Need proof that major comic book publishers fear that print comics are a dying commodity? News from DC’s camp may just be that. Word has recently come in that the megapublisher will be changing all current comics that are priced at $3.99 to be slashed down to $2.99 starting in January of 2011.

From a DC press release:

“As Co-Publishers, we listened to our fans and to our partners in the retail community who told us that a $3.99 price point for 32 pages was too expensive. Fans were becoming increasingly reluctant to sample new titles and long term fans were beginning to abandon titles and characters that they’d collected for years.” said Dan DiDio, DC Comics Co-Publisher.

“We needed a progressive pricing strategy that supports our existing business model and, more importantly, allows this creative industry to thrive for years to come. With the exceptions of oversized comic books, like annuals and specials, we are committed to a $2.99 price point.”

When taking into account mini-series, annuals and specials, more than 80% of DC’s comic books will be priced at $2.99.

This effects many of the major titles and ongoing stories such as American Vampire, Batman: The Dark Knight, Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors, and JSA All-Stars as well as many licensed titles like Gears of War, God of War, Kane & Lynch, and Ratchet & Clank. All of those titles will now be slashed down to $2.99.

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MGM is one of those staple studios that has been around since the beginning. To this day, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer is one of the oldest studios that is still producing films, but sadly it looks like that won’t be for very long. The studio has been hemorrhaging money for some time, and when put up for sale, it hasn’t gotten large enough bids from other studios to consider a deal.

At this point, MGM obtained to sole distribution rights to one major franchise in James Bond. They teamed up with Sony to produce and distribute Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, but that didn’t seem enough to keep the studio afloat long enough to produce the next film.

In a recent press release from EON Productions Ltd., a production company who has worked with the franchise since Dr. No back in 1962, they seem to think this is the end of production for Bond 23.

“Due to the continuing uncertainty surrounding the future of MGM and the failure to close a sale of the studio, we have suspended development on ‘Bond 23′ indefinitely,” the duo said. “We do not know when development will resume and do not have a date for the release.”

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Marvel fans who have been dreaming about future sequels to Iron Man, X-Men, The Incredible Hulk and Spider-Man might be entering into a creative nightmare. According to The Hollywood Reporter the children of comic book icon Jack Kirby have officially sued Marvel to terminate copyrights and gain profits from such lucrative comic creations as Iron Man, X-Men, The Incredible Hulk and Spider-Man.

The suit, officially filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, is a follow-up move from the 45 notices of termination the estate sent out to Marvel, and owner the Walt Disney Co., as well as Sony, Universal, Fox in September of 2009. Marvel responded in January, filing its own lawsuit, claiming the creations were “work-made-for-hire” and that Marvel was the real “author” of such works under the 1909 Copyright Act.

Kirby’s heirs are seeking declaratory relief, including copyright termination and profits, focusing on Kirby’s chief creative period, from 1958 to 1963, when Marvel existed in a tiny office with few employees and relied upon “freelancers to which they had little or no obligation.” As such, they are disputing Marvel’s claim that all creations were “work for hire.”

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It’s Tuesday so that must mean it’s a day for lawsuits, at least where Apple, Inc. is concerned. Case in point, our favorite fruit flavored technology company is suing hardware maker HTC for infringement of 20 patents concerning the iPhone user interface and its hardware and architecture. The lawsuit was filed with the U.S. International Trade Comission and in the U.S. District Court of Deleware.

Steve Jobs himself had this to say about the lawsuit: “We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We’ve decided to do something about it,” said Jobs. “We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.” Yeah, he seems a bit miffed about the whole thing.

Although the Google Nexus One is not mentioned specifically in the lawsuit and HTC does make several other Android handsets, some could argue the touchscreen models interface does look quite a bit like the iPhone’s. Still, “quite a bit” does not necessarily a lawsuit make. Could it just be a bit of posturing to warn others away from trying to steal Apple’s ideas or to slow down the progress Android is making in the marketplace? Maybe.

Apple has the right to defend it’s ideas and the cash to try and punish those it deems responsible for stealing said ideas. However, I was kinda hoping to get my hands on a Nexus One when it is released for Verizon. I hope this lawsuit doesn’t hold that up. Neither HTC nor Google has issued a statement yet concerning the lawsuit.

