The Hush Hush News Report 9.01.09: The (Not Quite) Final Destination

Posted by Steve Gustafson on 09.01.2009

This week, we take a look at the Disney/Marvel deal and what it means to the Mighty Marvel Marching Society. Also, we catch up with Predator news, the latest on Red Sonja, The Hobbit rumors, take a look at a very different version of Spider-Man, and more!

Welcome! My name is Steve Gustafson and I have the insurmountable task of filling in for the hardest working man at 411mania, Mr. Jeremy Thomas. Jeremy is at the 411mania labs doing some research on unicorn breeding, but never fear, he'll be back next week.

You might notice another news report out there that comes out the same day as this one. It's called Babes, Bombs, and Blockbusters by "Mighty" Mike Gorman. While I admit that I read his news and views on a weekly basis there is something that he believes that I simply can't accept. I have no problem with his love for Fudge Pop Tarts. But to say they are better than Cinnamon Brown Sugar Pop Tarts is poppycock! Our Pop Tart war has crossed columns into Facebook, jumped to Twitter, and has even leaked into certain celebrity interviews. What will it take to properly educate this man?

Before you start reading, have you bookmarked 411Mania.com yet? It's the easiest thing in the world to do, and it'll get you your daily dose of entertainment news that much quicker! Typing the URL out in the address bar is such a pain, don'tcha think? Hell, make it your home page and it'll be that much easier for you!

Empire of the Mouse!



The Walt Disney Co. has agreed to acquire Marvel Ent. in a stock and cash transaction worth $4 billion. Under the terms of the deal, Marvel shareholders would receive $30 per share in cash plus approximately 0.745 Disney shares for each Marvel share they own. Based on the closing price of Disney stock on Friday, the transaction value is $50 per Marvel share or approximately $4 billion.

Disney will acquire ownership of more than 5,000 Marvel characters, including Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Thor. The boards of both companies have approved the pact, which is subject to antitrust review and the approval of Marvel shareholders.

Robert A. Iger, Mouse House proxy and CEO, said in a statement: "This transaction combines Marvel's strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters including Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Thor with Disney's creative skills, unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties, and a business structure that maximizes the value of creative properties across multiple platforms and territories."

The following is from ComingSoon.Net, pertaining to details revealed during a stockholder conference call.

#1: In a conference call, the companies said that the deals for movies for characters at other studios (Spider-Man, X-Men, etc.) will stay in place under the terms set by Marvel and the other studios.

#2: John Lasseter met with Marvel last week about a possible team-up between Marvel and Pixar and got "pretty excited, pretty fast." They say there's definitely an opportunity there.

#3: The deal with Paramount Pictures to distribute Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America, and The Avengers stays in place as well, but Disney would like to self-distribute down the line. "When the time comes we'll take a closer look at it."


Where to begin? The internet was sent into a tailspin when this was announced. From social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook all the way to CNN and Variety, people have been sounding off what will change at the House of Ideas? Right away, let's dispel some rumors:

* Miley Cyrus will not be playing Mary Jane.
* Goofy is not a skrull.
* Tinkerbell is not being retconned into taking The Wasp's place in the original Avengers lineup.

This is huge news to be sure, but besides a ton of paperwork for corporate zombies and Kevin Feige, what does it mean for us fans? To be honest, it's way too soon for us to be moaning and groaning over this. While Disney gets (and sometimes earns) a bad rap, there's a lot to be excited about. They've shown they can keep their Mickey Mouse gloves off, when necessary (see: Miramax and Pixar) and, as everyone has pointed out, this gives them the young male audience demographic they've been looking to entice for so long! That sounded creepy. Saying all that, Disney bigwigs know they have to be careful on this one. They are now in ownership of a potentially significant money making machine. As well as Marvel has done, they haven't come close to reaching their potential with their vast property. Add the 5000 characters to the all-mighty Disney marketing machine and you are on a whole new playing field.

