‘Twilight’ Scribe Readies Marvel ‘Jessica Jones’ TV Project For ABC

Worried about getting your superhero serial fix once Smallville is finally put out to pasture? Don’t be. Between NBC’s The Cape, ABC’s No Ordinary Family, a possible Raven adaptation on CW and the forthcoming Hulk on ABC, comic book fans won’t be short of new shows to choose from.

ABC is currently preparing AKA Jessica Jones, a series based on Marvel super-heroine Jewel. Melissa Rosenberg, screenwriter of all five Twilight films, is set to write and executive produce.

Jessica Jones is a minor character in the Marvel universe, first appearing in her own comic series Alias (no relation to the TV show) from 2001-2004. She’s appeared alongside more mainstream Marvel properties ever since. A contemporary of Peter Parker, the comic version Jessica/Jewel possesses super-strength and flight abilities. The ABC project may differ greatly from its source material, however.

According to sources close to the creators, the TV version of Jessica Jones will operate her own detective agency after suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Her new gumshoe gig will allow her to serve the public good and will bring her in contact with other Marvel superheroes.

If you’re disheartened by the idea of a superhero project in the hands of someone best known for teenage vampires, hold your judgment for now. Rosenberg also has writing and production credits on shows like Dexter and the failed Batman spin-off Birds of Prey. Other names attached to the project include executive producers Jeph Loeb (Heroes, Smallville), Alan Fine (Iron Man 2) and Joe Quesada, who’s worked on all of Marvel’s recent animated shows. The character’s comic creator Brian Michael Bendis is a creative consultant.

ABC’s parent company Disney is clearly ready to make good on its acquisition of Marvel Comics late last year. With ABC laying claim to Marvel properties and The CW (Warner Bros.) providing DC Comics adaptations, the television landscape is starting to mirror that of the rival comic book publishers.

Assuming that Raven is greenlit for production on The CW, the two shows will be competing for a slice of viewership that’s grown surprisingly lucrative: female sci-fi fantasy fans. Both characters are self-reliant and deeply flawed, traits that might resonate with fans of the Twilight series and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Combined with the Guillermo del Toro reboot of the Hulk television series, the combination could provide a one-two punch for ABC to grab both male and female viewership.

ABC isn’t wasting any time in bringing Jewel to the small screen. Though no cast information is available at present and the network has not yet pulled the trigger on a full order, AKA Jessica Jones is tentatively planned for a fall 2011 debut.

Source: Variety

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Duncan Jones’ First Official ‘Source Code’ Trailer is Awesome

The first ‘Source Code’ trailer has been released. The upcoming sci-fi/time travel film stars Jake Gyllenhaal, from ‘Moon’ director Duncan Jones. Watch it here!

We recently got a look at the official synopsis, as well as a new image, from Source Code, the second film from Moon director, Duncan Jones.

Now we have our first proper look at the movie as Summit Entertainment has released the first Source Code trailer -- which makes it look just as awesome as it sounds.

For those unfamiliar with the film, Source Code stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a soldier who gets sent back in time into the body of a train passenger -- in order to find out who was responsible for a terrorist attack. The movie co-stars Vera Farmiga, Michelle Monaghan, and Jeffrey Wright.

The general plot for Source Code sounds awesome on its own, enough for me to already be marking my calendar for the movie. However, the first trailer has me even more excited to see it -- if that’s even possible. The trailer premiered over at Apple (head there for the HD version) but we’ve included an embedded YouTube version below.

Check out the trailer, followed by the full synopsis in case you missed it:

“Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) wakes with a jolt to find himself on a commuter train heading into Chicago. Although the other passengers all seem to know him, he has absolutely no idea where—or even who—he is. The last thing Colter remembers is flying a helicopter mission in Iraq, but here he is in someone else’s life going through someone else’s morning commute. Before he can do anything an express train zooms by on the opposite track and a bomb explodes, seemingly killing Colter and all the other passengers.

Colter comes to in an isolation chamber, strapped to a seat, and wearing his military flight suit. He still has no idea what’s happening, except that he’s being spoken to by mission controller Carol Goodwin (Vera Farmiga), who calmly recites a series of memory questions to which Colter is shocked to realize he knows the answers. He learns he’s part of an operation called “Beleaguered Castle,” but before he can progress any further, Goodwin starts up the machinery and suddenly… Colter is back on the train, at exactly the same time he first appeared there, once again speeding through Chicago with the same group of commuters. Colter figures he’s in some kind of simulation exercise, with his task being to find the bomber onboard the train before it goes off again.

Living the explosion over and over, Colter must uncover the identity of the bomber, while also figuring out what the alternative universe of “Beleaguered Castle” is. Adding to the puzzle, Colter uses the second chance opportunities to make peace with his father, and to find romance with a fellow passenger on the train.”

Jones made what has to be one of the most impressive debut films ever with Moon, an intimate and surprisingly emotional film that only gets better the more times you watch it. But by the looks of the first trailer for Source Code, Jones has moved on to bigger and more elaborate things, taking the concept of time travel and applying it in a fascinating way.

When word of the plot first surfaced, it was a bit confusing how exactly Gyllenhaal’s character would transfer into the body of someone else. Now it’s clear that we will see him as Gyllenhaal throughout, even when he’s actually in someone else’s body (as we see when he looks in the mirror). It’s not quite the way I expected the “body transference” to function but it will certainly make for interesting viewing -- in a way it’s simply a sly technique for Gyllenhaal to be front and center for the whole movie (he is a big name star after all).

I’m a huge fan of sci-fi when it’s done well and taken in interesting directions - Source Code certainly checks those boxes. What do you make of the trailer?

Source Code hits theaters on April 15th, 2011.

Source: Apple

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