Disney Cancels Tron 3!

This news is just sad to me, despite some of the issues Tron: Legacy had I really enjoyed the film.  It was a huge upgrade over the first one in terms of effects and action and really kicked opened the door for the sequels to walk through with some potentially bold ideas on AI’s, computer software affecting the real word, etc.  Just a week after Tomorrowland opened to a weak $41.7 million in its first four days in theaters, so it’s not hard to connect the dots.  While I believe a trailer for a movie shouldn’t spoil the movie, the trailers for Tomorrowland explained nothing of what the movie was about.  it was marketed badly, not nearly as bad as John Carter, but it was still a bad choice and now another project has fallen because of the loss.

It’s sad that an entire movie, or future movies live or die by another movie’s opening weekend.  Joseph Kosinski was returning to the directors chair, Garret Hedlund and Olivia Wilde were returning  as well and pre-production on the film had started although the film was never actually greenlit.

Batman Going After Joker & More In Suicide Squad Movie Set Pics!

This cracks me up because there is no security on this set but the pics have been pretty amazing showing Joker and Harley Quinn but there has always been a rumor that Batman was going to show up and now we have proof and shows that DC is serious about staring up it’s shared universe.  That isn’t Ben Affleck filling out the newest Batsuit, which means Batman will probably stay in the shadows unless Ben sneaks in and films a few scenes.  Director, David Ayer, talked about filming the scenes below.

“I believe in old school filmmaking,” he tweeted “Real stunts. Real people. Real places. It makes all the difference on the screen. Thank you #Toronto.”

I love it when a film takes more practical approach, CGI should only be used to enhance a scene only and it looks like David Ayer’s head is in the right place.

Suicide Squad also stars Will Smith, 46, as Floyd Lawton, aka Deadshot, supermodel Cara Delevingne as Enchantress, Scott Eastwood, 29, as Steve Trevor, How to Get Away With Murder’s Viola Davis, 49, as Amanda Waller, Joel Kinnaman, 35, as Rick Glagg and Australian Insurgent and Terminator: Genisys actor Jai Courtney, 29, as Captain Boomerang.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is set for release on March 25, 2016 and Suicide Squad hits theaters on Aug. 5 of that year.

Andy Serkis’ Role In Star Wars: The Force Awakens Has Been Revealed!

I have pretty much adored Andy Serkis from the moment I saw his portrayal of Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, but what he did next really amazed me.  The man completely took over control of mo-cap acting and ran with it.  He played Gollum in four LoTR movies (The Hobbit), he played the title character in Peter Jackson remake of King Kong, but he really gained attention when he started gaining Oscar talk for his portrayal of Ceaser in Rise of the Planet of the Apes to which he was fantastic in.  He also started a mo-cap school for any actors looking to learn the field.

So, with that, I’m always interested whenever Andy Serkis pops up on a cast list and it was no different when it was announced he would be part of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.   His role was kept under complete secrecy until this picture emerged from a tweet sent out by the Star Wars Twitter.

The characters name is Supreme Leader Smoke and judging from Serkis’s face, he isn’t nice.  He is just menacing and I really hope they do some amazing stuff with him.

Star Wars hits theaters this December!

RUMOR: Transformers Origin Spin-off Movie Set On Cybertron

Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari (Ant-Man) have joined the writers for Paramount who has been been building the groundwork for a Transformer’s shared universe.  The pair will be working with other writers on a prequel and spin-off ideas to expand the studios Transformers film franchise.

Transformers One, a prequel origin story that would be set on the Autobot and Decepticon’s home world of Cybertron, which in thought is a good idea but word is it will be animated.

Akiva Goldsman, has become the head man in charge for the Transformers Universe and has assembled an impressive but also mixed bag of writers which includes creators like The Walking Dead’s Robert Kirkman, Iron Man writers Art Marcum & Matt Holloway, Pacific Rim 2’s Zak Penn, and Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Lost‘s Jeff Pinkner.  Currently they are tasked with getting the lastest Transformers movie together by the time Michael Bay has finished his unrelated project, so yes, if you were hoping Bay would no longer be playing in the Transformers world, sorry to say he hasn’t left yet.

Batman Going After Joker & More In Suicide Squad Movie Set Pics!

