A pair of radically different franchises are looking to make sweet box office memories this Memorial Day weekend.Terminator Salvation got a head start on the competition, opening Thursday at just over 3,500 theaters. The R-rated film is the fourth in the series and stars Christian Bale as John Connor fighting the future war against machines. It’s looking to improve on the performance of 2003’s Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, which grossed $150 million domestically. The high-water mark in the series remains Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which gross $204 million back in 1991.
Friday sees the Fox comedy adventure Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian arrive in 4,000 theaters. The film, a sequel to the 2006 hit, stars Ben Stiller and Amy Adams and is aimed squarely at the family audience with a PG rating. The original grossed $250 million domestically.
Also still in play is Star Trek, which held up remarkable well last week, its second in release, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, last weekend’s box office champ Angels & Demons, and DreamWorks Animation’s seemingly inexhaustible Monsters vs. Aliens.
(Thanks Animation Magazine)
Deadline for Ottawa Submissions is June 1
The deadline is fast approaching for animators to submit their films for this year’s Ottawa International Film Festival.Entries must be received by June 1, with preview DVDs due by June 15. There is no entry fee. Films are sought in six major categories: independent short films, feature films, new media, commissioned films, student films and children’s films.
This year’s festival, set for Oct. 14-18, celebrates the 70th anniversary of the National Film Board of Canada. Other programming highlights include retrospectives of the work of Don Hertzfeldt, Suzan Pitt and Stan VanDerBeek; animation from Quebec; the work of Germany’s Film Bilder; animator Jim Bashfield; contemporary queer animation and the Television Animation Conference.
More than 2,000 submissions are received each year, with only about 100 making the cut. Last year, more than 25,000 people attended the festival, including 1,700 industry attendees.
For details on submitting a film, visit www.animationfestival.ca. Email questions about submitting to entries@animationfestival.ca or call (613) 232-8769.
(Thanks Animation Magazine)
Voodoo Casts Winning Spell in NFB Contest
Sebastian’s Voodoo, a short film from U.S. animator Joaquin Baldwin, won the National Film Board of Canada’s fifth annual Online Short Film Competition held in conjunction with the Short Film Corner at the Cannes Film Festival market.The film was chosen from a group of 10 finalists, all of which were shown on the NFB’s YouTube channels and drew more than 170,000 views in nine days.
The competition drew nearly 8,000 votes and the winning film, about a voodoo doll that tries to save its friends from being pinned to death, can be seen online until June 21 at www.nfb.ca/cannes or www.youtube.com/nfb.
Baldwin receives as winner of the contest a semi-professional HD MINI-DV camera and a computer with post-production software.
The other finalists were: Countdown by Jordan Canning (Canada), Dr. Mori’s Teleshopping by Spiros Jacovides (Greece), Legacy by Teemu Nikki (Finland), Reach by Luke Randall (Australia), Tenner by David O’Neill (Great Britain), The Black Hole by Diamond Dogs (Great Britain), The Facts in the Case of Mister Hollow by Rodrigo Gudiño (Canada), The Rules of the Game by Tom Daley (U.S.) and Walter Ate a Peanut by Robin Willis (U.S).
(Thanks Animation Magazine)
Simpsons Director Inaugurates UCLA Animation Award
David Silverman, best known for his work as a director on The Simpsons, will receive the inaugural Outstanding Contribution to Animation Award on June 6 as part of UCLA’s Prom 2009 Festival of Animation.Silverman, a UCLA alumnus, has to date directed 22 episodes of The Simpsons, as well as The Simpsons Movie. He also co-directed the DreamWorks Animation film The Road to El Dorado and Pixar’s Monsters, Inc., as well as writing and storyboards for Blue Sky’s Ice Age and Robots.
"From the days of making his independent student films, whether he's helping to launch The Simpsons as one of the series' first animators, playing his flaming tuba or directing The Simpsons feature film, David has made an indelible impression on the animation industry," said Celia Mercer, area head of the UCLA Animation Workshop. "Quite simply, his contributions have helped to shape the art of animation as we know it today."
