New Writers On Board TMNT 2012 Project

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Less than a day after learning that Paramount was looking for a new writer for the TMNT movie project, we now know who they got. Again, Slap Happy from the Technodrome has found that Deadline.com is reporting Art Marcum and Matt Halloway as being on the project. Marcum and Halloway were among the writers credited for the 2008 Iron Man movie, and have more recently written a Highlander reboot. The first draft of the TMNT script is reportedly due in October.

Here's hoping Marcum and Halloway can delivery a TMNT movie that does the fans proud while making accessible to a wide general audience!

Fusco Script of TMNT Movie "Not Great"

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Technodrome forum member Slap Happy found this link, which has an very interesting line concerning the TMNT movie currently in development with Paramount:

Fusco draft not great; looking for another writer to come on this quickly as its a huge Viacom property.

Of course, John Fusco was the writer who was hired to write this movie last year before Nickelodeon/Viacom bought the TMNT from Mirage Studios. Hopefully the movie gets back on track and hopefully it'll be something that does justice to the potential of the TMNT brand.

TMNT 2007 Score by Klaus Badelt

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One of the most asked questions I get over on YouTube, which I've always left unanswered, is where one can download the score from TMNT (2007) by Klaus Badelt. You may have noticed that I've uploaded some of the tracks there.

The unfortunate truth about the tracks is that they were leaked to the Internet a couple years ago when Badelt released a limited promo CD of the score. So, copies of it aren't exactly legal.

However, because I do get so many requests, I've decided to share all of the tracks (some of which I wasn't able to put on YouTube). My stipulations for doing this are that the MP3s are only 128kps, and if at anytime Warner Brothers or Mr. Badelt request that the tracks be removed, they will be.

Track list:

1. Love Being a Turtle
2. Story of TMNT
3. Winter's End
4. I-Beam Fight
5. Stars Align
6. Nightwatcher
7. Leo Returns
8. Final Monster
9. Stone Generals
10. Raph Quits
11. Fighting the Stones

Download the album here.

I've also included a bonus track taken from the TMNT soundtrack that was released. There were two score tracks included on that album, and when Warner Brothers had the album streaming on the movie website, one of those tracks was longer (by a couple minutes!) than what was on the CD. So, if you want, you can take that MP3 and replace the one from the album.

Ideally this score would see a proper CD release. To show your support for such a release, click the "Like" button at the top! And if you happen to have one of the tangible promo CDs, I would be very interested in buying it from you. ^_^

San Diego Comic-Con 2010!

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It's here! The convention of all conventions is a mere two days away, and while there will be a minimal TMNT presence on the Con floor this year, there are still some points of interest that TMNT fans might want to be tuned into.

• TMNT artist Michael Dooney will be in Artists' Alley throughout the week. You can find him at table DD22. (And note that the location of Aritsts' Alley has changed this year!)
  
  
• Michael Zulli, writer and artist of the Soul's Winter trilogy from TMNT Vol. 1, is a special guest at this year's Con. And as is the case with all special guests, he'll have a panel dedicated just to him. Check out the Spotlight on Michael Zulli panel on Friday.
  
  Friday, July 23
  1:00-2:00 Spotlight on Michael Zulli— Artist and Comic-Con special guest Michael Zulli is best known for his work on Sandman with Neil Gaiman. Zulli talks about his career and what's coming next, including his new book, The Fracture of the Universal Boy. Room 4
  
  
• Corey Feldman, the voice of Donatello in the first and third TMNT movies, will be at the convention on Thursday promoting the new direct-to-DVD movie, Lost Boys: The Thirst. He will be signing autographs with co-star Jamison Newlander on Thursday, from 3:00-4:00pm at the WB booth.
  
  
• Sideshow Collectibles will be holding their panel on Sunday from 10:00-11:00am. It was at this panel last year that they first announced their line of TMNT comiquettes. While new TMNT announcements are unlikely at this time, you never know.
  
