A.J. Focht

Warner Bros. has walked away the victor in the legal battle with the heirs of Superman co-creator Joseph Shuster. Warner Bros. retains rights to the Man of Steel. The big news here is Warner Bros. is moving forward with the Justice League movie. They will start on it next year and plan to release the Justice League movie in 2015.

Last week, it was revealed that Agent Coulson would be returning on the upcoming S.H.I.E.L.D. television series. Coulson isn’t the only Agent confirmed for the show, Ming-Na Wen has been cast as Agent Melinda May in the series. These are the only confirmed cast members so far. There is no word as to whether or not Cobie Smulders will be reprising her role as Agent Maria Hill. Joss Whedon is co-writing the script with his brother Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen.

It was a big week as the Iron Man 3 marketing campaign put their thrusters on over-drive. First, the official synopsis for the third movie was released as well as several new stills and posters. After fans finished ‘powering up Iron Man’s core’ in the Facebook campaign, a teaser trailer was released to introduce the full length trailer released on Tuesday. Iron Man 3 is set to release in theaters on April 26, 2013.

Captain America: Winter Soldier is currently in the casting phase, and it looks like Frank Grillo is taking the role of Crossbones. Crossbones is an assassin who worked for the Red Skull. Most notably, Crossbones is the man who killed Captain America after the Marvel Civil War. The film is scheduled to release on April 4th, 2014.

The Wolverine movie is coming to theaters on July 26, 2013. While the casting is long over, it looks like there is a last minute cameo appearance from one of the original X-Men. Rumor is that Famke Janssen will reprise her role as Jean Grey from the original X-Men trilogy.

There are more video game based movies on the horizon. It’s been a while since there has been news on the Mass Effect movie, but Legendary Pictures is still moving forward with it. Now Morgan Davis Foehl has been assigned with penning the script for the film. Mass Effect isn’t the only video game movie in progress. New Regency will finance and distribute the Assassin’s Creed movie with Michael Fassbender set to star in the film.

The first television spot for The Hobbit has been released. Sir Ian McKellen recently updated his blog to talk about the pros and cons of returning for The Hobbit. The run time of the film is slightly longer than was expected, coming in just under three hours long. The first Hobbit movie is completed set and ready for theaters on December 14, 2012. Also, it’s been revealed that Stephen Colbert will be making a cameo in one of the sequels.

The trailer for the Evil Dead remake is now online. The film promises not only the return of several of the best moments from the original film, but also more gore and depravity than any of the originals. Evil Dead is opening in theaters on April 13, 2013.

The third episode of the third season of Walking Dead has been widely hailed as one of the best episodes in the series. If a new episode each week isn’t enough to fill your zombiefied cravings, the new the Walking Dead Magazine is your one stop of all upcoming franchise news. The first issue recaps the comic series so far and covers what is coming up next in the television series. There are multiple interviews in the first issue, including an excellent and revealing interview with executive producer and writer Robert Kirkman. The cover story from the magazine gives readers an in depth look at the katana wielding Michonne. Kirkman describes Michonne as the ‘Boba Fett of the Walking Dead universe’ and gives more insight into the mysterious character. The Walking Dead Magazine is a must for fans looking for all the official news behind the comic book and television series.

by Daniel Robert Epstein

“If you get a quarter and scratch the Megadeth logo off the album it says Mustaine underneath it. Nothing changed one bit.”
– Dave Mustaine, Megadeth

Who the hell wasn’’t freaked out when Dave Mustaine got hurt and announced he was disbanding Megadeth? Just for the band to break up is bad enough, but then to know that Mustaine might never have played music again was scary. But luckily Mustaine rebounded and is now releasing, The System has Failed, Megadeth’’s final album even though none of the other guys from the band have contributed anything. That’’s mostly because this was originally set to be his solo album but because of label obligations it’’s now a Megadeth one.

Read our interview with Dave Mustaine on SuicideGirls.com.

by Daniel Robert Epstein

“I maintain my emotional level by talking, I talk a lot. It’s kind of my way of relaxing.”
– Julianne Moore

Julianne Moore is by far the most beautiful redhead in Hollywood today, in fact she is one of the most beautiful women on the planet. She became even more wonderful when I found out how nice she is and what a great sense of humor she has.

