I think it's kind of funny that in Eugene's post about T4's start date, he says: "barring some Terry Gilliam-scale disaster." I wonder if the disaster could be a long and arduous SAG strike? The New Zealand Herald (Reuters) pointed out today that the production is moving on despite the distinct possibility that the movie industry could get hit with another strike very soon.
Right now, the SAG contract expires on June 30, which could very easily become the start of another strike. (Union leaders say they hope to reach an agreement, and of course they do -- but that doesn't mean they'll get one.) Nevertheless, Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins has started filming in New Mexico this week, throwing caution to the wind.
But this doesn't mean they'll speed through it. A source told Reuters there is no intention to finish production by June 30, and that legal precautions have been taken in case the strike happens. But still -- stopping for an undisclosed period of time right in the middle of production is very far from ideal.
It seems a bit cocky to me, to go forward now rather than waiting, but what do you think?
Should T4 be moving full steam ahead regardless of the strike? Or, is this just a careless or cocky move?
Things seem to be getting a tad confusing over on the Transformers 2front. As of now, Michael Bay and his team plan to begin production in early June ... IF there isn't an actor's strike. (I know, another strike -- we're sick of 'em too.) Regardless of what might happen, they still need to cast this monster -- and that's where all this he said/she said is coming into play. Not long ago, Jonah Hill was rumored to be in negotiations for a part opposite Shia LaBeouf, but that's no longer happening. Now, if Michael Bay is to be believed, Australian actress Teresa Palmer is no longer in the film and was never considered in the first place. This is odd, because we were under the assumption that Moviehole (who first reported the casting) actually spoke to Palmer and SHE confirmed her own involvement.
Over on his personal blog, however, Bay denies everything. In a very brief statement, he says: "No we have stopped negotiating with Jonah, and Teresa Palmer was not considered for a role." Um, okay. If you say so. To further complicate the situation, IGN now reports that another Aussie actress, Isabel Lucas, has been cast in the role of Alice in Transformers 2. This bit of news comes via her management agency, Meissner Management, who list the actress as having that role. She's relatively new to the block, and will have parts in the upcoming vampire flick Daybreakers, as well as the HBO miniseries The Pacific.
No official word on Palmer or Lucas, so we'll have to wait and see if Michael Bay has anything to say about these latest rumors. Cute girl, though, I'll give her that.
Oh, Ashton. He's the little train that just keeps on trying. At least this latest bit of news doesn't have anything to do with romantic comedy. That, at least, is a plus. According to Ace Showbiz, Ashton Kutcher visited Ryan Seacrest's radio show yesterday and told the host that he's starting to think about making a feature film of Punk'd: "I was actually walking down the street in New York yesterday and thought, 'What if I did Punk'd: The Movie? Like a full on feature film of Punk'd.'"
But it also seems to be more than just the passing notion that he suggests. Kutcher went on to say: "I got a plan. But if I reveal the plan then everyone's going to know when it's going down." To me, that says that he's planning one big, full-scale trick on a whole lot of his celebrity friends.
I must admit: I've watched a few episodes back in the day and they can be funny, in the same way any elaborate joke is. But can it make a good feature film? Sure, Jackass headed to the big screen a few times, but that's a whole different sort of film. Shocked celebrity faces and laughter isn't quite the same thing as rabid stupidity in action with crazy injury.
Now that George Lucas and his crew are preparing to launch the first big-screen Star Wars flick in all CGI, some folks are wondering whether that means he'd be down to eventually continue the saga where Return of the Jedi left off -- especially since it wouldn't be hard to bring back original actors like Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher to do the voice work. Fans, of course, would publicly bash such a move ... even if they'd secretly been wishing for the return of Luke, Leia and Han for years. So, would Lucas do it? Is he considering it?
In a new interview with the Los Angeles Times, the Sith King himself claims there will be no such film from him. Lucas says, "There really isn't any story to tell there. It's been covered in the books and video games and comic books, which are things I think are incredibly creative but that I don't really have anything to do with other than being the person who built the sandbox they're playing in." He continues, "I get asked all the time, 'What happens after "Return of the Jedi"?,' and there really is no answer for that. The movies were the story of Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker, and when Luke saves the galaxy and redeems his father, that's where that story ends." Star Wars: The Clone Wars arrives in theaters on August 15, then heads to Cartoon Network and TNT for a weekly series.
