Roundup 5/1

Dear readers, I know you missed me. But don't fret - I'm back with a vengeance from LA. You know what that means: we've got a hell of a lot of catching up to do. Onward!

• Christian Bale has revealed that he is signed on for a third Batman film whether Christopher Nolan returns or not. Interesting. I'm guessing Bale is praying on a nightly basis that Nolan decides to come back and the sequel doesn't end up in the hands of someone less qualified. Because let's face it - if your name isn't Christopher Nolan, you shouldn't be directing a sequel to The Dark Knight.

• Speaking of Nolan, two more have joined the cast of his next film Inception. The "sci-fi actioner set within the architecture of the mind" will now feature Joseph Gordon-Levitt (replacing James Franco due to scheduling conflicts) and Michael Caine. Freaking brilliant. They join the already-stellar cast of Leo DiCaprio, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, and Cillian Murphy. If the cast, writers, and director are any indication, this is shaping up to be one of my favorite science fiction movies of all time.

• And back to speaking of Bale, he has apparently joined the cast of The Fighter. No, not the sequel to that Channing Tatum movie. The Fighter is a movie that tells the tale of "Irish" Mickey Ward, a Boston boxer coached to the world title by his half brother. This film has gone through some serious changes recently: Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg were originally going to star as the brother and the boxer, respectively. I think I remember Wahlberg saying he's been training for two (maybe three) years. Brad Pitt then jumped in to replace Damon. The latest has Bale replacing Pitt and Wahlberg staying on board. Visionary director Darren Aronofsky (The Fountain, The Wrestler) was set to direct for a long time, but left the project due to creative differences. David O. Russell (who?) has stepped into the director's chair to fill the void, but what a void to fill. Can't imagine this will be as good without DA behind the camera.

• These pictures are a bit old, but still worth posting. To your right is the first look at Megan Fox in the new Jimmy Hayward western Jonah Hex, based off the comic book cowboy. If you needed another reason to see this movie besides the cast of Josh Brolin, John Malkovic, Will Arnett, and Michael Shannon, Megan Fox-y (see what I did there?!?!?!) just gave it to you.

• And finally, Oliver Stone and Michael Douglas have signed on for Wall Street 2. This is actually good news in my opinion, as I found the original to be a fantastic film and I think that Stone is better off tackling this kind of film than another war movie. Plus, it has the chance to be topical (i.e: the current economy) and not be too preachy - the fault of many of the war-based films of the past few years. Added bonus: Shia LaBeouf is in talks to take on a Charlie Sheen-esque role in this edition. (Sheen played the fresh faced youngster in the first film.) Gordon Gekko is the man.
  

Trick 'R Treat Might Have Release Date

Spooky. I was sitting in my room, recouping from a screening of Crank 2: High Voltage (which was disappointingly terrible), changing my desktop background from the Crank poster to get the bitter taste out of my mouth. I scrolled through all the pictures I've used in posts on this site, and quickly stumbled across a pic of Anna Paquin from this Trick 'R Treat post a while back. I sighed and shook my head, wondering why we would never get to see the film whose trailer was attached to 300 way back in March of 2007.

Well, the horror gods must have heard my disappointment, because literally an hour later I checked Slashfilm and they have an update about Trick 'R Treat. Spooky, indeed. The gist of it is that on a new trailer for the movie, it ends with "Coming to Blu-Ray & DVD This October." They are dubious of a theatrical release, but I don't care - as long as I get to see the freakin' movie soon, I'll be happy. I've seriously been jonesing for this flick for two years, and I still think it has the potential to be one of my favorite horror films. I'll let you know what happens with this, and hopefully you'll be seeing a review come October.

This is the last post before my trip to LA (I leave early in the morning), so posting will be nonexistant for the next week. Feel free to check out the archives if you're bored, or keep up with This Week in Comics over at The Solar Sentinel and the recent resurgence in sports posts over at The Playing Field.

Who Will Direct Pirates 4?

Gore Verbinski, director of all three Pirates of the Caribbean films, has announced he will not return to the director's chair for the recently announced Pirates 4.

Johnny Depp has signed on to return as Captain Jack Sparrow, and no other details are known for sure about this project as of yet. I've heard rumors over the past few months that the story will revolve around Geoffrey Rush's Barbossa character and Captain Sparrow searching for the Fountain of Youth, and that Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley will not return.

So what's next for Verbinski? He's working on a film adaptation of the video game BioShock, which is supposed to be pretty awesome from what I can gather. I'm glad he's decided to step down, since I'm sure he watched just like the rest of us as that series was run into the ground. He's probably sick of it, even though he must have made massive bank from the record breaking numbers it earned at the box office. Perhaps he'll return in a producing capacity or something; either way, the next film should be much better without the return of Will and Elizabeth.

Inception Adds More To Cast

Christopher Nolan's Inception, the mystery project he's directing next, has some more big names attached to it.

Cillian Murphy (a Nolan favorite), Marion Cotillard (upcoming Public Enemies), and Ellen Page are in talks to join Leonardo DiCaprio in the sci-fi action flick. Fantastic news, as I am a fan of all of the above. More on this as it arrives.

The Hangover

I don't normally post trailers on this site, but this one is my most anticipated comedy of the summer (at the moment). Check it.

It's Alice! In 3D!

To appease the fans (cough Becky Ashley cough), it's time for a little Alice in Wonderland update.

Tim Burton's newest film has been confirmed for an IMAX 3D release. This will surely excite the legions of fans for this sure-to-be-insane movie. Mark your calendars, Crispin Glover fans - March 5th, 2010 can't come soon enough for you.

