Batman Begins

Wizard World Chicago in Full Swing; Geeks Rejoice as Comic Expo Will Be Largest in Local History

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:11:21 -0700

CHICAGO – Thursday kicks off the annual Wizard World Chicago comic book convention, which runs June 26 through June 29, 2008.

Comic book and toy collectors from around the world are gathering at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont to hock goods, spread rumors and revel in all things geeky. Here’s a breakdown of some of the fun.

See our 12-slide Wizard World Chicago 2008 image slideshow.

“Batman: Gotham Knight” (the film that bridges the gap between 2005’s “Batman Begins” and 2008’s “The Dark Knight”) will have its world premiere on Saturday night.

Following the premiere, writers Brian Azzarello, Alan Burnett, Josh Olson, Greg Rucka and executive producer Bruce Timm will take part in a special panel and Q&A session moderated by DC Comics senior vice president of creative affairs Gregory Noveck.

The creative team will then participate in a public signing on Sunday morning.
Special guest Missy Peregrym from the hit TV shows “Reaper” and “Heroes” will sit down with Kevin Mahadeo from Wizard Magazine during a Saturday Q&A panel.
Guest of honor Warren Ellis will be at the show every day from Thursday to Sunday courtesy of Avatar Press. During his special nighttime event on Friday at 9:30 p.m., Ellis will discuss a variety of topics and give fans a rare glimpse into his unparalleled personality.
On Saturday at 2 p.m., you can learn how students at Chicago’s Flashpoint Academy are working on the exciting visual effects for the soon-to-be-released film “Space Pirates”.

The visual effects supervisor for the film “Space Pirates” (also chair of the visual effects and animation department at Flashpoint Academy) will be on hand to show how the effects are being created. Work representing the students and professionals will be discussed.
Venom and Phoenix from the hit NBC series “American Gladiators” will be showing clips and giving away behind-the-scenes secrets during their question-and-answer session on Friday.
The creators of the “[adult swim]” series “Moral Orel” will participate in a panel on Saturday during which you’ll hear about the making of this Emmy Award-winning, stop-motion animated show. Present at the panel will be Dino Stamatopoulos (“Late Night with Conan O’Brien”), Chicago’s Scott Adsit (“30 Rock”) and Chris McKay. They’re oh-so offensive and oh-so funny.

Six of the seven artists who formed Image Comics, which has gone on to be one of the biggest comic companies of all time, will reunite on Saturday.

Todd McFarlane, Rob Liefeld, Whilce Portacio, Erik Larsen, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino will discuss the past, present and future of the company that brought you “Spawn,” “WildC.A.T.s,” “Savage Dragon,” “Youngblood” and more.

Wizard World Chicago takes its first step into the world of live music with the invigorating J-pop sound of ORESKABAND, which is currently one of the hottest bands in Japan.
Photo credit: Wizard Entertainment

With the “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” movie and TV series hot on the horizon, Lucasfilm “head of fan relations” Steve Sansweet will have much to share with fans at Wizard World Chicago.
Sansweet’s presentation will reveal exciting looks into the upcoming animated movie and series as well as into LucasArts’ breathtaking new game “The Force Unleashed”.
Image Comics’ writer Robert Kirkman will be the subject of a look at his work on “Invincible,” “The Walking Dead,” “The Astounding Wolf-Man” and “Brit” during a panel on Friday.
On Thursday night at 7 p.m., all 100 original Hulk covers for Marvel’s recent Hulk No. 1 will be on display for the first and only time at a “green-room event”. Only 200 admission tickets will be sold with all proceeds going to benefit the The Hero Initiative.

“The Great Debate: Bendis vs. Johns” pits two of the hottest writers in comics – Marvel heavyweight Brian Michael Bendis and DC Comics titan Geoff Johns – against each other as they debate some of the most controversial topics in the industry.

Special guest Missy Peregrym from the hit TV shows “Reaper” and “Heroes” will sit down with Kevin Mahadeo from Wizard Magazine during a Saturday Q&A panel.
Photo credit: Wizard Entertainment

The convention takes its first step into the world of live music with the invigorating J-pop sound of ORESKABAND, which is currently one of the hottest bands in Japan.
The concert, which is free to convention attendees, will take place on Friday evening. Prior to the concert, ORESKABAND will be signing autographs on Friday at 1 p.m. in the fountain area.
In Saturday’s “Spawn to the Future” panel, “Spawn” creator Todd McFarlane makes a special guest appearance at Wizard World Chicago to introduce the new “Spawn” creative team.

