He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

[ctz]

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

Masters of the Universe (commonly abbreviated MOTU and sometimes referred to as He-Man, after the lead hero) is a media franchise created by Mattel.



Although featuring a vast line-up of characters, the main premise revolves around the conflict between the heroic He-Man and the evil Skeletor on planet Eternia. Since its initial launch late 1981, the franchise has spawned a variety of products, including six lines of action figures, four animated television series, several comic series, and a feature film. Designer Roger Sweet claims to be the chief creator of He-Man and MOTU, although this is not officially acknowledged by Mattel and is disputed by some other contributors. The earliest storybooks and much of the original backstory were written by Donald F. Glut.

Links
Official Site
Fan Site
Wikipedia

Every forum need a He-Man thread. Discuss your favorite comics, cartoons & toys!

daigong edited the [Movie] Another try for a He-Man movie!

Producer Joel Silver is developing a new film version of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe for Warner Brothers, working with toymaker Mattel, Variety reported. Justin Marks is set to write the script.

I hope this will succeed. But good vs. evil sounds boring. Visual style from 300 great.

[nop]

This one , I am not looking forward to watch.

[stoneden]

It might be interesting.

But they really need to distance the movie away from toys, even if Mattel owns the rights.

[jimmy]

I hope this bombs. I'm sick of all the 80s nostalgia movies that have been coming out lately (TMNT) and that are continuing to come out (Transformers, this). The first He-Man movie was truly awful.

[daigong]

Can't wait. Dolph Lundgren's version was HILARIOUS. They can make it better with all the tech we got now.

This ain't from the movie  ... just some sorta pimping animated footage floating around. Supposedly scrapped from the movie they were gonna make??



video here: http://www.comics2film.com/index.php?a=story&b=29698

Pretty dope! 

[ctz]

I watched the Lundgren's He-Man movie once again lately, and it still owns! At least Skeletor and his cool darthvader-styled stormtroopers. Gwildor and the whole adventure on Earth sucks though, I hope the new movie (if it ever becomes reality) will focus more on Eternia. Fantasy worlds are in anyway

[xtree]

yea the original was bad ass, if they try to pull of he-man now-a-days it'll probably just end up gay

[ctz]

But without a certain amount of gayness it wouldn't be He-Man anymore...

[Masa]

Warners Does Not Possess The Secrets of Grayskull

So what is the latest on one of my favorite scripts of the year – Justin Marks’ GRAYSKULL? Nothing.  As it stands, the project is dead at Warner Brothers. How did it get this way? Here are some of the reasons.

For starters, Warners simply doesn’t get the property and wasn’t high on it to begin with. The studio gave the execs at Silver Pictures a very small list of A-director names they would consider making the film with, amongst them Doug Liman and Bryan Singer who both passed.
There were some up and coming directors that were gung ho on the script, but the studio wasn’t feeling them.

Another reason and perhaps the biggest was that Navid McIIhargey, the exec who brought in He-Man to Silver Pictures, left the company last month to become a Senior VP at New Regency as reported last month in both trades. Sources tell me Navid and another exec (who also left Silver) – guys in their thirties who grew up on the property - were the unsung heroes of He-Man and are no longer there doing the day to day to get He-Man over the mountain and get the movie made.

In the Hollywood business culture, once an exec leaves, usually his projects are killed by the new incoming exec.  Even heroes like He-Man need allies and Prince Adam no longer has any at the studio. Sad. Execs at toy company Mattel are so infuriated at Warners, that they want the property back to take it elsewhere.  Mattel’s anger is understandable. No movie equals no toys to make.

I personally don’t get it.  You would think with all the money 80s toy properties like Transformers made for Paramount that every studio in town would do the same. Paramount knows better, they got the Transformers sequel and G.I. JOE in the pipeline for next year and Hasbro alone stands to make a king’s ransom on just the toys.

I adore the Grayskull script. It’s one of my favorites for this year which I will be voting for in the upcoming black list for 2008. It really could be another Lord of the Rings combining both mythology and science fiction. The potential is HUGE! You can read my script review HERE. As a story analyst, it’s comforting when the good scripts in this town get made regardless of the obstacles like another of my favorites script KASHMIR went through. Awesome that KASHMR is finally getting made as announced this week.

GRAYSKULL is another gem which I want to see get made and other fanboys do too. The piles of email I get on this property alone are proof. Warners should put the project into immediate turnaround because trust me, someone will pick it up.

http://www.latinoreview.com/news/warners-does-not-possess-the-secrets-of-grayskull-5548

Damn..... 

[BKV]

For some reason, I'm also seeing a Princess of Power. She better be extremely hot. I hope Skeletor goes back to being GAR like some old comics used to depict him.

[Masa]

Exclusive: From Kung-Fu Panda to He-Man?!

By El Mayimbe on November 19, 2008

According to my sources, one of my favorite projects got itself a director. Supposedly, Kung Fu Panda director John Stevenson went in to the Silver offices, came in and did this killer take on He-man and the Masters of the Universe and got himself the job! Apparently, the He-Man movie is not dead after all.  I hear Stevenson's presenation razzle dazzled the execs.

