Hanso Foundation strikes back at ‘Bad Twin’
The Hanso Foundation, the organization behind the mysterious Dharma Initiative, has issued an ad in major newspapers, including The Philadelphia Inquirer, attacking the new book “Bad Twin,” by author Gary Troup, who has not been seen since Oceanic Airlines flight 815 disappeared over the South Pacific en route from Sydney to Los Angeles.
The organization claims that “Bad Twin” is filled with misinformation regarding Hanso and its partners. For more information on The Hanso Foundation, visit their Web site. Hyperion has more information on “Bad Twin.”
Bane has a blog
Following in the proud tradition of The Darth Side: Memoirs of a Monster, Batman’s muscle-bound nemesis, Bane, has started blogging. Get while the gettin’s good:
To be honest, Bane didn’t think Internet would be around long; just seemed like “fad” when Bane first hear about it. Besides, Bane very busy hurting Batman at the time (perhaps you heard???). But now Bane just get AOL dial-up service and VERY excited about possiblities.
Check out Bane Blog!
V for Verisimilitude
V FOR VENDETTA scored a solid win at the weekend box office, despite the presence of March Madness, and St. Patrick’s Day hangover. I saw the film on a quiet Sunday morning, with not more than 25 other people in the theater. Having read the graphic novel V FOR VENDETTA (and enjoyed it) in advance, I wanted the film to live up to that experience. It should be noted that original comic writer Alan Moore did not want to be credited for the film, and has distanced himself from it.
Having let us all down with the Matrix sequels, the Wachowski brothers succeed here in producing a film, along with Joel Silver, that I found solidly entertaining, and will hopefully make people think. After all, the best a piece of art or media can achieve (aside from the entertainment) is to spur the audience to thought, and perhaps even toward positive action. That is not to say that seeing this movie should make you want to blow up government buildings. I sincerely hope it does not. Rather, I hope many people find the ending of the film as hopeful as I did, and the whole experience a first step in political discussion. The specifics of the explosions in the film are not as important to me as the ideas that they represent, because as V puts it, “ideas are bulletproof”. I gotta admit though, the climactic scene is pretty cool.
The obvious criticism is already coming from the political right, who charge that this film is nothing but a left wing call for anarchy. Film critic Michael Medved: “Five years after 9/11, we get our first big studio, big budget extravaganza making the case of suicidal terrorism as the ultimate form of heroism.” I wonder if Michael saw the same film I did, because in the film I saw, no one committed suicide. Continues after the jump »
New York Comic-Con impressions
When I first heard about the Comic-Con in New York, I knew I wanted to check it out. I’m not half the comic fan these days that my esteemed colleague Matt is, I knew the opportunity was too good to pass up. The big names in comics that would be there, in addition to the non-comic entities like the movie studios meant whole event had a few great things going for it, but the biggest draw for me was the fact that the Con was basically a big unknown. Continues after the jump »
Good Con Fun
What happens when you try to cram 14,930 nerds and 70 scantily dressed women into a convention center?
The short answer: Angry message board postings!
The New York Comic-Con was this past weekend, and for an undisputable dork such as myself, it was like getting…well, it was like going to a big convention center filled with everything I love. Which is what it was.
Crap Filter coming at you from NY Comic-Con!
Just a little heads up to our faithful readers that Crap Filter will be reporting from Comic-Con this weekend at the Javits Center in the Big Apple. What info will we uncover? Who will we meet? What free crap will we be guilted into taking? Stay tuned to find the answers to these and other pressing questions, because we’re assuming that inquiring minds probably want to know.
The jig is up!
You can run, James Frey, but you can’t hide.
The website The Smoking Gun has exposed the best-selling author — whose candid, supposedly non-fiction memoir moved Oprah so much she included it in her revered Book Club — as a fraud, and that his “A Million Little Pieces” is nothing more than a pack of lies and fabrications. 
A self-proclaimed alcoholic, drug addict and criminal, Frey depicts in startling detail his “vomit-caked years” before finally seeing the light and cleaning up his act. From being wanted in three states and spending months in jail, to beating a priest so severely that he suspects he might have killed him, Frey’s stories are nothing more than embellishment and fiction, according to TSG, which says it spent six weeks researching his claims of lawlessness.
“When TSG confronted him Friday (1/6) afternoon with our findings, Frey refused to address the significant conflicts we discovered between his published accounts and those contained in various police reports. When we suggested that he might owe millions of readers and Winfrey fans an explanation for these discrepancies, Frey, now a publishing powerhouse, replied, ‘There’s nothing at this point can come out of this conversation that, that is good for me.’”
