Comic-Con 2008: J.J. Abrams on “Cloverfield” Sequel (“It’s not a literal sequel”) and the “Star Trek” Movie July 27, 2008 2:00 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Cloverfield, Cloverfield Sequel, Comic-Con, Comic-Con 2008, Movies, News, Star Trek, Television.add a comment
During the Comic-Con panel for the Fox television series Fringe, an audience member asked J.J. Abrams if there were any updates on a Cloverfield sequel, to which Abrams responded with the following nugget according to /Film:
“There’s something we’re playing with now that may or may not happen. There’s an idea we have that plays with… it’s not a literal sequel.“
Unfortunately, as is almost always the case with Abrams who is very tight-lipped on his projects, that’s all he would let slip.
Abrams and crew were also asked about the upcoming Star Trek movie and though nothing major was revealed, he did indicate that the reason no footage was shown from the film was because the trailer sequences don’t have the special effects added in yet, and they are heavily covered in SFX. He went on to say that had the movie’s original release date of December 25, 2008 still been a go, they would have hustled to get those sequences ready for release.
TrekMovie.com also debunked the recent footage report that was posted on AICN. The site, however, could not debunk the rumor that J.J. and crew had wanted to bring some footage from the film to show the crowd at the Fringe panel, but Fox nixed the idea because they didn’t want it to upstage their Fringe presentation.
Comic-Con 2008: Disney/Pixar Panel on “Bolt” July 27, 2008 12:30 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Bolt, Comic-Con, Comic-Con 2008, Movies, News.6 comments
At their panel for Disney/Pixar, Pixar showed off their next animated film, Bolt. Here are the highlights courtesy ComingSoon.net:
- Bolt is about: a Hollywood dog from an action TV series that actually believes his theatrical feats are real superpowers. However, he gets a harsh dose of reality when he thinks his little girl owner is kidnapped by villains and he ventures out of Hollywood.
Here’s a summary of the first scene screened:
The first scene was from Bolt’s TV show where he’s a dog with superpowers. When his owner’s father is kidnapped, Bolt and the girl (voiced by Miley Cyrus) go on a rescue mission. They’re soon attacked by a goon who quickly discovers you don’t mess with Bolt. A car traps them in an alley and as the goon races down to ram them, Bolt runs forward, lowers his head, and rams the car sending it flying in the air. He follows it with a cute scratch of his collar and some panting. Bolt and the girl are then attacked by three helicopters which spit out a dozen goons on motorcycles. The girl pulls out a scooter from her backpack, gives Bolt a rope, and tells him to run. A spectacular motorcycle chase then ensues. When Bolt is finally surrounded by dozens of bad guys in Humvees, the girl tells Bolt, “Speak.” He braces his paws, rears back, and lets out a sonic bark that blows them all away like a hurricane.
And here’s a final summary of the rest of the scenes screened:
We were treated to more scenes including one showing the other acting cats harassing Bolt (who thinks he still has superpowers, yet can’t get out of his trailer). John Travolta voices Bolt and does a pretty good job based on the little I saw. The cats were absolutely hilarious, but nothing compared to the hilarious hamster in a ball who aids Bolt. He’s a HUGE fan of Bolt and gleefully helps him escape from the dog catcher, then bust a friendly cat out of the pound. He gives an inspiring speech to Bolt about how he’s a symbol to millions, how he proves that no matter who you are, you can do the impossible…”as long as you’re AWESOME!!!!!” (OK, you’ll have to see it yourself.)
ComingSoon.net notes that after these scenes, the crowd roared with applause, indicating that the presentation went over very nicely and Disney/Pixar should be in for yet another solid box office outing this November.
Comic-Con 2008: Disney/Pixar Panel for “Up” (Teaser Released) July 27, 2008 12:25 am
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Disney has released a sneak preview of the teaser trailer for Pixar’s Up. The full teaser will be included in the upcoming DVD release of Wall-E. You can watch the teaser at this link or embedded after the jump. Here are some highlight’s from the panel for both Up and Bolt. First up, observations from the panel on Up courtesy /Film:
- Up is touted as from the “creators on Monsters Inc, Co-creator of Toy Story, and Co-creator of Wall-E”. Pixar takes us “to a lost world where anything can happen and will happen.”
