Wolverine poster, clawing for attention

Here's the new poster for the May release "X-Men Origins: Wolverine."

I'm not sure what to think about this film with the nagging rumors about a patchwork production (although the ever-earnest Hugh Jackman stepped up to say re-shoots were a planned part of a complicated schedule, not some late-in-the-game salvage effort). If the film is good, this is going to be a pretty massive year for fanboys with "Watchmen," a new "Harry Potter" film, "Terminator Salvation," "Star Trek" and "Avatar" topping the deep list of genre fare. To see the trailer for "Wolverine," check below...

'Twilight,' Ron Moore and Christian Bale, all in Everyday Hero headlines

Welcome to the latest edition of Everyday Hero, your roundup of handpicked headlines from across the fanboy universe....

THE NEXT BIG 'THING': The Sci Fi flagship show "Battlestar Galactica" is winding down (we've already told you how the channel will try to soldier on without it) so what is Ron Moore going to be up to while he waits to launch "Caprica"? According to Michael Fleming, writing in the trades, Moore will be taking on a script about the alien who came in from the cold: "Universal will add a new chapter to 'The Thing,' lining up another take on the paranoid horror classic most recently brought to the screen by John Carpenter in 1982. Studio has set 'Battlestar Galactica' exec producer Ron Moore to write the script and commercials director Matthijs Van Heijningen to direct the re-imagining. New project borrows heavily from the John W. Campbell Jr. short story 'Who Goes There,' the basis of the Carpenter film and 1951 Howard Hawks original 'The Thing From Another World.' It is set in a Norwegian camp and chronicles how the shape-shifting alien was first discovered and overcame the inhabitants of that camp ... Van Heijningen has shot blurbs for brands including Toyota, Pepsi, Heineken, Bud Light and Visa. He is also developing 'Army of the Dead' at Warner Bros. with producer Zack Snyder." [Variety] ALSO: Hollywood is gearing up more than a dozen other remakes of classic sci-fi films; you can read about it here.

FAR TO GO, DAKOTA: The "Twilight" fans, a famously mellow and forgiving bunch, are going to love this tidbit from gossip maven Elizabeth Snead: "Dakota Fanning is really, really excited about taking on the role of Jane, the Volturi vampire in 'Twilight's' sequel, 'New Moon.' However, she hasn't even read the book yet. Fanning admitted at this afternoon's junket for her new film, 'Coraline,' that she's only halfway through reading the first 'Twilight' book. Asked if there was any movement on 'New Moon,' Dakota replied, 'It's not 100% for sure yet that I will be doing it, but it's definitely not like a rumor or anything. It's definitely a possibility and something I'm excited about.' Asked if there was any particular scene from the book that she was looking forward to doing, she said, 'I don't know ... I just think the character is what I'd be excited about. It's kind of evil, it's a vampire, it's really cool.'  Does she have any favorite vampires from films? 'I don't. The only vampire movie I've seen is 'Twilight.' " [Dish Rag]

ZACK SNYDER REVEALED: Writer Nisha Gopalan has contributed to the Hero Complex, and we always enjoy her work. That's especially the case with her new interview with "Watchmen" director Zack Snyder, who confesses to dark chapters in his past (Attending Renaissance fairs! Making beer commercials! Hanging around with naked blue men!) and also talks about casting his son as young Rorschach. Here's a chunk of the Q&A exchange: "'Why on Earth would you cast your 11-year-old son in this movie as a younger version of Rorschach, an abused sociopath whose mom was a hooker? My son was in '300,' too, as the young Leonidas -- he fights the dad, and then he punches a kid in the face. [Laughs] I feel like he’s together enough actually, that he can handle [the 'Watchmen' role]. I didn’t try to get too deep into it. Though there is a woman yelling at him, 'I should’ve had that abortion!' " [Nylon Guys] ALSO: Check out all "Watchmen" coverage at Hero Complex right here.

ON THIS DATE: Christian Bale celebrates his 35th birthday today and now clearly reigns as the dark prince of fanboy cinema. He has played Batman in two films (one of which now stands as the second-highest grossing film in U.S. box-office history) and he will star in the new "Terminator" franchise that launches this summer. He has played a dragon slayer, reluctant gunfighter, a serial killer with a penchant for Huey Lewis hits and (in one of my favorite recent films) a magician with a dark secret. To see some video scenes of the Wales native through the years, keep reading....

J.J. Abrams: 'Star Trek' must escape the shadow of 'Star Wars'

EXCLUSIVE: This is the second part of an interview with J.J. Abrams about his cinematic voyages aboard the Starship Enterprise. Today he talks about his concerns that "Star Trek" is "clearly in the shadow" of George Lucas. He also addresses premature talk of a "Trek" sequel: "I'm in the middle of lunch and someone asks, 'What do you want for dinner?' "

      

You can read part one here.

"Star Trek" is back. The 11th film in the storied franchise returns to theaters in May and this time the director is J.J. Abrams, who was just 2 months old when the original television series premiered in 1966. Abrams has conceded that he was never an impassioned fan of "Trek" but his take on the mythology promises to be intriguing considering his television success with "Alias," "Lost" and "Fringe" as well as his work as director of "Mission Impossible III." He talked to Hero Complex about navigating his movie through the neutral zone that lies between hard-core "Trek" fans and average summer moviegoers.

GB: Is it your sense that you are winning over skeptical fans to this point? 

JJA: You know, I would think that especially fans of "Star Trek," which is an optimistic universe, a universe about working together and the possibility of the human endeavor, you would think that people who appreciate that wonderful portrait of the future and that universe would be open to literally going to a place no one has ever gone before. I'm very optimistic that fans of the show, even the purists, will be willing to embrace the spirit of Roddenberry and once they see these actors doing this extraordinary work, I think they will not have to intellectualize it all, they'll simply enjoy the experience. It's a cliche now to say "Where no man has gone before" because it has been the vernacular now for more than 40 years but if you actually think about it -- and actually remind yourself that we live on this planet and we are creatures inhabiting in this space with undefined limits and with technology that will invariably come -- "Star Trek" is positing a future that is incredibly inspiring. If you can get past the cliche and make it real and relevant, there's something very exciting about that. This is not "Star Wars" which happened a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. This is us and our future.

GB: Can you talk a bit about the story of this film?

JJA: This story is ultimately about a guy who is full of unbelievable potential but he is aimless, he is lost. He ends up finding a path that takes him beyond his wildest dreams. It helps him find his purpose. That's a great story in any situation, in any culture. There is something about that spirit of innovation, collaboration, possibility, adventure and optimism that is inherent in what "Star Trek" was.

      

GB: How much did you go back to the various "Trek" shows, films, novels, etc., to research the mythology? I imagine at some point sifting through all of it would become a counterproductive exercise.

