Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman has those nifty bracelets that deflect bullets but, it turns out, they don’t work against fan attacks.  A script overhaul and a costume redesign weren’t enough to save Diana Prince and her alter-ego from television limbo. NBC essentially left David E. Kelley and his “Wonder Woman” pilot standing at the altar of Athena, and “Friday Night Lights” actress Adrianne Palicki  won’t get the chance to twirl the lasso of truth and bring the greatest female superhero of them all to 21st century airwaves. Now, all that’s left is to think of what might have been…and to enjoy the Twitter schadenfreude, which you can read in the gallery above. –Noelene Clark RECENT AND RELATED Kelley: ‘It’s way out of my comfort zone’ ‘Wonder Woman’ poll: Hall of Fame…or Halloween costume? ‘Wonder Woman’: Adrianne Palicki lassos role Wonder Woman pilot already deflecting bullets Beyonce sets her sights on “Wonder Woman” […]

David E. Kelley is taking a twirl with “Wonder Woman” and he talked about the show a bit with Joe Flint, who has a Los Angeles Times Calender cover story today on the surprising success of Kelley’s  ”Harry’s Law” series. Although he has created one of the most memorable female characters in television with “Ally McBeal,” writer David E. Kelley was taken aback when Warner Bros. approached him about making a new version of “Wonder Woman” for NBC. “It’s way out of my comfort zone,” said Kelley, who is accustomed to writing quirky characters who use their humor and intelligence to beat their enemies. “I’ve got a character who fights with clenched fists.” Kelley and Warner Bros., which is making the pilot, are trying to keep the lid on the show but they are letting a few details slip out. Last week, the studio released […]

Here’s the first look at Adrianne Palicki as Wonder Woman in the upcoming NBC series that brings the most famous female superhero back to network television. David E. Kelley of “Boston Legal” and “Ally McBeal” fame is taking the character into new territories, to be certain, and there’s already a massive stir of fan angst regarding the suit you see above. What do you think? – Geoff Boucher (twitter.com/latherocomplex) RECENT AND RELATED ‘Wonder Woman’: Adrianne Palicki lassos role Wonder Woman pilot already deflecting bullets Beyonce sets her sights on “Wonder Woman” film “Wonder Woman’s” Keri Russell is “a tourist” Snyder: “There have been no other Superman films” Snyder: My favorite Superman artist is… Look, up in the sky it’s … Henry Cavill Synder: Superman is a tough one to crack Nolan breaks silence on Superman film Morrison to Hollywood: Make Superman a “brawler” […]

It’s a big year for actress Christina Hendricks, who is making the most of her time away from AMC‘s Emmy-winning series “Mad Men.” With three upcoming films, including the big-screen adaptation of the Allison Pearson novel “I Don’t Know How She Does It,” Hendricks is working steadily on a variety of projects. The latest is the new animated film “All-Star Superman,” due out Tuesday, in which she gives voice to outspoken news reporter Lois Lane. Hendricks joins a long list of actresses who have taken on the role of Clark Kent’s love interest (among them Erica Durance, Dana Delany, Kate Bosworth, Teri Hatcher and Margot Kidder) and Jevon Phillips got a chance to have a quick talk with her about the super role. JP: You have a number of movies in the works. Are you making the transition away from […]

This just in from Warner Bros… Adrianne Palicki (“Friday Night Lights,” “Red Dawn”) will star in the title role of “Wonder Woman,” a new series pilot from David E. Kelley (“Boston Legal,” “Ally McBeal,” NBC’s “Harry’s Law”). The series pilot is a reinvention of the iconic DC Comics title in which Wonder Woman – a.k.a. Diana Prince – is a vigilante crime fighter in Los Angeles but also a successful corporate executive and a modern woman trying to balance all of the elements of her extraordinary life. Kelley and Bill D’Elia (“Boston Legal,” “The Practice”) are the executive producers. The pilot was written by Kelley and will be directed by Jeffrey Reiner (NBC’s “The Event”).  “Wonder Woman” is from David E. Kelley Productions and Warner Bros. Television. Palicki, who appeared as Tyra Collette in NBC’s acclaimed “Friday Night Lights,” will star in the upcoming feature-film remake of […]

