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Matthew Vaughn's Kick-Ass kicks in with new posters
4 hours ago
The publicity machine has started to roll for Matthew Vaughn's upcoming comic book adaptation Kick-Ass ahead of its release on April 16, 2010.
Four new character posters have been revealed on IGN, two of which are included here.
Based on the comic by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr, which is published on Marvel's Icon imprint, the film centres on high-school student and comic book fanboy Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) who decides to become a costumed crimefighter, at first with disastrous results.
He triggers a subculture of copy-cat vigilantes and encounters a sword-wielding 11-year-old called Hit-Girl (Chloe Moretz) and her father Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage). They feature on the new posters along with Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Red Mist.
The release rights of the independently-funded film were picked up by Lionsgate for $50million earlier this year, following a bidding war.
Meanwhile, Mark Millar wants to direct his own superhero movie for the big screen. »
- David Bentley
Marvel unveils future film, animation and video game projects
4 hours ago
Comic Book titan Marvel Entertainment has detailed its future slate of film, DVD and video game projects.
The company's latest earnings statement, released on Yahoo, confirmed four upcoming feature films: Iron Man 2 on May 7, 2010; Thor on May 20, 2011; The First Avenger: Captain America on July 22, 2011; and The Avengers on May 4, 2012.
There are two animated TV series in the pipeline: The Super Hero Squad (52 30-minute episodes on Cartoon Network in the Us and launching on international broadcast channels by the end of this year); and The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes (52 30-minute episodes in production; timing and network to be decided).
Animated direct-to-dvd projects coming up are: Planet Hulk (production complete, scheduled for February 2010 release); Thor: Tales of Asgard (production complete, release date to be decided).
Outside Marvel's own production studios, Spider-Man 4 is being made by Sony's Columbia Pictures for release on May 6, 2011 and there is a $40million Broadway musical, Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark, »
- David Bentley
Comics to screen: Latest titles heading to film, TV, iTunes and iPhone
17 hours ago
Sin City producer Stephen L'Heureux's Solipsist Films has acquired the rights to Ed Laroche's graphic novel Almighty.
According to Mania, Black Hawk Down screenwriter Ken Nolan is attached to write the script and potential directors are being approached.
Created, written and drawn by Laroche, Almighty takes place in 2098 and follows a female motorcycling mercenary called Fale, who is hired to rescue a girl and bring her home across a third world America - "a fractured landscape of segregated zones driven by neo-tribalism."
Laroche said: "At its heart Almighty is a pursuit story. As the story unfolds there are other things that are attached to it but at the core of it, a girl has been kidnapped and someone has hired a killer to find her and bring her home." The official website for Almighty is here.
Mania adds that Solipsist has also picked up screen rights on two other titles. »
- David Bentley
Star Trek's Jj Abrams to produce Micronauts movie
17 hours ago
With toy-based films such as Transformers and G.I. Joe bringing in a box office bonanza, it's pretty obvious we are going to see many more brands exploding on to the screen.
In an article discussing the boom in feature films derived from games and action figures, The Wall Street Journal reveals that Star Trek director and Lost creator Jj Abrams is in talks with toymakers Hasbro to produce a Micronauts movie.
Hasbro - which makes the Transformers and G.I. Joe action figures - has just acquired the rights to the Micronauts from Japanese originators Takara.
The interconnectable toys were first released in 1974 under the name Microman before being cancelled in 1980 and then revived in 2002. They were also adapted into several comic books published by Marvel, Image and Devil's Due Publishing.
As part of the current studio craze for raiding toy stores, Ridley Scott is to direct a movie »
- David Bentley
Helen Mirren joins Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman in Red
18 hours ago
Oscar-winning actress Helen Mirren has joined the cast of Red, the film adaptation of the comic book miniseries written by Warren Ellis and published by Wildstorm.
The movie, starring Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman, begins filming on January 11 and is set for release on November 19, 2010, with Robert Schwentke (Flightplan, The Time Traveler's Wife) directing.
Willis will be playing retired CIA agent Paul Moses who is targeted by assassins sent by the new leader of the CIA (Freeman) who wants to dispose of former agents who know too much.
Mirren, 64, whose casting was revealed by ScreenDaily and is now confirmed by Variety, is speculated to be playing the previous CIA boss who has stayed in touch with Moses.