As I said, it's too early to project (Dr.) doom and gloom. I'm cautiously optimistic and for the time being will continue to make mine Marvel! For more on this matter, make sure you check out the Editorial below!


Rise of the Franchise!



John Rambo's officially readying for a fifth mission. Nu Image/Millennium Films has green-lit the franchise's fifth installment, with Sylvester Stallone starring and directing, repeating his duties from 2008's Rambo The upcoming project's storyline revolves around Rambo fighting his way through human traffickers and drug lords to rescue a young girl abducted near the U.S.-Mexico border. Production will start in the spring.

The film will be produced by Avi Lerner, Kevin King Templeton and John Thompson. Danny Dimbort, Trevor Short and Boaz Davidson will exec produce. Stallone had indicated in interviews that a fifth Rambo was in the works. He teamed with Nu Image/Millennium on the 2008 project, which grossed $42 million domestically and $113 million overseas.

Columbia Pictures is developing a third installment of the high-octane Bad Boys franchise, tapping Peter Craig to pen the screenplay. The hope is to have a script that would reunite director Michael Bay, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and stars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. At this point, with the project in the early stages, none has a deal to return.

The Boys movies feature Smith and Lawrence as Miami detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett, caught up in cases involving car chases and explosions. The first Bad Boys, released in 1995, helped launch Bay as a director and Smith as an action star even though it was not a fire-stamped blockbuster, it grossed $66 million domestically and $141 million worldwide.

The sequel, released in 2003 when Bay and Smith's stars had risen, grossed $138 million domestically and $273 million worldwide. All parties have expressed a willingness to return if a story can be hammered out. One potential hurdle, however, would be the costly deals with the players.


I decided to double up since this is more sizzle than steak. First up, Rambo. Is anyone surprised by this? Stallone went through a dry stretch in his career, but I'm sure in the back of his mind he was just waiting for enough time to pass and let nostalgia kick in. Sure enough, Rocky and Rambo met (and exceeded) expectations, thus ensuring prolonged life to those franchises and new life to Stallone's career.

I have to say I'm a little surprised with Bad Boys making a return. As you see, while they both made money, they didn't exactly cry out for a trilogy. If they can pull this together, I expect this to be the biggest moneymaker of the bunch. My gut says something is going to happen to trip this up.


If It Bleeds...We Can Film It!



When it was announced that Robert Rodriguez and his Troublemaker Studios were going to be inheriting the Predator franchise, news was that Rodriguez would keep the production mainly in Austin, Texas and ship in his actors and creature effects.

Which brings us to Tim Ryan and his Reel Hawaii report: Scouts for 20th Century Fox's $40-million creature feature are back on the Big Island for their third week of scouting Hawaii most of it where a lot of jungles have been looked at. The production would film for 18 days with an October start if the Hawaii portion is a go. That decision is expected to be made very soon…Some Hawaii production execs are being contacted about availability…

Predators will the the fifth film the creature has appeared in, the others being 1987's Predator, 1990's Predator 2 and the Alien Vs. Predator movies, the second mostly dealing with the Predalien. Predators will be directed by Nimród Antal and begins shooting on September 28th, a few weeks after Rodriguez and company wrap Machete, also in Austin. Predators tells the story of a group of people stranded on the Predator home world and the horrible surprises they find waiting there..


I'm still in shock this movie is actually getting made. With as many rumored projects he has on his plate, I thought this would end up in the back of the line but I'm intrigued by the plot. I know reboot/remake backlash is in full swing but I have no problem with this. As good as Predator was, it's a concept that can be improved on. The second movie was a step back and the Alien Vs. Predator…Are those considered canon? Still, Rodriguez has his hands full. Speaking of…


Rose Sonja!



What better way to clarify film production misconceptions than by using 140 characters on Twitter? After San Diego Comic Con 2008, you'd think Robert Rodriguez would have Red Sonja in theaters sooner rather than later. Not only did he unveil two posters featuring a red hot Rose McGowan; he expressed a deep passion and excitement for the project.

