The studio is no stranger to controversy, having been responsible for the Saw series, but we're interested to see if mainstream audiences are really going to be prepared for what they'll get in Matthew Vaughan's adaptation of Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.'s Marvel comic, which has been praised for its realism and criticized for potential racism and it's c-word-using ten-year old girl assassin.

Variety describes the deal between Vaughan's Marv Films and Brad Pitt's Plan B - which co-produced and financed the production - and the studio as "big," and noted that Lionsgate plans to offer the movie on wide release next year.

Lionsgate grabs 'Kick-Ass' [Variety]

The Hollywood Reporter's Risky Business blog reports that fan reaction to the footage shown at Comic-Con was strong enough to attract sales attention from Lionsgate, Paramount and Universal. Currently, Kick-Ass is without a studio backer, having been financed and produced independently, following director Matthew Vaughan falling out with original studio Sony over potential censorship of the project.

According to THR, studios are expected to pay an amount somewhere in the seven figure region for the rights to release the movie, expected to reach theaters next Summer.

Matthew Vaughn and 'Kick-Ass' try to do same [THR Risky Business]

Vaughan explained to MTV's Splash Page blog that he's wary of Kick-Ass seeming like just another "great trailer for [a] crap movie," so he'd rather show off actual scenes from the upcoming movie instead:

We are a genuine comic book adaptation with comic book authors involved in the production of the movie... It's really important to me that fans of the comic like the film. I'll be more upset if fans of the comic hate the movie than anybody else.

As to what scenes to expect, Vaughan still isn't entirely sure, but teased unpolished rawness:

There will be at least four scenes from the first act... then a minute's montage of what's going to happen in the next two acts... I'm literally sitting here and editing right now. It's coming straight from the Avid [video editor], so it's not going to be some highly polished thing like everybody else's.

The Kick-Ass panel takes place Thursday afternoon at San Diego Comic-Con.

Matthew Vaughn Reveals What He's Bringing To The 'Kick-Ass' Comic-Con Panel [MTV Splash Page]

Cage told MTV's Splash Page blog:

When I said ‘yes’ to this movie, it was to a script. Then I started seeing the comics which are pretty far out in terms of violence. But I think Matthew [Vaughan] and the script have a different style to it... [T]here will be some moments of action that will be violent, but there will be a sense of elegance to it. [He] doesn’t want to get gratuitous with it. At least that’s what Matthew has told me.

Far out in terms of violence? You mean like this?:


Yeah, you can definitely see where Cage might be concerned about the violence. But what's this about Vaughan toning down the violence and bringing a "sense of elegance"? That's not what producer Millar told us last week, back when he said that Kick-Ass would be "more outrageous" than "the most violent film this year." So, who's right? Will the movie end up toning down its violence in order to please its star, or will Cage swallow his pride to follow the producers' artistic vision? Will Cage end up walking away from the movie? The potential behind-the-scenes drama is, if nothing else, likely to drum up more interest in the movie before its release next year.

Nicolas Cage Reveals ‘Kick-Ass’ Film Adaptation Will Downplay Violence [MTV Splash Page]