In what is maybe a most unexpected, although intriguing pairing, a Django/Zorro comic book is on its way to an on- or offline bookstore near you, courtesy of Dynamite Entertainment and DC Entertainment, as well as Quentin Tarantino, Matt Wagner, and Reginald Hudlin.
This will serve as a sequel to the film "Django Unchained," which will see our cowboy with the fast draw meet the legendary Zorro, in a story written by "co-plotted" (as the press release reads) by Tarantino, and will be co-plotted and written by Matt Wagner ("Mage," "Grendel," "The Shadow, Zorro"), while Reginald Hudlin (producer of "Django Unchained" the film), will work closely with Tarantino and Wagner as editor.
"I’m very very excited about both this story and the opportunity to work with Matt. It was reading his Zorro stories that convinced me what a good idea it was to join these two icons together. And the story idea we came up with is thrilling, and I think will be an exciting new chapter for both characters," says Tarantino.
Adds Wagner, "This project is an absolute thrill! When Quentin and I first met, it felt like we’d known each other for years. The give-and-take energy of our initial story sessions was just incredible! It’s a particular buzz to be writing Zorro once again…and especially to team him up with the magnetic lead character from Quentin’s most straight-up heroic movie, Django Unchained! The Wild West is never gonna be the same once these two come to town!"
"This series is the first time Quentin Tarantino explored the continuing adventures of one of the characters from his films," says Reggie Hudlin. "That he would do it in a comic book demonstrates his love and appreciation of the medium. Quentin is not just a comic collector – he’s got a spinner rack in his house!"
What Dynamite CEO/Publisher Nick Barrucci is calling "THE Cross-Over event of the year," is scheduled for a late 2014 release.
I am a proud member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences…the folks who do the Oscars, and much more. Last year they told me they wanted me to be more involved in the organization, and I told them I wanted to be more involved.
If you’ve never been to movie music night at the Hollywood Bowl, my favorite music venue, it’s a treat. The only way I could think of making it better was to put on a night of BLACK MOVIE MUSIC featuring a hundred years of the best music ever – from Stormy Weather to Shaft to Purple Rain to Happy!
Music will be by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, my main man Marcus Miller and an all-star band, and bunch of special guest stars!
DC/Vertigo received 10 nominations (two shared), including a nod for Best Adaptation From Another Medium for “Django Unchained,” which was adapted by director Quentin Tarantino, Reginald Hudlin and R.M Guera (among others).
“I am as proud of my Eisner nomination as I was of my Oscar nomination,” Hudlin tells Comic Riffs. “I am so grateful to [DC Entertainment co-publisher] Jim Lee and everyone at DC Comics, the amazing team of artists who drew the book, and most of all, Quentin Tarantino, whose brilliant screenplay made all of this happen.
“This is an innovative book in that no one I know of had ever adapted the original script of a movie, including scenes cut out of the finished film, and scenes never even shot,” Hudlin continues. “That was Quentin’s idea, and it makes for an unique experience for the reader.”
To purchase an autographed copy of the DJANGO UNCHAINED graphic novel, go towww.reggiesworld.com!
Winners and nominees — past and present — assembled at the Beverly Hills home of Robert Evans on Feb. 19 for The Hollywood Reporter’s exclusive photo shoot.
This story first appeared in the March 7 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.
THR deputy photo editor Carrie Smith, senior editor Stacey Wilson and awards analyst Scott Feinberg managed to convince 34 Oscar-winning and -nominated producers of 48 movies to assemble at Evans’ Woodland estate in Beverly Hills. "We decided to aim big and gather a cross-section of generations," says Feinberg.
Quincy Jones (The Color Purple) arrived fashionably late to a hero’s welcome; Gibson wore the same shirt as Jon Landau (Titanic), who quipped, "Did you bring another shirt?" The shoot also reunited Fred Roos (The Godfather Part II) and Michael Phillips (The Sting) after 40 years.
"Knowing that we were among some of the greatest personalities in the history of cinema was amazing," says Wilson.
Academy Award-winning and nominated producers of 48 films in the running for best picture gathered at the Beverly Hills home of Robert Evans for a class photo. Click the photo to take a look inside the once-in-a-lifetime moments.
Who’s Who and Their Oscar History
Jon Landau, Winner, Titanic (1998); nominee, Avatar (2010)
Robbie Brenner, Nominee, Dallas Buyers Club (2014)
Ron Yerxa, Nominee, Nebraska (2014)
Jonathan Gordon, Nominee, Silver Linings Playbook (2013), American Hustle (2014)
Nicolas Chartier, Winner, The Hurt Locker (2010)
Donna Gigliotti, Winner, Shakespeare in Love (1999); nominee, The Reader (2009), Silver Linings Playbook (2013)
Richard Suckle, Nominee, American Hustle (2014)
Bill Pohlad, Nominee, The Tree of Life (2012)
Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Nominee, The Wolf of Wall Street (2014)
Michael Phillips, Winner, The Sting (1974); nominee, Taxi Driver (1977)
Frank Marshall, Nominee, Raiders of the Lost Ark (1982), The Color Purple (1986), The Sixth Sense (2000), Seabiscuit (2004), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2009)
Irwin Winkler, Winner, Rocky (1977); nominee, Raging Bull (1981), The Right Stuff (1984),Goodfellas (1991)
Stanley R. Jaffe, Winner, Kramer vs. Kramer (1980); nominee, Fatal Attraction (1988)
Mike Medavoy, Nominee, Black Swan (2011)
Rachel Winter, Nominee, Dallas Buyers Club (2014)
Arnold Kopelson, Winner, Platoon (1987); nominee, The Fugitive (1994)
