It Was The Superman Movie That Never Was...

...And thank goodness it never happened!  I know I'm going to ruffle a few feathers by saying this, but I'm not a very big Tim Burton movie fan.  Seeing all of the old photos from his attempt at re-energizing the Superman franchise back in the 90's, I get down on my knees and thank the comic book gods that this movie never got made.  The thing is, it's like a car wreck, you can't help but stare and wonder at what happened.  I"m not the only one that feels this way, either.  Documentarian filmmaker Jon Schnepp has also been wondering what happened to the movie and why it never got made.  You can watch the first ten minutes of his film down below:

I think that the thing from the documentary that stuck with me the most was when the guy/fan said that when he saw George Reeves or Christopher Reeves playing Superman, you thought, "Hey!  That's Superman!"  With Nicholas Cage he thought, "Hey! That's Nicholas Cage trying to play Superman!"  I mean really, what were they thinking with that casting choice?  Even at the height of his popularity, Cage could never pull off the role of Superman, let alone Clark Kent.  Still, I'm really looking forward to seeing the rest of this documentary.

The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened? will be officially released July 9th.

Jay And Silent Bob To Appear In New Kevin Smith Film

I know, I know, how can that be considered "news?" 

Kevin Smith, writer/director of Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back, Clerks 2...yeah, okay, you get the idea!  He's contemplating putting the iconic duo in the last of his "True North Trilogy."  The first of this run was Tusk, next to be released is Yoga Hosers, and finishing out the three will be Moose Jaws.  This will be the first time that Jay and Silent Bob have appeared in a film outside of their own cinematic universe, or as it's more commonly referred to, the View Askewnivers!

As Smith usually does. he took to posting his thoughts on the upcoming film to his fans, and kind of floated the idea out there to see what people's reactions would be to the idea.  For the most part, most fans seemed to enjoy the idea of seeing them in the film, even if it was just as a cameo, but there were a vocal minority that wanted to keep the two universes separate.  I think I fall under the "vocal minority" side.  The two film universes work really well apart, and there is no need to combine the two, and it makes it seem more of a marketing or a commercial gimmick, and Smith doesn't come across as a sell-out.

I have to be honest, I'm really looking forward to Moose Jaws.  If what I read about it on CinemaBlend.com is accurate, imagine Jaws, but instead of a shark, it's a moose.  How could this movie not work?!?  Believe it or not, I'm not being sarcastic!  I really can't wait to see this movie!

The melding of the two universes isn't a done deal, and it sounds like Smith wants to get the opinion of his fans before making any final decision on the matter.  I think it's pretty reassuring that Smith is taking how the fans feel into consideration before tinkering with the two cinematic universes. Yeah, I'm talking to you, George Lucas!

So...Where Do We Go When We Go To Mars?

It's easy to ask, "Why don't we send someone to Mars?  We can do it, right?"  But do you realize everything that has to go into sending someone there?  And the furthest thing from your mind when thinking about this is probably, "Where should they land?"  Well, NASA is holding a meeting in Houston, Texas to figure that out.

NASA is in the process of planning where to set up their proposed landing spot on Mars...but I think they need to worry about actually getting a rocket into space first.  I mean, really?  Needing to piggy-back onto the ISS is pretty embarrassing for a country that landed a man on the moon, and considering that the last SpaceX launch blew up, they need to get their stuff together!

Sorry, just had to rant a little.  So if all goes well, NASA is planning on putting a man on Mars during the 2030's.  This is what Blastr.com had to report on the matter:

The researchers are expected to propose and consider approximately 62 mile-wide potential exploration zones. The teams will be considering a host of different variables. Major signposts include areas that are resource-rich to help the astronauts survive, have the potential for sub-surface ice (since those explorers will need water), and a site that is "scientifically interesting" so they might actually find some stuff of note.

NASA's Planetary Science Division head Jim Green said he expects the summit to be a "hot debate," and will serve as the first step toward a human station on Mars. Following the workshop later this year, NASA will study the most promising sites in additional detail from orbit with the Mars Odyssey spacecraft and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). It's a big decision, to be sure, so it's a good thing we have 20+ years to get it right.

If you want to read the whole article, here's the link:

http://www.blastr.com/2015-6-25/nasa-already-trying-figure-out-where-humans-should-set-base-mars

NASA Is Working On A Mars "Flying Boomerang"

NASA is starting to ramp up their tech for the upcoming Mars missions.  In fact, they are testing what will be the first flying machine to soar through the air on Mars, and will be used for mapping and and exploring the Martian landscape.

Right now, NASA is calling the Martian flyer Prandtl-m, is is a light-weight titanium vehicle that is just around 24 inches in length, and just one pound in weight.  Tests of the flier will be taking place before the end of the year, and will be done in the upper atmosphere here on Earth.  The high altitude test will simulate the low gravity and low atmosphere environment of Mars.  They're planning on testing it at 100,000 feet for their first test, then float it up to 450,000 feet on a balloon, and run it's second test there.

