Max Brooks is a storytelling genius. I absolutely love World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. A United Nations worker chronicles the outbreak, spread of the zombie apocalypse and how survivors fought back. The film is said to be different from the book with a more narrative story.
Brad Pitt stars in movie based on the book. Here’s a the trailer for World War Z:
This trailer looks like it does not follow the book but as a zombie fanatic I’m thrilled to see a high-profile star like Brad Pitt wanting to work (he’s a producer too) with the genre and see that’s it more than just horror. Zombie fiction always reflects on humanity and sometimes the living are more dangerous than the undead.
James Badge Dale, Matthew Fox and Mireille Enos co-star in the Paramount film directed by Marc Forster (Quantum of Solace) Damon Lindelof (Lost, Prometheus) worked on the script. World War Z opens in June 2013.
Skyfall may be the best 007 movie ever. Sam Mendes has crafted a passionate homage to 50 years of Bond films while creating his own epic that propels the super spy into the future. This adventure is thrilling and emotionally gripping.
A list of deep cover agents is lost. M and MI6 are humiliated then attacked. Bond is left for dead. The spy resurrects himself when the mission gets personal.
Daniel Craig completely owns Bond now. His 007 is a cool, confident, clever killer with a ruthlessness in the field and in the bedroom. The creators let Craig take Bond into his past to see what made him the perfect recruit for MI6 and explore a part of Ian Fleming’s creation we’ve never seen on-screen.
Let’s just crown Javier Bardem as the new ultimate Bond villain! Silva brushes aside Auric Goldfinger, Doctor No and Rosa Klebb. The cyberterrorist has an M obsession and a fatal attraction to Bond. You can see shades of Red Grant, Hannibal Lecter, Anton Chigurh and the Joker madly swirling into Bardem’s performance. Just when you think you know Silva’s next move he violently switches stalking like a predator towards his endgame.
Let’s move on to the Bond girls.
Judi Dench is the silvery queen of steel as Bond’s boss. The villain’s plot is not grounded in destroying the world or money. It’s personal. M is under fire from an obsessed terrorist, an arrogant superior (superbly played by Ralph Fiennes) and an onslaught of bureaucrats who want her to hang. Dench is perfection whether giving orders to leave an agent for dead, staring down government investigators or dodging bullets from the unhinged villain.
courtesy 007.com
Naomie Harris and Daniel Craig share some of the best on-screen chemistry since Sean Connery and Honor Blackman in Goldfinger. Eve is a gorgeous, resourceful field agent who is not just 007’s eye candy. She is crucial to his survival and future.
When 007’s adventure takes him to Shanghai and exotic Macao he encounters the exquisite Berenice Marlohe as Severine. The stunning French actress portrays the mysterious bad girl perfectly. Bond peels away the gorgeous layers of this haunted women tied to the villain.
Skyfall marks the welcome return of Q to the Bond series. This is not your father’s Quartermaster with an arsenal of impossible gadgets. Ben Whishaw portrays a young, snarky, brilliant computer genius with echoes of the Mark Zuckerberg seen in The Social Network and the biting wit of the classic Q (the late Desmond LLewelyn.)
James Bond jets from Istanbul to Shanghai to Macao to the London Underground to an island of the dead with thrilling chases, fights, seductions, and revelations. 007 changes the game and the action hits home when he lures the villain to the Scottish Highlands for a brutal version of The Most Dangerous Game. The climax is action and emotion packed with pitch perfect performances by Craig, Dench, Bardem and a scene stealing Albert Finney.
Let’s bow to Sam Mendes now. You can sense the director’s love and knowledge of the franchise. Mendes and writers John Logan, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade fill Skyfall with clever winks with classic lines, moments and icons of the series. You can enjoy the film as a 007 virgin but if you’re an obsessive like me you will absolutely delight in all the references to the Bond legacy. Mendes celebrates the past while creating a modern thriller that moves Bond into the future.
I can’t help but think but compare Daniel’s first and latest Bond films to Christopher Nolan’s Batman Trilogy. Casino Royale was Bond Begins. Mendes has given us James Bond Rises in Skyfall. But this is not the end. James Bond will return.
