Eddie Murphy Is Getting Back To His Roots

Eddie Murphy told Extra that he is retiring from movies and returning to stand-up comedy, the medium that got him started back in the 80's. I guess all the Norbits and Meet Daves of the past 10 years have finally gotten to him.

From Murphy: "I have close to fifty movies and it's like, why am I in the movies? [Editor's note: My sentiments exactly.] I've done that part now. I'll go back to the stage and do stand-up."

What does this mean for the previously announced Beverly Hills Cop 4, set to star Murphy and be directed by Brett Ratner? He says he didn't want to do it because "the movie wasn't ready to be done." I don't know what that means. I can't even begin to assume what that means. Is the movie a sentient being now? Does it have its own consciousness? Did the movie tell Eddie Murphy, "I'm not ready?" Sarcasm aside, BHC 4 will most likely still get released - the studios won't let a money-maker slip through their fingers.

Quantum of Solace Teaser Trailer

The trailer for the new Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, debuted from 9-11 this morning. But just because you were busy doesn't mean you can't see it - while many YouTube videos of it are already being removed by Sony Pictures, I found these that are still available. I'm sure they won't be up for long, so watch while you can!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arfpDf3deVI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00dfGFBjIBw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HneIkRIO2pA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77lPkoLwyWs

Once it becomes available legitimately, be sure to check out the Trailer Section at Ben's Movie Reviews to find it. Quantum of Solace hits theaters on November 7th of this year.

Official Plot Synopsis:

Betrayed by Vesper, the woman he loved, 007 fights the urge to make his latest mission personal. Pursuing his determination to uncover the truth, Bond and M (JUDI DENCH) interrogate Mr. White (JESPER CHRISTENSEN) who reveals the organization which blackmailed Vesper is far more complex and dangerous than anyone had imagined.

Forensic intelligence links an Mi6 traitor to a bank account in Haiti where a case of mistaken identity introduces Bond to the beautiful but feisty Camille (OLGA KURYLENKO), a woman who has her own vendetta. Camille leads Bond straight to Dominic Greene (MATHIEU AMALRIC), a ruthless business man and major force within the mysterious organization.

On a mission that leads him to Austria, Italy and South America, Bond discovers that Greene, conspiring to take total control of one of the world’s most important natural resources, is forging a deal with the exiled General Medrano (JOAQUIN COSIO). Using his associates in the organization, and manipulating his powerful contacts within the CIA and the British government, Greene promises to overthrow the existing regime in a Latin American country, giving the General control of the country in exchange for a seemingly barren piece of land.

In a minefield of treachery, murder and deceit, Bond allies with old friends in a battle to uncover the truth. As he gets closer to finding the man responsible for the betrayal of Vesper, 007 must keep one step ahead of the CIA, the terrorists and even M, to unravel Greene’s sinister plan and stop his organisation.

Matthew Fox in a Comic Book Movie?

Matthew Fox (Lost, Speed Racer, Vantage Point) has been offered the lead role in a film adaptation of a comic book called Billy Smoke. The comic hasn't even been released yet (it comes out next year!), so as of now nobody can really say anything about how good this will be or whether this casting decision is a good one.

The comic, and presumably the movie, will follow an elite hitman who is nearly killed on a blown assignment and realizes that he has to rid the world of all assassins to find redemption. Sounds a little like Wanted mixed with In Bruges. But that mission seems kind of excessive, don't you think? Ridding the world of ALL assassins? That's probably not necessary, dude.

In unrelated news, I'm just starting Season 2 of Lost and the show has been outstanding so far. I'd highly recommend checking it out on ABC.com (for free) and seeing what all the hype is about. I can't vouch for later seasons, but I haven't seen a bad episode yet.

HBC Gets Salvation?

Weirdsmobile Helena Bonham Carter (you'll recognize her from most of Tim Burton's movies) is in talks for a "small but pivotal" role in the upcoming Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins. Yes, that's all that we know about her possible character. I guess they're REALLY taking this whole "secrecy" thing seriously.

If she gets the gig, Helena will be joining the already-impressive cast of Christian Bale, Anton Yelchin, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Worthington, Common, and the "she must be Native American" Moon Bloodgood. Directed by McG, TS: TFB is slated for a May 22nd, 2009 release.

Greek Mythology Gettin' Some Lovin'

There has been word for years now about a remake of the 1981 classic Clash of the Titans (which I'm sure most of you have seen in school or something, but probably don't remember it) - Robert Rodriguez was in the running to direct at one point, but that negotiation fell through. Last night it was announced that Louis Letterier (Transporter 2, The Incredible Hulk) has been named the director, and the production will be getting under way ASAP. The story follows Perseus as he goes on a quest to rescue Andromeda and kill Medusa, the hideous snake-haired creature that causes you to turn to stone if you look into her eyes.

Competing with Clash of the Titans is another Greek-based film called War of Gods, helmed by acid-trip director Tarsem Singh (The Cell). This story is a "mythological tale set in war-torn ancient Greece, as the young warrior prince Theseus leads his men in a battle against evil that will see the gods fighting with soldiers against demons and titans."

