G4 TV - TheFeed - Movies

Rachel McAdams The Black Cat For Spider-Man 4?

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:43:00 -0800

Will The Black Cat be dropping in on 'ole Spidey in the upcoming fourth Spider-Man film?

One can never accuse the production of Spider-Man 4 of failing to feed the rumor mills. It gives Batman 3 a run for its money, and ironically enough, very few people are actually excited for the film. Its rumor mills have become a calorie-loaded artery-clogger of a deep-fried fast food serving that we just can't stop eating. (It would have killed that Super Size Me guy in like a week.) The latest rumor, of course, seems to be no exception.

According to Mania, "reliable sources" (meaning some anonymous party, not the CNN Sunday talk-fest) are telling them that the one and only Felicia Hardy, aka The Black Cat, is set to be in the mix, and that actress Rachel McAdams is in talks to take the role. (Take a second to fight through the grease-related indigestion on that one.) In fact, it is being said that the beautiful Red Eye and Wedding Crashers star has already met with producers and will portray the Black Cat very much as the romantic (or potentially romantic) interest for which the character served in the comics.

According to Mania: "Our sources tell us that the Black Cat's story fits well with Raimi's Spider-Man formula, which always finds the villains troubling not only the costumed hero, but also becoming entangled in Peter Parker's personal life as well."

The Black Cat was originally conceived in the late 70's as a female antagonist for Spider-Woman. However, creator Marv Wolfman was then moved to the main Amazing Spider-Man title, where he decided to implement the character there. While the relationship dynamic between her and Spider-Man often begs the criticism regarding its similarity to that of Batman and Catwoman over at DC Comics, there is a certain nuance that makes it unique. The Black Cat (like Catwoman) is a nocturnal-working cat burglar, who is often depicted as a "tweener" in regards to her good/bad ambiguity. However, she is genuinely more focused on a romantic relationship with Spider-Man and more often finds herself on the side of good. This desire often puts the relationship into a kind of flux where, at times, it is actually reciprocated by Spider-Man (or is one-sided and delves into unrequited "stalker" territory. Ex: Her quest to get real superpowers so that Spider-Man will accept her as an equal. Do I smell a pet rabbit boiling on a stove?)

Exactly how this will factor into a film in which (we can only presume) Spider-Man will deal with his former Professor's transformation into the vicious, iconic villain, The Lizard? (Which is evidenced by Dylan Baker signing on to return to the film series.) Do we need any more anachronistic romantic messes after Spider-Man 3's stunt of bringing Bryce Dallas Howard's Gwen Stacy (Spidey's girlfriend who is famous for being killed in the comics by The Green Goblin) into the mix? I would hope that Sam Raimi will not be pushed into yet another situation where he is forced to take on villains that have no conceivable place whatsoever in the actual script. **cough**Venom**cough**

Obviously, this is but one of a myriad of rumors regarding the film. However, the possibility of a push for multiple villains is a very realistic concern. Given how much will be required for this fourth Spider-Man to redeem the series, let's hope that this (prospectively final) Raimi outing in the franchise will be able to shine and cap-off what will hopefully go in the books as an overall solid series of films.

Source

Steven Spielberg & Will Smith's Old Boy May Be Dead

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:10:00 -0800

Has the much-maligned Will Smith-starring, Steven Spielberg-produced "remake" of Old Boy bitten the dust? According to Latino Review, that just may be the case. Their sources are telling them that in the rights-securing process, the original Korean production company, Mandate could not come to any kind of agreement with Dreamworks, prompting the latter party to simply walk away from the deal altogether.

As some may remember, it was around this time a year ago that rumors began to surface about a collaboration between Will Smith and Steven Spielberg to westernize the Old Boy mythos. Based on Japanese manga from Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi, South Korean director Chan-wook Park would adopt the story into a highly stylish 2003 film, Oldboy (no space), that remains a huge cult favorite to this day.

The story depicted a man seeking revenge after being inexplicably kidnapped and imprisoned in a sleazy hotel room for some 15 years, where he is sadistically kept alive and prevented from committing suicide. After his release, his quest for revenge for not only his imprisonment, but the death of his wife, leads him through a series of events that culminate in what may be one of the ultimate cinematic "twists" of all time. (In fact, M. Night Shyamalan might end up wanting this one.)

