Axl's got a saber!

He may shoot pigs for no reason other than getting attention, but Guns 'n' Roses front man Axl Rose owns a Power FX lightasber which he brandished onstage and outside a recent concert when this photo was taken.

Must get me one of those...

Newsflash: Civilians die in war!

The chairman of the US military's Joint Chiefs of Staff said today: "it would be premature for me to judge" the outcome of a Pentagon investigation into the killing of as many as a dozen Iraqi civilians by Marines.

Marine General Peter Pace said he believes its critically important to make the point that if certain service members are responsible for an atrocity there, "99.9% of our guys and gals are doing the job exactly the way they should be."

He also told FOX News that Gen. Mike Hagee, commandant of the Marine Corps, is going to reinforce the idea with the Marines "that that's what American fighting men and women do, they perform their mission with honor and dignity.
"And we'll let this investigation take its course and see where it goes and make it public," Pace said.

Pace's interview came a day after Rep. John Murtha, a prominent critic of Iraq policy, said that this incident last November in Haditha, Iraq, could undermine U.S. efforts there more than the Abu Ghraib prison scandal did. "I will not excuse murder, and this is what happened," he said. "This investigation should have been over two or three weeks afterward and it should have been made public and people should have been held responsible for it."

Pace added: "This investigation is ongoing. It would be premature for me to judge the outcome."

Colonel Creedon, of UNETIDA said: "Personally, I can say that this class of cover-up doesn't often happen in the military (unless it's an Area-51 situation, but that shit is done for your own good) and I'm sure there'll be a reasonable explanation for these events. It is an unfortunate fact of war that "innocent" people will die, that's how war gets a bad name. Most civvies that get shot, do so because they get in the in the way at an inopportune moment, but most get shot because they're running, don't run dammit! What are you running from? That'll get you shot; they even shoot you on the London Underground for that nowadays so why don't they think it'll happen in godammn warzone?"

Coppers confiscate Bat'leth

British police have seized a replica Klingon bat'leth during a raid on a home in Gloucester.

The Sun Online reported that "this five-foot martial arts sword capable of beheading a man was recovered by shocked cops" and put on display at the start of a national knife amnesty program, encouraging owners to turn in illegally owned blades.

It was not reported why the bat'leth was taken, nor whether it was ever used in any sort of combat or criminal activity, but I'd assume the owner was involved in nefarious activity as opposed to a harmless Trekkie who thought that Worf's sword was cool and was using it as a decoration over his mantlepiece.

Blade Runner: Final Cut

Warner will soon issue a new remastered director's cut of Blade Runner in September now that it has cleared up rights issues, followed by a theatrical release of a version promised to be truly director Ridley Scott's final cut. Warner's rights to Blade Runner lapsed a year ago, but the studio has since negotiated a long-term license.

When Scott ran overbudget, completion bond guarantors took control of it and famously fucked it up (Highlander II style). This was replaced by Scott's superior director's cut in '92, but he (much like God with the Star Wars Trilogy) was unhappy with it as he was rushed and unable to give it his full attention. He began work on the newest version at the turn of the century, but it was shelved by Warner soon after, due to them being unable to secure rights from executive producer Jerry Perenchio.

In a very un-Hollywood fashion, Warner have revealed it's plans for all forthcoming versions of the film on DVD so that people won't make the mistake of buying one, and then getting a better one in a years time: The restored "Director's Cut" will debut on home video in September and will remain on sale for only four months, after which time it will be placed on moratorium. Blade Runner: Final Cut will arrive in 2007 for a limited 25th anniversary theatrical run, followed by a special-edition DVD with the three previous versions offered as alternate viewing. Besides the original theatrical version and director's cut, the expanded international theatrical cut will be included. The set will also contain additional bonus materials.

Libya comes in from the cold

Three years after Libya renounced terrorism and abandoned its program to acquire weapons of mass destruction, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has announced that the United States is restoring full diplomatic relations with the North African country and soon even reopen it's embassy in Tripoli after 27 years. Rice said that the United States intends to remove Libya from the list of designated state sponsors of terrorism. Libya also will be omitted from the annual certification of countries not cooperating fully with U.S. anti-terrorism efforts.

