Taylor Lautner Reprising His Role in Twilight Sequel, New Moon January 8, 2009 10:15 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Casting, Movies, New Moon, News, Twilight.add a comment
The rumors that Taylor Lautner (Jacob Black) would be replaced for New Moon, the sequel to Summit Entertainment’s Twilight, have turned out to be false. The studio and new director Chris Weitz announced today that Lautner would be reprising his role as the character:
Weitz noted there has been speculation about whether Lautner could portray the character who goes through many changes physically, including growing taller and bulkier and aging 10 years. The 16-year-old Lautner has been spending time in the gym, trying to add 19 pounds of muscle. Weitz added that Lautner is “emotionally right” for the part.
New Moon hits theaters on November 20, 2009.
Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell In Discussions to Star in Iron Man 2 January 7, 2009 8:19 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Casting, Iron Man 2, Movies, News.add a comment
Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell are both in talks to star as villains in the Jon Favreau-directed sequel, Iron Man 2. Rourke’s character would be a Russian named Ivan who has deadly, technologically enhanced coils according to THR.
Rockwell is in talks to play Justin Hammer, a multibillionaire businessman and rival of Tony Stark, AKA Iron Man.
Iron Man 2 is scheduled to hit theaters on May 7, 2010.
Judge Will Issue Watchmen Release Decision on January 20th January 7, 2009 8:08 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, Watchmen.add a comment
The Los Angeles Times is reporting that lawyers for 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. have both agreed to forgo a trial and let a federal judge decide on whether or not Warner Bros. will be allowed to release Watchmen on March 6th, as scheduled. A preliminary ruling on December 24th by Judge Gary A. Feess ruled that Fox owned a copyright interest in releasing the film.
Ghostbusters Hitting Blu-ray in June January 7, 2009 4:50 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Blu-ray, Ghostbusters, Movies.add a comment
Sony has confirmed that the 25th Anniversary Edition DVD of Ghostbusters that will be released on June 16, 2009 will be accompanied by a Blu-ray release of the film as well. Here are the Blu-ray exclusive features:
- Slimer Mode: Picture-in-Picture graphical viewing experience with an examination of the spook-hunters’ firehouse headquarters, an in-depth exploration of the creatures in the Ghostbusters mythology, behind-the-scenes discussions of making the movie, new cast, crew and special effects artists interviews and much more!
- Featurette: Ecto-1: Resurrecting the Classic Car
- Ghostbusters Garage: Ecto-1 Gallery
via MovieWeb
Garrett Hedlund Cast as Lead in Tron 2.0 January 7, 2009 4:41 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, Tron, Tron 2.0.3 comments
Garrett Hedlund has been cast by Disney to star in Tron 2.0 (official title still forthcoming). Hedlund will play the lead, a man who finds himself pulled into the world of a computer and retracing the steps of a character from the original movie named Kevin Flynn, reports THR.
Mickey Rourke Added to Cast of Stallone’s ‘Expendables’ January 7, 2009 4:37 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Casting, Movies, News, The Expendables.1 comment so far
Mickey Rourke has joined the cast of Sylvester Stallone’s action-adventure film The Expendables. Rourke joins an already extensive cast list of Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Randy Couture, Dolph Lundgren, Forest Whitaker and Ben Kingsley.
According to Variety, Rourke will play “an unscrupulous arms dealer who becomes the go-to guy for a group of mercenaries planning to topple a South American dictator.”
The Stallone directed/scripted film begins shooting in March in Brazil.
McG to Direct 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea January 7, 2009 4:29 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in 20, 20000 Leagues Under the Sea, Movies, News.add a comment
Disney has tapped Terminator Salvation director McG to helm 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo, a family film that is being fast tracked by the studio, according to Variety. Sources said he will be paid $8 million against 7% of gross.
The project is scripted by Bill Marsilli and is an origin story of Nemo as he creates his warship, the Nautilus. Disney hopes to make the film this year.
The 1954 original 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was the first live-action film made by Walt Disney.
New Watchmen Video Journal January 7, 2009 4:19 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, Trailers, Watchmen.add a comment
Warner Bros. has released the 10th Watchmen Video Journal. You can watch the video Apple.com by clicking the above image.
