INCREDIBLE HULK

Thunderbolt Ross isn't a bad man, he's just overwhelmed. Or so actor William Hurt told Collider (ooh, audio interview too). When asked if his character was a villain, Hurt said, "Noooo. He's conflicted ... I love broad characters. I love the broad strokes. It's fantastic, as long as you get a 360 degree turn. It doesn't matter -- it's like a different painting. I was asking a friend of mine - give me a subject to paint and give me what paints you want me to use, what platform you want me to paint on, what form do you want, what style do you want. She just started talking. Same is true of acting. And a cartoon can be great. Great. In fact 'Hulk' was great. In 'Hulk,' General Ross, father of the paramour of Bruce, so-called nemesis of The Hulk. Wants Hulk's power but is humiliated by Hulk's conscience. He actually sees and occasionally recognizes that it's more developed than his own, even though he's a patriot and a warrior for his country, has sacrificed immensely for that purpose, but at the expense of, at times all of his humanity, which he occasionally recovers glimpses of. Interesting, you know."

WATCHMEN

Are you excited to see Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' vision realized on screen? There might be a problem with that, and CBR News tells you why.

Meanwhile, Watchmen Comic Movie has a fan Q&A with director Zack Snyder, who talks about the struggle to get the movie made. "People have been trying to make 'Watchmen' for eighteen years -- and it's a difficult project. I think there are several things that have helped to finally get 'Watchmen' into production this time. I think for one, as we get further away from 1985, the concept of making a movie set in 1985 becomes more viable -- because it's more of a period piece. Before, it might have just been too close to 1985. Funny enough, as time passed and the project was still in development, most other versions, actually all, planned on updating the story to a modern, or at the time, present day setting. Thankfully, we were able to abandon that approach and set the film back in 1985. I guess a few other factors came together as well -- the success of '300,' my appreciation for comic book and graphic stories, and a willing studio that had faith. I don't know if they didn't exist elsewhere, but I just know that within the context of what I wanted to do, those three strong elements came together to get 'Watchmen' green-lit."

G.I. JOE

There seems to be a problem filling in the beryllium steel mask, as both the Hollywood Reporter and IESB are reporting that "Dr. Who" and "Heroes" actor Christopher Eccleston will replace actor David Murray as arms dealer James McCullen Destro.

Speaking of IESB, they have an article noting that writer Larry Hama, who's consulting on the film and who is synonymous with the landmark Marvel Comics run on the property, wants fan questions via short videos that might be posted online at a later date.

SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN

CBR News has a first look at a production still from the new animated series. You can hear the theme song on the official website. The series debuts with back-to-back episodes March 8th.

TRANSFORMERS 2

Strike shmike -- ILM's Scott Farrar is quoted at IESB talking about the next wave headed in from Cybertron. "We've started. You may find this unusual but Michael's added a lot more robots," Farrar said. "We've seen some of the beginning animatics. They're unbelievable. We don't want it to be a dud and this one is going to be huge production value, just amazing performances from all the robots and the unbelievable scenes they're going to be involved in."

In a video interview with IESB, director Michael Bay said, "You're going to see a lot of different new stuff. It's just the tip of the iceberg what we saw last movie, in terms of characters and different type of species, I guess." Species? Ooh.

SPEED RACER

Actor Matthew Fox briefly discussed playing Racer X in an interview with Moviehole. "I didn't know 'Speed Racer' at all," Fox said. "Again, getting back to that thing about how directors are very important, when the Wachowskis asked to meet with me, I guess they're fans of Lost and they had an idea that I might be Racer X, and I went into the meeting never knowing anything about 'Speed Racer.' I wanted to work with the Wachowskis. That meeting went great and I went home with a script, and I got the source material and watched a lot of 'Speed Racer,' and the script blew me away and then I went after that role. I went back to L.A. and I really went after that role, I wanted it, and it took like six weeks. Working with the Wachowskis and the cast on this particular film, and what this film is going to be like, how much it's a game-changer in my opinion, was an extraordinary experience, it was amazing."

JUSTICE LEAGUE: NEW FRONTIER

Actor Kyle MacLachlan is the subject of a feature at Toon Zone. "Superman stands for so many things that I believe in Ð strength, justice, fighting for what's right," said MacLachlan. "You just can't turn down the opportunity to play a guy like Superman."

WGA STRIKE WATCH: DAY ONE HUNDRED

Today WGA members vote on the contract and could be back at work by tomorrow. The Guild is still listening to voices for and against the deal from within their membership.

The pundits are all hard at work breaking down their opinions on who won and who lost in this hundred-day old labor struggle (including some people already left out in the cold).

Many are saying that new media is the real winner (having the Best Week Ever?) while others are saying the strike was worth it even with a reported two billion in losses over the three month period.

Fans are on another page entirely: wondering when they'll see new episodes of their favorite shows.

Things are winding down, but there's still much happening around the issue.

THE CASTING COUCH

We can't do this without you. The rumors, the scoops, the set photos -- they're all fueled by passionate fans emailing in the goods. The ones who ask, "What do you mean your sister's dating somebody who works for Miles Millar?" The ones who know the code names of movie projects and scour city permit filings for them. The devoted, the involved. Fans, just like you. Whatever you know, we wanna know, and whether you want your name shouted to the web's rafters or kept closer than a classified report, we've got you covered like a comforter. Broadcasting live from Los Angeles, this is your humble scribe Hannibal Tabu saying thank you for your time and indulgence, and [tagline redacted until the WGA strike is resolved].