JJA: I looked at a lot of the episodes of all the series that came after the original "Star Trek" but because we are focusing on the original series I didn't really need to know every episode of "Deep Space Nine" or "Voyager" or even "Enterprise." But, yeah, I watched episodes, I read up a lot, I watched the movies, I talked to people, whether it was our "Trek" consultant or one of the two writers [Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci] about what it would mean to do what we wanted to do. We have one producer, Bob [Orci], who is a complete Trekker and another in Bryan Burk who had never seen an episode of the show ever. And it was a great balance. We could make sure it passed the test of the ultimate fan and the ultimate neophyte and make sure that it was equally entertaining to both parties.

Comic Book Store Clerks of America, No. 2: Los Angeles, California

They have no super powers, but they are heroic: they are the store employees across America who sell comics and, like the guys in "High Fidelity," bicker with each other all day long about the true treasures of the discount bin. They are the Comic Book Store Clerks of America and we salute them.

Meet Chris Rosa, a 30-year-old dead ringer for  "Green Lantern" (circa John Stewart) who works in brighest day and blackest night at Meltdown Comics & Collectibles (7522 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, [323] 851-7223). Rose is mighty proud of the store's pop-culture bonanza range "from vinyl toys to art books to a vast children's section to weird imports back to comics" and he bravely answered all our questions.

Be honest -- think about your life and tell us which stereotype about comic-book geeks applies to you?

I refer major moments in my life to events in comics. For example, my best friend and I both refer to our "one that got away" as Dandel, the long-lost girlfriend from "Goodbye, Chunky Rice."

Which comic book series is in desperate need of becoming a TV show?

Without question, "Scalped" by Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera.  Done on either FX, HBO, or Showtime, it would be the next great American crime epic.

The Marvel superheroes just challenged the DC capes to a battle to the death. Was this a smart move for Marvel?

That would be a typically brash Marvel move. But unlike their great business successes, this would backfire terribly.  Why? DC has Batman, and Batman always wins, even when he dies, as in "Final Crisis" #6.

Which comic book star would you take on a date and where would you go?

Since you pose this as "comic book star," I'm going to take Lynda Carter, the great star of the "Wonder Woman" series.  I'd take her to see a movie at Hollywood Forever ... or someplace really nice, like the Music Center on Grand.

A customer walks in and tells you that "Ghost Rider," is their favorite movie of all time and that Jennifer Garner probably shoulda got an Oscar for "Elektra." What do you say?

I'd put my arm around them and say, "If you dug that, I've got some stuff for you -- the current Ghost Rider series, written by Jason Aaron (collected thus far in the "Hell Bent and Heaven Bound" trade paperback), straight-up grindhouse insanity.  You know you want to see Ghost Rider face off with a motorcycle gang made up of nuns.  As for "Elektra" -- take this here "Elektra Omnibus" by Frank Miller and Bill Sienkiewicz.  Do not attempt to drive or operate heavy machinery after reading.

-- Michelle Castillo

Want to meet more Comic Books Clerks of America? Click here

Photo: Courtesy of Chris Rosa

'Star Trek' director J.J. Abrams on tribbles and the 'Galaxy Quest' problem

EXCLUSIVE: This is the first part of an interview with J.J. Abrams about his cinematic voyages aboard the Starship Enterprise. Read part two here.

      

Gene Roddenberry had this notion in the early 1960s about a television show that felt like "Wagon Train" in space, a frontier tale with groovy sci-fi imagery and a proud parable spirit. And just look what he started. In May, the pop culture phenomena of "Star Trek" proudly returns where it has gone before -- the movie theater -- with the 11th film in the franchise. This time the director is J.J. Abrams, a creative force in television with "Alias," "Lost" and "Fringe" as well as the director of "Mission Impossible III." He talked to Hero Complex about navigating his movie through the neutral zone that lies between hard-core "Trek" fans and summer moviegoers. This is part one of the interview.

GB: As franchises move into new eras it's interesting to watch how they change -- or don't change. "Battlestar Galactica" could hardly be more different than it was in the 1970s while "Star Wars" is essentially the same. With "Star Trek" you seem to be pursuing a revival like we've seen with Batman and James Bond, which holds on to core mythology but recalibrates the tone.

JJA: I think I benefited because I came into this movie as someone who appreciated "Star Trek" but wasn't an insane fanatic about it. The disadvantage is I didn't know everything I needed to know immediately at the beginning and had to learn it. The advantage though is I could look at "Star Trek" as a whole a little bit more like a typical moviegoer would see it; it allowed me to seize the things that I felt were truly the most iconic and important aspects of the original series and yet not be serving the master and trying to be true to every arcane detail. It let me look at the things I knew were critical.

         

GB: What are some of the things that made that "critical" list?

JJA: The characters was the most important thing in it. We needed to be true to the spirit of those characters. There were certain iconic things -- if you're going to do "Star Trek," you've got to do the Enterprise and it has to look like the Enterprise. If you're going to do "Star Trek" you have to do costumes that feel like the costumes people know. You have to be able to glance at it and know what that is. Even the text, the font of "Star Trek" has to look like what you know.

The phasers, the communicators, the Starfleet logo -- there are all these things that are the touchstones, the tenets of what makes "Star Trek" "Star Trek." If you're going to do this series those are things you don't mess with. And yet, they need to withstand a resolution that "Star Trek" has never had to withstand before. And I don't just mean IMAX -- though it will have to work there too -- but what I mean is that audiences are so savvy now and they've seen every iteration of "Star Trek," "Star Wars," two separate versions of "Battlestar Galactica," they've seen "Alien" and "Aliens," they've seen countless science fiction movies. They've seen it all. And even worse, they've seen a movie as "Galaxy Quest" that completely mocks the paradigm in its entirety.

GB: That's very true, you can't afford any accidental "Galaxy Quest" moments on your ship's bridge.

JJA: The trick is how do you use a ship like that, uniforms like that, characters who look like that and the name "Star Trek" and make it feel relevant and legitimate. the challenge is to take the familiar -- for better or worse -- and embrace the elements that make it unique but be sure the master you're serving is the making of the most entertaining movie possible. You can't look backward and try to make sure that every decision you're making is true to the past. that's not to say that we weren't true to the past, but that wasn't our guiding principle.

GB: You know that no matter what you do, you'll get an earful from hardcore fans.

JJA: The key is to appreciate that there are purists and fans of "Star Trek" who are going to be very vocal if they see things that aren't what what they want. But I can't make this movie for readers of Nacelles Monthly who are only concerned with what the ship's engines look like. They're going to find something they hate no matter what I do. And yet, the movie at its core is not only inspired by what has come before, it's deeply true to what's come before. The bottom line is we have different actors playing these parts and from that point on it's literally not what they've seen before. It will be evident when people see this movie that it is true to what Roddenberry created and what those amazing actors did in the 1960s. At the same time, I think, it's going to blow people's minds because its  a completely different experience than what they expect.