Now, I've no doubt that this renewed diplomatic "association" with Libya will sit well with the families of the victims of the Lockerbie disaster, the German disco and those killed during the invasion of Chad, but I will say from personal experience, that now that sanctions are lifted that it's far easier to "monitor" any potential threats from inside a country expecially in the guise of enterprise, commerce and industry, than it is from outside (or clandestine insertions into) countries like Iran, China or North Korea.

While the garishly dressed Gadaffi (the original nutter Colonel) probably won't win the Nobel peace prize any time soon. I think that the current political climate that has now been engineered will only benefit the world in the long run.

French are drinking piss

California wines have trounced Bordeaux in an epic rematch of a historic blind taste test credited with reshaping the wine world.

The US triumph came exactly 30 years after an historic tasting session in Paris when French judges voted New World wines better than those from their own country.

The event became known as the Judgment Of Paris and was a pivotal moment in the industry's history - until then US wines had been considered inferior.

I myself don't like French wine, admittadly mainly due to the fact that it comes from France as opposed to tasting rotten. I prefer any Spanish rosé or a South African white to anthing excreted by France, but now even the yanks (who can't really lay claim to any original idea) have beaten the frogs too. Well done.

2IGTV.com goes live with 2IGTV Episode 17

Go to www.2igtv.com now and grab the latest episode and introductory video.

Figures for May

Well it appears that The United Kingdom snuck ahead there for a while. I wonder how long that will last?

The Firefox Browser has received a whopping 48% support since the introduction of an "optimised for Firefox" button. Strangely for a time earlier in the month, this page did not load correctly in IE, which is at 51% of browser shere.

They're still some wacky visitors to this blog, a Macuser asked Google for "posted trailer full episode gay military"?

Other popular hits are from searches using:

• Rogue Trooper
• Mission: Impossible 3
• Superman Returns
• Marscoc
• Spiderman
• Myagi wisdom
• Marvel Movies
• Diamondquest
  

A Norwegian asked Google.no "schmidt und bender test"
and finally, disgustingly a Liverpudlian was seeking "teenage shags" and was directed here.

About 40% of the most recent hits have to do with Sin Episodes: Emergence so I'm off to download it now.

Marvel-ous RPG

Activision promises to be the most ambitious rendering yet of the beloved, superhero-filled universe tie-up with the comic-book publisher Marvel. A new action-RPG entitled Marvel: Ultimate Alliance will let players take control of over 20 Marvel superheroes - including the likes of Spider-Man, Wolverine, Blade and Captain America - and over 140 superhuman Marvel characters will feature in the game.

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance sets out to innovate above and beyond the typical constraints of an RPG: in the game, players' actions will determine what happens to both the Earth and the Marvel universe. In the game, you will have to assemble a team of your favourite superheroes, which you will be able to level up individually or as a group.

Developer Raven is concentrating on the combat system, which will see battles take place in the air, underwater and on the ground, and which will feature grappling, blocking, dodging and chargeable Super Hero moves. The game's storyline will morph according to which missions players accept and objectives they achieve, and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance will have both on and offline co-operative modes, plus a competitive online mode.

Up to four players can take part in competitive online co-op play. There are also comic missions for each individual playable character that give backstory and pit the hero against his or her best-known enemy. The comic mission also gives three other online players a chance to play against villain bots.

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance will come out on all current-gen and next-gen platforms, and naturally the PC. It's due this autumn - and I'll bring you more specific info when I can. If Iron Man is one of the playable characters then I may even try it if it appears that it's more engaging than a mindless console beat-em-up with some RPG elements.

Those craaazy Germans....

Forget the DaVinci Code causing a stir, wait 'till they get a load of this!:
The German division of youth television broadcaster MTV said it had decided to air the entire series of the cartoon "Popetown," which shows the pontiff as a pogo-stick-riding maniac.

Ignoring objections from Catholic bishops, the channel broadcast an initial episode last week and then sought the opinion of viewers and youth political groups on whether to show the remaining installments of the British-made series.

"Our decision is based in part on the reaction of the viewers who clearly voted in favor of its broadcast," an MTV statement quoted executive Elmar Giglinger as saying.

The first program went out after a court rejected an injunction filed by bishops from German-born Pope Benedict's home state of Bavaria aimed at preventing it from going ahead.
MTV also said that the FSF, a voluntary television regulator, had found no basis for a legal challenge.

