Hero Initiative Raising Money for "Static" Co-Creator's Burial

Robert L. Washington III, who created Static for Milestone along with Dwayne McDuffie and Jean Paul Leon, is facing a pauper’s burial on Hart Island unless a fund-raising drive spearheaded by the Hero Initiative is able to raise enough money for a decent burial. Washington, who died from a heart attack on June 6th, will be buried without ceremony in a pine box in an unmarked grave dug by Rikers Island inmates, unless enough money can be raised via the Hero Initiative to provide for a decent internment.

Washington was unable to find work as a writer after the comic book industry imploded in the mid-1990s. Washington was reduced to homelessness several times in the past decade and had received some help from Hero Initiative while he was alive. The outhousers.com site is leading the charge to see that Washington gets a proper send-off. Those interested in helping can contribute via the Hero Initiative Website in order to spare Washington the bleak send-off of an indigent burial on Hart Island with no services or ceremonies.

"House" to Play "Robocop" Villain

Hugh Laurie, the versatile English actor who has portrayed both the irascible and brilliant House on the long-running Fox medical series and the delightfully oblivious upper class twit of all time Bertie Wooster, is in negotiations to play the villain in MGM’s remake of Robocop with Jose Padilha is directing.
Laurie will join a cast that includes Joel Kinnamon, Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson, and Abbie Cornish.According to The Hollywood Reporter, Laurie will play “the evil and ultra-rich CEO of Omnicorp, the company that makes Robocop. The flurry of casting announcements is an indication that MGM really wants to get this project underway.

Portia de Rossi Will Play Lily Munster

NBC and Bryan Fuller have finally found their Lily Munster for Mockingbird Lane, the reboot of the 1960s sitcom  The Munsters. Portia de Rossi (Arrested Development) will take on the role originally played by Yvonne De Carlo in the original. De Rossi joins a cast that includes Jerry O’Connell, Eddie Izzard, Mason Cook, and Charity Wakefield in the production of the pilot episode of Mockingbird Lane, which will be directed by Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, X-Men).

NBC had originally wanted Mariana Klaveno for the role, but Klaveno was under contract to ABC to play a supporting role in the ABC series Devious Maids, and the studios evidently couldn’t reconcile their differences.

The Hollywood Reporter noted that Fuller and NBC had tried to revive the Munsters last year, but the new version, which the trade paper described as a "hyper stylized reboot… an "edgier and slightly darker take that will explore the origins of Herman (O’Connell) and Lily (De Rossi) and how they arrived at the famed 1313 Mockingbird Lane."

Marvel Wants "Chuck" Star for 'Thor 2'

Marvel Studios originally wanted Chuck star Zachary Levi to play the role of Fandral, one of the "Warriors Three" in Kenneth Branagh’s Thor, but at the last minute Levi’s cult favorite NBC series was given a reprise and he had to bow out. Now it’s Josh Dallas, who ended up playing Fandral in the original Thor, who has the conflict and has had to back out of Thor 2 because of his TV series, ABC’s Once Upon a Time.

So, according to Heat Vision, Marvel is back pursuing Levi for the role in Thor 2, which is moving quickly towards a July start to filming with Game of Thrones director Alan Taylor  to helm. Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Idris Elba, and Anthony Hopkins are all slated to return for the sequel along with Tom Hiddleston (Loki), who will be joined by another villain played by Mads Mikkelson (the Danish actor who played the heavy in Casino Royale).

Russo Brothers in Talks for "Captain America" Sequel

The Russo Brothers, Joe and Anthony, are in talks with Marvel Studios to direct the sequel to 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger. The Captain America sequel, which remains untitled at this point, is slated to be released on April 4th 2014. The Russo brothers, who are from Cleveland, wrote and directed the 2002 crime comedy Welcome to Collinwood as well as the 2006 comedy feature You, Me, and Dupree.

The Russos also won an Emmy award for directing the pilot for Arrested Development, and are credited with developing the series’ idiosyncratic visual style. They are currently serving as executive producers (and sometime directors) for the ABC series Happy Endings and the NBC show Community.

Deadline reports that the brothers are already deep in negotiations with Marvel Studios for the Captain America sequel, but there has been no official announcement yet.

Samuel L. Jackson Joins "Robocop" Cast

Samuel L. Jackson will play Pat Novak, a charismatic TV Mogul, in MGM’s remake of Robocop. Jackson, who is fresh off a star turn in Joss Whedon’s The Avengers, joins a cast that includes Joel Kinnaman (The Killing) as the film’s eponymous hero and Gary Oldman as the scientist/creator of the cyborg policeman created from the gravely wounded beat cop Alex Murphy. Jackson is currently shooting the revenge drama Django Unchained for director Quentin Tarantino.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, MGM hopes to begin shooting the Robocop remake with Jose Padilla directing in Toronto this September

"Gangster Squad" Scribe Writing "Justice League" Script

Over a year ago Warner Bros. tapped Gangster Squad writer Will Beall to create a script for a Justice League movie. Warner Bros. will likely point this out when others accuse the studio of trying to copy Marvel’s superhero team-up movie success with The Avengers. Beall is a busy boy and is quickly becoming a studio favorite. The Beall-penned Gangster Squad is due out from Warner Bros. on September 7th, and Warners has also tapped him to script the remakes of Lethal Weapon and Logan’s Run. Variety reports that Beall has yet to finish his Justice League script, but the fact that the studio assigned its “go-to” writer to project is an indication that the project is a high priority.

Actually it was Warners that was very close to making the first major superhero team-up film back in 2007 when George Miller was set to helm a Justice League film featuring Adrian Brody as The Flash, Megan Gale as Wonder Woman, and Armie Hammer as Batman, but the writers’ strike made fixing the script by Kieran and Michele Mulroney impossible and the project was abandoned in early 2008.

According to Variety, which broke the news of the Beall Justice League assignment, other DC Comics projects with writers assigned include The Flash with Marc Guggenheim and Michael Green, Wonder Woman with Michael Goldenberg working on the adaptation, Lobo with Brad Peyton, while David Koepp and John Kamps are developing a live-action Spy vs. Spy.