Oct 26 2009 Coming Soon: Something with Animated Peacocks!

Yes, something about computer-animated peacocks! Warner Bros. is keeping quiet with plot details of the Austin Winsberg and Heath Corson script, but this much and literally nothing else is known: peacocks.

As more details become available (when in the trailer a peacock will be startled, pause for a beat, then suddenly, comically erupt its rear plumage; which peacock sounds like Ben Stiller), I'll be sure to let you know.

Sep 10 2009 Warner Bros. Outgrow Their He-Men

Trailing behind year-old news that Warner Brothers' plans for another He-Man feature film were effectively dead, WB and toy-makers Mattel have not renewed the studio's control of the toy line, giving Mattel the ability to take the project other places. Says Variety:

Warner Bros. and Mattel will be parting company on “Masters of the Universe,” the live-action reinvention of the signature Mattel toy line that WB and producer Joel Silver have been developing since 2007.

Mattel and WB didn’t see eye to eye over the direction of the project and made a mutual decision to let the option lapse this month. The film revolves around He-Man, a prince who becomes a warrior who battles the evil Skeletor for control of his magical homeland.

Mattel will take back the property and set it up elsewhere. The expectation is that director John Stevenson (“Kung Fu Panda”) will stay, but not Silver, who is exclusive to WB.

Maybe now that Mattel can develop the futuristic barbarian the way they want, this He-Man movie might finally get made--and could even be a... victory?

(Thanks, Wallace.)

Sep 9 2009 One More Logo To Look At Before Batman Movies: Warner Forms DC Entertainment

In an desperate effort to compete with the recent Marvel/Disney merger, DC Comics parent company Warner Bros. has decided to overhaul the company into "DC Entertainment," a single unit that will control DC's properties and give them more synergies and vertical integrationings (business terms).

Here are some hollow, meaningless words from the official statement:

DC Comics and its super hero characters are truly touchstones of popular culture, and the formation of DC Entertainment is a major step in our company's efforts to realize the full potential of this incredible wellspring of creative properties

I hope the broad term "entertainment" includes elements of breakfast. It's about time someone makes a Batman waffle maker, which would make waffles shaped like Batman.

Sep 3 2009 Every Comic Character I Thought Was Awesome in 6th Grade Becomes a Movie

A Venom movie, Youngblood movie, and now a Lobo movie?

Warner Bros. has locked Guy Ritchie to direct “Lobo,” the live action adaptation of the DC Comics drama about an alien interstellar bounty hunter.

Production on “Lobo” begins early next year. The character originated in 1983 in “Omega Men,” written by Roger Slifer and Keith Giffen. Lobo has had several comic incarnations. In the film, he is a seven-foot tall, blue-skinned, indestructible and heavily muscled anti-hero who drives a pimped out motorcycle, and lands on Earth in search of four fugitives who are bent on wreaking havoc. Lobo teams with a small town teenaged girl to stop the creatures.

WB is aiming for a PG-13 rating. Pic will be strong on visual effects, and Ritchie will bring the irreverent, gruff tone of past films like "Snatch" and "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels."

Lobo creator Keith Giffen once said in an interview, "I came up with him as an indictment of the Punisher, Wolverine, bad ass hero prototype and somehow he caught on as the high violence poster boy." So the idea of Guy Ritchie using his Snatchiness to make the character both an uber-bad-ass and drastically toned down to a PG-13 rating is, really, doubly unfaithful. Well done, Hollywood. Your interests in fulfilling fan desires have reached new levels of willful obliviousness.

Aug 21 2009 Bryan Singer to Re-Document Europe's Greatest Sword

Bryan Singer, the man working a confusing reimagining of Battlestar Galactica that disregards Sci Fi's already-reimagined Battlestar Galactica, has announced his intentions for further remaking:

Warner Bros. and Bryan Singer are unsheathing "Excalibur," redoing the 1981 John Boorman movie about King Arthur and the Knights of the Roundtable.

The project is still in the early stages, with Warners only tying up the remake rights, which it shares with Boorman. Singer's involvement is still in the talking stage and Legendary Pictures may come aboard the project.

