The great and powerful Ryan Ottley was nice enough to send over some pictures of his time on the set of Paul. For those not familiar with Ryan, he draws for the Image title Invincible. As well as some other fun projects, such as Sea Bear & Grizzly Shark. Follow him on Twitter and make sure to check out his personal site, but not before reading about his adventure below!

I got a call from Robert one day in 2009, he asked if I wanted to be on the movie set of Pegg and Frost’s new film. I was a bit perplexed by this at first, didn’t understand WHY anyone would want us in their movie. He explained more and told me that they were huge fans of our comics and all we had to do was pretend we were at Comicon, I quickly agreed. So Robert sent them a box of comics and shirts to use in the film and we went to New Mexico. We were on set for two days, ALL day. 6am to 11pm. These guys work some seriously crazy hours. I took cell phone photos throughout, not the best photos but it’s all I got.

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We walk into the Albuquerque convention center and there it is, the best “fake” Comicon I’ve ever seen! It felt like a real con was going to happen here! Robert, Cory, Joe Keatinge, and Andy Kuhn and I walked around looking at the booths, no extras are there yet, just us and the crew setting up for shots. A fellow named Clint Trucks was our generous host and instantly our friend. He’s the one that set up this whole Comicon scene, he introduced us to the directors and other actors. We find the Image booth set up, 12 gauge booth was brought there by Doug Wagner, Oni, Slave Labor, and many other comic companies brought their booths out to be a part of this. Clint showed us our “fake” booth with large signs with our names on them and we hung out for a bit, felt right at home! The 400 extras showed up and the filming started. It lasted all day, I drew the whole time and while it was interesting to see how this stuff is made and see familiar faces of actors, it’s actually very tedious and a bit boring, at the same time very eye opening to how much man-power it takes and how time-consuming movie making really is. And I was thankful for the job I have, comics for the win. When we had to pretend to be at Comicon it was actually harder than I thought. Had to act normal but NOT talk. Just mouth words to the extras at our booth. It obviously felt unnatural but I did my best without bursting out laughing at the weirdness of the situation. Unfortunately lots of this scene was cut and hopefully the DVD extras show all of this stuff.

This was when they asked us to come into a panel room and we had to pretend George Lucas was coming on stage and we cheered and followed direction. I got this photo of Robert sitting by a fake Picard. They didn’t want us sitting together, we looked to “grouped” so they spread us all out to look more natural I guess.

Cory and Robert Spooning. Not for reals though, they were both very awake. They were just “acting” asleep for the sake of the photo, very believable stuff here folks.

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Plenty of Princess Leia’s on hand, Simon sat amongst them for a photo shoot. Cracking everyone up, him and Nick Frost were constantly happy and in a great mood making everyone laugh the whole time. At one point Nick came over to talk to us and geek with us a bit about comics. He’s a fan of Invincible and so Cory and I gave him a folder with some original art because we are huge fans of his. He flipped out, said some crude hilarious things that had to do with his excitement getting the pages. One thing I remember was he did say he was going to frame them, so the glass would make for easy clean-up when he was done. I felt bad that we didn’t bring anything for Pegg but he didn’t read our book! Simon Pegg is a Walking Dead fan and there was no Walking dead artists present! Sorry Simon! I should have at least drew him a zombie.

Watching them do scenes and then replay them through the tv’s here and then eventually do a re-shoot. Very cool to watch.

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Really awesome to see Kristen Wiig dress up as our Invincible character Atom Eve. Robert, Cory, and I asked if we could take photos so they happily obliged. This scene never made it into the theatrical release, wait for the DVD! But hey, still cool to see. At lunch, before this scene, we sat with the crew, Simon Pegg came over and talked with us for a bit, chatting to Robert about the Walking Dead. Simon then said “Well I better run, I need to do a Kissing scene with Atom Eve!” He then pointed at Robert, Cory, and I, and said “I’m living out all of YOUR fantasies.”

Good times.

Ryan

If you’re a regular reader here at BSR, you’ll remember back in December whent Clobber-Tron and I reviewed the first issue of Ian Churchill’s Marineman. In that review I kind of groused a bit about how the story kind of hit a brick wall, and has various other issues with it, but agreed that it had vast potential. I’ve been keeping up with the book, and now I’m happy to say that Marineman is now probably my favorite aquatic-based superhero of all time.

