Alien Legion, Walt Disney Pictures & Bruckheimer Opzioni

[Scissorhands]

Con un pò di ritardo (era bookmarkata da giorni) riporto tale notizia:

http://www.usatoday.com/life/comics/2009-1...t=Google+Reader

'Alien Legion' prepares for blast-off

"Footsloggers and soldiers of fortune, priests, poets, killers and cads — they fight for a future Galarchy, for cash, for a cause, for the thrill of adventure. Legionnaires live rough and they die hard, tough as tungsten and loyal to the dirty end." So began the Alien Legion comic book series, more than 25 years ago.

Launched in 1984 as the pet project of series creator Carl Potts, Alien Legion has developed a cult following over the years. The series redefined the military science-fiction genre, telling tales of war and space exploration through the eyes of a rough-and-tumble intergalactic foreign legion. Imagine a much grittier Star Trek blended with The Dirty Dozen and Kelly's Heroes. Its popularity is evidenced by it being the longest continuously running series in the history of 1980s Marvel imprint Epic Comics.

Potts looks to the underlying theme of the series as being a key reason for Alien Legion's popularity. "I think what registered with readers is that idea of America's melting pot in space — different cultures, religions, races — all working together. These differences are a source of strength but can also cause problems. I extrapolated on that and thought 'what would happen if you put that idea into a military unit?' I wanted to put it in a pressure cooker to test the theory."

One of the series' artists, Chris Warner, is now the Dark Horse Collection Editor for the AL Omnibus volumes. Legion provided Warner with his first gig in the comic industry and he welcomed the opportunity to reacquaint himself with the series and to work with Potts again. "I've really enjoyed getting back into the book. Talk about coming full circle — I broke into comics with Carl as my editor and now, 25 years later, I'm his editor on the same project."

Warner is thrilled but somewhat amazed at the amount of love fans still have for the series. "I'm always surprised at how many die-hard Legion fans are still out there. The book really was ahead of its time, and those original readers recognize that and still carry the flag for the series."

Potts agrees that the series was pioneering in its day. "One of the things we did that was ahead of our time was that we weren't afraid to kill off major characters if the storyline dictated. We didn't have any Star Trek 'red shirts.' There was no cannon fodder among the story characters. To maintain a level of realism, the idea was to occasionally have characters you've grown to know get killed or maimed."

In order to successfully execute Potts' vision, he assembled an all-star creative team. Working as a Marvel editor at the time, Potts brought in writer Alan Zelenetz and illustrator Frank Cirocco for the lead creative duties. Through the series' run, other names including Warner, Terry Austin, Jim Novak, Whilce Portacio, Chuck Dixon and Larry Stroman became involved.

"Carl always had a good eye for talent, particularly for good visual storytelling skills," comments Warner. "The creative team was given a lot of leeway, and it was really nice to have my first job in comics be one in which I had a lot of input."

So, why didn't Potts assume any of the head writing duties? "I didn't have time to execute the concept. Archie Goodwin, who ran Epic Comics, got me to write an Alien Legion bible of sorts — a definitive doctrine outlining the characters, the military and political infrastructures, and the universe in which the stories were set. When we brought Alan Zelenetz in, he took what I did and ran with it — adding more depth and richness to the stories. I knew the job of writing the series was going to be in good hands."

With the release of the Alien Legion compilations comes exciting news of the series' future. A new four-issue comic book series will be coming out from Dark Horse in 2010. Writer Chuck Dixon and artist Larry Stroman return to Legion in the lead creative roles and Carl Potts will handle the inking duties.

Alien Legion will soon find its way to the big screen, as well. "Alien Legion has been optioned for some time," Potts confirms. "The script is currently in its third rewrite." In a recent interview with film fan-site Heyuguys.co.uk, Derek Haas revealed that he and writing partner Michael Brandt (Wanted, 3:10 to Yuma) are reworking the Alien Legion script for Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney. Potts believes Bruckheimer is the type of producer who could do a great job on a film version of Legion. "Bruckheimer's never done a science-fiction before, so that challenge, I think, is something that would hold his interest. The success they've had with blending CGI and live-action characters in The Pirates of the Caribbean series could translate easily to an Alien Legion film."

Warner also thinks Alien Legion would translate well to film. "Legion is painted on an immense canvas, and today's effects can really carry that off. The themes and characters have a lot of depth and resonance, and ultimately that's what storytelling is about. Good stories are always good stories."

While Potts is excited about the film and new comic development, he sees Legion as having far more potential. "I really see this as having franchise potential. Films, books, TV and video games —Legion's one of those properties that would work well in any medium."

As 2010 sees an Alien Legion resurrection of sorts, fans of sci-fi can rejoice, knowing that a once-forgotten classic series will be getting its due time in the spotlight. Dusted off, polished and presented to the public in exciting new formats, Legion is positioning itself well to become the next big name in the world of science fiction. With his parting comment, Warner looks to the future while speaking for die-hard fans of the series everywhere. "Long live the Legion, baby."

http://www.badtaste.it/index.php?option=co...7&Itemid=52

Derek Haas e Michael Brandt, sceneggiatori di Wanted e di The A-Team, hanno terminato l'adattamento cinematografico di Alien Legion, un fumetto degli anni ottanta nel quale si trasferisce il concetto di Legione Straniera francese... nello Spazio: un esercito di mercenari composto da esseri di tutti i pianeti dell'universo. Questo esercito si chiama Forza Nomade: tra i protagonisti della serie il leader Sarigar (mezzo umanoide mezzo rettile), l'umano Torie Montroc, e il Traxiano Jugger Grimrod.
A produrre il kolossal fantascientifico sarà Jerry Bruckheimer per la Walt Disney Pictures. Così lo descrive USA Today in un articolo:

Immaginate uno Star Trek molto più crudo, mescolato con La Sporca Dozzina e I Guerrieri. La popolarità del fumetto è dimostrata dal fatto che è stata la serie più longeva della Epic Comics, una divisione della Marvel.

I diritti del fumetto erano stati opzionati da tempo, ma solo ora che la Marvel è stata acquisita dalla Disney il progetto sta prendendo forma a livello produttivo. Così ha commentato il co-creatore Carl Potts la notizia del coinvolgimento del superproduttore Jerry "Re Mida" Bruckheimer:

Alien Legion è stato opzionato da tempo, lo script viene riscritto ora per la terza volta. Bruckheimer non ha mai fatto un film di fantascienza finora, quindi questa sfida è qualcosa che potrebbe interessargli. Il successo che ha avuto nel fondere computer grafica e personaggi reali in Pirati dei Caraibi sarebbe facilmente applicabile a un film di Alien Legion.

Anche il fumettista Chris Warner si è detto fiducioso che questa sia la volta buona per il film:

Alien Legion si svolge su un canovaccio molto vasto, e gli effetti di oggi possono veramente farlo decollare. I temi e i personaggi hanno grande profondità e risonanza, ein ultima analisi è su questo che si regge la storia.

Potts sta anche supervisionando una serie Alien Legion Omnibus che uscirà per la Dark Horse Comics: il primo volume uscirà questa settimana. Infine, una nuova miniserie di Alien Legion in quattro numeri uscirà nel 2010...