2011, after Taymor's ouster, critics only warmed slightly to the new show. But audiences, who were drawn in part by the show's sensational publicity, began to make the show a hit.

The musical has grossed over $81 million to date, according to The Broadway League.

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Lyric Theatre at The Star: Profile

2012-01-16T18:51:00.000+11:00

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Tubular Bells For Two; Seymour Centre, Sydney, Australia - 10th January 2012

2012-01-11T00:47:00.001+11:00

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Today we had the enormous pleasure to expience Tubular Bells For Two in person at the Seymour Centre in Sydney.

If the name, "Tubular Bells" (For Two) sounds familiar, it should.

The original version by legendary musician Mike Oldfield has been used in many movies and is often referenced in media, and is also understood to be the breakthrough artist signing of Richard Branson's Virgin Records back in 1973.

Daniel Holdsworth and Aidan Roberts did a supurb job of entertaining and informing media types who witnessed their magic early today at the Seymour Centre.

It was two artists (bordering on musical genius we think), and 22 instruments, as they performed both 'Tubular Bells' and the somewhat less famous, 'Caveman'. On conclusion numerous media introduced themselves and complimented them on their ultra impressive contribution to the Sydney Festival.

Aidan explained "We started 10 years ago on trumpet and just kept adding instruments".

Media Blurb

Where: The Reginald, Seymour Centre. Corner City Road and Cleveland Street, Chippendale

One album. Two men. Too many instruments. A marathon of multi-instrumentalism. Two ambitious musicians take up more than 20 instruments to present Mike Oldfield’s classic hit Tubular Bells in a unique musical – and acrobatic – performance. Oldfield’s beautiful and sprawling progressive Celtic-folk-rock opus shot to number one in charts around the world in 1973-74.

Now Sydney multi-instrumentalists Daniel Holdsworth and Aidan Roberts have arranged the entire score of Tubular Bells to be played live by just two blokes, bringing the influential masterpiece to life in all its multi-layered madness and subtle beauty.

Bios (provided)

Aiden Roberts...

Acoustic and electric guitars, mandolin, glockenspiel, organ, drums, percussion, vocals, loops, bass guitar, a second slightly distorted guitar, taped motor-drive organ chord, tubular bells.

Aidan is the principal songwriter and multi-instrumentalist for the folk-rock band The Maple Trail (Broken Stone Records). He has toured Australia and the United States and released the albums Dirty Echo Spark (2007), Radio Twilight Lost (2008). Aidan is also a contributing songwriter and guitarist for popular psychedelic rock outfit Belles Will Ring (Remote Control Records), who have released the albums Mood Patterns (2007) and Broader Than Broadway (2008), and have toured Australia regularly, performing at festivals such as The Big Day Out. Aidan has also written and performed scores for theatre, including King Lear (2006, Harlos Productions), Titus! The Ultimate Murder Ballad Musical (2006, Gumption Ubertheatre), Hamlet (2009 and 2010, Harlos Productions), and Tattoo (2009, Griffin Theatre). Other current projects include a 9-part spoken word and experimental music project The Dead City Lullabies, and the highly experimental rock project The Blizzards, with Liam Judson (Belles Will Ring). Aidan and Daniel have been performing together for many years, Daniel having produced Aidan’s first solo album in 2000, Sounds of Planes as well as playing drums in The Maple Trail since 2006.

Daniel Holdsworth...

Acoustic and electric guitars, bass guitar, piano, organ, synthesizer, drums, percussion, loops, vocals, double-speed guitar, one slightly distorted guitar, tubular bells. Daniel is a composer and multi-instrumentalist. A graduate in Composition and Music Technology, he has toured in many Australian bands and has composed music for film, theatre and dance. He is the guitarist/singer/songwriter of The Saturns, who won the 2006 BMMA Award for Best Rock Band. He is a member of Sydney based folk-psych-country outfit The Maple Trail, and plays lead guitar in the acoustic trio Ten Thumb Tom. As a session musician, Daniel has recorded and performed with the likes of Yothu Yindi, and recorded for TV productions such as Blue Heelers. Since 2008, Daniel has been the musician for William Yang’s My Generation, a theatrical piece that explores life within the Sydney arts community in the 1970s and 1980s. During 2009, Holdsworth was composer and musical director for the Acting Factory’s children’s production of Hansel and Gretel. Other theatrical/dance work include compositions for the productions Big Girls Don’t Cry (2004), Hanging by a Thread (2003) and Reinvent Your Name (2002). In film, Daniel has worked with Andrée Greenwell and T.Malfroy, co-composing music for the American feature documentary Refugio (2004). He has composed soundtracks to the short films Shilo Saves the Day (2010), The Gelatinous Drool of Ignorance (2007), and Organ Delivery (2005), and sound design on Entropy Day (2004).

Other...

Tubular Bells is the debut record album of English musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1973. It was the first album released by Virgin Records and an early cornerstone of the company's success. Vivian Stanshall provided the voice of the "Master of Ceremonies" who reads off the list of instruments at the end of the first movement. The opening piano solo was used as a soundtrack to the blockbuster William Friedkin film The Exorcist (released the same year) and gained considerable airplay because of this.

The piece was later orchestrated by David Bedford for The Orchestral Tubular Bells version and it had three sequels in the 1990s, Tubular Bells II (1992), Tubular Bells III (1998) and The Millennium Bell (1999). Finally, the album was fully re-recorded as Tubular Bells 2003 at its 30th anniversary in 2003. A newly mastered and mixed re-issue of the original album appeared in June 2009 on Mercury Records, with bonus material. On 6 June there were international bell-ringing ceremonies to promote the release.

Tubular Bells in Movies and TV...

The opening theme, which was eventually chosen for the 1973 film The Exorcist, gained the record considerable publicity and introduced the work to a broader audience. Along with a number of other Oldfield pieces it was used in the 1979 NASA movie, The Space Movie. The opening theme has been sampled by many other artists such as Janet Jackson on her song "The Velvet Rope". The opening theme has also gained cultural significance as a 'haunting theme'; partly due to the association with The Exorcist.

In television it was also used in several episodes of the Dutch children's series Bassie en Adriaan, an episode ("Ghosts") of the BBC series My Family and an episode ("Poltergeist III - Dipesto Nothing") of Moonlighting. It was also used in a television advertisement for the Volkswagen Golf Diesel in 2002. It has also been used in other films such as 1974's Black Christmas, 1985's Weird Science, 2001's Scary Movie 2, 2002's The Master of Disguise and 2004's Saved!. The album is also referenced in the Only Fools and Horses episode "Fatal Extraction", although the cover of Tubular Bells II is shown on screen.

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Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musee National Picasso: Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney, Australia

2012-01-09T15:19:00.001+11:00

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Sydney, Australia, is once again the home for some of the world's finest and most celebrated art - thanks to the late Pablo Picasso.

It was Picasso that once cleverly said "I am the greatest collector of Picassos in the world." Words such as these further help build the unique media and marketing machine that he was - which backed up his genius body of work which went on to become legend.

Music News Australia and its media partners are pleased to advise the public that there's still over one month left for those in Sydney to visit the Picasso collection at the Art Gallery of NSW. This is welcome news for the many who had previously believed they had missed this opportunity.

It was last November when the pick of Picasso's works were unveiled in the Art Gallery of NSW.

"These are the works that meant most to him," the gallery's director, Edmund Capon, told a packed house.

The exhibition - on loan from Paris museum - Musée National Picasso, in Paris, represented "7½ decades of the artist who I think defines the 20th century", he said.

It was the most significant Picasso expo anyone would see in Australia in their lifetime. 150 plus paintings, sculptures, drawings and prints are in Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musee National Picasso.

They are beautifully displayed in 10 rooms in chronological periods of Picasso's life, starting with a drawing from 1893, when he was 12, and commencing with pieces made approximately six months before his death in 1973.

Reviews have been overwhelmingly positive, as one would expect.

You have the iconic works many fans would have seen in art books since their school days. Among them are Portrait of Dora Maar (1937), Two Women Running on the Beach (The Race) (1922) and Figures At the Seashore (1931).

To deal with with the expectations of more than 300,000 visitors over the show's 4½ months, it has introduced tickets with "timed" entry at half-hour intervals to reduce queuing. More than 20,000 have already been sold.

The Musee National Picasso houses the largest collection of the artist's work, much from his private collection. Its closure for renovations has allowed the work to tour the globe, with Sydney been the latest lucky city to show off the work.

The museum's president, Anne Baldassari, curated the Sydney show, which runs until March 25. "It's just masterpieces," she said. "It's a monumental show.

"It's a comprehensive show."

The show obviously has a huge appeal for Picasso fans and art lover in general, but even those who appreciate genius and the creative world in general will walk away happy having taken in the best that Picasso has to offer.

Official Promo...

Picasso masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris

This summer see the greatest Picasso exhibition ever to come to Australia.

Some 150 paintings, drawings and sculptures will fill most of the ground floor of the Art Gallery of NSW. These are ‘Picasso’s Picassos’, personal and revealing works that he kept to shape his own legacy.

Made possible only by the closure of the Musée National Picasso in Paris for renovations, the Gallery is the only venue in Australia on the exhibition’s world tour.

This is a rare opportunity to see work from the world’s most celebrated artist on such scale outside France.

An Australian first, the exhibition showcases seven decades of Pablo Picasso’s art. Every phase of his extraordinary career is represented, including masterpieces from the Blue, Rose, expressionist, cubist, neoclassical and surrealist periods. Read more

We’ve introduced timed ticketing to avoid queues. We strongly recommend that you pre-purchase a timed-entry ticket through Ticketek as times and dates will sell out.

Jacqueline aux mains croisees (Jacqueline with Crossed Hands), Vallauris, June 3, 1954, oil on canvas.

Deux femmes courant sur la plage (La Course) (Two Women Running on the Beach [The Race]), Dinard, summer 1922, gouache on plywood.

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Paramount Pictures Seek Dismissal of John Singleton's Fraud Case

2012-01-05T14:44:00.001+11:00

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Paramount Pictures enjoyed a fantastic 2011, both in Australia, as well as in the United States and other markets.

However, now they seek to rid themselves of an unwelcome legal challenge.

Paramount is looking to dis a $20 million lawsuit brought by American film director John Singleton for allegedly reneging on a promise to back two films as part of a 2005 deal to acquire the breakout hit “Hustle and Flow.”

In response to Singleton’s lawsuit in October, the studio filed a demurrer in November 2011 that aims to demonstrate that even if the facts as laid out in the plaintiff’s complaint are true and correct, it won’t support the allegation that any fraud was committed, according to entertainment news giant The Hollywood Reporter.

“Hustle and Flow” was a hit at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. Singleton claims that he passed on a higher advance offered by another studio to accept Paramount’s $9 million offer because the studio promised to “put” two additional features as long as their budgets didn’t exceed $3.5 million each and his producing fee wasn’t higher than 7.5 percent.

The director says that Paramount Pictures reneged on that deal by concocting new conditions on the “puts.” In his lawsuit, Singleton said he needed to make sure he was not taken advantage of and that his rights were protected.

In response, Paramount points to alleged flaws in the lawsuit prepared by Singleton’s attorney, Marty Singer:

“Plaintiffs’ fraud claim fails because it is not supported by a single fact — much less one with the required level of specificity for fraud claims — showing that Paramount or MTV harbored an intention not to perform the put provision at the time of the HAF Agreement’s formation.”

Paramount advised that Singleton can’t simply rely upon the alleged contractual non-performance to show the studio intended to deceive him, and as such, Paramount requests that a Los Angeles Superior Court judge dismiss the fraud claim.

Similarly, Paramount also wants to dismiss a rescission claim because it partly relies upon the same fraud theory and partly because its contract with Singleton’s company, Crunk Pictures, limits remedies for a breach of contract to monetary damages. (In the lawsuit, Singleton wants money from the exploitation of Hustle and Flow plus a reversion of rights in the picture.)

Paramount Pictures is also seeking to dismiss a claim for unjust enrichment because Paramount says there is no cause of action for this claim in California.

If a judge accepts these arguments, that would leave the dispute turning on a question of how to interpret the main contract between the parties.

From the media reports thus far and public comments about the dispute, it appears that Paramount is prepared to argue that Singleton never produced and delivered two pictures by a Jan. 22, 2010 deadline.

But Singleton suggests that development work on those films was already underway and that there wasn’t any express contractual obligations that the work be completed by that date. According to the original complaint:

“When plaintiffs attempted to exercise their right to ‘put’ the two pictures to Paramount, Paramount for the first time informed Plaintiffs that…the Put Pictures had to be fully completed films rather than films in production, and that the Put Pictures had to be scripted full-length theatrical or direct-to-video motion pictures.”

Absent the fraud claim, the lawsuit becomes a “What came first — the chicken or the egg” controversy. Did Singleton have to complete the two films to get Paramount’s distribution guarantee? Or did Paramount have to guarantee distribution to get Singleton to complete the two films?

Either way, the outcome is unlikely to have any real impact of Paramount Pictures success in Australia.

Paramount Pictures Enjoyed Banner 2011...

In the U.S they totally dominated the box office and knocked off the former global leader Warner Brothers. Paramount's studio has enjoyed more success distributing films via expiring partnerships with Marvel Entertainment / Marvel Studios and Stephen Spielberg's DreamWorks Animation than it has had creating its own in-house franchises.

Let's see... there was “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” and “Paranormal Activity 3,” and these contributed heavily to Paramount's bottom line.

In 2011, Paramount has fielded nine films that have crossed the $100 million barrier in U.S ticket sales, including 2010’s “True Grit,” which snatched the majority of its $250 million worldwide gross in this calendar year.

With $1.73 billion at the U.S box office thus far and two tentpoles in for the end of the year, "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" and Spielberg's "The Adventures of Tintin," Paramount ended Warner Brothers' three-year reign at the U.S box office.

And with $2.84 billion in international revenue and $4.6 billion in global receipts to date, Paramount Pictures ended Warner's international and worldwide leading streaks.

"Going into the summer, we certainly felt like we had a number of big tentpole movies, and on balance, they all delivered,” said Don Harris, Paramount's president of domestic (U.S) theatrical distribution. “They all opened at high numbers."

But get this. There's an imminent departure of partners Marvel and DreamWorks Animation, the team behind such recent winners as “Thor,” "Captain America: The First Avenger," “Kung Fu Panda 2” and "Puss in Boots."

Combined, those films comprised four of Paramount's top five grossing movies this year.

Paramount gets distribution fees from DreamWorks Animation and Marvel, but it doesn’t own the rights to the superhero and family films.

Paramount's deal to distribute Marvel films has ended, and its deal with DreamWorks Animation expires in 2012. Though Paramount received an 8 percent distribution fee for its efforts with the two studios, the departure of Marvel and DreamWorks Animation will take a big chunk out of the studio’s market share.

Emboldened by the average success of “Rango” ($245 million), Paramount recently launched its own animation division with an eye toward owning the family films it distributes outright. It expects to release its first film through via the new arm in 2014.

The DreamWorks deal was relatively low-risk and good money.

Paramount appears to believe hat after a number of years of serving as a distribution house for other companies, it has developed enough of its own intellectual property to move forward without the comic book based company and the animation studio.

It's hoping that Pixar whiz Brad Bird (“The Incredibles”) can reinvigorate its “Mission: Impossible” franchise after 2006’s disappointing third installment, and it already successfully rebooted the wilting “Star Trek” franchise. A sequel to its hit 2009 "Trek" film is due out in two years.

"Transformers” - "Dark of the Moon" grossed $1.1 billion worldwide and was more positively embraced than its predecessor.

Paramount Pictures has enjoyed a burst of lower budget successes, adding to their whale size film portfolio.

Created for a cost of a modest $13 million, the studio’s Justin Bieber concert film “Never Say Never,” took in nearly $100 million worldwide. Likewise, “Paranormal Activity 3” continued the ultra-low budget series’ knack for healthy profit margins. Produced for a tiny $5 million, the haunted house film clocked up $201.9 million worldwide.

Almost everything Paramount Pictures touched turned to gold. The big write-off would be "Hugo", with a budget of $170 million and grossing just $33 million globally. Let it be noted that Paramount only distributed the film and this means that the dip falls on the head of producer Graham King.

The remake of '80s dance film “Footloose” failed to bring in audiences. The $24 million film snatched a $62 million worldwide gross, which is well below par for Paramount.

What's in Paramount's future? Paramount appears unlikely to duplicate its record breaking success in 2012 at the box office. The studio expects big things for its zombie flick "World War Z" with Brad Pitt and “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” but appears that's not comic book films in the works to excel this years numbers.

Take note that in the 2012 more of the films that Paramount Pictures releases are owned by them. This means that the studio will be able to keep more of the profits for themselves, but that appears to be a higher risk strategy than the one they employed this year.

Paramount will survive, no doubt, but it may be more of a stock market - roller-coaster type ride than the relatively smooth sailing they enjoyed over the past 12 months.

See you at the movies.

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Annie The Musical Media Preview At The Star: Sydney, Australia

2012-01-04T00:22:00.001+11:00

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Australian broadcasting legend Alan Jones demonstrated his considerable singing skills when he made his musical theatre debut (for the media) Tuesday in a new Australian production of Annie - The Musical.

Jones will star alongside Anthony Warlow, Todd McKenney and Nancye Hayes in producer John Frost's latest show.

The musical marks a return to the role of Daddy Warbucks for Warlow, who played the character in a 2000 production of Annie, about an orphan girl taken in by the multi-millionaire in Depression-era New York.

"It was a wonderful experience then. People say never work with children and animals, but in this case the children were wonderful," Warlow said.

Jones, who will performed a musical number in his role as president Roosevelt, was handpicked by Frost, who advised he had Jones in mind from the early casting days.

"I wanted to pull a rabbit out of the hat in a way," Frost said.

In a video message played at the show's launch on Monday, NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell said he couldn't believe Frost had taken Jones on, "because he never ever takes direction".

Jones talked down his part in the production, requesting news media to direct questions to "the stars" of the show.

He said he just hoped he could do the role justice.

"I have a lot of good people to help me. I hope I'm going to do alright and not let the team down," he said.

Frost, who is the man behind the smash hit Australian productions of Wicked, Chicago and Phantom of the Opera, is confident Jones will not need any acting or singing lessons, despite having no previous theatrical experience.

Frost knows Jones is a safe bet.

"He's full of confidence and he holds a tune well," he said.

"If anything I'd love to put another song in for him, but I can't."

He said the show will be a true performance of the original stage production.

"The timing now is right to bring it back. With a fresh cast, I think it's got a good chance of being a great success," Frost said.

Jones said on his role as US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ""Poor old FDR, he was a big spender, not necessarily politically akin to me, but I just regard this as fiction, he's history and I'm somewhere in the middle".

"I'm really lucky because (as Roosevelt) I'm in a wheelchair so I don't have to worry whether I'm standing in the right place, or my arm's in the right place, that's someone else's worry," he says.

"There's a whole new language you've got to learn here," he says.

"I thought I'd learnt all my lines and then they tell me, `We've got the linguist coming,' so I've got to learn dialect now!"

Jones knows this is quite the one off, telling news media ""Are they falling over themselves providing new opportunities for me? No."

The battle for the Australian entertainment dollar continues, and certainly Sydney's The Star is going full speed ahead and betting that world class entertainment will remain paramount in the quest to bring more punters to land based casinos and entertainment complexes.

Media blurb we secured...

The timeless tale of Little Orphan Annie is back, giving a whole new generation the chance to experience this classic musical about never giving up hope. Boasting one of Broadway's most memorable scores, including It's the Hard-Knock Life, Easy Street, N.Y.C. and the ever-optimistic Tomorrow, Annie is one of the most awarded and loved musicals of all time. Reprising one of his all-time favourite roles as the charismatic and sophisticated New York ‘zillionaire' Daddy Warbucks, is Anthony Warlow. He will be joined by the ever-popular Nancye Hayes playing everyone's favourite villain, Miss Hannigan. Todd McKenney, Chloë Dallimore and Julie Goodwin also bring their talents to this delightful musical. And in a special treat, radio star Alan Jones will join the cast in the role of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

A MESSAGE FROM PRODUCER JOHN FROST

It gives me great pleasure to bring ANNIE back to Australian audiences. When I produced this show 12 years ago I was overwhelmed by the response it received. ANNIE is such a well known, well loved production that appeals to so many different age groups. Its popularity means that it is staged once a year in many countries around the world, and I have no doubt that the Australian audiences are well and truly ready to see it again.

This time around, I am especially delighted to be able to work once more with Australia's favourite leading man, Anthony Warlow and theatrical legend Nancye Hayes.

To be taking this wonderful show and the star studded cast on tour in 2012 presents a unique and exciting opportunity to reach a new generation of Australians and it gives me enormous pleasure to think that people Australia wide will again be able to experience this special production.

Websites

The Star

Annie The Musical

Lyric Theatre

Eva Rinaldi Photography Flickr

Eva Rinaldi Photography

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Music News Australia

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Rolling Stone Magazine Australia Announces 3rd Annual Awards

2012-01-03T17:55:00.001+11:00

Profiles

Music Events Media Companies Sydney News News Entertainment News

To say we’re excited about the 3rd Annual Rolling Stone Awards is a massive understatement. Last year’s event was a huge, sweltering party (highlights – Paul Kelly turning up, Michael "Freaking" Chugg’s sweary tirade, Lupe Fiasco’s bodyguard, Art Vs Science’s DJ set, and a surprise display of beatboxing from Plan B’s cohort Faith SFX). There’s an expectation that this year’s event will be bigger and better, and Rolling Stone Australia and everyone else involved doesn't aim to disappoint.

Due to the success of last year’s event, RS be keeping the 3rd outing of the Rolling Stone Awards just as exclusive and star-studded, albeit at a new more central (and air conditioned) venue. Drawing from a long list of entertainment and pop culture luminaries, the judging panel is as illustrious as it was tuned-in and the resulting winners will be a nicely varied bunch. But that’s what you get when you ask comedians, actors, politicians, writers, tour promoters, artists and professional skateboarders to try and agree on a shortlist.

Judges this year included the likes of Tim Ross, Jon Coghill, Michael Chugg, Brendan Cowell and Morgan Campbell, just to name a few.

The categories include:

The Rolling Stone Award: Our top honour of the year, awarded for an outstanding contribution to popular culture. The winner of this award can come from any area – music, film, TV, literature, art, politics, activism, etc. This award is open to Australian/NZ candidates only.

Best Female: Awarded to a local lady for outstanding contribution to popular culture, whether that is music, film, TV, literature, art, politics or activism. This award is open to Australian/NZ candidates only.

Best Male: Awarded to a local bloke for outstanding contribution to popular culture, whether that is music, film, TV, literature, art, politics or activism. This award is open to Australian/NZ candidates only.

The International Award: Awarded to an international male, female or group who have had a profound positive impact on popular culture in Australia/NZ. The winner of this award can come from any area – music, film, TV, literature, art, politics, activism, etc.

Mover & Shaker: Awarded to someone who has changed the game in their particular field this year – a maverick, trailblazer or revolutionary. The winner of this award can come from any area – music, film, TV, literature, art, politics, activism, etc. This award is open to Australian/NZ candidates only.

The Immortal: A lifetime achievement award for outstanding contribution to popular culture. This award is open to Australian/NZ candidates only.

Album of the Year: The best full-length album released in 2010. Simple as that. This award is open to Australian/NZ candidates only.

Best Live Act: Just as the name says, honouring the best live performance or tour by a band – Australian or international – in Australia/NZ in 2010.

Artist to Watch: This is an acknowledgement of an outstanding emerging artist – regardless of how long they’ve been around – who is set to blow up big. This award is open to Australian/NZ candidates only.

Artist of the Year: Music only, the best all round artist of the year. This award is open to Australian/NZ candidates only.

We also roped in celebrity writers close to the winners to pay tribute to their mates (or in one case, uncle), making this far livelier and more fascinating than some stale old list of winners. But let’s stop patting ourselves on the back, it’s really time to congratulate our winners who will be announced at on Wednesday 25th January. All winners will also be listed in the March issue of Rolling Stone Magazine (out on 1 February 2012).

Be sure to check out the BlackBerry Lounge while you’re there and of course, the fantastic cocktails!

We'll see you there fellow rock n rollers.

Websites

Rolling Stone (Australia)

Rolling Stone

AVM Publicity.com

Music News Australia

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Alan Jones Joins Cast Of Annie The Musical At Lyric Theatre; The Star

2011-12-30T14:32:00.003+11:00

Profiles

Celebrities Casinos Hollywood The Star Lyric Theatre Events Music Sydney Australia Global Gaming Directory

Australian broadcasting legend Alan Jones will demonstrate his singing skills when he makes his musical theatre debut in a new Australian production of Annie - The Musical.

Jones will star alongside Anthony Warlow, Todd McKenney and Nancye Hayes in producer John Frost's latest show.

The musical marks a return to the role of Daddy Warbucks for Warlow, who played the character in a 2000 production of Annie, about an orphan girl taken in by the multi-millionaire in Depression-era New York.

"It was a wonderful experience then. People say never work with children and animals, but in this case the children were wonderful," Warlow said.

Jones, who will perform a musical number in his role as president Roosevelt, was handpicked by Frost, who advised he had Jones in mind from the early casting days.

"I wanted to pull a rabbit out of the hat in a way," Frost said.

In a video message played at the show's launch on Monday, NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell said he couldn't believe Frost had taken Jones on, "because he never ever takes direction".

Jones talked down his part in the production, requesting news media to direct questions to "the stars" of the show.

He said he just hoped he could do the role justice.

"I have a lot of good people to help me. I hope I'm going to do alright and not let the team down," he said.

Frost, who is the man behind the smash hit Australian productions of Wicked, Chicago and Phantom of the Opera, is confident Jones will not need any acting or singing lessons, despite having no previous theatrical experience.

Frost knows Jones is a safe bet.

"He's full of confidence and he holds a tune well," he said.

"If anything I'd love to put another song in for him, but I can't."

He said the show will be a true performance of the original stage production.

"The timing now is right to bring it back. With a fresh cast, I think it's got a good chance of being a great success," Frost said.

The battle for the Australian entertainment dollar continues, and certainly Sydney's The Star is going full speed ahead and betting that world class entertainment will remain paramount in the quest to bring more punters to land based casinos and entertainment complexes.

Media blurb we secured...

The timeless tale of Little Orphan Annie is back, giving a whole new generation the chance to experience this classic musical about never giving up hope. Boasting one of Broadway's most memorable scores, including It's the Hard-Knock Life, Easy Street, N.Y.C. and the ever-optimistic Tomorrow, Annie is one of the most awarded and loved musicals of all time. Reprising one of his all-time favourite roles as the charismatic and sophisticated New York ‘zillionaire' Daddy Warbucks, is Anthony Warlow. He will be joined by the ever-popular Nancye Hayes playing everyone's favourite villain, Miss Hannigan. Todd McKenney, Chloë Dallimore and Julie Goodwin also bring their talents to this delightful musical. And in a special treat, radio star Alan Jones will join the cast in the role of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

A MESSAGE FROM PRODUCER JOHN FROST

It gives me great pleasure to bring ANNIE back to Australian audiences. When I produced this show 12 years ago I was overwhelmed by the response it received. ANNIE is such a well known, well loved production that appeals to so many different age groups. Its popularity means that it is staged once a year in many countries around the world, and I have no doubt that the Australian audiences are well and truly ready to see it again.

This time around, I am especially delighted to be able to work once more with Australia's favourite leading man, Anthony Warlow and theatrical legend Nancye Hayes.

To be taking this wonderful show and the star studded cast on tour in 2012 presents a unique and exciting opportunity to reach a new generation of Australians and it gives me enormous pleasure to think that people Australia wide will again be able to experience this special production.

Websites

The Star

Annie The Musical

Lyric Theatre

Eva Rinaldi Photography Flickr

Eva Rinaldi Photography

Media Man News

Casino News Media

Music News Australia

Website Network

Media Man Int

Media Man

Media Man News

Media Man Entertainment

Movie News: Australian Box Office Figures In 2011

2011-12-29T21:25:00.001+11:00

Profiles

Movies Hollywood Australia News Media Man Entertainment News Media Man Int Entertainment News

Top 10 highest grossing films of 2011 in Australia

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 - $52.5 million
2. Transformers: Dark of the Moon - $37.3 million
3. The Hangover Part II - $32.6 million
4. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 - $28.5 million
5. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - $27.2 million
6. Bridesmaids - $27.1 million
7. Fast & Furious 5 - $25.2 million
8. Tangled - $22.2 million
9. Red Dog - $21.4 million
10. Cars 2 - $20.1 million

Runner Ups

The Smurfs ($19.8 million)
Kung Fu Panda 2 ($19.4 million
Thor ($18.9 million)

References: Warner Bros, Paramount Pictures, Village Roadshow, Legendary Pictures, Walt Disney, Universal Pictures, Roadshow Film Distributors, Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar, Google News, IMDB, Box Office Mojo, News Limited, Fairfax Media

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Marvel Studios 2004 Films; Marvel Entertainment News; Thor II Director Announced

2011-12-29T13:10:00.001+11:00

Profiles

Marvel Entertainment Marvel Studios Thor Thor II Avengers Stan Lee Movies Hollywood

Marvel Studios changes the release date schedule for their unannounced 2014 mystery movies. Are they planning a third movie? Come let's explore the world of the Marvel Universe, with a focus on Marvel Studios. Oh, it's comics legend Stan Lee's birthday today True Believers.

Marvel Studios has had a tough time keeping to their plan of two theatrical releases per year. Delays with Thor and The Avengers had Iron Man 2 release by itself in 2010 and next year, The Avengers is without a partner since Runaways was indefinitely postponed. For 2013 and 2014 however, it’s back to two films/year or more.

News in from Disney that Marvel would be releasing The Avengers in 3D (post-converted). Marvel Studios also is claiming another release date in 2014 to release one of their films earlier.

