Green Hornet

Comic-Con attendees weren't quite sure what to make of "The Green Hornet," Seth Rogen's reincarnation of the 20th century radio/television superhero. In Hall H on Friday, the footage played to a decent, if not rousing, reception and afterward, many of the questioners were as eager to talk about their love of the actor as they were about their excitement for the January film. It's not for lack of some heavy-hitting talent. Rogen, who wrote the script with Evan Goldberg, of course succeeded in landing top-tier names, including indie auteur Michel Gondry and Oscar winner Christoph Waltz, both of whom turned up at the Friday panel.

With the male-skewing "The Green Hornet" currently dominating the box office, Paramount Pictures is hoping to take the top spot with a movie aimed at young women. Paramount's Ashton Kutcher-Natalie Portman romantic comedy "No Strings Attached" is the only new film opening nationwide this weekend and is generating solid interest among females under 25, according to prerelease surveys. People who have seen the results of such surveys said "No Strings" should open to about $20 million, a good start given that it cost about $25 million to make.

"The Green Hornet" may not be the most tedious superhero movie ever ? the competition is admittedly tough ? but it is certainly in the running. An anemic, 97-pound weakling of the action comedy persuasion, "Hornet" is a boring bromedy that features mumblecore heroics instead of the real thing. Though the Hornet's been around since the 1930s in various incarnations, including a TV series that featured the one-of-a-kind Bruce Lee as his sidekick Kato, the Hornet's technically not a superhero at all. Rather, like his animal kingdom cohort Batman, the Hornet fights crime from behind a mask with just his ordinary human powers, plus nifty inventions like a tricked-out Chrysler Imperial.

Martin Luther King Day weekend has increasingly become a lucrative one for Hollywood, but that's much more likely to hold true for the debut of "The Green Hornet" than "The Dilemma" this year. The 3-D action- comedy "Green Hornet," starring Seth Rogen, is well positioned to be No. 1 this holiday weekend, according to people who have seen pre-release polling, while "The Dilemma," which pairs comedy stars Vince Vaughn and Kevin James, has much softer prospects. "The Green Hornet" should sell $40 million to $50 million worth of tickets in the U.S. and Canada from Friday through Monday, while ticket sales for "The Dilemma" probably will be much lower, at $15 million to $20 million.

Martin Luther King Day weekend has increasingly become a lucrative one for Hollywood, but that's much more likely to hold true for the debut of "The Green Hornet" than "The Dilemma" this year. The 3-D action- comedy "Green Hornet," starring Seth Rogen, is well positioned to be No. 1 this holiday weekend, according to people who have seen pre-release polling, while "The Dilemma," which pairs comedy stars Vince Vaughn and Kevin James, has much softer prospects. "The Green Hornet" should sell $40 million to $50 million worth of tickets in the U.S. and Canada from Friday through Monday, while ticket sales for "The Dilemma" probably will be much lower, at $15 million to $20 million.

It's not easy being a hard-luck hero. Just ask Seth Rogen, who for the better part of four years has been trying to get "The Green Hornet" feature film off the ground despite changes to the script, the tone, the director and, well, pretty much everything except the hero's cool customized car. The comedy- action movie, finally, has a solid release date set for January and Rogen, who stars in the title role and co-wrote the script, will bring the...

With the male-skewing "The Green Hornet" currently dominating the box office, Paramount Pictures is hoping to take the top spot with a movie aimed at young women. Paramount's Ashton Kutcher-Natalie Portman romantic comedy "No Strings Attached" is the only new film opening nationwide this weekend and is generating solid interest among females under 25, according to prerelease surveys. People who have seen the results of such surveys said "No Strings" should open to about $20 million, a good start given that it cost about $25 million to make.

It's easy to see why Universal Pictures wanted to make "The Dilemma. " And unfortunately for the studio, it's just as easy to picture how the movie could struggle this weekend at the box office. The film pairs two of Hollywood's most reliable comedy superstars: Vince Vaughn and Kevin James. It is directed by Ron Howard, one of the most commercial filmmakers in town, and written by Allan Loeb, who penned 2008's surprise hit "21. " And when Universal first dated the movie opposite "The Green Hornet," it looked as if Sony's action-hero movie would be the film that might labor to sell tickets.

"The Green Hornet" needed a superhero to save it. Sony Pictures has long been counting on the big budget action-comedy to be a new franchise that could stand alongside hit movie series like "Spider-Man. " Coming off a disastrous holiday season, capped by James L. Brooks' flop "How Do You Know," the studio could ill afford to have "The Green Hornet" play to empty theaters after it invested more than $200 million to make and market the film around the world. But last summer, early cuts of "The Green Hornet" and scoffs from fanboys at the Comic-Con comic book convention in San Diego had Sony executives worried that they had a flop on their hands, people close to the picture said.