While I wont spend a couple paragraph recapping the series thus far, some of the things we’ve learned since the debut issue is that Steve Ocean does indeed have powers, including webbed hands, echolocation, and the like. He’s also an Atlantean (we think), but he’s lived his whole life as a human, and that’s the big difference for me. It’s hard for me to get into characters like Aquaman and Namor because they are so defined by their status as Atlantean kings that I find it hard to relate to them. Wheras Marineman is just this guy, you know? Anyway, onto the issue proper.

It may look like he's commanding fish, but this is actually echolocation.

Last issue left off with a cliffhanger, Steve (Marineman) Ocean’s military liaison/partner Charlie was stranded 20,000 feet under the sea in Marine Base Alpha’s experimental ship Deep Marine One (the military isn’t known for creative names). Most of the issue deals with Steve doing his best to save Charlie before the ship’s air supply runs out or the intense pressure crushes the ship. We’re treated to the single most heroic act I’ve seen in a comic for a while. It’s right up there with Superman wrestling an angel, in my book.

And he plans on lifting that monstrosity for 20,000 feet!

Sadly, Steve isn’t quite up to the task, and just as all seems lost, a mysterious white light appears and the ship and Steve alike are suddenly gone. The story does one of those cutaways where you find out how exactly everyone got into this situation in the first place, which at first was actually a little off-putting. I didn’t see the “Three Hours Earlier” blurb since it wasn’t in a caption per se, but I acclimated quickly. Anyway, after that vignette, we find out heroes face to face with some shadowy figures that have been lurking about the past couple issues. The issue itself ends with a revelation that is both intriguing and has me impatiently waiting for the next issue.

Note: This isn't the issue's big revelation.

After the story proper, there is more supplemental material focusing on real-life Oceanauts, and they are very informative and keeps with the spirit of the book. I really like Churchill’s art style. The only problem I had with the writing was what I mentioned before about transitions. I must say that I don’t think the book would look as nice as it does without the superb coloring by Churchill and Alex Sollazzo.  I don’t really do star ratings or anything when I review books, so I will say that if you’re like me, and never gave water-based heroes a second thought, Marineman may just be up your alley. There is definitely enough here to keep you coming back month after month.

Every week for about 2 1/2 years the fellows from the Geek Show Podcast have been bringing you an excellent, hilarious, geeky hour of geekiness every week. For almost two of those years, I have been producing a video version of their show for Xfinity’s Utah On Demand system. Their licensing agreement was such that the content was exclusive to them, but we’ve since worked it so that it is only a window of exclusivity and now we’ll be getting the show every week on the internet.

Be sure to check out their website and subscribe to their podcast. The show’s regular panelists includes Kerry Jackson, host of X96′s Radio From Hell, Leigh George Kade from Grimmleigh’s Fiends, Shannon Barnson, my co-host at the Pub Quiz, Jeff Vice and Jimmy Martin from the Big Movie Mouth-Off, and Scott Pierce, television critic for The Salt Lake Tribune.

The Geek Show will be putting the video up on their website, and we’ll be putting it up here as well.

Without further ado, here’s part 1:

And here’s part 2:

Lucasfilm has been kind enough once again to give us a taste of next week’s Season Finale of The Clone Wars, featuring everyone’s favorite Wookiee, Chewbacca.

It’s almost too bad we won’t be able to see Chewbacca’s capture into slavery (if that’s what really happened) because this series covers virtually no ground after The Clone Wars, but we can always hope for that with the Live Action Television show if it ever happens, now can’t we?

Having said that, this clip has NOTHING to do with Chewie and Ahsoka… Well… She’s a badass and it’s obvious that she’s been trained by Anakin Skywalker.

From the Lucasfilm press release:

In the pulse-pounding, hour-long season finale, Ahsoka Tano is taken captive and stranded on a planetary game preserve, where she finds herself on the run from merciless and sadistic Trandoshan hunting parties. With the odds stacked against her and no rescue in sight, hope for survival begins to dwindle – that is, until her escape efforts receive an unexpected boost from a friendly – and furry! – fellow captive. The chase begins with “Padawan Lost” and continues into “Wookiee Hunt” – it’s a must-see, double dose of Star Wars: The Clone Wars,airing at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT Friday, April 1 on Cartoon Network.

By now, it’s no secret that a familiar face will join Ahsoka’s private guerilla battle against the Trandoshans. After all, it’s hard to keep a seven-foot Wookiee under wraps, and Chewbacca’s certainly not one to hide in the shadows when his friends are in danger. Making his Clone Wars debut, loyal and lovable Chewie teams up with the desperate Padawan to wreak havoc on the vicious hunters’ plans – proving once and for all that it’s not wise to upset a Wookiee.