[So once again, there are two similarly themed movies fighting to get released at the same time, just like A Bug's Life/Antz, Armageddon/Deep Impact, The Prestige/The Illusionist, etc. Both are racing against each other to see which will make it to theaters first.]

And finally, there are whisperings of a sequel/prequel to 300 in the works. Producer Gianni Nunnari told Collider that they are working with Frank Miller and Zack Snyder to create something authentic based on a new story. Anything concrete is years away, I'm sure.

Correction: Apparently Letterier didn't direct the first Transporter movie as I posted earlier. That distinction belongs to the surprisingly prominent Corey Yuen.

School of Rock 2?

In the seemingly never-ending lack of originality from Hollywood, word arrives that a script for School of Rock 2: Rock Harder has been completed. (I made up that subtitle.)

The writer of the first one, Mike White (who also played Ned), "literally just turned it in" to the studio to see if they'll pick it up. Jack Black has recently said that he won't return for a potential sequel unless director Richard Linklater will come back as well, and there's no telling if that will happen.

I'm under the impression that they should leave this alone and go out on a high note (no pun intended). The first film was one of the few movies heavily involving children that I liked, and I can't imagine them recreating that feat twice in a row. What do you guys think?

Bourne in the USA? Nope - Try South America

Rumors surrounding a return of the Bourne franchise have been hard to come by lately, and I stupidly thought that might mean something had gone wrong with the production or they just decided to leave the series alone. Guess again.

The cats over at IESB scored a video interview with producer Frank Marshall, who said that we will "absolutely" see another Bourne movie and that it's planning to shoot next summer for a 2010 release date. Although the script hasn't been finalized yet, Marshall also revealed that Jason Bourne would be heading to South America in this next installment.

As I'm sure you know, I really thought The Bourne Ultimatum was a great capstone to a really solid series. I think it ended perfectly, and I don't see how they can top it with another movie. Hopefully they'll prove me wrong, because it's sounding pretty locked down that this film is actually happening.

Roundup 6/24

I'm back again after my recent trip, so here's what we've missed in the past few days. Slide me a sarsaparilla down the bar and let's get to it.

• After years of speculation and missed opportunities, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger are finally teaming up in the same movie! Unfortunately, it's a Bollywood film called Incredible Love, about an Indian stuntman who comes to Hollywood searching for love. Wh-wh-what? You've gotta be kidding me! Not an action extravaganza? Criminal.

• I previously hoped that the filmmakers would choose 4 Fast 4 Furious as the title for the next installment of that franchise, but (stupidly) they've officially chosen to call it Fast and Furious. How lame is that? Oh well - the film reunites the cast from the first flick and hits theaters June 5th, 2009.

• The trailer for Disaster Movie is out. It is literally one of the worst things I've ever seen.

• Spider-Man 4 has been tentatively set for May of 2011. This seems a little ridiculous, since Marvel has a lot going on (Captain America is supposed to come out that same month) and probably won't have the time to get this project off the ground while they're trying to jump-start their other franchises. Neither director Sam Raimi nor Tobey Maguire has signed on for this yet, and the script hasn't even been finished. This project might never see the light of day.

• Tarantino's Inglorious Bastards will now be two movies, a la Kill Bill. I'm getting tired of this project already.

• Midnight Meat Train seems to be having some trouble, and as of now it's only getting released in 100 theaters across the country. There's a petition going around to increase its theatrical run, but no word yet on whether that will actually happen.

• It's not even out yet, but Wanted already has a sequel in the works at Universal. A couple months ago I thought the movie would suck, but now I'm kinda looking forward to it. It comes out this Friday.

• In Nottingham (Ridley Scott's movie about The Sheriff of Nottingham as a good guy) news, Sienna Miller (Layer Cake) has joined as Maid Marian opposite Russell Crowe's Sheriff. Rumor had it that Christian "Batman" Bale would play the terrorist/freedom fighter Robin Hood, but it turns out that it was just a rumor. Boo hiss. No word yet on Prince John's involvement in the story.
  

Ong Bak 2 Trailer

I couldn't resist putting this up. The sound didn't work when I was watching it, but you don't need sound to enjoy this clip.

Roundup 6/16

I'm back from NYC, so that means we've got a lot of catching up to do. O WA-AH-AH-AH!

• No, I haven't seen The Incredible Hulk or The Happening yet. Movie tickets are expensive in New York. When I do see them (this week, most likely), reviews shall be posted on Ben's Movie Reviews. Keep checkin' if you're interested.

• The first trailer for Jason Statham's Death Race has hit the internet, and it sucks somethin' awful. Yes, it's a loose remake of Death Race 2000, and yes, it looks like something that Stone Cold Steve Austin should be starring in.

• Now that the Matthew McConaughey rumors have been debunked, here's a new one for ya: Marvel is supposedly interested in Leonardo DiCaprio as Captain America. And they want Brad Pitt as a backup. My take? DiCaprio is way too busy, and Marvel already said they wanted Pitt for Thor. They're gonna have to make up their minds pretty soon.