The Prom Festival is part of UCLA Festival 2009: New Creative Work, a nine-day celebration of the newest work by students from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, which takes place at UCLA and other locations from June 5 through 13. The June 6 animation festival will screen at 5:30 p.m., with an additional screening at 8:45 p.m.
The award will be presented to Silverman June 6, at 5:30 p.m. at the James Bridges Theater on campus. Admission to the animation festival is free, but space is limited and reservations are required. To RSVP and to view a schedule of events, visit www.tft.ucla.edu/festival. Campus parking for the festival is available for $9 in Lot 3.
(Thanks Animation Magazine)
WB Lands Moonscoop Titles for Spain
Warner Home Video has landed the rights to distribute in Spain the Moonscoop series Code Lyoko and SamSam.“We have received a large number of DVD and video requests from kids and parents alike, so we’re delighted to conclude a deal which will see these hit the shelves and extend our brand offering for fans,” said Lionel Marty, President, Worldwide Sales at Moonscoop.
“We have a long-standing and successful partnership with Moonscoop and we are excited to bring these great series, SamSam and Code Lyoko, to Spanish kids and their families,” said Olivier Wolff, MD and Vice President, Warner Home Video Spain and Italy.
Code Lyoko (97 x 26 mins.), an action-adventure series that mixes 2-D and 3-D animation, airs in Spain on Clan TVE and Cartoon Network. SamSam (52 x 7 mins.) is a preschooler series that airs in Spain on TV Catalunya and Boomerang.
(Thanks Animation Magazine)
DreamWorks Plans Panda, Dragon Arena Shows
DreamWorks Animation is developing a pair of arena shows that will be based on their feature films Kung Fu Panda and the upcoming How to Train Your Dragon.The Kung Fu Panda show is being put together in collaboration with the Franco Dragone Entertainment Group, which produced Disney Cinema Parade, Celine Dion’s show, A New Day… and the aquatic show Le Reve at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas.
The project is being developed for a tour in 2011 in conjunction with the release of the Kung Fu Panda sequel.
In early development is a show based on How to Train Your Dragon, being worked on by DWA in conjunction with Australia-based Global Creatures. The company specializes in animatronic technology and produced the award-winning Walking With Dinosaurs arena show.
The animated feature film is due for release March 26, 2010.
(Thanks Animation Magazine)
Toonz, Illusion Team Up on Gaturro Feature
Toonz Animation India and South America’s Illusion Studios have agreed to co-produce a 3-D animated feature film based on the classic Argentine comic strip Gaturro.The agreement is worth about $6 million, according to Animation Express.com.
Created by Christian Dzwonik, Gaturro stars an eponymous cat and his feline antagonist Agatha. Preproduction on the film has been completed, with production set to start at Toonz’s studio in Trivandrum, India.
A 2010 worldwide release date is planned.
“Gaturro as a comic strip is an iconic character and it would demand greater care to give life to him in a different medium. But I am confident that we will be able to rise up to the expectations of our audience” said P. Jayakumar, CEO of Toonz Animation India.
(Thanks Animation Magazine)
Timmy Time Deals Spread Across Europe
Aardman Rights has secured a number of new deals throughout Europe for its new U.K. preschool series Timmy Time.The deals signed include toy deals with Regio in Hungry, AMO in Finland and Top Toy for other Scandinavian countries.
In the former Yugoslavia, One 2 Play will manage all rights to the property.
In the United Kingdom, Golden Bear has acquired rights to wooden toys, while Egmont has picked up publishing rights for the U.K. and all Commonwealth nations. Titan magazines will produce a monthly comic book for the U.K. and Ireland.
“The property is proving to be hugely popular around the world and we are delighted to secure new partners for the property in Scandinavia and across Central and Eastern Europe,” says Sean Clarke, head of Aardman Rights. “We are looking forward to bringing on board new partners at Licensing International.”