The original intent of Smith and Spielberg was not to simply remake the Park film, but rather, to go back to the source material itself. It was speculated that they would create something that may have been more accessible to American audiences. Exactly what a collaboration of Will Smith and Steven Spielberg could do with a dark, violent story filled with bodily maming, and incest, is something we will probably never know. (Although our very own Stephen Johnson has suggested that Tom Hanks may get a hold of the project. Frankly, my money's on TV's Patrick Duffy.)

The fact remains that, despite being a great fan favorite and big-time summer movie fodder, Will Smith would have had some heavy duty issues to tackle if he were to take on this role. He can really only pull off being a "semi-serious" action hero. Even in the Omega Man-inspired I Am Legend, which depicted a post apocalyptic world where Smith is living life alone amongst a city full of zombies, he still comes off somewhat as a clown. Old Boy, while lacking zombies and the end of the world, is some pretty serious stuff. Westernize it too much, or fill it with "zany one-liners," and it would have been doomed. Besides, the average moviegoer may not be thrilled about exactly WHO Will Smith's character would have been "getting jiggy with." Consider the failure of the negotiations as a blessing in disguise.

It therefore seems that über-leet cult Asian Cinema addicts may be sleeping a little easier knowing that this sacred cow is safe -- for now, anwyay. (There's always the possibility of an Uwe Boll version, right?)

Source

Netflix PlayStation 3 Interface Likely Won't Change Until Late Next Year

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 11:00:00 -0800

One of the benefits of accessing Netflix streaming through Xbox 360 are the updates Microsoft and Netflix have delivered to the interface and feature set. The addition of group streaming, genre lists and adding movies from your Xbox 360 were welcomed, and most of those were carried over into the the recently launched disc-based version of Netflix streaming for PlayStation 3. Unfortunately, it looks like PlayStation 3 users will have to become accustomed to that interface for a little while yet.

When asked if Netflix and Sony had the ability to update and alter the Netflix interface for PlayStation 3 users based on feedback, Netflix was immediately coy.

"Late next year we expect to have an embedded solution available for PS3s via a system software update slated for release through the PlayStation Network," said Netflix VP of corp. communications Steve Swasey in an e-mailed statement to me. "Until then, enjoy watching instantly via your PS3 using the instant streaming disc!"

That didn't answer my question, I told him. Can the interface be changed?

"Using the disc is how you’ll watch movies until then," responded Swasey.

I took the hint.

Until Netflix becomes an embedded part of the PlayStation 3 in the latter half of 2010 -- a date rumored to have been picked because it falls after Netflix's exclusivity agreement with Microsoft -- the interface will likely remain the same. Netflix would have to send new discs to make any changes. Right now, it doesn't cost a dime to receive a Blu-ray disc enabling Netflix support on your PlayStation 3.

Have something to share? Have a news tip? E-mail me. You can also follow me on Twitter.

J.J. Abrams To Produce Micronauts Movie?

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 12:59:00 -0800

Will Lost and new Star Trek mastermind, J.J. Abrams be trying his hand at reviving an old-school toy line with an updated movie? Possibly. It is being reported that Abrams is in talks to produce a film adaptation of late 70's, early 80's toy line, turned Marvel Comics title, Micronauts.

While one does not typically think of The Wall Street Journal as a regular source for breaking news in the entertainment biz, they may have (and I'll stress "may have") done just that. The Journal ran a piece today about the continuing trend of toy franchises being transformed into major blockbuster films. However, in an almost passive way, they briefly drop the bombshell:

"J.J. Abrams, who created the TV show 'Lost' and directed this summer's 'Star Trek' film, is in discussions to produce a movie about Japanese toy line Micronauts, which Hasbro just acquired."

Unless this tidbit is some kind of serious typo that will be retracted at the bottom of tomorrow's edition, this will be a major project. Abrams would actually have quite a bit of raw material to work with. Micronauts was, ironically enough, a rather deep comic title for something that was essentially a monthly commercial for a toy line. (Although the same could be said of Larry Hama's tenure on G.I. Joe.) However, other than Gen-X'ers, I'm sure there are quite a few other generations of people thinking of a rather obvious question: What the hell is Micronauts?

