Ralph Kruhm
06.01.2003, 07:53
Heute haben wir einen echten News-Leckerbissen: Im CG Chat gaben sich Barbara und Toni kürzlich die Ehre und hinterließen einen ganzen Haufen von News-Updates zu so ziemlich jedem derzeit aktuellen CG-News-Thema...
Geposted hat das Ding James Grasselli von www.cguniverse.com:
A Chat with Beeber and Tony
Posted by James Grasselli on 1/02/03 at 23:04:31:
Barbara Kesel (Beeber) was in the CG Chat tonight and answered a few questions from the spectators there.
1) What of the rumors of Chuck Dixon taking on a High-Seas book
A) "No, HI-C features in none of Chuck's books"
2) What's coming up in Meridian
A) Issue 32, "Sephie's cranky day." Issue 33 "Jad and the Really Big Fish." and issue 34, the key issue with the really cool Sephie cover, followed by issue 35, the one with the really creepy cool Ilahn cover."
3) Are there any plans for additions to the CGU lineup in 2003
A) "Besides SOLUS (and boy, oh boy, the fingirl in me is excited to see that book!), we have no immediate plans for any more CGU books i nthe first part of 2003"
4) What is the status of Solus?
A) Solus is going great. I can't tell you much about the story, but George is getting the best inking and coloring in his career. No disrepesect to any of the Chronicles teams, but Rick's enthusiasm shows, and Larry's a completely fearless colorist.
5) What on the future of Seahn and Perhsa?
A) Seahn and Persha working together to unite the First is pretty unlikely. They'll have some kind of encounter, though.
6) What of Ihroe allowing Orium to view House Dexter's debate in First 26
A) Not in that issue. I tend to dance around from subplot to subplot, and I've been bouncing between Houses since issue 25. Is 28 (the issue we're putting to together to go out next week) Ihroe takes a very long walk and makes some new friends
7) Is Sephie based on Ashleigh Alessi?
A) Yes, Sephie was loosely based on Ashleigh Alessi
8) What of an official list of First and physical descriptions
A) Well, I've got a major spreadsheet of all the names and attributes, but some of them are silly, so I might not ever publish it.
9) What's to come in future issues of the First?
A) More of the same. Betrayal, double-dealing, smug looks, crazy characters. The usual.
10) What is the root of Trenin's name
A) Trenin = Determination.
The one that no one could ever get because the name mutated too much is Yala. Joy.
11) Is there going to be a payoff soon to the Rho/Trenin issue in a recent Meridian storyline?
A) Rho/Trenin. Yeah, whatever happened to all those First Ingra sent out to watch Sigil-Bearers who now have no one to report to? And just where is Animora?
And there's more to it than that, which you'll (surprisingly, I hope) be interested to hear will come up in the SOLUS series.
12) Do Danik and Gannish know each other?
A) There was a little off-camera chat time between issues for Gannish and Danik, although Gannish has met another aspect of Danik. Two, actually.
13) Are Code 6 and CGE getting lots of unsolicited submissions?
A) CrossGen gets a LOT of submissions, period.
14) Is Lawbringers going to be included in a TPB?
A) I don't know if we have it slated for a trade. If any, it'd be included in the Negation one.
Tony Panaccio also showed up at around this point and answered a few questions as well. Beeber left pretty soon after Tony came in, though.
1) Any media tie-ins in the near future?
A) We have a whole boatload of announcements coming up this quarter, including a more complex Internet play, some more movie deals and some other stuff that's going to take some people by surprise, so, yes, we will mor emedia tie-ins to talk about soon.
2) Are the movie/tv deals final, almost definitly bill be made?
A) Well, we've done a ton of work on structuring deals that actually get movies made, rather than stuck in development hell, and it is a massive undertaking, philosophically.
First of all, did anyone wonder why Marvel, with its flagship character Spider-Man couldn't get James Cameron or Steven Speilberg to direct the picture? Sam Raimi did a great job on the movie, but why couldn't the biggest company with the most recognizable character get a top tier director for the pic?
It's because of the Intellectual Property (IP) rules that Marvel attaches to all its films. It basically tells a filmmaker what they can and cannot do in a film. What we have discoved after many months of research is that these rules don't work, and they scare away top tier filmmakers. Why would James Cameron want to work on a film with Avi Arad looking over his shoulder every day?