Neil Gaiman says Neil Jordan will direct 'Graveyard Book' film

Neil Gaiman is still spinning from the news of the Newbery Medal win for "The Graveyard Book" and during an appearance on "The Today Show" the British author announced that there will be a film adaptation written and directed by none other than Neil Jordan ("The Crying Game," "The Brave One" and "Interview with the Vampire").

Here's the video:

               

-- Geoff Boucher

RECENT AND RELATED

Neil Gaiman dreams of a Morpheus on screen: "A 'Sandman' movie is an inevitability"

Neil Gaiman says "Alan Moore got to be the Beatles...I was Gerry and the Pacemakers"

Neil Gaiman says 20th anniversary of "Sandman" is "baffling and inspiring"

ELSEWHERE:

The Guardian: Neil Gaiman's win is a "vote for populism"

Washington Post: Year's best book for kids starts with "sinister triple knifing"? 

'The A-Team,' Matt Damon and 'Lara Croft' all in Everyday Hero headlines

Welcome to a winter's day version of Everyday Hero, your roundup of handpicked headlines from across the fanboy universe....

"A-TEAM" GOES TO PLAN B: Way back in August, I sat down with Ice Cube and heard how eager he was to work with Bruce Willis in a remake of "The A-Team" being directed by John Singleton. But the rapper/actor/producer was worried that the writers strike might undermine the effort. Looks like it did, because now Singleton is out and the project is moving forward with a new team that may or may not be interested in Cube taking on the challenge of replacing Mr. T in the role of B.A. Baracus. In the trades today, Michael Fleming has an informative update on the revamped project: "Twentieth Century Fox has assembled a creative team to transform 1980s TV series 'The A-Team' into a summer 2010 film. Studio has set Joe Carnahan to direct and Ridley Scott to produce, with Tony Scott exec producing through their Scott Free banner. Also producing are Jules Daly and Stephen J. Cannell, the latter of whom created the original TV series. Carnahan will team with Brian Bloom to polish a script by Skip Woods ('G.I. Joe'). The intention is to start production by June for a June 11, 2010, release. Fox has struggled to find a way to exploit the branded TV show while avoiding the series' campy tone. Director John Singleton had most recently been attached to such an attempt before dropping out. Woods came in and started over. 'Tony and I feel that marrying this Scott Free project with Joe's sensibility will result in a fast-paced, exciting franchise, one we hope will be around for years to come,' Scott said. Carnahan and the Scott brothers say they will use the original premise of the series as the template for an action film. In the original, four Vietnam vets convicted of armed robbery escape from military prison and became do-gooder mercenaries. The Middle East will replace Vietnam as the place the four did their tour of duty, but Carnahan said the origin story is the jumping-off point. 'You can ... make a film that reflects on the real world without losing the great sense of fun and the velocity of action in a classic summer popcorn film,' Carnahan said." [Daily Variety]

JASON BOURNE AND JAMES BOND, IT'S ON!: It's spy vs. spy as Matt Damon (who will be seen later this year in the Paul Greengrass film "Green Zone"), who portrays amnesiac super agent Jason Bourne, talks smack (and it's not the first time) about a certain old-school British agent with the same initials: "Matt Damon has lashed out at Ian Fleming's famous British spy, James Bond, currently portrayed by Daniel Craig. 'The Bourne Identity' actor -- who plays CIA agent Jason Bourne in three hit films -- said: 'He's repulsive. Bond is an imperialist, misogynist, sociopath who goes around bedding women and swilling martinis and killing people. The movies have a formula, they stick to it, and it makes them a lot of money. They know what they are doing and they're going to keep doing it.'" [Stuff]

GOING BACK TO THE "TOMB": In a perfect summary of everything Hollywood is about these days, there's a the story in the trades today about a major studio remaking an eight-year-old film that was based on a video game. Here's what Steven Zeitchik writes: "Warner Bros. and producer Dan Lin are in early development on a a reboot of 'Tomb Raider,' the popular video game action franchise. 'Tomb Raider,' which was published in 1996 by a London-based video game company called Eidos, was a wildly popular game that involved the daredevil archaeologist Lara Croft on a series of global missions. Several spin-off games have been published since, with a 10th-anniversary edition of the game released in 2006. 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. Lin will produce the project via his Lin Pictures banner while Stephen Gilchrist will co-produce; Ian Livingstone of Eidos will exec produce. Matt Reilly is overseeing for Warners. Lin is the producer behind Warners' upcoming Guy Ritchie-directed update of 'Sherlock Holmes' and the adventure film 'Jonny Quest.' 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." [Hollywood Reporter]...Oh, and what about those rumors of the nubile Megan Fox as Croft? So far, they're just that.

ON THIS DATE: It was on Jan. 28, 1958 that the modern Lego brick was patented, ushering in the famously simple but extraordinarily versatile toy system.  The path to the brick began in the workshop of Ole Kirk Christiansen, a carpenter from Billund, Denmark, who started crafting wooden toys in 1932 and dubbed his company "Lego" in 1934. It was his son, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, who locked in on the idea of a brick-building system and, well, the rest is history. Now there are "Star Wars" Legos, Batman Legos, Indiana Jones Legos, and the list goes on and on and on ... To celebrate this historic day, let's all enjoy the White Stripes and then engage in hours of safe creative play....

            

Thanks for reading, keep checking back...

-- Geoff Boucher

CREDIT: "Green Zone" photo by Jasin Boland\Universal Pictures. "Tomb Raider" photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures.

Neil Gaiman, Barack Obama, 'Watchmen' all in Everyday Hero headlines

Welcome to Everyday Hero, your roundup of handpicked headliens from across the fanboy universe...

"GRAVEYARD" WINS NEWBERY: Congrats are in order for Neil Gaiman, whose latest work has been awarded the Newbery Medal. Here's the announcement: "The 2009 Newbery Medal winner is 'The Graveyard Book' by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Dave McKean, and published by HarperCollins Children's Books. A delicious mix of murder, fantasy, humor and human longing, the tale of Nobody Owens is told in magical, haunting prose. A child marked for death by an ancient league of assassins escapes into an abandoned graveyard, where he is reared and protected by its spirit denizens. 'A child named Nobody, an assassin, a graveyard and the dead are the perfect combination in this deliciously creepy tale, which is sometimes humorous, sometimes haunting and sometimes surprising,' said Newbery Committee Chair Rose V. Treviño." Over at his online journal, Gaiman has a fun account of how he got the big news: "I was not yet sure what was going on or who was trying to do what. It was 5:45 in the morning. No-one had died, though, I was fairly certain of that. My cell-phone rang. 'Hello. This is Rose Trevino. I'm chair of the ALA Newbery Committee...' Oh. Newbery. Right. Cool. I may be an honors book or something. That would be nice, 'and I have the voting members of the Newbery Committee here, and we want to tell you that your book...' 'THE GRAVEYARD BOOK,' said fourteen loud voices, and I thought, I may be still  asleep right now, but they probably don't do this, probably don't call people and sound so amazingly excited, for Honors books....'...just won...' 'THE NEWBERY MEDAL' they chorused. They sounded really happy. I checked the hotel room because it seemed very likely that I was still fast asleep. It all looked reassuringly solid. You are on a speakerphone with at least 14 teachers and librarians and suchlike great, wise and good people, I thought. Do not start swearing like you did when you got the Hugo. This was a wise thing to think because otherwise huge, mighty and fourletter swears were gathering. I mean, that's what they're for." VIDEO EXTRA: Want to see a trailer for "The Graveyard Book" and hear Gaiman reading from "Graveyard"? Go to the end of this post....

