Before we get into the news, I want you to ponder this question: After this week’s impressive showing of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, are you more worried about the uprising of monkeys, the rise of machines, or the zombie apocalypse? Answer in the comments section…Now, off to the news…
I’m in the news business, and business is a boomin’ …
First off, some casting news -
Expendables 2 gets things started with its director, Simon West (Con Air, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider), along with some rumors of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris and John Travolta joining Bruce Willis and Jean-Claude VanDamme. I can understand everyone except for Travolta. While I like Travolta when he plays a bad guy, it’s one of those ‘which one is not like the others’ moments. If you liked the first man-tastic film, this one is shaping up to have even more testosterone. Bring a towel.
Superman gets his boss – It was announced Perry White, editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet would be played by Morpheus himself, Lawrence Fishburne. It’s an interesting change, and I can’t wait to see Fishburne in the role.
Speaking of Superman – Here’s the first look at Superman. Clearly they are aiming for a bit darker than Brandon Routh’s turn in the role. I don’t know what those sparks did to him, but he won’t be taking it anymore. I’m a little stoked about this photo, despite the scales on his costume. What do you think?
John McClane is back – Die Hard 5 is getting going, despite the director bailing out. 20th Century Fox is looking at Attack the Block director Joe Cornish, Fast Five director Justin Lin, Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn and Max Payne director John Moore as their short list for a movie that apparently takes Bruce Willis’s New York cop to Russia. Now, do we need another Die Hard movie? Well, not really, but do we want one? Hell yeah! I love those Die Hard movies. So, bring on some more of McClane. I figure, eventually we'll see Hans return as a zombie.
Green Lantern 2 to be more edgy – Warner Bros. admits the first Green Lantern, still in theaters, by the way, was a bit of a failure, and that the second film will be a success because they look to have a better balance of outer world and Earthly scenes. They also plan to make the film darker and ‘edgier,’ and they think that will make the film a success.
*steps on to the soap box* I hate the idea that making a film ‘darker and edgier’ means the film will be a success. Yes, it worked with Batman Begins. Christopher Nolan did a great job of going from George Clooney bat nipples to a dark knight very well. Was it because he went darker and grittier? Not really. He set the proper tone of the film, as a dark and gritty film, which is what the character needed. He then cast some great actors and Katie Holmes in the film and gave them a heck of a script to go off of, giving us a real-world Batman. It worked incredibly well, but it wasn’t because of the dark and gritty, it was because it was well executed and directed. If you had put Clooney in a dark and gritty Batman with the same script as Batman and Robin, it would have bombed horribly. Just because a film is dark and gritty doesn’t make it a success. Look at Iron Man, Favreau intentionally kept it lighter, and I think the film is better for it. Look at Spiderman, and Spiderman 2, they were intentionally lighter, and they rank among the best superhero films out there. So, just saying “we’re going to make it darker and grittier” doesn’t mean anything, other than they really have no idea what they’re talking about. Get some good actors, a good script and a good director and keep it light, and you’ll have a smash hit. It’s the coming together of these pieces, not the dark and gritty.
*gets off the soap box*
Marvel making short films to bridge Avengers gap – To fill in all the little gaps between Thor, Iron Man one and two, Captain America and the Incredible Hulk, Marvel is making short, two-ish minute films to help bridge the gap between all those post-credit cut scenes and 2012’s blockbuster film. The first is “the consultant” you can see over at Screenrant. It’s pretty short, but I think it’s a cool idea. It’s not necessary viewing, but it adds to the universe, which is never a bad thing.
Red Tails looks pretty – The latest project from Lucasfilm has a trailer, and it’s called Red Tails. It’s the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, and their important part of World War II. It’s hard to say whether the film will focus on being historically accurate or a popcorn flick based on the original members, my guess would be the second, but the incredibly talented cast and the really well done special effects definitely got my attention.
Hitchcock films rediscovered – In true Hitchcock fashion, a film believed to be the earliest he has credit in has been discovered in New Zealand. The film is entitled "The White Shadow," and Hitchcock was credited as writer, assistant director, editor and production designer in a movie about a good twin and bad twin, and starred Betty Compson. The film will re-premiere September 22, at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences theater. After, the film will be added to their Hitchcock collection. It’s pretty amazing to discover film that was believed lost after all this time.
