Lionsgate Tagged Articles at Cinematical
See A Little 'Kick-Ass' In This Teaser Trailer
Filed under: Action », Comedy », Independent », Lionsgate Films », Movie Marketing », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Trailers and Clips »
The teaser trailer for Kick-Ass has arrived! Having been subjected to so much hype by everyone luckier than me at ComicCon, it's a bit of a let down because there's just not much ass-kicking going on. It's basically an animated version of the poster, introducing you to the characters while showing a little more blood and smacks. But hey, this is just the beginning and I don't expect them to spill all the cool stuff in the first glimpse.
I do like what I see, though. On the surface it looks like a teenage Watchmen but with a lot of emphasis on how fun it is to be a vigilante. There's no awkward geek humor on display. The characters are young comic book fans, but we aren't subjected to any "Ow, it hurts to be an action hero" moments. Instead, it's all about the action and potential for violence. Kick-Ass is confident! He doesn't shirk from being a superhero. In his mind, he's as worthy as Batman, and he's able to take the pain and punches. I like that, and I expected no less from Matthew Vaughn. My favorite remains Hit Girl, though. Her costume is practical, there's nothing creepy or sexual about her (so far), and her knife-flinging is lethal. Plus, she does appear to have Nite Owl's greatest fan as her father. The resemblance goes further than just the poster, and I want to believe we'll leave this theater saying "This makes up for Bangkok Dangerous, Mr. Cage."
The trailer is embedded below the jump, courtesy of MySpace. Kick-Ass hits theaters April 16, 2010.
Monday Night Poll: Does 'Saw VI' Deserve An X Rating?
Filed under: Horror », Lionsgate Films », Celebrities and Controversy »
Sunday over at Cinematical's sister site, Horror Squad, vigilant contributor Brian Salisbury picked up a news story from Arrow in the Head about Saw VI receiving no less than an 'X' rating for violence from the ratings board in Spain. While this might be minor news if the rating board awarded 'X' ratings to its predecessors, or even just some of the other horror films released in recent years that borrowed from the first film's gag-inducing inspiration, evidently Saw VI is the first-ever movie that has been awarded the killer rating for violence in the country's history, which begs makes us wonder what the board saw in, uh, Saw that made it so offensive?
Despite having seen only the first and sixth installments in the Saw series, I can attest that the new film is indeed gross and gory, featuring scenes like a showdown between two victims to shave off enough body mass (or maybe just body parts) to survive, and a merry-go-round fitted with six victims who more or less indiscriminately suffer from direct shotgun blasts to the chest. But personally I'm not sure that the movie is really any more violent or gratuitous than any of its predecessors, even those that I haven't seen; while one could perhaps make the argument that many of Jigsaw's victims were dubiously "guilty" at worst (or even outright innocent), making their deaths more tragic, it seems unlikely that the murkier morality of this film would earn it a harsher rating than any of the others.
Since I'm sure there are plenty of readers who have seen all of the films and are ready to weigh in with their own opinions, we'll put the question to you: Is Saw VI deserving of an 'X' rating?
'Kane and Lynch' Going Ahead With Bruce Willis
Filed under: Action », Independent », Thrillers », Casting », Lionsgate Films », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand », Games and Game Movies »
Last summer, the trades reported that Bruce Willis was in talks to play Kane in a big screen adaptation of Kane and Lynch. Perhaps you were one of the game fans excited by that prospect, but as the long months wore on, you may have forgotten such a fleeting news item. But Kane and Lynch didn't go anywhere, and GameDaily is confirming that Bruce Willis is ready to go in with his guns blazing, with Simon Crane directing, and that filming will begin in March 2010. They're just looking for their Lynch and their locations. GameDaily caught up with producer Adrian Askarieh, who confirmed Willis' casting, and shared just what had lured him to the project in the first place. "[Kyle Ward's] script has been incredibly well-received around town. After Bruce Willis read it, he called it one of the best action scripts he's ever read, and Bruce is an expert in terms of action scripts because he's read everything over the last 20 years." Askarieh describes the film as "a great buddy action movie" (nothing's funnier than kidnapping and death row) and promised that'll remain faithful to the game, at least in terms of its plotline. "It's going to have the basic premise. But the details for the movie are going to be different. It's not going to have every sequence from the game, but it's essentially the story of a mercenary teaming up with a schizophrenic psychopath to save his wife and daughter."
While none of us hold out hope for video game adaptations, I would like this one to turn out solid. It's two death-row inmates (one of whom is heavily medicated) doing rotten, sociopathic things in the name of rescue. It's the kind of movie Hollywood should be able to make, but probably won't, even with an action heavy like Willis.
