"It's nice to be able to come back here and say 'Thank you,' and this shindig is a way of doing it," said Johnny Depp..

Thursday, June 18, Johnny Depp and Co. walked the red carpet for Chicago’s premiere of Public Enemies. The notorious bank robber, John Dillinger, was shot less than 5 miles away at the Lincoln Park theater–nearly 75 years ago.

The action-er was filmed last year at locations Dillinger once frequented (including the Biograph Theater on Lincoln Avenue), providing the upcoming blockbuster a taste of the authentic. Although Wrigley Field won’t be appearing on screen, Depp also attended a Cubs game and signed autographs for fans after speaking with the media.

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Christian Bale with wife, Sibi, posing for photographers

Christian Bale, who shot Batman Begins and The Dark Knight in Chicago, had this to say of the local legend:

Dillinger was a charismatic man. He was being cheered for back then and I’m sure it will happen again now with all the fat cat factors everyone is dealing with nowadays.

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Screaming fans greet Johnny Depp

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Depp, who was the last to arrive, joined fellow stars Bale, Marion Cotillard, director Michael Mann (a Chicago-native), and a crowd of about 600 fans. [Gallery of the premiere available at The Chicago Tribune.]

Public Enemies opens July 1, 2009.

Source: Chicago Tribune

• New Public Enemies Featurette
• New Public Enemies Trailer Even Better Than The First
• New ‘Public Enemies’ Poster: Why So Serious?
• Public Enemies Review
• New Posters: Inglourious Basterds, Public Enemies, Transformers 2 & More!
• Two New Public Enemies Clips

To promote Public Enemies, Universal is launching one of the first film marketing campaigns to incorporate Facebook Connect and Twitter. Though the gaming is a little light, the social aspect has the potential to be pretty effective.

Bank Raids brings out the 1930’s John Dillinger in everyone by feeding criminal ambition, recruiting gang members and robbing banks. Gameplay generally lasts 2 to 3 minutes – since luck doesn’t last forever – but aspiring thieves can save their progress and come back to finish the job.  Buy guns and cars to make bank jobs easier and increase your notoriety, but beware: the more notorious you get, the lower the chances of successfully pulling off the job.

When you’re done playing, automatically posting updates to Facebook or Twitter takes care of the bragging for you. Although you can’t edit the text, it covers all the vital information (how many banks were raided and how much money was stolen) and includes a Twitter hashtag: #bankraids.

At the time of the post, I was at #15 on the "Top Gangsters" list but it won't last long.

Universal Pictures International’s Senior Director of Advertising/Media, Neil Wirasinha, had this to say:

Casual gaming is becoming a key form of social entertainment. Facebook Connect enables us to enhance a game like Bank Raids for Facebook users without the need to create a separate Facebook application.

It’s a cool idea: As this game makes its rounds, it has the potential to be effective in engaging users and ultimately promoting Public Enemies.

Public Enemies is out July 1, 2009. In the meantime, avoid the long arm of the law at Bank Raids.

Source: Bank Raids Official Site

• New ‘Public Enemies’ Poster: Why So Serious?
• Red Carpet Premiere for ‘Public Enemies’
• New Public Enemies Trailer Even Better Than The First
• Public Enemies Review
• New Public Enemies Featurette
• Two New Public Enemies Clips

There hasn’t been much news revolving around Batman 3 as of late, but Batman-On-Film has an article shaking fanboys to their core. It involves Christopher Nolan and whether or not he’ll be at the helm of the next installment.

As you can imagine, Warner Bros. would desperately want Nolan to return – but the deal isn’t a given. Co-writers David S. Goyer and Jonathan Nolan said they would have to convince Chris again; since The Dark Knight was his first sequel ever, asking the director to make it a trilogy is another task entirely–a task that might nearly be impossible.

According to BoF’s source, there are a number of issues at play. The death of Heath Ledger “rocked Mr. Nolan hard.” Apparently so much so that it convinced Chris “TDK was going to be it for him and Batman on film.” The source also revealed the long speculated story point that “The Joker was going to return in Batman 3,” and Ledger’s untimely death puts the franchise “back to square one.” Though BoF is saying Chris is still developing story ideas, it won’t be “until AT LEAST 2012 before we see the Caped Crusader back [in theaters].” So the bottom line, with or without Nolan, we’ve got some time–but is it too long for Warner Bros. to wait?

