Voices From Krypton

RON HOWARD TIME TRAVELS FOR OBAMA

See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: AMANDA TAPPING ON "SANCTUARY"

When Amanda Tapping and her business partners decided to create the online series Sanctuary, the intention all along was for the show to eventually be picked up by a television network. Highly innovative for its virtual sets and approach to storytelling, Sanctuary has been brought to the next level in its transition into a SciFi Channel series, which is maintaining many of the elements that made the show an online success. In this exclusive one-on-one interview, Amanda Tapping discusses the series as well as her feelings about leaving the Stargate franchise behind her.

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STAN WINSTON STUDIOS ON "GREEN LANTERN" AND "IRON MAN 2"

An article in the Los Angeles Times regarding the late Stan Winston and Stan Winston Studio states that the name of the operation is being changed to Legacy Effects, and mentions that one of the projects in the pipeline is the forthcoming Green Lantern.
   "The last two major American movies that will have Winston Studios listed in the credits will be Terminator Salvation and then the Cameron-directed 3-D film Avatar, which is fitting considering the importance of both the killer-robot franchise and its original director in the career of the late wizard... The Winston name will also appear on a German film called Pandorum. After that, the Legacy era officially begins (as far as movies are concerned) with the Bollywood production Robot and then, if things go as expected, with Iron Man 2 in 2010. Legacy is doing some early design work for a planned movie for Green Lantern, the DC Comics character..."
   In other Green Lantern news, the online io9 commented on the fact that the movie, to be directed by Greg Berlanti and scripted by Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and Michael Green, could go into production as early as Spring 2009. In what could be a MAJOR SPOILER ALERT, they describe the film's plot as follows:  It "will start with the death of Green Lantern Corps member Abin Sur on Earth after a battle with the intergalactic baddie Legion (the latter will appear as one of the movie's villains). The dying Abin Sur snubs Clark Kent to pass the potent bauble to Hal Jordan, a civilian grappling with the death of his father. Once annointed, Jordan finds himself busy romancing aerospace businesswoman Carol Ferris, all the while gaining an enemy in Hector Hammond, who obtains powers while performing a government sanctioned autopsy on Abin Sur. Facing certain defeat, Jordan journeys to the Green Lantern motherland, Oa, to ask for help in defeating the tenacious Hammond.... The movie looks like it'll be somewhat steeped in space travel and, as such, is a total fanboy pleaser."

ANNOUNCING THE "VOICES FROM KRYPTON" ONLINE COMMUNITY

There comes a point in any obsession where you realize that you have to do something about it. For me, after a lifetime of sustenance provided by comic books, movies, TV shows, the Beatles and more, that “something” was becoming an entertainment journalist. Now, after doing that for more years than I care to think about, I’ve decided to embrace the 21st Century (admittedly a bit late), thus the creation of the Voices From Krypton social network.
   The title (as is the case with this blog) automatically suggests Superman, of course, and the Man of Steel in all of his incarnations will be fully represented both in written and audio interviews. But you’ll also find extensivecoverage of different superheroes in a variety of mediums, as well as other subjects in the sci-fi genre. But to make this very unique online community work, we need you to be a part of it; to create your own pages where you can blog about your favorite subjects, and upload photos, fiction, your original comics, music and videos. And we'll be doing our part, bringing exclusive interviews here that you won't find anywhere else, including the original Voices From Krypton blog. To join (it's free), just click HERE.

MARV WOLFMAN INTERVIEW ON DICK GRAYSON/ROBIN

Writer Marv Wolfman probably knows more about Dick Grayson and Robin than just about anybody else. Our sister site The Flying Graysons just caught up with Marv and got his feelings about the character and the announcement of the series. To check out this exclusive chat, just click HERE.

