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He-Man has been around since 1980, and it's high time he got a wardrobe update. Illustrator Fabian Ciraolo is happy to oblige, designing new looks for the prince of Eternia and other cartoon favorites: the Thundercats, Jem, Captain Planet, and She-Ra all earn themselves a fashion makeover. More »
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It happens almost every year: a movie comes out with a big budget and hot talent attached to it... and it fizzles horribly. Case in point: Speed Racer had a reported $120 million budget and made only $44 million domestically. More »
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Here's a one-minute teaser from the 2011 movie version of Gatchaman, anime's premiere avian-themed science ninja show from Speed Racer creator Tatsuo Yoshida and famed animation house Tatsunoko Productions. Watch as Ken the Eagle and company take down Galactor's robot. More »
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The Matrix was one of the best movies of the last decade, but its director/producer team, the Wachowskis, headed downhill with the sequels, and bombed with Speed Racer. Here's what they need to do next. More »
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Hope you weren't waiting to see a big-screen version of DC Comics' Captain Marvel — because the Shazam movie is very dead, according to its writer. And he's pointing some fingers of blame. More »
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Click to viewThis wasn't just the year that science fiction dominated the movies - it also featured an amazing diversity of SF stories. Here's our list of the greatest - and most horrendous - films of 2008. More »
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The bad reviews and poor box office is one thing, but when Speed Racer starts getting ignored by the Academy Awards, it's time to wonder just what the Wachowski brothers have done to upset everyone. More »
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It had to happen; after the relatively quiet weeks of yore, this Wednesday sees a deluge of good stuff to your local comic book store. Whether you're looking for secret histories of your favorite superheroes, happier times for your favorite cancelled TV shows, something to make you pretend that the Speed Racer movie never happened, or just a way to feed your simian fetish, it's all going to be there at you local four-color emporium this week. We weren't joking about these being new comics you'll crave, you know. More »
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If it's Labor Day, then it's the end of summer - A summer that saw Hollywood bank on the geek vote in a way that it hadn't done before, with a record number of SF and fantasy movies crowding the blockbuster schedule (five of the top ten movies of the season were based on comic books, for example). But did gambling on the nerd dollar work out for the studios? It depends where in the world you are when you ask, apparently. More »
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For a remake of a 49-year-old movie based upon a 144-year-old book, the movie industry is looking at upcoming Brendan Fraser flick Journey To The Center Of The Earth as a sign of things to come. Why, you may wonder? Well, it's got something to do with another retro technology as well as Disney's tween popstar Hannah Montana. More »
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A sequel to the candy-colored car crash Speed Racer is already on the minds of the writer-director Wachowskis, producer Joel Silver tells Moviehole. Didn't they learn from the premiere that this movie just isn't cost effective? Probably not, because Silver also revealed if they make a sequel it may be in the latest fad for every movie, 3-D. More details from the interview after the jump. More »
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Calling all Lost conspiracy theorists: Is it meaningful that Matthew Fox - the show's moral center/charisma black hole, Dr. Jack Shepherd - says that he's the only actor who knows how the series will end, or is his suspicious claim just another sign of the seeming delusion that also has him thinking that his Speed Racer outfit makes him both sexier to his wife and cooler to his kids? Really vague spoilers under the jump. More »
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In an interesting column over at AMC, scifi writer and film critic John Scalzi explains why Speed Racer is doomed not so much because of its content, but because of the changing economics of film distribution. He points out that when Star Wars went into wide release in 1977, it garnered the equivalent (adjusted for inflation) of about $20 million its opening weekend — exactly what Speed Racer earned. And it was considered a monster hit. What has changed? For one thing, Star Wars was able to stay in theaters for nearly a year. More »