The studio would likely want to strike while the iron is hot, so waiting 4 years might be pushing it. Three years passed between Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008), and Nolan released The Prestige (2006) inside that time. A similar situation has been expected between TDK, Batman 3 and Inception; but the non-Batman film is set to be released in 2010, forcing a shift in the previous timeline. It also took two years to develop, shoot and promote TDK which went on to be the highest grossing film of the genre. With no established universe, like rival publisher Marvel, keeping anticipation high might not be easy, even with the success of the last film.

But the added time might turn out to be a good thing for the next Batman, and WB along with it.

Nolan already has the impossible task of topping the highest grossing film in the comic book genre – that isn’t going to change, so letting it slip off the radar wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Let fanboys and general audiences, in a sense, forget how good The Dark Knight was; get Nolan and Co. to come back with a good story [calling it The Caped Crusade, ], strong characters, and a plot that shakes audiences again.

Since owning a film studio is a money-making business I can see how having a film be delayed is a problem, but here’s something to chew on: I’d say opening box office weekend numbers are dependent on teasers and trailers, TDK had ridiculous amounts of marketing/advertising, but long-term gross is in the hands of word-of-mouth. Such is the case with the recent follow-up to Batman Begins – many people didn’t realize that TDK was a sequel. Sure, you can rope audiences by attaching a name and director (though it didn’t work for Watchmen) but give me a great film and I’ll tell all my friends, then I’ll watch it at least once with every one of them.

Not only has Nolan given fans the two best Batman films to date, he’s arguably the most acclaimed director to do a comic book movie (IMHO). Losing his storytelling to hit a release date is for me, simply out of the question.

As expected Warner Bros. has had a backup plan, a shortlist of directors to takeover the Batman franchise if the inevitable happens. Would you put plan B for the Batman franchise in motion now?

Source: Batman-on-Film

• Bale Will Do Next Batman Movie Without Nolan
• Batman 3 Status: Gary Oldman Jumped The Gun
• WB To Announce Batman 3 Plans Early Next Year?
• Chris Nolan Leaves ‘The Prisoner’ (For Batman 3?)
• Zack Snyder On Adapting The Dark Knight Returns
• What Will Batman 3 Be About?

With Heroes‘ fifth volume, “Redemption”, set to start shooting next week, the cast has been accommodating a few additions, including a new villain and a new roommate for college-bound Claire (Hayden Panettiere). Thumbs up for a new villain, but a college roommate? Great! Because the whole going-to-college storyline worked so well for Claire last season [sarcasm].

Robert Knepper, best known as bad guy “T-Bag” from Fox’s Prison Break, will continue his villainous streak as Samuel on Heroes; Madeline Zima (a.k.a. the conniving “Mia Lewis” from Showtime’s Californication), will appear in a multi-episode arc as Claire’s edgy, outsider college roommate, Gretchen.

Knepper’s Samuel will be a “Jim Jones type–charismatic but evil, with a twisted sense of humor–who will veer into the lives of all heroes.” He’s been referred to as the “Carnival Barker,” which peaks my interest beyond the solid casting choice – but then again it is Heroes, so that character/storyline could end up falling flat. Knepper is currently signed-on for at least six episodes of the shortened fourth season.

As far as Zima: No doubt she’ll be toning down the language (and other naughty aspects) of her sexually precocious counterpart on Californication, but hopefully she’ll help progress Claire’s character when the high school cheerleader [re]starts college in Washington D.C.

Judging by the preview at the end of last season, “Redemption” will likely follow our favorite Heroes trying to go back to their normal lives after the turmoil of “Fugitives”. Is it me, or do they always seem to “go back to normal life” after the turmoil of a previous arc? That kind of mundane storytelling got “Fugitives“ off to a lackluster start, IMO, and though the season picked up at the end, chances of holding that pace in order to hit-the-ground-running with “Redemption” are slim.

Even with the additions of Robert Knepper and Madeline Zima, is there reason to suspect Heroes: Redemption will be better than any of the previous volumes?

Source: Hollywood Reporter & Twitter

• Heroes: Redemption Season Premiere Review
• SDCC ‘09: Heroes Panel (Spock vs. Spock & Claire Kissing Girls)
• Does Heroes Need A Reboot?
• ‘Heroes’ Renewed For Season 4 – Do You Care?
• New Season Of Heroes To Bring ‘Redemption?’
• Heroes Premiere Discussion: What Did You Think?

With Up coming out this weekend (May 29th), you might have guessed that director Pete Docter has been doing lots of interviews and other press. In a discussion with Coming Soon, an intriguing slip lead to massive amounts of speculation. We tried to stay out of that mess until some clear(er) details were available. So what exactly is Brave you ask?

