Collector alert

By David Colton, USA TODAY

In a growing world of Barack Obama collectibles, one item soon may be swinging above the rest.

On Jan. 14, Marvel Comics is releasing a special issue of Amazing Spider-Man #583 with Obama depicted on the cover. Inside are five pages of the two teaming up and even a fist-bump between Spidey and the new president.

"It was a natural after we learned the new president is a Spider-Man fan," says Marvel editor in chief Joe Quesada about reports that Obama once collected Spider-Man comics. "We thought, 'Fantastic! We have a comic-book geek in the White House.' "

The White House transition team did not respond to a question about the extent of Obama's comic-book geekiness, but Obama did mention Spider-Man during the campaign, primarily at children-oriented events. And during an Entertainment Weekly pop culture survey, Obama said Batman and Spider-Man were his top superheroes because of their "inner turmoil." (John McCain picked Batman.)

In the story by Zeb Wells, Todd Nauck and Frank D'Armata, Spider-Man stops the Chameleon from spoiling Obama's swearing-in. At one point, Spider-Man says he mistook Vice President-elect Joe Biden for the Vulture (a vintage Spider-Man villain).

The issue, selling for $3.99 at comic-book specialty shops (find one at comicshoplocator.com), is expected to be an instant sellout, especially because the Obama cover, by Phil Jimenez, is limited to half the run.

"This issue will have a lot of heat and go for premium prices. I already have people calling about it," says Alan Giroux, owner of All About Books and Comics in Phoenix. "I expect this will be on the collectors' market for $20 by the first day."

Presidents have been supporting characters in comics before: During World War II, superheroes fought Hitler as FranklinD. Roosevelt cheered them on. John F. Kennedy appeared in Action Comics #309 in 1963, when he helped protect Clark Kent's secret identity.

"If I can't trust the president of the United States, who can I trust?" Superman tells Kennedy.

That issue appeared a week after Kennedy was assassinated. DC Comics had to explain later that it was too late to recall the book.

Presidents have appeared as more shadowy figures in recent years.

"We do our best to be completely non-partisan and treat presidents with respect," Quesada says.

"This is not so much a pro-Obama statement but a tip of the hat to having a Spider-Man fan in the White House."

Would McCain have gotten a special issue had he won?

Haiku Hump Day: Fanboys/Fangirls (i.e., nerds)

Japanese Watchmen Trailer Reveals New Footage

From cooltoyreview, The Japanese version of the Watchmen trailer reveals some great new footage including more on the political subplots that focus on the conspiracies hinted at throughout the graphic novel. This trailer really brings home the tension of the story and is certainly a must see. If you haven't read the book, do not follow the link below. Matter of fact, if you haven't read the book, quietly sneak away from your computer right now and get to your closest bookstore to correct this gross oversight and see what you deprived yourself of and then join the rest of us in watching this trailer.

See it here.

McG in negotiations for '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea' remake

From EW, To prove once again that there are no new ideas in Hollywood, Disney is remaking its 1954 classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and is in negotiations with McG (Terminator: Salvation) to come aboard to direct. The project is in very early stages of development and the studio has screenwriter Bill Marsilli (Deja Vu) on board to revamp what was considered Disney's first sci-fi film. So there's still no word on whether they'll keep Kirk Douglas' singing harpooner in the movie.

Michael Myers Needs to Learn Proper Mask Maintenance

From iwatchstuff, On the Rob Zombie MySpace Halloween 2 Blog, R.Z. has posted this early design of the new Michael Myers mask. Man, this mug is so orange and beat up, it looks like the face of... some celebrity reference. Posh Spice? George Hamilton? Whoever is currently known for being overly-tanned and craggy.

The Descent 2

From moviesonline, Picking up from where the last movie left off, Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) escapes the cave and seeks refuge at a local gas station, where she collapses and is rushed to a local hospital.

Not being able to speak because of the horrific events that have mentally scarred her, a search and rescue team take Sarah back to where the horrible events happened to find any possible answers and survivors. However, whilst down in the cave...things don't go to plan as the group fight for their lives against the crawlers and find an unexpected survivor from the last film.

Razzies!

The 29th Annual Razzie Awards have just announced this year's nominees for the worst films of 2008 and it was a bumper year it seems.

Some inclusions seem undeserved, notably the likes of "Speed Racer" and "Rambo" which don't compare to some of the true atrocities on this list.

Others though like "Disaster Movie," "The Hottie & The Nottie," "In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale" and "The Love Guru" are totally justified.

