Category: Movies

Updated: John Carter Cast Set for Sequels

Poster for Disney's John Carter

(Update: Following up on the post below)

  Taylor Kitsch told /Film he won’t do John Carter 2 unless Director Andrew Stanton is involved. He told them what he would look forward to if a sequel happened:

 “It’s such an origin story for JC, this one, and you’re always trying to ground yourself, in the first weeks of any film, of the tone, the character, of all that stuff. But now we have it. This sequel, we’re landing and we’re going full tilt. So that’s what I’m excited to do. You guys will know where John is so there’s no explaining the back story anymore. And I know where Stanton’s going with it and it’s pretty great.”

 

Taylor Kitsch and Lynn Collins in Disney's John Carter

(Previous Post)

I’m eagerly awaiting Disney’s John Carter next month. Willem Dafoe plays the Martian warrior Tars Tarkas and tells The Playlist he and other actors are signed on for sequels.

 “If it succeeds, there are potentially two or three of them and I know Andrew’s signed on, Taylor [Kitsch]’s signed on, Lynn [Collins’] signed on. So if it happens, I know it’s the same people and there’s only the hope that we can go deeper.”

  For those new to the story Edgar Rice Burroughs (Tarzan) created a fantastic series of books featuring an Earth man transported to Mars. No little green men here. The various warrior tribes of the red planet call it Barsoom. Tars Tarkas a leader of the Tharks, big green warrior men.

  Disney’s John Carter marks a union of two Marvel movie universes. Taylor Kitsch was Gambit and Lynn Collins was Silverfox in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Dafoe was Norman Osborn/Green Goblin in Spider Man. Thanks for Comic Book Resources.

 

The Hunger Games Cast Tour in Seattle

  The stars of The Hunger Games are going on a national tour to meet fans the media March 3rd-10th. I’m happy to share with my fellow Northwestern fans that the tour is coming to Seattle and we get the chance to meet the leads playing Katniss, Gale and Peeta!

  Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson will appear March 10th at the University Village Microsoft Store. May the odds be ever in your favor so you can meet the stars.

 The Hunger Games opens March 23rd.

Edgar Wright & Johnny Depp on The Night Stalker

 

Darren McGavin as Kolchak: The Night Stalker

 

  I stayed up way past my bedtime and was scared out of my little kid mind by The Night Stalker. Darren McGavin played tabloid reporter Carl Kolchak in the 1970’s ABC series. Director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead) will direct Johnny Depp in a big screen version for Disney according to Deadline.

 

  The reporter covered the crime beat for a tabloid and encountered werewolves, vampires, aliens and zombies. An episode with a monster that sucked the salt of its victims was the one that really freaked me out. 

  Kolchak appeared in two made for tv movies and then the series only last one year but what an impact. The series is often credited as the inspiration for The X-Files. In fact McGavin played the founder of the X-Files in a few episodes. ABC attempted a reboot of the series in 2006.

 

  This Geek’s Opinion: Johnny Depp is a perfect actor to inherit the role made famous by the great Darren McGavin. Wright’s track record of horror and humor makes him perfect for the occult cases of Kolchak! After looking at the old show opening I almost hope they set the new movie in the 70’s.

 

 

 

 

Skyfall Director on Daniel Craig’s James Bond

Daniel Craig in Skyfall courtesy MI6-HQ.COM

  The official 007 site posted a video blog from Skyfall Director Sam Mendes. The Director revealed his longtime love of the James Bond series and how Daniel Craig in Casino Royale saying “it reminded me of the way I felt when I watch Sean Connery movies.”

Taylor Kitsch as Daredevil?

Taylor Kitsch as John Carter photo by Frank Connor courtesy Disney Enterprises

  Will Taylor Kitsch trade in his John Carter loincloth for red leather and horns? Kitsch is reportedly being considered for Director David Slade’s reboot of Daredevil according to Movie Hole. The story is part of their hilarious feature on actors who nearly won super hero roles.

