|
|
Planet Buzz 01-22-02
Comics:
Something About Killing The Goose That Lays Golden Eggs…
DC Direct announced this week that it will release four action figures from The Authority. Apollo (whose prototype looked best and thus the one worth picturing here), The Midnighter, The Engineer, and Jenny Sparks will all be immortalized in plastic on August 21, 2002. If they end up as coolly produced as the Planetary figures, these will be a great set and yet another huge drain on my budget.
Meanwhile, no one at DC seems to know what they're really going to do with The Authority, nor even if the current story arc will ever see publication.
Let's see. Demand is high, worth creating ancillary products, but DC won't publish the actual book. Nope. It just doesn't add up. Maybe Bill Jemas can explain it to me.
X-Factor Revealed, Sort Of…
Comic Book Resources snagged an interview with writer Jeff Jensen, the man who will scribe the relaunch of X-Factor as a four issue mini-series. With the original X-Factor team all busy elsewhere in the Xiverse, Jensen has a new take.
According to the writer, it's "'X-Men meets Mississippi Burning meets The X-Files.' It is indeed dark; but ultimately, it's a very hopeful book, about two very damaged adults on a long, painful struggle toward redemption and some sort of peace -- with themselves, with the world around them. 'X-Factor' is an epic mystery, marked by politics, religion, murder, and most curiously, prosthetic limbs. And yes, there are X-Men in this book. Cyclops, Jean Grey, Nightcrawler, Wolverine and Beast play crucial roles."
For the complete interview, and more on Jensen himself, head over to Comic Book Resources.
Movies:
But…But…He Only Comes Out Every 23 Years…
Writer/director Victor Salva has begun working on Like A Bat Out Of Hell: Jeepers Creepers 2. Said to follow a busload of college football players being stalked by The Creeper, MGM has put out an open casting call for the team.
Gina Philips and Jonathan Breck will reprise their roles from the original, with Philips still trying to hunt down The Creeper and avenge her brother's death.
The Annual Taunt and Tease
Cornered separately after the Golden Globes ("Hollywood's Biggest Party!"), both Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg claimed that Indiana Jones IV is next on their list of priorities.
For what has to be at least the third year running, Spielberg even claimed they have a script that everyone really likes. Ford did not make a similar pronouncement, saying only that he really, really wants to do another one.
If they're smart, they'll call it Indiana Jones and The Goblet of Fire and make that cheeky Harry Potter cry.
Television:
Will Mulder Be Ready For a Close-up?
A spokesperson for David Duchovny has declared that the mercurial actor is willing to return for the series finale of The X-Files. It's an abrupt turnabout, since as recently as November Duchovny claimed he would only be interested in doing a sequel to the movie.
Maybe it was that whole lame stand-in from a distance thing the show did a few weeks ago that convinced him that really, he needed to be there. Or maybe he started taking his medication. At any rate, the biggest obstacle to his return right now is the scrilla. Duchovny has a lawsuit pending against creator Chris Carter and Fox, claiming that he had been cheated out of his fair share of profits from the show's sale to secondary markets.
While that remains unresolved, interestingly enough the FX Network offered up their rights to the show, hoping that SCI FI might buy out their contract at a higher rate. And why does Duchovny think he has been cheated? Because Fox sold the rights to the FX Network for a low-ball price.
Coincidence? Or conspiracy?
Who cares, as long as we get Mulder back for the finale and another big screen outing.
Where M2 Means Something Totally Different…
MTV has confirmed this week that they will air a new Spider-Man CGI animated series. Likely to follow the events of Sam Raimi's film adaptation, the series will feature Peter Parker as a college student and webmaster for The Daily Bugle. The webmaster part, of course, comes from the mind of Brian Michael Bendis, who has long been rumored to have had a hand in the series' development.
Look for incessant advertising and promos sometime in May, though the network did not announce a firm start date for the series.
Because The Dead Still Want To Talk…
The syndicated version of Crossing Over With John Edwards has been renewed for a second season. One of the creepiest talk shows ever, each episode features John Edwards "tuning in" to the dead loved ones of audience members and passing on information and general messages of comfort.
Whether you believe in Edwards or not, the show makes for some fascinating viewing, especially since the host looks and sounds so unlike what people expect from a psychic. It will also continue its nightly run on SCI FI, which will also continue shooting new episodes..
Superman Vs. Spider-Man May Have Been Easier…
The New York Daily News interviewed Joss Whedon recently, and the writer/director/creative madman spilled that he would like to do a Buffy/Angel cross-over next season, now that the two shows have firmly found their legs on separate networks.
Of course, because they are on separate networks, Whedon has no idea how he will actually pull it off, especially since his relationship with the WB soured a bit over renewing Buffy.
