In the beginning the Otter created AFI.

And the internet was without form; and was void. And darkness was on the face of the forums. And the spirit of AFI moved upon Superfly and Vader.

And then the Otter said "Let there be the Countdown to Toy Fair." And there was the Countdown to Toy Fair.

And Julius Marx saw the Countdown to Toy Fair. And it was good.

What: The American International Toy Fair, the largest international toy trade show in the western hemisphere!

Where: Jacob K. Javits Convention Center 655 West 34th Street New York, NY 10001

When: February 13-16, 2011

Website: www.toyassociation.org

So we know that the big comic book movie in 2011 will be Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, X-Men: First Class and Green Lantern. It stands to reason we'll see lots of product based on those movies from Hasbro and Mattel at Toy Fair. So the first week of this countdown will be devoted to Thor, Cap, X-Men and GL.









Mike
(56 Days Until Toy Fair 2011!)

Michel Gondry Upset by Comic-Con Audience

by SuperHeroHype

Dec 15th, 2010

The Green Hornet director decries die-hard superhero fans as facists

Michel Gondry offered some strongly-worried thoughts to the San Diego Comic-Con crowd that walked out on his Green Hornet panel in droves last July. His thoughts are detailed in a recent interview with The Guardian.

"I usually identify with the nerds," the director is reported as saying, "but these ones just reinforce the social rules. Their values are fascistic. All those people marching around in capes and masks and boots. The superhero imagery is totally fascist! When you step into this genre, they feel it belongs to them. They want you to conform, or they won't like you. They want the conventional."

Ironically, the quote comes out in the interview not long after the director states that, to avoid cynicism, he refuses to "mock things" and then goes on to say that he doesn't mind the reaction because the movie has performed very well with "normal people".

The Green Hornet hits theaters on January 14, 2011 in both 2D and 3D.

Locke & Key Adds Sarah Bolger

by SuperHeroHype

Dec 17th, 2010

Will play Kinsey Locke in the adaptation of the Joe Hill comic book

Sarah Bolger has joined the cast of the upcoming Fox series "Locke & Key," reports Deadline.

Based on the comic book series by Joe Hill and distributed by IDW Publishing, "Locke & Key" tells of Keyhouse, a New England mansion with fantastic doors that transform all who dare to walk through them. The building is also home to a hate-filled and relentless creature that will not rest until it forces open the most terrible door of them all.

Bolger, best known for her role on "The Tudors" and the films In America and The Spiderwick Chronicles, will play Kinsey Locke, one of three children to Miranda Otto's Nina Locke, the matriach for Keyhouse. Mark Romanek (One Hour Photo and Never Let Me Go) will be directing the pilot.

The New Poster for The Green Hornet

by SuperHeroHype

Dec 17th, 2010

Plus more photos from the January 14 release

Columbia Pictures has provided us with the new poster for The Green Hornet as well as some new photos from the January 14 release. Click on the thumbnail for a bigger version of the poster and you can view the photos here.

Twilight Screenwriter Adapting AKA Jessica Jones

by SuperHeroHype

Dec 17th, 2010

Based on the Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos comic

"Twilight" franchise screenwriter and former "Dexter" executive producer Melissa Rosenberg is set to adapt Marvel's "AKA Jessica Jones" for a fall 2011 series on ABC, reports Variety.

Rosenberg will write and execute produce the project, which will likely be Marvel Television's first official project for ABC ahead of "The Incredible Hulk."

Besides Rosenberg, executive producers on "AKA Jessica Jones" include Marvel TV's Jeph Loeb, Marvel Entertainment chief creative officer Joe Quesada and Marvel Worldwide's Alan Fine; 3 Arts Entertainment's Howard Klein ("Parks and Recreation") is also an executive producer.

Brian Michael Bendis, who created the character on which the series is based and the comic "Alias" in which she first appeared (along with Michael Gaydos), is a consultant.

To learn more about the character, hit the Marvel Wiki!

The trade adds that Guillermo del Toro and David Eick continue their talks to adapt "Hulk" at ABC and ABC Family is developing an adaptation of "Cloak and Dagger."

New Superman Movie to Shoot in Vancouver?

by SuperHeroHype

Dec 17th, 2010

Will filming start next summer?

While this is not confirmed, The Globe and Mail is reporting that the Zack Snyder-directed Superman movie will be filmed in Vancouver:

“[Zack Snyder’s] next feature’s coming here,” said Peter Leitch, chair of the Motion Picture Production Industry Association of BC and president of North Shore Studios and Mammoth Studios.

