Inspired by DC Comics Hero Nightwing and with two years on the job, Seattle’s Phoenix Jones is arrested for the first time.

Phoenix and his sidekicks are claiming that they jumped into action once they saw a group of people kicking a defenseless man on the ground. However, it looks like the tables were turned and once Phoenix pulled out some pepper spray on the rowdy group, he was the one to be arrested for assault. The group in question also claims that there was no man being beaten on the ground, but that they were:

“dancing and having a good time when they were attacked by the masked man in black and yellow body armor.”

To add further insult to injury, the Seattle police released “Phoenix Jones” true identity to the public after the altercation which Jones states not only puts his family at risk but his daytime job of working with autistic kids in jeopardy.

There is a glimmer of hope that Jones can be vindicated as he was travelling with a freelance reporter that evening taking video recordings (click the link below for video).

Like the article says…”this would never happen to Batman”…

[comicbookmovie]

This past Saturday I had the pleasure of being invited to the launch party for Duke Nukem Forever. One of the most awesome parties I’ve been to in a long time, celebrating the love we all have this singular video game hero. Girls, dancers, Rock and Roll, The Crystal Method, DJ Jazzy Jeff, and the King himself made this party so great. Gearbox gets the feel that Duke should have, and I can’t wait to play the game today.

Below is a gallery of pictures from my iPhone, sorry I had no flash and not a real camera, but this should give you enough to be jealous.

Fan favorite SouperboyX has come up with another winner, with the teaser trailer for a fan edited film called Superman: Genesis, which presents Tom Welling as the Man of Steel far more effectively than the series finale Smallville did.

From comicbookmovie.com

Trailers are a director’s opportunity to generate interest in his/her project. Some directors miss the mark and drive fans away from their movies, others capitalize and convert newcomers into true-believers.

In light of the recent debate about the Thor, Green lantern, Captain America and X-Men-First Class trailers hitting the airwaves, I began to wonder, what truely makes a trailer stand out? What makes a trailer so good (or so bad), that fanboys will jeopardize all their accumulated “street-cred” to publicly proclaim it and the eventual movie a masterpeice?

Well, I got to thinking about this, and in so doing, researched all the comicbook movie trailers I could find. I established a criteria for evaluating the trailers and then compared my evaluations to the “general feel and concensus” others got from the trailer. Then I made a list.

The Criteria:
1. The Movie must have been published as a comic book (or Graphic Novel or Manga) before or shortly after the theatrical release of the movie.
2. Teasers, TV spots, Sneak Peeks, Behind-The-Scenes and Set-visits were not included in the viewing.
3. Both Green band and Red band trailers were acceptable, but red band versions were always considered over Green where available.
4. The Trailer length could not exceed 3 minutes.
5. In instances with multiple movie trailers (eg. Iron man Trailer 1, Iron man Trailer 2 etc), the trailer with the longest running length under 3 mins was selected)
6. Only live action movies were considered, fully animated movies were not included in the pull of considered movies.

The Nominees:
For a list of the nominees, please view the wikipedia list of Films Based on comics. I looked at every one of these movie’s trailers over the course of the last two months, then I spent time comparing their merits.

Selection Criteria:
1. Level to which the trailer engages and/or captivates the viewer.
2. Universality of content (how easily different kinds of people eg. men vs women, old vs. young, fan vs. newbie could understand the content
3. Story exposition or the extent to which the trailer communicates what the movie will be about without revealing the entire plot
4. General feel and concensus of the movie. What did fanboys and new comers to the content think about the trailers (youtube/traileraddict/google video comments and votes)
5. Box office movie performance, as well as movie reviews were not taken into consideration in evaluating the trailers.

And now, without further ado, I present to you…

The Top 10 Comicbook movie trailers…Ever!

10. Casshern

Years before Snyder and Rodriguez would cause us to marvel at the seamless melding of live action and CGI, Kiriya would give us this slick trailer that is a treat even to non-native japanese audiences.

9. Red

When you take so many seasoned actors and put them together in an action-comedy setting as was shown in this trailer, there is a universality about this that makes it something that all can appreciate.