(Thanks Animation Magazine)
Heather Kenyon to Shine at Starz
Animation veteran Heather Kenyon has been made VP project development and sales for Starz Animation.In her new job, Kenyon will work with both Starz Animation Toronto and Film Roman to expand their slate of animated projects.
Kenyon will be based at Film Roman’s offices in Burbank, but will be focused on finding new business for Starz Animation Toronto. She also will be seeking projects suitable for Film Roman.
She previously worked as head of series development for Cartoon Network and managed production information at Hanna-Barbera Cartoons.
“Heather Kenyon’s infectious energy, creative expertise, and wide industry knowledge make her a perfect fit with Starz Animation’s mission to find new and interesting projects to produce at both studios,” said David Steinberg, head of studio at Starz Animation Toronto.
A native of Southern California, Kenyon is a graduate of USC’s School of Cinema-Television, with a specialty in screenwriting.
(Thanks Animation Magazine)
Work For Free on a “Cartoon Network Pilot”
A Cartoon Brew reader pointed out this blatant ad on Craigslist asking animation artists to work on a Cartoon Network pilot with no guarantee of payment unless the show gets picked up for series. The ad reads:
Deferred payment 1st episode (no-pay), action/adventure series, Cartoon Network, paid assignments and/or production contract after 1st episode.
We decided to take the bait and contact them to find out who’s blessing the Internet with this wonderful opportunity to work for free. Here’s the response from Associate Producer Sasha Tyler at McNeal Enterprises:
Pilot/series is being produced for Cartoon Network, deferred pay 1st-ep(no-pay), regular pay other eps and/or production contract, in moving forward contact the project’s executive producer Kenny Mack, let him know position your interested in, strengths, skills, availability, etc; KMack@McNealEnterprises.biz or 800 481-9754 x 4, PST.
Their website offer no information about what they do, but I found another website of theirs that displays an awfully lame and generic looking action-adventure show called The Savior Chronicles. Sounds like a good match.
The only question that remains: Is Cartoon Network stupid enough to give these amateurs a pilot deal or are they sneakily using Cartoon Network’s name to trick young and inexperienced artists into working on a lame project for free? Either way, this company’s business practices have fail written all over them.
(Thanks cartoonbrew)
John Ratzenberger, Pixar's good luck charm, on Up, Bugs and Toys 3
P.T. Flea in A Bug's Life
John Ratzenberger told SCI FI Wire that he's thrilled to be Pixar's go-to guy and good luck charm; the former Cheers co-star has provided a voice for every Pixar animated film from Toy Story to the upcoming 3-D animated Up.
"They say, 'Oh, we've got such-and-such film coming up. We haven't figured out your part yet, but we'll let you know,'" Ratzenberger said. "I just say, 'OK.'"
SCI FI Wire spoke to Ratzenberger by telephone last week, in part to discuss Up, which opens nationwide on May 29, but also as part of Disney/Pixar's promotional push on behalf of A Bug's Life, which made its Blu-ray debut on Wednesday. Ratzenberger provided the voice of P.T. Flea in the acclaimed film, which was originally released in 1988. Following are edited excerpts from our exclusive interview with Ratzenberger.
Let's start with A Bug's Life. How fondly do you look back on that as a film and as an experience?
Ratzenberger: Well, P.T. Flea is my favorite character, of all the characters that I've done. P.T. Flea was just so unpredictable and nuts, and in real life I always get a kick out of those kinds of character, people who just go into a rage for [no] explicable reason. He was always on edge. His blood pressure was always way over the top, and everything that he did was done in a panicked state. So it was a lot of fun to play him.
The Blu-ray edition of A Bug's Life should be great to look at ...
Ratzenberger: For the people that are interested in such things, [co-director] John Lasseter said that if you watch it in Blu-ray you'll see it as they see it at Pixar. It won't lose anything in the generations, so you'll see it the same way the animators see it, right in the kitchen there.