  Sunday, July 25
  10:00-11:00 Sideshow Collectibles— The Sideshow Collectibles Design and Development Team present an in-depth look at some of Sideshow's most popular product lines and licenses, including Star Wars, G.I. Joe, Marvel Comics, The Lord of the Rings, and many more, offering insight into the design process, sneak peeks of upcoming products, a Q&A session, and giveaways. Room 32AB
  
  
• Tales of the TMNT writer Jake Black will be at the con, and while he will not be at any set location at a scheduled time, he his willing to meet-up with any fans who would like to chat. You can reach Jake by tweeting him @jakeboyslim.
  
  
• And, of course, TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman can be found at the Heavy Metal booth throughout the weekend.
  

Be sure to watch the Ninja Pizza Twitter and Facebook feeds for updates live from the floor throughout the week! If any surprises happen, you'll find out in one of those two places first!

Sideshow Mouser Comiquette Pre-Order on Thursday and Friday

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The time is nearly here to pre-order the San Diego Comic-Con exclusive Mouser comiquette from Sideshow Collectibles!

For convention attendees, the pre-order event is on THURSDAY at 10am Pacific time - SHARP! For non-attendees, the pre-order event is on FRIDAY at 10am Pacific time.

Because this is a Priority Pre-Order event, which is different from the previous TMNT pre-orders, to be able to participate in the pre-order you need to already be subscribed to the Sideshow weekly newsletter. Login to the main Sideshow site at sideshowtoy.com at 10am Pacific and click on the Mouser banner to go through the ordering process.

If that sounds complicated, it's not. It's actually super easy and you should be in and out within a few minutes. But this is one thing you definitely need to be on time for!

Good luck to anyone wanting to add a Mouser to their collection!

"Turtles Forever" DVD Details Emerge

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Just a day after signs of a DVD release were first found, TVShowsOnDVD.com has posted some more solid information, including the (absolutely horrible) box art to the left.

More troubling than the cover art, however, are the details of the DVD release that state it will be in full screen and approximately 70 minutes. If these details are not in error, this is absolutely inexcusable.

Turtles Forever was animated as a widescreen production, and even aired in widescreen when it was presented as a Saturday morning movie. Turtles Forever is also approximately 78 minutes in length, having been edited down to 70 to fit into a 90 minute TV slot.

The complete and widescreen Turtles Forever is available to view on the 4Kids.tv website, and that is the one and only version that should be released on DVD. Hopefully the provided information is in error, and hopefully that is what will happen; it is probably too soon to panic.

However, if you would like to be pro-active about the situation, you can contact Paramount Home Entertainment customer service via this e-mail address: phe_customerservice@paramount.com

"Turtles Forever" Coming to DVD!

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Sharp-eyed TMNT fan ToTheNines has spotted a DVD titled Turtles Forever available for pre-order on the Best Buy and Sears websites. This DVD has a release date of August 24, 2010.

Some people might need a little more confirmation than this to really believe it, but this is definitely a very good sign that this epic adventure will soon be available to purchase!

Source: The Technodrome

Leonardo Comiquette Now Available For Pre-Order

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If Sideshow's Leonardo comiquette is on your wishlist, time to get those orders in! Like Don and Mike, the exclusive version of Leo will feature an interchangeable blue or red mask. The regular edition only includes the red mask. Click below to the left for the exclusive, or to the right for the regular.


          

Sideshow Leonardo Comiquette Gallery Now Available

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Sideshow Collectibles has released the full gallery for their upcoming Leonardo Comiquette, which will go up for pre-order Thursday June 3 with the release of their weekly newsletter.

The release of the full picture gallery has caused fans and collectors to emit a collective, "Hmmm," as this statue is quite obviously different in style from the other three. The most obvious detail that stands out is Leonardo's lack of visible teeth and how the shape of the mouth actually makes it look like he actually has no teeth.

With closer inspections, other details stand out that make Leo the "One of these things is not like the other" in the set of four Turtles. The plastron seems especially bubbly/cartoony, the fingers and toes seem to be webbed, and Leo has developed some sort of skin disease, seeing how he has warts.