This cracks me up because there is no security on this set but the pics have been pretty amazing showing Joker and Harley Quinn but there has always been a rumor that Batman was going to show up and now we have proof and shows that DC is serious about staring up it’s shared universe.  That isn’t Ben Affleck filling out the newest Batsuit, which means Batman will probably stay in the shadows unless Ben sneaks in and films a few scenes.  Director, David Ayer, talked about filming the scenes below.

“I believe in old school filmmaking,” he tweeted “Real stunts. Real people. Real places. It makes all the difference on the screen. Thank you #Toronto.”

I love it when a film takes more practical approach, CGI should only be used to enhance a scene only and it looks like David Ayer’s head is in the right place.

 

Suicide Squad also stars Will Smith, 46, as Floyd Lawton, aka Deadshot, supermodel Cara Delevingne as Enchantress, Scott Eastwood, 29, as Steve Trevor, How to Get Away With Murder’s Viola Davis, 49, as Amanda Waller, Joel Kinnaman, 35, as Rick Glagg and Australian Insurgent and Terminator: Genisys actor Jai Courtney, 29, as Captain Boomerang.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is set for release on March 25, 2016 and Suicide Squad hits theaters on Aug. 5 of that year.

Robert Rodriguez To Direct Jonny Quest Movie!

In probably the most “outta left field” news, is Robert Rodriquez will be adapting the Hanna-Barbera cartoon Jonny Quest, into a live action film for Warner Bros.  Adrian Askarieh (Hitman: Agent 47) and Dan Lin (The LEGO Movie) producing. Rodriguez will write the script alongside Terry Rossio, who penned the first three Pirates of the Caribbean films and The Lone Ranger.  Rodriguez and Elliott will be working from a previous draft written by Dan Mazeu.

Jonny Quest followed the title character, a young boy who went on adventures with his father Dr. Benton Quest, special agent Roger T. “Race” Bannon, friend and adopted brother Hadji, mercenary/spy Jade, and Jonny’s pet dog Bandit.  The show was hugely popular

While I did love Jonny Quest as a kid, it’s been so long since I’ve seen an episode I can barely remember it, but it does have that family globe trotting movie I like to see.  I just hope Rodriquez can find a nice balancing act between his hard R films and that basic crap of the Spy Kid sequels and that dreadful Sharkboy and Lavagirl.

Michael B. Jordan Writes A Wonderful Letter To His FF4 Casting Haters!

Ever since Michael B Jordan was cast as Johnny Storm it only took mere seconds before the full blown idiots of the internet to show their true colors.  The casting of a black actor to take on a role that was originally white shouldn’t be anything new and yet here we are, with people still having an issue with this.

The actor talked a bit about what he had to deal with when he decided to turn to the internet to see what everyone (and I use that word very loosely) was saying about his involvement with the film.

“You’re not supposed to go on the Internet when you’re cast as a superhero. But after taking on Johnny Storm in Fantastic Four—a character originally written with blond hair and blue eyes—I wanted to check the pulse out there. I didn’t want to be ignorant about what people were saying. Turns out this is what they were saying: “A black guy? I don’t like it. They must be doing it because Obama’s president” and “It’s not true to the comic.” Or even, “They’ve destroyed it!”
“But the world is a little more diverse in 2015 than when the Fantastic Four comic first came out in 1961,” he continues. “Plus, if Stan Lee writes an email to my director saying, “You’re good. I’m okay with this,” who am I to go against that?”

So here we are, in 2015, where a actor has to defend his role in a movie based on his race.  Michael B. Jordan wrote a letter to those who were hating on him and I very much like how he sums it up for those who can’t get their head out their asses and join the rest of the world.

“Sometimes you have to be the person who stands up and says, “I’ll be the one to shoulder all this hate. I’ll take the brunt for the next couple of generations.” I put that responsibility on myself. People are always going to see each other in terms of race, but maybe in the future we won’t talk about it as much. Maybe, if I set an example, Hollywood will start considering more people of color in other prominent roles, and maybe we can reach the people who are stuck in the mindset that “it has to be true to the comic book.” Or maybe we have to reach past them.
To the trolls on the Internet, I want to say: Get your head out of the computer. Go outside and walk around. Look at the people walking next to you. Look at your friends’ friends and who they’re interacting with. And just understand this is the world we live in. It’s okay to like it.”
 
