Geek Daily: Brett Ratner's Feeling Chatty, Rorschach's Watching Fox, and Transformers Rise

by Elisabeth Rappe Sep 24th 2008 // 9:02AM

Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, Sony, Warner Brothers, RumorMonger, Celebrities and Controversy, Fandom, 20th Century Fox, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels

I know this is traditionally a slow news time but wow, it's a desert out there! Is everyone in Hollywood sleeping? Are they becoming addicted to CNN election coverage like I am? Well, I managed to tear myself away from Anderson Cooper to do a little Cinematical work (and it's hard, 360 runs on such an endless loop that it's kind of like spending a delightful eternity with him), you'd think someone in Tinseltown could option some graphic novels or cast Captain America. Sheesh. Anyway, here's what we've got today:

  • The Hasbro Licensing Summit of 2008 revealed the Transformers appearing in Transformers 2 are: Sideswipe (Chevy Corvette), Ravage, and Devastator. Also from Transformer World 2005, Robert Orci has answered a slew of new sequel questions. Beware of spoilers. Additionally, The Insider visited the set of Transformers 2, and you check out some video after the jump.

  • Oh, Brett Ratner. I snark on him, but immediately feel guilty because everyone does, and it can't be easy for one man to endure. And then he goes and tells MTV about his superhero spin-off ideas and I just want to shake him by the shoulders, and tell him to leave this genre alone. Disappointed that he didn't get to direct Batman, he nevertheless thinks there should be a Joker spin-off -- and not even Heath Ledger's death dampens his enthusiasm. "Heath was great," Ratner said. "But the Joker is a great villain. That's why Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger had so much to work with. And I think there will be another actor who can interpret that. It would be great to see [Robert] Downey [Jr.] as the Joker, for instance." Now, while I don't think the character of the Joker should die with Ledger, I certainly think he's off-limits for awhile -- and a spin-off? Come on. This isn't Magneto, this is a character we never really want to know more about, he needs to exist solely where you can't see him. But then again, Ratner also thinks a Storm spin-off with Halle Berry is a good idea.


  • The New York Times has an interesting bio / timeline up of Lawrence Gordon, the man who sold the Watchmen rights, and the central figure in this whole lawsuit. And a new rumor has surfaced over Rich Johnston's Lying in the Gutter, which claims that this whole kerfluffle may actually have Adam West at its core. Apparently, Fox wants the rights to the 1960's Batman television series -- they own the footage, but Warners owns the character, so the DVD release fans have clamored for are tied up in all kinds of fun legal tangles. It could be that we might see a neat little exchange -- and one that occurs out of court, as everyone has predicted all along. If nothing else, Rorschach is going to make sure it does -- Screen Rant reports that he's taken up vigil outside Fox Studios.
  • Astro Boy finally has a release date, per Summit's official site -- October 29, 2009.
  • Michael Pena revealed to IESB.net that he was offered a part in The Green Hornet, but didn't specify which, or if he had taken it. I think we can assume his answer was "yes" though.


Transformers 2 Set Video from The Insider

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Tags: Astro Boy, AstroBoy, Brett Ratner, BrettRatner, Michael Pena, MichaelPena, The Green Hornet, TheGreenHornet, transformers 2, transformers revenge of the fallen, Transformers2, TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen, Watchmen

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