Today's my 27th Birthday. :( I wish I wasn't that old, in fact, I wish I'd never age at all! *cue DRAMATIC SIGH* Life is unfair and all that.

I'm going to have some pancakes today instead of the usual cake! :) Not sure about the filling yet but something yummy for sure!

How about instead of moping I post this lovely Clark Kent pic from the Superman Returns Movie Adaptation comic.



Soon to come are more SR caps from the dvd extras, as well as a new series of posts about scenes I'd personally cut from the movie or combine with others/rewrite them (to make the movie flow better, etc). I've been thinking of doing this for a long time and it won't be that hard to get the first entry up since a few scenes immediately popped into my head the moment I first thought about this. *chuckle*

Another thing I wanna do is a Supergirl re-design and new origin for my own enjoyment (since the current one in comics is so severely lacking and confusing), including an entry about her hobbies and interests and what she DOES in her free time. As an extra, an entry about the kind of clothes and fashion style that would suit her (in my eyes, anyway).

If it were up to me I'd make Supergirl likeable and interesting to both little girls, teenage girls, women AND the male readers of all ages, where the comic would have something in it for everyone without alienating the other parties. Whenever I think of Linda, there are so many nice things that pop into my head that "could have been" if only she was given the same respect, dedication and love as her cousin Superman.

First and foremost, I'd give her back her secret identity of Linda Lee, since in comics she's just Supergirl right now and has no life or identity at all besides her superhero duties. The secret identity would be re-imagined in this case, starting from fresh. If they can write a little kid into the canon for Lois and Clark to adopt, I can re-imagine Linda.

Have you seen the new Superman Returns Superman/Clark Kent figures by Hong Kong company HOT TOYS? They're over at the SupermanHomepage, too. There's Brando!Jor-El, as well. Whooo! Another Masterpiece line it is and this time not Hong Kong exclusive but for US release! I own both of the previous figures (see link for pics) and was surprised to see two more (well, 2-in-1)! *laugh* They're much-coveted because they're beautiful and limited and I can imagine the new ones will be just as popular and sought-after.

They have new headmolds again and IMO Superman looks more like Brandon than Clark does. They didn't capture Clark quite as well as before but he's still better than other SR figures on the market. Clark's outfit is also different from the Hong Kong exclusive. As far as I can see, it's a brown business suit and stripey tie he's wearing a bit later in the movie (not the one he has on at the beginning on his first day at work). I hope it's just as well made as the previous grey suit because I love the grey suit and coat... No coat this time...



*spazz*

Very good head sculpt. They're getting better and better and I thought the previous ones were amazing already. Still, it should be said that the actual faces may look different than on the official promo pictures. The resemblance to the actor depends on the paint job of the sculpt. If Superman's head looks just as good as on the above picture, you bet I want to have it... but it can wary from painter to painter. The eyebrows are done especially well (shaded, wow!) and overall there's a richer, more detailed look to the face. A lot of paintjobs look "flat", minimizing the realistic look the company tried so hard to capture. Also, there's this sheen in the whites of his eyes which is outstanding. I wonder if it's just the camera flare or actual transparent-like color applied for that wet look? Because the eyes do look real and that's very, very hard to do on action figures. If they actually went as far as apply some gloss to the eye so it would look wet, I'll be impressed!

More impressed than I already am, that is. Hah! :o) Awesome figure. The hairstyle looks more Routh-ish than before, too. Wow. Overall an improvement for an already "close to perfection" figure every Superman figure collector was drooling over last year.

The set comes with:
- 12 inches high Superman action figure with new sculpted head
- Additional business suit as Clark Kent's costume including white shirt, tie, jacket and pants with a pair of brown shoes
- Additional new sculpt Clark Kent figure head featured with glasses
- A pair of interchangeable hand
- Display base with the SUPERMAN RETURNS logo and a SUPERMAN nameplate
- Limited production run

Same stuff as before. A 2-in-1 figure (one body, two heads) was a good idea. This way we're only getting one more figure instead of 2 and you don't end up with 2 Clarks and 2 Supermen if you want to complete your collection and buy all versions, Hong Kong *AND* USA exclusives.

In other AWESOME NEWS, Action Comics #858 is shipping this week (see art previews at SupermanHomepage), featuring art by the new artist Gary Frank! He's drawing a very Reeve-ish Superman and his Clark looks sweet! OMG look:



Finally, Gary Frank! I'm so excited already, I've been counting the days till he gets on board! I squeed about him before in my journal (when I first started it). I'll SO be posting scans from his run. Guh.

This post is all kinds of bouncy, bouncy! See mood. *toothy grin*

To get the ball rolling, here's my first submission for The Clark Kent Challenge I just posted about.

