Killshot

IMPAwrds.com scored a look at two posters for "Killshot" which stars Diane Lane, Mickey Rourke and is based on Elmore Leonard's best selling novel. The posters are okay -- but I'm expecting the movie to be a lot better.

Daytona Con!

This Sunday [November 16th] from 10am to 5pm at the Holiday Inn & Suites my buddy Steve Meyers is putting on a small comic book convention. Admission and parking are free. John Beatty will be there sketching. That alone is worth the price of admission. There will be other guests and several vendors on hand. Heck, I might even get to swing by for a bit. If you're in the area, you should too! Click here for full details.

Gischler Speaks!

If you took my advice and picked up a copy of Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse, then you'll probably enjoy this interview with its author, Victor Gischler. If you haven't read the book yet, then check out the interview and maybe you'll want to.

The Night Gallery

Say the name Rod Serling and most folks will come back with "The Twilight Zone." And rightly so. "The Twilight Zone" was a classic sci-fi series that still holds up fifty years later. Although not as well known, Rod Serling's "The Night Gallery" was his follow-up series which premiered on NBC five years after the cancellation of "The Twilight Zone."

The conceit of "The Night Gallery" was that Serling would come out and talk about a painting on display in the "Night Gallery" and the teleplay, either an original story [many by Serling himself] or an adaptation of HP Lovecraft, Richard Matheson or another sci-fi or horror writer would follow. The paintings always related to the story that followed. It was a cool idea and I loved the show when it originally aired. [Keep in mind this was the early 70's and I would have been 11 or 12.]

I've been watching episodes on RTN lately and I hate to say it, but many don't hold up near as well as older episodes of "The Twilight Zone." Part of the problem could be that "The Night Gallery" episodes in syndication are often cut or expanded to meet the half hour time slot.

I recently discovered this site dedicated to "Rod Serling's Night Gallery." It's chock full of information about the series with everything from episode guides, to misconceptions about the series to a gallery of paintings used in each episode. If you have any interest in Rod Serling or "The Night Gallery" you should check out the site. It's even more fun than some of the episodes it covers!

One of Six

Warner Bros., in a very smart marketing ploy, has posted six new character posters for "Watchmen" on six different sites. ComingSoon.net has smaller versions and links to each right here.

Couture vs Lesnar

This Saturday at 10pm UFC 91 will air on pay-per-view with one of the most highly anticipated mixed martial arts fights of all time. Randy Couture puts his heavyweight title on the line against Brock Lesnar. Both men are accomplished athletes with extensive wrestling skills. Couture is the more experienced octagon fighter, but he will give away over a decade and about 50 pounds. Lesnar is younger, faster, bigger and stronger, but doesn't have anywhere near the experience of Couture.

This is a tough one to call. I'd love to see Couture pull out a win -- it would be the capper to a great career. Although, if Couture beats Lesnar, he'd probably come back for at least another fight or two. Couture has a nearly perfect win streak every time he has gone into a fight as an underdog -- and he is the dog in this fight. Most folks just don't see how Couture can overcome Lesnar's size, strength and punches from fists the size of cinder blocks. Of course if everyone could see how Couture was going to win, he wouldn't be the underdog.

I look forward to reading Raf's predictions for the fight. As for me, I'm going to pull for Couture.

Veterans Day

Kirk and Spock

Slashfilm.com is on a roll. They have posted much larger versions of the "Star Trek" character posters above here.

"The Wrestler"

Slashfilm.com scored the first look at the new poster for "The Wrestler." I am really looking forward to this movie and hope that it lives up to the hype. You can see a bigger version of the poster here.

Cool Watchman Character Poster

Yahoo! Movies scored the first look at this very cool Watchman character poster of Rorschach. You can see an even bigger version of it there. Thanks to JoBlo.com for the tip!

Tales of the Starlight Drive-In

It's no secret that I love drive-in theaters... and comic books. So does Mike San Giacomo. Mike is a writer who took his passion for drive-ins and comics and created a pretty cool concept for a graphic novel. Mike wrote "26 illustrated stories and six text stories set in a drive-in theater." The stories take place over a 53-year period. Each story had to accomplish three things:

1. It had to be able to stand alone, make perfect sense even if nothing else was read.
2. Each stand-alone story must still advance the overarching storyline of the graphic novel as a whole.
3. Each story had to somehow relate to the movie that is playing at the drive-in at the time.

