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Nickelodeon buys the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise for a 2012 TV and big screen relaunch!!! Your thoughts?
Hey everyone. Capone in Chicago here.
Here's a story that slipped by me yesterday. Word went out in the Hollywood Reporter that Viacom's Nickelodeon spent 60 million clams on four turtles. More specifically Nick bought the quarter-century-old Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. It sounds like the immediate plans are to kick start a CG-animated TV series (presumably to air on Nickelodeon) and, more interestingly, a live-action/CG feature film, both to premiere in 2012. No director has been named yet for the feature, but apparently at Comic-Con in July the producers announced that John Fusco (writer of the successful THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM) is getting first crack at the screenplay. To my knowledge, this is the first time Nickelodeon has bought an existing franchise outright.
The question remains, does the franchise still have some steam left in it? I wasn't real big on the original TMNT cartoons, but I remember liking the movies, the first one in particular. And the 2007 animated film wasn't bad either. Is a relaunch what this universe needs? Of course, if you had asked me five years ago if anyone would pay to see a mixed live-action/CG TRANSFORMERS movie (also from Paramount), I would have laughed in your face.
To read the entire Hollywood Reporter article, click here.
So what do you think? Do Raphael, Michaelangelo, Donatello, and Leonardo still have some swing left in their swords? Can Splinter still get his rat tail up? Your thoughts, ladies and gents?
-- Capone
capone@aintitcoolmail.com
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Fuck you bitches
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Oct 22, 2009 10:15:58 PM CDT
Just ONCE, I'd like to see the Eastman/Laird B&W version
by nasty in the pasty
A faithful translation of those B&W comics from the 80's. No pizza, no dated "surfer dude" lingo, just a PG-13 TMNT movies that's truly faithful to the original Eastman/Laird comics. I realize this will NEVER happen due to the mainstream acceptance of the Turtles as the kiddie crap phenomenon, but I'd love to see someone at least try.
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But I guess it was a steal because the franchise was worth 10x in the 90's.
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I kinda liked the last animated movie, but thought it kinda missed the mark, but still fun. I was hoping for a sequel, but a reboot is just as good.
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After the live-action franchise petered out, everyone said the characters needed to be animated. Then the animated film came out (and was actually pretty decent), bombed, and everybody said the franchise needed to be live-action. I don't think the format is the problem; I just think people don't really care about the Ninja Turtles anymore. But it was successful once, so nothing's impossible, I guess.
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the appeal of the movies. Something about the faces of the characters annoyed the fuck out of me. That and the fact that you could really tell that the turtles were foam rubber. Look at the Dark Crystal and Labyrinth for much better puppetry work that didn't "take me out" of the film.
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I firmly believe that TMNT will never be outdated. It'll simply become classic, the way that the Beatles and Ford Mustangs are accepted despite their apparent age.
Surprisingly though, my first-ever exposure was reading the Eastman and Laird graphic novels that my brother had. . .and it was great stuff. I absolutely loved the arc where they went to that rhino world with the scientist who transplanted his body into his robot assistant. It's too bad that they don't regularly circulate the original graphic novels anymore. . .it was fantastic stuff. -
so i dont get why they would do that.
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If someone asked me if anyone would pay to see a(nother shitty) mixed CG/live action Transformers flick a year ago, I would have laughed in their face. But 5 years ago? How was anyone NOT hopeful for an awesome live action/CGI TF flick back then?
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and han solo is his pilot.
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I still have TMNT #1 first printing in good condition in my collection. I was never a fan of the 80' cartoon(the completely screwed up Raphael' character) and I walked out of TMNT 2: SOTO when Vanilla Ice showed up (still haven't seen the end of that one, I heard there was some 'giant Shredder' nonsense) but I liked the 1st movie, the recent CGI movie, and the rebooted cartoon a few years back wasn't bad. We'll see how Nick handles it, but I'm with the talkbacker who suggested an adaptation of the original Eastman and Laird B&W turtles.
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Only project more pointless than this might be the upcoming Smurf movie. Ugh.
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TMNT4 finally arrives.
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Go Ninja! Go Ninja! Go Ninja! Go Ninja! Go Ninja! Go Ninja! Go Ninja! Go Ninja! Go Ninja!