Type of submission: Manipulated image
Title: Dr. Clark Kent?
Fandom: Superman Returns or slightly AU (see notes)
Author Name/lj username: Locksley / houseofel
Characters or pairing: Clark Kent
Prompt(s): Artists Prompt #34 - The Fan.
Rating: G (General audiences)

Author's Notes: The idea of a Superman Returns Clark in doctor's clothes struck me the other day and I just couldn't stop thinking about it. I thought this would be the backstory for my manip: It's post-Superman Returns. Clark is supposed to interview a doctor at one of the hospitals in Metropolis. Once he gets there the doctor is busy and Clark has to wait for a while. A little 7 year-old girl lying in bed (waiting for her parents to come visit her) sees him standing in the hallway and calls for him because she has nothing to do and would just like to talk to someone. Being the kind person that he is, he comes over and they chat a little about cartoons, the upcoming Halloween and other fun things before the doctor arrives.

Once Clark leaves (he gives the girl a little dorky wave), she thinks what a wonderful, friendly and ever-attentive doctor he'd make! Every kid at the hospital would positively adore and worship him. She pictures Clark Kent in a white coat...

And this is where my manip comes in! :) It was also inspired by a Superman comic book story I posted about recently where we're told Superman visits sick children at the hospital at least once a month and that it means a lot to them.

TEASER


( See the fullsize image! Meet Dr. Clark Kent! )

Clark in this entry just made a child's stay at the hospital a little less scarier. Isn't he amazing?

The Clark Kent Challenge
Run by Locksley / houseofel
Oct 12 – Nov 17 2007

Hello and welcome to "The Clark Kent Challenge" for creative fans to submit their works based on the DC Comics character Clark Kent, Superman's alter-ego. The submissions can be from any Superman medium (comics, movies, cartoons, tv series...). Whether it's Smallville Clark, Metropolis Clark, "traveling Clark", it's your call.

You don't have to have a livejournal account to participate in this challenge. If you're not a member here but would like to send in a submission, please comment on this entry as an 'anonymous user' via the comments form or email me at locksley AT liccalicca.net (replace AT with @, no spaces).



The challenge is looking for these types of submissions:
- fanfiction stories (any length) including:
- drabbles (100 words),
- ficlets (200, 300, 400 or 500 words)
- poetry (poems, haiku, etc)
- scripts.
- fanart (drawings, sketches, doodles, comic strips, etc)
- livejournal icons (max size 100x100 pixels, max file size 40kB)
- desktop wallpapers
- manipulated images (aka "manips")
- animations
- other graphics (livejournal headers, banners, postcards, collages, etc. Please specify!)
- music videos.
Let me know if there's anything else Clark-related you would like to submit, just comment in this post.

Please specify the name of the movie or tv series your Clark comes from. If he's based on a certain comics story or cartoon series, please let us know. If you're not going with any specific fandom, you can also write about him in general (just specify it as "general" then). AU (Alternate Universe) is allowed.

( MORE INFO )

( CHALLENGE SPECIFICS )

( PROMPTS )

( SCENARIO CHALLENGES )

( PICTURE CHALLENGES )

And that's it! *phew* The challenge is starting sooner than I thought. Please comment with any questions you might have and have fun, everyone! :o)

A question for my friendslist!

Would anyone be interested in a fun Clark Kent challenge? I've been thinking about a little Clark lj project for a while now. It would be something that fanfiction writers, fanartists, icon and graphics makers and others could participate in.



There would be a few challenges and themes you could choose for your submission, for instance a fanfiction challenge like "Clark befriending someone (canon or original character)", "Clark's super powers getting him in trouble (any setting)" or "Clark at the Smallville High prom", etc, and various themes to base the submissions (not just fanfic) on like "freedom", "love", "weakness", "memories", etc. Similar to other fanfic and icon challenges on livejournal.
You choose a theme from the list and submit your work that has something to do with that theme. For example, you go with the "love" theme and turn in a desktop wallpaper picturing young Clark and Lana on their first date. Or for a fanfiction story you pick the "Clark befriending someone" challenge and write about a 10 year-old Clark meeting the new kid in town at the local ice-cream shop.

It would have to focus on Superman's other persona (hence the name of the challenge!), from any medium (comics, movies, cartoons, tv series...). Whether it's Smallville Clark, Metropolis Clark, "traveling Clark", it's your call.

( Read more... )

Is this something my friendslist and other lj members would be interested in? Do you have any other ideas for the challenge? Would anyone like to help me with it? Especially the fanfiction part. What kind of Clark challenges would interest fanfic writers? Let me know. Any help would be much appreciated, thank you.
I'd get the ball rolling by submitting something of my own first, also to show I'm being serious about this. :) Most probably several submissions because there's lots of stuff I wanna try out.
I don't think it's necessary to create a lj community for this, the challenge shouldn't take too much of one's time to maintain/run it or end up too complicated, and it's only a small, tidy project.

Any thoughts? Would love to get some feedback on this because the challenge is only as fun as the people participating and if there's no interest even before the challenge starts, it's a good sign it wouldn't have worked anyway. So this is a test post to gauge people's interest! :o)

A lovely Chris pic from Superman II to catch everyone's attention, hehe:

Some goodies, Clarky goodness and more JLA movie news today!