British television channel BBC Three dropped the 10-part show in 2004, arguing that its comedy value was not enough to offset the potential offence it could cause to Catholics. The cartoon, made before Pope Benedict was elected last year, has also been broadcast in New Zealand.

The way I see it, it could be worse. They could be drawing little black moustaches on him and have him pogo-ing about the Vatican with a swastika armband...

Diamondquest, er.. Jewel Jam!

Paris Hilton shocked fans at the launch of her new videogame when she referred to the product by the wrong name.

Jewel Jam, which can be played on a cellphone (like the one she took risqué pictures of herself and had them stolen last year perhaps), is made by videogame maker Gameloft - who are set to create an entire series of Paris Hilton games (God help us all). However the company was left red-faced last night when their celebrity endorser appeared totally clueless once again at the Los Angeles Convention Center for the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). Hilton, who arrived late, said, "I'm really excited to have my new video game, Diamondquest. Thank you all for coming, and you can download the game."

That girl never ceases to amaze me!

Stargate News

Richard Dean Anderson is back on the sets for several guest appear- ances on both Stargate: SG-1 and Stargate: Atlantis shows, reprising his role as Gen. Jack O'Neill. Anderson's first appearance will be in "200," SG-1's 200th episode, which will air Aug. 18 as part of the series' upcoming 10th season. "It's been a lot of fun to see him again," Executive Producer Brad Wright said in an interview. "He's doing two episodes of SG-1 and three episodes of Atlantis."

Wright said that SG-1 could not toast its 200th episode without its original leading man. "He was so much the face of SG-1 for so many years. We did go on without him and made some fine television, but for the 200th episode there was just no way we could even consider doing it without bringing him back. And, of course, when we called him to ask him to do that, he said, 'Just one?' So it was nice to know that he wanted to come back. And it's actually kind of a testament to the environment we have here. People miss it when they're gone. It's just a fun place to work, and it's a fun show to work on. That's why everybody still works their butt off and why we're still on the air, I guess, because it shows on the screen."

SG-1's 200th episode is a send-up that picks up the story of the show's 100th episode, "Wormhole X-Treme!" and brings back guest star Willie Garson as abductee-turned-Hollywood producer Martin Lloyd.

For the future however, I fear that the plans on the way, may run the Stargate franchise in to the ground. MGM vice president Charles Cohen talked about where the franchise is headed as Stargate SG-1 reaches its 200-episode milestone, saying that MGM has plans to develop a feature film "derived from the series over the last 10 years" to kick off a third Stargate television series. Cohen added that a movie based on SG-1 would "not in any way impair the television run" of the first Stargate show, which was itself based on a 1994 film.

Though Cohen insisted that three Stargate shows on the air at once could be successful, as the CSI and Law & Order franchises have proven, there has been discussion that climbing star salaries may reduce the profit margin for a long-running series like SG-1. The X-Files returned to television after a successful 1998 movie with the original television stars, but for most genre series, like Star Trek: The Next Generation, the move to the big screen marks the end of that show's run on television as the newer series arrive.

Cohen said that the original Stargate show has evolved enough that it can continue to run on television indefinitely no matter what happens with movie plans. "If you look at SG-1 - with bringing in Claudia Black, Ben Browder, and Beau Bridges - we've retooled the series with it still being SG-1," he explained. "I'd like to keep it on forever and keep adding to it."

Personally, I think it's time for SG-1 to end, let them continue with Atlantis and if necessary another spin off to replace SG-1 but not three of them running concurrently! That's asking for trouble.

Half-Life 2 Episodes will stand alone

Half-Life 2 was 2004 Game of the Year all over the shop. It revolutionised both graphics and gameplay and was a welcome long break from the first-person shooters which have become shorter in length as the years go on. It was a nearly flawlessly paced action game set in a fictional universe that only got more interesting with every new mystery. It sold a lot of copies. Developer Valve was well aware of the game's coming popularity before it was even released and the planning had already been working towards the future of Half-Life. Not long after HL2's release, the Aftermath expansion announcement solidified Valve's commitment to continuing the franchise in smaller and more frequent bursts.