I honestly don't know how I feel about the guy because I never saw Kung Fu Panda. On one hand, I'm excited that the project is still active, on the other I'm not really sure if Stevenson is the right choice. According to imdb, Stevenson has an animation and an art department background. Expect a formal announcement and stay tuned as more develops.

http://www.latinoreview.com/news/exclusive-from-kung-fu-panda-to-he-man-5742

[Masa]

WB, Joel Silver shaping He-Man film

John Stevenson to direct live action 'Masters'

Warner Bros. and producer Joel Silver have set "Kung Fu Panda" co-director John Stevenson to make his live-action directing debut on "Masters of the Universe," a reimagining of the signature Mattel toy line.

Pic will revolve around He-Man, a prince who transforms into a warrior and becomes the last hope for a magical land being ravaged by the evil Skeletor.

Silver is producing through his Silver Pictures banner. Mattel's Barry Waldo will be exec producer.

WB acquired the property in 2007, and Justin Marks wrote the first draft of the script based on a story he developed with Neil Ellice.

The Mattel property was adapted into the 1980s cartoon series "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe."

The property was previously turned into a campy flop by Cannon Films in 1987, with Dolph Lungdren as He-Man and "Frost/Nixon" star Frank Langella as the villainous Skeletor.

The film project is a big priority for Mattel, which licenses a high-end line of He-Man toys that are popular with hardcore collectors.

Hollywood has become a magnet for branded toy-line properties, as DreamWorks and Paramount ready a June 26 release for "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" and Paramount preps for an Aug. 7 release on "G.I. Joe." Both began as toy lines that became hit animated series.

Waldo said Stevenson's vision to elevate the material matched with Mattel's desire to see He-Man become a big studio film. Mattel has also brought its "Hot Wheels" film to WB and Silver.

"John had such passion that we found ourselves running to catch up with his vision," Waldo said.

Stevenson has also worked on "Shrek" and "Shrek 2," "Madagascar" and "James and the Giant Peach." He began his career working for Jim Henson on projects that included "The Dark Crystal" and "Labyrinth."

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117999246.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

[daigong]

LOL Stallone as Man-at-arms

[Masa]

New Writer Hired for Warner Brothers' He-Man Movie

Last year we heard a lot of buzz about a script by Justin Marks called Grayskull: The Masters of the Universe based on the He-Man series. It was reviewed by El Mayimbe and said to be a "masterpiece" - quite high praise for the guy who went on to write Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li. Then in October, it was reported that Warner Brothers had put the project on hold, or so we thought. They've just now hired a new writer - first-timer Evan Daugherty - to write a fresh draft of Grayskull for the studio. They also confirm the news from last year that Kung Fu Panda director John Stevenson is still on board to direct.

The article on THR explains that the original He-Man is about a warrior named Prince Adam who, when uttering the magic words, "By the power of Grayskull — I have the power," turned into the heroic He-Man. This updated version will be a "gritty fantasy" that re-imagines Adam as a soldier who sets off to find his destiny, happening upon the magical world of Eternia. There, Skeletor has raised a technological army and is bent on eradicating magic. That may sound a bit odd, but apparently it's kind of like "Lord of the Rings and Matrix," as El Mayimbe said last year, which could be pretty damn cool. We'll keep you all updated.

http://www.firstshowing.net/2009/05/13/new-writer-hired-for-warner-brothers-he-man-movie/

[Masa]

Warner Brothers No Longer Master of He-Man's Universe

With the box office success of movies based on toys like Transformers and G.I. Joe, the re-invention of another iconic toy line, Mattel's Masters of the Universe, seemed like a no-brainer. But adapting the adventures of He-Man and his battles against the evil Skeletor have proven to be quite the challenge, and it looks like these difficulties have finally taken their toll on Warner Bros. Variety reports that WB and Mattel reached a mutual agreement to let the studio's option on this property expire so that Mattel can take the project elsewhere. But what exactly does this mean for director John Stevenson and producer Joel Silver?

Word on the street is that Stevenson will stay attached to the project, but Joel Silver and his company Silver Pictures (being exclusive to WB) will stay behind. More than likely this separation should benefit Mattel in that they'll get the project they want. As we've told you before, Warner Brothers hasn't exactly had the most open mind when it comes to Masters of the Universe. Despite the script conjuring a lot of early buzz, last October the project was considered dead after WB couldn't get commitment from any of the directors they wanted until Stevenson showed up.  It looks like the screenwriter Justin Marks has a knack for writing an incredible script (at least according to El Mayimbe's review) but having it get thrown into development hell.

A similar predicament seemed to surround Marks' other script for Voltron, and now that project is being overhauled and started from scratch over at Atlas Entertainment.  Maybe they'll take a look at grabbing Masters of the Universe as well before some other company snaps it up. Hopefully we'll see more soon?

http://www.firstshowing.net/2009/09/10/warner-brothers-no-longer-master-of-he-mans-universe/

[daigong]

HAD TO BE DONE!! too much shit floating we gotta talk shit about He-MAN and Skeletor



It's the sorceress, you BOOB!

[JFC]

Holy geez it's shiny.