Apparently, it’s Pixar’s 2011 winter feature The Bear and the Bow.

‘Brave’, it turns out, is Pixar’s internal name for The Bear and the Bow. Writer and director Brenda Chapman (Cars, Prince of Egypt) is ‘behind the lens’ of Pixar’s first fairy tale, which stars Reese Witherspoon. The Pixar Blog reports the story is of a Scottish princess Merida, who would rather be known as a great (and brave) archer. Against her mother’s wishes, she “make[s] a reckless choice which unleashes unintended peril on her father’s kingdom and her mother’s life…”

The slip about The Bear and the Bow happened during a conversation about general work practices at the Pixar Studio. The question asked was while working on Up, did Docter have any involvement with developing pictures? His response:

Once in a while, we’re at these meetings where we all look at ‘Toy Story 3′ or ‘Brave’ or whatever and we all give comments and notes, but that’s just like a day here or there.

In other Pixar news, as many of you know by now, the studio produces two shorts for every film – one for the theatrical run (Partly Cloudly will be in front of Up) and the other for DVD/Blu-ray release, usually a spin-off using characters from the feature. SciFi Wire has word that the Blu-ray release of Up contains Dug’s Special Mission, and it’s said to be a bit of backstory on Dug the talking dog. In a sense it’ll be a prequel because it will explain what he’s doing when the main characters of Up, Carl and Russell, stumble upon him.

As far as The Bear and the Bow goes, how do you think Pixar will fair with its first fairy tale picture?

The Bear and the Bow is slate to hit theaters in the Winter of 2011.

Source: Coming Soon, The Pixar Blog, SciFi Wire

• Monsters, Inc. Sequel in the Works?
• New Image From Pixar’s Latest Short Film: ‘Partly Cloudy’
• SR Picks: Pixar Makes a Little Girl’s Dying Wish Come True
• Check Out A Full Minute Of Pixar’s ‘Up’
• Cleanse Your Palate Of MvA With These Pixar ‘Up’ Clips
• First Look At Pixar’s Newest Short Film: ‘Partly Cloudy’

Over the extended weekend I had an opportunity to see The Brothers Bloom, and I jumped at it enthusiastically. It’s currently out on limited release since May 15th and goes nationwide on May 29th.  It is the follow-up to director Rian Johnson’s acclaimed Brick and it stars Adrian Brody, Mark Ruffalo, and Rachel Weisz. We thought we’d highlight the trailer for you and give this film some of the attention it deserves.

The plot centers around the world’s greatest con men, the Brothers Bloom, who have duped millionaires with complex scenarios involving love, intrigue, double-cross and of course, slight of hand. Bloom (Brody) has grown tired of the fabricated story-lines and scripted characters his brother, Stephen (Ruffalo), has created since their youth, so big brother maps one last mark to set them up with an easy $2.5 million – but they couldn’t have anticipated a better victim than Penelope Stamp (Weisz).

At first, Stamp appears to be an easy target. She’s rich, beautiful and has a huge problem with loneliness, which is exactly what Stephen had deduced, but one of the brothers falls for her because she’s far more than that. In the trailer she delivers a line that has stuck with me since I left the theater (amongst others) and it’s : “The trick to not feeling cheated is to learn how to cheat.” She proves to be much more than they bargained for.

Check out the trailer:

[See post to watch Flash video]

Johnson, who also wrote the script, delivers a smart film at nearly every instance. Coupled with stand-out performances by Brody and Weisz, this sly picture is chock full of beautiful characters and dialogue to match. His real brother Nathan Johnson provides a soundtrack that is both magical and well performed, giving the characters life and essence to breathe within – which can be best exemplified by this six minute clip of the opening of the film:

The Brothers Bloom is a slick comedy that is both fun and inspiring, lively and easy to look at, earning it praise across the board. Expanding into wide release on May 29th, it’ll take you for a ride like any con movie should and leave you astounded as to where it finally ends up.

• Samuel L. Jackson & The Rock In ‘The Other Guys’
• The Second Trailer For Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day
• Brilliant Trailer for The Coen Bros.’ ‘A Serious Man’
• Final Trailer for Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds!
• Japanese Avatar Trailer & New TV Spot
• Latest 2012 Trailer: Impressive CGI, But Will That Be All?

