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The Best and Worst Action Movie Sidekicks

Filed under: Action », Fandom »



It's been a very long time since I watched Commando, and when it popped up on AMC a few weeks ago, I decided I really needed to hear its steel drum and saxophone theme again. (I really didn't. It was stuck in my head for days after.) Anyway, it had been so long that I had forgotten the ridiculous sidekick of Stewardess Cindy. She enters into the narrative in the silliest way possible (one of the bad guys hits on her, and John Matrix decides that this makes her perfect to assist him), she causes many innocent bystanders to be shot or seriously injured in a shopping mall, and she complains. A lot. Halfway through, it's like they had to come up with a better excuse for her to be there, so she supplies some knowledge about planes, fires a rocket launcher, and then steps in as a stepmom at the end.

Why is she here? Time is too tight for kissing or gratuitous sex, so there was no need for a love interest. She really does nothing that Matrix couldn't have done himself (I mean, shouldn't he know how to fly a sea plane and puzzle out fueling information? Isn't he one of those guys?), and the rocket launcher rescue could have been cut because, come on, Matrix was too badass to really get arrested anyway. It takes up time that he could have been shooting more of Arius' mercenaries in hilarious and gory ways.

I'd really like to nominate her for worst action sidekick ever, except that I'm sure there's far worse out there. I'm not talking about actual sidekicks, like Chewbacca or Samwise Gamgee, but the untrained citizens who get drawn into perilous situations.

SDCC: Jon Favreau Brings the Awesome

Filed under: Action », Paramount », DIY/Filmmaking », Interviews », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Remakes and Sequels », ComicCon »

If you think you love Jon Favreau from a distance, try sitting next to him at a roundtable. (I know how fangirlish that sounds and I don't care.) Somehow, our seating arrangements switched up, and I ended up sliding into the chair next to him just as things got going. I think I can safely say we were both startled by that arrangement. For my part, I had just come from the Comic-Con floor, and was terrified the smell had rubbed off on me. To make matters worse, he smelled like cupcakes, sunshine, and expensive cologne. (I'm not the only one to remark on that, by the way. Jordan Hoffman did too!) But he is quite lovely to sit beside, and he's the kind of guy you really want to spend hours hanging out with. I mean, look to your right and see the nerdy shirt he was sporting! I do think that's the geekiest shirt I saw all week, and at Comic-Con that's saying something.

Below you'll find some Avengers hints, the lowdown on Mickey Rourke's cockatoo, and just why they rushed the footage to San Diego.

What do you most want fans of the comic book to know?

What do I most want them to know? Well, that we hear them. We're working from the same material that they're familiar with. We're going to stick with it in certain ways, and in certain ways we're going to change it, but we're not changing it out of ignorance. We're changing it as a choice to make it interesting, and maybe make it so they don't always know what to expect. I think that fans have been punished by studios that don't care, and they assume that when you change things, you don't know what you're doing, or you don't care about them. But sometimes, you do things -- sometimes you change it, like when you're telling a joke, to throw things off a little bit, and let there be some surprises when next May rolls around. Because with the level of curiosity, it's very hard to not open every Christmas present before the release date.

Go below for the rest!









Samuel L. Jackson Negotiates With Pirates

Filed under: Deals »



Talk about timely, Samuel L. Jackson is going to be playing a negotiator yet again. Only this time he'll be talking to pirates and ship owners in order to broker a deal that probably won't have anything to do with whether or not her murdered his partner, Nate. Also, these aren't pirates of the "Arrrrrrrrrr!" and "Polly wanna cracker?" variety, but instead are the Somali variety that have been in the news lately.

Variety reports that Jackson will be producing this film along with Andras Hamori. The two previously produced Formula 51 back in 2002 which featured Jackson in a kilt. Jackson will portray real-life pirate negotiator and freelance journalist Andrew Mwangura who has successfully worked out deals between pirates and ship owners before. Deals that often involve a lot of money, say to the tune of $3.4 million dollars. However, that's money paid to the pirates as a ransom, not Mwangura's take. It's unclear if the company gave him a finder's fee for the safe return of their cargo, but apparently he makes a living as a freelance journalist.

Dang, I don't know any of us at Cinematical who negotiate with pirates in their spare time. Although I did talk down the price of some furniture at a garage sale recently.

Scenes We Love: The Long Kiss Goodnight

Filed under: Action », Remakes and Sequels », Scenes We Love »



With Renny Harlin's 12 Rounds opening this Friday, you might hear a little more about Harlin's plans for a sequel to The Long Kiss Goodnight. Earlier this month, he told Moviehole that all plans were on the back burner, but that he had a script ready and waiting should the oppertunity arise. Naturally, it would be a Samuel L. Jackson vehicle, as 95% of all movies being made today are.

