New Jersey native Patrick McDonnell’s Mutts comic strip has been picked up by 20th Century Fox to be made into a feature film.

The Hollywood Reporter says McDonnell and his brother Robert will write the script with Patrick also serving as executive producer. If you aren’t familiar, Mutts is a daily syndicated comic strip that began in 1994 and runs in newspapers across the country. It’s about a dog and cat duo, Earl and Mooch, and their daily adventures that occasionally feature their elderly owners or other animals (plus Little Pink Socks!). McDonnell also champions many animal-related welfare causes like adoption and endangered species. There’s even Animal Friendly license plates with the Mutts characters here in NJ.

“Fox has had success in the comics-to-movie genre before,” writes THR, “The studio made two films based on the popular Garfield comic strip that grossed nearly $350 million combined worldwide. The Mutts project was brought in by Fox Animation executive Ralph Millero.”

Here’s  hoping the film is made with classic animation, which would better compliment McDonnell’s style, rather than the Garfield CGI route. Regardless, this is awesome news for me, I love Mutts and it’s nice to see a fellow New Jersyite get the attention he so deserves.

Announced last week at San Diego Comic-Con, Castle star Stana Katic will voice Batman’s long-time love interest in the Batman: Arkham City video game.

According to USA Today, the game has gained the classic Batman villain for its roster. Paul Crocker of Rocksteady Studios said, “We can’t really say why she is in the game because it would spoil an awesome part of it.”

“She’s a good girl who has naughty habits. We’re not sure if their tryst is over yet,” said Stana Katic, “She’s an ambiguous interesting character with a Persian/Greek accent.” The actress told the crowd at the Arkham City panel at SDCC,  ”Talia is such a complex character and it was great to voice her in Batman: Arkham City. I was amazed at all the detail put into the project and it’s great to see how excited the fans are about the game.”

No specific details were given as to Talia’s specific role in the game but Katic said, “She’s just kick-ass, man.” Jim Lee also announced at San Diego Comic-Con that the Arkham City comic mini-series written by Paul Dini will be released as a graphic novel on October 18, the same day the video game is released.

Some of you folks are headed to San Diego and some of us at Newsarama will be there! And two of us in particular hope that you’ll come say hello!

For the past couple of months, Jill Pantozzi and I have been hosting the podcast Crazy Sexy Geeks, an off-shoot of my web-series of the same name. Each week, we not only discuss the latest in pop culture and comic book news, we also give out fun dating advice for geeks! Those weeks where we don’t give out specific advice, we get to share fun/embarrassing dating stories that help illustrate what NOT to do. We also have fun guests, such as Jessica Mills of the web-series Awkward Embraces and Kristin Reilly of GeekGirlsNetwork.com.

If you haven’t been listening, you really should. We’re available on iTunes and you can download the audio files directly at http://CrazySexyGeeks.libsyn.com. Jill and I will both be wandering the floor of SDCC, so if you have ideas for topics we can discuss on the show in upcoming weeks, please feel free to let us know! You can follow our progress through the con via our Twitter feeds: @TheNerdyBird and @SizzlerKistler.

And if you have any fun questions or dating stories to share, feel free to drop a line at Jill’s Tumblr account and/or at my e-mail: AlanSizzlerKistler@gmail.com. Until next time, cheers!

Not the usual spot I would go to for comic book movie news, but the website HollywoodLife.com has an exclusive about the appearance of Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman costume in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises. Plus, a fan video has just surface showing perhaps the first shooting footage of the film with Hathaway and Christian Bale.

HollywoodLife spoke with an “insider” on the film’s costume design who had this to say about Hathaway’s Catwoman outfit, “Anne’s outfit is more tactical, like the comic book, than the previous Batman movies. She will definitely be wearing the goggles and it’s going to be less sexy than Halle Berry and Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman costumes. She’s going to look more like a robber.”

More like a robber, you say? Funny that, because she is a robber. I know not everyone is but I’m a fan of the current comic design of Catwoman’s costume done by Darwyn Cooke for his run with Ed Brubaker so I’m glad they are leaning more towards that. Brubaker is too it seems as he wrote on Twitter, So psyched to see reports that Ann Hathaway will be wearing a version of the Catwoman costume Darwyn Cooke designed for our run. I had a few ideas about the goggles and headgear, but Darwyn went off and created a Catwoman look that’s lasted ten years already. I don’t think I really thought our version would stick after I left the book. Certainly not all these years now.”