This week, we’ve seen a burst of New Moon propaganda ranging from RPattz’ confirmation of a fourth Twilight movie to an MTV Movie Awards clip premiere and a new poster all to sway teen hearts. Not to be outdone, the wizards at Hogwarts have announced that Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) will also premiere a clip from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince at the MTV Movie Awards.

With a release two months away, the MTV Awards Show has become prime real estate to let fans know the Harry Potter phenomenon isn’t over. More importantly, it will finally go up against Twilight in a test of content and quality. I suspect Potter-director, David Yates, will provide a clip more polished that is geared towards getting teens to movie theater seats in two months time, and the other clip will be heavy in dialogue seeing as how New Moon only started principal photography on April 16. No word on how long each clip is, but Harry Potter does have few 30 sec. clips for your viewing pleasure.

That’s right Twilighters, Harry Potter sees your MTV clip premiere and raises you “4 New TV Spots.” What? You had a new poster this week too? Well, not to mention the plethora of Potter posters that are already out, but MSN premiered yet another poster while Warner Bros. has provided the clip originally aired on the Ellen show.

(Click for larger version)

Entitled “I’m in love with her,” the clip features Ron starstruck and having a conversation with Harry in the Hogwarts dorms. The glimpse reveals the other “villain” attacking the school of magic, teenage hormones.

[See post to watch Flash video]

My distaste for Twilight is well documented; trust me, you don’t want to walk down that road. I prefer the quality writing of J.K. Rowling and wizards, over my historic appeal for vampires. If I was forced to choose, it’s Harry Potter over Twilight any day of the week.

These TV Spots and those recent sweet character posters remind us that Voldemort is just around the corner. The Muggle and Wizard world isn’t safe and the danger creeps closer and closer, perhaps even within the Hogwarts castle. Can Dumbledore prepare Harry enough for the inevitable final battle?

Check out the clip on the MTV Movie Awards, May 31st, and hit theaters July 15th for the next installment--Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Harry Potter or Twilight? Which will have a better showing at the MTV Movie Awards? And ultimately, which will be the better movie?

Source: MTV Movie Blog, /Film, MSN

• Four New TV Spots for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Serious New Character Posters For Harry Potter 6
• HBO First Look: Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince
• New TV Spots & Photos For Harry Potter 6
• New Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince International Trailer
• Six Sweet New Posters For ‘Harry Potter 6′

In just a few hours, Quentin Tarantino will be debuting his WWII epic drama Inglourious Basterds at Cannes and contend for the prestigious Palme d’Or award. It would be his second (the first being for Pulp Fiction 15 years prior), but extra special because he’s “expecting this to be one of the high moments of [his] career.”

In an interview with Variety, Tarantino described the film festival as “the cinematic Olympics” and provided some insight on what it took to get it ready for the competition. The film had the same 10-week production schedule as Pulp Fiction, a bit fast for a period piece shot in war-torn Europe but the director would accept nothing less; he expressed the reason to work at breakneck speed.

If you’ve done a movie you’re proud of, that you might be defined by, then to me the dream is not necessarily to be there at Oscar time. That’s wonderful. But my dream is to always go to present the film at Cannes.

He went on to describe the excitement of a debut and set the stage.

Nobody has seen your film. It’s a wet print, fresh out of the lab. The entire world film press is here, and they all see it, at one time. The greatest film critics in the world, who are still critics, and they’re all fighting and debating it. When you think back on your career, it comes down to these high moments. That level of excitement is unparalleled.

The final product clocks in at 2 hours and 27 minutes, though a little shorter than some had expected with the 165-page script, and features one the of biggest stars Tarantino has directed-Brad Pitt.

It’s a little known fact that Tarantino has been discussing this project for quite some time now, but “perfect casting” has pushed this film to its finished state. On the big star, the famed director said “if Brad Pitt wasn’t famous, I’d have lobbied for him to have the role.”

Tarantino also highlights the story of casting the character of Hans Landa, the linguistic genius and cunning SS Colonel that opposes our Basterds. Christoph Waltz is a German TV actor who will be portraying the once-thought-to-be “un-playable” character; he has the biggest opportunity to become a star after one night in Cannes.

Though Inglorious Basterds is debuting at the French film festival, it’s slated for a United States release on August 21, later this year.

Will the rushed schedule affect the final product? Does Tarantino have a realistic chance to take home the Golden Palm, again?