You're back now in the latest Pixar film, Up. What interested you about Foreman Tom as a character?
Ratzenberger: I actually did that in real life years ago. I wasn't a foreman, but I was a house framer. So I'm no stranger to hardhats and lunchboxes.
Hamm
Some people consider Up a daring project for Pixar, since it's focused on a human [Edward Asner], and he's nearly 80 years old, plus it's very different styles of animation and even comedy. Your thoughts?
Ratzenberger: I don't see it as a risk, because I saw the film last week and ... bring Kleenex. You're going to be teary-eyed in the first five minutes. What they've done is they've gone back to the original Disney method of making films from the heart. It doesn't make any difference how old you are; if a film is from the heart, then it's going to touch the heart of the audience. It sure worked for me, anyway, and the people I was with. I think they have another winner.
Toy Story 3 is next, and you're back as Hamm. What have you done for that so far?
Ratzenberger: I have been in three or four times already [to record dialogue]. To be an iconic piggy bank, what a thrill. I've got more action figures, I've been told, than anyone else in Hollywood because of all my Pixar adventures, and the one they did of me [as Major Derlin] from The Empire Strikes Back. The story, ... I can't tell you the story, but they've done it again with the story for Toy Story 3.
What else are you working on at the moment?
Ratzenberger: I've been doing a lot of traveling on behalf of my foundation, Nuts, Bolts and Thingamajigs. We're trying to get vocational training back in schools, and we're starting to pull together some legislation that state representatives can use to get their states to teach kids how to use their hands again. Everything we do every day, everything we are as a culture, it all starts and is all based on someone's ability to put a nut and a bolt together.
We're running out of those people, because we haven't been showing children how to build things, maintain things. So what I'm about now is being a Paul Revere and warning people that if we don't move now, then in six to 10 years we're going to hit an industrial tsunami because we're going to have no electricians, carpenters, welders and people like that.
Later Night Animation
The Sony animated half-hour is gone, but Turner Broadcasting has stepped into the breach:
TBS is making its first forays into original animation ... network executives announced at their annual upfront presentation to advertisers on Wednesday. The animated half hour Neighbors From Hell, executive produced by Jeffrey Katzenberg, will follow a family of four who have been relocated to Houston from the underworld. (The net already runs syndicated episodes of Family Guy, but Hell will mark its first original animated program.)
Family Guy, you might recall, clawed its way back into the Fox network's primetime lineup by pulling big numbers on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim after it got cancelled. Also by selling a bajillion DVDs.
Soon thereafter, an empire was born.
I'm sure Turner is hoping for a breakout hit from Neighbors. We'll find out if the hopes are well-founded soon enough.
(Thanks Animation Guild Blog)
Garcia Animates Angry Cat in the Hat
Jorge “Jay” Garcia graduates this month from Ringling College of Art & Design, and to prove that he’s ready to launch into his animation career, he produced Cat’s Meow. This 2-minute CG short is well-acted and quite clever. If you pay attention to the hose sequence, you’ll also see some of his 2D animation chops in the water blast.
Sordo’s New Series Hits the Streets
Paco Sordo, who has worked as a background artist on El Tigre at Ireland’s Boulder Media, has released a new Spanish-language, Flash-animated short. Like a great many artists, he’s standing on the shoulders of giants - nodding to John K, Nick Cross, Gabe Swarr and other disciples of the Spumco legacy. The project is titled Coleguita de la calle, and he drew most everything on paper first and then digitally inked the work in Flash. The backgrounds were drawn on paper, cleaned up in Illustrator and Photoshop. There is an accompanying web comic, and from what I’ve read, we’re to expect somewhat regular episodes. Let’s hope there’s an English subtitled version down the road.