8. 30 Days of Night

Even if you are not a fan of vampire films, the foreboding setting of this trailer will still make a lasting impact you.

7. American Splendor

This trailer screams of overcomplicated banality (a la Woody Allen), as do the characters. By the time the viewer reaches the end of the surprisingly engaging trailer, they realize that the movie seems to play on itself.

6. A History Of Violence

Perhaps revealing too much, this trailer successfully draws the viewer into a story about an otherwise modest character with a troubling past.

5. Sin City

The first of the ultra-stylized trailers to make the list. There’s something about the texturing of the visuals, the snippets that are shown, that pulls the viewer in.

4. Iron man

The sequel’s trailer only fails to create the same level of emotional draw that this trailer provides.

3. 300

Besides having one of the highest views on google and youtube, this trailer is extremely well crafted as it instantly signals entry into a completely different and fascinating world.

2. Spiderman 3

Throw some fast-paced climatic opera music on anything and watch it sparkle. This trailer does a great job of doing just that and it draws the viewer in with the murky layers of turmoil interspliced with special effects.

1. Watchmen

One half music video, the other half visual expedition, the watchmen trailer has pound for pound the highest net views and embeds (when the release date is taken into consiedration). The trailer sets a tone that can only be described as “intense” and causes the viewer to hit the “replay” button.

Honorable mention: 20. X-Men: First Class, 19. Spiderman, 18. Thor, 17. Star Wars Episode 3, 16. Goemon, 15. The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec, 14. X-Men 2: X-Men United, 13. Superman Returns, 12. Wanted, 11. X-Men: The Last Stand.
Dishonorable mention: 98. Sucker Punch, 99. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, 100. Batman & Robin

So those are my picks, please share yours!

[comicbookmovie]

This is a very cool video found on YouTube.. Check it out.. Thanks to Rod Nunley for the heads up..

Here is the offical description from YouTube..

My entry into the Empire/Jameson Done in 60 Seconds Competition 2011!

This is basically my love letter to all things Edgar Wright/Scott Pilgrim! I saw and read Scott Pilgrim in the summer of last year, and it had such a massive impact I decided to make this to vent my creative juices!

interesting fact – I did a cracking caricature of Bill Nighy but I had to leave it out in the end. Shame

I did the voices for Shaun and Ed and my mum kindly lent her vocal chords for Liz and Daisy… I Mean Yvonne!

- Pippinopalon

Over the next couple of weeks we are going to take a look at some of the talented comic writers and artists we spent time with at Staple-Austin recently. We had a great time meeting and interviewing these guys and girls and want to give you a chance to check out some of their work.

Jen Bryan is an Austin based artist/designer who creates custom jewelry and belt buckles to fit any need you might have. Jen loves to create custom pieces so contact her at www.lucybluestudio.com to speak with here and find out what kind of cool stuff she can make for you or just to check out some of her cool designs.

There’s only so much one person can take watching all this reality show bull shit and apparently there’s only so much one mans leg can take trying to carry around Kirstie Alley’s weight. We all know it was gonna happen sooner or later and I guess he’s just lucky she didn’t fall on him and break both his legs…

This week’s Poster wall is a mixed bag as far as quality goes. Some cool stuff, some average stuff. Let’s get going…

First up this week is a series of posters from the movie Thor that hits theaters in a few weeks. Much like last weeks POTC series, this series features the many characters in the upcoming movie in basic headshots. Nothing spectacular here, just your basic movie posters but the series as a whole is nice…

Up next is a group of posters from a few bigger budget movies hitting this summer. Most of these are average as well. I dig the Winnie the Pooh poster as well as the Hangover 2 poster. Both pretty indicative of what’s you get from those movies. The POTC posters are two more from the collection we featured last week. The russian version is of particular interest. I’m digging the post naval war vibe going on in that one…

Here’s a nice set of posters from a few smaller films that you might have to search a bit to find. The Hesher one is excellent. I love the black and white asthetics and the cigarette smoke. Throw in the old school red Metallica font used for the title and you really get a feel for the vibe they’re going here. My guess is that a good portion of the movie may take part in a laundry mat or a trailer park. Either way it looks like something I want to see. Takashi Miike’s 13 Assassins looks crazy too. Man that red 13 really pops on that cloudy sky background. Good stuff…

