March 8, 2011 | 10:46 am

Magicians vs. Hitler in Chabon’s ‘Hobgoblin’

Posted by Adam Wills

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Authors Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman are in the early stages of developing a show for HBO that revolves around a motley crew of con men and magicians who use their skills at deception to battle Hitler during World War II, according to Variety.

Dubbed “Hobgoblin,” the project might seem a little far-fetched, but Blastr reports that the concept is based on historical fact:

Jasper Maskelyne was one such prestidigitator, who used sleight-of-hand techniques and stagecraft to aid the Allied forces by, among other things, disguising tanks inside plywood-and-canvas constructs.

The idea seems like something Joe Kavalier and Sam Clay might have dreamed up. The fictional comic book creators featured in Chabon’s Pulitzer-winning 2000 novel “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay,” developed a Golden Age character called The Escapist, which Chabon later spun off into a real-world comic book series for Dark Horse in 2004.

And considering its upcoming adaptation of George R. R. Martin’s fantasy novel “Game of Thrones” and its continuing support of “True Blood,” HBO seems to be developing a taste for fanboy projects. Here’s to hoping this trend continues.

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February 25, 2011 | 11:42 am

Real Chuck Lorre Is in the Cards

Posted by Adam Wills

After Charlie Sheen’s rants against Chuck Lorre yesterday—referring to him as Chaim Levine (more on this later), calling him a “clown” and a “stupid, stupid little man and a p**sy punk”—I was thinking to myself: “Who is Sheen talking about?!”

Following a sit-down with Chuck Lorre at Comic-Con in 2009, the vibe I got from him was one of a menschy, thoughtful, self-critical guy. And if you read the vanity cards at the end of “Big Bang Theory” and “Two and a Half Men,” the portrait that emerges is one of a middle-aged Jewish comedy writer struggling with work, life and dating. And until Sheen’s meltdown, Lorre believed that no one was reading them—save for the die-hard fans who record the shows and freeze-frame at the exact second the card is visible (they’re also collected online at chucklorre.com, stretching back to his “Dharma & Greg” days).

Starting this week, Lorre is taking a break from the vanity cards. Last night’s “Big Bang Theory” card read: “Censored!” (you can read the card that should have run here).

The tabloids have made a lot of Lorre’s cards recently, because he’s been using them to vent his frustrations over Sheen. In the Feb. 14 “Two and a Half Men” vanity card, he kvetched about his efforts to live a long, healthy life: “I don’t drink. I don’t smoke. I don’t do drugs. I don’t have crazy, reckless sex with strangers. If Charlie Sheen outlives me, I’m gonna be really pissed.” For the Feb. 17 “Big Bang Theory” card, he wrote: “Strong Nielson ratings guarantee employment, not self-esteem. Actors can smoke cigarettes because they’re immune to carcinogens.”

A month earlier he wrote: “Do not attempt to replicate what you saw in tonight’s episode of Two and a Half Men. Despite the seeming lack of serious consequences and regardless of the hilarity that ensued, this is extremely dangerous behavior and could result in injury or death. Please keep in mind that we employ a highly-paid Hollywood professional who has years of experience with putting his life at risk. And sadly no, I’m not talking about our stunt man.”

When radio host Alex Jones brought up the vanity cards, Sheen said it was “one of the few compliments that clown has paid me in the last decade.”

It wouldn’t be shocking to learn that Sheen got “Chaim Levine” from reading the Feb. 7 “Two and a Half Men” vanity card, which Lorre wrote from Israel—apparently his first trip to the Holy Land. Like many first-timers, Lorre glowed about being surrounded by other Jews, but in his own geeky way: “I didn’t realize how much my double helix yearned to be around similar strands.”

Giving us insight into his Jewish identity, Lorre continues: “Why have I spent a lifetime moving away from that group? How did Chaim become Chuck? How did Levine become Lorre? The only answer I come up with is this: When I was a little boy in Hebrew school the rabbis regularly told us that we were the chosen people. That we were God’s favorites. Which is all well and good except that I went home, observed my family and, despite my tender age, thought to myself, “bull$#*!.”

Also, look no further than “Big Bang Theory’s” Howard Wolowitz to find out what kind of Jew Lorre is. Lorre told GeekHeeb that Wolowitz — the shiksa-dating, assimilated Jew — is a blend of his own Jewish background as well as that of the actor who plays him, Simon Helberg.

Unlike the broad jabs at Texas through Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) and India via Rajesh “Raj” Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar), the Jewish humor in “Big Bang Theory” is almost always familial. Take Wolowitz’s off-screen mother, played by Carol Ann Susi, whose main form of communication is yelling:

“Things are loud in a Jewish household. Conversations are up here,” Lorre said, lifting his hand above his head, “they’re pitched pretty high. That’s just the way we talk. Other people go, ‘Why are you yelling?’ I’m not yelling; I’m making a point! That was the fun of creating that off-camera mother. That’s how communication happens in some households, and it’s normal in that house.”

When asked when he writes the vanity cards, he told GeekHeeb, “On the bus to school.” IOW, at the last minute.

Spend some time, read through his cards. That’s where you’ll get to know Chuck Lorre.

