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Tim Robbins Joins 'The Green Lantern'
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, Warner Brothers, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek
As you may have realized by now, the main villain of The Green Lantern isn't going to be Sinestro, but will be Peter Sarsgaard's Dr. Hector Hammond. Sinestro will be there, lurking in the wings, but it's all about Hammond and his big, bad, psychic powers this time around. But like all bad boys, Hammond has turned to the dark side because of deep seated issues in his childhood. So, you need a father figure to menace our poor doctor, and THR's Heat Vision reports that Tim Robbins has volunteered for the job.Robbins will play Senator Hammond, the disapproving father of Hector. Despite that Hector has become a brilliant pathologist, the Senator remains unimpressed. Presumably, the senator would rather his son follow him into politics, and reap the benefits of wealth, power, money, and women. When Hector stumbles upon a meteor that gives him overwhelming psychic powers, I'm guessing Daddy Dearest becomes enemy #1. The Senator's going to live to regret never playing catch with his son.
Sarsgaard and Robbins should play very well off each other. Both of them excel at playing despicable people. It might be more fun watching them go at each other than seeing the eventual showdown between Hal Jordan and Dr. Hammond. Therein lies the danger of a great cast filling out those supporting roles!
Release Date Shuffle: 'Titans' Clash Cusses Everything Up
Filed under: Action, Comedy, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Disney, Universal, Warner Brothers, RumorMonger, Distribution, 20th Century Fox, Family Films, Remakes and Sequels
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Damn the Gods"? Nah, more like "Damn the Suits" who opted to give Clash of the Titans a 3-D upgrade in the wake of Avatar's popularity, unaware or unfazed by the fact that A) that film was actually shot for 3-D, not just given layers in post-production, and B) that film didn't succeed massively because of star Sam Worthington (no offense, fella).
So Warner Bros. has bought themselves a week, moving Clash back from March 26th to April 2nd in order to capitalize on Easter weekend and give How to Train Your Dragon a whopping week before squeezing in on its 3-D screens. This move has left other studios to scramble to avoid competition (or fill the gap left behind), and so far as B.O.M. is concerned, here's how things have settled at the moment:
Damn the Gods"? Nah, more like "Damn the Suits" who opted to give Clash of the Titans a 3-D upgrade in the wake of Avatar's popularity, unaware or unfazed by the fact that A) that film was actually shot for 3-D, not just given layers in post-production, and B) that film didn't succeed massively because of star Sam Worthington (no offense, fella).So Warner Bros. has bought themselves a week, moving Clash back from March 26th to April 2nd in order to capitalize on Easter weekend and give How to Train Your Dragon a whopping week before squeezing in on its 3-D screens. This move has left other studios to scramble to avoid competition (or fill the gap left behind), and so far as B.O.M. is concerned, here's how things have settled at the moment:
- Fox's family-friendly Diary of a Wimpy Kid has moved to March 19th from 4/2
- Universal's sci-fi actioner, Repo Men, has moved to March 19th from 4/2
- MGM's raunchy romp, Hot Tub Time Machine, has moved to March 26th from 3/19
- Disney's Nicholas Sparks/Miley Cyrus vehicle, The Last Song, opens on March 31 instead of 4/2
- Summit's kiddie comedy, Furry Vengeance, has moved to April 30th from 4/2
'Cop Out' Gets A Red Band Trailer. Is It Any Funnier?
Filed under: Action, Comedy, Warner Brothers, Newsstand, NSFW, Movie Marketing, Trailers and Clips
The original Cop Out trailer hasn't inspired much hope in viewers and critics across our great digital nation, and the deluge of television spots only make it seem less appealing. Cop Out just doesn't look like a Kevin Smith film at all. However, everyone is still holding out some hope (I mean, he really did get Harold Faltermeyer to do the score!), and good test reviews have popped up on Ain't It Cool News. For what it's worth, the test screeners said the trailers were misleading crap.
Perhaps Warner Bros has realized this, because they've released a Red Band trailer to MySpace. Now this looks more like a Smith film (though his name is still notably missing), and more like the raunchy buddy cop comedy we were expecting. It's definitely funnier, and you can mentally re-edit the trailer you've seen with the R-rated lines you get here. My concern now is that between the two trailers, we've seen anything and everything that's remotely chuckle worthy. On the other hand, neither trailer gives a hint of the plot, so maybe there's something more to Cop Out. Whether it's good or not? Well, that's the kicker.
The new, naughtier Cop Out trailer is embedded below. It goes without saying that since it's Red Band (no peeking, young readers), it's NSFW. It's Friday though, so maybe you can get away with it.
'A Star is Born' Again -- with Beyonce and Russell Crowe?