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Why are audiences swooning over Iron Man's shiny suit but not over Speed Racer's sleek car? I mean, what the hell is going on when people have already spent nearly $200 million on watching lameass Iron Man get revenge in Afghanistan, but only about $20 million watching the awesome Speed zoom with sparkly CGI pizzazz across all those finish lines? Analysts have speculated that Speed Racer's death by box office might have been caused by a boring and confusing plot, or early negative reviews. But I know the real reason. Speed Racer is freaking people out because it's just too gay. Here are ten reasons why. More »
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Welcome to MangoBot, a column about Asian futurism by TokyoMango blogger Lisa Katayama. Way before Speed Racer became fodder for one of the season's most highly anticipated blockbusters, it was a simple 60s-style Japanese cartoon. The original Speed Racer was a TV anime series called Mach GoGoGo, aired on Fuji TV—one of Japan's major television networks—in 1967 and 1968. Like many other sources of entertainment in Japan at the time, Go's determination and the superior technology of Mach 5 were symbolic of the country's rapid post-war recovery and the determination that drove it. While you're waiting to head to your multiplex to watch the Hollywood version tonight, let me take you back in time and show you a glimpse of the original. More »
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The hype about Speed Racer has been fairly negative, and I can only guess that's because people still have a bad taste in their mouths from The Matrix Revolutions, the most recent film directed by Speed Racer helmers the Wachowskis. In addition, I think there's been a lot of skepticism about whether the director pair could really do a kid-friendly movie after their lesbian noir flick Bound and sexy/fetishy scifi fare like the Matrix trilogy. I was dubious too, but after a few minutes of immersion in the clever, color-drenched world of Speed Racer, I was surprised to find myself becoming a believer. No shock that the visuals were brilliant, but honestly I wasn't expecting . . . fun. (Spoilers ahead, my racers.) More »
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I saw Speed Racer last night, and though I can't tell you much about it yet (full review on Thursday!), I can say this: It might actually be better than director/producer pair the Wachowskis previous effort, The Matrix. I know them's fightin' words, but you gotta trust me on this one. Or, better, take our poll below and see if you can guess what makes Speed Racer better than the flashy trilogy that pitted latex-clad hackers against machines who enslave humans in a VR world so they can use our body heat as energy. Honestly, how could a movie be better than that? Take our poll, and I'll tell you Thursday if you got it right. More »
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Spoiler fiends are the truest afficionados of media SF. We're endlessly curious about everything: we actually care about drunken superhero Hancock's sex life, and exactly what Mulder and Scully's status is in X-Files 2. We pore over toy announcements to decipher the secret of Doctor Who's season finale, and read between the lines to dope out Smallville's next female villain. We scan every bit of new Speed Racer footage, and comb through hints about Heroes season three. We spy on Lost's finale shooting. We even pay attention to the reports about Eureka's next season and news about Star Wars books, that's how omnivorous we are. If it's a spoiler, we're interested. More »
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The latest cross-promotional marketing activity for the Wachowskis' Speed Racer, coming out next Friday, is something that can't end without pissing somebody off. The ads feature a race between Speed Racer and the Road Runner to pimp Time Warner's high speed internet service. Somewhere in the afterlife, Chuck Jones and Tatsuo Yoshida are both weeping with shame at this very moment. More »
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We've mixed in scurrilous rumors and dodgy leaks with the bona fide spoilers this morning, but it should be pretty easy to figure out which is which. At the questionable end of the scale is a new X-Files 2 report which someone tried to remove from IMDB. At the more iron-clad end of things is a new Speed Racer video, some new Incredible Hulk photos, and probably the last ever Iron Man spoiler. And then somewhere in the middle, there are new spoilers and speculation for the rest of Doctor Who season four, and a DC Comics leak. Spoilers away! More »
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The Wachowskis' Speed Racer movie isn't the first reinvention of the rubber-burning cartoon since its 1960s heyday. There's been a long line of Racer relaunches, sequels and spin-offs, many of them huge disasters. That doesn't stop people from trying to reinvent the wheel for the franchise, including the new animated series Speed Racer: The Next Generation, which premieres Friday on NickToons, and then comes out on DVD next week. More »
