Nov 20 2009 So Many People Are Doing the Acting in 'Thor'

So many people are doing the acting in Thor! Some people joined the cast a few days ago; one just joined today. Let's finally get to filling them all in in our Thor scrapbook, OK?

Firstly, the Heat Vision blog is reporting that Idris Elba--who you may remember from The Wire, The Office, and the ridiculous Beyonce-fights-a-stalker film Obsessed--will be playing Heimdall, another mythological Norse character called "whitest of the gods." Which is funny. Because Idris Elba is black. Not white.

Variety, meanwhile, has news that Stuart Townsend (Charlize Theron's husband), Ray Stevenson (the Punisher that wasn't Thomas Jane) and Tadanobu Asano (Ichi the Killer) will be playing the Warriors Three, Marvel-created Asgardian gods who form a classic trinity of fat guy, Errol Flynn-esque guy, and Genghis Khan-looking guy.

To those thinking this is weird because black guys and Asian guys don't belong in the world of Norse mythology... well, you're probably technically right, but you're still assigned ten minutes in the racist penalty box.

Nov 19 2009 Anne Hathaway Could Be in the Spider-Man

How do you like the idea of Anne Hathaway as Black Cat, Spider-Maniacs (fans of Spider-Man who are psychotic)? I ask not arbitrarily but because she might actually have been offered the role.

According to Nikki Finke, producers for the superhero series have approached the Bride Wars warrior with an offer for an unspecified part. Using the knowledge that Kirsten Dunst is still in and Black Cat supposedly has a part in the next Spider-Man film, me and the rest of the internet is guessing that offer was for Black Cat.

Of course, there's also the rumor going around that Rachel McAdams was rumored last week, so we're probably at least a Michelle Williams rumor away from an official announcement. In the meantime, let's continue complaining that Sam Raimi for some reason isn't keeping true to the character and casting a young actress with actual white hair and disproportionately enormous breasts.

Nov 11 2009 'Kick-Ass' Poster Includes Dumpster Sittin'

He can't fly, but he does have the hair of Three's Company's Larry Dallas.

Nov 11 2009 'Kick-Ass' Teaser: Though Unlabeled, Yes, That Is Nicolas Cage in a Seemingly-Decent Movie

Kick-Ass trailer, everyone. If you're considering becoming an amateur superhero with no actual powers, watch this first. I'm not sure if it will discourage you; I just think it's the kind of thing that will probably be relevant and popular in amateur superhero circles, and I wouldn't want you to look foolish.

Continue Reading " 'Kick-Ass' Teaser: Though Unlabeled, Yes, That Is Nicolas Cage in a Seemingly-Decent Movie "

Nov 10 2009 'Spider-Man 4': Rachel McAdams Up for Black Cat??? Unknown Male Up for Male Villain???

With Batman sequel rumors calming momentarily, let's take some time to concentrate on different superhero movie casting speculation that probably won't end up being true. Like, did you hear how Rachel McAdams (and a guy) might be in Spider-Man 4???

Rachel McAdams has met with the producers of the film for a major role. McAdams (of 'Wedding Crashers' and 'Sherlock Holmes' fame) is said to be a top contender for the role of Felicia Hardy, known to comic fans as The Black Cat.

Fans recall that when Spidey first encounters the Black Cat, she's a cat burgler looking to free her ailing father from prison. She becomes smitten with the web-slinger, to the point of a stalker-level obsession. Later stories had Peter reciprocating her affection and her becoming a lover, a friend and ally (the perfect thing to allow Sony to create a Spidey spin-off).

And it looks like it'll be a two-villain movie. Our source also says they are casting for a male villain, but had few details. However, this would seem to discount the idea that Lizard is the primary, since the role of Dr. Conners has been cast since movie #2.

I guess Sam Raimi is hoping Spider-Man plots are like odometers, where if you stack on enough romantic conflicts and superfluous villains, eventually they'll roll over into a reasonable number again.

Nov 5 2009 'Ghost Rider 2' is Darker, Still with Nicolas Cage

Yeah, someone still thinks it's a good idea to make another movie about Nicolas Cage riding a motorcycle and sometimes having a flaming skull head.