In addition, John C. Reilly (The Aviator, Gangs of New York) and Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds, Angels in America, The West Wing) are in talks to join the film, according to The Hollywood Reporter. »
- David Bentley
Melissa Rosenberg on why David Slade is perfect for Twilight's Eclipse
6 November 2009 9:49 AM, PST
Screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg says British filmmaker David Slade is the perfect director for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, the third instalment in the vampire romance series.
Slade, whose previous credits include Hard Candy and 30 Days of Night, completed filming Eclipse at the end of last month.
The 40-year-old is ideal for tackling the emotional struggles and choices in the story, says Rosenberg, who penned the Eclipse screenplay and also adapted Stephenie Meyer's Twilight and New Moon books into films.
She said: "I think David [Slade] brings an intensity that's really great for Eclipse.
"His films of the past have leaned towards the dark, and this will obviously be PG or PG-13, so this won't be quite that dark, but he brings...an intensity.
"He ratchets up the tension in a way that is just really artful and I think this is the kind of movie where that has to happen because »
- David Bentley
2012 director Roland Emmerich admits turning down superhero film offers
6 November 2009 9:31 AM, PST
Roland Emmerich, whose disaster movie 2012 erupts on to the big screen on November 13, has revealed he finds superhero movies boring and has rejected every offer to direct a comic book adaptation.
Emmerich, whose other credits include Godzilla, The Day After Tomorrow, Independence Day and Stargate, admitted he was "a little worried" about the culture of remakes and adaptations.
He said: "I don't know how many more superheroes they can pull out of their hat. I hate superheroes.
"I always say no to every one that I get offered because I feel that it's boring. But they seem to be successful for some of the people.
"Some of them do [make money], some don't. But they make more money than they lose so they keep making them, and when one works then they have a franchise."
Speaking in Sci Fi Now magazine, he continued: "It's very unimaginative. I'm a total fan of people »
- David Bentley
Roland Emmerich developing TV series follow-up to 2012
6 November 2009 7:53 AM, PST
Roland Emmerich, director of the earth-shattering disaster flick 2012 which hits cinemas on November 13, says a TV spin-off is in the pipeline.
The filmmaker told Entertainment Weekly that the movie's executive producer Mark Gordon, who is also involved in shows such as Grey's Anatomy, is part of the project.
The series would pick up where the film ends and is provisionally entitled 2013. ABC is said to be in talks over the idea, which would fill the scheduling void left by Lost.
Speaking at the premiere for 2012, Emmerich said: "The plan is that it is 2013 and it's about what happens after the disaster.
"It is about the resettling of Earth. I think it will focus on a group of people who survived but not on the boats ... maybe they were on a piece of land that was spared or one that became an island in the process of the crust moving.
"There »
- David Bentley
Producer talks The Lone Ranger and Pirates of the Caribbean 4
6 November 2009 5:09 AM, PST
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer has confirmed that Disney is moving forward with its planned movie based on The Lone Ranger, with Johnny Depp cast as native American sidekick Tonto.
Bruckheimer said they were now aiming for a 2012 release. Mike Newell - whose credits include Four Weddings and a Funeral, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and upcoming Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - is attached to direct the feature.
Bruckheimer told Sci-Fi Wire that Pirates of the Caribbean writers Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio had worked with other writers and Johnny Depp on The Lone Ranger to create "something that has a kind of true-to-the-western [feel], but adding other additional elements like we did with Pirates so it won't be just a straight-ahead western."
As for the casting of the Ranger, he said: "We're still creating a pretty wide net and figuring it out. It comes down to who »
- David Bentley
Ghost Rider 2 'aiming for Casino Royale feel'
5 November 2009 6:17 PM, PST
Batman scribe and FlashForward showrunner David Goyer recently revealed that Sony studio chiefs were dusting off a Ghost Rider screenplay he wrote nine years ago to make it into a film.
The first Ghost Rider movie in 2007, with Nicolas Cage as a biker who sells his soul to the devil and is transformed into a supernatural bounty hunter, was indeed hellish.
But, nonetheless, it managed to make a reasonable $238million globally (on a budget of $120million) and a further $103million from DVD sales in the USA alone.
Goyer's script will be slightly toned down from its R rating to get a PG-13 classification.
He has now spoken a little more about the project, telling MTV: "It's not exactly a reboot. 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 »
- David Bentley
Ian McKellen gives updates on Gandalf and Bilbo in The Hobbit
5 November 2009 5:58 PM, PST
Ian McKellen says he now has his hands on the screenplay for The Hobbit, to be directed by Guillermo del Toro and produced by Peter Jackson.