Would you rather see a CGI Star Wars flick that takes place during The Clone Wars or after Return of the Jedi?
Admit it, we have all thought that the one thingX-Men Origins: Wolverine needed was another character. I mean, there's no possible way Wolverine could carry the entire movie by himself; what we needed were some mutants to share the load. Right?
Well, the most surprising addition yet has been made. According to Superhero Hype, there are reports that Cyclops has joined the roster. No, he won't be played by James Marsden, but an Australian actor named Tim Pocock. The news comes via an Australian agency, who confirmed that said actor was indeed cast as the young Scott Summers.
Now how the heck the two will meet is impossible for me to fathom. I imagine this will just be a cameo, a young Scott brushes past Wolverine at a train station or bus stop. Knowing how these origin stories go, there will probably be some wink-nudge storyline where Wolverine snubs Cyclops somehow, leading to the instant dislike that springs up when the two meet again as adults. Or he will rescue the young Summers, thus making their prickly relationship something to be regretted. (How Summers will not remember is a mystery -- he wasn't brainwashed by Weapon X.)
Sigh. I keep on defending you, Hugh Jackman, assuring everyone you've got a handle on the character, but you're making it so hard for me! Why couldn't you have just mindlessly fought bears in the Canadian snow, wearing nothing but computer circuitry?!
X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and the entire pantheon of Marvel superheroes, hits theatres May 1st, 2009. Filming finished last week, so ostensibly they can't add any more characters ... can they?
Remember that ominous "loss" that Sarah Jessica Parker said Carrie would deal with in the new Sex and the City movie? Well, Michael Patrick King is now speaking out on the matter once rumors started to fly about just what kind of loss it was. If you don't want to know anything about this loss rumor, stop reading now!
According to The Hollywood Reporter, you won't have to worry about any big, or should I say Big demise. King says: "Kill Mr. Big? I would have been chased around the planet by women with torches." He goes on to say that the "ultimate target" of this film is to make women happy, so Big won't die because that wouldn't make them happy. But if this means then that the two break up again, since the trailer certainly seems to suggest it, talk about a tired flipping plot!
Does this mean, then, that there is no death? I don't think we really have a finite answer on that. When asked whether anyone dies: "It's a summer movie. Why would I want to kill anyone?" This could be a straightforward "no, this is a fun movie and death doesn't fit;" however, summer movies are all about wowing audiences and over-the-top fare, so someone else could still be on the chopping block.
We'll know soon enough -- the film opens on May 30.
Ever since Marvel announced release dates for a slew of new comic book-related films yesterday, the internets have come alive with scoopers. We were a bit burned on the last rumor Cinema Blend reported, so take all three of these with a huge grain of salt.
Captain America: According to CB, Matthew McConaughey is the first name to hit the possible cast list. The film, now titled The First Avenger: Captain America, has been given a release date of May 6, 2011, and so I wouldn't expect a name to sign on for awhile. That's not to say there isn't a wish list floating around -- and, if one did exist, I imagine McConaughey's name would be on it, along with several others. I'm sure fans already hate the idea of seeing Mr. Rom Com himself show up as their beloved Captain America, but I actually think it's a good choice -- an interesting choice -- and one I'd definitely support. With the right script, he'd bring the looks, the muscle and the charisma. (Actually, I could kinda see him playing Thor, too.)
Iron Man 2: Yes, work will begin on this monster right away as a release date of April 30, 2010 is already in place, giving Jon Favreau and his team two years to get what will soon become the world's most highly-anticipated sequel in the can. But what will it be about? Well, CB claims that one of the plot lines being considered involves Sam Jackson returning as Nick Fury in order to team up with Stark to go after a terrorist called The Mandarin (featured prominently in the comic books as one of Iron Man's greatest villains). They also claim Marvel may throw a Thor cameo into the sequel to further tie The Avengers thing together, and also because Thor will debut his own film a couple of months later on July 4, 2010.
It's not a pretty story. Imagine that your daughter is raped and murdered while staying at an Indian resort in Goa. You then have to force authorities to investigate what was originally ruled as a drowning, and then you don't even get to bring back all of your daughter. It sounds too weird to be true, and now the BBC reports that the story is getting made into a Bollywood film, with reports saying that "Prabhakar Shukla has already approached actress Katrina Kaif and will start filming in July."