Screenwriter David Goyer recently talked to MTV about the project, and made sure to drop the superhero movie buzzword, "darker," so that we might think Ghost Rider is somehow going to be the next Dark Knight:

"It's not exactly a reboot," said Goyer, who's currently hard at work on his "FlashForward" television series. "I hate to say it's more realistic, because he's got a flaming skull for a head, but it's a bit more stripped down and darker. It's definitely changing tone. What 'Casino Royale' was to the Bond movies, hopefully this will be to 'Ghost Rider.'"

The "Ghost Rider" sequel is planned to "roll before cameras next year," according to Goyer, who also said that Nicolas Cage is currently still attached to the lead role of Johnny Blaze.

"This story picks up eight years after the first film," said Goyer. "You don't have to have seen the first film. It doesn't contradict anything that happened in the first film, but we're pretending that our audience hasn't seen the first film. It's as if you took that same character where things ended in the first film and then picked it up eight years later—he's just in a much darker, existential place."

A darker, more existential Ghost Rider? Sorry, but that already exists, guys:

Continue Reading " 'Ghost Rider 2' is Darker, Still with Nicolas Cage "

Oct 30 2009 Anthony Hopkins Agrees To Be Thor's Dad

Kenneth Branagh's Thor adaptation has added more surprising credibility to its cast. Variety reports Anthony Hopkins has signed on to play Odin, father to Loki (non-biologically) and Thor and king of Asgard, which will mean something if you're intimately familiar with Norse mythology and/or comic books.

To help you understand what powers and abilities Hopkins will possess in the role, I've copied a paragraph from the Odin (Marvel Comics) Wikipedia entry's section on powers and abilities, replacing "Odin" with "Sir Anthony Hopkins."

As King of the Norse Gods, Sir Anthony Hopkins possesses superhuman strength; durability and courtesy of the Golden Apples of Idunn, a greatly extended lifepsan. Sir Anthony Hopkins is capable of manipulating the Sir Anthony Hopkins Force - a source of magical energy - for a number of purposes, including energy projection; creation of ilusions and force fields; levitation; molecular manipulation and teleportation. The character has also used the Sir Anthony Hopkinspower for greater feats such as transporting the entire human race to an alternate dimension; compressing the population of an entire planet into a single being, the Mangog and taking a soul away from the arch-demon Mephisto.

This Sir Anthony Hopkins Force sounds pret-ty powerful.

Oct 16 2009 Sam Raimi Concedes, OK, Maybe There Were a Lot of Bad Guys in 'Spider-Man 3'

Though still refusing to describe Spider-Man 3 as a "bullshit clusterfuck" (the only truly accurate way to describe it), director Sam Raimi admitted to the Coventry Telegraph that some of the criticism of his superhero film might have been accurate, and promised a back-to-basics approach for his next effort:

I think having so many villains detracted from the experience. I would agree with the criticism.

I think I've learned about the importance of getting to the point and the importance of having limitations, and I'm hoping to take that into a production where I'm actually allowed to explore with more of the tools to pull it off with a little more splendour.

I hope I don't lose that edge that I've just found. That would be my approach to Spider-Man 4: to get back to the basics.

Raimi would then add, "And by 'basics,' I mean 'Spider-Man dancing in jazz more clubs.' That is my definition of basics."

Oct 12 2009 Bryan Singer Wouldn't Mind Doing Those 'X-Men' Movies Some More

That last X-Men movie: that was a real stinker, eh? That was the kind of shitcake X-Man that makes you really appreciate the X-Men movies you used to have in the old days (between 2000 and 2003). Doesn't it?

Bryan Singer must realize that too--that his two pretty-decent X-Men films are looking a lot better in this post-The Last Stand era. Good enough, he's hoping, that we might be able to overlook how flat-out unmemorable Superman Returns was if he were to make another pretty-decent X-Man:

"I'm still looking to possibly returning to the 'X-Men' franchise. I've been talking to Fox about it," Singer said at a talk at the Pusan International Film Festival.

"I love Hugh Jackman. [ed. note: Who???] I love the cast," he said, referring to the Australian actor who plays Wolverine [ed. note: Oh, him].

Singer said he enjoyed making science fiction and fantasy movies because they allowed him to discuss serious issues through entertainment.

He said he likes to "trick audiences into thinking they're seeing fireworks, but they're learning about themselves and listening to what I have to say."

