Weekly Entertainment & Movie News

[FH]

New Line Leashes Walter the Farting Dog
Source: Coming Soon!
New Line Cinema has optioned the best-selling children's book Walter the Farting Dog and has hired Eric Champnella (Mr. 3000) to adapt the picture book into a live-action feature, says The Hollywood Reporter.

The book, written by William Kotzwinkle and Glenn Murray and illustrated by Audrey Colman, tells the tale of perpetually gas-passing pooch Walter, who gets adopted from the pound by a family. The family's father eventually has enough and says the canine is pound-bound. But that night, two crooks break into the home, and Walter unleashes a hideous cloud, saving the day.

The book made its way to the top of the New York Times best-seller list (children's picture category) and spawned a sequel, "Walter the Farting Dog: Trouble at the Yard Sale." A third book is in the planning stages.

[FH]

Gerard Butler to Star in Beowulf & Grendel
Source: Coming Soon!
Scottish actor Gerard Butler has signed to play the lead in the Canada/U.K./Iceland co-production Beowulf & Grendel, reports Variety. Butler starred in Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, Timeline, and stars in the upcoming Phantom of the Opera.

Part fable, part horror story, Beowulf & Grendel, directed by Sturla Gunnarsson, is an adaptation of the epic poem "Beowulf," about a Norse warrior's battle against Grendel the murderous troll. The poem is said to have inspired J.R.R. Tolkien to write "The Lord of the Rings."

The epic medieval adventure will shoot in Iceland for 10 weeks beginning in August. The setting includes real glaciers, a fake 6th-century village and a replica of a Viking ship.

[FH]

Shrek 2 Too Green for Tomorrow
Source: E!

Shrek 2 continued its happily-ever-after run with a monster weekend, taking in $72.2 million for the Friday-Sunday period and an estimated $92.2 million for the Friday-Monday holiday, leading the way to a record for the Memorial Day weekend.


Shrek 2's dominance prevented The Day After Tomorrow from storming into the top slot. But the global-warming disaster flick was far from snowed out. It finished in a strong second place, sweeping up $70 million Friday to Sunday and $86 million Friday to Monday.

If estimates hold, both Shrek 2 and The Day After Tomorrow will go down in Hollywood's history books.

When final figures are released Tuesday, DreamWorks' fractured fable will likely score the biggest ever Memorial Day gross, beating The Lost World: Jurassic Park, which debuted in 1997 with $72.1 million over three days and $90.1 million over four.

Fox's weather-is-out-to-get-you offering appears to have blown in ahead of Bruce Almighty, which had ranked number two on the Memorial Day list. Jim Carrey's God touched comedy took in $67.9 million Friday to Sunday and $85.7 million Friday to Monday last year, when the holiday that officially kicks off the summer season fell a week earlier.

The Day After Tomorrow, directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal and Sela Ward as potential victims of a killer climate, won the screen average race with $25,109 while opening at 3,425 sites.

Shrek 2, which in its second weekend added 60 sites to its unprecedented initial release, averaged $21,833 at 4,233 sites, only dropping off 33 percent--a happy omen for a movie that had opened so wide. The sequel also tromped swiftly past the $200 million mark, having now gobbled up $257 million, close to beating the $267.7 million of the original Shrek. Whether Shrek 2 will eventually surpass rival Disney's Finding Nemo, which grossed $340 million as the biggest animated movie of all time, will likely depend on how much business is grabbed next weekend when the eagerly awaited Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban debuts.

Shrek 2 and The Day After Tomorrow accounted for $142.2 million of the total $186.1 million Friday-Sunday box office and $178.2 million of the total $233.5 million Friday-Monday box office for the top 12 films. That meant there were few scraps for the weekend's other new movies.

Kate Hudson's surrogate parenting comedy Raising Helen raised barely a titter in fourth place with $11.2 million for the three-day period and $14 million for the four-day holiday. It was unable to topple Troy, which finished in third place for its third week with $12 million from Friday to Sunday and $15 million from Friday to Monday. Of the two, however, per-screen bragging rights belonged to Hudson's PG-13 Disney release with $5,162 from 2,717 sites to the $4,400 from 3,411 theaters for Warners R-rated toga saga--which dropped 50 percent from last week.

