Must Be The Season Of The "Witchblade"...

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"Witchblade", published by Top Cow Productions an imprint of Image Comics, was created by Top Cow editors Marc Silvestri and David Wohl, writers Brian Haberlin, Christina Z, and artist Michael Turner.

The series follows the lives of two women in New York City, 'Sara Pezzini' and 'Danielle Baptiste'.

Sara is an NYPD homicide detective who comes into possession of the 'Witchblade', a supernatural, sentient artifact with immense destructive and protective powers. The weapon has bonded with various women throughout history, Danielle being the most recent. Others who have come into contact with the Witchblade include Cleopatra and Joan of Arc.

Sara struggles to hone the powers of the Witchblade and fend off those with a nefarious interest in it, including entrepreneur 'Kenneth Irons'.

"Witchblade" was adapted into a 2-season Toronto-lensed TV series in 2001-2002, starring actress Yancy Butler as Sara.

A new live-action feature, based on the comic book series continues in active development, to be directed by Michael "Queen Of The Damned" Rymer, from a screenplay by Everett De Roche.

Top Cow's Silvestri and Matt Hawkins will executive produce with Platinum Studios' Rich Marincic and Greenberg Group's Randy Greenberg...

Sneak Peek an intro from the "Witchblade TV series...

Jackman Gears Up For "Real Steel"...

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Actor Hugh "Wolverine" Jackman is in early discussions to star in "Real Steel", a developing DreamWorks feature set in the future, where human boxing has been outlawed for being ultra violent and rock 'em sock 'em robots pound each other out in the ring, to be directed by Sean "Date Night" Levy, who recently lensed "Night At The Museum 2" in Vancouver last year.

Jackman will play an ex-fighter who becomes a promoter of 'Robot Boxing'. After finding a winning, discarded robot, the man also finds out he is the father of a 13-year son.

"Real Steel" is scripted by Les Bohem and John Gatins, based on a short story by author Richard Matheson, adapted by Rod Serling for the 1963 "Twilight Zone" episode "Steel", starring actor Lee Marvin.

The DreamWorks feature will be distributed by Disney.

Sneak Peek a 1960's commercial promoting Rock 'Em Sock' 'Em Robots...

Guests Attending VIFF Opening Gala- October 1...

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The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) will be held October 1-16, 2009.

Founded in 1982, VIFF's mandate is "...to encourage the understanding of other nations through the art of cinema, to foster the art of cinema, to facilitate the meeting in British Columbia of cinema professionals from around the world and to stimulate the motion picture industry in British Columbia and Canada..."

Here is the confirmed guest list guest of actors, producers and directors attending the October 1 Opening Gala Screening of "A Shine Of Rainbows":

Vic Sarin, director "A Shine Of Rainbows"
Connie Nielsen, actress - "A Shine of Rainbows"
Ryan Robbins – "Leslie, My Name is Evil"
Christine Solomon, actress, Ahmad Abdella, director – "Heliopolis"
Camille Sullivan + Jimmy Sigmund
Fiona Forbes
Emmauelle Vaugier - ("Two and a Half Men", "CSI NY")
Byron Lawson ("Bloodletting")
Sonja Bennet
Chad Willett
Richard de Klerk
Agam Darshi
Kevin McNulty
Gabrielle Rose
Paul Skrudland
Kristine Cofsky
Casey Manderson
Bill Guttentag, director – "Soundtrack for a Revolution"
Roger Cantin, director – "A Cargo to Africa""
Kris Booth, director + Kristin Booth, Andrea McCulloch – "At Home By Myself with You"
Granaz Moussavi, director – "My Tehran for Sale"
Stephen J. Swierczyna, director – "Cellulose"
Sam Fleischner and Ben Chance, directors – "Wah Do Dem"
Mike Dacko, director – "Lightheaded"
Jessica Oreck, director – "Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo"
Dan Stone, director – "At The Edge of the World"
Ben Lewis, director – "Great Contemporary Art Bubble"
Ondi Timoner, director – "We Live in Public"
Philip Hoare, author – "Hunt for Moby Dick"
Murray Grigor, director – "Infinite Space: the Architectue of John Lautner"

Invites have also gone out to Robert "Twilight" Pattison, Joshua "Fringe" Jackson and Zac Efron, Vanessa Hukgens from "Sucker Punch".

And count on the cream of the Vancouver film industry to attend the VIFF opening night Gala party(s), all done up in West Coast style.

Sneak Peek the trailer to "A Shine Of Rainbows"...

Slap Leather With "Lucky Luke"...

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"Lucky Luke" is a new action feature, based on the Franco-Belgian comics series created by illustrator Maurice De Bevere aka 'Morris', focusing on 'Lucky Luke', a gunslinger cowboy "...known to shoot faster than his shadow..."

