As much as I love Charisma Carpenter, you’d never find me following her around, peeking in her windows, or other stalker activities (or at least none that would get me caught), but now, with the announcement of 20th Century Fox and The Multiverse Networks Buffy the Vampire Slayer Massively Multiplayer Online game, stalking Your Favorite Buffy Fem just got easier.

The ground-breaking MMOG will offer a new experience for gamers, allowing them to play it either as a fully immersive 3D environment or as a Flash-based 2D game, where both types of players can interact. The game will be launched  within “Multiverse Places,” a new social virtual world from Multiverse.  Currently under development, “Buffy” will go into “beta” testing later this year.

Sadly, with this announcement comes the news that the Firefly MMO is now delayed.

via Earth Times

While 20th Century Fox wanted to screw Warner Bros on the release date of the Watchmen movie, hoping for a mid-2009 court date, U.S. District Judge Gary Allen Feess set January 6, 2009 as the day for opening comments.  This still give Warner Bros. time to meet the March release date.

Feess indicated Tuesday that the case was not suitable for preliminary injunction and that the issues were too complex to be resolved on an interim basis. The judge had already indicated that he wants the case to move quickly, asking the two parties previously for expedited discovery.

With a January court date, this could be a move that favors Warner Bros.

via Variety

The lawsuit Warner Bros. wishes would go away, just got a little more teeth yesterday when a federal judge refused to dismiss the case in which 20th Century Fox still claims to owns the rights to the film.

At the heart of Fox’s suit, filed in February, is the contention that it never ceded rights to the property. And according to the federal Judge Gary Allen Feess, Fox retained distribution rights to the graphic novel penned by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons through a 1991 claim. Furthermore, Feess appears to agree that under a 1994 turnaround deal with producer Larry Gordon, Gordon acquired an option to acquire Fox’s remaining interest in “Watchmen,” which was never exercised, thereby leaving Fox with its rights under the 1994 agreement.

What does all this mean?  While I doubt the film will get shelved, it could mean Warner Bros. is once again going to have to shell out a lot of money to make this all go away.  This is just one more reminder to the Warner execs why they should keep all their properties in house instead of signing things away willy-nilly just to make a few bucks.

Update: Actually Fox does want the movie from ever being shown.  If that does occur, expect Fox to earn the Major Dick of the Century award from nearly everyone in the world.

via Variety

Who watches the Watchmen? No one if Fox has its way. The writer’s strike cost Hollywood an estimated 2 billion dollars, and it looks like movie company is trying to recoup some of that lost revenue by suing Warner Bros. over the film rights to the Watchmen movie.

According to an article in the Hollywood Reporter, 20th Century Fox holds the exclusive copyrights and contract rights to the Alan Moore inspired film.

Fox claims that between 1986 and 1990, it acquired all movie rights to the 12-issue DC Comics series and screenplays by Charles McKeown and Sam Hamm. In 1991, Fox assigned some rights via a quitclaim to Largo International with the understanding that the studio held exclusive rights to distribute the first motion picture based on “Watchmen,” according to the lawsuit.

When Largo folded, Fox said the film could be shopped around only when a buy-out price was paid. Now that the film is deep in production under the watchful eye of Zack Snyder, Fox decided it was time to pull its trump card claiming the company never received the fee.

I’ll say one thing about Marvel, creating their own movie company where they control everything is probably the smartest move any comic company could do. It’s a wonder Warner Bros., which owns DC, never came up with the idea to keep its properties in house to avoid this very thing.

While I have only seen a few select shots from the film, if someone like me has been in the know about the Watchmen film, it’s a sure bet Fox knew long before a single frame of film was shot, which makes me believe this lawsuit is nothing more than a way to extort money from the WB. Hurm…

via Hollywood Reporter

Twentieth Century Fox has announced May 1, 2009 will be the release date for X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

The movie will center around Wolverine’s past with Victor Creed and the Weapon X program as well as his interactions with other mutants.