Whether or not it had to do with a bump in the relationship road for McGowan and Rodriguez, nothing has been mentioned concerning the film's progress in quite some time. But, in an interview with Empire in May, executive producer Joe Gatta explained Conan will be his prime focus and Red Sonja will likely wait until next year. The original arrangement was to complete Red Sonja first, but Gatta says "certain issues and the economy" forced a change of plans. Chronologically, making Conan first makes sense considering the character Red Sonja didn't appear until issue 23 of Conan the Barbarian.

Her first Tweet regarding the film implies McGowan has pulled out of Red Sonja completely. On August 26th she said, "Just this once i'll address questions about Red Sonja&others;i was meant to do in '08. Major personal &private;reasons I pulled out.Starting 2 want to work again. Sometimes real life fucking sucks.That's all. God bless us survivors." Her more recent Tweets from August 28th, coincide with what Gatta told Empire: "To clarify press reports: Red Sonja is delayed. I pulled out of doing it in '09. Not permanently. Hopefully will follow Conan." "I am still contracted to do it Red Sonja. Hopefully Filming in '10 not '09."

While nothing is a guarantee it seems as though McGowan and Gatta are on the same page and the project will gain some steam at some point next year.


You think the day is coming when actors and actresses do away with publicists and managers and just use their social networking sites to relay information? While Predators is moving forward, I can see this project slipping away peacefully. I feel this is more a vanity project for McGowan from Rodriguez. Will anyone be bothered if this doesn't get made? Will anyone care?


Michael Myers in 3D!



Halloween II may have come in third this weekend at the box office, but that isn't stopping The Weinstein Company from planning yet another remake-sequel. The LA Times reports that they've announced a third movie to be titled Halloween 3D because, of course, it will be in 3D.

The ironic thing here is that it was a 3D movie which trounced Halloween II so badly this weekend. Announcing this right on the heels of the Rob Zombie movie's trouncing at the hands of the gimmicky The Final Destination smacks of reactionary thinking. The Final Destination in 3D did better than Halloween II so obviously the problem was that the movie should have been in 3D right? No possibility that people could simply be sick of Halloween movies?

Rob Zombie, who directed the first two in this latest series of Halloween reboots won't be back for the 3D version. TWC is hiring a new director for yet another new take on the played out franchise. That's fine by me. Zombie showed more promise as a horror director creating original material, that talent has mostly be squandered by retreading tired Michael Myers material. Now it's back to being original for Rob.


I haven't see it, but I read Jeremy's review here.. The fact that it underperformed at the box office should make the studio think out its next move carefully. With Rob Zombie out, their pick is going to be telling in the direction this franchise takes. What did you think? Is this 3D craze going to last?


The Hobbit NOT in 3-D!



Firstshowing.net have confirmation (via TheOneRing.net) that The Hobbit will not be shooting in 3D as the rumor earlier in the week suggested. He also confirms that he has hired Oscar winner Guillermo Navarro (of Pan's Labyrinth, Night at the Museum, Hellboy II) as the Director of Photography of The Hobbit.

Most of these updates and quotes come from the actual forums on TORN where Guillermo posts regularly...

"As a co-writer and director of this film (who works with the design teams, costume teams, creature teams, VFX teams every day of the week), let me be very clear one more time: we are not talking about 3D, we are NOT writing the screenplay for 3D right now- we are hiring my DoP Guillermo Navarro to shoot the film and we are not discussing 3D with him either or with WETA digital or WB or anyone else.
That should be a little less sidestepping, I hope. If after AVATAR the market may change and demands are put upon us, etc that is in the future. But if such things happen and we start discussing 3D down the line, I'll let it be known here at TORN because that's the proper way of doing things. But make no mistake- I've been living in NZ for almost a year now and we have not been discussing 3D.
When we do, I'll make sure your source finds out. Thank You, Guillermo."

