Category: Announcements

The Empire Muggs Back: One Week to Go!

from StarWars.com:

There is one week left to go in the Empire Muggs Back charity auction — a chance for you to score a fanastic one-of-a-kind piece of Star Wars art, while also helping out The Make-a-Wish Foundation.

Artists, comic book creators, toy designers, and celebrity fans have used their markers, paint brushes and glue guns to transform blank versions of Hasbro’s distinctive Mighty Muggs toys into unique pieces of Star Wars art.

These highly-collectible urban vinyl toys have been available in a variety of characters from Star Wars and Indiana Jones, among other comic book and film franchises. For this special project, called The Empire Muggs Back, Lucasfilm asked popular artists, comics book creators, toy designers and celebrity fans to take blank Mighty Muggs (donated by Hasbro) and transform them into their favorite Star Wars characters, scenes, ships and more.

“StarWars.com wanted to show off the talents of artists and fans, who represent a wide-range of artistic disciplines, in an unique way while raising money for a good cause we have long supported,” said Bill Gannon, Director of Online Operations at Lucasfilm Ltd.

Among the artists contributing to the project is Supervising Director of The Clone Wars animated series, Dave Filoni. “I have met several Make-A-Wish families due to my involvement in The Clone Wars and I have seen first-hand what a difference a little kindness can make for people,” he said. “It is a great privilege to get to be involved in a project like this, which combines my love of Star Wars with helping others. It’s the Jedi way after all.”

Over 60 one-of-a-kind customized Mighty Muggs toys are up for auction through August 14. To find out more about this project as well as see all the pieces and enter the auction, visit StarWars.com’s page dedicated to The Empire Muggs Back here.

Make-A-Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. The Foundation is now the largest wish-granting charity in the world, with 65 chapters in the United States and its territories. With the help of generous donors and nearly 25,000 volunteers, the Make-A-Wish Foundation grants a wish every 40 minutes and has granted more than 180,000 wishes in the United States since inception. For more information about the Make-A-Wish Foundation, visit http://wish.org. To give to the Make-A-Wish Foundation and help courageous children experience their most heartfelt wishes, please visit our Giving Section.

Weta News: August 2009

from Weta:

Hey Weta fans,

This time I would like to draw your attention to a beautiful trailer for Peter Jackson’s upcoming movie The Lovely Bones. Weta helped out with design and specialty props as well as digital visual effects for the movie. We’re really looking forward to the release of the movie in December. See the trailer here! Enjoy!

In the News:
We are incredibly proud and pleased to finally be “back in Middle-earth” again and we’re full of anticipation of exciting times ahead. So, without further ado, we declare our range of Miniature Shields from The Lord of the Rings open for Pre-order!

New Products:

Running Out:

  • Prince Caspian — Caspian and Steed — less than 10 left! And it’s only just arrived!
  • King Kong — Kong Skull — A few left in NZ and the UK

The Dragon’s Gold has been found!
The Hunt for Dragon’s Gold at Comic-Con was a race down to the wire. In fact, it was so close, it was a dead heat. The two winners were Jared Sarajian and Jeff Cox. The hunt was announced by Richard Taylor at the panel organized by our good friends at TORn (theonering.net). It took them just 45 minutes to decipher the series of clues placed around the Convention Hall. Read more!

This is how you find us online!
http://fans.wetaNZ.com/Magnus/ | Twitter: @wetaworkshop | Facebook: Weta Workshop

Guild Comic-Con Wrap Up!

from The Guild:

We’ve been very busy since Comic-Con getting Season 3 ready for launch, but we wanted to catch up anyone who didn’t manage to meet us down there on what happened!

First, we had a booth and met probably thousands of fans over the weekend! Thanks to each and every person who stopped by the booth or waited patiently in line to meet us, we were overwhelmed with all the support! Web video is hard work with low pay, so meeting fans is the thing that gets us through the solitary-behind-the-computer months. We met tons of people; check out lots of awesome photos in our Flickr Guild Group.

Xbox, our sponsor, treated us to a party on Thursday night with Beatles Rock Band and 50 lucky fans who completed our scavenger hunt got to attend with us! It was a very fun “easter egg” evening.