My problems with the Fantastic Four movie has nothing to with the cast, it’s FOX, they didn’t get the spirit of the movie the last two times they took a crack at it and while I do hope they can pull it together and make a good movie, I’m not going in with blinders either.  I will admit the last trailer to come out pushed me more into the positive then the negative but  let’s not forget this is the same studio that blamed the failure of Origins: Wolverine on the movie going public because it’s hard making a movie that appeases both comic fans and the casual moviegoer.

Despite this I’m ready to give this movie a shot and personally I can’t wait to see Jordan’s portrayal of Johnny Storm.  Look for FF4 in theaters August 7th, 2015!

M. Night Shyamalan Still Doesn’t Understand Why The Last Airbender Was Bad!

Director M. Night Shyamalan hasn’t had the best time the past decade.  While his movies have continued to make money it seems like the veil has been lifted and wasn’t the director many thought he would be.  There was a time Shyamalan was hailed as the next Spielberg but that label quickly faded after his movies continued to take a critical beating.  Many stories came down of how Shyamalan butted heads with producers and studio heads and his movies took a beating which makes many wonder why he keeps getting work.

Especially in the form of a Wayward Pines, a show on FOX where Secret Service Agent Ethan Burke (Matt Dillion) investigates a small Idaho town only turns up more mysteries.  While talking to IGN about adapting the show from the books the conversation quickly turned to Shyamalan’s other adaption.  The Last Airbender.

“You know, I’ve adapted a few things,“ Shyamalan said “I think the four things I’ve adapted are Stuart Little — which I just wrote — Avatar: The Last Airbender, After Earth, and now Wayward Pines. With both Stuart Little and Wayward Pines, I was just a part of the process. I think it was really wonderful and healthy; I approached it like — I want to do right by the material, and I want to help people create the tone and that kind of thing. The other two were more taking it and trying to make it my own, which is really a different thing entirely. With Wayward, I never felt like it was mine. I felt like I was in charge of it and stimulated by it and inspired by it. So I could say to the actors and the other writers and directors I hired, ‘Are you inspired by the material?’ So as each director came on, I would talk to them and say, ‘This and that inspired me. I want you to lean into this question. You can have whatever answer you want, but you need to lean into this part of the question.’ It was really healthy to kind of keep going back to the painting, even though you didn’t paint the painting, and keep having a discussion. It was provocative. There’s something really healthy about that.”

Even the shows creators, Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante Dimartino, have stated that they just pretend that the movie doesn’t exist, which seems to be news to Shyamalan.

“It’s really weird because on the show the average age was, like, nine-years-old,” the director said. “My child was nine-years-old. So you could make it one of two ways. You could make it for that same audience, which is what I did — for nine and 10-year-olds — or you could do the Transformers version and have Megan Fox. I didn’t do that. That would have felt like, ‘Well, I’m going to make a movie about a kids show that my 10-year-old is watching and not make it for her. I make it for my guy friends.’ That felt like a betrayal of the innocence of the piece. In retrospect, is it too young to go out — it’s like what your intention is versus what they want it to be. Clearly, 10-year-olds — I go out and 10-year-olds are like, ‘That’s my favorite show! I love that movie!’ Parents come up to me and go, ‘They’ve watched The Last Airbender 74 times!’ Those kids, it’s for them. It was for them, to talk about mysticism and Eastern philosophies through a 10-year-old’s vernacular. So, you know, these are business propositions, which have very little interest to me, of like, ‘Hey, the business proposition is to get Megan Fox to be…’ You know, ‘You should age it ’til it’s that.’ That wasn’t the source material, you know what I mean? Whereas, also, like a Transformers, it’s really fascinating, because it’s valid for Transformers. You know why it’s valid? Because it’s the little boys that were playing with them are grown up now. They’re the ones who wanted to see Megan Fox. That’s absolutely appropriate, you know what I mean?”

Where do I even begin on why this entire outlook is wrong?  For some reason some very powerful people in Hollywood are under the misconception that making a show or movie for a child means you can make a bad movie because, you know, it’s for kids!  This idea is harmful because it makes a filmmaker lazy and produces a product that in tern shows children they don’t have to try hard and that anything will do because, once again, it’s for kids!