In fifth place Soul Plane also had a higher per-screen stat--$4,470--but only flew into 1,566 sites. MGM's R-rated disaster spoof flick, featuring such unruly high flyers as Snoop Dogg, Kevin Hart and Tom Arnold, tallied $5.7 million Friday-Sunday and $7 million Friday-Monday.

Among those films in limited release, the per-screen victory went to Saved. The PG-13 United Artists release, a religious satire starring Mandy Moore, Jena Malone and Macaulay Culkin, averaged a crowd-pleasing $22,000 at just 20 sites, to total $346,000 over three days and $440,000 over four, good enough for 12th place.

Further out of the running was The Mother, starring Anne Reid as a widow lucky enough to get to make out with younger Daniel Craig. At seven sites, the R-rated Sony Pictures Classic release averaged a promising $11,655 for $62,586 (Friday-Sunday) and $81,586 (Friday-Monday).

At the bare end was Baadasssss!, Mario Van Peebles' effort to recreate his father Melvin's feisty behind-the-scenes life while shooting the iconoclastic 1970s movie Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. Another R-rated Sony Pictures Classic release, Baadasssss! only managed to average $4,456 at 13 sites, to gross $44,929 (Friday-Sunday) and $57,929 (Friday-Monday).

The one movie in current release that picked up business was Morgan Spurlock's fast-food-eating odyssey Super Size Me. Adding 49 sites to 197 locations, the Roadside documentary gained 9 percent from a $6,873 average to munch up $1 million over three days and $1.3 million over four.

Here is how the top 10 stacked up for both the three- and four-day period, as compiled by Exhibitor Relations:

1. Shrek 2, $72.2 million; $92.2 million
2. The Day After Tomorrow, $70 million; $86 million
3. Troy, $12 million; $15 million
4. Raising Helen, $11.2 million; $14 million
5. Soul Plane, $5.7 million; $7 million
6. Mean Girls, $4.8 million; $6.3 million
7. Van Helsing, $4.9 million; $6.2 million
8. Man on Fire, $1.9 million; $2.4 million
9. 13 Going on 30, $1.1 million; $1.4 million
10. Super Size Me, $1 million; $1.3 million

[FH]

New DVD Releases on June 1


• Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer (2003)

• Ali: Director's Cut (2001)

• Angels in America (2-disc set)

• The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947)

• Back to the Beach (1987)

• The Berenstain Bears: Bears Get a Babysitter

• Cocoon (1985)

• Cocoon: The Return (1988)

• A Cool Dry Place (1998)

• Das Boot: The Original Uncut Version (2-disc set) (1981)

• Candleshoe (1977)

• The Cary Grant Signature Collection (5-disc set)

• Catch That Kid (2004)

• The City of No Limits (2002)

• The Company (2003)

• Cop Land: Collector's Series (1997)

• Coupling: Season Three

• Deja Vu (1985)

• Destination Tokyo (1943)

• Diana Ross: Visions of Diana Ross

• Dora the Explorer: Super Silly Fiesta

• Dream Lover (1994)

• The Dukes of Hazzard: Season One (3-disc set)

• Emigrant (1994)

• Eurotrip (unrated) (pan-and-scan) (2004)

• Eurotrip (unrated) (pan-and-scan) (2004)

• Eurotrip (R-rated) (full-frame) (2004)

• Faithful (1996)

• A Far Off Place (1993)

• Fausto 5.0 (2001)

• Flight of the Navigator (1986)

• Flirting With Disaster: Collector's Series (1996)

• For Queen and Country (1988)

• Freaky Friday (1977)

• Funny About Love (1990)

• George Shearing: Lullaby of Birdland

• Gone Dark (2004)

• The Great White Hype (1996)

• Gurreros (2002)

• The Happiest Millionaire (1967)

• Head Above Water (1996)