The 1981 movie starred Nigel Terry as Arthur and Cherie Lunghi as Guenevere and featured early performances from Liam Neeson, Patrick Stewart and Gabriel Byrne. The movie told the well-known myth, in a gritty and dramatic fashion, of the young man who draws the sword Excalibur from a stone, is mentored by Merlin, establishes Camelot, loses his wife, Guenevere, to his best friend, Lancelot, and engages in the quest for the Holy Grail.

Now, I don't understand legal mumbo jumbo (I understand it so little that when I say "legal mumbo jumbo," I shake my hands around and kind of make a goofy face, to show how little I understand it), but it seems weird that you'd need the rights to remake Excalibur. Isn't the plot straight-up Arthurian legend? I'm pretty sure you could remake Excalibur and just not tell anyone you've remade Excalibur and, unless you used the exact same script, probably no one would call it out. And if someone did, just say, "Actually, no, this is not a rip-off of Excalibur; my film is influenced by the '90s animated series King Arthur and the Knights of Justice, only I took out the part where Arthur and his knights were all high school football players from the future."

Aug 12 2009 'Lego: The Movie' Coming, Followed by 'Lego: The Movie' Legos, Followed by 'Lego Lego: The Movie' the Video Game

Though former Lego maniac Zack's participation is still unclear, Variety is reporting Warner Bros. has plans to movie ahead with a movie based on your favorite Danish, inter-lockable, plastic bricks:

Scribes Dan and Kevin Hageman are penning the script for the family comedy that will mix live action and animation. Warners is keeping the plot tightly under wraps, but it's described as an action adventure set in a Lego world.

[Lego] sparked to Lin and the Hageman brothers' embrace of core values Lego wanted to include in a film, especially "a fun factor, creativity and that imagination has no boundaries," [producer Dan] Lin told Daily Variety. The film's been in development for more than a year, with the scribes and producers making several trips to Denmark to work with Lego's execs on the concept.

I can appreciate they're trying to focus on the "fun factor, creativity, and imagination" that give Lego such enduring popularity, but they're forgetting one crucial element: frustration. The only way to write a truly faithful Lego movie script is to write all the possible plot elements on the sides of Legos, toss them into giant tub, and make the writers put it together. Let's see how they work it out when the piece they wanted for the ending is on one of those little translucent bits that they'll never find because it was lost in the carpet hours earlier.

May 1 2009 Here Comes a 'Death Note' Movie

Warner Bros. has acquired the rights to Death Note, the manga series about a magical, convenient method of murder-by-Post-It. Live-action adaptation time! From Variety:

Story centers on a college student who accidentally finds a misplaced "death note," infusing him with the power to kill merely by writing anyone's name on the page while picturing the person in his mind.

The 13-volume manga is a bestseller in Japan, and the film will be drawn from the first three installments, written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata for Shueisha Inc.

Which is going to make fans angrier: when Zac Efron is cast in the lead or when the physical notes are changes to text messages?

Apr 6 2009 Second 'Hangover' Coming Before You Can Recover from the First

Warner Bros. is hoping you're up for further man-child post-debauchery adventures before even you've seen the original man-child post-debauchery adventures: the studio has already started moving forward with a sequel to The Hangover:

In a multimillion-dollar commitment, Warner Bros. has set “The Hangover” director Todd Phillips to write a sequel with Scot Armstrong.

The dealmaking comes two months before the first “Hangover” goes out through WB on June 5.

In the comedy, groomsmen take the betrothed for a last fling in Las Vegas, then become so caught up in the revelry that they lose the groom.

While studios often wait to see box office results before committing to a sequel, “The Hangover” has tested strongly, and a trailer brought down the house at ShoWest.

Seeing that Three Men and a Baby was deemed fit to birth Three Men and a Little Lady, I can find no reason to complain that this far more promising comedy about three irresponsible guys caring for an infant is being prematurely handed a sequel. Carry on, everyone.

Mar 23 2009 Warner Gets in the DVD Burning Business

Following in the footsteps of my download-crazy friend in college, Warner Bros. has announced a new on-demand service where they will burn DVDs, complete with packaging, for you:

The studio's home entertainment division has come up with an innovative plan to allow custom ordering of 150 films never before released on DVD. Dubbed the Warner Archive Collection, an online vault of films including 1942's "Once Upon a Honeymoon," starring Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers, and 1947's "Possessed," with Clark Gable and Joan Crawford, can be tapped by consumers visiting WarnerArchive.com.

