Walhberg hasn't totally said "no" to The Crow.

In a recent interview with MTV for his new film "The Fighter", Walhberg was asked about any truth to his "The Crow" involvement, to which he replied he was interested in the director, but there was no working script and no real development going on with it. So he didn't say he had passed on it, but from the comments made, it doesn't sound like the project has any momentum currently. Thanks to criggins for the heads up on the interview.

It sounds to me like the last two years of work on the project/script has yielded nothing, which is never a good sign. Though Walhberg hasn't officially said "no" as we were led to believe, his comments seemed to indicate the project was in limbo, though still on his radar, was not anything he was pressing forward aggressively on.

I will say again; I think it is time to put this reboot/remake/re-imagining to bed. I personally think they need to wait another decade or so for interest to actually be there for the project by those making it and most importantly, interest from fans. I don't see anyone clamoring for the franchise to be "re" anything right now.

Wahlberg says "no thanks" to the new Crow film

In a move that doesn't come as much of a surprise, Mark Wahlberg, speaking to the folks at Cinematical says the latest Crow film script did reach his eyes. He considered it, liked the director, but after careful thought, decided to pass. His comments make it clear he was not the actor who led to Norrington leaving the project as he mentions he liked the director, but they (the director) was no longer with the film.

So we are now back to square one; no director, no lead and no script that everyone seems to like. Sometimes it is best to leave well enough alone. I think in this case, that time has been reached for The Crow.

Good vibrations are short lived. The Crow has no director

Well, yesterday we had good news (or bad depending on your taste), with word that Mark Wahlberg had been offered the lead in the new The Crow film. Now comes word that Norrington has left as writer and director, seemingly, due to demands of a script overhaul by an actor associated with the film. Is it the previously reported Wahlberg, flexing some clout? Check out the news here at Mania.com.

This is really turning into one cluster....

Is it "good vibrations" for the new Crow film???

The folks over at Bloody Disgusting report none other than Mark Wahlberg, has been offered the lead role in the remake being directed by Norrington from a re-written Nick Cave script. Already folks are making Marky Mark jokes and such. I am kind of intrigued by Wahlberg being offered the role. This is the first bit of news from this that has peaked my interest. Not enough to change my thoughts on this being a bad idea. But there is still a sense intrigue that comes with this. Something to note, as the report indicates, he has been offered the role. No word on whether he has accepted. Interesting news indeed.

Abashed the devil saw how ironic it is....

Reports have come out today at Comingsoon.net saying THE CROW director Alex Proyas is set to direct the feature film version of Milton's epic poem PARADISE LOST. Fans who are up on their Crow trivia should know that the character T-Bird is seen reading from PARADISE LOST during the rape scene of Shelly and one of his famous lines is a quote from the book, "Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is.". In fact, we hear it twice in the movie, once during the rape and then SPOILER ALERT as he is headed off to his demise he starts quoting that line over and over.

Talk about ironic twists of fate, pretty cool stuff.

Disney sells Miramax and its catalog titles.

Folks may have seen that Disney recently sold Miramax, along with all of its catalog titles. You may be wondering what this means for The Crow titles. In a word, nothing. Buena Vista Home Video still owns the rights to the Crow catalog titles and those were not part of the sale of Miramax or Dimension. I have checked and as of right now, there is no plans to bring any of The Crow titles to Blu-ray any time soon. Hopefully when plans are put into motion, they take the time to get EVERYONE involved with the first film coming to Blu-ray and we get a complete package which was denied us in the Collectors Series DVD release.

Pressman wants Nick Cave to rewrite new Crow film

The folks over at TheWrap spoke to Pressman recently. Seems there is a rewrite of the Norrington script for the new Crow film being done. None other than Nick Cave has been asked to complete said rewrite. Those that know Pressman are familiar with rewrites (for some reason he didn't commission any rewrites for Salvation which could have used a few more passes before going before cameras). Not sure if this means the Norrington script was not working, or they wanted a different voice to see how it stirred up the pot. The same was done with the first film's script where you had Jeff Most and John Shirley writing the initial drafts and then David Schow coming in to add his flurishes. One thing for sure this does mean, it will be that much longer before cameras start rolling on the film.

