sandwichjohnfilms

Chris Claremont came to Marvel as a young man, and was assigned a book that no one else wanted, a book on the brink of cancellation: X-Men . Over the next 17 years, his work on the title turned it into the biggest franchise in comic book history. Forty years later, his work has been adapted into ten films, three TV series, countless video games and has become a part of our cultural mythology. But, it all started with one writer and his commitment to emotionally honest storytelling and real character building. This extended version of the documentary provides an expanded story with more background on Claremont and his two original collaborators, Ann Nocenti and Louise Simonson, revealing secrets into what made them a great team. Viewers will also gain insight into Claremont’s childhood and see what helped make the connection between him and the series outsider heroes. There is also a look at the franchises’ films and TV shows, including Claremont’s key role in launching X-Men and ...

THR is reporting that 'Burn Notice' grad Matt Nix and Marvel TV. Fox is turning to an X-Men expert to helm its Matt Nix drama. The network has tapped Bryan Singer to direct the untitled Marvel drama, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. In addition, Singer will executive produce the potential series — which would mark the first live-action X-Men entry on broadcast. From Burn Notice grad and APB showrunner Nix, the action-adventure drama focuses on two ordinary parents who discover their children possess mutant powers. Forced to go on the run from a hostile government, the family joins up with an underground network of mutants and must fight to survive. Die-hard X-Men fan Nix will pen the script and serve as showrunner on the drama from 20th Century Fox TV and Marvel TV. The project stems from Nix's overall deal with 20th TV. Nix executive produces alongside X-Men franchise veterans Lauren Shuler Donner, Singer and Simon Kinberg as well as Marvel's Jeph Loeb and...

We look at the options available to Fox as the studio circles the wagons. Story by Matt Cummings It's clear that 20th Century Fox's Fantastic Four is a bomb of epic proportions, led by a series of creative disasters and poor decision-making that turned into the worst-reviewed comic book movie ever. Its second-place box office debut this weekend sends a stunning message: not all superhero movies are alike, and no comic book franchise can simply throw together a Frankenstein-ed plot, fill it with substandard acting, and then take away the director's creative control and still expect audiences to attend. This sort of Box Office Roulette does have an end game, as Fox now circles the wagons in a desperate attempt to figure out what's next, going so far as to hand out surveys to those few who've seen it, hoping to glean some insight. What options do they have? SJF weighs several possibilities. Give/Sell Fantastic Four Back to Marvel Possible? Yes. ...

Bryan Singer is moving from mutants to Munsters . The producer-director-writer, who has been involved with three of the X-Men films in the superhero franchise, is closing in on a deal to direct and executive produce NBC's The Munsters . The project, which received a pilot order earlier this month, is billed as an imaginative reinvention of the classic comedy series as a visually spectacular one-hour drama. Singer will executive produce alongside Bryan Fuller (Dead Like Me, Pushing Daisies), who also is writing the Universal Television-produced project. Fuller and NBC first made an attempt to revive the 1960s CBS sitcom last year, with the network ultimately passing. His newer version is said to be an edgier and slightly darker take exploring origins of Herman and Lily Munster (originally played by Fred Gwynne and Yvonne De Carlo) and how they arrived at the famed 1313 Mockingbird Lane address. The original series, produced by Universal Studios, aired 70 episodes from 1...

How cosmic is the Marvel Movieverse getting? The studio is now developing The Inhumans for the big screen. The Inhumans are a fictional race of superhumans, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. This race appears in various comic book series published by Marvel Comics and exist in that company's shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe. The comic book series of this name have usually focused more specifically on the adventures of the Inhuman Royal Family, and so many people associate the name "Inhumans" with this particular team of super-powered beings. (However, recent series have looked at the "new generation" of the Inhuman society.) The Inhumans first appeared in Fantastic Four #45 (December 1965), though members Medusa and Gorgon appeared in earlier issues of the series (#36 and #44, respectively). Their home, the city of Attilan, was first mentioned years earlier, in a "Tuk the Caveboy" story written and drawn by Jack Kirby that appea...

The Merc With A Mouth Talks Deadpool Film Ryan Reynolds hopes to be the face of two competing superhero franchises with “ Green Lantern ” and “ Deadpool ” but, after reading the gleefully subversive script for the latter, he isn’t too concerned about moviegoers getting the characters confused. “It goes in such a different direction than a superhero movie usually goes,” Reynolds said over lunch recently at 101 Coffee Shop. “It’s a nasty piece of work. It’s just based in so much emotional filth, completely. It’s like ‘Barfly‘ if it were a superhero movie. It sort of treads into the world of an emotionally damaged person. I always say that Deadpool is a guy in a highly militarized shame spiral…. It’s so different than the superhero movies to date, it departs so far from that.” In “ Green Lantern ,” due next summer, Reynolds plays Hal Jordan, the cocky but courageous test pilot who becomes the first human member of the Green Lantern Corps, an interstellar peacekeeping group armed wi...

Marvel Sues To Keep Rights To Super Heroes Marvel is suing to keep the rights to superheroes including Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and X-Men. The federal lawsuit filed Friday in Manhattan asks a judge to invalidate notices sent by the heirs of artist Jack Kirby to try to terminate Marvel's copyrights. The heirs sent notified several companies last year that the rights to the characters would revert from Marvel to Kirby's estate. The lawsuit says Kirby's work on the comics were "for hire" and render the heirs' claims invalid. Comic book characters such as Spider-Man and the X-Men have become some of Hollywood's most bankable properties in recent years. Marc Toberoff, an attorney for the Kirby heirs, said he hadn't seen the lawsuit and had no immediate comment. Please Leave A Comment- Source- THR

Jack Kirby Estate Trying To Regain His Share Of Copyright The estate of Jack Kirby , co-creator of Captain America, The Fantastic Four, The X-Men, The Avengers, Iron Man, Hulk, The Silver Surfer and Thor and has sent notices terminating copyright to publishers Marvel and Disney, as well as film studios that have made movies and TV shows based on characters he created or co-created, including Sony, Universal, 20th Century Fox and Paramount Pictures. Just as the Jerry Siegel estate has done so with rights to Superman, so Kirby's estate is looking to regain his share of copyright in the characters and their use in comics and other media. the estate is using the same lawyers as the Siegels, Toberoff & Associates, who have been fairly successful in their case against DC/Warner so far. Such claims, if found valid, would begin from 2014 and, as always, its worth noting that Marvel/Disney will still own the trademarks of the characters in comics, and the studios in movies. The likelih...