The intent of the IP rules is to make sure the movie looks like the comics. However, the rules scare away good filmmakers, and piss off the ones who wind up doing the film, so it actually works in the opposite direction.
So when we met with Chuck Russell, who is writing and directing Way of the Rat, he asked us "What are the rules," and we replied "Don't make it suck."
The result was the Chuck was given a wide open playing field, and as a result, he actively sought the direction and inspiration of Chuck Dixon, Jeff Johnson and the team.
In fact, he's come to the studio twice so far to have creative meetings with our folks.
He would never have done that if he was contractually obligated to toe the line on our material.
We have Robert Zemeckis on board, doing Route 666 - can anyone think of any other comics film with a man who has won both Best Picture and Best Director Oscars?
Wes Craven is working on Mystic- and he's a much bigger name than even Sam Raimi is - the top filmmakers are flocking to our properties because we are giving them great stories to play with, and they love the source material.
The names we are going to be announcing next year will blow people's minds. As for the deals themselves, they have schedules to production built in, so that every we announce is actually going to make it to the screen.
Zemeckis has laready gone on record as saying that Route 666 is one of the three projects he will work on next year, so we'll be two for two.
3) What about the Chuck Dixon pirate book rumored?
A) When we have something to announce on the pirate book, we'll announce it. I like to have artwork and a story outline in my hands before we talk about a book. Showing people what it is going to be is a lot easier than telling them.
4) When will CG movies start seeing the screen?
A) I would say that we should be ready to open something by the end of 2003, but we will likely hold off until early to mid 2004, in defernece to Harry Potter 3 and the final chapter of Lord of the Rings
5) Did the previous Route 666 movie cause any problems for you?
A) Yep - but we have the trademark now, and Dreamworks is gung ho to get it made.
It's such a cool title, though. One of the things that got us on Zemeckis' table was that title. He loved it!
And Bedard is kicking tail on that book.
6) How does the CGU back story affect individual movie/tv deals?
A) The thing about the CGU, as an element in the motion pictures, is that it is quite easy to extract some of the underpinnings of the CGU without undermining the characters. Obregon Kaine is Kaine if the universe around is explained in ways other than Sigils and CGU lore. Same thing with Sephie - She is still Sephie if her power is explained in a different way. The issue that we stress is story, motivation and character. Having said that, most of the people we've spoken with in Hollywood aren't daunted by the CGU backstory at all. So, we'll see what happens.
7) What news of the Sigil TV show?
A) The Sigil TV show has been morphed to a feature fil, now, and yes, we will be working with the Sigil cast of characters in a stage closer to the way they were in the Sigil Chronicles issues written by Mark Waid and drawn by George Perez.
The Sigil characters are de-aged, but in a natural way. When you think about it, Sigil #1 picks up in the middle of the story - Saurian War, Sam is a retired soldier, he and Roiya have mercing about for a while. The feature film will start closer to the beginning - and yes, there will still be a Zanni - it's amazing what a good writer can do with a project like this.
They will be young enough to cast some solid box office draws who have acting chops.
8) What about a Ruse movie?
A) No announcement, but you can pretty much count on one being announced sometime in 2003. It's pretty inevitable, since our goal from Day One was to get everything in the Hollywood pipeline.
9) Does that goal include Code 6 and Creator Owned properties?
A) Code 6 books are in the plan for film and TV as well.
The studio heads we have shown DemonWars to like it very much. And CrossOvers has legs in Hollywood, as well.
10) Are other comics coming out for CG this year?
A) Well, I can't see much farther past debuting Lady Death (which kicks more butt than some might have originally thought), Chimera, Brath, Solus and Crossovers right now. Beyond them, I really can't announce much, but you can count on there being at least one or two more titles.
11) Any new pencilling announcements in the next 6 months?
A) Not really sure. We're expanding rapidly, so who knows?
12) Various stuff he mentioned on the way out
ok - some quick hits - no more expansion for CG outside of Florida - The Lady Deat thing is still a go, and we don't any problems with it. The Receiver's announcement was pretty standard for every receivership I've ever encounted. They MUST announce what they MAY do i order to have legal lee-way to actually do it if they ever choose to. Announcing that they MAY do it means absolutely nothing regarding them actually asking for the property back.