All indicators point to theatrical release for Norrington's Crow film

With it appearing that Dimension is out of the way and Relativity taking over distribution, one would think that the new Crow film by Norrington might stand a greater chance at a theatrical release. All indications are that is the route being pursued. Of course, we have heard that before and have seen the last two films go the direct to video route. We shall see if all good intentions do lead to a theatrical release. That would be a bit of good news in what so far hasn't been anything to "crow" about with this latest effort. I stand cautious at this point, not cautiously optimistic as I am still not sold the route being taken is the best. However, for now, I will stand cautious and hope my fears are disproved.

Word on the reboot.....or is it?

MTV Splash Page has posted this bit:

The screenplay for a new The Crow film is finished and production will begin this year, Producer Edward Pressman told MTV today.

The new film will, according to Pressman, be set in both a small Southwest town and a larger city. The action will move from the town to the city and back again.

Though a star is not currently attached, Pressman claims that an offer has gone out to "a major actor".

The new film will attempt to reboot the franchise with a number of alterations. One Pressman talks about is the nature of the actual Crow itself, describing it as "a creature... it's not just a bird. It's got a personality and a character. Not like Godzilla exactly, but it's very different [and has] a more active role in the story."

All I can say is this looks like another rehash, recycled, reheated attempt at the original movie. This sounds nothing like a reboot. The more I hear, the further I feel this is going down the road of just another sequel. I want to be wrong, I really do.

Oh yeah, one more thing......

Seems they have paid up the rent on www.thecrow.com . If you go to it you see the famous eyes/crow wings symbol from the first movie. I assume this is to secure the site for when and if the reboot gets done.

Long time no post!

Greetings! Yep, it has been a year and a half since my last post here. Probably no one has noticed and the same will read this. But for my own satisfaction, I am getting active again.

So what has been going on via the Crow front, not a whole lot. The reboot of the films is still in pre-production, though they claim to be closer to bringing things all together. I have still not heard directly from anyone on this and have no idea what we can expect.

Frank over at Crowfans wrapped up the latest Croween contest with winners announced.

O'Barr continues to make appearances. He recently announced progress on the LONG in the works re-edit of the original Crow graphic novel with panels originally deleted from it.

I have not heard anything on the Blu-ray front in regard to the movies. Surely there are plans to bring them to Blu-ray. I would love for them to get Proyas' involvement and put out a Blu-ray that is the ultimate version of the film. Also would love for Tim Pope to be allowed to assemble his true vision for COA on Blu-ray. They could really make the Blu-ray release of these an event.

Man, I see so much false information on the first movie's events being posted around the net. People totally confused as to what scene Brandon was shot during, how much of his performance is in the film, etc. I think that is what has drawn me back out amongst the mess. Someone has to set the story straight. It seems since ABaHB stopped being active, the Crow world has lost focus on our past.

Well, that is enough random rambling for the time being. I will be hunting down information and posting it.

Norrington to write & direct The Crow reboot?

So says this story reported in Variety (click on link).

Not sure what I think about this folks. I still think a SinCity style of film done, with an emphasis on being a faithful adaptation of the graphic novel, is to me, the logical and ONLY way to restart the franchise. I am going to see if I can dig into this a bit more.

Rochelle Davis confirmed for Scarefest08 and Croween 2K8 News

Reminder that Croween2K8 ramps up the 1st of August. Go to the Crowfans website or MySpace site for details.



Rochelle Davis (Sarah from the first Crow film) will be part of a panel during Scarefest08 in Orlando (image above from last year's program). Check out the site later in the year for details as they are added. In the mean time, click here for list of known guests.

Thanks to Frank for the heads up on Rochelle. We are pulling together all the questions sent in for her and will get those forwarded on.

A "murder" of Crow related news

Hey folks, hope your summer has been a good one so far. As you can tell by the lack of updates, I have been busy. But not too busy to catch THE best ever comic to film of all time, The Dark Knight. You gotta check out this movie, it is fantastic.

OK, on to Crow news. I mostly have fan-related stuff to report. Since the official creative forces have gone to sleep for The Crow, we, the fans, have carried forward creating some great stuff. David J. from over at Crowcoll has alerted me to some really cool fan-based stuff.

First off, A.J. has created another fantastic Crow-inspired video on his site. You need to check out the latest entitled "The Crow: Descent", way too cool!

Are you into Crow art? Here is a link to a site that is doing some crazy sick stuff with movie posters, to include The Crow.

