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Angelina Jolie Passes Up Awesome 3D Sci-Fi Epic 'Gravity' Because ...
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, RumorMonger
Though there are five (or is it fifty?) projects Angelina Jolie is flirting with or prepping for right now -- from her directorial debut in Bosnia to Cleopatra -- there's one film she's definitely not doing. In fact, she's refused to sign on twice now, even after some salivating hard-core press from the studio, an intriguing premise, a great director, and big money.Though Warner Bros. fought to bring her into the fold, and she was initially intrigued by the project when it was at Universal, Jolie refuses to headline Gravity, Alfonso Cuaron's upcoming 3D sci-fi film, which would see her in a challenging Cast Away-type role set on a space station.
Get Ready... Here's Your First Peek of Rihanna in 'Battleship'
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Games and Game Movies, Images
Oh man... That insane gamble otherwise known as Battleship shows no signs of stopping, even though many of you agree that it's somewhat ridiculous and most likely doomed. Whether we like it or not, the future is bringing us a board-game finagling that will see Navy types battling aliens on the open seas. It stars the utterly baffling mix of Taylor Kitsch, Rihanna, Alexander Skarsgard, Tom Arnold, Hamish Linklater, and Brooklyn Decker (a model).At this point, it seems beyond our mental capacity to imagine how this will play out. But finally, we've got our first look at Rihanna on set, dressed in Navy duds and ready to kick some alien ass.
Interview: Michelle Rodriguez on 'Machete'
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, New Releases, Sony, Warner Brothers, New in Theaters, 20th Century Fox, Interviews
Michelle Rodriguez has literally fought her way to stardom, starting with Karyn Kusama's boxing drama Girlfight. Rodriguez came away with an Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance and the start of a unique career as one of Hollywood's action heroines. In the past ten years, Rodriguez has driven with The Fast and the Furious, fought zombies in Resident Evil, rode the waves in Blue Crush, got Lost, and piloted one of James Cameron's futuristic ships in Avatar.
Rodriguez's latest role as Luz in Robert Rodriguez's Machete takes the action star to a whole new level of kicking ass. Deep in the heart of Texas, Luz runs a taco truck that feeds the local day laborers home-style food, comfort, and hope for a better future -- as well information about jobs, how to get papers, or even cash in a pinch. Luz's alter ego is Shé, a revolutionary, gun-totin' mama who runs an underground network that helps immigrants once they've crossed the border into the Texas. Luz ends up being a much-needed friend to Machete (Danny Trejo), a former Federales who escaped a Mexican drug lord by the skin of his teeth and keeps finding himself in increasingly messy situations on the Texan side of the border. He's got a machete, but Luz has got, well, a lot more than a taco truck on her side.
Rodriguez took some time out of her busy day to talk to Cinematical about self-stereotyping, playing with politics in Machete, and the outer space kind of aliens she'll be fighting in Battle: Los Angeles.
New 'Conan' Images Prove Weird Topless Orgy Scene Does Exist!
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, New Releases, NSFW, Remakes and Sequels, Images
Marcus Nispel's relaunch of the Conan movie series is currently in post-production, but website Conan: The Movie Blog has been sharing all the behind the scenes photos they can get their hands on.
These new snapshots come courtesy of actress Katarzyna Wolejnio, who plays Valeria in the film. They're set in what appears to be a tavern with Conan surrounded by loads of fellow barbarians and a few topless women as well. I don't know that this conclusively proves anything about an orgy scene, but it sounded funny.
The Conan Blog points out that it's nice to see that the women in the photos aren't the typical SoCal starlets made to look like cavegirls. I'd agree with the sentiment, although I'm not entirely convinced the pics support that statement. Sure, there's a certain "earthy" quality to the girls in the photos, but they don't exactly look like they've been raised in an environment where bathing was a luxury and the concept of cosmetics didn't exist. Still, the pics are cool and give us another glimpse into what the finished film will be like.
If you can stop staring at boobs for a few seconds, you'll also note that new Conan Jason Momoa is in the shots as well. I know there's a lot of back and forth over whether or not Momoa can pull off this part, but judging from the pics I'd say he at least looks at home doing the whole drunk barbarian thing.
"The Rock" Replaces Brendan Fraser in 'Journey 3D' Sequel
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, Newsstand
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.