• The teaser trailer for Marvel/Lionsgate's sequel Punisher: War Zone is out. They seem pretty desperate by using the whole "Ray Stevensen IS The Punisher!" line, but the movie is being praised for it's heavy violence so far. The chick who directed Green Street Hooligans (awesome flick, by the way) is directing, and she describes her movie as The Incredible Hulk to Ang Lee's Hulk.

• Sweet! As I'm writing this, I just learned that there's going to be a sequel to the parkour/Freestyle Walking movie District B-13, aptly titled District B-14. You can bet your ass there are going to be some awesome stunts in this thing whenever it comes out. Production begins next month. Check out my review of the first one here.

• A year after it was first speculated, the official announcement has come that Len Wiseman (director of Underworld and Live Free or Die Hard) will direct a big screen adaptation of the XBox video game Gears of War. I don't really care, but some of you gamers might.

I guess there wasn't as much interesting information that we missed as I originally thought. But beware - I'm going to be in Orlando for the rest of the week, so we'll probably have another Roundup coming up this weekend.

It's About Time

It's been a little while since my last post here, but that's because I only post news that interests me. Stuff like Iron Man 2 director speculation, cell phone pictures of the Robocop remake poster, and confirmation of a hybrid live action/animated Smurfs movie doesn't really do it for me.

What DOES do it for me is the first teaser trailer for the Highly-Anticipated-By-Me Transporter 3, which you can find at this link.

Also of some note is the recent announcement of Seth Rogen's new project, called Jay and Seth Vs. The Apocalypse. It's based on a short that Rogen and his Superbad co-writer Evan Goldberg created, and will star Rogen (obviously, from the title) and Knocked Up costar Jay Baruchel (the dude with the beard). What's it about? Two guys dealing with the apocalypse. Could have some potential. Filming starts next year.

SUBTITLES!!!!

Transformers 2 has officially been subtitled. No, not subtitled like the ones that we elect to turn on when we watch movies in groups, but subtitled like Resident Evil: Extinction.

So what's the final product going to be called? Get ready for it, because it's pretty fan-boy-rific...

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen

Yeah, I'm kind of "meh" about it, too. The plot details are being kept under wraps until its June 26th, 2009 release, but Rainn Wilson (Dwight) just joined the cast as a college professor and all of the major players from the first one are returning. But let's be serious here - this post was just an excuse to post that Megan Fox picture.

Roundup 6/4

Time for another edition of Roundup. Get on your bikes and ride!

• Seth Rogen's adaptation of The Green Hornet has been officially greenlit, scoring a summer 2010 release date opposite Pixar's Toy Story 3 and Marvel's Thor.

• Speaking of Seth Rogen, he and James Franco revealed that they're already talking about a sequel to the upcoming stoner comedy Pineapple Express. I think the first one could be surprisingly funny, so hopefully we're not disappointed.

• For those of you who have already seen Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, check out Urban Dictionary's new definition of the term "nuke the fridge."

• Apparently Quentin Tarantino has been canceling appointments because he's in preproduction on his new war movie Inglorious Bastards. Could he actually go through with it?

• Following in the footsteps of Warner Brothers (who sideswiped Picturehouse and Warner Independent earlier this year), Paramount is absorbing most of the functions of Paramount Vantage. The independent studio brought us both No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood recently. This sucks - they really need to leave these studios alone; especially when this one was actually succeeding.

• Guy Ritchie has signed on to direct Sherlock Holmes for Warner Brothers, based on an upcoming comic book that will supposedly reinvent the character and concentrate more on his boxing and swordfighting skills.

• Matt Damon will star in Clint Eastwood's new movie Human Factor alongside Morgan Freeman early next year. The story surrounds the Rigby World Cup in 1985 South Africa.
  

Transporter 3 Gets Release Date

November 26th, 2008. I don't even need a trailer to be ecstatic about this. Get pumped up, people.

BDH Could Be In T4

The enchanting Bryce Dallas Howard is in negotiations to join the ever-growing cast of Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins.

If hired, she would play the same character that Claire Danes played in T3: Kate Connor, now married to John Connor (Christian Bale). BDH would be replacing French actress Charlotte Gainsbourg, who was originally supposed to play the role but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. Let me just say if this happens - total upgrade. Barring the strike, T4 will come to theaters on May 22nd, 2009.

Three More Might Join 2012

The Hollywood Reporter says that Danny Glover, Thandie Newton, and Oliver Platt may be joining the cast of the disaster movie 2012. John Cusack and Chiwetel Ejiofor are already signed to star, and Roland Emmerich is directing.

Glover would play the President (a Prez with a lisp? That wouldn't happen), while Newton (MI: 2) would play his daughter. The always-entertaining Platt would be the Chief of Staff. Filming is set to begin in July, unless there is an actor's strike.

Fire Tears Through Universal

In a bit of serious news, a fire ripped through the Universal backlot early this morning, destroying thousands of film reels and the famous clocktower city hall courtyard from Back to the Future.

Check out the video from the Associated Press:



Thankfully, no one was hurt. Good luck to anyone who's directly involved with this.