New TMNT Movie Officially Scheduled for December 2013

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Deadline.com is reporting tonight that the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, which has been in development for several years now, has an official release date scheduled for Christmas 2013.

And with all signs pointing at the movie moving forward into production, Jonathan Liebesman has been named director. Just a month ago he was rumored to be in talks for the job.

The movie is said to be a live action-CGI combo, although there are no specifics are mentioned on exactly how the Turtles themselves will be realized.

Jonathan Liebesman in Talks to Direct TMNT Movie

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Variety reported late last night that "Battle: Los Angeles" director Jonathan Liebesman is in talks to direct the new TMNT movie from Paramount, which has been in development for over two years now.

Brad Fuller, producer on the film, has been dropping hints on Twitter that things are moving along with it and that he hopes to be making it by summer.

After several screenwriter changes, signs are pointing to this project finally becoming a reality!

Recent TMNT-Themed Podcasts

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Two awesome geeky podcasts have recently had TMNT-themed episodes that are definitely worth your time to download and listen to.

The first is from Nerdy Show, which has interviews with Polaris Banks, writer/director of the recent Casey Jones fan film, and Steve Barron, director of the first TMNT movie. (Tip: Skip ahead to 30:00 to hear Polaris Banks and to 1:12:00 to hear Steve Barron.)

The next comes from Nerdist and The Mutant Season podcast, which spent some time with Kevin Eastman as he prepared for his LOST ANGELES: 35 Days With Kevin Eastman exhibit (going on right now!) at Meltdown Comics in Los Angeles.

"Casey Jones" Fan Film Now Online

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As was promised to us last month, the recently completed TMNT fan film, titled Casey Jones, is now online for everyone to watch, free of charge.

Check it out: www.CaseyJonesTheMovie.com

Congrats to the entire cast and crew for putting together a really great and impressive final product!

The World Trade Center as the TMNT Saw It

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Ten years ago today, the skyline of New York City changed forever. As the Turtles have always called New York home, that lost skyline was often seen throughout all the mediums in which TMNT stories have been told. To reflect on the time before September 11, 2001, here's a look at some of the reminders we are left with of the World Trade Center, as seen through the eyes of a TMNT fan.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

The Twin Towers silently established the location of all three live-action TMNT movies.

TMNT 2: The Secret of the Ooze (1991)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3 (1993)

TMNT (1990) Movie Screening in Cleveland, OH (Plus a Sandwich!)

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The Capitol Theater in Cleveland, OH, will be hosting a midnight screening of the original 1990 TMNT movie this coming Saturday night, August 20, 2011. You can buy advance tickets to the screening here.

The screening is part of the Melt Bar & Grilled Late Shift series, which combines classic movies with grilled sandwiches. The poster to the left was specially designed for this event and promotes the TMNT sandwich that will be available for only two nights. According to the poster, the sandwich features "real cheese pizza rolls deep friend 'til extra crispy and atomic hot, rich homemade marinara, green ooze basil pesto cream cheese, and provolone and romano cheese." You can also add crisp pepperoni for $1. (Whoa, heart attack!)

So if you're in Cleveland, this sounds like a fun opportunity to see the original TMNT movie. And if you try the sandwich, at least it will be a delicious last meal! ;)

Thanks to I Crave Pizza No More on The Technodrome for the heads-up!

"Goongala!" - Song from "Casey Jones" Fan Film

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The new Casey Jones fan film uses a brand new piece of music during the end credits, a song by Johnny October titled "Goongala!" You can hear the entire song in the YouTube video below, and you can buy it from iTunes here.

WARNING: The video below has explicit lyrics. There is also a clean version of the song available from iTunes.

"Casey Jones" Fan Film

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Back on February 8, 2010 (quite a long time ago), a trailer for a Casey Jones fan film showed up on YouTube. Fantastically, the project didn't get left forgotten, and last night the movie premiered at a free screening in Austin, TX. Ninja Pizza reader and mega TMNT fan Samuel Barrera attended the screening and wrote in with a report.

In a brief summary, Samuel describes the plot of the movie:

After assaulting Cousin Sid during hockey practice, Casey Jones is kicked off the team with no where to go and no money to his name. Moving back in to his mom's house, Casey realizes that his old stomping grounds have gone from bad to worse. Vowing to change things, Casey dons his mask and sets out to let the bad guys know... it's HIS town.