• Heart Condition (1990)

• Herbie The Love Bug Collection (4-disc set)

• How I Got Into College (1989)

• Joe Williams: A Song Is Born

• J.W. Coop (1972)

• Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986)

• Kiss of Death (1995)

• Little Murders (1971)

• Lyricist Lounge: Dirty States of America

• Map of the Human Heart (1993)

• Marilyn Monroe: The Mortal Goddess (2002)

• Masquerade (1988)

• Monster (2004)

• Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)

• My Baby's Daddy (2004)

• My Favorite Wife (1940)

• National Lampoon's Senior Trip (1995)

• NBA Dynasty Series: Chicago Bulls 1990s (4-disc set)

• NBA Dynasty Series: L.A. Lakers Complete History (5-disc set)

• New Blood (1999)

• Night and Day (1946)

• No Name on the Bullet (1951)

• Oscar Peterson: Music in the Key of Oscar

• Other (1999)

• Out to Sea (1997)

• Pelle the Conqueror (1987)

• Perfect Strangers (1984)

• The Plainsman (1937)

• The Pointer Sisters: So Excited

• Punky Brewster: Season One (4-disc set)

• Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles: Trackers

• A Saintly Switch (1999)

• Slaughter of the Innocents (1994)

• The Snake Pit: Fox Studio Classics (1948)

• Special Effects (1984)

• Spider-Man: Deluxe Edition (3-disc set) (2002)

• Spider-Man: Superbit (2002)

• Spider-Man: High Voltage Villains

• Spider-Man: The Mutant Menace

• Spider-Man: The Ultimate Face-Off

• The Spoilers (1942)

• SpongeBob SquarePants: SpongeGuard on Duty

• Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004)

• Summer School (1987)

• Sunset Strip (2000)

• The Super (1991)

• Super Bowl XI-XX: Collector's Set (5-disc set)

• Tai-Pan (1986)

• Trainspotting: Collector's Series (1996)

• Trapped in Paradise (1994)

• Two of a Kind (1983)

• War Arrow (1954)

• When the Daltons Rode (1940)

• Whispering Smith (1948)

• Winsor McCay: The Master Edition (2003)

[FH]

Shrek & Spidey Sequel Subplots
Source: DarkHorizons
We've heard rumours and vague details so far, now two scoopers come forward with some more information about what to expect storywise from planned third installments in the "Shrek" and "Spider-Man" film franchises.

'The Joe Man' was busy on the weekend chatting with family when one of them happened to be a Dreamworks insider with some pertinent gossip about what we might expect in a third "Shrek":

"Screenwriter Jon Zack ("Out Cold", "Perfect Score") has apparently landed the job of writing Shrek 3. Shrek and Fiona are King and Queen now and they hate it so Fiona tries to get friend Arty (aka. King Arthur) to do so but he's still in college. From what he tells me Arthur, Gwenivere and Lancelot are supposed to be portrayed as a couple of jocks and a cheerleader and they have to find the holy grail for some rather odd reason"

Meanwhile 'Cam' drops in this report which gives us an idea that no matter what main villain they go with in the third "Spider-Man" movie, the second one at least sets up who'll also be flying around in the 2007 release.

SPOILERS AHEAD for "Spider-Man 2"

"The graphic novel for Spiderman 2 is in stores. Not able to help myself, I flipped to the back of the book to see if the ending I had envisioned to happen was true, and low and behold, it was. Before Peter Parker and Mary Jane finish up there story, we get a scene with Harry going mental in his fathers office with the Peter Parker/Spiderman problem. He ends up tossing a brandy glass into the same mirror Norman was looking into in the first movie, shatters it, and finds his fathers goblin outfit, the glider, and some weaponry. He also hears his fathers voice speak to him in his head, telling to get revenge for his death. I believe the seen ends with Harry picking up the mask and starting too laugh "an all to familiar laugh". Thus with this setup, even if they go ahead with the John Jameson/Venon story, chances are you will see Harry Osborne donning the suit, becoming either the Green or Hobgoblin in the third movie".