Upon the selection and purchase of a title -- at $19.95 per disc -- Warners will burn, package and ship the DVD to customers for receipt within an estimated five days. The studio plans to increase initial inventory in its virtual vault by 20 titles per month and make more than 300 film and TV titles available online by year's end.

Why not just make them available for downloading or streaming? In this video-on-demand age, this is printing out emails for grandma. But I guess, seeing that grandmas are probably one of the biggest audiences for 1942's Once Upon a Honeymoon, that makes some sense. Just make sure grandma can somehow order these DVDs during her weekly Walmart trip.

Warner Bros. customizing DVD purchases [THR]

Mar 13 2009 Pennywise is Coming Back for Me in My Adulthood

A friend recently said that what's scary about clowns is that "beneath that make-up lies the most dangerous monster of all: man." An accurate statement, but what's also scary is when, as a kid, your parents allowed you to watch Tim Curry spawn fangs while in a Bozo costume, and you grow up worrying all clowns may possess this dark power.

Now an entirely new generation of our youth will have the chance to know this irrational fear:

Warner Bros. is doing "It," tapping Dave Kajganich to adapt Stephen King's novel, with Dan Lin and Vertigo's Roy Lee and Doug Davison producing.

"It" centers on seven children in a small Maine town who confront the source of a series of murders in 1958 and again in 1985, when the cycle begins again.

The novel was previously adapted into a 1990 ABC miniseries.

Kajganich is also writing "Escape From New York" for Neal Moritz and New Line and "True Story" for Plan B to produce at Paramount Vantage, with Kevin McDonald attached to direct.

It's fashionable, and usually justified, to get down on remakes, but surely a new Hollywood adaptation has at least as much potential as a 1990 ABC miniseries starring Harry Anderson and The Waltons guy with the birthmark. Let's give the kids one more villainous clown, yeah?

Mar 13 2009 'Jurassic Park' ... with Aliens!

I love movies about recreational facilities in which man oversteps ethical boundaries to bring scientific wonderment to the masses! Thankfully there's a new film with just such a theme, being described as Jurassic Park with aliens:

Warner Bros. and Unique Features partners Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne have set Joe Stillman to write "Alien Zoo," a high-concept family comedy.

Based on an original idea by [producer Dylan] Sellers, the concept is "Jurassic Park" with aliens. The film will be live-action with CGI.

Stillman's recent script credits include the first two "Shrek" films; the upcoming Jack Black starrer "Gulliver's Travels"; the animated film "Area 51," which Sony releases this fall with Dwayne Johnson as the lead voice; and "Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief," which will be directed by Chris Columbus.

Oh. I thought we were talking about Wayne Knight smuggling alien DNA in a Barbasol canister while our heroes narrowly escape ray gun fire and the banner announcing "When martians invaded the earth!" symbolically drifts to the ground. A funky green alien teaching a human boy about universal compassion while a new song by Smashmouth fades in is not the Jurassic Park with aliens I was looking for.

Oh well. We all knew my hypothetical version would have inevitably ended with a shot where you learn our universe itself is an alien's zoo for man anyway.

Joe Stillman joins 'Alien Zoo' [Variety]

Feb 25 2009 Still Going Ahead with That 'Yogi Bear' Movie

After close to five months of silence about Warner Brothers' plans for a Alvin and the Chipmunks-style (worst style) Yogi Bear adaptation, I was starting to get my hopes up that maybe the studio had forgotten about it, or at least that they'd switched to making my idea for a revamped Speed Buggy. Not the case, though. They were just waiting to lock down the director of Journey to the Center of the Earth 3-D:

Eric Brevig is picking up Yogi Bear's pic-a-nic basket.

The director has come on to helm Warner Bros.' feature take on the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon, which will be produced as a 3-D project.

The WMA-repped Brevig, a longtime visual effects supervisor whose credits include "The Day After Tomorrow" and "Men in Black," directed Warners and Walden's "Journey to the Center of the Earth," a 3-D pic that earned more than $230 million worldwide in the summer.

Sounds like Brendan Fraser just got odds for playing Ranger Smith, meaning the chances of this being unwatchable just went from "almost definitely" to "George of the Jungle."

