- Twilight's First Official Photo and Why I'm Passing
- Rumor: Matthew McConaughey Possibly Captain America - Blasphemy!
- Sound Off: Iron Man - What Did You Think?
- First Twilight Teaser Trailer - Freaky?
- Rumor: Brad Pitt in the Running for Thor? (May 11, 2008)
- New Photos From Charlie Kaufman's Synecdoche, New York (May 11, 2008)
- Will Smith's Hancock Doing Late Reshoots (May 11, 2008)
- Kevin Smith Updates Zack and Miri Make a Porno Details (May 10, 2008)
| Speed Racer | 8/10 |
| The Fall | 8/10 |
| Then She Found Me | 7/10 |
| Speed Racer | 8/10 |
Rumor: Brad Pitt in the Running for Thor?
As much as I don't like posting rumors, the overwhelming response to Matthew McConaughey as Captain America has convinced me that it might be "fun" to run this one, too. I'm pretty sure I don't believe this rumor for a second, like Marvel is just teasing us for the sake of building up some early buzz, but then again, who really knows? Our amigos over at Latino Review are reporting that Brad Pitt is one of the big names in the running for the role of Thor. No contracts have been signed, but it seems Marvel has their eyes set on Pitt as the hammer wielding Norse god of thunder.
John Waters is Back - Directing Fruitcake with Johnny Knoxville!
Legendary quirky director John Waters is returning to the director's chair! Waters hasn't directed a film since 2004's NC-17 rated A Dirty Shame, but will be returning this year with a film called Fruitcake. Get this - not only does it have a wacky concept (see below), but it's Christmas children's movie! Both Johnny Knoxville and Parker Posey have joined the cast, but not too much else has been revealed. While I'm not a closet John Waters fan by any means, it is actually intriguing to see him return… I think? I've got to ask - is he still a good director or did he just have a few good one-timers and that's it? Because I think you need to hear the concept for this new Fruitcake movie and decide for yourself what to make of it.
Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt Starring in 500 Days of Summer Together
Two of my favorite actors joining a romantic comedy together - what a joyous occasion! Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt will star together in an upcoming independent movie titled 500 Days of Summer for Fox Searchlight. Not much has been revealed yet: the story centers on Gordon-Levitt who falls hopelessly in love with Deschanel, a girl who doesn't believe in love. Music video director Marc Webb is making his feature film debut with a screenplay by newcomers Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber (who's only other work was on the upcoming Pink Panther 2). Shooting starts next Tuesday in Los Angeles and I'll be sure to keep my eye on this.
Ellen Page Cast as Jane Eyre Next
As many know, I love me some Ellen Page, ever since she surprised audiences as the adorable little psycho in Hard Candy. Her role in Juno was equally impressive, but obviously on the other end of the spectrum. As for Smart People, she seemed to channel her Juno performance a bit, which is to say she delivered the familiar beyond-her-years intelligence and jokes. So I've started to wonder whether she's in fear of typecasting, since she plays the whip-smart young adult with a surprising degree of confidence and sophisticated humor so naturally. Page's recently announced project puts those fears to rest a bit, but now I wonder how well she'll pull this off. Producers of The Other Boleyn Girl are working with the BBC on yet another adaptation of Jane Eyre for which Page will play the lead.
Rumor: Matthew McConaughey Possibly Captain America - Blasphemy!
Say it ain't so! Hot on the heels of Marvel's announcement yesterday of a Captain America movie for 2011, a scoop from Cinema Blend names Matthew McConaughey is one of the actors in the running for the lead role. Please tell me this is all just a big phoney rumor like Hayden Christensen as Superman! It would easily be the biggest travesty in all of Marvel history if McConaughey was cast as Captain America. The scoop says that although the film is still three years out from release, they're currently searching for their star and he is one of the few that is being considered. I really hate talking about rumors like this, but everyone is hungry for something to chew on after Marvel's announcement and here it is.
Jonah Hill Cast in Transformers 2 as Shia's Sidekick?! Updated - Nope!
Although everyone is 100% focused on the upcoming summer movie season, including Iron Man due out in theaters starting tomorrow night, we can't forget the following summer of 2009. We all know Michael Bay is working his ass off trying to get Transformers 2 made by June of next year and I'm guessing a handful of fans are pretty damn excited, myself included. The latest bit of news to come out regarding the highly anticipated sequel surrounds a new cast member - Jonah Hill. The gurus over at EW.com are reporting that the Superbad and Forgetting Sarah Marshall star is "in early negotiations" to co-star with Shia LaBeouf as his sidekick. Uh oh!
