KeithGiffen Tagged Articles at Cinematical

The Geek Beat is taking a late-September vacation to Middle Earth -- but it will be back next month and those of you suffering withdrawels can always check the archives. In the meantime, you can relax with a daily round-up of nerdy news bites. (They taste like coconut!) This is relaxing for me, too -- I get to catch up on my reading, my Halloween shopping, and my yoga. I can stay up all night re-reading Preacher (you know I will) and not waiting for an X-Men Origins: Wolverine story. A good way to end summer!

Now, onto today's news ...

• According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jeffery Erb and Robert Robinson Jr. have launched Framelight Productions with an eye to producing edgy comic and graphic novel adaptations. They already have options on Larry Hama's Dr. Death with Kip and Muffy, Gary Reed's Deadworld, Ralph Tedesco and Joe Tyler's Sins of the Fallen, as well as their 1001 Arabian Nights. (Clicking on any of those links will take you to previews of the books.) All of their productions aim to do one thing in particular -- involve the creator in all aspects of movie making. "We weren't the only producers wanting to make movies based on these creators' babies, but we were the only ones inviting them in as co-producers," says Erb.

• Edward Norton told MTV News that he's uncertain about the future of The Incredible Hulk and his role in it. There's been no word on whether they will be a solo sequel, or if Norton will be playing the Hulk in The Avengers. "The minds of Marvel are sometimes opaque. I won't say [they're] obtuse, but I don't have any idea what they want to do." Perhaps they're considering Matthew McConaughey, who had no idea he was rumored for Captain America -- but revealed to MTV that Hulk is really the only Marvel character he would like to play. (They could save on the budget -- all they have to do is dye that muscled dude green.)
  

I'm guessing that it did not take long for the numbers to roll in on 300 before studios were looking for the next graphic novel to turn into a CGI blockbuster. IESB has reported that there is now talk of a bidding war for Jeff Krelitz's upcoming comic series War In Heaven. Trac2 Media will be developing the film adaptation and according to IESB, DC Comics along with several unnamed studios and comic book publishers are vying for the rights. The comic series is being produced by Krelitz, with co-writing duties going to Craig Hernandez and Keith Giffen (Legion of Superheroes). Giffen's name might ring a bell to fans of Justice League as the author of the international version of the series made in the 80's.

There aren't many details on the story yet, but what is known is that is the story will focus on Lucifer leading a rebellion at the pearly gates. The bad news is that the comic hasn't been written yet, so a film version is pretty far off. IESB is also hosting an sneak peek at some artwork, but they cannot promise that the will be up for long. So if you can't wait for the finished product, you might want to head over now.