The Mega-Blog

Ron Howard Officially Taking Over Directing the Han Solo Movie

1 Comment

A few days ago we learned that Phil Lord and Chris Miller had parted ways with Lucasfilm, and were no longer going to be directing the (still untitled) Han Solo anthology movie. As the days have gone by, it’s become more and more clear that “parted ways with” really meant “totally got fired by.” With only a few weeks left in filming (as the movie has been in production since February), speculation as to who would take over the movie has been running rampant.

And now that speculation can end.

THR is reporting that Ron Howard has signed on to take over directing duties. It’s expected that Lucasfilm will make the formal announcement tomorrow, but Howard has been the rumored frontrunner for the job since Lord and Miller’s departure was announced. Howard isn’t a name most of us associate with big action movies, but it’s not like he doesn’t have the chops. If anything, he’s a much larger name than we’d expect to hear attached to a project like this.

But with the studio wanting to right the ship with only a few weeks to do so, maybe someone with that much talent is exactly what they need.

The Han Solo film is still expected to release in May of 2018.

Via THR

The Mega-Blog

The Trailer For ‘Annabelle: Creation’ Is Super Creepy

Leave a comment

So there’s a new trailer out for Annabelle: Creation, and it’s sufficiently creepy. I mean, it’s a horror movie about an evil doll, so that was kind of a given — but still.

The film is a prequel to the 2014 movie Annabelle, and takes place in the same universe as The Conjuring. The fourth film in the shared horror universe, Annabelle: Creation is set in the home a dollmaker who opens up his home to a nun and some orphans who need a place to stay after their orphanage closes. This would be fine, except for the possessed doll the dollmaker has locked away (which he thinks has his dead daughter’s spirit in it). Things kind of go downhill from there.

Annabelle: Creation comes out August 11, 2017.

Convention News, The Mega-Blog

Hey Titan Fan Con – Maybe DON’T Tell Attendees to Directly Contact Guests Who Cancel?

1 Comment

So Titan Fan Con is a small comic convention that ran last weekend in Odessa, TX. It’s one of the myriad of small cons that dot the American country side, and with a small attendance it normally wouldn’t get close to registering on our radar. For a con like this to end up filling column inches on Nerd & Tie, they’d have to do something spectacularly amazing or spectacularly stupid.

They apparently decided to opt for the latter.

Actor Seth Gilliam, best known for his role on The Walking Dead, was originally slated to appear at the convention. A few days before the event, though, the actor cancelled his appearance. When stuff like this happens, it’s always unfortunate — but it’s a known risk running events where you bring in media celebrities. When Titan Fan Con announced the cancellation though, they didn’t exactly handle it well. Continue reading Hey Titan Fan Con – Maybe DON’T Tell Attendees to Directly Contact Guests Who Cancel? →

The Mega-Blog

HBO Developing ‘Watchmen’ TV Series With Damon Lindelof

Leave a comment

Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’s comic Watchmen is widely considered to be a classic. We’ve seen it adapted to screen before, but that film took (arguably necessary) liberties with the plot. It’s frankly hard to cram everything into a single film. To really present all of the elements of a story like that, you need something in a longer format.

And that’s exactly what we might just get.

Damon Lindelof is reportedly developing a live action Watchmen television series for HBO. Should it go forward, we may finally get a version of the story that isn’t forced to cut key elements from the story.

This isn’t the first time the network has tried to develop an adaptation of Watchmen, as HBO previously was developing an adaptation back in 2014. This new series has no connection to that earlier version though, nor the film version we previously mentioned. All of this is in early days of course, so this may also end up going nowhere just like their earlier attempt.

I guess we’ll find out.

Via Variety

The Mega-Blog

Phil Lord and Chris Miller Are No Longer Directing the Han Solo Movie

1 Comment

In a bizarre turn of events, Lucasfilm has announced that Phil Lord and Chris Miller are no longer directing the Han Solo Star Wars anthology film. President of Lucasfilm Kathleen Kennedy stated:

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are talented filmmakers who have assembled an incredible cast and crew, but it’s become clear that we had different creative visions on this film, and we’ve decided to part ways. A new director will be announced soon.

Miller and Lord contributed to the statement, saying:

Unfortunately, our vision and process weren’t aligned with our partners on this project. We normally aren’t fans of the phrase ‘creative differences’ but for once this cliché is true. We are really proud of the amazing and world-class work of our cast and crew.

This is a strange one. The Han Solo movie (which still doesn’t have a title) is well into production, with only three weeks remaining of principal filming. For a film like this to lose its directors this far along is rather concerning. Lucasfilm says the film is still on track for a May 2018 release, but I can’t imagine that’ll be easy if they’re changing creative direction this late in the game.

I guess we’ll find out.