- Director Peter Doctor promises that “In Up, we’re taking you to a world you’ve never seen before, a place I didn’t know existed before.”
- The setting will include fantastically weird mountains of South America. They showed the entire sequence from the film, though not all of it was finished.
- The hero of the film is a 78-year-old man named Carl Fredricksen, who walks around hunched over with a cane.
- Here’s his story: When he was a kid he met a girl named Ellie, who grew up in small midwestern town. The two fell in love and eventually got married. Her dream was always to explore the world and visit paradise falls, but as usually happens, life got in the way. They were never able to make good on their promise, and Ellie eventually passed away. Now Carl is a widower living alone in his small home. Developers are threatening to move him into an old folks home.
- It was also confirmed that Michael Giacchino, the composer of The Incredibles, Lost and Star Trek, is writing the score.
Here’s a summary of the clip they were shown:
The clip we saw began as the people from the old folks home arrive, but Carl escapes by launching tons of brightly colored balloons from his roof, lifting the whole thing into the air. “So long boys!” A little girl in a high rise apartment looks on with excitement as the balloons go by her window. People in the street are in disbelief over what they see. The house floats by a window washer who is also shocked. And a flock of birds decide to join in on the journey. Carl looks out at the ground below and puts out sails which help him guide the house. He looks over at a photo of Ellie and kisses it. He’s finally beginning that journey they planned so many years ago.
Carl sits down comfortably in his chair and closes his eyes to rest. The house glides above the clouds. And all of a sudden, there is a knock at the door. Carl is in disbelief. He walks over to the door and looks out of the peep hole and sees nothing. But he still opens the door. And that is where the clip ended.
It was then explained that a 9-year-old wilderness explorer named Russell had stowaway on the house in an attempt to earn the final badge (assisting the elderly) he needs to become a senior wilderness explorer. The house eventually makes it to South America where Russell and Carl must slide to the ground using a garden hose. We were then shown more test footage of Carl and Russell dragging the house like a float in the Macy’s Day parade, with the floating home breaking through the leaves and branches high up in the jungle sky. Russel is tired and has to go to the bath room. He gets distracted and unhooks himself from the garden hose harness which results in Carl being dragged unwillingly into the air.
Comic-Con 2008: “Terminator Salvation” Panel (Trailer Screened + Poster Revealed) July 26, 2008 9:03 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Comic-Con, Comic-Con 2008, Movies, News, Photos, Terminator Salvation.1 comment so far
Director McG was joined by the cast (except for Bale who was in Japan promoting The Dark Knight) of Terminator Salvation at the panel for the film. Here are some highlights courtesy ComingSoon.net:
- McG mentioned the film is only 50% complete and that no CGI has been added.
- He told the audience that he has listened to the fans and even went to see James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger before making the movie.
- Contrary to early reports, they aren’t targeting a PG-13 rating. McG said that they’re just going to make the movie they want to make, and if the final rating is R or PG-13, they are okay with whatever.
- The movie takes place in the near future-2018.
- Hinted at the T-100 model being a part of the mythology of Terminator (Arnold cameo?).
- He announced that a full trailer will be attached to this November’s Quantum of Solace.
- McG also revealed that Jonathan Nolan (The Dark Knight) was “the lead writer of the film” adding “I don’t know how the WGA rules work but honest to goodness, we did the heaviest lifting with Jonah.”
- A new poster from the film has been released (pictured right–click to enlarge).
Here’s a summary of the footage that was screened (via /Film):
The footage opens with a descending overhead shot of John Connor (Christian Bale), barely emerging from the scene of a helicopter crash. “Are there any survivors?” a cackling radio voice asks? “One,” Bale says quietly, then again, shouting, for emphasis. He walks off into the distance, as we begin to hear Bale’s dialogue in the film.