'Breaking Dawn' Finds Its Earth-Moving Benjamin
Filed under: Romance, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, Remakes and Sequels
In the Twilight world, most vamps seem to have some sort of special power. But we're not just talking super-speed or mind reading. In Stephenie Meyer's universe, your best and most developed talent or intuition as a human will become stronger as a sparkling vampire. It could be mundane as being really loving, or any range of cooler aspects. There are shields against special powers, mind readers, future-tellers, those that can make the brain think the body is in severe pain, and one whose skin has a special and handy electric current in times of need.But there's another vamp who gets an extra-special, possibly one-of-a-kind talent. Vampire Benjamin can move the elements, creating fissures in the land, whipping up some mist, tossing a boulder here or there. As The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn nears production, they've chosen Rami Malek for the job.
'Shark Night 3D' Hoping to be Next 'Snakes on a Plane'
Filed under: Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, New Releases
With Piranha 3D taking a bite out college students at the box office, and the 35th anniversary of Jaws having just past in June, it suddenly seems like a good time for more movies with underwater menaces. Luckily for you, David Ellis has you covered.Ellis, the director behind the insanely hyped Snakes on a Plane, is set to bring us Shark Night 3-D. The film is centered on seven young adults who spend a weekend at a lake house in the Louisiana Gulf area. Their weekend trip takes a turn for the terrible when sharks start attacking -- which is even more troubling since these are freshwater lakes. Our heroes soon discover it's part of some sick plan inspired by greed on the part of the locals (of course it is ... ).
Will 'Avatar' Mark the End of the Re-Release?
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Box Office, Exhibition, 20th Century Fox
Did anyone see Avatar this past weekend? The once-high-grossing 3D movie was re-released in theaters again, this time with nine minutes of previously unseen material tacked on. And going by its box office take of "only" $4 million, it's likely that you did not give in to that little bit of bonus footage. Both Fox and James Cameron are likely not crying, though. They're probably fine with any additional pocket change thrown atop their $750 million total. Besides, $4 million in one weekend is the best it's done since mid-March, when it was playing on a lot more than this past weekend's 800s screens. Without looking at the data, maybe this Special Edition release seems a disappointment, as Steven Zeitchik spins it over at 24 Frames. He wonders if this "struggle" by Avatar could be a nail in the coffin for re-releases, still despite success with 3D retrofit editions of films like The Nightmare Before Christmas and Toy Story and Toy Story 2. Plus, as he notes, they're low-risk. And they shouldn't be looked at against a weekend's new titles. Avatar might not have done Star Wars Special Edition numbers, but it had a better re-release gross than The Dark Knight -- of course that one didn't get the extended cut treatment (and it didn't have the benefit of 3D surcharges).
And the Director of 'Clash of the Titans 2' Is...
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Deals, Warner Brothers, Remakes and Sequels
If you've been eagerly anticipating the name of the director who'll take the directing reins on the Clash of the Titans sequel, then here's your answer (via THR): Jonathan Liebesman. Liebesman is best known for directing The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning and Darkness Falls, both middling (if that) horror efforts, but it's Liebesman's latest directorial effort, Battle: Los Angeles, Leibesman's Black Hawk Down-style alien-invasion flick, set to hit theaters next March, that has impressed studio heads at Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures sufficiently to give Liebesman a shot at an action- and visual-effects heavy blockbuster/tentpole. Money was apparently a sticking point in negotiations (it usually is), but now that Liebesman and Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures have agreed on a salary, pre-production on the sequel can begin. Given Clash of the Titans $500 million international box-office take, Warner Bros. was (and is) eager to move forward with the sequel. They've already commissioned a treatment for Clash of the Titans 2. Writers Greg Berlanti (Green Lantern), Dan Mazeau, and David Leslie Johnson (Red Riding Hood) contributed to the treatment. Mazeau and Johnson will write the screenplay for Liebesman to direct.
Watch This: Would You Attend a Klingon Opera?
Filed under: Music & Musicals, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fandom
I often wonder what anthropologists in the future will think of our civilization when they look back on it (provided the Earth doesn't esplode in 2012 ... ). What will scientific men make of our fascination with reality TV and popular culture? I'd love to be a fly on the wall as they puzzle out why, exactly, someone felt the need to create a "Klingon opera."The villains of many a Star Trek film and episode have already spawned their own language -- and now they're getting a musical drama.
Entitled – u -, which translates roughly to "universe" or "universal", the opera will be the first ever Earth-based Klingon production. The orchestra is set to feature "indigenous Klingon instruments", some making their debut on this planet. Exciting!
The opera's website gives potential attendees a breakdown of what the production will sound like: "Klingon opera uses the principle of musical combat. Beauty in Klingon music comes from the impact of two opposing forces. To quote a well known Klingon proverb qa' wIje 'meH masuv or 'we fight to enrich the spirit.'"
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Angelina Jolie Passes Up Awesome 3D Sci-Fi Epic 'Gravity' Because ...
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Will 'Avatar' Mark the End of the Re-Release?
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