It's time for a Cliff Notes-like history lesson:

It began as a toy line in 1972 from Japanese company, Takara called Henshin Cyborg. It was essentially an 8"-12" humanoid figure like the old stand-alone G.I. Joe, except with an added Japanese touch of a transparent body with visible "circuits" inside the figure. Eventually, Takara decided to continue the line in a miniaturized 3.75" scale, and thus, the birth of the standard scale of action figures, which would eventually be adopted by future legendary lines like Star Wars and G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero was born.

Takara's miniaturized Henshin Cyborg line (redubbed Microman) maintained (and in many ways surpassed) the articulation and movement of the original larger counterparts, and began to feature interchangeable parts which allowed you to transform the figures into different vehicles. In 1976, the Mego Corporation (famous for its legendary line of figures of various TV and comic characters from the 70's and 80's,) released Microman in the United States as Micronauts. The line ran for 4 years, and inspired a Marvel Comics title that continued after the toy line's demise.

After the Micronauts toy line ended in 1980, its remaining ideas and development went towards the creation of a new franchise called -- Transformers. In fact, some of the early releases of Transformers were simply developmental leftovers from Micronauts.

That brings us back to now. Since the initial series ended, Micronauts has experienced a few sporadic relaunch comic titles, however, despite a small, but committed cult fanbase, the franchise has remained rather dormant. While the original toy lines themselves did not carry any sort of context-setting story, the Marvel Comics title depicted a microscopic world called the "Microverse" that was in danger of being exploited and conquered by the evil Baron Karza. Only the Micronauts, consisting of Arcturus Rann, Acroyear, Biotron, Microtron, and Marionette could stand up to his power and stop him.

Could we be in store for a giant (yet shrunk-down,) effects-laden opus of awesomeness? While Micronauts sounds like a directorial project that Michael Bay or Stephen Sommers might be offered, Abrams (if he decides to helm the film) may be able to carry-over much of the Marvel title's depth into the adaptation, while providing plenty of mind-blowing action and scenery.

Source

Halo: Legends Animation Collection Detailed And Dated

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 14:56:00 -0800

Watch Larger Version | Watch HD Version

Hardcore Halo fans will soon have a chance to experience the game’s expansive universe in an entirely new way thanks to Halo Legends, a collection of animated short films created by some of Japan’s most acclaimed animation studios. Microsoft announced today that the collection will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on Feb. 9, 2010 in both a standard edition and 2-disc special edition.

The special edition will include hours of bonus content including:

Audio commentary with directors Frank O’Connor and Joseph Chou
“The Making of Halo Legends”
“Halo: Gaming Evolved” – Explore the Halo phenomenon from its inception as an Xbox title to the massive franchise it is today

The Blu-ray version will include all of the aforementioned content, plus a feature called “Halo: The Story So Far,” which basically just provides an overview of what’s happened over the course of the first three Halo games.

If you don’t feel like waiting until February to see the short films, the entire collection will be streamed live on a weekly basis via the new Halo Waypoint portal on Xbox Live starting Nov. 7. You can find the complete airing schedule over at the Halo Legends official site.

What do you Halo-lovers think about this collection? Are you excited, indifferent, curious?

Will Steve Guttenberg Bring Back The 80's?

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 13:13:00 -0800

Possible Steve Guttenberg comebacks have been "close to happening" quite often in the last few years. The latest example of this was his stint last season on Dancing With The Stars. However, it seems that every year or so, we hear something from the Gute about a possible revival of some of his old franchises, and right now is no exception. In an interview with WENN, it seems that the Gute has been talking up a storm yet again about the topic. According to him, he will, in fact, reunite with Tom Selleck and Ted Danson for a new film in the Three Men and a Baby/Little Lady franchise. (Dare I refer to it as such?) As Guttenberg states:

“Disney’s developing Three Men and a Bride. That’s going to be a smash. A smash hit. They’re bringing everybody back for that. Nobody knows about it. I’m the first to talk about it.”

While Guttenberg did not discuss the details of Three Men and a Bride, it seems to adhere to the rather obvious idea that the "baby" or as we last left her, the "little lady" will in fact be getting married, as comedic gold will surely ensue in the wedding-planning stages as her three still awkward adopted dads hilariously deal with late middle-age, as well as love and commitment issues. (Seriously, try and tell me that the film WON'T be like that!)