A huge congratulations to the cast and crew of Skyfall. Ian Fleming, Albert Broccoli, Bernard Lee, Desmond LLewelyn and Lois Maxwell are raising their martinis to you.
In 2013 Robert Downey Jr. will encounter a brilliant scientist named Maya Hansen and Extremis – nano-technology that falls into the wrong hands. If you can’t wait for Iron Man 3 then lock and load with this week’s Iron Man #1. Kieron Gillen and Greg Land reload Tony Stark for the Marvel Now with a brand new series.
A ghost from the past alerts the Armored Avenger to a deadly new threat to the future of the world. Tony infiltrates an auction packed with AIM operatives and high rollers to recover the Extemis technology. Gillen and Land treat us to Tony’s brand new suit of armor as Iron Man fights to get the truth only to learn the danger from Extremis has ecalated.
Iron Man #1 cover by Greg Land, courtesy Marvel
Iron Man is the first hero to debut his own solo series in the Marvel Now relaunch but this doesn’t feel dramatically different. Gillen knows how to deliver snappy dialogue. Gillen masterfully crafted sharp and severely funny dialogue for Emma Frost, Dr. Nemesis and Namor on his Uncanny X-Men run so he’s perfect to take on the snarky, arrogant genius (with a heroic heart) that is Tony Stark.
Iron Man is off to a solid start and I’m eager to see where Gillen takes Tony!
The Cast of X-Men: First Class courtesy Marvel.com
Why did X-Men: First Class director Matthew Vaughn decide not to direct the sequel? Mark Millar explains that the Kick-Ass director will take on a movie based on The Secret Service.
“We thought Matthew was going to do X-Men first, but we found out there were actually a few imitators of ‘Secret Service’ in the works. People think you’re lying when you say you’re not trying to get your comics made into movies so quickly, but the two reasons it happens like that is first because it’s the best ad for the comic you’ll ever have. And for me, selling the book is the most important thing. The second reason is because people are always trying to rip you off. Somebody will start to work on a spec screenplay about your idea. There are three other projects I know of now about a James Bond kind of guy taking a street kid and turning him into a spy. Three screenplays were already going through Hollywood about this! So Matthew and I said, ‘Fuck this. We’re not letting anyone steal our ideas,'” Millar tells Comic Book Resources.
Bryan Singer is the front-runner to direct X-Men: Days of Future Past. Kick-Ass and The Secret Service are Millar’s creator owned titles. Millar was recently hired by Fox as Creative Consultant for their Marvel properties (X-Men, Wolverine, Fantastic Four.)
The director of the final four Harry Potter films will swing from Hogwart’s to the jungle! David Yates will helm a new big-budget movie version of Tarzan for Warner Brothers according to Vulture.
The report says the director will meet with Henry Cavill (Man of Steel, Immortals) Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy, Pacific Rim) and Alexander Skarsgard (True Blood) about playing the Lord of the Jungle.
I’m rooting for Henry Cavill. The British actor is already playing Superman for the studio and he may reprise the role in a Justice League film so scheduling might be a problem.
I have loved this creation of Edgar Rice Burroughs in all form – from Ron Ely on television to the Saturday morning cartoon to Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes which starred Christopher Lambert.
Tarzan has starred in comic book series for Marvel, DC and Malibu comics.
James Bond journeys to Scotland in Skyfall. Bond’s father was Scottish. Sean Connery is Scottish. You see where I’m going?
A Sean Connery appearance in the latest 007 film for Bond’s 50th Annivesary?
Director Sam Mendes tells Huffington Post that there was a possibility of a Connery cameo.
“There was a definite discussion about that — way, way early on. But I think that’s problematic. Because, to me, it becomes too … it would take you out of the movie. Connery is Bond and he’s not going to come back as another character. It’s like, he’s been there. So, it was a very brief flirtation with that thought, but it was never going to happen, because I thought it would distract.”
Did Mendes and the producers make the right call?