Mel Gibson Acting Again in Edge of Darkness
Alleged anti-Semite Mel Gibson is returning to the big screen! Well, the 52-year-old is of course known for more than just insulting Jews; but since he hasn't acted on screen since M. Night Shyamalan's Signs in 2002 and infamously declared in 2006, "Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world" whilst getting arrested for drunk driving, I can't help but have that as my free-associate for the seasoned Aussie. Gibson will face the camera again in cooperation with the BBC for a film titled Edge of Darkness, based on the British TV series of the same name. Director, Martin Campbell of the Bond installments Casino Royale and Golden Eye, will fittingly helm the project, since he also directed the original series.
Mike Judge and Jason Bateman Creating Extract
Mike Judge is still one of the most underrated comedic filmmakers working these days. Despite Idiocracy was mishandled by Fox and ended up a flop anyway, Office Space will still remain one of the comedy greats of all-time, as will Beavis and Butt-Head Do America, one of Judge's other creations. Now Judge has a new project in the works - Extract. The film sounds like Office Space from the other side: what it's like to be the boss when everything seems to be shifting around you. Jason Bateman will star and thankfully Miramax will distribute this time, although that unofficially makes this an independent film, but we're still holding out for Judge this time around.
Ayelet Zurer Cast as Vittoria Vetra in Angels and Demons - Updated!
Production on Ron Howard's adaptation of Dan Brown's Angels & Demons is finally slated to begin in June and the cast is now being finalized. We originally reported last year that Naomi Watts had been cast as the female lead Vittoria Vetra. Now a report from Entertainment Weekly states that Israeli actress Ayelet Zurer has been cast as Vetra instead. While it's still not officially confirmed by the studio, EW states that they have received numerous confirmations from sources "close to the production." We sure hope they're not wrong this time, but she seems like the perfect fit anyway - in the same way Audrey Tautou was actually the perfect fit for Sophie Neveu in The Da Vinci Code, despite the rather mediocre movie in the end.
Moon Bloodgood Joins Terminator 4 Cast
Journeyman star Moon Bloodgood is the latest the join the cast of Terminator 4 (remember it's no longer titled Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins?). She joins as the lead female character alongside of Christian Bale as John Connor, Anton Yelchin as Kyle Reese and Sam Worthington. This puts an end to those rumors that hit the internet last week that claimed that Terminator 4 was being shut down. Not sure what to say about this - Bloodgood seems like an acceptable choice for the female lead.
Shia LaBeouf Cast in Alan Glynn's The Dark Fields
Shia LaBeouf has got to be one of the busiest, and most popular, young actors work in Hollywood at the moment. He's currently finishing Eagle Eye with D.J. Caruso, after which he will then move on to promote Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull until its release in late May, then I'm guessing he will be back on Transformers 2 for the rest of the summer (pending the actors' strike). And after that it seems like he'll probably move on to The Dark Fields next after also filming a part in Shekhar Kapur's segment of New York, I Love You. The Dark Fields is his latest announcement - a "techno thriller" from Universal.
Rose McGowan Says Barbarella Still Moving Forward
It was only last October when we wrote about the Barbarella Fiasco: Robert Rodriguez vs Universal. Sin City and Planet Terror director Robert Rodriguez had been slated to remake the sexy 1968 classic Barbarella and had cast his own girlfriend Rose McGowan in it. Our report said that this casting decision, plus a skyrocketing budget that was pushing $100 million, had caused Universal to back out of their initial agreements and thus the project had hit a wall. Now five months later, McGowan not only denies that any of that was true to begin with, but says the Barbarella remake is actually still on track to be made this year.
Olive Stone's W Biopic - What and Who?
Most people know who Oliver Stone is (that's not him in the picture above - that's actually the real Bush). With multiple Oscars under his belt, Stone has clearly proven his mettle as a screenwriter, director and producer through such projects as Platoon, Wall Street, and Born on the Fourth of July. Even though they're from the 80s, these examples seem more memorable than most of Stone's recent work. (Plus, they're ones I watched with my dad as a kid.) And while I like Any Given Sunday and Natural Born Killers, each on their own respective level, I wonder what's happened to the guy. Alexander or World Trade Center, anyone? As of late there's been much news surrounding Stone's next lofty project - a biopic on President Bush titled W. However, the news isn't really centered on Stone targeting Bush, as much as it is the odd casting choices that continue to arise each week.