However, Guttenberg didn't stop there. He continued on about other projects like his desire to star in the (confirmed) upcoming Short Circuit remake, a new Cocoon film, and of course, the crème de la crème, the long-discussed new Police Academy film. According to Guttenberg:

“It’s definitely time for another Police Academy. And I think they could make another Cocoon. They’re surefire hits and I think they’re good for the world. They make the world a better place and that’s what it’s all about.”

It all sounds kind of absurd, but in today's movie market, which is laden with remakes, reboots, and reboots of reboots, it's pretty realistic to assume that these will eventually be realized. With projects that are probably on the periphery like the Police Academy sequel, (which has been floating around rumor mills for the better part of a decade) it makes you wonder if this trend of looking backwards at franchises is a healthy thing, or a sign of a general creative exhaustion, maybe even laziness?

Guttenberg wants to bring back his 80's projects, which at the time were smash hits that ruled the world. However, is it feasible to capture what made these movie special? It may not be something that can be grasped and reproduced in a tangible way, but may be rooted in the times. Some 80's action franchises may leave enough leeway to translate to modern versions in an acceptable way, but 80's comedies? Well, that's a whole different beast.

What I'd actually like to see one day, is a Steve Guttenberg comeback as some kind of "homicidal Jerry Seinfeld" character in an off-the-wall Quentin Tarantino (or Tarantino-like) film in the same sort of way that John Travolta was brought back to legitimacy in Pulp Fiction.

Source

Roland Emmerich Planning 2012 TV Series?

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 12:01:00 -0800

The movie 2012 may not be officially released yet, but are you ready for the TV series?! The hype behind Roland Emmerich's upcoming big-budget apocalyptic drama is unavoidable, yet ironically enough, very few people know what it's about other than Mayan calendars and lots of stuff getting destroyed. Well, Emmerich seems to be pretty high on the project; so much so that he's been talking with TV producer Mark Gordon (Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice) about developing a series based on the film.

The film is essentially a grim, effects-laden epic where the (alleged) date on the Mayan calendar predicting the end of the world seems to come to fruition, as an earthquake displaces the Earth's crust, causing a flood of Biblical proportions. The film centers on a character played by John Cusack, as he struggles to get his family to the Himalayas, where an organization has built arks to preserve humanity and some animal species. (As if it wasn't Biblical enough.) Themes shared by other apocalyptic pieces such as "who decides who lives and who dies?" will also be reflected in the way respective governments of the world handle the dissemination of this info.

In a red carpet interview on Tuesday with Entertainment Weekly at the advance premiere of the film, Emmerich discusses the project, saying there is plenty to do for a TV show, further adding:

“The plan is that it is 2013 and it’s about what happens after the disaster. It is about the resettling of Earth. That is very, very fascinating. (2012 writer/producer) Harald Kloser and I came up with the idea and we have the luxury of having a producer on the film who is a big TV producer, Mark Gordon. We said to Mark, ‘Why don’t you do a TV show that picks up where the movie leaves off and call it 2013?’ I think it will focus on a group of people who survived but not on the boats … maybe they were on a piece of land that was spared or one that became an island in the process of the crust moving. There are so many possibilities of what they could do and I’d be excited to watch it.”

Gordon is supposedly already in talks with ABC to bring the series there. With shows like Lost, FlashForward, and now, V, the proposed 2012 show, would be among good company in the sci-fi/disaster genre. The question remains: Would 2012 make a watchable television show? According to Emmerich:

“The movie talks about the varied reactions people have in the face of disaster and who should survive and how we carry on and what parts of our culture do we save. The TV show could carry on all that.”

Not having seen the film myself, I obviously cannot give a completely objective analysis. However, judging it purely as a genre piece, I can speculate that it may be a rough sell. If we strip away the ideas of floods, justice, and governmental control, we get to nucleus of a "handful of humans struggling against extinction" theme that we've seen a countless number of times in vehicles like the modern Battlestar Galactica or even as far back as Earth 2. In the case of Galactica, that theme was layered behind the escapist premise of cylons, space battles, and sexy, seductive robots that only you can see. (Maybe annihilation isn't so bad?) While the existence of dry land is mentioned, the world is still flooded, and this show still seems like it would be a more depressing version of Waterworld, sans Kevin Costner's "Aquaman" powers and his pee-filter. I doubt very many people will want to escape to a gloomy, "woe is us" world where humanity is stripped of its luxuries, beaten down, starved, and forced to inbreed to proliferate the human species. (Well, I suppose some viewers might be up for the latter.)