The rest of the trailer takes place in various places in 2018, when Earth has become a bombed out, post-apocalyptic hellscape after the rise of Skynet. Amongst other scenes, we see a face to face confrontation between Connor and Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), in which Bale threateningly declares, “If I let you down, you’ll kill everyone in this room,” and then later, “You tried killing my mother. You killed my father. You will not kill me.”
A young Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin) delivers the “Come with me if you want to live” line and we see several obscured shots of T-600s, hideous combinations of metal and rubbery flesh. A topless (but covered by her hands) Blair Williams, played by Moon Bloodgood, shares a poignant look with Wright. At one point in the trailer, Connor and Reese share a meaningful exchange. Various action shots, full of shooting, running, and massive explosions are concluded by a shot of Bale screaming at the close sight of a metal cyborg hand.
Comic-Con 2008: Red-Band Trailer for “Quarantine” Released July 26, 2008 8:30 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Comic-Con, Comic-Con 2008, Movie Trailers, Movies, News, Quarantine.add a comment
The Red-Band trailer for Screen Gems’ upcoming horror movie Quarantine, that debuted at the San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday night, has been released. Courtesy IGN Movies, click here to watch the trailer (or watch it embedded after the jump).
Comic-Con 2008: Francis Lawrence Confirms “I Am Legend” Prequel July 26, 2008 8:16 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Comic-Con, Comic-Con 2008, I Am Legend Prequel, Movies, News.2 comments
I Am Legend director Francis Lawrence told ShockTillYouDrop at the San Diego Comic-Con that the rumor of a prequel to the hit Will Smith starring film is true: “Yes, yes, absolutely, we’re actually trying to crack that. We’re trying to figure out some ideas for it, but yes, it would be a prequel,” Lawrence said. Lawrence also confirmed that Will Smith is interested in doing the prequel.
Comic-Con 2008: “Land of the Lost Panel” July 26, 2008 7:45 pm
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Universal Pictures’ panel for the upcoming comedy Land of the Lost, starring Will Ferrell and Anna Friel, featured the first teaser for the film. Here’s the summary of what was shown courtesy ComingSoon.net:
Will Ferrell sits on a stool beneath a spotlight in an old, darkened room strumming on a banjo and slowly singing the original theme. He makes it about halfway through and then looks up saying, “I always forget this part. Does anyone remember the words?” Words flash across the screen: MARSHALL, WILL, HOLLY, ROUTINE EXPEDITION. The scene comes back to Will, trying again to sing but having to mumble through some of the words. “LAND OF THE LOST, 2009” appears and the teaser ends.
At that point, and to applause, director Brad Silberling joined stars Anna Friel, Jorma Taccone and Danny McBride and original creators Sid and Marty Krofft on the stage. Here are some highlights from the panel:
- Right off the bat, Silberling promised the things that would definitely make an appearance in the film: Pylons and crystals (“In new and wonderous ways,” Enik, Cha-Ka, and dinosaours Dopey and Grumpy).
- He noted that Uncle Jack was sequel territory.
- As a special surprise, Will Ferrell made a video appearance. Though pre-taped, the joker was set up that he was answering questions live from another hotel in San Diego and had bad audio connection.
They ended the panel showing a brief bit of footage, which they said would be officially available within the month:
White on black text reads:
10 thousand pounds
Over 20 feet tall
Driven by hunger
Never before witnessed by man
The scene cuts to a dinosaur walking through a prehistoric jungle. In the foreground, Will Ferrell looks directly into the camera with his back to the creature.
“He’s right behind me, isn’t he?” says Ferrell, “I’m just trying not to move.”
The theme comes up and it cuts to the “Land of the Lost, 2009” text.
Ridley Scott’s “Nottingham” Has Been Delayed July 26, 2008 7:00 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, Nottingham.1 comment so far
First reported by Defamer, THR has confirmed a report that Ridley Scott’s Nottingham has been delayed. The film will star Russell Crowe as Sheriff of Nottingham and Sienna Miller as Maid Marian. According to the reports, the project was suppose to start in London in mid-August, but now has been put on hold. THR notes that it’s currently unclear if this means a postponement or a cancellation.
