Is 'Beasts Of Burden' Finally On Its Way To The Big Screen?

 

Independent comic companies are a plentiful bunch, but there are a few of the so called 'smaller' companies that are putting out tons of great material to compete with Marvel & DC. Image is riding high with The Walking Dead, which helps fund a plethora of their other creator owned books. Dark Horse is the other major player in the second wave of comic publishers. They have a monster property in Hellboy, and they use that main character to drive most of the titles they offer. Due to Hellboy's horror/supernatural influences, Dark Horse tends to dabble into this area more often then not. One of the cooler titles that they have come out with is 'Beasts of Burden, which is a title that appeared in a bunch of 'Dark Horse Presents...' collections and a mini series of its very own, as well as a cross over one shot with Hellboy. The base of the story is a group of five dogs and a cat who investigate paranormal activity in the town of Burden Hill. The book is extremely well written by Evan Dorkin and drawn by Jill Thompson, and it is a lot of fun. Now it is possibly getting the big screen treatment from Shane Acker, the director of the the underrated CGI/animated movie '9'...

Check out more from the official press release after the jump...

New Images From 'The World's End' Have Me Even More Excited For The Return Of Wright/Pegg/Frost!!!

Ever since I saw the pure genius that was Shaun of the Dead, I knew that I was going to be a forever fan of Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost. The movie was pure perfection, and truth be told there hasn't been much that the three have done since (either as a team or solo) that I haven't enjoyed. They have all branched out to do great stuff, but a chance at getting them back together now that they have reached such great heights in their career is a dream for a fan like me. It looks like I will be getting my wish this year with The World's End, the third chapter in the 'Blood & Ice Cream' trilogy started by Shaun & Hot Fuzz. The movie is top secret, but it revolves around a reunion of 5 high school buddies who started out on a bar crawl through their town bars (there are 12) years ago and only got through 9 of them. Now adults, they plan on tackling the circuit of pubs once again. They plan on culminating the lifelong journey at a pub called The World's End. Only something seems to get in the way... something like aliens perhaps... or another major world ending threat... yeah, shit gets real! With an excellent supporting cast joining Frost & Pegg (Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, and Eddie Marsan) and Wright behind the lens, I am in. The film comes out here in the States in October, but take a look at the 1st movie poster and four stills from the film to wet your beak a bit after the jump...

Ron Howard Is Going To Direct 'The Graveyard Book'. I Think I Just Died...

The Graveyard Book is one of my favorite pieces of fiction by Neil Gaiman. He is a killer author who has written some killer books (Anasi Boys, American Gods, Star Dust) and comic books (Sandman, The Eternals, Marvel 1602) over his illustrious career. But reason why I love The Graveyard Book so much is because it is for kids... but Gaiman doesn't dumb things down and make them soft for the kiddies. nope, this book STARTS with a brutal murder of an entire family by a calculating killer, and the escape of a little infant named Bod from said killer. Bod was the target, and the wandering infant finds refuge in local Graveyard where he is taken in by two ghosts. They raise Bod, and the book chronicles his growing up among the dead bodies, ghouls, ghosts, and monsters that occupy the graveyard. It is so great, yet it maintains the creepiness and scary level of horror that Gaiman is known for. Last year Henry Selleck (Coraline, The Nightmare Before Christmas) was set to bring the book to the big screen via a stop motion film in collaboration with Disney. But Selleck has parted ways with The Mouse House, so the movie has been spinning in developmental hell. But now Disney is announcing they are moving forward with a LIVE ACTION version of the book directed by Ron Howard! Ron Fucking Howard... WOW! This is probably the best news I can ever ask for as a fan of the book. I love Howard's work, especially his work with family/teen subject matter. This is great news. I acn't wait to see how this plays out. Akiva Goldsman is probably going to re-write the screenplay, and whenever these two get together magic usually happens. If you haven't read the book, pick it up now. And also check out a short animated book trailer narrated by Gaiman himself after the jump...