Up until now, the official slate of upcoming films from Marvel Studios was scheduled as follows:

2012

The Avengers (May 4)
Runaways (canned)

2013

Iron Man 3 (May 3)
Thor 2 (July 26 pushed back to November 15)

2014

Unknown (May 16)
Unknown (June 27)

The 2014 schedule has changed the June 27 project will now be releasing on April 4th, nearly three months earlier. No information has been provided on the 2014 releases but know The Avengers will get a sequel eventually and that there’s talk of a follow-up for Captain America’s solo outing as well. Reports from two months ago also indicated that Marvel Studios would be working on Ant-Man, Guardians of the Galaxy and The Inhumans after Iron Man 3 and Thor 2.

So, will these 2014 movies simply be sequels to what we already know? Is Edgar Wright’s latest Ant-Man script finally going to be pushed into production? Is Marvel preparing to finally introduce some other characters in solo films? Or, as reported in recent months, is the studio going to take the risk by bringing fans deeper into the Marvel cosmic universe post-Avengers?

Two years might be pushing it for The Avengers 2 so it’s more likely that’ll be a 2015 release, depending on the success of its predecessor at the box office next summer. That would open up the 2014 dates to be used for films launching from characters and storylines introduced in The Avengers. Chris Evans went on record stating that the next time we’d see him suit up as the star-spangled Avenger would be in 2014 at the earliest. Ant-Man has been in development for a very long time and writer/director Edgar Wright told the press at Comic-Con this summer that his latest script was being submitted days later and that they already have concept art.

The Possibilities...

Marvel will add a third release date, either in the summer (maybe making use of that June 27 date) or in the fall, something they’re testing in 2013 with Thor 2. This would allow them to play with interconnected films and/or do more to setup for The Avengers 2 the following year.
Dropping a summer (U.S) date for a spring (U.S) date means one of two things. This mystery project is not a big-budget tentpole or it directly ties into whatever the second movie is in May and needs to come before it. The May date is the most important and has to stay there.

The April release is very likely Ant-Man finally getting his post-Avengers introduction in time for The Avengers 2 or it could be Runaways, the lower-budget film Peter Sollett was going to direct off of Drew Pearce’s script, a script that Marvel apparently really likes, and one that Pearce says could still be adapted after The Avengers. As for the May date, that’s going to be a major project. Expect a Captain America sequel.

Guardians of the Galaxy and The Inhumans are actively in development and are possibilities as well, but Marvel will not talk about those until we’ve very close to The Avengers (or afterwards) to avoid fans digging into how those play off and tie-in to what happens in The Avengers. Marvel knows what these films are so there’s very deliberate reasons for not announcing them – it’s because they’re launching off of The Avengers.

Other potential projects include Black Panther, Dr. Stange, Heroes for Hire and a S.H.I.E.L.D. movie.

What would you like to see Marvel Studios do in 2014? Ant-Man and Captain America or a few cosmic movies?

The Avengers stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Clark Gregg, Tom Hiddleston and Stellan Skarsgard. It is of course written and directed by Joss Whedon, opening in theaters on May 4, 2012.

Game of Thrones veteran to direct Thor 2...

The search for a director for Thor 2 has reportedly ended, with Marvel selecting veteran television director Alan Taylor to helm the sequel.

Taylor's most recent efforts have been for HBO, where he has directed episodes of the period fantasy series Game of Thrones.

Taylor has also directed episodes of the cable series Boardwalk Empire, Mad Men and The Sopranos.

He steps in for Monster director Patty Jenkins, who dropped out of Thor 2 citing creative differences with Marvel, movie news website Deadline revealed.

The sequel, which is due to start filming next spring for a November 2013 release, brings back 28-year-old Australian actor Chris Hemsworth as the hammer-wielding superhero.

Australian Chris Hemsworth reprise his role as the Norse god cast out to live among humans.

In the meantime, fans will be able to see Hemsworth team up with other Marvel stars in The Avengers.

Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans and Jeremy Renner also star in Avengers, which is due out next year.

Chris Hemsworth profile...

Chris Hemsworth (born 11 August 1983) is an Australian actor most notable for portraying Thor in the Marvel Studios film Thor. Hemsworth is set to reprise his role as Thor in the upcoming films The Avengers in 2012 and Thor 2 in 2013. He also starred as Kim Hyde in the Australian soap opera Home and Away. He is the older brother of Liam and the younger brother of Luke Hemsworth.

Mini Biography
Though born in Melbourne, Australia, Hemsworth saw quite a bit of the country in his youth when his family moved first to the Northern Territory before finally settling on Phillip Island top the south of Melbourne.

In 2004, he unsuccessfully auditioned for the role of Robbie Hunter in the Australian soap "Home and Away" (1988) but was recalled for the role of Kim Hyde which he played until 2007. In 2006, he entered the Australian version of "Dancing with the Stars" (2004) and his popularity in the soap enabled him to hang on until show 7 ("Dancing with the Stars: Episode #5.7" (2006) when he became the fifth contestant to be eliminated.

His first Hollywood appearance was in Star Trek (2009) but it was his titular role in Thor (2011) which propelled him to prominence worldwide.

His US representative, the management company ROAR, also manages Elsa Pataky and it was through them that the couple met, marrying in 2010. (Credit: IMDB).

Happy Birthday Stan Lee; Marvel Comics Living Legend...

Happy 89th birthday to one of Marvel’s founding fathers, “The Man” himself, Stan Lee! Without Stan, the Marvel Universe as we know it would not exist.

"There is no bigger star in all of comics," Marc Nathan of Baltimore Comic-Con — where Stan was the featured guest last summer — tells Comic Riffs.

The path to stardom was many decades in the making. Stanley “Stan Lee” Lieber broke into the business as a teenager in the late-’30s, hired by ”Captain America” co-creator Joe Simon as an office assistant. As Simon told Comic Riffs, Stanley was soon writing the filler prose that Timely Comics (Marvel’s precursor) needed to secure better mailing rates. (Simon, the first editor at Timely Comics, died earlier this month at age 98.)

By the early ‘60s, Stan seriously contemplated quitting Timely/Marvel, which had been launched by his relative Martin Goodman. But at the advice of his longtime wife, Joanie, Stan says he took a shot at writing superheroes the way he wanted to - relatable and with many human aspects.

Working with such fellow legends as Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, of course, Lee and his “Marvel method” would launch the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, Iron Man and X-Men. (Other talents in that famed stable included Gene Colan — who died this year at age 84 — as well as Stan’s own brother, Larry Lieber, who first scripted Thor.)

“There’s no question that Stan and the innovations he came up with saved the comic book and the superhero,” Tom Brevoort, Marvel’s senior vice president of publishing, has told Comic Riffs — noting that Lee and the artists he worked with “made me want to do this professionally.”

“By crafting characters with feet of clay and personal problems — and not writing down to an audience that was perceived to be primarily 8-year-olds — Stan opened the doorway for more sophisticated and interesting treatments of any subject matter in comics,” Brevoort says. “He made comics interesting and relevant and fun again.”

Stan Lee quotes...

“I’d just like a Cabinet position [in the current White House]. For comic books. I’d be secretary of comics — something simple.”

“Being associated with Disney is the dream of a lifetime. The things Disney did just knocked me out [when I was young] — Mickey Mouse to Bambi and Pinocchio and Snow White. And then there were the nature movies and now movies like ’Pirates of the Caribbean.’ I think they’re wonderful movie marketers — they’re the best marketers you can find anyhwere. And to combine them with Marvel — the two companies I’m in love with the most.”

"I’m very lucky to still being doing this. I seem to get a good reception [when I pitch entertainment ideas]. I hope I can sell a lot more movies. And it would be nice to win an Oscar one day."

That's a wrap True Believers (References: Marvel Entertainment, Disney, IMDB, Google News, Wikipedia, POW! Entertainment, Dark Horizons, Comic Book Movies, Box Office Mojo and Paramount Pictures).

Websites

Marvel Entertainment

Marvel Entertainment: Thor

Paramount Pictures

Media Man News

Music News Australia

St. George Openair Cinema Celebrates Its Opening Night With The Sydney Premiere Of My Week With Marilyn

2011-12-28T22:57:00.001+11:00

Profiles

Movies Hollywood Marilyn Monroe Events Music Sydney Australia

Sydney will get a bit of the Hollywood glam treatments when the premiere screening of 'My Week With Marilyn' opens the 2012 season of St. George OpenAir Cinema on 11 January.

The Oscar® buzz has continued on Michelle Williams' due to her impressive portrayal of Marilyn Monroe.

The flick covers matters such as her charm, sexiness, daring, challenges and Monroe's trip to England for 'The Prince and the Showgirl' with Sir Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh).

Movie Summary...

Colin Clark, an employee of Sir Laurence Olivier's, documents the tense interaction between Olivier and Marilyn Monroe during production of The Prince and the Showgirl.

St George Openair Cinema...

Also announced as features of the 2012 season are preview screenings of THE ARTIST, a gorgeous homage to silent films that proved a sensation at Cannes earlier this year where it was awarded best actor, J. EDGAR directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Leonardo DiCaprio as the FBI’s infamous boss, and GOODBYE, FIRST LOVE a poignant French film which explores our lasting attachment to first love.

The 2012 OpenAir program will also include blockbusters such as MONEYBALL, which stars Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill, and the hilarious comedy THE INBETWEENERS MOVIE, which follows on from the edgy UK TV series about the over-imagined sexual ambitions of a group of young males.

The 2012 St.George OpenAir Cinema program will feature fourteen premiere or preview screenings, all the major summer releases, and a selection of the year's best indie films.

The full program will be announced on Friday 9 December with tickets on sale from 9am on 15 December. Last year more than 30,000 tickets and over a dozen screenings were sold out in the first half hour alone, so be quick.

The full 2012 program will be available on online from Saturday 10 December, visit www.stgeorge.com.au/openair

Where:
Mrs Macquaries Point, Sydney - adjacent to Royal Botanic Gardens

When:
January 11 to February 18 2012
Gates, bar and restaurant open from 6.15pm
Films commence shortly after nightfall (approx. 8.30-8.45pm)

Tickets:
Tickets on sale from Thursday 15 December via the event website www.stgeorge.com.au/openair
Advance Bookings*: General $30 / concession $28 + booking fee Door Sales*: General $35 / concession $32 *additional costs may apply for special presentations.

My Week With Marilyn: The Cast...

Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe
Kenneth Branagh as Sir Laurence Olivier
Eddie Redmayne as Colin Clark
Judi Dench as Dame Sybil Thorndike
Emma Watson as Lucy
Dougray Scott as Arthur Miller
Dominic Cooper as Milton H. Greene
Julia Ormond as Vivien Leigh
Derek Jacobi as Sir Owen Morshead
Zoë Wanamaker as Paula Strasberg
Richard Clifford as Richard Wattis
Philip Jackson as Roger Smith
Simon Russell Beale as Admiral Cotes-Preedy

Studios: The Weinstein Company, BBC Films, Lipsync Productions

Directed by Simon Curtis
Produced by David Parfitt and Harvey Weinstein

Box Office to date: $11,106,287

Websites

St. George Openair Cinema

My Week With Marilyn official website

NIX Co.

Eva Rinaldi Photography Flickr

Eva Rinaldi Photography

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The Star Lyric Theatre To Open Annie The Musical In Sydney

2011-12-28T20:08:00.002+11:00

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Celebrities Casinos Hollywood The Star Lyric Theatre Events Music Sydney Australia Global Gaming Directory

The Star, owned and operated by Echo Entertainment, has organised a media call for this coming Tuesday 3rd January at the Lyric Theatre.

We will be attending to cover the ever-popular Broadway musical Annie prior to the official opening night of the show at 7pm on Thursday January 5, 2012.

Three musical numbers from the show will be performed, and afterwards producer John Frost and lead cast members Anthony Warlow, Nancye Hayes, Todd McKenney, Chloe Dallimore, Julie Goodwin and Alan Jones will be giving interviews and be available for photograph opportunities and more.

The musical numbers will be:

It’s the Hard Knock Life – featuring the children’s cast

Easy Street – featuring Nancye Hayes, Todd McKenney and Chloe Dallimore

A New Deal for Christmas – featuring Anthony Warlow, Julie Goodwin, Alan Jones and the ensemble cast.

Based on the popular Harold Gray comic strip “Little Orphan Annie”, the musical Annie burst into popularity in 1977 when it opened on Broadway. After running there for nearly six years, it has played in over 22 countries worldwide including the UK, Argentina, Japan, Germany, Sweden, Spain and Australia. Annie became a smash-hit movie musical in 1982 starring Aileen Quinn, Albert Finney and Carol Burnett that is adored worldwide and a fixture of popular culture references.

Annie is full of toe-tapping hits which have become staples of musical theatre repertoires worldwide and now, 34 years on, it remains one of the most loved and universally appealing musicals of all time.

Annie plays in Sydney until March 25 before a national tour.

It all marks another interesting development in the Australian casino wars, as agency, Media Man has been calling it for a few years now, and it will be interesting to see how Melbourne based competitor of The Star, Crown Casino, responds with their entertainment line up, which is also ramping up on the west coast on Australia with the newly named Crown Perth (formally Burswood Entertainment Centre).

The battle for the Australian entertainment dollar continues, and certainly Sydney's The Star is going full speed ahead and betting that world class entertainment will remain paramount in the quest to bring more punters to land based casinos and entertainment complexes.

Media blurb we secured...

The timeless tale of Little Orphan Annie is back, giving a whole new generation the chance to experience this classic musical about never giving up hope. Boasting one of Broadway's most memorable scores, including It's the Hard-Knock Life, Easy Street, N.Y.C. and the ever-optimistic Tomorrow, Annie is one of the most awarded and loved musicals of all time. Reprising one of his all-time favourite roles as the charismatic and sophisticated New York ‘zillionaire' Daddy Warbucks, is Anthony Warlow. He will be joined by the ever-popular Nancye Hayes playing everyone's favourite villain, Miss Hannigan. Todd McKenney, Chloë Dallimore and Julie Goodwin also bring their talents to this delightful musical. And in a special treat, radio star Alan Jones will join the cast in the role of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

A MESSAGE FROM PRODUCER JOHN FROST

It gives me great pleasure to bring ANNIE back to Australian audiences. When I produced this show 12 years ago I was overwhelmed by the response it received. ANNIE is such a well known, well loved production that appeals to so many different age groups. Its popularity means that it is staged once a year in many countries around the world, and I have no doubt that the Australian audiences are well and truly ready to see it again.

This time around, I am especially delighted to be able to work once more with Australia's favourite leading man, Anthony Warlow and theatrical legend Nancye Hayes.

To be taking this wonderful show and the star studded cast on tour in 2012 presents a unique and exciting opportunity to reach a new generation of Australians and it gives me enormous pleasure to think that people Australia wide will again be able to experience this special production.

Websites

The Star

Annie The Musical

Lyric Theatre

Eva Rinaldi Photography Flickr

Eva Rinaldi Photography

IP Publicity

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Music News Australia

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Marvel Entertainment Movies Become Games At PartyCasino

2011-12-20T19:53:00.001+11:00

PartyCasino.com Marvel website PartyCasino.com website

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Marvel Entertainment Marvel Comics PartyCasino.com Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Marvel Slots

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Marvel Jackpots
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Marvel Jackpot slots is just a part of PartyCasino's massive range of slots and progressive slots, part of the ever–increasing suite of fantastic games. Visit PartyCasino and download the latest games or play games instantly, right on the site.

MARVEL, and all related characters and the distinctive likeness thereof are trademarks of Marvel Entertainment, Inc. and its subsidiaries, and are used with permission. Copyright © 2009 Marvel Entertainment, Inc. and its subsidiaries. Licensed by Marvel Characters B.V. All right reserved.

As Marvel living legend Stan Lee would say, Excelsior!

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Hidden Treasures of Sydney; Photography Award Winners Share With Charity, by Greg Tingle - 7th December 2011

2011-12-07T23:58:00.002+11:00

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Art Photography Eva Rinaldi Sydney Australia

Sydney City Rotaract earlier this evening announced the winners of the 'Hidden Treasures of Sydney’ photography competition with their 'Night With The Artists'.

Over 200 amateur and professional photographers entered the competition and the field was narrowed down to just one, with my close artistic friend Eva Rinaldi making the final with her 'Sailing Opera House', and Greg Rollo's 'George Street' photo being selected for the calendar's front cover.

An intimate audience of art lovers and philanthropic minded people gathered to celebrate art, photography and people power.

Out of all the speeches given my favourite was that of Briar Wards (Youth Insearch) who shared with the captive audience that when she was a troubled youngster she was sceptical about 'Youth Insearch', however they assisted her to the extent that she believes that they in fact "saved her life", and judging by Ms Wards' emotion speech, I believe her. It sure kept things real and relative to the cause, and why we were there - photography and art for a worthy cause.

The full list of winners (which sees their photographs showcased in the 2012 calendar) is:

Belinda Dunn - 'Kiss Me Kite' (January)

Ian Ibrahim - 'The View' (February)

Marie Nekoodast - 'Autumn Songs' (March)

Nkechi Beka - 'Luna Harbour' (April)

Fiona Pine - 'Arches' (May)

Eva Rinaldi - 'Sailing Opera House' (June)

Ondrej Holiencin - 'Elegance is an Attitude' (July)

Greg Rollo - 'Solo' (August)

Ian Ibrahim - 'Washing Machine' (September)

Greg Rollo - 'Town Hall Station' (October)

Mark Tipple - 'Escape' (November)

Michelle Vierboom - 'Hanging Feet' (December)

David Burns, Senior Lecturer in the School of Design at the University of Technology Sydney, selected the twelve photographs which appeared in the 2012 calendar.

Winners received (1) 200 free digital prints card and a Paxtons photography course.

The calendar will be sold across Sydney with proceeds donated to local charity, Youth Insearch.

Youth Insearch is a Sydney-based charity empowering young people to take responsibility for their lives by giving them the opportunity and skills to develop their self esteem and play a positive role in society.

The competition was managed by Sydney City Rotaract, a dynamic group of students and professionals aged 18-30 who want to 'make a difference' in the community and across the world.

Sponsored by Rotary International, Rotaract Clubs are part of a worldwide organisation of 170,000 individuals in 7,000 clubs covering 160 countries and geographic areas.

Details on becoming a member of Sydney City Rotaract are available from the website: www.sydneycityrotaract.org.au

Well done to all involved with the event.

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Marvel Entertainment News: Kenneth Branagh 'Wouldn't Rule Out' Another Marvel Film; 'The Avengers' Official Character Descriptions

2011-12-03T17:51:00.000+11:00

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Newsflash: Marvel Entertainment fans have recently being enjoying playing their favorite Marvel superhero characters at PartyCasino.com - the flagship casino brand of Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment.

Kenneth Branagh was always a fantastic choice as the director for "Thor." Even when Marvel first announced his involvement, the industry got excited, more so that usual when a director gets named.

When the film hit in theaters, critics generally praised Branagh for adding Shakespeare flavour to Thor.

Thor was a much higher quality Marvel flick than what superhero movie fans are a custom.

Branagh spoke to Variety about 'Thor'.

"Of all the American comics, 'Thor' was the only one I was really familiar with from my childhood, and it intrigued me, maybe because it was a bit more European, with those Viking helmets and its basis in Norse myth," Branagh said. "The scale was exciting, and I did love the character and the story. It had depth and gravity in addition to being an entertaining ride."

According to the Variety story, Branagh considered the entire project "a joy," and that his decision to turn down the sequel was not out of any bad feelings, but because of timing. "Monster" director, Patty Jenkins, will take over for "Thor 2."

Branagh is open to working with Marvel again, going on record with "I certainly wouldn't rule out a return to Marvel; we had an excellent collaboration."

Marvel is planning more projects after "The Avengers" this May. We're mainly looking forward to Spider-Man, Hulk and Thor themes. How about you superheroes?

'The Avengers' Official Character Descriptions...

Walt Disney Studios and Marvel Studios have provided us with official character descriptions for their upcoming release, The Avengers, in theaters on May 4, 2012. In Marvel’s The Avengers, it’s the Super Hero team up of a lifetime, featuring iconic Marvel Super Heroes Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins.

CAPTAIN AMERICA (Steve Rogers)
After a top secret Super-Soldier program transformed frail Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) into the powerful and heroic Captain America, his amazing WWII exploits made him a living legend. Steve saved New York City and turned the tide of the war, but crashed into the Arctic during his final mission. Awakening in the modern day, Steve learned that he had spent decades frozen in the icy tundra. Now, Steve Rogers finds himself alone in a modern world that he hardly recognizes. When Nick Fury, director of the international peacekeeping agency S.H.I.E.L.D., calls on Rogers to help save the world again, he quickly suits up as Captain America, taking up his iconic shield and bringing his strength, leadership and no-nonsense attitude to The Avengers.

IRON MAN (Tony Stark)
On top of being an eccentric genius, a billionaire, a playboy and a philanthropist, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is also the armored super hero known as Iron Man. Fresh off of defeating enemies the world over, Stark reluctantly agreed to serve as a consultant to Nick Fury’s top-secret peacekeeping and intelligence agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D. Now, with a global crisis on the horizon and the fate of the world in the balance, Stark must again power up his Iron Man armor to save the world, and become a full-fledged member of The Avengers.

THOR (The God of Thunder)
An arrogant prince from the distant land of Asgard, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) was banished to Earth after his irresponsible behavior threatened his homeland. While in exile on Earth, Thor learned humility and helped to save his new friends from a destructive threat sent by his brother Loki. In the process, Thor redeemed himself in the eyes of his father, Odin, the King of Asgard. After being welcomed back to Asgard as a hero, Thor must now return to Earth once again to prevent a cosmic-level catastrophe. With Mjolnir in his hand, a legendary hammer with immense power, the mighty warrior soon finds himself drawn into an unlikely alliance with Nick Fury’s secret initiative, The Avengers, lending his power to their cause against his wayward brother, Loki.

THE HULK (Bruce Banner)
After a gamma radiation experiment went awry, mild-mannered scientist Dr. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) found himself with a peculiar condition. When angered or provoked, he would transform into the uncontrollable, green-skinned monster known as the Hulk. Now, fearful of the damage that the Hulk could inflict, Dr. Banner chooses to live a discreet life in remote parts of the world, working to cure the sick and help the poor while trying to elude those who would take advantage of his ability to change into the enormous, green menace. When a mounting threat calls for Banner’s specialized scientific expertise, S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury recruits him, knowing full well that the incredible strength of Banner’s alter ego, the Hulk, would be an asset to The Avengers.

HAWKEYE (Clint Barton)
One of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s most elite agents, Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), code-named Hawkeye, is the greatest living marksman on Earth. Armed with his weapon of choice, the recurve bow, Hawkeye fires his arsenal of custom augmented arrows, specialized for any number of specific situations, with perfect precision. With the potential for global catastrophe on the horizon, he employs his amazing combat skills to fight along side The Avengers.

BLACK WIDOW (Natasha Romanoff)
S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), is one of the world’s greatest spies and quite possibly the world’s most skilled assassin. Armed with an extensive arsenal of specialized weapons like widow stings and cluster bombs, as well as a vast repertoire of martial arts skills, Romanoff’s unique talents make her one of director Fury’s top agents and an integral part in assembling The Avengers.

LOKI
After his bid to overthrow the throne of Asgard was thwarted by his brother Thor, the evil Loki (Tom Hiddleston) retreated to lands unknown to plot his revenge. Not just against his brother, but against Earth, whose inhabitants Thor now protects. Loki, now returns with a nefarious plot to conquer Earth and will stop at nothing to see his vision realized. When his misuse of power threatens the entire planet, it may take more than The Avengers to stop him.

NICK FURY (Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.)
As the legendary Director of the international peacekeeping organization, S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is humanity’s first line of defense against the world’s biggest threats. When S.H.I.E.L.D. becomes aware of an evil that threatens global safety, Fury assembles the planet’s most powerful beings and forms The Avengers.

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Thor Slot is a new ‘Marvel Hero Jackpot’ slot machine with a free game feature. The game also features a "Thor" wild symbol which substitutes for all symbols except the “Scattered Logo”. 3 or more “Scattered Logo” symbols anywhere on the reels triggers the free spins in which all wins are tripled.

Marvel Jackpots
Marvel Jackpot actually consists of 3 jackpots at different levels, the levels are - from the lowest - Hero Jackpot, Super Hero Jackpot, and Marvel Hero Jackpot, with the latter being the highest. All 3 jackpots grow progressively as bets are made by players in multiple participating online casinos. For each spin, on any of the Marvel Jackpot games, the house adds a small credit to all running jackpots. All 3 levels in Marvel Jackpot can be won irrespective of hitting any paying combination, while betting any amount on any of the "Marvel Jackpot" slots.

Marvel Jackpot slots is just a part of PartyCasino's massive range of slots and progressive slots, part of the ever–increasing suite of fantastic games. Visit PartyCasino and download the latest games or play games instantly, right on the site.

MARVEL, and all related characters and the distinctive likeness thereof are trademarks of Marvel Entertainment, Inc. and its subsidiaries, and are used with permission. Copyright © 2009 Marvel Entertainment, Inc. and its subsidiaries. Licensed by Marvel Characters B.V. All right reserved.

As Marvel living legend Stan Lee would say, Excelsior!

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Stan Lee's POW! Entertainment Inks Deals With YouTube and EQAL - 22nd November 2011

2011-11-24T00:23:00.001+11:00

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The comic business genius moves into digital content with exclusive programming and a new official website and more...

Comics creator and living legend Stan Lee and his POW! Entertainment is moving into the digital content production world, inking deals with YouTube and media company EQAL.

POW! is creating a YouTube channel called Stan Lee’s World of Heroes, which will be a joint venture with Michael Eisner’s digital studio Vuguru. The company announced it will launch the channel with “exclusive programming next year based on the company’s stories around amazing characters and extraordinary individuals.”

With EQAL, POW! plans to launch TheRealStanLee.com, a site to act as “all things Stan Lee.” EQAL is known for “building influencer networks around celebrities and brands,” creating websites and social media accounts for celebs such as Bethenny Frankel, JWOWW and Randy Jackson to name but a few.

Lee sure fits the bill as a celeb, thanks to his great work with Marvel Comics, Marvel Entertainment - Marvel Studios, and all that. He's a heat seeker and truly 'The Man' of the comic industry. Lee, who co-created superheroes such as Spider-Man, X-Men and Iron Man, will receive the Producers Guild 2012 Vanguard Award and is also being honored with the Visual Effects Society's 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award. Earlier this year, Lee received a star on the Walk of Fame.

Times are good for Lee and his army of brigadiers, and things look set to get even better. Excelsior!

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Sin City writer Frank Miller calls Occupy protesters a pack of thieves, louts and rapists - 22nd November 2011

2011-11-23T18:40:00.001+11:00

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Sin City - (Frank Miller's Sin City) speaks out on the Occupy Wall Street protesters...

Miller who brought us flicks such as Sin City and The Dark Knight Returns believes the anti-capitalist movement is "a pack of louts, thieves and rapists".

An open letter on his blog accuses the protesters of harming America with their "political garbage" and tells them to wake up to the country's real enemy - al-Qaeda.

Miller, better known for his Sin City, 300 and Batman comic books scribed:
'Occupy' is nothing short of a clumsy, poorly-expressed attempt at anarchy, to the extent that the 'movement' – HAH! Some 'movement', except if the word 'bowel' is attached - is anything more than an ugly fashion statement by a bunch of iPhone, iPad wielding spoiled brats who should stop getting in the way of working people and find jobs for themselves.

Wake up, pond scum. America is at war against a ruthless enemy.

Maybe, between bouts of self-pity and all the other tasty tidbits of narcissism you’ve been served up in your sheltered, comfy little worlds, you’ve heard terms like al-Qaeda and Islamicism.

In the name of decency, go home to your parents, you losers. Go back to your mommas’ basements and play with your Lords Of Warcraft.

Or better yet, enlist for the real thing. Maybe our military could whip some of you into shape.

They might not let you babies keep your iPhones, though. Try to soldier on.

The post has ruffled feathers with some comic book fans and news media around the globe.

In this case Miller is clearly not going for the underdog. What would Mickey Rourke think!

Miller has pretty much forever been a champion of the right wingers. Just check out the sequel to The Dark Knight Returns, The Dark Knight Strikes Again, with Batman raising hell against the Government.

Check out the Persian army in 300 that takes it to the Spartans, and then there's an attack of sorts to Islam in Miller's Holy Terror book. That book has been banned in some parts.

Readers, what's your take on Frank Miller? Not sure? Pass a little time playing the Sin City or Batman games, and you'll be glad to hear that at least you have the option to play for free or play for money.

Stan Lee's POW! Entertainment Inks Deals With YouTube and EQAL - 22nd November 2011

The comic business genius moves into digital content with exclusive programming and a new official website and more...

Comics creator and living legend Stan Lee and his POW! Entertainment is moving into the digital content production world, inking deals with YouTube and media company EQAL.

POW! is creating a YouTube channel called Stan Lee’s World of Heroes, which will be a joint venture with Michael Eisner’s digital studio Vuguru. The company announced it will launch the channel with “exclusive programming next year based on the company’s stories around amazing characters and extraordinary individuals.”

With EQAL, POW! plans to launch TheRealStanLee.com, a site to act as “all things Stan Lee.” EQAL is known for “building influencer networks around celebrities and brands,” creating websites and social media accounts for celebs such as Bethenny Frankel, JWOWW and Randy Jackson to name but a few.

Lee sure fits the bill as a celeb, thanks to his great work with Marvel Comics, Marvel Entertainment - Marvel Studios, and all that. He's a heat seeker and truly 'The Man' of the comic industry. Lee, who co-created superheroes such as Spider-Man, X-Men and Iron Man, will receive the Producers Guild 2012 Vanguard Award and is also being honored with the Visual Effects Society's 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award. Earlier this year, Lee received a star on the Walk of Fame.

Times are good for Lee and his army of brigadiers, and things look set to get even better. Excelsior!

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Sculpture By Sea At Sydney's Bondi Beach; Everyone's A Winner - 20th November 2011

2011-11-21T10:38:00.001+11:00

It wasn't Sculpture By The Sea that motivated Paul Selwood to become a sculpture artist, but rather the architecture of the Sydney Opera House.

On Thursday Selwood snatched the top prize at Bondi's 15th Sculpture By The Sea exhibition.

Selwood won with his abstract steel construction 'Paradiegma Metaphysic'.