Comic-Con 2008: “My Bloody Valentine 3-D” Poster July 26, 2008 4:20 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Comic-Con, Comic-Con 2008, Movie Posters, Movies, My Bloody Valentine 3-D, News.add a comment
ShockTillYouDrop.com took a quick snapshot of the poster for Lionsgate’s Bloody Valentine. Check it out below (click to enlarge).
Comic-Con 2008: MIB Producer Attached to “Spooks” July 26, 2008 3:07 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Casting, Comic-Con, Comic-Con 2008, Movies, News, Spooks.add a comment
ShockTillYouDrop.com is reporting that producer Barry Josephson is attached to a live-action adaptation of the Devil’s Due comic book Spooks. Click here for more details.
Comic-Con 2008: Is Lexi Alexander Off “The Punisher: War Zone”? July 26, 2008 2:45 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Comic-Con, Comic-Con 2008, Movies, News, The Punisher: War Zone.add a comment
A rumor is circulating out of Comic-Con that Lionsgate/Marvel have kicked director Lexi Alexander off of “The Punisher: War Zone”. The movie has concluded filming, but according to /Film, there are apparently huge creative differences between the director and studio over the final cut. AICN also reports that the film’s composer is off the project.
Comic-Con 2008: More On “Watchmen” and Zack Snyder July 26, 2008 1:20 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Comic-Con, Comic-Con 2008, Movies, News, Videogames, Watchmen.add a comment
Here are a few more details on the Watchmen film relayed via the various panels going on at Comic-Con.
- At the panel for Watchmen, Snyder expressed his love of Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns graphic novel and said this: “There are a lot of other graphic novels out there, but I would love to see Frank Miller’s Dark Knight made into a movie, but that’s just me.”
- He continued that line of thought while at the Entertainment Weekly Visionaries panel, where Frank Miller told Snyder: “You can do it anytime you want to Zack”. Snyder said he was making a note of Miller’s response.
Here’s a bit on the length/editing issue:
- Speaking at the Entertainment Weekly Visionaries session, Zack Snyder revealed that they’ve filmed the transitions featured in the graphic novel that take the main storyline into the Freighter comic and that though they won’t be part of the theatrical cut, they’ll show up in a future director’s cut (presumably on DVD).
- When asked about the running time debate, Snyder said the following: “I want to make the best movie I can. I want to put pressure on myself as a filmmaker and say, ‘What’s the coolest movie?’ And if the coolest movie is 3-hours long then that’s the coolest movie. I understand and respect my partners at Warner Bros. I want them to have financial success with the film. You know, when you look at it that way, they invested a lot of money into it, they want it to be good. But on the other hand, I would tell them that I think the very things they think are too long, or too violent, or too sexy are the very reasons to go to the movie.”
- Snyder also noted that since the film’s release, the graphic novel has moved up on the Amazon charts: “[The graphic novel] is #1 or #2 on Amazon right now, and that’s awesome. I think that if in the end the movie is a 3-hour advertisement for the book, then so be it. I succeeded.”
Rounding out the Watchmen coverage, Snyder responded to a question about the recently announced Watchmen videogames, assuring the audience that care will go in to making them:
We had quite a back and fourth about that. They sent me a script for it. This is the dorkiest thing I’ve ever seen in my life, and it’s not cool at all. And it had nothing to do with Watchmen. We tried to rewrite it. We tried to come up with an idea where you like kill Woodward and Bernstein. We tried to go down those kind of routes and do something more subversive. A dialogue needs to be established between filmmakers and game producers. It’s not marketing; it can’t be an afterthought.
“Tropic Thunder” Viral Site Updates July 26, 2008 11:15 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, Rain of Madness, Tropic Thunder, Viral.add a comment
DreamWorks/Paramount has launched a new batch of viral sites linked from the Rain of Madness website. Rain of Madness is a mockumentary telling what happened during the shooting of Tropic Thunder. The sites launched are an official site for Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller) and an official site for Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.). And lastly, there’s a new website for the Make Pretty Skin Clinic, the company resonsible for changing Lazarus into a black man.
