Tobey Maguire and Sam Raimi have been locked in for the 4th (and possibly 5th filmed at the same time) movie(s). A release date of May 2011 has been announced, with production to start next year. On the subject matter of the movie they had this to say:

“Spider-Man is its own thing,” one insider tells me. “Sam Raimi made the first serious superhero movie, and others followed. The difference between Spider-Man and Batman is that Batman is duelling with a dark side of himself, and that’s not what Peter Parker’s struggle is. Peter Parker has no dark side himself. In Spider-Man 3 it was the black costume. Peter Parker’s struggle is about sacrifice.”

Thank God. I agree with the Geek Show, not every super hero works in a dark setting. As stated above, Spider-Man is about sacrifice, not struggle with his dark self. Although some bad news was released. The Spider-Man Musical moves forward (thanks U2) as well as the Venom spin off.

This was originally reported on Deadline Hollywood Daily. They have an interesting snippet about the villain in the fourth movie. Go check it out.

Variety broke the news a few hours ago. “The Office” co-exec producers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky are set up to write a script for the third movie, which would bring the four Ghostbusters onto the big screen.

There’s still a lot of hold ups as far as money is concerned, and none of the actors will sign on until they see a script (of course). But holy shit! Another step towards Ghostbusters 3.

Ghostbusters 3 has been shrouded in disappointment and mystery for a long time. The most recent rumor about this fabled sequel involved Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen. Fairly recently they both denied being involved with any Ghostbusters sequel.

Then this little gem popped up:

WTF, right? My robot PKE meter is picking up a lot of unusual activity. There is a lot of talk about this not happening. Its not unusual for persons involved this early on to deny their involvement.

For more on the story, visit Aint It Cool News.

This steaming pile of shit is slated for release June 5th 2009. Seriously why do movies like this get made? Sure the first one had some of the greatest cheesy lines of dialogue but they should have stopped at one, not four. I think it might be time to start the Kill All Humans Initiative, or at least threaten to if they keep making shit like this.

Everyone’s favorite Scot, Mark Millar (War Heroes, Superman: Red Son, Kick-Ass) has pitched his Superman movie idea to Warner Bros. and is hoping to get word from the execs there sometime within the next few weeks. If Warner Bros. decides to go with Millar’s pitch they would like to start shooting next Summer. Millar’s idea consists of an epic 7 hour trilogy.

With all the talk about another Superman reboot Millar’s name is the first one that I have come across attached to this project that I would actually be comfortable with handling a new set of Superman movies. It will be interesting to see where this goes and hopefully we will have more news on this in the next few weeks.

Check out the video from G4 below for Mark Millar’s interview where he also talks about Wanted and Kick-Ass:

Kevin Eastman, co-creater of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has apparently confirmed on HeavyMetal.com that Imagi and Warner Bros. are developing another TMNT reboot, this time going back to live-action:

Yes, it is true. Although the CGI film did well enough to warrent a sequel, there has been much talk between Imagi and Warners to do a better “re-invention” (newest Hollywood buzzword) of the TMNT’s, in a live action film–like what was done with Batman. Back to basics, back to the origin and the intro of the Shredder, etc…there have been talks, trips to Northampton to talk to Mr Laird, and discussions with the original “first” TMNT film director Steve Barron to come back and do it right–but no official word yet…will keep you posted. Best, Kevin

I personally dug the CGI version that came out a few years back and was looking forward to another installment of TMNT in that medium. My processors can’t really come up with a “feeling” for this new development for my beloved Turtles, so I guess I will just track this story as it develops…

Over the weekend, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight crossed a threshold in actual dollars that only one other movie in history has crossed and that’s the $500 million mark.  It is, indeed, a wonderous achievement and Warner Brothers should be proud.

This, however, is a misleading number.  In fact, it will be virtually impossible for The Dark Knight to broach even the top 20 of highest grossing films of all time.

“WHAT?!” I can hear you screaming through the internets, “How can that be?  It’s number two all-time you jack ass!  Why am I reading this further?”

And, though you’re technically correct, The Dark Knight has only barely came into the top 30 of highest grossing films of all time list, which is much, much more accurate and a much better measuring stick for the success of movies.  What we’re actually talking about is the highest grossing films of all-time, but this time adjusted for inflation.  I know it may seem odd, but it really puts things into perspective.

I mean, take Gone With the Wind, for example.  It ranks #90 on the all-time, non adjusted rankings.  It made almost $190 million dollars at the box-office, which is pretty unremarkable these days.  What is remarkable, is that this film made $190 million in 1939, when ticket prices were literally pocket change.  When you expand that for inflation, Gone With the Wind made David O. Selznick and company made $1.4 billion in today’s dollars, making it the highest grossing film of all time.  Can you imagine how many people would have to go see the Dark Knight again and again to see it get anywhere close to this number?

