A lot of people seemed to be pretty excited about an adaptation of the Max Brooks novel, World War Z. The book tells the story of a zombie outbreak and the human fight against them told through various first-person accounts of the devastating event.

A movie adaptation of the book has been in the works for a long while now with Brad Pitt attached to star and his Plan B Entertainment producing. The script was originally written by J. Michael Straczynski and recently rewritten by Matthew Michael Carnahan, with Quantum of Solace director Marc Forster locked to helm the project. Even with the long developmental period all signs pointed to World War Z being a huge future blockbuster, but now Paramount Pictures is having second thoughts…and they might just call it off completely.

Sources are indicating that right now, as it stands, Paramount is excited about the movie but they don’t want to risk going all-in without a co-financier. The cost of making World War Z is currently estimated at around $125 million, and they just don’t want to throw down that kind of coin without someone else there to sink or swim with them. [...]

It’s being reported that Deadwood star Ian McShane has joined the cast of X-Men and The Usual Suspects director Bryan Singer‘s upcoming movie, Jack the Giant Killer, which is a brand new take on the tale of Jack and the Beanstalk.

McShane will play King Brahmwell, ruler of the lands and father to the princess (Eleanor Tomlinson) who is taken by a giant. The princess’s capture sees a lowly farm boy (Nicholas Hoult) set off with a team to rescue her, despite the king’s dislike of his daughter being so close to someone not of equal standing. The mission also risks breaking a fragile peace agreement between the humans and giants.

McShane joins the cast that also includes Ewan McGregor, who’s playing the top soldier in the king’s army, Bill Nighy and John Kassir who play the two-headed leader of the giants, Fallon, and Stanley Tucci, who’s playing an adviser to the king with plans to take over rulership. [...]

If you’ve ever seen one of the many action movies starring martial artist Steven Seagal, you know the man is a cinematic legend when it comes to breaking bones. Countless bad guys have tried to dance with the scariest man with a ponytail, and many of them found themselves with at least one broken bone…if not much worse.

One of the true joys of the internet and YouTube era is that anyone with a little time on their hands can put together a montage of something great — certain memorable lines, amusing swearing, or exciting actions — and that’s exactly what Film Drunk did, putting together every broken bone that Mr. Seagal has ever been responsible for.

You know you want to see this; be sure to click on over to the other side now, to see the video. [...]

Earlier this month, Warner Home Video revealed the details for The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy Extended Edition Blu-ray Edition box set. At that time, no release date was given, only that it’s be out some time in 2011 or 2012, and that the set was now available for pre-order.

Now, WB has announced that this 15-disc Blu-ray set will be released on June 28, 2011.

When this set was originally announced, it was titled The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy Limited Extended Edition Blu-ray Edition, and the box art reflected that name. The newly released box art (see above) shows that the word “limited” has been dropped and “The Motion Picture” added to it. Either way, it’s still a mouthful, but it’s worth it! (in my opinion) [...]

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dreadfully Ever After
By Steve Hockensmith
Paperbook | Kindle
Quirk Books
Release date: March 22, 2011

Prior to 2009, who would have thought that zombies invading the world of Jane Austen’s literary classic Pride and Prejudice would be the break-out hit of the fiction bestseller lists, spawning countless similar monsters-meet-classic novel mash-ups? But that’s just what the Quirk Classics tale Pride and Prejudice and Zombies did, so it’s no wonder that the publisher decided to delve back into this twisted version of early 19th century England to churn out an original prequel, PPZ: Dawn of the Dreadfuls, as well as a sequel, the newly released Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dreadfully Ever After by Steve Hockensmith.

The trilogy centers around Miss Elizabeth Bennett, one of five sisters, each of whom has been trained in martial arts and are experts at dispatching “dreadfuls,” the undead creatures who crave the taste of the living. In the prequel, we learn how the Bennett sisters became the deadly protectors of England that they are; in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Elizabeth must balance her role as a proper young lady in society and her mother’s wish for her to find a suitable husband, with her very unlady-like duty to protect her family and countrymen from the hordes of attacking zombies. In the end, Elizabeth snags the most eligible of all bachelors, the well-to-do Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, and the couple live happily ever after… right? [...]

X-Men Annual #3 began the epic Escape from the Negative Zone story arc that will eventually team the mutants with the first Captain America Steve Rogers! Steve Rogers Super Soldier Annual #1 from writer James Asmus and artist Ibraim Roberson finds the X-Men marked for execution by King Blastaar, but Steve Rogers is ready to take on the entire Negative Zone to save the day! The story continues in Namor First Mutant Annual #1. Jump in with Steve Rogers Super Soldier Annua1 #1 when it hits shelves on April 13th!