Source: Variety

• Tarantino To Re-Edit Inglourious Basterds: Adding More?
• Inglourious Basterds Prequel?
• ‘Inglourious Basterds’ Heading To Cannes (Plus New Images)
• Inglourious Basterds New Poster & Soundtrack Info
• Tarantino Confirms Inglourious Basterds Final Runtime
• Eli Roth Is A Basterd In Tarantino’s ‘Masterpiece’

Courtesy of a Nikki Finke exclusive, it seems Marvel has its Thor. Just days after Kenneth Branagh talked about Thor casting delays, the word is Chris Hemsworth will wield the mighty Mjolnir. That’s right, Captain Kirk’s dad in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek reboot is now Marvel’s God of Thunder.

Hemsworth has had a whirlwind of a month: he was captain of a starship for 12 minutes just last week, cast as the lead in Red Dawn on Thursday, and the 25-year-old Aussie was doing an Australian TV series just last November. After 171 episodes of being “Kim Hyde” on Home and Away, he’s getting his big break with Thor -  but it took two reads for him to be chosen as Odin’s son.

Finke reports Hemsworth had read for the part before but “wasn’t given a test because a casting director had nixed him early on.” Apparently his younger brother tested for the role too, but Marvel passed. William Ward, Hemsworth’s rep and partner/founder at ROAR Management, then convinced Marvel’s executive Kevin Feige to reconsider. They let Hemsworth read again and it sure sounded like director Kenneth Branagh had a choice in mind 3 days ago, but the final decision was made today.

With Asgard as the stage, Hemsworth better brush up on his Olde English and bulk-up his body, because Thor’s winged helmet isn’t anything like that feather-weight uniform handed out by the United Federation. Marvel bringing Branagh on to helm Thor was pretty ballsy, but casting a relative-unknown to be the Norse God? Marvel might have hit it’s 2011 blockbuster hat trick.

Thor is scheduled to begin production next January with a May 20, 2011 release.

The announcement of Chris Hemsworth puts to rest months and months of speculation about who would play Thor. Do you think Hemsworth can handle the magic hammer?

Source: Nikki Finke

• Tom Hiddleston Is Thor’s Nemesis Loki
• Alexander Skarsgard Talks ‘Thor’
• Kenneth Branagh Talks Thor Casting Delays
• Marvel Movie Updates: Thor Cast Soon
• Charlie Hunnam Talks Thor Candidacy
• Thor Loves Natalie Portman!

[UPDATE: It seems that Rodriguez will be PRODUCING the movie but not DIRECTING it - and there's a tentative release date: July 7, 2010]

Remember back about two months ago when we said Predator-remake was in the works and quite possibly the worst idea ever? Today, we retract those statements… Well, maybe not entirely, but at least a little.

Why? Because Robert Rodriguez is taking the reigns not only as a producer, but also as director!

The re-titled Predators has now been confirmed with Rodriguez in the director’s chair.

Although the project is still with 20th Century Fox, things are looking a little better with the Desperado-director in the seat.

Via IESB.net comes word that a news conference was held at Troublemaker Studios (Rodriguez’s independent filmhouse) for the signing of a long-awaited reform of Texas film incentive program-HB 873. The “one-man-film-crew” had a chance to address the members of the press and clued them in to his upcoming film projects:

“I’m going to be able to shoot my upcoming Machete here, a sci-fi action film called Nervewrackers, a re-boot of the Predator series called Predators, and a couple of smaller movies called Sin City 2 and The Jetsons.”

Besides Machete, an expansion on  2007’s Grindhouse/Planet Terror fake trailer, Rodriguez has been busy with Red Sonja and Shorts. Big fans of the “mariachi-style” have plenty to look forward to.

Though it’ll be some time, he has plenty on his plate without mentioning Sin City 2, Rodriguez’ take on Predators could be worth the wait.

Might this actually be, dare I say, good – now that Rodriguez is attached?

Source: IESB

• Robert Rodriguez To Film Jetsons Movie Next Year?
• Neil Marshall To Direct Predators?
• Predators Casting Updates: Adrien Brody & More!
• Will Arnold Schwarzenegger Be In Predators?
• Predators Start Date Announced
• Nimrod Antal To Direct Predators Instead Of Neil Marshall?

• SDCC ‘09: Wanted 2 Update
• Mid-Week Movie News Wrap Up – April 17, 2009
• Mark Millar: Comic Creator, Screenwriter, Movie Director?
• Movie News Wrap Up: June 14, 2009
• Wanted 2 Director Talks Resurrecting Angelina
• ‘Kick-Ass’ Will End with Teaser for Sequel

With X-Men Origins: Wolverine a little under three weeks from release, we here at Screen Rant thought an overview of all Marvel properties (and possibilities) might be in order. Though the new independent studio is now producing their own films, solely distributed by Paramount Pictures, there are a number of iconic characters still residing at Hollywood’s other major studios.