The top 10 looks a lot different when adjusted for inflation…  Take a look at just the top 10:

(graph courtesy of Box Office Mojo)

This is a much more accurate representation of the popularity, income and ticket sales of films compared to the all-time list that everyone seems to use as a benchmark.  They do it because it would be virtually impossible to broach this list today and there are movies on here most people are too stupid these days to have heard of.  And with the exception of Titanic, these films are generally amazing and worth every penny they earned for one reason or another.

And not to take any prestige away from The Dark Knight, I’m sure everyone has noticed that it’s playing on every screen and ticket prices have been jacked up.  Back when I was seeing Phantom Menace every other night, it was running me $6.50 to see it (and this was after they hiked the price specifically for the movie.)  If I want to see Dark Knight tonight, that’s at least $8.00, more on the weekends.  $10.00 if I want to see it on IMAX.  It would be even more if I didn’t live in a reasonably cheap film-ticket market.  I’ve seen movies on both coasts where the evening price is $12 or more.

Want to see another graph from Box Office Mojo with The Dark Knight on the graph?  Here’s 21-31…

Does The Dark Knight have the legs to pull in another $15 million to beat The Jungle Book? Maybe.

$50 million to beat Mary Poppins?  $55 to beat the Godfather?  My guess is probably not.  After over a month of release, it’s only just barely beaten Ghostbusters and the summer is over.  Prestige pictures are going to start coming out.  It’s already fallen from the top weekend spot over and over again and now that school has started it’s take will slow further.  It’s had a good run, but the numbers are a bit misleading.  They’re simply selling less tickets to less people at a much higher price.

It is a great movie, don’t get me wrong, but this highlights a little bit of what’s wrong with the film and exhibition industries.  I truly think that Dark Knight would have made a lot more money if they make the tickets cheaper.  Go back to early 90’s ticket prices, drop the price of popcorn and you’ve got a lot more people able to afford a trip to the movie theatre on a weekly basis.  Then maybe The Dark Knight could have had some more competition with these films.

So, there you have it.  My two cents.  (Which could have got me most of the way into a screening of Gone With the Wind…)

Hey there readers! Our friends over at The Geek Show Podcast are providing the geek nation with a much needed first step towards healing the rift between Star Trek and Star Wars! Here’s the info you’ll need, be there if you can!

SUNDAY AUGUST 31 – 5:00PM @ BREWVIES:
677 S. 200 W.

A Healing of the Geek Nation
Star Trek – The Wrath of Khan
The Empire Strikes Back

Back to back films which will mark the beginning of a much needed geek healing. A healing of the nations. A bandage on the wound of geek America that has long been waiting to scab over.

Mark Steven Johnson (Ghost Rider, Daredevil) spoke to Comics Continuum and stated that Garth Ennis’ Preacher is pretty much not going to happen with HBO. Here’s what he had to say:

“We were budgeting and everything and it was getting really close to going,” Johnson told The Continuum. “But the new head of HBO felt it was just too dark and too violent and too controversial. Which, of course, is kind of the point!

“It was a very faithful adaptation of the first few books, nearly word for word. They offered me the chance to redevelop it but I refused. I’ve learned my lesson on that front and I won’t do it again. So I’m afraid it’s dead at HBO.

“I’ve heard someone is in the process of getting the rights to turn it into a feature film. I hope that happens. But I hope it happens as a series of movies as one movie couldn’t do it justice. I really love that story and I dedicated a lot of my time to honor Garth’s work. But it wasn’t meant to be.”

Too controversial for HBO? That’s probably a first. But if you’re familiar with Preacher (which, you better be), I could see the controversy. If this isn’t going to happen at HBO, then the only other way it could happen will be feature films due to the content, and Johnson is right, it would have to be a series of movies. Having Mark Steven Johnson at the helm makes me very nervous, especially since he kind of screwed the pooch with my beloved Daredevil, but I guess if he is sticking to the source material as much as he says he is, I will stay cautiously optimistic, if this even happens.

In the mean time, if you haven’t read Garth Ennis’ Preacher you definately need to check it out, it’s fantastic!

Our good friends over at JoBlo.com have posted up the entire Mos Eisly Cantina sequence the way it was meant to be enjoyed.  Yes.  That means this is the version where Han shoots first.

This scene was a watershed moment in film history.  Not only is it great, but it’s important, too.  And even all of the irrational Lucas haters that seem to troll around my Star Wars posts can admit that.