It’s the Holiday Season here at Splash Page HQ, and being the giving sort, we had all kinds of presents for our readers this week — at least as far as comics and movie news goes.

- Last weekend, we gave you one of the first reviews of the new “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” trailer, then gave you the full “Wolverine” trailer here with our breakdown of important scenes.

- Kenneth Branagh broke his silence about Marvel’s upcoming “Thor” movie and confirmed that he was indeed directing the eagerly anticipated film.

- We got the lowdown on the new “Star Trek” prequel comic straight from the upcoming film’s director, JJ Abrams. Read more…

If you’re anything like us here at Splash Page, the approach of December 25 means two things: 1) We get to finally check out “The Spirit“; and 2) There’s less than a week left to get our holiday shopping done. Luckily for our friends and significant others, we’re cheap dates, and nothing says “holiday cheer” than comics — especially non-continuity comics where Santa makes a cameo.

As is the tradition every year at the major comic book publishers, we can look forward to a whole bunch of funnybooks featuring that jolly old elf and an assortment of spandex-clad heroes on your comic shop’s shelf this month. After the jump, we’ve put together a quick rundown (in no particular order) of some of this season’s highlights. Read more…

Thanks to advance screenings, we’re already getting reviews on Frank Miller’s solo-directorial debut on “The Spirit,” and like most films based on comics, this one looks like it’s clearly gonna divide the fanboys out there into “love it” or “hate it” camps. Yet regardless of whether viewers take to “The Spirit,” one thing we can all agree on is Miller has continued his tradition of giving moviegoers an utterly unique-looking film, and the fine folks at Titan Books have delivered a stunning new book celebrating Miller’s vision, “The Spirit: The Movie Visual Companion,” by Mark Cotta Vaz.

The book takes fans through each and every aspect of the filming process, from the comics to the final product, and features exclusive interviews with the cast and crew, tons of behind-the-scenes photos and art, as well as never-before-seen storyboards drawn by Miller himself.

And lucky for us, Titan has offered us a first glimpse at some of the costume designs featured in the book that’s a must-have for an fan of “The Spirit” — which you can check out after the jump! Read more…

We’re getting closer and closer to the wide release of “The Spirit,” and we here at Splash Page couldn’t be more excited to see Will Eisner’s classic comic hero come alive with a healthy dose of Frank Miller grit. So, when MTV sat down with stars Eva Mendes and Gabriel Macht, we could barely contain ourselves from talkin’ comics with the stars — from “The Spirit” to “Watchmen,” and even “Ghost Rider” manages to come up in conversation.

Check out what the two had to say in the following video:

So, what do you think of Macht and Mendes’ comments? Do you think reading the comics are important when taking on a role, or do they have the right idea? Talk it up in the comments.

FROM MOVIES BLOG:The producers behind “The Spirit” obviously have a lot of faith in Frank Miller, because they have just handed him another directing gig. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Miller is in the final negotiations to direct “Buck Rogers” for Oddlot Entertainment and Millennium Films.

Miller has been rumored to have the directing job for months. He will be writing and sketching his own version of Buck Rogers and not surprisingly, it’s expected to be dark, with his usual focus on corruption, sex, and violence. As the original Buck Rogers was good, clean, all-American fun, you can expect a fair amount of controversy when his take is revealed.

For more on Frank Miller directing “Buck Rogers,” head on over to MoviesBlog.MTC.com!

Seth Rogen’s remake of “The Green Hornet” has just hit a snag, like all of the Hornet adaptations before it. According to Variety, it lost its director, Stephen Chow.

Chow will still play the role of Kato, but he has dropped out of directing due to creative differences. It’s not clear if the differences were with its writers, Rogen and Evan Goldberg, or with the studio and producer Neal Moritz.

It’s very possible that the differences arose over what tone the film is taking. Chow is known for his broad comedy, and given that funnyman Rogen is writing and starring in the film, it seemed obvious where this remake was going. Perhaps the plans have changed, and now a serious Green Hornet is in the works? Read more…

We’ve been hearing quite a bit lately about the love-it-or-hate-it “Spider-Man: The Musical” — from news that it will be the most expensive Broadway production in history to Bono describing his score to the stage production as “a hallucinogenic experience for theatregoers” — but little has been heard from Evan Rachel Wood, thus far the only cast member announced for the show.

That said, Sci Fi Wire recently caught up with Wood, and let’s just say that her silence wasn’t for lack of excitement about the musical. “I’m doing ‘Spider-Man’ on Broadway, starting in June,” said Wood in the Sci Fi Wire story. “I’m really excited. It’s Julie Taymor, who did ‘The Lion King’ on Broadway, and she’s really kind of doing the same thing. [She] takes it to this whole other level. It’s awesome! It’s really spectacular. They’re using new technology and wirework.” Read more…

When it comes to directing his first comic book film — the true crime epic “Ness” (based on Brian Bendis and Marc Andreyko’s comic series, “Torso“) — director David Fincher will be bringing a rather…unique perspective to the production.

“I loved [comic books] as an eight year old, but I was pretty much over it by the time I was 11,” Fincher explained in a recent interview with MTV News. “There’s so little dialogue in comic book movies that isn’t about narrative, where you have to be next, and how to get the talisman and why it has to be in a leadlined box. Maybe this is my own cynical nature but I feel like most of the time people speak it’s to position an understanding. I’m less interested in what characters say in a movie than what their faces look like while they’re saying it. I’m always more interested in how people lie than how they tell the truth.” Read more…

Even before she joined the Minutemen, the original group of crimefighters in Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ groundbreaking graphic novel “Watchmen,” Sally Jupiter enjoyed being a costumed hero. Actress Carla Gugino, who plays Sally Jupiter in Zack Snyder’s big-screen adaptation of “Watchmen,” told MTV that she’s pretty fond of playing the superhero, too — even if her character’s best days are behind her.

“We have a couple of flashbacks where we see her in her heyday as a costumed crime fighter, but they’re more like photographs,” said Gugino. “But it’s cool to be in a movie about superheroes where this character kind of isn’t one anymore. She really adds a totally different dimension to the piece, which I loved in the graphic novel.” Read more…

And the accolades for Heath Ledger and “The Dark Knight” continue to roll in! Nominations for the 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards were announced this morning, and once again, Ledger has landed an “Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role” nod for his performance as the Clown Prince of Crime, The Joker. Furthermore, “The Dark Knight” received a nomination in the “Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture” category, joining fellow comic book flicks “Iron Man,” “Hellboy II” and “Wanted.”

For Ledger, this marks the second time he’s up for a SAG Award, after being nominated and subsequently winning two Actors in 2006 for his work on “Brokeback Mountain” — one for “Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role” and one for “Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.” Read more…