Movies

Joining the elite three-time (Stardust, Kick-Ass) club for comic book movie directors, Matthew Vaughn has signed on to direct X-Men: First Class after a lot of back and forth. Bryan Singer was originally on board to direct but he pulled out due to scheduling -- the helmer of the first two X-flicks will stay aboard as producer. Vaughn had been rumored for a while -- he was originally scheduled to direct the third X-men movie before pulling out at the last moment himself, leaving Brett Ratner to have his way with the franchise.   

Things That Should Not Be? or The March of Progress? [via Jackie Chan ]

While we're all talking IRON MAN 2 right now, a look into the crystal ball revelas that a year hence we'll be all yakking...

Another Icon comic is Hollywood bound, Michael Fleming reports, as INCOGNITO, the supervillain vengeance caper by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, has been optioned by by Fox. Peter Chernin and Circle of Confusion's David Engel will produce and the screenwriter attached is playwright Robert Schenkkan.

The summer of comic book movies continues as the trailer for JONAH HEX hits the internet. http://d.yimg.com/m/up/ypp/movies/player.swf I guess it might not be that bad, even...

• Yow, lots of Marvel movie news percolatin' out there. Claude Brodesser-Akner reports that Columbia is the first studio to run up against the...

Just to wrap things up, re our "Bad Week For Comic Book Movies" post, THE LOSERS was another blow to the Joel Silver empire,...

So how's that April 17th working out for you, Mark Millar? You'll recall that the excitable Scottish scribe was waiting for the day AFTER the KICK-ASS opening for his agents to take out his next project, NEMESIS, a move he may regret considering the tepid opening for KICK-ASS, which only managed a sub-$20 million opening AFTER Lionsgate toted up every penny -- thus avoiding being #2 to a four-week-old cartoon about getting your dragon to use a potty chair. Millar seems to have made peace with the opening however, probably because his agents didn't listen to his advice and already sold the hell out of his next few books. Although there's no disputing that KICK-ASS will recoup on home DVD and got a very smart, savvy marketing push to the target audience, it's still being looked at as a case study of internet buzz not equalling actual movie goer buzz. Some are using it as a platform for wider mythbusting:

If you were going into the end of the world in 2012, with a cold, empty feeling because Gilligan's Island had not yet been...

http://creative.myspacecdn.com/design/tools/customPlayer/customPlayer.swf?m=aHR0cDovL2xhcmdlYXNzZXRzLm15c3BhY2VjZG4uY29tL2NyZWF0aXZlL2hkL2tpY2thc3MvcmVkQmFuZC9raWNrQXNzX3JlZEJhbmRfODQ4eDQ2Ni5mbHY%3D&t=KICK-ASS%20Restricted%20Trailer&h=false Violence. Sex. Masturbation. Swearing. Hit-Girl. Technorati Tags: Kick Ass

• Hot rumor via E! that Joss Whedon and Morgan Spurlock are teaming up to make a documentary following three hopeful San Diego Comic-Con...

http://www.youtube.com/v/ZF59DBmYAq4&feature=youtube_gdata The new trailer for TOY STORY 3. Look for a special cameo in the trailer. Some people are already wondering if this can do AVATAR...