“Dark Knight” Viral Game Reveals Hardy’s Bane

While principal photography for Christopher Nolan and Warner Bros. incoming DC Comics adaptation “The Dark Knight Rises” just started yesterday, it appears the studio is already on top of promoting the next Batman movie. Today, a number of fan sites including SuperHeroHype played along with a new viral game launched along with the film’s official website at TheDarkKnightRises.com. The audio file of chanting men on the official site contained a phrase hidden in its computer coding which let fans to the Twitter account @thefirerises which in turn pointed viewers to the first official image of actor Tom Hardy as the villain Bane:

These moves fall well in line with Warners campaign for “The Dark Knight” which offered fans sneak peeks and advanced screenings for playing along with games centered on Harvey Dent’s District Attorney campaign and the Joker’s “Why So Serious?” rein of terror.

For more, check out SuperHeroHype

NBC Passes On Wonder Woman

NBC has passed on David E. Kelley’s much-discussed Wonder Woman pilot, which reimagined the DC Comics superheroine as a successful corporate executive who fights crime in Los Angeles.

Entertainment Weekly reports that although the network isn’t saying why the pilot isn’t among the wave of pickups announced over the past couple of days, word is that it garnered mixed reviews at test screenings.

Announced in October, the revival seemed shaky almost from the start, with Kelley revealing two months later that he hadn’t “necessarily committed” to the project. However, when he did commit, Warner Bros. encountered difficulty finding a home for the pilot, with all the broadcast networks initially passing on Wonder Woman before NBC changed course in late January. That was followed by negative reaction to a leaked draft of the script and then the first look at star Adrianne Palicki in a costume that apparently never made it into the pilot.

EW suggests Warner Bros. could shop the pilot elsewhere, but then immediately dismisses that notion, wondering who would want a project NBC rejected. Besides, all the other networks already passed on Wonder Woman back in January.

It’s not all bad news for Kelley, though: The network renewed his midseason legal drama Harry’s Law for a second season. Parenthood, too, will return for another season.

NBC also picked up three other series tonight: Grimm, the fantastical cop drama from Jim Kouf (Angel) and David Greenwalt (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) set in a world in which characters from Grimm’s fairy tales are real; The Playboy Club, a drama that centers on the opening of the first Playboy Club in Chicago in 1963; and Awake (formerly REM), a drama from Lone Star creator Kyle Kellen that follows the parallel lives of a detective who can’t let go of his fractured family after a car accident.

The addition of Grimm may, unfortunately, mean the network passed on 17th Precinct, a supernatural crime drama from Battlestar Galactica‘s Ronald D. Moore that stars Jamie Bamber, James Callis, Tricia Helfer, Stockard Channing and Kristin Kreuk.

Joanne Siegel’s posthumous appeal to Warner Bros.

December 10, 2010

Jeffrey L. Bewkes
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Time Warner Inc.

Dear Jeff,

I am Joanne Siegel widow of Jerry Siegel, creator of Superboy and co-creator of Superman with Joe Shuster. It has always been my policy to be in touch with the Chairmen of the Board of your company going back to when Steve Ross formed Warner Communications.

Steve Ross knew how to take care of large vexing problems. He paid the price, whatever it was, then went on, and the company prospered. He was gracious and friendly when my late husband Jerry and I met him at a stockholders meeting after he sent Jerry, Joe, my daughter Laura and me company stock. He also phoned me to say if we needed anything I should just pick up the phone and call him. He said if he could not be reached for some reason, one of the top officers in the company, Deane Johnson, would handle things personally. Laura and I believe if Steve were alive our copyright ownership matter would have been successfully resolved long ago.

Jerry Levin was also reachable and thoughtful. He sent my husband and later me, cases of grapefruit at the holiday season. He remembered Jerry’s birthday with a Superman sculpture. When my Jerry passed away, Jerry Levin told Laura and me that we are part of the Time Warner family, part of its history. Unfortunately he retired before our rights issues were resolved. He had given his attorneys too much power so that negotiations were unsatisfactory and a settlement was impossible. Dick Parsons, on the other hand, was not friendly and, under him, the attorneys hired by the company were arrogant and pro-litigation.