You may have tricked me into thinking I was seeing fireworks, Singer, but I've got news for you: I didn't listen to anything you said, and I've learned nothing about myself. So who's ahead now? You tell me. I'm not listening.

Bryan Singer wants more 'X-Men' [THR]

Oct 8 2009 'Venom' Also Being Done By 'Mr. Baseball' Writer

Providing an ominous reminder that, oh yeah, a Venom movie is still in the works, Variety is reporting that Gary Ross, the man recently charged with writing a new draft of the equally inauspicious Spider-Man 4 (and writer of an odd collection of mixed results, including Big, Pleasantville, Mr. Baseball, and Dave), has been hired to write an antihero take on the shiny, ebon villain:

Venom, an archenemy of the webslinger in the Marvel Comics series, will be transformed into an antihero who becomes a defender of the innocent.

In "Spider-Man 3," Venom was played by Topher Grace, who started out as Eddie Brock, Peter Parker's newspaper rival. Infected by an alien organism that grafted itself to his skin, Brock had superpowers and strength superior to Spider-Man's.

Grace, who just signed on to star in "Robert Rodriguez's Predators" at Fox, is not considered likely to reprise, as the spinoff will start from the drawing board.

So we'll have possible continuity between Spider-Man 4 and Venom, but we're just going to completely disregard all the black-suit-Spidey/Venom set-up from Spider-Man 3?

Actually, that's a pretty solid plan. Carry on.

Oct 1 2009 For Real Look at Green Hornet This Time

OK, forget that earlier post with the blurry photo of the jacket-less stunt guy dressed as Green Hornet. Here's the real deal: Seth Rogen in full dapper superhero regalia. No more complaining about Rogen's hypothetical appearance; now the grumbling will hold actual weight!

Personally, I couldn't care less if it's Rogen or anyone else wearing the green mask. I'm still pissed that the Green Hornet is being represented visually at all. Boo! Booooo! Keep Green Hornet in the audio of a 1930s radio drama! Boooooo!

Oct 1 2009 First Look at Seth Rogen's 'Green Hornet' Costume

From Splash News, here's the first look at Seth Rogen's costume in his upcoming Green Hornet film. Looks good, assuming his jacket is just off for this scene. And assuming that jacket would normally be a Charlotte Hornets (Starter brand) jacket like I had in sixth grade. In that case, everything is perfect.

Sep 23 2009 More People I Don't Know in 'Thor'

I've got some great news if you're fans/parents of Jaimie Alexander or Colm Feore: the actors from Kyle XY and The Listener (neither of which I know of as shows on television, but I'm told are/were), respectively, have joined the cast of Kenneth Branagh's Thor.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Alexander will be play Sif, a powerful resident of Asgard and sexual conquest of Thor, while Colm Feore's character is known only to be a villain of some nature.

You know who's probably going to be upset by this news? Colm Meaney, Star Trek's Chief O'Brien. If Feore's career takes off after this, it endangers all the years of hard work Meaney has put into becoming Hollywood's Biggest Colm.

Sep 22 2009 Nicolas Cage as Superman/Superman Action Figure

Remember over a decade ago when Tim Burton was going to make a Superman movie? Me too! Why do we keep remembering that? Let's stop. Actually, before you stop remembering, breathe deeply with your eyes the above image that's been going around internet today to equal cries of "fake" and "LOL": the only known photo of what is supposedly Nicolas Cage's costume test for Burton's film.

Yes, I know it looks like Nicolas Cage's head blatantly pasted onto a plastic body. But would Japan's premiere Tim Burton fan site stake their name on a fake, putting at risk all the Tim Burton legitimacy the country has been building since the second World War? I have no idea. Either way, it is definitely ridiculous.

Sep 16 2009 Get Your Spider-Man Costume Dry Cleaned By May 6, 2011

Because that's when Spider-Man 4 will be released, "web-slingers!" This article from yesterday's Variety claims director Sam Raimi and stars Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst are on board, with the script being written by Gary Ross.

Ross's previous writing jobs have been a bizarrely mixed bag, including Big, Pleasantville, Mr. Baseball, and the film that gave Kevin Kline his most memorable dual-role, Dave, so it's anyone's guess what this guy is going to come up with for a Spider-Man movie.

