Movie News Thread

[ThePspfanatic]

Marvel's Iron Man 2 Goes Viral - Join Stark Industries Now!

Out of all the movies coming up in the next year, Iron Man 2 is one (of a few) that I don't think really needs a viral to build any buzz. But then again, anything set in the Marvel Universe has a lot of good viral potential, so why not? Marvel made an announcement today on their website about Stark Industries accepting job applications. All you need to do is visit this site: starkindustriesnow.com and click on the "Join Stark Industries" button. There's not too much more found there (yet), except an amusing press release written by Tony Stark on his drink napkin. "Pepper, please post exactly as is!" Oh that Tony Stark!




Who knows if anything else will be added to that site over the next few months, but I can say I'm honestly excited for this viral to really take off. As I mentioned, the Marvel Universe (or in this case, the Iron Man universe) has a lot of depth to it that can be used to create a good viral ARG. The only thing is that I doubt this is being run by 42 Entertainment, the only truly amazing viral company out there (who did the Tron Legacy viral at Comic-Con). Anyway. if you think you've got what it takes to become an employee of Stark Industries, we suggest you sign up and keep us informed on the inner workings of Mr. Stark's corporation.

[ThePspfanatic]

Informant Poster

Spierig Brothers Set to Bring Us 'Captain Blood' in Space?

Last December it was announced that Phillip Noyce would be directing a remake of the 1935 swashbuckler pirate classic Captain Blood. Variety announces that Noyce is off the project and has been replaced by Michael and Peter Spierig, the two Australian brothers behind the upcoming Daybreakers movie. But there's a twist - the Spierig's Captain Blood will be set in space. Warner Brothers heard numerous tired pitches off and on, but "when I took a look at [the Spierig's] animatic depiction of a pirate battle in space, it had such a distinctive visual look to it that I said, 'Great, I get it'," producer Bill Gerber explained. Read on!
Gerber says that despite the radical period and venue switch, the film will be fairly faithful to a plot in which the doctor, Peter Blood, joins up with a French pirate (played in the original by Basil Rathbone), only to clash with the buccaneer when the woman he loves (Olivia de Havilland) is captured by the pirate skipper. "There are some things you don't mess with, and that is as classic a movie storyline as you will ever find." So you can't mess with the story, but you can take the entire movie and set it in space? We'll see if that holds up. To be honest, I'm excited to see them re-imagine the original than just remake it exactly the same. You?

Nacho Vigalondo is Taking Us to Gangland in a Video Game

If you don't know who Nacho Vigalondo is, I'll happily wait until you're acquainted with him. Nacho is a crazy up-and-coming filmmaker from Spain who treated us to the time travel film Timecrimes last year and was nominated for an Oscar for his short 7:35 in the Morning. He's now set to direct Gangland, an action comedy based on his own original idea that's being written by Pat Healy. The story revolves around a team of video game developers who get in over their heads after they promise to deliver the most realistic game of all time, titled “Gangland,” and soon find themselves having to survive in a real-life criminal underworld.
Mandate Pictures is developing the project with Steve Zaillian (All the King's Men, American Gangster) producing. Zaillian is already producing an English language remake of Timecrimes as well and has been a fan of Vigalondo's work in Spain. If you're at all familiar with Nacho, or have seen Timecrimes, you'll know that this crazy concept for Gangland just sounds brilliant in his hands. When I say he's an up-and-coming director, I really mean, this guy has a style and imagination like no other, and it truly shows in his work. I'm excited for this because I have a feeling there is so much more to this concept than we're hearing right now.

I really can't stress enough that everyone should check out Nacho Vigalondo's work, starting with his short films and ending with Timecrimes if you have the chance. Best of all, it's great to see him finally working his way into Hollywood in a big way! I can't wait to see who he casts in Gangland - stay tuned for any updates!

[ThePspfanatic]

Creepy New Posters for Bruce Willis' Sci-Fi Movie Surrogates

[ThePspfanatic]

Casting Bits: Kwon Sang-woo as Kato, Milla Jovovich as Alice

I've received numerous emails alerting me that Korean actor Kwon Sang-woo has been cast as Kato in Seth Rogen's Green Hornet movie, replacing Stephen Chow. The news officially comes from the Korea Times, where they say that "Kwon reportedly passed an English audition, attended by Seth Rogen and newly attached director Michel Gondry." It hasn't been officially announced by Sony yet, but there are numerous sites reporting the news, and all these emails claim it's confirmed as well. A casting call on this blog also includes his name. Kwon is a martial artist, however, this would be his first big Hollywood role. Read on!

