edited by Jonathan Doyle

Cloverfield [BLU-RAY] (Paramount Home Entertainment, 6.3.2008) Disguised under deliberately goofy, yet deliciously edible-sounding, aliases such as Cheese and Slusho, Matt Reeves' Cloverfield was produced and rushed into theaters under an equally appetizing shroud of secrecy. From last year's incredibly elusive Super Bowl ad to the film's viral marketing campaign, Cloverfield had everybody scratching their heads and drooling in anticipation. Aside from the as-yet untitled title and the Blair Witch-ian visual style, the film's biggest appeal was the enigmatic creature who was last (un)seen hurling the decapitated head of the Statue of Liberty onto the crowded streets of New York City. All we knew about the mysterious beast was that it was big and angry. Now that the highy-anticipated project has come and gone, one question has fortunately been answered: Cloverfield was a major success. (continued)

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I'm told that the deal is sealed for Josh Brolin to star in Jonah Hex, based on the graphic novel and directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor (Crank, Game) and to be funded and released by Warner Bros. Brolin's rep is not only denying this but claiming Brolin is "not attached," but a voice is telling me to consider the word of a friend who tells me the deal was locked down last night.

Josh Brolin; Jonah Hex

Jonah Hex is a western comic book anti-hero created by writer John Albano and artist Tony DeZuniga and published by DC Comics. DC Comics is producing along with Mad Chance.

The movie, I'm told, is going to be some kind of sci-fi western with CG up the wazoo. There's nothing sci-fi-ish about the Hex comic book that's explained on the Wikipedia.page, but there's always the creative option. Hex is a middle-aged bounty hunter and gunslinger (born in 1838, dies in 1904) with a heavily scarred face whose quest in the film is tracking down a voodoo practitioner and...I don't know anything more. But it sounds like another stab at launching another Warner Bros. franchise, and most definitely a fat paycheck gig for Brolin.

Mayor Tut-Tuts Brolin<< previous | next >>Choice

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on October 8, 2008 at 7:37 PM

comment #1

MartinBlank says ...

Just how bad-ass is Jonah Hex?

Posted by MartinBlank at October 8, 2008 8:24 PM

comment #2

Tom Logan says ...

The script is fantastic and very funny in places,its in the vein of a black comedy and Brolin is tailor made for Hex.

Posted by Tom Logan at October 8, 2008 8:32 PM

comment #3

BurmaShave says ...

Good for him. I feel bad for Tom Jane, but keep the hotstreak alive. Nevedine & Taylor are true madmen in the best way.

Posted by BurmaShave at October 8, 2008 8:32 PM

comment #4

Nick Rogers says ...

Jeff

Posted by Nick Rogers at October 8, 2008 9:13 PM

comment #5

Nick Rogers says ...

Uh. OK. The commenting interface doesn't like emoticons, so ...

Jeff hearts Josh today.

Posted by Nick Rogers at October 8, 2008 9:13 PM

comment #6

LYT says ...

I think there was a storyline at some point that had Jonah Hex ending up in the future via some kind of time portal.

I read that in one of those "history of the DC Universe" books many years ago.

Posted by LYT at October 8, 2008 10:24 PM

comment #7

Daniel Tayag says ...

Yea, I've heard straight from Neveldine and Taylor that while Tom Jane is a great guy and would like to work with him someday, they both never saw him as Hex in their minds.

Posted by Daniel Tayag at October 8, 2008 10:25 PM

comment #8

dinovelvet says ...

Was that photo taken of Josh the moment he was handed his paycheck for this?

Posted by dinovelvet at October 9, 2008 12:47 AM

comment #9

Craptastic says ...

My first impression, without reading the text, was that Brolin was chosen to play Roland.

After the reading the text, my heart sank.

Posted by Craptastic at October 9, 2008 2:20 AM

comment #10

actionman says ...

Crank is a masterpiece of deranged lunacy and this sounds like perfect casting, if it does turn out to be true. I am a big fan of Brolin, a big fan of Westerns, and a big fan of sci fi. So, if this does all go down, it should be a lot of fun.

Posted by actionman at October 9, 2008 5:49 AM

comment #11

Meegosh says ...

I thought the exact same thing Craptastic. Brolin would be just about perfect for Roland (other than Clint 20 or 30 years ago) but I doubt he will want to do two projects so similar. Oh well, DT is probably better as an HBO series anyway, guess I'll cross my fingers for that.

Posted by Meegosh at October 9, 2008 6:03 AM

comment #12

Rich S. says ...

I stuck with the Dark Tower series for the first four books or so, but then I thought it kind of imploded under its own weight. In any event, it would definitely require, at minimum, a full-season series and I doubt Brolin would want to tie himself down for that long. Now, Thomas Jane on the other hand...

Posted by Rich S. at October 9, 2008 6:17 AM

comment #13

Meegosh says ...

Thomas Jane is to young looking. Hes supposed to be like 40 or 50 through all but the first book. But you are right, the first 4 rocked, 5 was decent, 6 and 7 I'd just as soon forget.

Posted by Meegosh at October 9, 2008 9:12 AM

comment #14

tmurry says ...

The "transported to a post apocalyptic future" part of Hex's story is a pretty significant chunk of the history. It was the setting of just about all Hex stories from 1985-95 (including the better than pretty good Kieth Giffen series simply titled Hex). The Wiki page glosses over this by saying "In 1904, Jonah was shot in cold blood during a card game (but not before he was transported into the future for the Hex series)" and by showing (near the bottom of the page) the cover of Hex #1 showing the hero in a futuristic jumpsuit with a background of the mutated waste.

The recent tendency (due to a ever so slightly greater willingness of the big two comics companies to take a stab at more non-superhero genre work and due to interest in the character of one highly placed creator) has been to play Hex as a Deadwood toned hard bitten western, although ancillary uses of the character (see the Justice League Adventures cartoon) seem to acknowledge the future stuff.

Posted by tmurry at October 9, 2008 9:18 AM

comment #15

Josh Massey says ...

My first thought was Roland too, and I was kinda disappointed - I've just always pictured somebody taller and lankier. And Brolin is really more of the Eddie Dean type. But hell, I'll take anybody in the lead role if that means it's gonna get made.

Posted by Josh Massey at October 9, 2008 10:13 AM

comment #16

BurmaShave says ...

This is as fanboy as I'm willing to get today, but the Jonah Hex episode of BATMAN: TAS is one of the best things that show ever did.

Posted by BurmaShave at October 9, 2008 1:13 PM

comment #17

hatchetface says ...

Sounds like they are going with the more horror-oriented material since the DC reboot a few years back (see: TWO GUN MOJO). It's funny, ugly, violent and enjoyable stuff. For a great, cheap intro to the classic stuff, check out the

Posted by hatchetface at October 9, 2008 2:47 PM

comment #18