Fun THE DEVELOPMENT HELL THREAD: Where Abandoned Movie Projects Go to Die!

[Doctor Omega]

Blomkamp’s “Aliens” Sequel Is Definitely Dead





Filmmaker Neill Blomkamp’s proposed plans for a direct “Aliens” sequel are now well and truly dead. Talking up his Oat Studios label this week, the filmmaker revealed that his desire to make the film has come and gone.

The “District 9” helmer got many fans excited following his sharing of some concept art online several years ago. However, once Ridley Scott decided that he finally wanted to make “Alien: Covenant” then Blomkamp’s movie was put on the shelf and looked unlikely to be revived. Now he says its death is a certainty, telling JoBlo:

“Yeah, I mean, I wish I could share more, but obviously Fox owns it. It’s just an unfortunate thing. I speak to Sigourney about it sometimes. At this point, it’s kinda like the fire that was burning within me to make that is gone. Stepping outside of even the legal kind of studio-based politics I just feel like its time has come and gone.

So, yeah…I think no. And I say that really reluctantly because I cannot state how much of a fan of Sigourney I am and how much of a fan I am of Alien and Aliens and the idea of doing a sequel to James Cameron’s film is amazing on all levels. But, there’s a point at which when you’re years into it you have to move on. So, I think that has happened to me.”

20th Century Fox hasn’t announced what they’re going to do next with “Alien” following the disappointing returns for ‘Covenant’.

 

[Doctor Omega]

A Fourth “xXx” To Shoot In December





The H Collective and Vin Diesel’s One Race Films production company have teamed up to acquire the rights to the “xXx” franchise from Revolution Studios.

The companies can now proceed with “xXx 4” and plan to do so with filming to begin in December. H Collective will finance the project with several investment partners.

D.J. Caruso, who directed last year’s “xXx: Return of Xander Cage,” will return to direct and Diesel will reprise his role as Xander Cage. Diesel, Samantha Vincent, Joe Roth and Jeff Kirschenbaum will produce.

The franchise’s three films, about an extreme sports enthusiast turned reluctant spy, have collectively grossed nearly $1 billion at the worldwide box-office.

 

[Doctor Omega]

Blackhawk is the eponymous fictional character of the long-running comic book series Blackhawk published first by Quality Comics and later by DC Comics. Primarily created by Chuck Cuidera with input from both Bob Powell and Will Eisner,[1] the Blackhawk characters first appeared in Military Comics #1 (August 1941).

Led by a mysterious man known as Blackhawk, the Blackhawks (or more formally, the Blackhawk Squadron) are a small team of World War II-era ace pilots of varied nationalities, each typically known under a single name, either their given name or their surname. Though the membership roster has undergone changes over the years, the team has been portrayed most consistently as having seven core members.

In their most well-known incarnation, the Blackhawks operate from a hidden base known only as Blackhawk Island, fly Grumman XF5F Skyrocket planes, and shout their battle cry of "Hawk-a-a-a!" as they descend from the skies to fight tyranny and oppression. Clad in matching blue and black uniforms (with Blackhawk himself boasting a hawk insignia on his chest), early stories pitted the team against the Axis powers, but they would also come to battle recurring foes such as King Condor and Killer Shark, as well as encounter an array of gorgeous and deadly femme fatales. They also frequently squared off against fantastical war machines ranging from amphibious "shark planes" and flying tanks, to the aptly named War Wheel, a gigantic rolling behemoth adorned with spikes and machine guns.

At the height of his popularity in the early 1940s, Blackhawk titles routinely outsold every other comic book but Superman.[2]Blackhawk also shares the unique distinction of being just one of four comic book characters to be published continuously in his own title from the 1940s through the 1960s (the others being Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman).[citation needed] The comic series has spawned a film serial, a radio series, a novel and a future Steven Spielberg directed film.

 

[Doctor Omega]

Spielberg Could Direct “Blackhawk” DC Film





Filmmaker Steven Spielberg is set to tackle a DC Comics property, producing and potentially directing the World War II action-adventure “Blackhawk” for Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Pictures.