[FH]

Hop Onto the New Polar Express Trailer
Source: Coming Soon!
Warner Bros. Pictures has released the new trailer for director Robert Zemeckis' The Polar Express, rolling into theaters on November 19. The adventure, based on the children's book by Chris Van Allsburg, stars Tom Hanks, Chris Coppola, Peter Scolari, Eddie Deezen, and Michael Jeter.

When a doubting young boy takes an extraordinary train ride to the North Pole, he embarks on a journey of self-discovery that shows him that the wonder of life never fades for those who believe.

Click this link to see the trailer.

[FH]

Revealing Aliens vs. Predator Concept Designs
Source: Superhero Hype!
'Wolf' alerted us to some awesome drawings from Patrick Tatopoulos for Alien vs. Predator...

Head over to Patrick Tatopoulos official website where you can find concept drawings for Alien vs. Predator. Patrick has an impressive line of SFX work that he has done in the past which include Godzilla, ID4 and lots more. Just go under projects and then click on conceptual design. There's a list of projects he worked on. There should be Alien vs. Predator on that list.

We have to warn you that the drawings contain possible big spoilers from the film. You can check them out at this link.

[FH]

SCOOP: KNIGHT RIDER flick eyeing FAST AND THE FURIOUS star?
Source: Cinescape
An anonymous scooper sent in this email recently which, if accurate, gives us a look at what direction Universal Pictures is thinking of taking a big-screen KNIGHT RIDER film. Bear in mind that we couldn't verify what our scooper has to say but that other sources we checked with did confirm that this kind of focus group research does take place.

Here's what our scooper has to tell us:


"This information comes from a research session I attended in LA this past Wednesday evening. I can’t mention the research company for obvious reasons or give any names other than one.


"The project being reviewed was none other than KNIGHT RIDER. First, they showed us a tape, it was obviously not real footage and was simply cuts of other movies and a few computer renderings spliced together to create a fake trailer. I gotta say, as rough as this demo was it gave me goosebumps. They even had what sounded like a newer version of the Knight Rider theme. It sounded like Moby music but I doubt they were at the stage of development to have someone of this status mix it up.


"The subject of the review, actually was not this video, rather it was whether or not the group felt this project could be taken seriously given the trailer we saw and what they actually termed, 'cheesy' reputation of David Hasselhoff. They stated up front right away that Hasselhoff would not be the star but that 'head honchos' were nervous his reputation could detract from the project. Most of the group said they felt it would not if the new star was reputable.


"And now for the big 'tada' which you may (or may not) consider good news, they said they had already been in discussions with Paul Walker for the role and that he’d expressed interest in this project rather than doing another FAST AND THE FURIOUS movie.


"They said they would not be in contact with us again about this specific project but that occassionaly they may survey 'our demographic' for other projects. They said they picked our group from a pool of peoplewho had filled out a registration card included with an unnamed DVD."


[Anonymous.]


A KNIGHT RIDER movie has been in the very early stages of development, with Revolution Studios behind it. TV star David Hasselhoff and series creator Glen A. Larson are both attached as executive producers. In April 2003 a screenwriting duo wwas hired last year to begin the process of crafting a screenplay, but since that time no further news has been heard.

[FH]

New Comic-Book Releases on June 2

PUBLISHER
TITLE, ISSUE NUMBER, PRICE IN U.S. DOLLARS

AAA MILWAUKEE PUBLISHING CO
Misery A Go Go #1, $2.75

ABIOGENESIS PRESS
Strangehaven #16, $2.95

AC COMICS
Best Of The West #41, $6.95
Vintage Vigilantes Expert Pack #1, $29.95

ACES & EIGHTS PUBLISHING
Last Minute #2, $3.00

ACTOR
Actor Darkness Ltd Ed Fan Club Cvr #1, $10.00
Actor Darkness Prelude Cvr A #1, $5.00
Actor Marvel Ultimate Universe Litho Sgn, $24.99
Actor Street Fighter Alt Foil Cvr #1, $10.00