More Ong Bak 2

To appease the fans (cough, Mikey Boze Branz, cough), I'm showing this kick-tacular clip featuring the one and only Tony Jaa. Ong Bak 2 is sure to be immaculate, and I'll let you know when it is going to be released over here in the States. Honestly, I don't even care if it hits theaters or not - as long as I can see it in some form (DVD, Blu-Ray, Dick Tracy Watch Viewer, etc.), I'll be happy.

Gemma Arterton in Clash of the Titans

Gemma Arterton, better known as "Strawberry Fields" from Quantum of Solace, just announced that she will be playing the character of Io in Louis Letterier's (The Incredible Hulk) remake of Clash of the Titans.

This is the second high-profile project in a row for the up-and-coming actress (she's only 23), after next summer's Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time with Jake Gyllenhaal. Clash will be a reimagining of the stop-motion influenced 1981 film, and definitely has the potential to be awesome if handled correctly. I don't have any knowledge about her character in this film (I don't remember an "Io" in the original, but it's been forever since I've seen it), so I can't say with certainty that she's a good choice for the role. But Gemma's uber-cute, so I'm just glad we'll get to see her up on screen again.

Captain Kirk = Green Lantern?

Chris Pine, the actor who portrays Kirk in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movie out this summer, has been narrowed down as a candidate for the upcoming adaptation of Green Lantern. Conflicting sites say this isn't true, but who cares? It's amusing to talk about.

A DC superhero and member of the Justice League, Green Lantern can form any object he imagines with a special ring, bestowed on him from a dying alien. The movie version is being directed by Martin Campbell (Casino Royale, Goldeneye) and is said to be close in tone to Iron Man.

Pine hasn't really been in anything other than chick flicks so far (a forgettable role in Smokin' Aces doesn't help), but director Kevin Smith had nothing but praise for the young actor after seeing an early cut of Star Trek. I'm pulling for him - he seems like a good dude and a respectable young Kirk, so hopefully his team of representatives can pull the strings that will allow us to see him as Hal Jordan in the near future.

[Plus I'm holding out hope that Ryan Reynolds will one day be in a Flash movie, and they'd make a pretty good team in a Justice League movie. God forbid they ever decide to make that, at least those two would probably be enjoyable.]

Natalie Portman in Thor?

First ScarJo joins Iron Man 2, now Natalie Portman could be the love interest in Thor? Marvel Studios, I'm beginning to like you more every day.

This is a bit of old news, but I just felt it was worth mentioning since Portman falls on my list of Favorite Actresses Right Now and has a little more credibility to her name than the aforementioned busty blonde.

Also worth mentioning (to me, anyway) is that Josh Hartnett has tested for both the role of Thor and Thor's brother, Loki. I think he'd be great as a mischievious character, since I don't really see him as a hammer-wielding superstar. We'll see how it all plays out.

Marvel/Iron Man 2 Stuff

In case you guys haven't already heard about this, I want to give a small update on the recent happenings over at Marvel Studios.

The big news is that they have pushed back almost all of their films by nearly a year. The original announcement had Thor and Iron Man 2 coming out in 2010, and the Captain America and Avengers movie would hit in 2011. I wondered (along with Jon Favreau) if this insane pace was going to be feasible - turns out they're playing it safe and pushing everything back instead of pumping out a less-than-quality project.

New Dates
Thor - June 17th, 2011
First Avenger: Captain America - July 22nd, 2011
The Avengers - May 12th, 2012

Sony Pictures still has the rights to Spider-Man, so they're releasing Spider-Man 4 on May 6th, 2011. Looks like the death of the superhero is a long way away...

In Iron Man 2 news, Mickey Rourke has finally been confirmed as the villain for the sequel, and Scarlett Johansson will be playing the Black Widow, a character that I have never heard of before. Keep in mind that I've read exactly four Marvel comic issues in my entire life. She's hot, so I'm pumped. Look at it this way - there's no way it can be worse than her performance in The Spirit. And with Sam Jackson signing that massive 9 pic deal with the studio, you can guarantee there will be at least one scene in it that will make this film worth seeing.

Site Update

Greetings.

I realize that I've been horrible about keeping up with this site lately, and I'm going to try to explain why, but the gist of this post is: I'm going back to the way I used to do things.

Ever since we did that first "Ben's Video Roundup," I had grand visions of making those once a week and doing most of my "daily" movie blogging in that format, with the occasional text post in between. This obviously didn't happen, and it's due in part to 1) me working a full time job and 2) me being lazy. Plus, my technical errors on that second episode really threw a wrench into my cog.

I used to horde stories and wait until I could fit them into a video post, but after I couldn't find the time to make one, the stories weren't relevant anymore. So I'm going back to my text posts and giving up the idea of making videos on a consistent basis (I'll save that for my other site). So keep checking back, and I'll be hitting you with the movie news that I deem worthy at a more regular interval soon.

Leo DiCaprio Joins Inception

Doth my eyes deceive me? Two of my favorite people in Hollywood will be working together for the first time on a project that sounds extremely interesting. (High fives all around.)

Leonardo DiCaprio (who has officially worked his way to Number One on my list of Favorite Working Actors) is set to star in Christopher Nolan's upcoming film Inception. The project is veiled in mysterious phrases like "contemporary sci-fi actioner," taking place within the "architecture of the mind," so we really have no idea what it is actually about.

I have blind faith in both Nolan's directing - as I've said many times, The Prestige is one of my favorite films - and DiCaprio's acting. The two joining together is a match made in fanboy heaven. 2010, here we come.

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.