The insider also said, “Fan boys shouldn’t be worried. This costume is going to be form-fitting enough to make Anne look smoking hot.” The website was previously told, “Everything from the looks in her eyes, her head movements, her body–everything is so feline. The role is taking her to new places.”

Speaking of new places, a new location for Wayne Manor is being used in the film and Huffington Post has posted a very shakey, very fuzzy fan video taken on that particular set that features Hathaway and Bale having a conversation. It doesn’t reveal anything plot-wise of course but for those of us dying to see anything from the movie (*cough*me*cough*), it’s worth a watch.

The video itself comes via the YouTube account BatmanManor, and shows Selina and Bruce having a conversation in front of Wayne Manor before Selina takes his hand and they walk away. I’m crossing my fingers for a joke about how cats don’t like to get wet.

This announcement actually took longer than I imagined. It’s just been announced Marvel’s Thor is getting a sequel, with a scheduled release date of July 26, 2013.

Deadline has the exclusive that confirms actor Chris Hemsworth will return to the title role but that director Kenneth Branagh will not. Deadline says the director “will likely be involved in some producing capacity,” and that his exit was “mutual and amicable.”

Thor’s domestic total to date is $177,441,877. If you add in the foreign markets that number jumps to $437,003,116. While it’s a huge opportunity for another director, it’s also a big weight to carry on your shoulders. I thought Branagh did a great job with the film so I’m a little sad to see him go and I hope it won’t affect the flow of the two films. Marvel’s Iron Man 3 is set for a May 2013 release date so it looks as if we’ll have another comic book summer on our hands like we did this year — not to mention 2012′s The Amazing Spider-Man, Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises.

What are your thoughts on the news? Would you have preferred Branagh stuck around? Who would you like to see direct Thor 2?

EDIT: Deadline has just reported that Don Payne, one of the credited writers on the first film, will be writing the sequel. “Payne rewrote Lobo for Warner Bros, and was one of the writers on Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer. His superhero experience started with My Super Ex-Girlfriend.”

The answer? The intended story.

The original solicitation for Superman #712:

Meet Los Angeles’s newest super hero in the latest Chapter of “Grounded”: Sharif! But Sharif discovers that in today’s current cultural climate, some people don’t want his help – they just want him gone. Can Superman aid Sharif and quell a prejudiced public, or are there some problems too big even for the Man of Steel to solve?

That was a story written by J. Michael Straczynski and Chris Roberson, part of the long-delayed “Grounded” arc, originally solicited for June 8. DC sent out a media release late yesterday that states:

Please note the new contents for SUPERMAN #712, now written by Kurt Busiek with art by Rick Leonardi, a cover by Carlos Pacheco and Jesus Merino and a variant cover by Stanley “Artgerm” Lau.

This fill in issue contains a lost classic, Lost Boy: A Tale of Krypto the Superdog, set shortly after Superboy died in Infinite Crisis and Superman went missing.

DC Comics determined that the previously solicited story did not work within the “Grounded” storyline. However, Chris Roberson, will be back for the final two issues of Superman’s year long walk across America. As we near the conclusion, catch up with Superman next month as he makes stops in Portland and Newberg, OR.

SUPERMAN #712 is scheduled to arrive in stores on June 22.

Hmm. Well, that’s cool that the Busiek story is finally seeing the light of day and hey, Krypto! Who doesn’t love Krypto? But what happens to the Sharif story now? According to DC’s website, Superman #713 has Superboy and Supergirl meeting up with Clark in Portland, #714 in Seattle for his last stop. Does that mean the original #712 is canned for good? Here’s the cover  for the new Superman #712:

The intended story revolved around a non-white hero coming into contact with prejudice in America. With all the flack DC has gotten recently for its patriotism (or lack thereof), is it any wonder this story got pulled at the last second? Roberson spoke with Newsarama back in March about the character Sharif:

I didn’t create Sharif so much as I salvaged him from the back issue bins. The defender of Los Angeles is a character who appeared as a teenager in the pages of the Superman titles back in the early ’90s (and drawn by none other than Curt Swan, as it happens!), but we’re meeting him here a few years later, when he’s taken on a new costumed identity in his new hometown.