Here's the complete list:

Worst Picture: Speed Racer, Disaster Movie and Meet the Spartans, The Day the Earth Stood Still, High School Musical 3, The Hottie & The Nottie, In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, The Love Guru, Postal, Rambo, The Happening, Meet Dave, Witless Protection

Worst Actor: Zac Efron, Dane Cook, Larry the Cable Guy, Eddie Murphy, Al Pacino, Keanu Reeves, Sylvester Stallone, Tom Cruise (Valkyrie), Will Ferrell, Ashton Kutcher, Mike Myers, Adam Sandler, Mark Wahlberg

Worst Actress: Paris Hilton, Jessica Alba, The cast of “The Women,” Camilla Belle, Cameron Diaz, Kate Hudson, Diane Keaton, Jennifer Connelly, Zooey Deschanel, Vanessa Hudgens, Eva Longoria-Parker, Reese Witherspoon

Worst Screen Couple: Any couple from HSM 3, Cameron Diaz & Ashton Kutcher, Paris Hilton & Joel David Moore, Kate Hudson & Dane Cook, Kate Hudson & Matthew McConaughey, Larry the Cable Guy & Jenny McCarthy, Any couple from Mamma Mia, Eddie Murphy & Eddie Murphy (Meet Dave), Al Pacino & His Hair, Mark Wahlberg & Zooey Deschanel, Mark Wahlberg & Mila Kunis, Sylvester Stallone & His Ego

Worst Director: Uwe Boll, Scott Derrickson, Jason Friedberg & Aaron Seltzer, Tom Putnam, Marco Schnabel, Sylvester Stallone, Jon Avnet, Diane English, Roland Emmerich, Brian Robbins, Kenny Ortega, M. Night Shyamalan

Worst Prequel, Sequel, Remake or Rip-Off: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, High School Musical 3: Senior Year, Rambo, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Disaster Movie, Meet the Spartans, An American Carol, The Women, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Prom Night, Speed Racer, The X-Files: I Want To Believe

Worst Career Achievement: Uwe Boll, Jason Friedberg & Aaron Seltzer, Madonna, Keanu Reeves, Sylvester Stallone

Toy trains 'Star Wars' fans to use The Force

By Mike Snider, USA TODAY
Could The Force be with you? A toy due in stores this fall will let you test and hone your Jedi-like abilities.
The Force Trainer (expected to be priced at $90 to $100) comes with a headset that uses brain waves to allow players to manipulate a sphere within a clear 10-inch-tall training tower, analogous to Yoda and Luke Skywalker's abilities in the Star Wars films.

No, you're not tapping into some "all-powerful force controlling everything," as Han Solo said in the movies. But you are reaching out with mind power via one of the first mass-market brain-to-computer products. "It's been a fantasy everyone has had, using The Force," says Howard Roffman, president of Lucas Licensing.

Mind-control games may be the coming thing: Mattel plans to demonstrate a Mind Flex game (also due this fall), which uses brain-wave activity to move a ball through a tabletop obstacle course, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Thursday.

In the Force Trainer, a wireless headset reads your brain activity, in a simplified version of EEG medical tests, and the circuitry translates it to physical action. If you focus well enough, the training sphere, which looks like a ping-pong ball, will rise in the tower.

A state of deep concentration is needed to achieve a Force-full effect. "When you concentrate, it activates the training remote," says Frank Adler of toymaker Uncle Milton Industries, which is creating the Trainer. "There is a flow of air that will move the (ball). You can actually feel like you are in a zone."

Star Wars sound effects and audio clips emitted from the base unit "cue you in to progress to the next level (from Padawan to Jedi) or when to move the sphere up or down to keep challenging yourself," Adler says.

"Until today, EEG technology has been designed for rigorous medical and clinical applications with little regard to price (and) ease of use," says Greg Hyver of NeuroSky, which developed the brain-wave technology for both games. "We are putting this exciting technology into everyone's living room."

Dead's Lesh: 'We've got some unfinished music'

Head's up, Octopunk, Kevin Smith’s Los Angeles Comic Book Store to Close

From slashfilm, Writer/director Kevin Smith runs two comic book stores, one in his home town of Red Bank, NJ and the other in Los Angeles. Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash opened in Red Bank, NJ decade ago. Filled with comics books and memorabilia and props from Smith’s films, the location has been a local tourist attraction of sorts and is still going strong.

The Los Angeles location has had a hard time staying afloat since opening a few years ago. In 2007, the Westwood location was shut down and moved into the popular DVD store Laser Blazer. But now the economic downturn has forced Laser Blazer to shut the doors. Here is a quote from Ron, the manager of Laser Blaser on Newsaskew:

“We gave it our best shot and we’re sorry to see another great comic book shop leave L.A. It has been a pleasure taking care of all of Kevin’s fans. If you haven’t been in yet, it’s your last chance to see The Stash and say your goodbyes. All Stash merchandise will be discounted 20% until the final day.”

The final day is January 11th. Here’s hoping that the West Coast Stash find a new home someday, although I doubt it will happen. It’s a tough market, and I don’t think Smith is interested in having a storefront without a friend to run it. Also, in LA, its hard to compete with Golden Apple.

Shazam! movie dead; what the hell, Handsomestan?

You know when you hear "a reliable source" from a site or a media outlet and instantly groan as you read the latest rumour about someone appearing as Catwoman or some other rubbish? Well this is really is a reliable source. From the writer of Shazam! comes the news that the film in it's current incarnation is dead.

According to John August, who was writing the script, the project has faltered and he even says "It ain't happening".

It seems that a lot of time has passed since John August delivered a draft for the script at New Line. His draft there returned some notes from the studio which he then went to work on, but the WGA strike intervened.

At that point the Shazam! story was rather like a comedy with lots of action. It was described in a one liner as "Big but with superpowers", something rather limiting, but essentially the case, for the character is a teenager who can change into a fully fledged superhero with the utterance of the word, but inside he's still a teenager.

Read full article here