The Four Color Media Monitor

The producer of 2 Ghost Rider movies that weren't particularly successful wants to take charge of the old Atlas Comics brand from the 1970s, just so he can use it for making more movies:

At Cannes last week, Ghost Rider producer Steven Paul revealed that he had purchased the library of 1970s comic book publisher Atlas Comics, with a view to reviving the brand and relaunching it as a movie universe akin to what Marvel Studios has done.

But it won't be an easy road. While Paul may have acquired a majority interest in the publishing properties of the short-lived outfit, an entirely different comic book company says he does not own the trademark to the name Atlas Comics itself. Dynamite Entertainment maintains that it owns that trademark, and has for a number of years. [...]

When Paul announced his purchase of the majority interest in the Atlas Comics library, he also announced a partnership with Akiva Goldsman’s Weed Road Pictures with the intent of producing one superhero movie a year, starting in 2021, based on the defunct publisher’s output.

So the guy's bought into an archive he may find legal hurdles to overcome with Dynamite, and, he's joining up with another guy whose screenplays for the 3rd and 4th Batman films from the late 90s aren't held in high esteem. And, he's doing all this just for the sake of moviemaking, not because he'd like to develop comics stories per se. This is just more exploitation of the medium for the sake of another medium, and it's unimpressive at this point. IMO, it shows how Hollywood will do anything to turn a fast buck at the expense of comicdom.

Labels: Ghost Rider, indie publishers, msm propaganda