Now that the film division of Marvel Entertainment exists, we’ve seen questions around the inter-webs about certain properties and copyrights concerning top-tier Marvel characters. Many readers have been calling for Wolverine to cameo in the expected 2012 film Avengers, but there’s a little problem with that potential geekgasm.

With 20th Century FOX co-producing the Wolvie flick, getting the character to play nice on a self-produced Marvel film is going to be rather difficult. In legal speak, Fox owns a piece of the X-Men film franchise; they have the “rights” to produce any character that frequently appears in the X-Men Universe, projects like X-Men: First Class and X-Men Origins: Magneto insure Fox will be milking that property for everything it’s possibly worth. Ultimately, any mutants like Bishop, Cable, Emma Frost, Juggernaut, Havoc, Psylocke, or Quicksilver would likely appear through a Fox-funded lens.

At one point, the character Deadpool, was at New Line Cinema (along with a story by Blade Trilogy screenwriter David Goyer). The trail for a “Merc with a Mouth” solo project went cold during production of Blade: Trinity. With the rights now at Fox, there may be new life or even a Cable/Deadpool project at some point. So it isn’t all bad news, that is of course unless you think Fox makes bad comic book movies. *hint hint, nudge nudge*

But that isn’t all – Fox’s studio also has dibs on anything Daredevil, Fantastic Four and Silver Surfer.  [For the heavy comic book readers, that means a Civil War movie is likely out of the question. Probably any "Marvel Event" is out of the question.] It’s been some time, but the wounds haven’t healed from the public’s viewing of Daredevil and Elektra. A Daredevil reboot (with Jason Statham expressing interest in becoming “The Man Without Fear”) was in the pipeline some time ago but recently the project’s been quiet. Due to outdated contracts and loopholes, Marvel has their top tier characters at Columbia Pictures, Lions Gate Entertainment, New Line Cinema and the aforementioned, Fox.

We’ve seen the flipping images of Marvel’s title sequence for a number of years now. Co-productions between the indie studio and majors began in 1998; now Blade, Ghost Rider, Man-Thing, Punisher and Spider-Man are subsequently licensed elsewhere. Thus, creative control is out of hands of its comic book roots.

The first character was Blade, at New Line Cinema. After three pictures and some legal troubles between Daywalker-actor Wesley Snipes and the studio, it looks like that film run is over. Whispers of Blade IV, or a spin-off involving the Nightstalkers, were circulating some months ago but nothing concrete has surfaced. The Spike TV series was canceled due to a number of unconfirmed reasons so the Blade property, at this point, is pretty dead – but that doesn’t really stop vampires.

As an interesting tidbit (which will be elaborated upon shortly) during an alternate ending of the first Blade, a shadowy figure on a distant rooftop wrapped in rags has said to be the Marvel’s resident vampire Morbius.

Columbia Pictures (Sony Pictures) is in control of two properties, all things Spider-Man and Ghost Rider. Last appearances of both characters was in 2007, which can explain the seemingly random development updates for a Venom solo project, Spider-Man 4 and Ghost Rider 2. If Columbia has any interest, they can take Black Cat or Carnage and introduce them in the next film; the same applies to Blackheart, Abigor, Wallow and Gressil. As a general rule, any time a studio introduces a comic book character, they have the rights to produce a spin-off or include that character in a sequel of some fashion.

So Morbius, who Spider-Man director Sam Raimi has said to be interested in interpreting, may have some problems if the character isn’t cleared with New Line Cinema.

If Columbia Pictures wanted to be a little ballsy, they could go after the entire Blade package and shoot  Midnight Sons–the fictional team of Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze, Blade, Hannibal King, Morbius and Doctor Strange. Wait… then again, should another studio (that’s not Marvel) be in charge of a project like that? Never mind.

Marvel also has regained the rights to Luke Cage from Sony Pictures, so the possibility of a Heroes for Hire movie with him and Iron Fist is not out of the question. Universal has the rights to Namor, but they may be willing to let it revert back to Marvel in exchange for distribution rights.