Filed under: Casting, Warner Brothers
Is there some rule of the universe that once in every generation, a new version of A Star is Born must be filmed? Warner Bros. has been working for some time on yet another remake to accompany the 1937, 1954 and 1976 movies. I feel like "Hello everybody, this is Mrs. Norman Maine" (or John Norman Howard, in 1976) is a line that won't date well, but the story about a couple whose similar careers are on different trajectories could be considered timeless. Apparently the studio is moving on picking a director -- Nick Cassavetes is a possibility -- and a pair of stars.According to the LA TImes 24 Frames blog, the front runner for the lead role this time is Russell Crowe. And the woman who's on the way up as her husband is on the way down may be Beyonce Knowles, who has been interested in an A Star is Born remake for some time. The L.A. Times article seems to assume that the characters will be musicians, as in the 1976 version with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson, especially with Beyonce on board. If you think Crowe is an odd choice to step into Kristofferson's shoes, remember that the Gladiator actor has also pursued a career as a musician in the past few years. Jeff Bridges' recent success in a similar role in Crazy Heart may also be an incentive both to Crowe and to Warners to get this project moving. Do you think Crowe and Beyonce would have good on-screen chemistry together?
Sgt. Rock Skips Iraq and Ships Out For Times Unknown
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Warner Brothers, Scripts, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek, War
Once upon a time, Sgt. Rock was set to battle Nazis in occupied France. Over the years, he's changed commanders -- er, directors -- and actors but one thing was always certain: Like Captain America, Sgt. Rock would keep to his time and place. Until last November, when Warner Bros announced they were taking him into the future with Francis Lawrence and screenwriter Chad. St. John.At the time, the news didn't attract much notice, perhaps because it was a little confusing. A lot of Sgt. Rock fans thought the film might be in his future rather than Earth's, and we would see him fighting in Afghanistan or Iraq. While that was a logical leap, it turned out to be wishful thinking. Joel Silver told the LA Times that Sgt. Rock will indeed be jumping into the not-too-distant future and saving humanity. There's no hint as to who or what he will be fighting in that futuristic battlefield. Will it be an old enemy made new again, such as Russia or neo-Nazis? Or will it be something like aliens or cyborgs? Silver is keeping tight-lipped, and revealed only that a new draft of the script had arrived: "It's a little bit in the future. As a war movie, it's not going to be 'where it's been,' it's going to be 'where it's going.' We didn't want to do Iraq, we didn't want to do a contemporary war. We wanted to do a sort of futuristic war. It's pretty strong."
I still don't understand the point. Like Cap, Sgt. Rock is the kind of character that was created and defined by WW2. He belongs there. I think Inglourious Basterds proved audiences were hungry for fictional WW2 adventures. The appeal of films like The Dirty Dozen and Where Eagles Dare has never waned. Why not go classic with Sgt. Rock instead of so silly and generic?
'The Losers' Killed 'The Dirty Dozen'!
Filed under: Action, Thrillers, Warner Brothers, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Movie Marketing, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels
Thanks to a pretty cool trailer, The Losers have created quite a stir online. Warner Bros is building on the publicity, and released a brand new photo that mimics the cover of Andy Diggle and Jock's original graphic novel cover. The full photo is in our gallery below. Depending on which actor or actress is your pin-up, you should like the angle they used.
Hero Complex caught up with director Sylvain White who dismissed any comparisons to the upcoming A-Team movie. "I wasn't aware the other movie was coming when I was busy fabricating and creating this film. All I can do is make the movie I want to make and do the best I can. I'm not worried about The A-Team, our movie comes first and has a very different plot ... As far as aesthetic, there are a lot of gimmicks with action movies right now, a lot of frenetic edit, techy exposition and nonsense. With this movie I really tried to give it a certain elegance." White also tried to steer clear of the tone of many recent action films. "I felt recently there had been a lot of action movies that embrace grittiness and realness but also fall into a very straight and dark tone, generally. I thought here there was a really interesting balance drawn from the 2004 and 2005 [comics] reinventions of The Losers that had hard, gritty action with a fun, light tone."
Review: Edge of Darkness
Filed under: Action, Drama, Thrillers, New Releases, Mystery & Suspense, Warner Brothers, Theatrical Reviews
Bodies bob to the surface of a deserted river. A playful little girl is captured on home video. A troubled man waits for his daughter. Edge of Darkness, a powerhouse dramatic thriller directed by Martin Campbell, tends a bed of smoldering embers that occasionally, unexpectedly, explodes into a raging fire.