I wonder what happened to the talk of a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright writing the script. I'm just going to assume Raimi switched writers to find someone with more experience in writing the themes he has planned for the fourth film. Meaning his ideas for Spider-Man 4 probably revolve around Spider-Man magically aging, magically entering a '50s television show, playing baseball as Tom Selleck in Japan, and being both the U.S. President and someone who looks so insanely similar that he can pass as the U.S. President. So, basically, it's already way better than Spider-Man 3.

Sep 15 2009 What Superman Movie?

I guess this is news. MTV spoke to Diane Nelson, the newly appointed head of DC Entertainment, and asked what was going on with a new Superman movie. Her reply: not a lot.

"We actually don't have any current plans for Superman," said Nelson when asked if the new environment (and the recent legal decision regarding the character) made a "Superman" movie more or less likely in the near future.

"We've obviously done a lot of great things behind the property in our history, and it's a key part of the family, but we don't have current plans behind Superman," she said.

Just wanted to keep you abreast to the latest movies that there aren't really any plans for.

Here's one of the "great things behind the property in our history" I assume she's referring to. The greatest part comes at 3:15, when Superman uses eye beams to somehow reassemble the Great Wall:

Sep 9 2009 'Green Hornet' Loses Its Cage

The Green Hornet now has a Nicolas Cage Score of -1! Or maybe just an NCS of 0, depending on how you want to look at it. According to Heat Vision Blog, negotiations for Nicolas Cage to play the villain in Michel Gondry and Seth Rogen's adaptation have fallen apart, and Columbia is looking for a new actor to fill the role.

Can I suggest Timothy Dalton for the part? I swear, it feels like forever since I've hated a dignified gentleman-villain with a pencil mustache.

Sep 4 2009 'Defendor' Trailer: Woody Harrelson is Wacky, Insane Superhero

Ever hope to see the 1994 Damon Wayans/David Alan Grier superhero comedy Blankman remade slightly more deadpan, with a hooker, and starring Woody Harrelson as a madman? No? Well, you should try to be more ambitious about wanting to see In Living Color-centric movies re-done in new and creative ways. (I have fantasies of a new version of Major Payne nearly every night, and it's fantastic.)

Anyway, regardless if you wanted it, here it is, gratis:

Continue Reading " 'Defendor' Trailer: Woody Harrelson is Wacky, Insane Superhero "

Sep 3 2009 Every Comic Character I Thought Was Awesome in 6th Grade Becomes a Movie

A Venom movie, Youngblood movie, and now a Lobo movie?

Warner Bros. has locked Guy Ritchie to direct “Lobo,” the live action adaptation of the DC Comics drama about an alien interstellar bounty hunter.

Production on “Lobo” begins early next year. The character originated in 1983 in “Omega Men,” written by Roger Slifer and Keith Giffen. Lobo has had several comic incarnations. In the film, he is a seven-foot tall, blue-skinned, indestructible and heavily muscled anti-hero who drives a pimped out motorcycle, and lands on Earth in search of four fugitives who are bent on wreaking havoc. Lobo teams with a small town teenaged girl to stop the creatures.

WB is aiming for a PG-13 rating. Pic will be strong on visual effects, and Ritchie will bring the irreverent, gruff tone of past films like "Snatch" and "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels."

Lobo creator Keith Giffen once said in an interview, "I came up with him as an indictment of the Punisher, Wolverine, bad ass hero prototype and somehow he caught on as the high violence poster boy." So the idea of Guy Ritchie using his Snatchiness to make the character both an uber-bad-ass and drastically toned down to a PG-13 rating is, really, doubly unfaithful. Well done, Hollywood. Your interests in fulfilling fan desires have reached new levels of willful obliviousness.

Sep 2 2009 'Iron Man 2' in THREE DIMENSIONS???

For his second Iron Man film, Jon Favreau could be taking things to the next level! That level being the level of visual depth. According to AICN, 3-D decision-makers at Paramount and Marvel/Disney are reviewing a minute of Iron Man 2 3-D test footage to determine if Scarlett Johansson's breasts erupting from the screen warrants converting the entire film to the gimmicky format.

Something else you executives should weigh into you decision: if you make Iron Man 2 in 3-D, that totally blows your shot at using the Iron Man 3-D 3rd film/3rd dimension naming structure. Someone needs to uphold the grand traditions of Spy Kids 3-D and Jaws 3-D.