Frequent Spielberg collaborator David Koepp is writing the script for the project which is being developed as a potential directing vehicle for Spielberg who will produce with Kristie Macosko Krieger. Sue Kroll will executive produce.

Will Eisner co-created the comic which follows an international squadron of heroic pilots, led by a man named Blackhawk, who fought the Nazis in World War II.

Spielberg is still on track to make a fifth “Indiana Jones” his next movie.

 

[Doctor Omega]

Blackhawk is a 1952 Columbia black-and-white movie serial based on the comic book Blackhawk published at the time by Quality Comics which is now a part of DC Comics. The serial carried the subtitle "Fearless Champion of Freedom"; it was Columbia's 49th serial.[1]

It stars Kirk Alyn as Blackhawk and Carol Forman as the foreign spy that must be stopped from stealing the experimental super-fuel "Element-X"; Alyn and Forman were also the hero and villain of Columbia's earlier Superman. Blackhawk was produced by the famously cheap Sam Katzman and directed by the team of Spencer Gordon Bennet and Fred F. Sears. It is considered relatively cheap and lackluster, made in the waning years of movie serial production.


Chapter 01

 

[Doctor Omega]

To be honest, this is the only BLACKHAWK movie I wouldn't mind seeing....




Blackhawk was a comic strip appearing on the British magazine Tornado, created by Gerry Finley-Day. It was one of three strips to transfer from Tornado to 2000 AD after the two merged.






Plot synopsis

At the time of the Roman Empire a Nubian slave rises up against his captors and leads a rebellion. However his bravery is recognised by a Roman General and he is commissioned as a Roman Centurion. Blackhawk took his name from a Hawk that he adopted and assembled a crack platoon from hardened prisoners and other slaves. As with other Finley-Day war stories the basic plot was borrowed from The Dirty Dozen with Blackhawk's squad being singled out for the hardest missions.

In 2000 AD he is taken from his Roman captors by an alien species only to be entered into their own intergalactic gladiatorial events against other alien species. Blackhawk adopts a Wookiee type alien as a sidekick (ironically the Hawk that gave him his name was left behind on earth). Blackhawk manages to escape but ends up stranded on a planet orbiting a black hole. Here a creature called "The SoulSucker" removes Blackhawks soul and he pursues the SoulSucker relentlessly, eventually regaining it shortly before the end of the series run.

Eventually, Tharg the Mighty's race were written in, and the whole cast were sucked into a black hole. They are later seen in Tharg's desk drawer, where Blackhawk complains how long they have been waiting as Ace Garp is selected for a revival.[1]

In the 2000 AD Yearbook 1994 it was acknowledged by the editor that this was a poor series, and Alan Grant wrote himself into a corner.

Characters

• Blackhawk
• Ursa
• Batak
• Zog

Bibliography

• "Blackhawk" (with Gerry Finley-Day and Azpiri, in Tornado #4-22, 1979)
• "Blackhawk" (with Alan Grant/Kelvin Gosnell as "Alvin Gaunt" and Alan Grant (2-34); Massimo Belardinelli, Ramon Sola (5, 16, 17), Joe Staton (6) and Greg Guler (17), in 2000 AD #127-161, 1979)
• "Blackhawk" (Tornado Annual 1981)
• "Death-Dive" (2000AD Annual 1981)
• "The Longest Walk" (with Alan Grant and Joe Staton, 2000AD Sci-Fi Special 1982)

Collected editions
All the stories are collected in one trade paperback:

• Blackhawk (288 pages, November 2011, ISBN 1-907992-59-6)

 

[chainsaw_metal1]

It's about time. I always felt like DC dropped the ball on this one, especially in their quest to grab that Marvel box office. After Captain America: The First Avenger came out, they should have greeenlit either this property or Sgt. Rock for a film.

 

[Doctor Omega]

M.A.S.K. is a media franchise created by Kenner. The main premise revolved around the fight between an underground task force called M.A.S.K. (Mobile Armored Strike Kommand) and a criminal organization called V.E.N.O.M. (Vicious Evil Network of Mayhem). After its initial launch in 1985, the franchise spawned a variety of products, including four series of action figures, an animated television series, video games, and comics.

