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12/16/15 @ 6:16 pm EST
Ande Parks talked with Byron Brewer about his new series Seduction of the Innocent and just how the series came to be. Cover art by Francesco Francavilla. BYRON BREWER: The origin behind this book is fascinating. Tell us about it.ANDE PARKS: Dynamite originally approached me (and this was several years ago) about doing a crime series with the Seduction of the Innocent title. The idea was that the book would have a crime element, but would also feature the congressional hearings inspired by Dr. Fredric Wertham’s book of the same name. There was a period of bouncing ideas back and forth, and around the time we were ready to make that comic happen, Max Allan Collins wrote a prose novel along the same lines. So … our thing got shelved. It stayed that way for quite awhile.Eventually, though, Joe Rybandt (my Dynamite editor) asked if I wanted to move forward with the series, but losing the Wertham hearings angle. I love writing crime fiction — especially period crime fiction — so I said “hell yes” and put together a new outline. BB: What can you tell us about the protagonists?AP: The book really centers on a young FBI agent named Thomas Jennings. With the ties to Wertham gone, the title of the book became the theme to the story in a different way … it became the story of Jennings’ loss of innocence, on a grand scale.We drop hints at Jennings’ past: he was a marksman in the Army. He did well in his first FBI job, in Cleveland. He and his pregnant wife have just moved to San Francisco, thanks to a promotion. Like any young man, Jennings is nervous about being a father. He’s nervous about the health and welfare of his wife and baby. The events of our series ramp up all of those anxieties, as Jennings is exposed to horrific crimes. How he responds, and the toll the exposure to such events will take on him, is what our book is all about. BB: What is the main storyline of this great noir mystery?AP: Two villains, whose past we will hint at throughout the book, are committing a series of murders in 1953 San Francisco. They are wiping out the leaders of the city’s extensive organized crime network. Basically, they are trying to create a power vacuum, for reasons that I’ll hold back on for now. In our first issue, they kill a mobster and his family, but not quite … the mobster’s two children escape.The rest of the series has our young agent trying to get to the children before the bad guys can. Things get very messy. It’s all set against an era and locale that means a lot to me. My father is from San Francisco. He became an orphan as an early teen, and left the city around ’53 to go live with a sibling. I have really enjoyed showing off the various settings the city offers: the Wharf, Japanese Tea Garden, Chinatown, etc. BB: Why is Esteve Polls the best artist for this unusual book?AP: I spoke about the settings … how important they are to me, and to the book. Esteve excels at atmosphere. He grounds his characters in reality, without turning them into boring statues. Our book is full of mist and shadows. Esteve is so good at that stuff. You can just feel the damp and cold seeping into you from the page.He’s also good at the small moments — at making you feel it when characters are hit with tough choices. That skill is crucial for a book like ours. For more information on Seduction of the Innocent #3, click here.
