JUST BEAT IT

I think every woman in America should use this product. It's specifically designed for women, after all.

Thanks, Stan!

TOP 10 WORST COMIC BOOK CASTING MISTAKES

Spike has a list of The Top 10 Worst Comic Book Casting Mistakes and while you may or may not agree with all their choices, most are right on the money. One of the many reasons Superman Returns was such a bad film was casting Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane. And don't even get me started about some of the Batman films. George Clooney was terrible but didn't make the list and how could they omit the growling "we are done professionally" Christian Bale? Let's face it, Heath Ledger's performance was the saving grace for The Dark Knight. If you ask me, this list should have been longer.

Thanks, Robyn!

COSPLAY GODDESS: ILLIARA (PT. 1)

Welcome to the first edition of Cosplay Goddess, a new feature here on Don't Stand There Gawping! where we spotlight some of the best cosplayers. Initially my intention was to do a post about Rikku cosplay but after talking to Illiara, I decided to start a new post dedicated to the women who steal our hearts at cons.

Illiara is spunky, brash, funny and loves a good peanut butter sammich. An animal lover with a taste for junk food, she enjoys video games, motorcycles, dancing and comic books. She started cosplay as Thief Rikku back in 2003 and has been making costumes ever since.

Stay tuned for more about Illiara and her costumes. Meanwhile, you can check out her Flickr Photostream or learn more about her at her MySpace page.

KEVIN SMITH AT SAN DIEGO COMIC CON

Kevin Smith is one of my favorite directors. I admit some of his movies miss the mark but when he gets it right, it's dead-on. Love him or hate him, the man writes some funny dialogue and is hilarious in person. Here he is at the San Diego Comic-Con talking about being bi-curious, the Twilight films and having sex with cougars. Enjoy!

COVER OF THE WEEK

Detective Comics, #855, DC Comics

PLANET HULK TRAILER

A trailer for Planet Hulk premiered at the San Diego Comic-Con. I'm not used to talking intelligently. The Hulk I grew up growled a lot but barely spoke so it's weird hearing him talk like a normal person. Anyway, the trailer doesn't look too bad.

NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM

Parry Gripp is at it again. He's done some incredible stuff, like "Do You Like Waffles?" and "The Girl at the Video Game Store". His new song, "Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom" is guaranteed to get stuck inside your head with it's simple but catchy tune. And if you're like me, you'll wanna watch the animation by Nathan Mazur over and over again. It's great stuff.

GARRETT DOES YOR

Garrett Gilchrist is a busy, busy man. When he's not writing and directing films (Shamelessly, the She-Hulk fan film), he's doing Mystery Science Theater 3000 style commentaries on films like Starcrash. He just finished a new commentary for the 1893 film, Yor, Hunter from the Future. Here's the plot summary from IMDb:

Yor, an extremely blond prehistoric warrior, comes to question his origins, particularly with regard to a mysterious medallion he wears. When he learns of a desert goddess who supposedly wears the same medallion, Yor decides that he must find her and learn his true identity. Along the way, he encounters ape-men, dinosaurs, and a strange futuristic society.

So what are you waiting for? Go pop some popcorn and watch Yor, Hunter from the Future with Garrett. Warning: Garrett Gilchrist is not responsible for any sides that split from laughter or knees bruised from slapping. Watch at your own risk.

FROM THE COLLECTION: MILL REGINA, ELASTIC ACT

I picked up this German real photo postcard of contortionist Mill Regina, "Elastic Act" a few years ago in an online auction. Unfortunately, the back of the card doesn't give any information about her and isn't postmarked. If anyone out there knows more about Mill Regina, please contact me.

OLIVIA MUNN, COSPLAYER

One of the many highlights of the San Diego Comic-Con is Olivia Munn in costumes. She's back again this year as Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn, Lara Croft, Silk Spectre and Emma Frost. All the costumes are collected for you in one video. Watch Olivia as she poses, plays with Kevin Pereira's raccoon balls and fights camel toe.