Next, we had a completely sold-out crowd for our Friday Morning panel, where we screened our bonus Music Video and Episode 1 of Season 3. We surprised attendees with appearing IN OUR AVATAR COSTUMES. 😀 It was quite a thrill for us and we know the audience enjoyed it! Also, we revealed that Wil Wheaton will be appearing as a Guest Star in Season 3, and there will be a Guild Comic being made with Dark Horse Comics so it was an hour full of surprises. We wish every single one of our fans could have been there with us.

Here are links to The Guild Panel (minus the two videos screening) in 6 parts!
Panel Part 1
Panel Part 2
Panel Part 3
Panel Part 4
Panel Part 5
Panel Part 6

All of us had a fantastic time in San Diego, but we’re already back to work! We’re launching our Music Video, “Do You Wanna Date My Avatar” on Xbox Live Monday, August 10th, and excitingly the video will go everywhere on the 17th, embeddable and purchasable as a video and a song! After that, Season 3 will launch to Gold Xbox members on August 25th and then on MSN/Zune on the 1rst of September, rolling out every week throughout the fall. We hope you enjoy, it’s gonna be a bigger season that we’ve ever tried before!

Also, we have more convention appearances lined up in the coming weeks, so subscribe to our RSS, fan us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to stay up to date! 🙂

VIZ Media Presents the Historical and Royal Intrigue of “Ooku: The Inner Chambers” Manga Series

from VIZ Media:

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced the release of Ooku: The Inner Chambers, Fumi Yoshinaga’s historical manga epic set in an alternate version of Edo-era Japan. Ooku, which will be released under the company’s VIZ Signature imprint on August 8th, is rated “M” for Mature Audiences and will carry an MSRP of $12.95 U.S. / $15.00 CAN.

In Edo period Japan (1603 to 1868), a strange new disease called the Redface Pox has begun to prey on the country’s men. Within eighty years of the first outbreak, the male population has fallen to a quarter of the total female population. Women have taken on all the roles traditionally granted to men, even that of the Shogun. The men, precious providers of life, are carefully protected and the most beautiful of the men are sent to serve in the Shogun’s Inner Chambers.

Fumi Yoshinaga is a Tokyo-born manga creator who debuted in 1994 with The Moon and the Sandals. Her series Ooku: The Inner Chambers has received numerous prestigious awards, including the 2009 Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize and the 2006 Japan Media Arts Festival Excellence Award. Fumi Yoshinaga was also nominated in the United States in 2008 for the Eisner Award for Best Writer/Artist.

“Ooku: The Inner Chambers is an acclaimed story that blends science fiction themes with strong female characters and will captivate readers with a mix of historical drama and royal intrigue,” says Gonzalo Ferreyra, Vice President Sales & Marketing, VIZ Media. “Incorporating the richly detailed history of Edo era Japan, Ooku presents a unique portrayal and examination of gender roles in Japanese society. The series was a commercial as well as a critical success in Japan and we look forward to the readers in the US and Canada discovering this unique story.”

MC Lars, “True Player for Real”

“True Player for Real”

MC Lars‘s very own self-referential introduction song, with help from Wheatus and “Weird Al” on the accordion. Oh, and spoiler: it’s made with sock puppets! LOL CPs.

Directed by Richard Barham. Additional Props, Puppets and Puppeteering by Gorg.

horrisrecords.com
crappyrecords.com

ElfQuest: Ask Rawson Thurber

from ElfQuest:

Just got word that the first draft of the Elfquest screenplay is perhaps two-thirds, three-quarters of the way finished and we’re aiming to have a look at it by the end of the month. And because he’s feeling that the beast is finally coming under control (and because he’s that kind of sweetheart) director/screenwriter Rawson Thurber has made an offer exclusively to the readers of the Scroll of Colors. Here’s how he put it in a recent email to Wendy:

“What do you think about doing some kind of 10-question thing with the EQ community? You & Richard invite the community to submit their questions about the film adaptation and you guys select which ten you’d like me to answer. I type up my response. You guys dole out the answers one a week (or however you see fit).”