Leitch would not name Superman: Man of Steel as the film in question, but a source has confirmed that the next film in the Superman franchise will be shot in Vancouver next year, with production likely beginning in the summer.

Warner Bros. Pictures is planning a December 2012 release for the film, for which no cast has been announced yet. David Goyer and Jonathan Nolan wrote the script.

Maintenance Moves to DreamWorks Animation

by SuperHeroHype

Dec 18th, 2010

The Oni Press comic book will become an animated feature

It's been years since the news broke that Warner Bros. was developing the comic book series Maintenance as a feature film. Now, The Hollywood Reporter brings word that the rights have moved to DreamWorks Animation.

The series, written by Jim Massey and illustrated by Robbi Rodriguez, follows the exploits of two janitors who work at Terrormax Inc., the world's leading manufacturer and supplier of weapons and doomsday devices to supervillains.

Originally planned as a live-action feature for McG to direct, Maintenance was being scripted by Joe Ballarini. It is uncertain what elements, if any, of the WB project will transfer to DreamWorks Animation, but we'll continue to bring updates as the project develops.

From IGN:

Strange Rumors About Batman 3

Tom Hardy's role in The Dark Knight Rises may not be ....

December 17, 2010

by Jim Vejvoda

Everyone wants to know who Tom Hardy is playing in The Dark Knight Rises, but we may now know who he is not playing.

Batman-on-Film doesn't claim to know who Hardy is playing, but they've been advised by an inside source that he isn't playing the villainous Professor Hugo Strange as many have speculated.

Strange, one of Batman's first villains, is also the baddie in the new video game Batman: Arkham City. There's a general feeling now that perhaps all this Strange buzz stemmed from the fact that he was in the game. Perhaps Nolan isn't using the character at all, but there is a scenario in which Strange could be in the movie but played by an actor other than Hardy.

The rumor mill recently claimed that the third Nolan-directed Bat-film will be based on the "Prey" storyline that appeared in the comic book Legends of The Dark Knight issues #11-15. "Prey," written by Doug Moench, had the Caped Crusader locking horns with Hugo Strange, a psychiatrist appointed by the mayor to the GCPD task force dedicated to taking down Batman. (The leader of the task force? The reluctant Jim Gordon.) Strange, an oddball himself, becomes obsessed with Batman, and hypnotizes Max Cort, a brutish detective on the task force, into becoming a masked vigilante himself. (Catwoman also plays a role in the story.)

"Prey" certainly lends itself to the world established in Nolan's previous Batman films and would be a logical story to use as a structural basis for the threequel given the ending of The Dark Knight. So for the hell of it, let's say this rumor pans out. If any of this is true, then perhaps Hardy will play the detective-turned-vigilante Cort.

It wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility for Nolan and Co. to use "Prey" as the basis for their sequel. They may have drawn heavily from Batman: Year One for Batman Begins, but they also poached from less celebrated comic book stories such as "Batman: The Man Who Falls" and "Batman: Blind Justice," which introduced the character of Henri Ducard. The Dark Knight was heavily influenced by Joker's first appearance in Batman #1. It should be noted that Hugo Strange, like Joker and Catwoman, is among Batman's earliest recurring villains, first appearing in 1940 in Detective Comics #36.

Mike Johnson to Helm Animated Oz Wars

Source: comingsoon.net

December 15, 2010

John Williams, President and CEO of Vanguard Films, announced today the company has signed Oscar and Annie Award-nominee Mike Johnson, co-director of Corpse Bride, to direct its CG/stop-motion hybrid feature film, Oz Wars.

"Mike Johnson is a spectacular director and one of the masters of stop-motion," says Williams. "We all think 'Oz Wars' is a wildly original and commercial project that will thrill and astonish audiences. Additionally, due to revolutionary new stop-motion software, Mike will be making this world-class quality film at an unprecedentedly economical cost point."

Oz Wars, written by Rob Moreland (Space Chimps 1 & 2 and Vanguard's upcoming live action City of Dragons) and Athena Gam (Vanguard's recently announced Alien Rock Band), transforms the Oz narrative into a contemporary, freaky action-packed PG-13 audience pleaser, with Dorothy caught up in a whirlwind of warrior witches, black magic, martial arts and monsters.

"'Oz Wars' is an animated action-adventure story, but unlike most animated films, it's not just for kids," Johnson says. "The Land of Oz will be re-imagined using stop-motion to create a world that's dark, slick, sexy, and dangerous. It's long been a goal of mine to create a hard-hitting, grown-up action film using stop-motion animation. 'Oz Wars' is my opportunity to do that."