Meth Unzips Anatomically Correct Slow Jam
Get to the point, dammit! There’s just too much sexual innuendo. Def Leppard wants you to Pour Some Sugar on Me, Led Zeppelin is going to “squeeze my lemon ’til the juice runs down my leg,” and AC/DC claim that they’ve got “the biggest balls of them all.” Okay, that’s not even an innuendo.
Dan Meth is gonna set it straight with this animated music video, titled Anatomically Correct Slow Jam. Vincent Keating is on vocals, and Meth brought in his pals Adam Rosette and Josh Weisbrod to help with animation. [NSFW]
DreamWorks' Future
While TAG was in negotiations discussing the terms of its next contract, Jeffrey K. was holding forth about how DreamWorks Animation is doing ... and is likely to do in the near future:
DreamWorks Animation SKG Chief Executive Jeffrey Katzenberg expects the company's television series and specials to boost revenue, and film marketing costs to drop in 2009.
Katzenberg told analysts on Tuesday that DreamWorks sole 2009 film release, "Monsters vs. Aliens," has grossed $191 million at domestic box offices so far and that DVD sales of "Kung Fu Panda" and "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" had "set us up for possible year-over-year earnings growth in 2009."
DreamWorks is "poised to have our single biggest year ever" in 2010 because of its theatrical release schedule of an unprecedented three feature films, including a sequel to its blockbuster "Shrek" franchise ...
DreamWorks has built its viability on the "hit follows hit" business model. And guess what? Despite the sneering of some Pixar afficionados, the company has been pulling it off.
And I think that Mr. Katzenberg is correct about 2010 being a gangbuster year for DreamWorks Animation. Not only will three features be rolling down the distribution pipe, but Shrek Goes Fourth is going to do big numbers. Staffers have been telling me this entry is far better crafted than the last Shrek go-round, and (of course) it's the company's tallest, strongest tentpole.
So Jeffrey isn't being hyperbolic about DreamWorks Animation's prospects for Oh-Ten. He's being fact-based.
(Thanks Animation Guild Blog)
The Viz Effx Slump
A former TAG board member shot me this cheery bit of news yesterday. Though it's several days old and isn't precisely our baliwick, it's worth sharing. All those huge, effects-laden movies now in production or planning stages might not have anywhere to get all their c.g. imaging done:
Here's the dire scenario: As pics now in production wrap, vfx work slumps, killing off more midsized and small vfx companies. Then a new wave of tentpoles arrive, wanting more and bigger vfx, only to find insufficient capacity to complete them at the breakneck pace -- and with the sometimes huge last-minute additions and changes -- the majors now favor.
When this scenario may play out is the subject of some debate. Some expect the crunch to come late this year. Recently, though, tentpoles including Warner's "Green Lantern" and Marvel's "Thor" have been pushed back. That could push the potential crisis back to 2010 but may actually make things worse, as it means the lull would last longer.
"The studios need to be concerned about this," says Industrial Light & Magic exec producer for marketing Gretchen Libby. "Their options could start to run out for finishing their projects. There could be fewer companies that can help out at the 11th hour."
A dozen years ago, a c.g. supervisor and I discussed how visual effects houses were always on a knife-edge because of the houses' tendencies to low-ball job bids in order to get work on big effects films, and then discovering that ... whoops! ... they had low-balled so much they were losing money on the deal. So a lot of them quickly went out of business.
This was over a decade ago. The situation has only gotten worse in the intervening years. Show me a small or medium-sized effects studio, and all show you a company that hasn't been around very long.
In the nineties, the majors set up their own effects divisions, but soon discovered they could get the work done more cheaply by jobbing the work out. Soon thereafter, studios' internal effects departments closed.
But now this method of getting the work done is coming to a crisis point. If you need it fast and good, you can't send it to a job shop in Mumbai that may or may not deliver its shots timely and up to say, director Michael Bay's exacting standards. And a lot of small, local places where you probably have more input and control are out of business. So those big tent-poles that are being shot might not have their big, complicated effects ready.
A conundrum, yes?
