Cinematical

Looking to upgrade their muscle, the folks behind New Line's Journey 2: The Mysterious Island have replaced their original hero, Brendan Fraser, with Dwayne "I Bet He Hates It When We Call Him The Rock" Johnson. The 2008 3D film landed several months before Avatar blasted the lid off 3D, and even so it still managed to cough up over $100 million at the domestic box office (and $241 million worldwide). Fraser was originally supposed to return, but issues with start dates and the fact that Journey to the Center of the Earth director Eric Brevig couldn't return (the sequel will be helmed by Brad Peyton) all added up to a big fat no from the School Ties (yeah I went there!) star.

Is Johnson and upgrade or downgrade? He's certainly someone who's capable of handling the material. After starting out (and then recently returning to) tough guy flicks, Johnson sandwiched in a slew of kid-oriented fare like Race to Witch Mountain and Tooth Fairy. He can do adventure comedy, sure (even though he does sort of look awkward at times), and, let's face it -- he just feels like the kind of guy you get to replace Brednan Fraser in an action-adventure. We'll leave it up to you to decide whether that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Johnson will be joined by Josh Hutcherson (reprising his role from the first film), and he'll be playing the boyfriend of Hutcherson's mom who is somehow forced to join the kid on a trip to a mythical and mysterious island to search for the boy's missing grandfather. The script is loosely based on Jules Verne's The Mysterious Island. More casting is expected to roll out in the coming weeks, and as of now Journey 2: The Mysterious Island will hit theaters (in 3D!) on September 23, 2011.

You may have already missed this because I don't think we've covered it yet (we all know Cinematical is your only source for everything, c'mon!), but Diablo Cody -- while she awaited the could-happen-in-five-minutes-from-now birth of her child (she just recently spit out a baby boy - congrats!)-- has decided to put together a little web series in which she interviews other Hollywood personalities in the most luxuriously exotic location known to man: the back of a trailer.

Titled Red Band Trailer, Cody has shoveled out four episodes so far, interviewing folks like Adam Brody, Chelsea Handler, Jason Bateman and, in her latest episode, Megan Fox. Each episode runs somewhere in the vicinity of 11 minutes, and they have this sort of vintage, happy-go-lucky game show-ish vibe that occasionally pokes through with some snark. Sorry fellas, but the Megan Fox episode is pretty tame. After talking briefly about traveling to Los Angeles with her mother at 17 and staying at this weird apartment complex that houses all child stars for some reason (seriously, they're called the Oakwood Apartments and they totally housed Frankie Munez, Shia LaBeouf and crazy Hilary Duff hot tub parties), Fox and Cody spend several minutes talking about the way she's been portrayed in the press; how her words are usually taken way out of context by some "journalist" looking for a sound bite.

The best part is not when they play Price is Right with make-out toothpaste and a Jennifer's Body DVD, but when Cody lays it all out on the table and tells Fox that she thinks she's "a very eccentric, strange, weird woman", and that the press can't comprehend the fact that this beautiful girl can also have this absurd sense of self, or as Cody puts it: "I just think you're Crispin Glover-like weird."

Watch the slightly NSFW (beware of F-bombs) video after the jump and let us know what you think. Is Megan Fox really that weird, or is it mostly for show?

A few days ago Roger Friedman over at Showbiz 411 claimed (via his sources) that Joss Whedon was "definitively" shooting The Avengers in 3D. It's not all too surprising to hear that Marvel wants its Avengers movie in 3D. Both Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger will arrive in theaters in 3D, and it only makes sense to have their biggest, most buzzed-about superhero mash-up in 3D in order to give the fans more options, as well as make as much as they can from the box office (that smashing ensemble cast can't be cheap). However, new quotes from Captain America director Joe Johnston lead us to believe that Friedman is wrong on one count: The Avengers won't be shooting in 3D. Instead, they'll most likely be shooting in 2D and converting it over after the fact, like they're doing with Thor and Captain America.

Speaking about why he decided to shoot Captain America in 2D and convert versus filming in 3D, Johnston told Earth's Mightiest, "The cameras and their necessary hard and software made up one of the most cumbersome and unwieldy packages I've ever had the misfortune to work with. I couldn't move the camera at a high rate of speed, I couldn't fit it through tight spaces, lens changes took 45 minutes...if the two lenses weren't perfectly calibrated to the exact same focal plane, the shot was unwatchable. It's harder to fast cut an action sequence because your eye needs time to re-establish the depth of each shot. The biggest drawback is that it would have added 30 days to the schedule. For all these reasons and more, I decided to shoot the picture 2D and convert it."

Other filmmakers have complained about similar issues, which means it's highly doubtful that Marvel and Joss Whedon would want to attempt filming in 3D for The Avengers. But what about the recent crappy conversions? Johnston talks more after the jump ...