The largest ember is Craven, a Boston police detective. As played by Mel Gibson, Craven becomes a man on a mission only after his daughter is shot dead in front of his eyes. Before that, his life is a blank slate, more notable for the things that are missing rather than any sense of purpose. Unresolved questions follow him around like a lost puppy: why didn't he visit his only daughter? Why did he demonstrate so little interest in her career or her friends? What happened to his wife, evidently long gone from the scene? Why doesn't he have any friends? What kind of police detective is he?
From the evidence presented, Craven is a haunted loner with deep reserves of seething anger and brutal competence. The death of his daughter destroys him, as though he himself had absorbed the shotgun blast to the gut, but there's never any question that his own brand of justice will be served. First, though, he has to figure out who was trying to kill him.
'Harry Potter' and 'Clash of the Titans' to Undergo 3D Conversion
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Warner Brothers, Fandom, Movie Marketing, Harry Potter
Many were quick to decry Avatar as being, contrary to the hype, not a game changer. Yet here we are, living in a post-Avatar world with its repercussions already evident even with the film still in theaters. Thing is, the game changing has been on the business end at this point, not the ground-up effects end as most proffered. Avatar's record-devouring returns, due to the added premium for 3D and IMAX tickets, have gotten all the major studios into a tizzy over how they can best capitalize on said premiums with their current slate. Or, more bluntly, they want to charge you more for what you were already going to see.Case in point, it is expected that in the very near future Warner Brothers will announce that both Clash of the Titans and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows will go under the post-production scalpel for a 3D face lift. The studio has been openly debating the Clash conversion for a while, but The Hollywood Reporter now tells us that they've loved the tests they've done on certain scenes and have now bumped the film's release date to April 2nd to accommodate the change. And, in fairness, this seems reasonable on WB's part as Clash isn't going to be a guaranteed hit, so it makes sense they'd try to hedge their box office bet.
Harry Potter, on the other hand, is a more blatant case of milking the audience for as much as possible. Being the final film(s) of one of the most popular book and film series ever produced, it's safe to say that the audiences were already going to flood the theaters on November 19th. Now we will all just have to pay an extra 15-30% more for the privilege to do so despite the fact that neither film was shot with 3D in mind. Thanks, Avatar!
Could 'Gremlins 3' Be 'Gremlins 3-D'?
Filed under: Comedy, Horror, Warner Brothers, RumorMonger, Remakes and Sequels
Gremlins sequel rumblings seem to be perennial. While I'd normally cast those rumors aside with dead-end news on Beetlejuice 2 or The Breakfast Club Returns, sources at Market Saw sound pretty confident that the beloved monster comedy is getting a new lease on life in 3-D.Market Saw has no details about a third Gremlins outing other than to say that one is in the earliest of development stages, with the full intent of it being created for 3-D. So, is this something that's actually happening or is this a game of telephone from someone who'd like to see it happen? There's no info on who is developing it, whether it's a straight sequel or a reboot (Hollywood loves its reboots right now), or whether or not director Joe Dante will be back to helm the new installment.
I'd love to see a new Gremlins film, and I don't need the prospect of 3-D to get happy about it. If some Mogwai break the rules, turn themselves into Gremlins, and terrorize people, I am so there.
'The Hobbit' Really Might Be Delayed This Time
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, New Line, Warner Brothers, RumorMonger, Scripts, Peter Jackson, Remakes and Sequels
We've been enjoying rumors about The Hobbit for about two years now with no signs of letting up. We've heard it all -- from who is or isn't cast as Bilbo Baggins or Smaug, to whether it'll be in 3D, and if it'll be two films of purely Hobbit-drawn material or if it'll delve into the Tolkien appendices, it goes on and and on. And that's not even counting the year or so that Peter Jackson was out of favor with New Line. It's enough to make you climb into a hobbit hole and have your second breakfast.Now Variety reports that despite the assurances of Guillermo Del Toro and Jackson, The Hobbit release may actually be delayed from December 2011 to late 2012, as previously reported. While discussing Warner Bros' plans for New Line, WB studio leader Alan Horn is predicting that The Hobbit will be released in "the fourth quarter of 2012," though he declined to give any further details.
While Jackson assures everyone the project is on track, I find it hard to believe they can make that 2011 release date, even if they are holding open casting calls. As of last month, MGM still hadn't officially green-lit the film, and they were still on the second draft of the script. I'm not going to lose faith that we'll have an 2011 trip to Middle Earth -- but I'm not going to hold my breath, either. Remember, it was originally given a release date of 2010!
Tom Cruise and J.J. Abrams Reunite for 'Mission Impossible 4'
'Big Top Pee-Wee': The Original Benicio Del Toro Wolfman
Spin-ematical: New on DVD and Blu-ray for 2/9
Watch This: Brilliant Oscar-Nominated Short 'Logorama'
Chris Nolan to Lead 'Superman' Reboot!?
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