Disney is in final negotiations with Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, who worked on The Mask of Zorro and the Pirates of the Caribbean films, to write a new Lone Ranger film:

The writing duo, best known for their work on the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films, are in final negotiations to write a live-action big-screen adaptation of “The Lone Ranger” for Disney and producer Jerry Bruckheimer.

The project will be made by Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer Films in association with Entertainment Rights.

“Ranger,” owned by Classic Media, began life as a 1930s radio show. Its popularity led to movie serials, TV shows, comic strips and comic books, toys, novels and more.

If they’re looking for inspiration, they should take a look at the Dynamite Lone Ranger series.

A group of students at the University of Utah have started an online petition to have the graphic novel Fun Home removed from the curriculum of an English class.

“The issue is exposing people to pornography,” says Thomas Alvord, with a group called “No More Pornography.”

KSL.com reports:

Drawings depicting sex acts are included in the 230 page novel. A student in the class was offended and approached the group “No More Pornography,” which made headlines earlier this year when it staged a successful protest of music videos shown a gym in Provo. The group has started an online petition in protest of the book.

Alvord says, “It’s like they’re turning their back and pretending graphics, depiction of oral sex, are not an issue.”

Vincent Pecora, the chair of the English Department at the U says, “If we try to only choose only the novels that have a moral point of view that we agree with, we might not have a whole lot of literature to teach.”

Pecora is defending the book and the professor teaching the course. Among his reasons, the University’s accommodation policy, which allows a student to get an alternate assignment or leave the course without penalty. Four other classes fulfill the requirement.

“I think it’s really an obligation to teach this kind of literature. It’s new, it’s interesting, it’s inventive,” Pecora said.

The story has generated almost 200 heated comments as of 10:30 a.m. PT today.

Via

Marvel B0y jumps whatever credibility shark (s)he hadn’t already jumped:

And you want a spoiler, here’s the spoiler. Here’s the dark little secret that no one outside the office walls is talking about: Joe Q is about two weeks away from getting fired. Not just shown the door but having it slammed so hard it knocks him on his ass. He can sing and dance about how much of a success OMD was as much as he wants but everyone knows he messed up. Both licensing and west coast are pissed and even people in editorial know it was a mistake. There have been at least three meetings in the last couple of weeks about how we can get Peter and MJ back. Everything from lets just say it was an April Fool’s stunt to Peter’s been a Skrull since right before the unmasking has been thrown out there. (of course they have overlooked the best and most logical fix…it was Mysterio messing with Spidey’s mind!)  So the writing’s on the wall and Q knows it. He looks terrible, he’s hardly in the office anymore and when he is, he just sits in his office with the door closed the whole time. He even got disinvited to the Iron Man premiere in NYC! So when it happens, remember you heard it HERE first, Quesada is done at Marvel.  Don’t be surprised if you start reading MyCup of Blah-Blah-Brevoort sometime soon!

The Bendis Board reacts: (more…)

Pressed for time and subject matter, Tom Brevoort opens his blog up to questions from the floor:

Next week, I want to do five posts each one answering a fan-asked question. That’s where you all come in. And just to make it interesting, let’s run this like the pick-lists we did a few weeks back: in other words, each poster can ask two questions in the reply thread here, but anybody can veto any question for any reason. By Monday morning, hopefully we can have five questions or close to five questions that people really want to hear about, and that’ll carry us through another week.

So, Internet, what is it that you really want to know?

I honestly hope that he doesn’t regret asking that question. Not only for the obvious reasons, either; Tom’s a smart man, and I’d love to see him answer some good questions.

Perhaps it’s merely the tantalizing near-arrival of spring, but it seems like we’ve seen a number of debut books by new cartoonists pop up out of the ground lately (if I may hammer the spring metaphor down ever further). Here’s a look at three of them:

That Salty Air
by Tim Seivert
Top Shelf
112 pages, $10

Salty Air practically screams “my first-ever graphic novel” from panel one, page one. Not that its execution is sloppy or awkward — his pen line radiates confidence and his pacing is assured — but more that the premise itself as well as the characterization is fundamentally wrongheaded. (more…)

Hancock, the rough-around-the-edges superhero Will Smith is bringing to theaters this summer, now has his own blog.

Just as I was beginning to forget adaptations like Brenda Starr and Sheena, EW.com breaks down its list of the “20 Worst Comic-Book Movies Ever.”

Nic “Not the Bees!” Cage should take heart: While he appears just once on the list, for Ghost Rider, Jennifer Garner pulls double duty with Daredevil and Elektra.

Sometimes, it’s about predictability
(more…)

Writing for St. Louis’ Playback, Carlos Ruiz kicks off the first installment of a two-part interview with writer Brian Azzarello, who discusses the end of 100 Bullets, and continuing to work with artist Eduardo Risso:

So after almost 10 years are you ready to move on?

