Thor Lives!

I had to post this because it's just too good to pass up.....

Burglar scared off by man dressed as Thor after New Year party

A construction firm manager returning from New Year's Eve fancy dress party scared off a burglar by charging at him dressed as the Norse god Thor.
Six-foot tall Torvald Alexander, 38, was wearing a red cape and the thunder god's silver-winged helmet when he spotted the raider in his front room rifling through a desk.
Mr Alexander, who runs building firm Alexander & Summers in Edinburgh, Scotland, said the burglar threw himself out of a first floor window of his £350,000 home in the Inverleith area of the city after being caught red handed.
Mr Alexander said: "As soon as he saw me his eyes went wide with terror.
"He looked like he had had a few drinks and decided to do a late night break in, but he hadn't counted on the God of Thunder living here."
He added: "I had just got back from a fancy dress New Year's party and because I have a Norwegian name I decided to go as Thor.
"It took ages making the cape, helmet and breast plate, and I must admit it was a bit chilly walking home, but when I saw that guy I just went mad and charged at him, my cape flying behind me.
"I think if I had had Thor's hammer with me I might have scared him to death."

Full story here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/4059789/Burglar-scared-off-by-man-dressed-as-Thor-after-New-Year-party.html

With the Thor movie in the works, Marvel couldn't buy publicity this good.

Aurora - Alpha Flight

I really loved the beautiful and messed up Aurora (Jeanne-Marie Beaubier) when she first appeared in X-Men #120 as a member of Alpha Flight.
Heck, I liked Alpha Flight in general when they first showed up.
I even had an" Alpha Flight Auxillary Member" bumper stiucker on my car.
Anyway, Aurora was the twin sister of Northstar (Jean-Paul Beaubier) and the former girlfriend of Sasquatch (Walter Langkowski).

She was plagued with dissociative identity disorder and also being retconned to be half-human, half-elf. But as for the latter, she got better.
Aurora can fly REALLY fast (theoretically approaching light-speed) and has super human speed and reflexes.
Still not fast enough to touch the Silver Age Flash, but Jeanne-Marie is way cuter.
As usual with Marvel characters she has had her mental state pounded to oblivion, been abused, used etc.
Is there a happy comic character anymore?
I mean not counting the crazy ones.......

More Spiderman 3 News

Spiderman-3 Pirates Spanked by MPAA

33 people have been busted trying to tape Spider-Man 3. The MPAA sounded positively jubilant with its Gotcha! announcement detailing a crackdown in which theater employees helped nab camcorder-wielding audience members.

http://blog.wired.com/business/2007/05/spiderman3_pira.html


Spiderman 3 London Premiere opened Pandora's Box

(openPR) - It was West Midlands based AV production house, Show Support, that assisted in creating the largest media extravaganza ever seen at the movie premiere of Spiderman 3. The stars, including Toby Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and James Franco, were out in force on the red carpet in Leicester Square.

http://www.openpr.com/news/20654/Spiderman-3-London-Premiere-opened-Pandora-s-Box.html


Exum's take on Spiderman 3

Director Sam Raimi's hit "Spider-Man" movie franchise returns with new characters and darker themes in "Spider-Man 3."

Although things appear to be going well for Peter Parker, he faces more problems and choices than ever before. Peter has a new competitor, Topher Grace's Eddie Brock, who will do anything to be the Daily Bugle's top freelance photographer. Meanwhile, Mary Jane's failing career causes resentment for Spider-Man's fame and the attention he receives from the police captain's daughter, Gwen Stacy.

http://www.gotriad.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070517/GTCOM01/70516030/1071/GTCOM0224

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Spiderman 3 News

Spiderman 3—The video game

If he's swinging back into theaters, that of course means he's also once again crawling back into your gaming console. So what makes Spiderman 3 the game different from all the Spiderman games of the past? Well, for starters, it follows along closely with the movie which means you get to be Spiderman in black suit.

http://news10now.com/content/all_news/?ArID=105249&SecID=83



Movie Review: Spiderman 3

The summer blockbuster season kicks off with the third entry in the Spiderman series. Director Sam Raimi is once again in the director's chair and it looks more than likely that it will be his last time.

