The Buy Pile for Sept. 11, 2013

Another “New Comics Day” has come and gone, leaving us with a new assortment of DC’s “Villains Month” covers, complete with glorious lenticular razzle-dazzle. Based on the insanely negative press the publisher has been receiving as of late based on their refusal to allow Batwoman to marry her girlfriend and, well, this, perhaps placating fans with 3D imagery is DC’s strong suit for the moment. So … good for them?

On the plus side, Marvel’s X-Men: Battle of the Atom is off to a strong start, which is really saying something since X-Men crossover “events” can be head-slappingly, face-palmingly convoluted. I’m sure there will be plenty of time for that in the seven remaining installments, but let’s enjoy what we have thus far.

Speaking of enjoyment (worst transition ever, I know), but you likely got pretty excited that not only does the new Jurassic Park flick have a release date of June 12, 2015, but it’s got a title as well: Jurassic World. This leads me to believe that the Steven Spielberg-produced 3D film will be fairly large and ambitious in scope, which will give the series a necessary shot in the arm after two mostly-forgettable sequels. Or it’ll just be a lot of people running away from prehistoric monsters which is ... still pretty cool, regardless.

‘Jurassic Park 4’ Confirmed for 2014!

Jurassic Park’s 3D re-release this spring won’t be the last time we’ll get to see Steven Spielberg’s genetically-engineered dinosaurs on the big screen. Variety reports that Spielberg will produce a fourth Jurassic Park film, which will be penned by Rise of the Planet of the Apes scribes Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver.

The sequel’s tentative release date is June 13, 2014, which means that Universal Pictures will be hard-pressed to resurrect the presumably extinct franchise in a very short period of time. No director is attached at the moment, but let’s all cross our fingers that Spielberg returns to the director’s chair. After all, it’s not like he’s going to be tied up with a sequel to Lincoln or anything.

For the full story, click here.

Spielberg Talks ‘Indy 4,’ ‘Nuking the Fridge’ and the possibility of another ‘Jurassic Park’ Film

It’s settled then. As much as jaded children of the ‘80s blamed Star Wars mastermind George Lucas for Indiana Jones’ refrigerator-aided escape from a nuclear explosion in 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, director and longtime Lucas collaborator Steven Spielberg claims full responsibility for the ill-received sequence.

“Blame me. Don't blame George,” Spielberg said in a recent interview with Empire. “That was my silly idea. People stopped saying ‘jump the shark.’ They now say, ‘nuked the fridge.’ I'm proud of that. I'm glad I was able to bring that into popular culture."

What Spielberg isn’t necessarily proud of was the inclusion of aliens (or “inter-dimensional beings”) at the core of the story. The director seems to side with critics and fans who don’t think extraterrestrials belong in the Indiana Jones series.

“I didn't want these things to be either aliens or inter-dimensional beings,” Spielberg admitted. “But I am loyal to my best friend. When he writes a story he believes in—even if I don’t believe in it—I’m going to shoot the movie the way George [envisioned] it.”

But what about Jurassic Park 4, a film that has been talked about for the better part of the last decade? Spielberg claims we could be seeing his dinosaurs wreck havoc once again in the near future.

“The screenplay is being written right now by Mark Protosevich,” he said. “I’m hoping that will come out in the next couple of years. We have a good story. We have a better story for four than we had for three...”

Let’s hope so. For the full story, click here.