Here’s an interesting bit of superhero news. The Phantom is coming back to Hollywood for a new movie. It will be a “reboot,” not a sequel to the 1996 movie starring Billy Zane.

Screenwriter Tim Boyle tells CNS that a costume change is underway for the crimefighting jungle dweller.

“No more purple leotard outfit for the mysterious masked avenger.”

Boyle explains, “Like Batman Begins, where he takes a high tech spelunking suit and turns it into the basis of his costume - we’re looking at making it a real world costume. Think of what Bryan Singer did with the blue and yellow Wolverine costume - that’s what we have to do. Make it accessible to the public without annoying the fans too much.”
[via CNS]

The Phantom lives in the jungles of Africa and fights pirates and other crime lords. He normally wears a skin-tight purple leotard and rides a white horse named Hero. He is aided by a wolf named Devil and a trained falcon named Fraka.

Basically, he’s a cross between Tarzan and Zorro.

I’m very interested to see what his new costume will look like. I admit his purple spandex in the jungle looks fairly silly. But he’s been that way in the comics for over 70 years. If they completely change his look, the fans will indeed be outraged.

The new Phantom movie is tentatively scheduled for a 2009 release, and the working title is The Ghost Who Walks.

We’ll post a photo of the new costume as soon as we can. In the meantime, enjoy these clips from the 1996 movie starring Billy Zane, Catherine Zeta Jones and Kristy Swanson.

Everyone’s favorite ogre is back in top form. Shrek the Musical opened on Broadway last night, an adaptation of the 2001 blockbuster movie about an ogre with a heart of gold.

The New York Times gave the show a mixed review. Critic Ben Brantley says, “Shrek, for the record, is not bad.”

But Brantley’s main objection to the show, interestingly enough, is the costumes.

“Then there’s the issue of performers having to dress up to resemble fantasy illustrations, a process that, to put it kindly, tends to cramp expressive acting. As the title character, a misanthropic green ogre who learns to love, the talented Mr. James is so encumbered with padding and prosthetics that your instinct is to rush the stage and tap his head to see if he’s really in there.”

I haven’t seen the show, but based on the photos and video I’ve seen, I think the costumes look really good. Great, in fact. This show looks like a ton of fun.

[via New York Times]

 
Shrek the Musical will run on Broadway through Dec. 21, 2008. If you are able to get to New York City, you can purchase tickets online from Telecharge.com. The show runs for 2 hours and 30 minutes and is fun for the whole family (ages 4 and up).

A new Shrek movie is scheduled for a theatrical release in 2010, aptly entitled, “Shrek Goes Fourth.” Glad to see our big green buddy isn’t going away any time soon!

Ready to dress up like Santa for the big Christmas party? Well, firefighters in North Wales have a message for you:

Don’t set yourself on fire.

As part of a campaign for holiday safety, firefighters burned two mannequins dressed as Santa in order to demonstrate the flammable nature of Santa costumes. They also warned of the risks of holiday drinking.

A popular holiday alcoholic drink is Sampuca. It’s very strong, and is usually served lit on fire.

Lots of fun, but very dangerous - especially if you happen to be wearing a Santa suit.

Firefighter Tony Jones said: “When people go out drinking, their guard is down. If you think of a drink like Sambuca, it’s an accelerant, it’s like petrol. These things can be very dangerous when people light their drinks. And if they are wearing a fancy dress costume as well, the materials are very thin, flimsy and easily ignitable.”

“Our message is to go out, enjoy yourself but also be aware of the dangers.” [via BBC News]

 
If you’re going to be drinking and playing with fire, dressed as Santa, perhaps it would be a good idea to get a bottle of fire retardant spray for an extra measure of safety.

Be smart and safe, Everyone!

Nothing says Christmas like…villians. This Direct TV commercial makes the Grinch look more evil than Freddy Krueger. The narration is in Spanish but you don’t need to understand it to appreciate the commercial’s weird, albeit a little creepy, Holiday goodness. Gosh, I love advertising.

Spanish translation:
Some people are only good at Christmas.
Others are good all year.
Direct TV is better

This list from CollegeOTR is cracking me up this morning.

The 15 Worst Joker Costumes, and yeah, they are pretty bad. About a million people dressed as the Joker last Halloween. The Joker is a great character, and he wears a great costume.

But you know what? These “less than successful” attempts are fantastic in their own way. Definitely made my morning! Be sure to visit CollegeOTR to view the entire list.

