-- In the pantheon of classic action movies, there is "Aliens" and there is "Die Hard." They're not the only ones of course, and I'm not entirely sure why those two live together -- maybe because both deal with trapped protagonists? -- but which one is better? It's the sort of question that movie nerds like me can debate into the wee hours of the morning. And that's exactly what George "El Guapo" Roush does in this feature for Latino Review. (Latino Review)
-- Did you know that four of this summer's many movie offerings featured a miscarriage or stillbirth? And that 12 featured vomiting, or a direct reference to the same? How about that two ended with Flo Rida's "Right Round" and two others ended with the Black Eyed Peas' "Boom Boom Pow"? Find out which ones and more fun summer movie facts in William Goss's feature on Cinematical. (Cinematical) Read more...
FROM SPLASH PAGE: Announced late last month, Boom Studios’ upcoming “Die Hard: Year One” comic book series will take Bruce Willis‘ hard-luck hero John McClane back to his roots in a story that unfolds more than a decade before his 1988 adventure at the Nakatomi Plaza. Veteran writer/artist Howard Chaykin, who will be scripting the prequel, spoke with MTV News about what readers can expect from the series when it hits shelves this August — including some of the familiar movie characters and elements of New York City history that will find their way into story.
“We’re dealing with McClane as a 23-year-old Marine veteran, new to the force from Queens, just loving his job,” Chaykin told MTV News. “The series is going to explain exactly how he got his gold shield.”
Continue reading EXCLUSIVE: ‘Die Hard: Year One’ Writer Talks Prequel Plot, Reveals New Jock & Dave Johnson Covers!
by Alan Kistler
Over the years, the Transformers have occasionally crossed over with other fun franchises. There have been Transformers/"Star Wars" toys. The Autobots teamed up with Marvel’s New Avengers team. There have been several comics in which the Transformers worked against or alongside the G.I. Joe team. In one of the early comic issues, the Autobot called Cliffjumper even teamed up with the amazing Spider-Man.
In the movie world, plenty have enjoyed similar team-ups. Look at "Freddy Vs. Jason" or "Aliens Vs. Predator." With "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" freshly released in theaters, why not push the envelope a bit further? Here's a list of some crossovers that I think would be a lot fun to watch, each supplied with my own idea of how the story could bring the characters together. Enjoy! Read more...
FROM SPLASH PAGE: While Splash Page usually focuses its energy on the leap from comic book to cinema screen, we're always down to report on the opposite translation -- and today, a pair of film franchises are moving into the paneled universe.
Boom Studios has announced that it will publish a prequel to the Bruce Willis-starring "Die Hard" action franchise as a comic book series titled "Die Hard: Year One," while simultaneously releasing a graphic novel version of "Jennifer's Body," the upcoming horror film starring Megan Fox and directed by Diablo Cody ("Juno").
Continue reading 'Die Hard' Prequel And 'Jennifer's Body' Tie-In Comics Announced
His films have earned over two billion dollars at the box-office, but the best of Steven E. de Souza’s screenplays will likely always remain “Die Hard,” the 1987 Bruce Willis flick that invented the modern action film. And although the writer jumped off the franchise following “Die Hard 2” as if he were John McClane going over the side of the Nakatomi Plaza building, he insists there’s still life in the series.
“The franchise can go on and on, because it no longer has to be a ‘Die Hard’ movie,” explained the screenwriter. “Only the first two movies were actually ‘Die Hard’ movies, which I would define as the solitary hero with little or no help, largely alone for long stretches of time, trapped in an enclosed area he cannot escape. The first two pictures held to that model.”
Along with fan-favorites Bonnie Bedelia (as Holly) and Reginald VelJohnson (as Twinkie-loving cop Al Powell), de Souza was removed from the series for 1995’s “Die Hard With a Vengeance” and last year’s “Live Free or Die Hard.” “[Now] they go out and they travel,” he said of those films. “They go to Canada and come back, and they go to New Jersey, and they drive around in cars and go all over the Eastern Seaboard in the fourth picture. Those are excellent pictures. They’re well-made movies, but I think it’s interesting that neither one of those - three or four - was originally written as a 'Die Hard' movie.” Read more...