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Speed Racer is a simple concept movie about futuristic cars which producer/director team the Wachowskis have managed to make almost as complicated as their Matrix trilogy. New clips from the film released yesterday take us deeper inside the visually bizarre world the Wachowskis built for this film, and what's becoming obvious is that Speed Racer isn't just CGI-for-CGI's-sake. We've got some clips that will make you think about Speed Racer in a whole new way. More »
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The longest promo video for Speed Racer is also the most coherent — and the most exciting. Somehow all those swooshes of cars flipping over each other look a lot more thrilling when you can place them in some sort of context. Plus some of the coolest bits of this video are either new, or I've missed them in the shorter, more chopped up versions — like the wheel knife duel halfway through. I've been more and more juiced for Speed since I talked to designer Owen Paterson a couple weeks ago, but this video has convinced me to enjoy Speed Racer totally on its own hyper-crack-monkey terms. More »
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Who's the real mastermind behind the terrorists who capture Tony Stark in the Iron Man movie, coming May 2? We have the first clues below, along with a new clip. Another new video gives some hints about what could be coming next on Lost, and a new trailer shows off a lot more of the story in Speed Racer. And we reveal even more secrets of Doctor Who's Christmas special. All this, plus new hints about Hancock, Joss Whedon's Dr. Horrible and Battlestar. This morning, we spoiler in Hell! More »
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If you're an MTV addict — and, really, who doesn't find themselves glued to My Super Sweet 16 every time it's on? Why didn't my parents rent out NYC and buy me Jay-Z when I turned 16? I feel deprived — then I just want to tell you in advance: Your TiVo isn't broken. It's just been hijacked by the Wachowskis, who plan to fast forward through trailers to give themselves some time to tell you about Speed Racer. More »
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Owen Paterson designed the bleak cityscapes of the Matrix movies and V For Vendetta, and now he's creating the candy-colored neopolises of Speed Racer. Not to mention concept cars with wheels that can turn a full 180 degrees. We tracked him down in Sydney, Australia and asked him about the visual influences behind Cosmopolis, the city where Speed races, and the cars which Speed and his opponents drive. Along the way, he dropped a surprising amount of backstory about the alternate world of the Wachowski's Speed Racer, coming in May. More »
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As usual, we've done the hard stuff for you ahead of time in Morning Spoilers. This time around, that includes sifting out the "April Fools" stuff that people started posting a day early. We've included some of it for Lost and X-Files 2, but it's clearly labeled. And there are genuine spoilers for Wanted, Doctor Who, Smallville, Heroes and the next Superman movie. Plus new promo pics from Speed Racer and Battlestar Galactica. You won't be fooled, but you will be spoiled. More »
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Battlestar Galactica's post-apocalyptic leader, Edward James Olmos, races his sportscar through a world of flying cars, elevated trains and missile-firing rocket bikes, in this commercial for Farmers Insurance. Olmos has been appearing in Spanish/English Farmers ads for a while now, but this one features CGI world-building by Zach Mandt, who just finished working on Speed Racer. Also, that exploding building Olmos drives up to at the end? According to reader cde, it's the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers' Command Center, where Zordon and his cylon-esque robot Alpha-5 hung out. Click through for a side-by-side comparison. More »
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In this morning's spoiler orgy, we reveal how Doctor Who season four ends, and give away an X-Files 2 development that the stars were willing to lie to protect. We also have some hints about Heroes and Smallville. And we unveil new plot details about Speed Racer and the Battlestar prequel Caprica, and reveal which mainstay from the Batman comics will have a major role in the new animated Gotham Knight DVD. We're reveling in spoilers, and you should too. More »
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Fans have been spying on the Doctor Who filming, and gotten a glimpse at a villain that nobody knew was returning... until now. We also have a couple of clips from next week's Lost, which give away a plot twist that you probably did see coming. Plus there are intriguing new details about X-Files 2, Star Wars: Clone Wars and Speed Racer. Set your time-distort to maximum, because we're bringing the future to you. More »