Even if you're not a fan of Half-Life then you'll still have heard about Aftermath mainly because I wrote about it here in January. Well in February Valve announced that the first Half-Life 2 expansion would be known not as Aftermath anymore but as Episode One, reflecting the company's fantastic decision to release a series of episodic add-ons to the hit shooter, rather than the typical one or two expansions. This was further confirmed by Valve indicating that it is also preparing Half-Life 2: Episode Two, the second such add-on.

While the company isn't revealing any details on Episode Two, Valve's Doug Lombardi did say that the second episode has been in development for about as long as Episode One. Presumably Episode Two will offer another capsule of gameplay and continue the Half-Life 2 story. Valve's Erik Johnson recently said: "Part of the strength of episodic production is being fluid and responding to how customers react to previous episodes. With the Episodes, we're working towards a specific event, and we have a plan for how we get there. Some of the details may change along the way, but the core is etched in stone. Episode Two has been in production for some time, and we'll be talking about it in more detail immediately after Episode One is made available.

Furthermore although it started out as an add-on to HL2, this is not the case anymore; the new chapters won't require the original Half-Life 2 at all. They will run as stand-alone titles; so if for some insane foolish reason you've avoided Half-Life 2 all this time, you can dive in for just a quick episodic snack. Of course that would be like watching Episode 13 of any series of 24, if you do come in to the HL2 story at these points you won't have a fucking clue what's going on.

Half-Life 2: Episode One is sheduled to arrive May 31st.

Another Childhood memory about to be raped...

Tom Selleck, who starred as the original Thomas Magnum in the hit 1980's television series, has confirmed he will not be joining the cast of the upcoming Magnum, P.I. motion picture.

Selleck's name has long been included in discussions about the project, but reprising the role that made him famous has always seemed unlikely, given his age (61) and limited marketability for big-budget movies.

"I won't be in it, and I won't be doing some stupid cameo," he grumbled, and laid to rest long-lived speculation of his involvement.

George Clooney, a star every bit as suave as Magnum's persona, has also been persistently rumored to be a candidate for the character. One source added credence to that possibility recently, saying he was still the studio's favorite for the part. According to the same source however, Vince Vaughn is also a frontrunner.

More when I hear it.

Hayden nominated as CIA Director

Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden, formerly the principal deputy director of National Intelligenc, has been nominated as the new Central Intelligence Agency director, replacing Porter Goss, who was unceremoniously sacked last Friday.

Hayden seems a highly-qualified candidate to lead the troubled CIA but is he up to the task as the nation's head spook?

He's a successful military intelligence officer who's reached his profession's top ranks and as a 4-Star, he's the most senior military intelligence officer in the U.S. armed forces today. Before becoming PDDNI last spring, he capably led the super-secret, high-tech NSA.

Equally important is Hayden's experience as a senior staff officer at theater commands in Europe and Asia wich is all-important considering how widespread US forces are today, so he knows what kind of intelligence support the likes of Generals Abizaid and Casey need in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hayden, also has the advantage of being seen as apolitical. Having been tapped for top jobs in both the Clinton and Bush administrations, he's likely to be considered a nonpartisan public servant.

Unfortunatly Hayden will face a number of challenges before assuming command at Langley.
Senate Democrats are going to target his involvement with the Terrorist Surveillance Program -- the NSA's controversial, counter-terror wire-tapping effort. In addition, those who revered Goss for the thankless job he was doing at Langley are not happy with his dismissal, so weather he played any part in that or not, Hayden may still take some blame. Hayden also lacks experience in human intelligence; the CIA's core mission area. Although he worked as a defense attaché (an overt intelligence collector) behind the Iron Curtain in Bulgaria, Hayden doesn't have Goss' more extensive clandestine spy creds.

On balance, despite some drawbacks, Hayden makes sense to succeed Goss. It's a vital job. With the United States at war overseas, Iran on the boil and the CIA embattled at home, Hayden -- and the agency -- must deliver the critical intelligence needed to ensure security without fail.

John Woo makes game for me....

You've all been there; when you're on a first date, a conversation will often go into what type of movies you watch. I always like to describe myself as "a connoisseur of foreign cinema". With any luck she'll assume I'm cultured and not want me to go into it in too much depth. Hopefully it'll be much later by the time she realises that by "foreign cinema" I mean specifically the work of John Woo and I'll have already banged her by then so it won't matter much at that point.