Tropic Thunder hits theaters on August 13, 2008.
Comic-Con 2008: Release Date for “Whiteout” Confirmed July 26, 2008 11:00 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Comic-Con, Comic-Con 2008, Movies, News, Release Dates, Whiteout.add a comment
Warner Bros. Pictures has set a release date for its adaptation of Greg Rucka’s graphic novel Whiteout. ShockTillYouDrop.com is reporting that the film will be released in theaters on April 24, 2009.
Comic-Con 2008: Kevin Smith Talks Future Projects Plus MPAA Issues with ‘Zack and Miri’ July 26, 2008 8:15 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Comic-Con, Comic-Con 2008, Kevin Smith, Movies, News, Zack and Miri Make A Porno.add a comment
At Kevin Smith’s Comic-Con panel for Zack and Miri Make a Porno, the director talked publicly about the ratings troubles he’s been having with the MPAA. Smith says that the film was initially given an NC-17 rating. He made some edits and resubmitted it to the MPAA only to receive yet another NC-17 rating: “I’ve gone as far as I can go,” Smith said. He’s now appealed the rating. /Film writes that there are two specific scenes that the MPAA wants cut, one involves “thrusting” and the other involves acts that are “unspeakable”. The appeal will take place on August 4th, after which if the NC-17 rating is withheld, Smith will have no choice but to make the necessary cuts as he’s contractually obligated to deliver an R-rated film.
Another thing that came out of his panel was that Smith revealed that he plans to make a film that “will test [his] abilities as a visual filmmaker.” All he’s revealed about the film is that it will be set in space.
Comic-Con 2008: “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” Extended Trailer July 25, 2008 11:55 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Comic-Con, Comic-Con 2008, Movies, News, Star Wars, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Trailers.1 comment so far
The 4-minute clip of Star Wars: The Clone Wars was that screened at Comic-Con today is now available to view online. Watch it in HD at this link.
Comic-Con 2008: “The Spirit” Panel July 25, 2008 11:34 pm
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At the panel today for The Spirit, director Frank Miller opened the proceedings, recalling the story of his long-running friendship with Will Eisner. Highlights from the panel follow below courtesy ComingSoon.net:
- Miller was joined by producer Deborah Del Prete, who talked about Miller’s vision of the project, saying The Spirit captured Eisner’s original intent if not matching the look exactly.
- A trailer, the one already released, was screened for the audience.
- Jackson joked with the audience about playing Nick Fury: “You know, when I was a kid,” he said, deadpan serious, “Nick Fury was a white man. I’m so glad he evolved into something that finally made sense to me.” “But don’t worry!” he promised, “You, too, can grow up to be a black man!”
Jaime King and Gabriel Macht joined the stage and the first bit of all-new footage was screened. Here’s the summary:
This bit showed Eva Mendes as Sand Saref in a skin-tight wetsuit. She battles with the Octopus on the edge of the water and then dives underneath where she and a diver are trying to retrieve a sunken chest. They dodge bullets from the Octopus’ gun, though the diver is clipped in the arm. With the Octopus jumping in the water after them, the two swim and come to the surface inside some kind of darkened building. The diver says to Mendes, “It’s the Octopus. You know what he can do.”
She replies, “Shut up and bleed.”
Back to the panel highlights:
- After the clip, Miller explained to the crowd that the scene was shot with a new kind of camera that allows for enough frames per-second to simulate the floating-effect of hair in water. Miller told Mendes to “act like the Flash” so that her movements could be slowed down later.
- Miller, speaking about the basic plot of the film as summarized by CS: Miller talked a bit about the basic plot of the film; Police officer Denny Colt is nearly killed by a bullet wound but awakens to find himself in “a new reality,” able to do things he couldn’t before. In addition to incredible endurance, Colt’s pheromones have been altered, causing mutual attraction between himself and any woman he meets. “A major part of the story is how tough he is and why’s he’s so tough,” offered Miller.