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As long as they bring him back, I'm good. I'm real good.
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A movie based on the comics, not the cartoon. It wouldn't have to have a big budget, just make it a gritty R rated samurai movie with mutated ninja turtles in their teens who drink beer.
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like, pizza, and stupid shit like that
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this movie will fail. The real question though....GibsonUSA Returns, how does Big Lob fit into this movie?
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Too bad we'll never see it.
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They had a kick ass Arcade Game back in the day though.
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it's no longer pizza, surfer speak, and skateboards. Now these ninja turtles eat sushi while texting and riding on their segway. Gotta change with the times people.
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I liked the film, but give me the gritty turtles of the FIRST film. THe second was kind of silly, but the first one was dark for a kids film. THese are turtles who fight ninjas who belong to a violent network run by a sicko who calls himself Sherdder. We won't be getting that...
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Oct 22, 2009 10:55:56 PM CDT
The first film is the best comic adaptation of all time and you
by crusher creel
I'm all for a new movie and reboot if you will but Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1990 is simply the best comic adapted film to date. Almost everyone I encounter loves it. It's gritty, does not insult the audience, well-acted, touching, great action, genuiune, and extremly close to the comics while appeasing fans of the cartoon. Talk about hitting the nail on the fucking head. I love it and bravo to the people who didn't pussy it up (***cough Sam Raimi's Spider-Man Trilogy****). Now why can't we can get a special edition????
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Oct 22, 2009 11:03:35 PM CDT
The late-80's TMNT arcade game was FUCKING AWESOME
by nasty in the pasty
Too bad they cocked it up for the NES version.
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I'd love to see that. C'mon, they've been teenagers for 20 to 25 YEARS! Make them late 20's badass ninja masters. You can do it Nick. I remember Ren and Stimpy. You can do off the wall.
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Oct 22, 2009 11:05:51 PM CDT
If Nickelodeon is interested, I've got some old shit I'm selling
by yackbacker
Got some VCRs, some old sweaters and a lot of old paperback novels. I will accept $10 million for all of the above.
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MICKEY ROURKE AS OLMEC!
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If they add more of a edge to the series and get some of that badass ninja vibe, while still being humorous, they might do a decent reboot. Let Leo slice up some foot fools!
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I think I'm going to bed. Who's coming with me? Who's coming with me, guys? Who's coming? Who's coming with me?
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And skip the turtles, just put Hendricks in a bikini doing housework. Nickelodeon, you'll get a return on your investment in 10 hrs.
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I'll go to bed with you, just don't be so persistent. Boy, I hope you're hot.
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Kirk Fogg could play himself! it would be so awesome to hear "WHOAAAAAAAAAAAAA TEMPLE GUARD!" in a movie theater in surround sound and at the end of the movie, the characters could all win Nesquik!
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if I liked to fuck 5-year-old boys. I'll leave this one to the next asshole.
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The CGI one was whack. Id like to see a direct sequel. The real TMNT 4. Those costumes will look fine. If you need to CGI something, how about CGIng my DICK, YO MOUTH.
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when TMNT 1 existed in your mind. And there was no wild camera tricks or swooping shots. Just good clean film that focused on the turtles getting down. Now we see triple twirls and flying swooping shots around CGI spiderman and it still doesnt have the resonance that the TMNTs had.
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Oct 22, 2009 11:59:05 PM CDT
BRING BACK ROCKOS MODERN LIFE!!!!!!!!!
by supercowbell5thecowbellhasspoken
show reruns at a reasonable time!!!!!!
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Just show respect. Keep the humour. Keep it as CGI free as possible.
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Oct 23, 2009 12:14:15 AM CDT
Brick back those Jim Henson customes and a hot April O Neil...
by gibsonusa returns
...that could pass for the one from TMNT 2.
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We need a LIVE-ACTION, dark, heady reimagining of the franchise ala The Dark Knight that draws from the original comics, fuck this kiddie CG shit. Use the CGI on the Technodrome not the motherfucking turtles themselves.
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I'm all for more TMNT though, but you don't really have to reinvent the wheel with them. They're mutants that eat pizza and fight ninjas. Unless they plan on making them Kung Fu Turtles, in which case all is lost.