CHECK OUT "THE FLYING GRAYSONS"

Voices From Krypton wants to let you know that we've launched our latest page, The Flying Graysons, which is devoted to the just announced CW TV pilot/potential TV series chronicling the life and adventures of Dick Grayson prior to his parents being murdered and his taken in by Bruce Wayne, who eventually trains him to become Robin. There will also be coverage of Robin in all of his incarnations, looking at the character in different mediums as well as his evolution into Nightwing. Just click on this url: www.theflyinggraysons.com.

BULLETS & BRACELETS: WONDER WOMAN UPDATES

Hello everyone, it's Raffy with some updates to share right here on voicesfromkrypton.com regarding the First Lady of Superheroines, Wonder Woman.  First off- The Wonder Woman Movie !!
   By now, I'm sure many of us have read that the Justice League live action movie is off and that Warner Brothers is now planning to take a similar route as Marvel Studios when it comes to producing Superhero movies.   So George Miller is off Justice League and Australian model turned actress Megan Gale will not be playing Wonder Woman after all. Over on darkhorizons.com (http://www.darkhorizons.com/news08/080910r.php), there's news that producer Leonard Goldberg, who is working alongside Joel Silver. is waiting for a new script they can use for Wonder Woman: The Movie.  Goldberg describes himself as being "old school" and that he wants to get a completed new script first that can be presented to directors and see who among them has a take on it that blows then away.
   The Wachowski brothers, who thought they might have an idea on how to do Wonder Woman ,ended up working on other projects and never followed through.  Joel Silver bought a spec script from Matthew Jennison and Matt Strickland, whose setting was World War 2, decided to hire these same two writers to write a new script set in the present and featuring the origin of Wonder Woman.   But Goldberg said unlike the spec script, they are not going to use the same plot for the rewritten version (that Steve Trevor crashes on the island and Diana saves him from being executed by the Amazons), but will use a plot we have seen (with the Origin intact).  They plan to cast an unknown as Wonder Woman, firmly believing it’s the character and not a particular actress that will draw in the public. When all of this is supposed to happen is anyone’s guess, but maybe there’s some solace in the fact that we have the Wonder Woman Animated Movie to look forward to.
Coming in February of 2009 is that highly anticipated DC Universe direct to DVD Wonder Woman animated movie  starring the voices of Kerri Russell as Wonder Woman, Nathan Fillion as Steve Trevor, Virginia Madsen as Queen Hippolyte, Rosario Dawson as Artemis and Alfred Molina as Ares, the Olympian god of war.  The feature will present for the first time a full length version of the origin of Wonder Woman, exploring the attraction between Diana and Steve Trevor, the Tournament of the Amazons and legions of Ares’ creatures pitted against amazing Amazons.  Lauren Montgomery  (Superman: Doomsday) directs this movie and even designed the new look of the characters.  The story is by fan Favorite and award-winning writer Gail Simone (comic scribe of Birds of Prey and Wonder Woman) and features a script by Michael Jelenic (Legion of Superheroes, The Batman) and is Executive produced by Animation legend Bruce Timm. The movie will be available in both DVD and Blue Ray formats. (source: wonderwomanmovie.com)
   Lastly, in about two months, the great six-part story arc saga “Whom Gods Forsake” will begin with Wonder Woman # 26, featuring part one, “Rise of the Olympian”.  Written by Gail Simone, the saga will finally answer many of the questions that have come up in the past few months such as where the Amazons have disappeared to, who is the so-called “Male Wonder Woman” and why the Olympian gods have chosen a new champion.  We will also see the ramifications of Diana’s new allegiance to Polynesian god, Kane Milohai, and the problems this cause between Diana and her original Olympian patrons as well as the continuing courtship between Tom Tresser (a.k.a. Nemesis) and Diana herself.  The entire six part arc will be illustrated by Aaron Lopresti, whose breathtaking art clearly fits the overall theme of this series.
   Yes, indeed, it’s great to be a Wonder Woman fan these days.  Action figures, animation, film, comics and other merchandise abound.  So that’s all for now folks.  Feel free to comment  or ask other Wonder Woman related questions right here on voicesfromkrypton.com