Like Superman, Sharif is a character with powers and abilities far beyond those of normal folks, who came to this country as a child and grew up dedicating himself to Truth, Justice, and the American Way. But the fact that he comes not from an alien world but from another country here on Earth complicates matters for him, and he quickly learns that some people have a different idea of what “The American Way” is all about.

I have no idea whether the Busiek/Krypto story has been altered since it was first intended to be released but this is a questionable move to say the least. Will the missing “Grounded” piece affect that story at all? I’m betting not since it’s been so all over the place for the last few issues anyway. And that’s not a slight to Roberson, it’s just, what do you expect when you’re working from an outline? Any way you slice it, fans are not going to be happy about this move.

So the Krypto story was originally solicited for Superman #659. If we go by those numbers that means we should see the Sharif story in Superman #765, right? Oh wait, make that Superman #51…

Even though Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit has been filming for some time now, two new roles have just been cast.

Earlier today, Deadline reported Immortals star Luke Evans would take on the important role of Bard the Bowman in the two-part film. “It seemed evident that the Welsh actor was going to win one of these roles that involve a competition between multiple young thesps,” writes Deadline, “He was a finalist to play the lead in Tony Gilroy’s The Bourne Legacy that went to Jeremy Renner [Newsarama note: odd coincidence of bowman here], and was a finalist for the role of Tom Buchanan in The Great Gatsby, which went to Joel Edgerton.” Are you happy he landed this role instead?

Evans’ character Bard has a, shall I say, rocky relationship with the next character cast?

And just minutes ago, Deadline broke another bit of Hobbit casting news. This time for one of the most iconic roles, that of the great dragon Smaug. Fans have been wondering for some time who would land the coveted role, voiced by Richard Boone in the 1977 Rankin/Bass animated film.

The voice-acting and motion-capture role for The Hobbit has gone to none other than Benedict Cumberbatch. The actor has recently shot into wider popularity thanks to the BBC hit Sherlock, by Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat. “[Cumberbatch] is already on the picture, providing the voice of the character Necromancer,” says Deadline.

Are you as excited by this casting news as I am? I have to say, I’m particularly fond of Cumberbatch. If you haven’t seen Sherlock yet, I highly recommend it.

It’s great to see well-deserving comics getting adapted to films. The latest? Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson’s Beasts of Burden from Dark Horse.

The news comes today via The Hollywood Reporter who say Shrek and The Chronicles Of Narnia director, Andrew Adamson, will be the one to bring the comic to the big screen. “Adamson is producing what is intended to be a CG-animated feature adaptation with his Strange Weather Films partner Aron Warner along with Mike Richardson of Dark Horse Entertainment,” writes THR.

Dorkin and Thompson have both won Eisner Awards for their work on the story they created which revolves around a group of dogs and one cat who team up to save their owners and others after a supernatural event happens in the town of Burden Hill.

Besides what seems like a great choice for director, looks like they’ve got a good effects team on board for the film as well. According to THR, “Burden is being made by Reel FX, the company run by former Industrial Light and Magic senior executive Ed Jones and former Walden Media CEO Cary Granat, and that specializes in CG as well as live-action hybrid projects.”

“Dark Horse Entertainment’s Keith Goldberg is executive producing with Strange Weather’s Jeff Fierson co-producing” writes THR, “Reel FX’s head of feature development Jared Mass will oversee the project for the studio.”

Congrats to both Dorkin and Thompson! It’s very exciting news for them to be sure and I look forward to seeing this in theaters. What about you?

The Hollywood Reporter has just announced that Fox’s reboot of the Daredevil movie franchise will be written by Brad Caleb Kane, writer  and co-producer on Fringe.

Not just that, but THR also reports Kane will have the task of adapting Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s “Born Again” run from the Daredevil comics. “Kane is a Daredevil fan, and his energy and passion for the material helped him nab the job, according to insiders,” says THR.