[via Empire]
Lionsgate Signs a Deal That Could Make You Famous
Filed under: Deals », Lionsgate Films », Distribution », DIY/Filmmaking »
If you're an aspiring filmmaker hoping to break into the studio system, you'll want to hop on over to Massify.com and create an account. If you're unfamiliar with the site, it's a portal that links together actors, writers, directors and producers for all kinds of in-community projects that result in everything from Internet shorts to TV commercials to actual feature-length films. Now Lionsgate has taken notice of the service, signing a deal with the startup that will hopefully lead to multiple theatrical films down the line.
The collaboration is being dubbed the Lionsgate Incubator Project (LINC) and will kick off later this year with a "high-concept, male-driven comedy short", no doubt inspired by the enormous success of The Hangover, that will serve as a proving ground for future development. If the end product satisfies Lionsgate, they'll usher it into their feature film development program the same way they would any other project.
Lionsgate isn't the first studio to take advantage of the Massify process, either. After Dark Films created the film Perkins 14 by running a competition through the site in which users submitted and then voted on scripts, cast, and even directors. And though Lionsgate doesn't cite ADF's success (Perkins 14 was one of the better reviewed titles of the last Horrorfest), it's clear that they see the bonus inherent to working with thousands of hungry talents. From the Massify press release on their new deal:
Liam Neeson Knows Where He'll Be For 'The Next Three Days'
Filed under: Action », Foreign Language », Thrillers », Casting », Lionsgate Films », Newsstand », Remakes and Sequels »
I'm beginning to think that Liam Neeson owns Hermione Granger's Time Turner, or that he has a lifelong supply of Red Bull because he's signed on for another role -- and this one would appear to be filming simultaneously with The A-Team. According to The Hollywood Reporter reports that Neeson has just joined Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks in Paul Haggis' The Next Three Days. Days is a remake of the 2008 French thriller Pour Elle, and accuses an ordinary woman (Banks) of a gruesome crime she insists she didn't commit. She's sent to prison and becomes suicidal, and her desperate husband (Crowe) plots to break her out. (Ah, love!) But she'll have a little help from Neeson, who plays an ex-con who has broken out of prison multiple times, wrote a how-to guide about it, and offers his assistance to Crowe. The role is being described as "cameo in nature" which suggests Neeson might be narrating his own Dummy's Guide to Escaping From Prison, or is at least available to Crowe by cell phone to work out the tougher bits.
Filming just started on Days in Pittsburgh last Friday, and wraps on December 12. The A-Team just started filming too, so I'm honestly surprised that their schedules can coincide so neatly. Maybe Neeson is ducking down to Pittsburgh and filming this one on the weekends. I think they're missing a prime opportunity here to tie The Next Three Days into The A-Team universe. If there's one thing Hannibal Smith knows anything about, it's being accused of crimes you didn't commit, and evading the law until you're free of them.
Release Dates for 'Expendables,' 'Kick-Ass,' and (yep) 'Boondock 2'
Filed under: Action », Distribution »
Matthew Vaughn's Kick-Ass made enough of an impact at last month's Comic Con to get Lionsgate interested, and the distributor has now nailed down a release date for the apparently over-the-top action fest. And that date is April 16. In related news, Lionsgate has named August 20 as the arrival date for The Expendables, which stars the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke, and Eric Roberts. Can't wait.
If you're looking for something a bit closer to the horizon, well then get ready for Boondock Saints 2: All Saint's Day! Sony will unleash the long-awaited sequel on October 30, and I've included a small press release after the jump. But yes, Norman Reedus, Sean Patrick Flanery, and Billy Connolly are returning, as is writer/director Troy Duffy. So to all who thought that the Overnight documentary was the end of the Boondock saga, well, looks like you (ok, we) were wrong.
Which, if any, of these action flicks has you the most geeked up?
Lionsgate Pays to 'Kick-Ass'
Filed under: Deals », Lionsgate Films », Distribution »
The buzz is strong on Kick-Ass, and Lionsgate listened, much to the delight of fans of the comic book and the trailer that's been making people giggle at their desks. Variety is calling the deal "mini-major," which is good news for the studio that's been subsisting on Tyler Perry and Saw flicks for the past few years.Based on the comic by Mark Millar, the esteemed scribe behind the graphic novels for Wanted and other fan faves, Kick-Ass is directed by Matthew Vaughn and stars Aaron Johnson as Dave Lizewski, a high school superhero wanna-be who gets mixed up with a drug lord (Mark Strong), the ex-cop that's after him (Nicolas Cage) and his pre-teen daughter Hit Girl, and the superhero Red Mist, played by everyone's favorite McLovin', Christopher Mintz-Plasse.
