Oct 21 2009 'The Wrestler' Trailer: Grindhouse Edition
Feeding the Internetbeast's insatiable desire for movie trailers re-edited to look like different movie trailers, here's a trailer for Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler made to look like a grindhouse film. It's pretty good. Hopefully good enough to settle the Internetbeast, contenting him enough that he might not release another swarm of cyber-wyrms.
Continue Reading " 'The Wrestler' Trailer: Grindhouse Edition "
Oct 14 2009 'Expendables' Trailer: I Refuse To Believe This Is Real
Nice try, Sylvester Stallone. I'm sure you'd like us all to believe this promotional trailer is for an actual movie that you're supposedly making. But I know a viral video that compiles every clichéd '80s action movie scene ever made into a fake trailer when I see one, and this has to be that:
Continue Reading " 'Expendables' Trailer: I Refuse To Believe This Is Real "
Aug 10 2009 'Iron Man 2' Comic Con Preview: I Think I See a Shoulder Gun Thing!
REMOVED AT THE REQUEST OF PARAMOUNT PICTURES
Want your first look at Don Cheadle's War Machine suit and Mickey Rourke's Star Trek: The Next Generation-inspired laser whips to be shaky, dark, and both visually and aurally indiscernible? Then enjoy the Iron Man 2 footage that was shown at the Comic Con. Besides the aforementioned War Machine and Whiplash scenes, it contains: Tony Stark put on trial by Larry Sanders, Scarlett Johansson jumping around, Sam Rockwell holding guns, and evidence that "I am Iron Man" is basically Tony Stark's equivalent of Urkel's "Did I do that?" What a treat for a Monday afternoon.
Jul 16 2009 Hey, It's Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow
Clad in leather and Amy Adams wig and standing on a crate, Scarlett Johansson appears alongside RDJ and Mickey Rourke on the cover of this week's Entertainment Weekly, and the magazine has posted this low-res first look at Johansson in costume as the impractically conspicuous Russian spy, Black Widow.
Inside the issue, Rourke explains how he made sure his character wouldn't be a flat, boring villain. By requesting he have a bird, obviously:
I told Favreau, 'I don't want to just play him as a one-dimensional p----,'" he says. "He let me have a cockatoo, who I talk to and get drunk with while I’m making my suit."
Nothing adds depth to an antagonist like an avian sidekick. There's a reason Jafar from Aladdin is probably our most complex and nuanced villain.
Jun 10 2009 First Look at Rourke in 'Iron Man 2': He Has Rogue's Hair
Is Mickey Rourke playing a He-Man figure? Based on the above image, that's a logical conclusion to come to, but no--this is the first look at Rourke in Iron Man 2. The suddenly-respected actor is playing the central villain, Whiplash, in the film, and he and director Jon Favreau briefly discussed the character and the function of his post-apocalyptic orthopedics:
The villain's alter ego, Ivan Vanko, is a Russian who "has constructed his own version of a suit," Favreau says. Among the creative innovations: a pair of whips, powered by the suit's glowing chest piece, that are expected to keep Iron Man cracking.Whiplash "is going to light them up," Rourke quips.
Powered whips, eh? Wait a minute, I think I've seen that somewhere before...
Continue Reading " First Look at Rourke in 'Iron Man 2': He Has Rogue's Hair "
May 29 2009 Iron Man 2's Whiplash Probably Looks Like This
Mickey Rourke, who will be playing the metal-suited villain Whiplash in Iron Man 2, recently talked to Empire about what his still-unseen costume entails:
It's been really brutal, because my Iron Man suit weighs 23lb. It's sort of a half-suit, with half my skin showing, with lots of Russian tattoos, because [Whiplash is just] out of a Russian-zone prison.
OK, I think I see what you're getting at, Mickey. Something like this:
Continue Reading " Iron Man 2's Whiplash Probably Looks Like This "
Mar 12 2009 Mickey Rourke is So Passionate
What lady will kiss Mickey Rourke's slightly frightening visage? The Wrestler star has just landed a part in the Mitch Glazer-scripted Passion Plays, but the studio still needs a special lady to co-star. Are you she?
The resurgent actor has attached himself to "Passion Plays," in what will mark the first dramatic role he has signed on for since winning a Golden Globe and other kudos for his performance in "The Wrestler."Mitch Glazer will write and direct the indie tale, the logline of which is being kept under wraps. The film is said to be seeking a female lead opposite Rourke.
Glazer is the screenwriter behind the Al Pacino CIA saga "The Recruit" and the Bill Murray holiday comedy "Scrooged."
