Another day, another comic book optioned. This time it is Paperstreet Comics' Pencilneck, which has been optioned by Benderspink according to The Hollywood Reporter. When it comes to their past projects, Benderspink certainly has had the best luck with graphic novel adaptations -- they helped produce David Cronenberg's A History of Violence.

I am willing to bet that memories of Tom Stall is what drew the company to the indie Pencilneck. The miniseries follows the life of Jonathan Kincaid, a mild mannered banker. The incarceration of his twin brother, Jeffery, has caused him to repress even the merest twinge of anger. But his weak-willed existence is destroyed when three mob associates offer him a trade -- his brother's life in exchange for his assistance in robbing the bank. Of course, nothing goes smoothly and Kincaid discovers a propensity for violence. It is the Punisher by way of Dwight Shrute.

Man oh man, sometimes I read a concept that's so up my alley that I want to physically punish myself for not thinking of it first. And this is one of 'em: It's a comic book called Last Blood, and here's the concept: A band of vampires has no choice but to defend the planet's last remaining humans from teeming throngs of zombies.

It makes perfect sense! Without human blood, the vampires would go extinct! So if zombies threaten to eradicate all mankind ... aw, man. It's so simple it's beautiful. The comic book was created by Bobby and Chris Crosby, and the boys are now in the movie business with the comics-lovin' Benderspink Productions. (They also have adaptations of Area 52, Y: The Last Man, and Pet Robots in development at various studios.)

Aside from this brief Variety piece, we don't have much more info on Last Blood, but you can check out the source material online right here! (Now I have something fun to do tonight!)

No, Benderspink isn't looking for a little blood with Charles Starkweather, the spree killer who went on a murderous rampage with his underage girlfriend (which inspired flicks like Natural Born Killers). This project still has violence, but it is a little more uplifting. The Hollywood Reporter posts that they've optioned the rights to David Rodriguez's comic, Starkweather. THR describes the movie as Harry Potter meets The Bourne Identity, because of its mixture of amnesia and magic.

The story focuses on "a slacker in his 20s named Alexander Starkweather, who is under an amnesia spell that renders him unaware of his magic lineage. When he finds himself under attack by supernatural foes, he must discover the secrets of his past in order to protect Earth." Variety's report on the deal adds to that, stating that he's from a line of sorcerers, and that his foes come from a "mysterious coven." Since this project is just in the beginning stages, this could potentially be a nice jump into adult magic once Potter wraps. Teens itching for more could possible jump to the next sorcerer hero, who's just a little bit older.

From the picture up to the right, however, which is from the comic, it looks like this young dude doesn't just become a sorcerer, but some sort of Dolph Lundgren He-Man with more clothes. Slackers just aren't ripped like that. Does the discovery of magic magically give a sorcerer muscles? Does he come not from a line of naturally hulky men? I guess if you're a sorcerer, that's equally possible. And who would play this beefcake? For some reason, I can't get pictures of Teddy Dunn out of my head.

It's not like comic book movies are the only game in town, but for the producing duo Benderspink, it certainly appears that way. The Hollywood Reporter announced that the production company with the bizarre name has purchased the film rights to the graphic novel Drafted. The series was created by Mark Powers and Chris Lie and was published by Devil's Due Publishing (DDP). The story centers on "the human race in the early 21st century, and their encounter with alien beings that need their help in an intergalactic war. Without much choice, the humans of Earth are drafted into the conflict". The comic book has received early praise (the first preview came out in June and the first issues was released back in September. Josh Blaylock of DDP seems to be taking no chances with the fledgling franchise and plans on co-producing the big-screen treatment.

At this point it seems like if a comic book movie is being made out there, Benderspink has something to do with it. The production company first gained notice as the team behind David Cronenberg's History of Violence, but lately, they only seem to be interested in making comic book movies. It is quite the list too, including: Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina, Power and Glory (also with New Line), Ghouly Boys, Pet Robots with Disney, and finally Preacher with HBO. Just last week, the duo signed a director for Area 52; yet another big-screen comic book property the two have planned. Benderspink are currently on the hunt for a writer and director for Drafted, so stay tuned for any updates that come our way.