Hong Kong comedian Stephen Chow said he will no longer direct the Hollywood adaptation of "The Green Hornet" and may not star as sidekick Kato. Chow, whose credits include "Shaolin Soccer" and "Kung Fu Hustle," said he wants to free up time to work with Jack Black on a comedy about a superhero. "If I direct 'The Green Hornet,' the superhero comedy will have to be delayed for two years," Chow said. "The timing might not be right for a superhero comedy in two years. And I want to make a movie based on an original idea."

"The Green Hornet" may not be the most tedious superhero movie ever ? the competition is admittedly tough ? but it is certainly in the running. An anemic, 97-pound weakling of the action comedy persuasion, "Hornet" is a boring bromedy that features mumblecore heroics instead of the real thing. Though the Hornet's been around since the 1930s in various incarnations, including a TV series that featured the one-of-a-kind Bruce Lee as his sidekick Kato, the Hornet's technically not a superhero at all. Rather, like his animal kingdom cohort Batman, the Hornet fights crime from behind a mask with just his ordinary human powers, plus nifty inventions like a tricked-out Chrysler Imperial.

In the magical realm of writer-director Michel Gondry's films, characters defy common sense and dream the impossible dream ? sometimes literally ? as a matter of course. In his 2006 surrealist dramedy "The Science of Sleep," Gondry conjured a lo-fi version of the nocturnal subconscious from papier-mâché, bad horse costumes and stop-motion animation. And in the filmmaker's 2004 romantic drama "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (for which Gondry shares a best original screenplay Oscar)

"The Green Hornet" needed a superhero to save it. Sony Pictures has long been counting on the big budget action-comedy to be a new franchise that could stand alongside hit movie series like "Spider-Man. " Coming off a disastrous holiday season, capped by James L. Brooks' flop "How Do You Know," the studio could ill afford to have "The Green Hornet" play to empty theaters after it invested more than $200 million to make and market the film around the world. But last summer, early cuts of "The Green Hornet" and scoffs from fanboys at the Comic-Con comic book convention in San Diego had Sony executives worried that they had a flop on their hands, people close to the picture said.

It's easy to see why Universal Pictures wanted to make "The Dilemma. " And unfortunately for the studio, it's just as easy to picture how the movie could struggle this weekend at the box office. The film pairs two of Hollywood's most reliable comedy superstars: Vince Vaughn and Kevin James. It is directed by Ron Howard, one of the most commercial filmmakers in town, and written by Allan Loeb, who penned 2008's surprise hit "21. " And when Universal first dated the movie opposite "The Green Hornet," it looked as if Sony's action-hero movie would be the film that might labor to sell tickets.

When the big studios commit big bucks on their big franchises, the list of directors deemed equal to the task suddenly can grow very small. Just as different baseball teams consistently hire the same managers again and again, studio executives fall prey to familiar-is-good thinking, repeatedly shortlisting identical names for their high-profile movies, be it Stephen Sommers (" G.I. Joe," "Van Helsing," "The Mummy"), Martin Campbell ("The Legend of Zorro," "Casino Royale," "Edge of Darkness")

Comic-Con attendees weren't quite sure what to make of "The Green Hornet," Seth Rogen's reincarnation of the 20th century radio/television superhero. In Hall H on Friday, the footage played to a decent, if not rousing, reception and afterward, many of the questioners were as eager to talk about their love of the actor as they were about their excitement for the January film. It's not for lack of some heavy-hitting talent. Rogen, who wrote the script with Evan Goldberg, of course succeeded in landing top-tier names, including indie auteur Michel Gondry and Oscar winner Christoph Waltz, both of whom turned up at the Friday panel.

Filmmaker and comic book aficionado Kevin Smith will write and direct an adaptation of "The Green Hornet" for the big screen, Miramax Films said Wednesday. "Longtime comics geek gets to make comic-book movie? This is a dream come true," Smith said in a news release. His previous films include "Clerks," "Chasing Amy," "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" and "Dogma."

Bert Whitman, 82, editorial cartoonist for the Phoenix Gazette who transformed the radio serial "The Green Hornet" into a comic strip. The Brooklyn-born Whitman taught himself to draw, and in 1924, at age 16, began working for the Los Angeles Times. He went on to a succession of newspapers, and created a steady stream of political cartoons, comic strips and comic books. He drew the "Hornet" in the early 1940s.

It's not easy being a hard-luck hero. Just ask Seth Rogen, who for the better part of four years has been trying to get "The Green Hornet" feature film off the ground despite changes to the script, the tone, the director and, well, pretty much everything except the hero's cool customized car. The comedy- action movie, finally, has a solid release date set for January and Rogen, who stars in the title role and co-wrote the script, will bring the...

Navigating the biggest pop-culture convention in Southern California can be tricky. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, the writing duo behind "Superbad" and the upcoming "The Green Hornet," in which Rogen plays the titular newspaper publisher turned superhero, offer their advice for making it through the long weekend unscathed. Look for them Friday, when they'll appear on a panel with director Michel Gondry and other members of the "Green Hornet" cast and crew to discuss the film, due out in January.