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/05/14/102402.php



Weekend Box Office Totals – Spiderman 3 Big Winner But 28 Weeks Later Debuts Second

The movie “Spiderman 3” was the big winner at the box office for the second weekend in a row. The saga continues as Spiderman, played by Toby Maguire (“Seabiscuit” and “Ciderhouse Rules”) delves into his dark side. While he is doing well in school and his alter-ego Spiderman is popular, things take a turn for the worse in this third installment.

http://www.bestsyndication.com/?q=051307_box_office_totals.htm

technorati tags: spiderman,comic books, marvel comics, infinite crisis, comics, movies, batman, superman, supergirl, daredevil, comic-books

Spiderman 3 film censor classification fiasco

Spiderman 3 film censor classification fiasco
BBFC rules mean that an extra £30million will be taken at the box office
Article by Patricia Harper
Monday 7th May 2007, 22:29

Functionpix is a freelance news and pictures organisation dedicated to raising funds for charity and good causes. We are the only organisation of our kind who donate profits to charity with the sale of every item
The British board of film censors have come under criticism from the British Society Of Cinematographers for the 12A certification it awarded to the latest Spiderman 3 movie which was released in the UK on the 5th May.

The certification of a 12A says that any children under the age of 12 should not see the film unless accompanied by an adult but fans say that this is not fair for younger Spiderman fans and that the film does not warrant a 12A certification.

Speculation that the BBFC has awarded the 12A in an attempt to raise the box office revenue was denied but fans say that by awarding the movie a 12A means that the box office stands to make a further £30million in tickets sales to adults as they are obliged to accompany their 11 year olds and under and that the movie should have been awarded a PG or less as it was in the US.

http://www.functionpix.com/index.php/article/Spiderman_3_film_censor_classification_fiasco/1380/

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Spiderman/Spiderman 3 ,part 6

The Six Arms Saga is a story arc written by Stan Lee and drawn by Gil Kane. It spans the issues Amazing Spider-Man #100-102 (1973).

The story arc is mostly remembered for the striking aesthetic of Spider-Man, swinging through the city with four extra arms.

Spider-Man has had enough of being Spider-Man. Peter feels miserable about all the anguish he had to endure. His best friend Harry Osborn has become a junkie, and his close friend Captain George Stacy died in his arms. His daughter Gwen Stacy - Spidey's girlfriend - wrongly blamed Spider-Man for this. Peter has a fatal thought: for Peter Parker to live, Spider-Man must die!

So, Spidey brews up a chemical cocktail which is intended to exterminate his spider powers. Peter takes the cocktail and falls into a troubled sleep, in which he fights all his enemies while enduring excruciating side pains. When he wakes up, he notices a ghastly thing: he has six arms! The potion increased his spider powers rather than to nullify them!

He then visits his only possible confidant, Dr. Curt Connors, alias the Lizard, and fight a vampiric villain called Morbius. Using Morbius' blood, both brew an antidote that turns Spidey back into normal.

technorati tags:spider man, spider man 3, spider man comic books, spiderman, superhero comic books, marvel comic, marvel comic book, marvel comic books, marvel comics,

Spiderman/Spiderman 3 ,part 5

Peter graduates from high school and enrolls at Empire State University, where he meets Harry Osborn and Gwen Stacy. His aunt introduces him to Mary Jane Watson, whom he dates for a short time, but Peter soon falls in love with Gwen. Meanwhile, Harry becomes Peter's roommate and best friend, but starts using illegal drugs.