Eric Brevig to helm Yogi Bear feature [THR]

Feb 12 2009 Nolan's Next Not One of Those Batmen

Variety reports Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan will begin production on a new film this summer, but, strangely, the announcement comes without any mention of a Batman character:

In a whopping seven-figure buy, Warner Bros. has nabbed "Inception," a script written by Christopher Nolan as his next directing vehicle.

Deal allows WB to keep the director of its 2008 top-grosser "The Dark Knight" in the studio fold and gives WB a big film for summer 2010.

Nolan will begin production this summer on the project that Warner describes as a contemporary sci-fi actioner set within the architecture of the mind.

What? I don't understand. Like Nolan would rather work on a personal project than a franchise that's been built up so beyond his reach that he'll probably never be able to make an entirely satisfactory sequel? Fair enough, Chris, we've all wanted to explore the architecture of the mind, but don't be surprised when you read that you've replaced Christian Bale with a trained dog. Given enough time to invent rumors, the internet will say everything.

Jan 28 2009 Tomb Raider Will Be a Movie Again

Warner Bros., like many of us, is looking for a woman with full, pouty lips and disproportionately large breasts. The studio has announced they're planning to restart the Tomb Raider franchise, ignoring the previous Angelina Jolie-starring messes:

Warners Bros. and producer Dan Lin are in early development on a a reboot of "Tomb Raider," the popular video game action franchise.

Paramount previously made the two movies based on the game, but the rights have since reverted to Eidos. When Time Warner upped its stake to 19.92% in Eidos in December, films rights to the property were included as part of the deal.

The new project, however, is expected to revamp the character and her mission and bear little resemblance to the original pictures. It will reimagine the origins of the character, her love interest and the main villain.

As an open-writing assignment, the project is still in its nascent stages. An actress who could play the role Angelina Jolie made famous would likely come on after a writer and director are attached.

Phew! I was worried I'd only see more real-life Lara Croft in the countless photos and videos that emerge after every video game expo and comic convention that features a promotional appearance by a model dressed as the character. Because whenever I see those, I'm always thinking, "This is OK, seeing a busty model in short shorts squat beside a bevy of nerds, but I wish there was a ludicrous plot to go with it."

Maybe I'm being too hard on the idea, though. Warner Bros. is the studio responsible for the hugely-successful Batman relaunch, so maybe they'll get this one right too (larger, more-exposed boobs, and adding the Joker).

Lara Croft to return to the big screen [THR]

Jan 27 2009 Samson is Coming... to the FUTURE!

Bibles stories are BORING, right? WRONG. You're thinking of Biblical stories that aren't set IN THE FUTURE. Variety is reporting that Warner Bros. had paid over a million dollars (that is so much) for pitch that puts a futuristic spin on the Samson and Delilah story:

In a seven-figure upfront deal, Warner Bros. has acquired "Samson," a pitch for a futuristic retelling of the Samson and Delilah story.

WB prevailed in a three-studio bidding battle. The seven-figure deal comes despite a sluggish year so far for deals on material. Aside from a strong writer and director, the project sparked bidding because it had a big idea that can be shaped into a tentpole project in which the concept is the star.

Scott Silver will write the script, and Francis Lawrence will direct. Erwin Stoff will produce through 3 Arts.

I can see the teaser already...

Title: From the people who brought you I Am Legend

A familiar voice-over: "Delilah X, never cut these hairlike tubes of fluid that feed futuristic super strength serum into my head."

Cut to: A bald Will Smith screaming in agony.

Title: SAMSON

And before you know it, it's made $200 million.

Jan 16 2009 Phew, That 'Watchmen' Lawsuit Thing is Done

Well, you can stop worrying that Watchmen won't make its March 6 release because of the legal battle over rights. Deadline Hollywood and several other sources (thanks, everyone, for sending things here) are reporting a settlement has been reached between Warner Bros. and Fox:

The deal is finally done, and Warner Bros' highly anticipated Watchmen -- based on the comic book series/graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons -- won't be held hostage. I'm hearing that in tonight's settlement, Fox will not be an active distributor of the pic, but will receive up to 8 1/2% gross participation in the pic, and a piece of everything going forward including a sequel or spinoff, and a cash payment upfront including recoupment of its development costs and attorney fees, and god-only-knows what else.