Debuting in 1946, the popular comic book series in continental Europe and Quebec, has been translated into 23 languages, as well as spinning-off and Atari video game.

Yves Marmion and UGC produced the new feature, starring actor Jean Dujardin as Luke.

Sneak Peek the teaser trailer for "Lucky Luke"...

Maslansky Plays With Ondaatje's "Slaughter"...

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Author Michael "The English Patient" Ondaatje's novel, "Coming Through Slaughter," a period piece focusing on the 'birth' of American jazz music, has been optioned by producer Paul "Police Academy" Maslansky.

The adapted screenplay for "Slaughter" is by Emmy nominee Mark Bailey.

Premise of Ondaatje's book, set in New Orleans, follows the life story of 'Bolden', a cornettist who was an influence on jazz greats the likes of Louis Armstrong.

Production partner for the upcoming film is Rome-based producer Lars Bloch...

Temple Hill Bites Into Conrad's "Candy"...

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Temple Hill Entertainment, one of the executive producers of the Vancouver-lensed "Twilight" movies have purchased screen rights to author Lauren "The Hills" Conrad's best-selling debut novel "L.A. Candy".

Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey will produce, with Conrad executive producing through her Blue Eyed Girl Productions.

Released in June by publisher HarperCollins, "L.A. Candy" has remained on the New York Times bestseller lists for 14 weeks.

Premise of the book follows 19-year-old 'Jane Roberts' who moves to Hollywood, finding fame as a reality TV series star.

Conrad will be involved in shaping the direction of the script, before Temple Hill shops the project to financiers/studios...

The New "Twilight Saga: New Moon" Posters...

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Take a look at the new posters supporting the Vancouver-lensed feature "The Twilight Saga: New Moon".

Scheduled for release November 20, 2009, the film is based on the novel by author Stephenie Meyer and is the sequel to the 2008 feature "Twilight".

Directed by Chris Weitz, "New Moon" stars actors Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner, reprising their roles as 'Bella Swan', 'Edward Cullen' and 'Jacob Black'.

Melissa Rosenberg wrote the screenplay, reportedly handing in a draft of "New Moon" to Summit Entertainment executives during the massive opening weekend of "Twilight".

"...Bella Swan is devastated by the abrupt departure of her vampire love, Edward Cullen, but her spirit is rekindled by her growing friendship with the irresistible Jacob Black. Suddenly she finds herself drawn into the world of the werewolves, ancestral enemies of the vampires, and finds her loyalties tested..."

Click the poster images to enlarge and Sneak Peek the official HD trailer for "The Twilight Saga: New Moon"...

"Angel": A Hole In The World...

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"A Hole in the World" recounts how 'Illyria' came to fight alongside 'Angel', while a mysterious shipment to 'Wolfram & Hart' puts 'Fred' in mortal danger...

Stephenie Meyer: "Female Force"...

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Enter "The Black Cat"...

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Send In The "Drones"...

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In the near future, the US transforms warfare by testing lethal remote-controlled robotic drones on the front lines...

"The Simpsons: Treehouse Of Horror XX"- October 18...

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"The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror XX", the annual animated Halloween special will air Sunday, Oct. 18.

Segments include 'Lisa' striking a deal with 'Bart' to seek revenge on their teachers, in a series of homages to classic Hitchcock.

The latest fast-food sandwich from 'Krusty The Clown' transforms the people of 'Springfield' into engraged zombies.

'Homer' becomes a half-man, 'half-brewing' apparatus, trapped underneath the bar at 'Moes' Tavern', singing about his fate, a la "Sweeney Todd"...

"Sid! - By Those Who Really Knew Him"- November 17...

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Odeon Entertainment and MVD Visual will release the new 80 minute doc, "Sid! - By Those Who Really Knew Him" on November 17th.

The new package is the first intimate full-length documentary on the life of 'Sid Vicious', 30 years since his death from a heroin overdose at the age of 21, charting the fall and rise of the "Sex Pistols" guitarist from punk hero to cultural icon.

Sid's controversial life is profiled with interviews from Jah Wobble (childhood friend, founder "PIL"), Steve Severin ("Siouxsie and the Banshees"), David Vanian ("The Damned"), Malcolm McLaren ("Sex Pistols" Manager), Viv Albertine ("The Slits"), Ron Watts ("100 Club"), Glen Matlock ("Sex Pistols"), Rat Scabies ("The Damned"), Caroline Coon (Writer/Artist), Vivienne Westwood (Designer), Marco Pirroni ("Adam & The Ants"), John Tiberi ("Sex Pistols" Tour Manager), and a whole lot more.

"...Featuring previously unseen archive footage and filmed in HD, this new documentary provides the most definitive and intimate life story of the punk hero who truly lived his life with chaos and anarchy. Fuelled with a soundtrack of Sid's own music, this is the faithful telling of Sid's life story by those who really knew him..."