We think it’s a stellar idea, so here we go! I’ve created a new topic in the Scroll of Colors here.

There are some ground rules, which I as nastybad admin-thing will enforce.

1) This topic will be locked (just as “Ask Elfmom” was). Every so often (Rawson suggests every week; we’ll fine-tune that as we go) I will post a question that one of you has asked, along with his response. You’re free to discuss answers in other threads over in “Thunder and Skyfire” but we’ll keep this topic neat and organized.

2) Only questions submitted via private message within the EQ forum will be considered. This is easy to do; just click on the PM button at the bottom of any of my posts and off you go.

3) You may ask as often as you want but we will almost certainly only choose one question per person. Rawson may decide he wants to take on more than ten. On the other hand, he may also discover he can only answer a few, depending on his workload. We want to give a chance to as many different voices as possible.

4) You may ask anything you want but we will choose which questions to forward to Rawson. Hint: the more general, the better. “How do you make your choices what to keep and what to cut?” is more interesting than “Are you going to keep the scene in Book 3 where Lord Voll sneezes?”

It may take a few days for questions to come in and for Rawson to craft his replies, so keep checking back! Ayoooah!

Shade and sweet town meeting fun,
Richard Pini

MGM’s New “Stargate Universe” Trailer

When the show concept for Stargate Universe was first mentioned, I envisioned Lost in Space 90210, but this trailer actually has me excited. It’s more like Battlestar Galactica meets The Poseidon Adventure. I’m hopeful. Very hopeful.

Check it out in high quality at the Official Stargate Website.

Mimoco’s Infectious Design Contest

from Mimoco:

Call for entries! Mid-August through September!

Mimoco teams up with the fine crew at Infectious, makers of adhesive art (ie, skins) for laptops, iPhones, iPods, walls, and cars to bring you the Infectious X MIMOBOT Design Challenge, the next contest in our community-designed series of MIMOBOT flash drives!

Prizes:

  • $1,000 Grand Prize
  • Winning design produced as a future run of MIMOBOT designer USB flash drives!
  • Runner ups win MIMOBOT prize packs!

After Much Speculation, Dark Horse Announces the Return of Turok, Doctor Solar, Magnus, and Mighty Samson

from Dark Horse Comics:

In a packed panel on Saturday morning during Comic-Con, Dark Horse president, Mike Richardson called a surprise guest to announce Dark Horse’s plans to develop new comics and graphic novels for the Gold Key Comics’ superheroes. Fans were shocked to see Jim Shooter enter the room; the man recently named the “Steve Jobs of Comics” by Comic Book Bin.

Shooter is perhaps best known for his nine year tenure at Marvel Comics, beginning in 1982, with highlights including Chris Claremont and John Byrne’s run on the Uncanny X-Men, and Frank Miller’s run on Daredevil. Also under Shooter’s editorial reign, Walt Simonsen revamped The Mighty Thor and made it again a bestseller. Following his successful run at Marvel, Shooter launched the well-received Valiant comics imprint in the early 90s, bringing many of Marvel’s creators with him.

Now, Jim Shooter comes to Dark Horse as head writer for the re-launch of the Gold Key Comics characters: Turok, Son of Stone, Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom, Magnus, Robot Fighter, and Mighty Samson, with further characters and new comic writers to be announced shortly.

“It’s great to be at Dark Horse, working with Mike Richardson, world-class creator, honorable gentleman and industry powerhouse,” said Jim Shooter. “It’s great to be reunited with Magnus, Solar, Turok, Samson and the other wonderful Gold Key properties. The opportunity is tremendous and the time is ripe. Let’s do it.”

“Jim and I share a great affection for these terrific characters. We have some very exciting ideas on how to introduce them to a whole new generation of fans,” said Mike Richardson, president of Dark Horse Comics.

Turok

An original comic book hero, Turok is best known today for a successful video game franchise boasting more than five million units sold since the first game was introduced in the 1990s. The legend of the brave and ruthless dinosaur-hunter has lived on for more than thirty years in comic book series from Dell Comics, Gold Key Comics and Valiant. Anthologies of the original classic comics are now available from Dark Horse Comics.

Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom

Doctor Solar must find a way to become normal again after surviving an explosion that leaves him with the power to control atomic energy. When danger and disaster threaten the innocent, Solar leaps into action as the “Man of the Atom.” One of Gold Key Comics’ most popular titles in the 1960s, the original nuclear-powered superhero reached legendary status by the 1990s in new comics from Valiant. The original classic comics now appear in hardcover anthologies published by Dark Horse Comics.

Magnus, Robot Fighter

Haling from the year 4,000 A.D. is the stalwart hero of humanity, Magnus, Robot Fighter. These gripping adventure stories, in which a human who battles evil robots in the sprawling futuristic city of North Am, elevated the comic book medium when they debuted in the 1960s from Gold Key Comics, and captured the imagination of millions in new comics published thirty years later by Valiant. The original science-fiction classics now appear in hardcover anthologies published by Dark Horse Comics.

Mighty Samson

A popular Gold Key Comics character from the 1960s and 70s, the post-apocalyptic adventures of Mighty Samson are set in the land of N’Yark, an earth devastated by nuclear war. Amazingly large and strong, Samson uses his mutant strength only for good — and to protect his friends, Sharmain and Mindor, responsible for saving his life.

Turok, Son of Stone; Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom; Magnus, Robot Fighter and Mighty Samson are part of the Classic Media portfolio of properties. For more information, please go to: classicmedia.tv.

Farscape 10th Anniversary Announcement from A&E Home Entertainment and The Jim Henson Company

Farscape: The Complete Series Megaset

from A&E Home Entertainment and The Jim Henson Company:

When a freak accident during an experimental space mission catapulted Astronaut John Crichton (Ben Browder) across a thousand galaxies to an alien battlefield, a groundbreaking cult classic was born with the epic, adventure-filled TV series Farscape. On November 17, the award-winning fan favorite show, which ran from 1999-2003 on Sci Fi and was named by TV Guide as one of television’s best cult shows ever, will commemorate its 10th Anniversary with the very first complete packaging of the series. Featuring all 88 episodes on 25 discs, with original aspect ratios (4×3 for Seasons 1-3, anamorphic 16×9 widescreen for Season 4) and 5.1 surround sound, Farscape: The Complete Series Megaset delivers the venerated program to its legions of loyal fans and a new generation for the collectible price of $149.95srp.

An imaginative fusion of live action, state-of-the-art puppetry, prosthetics and CGI, Farscape, produced by The Jim Henson Company in association with RHI Entertainment, featured mind-boggling alien life forms, dazzling special effects, edge-of-your-seat thrills, irreverent humor and unforgettable characters — all brought to rich life by the creative minds at Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. Strap in and hold on tight for the extraordinary adventures of John Crichton, as he finds himself surrounded by hostile aliens and soaring through the cosmos aboard Moya, a glorious living space ship. Hunted by the relentless Peacekeepers, he allies himself with Moya’s crew — Aeryn Sun (Claudia Black), Luxan warrior Ka D’Argo (Anthony Simcoe), azure priestess Zhaan (Virginia Hey), spritely Nebari thief Chiana (Gigi Edgley), Dominar Rygel, the deposed royal ruler of the Hynerian Empire and Pilot — to search for a way out of this inconceivably alien world and return home.

Farscape: The Complete Series Megaset contains amazing surprises, including over 15 hours of bonus programming:

  • 29 Episode Commentaries, including “Premiere” with Rockne S. O’Bannon, Brian Henson and Ben Browder; “Jeremiah Crichton” with Claudia Black, Producer/Writer David Kemper, Browder and O’Bannon; “Bone to Be Wild” with Anthony Simcoe; “Relativity” with Lani Tupu (Crais/Voice of Pilot) and Director Peter Andrikidis; and, “Bad Timing” which features Browder, Black and Kemper discussing the series’ final episode.
  • Multiple featurettes and documentaries including “In the Beginning: A Look Back with Brian Henson”; “Making of a Space Opera” and “Inside Farscape: Save Farscape,” on which fans, cast and crew discuss the fate of their beloved series.
  • Multiple video profiles featuring archival clips and cast/crew discussing their characters and roles on Farscape.
  • Over 90 minutes of deleted scenes.
  • Slideshows and archival photo galleries, including character concepts and promo photos.
  • Production design galleries featuring screenshots, rough drafts and concept slide shows.
  • Behind-the-Scenes interviews with Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Anthony Simcoe, Virginia Hey, Gigi Edgley, Paul Goddard (Stark),Wayne Pygram (Scorpius) and more.
  • Original TV promos and trailers

