The movie based on the comic by Fred Van Lente & Andrew Foley with artists Dennis Calero & Luciano Lima has been given a July 29, 2011 release date. Daniel Craig will play Zeke Jackson and Olivia Wilde will portray Ella. Jon Favreau will direct the film, and although it is not official yet he has hinted that Harrison Ford has joined the cast.

The Story: Aliens land in the desert during the mid 1800s and the Cowboys and Indians have to work together to stop their invasion of Earth.

Danger Girl

Hack/Slash producers Adrian Askarieh and Daniel Alter are working very closely with J. Scott Campbell to bring the story to the big screen. They are hoping to make casting and talent announcements during this year’s San Diego Comic Con. Until then you can read this LA Times interview with Adrian Askarieh.

The Story: Based on J. Scott Campbell’s popular comic that follows Archeologist and adventurer Abbey Chase as she is recruited by the super-secret spy organization, Danger Girl. Along with fellow operatives, Sydney Savage and Natalia Kasstle, Abbey was brought into Danger Girl by the enigmatic Deuce, a former British Secret Service agent who is the team leader. Their first mission together is to locate a series of mystical relics and keep them out of the hands of the Hammer Syndicate, a huge criminal network bent on world domination!

Elephantmen

The Image comic has been optioned as a major motion picture. Directors and actors are being approached.

The story: In the year 2162, a madman named Kazushi Nikken creates giant hybrids of humans and animals—elephants, rhinos, camels, giraffes—and brainwashes them into an army of fearless killers. But the United Nations liberates the elephantmen (they’re all given that pejorative e-word, no matter their species) and integrates them into society. Originally created by Starkings as a spinoff from “Hip Flask”.

Existence 2.0

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Miles Millar and Alfred Gough are attached to produce and adapt Nick Spencer and Ronald Salas’ Existence 2.0. Millar and Gough are best known for developing and producing Smallville.

The Story: Self-absorbed physicist Sylvester Baladine finds his consciousness transferred into the body of the hitman who just killed him! Things don’t seem too bad until his daughter is kidnapped by the same people who killed him

Fire

Zack Efron is rumored to have the lead role in the adaptation based on Brian Michael Bendis’ graphic novel Fire.

The Story: Loosely based on events in the American intelligence community during the Reagan administration, Fire tells the unique and powerful story of a young man’s journey through the complex world of international intelligence.

Hack/Slash

The movie based on the comic from Devil’s Due Publishing has hit a lot of snags… Frederik Bond replaced Todd Lincoln as the film’s director. “The Grudge” writer Stephen Susco has reportedly replaced Justin Marks (Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li).

The Story: In every slasher movie, there’s one girl who makes it all the way to the end. She’s the survivor…the last girl. Meet Cassie Hack, the lone survivor of an attack by a vicious slasher called The Lunch Lady. Now Cassie, along with her monstrous partner, Vlad, travel the country, hunting down other slashers before they can leave a trail of blood and terror.

R.I.P.D

Producer Neal Moritz has revealed that Ryan Reynolds will star in the film based on the Dark Horse Comic. Matt Manfrdi and Phil Hay are writing the script. Production is scheduled to begin in January 2011.

The Story: Nick Cruz was murdered by an unknown assailant, at the height of his personal and professional life. Now he’s traded a hundred years of service to the R.I.P.D. in exchange for a shot at finding who killed him. Unfortunately his search will take him to Hell and back – literally!

The Boys

Matt Manfredi and Phil Hays are working on the adaptation to Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s comic book series.

The Story: In a world where costumed heroes soar through the sky and masked vigilantes prowl the night, someone’s got to make sure the “supes” don’t get out of line. And someone will! Billy Butcher, Wee Hughie, Mother’s Milk, The Frenchman, and The Female are The Boys: A CIA-backed team of very dangerous people, each one dedicated to the struggle against the most dangerous force on Earth – superpower! Some superheroes have to be watched. Some have to be controlled. And some of them, sometimes, need to be taken out of the picture. That’s when you call in The Boys!

The Preacher

Sam Mendes was going to direct the film, but will now direct the next James Bond film instead. John August’s has written the adaptation of Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s comic. Shooting will hopefully begin next year.

The Story: Jesse, a preacher, who has become disgusted with God’s abandoning of his responsibilities. So he decides to go in search of God (with his girlfriend, a hitman and best friend, a vampire) so that he can give him a piece of his mind.

The Runaways

There are reports that Joss Whedon and Peter Sollett (“Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” director) are both on the short list to direct the adaptation.

“Weeds” actress Allie Grant was rumored for a role in Runaways but there is no official word on her involvement.

The Story: Six young friends discover their parents are all secretly super-powered villains! Finding strength in one another, the shocked teens run away from home and straight into the adventure of their lives – vowing to turn the tables on their evil legacy.

The Vampire Dairies: When I heard about the CW’s plans for a series revolving around yet another Vampire love story, my first thought was not another one.  But out of curiosity I watched the first episode and tried to keep an open mind. I am glad I did, it was surprisingly good. I have never read any of L.J. Smith’s books, so I don’t know how true the series is to the original, or really what to expect out of it, but if the pilot is any indication of what is to come, I think it will be worth watching.