These two are posters for some upcoming televison shows. They don’t really seem to be on the same level as most movie posters especially the True Blood one but I kinda like the Falling Skies one. Very District 9 and I love District 9…

Terrence Malicks “Tree of Life” film has been long delayed but will soon be seeing the light of day when it premiere at Caanes next month. If these posters are any indication this is gonna be one crazy movie…

And finally a few “fan made” posters from some of my favorite movies. The Jaws posters are two very different designs that capture the dynamic impact that Jaws as a move has made on our culture. When you’ve been made into Legos you’ve left your mark. The Kill Bill poster was created by Mondo Tees for a screening of “Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair” in L.A. last week. Very cool layout, design, and use of color that I hope will one day soon be available for purchase.

Well that’s it for this weeks posters. Check back next week for some more cool posters and if you come across one feel free to send it over and I’ll credit you when I post it…

It’s Monday morning and that means it’s time to take a look at who made out like a bandit this weekend at the box office. This weeks winner is Diary of a wimpy Kid 2 which strongly out performed expectations pulling in 24 million dollars while the poorly reviewed Suckerpunch was left gasping for breath. Apparently word of mouth got out that Sucker Punch was all style and no substance and the movie crowd decided a kids book adaptation sounded like a good bet. Word of mouth is sure to keep Wimpy Kid 2 strong for a few weeks to follow.

Limitless and The Lincoln Lawyer continued to perform strongly in their second week. Both performed well with less that 20% drop off from the previous week. These two movies continue to do very well with the older crowd which means you’ll probably see them played to death on basic cable in a few years. For now expect them both to continue strong in the coming weekends.

Rango pulls in fifth with a still strong 9 million after 4 weeks. The best reviewed movie of the year has now passed the 100 million dollar mark and looks to be steaming steadily towards the 125 million dollar mark before it’s run in theaters is done.

The biggest drop offs this week were Paul -42%, Red Riding Hood -39%, and Mars Needs Moms -58%. All three of these movies have struggled to perform outside of their demo’s which has led to a quick drop off at the box office. Luckily for Paul they made a lot of money overseas before dropping here in the US 2 weeks ago. Red Riding Hood and Mars Needs Moms hope to find a second life when they hit DVD later this year.

We’ve got a ton of great content for the poster wall that’s been collected from various places around the internet this past week including everything from low budget indies, foreign films, fan made posters and some pretty cool series posters. Lets get started…

Up first is a collection of fan made posters created for the upcoming X-Men: First Class film by two different artists. These are all incredible pieces of work and have a real sense of late 60′s early 70′s style that really works for this movie which looks back at the beginning of the X-Men saga.
Artist: Jeffery Zang

Artist: Dane Frost

Up next is another collection of posters from Tim Gunn’s film “Super” starring Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page. Very cool layout hi-lighting the costume design and the signature catch phrases of the movies two super hero characters.

Ellen Page’s Boltie

Rainn Wilson’s Crimson Bolt

Here’s a couple of posters for some indie movies hitting festivals around the country right now. These are two horror movies that come from complete opposite ends of the film making spectrum. The dark and very controversial film “A Serbian Film” and “Rubber” of the more light hearted. campy, splatter film variety. Two cool posters that prove there’s a little something for everyone out there, you just have to search for it sometimes.

Here are a few random selections from some summer flicks coming up. The “Attack the Block” poster is a nice wide format we don’t usually see in here showcasing what looks be an alien invasion. This is from a British movie starring Nick Frost of “Shuan of the Dead” fame. Also included is the Hollywood poster for “Cars 2″. Nothing special worth noting in this one. Seems kinda boring compared to what we’ve seen so far. Oh, and be on the look out for the Mo Brothers film GFG. That stands for Goddamn Motherfucking Ghouls. The film is said to take place in a hotel, where a group of folks are defending themselves from a bunch of flesh eating ghouls. Sounds interesting…