This week on the radar we’ve got news on Steven Spielberg’s potential return to dinosaurs, the status of the third Mortal Kombat film, NBC gets a Gold in the ratings competition, and what comic book legend may show up on one of our favorite shows, The Big Bang Theory.

Let’s see what blips are on the radar this week.

Boba Fett, finally the deadliest action figure in a galaxy far, far away

If you’re like me, you grew up on the first generation of Star Wars toys and action figures. You know the ones, they had a massive (sarcasm) five points of articulation. Well, one figure that was sort of an urban legend was the missile-firing Boba Fett.  We all heard of it, but rarely saw it.  Well, now it can be yours with the purchase of five other figures!  Offer expires 3/31/2011, while supplies last, only valid in US and Canada…and a whole lot of other legal fine print I’m sure.

Tron: Legacy viral campaign starts to gear up

Disney teased everyone at last year’s Comic Con about a Tron viral campaign. With the highly anticipated film set to open this December online viral goodness have started to trickle out.  The first is a new site with a somewhat enigmatic theme to it.  Can you figure out what it is?  I don’t want to ruin it, but if you must know check this link out.

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We at The Flickcast are pretty diligent about serving up all the news that comes out each week. However, try as we may to cover it all, some things occassionally slip by. Well, no longer.

Welcome to On The Radar! This weekly post will be your premiere destination for a comprehensive roundup of items that may be developing stories we’re watching, Twitter commentary, or other relevant news that wasn’t quite ready for prime time just yet.  In short, a grab bag of geek items which are sure to please.

Let’s see what blips are on the radar this week.

‘Zombieland’ devours video rentals

Zombieland dominated the video lists this week, “…on the Nielsen VideoScan Blu-ray Disc chart, “Zombieland” went three for three, bowing at No. 1 and …racked up 31% of its total first-week sales from the Blu-ray Disc.” Way to go Zombieland, we can’t wait for the sequeal.

‘Avatar’ 3D boosts Cineplex ticket sales in Canada

3D showings of Avatar did wonders for Cineplex’s bottom line in Canada, “Despite running for only 13 days during its latest financial frame, “Avatar 3D” was Cineplex’s biggest boxoffice performer during the fourth quarter to Dec. 31, and has done around $74 million in Canadian ticket receipts to date.” No surprise really given the popularity of this film and the fact 3D showings are still being sold, out or causing line-ups.

Geek flicks drive Viacom profits

DVD and Blu-Ray disc sales from Star Trek, Transformers 2 and G.I. Joe stimulated Viacom’s fourth quarter earnings to the tune of $694 million.  Not bad considering the $173 million it made in the same quarter in 2008.  Also helping was the indie hit Paranormal Activity which increased operating expenses by 24%.

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Many people speculated that MacGruber, an upcoming film based on a series of 60-second spoofs on Saturday Night Live, would be a terrible idea. Then we saw the first two trailers for the film and realized it may actually turn out to be pretty funny. Now that the rest of the world is in agreement, there seems to be trouble ahead for the filmmakers.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the creator of the original MacGyver, Lee Zlotoff, had a deal with New Line back in March of 2009 to produce a film based on his 1985 series. The idea sat on a shelf for other projects like Friday The 13th and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past could come to fruition. Months later, Relativity Media went forward with their MacGruber production, which was basically a script mocking Zlotoff’s original premise.

Zlotoff was not happy about this, and began drafting cease-and-desist letters to Relativity. From THR:

“We feel they’re infringing our rights,” Zlotoff lawyer Paul Mayersohn told us Tuesday. As the film’s April 23 release date approaches, Mayersohn says he’s meeting with litigators to determine a course of action, which might include filing a copyright and/or trademark lawsuit and attempting to get an injunction against the film’s release.

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Once again, the country has been split. This time, it’s not for for land, democracy, money, or rap music, but the coveted prize of NBC’s The Tonight Show. The country’s sides are broken down to “Team Conan” and “Team Leno.” Though the latter should be “Team NBC”, nobody wants to take sides with the network after the decisions they’ve made.