Sir Ian told Sci-Fi Wire: "As Peter has said, they loved writing Gandalf [for The Hobbit] because they knew who they were writing him for.
"There are a lot of characters in The Hobbit including, crucially, Bilbo, and they don't know who's going to play Bilbo. So it's extremely attractive that this part has been written for me. The other Gandalf was written for, well, just as Gandalf.
"There's lots for me to enjoy, in all sorts of ways. And I couldn't be happier. But I'm sworn to secrecy. I'm not to say anything at all about the script."
I have to point out here that this is somewhat at odds with McKellen earlier saying he knew who was cast as Bilbo.
McKellen added that del Toro »
- David Bentley
Kate Mulgrew wants Captain Janeway in next Star Trek movie
5 November 2009 5:51 PM, PST
Who and what will feature in the next Star Trek movie?
That seems to be a popular topic for debate as director Jj Abrams and writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman explore story possibilities amid huge pressure to repeat the success of the first film.
And Kate Mulgrew, who played Captain Kathryn Janeway in TV series Star Trek: Voyager, is keen on a slice of the intergalactic action once again.
Janeway also appeared as a Starfleet Vice Admiral in 2002's Star Trek Nemesis movie.
Genevieve Bujold was originally cast in the role for the TV series but quit after the second day of filming on the first episode.
Mulgrew, 54, who had suggested the character's first name, says she'd be very interested in appearing in the new Star Trek franchise if asked by Jj Abrams.
Asked by Sci Fi Now if she'd consider a role in the new films, she said: "I would, »
- David Bentley
Guillermo Del Toro on bringing to life the creatures and battles of The Hobbit
5 November 2009 4:01 PM, PST
Director Guillermo del Toro has explained how he intends to bring an original look to the creatures and battles of his two-part adaptation of The Hobbit.
The first part of the $300million project comes out in December 2011 and the second a year after that. Peter Jackson is serving as executive producer to help ensure a close match with the Lord of the Rings films.
In a new interview, Del Toro talks in detail about the epic production, which has so far had a year of design work and months of story planning and writing.
He told Total Film: "We are respecting the structure established by Tolkien because the order of the adventures in The Hobbit is well known to generations and generations of kids. You don't want to be moving stuff like that.
"But we will be integrating Gandalf's comings and goings because he does disappear in the book quite often. »
- David Bentley
Douglas Henshall talks return of Primeval
5 November 2009 3:55 AM, PST
Fans of ITV's cult sci-fi show Primeval had two shocks this year.
First, the head of the monster-fighting team Professor Nick Cutter, played by Douglas Henshall, was killed off in the third series, and then the popular show was cancelled.
But last month ITV bosses brokered a deal which will see both a fourth and fifth series on our screens in 2011, and Douglas Henshall fans will soon be able to catch the actor in new ITV drama Collision, starting on Monday and running for five consecutive nights.
While Douglas left Primeval to spend more time on stage and making films, he's not surprised that it's had a reprieve.
"I thought that the writing was good enough and the premise was good enough, then if people liked it, it could go pretty much as long as it liked. As long as people had faith in it who were making it, then »
- David Bentley
Arabian Nights to be adapted into new 3D 'magic carpet ride'
4 November 2009 5:26 AM, PST
A New adaptation of the Eastern folk tales collection Arabian Nights is on its way to the big screen - and, in line with the growing trend, it will be in 3D.
Chuck Russell, who co-wrote the script with Barry P. Ambrose, is to direct the fantasy adventure.
He previously helmed 1987's A Nightmare on Elm Street 3, the 80s remake of The Blob, The Mask, Eraser and Scorpion King.
Variety reports that Arabian Nights has a $70million budget and will be financed by Inferno Entertainment, with production set to begin in April.
The story follows a young commander who, after his king is killed in a palace coup, joins forces with Sinbad, Aladdin and his genie to rescue Persian queen Scheherazade and her kingdom from dark powers.
Russell said: "Through the use of a new generation of visual technologies, we will be able to quite literally take audiences around the »
- David Bentley
Trailer for new Battlestar Galactica prequel Caprica
3 November 2009 10:05 AM, PST
A New trailer has been released for upcoming TV series Caprica, a prequel set 58 years before the most recent reimagining of Battlestar Galactica.