How cool an idea is that? Very cool, I say!

Here's a link to the website for Tales of the Starlight Drive-In. Here are links to Newsarama's three part series [Part One; Part Two; Part III] covering Mike's trips to historic drive-ins to promote his graphic novel. And here's a link in case you want to order a copy of Tales of the Starlight Drive-In for yourself!

"Expendables" Teaser

ComingSoon.net scored a first look at "The Expendables" teaser poster currently on display at the American Film Market convention. You can see a Godzilla-sized version here.

Sly is Expendable

Great news! Sly Stallone is set to write, direct and star along side Jason Statham in "The Expendables" for Nu Image/Millennium Films [the same company that released the latest Rambo movie].

Jet Li is in final negotiations to join the cast. "The Expendables" begins filming in February and follows a team of mercenaries hired to overthrow a South American dictator. You can read the full report here.

"...Of the Dead"

DreadCentral.com scored the first look at the poster for George Romero's latest zombie-fest titled "... of the Dead." I kind of like the title considering that we've had "Night of the Living Dead," "Dawn of the Dead," "Day of the Dead," "Land of the Dead," "Diary of the Dead" and even a return to some of the earlier titles. Yeah, "... Of the Dead" works just fine.

You can see a King Kong sized version of the poster and a synopsis of the movie by clicking here.

More Days of Night

A sequel to 30 Days of Night is gearing up with Ghost House Pictures. While this is good news, the really good news is that Steve Niles, who co-created the graphic novel [with artist Ben Templesmith] and co-wrote the first film is back on board. You can read more about the project here.

Cooke Talks Parker

Darwyn Cooke recently talked with CBR.com about his work on the upcoming comic adaptations of Richard Stark's Parker novels. It's great to hear how closely Stark and Cooke are working and how much Cooke loves the project. You can see and hear the interview here.

RIP - Michael Crichton

Michael Crichton died yesterday at the age of 66 from cancer. I was totally shocked to read the news since I had no idea that Mr. Crichton had been ill.

Most folks know Michael Crichton as the author of the best selling novel, Jurassic Park, which became the blockbuster movie of the same name. Many of Mr. Crichton's novels were turned into movies: "The Andromeda Strain," "The Great Train Robbery," "Congo," "The 13th Warrior," and many others made the transition from the written page to the silver screen.

Mr. Crichton wrote the screenplay and directed "Westworld" and was the creator of the long-running and award-winning TV series E.R.? Michael Crichton was a man of many talents, but his greatest was his ability to create impossible stories and fuse in just enough science to make them seem possible. I've read almost all of the books written under his own name and have enjoyed every one. I still have a couple sitting in my "To Be Read" Bookcase. I think, perhaps, when it is time to start a new novel, I'll pull one down.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Michael Crichton's family, friends and fans.

Worth a Look

Most ZONErs will want to check out the current issue [11.07.08] of Entertainment Weekly [which is on newstands now]. Not only does it cover 54 films that will be coming out this fall, but there is also extended coverage of Daniel Craig in "Quantum of Solace" as well as an eight page profile of Mickey Rourke. Any of these features is worth the price of admission, but all three together is a bargain.

Dead Goombas

Here at the ZONE we love a good zombie tale. We are also partial to excellent crime stories. So... you just know we're going to have to check out Dead Goombas by J. Torres and Andy B. [even if it is a comedy]. You can get a preview by clicking here.

Vote Smart

I got up early today and headed down with the family to take part in early voting. Although it was the longest line I've ever stood in for anything, the time went by amazingly fast since we were regularly moving forward. I'm always surprised at the number of people on hand to pass out flyers and information about candidates and positions. If you haven't made up your mind by the time you're in line to vote, you probably should have done a bit more homework. Still, these last minute efforts must pay off since there are always folks on hand to make them. I ended up voting for three Democrats and two Republicans. I guess that fits my Independent profile.

I'm glad that I voted early. Now I can sit back and enjoy watching how the election plays out. Like John Beatty, I seldom post about politics or religion on the ZONE. There are enough political sites on the net and I'd rather spend my time at discussing movies, novels, tv, comics, and art. But before I close out this political post, let me encourage each of you who can vote in this election to do so. Vote for the candidates that you think will do the best job -- and don't be afraid to cross party lines. Do your research and then vote smart.

We now return to our regularly scheduled blogging.