The warts bit is actually what bothers me the most, as it is evidence that the sculptor really wasn't all that aware of the source material he/she was sculpting, and no one along the chain of approvals knew any more to be able to say anything of it. ETA: Going through the other galleries I did find some signs of warts on the other Turtles; I guess they just stood out more in the Leo pictures.

Most disturbing, however, are reports that Sideshow is deleting negative comments about the comiquette on their website. One would hope that a company would use comment moderation to keep their site free on inflammatory comments, and not constructive criticism.

I suppose I'll go ahead and pre-order on Thursday, but I think it's very possible that I cancel the order before it ships. This just sits that bad with me. Hmmm, indeed.

Michael Bay to Head Upcoming TMNT Live-Action Movie

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Deadline.com is reporting that Michael Bay has been brought on board as a producer for the new live-action TMNT movie, currently scheduled for a 2012 release.

Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon have brought Michael Bay and his Platinum Dunes partners Brad Fuller and Andrew Form on to produce Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the live-action film that reboots the film series launched by New Line in 1990. Bay, Fuller and Form will produce with Galen Walker and Scott Mednick.

The producers will begin meetings with writers in the next few weeks.

One of the biggest questions left open with the sale of the TMNT to Nickelodeon last year has been what direction they would take the planned movie, and whether or not it would stay in line with whatever had been previously planned. According to Deadline.com's information, the project is keeping previously announced producers Galen Walker and Scott Mednick on board. However, it seems that if John Fusco is still on board, he will not be the lone writer.

Whatever the case, Michael Bay is known for making a very specific kind of movie, so it is probably safe to say that there will be a lot of emphasis on action. Whether or not you're a fan of his movies, the man makes summer blockbusters, and if the TMNT can be a summer blockbuster, that will be very welcome new territory to see them in.

Thanks to Ioz over at The Technodrome for the heads-up!

Sideshow Leonardo Comiquette Preview!

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With tonight's newsletter, Sideshow has previewed the upcoming Leonardo comiquette! The last of the four Turtles to be offered, Leonardo will go up for pre-order with the launch of the June 3rd newsletter.

Sideshow's Raphael Comiquette Shipping Soon

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Sideshow Collectibles today sent out e-mails announcing the upcoming arrival of the Raphael comiquette to their warehouse. According to the e-mail, Raph is due to start shipping in approximately 16 days. So, if you've got Raph on order, make sure those credit cards are set! If you don't have a pre-order and aren't yet on the wait list, now's the time to do it!

You can click below to the left for the exclusive edition, or to the right for the regular edition. There is currently no wait list for the regular edition!


          

Sideshow SDCC Exclusive Mouser Pre-orders on June 10 & 11

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With the release of their weekly newsletter tonight, Sideshow has revealed a (slightly) better picture of their upcoming 2010 San Diego Comic-Con exclusive Mouser comiquette, as well as the pre-order dates you need to know if you want to get one of these.

The pre-order for Comic-Con attendees will be at 10:00am pacific time on June 10.

The pre-order for Comic-Con non-attendees will be at 10:00am pacific time on June 11.

IMPORTANT! If you are not going to Comic-Con, there is no way to fudge the system and pre-order as an attendee and still get the Mouser. You will need to pre-order on June 11.

I highly recommend that whichever pre-order event you participate in, you BE PUNCTUAL. This is likely to sell out quickly.

If you are attending Comic-Con but miss the June 10 pre-order event, you could still pre-order as a non-attendee on the 11th. However, you will have to pay a slightly higher price + shipping. There is no way to fudge the system and pick up the item at the Con if you do not pre-order it as an attendee.

I'll put up a reminder the week of the pre-order events - Good luck!

Mirage Auctions Original Art for Jake Black Cancer Benefit

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Mirage is at it again! This week they're auctioning the original artwork used to create the Jake Black cancer benefit t-shirt and art print as an additional fundraiser for Jake! Awesomesauce! You can click each piece of art below to go to the respective auction. Bid high and bid often!