And finally here’s a look at some limited edition posters created by some boutique poster designers for limited runs. The “Sucker Punch” poster was created by artist Ken Taylor for Mondo Tees to celebrate the release of Zack Snyder‘s new movie.This is the first of several movie posters being designed for Snyder’s films, which includes Dawn of the Dead, 300, Legend of the Guardians and Watchmen. Go here to pick up one of these. Also featured is a very cool “Back to the Future” poster created by Justin Erickson as part of TIFF’s Back to the 80′s film series. The posters are not commercially available, they are not on sale and never will be. While the images will be used online, the number of physical copies will be limited to ten. Five copies are being kept for the people involved in putting the series together. And the other five? Those are being given away to people attending the screening.

Thanks for checking out this weeks collection and be sure to check back next week for another round of posters sure to keep you looking forward to what’s coming out next.

I’m always looking for bad ass t-shirts to replace my aging collection so when I ran across this over at blastr.com I knew I had to have it. Problem is I can’t find it to buy anywhere. Anyone know where i can get one of these? The shirt not the girl…

Box Office Report for the weekend of March 18 – 20

Yes folks it’s that time again, it’s Monday morning and that means it’s time to check out how rich you made Hollywood this weekend.

The weekends surprise winner was “Limitless”, starring nouveau man of the hour Bradley Cooper as a man who takes a pill that allows him to use 100 percent of his brain power, not grow a giant melon shaped head, and draw 19 million dollars at the box office.

Battle Los Angeles was expecting stronger 2nd week numbers than what it raked it. Apparently anyone who was interested in seeing “Battle: LA” has either already seen it, was scared off by bad reviews, or drawn in by by Bradley Coopers captivating blue eyes. Either way they fell off by 59% and ended up 3rd behind the still strong “Rango” who more than likely will hit the magic 100 million dollar mark this coming weekend.

Rounding out the top five were “The Lincoln Lawyer” at number four with a respectable showing of 13.4 million and my favorite opening of the week “Paul” at number five. Paul’s 13.2 million dollar opening is Simon Peggs/Nick Frost’s largest opening weekend and is considered a good opening considering the rather limited marketing of the movie as sci-fi/fanboy style entertainment. With the good reviews and solid opening (as well as 41 million dollars in international ticket sales) “Paul” is expected to hold steady  as some of the others on this list fall off in the coming weeks. (Yes I’m talking about you “Battle: Los Angeles”.)

1. ‘Limitless,’ $19.0 million
2. ‘Rango,’ $15.3 million
3. ‘Battle: Los Angeles,’ $14.6 million
4. ‘The Lincoln Lawyer,’ $13.4 million
5. ‘Paul,’ $13.2 million
6. ‘Red Riding Hood,’ $7.3 million
7. ‘The Adjustment Bureau,’ $5.9 million
8. ‘Mars Needs Moms,’ $5.3 million
9. ‘Beastly,’ $3.3 million
10. ‘Hall Pass,’ $2.6 million

A new animated short which expands the universe of Zack Snyder’s latest movie, Sucker Punch, entitled “Dragon” has been released online! Hit the jump to check it out…

Sucker Punch” is an epic action fantasy that takes us into the vivid imagination of a young girl whose dream world provides the ultimate escape from her darker reality. Unrestrained by the boundaries of time and place, she is free to go where her mind takes her, and her incredible adventures blur the lines between what’s real and what is imaginary.

She has been locked away against her will, but Babydoll has not lost her will to survive. Determined to fight for her freedom, she urges four other young girls—the reluctant Sweet Pea, the outspoken Rocket, the street-smart Blondie and the fiercely loyal Amber—to band together and try to escape a terrible fate at the hands of their captors, Blue and Madam Gorski, before the mysterious High Roller comes for Babydoll.

Led by Babydoll, the girls engage in fantastical warfare against everything from samurais to serpents, with a virtual arsenal at their disposal. Together, they must decide what they are willing to sacrifice in order to stay alive. But with the help of a Wise Man, their unbelievable journey—if they succeed—will set them free.