JEEZ, THIS GUY AGAIN?: OK, it was cool when there was a graphic novel biography of Barack Obama (especially since it was very well done) and it was fun when Alex Ross drew that picture of Obama in superhero mode. It was also kinda endearing to find out that the 44th president is a Conan the Barbarian fan and everybody certainly got excited when the new president showed up in the pages of Spider-Man but, well, can we just tone down at this presidential fanboy stuff for awhile? Apparently not. There's a fourth printing of the comic book issue featuring the meeting between Savage Dragon and Obama, which I believe was the first comic-book appearance by a politico in a nationally distributed comic book. Matthew Brady at Newsarama has the scoop on it. Considering that Spider-Man issue also flew off of shelves in multiple printings, I'm guessing we haven't seen the last comic book cover featuring the new leader of the free world. I'm hoping for an Obama team-up with Herbie the Fat Fury. UPDATE: Wow, so Eric Larsen, the creator of Savage Dragon, is more than a little miffed at Marvel and says they stole his approach, some of his ideas and a lot of his thunder when Spidey met Obama. You can read his rant here and a Marvel editor's rebuttal here. What's my take? Well I pretty much loathe all gimmicky superheroes-meet-contemporary-famous-people issues because they always read like those old wretched Radio Shack comics with Superman. So I'll just sit this one out...

A "HORNET'S" NEST: I had lunch with some of the Industrial Light & Magic folks at a great place called Magnolia over on Sunset Boulevard and while we were talking about Jim Cameron's "Avatar" we heard a distinctive laugh at the next table -- we knew it was Seth Rogen before we even looked over. I debated the idea of going over before his food arrived and asking a question or two about "The Green Hornet" but I opted not to because, well, who wants to bug a guy while he's relaxing at lunch? Anyway, there's been much discussion of "Hornet" after the strange doings with Stephen Chow who was brought in as Kato, then helped steer the all-action film into a comedy project, signed on as director and then quit that job over creative differences -- but differences that weren't intense enough for him to abandon the Kato role. Got all that? Rogen is the co-writer of the film and the title character and while the project helped him get in trim shape, it's not yet clear what else he is accomplishing with it. (I also heard a random rumor about the 'Hornet' film: Two different people in the industry told me that Adam Sandler has a brief but key role in the movie as a certain surprise superhero...I heard which one, too, but I don't want to ruin it. Sandler and Rogen have another project together as well.) With all the fits and starts it's no wonder we keep reading things like this dispatch from Drew McWeeny: "It looks like 'The Green Hornet' is about to collapse again, and if this particular configuration doesn't happen, then I suspect it never will. Ever since Stephen Chow started to waffle about his participation in the film, I've been hearing rumors that there were major hesitations at Sony.  Then at Sundance, I heard several people say that the film was off completely.  I spoke this afternoon with a source close to the film, and while they didn't call it completely dead, they did say it is 'highly unlikely' that the film will shoot in 2009 at all." [Hit Fix]

LEAPING LIZARDS, IT'S "V": Last month we brought you an in-depth look at the past and future of the classic TV sci-fi epic "V" and here's an update via a blurb in one of the trades: "ABC is flashing the 'V' sign.The network has given a pilot order to a reimagining of the 1980s miniseries about an alien invasion. Written on spec by '4400' co-creator/exec producer Scott Peters, the new 'V' will center on a female Homeland Security agent. Peters is exec producing the pilot with HDFilms principal Jason Hall. Two ABC pilots picked up so far this pilot season are presold titles based on 1980s properties, 'The Witches of Eastwick' and 'V.'" [Hollywood Reporter]

RANDOM  PLUG: I covered the Screen Actors Guild Awards last night and had a great time backstage. You can read the story here if you like that kind of stuff.

THIS JUST IN...SUPERMAN EXISTS AND HE'S AMERICAN: Here's yet another "Watchmen" video for your enjoyment. Considering all the ancillary videos that have been cooked up for the movie (and, of course, "The Black Freighter" featurette) I'm predicting now that the "Watchmen" Blu-ray will be a pretty staggering package...

          

ON THIS DATE: Comic book artist Silvio "Sal" Buscema is celebrating his 72nd birthday today. Sal got his start in the 1960s as inker for his brother, John Buscema, and Sal came into his own with long runs of work on "The Incredible Hulk," "Captain America," "Spectacular Spider-Man" and one of my faves, "The Defenders." Sal was a utility player in the Marvel bullpen often doing emergency fill-in issues and inking others between doing his own pencil and ink work and while he is considered more steady than spectacular by fans, his style really evolved through the years and his knack for clear storytelling was a key part of the Marvel glory years.

Comic Book Store Clerks of America, No. 1: Los Angeles, California

They have no super powers, but they are heroic -- they are the store employees across America who sell comics and, like the guys in "High Fidelity," bicker with one another all day long about the true treasures of the discount bin. They are the Comic Book Store Clerks of America and we salute them.

For the Cure, love came on Friday, but for Todd Matyja, 28, it's all about Wednesdays. That's when the new issues land at Comic City (5703 E. Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 888-1877) and the customers follow. An avid comics reader for 16 years, Todd is proud that Comic City still has a major back-issues inventory even as other stores abandon the old stuff for space and allergy-inducing issues. We caught up with the Lex Luthor look-a-like while he was working the counter.

When you were a wee young lad, where did this whole comic-book problem start?

"X-Men"! Actually it was the cartoon series that got me reading the comics. It wasn't any book. I just wanted to read "X-Men"!

You can own one piece of comic book art by any comics artist. What is it and where do you hang it?

It would be a piece by Alex Ross. He did a piece called, "Dedication for Alan Moore." It had all the characters he had ever written, and his face is the background. I would frame it and put it up in the living room.

Think about the final issue of your favorite comic-book series. Is there one little thing you would change?

Well it would be "Preacher." I really wouldn't change it. I mean, how good was that? He road off into the sunset. How else could you end that? I've got nothing.

NBC has just hired you to save "Heroes," where do you start?

Stop using story lines that have already been done in Marvel!