Sounds incriminating to me. But if the old adage “There’s no such thing as bad press” applies, Frey should see sales of his book skyrocket from this controversy.
Voltron TPBs by Devil’s Due
We all remember Voltron: Defender of the Universe from our childhood. I still have my fully assembled Lion-Force Voltron. It is the metal version, that was recalled for having lead-based paint. My mommy said I could keep it, as long as I didn’t lick it. Recently I picked up and read a couple of trade paperbacks that I really enjoyed. For the last couple years, Image Comics, and Devil’s Due Publishing have put out a run of Voltron comics, which are now collected in these digest-sized collections from Devil’s Due. Continues after the jump »
‘Superman Returns’ teaser hits the Web
If anyone’s run out of idea, it’s movie studios. Thankfully comic book publishers have got their backs.
I’ve never been a huge fan of Superman. He’s just a little too one-dimensional as a character for me to really care about. He can basically do anything, and nothing can hurt him. What are the chances that the bad guy in the movie will get his hands on some Deus ex Machina Kryptonite that will somehow weaken Superman? I’d say pretty good.
Batman is great because he doesn’t have any powers, just zillions of dollars. Spider-Man is a loser’s loser in real life. The X-Men are universally reviled by those the people they’re trying to save. Even Aquaman’s disabled.
Anyway, the trailer for the new Superman movie is out. I’m not impressed. Your mileage may vary.
Oh, and if you hit the full screen option, it’ll open in Quicktime Player and change your resolution, which will resize all of the windows on your screen. Not cool.
Superman, you’re not exactly my hero today.
Respek to Broken Kode for the heads up.
Now they’ve gone too far
I went along with “Spawn,” looked the other way with “Punisher,” and tried to understand the need for “Fantastic Four.”
But Aquaman?
I’ve always been taught that Aquaman is the red-headed stepchild of the superhero family. Does he even have any super powers, or does he just swim really well? (This reminds me of that sketch from MTV’s “The State” where Superman orders the Super Friends to do certain jobs before telling Aquaman to “go… talk to some fish.”)
Well, the WB wants to milk the superhero thing for all it’s worth it seems because it’s getting ready to shoot a pilot for a possible Aquaman TV series. The network is expected to create a more fallible, modernized version of Aquaman along the lines of Superman in the hit series “Smallville.” Continues after the jump »
50 Cent’s plan to get white kids to read
Now this is a stroke of pure genius. Not content with turning his life into a movie, crack dealer-turned-bullet magnet-turned-rapper 50 Cent is coming out with a new line of books that will delve into the flashy world of the G-Unit crew.
“These tales will tell the truth about The Life; the sex, guns and cash; the brutal highs and short lives of the players on the streets,” the publisher said in a release over the weekend.
Well it’s about time.
I’m just not sure who the intended audience for this line of books will be. I figure that if you’re really into 50 Cent, you’re probably not a big reader. If Lloyd Banks and Young Buck are your thing, would you rather read a novella about it, or hear a rap about it? I’m guessing that the subject matter lends itself better to rap.
My guess is that this is for misunderstood suburban kids, like most hip-hop that has any association with MTV. Say what you will about 50 Cent, but you can’t deny that he knows how to peddle average rap and rap-related products to the suburbs.
I eagerly await the story about a shooting at a 50 Cent book signing.
Oh please, please, please let there be a shooting.
Let me know if this puts you to sleep
Thomas Haden Church is finally cashing in on his career-changing turn in “Ned and Stacey” despite a little bump in the road called “Sideways.” Church, as some of you might already know, has scored a role as a villain in the upcoming “Spider-Man 3” (2007).
Well, it’s just been confirmed that the villian Church will be playing is the Sandman, and if you’re the type that gets excited about press photos being released way before the actual movie, there’s a fresh picture on the web to prove it.
Looks like someone has been working out and shopping at J Crew.
The city of blinding lights
Being an up-and-coming comedian in a place like New York City is a struggle. There’s a long, long food chain of people all waiting for their turn. Hours of standing on corners asking people to take flyers for a show full of shitty comics, or paying $5 to a booker just so you can get five minutes of stage time to work out material in front of an audience of other comics who don’t really want to hear you talk about Mike Tyson’s Punch Out because they’re waiting for their turn on the mic. It’s an arduous, almost soul-pummeling experience, to be certain; you’ve heard all the stories before. Continues after the jump »
