Movie & TV News: Watchmen, Fu Manchu, The Long Good Friday, The Passenger, The Spirit, Mike Fright, Comic Previews

Watchmen
The HollywoodNorthReport.com says here that the movie will be filming in Vancouver, British Columbia. They say:"Watchmen will open up their production offices in June with shooting to begin in mid to late August." The New York Post makes note of how uncomfortably similar this season of "Heroes" is to the basic plotline of Watchmen, commenting: "(Zack) Snyder and his bosses are probably more than a little ticked off. For a movie that will cost hundreds of millions, and could star Tom Cruise as Ozymandias if the Hollywood rumor mill is right, it can be galling to see such a pivotal plot twist used elsewhere."

Fu Manchu
Distant Horizons, a South African production company, wants to bring back arch criminal mastermind Fu Manchu, but with a twist. The company is developing a new project that would introduce a new Fu Manchu as an anti-hero. Producer Anant Singh said: "We will reinvent Fu Manchu as an anti-hero who fits in with a more socially conscious world and that addresses the very complex multipolar world we all live in today. We have already begun to discuss Fu's rebirth with a number of exciting talents in Hong Kong and mainland China."

The Long Good Friday
"The Long Good Friday" will get a Miami make over, under the direction of Paul W. S. Anderson. The 1980 original was about a London gangster whose criminal empire comes under attack. Handmade Films chairman Patrick Meehan said: "The original was a highly praised classic and one of Handmade's most prized films, but its reach was limited primarily to the U.K. Following continued interest from the U.S., we realized this remake could attract audiences worldwide with an updated setting and contemporary overtones. When Paul presented his creative vision for this project, we were instantly convinced that this is a story that could be successfully refreshed, yet leave the integrity of the original intact."

The Passenger
Elijah Wood will portray Iggy Pop in "The Passenger." The film traces Pop's early years with his band, the Stooges. Nick Gomez is to direct from an Eric Schmid script. Production starts later this year for a summer 2008 release.

The Spirit
Frank Miller wrote and will get his first solo directing stint with "The Spirit." The film will be a live action adaptation of the Will Eisner comic book.

Mike Fright: Stand Up!

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Check Out: The Mike Fright Site!

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Infinity Express
Cecil W. McCall dearly loved his Uncle Shelby. When the old man disappeared and was presumed dead, it affected him greatly. Then came the package, his uncle's legacy. In the package were Time Bands: devices that promised to take the wearer back in time. But Uncle Shelby hadn't left much in the way of instructions. So when McCall accidentally set them off, he was thrown back into the Victorian era, without much preparation. Being a comic and a trivia expert wasn't a lot of help, but being a history nut was. When he saw he was in the England of Jack The Ripper he knew what he had to do. With the aid of Arthur Conan Doyle & the Real Sherlock Holmes, he sets out to catch the Ripper, find his Uncle and go home. On the way he meets Adam Worth (The Real Professor Moriarty), Dr. Treves & The Elephant Man, Bram Stoker, Gilbert & Sullivan, Gaston Leroux, William Brodie, Rasputin and the Real Dracula. He also runs into a time-traveling salesman, Time Police and the forerunners of the Mafia.
And that is only the beginning . . .

Comic Previews
Comics Continuum has posted preview pages of
Conan #40,