 Kitsch said he would like to play X-Man Gambit again but said it’s unlikely that would happen. The story says Xavier Samuel is under consideration too. Slade directed Samuel as the vampire Riley in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.

Thanks to Comic Book Resources.

  When I think of David Slade’s film (Hard Candy, 30 Days of Night) I envision a dark and gritty Daredevil movie based on Frank Miller’s Born Again.

 

Daredevil #10.1 courtesy Marvel.com

  If this report is true the studio seems to be going for a young Matt Murdock reboot like Sony did with Amazing Spider-Man. The tone may be different too. Mark Waid’s new take on Daredevil has been a critical and fan hit. I really love the artwork on the new title – especially this cover.

  Marvel and Chris Evans (Fantastic Four’s Johnny Storm, Captain America)proved you have movie magic twice with the same actor.

While this Daredevil story is just speculation – what do you think of the idea of Taylor Kitsch as Daredevil?

Amazing Spider-Man Gets Gritty

Spider-Man courtesy theamazingspiderman.com

  Amazing Spider-Man is a darker take on the web slinger but just how dark? Andrew Garfield who plays Peter Parker compared the reboot to The Dark Knight in a new Empire magazine interview.

  “We haven’t gone for gritty, we’ve gone for grounded,” Garfield told Empire. “If we try and make Batman, we’ll fail. The new Batman is it’s own thing – and also in terms of tone, Spider-Man is nothing like that character. Spider-Man is witty, Spider-Man is a kid, Spider-Man wants to have fun, he’s a teenager and he needs to go through first love and piss around.”

Thanks to Spinoff Online and Comic Book Movie for posting the Empire story.

Michael Fassbender joins Ridley Scott’s New Film – Updated

Michael Fassbender in Prometheus courtesy 20th Century Fox

  Michael Fassbender has officially joined Ridley Scott’s next film The Counselor. The Cormac McCarthy penned thriller is being called “No Country for Old Men on steroids.”

  Scott went for Fassbender as his lead after working with him on Prometheus. The actor will play an attorney who gets involved in a drug operation. Thanks to Deadline for breaking and now confirming the story.

  This marks 3 scheduled projects with previous directors for the in demand star. Fassbender will work with his Shame director Steve McQueen on 12 Years A Slave and director Matthew Vaughn on a X-Men: First Class sequel that will reportedly focus on Magneto.

Update:

Jeremy Renner, Bradley Cooper and Brad Pitt have been mentioned as potential actors to play the film’s villain. Thanks to Deadline and Dark Horizons.

All of those actors would be perfect but there’s something about the physicality of Renner that is most exciting – or maybe it’s the geek in me picturing the guys who played Magento and Hawkeye in the same cool movie?

Robert Downey Jr as Lex Luthor?

Iron Man from Marvel.com

  Some things are just cosmic. What if Robert Downey Jr never played Tony Stark/Iron Man because he was already committed to playing Lex Luthor?

  Director McG revealed to The Playlist his vision for the Superman reboot that never was. Superman: Flyby was scripted by a younger J.J. Abrams.

“We had Robert Downey Jr. locked up to be Lex Luthor,” he says, “which I think would have been extraordinary. Ironically, we liked Henry Cavill a lot, but we hadn’t cast him yet. J.J. wrote the script, and we got that to a really good place in the end. But I’m to blame [for the film not happening].”

 Scarlett Johansson and Selma Blair were reportedly in talks for Lois Lane. Johansson went on to play Black Widow in Iron Man and The Avengers.

 Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns starring Brandon Routh and Kevin Spacey became the next reboot instead. Singer didn’t direct X-Men 3 for that film.

  Downey Jr went on to play another rich genius in Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Marvel’s The Avengers and Iron Man 3.

  Zach Snyder’s The Man of Steel starring Henry Cavill -minus Lex Luthor – opens July 2013.

  Did things work out for the best? Or do you wish McG’s Superman with Robert Downey Jr. as Luthor had flown? And it’s impossible to imagine but who could have played Tony Stark?

  Thanks to Total Film for the story.