"Paradiegma is an ancient Greek word used by architects who were trying to think about and invent beautiful architectural concepts, like temples," he said.

"The word metaphysic means extra-physical, something more than what is there in the physical material."

Today his artwork was viewed by Denmark's Crown Princess Mary and her husband Crown Prince Frederik, who are visited the exhibition on its final day.

The Danish royal couple have been admirers of the exhibition since 2000, when they came across on the sculptures during a visit to Bondi Beach during one of their first outings in the dealing dating period.

Sculpture By The Sea founding director David Handley told news media that Mary and Frederik were so taken by the event, they took it to Denmark.

"There has now been two Sculpture By The Sea exhibitions held in Aarhus, and 40 Australian sculptors have exhibited there as a result," he said.

Selwood's winning sculpture sits with the works by 61 NSW sculptors, 24 from interstate and 25 international artists...spanning the foreshore from Bondi Beach to Tamarama.

Paul Selwood's sculpture will join two previous winners as a permanent installation in Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens once the exhibition is over.

Well done to all artists and those who help keep the famous event going.

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Disney Acquires Sony's Merchandising Participation For The Amazing Spider-Man

2011-11-13T18:02:00.001+11:00

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"Marvel's Thor and Captain America were among the top 10 non-sequel releases of the year and we are pleased with the performance of both films and the true benefits of our Marvel acquisition should be quite visible in 2012. First, in May, Thor and Captain America will join Iron Man, The Hulk and Black Widow in Marvel's The Avengers, the first Marvel film to be marketed and distributed by Disney. The Avengers shows great promise with a record 10 million downloads on iTunes when the trailer debuted, and it is well on its way to being our next great franchise. Then in July, Sony Pictures will release The Amazing Spiderman. We're excited about the film and expect it will drive significant benefits for Spiderman consumer products."

Division is expected to benefit next year from the release of "The Avengers" and Sony's "The Amazing Spider-Man." Disney recently brokered a new deal with the studio that enables the Mouse House to collect most of the coin from Spider-Man movie products.

"To that end, we recently completed a transaction with Sony Pictures to simplify our relationship. And then in the deal, we purchased Sony Pictures' participation in Spiderman merchandising, while at the same time, Sony Pictures purchased from us our participation in Spiderman films. This transaction will allow us to control and fully benefit from all Spiderman merchandising activity, while Sony will continue to produce and distribute Spiderman films. We won't be specific about the economics of this 2-way transaction, but we expect it will drive attractive returns for Disney."

Marvel Entertainment and Marvel Entertainment movies on fire in Hollywood...

Who doesn't like a good superhero movie (or game) from our friends at Marvel Entertainment? That's what we thought.

You have to hand it to Marvel Entertainment and their movie production partners - they have been on a roll for the past few years.

Thor was awesome, so was Iron-Man 1 and Iron-Man 2, Captain America: The First Avenger - fantastic, and upcoming The Avengers may prove to be Marvel's best flick ever.

The Avengers, coming in May we understand, has signed Robert Downey Jr and its directed by Joss Whedon, so that's an awesome start.

Marvel president of production Kevin Feige recently went on record with Entertainment Weekly that Adventures of Tintin co-writer Edgar Wright "developed an excellent draft recently" for the movie. Nathan Fillion is tipped to play Henry Pym/Ant-Man.

Iron Man 3, opening in the US May 2013, re-teams Downey with Shane Black (Lethal Weapon). The writer-director, who launched Downey’s comeback in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, has a gift for creating funny as stuff.

Thor 2 is also in the works, although without Shakespearean-actor-turned-action-director Kenneth Branagh at the helm. It's understood that Patty Jenkins, who helped propel Charlize Theron to an Oscar with Monster, will direct The Nine Worlds sequel.

Media Man readers, what's you're thoughts on the upcoming Marvel Entertainment movies? What Marvel Entertainment games have you played, or would like to play? Should Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, Virgin Games, or another gaming brand get the next batch of Marvel Entertainment slot games?

The coming year sure looks to be as great for Marvel fans as the previous. As Marvel living legend Stan Lee would say, Excelsior!

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Leonardo DiCaprio Leaves Sydney For LA; Lindsay Lohan Crashes J. Edgar Party - 7th November 2011

2011-11-07T18:54:00.000+11:00

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Leonardo DiCaprio has left the building... the building / buildings being the old White Bay Power Station at Rozelle, Fox Studios Moore Park, and The Star (the revamped former Star City Casino, where he occupied an entire floor).

It's been a busy week or two for international celebs coming and going from Sydney and Melbourne, Australia), with some like Kim Kardashian not even making it to the races in Melbourne, but Sarah Jessica Parker and Ms Liz Hurley (accompanied by Shane Warne) did make it.

Sydney was however given a wide berth by action movie star Val Kilmer, who did both Brisbane and Melbourne via his appearance at the Supanova - comic book and pop culture etc festival.

Swinging up to LA, US of A, we understand that Leonardo DiCaprio is happy to be back on United States soil, after a bit of cat and mouse with Australian news media, namely at The Star, Fox Studios, White Bay and even his homely rented digs at Vaucluse.

Business, and a good spread of pleasure for Leo is what got him back to the US. We guess it helps motivate you to keep busy if your getting in the region of $20 million per film.

From Hollywood freight train smashing movie business records, enter Hollywood train wreck Lindsay Lohan.

Lohan crashed the party for Leonardo DiCaprio's upcoming movie J. Edgar, and many insiders say she was still sporting same hair and the makeup her Playboy nude shoot, that apparently netted her multiply hundred thousands. Some say about a million bucks, but that sounds like a bit of a stretch.

Lohan, who jumped across from her risqué Playboy shoot and has one foot just about in the jail cell for probation violations, told doormen and anyone else that would listen she was an invited guest to the party for the Clint Eastwood-directed biopic about FBI top brass Hoover and smooshed her way past security at the famous Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

Media tip offs came from the likes of AP, wires and the New York Post, and we figured they all can't be telling a mistruth.

"Lindsay was arguing with the security to let her in, dropping every celebrity's name to get in," a leak disclosed. "She could be heard saying, 'I have to go and see Leo.' Eventually they let her in, but she made everybody uncomfortable. She was aggressive and random, storming around. She tried to get to Leo, but he was surrounded by his security and a posse of his friends."

Gatsby director Luhrmann was delighted to have worked with Leo downunder, and is strongly rumoured to soon start shooting scenes at the Blue Mountains.

Leo is going to stay busy and the industry is a abuzz with news that he's close to an official sign on date with Quentin Tarantino via his new film production 'Django Unchained'.

Insiders tip that if Leo goes ahead with Tarantino it will see a new era for Leonardo, but will it be good, bad or indifferent?

The word is that Leonardo DiCaprio is very seriously considering the role of the main villain, Calvin Candie, who doesn't show on screen until the second half of the film. Think ala a 'Kill Bill' grand entrance.

Leaks who have put they eyes over screenplay tip Candie is the plantation owner who Django must kill, an eccentric who adores French culture and demands to be called "monsieur".

Hollywood (and AussieWood) have seen better days, but massive successes like Australia's 'Red Dog' are the exception, not the rule.

If the next few weeks are anything like the past couple, its sure going to be interesting to follow the likes of Leo, Lohan and Kardashian, but don't expect any of them to open right up to the media, with all having a bit of a love - hate relationship with the press.

Our money is on DiCaprio, Eastwood and Tarantino to all continue to go great guns in the business, but as to what happens to Lohan and Kardashian is anyone's guess.

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Al Pacino to visit The Star Sydney with An Evening with Al Pacino, by Greg Tingle - 26th October 2011

2011-10-26T17:05:00.001+11:00

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"Fredo, you're my older brother, and I love you. But don't ever take sides with anyone against the Family again. Ever." - The Godfather (1972)

Legendary actor Al Pacino will be bringing his one-man show, An Evening with Al Pacino, to Sydney next month as part of a special happening on the 17th and 18th November at The Lyric Theatre, The Star.

In a unique performance Al Pacino entertains audiences as he revisits his amazing career and most memorable roles.

Part of the gig includes an intimate on stage interview followed by audience members pitching questions to the living legend.

We've heard the night also concludes with an unforgettable acting finale which needs to be witnessed to be believed.

Pacino has performed for over 40 years and some of his best known work includes The Godfather, Dog Day Afternoon, Heat and Scent of a Woman and Scarface.

Tickets are now on sale via Ticketek and range from $109 to $199.

Echo Entertainment and The Star powers that be continue to impress with their entertainment offerings, and Pacino has obviously embraced the opportunity, as have many other showbiz legends such as Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Crown Casino's top brass including James Packer are watching this space closely, so expect Crown to pull a rabbit or two out of the hat as the battle between The Star and Crown Casino continues.

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Sarah Jessica Parker Heading To Melbourne Crown For Movie Premiere, by Greg Tingle - 25th October 2011

2011-10-25T14:01:00.001+11:00

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Famous actress Sarah Jessica Parker of 'Sex and the City' fame will soon be in Melbourne to both promote her new film and also to take in Oaks Day as well as the Melbourne Cup.

Don't get us wrong. She just loves Sydney (and its great weather and beaches), but its in Melbourne where she will get to mix business and pleasure.

The American beauty and talented producer will attend the traditional Ladies Day at Flemington in November when she heads to Melbourne for the first time to promote her flick, I Don't Know How She Does It.

We've also been told she's going to be a very guest at the Crown Casino Marquee, one of the most exclusive, as you might have guessed.

Crown Limited PR General Manager Ann Peacock advised they were delighted to welcome the New York fashion icon to Melbourne.

"It's a perfect match on this most traditional of race days," Ms Peacock said.

The new movie, 'I Don't Know How She Does It', also staring Greg Kinnear, Christina Hendricks from Mad Men and Pierce Brosnan, focuses on the life of Parker, a mum-of-two balancing work and family life.

The press conference is to be held on Tuesday 1st November At Crown's complex and the Australian premiere is on Wednesday 2nd November, also at Crown.

It's rumoured that Ms Parker will be staying at the exclusive Crown Towers, where other actors such as Tom Cruise and his actress wife Katie Holmes have also stayed when doing Melbourne. Crown have not confirmed her rumoured stay at this stage.

Crown Limited top dog, James Packer and his world class team continue to impress with their continues successes into the broad entertainment and lifestyle sector. If the entertainment business has elements of being a game, Mr Packer and team sure look like they are winning.

The film be released nationally on November 3.

Websites

I Don't Know How She Does It

The Weinstein Company (TWC)

Sex And The City (HBO)

Crown Casino

Crown Limited

Melbourne Cup official website

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Visual Effects Society Lauds Stan Lee - Comic book icon to receive Lifetime Achievement Award. - 19th October 2011

2011-10-19T23:49:00.001+11:00

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Comic book publisher and entrepreneur Stan Lee has been selected by the VES Board of Directors as the recipient of the VES 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award. The award will be presented at the 10th Annual VES Awards, which will be held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills on February 7, 2012.

The VES Lifetime Achievement Award honors individuals whose "lifetime body of work has made a significant and lasting contribution to the art and/or science of the visual effects industry by way of artistry, invention and/or groundbreaking work." Stan Lee is known to millions as the man whose Super Heroes propelled Marvel Comics to its preeminent position in the comic book industry. His famous co-creations include Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, X-Men, The Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Daredevil, The Avengers, Silver Surfer and Dr. Strange, among many others.

Lee first became publisher of Marvel Comics in 1972 and is presently the Chairman Emeritus of Marvel Enterprises, Inc. and a member of the Editorial Board of Marvel Comics. In 1977, he introduced Spider-Man as a syndicated newspaper strip that went on to become the most successful of all syndicated adventure strips. Spider-Man now appears in more than 500 newspapers worldwide -- making it the longest running of all Super Hero strips. Lee founded, and is currently Chief Creative Officer, of POW! Entertainment, where he continues to write and create new characters.

"Stan Lee's imagination has created a completely original and profitable niche in the entertainment world and has allowed visual effects to flex its muscle in service to it!" said VES Chair Jeffrey A. Okun. "Thanks to Mr. Lee's fantastic creations and amazing stories he not only created a future filled with gadgets and inventions that we aspire to create for real – but all while inspiring the minds and imaginations of storytellers, visual effects artists and computer wizards everywhere," added Okun.

"As a writer there is nothing more rewarding than to see your creations brought to life on the screen and I am indebted to all of the incredibly talented artists who have contributed to my projects," said Lee. "Visual effects have played a pivotal role in the ongoing success of Marvel's characters and allowed fans to experience their stories in an entirely new way. It is truly a great honor to receive this award from the Visual Effects Society."

Without question, Stan 'the Man' Lee has exerted more influence over the comic book industry than anyone in history. He created or co-created 90 percent of Marvel's recognized characters, which have been successfully licensed and marketed since 1965. The numbers are staggering -- more than 2 billion of his comic books have been published in 75 countries and in 25 languages.

In 1981 Stan Lee transformed his Spider-Man and Hulk creations into Saturday morning and syndicated television cartoons. When Marvel Comics and Marvel Productions were acquired by New World Entertainment in 1986, Stan's horizons expanded even further, giving him the opportunity to become more deeply involved in the creation and development of filmed projects for both the big and small screen. He supervised such diverse animated series as X-Men, Spider-Man and The Hulk. To date, Stan's characters have populated over 24 separate television series, all of which continue in syndication around the world.

In 2001, Stan founded POW! Entertainment, Inc., a multi-media entertainment company, where he is creating a myriad of new characters, stories and franchises for traditional and emerging media.

Previous recipients of the VES Lifetime Achievement Award are George Lucas, Robert Zemeckis, Dennis Muren, Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy & Frank Marshall, James Cameron and Ray Harryhausen.

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DiCaprio may take codebreaker role after Great Gatsby in Sydney, by Greg Tingle - 14th October 2011

2011-10-14T18:39:00.003+11:00

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Leonardo DiCaprio may be enjoining a working holiday or sorts (more working we understand), while enjoying the company of models in and around The Star (formally Star City Casino), but he's still thinking ahead.

As just about all of Australia, if not the world knows by now, 'Our Leo' is currently filming Bazmark's The Great Gatsby at Fox Studios, Moore Park. Ok, yes, he's catching up with a model or two also when the opportunity arises.

It's now been revealed that DiCaprio is tipped to play Enigma codebreaker Alan Turing in a biopic feature of the famed British mathematician.

Various media reports are surfacing that Warner Bros. have outbid several indi studios with a seven figure cheque for the rights to the 'The Imitation Game'...penned by virginal screenwriter Graham Moore...as Leo is keen as a Skippy kangaroo to play the lead.

Now get this. Turing was prosecuted by British thought police after the war for having a sexual relationship with another man, and forced to undergo "chemical castration" rather than being sent to prison for his sexuality.

The genius mathematician and computer scientist committed suicide by eating an apple laced with cyanide and it is claimed Steve Jobs named his company Apple as a tribute to him. We are not suggesting Jobs was gay, but readers will make their own minds up on that point.

Turing appeared to be written out of the 2001 film Enigma, about the Bletchley Park codebreakers, despite being the leading figure in World War II.

Dougray Scott's character Jerico seemed to resemble Turing, but he was heterosexual and had an affair with Kate Winslet's character.

Director Ron Howard is said to be interested in the film, but no deals have yet been made.

Leo, who will next be seen playing the title role in Clint Eastwood's J Edgar, has been shooting Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby.

Not long after that, he is due to play the bad guy in Quentin Tarantino's controversial spaghetti western Django Unchained.

For the world's producers and directors, let's hope Leo doesn't get too carried away with the Aussie spirit of "Work hard, play harder", as is likely to hold true at his current residence - an entire floor of The Star, thanks to the generous folks at Echo Entertainment and Star, many of which the management team just happen to be Leo's fellow Americans.

Long live the Australian - Hollywood - AussieWood connection. Thus far Leo's gamble to do Australia for business and pleasure looks to be paying off. Kendal Schuler and a bush tucker bag of Aussie models are not commenting. Baz sure seems happy with Leo's "down under" visit. Leo, you're throw of the dice.

News just in: Paramount Pictures is currently developing a remake of The Gambler with the original producers, Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler. Intended as a new directorial project for Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio has snatched the lead and William Monahan will write the screenplay.

Websites

The Star

Echo Entertainment

Baz Luhrmann - Bazmark official website

Fox Studios Australia

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Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards: Winners And Chaos, by Eva Rinaldi - 7th October 2011

2011-10-08T17:47:00.001+11:00

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What a day and what a night. This was Australia's night of nights for kids and teenagers.

Thousands of fans, mainly teenage girls, swamped outside the Sydney Entertainment Centre, some from as early as 5am, waiting for their favorite entertainment industry stars.

By around 2pm, the line ups behind barracades were 30 people deep, and much of the press pack turned animal. Some teenage girls had home-made signs listing their mobile phone numbers, which I thought was not appropriate, and potential dangerous for the young ladies who advertised them. I don't know if I was fortunate or not to be taking photographs alongside the fans on this big outing. The million dollar question at big red carpet events like this is "Who is worse: The media, the fans, the kids or parents?"

Finally, at 6pm, the indoor part of the Nick awards kicked off and the audience went banana.

Ok, you want event results we hear...

Bindi and Bob Irwin have scored top bragging rights at the Australian Nickelodeon Kids' Choice awards, taking home the Hall of Slime Award for 2011 (the slime is green in case you wondered, and CM Punk won't forget it in a hurry).

Bindi and Bob beat Natalie Bassingthwaighte, Guy Sebastian and LA - USA planted Rove McManus, were splurted with green slime as popular Daniel MacPherson announced them as the first ever winners of the award.

"It is such an honour just to be nominated. It's a wonderful award," Bindi told the media.

"We're carrying on in our dad's footsteps. He originally got the Burp Award here at Nickelodeon," she said.

Hosted by iCarly mega stars Jennette McCurdy and Nathan Kress, the evening showcased bowls of maggots, an orange carpet, big and small envelopes and 5 tonnes of slime at the Sydney Entertainment Centre to mark the 16th annual Australian Kids' Choice Awards.

Australia's own teen idol Cody Simpson kicked booty, snatching up all three of his nominated categories - Super Fresh Award, Awesome Aussie and Fave Aussie Musos.

"I might not live in Australia at the moment, but Australia always lives in me," he told the crowd as he accepted his third award for the night, Awesome Aussie. The pop star performed a medley of some of his numbers 'Just For You' and 'On My Mind' for the thousands of screaming fans (80% girls), entering the grand stage with his guitar before ripping it up with dancers, and he even picked a one in a million young lady fan from the sold out crowd to sing to.

A record breaking 1.6 million kids' votes were counted to determine the winners.

Ten's Masterchef judge Matt Preston, who also took out the award for Awesome Oldie, dipped his arm into a big tank of green slime to rip out the word Julia, announcing Julia Gillard as the Slime Minister.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard (look-a-like) accepted the award. The real one wasn't there. The very same one who also didn't watch the ABC tele sexy tribute to her since she "had better things to do".

"Tonight, I'm proud to go green because you voted me Slime Minister," Julia Gillard's look-a-like announced to the audience.

"I'd like to ban budgie smugglers", she added before dancing with Australia's Got Talent winners, Justice Crew and being covered in slime along with "Mr Masterchef" Matt Preston.

Kyle Sandilands beat WWE superstar CM Punk ('The Best In The World'... in case you didn't hear) to win Baddest Baddie, accepting the award electronically from Los Angeles, US of A).

A bush tucker bag of pre-recorded video messages were heard from international superstar Justin Bieber who snatched the Hottest Guy Hottie Award, LMFAO who won Fave Song for Party Rock Anthem, Katy Perry who nicked home Fave International Artist and Victoria Justice who grabbed Hottest Girl Hottie.

Jennette McCurdy proved that she was a fab choice to co-host the night, besting Camp Oranges Luke and Wyatt, Hamish and Andy and Josh Thomas to take out the LOL Award.

Cody Simpson returned to the grand stage to wrap up the night, performing his hit number All Day before being covered in green slime from head to toe.

Insiders tip it was one of the better Nick Australia Kid's Choice Awards from a paid audience perspective, but also one of the most chaotic in history from a red carpet planted fan perspective.

What a crazy day. We hope no one got hurt - big ego's or otherwise. Ok, get nicked.

Replays of the event can be found on Foxtel's Nickelodeon channel this Saturday (Noon) and Sunday at 10.30pm.

Websites

Nickelodeon (Australia)
http://www.nickelodeon.com.au

Nick.com
http://www.nick.com

Foxtel
http://www.foxtel.com.au

Sydney Entertainment Centre
http://www.sydentcent.com.au

Eva Rinaldi Photography
http://www.evarinaldi.com

Eva Rinaldi Photography Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/evarinaldiphotography

Music News Australia
http://www.musicnewsaustralia.com

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Toronto 2011: Dominic Monaghan Thriller 'The Day' Picked Up by WWE Studios

2011-10-05T21:03:00.001+11:00

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The Day, which played in the Toronto International Film Festival’s Midnight Madness sidebar, has found a home at WWE Studios, which announced it has picked up U.S. distribution rights to the post-apocalyptic action thriller.

Directed by Doug Aarniokoski and written by Luke Passmore, the movie stars Shawn Ashmore, Ashley Bell, Cory Hardrict, Dominic Monaghan and Shannyn Sossamon as a group of survivors fighting to stay alive.

"The Day is a renegade thrill-ride that will not disappoint audiences," Michael Luisi, the newly named president of WWE Studios, said. "We went to Toronto looking for films to showcase and expand the WWE Studios brand and found exactly that with Doug's exceptional film.”

"The Day has been a wild ride from start to finish and we are very excited that we have found the right home to get the film out to the fans in a big way,” said director Aarniokoski, who is currently directing Nurse 3D for Lionsgate.

The film was produced by Guy A. Danella. Aarniokoski, Michael Finley, Tim James, Antonina Armato and Ross M. Dinerstein served as executive producers.

Kevin Iwashina of Preferred Content handled the sale, with Luisi and vp of business and legal affairs Bradley Buchanan negotiating for WWE Studios.

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Marvel Entertainment Movie And Gaming News, by Greg Tingle - 30th September 2011

2011-09-30T18:54:00.003+10:00

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Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment's PartyCasino Tipped To Get More Hollywood And Marvel Themed Slot Games...

PartyCasino.com the world's biggest and most trusted online gambling company, is tipped to soon be getting more Marvel Comics and Hollywood themed slot games. Will it be Captain America, Blade, Andre The Giant, Knight Rider or all of the above? Stay tuned to find out!

Marvel looking for Avengers game partner...

The Avengers movie-based game that was in the works at THQ may not be happening now, but Marvel Comics tells us its gaming plans are far from over, and something big and positive is just around the corner.

"The rights for a video game based on Marvel's Avengers IP have reverted back to Marvel," a Marvel spokesperson told the press. We also heard something about "The company is in early stages of exploring potential publishing and licensing opportunities."

Should the partnership turn into reality, it would mark the Avengers' first gaming project since 1996's rarely seen Data East arcade fighter Avengers: Galactic Storm. Data East also handled the supergroup's best-known gaming excursion, the 1991 arcade beat-'em-up Captain America and the Avengers, which received a number of console ports in the following years.

The Avengers characters have featured in quite a few games over the decades. Upcoming Avengers film...Captain America, Thor, Hulk, and Iron Man...have all starred in their own feature films and accompanying game adaptations over the years.

The Avengers movie will feature a star-studded cast including Robert Downey, Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, and Samuel L. Jackson. Insiders tip it may be the superhero themed movie of the year and takings are expected to be beyond both Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger.

Activision Releases New X-Men Game...

Activision Blizzard Inc. recently announced the release of X-Men Destiny at retail stores. The title is available on Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360, Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 3 and Nintendo’s Wii and DS gaming systems. X-Men Destiny’s console version has been developed by Silicon Knights while Other Ocean studio has developed the DS version.

Based on characters created by Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a division of The Walt Disney Company (DIS), the new role-playing action game (RPG) introduces three new characters in the epic battle between X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants. Gamers can choose from the three new mutants- Grant Alexander, Aimi Yoshida and Adrian Luca, to fight alongside and against some of the greatest X-Men characters, such as Magneto, Cyclops, Wolverine and Gambit.

For the first time in the history of the franchisee, X-Men Destiny features a unique story telling mode, where the three new characters have a story and can make personal choices that will decide their own destiny, adding a new dimension to the game. Popular Hollywood stars have lent their voices to the three new characters, which is an added attraction of the game.

X-Men Destiny also features a new upgrade system, which allows gamers to enhance their mutant skills by mixing and matching X-Genes and abilities from various X-Men and Brotherhood characters.

X-Men has been one of the most popular franchisees published by Activision. The company has a history of publishing successful franchises based on iconic characters such as Spiderman, The Hulk, Shrek, Tony Hawk and many others. The company recently announced the release of the James Bond game GoldenEye 007: Reloaded and GoldenEye 007: Reloaded Double 'O' Edition.

We think the new games will drive Activision’s top-line growth going forward. We also believe that X-Men Destiny will provide a competitive edge against peers like Electronic Arts Inc.

Activision currently focuses on the digital channel, which helped drive revenues in the last quarter. This is an encouraging trend, since digitized games tend to yield higher margins and are also more likely to grow at a faster rate than packaged versions.

However, Activision continues to face tough competition from Electronic Arts Inc. and Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.

Activision also does not have a presence in the social and mobile gaming platforms, where Electronic Arts has made strategic acquisitions and partnerships. This could impact its competitive position over the long term.

Further, the gloomy macro environment in North America and weak video game results over the last 12 months compel us to remain on the sidelines.

We offer a Neutral recommendation on Activision over the long term (for the next 3 to 6 months). Activision boasts of a strong product pipeline for the upcoming holiday season, which will boost its top-line going forward. This is the reason for the #2 Rank on the shares, which implies a Buy rating in the short term.

Thor Slot Game; Super Hero Jackpot And More...

Marvel Entertainment via PartyCasino.com and Media Man present the Thor slot game. Don't just read the comics and watch the movies, play the games!

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Hugh Jackman denies breaking wrestler's jaw - 26th September 2011

2011-09-26T13:18:00.000+10:00

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Hugh Jackman admits that he punched a professional wrestler with all of his might - but disputes claims that he broke his jaw.

The Australian actor attended a WWE wrestling match on September 19 to promote his upcoming boxing film Real Steel. A guest of honour, Jackman was able to hang out in wrestler Zack Ryder's corner while the tournament took place.

At one point during the fight, Jackman travelled over to Dolph Ziggler's corner, Ryder's opponent. Jackman and Ziggler exchanged words and Ziggler received a clean punch to the jaw by the actor quickly thereafter.

"I hit him," Jackman told Entertainment Weekly.

"[Dolph] said, 'Hit me as hard as you can.' So I hit him pretty hard. And you can see it in my eyes. I watched [the clip] again, and you can see me going 'Uh oh' a little. I'm acting like, 'Yeah!' but I'm really like, 'S***, I kinda really clocked him in the jaw'."

Jackman insists that he didn't mean to clock Ziggler with so much force. Ziggler tweeted soon after the incident with claims that Jackman put a hairline fracture in his jaw.

"It was scripted that I would go for that punch," Jackman explained.

"But just before we went on, Dolph was yelling at me, 'You hit me man! Just f***ing hit me!' During rehearsal I said, 'I'd like to do it, but I've spent 20 years pulling punches, trying not to hit. Trying to make it look real, but not really hit.'

"He said, 'There's no way. There's cameras everywhere, there's crowd everywhere, there's no way we can 'whiff it', as they call it'."

Jackman is convinced that Ziggler may be embellishing the extent of his injury a little bit.

"The next day I read he really broke his jaw and I wasn't surprised - but I don't think he did," Jackman said.

"He's prone to exaggeration - which is why I hit him! Nah, just kidding!"

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WWE Internet Championship In Works; Zack Ryder Pushed By Top Brass And Hugh Jackman - 23rd September 2011

2011-09-25T19:11:00.001+10:00

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WWE's Zack Ryder is maintaining his rage to see an official WWE Internet Championship come to pass. Woo Woo Woo.

Contracted pro wrestler Dolph Ziggler tweeted that his mandible was fractured after the actor hit him this past Monday Night Raw, but some insiders say it was all an elaborate stunt. Wouldn't be the first time would it.

Aussie actor Hugh Jackman made a special appearance on Monday night's WWE Raw to promote his upcoming boxing film Real Steel, and got a little more than he bargained for, such is life in and around the WWE.

The actor, who has played beefed-up character Wolverine in Marvel's X-Men films since 2000, got into a been with notorious heel wrestler Dolph Ziggler, who insulted Jackman by calling him the wrong superhero name: Batman.

While this back-and-forth was surely staged, as WWE match-ups are, when Jackman delivered the planned punch, it may have achieved extra impact.

"MRI scheduled for 1 pm.....possible fractured jaw #thanksBatman," Ziggler wrote from his HEELZiggler Twitter account Tuesday. He later seemed to confirm the injury, following up with, "hairline mandibular fracture" tweet.

But, some are claiming that the entire injury is a hoax. TMZ reports that sources close to the wrestler say the entire thing was made up, but that the WWE wasn't in on Ziggler's joke.

Whatever the case, we here at Media Man love it. Keep it up.

Rumours remain that the likes of Mick Foley, Hulk Hogan and another former NWO member will soon return to WWE rings.

We can also confirm the return of the late, great, Andre The Giant this year (but in an online slot game - not in a wrestling ring). Ric Flair may also be following suit, and Kevin Nash is also understood to be keen to further explore online gaming opportunities. Don't change your dial.

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Hilton Hotel Zeta Bar ‘extreme cabaret’ students excel, by Greg Tingle - 9th September 2011

2011-09-10T00:34:00.000+10:00

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Hilton Sydney’s Zeta Bar continued to bring guests back to the extreme cabaret, now a famous fixture of Friday nights in 'Sin City'.

It was on for young and old tonight as celebrated Australian - Italian creative artist Eva Rinaldi and her team delivered an extremely impressive cabaret presentation.

Tonight's artistic creation was more complex to create than usual so Ms Rinaldi took the opportunity to offer school students Kayleb Cantali and her son, Joseph Rinaldi, some valuable work experience.