In addition to the complete Megaset, on November 17, Farscape will also be available in single season sets. Each re-packaged DVD release in Farscape: The Complete Seasons 1-4 will feature over 18 hours of interstellar entertainment — 22 episodes on six jam-packed discs filled with hours of revealing bonus materials — for $44.95srp.

Prepare for Starburst!

The crew of the Moya on "Farscape"
The crew of the Moya on "Farscape"
Ben Browder is Astronaut John Crichton
Ben Browder is Astronaut John Crichton
Claudia Black is Ex-Peacekeeper Aeryn Sun, with Henson creation “Pilot” in the background
Claudia Black is Ex-Peacekeeper Aeryn Sun, with Henson creation “Pilot” in the background

VIZ Pictures Releases Live-Action Death Note: L, change the WorLd

Death Note: L, change the WorLd

from VIZ Pictures:

VIZ Pictures, an affiliate of VIZ Media, LLC that focuses on Japanese live-action film distribution, has announced the DVD release of Death Note: L, change the WorLd live-action film. The DVD will be distributed by VIZ Media, available on August 18th and will carry a MSRP of $24.92 US/$35.99 Canada.

To celebrate this release, VIZ Pictures will have a special event at their brand-new VIZ Cinema in San Francisco. Enjoy the L movie screening and an exclusive L gift-box including the newly released DVD, poster and more. Visit vizcinema.com for ticket info and more details.

Death Note: L, change the WorLd is inspired by the immensely popular Death Note feature films, which are based on the best-selling supernatural action manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. This spin-off follows a new original storyline. Death Note: L, change the WorLd was directed by Hideo Nakata, who also directed the U.S. #1 hit horror movie The Ring 2, which was remade from his own smash hit Japanese horror trilogy, Ringu.

Inspired by the best-selling manga Death Note, Death Note: L, change the WorLd reveals how L spends the last 23 days of his life. For his final case he takes on a bio-terrorist group and must also save the lives of two children who have no one else to turn to.

“Death Note: L, change the WorLd stars Kenichi Matsuyama, an up-and-coming Japanese actor who has also appeared in acclaimed films such as Death Note, Linda Linda Linda, Nana and Detroit Metal City,” says Seiji Horibuchi, president and CEO of VIZ Pictures. “He reprises his role as the ace detective L and audiences will be riveted to their seats as his character once again works to save society from a monstrous new threat.”

The Death Note manga (rated “T+” for older teens) and animated series (rated “T+” for older teens) have become extremely popular domestically. The 37-episode animated series is seen by millions each week on cable broadcast and the series is also distributed on DVD by VIZ Media. On the print side, the Death Note manga series and Death Note 13: How to Read, a companion volume to the successful manga series, is published domestically by VIZ Media and has been ranked in USA Today’s Top 150 list of America’s best-selling books.

For more information on the Death Note: L, change the WorLd live action films and other VIZ Pictures films, please visit viz-pictures.com or deathnotefilms.com. For more information on the Death Note manga and animation, please visit deathnote.viz.com.

Order now at Amazon.com:
Death Note Box Set (Vol. 1-13, Complete Manga Set)
Death Note: Another Note (Novel)
Death Note (Live Action)
Death Note II: The Last Name (Live Action)
Death Note Box Set 1 (Animated)
Death Note Box Set 2 (Animated)
Death Note: Re-Light, Vol. 1 — Visions of a God (Animated)

Pre-order at Amazon.com:
Death Note 3: L, change the WorLd (Live Action)
Death Note: Re-Light, Vol. 2 — L’s Successors (Animated)