Weren’t these annual books single epic stories in an over-sized issue back in the old days? Now to get an entire story you have to buy all of the Marvel Annuals? Really? The sad part is that this sounds like a fun sort of classic Marvel crossover kind of story that requires a look. We have some images from Steve Rogers Super Soldier Annual #1. Check them out and you decide! [...]

Today, March 22, 2011, is Star Trek veteran William Shatner’s 80th Birthday!

Apparently, it’s also Talk Like William Shatner Day and a contest was held where fans uploaded videos to YouTube doing their best Shatner impression. Check out the video here below of some of Shatner’s pals, like actor Jason Alexander, talking like actor.

In honor of this most awesome day, the great folks over at Trek Movie have listed “80 reasons why William Shatner is awesome” and we’re on board with all of them!

Happy Birthday, William Shatner, we love you! [...]

Today, online retailer Amazon has a Gold Box full of games. The main Gold Box Deal of the day is Dragon Age II for only 40 bucks for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, or PC download. But the awesome doesn’t stop there.

ALL of today’s Lightning Deals will be video games and accessories too, giving you a whole day to order new games to your heart’s content. See the main Lightning Deals page and check the right column to watch as deals pop up all day. The first one, De Blob 2, is already up on sale.

From 9am through 10pm EST (today, Tuesday, March 22, 2011), a new deal will go up every 2-3 hours and only be available for a few hours OR sooner while supplies last — and they sell out fast!

The deals items are not revealed until the second they go on sale, but there is a small hint that’s there. A commenter on the Gold Box deal page thinks he has solved all of Amazon’s riddles and knows what the lightening deals will be [...]

The video game deal of the day over at Amazon today is Dragon Age II for Playstation 3, Xbox 360, PC, PC Download for $39.99 each (that’s 33% off the list price of $59.95)

Note, this deal is only for today, Tuesday, March 22, 2011, til midnight PST while supplies last [...]

It seems like once a week someone does yet another design with the Hypnotoad as if the world really needs anoth–ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD!

The t-shirt deal of the day over at RIPT Apparel is “Hypno Toad” which mashes up Futurama with Super Mario Bros.

The tee, by artist D4N13L, went on sale at RIPT today, Tuesday, March 22, 2011, at midnight CST, and will continue for 24 hours from then, and once it’s over, it will not be sold on the site anymore [...]

Fans of Bethesda Softworks’ Fallout franchise may not know this (I certainly didn’t), but way back in 1998 a movie adaptation of the first game in the series was in the works. Interplay Entertainment, who owned Fallout and Fallout 2 developer Black Isle Studios, had begun a new division called Interplay Films with plans of making multiple movies based on their games.

After the popular debut of the first Fallout in 1997 it was obviously a world that was perfect for film adaptation, but sadly it would never come to be; even with multiple studios interested in the movie, Interplay closed its film division and that was that. Three outlines of what was to become a script were written by Brent V. Friedman while it was still being developed, however, and recently the second treatment was found on a old floppy disk.

So would a Fallout movie have worked or would it have just become another example of how horrible video game movies have been over the years? Click on over to the other side now to find out where you can read the full treatment and share your thoughts below! [...]

Frank Darabont and Stephen King are a pair of artists meant to work together. For those who don’t know, Darabont has written and directed three movies based on the stories of King, including The Mist, The Green Mile, and of course, The Shawshank Redemption.

Now comes word that King might just be helping out Darabont with season 2 of his hit zombie TV series, The Walking Dead. Actress Laurie Holden, while at the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo this past weekend, shared that King was actually in talks to write an episode of the show’s sophomore season, which will run 13 episodes as opposed to the first season’s 6.

Usually when actors randomly share news like this is seems to end up being completely wrong or a total misunderstanding, but it does make a lot of sense for the two talents to work together again and it would be an incredibly exciting episode to anticipate for fans. [...]

It may have taken a little longer than we had anticipated, but production has now officially begun on The Hobbit, the two-part adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien‘s classic tale being directed by Peter Jackson.

New Line Cinema and MGM have sent out a press release announcing the official start of filming, along with some new information on the movie and a cast rundown. Also released is the first two images from the set of The Hobbit, featuring Jackson in a familiar setting.

You can check out the first image above, and you can see a second image and read all of the details mentioned in the press release by continuing on below now.

The movie stars Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins and Ian McKellen as Gandalf. The Dwarves are played by Richard Armitage (Thorin Oakenshield), Ken Stott (Balin), Graham McTavish (Dwalin), William Kircher (Bifur) James Nesbitt (Bofur), Stephen Hunter (Bombur), Rob Kazinsky (Fili), Aidan Turner (Kili), Peter Hambleton (Gloin), John Callen (Oin), Jed Brophy (Nori), Mark Hadlow (Dori), and Adam Brown (Ori). [...]