I can't stand the idea of a sequel -- namely because no script Harlin penned would ever be as good one by Shane Black, but also because the movie was about an amnesiac assassin named Charlie Baltimore. The charm of the movie is that her psychotic nature is buried within a happy-go-lucky mom who enjoys baking muffins and wearing ugly Christmas sweaters. Making a sequel that centers on her sidekick (even if her sidekick was Jackson) is just a little insulting.

So, to remind Harlin of what made The Long Kiss Goodnight so damn cool (or at least a guilty pleasure), here's one of my favorite scenes. I'm a sucker for "I remember who I am now, and I'm a psycho" character moments (and the final look Geena Davis gives David Morse is awesome), but I'm especially partial to this one due to the cosmetic overhaul. I think about it every time I'm putting on my own make-up, and occasionally have to fight the urge to chop off my hair and bleach it blond.

The language and hint of nudity make this NSFW, so watch at your own risk.

New Dates for Thor, Captain America, and The Avengers

Filed under: Action », New Releases », Newsstand », Comic/Superhero/Geek »

It has been a busy couple of weeks for Marvel. After signing Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury for the rest of the man's natural born life and stalling on Iron Man casting (although that all worked out in the end), their behavior might have looked a little crazy -- but, it appears it was all a part of the plan. Deadline Hollywood Daily has posted a press release from Marvel today announcing "an adjusted release pipeline for its self-produced feature film properties that reflects the first time individual Super Hero characters and story arcs will be inter-woven and culminate in a multi-character motion picture."

So what exactly do they mean by adjusted? According to the new schedule, Thor will now be released June 17, 2011 (previously the big guy was slated for July 2010), The First Avenger: Captain America will now hit July 22, 2011 (one year later than expected), and the big bad daddy of them all, The Avengers has been moved to May 4th, 2012. Marvel even got a little feisty and stole some of Sony's thunder by announcing Spider Man 4's release date of May 6th, 2011. The good news for Marvel is this new schedule means that they will have a summer blockbuster entry every year between 2010-2012.

UPDATE: It's Official: Rourke to Play 'Iron Man 2' Baddie, Johansson Also Signs On

Filed under: Casting », RumorMonger », Fandom », Newsstand »

We all figured this would happen eventually -- and if Nikki Finke is right, it looks like Mickey Rourke (and his agent) have successfully negotiated their way into Iron Man 2. News broke last month that Rourke was in negotiations for the role of the Russian villain, but that Marvel was shooting back some low numbers that weren't very giant summer blockbustery (if you know what I mean). The same thing had happened earlier when Marvel tried to negotiate with Samuel L. Jackson to reprise his role as Nick Fury, but after a little of this and a little of that, Jackson finally signed a mega deal to appear in nine Marvel movies.

According to Finke, the same negotiation tactics were used to finally stick Rourke in the role. The actor is currently in Russia promoting The Wrestler, and will reportedly begin prepping for the role immediately (by chugging shots of vodka and smashing them over the heads of unsuspecting fans?). Rourke's character is described as "Tony Stark's Russian alter ego, a heavily tattooed bruiser who is in the arms trade and battles Iron Man in his own nuclear-powered armored suit." Finke added that Rourke was also being considered to play the main villain in Spider-Man 4, too, though that probably won't happen now. Maybe it was that other potential deal that got this one rolling? Iron Man 2 will hit theaters on May 7, 2010.

So whaddya think? Which movie would you rather see Rourke in playing villain: Iron Man 2 or Spider-Man 4?

UPDATE: Nikki Finke also posts now that Scarlett Johansson has officially signed to replace Emily Blunt as the Black Widow, and, unlike Rourke's deal, hers is a little crappier. Not only is Johansson tied to this sequel, but Finke says her contract "ties her to countless movies" ... including The Avengers in 2011.

Geek Daily: Suicide Squad, Marvel's 9 Deals, and More Wolverine Grappling

Filed under: Action », Casting », Deals », Warner Brothers », RumorMonger », 20th Century Fox », Newsstand », Movie Marketing », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Remakes and Sequels », Images »



Warner Bros is ramping up yet another DC property, according to Variety. Producer Dan Lin is setting up Suicide Squad as a potential franchise, with Justin Marks penning the initial screenplay. The series centers on supervillains both great and small, who are recruited by the government to serve as expendable agents on missions too dangerous for superheroes. What Variety doesn't say is which villains will be used, so it's difficult to say how cool or crappy this could be. It's also hard to get too excited about yet another DC property when so many of them are stuck in endless pre-production. (Ok, so we do have a date on The Green Lantern -- but without a Green Lantern, it's kind of uninspiring, isn't it?) We're definitely on a supervillain trend now, though, aren't we? And just think ... people said it wouldn't work!