Ms Rinaldi said "We absolutely love working with our friends at the Hilton Hotel and the Zeta Bar. Tonight was very special for us because I was able to also include my son Joseph and my nephew Kayleb in our creative arts team. It's work experience time for them and what a fun activity for their high school curriculum. Work experience was never quite this fun in my day. I did the most complicated parts of the painting and design, but I am very proud of the students contribution. The performance and end result was just amazing and oozed extreme cabaret."

Cabaret connoisseurs will be over the moon to hear that the the rumours are getting stronger that the 'Extreme Cabaret' theme will continue at Hilton much longer than the originally forecast 12 weeks. A spy also whispered that Hilton Hotels in New Zealand and even as far as the United Statues are keen to incorporate extreme cabaret into their big entertainment nights.

Tonight it was Human Statue model Anastasiya Bakss made up in a bodypainting based black and red number featuring all manner of risque words like "sexy", "tease", "burlesque" and you get the idea. She read like a book (of the teasing variety). Insiders were overheard comparing it to a famous photo of model Bar Refaeli, who graced the cover of Esquire Magazine a few years back.

The extreme cabaret performances have really added new life into the Hilton's Zeta bar, and we understand it's been great for business as well as far the larger Sydney social scene.

The unlikely joining of extreme cabaret, live music, education and photography really hit the "X" spot tonight and nightlife lovers can't wait for next flirty Friday night to do it all over again at the Zeta.

Special thanks as always to Grant, Manual, Dave and Karina at the Hilton for keeping things running so great for us. Oh, we heard some some guests got tempted to do an overnighter at the Hilton and add themselves to the Hilton Hotel Honours Club. Trust me, its highly recommended.

Up to be tantalised in an acceptable, cool and risque fashion? Snatch the opportunity to do 'Sin City' Sydney like it should be done. It's quite an education, and they do say that there should be fun in learning. Join us in the classroom next week guys and dolls.

*photography by Eva Rinaldi Photography

*artistic creations by Human Statue Bodyart

Websites

Hilton Hotel Sydney

Zeta Bar

Zeta Bar - Extreme Cabaret profile

Beauty and Spa Solutions

Eva Rinaldi Photography Flickr

Eva Rinaldi Photography

Human Statue Bodyart

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Uronimo Announces the World’s First Mobile Social Network with its Charity Partner, The North American Andy Transplant Foundation

2011-09-05T12:17:00.001+10:00

URONIMO, the first mobile social network & The North American Andy Transplant Foundation, Inc. (a 501(c)3) non profit organization) will have an official press conference in Hollywood, Ca. with it’s hosting partner, 3D Film Festival during Sept. 22 – 25, 2011. The 3D Film Festival is the World’s first and largest film and music festival over 4 days with 40 events in the city blocks district of Sunset and Vine. (www.3dff.org)

Hollywood has used its strength to promote philanthropy in its communities and around the world. The NAATF aspires to maximize and recognize the changes needed in today’s world and has partnered with the 3D Film Festival. Its new flagship to be, Mother Teresa’s website, www.andytransplantfoundation.org MT EXCLUSIVELY BRANDED for URONIMO.org in celebration of her 100th Birthday will participate in a “love sees no diversity & embraces all” screening and concert benefit. The NAATF will also raise funds with Save the Music, a fundraiser to buy music equipment to benefit the Hollywood High School Students.

Uronimo.org is the next social mobile platform (The first mobile social network that will stream all 40 events) Charities can start to log on for FREE and start to make money for their non-profits by sending out SMS and MMS messages with no applications anymore. The best part is that they can build their own database of phone numbers and keep in touch with all of their customers via any mobile phone throughout the world. Companies can donate to the charity and non-profits can use these green credits to get started to make money for their causes.

This event will be televised by Uronimo’s network and other media including “The Susan Thompson Show” as seen on CNN’s queue Jan. 2011 with CNN’S Hero’s and other media. Details of this spectacular venue will announce a message, key players, guest artists and dignitaries, upcoming events and other humanitarian efforts and activities. Producers, media and initiatives are in place regarding charity fundraising and empowerment including a VIP contest with Uronimo.org.

Celebrities, Models, Sport Athletes, Musicians, Distinguished Authors, Renowned Master Chefs, Famous Writers, Politicians & more are now invited to participate in this popularity venue to become “Starlight Ambassadors”.

Go to www.uronimo.com or to www.andytransplantfoundation.org for more information. Additional information about The Susan Thompson Show is available on its website, www.thesusanthompsonshow.com

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Marvel Entertainment: Don't just read the comics and watch the movies; Play the games!

2011-08-30T17:52:00.001+10:00

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PartyCasino.com - Accepts Canadian, Australian and New Zealand players. PartyCasino new players get up to $3000 sign up bonus. Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment is the world's largest and most succesful igaming company.

VirginCasino.com - No US, Canadian, Australian or New Zealand players. £100 sign up bonus. Virgin Games is part of Richard Branson's Virgin Enterprises Limited.

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Sydney Hilton Hotel Zeta Bar titillates and tantalises again with ‘extreme cabaret’ - 26th August 2011

2011-08-27T20:46:00.000+10:00

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Hilton Sydney’s Zeta Bar is continuing to take guests back to the sexy mystique of the nineteenth century underworld, or Underbelly if you will, every Friday night until the end of September.

Management, staff and guests are having a who ha of a time as the boundaries of traditional cabaret continue to be pushed, such is the is the titillating and tantalising nature of the
experience at Zeta’s brand new ‘Extreme Cabaret’, now into its 5th fantasy - devilish week.

It's world famous Zeta Bar was once again transformed into a theatrical era gone by. It's Moulin Rouge meets Burlesque, plus a dash of Underbelly, with live sensual themes to tantalise and titillate you naughty little guys and girls, and then of course you have the addictive cocktails to keep things kicking along. Don't drink too much please or you might end up dreaming about 'Eyes Wide Shut' and it's version of adult style fantasy fun and games. Oh, you must give 'Green Fairy' absinthe a go. It's the hip drink to have when being titillatated by the ‘Extreme Cabaret’ were hear.

Zeta’s very own in-house ‘ringmaster’ of cocktails and international expert bar consultant, Grant Collins, is the mastermind behind Extreme Cabaret at Zeta.

“To mirror the unique and vibrant event concept, I have developed a menu of cocktails with the same theatre and ‘shock factor’ as the dramatic décor and extraordinary acts,” Collins said. “Be prepared to expect the unexpected at Extreme Cabaret! I have no doubt that the acts, atmosphere and cocktails will amaze everyone who experiences them and keep them coming back for more.”

Be there every funky and flirty Friday night, live entertainment will transport you to a lurid fantasy world, including pretty extreme burlesque performers, juggling little people, fire acts, complete with shock-humour and Ringmaster, and maybe even one or two unspeakables, but you will just have to get your body to turn up and find out for yourself you curious souls.

Last night it was one of the Human Statue models Anastasiya Bakss performing in a wonderful yellow and red 2 piece peacock feathered styled number, and believe me, there was more skin than feathers darlings.

Anastasiya was just wonderful once the performance got on the way. What the public didn't see was all of the hard work that went into the costume and make-up, backstage in the green room, as artists worked to ultra stiff deadlines. The models were transformed them into Extreme Cabaret superstars with the unique Human Statue look and style.

Network Nine 'Underbelly' stars were back in attendance tonight, but we've been asked not to name names. You'll see some of them back on Channel Nine this Sunday night as 'Underbelly Razor' enters its second week back on the box.

Special thanks to Grant, Manual, Dave and Karina at the Hilton for keeping things running so beautifully for us, and partygoers might like to also add themselves to the Hilton Hotel Honours Club like my friend and I did.

If you desire to be titillated and tantalised to your hearts content, this is your opportunity to snatch and seize the night.

*photography by Eva Rinaldi Photography

*artistic creations by Human Statue Bodyart

Mark Burnett Selects Emmy Production Team

2011-08-01T11:28:00.001+10:00

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Executive producer Mark Burnett announced much of the production team for the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards telecast on Thursday, and for the most part he chose people close to home: three of the four top staffers have worked with Burnett on the previous awards shows he's overseen, the MTV Movie Awards and the People's Choice Awards.

Executive producer Audrey Morrisey, co-executive producer Jane Y. Mun and line producer Hyunjoo "Kimmie" Kim have all worked with Burnett on those other shows. The fourth staffer, co-producer Melissa Watkins Trueblood, has been co-producer of the Golden Globes for the past 10 years.

The newly-named executives, from the Emmys press release:

Executive Producer Audrey Morrissey is a highly accredited producer known for her work on award shows, music specials, reality series, music videos and promos. Having just wrapped the first season of "The Voice" where she served as an Executive Producer, Morrissey has teamed with Mark Burnett since 2007, collaborating with him on specials, including the "MTV Movie Awards" and the "People's Choice Awards."

Morrissey started at MTV Network's music and specials division working on high-profile music series and annual event specials such as "Unplugged," "VMAs," "Movie Awards," "Fashionably Loud," "Spring Break" and the "Rock 'n' Jock" franchise.

In 1999, she left MTV to join online music venture Farmclub.com as the Head of Television. While at Farmclub, Audrey executive produced 65 episodes of the weekly music series on USA Network and met her future partner, Ivan Dudynsky, with whom she started Live Animals productions in 2001.

Since the formation of Live Animals, Audrey has executive produced the "MTV Movie Awards," NBC's "The Voice," "People's Choice Awards," "CMT Music Awards," "MTV Latin American VMAs" or "Los Premios," "P. Diddy's StarMaker" music series, CMT's "Outlaws" and "Artists of the Year" specials and the "2011 Film Independent Spirit Awards."

Co-Executive Producer Jane Y. Mun is an entertainment industry veteran behind some of the most memorable and talked about awards shows, music specials and groundbreaking events on television. Working alongside Mark Burnett and Audrey Morrissey, Mun served as Co-Executive Producer of the venerable "People's Choice Awards" on CBS, as well as the Supervising Producer of the "MTV Movie Awards" and the competition reality series "P.Diddy's StarMaker."

In 2010, Mun launched BET's trailblazing "Black Girls Rock," the critically acclaimed tribute special that garnered a NAACP nomination. Her experience extends to all facets of live production, having produced red carpet specials for "MTV's Video Music Awards," the "Critics' Choice Awards" on VH1 and, most recently, "Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Orange Carpet Pre-Show."

At the forefront of new media, Mun produced the cutting-edge MTV Special, "Avatar Live: An MTV News/Facebook Forum," an unprecedented live interactive roundtable webcast discussion with Academy Award-winning filmmaker James Cameron and "Avatar" stars Sam Worthington and Zoë Saldana. She also produced the first-ever three-hour live webcast of "MTV's Video Music Awards Backstage Uncensored Live," an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the most outrageous award show.

Line Producer Hyunjoo "Kimmie" Kim has a long-standing relationship with the Mark Burnett team. Over the past few years, she has worked with them on the "MTV Movie Awards" and the "People's Choice Awards." Additionally, she has worked on many high-profile specials, including "Hope For Haiti Now" and "The 83rd Annual Academy Awards Pre-Show."

Co-Producer Melissa Watkins Trueblood has been a part of some of the largest awards shows on television. This includes co-producing the "Golden Globe Awards" for the past 10 years, as well as the "American Music Awards," "Do Something Awards" and the "World Music Awards." Trueblood has also served as the Talent Producer for "The Voice," "People's Choice Awards," "Independent Spirit Awards," "Scream Awards," "Academy of Country Music Awards" and much more.

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2011-08-01T03:17:00.001+10:00

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NEW YORK (Reuters) – A federal judge ruled on Thursday that influential comic book artist Jack Kirby’s creations such as the Fantastic Four and the Hulk belong to Marvel Entertainment, and not his heirs.

The decision in New York by District Judge Colleen McMahon scuttles a copyright claim by Kirby’s heirs that threatened to undermine everything from Marvel’s movie projects to its integration into parent company Walt Disney Co.

“I conclude that there are no genuine issues of material fact, and that the Kirby Works were indeed works for hire within the meaning of the Copyright Act of 1909,” McMahon wrote in her 50-page ruling.

Jack Kirby, who died in 1994, is an iconic comic book artist whose role in the rise of Marvel is nearly on-par with the company’s former editor and writer Stan Lee. Kirby helped create such characters as the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, the X-Men, Captain America and Thor.

Kirby’s heirs in 2009 laid claim to copyrights for work he created from 1958 to 1963, when he had no written contract with Marvel and he drew up many of his most popular characters.

During that five-year period, Kirby co-created such Marvel comic book titles as “The Fantastic Four,” “The Incredible Hulk” and “The Avengers.”

Marvel sued the Kirby heirs after failing to reach a negotiated settlement with them over their copyright claims, which led to the ruling by McMahon on Thursday that found the rights to the characters belongs to Marvel.

McMahon said in her ruling that the case was not about whether Kirby and other artists “were treated ‘fairly’ by companies that grew rich off the fruit of their labor.”

Instead, the case was simply about the law, McMahon wrote, and the judge pointed to a pair of 1970s written agreements between Kirby and Marvel that she said bolstered the company’s position that it owns characters Kirby helped create.

Marc Toberoff, an attorney for the Kirby heirs, said he plans an appeal of the decision.

“We knew when we took this on that it would not be easy given the arcane and contradictory state of ‘work for hire’ case law under the 1909 Copyright Act,” he said.

In 2009, Marvel was bought by Disney for $4 billion. In the past decade, Marvel has seen its characters such as Spider-Man and Iron Man soar in movies. Its latest release “Thor” has earned over $447 million at worldwide box offices.

Thor And X-Men First Class Tipped To Hammer Home Results...

Thor and X-Men: First Class got great reviews and we're awesome, and Captain America: The First Avenger seems set to hit the spot to, but big questions remain about Green Lantern, and the vibe is not particularly good. Green Lantern with Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively is getting very reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes has a 23% approval among movie critics, according to the 153 reviews counters. But 72% of the 62,000 plus user reviewers say that they "liked it" with it just premiering in the U.S theaters Friday after a midnight release on late Thursday/early Friday. Comic Book Movie.com indicates are pretty negative on the flick. One reviewer called the movie "inert, artificial and dead on arrival." During the midnight release on Thursday, the film drew $3.35 million in the same region that alike movies that were recently released did; X-Men: First Class brought in $3.37 million on June 2nd, and Thor did $3.25 million on May 5th. X-Men: First Class and Thor both had a budget significantly less than Green Lantern; the former had a budget of $160 million while Thor had exactly half the budget of Green Lantern — $150 million. While the flick will likely end up eventually surpassing its budget, the fact the other comic book movies had much less budget isn’t a great result. Ultimately, X-Men: First Class raked in $55.1 million in its opening weekend while Thor did $65.7 million. With this being the third comic book-based movie released in a month-and-a-half and mixed reviews, will Green Lantern under perform this weekend, or will the hardcore - fanboy type audience that has been largely ripping on it, check it out at the cinema?

Our top picks: Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger looks like a safe bet.

Be it movies, comics or games, we think that Marvel Entertainment leads the pack, followed by DC Comics, with Dark Horse Comics getting a third, based on the positive news leaks and insider tip offs we've been getting.

As Marvel living legend Stan Lee would say, Excelsior!

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Marvel Entertainment And Marvel Comics News: Disney - Marvel Victory Over Jack Kirby Estate, by Greg Tingle - 31st July 2011

2011-07-31T23:29:00.001+10:00

Court Rules In Favor of Marvel Over Jack Kirby's Estate...

A nearly two-year legal dispute between the estate of renowned artist Jack Kirby and Marvel Comics came to an end Friday with the court ruling in favor of the comic book giant.

In 2009, Mr. Kirby's heirs sent Marvel and Disney 45 notices of a plan to reclaim copyrights in a series of Marvel comics that were published from 1958 to 1963. The comics included issues of "The Amazing Spider-Man," "The Avengers," "Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos," and others. In her ruling on Thursday, however, Judge McMahon said the notices "did not operate to convey any federally protected copyrights."

Marc Toberoff, the Los Angeles lawyer who represents the Kirbys, said, "We knew when we took this on that it would not be an easy fight given the arcane and contradictory state of 'work for hire' " case law under the 1909 Copyright Act. "We respectfully disagree with the court's ruling and intend to appeal this matter to the Second Circuit. Sometimes you have to lose to win."

Marvel, which always maintained that Kirby had created the characters under a "work for hire" contract, will now enjoy the unfettered benefits from his work for decades to come.

Read another report at The New York Times.

Stan Lee Intros ‘Spider-Man’ Double Feature In Santa Monica...

Stan Lee did Santa Monica yesterday to introduce an American Cinematheque double-feature of the Sam Raimi hit films “Spider-Man” and “Spider-Man 2″ that begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Aero Theatre.

The Marvel Comics icon who is by far the most famous name in comics (if you don’t count the heroes and villains in the stories) also make an appearance across the street at a meet-and-greet at Every Picture Tells a Story, the landmark gallery and shop on Montana Avenue. The store has the exclusive license to commission and create the Marvel ArtWorks series. A signed and numbered Alex Ross piece featuring the Avengers and the Invaders in full heroic gallop made its debut. The piece is giclee on canvas, 31.5 inches by 20.75 inches, limited edition of 100, priced at $1,250).

It's a busy and exciting time for Marvel. Marvel Studios has the No. 1 movie in the United States, a search underway for the director of “Thor 2″ and an all-star cast working away in New Mexico on the 2012 mega-film” The Avengers.” At Comic-Con International in San Diego, which ended Sunday, there was a major scrapbook moment for “The Amazing Spider-Man” as well as cool hints about live-action television plans for Hulk, Mockingbird, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage. Well fanboys and fangirls, the Marvel - Disney legal fight against Kirby Estate is over. Stay turned to Marvel Entertainment and Media Man for more of the best in the superhero world.

What will be the highest-grossing comic book adaptation of 2011?; Box Office Mojo Poll

39.2% Captain America: The First Avenger
18.3% X-Men: First Class
18.1% Green Lantern
13.2% Thor
10.7% Cowboys & Aliens
0.5% Priest

1,832 users polled. (This poll is now closed.)

Marvel Movies Upcoming...

Movie Studio Date

Captain America: The First Avenger Paramount Pictures 7/22/11
Ghost Rider 2 (3D) Sony 2/17/12
The Avengers (2012) Buena Vista 5/4/12
The Amazing Spider-Man Sony 7/3/12
The Dark Knight Rises Warner Bros 7/20/12
Iron Man 3 Buena Vista 5/3/13
Thor 2 Buena Vista 7/26/13

Thor And X-Men First Class Tipped To Hammer Home Results...

Thor and X-Men: First Class got great reviews and we're awesome, and Captain America: The First Avenger seems set to hit the spot to, but big questions remain about Green Lantern, and the vibe is not particularly good. Green Lantern with Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively is getting very reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes has a 23% approval among movie critics, according to the 153 reviews counters. But 72% of the 62,000 plus user reviewers say that they "liked it" with it just premiering in the U.S theaters Friday after a midnight release on late Thursday/early Friday. Comic Book Movie.com indicates are pretty negative on the flick. One reviewer called the movie "inert, artificial and dead on arrival." During the midnight release on Thursday, the film drew $3.35 million 0 the same region that alike movies that were recently released did; X-Men: First Class brought in $3.37 million on June 2nd, and Thor did $3.25 million on May 5th. X-Men: First Class and Thor both had a budget significantly less than Green Lantern; the former had a budget of $160 million while Thor had exactly half the budget of Green Lantern — $150 million. While the flick will likely end up eventually surpassing its budget, the fact the other comic book movies had much less budget isn’t a great result. Ultimately, X-Men: First Class raked in $55.1 million in its opening weekend while Thor did $65.7 million. With this being the third comic book-based movie released in a month-and-a-half and mixed reviews, will Green Lantern under perform this weekend, or will the hardcore - fanboy type audience that has been largely ripping on it, check it out at the cinema?

Our top picks: Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger looks like a safe bet.

Be it movies, comics or games, we think that Marvel Entertainment leads the pack, followed by DC Comics, with Dark Horse Comics getting a third, based on the positive news leaks and insider tip offs we've been getting.

As Marvel living legend Stan Lee would say, Excelsior!

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Marvel Entertainment, Marvel Comics And Gaming News, by Greg Tingle

2011-07-29T17:24:00.001+10:00

Hulk Rounds Off Marvel Teaser Week...

Marvel Comics has released the last teaser for its post-Fear Itself project.

The image shows a silhouette that appears to be the Hulk.

The figure contains words including "gamma", "breaker", "calculating", "loner" and "conspiracy".

Previous teasers have included Iron Fist, Red She Hulk, Dr Strange and the Silver Surfer, who all seem to feature as a part of the mysterious group 'The Mighty' which is due to appear in Fear Itself.

All teasers have been accompanied by the words "It's either in you or it's not". No further information has been released about the project beyond the release date of December 2011.

Fans on the Comic Book Resources forums have picked out letters highlighting in distinguishing colors in the teasers to spell out the messages, "Everyone you love dies", "Shut the engines down", "The universe will break" and "Fight to save everything".

Marvel will reveal details of the project at its Fear Itself panel on Sunday, July 24 at San Diego Comic-Con.

‘Thor 2′: Australian Chris Hemsworth Very Sad To See Kenneth Branagh Move Forward...

“Thor” director Kenneth Branagh is walking away from the Thor - Marvel Entertainment franchise, and no one is hit harder by the news that Chris Hemsworth, the star of Thor.

“I’m really disappointed,” Hemsworth said of Branagh’s decision to pass on “Thor 2,” which is aiming for a July 2013 release and may begin filming next May. “Ken built that character, and everything I know about the Thor world I learned while shoulder-to-shoulder with Ken. I learned so much from him.”

By all reports, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige invited Branagh back to follow up his success of “Thor,” the May 6 release that has grossed $447 million in worldwide box office. The 50-year-old filmmaker seemed energized by the prospects of a sequel too, both in private and in public. In the end, though, the focus and time required for a major visual-effects epic and the urgency to get the script process underway were the factors that sent Branagh in an alternative direction. Branagh will be busy as the returning star of the acclaimed British TV series “Wallander” and with his ramping work with a theater group in his native Belfast.

Hemsworth made time to frop in to Comic-Con International in San Diego this last weekend to promote “Snow White and the Huntsman,” said Marvel Studios will decide fairly soon on Branagh’s replacement. The 27-year-old actor has said the Oscar-nominated Branagh was initially intimidating and ultimately inspiring to work with, and that he has left a mark that will carry forward on the franchise.

"As long as he’s happy, that’s the thing,” said Hemsworth, who left San Diego to return to the New Mexico set of ”The Avengers.” “I learned so much from Ken while we built [the first film], so at least I had that time with someone like that. The start of anything creative is the most important period in a way. That’s when the most can go wrong, and Ken made sure we got it right."

The Avengers To Get A Realistic Looking Hulk...

Marvel Studios' President Kevin Feige dropped some details on what fans can expect to see of the big green wrecking machine in next summer's ensemble superhero film, revealing Hulk to be less ripped and more human-like in appearance.

Based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series, first published in 1963, Marvel’s The Avengers brings together the mightiest super hero characters as they all assemble together on screen for the first time. Continuing the epic big-screen adventures started in Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger, Marvel’s The Avengers is the super hero team up of a lifetime. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster.

Marvel Studios President of Production Kevin Feige confirms that the finished product will closely resemble the promo. Feige also went on to say that the third big screen incarnation of Hulk will be close in scale as the last feature length film version. He did say however that more changes have been made to digitally make the monster appear more human in it's facial structure.

"He'll be about the same size he was in The Incredible Hulk (which was about 9 feet tall) or maybe a little bit smaller. His muscles won't be quite as cut. We figure he's been the Hulk now for a few years and [his physique is changing]. He's not as cut or as ripped as he was in The Incredible Hulk. The most important thing is that face. As you can already see in that concept painting, it is — more than any Hulk that's ever been done in live action — a Hulk that let's you see the actor in there.

"You will be able to see Ruffalo in there. That was a big revelation for us. It's just a concept painting, but in that you can see the (influence of Marvel Comics pioneer and original Hulk artist Jack) Kirby, as people have already pointed out, but also, and equally important in this case, Ruffalo's eyes and his cheek structure. It is him."

‘Captain America’ Harley Davidson Bike Up For Auction...
Harley-Davidson created five custom-made bikes for Captain America and now you have a rare chance to own one – signed by Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Neal McDonough, the director Joe Johnston, and even comic-book legend Stan Lee. And the proceeds will go to help disabled veterans.

The bike, a 2011 Harley-Davidson V-Rod® Muscle VRSCF will be auctioned on eBay starting on July 28th until August 4th and all the proceeds will go to the ‘Disabled American Veterans Charitable Service Trust,’ a non-profit which has helped this nation’s injured heroes since 1920 with things like transport problems and benefit claims, and also educates the public on veterans matters.

“Captain America and Harley-Davidson are great symbols of freedom, but we can never forget the brave men and women who made extraordinary sacrifices to protect our way of life,” Dino Bernacchi, Harley’s Director of Marketing told PRN. “We’re excited about the potential of this auction to strengthen our bond with the DAV and the great work they do.”

And this is not the first time the guys at Harley have helped – in 2006 they donated $1-million to the same group, then another $1-million last year. One result of this is the ‘Harley’s Heroes’ program which has helped tens of thousands of vets with free counseling and other assistance the government can’t or won’t bring.

And they’re not done – If you have a local Harley dealer and you love the movie, give them a call – Some have an exclusive poster of Chris Evans in costume riding a vintage 1942 Harley-Davidson ‘Liberator.’ Harley’s promotional web site also has unseen footage from the film, made in collaboration with Marvel.

You can find the auction right here. It opens on Thursday and they’re expecting a crush, so don’t get left out…

'Captain America' Knocks Harry Potter from No. 1 Spot...
In a battle of summer movie heroes, Captain America topped Harry Potter this weekend at the box office.

Paramount Pictures' "Captain America: The First Avenger" opened at No. 1 with $65.8 million, according to Sunday studio estimates. The Marvel Comics superhero adventure sets up next summer's all-star blockbuster "The Avengers."

Warner Bros.' "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," the eighth and final installment in the boy-wizard franchise, dropped to the second spot. It made just over $48 million in its second weekend for a domestic total of $274.1 million.

Don Harris, head of distribution for Paramount, said "Captain America" exceeded expectations. He figured it would do the same sort of business as "X-Men: First Class," which opened with $55.1 million in June.

"It looked to me, when I saw the marketing on the movie and then saw 'Captain America,' like a throwback movie. It reminded me a little bit of 'Raiders of the Lost Ark.' It had a little bit of a 'Raiders' feel to it, which is one of the best movies of all time," Harris said. "People embrace the look of the character. The character is a little bit like Iron Man — he didn't have a lot of special weapons to himself, he just was a pretty interesting character.

"For it to be the fifth of five superhero movies for the summer, it looks like we got to save the best for last," he said.

Internationally, "Captain America: The First Avenger" opened only in Italy with $2.8 million. It will begin playing in 23 international markets next weekend, including the United Kingdom, Russia, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Australia and Korea.

"Harry Potter" dropped 72 percent from its record-setting opening of $169.2 million last weekend. That was expected, though: Even Warner Bros. executives acknowledged that these movies are front-loaded in terms of audience turn-out.

And as box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian of Hollywood.com pointed out, this final "Potter" picture made $43 million in its first midnight showings alone.

"'Harry Potter' did what it's going to do," Dergarabedian said. "Even trying to keep up with that pace, that level, is really tough."

The strong showing of "Captain America" made sense, he said. Every superhero movie that's come out this year has opened at No. 1.

"The general consensus was that it was a pretty good movie," Dergarabedian said of "Captain America," which scored 73 percent positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. "Being the week of Comic-Con, I don't know, maybe that many fan-boys in one place affected the box office. Maybe people had comic books on the brain, superheroes on the brain."

The week's other big release, "Friends With Benefits" from Sony Screen Gems, opened at No. 3 with $18.5 million. The romantic comedy stars Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis as friends who try to maintain a strictly physical relationship. The extremely similar "No Strings Attached," starring Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman, debuted in January with $19.7 million.

Opening in limited release, "Another Earth" made $78,413 on four screens in New York and Los Angeles. The Fox Searchlight sci-fi romance stars William Mapother and Brit Marling as strangers whose lives intersect after a deadly car crash.

Meanwhile, the 3-D "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" became the highest-grossing movie ever distributed by Paramount Pictures International. It crossed the half-billion-dollar mark with $62 million from 60 worldwide markets this weekend. Its cumulative overseas gross now stands at $556.6 million.

Domestically, the third "Transformers" movie made $12 million this weekend for a domestic total of $325.8 million.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. "Captain America: The First Avenger," $65.8 million ($2.8 million international).

2. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," $48 million ($121.3 million international).

3. "Friends With Benefits," $18.5 million.

4. "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," $12 million ($62 million international).

5. "Horrible Bosses," $11.7 million.

6. "Zookeeper," $8.7 million.

7. "Cars 2," $5.7 million ($17.7 million international).

8. "Winnie the Pooh," $5.1 million.

9. "Bad Teacher," $2.6 million.

10. "Midnight in Paris," $1.9 million.

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by Rainbow Media Holdings, a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corp.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

Thousands Line Up for 'Avengers' Casting Call...

CLEVELAND — One of Hollywood's biggest films, "The Avengers," is coming to town.

Now, thousands of locals are lining up for a taste of stardom.

"I want to be a part of this movie," said Cincinnati resident, Dhin Soriano. "It's one of the biggest movies coming out next year."

Based on the popular comic book series, The Avengers, will start filming in Cleveland in August.

"I knew the crowd was going to be kind of big, so I made sure I got him up kind of early," said Daryl Burge, of Garfield.

Burge and his cousin, James, were of two of more than 3,000 people who attended Friday's casting call for the Marvel Studio flick.

About 2,000 extras are needed to work alongside stars like Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johansson.

The movie has generated buzz across the country, attracting many people who hope to be a part of their favorite childhood past time.

"Marvel Comics. Oh, I still got some from the 60's," said Columbus resident, Carolyn Parkman.