That being said, these are the kind of predictions that I LOVE being wrong in making.

Source

Dolph Lundgren Back on AOTS!

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 08:43:00 -0800

That's right. Dolph Lundgren is coming to Attack of the Show tonight. Yes, we promised you that he'd be here earlier this week but when a small village in Sweden is under seige by a rogue band of ninjas, SOMEONE has to fly over there and save the day.

So do the right thing. Tune in to G4 tonight at 7:00pm to watch Kevin Pereira ~~get his ass kicked~~ talk to Dolph Lundgren about his directorial debut, Command Performance, his recent birthday celebration and more.

Wii Getting Playable Demos And Video Downloads

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 08:54:00 -0800

You know how the Wii is positioned as a game system that sells units by offering less than its competitors but having a user-friendly gimmick? Nintendo may be "correcting course" a bit and offering some of the services users of the other two big game systems take for granted.

First off: Playable downloads are coming to the system. On a Nintendo conference call Saturo Iwata said Nintendo will start a test program for WiiWare demos some time this month. The test will cover just a few titles. Apparently, Nintendo wants to test whether people actually want to try out games before they buy them. The demos will be for WiiWare games, but Nintendo could extend this idea and provide demos of retail titles as well. No word yet on whether the pilot program is for Japan only, but we'll keep you posted.

Secondly: Movies. According to the same call, Nintendo plans to offer paid video streaming in Japan on the Wii no Ma channel before the end of the year. Currently, the video content on the service is free of charge. No word yet on what kind of paid content will be offered, but Iwata did say that Nintendo "will be working to take the service to the next step" with an eye on getting more people using the Wii, even people who might not be into playing games at home.

Whether these two changes are indicative of a strategy shift from Nintendo or just a couple of weird things being tested out in Japan remains to be seen. If these start looking more like major initiatives/priorities, we'll let you know. Of course, Nintendo has no hope of competing without an HD version of its machine...

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Movie Trailer Available Now

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 14:02:00 -0800

There's only so much you can tell from a trailer, but look at the just-released Prince of Persia: Sands of Time movie trailer.

...and here are my down-and-dirty first impressions:

The Good:

The cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton and Ben Kingsley are all excellent actors with large-enough movie star personas to pull off a flick of this scale.
The Effects: I'm bored with Hollywood effects -- they're way too perfect to be interesting -- but these look flawless.
The Director: Mike Newell is a pro who has been directing since before you were born -- seriously, he has credits that go back to 1964. He'll do a solid job.

The Bad:

Video game movies always suck.
Video game movies always suck.
Video game movies always suck.

What do you think? Is Prince of Persia going to buck the trend for video game movies and actually prove watchable and worthwhile?

Marvel Financial Report Reveals Thor, Captain America Games In 2011

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 08:28:00 -0800

Marvel Entertainment released its third quarter financial report this morning, and along with talk of "Q3 2009 net sales of $105.7 million and net income of $20.4 million, or $0.26 per diluted share, compared to net sales of $182.5 million and net income of $50.6 million, or $0.64 per diluted share, in Q3 2008" came the word that Thor and Captain America video games are scheduled to hit shelves in 2011. Both are from Sega, and while we had heard word that the games were coming, we didn't know the dates.

Thor is scheduled for May, 2011 and Captain America for July, 2011. The assumption is these games will come out to accompany their respective movies, just as the Iron Man 2 game is scheduled for an April 2010 release. That assumption is looking more and more true. As of now, the Thor movie is scheduled for May 20, 2011 release where Captain America is scheduled for July 22, 2011 release.

Anyone have an early prediction on whether these games are going to be good or not?

Will Paranormal Activity's Success Bring A New Blair Witch Movie?

Mon, 2 Nov 2009 11:38:00 -0800

These days, everyone's off about haunted bedrooms and alien abductions, but did we forget about a particular famous witch?

