Stuff You Need to Know, Monday, September 1, 2008

The teenage years of John Lennon are going to be the subject of Nowhere Boy, directed by Sam Taylor-Wood. The film “follows Lennon through his formative years growing up in Liverpool, the tense relationship between his aunt Mimi and mother Julia and on to his first meetings with Paul McCartney.” Casting is underway; production is supposed to start in March on location in Liverpool. I wonder when somebody’s going to do a fictionalized HBO or Showtime-level series about the origins of The Beatles. I dunno, I think I might actually watch that. Source: Variety.

Spandex may march on, but so does anime and manga. Specifically, Paramount wants to deliver manga comics based on their films to your phones. “Par says that comics are primarily viewed as marketing support for movies at or before time of int’l theatrical release, though carriers will treat them as premium content and charge phone users for downloads.” So let me get this straight–you think there’s enough demand for films like Eagle Eye and your pathetic Mission: Impossible franchise that people will pay to read twenty screens of a short manga that’s setup to market said films to consumers? I’m honestly asking you, our readers, whether or not you think you might go for this. In fact, fuck it, let’s have a poll. Source: Variety.

[poll id=”14″]

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MGM is releasing a Pink Panther Ultimate Collection on November 25th. It’s eighteen discs, including eight original films and nine discs of the cartoons. The SRP would have been $220, but because the Steve Martin Pink Panther is also included, they discounted the set $20. And the collector’s edition of the first film is exclusive to this set. Thanks, MGM. Pre-order it here.

The third volume of Popeye the Sailor: 1941-1943, Vol. 3 has been moved to November 4th. You can pre-order it here.

In an announcement that is sure to set Leigh’s and Dindrane’s hearts all aflutter, a telefilm called Hellhounds is airing next year on Sci Fi. It will be helmed by Ricky Schroder (yes, that one). “The movie, set in 500 B.C., stars Scott Elrod (Men in Trees) as Kleitos, a Greek warrior who with his companions fights against the hellhounds of Hades to rescue his bride from the Underworld and bring her back to life.” The production has already started in Romania. Source: Hollywood Reporter.

Okay, so, you remember how I said that the uber-mongo edition of 300 was coming? I believe this is the pre-order page right here. That’s how I interpret “(3pc) (W/Book) (Ws Coll Dub Ltd Sub Prmp),” anyway…