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Oct 23, 2009 12:31:08 AM CDT
I was a big turtles fan back in the day . . .
by adiehardfanwithalethalweapon
. . . but I think they're a little played out at this point. I still really enjoy the first flick though.
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Oct 23, 2009 12:33:37 AM CDT
Are some of you guys actually asking NICK for adult TMNT??
by gibsonusa returns
Um...okay??
We'd be lucky to get this at PG13....it is PG written all over it.
And given those, um, givens...the best route to go would be to continue the original live-action movies. It neednt be a direct sequel. And implied sequel would work...like call it TMNT FOREVER or something. -
...was of course awesome. The reason was that the turtles was AMORAL characters. They weren't 'goodies' or 'baddies', they were just trying to survive. That's too complicated a position for the FUCKTARDS THAT RUN HOLLYWOOD these days, so I guess we're screwed for a good Eastman and Laird movie.
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Like that worked for Batman.... while we're at it - NIPPLES ON THE TURTLESHELLS!
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TMNT FOREVER COMES OUT NEXT WEEK- GOOGLE IT
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Yes, the title is probably too long and too cheesy...my main point was that it could be an implied sequel to the original three live action movies...an semi-official TMNT4.
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Turtles Forever was to be released theatrically October 29, 2009 for one night only, but was recently canceled.
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He's in the Karate Kid remake...
Make him like a April O' Neil's cameraman or something. -
Yes, it is time to make them a little more 'dark', like the original comics.
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Golden Harvest produced all three but I thought the fight sequences were seamless considering it was a bunch of martial artist hopping around in rubber suits. there were more than a few scenes that were reminiscent of Golden Harvest's earlier kung-fu movies. Specially those with Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung.
I also thought TMNT1 had an interesting origin story, KC jones and April were also nice additions.
The puppetry was ok not great. Jim Henson's studio has done far better animatronics than what was on display in these films (see Dark Crystal) but they weren't terrible.
They lost me with two and three
Could be cool if they reboot with the original Laird and Eastman stuff. -
I guess that's one point for them.
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Oct 23, 2009 12:52:22 AM CDT
Have you guys seen Casey Jones in the Zodiac movie?
by gibsonusa returns
He rocks, but he's aged beyond Caseyness. We need a new Casey Jones.
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Of course when that cartoon came out I was a little past the age range.
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It noticeably sucked compared to the first two. The faces were different from the first two.
And plus the third one had too many daytime scenes. TMNT live action with the puppets should always be in dark NYC alleys and sewers and such... -
I thought the Batman franchise was done after Joel Schumacher fucked up everything, but what did I know. Not that the dumbass turtles are as cool as the Dark Knight, but in the right hands, it could happen.
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that would be sick. He IS working on Kevin Eastman's Heavy Metal project.
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To be fair to them, they should have done a TNMT than Speedracer. With their knowledge of comics and fight scenes, it would have been a cool flick probably closer to the original material than anything we've seen so far.
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longtime TMNT fan here...the original MIRAGE comics were the first comics I read as a little kid that seemed "adult"...turtles drinking beer and cursing and killing people was all awesome beyond belief to my 8 year old mind. So much so that I never got into the 80's cartoon,despite it being aimed at my age group...I was into the "cool" TMNT...not the kiddy stuff.The sad truth is that the TMNT have been kind of adrift for years...tons of fans want the 80's cartoon(dont ask me why) and others only want the gritty,B&W MIRAGE turtles. Eastman has been gone for years,and Laird only seemed to care about pimping the TMNT out for motorcycle money. Not much good was happening with the property,and AT LEAST Nick will be producing something to try and make their money back. Will it be any good? Who knows...but at least the TMNT wont be circling the drain anymore.
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Nick Cannon will RUIN IT!!!
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TMNT1 is fucking classic. Eastman and Laird are gods. Nickelodeon, please don't fuck this up. give me guys in suits w/ CG faces ala Where The Wild Things Are, let the turtles kill people, let them be SHORT, let Casey Jones be grizzled, and PLEASE no pizza, "brodude" speak, or lame fucking pop/rock music. please.