Imagine a Return of the Jedi much darker and more brutal than the one we ultimately wound up with ... and then imagine George Lucas staring at an unopened box of Star Wars merchandise before deciding to ditch those ideas for something a bit more happily ever after. It may not have gone done exactly like that, but according to producer Gary Kurtz (who spoke to the LA Times prior to this past weekend's Star Wars Celebration V), Lucas had a very different ending in mind for his original Star Wars trilogy.

Kurtz, who partnered up with Lucas and helped produce the first two Star Wars films, admits, "The original idea was that they would recover Han Solo in the early part of the story and that he would then die in the middle part of the film in a raid on an Imperial base. ... George then decided he didn't want any of the principals killed. By that time there were really big toy sales and that was a reason." Kurtz claims it was the toys that ultimately began dictating which direction Lucasfilm would go in, claiming that Lucas' priorities changed heading into Return of the Jedi."We had an outline and George changed everything in it," Kurtz told the Times. "Instead of bittersweet and poignant he wanted a euphoric ending with everybody happy."

The original ending was supposed to include Luke walking off alone "like Clint Eastwood in the spaghetti westerns", leaving a somewhat frazzled and grieving Leia to pick up the pieces and take on her new duties as queen. Kurtz disagreed with all of Lucas' changes -- including his insistence on putting in a second Death Star (because it'd be too similar to the original film, he thought), and, fed up, Kurtz and Lucas parted ways.

Do you think George Lucas "sold out" by changing Jedi, or was he just making smart business decisions?

Here at Cinematical we're always on the look out for new talent. Sure, we give you the big stuff, the blockbusters and the A-listers, but what good would this large platform be if we didn't also introduce you to some really fantastic up-and-coming talent for you to put on your radar and circle that sucker with a big, fat red marker? Two people you need to start paying attention to are Daryl Wein and Zoe Lister-Jones, the latter of which has already been steadily climbing up the acting charts with roles in State of Play, Salt, and The Other Guys.

If the names already sound slightly familiar it's because Wein and Lister-Jones are a couple in real life, not to mention the fact that they made a movie together based on their real-life relationship called Breaking Upwards (it came out earlier this year). Now Deadline reports that Fox Searchlight (who pride themselves on discovering new talent before introducing them to a wider audience) has picked up the comedy pitch Motherf**ker from Wein and Lister-Jones (yup, they're also a writing team), with Wein set to direct and co-write the script alongside Lister-Jones. The two also have another script called Lola Versus that may go to Searchlight and star Anne Hathaway, but the ink isn't dry on that deal yet.

Speaking to Cinematical for the first time about the deal, Wein said, "We couldn't be more excited. Fox Searchlight has always been a company we have dreamed of working with in any capacity. They put out some of the best movies, and more importantly, know how to effectively distribute them." Motherf**ker follows the story of a guy who falls for a girl, and then falls for the girl's mother after she brings him home to meet her parents.

Check out a trailer for Breaking Upwards after the jump, and look for more from Wein and Lister-Jones in the very near future.

Excuse me for asking, but what the hell is going on over at the Premium Rush set in New York City? First Joseph Gordon Levitt rams himself into the back windshield of a taxi cab (he plays a bike messenger), slicing up his arm and nearly breaking several bones (watch video after the jump) -- and now some poor production assistant was headbutted by a random New Yorker for apparently inconveniencing the guy while he was walking to the store.

Granted, I can sort of understand the citizen's frustration. You're walking to the store, minding your own business, when some kid in his early twenties wearing an ear piece tells you to stop and wait because they're filming something. Usually these production assistants will come strapped with some attitude too (wouldn't you be pissed to be making peanuts to work 17 hours a day telling people when they can and can't cross the street?), and in New York City that attitude doesn't always fly. Case in point: The New York Post tells us that the 6-foot-4, 285-pound Breffny Flynn wasn't interested in waiting for who knows how long while Premium Rush was shooting on the Upper East Side, and instead decided to literally headbutt the PA who told him not to move, shouting "I live here! I pay taxes!"

Yup, dude headbutted the guy. I mean, who headbutts anyone anymore? That's insane! The PA was taken to the hospital and Flynn was arrested for assault (and later released with a desk-appearance ticket). Premium Rush stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a bike messenger who picks up a package from Columbia University and catches the attention of a dirty cop. David Koepp is directing while Michael Shannon, Dania Ramirez and Jamie Chung co-star.

Do you think the man had every right to be pissed, or should he have taken a chill pill and waited five minutes to cross the street?

Jennifer's Body tanked and she was booted from Transformers 3, so now it looks like Megan Fox has decided to try on a new pair of shoes and star in Eminem's latest video alongside the fan-friendly Dominic Monaghan (Lord of the Rings, Lost). When I sat down to watch the video -- which also features Rihanna -- I expected to walk away with a story angle that made fun of Megan Fox for going from big blockbusters to "that hot chick in Eminem's latest music video." But you know what? The video is pretty damn good.