Another casting tidbit worth mentioning today is this news from Bloody-Disgusting that claims that Milla Jovovich is returning for the recently announced Resident Evil 4: Afterlife in a starring role. "I'm the lead role [again]," Jovovich tells them. "There's the clones [from Resident Evil: Extinction] and it's going to be a lot of work. I’m gonna be working every day for the next four months on this and it's gonna be bigger than ever. It's super-exciting." Apparently Sony really wants to reignite this franchise, as Extinction only made them $50.6 million, and I'm sure they figure they can get way more if they bring Jovovich back again.

For more information on either of these stories, head to the following sites: The Korea Times for more on Kwon Sang-woo in The Green Hornet; Bloody-Disgusting for more on Milla Jovovich in Resident Evil 4.

[ThePspfanatic]

Gorgeous New Concept Art Photos from Disney's Rapunzel

In Disney's new telling of the classic fairy tale, Rapunzel, audiences will be transported to a stunning CG fantasy world complete with the iconic tower, an evil witch, a gallant her and, of course, the mysterious girl with the long golden tresses. Expect adventure, heart, humor, and hair… lots of hair, when Rapunzel unleashes her locks in theaters for the 2010 holiday. A small batch of new concept art photos (that are not representative of the final CGI look of the film) have popped up over on the official Walt Disney Animation Studios website (via SlashFilm) recently. We've included all of the photos below for your viewing pleasure.











Rapunzel has been in development for a long time at Disney. More than a year ago we featured some other early concept art and first look at the title character, being voiced by Broadway actress Kristin Chenoweth. The animated film is being co-directed by story artist Nathan Greno and Bolt director Byron Howard. The voice cast is also rumored to include David Schwimmer, Matthew Gray Gubler, Dan Fogler, and Peter Sallis. I'm not sure if this is still the case, but originally Rapunzel was supposed to look and feel like a traditional hand-drawn animated Disney film, but in full 3D. We'll keep you updated on all the latest with Rapunzel.

New Updates from David Twohy on Another Riddick Movie

Last summer, Vin Diesel promised that we'd see more Chronicles of Riddick movies sometime in the near future. We didn't hear anything until this March, when Diesel spoke again about the status, saying that a third film was "underway" and he was just waiting on a new script from writer/director David Twohy. Well, good news Riddick fans, as ShockTillYouDrop finally caught up with Twohy (he's out promoting his latest film, A Perfect Getaway) and got an interesting update on Riddick from him. "The third movie would be more modestly-scaled and it would probably feel more like Pitch Black then Chronicles," he revealed.
As for whether or not we will actually see another Riddick movie anytime soon, it sounds like Twohy and Diesel are still trying to work out budgeting issues with Universal before moving forward. As he explains:

"I've sketched out two ideas for the next installment," Twohy explained. "Vin and I have decided on one approach of those two, and there's some interest at the studio level but it would be as a PG-13 film, and we don't want to do that anymore. That's one of the concessions we thought we made with 'Riddick' that we shouldn't have made. We also spent too much money and we were too ambitions, so yes, if we do go back to a third one, it will be focused again, hopefully again the same way that 'Pitch Black' was, and we'll spend less money doing it. We're just trying to figure out how much less we can do it for, because I don't think Vin is going to work for scale again."

I'm shocked to know that Twohy feels the exact same way I do! I loved Pitch Black, it's one of my all-time favorite sci-fi films, but I didn't like Chronicles of Riddick that much, and maybe that's because they went too big. "It will always be Riddick-centric. If the question is whether it will be more like the first one than the second one, the difference is that yeah, you can sell it on its creatures and say 'This is a creature fest and we're going to go out as us vs. the creatures' but that's like a lot of different movies." Twohy says that his next project will probably be a Constantine-like thriller called Crying Havoc, not another Riddick just yet.

Even though I wasn't the biggest fan of Chronicles, I'd still love to see another Riddick movie, just because I love the character so damn much. And I'm glad to see Twohy and Diesel fighting to make sure the next one is rated R and not PG-13. I think that could guarantee them a better movie this time around. Thoughts?