Should all Saturday morning cartoons be turned into anime?

No! This is a tough one. This can vilify me.... I like a couple of mangas, but I like comic books. I'm a comic book fan. They'll write a manga about anything! There's one called, "The Prince of Tennis." What is that?

-- Michelle Castillo

Photo credit: Comic City

Wes Craven, Rob Zombie and Jason Voorhees: A bloody 2009 Horror Film Preview

It's not every day you spend a morning at Wes Craven's house chatting about the future of horror movies, but Hero Complex contributor Gina McIntyre was lucky enough to do just that last week. It was part of her research for a major article today in the Sunday Calendar section of the Los Angeles Times that stabs deep into the heart of contemporary horror. Gina is a big fan of the genre, and in this piece she really captures a sense that 2009 will make a big splatter in the history books. Here's an excerpt...

Moviegoers, beware. A host of masked, murderous slashers, demented fiends and demonic forces are about to converge on the multiplex, but it's not your immortal soul they're after. It's your hard-earned dollars.

Horror films are dominating the release schedule in 2009 -- almost certainly, event movies like "Watchmen" and "Terminator Salvation" will outgross their spookier kin, but not a month will go by without at least one film designed to terrify audiences making its way into theaters. January already has seen the release of "The Unborn" and "My Bloody Valentine 3-D," and this week the psychological thriller "The Uninvited" will attempt to scare up box-office receipts.

Next month, the hockey-mask-sporting Jason Voorhees will return to menace teens in the remake of "Friday the 13th"; in March, newcomer Dennis Iliadis will unveil his version of the horror classic "The Last House on the Left"; in May, "Spider-Man" director Sam Raimi returns to the genre that launched his career with "Drag Me to Hell."

And there's more: "Juno" scribe Diablo Cody has penned the horror comedy "Jennifer's Body," Rob Zombie resurrects villain Michael Myers for "H2: Halloween 2," the "Final Destination" franchise is employing 3-D for its latest installment and, in October, Lionsgate's "Saw" series is set to return for a sixth go-round. Before the end of the year, Benicio Del Toro will confront his inner monster in "The Wolf Man."

If horror films reflect the anxieties of a culture, then it makes perfect sense that so many nefarious characters are emerging from the darkness: The collapse of the housing market, the menacing approach of a potential economic depression, an ongoing war and international unrest -- they're the stuff of nightmares.

And yet, sitting in dark theaters watching unspeakable acts on screen, we find release -- or at least distraction from the real threats we face.

"Horror is the genre that makes you feel something, like comedy makes you laugh," said Andrew Form, a partner in Michael Bay's company Platinum Dunes, which produced the new "Friday the 13th." "It elicits an immediate response. You sit down in the seat and you just know that your hand's probably going to be over your eyes and you're going to be waiting for those jumps. For 90 minutes, you're guaranteed to feel something."

'Battlestar,' for sale

There may only be nine weeks left of the Sci Fi channel’s fading light, "Battlestar Galactica," but the memories will never really disappear. One reason: Thanks to EBay, thousands of props, costumes and other bits of galactic memorabilia from the show will be sold online to fans throughout the world starting today.

Collectors can log on to Ebay every Friday for the remainder of the season and bid for props featured in that week’s episode. Looking for an original Book of Pythia or a Viper flight manual? Look no further. Items such as these will go to the highest bidder every week until "Battlestar" disappears forever.

Last weekend the show’s creators kicked off the season with a live auction at the Pasadena Convention Center. The two-day event featured more than 3,000 souvenirs, including Admiral William Adama’s (Edward James Olmos) uniform and Starbuck’s (Katee Sackhoff) flight suit. The bonanza hosted "a tremendous amount of people" that included a large international presence, said a spokeswoman for the show.

Cast members were largely responsible for picking the items and donated proceeds to various charities of their choosing. Tricia Helfer (the sultry Number Six) picked her character’s iconic red dress, which sold for the shockingly high price of $13,000. Michael Hogan (Col. Saul Tigh) chose his infamous liquor bottles for auction (one sold for $1,900, while the other went for $1,100).

Other memorabilia is equally impressive. A life-size centurion costume; Apollo’s (Jamie Bamber) suit; several Vipers, Raptors and Cylon Raiders; and pieces of the Combat Information Center were all included in the auction. One BSG forum estimated that buying and shipping a giant Raptor to the East Coast would cost roughly $5,000, though that number is unconfirmed.

"Battlestar Galactica is an incredible series that has drawn critical praise as well as tremendous fan support," says Stacey Ward, director of product development at NBC Universal, which owns the Sci Fi channel. "We are really proud to be able to give fans a chance to bid on their favorite costume, prop or a piece of the set in this unique auction setting."

"This is an amazing opportunity for the passionate and loyal fans of "Battlestar Galactica" to own a piece of their favorite show," Alec Peters, chief executive officer of Propworx, which manages set design, said. "If you saw it on the show, we will most likely be selling it."

-- Alicia Lozano

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Samuel L. Jackson picks up the sword again

       

It's a point of pride for Samuel L. Jackson that if you list every film in which he has starred or appeared and add up their box-office receipts, the collective total would be higher than any other on-screen actor in history. That might be some arcane career calculus, but it does speak to the 60-year-old actor’s crowded schedule and crowd-pleasing sensibility.

On a recent afternoon, talking about his varied pursuits, Jackson began a sentence with, "In my spare time ..." but couldn’t even finish the thought without laughing out loud. Jackson appeared in six films last year, and when discussing his upcoming ventures he has to pause to remember some of the titles and costars.

Next up, though, is a project that is near and dear to his heart: "Afro Samurai: Resurrection," a two-hour animated film that premieres this Sunday night on Spike TV and then hits stores as a DVD release on Feb. 3. In it, Jackson reprises his dual role as the Afro, a haunted warrior in a bleak world, and also his sidekick, the motor-mouthed Ninja Ninja.

The cartoon adapts the vision of manga star Takashi Okazaki and melds the stylized sword violence with the music of RZA, the hip-hop auteur of Wu-Tang Clan fame. "It’s a wonderful adventure about a black samurai in a post-apocalyptic world that’s a rich blend of the ancient and the new with a hip-hop beat," said Jackson, who is also executive producer. "It’s sexy, violent and extremely cool."

Bryan Singer on 'Logan's Run' remake: 'I have decisions to make.'

      

Remember when Bryan Singer ("The X-Men," "Usual Suspects") was all set to remake "Logan's Run"? Well, Chris Lee, a feature writer at the Los Angeles Times and frequent Hero Complex contributor, was chatting with Singer for a story on the history of the Sundance Film Festival, and the tangential topic of "Logan's" came up. And, well, it doesn't sound like the remake is going to survive through Carousel anytime soon.