With a domestic total of nearly $85 million only a few weeks after its wide release, dominating the Saw franchise, and even just this week, coming in just under $5 million shy of spoiling the #1 spot debut of Michael Jackson's This Is It, the power of low budget buzz movie Paranormal Activity is undeniable. However, about this time 10 years ago, everyone was in awe of another low-budget project's rise to dominance, which would eventually set a place for itself in pop culture history. That film, of course, was The Blair Witch Project. Shot with a set of handcams with some unknowns on shoestring budget, the sleeper hit of all sleeper hits would eventually yield over $249 million (worldwide) at the box-office. With the recent success of Paranormal Activity, one may wonder if a fire may have been lit under the long-dormant Blair Witch franchise. It appears that it may have happened.

Co-Writer and Co-Director of the 1999 phenom (partnered with Daniel Myrick,) Eduardo Sanchez recently commented on the possibility of a new chapter in the Blair Witch franchise. The duo initially spent a number of years evading the possibility of returning to their franchise, even passing on involvement in the conventional, big-budget sequel, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2. (Good call on that move, btw.) After spending the ensuing years sporadically on various low-key horror/sci-fi projects, it seems that Oren Peli's Paranormal Activity may have inspired the calling to resurrect this franchise. According to Sanchez:

"We're at the step where we're about to pitch to Lionsgate, which owns the movie rights now. It's pretty much up to them. They can completely squash it or greenlight it."

The film would prospectively be a sequel, which would not acknowledge the events of Blair Witch 2 (which were anticlimactic, to say the least.) Original cast members, Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard and Michael C. Williams, would also be pursued for roles of some kind in Blair Witch 3. However, the film will attempt to avoid regurgitating what was done in the groundbreaking first film. While laughing at subsequent films which utilized Blair Witch's signature "shakycam" style like Cloverfield, Sanchez also acknowledges that audiences may be disappointed if it does not return. When gauging the crowd at a recent Screenwriter's Festival in LA, Sanchez comments:

"I asked the crowd, `Who would be turned off by that?' And nobody raised their hand. Then I said, `Who wants to see more shakycam?' And everybody raised their hands. We might have a problem here. We still haven't really decided yet, but instinct-wise it seems that doing the same thing would probably be a mistake."

Therefore, I wouldn't expect the Sanchez/Myrick duo to attempt reinventing the wheel all that much.

I suppose the real mystery lies in where they want to go with the story. If indeed the characters of the original cast (who we could have concluded were either missing or dead) do return, then in what capacity would it occur? Maybe the permise of the film could center on their mysterious resurfacing 16-17 years after the footage of their ordeal was found. (Seeing as the "ordeal" in the film took place in 1994.)

Either way, it sounds intriguing.

Source

Anthony Hopkins To Play Odin In Thor?

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:55:00 -0700

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the one and only Sir Anthony Hopkins is in negotiations to join the cast of Thor to play Odin, Thunder God and Thor's regal father. While very few details have emerged from this report, it raises questions about the role itself, which was long-rumored to be filled by Shakespearean actor Brian Blessed.

When the rumor (which was ultimately proven false) about Robert De Niro and Jude Law joining the cast initially hit, I took it as a sign that there was some casting scrambling occurring for a film, that while stacked with a solid cast, was without any box-office drawing stars. (Which, while the rumor was false, remains a valid issue.) Whether Brian Blessed's role as Odin was ever actually set, is something that remains to be revealed, although his name was deleted from the cast list on imdb weeks ago. However, IF Blessed was at any point, actually in consideration, only to be edged-out by a more bankable name, it may speak volumes about the obstacles that this film faces.

Unless Thor's Chris Hemsworth becomes a huge star sometime in the next year, either through his work or some other notorious reason, the Thor brand itself is not going to draw masses of people to the theaters. This one's hopes will seemingly rest on the possibility that Iron Man 2 will be AMAZING and that its Avengers lead-in will be so strong that it will drive people towards the Norse God's profile film. It's surely possible, but even if the IM2 is good, it doesn't necessarily guarantee it will happen.

The other glimmer of hope is the possibility of it being the artistic success that some have been speculating it will become. Kenneth Branagh has reportedly boned-up on the source material, and with his vast experience and knowledge in Shakespearean tragedy, that may be the more likely scenario. The film is to take place mostly in the mystical land of Asgard, and will be a tale of Thor, a once spoiled and arrogant prince, who is thrust into a rivalry with an evil half-brother that ultimately results in his being exiled to Earth in human form by his own father, Odin. With Anthony Hopkins (possibly) on board, this one might be the big the sleeper among the slew of Avenger-related films coming in the 2011-2012 era.