In February, the 15-year-old Scarlett Keeling was murdered while in Doa. After an initial flub that ruled her death as a drowning, a murder investigation was opened, and two men have been arrested for her death. But the really strange part -- her uterus, kidneys, and stomach were removed and now her mother has to fight to have them returned. What the eff?! "The Indian government told Mrs MacKeown there was no system in place for her request to be carried out. Mr Varma said his client could formally request that the organs be flown back to the UK, but if this could not be done she would have to return to Goa." Umm ... okay.
The film is said to be welcomed by Scarlett's mom, if the facts are portrayed correctly, "... but if there is too much of a deterioration from the facts she will be disturbed by it because the film is what the Indian people will believe." Hopefully it helps her plight. I can't even begin to imagine having to fight to keep all of your daughter intact when she's laid to rest.
Near the end of last week, Defamerspread the rumor that Picturehouse, once the indie arm of New Line Cinema and currently dangling from the edge of the hulking entity known as Warner Bros., has its days numbered. Now that New Line is history and Warners, like many studios, has faced increasing cutbacks, it may give short shrift to the shingles responsible for handling artier fare. Along with Picturehouse, this also includes Warner Independent Pictures, whose recent release slate includes David Gordon Green's magnificent Snow Angels.
Defamer suggested that Picturehouse president Bob Berney might wind up at WIP or head up a new, currently anonymous company. On Friday, Variety's Anne Thompson put it in more coherent terms: It appears quite likely that WIP and Picturehouse will merge together as a single company, with current WIP president Polly Cohen working alongside Berney. Whatever happens, let's just hope that the final result still leaves room for the sharp selection of independent and foreign titles that Picturehouse has handled since its birth three years ago. Defamer points out that Marion Cotillard's unexpected Oscar win for La Vie en Rose matters less than the flop of Run, Fatboy, Run, while the John Simpson-directed horror film Amusement might get dumped on DVD. It was just last year, however, that the company helped edgy fare like The Orphanage and Rocket Science get the sort of release most studios would never try. Let's hope that bravery lives on, somewhere.
We're already getting a bigger taste of Wolverine withX-Men Origins, and Magneto is also on the way, but now it looks like we're getting another new group picture. Black Book Magazine reportedly spoke with Gossip Girl creator Josh Schwartz, who says he's developing a prequel, but it isn't one like Origins. (What's with the desire for all these X-Men prequels!?)
Schwartz says: "I'm very well aware that I'll be bludgeoned by purists, but I love its mythology, and it comes with a pretty hefty paycheck." His idea for this whole affair is to follow a teen who attends the Xavier Institute. He says he won't be adding any new characters, so the question becomes: Which lucky X-Men character will Schwartz focus on? The writer goes on to diss The Incredible Hulk, saying that it "looks like it's going to be terrible. And why does he look like he's fighting against the monster from Cloverfield?" So, if he can pull this off to his tastes, it should be, at the very least, better than Hulk.
Even after the disappointment of the latest X-Men movie, I'd love to see another movie pop up with more than just Wolverine or Magneto. Unlike most action or geek fare movies, where I fall for the movie as a whole, I really dig a lot of the characters in X-Men and the way the actors portray them. I've spoken before about how much Hugh Jackman rocks as Wolverine, but there's also Magneto, Professor X, Mystique, and my other big favorite -- Anna Paquin's Rogue. But this will be something entirely different, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's a whole different set of actors. So, does this sound good to you, and which character should Schwartz be focusing on?
Back in March, Judd Apatow talked about how Will Ferrell's Ron Burgandy was the character best suited for a sequel. However, he suggested that this idea would happen in 30 years time, showing Ron as a 70-year-old anchor. Now I wonder if this was just a ploy to get buzz going, because it seems that this potential sequel is a little closer to reality. Collider talked with Anchorman's writer/director Adam McKay, and he says we won't have to wait three decades.
McKay says, "I might do this other movie called Channel 3 Billion, which is kind of this science fiction/Brazil-type comedy. Then after that, Will and I are like let's do Anchorman 2, so you're talking like years, maybe we'll do it. But we're going to do it, for sure." Collider asked if this was 100%, and McKay responded: "Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're dying to do it. Unless we can't get the cast together, which is always kind of a tricky thing. But, I think, with that cast we're all friends, so yeah, we want to do it."
Personally, I was hoping for more teeny tyke landlords, but this could definitely be fun. What do you think?