You may remember the Ben Affleck starring Daredevil film that was released to a few unhappy fans back in 2003. “David Slade is developing and attached to direct the new Daredevil movie. Peter Chernin and Dylan Clark of Chernin Entertainment are producing,” says THR.

Interesting side note, while he hasn’t produced many feature films, Kane has spent part of his career acting. One of his roles was Tucker Wells, older brother of Andrew on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

So, yes to a new Daredevil movie or no?

It’s safe to say DC’s news of turning Barbara Gordon’s Oracle back into her previous persona of Batgirl has rattled a few cages. Mine for one. But the great thing coming out of this distressing turn of events is the visibility it’s giving to the physically challenged. Now one artist is calling you to arms to help keep that exposure going.

Much like the Adam Hughes commission above which shows Oracle in all her glory, artist Elena Barbarich, known as Yamino online, is suggesting any and all artists get their preferred tools out to illustrate Ms. Gordon in her chair. Yamino writes on her Tumblr, “I think we should do a big Oracle Draw-a-thon, to support visibility for disabled characters in mainstream comics, and comics in general.  Heck, it doesn’t have to be just visual art. How about an Oracle Create-a-Thon? Whatever it is you do, fanart, fanfic, music, sculpture, cakes…. let’s do it!”

Yamino, creator of the webcomics Sister Claire and Nightingale, wants some help reaching out and organizing and since I know a few people who know a few people, I figured I could help out a bit. Feel free to send your creativity to me to post on my Tumblr (EDIT: The official Oracle Create-a-Thon Tumblr has been made!) and spread the word to artists everywhere. Show Oracle being blocked by obstacles or overcoming them but most importantly, show her as the strong, capable character she is.

Amidst the mass of DC publishing news the last two days, two of their creators have just inked a deal to bring their creator-owned comic to life on the big screen. Peter Tomasi and Keith Champagne’s The Mighty has just been picked up by Paramount.

Deadline reported the news but there’s not much else to tell except to say, “Mary Parent’s Paramount-based Disruption Entertainment will produce. Parent and Cale Boyter will produce with Benderspink’s JC Spink.”

Not connected to the heroes in the DCU, The Mighty was a maxi-series from 2009 that tells the story of Alpha One, the world’s only superhero. He’s supported by a police organization called Section Omega. At Section Omega, Lt. Gabriel Cole has a personal history with the hero who once saved his life as a child. But when a murder happens within Section Omega, Cole does some detective work that leads him in a direction he wasn’t expecting.

I actually really enjoyed The Mighty. With Tomasi and Champagne writing and Peter Snejbjerg on art, it was a nice detour from DC’s usual hero fair. I’d recommend picking up the trade. Congrats to them on selling the property.

Sony President and Chairman Howard Stringer finally speaks out about their network’s breach and offers those affected a literal sense of security.

In a letter posted on the Playstation blog, Stringer apologizes to users about the breach. “As a company we — and I — apologize for the inconvenience and concern caused by this attack. Under the leadership of Kazuo Hirai, we have teams working around the clock and around the world to restore your access to those services as quickly, and as safely, as possible,” wrote Stringer.

The Playstation Network has been down since a hack on April 20 that caused over 70 million users’ secured information like names, addresses, telephone numbers, passwords and possibly credit card information, to be at risk. But users were not immediately aware of the reason they couldn’t log on to the network.

“I know some believe we should have notified our customers earlier than we did. It’s a fair question,” wrote Stringer, “As soon as we discovered the potential scope of the intrusion, we shut down the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services and hired some of the best technical experts in the field to determine what happened. I wish we could have gotten the answers we needed sooner, but forensic analysis is a complex, time-consuming process. Hackers, after all, do their best to cover their tracks, and it took some time for our experts to find those tracks and begin to identify what personal information had — or had not — been taken.”

Stringer insists that to their knowledge none of the credit card or personal information has been misused and that they are continuing to monitor the situation. But to put customers at ease, Sony is offering some security.

“We are also moving ahead with plans to help protect our customers from identity theft around the world,” wrote Stringerr, “A program for U.S. PlayStation Network and Qriocity customers that includes a $1 million identity theft insurance policy per user was launched earlier today and announcements for other regions will be coming soon.”