A Better Tomorrow, The Killer and Woo's crowning achievement; Hard Boiled are easily some of the greatest movies ever made. His hyper-kinetic action scenes involving slow-motion close quarter gunplay, automatic pistols akimbo (usually brandished by the star of all those films: Chow Yun Fat) and the inexplicable appearances of white doves during these sequences are all trademarks of the legendary Chinaman.

Now, after years of conquering Asian cinema (and Hollywood to a lesser extent) Woo has turned his attention to the interactive media and created STRANGLEHOLD, the sequel to Hard Boiled. Now normally for a film, you get a game (usually naff) made from a film of the same name which was rushed though development so it's release could be simultaneous with the film (except in the case of Catwoman where I heard the game was actually better than the film). Not so with Stranglehold: apparently John Woo has written the story as a sequel to his 1992 magnum opus.

Stranglehold is a mix of balletic gunplay at it's finest where you control Insp. Tequila- or more literally the full-digital-body-scanned avatar of Chow Yun Fat and bring justice or revenge (whatever Woo writes is one of these scenarios) to both Hong Kong and Chicago. What appears most impressive is the sheer amount of destruction you (and the bad-guys) can deliver, nothing will be spared, furniture, crockery, pots & pans, fish tanks and of course; lovely individually tiled concrete pillars.

When I first saw the preliminary trailer last month, I didn't know that it was going to be released on PC, and God forgive me I actually looked to see if I should get an Xbox or Playstation for this game. Thankfully I'll only need a graphics upgrade for my uber-gaming PC: Bellerophron to play it, at a guess. The new E3 trailer for Stranglehold is here (click the one that requires you to verify your age) and it's the most impressive game trailer I've ever seen, as you may see by some screen grabs I've put on this page. It even includes a voiceover from "bloke who does all the voiceovers for trailers". The camerawork is unmistakably the work of Woo right down to the 360 degree swirl on the hero. It looks very Max Payne (a game highly influenced by Woo and The Matrix) and features "Tequila Time" as the term bullet-time has now been trademarked elsewhere.

Here's the press blurb:
Chow Yun–Fat reprises the role of Inspector Tequila from John Woo's influential action film, "Hard Boiled" in this hyperkinetic shooting game. Run into danger with both fists full of lead and take down the organized crime bosses who stepped over the line when they took your family. Stop at nothing as you destroy the entire world around you to get them back. You are a desperate man following your own rules; honor thy family; do what's right; fear no man. Stranglehold features much of the hyperkinetic, choreographed action and freeze framed sequences that Woo is known for.

Here's an actual hi-res screenie for you lot. If the game is half as good as the trailer, I'll be in chrome-plated Beretta heaven. Thank you John Woo, for making this game... ...for me!

Marvel Comics Movie News

There's actually been so much news lately from the respective people who are bringing Marvel Comics superheroes to the big screen; that I was waiting for a lull so that I could get it all into one post and not have bits floating around the blog.

For those of you who don't know, as the news was broken just before the Colonel's Eagle came online first in September, it was announced that Marvel Entertainment had secured a $525 million loan package that would allow it to produce 10 films based on its comic book characters, specifically Captain America, the Avengers, Nick Fury, Black Panther, Cloak & Dagger, Dr. Strange, Hawkeye, Power Pack, Shang-Chi and Ant-Man. Paramount will distribute the films, which will carry a price tag somewhere between $50 million-$165 million each.

Where are those projects now? Some are still in limbo, some have been replaced with more viable options and some are in active development.

Well the most patriotic hero of them all, Captain America will see light of day in the ripe post 9/11 climate. Marvel Studios headman Avi Arad said, "Contrary to popular belief, people want this way of life. They want democracy. They want freedom. Captain America takes us one level farther because he's a man out of time. You go through the mind of someone who is emotional and a believer. The script is going to take a little bit of time, because it has to be a masterpiece. It's Back to the Future kind of stuff."
Cuban Missile Crisis drama Thirteen Days screenwriter David Self will write Caps adventure. "He's a Norman Rockwell character who is faced with today's America and is forced to look at his own past, things in the '40s that weren't necessarily what they were cracked up to be," the scribe said, adding, "and also how today's country may be different than it looks."
No speculation on cast yet although Arad does have "someone in mind" (I hope it's The Rock) Captain America is part of the Marvel/Paramount deal and isn't expected to reach theatres until 2009.