Mickey Rourke is back!! Can I get away with just saying that for every time he's cast in something for the next year? Because that's my plan.
Mar 12 2009 Rourke, Johansson Are Russian Half of 'Iron Man'
Mickey Rourke, enjoying new-found popularity after his acclaimed role in The Wrestler, and Scarlett Johansson, still enjoying constant popularity for being really hot, have officially joined the cast of Iron Man 2.
Rourke, who had reportedly been in negotiations for months following Marvel low-balling him with a $250,000 offer, will take on the part of the Russian villain Whiplash, while Johannson will be replacing a previously-engaged Emily Blunt as Soviet spy Black Widow. Plot details are still minimal, but I can only assume these two characters are teaming up to prank Iron Man into believing he's time traveled to the Cold War.
Jan 8 2009 Rourke and Rockwell Will Fight That Iron Man Guy
Mickey Rourke has gotten so popular since he started his wrestling career. Yesterday he joined the cast of Stallone's The Expendables, and now he's reportedly in talks to join Iron Man 2 as the film's central villain, while Sam Rockwell may play a rival industrialist. From THR:
Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell are in talks to star as the villains in "Iron Man 2," being directed by Jon Favreau.Marvel has been keeping a very tight lid on the script for the sequel, being written by Justin Theroux, but it is known that Rourke would play a tattooed Russian heavy named Ivan who becomes Whiplash, a man with deadly, technologically enhanced coils.
Rockwell would play Justin Hammer, a multibillionaire businessman and a rival of industrialist Anthony Stark, AKA Iron Man, being played by a returning Robert Downey Jr.
So Mickey Rourke is playing Whiplash. Except Variety says the role is Crimson Dynamo:
Which role Rockwell will play has yet to be disclosed by Marvel, but Rourke is in discussions to play the Crimson Dynamo, a heavily tattooed Russian arms dealer. He's considered to be an evil version of Iron Man because he battles the superhero in a nuclear-powered suit of armor.
Confusing! I think the only way to suss this one out is with blind speculation, Photoshopping, and comments that we won't see the movie without Terrence Howard in it.
Jan 7 2009 Mickey Rourke and Every Other Action Star Considered 'Expendable'
It gets tedious covering every piece of casting news--there's only so much you can say when Kate Hudson joins another romantic comedy--and thus I often overlook it. Generally it isn't a big deal, but in the case of my ignoring casting on Sylvester Stallone's upcoming action/adventure, The Expendables, I admit I've made a mistake. He's been putting together a crew of classic action actors that rivals even when there were two Jean-Claude Van Dammes in Double Impact. Just look at this group:
Mickey Rourke has joined the ranks of "The Expendables," joining the ensemble of the Sylvester Stallone-directed action adventure for Nu Image/Millennium Films.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.
Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Randy Couture and Dolph Lungdren play the title characters. Forest Whitaker and Ben Kingsley are also circling the project.
So it's the most definitive bad-ass team you can imagine (minus Arnold, Seagal, and Van Damme, obviously), plus Ben Kingsley. It's like he's there to sanction all the murdering. It would just be senseless violence with that crew shoving their boots in people's brains, but if you've got Gandhi on the team, it must be for the greater good.
Mickey Rourke joins 'Expandables' [Variety]
Nov 21 2008 'The Wrestler' Trailer Flying Elbows Onto I-Net
Man, Mickey Rourke is hard to look at. In this trailer, when he says he's "a broken down piece of meat," he is not kidding. I recommend only looking at his face by poking a pinhole in a box and letting his shadow form on a paper plate (instructions). Despite that, this looks really good, even though the combination of sad images/dialogue and depressing Bruce Springsteen song make you want to kill yourself (or let Mickey Rourke kill himself). The best part is when he emerges from the back of a van, and the group of children attack him like the monster he is:
Continue Reading " 'The Wrestler' Trailer Flying Elbows Onto I-Net "
Nov 17 2008 'The Wrestler' Poster Looks Tragically Defeated
In fact, every shot I see of Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler makes him looks like the saddest sack on Earth. Is being repeatedly beaten with a folding chair really so hard on the psyche? Is it so emotionally crippling to have a large, stringy-haired, half-naked man shout in your face, jump off a ladder, and attempt to force his body across yours, all while you have to kind of go along with it as part of an act? Yeah, probably. That sounds awful. That is the nightmare of a nightmare. I would only agree to become a professional wrestler if it was a respite from prison. Why is this pseudo-sport still existing?