The announcement comes on the heels of an ambitious Vanguard production slate released at AFM which includes CG, live action and CG/live action hybrids. Vanguard recently announced an overall producing/directing deal with Kung Fu Panda co-director John Stevenson, whose first Vanguard directorial project will be Alien Rock Band, a live action/CGI hybrid, with musician Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) attached as a producer.

A veteran animator and director, Texas-native Mike Johnson won the British Animation Award and earned Oscar and Annie Award nominations (with co-director Tim Burton) for his feature film Corpse Bride. As an animator his credits include The Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach and the Emmy Award-wining children's series "Bump in the Night." Johnson's directing credits also include episodes of the Emmy Award-winning television series "The P.J.'s," and the award-winning short The Devil Went Down To Georgia, which he also produced.

Clash of the Titans 2 Set for March, 2012

Source: comingsoon.net

December 15, 2010

Warner Bros. Pictures has set a March 30, 2012 release date for Clash of the Titans 2 (AKA "Wrath of the Titans"). The other film scheduled for that date is DreamWorks Animation's The Croods, voiced by Nicolas Cage, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine Keener and Emma Stone.

Jonathan Liebesman will direct the sequel to Clash of the Titans, which earned $493.2 million worldwide and carried a budget of about $125 million.

Sam Worthington, Gemma Arterton, Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neeson are expected to return for the sequel that will be shot in 3D.

Liebesman directed Battle: Los Angeles, which opens in theaters on March 11.

Exclusive Season of the Witch TV Spot!

Source: comingsoon.net

December 17, 2010

ComingSoon.net's ShockTillYouDrop.com has your exclusive first look at the new TV spot for Season of the Witch, opening in theaters on January 7. Directed by Dominic Sena, the supernatural action adventure stars Nicolas Cage, Ron Perlman, Stephen Campbell Moore, Robert Sheehan, Claire Foy, Ulrich Thomsen, Stephen Graham and Christopher Lee.

You can watch the TV spot here!

Exclusive Battle: Los Angeles Poster!

Source: comingsoon.net

December 17, 2010

ComingSoon.net has your exclusive first look at the new poster for Columbia Pictures' Battle: Los Angeles. Opening in theaters on March 11, the Jonathan Liebesman-directed film stars Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Ramon Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan, Ne-Yo and Michael Pena. The movie is described as follows:

For years, there have been documented cases of UFO sightings around the world – Buenos Aires, Seoul, France, Germany, China. But in 2011, what were once just sightings will become a terrifying reality when Earth is attacked by unknown forces. As people everywhere watch the world's great cities fall, Los Angeles becomes the last stand for mankind in a battle no one expected. It's up to a Marine staff sergeant (Eckhart) and his new platoon to draw a line in the sand as they take on an enemy unlike any they've ever encountered before.

Click the poster for a bigger version!

The New Poster for The Smurfs

Source: comingsoon.net

December 17, 2010

Columbia Pictures has released the new poster for The Smurfs, opening in theaters on August 31. Directed by Raja Gosnell, the big screen adaptation features Neil Patrick Harris, Jayma Mays, Sofia Vergara, Hank Azaria, Anton Yelchin, Jonathan Winters, Katy Perry, Alan Cumming, Fred Armisen, George Lopez, Paul Reubens, John Oliver, Kenan Thompson, B.J. Novak, Jeff Foxworthy, Wolfgang Puck, Gary Basaraba and Tim Gunn.

Click the poster for a bigger version!

Noyce Not Directing Possible Salt Sequel

Source: Moviehole, comingsoon.net

December 20, 2010

Despite Angelina Jolie-starrer Salt having earned $293.5 million worldwide, director Phillip Noyce says he won't be returning for a possible sequel.

"Those 3 [alternate] Blu-ray cuts [of the film] represent just about everything I have to offer on Evelyn Salt," Noyce told Moviehole. "If there ever is a sequel, better its directed by someone with a completely fresh take on what I believe could be a totally entertaining and complex series of stories."

Who do you think should direct a sequel if it gets the green light from Sony Pictures?

Giger Reteams with Scott for Alien Prequel

Source: comingsoon.net, AvPGalaxy

December 20, 2010

H.R. Giger, known for his prolific and baroque artwork, is reportedly returning to the Alien universe for Ridley Scott's upcoming Alien prequel.

Is this just one more cog in the rumor mill surrounding the film? Apparently not. In an interview with a German news outlet, Carmen Scheifele, Giger's wife, said the man is "on board" the production.

Giger, as you know, designed the titular creature and various other aspects featured in Scott's 1979 film.