Official Plot Synopsis:
A complex, multi-layered mystery adventure, “Watchmen” is set in an alternate 1985 America in which costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society, and the “Doomsday Clock” – which charts the USA’s tension with the Soviet Union – is permanently set at five minutes to midnight. When one of his former colleagues is murdered, the washed-up but no less determined masked vigilante Rorschach sets out to uncover a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes. As he reconnects with his former crime-fighting legion – a ragtag group of retired superheroes, only one of whom has true powers – Rorschach glimpses a wide-ranging and disturbing conspiracy with links to their shared past and catastrophic consequences for the future. Their mission is to watch over humanity…but who is watching the Watchmen?
Watchmen hits theaters on March 6, 2009.
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li January 7, 2009 4:10 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movie Trailers, Movies, Street Fighter: Legend of Chun Li.add a comment
20th Century Fox has released the official domestic trailer for Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li. Watch it embedded below.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Official Plot Synopsis:
Based on the legendary video game by Capcom, STREET FIGHTER: THE LEGEND OF CHUN-LI brings a new dimension to a world and characters beloved by millions. Devastated by the kidnapping of her father, Chun-Li takes to the streets of Hong Kong, embarking on an epic quest for justice – and hurtling toward a confrontation with a seemingly unstoppable foe.Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li hits theaters on February 27th 2009.
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li hits theaters on February 27, 2009.
First Look at Judd Apatow’s Funny People January 7, 2009 4:02 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Funny People, Movies, Photos.add a comment
Universal Pictures has released the first official production photo from Judd Apatow’s upcoming comedy Funny People. Click to enlarge. The film stars Adam Sandler as 42-year old comic George Simmons, who learns he has an incurable blood disorder and has just six months to a year left to live. Seth Rogen also stars in the film as Ira, a 25-year-old deli counter worker and aspiring stand-up comedian.
Judd Apatow’s wife Leslie Mann and Eric Bana also star in the film.
Funny People hits theaters on July 31, 2009.
via /Film
D.J. Caruso Directing Jack the Giant Killer January 7, 2009 3:54 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Jack the Giant Killer, Movies, News.add a comment
New Line Cinema has hired D.J. Caruso to direct Jack the Giant Killer, a drama that takes an adult look at the Jack and the Beanstalk legend, Variety reported.
When a princess is kidnapped, a long-standing peace between men and giants becomes threatened, and a young farmer is given an opportunity to lead a dangerous expedition to the giant kingdom to rescue her.
Caruso’s last project was DreamWorks’ Eagle Eye, which went on to gross a respectable $177.2 million worldwide ($101.3 million domestically and $75.9 million foreign).
Broadcast TV Ratings for Tuesday, January 6, 2009 January 7, 2009 3:46 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Broadcast TV Ratings, News, Nielsen TV Ratings, Television.add a comment
Shazam Project Officially Dead January 7, 2009 3:37 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in 13, Movies, News, Shazam.add a comment
Screenwriter John August has posted an article on his blog and announced that a big screen adaptation of Shazam is dead. Here’s some of what he had to say.
“When we turned the new draft in to the studio, we got a reaction that made me wonder if anyone at Warners had actually read previous drafts or the associated notes. The studio felt the movie played too young. They wanted edgier. They wanted Billy to be older. They wanted Black Adam to appear much earlier. (I pointed out that Black Adam appears on page one, but never got a response.)”
August actually places some of the blame on the failure of Speed Racer and success of The Dark Knight. That situation, August says, has pushed Hollywood executives to, incorrectly, believe that in order for a comic book movie to be a success, it has to be dark:
“The first flopped; the second triumphed. Given only those two examples, one can understand why a studio might wish for their movies to be more like the latter. But to do so ignores the success of Iron Man, which spent most of its running time as a comedic origin story, and the even more pertinent example of WB’s own Harry Potter series. I tried to make this case, to no avail.”
via /Film
Japanese Watchmen Trailer January 7, 2009 3:25 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movie Trailers, Movies, Watchmen.add a comment
The Japanese Watchmen trailer has been released online. The trailer includes new footage from the film. Watch it below.
Official Plot Synopsis:
A complex, multi-layered mystery adventure, “Watchmen” is set in an alternate 1985 America in which costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society, and the “Doomsday Clock” – which charts the USA’s tension with the Soviet Union – is permanently set at five minutes to midnight. When one of his former colleagues is murdered, the washed-up but no less determined masked vigilante Rorschach sets out to uncover a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes. As he reconnects with his former crime-fighting legion – a ragtag group of retired superheroes, only one of whom has true powers – Rorschach glimpses a wide-ranging and disturbing conspiracy with links to their shared past and catastrophic consequences for the future. Their mission is to watch over humanity…but who is watching the Watchmen?