A possible Boba Fett film? – There is talk of making a full length Boba Fett film, and currently, the project is seeking funding. What are we supposed to think of this? I say ‘rediculous.’ I am not a fan of the Fett. The alleged bad ass was killed by a blind Han Solo, and screamed like a girl at the end of Jedi. The only reason he was made such an integral part of the prequels, was that Lucas was trying to suck up to the fanboys. Now, we’re trying to pretend that he didn’t turn into a mild case of heartburn for the Sarlac pit? I call shenanigans. I say, let the lame bounty hunter remain dead. There are plenty of cool characters that don’t have to be pulled out of the bottom of a pit in the Star Wars universe, use one of them.
Planet of the Apes Timeline – With Rise of the Planet of the Apes out, someone took the time to give us a timeline of the Apes taking over for your viewing pleasure.
Doctor Who is back soon – Doctor Who will make its return on Aug. 13th, in the U.S. and most likely in the U.K. as well. The news comes with a new, slightly shorter trailer that has a few new scenes that get me all kinds of excited. BBC America has marathons running before the return, one focusing on the best of the Monsters, and the other focusing on the best of the companions. Both will have some celebrity commentary on the show. Bring on Aug. 13th! And, to wet your appetites, here’s the trailer:
Anime Conventions to check sex offender list? – Blastr had an article about how Katsucon was responding to news that a sex offender had sex with an underage girl at the convention by saying they are trying to check every guest’s name against the sex offender list. The article talked about the impracticality of it, and whether conventions are really as bad as that news pieces makes them sound.
So, do you think it’s a good idea? Do you think young girls running around in sparsely dressed cosplay costumes attracts a high rate of perverts and sexual deviants, or is it like anything else? For me, I see no reason why they couldn’t try to run the names and compare them through the database, but I don’t think it’s exactly a hot spot of sexual crime. While I may sound old in saying that some young girls wear way too little, I don’t think it breeds any great issue. But, what’s the harm in checking names?
Batman news EVERYWHERE – The Dark Knight Rises started off as the most rumored movie in recent memory with people firing off casting rumors like crazy, talking Angelina Jolie, and Eddie Murphy at one point. Now, the best kept secret seems to be turning into the worst. There is photos and video everywhere from filming of the film. Some of it is spoilery, and some, not. If you get upset by me posting this stuff, please tell me in the comments. Maybe I’ll stop. I don’t see too much spoilers, it’s more newsy, but some people…
First up, we have Catwoman. Up until now, we haven’t seen anything, and then over the weekend, we have three photos, two of which show Catwoman on the Batpod, and the third shows the full view of her suit. I think it looks pretty hot. Thoughts?
The next bit of info comes from several videos. The first shows three tumblers, all in brown camo driving down the street, prepping for a scene. It makes me wonder if there is a scene with at least three tumbler’s or are they assuming they are going to wreck two or three of them. The youtube video is HERE.
The second is a scene being filmed on a football field. It looks like Bane and his forces attack during a game. The players that were used for the football game are actual Pittsburgh Steelers football players. This scene is a bit spoilery. The video is HERE.
Finally, the last video shows Batman (Christian Bale) and Bane (Tom Hardy) fighting through a crowd of people. It’s pretty cool stuff, and I love seeing some behind the scenes work. The video is HERE.
DVD’s hitting shelves this week –
Evil Things
Camp Hell
Frat House Massacre
Mars Needs Moms
Your Highness
Box Office Breakdown – Apes kick some blue butt
Rise of the Planet of the Apes did way better than expected, bringing in $54 million. Cowboys and Aliens dropped around 50% to come in third, with $15.7 million. The big surprise is The Smurfs. The movie looks all kinds of rough, but it surprisingly dropped very little from last weeks premiere to bring in $21 million.
1. Rise of the Planet of the Apes - $54 million ($54 million total)
2. The Smurfs - $21 million ($76.2 million total)
3. Cowboys and Aliens - $15.7 million ($67.4 million total)
4. The Change-Up - $13.5 million ($13.5 million total)
5. Captain America: The First Avenger - $13.0 million ($143.2 million total)
6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - $12.2 million ($342.8 million total)
7. Crazy, Stupid, Love. - $12.1 million ($42.2 million total)
8. Friends With Benefits - $4.7 million ($48.5 million total)
9. Horrible Bosses - $4.6 million ($96.2 million total)
10. Transformers: Dark of the Moon - $3.0 million ($337.9 million total)
Trailer of the Week – In Time
This week’s trailer looks like a cross between Repo Man and The Island, starring Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfriend and Cilian Murphy. The cast is enough to peak interest. While the story is pretty interesting, I just hope they can overcome the sort of generic action thriller this film could easily fall into.
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