As for Nick Fury? Marvel’s own Ex-military spy and director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Andrew Air Force One Marlowe could be potentially writing Fury’s celluloid adventure. It was suggested recently that Marvel may wish to go with The Ultimates version of Fury who is African-American and was in fact drawn to resemble Samuel L. Jackson, so naturally Will Smith has been linked to the possible role!!!???? While Arad has spoken to Bruce Willis, I’m hoping failing that, he’ll talk to Mel Gibson for a more classic depiction of Colonel Fury.

Edgar Wright, the British comedy-writer/director behind Shaun of the Dead has been given Ant-Man to helm. For those of you who are not familiar with Ant-Man; he’s the most useless Marvel hero ever. He had the astonishing power of being able to shrink to the size of an ant and control other ants via his helmet antennae. His evil enemies included any hungry birds and such disasters as a shower of rain! Thankfully judging by Marvel’s choice of writer/director we can assume it’s going to be comedy and who better than a Brit to write a comedy as opposed to a Yank. Maybe the recent ‘star’ of Mission Impossible 3; Simon Pegg will be Hank Pym (Ant-Man’s real identity); as in addition to directing Shaun, Wright also directed Spaced.

Thor, not as useless as Ant-Man but nevertheless a hero I can’t figure out. He is based on the Norse god of thunder, has a war-hammer and he says phrases like “By Odin’s beard”. David Batman Begins/Blade II Goyer was rumoured to have been attached to the project originally but now it’s Mark Protosevich and considering that man wrote The Cell, we can hope Thor to fail and not spawn sequels. Protosevich said last week: “I don't want to give too much away, but I will say the movie will take place in the world of myth and legend but will not betray some of the thematic elements of the comics that made them so appealing, like the idea of a god growing to truly understand man.".

The Fantastic Four may have been a bad movie to most (I was told not to see it) but it obviously made enough for a sequel and it appears that 20th Century Fox and Marvel Studios are seriously considering having the Silver Surfer appear in Fantastic Four 2. Fox and Marvel are, as they did with the X-Men films, developing two scripts for FF2 simultaneously. One draft is being penned by Mark Frost, who co-wrote script the first FF, while the other script is being written by Don My Super-Ex Girlfriend Payne. Payne's draft, which features the Silver Surfer, is considered the "frontrunner" to be produced. Fantastic Four 2 will bring back the first film's stars (sans Julian McMahon's Dr. Doom), as well as director Tim Story and is slated to open July 4, 2007.

The Punisher 2’s news at this time only comes from Tom Jane who said that he and Jonathan Hensleigh were still working on the script. He hopes they could start filming this autumn which naturally means we can’t expect to see anything before summer 2007.

Ghost Rider is in post-production and probably would have been finished for its original July ’06 release date if the studio hadn’t decided that they had too many films being released at that time. For now, we’ll wait for February ’07 for Nic Cage’s superhero antics.

With X-Men: The Last Stand on it’s way to “a theatre near you” now, and Sony are on target with Spiderman 3, Marvel have only two “high-priority” films at the current time, and strangely, neither of them are part of the Marvel/Paramount war chest co-venture.

The first will make you upset, whomever you are. The second should send you into a fit of excitement as it did me, so I’m going to bring you all down before I bring you all back up again.

A sequel to The Hulk is high on Avi Arad’s list at the moment. (Christ!). He said in an interview last week: "The [first] Hulk movie was a study of anger, and people wanted a popcorn movie," Arad explained. "Our Hulk will be a diet Hulk. Lighter. Focusing on the love story, Hulk as hero, and his battle with the villain." Arad advised that the villain of Hulk 2 will be Abomination, of whom Arad said, "He's capable of amazing feats."
Zak Penn, who previously collaborated with Marvel on X2, Fantastic Four, and the upcoming X-Men: The Last Stand, will write a new Incredible Hulk film, inspired by the larger-than-life green giant. Under Marvel's arrangement with Universal, Marvel will develop and produce the Incredible Hulk as a major theatrical release, with Universal retaining various distribution rights. To the best of my knowledge Eric Bana will reprise Bruce Banner.