(Wendy J. Madnick contributed to this article.)

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February 2, 2011 | 4:45 pm

VIDEO: UFO hovers over Jerusalem

Posted by Adam Wills

Call it X-Files, Jerusalem style.

A pair of videos showing a glowing white orb hovering over Jerusalem’s Temple Mount have people scratching their heads.

The videos, purportedly shot around 1 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 28, but from different angles, were posted to YouTube this week, In both videos, the ball of light hangs above the Temple Mount for a while and then rockets away suddenly.

Do you believe?

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January 11, 2011 | 4:11 pm

Bond Is Back!

Posted by Adam Wills

Remember those gloom-and-doom predictions about the “007” franchise? MGM announced today that Daniel Craig is set to return as Bond ... James Bond.

Production on the as-yet-titled 23rd Bond film begins later this year, and has a Nov. 9, 2012 release date. Sam Mendes will direct a script by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan. No word yet on plot details or a villain, but the film will pick up after “Quantum of Solace.”

Judi Dench will reprise her role as M.

From Deadline:

The reason for the 007 delay is this: [Barbara] Broccoli and [Michael G.] Wilson [of EON Productions] had been in pre-production on Bond #23 for release in 2011 but then it took almost a year for MGM’s future to sort itself out what with the failed auction sale of the studio, then the pre-packaged bankruptcy getting approval, and eventually Spyglass taking over studio filmmaking.

Meanwhile star Daniel Craig filled in the time with various film commitments which he had to finish. The actor began work on the Hollywood remake of the Swedish original The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo as soon as he completed shooting Cowboys and Aliens in a nifty bit of schedule coordination between two studios and James Bond rights holders Broccoli and Wilson.

Mendes at first was brought on as a “consultant” because of the delays, and is now officially the director.

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December 17, 2010 | 4:10 pm

Meet Rogen’s raunchy alien in ‘Paul’

Posted by Adam Wills

Seth Rogen as a baked, reggae-loving extra-terrestrial? Shock, I know.

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (“Shaun of the Dead,” “Hot Fuzz”) star as two British comic book geeks who discover the titular wayward alien, Paul (Rogen), on a road trip through America. Bagel anal probe and spaceman balls jokes ensue in a new international trailer that gives us a longer look at the film, which stars Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader and Sigourney Weaver. “Paul” lands on March 18 in the U.S. (Feb. 18 in the U.K.).

 

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November 30, 2010 | 11:29 am

‘Empire’ director dies at 87

Posted by Adam Wills

Irvin Kershner, best known to fandom as director of the “Star Wars” sequel “The Empire Strikes Back” as well as “Robocop 2” and episodes of the television series “seaQuest DSV,” has died after a three-year battle with lung cancer. He was 87.

“The world has lost a great director and one of the most genuine people I’ve had the pleasure of knowing,” director George Lucas said in a statement, referring to Kershner as a “mentor.” “[He] was a true gentleman in every sense of the word.”

A Philadelphia native, Kerschner studied at the Settlement Music School before attending the Tyler School of Fine Arts at Temple University and the Art Center College of Design here in Los Angeles. He began his film career at USC’s School of Cinema teaching photography and taking cinema courses.

After working on documentary projects, Kerschner moved into feature films, including the critically acclaimed made-for-TV movie “Raid on Entebbe.”

Lucas attended Kershner’s lectures at USC in the 1960s, according to Hollywood Reporter, and said that following 1977’s Star Wars, he “knew one thing for sure: I didn’t want to direct the second movie myself. I needed someone I could trust, someone I really admired and whose work had maturity and humor. That was Kersh all over.

“I didn’t want Empire to turn into just another sequel, another episode in a series of space adventures. I was trying to build something, and I knew Kersh was the guy to help me do it. He brought so much to the table. I am truly grateful to him.”

Kershner, who focused on character development, was reluctant to direct “Empire.” When Lucas asked him to work on the project, Kershner initially refused, citing his belief that a sequel would never meet the quality of the original. However, Kershner’s agent demanded he take the job.

“When I finally accepted the assignment, I knew that it was going to be a dark film, with more depth to the characters than in the first film,” he said. “It took a few years for the critics to catch up with the film and to see it as a fairy tale rather than a comic book,” Kershner told Vanity Fair.

Kershner said he had only one sharp disagreement with Lucas during the filming of “Empire,” Haaretz reports. “The script originally called for the heroine, Princess Leia, to tell space pilot Han Solo I love you and for him to reply I love you, too.”

“I shot the line and it just didn’t seem right for the character of Han Solo,” Kershner said.

Instead, actor Harrison Ford improvised the reply: I know.

While Kershner acknowledged his Jewish heritage, he considered himself an internationalist.

“I’ve been a student of Christianity. I’ve been interested in the historical basis of the Muslim religion. I studied Buddhism. I don’t think of myself as a Jew except by birth, as I don’t follow the customs. I’m a Jew because other people consider me so. My pride is in being international.”

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October 28, 2010 | 3:03 pm

Rock a costume all weekend—Long Beach Comic-Con!

Posted by Adam Wills

Halloween? Feh.

Fans know costumes!