History

M.A.S.K. was developed by Kenner in 1985, along with an animated television series to help with toy merchandising. The animated series debuted the same year and ran for two seasons (1985 to 1986). It focused mostly on toys released during the first two series of the toyline.

From 1987 to 1988, Kenner released two additional series of toys. However, these last two series strayed from the original theme of the series of crime-fighting and terrorism, focusing instead on a racing theme.

Action figures (1985-1988)

Main article: List of M.A.S.K. toys & characters
The M.A.S.K. toyline ran from 1985 to 1988, releasing four official series through those years. Each series featured a group of common vehicles with the ability to transform into armored combat vehicles. Most vehicles came with one or two drivers, and each character had a mask with a certain ability.

The first two series focused on a premise of crime-fighting between the M.A.S.K. team and the V.E.N.O.M. criminal organization. The last two series changed the premise to a racing-oriented theme, albeit still with the two teams competing against each other.

All series were produced and distributed by Kenner.

Animated series (1985-1986)

Main article: M.A.S.K. (TV series)

Debuting in 1985, the M.A.S.K. animated series followed the original premise where M.A.S.K., a law enforcement task force led by Matt Trakker, fought against V.E.N.O.M., a criminal organization led by Miles Mayhem. The series ran for two seasons (from 1985 to 1986) with a total of 75 episodes aired. It was produced by DIC Enterprises, Inc.

The animated series was originally syndicated to local TV stations across America. It later aired on the USA Network.

 

[Doctor Omega]

Other media

Comics

The first M.A.S.K. comics were three mini-comics produced by Kenner that were packaged with the vehicles from the first series of toys in 1985. After the success of the franchise, DC Comics picked up the rights and produced a special insert which appeared in several comic books dated September and November 1985 to launch a four-issue miniseries (December 1985-March 1986). This was soon followed by another insert in comics dated from June to November 1986 and a regular series that lasted nine issues (February-October 1987).

A selection of the DC strips were reprinted in the UK, by Grandreams in Christmas Annuals (1986 and 1987), which also featured original text stories. Fleetway's M.A.S.K. comic magazine, initially published fortnightly before moving to a weekly pattern, featured entirely new plots produced by British writers and artists, in the standard mostly black and white short strip format of British comics. The stories were in their own continuity, not connected to either the cartoon series or DC/Grandreams comics. There was a notable difference in the comics in that Venom knew the identities of M.A.S.K. agents, whereas in the first cartoon series they did not. This weekly title lasted 80 issues before merging with the second incarnation of Eagle.

M.A.S.K. was presented at the 2011 New York Comic Con by Hasbro in a convention-exclusive one-shot comic titled UNIT-E that featured various Hasbro licenses. Written by Andy Schmidt, M.A.S.K. was repackaged therein as a rogue quasi-law enforcement agency battling corruption in Detroit, led by Matt Trakker and four original team members, including a married couple.[2]

In 2016, the franchise was reintroduced as part of IDW's Revolution crossover series, with writing by Brandon Easton and artwork by Tony Vargas.[3] Matt Trakker is depicted as African-American in the series; Easton described the character as "an engineering genius and intellectual bad boy who has been in search of stability since the loss of his father at an early age."[4] M.A.S.K. branched out into its own series starting in November 2016 but was canceled by IDW after only ten issues, with the final issue released on August 23, 2017.

Video games



Screenshot from the Commodore 64 version of M.A.S.K. III: Venom Strikes Back

Beginning in 1987, British software house Gremlin Graphics released a trilogy of computer games based on the M.A.S.K. franchise for various eight-bit computer formats.