New clip:
Miller showed a clip of The Spirit with Sarah Paulson’s Ellen Dolan in an office. She comes on to him, telling him, “Keep the mask on. Something tells me it might be better that way.”
Ellen tells the Spirit, “But we don’t even know your real name.”
To that he responds, “I’ll tell you my real name,” just as a Detective shows up with an new assignment and a heavily Baltimore-accented sexy assistant. After they all leave together, Dolan furiously throws a scalpel into their exit door.
And one last clip:
The final clip features the Octopus battling the Spirit in sewage. Jackson hits him with a severed head, a cinderblock and then a giant wrench. The Spirit seems to get the upper for the moment, beating the Octopus into the brown water when the villain pops up again from out of nowhere and slams a toilet down on his foe. With the ring of the seat, stuck around the Spirit, the Octopus laughs uproariously.
Comic-Con 2008: Joss Whedon and “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” July 25, 2008 11:02 pm
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Joss Whedon had a panel today at Comic-Con discussing his upcoming and current projects, including Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. Here are the highlights courtesy TV Squad:
- Joss mentioned that more Serenity comics are on the way
- He was joined on stage by ‘Dr. Horrible‘ writers: Jed and Zach Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen. Then the cast: Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, Felicia Day and Simon Helberg.
- It was revealed that there will be another part to Dr. Horrible. No specific details were revealed though.
- Fillion revealed that the remote control shown on the iPhone that Dr. Horrible uses is just a website: www.thesoftwire.com/horrible_remote.
Much more, which I haven’t included due to spoilers, at this link.
And here’s a bit more from /Film‘s report:
About the upcomining DVD release, Whedon said:
There is some excitement about a DVD possibility…You’ve probably heard about “Commentary: The Musical”…there are songs written for it. We are also going to have a little contest. We are going to take video submissions for the Evil League of Evil. No longer than 3 minutes, like you’re applying to be on Survivor of something. We’ll put the 10 best ones on the DVD. That’s something we’re going to do after the soundtrack etc.
Comic-Con 2008: “The Wolfman” Panel July 25, 2008 10:59 pm
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Universal had their panel today for The Wolfman and the studio had Rick Baker and surprise guests Benicio Del Toro and Emily Booth on hand. Here are the highlights from the panel courtesy ShockTillYouDrop.com:
- They showed the trailer, STYD calls it “INCREDIBLE”, “Beautiful”: Very much in keeping with the old school Universal classic monster aesthetic. This puppy looks rated-R! There’s no shortage of torn throats, biting and exposed entrails! The teaser trailer is thick with atmosphere featuring a silhouette of the Wolfman running through a misty forest. We don’t get any close-ups of the hirsute beast, but we get shots of his legs (think The Howling) and clawed hands. He runs with a hunch, hands at his side.
- Baker says that they haven’t filmed a transformation so it will likely be CGI. He added that the film fully embraces practical FX and the trailer is indicative of that.
Here’s /Film’s summary of the trailer:
The footage began with the Universal Logo. Cut to a guy walking through the woods. He comes across something, scared, he drops his lantern and runs away. Voice over states “25 years ago my father found him”.
“He was tore to pieces and half eaten. Whatever did it was big, had claws” Village people see something and run away. We see a bottom shot of the Wolfman transforming in the dark woods, just a little back light. People are chasing after him with guns. “and we couldn’t kill it.” Shots of someone casting silver bullets. “He only came out during a full moon from then on.”
Lawrence Talbot, played by Benicio Del Toro returns home to his father Sir John, played by Anthony Hopkins. “Hello father…” A lot of quick cuts. Title credits showing Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving’s characters. Blunt runs away from a house on fire. Someone gets pulled into a pit by the wolf man and is torn apart, blood spraying everywhere. Del Toro finds himself in ripped and bloodied clothes. Hopkins says to him, “You’ve done terrible things… Be strong.” Another bunch of quick cuts, the Wolfman throws someone through a window. A bunch of footage of The Wolfman running around. “I am what they say I am, I’m a monster.” And the trailer ended with Weaving declaring “God Help Us!