FIRST LOOK AT DC UNIVERSE ONLINE

More news out of the San Diego Comic-Con with a first look at the upcoming video game, DC Universe Online. G4 caught up with Marv Wolfman, Jim Lee and Geoff Johns to discuss their input and designs for the game and shows a little of what to expect. Personally, I'm hoping for Power Girl, Supergirl, Jonah Hex and Firestorm to be in the game. DC Universe Online is scheduled to be released in the first half of 2010.

TOY STORY 3D TRAILER

Toy Story and Toy Story 2 are being re-released as a double feature in 3D. Obviously the trailer isn't in 3D but it's cute and reminds you of when Pixar made good films. The double feature will be in theaters only for a few weeks with Toy Story 3 to be released June 18, 2010.

BOOBS OF STEEL

I just stumbled upon this Asian version of Supergirl and it's a hoot. She deflects bullets and even arrows with her super chest, has some serious karate moves but still can't catch the bad guy. The odd noise at the end of the clip is either her hand tightening in the glove or she had a serious accident in her outfit. If anyone has any information about this film, send it my way.

MARVEL IS TURNING JAPANESE

I don't like anime. There, I said it. I have yet to see any good anime and I've watched a lot of it. I don't like the animation style and the stories are just silly. Maybe that makes me less of a fanboy but not even a look at these new Marvel anime series is enough to get me excited. That's right, Marvel is turning Japanese, Marvel is turning Japanese. I really think so.

Marvel and Madhouse teamed up to create new anime versions of the beloved Marvel superheroes. Marvel premiered the Iron Man and Wolverine anime series at the San Diego Comic-Con.

The official teaser trailers will debut at the Marvel Animation Panel and be hosted by writer and multiple-Eagle Award winner Warren Ellis, who will appear to discuss writing the all new adventures of these re-imagined super heroes.

These Marvel Anime TV series are being created as a way of merging the Marvel super heroes of western culture with the bold animation tradition of Japan. The resulting product will be four visually groundbreaking anime series featuring popular super heroes redesigned and repurposed as emerging from the fabric of Japanese culture.

The series are expected to hit the airwaves on the Animax channel in Japan in spring of 2010.

Didn't Marvel learn anything from DC Comics disastrous anime attempt with Batman Gotham Knight? The Iron Man trailer does look much better than the Wolverine preview, especially since Logan looks like an anorexic redneck. Personally, I think Wolverine is overexposed and I'm a little sick of him. Oh well, this is sure to tank just like their previous animation title, The Invincible Iron Man.

HOOP IT UP

Sometimes it's a simple combination that creates magic, like peanut butter and chocolate, Laurel and Hardy, women and mud wrestling or a cosplayer dressed as Slave Leia with a hula hoop. What a winning combination!

PIN-UP OF THE WEEK

KING LEONIDAS NEEDS A NEW AGENT

My local comic books shop is a great place with a new freebie nearly every week. Last week saw free tickets to the new movie, The Ugly Truth, starring Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler. After Gerard Butler's performance in the film, 300, I thought we'd be seeing him in more action roles but instead he appears in a predictable, by-the-numbers romantic comedy with Sandra Bullock wannabe Katherine Heigl. Heigl should be relegated to infomercials, not appearing on the big screen and Gerard Butler needs a new agent. The ugly truth is, despite the state of our economy, not one person took a free ticket to see this movie.

JUST LISTEN: STEVE EARLE

Steve Earle is a singer, songwriter, published author, political activist and trouble maker. When he first burst onto the music scene, it was thought he would save country music while others thought he was the "new Bruce Springsteen". But his life would take several turns, including drug addiction, trouble with the law and a strong political viewpoint. He became known as "the hardcore troubadour".

Steve Earle was born in Hampton, Virginia. His parents moved frequently during his childhood but he spent most of his youth in Schertz, Texas. By 9th grade, he had dropped out of school and moved to Houston to learn about the music business. He later moved to Nashville, Tennesee, and found employment as a songwriter and performed backing vocals on other artists' records. In 1986, he released his first album, Guitar Town, which became a critical and commercial success.