"The aircraft would be part of the ballast that would be ejected from the aeroshell that takes the Mars rover to the planet," program manager Al Bowers said." It would be able to deploy and fly in the Martian atmosphere and glide down and land. The Prandtl-m could overfly some of the proposed landing sites for a future astronaut mission and send back to Earth very detailed high resolution photographic map images that could tell scientists about the suitability of those landing sites."

 If all goes well, NASA is planning on sending the flier up with the next Mars rover mission.  There goal is to launch it, have it fly around 20 miles or so, and then land.  The data that they gain may help them nail down a possible site for their planned manned mission to the Red Planet...but more on that tomorrow!

This Aliens Tribute Film HAS To Get Made!!!

What was your favorite Alien film?  For me, it was by far, Aliens...the second movie in the series!  James Cameron did an amazing job on it, just like he does on all of his movies.  Don't believe me? Terminator, Terminator 2, Avatar, Titanic (just making a point) The Abyss...okay that last one may not have been a "great" movie?  But I liked it!

Alien 3 and every movie after has basically sucked.  Luckily, there is a guy that is out there trying to right a wrong.  There is a project that has been presented that would correct all of the mistakes that the franchise has made, by kinda starting over.

One of the biggest mistakes that were made was killing off Newt from Aliens.  This "fan-based" film corrects that problem.  In this film, everything that took place after Aliens was a cryogentic-dream, a "cryo-sleep nightmare" as they put it.  It never happened.  In this film, Elle Vaine Sonnet plays a twenty-something Newt, and Carrie Henn, who played Newt in the original Aliens will play her mother in flash backs.  

Henn is also joined by a returning character from the original Aliens film, Ricco Ross, who played Pvt Robert Frost, you said the classic line in the movie, "What do you expect us to use, man, harsh language?"

There isn't much news as far as where they are wanting to take this film, but they do say that it "plays heavily on the aesthetics of HR Giger," so that tells us something as far as where they're taking things!Adam Sonnet is the writer and director of this flick, and he's trying to get it started off of Kickstarter.com.  If you get a chance, look this film up, follow it on Twitter and Facebook, and if you can, help them get this film off the ground!  It's a great idea, with a great concept!  Make sure you like and follow them!

Black Panther And Captain America: Civil War

Captain America: Civil War is quickly turning into Avengers: 2.0.  Look at all of the characters that are going to be making an appearance in the film!  There's Black Widow, Captain America, Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, The Winter Soldier, Ant-Man, Spider-Man, Hawkeye, Vision, Falcon, and if rumors are to be believed, the Hulk.  The one character that stands out in this group is Black Panther, who we know will be playing a large part with Marvel's Phase III.  So why bring in a third tier character to pull a franchise?  I mean, besides the exceptional results from The Guardians of the Galaxy, right?  Here's what Kevin Feige, Marvel's President had to say:

"The reason we introduced him in Civil War is because we needed a third party.  We needed fresh eyes, who wasn't embedded with the Avengers and who has a very different point of view than either Tony or Steve.  We said, 'We need somebody like Black Panther...why don't we just use Black Panther?'  That's how it went in the development process."

Feige went on to explain that when we first see T'challa, he will be assuming the mantle of the Black Panther.  His father, T'Chaka, has handed it it over to him.  He doesn't have the experience of his father, but he holds the will to protect his country and his land.  As you may have noticed in Avengers: Age of Ultron, his mythical land of Wakanda had been mentioned a number of times, primarily dealing with their chief product, "vibranium," an amazing metal that is the composition of Captain America's shield.  It ain't adamantium, but it's still pretty bad ass!  Feige went on to say:

"Today, pre-Civil War, post-Ultron I think [Black Panther] and his father are saying, ' A bunch of vibranium just got out of here and wreaked a lot of havoc.  Maybe we can't stay behind these boarders anymore.  Maybe we have to stick our heads out and make at least an attempt to be part of the rest of the world right now, while at the same time protecting our people.'  That's sort of where we meet [Black Panther] in Civil War."

Black Panther's movie will be arriving in theaters in 2018.

The Falcon And The Ant-Man

We have all figured out by now that Scott Lang (a.k.a. Ant-Man) will soon be joining the Avengers, but how does he make that jump over to super-hero league?  It looks like he'll be getting a little bit of help from Sam Wilson (a.k.a. Falcon)!  The above picture was pulled from one of the Ant-Man commercials, and not only does the gun look like the one that Falcon used in Captain America: The Winter Soldier,  and it also looks like you can make out wings from his suit in the background, but I went onto IMDB.com and Anthony Mackie is listed in the credits as appearing in the movie.

This kind of makes sense.  Most of the team is still recovering from the events that took place in The Avengers: Age of Ultron, and as we know from the last scene of that film, Falcon has joined the new team of Avengers.  He's not only going to be one of the new members of the team, but he's also former military, and also worked with S.H.I.E.L.D. when it was around.  Bringing Sam Wilson into the film to help bridge the two franchises into the same universe is a great idea.

There's not a lot of information on just exactly what his role is going to be in the film, but luckily we won't have to wait much longer to find out.

Ant-Man is scheduled to be released into theaters on July 17, 2015.