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The new primetime series produced by Augenblick Studios will debut on May 31st.

The manuscript for Mystery of the Missing Fox might be in my editors hands for review, bu that doesn’t mean the research stops.  Especially when it involves fox kits.

There are five in all, from what I can tell.  I sit in the woods, 100 feet from the den.  And at first, they stare at me, trying to figure if I’m friend or foe.

When I don’t move closer or make any noise, they relax a bit.  But they always know exactly where I am.

Once they feel safe again, the research and fun starts, and I raise my camera.

At first, the kits approach their brothers and sisters very innocently.

They might even give a friendly hey-you-sleeping tap of the paw.

And the next thing you know, they’re nibbling each others ears!  Or feet. Or tail.

They roll around on the ground, no noise, no squeaks or growls that I can hear.  Which is good, since their mother isn’t in the area to protect them from predators.  (She was either out hunting, or watching me, watch her kits)

Just when one kit seems to be getting the best of their sibling, a third comes to the rescue!

When the play has wound down, the kits curl up together. No hard feelings on either side. That’s my cue to go.

I hope the best for this year’s litter.

Stay safe little ones.

– My favorite discovery from the 2014 television season has to be Cartoon Network’s Rick and Morty, which takes the character relationship of Doc and Marty (more or less) from Back to the Future and transplants them into Doctor Who style adventures with some the sharpest humor I’ve seen in an animated program since Archer first hit the air. The series, created by Dan Harmon (Community) and Justin Roiland, has had its first season available on Blu-ray for awhile now. If you can handle some cruder, gross-out moments, I highly recommend it.

This week, Cartoon Network announced that Rick and Morty will return on Sunday, July 26th. Additionally, Roiland and Harmon guest-wrote the couch gag for the upcoming season finale of The Simpsons, which you can watch below:

– Speaking of The Simpsons, yesterday saw the news that Harry Shearer, the longtime voice of characters like Ned Flanders, Principal Skinner, and many other members of the show’s rich world, would be parting ways with the series. According to some reports, there’s still a chance that Shearer may come to terms with the show’s producers, but the roles are expected to be recast at this point.

I haven’t watched The Simpsons in years, but I’m hoping this paves the way for a Spinal Tap reunion.

– From the set of Captain America: Civil War, via JustJared, here’s the first image of Crossbones’ costume:

– Seth Rogen tweeted out the first on-set image from AMC’s Preacher last night, which sees Dominic Cooper’s Jesse Custer talking with Ian Colletti’s Arseface:

– According to Collider, the sequel to Dawn of the Planet of the Apes now has a title: War of the Planet of the Apes. It’s a bit of a mouth-full, but I guess no one would go see a movie called “Monkey Fight”, which I was lobbying pretty hard for.

– Lastly, there’s a pretty great True Detective Season 2 teaser out now via HBO. I may be more excited about this premiere than any other show this year, even the Mad Men finale!

Still smarting over the cancellation of Constantine by NBC? Wondering what may be next for Vertigo television adaptations?

Here’s your chance to find out, as FOX has revealed the first trailer for their adaptation of Mike Carey‘s Lucifer as a part of their Upfronts presentation:

It is definitely a far cry from the Sandman spin-off that I loved so dearly, but perhaps this sort of wider audience appeal will register with more viewers. The critically panned, but very popular Gotham has been a huge hit for FOX, and scores the biggest ratings of any comics-based series outside of The Walking Dead. The network has some confidence in their ability to turn DC properties into hits, so we’ll see if it holds up.

Here’s the synopsis:

The Devil has come to Los Angeles…

Based upon the characters created by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth and Mike Dringenberg for DC Entertainment’s Vertigo imprint, LUCIFER is the story of the original fallen angel. Bored and unhappy as the Lord of Hell, LUCIFER MORNINGSTAR (Tom Ellis, “Merlin”) has abandoned his throne and retired to L.A., where he owns Lux, an upscale nightclub.

Charming, charismatic and devilishly handsome, Lucifer is enjoying his retirement, indulging in a few of his favorite things – wine, women and song – when a beautiful pop star is brutally murdered outside of Lux. For the first time in roughly 10 billion years, he feels something awaken deep within him as a result of this murder. Compassion? Sympathy? The very thought disturbs him – as well as his best friend and confidante, MAZIKEEN aka MAZE (Lesley-Ann Brandt, “The Librarians”), a fierce demon in the form of a beautiful young woman.