Writer Brian Holguin, artist Whilce Portacio and McFarlane himself who will co-plot the stories and lay out the pages while revealing secrets about the book’s upcoming new direction.
There will be two tournament halls set up for gaming. Players will be competing all weekend in scheduled HeroClix battles for the title of North American national champion in the WizKids tournament hall. There will also be non-stop, around-the-clock gaming in the Wizards of the Coast hall.
There will be a “Women in Comics” panel on Sunday at noon. Gail Simone (“Wonder Woman” writer), Kristin Allen (“Aliens vs Predator: Requiem” and “Women of Marvel” sketch card artist) and Katie Cook (licensed artist for “Star Wars,” DC and Marvel) will share their experiences and tell you how to survive and thrive in the comics industry.

They will be joined by Agnes Garbowska (“Peach and the Isle of Monsters” and “Polar Bear Princess”), Eva Hopkins (“Dark Ivory” and colorist for “Dawn”), Jann Jones (senior coordinating editor for DCU) and Carly Spade (colorist for Particle 9 Productions).
During his Saturday “Wizard School” panel, Bob Layton (Marvel’s legendary creator of “Iron Man,” “X-Factor” and “Hercules: Prince of Power”) will discuss and demonstrate some “simple rules of thumb” that any beginning artist can apply when attempting to create a comics page.

You can learn on Sunday at 11 a.m. from this visionary veteran of the comic book industry and see how to apply his knowledge and experience to your own comics work.
Mitch Breitweiser (“Captain America: The Chosen” artist) will join Ethan Van Sciver, Shane Davis, Adi Granov, Greg Horn and Aaron Lopresti for the first “Wizard World Win, Lose or Draw” panel on Sunday at 1 p.m. The assortment of artists and two fans will play for prizes.

Attendees must purchase a raffle ticket for the chance to compete on stage. All proceeds benefit The Hero Initiative.

Also, stay tuned as HollywoodChicago.com writer Dustin Levell offers his reactions and thoughts from convention attendees in the next edition of the HollywoodChicago.com podcast!

See our 12-slide Wizard World Chicago 2008 image slideshow.

By DUSTIN LEVELL
Senior Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
dustin@hollywoodchicago.com

Chicago Filmmaker Jerry Vasilatos to Shoot Short Film ‘The Dark Knight Project’ This Weekend

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 23:55:33 -0700

CHICAGO – Chicago filmmaker Jerry Vasilatos says “no copyright infringement is intended” by his shoestring-budgeted short film “The Dark Knight Project,” which he announced to HollywoodChicago.com in the middle of the night on June 13, 2008.

The timing is but hours before the June 14 and June 15, 2008 shoot this weekend. Asserting he’s not looking to get rich or famous with the effort and is merely doing so for the love of the game, Warner Bros. may perhaps empathize.

With his “The Dark Knight Project,” Vasilatos is slyly piggybacking on a buzz-building train for a film that will potentially be 2008’s most prominent.

“The Dark Knight Project” from Chicago filmmaker Jerry Vasilatos will shoot in Chicago from June 14 to 15, 2008.
Image credit: Jerry Vasilatos

The news of “The Dark Knight Project” comes on the heels of our announcement of “72 hours of Batman” whereby “The Dark Knight” will be shown for a consecutive 72 hours in IMAX at Chicago’s Navy Pier beginning on July 18, 2008 for opening weekend.

The following statement about “The Dark Knight Project” was issued to HollywoodChicago.com and is being used with permission.

With the theatrical release of Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” approaching in July [2008], an intrepid group of Chicago filmmakers will take to the streets this weekend to shoot a Batman fan film that bridges events between 2005’s “Batman Begins” and the upcoming Warner Brothers blockbuster.

“The Dark Knight Project” chronicles the adventures of Gotham Midtown students Heather Nolan and Mikey Bale (played by Allyssa O’Donnell and David Sanchez).

Intent on being the first people in Gotham City to capture actual video of [Batman] in action for a school project, they set out with their video camera to interview people on the streets.

[They] witness the evacuation of a city block by police in the middle of a bomb scare and ultimately encounter Batman in the middle of a back alley break-in where he saves both high schoolers from a menacing group of thugs working for the Joker.

“I always wanted to shoot a Batman story. He is one of my favorite characters. Since I sincerely doubt Warner Brothers will ever ask me to direct one for them, I decided to use the resources I have available and do one myself,” jokes Chicago filmmaker Jerry Vasilatos, who wrote the story and is also producing and directing it.

“Every time I am downtown, I am reminded of the fact that we live in virtual Gotham City,” Vasilatos said.

He added: “Shooting an HD movie and emulating the same universe that Christopher Nolan created for ‘Batman Begins’ and ‘The Dark Knight’ allows us to brand our short film with a certain authenticity and production value that we hope will have people thinking our story really could have taken place between the feature films.”

Assembling a talented group of filmmakers and cast from Chicago’s creative community, Vasilatos teamed up with co-producer Zoe Triantafillou and director of photography Trevi Albin to produce the film on a shoestring budget. [They are] relying on the downtown locations and authentic costuming to bring the short film to life.