In addition to the DVD documentary, this special collector's edition includes a 10 track CD of Sid live in New York and a biography booklet profile by best-selling music author Mark Paytress.

Sneak peek the trailer for "Sid! By Those Who really Knew Him"...

E1 Backing King's "Colorado Kid"...

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Author Stephen King will develop his novella "The Colorado Kid" into an hour long TV series titled "Haven" for Canada's E1 Entertainment.

Former "Dead Zone" honcho Scott Shepherd will executive produce "Haven" with Lloyd Segan and Shawn Piller. Former "Dead Zone" writers Sam Ernst and Jim Dunn will script the pilot.

E1's John Morayniss and Noreen Halpern will also executive produce, committed to producing 13 episodes.

E1 previously set up the Canadian/US series "Copper" for ABC/Canwest and "The Bridge" for CBS/CTV.

"The Colorado Kid" mystery novel was first published in a 2005 paperback-only edition, written by King for the 'Hard Case Crime' imprint.

The third-person narrative concerns the investigation of the body of an unidentified man found on a tiny island off the coast of Maine. Lacking any identification or obvious clues, the case reaches nothing but repeated dead-ends. Well over a year later the man is identified, but all further important questions remain unanswered. The two-man staff of the island newspaper maintain a longstanding fascination with the case, and twenty-five years later use the mysterious tale to ply the friendship and test the investigative mettle of a postgrad intern rookie reporter.

The Colorado Kid was the first King novel published after the finale of his "Dark Tower" series...

Lola Is Looking For "Mal Chance"...

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Producer Tony "Mulholland Drive" Krantz, is developing the Platinum Studios graphic novel, "Mal Chance", from a screenplay by Scott Murphy.

"Mal Chance" is the story of 'Lola', a member of a fighting, ancient society targeted for death by a powerful gangster. Lola's only hope for survival is to bring down the gangster's organization with the help of 'Dennis', a by-the-numbers FBI agent, unaware of her true identity.

Randy Greenberg and Flame Ventures' President, Ross Dinerstein, will Executive Produce...

"Get Animated!" With The National Film Board Of Canada...

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In celebration of International Animation Day and the National Film Board of Canada’s 70th anniversary, the NFB is launching a special edition of "Get Animated!", a series of free public screenings, October 23–31, 2009, in 13 communities across Canada.

This third edition will showcase new films for all ages from the NFB's Oscar-winning animation studios in the programs 'Animation Feast' and the 'NFB Family Program', featuring special presentations by Canadian filmmakers Chris Landreth and Cordell Barker, as well as hands-on animation workshops.

The NFB’s new 2-disc set "Animation Express", a collection of films by 'today’s animation innovators', will also be on sale at screening venues.

Taking place October 28, 2009, 'International Animation Day' is an annual celebration in over 40 countries, initiated by the International Animated Film Association (ASIFA) in 2002.

NFB animation founder Norman McLaren was the first president of ASIFA.

This year, the NFB celebrates 70 Oscar nominations in 70 years – more nominations than any production company or organization outside Hollywood, with "Get Animated!" part of a broader commitment to ensuring that Canadians coast to coast have access to NFB productions.

Free screenings across Canada will be held in Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax, as well as in five communities served by the NFB’s pioneering 'e-cinema' network for francophone Acadians in Moncton, Bouctouche, Caraquet, Edmundston and Kedgwick, New Brunswick.

New titles include "The Brainwashers" and "Subservience", both puppet-animated films from two-time Jutra award-winner Patrick Bouchard, as well as Iriz Pääbo’s "HA'Aki", described as an unorthodox look at hockey.

Also added are the films "Tzaritza and Drux Flux" by Theodore Ushev, "Here and There" by Diane Obomsawin, "Uncle Bob's Hospital Visit" by Prince Edward Island animator JoDee Samuelson, "Engine 371", a short about the construction of Canada's transcontinental railroad by Kevin Langdale and "Forming Game" by Alberta’s Malcolm Sutherland....

"St. Trinian's": A New Low In Higher Education...

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Sneak Peek "Doctor Who: Alternate Empire"...

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Actor Julian Bane stars as 'The Doctor' and Caroline Morahan as 'Samantha', in the first episode of the six-part web series "Doctor Who: Alternate Empire", premiering on YouTube.

"...Travelling through time and space, the Doctor and Samantha come face to face with the 'Krall', a powerful master race of aliens that plan to conquer a planetary system..."

Sneak Peek the first episode of "Doctor Who: Alternate Empire"...

"Legion: Prophets" Movie Tie-In...

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In an all-out war between Heaven and Earth, "Legion: Prophets" introduces the ordinary people who have yet to understand the powers they possess and their very special role in the apocalyptic events that are about to sweep across the globe two days before Christmas.

