Today, March 31st, 2009, is the official shipping date for the La-La Land Records soundtrack release of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm – Expanded Archival Collection, collecting the entire score of the animated feature in one release for the first time. While multiple customers who pre-ordered the title have already reported receiving the soundtrack release, today is the day the title officially ships out. Copies of this limited edition collector’s release are still available through the La-La Land Records website and other online supporting soundtrack specialty stores. The release, with a press run of 3000 copies, also includes a detailed insert booklet. Click here for a complete rundown of the tracklist new soundtrack release, and click on the thumbnails above for a closer look at the packaging for the release.
DC Comics released the latest issue of the Batman: The Brave and The Bold comic series, issue #3, last week. Official details for the latest issue of the Batman: The Brave and The Bold comic series are available below.
BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #3
Written by: Matt Wayne Art by: Andy Suriano & Dan Davis Cover by: Scott Jeralds
When the Ultra-Humanite wants to score big, he goes straight to the top he’s after the President! But Batman and Green Arrow have a rescue plan so daring that we could only call this story “President Batman”!
The cover price for Batman: The Brave and The Bold #3 is $2.50US.
On a related note, this week’s episode of Batman: The Brave and The Bold on Cartoon Network will be a repeat of the series opener “The Rise of the Blue Beetle.” The episode will air Friday, April 3rd, 2009, at 8pm (ET) on Cartoon Network.
Stay tuned for further Batman: The Brave and The Bold updates.
The Batman: Mystery Of The Batwoman animated feature, which previously premiered on home video in 2003, is slated to air Saturday, April 4th, 2009 at 4pm (ET) on Boomerang, the classic animation spin-off network from Cartoon Network. Below is the official synopsis for the feature.
Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman Boomerang, Saturday, April 4th, 2009, at 4pm (ET) A ruthless destructive vigilante posing as Batwoman is wreaking havoc in Gotham City. While she sets her sights on thwarting Penguin’s evil plans, Batman concentrates on discovering this mysterious imposter’s true identity. But when she’s captured by the vicious Bane, it falls upon the caped crusader to rescue her, defeat Bane and foil the Penguin’s devious plot himself.
The Batman: Mystery Of The Batwoman animated feature is slated to re-air on Boomerang on Sunday, April 19th, 2009. Stay tuned for further updates.
SCREENWRITER ALEX TSE GIVES A GLIMPSE OF THE WRITING PROCESS BEHIND WARNER PREMIERES WATCHMEN: TALES OF THE BLACK FREIGHTER
From comic to feature film to animated short story, screenwriter Alex Tse has played an essential role in helping transition Watchmen beyond its initial incarnation.
Ironically, when it came to bringing the graphic novels classic story-within-a-story, Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter, Tse wrote the screenplay without knowing what that final incarnation would be.
Black Freighter went through a lot of incarnations we talked about doing it live-action, then 300 green screen-style, then we decided it would be animated so I wrote it without a firm idea of the format, said Tse, who had not previously written for animation. I guess I just didnt treat it any differently than any writing project I normally undertake. And Im guessing this was probably like nothing I ever will work on again.
Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter is the story-within-the-story of Watchmen, revolving around a mariner who is marooned on a distant island after his ship is attacked by the infamous pirate ship, the Black Freighter. He begins to imagine the Black Freighter setting sail for his hometown and attacking his family and engages in a desperate mission to return home and save his wife and children. Along the way, fear and desperation begin to play tricks with his mind, and rob the mariner of his sanity leading him to commit atrocities of his own as he tries to stop the marauding pirates. As told within the Watchmen graphic novel, the story acts as a distorted mirror image of the Watchmen super heroes’ plight.
In the book, I think it was written as a parallel to the Watchmen story with one major difference, Tse said. In Black Freighter, the sea captain thinks everything he is doing is for a good purpose. But then he realizes, no matter how well intentioned his acts have been, he has done some horrible things. In Watchmen, even though Adrian Veidt says he realizes the consequences of his actions and that he has made himself feel each death he has caused, he never seems to express that pain or sorrow. Theres no real remorse for what hes done. So either he doesnt fully realize it or he just doesnt care.
Tse said he was particularly focused on keeping the tragic tale grounded in a relatable situation that would allow audiences to understand the mariners plunge toward insanity.
I am not a huge fan of movies where youre just watching someone go crazy as a viewer, its hard to connect to that idea, Tse said. You need to be able to relate to his situation, to understand why hes going insane. With Black Freighter, it was important to keep it grounded in the cause of his madness. Hes been through a traumatic experience, hes alone, and now hes doing anything he can to get back to his home and save his family. So when he does these horrible, crazy things, you know hes doing it to try and save what is dearest to him. An audience can understand that situation.
Produced in association with Legendary Pictures, Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter is executive produced by Watchmen director Zack Snyder, Lawrence Gordon, Lloyd Levin, Deborah Snyder, Thomas Tull and Wesley Coller.
Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter features the voices of Gerard Butler (300) and Jared Harris (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) and is directed by Daniel DelPurgatorio and Mike Smith and written by Tse and Zack Snyder. Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter is produced by Brian McNulty and Karen Mayeda Vranek.
Click on the links below to discuss both the new Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter animated feature and the DVD and Blu-ray releases.
Cartoon Network announced their 2009-2010 content development strategy today at its annual advertising Upfront presentation at Time Warner Center, which included both new content and returning programs. While already announced by the production staff of the series, Cartoon Network has confirmed that the network has will be bringing back the popular Batman: The Brave and The Bold animated series for another season, adding an additional 26 episodes to bring the current total episode order up to 52. The series is slated to continue anchoring the network’s Friday night block alongside Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
Cartoon Network describes Batman: The Brave and The Bold as follows.
Batman: The Brave and the Bold From Warner Bros. Animation comes the latest interpretation of the classic Batman franchise. Our Caped Crusader is teamed up with heroes from across the DC UniverseBlue Beetle, Green Arrow, Aquaman and countless othersto deliver nonstop action and adventure with a touch of comic relief.
Stay tuned for further Batman: The Brave and The Bold updates.