Superman creator Jerry Siegel continues to fight for the rights to his creation from beyond the grave. The full details can be found on the movieblog, but here’s the skinny…
Is one of the reasons for the slow committal from Warner Bros. to make a Superman Returns sequel due to the fact that Bryan Singer is going to have to go to court over who owns the rights to the Man of Steel? I’m going to throw that idea out there. Here’s why:… in a nutshell the widow and daughter of Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel are suing Warner Bros. for 50% of the rights for both Superboy and Superman.
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The outcome of this trial will have huge ramifications over the future appearances of the character. It could threaten to derail a Superman sequel. It may even have the power to reshape the JLA movie and future seasons of Smallville or any other Superman/Superboy TV and/or movie projects. And this story is not really getting the attention that it deserves.
I’m definitely of a mind that the Siegel family should get the money that Jerry is due.
I have heard arguments to the contrary, but frankly my gut just cannot side with big business. If it means the end of Superman at DC Comics, the worst that can happen is that new ideas could get a chance to be seen in comic books.
Back when toys were made for children, the world was a different place. Toys came in all shapes and sizes, rarely a tie in for the newest blockbuster or flop in the cinema, they had entire worlds of vehicles, playsets and outfits to entertain kids for hours on end as their parents drank highballs and watched the Dean Martin show.
Vintage toy ad compendium- 1 hour long
(featuring Kung Fu GI Joe and the Great Garloo!!)
Toys actually taught kids something and often did things, like this 4 in 1 wood shop.
Mattel 4-in-1 Shop
Ofcourse, there were also the inexplicably strange toys as well.
The Thing Maker (Creepy Crawlers)
Witch Doctor Head Shrinking Kit
Space exploration used to be the ideal dream job for kids… before web designer in the 90’s and marketing or ad executive in the 00’s.
Back in the 60’s and 70’s, space was where it all happened… and little Billy Blastoff had a friend in Major Matt Mason.
Billy Blastoff
Major Matt Mason
In the end, the business went to the franchises, in this case comic books and sci-fi movies such as Planet of the Apes and Star Trek. It was really something to see so many characters that were loved by boydom in the 70’s transformed into one gigantic line of toys. To have Spider-Man and Dr Zaius in the room at the same time… it was magical.
Mego Superheroes
Mego Elastic Toys
(almost all of these great ads can be found on the “70’s toy explosion”DVD from PlaidStallions, my favorite website ever)
It’s strange to think that today toys and collectibles are mostly purchased by grown men, often in their mid to late 30’s, nostalgic for their lost childhood.
I recently bumped into a teenage kid at a Toys R Us, looking through their scant Star Wars display and traded tales of good finds and sad losses. In the end, I wanted to urge him to get a hobby, meet girls or turn to crime. This way lies a large basement full of labeled boxes, I would urge him… but kids don’t understand the siren song of plastic men.
Is this the face of young James Tiberius Kirk in the upcoming Star Trek film? Some say that young Mike Vogel, of Poseidon and Cloverfield, has been cast in the JJ Abrams franchise revival.
This is the 40th Anniversary year for the sci-fi TV empire and not much has been done so far. The remastered episodes (which I originally wrote about here) on iTunes still number only 11, a state they have simmered at for many months now, earning the spite of many ’season pass’ customers wondering where the rest of the season is.
An announcement of a new Kirk could turn things around and generate interest in the space faring
adventurers, but personally I’m hoping for a new box set of ‘remastered’ episodes.
Is one of the reasons for the slow committal from Warner Bros. to make a Superman Returns sequel due to the fact that Bryan Singer is going to have to go to court over who owns the rights to the Man of Steel? I’m going to throw that idea out there. Here’s why:… in a nutshell the widow and daughter of Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel are suing Warner Bros. for 50% of the rights for both Superboy and Superman.
Is this the face of young James Tiberius Kirk in the upcoming Star Trek film? Some say that young Mike Vogel, of Poseidon and Cloverfield, has been cast in the JJ Abrams franchise revival.