Avatar is currently being finished at Weta Digital in New Zealand, which is the same company that will eventually work on The Hobbit.These next responses stem from the earlier discussions on the TORN forums(with Marketsaw) about 3D and if it's really the future of movies...

"I believe Jim [Dorey of MarketSaw] is defending what he believes to be true. He is a knowledgeable, passionate film-lover and perhaps his source in this case is also someone that would love to see the HOBBIT films happen in 3D. Perhaps so-
Jim has been right in the past and he may be right in the future. He is dead-on about the imminent conversion of film into an expanding 3-D field - at least in most blockbusters and I know of, at least, 4 or 5 major filmmakers preparing 3D films right now. Some of them seriously artistic and ungimmicky!!
I've seen AVATAR and I was absolutely blown away by it!! I myself expect to explore 3D soon enough- it is the future, just not my immediate future. I promise to you guys and Jim to let you know if anything changes in that or any regard…
And no- neither David Tennant nor Tom Cruise are Bilbo and we are not redesigning Gollum. My best wishes to all- GDT."

Well, at least we can rest assured those meeting with Cruise had nothing to do with The Hobbit..must have been Halo then right?;)


I guess he answered my question! 3D is here to stay. There was a lot to take in on this one. Guillermo Navarro as the DP is great news. And while I have no doubt The Hobbit will be stellar, expectations are going to be exceedingly high. Speaking of high expectations, Avatar is nearing and I think they've put themselves in a corner. The trailer didn't set the online world sailing away on memory bliss, the word from people who have actually seen it has been positive. Is it honest reaction or a sly way to soften the backlash?


Prepare for the Wave of Writer Websites!



Derek Haas is the screenwriting partner of Michael Brandt. The duo wrote the scripts for Wanted and 3:10 To Yuma. Haas is also a published novelist and, apparently, website owner. Haas launched his own site, PopcornFiction.com to publish cinematic popular fiction. I'll let him explain it:

This site grew out of a love for pulpy short fiction that used to dominate popular magazines in the mid-20th Century. As a screenwriter, my partner and I have been tasked with adapting several of these for the big screen, including stories from Elmore Leonard and Richard Matheson and Donald Hamilton. Friends of ours have adapted Philip K. Dick and Isaac Asimov and Stephen King. I've also been listening to a great deal of classic radio, from The Shadow and Have Gun Will Travel to X Minus One and Suspense. I wanted to create a place where new popular short fiction could flourish, and Hollywood could have a new resource for cultivating great ideas. Not every story is a crime or science fiction story, but each is infinitely readable. I've commissioned some very talented authors to take a stab at the form, and look forward to publishing them here in the months ahead.

Among other screenwriters who have been enlisted to write pulpy short fiction are Craig Mazin (Superhero Movie), Scott Frank (The Lookout), Jeff Lowell (Over Her Dead Body) and Nichelle D. Tramble (Women's Murder Club). But, it was Haas who would have the first adaptable laugh.

Jerry Bruckheimer has bought the rights to Shake, a short story Haas wrote and published on Popcorn Fiction about an FBI agent hunting a killer and battling his own body. You can read the whole thing online HERE. Bruckheimer's deal is reportedly for somewhere around seven figures and has Haas adapting his short into a full length screenplay. Bruckheimer bought the rights for a potential Marvel...I mean, Disney film.


I can see it now. Millions of writers setting up their own sites to catch the attention of Michael Bay or maybe even Eli Roth! I found this story interesting because I can see this happening more and more. An aspiring writer will set up a website to act as their virtual resume, hoping to catch the eye of a producer. But like American Idol, this will flood the market with every wannabe novelist and screenwriter, and it will make it that much more difficult to separate the quality from crap. Either way, this is the future! Now if you'll excuse me, I have a website to go set up!


The Dr. Has a Date!