Over on our Show Tracker blog, Melissa Maerz seems happy to see Wonder Woman get another TV spotlight, but notes that questions are already being raised over David E. Kelley’s treatment of the Amazonian princess. We’re suckers for a lady with a lasso, so when we heard the news that, after initally passing on the project, NBC picked up David E. Kelley’s “Wonder Woman” pilot, we couldn’t help but cheer. And yet, before the show even starts, Wonder Woman’s already got a lot of forces to battle – and we aren’t just talking about Cyborgirl. Remembering Kelley’s biggest contribution to the women’s movement — the “short-skirted, romantically challenged, possibly insane television lawyer” Ally McBeal — Mary Elizabeth Williams at Salon recently quipped, “The guy who killed feminism is reviving Wonder Woman.” THERE’S MORE, READ THE REST – Melissa Maerz RECENT […]

This is one collectible you’re going to want to keep mint-in-box. Mattel’s Wonder Woman Invisible Jet isn’t just invisible, it’s nonexistent. The Hot Wheels packaging suggests that the jet is nestled within the cardboard and plastic molding (pictured on right). Gullible buyers can be forgiven for thinking there’s a miniature jet in the box — Mattel’s designers had weights hidden inside to make it feel as if it actually contained a toy. The joke continues on the back of the box, in the place  where Mattel usually provides quick facts about the vehicle inside, such as its make and model. Here’s an excerpt: Designer: The Amazons Birthplace: Paradise Island Specialty: Created by Amazon engineering, Wonder Woman’s Invisible Jet can make transatlantic flights without refueling. The idea was spawned April 1, when Mattel’s social marketing team came up with a prank […]

Los Angeles Times business writer Ben Fritz and I wrote a cover story that ran Wednesday in the paper’s Calendar section and this is a much longer verison of that article. The premiere for Marvel Studios’ “Iron Man 2” shut down Hollywood Boulevard in May with the year’s most bombastic red-carpet event, featuring fireworks, a heavy-metal soundtrack, go-go dancers and a parade of celebrities that included Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Mickey Rourke and Hugh Hefner. Walking through it all were two outsiders of a sort: Diane Nelson and Geoff Johns. The industry odd couple — she previously managed the Harry Potter brand for Warner Bros. but had no experience in comics, he’s a fan-favorite comic-book writer who had never worked at a studio — are the president and chief creative officer, respectively, of DC Entertainment, main comic-book rival to Marvel. Their task […]

Superman lifting a car? Not a big deal in today’s comics, but when it’s the Man of Steel lifting a car drawn on a “very fine”-rated 10-cent-issue of Action Comics No. 1, the deal is the biggest in comics history: $1 million. Stephen Fishler, co-owner of the auction site ComicConnect.com, which mediated the deal, told the Associated Press: “It is still a little stunning to see ‘a comic book’ and ‘$1 million’ in the same sentence.” The buyer remains anonymous, as often happens in these big money deals. The book doesn’t reach the record heights of Pablo Picasso’s Boy with a Pipe (The Young Apprentice), which sold for $104.1 million at auction in 2004, or a bronze sculpture by Alberto Giacometti that sold for $103.4 million (or $104.3 million,  depending on how you measure it), but comparatively, it’s still a […]

The University of Oregon may have lost its controversial first game of the 2009 season on the blue monster to Boise State, but they will be concentrating on a different type of monster soon – the superhero culture — as the school plays host to “Understanding Superheroes,” a two-day conference on Oct. 23-24 that will discuss the world of superheroes. The conference will be held alongside the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art’s fall exhibition “Faster than a Speeding Bullet: The Art of a Superhero” and is free to attend, but you have to register in advance. Guests will include keynote speakers Danny Fingeroth, Charles Hatfield and Henry Jenkins, while comics creators Kurt Busiek (“Astro City”), Greg Rucka (“Gotham Central,” “Whiteout,” “Queen & Country”); and Gail Simone (“Deadpool,” ”Birds of Prey,” “Welcome to Tranquility”  and “Wonder Woman”) chime in with an interesting panel about writing the […]