No, no, no, I am not ready. Eduardo and I have talked about it and it’s something that Vertigo doesn’t want to end. They said if you want to keep going, then keep going. We talked about it but we decided no.

I read somewhere that regretted saying the series would stop at 100 issues.

I should never have said that it should go to 100 either. [laughs]

Well, 100 issues ties in to the attaché which has 100 untraceable bullets, so each issue functions like a single bullet. It’s very poetic.

Maybe there is one in the chamber. Maybe we’ll get 101. Nah, we’re going to stop it at 100, it’s a 100 issue comic novel. But that doesn’t mean that Eduardo and I are done working together.

So are you guys thinking about your next project?

We’re actively talking about our next project.

The second installment is scheduled to appear next week.

Madagascar: The Crate Escape

I might be stretching my mandate a bit here, but dang it, by six-year-old is going to be thrilled. And, in fact, so will I, because Madagascar ruled. David Schwimmer talks about the upcoming sequel (this November) and offers some spoilers:

“[Melman] gets to kind of confess his love for Gloria [Jada Pinkett Smith]. Ironically, he becomes a doctor, and he’s the one who’s always ailing. They’re on a new island, and he finds himself becoming the local doctor for all these people. It’s really fun.”

In the sequel to the 2005 hit Madagascar, Alex the lion (Ben Stiller), Marty the zebra (Chris Rock), Gloria the hippo and Melman make their way to the African plains, where they encounter hunters, romantic rivals and other members of their respective species.

Why the new Bionic Woman failed

None of these.

Didn’t you love that American Godzilla movie starring Matthew Broderick? Me either.

Did you know that four years before that movie there was a different script for the project, but it was rejected? Okay, maybe you knew that part, but I didn’t.

Wanna know what that script was like though? Todd Tennant’s here to tell you. In comic book form! Go, go, Godzilla.

Via.

Twentieth Century Fox has released the first poster for the untitled X-Files movie sequel, which is set to open on July 25.

Just like the title says, a nifty collection of classic romance comics.

Some not-entirely-safe-for-work cartoons by Bill Wenzel

The author of the Ten-Cent Plague talks to Vulture magazine:

What inspired this book? Are you a secret comic-book obsessive?
[Laughs.] Comics are not among my obsessions. I’m not telling you what the real ones are. I’ve always been interested in this stuff, but it wasn’t until I got deep into the work on my second book that I started to realize the deep significance of early comics and the drama of what happened in the forties and fifties. This was largely a fight not over the content of comics, but over the very idea that kids are entitled to have their own taste and their own opinions and points of view. It was a fear on the part of the prevailing Establishment and the parents who embodied that Establishment. I think there’s still a very deep-rooted fear that our kids are going to turn against us like Dobermans.

– Marvel.com interviews WWE Diva/Playboy cover girl Maria about wrestling and comics:

With the outfits and the big hair and the gloves and the boots, I definitely feel like a super hero walking to the ring sometimes. That chaos of the fans cheering or booing, that atmosphere, it’s like when a super hero gathers to confront a villain or something and everyone is watching, waiting on the outcome. It’s exciting.

– Missed it: Vanessa Davis on Purim.

– Ron Rege takes on the Fantastic Four.

– Sean Kleefeld does not like Iron Man.

– Fanboy.com looks at the career of Arina Tanemura.

– Best George Herriman tribute ever.

Compiled by Chris Mautner and JK Parkin.

Yahoo Movies has some new Iron Monger shots in this gallery of Iron Man movie images. Also, don’t miss the Iron Man TV spot I posted earlier.

Johanna Draper-Carlson explains how to get yourself added to review comp lists:

You look cheap and greedy if you start asking for review copies before you have a substantial body of reviews to show your ability and dedication. Write well, a lot, and regularly.

When you put up your site, there’s nothing wrong with including a brief notice in the sidebar, something to the effect of “Review copies may be sent to me at (address)” or “Please email me for information on where to submit review copies” (if you don’t want to publish your address; if you do, I suggest using a PO Box). But don’t start asking everyone and their dog for free comics until you’ve been doing this a while and can show consistent publication.

Worth noting is the first of her “other tips” on the subject: “You won’t get on DC or Marvel’s comp list.” No free copies of every issue of Avengers for you, sadly…

…because Mike and Cary are the creators on Secret Invasion: X-Men:

“It’s a huge core cast,” assures the writer. “All the [characters from UNCANNY X-MEN and ASTONISHING X-MEN], all the students [from NEW X-MEN], and some mutants like Iceman and Cannonball who aren’t on any team roster but [will be] at ground zero when this crisis [hits]. The only heavy hitter we won’t get to use is Wolverine because he’s busy elsewhere.

“In ‘Messiah CompleX,’ the X-Men were a tightly-knit team facing a small army,” Carey continues. “Here the X-Men are a small army facing a full-sized invasion force, complete with air support, heavy artillery and some of the dirtiest weapons you could hope never to see.”

Stan Lee has a MySpace page. Really.

(Via Mark Evanier)