I have to say, when I first saw this news, I imagined a whole film with kids who have those little electronic pets on keychains and the like. Basically, a snooze fest. Fortunately, it's a bit more interesting than that. Disney has picked up the rights to an upcoming graphic novel from Scott Christian Sava called Pet Robots. The premise -- well, take Fido, wipe out the zombies and add in robots and you'll get the idea -- these aren't animal bots. Sava's book is a present-day comedy about "futuristic robots that fall into the hands of the least likely group of people." That group of people are four students -- Jake, Chris, Tammy and Tommy -- who get lost while visiting the Rooty Tooty Toy Company. They're followed home by four military robots -- Skye, Rock, Aqua and Wind -- and the company wants their robots back.

Sava is no stranger to Disney. He's the founder of Blue Dream Studios, an animation house that has worked with Walt's ol' company in the past. From there, he got into books and comics. While no writer is attached to the project yet, I wouldn't be surprised if Sava either takes the pen, or shows up in some animation capacity, given his background. Then again, this could even go the live-action route if Disney desires. The project is being produced by Chris Bender and J.C. Spink of, obviously, Benderspink.

It seems to be time for the next generation of movie spoofs. In the late 80s/early 90s there was the crime-fighting, Naked Gun series, which grabbed everything from Get Smart to White Heat. That was topped off with some Hot Shots that merged Top Gun with Airplane! After a brief hiatus, we headed into the Anna Faris dynasty with 4 Scary Movie installations. Now Hollywood seems set to move on from the scary. Epic Movie tried and failed, and now the Weinstein Co. are taking their shot by grabbing Dirty Step Stomp, to be produced by Benderspink.

What do you give a populace tired of scary spoofs? Dancing. Stomp comes from the pens of two playwrights who recently wrote Bill Pullman Hates You -- writer/actor Steve Basilone (who also had a part in Prozac Nation) and Orastories co-creator Annie Mebane. If you're wondering what sort of dance movies they plan to spoof, the title gives most of it away. The "Dirty" refers to Dirty Dancing, which I'm sure will also result in some sort of Footloose reference; the "Step" refers to last year's Step Up, where the wrong-side-of-the-tracks dancer falls for the privileged prima ballerina; and "Stomp" is, obviously, from the current release, Stomp the Yard.

You might remember the last film, not mentioned in the title, Julia Stiles' Save the Last Dance -- this selection seems a bit superfluous considering the fact that Step Up used many of the same themes. Are we really ready for a dance spoof? And who would star in it? Would Farris dive into a new dynasty, or would her Epic spoofer, Jayma Mays take over?

When I first happened upon this piece of movie news, I immediately cried out, "Oh c'mon, not another children's book adaptation!" Therefore, I was quite surprised to see this had nothing to do with kids, but instead was based off a collection of nifty-sounding short stories. (Here's where you get to ask, "Um, what are you talking about dude?)

Well, Benderspink has just optioned Sam the Cat and Other Stories, written by Matthew Klam -- named one of the 25 best fiction writers under 40 by the New Yorker. Apparently, the short stories all revolve around relationships and the "quest for love" seen through the eyes of young American men. (If these guys are anything like the young American men I know, then perhaps we should change that to the "quest for sex.") Benderspink plans to combine the stories into one straight narrative, focusing on a political consultant who stumbles upon the perfect woman at the worst possible time in his life. (Seeing as he's a political consultant, is there ever a good time to fall in love? Wait -- strike that -- do political consultants even know what love is to begin with?)

On one hand, screenwriter success stories are wonderful to read about. On the other hand, some aspiring writers tend to get jealous when they hear tales of a first-timer who, basically, got a lucky break. In the world of screenwriting, most will tell you that a writer's first script should be used strictly as an exercise and, ultimately, wind up in the garbage. The general advise is to write a good six or seven scripts before hitting the pavement with a slew of query letters and assistant ass-kissing.

In the case of Brandon Murphy, all it took was one script and one phone call -- an aspiring screenwriter's wet dream. After writing a comedy script called Pony Bush, Murphy decided to send it to the ex-girlfriend of his old college roommate who happened to be working for the management company Benderspink. Mind you, Pony Bush was his first-ever stab at writing a feature-length screenplay. However, instead of landing in the garbage, Benderspink dug the idea and, over the course of several months, helped Murphy develop it more. After meeting with talent agency ICM, Murphy sold the script to Dimension Films (who, not for nothing, are on a big comedy kick lately) with those Broken Lizard boys in talks to produce the film.

Murphy, who was working as a waiter at the time, had qualified for poverty level insurance the day before he sold the script. Story revolves around a lovable deadbeat and his sidekick who turn the snobby Pony Bush country club upside down. Sounds to me like Caddyshack meets another bad Broken Lizard film. As of now, no director is attached.