Parkman traveled to Cleveland the day before to beat the crowd.

"I've got my magazines, but I love my comics," she said. "I can stand here. That's all I'm thinking about is the fact that this is the chance of a lifetime."

The movie will have another casting call from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 16, at the Holiday Inn, 6001 Rockside Road, Independence, Ohio.

Extras casting directors say if you do plan to apply, come dressed in business attire. Also, be sure to bring an umbrella, pen, food, water and entertainment. You may have to wait in line for hours. Only those who have flexible schedules should apply.

What will be the highest-grossing comic book adaptation of 2011?; Box Office Mojo Poll

39.2% Captain America: The First Avenger
18.3% X-Men: First Class
18.1% Green Lantern
13.2% Thor
10.7% Cowboys & Aliens
0.5% Priest

1,832 users polled. (This poll is now closed.)

Marvel Movies Upcoming...

Movie Studio Date

Captain America: The First Avenger Paramount Pictures 7/22/11
Ghost Rider 2 (3D) Sony 2/17/12
The Avengers (2012) Buena Vista 5/4/12
The Amazing Spider-Man Sony 7/3/12
The Dark Knight Rises Warner Bros 7/20/12
Iron Man 3 Buena Vista 5/3/13
Thor 2 Buena Vista 7/26/13

Evans Says Captain America's 'Avengers' Storyline Is 'Multifaceted'

Yet more movie excitement with the the impending release of "Captain America: The First Avenger,". And, how about next year's highly anticipated, superhero-filled "The Avengers."

Chris Evans aka "Captain America" was interviewed by our friends at MTV. Learn about his thoughts on working with fan-favorite "Avengers" director Joss Whedon...

"He's unbelievable," Evans said. "He's so clever. He lives in the world of comic books, so he has in his head an amazing story already mapped out."

"When it comes to directing actors and understanding dialogue, he's an incredibly talented writer. If something isn't working for you as an actor within the words, he can walk away for 10 minutes and come back with seven options that are all fantastic and clever and witty and it's got a pace and a banter," he explained. "He's a great guy to be quarterbacking this thing."

With regard to Captain America's storyline in "The Avengers," the details of which Evans couldn't fully elaborate on but are briefly teased at the conclusion of "Captain America," he said his character is basically a fish out of water trying to understand the modern world around him.

"It's really multifaceted. The guy has to accept the fact that everyone he knew and loved is gone," Evans said of his character's new arc. "Not only is he alone, [but] the world has changed so much, and I think a big part of what makes Cap Cap was his connection to the way things used to be, this kind of pro-American morality and good-ol'-boy sense of life and the way of doing things," he added. "In the modern era, there's a bit of a disconnect. There's not as much human interaction. I think there's more cynicism than there was back then, so it's him trying to come to terms with the way things are."

Captain America: The First Avenger; Could Be The Best And Highest Grossing Comic Movie This Year...

The next big Marvel flick on the back of this year’s critically acclaimed X-Men: First Class, and the more divisive, mighty Thor.

Captain America: The First Avenger pretty much rocks. The Captain was the first Marvel pinup boy to progress from the comic book page to the projector back in 1944.

Starring Chris Evans as the Captain – and with an impressive support cast including Hugo Weaving and Tommy Lee Jones – Marvel films have usually attracted top actors and talent in the business.

Let's have a look at a few Marvel flicks from over the years, to determine if their oldest hero will be profitable, and critically well-received nearly 70 years after its birth.

The Captain’s silver screen début way back then – when Marvel was called Timely Comics – wasn’t followed up with another motion picture from the same house until 1986, some 42 years later. Are'nt you glad that finally decided to start pumping them out.

That film was Howard the Duck, credibly cited in the worst film of all time lists with actors receiving Raspberry awards for their performances. Howard – produced by George Lucas – was a box office flop, barely breaking even and putting off the film arm of Marvel having another crack for three years. Then they teamed up with Dolph Lundgren and did The Punisher - fortunately the quality generally improved as the years moved forward.

Marvel went through quite a rough patch in the 1980s: an area of film that seemed tailor made for their intellectual property. CGI effects, bigger budgets, but the films were still not being very warmly embraced by casual movie fans, hardcores or critics.

The trend for Marvel films – give or take – continued into the 1990s when comic adaptations’ performances generally were not great. Batman and Robin and Steel limped didn't do the genre many favours either.

Blade got a mixed response for Marvel. High performing, taking $131m; near four times its budget, and critically sound, the film spawned the investigation into an X-Men movie franchise and the Spiderman series.

X-Men – already a successful franchise in its own right with computer games, figurines, solid backstory, animations and art – followed up where Blade left off and set the bar higher.

Costing $75 million to attract highly credible stars, solid staple actors, and some young talent – Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Anna Paquin, Famke Janssen, Bruce Davison, James Marsden, Halle Berry, Rebecca Romijn, Ray Park Tyler Mane – the film was a decent-sized investment at best, and a gamble at worst. It movied forward to snatch a $300m return.

X-Men to date has spawned around $1.6bn and, although a mixed critical reception is synonymous with the franchise, that figure was enhanced with the latest X-Men: First Class, which has been a big box office win.

The Spiderman series has been a real win for Marvel and their respective teams. The fourth in the series is due next year and given the last – 2007′s Spiderman 3 – took almost a billion dollars to cap a highly profitable franchise to date.

Marvel is on the rise, their stock is attractive and it’s sweet timing for Captain America. The UK – mostly unaware of this hero compared to other Marvel winners – has an appetite for Marvel icons on the big screen along with the rest of the world. If these enjoy success in line with Blade, X-Men and Wolverine, the firm will continue to power ahead, unless there's a torpedo on the horizen that Marvel or the industry doesn't know about.

Films in the Marvel series have been all the rage in regions such as America, Europe, the far east and Australia. Marvel flicks at the movies continue to be excelsior!

Comic-Con 2011 Preview...

(CBS) Comic-Con starts next week in San Diego, Calif., on Thursday, July 21, and runs through the weekend (and there's a "Preview Night," Wednesday, July 20).

The event is a big deal (to paraphrase Vice President Joe Biden) and now draws more than 100,000 people a year. Here's a sampling of what you can expect.

Pictures: Comic-Con 2010

For a complete list of the events, go to comic-con.org.

Wednesday, July 20

Special Sneak Peek Pilot Screenings - 6:00-9:00 p.m. - The night before Comic-Con kicks off, Warner Bros. and Comic-Con screen pilot episodes of upcoming TV series. This year's offerings are "Alcatraz," "The Secret Circle," "Person of Interest" and "Supernatural: The Anime Series."

Thursday, July 21

Planet of the Apes in Comics Present and Past - 10:00-11:00 a.m. - With the new movie, "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" coming, this is a perfect time to see what's going on with "Planet of the Apes" comics editor Ian Brill and writer Daryl Gregory.

TheOneRing.net: Hobbit Talk - 10:00-11:00 a.m. - This isn't an official Peter Jackson event but TheOneRing.net is an influential fan site and there's bound to be lots of good inside information on the upcoming "Hobbit" films.

Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe - 10:00-11:00 a.m. - "Burn Notice" and Bruce Campbell fans rejoice! Now you can see what happened to Same Axe (Campbell) before he joined Fiona and Michael Weston on the USA series. This made-for-TV movie debuts on DVD at Comic-Con.

Comic-Con How-To: Creating a Character-Driven Story with Maxwell Alexander Drake - 10:00-11:00 a.m. - This is just what it says it is: A how-to on creating great characters and stories.

Kinect "Star Wars" Panel - 10:00-11:00 a.m. - Jorg Neumann of Kinect Publishing and Craig Derrick of LucasArts discuss the upcoming Kinect "Star Wars" game with USA Today's Mike Snider.

Comic-Con Film School 101: Preproduction and Screenwriting - 10:00-11:00 a.m. This is the first day of a four-day class on how to make low-budget movies using desktop postproduction software and available video technology.

Spotlight on Joyce Brabner - 10:30-11:30 a.m. - Brabner will talk about her current projects and the work of her lates husband, Harvey Pekar.

X-Play Live - 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. - A live panel with G4's Blair Herter, Adam Sessler, Morgan Webb, Kristin Adams, hosts of the long-running X-Play.

Covert Affairs - 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. - Piper Perabo from USA's "Covert Affairs" will take part in a panel discussion with her co-stars Christopher Gorham, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Kari Matchett, Anne Dudek, Peter Gallagher and executive producers Chris Ord, Doug Liman, Matt Corman, and Dave Bartis. Moderated of Oded Fehr.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 - 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. - Sneak peak! And a filmmaker and cast Q&A!

Focus on Rick Baker - 12:15-1:00 p.m. - The Oscar-winning make-up effects artist will talk about his career, emphasizing his work on the "Men in Black" series.

Stan Lee, Yoshiki, and Todd McFarlane - 1:00-2:00 p.m. - Comic creator and legend Stan Lee and Todd McFarlane sit on a panel with Yoshiki to talk about "Blood Red Dragon." Writer Jon Goff joins them.

"Game of Thrones" Panel and Q&A session - 3:00-4:00 p.m. - Members of the HBO series cast join the panel discussion, including Kit Harington, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Peter Dinklage. Moderated by "A Song of Fire and Ice" creator George R. R. Martin.

Robert Rodriguez's Quick Draw Productions - 4:45-5:45 p.m. - Filmmaker Rodriguez will present Quick Draw's latest. He'll also have exclusive footage of latest project.

Beavis & Butthead - 5:00-6:00 p.m. - Mike Judge, creator of "Beavis & Butthead," talks about the duo's return to MTV. He'll show footage from the upcoming series.

Showtime - 5:30-7:30 p.m. - The premium cable station will have a host of stars and creative people from its shows "Dexter," (including an appearance by star Michael C. Hall), "Shameless" stars William H. Macy and Emmy Rossum and more.

Entertainment Weekly: The Visionaries: A discussion with Jon Favreau and Guillermo del Toro on the Future of Pop Culture - 6:00-7:00 p.m. - Entertainment Weekly moderates a conversation with director Jon Favreau (his "Cowboys & Aliens" comes out July 29) and Guillermo del Toro, who co-wrote the upcoming "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" remake.

Writing Movies for Fun and Profit - 7:00-8:00 p.m. - Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant, stars of "The State," "Reno 911!" and writers of the "Night at the Museum" films, talk about how to write movies that will make billions at the box office.

Friday, July 22

Conversations with Sid and Marty Krofft: A Look at the Past, Present and Future - 10:00-11:00 a.m. - Sid and Marty Krofft talk about their creations H.R. Pufnstuf and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters.

Comic-Con Film School 102: Production - 10:00-11:00 a.m. - This is Day two of the four-day course on making movies on super low budgets.

Panelists include Valerie Perez, Vera Vanguard, Edward G. Negron, Sean Rourke and Jack Conway.

Epix Pictures: The Captains - 10:15-11:15 a.m. - Kevin Smith moderates a panel with William Shatner and Avery Brooks, captains of "Star Trek." Shatner has produced and directed a documentary about all the actors who have played "Star Trek" captains. This should be amazing.

Page One - 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. - This panel, about the first page of a comic, is moderated by Douglas Wolk and features Carla Speed McNeil, Jen Van Meter and Greg Rucka.

AMC's "The Walking Dead" - 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. - Stars and creators of the AMC show talk about the first season of the series and what's in store for season two. Panelists include creator Frank Darabont, executive producer Gale Ann Hurd and stars Andrew Lincoln, Sarah Wayne Callies and Laurie Holden.

Publishing Queer: Producing LGBT Comics and Graphic Novels - 1:00-2:00 p.m. - Moderator Justin Hall leads a panel featuring Bob Schreck, Brian Andersen, Charles "Zan" Christensen Jacquelene Cohen and Shannon O'Leary in which they discuss the challenges and rewards of publicizing and marketing LGBT-themed comics.

Adult Swim: Childrens Hospital - 1:30-2:30 p.m. - Check out a never-before-screened episode of "Childrens Hospital." Rob Corddry, Jon Stern, Malin Akerman, Lake Bell, Erinn Hayes, Rob Huebel and Megan Mullally sit in on a panel to talk about the show.

DreamWorks: Fright Night - 2:45-3:45 p.m. - Actors Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin, Christopher Mintz-Plasse), Imogen Poots, Dave Franco, director Craig Gillespie and screenwriter Marti Noxon talk about their remake of the 1980s horror film.

"True Blood" Panel and Q&A session - 5:30-6:30 p.m. - Series regulars Sam Trammell, Rutina Wesley, Ryan Kwanten and more sit on a panel to talk about the HBO series.

Magic: The Gathering Panel - 5:30-6:30 p.m. - Yep. The panel is moderated be head designer Mark Rosewater and includes director of R&D Aaron Forsythe, senior creative Magic art director Matt Cavotta and brand manager Mark Purvis.

Dungeons & Dragons: How to Be a Dungeon Master: The Art of the DM - 6:30-7:30 p.m. - You can learn to be a Dungeon Master! Attend this panel and you'll be on your way.

World Premiere: Batman: Year One - 8:00-10:00 - This is the world premiere of "Batman: Year One" followed by a panel with voice actors Bryan Cranston, Eliza Dushku, Ben McKenzie, Katee Sackhoff and executive producer Bruce Timm, directors Lauren Montgomery, Sam Liu and dialogue director Andrea Romano. Moderated by Gary Miereanu.

Saturday, July 23

Activision - 10:00-11:30 a.m. - Comics legend Stan Lee talks about upcoming Activision Marvel games "X-Men Destiny" and "Spider-Man: Edge of Time." Editorial director of Marvel.com Ryan Penagos moderates. The panel includes Peter David, TQ Jefferson, Dee Brown and Jullian Spillane.

"Chuck" Screening and Q&A - 10:00-10:45 a.m. - Consider this a farewell panel as co-creator Chris Fedak and cast members Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski, Joshua Gomez, Ryan McPartlin, Mark Christopher Lawrence, Vik Sahay, Scott Krinsky, Sarah Lancaster and Adam Baldwin have a Q&A with fans.

An Early Evening with Kevin Smith - 5:45-7:30 p.m. - Kevin Smith takes the stage for what has become an annual Q&A. Hear the creator of "Clerks," "Mallrats" and many other cool things talk and talk and talk.

The Art of the Hollywood Movie Poster - 7:30-8:30 p.m. - Leslie Combemale moderates a panel that includes artists who have worked on posters you've grown up looking at and admiring. The artists are Andrea Alvin ("Batman Returns"), Matthew Peak "Nightmare on Elm Street"), James Goodridge ("Harry Potter"), Steve Chorney ("Who Framed Roger Rabbit?") and Lawrence Noble ("The Empire Strikes Back" 10th Anniversary).

MythBusters - 7:45-8:45 p.m. - Like "Mythbusters" needs an introduction. The gang's all here!

HBO's "True Blood" Presents the Comic-Con International Masquerade - 8:30-11:30 p.m.

FX Pilot Sneak Peek Screening - 9:30-10:30 p.m. - FX hasn't released the details - meaning which pilot - but the network has some great shows on its roster. Probably worth taking a peak.

Sunday, July 24

"Glee" - 10:00-11:00 a.m. - Creator and executive producer of "Glee," Ryan Murphy, creator/executive producer Brad Falchuk and stars of the show give the audience a peek at "Glee The 3D Concert Movie." There's also a Q&A session.

Comic-Con Film School 104: Post Production and Distribution - 10:00-11:00 a.m. - The final day of the four-day filmmaking course tells you how to get your movie seen by lots of eyeballs (or at least more than yours and your friends and family).

Watchmen: 25 Years Later - 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. - Artist Dave Gibbons, editor Len Wein and colorist John Higgins talk about the "Watchmen" legacy. Moderated by Douglas Wolk.

One-on-One with Castle Star Nathan Fillion - 11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. - The "Firefly" star, Nathan Fillion, and the cast of "Castle" talk about the crime series in a panel discussion.

BBC America's "Doctor Who" - 12:30-1:30 p.m. - Stars Karen Gillan and Matt Smith, with the help of producers and writers, make their first appearance at Comic-Con for a Q&A and panel. You'll get to see new footage before the show comes back to BBC America later this summer.

Sons of Anarchy - 3:30-4:00 p.m.

Buffy the Musical - 4:00-5:00 p.m. - The weekend closes with a screening of the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" musical episode, "Once More with Feeling."

'Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty' Game Hits the iPhone and iPad...

Following in the footsteps of Thor: Son of Asgard, Marvel Entertainment has released a new iOS videogame tie-in for Captain America: The First Avenger. Arriving on the iPhone/iPad in the form of one convenient app this week, Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty puts players in control of Cap in a $4.99 platformer filled with 24 levels of running, leaping, punching and shield-slinging. Check out video and images of the title in action after the jump.

Just as Son of Asgard tapped comic book talent for its story and cutscenes, Sentinel of Liberty features a story by Christos Gage with art by Ron Lim and Christopher Sotomayor.

From the official iTunes listing:
Sentinel of Liberty features stunning HD graphics optimized for Retina Displays! Play as the Super Soldier Captain America in this epic action game. As WW2 rages, Red Skull is leading HYDRA as they build super weapons that will turn the tide of the war. To make matters worse, Falsworth, Dum Dum Dugan and Bucky have been captured. Go behind enemy lines to rescue them and put an end to the sinister plot. Use your unbreakable shield to battle, block, and maneuver your way on what seems like a suicide mission.

Kevin Sutherland speaks about the Stan Lee Excelsior Award...

The noted comic artist (Beano and Dr Who Adventures amongst other titles, and gifted Falsetto Socks Company creator) Kev Sutherland was the keynote speaker at the Stan Lee Excelsior Awards. This is what he had to say:

‘I was honoured and delighted to be part of the Stan Lee Excelsior Awards in Sheffield yesterday.

Organised by Paul Register, the Learning Resource Centre Manager (that’s Librarian in old money) at Ecclesfield School, this splendid award involved a number of local schools (10 I believe, Paul will correct me), whose pupils were given the opportunity to read, review and vote on a shortlist of 8 graphic novels and their votes would find a winner. A few hundred pupils, drawn from each of the participating schools, were in attendance at the presentation.

I did my small Comic Art Masterclass keynote speech, which kept them entertained for half an hour, then we had a presentation from the most marvellous special guest – Theodore “Ted” Adams from the Stan Lee Foundation, who had come all the way over from the States just to be here and give Stan’s seal of approval to the event. We watched some highly entertaining video by and about Stan, and the whole hall posed for a video clip of us shouting “Excelsior” which should wind up on Stan’s website.
Then the awards were presented. In 3rd place was the manga version of Twilight, in 2nd place was Bryan Talbot’s Grandville Mon Amour – Bryan was there to accept the award – and the winner, quitenoverwhelmingly if the students’ applause was anything to go by, was Black Butler by Yana Toboso.

Bryan and Ben Heggarty, author of shortlisted title Mezolith, signed books, the guys from Sheffield Space Centre sold books, the whole event was filmed and should end up online, and I did drawings and signed comics for kids.

This was an absolutely excellent event, reaching precisely the sort of audience that I always wanted my Comic Festival events to reach. The school hall was full of kids who now read comics, some of whom did before but all of whom will do now.

Thanks Paul & congratulations.’

We have permission to print this straight from the website (in case you were wondering), which is here. Kev is an excellent visitor to have in your schools, as he will give comic masterclasses and enthuse your students, turning them on to the joy of graphic novels. (Credit: Heart Of The School)

A Green Lantern Sequel?!...

Warner Bros. is apparently planning a sequel to Green Lantern despite that film's box-office and critical underperformance. The Hollywood Reporter has the word from the studio, noting that that it "won't walk away from the superhero franchise, despite the film's soft box office performance. ... Sources say Warners still believes in the franchise, even if the studio is 'somewhat disappointed' with Green Lantern's result." The film dropped some 66% domestically in its second weekend, meaning it's only made about $89.3 million as of last night. That's not a lot considering the reported costs of the picture ($300 million at least including marketing), and internationally it is not performing either. So why announce a sequel now? As THR notes, with Harry Potter coming to an end, the studio needs big franchises big time. And there's always the chance that Lantern will make a ton of money on DVD and Blu-ray and digital download. Plus, God only knows how the balance sheet looks for these things in terms of toys and all the other merchandising. Movies are also made for games these days, so don't you forget that. Of course, maybe Warner Bros. is just saying there's going to be a Green Lantern sequel since it wasn't very good. Maybe Warner Bros thinks their green monster will create more green cash, and they would know that answer better than most. As they say at Media Man and Marvel Entertainment, "Don't just read the comics and watch the movies, Play the games!"

‘Captain America’ star Chris Evans: It’s not about the flag, it’s about the hero - Los Angeles Times...

Square-jawed superhero Steve Rogers lays strangely immobile in the bowels of an enormous “suborbital bomber” — a contraption that looks like Howard Hughes’ legendary Spruce Goose if it were pimped out for Darth Vader. His eyes closed, the hero might be lost in deep contemplation or possibly praying for help to foil an evil plot, in this case the impending launch of a missile targeted at a major American city.

But from a certain vantage point, his face pressed against the glass encasing the weapon, it sure looks as though Captain America’s snoozing. Even if Chris Evans, who plays the weakling soldier wannabe turned strapping superhero in the new film “Captain America: The First Avenger,” were catching a few winks, it would be tough to blame him. The actor, 30, had to bulk up at the gym to better embody Rogers, who becomes a hulking good guy determined to fight for classic American ideals.

Specifically, Rogers is tasked with thwarting the nefarious designs of the villainous Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) in the World War II-era comic book adaptation, which opens in theaters July 22. In addition to the physical demands of the role, though, Evans has had to spend time wrestling with Rogers’ inner demons.

“He’s given this amazing blessing, all of the ability that he has always wanted,” said Evans on the sidelines of a frigid soundstage at Pinewood Studios outside of London late last year. “That can easily corrupt. If you give anyone this power, it is easy to become a bully and let human emotion take over.”

That notion — essentially that with great power comes great responsibility — is, of course, central to the ethos of more than one star character from the Marvel Comics universe, so it’s perhaps not surprising to find that same message at the core of “Captain America.”

What is perhaps more notable is the movie’s retro-futuristic aesthetic, which production designer Rick Heinrichs said is unique in its representation of slick and oversized World War II-era cars, tanks and aircraft; the sets and props combine elegant prewar industrial styles with the organic plantlike visions of the 20th century Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, who is famous for Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia.

“We’re not doing a historic war movie but a stylized and exaggerated war movie,” Heinrichs said. “It is the future as seen from the past.”

The approach extends too to Rogers’ costume — which includes a distressed leather coat that he wears over his familiar red, white and blue garb. Speaking with Hero Complex months later, director Joe Johnston (“The Rocketeer”) said he used “Raiders of the Lost Ark” as a template for developing the story.

“This is futurism in the 1940s; if you went to 1942 and thought of what the future would be, that’s what the approach was,” Johnston said. “The villain has a much more futuristic style and his science and his apparatus — he has a whole design motif that is beyond 1942 but it’s what you might have perceived as futuristic from a 1942 vantage point.”

Of course, setting “Captain America” in the storied past helps avoid some of the more charged political questions that accompany releasing a patriotically themed production around the world at a time when the U.S. is perceived in certain places as somewhat less than heroic.

Marvel is not blind to the potentially alienating title and is planning to open the film simply as “The First Avenger” in South Korea, Russia and Ukraine, where the comic book is not already well known, according to the film’s producer and Marvel Studios’ president Kevin Feige.

But he and Evans, who will reprise his role in next year’s “The Avengers,” point out that the movie highlights the universal elements that have made Steve Rogers an enduring presence in the seven decades since his debut.

“Right now in America how we handle ourselves in political and global issues is up for questioning,” Evans said. “I still think Captain America is timeless. He might wear the red, white and blue, but I don’t think this is all about America. It is what America stands for. It could be called ‘Captain Good.’” (Credit: Los Angeles Times)

Spider-Man To Save Chicago Comics From Doom In Upcoming Issue...

Chicago comic readers looking for a little local edge in the Amazing Spider-Man series should love what’s coming up in the next issue. Hallowed comic book supplier Chicago Comics will be featured on the front cover of about 500 copies of the limited edition of Issue 666.

This is the first time that Marvel Comics has offered the option of personalization to comic book retailers, and Eric Kirsammer, owner of Chicago Comics, wanted to take advantage of the opportunity, in the hopes that the issue will become collectible and the store can become a part of comic history.

The comic, to be released on July 27, will showcase Spider-Man on a mission to save comic book stores across the country, in a small show of appreciation for these institutions helping him become so famous over the years. Fans who might not be prepared for the meta-ness of the event and the collision of reality and fiction into one mind-bending experience should probably stay away and prevent their delicate world-views from being shattered. Further info be releases via the store’s blog
http://www.chicagocomics.com/blog/category/store_info/newthisweek

Thor And X-Men First Class Tipped To Hammer Home Results...

Thor and X-Men: First Class got great reviews and we're awesome, and Captain America: The First Avenger seems set to hit the spot to, but big questions remain about Green Lantern, and the vibe is not particularly good. Green Lantern with Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively is getting very reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes has a 23% approval among movie critics, according to the 153 reviews counters. But 72% of the 62,000 plus user reviewers say that they "liked it" with it just premiering in the U.S theaters Friday after a midnight release on late Thursday/early Friday. Comic Book Movie.com indicates are pretty negative on the flick. One reviewer called the movie "inert, artificial and dead on arrival." During the midnight release on Thursday, the film drew $3.35 million 0 the same region that alike movies that were recently released did; X-Men: First Class brought in $3.37 million on June 2nd, and Thor did $3.25 million on May 5th. X-Men: First Class and Thor both had a budget significantly less than Green Lantern; the former had a budget of $160 million while Thor had exactly half the budget of Green Lantern — $150 million. While the flick will likely end up eventually surpassing its budget, the fact the other comic book movies had much less budget isn’t a great result. Ultimately, X-Men: First Class raked in $55.1 million in its opening weekend while Thor did $65.7 million. With this being the third comic book-based movie released in a month-and-a-half and mixed reviews, will Green Lantern under perform this weekend, or will the hardcore - fanboy type audience that has been largely ripping on it, check it out at the cinema?

Our top picks: Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger looks like a safe bet.

Be it movies, comics or games, we think that Marvel Entertainment leads the pack, followed by DC Comics, with Dark Horse Comics getting a third, based on the positive news leaks and insider tip offs we've been getting.

As Marvel living legend Stan Lee would say, Excelsior!

Official Websites

Marvel Entertainment Marvel Entertainment YouTube.com

DC Comics Warner Bros. Online YouTube.com

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Comic-Con, Marvel Entertainment, Marvel Comics, WWE And Pro Wrestling News Update, by Greg Tingle - 26th July 2011

2011-07-26T17:12:00.001+10:00

Comic-Con, Marvel Entertainment, Marvel Comics, WWE And Pro Wrestling News Update, by Greg Tingle - 26th July 2011

Profiles

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Comic-Con - Comics And WWE Pro Wrestling Aka Sports Entertainment Do Mix; Just Ask CM Punk And Triple H...

What a big week its been for comic book, comic book movie and pro wrestling fans. Wrestling fans are welcoming in the WWE Reality Era or Triple H era, depending upon what cliq of fans you ask, with Mr McMahon relieved of his duties, and CM Punk running a mock, including his apparent unscheduled appearance at Comic Com, where he interrupted the WWE - Mattel presser, and showed off his WWE Title (that he "stole" from the WWE at their most recent PPV event). WWE is mixing together real life situations with storylines in a way which has even hardcore fans and "dirt sheet" writers a bit confused. Sure beats the old World Wrestling Federation days where many stupid and down right insulting gimmicks and unrealistic storylines where shoved down the fans throats.

Here's the YouTube clip of CM Punks' invasion of Comic Con.

Here's the official WWE write up of the event on their official website...
http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/punk-invaded-comic-con

CM Punk invaded Comic-Con, mocking Triple H and WWE - 22nd July 2011...

It seems that the de facto holder of the WWE Championship and former WWE Superstar CM Punk is not done poking a stick at his previous place of business.

Thursday morning, during Mattel's WWE panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2011, the ex-WWE Superstar reemerged with the WWE Title still in his possession, strolling into a conference room where Triple H, Hall of Famer Bret “Hit Man” Hart and Rey Mysterio were answering questions.

Punk promptly began to ridicule Triple H – the very Superstar and WWE executive who recently relieved Mr. McMahon of his leadership duties as WWE Chairman on Monday Night Raw.

Punk's mocking led to an intense verbal confrontation between Punk and Triple H. When Punk asked the subject of his scorn, “how’s life in Fantasy Land?” Triple H responded, “how’s the unemployment line?”

Addressing Rey Mysterio about WWE’s match this Monday night on Raw to crown a new WWE Champion, Punk invited The Master of the 619 to Chicago anytime that he wants a title opportunity.

Triple H tried to maintain his professional decorum. After pointing out that “a champion performs,” he informed Punk that “it is a new regime” in WWE, inviting Punk to “give [him] a call and maybe [they] could work something out.”

In the end, the self-exiled Punk left as swiftly as he emerged, brandishing the WWE Championship as he went.

The new head of WWE continued to address the situation after the disruption was over, commenting that he was astounded that the WWE Universe continued to cheer for Punk while Punk was refusing to perform for them. He pointed out that that was what true WWE Champions had been doing “day in and day out” throughout the history of WWE.

This public interruption came on the heels of the monumental events of Sunday, July 17 at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view. There, The Second City Saint stunned the WWE Universe by defeating John Cena, exiting through the crowd and leaving the company without its most coveted title.

Late Friday night, WWE.com was granted permission by WWE executives to show footage of Punk's interruption, caught by WWE cameras during the Comic-Con Q & A.

To watch Punk at Comic-Con, click here. http://vids.wwe.com/e/25027139

Comic Book Icon Stan Lee Appears At Day 3 Of Comic-Con; Stan Lee, Filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola To Make Appearances...

SAN DIEGO -- Marvel comic book icon Stan Lee, filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola and the Captain America Monster Truck were among the special appearances on Saturday at Comic-Con, San Diego's annual event held at the convention center.

