Jonathan Rhys Meyers has been cast to play Mandrake the Magician in the Chuck Russell directed Mandrake.

Whats that? Who’s Mandrake the Magician?

I’m glad you asked. Mandrake was a comic strip from the 30’s featuring a magician that fought the good fight. It generated plenty of spin-offs in other media formats including serials and books. In the 80’s the heroic magician starred in a cartoon alongside other classic comic strip heroes including The Phantom and Flash Gordon. You may remember this cartoon as Defenders of the Earth.

The new film, featuring Meyers, is set to shoot next year, both in the USA, and in China.

Source: Blogs@Newsarama

It’s that time of the year again folks! The scariest night of the year, October 31st is upon us once again, and in between the candy, costumes, and practical jokes, we got a dose of some of the scariest games that have ever graced a console. One of which is an unknown chapter of a well-known franchise, and the other is a modern-day update to one of the most prolific titles in gaming. So without further ado, turn down the lights, keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times, and try not to wet yourself.
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Joshua Middleton gives us a look at his cover for JLA Classified 52 at several different stages of its development. From concept sketch to final coloring, Josh has explained the process behind the art in brief detail (is that an oxymoron?). You can see the article on his blog here.

I have posted things from Josh’s blog in the past. He is among my favorite artists and its nice to see him give background on stuff like this. You can check out his site here.

With Halloween quickly approaching, it’s commonplace to expect some big-news action being spewed out from Hollywood, and the past few weeks have been no exception. However, even with Saw IV having been released to theaters this past Friday, it looks as if the holiday season doesn’t have nearly as many horror-based films being shown as some might like. (with the exception of Nightmare Before Christmas 3D being re-released again this season, and “30 Days of Night”)

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TFW2005 points us to this auction. Up for auction is a pre-production mock up of Transformers Animated Prowl in packaging. A disclaimer on the package reads:

This is a pre-production sample package. This sample package is for illustration only. Size and design may vary slightly.

While keeping that in mind, the packaging looks remarkably similar to the same size and, for the most part, coloring of the packaging from Transformers Cybertron. The shape of the packaging more closely resembles the Transformers Classics packaging with the more box-like bubble containing the figure itself.

 

Here are samples from Cybertron (white) and Classics (red):

 

The other day we found out the final track list of Guitar Hero III, and its only fair we post the other major music simulator. I’ve compiled (at great time expense) videos for the track listing. The lead off track is “Gimme Shelter” by The Rolling Stones, at least chronologically. You might remember this song being in the Martin Scorsese films Goodfellas, Casino, and The Departed, and as well as being the title to the historic documentary about the final show on the Stones final 1969 tour.
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I featured this game’s sequel as this week’s $20 GOTW, so with Halloween less than a week away and Dracula X Chronicles hitting the PSP this week, lets take a look at this classic but overlooked installment of Konami’s signature horror series. While it had the look and style of earlier Castlevania games, Bloodlines introduced some subtle changes in the formula that made it stand out from the rest of the series.
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TNI gave us a look at the upcoming third wave of minimates for the Star Trek The Original Series.

This assortment will be available in two packs with the following pairings:

• Gladiator Kirk and Kor the Klingon
• “Space Seed” Khan and Dress Uniform Kirk
• Ambassador Sarek and Dress Uniform Spock
• VARIANT: “Spock’s Brain” Spock (with Ambassador Sarek)