Daily Variety
Comicbooks From Edge
December 29th, 2003
By Phil Gallo

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Scott Rosenberg, who ushered "Men in Black" from the comicbook pages to the bigscreen, has optioned two independent comics for his producing company, Platinum Studios.

Platinum will create live-action versions of graphic novel "The Dark Fringe," created, written and inked by Eman R. Torre and published by Atomic Rocket Prods., and "Rust," created by Steve Miller.

"The indie comic world is coming up with the stories -- it's not about guys in tights and it's not about action films for 14-year-olds," Rosenberg said. "We're concentrating on tossing (characters) into the real world and seeing what happens."

In "Dark Fringe," a cop investigates the death of his wife; after he believes he has the crime solved, the alleged killer promises to lead the cop to the man who did the deed. It's up to the cop to decide whether to trust the man who appears to be her killer. Rosenberg equated its dark gritty tone with that of the graphic novel upon which "Road to Perdition" was based.

"Rust" concerns a police officer covered in metal after an accident who is attempting to regain his humanity. Afraid to show his disfigured self in public, his sculptures bring him some acclaim. "It has a bit of the 'Beauty and the Beast' element," Rosenberg said.

"It's not a superhero story, where the hero gets transformed and then flies off to fight crime. It's about how life goes on even in the face of adversity."

"Rust" has been published by three different outfits, among them Malibu Comics, which Rosenberg created and ran before selling to Marvel. The rights to the creation reverted back to him after two other publishers went under.

Platinum's slate of comic-originated feature projects includes "Mal Chance" at Miramax, "Cowboys & Aliens" at Sony and "Nathan Never" at DreamWorks. "Jeremiah," Platinum's series for Showtime, started its second season in October.

Company has a first-look animation deal with Disney. It also is developing "Radar the Hound Supreme" (Daily Variety, Sept. 12).

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