Raffy Arcega
Phoenixmarvel2002.tripod.com

GOTHAM CENTRAL: BATMAN IN THE NEWS

Frank Miller's All-Star Batman and Robin, The Boy Wonder certainly made some news recently as DC recalled issue #10 because of a "printing gaffe" where Batgirl and some thugs exchange obscenities (S-words, F-words, C-words and A-words) that were supposed to be blacked out. The series does not have a mature readers warning on the cover. DC caught the problem early in the week of publication and stopped some shipments, but had to request retailers to destroy the rest. Despite the clear request, many issues made their way into the hands of readers. If you must have one of the recalled issues, then eBay should be your next destination (I recently saw 260 listings). The non-recall intended version of issue #10 came out on September 24th.
   I wish I could talk about Grant Morrison's "Batman R.I.P." arc more, but that arc is still taking a hiatus this month. So I think I'll wait until next month to talk about it more. Mark Sable's Two-Face Year One #2 has been pushed back until October 8th. I talked to Sable myself online and he is very upset with the delays. I was not a fan of Ra's al Ghul Year One or Scarecrow Year One, but Two-Face Year One is very good thus far. It is faithful to The Long Halloween and does a neat job of laying the early continuity roots for the acclaimed title Gotham Central. Sable knows Harvey Dent and early Gotham well. Fans of the show Dexter may want to check out the story, as Sable openly borrows from it to craft the plot of Two-Face Year One.
   In movie news, there still really is no movie news. Aaron Eckhart told MTV that the Nolan brothers have more Batman stories in them (for what that is worth). The Dark Knight is apparently going to be re-released in early 2009 (probably IMAX only) as a means of reminding Academy members of the film for the Oscar race.
Plenty of Batman video games are either released or on the horizon. Lego Batman: The Videogame was released September 23rd and stars almost every Batman character. On November 10th, Midway will release Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, which will include Batman and The Joker. Sometime in 2009, Rocksteady Studios (developer of Urban Chaos: Riot Response) will release Batman: Arkham Asylum, which is a single-player game based on the comic book mythos. Head over to IGN to see the few pictures out there for this game; it's the one I'm most excited for.
   I leave you with a favorite quote from The Joker in Grant Morrison's Arkham Asylum. It's the end of the graphic novel and Batman is leaving Arkham feeling spiritually reborn. Joker says to him as he's walking outside to the cops, "Parting is such sweer sorrow, dearest. Still, you can't say we didn't show you a good time. Enjoy yourself out there... in the asylum. Just don't forget -- if it ever gets too tough... there's always a place for you here."
                      -- Jeff

KNIGHT RIDER: THE VISUAL EFFECTS

Our friends over at Knight Rider Online have scored an exclusive behind the scenes look at the show's visual effects. Reports the site:
   "A few weeks back when we visited the set of Knight Rider, one of the things we wanted to be sure to do was to meet the people who worked on the special effects for each episode. A strong part of us feels that they have a huge responsibility for the final product you see on the screen - because without them, KITT would just be another car. We felt very fortunate and excited by the chance to meet the folks behind the 3D and 2D effects that make up this show.
   "On two separate occasions occasions, they have shown us some alternates from the KITT to Attack KITT transformations, but this was our first time to see some of these effects before anyone else. There are over 400 effects in the premier episode alone.
   "In a generic office complex across from the sounds stage that houses the KITTCave, you will find the offices for the special effects team. Elan Dassani and Rajeev Dassani, identical twins, run the group in charge of the effects for Knight Rider. Together, back in February, the two worked on the back door pilot episode and built KITTs panel inteface for that movie. Since then they have started to branch their team out as more of the effects (practically all) are brought within the company. Soon after, they hired Stephan Fleet who became the 2D lead and they have continuted to grow and outgrow their current space where now 1-2 dozen employees are working so dillegently."
   For the rest of the story, just click HERE.