The security comes in the form of Debix Inc., an identity theft insurance firm in the U.S. who will use “AllClear ID Plus” for any affected customers. For time lost on the Network, Sony is offering other incentives. “As we have announced, we will be offering a ‘Welcome Back’ package to our customers once our PlayStation Network and Qriocity services are up and running. This will include, among other benefits, a month of free PlayStation Plus membership for all PSN customers, as well as an extension of subscriptions for PlayStation Plus and Music Unlimited customers to make up for time lost.”

Stringer stated that he knows this is a frustrating time for users but that the network will be up “in the coming days.” Until then, “Our investigation is ongoing, and we are upgrading our security so that if attacks like this happen again, our defenses will be even stronger,” he wrote. “We are working with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies around the world to apprehend those responsible.”

What do you think about Sony’s reaction time and resolution ideas? Have they forever lost your trust or are you willing to use the PSN again?

Next Wednesday, artist Dennis Calero will host an event at the Society of Illustrators in New York featuring three huge names in comics: Joe Quesada, Walt Simonson and Jim Steranko.

Called “Drawing the Line,” the lecture will allow the artists to speak about the art of drawing as it pertains to comic books.

“When I was approached by the Society of Illustrators to put together an event,” said Calero, “I tried to think about what the mandate of the Society is, which is to promote illustration as not just a commercial function, which it is, but also as an art.”

“When the fans discuss the art of comics,” he continued, “it is often ‘reduced’ to serving the function of telling a story.  But obviously, the quality of comic illustration goes beyond just serving the needs of the story. The drawing matters.”

Calero said this is a great opportunity to talk about just that with three legendary artists, “all of who’s drawing, in my opinion, go beyond just telling the story and captivate with their artistry.”

Tickets are $15 for non-members, $10 for members and $7 for students and you must RSVP to the event. It will take place Wednesday May 11 from 7-9 p.m. at the Society of Illustrators building at 128 East 63rd St. in New York City. For more information visit the Society of Illustrators’ website.

Summit Entertainment, the studio who brought the Twilight Saga to life on the big screen, is now set to adapt another popular book series – Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game.

With the Twilight films about to end, the studio is eager to grab up another franchise to sustain its momentum. According to Deadline, they’re on their way with Card’s highly-successful science fiction series. They’ve even gone so far as to attach X-Men: Origins: Wolverine director, Gavin Hood to the project to both write and direct.

Ender’s Game was first published as a novel in 1985 and has since expanded its universe to include eleven novels and ten short stories. It’s was even adapted into comic books by Marvel a few years ago (Something, like a film version, I thought was long overdue). The story centers around Andrew “Ender” Wiggin, an exceptional child sent to Battle School in order to defend the Earth from an alien race known at the Buggers.

According to the website, Warner Bros acquired the novel in 2002 and tried making the film director Wolfgang Petersen to no success. “I’d heard that the author, who long resisted selling the project to film, was a very hands-on presence and that complicated the movie transfer,” said the writer, “The studio’s option lapsed and Gigi Pritzker’s Odd Lot stepped in. Odd Lot hired Hood, who has spent the past year crafting a screenplay, in between directing TV pilots like Breakout Kings. While Hood was said to have had a difficult time making Wolverine at Fox, that film posted an $85 million opening weekend and grossed $375 million worldwide in 2009.”

Hood’s 2005 film Tsotsi won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. He’s currently finishing up an effects presentation with VFX house Digital Domain to promote the project at the Cannes film festival. Deadline says production could start as early as next year.

What do you think Blog@ readers? How long have you been waiting for Ender’s Game to be turned into a movie? Does it turn you off it’s being made by the same studio that did Twilight? They will certainly be shooting for a younger demographic with the casting but seeing as how most of the book’s fans are older now, it could cause a disconnect.

With its tenth and final season coming to a close it’s about time Warner Bros. rolled out their plans for a DVD set of the entire series of Smallville. Well, here’s your first look at it.

According to the info Warners sent out today, “This ultimate collector’s set for the ultimate fan features over 192 hours of content – including all 218 episodes, overfive hours of newly added special features such as an unaired, never-before-seen Superboy pilot from 1961, a 90-minute series retrospective with all newinterviews, the 2010 final Comic-Con panel and more!”