His musical career was soaring but an addiction to heroin would soon derail his life. His music was clearly suffering by the time he released his 1990 album, The Hard Way. Three years later, he had completely stopped performing and recording and was jailed on drug and firearms charges. He kicked his drug habit while incarcerated and released a bluegrass album, Train A Comin', which received a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Folk Album.

Earle started his own record label where he began experimenting with various music styles, including country, bluegrass, folk and hard rock music. He has since released several albums, a book of haiku, a collection of short stories as well as writing and directing a play.

2007 saw the release of his twelfth studio album, Washington Square Serenade. His latest album, Townes, released in May of this year, is a tribute album to his late friend and legendary musician, Townes Van Zandt.

You can learn more about Steve Earle on his official website and purchase his music here.

WHOLE LOTTA' LEIA GOING ON

Yet another reason to be upset about not being at Comic-Con is missing the Slave Leia photoshoot. I'm sure there were other great costumes at the con but let's face it, nothing turns heads faster than the infamous metal bikini. Now use that one free hand to click on over to the Star Wars Flicker photostream to see more.

SCOPITONES SATURDAY: "IT'S A HAPPENING WORLD"

Kids are dancing everywhere, music is in the air and the time is right for crazy clothes and staying out all night. Paula Wayne sings about all this and more in "It's A Happening World."

GOOGLE CELEBRATES COMIC-CON 2009

Google is celebrating the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con featuring the DC Comics superheroes. The special logo was drawn by comic book artist Jim Lee. Check it out yourself but hurry, because this logo won't be up long!

MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE 2: JEAN GREY

Activision released a new trailer for Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 featuring Jean Grey. Wow, this looks great! I hope She-Hulk is in the game.

SEE YOUR LAST BREATH

A new trailer for Whiteout has been released. Whiteout is the film adaptation of Greg Rucka's Eisner Award winning comic book of the same name. The movie stars Kate Beckinsale as US Marshall Carrie Stetko investigating the first murder in Antartica. The film looks like it's going to be fairly faithful to the comic book and I can't wait to see it.

ROY ORBISON GOODIES!

Today was a pretty rotten day, that was until I got home tonight to see a box full of Roy Orbison goodies! The box was a thank you gift from Barbara Orbison Productions for our Just Listen: Roy Orbison Week posts. I couldn't believe my eyes when I opened the box and saw all the cool stuff inside; t-shirts, CD's, DVD's and The Soul of Rock and Roll box set! This is a Roy Orbison fan's dream. They aren't kidding when they call it "The Definitive Roy Orbison Collection". Just listen to what it includes:

107 songs on 4 CD's - covers 1955-1988

Includes all of Roy's best known songs - from "Ooby Dooby" to "Oh, Pretty Woman" to "You Got It"

Also includes Roy's signature Traveling Wilburys song "Not Alone Any More"

Features 12 PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED tracks

96 PAGE BOOK includes new liner notes from Barbara Orbison, Fred Foster, Roy Orbison, Jr and a host of testimonials from friends and fans

All in a Limited Edition DELUXE white linen package! How cool is that?!? But wait, that's not all.

"For the first time, you will have a chance to hear Roy's first recording to the last time he ever sang - December 4, 1988 in Akron, Ohio. Two days before Orbison died of a heart attack at 52, he recorded a live version of "It's Over". That song is included here along with an earlier studio take."


Today was like Christmas and I want to give a big thank you to Tanja and Barbara Orbison Productions for this incredibly gracious gift. You've made this Roy Orbison fan very happy.

But don't let me have all the fun. Click over to the official Roy Orbison website where you can pick up your own copy of The Soul of Rock and Roll, plus lots more cool Roy Orbison merchandise.

And what would this post be without music from the man himself. Here's Roy Orbison singing "You Got It" as only he can - beautifully and with the soul of rock and roll.

JONAH HEX MOVIE POSTER

More fun stuff premiering at the San Diego Comic-Con, this time it's the poster for the upcoming Jonah Hex film. Shock Til You Drop has a look at the new poster featuring everybody's favorite western bounty hunter. Unfortunately, Megan Fox is on the poster and Hex's scars are looking pretty weak. Here's hoping Hex's mutilated mug is much more prominent in the finished film.

