PLANET GRIFFIN WEEKEND EDITION: Picking The Right One

The novel is massive, rich with backstory and subtlety that didn’t make it even to the very subtle and beautiful Swedish film. So we want to expand upon the world of the Swedish film by drawing upon the material from the novel. I think it’ll allow us to do things impossible in either of the previous incarnations. We’re planning a big program, with a unique scope to it.” Since the comics will not be a straight adaptation, readers would see episodes taking place both before and after the familiar events of the film, continuing the adventures of Eli and Oskar.
- Scott Allie, Dark Horse

Whoops!

Not too long ago, DARK HORSE COMICS and HAMMER FILMS announced several projects slated for future release, including a comic based on the US remake of the Swedish vampire movie known as LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (The American remake will be titled Let Me In). Dark Horse has also been looking at the original source material, the original novel by creator JOHN AJVIDE LINDQVIST. The problem with all of this is that no one from the DH camp cleared any of this with Lindqvist himself, who learned of this deal only after the fact.

Again... Whoops!

When interviewed by the Swedish Metro News, Lindqvist has already completed a prequel of his own slated for a future publication, and voiced his disapproval on the matter:

...Nobody has asked me about this and I think that the project stinks. I am looking into this matter and hope that they have no right to do this...

I've read the novel and watched the original film ( a violently bittersweet tale between a misunderstood, 12 year old outcast named Oskar and his chance meeting with his new neighbor, Eli, a vampire girl who was bitten at a very young age. Try to imagine a bloodier version of Twilight without the teen angst.), and found both media to be masterworks in their own right. To remake either of these seems pointless, and based upon the situation at hand, it would seem that Dark Horse may have to deal with future litigation... Only goes to show that if you don't work harder at developing original subject matter, it could come back to bite you... So to speak.

Special thanks to Warren Ellis

THE BIG BUZZ: Finally, THE ROCK Has Come Back !

Maybe it was the dismal returns of TOOTH FAIRY and RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN... Maybe it was the weak productions of ensemble flicks like DOOM, BE COOL, and the remake of WALKING TALL... (there was also SOUTHLAND TALES, but that's a weirdo bomb in a class by itself.) Maybe, just maybe, it was the total recall of passing Arnold in a crowded club in THE RUNDOWN, as a metaphoric gesture of saying, "It's your turn..." Whatever the reason, it appears that DWAYNE 'THE ROCK' JOHNSON is out to make good on his return to the hardcore action genre. Oh yes, PLANET GRIFFIN returns with THE BIG BUZZ!

VARIETY recently went on record to say that the upcoming film, FASTER, definitely promises to deliver the Rock as, what many people once assumed, the next great action star, as well as reveal the actor in a completely different light from his previous films.

Looking for absolute payback in the murder of his brother 10 years earlier, The Rock plays the double crossed ex-con willing to move hell and earth to find his brother's killers. Meanwhile, CARLA GUGINO (SIN CITY) and BILLY BOB THORNTON (SLING BLADE) play the detectives who turn out to be equally determined to to stop him.

MAGGIE GRACE, MOON BLOODGOOD, ADEWALE AKINNUOYE-AGBAJE, and OLIVER JACKSON-COHEN round out the cast when FASTER hits theaters NOVEMBER 19th.

Sandbox Spaghetti West: Rockstar Returns With A Vengence

Now here's something cool to sink your teeth into! In the world of videogames, the most hotly anticipated game of the year comes from the innovators of 'sandbox' gaming, ROCKSTAR GAMES... This time, instead of the urban blight of Liberty City, the setting is sent through the wayback machine to the daze of the Spaghetti West--- RED DEAD REDEMPTION is now ready for platform release of May 18th.
As an added bonus, Rockstar has even enlisted Director JOHN HILLCOAT to helm a 30 minute trailer of the game utilizing machinma (Machinma is a creative narrative using the video game's assets, which is basically an in-game animated film). Hillcoat, who reinvigorated the western genre with THE PROPOSITION, has finished a current edit which turned out to be so good, the trailer has been upgraded to broadcast--- the 30 minute short will air on FOX Saturday, MAY 15th.

Judging from the overall look of this platformer, Rockstar games has really done its homework, consuming seemingly every italian spaghetti western ever made--- from the panoramic vistas of SERGIO LEONE to the over-the-top violence of SERGIO CORBUCCI.

A Glimpse Into The Future

PLANET GRIFFIN LABS brings you another behind-the-scenes glimpse into the making of the FIERCE CREATURES OGN, which has been slowly getting back on track for mass production after dealing with everything else that life seems to throw at us all. As a shirt design, it's already showing mighty promise (of course, getting the materials together is difficult when your 9 to 5 grind is more demanding than most)... Keep your dreams alive and it will reward you highly in the end!

