Hollywood Ink: POW! Disney Doubles Down on Comics Heroes

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· Happy New Year, dear reader! Nothing has changed: Not long after finally closing its pricey deal to buy Marvel Comics, Disney went ahead and threw some additional cash at Stan Lee's POW! Entertainment. The studio has had a first-look arrangement with the legendary comic-book creator's company since 2007; the new, $2.5 million pact gives Disney a 10-percent stake in POW!, which entitles it to consulting services and "enhanced rights" to Lee's properties. No one at either office specified exactly what "enhanced rights" means, though that pale look its associates get these when you joke about their first-born children may be all the specifics you need. [THR]

The Orphanage gets an overseer, the industry follows its biggest year ever with more whining, and more Hollywood Ink after the jump.

· The American remake of the Spanish gothic-horror import The Orphanage is close to locking in Mark Pellington (Arlington Road, The Mothman Prophecies) to direct. Guillermo Del Toro is the co-writer and executive producer. [Variety]

· There's a dark side to Hollywood's Biggest! Year! Ever!, and it reportedly comes in both DVD and Blu-ray formats: In 2009, for the first time since the mid-1990s, domestic box-office grosses eclipsed the figures for home-video sales, $9.87 billion to $8.73 billion. Researchers attribute the DVDip to consumers' developing preference to rent rather than buy, which should make for a fascinating illustration of Rupert Murdoch as a Redbox machine once another particular outlet gets a hold of this story. [Variety]

· In any case, a record-setting '09 didn't keep studios and TV networks from griping about New York's new policy for shooting in municipal buildings like the Manhattan Supreme Court and Brooklyn Borough Hall, a privilege that now comes with a $3,200 permit fee. [NYT]

· Lucy Punch landed the best-friend role in Earthbound, featuring Kate Hudson as a cancer-stricken advertising agent who falls in love with a dreamboat portrayed by Gael Garcia Bernal. Shooting commences later this month. Please don't try to revive me. [THR]



Comments

  • Martini Shark says:

    If the municipal fees in NY are getting out of hand they could simply stage scenes in the offices of the County Clerk and barter the licence fees with craft services. Imagine the gripping footage "Law & Order" could shoot with dialogue flying between bullet-proof payment windows.

  • I love this idea. That said, it blows my mind that a decade-and-a-half into the run of all these cop/court procedurals that there aren't a few permanent courthouse sets at Kaufman Astoria, Silvercup or wherever else. I mean, they can't really expect to pass those scripts off every week and get away with crying "authenticity."