by Aaron Colter

It’s been a long time since I’ve written anything about #OccupyWallStreet, and even longer since I first posted about the movement’s inception. Since then, a lot of things have happened, most of which are still too difficult to cope with intelligently or even handle on basic level. The world is awaking, bursting at the seams of what it means to be a society. It’s exciting, but frightening as well, confusing as always.

I hope to unpack all of those thoughts soon. Put them into the right places so that I can have a better grasp of what Occupy means, why in some ways it was a tragedy, and why it’s still hopeful. Most importantly, why its failure is a personal failure.

For now, if you’re supportive of the moment, continue to do what you can. Some of us in the comic scene have decided to come together for a Kickstarter project called Occupy Comics. Top names in the industry are creating their own interpretations and stories from the Occupy movement for a book that will be collected next year. For now, funds raised will be donated by the artists to various efforts around the world to help the Occupy movement continue. There are only a few days left to contribute if you’d like to help out or get a book.

Creators involved include: Darick Robertson (Transmetropolitan), Dan Goldman (Shooting War), Amanda Palmer (Evelyn, Evelyn), Ben Templesmith (30 Days of Night), Charlie Adlard (The Walking Dead), Riley Rossmo (Cowboy Ninja Viking), Tim Seely (Hack/Slash), Zoetica Ebb (SuicideGirls, Biorequiem), Steve Rolston (Queen & Country), Tyler Crook (B.P.R.D.), Steve Niles (30 Days of Night), both Brea Grant and Zane Grant of the SuicideGirls comic series, and many more. Plus, several other top creators will be announced soon!

If you’re into the idea, please contribute to the Kickstarter. And if you have an idea of your own for how to keep the Occupy movement alive, please make it a reality.

Thanks for reading.

Stay safe, stay positive.

[..]

by A.J. Focht

Man of Steel is set to hit theatres on June 14, 2012, but the studio is already looking forward to the next film. A short list of writers has been drawn up. While some big names have made the list, Man of Steel writer David S. Goyer is not on it, indicating that the next Superman movie will be in fresh hands.

The cast and crew of The Amazing Spider-Man returned to New York to shoot a few additional scenes. Dozens of photos and a movie clip from the shoot have surfaced online. The Amazing Spider-Man is currently set to release in theatres on July 3, 2012.

J.J. Abrams has started location scouting for Star Trek 2. Most recently, he has been checking out Hawaii to serve as a jungle planet. Filming is currently set to start on January 15, 2012 with an expected 2013 release.

Writer of Juno and the upcoming Evil Dead, Diablo Cody, has spoken up about working on the Evil Dead project. She started off hesitant about taking the job until she realized Raimi and Campbell were behind it. Now she assures everyone that it will be scary and true to the original. It’s good to hear that the writer has many of the same concerns as the longtime fans.

In no surprising move, PBS will once again be airing BBC’s Sherlock. The first three mini-movie episodes were critically acclaimed, and brought PBS a ton of ratings. The next three mini-movie episodes will be airing, starting on May 6 at 9 PM.

Possibly the biggest news of the week is that Arrested Development has found a home for its final season. The good news is it won’t be on FOX. The better news? The rights to the show were bought by Netflix, making it the third series to air directly to the streaming service. This means you will need a Netflix account to watch Arrested Development’s last season, but you can always get a month for free.

Is there any idea worse than the Spider-Man musical? What about a Rocky musical? Well it may be happening. Sylvester Stallone is teaming up with world champion boxing brothers Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko to produce Rocky: The Musical. All I can think of is a final seen with an opera singer version of Rocky screaming, ‘ADRIAN!”

Darth Vader has landed and is looking to dock in the Ukrain. A Ukraine citizen showed up to the mayor’s office in full Star War regalia to collect his 1,000 square meters of land that all citizens are granted. He claimed he needed the sea side land to park his space cruiser.

