 Archive for the 'Movies' Category‘Wizard of Oz’ goes HD for 70th anniversarySeptember 6th, 2009, 10:08 pm by Jayson Peters
The Yellow Brick Road never looked so yellow and bricky. The film adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s Wizard of Oz is turning 70, and to celebrate the occasion a remastered, high-def version has been prepared for a national theater tour. Turner Classic Movies host and film historian Robert Osborne recorded an introduction for the movie, which will be screened Sept. 23 at several Valley theaters. Read the rest of this entry » ‘Green Hornet’ finally takes flightSeptember 3rd, 2009, 10:06 pm by Jayson Peters
Michel Gondry is directing the movie, which stars comic actor Seth Rogen as the masked vigilante, Taiwanese actor-pop star Jay Chou as his chauffeur/sidekick Kato, Cameron Diaz (Charlie’s Angels, What Happens in Vegas), Edward James Olmos (Battlestar Galactica), David Harbour (Revolutionary Road) and Tom Wilkinson (Valkyrie). Nicolas Cage is also in negotiations for a role, according to studio Columbia Pictures. The film is set for release on Dec. 17, 2010. Favreau saddles up with Downey for ‘Cowboys & Aliens’September 2nd, 2009, 9:27 am by Jayson Peters
The Wild West E.T. tale, based on a series of graphic novels set in 19th century Arizona, is being penned by Star Trek reboot writers Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman, plus Lost scribe Damon Lindelof. You can read the entire first issue of the comic here at Drunk Duck, a free webcomic hosting service. You can also blame this for any delays in other Favreau-Downey projects, like Iron Man 3 and The Avengers. But if C&A turns out to be as much fun as it appears, that will be a fair trade indeed. Via Wired’s Underwire blog A ‘Kick-Ass’ start to next summer’s movie seasonSeptember 1st, 2009, 11:17 pm by Chris "KeL" Adams
The comic tells the story of an average high school kid who decides to become a super-hero, despite having no super-powers, training or even equipment. The screenplay was shot down after being shopped around to movie studios. It was deemed far too violent and profane for the ages of the characters involved. However, director/co-writer Matthew Vaughn believed in the project so much that he refused to soften the story. Instead he went out and beat the bushes to independently raise financing for the movie. Marvel and the MouseAugust 31st, 2009, 7:15 am by Jayson Peters
It’s also worth noting this brings Disney into direct competition with Warner Bros. in the comics-to-movie arena and opens up a world of possibilities with the Marvel Island attraction at Universal Orlando. As one blogger put it:
‘Plan 9′ finally riffed onAugust 22nd, 2009, 12:01 am by ebehrendtNOTE TO READERS: Please welcome the newest member of the Nerdvana crew. Emily Behrendt is a journalist at our sister publication, the Ahwatukee Foothills News. Here she brings us a review of the long-awaited MST-ing of Plan 9 From Outer Space.
Every B-movie, that is, except the infamous 1959 sci-fi/horror classic Plan 9 from Outer Space. James ‘King of the World’ Cameron orders you to buy 3-D TV!August 21st, 2009, 3:56 pm by Jayson Peters Twentieth Century Fox While the world has been clamoring to get a sneek peek at the highly anticipated sci-fi epic Avatar, director James Cameron has been busy wheeling and dealing to bring television into the third dimension — and, no doubt, make himself even richer. A deal announced Friday will put Avatar in several trailers that will haul Panasonic’s big-screen, 3-D TVs around the U.S. and Europe next month. Avatar is shot entirely in 3-D, and it will be the first major motion picture to debut in both 2-D and 3-D when it is released in theaters Dec. 18. But the technology — both in homes and at theaters — is so new that it is sorely lacking in content and has no clear direction when it comes to disc and broadcast formats. Cameron’s name will give Panasonic a major edge in the coming dimensional war. Because, in a recession, the first thing on people’s minds is this: “Gosh, I need to get me a better TV.” ‘Basterds’ a film of no uncertain parentageAugust 21st, 2009, 12:13 am by Chris "KeL" Adams
Johns to co-write ‘Shazam!’ movieAugust 20th, 2009, 3:51 pm by Chris "KeL" Adams
