Ridley Scott: ‘Prometheus’ Movies Will Explain The ‘Alien’ Universe — Eventually
After the end of Prometheus, audiences might have been left wondering just what the connection was between the engineers and the familiar xenomorph from the Alien movie series that showed up at the end. Director Ridley Scott promises that all will be revealed — as long as audiences are patient enough. In an interview with German site FilmFutter, Scott said that thePrometheus series — he’s currently working on a sequel to the 2012 movie — will connect back to the Alien series, but not for awhile. “It won’t be in the next [movie],” he told the site. “It will be the one after this one, or maybe even a fourth film, before we get back into the Alien franchise.”
Batmobile Wins Copyright Protection
The Batmobile is a car that has almost everything: weapons, ahead-of-its time computers, wing-shaped tail fins and an assortment of gadgets perfectly suited to Batman’s diverse crime-fighting needs. (The Bat-ray of the 1960s version, for instance, opened enemy car doors, while the version driven by Michael Keaton fired a grappling hook that allowed him round corners at improbable speeds.) On Wednesday, the Batmobile received another upgrade: copyright protection. To determine whether characters in comic books, television shows or movies are entitled to such protection, courts conduct a three-part test. First, the character must have “physical as well as conceptual qualities.” It also has to be “sufficiently delineated” so people recognize it as the same character across time. And third, the character has to be “especially distinctive.” The Batmobile passed the test in the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, with Judge Sandra S. Ikuta declaring in the introduction to Wednesday’s ruling, “Holy copyright law, Batman!”
Bryan Singer Plans to Direct ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’
“X-Men” director Bryan Singer plans to direct a movie version of Jules Verne’s “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” from his own script. He posted the script on his Instagram on Thursday, but it is not set up yet at a studio. Verne’s 1870 novel has been made into a variety of films, most notably in Disney’s 1954 version starring James Mason and Kirk Douglas. “It’s my 50th birthday (ouch), and I just put the finishing touches on the script for my next film. A story I’ve wanted to retell since childhood,” the director wrote.
Ta-Nehisi Coates to Write Black Panther Comic for Marvel
Ta-Nehisi Coates can be identified in many ways: as a national correspondent for The Atlantic, as an author and, as of this month, as a nominee for the National Book Award’s nonfiction prize. But Mr. Coates also has a not-so-secret identity, as evidenced by some of his Atlantic blog posts and his Twitter feed: Marvel Comics superfan. So it seems only natural that Marvel has asked Mr. Coates to take on a new Black Panther series set to begin next spring. Writing for that comics publisher is a childhood dream that, despite the seeming incongruity, came about thanks to his day job. “The Atlantic is a pretty diverse place in terms of interest, but there are no comics nerds,” besides himself, Mr. Coates said in an interview.
