Owen Wilson to Join LOKI

Owen Wilson

With a slew of Marvel shows gearing up to head to Disney+ later this year and into 2021, now comes word that Owen Wilson is being lined up for a role in Loki.

Via ComicBook.com, the Academy Award nominee is joining Loki in a to-be-revealed major role. Wilson joins a cast that is currently made up of Tom Hiddleston and Flowers’ Sophia Di Martino.

For what it’s worth, Marvel Studios has yet to confirm Owen Wilson’s casting, although several reputable sources are reporting the news.

Plot specifics for Loki are being kept under wraps right now, but it’s believed that the miniseries could well have some ties to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Loki is due to premiere on Disney+ in early 2021.

Brave New Words Award 2020 Launches

nominees

STARBURST Magazine, the champion of new and exciting genre media, is pleased to announce that submissions are now open for its ground-breaking Brave New Words award. Now in its third year, The Brave New Words award is made to an individual who produces break-out literature that is New and Bold. We are looking to highlight exciting work that breaks new ground in the field of Cult Entertainment.  Editors, writers, publishers, and bloggers can be nominated in respect of work first produced or published in 2019. Previous winners include Tasha Suri, for her ground-breaking novel Empire of Sand, and Margrét Helgadóttir for her work as editor of Pacific Monsters, published by Fox Spirit Books.

This year, STARBURST is pleased to announce that there is a second award for special contributions to the genre literature community. The details of this separate award will be announced later this month.

A ceremony presenting the awards will take place at Edge Lit 9, the UK’s premier annual indie book event. In 2020 the event will be held at the Derby Quad on the 11th and 12th of July. Guests will include John Gwynne and David Quantick.

The panel of judges for the Brave New Words Award includes genre critics and media professionals. The head judge is STARBURST Magazine’s Literary Editor, Ed Fortune. On the panel are Urban Fantasy author Russell Smith, media expert Rebecca Derrick, book podcaster Jane Hanmer and book blogger Matt Cavanagh. Finally, we welcome narrative expert Professor Esther MacCallum-Stewart to the team.

The award is made to an individual, rather than a specific work, so we are looking for examples that most define the creator’s output.  We want full works: a complete novel or anthology or an example of the writer’s essays. For editors, we are looking specifically at works the editor has curated. There is no submission fee for the Brave New Words award, nor is there a limit on the number of titles, articles or pieces that can be submitted for consideration. Please bear in in mind that STARBURST is a magazine grounded in the field of Cult Entertainment and we highlight indie and cutting-edge media.

 

The deadline for submissions is March 12th 2020. A shortlist will be announced in early summer 2020.

The email address for submissions is [email protected] (please use “BNW Awards” in the subject line).

The address to send physical publications to is:

BRAVE NEW WORDS AWARD SUBMISSIONS
c/o STARBURST Magazine
PO Box 4508
Manchester
M61 0GY

 

At submission stage we require one copy of the work in physical or electronic form. We prefer electronic submissions in all cases. If the work makes it to the shortlist, we may require up to five additional copies.

Physical submissions must be clearly marked as intended for the award – mark the package and include a note with each copy. Good luck to all of you!

Taron Egerton Lined Up for LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS

Taron Egerton

Well, this is certainly an intriguing proposition. From Full Circle Cinema, Taron Egerton is being lined up to star in Warner Brothers’ new Little Shop of Horrors movie.

This is the same Little Shop of Horrors that has been in some form of development for three years now, and the Kingsman and Rocketman star is believed to currently be in talks to play Seymour Krelborn in this new take on an old favourite.

Additionally, Collider reports that Scarlett Johansson has already been offered the role of Audrey, with Billy Porter a name in the frame to lend his vocals to Audrey II.

The last we’d heard on this Little Shop of Horrors remake, Greg Berlanti was to direct from a screenplay from Matthew Robinson. As far as we’re aware, both Berlanti and Robinson are still involved in the project.

Rare Copy of War of the Worlds Arrives In London

Just when you thought it was safe to retrieve your credit card from its post-Christmas hiding spot,
Harrington’s, the rare booksellers based in Mayfair and Chelsea, London, have launched another
catalogue, designed to tempt you into parting with your bank’s cash as you expand your (and your
future children’s ) library. The new collection includes a signed, first edition of H G Well’s War of the Worlds, worth £25,000.

The new catalouge is entitled Rare Books with Insightful Inscriptions, and as well as the in-depth contextual descriptions and provenance information contained within the catalogue, you can, if you’re within reach of Mayfair, go and view a selection from the catalogue for yourself, where the books will be on display for a few weeks. This collection is more ‘science’ than ‘science-fiction’, although there are some strong representatives of our favourite genre to be found, notably that copy of War of the
Worlds, which has been inscribed and dated by the author, who has also drawn a small self-portrait
on the title page.