Good thing they got the sequel and spinoff rights sorted as well. I don't want to go through this again for Watchmen 2, 3, & 4.

Jan 9 2009 Maybe We'll Get to See 'Watchmen' After All

Good news for everyone who's hoping Watchmen will keep its March 6 release date (pretty much everyone who would bother reading this site): attorneys on both sides have asked a federal judge to delay hearing today because settlement discussions have been so productive.

Attorneys for rival studios fighting over the release of the superhero flick told a federal judge on Friday that they're having fruitful settlement talks.

Attorneys for 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. asked the judge to delay a hearing Friday so those discussions can continue over the weekend.

U.S. District Judge Gary Allen Feess agreed to continue the hearing but says a trial over whether to block the film's March release is still set for Jan. 20.

Lou Karasik, who is representing Fox, told Feess that the delay would be "very, very helpful" to settlement discussions he deemed "productive."

Sadly, discussions may lose steam when attorneys actually start talking numbers, as the "productive" talks thus far have been limited to both sides agreeing that Watchmen is the best graphic novel ever and should really be respected as a work of serious fiction, not just a comic book.

And that's today's Watchmen legal update. (Thanks, Brandi.)

Attorneys: 'Watchmen' settlement talks productive [Yahoo!]

Dec 30 2008 'Watchmen' Legal Woes Update

On Christmas Eve, Fox and Warner's battle over Watchmen rights took a decidedly pro-Fox turn when the judge on the case wished Warner Bros. Merry Christmas (said really sarcastically), ruling Fox does have a copyright stake in the film's release. Now Warner is calling B. shit and Fox is threatening to delay the film's planned March release. Happy New Year (again, really sarcastic):

In a defiant statement issued Monday, Warners said it was prepared to go to trial or to appeal last week's ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Gary Feess, who stated that the studio had infringed on Fox's copyright in making the adaptation of the Alan Moore superhero graphic novel.

"We respectfully but vigorously disagree with the court's ruling and are exploring all of our appellate options," the studio said. "We continue to believe that Fox's claims have no merit and that we will ultimately prevail, whether at trial or in the Court of Appeals."

Fox, meanwhile, is looking for an injunction against the March 6, 2009, release of the movie.

Monday's events seem to be a speed bump to a costly settlement, with the hardline postures likely a strategic move for both sides more than anything else. Fox, which finally snapped a long boxoffice losing streak with "Marley & Me," gains most with a settlement, not a blocked release; the studio is already taking a beating in the geek blogosphere for messing with a fan-favorite property. Warners, meanwhile, could be on the hook for millions for developing and then filming a movie in which the film's producer, Larry Gordon, didn't pay Fox turnaround fees after allegedly reacquiring rights to the property.

Oh, brother. Can't they just settle it the old fashioned way, with each side placing an animal of a pre-decided species into a sack and seeing which competitor emerges? America was built on Animal Sack Wars. Let's continue the great tradition and get this inevitably-disappointing movie into theaters.

Fox will fight for 'Watchmen' delay [THR]

Dec 3 2008 Studio Logos: What's the Story?

If you've ever watched the studio logos opening a feature film and wondered, Columbia Pictures Lady: friend or foe?, I've got something for you. Neatorama has put together an informative piece on several of the big Hollywood studio logos, the histories behind them, and their variations throughout the years, laying out the stories behind the MGM lion, the Paramount mountain, and more. Sadly, the Nickelodeon Studios logo was left off the list, so we may never learn the full story behind a clusterfuck of orange shit.

Dec 2 2008 UPDATED: That's That for Batman (in Theaters)

I hope you got your watching Batman on a giant screen out of the way this summer: Warner Bros. has dropped plans for its January rerelease of The Dark Knight in IMAX theaters. Worse yet for people who care a bizarre amount about box office profits, the film has earned $996.1 million worldwide, so it looks like, without the rerelease, its gross is going to fall just shy of a billion dollars. Unless their Dark Knight candy drive is incredibly successful.

UPDATE: Never mind. It's still happening. (Thanks, ed)

WB Drops The Dark Knight Rerelease Plans [Superhero Hype]