Showing posts with label Judge Dredd. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Judge Dredd. Show all posts
Thursday, September 06, 2012
Friday, July 13, 2012
Hardcore! Advance clip from the new DREDD film
If you don't like cinematic ultra-violence or iconic comics anti-hero Judge Dredd, don't watch the clip embedded above. If you do like Dredd or action movies, you'll love this clip. The new Dredd movie [due in September] features a drug called Slo-Mo that alters the user's perception of time - hence the super slow motion explosions, shooting and maiming. Don't say you weren't warned, nervous Nellies...
Wednesday, July 04, 2012
Saturday, June 09, 2012
Dredd is coming [this movie contains no Stallone]
Due in September, the new Dredd movie has some promising signs. No Hollywood superstars. A script by Alex '28 Days Later' Garland for a start. Plus this quote from Dredd co-creator John Wagner, who doesn't praise anything unless he means it:
"I went up to London yesterday to see the completed Dredd film. I’ve had reservations about certain aspects of it, and made them plain to the team at DNA. All but one of them – a little quibble at the beginning – have been addressed.
And what a lot they’ve added. Music is on the button. SFX are excellent. Filming is impressive. I’ve not seen a modern 3-D movie before but I like it. I found myself reaching out trying to touch things that were dancing before my eyes.
Karl is a great Dredd and Olivia gets Anderson completely. This is Dredd as it should be done – true to character, visceral, unrelentingly violent (but not off-puttingly so). It will open, I believe, sometime in September. No doubt you’ll let me know what you think when you’ve seen it, but this has my recommendation."
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
Genius! Judge Dredd - The Bod TV Special
Found on an old VHS tape, this infamous episode of Bod was only ever shown once on British TV. It features future lawman Judge Dredd fighting his arch enemies Judge Death, the Dark Judges and the Angel Gang. Thanks to Happy Toast for uncovering this lost gem of pure Thrill-Power. Zarjaz!
Thursday, August 04, 2011
Don't Even Think of Committing a Crime, Creeps!
Apparently you'll soon be able to buy adult replica costumes of Judge Dredd and Psi-Judge Anderson from Planet Replicas. [These are the classic comic uniforms, not based on either film incarnation.] Hmm, my psychic powers sense geekgasms from 2000AD fans contemplating a special purchase for their partners... Worrying!
Friday, May 27, 2011
Blog Post #1995: The Year of Living Dreddfully
1995 was quite a year. When it started, I was editing one fortnightly comic [the Judge Dredd Megazine, for teenagers and adults] and prepping to launch another [Judge Dredd: lawman of the Future - you know, for kids]. The Judge Dredd film starring Sylvester Stallone was in post-production, prepping for a global launch that summer.
The movie had the potential to transform Dredd from a cult character [beloved in Britain, parts of the Commonwealth and a few places in the US] into a worldwide sensation. Stallone's career had been on a surge thanks to hits like Cliffhanger and Demolition Man. Director Danny Cannon was a young gun, on the rise. All looked good.
In the offices of 2000AD, the previous editor had been made redundant in November 1994 as part of a company-wide cull. New editorial team John Tomlinson and my old mentor Steve MacManus were publishing a load of less than stellar material left behind, getting the comic into shape for the movie's summer premiere. It was a tricky time.
The Dredd film flopped in America, ranking just below The Goofy Movie for takings that year. It was a big hit in Britain, and did well globally - but the damage was done. The Dredd brand was well and truly sullied, nobody was coming near it again for years. [There's a new Dredd film coming next year, hopefully it can remove the old stink.]
By the end of 1995, I'd been transferred from the peripheral titles to control of the mothership. On December 18 that year, I became editor of 2000AD. This was a dream come true in many ways, the chance to course correct a title I felt had been heading for the rocks for years. A slower car crash than the '95 Dredd film, but still painful.
I leapt in with both boots, dispensing freelancers whose work didn't my vision of the comic with sledgehammer subtlety. My behaviour didn't endear me to lots of people. I was young and full of myself, thought I knew better. Even if I did, I should have treat those freelancers with more care and respect. Sigh. Live and learn.
So 1995 was a transformative year. When it started, anything seemed possible. When it ended, we knew saving 2000AD would have to be a local job. Stallone and the Dredd film hadn't ridden to the comic's rescue. The dull stink left by the movie still taints the character, as shown by the clip above. There was a long, hard slog up ahead.
Somehow, in the midst of all this, I wrote my fourth novel. It proved to be one of my best, most heartfelt books - a Doctor Who tie-in tome called Who Killed Kennedy. The ending is flawed, lots of things that could be done better, but there's a grasp of tone and narrative position I hadn't managed before. I was learning my craft as last.
But being editor of 2000AD is very much a full-time job. I didn't anything else of my own for another five years. 1996-1999 were devoted to the Galaxy's greatest comic, pretty much to the exclusion of everything else. Frankly, those four years are a blur of work, work and more work. You need to have a life too, if you can manage it...
The movie had the potential to transform Dredd from a cult character [beloved in Britain, parts of the Commonwealth and a few places in the US] into a worldwide sensation. Stallone's career had been on a surge thanks to hits like Cliffhanger and Demolition Man. Director Danny Cannon was a young gun, on the rise. All looked good.
In the offices of 2000AD, the previous editor had been made redundant in November 1994 as part of a company-wide cull. New editorial team John Tomlinson and my old mentor Steve MacManus were publishing a load of less than stellar material left behind, getting the comic into shape for the movie's summer premiere. It was a tricky time.
The Dredd film flopped in America, ranking just below The Goofy Movie for takings that year. It was a big hit in Britain, and did well globally - but the damage was done. The Dredd brand was well and truly sullied, nobody was coming near it again for years. [There's a new Dredd film coming next year, hopefully it can remove the old stink.]
By the end of 1995, I'd been transferred from the peripheral titles to control of the mothership. On December 18 that year, I became editor of 2000AD. This was a dream come true in many ways, the chance to course correct a title I felt had been heading for the rocks for years. A slower car crash than the '95 Dredd film, but still painful.
I leapt in with both boots, dispensing freelancers whose work didn't my vision of the comic with sledgehammer subtlety. My behaviour didn't endear me to lots of people. I was young and full of myself, thought I knew better. Even if I did, I should have treat those freelancers with more care and respect. Sigh. Live and learn.
So 1995 was a transformative year. When it started, anything seemed possible. When it ended, we knew saving 2000AD would have to be a local job. Stallone and the Dredd film hadn't ridden to the comic's rescue. The dull stink left by the movie still taints the character, as shown by the clip above. There was a long, hard slog up ahead.
Somehow, in the midst of all this, I wrote my fourth novel. It proved to be one of my best, most heartfelt books - a Doctor Who tie-in tome called Who Killed Kennedy. The ending is flawed, lots of things that could be done better, but there's a grasp of tone and narrative position I hadn't managed before. I was learning my craft as last.
But being editor of 2000AD is very much a full-time job. I didn't anything else of my own for another five years. 1996-1999 were devoted to the Galaxy's greatest comic, pretty much to the exclusion of everything else. Frankly, those four years are a blur of work, work and more work. You need to have a life too, if you can manage it...
Monday, August 23, 2010
No Law for the next 2000 miles, punks
Apparently Karl Urban's casting as Judge Dredd has now been confirmed, with the film due to start shooting later this year in South Africa. Can't wait. In the meantime, enjoy this teaser trailer for a fan-made short film project called Judge Minty.
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