And his impressions after having seen it:

Hilarion Banks gives a very convincing performance as the hockey player turned vigilante. The violence level is turned up quite a few notches and when the bad guys get hit, we feel it. Casey doesn’t just trip people with that obviously painful hockey stick of his.

Another great surprise in this film was the inclusion of Michelangelo. Though most people know that Raphael is the first to meet Casey, here we see Mikey, who is actually voiced by Robbie Rist, the voice of Mikey from all three films. Now, while I’m not clear on whether Robbie Rist’s voice was recycled from the other films or if he actually voiced the character, it fits in smoothly.

And the Turtle suit used is truly magnificent. While it doesn’t impress as much as the original animatronic suits, this is possibly one of the better suits I’ve seen in any fan film.

There are also many nods to the different franchises, including the first TV series. Many of which will make any fan boy as giddy as a little school girl.

You can read Samuel's full report here.

For the rest of us who weren't in Austin last night, the movie will be online to watch for free at caseyjonesthemovie.com, starting September 17, 2011.

Check out the original trailer while you wait to see the movie:

Writers for TMNT Movie Reboot Named ... Again

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First it was John Fusco, then it was Art Marcum and Matt Halloway. Hopefully the third time is a charm, as Deadline.com is now reporting Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec as the new writers on board the planned Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot film from Paramount.

Script problems have been reported for awhile now, and have caused the projected release date to quietly slide from 2011 to 2012. Although there's been no official word from Nickelodeon or Paramount, the new movie is now not expected to see release before 2013.

Next TMNT Movie Pushed Back to 2013?

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John Pannozzi at The Technodrome found an article on ToonZone.net that basically reiterates the "First Look" news from the Wall Street Journal Earlier this week. However, there is this little tidbit at the end of the short article:

A live-action feature film is also in the works and is currently being scripted by Iron Man writers Art Marcum and Matt Holloway. The movie has a projected release date of 2013.

While problems with the script have been documented for the last year or so, there has been no mention of changing the original projected release date of 2012. And while there is no specific source given for the new 2013 date in this article, it would only make good sense to push the movie back a year. At this point in time, with the script still not finalized (although signs point to this being close to finished), pumping out a movie of this scale in a year could only turn out crappy. So here's hoping that everything is in motion to give us a kick-ass movie come 2013.

First Glance at Nickelodeon's TMNT?

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Hey, look - an update! Sorry about the disappearing act, but fact is that TMNT news has slooooow. I have been posting occasional links to stuff over on the Ninja Pizza Facebook page, so you can join the party over there if you haven't yet. However, this will still be the central location for all TMNT news.

On to today's business, the image we see here was included in an article posted by The Wall Street Journal. It was part of an article titled "Nickelodeon Gives New Kick to Ninja Turtles." You need either a subscription to the WSJ or the ability to work some Google magic to read the whole article, so I'll copy the relevant parts of it below.

Viacom Inc.'s Nickelodeon is betting that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles still have some fight left in them. The cable channel spent $60 million to acquire the global rights to the franchise and plans to offer a new television version of the series using computer-generated animation in 2012.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were introduced in 1984.

Ciro Nieli, an executive producer of the new Turtles series, says that the coming computer-animated version will be slightly different than past incarnations. The four turtle protagonists, who previously could only be distinguished by the color of their masks, will each have "more individual attributes," Mr. Nieli says. The show will stress their martial-arts combat abilities, he adds.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were first launched in 1984, and have spawned comics, toys, movies and other products. "The TMNT generation is now of the age where they both have children to share with and look to reconnect with their own childhood," said Joe Wos, executive director the ToonSeum, a Pittsburgh cartoon museum.

Paul Dergarabedian, president of Hollywood.com's box-office division, says that because the 2007 movie "TMNT" grossed just $54.1 million at the domestic box office, "some of the magic" may have worn off the franchise. However, Mr. Dergarabedian said via email that "I think a re-booted version could still find favor with audiences given the long-time popularity of these characters." Nickelodeon plans to help reintroduce Turtles toys to the marketplace and Paramount has a feature-length movie in development with filmmaker Michael Bay ("Transformers").

New Writers On Board TMNT 2012 Project

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Less than a day after learning that Paramount was looking for a new writer for the TMNT movie project, we now know who they got. Again, Slap Happy from the Technodrome has found that Deadline.com is reporting Art Marcum and Matt Halloway as being on the project. Marcum and Halloway were among the writers credited for the 2008 Iron Man movie, and have more recently written a Highlander reboot. The first draft of the TMNT script is reportedly due in October.