Watchmen is scheduled to hit theaters on March 6, 2009.
via ComicBookMovie
7 Films In the Running for Visual Effects Oscar January 7, 2009 3:12 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, Oscars.add a comment
As expected, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have narrowed down the field of films in the running for the Visual Effects category to seven for the 81st Academy Awards. These seven films will be further narrowed to just three selections on January 15th. Here is the list of the final seven:
- Australia
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- The Dark Knight
- Hellboy II: The Golden Army
- Iron Man
- Journey to the Center of the Earth
- The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Source: Oscars.org
Card’s Ender Game Movie Scrapped January 7, 2009 2:52 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Books, Ender in Exile, Ender's Game, Movies, News.add a comment
The Los Angeles Times has a new article talking with Orson Scott Card about his new ‘Ender’ novel, Ender in Exile, and the author reveals that Wolfgang Peterson is no longer attached to direct a big screen adaptation of his original novel and that the project was scrapped in early November:
“Ender’s Game” was recently in development with director Wolfgang Petersen (“In the Line of Fire,” “The Perfect Storm,” “Troy”) on board, but Card did not feel comfortable with the movie’s direction. That project was scrapped early in November.
Read the rest of the interview at the Los Angeles Times.
Olivia Wilde Talks Tron 2 January 7, 2009 2:39 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Broadcast TV Ratings.add a comment
Olivia Wilde, who stars in the Fox drama House, recently talked with SCI FI Wire about her starring role in Disney’s Tron 2.0, which begins shooting in Vancouver in April. While she couldn’t provide details about her character or her character’s name (though she did say that she’ll be playing a new character), she did have some things to say about the project:
SCI FI Wire: Tell us about Tron.
Olivia Wilde: Oh, yes! I’m so excited, I can’t take it! It’s really exciting.Of course, I’m, you know, in a total cone of silence here, so I can’t give you anything interesting. But the film will be just as impressive for our time as it was in 1982 for the original. The technological advances have, of course, been enormous, and the effects that we have access to have been so revolutionary. … We saw an incredible advancement in technology with the use of the face replacement in Benjamin Button, and I think that is marking some of what’s to come, and certainly …. in the direction of Tron. Just as far as people being incredibly innovative and taking huge steps forward as far as using technology to create alternative realities. And I think that it’s really going to please people that it’s going to be just as kind of huge and shocking and just as much of a new movie-watching experience as the first one was.And I think it’s great that Jeff Bridges is going to be in this one, too.
Wilde also confirmed that Bruce Boxleitner will be in the movie, alongside Bridges; that rather than shooting against green screens, director Joseph Kosinksi is building some massive sets for the movie to represent the virtual world; and that the film will use face-replacement computer technology which was last seen in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
Source: SCI FI Wire
The Descent 2 Photos January 7, 2009 2:27 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, Photos, The Descent 2.add a comment
The first production photos from Jon Harris’ feature debut The Descent 2 have been released online. Click to enlarge and check out more at this link.
Official Plot Synopsis:
“Terror mounts and fear runs deeper in the chilling continuation to Neil Marshall’s award-winning and critically acclaimed modern horror classic, The Descent. Distraught, confused and half-wild with fear, Sarah Carter (SHAUNA MACDONALD) emerges alone from the Appalachian cave system where she encountered unspeakable terrors. Unable to plausibly explain to the authorities what happened – or why she’s covered in her friends’ blood – Sarah is forced back to the subterranean depths to help locate her five missing companions. As the rescue party drives deeper into uncharted caverns, nightmarish visions of the recent past begin to haunt Sarah and she starts to realize the full horror and futility of the mission. Subjected to the suspicion and mistrust of the group and confronted once more by the inbred, feral and savagely ruthless Crawlers, Sarah must draw on all her inner reserves of strength and courage in a desperate final struggle for deliverance and redemption.”
The Descent 2 hasn’t been given a US release date yet. It will hit UK theaters on May 15, 2009.
