WB wins, heirs of Superman creators lose, latest legal tussle

By Trent Moore, Source: blastr.com

You know that legal tussle between Warner Bros. and the estates of Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster over the copyright to Supes? It’s getting uglier, and Warner Bros. just clinched a key victory in the fight.

The two sides have been fighting over the rights to the Man of Steel for more than a decade. Now it seems Warner Bros. could have the upper hand.

Warner Bros. is taking a shot at attorney Marc Toberoff, who was both representing Siegel’s estate and serving as a business partner—a somewhat shady move—and the opinion essentially agreed.

Warner Bros. fight with Superman creators is about to get uglier

By Matthew Jackson, Source: Blastr.com

The legal battle between Warner Bros. and the estates of Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster over the copyright to the Man of Steel has been raging for more than a decade, and the bad blood behind it has been boiling for much, much longer. It often looks like there’s no end in sight for this clash, but now Warner Bros. is taking steps to win the fight, once and for all.

The copyright battle began back in 1999, when Siegel’s widow filed a copyright termination notice on Superman that ignited a long fight with Warner Communications, parent company of both DC Comics and Warner Bros. Studios. In 2008, the Siegel family reclaimed their half of the copyright to the character, and the Shuster family is scheduled to get the other half in 2013. But that doesn’t mean Warner Bros. is going down without a fight.

The Dark Tower is the movie (and TV show?) that refuses to die

By Don Kaye, Source: Blastr.com

It’s been kind of quiet on the Dark Tower scene in recent months, leading to speculation that the mammoth project had fallen into development hell. But now there are signs that Roland the last gunslinger might be coming to a theater near you after all.

When we left off, Universal Pictures had nixed the idea of adapting Stephen King’s mammoth, seven-book (soon to be eight-book) fantasy/sci-fi hybrid as three movies and two linking TV series, claiming that the project was just too expensive. Although the filmmakers involved, including director Ron Howard, vowed to press on and find a home for the project, Howard himself said back in November that it might be a long time before The Dark Tower finally went into production—if at all.

‘Greek’ Creator Takes on Warner Bros. Comic Book Movie ‘Bone’

by Borys Kit, Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Patrick Sean Smith, who created the ABC Family show, is jumping into features by writing the script based on Jeff Smith’s comic book. Patrick Sean Smith, who created the ABC Family show Greek, is jumping into features. Smith has been tapped to write Bone, Warner Bros.’ adaptation of the cult-favorite Jeff Smith comic book that now has P.J. Hogan attached to direct.

Dan Lin of Lin Pictures and Animal Logic are producing the adaptation of the fantasy series, the rights to which Warners picked up in 2008.

‘The Dark Knight Rises’ midnight screening tickets are already on sale…and already sold out

by Darren Franich, Source: EW.com

The Dark Knight Rises doesn’t open for another six months, but tickets for July 19 IMAX midnight screenings of the film are already on sale in a few major markets. A quick Fandango check reveals that you can currently buy tickets for the sure-to-be-bleak sequel (bleakquel?) for a theater in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York. Or sorry, strike that — the New York IMAX screening is already sold out. If the other cities hold true to form, L.A. will be sold out soon but will eventually claim that it sold out first, while San Francisco will invent a new method of selling out that involves social networking somehow.

A representative for Fandango told EW that it’s unusual for movie tickets to go on sale this far in advance, comparing this treatment of Rises to Avatar — which was selling tickets about four months in advance. Warner Bros. did not immediately comment on the decision to sell the midnight IMAX tickets early. You might have expected the announcement that tickets were going on sale would have been, you know, an actual announcement, but it’s entirely possible that Rises‘ stealth opening was intentionally in keeping with the film’s ever-mysterious marketing campaign. The point is, some extremely devoted New York fanboy who Fandango’d Dark Knight Rises every hour on the hour for the last year is now going to see the midnight screening, and you’re not. So if you have any intention of seeing Rises on opening weekend, and not on a weekday afternoon, I recommend keeping an eye out for any further news about Batman tickets.

Why Warner Bros. just shut down that new Akira movie

By Don Kaye, Source: Blastr.com

Welcome to a new age in Hollywood, where studios are putting major projects on hold if the numbers don’t line up. The latest victim? The new live-action version of Akira.

According to Heat Vision, the film is being shut down while Warner Bros. Pictures and the filmmakers reassess its budget. The production offices in Vancouver are being closed and the staff is being sent home, while director Jaume Collet-Serra (Orphan) and the producers will take the next two weeks to go over the script and find ways to squeeze a few more dollars out of it.

Surprise! Search for Twilight Zone director gets twist ending

By Don Kaye, Source: Blastr.com

The new big-screen version of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone has found its director, and it’s not any of the filmmakers who were reportedly up for the job.

Deadline has revealed that Warner Bros. Pictures has chosen Matt Reeves to get behind the camera for The Twilight Zone. Reeves is known for his scary found-footage monster movie Cloverfield, as well as last year’s Let Me In, the effective remake of the brilliant Swedish vampire film Let the Right One In.

Webisode success leads to a big-screen Mortal Kombat reboot

By Krystal Clark, Source: Blastr.com

Warner Bros. is ready to produce the Mortal Kombat we’ve always wanted. The studio has given Mortal Kombat: Legacy’s Kevin Tancharoen the thumbs-up to direct a big-screen reboot. (In creepy MK announcer voice: Excellent!)

Who do we have to thank for Warner Bros.’ renewed interest in Mortal Kombat? It’s a mix of Kevin Tancharoen and the obsessive fans who tuned in each week to his webseries Mortal Kombat: Legacy. Tancharoen’s vision of a less campy and more gritty MK world pleased viewers who were yearning for a darker adaptation. In other words, there was blood! Lots and lots of blood.

Mortal Kombat: Legacy raked in 15 million viewers after it debuted in April, which was music to the studio’s ears. So they bit the bullet and decided to reinvest in the ’90s property. The good news is Tancharoen will return for the reboot; the bad news is none of the actors from the webseries are involved and it will be based on a new story written by Oren Uziel.

The film is currently in development, so it’s too early to tell if any of the actors would even be open to reprising their roles. But if they do decide to tap into Legacy’s roster, Michael Jai White should be the first to return. He is a perfect Jax!

Are you excited to see Mortal Kombat in theaters again? Who would you like to return?

WB resurrects the ghoulish glee of Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice

By Jeff Spry, Source: Blastr.com

Admit it, you’ve missed your favorite horny, Zagnut-luring con-man corpse from the 1988 Tim Burton horror-comedy Beetlejuice. Well, today Warner Bros. says the mourning period is over with its planned reboot of Michael Keaton’s finest work (take that, Mr. Mom).

Deadline reports that David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith of KatzSmith Productions have signed a sweet two-year, first-look deal with Warner Bros. One of the first dream projects under that contract is a juicy Beetlejuice sequel. The lucrative deal developed out of Grahame-Smith’s screenplay gig for Tim Burton’s upcoming gothic soap opera Dark Shadows. Grahame-Smith rose to fame through his literary mashup novels Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, both of which have big-budget adaptations in the pipeline.

Want a Wonder Woman movie? Better hope that Logan’s Run is a hit!

By Kevin Coll, source: Blastr.com

Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn has been pitching a dream adaptation of Wonder Woman over the past year, and he may get his chance—but only if his current production of Logan’s Run is successful.

“I would love to make Wonder Woman,” he said. “And I also think that Christina Hendricks would be the perfect Wonder Woman, but Warner Bros. haven’t called yet. But I’m getting closer with Logan’s Run. I think someone said to me in a meeting that if I get Logan’s Run right, then I’ll get Wonder Woman.”