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you folks wanting the Eastman/Laird TMNT are bound to be upset. Trust me-I want 'em too,but we aint getting them. We MIGHT get something that has the same tone as the recent CGI movie...if we're lucky. Most likely it'll be a cross between the old and new cartoons. I predict that characters like Krang and Beebop and Rocksteady-no matter how retarded-will be a part of this new show. No way in hell will NICK even give us something as dark as the first live-action film. Not gonna happen-ever.
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Harrys head as Krang!
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Tarantinos right side as Rocksteady!
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Apparently Kevin Eastman washed his hands of the TMNT years ago because he got tired of all the licensing nonsense. Peter Laird was very hands on for a few years and worked very clsely with 4Kids on the new cartoon and then he started to lose interest. Then he hired a new CEO for MIRAGE who apparently pissed off many of the comics staff as well as the licensors...MIRAGE started to hemmorage money and was barely staying afloat and then the new CEO set up the sale of the TMNT and presented it to Laird....theres a lot of behind the scenes drama with the turtles that all sounds kind of shady and bizarre...who knows what the real stories are,but it would be interesting to hear.
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It's worth a shot...it sounds better than alot of the crap that get's green-lit these days. Hopefully they don't make the turtles entirely computerized. It would be better if they used real costumes again, and simply used CG to enhance their facial expressions like The Wild Things pulled off so beautifully.
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times since that first movie. Why not try again?
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Hopefully Tatsu will be in it again with his grunting and groaning, classic! See if Kevin Nash wanted to hang up the wrestling tights for another go at Super Shredder, im sure he can still be alive?
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he can do it !
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Nick FUCKED Invader Zim. They let JV go for as long as they could tolerate and then axed the show as it was starting to get a reoccuring plot. JV said "Fuck it. No more Zim forever." So that point you gave them gets taken away.
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has become a sad sorry and pathetic excuse of a tv station. gone are all the inventive shows. its now wall to wall repeats. im serious. of shows like zoey 101 and drake and josh and the hideous miranda cosgrave show. yuck. there was a time, when nickelodeon was worth watching. those days are long gone. they even axed the last airbender.
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My babysitter showed me old tapes of the late 90s live action show, I thought she was cool at the time. I wish they'd revisit her (or maybe they have and I haven't noticed).
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Oct 23, 2009 6:13:05 AM CDT
Please don't replace Vanilla Ice with The Black Eyed Peas
by spandau belly
These Peas keep showing up in movies and it's got to stop. We need somebody we can all look back on in 20 years and remember them and laugh at how ridiculous they were. Lady Gaga would probably do it, too.
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As Casey Jones! Or Chris Merloni, I think they're the same guy.
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The new shows have kind of sucked. Turtles in Time and I think just TMNT. Weak animation compared to other shows as well.
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a live-action movie with the serious tone of the comics (at least what seemed serious to me at the time. Haven't read a TMNT comic since I was about 10 years old). A serious movie about talking, humanoid turtles sounds kinda ridiculous but after what has been done with some of the superhero movies, I think it could work.
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The 2007 movie was fine. I don't understand why they couldn't just continue with that. How many different ways can they restart a franchise that's been restarted about 5 times in the last 20 years? BTW you guys who "still remember the old b&w" (sure you read the first run 20 years ago) they'll never adapt that. The first movie was pretty damn close but as long as it's about pizza and turtles it's for kids. Even Kevin Eastman has acknowledged this.
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Is AMAZING! It's the best cartoon I've seen in years! Nik seems to know what they are doing... X-Men is pretty good too.
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Been waiting for that big budget epic sci-fi actioner with the Technodrome tearassing through New York city for YEARS. I mean since the first film came out.fine have it dark, have it gritty, have it blood and curse filled, but Krang needs his time to shine. Hell you could even take a bit from the badass new series and make it a direct sequel to the first three. Bring in the guy that did the original movies' shredder voice, make it look like Super shredder survived and was waiting but its turns out to be krang.I dunno. Meh, I am also curious to see John Woo's turtles movie get made.
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The first few episodes of the original animated series better than anything since then...
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Incredibly realized, high-quality American anime. Who'da thunk it? As for Turtles...time to make soup, you know? Enough already. But that's just me. I'm sure little boys of this generation will love it. Evolution takes time...