Finally the folks over at Maximummetal.com have taken the 1994 movie "The Crow" and synched it with Queensryche's "Rage for Order" (1986). This is some wild stuff that you have got to read to believe.

Thanks again to David J. for heads up on all the above stuff. As I said, it is the fanbase which is keeping the flame going for The Crow. I still hold out hope that franchise we all love is brought back to life much like Batman and Halloween have over the last few years.

Our good friend Jamie Christopherson (composer of the score for The Crow: Wicked Prayer), has a lot of updates on his site. He has been a busy man, check out some of his latest work.

Finally, don't forget that Frank is gathering the troops and pulling together Croween 2k8. Start working on those ideas right now. I have been asked to be a judge once again and this year, I am going to really be looking for some originality. The thing I hear most from fellow fans about the official projects is "I can do better than that." Well prove it! Lets see how creative you can get this year.

I hope everyone is doing well. Take care & God bless.

View THE CROW: STAIRWAY to HEAVEN online!

All of the episodes of THE CROW: STAIRWAY to HEAVEN are availabe on Hulu! Huge thanks to Kelley B. for getting these up. The quality is excellent. The episodes are easy to access, with episode synopsis and feedback area. Thanks to Frank for the alert on this. If you were not able to find the boxed set (it was never in Wal-Mart) this is a great opportunity to be able to revisit the series whenever you want.

The Wicked Prayer revisited

This is what I said then (condensed as this was my longest review ever).............

Well, after much waiting and build up, the film delivered the goods for me. Having followed the film for so long, reading all the scripts, etc, I had built up this image of the film in my head which frankly, I thought couldn't be matched. That image was not only met, it was surpassed. This is a more than worthy addition to the Crow franchise and one I feel a majority of the fan base will embrace. My only regret about the film is that it will not see a much deserved full fledged theatrical release. It is high quality work and it is a shame that a film like this is not given its just due, especially in light of the films that HAVE been given a theatrical releases of late that absolutely tanked at the box office.

4 Crows

What I say now................

Boy was I wrong when I said that "one I feel a majority of the fan base will embrace". I should have said this was a Crow film that like-minded fans would embrace. This is the film that basically soured me on the franchise as a whole. Not the film itself, but the absolute mean-spirited nature of the reviews from print/net critics and, to me at the time, the absolute short sightedness of fans. Some time has passed since my bitterness toward the fan base boiled over. I have come to the realization that I was too close to this project. I had insight that many didn't and wouldn't ever have. There was a good amount of emotional context that didn't make it from the script to the film, but unlike the average fan, I had insight to so was able to put the pieces together easier. There is no way I can view this film without all of that context therefore have no way of being able to see it as someone who totally disdains it sees it. I do think the film proved that the fan base as a whole was stuck on one thing; the first movie. For better or worse everything from the first film is burned into fan's consciousness and can't be removed. I will go down with my guns blazing defending Wicked Prayer. It has a few hiccups, such as some of the worse dialog ever created for a character (El Nino, played by Dennis Hopper). But all in all, in my opinion, this film hit the core of what O'Barr's comic featured. Not only that, it featured a storyline I could all too identify with. I thought the blurring of lines between good and evil as well as having two righting of wrongs missions going on, parallel and in conflict, were a fantastic new element. I just watched this again recently and still feel it is the best film since the first one. I rated it 4 Crows originally and I stick by that rating.

The DVD release of Wicked Prayer was and is, for me, the best Crow DVD release of the 4 films. We have 4 commentary tracks from the director, producer, star and composer of the film. We have a comprehensive making of feature, deleted scenes, composer profile, etc. The film may have been a direct to video venture, but the quality of the images and sounds as well as extras gives the buyer their money's worth and then some. Unlike the previous 3 film's DVD's, I have no complaints here. My only complaint is that Jamie Christopherson's excellent score was never released. It is haunting and beautiful.

To see my full review of the film go here.

Rochelle Davis interview

As you know, Frank has kept up contact with Rochelle Davis since we learned of all the legal issues she was going through last year. As we reported last week, she is on the road to getting her life back on track. Frank contacted Rochelle recently about doing an interview. She has agreed! We want to solicit questions from fellow fans to ask her (to be approved by her manager of course). So we need you to get those questions in to me at aboyandhisbird@gmail.com . We will use as many questions as we can. This is going to be a great opportunity for fans to catch up with one of the most beloved actors/actresses from the first film.