(Thanks Animation Guild Blog)
Live Action Adaptations
KF Cinema presented the poster for the live action Bubblegum Crisis
Upcoming in Japan
Previews
One Piece Movie 10 : Strong World ~ Trailer #2
Musashi: The Dream of the Last Samurai
Symphony in August
Anime
Yoshitoshi ABe (Serial Experiments Lain) revealed at Sakura-Con he's working on a new Taisho set anime series called Desperant.
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Space Battleship Yamato producer Yoshinobu Nishizaki has offered details about the first new Yamato anime in 26 years, Uchuu Senkan Yamato Fukkatsu-hen. Production will wrap in October for a December release. Out of the 1,860 cuts (shots) in the film, 700 are being produced with computer graphics. The environmentally focused anime is set 21 years after the first Yamatao, with 38-year-old Susumu Kodai as a captain and father of a daughter named Miyuki with his wife Yuki
Event News
A preview look at Ponyo on the Cliff Art Exhibition at the Ghibli Museum
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Takeshi Koike's Madhouse produced racing anime will miss its previously announced premiere at Annecy festival
Roland Kelts looks at the project here
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Anime News Network reports on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences hosted “Anime! High Art – Pop Culture”
Also, the San Fransico Chronicle look at the exhibition
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A subtitled Hayao Miyazaki talk
Star Wars Captures Star Wars
"Star Wars" is in a galaxy far, far away from its science-fiction rivals.A new movie poll named the groundbreaking 1977 flick as the best sci-fi movie of all time.
Voters said "Star Wars" and all its sequels and prequels had the best robot (R2-D2), the best alien (Yoda), the greatest hero (Han Solo) and, of course, the greatest villain (Darth Vader).
Its signature catchphrase, "May the force be with you," even beat out such iconic classics as The Terminator's "I'll be back," and "E.T. phone Home."
"Star Wars is basically a great western put into outer space," said Scott Robson, head of Moviefone, which conducted the survey that garnered 334,000 responses.
Voters said the worst sci-fi movie was "Battlefield Earth," the John Travolta dud about a group of humans fighting extinction by a race of aliens.
The British UFO TV series is headed for the big screen
Robert Evans is teaming with ITV Global on a feature film based on the 1970s British TV series UFO, Variety reported.
Evans is producing with Avi Haas and Henri M. Kessler. Ryan Gaudet and Joseph Kanarek are penning a script.
The series debuted in 1970 and ran for three years, with characters created by Gerry Anderson. It was set in 1980 and revolves around S.H.A.D.O. (Supreme Headquarters Alien Defense Organization), a covert military organization that thwarts an alien race that has been kidnapping and killing humans for decades, then using the body parts.
S.H.A.D.O. headquarters is hidden beneath a Hollywood studio, and the studio mogul is actually the S.H.A.D.O. commander. The movie will be set in the year 2020.
Spider-Man 3 Actress Found Dead of Apparent Suicide
Lucy Gordon, a rising British actress whose biggest claim to fame was a minor role in Spider-Man 3, was found dead of an apparent suicide in her Paris apartment Wednesday—two days before her 29th birthday.
Per French police, Gordon hanged herself while her boyfriend was sleeping. No word what may have motivated her to take her own life. An autopsy was pending.
Born in Oxford, Gordon worked as a model before making her feature film debut in 2001's Perfume.
Aside from her role as a reporter in the Spidey sequel, credits included John Cusack's romantic vehicle Serendipity, The Four Feathers opposite the late Heath Ledger and the John Krasinski-directed Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, which debuted in January at the Sundance Film Festival.
Before her death, she had completed Serge Gainsbourg (A Heroic Life), a biopic on the late French entertainer, in which she played the role of British thesp Jane Birkin.
New trailer is now live for Bruce Willis' sci-fi Surrogates
IGN has posted a new trailer for Surrogates, a new Bruce Willis sci-fi movie, which you can view after the jump.