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I still think the first live action movie was amazing. Splinter was on the same level of Master Uguay from Kung Fu Panda (distant relative?). The sequence where Raphael gets jumped and the Antique store burns down is still one of the best action sequences ever. I think the live action sequals overdid the humor and strayed away from the (don't laugh) realism of the 1st (clearly there were giant talking turtles, but the tone was somehow more realistic) the sequels were a bit slapstick. I thought the CGI version was a noble effort. There were some lame parts but the roof top grudge match between brothers was awesome and was the film's saving grace. That and having new villains. Shredder was overworked. I would like to have seen a sequel because I liked Shredder's daughter and wanted to know what she was talking about at the end (he lives!!!). Now when I was a kid I thought Nickolodian sucked. But then I also used to watch MTV, so what the fuck did I know. Are there good shows on Nick? Because all I can remember was Hey Dude which may be the worst TV ever.
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Re: this comment: "Apparently Kevin Eastman washed his hands of the TMNT years ago because he got tired of all the licensing nonsense. Peter Laird was very hands on for a few years and worked very clsely with 4Kids on the new cartoon and then he started to lose interest. Then he hired a new CEO for MIRAGE who apparently pissed off many of the comics staff as well as the licensors...MIRAGE started to hemmorage money and was barely staying afloat and then the new CEO set up the sale of the TMNT and presented it to Laird....theres a lot of behind the scenes drama with the turtles that all sounds kind of shady and bizarre...who knows what the real stories are,but it would be interesting to hear."
Everything following the word "interest" is total bullshit. -
I want the dark Turtles, but keep the pizza and at least give Mikey the lingo. Those are ingrained in the iconography of the turtles as much as the signature weapons and the ooze canister.
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And random weirdness is the only way I can respond to this news... Elephantine balls of flaming anxiety streak across the forehead of my Bruce Lee action figuratively speaking...
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Saw it recently for the first time in 15 years and even as an adult it's a pretty good movie...
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Then I'll be very happy.
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Oct 23, 2009 11:12:25 AM CDT
And real quick they STILL haven't used Krang in the films right?
by mrhazard
I didnt see the CGI one...
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It saddens me that Mirage has sold the rights to TMNT, or rather, what saddens me is who actually bought the property. I know we'll never get the dark and gritty TMNT film us comic fans have been waiting for, and after the Nickelodeon purchase this is certainly the case. I'm concerned about the comics now though. The past few years Mirage was cranking out some good stuff and I fear what's going to happen to the comic series now with this sale.
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OK, you're obviously an insider: Give us the real story then. And don't pretend people DIDN'T hate Gary's guts. Because they did.
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that it will make money!
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They're freaking ninja turtles, people. This isn't the Dark Knight. Some uber-rich and physically-fit guy isn't using his money and technology to manufacture a crimefighting persona for himself. These are anthropomorphic turtles living in the sewers and using kung-fu. They can only do so much with it.
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Oh...nevermind.
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I fear the Turtles questioning their motives and seeking redemption as its the trend in superhero movies nowadays.
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I really enjoyed the recent TMNT movie from Imagi. It's a shame that they're not getting to do any more... However, I'll certainly tune in for a new animated TV series and even a new live action movie. But CGI Turtles and Splinter? Fuck that. Bring back those incredibly cool Henson Creature Shop Turtles and Splinter!!
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i think its about the creature shop was acknowledged for its outstanding contribution in the area of creativity and innovation. at this years academy awards i sincerely hope they get something for where the wild things are. I would also like to see the creature shop get some like an irving g thalberg award to honour jim henson. even those he is dead. the industry never gave him his dues. shame on them!
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My favorite trading card to this day is still the last one in the set released for the first Turtles movie (and the last of the behind the scenes cards) which was a group shot of the four turtles with Jim Henson behind them.
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I don't know that I've seen any sort of write up about the 4kids/Mirage movie "Turtles Forever", but I saw it at Comic Con this year. It is, without a doubt, 100% pure unadulterated fan service. Seriously, if you've ever enjoyed any part of this franchise you owe it to yourself to catch it when they release it. IF they ever release it.
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in this day and age, people are so fucking afraid of violence and aggression that i wonder if it can still work. if you have to wuss them down and make them soft, then whats the point. theyre bad ass motherfuckers that once threw shredder off a building. if you cant do that, stay away.
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