Movie & TV News: Iron Man, 2 Shatners?, The Green Hornet, John Adams, Mike Fright, Comic Previews

Iron Man
When screenwriter Mark Fergus spoke to Comingsoon.net about the Jon Favreau directed, Robert Downey Jr. starring vehicle, he said: "You realize that the class of actor you're looking at and the precision that they work in is just incredible. The reason the actors are coming is that Jon is an actor and he's such an inspiring director. Anybody who sits in a room with him is going to want to do the movie by the time they walk out of that room. He just inspires you to want to be a part of it, and I think because he's such an actor's director, these actors are thinking that they can really go to great lengths, even if it's a genre thing or a comic thing. They're going to really do some interesting stuff, because
Jon understands what actors need and the challenge they're looking for, and there's no doubt that he keeps getting top notch people."

2 Shatners?
On the April 3rd episode of "Boston Legal," the producers will to use footage from a 1957 Studio One drama, "The Defenders." That show featured a very young William Shatner. The story has Denny Crane coming face-to-face with a hostage taker, who has nursed a grudge from a court case 50 years earlier. (The original drama featured a then unknown actor named as Steven McQueen. No word has been released as to whether or not the McQueen footage will be in the "Boston Legal" episode.)

The Green Hornet
When word got out that Kevin Smith was writing a feature film version of "The Green Hornet" fandom was all abuzz. When
he walked away from the project the sadness was, in some corners, heavy. The character is loved by those who have followed him, in comics, radio or the 60's TV show. Now, Columbia Pictures has purchased the rights from producer Neal H. Moritz, who said: "I couldn’t be more thrilled to be developing this world renowned property with the people who brought Spider-Man to the screen. With the radio show, television program, comic books and novels, there is ample source material to bring this classic crime fighter to life." Moritz and Original Film will produce the contemporary version of the crime fighter, but state that it will follow the original mythology of the character.

John Adams
HBO is planning a seven-hour miniseries, based on David
McCullough's Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, to premiere in 2008. miniseries "John Adams," With Paul Giamatti as Adams, Tom Wilkinson as Benjamin Franklin, and David Morse as George Washington, the miniseries will be a chronicle of the first 50 years of the American republic. The story will be told through the eyes of Adams' wife, Abigail (Laura Linney). It will also feature Stephen Dillane as Thomas Jefferson, Danny Huston as Samuel Adams, Rufus Sewell as Alexander Hamilton, Justin Theroux as John Hancock and Guy Henry as Jonathan Sewall. Production has not yet begun, but will take place in Colonial Williamsburg, Va.

Mike Fright: Stand Up!