05/05/24 @ 2:17 pm EST
Normally, the first weekend in May is a big one at the box office where we usually get a new Marvel movie to fill the theaters. But with all the delays happening and only one actual Marvel Studios film releasing this year and nothing coming from DC until next year, this weekend was left open for a new franchise to take hold. It didn’t happen. The Ryan Gosling / Emily Blunt lead Fall Guy opened up short of estimates, taking in just $28 million to lead the box office. The total box office for the weekend is only $73 million, down 55% from this time last year when Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 opened for $118.4 million. That’s how a summer schedule is supposed to launch. And it’s not like other films did well, the second highest grossing film of the weekend, making $8.1 million, was Star Wars: The Phantom Menace which included $300k from a series of marathon screenings over the weekend to celebrate May the 4th. Though one also has to look at the star power of Ryan Gosling as this is his third highest box office opening yet behind Barbie ($162 million) and Blade Runner 2049 ($32.7 million) and in neither of those films would I consider Gosling the main draw. The overall response to the film has been positive, getting an A- CinemaScore and 90% positive on PostTrak. Maybe word of mouth will help lessen the second week drop for the Fall Guy.  05/05/24 @ 1:55 pm EST
At 93-years-old, William Shatner has told the Canadian Press that he would be willing to return to the Star Trek franchise as long as the storytelling is stellar. While promoting the new documentary, You Can Call Me Bill, the original Captain James T. Kirk said, “It’s an intriguing idea. It’s almost impossible, but it was a great role and so well-written, and if there were a genuine reason for the character appearing, I might consider it.” The last time Shatner wore a Starfleet Uniform was thirty years ago in Star Trek Generations where his character dies. The actor was quick to point out that Otoy, a company he promotes, specializes in de-aging technology and he also suggested a scenario where Kirk could return, saying: “A company that wants to freeze my body and my brain for the future might be a way of going about it. ‘We’ve got Captain Kirk’s brain frozen here.’ There’s a scenario. ‘Let’s see if we can bring back a little bit of this, a little salt, a little pepper. Oh, look at that. Here comes Captain Kirk!” Salt and Pepper for a resurrection? We can see now why Kirk was never a science officer. I can already hear McCoy saying, “I’m a doctor damn it, not a shot-order cook.”  05/05/24 @ 1:19 pm EST
If you’re watching the X-Men ’97 series on Disney+ and noticed a familiar Wall-Crawler in the final moments of the eight episode, that is exactly who fans were speculating it was. Near the end of “ Tolerance is Extinction – Part 1” we get to see various characters reacting to the lights going out, this is caused by Magneto. One of the people reacting is Spider-Man and fans began to wonder if this would be the Spider-Man from Spider-Man: The Animated Series which ran 1994 to 1998 and series showrunner Beau DeMayo confirmed it by saying, “It is indeed that Spider-Man.” While this Spider-Man had no dialogue, it’s not a big surprise as the character has crossed paths with this group of X-Men before. In the second season of the Spider-Man series, Peter Parker needed the X-Men’s help and the voice cast from X-Men: The Animated Series reprised their roles. This, along with images of the Daily Bugle having appeared earlier, sets both series in the same universe.  05/04/24 @ 12:07 pm EST
Prime has released the trailer for Season 4 of The Boys and this one looks like it’s building to an even bigger ending than season 3. It starts with Butcher ( Karl Urban) talking to his former team, basically saying he knows his time is almost up and he needs them to do what has to be done. We then switch to Homlander ( Antony Starr) talking to whoever makes up The Seven at that point, saying that the world is corrupt and it’s time for them to no longer be heroes, but to become vengeful gods. Then we cut to the newest addition to the series, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who looks to be recruiting Butcher to do some very bad things for good reasons. And then we get the big plot reveal that Butcher has found a virus that kills Supes… then we get a montage of fighting, violence, blood and a surprising large amount of angry animals. The Boys also stars Jack Quaid, Erin Moriarty, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Tomer Capone, Karen Fukuhara, Colby Minifie, Claudia Doumit, and Cameron Crovetti. Along with Morgan, season Four will welcome Susan Heyward and Valorie Curry. Premiering June 13 on Prime Video.  05/04/24 @ 11:50 am EST
Disney+ has dropped a new trailer for The Acolyte to celebrate May the 4th. With he tag line of, “No one is safe from the truth,” the almost 2 minute trailer shows off a world where the Jedi are being hunted by what might be one of their own. Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss star in the series and is the first project set in the High Republic era, roughly 100 years prior to The Phantom Menace. The series was created by Leslye Headland, co-creator of the Netflix series Russian Doll. It will debut on the streaming service on June 4th, 2024.  05/04/24 @ 11:35 am EST