Moving swiftly away from that, I’m overjoyed that I can officially report that

THE INVINCIBLE IRON MAN

my favourite comic book character of all time, is now at Paramount Pictures under the helm of one John Zathura Favreau (as an actor he played Foggy Nelson in Daredevil) who will develop the script with the writing team of Arthur Shadow Of Fear Marcum and Matt Convoy Holloway.
Not a big name to direct such an important picture, but who the fuck was Chris Nolan before Batman Begins? I’m pleased that finally ‘ol Shellhead will come to the big screen. Iron Man has seen a tumultuous upbringing in Hollywood, and was passed back and forth like nobody’s child over the past few years, but now with a script in the works and a Marvel-confirmed director attached, things are shaping up and we’re going to see something get done here now. About damn time. Now that the Star Wars saga is complete; I don’t think there’s anything I’m looking forward to more. Coincidentally I’m actually in the process of collecting every single issue of Iron Man since 1969 (currently I have from November 1970 to this month’s issue) [Thank you Jim Morrish if you’re out there…] so you’ll understand I’m psyched. Naturally as it was only announced last week there’s been no speculation yet on who should be Tony Stark, I have a few (dozen) ideas myself… but that’s a whole other post…

More news on everything here (especially Iron Man) as soon as I get it.

NOT 2IGTV Episode 17???!!!

Although I was completly opposed to it: Mark insisted on "The Colonel Creedon Experience". You have my personal assurance that this will not be happening again.

Listen now to find out about Die Hard 4, Flyboys, Dallas, Transformers, The latest disaster made-for-TV movie from ABC, and why Sir Mick Jagger has made himself Colonel Creedon Enemy #1!


Tune in now! iTunes Feed / mp3

DDO Free Trial

Atari are offring a free 7-day trial of Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach now.

Go on it won't hurt, but may consume your life...

Mission: Impossible 3

J.J.Abrams is some sort of prophet. Anyone that can take another Tom Cruise Mission: Impossible movie, rebuild it from the ground up and do one better than Brian "Lets follow this one camera around for a long time" DePalma and match John "I need two pistols and a flock of Doves" Woo is a fucking genius.
How did this man making it seem so fresh? Well he made a big budget episode of Alias with no Jen Garner or background plot getting in the way and added more explosions and automatic weapons- and it rocks!
If this is what he can do to Mission: Impossible; I'm salivating to think what he's going to do with Star Trek!!

Colonel Creedon Rating: *****

Warning: The attached comments may reveal spoilers.

Neverwinter Nights 2

The sequel to one of the most beloved and highly-rated role-playing games of all time finally has an official release date. Obsidian announced that Neverwinter Nights 2 will ship this September.

Feargus Urquhart CEO Obsidian Entertainment has said: "we've been working here at Obsidian on the game since August of 2004 and we've re-written a lot of the original game's technology, created some vibrant new characters and developed a whole new editor."

In the time since BioWare's Neverwinter Nights first hit, role playing junkies have busied themselves with the game's open authoring system -- and waited eagerly for a full sequel. Now, almost four years since the original game arrived, Neverwinter Nights 2 is nigh.

Atari and developer Obsidian announced that Neverwinter Nights 2 is scheduled to ship this September, giving PC gamers a new epic adventure in the Dungeons & Dragons universe -- as well as new ways to craft their own stories. Along with a completely revamped engine, Neverwinter Nights 2 adds living cities, major boss battles, redesigned multiplayer gaming, a new companion system, and political status for players, among other features. The sequel will also include an improved toolset for creating new campaigns.I never got a chance to play the origial game (I can't play everything), but from the looks of the material here it just might be something I'll check out. Anyhow, I'll have plenty more on Neverwinter Nights 2 as we enter the final months before its release. The official Neverwinter Nights 2 Website has also gone live and it offers up a bit more info on the upcoming game and includes screenshots, videos, and concept art. If you have an even greater intrest: check this out too.

God does listen.

Unaltered Star Wars Trilogy Coming to DVD!

It's a major surprise that will please many, Lucasfilm has announced that the original, unaltered theatrical versions of the Star Wars Trilogy will be released on DVD this September. For many years now George Lucas had said he would not release the original cuts of the film, but things have clearly changed, with the press release crediting overwhelming fan demand as the reason.

