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• Series: Watchmen, Preacher, Nick Fury, Avengers (Marvel Studios' The Avengers), Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Iron Man 2, Kick-Ass

Jackson to lose NICK FURY role?

Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury in IRON MAN (slideshow)
© Marvel Entertainment

Sam Jackson drops a bombshell. A new look at 'Kick-Ass'. Sam Mendes talks 'Preacher'. A bona fide 'Transformers 2' scoop surfaces. Plus your daily 'Watchmen' lawsuit and 'Dark Knight' awards updates! This is your Comics2Film 9.1.14...

WATCHMEN inches towards settlement

Yesterday brought another indicator that 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. are approaching a settlement in the 'Watchmen' case.

According to The Hollywood Reporter a courtroom conference scheduled for Tuesday was canceled. The presumption is, the conference was unnecessary because a settlement is imminent..

According to sources for The Reporter, Fox is asking for upfront fees as well as a percentage of the back-end.

'Watchmen' is due in theaters March 6th.

Jackson may not play Fury in Marvel movies?

Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury in IRON MAN (slideshow)

© Marvel Entertainment

Marvel has been using actor Samuel L. Jackson's likeness for the "Ultimate" version of their Nick Fury character since, at least, 2002. It was then that  artist Bryan Hitch drew the character as a dead ringer for the actor in 'The Ultimates', in which Fury headed up that universe's version of 'The Avengers'.

It seemed like great synergy then, when Jackson appeared in 'Iron Man', looking much as Hitch drew him, and setting up the premise for 'The Avengers' movie.

But now, Jackson has told the Hero Complex blog at the  L.A. Times that he may not play Fury in 'Iron Man 2', 'The Avengers' or any other movie for that matter. The issue? Money.

"I saw ['Iron Man' and 'Iron Man 2' director] Jon Favreau at the Scream Awards and we had a conversation. He said, 'I hope things are working out for you because we're writing stuff for you.' Then all of a sudden last week I talked to my agents and manager and things aren't really working that well," Jackson told blogger Geoff Boucher, who reported that the actor was clearly bristling by the development.

"There was a huge kind of negotiation that broke down. I don't know. Maybe I won't be Nick Fury. Maybe somebody else will be Nick Fury or maybe Nick Fury won't be in it. There seems to be an economic crisis in the Marvel Comics world so [they're saying to me], 'We're not making that deal."

Considering 'Iron Man' was such a massive hit as the fledgling studio's first feature film, you'd think Marvel would be eager to keep all players happy. However, this looks like the third instance of Marvel balking over money. Favreau famously insinuated publicly that Marvel was playing hardball with him over negotiations, whipping up fan fury on the internet and putting pressure on the studio. After that mess finally cleared, Terrence Howard was given his walking papers, allegedly due to Marvel being unwilling to cough up his high salary for a supporting role.

We use the phrases "looks like" and "allegedly" because it's not always clear what's happening behind the scenes. In the case Boucher asked Marvel to comment. A spoksperson for the studio gave him the stock answer, "Marvel does not comment on active negotiations." However, Boucher reports that there was emphasis on the word "active."

If Fury is essential to the Marvel movies, and Marvel has been making Jackson the face of Nick Fury since 2002, then the course of action seems clear.

And if they don't sign Jackson, will it mean the return of David Hasslehoff to the role?

Post your comments below

Thanks to Antonello Blueberry for the submission.

DARK KNIGHT gets another nom, for his new costume

'The Dark Knight', along with superhero brethren 'Iron Man', has been nominated for awards by yet another Hollywood committee. The Costume Designers Guild unveiled its picks for the 11th annual awards yesterday, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Winners will be announced during a February 17th ceremony.

'The Dark Knight' designer Lindy Hemming received a nomination in the "Fantasy Film" category, pitting her against Isis Mussenden for 'The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian' and Sanja Mikovic Hays for 'The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor'.

'Iron Man' clothiers Laura Jean Shannon and Rebecca Bentjen got the nod in the "Contemporary Film", going against Ann Roth for 'Mamma Mia! and Suttirat Larlarb for The Wrestler'.

Why 'The Dark Knight' and 'Iron Man' aren't in the same category is a mystery, but at least they both have a chance of winning.

New Kick-Ass photos

Aaron Johnson in costume as KICK-ASS

© MARV Films

The sassy new HitFix.com has unveiled three new still photos from the upcoming 'Kick-Ass' movie, based on the comics by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.

One photo is a nice, clear shot of star Aaron Johnson in his superhero costume. Yes, the costume looks a little awkward. Yes, it's supposed to look that way.

The film details the exploits of an average teenager who decides to try his hand at being a costumed hero in a world where super powers and sci fi gadgets don't exist. Matthew Vaughn is directing.

Thanks to Antonello Blueberry for the submission.

SHAZAM producer downplays "death" rumors

Last week screenwriter John August blogged about the tortourous process of developing the 'Shazam' movie script for Warner Bros, and declared the project "dead".

Of course, no movie projects ever truly die. They just fall to the next ring of development hell, where somebody else toils with them.

Nevertheless, MTV Splash page asked producer Michael Uslan ('The Dark Knight', 'The Spirit') if his project was actually dead. Naturally the producer denied it with a mild comment:

"I will only say one thing — and all I will do is quote Samuel Clemens to you. "This is direct from Captain Marvel himself: ‘The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.’"

Thanks to Antonello Blueberry for the submission.

Mendes still mulling PREACHER

Last year, Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes became attacked to the 'Preacher' movie, based on the acclaimed comics by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon. MTV caught up with him on the red carpet of the Golden Globes to check on the status of the project.

Mendes is clearly enthused by the film, but says he's waiting on an oh-so-critical element before he commits. 

"I think it’s absolutely brilliant. It’s a gripping story, fantastic characters, great visual landscape. It mixes supernatural and real worlds brilliantly. It's entirely a CGI creation if you  to make it into a movie. It’s funny, and it’s absolutely, completely blasphemous, possibly even sacrilegious I would say. Which might be a dangerous thing to take on.

After his effusive comments Medes then said, "I just think it's fantastic. Whether or not I have the skill to make it into the movie I don't know. I'm not very good at developing projects. I need to read the script. As soon as the script is there I'll know whether I want to do it or not."

Here's the actual clip:

Thanks to Antonello Blueberry for the submission.

Orci confirms new bot for TRANSFORMERS 2

IGN caught up with 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' screenwriter Roberto Orci, who dropped a potential spoiler on the website.

[NOTE: We're putting the spoiler in light text to protect you, oh innocent reader. Swipe it with your mouse to reveal it if you dare]

Orci said, "I'll give you an exclusive here. There is a Pretender. I'm going to get killed for saying that."

That's not such a huge exclusive but it is confirmation of a rumor that surfaced back in November. Back then TFW2005.com heard from an "insider" who said that the character of Alice, played by Isabel Lucas, would be revealed to be a Pretender.

The screenwriter also took an opportunity to hype the project a bit more.

"It's an extreme [jump] from the first one. The outrageous, crazy humor is more outrageous, but then so is the serious side of it and so is the stakes of the Transformers plot and the seriousness with which some of their mythology is treated. So it kind of swings wildly between those two extremes, and that I think was one of the successful parts of the first movie. Again, some of the die hard fans will be equally annoyed at some of the things they see, but I can also say they will be more gratified than they were for the first one, to see how some of the Transformers story and how their battle takes place in the second one."

Check out the complete interview at IGN.com.