Now you are Chairman and CEO. Because we are in litigation I held off writing to you. I now believe had we had contact early on, things might not have gone so far off track.

My daughter Laura and I, as well as the Shuster estate, have done nothing more than exercise our rights under the Copyright Act. Yet, your company has chosen to sue us and our long-time attorney for protecting our rights.

On December 1st I turned 93. I am old enough to be your mother. I have grown grandchildren. Unfortunately I am not in the best of health. My cardiologist provided a letter to your attorneys informing them that I suffer from a serious heart condition and that forcing me to go through yet another stressful deposition could put me in danger of a heart attack or stroke. I am also on medications that have side effects which force me to stay close to home and restrooms. Nonetheless your attorneys are forcing me to endure a second deposition even though I have already undergone a deposition for a full day in this matter. As clearly they would be covering the same ground, their intention is to harass me.

My dear daughter Laura too has painful medical conditions including multiple sclerosis, arthritis, glaucoma, spine disorders, and fibromyalgia. She has already had her deposition taken twice by your attorneys while in pain. Her doctors have given written statements saying she should not be subjected to a third deposition, yet your attorneys are insisting on re-taking her deposition in an effort to harass her as well.

So I ask you to please consider – do these mean spirited tactics meet with your approval? Do you really think the families of Superman’s creators should be treated this way?

As you know, DC and Warner Bros. have profited enormously from 72 years of exploiting Jerry and Joe’s wonderful creation. Superman is now a billion dollar franchise and has been DC’s flagship property for all this time.

As for this letter, the purpose is three-fold:

To protest harassment of us that will gain you nothing but bad blood and a continued fight.

To protest harassment of our attorney by falsely accusing him of improper conduct in an attempt to deprive us of legal counsel.

To make you aware that in reality this is a business matter and that continuing with litigation for many more years will only benefit your attorneys.

This is not just another case. The public and press are interested in Superman and us and are aware of our and your litigations.

The solution to saving time, trouble, and expense is a change of viewpoint. Laura and I are legally owed our share of Superman profits since 1999. By paying the owed bill in full, as you pay other business bills, it would be handled as a business matter, instead of a lawsuit going into its 5th year.

Even though you will no doubt pass this letter on to your attorneys, the final decision is yours. Your image as well as the company’s reputation rests on a respectable and acceptable outcome, and I hope you will get personally involved to insure this matter is handled properly.

The courtesy of a friendly and meaningful reply from you will be most appreciated.

Sincerely,
Joanne Siegel

Diane Lane Cast As Martha Kent In Zack Snyder’s Superman Reboot

Read the official announcement below:

BURBANK, CA, March 2, 2011 – Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures announced today that Oscar®-nominated actress Diane Lane will play Martha Kent, the only mother Clark Kent has ever known, in the new Superman movie to be directed by Zack Snyder.

Snyder stated, “This was a very important piece of casting for me because Martha Kent is the woman whose values helped shape the man we know as Superman. We are thrilled to have Diane in the role because she can convey the wisdom and the wonder of a woman whose son has powers beyond her imagination.”

Lane will star with Henry Cavill, who was recently announced as the new Clark Kent/Superman.

Lane earned an Academy Award® nomination for her performance in the 2002 drama “Unfaithful.” She most recently starred in the family hit “Secretariat.” She next stars in the HBO feature “Cinema Verite,” opposite Tim Robbins and James Gandolfini. Lane’s long list of film credits also includes “Nights in Rodanthe,” “Hollywoodland,” “Must Love Dogs,” “Under the Tuscan Sun,” “Perfect Storm,” “My Dog Skip,” “Chaplin,” “The Cotton Club” and “A Little Romance,” to name only a portion.

Charles Roven, Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Deborah Snyder are the producers of the film. The screenplay is being written by David S. Goyer based on a story by Goyer and Nolan. Thomas Tull and Lloyd Phillips are serving as executive producers.

Slated for release in December 2012, the new Superman movie will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.