As 2011 starts coming to a close, there are going to be hundreds of ‘Best of 2011’ posts. A few of the geek ones have already started including several from MTV Geek. There are a few you might want to check out: Best Geek Moments of 2011, Best Comic Book Artists of 2011, and finally, the Best Video Games of 2011. This is one of the first best of video game posts, and I’ve calling the top two contenders for the last few weeks.

by A.J. Focht

The internet exploded early Monday morning when Variety announced that David Yates, director of the final four Harry Potter films, was “teaming up with the BBC to turn its iconic sci-fi series Doctor Who into a bigscreen franchise.” The only problem with this was the BBC didn’t even know about it. A tweet from the BBC’s official Doctor Who Magazine said:

To those hearing Doctor Who movie rumours, it’s just the same rumours which have been going round for years. Nothing’s currently happening!

So for those of you who were hoping that the Doctor would finally make it to the big screen, it looks like you’ll have to wait a bit longer. Still, Yates seemed rather adamant; maybe something will come of it.

Thor director Keneth Branagh has revealed his reasoning for not returning to Thor 2. Turns out it was simply an issue of timing. Branagh didn’t have time to get back into the project quickly like Marvel needed. He also generously noted that he, along with many others, is excited about the new director Patty Jenkins.

The first previews from Middle Earth will likely hit this December. According to Andy Serkis (Gollum), the first trailers for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey should be in theatres this holiday season.

In a recent interview with TV Guide, Bruce Campbell talked about the decision to cut the role of Ash from the new Evil Dead. Campbell said that while the decision pissed many off, ultimately, they decided it was best not to run a direct parallel to the character, even though this is a remake. Campbell also notes that he wouldn’t have wanted to put any actor in that position, and I don’t blame him. Following in the footsteps of Campbell in his most famous roll would be rather daunting.

DC heroes aren’t just storming the comic stores, Cartoon Network is adding a block program called DC Nation that will feature several DC cartoons. During the sneak peek to the new Green Lantern animated series, Cartoon Network aired a teaser for the block program. It looks like many of the classic heroes, as well as some new ones, will be featured in the segment.

Geek news has been a bit lacking this past week. It might be because everyone has been stuck inside playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. The newest game in the COD franchise broke its own record selling more than 6.5 million units in less than 24 hours. While the game might have been the best seller, it wasn’t the only major game released this week; it was also competing with The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim and Assassins Creed Revelations.

Modern Warfare 3 is getting the sales, but it is one of lowest ranked games of the month generally pulling 8/10 and ‘B’ ratings. Batman: Arkham City, Skyrim, and Assassins Creed have been pulling in higher 9/10 and ‘A’ ratings. All of these games are likely to land one Game of the Year prize or another, although Skyrim and Arkham City have managed the highest reviews.

The Xbox 360 is the oldest system of the current generation on the market. After six years on the shelf, everyone is wondering when it will get a replaced for real and not just upgraded with accessories like the Kinect. That time might be closer than you think. New rumors report the next Xbox will be called the Loop. Those who claim to have the inside scoop say the system is smaller and cheaper than the current Xbox system, yet more powerful and next generation. We’ll just have to wait and see what comes of these rumors.

Finally, the final episode of Dragon Age Redemption starring Felicia Day is now live. For those who haven’t been following, it is an excellent web series based in the Dragon Age universe. If you haven’t tuned in, now is your chance to watch all of the episodes without the week wait in-between.

by A.J. Focht

Even the prequels are getting sequels. British actor Jason Flemyng who played Azazel in X-Men: First Class has said that a follow-up could soon be in the works. First Class was a surprisingly good addition to the franchise; hopefully tacking another one in won’t kill the series on a bad note.

Iron Man 3 is being shot in Wilmington, North Carolina. If you want to make the trip out there (or are lucky enough to live nearby), you can register to try and be one of thousands of extras needed for the shooting.

Over the last few weeks, dozens of set pictures and several videos from the shooting of The Dark Knight Rises have been leaked – see roundup here. A couple of major spoiler could be contained, including a characters death scene.

Not everyone is convinced that the Metropolis project is happening. For those of us still holding out hope, the Metropolis IMDb page now lists Joe Davola and Alfred Gough as the executive producers; Gough being one of the original creators of Smallville.

On the comic front, DC Comics continues to dominate. The New 52 has really paid off as DC pulled in over 50% of all comic sales last month.

We’ve known that there were plans to another Blade Runner film; Ridley Scott says the project is likely to be a direct sequel. Scott also said that the project is quite a ways along, and they are close to finding a writer.