"At the moment, I haven’t decided. I really don’t know," Singer told Lee. "I’m taking a genuine break. The last four years have been really busy with the miniseries, the TV and the movies. I’m taking a few months to collect myself and figure out what I’m going to do in that regard. We did a lot of development on that movie and a lot of work. To start it up again, I wouldn’t start it up again without a full commitment. So I have decisions to make. Right now, that’s just hanging around."

Remember the original film? If you haven't seen it, think disco-toga utopia gone wrong...

Dated? Most certainly, but the plot has plenty to work with and a remake could also lean toward more toward the source material, the 1967 novel. I called producer Joel Silver's office and while there was no definitive answer on the status of the movie, nothing I heard from his people suggested that the movie was ramping up. Silver at one point had announced that director Joseph Kosinski was taking over the project, but that plan fizzled and now Kosinski, a hot-shot from the television commercials field, is on the "Tron" remake instead. Worse, the Michael Bay film "The Island" in 2005 copped plenty of "Logan's" mojo with its plot of a controlled, futuristic paradise with beautiful but oblivious young people being fed lies about their true fate.

All things considered, if this remake had a palm crystal, it would be flashing red right now.

-- Geoff Boucher

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CREDIT: "Logan's Run" publicity still from the Los Angeles Times archives.

FIRST LOOK: 'Star Trek' action figures ready to beam up

EXCLUSIVE

Here we bring you a sweet exclusive, the first group photo of the entire cast from the upcoming blockbuster film "Star Trek." Hmmm. Don't they look a bit ... stiff?

OK, sorry. It's been a long day. Actually these are the nifty, new 6-inch "Trek" action figures from Playmates Toys. They will retail for $8.99 and hit shelves in April.

I love the older Spock in the back row and bad-guy Nero looks pretty good, too, which will please actor Eric Bana, who may have thought his action-figure days were over after "Hulk. "For you collectors, keep reading to the bottom to see the specs and features.

As for "Star Trek" the film, check this out...

I can't tell you how excited I am about this new movie.

'The Dark Knight' snubbed in best picture race

UPDATED: Here's a story I have appearing in the Calendar section of the Los Angeles Times tomorrow:

There are always a lot of emotions on Oscar nomination day, but there was an especially bittersweet surge on Thursday when the late Heath Ledger’s name was called out in the category of best supporting actor for his portrayal of the maniacal Joker in "The Dark Knight" — it was, after all, one year to the day after his death.

Even as the team behind the Warner Bros. film embraced the posthumous honor for Ledger, they also dealt with the disappointment that the acclaimed blockbuster was left out of the best picture race.

No superhero movie has come close to the marquee category in the past, but Warner Bros. had high hopes that "Dark Knight" could follow in the footsteps of "Star Wars," "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "Beauty and the Beast" and "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial" as a youth-skewing hit able to transcend its popcorn-genre roots and earn a best picture nomination from the stuffy academy.

In the barest appraisal, "Dark Knight" was yet another summer sequel about a masked-man fighting crime. But after its July release, the film, directed by Christopher Nolan, started racking up so much box-office success (it now stands as the second-highest grossing movie of all-time in the U.S. behind "Titanic") and such intense critical acclaim (only "WALL-E" scored a higher quotient of raves among the year’s wide-release films, according to Rotten Tomatoes) that Oscar talk began to gain traction.

Ledger’s performance as the scabby and diabolical Joker was clearly regarded as an Oscar contender early on, but the conversation widened considerably this month when Nolan was nominated by his peers for the Directors Guild award for achievement in a feature film. That came on the heels of a best picture nomination from the Producers Guild, whose top category typically mirrors the academy’s picks for the best films of the year.

FIRST LOOK: 'The Spirit,' reincarnated

I talked the other day to Michael Uslan, the Hollywood producer and a persistent presence on the comic-book scene for decades. One of the truly nice guys in the business, Uslan told me without a trace of irony that he recently faced "absolutely the most terrifying thing" in his long creative career -- daring to pick up the baton of Will Eisner's "The Spirit."

I interviewed Uslan and his co-writer, F.J. DeSanto, who have collaborated on a promising three-issue arc that revisits some of the key mythos of the masked man, and I'll be putting that interview up on Hero Complex as we get closer to the Feb. 11 release date of the first issue. (And, yes, Uslan does talk about Frank Miller's film adaptation of "The Spirit" and addresses some of its harsher critics.)

In the meantime, here's a look at some of the art by Justiniano and Walden Wong from the second issue, which goes on sale March 18.

      

-- Geoff Boucher

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Image: DC Comics

But can Heath Ledger WIN the Oscar?

There are always a lot of emotions on Oscar nomination day but there was an especially bittersweet surge in sentiment this morning when the late Heath Ledger's name was called out in the category of best supporting actor -- one year to the day after his death.

The nomination for Ledger's scorching performance as the scabby and diabolical Joker in "The Dark Knight"; had been considered a certainty in recent months but there was still a collective sigh when it was announced. Now the question is, 'Can he win?' There has been a posthumous actor winner in the past -- Peter Finch's widow Eletha Finch memorably accepted his best-actor Oscar for the unforgettable 1976 film "Network" -- but Finch died a month after he was nominated. Ledger's accidental prescription-drug overdose hasn't lost any of its tragedy, of course, but the beloved Spencer Tracy and even James Dean (whose life and early death were evoked by many of Ledger's eulogists) were in similar nominated-after-death situations, and they did not win the trophy.

There's also been some quiet talk in town lately of realpolitik realities of Hollywood that say the studios campaign harder for living actors (who will, after all, make more movies) and that those actors present for interviews and press statements in upcoming weeks are powerfully wooing Academy voters who are "auditioning" for winners.

Perhaps, but I think Ledger will win because his performance was so very powerful and because those same Oscar voters love drama. I think on Oscar night we will see little Matilda, the young daughter of Ledger, smiling as her father's name is called out once again. Beyond the joy to Matilda and her family, it's nice to think of that shining moment as the final image in the public's memory of this gifted performer.

-- Geoff Boucher

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CREDIT: Heath Ledger photo by Associated Press. "The Dark Knight" images courtesy of Warner Bros.

Getting 'Lost' in the music

Alicia Lozano has a fun piece on a New York band that is taking their obsession with the ABC series  "Lost" to musical extremes with a unique "island sound" :

Brooklyn musician Jeff Curtain (above right) devotes roughly 17 hours a week to "Lost," a show with such a fanatical following that Curtain and his friends felt compelled to start a band based on the TV drama.

Previously on Lost is exactly what the name implies: A recap band. Through short spurts of musical whimsy, the island aficionados summarize the week’s plot, focusing on themes and characters that are especially entertaining. Notable songs include "Ballad of Sayid Jarrah," based on the Season 4 episode in which the former Iraqi soldier (Naveen Andrews) recounts his brutal military past. Another favorite is "The Island Won’t Let You Die," which involves chucking scores of inflatable, tropical paraphernalia into the crowd.