The murder attracts the attention of LAPD homicide detective CHLOE DANCER (Lauren German, “Chicago Fire”), who initially is dismissive of Lucifer. But she becomes intrigued by his talent for drawing out people’s secrets and his desire to dispense justice, doling out punishment to those who deserve it. As they work together to solve the pop star’s murder, Lucifer is struck by Chloe’s inherent goodness. Accustomed to dealing with the absolute worst of humanity, Lucifer is intrigued by Chloe’s apparent purity and begins to wonder if there’s hope for his own soul yet.

At the same time, God’s emissary, the angel AMENADIEL (DB Woodside, “Suits,” “24”), has been sent to Los Angeles to convince Lucifer to return to the underworld…can the Devil incarnate be tempted toward the side of Good, or will his original calling pull him back toward Evil?

Lucifer will premiere in 2016.

This icy force both foul and fair has a frozen heart worth mining.

Well, I had hoped to wait until May before updating my movie calendar, but then Bob Iger had to go and hold an annual shareholder’s meeting for Disney.

…which means that all sorts of stuff got announced, so here’s the latest.

NOTE:  My colleagues have noted the confusion over Warner Brothers’ superhero schedule.

To be clear: past Suicide Squad, WB/DC Entertainment has not matched announced movies with opening dates.

So, you will see a listing like:

and

That does not mean that there are two movies scheduled, only that DCE is planning movies, and has claimed dates.  Other news sites have linked titles to dates.  This has not been officially announced or confirmed by Warner Brothers, and until I see official confirmation, will continue to list the names and dates separately.  When do I expect to see that confirmation?  Either at a shareholder’s meeting, or sometime in July or August, just like last year.  Like last year, I expect Marvel, via D23, to make a bigger splash than DC, although DC could try to win Comic-Con this year, given Marvel Studio’s suspected absence.

Updates in BOLD.

And we were just talking about Deadpool yesterday…

Former mixed martial artist and Haywire star Gina Carano has signed on to the Ryan Reynolds starring X-Men spin-off. THR has relayed that she’ll be playing a character named Angel Dust, and while my X-Men universe knowledge is deplorable, I understand she’s a part of the Morlocks.

It was only a matter of time before one of these superhero flicks picked up Carano, whose action chops are impeccable.

Additionally they report that T.J. Miller (Silicon Valley) is in place for a comic relief role, and that Colossus will also be returning for the picture. There’s no indication whether or not Daniel Cudmore will still be playing him, but fans of the character have to be a little excited that there’s a chance he’ll get some of the spotlight finally.

Here’s their description of the film, directed by Tim Miller and scheduled to open on February 12, 2016:

Reynolds is an assassin who is dying of cancer who undergoes a procedure that is supposed to cure him but ends up twisted and scarred while also imbued with super-powers.

It’s almost the end of the week, so let’s gather up a few more of today’s entertainment headlines:

– While on the press circuit promoting their new film, Focus, Will Smith and Margot Robbie discussed with USA Today the casting situation with the now-vacant Rick Flagg role in David Ayer‘s Suicide Squad:

Robbie: This happens all the time. People act like, ‘Oh my god, the movie must be ending!’ It’s just the deal with movies.” Not to mention “a lot of the characters haven’t been portrayed before so it’s a pretty big undertaking. And it’s a big undertaking for the people who are going to play the characters who have been played, like the Joker (to be played by Jared Leto). It’s big shoes to fill.

Smith:  Ayer “turned the screenplay in before Christmas. What happens is Hollywood shuts down. But he was still working and he wanted to (start shooting) April 13th. So it takes a couple weeks to gear back up at the top of the year and people have taken (other) movies. He’s moving really quickly.

A few days ago, Umberto Gonzalez over at Latino-Review stated on Twitter that the Rick Flagg casting may be announced this week. We still have a day to go, so it’s possible that we may see some resolution there. I’m going to throw my money on Joel Edgerton, but it’s probably just because I just saw Zero Dark Thirty again on FX last night.

– Ryan Reynolds took to twitter today and celebrated being one year out from the release of 2016’s Deadpool, teasing fans with the mask that will be used in the upcoming film:

Sepia tone disguises the fact the mask is ballerina pink. It’s early. 365 sleeps early. #deadpool #prototypes pic.twitter.com/PekFa2KS7S

— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) February 12, 2015

The fact that they’re even using a mask is cause for some celebration.