The series will tell how human colonies created the robotic Cyclons that would later try to destroy mankind. The first season is expected to air in the USA on Syfy in January; it's also been picked up by Sky1 in the UK and Ireland.
Caprica stars Esai Morales as lawyer Joseph Adama (father of Battlestar's Admiral William Adama) and Eric Stoltz as wealthy technologist Daniel Graystone, who meet when their daughters are killed in the same terrorist bombing.
The trouble starts when Graystone decides to bring back the dead girls as robots. Paula Malcomson (Deadwood, Lost, CSI) plays Graystone's surgeon wife Amanda, and Polly Walker (Rome, upcoming Clash of the Titans and John Carter of Mars) plays the headmistress of a private religious school.
The new trailer is included below. »
- David Bentley
New trailer for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
3 November 2009 3:54 AM, PST
A Full-length trailer has now been released for upcoming fantasy adventure Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.
The Disney movie, due out in May next year, stars Jake Gyllenhaal and is directed by Mike Newell and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.
Newell's previous credits include Four Weddings and a Funeral and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and is also attached to helm a film adaptation of Terry Brooks' novel The Elfstones of Shannara.
Adapted from a video game, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time tells of a brave street urchin called Dastan (Gyllenhaal) who is adopted by the king to be his heir so his own two sons won't fight over the throne.
Dastan is mentored by Sheik Amar (Alfred Molina) and teams up with Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton) on a quest to retrieve the Sands of Time - a gift from the gods that can »
- David Bentley
Sony 'a leading contender' to snap up Terminator film rights
3 November 2009 3:04 AM, PST
He'll be back - but it is going to cost someone a lot of money.
This month the Terminator film franchise will be the subject of an auction described as a "once-in-a-decade" opportunity for studio bosses.
Early interest has been high, with sources close to the sale suggesting that the eventual price could top $100million (£61 million), according to the Press Association.
The rights to the film are being auctioned off by the Halcyon Company, the production firm behind this year's Terminator Salvation, which grossed $375million (£228 million) worldwide.
The franchise has grossed a total of $1.4 billion (£854 million) in box office receipts, with an additional $1.6billion (£976 million) from DVDs, video games and graphic novels.
The sale was prompted by Halycon's filing for bankruptcy protection earlier this year, which I reported on in August.
Allan Mayer, spokesman for Halcyon Company, said: "This is the only major film franchise that isn't already owned by a big studio. »
- David Bentley
Doctor Who exhibition extended to include items from David Tennant's final specials
2 November 2009 5:01 PM, PST
Coventry Transport Museum has announced that its successful Doctor Who exhibition, which was due to close yesterday (November 2), will now be extended until January 10, 2010.
The exhibition has been visited by thousands of people since its opening in March and there are plans to add new items from the three further Doctor Who TV specials set to hit our screens this year.
Visitors can see a range of Doctor Who monsters, props and costumes, including the massive Empress of Racnoss, Davros and the iconic Daleks.
Since this year's Easter special Planet of the Dead, the museum has displayed Michelle Ryan's costume and the fly-headed Trivatore aliens.
The next special, The Waters of Mars, will air on Sunday, November 15 with actress Lindsay Duncan starring alongide Time Lord David Tennant. Two further specials with Tennant will follow before his character regenerates into the 11th Doctor, Matt Smith
Experience Design and Management, who stage the exhibition, »
- David Bentley
After The Dark Knight, here come the Dark X-Men...
2 November 2009 7:27 AM, PST
Marvel Comics' team the X-Men debuted way back in September 1963 and have since evolved into many different line-ups and series, as well as three animated TV shows and a franchise of hit films.
The latest mutation of the enduring superheroes is Dark X-Men, a five-issue miniseries which debuts on November 11.
Written by Paul Cornell and illustrated by Leonard Kirk, the roster consists of Mystique, Dark Beast, Weapon Omega and Mimic.
Mystique is a shapeshifter, who was played in the movies by Rebecca Romijn; Weapon Omega can absorb the energy, personalities and abilities of other mutants, and can fly and fire blasts of energy; Mimic is permanently able to duplicate the powers of the five original X-Men; and Dark Beast is an evil, alternative reality version of the furry, animalistic Beast (who was played in the third X-Men film by Kelsey Grammer).
Dark X-Men first appeared in the recent Dark Reign »
- David Bentley
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