Comic-Con 2008: “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” July 25, 2008 10:51 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Comic-Con, Comic-Con 2008, Movies, News, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time.add a comment
Prince of Persia creator Jordan Mechner spoke to Con-goers today in San Diego about the movie based on the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time game. Here are the highlights courtesy ComingSoon.net:
- Mechner told CS that at a time he was mulling over an animated feature film of the property, but when Disney/Bruckheimer expressed interest in a big budget summer film, the offer was “too hard to resist”.
- Mechner, who wrote the screenplay and is an executive producer for the film said that character development was a key for the movie: “You want to be taken on an emotional journey,” he said. “You want to care about the characters.”
- He said it wasn’t practical for the film for the Prince to remain nameless. His name, Dastan, was chosen because it is the Persian word for ‘trickster’.
- The script is based soley on the Sands of Time game.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time hits theaters on June 19, 2009.
Comic-Con 2008: “Resident Evil: Degeneration” Trailer July 25, 2008 10:44 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Comic-Con, Comic-Con 2008, DVD, Movie Trailers, Movies, News, Resident Evil, Resident Evil: Degeneration.1 comment so far
Sony Pictures has unveiled the full trailer for their upcoming CG-animated Resident Evil: Degeneration DVD. Watch it in HD at this link, or watch it embedded after the jump.
Comic-Con 2008: “Watchmen” Panel July 25, 2008 10:33 pm
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Warner Bros. panel for Watchmen was moderated by Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly. In attendance were Malin Ackerman (Silk Spectre), , Billy Crudup (Dr. Manhattan), Matthew Goode (Ozymandias), Carla Gugino (Sally Jupiter), Jackie Earle Haley (Rorschach), Jeffrey Dean Morgan (The Comedian), Patrick Wilson (Night Owl). Co-creator of the graphic novel Dave Gibbons was also in attendance as was director Zack Snyder. Here are the panel highlights courtesy. Here are the panel highlights courtesy SuperHeroHype.com:
- Before the panel starts, SHH notes that they were told by Carla Gugino that Zack Snyder created a special title sequence for the start of the movie that’s not in the original Moore-Gibbons graphic novel. It was created to show the passage of time fromthe early days of the Minutemen to where they are in the film.
- Snyder recapped how the project came to be. He was contacted by WB. He felt that if he didn’t say yes, the project would ahve been done poorly by someone else.
- He says the cast and crew have all remained as consistent to the book and characters as possible.
- Gibbons talked about being on the set and was excited: It was like “being a kid at Christmas”.
- Asked about Alan Moore (who is notoriously against any of his material being translated to the big screen), Gibons said: “I wish that Alan could have the same sort of excitement and experience that I have.”
They screened a few clips, here are SHH’s summary of what was shown:
Okay, no full frontal nudity, but it starts with Manhattan blowing up guys in Vietnam as promised, really blowing them up into atoms. That’s followed by an image of the Comedian’s smiley face with a drop of blood splattered on it like the classic image from the comics. We see Rorschach walking into a room, which is the Comedian’s lair and we get to see the first images of the ink on his mask changing shapes. Next image is of Patrick Wilson as Dan Dreiberg (aka Night Owl but out of costume) sitting down with a lot of angst on his face (probably after finding out about the first deaths?) There is a scene with the Minutemen from the ’50s with the Comedian and Sally Jupiter in their early guises.
We see the formation of the palace on Mars which looks pretty amazing since it’s extended from the trailer, as well as an image of a watch as we see the early stages of Dr. Manhattan’s transformation. Another shot of the modern Silk Spectre unveiling the Owl Ship, pulling the covering from it. Lots more images of clocks and watches and more of Dr. Manhattan’s transformation, again from the trailer.