But a weekend full of cosplay—including a Friday night costume ball with the band Shiny Toy Guns—isn’t the only reason to attend the second Long Beach Comic-Con, Friday 10/29 to Sunday 10/31 at the Long Beach Convention Center. Feeling nostalgic for the good ol’ days of the San Diego Comic-Con? Y’know, when the focus was still on comics! Well soak it up, fanboy!

MOT highlights at Long Beach this year include:

• Max Brooks (Booth 200)
Screenwriter and author of “Zombie Survival Guide,” “World War Z” and “Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks.”

• Stan Lee
Nuff said.
Autograph tickets available at Booth 544 all weekend. Photos in booth 426 at noon-3 p.m. Sunday only.

• Angus Oblong (Booth 1018)
The clown-faced creator of “The Oblongs.”

• Josef “Joe” Rubinstein (Booth 544)
Israeli American inker of more than 2,500 comics. Rubinstein is best known for “The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe.”

•  Marv Wolfman (Booth 419)
Award-winning American comic book writer, best known for lengthy runs on “The Tomb of Dracula,” creating “Blade” for Marvel Comics, and “The New Teen Titans” for DC Comics. You can also catch Wolfman during “Comic Writing 101,” Friday, 3 p.m., Seaside Lobby; and at “Comic Book Sunday! Presents Marv Wolfman,” Saturday, 11 a.m., Seaside Ballroom B.

And while you’re there, be sure to check out: Bruce Boxleitner (“Tron,” “Tron Legacy”), Marvel Entertainment television head Jeph Loeb, “Hellboy” creator Mike Mignola, writer-editor Barbara Kesel, artist Amanda Conner and screenings of “Dark Country 3D,” featuring Ron Perlman!

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July 29, 2010 | 4:03 am

The Top 8: Comic-Con 2010

Posted by Wendy J. Madnick

8. Ballroom 20—More Fun Than a Poke in the Eye
A surprise live performance of “The Big Bang Theory” theme by The Barenaked Ladies and “Chuck’s” Jeffster dancing to Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” in Ballroom 20 helped redeem Comic-Con this year after the disappointing final “Harry Potter” panel and that shocking nerd brawl in Hall H.

7. Klingons—Out, Stormtroopers—In
Despite the City of San Diego making a big show of translating its Gaslamp-area transit signs into Klingon, there were few Kronos natives to be found. Instead, stormtroopers ruled the weekend as the 501st Legion ferreted out Rebel scum ... and posed for pictures. 

6. Berkeley Breathed—First-Timer, Award Winner
He was a daily/weekly cartoonist from 1978 to 2008, but—surprisingly—this year marked Berkeley Breathed’s first Comic-Con appearance. CCI honored Breathed with an Inkpot Award; he remarked it was the first award he’s received since his Pulitzer in 1987. Breathed presented a slide show (of actual playground slides) and offered a thought-provoking explanation of why he won’t sign the Cartoonists Freedom of Expression petition (he believes the petition needs to be signed by Muslim organizations willing to support cartoonists’ rights). His book, “Mars Needs Moms!,” is being adapted as a 2011 Disney motion-capture film starring Joan Cusack and Seth Green, and Breathed brought his own mom to Comic-Con. Awwww!

5. Wonder Woman’s Modest Costume—Such a Nonissue
Talented writers, directors and producers, including Felicia Day (“The Guild”), Marti Noxon (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) and Melissa Rosenberg (“Dexter”), brought up Amazon warrior Diana Prince during the “Girls Gone Genre” panel, but nary a word was said about her outfit change. Now can we please start talking about a “Birds of Prey” reboot?

4. Zombies Are the New Vampires
Last year was all about sparkly vampires and Taylor Lautner’s chest with the debut of “New Moon.” This year, screaming Twihards were replaced with “The Walking Dead” as AMC filled the Gaslamp and the Exhibition Hall with bloody zombies and a ransacked country house to promote its adaptation of the Robert Kirkman/Tony Moore comic book series.

3. Bags as Swag
This is the first year I walked away with more swag bags than actual swag. Even though most of the studios seemed to holding back on the freebies, SyFy, DC and others handed out bags that might actually see the light of day after the con.

2. “RED” (Retired Extremely Dangerous)
The sight of Dame Helen Mirren sporting a machine gun in this Summit/DC Comics film won me over instantly. Bruce Willis stars as Frank Moses, a retired black-ops CIA agent targeted for assassination. With his identity compromised, Moses reassembles his former team—Joe (Morgan Freeman); Victoria (Mirren), a wet-work operative; and Marvin (John Malkovich), an LSD-fried weapons expert—in order to survive and save his handler, Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker). The Comic-Con audience went wild for the “RED” trailers. Yes, the buzz is strong with this one. Co-starring Richard Dreyfuss, the film is due out Oct. 15.

1. Stan Lee
A Holocaust motion-comic panel would normally be an also-ran at Comic-Con. But add former Marvel head Stan Lee and it became a standing-room-only event. At 87, Lee was busier than ever—taking part in six different CCI events in two days and attending a gallery exhibition. Oh, and don’t forget that feature-length doc, “With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story.” Excelsior!

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