True Blood: As with The Vampire Dairies I have yet to read any of Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse novels, I do have the first book in the series and plan on reading it as soon as I get caught up with my comic books, so I don’t have an opinion on how true to the books the series is staying. But I can say that I thought the second season was amazing. It is rare that I get so caught up in a show that I am taken off guard when the end credits roll, but that happened more than a few times this season. I even yelled at the TV once or twice. The season finale was good, but it wasn’t one of those times. I knew what was coming in the final scene…it drove my boyfriend crazy, he kept hoping I was wrong, but I wasn’t :)  I wish that some of the suspense had been saved for the finale, but all in all it was an amazing season and I will eagerly await season 3.

New Moon: Twilight is always a little weird for me. I had never had any desire to read the books, but as the movie’s release date got closer I kept hearing everyone talk about how great the books were…so I picked the first one up, just so I could see if they were any good, and to get an idea of what the movie was going to be like. Within a matter of days I found myself on Amazon buying the boxed set, and before I knew it I had read the entire series (although I did almost put Breaking Dawn down on more than one occasion). Needless to say I enjoyed the books, but at the same time it was very easy to see that Stephenie Meyer was not a great author. I found myself correcting sentences as I read, and questioning what was keeping me from just putting the books down. The answer of course was Edward Cullen, no matter how flawed Stephenie’s books are you can’t argue the fact that she created a character that just draws women in. Breaking Dawn kind of ruined the whole thing for me, I think that Stephenie’s lack of talent really showed and the sex scene with the feathers? That ruined EVERYTHING for me. I think Melissa Rosenberg did an amazing job adapting the book to the big screen (would you expect anything less from one of the writers on Dexter?). Was it as good as the book…no, but movies never are. As far as the trailer goes, I think it looks amazing. I’m not ashamed to say I can’t wait to see the film. This movie will have a lot more action, and a deeper story.

The Comparisons: All three stories are similar. The male lead is a vampire, the female lead is experiencing some kind of loss in her life, and there is always someone else in the background vying for her attention. In “The Vampire Diaries” Elena looses her parents in a car accident, and Stefan’s brother wants to steel her from him. In “True Blood” Sookie’s parents died when she was young, and her grandmother dies very early in the series. Sookie actually has three guys vying for her attention her friend/boss Sam (who by the way is a shape sifter), and vampire sheriff Eric. Then you have “Twilight” Bella’s loss is not as extreme as Elena’s or Sookie’s, she (by choice) leaves her mother, friends, and the Phoenix sunshine for dreary Forks. Her love triangle has started the most debate…Either you’re Team Edward or Team Jacob.

All these similarities got me thinking and I decided to compare three. Which story has the better Hero, Heroine, and Love Triangle?

My picks are:

Hero: Twilight’s Edward Cullen. Sure he can be bit much(sleeping in Bella’s room, committing suicide when he thinks she is dead), but in the end out of the three choices Edward is my favorite. Maybe it’s because he really loves Bella. Bill Compton has a bond with Sookie from drinking her blood, and her drinking his blood when they first meet, so you can never be too sure if they are in love with each other or if it because they have each other’s blood running through their veins. Stefan seems like a great lead character, but (at least at first) he loves Elena because she resembles his first true love.

Heroine: Elena. Since I haven’t read the books I don’t know too much about the character, but from what I have seen so far she is the most normal, and she seems pretty well adjusted. Bella is whiny and needy, there were times reading the books that she was just down right annoying. Sookie can stand up and take care of herself (most of the time), but the fact that she can read minds makes her less relatable than Elena.

Love Triangle: It’s almost a tie between True Blood’s Sam and Twilight’s Jacob but in the end Twilight wins. Who wouldn’t want a cute best friend who is there for you no matter what, and who can take care of you and protect you just a well as your vampire boyfriend. Sam is great and there have been times watching True Blood that I wish Sookie would give him a chance…but there is just something about Jacob that makes him a little more appealing. You know right off the bat that “The Vampire Dairies” Damon is evil and automatically puts him last on my list.

Although True Blood didn’t win any of my categories it is by far my favorite to watch. While I do enjoy “Twilight” and (so far) “The Vampire Dairies” they are aimed at a young adult/teenage audience. “True Blood” is very much for adults (there is a reason it is on HBO) and I do like my vampires to behave like vampires.

Have you read/watched “The Vampire Dairies”, “True Blood”, or “Twilight”? If so which series do you enjoy more? What series would you pick for best Hero, Heroine, and Love Triangle?

But then something unexpected happened…the trailer was released online, and I was left wondering: Why was I (and countless others) so excited for this movie?

Is it just me or does everything feel fake? I knew there would be a ton of CG what I wasn’t expecting was an animated movie. Some of the scenes do look beautiful and will no doubt be stunning in 3D, but is there any substance to the story or is it just  300 million dollars of effects?

Don’t get me wrong I am going to stay as optimistic and open minded as possible, maybe if I keep my expectations low I’ll find that I am pleasantly surprised come December 18th…

But I am left  wondering: If this weren’t James Cameron’s first movie since Titanic, if it weren’t in 3D, if there wasn’t so much secrecy surrounding the movie, would we have been as excited, and do my “Avatar” hesitations put me in the minority or the majority?