The next image was really cool, showing Nite Owl and Silk Spectre kissing from the dream sequence with the nuclear mushroom in the background… very cool, as well as a shot of President Nixon, The Comedian being slashed by his Vietnamese girlfriend/wife. A little bit of Matthew Goode’s Ozymandias, and some of Silk Spectre and Night Owl fighting crime. At this point, there are a lot of images that went by very fast, but essentially, it’s all stuff that’s in the comics with little bits of each of the characters. Rorshach looks very cool, though we never see him unmasked. There was no actual dialogue or narration in the clip reel as well as no titles, just some great scoring presumably by Tyler Bates and it all ends with the sequence of the Comedian being thrown out the window with the blood-splattered smiley face button following him, which looks amazing, just like the graphic novel. It looks great and hopefully they’ll shot it again!! (We love Zack for doing that for 300 a couple years ago.
Back to panel highlights:
- Asked about whether the movie will be as dark as the book, Snyder said that is a reflection on “all of us” and that the movie is about “what is darkness?”.
- Snyder said that they tried to incorporate all the supplemental material with no images into the movie.
- Here’s what Jeffrey Dean Morgan had to say about playing the Comdian:”There were days that I got home from work and I’d be in a daze. He does some particular things that I wouldn’t naturally do as a person, but like Dan’s character, we all pull for the Comedian.” (big laugh) “Every day was a challenge. I found getting into the costume and putting a cigar in my mouth helped get me into the mood to kill people.”
- The Smashing Pumpkins song used over the clip reel was chosen because tonally it made sense but also that it had irony. It doesn’t think it’ll be included the movie’s soundtrack though.
ComingSoon.net/SuperHeroHype.com also had a chance to talk to several of the cast and crew from the film and have provided the interviews for download. I’ve included the direct links below.
Patrick Wilson, Carla Gugino & Malin Akerman
Jackie Earle Haley & Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Click here for another report from the panel (via /Film).
Comic-Con 2008: Marvel Panel July 25, 2008 10:10 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Ant-Man, Comic-Con 2008, Movies, News, Silver Surfer, The Avengers, The Incredible Hulk, Thor.2 comments
Marvel’s panel today at Comic-Con featured Kevin Feige From Marvel Studios, Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada and Dan Buckley from Marvel Publishing and Craig Kyle from Marvel Animation. Here are the highlights courtesy ComingSoon.net:
- Kevin Feige said that the goal is to hire filmakers and get scripts in before casting their upcoming movies.
- Feige also said that The Incredible Hulk lived up to their expectations and that the Hulk will make a return.
- Marvel doesn’t believe they’ll ever get certain other characters back due to specific contractual obligations (i.e. it’s not likely Sony and Fox would let go of Spider-Man or X-Men).
- Thor and Ant-Man are their two highest priorities over the coming year.
- Feige wasn’t able to comment about whether Jon Favreau was officially signed on to direct Iron Man 2.
- Dr. Doom won’t be in the Avengers movie because he’s part of the 20th Century Fox contract with Marvel. He wouldn’t comment about whether he’d be apart of a future sequel.
- He confirmed that a script exists for a Silver Surfer movie, but Feige said he believes Fox is going to wait and see how X-Men Origins: Wolverine does before commiting.
- Marvel has no plans to license out any other characters that haven’t already been licensed out.
Comic-Con 2008: “Mirrors” Red-Band Featurette + MPAA Rejected Posters July 25, 2008 2:12 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Featurettes, Mirrors, Movie Posters, Movies, News, Trailers.add a comment
20th Century Fox has released a new red-band featurette for Alex Aja’s Mirrors which has the director talking about the making of the “signature” jaw-rip scene. Check it out at this link. Also, ShockTillYouDrop.com got their hands on three posters that were rejected by the MPAA (one of them teased at the right). Check them out after the jump.
Legendary Pictures To Co-Finance “Gears of War” Movie July 25, 2008 2:03 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Gears of War, Movies, News, Videogames.add a comment
Variety is reporting that Legendary Pictures has come on board to co-finance and co-produce the videogame adapation of Gears of War, from Microsoft and Epic Games. The film will be directed by Len Wiseman, and Chris Morgan is writing the script. The film’s being targeted for a 2009 release.
Source: Variety
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