“Everybody loves Chewie, “says Dave Filoni, Supervising Director of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. “He’s like a big teddy bear, except that he’s got a temper. You want him on your side, because if he’s on your side, he’s the best friend you could ever have – and who wouldn’t want a Wookiee for a best friend? But we didn’t include him lightly. He’s such a special part of the films, and we knew that we had to do right by him. The story had to do him justice.”

Both literally and figuratively, the finale’s guest star is a big one for The Clone Wars – but even bigger than a towering Wookiee was the challenge of bringing the gentle giant to life. But the Clone Wars crew had the blessing – and the expert counsel – of actor Peter Mayhew, the man who has played the iconic role since Star Wars’ debut in 1977.

“Having Peter’s involvement was essential, and it was a major coup for the crew,” says Filoni. “We’d done some preliminary designs and some rough animation tests, but we were coming from a place of observation. He’s lived with the character for more than three decades. He is Chewie. He helped us focus in on the qualities that make Chewie live and breathe. His input helped make our version of the character that much more authentic – his mannerisms, details of his walk, facial expressions, that sort of thing. We couldn’t have done it without him; it just wouldn’t have been Chewie.”

Beyond capturing the iconic mannerisms and distinctive idiosyncrasies of everyone’s favorite “walking carpet,” the Clone Wars crew pushed the visual envelope in other areas, as well – most notably with the finale’s lush locations and impossibly rich environments. But setting the bar for TV animation is no easy task. It’s a constant uphill battle, especially considering production constraints and the level of fan expectations for the series. Helping Filoni lead the team effort is CG Supervisor Joel Aron – a visual effects veteran whose credits include two of the live-action Star Wars prequels.

“I can’t make it happen; I can only envision it. Joel is the guy who makes it come alive. He’s my right hand, my hit-man, my Vader. He’s revolutionized the show, no doubt in my mind,” says Filoni. “I really push him, and so does George [Lucas]. I’ll draw a picture and say ‘This is what I imagined’ – and he makes it happen. It’s a challenge, it’s what he wants – it’s food for him and the team. We’re taking that knowledge, applying it forward. Just look at the backgrounds in these episodes; we’ve got our characters, and now the background environment has also become a character.”

Bringing with him lessons learned at Lucas’ Industrial Light & Magic, Aron inspires enthusiastic innovation, just as he struggles to strike the delicate balance between creating something completely unique and quintessentially familiar.

“My goal is always to capture the essence of Star Wars, the key elements that stick with you,” says Aron. “It’s a very specific feeling, and it’s not always completely literal. We’re in a different medium than the films, working on a different timeline with different tools. That’s a unique challenge; we have to find stylistic ways to reflect those familiar ideals – using shapes and colors, adding textures to backgrounds. But everyone on the crew is up for it, and we love it when it pays off.”

 

Impressive though it may be, the Season Three finale is still just a stepping stone in the show’s ongoing evolution – a jumping off point as The Clone Wars kicks into hyperdrive.

 

“These finale episodes are among the best we’ve produced, and it’s only going to keep getting better,” says Filoni. “This is what audiences can expect to see in Season Four. There’s still a big galaxy out there.”

 

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season Four will launch on Cartoon Network this fall.

I literally can’t wait. I had a chance to see the Season Finale tonight in San Francisco but my damned geography prevented it, so I’ll have to wait until next week with the rest of you.

Until then, May the Force Be With You.

In Zach Snyders newest film Sucker Punch, film goers are taken on a high octane visual ride. And YES, the film is just as cliche as THAT description of it. It is hard to characterize where Sucker Punch goes wrong. It SHOULD be fun. It has all the parts of what should create a perfect machine of high adrenaline kinetic ass kickery that leaves your brain spinning yet begging for more. But – it’s NOT, and it Doesn’t. At its best – it is like a love letter to all things HEAVY METAL; Lovely ladies, in fantastical and alluring outfits, kicking ass and doing damage. At it’s worst – it is like a never ending music video for a sound track that would have been really edgy & exciting in 1998. All the glitz, glam, and explosions don’t make up for where the story and performances just fail to engage the audience.

