About Heroes @ Comic Con 2010: The Walking Dead panel

Fans of Kirkmans book...get ready to be VERY happy.

Before we got to seeing some footage, we were first introduced to the creative team to the show.

Director/Writer Frank Darabont, The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman, Producer Gale Anne Hurd, Make up efx master Greg Nicotero, and head of AMC SVP of original programing Joel Stillerman.

A quick roundup on some of the information we got:

-Gale (having a hand in a few comic-to-movie properties) got involved after hearing the popularity of the series and then reading the book.

-Darabont, a huge horror fan, discovered the series at his local comic shop. Upon reading it he realized that the story that series was telling was the apporach he wanted to do for a zombie movie, a genre he's been trying to figure out.

-Stillerman loved the idea of the series, BUT he loved the talent that was already involved (i.e. when your script says it's written by Frank Darabont and when you find out that the producer is Gale Anne Hurd, you might want to make that show happen.)

-They also annouced that the score of the show would be done by Bear McCreary, the composer for Battlestar Galactica.

Soon, they finally showed the reel.

The first scene we get is the first scene from the comics. Sheriff Deputy Rick Grimes and his partner Shane have a blockade in the middle of the road, as a run away car comes straight towards them.

The police blow out the tires and soon the car is tumbling over to the side of the road.

A shoot out with the crimals erupts, ending with Rick getting shot and knocking out.

Suddenly, Rick wakes up alone in a hospital (yeah, yeah, we know, we know “Just like 28 Days Later...”)

We soon see the nightmare that Rick as woken up from.

The reel shows scenes with Morgan(played by Lennie James) a survior that finds Rick, a few quick scenes with Lori, Carl(!), and Amy in the survivor camp, Rick walking around dead bodies stacked on top of each other, Rick riding a horse in the middle of Atlanta...oh, and ZOMBIES. Tons, and TONS of zombies.

Great stuff, and the look as this classic cinematic feel to it.

After the footage was shown, some of the cast came to the panel and joined the stage...

Andrew Lincoln (who plays Rick Grimes), Sarah Wayne Callies (Lori Grimes), Jon Bernthal (Shane), Laurie Holden (Andrea), and Emma Bell (Amy). Micheal Rooker was hanging in the audience as he will be playing Merle Dixon (a new character made for the show I believe).

Heres a quick breakdown on the Q and A:

-Andrew Lincoln( whos brittish) got wind of the project after his agent gave him the sides. He went to his local comic shop in England and found out that the comic is the stores biggest seller.

-Lincoln auditioned his scenes with Jon Bernthal(who had his dog with him) in Frank Darabonts garage! Lincoln credits Bernthal dog for getting him the part.

-Sarah Wayne Callies blames Greg Nicotero for ruining her life! She points out that up until recently she had no scenes with the zombies yet. After finally sharing screen time with the undead, she's had nightmares since. Funny moment during the panel was that a few Zombies (or Roamers) were walking near the stage, Callies was freaking just a little.

-Frank hopes that some legendary horror directors (::coughGeorgeRamerocough:::) could work on the show in it's second season.

-Fan favorites Micchone won't show up in the show till the second season. (Though Darabont is DYING to bring that character to life)

-The show is shot on Super 16mm, giving it that classic grainy look.

-The chacter of Tyrese will show up in second season too. Darabont , while auditioning actors for Morgan apparently saw plenty of guys he would be great for the part (Kirkman jokes that the show would have 3 Tyrese's)

-The show will follow the series pretty closely, but “vering off the path” to introduce new ideas, Darabont says they will make sure that they will go back to the path that Kirkman left.

-The DVD could have the option (at least for the pilot episode) to watch in black and white!

A great panel for sure.

The Walking Dead comes out in October on AMC.

The Walking Dead Cast Also revealed!

Not sure if you dug the Green Lantern costume? How about a cool pic from The Walking Dead show?

Picture came from io9.com.

Yeah, thats pretty awesome. Anyone else still can't believe this show is actually happening?