Harry's father, Norman Osborn, is revealed to be the Green Goblin and discovers Spider-Man's secret identity. After her father is killed in a battle between Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus, Gwen's relationship with Peter is put on hold when she travels to England. It was later revealed in a highly controversial retcon that Gwen had an affair with Norman Osborn, and gave birth to two children while in Europe. Harry suffers a drug overdose shortly after she returns.

technorati tags: spider man, spider man 3, spider man comic books, spiderman, superhero comic books, marvel comic, marvel comic book, marvel comic books, marvel comics,

Spiderman/Spiderman 3 ,part 4

Peter Benjamin Parker is the son of Richard and Mary Parker, who worked as NSA agents, and were killed on a mission involving an impersonator of the Red Skull. The infant Peter Parker is left in the care of his Uncle Ben and Aunt May Parker, who live in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens, New York. The aging couple love Peter, but he grows to be unpopular among his peers. Between an uncle who is too old to join him in physical activities and an aunt over-protective of the orphaned child, Peter gravitates to more non-physical hobbies such as photography and home chemistry, encouraged in these endevours by his guardians. Over time, he grows to be a lonely, timid but exceptionally bright teenager who shows more interest in his studies (especially science, which he has an affinity for that is nothing short of genius) than in any kind of social life. He is often the target of jokes by more popular students like Flash Thompson, the high school's star athlete.

Spider-Man's origin story is told in the first 12 pages of Amazing Fantasy #15. Peter Parker attends a science exhibition where he is bitten by a radioactive spider. The spider bite gives Peter an array of spider-like powers, including wall-crawling, superhuman strength, speed and agility, and an extra-sensory "spider-sense". Peter initially sets out to find fame and fortune, winning a match in a makeshift disguise against professional wrestler Crusher Hogan. He attempts to interest a television network in the idea of featuring him as a costumed hero (with the advantage that he can actually do the things his character can), and creates the Spider-Man name, costume, and web-shooters. After quickly becoming a minor celebrity, Peter appears on a television special, but afterward allows a thief to escape the TV station, asserting that it isn't his problem. He comes to regret his inaction when he finds out that the same burglar subsequently killed his Uncle Ben.

Peter blames himself for Uncle Ben's death. Art by Steve Ditko.Realizing that he could have prevented his uncle's death, the guilt-ridden Peter commits to a life of crimefighting and lifesaving, driven by his uncle's words, "With great power there must also come great responsibility" (the phrase is often shortened to: "With great power comes great responsibility"). This disarming mix of selfless obligation and self-recrimination brought about by his uncle's death arguably makes up Spider-Man's moral core.

In the earliest Spider-Man stories, Peter Parker attends Midtown High School. After his uncle's death, he and his aunt become desperate for money, so he gets a job as a photographer at the Daily Bugle selling photos to J. Jonah Jameson. Peter dates co-worker Betty Brant and clashes with his high school rival Flash Thompson (whose girlfriend, Liz Allen, he informally tutors). He encounters many of his most famous enemies for the first time during this period.

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Spiderman/Spiderman 3 ,part 2

Comics historian Greg Theakston says that Lee, after receiving Goodman's approval for the name Spider-Man and the "ordinary teen" concept, approached Kirby. Kirby told Lee about his 1950s Silver Spider/Spiderman, in which an orphaned boy living with an old couple finds a magic ring that gives him superpowers. Lee and Kirby "immediately sat down for a story conference" and Lee afterward directed Kirby to flesh out the character and draw some pages. Steve Ditko would be the inker."A day or two later", Kirby showed Lee the first six pages, and, as Lee recalled, "I hated the way he was doing it. Not that he did it badly — it just wasn't the character I wanted; it was too heroic". Simon concurs that Kirby had shown the original Spiderman version to Lee, who liked the idea and assigned Kirby to draw sample pages of the new character but disliked the results — in Simon's description, "Captain America with cobwebs".

Lee turned to Ditko, who developed a visual motif Lee found satisfactory, although Lee would later replace Ditko's original cover with one penciled by Kirby. Ditko said,

“ "The Spider-Man pages Stan showed me were nothing like the (eventually) published character. In fact, the only drawings of Spider-Man were on the splash [i.e., page 1] and at the end [where] Kirby had the guy leaping at you with a web gun... Anyway, the first five pages took place in the home, and the kid finds a ring and turns into Spider-Man.”