But that’s not all. There will also be, “exclusive printed materials include a Daily Planet newspaper, writtenby DC Comics, that highlights the important storylines developed during the 10-year run of the show and an episode guide with never-before-seen productionart (storyboards/sketches) and behind-the-scenes photos. Smallville: The Complete Series is presented in highly collectable new packaging consisting oftwo lay-flat picture books that hold 62 discs.”

Besides Tom Welling and the rest of the main cast, you can also expect to see guest-starring appearances from Terence Stamp, James Marsters, Michael McKean, Sam Witwer, Jane Seymour, Brian Austin Green, Pam Grier, Helen Slater, Michael Ironside, Julian Sands, Tori Spelling, Rutger Hauer and Christopher Reeve.

Smallville: The Complete Series DVD set is set for a fall release with a suggested retail price of $339.88. Wowza!

Was anyone else hoping for a Superman symbol-shaped box set? Sure it would be hell to display but, come on!

Henry Cavill’s foe has been named, and it is Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road, Boardwalk Empire) who will don the mantle of General Zod in the upcoming Superman reboot, which is now called Man of Steel. On the choice of casting Shannon, director Zack Snyder commented “Zod is not only one of Superman’s most formidable enemies, but one of the most significant because he has insights into Superman that others don’t.” He continued with praise for Shannon. “Michael is a powerful actor who can project both the intelligence and the malice of the character, making him perfect for the role.”

I haven’t gotten around to seeing Revolutionary Road yet (yeah, I’m a bit behind), but friggin’ love “Boardwalk”. With Zod cast now, there’s no doubt it will give something for Superman to hit…and hard. Though, I don’t want this to become an overdone slugfest with just Superman in name. I think it’s interesting they took the Dark Knight route with the simple and mysterious Man of Steel title.

So what do you think, readers? Will you kneel before anticipation, or do you think it’s too soon for Zod?

I hate introductions. No, wait; that’s not entirely right – I like reading introductions, I like knowing whose words I’m reading – I just hate writing them. They’re kind of necessary, though, otherwise new names appear on bylines and you’re all “Wait, who is that? Are they writing for the blog now?” and things can get kind of confusing, so here goes: Hello, Blog@ readers. Pleased to make your acquaintance. (more…)

Well here’s something you don’t hear everyday. Actor Andy Serkis, who served as the visual map and voice for Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, has just announced Peter Jackson asked him to serve as the second-until director on both of The Hobbit films.

Serkis said it was a fantastic surprise when Jackson emailed him out of the blue. “I think I understand Peter’s sensibility and we have a common history of understanding Middle Earth,” Serkis told The Hollywood Reporter. “A lot of the crew from The Lord of the Rings was returning to work on The Hobbit. There is really a sense of Peter wanting people around him who totally understand the material and the work ethic.”

IMDB.com lists the actor as having acted as a second unit director just once before, on the video game Heavenly Sword, but even that is sublisted as “dramatic director.” Though Serkis is named as a director on another project called Freezing Time, listed as announced.

Serkis told the website his directing duties would go beyond performance capture. “It is wide ranging and encompasses a lot of directing aspects of filmmaking and story. Yes, there is some performance capture, but I will be very much on the live action sets and locations helping Peter to tell the story,” he said. In the same way Lord of the Rings was an interpretation of the book, The Hobbit is being treated the same way,” Serkis said. “It will be faithfully represented with a fresh interpretation.”

“The learning curve is The Hobbit is being shot in 3D,” he added, noting that the 3D would be used “dramatically, to give a point of view.” Or, to make extra money, in this authors opinion.

Serkis just completed his role in the film which is still shooting currently in New Zealand. “He is very much a Gollum that people will recognize,” Serkis said, also adding that the character would be seen in his “truest form.” “When we created Gollum the first time, performance capture was it its infancy,” he said, noting that today, “within the industry, there is more appreciation for it as an acting art form. It’s all about character, learning what the character thinks, feels, how he carries pain.”