Mortal Kombat: REBIRTH?? What is this?

So, this mysterious video poped up on YouTube recently.

As of now, no one knows where it came from or why it exsist.

Why not watch it first and we'll discuss after....

Pretty crazy right? A Mortal Kombat movie with NO magic in it.

Rumors have been running pretty high on what this thing is. Is it a fancy promo for a new game? Is it just another fan film but with some great production value and some big names? OR, is this a pitch to make into a new film?

My thoughs? The video itself looks great. The fight scene is awesome. It's fun seeing how they tie all the game elements and make a "real" world take, and the idea of making Scorpion the lead is intriguing to say the least.

But, is this the right way to do it? Can this work as a feature film before the we get tired of waiting for the next reimagined character or reference? If this is just a game promo, would fans of the game accept this new take?

What do you guys think?

A Kick Ass director to work on X-Men First Class

Variety reports it here"":http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118018731.html?categoryid=13&cs=1&ref=vertfilm

I'm actually really surprised by this news.

Heres a history recap...

Vaughn was set to direct X-Men 3, but due to...well...a ton of shit (creative differences, the rushed schedule, the studios interferance....) Vaughn left, which led to the Ratner version.

He then made Stardust, and while not a Box Office success, it got some soild reviews (76% on Rotten Tomatoes)

Vaughn then was working on Thor for Marvel Studios, until he left that project too (information is a little less clear on why he left Thor)

Vaughn then made Kick-Ass...and you guys know ALL about that film don't ya.

Maybe theres a trend here.

Obviously he wants to play with the big toys so he'll keep trying till everything works out for him.

Maybe he will work on it, realize that Fox is still runned by a bunch of A-Holes and go off and make another good film on his own.

By the way, Fox wants this movie out by June 3, 2011 , another rushed schedule.

Personally, I have very little interest in another prequel movie. Why Fox wants to keep looking into the past for this franchise makes little to no sense to me.

Bryan Singer is still on board as a producer (his being back to the franchise is also just as surprising for me).

I wish Matthew Vaughn luck, but I wish he'd go on and do his own thing.

Joss Whedon to direct The Avengers movie

Variety has reported it "":http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118017689.html?categoryid=13&cs=1&ref=bd_film

For as long as the Avengers movie was announced, I racked my brain on who would be a good choice.

Jon Favreau made sense to me since he started this big wave of Marvel movies thanks to Iron Man, but he stated he has no interest in making The Avengers movie(instead he will be a producer on it).

Maybe Zack Snyder? His visuals are amazing and the action is guaranteed to be well shot and big in scope. Granted his character work is fine(at best) but it’s not his forte and for the Avengers film you need someone who can make this ensemble work and be fun to watch.

Maybe J.J. Abrams? He’s work on Star Trek was great, and the ensemble in that film was stupendous. He was able to balance both the action and the character while still making it exciting.

BUT both Snyder and Abrams are busy as fuck guys with no room to make an epic movie like The Avengers.

SO, enter Joss Whedon.
.

Lets look at his stats.

Dude’s an accomplished writer/director. His writing is what he’s known best for, but his directing is energetic and nicely stylized.

For at least FOUR different shows he’s handled large ensembles and gives each character personality, humor and enjoyable traits to make them distinct.

He knows his comics,and has written 25 issues of Astonishing X-Men (plus his run on The Runaways comic). His X-Men run was critically acclamed and a huge hit.

And most importantly…he’s HUNGRY.

Not in the sense that he’s poor assholes, no, he’s hungry to prove himself.

He has a huge following, but it’s a cult following and it’s not enough for someone who needs make more projects.

Right now, Hollywood thinks Whedon only works for a niche audience, much like Kevin Smith.

Whedon has been trying to get into the big leagues, to be someone in the industry that can make a blockbuster hit off a project.

He’s had a few movie projects get away from him or be stuck in development. The stuck in development hell Goners, an original script at Universal, and the Wonder Woman film that didn’t work out

His recent show,_ Dollhouse_, also got cancelled, making him a very available man.