Ditko also recalled that,

“ One of the first things I did was to work up a costume. A vital, visual part of the character. I had to know how he looked ... before I did any breakdowns. For example: A clinging power so he wouldn't have hard shoes or boots, a hidden wrist-shooter versus a web gun and holster, etc. ... I wasn't sure Stan would like the idea of covering the character's face but I did it because it hid an obviously boyish face. It would also add mystery to the character... ”

Much earlier, in a rare contemporaneous account, Ditko described his and Lee's contributions in a mail interview with Gary Martin published in Comic Fan #2 (Summer 1965): "Stan Lee thought the name up. I did costume, web gimmick on wrist & spider signal". Additionally, Ditko shared a Manhattan studio with noted fetish artist Eric Stanton, an art-school classmate who, in a 1988 interview with Theakston, recalled that although his contribution to Spider-Man was "almost nil", he and Ditko had "worked on storyboards together and I added a few ideas. But the whole thing was created by Steve on his own... I think I added the business about the webs coming out of his hands".

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Tigress

Tigress is the name of three different DC Comics supervillains.

The original Tigress was a Golden Age villainess who battled Zatara. The second Tigress was a member of the Young All-Stars, who later became a villainess named the Huntress. The third Tigress is the daughter of the second Tigress, and is a member of the Injustice Society.

The first Golden Age Tigress was a thief/spy and foe of Zatara in the late 1930s. She debuted in Action Comics #1 (June 1938), and was created by Fred Guardineer.

She wore tiger-striped sweaters and ran gangs of thieves and murderers. Apparently, she had no powers.

The second Tigress is Paula Brooks. She was a member of the Young All-Stars and later became the villainous Huntress. She later married the Sportsmaster, and had a daughter, Artemis Crock, who carries on as the third Tigress.

Artemis Crock is the daughter of the Golden Age villains Paula Brooks and Crusher Crock. She had taken up a career in crime, modeled after that of her parents, but only after some years did she take on the mantle of Tigress.

`Ghost Rider' Tops Box Office With $52 M - Forbes.com

`Ghost Rider' Tops Box Office With $52 M - Forbes.com: "

Nicolas Cage's comic-book adaptation 'Ghost Rider' led a rush of new movies, debuting with $52 million over the four-day President's Day weekend."

Ghost Rider Tops Weekend Box Office, Listens To Carpenters

Ghost Rider Tops Weekend Box Office, Listens To Carpenters
February 19th, 2007 at 13:30 by Stuart Heritage

We've never been able to figure Nicolas Cage out all that much - his career path has taken him to some bloody odd places in his time, and now thanks to a stunt racer in a wig listening to The Carpenters he's at the top of the US weekend box office.

After the dismal critical or commercial failures of The Wicker Man, World Trade Centre, The Ant Bully, The Weather Man and Lord Of War, Nicolas Cage is back at the top of the US weekend box office with Ghost Rider - a loopy-looking comic book film that's had one just good review, and that was only because the guy who wrote it lived down the road from where it was filmed. It's not all bad news, though - Ghost Rider's box office success will no doubt mean that a Ghost Rider sequel is in the works, and any film that stops Nicolas Cage from making another film where he runs up a hill dressed as a bear and punches a girl in the face is just dandy with us.

http://www.hecklerspray.com/ghost-rider-tops-weekend-box-office-listens-to-carpenters/20077054.php

X-Men: The Last Stand

X-Men: The Last Stand is the third film adaptation of the Marvel Comics' X-Men superhero comic books. It was directed by Brett Ratner and written by Simon Kinberg and Zak Penn. The previous two movies were X-Men (2000) and X2: X-Men United (2003). The movie revolves around a "mutant cure" that causes serious repercussions among mutants and humans, and on the mysterious resurrection of Jean Grey, who appeared to have died in X2. The film is based on two X-Men comic book story arcs: writer Chris Claremonts and artist John Byrne's "Dark Phoenix Saga" in The Uncanny X-Men (1980) and writer Joss Whedon's six-issue "Gifted" arc in Astonishing X-Men (2004).