The Crow: Salvation revisited

Here we are with our 3rd revisit, The Crow: Salvation

What I said then..........

We first see Alex in his cell, playing chess with his lawyer and awaiting the walk to the execution chamber. Eric Mabius does a great job conveying the emotions of his impending doom and his frustration in not apprehending the real killer of his girlfriend. His focus is more on this failure than his impending execution. This establishes his love for Erin Randall and shows us his motivation for coming back while creating a connection with the audience before his death. This is a new twist for "The Crow" movies. Previously, we were not introduced to the title character before his death. Eric Mabius neither looks nor acts like his predecessors. There is much irony and wry glee in what Eric's character is doing. Mabius' intense eyes add to the unsettling image of his Irony scared face smiling at his enemies (Alex's face is burned by the helmet he wears during his execution, giving him the famous "clown from hell" look). I found Kirsten Dunst believable and genuine. Fred Ward is his usual feisty self. One observation I had was that the characters in this film are more realistic than the cartoon figures of previous Crow movies. The characters in "Salvation" are more identifiable with people with which we have everyday contact. Even the title character is not decked out in the "gothic" attire of the past. All of the soundtrack songs are appropriately placed in the movie. A prime example of this is the song "Antihistamine" by Tricky. It perfectly enhances the tone of the scene it is in. The ending is a vast improvement over that of COA's and is very satisfying. The new director, Baharat Nalluri, brings some innovative visual elements to Salvation, such as a new Crow-vision style, as well as other personal touches. All of these changes, as well as the previously discussed story elements, helped to make Salvation a very enjoyable viewing experience for me.

Overall rating 3 1/2 Crows

What I say today...........

This film has kind of been an up and down enjoyment for me. We were pretty active in the promotion of the film back in 1999/2000. So there was a personal connection to the film. This film had an air of controversy in that Dimension strung Pressman and Most along making them think it would get a theatrical release. It received only one release, in Spokane, Washington. Hardly a true testing ground for the film especially given the very minimal promotion it was given. The star and producers had to literally walk the streets handing out posters since no real promotion was being done by the studio. In the end, there was no intent for this film to be released theatrical. It's sole purpose was to be shot so they would have a 3rd film for a boxed DVD set. The cast and crew, despite all of that, rose above that and gave us a worthy addition to the Crow franchise. I have gone through periods where my enjoyment of Salvation has waned. But today I can say it is definitely a fun movie to watch. It is different from the first two in that it has a "normal" element about it. They tried to get away from a lot of the otherworldly aspects of the first two and they do that successfully. The score is my least favorite of the 4 films, but it works for what it is intended to be. The soundtrack is packed with some very good songs, though at times it seems they are trying to get every single one of the songs into the movie and it hops from soundtrack or score and never seems to have any quiet moments. The movie brought in a new element of mystery to the franchise and that was a welcome change. I think the mystery is a bit deluded though in that every step is easy to figure out. Were it me, I would have gone a different route and pointed to the Capt as the main bad guy but then pulled a switch on the audience and revealed it was Alex's lawyer that was pulling the strings. Mabius put a lot into this film, especially post production. He made himself available for every possible promotional venture. The film was shown at the 2000 Dragon Con and received overall positive responses. It ended up going on to be the highest selling action direct to video title of 2000.

I would say 3 1/2 Crows is still a spot on opinion today.

The Collector's DVD release of the film gave us a very good commentary track with the director, star, composer, producer and production design lead chiming in. It was the most complete commentary of the first 3 films. The other extras are short, but informative (the "making of" is disappointingly very short). As with the other two films that are part of the boxed set, there is a script DVD rom feature that is very nice. Would be great to see this on Blu Ray when/if that happens. You can read my full review of the DVD here.

The Crow: City of Angels revisted

Here is another review from the past, The Crow: City of Angels (or COA as most fans refer to it as).

What I said then...........