[ThePspfanatic]

Sam Worthington Replaces Tom Cruise in The Tourist Remake

Last year, before Tom Cruise had made his decision to do the James Mangold comedy with Cameron Diaz, news arrived that he was attached to an upcoming remake called The Tourist. It was set to co-star Charlize Theron and be directed by Bharat Nalluri (Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day). THR reports that Cruise has been replaced by Sam Worthington and that filming is now scheduled to start in January. Theron will still co-star with Worthington and Nalluri will still be directing from a screenplay written by Julian Fellowes and Traitor director Jeffrey Nachmanoff. Canal Plus is co-producing The Tourist with Spyglass Entertainment.
The original French thriller that this is a remake of (that starred ex-Bond girl Sophie Marceau) was called Anthony Zimmer and it first premiered in 2005. In this updated version, the two main roles have been switched. Theron plays an Interpol agent who uses an American tourist (Worthington) in an attempt to flush out an elusive and intelligent criminal with whom she once had an affair with. It actually seems like a fascinating concept and I'm quite excited to see this come together. I would've preferred seeing Tom Cruise in the role, but Worthington is a worthy replacement. We'll let you know when we have any more updates.

Carla Gugino Joins the Tough All-Girl Cast of Sucker Punch

Is there even a male actor in this cast? THR announces tonight that actress Carla Gugino is the latest to join the cast of Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch. Gugino last worked with Snyder on Watchmen, where she starred as the first Silk Spectre. The all-girl cast of Snyder's latest movie includes Emily Browning, Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung, Jena Malone, and Abbie Cornish. Sucker Punch is a 1950s-set tale of a girl confined to a mental institution by her evil stepfather, who intends to have her lobotomized in five days. She and her friends (those five girls I just mentioned) enter an alternate reality where they begin planning an escape.
You can definitely expect lots of awesome fight scenes in Sucker Punch. They "actors are currently in fight training, and the studio is readying a fall shoot in Vancouver." Way back when, Snyder called it "Alice in Wonderland with machine guns" and things like dragons, B-52 bombers and brothels. We have no clue what character Gugino will be playing, but I have a feeling she's going to be evil or a motherly character, because I could see her playing either of those perfectly. I'm looking forward Sucker Punch, not only because it's an original idea from Snyder, but because it sounds awesome. Check out the first bit of artwork from the movie.

[♥_X nikii]

i like little dolls. their cute.
kekeke random but thought
about it after seeing that pic
w/ the dude &nd little ppl.

[♥_X nikii]

woah.. pspfanatic my spanish
name in class was "lupe" awesome
name! >XD

[ThePspfanatic]

Check This Out: Teaser Poster for The Vampire's Assistant

Oh no, even more vampires? Cinematical has debuted the teaser poster for The Vampire's Assistant, previously known as Cirque du Freak, the movie based on the book series of the same name. I actually don't like this new title at all, it's too easily confused with The Vampire Diaries (the new TV show), and I thought Cirque du Freak was much more unique and easily recognizable, but alas, I don't work for Universal. Additionally, this poster, while it does look sleek, is missing John C. Reilly or anything that makes it look truly vampirish in any way. All-in-all an early failure, I think, but that's not too uncommon for Universal.
Seen below is Chris Massoglia, who plays a 16-year-old boy who becomes the assistant of a vampire named Larten Crepsley, played by John C. Reilly. You can see an early photo from the film featuring these two.



A fantasy about a teenager who unknowingly breaks a 200-year-old truce between two factions of vampires. Pulled into a fantastic life of misunderstood sideshow freaks and grotesque creatures of the night, one teen will vanish from the safety of a boring existence and fulfill his destiny in a place drawn from nightmares. The cast includes Willem Dafoe, Salma Hayek, Orlando Jones, and Ken Watanabe.

The Vampire's Assistant is directed by Paul Weitz, of American Pie, Down to Earth, About a Boy, In Good Company, and American Dreamz previously. The screenplay was co-written by Weitz and Brian Helgeland (Mystic River, Man on Fire, The Taking of Pelham 123). This is based on Darren Shan's book series titled "Cirque du Freak". Universal is bringing The Vampire's Assistant to theaters on October 23rd this fall.

Milo Ventimiglia Cinemashes Park Chan-wook's Oldboy

The latest awesome must-watch Cinemash video has arrived today, this time featuring "Heroes" actor Milo Ventimiglia cinemashing Park Chan-wook's Oldboy and the infamous hammer-hallway never-ending fight scene. "One of TV's true 'Heroes' takes revenge on a group of greedy corporate AIG executives who are strapping on their golden parachutes to escape responsibility for their misdeeds." This is actually made incredibly well, I'm impressed that they could pull this off, it really looks great. Now I want to put in some of Park Chan-wook's movies and sit through the Vengeance trilogy all over again, damnit. Bring it!