– It’s been some time since Sam Hamm had last been on the scene. The Tim Burton Batman, Monkeybone, and one-time Watchmen screenwriter’s most recent on-screen credit was for an episode of Masters of Horror about ten years ago. That all changes today, as Viz Entertainment has announced that Hamm will be adapting Sayuri Ueda‘s short story The Street of Fruiting Bodies, which originated in the Phantasm Japan anthology, into a feature-length film. That anthology, it’s worth noting, comes from the same imprint (Viz Media’s Haikasoru) as All You Need Is Kill, which was eventually adapted into last year’s Edge of Tomorrow.

Viz describes the story in detail:

The Street of Fruiting Bodies depicts the sudden spread of a mysterious and lethal species of hallucinogenic mushroom. The infestation is deadly, but it also offers visions of deceased loved ones to the infected, hinting at the reality of an afterlife, or at least a new kind of existence that is beyond human comprehension.

Hamm elaborates on the project:

Ueda creates a world in which the most profound human emotions – love, grief, longing, and hope – can lead to one’s salvation or one’s undoing, and the true horror is that it may be impossible to tell the difference. ‘The Street of Fruiting Bodies’ is not only disturbing, it is moving.

– Lastly, do you have $375 bucks to spare? Then you can be the owner of this pretty stunning looking Ultron Figure from Hot Toys/Sideshow Collectibles, expected to ship in early 2016.

Here’s the updated dance card for superhero movies, selected animated films, and geek-centric films.

Updates are in bold.

While on the press circuit for this weekend’s release of Kingsman: The Secret Service (review), Matthew Vaughn discussed with JoBlo the possibility of returning to another Mark Millar property: the Kick-Ass series, of which he directed the first entry:

Do you know what’s going to be next if I do it… we’ve finished plotting it. What we have to do is, we’ve got to do the First Class to the Kick-Ass world. We lost a few fans on Kick-Ass 2. It wasn’t as loved as one would’ve hoped. So we have this idea for a Hit Girl prequel. It’s a really strong, really simple prequel where I think we can regain the love and the passion. If that happens, I’m pretty sure I can persuade Aaron and Chloe to come back and finish the story of Kick-Ass with Kick-Ass 3.

Saying Kick-Ass 2 wasn’t as loved as he would have hoped is a bit of an understatement, though to be fair, the second entry was directed by Jeff Wadlow, whereas Vaughn stepped back to produce. For those who really loved the initial Kick-Ass, perhaps Vaughn’s enthusiasm is a welcome turn?

Additionally, Vaughn mentions that The Raid helmer Gareth Evans had been in discussions for the Hit Girl film, which is certainly a choice that makes some amount of sense given the hyper-violent world those films present.

Per DC’s blog, Gotham is adding another name familiar to fans of genre material, as former Heroes star Milo Ventimiglia will be joining the series as an original character named Jason Lennon aka “The Ogre”.

Here’s how he’s described:

…a serial killer who has been preying on the young women of Gotham for nearly a decade, luring them into his web and confronting them with a series of “tests” as he searches for his perfect mate. When the women fail to live up to his impossible standard, Lennon disposes of them quickly and viciously.

According to the report, Ventimiglia is joining the series for a multi-episode arc starting in Episode 19 and will be pit in what sounds like a “cat and mouse” game between his character and Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie).

More original characters like this seem to make greater sense for the series’ trajectory, which is introducing Batman’s Rogues Gallery in various forms while Bruce hasn’t even hit his teens yet. Hopefully we’re seeing the start of a trend.

How many superhero television shows can launch before our brains collectively X-plode? Fox is challenging our expectations by confirming the company is actively looking into making an X-Men television show a reality. TV Insider broke the news and shared quotes from Fox Entertainment Chairman, Gary Newman, who announced the info to the outlet at the Television Critics Association Press Tour. As Newman states, the show cannot debut before the upcoming 2016 – 2017 television season.

He shared the following quote:

It’s in negotiations…We’re cautiously optimistic, we had a good meeting with them. That will not be on a fast track creatively. This is just the deal, now we have to find the creative.

Does anyone else care to run down a few superhero shows entering their second and third seasons?:

Arrow

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

What about a couple comic book shows in the middle of their first season?:

The Flash

Constantine

Marvel’s Agent Carter

Gotham

Plus, just a few of the television shows currently in development or about to debut:

Supergirl

The Marvel Netflix shows (Daredevil, AKA Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Defenders)

Vixen

Powers

Titans

In addition, there are an assortment of X-Men films coming to the screen as well:

Deadpool (2017)

Gambit (2017)

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

Long-live the failed Generation X show and every other comic book series we forgot to mention on this list. TV Insider stated that Fox still needs the blessing from Marvel, so the road to an X-Men show is going to be a long one.