He’s been kicked around by some bad luck in the last few years, and he needs to make a movie to make a big stamp.

This movie is his answer.

Personally (as if you couldn’t tell) I think he’s perfect for the job.

I'm a big fan of his stuff and I have been waiting for someone to give him a big budget superhero film, I just didn’t think it would be this big budgeted superhero film.

This will be the most ambitous project he has ever worked on, but I think he’s ready.

Good luck Joss, because it’s your job to make sure the Avengers assemble!

WCAH Episode 14: A Kidney Stone To The FACE!!!

Happy Labor Day, Kiddies! In this episode, the West Coast crew read some listener (love?) mail and finally address the Disney / Marvel deal. The conversation eventually breaks down in to general disarray and comics in general, just the way you like it.

West
Coast About Heroes - Episode 14

Also, check out Aria and Debra, the first 2 official "AboutFans" in their own comics blog, Girls Dig Comics Too. But only if you promise to not like them more than us.

We have a twitter account! For more frequent comic-oriented updates, follow us: TWEET. Also, feel free to email us: aboutheroes 'AT' gmail.com.

Disney / Marvel Shenanigans

Yeah yeah, we know, the whole thing went down yesterday and we didn't make a peep, shaddap about it! The West Coast Crew is gonna do a whole podcast on it soon. For now, enjoy:

P.S. We've had the latest Podcast locked and loaded since early last week, we've just had technical problems uploading it. Expect to see it floating through your itunes soon (God Willing!).

WE AREN'T DEAD...

Hey kiddies! It's me! That guy who sometimes throws up crass comics he didn't make about comic books and occasionally does a movie review or podcast! That's right, Joshiebear! I wanted to get on the site and let you know that we folks at AboutHeroes haven't forgotten about you and to thank you for your patience as we go through this transitional phase. To reward you for your patience, I thought I'd give you a peak at what we've been up to so you can know what to expect in the near future.

We've been developing a new live-action news show hosted by our very own Chris Heltzel that's set in the multiverse of comics to give a bit of a commentary on what's happening in comics while also just plain old keeping you, the readers, in the know. We've shot 2 episodes already and will be shooting a 3rd about 8 hours from when I'm typing this now. The set is totally green-screen, so all the extra stuff is fabricated by yours truly after all the other players have done their parts. I took some snapshots you can see below to get an idea of what the show's going to look like, at least for now.

We have a lot of really talented, amazing people working on this and I'm really excited to see how it grows and where it takes us. I sincerely hope that when we start releasing them, you will enjoy them as much as we enjoy making them. Please feel free to ask any questions you might have, I'd be happy to answer them.

DC vs Mortal Kombat.....REALLY?!?

ZOMG! A DC VIDEOGAME IS COMING OUT!!!
It's DC vs Mortal Kombat.
.....
WHAT? There really isn't a 'Happy' part to this one. Mortal Kombat hasn't been relevent or popular in almost 10 years, and aside from Rayden (spelling? don't care enough to check) everyone else who's part of the MK crew would get their asses kicked in a fight against DC characters. Ugh. Think about it. When's the last time you played a good DC oriented game? Want to hear MY answer? NEVER. I have never played a good DC game. Yeah, some of the Batman games were alright when I was a kid, but nothing special.

Anyway, reports say they're going to magically make DC characters such as Superman crappier with a Magic Handicap. All I really have to say is...this is dumb and I hate them for knowing that nerds like myself will at the very least go out and rent it (not buying, I refuse to do that) to indulge my morbid sense of curiosity. Well, maybe we'll be able to play online and one of you guys out there in whereveryouareland can get on and kick my 'Reptile' ass with any number of DC characters that'll make the game. In my opinion it would be smarter for them to do sort of a Marvel Nemesis take and just MAKE UP characters to fight our heroes. Ugh. That game was crappy, but it's sure to be better than this thing. Ok, bitch-session: OVER.

The Tattoo Of Destruction

Beware the Lobster's Claw