The story gives us Baby Doll; a 20 year old waif who is being sent against her will to an insane asylum after an attempt to kill her morally corrupt step father leads to the accidental death of her sister. Once in the mental Hospital, we quickly learn that the management is corrupt, and that our heroine has five days before she will be Lobotomized. Then – things go all Inception on us – we are no longer in the asylum, but a whore house/ cabaret. And instead of being lobotomized, in five days Baby Doll (or more over – her virginity) is going to be hoisted up on a silver platter to a “High Roller” client to the “establishment of ill repute”. Then we get ANOTHER layer to this onion, by adding in the Dancing-but-not-really-dancing-but-fantasizing-about-fighting-scenes. We are given the rather absurd reasoning that the girls have to dance – to attract clients (Really?). And thusly Baby doll HAS to dance. This is where the epic fight scenes that you see in the trailers and all the cool promotional and collectible art come in. Baby Doll imagines fighting when she dances. We never see her dance – and we never see her fight in any way that could be mistaken for anything dance like. We just get to see reaction shots from everyone else that make you wonder what the hell she is doing. Is the shy blonde waif really a bump and grinding freak? Or perhaps – a gymnast? Nope. No explanation. Apparently her sexy dance borders on hypnotizing, and THAT is all the rational you are going to get. Coupled with the other characters and their half ass developed stories – All of this gets mushed together into a story about escaping. But in the end is just about mental escapism. Which is more or less ALL that Sucker Punch ever aspires to be. A distraction.

So lets recap; Sucker Punch is fighting, substituting for sexy dancing, in a whore house, that is really an asylum. To add to the sense of metal disorientation you have the fact that the film makers play fast and loose with time and place at every level of the story. The insane asylum is vague vintage Americana circa 1950’s or 60’s. The whore house is Gypsy Rose Lee area Burlesque in look – but they dance to contemporary artists like Bjork. Then the fight sequences are just all over the place merging the past with futurism etc etc. Which makes you ask the question; How the HELL does Baby Doll imagine this stuff?!?! In the end it feels less about good story telling and more about maximizing selling merchandise to consumers at Comic Con and Hot Topic. In early interviews Snyder called Sucker Punch “Alice in Wonderland with Machine Guns”. But I think a fellow Bot summed it up perfectly as “Empty-headed bauble. A movie mashup of Brazil, Moulin Rouge, Kill Bill, and Girl Interrupted.”.

Welcome to another installment of The Big Movie Mouth-Off!

Starring Jeff Vice from MSN Entertainment and Jimmy Martin from SLUG Magazine (and both regular panelists on The Geek Show Podcast), the Big Movie Mouth-Off is produced and directed by Bryan Young (me) and Elias Pate from Big Shiny Robot! It appears on Xfinity On Demand in Utah and on Xfinity’s Channel 6, on line, and at Brewvies Cinema Pub.

You’ll want to friend the Big Movie Mouth-Off on Facebook, too, as they are constantly giving away passes to advanced screenings of all the newest films.

There is a Big Movie Mouth-Off podcast as well, and you can listen to the latest episode here .

First we have Paul:

Then Red Riding Hood:

And The Lincoln Lawyer:

USA Weekend had a chance to sit down with Dave Filoni to talk about the season finale of The Clone Wars and he gave some hints for Season 4.

We’re hard at work on Season 4 right now and making it as best we can bigger and better than what we’ve done before. In the season finale, fans will get a glimpse of what Season 4 is going to look like. We take such a leap technologically and story-wise in the last two episodes, where the visuals are even stronger than they’ve been the whole series.

He also talked a lot about the decision to bring Chewbacca onto the show and how George Lucas arrived there.

It came about in the writers’ room. We meet to go over all the stories we’re going to do for a season, and George knew that the fans had been wanting Wookiees on the show for a long time. It’s something that I mentioned to him. Wookiees had come up and I said, “I think we’re ready to do it.” And then he sprung Chewbacca on me. He very much wanted to see Ahsoka and Chewbacca together in an episode.

They also have an exclusive clip of Ahsoka evading a Trandoshan. It’s my firm belief this is the “Predator” episode that Dave Filoni teased all those many months ago and I couldn’t be more excited.

The season finale airs April 1, 2011. Check local listings for showtimes.

Anytime a new ongoing series from Zenescope is announced it’s good news. I haven’t read the book yet but the premise sounds great and the covers are beautiful.

From Zenescope:

The story follows three teenagers who gain access to a designer drug which gives them the power to fly.  The drug seems too good to be true and eventually one of the teens starts to realize that it just might be.  Now years later, Eddie is on the run from his past and he desperately needs to figure out a way to help his former girlfriend kick the habit before it kills them both.  “This is a very personal story for me” says writer/creator Raven Gregory.  “Addiction is something that has affected my life in different ways for many years and writing this story was the perfect outlet for my battle against the disease.  I’m so proud of this story and I’m thankful that Zenescope had the balls to publish it.”