"...In the supernatural action thriller 'Legion', an out-of-the-way diner becomes the unlikely battleground for the survival of the human race. When God loses faith in Mankind, he sends his legion of angels to bring on the Apocalypse. Humanity's only hope lies in a group of strangers trapped in a desert diner and the Archangel 'Michael' (Paul Bettany)..."
"Legion" also stars actors Dennis Quaid, Lucas Black, Tyrese Gibson, Kate Walsh, Adrianne Palicki, Charles S. Dutton and Willa Holland, directed by Scott Stewart.

Sneak Peek the HD trailer for Sony's "Legion"...

"imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival"- Oct 14-18...

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'Indigenous cinema' will be celebrated in Toronto at the 10th "imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival", Wednesday, October 14th to Sunday, October 18th, 2009, showcasing global aboriginal filmmakers and media artists, with more than 125 works of innovation in film, video, radio and new media.

"The celebration of imagineNATIVE’s 10th anniversary offers an important occasion to reflect on the accomplishments of the last 10 years and the exciting opportunities ahead of us," said Executive Director Kerry Swanson.

"In 10 years we have seen an incredible explosion of growth in Indigenous-produced film and media art and, as a result, a surge of interest and recognition for the unique and groundbreaking work shown at the festival."

"The films programmed this year," said Director of Programming Michelle Latimer, "speak to the contemporary experience and reflect the fact that today's Indigenous filmmakers are reclaiming the medium of film and transforming the world-view of Indigenous people by voicing our contemporary stories from the inside out."

The fest opens with the Canadian feature doc "Reel Injun", a look at stereotypes of the 'cowboy and Indians' era, with classic movie clips and interviews with Robbie Robertson, Clint Eastwood, Adam Beach, Graham Greene, John Trudell and Jim Jarmusch, accompanied by the Canadian short "Tungijuq", about Inuit hunting traditions and a woman’s transformative journey, starring 'throat singer' Tanya Taqaq and Cannes-award winning filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk, director of "Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner".

In a Fest world premiere, filmmaker/writer/activist Sarah Roque’s "Six Miles Deep" offers a look at the women who stood behind the lines during the 2006 Caledonia/Six Nations land claim dispute, celebrating clan mothers from past to present, while giving voice to the hopes of a community.

Other films include the feature doc "Jackpot", directed by Alan Black and produced by Michelle Latimer, set in a Toronto bingo hall.

Documentarian Alanis Obamsawin will screen "Professor Norman Cornett – 'Since When Do We Divorce The Right Answer From An Honest Answer?'", setting her sights on "...academia and its imprint on tomorrow’s attitudes via young minds..."

Obamsawin has made more than 20 docs about Aboriginal issues, receiving the Governor General’s Award and the Order of Canada.
Six shorts programs will be on view including a first-time animation category, two dramatic programs, Youth, Experimental, The Witching Hour (late night films) and Embargo Collective, a two-year collaboration of seven boundary-pushing artists.

Special Programs includes an illustrated lecture curated by Dana Claxton with an accompanying essay published by the festival’s partners Vtape; curator Cheryl L’Hirondelle reflects on the roots of Indigenous new media art with the exhibit 'Codetalkers of the Digital Divide', presented in partnership with A Space Gallery.

A New Media Mash Up offers a live collaboration between Tanya Tagaq and video artist Bear Witness, Thursday October 15 at The Music Gallery.
Inuit artists featured throughout the festival will also celebrate the 50th anniversary of Cape Dorset’s Kinngait Studios with a screening/gallery tour at the Art Gallery of Ontario with curator Gerald McMaster.

The world’s newest democracy, the country of Nepal, will be the feature of the International Spotlight of original film voices.

THE BEAT program returns this year with Nunavut alt-rocker Lucie Idlout, singer-songwriter George Leach and Cree slide-guitarist Jason Burnstick @ The Hard Rock Cafe.

The imagineNATIVE closing night feature is the Canadian premiere of "Barking Water", a new drama by Sterlin "Four Sheets To The Wind" Harjo, preceded by the world premiere of Adam Garnet Jones’ "Wave a Red Flag".

Sneak Peek trailers for "Reel Injun" and "Barking Water"...

Klum Needles New Models...

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Gross Out In "Eastwick"...

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Cox Pads Around "Cougar Town"...

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"Cougar Town" is the new ABC TV sitcom, created by Bill Lawrence, starring actress Courteney "Friends" Cox as a newly single 40-year-old mother with a 17-year old son.

Premise follows 'Jules Cobb' (Cox) , a recently divorced 40-year-old Florida woman who 're-enters' the dating scene, "...embarking on a journey to self-discovery while surrounded by fellow divorcees and singletons eager to re-live a time gone by..."

Sneak Peek "Cougar Town"...