First, the latest news:
- There’s trouble in Middle-earth – again! The Tolkien estate is suing New Line Cinema for profits from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. This may cause yet another delay in the long-awaited production of The Hobbit.
- The company behind Gen Con, “the best four days in gaming,” has filed for Chapter 11 protection, citing “significant unforeseen expenses associated with attempts to expand its core business to encompass externally licensed events.” One of the biggest gaming conventions around, Gen Con began in 1967 as an informal gathering of wargamers at the home of Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax. It recently operated the four annual official Star Wars Celebration events. Even more recently, Gen Con was sued by Lucasfilm, which says the convention runner failed to uphold its obligations regarding a charity auction that was to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Gen Con Indy 2008 is still scheduled for Aug. 14-17 in Indianapolis.
- Steve Gerber, the creator of comic book character Howard the Duck and the ’80s Saturday morning cartoon Thundarr the Barbarian, has died at the age of 60. He also worked as a story editor on the G.I. Joe and Dungeons & Dragons cartoons. The Associated Press obituary reports that Gerber was working on a revival of the DC Comics’ Dr. Fate series at the time of his death.
And previously, on Nerdvana:
The new CGI Star Wars adventure Clone Wars will hit theaters Aug. 15, then continue on Cartoon Network in the fall with reruns on TNT. Read more.- You can now watch the teaser trailer for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull here. It premiered Thursday on TV’s Good Morning America and in theaters with The Spiderwick Chronicles.
- Gaming is hardwired into the male gender. So it would seem after reading about a Stanford University School of Medicine study that found guys get addicted to computer and video games more easily than the fairer sex do. Read more.
One of this week’s new Nintendo DS releases is destined to become the portable gaming sensation of the year. Read a review of Professor Layton and the Curious Village, a collection of minigames and puzzles linked by an overarching mystery right out of an Agatha Christie plot.- Starting Monday (Feb. 18), Boomerang will air the 1984 giant robot cartoon Voltron: Defender of the Universe in all its glory! Read more.