The Wrestler Poster [IMPA]
Sep 8 2008 'The Wrestler' Looks Good, Mickey Rourke Does Not
Here are some short clips from The Wrestler intermixed with brief interviews with director Darren Aronofsky and star Mickey Rourke. Even if you don't care about The Wrestler (but you should), you need to see what Rourke looks like in the interview portion. He's become a pre-humanoid Johnny Depp, and it's awful.
Continue Reading " 'The Wrestler' Looks Good, Mickey Rourke Does Not "
Aug 12 2008 'The Wrestler' Photos Are the Second Saddest Wrestler Photos I've Seen Today
Bad Taste has some new shots from The Wrestler, Darren Aronofsky's film about a retired pro wrestler who returns to the ring despite the risks to his health. Star Mickey Rourke's wretched mug is one of the most depressing things I've ever seen, but I still get the sense the face of an old wrestler could be more pathetic. For example, let me present Ultimate Warrior's website. See, Mickey? Undying sincerity is so, so much sadder, particularly when paired with a triumphant score juxtaposing all the lost dignity in the visuals. It's almost enough to make you cry, until you find out the Ultimate Warrior legally changed his name to Warrior, giving his kids the Warrior surname. Then you laugh.
Aug 6 2008 'The Informers' Trailer Informs Me It Probably Isn't as Good as 'American Psycho'
Here's the trailer to The Informers, based on the Brett Easton Ellis book and starring Billy Bob Thornton, Mickey Rourke, Winona Ryder, and Chris Isaak inducing a faint yodel of "Wicked Games" every time he comes on screen. It's also Brad Renfro's last role, so I'll pretend this looks like a more entertaining satire than it is. I'll just assume that both Renfro and Ledger will be nominated for posthumous Oscars this year, and when the winner is announced, a statue will be unveiled bearing both of their names, and it's actually two statues holding hands in the air, and they're angels. The auditorium erupts in tearful applause, and the actual angels of both actors descend beside shocked presenter Tilda Swinton. Renfro begins his acceptance speech with, "Where the fuck was my memorial reel last year, huh, guys?" and it gets kind of awkward for a few seconds, but luckily the music kicks in to cover the awkward silence.
Thanks for the tip, Daniel.
Feb 12 2008 Marisa Tomei Stripping for 'The Wrestler'
Variety reports Marisa Tomei has signed on to star opposite Mickey Rourke in Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler. In the film, Rourke plays a retired, over-the-hill wrestler who moves in with a stripper (Tomei) and her son. Yet another serious role as a stripper pried from the lacquered nails of Pamela Anderson. Don't worry, baby; you'll get your chance one day. Maybe in a direct-to-video sequel with Hulk Hogan, or is that too appropriate?
Tomei joins Aronofsky's 'Wrestler' [Variety]
Feb 8 2008 Mickey Rourke Looking Healthy as 'The Wrestler'
My first thought was, "Man, Kim Basinger is looking busted," then, "Oh, it's just Bret Michaels wrestling for something VH1 must be sponsoring, and he's on meth." As it turns out, both instincts were wrong; it's just Mickey Rourke playing the down-and-out titular character on the set of Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler. Knowing that, he actually looks pretty good for Mickey Rourke.
Thanks, Kevin.
WXW Show for Darren Aronofsky's 'The Wrestler' [WXW Wrestling]
Nov 12 2007 Mickey Rourke Deemed Superior 'Wrestler'
Variety has announced that Mickey Rourke will be starring in Darren Aronofsky's indie drama The Wrestler, a project previously planned for Nicolas Cage. No explanation was given for the change, but I imagine it went something like this...
Nicolas Cage has just emerged from Darren Aronofsky's bathroom wearing a professional wrestling outfit and his typical bewildered yet concerned expression.
Nicolas Cage: So how do I look?
Darren Aronofsky: You know, now that I see you, here in the light, dressed in a full leonard, I realize you look absolutely nothing like a wrestler.
Nicolas Cage: Hm. I'm not sure what you mean.
Darren Aronofsky: Well, it's just that a wrestler--and I'm just saying typically--is a large, imposing, menace of a man.
Nicolas Cage: Right... So you're worried I'm not that much like that?
Darren Aronofsky: You're nothing like that. You're just a wide-eyed balding guy who frequently looks confused.
Nicolas Cage: I see.
Darren Aronofsky: Yeah, sorry. Jeez, I don't know what I was thinking offering you this role. I clearly need someone more like... Jesus, who's that giant freak?
(At this point, Aronofsky turns to his television and sees the above image of a crazy, bare-chested Mickey Rourke strutting out of a courthouse. Aronofsky's eyes turn into dollar signs, or maybe wrestling rings, if that could be clearly conveyed in the area of a pupil.)
Mickey Rourke wires 'Wrestler' [Variety]