THR also mentioned Serkis has two more motion capture roles set for the near future. He will play Caesar in the Planet of the Apes prequel Rise of the Apes and Captain Haddock in The Adventures of TinTin: The Secret of the Unicorn.

Producer Donald De Line recently spoke with the Hollywood Reporter’s Heat Vision blog about the rush to get one of this summer’s biggest blockbusters done in time for its release date on June 17.

According to THR, De Line sat in the audience for the Green Lantern movie panel last Friday at WonderCon as 9 minutes of footage from the film was premiered for eager fans. Afterwards he was happy with the response. “This was important because when we went to Comic-Con last summer, we were still shooting. We didn’t have any shots or any visual effects to show,” said De Line, “This was very important because we finally had something to put in front of people. We showed people what we have finished with visual effects, though only 80 percent was technically finished. Some of it is still work-in-progress.”

Though the audience got a lot of footage, the completion of the film is still a ways away. “We’ve had a very tight post- production schedule. We have over 1500 visual effects shots in this movie, which is a lot,” said De Line. “And we have to convert to 3D. That pushes your schedule up even tighter so they can go through this painstaking conversion process. You want to do it with the right quality so you need a lot of lead time. Those things conspired to make what seemed like a decent amount of post feel like incredibly pressured.”

De Line said their visual effects houses are working non-stop, 24 hours a day, seven days a week but that he’s excited about what they have to offer. “You have this superhero genre and you get to take it into space, go to the center of the universe where you have all these alien cultures represented. You get the best of superhero-meets-space opera, in a way. And you get to bring both of those elements together and it’s the kind of thing that I think that makes it different,” he said. “In a world that is becoming increasingly populated with superhero movies, and everyone is going “Gosh, there’s a lot this summer” and “Is there room for all of us?” we all can say we offer something different. Thor stands on his own with one kind of world, we are an entirely different world. And Captain America is another kind of world. So I say were all very distinct.”

Don’t expect this film to connect with Zack Snyder’s Superman project or the future Justice League film. De Line said, “We didn’t do that but there some little references to what could be outcroppings from the Green Lantern Corps, because as you know, the Green Lantern Corps went on to become a lot of different offshoots and have different aspects. And we’re already working on a sequel script so we have a cool story idea that we think will go in a direction they don’t expect.”

The producer also mentioned it was “fantastic” working with DC and their Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns. “We would say, ‘We want to do this, does this cross a line for you, is it true to the piece?’ And he was our bellwether. He knew we had to be creative and go in certain ways, things would work in a movie but may not work in a comic book, and he would help to think of new ways.”

De Line said besides finishing all the massive special effects, they begin scoring the film this Thursday with James Newton Howard. The next official Green Lantern trailer will show before Thor in theaters on May 6.

Shout! Factory and FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) announced today a deal to bring the renowned classic animated series M.A.S.K. to the home entertainment marketplace. Under its multi-year agreement with FME, Shout! Factory will be the exclusive home entertainment distributor with digital rights to the first 65 action-packed episodes of M.A.S.K. (known to fans as the original series aired in 1985) in North America.

“This deal with FremantleMedia Enterprises continues to build on our proven success with some of the premiere animation and family-friendly brands in the marketplace. We are delighted with this opportunity,” state Shout! Factory founding partners. “M.A.S.K. has been one of the fan favorite classic animated series in TV history, with a highly successful presence in many countries across the world.”

Siegel stated, “FME is dedicated to bringing content from our extensive catalogue, including a classic series like M.A.S.K., to the home entertainment marketplace. We are thrilled for Shout! Factory to bring this long lost, retro series from the 80’s to its fans in North America.”

Popular animated television series M.A.S.K., debuted on television and in wide syndication during the 1980s, features M.A.S.K. (Mobile Armored Strike Kommand), a secret organization led by Matt Trakker that fights crime in an unusual way. By donning specially charged masks, they have extraordinary powers to fight the villains of V.E.N.O.M. (Vicious Evil Network of Mayhem). In addition to the masks, our heroes and their counterparts have super vehicles capable of a wide range of defensive and offensive actions, from changing a car into a jet or becoming a submarine. Throughout the years, M.A.S.K. boasts a large fan following and spawned a series of toyline, comic books and video games.