We get this latest news straight from the horses mouth, or rather by way of Collider, who is reporting that Breaking Bad and The Mandalorian actor Giancarlo Esposito will be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While doing a panel at CCXP, the actor revealed he would be appearing in a Marvel project, but not in the role that many fans have talked about for him. The actor has been fan casted by many as the new Professor X when the X-Men finally move into the MCU. But Esposito said that he would be coming, “sooner rather than later,” and “better than you can imagine.” The next Marvel film to come out will be Deadpool & Wolverine which could put Esposito in just about any role as a variant, but the hope is that the actor who made his name playing such villains as Gus Fring and Moff Gideon will be someone of consequence that will be around a while. They still need a new actor to play Kang the Conqueror don’t they? And they haven’t cast Doctor Doom, right? Just asking.  05/03/24 @ 10:02 pm EST
Daytime Emmy-winner Mike Manning (This is Us, Days of Our Lives) and Olivia Blue (Theater is Dead, Animal Kingdom) will star in alien adventure film Unexpected Treasures, directed by John Paul Ungaretti, and written by Ungaretti and Christina Heller. The film’s cast is rounded out with AnnaMaria DeMara (Lost in Space, Lucifer), Jay Whittaker (The Orville, Let’s Go to Prison), Michael Dunn (Bosch, NCIS), Lauren Han (Beef, Extracurricular), and Rex Edhlund. Production for the film recently wrapped in Joshua Tree, CA. The script was inspired by the many extra-terrestrial-related stories and folklore of the Joshua Tree community and desert area. In the film, a wild alien encounter restores a local resident’s faith in humanity. Blue stars as the local resident, while Manning stars as the alien. (via Deadline) 05/03/24 @ 10:03 pm EST
Ali Afshar’s ESX Entertainment is entering into the horror space with the feature The Necklace starring sisters Madeleine & Violet McGraw, each of whom have garnered widespread acclaim for gripping performances in M3GAN and 2021’s The Black Phone respectively. Cameras will roll this summer. The screenplay was written specifically with the McGraw sisters in mind by Afshar collaborator John Ducey (A Hollywood Christmas, That’s Amor). The pic is being directed by Chilean filmmaker Juan Pablo Arias Muñoz, who helmed Pumpkinhole and HBO’s Perry Mason. Said Afshar, “Madeleine and Violet are among the brightest lights of this generation of young actors, and an absolute joy to work with. Each brings a unique energy to the screen and, together, they are absolutely electrifying to watch. I couldn’t be more thrilled to team up with these enormously gifted young actors to bring this fresh and terrifying story to the big screen and plunge audiences into the dark and chilling world of The Necklace.” (via Deadline) 05/03/24 @ 10:03 pm EST
The Maze Runner is back at the starting line. 20th Century Studios is rebooting the sci-fi action adventure franchise, which ran as a trilogy from 2014 to 2018. The Disney arm is in negotiations to tap Jack Paglen, perhaps best known for writing the Johnny Depp-starring sci-fi movie Transcendence, to pen the script for a new installment. Ellen Goldsmith-Vein and Lee Stollman of Gotham Group and Wyck Godfrey and Marty Bowen of Temple Hill, who produced the original trilogy, are back to produce this one. Wes Ball, who directed the original trilogy, will also be involved as a producer. THR is reporting that the reboot is not a redo of the story nor is it a direct sequel to the original trilogy, which starred Dylan O’Brien and Kaya Scodelario. The hope is to make a sort of continuation of the story yet also return to the elements that made the first movie connect with its audience. (The original movie, made by 20th Century Fox in the years leading up to its acquisition by Disney, also proved to be an unexpected moneymaker, generating $348 million worldwide but costing only $35 million to make.) 05/03/24 @ 2:09 pm EST
Oscar nominee Hugh Jackman (Les Misérables) and Emmy winner Jodie Comer (Killing Eve) are attached to star in a new movie, The Death Of Robin Hood. Pig and A Quiet Place: Day One director Michael Sarnoski is writer-director on the project, which will be among the hot titles on sale at this month’s Cannes market via WME Independent. Arrival and The Prestige producer Aaron Ryder is among the producing team. The film is a darker reimagining of the classic Robin Hood tale. Set of its time, the film will see the title character grappling with his past after a life of crime and murder, a battleworn loner who finds himself gravely injured and in the hands of a mysterious woman who offers him a chance at salvation. Production is due to begin in February 2025. (via Deadline) |
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