Expect a lot of folks to criticize Eminem's latest -- titled "Love the Way You Lie" -- as being pro domestic violence, because in a strange way it seems as if this couple -- who beat the crap out of each other, but then get buzzed, make out and do it all over again -- really do enjoy the pain and discomfort they cause each other. They feed off it; it's all they know. It's like they need to be dysfunctional in order to keep going, sort of like how an addict needs their fix to get through each day.

Obviously the song (and the video) is based on Eminem's tumultuous on-again, off-again relationship with his baby's mama Kim, and while it's scary to see the guy threaten to essentially kill his girlfriend by burning their house down if she leaves him, I give kudos to Eminem for painting a picture of domestic abuse from the abuser's perspective (though I'm sure this will give his critics just one more reason why they wish this guy would disappear forever).

As far as Megan Fox and Dominic Monaghan go, they're definitely believable as this couple who feed off their own hate for each other by somehow turning it into brief moments of ecstasy. Check it out after the jump and let us know what you think. Should Megan Fox stick to music videos, or what?

There are two completely different sides to that feisty animal called Comic-Con. There's the part where press line up to grab generic sound bites from the actors and actresses working their particular upcoming movie, and then there's the part where you wind up chatting with those same actors and actresses at late-night parties after both of you have thrown back one too many. One such after-hours conversation I had was with Chuck's Zachary Levi. We were at a party, it was way past midnight -- the open bar alcohol had been flowing for hours -- and of course I figured now would be the perfect time to stumble up to the guy and ask him about those Superman rumors from earlier in the month.

Unfortunately, at the time, Levi was a little apprehensive about talking about the whole thing, and after a few minutes a couple other movie writers had joined the conversation and convinced the actor to chat with us off the record. So, yes, I've been sitting on that conversation until now, and while I technically shouldn't be writing about it because it was "off the record," it seems Levi has finally opened up about it "on the record" (for IGN), and so now we should be all good.

One thing I got from Levi is that the guy is itching to make the leap to the big screen in a big way, and he definitely wouldn't be against starring in a superhero film. In fact, I got the sense that he was enjoying the Superman rumors quite a bit -- though, unfortunately, he admitted to us (as well as IGN) that the Superman audition rumor was completely false in every conceivable way.

Quotes after the jump ...

One of my absolute favorite memories from Comic-Con was when I found myself standing next to Eva Mendes in the press room during interviews for The Other Guys, and how, in person, the girl has the ability to freeze you mid-stare without even looking in your direction. I don't know what it was that finally shook me from that brief "Oh my, she is damn beautiful" moment of weird, stalker-ish behavior, but I'm happy to report that I was not arrested, nor is there a restraining order against me. Phew.

The good news for folks who, like me, have a little (or big) "thing" for Eva Mendes is that the girl has finally put out her own sex tape. After learning that "Eva Mendes Sex Tape" was something folks have been wanting (and needing) for such a long time -- to the point where it's been one of Google's top searches -- the actress finally decided to do someone something for her millions of ... um, fans. As far as the sex tape goes ... it's good. Strong. Definitely the kind of tape you'll want to use on untreated naked wood, as the video clearly demonstrates.

I'm sure this sex tape is something a lot of you have been waiting a long time for, so I'll cut to the chase and tell you to watch it after the jump. Enjoy!

Catfish is a hard film to write about because the entire movie hinges upon a ton of reveals that take place during the final third of the film, and talking about them publicly beforehand would simply ruin the experience of watching it for the first time with no knowledge of what will happen next. When Catfish first premiered at this past Sundance Film Festival, it took the festival by storm, as critics danced around the details in an effort to tell everyone how good the documentary was without actually telling anyone what the documentary was about. And now the film's first trailer (watch it over at Apple) attempts to do the same thing, but one question remains: Will they be able to keep up this "don't say a word" game long enough to use it to actually sell the movie?

From my Sundance review: "... here's what I can tell you: Yaniv "Nev" Schulman is a young up-and-coming New York photographer who, at one point, had one of his photos published in The New York Sun. Not long after that, Nev received a painting of his photograph in the mail; one that was so expertly and beautifully crafted by an 8-year-old girl named Abby. Nev soon struck up a Facebook friendship with Abby, sending her his photographs in order to help feed this little girl with an amazing talent -- eventually becoming online and phone friends with Abby's family, including her mother Angela and older sister Megan, as well as several of Megan's friends from home in Michigan. Fascinated by this relationship and the art it was producing, Nev's filmmaker brother Ariel and friend Henry Joost decided to document the goings-on of this somewhat peculiar-yet-endearing friendship, but little did they know at the time it would turn into one of the most fascinating stories you'll watch all year."