This then is the heart of this catalogue – a collection of books which have been
inscribed by their authors, or owned by other renowned people who have made their own
annotations. In terms of affordability, this catalogue offers few opportunities for the novice
collector, but the age and heritage of these specific books means that, more than previous
catalogues, these are for the serious bibliophile, or the academic library seeking to add to its
collection thanks to a generous benefactor. But the catalogue alone provides hours of educational
entertainment – and not a little inducement of envy towards those who will end up calling these
esteemed tomes their own.

Appreciating that a trip to Mayfair might not be possible for everyone, this catalogue also details
Harrington’s forthcoming appearances at a range of book fairs in global locations – they’ll be in New
York early in March before heading to Tokyo later this month.

Rare Books with Insightful Inscriptions, a catalogue exhibition, is at Harrington’s Mayfair shop on
Dover Street (nearest Tube – Green Park), open daily from Monday to Saturday.

Live-Action ONE PIECE Series Heading to Netflix

One Piece

With Netflix having already adapted Death Note and currently at work on a Cowboy Bebop series, now comes word that One Piece is the next manga to be tackled by the on-demand streaming service.

Via Deadline, Netflix is to deliver a ten-episode live-action One Piece series from Tomorrow Studios and Shueisha.

One Piece is a beloved manga from Eiichiro Oda. The central focus is on Monkey D. Luffy, a pirate leader who has the ability to turn his body into rubber courtesy of munching on some Devil Fruit. Monkey scours the seas on the hunt for the One Piece treasure that will allow him to become the shiny new Pirate King.

The X-Files’ Steven Maeda is to serve as showrunner on Netflix’s One Piece, with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Matt Owens on board to write the series. Both Maeda and Owens will also act as executive producers on the show alongside Eiichiro Oda and Tomorrow Studios’ Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements.

In addition to the original manga, One Piece has been spun into plentiful animated movies, video games, and a mammoth, still ongoing 20-season anime series.

As ever, expect more on this live-action One Piece series as it continues to develop.

THE CROW Reboot is Back On

The Crow

Having spent years in development hell before finally been scrapped, it looks as if Sony’s long-gestating reboot of The Crow is now back on.

Via Bloody Disgusting, the project is said to be back in “active development”. Right now, that’s literally all that we know about this new Crow offering.

Previously, Aquaman star Jason Momoa and The Hallow director Corin Hardy were on board for this Crow reboot before exiting the project ahead of Sony axing the film completely. Now, two years later, it looks as if The Crow is now once more getting ready to soar back to the silver screen.

Beginning life as a 1989 comic book tale from James O’Barr, The Crow centred on a figure who returns from the grave to seek vengeance on those who have wronged him.

That tale would be adapted into a Brandon Lee-headlined movie in 1994, with sequels following in the form of 1996’s The Crow: City of Angels, 2000’s The Crow: Salvation, 2005’s The Crow: Wicked Prayer, and the 1998 The Crow: Stairway to Heaven TV series. Elsewhere, there have been countless further comic tales and written works for the property.

For this reboot of The Crow, it’s believed that Samuel Hadida’s Davis Films, Highland Film Group, and Electric Shadow are still on board to finance, produce, and distribute the picture – although don’t be expecting Momoa or Hardy to be involved.

New GREEN HORNET Movie in Development

The Green Hornet

The last time we saw the Green Hornet on the big screen was back in 2011, and now the famed character and his trusty sidekick Kato are gearing up to get rebooted once more for a new movie.

Via Deadline, Amasia Entertainment is at work on bringing the property back to the silver screen.

As Amasia co-founder Michael Helfant enthused, “When I was a kid The Green Hornet was one of my favourite television series. I loved everything about it: the Green Hornet, Kato, and of course the Black Beauty. They were the coolest! It was personally painful to leave them all behind when I left Dimension. So I tried to option the property again at Marvel before it went over to Sony, and then again in 2017 before the rights landed at Paramount.”

Created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, The Green Hornet debuted as a radio serial back in 1936. Focussed on Britt Reid and his masked alter-ego of the crimefighting Green Hornet. Forever at his side is Kato and the pair’s advanced tech car, the Black Beauty.

Van Williams and Bruce Lee starred in the most incarnation of the property in 1966’s The Green Hornet, with Seth Rogan and Jay Chou headlined the aforementioned 2011 movie.