The film was released May 26, 2006 in the United States and Canada, and one or two days earlier in approximately 22 other countries. Despite mixed reviews from critics and fans of the comic book series, the film has done extremely well at the box office. Its opening-day gross of $45.5 million is the third-highest on record while its opening weekend gross of $103 million is the fifth highest ever. Currently it holds the record for highest grossing movie during Memorial Day weekend totaling nearly $122.9 million in its first four days.

The film is sometimes colloquially referred to as X3 or X-Men 3.

Bryan Singer, the director of the first two X-Men films, left the project during preproduction in order to direct the film Superman Returns. He was joined by X2 screenwriters Dan Harris and Michael Dougherty and composer / editor John Ottman. Though Singer, Harris and Dougherty had yet to complete a script, the director has revealed that at the time of his departure they had partially completed a story treatment for the film which would have focused exclusively on Jean Grey's resurrection with the new villain Emma Frost, a role intended for Sigourney Weaver.

Simon Kinberg was hired as writer soon after Singer's departure, and speculation arose to Joss Whedon directing the film. Rob Bowman and Alex Proyas were also rumoured, though the latter personally turned it down. Despite the controversy over Singer's departure, the cast and producers were still clearly keen to return.

Matthew Vaughn was hired as the new director for the project. He cast Kelsey Grammer as Beast and Vinnie Jones as Juggernaut, but family issues reportedly led him to withdraw before shooting began. Vaughn was replaced by Singer's friend Brett Ratner, who was among those originally considered to direct the first film — and coincidentally was considered by Warner Brothers to direct the 2006 Superman project before it evolved into Superman Returns.

On June 13, 2005, a review of an incomplete early draft[13] of the screenplay posted by Drew McWeeny from Ain't It Cool News sparked controversy from fans, due to certain main characters' storylines; however, that draft was the very first of over two-dozen drafts the film went through and has had numerous changes happen to the storylines. Most notably the Golden Gate Bridge was originally in the middle of the film, but Ratner decided it would create a more dramatic climax if moved to the end, whereas it was originally to take place at Washington D.C.

Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen were made to look 20 years younger through "digital skin grafting".X-Men: The Last Stand began shooting in August 2005 and ended in January 2006. Much of X-Men: The Last Stand was filmed in Vancouver, Canada. According to associate producer Dave Gordon, "This is the biggest production ever filmed in Canada. It used to be X2, now it's X3."

Senior actors Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen had their faces completely "de-aged" by complex keyframing, in which no CGI elements were used. A technique called "digital skin-grafting" was employed to make them look 20 years younger in the first-scene flashback.

The film has extensive wirework, where many of the actors performed some of their own stunts. The whirlwind wire-stunt performed by Halle Berry during one fight scene reportedly caused Berry to become so nauseated that she vomited. The crew actually had to bring in buckets for her before shooting her scenes. Angel's wings were initially too heavy for Ben Foster, and were remade from foam.[18] Despite his fear of heights, Foster performed a single second unit stunt where he escapes Worthington's facility.

X2: X-Men United

X2: X-Men United was first released in the United Kingdom on April 24, 2003, and in the United States on May 2, 2003. The film is the second part of the trilogy; following X-Men (2000), and preceding X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). It was directed by Bryan Singer, and starred an ensemble cast including Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Rebecca Romijn, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, Shawn Ashmore, Kelly Hu and Alan Cumming.

The film is loosely based on the 1982 X-Men graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills. In the film, William Stryker is a high-ranking army colonel who leads an assault into Professor Xavier's school to build his own version of Xavier's mutant-tracking computer Cerebro in order to destroy every mutant on Earth. The X-Men are forced to ally with Magneto and Mystique to defeat Stryker. X2: X-Men United, which introduced Nightcrawler to filmgoers, surpassed the initial film at the box office, earning approx. $215 million in North America compared to $157.3 million for X-Men, making the sequel one of the top ten movies of 2003.