Source: Ollie Upton (via /Film)
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost Cast in Tintin January 7, 2009 2:19 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Casting, Movies, News, TinTin.add a comment
Shaun of the Dead/Hot Fuzz duo Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have been cast in the roles of bumbling detectives Thompson and Thomson in the Steven Spielberg/Peter Jackson project Tintin. Frost and Pegg join Andy Serkis, who has already been cast as Captain Haddock. The lead character of Tintin has yet to be cast.
DreamWorks is targeting a 2010 release for the first film, to be directed by Spielberg. Peter Jackson will direct the second, which does not have a date yet.
Source: Ain’t It Cool News
Jimmy Hayward to direct Jonah Hex January 7, 2009 2:10 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Jonah Hex, Movies, News.add a comment
Horton Hears a Who! director Jimmy Hayward, has been tapped by Warner Bros. to make his live-action debut with Jonah Hex, the western based on the DC Comics character. Hayward replaces Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, who were previously on board as directors. The duo left the project in November over creative differences. They also wrote the script.
Production is expected to begin in March or April. Josh Brolin is still attached to star.
Source: THR
Street Fighter Movie Poster January 7, 2009 2:02 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movie Posters, Movies, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li.add a comment
The poster for 20th Century Fox’s Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li is available be viewed online. Click to enlarge.
Official Plot Synopsis:
Based on the legendary video game by Capcom, STREET FIGHTER: THE LEGEND OF CHUN-LI brings a new dimension to a world and characters beloved by millions. Devastated by the kidnapping of her father, Chun-Li takes to the streets of Hong Kong, embarking on an epic quest for justice – and hurtling toward a confrontation with a seemingly unstoppable foe.
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li hits theaters on February 27, 2009.
Broadcast TV Ratings for Monday, January 5, 2009 January 6, 2009 11:04 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Broadcast TV Ratings, News, Nielsen TV Ratings.add a comment
Zombie’s H2 Release Set for August 28, 2009 January 6, 2009 3:04 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in H2, Halloween, Movies, News, Tyrannosaurus Rex.add a comment
Dimension Films has set an August 28, 2009 release for writer/director Rob Zombie’s Halloween (2007) follow-up H2. His first film had a similar release (August 31, 2007) and went on to gross a record $58.3 million domestically and $20.2 million overseas. “If you thought Michael was f*cked before, you ain’t seen nothing yet! He is bigger, meaner and more psycho than Dr. Loomis ever thought possible,” Zombie says.
Because of the date, Zombie’s Tyrannosaurus Rex, which was previously scheduled for the same weekend, will be pushed back. And iIn related news, ShockTillYouDrop.com has posted a sneek peek at the Michael Myers master that will be worn by actor Tyler Mane in the film. Click to enlarge.
via ComingSoon.net
New Character Added to Thor Script? January 6, 2009 2:49 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, The Avengers, Thor.add a comment
IESB is reporting that the character of Donald Blake has been added to the end of the script to director Kenneth Branagh’s Thor in an effort to tie the film to The Avengers which hits theaters a year after on July 15, 2011:
A reliable source tells the IESB that the character of Donald Blake has been added to the end of the script. Let me reiterate that he wasn’t there before, the script was set entirely in the land of the Norse Gods.
The introduction of the character is essential to how Marvel will tie Thor into the Avengers that is set in contemporary Tony Stark/Hulk timeframe. It explains how the actual Thor film will be set in the ancient time of the Norse Gods and how they will subsequently bring the character into a modern time with Donald Blake discovering the magical Norse hammer Mjolnir and turning into Thor.
They’re also reporting that in addition to directing, Branagh will have an acting part in film..
Thor hits theaters on July 16, 2010.
Monsters vs. Aliens 3D Trailer to Run During Super Bowl January 6, 2009 2:33 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Monsters vs. Aliens, Movies, News, Television.1 comment so far
During NBC’s NFL playoff telecast on Saturday night, the network announced–watch the segment embedded below–that they would be broadcasting a 90-second 3D trailer for DreamWorks Animation’s Monsters vs. Aliens during the Super Bowl telecast on February 1st. The 3D trailer will be the first of its kind on broadcast television. The trailer will also been shown later in the month during a 3D episode of Chuck. Paramount released a press release on Sunday. Read it after the jump.
Monsters vs. Aliens hits conventional, In-Tru 3D and IMAX theaters on March 27, 2009.
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