This isn't exactly earth-shattering news, but hey: it's the weekend. According to a SlashFilm tipster, Michael Bay and Team Transformers will be spending parts of the summer at the University of Pennsylvania, which happens to be where I've just completed a far-too-long six-year stint. It sounds like Penn will be hosting Sam Witwicky's fraternity -- a good choice, because there are a bunch of beautiful old fraternity houses around here. Dollars to donuts they'll be using a particularly remarkable one called The Castle, which looks just like, well... a castle. You can see a picture over on the right. It's a major controversy magnet on campus, but the student tour groups love it.
Anyway, it'll be exciting to see my (by then, old) stomping grounds on the big screen next year -- the only comparable experience I've had came when M. Night Shyamalan used my hometown of Newtown, PA for a sizable segment of Signs. I guess I wish it were something other than Transformers 2, since I thought the first one was among last year's worst summer movies. But if you'll be at Penn this summer and want to be an extra in a blockbuster, keep your eyes peeled -- you might get the opportunity.
If you're anywhere near New York City this weekend, you simply must check out the work of this great new filmmaker named Harmony Korine, whose strangely fantastical movie, Mister Lonely, opened yesterday at the IFC Center (it hits Los Angeles on May 9). Some readers may confuse this Korine for the angry young radical who wrote Larry Clark's teen sex drama Kids when he was 19 and later directed the startling divisive, sharply confrontational films Gummo and Julien Donkey-Boy.
I assure you that the 1990's-era Korine is long gone -- or, rather, has morphed into an agreeably warmer artist. Mister Lonely, which stars Diego Luna as a Michael Jackson impersonator and New German Cinema legend Werner Herzog as an eccentric priest, doesn't always make sense, but that's precisely what Korine was going for. "I've always been interested in making a perfect nonsense," he told a crowd at the Apple store in lower Manhattan Thursday night. "I never really cared much about plot. I wanted to make movies about moments that went through you, that were experiential."
Say it ain't so! I want this to be nothing more than hyperbole and ugly rumor mongering. But let's look at it anyway: According to Flicks.Co.NZ, there are troubling stories surrounding the set of Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones.
The first is a bit of a yawner. Reportedly, Jackson is having creative differences with his art director over the best way to portray Heaven -- a pretty key location in the book, if you remember. Things even reached a point where the production had to take a break as the disagreement was sorted out, according to reports.
But then came word (today) from The Bad and Ugly that the film has now been delayed, and instead of a March 13, 2009 release date, it's been pushed to Fall, 2009. No word on whether this was due to production issues or if they'd rather hold the film for a potential Oscar push.
Additionally, Susan Sarandon seemed like she was pretty iffy on the film and especially her performance while speaking to press at the London premiere of Speed Racer: "I play the comic relief, an alcoholic grandmother – my first grandma – but she doesn't really seem like a real grandmother because she has a lot of hair and jewelery and nails and liquor. I don't think I ever talk without a cigarette and a drink in my hand. Peter Jackson is really a nice guy and very interesting. It was really a very different way of working. We had a good time, I'm really curious to see what it's like because he kept pushing me to be more and more extreme and sometimes that's when you make your big mistakes so I'm not sure how it will come off -- it will be interesting to see it from the point of view of the audience."
Most of us haven't even seen Iron Man yet (though it's possibly just me -- everyone on my MySpace and Facebook is horrified I haven't, and it wasn't even midnight in my time zone), and already they're planning the sequel. Iron ManCinematical reviews are here and here.
Brad Grey, head honcho over at Paramount, told Entertainment Tonight that if all went as hoped with the first movie, the sequel will come out this very week in 2010. (I just saw into the future ... and I'm pretty much typing this same post with the third installment in 2012.) Since it doesn't look like Iron Man is going to be a disaster at the box office, I think it's safe to say you can start counting down to 2010.
Hopefully, as much care and attention will be lavished on the sequel -- again, I haven't seen it yet, but all appearances and reviews suggest that they really knocked it out of the park. It would be awesome if it surpassed X2: X-Men United, which I think is the best superhero sequel yet. (Though maybe your opinion leans more towards Spider-Man 2.)
Now would be a good time for you well-read Iron Man fans to jump in with where you want the sequel to go. (Or, if you're feeling mean, you can also start screaming "sell out!" or something along those lines.) I wish I could throw in a story suggestion here, but I can't ... I'm still waiting to see it! You should feel really bad for me.
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Full 'G.I. Joe' Cast Photos!
Fan Rant: The Selling Out of Heath Ledger