ADHOUSE BOOKS
Project Telstar Ltd Ed Silkscreen Print, $15.00

AIRSHIP ENTERTAINMENT
Girl Genius #11, $3.95

AMAZE INK (SLAVE LABOR GRAPHICS)
Bear #5, $2.95
Slave Labor Peepshow Vol 3 #6, AR

ANTARCTIC PRESS
Dictators Hitler #2 (Of 4), $2.99

ARCHAIA STUDIOS PRESS
Artesia Vol 3 Artesia Afire TPB, $24.95

ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS
Betty #138, $2.19
Jughead #158, $2.19
Jughead With Archie Digest #193, $2.39
Pals N Gals Double Digest #85, $3.59

AVATAR PRESS
Brian Pulidos Belladonna Preview Platinum Foil Incentive, AR
Joe Lansdales By Bizarre Hands #2 Blood Red Foil Incentive, AR
Rich Johnstons Holed Up #2 (Of 3), $3.50
Rich Johnstons Holed Up Homeland Security Ed #2 (Of 3), $3.50

BASEMENT COMICS / AMRYL ENTERTAINMENT
Both Barrels Cheesecake Art Of Brothers Massey One Shot, $3.25

BECKETT ENTERTAINMENT
Ruule Kiss & Tell #1, AR

BLACK LIBRARY
Deff Skwadron GN, $6.99

BONGO COMICS
Bart Simpson Comics #8 (AA), $2.50
Bart Simpson Comics #9 (AA), $2.50
Simpsons Comics #66 (AA), $2.50
Simpsons Comics #67 (AA), $2.50

BROADSWORD COMICS
Tarot Witch Of The Black Rose Dlx Ed #26, $19.99

BUD PLANT
Leg HC, AR
Pin Up GN Set, AR

CLIBS BOY COMICS
True Story Swear To God #9, $2.95

COREWAY MEDIA
We The People TPB (Cold Cut Distribution), $16.95

CPM MANGA
Nadesico Book Three TPB New Ptg, $9.99
Slayers City Of Lost Souls GN, $9.99

DARK HORSE COMICS
Billy Tuccis Shi Poster Dlx Ltd Ed, $39.99
Billy Tuccis Shi Poster, $9.99
BPRD A Plague Of Frogs #4 (Of 5), $2.99
Hellboy Movie Profile Tin Sign, $14.99
Oh My Goddess #109, $2.99

DC COMICS
Batman Adventures Vol 1 Rogues Gallery TPB, $6.95
Batman Adventures Vol 2 Shadows And Masks TPB, $6.95
Batman Hush Action Figures Inner Case, AR
Batman Hush Action Figures Master Case, AR
Batman Hush Batman Action Figure, AR
Batman Hush Huntress Action Figure, AR
Batman Hush Joker Action Figure, AR
Batman Hush Poison Ivy Action Figure, AR
Batman Japanese Import Statue, $150.00
Death Gallery Poster, $7.95
Detective Comics #795, $2.95
Enginehead #3 (Of 8), $2.50
Firestorm #2, $2.50
Hard Time #5, $2.50
Hellblazer Highwater TPB, $19.95
Justice League Adventures #32, $2.25
Killing Joke Poster, $7.95
Looney Tunes #115, $2.25
Scratch #1 (Of 5), $2.50
Superman Batman Poster, $7.95
Superman Birthright #11 (Of 12), $2.95
Superman In Worlds Finest Archives Vol 1 HC, $49.95
Swamp Thing #4, $2.95
Teen Titans Poster, $7.95
Thundercats Enemys Pride #1 (Of 5), $2.95
Wildcats Version 3.0 #22, $2.95
Y The Last Man #23, $2.95

DEVILS DUE PUBLISHING
Dragonlance The Legend Of Huma #5, $2.95
Street Fighter All Cast Poster, $5.95
Street Fighter Jo Chen Power Foil Cvr C #7, AR