The Mega-Blog

Babylon 5’s Stephen Furst Has Died

Leave a comment

Classic 90s science fiction series Babylon 5‘s Stephen Furst has sadly passed away. Family members say his passing is due to complications from diabetes. He is survived by his wife, two sons, a sister and two grandchildren.

Furst had a long career, and was probably best known to general audiences as Flounder from Animal House. To those of us with geekier leanings though, he’ll always be the put upon Centauri diplomat Vir Cotto. The actor brought real depth and humanity to what would have otherwise been a simple comic relief character. Furst was a talented actor, and the world is a little “less,” without him.

Stephen Furst was only 63 years old.

Via The Washington Post

The Mega-Blog

Tom Holland’s Spider-Man MIGHT Show Up in Sony’s Marvel Universe

Leave a comment

One of the stranger things that’s been happening is that Sony has been moving forward with the “Sony Marvel Universe” films, based around Spider-Man characters… minus Spider-Man. I mean, envisioning a Venom movie without Spider-Man is pretty strange, right? Well, the two franchises (which also includes the Black Cat and Silver Sable movie Silver and Black) aren’t going to be so far apart apparently.

Maybe.

In an interview with Marvel’s Kevin Feige and Sony’s Amy Pascal, Pascal seemed to confirm that Tom Holland’s Spider-Man could show up in the spin-off movies still.

This is, of course, completely contrary to Feige’s previous statements where he said the Venom movie wouldn’t be in the MCU. Of course, since Feige seemed a little surprised in the interview, maybe this was news to him too.

The Mega-Blog

Gen’s Tips: Volunteering For Your First Convention

1 Comment

Hey Gen, you might ask, I’m going to be volunteering at my first convention ever, do you have any advice?

Here are my tips:

-Most cons will let you attend for free or refund your badge if you volunteer a certain number of hours for them. If you want to volunteer at a con, go to the staff office and ask the staffers there about it.

-Write down your volunteer schedule and keep it with you. If the back of your badge is blank, write your schedule there.

-Be professional. Most of your hours will probably be badging, which can get really boring. Try not to nap, be on your phone, or play games while badging. It makes the con staff look bad.

-If a congoer comes to you with an issue because they think you are a staffer, don’t worry. Stay calm and just try to direct them to an actual staffer nearby, or to the staff office area.

-If you sign up for volunteer hours, SHOW UP FOR YOUR HOURS. Please. The staff are depending on you to do your job and to be where you need to be so that their con can run smoothly. It’s really frustrating to staff if volunteers don’t show up to their shifts and they have to stretch to cover it.

-Have fun, stay hydrated, take showers, enjoy the fact that you are attending for a lower price than most other people there.

Disclaimer: Gen is not a professional advice person in any way, and can only give tips based on their own experiences.

The Mega-Blog

Simon Kinberg Will Direct ‘X-Men: Dark Phoenix’

Leave a comment

The last two main-line X-Men films saw the return of director Bryan Singer to the franchise, and while one of them was really good, the second one really… wasn’t. So, when the next installment in the film series, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, was announced, we weren’t super excited about it. Well, that is until we found out that Singer won’t be in the director’s chair this time around.

It’s now been announced that Simon Kinberg will be taking the reigns of X-Men: Dark Phoenix, and we couldn’t be happier. Kinberg has been involved in the franchise as a producer since Last Stand, and served as a writer for both Days of Future Past and Apocalypse. Now, we know that it’s a bit of a mixed bag, but we’re choosing to be optimistic on this one.

Jessica Chastain is apparently in talks to play Shi’ar Empress Lilandra in the film as well, but as that’s not locked down yet… we don’t care? Once she signs a contract we’ll start to care about that. I mean, she’d be good in the role, but like all things undecided, we try not to get worked up about it.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix is currently set for a November 2, 2018 release.

Via Deadline

The Mega-Blog

Reginald Hudlin to Direct ‘Shadowman’ Movie

Leave a comment

New life has been breathed into the film adaptation of Valiant Comics’ Shadowman, as its been announced that director Reginald Hudlin is now attached to the project. Hudlin will and writer Adam Simon are reworking a script originally written by J. Michael Straczynski.

The Shadowman comic follows Jack Boniface, an African-American saxophone player in New Orleans, who ends up being infected by a spirit and gaining supernatural abilities. Using these powers, he has to protect the world from a bunch of bad guys – y’know, like you do.

Okay, so that’s a gross oversimplification that leaves out a lot of key details, but it’s close enough. In any case, should this thing make it to screen, it would an interesting (and fairly different) superhero film than the ones we’ve gotten lately.

Via THR

All the nerd news and convention scene updates you can handle. Featuring a fornightly podcast and fueled by a lot of caffeine. Lots and lots of caffeine