CHUD is reporting that Samuel L. Jackson's nine picture deal is a sign of things to come, and that this is Marvel's new contractual item. You can expect similar deals in the future -- you can kind of imagine which characters might be locked down in perpetual servitude. Apparently, this may have been one of the issues that prevented Emily Blunt from signing to Iron Man 2.

Finally, there's a new X-Men Origins: Wolverine photo from Stark Industries, featuring more Sabretooth and Wolverine going claw to claw, muttonchop to muttonchop:

Gallery: Wolverine






Samuel L. Jackson Signs With Marvel Until the End of Time

Filed under: Action », Casting », Deals », Newsstand », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Remakes and Sequels »

I was in the minority when it came to Samuel L. Jackson returning to the Marvel Universe. I know the Ultimate Nick Fury was based on him ... but the Marvel girl in me is traditional and boring.* I wanted to see someone like George Clooney sporting the eyepatch. I like Jackson (to dislike him is a sin) a lot, but he's just such a blatant fanboy choice nowadays ... and can anyone argue that he'll bring anything to Fury other than just being Jackson in an eyepatch? (Arguably, Clooney wouldn't either, but he'd bring that retro charm that non-Ultimate Fury swaggers with.)

But for the majority of fans, that's enough, and the following is news for you to rejoice over. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jackson has signed on for nine (count 'em, nine) films with Marvel Studios. He's set to play Nick Fury in the following: Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America, The Avengers, and any sequel that they might spawn. A S.H.I.E.L.D / Nicky Fury movie is also a possibility.

So, there you go. Not only is Jackson returning as Fury for Iron Man 2, but he will be the head of S.H.I.E.L.D for as long as it lives and breaths on our cinema screens.

* I will, however, give Marvel Studios major props for not making its movie universe a white one.

'Iron Man 2' Update: Mickey Rourke Offered Peanuts

Filed under: Action », Casting », Deals », Celebrities and Controversy », Fandom », Newsstand », Comic/Superhero/Geek »

Well, it would appear as if the harsh economic times are beginning to hurt our much-anticipated superhero sequels, as Variety reports that some actors are having to accept huge paycuts. With the exception of dudes like Will Smith and Johnny Depp (who still earn their ridiculously high quotes), everyone else in Hollywood is beginning to feel the hurt. For example, Variety says that the opening offer to Mickey Rourke for his villainous role in Iron Man 2 was a whopping $250,000 from Marvel. And while I'm sure we'd all love to make that kind of money for a gig, understand that for an Oscar-nominated actor enjoying a huge comeback year ... well, that's kind of insulting -- especially since we're talking Iron Man 2 and not some small, no-budget indie.

But it's these kinds of lowball offers that are also turning some actors away. Marvel attempted to pull the same sorta thing with Samuel L. Jackson, who was supposed to return to the big screen as Nick Fury, but the man walked claiming he'll never play the character for that money. [Raises hand] I'll play him ...

Here's my question to you, though: Should some of these actors suck it up and take less money if it makes their fans happy, or should they stick to their guns and hold out for the chunk of change they think they deserve?

Geek Daily: Mickey Rourke Has to Eat, Muscle Suits and Wolverine, And More!

Filed under: Action », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Thrillers », Casting », Deals », MGM », Warner Brothers », RumorMonger », Celebrities and Controversy », 20th Century Fox », Newsstand », Tom Cruise », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Remakes and Sequels »



There is a delicious irony in the penny-pinching that surrounds Iron Man 2. We're talking about Tony Stark, a Marvel character who is wealthier than God, and whose sequel will bring in millions at the box office. Yet the studio reportedly didn't want to bring Jon Favreau back because they were convinced they could pay a new guy less. Then came reports that they dumped Terrence Howard largely because they had overpaid him. Last week, Samuel L. Jackson told the world that Marvel was feeling the economic crunch, and wouldn't pay his asking price to reprise the role of Nick Fury. Now, Variety reports that Marvel is offering Mickey Rourke the grand total of $250,000 to play Crimson Dynamo, and hints that he may not sign for such a low offer. Seriously Marvel? Of course, actors are hideously overpaid and all, but I think Rourke deserves a decent chunk of change for Iron Man 2 considering what Marvel will make on the film.

Meanwhile the "maybe they aren't overpaid, money doesn't heal humiliation" category, check out this Liev Schreiber quote from Details about playing Sabretooth in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. "I started to read blogs in the comic world with things like 'That's the dumpiest, most out-of-shape Sabretooth I've ever seen in my life!' They gave me a muscle suit at the beginning. I was so humiliated I thought, I've got to try to do this on my own ... I felt like I owed it to the genre to be big." Now take a moment, and be glad Fox cast someone as committed as Schreiber so that you didn't have to see Sabretooth in a rubber muscle suit.



 
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