When Gotham kicked off last year, the show began with a number of proto-versions of Batman’s Rogues gallery such as The Riddler, Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and of course The Penguin (who, played by Robin Lord Taylor, has sort of worked his way into MVP status on the show according to its fans, along with Jada Pinkett Smith’s Fish Mooney).

Just a few episodes into its run, and rumors were already flying around regarding the Joker possibly appearing, either through red herrings in every episode, or even the wild theory that Oswald Cobblepot was actually the Joker.

Today, Executive Producer Bruno Heller has revealed that The Red Hood is coming to Gotham, and as we know, where that hood usually goes…the Joker is soon to follow.

From an interview via CBR:

There’s going to be an episode that involves the Red Hood…which picks up that strand, the costume strand, and sort of gives a kind of philosophical base, if that’s not too pretentious a word. Why costumes? What’s the power of costumes? What’s the power of a mask? All of that groundwork will be laid sort of culturally for that side of the DC Universe before we start rolling into the more spectacular spandex type of deal.

With Bruce at his current pre-teen state, who is going to drive The Red Hood into that infamous vat of chemicals? Perhaps this will be the first of the Red Hood gang and the eventual “Joker-to-be” comes later. Or maybe I’m putting more thought into this than Gotham‘s producers probably have. I’d love to be wrong.

It’s not a surprise, given that it was a fairly big ratings success, but FOX has renewed the Batman prequel series Gotham for another season.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the network felt confident in bringing back the Bruno Heller-created series based on its strong performance in the key 18-49 year old demographic, where it pulls a 4.2 rating. Additionally, Gotham draws around an average of 10.6 million viewers per episode. It also ranks as the #1 drama among men in the 18-49 and 18-34 demos.

Also, THR’s report states that Gotham‘s live-plus-seven ratings, which take DVR numbers into account, give it the largest post-three-day ratings boost of any drama ever!

People sure love their Batman! I dropped out after the third episode, but is The Beat readership still enjoying it? Does another year of the series seem like a good prospect?

Today we look at the work of Sam Lyon, Cartoon Brew's Artist of the Day!

Without question, “Gotham” is one of the most successful television series to hit the fall season. The show debuted with a strong 8 million viewers, and has kept 6 million fans weekly. There has been an unexpected decrease, but FOX considers the Batman spin off one of the highest rated dramas in the last 14 years.

The show and Warner Bros., have been under scrutiny for attempting to “paint down” a white stuntwoman to body double for Jada Pinkett Smith. “Painting down” is Hollywood’s PG term for black face. NPR interviewed legendary, retired black stuntwoman Jadie Davis because she’s known for her vocal position on the (white) boys club mentality among the stuntman community. Davis got her start in the 1970’s as a double for “Foxy Brown” star, Pam Grier.

From NPR:

“First and foremost, it’s offensive. It really shouldn’t happen,” David says. “Painting somebody down, what it actually does is it takes work from someone else. You just took a job away from an African-American actress.”

(snip)

In an upcoming documentary called Painted Down, (Bill) Cosby recounts his discomfort while watching his white stunt double being painted black. He was shocked to find out producer Sheldon Leonard had paid the body double $750 for the work, roughly $5,600 in today’s money.

“And I said, ‘Sheldon, you can save your money on makeup, because I know some guys I grew up with in the projects who will do that just for free dinner and a ticket to Hollywood for a day, and go to Disneyland,’ ” Cosby says.

Fortunately, WB decided to hire a black stuntwoman and stated that “painting down” was a bad idea:

“A mistake was made this week in casting a stunt woman for a guest star in a particular scene on the show,” the studio said in a statement. “The situation has been rectified, and we regret the error.”

Okay, I admit it, I’ve been withholding information.

I was afraid to show you.

But you see, right around May 1st (not the date on the video) I was going through the videos, watching cute little fox kits tumbling all over the place, wondering which one I was going to show you on FB next,   when I saw a image that stopped my heart.

I gasped. “No!” I watched the video again.

Ben and David ran into the room to see what I saw.

Fox Den In Danger

I quickly watched the next video which showed an adult frantically sniffing the den opening.  So did the one after that. It wasn’t until four videos and two hours later (on the cam)  that I finally saw this.

Two Hours Later

But, five days later (still cam time), there was nothing.  No videos with kits.

Two weeks went by.  No kits.  Just adults.

I began to worry.