Stan Lee, best known as the creator of Spider Man, X-Men and the Fantastic Four was on hand to reveal details about an upcoming digital book called "The Seekers," including details about the story behind the work for MTV Comics and information to let artists and writers know how to submit their work in hopes of collaborating on the project.

Filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola will appear to promote his new film, "Twixt" a gothic romance horror movie to star Val Kilmer.

One day after the premier of "Captain America: The First Avenger," Marvel Entertainment and Feld Motor Sports will unveil the Captain America Monster Truck, a 10,000-pound 1,500-horsepower beast which cost more than $250,000.

Neil Vanderberg, the lead designer of Monstergeddon: Superhero Smash Up, where the truck will be used to perform stunts next summer, will give interviews.

Spiritual guru Deepak Chopra and comic book writer Grant Morrison will discuss the superhero's role in the social fabric, and the meaning of the superhero archetype.

Other noteworthy events for the day include a panel discussion from Activision and Marvel representatives on upcoming video games, a sketch class with DC artist Adam Hughes and an appearance by stars of television series' Family Guy, Futurama, Community and The Simpsons.

Comic-Con started in 1970 as a modest comic book fair and has since grown into a premier pop culture extravaganza for the fantasy-minded. With a four-day attendance of 126,000, the event has become a major Hollywood marketing tool.

WWE Divas At Comic-Con...

WWE had Kelly Kelly and Alicia Fox making the rounds at the San Diego Comic-Con this weekend. Besides interviewing celebrities for what appeared to be WWE website segments, the two attended several parties including a SyFy/E! party and a Camp Playboy Party.

WWE.com Exclusive: CM Punk tells the WWE Universe he's back (multimedia)

Click here

Hulk Hogan and a Porn Star Lend Their Voices to Saints Row: The Third...

The Hulkster will play the role of Angel, leader of the Lucadores street gang

Saints Row is centered around its zaniness, so it's only right that each game feature some well-known celebrity voices to make everything that much more surreal. Saints Row 2 had Neil Patrick Harris, Michael Dorn, and Keith David, and for Saints Row: The Third, a former porn star and the Hulkster have been tapped to lend their voices.

THQ's announcement on the first wave of celebrity voice actors for The Third includes Sasha Grey, a former porn star who has since begun dabbling in acting and modeling. She'll play the role of Viola DeWynter. Angel De LaMuerte, a "legendary professional wrestler," will be played by Hulk Hogan, the former WWF/WWE wrestler who now, even at the age of 57, has the occasional wrestling match in TNA Wrestling, a WWE competitor. Rounding out the cast is Daniel Dae Kim, who will again assume the role of Johnny Gat, one of the leaders of the Third Street Saints.

More celebrity voice actors are to come, according to THQ -- this is only the first bunch. There's plenty of time for more reveals to come, as The Third won't be out until November 15.

Both Grey and Hogan will be at Comic-Con this week to sign autographs and promote the game. No word yet on if Hogan will make gratuitous use of the word "brother" in his voice acting sessions.

THQ @ Comic Con SD 2011 - Saints Row the Third 3D Projection Show (Multimedia)

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THQ @ Comic Con SD 2011 - Interview with Hulk Hogan on Saints Row the Third (Multimedia)

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The Spider-Man Panel: Spider-Island, Punisher, Daredevil, Return of the Spider-Clone [Comic-Con]...

Senior Editor Steve Wacker led an all-star panel of Spider-Man talent on Friday at Comic-Con International in San Diego, where the Marvel crew discussed what fans can expect from the upcoming "Spider Island" event, whereby everybody in Manhattan finds themselves in possession of the same powers as Spider-Man, as well as new series like Daredevil and The Punisher. Panelists included Zeb Wells of Avenging Spider-Man, Humberto Ramos of Amazing Spider-Man, Mark Waid of Daredevil, Rick Remender of Venom, Nick Spencer of Spider Island: Cloack and Dagger, Antony Johnston of Deadly Hands of Kung Fu, Greg Rucka of The Punisher, Marvel's Director of Communications Arune Singh and Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso.

The panel began with a video message from Dan Slott, writer of Amazing Spider-Man and architect of "Spider-Island," who said that in the story Mayor J. Jonah Jameson has quarantined New York, which becomes known as Spider Island. "Characters you know and love from Spider-Man history will have the same powers as Peter Parker," Slott said. While discussion of the project centered around Spider-Man taking the heroic lead and "having his moment" as major player in the Marvel Universe, Slott did add, "This is the most fun, guilty pleasure you will have all summer."

The eight-part main "Spider-Island" story begins in Amazing Spider-Man #666, on sale July 27.

Naturally, the event will have numerous tie-ins:

"I've been begging to work on a Clock and Dagger book since I got to Marvel," said Spencer. "Emma Rios is turning in the work of her career. It's a fantastic, beautiful book to look at it.

"The book is really about a relationship. We don't have a lot of books about couples. In Cloak and Dagger, we're telling this story about these two people trying to live together and make it work against the backdrop of Spider Island. It's really fun and we're enormously proud of this book."

The panelists indicated that there is a desire to produce more Cloak and Dagger stories and hope audiences enjoy the Spider Island tie-in.

Get Another Look At The Characters Of Ultimate Marvel. Vs. Capcom 3...

Last week, we announced Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 at San Diego Comic-Con. During the panels at Comic-Con, Marvel and Capcom each showed exclusive gameplay videos to attendees featuring the first four characters revealed… Strider, Firebrand, Ghost Rider and Hawkeye.

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 will take the epic battle to all new heights with 12 new characters from the Marvel and Capcom universes, a refined fighting system, eight new stages and new modes when it releases for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 this November for the low MSRP of $39.99.

For assets, including screenshots, art and videos check out the press center at press.capcom.com. And for more info, head over to Capcom-Unity.com.

Marvel Entertainment and The LEGO Group Announce Strategic Relationship in Construction Toy Category...

-LEGO SUPER HEROES Marvel Branded Collection to Launch at Retail 2012-

BILLUND, Denmark, July 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Two of the world's most iconic brands are joining forces as The LEGO Group, world leader in high quality construction toys, and Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a global character -based entertainment company, announced a wide ranging strategic licensing deal. Through the multi-year agreement starting as of January 1st, 2012, Marvel has granted LEGO Group the rights to develop a distinct Marvel branded construction toy collection -- LEGO SUPER HEROES -- which will bring the characters, vehicles and action of Marvel's renowned universe to the world of LEGO® build-and-play adventure. The LEGO SUPER HEROES Marvel collection's initial construction sets, minifigures and buildable characters are scheduled to launch in May of 2012.

The LEGO SUPER HEROES Marvel collection will spotlight three Marvel franchises – Marvel's The Avengers movie, and X-Men and Spider-Man classic characters. The LEGO Marvel's The Avengers movie line brings such ever popular Marvel characters as Iron Man, The Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye, Loki and Black Widow to LEGO minifigure form. The LEGO X-Men collection includes minifigure comic versions of Wolverine, Magneto, Nick Fury and Deadpool, while the LEGO Spider-Man sets offer minifigure comic versions of Spider-Man, and Doctor Octopus. The first buildable characters in the LEGO SUPER HEROES collection are highlighted by Captain America, The Hulk and Iron Man. Select figures will be unveiled in the LEGO booth (#2829) during Comic-Con International at the San Diego Convention Center July 21-24.

"Our partnership with Marvel helps us continue to deliver some of the best and most constructible Super Hero stories of all time," said Jill Wilfert, vice president, licensing and entertainment for The LEGO Group. "We're thrilled to partner with Marvel to create creative, constructive play sets for builders, fans and collectors alike."

Joann Mclaughlin, Executive Vice President Toys & Hardlines, Marvel Entertainment, commented, "The partnership with LEGO Group furthers Marvel's strategy to align our brand with the best in class leaders across various industries who have the global marketing expertise and distribution clout to stand out in the retail environment. This deal solidifies the already robust presence of our characters and the overall Marvel brand in the ever important toy category."

The retail debut of the Marvel-inspired LEGO SUPER HEROES collection is timed to coincide with the highly anticipated Summer 2012 blockbuster movie release of Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Pictures feature film Marvel's The Avengers.

About The LEGO Group

The LEGO Group is a privately held, family-owned company, based in Billund, Denmark. It was founded in 1932 and today the group is one of the world's leading manufacturers of play materials for children, employing approximately 9,000 people globally. The LEGO Group is committed to the development of children's creative and imaginative abilities. LEGO products can be purchased in more than 130 countries.

LEGO and the LEGO logo are trademarks of The LEGO Group. © 2011 The LEGO Group.

About Marvel Entertainment

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of over 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing. For more information visit www.marvel.com. Super Hero(es) is a co-owned registered trademark.

Comic-Con 2011: Sega’s Captain America: Super Soldier Captivates Convention...

Sega has unleashed Marvel Entertainment’s Captain America: Super Soldier in 3D for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game maker had the new action title playable for fans at Comic-Con 2011 to check out at its San Diego pop-up arcade. Actress Hayley Atwell, who stars in Captain America: The First Avenger on the big screen and in the new Sega game.

Captain America Comes To Google Android...

Description

Play as Captain America the First Avenger. Stop the Red Skull!
In celebration of the Captain America: The First Avenger film release, Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty will be 80% off through opening weekend.
Sentinel of Liberty features stunning HD graphics! Play as the Super Soldier Captain America in this epic action game. As WW2 rages, Red Skull is leading HYDRA as they build super weapons that will turn the tide of the war. To make matters worse, Falsworth, Dum Dum Dugan and Bucky have been captured. Go behind enemy lines to rescue them and put an end to the sinister plot. Use your unbreakable shield to battle, block, and maneuver your way on what seems like a suicide mission.
SUPER SOLDIER ACTION
Unleash epic combat moves as you take down HYDRA soldiers! Shield slide to traverse difficult terrain, perform takedowns in mid-air or on the ground, and launch your shield for long-range attacks.
TOUCH VISUAL POWER
Spectacular graphics and precise touch controls combine to give Sentinel of Liberty fluid cinematic action. Execute wall runs, slide under traps, and unleash devastating combo attacks with dynamic intensity you can feel.
STORM AND STEALTH
Take down machine gun wielding enemies and maneuver around land mines on battlefields of WWII. Make your way through the secret HYDRA hideout and take down the evil Red Skull.
MASSIVE DEPTH
24 levels, each with multiple pathways and hidden areas, unfold over three massive episodes. Impressive unlockables, high score leaderboards, and tons of extra features add to the massive gameplay experience
ORIGINAL STORY AND SOUNDTRACK
The action of Captain America comes to life with an original story and script written by Marvel writer Christos Gage. Comic panels by Marvel artists Ron Lim and Christopher Sotomayor and a compelling original soundtrack complete the Captain America experience.
Please Note: Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty is a premium gaming experience featuring high-end graphics. Download times will vary depending on your network connection.
Fully tested and optimized on OS 2.2 and up for:
HTC EVO 4G
HTC Evo Shift
HTC INCREDIBLE
HTC Incredible 2
HTC Nexus One
HTC MyTouch4g
Huawei 8800
Motorola Atrix
Motorola Droid Pro
Motorola Droid X
Motorola MB612 XPRT
Samsung Droid Charge
Samsung Epic 4G – Galaxy S
Samsung Galaxy S
Samsung i500 Fascinate/Mesmerize
Samsung i897 Galaxy S Captivate
Samsung I997 Infuse
Samsung T759
Samsung T959V – Galaxy S
SE Xperia Play

Marvel Pinball heading to Vita, Wii U, 3DS, more...

Game-related announcements have been sparse at Comic-Con 2011, but Marvel had one of the biggest with its reveal of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. At the Marvel Interactive games panel today, the comics publisher had a couple of other minor reveals to share, the largest of which pertained to Zen Studios' Marvel Pinball.

Specifically, Marvel said that the well-regarded pinball game will be brought to a variety of new platforms by the end of 2012, including the PlayStation Vita, 3DS, Wii U, and PC, as well as iOS and Android devices. As for versions of the game that are already out, Zen Studios will be releasing the Marvel Pinball: Vengeance and Virtue add-on pack through Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network this winter. The add-on brings four new tables, one of which will be themed around Ghost Rider.

Marvel Interactive then marched out a number of creators for various comic-themed games that it is overseeing, beginning with Silicon Knights' X-Men: Destiny. Silicon Knights president Denis Dyack and Activision's Doug Heder gave an overview of the game, saying that players will be afforded an intimate and interactive encounter with established X-Men characters. Two new characters revealed at Comic-Con are Emma Frost and Iceman.

Marvel brought out Gazillion Entertainment president and COO David Brevik to talk about the free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game Marvel Universe. Brevik didn't have much information to share, saying only that the studio may be prepared to release screenshots for the game this year. The game will let users play as Marvel superheroes, and it features a storyline written by Brian Michael Bendis.

A number of Marvel superheroes will be in the game, including Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, Spider-Man, Nova, and Squirrel Girl. Brevik also confirmed for the first time today that Deadpool will also be playable in the game.

Fans Want The Hulk To Return To The Big Screen...

The Hulk is returning in "The Avengers" film next year, which also features the likes of Iron Man, Thor and Captain America.. There's hasn't been a Hulk flick since 2008, which starred Edward Norton and enjoyed a $150 million budge. It made $134 million at the U.S. box office. Bring back The Hulk!

Stan Lee reveals details of new comic "Seekers"...

Comic book legend Stan Lee on Friday revealed details of his new web-based, digital series "The Seekers," saying it is set in modern times on an Earth in danger of imminent destruction.

Describing his upcoming new venture with MTV as "a real epic story", Lee told Reuters that "Seekers" will have multiple characters and he hopes it will move from the Internet to TV, movies and videogames.

"It's a real epic story," said Lee, ahead of a detailed presentation of the new comic book series on Saturday at Comic-Con International.

"One of the blurbs I wrote for it says, 'We present these incidents that you're about to witness as a work of fiction in order to avoid worldwide apprehension and panic.' It has to do really with the state of the Earth and all the population on it," he added.

"The Seekers" will launch in early 2012 as a free digital comic series on the MTV Geek website and is expected to eventually become a print comic. Lee, 88, has big plans for what will be his first foray into digital comics.

"Television, movies, video games, you name it, it will be there," said Lee, who helped create Marvel Comics superheroes "Spider-Man", "Thor" and "Iron Man".

Lee said he has written a six-page treatment for "The Seekers". Thousands of years ago an alien race sent "seekers" to every planet in the universe with sentient life. When a race advances enough to a point that it might be a threat to other sentient life across the galaxy, these seekers have the ability to set off a doomsday device that will destroy the planet.

"Our whole planet is in danger," said Lee. "It has to do with man's inhumanity to man."

Three of the main characters will be;

-- The Gatherer, a seeker sent to Earth, who has recently awakened due to the nuclear and biological threats humans now harness.

-- Arthur Nordan, a renowned radiologist who recently watched his colleagues killed by the Gatherer on an expedition.

-- Jennifer Hart, a World News Network correspondent trying to get an interview with Nordan. The duo end up discovering the Seekers and the imminent threat posed by the Gatherer.

Lee said there would be many more players in the stories. "It's a multi-character series, which introduces new characters while keeping the old ones in virtually every episode."

MTV CONTEST

What separates this comic from anything Lee has done before is that he's giving an aspiring artist and comic book writer the chance to become a central part of the development of "The Seekers".

Beginning in early August, MTV Geek will host a contest allowing anyone to send in their own interpretation of "The Seekers". Artists will submit five pieces of art, while writers will turn in a 10-page script based on Lee's treatment.

Lee and his team will pick 20 entries and the online community will vote for the top five submissions. Lee will announce the winners at New York Comic-Con in October and work directly with the artist and writer to create the comic.

"This contest is a big one and it's important because we're excited to give undiscovered talent a chance to shine," he said.

"The comic book industry is expanding with digital comics and motion comics and video games. I think the opportunities are there for new talent, and this project is one way for people to get a job in the industry."

"The Seekers" will join other digital comics that will run on MTV Geek, including Teen Wolf, Divination, The Gloom, Hats, Agent Mom, Me2, Punks, Hell Town, Beowulf Jones, and 1,000.

Tom Akel, executive editor of MTV Geek, said the website has attracted over 800,000 unique visitors since its mid-October launch last year. He expects the partnership with Lee to attract an even larger crowd. (Credit: Reuters)

Captain America Earns Huge Superhero Box Office Take...

Marvel Entertainment’s Captain America: The First Avenger starring Chris Evans is now the biggest superhero movie opening of the American summer. The Paramount Pictures release made an estimated $65.8 million on approximately 7,100 screens at 3,715 locations over the Comic-Con 2011 weekend. That thrashed Marvel’s Thor opening of $65.7 million and X-Men: first Class’s $55.1 million, as well as rival DC Comic superhero Green Lantern’s very average $53.2 million opening.

Hulk Rounds Off Marvel Teaser Week...

Marvel Comics has released the last teaser for its post-Fear Itself project.

The image shows a silhouette that appears to be the Hulk.

The figure contains words including "gamma", "breaker", "calculating", "loner" and "conspiracy".

Previous teasers have included Iron Fist, Red She Hulk, Dr Strange and the Silver Surfer, who all seem to feature as a part of the mysterious group 'The Mighty' which is due to appear in Fear Itself.

All teasers have been accompanied by the words "It's either in you or it's not". No further information has been released about the project beyond the release date of December 2011.

Fans on the Comic Book Resources forums have picked out letters highlighting in distinguishing colors in the teasers to spell out the messages, "Everyone you love dies", "Shut the engines down", "The universe will break" and "Fight to save everything".

Marvel will reveal details of the project at its Fear Itself panel on Sunday, July 24 at San Diego Comic-Con.

Thousands Line Up for 'Avengers' Casting Call...

CLEVELAND — One of Hollywood's biggest films, "The Avengers," is coming to town.

Now, thousands of locals are lining up for a taste of stardom.

"I want to be a part of this movie," said Cincinnati resident, Dhin Soriano. "It's one of the biggest movies coming out next year."

Based on the popular comic book series, The Avengers, will start filming in Cleveland in August.

"I knew the crowd was going to be kind of big, so I made sure I got him up kind of early," said Daryl Burge, of Garfield.

Burge and his cousin, James, were of two of more than 3,000 people who attended Friday's casting call for the Marvel Studio flick.

About 2,000 extras are needed to work alongside stars like Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johansson.

The movie has generated buzz across the country, attracting many people who hope to be a part of their favorite childhood past time.

"Marvel Comics. Oh, I still got some from the 60's," said Columbus resident, Carolyn Parkman.

Parkman traveled to Cleveland the day before to beat the crowd.

"I've got my magazines, but I love my comics," she said. "I can stand here. That's all I'm thinking about is the fact that this is the chance of a lifetime."

The movie will have another casting call from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 16, at the Holiday Inn, 6001 Rockside Road, Independence, Ohio.

Extras casting directors say if you do plan to apply, come dressed in business attire. Also, be sure to bring an umbrella, pen, food, water and entertainment. You may have to wait in line for hours. Only those who have flexible schedules should apply.

San Diego Comic-Con 2011: Gentle Giant's Deadpool Squirrell...

Marvel and Gentle Giant have teamed up to deliver a special Comic-Con 2011 Squirrelpool exclusive!

Part of the fun of going to awesome events like San Diego Comic-Con is picking up really cool, extremely limited swag. So, Squirrelpool, anyone?

We're pleased to announce, as one of the first items available through our partnership with the mighty statue makers at Gentle Giant (http://www.gentlegiantltd.com/category_s/3.htm), that fans attending Comic-Con from July 20-24 will have the abillity to purchase a rare Squirrelpool statue. As seen on the Deadpool cover variant to 2010's THOR #607 by Mico Suayan, the tiny terror means business!

If you're going to SDCC, head over to the Gentle Giant booth, #3513, but be quick about it! The Squirrelpool statue is limited to only 500 pieces and at only $30, it'll be gone before you can say "acorn tacos."

For continuing coverage of Comic-Con International 2011 including our live video stream, plus news, liveblogs, photos, videos and more, keep checking the Marvel.com

San Diego 2011 hub page at marvel.com/sdcc2011 (http://marvel.com/sdcc2011) and follow along on the Marvel Events App (http://marvel.com/marveleventsapp) & events.marvel.com http://events.marvel.com

What will be the highest-grossing comic book adaptation of 2011?; Box Office Mojo Poll

39.2% Captain America: The First Avenger
18.3% X-Men: First Class
18.1% Green Lantern
13.2% Thor
10.7% Cowboys & Aliens
0.5% Priest

1,832 users polled. (This poll is now closed.)

Marvel Superheroes and the Fathers of Invention (The New York Times) - 25th June 2011...

The comic book industry began life in the early 20th century as the province of con men who stripped artists of their creations, then moved on to the next mark. The artists who were paid virtually nothing for work on characters that are now worth billions at the movies are nearly all dead. But their heirs are beginning to speak for them through a federal copyright law that practically invites descendants to sue for ownership interests in characters whose current value could never have been imagined at the moment of creation.

Courts have already granted a share of the copyright for Superman to the heirs of a co-creator, and sided with Captain America’s creator in another copyright fight. These cases are small fry compared with the battle now being waged between Marvel and the heirs of the legendary comic artist Jack Kirby, who breathed life into such pop culture icons as the X-Men, the Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Thor and the Silver Surfer.

Of course these court battles are about money. They also force the modern entertainment industry to reckon with the often amoral practices of the old comics workshops. And they raise deeper questions about how to credit creative works produced at a time when even the most talented artists were treated as serfs.

Marvel pioneered a new method of comic book production. It broke with the industry’s tradition of requiring artists to draw almost by rote from a pre-existing script. Instead, it gave its best creative minds wide artistic latitude.

The Marvel editor Stan Lee sometimes offered general ideas for characters, allowing the artists to run with them. Mr. Kirby plotted stories, fleshing out characters that he had dreamed up or that he had fashioned from Mr. Lee’s sometimes vague enunciations. Mr. Lee shaped the stories and supplied his wisecrack-laden dialogue. And in the end, both men could honestly think of themselves as “creators.”

But Mr. Kirby, who was known as the King of Comics, was the defining talent and the driving force at the Marvel shop. Mr. Lee’s biographers have noted that the company’s most important creations started out in Mr. Kirby’s hands before being passed on to others, who were then expected to emulate his artistic style.

Mr. Kirby’s life experiences informed the look and feel of the genre. The cinematic movement in his narratives came out of his experience as an animator. The crowded fight scenes in comics like the Fantastic Four and the X-Men are reminiscent of his boyhood days as a street fighter on the Lower East Side during the Depression.

In 2009, shortly after Disney agreed to buy Marvel for $4 billion, the Kirby heirs filed notices of copyright termination. They argue that most of Marvel’s film earnings involve Mr. Kirby’s creations — and that therefore they have a right to a share of the copyrights.

Marvel counters that Mr. Kirby’s work falls under the rubric of “work for hire” — meaning it was done under the direction, supervision and control of the company — which, if true, would invalidate the family’s claim. But that could be difficult to demonstrate at trial, given the poor record-keeping of the era and what is known about how Mr. Kirby worked.

According to court documents, Marvel’s predecessor company fired nearly all of the art staff in 1957 to save money, making Mr. Kirby an independent operator who sold his work to the publisher. If this case comes to trial, Marvel’s star witness would likely be Mr. Lee, former chairman of Marvel Comics. In his 2010 deposition, Mr. Lee seemed to suggest that Mr. Kirby was little more than a talented foot soldier who followed the whims of his boss.

Mr. Lee sang a different tune during the Marvel glory years of the 1960s, when he sometimes described Mr. Kirby as an equal in the creative process. In a 1968 interview later quoted in The Comics Journal, Mr. Lee talked about brainstorming with Mr. Kirby, who, he noted, needed “no plot at all” to produce stories: “He just about makes up the plots for these stories. All I do is a little editing. ... He’s so good at plots, I’m sure he’s a thousand times better than I.” Analyzing published articles from that period, the writer Earl Wells, in his famous 1995 essay “Once and for All, Who Was the Author of Marvel?,” said the record “yields as much evidence that Kirby was the author as it does that Lee was — much of it in Lee’s own words!”

In the years since Mr. Kirby’s death in 1994, the once lawless comics business has been transformed into an industry where creators are more fairly paid, credit is clearly apportioned and rights are meticulously spelled out in contracts. The kinds of legal confusions that have recently flared up in the comic book realm are unlikely to ever be seen, say, in the burgeoning world of online games, where corporate authorship is firmly locked down.

It is up to the courts to decide the legal questions at the heart of the Kirby copyright case. There is no doubt that the King of Comics contributed far more to Marvel — and pop culture — than he has received credit for. (Credit: The New York Times)

Marvel Movies Upcoming...

Movie Studio Date

Captain America: The First Avenger Paramount Pictures 7/22/11
Ghost Rider 2 (3D) Sony 2/17/12
The Avengers (2012) Buena Vista 5/4/12
The Amazing Spider-Man Sony 7/3/12
The Dark Knight Rises Warner Bros 7/20/12
Iron Man 3 Buena Vista 5/3/13
Thor 2 Buena Vista 7/26/13

Evans Says Captain America's 'Avengers' Storyline Is 'Multifaceted'

Yet more movie excitement with the the impending release of "Captain America: The First Avenger,". And, how about next year's highly anticipated, superhero-filled "The Avengers."

Chris Evans aka "Captain America" was interviewed by our friends at MTV. Learn about his thoughts on working with fan-favorite "Avengers" director Joss Whedon...

"He's unbelievable," Evans said. "He's so clever. He lives in the world of comic books, so he has in his head an amazing story already mapped out."

"When it comes to directing actors and understanding dialogue, he's an incredibly talented writer. If something isn't working for you as an actor within the words, he can walk away for 10 minutes and come back with seven options that are all fantastic and clever and witty and it's got a pace and a banter," he explained. "He's a great guy to be quarterbacking this thing."

With regard to Captain America's storyline in "The Avengers," the details of which Evans couldn't fully elaborate on but are briefly teased at the conclusion of "Captain America," he said his character is basically a fish out of water trying to understand the modern world around him.

"It's really multifaceted. The guy has to accept the fact that everyone he knew and loved is gone," Evans said of his character's new arc. "Not only is he alone, [but] the world has changed so much, and I think a big part of what makes Cap Cap was his connection to the way things used to be, this kind of pro-American morality and good-ol'-boy sense of life and the way of doing things," he added. "In the modern era, there's a bit of a disconnect. There's not as much human interaction. I think there's more cynicism than there was back then, so it's him trying to come to terms with the way things are."

Captain America: The First Avenger; Could Be The Best And Highest Grossing Comic Movie This Year...

The next big Marvel flick on the back of this year’s critically acclaimed X-Men: First Class, and the more divisive, mighty Thor.

Captain America: The First Avenger pretty much rocks. The Captain was the first Marvel pinup boy to progress from the comic book page to the projector back in 1944.

Starring Chris Evans as the Captain – and with an impressive support cast including Hugo Weaving and Tommy Lee Jones – Marvel films have usually attracted top actors and talent in the business.

Let's have a look at a few Marvel flicks from over the years, to determine if their oldest hero will be profitable, and critically well-received nearly 70 years after its birth.

The Captain’s silver screen début way back then – when Marvel was called Timely Comics – wasn’t followed up with another motion picture from the same house until 1986, some 42 years later. Are'nt you glad that finally decided to start pumping them out.

That film was Howard the Duck, credibly cited in the worst film of all time lists with actors receiving Raspberry awards for their performances. Howard – produced by George Lucas – was a box office flop, barely breaking even and putting off the film arm of Marvel having another crack for three years. Then they teamed up with Dolph Lundgren and did The Punisher - fortunately the quality generally improved as the years moved forward.

Marvel went through quite a rough patch in the 1980s: an area of film that seemed tailor made for their intellectual property. CGI effects, bigger budgets, but the films were still not being very warmly embraced by casual movie fans, hardcores or critics.

The trend for Marvel films – give or take – continued into the 1990s when comic adaptations’ performances generally were not great. Batman and Robin and Steel limped didn't do the genre many favours either.

Blade got a mixed response for Marvel. High performing, taking $131m; near four times its budget, and critically sound, the film spawned the investigation into an X-Men movie franchise and the Spiderman series.

X-Men – already a successful franchise in its own right with computer games, figurines, solid backstory, animations and art – followed up where Blade left off and set the bar higher.

Costing $75 million to attract highly credible stars, solid staple actors, and some young talent – Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Anna Paquin, Famke Janssen, Bruce Davison, James Marsden, Halle Berry, Rebecca Romijn, Ray Park Tyler Mane – the film was a decent-sized investment at best, and a gamble at worst. It movied forward to snatch a $300m return.

X-Men to date has spawned around $1.6bn and, although a mixed critical reception is synonymous with the franchise, that figure was enhanced with the latest X-Men: First Class, which has been a big box office win.

The Spiderman series has been a real win for Marvel and their respective teams. The fourth in the series is due next year and given the last – 2007′s Spiderman 3 – took almost a billion dollars to cap a highly profitable franchise to date.

Marvel is on the rise, their stock is attractive and it’s sweet timing for Captain America. The UK – mostly unaware of this hero compared to other Marvel winners – has an appetite for Marvel icons on the big screen along with the rest of the world. If these enjoy success in line with Blade, X-Men and Wolverine, the firm will continue to power ahead, unless there's a torpedo on the horizen that Marvel or the industry doesn't know about.

Films in the Marvel series have been all the rage in regions such as America, Europe, the far east and Australia. Marvel flicks at the movies continue to be excelsior!

Comic-Con 2011 Preview...

(CBS) Comic-Con starts next week in San Diego, Calif., on Thursday, July 21, and runs through the weekend (and there's a "Preview Night," Wednesday, July 20).

The event is a big deal (to paraphrase Vice President Joe Biden) and now draws more than 100,000 people a year. Here's a sampling of what you can expect.

For a complete list of the events, go to comic-con.org

Wednesday, July 20

Special Sneak Peek Pilot Screenings - 6:00-9:00 p.m. - The night before Comic-Con kicks off, Warner Bros. and Comic-Con screen pilot episodes of upcoming TV series. This year's offerings are "Alcatraz," "The Secret Circle," "Person of Interest" and "Supernatural: The Anime Series."