“Wolverine” is expected to feature many other mutants — some new to the film franchise and some from one or more of the three “X-Men” films. Liev Schreiber is reportedly in final talks to take on the role of a younger version of nemesis William Stryker, played by Brian Cox in “X2.”

Wolverine will shoot in Australia, New Zealand, and New Orleans where Wolverine just might encounter Gambit.

via Variety

With the success of Transformers, you know other toylines from the 80s would be making it to the screen. Next up is Voltron: Defender of the Universe being adapted by Mark Gordon Co. Variety is reporting 20th Century Fox’s New Regency brand is close to signing a deal to get the giant robot off the drawing board and into theaters.

Marks’ take is described as a post-apocalyptic tale set in New York City and Mexico. Five ragtag survivors of an alien attack band together and end up piloting the five lion-shaped robots that combine and form the massive sword-wielding Voltron that helps battle Earth’s invaders.

Justin Marks, who will be writing the script, is also adapting He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, and the Supermax Green Arrow film. Marks is also working on a Street Fighter movie as well.

Variety says Marks is the go-to guy in Hollywood for comicbook, videogame and toy-based adaptations, yet he’s working on He-Man, Voltron, and Street Fighter movies.

via Variety

Fanboys and fangirls get ready to set your fun-meter to laughgasmic. Futurama is coming back.

I’ll give you a moment to let that sink in.

Futurama, the hit show from creator Matt Groening, will be making its Direct to DVD debut in November with Futurama: Bender’s Big Score. Three more films will be released through 2008. Even better news - all the original creative team and voice cast are back as well.

The plot centers on the “Futurama” crew fighting to save Earth in an epic battle against nudist alien Internet scammers. Bender the robot soon comes under the alien’s spell and is sent back in time to loot the Earth of its greatest treasures; at one point he runs into Al Gore, who guest stars as himself, during the 2000 presidential recount. Other guest stars include Coolio and Sarah Silverman.

Futurama is also set to return to cable with 13 episodes being produced for Comedy Central.

via Hollywood Reporter

The LA Times has an article this morning letting everyone know Twentieth Century Fox pulled out of Comic-Con yesterday (Wednesday). This means no sneak peeks of the Hayden Christensen’s Jumper, no updates on Aliens Vs. Predator, nothing from Vin Diesel’s Babylon A. D.,or Hitman staring Timothy Olyphant.

“The material wasn’t ready and we only want to go out when we can put our best foot forward,” Sean Dudas, the studio’s vice president of national publicity, said on Wednesday.

Later in the day, however, the studio was reconsidering its position. Executives said they were still hoping to have some kind of “surprise” for fans at the convention.

So what is the surprise? “Surprise - we got nothing! Oh and go see the Simpson’s movie in theaters now!” Whatever…

Fox Atomic still plans to hold raffles and giveaways, and plan on showing off stuff from its graphic novels based on 28 Days Later, The Hills Have Eyes, and Nightmare Factory.

“Every major studio usually has a presence at Comic-Con so for Fox to pull out a week before is very unusual,” [David] Glanzer [Comic-Con's director of marketing and public relations] said, adding that organizers were still trying to figure out how to fill the studio’s time slot. “We’re still going back and forth. We have in excess of 350 hours of programming so scheduling is like a giant Rubik’s Cube. Otherwise, this year every major studio has committed to show up and participate.”

Ok, so I know Comic-Con is the pop-culture convention of the year, but the last couple of years I’ve been more and more concerned about the Hollywoodization of the convention. I certainly don’t mind if the studios want to come a calling to show off the latest comic themed movies like Superman, Spider-Man, etc., but when huge panels are set up for television shows and movies that have a very loose connection to the genre beyond “the attendees of the show meet our demographic”, the convention moves beyond “a good time had by all”, to “one huge commercial that fans pay for just to see a star from 50 rows back”.

via LA Times