The typical show includes tossing fake palm trees and fresh fruit around like rice at a wedding. Leis are distributed at the door. A jumbo cardboard airplane is carried through the crowd and demolished in a mock crash. A chorus line of "sailor girls" sing backup vocals and dance onstage. But the group’s greatest treasure is the life-size poster of "Lost" creator J.J. Abrams, which is fanned with giant leaves throughout the show.

"This is a punk version of ‘Gilligan’s Island’ where we run through the songs as fast as possible so we can tell you everything you need to know about the entire season in an hour," Curtain said. "We are serious ‘Lost’ fans."

Captain America, Wolverine, 'Lost,' all in Everyday Hero headlines

Welcome to a presidential edition of Everyday Hero, your roundup of handpicked headlines from across the fanboy universe...

        

HEROIC POLITICS: There's a fun historical piece about comic-book characters claiming the White House through the years and it includes an early 1980s Marvel cover (above left) that I had sorta forgotten about and that immediately brought a smile to my face when I saw it. The piece was written by Matt Brady (an appropriate name for someone dabbling in the area of presidential imagery) and here's what he wrote about that "Mr. Rogers Goes to Washington" plot: "Captain America as President was turned into a story for Marvel’s alternate reality series What If? with 1981’s issue #26. In the story, Cap runs as the candidate for the New Populist Party with Andrew Jackson Hawk (an African American Senator) as his running mate. Keeping things real, the 'America-Hawk' ticket ran against Carter and Reagan (both of which had things to say about Cap’s political experience and the trust the public has for a masked man) and won in a landslide. Keeping a campaign promise, Cap took off his mask on Inauguration Day, and got to work -– one of his first jobs –- a comprehensive new energy policy in order to '[free] America from the tyranny of foreign oil.' One South American plot hatched by the Red Skull later, and Captain America is killed by one of his administration’s own solar satellites, but the country is saved." [Newsarama]

WOLVERINE, CONSIDERED: What's up with "X-Men Origins: Wolverine"? There were plenty of rumors burning through cyberspace that the production was experiencing considerable turbulence after the crew and some cast gathered to do reshoots. There was fanboy-press speculation that Fox was "clearly trying to salvage one of the summer tent-poles of 2009" and much handwringing about the fate of the most popular mutant character. So what's the real deal? Sources close to the production tell me the reshoots were scheduled all along but they also concede that director Gavin Hood is reworking some sections of the film to get precisely the right tone for the long, dark tale of the ultimate Marvel Comics loner. So we'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, star Hugh Jackman, known as one of the real troupers of Hollywood, has sought to quiet any fan worries. Jackman sent this note to Harry Knowles: "Hey everyone -- It's Hugh Jackman, sending this note from freezing Vancouver. I have read a lot of your online comments regarding the footage that we are currently shooting and I share your passion for the Wolverine character and the movie -- I owe it all to you guys! I wanted to reach out and let you know that due to scheduling conflicts with certain cast members and location/weather considerations, we had to wait until now to shoot a couple of scenes. Please rest assured that WOLVERINE will be badass and hopefully meet all of your expectations. I am stoked by the positive response to the teaser, which clearly reflects the tone and scope of the film. If you like that, we've got much more in store!" [Ain't It Cool News] Also, here's some Hollywood Reporter-supplied video of Jackman in the reassurance mode...

AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO'S "LOST"? Television critic Robert Lloyd has written some great pieces lately, including a wonderful appreciation of the late Patrick McGoohan and fall-down funny appraisal of the Powerpuff Girls (which includes this line: "From a preschool perspective, the series might be called transgressive, since it is a cartoon in which the characters beat each other up and destroy a lot of property. Collateral damage, thy name is Powerpuff."). And today he has a great take on "Lost" a show that, for him, is certainly living up to its name: "'Lost,' which returns for its fifth season tonight on ABC, is like a troublesome but attractive friend who comes into your house and talks a lot of nonsense that you tolerate because it's entertaining and because you aren't completely sure it is nonsense. It might make sense in some form of the language that you do not personally understand. You can either let this annoy you, or you can try to work out the meaning, or you can just enjoy the flow in a noncommittal way that does not preclude your being stimulated, shocked or held in suspense -- like a fun-house ride. I am of the third disposition, and have also been of the first. (I wager that even people who love 'Lost' a lot more than I do have at times wanted to reach right through the TV screen and give it a good slap.) As to the second, attempting to resolve all its clues, bread crumbs and loose ends into a workable whole is more than my time is worth. More important, it's a drag on the show: The more that the writers find explanations for the myriad strange phenomena that plague the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 -- the surviving survivors -- the less interesting those phenomena become. The mysterious becomes the merely preposterous. The weirdness of a polar bear on a tropical island is more satisfying than any reason you can provide for it." [Los Angeles Times]

ON THIS DATE: It was on this day in 1926 that actor Steve Reeves, who would bring considerable muscle to Hollywood, was born in Glasgow, Montana. After his father died in a  farming accident, 10-year-old Reeves moved west to California with his mother and, in high school in Oakland, developed an interest in weightlifting. After a stint in the Pacific in World War II, he became a pioneer of the nascent bodybuilding scene and then a star of the screen, most memorably as Hercules. He died in 2000. To celebrate his birthday, let's all flex a new muscle today. To see some video of Reeves in action, continue to the bottom of this post...

'Chronicles of Narnia', David Lynch, Superman vs. Spider-Man all in Everyday Hero headlines

It's a brand new day, here's the latest edition of Everyday Hero, your roundup of handpicked headlines from across the fanboy universe...

COMIC BOOKS LOSING THEIR POWERS?: The American comic book has, in some ways, never been bigger in pop culture than today with the commercial blockbusters in Hollywood and the critical respect for graphic novels. But business reporter Tiffany Hsu writes that the core publishing business that has struggled in recent years is up against the wall in the current economy: "A high-stakes battle for survival is underway in the comic book universe, and superheroes such as Wonder Woman and Wolverine have been enlisted in the fight. Even President-elect Barack Obama -- and an impostor -- have been recruited to help Spider-Man. With mixed results, the nation's comic book publishers and hundreds of neighborhood shops are fighting off a deteriorating economy, online piracy, rising costs and changing consumer tastes. Comic book sales were down for most of 2008, even at behemoth publisher Marvel Comics. And many small comic stores are closing one by one. Just last week, Marvel released a special edition of Spider-Man in which the superhero notices two identical Obamas at today's presidential inauguration, uses basketball to weed out the phony and is thanked with a fist-bump from the new president himself. But times are stark, and it may take more than Obama and his illustrated posse to revive business, as the industry nervously trains its spider sense on the notoriously feeble January sales month. 'Because comics are an escape, they're a little more protected from the economy,' said Jonah Weiland, executive producer of website Comic Book Resources. 'But I wouldn't say they're recession-proof. Everyone is preparing for a slump.' There's still an appetite for fantasy -- experts said the comics market has been resilient, weathering the wilting economy better than other forms of media. At the Los Angeles Public Library, thrifty fans turned comics into a hot item at the checkout counter last summer. 'If you want to read a series, there could be anywhere from three titles to 50, so it could be a very expensive experience,' said Albert Johnson, a collection development manager at the library. 'That's a big reason why we're seeing more traffic.' But even after a year stuffed with blockbuster films based on comic books, growth in all sectors is stalling." [Los Angeles Times]