In the film, which is based on Robert Venditti'si graphic novel, FBI agents (Willis and Radha Mitchell) investigate the mysterious murder of a college student linked to the man who helped create a high-tech surrogate phenomenon that allows people to purchase unflawed robotic versions of themselves.
Surrogates is slated for release on Sept. 25.
A new clip from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Warner Brothers has released a new clip from the upcoming Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which debuted on the Ellen show yesterday.
The clip, "In Love," features Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and Ron (Rupert Grint), who has fallen under the spell of a love potion.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince opens July 15.
‘Superman Returns’ Producer Talks Reboot, Says Superman Should’ve Kicked More Butt
Things are about to get hectic for Scott Mednick. The former “Superman Returns” and “300” executive producer recently announced his involvement in the upcoming “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” live-action movie and says he’ll soon be busy producing another major franchise as well. However, one thing Mednick says he won’t be doing anytime soon is taking another crack at rebooting the Superman movie franchise. Of course, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have an idea or two about who should.“Bryan Singer is, as we all know from ‘X-Men‘ to ‘Superman’ to ‘House’ on television, a genius,” Mednick told MTV News. “And if anybody can bring [Superman] again to the screen, it’s going to be that team.”
While fully aware of the polarizing lack of punching in “Superman Returns,” Mednick doesn’t regret his time with the Man of Steel. After all, as Mednick points out, in attempting to merge generations of fan expectations, the film “did an enormous amount of money at the box office.”
“In retrospect, hearing from audiences, watching reactions, and having the film get out there, the core fans wanted Superman to kick some serious butt. And we lost several of the villains when the island started to crumble and the large slab fell on them,” Mednick said of the one aspect of the film he would reconsider. “A lot of the fans wanted to have Superman just beat the crap out of them. So that’s an interesting, fan-based point of view, and you have to listen to those fans and try to weigh their wants, needs, and wishes are along with the storytelling.”
Still, Mednick says he looks forward to applying the lessons he learned working on Superman to his upcoming projects.
“There’s not a single movie I’ve been involved in that you don’t look back and say, ‘Boy, I wish I’d done this,’ or ‘maybe I could have tweaked that’ or something, so with Superman, it’s no different,” said Mednick. “Again, it’s a great honor to be part of that franchise … and I wish them nothing but great luck if they move on with a second ['Superman'] feature.”
More Comics For Barack Obama And Joe Biden, New Presidential Puppy Gets A Comic, Too!
It’s no secret that putting U.S. President Barack Obama on the cover of your comic these days is like printing money — no matter how connected the cameo or what the issue contains, it’s going to sell like crazy. So, while comics featuring anyone associated with the president and the 2008 campaign remain hot sellers, it seemed only natural that one particular part of the Obama family receive his own comic. (And to be honest, I’m surprised it took this long.)“Puppy Power: Bo Obama” hits shelves in September from Bluewater Productions, and promises an “insider’s look at the White House” courtesy of the Obamas’ new dog, Bo. Written by Paul J. Salamoff with art by Emmy Award winning Disney and Warner Brothers artist Keith Tucker, the comic will be aimed at young readers.
While the “Bo Obama” comic is what caught my eye, it’s worth mentioning that there will be a pair of Barack Obama and Joe Biden comics also hitting shelves in the next few months from Bluewater.
“Political Power: Barack Obama” will hit shelves in August and features a story by Chris Ward and art by Azim Akberali, and “Political Power: Joe Biden” will arrive the following month. The latter comic promises “a close look at one of the toughest journeys in American politics, exploring his earlier years as a US senator and the emotional rollercoaster he faced in becoming America’s youngest member of congress.”
Bluewater previously published a pair of comic focusing on two of the presidential campaign’s most prominent leading ladies, Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin, as part of their “Female Force” series, as well as an issue focusing on the First Lady, Michelle Obama.
Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice will be the focus of upcoming comics, and “Female Force: Caroline Kennedy” hits shelves next month.
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