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The full-length trailer for the Wachowskis' Speed Racer showcases more character development for Speed and Christina Ricci's Trixie. It also shows off some of the cool weapons and gadgets the Mach 5 will deploy on its way to drag-strip victory and unraveling an evil anti-fairness conspiracy. Most importantly, it gives us our first look at the character we've all been waiting to see... Chim-Chim, Speed's monkey sidekick. In general, the trailer makes Speed Racer look just a hair less manic, and possibly more fun, than earlier versions. More »
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Out of a dozen or so scifi movies coming out this summer, only four of them are absolutely bulletproof, according to you, our readers. Ten of this summer's science fiction films are in danger of falling into obscure-cult-classic territory — or worse. But there's also an excellent chance that at least one underdog will become a smash hit that nobody could have predicted. Which movie do you think will be the most surprising hit of the summer? More »
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This summer movie season will be like a traffic jam of Transformers wannabes, with more sequels and potential franchises coming out than ever before. And it's just barely possible that every single one of these films will be a mega-smash hit. It just doesn't seem very likely somehow. Click through to vote for the biggest box-office disappointment of summer 2008. More »
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If you had a pastel-gasm looking at the two new Speed Racer trailers yesterday, just wait until you see these new screenshots and concept art pieces from the upcoming video game tie-in. The Speed Racer game, for Wii, PS2 and DS, will let you race at retina-scarring speed through a variety of futuristic-looking (and brightly colored) backdrops. Some of the tracks look very roller-coastery, and there are some Dukes of Hazzard-esque jumps as well. Click through for a turbo-charged gallery. More »
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The summer movie season now officially begins in early May, thanks to last year's blockbuster May releases: Spider-Man 3, Shrek The Third and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. This May, there are no fewer than 23 movies coming out, including "tentpole" films Iron Man, Speed Racer, Narnia and Indiana Jones. And the schedule is overcrowded with wannabe blockbusters all summer long, raising the chances that we'll see some high-profile flops. [Variety] More »
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The amazing car-fu in this summer's Speed Racer includes a dive off a sheer mountain cliff, and some kind of weird stilt-hop to avoid getting rammed. Two new international trailers just came out, and they show even more of the crazy buggy action. I'm beginning to think Speed Racer 's title includes the name of the drug you should be snorting to appreciate this film. Click through for a second new trailer. More »
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People who have seen the trailer for the live-action version of Speed Racer say it looks more like a video game than a movie. But what's wrong with that? If you can make a film feel like the eyeball-blasting you get from a game these days, then the marketing department, the toy department, the sequel department, and yes, even the video game department will fall over backwards trying to kiss you on the ass. So it's no surprise that Speed Racer is getting a video game for the Wii and the Nintendo DS (which unfortunately means that graphics are less than amazing), and you can check out the new images from it in the gallery below. More »
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While folks are still reeling from the two-hour jolt of pain that was Knight Rider last night, you might as well start pinning your hopes on the upcoming Speed Racer movie if you want a quality story about a boy and his car. Although the Mach 5 is being upgraded with a lot of CGI elements, you'll have to pry that original steering wheel with all the alphabet-buttons on it from our cold, dead memories. Put your mental pistons to work and find out more about the car and the show in our Speed Racer homage below. More »
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Christina Ricci wants you to know how her character in Speed Racer gets to kung fu fight, fly a helicopter, and wear matching lipstick. She even has "a specific outfit that she wears when she flies the helicopter." Ricci says the film celebrates her "as a girl and a woman," and adds that the Mom character "always has her apron on." So girls can punch and fly, as long as they have an outfit ready, especially for kitchen work. Not only that, but apparently this flick makes boys cry. More »
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