Read up on how this movie shall, in fact, live up to its name with help from Todd Gilchrist's San Diego Comic-Con report. "What was more amazing was that almost all of the clips weren't merely surprising, filthy, and kind of all-around inappropriate, but that they were hugely entertaining, in that way you react to when you're watching something that feels familiar and brand-new at the exact same time."
It sounds insane and awesome and I'd like to see it ASAP!
New 'Saw VI' Clip, 'Saw VII' and 'The Strangers 2' Announced
Filed under: Horror », Deals », Fandom », Newsstand », Trailers and Clips »
(Yesterday was a big Saw-related day, with clips arriving online along with word of yet another sequel. Here's Peter Hall and Peter Martin reporting for Horror Squad)Yesterday Bloody-Disgusting provided the net with a look at the first official poster for Lionsgate's sixth trip to the money factory/torture well started by James Wan and Leigh Whannell back in 2004. The poster is a cryptic image of six people fixed to a child's merry-go-round with the slug, "The game comes full circle." No doubt such an enigma has been torturing the imagination of Jigsaw's rabid fanbase since its release. After all playground equipment is generally quite safe, no? How could it possibly be a sinister trap?
Now less than 24 hours later we've got an official clip from Saw VI that helps clear up the merry-go-round bit of the poster. Having watched said clip I'm shocked to report that, surprise, all is not well in the playground. Turns out a spinny-ma-jig in Saw VI land is not a source of glee. It looks like it sucks. A lot. [Read the rest at Horror Squad]
Saw VII News After The Jump
Marcus Nispel Directing 'Conan the Barbarian'
Filed under: Action », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Deals », Lionsgate Films », RumorMonger », Scripts », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand », Remakes and Sequels »
Conan the Barbarian has a director, and it isn't Brett Ratner. That's the story according to CHUD, who reports that horror director Marcus Nispel has signed on the dotted line, and will direct the remake / reimagining for Lionsgate.Remakes are familiar territory for Nispel, who has helmed our latest versions of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Friday the 13th. I haven't seen either (though I am sure Scott Weinberg will rectify that soon), but I know they were heavy on the gore and action. With Outlander writers Dirk Blackman and Howard McCain giving the script a rewrite last year, I think you can picture just what Nispel and Lionsgate are aiming for ... lots of pulpy, bloody, R-rated action. While I'll hold out some hope for character development, I'll take comfort in the fact that the Barbarian's sword will meet flesh and bone with a suitable level of blood and crunch.
Now we'll have to see who lands the role (Devin Faraci is hearing that they'll go with an unknown), and whether Ratner left his fingerprints all over the project, as has been rumored every time he was on again, off again with it. But hey, it looks like Conan will make it to the theater before Red Sonja and Thulsa Doom do, which is how it should be.
Hyper-Insane 'Gamer' Trailer Now Online
Filed under: Action », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Lionsgate Films », Newsstand », Movie Marketing », Games and Game Movies », Trailers and Clips »
Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor's latest piece of madcap action has a new name (from Game to Citizen Game to Gamer), a new poster, and a new trailer. Luckily though, it's still exactly the kind of film you've come to expect from the directing duo. The trailer looks like a pretty tasty mash-up of The Running Man, Death Race, Escape from New York, and Gladiator with a dash of Blade Runner for color. If you've been annoyed at Gerard Butler going all chirpy and chick-flicky lately, this trailer will be a nice dose of neo-Leonidas. He really snarles and smashes through every frame of this -- and he even does so shirtless just to keep the crowd that does like his chick-flicky side happy.
Of course, Butler may be the top name, but he's not the only draw. Michael C. Hall is splendidly slimy here, and you'll get glimpses of Logan Lerman, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, John Leguizamo, Amber Valetta, and a blink-and-you-miss it shot of Kyra Sedgwick. Milo Ventimiglia and Alison Lohman are supposed to be somewhere in here, but it all happens too fast to see them.
It's silly for me to describe it further, so just check out the trailer below -- and if you have an XBox360, you can watch it there, but the rest of us have to get by with YouTube. Gamer hits theaters on September 4.
Of course, Butler may be the top name, but he's not the only draw. Michael C. Hall is splendidly slimy here, and you'll get glimpses of Logan Lerman, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, John Leguizamo, Amber Valetta, and a blink-and-you-miss it shot of Kyra Sedgwick. Milo Ventimiglia and Alison Lohman are supposed to be somewhere in here, but it all happens too fast to see them.
It's silly for me to describe it further, so just check out the trailer below -- and if you have an XBox360, you can watch it there, but the rest of us have to get by with YouTube. Gamer hits theaters on September 4.
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