The Lincoln Lawyer
Directed by Brad Furman
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe, William H. Macy, John Leguizamo, Frances Fisher, Michael Pena, Josh Lucas
Release date: March 18, 2011

Los Angeles is an incomparable environment when we are talking about the innocent and the sinful; the beautiful and the damned; the honorable and the deceitful. The California hotspot has been glorified by films’ exposing of corruption that is at the city’s core. The steamy nights, palm trees lining the most dangerous sidewalks, and homes of all sizes overlooking the inestimable amount of glittering lights. These are touchstone characteristics of modern day film noirs (Mulholland Dr.) and classic noirs (Mildred Pierce). It is such a city that is ripe for extravagance, tragedy, merciless characters, beauty, and horrific doings. And people are still attracted to it. But maybe the most honored characteristic of noirs and L.A. is a hero who signifies American coolness and who is unafraid to excavate past the norm.

And who is cooler to strut the streets of L.A. and get chauffeured around in his black Lincoln (which doubles as his office) than Matthew McConaughey? “Ain’t no Love in the Heart of the City” by Bobby Blue Bland is playing as we first see Mick Haller (McConaughey), a smooth, conniving, haughty hotshot defense lawyer. And surely love is hard to come by in this L.A., directed harshly and correctly by Brad Furman (The Take), who shows the city’s grimness and shadiness opposed to hiding behind its superficial beauty. Within the first few scenes we know that Mick is well acquainted with his environment, keeping close to him drug abusers, motorcycle gangs, and conmen, all who give him valuable information. Everything is business-related. His ex-wife (Marisa Tomei) works with the DA. There is no true love there either [...]

The official website for Gibson guitars has released what they perceive to be the top 50 metal songs of all time. Gibson.com’s writers and editors worked on compiling the list over several weeks, releasing 10 entries at a time, and recently released the top 10, which declared the number one metal song to be “Master of Puppets” by Metallica.

In some ways, the number one spot for Metallica is fitting, considering 2011 is the 25th anniversary of the release of their Master of Puppets album. Having said that though, metalheads are notorious for having fierce and strong opinions about what they consider to be their “top songs,” on top of their fierce and strong opinions about what bands are or are not even metal [...]

The second trailer is now online for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the upcoming fourth installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise.

Watch it here below.

Also, Disney has released two new images from the film, which sees the return of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, this time on a quest to find the fabled Fountain of Youth. See the new images here [...]

The t-shirt deal of the day over at RIPT Apparel is “Famous Androids,” which features 12 popular robots/androids, including Star Wars droid R2-D2 and a Dalek from Doctor Who.

The tee, by artist Faniseto, went on sale at RIPT today, Monday, March 21, 2011, at midnight CST, and will continue for 24 hours from then, and once it’s over, it will not be sold on the site anymore [...]

Recorded March 20, 2011.

Our March Doom Of The Month will be the first pocketbook of Terry Moore’s Strangers In Paradise! If you want to read along with us, head on over to Instocktrades.com or DCBService.com to pick up Strangers In Paradise for a super price! Be sure to check back at the end of March for our special review episode.

Check out Episode 52 of Comics of Doom, the official comics podcast of Geeks of Doom. Click HERE to open the podcast player in a new window.

Podcast player is here below, along with an Episode Guide.

Listen now!

E-mail us at comicsofdoom [at] gmail.com
Follow us on Twitter – @ComicsOfDoom
Subscribe to the Podcast: RSS | iTunes | Zune [...]

A remake to Red Dawn has been coming for a long while now. In fact, the movie was put together and filmed back in 2009, but has faced many struggles and complications in making its way to the big screen. This new “complication” will not help its cause.

It’s being reported that MGM, the studio that has faced many financial woes and saw massive franchises like The Hobbit and James Bond in danger of never happening, has decided to make some monumental changes to the movie.

The original 1984 movie was set during the Cold War and saw a bunch of kids fighting the invading Russian Soviets, but in the remake it was decided to go with China instead, for whatever reason. Your guess is as good as mine. Anyway — distributors weren’t big on the idea of backing such a movie, especially with China getting much more involved in the movie industry…and having the money to back it up. The problem is, as mentioned above, the movie is already done. [...]

Every year, the good Doctor and his companions drop in on BBC’s Comic Relief, an annual telethon for Red Nose Day in the UK. Traditionally, each Comic Relief sees a mini-Doctor Who episode broadcast. This year, however, we get TWO mini-episodes!

Part 1, named Space, and Part 2, named Time, are both written by Steven Moffat, and feature Matt Smith as the Doctor, Karen Gillan as Amy Pond, and Arthur Darvill as Rory Williams.

Moffat’s thrown in a few great gags in there, the story is pretty impressive given how short it is, and it’s a nice little taste of Doctor Who before the new series kicks off next months.

Sit back, check it out, and enjoy [...]