The basic story elements, involving Stryker's plot to use Xavier's powers against all mutants, and the X-Men's resulting alliance with Magneto, are loosely adapted from the graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills by Chris Claremont. In that story, Stryker has a military background, but is currently a religious leader whose wife gave birth to an obviously mutant infant. In a fit of rage, he killed them both and decided that he had been chosen by God to destroy mutants. In the film, his military background is moved to the foreground, and the religious aspect of the character is eliminated. Instead of killing his wife and son in childbirth, the Stryker of the film sends his son (loosely based on the character Mastermind from the comics) to Xavier to be cured of his mutation. Unable to change his mutation, and resentful of his parents, he began tormenting his mother by projecting nightmarish images into her mind, causing her to commit suicide by drilling a hole into her head. Stryker responded by giving his son a lobotomy, and extracting his brain fluid, which he now uses to control other mutants.

Bryan Singer credited The Empire Strikes Back and The Wrath of Khan as his influences on this film. The latter film also features a voice-over at the end from a dead character, hinting at their resurrection in the next film.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III is a 1993 live-action film, the second sequel to the 1990 live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film. This is the most cartoon-like of the three movies, but the turtles use their weapons more than in the second movie. A full- and wide-screen DVD version was released on September 3, 2002.

April O'Neil finds a scepter and is sent back in time to feudal Japan, and in her place, a man from feudal Japan comes to present New York City with the same scepter, but from his own time. The turtles take the scepter and travel back in time to save April. When the turtles arrive in feudal Japan, many people in a local village understand English because the village has strong trade relations with England. The turtles fight Lord Norinaga and the English trader Walker to stop a war.

The film was criticized by fans of the first and second films who said that it was too cartoony and that the plot was unrealistic and silly; to make matters worse, it also has the least combat. Notably, the turtles only fight three battles, only one of which features all four turtles. Critic Fred Topel called it a "Terrible conclusion of the trilogy."Some fans state that their only real complaint is the less-realistic costumes and puppetry of the turtles and Splinter.

Peter Laird has gone on to note in interviews that the fourth in the movie series will retcon the third movie out of existence, and base it in the continuity of the first film, and the portions of the second that made sense to him (the TMNT learning their origins and Shredder's death) much like Superman Returns is based on the first Superman movie and aspects of Superman II.

Released in 2,087 theatres, the film proved to be very popular at the box office, taking in $12,419,597 on its opening weekend in the United States. The film would gross $42,273,609 in the domestic market, accumulating more than double its budget of $21 million.

Although Corey Feldman returned to voice Donatello for this film, he did not provide his voice for the 2nd film.
Robbie Rist and Brian Tochi (who did the voices of Michaelangelo and Leonardo, respectively) are the only two voice actors to voice the same character throughout all three TMNT movies.
The scepter is quite possibily a nod to the "Sacred Sands of Time Scepter" from the original Eastman and Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic series, from the crossover story with Dave Sim's Cerebus character.
The Shredder does not appear in this film.
This was the last Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film released by New Line Cinema and also the last live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film. (The fourth film will be released by Warner Bros. Pictures, The Weinstein Company and Imagi Animation Studios and will also be computer-animated. It should be noted that Time Warner owns both Warner Bros. and New Line.)
According to Troma Films creator Lloyd Kaufman in his book "Everything I Learned About Filmmaking I Learned From the Toxic Avenger", Kaufman says that New Line did not live up to their end of the contract and the film was not made. Kaufman has speculated that New Line bought the rights because they were in negotiations to make the sequels to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie and wanted to use the Toxic Crusaders movie as leverage against the owners of the rights to TMNT. Troma sued New Line and was awarded an undisclosed amount in damages.