THE SECRET STORY OF NARNIA: So why exactly did Disney jump ship on the "Chronicles of Narnia" franchise after the first two grossed close to $1.2 billion worldwide for Disney and its partner in the project, Phil Anschutz's Walden Media? Patrick Goldstein has a long explaination of the economics, politics and personalities involved, here's an excerpt: "According to multiple sources, the once-close relationship between Disney and Walden began to unravel when, after the first 'Narnia' film cleaned up at the box office, Anschutz essentially put a gun to Disney's head and demanded that the studio renegotiate its deal with Walden. Anschutz insisted that Disney either gave back a sizable chunk of the studio's lucrative distribution fee or Anschutz would distribute the 'Narnia' series on his own. Believing the franchise was too good to give up, Disney reluctantly changed the terms of its Walden deal, but the renegotiation poisoned relations between the two behemoths. When the second film faltered, there was so little good will left over that Disney had far less qualms about cutting its ties with the franchise. To be fair, Walden wasn't all that happy with the way Disney handled the film. The first movie had been released at Christmas, which seemed a logical slot for a family-oriented picture. But when Disney saw that 'Prince Caspian' was an edgier, more youth-oriented film, it decided to go after teenagers as well as family filmgoers. That decision led to what, in hindsight, appears to be a huge blunder, releasing 'Prince Caspian' in May, at the start of summer. Sandwiched between 'Iron Man' and 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,' 'Prince Caspian' not only failed to attract many teenagers, but it lost a large piece of its family following, who were turned off by the edgier, not especially well-focused marketing materials. 'We felt that, for that film, we had to try to appeal to every audience,' says Disney studio chief Dick Cook. 'The movie was edgier and tougher and the marketing materials reflected that. Sometimes when you do that, you risk alienating the families and maybe that's what happened.' Cook defended the studio's decision to put the movie into the summer. 'Warners has always been able to move 'Harry Potter' back and forth, so we thought we had just as good a chance of doing well. Honestly, who knows -- it may have been a factor. In the summertime, you don't always get many second chances. But release dates are funny -- they never seem to effect a movie people really want to see.'" [The Big Picture]

GRIM STUDIO NEWS: Warner Bros. released the second-highest grossing film of all time last year with "The Dark Knight" and has "Watchmen" and a sixth "Harry Potter" film on tap for 2009. That doesn't mean everything is rosy at the Burbank lot. Here's the story by Claudia Eller:  "Warner Bros. Entertainment is eliminating 800 jobs, or about 10% of its global workforce, becoming the latest media company to take drastic cost-cutting measures amid a deepening recession. The move is expected to save the movie and television studio more than $50 million annually in costs. Walt Disney Co. is also shortly expected to make substantial cuts in its ABC television division. On Tuesday, radio broadcaster Clear Channel Communications slashed 1,850 jobs, or 9% of its employees. In recent months, others including Viacom Inc., NBC/Universal, video game giant Electronic Arts and Hollywood's largest independent studio Lionsgate have downsized their ranks as they struggle with the global economic crisis and market downturns of DVD revenue and advertising sales. Of the 800 positions being eliminated by Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros., about 600 people will be laid off across all divisions of the studio's operations. Another 200 open positions will not be filled. About 300 positions in management information systems, finance and accounting will be outsourced to India and Poland. In addition, about 155 people who work in 'back office' positions will be offered jobs with a third-party outsourcing company on the Burbank lot, according to a person familiar with the matter. The layoffs and outsourcing of jobs will begin immediately and continue over a period of time, the person said." [Los Angeles Times]

SUPERMAN MEETS SPIDER-MAN!: Ah, one of the great moments of my childhood was in 1976 when all the rules of physics seemed to stop and the impossible happened: Superman met Spider-Man. What happened? Well, they started punching each other, of course. The book had GREAT cover drawn by Ross Andru (based on a Carmine Infantino layout and tightened by Dick Giordano inks) and a fun story by Gerry Conway with Lex Luthor and Dr. Octopus as the bad guys. It was sold as one of those great oversized tabloid editions. I was thinking of that landmark DC-Marvel crossover this morning when I saw footage of Brandon Routh, the most recent Man of Steel on the silver screen, meeting the considerably shorter Tobey Maguire, who was pitch-perfect as Peter Parker in Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" films. If Warner Bros. brings Routh back as the last son of Krypton (that's no done deal, of course) perhaps we'll see a summer showdown between the two signature heroes of the top comic-book companies. That would be cool.  The two actors met at a charity event, here's the lowdown from MTV: "They were on hand at Abram Simon Elementary to perform some community service as part of the president-elect’s call to community action on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. But the momentous meeting was the kind that comic geeks salivate over. Maguire was hard at work with volunteers in a classroom at the school trying to figure out how to build the IKEA-style shelving units, when Routh walked by just behind him, but the superheroes-in-street-clothes barely acknowledged each other as they pitched in while wearing their civvies ... Though Maguire was kept busy screwing panels of the shelves together, a short time later, as Routh pulled books from boxes to stack them in the newly built cubbies, he happened across a — no joke — Spider-Man book, and walked it over to his super-brethren. 'I think this is yours,' he said, handing Maguire the book. The web-slinger laughed, and the actors shook hands and chatted for a few moments before Routh walked back across the room to shelve 'I Can Read: Spider-Man 3, Meet the Heroes and the Villains.' 'I think I can probably beat them all up,' Routh said. 'Just kidding.'" [MTV]

TRIVIA QUESTION: "Superman Vs. Spider-Man" was the second comic book published by DC and Marvel partnering together to produce a "publishing event" moment. What was the first? The cover is at the bottom of this post.

ON THIS DATE: Happy birthday today to Mr. David Lynch, one of the great oddballs of cinema history and a truly singular spirit as a filmmaker. Lynch was born in Missoula, Mont., on this day in 1946, and reached the rank of Eagle Scout at age 15 and served as an usher at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy, a bit of random bio data that I thought you would appreciate on this day. Lynch would give us the television masterpiece that is the first two seasons of "Twin Peaks" and unforgettable films such as "Mulholland Drive," "Blue Velvet" and "Eraserhead." To celebrate his day, let's all get some damn fine coffee ... but only after checking to make sure there isn't a fish in the percolator. To see some video memories of Lynch moments, keep reading ...