Several other versions of the IP have surfaced over the decades, and the last we’d heard on anything was a couple of years ago when Paramount were lining up Warrior’s Gavin O’Connor to direct.

As ever, expect more on Amasia Entertainment’s The Green Hornet as it continues to develop.

Priyanka Chopra in Talks for THE MATRIX 4

Priyanka Chopra

As The Matrix 4 continues to amass its core cast, the film is now in talks to add another name to its ranks.

Courtesy of The Wrap, Quantico’s Priyanka Chopra is said to be in talks to join the film. If Chopra does indeed sign on for The Matrix 4, she’ll join a cast that features Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jada Pinkett Smith, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jessica Henwick, Neil Patrick Harris, Jonathan Groff, Toby Onwumere, Erendira Ibarra, and Max Reimet.

To be directed by Lana Wachowski, The Matrix 4 is currently set for a May 2021 release.

STARBURST Int Film Festival: First Wave Film Announcements

film festival

We’re delighted to announce some of films that we will be screening at this year’s STARBURST International Film Festival. We opened submissions on FilmFreeway, and have been inundated with a fantastic array of amazing movies and shorts. It’s been a hard task to whittle the selections down as we only have a limited number of screening slots available, but we have done it and can reveal the first batch of screenings.

Joining the already-announced films A Little More Flesh and The Black Gloves, we have Jamie McKeller’s hilarious Chestersberg: Make Murder Legal, in which a lovely village has its own rules – including murder! Co-starring Andrew Lee Potts (Primeval), this is a crowd-pleaser not to be missed. There are creepy goings-on in The Hollow Child from director Jeremy Lutter. A superstar couple are kidnapped in The Great Charade, directed by Rodeo and Daniel Strange (who are featured in the latest issue of STARBURST). Among its cast is Francesca Louise White, who won the Best Performance award at the 2018 STARBURST Festival. We will also be screening a preview of a new documentary that will be on the upcoming US release of the film Inseminoid. A Very English Exploitation – Inseminoid and the Shock-Cinema of Norman J. Warren is a feature-length look at the work of the great British director and Norman will be attending the festival to meet fans and talk about his work too.

We also have some amazing short films that will be screening over the event:

2018 STARBURST Award-winner Scott Lyus returns with his latest short Black Mass; The Afterlife Bureau is a whimsical comedy from Dimiter Dimiroff; there’s a different use for USBs in Eject, directed by David Yorke; Darling, Darling, Wendy sees director Elise Robertson posit an older Wendy Darling awaiting the return of Peter Pan; gamers will love Zero Lives Left, directed by Zak Wundowa; Dead Air has an all-female punk band fighting little critters on a plane. Directed by Geoff Harmer, it stars some familiar genre faces such as Kate Davies-Speak (The Barge People), Charlie Bond (Strippers vs Werewolves and also Black Mass), Dan Palmer (Stalled), David Schall (The Inbetweeners), and James Hamer-Morton (My Bloody Banjo); Giltrude’s Dwelling is Jeremy Lutter’s second entry in this year’s festival, we’re delighted to screen his short alongside his feature The Hollow Child. Snore from director Luthor Bhogal-Jones has a couple disturbed during the night by something unhuman!

Watch this space for more film and guest announcements soon!

The STARBURST International Film Festival takes place on March 13th and 14th at Social7 at MediaCityUK, Salford, Manchester. For more information on the films, and to book tickets for the STARBURST International Film Festival, head over to starburstfilmfest.co.uk. The direct ticket link is here. Early Bird tickets have nearly run out!

Don’t Miss the Star-Studded Liverpool Comic Con 2020

liverpool comic

It’s not long now until the Liverpool Comic Con opens its doors and welcomes a host of high profile celebrities and thousands of excited fans.

Taking place on March 6th – 8th at the Exhibition Centre, Liverpool, it promises to be a fantastic weekend. Fans can meet the stars of Stranger Things, American Pie, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, NeverEnding Story and much more.

The guest list for this year includes Elijah Wood (Lord of the Rings), Mickey Rourke (Sin City) – making his first ever UK convention appearance), as is Melissa Joan Hart, Caroline Rhea, and Beth Broderick, the three main stars of the classic Sabrina the Teenage Witch series. Also appearing are David Harbour (Hellboy), Lori Petty (Tank Girl), Flash Gordon’s Sam J. Jones, Brian Blessed, and Melody Anderson, Twin Peaks’ Ray Wise, and Short Circuit’s Steve Guttenberg.
If that’s not all, there’s an American Pie reunion with no fewer than five of the main stars.

For the full list of stars attending and ticket info, head over to www.comicconventionliverpool.co.uk