DRAWN & QUARTERLY
Way To Go GN, $9.95

DYNAMIC FORCES
DF Action Comics Austen Sgn #814, $19.99
DF Alex Ross Marvel Heroes Litho, $29.99
DF Alex Ross Marvel Villains Litho, $29.99
DF Firestorm Sgn #1, $10.00
DF Hellboy Movie Abe Sapien Litho, $19.99
DF Hellboy Movie Grigory Litho, $19.99
DF Hellboy Movie Hellboy Litho, $19.99
DF Hellboy Movie Liz Sherman Litho, $19.99
DF JLA Avengers Sgn #4, $29.99
DF Wolverine Punisher Sgn #1, $19.99
DF X-Men On The Hunt Litho, $16.99
DFE Witchblade Mag Vampi Untold Story Rare Adams Cvr Sgn #1, $29.99
DFE Witchblade Magdalena Vampirella Untold Story Sgn #1, $19.99

DRAWN & QUARTERLY
Bannock Beans & Black Tea HC, $19.95

EUREKA PRODUCTIONS
Graphic Classics Vol 9 Robert Louis Stevenson, $9.95

FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS
Artbabe Presents La Perdida #4 (Of 5), $4.95
Small Favors Vol 1 TPB (New Prtg)(adult), $14.95
Small Favors Vol 2 TPB (adult), $14.95
The Pain Vol 1 When Will It End TPB, $14.95

GEMSTONE PUBLISHING
Donald Duck Adventures Vol 6 TPB, $7.95

GENOME STUDIOS
Ellium Vol 1 Sword O/T Dragon GN, $9.95

HOARSE AND BUGGY PRODUCTIONS
Poorly Drawn Animals #1 (Cold Cut Distribution), $2.00
Poorly Drawn Animals #2 (Cold Cut Distribution), $2.00

IDW PUBLISHING
Lore #3, $3.99

IMAGE COMICS
Freak GN, $6.95
Ghost Spy #1 (Of 6), $2.95
NYC Mech #2, $2.95
Spawn #135, $2.50
Strykeforce #3 (Of 5), $2.99
Tomb Raider #42, $2.99

IMPERIUM COMICS
Furious Fist O/T Drunken Monkey, $2.99

KENZER & COMPANY
Everknights Special #1, $2.99
Knights Of The Dinner Table Illustrated #35, $2.99

MARVEL COMICS
Alpha Flight #4, $2.99
Amazing Spider-Man 500 Covers HC (resolicited), $49.99
Avengers Thunderbolts #4 (Of 6), $2.99
Best Of Spider-Man Vol 3 HC, $29.99
Essential Spider-Man Vol 6 TPB, $16.99
Exiles #48, $2.99
Marvel Age Fantastic Four #3, $2.25
Marvel Age Spider-Man #5, $2.25
Marvel Age Spider-Man Doctor Octopus Out Of Reach Digest, $5.99
Marvel Knights 4 #6, $2.99
Marvel Milestones Captain America Statue, $175.00
Spider-Girl #75, $2.99
Thanos #11, $2.99
Thor #80, $2.99
Ultimate Fantastic Four #6, $2.25
Ultimate Spider-Man #60, $2.25
Ultimate Spider-Man Vol 4 HC, $29.99
Ultimate Spider-Man Vol 9 Ultimate Six TPB, $17.99
Uncanny X-Men #445, $2.25
White Queen Burning Card Greg Horn Poster, $5.99
X-Men Unlimited #3, $2.99

MOONSTONE
Moonstone Noir Bulldog Drummond #1, $4.95

MVCREATIONS
Masters Of The Universe Vol 2 TPB, $18.95
Rob Zombie Spook Show Intl #8, $2.95

SILENT DEVIL PRODUCTIONS
Silent Forest GN, $11.95

SIOUX PUBLICATIONS
Blurred Lines GN (adult), $5.95

SIRIUS ENTERTAINMENT
Poison Elves Killer Curves Ltd Ed Portfolio, $20.00

SPARK PLUG COMICS
Tales To Demolish #2 (Cold Cut Distribution), $3.00

SSSCOMICS.COM
Mr Beat Show #1, $4.95

TOKYOPOP
Fairly Odd Parents Cinemanga Vol 2 GN Beware Babysitter (Of 2), $7.99
Les Bijoux Vol 3 GN (Of 5), $9.99
Lilo & Stitch TV Show Vol 1 GN (Of 3), $7.99
Lizzie Mcguire Cinemanga Vol 6 GN (Of 7), $7.99
Rebirth Vol 8 GN (Of 15), $9.99