Here are Clark and Lois' Daily Planet PRESS PASSES from the Superman Returns movie. Clark is so cute and dorky on the picture! :o) He looks nothing like Superman on it. *thumbs up* See below for bigger pics.



( See full size PRESS passes! )

Just a little sepia icon set today, more coming soon:



Please credit houseofel in keywords if you're taking any, thank you!

JLA MOVIE *RUMOURS*: WELLING STILL IN TALKS, SMALLVILLE PRODUCERS WANT TO BE ON JLA?

It's been a quiet week on the JLA movie front until yesterday. Insiders are backing each other up and reporting the same info for a change! Does this mean we're close to THE announcement?

Welling fans may celebrate soon because the latest rumours from Sanchez of IESB.net (scroll down to the bold red text) are all about the upcoming JLA and the possibility of Welling being Superman is now very high. Apparently he IS STILL IN TALKS FOR THE ROLE. They're still negotiating with him. And why would they do that if he wasn't the front-runner? Why search for a newcomer if they've wanted Welling from the beginning and he's their top choice? I think Welling as Supes is now a strong possibility. o.o Insiders agree he is definitely still in talks. Weeks ago IESB said Welling hasn't been cast but it looks like they really want him in the movie and won't let him go easily.

Don't you think if Routh was in talks as well, insiders would report it? *sigh*

The other key roles have already been cast, IESB reports:

Sorry about the lack of solid Justice League news, people are being very quiet but I did get an a call from an agent friend of mine from ________ just a few minutes ago and told me that as of yesterday Welling was still in negotiations.

I have been told by various sources that this film is moving forward 100%. So is Justice League green lit? "Officially" no, why? The movie is officially in "Prep" and could stay in prep mode til about 6 weeks before cameras roll. The reasons studios do this is because once a movie is officially green lit then that is when the studios have to start paying off producers and so on and so on.

By keeping it in pre-production they can hold on to their cash a little longer. This happens all the time and is not new in Hollywood. Pre-production is full steam ahead with all departments working full time on the project.

In regards to Tom Welling, we have been reporting for awhile that WB execs want Welling but that it was always Gough/Millar who were causing problems, they want to be producers on the film. It's always about the dough, fair enough.

I am hearing that key roles have been filled but I haven't been able to get any confirmations of which ones.

Yes friends, Justice League is coming summer of 2009.

The creators of Smallville want to be producers on the JLA film? O_O And the JLA team found their new Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, etc, already? Wow. That was fast.

The Countingdown insider (infamous_emijayne) confirms Welling is still in talks and that Welling's agent is now saying "I have no comment" when called about it and is no longer DENYING Welling is playing in the movie. The plot thickens!
The same insider also says an annoucement is coming very soon:

The interesting part is Welling's agent said "I have no comment". Last time this question was asked, Welling's agent actually said he was not cast. Why the sudden change?? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Also, the NY Times article was wrong about the script not being finished. It is on it's 4th draft. I was told it is absolutely good enough to shoot with and that Miller is quite capable of making revisions during production as he sees fit.

My other sources said announcements were expected this Friday but may have been pushed back up to a week. So the wait seems to be almost over. Thank God.

IESB states Countingdown insider scoop sounds "plausible". Insiders are backing each other up which could only mean they're getting similar/same information and things are definitely in motion. Wow. October's going to be a busy month, of that I am sure. Prepare yourself for one heck of a ride. The extra week of waiting might be because of Welling. He's still going through the contract.

( What about the Superman Returns sequel? )

Before SR, Routh was announced as Superman around this time of year. It was October. Let's hope October's the "magical month" again and we get some good news! *big, hopeful Pikachu eyes*

You've probably already seen half of these if you're a member of BlueTights forums and venture into the "Collectibles" section there but I thought it would be cool to post the pictures of my fave two action figures here, too.

They're HOT TOYS Superman and HOT TOYS Clark Kent, very realistic and fully poseable 30 cm/12'' inch tall Limited Edition action figures from 2006 that were only available in Hong Kong (meaning they go for inflated prices on eBay and via re-seller shops online). They were made in the likeness of the actor Brandon Routh for HOT TOYS' Movie Masterpiece line. The company did many movie action figures like STAR WARS, Alien, POTC Captain Jack Sparrow, Rambo, Rocky, Predator, etc.

Comparison picture:


The resemblance to Brandon is closer than on any other figure available:



For lots of pics and info on the two figures, please check out my thread at BT forums. Scroll down a bit for the Clark ones.

I'll be adding more pics soon. Ignore the tags on the pics, that's the url of my doll collection site. :) Doll photography is one of my fave hobbies and it brings me much joy and allows me to express myself and be creative.

Action figures, while of the same scale as my dolls, are still new to me but the moment I saw promo shots of the stunning Clark Kent figure I just KNEW I had to have it! It took my breath away... The workmanship on the clothes, the headmould, EVERYTHING, is absolutely amazing and well worth the high price. Just trust someone who's had many mishaps with painting and customizing doll heads and sewing miniature clothing! *laugh*