Source

LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues Parody Trailer Splices In Vintage Film Footage

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:51:00 -0700

Film purist might find the following trailer for LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues blasphemous, as PR folks have spliced in classic Raider of the Lost Ark film footage to create a parody video. I find it amusing; see you for yourself.

Indy 2 releases November 17.

Watch Larger Version | Watch HD Version

Sin City 2 To Begin Filming In 2010

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:59:00 -0700

It seems that Frank Miller is finally moving forward with a film sequel to Sin City. Anyone remember Sin City? Huge Frank Miller graphic novel -- reproduced nearly frame-by-frame by Robert Rodriguez -- Frodo as a spectacled cannibal serial killer -- Jessica Alba in the "cowgirl stripper" outfit that was everyone's desktop wallpaper. That was ages ago (2005!) and the rumors about a sequel were already churning even before the first one hit the theaters. In an interview with Mania, producer, Stephen L'Heureux of Solipsist Films revealed the news that those rumors will finally come to fruition when the project will begin to film sometime in the second half of 2010.

Miller was working on the screenplay for another of his graphic novel film adaptations, Hard Boiled. The future-set film was (and I suppose still is) rumored to star Nicolas Cage as a cyborg tax collector who, despite his homicidal tendencies, finds himself a hero who fights to preserve the robot race when he turns on the monolithic organization he once served. (Brazil meets Robocop?) However, to get things moving on Sin City 2, it looks like Hard Boiled will be put on the back-burner. (Take the pun if you wish.)

What will Sin City 2 portray? Ironically enough, while the original was the perfect companion piece to certain volumes of the Sin City graphic novels, don't look for the sequel to do the same. While Robert Rodriguez is expected to return to co-direct with Miller (as he did in the first film,) an original script by Miller will actually be the basis for this film. However, it's difficult to predict what that formula will produce. As anyone familiar with the Sin City graphic novels knows, the first film only covered a few of the story arcs from the Sin City mythos, leaving plenty of room for more chapters to be explored, each of which had ties and cameos to the ones that were depicted in the first film. With the vast majority of the cast quoted as being willing to return to the film, those cameos would be a definite possibility.

However, while a lot of fans would like to see Sin City volumes like A Dame To Kill For represented in the film, it is more likely that an option more suitable for casual movie-goers may be implemented. Perhaps, those viewers may be left befuddled by the concept of new characters and situations coming into focus, while characters believed to be dead are featured without explanation. Such an option will probably be more of a direct follow-up to the characters chronicled in the first film with Clive Owen's Dwight and his "hooker army" possibly taking center stage. (Pure speculation on my part.)

It is still to be determined as to when the film will actually hit theaters. According to L'Heureux:

"With 'Sin City' just on the horizon I don't think we'd be able to do it with Frank right away. As simple as 'Sin City' seems, it's a very complex scheduling with all these actors and it's a very demanding shoot to be on a sound stage all day long," L'Heureux told us. "We have to space it for Frank. There's also talk, of course, of 'Sin City 3'."

What do you think? Should the film(s) focus on an all-new story with the characters from the first film? OR would expanding on the other chapters of the graphic novels be the better move?

Source

Has Guy Ritchie Found His Lobo?

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:09:00 -0700

A rumor about the upcoming Guy Ritchie-directed film adaptation of comics' "Main Man," Lobo, has really been making the rounds. According to a recent report by Mania, their "source on the inside" is saying that meetings regarding casting keep pointing to actor Clancy Brown.

WHO is that, you ask? He's been around for a long time, and among his numerous roles over the years, is the main adversary in the original Highlander, The Kurgan, on Lost as Kelvin Inman, the man who shared the Swan hatch with Desmond before trying to steal his boat and leave the island, and perhaps opposite Edward Furlong as the evil zombified dog-killing Sheriff in Pet Sematary 2. However, it is his voice work that may have you even more starstruck in his roles as Mr. Krabs in Spongebob Squarepants, as Lex Luthor in just about every animated adaptation of Superman in the last few decades (including the recent Superman/Batman: Public Enemies,) and as Mr. Sinister in Wolverine and the X-Men.

