Daniel Craig and the Skyfall crew wrapped up their final shoot in London before moving on to Turkey. MI6 captured the action of the scene in which 007 emerges from the London Underground chasing the chief villain played by Javier Bardem. Hundreds of extras and vehicles were part of the scene. The Oscar-winning actor’s character has not been revealed.
Fans packed Seattle’s University Village for a chance to meet the stars of The Hunger Games who will play Katniss, Peeta and Gale. Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth made young fans erupt into a frenzy like tributes arriving in the Capitol. This was the finale of a mall tour to promote the upcoming adaptation of the first book in the trilogy by Suzanne Collins.
The first 100 fans won the golden ticket. Some families had been waiting more than 24 hours for this opportunity. These most devoted fans came to be face to face with the stars of the book they love and went home with an autographed poster in an exclusive session inside the Microsoft Store. Some girls were overcome and walked away trembling and sobbing uncontrollably into the arms of their smiling parents.
You could feel the anticipation and excitement as hundreds waited outside for the live Q & A session to begin. Sudden waves of screams and panic erupted with the possibility that the stars could arrive at any moment. When the actors did exit the Microsoft Store and move onto the stage the adoring fans absolutely lost control. Screams were deafening. Declarations of love for Josh or Liam pierced through the madness.
Local girls asked Josh to be their prom date. Jennifer was asked the preference of which co-star is hotter. We learned Jennifer did her own shooting movie. The actress learned archery to display the skills of Katniss in the arena.
In an earlier interview session I asked the leads did they imagine the insanity of the tour, the passion of the fans and rock star treatment they’re being showered with now. Josh Hutcherson reacted to the screaming and sighing but “just wants to make a great movie and hope they like it.”
The majority of elated fans were on Team Gale or Team Peeta. I asked Jennifer Lawrence about the relationship between Katniss and Cinna, the stylist who becomes her mentor. While filming X-Men: First Class Lawrence (who played Raven/Mystique) became friends with co-star Zoe Kravitz (who played Angel) and developed a friendship with her dad, rock star Lenny Kravitz. She says that helped their on-screen rapport.
Woody Harrelson plays Haymitch Abernathy. The Hunger Games champion of District 12 must train Katniss and Peeta. I asked the young cast about the charismatic actor and his performance. Liam Hemsworth shared that Haymitch was his favorite character.
The screams and shouts of love echoed even as the stars waved goodbye. The young leads thrilled the audience and made teen dreams come true. The Hunger Games opens March 23rd.
Marvel Comics unveiled their newest innovation at South By Southwest this weekend. Infinite Comics will be the new format taking Marvel into the digital world.
“Infinite Comics are a new technique in comics storytelling that is built specifically for the digital world yet in a very elegant way manages to keep the purity of what makes a comic a ‘comic,’” said Joe Quesada, Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Entertainment. “It gives readers the same feel of reading a traditional comic while also offering a whole new experience that really feels like the future of where the medium is headed.”
The first Infinite Comics will tie to the Marvel’s mega AvX event. Avengers Vs X-Men Infinite will star Nova. Mark Waid and Stuart Immonen and Marte Gracia are the creative team. It will be available for purchase on the Marvel Comics app free with the redemption code found in print copies of Avengers Vs X-Men #1 or included with the purchase of the digital version. It will also be available to purchase on its own for 99 cents.
“The events are concurrent to Avengers Vs X-Men #1,” Waid says of the story. “It shows a certain key sequence of events uniquely from Nova’s point of view, and much of what we learn will be important in later AvX developments.”
“While AvX is a huge story, we only have so much room by which to tell it,” adds Quesada. “Infinite Comics will be bringing you some stories that may have fallen through the cracks or haven’t been dealt with in great detail.”
Earlier this year in the Point One Special a new Nova appeared with the Phoenix Force in pursuit.
For more of their interviews here’s the Marvel.com link.
Emerald City Comicon is only 3 weeks away! As we count down to the big event in Seattle I want to share some of my favorite ECCC memories. Before they face the Avengers in AvX some of the X-Men gave us mutant magic in the Emerald City. I met a squad of X-Men (Cyke, Emma, Jean, Logan and Remy) and then a dazzling duo (Storm & Pixie, she was so happy I knew she was Pixie!) I salute you amazing X fans and hope you enjoy this year’s con!
While promoting The Cabin in the Woods and checking on Alan Silvestri’s score for The Avengers, Joss Whedon talked with Empire magazine. Sharp eyed fans noticed Tony Stark’s armor on the Empire cover is different from his solo films. The director confirmed Tony will have more than one suit in the film.
“Marvel said, ‘We like to see the suits evolve,'” he says, “and I said, “Great! Then you’re going back to the circle because the triangle is ass’. I’m a classicist. The circle has meaning, the triangle does not.”
Check out the clever clip here.
Marvel’s The Avengers is out on May 4th. The Cabin In The Woods starring Chris Hemsworth (Thor) scares up audiences on April 13.
Emerald City Comicon announced that Lea Thompson (Back to the Future I, II, III, Red Dawn, Some Kind of Wonderful, Jaw 3D, Howard the Duck) will be attending this year’s event in Seattle. Thompson has a place in our hearts at Lorraine McFly in the Back to the Future trilogy and recently appeared in J. Edgar.
Christopher Lloyd will not be able to attend due to a filming commitment.
A new tangle in the web of mystery surrounding Marvel’s Spider-Men teaser from last month. Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli have been announced as the creative team for a new Spider-Men series launching in June. Bendis & Pichelli are the team that launched the Ultimate Comics Spider-Man starring Miles Morales. Thanks to Comics Newsarama.
Miles Morales seems a definite for this series but who will join him? Peter Parker, Ben Reilly aka the Scarlet Spider, the Ultimate Peter Parker back from the dead or maybe a brand new Spider-Man?
Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, The Full Monty, 127 Hours) is writing the sequel to The Hunger Games. Beaufoy is fine tuning the script for Catching Fire. He tells 24 frames he’s charmed by the trilogy’s author, Suzanne Collins, and her knowledge for warfare.
“She’s fascinating,” said Beaufoy. “Her dad was a military expert, historian and lecturer and used to be in the forces. It’s fascinating hearing her talk about the thesis for the three novels: The first is about survival, the second is rebellion and the third is about all-out war. She’s very compelling about all of that.”
I agree with his point that gender doesn’t matter in the series which centers on a heroine (played by Jennifer Lawrence of X-Men: First Class.)
“What I really love about the books is it isn’t even up for discussion that she’s a girl,” Beaufoy said. “There’s no discussion that she shouldn’t be killing people because she’s a girl, and she shouldn’t be killed because she’s a girl. We’ve done gender politics. This is about life and death. It makes the gender politics seem finicky and not terribly interesting.”
For the entire interview click here.
The Hunger Games cast tour concludes in Seattle this weekend. I will be there.