Milo Ventimiglia Cinemashes "Oldboy" - MSN Video

You can find more new Cinemash videos at: movies.msn.com/cinemash/. Hollywood's most recognizable stars have joined Mean Magazine's Cinemash, a new eye-catching video project. Mean's Cinemash recreates scenes from prominent films – ranging from cult classics to Oscar winners, all with eyebrow-raising casts. Other upcoming videos include Will Arnett and Xavier cinemashing Carrie and Common and Christopher Mintz-Plasse cinemashing Training Day. You can find all the others by clicking right here. My favorite one is still the Point Break one we featured a few weeks ago, but this one today was also hilarious and awesome.

[ThePspfanatic]

James McTeigue Directing 'The Raven' Next, About Edgar Allan Poe

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary… James McTeigue is still one of my favorite directors. He started work as the first AD for the Wachowski's on all three Matrix movies and broke out directing V for Vendetta. His second film, Ninja Assassin, is due in theaters in November. I saw the movie at Comic-Con, but can't talk about it yet (except to say it was awesome). I'm still looking forward to anything he does and thankfully SlashFilm has an update on what his next project might be. It's called The Raven and is a fictionalized account of the final five "mysterious" days of poet Edgar Allan Poe's life.
"It's like the poem, The Raven, itself, crossed with Se7en. It should be pretty cool. The script is really good and everyone responds to it really well. I'm in the middle of casting," McTeigue revealed. Poe died in 1849, so this will be a period thriller. Apparently the story will focus on Poe joining the hunt for a serial killer whose murders are inspired by his stories. Poe's death is also mysterious, as he was found on the streets of Baltimore in need of "immediate assistance." He was wearing another person's clothes and repeating the name "Reynolds." He died shortly after in hospital, never able to explain what happened. Quite creepy!

The script for The Raven is being co-written by Hannah Shakespeare (Loverboy, "Bionic Woman") and newcomer Ben Livingston. Apparently The Machinist director Brad Anderson had been developing the project previously, but it has since ended up in McTeigue's hands. I love the sound of this and McTeigue is brilliant with visual style, so I'm very interested to see what he'll do with a story about Edgar Allan Poe. SlashFilm has additional details on another project he has in the works. Don't forget to check out Ninja Assassin in November as well, it's crazy ninja action like you've never seen. Thoughts on The Raven?

Sony Picks Up Mike White's Babe in the Woods Spec Script

Columbia Pictures, which is part of Sony, has acquired Babe in the Woods, an original action-comedy spec script written by School of Rock writer Mike White. Babe in the Woods is about a female freshman from the Midwest who arrives at Yale and becomes a target of the New Jersey mob. In addition to School of Rock, White also wrote Dead Man on Campus, Orange County, Nacho Libre, and Year of the Dog. He'll do a polish on the script before it goes out to directors and cast. While it's setup at Columbia, White's Rip Cord Productions, which recently finished work on Jared Hess' Gentlemen Broncos, will be developing this.
Mike White is one of those writers (like John August) who I'll always follow no matter what, just because I've appreciated all of his past work and have a lot of respect for him. It's hard to get a good sense of what Babe in the Woods is really about, since that synopsis Variety uses is so skimpy, but I'll of course be on the look out for new updates on this as they arrives. It's at least an original idea, which we don't see much of these days. We haven't heard any updates on School of Rock 2 in a while, which White was also writing, so I'm guessing that project is on the back burner until Jack Black and Richard Linklater decide to come back

Larry Fessenden Directing New Line's Remake of The Orphanage

This guy does everything - act, write, edit, produce, and direct. Larry Fessenden has signed on to direct New Line's remake of The Orphanage, the highly praised 2007 Spanish thriller produced by Guillermo del Toro. Fessenden previously directed the horror film Wendigo and the thriller The Last Winter. Del Toro and Fessenden know each other from the horror circuit, with del Toro's admiration of his work leading him to handpick him. Del Toro saw in him a filmmaker who understood the conventions of the horror genre and could develop a movie that would be as scary and disturbing as the original but in an American context.
For those who didn't see it, The Orphanage, directed by del Toro protege Juan Antonio Bayona, was about a woman who, upon returning to the orphanage where she grew up, discovers that her son's imaginary friend is the same person who terrorized her when she was a child. Del Toro is mentoring Fessenden just as he did Bayona and other filmmakers like Troy Nixey. I haven't any of the films Fessenden's directed, but he seems like he could be a great choice, especially considering I trust (nearly) every decision that Guillermo makes. Fessenden is currently searching for a lead actress. We'll keep you updated on the status of this remake!

That photo at the top is of Larry Fessenden about to get his head chopped off in the indie I Sell the Dead.