Ever since the project was announced, the immediate question of who would be playing the genocidal albino intergalactic bounty hunter undoubtedly was raised. Clancy Brown is surely not a name that would typically surface. Why then, is his name suddenly in the mix? Wouldn't they go for someone who had the large build and experience with action genre films like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Gerard Butler, or Vin Diesel? According to Mania's talk with their source:

"Lobo has to look like that, but the person being Lobo doesn't necessarily," our source told us. "I'm not saying that's how they're gonna do it because they're still trying to work that out, but for example Andy Serkis doesn't particularly look like Gollum, you know? It's all about performance."

This comment would spawn the speculation that Lobo might go the direction of the Hellboy movies, which put an actor the caliber of Ron Pearlman into a giant, muscled-up red latex suit, to pull off the look of his character. With the reference to Andy Serkis' groundbreaking performance as Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which was done completely in CGI, aided with Serkis' own motion capture performance, you might think at first, that something as dark, gritty, and as Lobo might not mesh well with such a concept. However, it should also be kept in mind that Lobo is tentatively planned to be a PG-13 film. While I have laid out my thoughts in-depth about that revelation, it does make the CGI route a little more feasible. As Mania's source continues:

"Ultimately regardless of whether you do it all CG or its a guy in a suit, with CG, you'll still end up doing a lot of CG animation. So do you need a celebrity? Do you need a name or do you just get someone who is good and who's gonna nail it?"

The source does make a good point, in that the performance should trump all. Whether that will be more effectively expressed through the filter of a latex suit or a myriad of computer pixels, remains to be seen.

It's worth mentioning that there's a lot of bad info out there, especially this week with the Star Wars Trilogy hoax. At this point, nothing is even close to being confirmed regarding the casting of this film, so please do take this (as with any Internet rumor) with a grain of salt.

Source

Have You Played DJ Hero? What Do You Think So Far?

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:00:00 -0700

Even though we've seen several iterations and spin-offs of Guitar Hero and Rock Band, it's been a few years since someone had the cojones to introduce a new instrument into the mix. DJ Hero changes that, adding a turntable to the lineup. The $119.99 asking price is dicey in an economy where most gamers are scaling back, but as I pointed out in my review yesterday, despite its faults, DJ Hero is a supremely entertaining game. It's a game I expect will quickly find a fiercely loyal audience.

Finally, though, DJ Hero is in the wild. Have you had a chance to play it? What do you think? If you decided to pass on DJ Hero, was it just the price? Did anyone pick up the Renegade Edition?

Avatar Dev Diary Tours The Beautifully Deadly World Of Pandora

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:26:00 -0700

The demigod James Cameron and the videogame version of his supposed movie-to-end-all-movies, Avatar, has issued the second of five developer diaries. The following video tours the lush and deadly movie/game world of Pandora and it's inhabitants.

Now, if only they could include those fancy pants light pens they're using in these videos as a bonus to buying the game.

Watch Larger Version | Watch HD Version

God of War III Demo Bundled With District 9 On Blu-Ray

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:36:00 -0700

If for some reason you don’t feel like picking up the crazy cool God of War Collection being released in a few weeks just so you can get your hands on the demo for God of War III, Sony has another option for you. And it’s pretty damn cool.

Turns out that Sony will be bundling the GoW III demo with the upcoming Blu-ray version of Neil Blomkamp’s brilliant sci-fi masterpiece District 9, which will be released on Dec. 29. And once you finish the demo, you’ll also be treated to an exclusive behind-the-scenes featurette on the making of GoW III. Well, aren't you special?

Oh, and you’ll get to watch one of the best sci-fi movies ever. So that’s nice.

Source

Morning Hangover: Wanna Play Something REALLY Scary? Me too.

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 06:01:00 -0700

Halloween is awesome. I love horror flicks, horror comics and survival horror games. But I've noticed this: Even though I can appreciate the horror elements in games like Silent Hill 2, Dead Space or the Fatal Frame series, and I really like playing them, it's very rare that I actually find horror games all that scary. Maybe there's a few jump-out-at-you moments where I flinch, but I've never played a game that came close to inspiring the kind of creepy dread I feel watching The Shining or Audition.

This might just be me -- Eugene Morton just told me Resident Evil 2 was scarier than any movie he's ever seen -- but I just don't get that scared at games. What about you? Are horror games really scary to you?