Over at the site known as Moviehole, the individual known as "mink" stopped by to do an interview concerning the third Mortal Kombat film. mink is the current attached director to the project. While not much new was given concerning the movie, he did confirm it was still in the planning stages, though nowhere near a production state yet. From the article:

The status of the film, as of today, is that "...the Producers are working out their deals with the studio and arranging their financing", says the director, who helmed Steven Seagal's "Into the Sun".

mink says the project isn't so much a sequel as it is a "re-envisioning(if that is a word) of the Mortal Kombat franchise from top to bottom. Todays audience is a savvy involved group so the film must be A plus plus in every area in order to capture the magic of the first film. It is taking the entire concept to the next level across the board in every area visual design, story, cast, FX, photography and most importantly the fighting scenes. The original Mortal Kombat game was born a child of many visual loves by the creators at midway so this latest version borrows heavily from that pioneering spirit and must be thought out and executed at the highest level in order for it succeed in today's market place. This is no overnight task."

...

Though Drew McWeeny and Scott Swan wrote the original draft of the script, "the writing has been handled by the Producers and their writers at Threshold Studios in conjunction with Midway, of course."

Meanwhile, at our network site, the Unofficial MK3 Movie Page, Shinnokxz reports that while Drew McWeeny was mentioned in the interview as having written the original script, he has stated via the website Ain't It Cool News (at which he works) that he has had no recent involvement with the movie.

I haven’t had any contact with these producers for years now, and I have no idea what forward progress is being made or what script they’re using. I’ll know when everyone else does.

To read the original Moviehole article, click here. To read Drew McWeeny's report on AICN, click here.

Our thanks to Clint at Moviehole and for letting us know about this new article!

The folks who brought us the live action video game parody Press Start, which was released on DVD in September 2007, are continuing their cartoon shorts "Bonus Levels" with a series that will be available for mobile phones in Early 2008. From the web site:

It's a new animated videogame parody series based on the live-action movie Press Start. A ragtag bunch of adventurers is the videogame world's last ray of hope against an insecure sorcerer and his villainous friends!

Press Start Adventures also features videogame voice actors from series like Mortal Kombat, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Castlevania. Plus music by Contra 4 game composer Jake Kaufman.

Each episode will be 2-3 minutes long. The first 14 episodes will be edited versions of the existing "Bonus Levels" cartoons, with 10 new episodes to be released which take place after the events of the movie.

To read the entire article on IGN, click here. To visit the Press Start Adventures website, click here.

As everyone gathers together with friends and family this holiday season, we here at MK Online have another reason to celebrate. It hardly seems like it, but nine years ago today MK5.ORG, the site that would eventually become known as Mortal Kombat Online, opened its doors for the first time. A lot has happened since then, including the release of four console Mortal Kombat games (back then, even the release of one seemed to be a distant dream), four handheld MK games, and the resurgence of the Mortal Kombat franchise. It's been a long road travelled.

So, what does the future bring for us? In 2008, Midway plans on releasing Mortal Kombat 8; details of this game have been scarce, other than a projected release date, the use of Unreal Engine 3, and the intention to return MK to its dark and gritty roots. We'll be continuing our coverage of the game as new information becomes available. Site-wise, we'll be beginning the process of rewriting the site code to a new version. We've been running V.7 since the release of Mortal Kombat: Deception, and we feel it's time for a new release. We may not have it done this year, as we want to make sure it's done right, but we will be working on it.

In closing, all of us at Mortal Kombat Online want to wish all of you a very safe and joyous holiday season, whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or another holiday. We're thankful to have had you join us through these past nine years, and we look forward to serving you, the community, as the release of Mortal Kombat 8 comes closer.

Mortal Kombat made national headlines today, this time in part to a tragic child's death in Colorado. From the article:

JOHNSTOWN, Colo. (AP) — Two teens have been charged with killing the 7-year-old sister of one of them by beating her with imitations of moves from the "Mortal Kombat" video game, prosecutors said.

Lamar Roberts, 17, and Heather Trujillo, 16, were charged as adults on one count each of felony child abuse causing death, state prosecutor Robert Miller said in court do

cuments released Wednesday and filed a day earlier.

According to a police affidavit, the teens were baby-sitting Trujillo's half-sister, Zoe Garcia, on Dec. 6 while the girl's mother was at work. Zoe lost consciousness and stopped breathing after the teens hit, kicked and body-slammed her, imitating moves used in the video game, the document said. Read the article in full by clicking here.

It looks like the folks at Jazwares have released a new version of the Noob Saibot figure, this one more accurate to the costume worn in the game. As you can see from the photo below, which shows the two Noob figures side by side, there is much more contrast, with the parts of the figure that were originally gray much blacker, and the highlights on the chest much brighter. This figure is already available in retail stores everywhere. A huge thanks to MK Online forum member of Fuzzd0rk's Mortal Kombat for the news as well as the photo!