[via CollegeOTR]

These photos make me want to watch another Dark Knight PSA with the B&J Supersquad.

Yes, I know Jim Carrey is a comedic kind of guy, and he’s worn crazy costumes before, but check out these hilarious production stills from the Yes Man, coming to theater’s Friday, December 19th.

There’s something so ridiculous about seeing Jim Carrey in a Harry Potter costume, isn’t there? But, I guess when you say “yes” to EVERYTHING, you’re going to end up in costume at some point or another.

Here’s a peek at the trailer. I can’t wait to see this, it looks pretty freakin’ funny, wouldn’t you say? (the answer to that is “YES,” by the way).

The video below is very odd. Which makes it perfect for MyDisguises.

Someone in a bacon costume battles someone in a mayonnaise costume - in a tub full of a 6,000 lbs of mayonnaise! Because everyone knows that bacon and mayo are bitter rivals, right?

Okay, maybe I’m dating myself here, but does anyone remember the 1974 TV series Land of the Lost? It’s hard to forget Grumpy the dinosaur, the primate boy Chaka, the reptilian Sleestak or…that dreamy Will Marshall.

But I digress.

The topic I’m trying to arrive at is…Land of the Lost is coming to the big screen next July as a remake. I know we live in the era of the remakes, but this is one movie I never expected to see. Especially with Will Ferrell at the helm, starring as Rick Marshall (the film is labled as a comedy/adventure so maybe Ferrell will fit the part…we’ll have to wait and see).

Based on the classic television series created by Sid & Marty Krofft, Land of the Lost, Will Ferrell stars as has-been scientist Dr. Rick Marshall, sucked into a space-time vortex spat back through time in a universe full of dinosaurs and fantastic creatures from beyond our world. Marshall has no weapons, few skills and questionable intelligence to survive in the Land of the Lost.

Sucked alongside him, are brainy research assistant Holly (Anna Friel) and a redneck survivalist (Danny McBride) named Will. Chased by T. Rex and stalked by reptiles known as Sleestaks, Marshall, Will and Holly must rely on their only ally—a primate called Chaka (Jorma Taccone)—to navigate out of the routine expedition gone awry.

Below is the intro to the 1974 original so you’ll have something to compare the new Land of the Lost with:

[via JediRobe.com]

Atari has released a new trailer for their upcoming Ghostbusters video game. It looks awesome!

The original cast has returned to do the voice work, and it looks like they captured the original style and humor that made the movies so great. Who ya gonna call?

The game is scheduled to be released in June, 2009.

This is a pretty funny video from CollegeHumor.

Batman and the Joker team up to fight back pain in Better Living with B & J. It’s nice to see that two enemies can put aside their differences to make the world a better place.

Thanks to SBlakely for the tip.

Update (12-03-08) -
I didn’t realize that there are a ton of these Dark Knight PSA videos. These are funny, enjoy!

Good news, Dr. Horrible fans! The superhero musical that took the Internet by storm last summer is now on available on DVD!

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog is currently only available on Amazon.com at a low price of $9.99.

Joss Whedon went overboard on the DVD extras, filling it with hidden Easter Eggs, the Evil League of Evil contest winners, and a musical commentary! Yes, you heard correctly. They sing the commentary, how awesome is that? We get two musicals for the price of one!

For those of you with Christmas shopping left to do, this will make a great gift.

Visit Amazon.com to purchase the DVD.

This is really amazing. A very creative and talented father modified an Iron Man costume for his 5-year-old son. He added a computer chip, magnetic lights and a CO2 air pump “missile launcher.”

Here’s a list of the features included in the costume:

• Repulsor Air - Blows air with CO2 air pump on hip and hose back to his hand.

• Repulsor Missile - Using CO2 air pump can also launch a paper missile.

• Repulsor Sensor/Light - A magnetic switch sensor for lighting the repulsor hand light. It fades in and out of the glowing eyes. Arduino handles this effect.

• Repulsor Sound Effect(s) - Originally not working. Worked around problem by using right-mouse, middle-mouse button and configured Elightenment17 to playback sound effects using Mplayer script. Mouse buttons activated by Arduino Digital output triggered by sensors.

• Arc Reactor - A LED night light from Costco embedded in the chest.

• BeagleBoard: Powerful Computer - With BeagleBoard already running in JARVUS box .

• Arduino: Super Input/Output Board - Handles repulsor effects but can add other sensors to enable even cooler special effects!!

What a great dad, and what a lucky kid!

[via Gizmodo]