I make no apologies for saying that I enjoyed this movie. However, I feel that production was rushed and important elements were not examined thoroughly enough. The theater run-time of only 84 minutes speaks loudly to this. The filmmakers never explored the Sarah/Ashe relationship in detail. Expansion of that element would have set COA apart from the first movie and given it more emotion. A better use of the flashback scenes between Ashe and his son Danny would also have improved the film. The majority of flashbacks concentrated on their murder, not their love. I thought Vincent Perez did an excellent job in his portrayal of Ashe, as did Mia Kirshner who played Sarah. In my opinion, fans that could not distinguish between the fact that Perez's Ashe Corvin was a totally different character from Brandon's Eric Draven, judged Perez too harshly. There is so much about COA that is very good. The yellow/green tint, used throughout the movie, was both original and effective. It gave the feeling of a barren, dry, dream-like Los Angeles. The premise of an avatar falling in love, after coming back, was very intriguing. The attempt to make a different movie was there, but somewhere along the way, originality was compromised for the sake of staying with a known successful formula. The following quote is from Frieda Noone who does reviews for Cinescape. I saw this quote on the site "A Dead Man Visits You", and I think it sums up COA perfectly: "If you accept that the CROW: City of Angels is not really a movie, then it's quite possible to enjoy it. More a visually intense tone poem than a film, City of Angels resembles a lavish picture book - which is the medium from which the CROW films sprang." Very well said indeed.

Rating - 3 Crows

What I say now...............

Again, like the first film, this one has not lost any luster with me over the years. If anything, I have grown to appreciate it even more for what was attempted, but ultimately damaged by too many fingers in the post production cookie jar. Looking back, I think they should have made the Sarah character a person who had a connection to the dead, not a connection to the Crow or the previous film. COA, more so than any of the other sequels, has grown in legend for what was NOT featured on screen. Fans have long pined for the deleted footage to be put back in and the film assembled in the original form and context that Pope had intended. Would this change the minds of those that to this day have to reach for the Pepto at the mere mention of COA? Personally, no. I think if you hated the film then you would hate it with the deleted footage restored and the context Pope intended. I think it would win over some fans that didn't necessarily hate it, but all in all, if you hated it in 1996, you would hate it today even restored to what it was intended to be. I have personally seen 4 or 5 cuts of this film and I just don't think there is enough that would bring the masses of haters over to our side. I think all in all this film came out too soon after the original and the concept was lost on many fans and for that matter, lost on the suits in the production offices. Tim Pope had a vision of a truly tragic and Gothic romance and unfortunately the ghosts from the previous film had not been laid to rest and many fans saw it as an inferior clone of the first film, no doubt helped along by post production tinkering by producers that all but ripped the guts out of the film and laid it out in the sun to rot. The one thing I think the deleted footage would help fans appreciate more is the excellent performance from Vincent Perez. There was some absolutely great stuff deleted, such as his self-destructive moment with Spider Monkey and the original intended tragic ending. To this day I cringe when I see the pseudo happy/sad ending that made it to the final cut. I will say that one required re-shoot was a wise decision and that was the original Kali/Ashe fight which in it's original form was very week. The re-shoot is one of my favorite scenes from the film, though the deleted confrontation on the street after the fight between the mortally wounded Kali and Ashe is deeply missed. I have found that with the passing of time, more and more people are coming to appreciate COA more than they did back when it first came out.

Still a solid "3 Crow" rating in my book, maybe even 3 1/2 Crows.

The Collectors DVD release of this film is good, but like the first film, lacks some important features. The "making of" is VERY informative. The commentary track is frank and open. Alex McDowell (production designer for the first two Crow films) all but spells out the butchering that the producers did to the film, commenting many times about how their vision and Tim Pope's vision were worlds apart and ultimately the film lost its soul in the editing. The DVD-rom features a rare find for many fans, the full Chet Williamson novelization of the film, which is very hard to find in any stores. Of course the omitting of deleted scenes as well as none of the music videos featured on the VHS release make this DVD, like the film, a great concept but in the end lacking everything to make it a full viewing experience. Hopefully when this makes it to Blu Ray these omissions can be taken care of and maybe even some righting of wrongs and allowing Tim Pope to put together a TRUE director's cut, not the supposed Director's Cut that the DVD box claims it is today.

Cast updates

Thanks to Frank for this update on Bai Ling. Here is the latest. Let's hope this is the last we see of her in trouble.

Also an update from Frank on the latest with Rochelle Davis (Sarah from the first film). She is doing well with plans to marry. She has gone through a lot of stuff over the last year but it appears things are on the right track. I spoke with Robert Zuckerman and let him know about the issues Rochelle was having last year. He was able to make contact and I know he reached out with a lot of love to her. Our personal wishes and prayers are with Rochelle and hope for nothing but the best for her and her son and the new life they are about to have.