COVER OF THE WEEK

All New Savage She-Hulk, #4 (of 4), Marvel Comics

ECHO COMING TO THE BIG SCREEN

Variety announced a film adaptation of the comic book series Echo will soon be headed to a theater near you.

Echo, created by Terry Moore of Strangers in Paradise fame, tells the story of photographer Julie Martin who was at the wrong place at the wrong time. A military experiment explodes overhead, leaving her covered in a liquid metal. Julie discovers she now has the power of a nuclear bomb but the military wants the "walking weapon" for their own use.

"Watchment" producer Lloyd Levin has acquired screen rights to "Echo," a comicbook series by Terry Moore. Deal was six figures.

Levin also produced the "Hellboy" films, both with Larry Gordon. Levin is also a producer on the upcoming Paul Greengrass-directed Universal drama "Green Zone."

Moore's comicbook credits include the "Strangers in Paradise" series.

Comicbooks have never been hotter in Hollywood, especially after "The Dark Knight" dominated last year's box office and Marvel has successfully set up its film division to launch its superheroes on the bigscreen, such as "Iron Man."

But studios aren't just interested in caped crusaders.

"Echo," well, echoes more recent deals where studios are becoming more interested in non-superhero fare.

I welcome comic book-based movies with no superheroes or at least non-traditional superheroes. The star of Echo does have superpowers with the liquid metal suit but it's not the typical take you see in regular comic books. Echo is a smart series, full of twists and turns. Hopefully Hollywood will do the series right.

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET POSTER

IGN has the first look at the poster and publicity still for the upcoming reboot of A Nightmare on Elm Street. The film stars Jackie Earle Haley as the new Freddy Krueger and set to slash it's way into theaters April 16, 2010.

POWER GIRL, THE DRAG QUEEN

A big thanks to Amanda Conner for showing us what Power Girl looks like as a smirking transvestite. Power Girl is only the sexiest character in the DC Universe but not anymore, thanks to Amanda Conner. Conner's Power Girl looks like he/she should be on stage lip-synching "I Will Survive" and "It's Raining Men".

PUSHING DAISIES SEASON 2 ON DVD

Somehow I totally forgot to mention Pushing Daisies: The Complete Season Season came out on DVD yesterday. This was the final season for the show, and while some of the episodes feel rushed, each episode is smart, funny and delightful. The set includes several featurettes, including:

The Master Pie Maker: Inside The Mind Of Creator Bryan Fuller
From Oven To Table: Crafting A Script Idea Into Reality
Secret Sweet Ingredients: Spotlight On Composer Jim Dooley's Work
Add A Little Magic: Executing Some Giant-Sized Visual Effects

The last three episodes never aired but creator Bryan Fuller promised to continue the series in some form, possibly through comic books. I don't know if that promise will ever be realized but at least we have the entire series on DVD.

Meanwhile, enjoy the clip of season two and order your own copy of Pushing Daisies: The Complete Second Season here.

NEW PHOTO OF SCARLETT JOHANSSON IN IRON MAN 2

Yahoo Movies has a new photo from Iron Man 2 of Scarlett Johansson as Russian superspy Natasha Romanoff aka the Black Widow. Look for Johansson's character to cause lots of friction between Tony Stark and Pepper Potts as Stark's new love interest in the film.

MORE IRON MAN 2 PHOTOS

Principal photography for Iron Man 2 wrapped on schedule this past Saturday and USA Today has new exclusive photos of the film. Tonight marks the kick-off of San Diego's 40th Anniversary of Comic-Con with a "Preview Night" of the convention, so we can expect a lot more nerd news in the coming days.

SPIDER-WOMAN: THE MOTION COMICS TRAILER

Marvel Comics is making a big deal about the new motion comic for the upcoming series, Spider-Woman. Like most collectors I'm skeptical about motion comics. I mean, the story is already drawn out for you. Do you really have to see the images move to better understand the story? Some books with poor art could use some motion to help better tell the story but a comic book already reads like a movie. The next step for a comic book is to become a film, not some bastardized stepchild of a movie. But like most comic book nerds, I am curious about the new medium and will definitely check it out. The trailer looks good and it maybe the only time we'll ever see Spider-Woman on screen.