The cartoon, which you can watch, in it’s entirely, on Netflix is an amazing show that is made for both kids and adults.  It’s beautiful in it’s colors and design, the world is amazing to see the characters interact with, it’s deep and philosophical, and doesn’t completely hold back the way life works from kids.  There is is life and death, consequences to actions.  Over the course of the three years the show ran all the characters fully grew together, it’s a show I am grateful existed and finished it’s entire run and comparing an adaption of it to Transformers, is beyond insulting.

I have grown a strong disdain against Shyamalan for years now, but now I have a hatred for him as a film maker, and it’s not because he destroyed something that is greate, it’s because he doesn’t realize what he’s done.  I’m sure he’s a good guy, good to his family, and I don’t hate him as a person but as a film maker I can no longer stand him.

Friday The 13th Sequel Won’t Be Found Footage!

It appears that Platinum Dunes is working on a the long awaited sequel to their reboot of the Friday the 13th franchise which I always felt was a bit underrated.  I really enjoyed The Texas Chainsaw Masscure remake and felt they really nailed the tone of the Friday franchise.  Brad Fuller, co-founder Platinum Dunes, discussed the upcoming sequel and denied recent rumors that they were going the found footage route.

“I could just say that for a long time we were stalled,” Fuller tells Shock. “I think you guys reported that the movie was going to be a found footage movie and that was a road that we went down and tried to figure out. Ultimately, I think Michael, Drew and I felt that we couldn’t figure that out, so we kind of jettisoned that whole notion and we had to start over. We’re in the latter phases of that starting over and hopefully we’re getting a script in the next month or two, and we’ll go back to Crystal Lake.”

I while a found Friday film would have been pretty amazing, way back in 1999, too many movies have ridden that trend into the ground and going backwards would just hurt this franchise and I’m glad they could’t figure it out which Fuller addresses by acknowledging that fans want to see Jason.  “At the end of the day, those movies are so fantastic because Jason Voorhees is such a dynamic presence and people love to see him do what he does well. We hope to put Jason in a situation where he’s able to do that again, and it doesn’t feel like you’re seeing the same thing over and over,”

I remember when they announced that the sequel could be a found footage movie and for once, the internet actually did some good, and managed to sway the producers from such an awful idea.  “It absolutely weighs on me, and there have been many times when the fans have affected surely the way we think about, and in some cases the way we shot, some of the stories. Sometimes you have to go through a lot of bullshit in what they’re saying, but very often you’ll get a fan with such a great idea, or a great notion, and it’s meaningful to us,” Fuller says. “Listen, there was an outpouring of negative sentiment when it was revealed that Friday the 13^thmight have been a found footage movie. That was very clear to us that there was not a groundswell of support for that. That had tremendous amount of impact on us and only substantiated our concern about doing it as a found footage movie. Ultimately, the fact that the movie’s been delayed for a long time might be a good thing, because now the movie’s not going to be found footage.”

While I’m willing to cut Michael Bay and Platinum Dunes a break and not jump on every single decision they make as the end of the world, it is very clear they aren’t not infallible and do come up with some stupid ideas.  Making a Friday the 13th movie isn’t all that hard if you want to stick to the basics but if you want to branch out and try something new, then try something new, not a genre that the Paranormal Activity movies ran into the ground.

The Friday the 13^th sequel is currently slated for a May 13^th, 2016 release date.

A Look At Falcon & Crossbones On Set Of Cap 3!

Captain America: Civil War or Avengers 3.5 or whatever else they will be calling it is in full swing as the cast and crew films their scenes in the upcoming blockbuster which is being directed by The Russo Brothers, the masterminds behind the The Winder Soldier and the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War.  Below is Anthony Mackie as The Falcon in his new suit which I can’t wait to see in action again.  Mackie killed it the last time he graced the screen so I can’t wait to see what they do with him here.

 

And Frank Grillo, who played in Cap 2: Winter Soldier has full taken on his role as Crossbones, as nasty villain for Cap.

Look for Cap 3 to hit theaters on May 06, 2016!