TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles

Us consumers of pop culture all know that there are secrets and there is ooze and that there are also secrets in the ooze that bring about man-sized, crime-fighting, Foot-stomping, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but that little fact isn't exclusive to us fans born before 1993. Sure there was TMNT, the recent attempt by Warner Brothers to reboot the franchise for the big screen by swapping out bulky men-in-suits for streamlined CGI, but it wasn't the renaissance resurgence many were hoping for. Enter Nickelodeon, the kid-friendly network, who have just purchased intellectual ownership rights to the sewer-loving franchise from combo owners The Mirage Group and 4Kids Entertainment.

The deal, according to The Hollywood Reporter, went down for some $60 million, and includes plans for a new computer animated TV series as well as a new feature film. The latter will be the result of a team-up between Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures, both owned by Viacom, with an expected release date sometime during 2012 (assuming the world hasn't fallen into the oceans by then). From the THR article:

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shares a comedic sensibility with the Nickelodeon DNA, with added layers of action and fantasy that have kept this property an evergreen favorite with multiple generations of audiences," said Cyma Zarghami, president, Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group. "We are extremely happy to have the opportunity to be able to focus on this property and creatively re-introduce it to a new generation of kids."

The announcement doesn't mention whether or not the intention for the film is to continue with the all-CGI trend or go the traditional man-in-suit route, but if Where the Wild Things Are maintains its popularity at the box office, there might be proper fiscal motivation for Paramount to mix the two when bringing the heroes in a half shell to yet another generation.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 25th Anniversary Film Collection
There's really no good reason anyone should ... er ... shell out almost forty bucks to own this set containing all four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movies. The flicks and special features are identical to the previous DVD releases; the only new thing here is the packaging, which actually looks pretty cool. But you can probably nab most of the original DVD releases on the cheap from your local retailer's discount bin.

My favorite of the bunch has to be 2007's animated TMNT. It's fun, slick and mostly free of the cheeseball jokes that litter the live action releases. (My 12-year-old self would probably choose the original 1990 release, which is the best and least cringe-worthy of the '90s Turtle flicks.) The Blu-ray set only offers slightly better picture quality and no extra special features.

More of this week's DVD releases after the jump.

Above: An image from the Random Star Wars collection featured in the post underneath this one.

Welcome to Captain's Log -- your (semi) daily round-up of sci-fi randomness from around the web. Here's what's happening today:

For some odd (and hilarious) reason, Todd McFarlane thinks he can get Leonardo DiCaprio to star in a new Spawn movie. Only DiCaprio wouldn't be playing Spawn; instead, he'd be the guy chasing Spawn. McFarlane compares the film to everything from Jaws to The Godfather. Keep dreaming ... [MTV]

Battlestar Galactica star Richard Hatch spoke to Moviehole about the potential big-screen movie, saying he thinks Universal should take a cue from Paramount's Star Trek reboot. He thinks they "should go further back" in time for the setting, like the recent Trek film, and even admits that the show ain't done yet. ""It's never the end if fans want more. It's a money game. If they realize people want more, believe me, they'll make more of them - they did it with Babylon 5, and a number of other sci-fi shows. Battlestar is not done yet, it's just a question of how and when it'll come back.'' {Moviehole]

Though the first Kick-Ass film won't arrive in theaters until next year, Mark Millar is positive a sequel will happen -- so much so that he's already plotting one out. He tells SciFi Wire, "Kick-Ass 2 is already being plotted out. "We're planning it, because all the actors are quite young and we have to make it relatively quickly. So we'll definitely do that inside the next 18 to 24 months." [SciFi Wire]

There's a rumor going around that Megan Fox is on the shortlist to star as Buffy in a new Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie. I'd say the chances of that happening are slim to fuggedaboutit. [CineFools]

More stories after the jump