Comic book retailers are already worried about digital comics and fear comic books will go the way of CD's, becoming a relic in our digital world. And with a trailer like this, I'm sure they'll grow much more nervous.

BIONIC EYE

Science fiction isn't fiction anymore. The technology of Star Trek is becoming a part of our reality more and more these days, and now even the science from The Six Million Dollar Man is available with a telescope implant for the human eye. Technology Review has the details:

A miniature telescope implanted into the eye could soon help people with vision loss from end-stage macular degeneration. Last week, an advisory panel for the Food and Drug Administration unanimously recommended that the agency approve the implant. Clinical trials of the device, which is about the size of a pencil eraser, suggest it can improve vision by about three and a half lines on an eye chart.

"This is one of the few options for people with end-stage macular degeneration," says Kathryn Colby, an eye surgeon at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, in Boston, who helped develop the surgical procedure used to implant the device.

Macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in people age 65 and older, affecting more than 10 million Americans. The disease strikes the center of the retina, called the macula, which is especially important for reading, watching television, and recognizing faces. While some treatments exist to slow progression of the disease, no treatments are currently available for those in the latest stages of the disease, who have irreversible damage to the macula. An estimated 50,000 to 70,000 people per year fall into this category.

So now you can be like Steve Austin. Well, somewhat anyway. Looks like we're still a few years behind the bionic legs technology but you can get a cool red jumpsuit and make the "ch, ch, ch, ch, ch" bionic sound as you look through your telescopic eye.

FROM THE COLLECTION: FRANCES O'CONNOR

When I first started this blog, I did a post on how a real photo postcard of Frances O'Connor started an obsession. Photos of her as an adult are much more common than the ones of her as a child. In fact, in all my years of collecting, I've only seen two photos of Frances O'Connor as a child and I own both of them.

Frances Belle O’Connor was born in 1914 in Granite Falls, Minnesota. Born without arms, she learned to use her feet for everyday tasks.

With her mother as her manager, she began her sideshow career with the Al G. Barnes Circus in Wyoming. She was quickly billed as “The Living Venus De Milo”, and while not the first sideshow performer to have that nickname, she certainly exemplified the title. Beautiful with a sweet personality, she attracted scores of men to her shows and reportedly turned down many marriage proposals.

From the 1920s through the 1940’s, she worked with Cole Bros., Sells-Floto and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circuses. Her act consisted of smoking cigarettes, sewing, shooting a rifle, eating and drinking, some of which she performed in the 1932 film Freaks.

After her mother passed away, Frances lost interest in show business and retired in California. She never married or had children and passed away in relative obscurity in 1982.

Here's a soundless clip of Frances O'Connor eating from the Tod Browning's film, Freaks.

NOTES FROM MICHAEL BAY

I'm proud to say I didn't see Transformers 2. After that first movie which was a total crapfest, I vowed never to give my money to another Transformers movie. Same thing happened after Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Crystal Skull. Okay, okay, it took me longer to learn my lesson with the Indiana Jones series but in my defense, I enjoyed the first film unlike the Transformers series. The folks at Holy Taco have a page of notes from "the awesome brain of Michael Bay" and boy, does he know film making. Megan Fox in tank tops with explosions equals box office gold.

SLEAZE, TEASE AND CHEESE

There's just not enough hours in the day to watch all the movies out there. I'm starting to realize how many films received little to no attention when watching the SciFi Classics 50 Movie Pack Collection and the Chilling Classics 50 Movie Pack, both of which I highly recommend. I'm having to rethink my self-proclaimed status as a movie buff when I'm faced with the fact there are so many films Ive never heard of, such as Horrors of Spider Island, I Eat Your Skin and King of Kong Island. King of Kong Island doesn't have King Kong or an island in the film, by the way. Anyway, my self doubts were reaffirmed when I visited The Poster Pit, a blog which "showcases the best and worst in sleaze, tease and cheese since August of 2006." Movie like Vicious Lips, Unholly Rollers, Possession and Evils of the Night have all slipped under my radar but thankfully I can count on The Poster Pit to feature the forgotten cinema. Now if I could just find the time to watch all these films.