ComingSoon.net has learned that Sony Pictures Classics plans to release Terry Gilliam's new movie The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus on Christmas Day, confirming earlier conjecture about the possibility.

Featuring the final screen performance by the late Heath Ledger, who earlier this year won a posthumous Oscar for his performance in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, the film will be making its North American premiere at the Toronto Film Festival on September 18 and be released in the UK on October 16.

The movie also stars Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, Jude Law , Christopher Plummer, Tom Waits, Lily Cole, Andrew Garfield and Verne Troyer.


I'm posting this for selfish reasons. It's no secret that I've been a fan and supporter of this film since it was first announced. From the clips and trailers I've seen, this looks to be a welcome alternative in terms of story. Support this movie!

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Check below for some of the excellent work here on-site you should be reading if you haven't already:

Ask 411 Movies: The Column that Drives a Big Red Car by Leonard Hayhurst

[PODCAST] 411 Mania Movies Podcast: Tribute to Tarantino by Leonard Hayhurst If you aren't listening, you are really missing out!

The Final Destination Review by Joseph Lee

The 411 Movies Top 5 Performances of Summer 2009 by Trevor Snyder

Alternate Takes: Oscar Season by Shawn S. Lealos

And so you don't forget about his, check out Jeremy's work, both here in the Movie Zone and over in the Wrestling Zone:

411's Wrestler of the Week: Week 22

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (Deluxe Edition) Review Wait. That can't be right, can it? It is! **SNICKER**





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The Confidential Correspondence is on hiatus this week. You left questions and comments for Jeremy and I wouldn't dream that I could answer as well or as witty as he. Saying that, any question you ask me below, I will answer in the comments. I do reserve the right to refuse ignorant questions or comments about Pop Tarts.

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The Hush-Hush Editorial Section: Summer Report Card

Originally I had a long little editorial talking about my thoughts on the summer movie season. But after the huge announcement today, that seemed…ill timed. Plus, this week's TOP 5 will be covering that, so make sure to check it out THIS FRIDAY! Instead I'm going to let one of Marvel's former Editor-in-Chief's give his thoughts on the topic. Marv Wolfman runs a great site at marvwolfman.com and he had this to say about the Disney/Marvel deal:

Because I was both the Editor-in-Chief of Marvel as well as one of the two founding editors of Disney Adventures Magazine, I've already gotten numerous phone calls, including one from Forbes Magazine, asking what I think about Disney buying Marvel. The easy answer is - nobody knows. Certainly I don't.

First, the theme parks. As almost everyone knows, Universal's Islands of Adventure park in Florida has a huge Marvel land complete with Marvel stores, rides, attractions and characters. Their Spider-Man attraction is arguably the best theme park ride anywhere. None of us knows how long their contract is for: Is it short term, long term or even perpetual? Without that knowledge we don't know if the Marvel land, and the characters can move from Universal over to Disney Parks. But eventually something is going to happen there; I can't imagine Disney wanting to make things easy for Universal.

Second, the movies. We know Marvel has re-acquired some of their characters, but not all. Do we know how much longer Sony has Spider-Man or 20th Century Fox has X-Men? We certainly know both of those companies are planning new Marvel movies. Disney may be content with getting their percentages or they may want it outright, but we have no idea how long any of those contracts are for, either. I'd venture to guess no matter where the movies wind up, they will probably maintain the same level of quality. As Pirates of the Caribbean has certainly proven, Disney can do solid action films.

Third, there's television. That's actually one of the places I think we can expect to see Marvel material appear. Disney has not been able to put together as successful a boy's network as they have with girls. There has been no boy equivalent to either Hannah Montana or Secret Life of An American Girl. Their current boy's network, which is supposed to have adventure shows, instead has primarily boy oriented sitcoms, but I personally don't believe boys care about those kind of shows the way girls do. Marvel would fit in very well here, providing they get back their contracts from the various networks that currently hold them. Before Disney spent 4 billion dollars, I'm certain they investigated all the properties down to the nth degree. Last time I spent 4 bil, I certainly did.

