Perfecting Their Characters: Spider-Man 3's Cast Discusses Their Process

The strongest aspect to a successful comic book adaptation are the characters that make it up. If they aren't as dynamic and identifiable as those originally found in the comic books, then the film and its story will all fall apart into a terrible mess.

In the Spider-Man films, there are three characters that we've all come to know and love: Peter Parker, Mary Jane Watson, and Harry Osborn; in Spider-Man 3 we are introduced to three more: Eddie Brock, Gwen Stacy, and Flint Marko. It's the actors who must fill the shoes and know the characters inside-out, and it is without a doubt that in Spider-Man 3, each of them gives a remarkable performance worthy of living up to their on-paper comic book equals. Each of the 6 actors gives us their insight and introspective on their own character development for Spider-Man 3.

Silver Surfer Talks in Final Fantastic Four 2 Trailer!

Ok, wow, this is actually looks really damn good now! What did they do?! And by Silver Surfer talking, I mean the voice of Laurence Fishburne with the body of Doug Jones. Does anyone else agree with me, that this trailer has made the upcoming Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer actually look like it could stand up to some of the big films this summer? Either way, check it out, let me know what you think. Even if you already hate the Fantastic Four, just watch this!

HypeCast Episode #37: All Things Spider-Man

This Week's Episode:
News: First Iron Man Photo; New Dr. Doom; David Goyer Directing Magneto; Return to House on Haunted Hill; Dracula Sequel
Main Topic: All Things Spider-Man
Director Spotlight: Sam Raimi
Upcoming Weekend

Download HypeCast Episode #37

Ridley Scott to Direct Russell Crowe in Nottingham - A Revisionist Robin Hood

You never thought it would happen. They're bringing back Robin Hood! The famous director Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Alien, Blade Runner) is going to direct the famous Russell Crowe in a drama titled Nottingham, which is a revisionist take on the Robin Hood tale. Crowe stars as the Sheriff of Nottingham who is a noble and brave lawman who labors for a corrupt king and engages in a love triangle with Maid Marion and Robin Hood. Production will start next year for a likely late 2008 or 2009 release, but I'm sure it's well worth the wait!

Jaq Sees The Invisible: Seeing What Isn't There

Is it wrong to start a review by saying "it didn't suck?" I just wanted to get that out of the way right now. The Invisible was not a bad film. It could have been better, sure, but then, what couldn't? I'm jumping the gun a bit, though, so let me back track.

Darren Aronofsky's Biblical Epic is Noah!

Forget Evan Almighty, there's a better Noah's Ark story coming up! Last year while promoting his amazing film The Fountain, the visionary independent director Darren Aronofsky revealed that his next project would be a biblical epic, but not more specific details were discovered. Finally the truth comes out, and Mr. Aronofsky himself will be writing and directing screenplay based upon Noah, and maybe his ark.

Crank Sequel, Not a Prequel, Confirmed

Is Chev Chelios still alive? The news has been out since early March about a Crank sequel, but an extra bit of confirmation has arrived, which also confirms that it's specifically a sequel, not a prequel. Thanks to the guys at The Movie Blog, they spoke briefly with Brian Taylor and Mark Neveldine, the writers and directors of Crank, and got a good bit of Crank sequel talk out of them.

First Hot Rod Teaser Clip with SNL's Andy Samberg - Removed

I'm not sure what's happening with this movie, it's supposed to be released on August 3rd, but it hasn't even begun any marketing. It has no poster and this is the first real clip at all. However it seems like it'll be a damn funny film, although it will be a challenge living up to some great comedies this summer. What it really has pulling for it is the fact that Andy Samberg, one half of the duo who came up with the immensely successful Lazy Sunday song for SNL, stars as the lead and the film is directed by an SNL director Akiva Schaffer.

In Hot Rod, Samberg is a self-proclaimed stuntman named Rod Kimble who is preparing for a jump over fifteen buses in an attempt to raise money for his abusive stepfather Frank's life-saving heart operation. Sound good enough? Check out this first ever clip for Hot Rod!

Worth Watching - Apr 29: Paris, Je T'aime (Paris, I Love You) Trailer

This is one of the best trailers I've ever watched (what a day for bests). Just something about it almost brings a tear to my eye. The way its edited showing the vast numbers of great actors involved and their stories and the music and the mood, everything is just wonderful about it. Unfortunately the movie doesn't live up as much to the trailer, but it's still an incredibly unique film worth seeing if you have a chance to catch it in its limited run. It's called Paris, Je T'aime (in English meaning Paris, I Love You) and features 18 short stories of love set in various districts of the beautiful city of Paris, France each told by a different legendary filmmaker.

The Most Unique Movie Poster You'll See All Month: Gardener of Eden

It's an independent film you've never heard of, called Gardener of Eden, but stars a couple of big names, but that doesn't matter much. The best part of this film so far is the poster, which is one of the most unique posters I've ever seen. Just take a look, it'll be worth it!