DC COMICS MAKES EXCUSES ABOUT FILMS

Unreadable comic books and bad films based on their titles doesn't stand in the way of DC Comics from tooting their own horn despite being the worst comic book company today. Go ahead and send your hate mail but I got two words for you: Final Crisis. 'Nuff said. Anyway, they are currently bragging about their new film slate while taking a swipe at Marvel. The Hollywood Reporter has the scoop.

"One of the things that has differentiated us for most of the last 20 years is the depth of our library and the depth of the creative material that we've put out and the opportunities that creates for other media," DC Comics president Paul Levitz said. Still, when "Dark Knight" invaded theaters last summer, critics of DC and Warners complained there didn't appear to be a grand strategy in place to exploit DC properties.

In contrast, DC arch-rival Marvel moved quickly in the wake of its successful "Iron Man" to stake out a series of release dates for a slew of movies, branding them as part of one big Marvel universe leading to "The Avengers," which arrives in 2012.

But DC and Warners have taken a different approach, arguing that DC has a wider breadth of books than other comics companies. They insist their situation isn't comparable to Marvel, which already has licensed out to other studios a number of its biggest titles: Spider-Man is housed at Sony, and X-Men and Fantastic Four are at Fox.

With fewer marquee superheroes, Marvel works like an animation studio: It only develops select projects and makes most of what it develops, while DC is managing a much larger portfolio.

This past fall, Warners quietly hired three of DC's biggest writers -- Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison and Marv Wolfman -- to act as consultants and writers for its superhero line of movies. The move involved taking back the reins on projects being handled by such producers as Charles Roven ("The Flash") and Akiva Goldsman ("Teen Titans").

Some agents and scribes grumbled about being forced to work with the consultants, never mind that Johns started his career as a assistant to "Superman" director Richard Donner or that Wolfman has worked in animation since the 1980s.

The moves have begun to pay off. Johns worked up a new treatment for a "Flash" script, being written by Dan Mazeau; Johns will act in a producer capacity on the project, which has not attached a director.

The projects Morrison and Wolfman are working on are in the early stages at Warners, whose execs declined to comment.

The process involves one writer taking point, though the trio do collaborate on projects, reading one another's materials while hashing out a story that will be at once accessible to nonfans yet still adhere to each character's long history. The writers also work in tandem with producers, writers and the Warners execs overseeing the projects, showing them treatments and providing notes on scripts.

Meanwhile, other superhero projects are moving forward at Warners.

The studio is taking pitches on sci-fi hero Adam Strange and the underwater-breathing hero "Aquaman," to be produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and his Appian Way shingle.

Also in the pipeline: "Bizarro Superman" being written by "Galaxy Quest" scribes David Howard and Robert Gordon; a sequel to "Constantine," with Goldsman and Erwin Stoff producing; two concurrent Green Arrow projects, an origin story and a prison-set one titled "Super Max"; and "Shazam," which was set up at New Line but has moved to Warners, with Pete Segal attached to direct.

Unsung in the lineup is Warners' line of straight-to-DVD animated movies released via Warner Premiere. "Green Lantern: First Flight," the latest entry, will premiere at this week's Comic-Con and has a July 28 street date.

These movies, produced on budgets in the $3.5 million range, apparently overperformed their targets. "First Flight" is the fifth straight-to-DVD title, with "Superman/Batman: Public Enemies" in production for a Sept. 29 release.

In the home entertainmentarena, DC has overshadowed Marvel, with 2007's "Superman-Doomsday" generating $9.4 million in revenue and last year's "Batman: Gotham Knight," taking advantage of the tidal wave of support for the Christopher Nolan movie, generating $8 million, according to tracking site The-Numbers.com. "Wonder Woman," released in March, already has chalked up $4.4 million. Marvel's top seller, "Ultimate Avengers 2," has pulled in $7.7 million.

