It's been awhile since news of a live-action Teen Titans movie surfaced, what with all the hoopla surrounding Justice League. But when ComicMix sat down with writer-producer Mark Verheiden, the guy had a ton to say about where Warner Bros. is currently at with that Teen Titans movie, as well as what his plans are for the characters and the story. Regarding the script, Verheiden says, "I turned in a pass to Warner Bros. right before the strike and we've talked about that and I'm going to get back into it. I'll address some of their thoughts and work on the next draft."

On where he plans to go with the story: "We're going to have some strong adversaries, or antagonists, but really, I'm trying to concentrate on the core group of these characters, who we meet at a point when they're at the cusp of adulthood ... It's no secret Robin is in this movie, so what if you were him, after living in the shadow of Bruce Wayne and Batman, and now you wanted to go off on your own and become your own man, your own superhero? That's got to be a huge thing to overcome. That makes it interesting for me ... I'm also looking to the work of Marv Wolfman and George Perez as the touchstone of inspiration for the film."

Wolfman and Perez, of course, were responsible for the 1980s Teen Titans revival. Check out the full interview with Verheiden (including all sorts of Battlestar Galactica stuff) over at ComicMix. What do you think about this Teen Titans flick? Could it be better or worse than the upcoming Justice League movie?

To know Bruce Campbell is to love him. Just ask the massive collection of movie nerds who just love the lantern-jawed cult hero. (Matter of fact, that'd probably work as a good test for a new friend: If they don't know who Bruce Campbell is, get rid of 'em!) Sure, sure, Bruce has popped up in more than his share of stinkers (what genre actor hasn't?), but it's tough to hold a grudge against the hero of Bubba Ho-tep and the Evil Dead trilogy. Plus he's hilarious in those Spider-Man cameos, and if you like I could rattle off a bunch more cool credits...

But we're here to focus on Mr. Campbell's latest exploit, a self-referential horror comedy called (logically enough) My Name is Bruce. We've been hearing about this flick for quite some time now, but things seem to be moving forward ... a little. Courtesy of Bloody-Disgusting.com we have a plot synopsis:

"A small town [is] set upon by demons after a group of teen-agers unwittingly unleash an ancient curse. Campbell, playing himself, is kidnapped off the set of a B horror movie and, despite his protestations that he's just an actor, is forced to play the role of his heroic movie character in order to save the town."

Heh. Clever. And hey, click here for the trailer! Aside from the one groaner (mocking Asian accents is so 1935), I'd call that trailer more entertaining than Man with the Screaming Brain and Alien Apocalypse combined. Directed by Campbell himself and penned by Mark Verheiden (Battlestar Galactica, Timecop, The Mask), My Name is Bruce is a Dark Horse Entertainment production. According to the IMDb, the rights belong to either Image or Lionsgate. Either way, it should arrive on your DVD shelves relatively soon ... I hope.

[ Thanks to The Movie Blog for the poster image. ]

For anyone disappointed that Robin has been left out of the recent Batman films (I hope you are few), there is good news: Warner Bros. is developing a movie version of the DC comic Teen Titans. Robin is one of the original members of the young super team, and though he has not always been part of the group, it is certainly a possibility that he'll make it into the movie -- if only because of his familiarity to mainstream audiences. The Hollywood Reporter does report that Nightwing, a character who is sort of like an alternative version of Robin (he is the older incarnation of the original Robin, Dick Grayson), is already a definite character. However, because the continuities of DC Comics confuse the dickens out of me, I really have no idea if Nightwing and (the more-recognizable) Robin could both be a part of the movie's team.

Warner Bros.' interest in doing a Titans movie is not surprising, but it is interesting considering the studio is also currently working on a Justice League film. Mostly, I see this project as being an attempt to cater more to a young audience as well as to market the thing as comparable to X-Men. But will it actually be hip enough to attract the kids and smart enough to be as good as the (first two) X-Men films? So far the studio is on the right track with the hiring of Mark Verheiden to script the movie. Comic geeks and TV fans may know Verheiden as a writer for the comic books The Mask and Timecop, as well as their movie adaptations, and as writer-producer for the shows Smallville and Battlestar Galactica. The movie is being produced by Akiva Goldsman (Constantine) and Kerry Foster.

Portland's own Shawn Levy is a really cool guy. We once spent about ten minutes shooting the (frozen) breeze prior to a Sundance screening, and I've been sure to keep up with his reviews and his movie blog ever since.

Anyway, it looks like film critic Shawn Levy (who, just so you know, is NOT the Shawn Levy who directed Just Married, Cheaper By the Dozen and The Pink Panther -- although it would be funny it they were the same guy) has now graduated to Scoopmaster Extraordinaire. In this Oregonian blog, Levy makes mention of three independent film productions that have chosen the lovely state of Oregon as their home base: The movie version of John Krakauer's Into the Wild (which Sean Penn is directing), Robert Benton's romantic drama Feast of Love, and ...

Are you ready for it?

Bruce Campbell is directing and starring as himself in a horror/comedy called My Name is Bruce. Synopsis: "A comic fantasy film about Campbell's being continually mistaken for Ash, the droll vanquisher of demons he played in the Evil Dead films. When a small town in Southern Oregon is besieged by some sort of monster, the locals call on Campbell to rescue them." Cool!

Sounds like a truly geek-friendly premise, which means I'll probably dig it a lot. Here's hoping it's more like Bruce's recent books (this one and this one) and less like Bruce's recent movies (this one and this one). Interestingly enough, My Name is Bruce was written not by Campbell, but by Mark Verheiden, who's known in genre circles for being a pretty darn solid writer. (He's done comic books, movies and TV shows, with his most notable titles being The Mask, Timecop, Smallville and Battlestar Galactica.)