Here's hoping Marcum and Halloway can delivery a TMNT movie that does the fans proud while making accessible to a wide general audience!

Fusco Script of TMNT Movie "Not Great"

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Technodrome forum member Slap Happy found this link, which has an very interesting line concerning the TMNT movie currently in development with Paramount:

Fusco draft not great; looking for another writer to come on this quickly as its a huge Viacom property.

Of course, John Fusco was the writer who was hired to write this movie last year before Nickelodeon/Viacom bought the TMNT from Mirage Studios. Hopefully the movie gets back on track and hopefully it'll be something that does justice to the potential of the TMNT brand.

Michael Bay to Head Upcoming TMNT Live-Action Movie

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Deadline.com is reporting that Michael Bay has been brought on board as a producer for the new live-action TMNT movie, currently scheduled for a 2012 release.

Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon have brought Michael Bay and his Platinum Dunes partners Brad Fuller and Andrew Form on to produce Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the live-action film that reboots the film series launched by New Line in 1990. Bay, Fuller and Form will produce with Galen Walker and Scott Mednick.

The producers will begin meetings with writers in the next few weeks.

One of the biggest questions left open with the sale of the TMNT to Nickelodeon last year has been what direction they would take the planned movie, and whether or not it would stay in line with whatever had been previously planned. According to Deadline.com's information, the project is keeping previously announced producers Galen Walker and Scott Mednick on board. However, it seems that if John Fusco is still on board, he will not be the lone writer.

Whatever the case, Michael Bay is known for making a very specific kind of movie, so it is probably safe to say that there will be a lot of emphasis on action. Whether or not you're a fan of his movies, the man makes summer blockbusters, and if the TMNT can be a summer blockbuster, that will be very welcome new territory to see them in.

Thanks to Ioz over at The Technodrome for the heads-up!

Special Features Update on German TMNT 1 DVD

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German TMNT fan hudemx has reported in again with some new details on the upcoming German DVD release of the first TMNT movie, which will be including special features not yet released anywhere else.

He states that a friend of his has received an advance copy of the DVD, and has this to say about the special features:

• Commentary: Director Steve Barron greets the audience in German, but then continues in English for the rest of the duration.

• Deleted Scenes: There are two scenes included, both of which are alternate cuts from two scenes in the movie. The first is of Michaelangelo ordering pizza in the sewers, and the second is of the Turtles fighting the Foot in April's apartment.

• Alternate Ending: This is the same ending as has been previously detailed by Ninja Pizza.

And here are some screen shots from the alternate ending:

The DVD is available for pre-order over at Amazon.de, but make sure you're able to play Region 2, PAL-coded DVDs before you do so.

Original TMNT Movie to be Released in Germany ... With Bonus Features!

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TMNT fans have been crying out for a better DVD release of the original TMNT movie ever since it first appeared on DVD in 1997. Although it and its sequels have been rereleased several times over the last 13 years, the content on the disc has always been the same, and simple requests like including deleted scenes and director commentary have fallen on deaf ears.

For German fans (and region-savvy fans elsewhere) that is now changing!! TMNT fan hudemx at The Technodrome forums has brought to attention the upcoming German DVD release of the 1990 film.

If you visit the website for the DVD distributor, you can find the list of included bonus features, which are:

• Trailer
• Deleted scenes
• Alternate ending
• Audio commentary from Director Steve Barron

If you've been reading this site for awhile, you may recall posts that detailed the alternate ending as well as one of the deleted scenes.

So, obviously, this is great news!! Although the bad news is that this seems to be restricted to Germans (for now?). While that may seem like a catch-22 for American fans and other non-Europeans, there are work-arounds to bypass region-locking and PAL coding if you look hard enough.

This DVD will be released on March 12, 2010. If you're ready to order, you can go ahead and do so over at Amazon.de.

TMNT 2011 Movie Gets A Writer

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TMNT25.com has released some details about the events they will be hosting at Comic-Con, coming up in San Diego in two weeks, and by doing so has inadvertently disclosed some information not previously announced (to my knowledge).

According to the TMNT25.com site, John Fusco will be writing the new movie, slated for release in 2011, and will be on a TMNT panel scheduled for Friday of the convention.

According to IMDB, Mr. Fusco's previous screenwriting credits include the Young Guns movies, The Babe, and Hidalgo. He is also writer of a novel, Paradise Salvage.