Instead of doing a bunch of separate post on every movie poster that gets released during the week I’m going to start collecting them in a weekly friday column that will feature some recently released posters and even a few rare/cool designs of classic posters (if i come across them). I love movie posters. I have collected them most of my life even decorating my apartments over the years with them like they were wallpaper or fine art. Now that I’ve grown up (and my wife will no longer let me hang them in the living room) I keep the walls of the studio where we record our podcast covered in movie posters to keep us inspired when we lose our spark. I hope you find some cool posters in this column that inspire you. Let’s get going…

Lets start off with a collection of posters for what looks to be a huge summer blockbuster and that’s Pirates of  the Carribean: On Stranger Tides. This series of posters focuses on the returning characters of the new POTC and gives us a good look at a couple of Captain Jack’s new adversaries. A very cool collection. The only thing that would have made it cooler would have been if they all somehow able to connected into one large poster.

Up next is a poster from another summer blockbuster, Fast Five. This is a classic example of too much of a good thing. Trying to put every character ever in a Fast and Furious movie onto one poster makes for some weird angles and staging. Is Paul Walker floating on air? What happened to Vin Diesels feet? Did he forget his shoes so they had to cut them out? And who the hell are all those people in the background. I recognize some of them but isn’t that asian dude supposed to be dead? Maybe this poster works better as a horizontal presentation.

And finally a peek at a poster for a foreign film series that just won’t die, [rec]. I dig these movies and I’m glad they keep making them (as long as they keep making them good). The [rec] Genisis poster is based on a running theme that has been featured in the posters for the two previous movies in this series. I hope you enjoyed these and we’ll see you next week…

Extended trailer for the sequel to E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
good attempt anyway..

The Noob News Monday Morning Roundup…

It’s time to take a look at the numbers from this past weekends box office and see how well Hollywood did filling it’s coffers with gold.

This weekend was dominated by “Battle: Los Angeles”. The summer blockbuster lite destroyed all competition this weekend with a strong $36 million dollar opening despite less than stellar early reviews. Also performing well and still holding strong was the animated film “Rango” who pulled in $23 million after last weeks $46 million dollar opening weekend and looks to be headed towards the $100 million dollar mark.

Disappointments at the box office this weekend include “Red Riding Hood”, the updated fairytale directed by Cahterine Hardwick of  “Twilight” fame and “Mars Needs Moms” the animated Disney family space adventure based on the book of the same name. Early reviews of “Red Riding Hood” have described it as “wolf shit in sheep’s clothing” but you didn’t hear that from me…

I guess America has spoken, they want more animated westerns and alien invasion movies. Get on it Hollywood…

1. “Battle: Los Angeles,” $36 million.

2. “Rango,” $23.1 million.

3. “Red Riding Hood,” $14.1 million.

4. “The Adjustment Bureau,” $11.5 million.

5. “Mars Needs Moms!” $6.8 million.

6. “Hall Pass,” $5.1 million.

7. “Beastly,” $5.1 million

8. “Just Go With It,” $4 million.

9. “The King’s Speech,” $3.6 million.

10. “Gnomeo & Juliet,” $3.5 million.

Charlie Sheen has moved from radio rants to a full-scale television blitz, appearing on the “Today Show” to discuss the personal and professional firestorm he’s lit.

The (former) “Two and a Half Men” star talks to Jeff Rossen about, well, a lot – including his “war” with CBS, violence against women, being a role model for his children, charges of anti-Semitism, turning his home into a “crisis management center,” and what he plans to do next.

At various points, Sheen quotes NBA star Allen Iverson, calls himself a “warlock,” directly addresses show creator Chuck Lorre with questions he’s scrawled on index cards, slams Will & Grace, reads sarcastically from the Alcoholics Anonymous handbook, and claims to have “tiger blood” and “Adonis DNA.”

Charlie Sheen’s hilariously awesome ‘Unleashed’ radio interview. You gotta listen to this.

[shockmansion]

They thought it’d be an easy battle…they thought wrong.

The Black Mamba.
Starring Kobe Bryant, Bruce Willis, Danny Trejo and Kanye West.

Directed by Robert Rodriguez.

A Nike Basketball Production.