And the final studio that’s exercised Marvel film property, responsible for 2005’s Man-Thing and last year’s Punisher: War Zone, is Lionsgate Entertainment. After a quiet release, there’s been little movement with nature’s monstrous creature. There are few characters independently introduced through the Man-Thing comics, so there isn’t much to do in terms of a spin-off. Elsewhere, Frank Castle may be up against Barracuda in a possible sequel but no official release has been issued by the imprint. The lackluster reception, being the lowest grossing film based on a Marvel Comic property will do that to ya, gives high hopes that the project will be moved elsewhere. Keep in mind the project was just last year, so if you had hopes of Wolverine and Punisher sorting out their differences on the big screen-like yours truly-it’ll be some time.

The initial financing deal, for Marvel Entertainment, Inc., consists of $525 million for the possible production of 10 films, based on its comic book properties, over the next seven years. The debt facility will fund initial development, including scripts for each production, and they maintain sole “green light” control. Understandably there are some restrictions to taking a loan, Marvel cannot withdraw profits until after the release of the third film and only if certain financial parameters are met. The original properties for those 10 films, announced in the press release, were Captain America, Nick Fury, The Avengers, Black Panther, Ant-Man, Cloak & Dagger, Dr. Strange, Hawkeye, Power Pack and Shang-Chi. In the original press release, the budget’s ceiling is at $165 million and can have a “rating no more restrictive than PG-13.” The explanation of why Marvel had been doing everything on the cheap was apparent from its initial deal.

Looking forward, Marvel can regain their characters but it’ll be nothing short of jumping through a ring of fire. The studio can shell out truckloads of cash to buy them back or wait for box office numbers to be so bad the studio that owns them doesn’t have any interest in following them up, ie. Ang Lee’s Hulk (thanks, Universal!). Not meeting a deadline for filming the property is the easiest way – most of the contracts have a clause that allows the rights to revert back to Marvel if principle photography doesn’t begin by a certain date after the initial release or if they make an upfront payment as if they were going to start principal photography. This, in part, is the reason we see studios releasing films in rapid succession.

Here’s a breakdown of the whole thing in list form (any characters/franchises not listed are under the rights of Marvel Studios):

The possibility of Marvel having complete control of their character properties, like its comic rival DC, is a matter of time.

Coming Soon: A look back at the history of Marvel Comics on both the big and small screen.

Source: Comic Book Resources, Marvel, IMDB, NY Times, Variety

• Ghost Rider 2 Gearing Up For Production
• Marvel Pushes Back Release Dates, Spider-Man 4 Date Announced
• First Details of the Ghost Rider 2 Script
• Writer Hired For Spider-Man 5 & 6
• Venom Finds A Director?
• Disney Buys Marvel

A Deadpool project has been in the air since David S. Goyer (writer of Blade-Trilogy, Batman Begins/The Dark Knight) did a script while Blade was in production, but now with X-Men Origins: Wolverine a few weeks from release, buzz of a solo flick has ramped up. Deadpool creator Robert Liefeld recently chimed in, adding fuel to the fire.

Liefeld is the mastermind behind a few pivotal characters besides Deadpool: he’s the reason why Marvel has Cable and X-Force. Though he’s faced criticism in the comic book industry, lately he’s been dabbling in a little screen writing and being involved with film. Via Twitter, he’s posted a few notes about the upcoming Wolverine origin piece and Deadpool’s solo arc.

Also, talked to producers of ‘Wolverine’ yesterday and they said that there are definite plans to spin off ‘Deadpool’ if the box office works

He also reminded us that the leaked Wolverine workprint is incomplete.

“The Deadpool re-shoots with Ryan Reynolds aren’t in the bootlegged version. audience test response warranted more Deadpool in the pic!”

Now I’m all for a solo movie of the “Merc with a Mouth,” he deserves one. But I’m also inclined to be skeptical. From the footage screened, and the whispers of plot details heard, the movie version of Deadpool manifests very differently than his comic book counterpart. That’s not a good thing. Aside from Deadpool’s signature black comedy, he’s uniquely the only character in the Marvel Universe who knows he’s in a comic book. The recently released video profile of Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool didn’t really feel like it did the necessary research of the comics. The essence is there, but it’s very faint.

Fox could always re-tell his story through the solo project and “fix what they’ve done,” but previous interviews have Reynolds saying he is the character that eventually becomes Deadpool. If they want to really pursue a Deadpool spinoff, they cannot ruin the character or a boycott is sure to ensue.

Will Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool deliver the goods?

Nevertheless, Liefeld insures us the character is intact–via the 140-character Twitter format.