Obsessively.

Until an eighth grade neighbor found me between classes at school.  “Mrs. Wight, Mrs. Wight!” he called.  “Guess what I saw this weekend?  Me and my family, we were coming home and a fox crossed our driveway with a line of kits behind her!”

I just stared at him for a minute.  Then I grinned.  “Gabe!  You have my foxes! How many kits?”

“I think there were six,” he told me.

As it turns out, they moved to an abandoned den on his property. In my research I discovered that fox have a series of dens they use.  One by one, that mom took her kits across my property to his.  And I can tell you, it’s quite a hike.

But that’s what you do, to save your family when it’s in danger.

I couldn’t resist going to their den that very afternoon.  I was sitting on the grass taking photos of the kits through the brush, when my neighbor arrived on his bike.

As we talked in hushed tones about the fox behavior we’d seen on our trail cams , the fox kits watched us warily.

“Are you really writing a book about them?” he asked.

“I am!” I told him.  “Book 3. It’s just an idea right now, but I’m researching.”

“Cool.  Anything I can do, Mrs. Wight, you let me know,” he said, as he rolled his bike back and forth.

“I’d love to know if you see anything  interesting through your trail cam that they do,” I told him.

He nodded.  “I can do that.”

I can’t wait to hear what he discovers.

While Fox’s Sunday night lineup was dubbed Animation Domination in May 2005, it did not officially become all-animated until 2010. Now, the announcement of their fall 2014 schedule reveals that the cartoons will be ceding some of their Sunday night territory to live-action comedies "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" and "Mulaney," which will be taking over the 8:30 and 9:30 time slots, respectively.

I’ve only visited the fox den a handful of times, and recently I was lucky enough to catch either one or two kits peeking out from the den opening.  Last year there’d been five, so I admit to being a little sad at seeing only two.

And then I saw this clip from the trail cam.

Hold Still So I Can Count You!

Can you imagine feeding that many??   I have forty clips to wade through . . . and I’m enjoying every minute of it.

Here’s another of my favorites so far

Tumbling Kits

Mom and Kits

Each of these is research!  Glorious first hand, research!

Such a tough job, watching these cute little buggers over and over and over so I get all the details right on their behavior.  But somebody’s gotta do it.

Fox's experiment with late-night animation didn't go as well as they had anticipated. The network will end its Saturday late-night animation block ADHD (Animation Domination High-Def) in June, less than a year after it began. It was originally created as a replacement for the cancelled sketch comedy show "MADtv."

I went to the fox den today, just thinking I’d be collecting the SD card from the trail cam.  But I didn’t get that far.  Once I saw these adorable kits outside the den entrance, I knew I had to keep my distance.

I set up my camera and extended the lens. I itched to get closer, but resisted the urge. Two very young kits lay in the opening, curled around each other, soaking up a sunbeam.

I never *sneak* in to see them, quite the opposite in fact.  I let my hiking boots crunch and snap twigs so they know I’m coming and have the opportunity to hide.

These two didn’t scramble away though. They just peeked in my direction through sleepy lids . . .

Stumbled around a bit on wobbly legs .  . .

Curled up together again, and fell back asleep.

I

I never did collect that SD card, as I would have had to take another seven giant steps in their direction.  Why disturb their nap in the sunshine?

The card can wait. I got what I needed for today.

It seems that Fox—which controls the X-men and Fantastic Four film franchises— and Sony—which controls Spider-Man—have come to an agreement to create their OWN variant earth-2 Marvel Cinematic Universe, starting with a cut scene at the end of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2. Foreign viewers are already tweeting about it. I’ve greyed out the relevant info below.

The “Amazing Spider-Man 2″ opens today overseas, and fans are already buzzing on Twitter over its end credits. The Sony Pictures release concludes with a teaser for the upcoming “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” a new sequence that has been added since “Spidey 2″ premiered in London last week.

The montage, which features a blue Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique, is meant to mimic the coda scenes that conclude the Disney and Marvel Pictures juggernauts, including “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” which introduce new characters.

And yes, it’s a Fox-controlled X-character.

But is this REALLY the start of a titanic cross studio promotion? According to Variety a more prosaic contract detail is the cause. It seems SPIDEY director Marc Webb had a deal with Fox Searchlight, who only let him out of it to make Spidey for Sony on the condition that the movie promote the X-men for free.

So don’t expect to see Spidey in the FF any time soon. That’s ONLY for the comics, folks.

Amazing Spider-Man 2 opens on May 2.