Sideshow Comic-Con 2010 Exclusive Mouser Comiquette

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Today, Sideshow Collectibles revealed the first glimpse of the exclusive items they will be offering as part of this year's San Diego Comic-Con event in July, and a TMNT Mouser comiquette is one of the four items!!


We'll have to wait until April 15th for further details, but it is very exciting for Sideshow to be making their TMNT line part of their Comic-Con event!

For those not familiar with Sideshow's convention exclusives and not fortunate enough to attend Comic-Con this year, fear not, you're not out of luck! Sideshow always makes a small percentage of each exclusive available to non-attendees. But you will have to pay VERY close attention to the forth-coming details, as there can't be any slacking if you want to snag one. Attendees should also be prepared and alert to pre-ordering details, as all of these will be sold out before the convention starts.

Stay tuned to SideshowToy.com or Ninja Pizza to get the details as they're made available!

Mirage Selling Art Prints on eBay for Cancer Benefit

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You may recall that during last summer's convention season, Mirage Studios created two special TMNT art prints that they then sold to raise money to help Tales of the TMNT writer Jake Black pay some of the medical bills he accrued during his recent battle with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. The good news is that Jake is currently in remission and with luck his active battle against the cancer is over. However, those pesky medical bills still linger.

Mirage has found a handful of the remaining prints and they've put them up on eBay, with all money raised still going to Jake!

This first one is a "jam" piece featuring art by all of the artists who were still at the studio last year (2009).


The second print is quite monumental, as it features pencils by Kevin Eastman and inks by Peter Laird. This piece of art was the first piece the two TMNT creators collaborated on in over 18 years, and is most likely the last piece of art they will ever collaborate on.


If you weren't able to grab these last year, here's a great chance to pick up these incredible pieces of TMNT history while contributing to a great cause! You can click either picture to be taken directly to the respective eBay auction.

As a side note, I got to spend a little time with Jake this past weekend at WonderCon in San Francisco. He's looking great, and I hope things continue to go great for him!

Unpublished A.C. Farley Cover Sketch

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Back in the 90s, Mirage Studios published a series of TMNT collected books that, err ... collected some of Mirage's TMNT comic book stories. Seven volumes were published and all seven volumes featured brand new art created exclusively for those covers by A.C. Farley. However, before the series of books got canceled after the seventh volume, Farley had sketched out the cover for what would have been volume 8. This volume would have included Mark Bode's Egyptian story (TMNT #32). And Mr. Farley was kind enough to share this sketch today on his Facebook page.

Too bad it wasn't to be!

TMNT Flashback: Movie Storybooks With Read-along Cassette

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Back in the '90s, Random House released a series of TMNT books and read-along cassette tapes. Three of these sets included a cassette that narrated and performed an included comic book (reprints from the Archie series). The set pictured at left here included two brand new mini storybooks based on the first movie.

The interesting thing about these books is that while they are most obviously based on the movie, all of the artwork reflects the cartoon Turtles of the time. But the thing I love most here is the included cassette.

I remember listening to the cassette using my awesomely hip Sony Walkman while riding in the back seat of my parents' car on a family vacation... and realizing that the same guy who was narrating the story was also doing all of the voices of the different character. Oh, how I LOLed.

Now, it's not unusual for one person to read an audiobook and also do all of the voices, but I do think it is a bit more unusual for a children's tape. But really, in this case it just sounds ridiculous and silly. However, I shall leave it to you to judge for yourself.

For a limited time, I'm making both audio stories available for download here.

I'll also note that each side of the cassette features one of the two stories, read twice. Once without page turn signals and once with page turn signals. I never understood that much, either. Why not put both stories on each side of the cassette and only put the page turn signals on one side? The way it's set up you're stuck either listening to the same story twice in a row or playing the fast-forward game to find the version you want to listen to (ah, the joy of cassette players).

Special Features Update on German TMNT 1 DVD

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German TMNT fan hudemx has reported in again with some new details on the upcoming German DVD release of the first TMNT movie, which will be including special features not yet released anywhere else.

He states that a friend of his has received an advance copy of the DVD, and has this to say about the special features:

• Commentary: Director Steve Barron greets the audience in German, but then continues in English for the rest of the duration.