THE BIG BUZZ: Building A Better B-Movie

During the days of the release of GRINDHOUSE, Co-Creator ROBERT RODRIGUEZ held a video contest during the SXSW film festival 2007 in honor of the faux 70's flick to see who could come up with the best mock exploitation trailer. The winner came in the form of a broken down hobo who takes the law into his own hands with his nickels and dimes in one hand, and a big frakkin' shotgun in the other... Despite how cheesy this may sound, HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN not only took first prize in the competition, but it put Canadian writer/director JASON EISENER on the map!

Utilizing the same creativity that Rodriguez put into his first feature, EL MARIACHI, Eisener began showing his works to the filmmaking community at large, wowing the crowds at film festivals worldwide... This past monday, Eisener took his HOBO creation one step further.

Shooting for the full feature version of HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN began shooting in Nova Scotia with legendary actor RUTGER HAUER in the title role, replacing the original HOBO, Canadian actor DAVID BRUNT (who'll still cameo as a dirty cop in the film version). The trailer, already the stuff of cult legend in Canada, has drawn the interest of directors and stars within the Hollywood community as Hauer is reportedly playing up the role with the same manic energy he created in the cult classics THE HITCHER (the psychotic John Ryder) and BLADE RUNNER (the iconic replicant Roy Batty). Oh yes, the miasma of 70's grindhouse is getting a kickstart again, and the idea of 'building a better B movie' is getting better by the minute!

This is PLANET GRIFFIN and THE BIG BUZZ!

SHOTGUN MESSENGER: NEMESIS #1

PLANET GRIFFIN has received a few emails regarding the critical state of the comic industry (Keep'em coming gang! Planetgriffin@gmail.com), and with the timing of certain comics-turn-media properties, I decided to introduce a new rant/comics critique section on the PLANET, now known as SHOTGUN MESSENGER!
(Named after the George Yepes painting) Today's double barrel is trained on the newly released post KICK ASS comic, NEMESIS, as well as news and reactions to some of the crap that has yet to flush...

In the world of comics, it seems lately that no one's getting more press copy than MARK MILLAR, who just announced on the opening of his latest property-turned-celluloid reality, KICK ASS, that HE himself will be directing his next comic adaptation in his native Scotland, slated to begin production this summer, as well as following up with WANTED 2, which is already in active development. To top it off, Mark made a related statement, stating that Kick Ass was "...The reinvention of super heroes..."

Boom.

Not since the likes of FRANK MILLER, ALAN MOORE, and NEIL GAIMAN has anyone reached the tipping point of success on two fronts as Millar has. He says that his goal is to have the same type of impact as STAN LEE had in the 60's, but for a modern audience. Millar states that he's been approached by several directors, hungry to adapt Nemesis, even before anyone had seen the story or artwork (Millar calls them 'pompous vultures')! The writer says that he'll hold out until he can be sure of the quality director that he feels Nemesis warrants.

Millar's been catching alot of flack lately about tooting his own horn, which has raised quite a few hackles on the necks of many. ("...I don't like him because he toots his own horn...", "I think he's buying into the hype...", etc....) Quite frankly, I don't see the big deal in it... He's merely 'getting in touch with his inner 15 year old', right? Therefore, he's doing the triumphant dance that a 15 year old would do, so let him dance. Some of this is actually coming from RETAILERS, which makes no sense to me--- the books are SELLING like hotcakes, DESPITE your opinion of it, not to mention the fact you're pimping this title WHILE you trash it, so that makes you look somewhat STUPID for it. Good grief, folks: YOU HYPED HIM!

But I digress.

Anyways, NEMESIS is nothing more than a simple flip of a tried and truly tired concept: What if Batman had the mindset of the Joker and fought the law rather than uphold it? DC is up in arms on the subject (and despite what you may have read on the contrary online, my source inside DC says 'the higher ups are grinning through clenched teeth on the subject'), which I think boils down to the fact that MARVEL FINALLY got a Batman archetype of their own, and DC can't touch them... (The idea is super simplistic in the same way that Seth MacFarlane dumbed down the Simpsons formula to create Family Guy... 150 million and a multimedia franchise later... Same thing here.)

After reading the first issue in less time than it takes to fry eggs, I cannot see what all the lambasting is about... Really. Okay, let's look at the story itself, since McNIVEN earned his money on the interiors...

NEMESIS opens with a little bit of simple misdirection--- Tokyo's best cop is held hostage by the titular villain, with the cavalry rushing into a building to save our hero. In fact, the cavalry is looking in the wrong place, as their entry is cut short by enough explosive to level the building in which they stand. Our hero is actually liquefied by an oncoming bullet train which happens to be on time.

Fast forward to Washington DC where we meet our next target, CHIEF BLAKE MORROW, putting down an armed robbery single handed. Shortly thereafter, he learns that he's been targeted by the Nemesis in the form of a small card detailing WHO will die, WHEN he dies, and HOW he dies. Meanwhile, high above the city, Nemesis stands on the wing of Air Force One ( a la the gremlin from Twilight Zone, with the President acting as John Lithgow), preparing his forced entry into the plane by way of solid slugs from a railgun! Now, one blogger went so far as to call this particular sequence as '...The silliest thing he's ever seen...' C'mon man, we're talking about COMICS here! Besides, if Batman can do it--- my point made.