That announcement was just a small receiver covering his bases before he dove into the research stage.
Geposted hat das Ding James Grasselli von www.cguniverse.com:
A Chat with Beeber and Tony
Posted by James Grasselli on 1/02/03 at 23:04:31:
Barbara Kesel (Beeber) was in the CG Chat tonight and answered a few questions from the spectators there.
1) What of the rumors of Chuck Dixon taking on a High-Seas book
A) "No, HI-C features in none of Chuck's books"
2) What's coming up in Meridian
A) Issue 32, "Sephie's cranky day." Issue 33 "Jad and the Really Big Fish." and issue 34, the key issue with the really cool Sephie cover, followed by issue 35, the one with the really creepy cool Ilahn cover."
3) Are there any plans for additions to the CGU lineup in 2003
A) "Besides SOLUS (and boy, oh boy, the fingirl in me is excited to see that book!), we have no immediate plans for any more CGU books i nthe first part of 2003"
4) What is the status of Solus?
A) Solus is going great. I can't tell you much about the story, but George is getting the best inking and coloring in his career. No disrepesect to any of the Chronicles teams, but Rick's enthusiasm shows, and Larry's a completely fearless colorist.
5) What on the future of Seahn and Perhsa?
A) Seahn and Persha working together to unite the First is pretty unlikely. They'll have some kind of encounter, though.
6) What of Ihroe allowing Orium to view House Dexter's debate in First 26
A) Not in that issue. I tend to dance around from subplot to subplot, and I've been bouncing between Houses since issue 25. Is 28 (the issue we're putting to together to go out next week) Ihroe takes a very long walk and makes some new friends
7) Is Sephie based on Ashleigh Alessi?
A) Yes, Sephie was loosely based on Ashleigh Alessi
8) What of an official list of First and physical descriptions
A) Well, I've got a major spreadsheet of all the names and attributes, but some of them are silly, so I might not ever publish it.
9) What's to come in future issues of the First?
A) More of the same. Betrayal, double-dealing, smug looks, crazy characters. The usual.
10) What is the root of Trenin's name
A) Trenin = Determination.
The one that no one could ever get because the name mutated too much is Yala. Joy.
11) Is there going to be a payoff soon to the Rho/Trenin issue in a recent Meridian storyline?
A) Rho/Trenin. Yeah, whatever happened to all those First Ingra sent out to watch Sigil-Bearers who now have no one to report to? And just where is Animora?
And there's more to it than that, which you'll (surprisingly, I hope) be interested to hear will come up in the SOLUS series.
12) Do Danik and Gannish know each other?
A) There was a little off-camera chat time between issues for Gannish and Danik, although Gannish has met another aspect of Danik. Two, actually.
13) Are Code 6 and CGE getting lots of unsolicited submissions?
A) CrossGen gets a LOT of submissions, period.
14) Is Lawbringers going to be included in a TPB?
A) I don't know if we have it slated for a trade. If any, it'd be included in the Negation one.
Tony Panaccio also showed up at around this point and answered a few questions as well. Beeber left pretty soon after Tony came in, though.
1) Any media tie-ins in the near future?
A) We have a whole boatload of announcements coming up this quarter, including a more complex Internet play, some more movie deals and some other stuff that's going to take some people by surprise, so, yes, we will mor emedia tie-ins to talk about soon.
2) Are the movie/tv deals final, almost definitly bill be made?
A) Well, we've done a ton of work on structuring deals that actually get movies made, rather than stuck in development hell, and it is a massive undertaking, philosophically.
First of all, did anyone wonder why Marvel, with its flagship character Spider-Man couldn't get James Cameron or Steven Speilberg to direct the picture? Sam Raimi did a great job on the movie, but why couldn't the biggest company with the most recognizable character get a top tier director for the pic?
It's because of the Intellectual Property (IP) rules that Marvel attaches to all its films. It basically tells a filmmaker what they can and cannot do in a film. What we have discoved after many months of research is that these rules don't work, and they scare away top tier filmmakers. Why would James Cameron want to work on a film with Avi Arad looking over his shoulder every day?