Not that all the stars in the DC firmament are aligned yet.

Warners and DC still haven't figured out how to translate "Wonder Woman" to the big screen. In part, that failure reflects the difficulties DC has had turning out a popular Wonder Women comic. Morrison, during a recent Q&A with Clive Barker at Los Angeles' Meltdown Comics, admitted he didn't have a complete handle on the character when he was writing the comic "Final Crisis."

Also, ever since Bryan Singer's 2006's "Superman Returns," a new Superman has been in limbo.

"Our hope is to develop a Superman property and to try again," Warner Bros. Entertainment president Alan Horn said in April. "What hurt us is that the reviews and so on for the Superman movie did not get the kind of critical acclaim that Batman got, and we have other issues with Superman that concern us."

On the Batman front, a sequel to "Dark Knight" also is quite a way off. Nolan is open to doing a third installment, but his next movie is "Inception," an original script he penned and is shooting for Warners.

All that has put a damper on any movie about the Justice League, whose roster includes the above-mentioned heroes as well as myriad others including Aquaman and the Martian Manhunter. DC would like to present some of the main heroes in their own movies before they are brought together for one big outing, so "League" currently is inactive.

On top of that, there could be another change in how Warners approaches the DC characters, with studio chiefs debating whether to put the operation under one super-exec.

Blah, blah, blah... Marvel is clearly the leader when it comes to film properties. Green Lantern and Jonah Hex are the only two superhero movies DC Comics has coming out soon. Marvel has Iron Man 2, Captain America, Thor, Spider-Man 4 and The Avengers. And keep telling yourself it was "the reviews" for Superman Returns that hurt the film, not the terrible casting and boring storyline. I've said it before and I'll say it again, "Make mine Marvel!"

NEW MYSTERY TEAM TRAILER

The last time I heard anything about the film Mystery Team was back in December. Roadside Attractions has released a new trailer for the movie and is giving a sneak peek during the San Diego Comic-Con. The movie is scheduled to be released Fall 2009.

PHOTOSHOP QUEEN

Just wanted to give a big thanks to Don't Stand There Gawping!'s favorite gal overseas, Jessica. She's as talented as she is nice and designed a new banner for us to made us look legit. In fact, the banner looked so good, we changed the entire look of the blog. So thanks again, Jessica. You really are a wonder woman!

PIN-UP OF THE WEEK

JUST LISTEN REWIND: MATT COSTA

Last March, when I first started the Just Listen posts, Matt Costa was one of the first artists featured. I wanted to include the song "Sunshine" but at that time I was only posting one video for the artists. Just Listen has expanded since then with some artists receiving an entire week dedicated to their music. So here's another Just Listen Rewind featuring Matt Costa singing "Sunshine".

You can learn more about Matt Costa on his official website and buy his music here.

I FIND YOUR LACK OF GIGS DISTURBING

Anything can be an instrument in the hands of the right person. Here's someone playing the "Imperial March" from the Star Wars soundtrack on a hard drive.

VADER TIME

Watch MC Vader break it down with his Peeptroopers and Princess Leia tells you what she wants, what she really, really wants at the 2009 Hyperspace Hoopla at Disney's Star Wars Weekends.

JUST LISTEN: ROY ORBISON WEEK (PT. 7)

The music continues on Don't Stand There Gawping! as Just Listen: Roy Orbison Week concludes with a look at Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night, the highly acclaimed HBO television special from 1988. The special was shot a year before his death and included many famous performers. Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Jackson Browne and J.D. Souther joined Orbison on stage with singers k.d. lang, Jennifer Warnes and Bonnie Raitt providing background vocals. Many celebrities were in the audience as well, with Billy Idol, Sandra Bernhard and Kris Kristofferson in attendance.

The performance of "Oh, Pretty Woman" from this special was nominated for a Grammy for Best Live Performance.

To learn more about Roy Orbison, visit his website and pick up a copy of Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night here.

Meanwhile, enjoy Roy Orbison and friends singing the classic song, "Dream Baby".