Sam Jackson Signs Huge Marvel Deal

There was word last month that Samuel L. Jackson might not return as Nick Fury in the upcoming Marvel slate of films. That rumor has been shot to hell today, as Jackson has signed a NINE picture deal with the studio!

The deal includes appearances in Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America, The Avengers, and any spin-offs (even a possible one for S.H.I.E.L.D. itself). If you stayed until after the credits of Iron Man, you saw Nick Fury inform Tony Stark that he was putting together the Avenger Initiative, hinting at the upcoming Avengers movie. Now it is assured that he will be a part of every incarnation in the coming years. Awesome stuff - congrats to everyone involved with this deal. Mostly to us, the fans - since we get to see more Sam Jackson badassery for a while.

Hot Tub Time Machine Gets A Cast

Hi-ho! After first hearing about this movie almost a year ago, I never would have thought this type of film would get a cast like this. In case you forgot about the plot (shame on you), here's a refresher:

"Hot Tub" follows a group of guys, adults who used to be cads back in their heyday, who, after a night of vodka and Red Bulls in a hot tub, travel back in time and set out to rediscover their "mojo."

So on to the cast. John Cusack, Rob Corddry (Harold & Kumar 2), and Craig Robinson (The Office) have joined as the three main characters. Corddry and Robinson definitely feel like they belong here, but Cusack? I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but it's certainly not expected from me. I'll definitely be interested to see the normally-straight-laced actor in a ridiculous sex comedy.

Jonny Quest to Hit The Big Screen?

There's been a script for Jonny Quest floating around Hollywood for some time now, and apparently it's pretty darn good. As a matter of fact, it made it onto the 2008 Black List, which is an underground list compiled by studios, assistants, and people who actually read the thousands of scripts that come around each year and choose the best ones that didn't make it into production that year.

So now we get a rumor that instead of Peter Segal (Get Smart) directing the movie as previously indicated, it looks like Andy Fickman (She's The Man, The Game Plan) will be taking over. Perfect. Also in the "this sucks" category, Zac "High School Musical" Efron is supposedly lined up for the lead role.

That combination of information makes me hope this project never sees the light of day. But the one ray of light that comes out of this is that Dwayne Johnson (The Rock) is rumored to play Race Bannon. Now THAT is some solid casting. I can't see anyone else doing justice to the role.

I watched a lot of Jonny Quest when I was a kid, both the original 60's show and The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest. Because it was such great source material, I'm still holding out hope that this could be a good movie and maybe even the start of a new franchise for Warner Brothers. Just get the right people attached (ahem, keep The Rock and start over), and you're money in the bank.

Christopher Nolan Directing Inception

Nolan has decided to make another movie with Warner Brothers before he decides to return to his Batman franchise.

Inception, the title of his new movie, is described as "a contemporary sci-fi actioner set within the architecture of the mind." Nolan wrote the screenplay and hopes to film in the summer for a release date of next summer (2010).

He did the same thing with The Prestige, which turned out to be one of my all-time favorite films, so I'm totally down with giving the dude a break between Bat-Flicks. I just hope it's better than the similar-sounding Jennifer Lopez-Vince Vaughn film The Cell.

* Wow, this is already my 200th post. Time flies when you write tiny news stories/rumors instead of full-on reviews or editorials. Thanks for reading.

The Wachowskis Might Direct A New Superman Trilogy

Holy crap, this would be insane. The directing duo is rumored to be off their previously mentioned superhero project Plastic Man and offered a new Superman trilogy by Warner Brothers.

No word yet on if this is true, but keep checking back for more news as it becomes available. My two cents? I'd say give it to Mark Millar (he seems to have an epic tale already well planned out), but if you're going to give it to some big-name directors, the Wachowskis aren't a bad way to go. I just hope we see a GOOD Superman film on screen sometime in the next five years.

Michael Bay Is Awesome

I just saw this interview of Michael Bay and thought it was pretty funny how ridiculous he is. Check it out. He "fake punches" at least two people. He obviously thinks pretty highly of himself. It's excellent.



As an added bonus, check out his "awesome" Verizon commercial from last year.

Ong-Bak 2 Gets A Distributor

What does that mean? It means we will be seeing this movie in US theaters later this year. Righteous.

But potentially bigger news comes in the same press release that divulged the previous information - they say that Ong-Bak 3 is currently in production! Apparently OB2 will feature a cliffhanger ending that leads directly into OB3, which is itself a prequel to the original Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior.

Want to hear the weird part? The only information that is known about the plot of the third film says that Tien's (Tony Jaa's character) limbs are tortured and damaged, so he has to fight without using his bones. I have no idea what that means, but he's fighting the dude who plays the main character in Dynamite Warrior. Should be interesting.

Fun fact: Tony Jaa directed most of Ong-Bak 2 before going into exhile in the jungle for weeks due to massive stress, leaving the project in the hands of the dude who directed Born To Fight. They both will supposedly be sharing the directing duties of Ong-Bak 3.

Four Score and A Possible Lincoln Film

Steven Spielberg's Lincoln movie is one that has been in development for years. Liam Neeson has been attached to play the role in the past, but it always seems like Ol' Steve jumps onto another project at the last second before finally committing this one to film.

Looks like all that could change, with the announcement coming that a decision regarding the film should be made this week. Tony Kushner, the writer of the movie, said that there are meetings going on and they should know by the end of the week whether or not the movie is getting the immediate greenlight.

The amazing part is that Kushner says if the movie DOES get the go-ahead, it will most likely be completed and in theaters before Christmas of this year! Pretty incredible turn-around for a film that hasn't even confirmed casting decisions yet. Neeson is apparently still attached to play the bearded ex-President, Sally Field (she's still around?) would supposedly play Mrs. Lincoln, and Harrison Ford is rumored to be up for the role of Andrew Johnson.

Call me crazy, but Spielberg has been slipping in recent years (War of the Worlds, Indiana Jones and TKOTCS). Could this be the project that brings him back to previously achieved heights?

Lantern...Green Lantern

Director Martin Campbell (Goldeneye, Casino Royale, The Mask of Zorro) is in talks to direct the upcoming Green Lantern film.

If this holds true and Campbell locks down the director's chair, this would be an excellent move for DC. Scoring big-name high quality directors is something that has been done before with the superhero genre, but for a film like Green Lantern where action would most certainly play a huge role (instead of the dark, brooding Nolan-tone), you need a guy who has primarily done action movies in the past. I feel like Campbell would be a great choice and would be a welcome addition to the ever-expanding list of comic book movie directors.