Barry's Review of Next

Remember a few years back when the weekend before the summer season started, Mean Girls, Godsend, Laws of Attraction and Envy all opened in theaters against one another? Like Next, they were also victims of the "leftover junk weekend", when the studios release the films they had little or no faith in and want to toss out into theaters, collect the damage and move on. I remember that particular weekend of '04 well, because, of those four, Mean Girls is a surprisingly great movie, one that played out during the summer season and ended up being one of the year's best films. The other two weren't as memorable, while Envy certainly was … as the worst film of 2004. As much as the industry and film buffs roll their eyes at the films that crop up this weekend, I always want to give the "leftover junk weekend" releases a fair chance, since it did give us Mean Girls (which, prior to the rave reviews, had an awful trailer and looked dreadful).

9-Minute Ratatouille Chunk Coming on Tuesday

This movie needs a bit of an extra boost, as it's one of the only non-sequel films coming out this summer and will probably be just downright amazing, and it doesn't have the buzz equal to the big blockbusters yet. I've got a warm fuzzy feeling that this is going to be the big took-everyone-by-surprise hit this summer. Everything I've seen so far has gotten me pretty dang excited for yet another Pixar animation, this time about a rat in Paris. And to get you even more acquainted, a 9-minute chunk of Ratatouille will be showing online at Disney's website next Tuesday, May 1st. Check out the preview inside.

Landmark Opening 12-Screen Flagship - Things Getting Interesting in LA

An article arrived in Variety this morning, a lengthy one, about a new theater opening in Los Angeles that's going to really shake things up. It's the new flagship theater for Landmark Theatres and will simply be called The Landmark. The Landmark Theatres chain is very well known as being one of the most wide-scale art house and independent feature chains in the US, with small art house theaters playing indie features that no one else will play in around 24 markets in the US.

No New Reviews Today, The Calm Before the Storm

Unfortunately we've got no new reviews for you today from this weekend's opening selection. Why? Because it's the calm before the storm, the dump week where everything that can't stand a chance this summer is piled up and pushed out the door before we're hit with Spider-Man 3 next Friday.

It's a sad day at the theaters. The most I can suggest you do is catch up on some old films worth seeing (anything from Hot Fuzz, Disturbia, Grindhouse, TMNT) and then relax as we prepare to kick off the summer in a big way. Take your last few breaths, we're heading into one hell of a summer.

Why Try And Market A Losing Battle - Next?

I love Paramount, at least recently, I really do, but honestly this is just a bit crazy. It's one of those, why play when you know you can't win situations. And I hate to nag on a good studio and a film that just came out, but come on, I've heard more negative feedback on this than any movie this year (including all of the terrible January movies). I'm talking about Nic Cage's latest action flick Next.

Shia LaBeouf Wants To Play The Lead in Y: The Last Man?

I've mentioned Y: The Last Man quite a bit before in the news, given it really struck me as a comic book adaptation that would stand out as a movie. There's a bit of buzz going around, which originates from a scooper at JoBlo.com, that the young star Shia LaBeouf "expressed substantial interest in playing the lead role."

Pan's Labyrinth's Ivana Baquero Cast in The New Daughter

That incredible young actress, Ivana Baquero, the star of Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth, has finally been recognized for her stunning talent and has been cast in an English-language film titled The New Daughter. My only concern is it's a nothing horror film, but let's hope she can bring something unique and refreshing to the movie. The film is based on a short story that follows a single dad who has moved his two children to a remote farm where a strange mound in the surrounding fields appears to be the key to his daughter's (played by Baquero) increasingly ominous behavior. Sounds like a combination of The Messengers, Signs, and the X-Files movie all in one.

Poster Contest #25 - Housecleaning Extravaganza

In honor of our 25th giveaway in the poster madness contest series, I'm doing a little housecleaning and giving away the single extra copies of a few posters first come, first serve. We've got one of each of the following posters: Hairspray, Fracture, The Last Mimzy, Are We Done Yet?, Code Name: The Cleaner, and Catch and Release. They're not the most exciting, but I'm cleaning out the piles of posters here. Read on if you want to grab one, and hurry, they're first come, first serve!

The Magneto Spin-Off is On - David Goyer Directing!

It's confirmed, a Magneto spin-off (in addition to the Wolverine spin-off already talked about) is under development, and they've already got a director - David Goyer! The only catch is that it won't be our favorite white wizard Ian McKellen playing Magneto, but that's only because the story isn't going to be set around the current X-Men films' timeframe, instead it will be set around his young years and his origin. The script has already been written by Sheldon Turner (The Longest Yard, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning) and Fox will start up production after Wolverine.

The director, David Goyer, has previously directed Blade: Trinity and The Invisible which opens in theaters tomorrow. Although Blade: Trinity was terrible, I'm interested to see The Invisible and I suggest if you want a taste of what his style is and how it might play into Magneto, I suggest you go catch The Invisible this weekend as well.

The FirstShowing.net Summer Experience Kicks Off May 4th

We're nearing the beginning of what may likely be the summer to remember with so many trilogies and blockbuster hits awaiting their debut. In order to enhance the experience over this summer, FirstShowing.net is kicking off our summer experience tour on May 4th with Spider-Man 3. Featuring a series of events for the midnight shows and opening days of this summer's biggest hits and most anticipated movies, the summer experience tour is the place to be for movies.