Hopefully, this project will have more success than the previous attempts which have languished endlessly in development limbo. DC seems to be doing their best to play catch-up with their rivals at Marvel, who have a strong slate of projects in development, including Captain America, Thor and The Avengers. Read the rest of this entry » Friday is ‘Avatar Day’August 17th, 2009, 3:36 pm by Chris "KeL" AdamsIf you’d like to get a sneak peek at director James Cameron’s hotly anticipated science fiction flick “Avatar,” now’s your chance. Head over to the movie’s official site, www.avatarmovie.com, and you can score up to two seats for a special showing of a 16-minute extended trailer. The preview will be shown in 3-D at IMAX theaters in Mesa and Phoenix this Friday. There will be two showings at each theater (6 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. in Mesa, 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. in Phoenix). Tickets are limited, so act quick or be prepared to wait for the movie’s December release. UPDATE: Are you happy? You broke the Internet. Way to go. This is why we can’t have nice things! — Jayson SECOND UPDATE: Never underestimate the power of Nerdvana! Hope some folks got through, as all the tickets have since been snapped up. — KeL New feature: Local convention calendarAugust 16th, 2009, 10:26 pm by Jayson PetersYou may have noticed a new item on the right-hand side of the page: the local convention calendar. Here are the current contents for those reading via RSS feed:
Expect this feature to grow or shrink (hopefully, just grow) to reflect the activity level of the local con scene. The blockbuster San Diego Comic-Con or Gen Con Indy they are not, but the Valley has quite a busy community of people dedicated to bringing fans together with talent — all year long. Check ‘em out, you won’t be disappointed. As always, if you see something I’ve neglected or messed up, send an e-mail to the address in the sidebar or tweet @nerdvana. Or, just leave a comment below! LEGO: The Movie?August 16th, 2009, 8:12 am by Jayson Peters Image: LEGO LEGO has already conquered the video game medium. What’s next, a LEGO movie? Block on. Warner Bros. is working with everyone’s favorite Danish toymaker to build a family comedy that will mix live action with animation, according to Variety. It remains to be seen whether audiences will buy into a LEGO movie like they do interactive experiences like playing with the brick sets and the video games. Via GeekDad See also: ‘Wolverine’ sequel potentially much less terribleAugust 15th, 2009, 8:52 pm by Chris "KeL" Adams
Not only is McQuarrie a talented writer himself, he’s planning on working directly from the comics. The first Wolverine mini-series by the legendary team of Chris Claremont and Frank Miller will be McQuarrie’s template. The four-issue storyline depicts Wolverine’s struggle to come to terms with his bestial side while in Japan and is widely regarded as one of the best tales in the character’s history. The last couple of Batman movies have shown that a faithful translation of existing storylines and themes can have spectacular results. Hopefully, that trend will continue with the next Wolvie flick. All of this has happened before, and will happen again …August 14th, 2009, 12:32 pm by Jayson Peters
Singer has been attached to a remake of the ‘78 series before, but the project was shelved in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. The Sci Fi Channel, now known as Syfy, later turned Galactica into a critically acclaimed miniseries and regular series that told the story of the Twelve Colonies of man decimated by a surprise attack by the machine Cylon race. Singer’s credits include The Usual Suspects, the first two X-Men films and Superman Returns. ‘District 9′ gets a 10August 12th, 2009, 7:34 pm by Chris "KeL" Adams
“District 9,” which hits theaters on Friday, strikes cinematic pay dirt by taking the standard science-fiction chestnut of “mankind’s first contact with aliens” and turning it on its ear. Rising from the ashes of the proposed movie adaptation of the “Halo” video game, “D-9″ director and co-writer Neill Blomkamp manages to pull off a significant feat. He actually delivers on the hype built up by a over a year’s worth of viral marketing and the patronage of producer Peter Jackson.
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Filming commenced this week on the long-awaited new film adaptation of The Green Hornet, a classic of film, television, radio and comic books.
The official 
The Walt Disney Co. announced Monday it is buying Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion,
In their Mystery Science Theater 3000 days, “Satellite of Love” partners Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett left no wise crack unturned for every cheesy B-movie that came their way.