The new releases of each film in the original trilogy will contain both the original cut and the 2004 digitally remastered version of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. The set will be available for a limited time: from September 12th to December 31st. Attached is an edited version of the press release from Lucasfilm:

"Fans can look forward to a September filled with classic Star Wars nostalgia with the long-awaited DVD release of the original theatrical incarnations of the classic Star Wars trilogy.

"In response to overwhelming demand, Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will release attractively priced individual two-disc releases of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Each release includes the 2004 digitally remastered version of the movie and, as bonus material, the theatrical edition of the film. That means you'll be able to enjoy Star Wars as it first appeared in 1977, Empire in 1980, and Jedi in 1983.

"This release will only be available for a limited time: from September 12th to December 31st. International release will follow on or about the same day. Each original theatrical version will feature Dolby 2.0 Surround sound, close-captioning, and subtitles in English, French and Spanish for their U.S. release. International sound and subtitling vary by territory.

"Over the years, a truly countless number of fans have told us that they would love to see and own the original version that they remember experiencing in theaters," said Jim Ward, President of LucasArts and Senior Vice President of Lucasfilm Ltd. "We returned to the Lucasfilm Archives to search exhaustively for source material that could be presented on DVD. This is something that we're very excited to be able to give to fans in response to their continuing enthusiasm for Star Wars. This makes September 12 a red-letter day for Star Wars fans."

So there you have it. Now Han will shoot first, Jabba won't appear until Jedi, Boba Fett won't appear until Empire (and he'll sound like a Cockney and not a Kiwi), Anakin's ghost will be played by Seb Shaw and we'll all be able to sing along with "Come and feel the love- YUB YUB" at the end of it all....

....Okay, maybe not the last one.

Superman Returns Trailer

It seems to be a day for trailers today. I don't really have a great intrest in Superman, man who still wears his underpants on the outside, a gay icon and a film franchise that got as progressivly as bad as Batman. I don't even watch Smallville. I'm hoping however what Batman Begins did for the Dark Knight on celluloid will be mirrored for The Man Of Steel in this Superman Returns as I have friends who like Superman and I'd like them to be happy. It's not all me me me you know.

View the grather-good-really NEW TRAILER now!

Casino Royale Trailer

*UPDATED*

It's even better when in a real language. Previously only available in French, the new teaser trailer is now in English and avilable here.

It still looks incredible and sounds even better now, and Danny looks the part. At least I'll have something to look forward to after M:I-3.

Time to be SiNful

It's here in a week; built using Valve's Source engine, the follow-up to the SiN series: Sin Episodes: Emergence takes on an episodic structure, expanding on the role of Colonel John R. Blade, a battle worn hero in charge of HardCorps. Joining Blade on his mission are JC, a HardCorps hacker with a secret to keep, and Jessica Cannon, a fiery rookie who can find her way into any secure facility. This first chapter features never-before-seen weapons, characters and environments along with a host of interactive options, paying homage to its predecessors, SiN and its expansion pack, Wages of SiN.

Writing on his developer blog on the game's official website, Shawn "CodeNinja" Ketcherside -- the lead game designer praised the SiN Episodes team for all their hardwork and dedication in creating what he calls "one of the most fun shooters" that he has ever played, Ketcherside says that he finds himself "straddling two worlds" -- one world that provides great pride in what was created with Episode One but also another world that "humbles" him when he sees what is planned for Episode Two.

SiN Episodes: Emergence is already preloading on Steam, Valve's online content delivery service, and will be available at retail outlets and for play via Steam, on May 10th. I'll tell you all about it once I get a chance to play it.

A redhead with fuckin' great big...

... swords. I'll never ask for more than that from life and it appears that someone has listened to some extent.

Forgetting the rather lame 1985 Red Sonja pic, starring Brigitte Nielson and Arnold Schwarzenegger, which was released by MGM to dismal box-office numbers; last year, Dynamite Entertainment launched a new Red Sonja series that has gone on to be one of the best-selling indie comic books on the market.

Noting it's success: Avi Lerner and Danny Dimbort's Millennium Fims and Emmett/Furla Films have picked up the film rights for a new Red Sonja film to bring her back to the big screen.

Millennium will finance and produce the movie with Emmett/Furla. The project's budget is north of $25 million. Red Sonja, created by sword-and-sorcery legend Robert E. "Conan the Barbarian" Howard, was introduced into Marvel's Conan the Barbarian comics in 1973 and soon was given her own title.