Denzel Washington Headlining Robert Ludlum's The Matarese Circle
A new project in the works has been generating a lot of buzz amongst the studios this weekend - one based off of Robert Ludlum's book The Matarese Circle. No studio has actually landed the project yet, but it sounds as if a bidding war is about to begin. The reason: Denzel Washington is already attached to play the hero named Bradley Scofield. We're all familiar with the last franchise based off of a Ludlum novel - the Bourne Identity trilogy. The Matarese Circle is another one of Ludlum's legendary spy books, originally published in 1983, and it sounds just as exhilarating as the Bourne series.
G.I. Joe Updates: Brendan Fraser and Dwayne Johnson Cameos?
G.I. Joe is shaping up to be a pretty cool project judging from some of the casting choices. From Dennis Quaid starring as General Hawk to Channing Tatum as Duke to Joseph Gordon Levitt as Cobra Commander, director Stephen Sommers is amassing quite a nice crew. And those photos we brought you of Ray Park as Snake Eyes were just jaw-dropping awesome. However, not all choices are as exciting - Marlon Wayans as Ripcord, for instance. Eh? Now Latino Review claims that Brendan Fraser and Dwayne Johnson might join the roster through cameos as well. While Johnson is definitely pretty cool, Fraser seems a might lame.
Doug Jones Joins the Extensive Cast of Legion
Last Thursday Variety announced a cast for a new film called Legion that Sony's Screen Gems is putting together. Included in the announcement were Paul Bettany, Dennis Quaid, Tyrese Gibson, Jon Tenney, Kate Walsh, Adrianne Palicki, and Kevin Durand. I didn't think much of it until now, when the guys at Film School Rejects hit us with another new cast member - Doug Jones. You may not know his name, but you'll know his performances: Abe Sapien in Hellboy, El Fauno and Pale Man in Pan's Labyrinth, and Silver Surfer in Fantastic Four 2. He's the kind of actor that once he gets attached, I'm immediately interested. And now that I've looked more into this, it sounds incredible.
Friday the 13th Remake Casts Jason Voorhees
After announcing last Friday that Jared Padalecki had been cast in the upcoming Friday the 13th remake, we've received more news today on who will play Jason Voorhees, the series' legendary villain. Derek Mears, who has had funky special effects roles in everything from The Hills Have Eyes 2 to D-War to Zathura to Men in Black II, has been confirmed (via Bloody Disgusting) as Jason in the remake. It sounds like this film is starting to come together in high fashion - do we finally have a good revival of a classic horror character in the works?
Rumor: Hayden Christensen is Superman in Justice League: Mortal?! Updated - Not True!
After Ken referred to Hayden Christensen as "very wooden and extremely uninteresting" in his review of Jumper, he's apparently now moving on to step on Brandon Routh's toes and assume the role of a younger Superman in Justice League: Mortal?! Okay, so this is 100% an unproven rumor, so don't take it as more than that - at all. Apparently Cinema Blend received a scoop from a woman in British Columbia, Canada who "cornered" a drunken Adam Brody in a bar up there and used her charm to get some details out of him. One of them was this bit about Hayden as Superman. Talk about one hell of a rickety story…
Frank Darabont's Fahrenheit 451 Suffers Another Setback - Tom Hanks Drops Out
Writer/director Frank Darabont is a pretty cool guy. Despite The Mist underselling at the box office (even thought it's a great, well-regarded flick), his 1994 Shawshank Redemption has pretty much assumed its rightful place in history. In fact, last year it was added to AFI's Top 100 list. Darabont's next project, an adaptation of Fahrenheit 451, which is based on the popular 1953 novel of the same name, is expected to perform on a similar level as Redemption (if not better), given its weighty, societal themes. Tom Hanks' reported involvement initially had this project tracking pretty well, but we learn via MTV that the multi-award-winning actor has dropped out of the project.
Elizabeth Banks Cast as Laura Bush in Oliver Stone's Biopic?!
This definitely falls into the category of "are you kidding me?!" After originally casting Josh Brolin as George W. Bush in his biopic, Nixon director Oliver Stone has officially just added the charming Elizabeth Banks to his cast as First Lady Laura Bush. Titled just W., the film chronicles the life and presidency of George W. Bush with a screenplay written by Stone and Stanley Weiser (of Wall Street). Is it just me or are they really trying to glamourize the Bush family by casting these two rather impeccable actors that, really, don't even look in the slightest like the real-life people they're supposed to portray.