She plays Telly Paretta in The Forgotten, a mother whose child was killed in a plane crash. Now a year later the whole world, including her husband and psychiatrist, is trying to convince her that her son never existed at all.

Even though she’’s playing a somber and heavy role, Moore never stopped cracking jokes and being brutally honest about her work.

Read our interview with Julianne Moore on SuicideGirls.com.

by Daniel Robert Epstein

“Making movies is sort of like a miracle. I don’’t know how it gets done.”
– Christopher Walken

I got to interview Christopher Walken in person and of course, the most important thing about the man is that he starred in the David Cronenberg film, The Dead Zone. We got a chance to talk a little bit about that.

Walken walked into the room and seemed like he was almost surprised to be there. He was dressed in like a sweat suit and he smelled a bit musty. But that’’s not right to complain about because he’’s 61 years old and when you get to that age things happen to your body that you can’’t control. One thing that Walken can control though is the way his career is going. From big budget Hollywood films like The Rundown to his latest little independent film, Around the Bend, Walken always delivers the goods.

Around the Bend stars Walken, of course, Josh Lucas and Michael Caine. It’’s about four generations of men who are suddenly brought together by the chance to uncover the truth about their family’’s past. After the great-grandfather passes away, the son shows up out of the blue to take them all on a road trip across America to fulfill his father’s wishes. It’’s a journey that takes them to a world full of surprises – some comic, some dramatic, and all of them personal.

Read our interview with Christopher Walken on SuicideGirls.com.

A.J. Focht

Last weekend was New York Comic Con 2012. Out of all of the news announced, the most exciting might have been that Agent Coulson is not dead, and will be returning for the S.H.I.E.L.D television series. It wasn’t just the TV show that was mentioned; Clark Gregg (Agent Coulson) had a few select words for the crowd:

“Have you heard of a thing called a Life Model Decoy? Have you heard of the Vision?”

Marvel is taking full advantage of its social media with their new campaign for Iron Man 3. They are ready to release the first sneak peak for the movie, but only after the fans “power up Iron Mans core” by likingthe movie’s Facebook page. If you want to see the Iron Man 3 preview a little sooner and approve of this type of social media marketing, make sure you toss them a ‘like’. Iron man 3 is set to release in theaters on May 3, 2013.

The official synopsis for Thor: The Dark World has been released. It promises that in the aftermath of Thor and The Avengers, Thor will traverse the cosmos and the Nine Realms in an attempt to restore order. His battle against an ancient army will bring him back to Earth and reconnect him with Jane Foster. The end of the synopsis says Thor will have to sacrifice everything to save us all. This could mean many things including that he will die or lose his powers and become Donald Blake. Thor: The Dark World hits theaters on November 8, 2013.

The Marvel cinematic universe has just grown to include everyone’s favorite blind superhero. The rights to Daredevil have reverted from FOX back to Marvel. The chances of Marvel rebooting the Daredevil movie into the new Marvel universe are high. Most of the film rights to Marvel’s mainstay superheroes are still owned by other companies so Disney and Marvel are likely to jump on this franchise, especially since the newest run of Daredevil has gained quite a following.

New photos from the set of The Wolverine have been released. They give first looks at the film’s villains. Svetlana Khodchenkova is pictured in her role as Viper. There are also shots of Will Yun Lee who will be playing Silver Samurai in the film. The Wolverine opens in theaters on July 26, 2013.

Another official synopsis has been released, this one for Kick-Ass 2. The antics of Kick-Ass and Hit Girl have stirred a new wave of masked heroes led by Colonel Stars and Stripes, who is played by Jim Carrey. Red Mist seeks revenge and is reborn as the first world’s first super villain, Mother Fucker. When he assembles his own evil league and starts killing masked heroes, only Kick-Ass and Hit Girl can save them. Kick-Ass 2 releases in theaters on June 28, 2013.

The first footage from the Evil Dead remake was screened at NYCC. It inspired a certain sense of déjà vu as we return to the infamous cabin in the woods. A group of kids enter the cabin and a boy in the group comes across the infamous Necronomicon. More clips were shown as well, including someone starting a chainsaw and the return of the raping tree. Evil Dead releases on April 12, 2013.