• Deleted Scenes: There are two scenes included, both of which are alternate cuts from two scenes in the movie. The first is of Michaelangelo ordering pizza in the sewers, and the second is of the Turtles fighting the Foot in April's apartment.

• Alternate Ending: This is the same ending as has been previously detailed by Ninja Pizza.

And here are some screen shots from the alternate ending:

The DVD is available for pre-order over at Amazon.de, but make sure you're able to play Region 2, PAL-coded DVDs before you do so.

Sideshow's Donatello Comiquettes Shipping Soon

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Sideshow Collectibles has started sending e-mail notices that their Donatello comiquette, both the exclusive edition and the regular edition, is expected to be in their warehouse in approximately 20 days. These e-mails request that you verify your payment information by February 27, as the cards will be charged soon after as the statues start shipping out to their awaiting homes.

If you have an order placed, make sure those credit cards are in order! If you don't have an order placed, it's not too late to get on the wait list. Right now is when cancellations are most likely as people decide whether or not they can actually afford what they pre-ordered several months ago.

Regular Edition Wait List
Exclusive Edition Wait List

Original TMNT Movie to be Released in Germany ... With Bonus Features!

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TMNT fans have been crying out for a better DVD release of the original TMNT movie ever since it first appeared on DVD in 1997. Although it and its sequels have been rereleased several times over the last 13 years, the content on the disc has always been the same, and simple requests like including deleted scenes and director commentary have fallen on deaf ears.

For German fans (and region-savvy fans elsewhere) that is now changing!! TMNT fan hudemx at The Technodrome forums has brought to attention the upcoming German DVD release of the 1990 film.

If you visit the website for the DVD distributor, you can find the list of included bonus features, which are:

• Trailer
• Deleted scenes
• Alternate ending
• Audio commentary from Director Steve Barron

If you've been reading this site for awhile, you may recall posts that detailed the alternate ending as well as one of the deleted scenes.

So, obviously, this is great news!! Although the bad news is that this seems to be restricted to Germans (for now?). While that may seem like a catch-22 for American fans and other non-Europeans, there are work-arounds to bypass region-locking and PAL coding if you look hard enough.

This DVD will be released on March 12, 2010. If you're ready to order, you can go ahead and do so over at Amazon.de.

Michelangelo Sideshow Comiquettes Now Available For Pre-order

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The Michelangelo comiquettes from Sideshow Collectibles are now available for pre-sale. Unlike the previous two pre-sale events, both the exclusive edition and the regular edition are concurrently available to order. The exclusive edition features Mike in his trademark orange bandanna, while the regular edition has him in classic red. You can click your preferred flavor (or both!) below to place your order.

Kevin Munroe to Direct Upcoming Lucasfilm Feature

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This isn't TMNT news per se, but since real TMNT news is far and few between, I'm gonna run with it.

It was announced today that Kevin Munroe, writer-director of the 2007 "TMNT" CGI film, will direct a not-yet-named animated film to be produced by George Lucas's Lucasfilm of Star Wars fame. Plot details are scant, but the film is said to be a musical involving fairies.

This should be a very interesting project to see develop - Congrats and good luck to Kevin with it!

You can read the full story over at Yahoo! News.

Sideshow Michelangelo Comiquette Preview

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Hey there, folks! It's been awhile since we visited. Truth is, there hasn't been much in terms of TMNT news to report (specifically, none). Further truth is that this will probably be the case for the foreseeable future, as things are still in flux with the whole Nickelodeon thing. Also, I've been a little lazy, but I do have some TMNT Flashback features planned that I hope to use to supplement all this down time.

However! Tonight we do have the first preview image of Sideshow Collectibles' upcoming Michelangelo comiquette, the third in a series of four. YAY! (If you live under a rock, you may not have figured out that Mike is my favorite.)

Mike will go on sale with the launch of the January 28 Sideshow Collectibles newsletter. Be alert, as that exclusive edition is likely to sell out within an hour or two!