The International House of Mojo

So don't get your hopes up or anything. Still, it's always fun when Steve Purcell acknowledges the potential of his madcap creations to have a silver screen career, as he did in a new interview with VideoGamer.com. This would be one of those so-marginal-I-don't-feel-guilty-about-reprinting-all-of-it articles:

Talking to VideoGamer.com about his role in the development of recent Pixar tie-in Brave: The Video Game, Purcell said that "Sam & Max have proved themselves remarkably resilient to adaptation".

"They always manage to maintain the integrity of their lunacy no matter the medium. I think they would make a great movie."

Purcell debuted the characters in a comic book in the 1980s, before releasing classic PC point & click Sam & Max: Hit The Road in 1993. The pair later spawned a TV series, before Purcell moved to Pixar in the early noughties.

So given his big screen experience, why hasn't Purcell attempted to take Sam & Max to Hollywood?

"I've just tended to keep Sam & Max separate from my work at Pixar so there's never any confusion about it," he continued.

"I think Sam & Max's lack of a functioning moral compass might make them a long shot to drive a major studio production. Though I'm certainly not opposed to giving it a shot."

Pull the trigger, good sir!

Source: VideoGamer.com

If you live in the U.S., September will be a great month to be an Indy fan. To celebrate the series' release on Blu-ray next month, Indy is returning to the silver screen in two separate, limited engagement events.

The first: Raiders of the Lost Ark is coming to IMAX! Yes, you will be able to see the genre-defining classic on an impossibly large screen at participating theaters from 9/7-9/13. From what I'm told, the new print they've struck from the restoration looks incredible.

Second, select AMC theaters will be presenting a back-to-back, butt-punishing marathon of all four Indy movies on 9/15.

All of this, course, leads right into the Blu-ray release on 9/18. It's as though this was all scheduled with some sort of intent.

Several years back - I think it was somewhere around December 10th, 2005 - we spread the good word about a book called Droidmaker: George Lucas and the Digital Revolution, a detailed, acclaimed, behind-the-scenes look at various technology companies of the George Lucas empire. At the time, author Michael Rubin had put up the book's eighteenth chapter, a fascinating examination of the early days of Lucasfilm Games, up on his blog.

Now we receive word that the book has recently gotten a Kindle re-release. If you've ever had any interest in the genesis of companies like LucasArts, Pixar, and Industrial Light and Magic (or if, to put it a simpler way, you read Mojo), Rubin's insider look at the story behind them is by all accounts compelling stuff. Check out the new digital release or stick with the easier-to-cuddle analog version, if you prefer.

And maybe stay tuned for a review of Droidmaker from us sometime in the future. Who knows, crazier things have happened.

This and more revealed in this fine, career-encompassing interview with Steve Purcell by the fine chaps at Thunder Chunky.

Source: Thunder Chunky

The long-awaited and long-rumored release of the Indiana Jones movies in high definition is officially coming this fall.

The package will contain all four films and what seems will largely be recycled extras. Here's Paramount's official blurb:

"A few new surprises" makes it sound as though the volume of extras not already released will be minimal, but from what has been reported about the Raiders restoration, which has been screened to a privileged few, the movies themselves are gonna look like a million bucks, and that's the main thing.

Update by ???: The big question is, will the CGI jeep from the recent HDTV broadcasts be included? Will we have another jeepgate?

Source: Indiana Jones

The Official Star Wars Blog reports that veteran English actor Ian Abercrombie, who voiced Chancellor Palpatine in the Star Wars: Clone Wars TV series (as well as LucasArts-published games adapted from it) passed away on January 26th. He was 77.

The blog post includes remembrances from some of the crew of The Clone Wars.

A peek at his filmography on IMDB reveals that you hardly have be a Clone Wars viewer to have enjoyed this man's work. Among a multitude of other roles, he played Mister Pitt, Elaine's needy millionaire boss on several episodes of Seinfeld, John Hammond's butler in The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and the bearded wise man who sent Bruce Campbell to fetch the necronomicon in Army of Darkness (along with the poorly heeded instructions to speak three magic words).

Source: The Official Star Wars Blog

Red Tails, the first non-franchise Lucasfilm production since 1994, is now playing nationwide in the U.S. and Canada. The long-in-gestation passion project for George Lucas, who probably influenced the result beyond what his story and producer credits suggest, is inspired by the real life exploits of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II.

The reviews so far have been mixed to negative, which means it's probably one of Lucas' better efforts of the last two decades.

The production of the movie version of Bone, based on the celebrated Jeff Smith comic saga that Telltale was adapting before they weren't, looks to finally be starting in earnest soon now that a director has been signed. It is Australian director P.J. Hogan, best known for the 2003 live action take on Peter Pan. Its screenwriter is Patrick Sean Smith, a fellow with a number of television credits who'll be making his first foray into features with this project.

