‘Hunger Games’ tops poll as most anticipated film of 2012

Source: Entertainment Weekly

“The Hunger Games” topped the list of most anticipated films in 2012, according to a recent poll by Entertainment Weekly magazine. About 38 percent of responders said the film, which is slated for release on March 23, is the movie they most want to see next year.

Also making the list were:

- “The Dark Knight Rises” (release date: July 20), 27 percent
- “The Hobbit: An Unexpected J0urney” (release date: Dec. 14), 10 percent
- “The Avengers” (release date: May 4), 8 percent
- “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2″ (release date: Nov. 16), 5 percent
- “The Great Gatsby” (release date: Dec. 25), 2 percent
- “Prometheus” (release date: June 8), 2 percent

What film are you most anticipating in 2012?

A New Superman Origin By Grant Morrison

by Rich Johnston, Source: BleedingCool.com

I always loved the origin of Superman, as told by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely in All Star Superman, taking up one page and few words. But needs must as the devil drives and the new Action Comics series demands a more detailed retelling of Superman’s departure from Krypton. And Action Comics #5 does just that. In this preview given by DC Comics to Wired magazine.

Earth Station One Episode 92: I’m wearing a Santa Hat Now, Santa Hats Are Cool!!

Happy Holidays everyone and welcome to a special addition of the ESO podcast. This week we talk about the newest Doctor Who Christmas Special ‘The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe’. But also to celebrate the holiday season we thought it would be fun to talk about our three favorite holiday stories.

Join us for yet another episode of The Earth Station One Podcast we like to call: I’m wearing a Santa Hat Now, Santa Hats Are Cool!!

Marvel wins NYC dispute over Ghost Rider rights

By LARRY NEUMEISTER, Source: The Associated Press /AJC.com

NEW YORK — Comic book publisher Marvel Entertainment owns the rights to the Ghost Rider character in the fiery form that originated in the early 1970s, a federal judge ruled Wednesday as she rejected the claims of a former Marvel writer seeking to cash in on lucrative movie rights.

U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest tossed out 4-year-old claims brought by Gary Friedrich, who said he created the motorcycle-driving Ghost Rider with the skeletal head that sometimes had fire blazing from it. A Ghost Rider of the 1950s and ’60s was a Western character who rode a horse.

The judge said Friedrich gave up all ownership rights when he signed checks containing language relinquishing all rights to the predecessor companies of Marvel Entertainment LLC.

TMNT co-creator is auctioning off his awesome studio for charity

By Matthew Jackson, Source: Blastr.com;

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman’s drawing studio is a true nerdvana. It boasts hundreds of pieces of memorabilia, original art, books, one-of-a-kind collectables and DVDS. And now, after decades of building the collection, Eastman is selling it. All of it. For charity.

This has to be among the more unique eBay auctions we’ve ever seen. Rather than sell his collection piece by piece, Eastman is offering all the contents of his studio in one bulk sale. The auction includes Eastman’s drawing table and chair exactly as it was when the auction started, along with comics art, original storyboard art, animation cell art, posters, more than 600 DVDs, TMNT collectables that include never-before-seen prototypes and other goodies, San Diego Comic-Con badges, t-shirts, posters, lots of Heavy Metal magazine collectibles and more random (and often very odd) stuff.

Eastman is planning to donate the proceeds from this massive de-cluttering exercise to The Hero Initiative, a charity that provides emergency medical aid, living assistance and work-finding help to comics creators. As of Wednesday afternoon, the auction price is up to $5,450 with just over a week to go.

Check out the video tour of Eastman’s studio and start thinking about how many of your friends would be willing to split the cost of this treasure trove with you.

Abrams says no Trek alt timeline would’ve been a ‘big mistake’

By Nathalie Caron, Source: Blastr.com

J.J. Abrams’ 2009 Star Trek film did two major things right: It rebooted a tired-yet-beloved sci-fi franchise — injecting it with some kick-ass new life and even newer blood — while at the same time keeping almost 45 years of Trek history and lore relatively intact in the Prime timeline, by introducing a parallel one. Abrams agrees that not respecting what came before would’ve been ‘a big mistake.’

You gotta admit it: By pulling an ‘alternate timeline’ rabbit out of the hat, director/producer J.J. Abrams and writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman made a lot of Star Trek fans out there (us included) heave a huge sigh of relief. Canon was safe.

Were any of your favorite sci-fi flicks among this year’s flops?

By Matthew Jackson, Source: Blastr.com

We’re all looking forward to a new year, but movie studios are probably especially happy that 2011 is ending. It wasn’t kind to them. Ticket sales were down four percent from 2010, thanks in large part to a number of major movie flops, including a few notable sci-fi releases that didn’t do as well as expected.

Like all flops, these movies dropped the ball for a number of reasons. Some suffered from poor marketing, while others came up with good opening weekend numbers and then suffered from bad reviews and bad word of mouth. Others just looked bad from the get-go, so most moviegoers ignored them.

Marvel finally chooses its Thor 2 director

By Marc Bernardin, Source: Blastr.com

Despite the forgone conclusion that the Chris Hemsworth-starring Thor would get a sequel—it’s what you do when a movie grosses $449 million worldwide—the path to getting that sequel off the ground has been a bit rocky. Hopefully, a Game of Thrones veteran can get the Asgardian ball rolling.

When it became clear that Thor director Kenneth Branagh wouldn’t be returning for the sequel, Marvel began searching for someone to fill his Shakespearan booties. And they settled on a rather interesting choice: Patty Jenkins, who’d previously directed Charlize Theron to an Oscar in Monster.

Happy Holidays!!!

		Happy Holidays and a Happy 2012 from Bobby Nash and the rest of the ESO Crew. Enjoy!!!!

‘Harry Potter’ surpasses ‘Star Wars’ as most profitable film franchise

Source: Entertainment Weekly

“Harry Potter” now has beaten out “Star Wars” to become the top-grossing film franchise, Entertainment Weekly recently reported in its 2011 “year in review” issue.

This summer’s “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2″ earned $381 million at the box office, bringing the franchise’s domestic total to $2.4 billion. “Star Wars” has taken in $2.2 billion domestically.

Also doing well at the box office in 2011 were superhero films, with “Captain America,” “X-Men: First Class” and “Thor” pulling in about $504 million combined (all three also made Entertainment Weekly’s list of the 15 top-grossing movies of the year).