Thursday, July 21

Planet of the Apes in Comics Present and Past - 10:00-11:00 a.m. - With the new movie, "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" coming, this is a perfect time to see what's going on with "Planet of the Apes" comics editor Ian Brill and writer Daryl Gregory.

TheOneRing.net: Hobbit Talk - 10:00-11:00 a.m. - This isn't an official Peter Jackson event but TheOneRing.net is an influential fan site and there's bound to be lots of good inside information on the upcoming "Hobbit" films.

Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe - 10:00-11:00 a.m. - "Burn Notice" and Bruce Campbell fans rejoice! Now you can see what happened to Same Axe (Campbell) before he joined Fiona and Michael Weston on the USA series. This made-for-TV movie debuts on DVD at Comic-Con.

Comic-Con How-To: Creating a Character-Driven Story with Maxwell Alexander Drake - 10:00-11:00 a.m. - This is just what it says it is: A how-to on creating great characters and stories.

Kinect "Star Wars" Panel - 10:00-11:00 a.m. - Jorg Neumann of Kinect Publishing and Craig Derrick of LucasArts discuss the upcoming Kinect "Star Wars" game with USA Today's Mike Snider.

Comic-Con Film School 101: Preproduction and Screenwriting - 10:00-11:00 a.m. This is the first day of a four-day class on how to make low-budget movies using desktop postproduction software and available video technology.

Spotlight on Joyce Brabner - 10:30-11:30 a.m. - Brabner will talk about her current projects and the work of her lates husband, Harvey Pekar.

X-Play Live - 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. - A live panel with G4's Blair Herter, Adam Sessler, Morgan Webb, Kristin Adams, hosts of the long-running X-Play.

Covert Affairs - 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. - Piper Perabo from USA's "Covert Affairs" will take part in a panel discussion with her co-stars Christopher Gorham, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Kari Matchett, Anne Dudek, Peter Gallagher and executive producers Chris Ord, Doug Liman, Matt Corman, and Dave Bartis. Moderated of Oded Fehr.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 - 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. - Sneak peak! And a filmmaker and cast Q&A!

Focus on Rick Baker - 12:15-1:00 p.m. - The Oscar-winning make-up effects artist will talk about his career, emphasizing his work on the "Men in Black" series.

Stan Lee, Yoshiki, and Todd McFarlane - 1:00-2:00 p.m. - Comic creator and legend Stan Lee and Todd McFarlane sit on a panel with Yoshiki to talk about "Blood Red Dragon." Writer Jon Goff joins them.

"Game of Thrones" Panel and Q&A session - 3:00-4:00 p.m. - Members of the HBO series cast join the panel discussion, including Kit Harington, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Peter Dinklage. Moderated by "A Song of Fire and Ice" creator George R. R. Martin.

Robert Rodriguez's Quick Draw Productions - 4:45-5:45 p.m. - Filmmaker Rodriguez will present Quick Draw's latest. He'll also have exclusive footage of latest project.

Beavis & Butthead - 5:00-6:00 p.m. - Mike Judge, creator of "Beavis & Butthead," talks about the duo's return to MTV. He'll show footage from the upcoming series.

Showtime - 5:30-7:30 p.m. - The premium cable station will have a host of stars and creative people from its shows "Dexter," (including an appearance by star Michael C. Hall), "Shameless" stars William H. Macy and Emmy Rossum and more.

Entertainment Weekly: The Visionaries: A discussion with Jon Favreau and Guillermo del Toro on the Future of Pop Culture - 6:00-7:00 p.m. - Entertainment Weekly moderates a conversation with director Jon Favreau (his "Cowboys & Aliens" comes out July 29) and Guillermo del Toro, who co-wrote the upcoming "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" remake.

Writing Movies for Fun and Profit - 7:00-8:00 p.m. - Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant, stars of "The State," "Reno 911!" and writers of the "Night at the Museum" films, talk about how to write movies that will make billions at the box office.

Friday, July 22

Conversations with Sid and Marty Krofft: A Look at the Past, Present and Future - 10:00-11:00 a.m. - Sid and Marty Krofft talk about their creations H.R. Pufnstuf and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters.

Comic-Con Film School 102: Production - 10:00-11:00 a.m. - This is Day two of the four-day course on making movies on super low budgets.

Panelists include Valerie Perez, Vera Vanguard, Edward G. Negron, Sean Rourke and Jack Conway.

Epix Pictures: The Captains - 10:15-11:15 a.m. - Kevin Smith moderates a panel with William Shatner and Avery Brooks, captains of "Star Trek." Shatner has produced and directed a documentary about all the actors who have played "Star Trek" captains. This should be amazing.

Page One - 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. - This panel, about the first page of a comic, is moderated by Douglas Wolk and features Carla Speed McNeil, Jen Van Meter and Greg Rucka.

AMC's "The Walking Dead" - 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. - Stars and creators of the AMC show talk about the first season of the series and what's in store for season two. Panelists include creator Frank Darabont, executive producer Gale Ann Hurd and stars Andrew Lincoln, Sarah Wayne Callies and Laurie Holden.

Publishing Queer: Producing LGBT Comics and Graphic Novels - 1:00-2:00 p.m. - Moderator Justin Hall leads a panel featuring Bob Schreck, Brian Andersen, Charles "Zan" Christensen Jacquelene Cohen and Shannon O'Leary in which they discuss the challenges and rewards of publicizing and marketing LGBT-themed comics.

Adult Swim: Childrens Hospital - 1:30-2:30 p.m. - Check out a never-before-screened episode of "Childrens Hospital." Rob Corddry, Jon Stern, Malin Akerman, Lake Bell, Erinn Hayes, Rob Huebel and Megan Mullally sit in on a panel to talk about the show.

DreamWorks: Fright Night - 2:45-3:45 p.m. - Actors Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin, Christopher Mintz-Plasse), Imogen Poots, Dave Franco, director Craig Gillespie and screenwriter Marti Noxon talk about their remake of the 1980s horror film.

"True Blood" Panel and Q&A session - 5:30-6:30 p.m. - Series regulars Sam Trammell, Rutina Wesley, Ryan Kwanten and more sit on a panel to talk about the HBO series.

Magic: The Gathering Panel - 5:30-6:30 p.m. - Yep. The panel is moderated be head designer Mark Rosewater and includes director of R&D Aaron Forsythe, senior creative Magic art director Matt Cavotta and brand manager Mark Purvis.

Dungeons & Dragons: How to Be a Dungeon Master: The Art of the DM - 6:30-7:30 p.m. - You can learn to be a Dungeon Master! Attend this panel and you'll be on your way.

World Premiere: Batman: Year One - 8:00-10:00 - This is the world premiere of "Batman: Year One" followed by a panel with voice actors Bryan Cranston, Eliza Dushku, Ben McKenzie, Katee Sackhoff and executive producer Bruce Timm, directors Lauren Montgomery, Sam Liu and dialogue director Andrea Romano. Moderated by Gary Miereanu.

Saturday, July 23

Activision - 10:00-11:30 a.m. - Comics legend Stan Lee talks about upcoming Activision Marvel games "X-Men Destiny" and "Spider-Man: Edge of Time." Editorial director of Marvel.com Ryan Penagos moderates. The panel includes Peter David, TQ Jefferson, Dee Brown and Jullian Spillane.

"Chuck" Screening and Q&A - 10:00-10:45 a.m. - Consider this a farewell panel as co-creator Chris Fedak and cast members Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski, Joshua Gomez, Ryan McPartlin, Mark Christopher Lawrence, Vik Sahay, Scott Krinsky, Sarah Lancaster and Adam Baldwin have a Q&A with fans.

An Early Evening with Kevin Smith - 5:45-7:30 p.m. - Kevin Smith takes the stage for what has become an annual Q&A. Hear the creator of "Clerks," "Mallrats" and many other cool things talk and talk and talk.

The Art of the Hollywood Movie Poster - 7:30-8:30 p.m. - Leslie Combemale moderates a panel that includes artists who have worked on posters you've grown up looking at and admiring. The artists are Andrea Alvin ("Batman Returns"), Matthew Peak "Nightmare on Elm Street"), James Goodridge ("Harry Potter"), Steve Chorney ("Who Framed Roger Rabbit?") and Lawrence Noble ("The Empire Strikes Back" 10th Anniversary).

MythBusters - 7:45-8:45 p.m. - Like "Mythbusters" needs an introduction. The gang's all here!

HBO's "True Blood" Presents the Comic-Con International Masquerade - 8:30-11:30 p.m.

FX Pilot Sneak Peek Screening - 9:30-10:30 p.m. - FX hasn't released the details - meaning which pilot - but the network has some great shows on its roster. Probably worth taking a peak.

Sunday, July 24

"Glee" - 10:00-11:00 a.m. - Creator and executive producer of "Glee," Ryan Murphy, creator/executive producer Brad Falchuk and stars of the show give the audience a peek at "Glee The 3D Concert Movie." There's also a Q&A session.

Comic-Con Film School 104: Post Production and Distribution - 10:00-11:00 a.m. - The final day of the four-day filmmaking course tells you how to get your movie seen by lots of eyeballs (or at least more than yours and your friends and family).

Watchmen: 25 Years Later - 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. - Artist Dave Gibbons, editor Len Wein and colorist John Higgins talk about the "Watchmen" legacy. Moderated by Douglas Wolk.

One-on-One with Castle Star Nathan Fillion - 11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. - The "Firefly" star, Nathan Fillion, and the cast of "Castle" talk about the crime series in a panel discussion.

BBC America's "Doctor Who" - 12:30-1:30 p.m. - Stars Karen Gillan and Matt Smith, with the help of producers and writers, make their first appearance at Comic-Con for a Q&A and panel. You'll get to see new footage before the show comes back to BBC America later this summer.

Sons of Anarchy - 3:30-4:00 p.m.

Buffy the Musical - 4:00-5:00 p.m. - The weekend closes with a screening of the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" musical episode, "Once More with Feeling."

'Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty' Game Hits the iPhone and iPad...

Following in the footsteps of Thor: Son of Asgard, Marvel Entertainment has released a new iOS videogame tie-in for Captain America: The First Avenger. Arriving on the iPhone/iPad in the form of one convenient app this week, Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty puts players in control of Cap in a $4.99 platformer filled with 24 levels of running, leaping, punching and shield-slinging. Check out video and images of the title in action after the jump.

Just as Son of Asgard tapped comic book talent for its story and cutscenes, Sentinel of Liberty features a story by Christos Gage with art by Ron Lim and Christopher Sotomayor.

From the official iTunes listing:
Sentinel of Liberty features stunning HD graphics optimized for Retina Displays! Play as the Super Soldier Captain America in this epic action game. As WW2 rages, Red Skull is leading HYDRA as they build super weapons that will turn the tide of the war. To make matters worse, Falsworth, Dum Dum Dugan and Bucky have been captured. Go behind enemy lines to rescue them and put an end to the sinister plot. Use your unbreakable shield to battle, block, and maneuver your way on what seems like a suicide mission.

Kevin Sutherland speaks about the Stan Lee Excelsior Award...

The noted comic artist (Beano and Dr Who Adventures amongst other titles, and gifted Falsetto Socks Company creator) Kev Sutherland was the keynote speaker at the Stan Lee Excelsior Awards. This is what he had to say:

‘I was honoured and delighted to be part of the Stan Lee Excelsior Awards in Sheffield yesterday.

Organised by Paul Register, the Learning Resource Centre Manager (that’s Librarian in old money) at Ecclesfield School, this splendid award involved a number of local schools (10 I believe, Paul will correct me), whose pupils were given the opportunity to read, review and vote on a shortlist of 8 graphic novels and their votes would find a winner. A few hundred pupils, drawn from each of the participating schools, were in attendance at the presentation.

I did my small Comic Art Masterclass keynote speech, which kept them entertained for half an hour, then we had a presentation from the most marvellous special guest – Theodore “Ted” Adams from the Stan Lee Foundation, who had come all the way over from the States just to be here and give Stan’s seal of approval to the event. We watched some highly entertaining video by and about Stan, and the whole hall posed for a video clip of us shouting “Excelsior” which should wind up on Stan’s website.
Then the awards were presented. In 3rd place was the manga version of Twilight, in 2nd place was Bryan Talbot’s Grandville Mon Amour – Bryan was there to accept the award – and the winner, quitenoverwhelmingly if the students’ applause was anything to go by, was Black Butler by Yana Toboso.

Bryan and Ben Heggarty, author of shortlisted title Mezolith, signed books, the guys from Sheffield Space Centre sold books, the whole event was filmed and should end up online, and I did drawings and signed comics for kids.

This was an absolutely excellent event, reaching precisely the sort of audience that I always wanted my Comic Festival events to reach. The school hall was full of kids who now read comics, some of whom did before but all of whom will do now.

Thanks Paul & congratulations.’

We have permission to print this straight from the website (in case you were wondering), which is here. Kev is an excellent visitor to have in your schools, as he will give comic masterclasses and enthuse your students, turning them on to the joy of graphic novels. (Credit: Heart Of The School)

A Green Lantern Sequel?!...

Warner Bros. is apparently planning a sequel to Green Lantern despite that film's box-office and critical underperformance. The Hollywood Reporter has the word from the studio, noting that that it "won't walk away from the superhero franchise, despite the film's soft box office performance. ... Sources say Warners still believes in the franchise, even if the studio is 'somewhat disappointed' with Green Lantern's result." The film dropped some 66% domestically in its second weekend, meaning it's only made about $89.3 million as of last night. That's not a lot considering the reported costs of the picture ($300 million at least including marketing), and internationally it is not performing either. So why announce a sequel now? As THR notes, with Harry Potter coming to an end, the studio needs big franchises big time. And there's always the chance that Lantern will make a ton of money on DVD and Blu-ray and digital download. Plus, God only knows how the balance sheet looks for these things in terms of toys and all the other merchandising. Movies are also made for games these days, so don't you forget that. Of course, maybe Warner Bros. is just saying there's going to be a Green Lantern sequel since it wasn't very good. Maybe Warner Bros thinks their green monster will create more green cash, and they would know that answer better than most. As they say at Media Man and Marvel Entertainment, "Don't just read the comics and watch the movies, Play the games!"

‘Captain America’ star Chris Evans: It’s not about the flag, it’s about the hero - Los Angeles Times...

Square-jawed superhero Steve Rogers lays strangely immobile in the bowels of an enormous “suborbital bomber” — a contraption that looks like Howard Hughes’ legendary Spruce Goose if it were pimped out for Darth Vader. His eyes closed, the hero might be lost in deep contemplation or possibly praying for help to foil an evil plot, in this case the impending launch of a missile targeted at a major American city.

But from a certain vantage point, his face pressed against the glass encasing the weapon, it sure looks as though Captain America’s snoozing. Even if Chris Evans, who plays the weakling soldier wannabe turned strapping superhero in the new film “Captain America: The First Avenger,” were catching a few winks, it would be tough to blame him. The actor, 30, had to bulk up at the gym to better embody Rogers, who becomes a hulking good guy determined to fight for classic American ideals.

Specifically, Rogers is tasked with thwarting the nefarious designs of the villainous Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) in the World War II-era comic book adaptation, which opens in theaters July 22. In addition to the physical demands of the role, though, Evans has had to spend time wrestling with Rogers’ inner demons.

“He’s given this amazing blessing, all of the ability that he has always wanted,” said Evans on the sidelines of a frigid soundstage at Pinewood Studios outside of London late last year. “That can easily corrupt. If you give anyone this power, it is easy to become a bully and let human emotion take over.”

That notion — essentially that with great power comes great responsibility — is, of course, central to the ethos of more than one star character from the Marvel Comics universe, so it’s perhaps not surprising to find that same message at the core of “Captain America.”

What is perhaps more notable is the movie’s retro-futuristic aesthetic, which production designer Rick Heinrichs said is unique in its representation of slick and oversized World War II-era cars, tanks and aircraft; the sets and props combine elegant prewar industrial styles with the organic plantlike visions of the 20th century Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, who is famous for Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia.

“We’re not doing a historic war movie but a stylized and exaggerated war movie,” Heinrichs said. “It is the future as seen from the past.”

The approach extends too to Rogers’ costume — which includes a distressed leather coat that he wears over his familiar red, white and blue garb. Speaking with Hero Complex months later, director Joe Johnston (“The Rocketeer”) said he used “Raiders of the Lost Ark” as a template for developing the story.

“This is futurism in the 1940s; if you went to 1942 and thought of what the future would be, that’s what the approach was,” Johnston said. “The villain has a much more futuristic style and his science and his apparatus — he has a whole design motif that is beyond 1942 but it’s what you might have perceived as futuristic from a 1942 vantage point.”

Of course, setting “Captain America” in the storied past helps avoid some of the more charged political questions that accompany releasing a patriotically themed production around the world at a time when the U.S. is perceived in certain places as somewhat less than heroic.

Marvel is not blind to the potentially alienating title and is planning to open the film simply as “The First Avenger” in South Korea, Russia and Ukraine, where the comic book is not already well known, according to the film’s producer and Marvel Studios’ president Kevin Feige.

But he and Evans, who will reprise his role in next year’s “The Avengers,” point out that the movie highlights the universal elements that have made Steve Rogers an enduring presence in the seven decades since his debut.

“Right now in America how we handle ourselves in political and global issues is up for questioning,” Evans said. “I still think Captain America is timeless. He might wear the red, white and blue, but I don’t think this is all about America. It is what America stands for. It could be called ‘Captain Good.’” (Credit: Los Angeles Times)

Spider-Man To Save Chicago Comics From Doom In Upcoming Issue...

Chicago comic readers looking for a little local edge in the Amazing Spider-Man series should love what’s coming up in the next issue. Hallowed comic book supplier Chicago Comics will be featured on the front cover of about 500 copies of the limited edition of Issue 666.

This is the first time that Marvel Comics has offered the option of personalization to comic book retailers, and Eric Kirsammer, owner of Chicago Comics, wanted to take advantage of the opportunity, in the hopes that the issue will become collectible and the store can become a part of comic history.

The comic, to be released on July 27, will showcase Spider-Man on a mission to save comic book stores across the country, in a small show of appreciation for these institutions helping him become so famous over the years. Fans who might not be prepared for the meta-ness of the event and the collision of reality and fiction into one mind-bending experience should probably stay away and prevent their delicate world-views from being shattered. Further info be releases via the store’s blog
http://www.chicagocomics.com/blog/category/store_info/newthisweek

Thor And X-Men First Class Tipped To Hammer Home Results...

Thor and X-Men: First Class got great reviews and we're awesome, and Captain America: The First Avenger seems set to hit the spot to, but big questions remain about Green Lantern, and the vibe is not particularly good. Green Lantern with Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively is getting very reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes has a 23% approval among movie critics, according to the 153 reviews counters. But 72% of the 62,000 plus user reviewers say that they "liked it" with it just premiering in the U.S theaters Friday after a midnight release on late Thursday/early Friday. Comic Book Movie.com indicates are pretty negative on the flick. One reviewer called the movie "inert, artificial and dead on arrival." During the midnight release on Thursday, the film drew $3.35 million 0 the same region that alike movies that were recently released did; X-Men: First Class brought in $3.37 million on June 2nd, and Thor did $3.25 million on May 5th. X-Men: First Class and Thor both had a budget significantly less than Green Lantern; the former had a budget of $160 million while Thor had exactly half the budget of Green Lantern — $150 million. While the flick will likely end up eventually surpassing its budget, the fact the other comic book movies had much less budget isn’t a great result. Ultimately, X-Men: First Class raked in $55.1 million in its opening weekend while Thor did $65.7 million. With this being the third comic book-based movie released in a month-and-a-half and mixed reviews, will Green Lantern under perform this weekend, or will the hardcore - fanboy type audience that has been largely ripping on it, check it out at the cinema?

Our top picks: Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger looks like a safe bet.

Be it movies, comics or games, we think that Marvel Entertainment leads the pack, followed by DC Comics, with Dark Horse Comics getting a third, based on the positive news leaks and insider tip offs we've been getting.

As Marvel living legend Stan Lee would say, Excelsior!

Official Websites

Marvel Entertainment Marvel Entertainment YouTube.com
Marvel Entertainment: Mobile
Marvel Entertainment San Diego Comic-Com Hub

DC Comics Warner Bros. Online YouTube.com

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WWE YouTube
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Wrestling News Media: CM Punk Storyline Expected to Continue Outside WWE, by Greg Tingle - July 2011

2011-07-22T17:05:00.001+10:00

Media Man Profiles

Wrestling WWE Vince McMahon WWE Hall Of Fame WWE Games UFC Dana White Brock Lesnar Paul Heyman Hulk Hogan John Cena Steve Austin Triple H Kevin Nash Ric Flair Randy Savage Bruno Sammartino Endemol Media Man

Pro wrestling aka "sports entertainment" continues to go through one of the most interesting and "insider" focused periods in many years, with many commentators saying that WWE is finally getting back to its "Attitude Era", which "Stone Cold" Steve Austin spear headed so successfully, under the direction of WWE top brass Vince McMahon.

A Media Man spokesperson said "WWE is most assuredly getting back to some of the edgy and insider stuff that the WWE Attitude era was based upon. How much the strategy pays off from a financial perspective is yet to be see, however its certainly a popular development with hardcore and long time fans who missed the edgy and inside angles."

CM Punk...

WWE is attempting to continue the CM Punk storyline in such a fashion that, while his name and likeness are banned from WWE television, they're attempting to get Punk booked on late-night talk shows and other news-grabbing entities. The idea is that Punk will continue to taunt WWE with their own world title while WWE tries to, in story, forget that he exists.

WWE ring announcer Justin Roberts informed fans before the start of Raw that there was a ban on chanting Punk's name. As you would expect the fans chanted it anyway several times during the show.

John Laurinaitis Talent Relations...

WWE is looking to hire someone with a sports background to groom for working in talent relations. There is lots of discussion within WWE about John Laurinaitis and his long-term future with the company. It’s no secret that Triple H isn’t a fan of Laurinaitis and Laurinaitis has always been compared in a negative way to Jim Ross when it comes to talent relations. It was discussed after Money in the Bank that Laurinaitis may be established as a new TV character, similar to how Patterson and Brisco were to Vince McMahon years ago.

Kevin Nash...

Kevin Nash is reportedly is signed to a different WWE Legends deal than everyone else. Usually the Legends deals are that you make a percentage of the revenue your name and likeness generate, and they pay you a small amount of per year as a retainer of sorts. Nash is receiving a significant amount of money. Nash is said to be frustrated because he thought the reaction he got at the Royal Rumble would lead to something else on TV.

Bruno Sammartino...

A documentary on the life of wrestling legend Bruno Sammartino will be completed in September, after being worked on for years. A feature film is also being worked on but they're still in the raising money stages because Sammartino insists on doing it as an independent release, so studios don't "Hollywoodize" it up. The movie is being done by Home Alone's Scott Rosenfelt and Sammartino is meeting with Liar, Liar writer and former WWE writer Paul Guay this week about working on the project.

Vince McMahon Meets With UFC's Dana White Re Brock Lesnar...

Dana White recently appeared at WWE Headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut to meet with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. White and McMahon meet regarding Brock Lesnar, who is a currently employed with the UFC.

Paul Heyman, Lesnar’s good mate, orchestrated something between the MMA and wrestling organizations and they had one of their first meetings together regarding the upcoming DVD that will feature the former WWE and UFC Champion. The project reportedly will be a mutual project between WWE and the UFC. There are currently no talks of Heyman or Lesnar returning to the WWE anytime in the near future.

Ric Flair Continues Promoting NC Lottery Deals And Selling Goods Online...

Ric Flair official online store
http://ricflair.com/shop/catalog

Ric Flair - Media Man Int profile
http://www.mediamanint.com/profiles/flair.html

Professional wrestling returns from the 80s - 22nd July 2011 - Stuff.co.nz...

Slammin', bashing and bad-mouthing. The spectacle that is professional wrestling is closer than you think and very much alive and kicking in New Zealand.

Ex-pro wrestler and Kiwi Pro Wrestling boss, Rip Morgan, knows the industry well and how hard it is to break into.

The last New Zealanders to wrestle for the World Wrestling Entertainment (formerly WWF), were The Bushwhackers - Luke Williams and Rip's uncle, Butch Miller - 15-years-ago.

"We do have a lot of good athletes here in New Zealand, but it's very hard to get into the business."

Four KPW wrestlers and two Australians recently had try-outs in front of WWE talent scouts in Sydney, Australia.

Shane "The Technician" Whitehead was one of them.

"In this business you don't call them, they call you, so I just have to cross my fingers and hope for the best."

Shane's one of many passionate performers hoping to wow the crowd at KPW's "True Mana" at the Wellington High School tonight.

It's a whole other world from their day-jobs.

"By day I work a nine-to-five job in an office, sitting at a computer all day," said Tane Kaiwai, or Dane King, who's been wrestling for about a year-and-a-half.

"You do it for the love of wrestling. Obviously you don't do it for the money, doing it locally"

Just two weeks ago, a near sell-out crowd showed up to Auckland's Vector Arena for the New Zealand leg of WWE's world tour. Fans turned up in their thousands to catch a glimpse of their favourite characters, such as WWE champ John Cena.

However, time will tell whether professional wrestling will become a permanent fixture in New Zealand's mainstream entertainment - and perhaps the fans are happy to keep it on the fringes.

"The fans vary. They can be a little quiet person in the back row to a front rower who's going crazy. They can get out of their seats, get carried away, run up to the ring, give some harsh words to our 'bad' guys, so to speak, and that's what makes the show interesting," said Rip.

Movies like 2009's "The Wrestler", which earned Mickey Rourke a best actor Oscar nomination and revived his career, have helped bring wrestling back into the mainstream.

In New Zealand, KPW's ambitious plans to do the same and bring the spectacle into people's living-rooms was realised through Prime's series "Off The Ropes" - the first weekly wrestling show on a major TV network since Steve Rickard's "On The Mat" in the 1980's.

"We're endeavouring to get our second series up and running," said Rip.

It's a debate that's as old as the internet, is professional wrestling a sport? The KPW boss doesn't deny that it's theatre.

"Your job as a wrestler is to entertain the ticket buyer who's come to watch you. That's your job. So I don't think even fans would care who wins or who loses, as long as they remember it was a good match.

"Wrestling has an element of circus, showmanship, dress parades and I think over the generations people have always been attracted to something different, outside their normal hours of work. So I think that's why wrestling still lives." (Credit: Stuff.co.nz)

WWE Hall Of Fame Rumours...

Pushes on to see Randy "Macho Man" Savage inducted, facilitated by his death, along with "The Enforcer" Arn Anderson and Sean Waltman (once known as the "'123 Kid", "X-Pac" and "Syxx Pac", and was a key member in the The Kliq serving below Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall (currently serving about one week in jail). Waltman was also a member of the NWO.

Hulk Hogan online slot game due out before end of year; Endemol Games UK To Release...

Stay tuned to the Media Man Int website portal for more news as it comes to hand on the pending release of the Hulk Hogan online slot game.

WWE Website Content Updated...

WWE Vids - 'Tactical Force' movie with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
http://vids.wwe.com/12654/trailer-for-the-movie-tactical-f

McMahon's Million Dollar Mania ends in disaster
http://vids.wwe.com/12633/mcmahons-million-dollar-mania-en

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Superhero Movie Box Office And Comics News, by Greg Tingle - 27th June 2011

2011-06-27T20:07:00.001+10:00

Hulk And Thor Help Raise £1,000 In UK...

Rare American comics donated to a charity shop made more than £1,000 at the John Taylors annual Toy and Doll Sale in Louth, UK, last week. A man handed 1,000s of superhero comics to the Oxfam shop in Market Rasen which decided to put them up for auction to raise money for the charity. The comics from the 1960s and 1970s featured Marvel heroes like Captain America, Spiderman, the Hulk and Thor and DC heroes like Superman, Batman and Swamp Thing. Other highlights of the sale included an early 20th Century mohair plush bear that made £700 and a collection of early Steiff bears that all made upward of £500. Train sets and other toys also proved that big kids were all in attendance at the Woolmart auction rooms with Trix, Hornby and Schuco items all
making above their estimates.

Marvel Comic's Ultimate Spider-Man Dies Via Green Goblin...

The popular American newspaper, Huffington Post, reports that the end has come for Peter Parker, the high school student bitten by a radioactive spider whose web-slinging antics have made him a touchstone of the Marvel Comics' series. The publisher recently announced that Parker's alter ego, Spider-Man, will finally be killed off by The Green Goblin in the final issue of "Ultimate Comics Spider-Man". The death, while dramatic, is not entirely unexpected. In November, Marvel said that the Ultimate Spider-Man was going to face an uncertain fate in the latest storyline by writer Brian Michael Bendis fittingly titled "The Death of Spider-Man," an eight-issue arc that saw the return of original series artist Mark Bagley. Bendis and Bagley had worked together on the series for 111 issues. Bendis told The Associated Press that in issue No. 160 Parker fights valiantly but will pass on, heroically, in a pitched fight. "He will pass heroically, but he will die at the hands of The Green Goblin," Bendis said, recalling his nearly 11 years writing the title, which debuted in October 2000. The death is real and in Marvel's Ultimate Comics imprint, death is not something taken lightly. Characters in that universe are dead and gone, never to return. The roll of the deceased already includes Magneto, Wasp and Wolverine, among others. "Ten years ago, Brian Bendis and Mark Millar changed the way people saw super heroes with the birth of the Ultimate Universe. With `Death of Spider-Man' the two have done it again, creating a story just as big, and something that would really resonate with fans," said Mark Paniccia, Marvel senior editor. "But Peter's death doesn't signal the end of their larger plan - it's the start of one of the most ambitious stories you've ever read in comics." Bendis said that Parker's death won't be in vain and hinted that the Ultimate Spider-Man may not be gone forever. But what exactly is to come, that's something he's not willing to share, at least not yet. Parker will live on in Marvel's Amazing Spider-Man series, however.

'Daredevil' Writer Gives The Scoop...