VIZ
Animerica June 2004 Vol 12 #6, $4.99
Flame Of Recca Vol 6 TPB, $9.95
Gundam The Origin #11, $7.95
Shonen Jump Vol 2 #7 July 2004, $4.99
Steam Detectives Vol 8 TPB, $12.95
Vagabond Vol 11 TPB, $9.95

WIZARD ENTERTAINMENT
Inquest Gamer MTG Fifth Dawn Cvr #111, $4.99
Inquest Gamer Pokemon Cvr #111, $4.99

magazines
Beckett Hockey Card Monthly #164, $4.99
Beckett Yu Gi Oh Collector #12, $9.99
Becketts Basketball Card Plus #11 TPB, $9.99
Blade Aug 2004, $4.99
Collected Jack Kirby Collector Vol #3, $19.95
Comic Shop News #885, AR
Comics International #171, $2.50
Dungeon #112, $6.99
Game Pro Jul 04, $5.99
Penthouse Jul04 (adult), $7.99
PSM Magazine Jul 2004, $4.99
Scrye #73, $5.99
Starlog Spider-Man And Amazing Comics Heroes, $7.99
Those Macabre Pulps SC, $22.00
Toy Shop #334, $4.99
Video Watchdog #108, $7.95
White Dwarf #293, $6.99

books
Akiko And The Alpha Centauri 5000 TPB, $4.99
Caught In The Web Dreaming Up The World Of Spider-Man 2 TPB, $19.95
City Of Thieves Gamebook MMPB, $6.99
CSI Miami Heat Wave MMPB, $6.99
Friends The One About The #1 Sitcom TPB, $13.95
Judge Dredd #3 Black Atlantic MMPB, $6.99
Moebius Arzach MMPB, $6.99
Naughty Art Of Pete Tapang SC, $14.95
Smallville Young Adult #7 MMPB Runnaway, $5.99
Smallville Young Adult #8 MMPB Greed, $5.99
Spider-Man 2 Its Hard Being Spider-Man TPB, $4.99
Spider-Man 2 Junior Novelization TPB, $4.99
Spider-Man 2 Movie Storybook TPB, $7.99
Spider-Man 2 Spider Foe TPB, $4.99
Spider-Man The Sinister Six Combo MMPB, $7.99
Star Trek TNG A Time To Love MMPB, $6.99
Superman Story MMPB, $5.99
T2 Future War MMPB, $7.99
Terry Pratchett Hat Full Of Sky HC, $16.99
Van Helsing The Making Of The Legend TPB, $19.95
Worlds Of Star Trek Ds9 Vol 1 MMPB, $6.99

[FH]

Daniel Alter Options Image Comics' Small Gods
Source: Superhero Hype!
In an article talking about Daniel Alter and Ron Shusett's new sci-fi project "2176," The Hollywood Reporter mentions that Alter has optioned rights to the Image Comics series Small Gods.

In Jason Rand and Juan E. Ferreyra's ongoing Image series, an estimated 1% of the world's population possess psychic powers. However, these people are not your X-Men or your usual costumed superheroes. These psychics are just ordinary people, living ordinary lives.

The project is being developed as a television series about people with psychic abilities, says the trade. "It's an exciting time to be pitching my own tent," said Alter, who previously headed up the comic book department at Energy. "We are embarking on both film and television projects and bringing properties from other mediums to the big and small screen."

Since leaving Energy, Alter has set up two projects based on comic books with Charles Gordon and Adrian Askarieh. The first, Swords of Dracula, is based on the Image Comics series. The project is a contemporary revamp of the Dracula story in which competing military forces find themselves racing to excavate the vampire. The second project, Hack/Slash, is based on DDP's comic book series and revolves around a "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"-esque female protagonist. Alter will serve in a producer capacity on both projects.