Publishing. Well, that's the big one, isn't it? At least for us. Actually, only for us. The big ones in reality are movies, TV and video games. One major video game hit can make more money than 95% of all movies. But let's talk comics. What division will that fall under? Publishing? Movies? Consumer Products? Something else? What happens to Marvel Comics will depend on which Disney company it falls under and as of 1:30PM, I don't know the answer to that.

The first question I've been asked is whether they will move Marvel out west. I think there are people out here who are jumping up and down praying for that to happen. While that's always a possibility, off the cuff I would tend to doubt it. The reason I was only with Disney Adventures for 4 1/2 years is that they moved their publishing from LA to New York and I wasn't willing to move back East with them. Then, a few years back, they moved some of that to either White Plains, Mass or Vermont, I forget which right now and have no idea if they've moved elsewhere since. I can almost say with 100% certainty, that they would not move Marvel to the Disney lot. Hell, even Disney Adventures was off lot. Disney TV and direct-to-DVD is not on the lot, either. It's too expensive to be located there. I would assume they'd leave Marvel where it is, although a year or three from now someone could decide to incorporate it into their division and move it to Rhode Island, for all we know. Although I doubt it. Again, it all depends which division Marvel will fall under and who is in charge and how much they want to control Marvel.

Disney can certainly help Marvel in terms of distribution, awareness and sales. They can get Marvel Comics into the parks and over the net better than Marvel can. Disney's Internet presence is much greater than Marvel's. They have resources Marvel does not, and I expect in a year or two we'll start seeing the results of the sale. I think Disney will be a major plus on that side.

In the meantime, I assume they will leave the company as is, at least until they have an idea what they're doing with it. As far as the comics go, hopefully, they will leave Joe Quesada and company where they are and not interfere; they've creatively improved the Marvel Comics. Based on most of their Marvel Studios movies, they seem to have good people there, too. I'm not completely sure it was a wise purchase, but Disney is in the branding/franchise business and the Marvel brand is one of the largest in the world. Of course, everything will change if the Marvel characters fail at whatever Disney has planned.

I have to say I loved working at Disney Adventures. Had they not moved, I would have stayed with them until the magazine was finally cancelled less than a year ago. My wife, Noel, was the Associate Producer of the Tinkerbell direct to DVD for Disney and loved her time there as well. Although you may hear horror stories, it is actually a wonderful place to work. But they don't always know the businesses outside their core business. I hope whoever they put in charge of Marvel knows and understands Marvel. It is very different from Mickey and company, and I'm not talking editorially.

But whatever happens, the comics world has been rocked. As for where it will go... we'll cross out fingers and see.


Steve here. I know it seems like sharing his thoughts was a copout, but he has some great insight and I didn't see this making the rounds through the bigger news sites. My feelings are very similar to his, and he said it so much better than I could have. Stay tuned to 411mania.com/movies for details as this story develops.


For your RANDOM VIDEO OF THE WEEK, I have found a gem! I present…JAPANESE SPIDER-MAN! What did you do to deserve this delicious treat? I don't know but this is awesome! It goes in the spirit of big announcement and gets you excited for Spider-Man 4. So what is it? I'll let it speak for itself but this episode is called: 'The Fake Hero in a Treacherous Predicament The plot? A young student who is fed-up with his uneventful life is approached by the Iron Cross Army with a plan to trick the public into thinking that he is Spider-man. The Iron Cross Army plans to use the young student to involve Spider-man in scandals that will ruin his reputation. Will Spider-Man be able to stop the Iron Cross Army before his reputation is tarnished, or will this be the end of Spider-Man for good? For more of this greatness, head over to Marvel.com.



This is Steve Gustafson for Jeremy Thomas, off the record, on the QT…



…and definitely, "Hush Hush!"