Warren Ellis has been talking plenty at Kapow, in London today. Lots of questions, lots of answers, lots of laughs, an unlit cigarette and a can or three of Red Bull. Amongst the jollity, he talked more about Gun Machine, his upcoming novel. That it is centred on a cop who discovers an apartment full…
Rich Johnston is embedded at Kapow. Why not come by and say hi? I’m in the Captain Britain T-shirt… Dan DiDio and Bob Wayne have just presented the Before Watchmen panel at Kapow, giving us a first look at the Josh Middleton cover for Silk Spectre as well as some very brief, blurry looks at…
The folks at Close Encounters, a comic shop in Northampton, England, are organising a comic convention for later in the year, possibly around September time, the Northants International Comics Expo. They will confirm fifteen guests on Monday. One of those guests will be Alan Moore. Intriguingly, admission will be gained by donating a graphic novel…
It was the clear winner of Free Comic Book Day. Depsite thousands and thousands of copies being given away for free, it sells on eBay for up to $13. The Mouse Guard hardcover was a hit, with six short original stories promoting Archaia’s books. Every other publisher should have been so jealous looking at it….
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The dispute between Peter Jackson, the Hobbit production company Three Foot Seven and the actors unions in New Zealand appear to have reached a somewhat surprising conclusion: the production is being moved overseas.
Stuff quotes Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, speaking on behalf of Warner Bros:
The damage inflicted on our film industry by [the actors unions] is long since done. The move has undermined Warner Brothers confidence in the industry and they are now, quite rightly, very concerned about the security of their $500m investment. Next week Warners are coming down to New Zealand to make arrangements to move the production offshore. It appears we cannot make films in our own country even when substantial financing is available.
Ouch. Jackson and Walsh also stated that they would have preferred to be home in New Zealand, but that the final decision rested with the studio and not with them.
Of course, it may simply be that Warner Bros. couldn’t resist the tax break offers they had been bombarded with in the past couple of weeks. As soon as disputes in New Zealand started up, the film representatives of several countries around the world offered themselves as replacements and, crucially, promised a one-time deal that would return twice the cash value of shooting down under.
Many are now pointing the finger at an Australian actors union for stirring the pot in the first place. This union is said to have influenced NZ Equity in their initial complaint. New Zealand’s Minister of Economic Development, Gerry Brownlee, today advised the New Zealand actors to step away from their Australian counterparts as the influence was “destroying them”. He also said that while he is aware Warner Bros. were looking at moving the production, he was going to meet with them next week.
Too little too late, I’m sure. The unions were only the catalyst for the film industries of other, competitive countries to tender their bids; the amazing tax breaks would have been the clincher, and once those were on the table, I’m sure Warner Bros. were pretty much convinced.
Having been moved to the verge of a standing ovation by Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner in The Avengers, Rizzoli & Isles star Angie Harmon has decided she has to be She-Hulk. HAS TO BE. In her excitement, Ms. Harmon posed for a photo as though smashing the pavement. When she tweeted the picture, it…
Albert Moy sells Jim Lee’s original art on his behalf. He’s just put up the pages from the New 52 Free Comic Book Day volume. In which you get to see not only Jim Lee and Scott William’s original art for the story – but also the patch job they had to do to change…
While shooting a commercial for ShootTheCentrefold.com using the actual Batmobile from the 1998 Batman movie, North Miami Beach cops pulled over the vehicle. Producers were waiting around the corner with cameras rolling for the Batmobile to drive by. The driver, in platform heels and little else was given a warning for “Improper Footwear While Operating…
Will Arrow replace Smallville as the DC on CW show that I hardly ever watch but still somehow main a light interest in? Perhaps the clues are in this first teaser trailer. Which I can’t see – yet – because I’m away on a top secret mission for the good of Queen, Country and Bleeding…
A number of DC subscribers have contacted Bleeding Cool rather annoyed that DC Comics have told them that they can no longer get their favourite books in this fashion, and they will be cancelled with issue 10. Which means Justice League International readers will miss the final two issues of that comic, and unless they…
Greg Capullo once said that, when leaving Haunt, he had a choice between working on Batman and Wolverine, and went with the relaunch of Batman with Scott Snyder. Turns out that the temptation may have been even harder, and that he was offered the opportunity to draw Avengers Vs X-Men. In an interview he says;…