Unfortunately, I don't believe I've seen any of his credited films, so I really can't comment as to what this actually means for the upcoming TMNT film. It does seem that Mr. Fusco likes horses, though.

Ninja Pizza will be covering San Diego Comic-Con extensively leading up to, and during the show, so stay tuned for many more updates and details to come. Watch for information on TMNT-related programming and events coming up within the next few days.

Looking Back at TMNT 2007 to look forward to TMNT 2011

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Earlier today I spent some time considering all the different variables that are preventing me from jumping for joy over the new TMNT movie project. The list got quite long and long-winded, so I'm going to try to tackle the bigger ideas in a series of posts.

To start, I've pulled out a series of interviews published before the release of TMNT 2007 from my personal archives. The point of bringing these out is to illustrate how similar the attitude and direction was for TMNT 2007 compared to what (granted, very) little has been said so far of the new project. And in some cases, how the exact opposite of the ideas sold to us for the 2007 movie are now being moved forward.

You can download a PDF of these interviews here.

Before I go any further, I'd just like to make it clear that I really, truly love TMNT. Kevin Munroe gets the characters and I would have no problem were they ever entrusted to him again. I think he did a fantastic job working within all the limitations he was given. TMNT wasn't a bad movie, but it seemed to scratch the surface on what could have been a reallyreally great and more-successful movie.

But anywho, moving forward...


Comics used as the source
One of the big talking points for TMNT 2007 was that it was going back to the comic books for inpiration. Now, almost as if that's been completely forgotten, the new movie is going back to the comic books once again. And in TMNT 2007, where both the Turtles' origin and Shredder were left out of the picture because, "Been there, done that," now the new movie will be not just be revisiting both those points, but will seemingly be built upon them as a foundation.

How this can work
The TMNT, particularly in the last 10 years, have struggled emensely to escape the first 11 issues of the comic book. It seems that each adaptation isn't good enough so then we have to do it all again... it's become tiresome and boring. The comic books should be used as inspiration, but straight adaptation should be kept to a bare minimum. Change things up while maintaining all the elements that have kept fans around through thick and thin (A LOT of thin) for 25 years.


Live action vs. CGI
There were two key reasons for the 2007 movie to be done in CGI. The first, and apparently biggest factor, was cost. A live action film was predicted to cost at least three times as much as a CGI film. The second reason was to avoid the limitations presented by having guys in rubber suits do ninja moves. Makes sense, but now we have this new movie apparently ready to once again put live action guys in rubber suits.

How this can work
So long as all parties involved are willing to spend the money needed to make the rubber suits and CGI combine seamlessly to look believable and not cheesy, this could work out fantastically. But they have to be willing to spend the money. Up 'til now, the most expensive TMNT movie was 2007's at around $35 million. Before that was 1993's TMNT 3, at around $26 million (and we all know how that turned out).


The Batman Begins analogy
Batman Begins has become the ultimate point of comparison when it comes to reinventing an old franchise into something new, exciting, and extremely successful. Rightfully so? Perhaps, although I think it's become overused to the point of cliché. To what extent does the comparison exist with the TMNT? Well, not only was this instantly discussed when news of the new movie broke last week, but - wait for it - it was discussed with the 2007 movie as well.

Click the pic below to compare words from Animation Magazine in April 2007 to an MTV interview with Peter Laird released just today.


What is the point of all this? Well, just because all the creative minds have their hearts and intentions in the right place doesn't mean the project is going to come out and be embraced as they anticipated it would be. By the sounds of it, TMNT 2007 started out in the very much the same place that TMNT 2011 seems to be now.

Tribeca Film Festival Movie Screening Details

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Here's the low-down on how to see the free screening of the first TMNT movie for free at the Tribeca Film Festival, courtesy of TMNT25.com.

Free TMNT Movie Screenings @ Tribeca Film Festival

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To celebrate the TMNT's 25th anniversary there will be free screenings of the debut Turtles film during the Tribeca Film Festival, April 23-25 in New York City. The screenings will be held as part of the Tribeca Drive-In at the World Financial Center.

How to acquire tickets is still unconfirmed, but it's probably a good idea to stay tuned to the official Tribeca Film Festival Web site. If any other news comes of the events I'll post the info here.

(I think this is the "Big News" TMNT25.com was planning on breaking tomorrow - Oops.)