“The question I am getting asked the most nowadays, especially at conventions, is how do I feel about Deadpool in the ‘Wolverine’ movie

My answer is, I’m thrilled he’s in the movie, his character is true to the comic and I’m pleased with how he is presented. But I also remind

everyone that the movie is called “Wolverine” and not Deadpool. I hear rumors that they put more Deadpool in the final cut. fingers crossed

It’s also cool to see Gambit coming to the big screen, he looks cool, feels like 90’s all over again. Next up….Cable? Domino….? Please.”

I’d love to see a comic book character that knows he’s now in a movie, but if Watchmen is a sign, niche comic books don’t make “successful” films (that is, in box office terms).

Do you think Deadpool is worthy of a  big screen solo project? And if so, how should he be portrayed?

Source: MTV Splash Page, via Twitter

• A Deadpool Spinoff? How About ‘Cable & Deadpool?’
• Ryan Reynolds Talks Deadpool & Spinoff Possibilities
• Deadpool Movie Updates & Confirmations
• Fox Building on Wolverine’s Mojo With Deadpool Movie
• X-Men Origins: Wolverine Concept Art of Deadpool, Sabretooth & More
• Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool Will Smash The Fourth Wall

If you caught last night’s Heroes (and didn’t skip through the commercials), you would’ve seen glimpses of Universal Pictures’ political thriller, State of Play. Based on a BBC Television mini-series, the film revolves around a team of investigative reporters work with a police detective to solve the murder of a research assistant/mistress to potential presidential candidate, U.S. Congressman Stephen Collins. Filled with drama and conspiracy, the film features a number of great actors including: Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams and Helen Mirren.

State of Play is directed by Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland), the screenplay is written by Matthew Michael Carnahan (Lions for Lambs, The Kingdom), Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton, Bourne-series), and Billy Ray (Breach, Flightplan). Judging by the scribes involved, State of Play has potential to be a heart-pumping meeting of the minds.

Official Synopsis:

Oscar® winner Russell Crowe leads an all-star cast in a blistering thriller about a rising congressman and an investigative journalist embroiled in an case of seemingly unrelated, brutal murders.  Crowe plays D.C. reporter Cal McCaffrey, whose street smarts lead him to untangle a mystery of murder and collusion among some of the nation’s most promising political and corporate figures in State of Play, from acclaimed director Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland).

Handsome, unflappable U.S. Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) is the future of his political party: an honorable appointee who serves as the chairman of a committee overseeing defense spending.  All eyes are upon the rising star to be his party’s contender for the upcoming presidential race.  Until his research assistant/mistress is brutally murdered and buried secrets come tumbling out.

McCaffrey has the dubious fortune of both an old friendship with Collins and a ruthless editor, Cameron (Oscar® winner Helen Mirren), who has assigned him to investigate.  As he and partner Della (Rachel McAdams) try to uncover the killer’s identity, McCaffrey steps into a cover-up that threatens to shake the nation’s power structures.  And in a town of spin-doctors and wealthy politicos, he will discover one truth: when billions are at stake, no one’s integrity, love or life is ever safe.

Ben Affleck in scene from State of Play

Russell Crowe looking scruffy in State of Play

Rachel McAdams with her best “mom look” in State of Play

Although we cover more of the sci-fi/superhero/action genres, the State of Play trailer piqued our interest:

[See post to watch Flash video]

Looks like a good solid drama to tide us over until the flood of superhero & sci-fi goodness arrives in May.

State of Play hits theaters on April 17th. You can catch more about the film at StateOfPlayMovie.net.

• State Of Play Review
• Hall & Hamm Go To “Town” With Ben Affleck
• New Posters For ‘Wolverine’, ‘Up’ And ‘State Of Play’
• Weekend Movie News Wrap Up: April 26, 2009
• New Poster & Trailer for ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife’
• Weekend Movie News Wrap Up: April 19, 2009

With the U.S. release of Dragonball approaching, MTV Splash Page has exclusives that will make die-hard fans cringe. Hints of how adaptation was handled are here, it doesn’t look good.

Already released in various places around the globe, the marketing team keeps peddling this movie despite the negative press. The last time we checked, we had 5 character-centric TV spots and a name change but this time we get a little closer with actual scenes. Full of cheesy dialog, terrible acting and bad fight scenes, the three clips are excruciating to watch. You have been warned.

Goku and Chi Chi don’t meet at the World Martial Arts Tournament, but at high school. Awesome.

Sans-Turtleshell Roshi explains details to Goku and Bulma. Great.