The first game, MASK I, was a vertically-viewed 2D game in which the player controls the Thunderhawk vehicle. The premise of the game is that V.E.N.O.M. have propelled Boulder Hill into a time vortex, and the player must rescue the other members of the M.A.S.K. team by collecting and re-assembling parts of a scan key, which then directs the player to the location of the missing personnel. The game received mostly favorable reviews at the time, although it was noted by some that the tie-in to the franchise was quite tenuous and only the graphics, rather than the storyline and gameplay, connected it to the M.A.S.K. franchise.[6][7]

The second game, MASK II, also released in 1987, was a 2D horizontal scrolling shoot-em-up. The game featured many more of the M.A.S.K. vehicles, and included a selection process in which the player chose which vehicles to use before the game began. Only one vehicle could be controlled at a time but these could be quickly interchanged. Again, the game was received favorably in the press, where it was noted that it was a better tie-in to the franchise than the first, because it featured more of the vehicles.[8]

The final game in the trilogy MASK III – Venom Strikes Back was released in 1988 and was a 2D horizontal shoot-em-up. The premise of the game is that V.E.N.O.M. have kidnapped Scott Trakker and are holding him on the moon. The player controls Matt Trakker (unrecognizable in a space suit with helmet) through a series of static screens featuring platform puzzles and obstacles which must be overcome using the powers of the various masks. The player can hold up to four masks at a time, but can only use the power of one at a time. The masks can also be exchanged at certain points in the game. This game received the best reviews of the trilogy, despite the deviation from the franchise's storyline and style.[9][10]

All three M.A.S.K. games were released for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC formats, while the second and third games were also released for the MSX format.

Film

On December 15, 2015, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Hasbro and Paramount were joining forces to create a shared cinematic universe combining M.A.S.K. with G.I. Joe, Micronauts, Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light, and Rom.[11] A group of screenwriters that included Michael Chabon, Cheo Hodari Coker, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein were hired to develop storylines, with Akiva Goldsman overseeing the project.[12] However, in January 2018, Daley and Goldstein revealed to IGN that M.A.S.K.'s inclusion in the film project was "unlikely to happen," without specifying a reason.

 

[Doctor Omega]

F. Gary Gray To Helm The “M.A.S.K.” Movie





F. Gary Gray (“The Fate of the Furious,” “Straight Outta Compton”) is set to direct the film adaptation of Hasbro’s “M.A.S.K.” for Paramount Pictures.

The story is based on the 1980s Kenner action figures and its accompanying animated series about Mobile Armored Strike Kommand (M.A.S.K.), a task force whose mission is to take down the criminal organization known as V.E.N.O.M.

A writer will be set for the project soon with the plan for it to be a “contemporary subculture movie with a youth empowerment angle.” Gray is also producing.

Gray is in pre-production on the untitled “Men in Black” reboot for Sony Pictures starring Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson. That will shoot in June.

 

[Doctor Omega]

Seith Mann To Pen “BLACK” Film Adaptation





“The Breaks” creator Seith Mann (“The Wire,” “Elementary,” “Homeland”) has been hired by Studio 8 to pen the film adaptation of the indie comic mini-series “Black” with comics scribes Kwanza Osajyefo and Tim Smith 3 onboard to produce.

Dubbed “X-Men” meets “The Wire,” the story is set in a United States where only African-Americans possess superpowers. The discovery is made when a Brooklyn teen named Kareem Jenkins is racially profiled and shot by police.

He lives to tell the tale and connects with others who share similar powers and uncovers a wide conspiracy to keep the knowledge of such superpowers from the world – especially from the black community.

Studio8 has a distribution deal with Sony Pictures which will likely release it.

 

[Doctor Omega]

Tiger Shroff’s ‘Rambo’ Remake To Go On Floors In November 2019


When it was announced last year that Tiger Shroff will play the lead role in the Bollywood remake of hit Hollywood franchise ‘Rambo’ starring Sylvester Stallone, there were gasps of disbeliefs till Sly Stallone himself gave the project a thumbs up on social media and now, we have some updates on that front for our readers. The project, which was originally slated to kick off in December last year but had to be postponed owing to Tiger Shroff and director Siddharth Anand’s schedules, will now go on floors in November 2019. We have also heard that the film will be shot completely in Europe and the Himalayas as the story requires a snowy backdrop. For those who are unaware of this, John Rambo is a character created by David Morrell in his novel First Blood, which was later filmed with Stallone as Rambo, a former US Army Special Forces soldier and a troubled Vietnam War veteran who is skilled in many aspects of survival, weaponry, hand-to-hand combat and guerrilla warfare. The success of the film led to more films in the franchise and Rambo is considered one of Hollywood’s most iconic characters.