Of course there are people who remain independent, or on “Team Dave”, but they don’t really matter here. With NBC announcing that their letting Conan go, fellow celebrity supporters of O’Brien are standing up and taking as many potshots at the network as they can on national TV. One of those supporters is Saturday Night Live’s Seth Meyers.

Meyers is not only the first solo host of Weekend Update since Colin Quinn back in 2000, but he’s also the show’s current head writer. Meyers took a moment to explain the “Late Night War” in a pretty marital analogy for everyone to understand, which both enlightened us, and stuck it to NBC CEO Jeff Zucker at the same time. Take a look at the clip after the jump.

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Ever since Joss Whedon put in his open request for the rights of the Terminator franchise back in November, things have been pretty quiet on the front of studios bidding for the sci-fi property. The first news came through yesterday, as Lionsgate put in an offer for $15 million, with a 5% cut of future gross receipts.

The property was originally put up back in September, as the company currently holding the rights, The Halcyon Group, filed for bankruptcy. The auction includes just about anything Terminator, which include the rights to future films, TV series, DVDs, and any merchandise that gets produced.

Up until now, the films have been around the block, so to speak. Pacific West helped produce the rights to the first films, while distribution rights went to MGM, then Artisan and Columbia/Tri-Star, then to Warner Bros and Sony for the final two films. A purchase by Lionsgate could mean a resurgence in the franchise, as they are known for mildly successful reboots with Punisher: War Zone, 3:10 To Yuma, and Bangkok Dangerous.

Other studios have until February 4th to submit their offers, which have to top Lionsgate’s bid by at least $500,000 in order to count. The auction for all other “Terminator” assets will take place on February 8th in Los Angeles. No word on if Joss Whedon has plans on taking out his credit card to outbid the studio, but he’s still got time.

I think at this point Hulu has almost become as incorporated into modern life as Netflix, at least for many people. Recently, charts and statistics were released comparing it to 2009′s biggest blockbusters, and the breakdown of revenues and investors for the site. The charts enlighten us on audience numbers, grosses on opening weekends, and the amount of growth Hulu has seen since it was founded in March of 2007.

While the comparison doesn’t really seem to hold up, (perhaps, it would be better to see it compared to other online content portals, television networks, or possibly even cable providers) it is very interesting to see how Hulu is configured as well as some of the numbers they’ve pulled. With conversations and rumors percolating as to if (or when) the site will move to a subscription service, these numbers should show that the site is doing well enough as-is.

Until then, check out these very nice looking graphics after the break, which were created by the marketing firm Buzzpoint. and let us know what you think of Hulu possibly charging for their content.

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While most of the “best of 2009″ lists are petering off in the new year, there are still a few statistics still rolling in. One being the most-illegally-downloaded TV program of the year, which also happens to be one of the least popular. NBC’s Heroes has been on the bubble since last year, which is why the network only ordered half of a season for this year, and will be spreading the episodes out until Spring sweeps.

With that in mind, it would be considered that fans wouldn’t be rushing to their torrent sites or DVD stores to catch up on the super-powered drama, seeing as how they didn’t give it enough of a chance when it was on the air in the past. According to The Hollywood Reporter, that’s just what they’re doing.

“This year, the buzz is that the show may be on the verge of cancellation thanks to dwindling ratings (it averages about 6 million viewers a week, down from nearly 14 million when the show first premiered in 2006).

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C-Net News recently reported that the FBI has made an arrest in the case of the work-print of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, that was leaked and available for download a month before the movie was to be released theatrically. There apparently was nothing saying whether Gilberto Sanchez, 47, the man arrested, was responsible for the initial upload of the film, or how he might have acquired a copy to upload.

FBI Spokesperson Linda Eimiller said that the Bureau has not ruled out the possibility of more arrests, but didn’t comment further. If convicted, Sanchez could face up to three years in prison and/or a $250,000 fine.

The workprint that was released, as most will remember, was an unfinished version of the movie with wires still shown on performers and unfinished, or not-yet inserted effects. By the time Wolverine was released in theaters, it had been estimated that the pirated version had been downloaded over 4 million times. This didn’t seem to hurt the box office too badly, as it still opened to a nice $85 Million domestically and has earned nearly $375 Million since it’s release in May.

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