Snakes on a Plane #1 (of 2)
Written by Chuck Dixon, art by Gordon Purcell, covers by J.G. Jones and Jerome K. Moore

For the sake of honesty, I’m going to be perfectly up front and admit that I will not be buying this comic. I just want the world to know that it exists. Also, this image I believe is just for the variant cover, for all you Snakes on a Plane comic book collectors out there. The normal one should just be photo work. Exciting!

Since that’s just about all the nice things I have to say about the book, here’s DC’s fantastic description of it:

You’ve heard the Internet buzz…seen the hair-raising trailer…now experience the 2-part comic-book adaptation of the sensational soon-to-be released major motion picture from New Line Cinema Snakes on a Plane, written by Chuck Dixon (NIGHTWING) with art by Gordon Purcell and painted covers by J.G. Jones (52) and Jerome K. Moore (JSA: LOST)!

Snakes on a Plane stars Samuel L. Jackson as an FBI agent assigned to escort a government witness on a flight to Los Angeles. But when a crimelord sets loose hundreds of deadly snakes during the flight, the agent must band together with the pilot, frightened crew and passengers in a desperate attempt to survive and protect his witness!

There is no fate but what we make for ourselves.

Its now being hailed at the most anticipated movie of 2007, and its production has been a long time in the making and the subject of much fan speculation, cheer, and frustration.

I have read John Roger’s script, “Pime Directive.” I am going to let you know right now I am a Transformers fan. I’ve read virtually every issue of every comic series, spent thousands on toys, and can recite the 1986 movie word for word. But I’m also a movie fan, and would rather have no new Transformer movie than another terrible summer action movie, and I recognize how even the best adaptations end up shattered promises, failing to deliver on the origins of a great source.

New elements do not puzzle or needlessly change the history of the franchise, but enhance the narrative, allowing the introduction and origin to be told in a more accesible way. The military presence in the movie is felt throughout, and not only does it work, it makes me wonder why the army never took up arms against Transformers before. This does not take away, this does not change, this adds to the story.

Not to say its perfect. In fact, theres 2 characters I don’t really care for at all and could be taken out completely and even losing their expository dialog we’d still have a functional plot and movie. But I do like what I have read. It will not win any academy awards, but it will satisfy a summer movie audience.

Weighing in at 112 pages, this would make the movie, if shot directly from the page, a little less than 2 hours. Fans might not like that it takes a while to really get any Autobots, but the first half of Spiderman and Batman Begins are decidedly without the title hero, so its not that big a deal. It is felt right away this is a movie for Michael Bay when action sequences come with little down time within minutes of the films start. This will be a spectacle film, and I have high hopes the fights suggested on the page translate into elaborate brawls and firefights.

I’m also happy to report the new characters Blackout and Barricade are really cool. Blackout (called “Vortex” in script) is a military attack helicopter, and one of the largest Decepticons. He’s involved very early on in the film, and is interesting enough to make you wonder why any helicopter Transformers of the past had been this well utilized. Barricade (script name “Brawl”) is a high powered police car, and while theres no corny “bad cop” stuff in his dialog or actions, it all really works when put together.

Thats really a ringing endorsement if there ever was one. This movie is not corny. It is not Scooby Doo. Its not Spy Kids. It takes itself seriously whenever possible. The Bumblebee & Spike stuff is bordering on stupid, but Shia LaBeouf is a good comedic actor and he may be able to pull this off. Everyone involved openly says they want to start a new movie franchise, and Michael Bay is anxious to direct a movie kids and parents can both enjoy. I’ve got to have faith they’re not interested in ruining it for the existing fans, and really trying to make new ones.

Continue on for a spoiler-enhanced review.
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It seems that Aint It Cool News has leaked 4 pictures of what the Decepticon leader, Megatron, will look like. I have mirrored the images after the jump. As always, if you don’t want to be spoiled, then don’t click to read the rest of this story. These images don’t reveal anything about the movie itself. They are simply pictures of Megatron, himself.

I’m having a very neutral reaction to most of these designs. I’m having a little more trouble with this one, but if you squint really hard looking at his standard mode face, it sort of looks like Megabolt Megatron‘s head… sort of…
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SuperHeroHype reports that Terrence Howard is considering the part of James Rhodes in the Iron Man movie currently under development. In an interview with MTV, he was quoted as saying:

“Mayyy-bee,” he said about taking the role. “It’s something I’m trying to fully consider. Action is a whole ‘nother animal. The CGI and special effects, that’s a whole ‘nother thing. Playing to green screen or blue screen, I’ve never done that. I want to accomplish it and do it well. I don’t want to do anything and not do it well.”

FilmRot has a plotline for the fourth installment of this questionable franchise. Nick Lyon will be directing. His entry in IMDB does not give confidence as far as experience goes.

The script by Ben Ripley, who penned Species III, follows Miranda Hollander, a beautiful and brilliant young university professor who’s horrified when her “uncle”, Tom Hollander, reveals that she is not actually human after all, but an alien hybrid he created in a laboratory with his former scientific associate Forbes McGuire. When Miranda’s bestial alien side emerges, with bloody consequences, Tom rushes her to Mexico, hoping that Forbes will be able to help. But when Forbes and Tom combine forces to prolong Miranda’s lapsed life span, they soon learn that the “cure” is far worse than the disease.

I won’t lie. I own the first two Species movies. Mostly for Natasha Henstridge. I mean, the tagline for the second movie was “mating season begins…” I don’t regret buying that DVD in any way. Unless this Miranda Hollander is played by Henstridge, I’m not sure what the point of this movie will be.

1:45 PM: In a live webcast, Transformers scriptwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman revealed the names of the characters to be used in the feature film.

Autobots

• Optimus Prime
• Bumblebee
• Jazz
• Ratchet
• Ironhide

Decepticons

• Megatron
• Starscream
• Brawl
• Barricade
• Bonecrusher
• Scorponok
• Frenzy
• Blackout

5:45 PM UPDATE: TFW2005 has a roundup of info from the chat, including descriptions of the characters.

Four new images from the movie set have surfaced on FLIKR. We’re going to mirror those images in the (likely) event they disappear.
The first 2 are a close-up of Optimus Prime’s grill, and a group shot of the four of the autobots. You’ll recognize the black pickup as Ironhide, the yellow Camaro is Bumblebee, Optimus Prime is the semi, and the hummer/ambulance is Ratchet. Not pictured is Jazz, who has yet to be spotted on film or discussed in set reports.

UPDATE: We now have posted some of the toy prototypes and some concept images after the jump. Same spoiler rules apply.

You’ve been warned. Now lets go!

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Sorry to interrupt the actual news reporting and editorials we usually do around here, but I clipped together this charming little video, and the least you can do is watch it.

Audio is provided by the Halo 3 trailer, and video is entirely footage from Transformers: The Movie. Since it feels like I can’t go a day without doing stories about Halo or Transformers, its only fair I end up putting both tags on the same story at least once.