 

[Doctor Omega]

I'd forgotten about this freakish and horrific crime against the very essence of nature that is both damnable and disturbing...
Thanks for reminding me.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back on the forum, A-M....

Again....

 

[Doctor Omega]

“Titans” Scribes To Pen “Cowboy Ninja Viking”





“Wrath of the Titans” scribe Dan Mazeau and “Rampage” writer Ryan Engle have both been hired to work on the script for “Cowboy Ninja Viking” at Universal Pictures.

The story follows a counter-intelligence unit that uses multiple personality disorder patients to create agents known as Triplets, referring to the three personalities the killers have.

When the agents become rogue hired guns, the deadliest Triplet of them all (Chris Pratt), a man who can manifest the toughest skills of three different personas – a cowboy, a ninja and a Viking – is called in to take down his own kind.

Craig Mazin (“The Hangover II”) wrote the most recent draft of the screenplay, with “Zombieland” writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese tackling the first go. Michelle MacLaren (“Game of Thrones,” “Breaking Bad”) is directing the action feature which will shoot this summer ahead of a June 28th 2019 release.

 

[Doctor Omega]

Liman In Talks For “Cannonball Run” Remake





“Edge of Tomorrow” and “The Bourne Identity” director Doug Liman is reportedly eyeing the remake of the 1981 cross-country car race classic “The Cannonball Run” as his next project and has begun early talks to direct.

The original film series followed eccentric competitors in a no rules, utterly illegal wacky race – characters played by the likes of Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Fonda, Frank Sinatra, Shirley MacLaine, Telly Savalas, Adrienne Barbeau, Farrah Fawcett, Dean Martin and Jackie Chan.

Thomas Lennon and Ben Garant are penning the script for the new take which previously had “Skyscraper” director Rawson Marshall Thurber circling to helm. Instead, he’s shifted his attention to another Dwayne Johnson action vehicle – “Red Card”.

Liman is in middle of post-production on “Chaos Walking” starring Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley. That opens early next year.

 

[Doctor Omega]

Aporia (Ancient Greek: ᾰ̓πορῐ́ᾱ, translit. aporíā, lit. 'impasse, difficulty in passage, lack of resources, puzzlement') denotes in philosophy a philosophical puzzle or state of puzzlement and in rhetoric a rhetorically useful expression of doubt.

 

[Doctor Omega]

Bad Robot Picks Up Moshe’s “Aporia”





Paramount Pictures and Bad Robot have pre-emptively acquired “The Ballad of Lefty Brown” filmmaker Jared Moshe’s sci-fi spec script “Aporia” with Moshe attached to direct.

J.J. Abrams and Neda Armian will produce the story which is dubbed a grounded sci-fi drama with time-travel elements. As with all Bad Robot original sci-fi titles, speculation is already that this could become another “Cloverfield” title.

Bad Robot will open the World War II Nazi zombie movie “Overlord” on October 24th.

 

[Doctor Omega]

I have had enough of this "CLOVERFIELD" malarkey now.

Come on JJ. I keep hearing you are a creative genius. Prove it with some new concepts (of your own).

 

[Doctor Omega]

Glover, Gosling On Willy Wonka Shortlist





Donald Glover, Ryan Gosling and Ezra Miller are all apparently on the short list of candidates to play the new Willy Wonka for the upcoming prequel film in the works at Warner Bros. Pictures says Collider.

Paul King, the director of the much acclaimed “Paddington” movies, helms this re-imagining of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s book “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” with Wonka being the infamous and eccentric owner of a chocolate factory who figured prominently in the novel.

Simon Rich wrote the new script and David Heyman will produce the project. Glover has reportedly been actively pursuing the role, while the other two are both considered valuable talent by Warners.

The project hasn’t set a production schedule as yet.

 

[Doctor Omega]

This is the first mention of it being a prequel....

God, I am sick of prequels!