You can learn a lot more about the Small Gods comic by reading this article from April at Newsarama.

[FH]

Universal Adapting Psycho Graphic Novel
Source: Coming Soon!
Variety reports that Universal Pictures has bought screen rights to the DC graphic novel The Psycho, and the studio has set Jeffrey Nachmanoff (The Day After Tomorrow) to draft the film.

The Psycho is an action-thriller about a government agent who uncovers a technology being used to genetically turn people into super-humans. The three-issue series was published in 1991 and created by James Hudnall and Dan Brereton.

Of the f/x-heavy "Psycho," Nachmanhoff said, "It is a contemporary but altered reality like 'The Matrix,' but what I most liked is the moral quandary of the protagonist, who ends up having to become what he despises when he takes this drug."

[FH]

Lindsay Lohan Dreams of Jeannie?
Source: Coming Soon!
Moviehole tells us that, according to the latest issue of Empire magazine, Freaky Friday, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen and Mean Girls star Lindsay Lohan has signed to play the lead in I Dream of Jeannie.

Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham) is directing the film for Columbia Pictures. Cormac and Marianne Wibberley wrote the script that is ready to shoot. The genie they've conjured is very different from the subservient beauty, played by Barbara Eden, who called Larry Hagman's astronaut character "master" in the NBC series that ran from 1965-70.

The film opens 2,000 years ago in Persia, where a young woman's quest to become a soldier earns her the punishment of being stuck in a bottle and sentenced to serve the first person who finds her.

[FH]

John Woo Directing Paramount's Rainbow Six
Source: Coming Soon!
John Woo (Paycheck) will direct Paramount's adaptation of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six, featuring the shadowy John Clark CIA agent character, reports Variety.

The story centers on Clark joining with several colleagues to leave the CIA and create an England-based multinational org designed to battle terrorism.

Writers who have worked on the script since 1999 include Michael Shiffer, Bill Wisher, Art Monterastelli, Frank Capello and John Enbom, who was hired in March to script.

Paramount adapted Clancy's Jack Ryan character in The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger and The Sum of All Fears and acquired rights last year to Clancy's Red Rabbit, also centered on the Ryan character. It's also developing another Clancy thriller, Without Remorse, based around the John Clark character.

[FH]

George Romero on the 4th Dead Installment
Source: MTV

Unlike the "Dawn of the Dead" remake, horror master George A. Romero promises that the zombies in "Dead Reckoning" will still move slowly. "It's about society trying to get back together and ignore the problem, like people living in an earthquake zone, people living with the threat of terrorism, and they treat the zombies like rabid-dogs or homeless people," Romero explained of the still-in-development fourth installment of the series he began with the 1968's "Night of the Living Dead. "They're trying to live in spite of this and, of course, this is very misguided."

[FH]

Harry Gets "Dirty" All Over Again
Source:
DarkHorizons



Ahhh the Warner Bros. Lot in Burbank. Behind those huge concrete walls of an indeterminate beige/pink/yellow hybrid colour lies a lot like no other, and one which 'BastardofCarolina' was visiting when he came upon this juicy rumour:

"Warner are remaking Dirty Harry. I know because I auditioned for a feature there last week and another prospect (someone you might know in fact) told me about it - information from his agent that just came down that day.

Clint Eastwood passed on doing a new Dirty Harry flick a few months back apparently, which they'd been fleshing out ideas for for several months prior. He's beyond that now obviously. So yeah, it's being remade. The idea is start from scratch and put Callahan back into his swinging 30's or something.

And you know who they want? (whether this means he'll get it or not I dunno) The Rock. Apparently Dwayne's a big fan of Eastwood's early stuff and knows about it. So the ball's in his court it seems. Ben Bratt is another. Regardless, guess he'll still have 1 bullet left in the chamber...

I shudder to think what Don Siegel would think though"