Universal Pictures has reached a long-term deal with Ludlum Entertainment to have exclusive rights to using author Robert Ludlum‘s popular character Jason Bourne in future installments of the Bourne franchise.

As we all know, all the usual suspects, including Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass, are returning for the currently in-development and untitled Bourne 4 for a 2010 release. The studio is also developing a movie based on a book owned by Ludlum Entertainment called The Sigma Protocol and the agreement includes a first-look producing deal for Ludlum Entertainment to develop other properties in its library with Universal.

Universal’s President of Production Donna Langley and Co-President of Production/Executive Vice President Jimmy Horowitz had this to say about the deal…

In conjunction with the Web series Heroes: Destiny, Geeks of Doom is giving away one copy each of Heroes Season 1 and 2 on DVD.

One (1) winner will receive:
– Heroes Season 1 DVD
– Heroes Season 2 DVD

Heroes: Destiny, which will consist of four webisodes, follows Santiago, a character created by votes cast by one million users in the “Create Your Hero” online campaign which began last season. Santiago, played by Roberto Urbina, is a 23-year-old only child who lives with his mother in Lima, Peru. He works as an auto mechanic and hopes to go out in the world one day and accomplish something that makes his mother proud.

The first two webisodes are already online — what the first below right here! The third one will be live tomorrow, with the final one premiering on 12/1. For more information on Heroes: Destiny, see the About section below and visit www.nbc.com/heroesdestiny.

TO ENTER: Fill out the form below and submit. Entry form is here after the jump.

RULES: One entry per person. All entries must be in by Monday, December 1, 2008 at 9pm EST. This contest is only open to residents of the United States. No international entries will be accepted. Void where prohibited. Winners will be chosen randomly from valid entries and will be notified by email.

IDW Publishing has released the first cover image for their upcoming 4-issue limited comic book series that will serve as a prequel to JJ Abrams’ 2009 feature film Star Trek.

Star Trek: Countdown #1 will be released in January 2009, and will serve as a lead in to the events of the Star Trek movie, which is itself a prequel/reboot of the 1960s television series.

The comic book series has a story presented by Abrams and was plotted by Star Trek screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman; it was written by Mike Johnson and Tim Jones with art and covers by David Messina.

Check out the cover here at right (click for larger view) and the full press release here below.

At the end of October, I was invited by Laika Entertainment to a sneak peek here in NYC of their upcoming 3D stop-motion animated feature Coraline. I got to see 30 minutes of the film, after which writer/director Henry Selick came out for an audience Q&A.

Soon after the screening, I got an email from the Coraline Team out in Portland, OR, telling me to be on the lookout for a package from them specially made for me with me in mind and that I will be one of 50 people slated to receive such an item — each being one of a kind.

This is a big deal for me, because I’m a great fan of the Coraline book, I love stop-motion, and c’mon, it’s Henry Selick, director of The Nightmare Before Christmas. There’s a reason I can’t stop writing about this project! Anyhow, so I couldn’t imagine what they’d be sending, but the other day it arrived — a handcrafted aged box with an oval plate that read “Handmade in Oregon – 14/50.” Inside the box was a weathered letter with a wax seal with a black button just like the ones used in the film. The letter explained why I was getting such a unique gift and a bit about how it was made. From what I can tell, from the few other people online I saw who’ve gotten their own box, most of the message is a standard form letter, but there’s one paragraph that specifically addresses the recipient. My paragraph has some nice things to say about Geeks of Doom (we’re artistic, hilarious, unconventional…), but probably the coolest thing it said was …

THAT’S WHY WE ADMIRE GEEKSOFDOOM – (GREATEST NAME EVER).

Partners Peter Segal and Michael Ewing from Callahan Filmworks have been signed to a three-movie first-look deal at Warner Bros. and one of the movies that they’ll be doing is a take on Captain Marvel.

Captain Marvel from DC Comics follows a teenager who speaks the word “Shazam” and becomes the superhero.

Segal just directed Get Smart and is in line for the sequel as well. He’s also done movies like Tommy Boy and The Longest Yard remake.