The intent of the IP rules is to make sure the movie looks like the comics. However, the rules scare away good filmmakers, and piss off the ones who wind up doing the film, so it actually works in the opposite direction.
So when we met with Chuck Russell, who is writing and directing Way of the Rat, he asked us "What are the rules," and we replied "Don't make it suck."
The result was the Chuck was given a wide open playing field, and as a result, he actively sought the direction and inspiration of Chuck Dixon, Jeff Johnson and the team.
In fact, he's come to the studio twice so far to have creative meetings with our folks.
He would never have done that if he was contractually obligated to toe the line on our material.
We have Robert Zemeckis on board, doing Route 666 - can anyone think of any other comics film with a man who has won both Best Picture and Best Director Oscars?
Wes Craven is working on Mystic- and he's a much bigger name than even Sam Raimi is - the top filmmakers are flocking to our properties because we are giving them great stories to play with, and they love the source material.
The names we are going to be announcing next year will blow people's minds. As for the deals themselves, they have schedules to production built in, so that every we announce is actually going to make it to the screen.
Zemeckis has laready gone on record as saying that Route 666 is one of the three projects he will work on next year, so we'll be two for two.
3) What about the Chuck Dixon pirate book rumored?
A) When we have something to announce on the pirate book, we'll announce it. I like to have artwork and a story outline in my hands before we talk about a book. Showing people what it is going to be is a lot easier than telling them.
4) When will CG movies start seeing the screen?
A) I would say that we should be ready to open something by the end of 2003, but we will likely hold off until early to mid 2004, in defernece to Harry Potter 3 and the final chapter of Lord of the Rings
5) Did the previous Route 666 movie cause any problems for you?
A) Yep - but we have the trademark now, and Dreamworks is gung ho to get it made.
It's such a cool title, though. One of the things that got us on Zemeckis' table was that title. He loved it!
And Bedard is kicking tail on that book.
6) How does the CGU back story affect individual movie/tv deals?
A) The thing about the CGU, as an element in the motion pictures, is that it is quite easy to extract some of the underpinnings of the CGU without undermining the characters. Obregon Kaine is Kaine if the universe around is explained in ways other than Sigils and CGU lore. Same thing with Sephie - She is still Sephie if her power is explained in a different way. The issue that we stress is story, motivation and character. Having said that, most of the people we've spoken with in Hollywood aren't daunted by the CGU backstory at all. So, we'll see what happens.
7) What news of the Sigil TV show?
A) The Sigil TV show has been morphed to a feature fil, now, and yes, we will be working with the Sigil cast of characters in a stage closer to the way they were in the Sigil Chronicles issues written by Mark Waid and drawn by George Perez.
The Sigil characters are de-aged, but in a natural way. When you think about it, Sigil #1 picks up in the middle of the story - Saurian War, Sam is a retired soldier, he and Roiya have mercing about for a while. The feature film will start closer to the beginning - and yes, there will still be a Zanni - it's amazing what a good writer can do with a project like this.
They will be young enough to cast some solid box office draws who have acting chops.
8) What about a Ruse movie?
A) No announcement, but you can pretty much count on one being announced sometime in 2003. It's pretty inevitable, since our goal from Day One was to get everything in the Hollywood pipeline.
9) Does that goal include Code 6 and Creator Owned properties?
A) Code 6 books are in the plan for film and TV as well.
The studio heads we have shown DemonWars to like it very much. And CrossOvers has legs in Hollywood, as well.
10) Are other comics coming out for CG this year?
A) Well, I can't see much farther past debuting Lady Death (which kicks more butt than some might have originally thought), Chimera, Brath, Solus and Crossovers right now. Beyond them, I really can't announce much, but you can count on there being at least one or two more titles.
11) Any new pencilling announcements in the next 6 months?
A) Not really sure. We're expanding rapidly, so who knows?
12) Various stuff he mentioned on the way out
ok - some quick hits - no more expansion for CG outside of Florida - The Lady Deat thing is still a go, and we don't any problems with it. The Receiver's announcement was pretty standard for every receivership I've ever encounted. They MUST announce what they MAY do i order to have legal lee-way to actually do it if they ever choose to. Announcing that they MAY do it means absolutely nothing regarding them actually asking for the property back.
That announcement was just a small receiver covering his bases before he dove into the research stage.