A Bond fan confession: My first 007 film was Moonraker. I grew up on Roger Moore and one night while waiting for the ABC Sunday Night Movie with my dad – up comes the pre-credit sequence then title sequence for From Russia, With Love. I turned to my dad and asked “Who is Sean Connery?”
From Russia, With Love is now my all-time favorite 007 film. I love all the Bonds for what they are and what meant then and now.
I hope the franchise continues for decades and a kid may one day turn and ask “Who is Daniel Craig?”
Iron Man #1 is out this week with a new creative team and a new suit of armor for Tony Stark! Kieron Gillen and Greg Land (Uncanny X-Men) relaunche the Armored Avenger as part of the Marvel Now relaunch. Gillen told Marvel.com why he left the mutants of Utopia and Asgard (Journey Into Mystery) for the world of playboy genius Tony Stark.
“It just seemed like an interesting way to mix things up a bit. It wasn’t just the fact that [Tony Stark is] such a tech hero, because beneath some of the stuff I’m doing in Uncanny X-Men there is a modicum of science even though I often fire it through quite a few filters. This is actually the first solo hero I’ve ever written. The Thor run really doesn’t count because it was a bit strange; every book I’ve written has been a sort of team book. Loki, abstractly, is the lead [of JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY] but in practice he isn’t and, on a larger scale, has gone 23 issues and hasn’t hit anybody. That’s not a traditional Marvel super hero. This is different, this is the iconic Avenger.”
When I started writing Wolverine in Uncanny X-Men, I called my mom once and told her what I do for a living and she said “Ohh, I fancy that Wolverine.” When you’re writing characters that members of your family fancy you’re in an interesting place and, in the case of Iron Man, that’s totally it.
When Marvel NOW! came around, I had reached a suitable place in Uncanny X-Men to move off of, and there were a variety of options with Iron Man [which sounded] really interesting. Of the major Marvel characters he’s the one most aligned to me philosophically, as in he’s a very straightforward person, and in terms of the heroes, there are none more forward than Tony; that’s what attracted me to [him].”
Gillen revealed his plans Stark involve the women of Tony’s complicated life.
“Oh hell yeah. It’s actually a key part of my second theme. I’m going to explore Tony and his relationship with women. I’m interested in Tony’s selection of women in everything, from his mom, to Pepper, to the random people he’s sleeping with and everything that relates to them. He’s a complicated guy and he does bad things occasionally without thinking. Well, not [without] thinking exactly but he’s not always thinking about the right thing. He’s not the distracted genius but he always has something else going on.
Matt Fraction did a brilliant take on the corporate figure and his run is a defining arc, so I’m staying away from it. Tony is still a scientist and will still be working on the armor but it’s all about him going out into the world and the whole grail-knight comparison. All the traditional corporate motifs are there but they’re not the primary drive of the book. Tony will be in the armor a lot, he’ll be going out into the world.
Iron Man #2 courtesy Marvel
The first five issues will be single stories that will share [both] a defining motif and a plot but it will be Iron Man facing new instances of technology and each is basically a new villain. Each issue will illuminate something about Tony and they’re all very different. Issue two is a lot like the Bruce Lee Kung-Fu Island story; it’s like a joust, it’s all about the knight imagery, essentially going to a tournament. Issue three is like a ninja story, Tony Stark trying to be a full-on stealth master, issue four is a horror story and issue five is something a little more romantic and scientific but I’m going to keep that one under wraps.
I really want to mix it up with single issue stories because I think that quite a few people are feeling the same way.Single issues are an exciting place to go and anyone can jump on with any of the first five issues, not just issue #1. [In] each of those issues I introduce Iron Man; I say something meaningful about a character that you may know already and I want it to be accessible and to pop. That’s the thing with Greg Land: his photorealistic style really pops and it’s a glamorous book in that way.”
Iron Man will go on a quest for one of his greatest creations. The techno virus Extremis is loose and Tony must prevent it from falling into the hands of terrorists. Iron Man Extremis by Warren Ellis and Adi Granov will be a story element in Iron Man 3.
Iron Man #1 by Gillen and Land launches this week followed by #2 later this month.
For the entire interview here’s the Marvel.com link.