As previously known, the animated film will be produced by Lin Pictures and Animal Logic (of Happy Feet fame), with Warner Bros. holding the comics' film rights. There are no details on whether or not the adaptation will consist of multiple films, which was discussed at one point, but this news would certainly suggest that things are moving forward.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

A little over a month ago, PC Gamer - the Global Authority on PC Games and Now Television - dedicated an article from its weekly column Crapshoot to the often-forgotten TV adaptation of LucasArts classic Maniac Mansion. Like a lot of Crapshoot articles, it's worth a read; unlike a lot of Crapshoot articles, it doesn't really cover what it wants to, due to technical difficulties covered in the article. But a Crapshoot is still a Crapshoot, so check it out.

Source: PC Gamer

So how are you celebrating the 30th anniversary of Indiana Jones? 'Cause if you haven't made a poster-sized map pinpointing every artifact he's ever found - that's including the movies, games, novels and comic books - then you're clearly not this guy, who accomplished this feat with funding from the Adirondack ComicFest. This effort was also "authorized through Lucasfilm," if you wanted to know.

Fortunately, all of the artist's 255 prints - the proceeds of which went to American Disabled Veterans - have sold out, sparing you considerable temptation, but apparently there are going to be some on sale at the Adirondack ComicFest, should you be attending.

Source: MattBusch.com

Whenever a new Pirates of the Caribbean movie comes out, it's customary for the community to share what they see as blatant plagiarism of the Monkey Island games on the part of the writers. While such observations almost assuredly amount to coincidence, there's no doubt that even the most casual Monkey Island fans can point to some downright uncanny "reminders" of favorite moments from Guybrush's exploits in this mega-grossing Disney franchise.

Well, last weekend's On Stranger Tides was surely no exception, and I've given everyone a head start on the ongoing compilation of Totally Not Ridiculous MI Connections in this forum thread. Come play along, and of course, spoilers ahoy!

Ian McShane is a bad man.

Source: Youtube

It's no Steve Purcell or Ryan Jones cover, but the new one-sheet for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides can be seen over at CHUD where it is enjoyably over-analyzed.

Source: CHUD

It's not April 1st, you're not still asleep, and we're not kidding. A movie based on LucasArts SNES classic Zombies Ate My Neighbours is in development.

A script has been written by newcomer John Darko, and is described as "Superbad + Zombieland + Home Alone". It's a coming-of-age comedy, with zombies. And yes, protagonists Zeke and Julie still feature.

While the film's producers are still seeking both finances and the rights from Konami, apparently "things are going well and it's coming together". Wonder if it'll have tentacles in it? Hell, I'd pay just to see the giant baby.

Source: First Showing

I seem to be becoming the go-to guy for the Lego games here. Oh well. IGN have a first look and a trailer for Lego Pirates of the Caribbean, which I'm sure a few people will prefer to Star Wars (especially The Clone Wars).

Probably the most interesting bit of information is that the game will cover all four POTC films, including this summer's On Stranger Tides. The game is due to coincide approximately with that film (like Lego Indy did with Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) and will release on all platforms - although strangely absent from the release list is a 3DS version, especially after all the trouble TT Games went through to get Lego Clone Wars on the system.

Source: IGN

The National Film Registry, that one thing Congress is good for, announced the twenty five films it has selected for inclusion for the year 2010. Of the list of inductees, the one that seems to be headlining all of today's news write-ups is none other than the very first talkie - I speak of course of the German expressionistic masterpiece The Empire Strikes Back. Who could forget the pulse-pounding sequence where the shark is blown up with a tank of compressed air?

You can see the whole list here, although I think it's easy to see why Empire, which boasts arguably Bogart's greatest performance, is getting all the attention.

Source: Library of Congress

Double Fine's Costume Quest picked up 'Best Downloadable Game' in the VGA awards, beating hot contenders Monday Night Combat, Scott Pilgrim: The Game, and Lara Croft's Sexy Horse Spleen Fun Time.

In other news, the new Pirates of the Caribbean trailer has been unleashed. This is notable because the film is based on the Disneyland ride of the same name, and the Tim Powers book, On Stranger Tides: both of these were inspirations for the Monkey Island series. The trailer has mermaids in it. Hello!

Source: Melancholick

Six images from the upcoming motion picture Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides have been posted on ever site on the internet today, and the gallery below proves that we're one of them. I sure hope my graphics card can handle this baby:

Clicky here to see the rest!

The trailer premieres Monday. Go see Tron Legacy if you want to behold it on the big screen, which is where On Stranger Tides can be seen on May 20th of next year.

Today we have lost the director of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. Let us all take a moment of silence to reflect upon the excellence that is that movie.

Source: Yahoo! News

In a move that will surprise nobody, LEGO's partnership with Disney is bringing not only LEGO toys to the shelves, but also a LEGO POTC videogame. It's slated for PC, Xbox360, PS3, PSP, and NDS and is due out at the same time as the 4th Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

Read the whole press release here.

Source: Nintendo Life