Remember that awesome X-Men Family Tree that talented artist Joe Stone put together a few weeks back? Well, he’s been at it again, this time with the Fantastic Four…

Pretty awesome, huh? A No-Prize for whoever can name all of the characters first? (you really have that much time on your hands!?) For a larger version of the picture just click on it

And here’s the equally detailed one for the X-Men. Click on it for a larger version of this one as well.

[comicbookmovie]

ZOO ATLANTA AND DREAMWORKS ANIMATION ANNOUNCE PANDA CUB’S NEW NAME

100 Day Celebration Features Appearance by Actor Jack Black from “Kung Fu Panda” and “Kung Fu Panda 2”

ATLANTA – February 15, 2011 ― Officials at Zoo Atlanta and DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. (Nasdaq: DWA) have issued a joint announcement that the only giant panda cub born in the U.S. in 2010 has a name: Po. The name is a tribute to the lead character, Po the panda, in the upcoming DreamWorks Animation film, Kung Fu Panda 2, which will be distributed by Paramount Pictures starting on May 26, 2011.

The announcement was made this morning by representatives from Zoo Atlanta and DreamWorks Animation, the official sponsor of the 100 Day Giant Panda Cub Celebration and the naming of Po. Actor Jack Black, who voiced the iconic character of Po the panda in Kung Fu Panda – which grossed over $630 million at the worldwide box office – and who will reprise his role in the upcoming sequel, was present for the naming of the newborn panda cub.

“Today’s announcement is the beginning of an amazing alliance between Zoo Atlanta and DreamWorks Animation. Our organizations share a commitment to giant panda conservation, particularly at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding,” said Raymond B. King, President and CEO of Zoo Atlanta. “We are proud and honored to share this moment with Jack Black, who has already helped to bring the importance of saving this species to a new generation of conservationists.”

Giant pandas are among the world’s rarest mammals, with fewer than 1,600 believed to remain in the wild. The giant panda program at Zoo Atlanta supports conservation programs at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding and in nature reserves in China.

In the Kung Fu Panda films, Po is an unlikely hero challenged by preconceived notions of what a kung fu warrior should be. Following the likeable but clumsy Po and his allies on a series of adventures, the films celebrate the power of self-worth and the ability of an individual to affect positive change.

These themes are equally fitting for the giant panda cub. He is an ambassador for his species, helping to draw attention to the plight of giant pandas in the wild. Born to Lun Lun on November 3, 2010, the 3-month-old now known as Po is already proving to be a great ambassador. Followed by thousands of fans on the world-famous PandaCam presented by EarthCam, the cub is expected to make his public debut in late March or early April. View the PandaCam at www.zooatlanta.org/pandacam.

About Zoo Atlanta

An accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), Zoo Atlanta inspires value and preservation of wildlife through a unique mix of education and outdoor family fun. From well-known native wildlife to critically endangered species on the brink of extinction, the Zoo offers memorable close encounters with more than 1,000 animals from around the world. Opening in March 2011 is Complex Carnivores, a new series of exhibits featuring bush dogs, fossa and binturong. Zoo Atlanta is also proud to be one of only four zoos in the U.S. that giant pandas call home: Lun Lun’s newest cub, born November 3, 2010, makes his public debut in spring 2011. Other highlights include the nation’s largest collection of western lowland gorillas, the nation’s largest zoological collection of orangutans and a global center of excellence for the care and study of vanishing reptiles and amphibians. The Zoo is open daily with the exceptions of Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Keeper talks, interactive wildlife shows, education programs and special events run year-round. For more information, call 404.624.WILD or visit zooatlanta.org.

About DreamWorks Animation

DreamWorks Animation creates high-quality entertainment, including CG animated feature films, television specials and series, live entertainment properties and online virtual worlds, meant for audiences around the world. The Company has world-class creative talent, a strong and experienced management team and advanced filmmaking technology and techniques. DreamWorks Animation has been named one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” by FORTUNE® Magazine for three consecutive years. In 2011, DreamWorks Animation ranks #10 on the list. All of DreamWorks Animation’s feature films are now being produced in 3D. The Company has theatrically released a total of 21 animated feature films, including the franchise properties of Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon.

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