The Walking Dead has returned with a record breaking premiere. The Season 3 opener had 10.9 million viewers and it was the highest rated episode in the series’ history. The episode now holds the record for biggest telecast for any drama series in basic cable history. Check back next week for our preview of the new Walking Dead Magazine.

by David Seaman

As I pointed out on my illustrious Twitter stream earlier today, MSNBC has literally gotten to the point where their bottom-of-the-screen Chyron declares that Obama “owned” Romney in the debates (very journalistic, guys!), while a quick pass over to ideological arch-rival FOX News shows basically the exact opposite: Romney. Strong. Leader. Family Man. Whatever.

The cable networks are vampires screaming as the light hits their overly make-upped, ideologically whored out faces.

You can’t avoid the light.

Rather than being lied to by television news “personalities” with little control over their own programming, it’s time to wise up, own up, and pursue those that are committed to telling you the truth. Here are some of my personal favorites. Follow all of them if you prefer truth to lies.

Abby Martin – RT America’s Breaking The Set

This ruthless truth slinger delights in slamming multi-billion dollar biotech conglomerates, corporate corruption, military-industrial complex lies, and everything else wrong with (mostly beautiful) America. With journalists like Martin at the helm of their own TV shows, we might actually be able to reverse the rot and fix some of the problems here at home. Follow @AbbyMartin and watch the show over at youtube.com/breakingtheset, unless your cable provider has RT America, in which case watch her at 6 PM EST on weekdays.

Ben Swann – Fox 19

Ben Swann is the proverbial mainstream media badass. He’s an impeccable broadcaster who has never sold out to hyperbole, lies, or corporate pressure. Follow @Fox19BenSwann and watch his show at youtube.com/user/BenSwannRealityCheck. He is one of the few, if not the only US journalist, to question President Obama on-camera about the NDAA’s imprisonment without trial provisions.

Joe Rogan

A podcast heavyweight and a public intellectual with some interesting day jobs (Fear Factor and UFC host). Subscribe to the nearly 3-hour long “Joe Rogan Experience” on iTunes, Stitcher, or go over to joerogan.net. Seriously one of the better life decisions you will ever make. You’re welcome.

Glenn Greenwald

Well, here’s an excerpt from Greenwald’s bio: “Glenn Greenwald is a columnist on civil liberties and US national security issues for the Guardian. A former constitutional lawyer, he was until 2012 a contributing writer at Salon.” This fearless man of letters is everything right with online media. Follow @ggreenwald and go to guardian.co.uk/profile/glenn-greenwald constantly.

Amber Lyon – Former CNNer

Amber Lyon keeps it real @AmberLyon, championing Freedom of Speech issues and campaigning against the NDAA. A three time Emmy Award winning journalist, Amber is fearless in her protest coverage, be it in Anaheim or Bahrain. She has been crushed, pepper sprayed, and shot at during the course of her work. A media empire is coming soon.

Suicide Girls

But you knew that already.

[..]

by Alex Dueben

“Cheerleading to me says a great deal about femininity, womanhood, girlhood…”
– Megan Abbott

Megan Abbott made her name as a novelist with a series of crime novels set in the mid-Twentieth century. In books like Die a Little, The Song Is You, Queenpin, and Bury Me Deep, Abbott put her female protagonists through hell and back. They were innocents who found that they were darker and more complicated than they imagined, pushed to their limits and out of their comfort zones which often led to blackmail, murder, self-delusion and more. Last year saw the publication of The End of Everything, a book set in the 1980s, featuring a thirteen year old protagonist whose best friend goes missing. The result is a brutal story that spares no one in the town.

Her new novel is Dare Me, a book about a cheerleading squad who gets a new coach and upends the team and the girls’ social dynamics. Sex, drinking, betrayal, kicking another cheerleader in the stomach to purge, broken bones and ruined lives – this is not a warm and fuzzy book, but it is a great read. It’s also one of those books that’s very difficult to talk about without giving anything away, but when we reached Abbott over e-mail, we tried our best.

Read our exclusive interview with Megan Abbott on SuicideGirls.com.