The book ends with Nemesis making a televised announcement to his new opponent that the game is about to begin, and just to drive the point home, the camera pulls back to reveal his latest hostage--- the United States President! (Not Obama, who's been in enough bandwagon-riding comics to last me a lifetime!)

Nemesis in 23 pages... The 24th page is devoted to Millar himself. It's here that I see audiences' nitpicking. Sure, he's cocky to the point of a confidence that most DON'T have (But again, he's smelling his own ass right now, and unless you're the ones holding his ass cheeks open, then let the man inhale!). Mark exclaims,

"... we're literally working for free in order to own the rights entirely (Keep in mind, McNIVEN is the only one working for free, while Mark is STILL riding that WANTED paycheck... Hey Mark, what happened to your collaboration with TONY HARRIS and WAR HEROES?! Tony got stuck holding the bill and suffering foot-and-mouth disease following YOUR lead) and believe me, there is no greater feeling in the world than owning your own creations. (So true.) It's glorious and very satisfying and maybe just exactly what we need right now in an industry where sometimes we rely a little too much on the work and ideas of other people. (Yeah Mark, it was called your entry into this business) It's also worth remembering that without our predecessors we wouldn't even have the kind of deals we have at places like ICON (Owned by MARVEL... That deal was made lip blistering special for your chapped ass, dude... Think about how you pitched Nemesis in the first place and tell me you couldn't smell rival opportunity in the room...?) and it's to the men and women who paved the way for creator-owned comic books that I'd like to dedicate this series."

Immediately following that statement, he concludes: " Fucking hell, that all actually sounded worryingly sincere."

Now, these things are only pompous if you allow them to be. PLANET GRIFFIN can also see the humor in it, so we can't nitpick to hard with these things. As long as Mark never forgets that his livelihood is based on those who BELIEVE in his works, he should be okay... Of course, his spoken demeanor and his written voice are two completely different things... Judge wisely in divining such words...

But what do I know?! I talk it like I walk it, and that record's spun daily! This is PLANET GRIFFIN, where the orbit doesn't change on account of bad weather!

THE BIG BUZZ: The Return Of The Wrong Mexican

GrindHouse (noun): American slang term for a particular genre of 70's films and the theaters that ran them. Known for it's non-stop lineups of double and triple billed B movies, grindhouses ran mostly exploitive films that weren't usually found in the A-list theaters; with film prints often shown in the poorest quality (severely scratchy negatives, clipped dialogue, etc.)... The home video boom of the 80's rendered the grindhouse set obsolete, but the thematics of the genre still holds true to this day (The Direct-to-DVD Market, B Movie indies, Mixed subgenres, etc.) . The subgenres that spawned from grindhouse (blaxploitation, Women-In-Prison, Cheap horror, Kung Fu quickies, Italian crime, Euro-trash, Spaghetti Westerns, etc.) are still considered among the most memorable moments in film history--- considering that many A-list blockbusters today still borrows from those 70's elements.

Okay, enough of that.... Let's get on with the BIG BUZZ, shall we?


PLANET GRIFFIN, that pirate blogcast of pop culture and the bane of profane elements of mainstream fare, brings you yet another edition of THE BIG BUZZ. Since appearing as a trailer in the ill-fated, yet still appreciated, GRINDHOUSE back in 2007, fanboy audiences everywhere have wondered when creator ROBERT RODRIGUEZ will deliver on the full length treatment--- Dimension Films announces on SEPTEMBER 3, the bloody revenge tale of the Mexican Federale will finally be told, and with the buzz of the all star cast (Jeff Fahey, Robert DeNiro, Cheech Marin, a post prison Michelle Rodriguez, Jessica Alba, a moment of clarity filled Lindsay Lohan and a Pre-sex slave scandal Steven Seagal), the emergence of the new Mexploitation cinema appears to be eminent!

Rodriguez, along with directing partner Ethan Maniquis, will produce the film while finishing up his follow up film, PREDATORS (yes, that one)--- after that, Rodriguez may well turn his attentions back to the Machete property as Dimension Films made a follow up announcement that they seek to complete MACHETE as a trilogy! (Hence, the mexploitation franchise begins)

Here's the breakdown:

A former renegade Federale (Trejo) wanders the backstreets of Texas after the shakedown of a local drug lord (Seagal). Offered a job to assassinate a corrupt senator (DeNiro), Machete is double crossed by the man that hired him (Fahey), resulting in the payback fuelled rampage which involves a taco slinger (post Fast & Furious alum Rodriguez), a gun wielding socialite (Lohan), the Padre (Marin), and the ICE agent Sartana (Alba) who's mysteriously connected to Machete.

As a longtime fan of the 70's grindhouse set, I will be in full 42nd street mode for this one, fighting my way in line to the theater, taking my life in my hands along with scores of like-minded fans--- which is exactly what the grindhouse experience is supposed to be.

Stay tuned for more PLANET GRIFFIN and THE BIG BUZZ!