“This is a complete labor of love,” Vasilatos said. “We’re not selling it. We’re not making any money off it.

“I just wanted the opportunity to shoot a short Batman story with high production values and share it with other fans in tribute to the character as well as director Christopher Nolan, who I think has finally nailed the type of Batman movie fans have always wanted to see on the big screen.”

Vasilatos’ crew shoots the film this weekend in several downtown locations leading to the climactic alley fight being shot off Van Buren on Sunday night between Batman (being played by Chicago actor Chris Nendick) and the Joker’s thugs.

Vasilatos also created a MySpace page for his two fictional characters Heather and Mikey where they have been blogging about their efforts to capture video of Batman to visitors. Their MySpace page is at www.myspace.com/darkknightproject.

A dedicated URL for the release of the film online is at www.darkknightproject.com. The short film will be released online in early July before “The Dark Knight” hits theaters.

Vasilatos, who returned to the Chicago production scene last spring, spent 10 years in Los Angeles working as a producer, director and editor with clients including Universal Home Video, The Reelz Channel and Fox Atomic.

His previous producing and directing efforts include the nationally syndicated entertainment news show “Made in Hollywood” and the Chicago Christmas movie “Solstice,” which was originally broadcast on Lifetime and is now enjoying a second life on Amazon.com under its new title “The Night Before Christmas”.

He also recently served as an editor on four episodes of the popular History Channel series “Gangland” during its first and second season. For more information or to arrange a visit to the set on June 14 or 15, call 323-309-7691.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

Official Movie Poster Art Released For ‘Superhero Movie’

HollywoodChicago.com — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 12:29:44 -0700

CHICAGO – We have been sent the official poster art for the new simply titled film “Superhero Movie,” which is a send-up of superhero films including “Batman Begins” and “Fantastic Four”.

“Superhero Movie” features Leslie Nielsen, Pamela Anderson (as The Invisible Girl), Sara Paxton, Brent Spiner (the android in “Star Trek: The Next Generation”), Simon Rex (as The Human Torch), Craig Bierko (as Wolverine), Tracy Morgan (as Dr. Xavier) and Regina Hall (as Mrs. Xavier).

The film, which is slated for release on March 28, 2008, is written and directed by Craig Mazin (the writer of “Scary Movie 3” and “Scary Movie 4”). Click the image below for a full-size version.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

Still Image, New Details Surface on Straight-to-Video Batman Anime

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 10:14:46 -0700

If there’s anything we’ve come to expect from “The Dark Knight” and the franchise lately, it’s these two words: always more.

On Nov. 30, I mentioned that Wizard’s 2008 movie spectacular magazine was hitting comic stores on Dec. 5 and newsstands on Dec. 18. On Wednesday, we learned more about a straight-to-video Batman anime story and saw a new still image to tease it.

“The Dark Knight” anime.
Image credit: Wizard
Credit for this post comes first from Paul. His fan site referenced a JustPressPlay article where we learn the following:

Far from just a cheap tie-in, this looks like it’s actually going to be an animated series with weight.

These shorts stand alone on their own [and] take place in (direct Chris) Nolan’s Batman universe … between the first (“Batman Begins”) and second (“The Dark Knight”) movie.

Let’s take a look at the amazing players involved.

All six shorts are directed by the great animation god Bruce Timm (“Batman: Mask of the Phantasm,” “Batman: TAS,” “Batman Beyond” and “Justice League”).

The writers along with more information can be found here.

Following Wrap in Hong Kong, ‘The Dark Knight’ Begins Post-Production Work

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 07:57:38 -0700

Now that Hong Kong filming is a wrap for “The Dark Knight,” post-production work has officially begun, according to a very informative article in Screen Magazine that names the players involved.

As we know, the article states that “The Dark Knight” is the “largest studio picture ever to film” in Chicago.

It continued: “With a week of shooting in April and three recently completed months of summer shooting, the film brought $50 million to the [Chicago] economy and employed some 350 crew members.”

Dixon Galvez-Searle writes that the film is now beginning its amalgamation on the west coast by the hands of Hollywood equipment rental firm Digital Vortechs, which has been involved with “The Dark Knight” from the get go.

The article also points to the involvement of equipment facility Salon, which was brought in for “Batman Begins,” and says Digital Vortechs kept Roscor Corp. in Mt. Prospect, Ill. on retainer for tech support.

There’s a clear message in the story that using past players again is key as “studio productions are often wary of incorporating new partners into the mix”. This, of course, translates into new bidders having a competitive disadvantage.

Chicago-based Filmworkers/Astro Lab was named for film processing.

Finally, the story says “The Dark Knight” is being edited by Lee Smith of the Beverly Hills-based Gersh Agency. Audio post-production work is handed to Richard King along with Warner Bros. Post Production Services.