Marvel Comics has teased the opening storyline for the new Daredevil ongoing series from writer Mark Waid and artists Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin. The series sees Matt Murdock return to New York City after his self-imposed exile in the wake of Shadowland, and Waid revealed that it will quickly become apparent that something
is wrong with the superhero. "There's something not right about Matt from the very get-go, now that he's come back to New York," Waid said, according to IGN. "There's just something off about Matt and that's going to drive [his relationship with Foggy Nelson] for the near future." Waid also explained that in terms of supporting characters, Foggy Nelson is the most important, but noted that Dakota North will still show up as a new assistant district attorney, and is set to play a big role in the series moving forward. The writer also elaborated on the premise of the new series, which aims to integrate Daredevil more with the rest of the Marvel Universe. "Without jettisoning the street level of the book, without getting rid of the noir feel of the book, without getting rid of the realism of it - let's take the superhero dial and move it up just a few notches to get back to a bigger sense of adventure," he explained. "Let's fold him a little more rigidly into the Marvel Universe." Daredevil #1 is due out on July 7 from Marvel Comics.

Patrick Dempsey Wants to Play Doctor Strange...

Patrick Dempsey has already revealed he won't be returning to Grey's Anatomy after next season. The ultra talented actor is looking to take his career back where it began...movies. Dempsey isn't looking to return to movies like Can't Buy Me Love and Lover Boy that jump-started his career in the 1980s, but, instead, Dempsey is hoping to continue his association with comic book themed movies that began with his role in this summer's Transformers: Dark of the Moon. In April, Dempsey revealed an interest in the Marvel Comics character of Doctor Strange, saying he would "love to play" the role. In a recent interview with MTV, Dempsey reiterated his interest in the role, admitting, "I really want to do it." I mean, it's a tricky character. The hardcore fans know this world and this character specifically — I don't know if the rest of the world does. So, it's like, how do we enter into that and get it so it doesn't lose its essence, but, at the same time, how do you do it with the right story? And I think the fans really need to speak up and say, hey, what do they want to see. When quizzed if Dempsey was a fan of the character and was knowledgeable of the comic book universe, the actor gave a (somewhat) informed answer, though he sounded like he wasn't sure of what to say. Well, there's different incarnations, and there's a whole philosophy behind how they wrote it, what messages is in it, and all of that. I mean, I would like to see him being the cocky surgeon, having the accident, going on a spiritual journey, and then becoming the Supreme Sorcerer. I think that's really what I would like to see — and see that journey initially and to see that arc. And, you know, developing how he does his thing and how you do the incarnations and stuff like that. So, to make sure we've got this straight: Dempsey is interested in playing Doctor Strange in a movie that would explain the character's origins? It's a safe bet that's what Marvel tasked Conan: The Barbarian reboot screenwriters Thomas Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer to do when they hired them to write a Doctor Strange script last June. Also, Paddycakes? It's "Sorcerer Supreme," not "the Supreme Sorcerer." So what does Dempsey do next? Contact Marvel and express his interest? Exactly. "Yeah, you definitely do that," said Dempsey. He also said that he'll "check out the websites" and "check out the blogs" to weigh fan responses. It may not be me. I mean, there are some people who are like, "yeah, you should do it," and then there are some people that say, "no" — there's a great debate. And I think that's always entertaining to see what people's feedback is. The actor is aware that he may not be seen as the ideal choice, but nevertheless is in full support of a Doctor Strange movie. "I think it's a good character that should be made anyway," he said.

Green Lantern Turning Fanboys Off Green...

In the season’s latest superhero spectacle director Martin (Casino Royale) Campbell ironically displays the same inexplicable affliction which affects his main character: A total failure of imagination. Given $150 million to play with, the filmmaker is at a loss to deliver a single memorable image or moment. Given a ring with the power to create anything his mind can envision, newly recruited savior of the universe Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) finds himself incapable of thinking up anything terribly interesting. For a movie named after a light source, Green Lantern suffers from an appalling dearth of ideas anyone over the age of ten would be inclined to characterize as bright. How does this DC adaptation disappoint? Let me count the ways. First, its writers appear to have scoured more than 70 years worth of back issues in order to distill the least intriguing elements of the emerald-suited figure’s mythology. Before Jordan begins his career as a superhero, he’s employed as a test pilot for a corporation that manufactures military aircraft. This part of his story actually might have been good for a few cheap thrills but the movie’s creators couldn't’t resist the temptation to turn it into a cheap imitation of Top Gun. No need to bring the oven mitts. Green Lantern serves up the least sizzling screen romance in recent memory. Jordan has a thing going on with the daughter of the company’s owner (a completely lost Jay O. Sanders). Carol Ferris is played by Blake Lively and together the two have all the chemistry of a pair of mannequins. But we didn’t buy a ticket to watch Hal Jordan make a love connection. We bought a ticket to watch him save the world. Which is why the second half of the film is an even bigger letdown than the first. The Green Lantern gets possession of a ring and a matching lantern which basically functions as its battery charger. The ring in turn brings him in contact with an intergalactic peacekeeping organization known as the Green Lantern Corps, based on the distant planet Oa. This may be the first movie to get its effects at a used CGI sale as another reviewed put it. The creators of Green Lantern might be happy with what they have created, but most audiences are non to impressed. Next time we hear about green in a comic book movie we will be hoping its the return of The Hulk.

Captain America: The First Avenger May Save Face For Comic Book Movie Genre...

Releasing trailers late in the game, keeping things under wraps as long as possible and staying out of the limelight to let others glow is an interesting tactic. Marvel’s Captain America: The First Avenger may just be the comic book movie of the year. Captain America seems to be everything that Green Lantern isn't. Captain America has balls and doesn't feel like it was made for kids. Both movies debut little over a month apart. Green Lantern was about giving you as much as possible as early as possible, debuting the first image of the hero in costume almost a year before the movie’s release, as opposed to Captain America doing so 6 months later. The trailers for Green Lantern seemed designed to dazzle with special effects and colors as opposed to really giving any idea of the plot beyond “Ryan Reynolds is comedy screw-up who gets magic ring, things explode,” whereas each of Cap‘s three trailers have focused on the – for want of a better term – emotional journey the character has to go through to become the hero. There’s actually something odd about the feeling of still learning new things, or seeing new visuals, about a big blockbuster movie this close to its release; it seems so counter to the way these things are generally sold to us, with the "important" images and plot points signposted way, way in advance so as to already have that feeling of inevitability and nostalgia by the time the movie actually gets released. Should Captain America be a success studios may start realizing that less can be more and later can be better when it comes to trailers and promotion in the future. Should Captain America die in box office, one should expect more movies to give the entire game away in the first full trailer and then just move scenes around for each new trailer, like in Pirates of The Caribbean, Transformers: Dark Of The Moon and almost every other big release this year. Comon Captain America, we are entrusting you to make us feel a whole lot better about the comic book movies that we've been getting feed lately.

Thor And X-Men First Class Tipped To Hammer Home Results...

Thor and X-Men: First Class got great reviews and we're awesome, and Captain America: The First Avenger seems set to hit the spot to, but big questions remain about Green Lantern, and the vibe is not particularly good. Green Lantern with Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively is getting very reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes has a 23% approval among movie critics, according to the 153 reviews counters. But 72% of the 62,000 plus user reviewers say that they "liked it" with it just premiering in the U.S theaters Friday after a midnight release on late Thursday/early Friday. Comic Book Movie.com indicates are pretty negative on the flick. One reviewer called the movie "inert, artificial and dead on arrival." During the midnight release on Thursday, the film drew $3.35 million 0 the same region that alike movies that were recently released did; X-Men: First Class brought in $3.37 million on June 2nd, and Thor did $3.25 million on May 5th. X-Men: First Class and Thor both had a budget significantly less than Green Lantern; the former had a budget of $160 million while Thor had exactly half the budget of Green Lantern — $150 million. While the flick will likely end up eventually surpassing its budget, the fact the other comic book movies had much less budget isn’t a great result. Ultimately, X-Men: First Class raked in $55.1 million in its opening weekend while Thor did $65.7 million. With this being the third comic book-based movie released in a month-and-a-half and mixed reviews, will Green Lantern under perform this weekend, or will the hardcore - fanboy type audience that has been largely ripping on it, check it out at the cinema?

Our top picks: Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger looks like a safe bet.

Be it movies, comics or games, we think that Marvel Entertainment leads the pack, followed by DC Comics, with Dark Horse Comics getting a third, based on the positive news leaks and insider tip offs we've been getting.

As Marvel living legend Stan Lee would say, Excelsior!

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Marvel Entertainment, Comic and Superhero Movie News, by Greg Tingle - 26th June 2011

2011-06-26T22:34:00.001+10:00

Superheroes Leap Up And Down At Box Office...

The superheroes have been doing through heaven and hell lately at the box office. It's not a very smooth or consistent run, and the numbers give mixed messages. Hollywood's crimefighters and caped crusaders have tripped up more often than they would have liked to and have pretty average box-office grosses. The numbers look impressive in some fashion but they hide a growing dissatisfaction among moviegoers, who may be losing interest in what once was a can't-miss genre. One of the first omens came with "Thor," starring Chris Hemsworth as the hammer-heaving Norse god. Despite a decent opening weekend gross of $65 million, the film suffered from negative reviews and is now at $176 million. That sounds big enough until you compare it to the $318 million of "Iron Man," which belongs to the same Marvel comics story line; "Iron Man 2" ended with a split-second "Thor" teaser. Then came "X-Men: First Class." Whether because it lacked Aussie legend Hugh Jackman (he has a cameo) or because its story line felt overly familiar, it opened with $55 million, one of the lowest in the franchise's history. And despite excellent reviews, it had the lowest attendance of any "X-Men" film, according to Box Office Mojo, which did not release specific figures. The latest pretty average superhero effort is "Green Lantern," starring Ryan Reynolds, which opened to not so good reviews (26% positive at Rotten Tomatoes) and a disappointing $53.2 million. That's worse than the new "X-Men" and even worse than "Ghost Rider." Next front and centre are "Captain America: The First Avenger," about a Nazi-conquering supersolider, and "Cowboys & Aliens. Can the superheroes save the world or themselves, or will the public have to try to save them? Fan's the globe over are hoping that Captain America doesn't disappoint, but are remaining pretty optimistic. We're missing the original Iron-Man... how about you?

Spider-Man Gets Killed; Franchise History?...

Bono's Broadway slip up of sorts has killed Spider-Man... sort of. What's your take on that Dr. Octopus? Marvel Comics—with a little help from the Green Goblin—announced it was squashing Spidey dead and it did. The character has apparently been killed off. Joining a long list of superheroes such as Captain America and Superman who've been killed dead, only to rise again, Marvel offered the Peter Parker of The Ultimate Spider-Man, a sort of alternative universe version of the wisecracking webcrawler in the series' 160th issue. The character's demise even brought tears to the eyes of writer Brian Michael Bendis, who wrote the fatal tale. So Spidey's dead. But not gone or forgotten or even going away, really. So get back in line for Turn Out the Dark, seek out spoilers for the Andrew Garfield reboot or hit up a comic book store for what Marvel promises will be "the start of one of the most ambitious stories you've ever read in comics." Spider-Man lives. And possibly loves. Go Spidey!

Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark...

SPIDER-MAN, TURN OFF THE DARK follows the story of teenager Peter Parker, whose unremarkable life is turned upside-down when he's bitten by a genetically altered spider and wakes up the next morning clinging to his bedroom ceiling. This bullied science-geek suddenly endowed with incredible powers soon learns, however, that with great power comes great responsibility as villains put both his physical strength and strength of character to the test. SPIDER-MAN aims to thrill audiences through a unique entertainment experience in ways never-before-dreamed-possible in live theater. Though the reviews have been somewhat less than favorable for the $65 million giant, sales have been strong and the production opened on June 14th, 2011. For more information on Spider-Man visit http://spidermanonbroadway.marvel.com

Marvel Announces Creator Lineup - 24th June 2011

Many top writers and creators will be joining Marvel Comics at New York Comic Con (NYCC) as the renowned comic books and media entertainment company reveals preliminary plans for the 2011 edition of the annual pop culture extravaganza which will take place at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City, October 13 - 16, 2011. Marvel will not only have a 3000 square foot booth on the show floor where attendees will have an opportunity to mingle with creators and staff, but the company will also be conducting numerous high profile panels throughout the weekend which will feature their top talent. Joe Quesada, Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Entertainment, and Axel Alonso, Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief, will be Guests of Honor at the show and will be joined by many other notable Marvel creators including Guests of Honor Jason Aaron, Matt Fraction, Kieron Gillen, and Stuart Immonen.

“The enthusiastic participation of premiere companies like Marvel is critical to our success,” notes Lance Fensterman, Group Vice President for ReedPOP and Show Manager for NYCC. “We are always eager to host Marvel at New York Comic Con and to provide their talent with a range of opportunity. Our show not only brings thousands of fans together with their favorite writers, artists and creators but we are a preeminent venue for launching and displaying new content and product. Marvel’s participation is a huge validation of our efforts and we are grateful to them for their energy and commitment. We look forward to making the 2011 edition of New York Comic Con one of the best ever!”

JASON AARON: Jason Aaron is an Eisner and Harvey Award nominated comic book writer whose work includes the critically acclaimed crime series Scalped for Vertigo and stints on Black Panther, Ghost Rider and Wolverine: Weapon X for Marvel. Current and upcoming projects include Wolverine, Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine, PunisherMAX , X-Men Schism and Wolverine & the X-Men, all for Marvel. He was born in Alabama but currently resides in Kansas City.

AXEL ALONSO: A 17-year comics industry veteran, Axel Alonso got his start at DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint, where he edited such seminal series such as Preacher, Hellblazer and 100 Bullets, before leaping to Marvel Comics in 2001. Since that time, he has overseen many of the publisher’s biggest franchises – including Spider-Man, Hulk and the X-Men – and edited some of its most talked-about series – including Truth, Rawhide Kid and X-Statix. In 2011 Axel was promoted to Editor In Chief, a tenure during which he has overseen major events such as the Death of Ultimate Spider-Man and the chart-topping Fear Itself. Besides comics, Alonso’s passions include basketball, hip-hop, 8-year-old shooting guard Tito “Mr. T” Alonso, Asian food and preparing for the inevitable Zombie Apocalypse.

MATT FRACTION: Matt Fraction is an Eisner Award-winning American comic book writer known for his work on The Invincible Iron Man, Thor, The Immortal Iron Fist and Uncanny X-Men for Marvel Comics, Casanova for Icon Comics. This summer he masterminds Marvel’s mega-event Fear Itself alongside Stuart Immonen. He’s written the graphic novels Last of the Independents and The Five Fists of Science, and comics like 30 Days of Night: Bloodsucker Tales and The Order. He’s recently contributed to the storylines and dialogue of both the Iron Man 2 and Thor video games for Sega, and was a consultant on the Iron Man 2 film. He lives in Portland Oregon with his wife, the writer Kelly Sue Deconnick, and his two children, two dogs, two cats, and frog. There were two frogs but they died.

KIERON GILLEN: Kieron Gillen is a foul writing worm who crawls inside artists' ears and makes them do his bidding. Products of this evil symbiosis include Journey Into Mystery and the award-winning Phonogram. This fall Kieron will be launching Uncanny X-Men #1 with Carlos Pacheco & Greg Land. There is no known cure.

STUART IMMONEN: Since his self-published debut in 1988, Stuart Immonen has worked for almost every publisher in the comics industry from Archie to Rip Off Press, with notable tenures at DC, where he wrote and drew Adventures of Superman; Gorilla, where he co-created Shockrockets with writer Kurt Busiek; and Marvel, where he pencilled Ultimate Spider-Man, Nextwave and New Avengers, and most recently the event title Fear Itself. Stuart is known for employing diverse drawing styles as seen in his sketchbook series Centifolia published by AdHouse Books, and in his work with writer Kathryn Immonen, including Boom! Studios' Never as Bad as You Think and Moving Pictures, published by Top Shelf. He lives in Toronto.

JOE QUESADA: Joe Quesada wears many creative hats, as both an acclaimed writer-artist and the Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Entertainment, the world’s largest and most dynamic comics publisher. In this role, Joe is steward of such legendary characters as Spider-Man, X-Men, Iron Man, Captain America, and the Fantastic Four. His tenure as Editor-in-Chief recently drew to a close after 10 successful years – the longest term since Stan Lee himself. Under Quesada’s guidance, Marvel underwent a creative boom and became home to the comic industry’s greatest talents, which continues to hold true today. He brings this same vision to his role in the whole of Marvel Entertainment across the worlds of publishing, film, and television.

Customers interested in signing up for New York Comic Con should contact Larry Settembrini at lsettembrini@reedexpo.com. Tickets for NYCC are now on sale via the website www.NewYorkComicCon.com Limited 4-Day tickets are available. For further information about all ReedPOP shows and activity, please visit Lance Fensterman’s blog, www.MediumAtLarge.net Convention organizers note that many more guests will be announced over the next few weeks and months and fans should keep their eyes on NYCC’s website and blog for additional comics, entertainment and anime announcements.

ABOUT REEDPOP

ReedPOP is a boutique group within Reed Exhibitions which is exclusively devoted to organizing events, launching and acquiring new shows, and partnering with premium brands in the pop culture arena. ReedPOP is dedicated to producing celebrations of popular culture throughout the world that transcend ordinary events by providing unique access and dynamic personal experiences for consumers and fans. The ReedPOP portfolio includes: New York Comic Con (NYCC), Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2), Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) East & West, Star Wars Celebration V, New York Anime Festival (NYAF), and UFC Fan Expo. The staff at ReedPOP is a fan based group of professionals producing shows for other fans, thus making them uniquely qualified to service those with whom they share a common passion. ReedPOP is focused on bringing its expertise and knowledge to world communities in North America, South America, Asia and Europe.

Marvel announces adaptions of John Carter novels...

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — John Carter — Edgar Rice Burroughs' other famous pulp creation — is having his stories told anew thanks to an agreement between Marvel Entertainment and the author's estate that will return the Earth-born adventurer's Martian adventures to comic books.

Marvel said Tuesday that it will do new graphic novel adaptations of Burroughs' Martian series, starting with "John Carter, Warlord of Mars," as a five-issue mini-series in September.

Burroughs is best known for his creation of Tarzan.

The first mini-series will be written by Roger Langridge and drawn by Filipe Andrade.
"We are looking forward to introducing this original interplanetary adventurer to a new generation of fans and await the first issue with great anticipation," said James Sullos, President of Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc.

Marvel called the adaptations a new way of experiencing the tales Burroughs wrote that were dubbed the "Barsoom" series. There are 10 novels in the series, with the 11th a collection of two separate stories.

The novels are set on Mars and include Princess Dejah Thoris, a four-armed warrior Thark named Tars Tarkas and plenty of fighting.

Marvel published a John Carter series in the late 1970s that lasted 28 issues. The character has also been the subject of other series from different publishers, too, including a four-issue mini-series that featured Tarzan from Dark Horse Comics; a newspaper comic strip in 1941-1942; and a series by Dynamite Entertainment called "Warlord of Mars."

"Edgar Rice Burroughs created one of the great action heroes in John Carter and we're excited to bring his novels to comics for a new generation," said Axel Alonso, Marvel's editor-in-chief. "Roger and Filipe are going to blow everyone away with their take on the John Carter novels, keeping fans new and old on the edge of their seats."

Smith & Tinker launches Marvel Kapow! app for iPhone...

Smith & Tinker and Marvel Entertainment have released their first major game on the iPhone today. The game, Marvel Kapow!, is Marvel’s first broadly targeted casual game for comics fans on the Apple mobile platform.

The game is a big part of the strategy for Smith & Tinker, an innovative game company founded by gaming pioneer Jordan Weisman. If it takes off, then the two companies could see a bright future in branded content on mobile platforms.

The title is designed for touchscreen action, giving you super hero powers on your phone. The company began working on the Marvel-branded games last fall, after a few changes in strategy.

The versions of the game range from a free version to a $1.99 standard definition game and a $3.99 high-definition game. In the title, players can slash with Wolverine’s claws, rebound blasts with Captain America’s shield, capture bad guys with Spider-Man’s web and smite foes with Thor’s hammer. The game has 23 classic play levels, three boss levels, an arcade mode, Game Center leaderboard integration, and free content updates.

“With the explosive growth of touch-based smart devices now being adopted by men, women and even trickling down to kids, we’re presented with an unprecedented opportunity to bring our games to a very wide audience on a mobile platform”, said Joe Lawandus, chief executive of Smith & Tinker.

The deal could help turn things around for Smith & Tinker. In 2009, the company launched Nanovor, a fighting game for boys that could be played both online and on a $50 toy sold at retail. But the game didn’t sell that well, despite heavy TV advertising, and Smith & Tinker had to pivot to a new strategy. It laid off a bunch of employees and shifted to online-only games.

The company was able to do that because it raised $29 million in venture capital and because its founders — Lawandus and Weisman — are heavyweights in the game and entertainment industries. Weisman founded entertainment companies 42 Entertainment, Virtual World Entertainment, FASA, and WizKids; Lawandus is a former Disney executive. (Marvel is now owned by Disney).

Thor And X-Men First Class Tipped To Hammer Home Results...

Thor and X-Men: First Class got great reviews and we're awesome, and Captain America: The First Avenger seems set to hit the spot to, but big questions remain about Green Lantern, and the vibe is not particularly good. Green Lantern with Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively is getting very reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes has a 23% approval among movie critics, according to the 153 reviews counters. But 72% of the 62,000 plus user reviewers say that they "liked it" with it just premiering in the U.S theaters Friday after a midnight release on late Thursday/early Friday. ComicBookMovie.com indicates are pretty negative on the flick. One reviewer called the movie "inert, artificial and dead on arrival."

During the midnight release on Thursday, the film drew $3.35 million 0 the same region that alike movies that were recently released did; X-Men: First Class brought in $3.37 million on June 2nd, and Thor did $3.25 million on May 5th. X-Men: First Class and Thor both had a budget significantly less than Green Lantern; the former had a budget of $160 million while Thor had exactly half the budget of Green Lantern — $150 million. While the flick will likely end up eventually surpassing its budget, the fact the other comic book movies had much less budget isn’t a great result.

Ultimately, X-Men: First Class raked in $55.1 million in its opening weekend while Thor did $65.7 million. With this being the third comic book-based movie released in a month-and-a-half and mixed reviews, will Green Lantern under perform this weekend, or will the hardcore - fanboy type audience that has been largely ripping on it, check it out at the cinema?

Our top picks: Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger looks like a safe bet.

Be it movies, comics or games, we think that Marvel Entertainment leads the pack, followed by DC Comics, with Dark Horse Comics getting a third, based on the positive news leaks and insider tip offs we've been getting.

As Marvel living legend Stan Lee would say, Excelsior!

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'Casino Royale' Director: 'Quantum of Solace' a 'Mess', by Greg Tingle - 20th June 2011

2011-06-20T19:00:00.001+10:00

James Bond Casino Royale Daniel Craig Movies Hollywood

James Bond Casino Royale Daniel Craig Movies Hollywood

James Bond 23 Will Be Better Than Quantum of Solace...

With comic book based movie Green Lantern currently at the box office, its director, Martin Campbell, is taking the opportunity to get some three-year-old gripes off his chest. The director is credited with giving the James Bond franchise the reboot it needed with 2006’s Casino Royale starring Daniel Craig, but he says the movie’s sequel, 2008's Quantum of Solace, didn’t quite keep the momentum going. “Oh, I thought it was lousy,” Campbell tells CraveOnline. “And hopefully this next one will be terrific. Sam Mendes is directing it and I’m sure it’ll be terrific.” We do hope that Mendes (Revolutionary Road) lives up to Martin’s expectations on Bond 23, because it seems he’ll probably hear about it later. “I just thought the story was pretty uninteresting,” Campbell goes on to say about Quantum of Solace. “I didn’t think the action was related to the characters. I just thought overall it was a bit of a mess really.” The currently untitled Bond 23 is slated for release next year, now that MGM has sorted out many of their previous financial challenges, a key reason for the delay of the Bond film.

The New Bond Girl?...

Pirates Of The Caribbean star Naomie Harris has confirmed she is in the running for the role of a sexy and smart Bond girl in the next 007 movie. The British actress, 34, was reported to have been in talks with filmmakers to star in the long-delayed 23rd film. Harris told the press she had no issues with a Bond girl role, despite demanding a body double for sex scenes in Miami Vice and telling Michael Mann, the director of the 2006 film, she would not do nudity. "What makes them (Bond movies) work is that they are responsive to the times," she said. "(Former Bond girl) Eva Green's character in Casino Royale was not scantily clad. She was an intelligent, strong, modern woman. "The older idea of the Bond movie is in the past. Now it appeals to all generations, ages and sexes." She said while "nothing is confirmed", she would "love to be part of the Bond movies". Asked about her views on female nudity in films, the actress added: "It's the objectification that I don't like. I didn't sign up to be a stripper. "I'm very anti the pressure that is put on women to take their clothes off." Casino Royale and Quantum Of Solace star Daniel Craig is returning to star in the as-yet untitled Bond adventure, directed by Sam Mendes, which is due for release next year. Media Man is the go-to man for Australian - Fijian actor and pro wrestler, John "Vulcan" Seru, who played 'Gabor' in James Bond flick 'The World Is Not Enough'. Seru also played 'Kiwi Steve' on a number of recent Underbelly episodes, often featured in scenes opposite Australian heartthrob and Cleo Bachelor Of The Year, Firass Dirani. Seru is tipped to attend the action packed upcoming WWE Australian tour with Media Man and friends. Dirani advised the Underbelly connection helped him get into Hollywood where he was cast into The Killer Elite, staring Robert De Niro. Many movie buffs and gambling fans will recall that De Niro played Sam "Ace" Rothstein in Casino, a 1995 acclaimed crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese.

Readers, be it as a director, producer, actor, punter or publisher, bet with your head, not over it. You're throw of the dice.

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Human Statue Bodyart Corporate Client Showcase Profile Updated

2011-05-25T15:14:00.001+10:00

Human Statue Bodyart is a Sydney, Australia based bodyart, bodypainting and human statue creative arts, marketing and events company.

They were established in 2001 by creative artist and photographer, Eva Rinaldi.

Human Statue Bodyart helps brands and individuals stand out from the pack, and assists them in meeting their image and branding aims and objectives.

Some of the brands that Human Statue Bodyart have assisted in their campaigns include Virgin, VW, Holden, IGT, World Vision, Anglicare, Skins, Eclipse, Waste and Recycling Expo, Peroni, Sony Music BMG, EMI, Levity Music, Karvezide, ANZ, Oxford Arts Factory, Levis, Tourism Australia, City Of Sydney, African Tourism, National Rugby League, Australian Shooting Championships, Corona, Schick, Vorafone, Sydney Opera Bar and Coca-Cola.

Human Statue Bodyart is the recognised leader in the Australian bodypainting and human statue creation industry and is frequently mentioned in the Australian and international news media.

They have won a number of awards and commendations over the years including media social and community entrepreneur of the month, Chalk The Walk and Penrith Arts Prize.

Contact Eva and her team today to see who they can help make you stand out from the pack.

Client Profiles

IGT

Coca-Cola

Levis

Skins

Sydney Opera Bar

Australian Waste and Recycling Expo

Eclipse

City Of Sydney

VW

Heittich Australia

Peroni

Anglicare

Sydney Bodyart Bike Ride

Sea Shepherd

Oprah Winfrey

Corona

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Human Statue Bodyart

Attention Media:

Contact Human Statue Bodyart, Eva Rinaldi on 0458 705 825 e: bodyartist@bigpond.com or

or Media Man, Greg Tingle, on 0434 115 348 e: greg@mediaman.com.au

Banks to guide 'Governator' - 18th April 2011

2011-04-19T20:50:00.003+10:00

'SpongeBob' scribe drafted for Schwarzenegger-Lee toon

Former "SpongeBob Squarepants" head writer Steven Banks has been drafted for the Arnold Schwarzenegger-Stan Lee toon series "The Governator."

Banks will serve as a head writer for the A Squared Entertainment series that follows an animated Schwarzenegger who, after leaving office in California, takes on a secret identity as a crime-fighting superhero, with the help of an elite squad of teenagers.

The series was announced with much fanfare earlier this month at the Mip TV confab in Cannes. There's no word yet on a domestic outlet for "Governator."

In addition to his six-year run on "SpongeBob," Banks' toon credits include Nickelodeon's "The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius."

"Throughout my career, whether it has been in body building, movies or politics, my philosophy has always been to bring together the best specialized talent to create projects that people will love," Schwarzenegger said. "Having Steven on board to head up the writing for 'The Governator' series is a fantastic next step."

Andy and Amy Heyward's A Squared banner is producing "Governator," which will have a comicbook offshoot published by Archie Comics under the newly created Stan Lee Comics label. Lee and his Pow Entertainment partner, Gill Champion, will oversee all creative development. (Credit: Variety, Wires)

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Al Pacino to visit The Star Sydney with An Evening with Al Pacino, by Greg Tingle - 26th October 2011

Sarah Jessica Parker Heading To Melbourne Crown For Movie Premiere, by Greg Tingle - 25th October 2011

Visual Effects Society Lauds Stan Lee - Comic book icon to receive Lifetime Achievement Award. - 19th October 2011

DiCaprio may take codebreaker role after Great Gatsby in Sydney, by Greg Tingle - 14th October 2011

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Toronto 2011: Dominic Monaghan Thriller 'The Day' Picked Up by WWE Studios

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Marvel Entertainment: Don't just read the comics and watch the movies; Play the games!

Sydney Hilton Hotel Zeta Bar titillates and tantalises again with ‘extreme cabaret’ - 26th August 2011

Mark Burnett Selects Emmy Production Team

Marvel artist Kirby’s heirs lose copyright claim - 28th July 2011

Marvel Entertainment And Marvel Comics News: Disney - Marvel Victory Over Jack Kirby Estate, by Greg Tingle - 31st July 2011

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Comic-Con, Marvel Entertainment, Marvel Comics, WWE And Pro Wrestling News Update, by Greg Tingle - 26th July 2011

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'Casino Royale' Director: 'Quantum of Solace' a 'Mess', by Greg Tingle - 20th June 2011

Human Statue Bodyart Corporate Client Showcase Profile Updated

Banks to guide 'Governator' - 18th April 2011