PlatinumStudios Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I never feel older or more out of touch than when I read or write about one of Disney's fresh faced stars. Every time I shrug it off as a "I really don't know who that is," they end up being the next Shia LaBeouf or something. So, in the interests of keeping up and in pleasing our young readers, here's a story about The Wizards of Waverly Place's David Henrie. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Henrie has decided to take the first step to becoming, well, Shia LaBeouf, by starring in Platinum Studios' The Weapon.

Based on the four-issue comic book, The Weapon stars Tommy Zhou, a martial arts weapon enthusiast by day, a brilliant inventor the rest of the time. He designs a wrist band that creates "an endless variety of weapons from solid holograms." I can't imagine why Zhou thinks this is a good idea, or why he's surprised when evil henchman come after it. Naturally, it isn't just any evil military-industrial complex, but an order of assassins who believe he's stumbled on the lost techniques of the Order of Wu-Shi, "the way of the Weapon." Henrie fans can find the comic at Platinum Studios' store and hopefully be inspired to pick up a few other comics after they read it.

I can't let the story pass without one critical note, and that's the blatant disregard for the character's Asian descent. While Henrie is confident that his Disney fans will still love "the empowerment and action-filled journey my character experiences" and stresses that he's studied mixed martial arts, it's a shame Platinum had chosen to empower a young Chinese-American actor instead. That's no slam on Henrie (what young man doesn't dream of being in an action flick?) but a troubling decision on the part of the studio.

Top Cow is on a roll! I never actually thought a week would come in which I would have two stories about that publishing company -- but here it is. Who thought sexy, weapon wielding chicks were such a draw for the movie business? Not I! (Yes, that's sarcasm.)

The latest book to be optioned is Magdalena. It's rather similar to Witchblade except with a much more distinguished lineage. The Magdalena is descended from Sarah, the daughter of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. She's the supernatural defender of the Catholic Church, and can look into the human heart to show people the error of their ways. And because no heroine is complete without a weapon, she wields the Spear of Destiny (the spear which pierced the side of Jesus at the Crucifixion) against the forces of evil. Luckily, nothing in the Magdalena's Catholic contract stipulates that she dress conservatively, so she's allowed to wear the crop tops of a Top Cow heroine.

And according to The Hollywood Reporter, it's already further along in production than Witchblade. No director has been set, but the leads have been cast. Jenna Dewan is currently in talks to play Patience, the spear-wielding holy heroine. (There's been a few, it looks like they're going with the most recent incarnation.) Luke Goss is set to play Kristof, an agent sent by the secret organization that protects the lineage. In the comic, these are cardinals, but somehow I bet Kristof won't be one because that would require way too much chastity -- and the stars are way too hot. Both actors are going to be at Top Cow's panel at ComicCon this weekend. If you're going, you can ask them all sorts of pressing Magdalena movie questions.

According to Variety, Platinum Studios is teaming up with Valhalla Motion Pictures to bring the not-yet-published comic Final Orbit to the big screen. The fact that it hasn't been read by us nerds leaves us little to talk about, but I'll try anyway.

Final Orbit follows a group of thrill-seekers who win a lottery to vacation aboard a newly completed International Space Station. Things go horribly wrong when the station is damaged, stranding the tourists in a damaged module with no trained astronaut to assist them. It sounds like a combination of Space Camp and, well, every space movie from Sunshine to Apollo 13. Don't space journeys ever go well? How did we ever make it to the moon?

The script is being penned by Russell Gewirtz, the author behind Inside Man and the much-discussed DeNiro-Pacino thriller Righteous Kill. It's another addition to the super busy slate of Platinum Studios, who are producing everything from Witchblade to Atlantis Rising, and publishing loads of comic books on the side. They are unstoppable. I'm wondering when the heck they're going to green-light Lesbian Pirates from Outer Space. (I'm not kidding, it is one of their titles. Go to their website if you don't believe me.)

As there isn't even a working preview on Platinum's website, we shall simply wait and see. Which leaves the perfect opening to wonder if where we're going with Final Orbit, we will need eyes to see. Come on, someone had to say it.

I'm sure this has happened before -- in fact, I seem to remember X-Men posters long before Wolverine was definitively cast, but it is a first for me on Cinematical. Weeks after Top Cow and Platinum Studios announced an upcoming Witchblade movie, a teaser poster has surfaced courtesy of the newly launched official site. The lead actress has not even been cast, no rumors have even reached my ears (which doesn't mean a darn thing) ... but here she is, in all of her sexy glory. What I want to know is what unlucky girl gets to pose for the poster, but not land the lead role. She's lovely, who ever she is.

It's nice to know that the team behind the movie has resisted the Hollywood urge to mess with an iconic superhero costume -- or in this case, the lack of. As this poster is definitely not safe for work, young eyes, or the easily offended, you'll have to click on it to see a larger version. Sigh. This is definitely not what I had in mind when I begged for a superchick movie.