Brett Ratner Rumored For Justice League

Brett Ratner isn't the first name we've heard, and he certainly won't be the last, but The Superman Super Site is reporting the director is in the mix to helm The Justice League.

"The studio is very pleased with the work that Brett [Ratner] has done as a producer and director on past projects, they are now very interested in seeing what he can do with helping finally bring this group of iconic superheroes to the big screen!"

I think I just heard a collective scream from fanboys in their basements all across the country. For some reason the more overzealous fans blame Brett Ratner for X-Men: The Last Stand. The guy merely was the captain of the ship, he didn't build it guys.

The movie made about $235 million domestic and was a solid for a summer popcorn flick. Was it X-Men or X2? No it wasn't in my humble opinion, but let's not forget the same fans cursed out the director of those beloved flicks when he introduced a Superman who didn't throw punches.

Fans. Can't direct with them, can't direct without them.

If this rumor is true and Ratner is indeed in the mix to lense Justice League, we have bigger things to worry about. To me it means us keyboard crushers are a little slow on the draw. How can WB go from Ben Affleck to Brett Ratner just like that?

To me it is an indication that Affleck was offered a first look and passed several weeks ago followed by other 1st Tier directors. Some of the same candidates up for Man Of Steel maybe? Now we are on the 2nd Tier. TMT has heard some other names in addition to Ratner and The Wachowskis. Still damn solid directors, but we're not talking the next Christopher Nolan here.

Warner Bros certainly likes to stick with talent they have gone to battle with before. You wonder if directors like Brad Peyton (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island), Guy Ritchie (Sherlock Holmes), or the previously reported David Yates (Name A Harry Potter Movie), could be in the mix as well.

New Cinematic Batman to Debut in 'Justice League'?

If this turns out to be true, then it's sad Warner Bros. didn't learn a thing or two from Christopher Nolan; going the Marvel route instead.

Batman-On-Film is reporting - and when news comes from there, you listen - that apparently the new cinematic Batman, post-Christian Bale, will debut in 2015's Justice League, following next year's Man of Steel.  From that point on, it lays the groundwork for all solo Batman films to exist in the JL universe.

As Bill "Jett" Ramey states in his report (and I full well agree with his opinion), this can do nothing but diminish the creative control and artistic freedom a new director would want to bring to the character for solo films.  He would have to stay within the confines and constraints of a 'universe', per what Marvel Studios does.

Which brings me to the issue I have with WB wanting to emulate Marvel.

While Marvel might be basking in their Avengers success and their Phase 2 plan or whatever it may be for the rest of their superheroes, many years from now, their films will be dismissed as nothing more than entertaining, popcorn fluff.  Christopher Nolan's 'Dark Knight Trilogy' on the other hand, will gain recognition and accolades for years to come; maybe one day popping up on AFI's Greatest Films List.

This is why WB is wrong.  If they want to make entertaining, crowd pleasing superhero universe films, good for them.  But it's short-sighted.  Speaking in terms of establishing a long-term legacy, give a passionate director the same artistic freedom you gave Chris Nolan, because his films are going to stand the test of time.

One last thought too.

If the plan is to have a JL film as a launching pad for DC universe superheroes, why is WB releasing a Chistopher Nolan produced Superman film next year?  Doesn't make much sense now does it.

Source: Batman-On-Film

New Trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master

"If you leave here, I don’t ever want to see you again. Or you can stay."

A new trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master is here. Once again, the parallels between Scientology and the so-far unnamed religion of Dodd (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) glaring and the footage on display hypnotic.

Weekend Box Office: August 24 - 26

Courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1.  The Expendables 2 - $13.4 million

2.  The Bourne Legacy - $9.3 million

3.  ParaNorman - $8.6 million

4.  The Campaign - $7.4 million

5.  The Dark Knight Rises - $7.2 million

6.  The Odd Life of Timothy Green - $7.1 million

7.  2016 Obama's America - $6.5 million

8.  Premium Rush - $6 million

9.  Hope Springs - $5.7 million

10.  Hit & Run - $4.5 million

Oh boy, you know summer movie season is definitely winding down when finishing in eighth place is the best a new release can do.  That's just where Premium Rush, the bicycle-messenger thriller starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt ended up this weekend with just $6 million...and again, that was the most successful of this weekend's new releases.  Hit & Run just barely made it into the top ten with just $4.5 million, and The Apparition, which earned a whopping 3% score on Rotten Tomatoes, completely missed the top ten, landing in 12th place with $2.8 million.

Yikes.  Anyway, The Expendables 2 easily held on to the top spot for a second weekend, dropping only 53% to earn $13.4 million.  It's not doing as well as the original film, but it's doing decently.  Pretty much the same can be said for The Bourne Legacy, which stayed in second place with $9.3 million.  That one also won't be catching up to any of its predecessors, at this point it will be lucky if it cracks $100 million domestically.

The biggest success story of the weekend was the documentary 2016 Obama's America, which went into wider release just in time for this week's Republican National Convention in Tampa.  The film earned $6.5 million in only 1091 theaters, putting it in Michael Moore/Al Gore territory as the sixth-highest political documentary of all time.

Meanwhile, another round of applause should go to The Dark Knight Rises, which made its way back into the Top 5 with $7.2 million (still having control of most of the IMAX screens certainly helps here) and bringing its domestic total to $422 million.  Worldwide, the Batman finale has earned $941 million and looks likely to cross the $1 billion mark worldwide.

Even with idiotic parents putting their children's sobbing reactions to the ending on YouTube (I won't link it, go look for it if you're curious), The Odd Life of Timothy Green managed to outdo this weekend's new releases with $7.1 million.  More families wisely opted instead for the animated ParaNorman, which took third place with $8.6 million. 

Next weekend really looks like the end of summer, with the gangster-movie-that-isn't-Gangster-Squad movie Lawless opening in theaters, another dumped-in-theaters horror film, The Possession, and whatever the hell the The Oogieloves are.  Apparently they're having a Big Balloon Adventure.

Enjoy the last week of the summer, everyone!

Of Course the Wachowskis are Up for Justice League!

The rumor-mill pegged Ben Affleck for Justice League. He denied it this weekend. That denial, and mild bitch-slap to us online guys, doesn't mean anything. Made too much sense for Warner Brothers to want one of their golden-boys shepherding Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman to the silver screen in the wake of The Avengers. Of course he was offered!

To hear the proverbial wishlist also includes the Wachowskis, per the good folks at Movie Hole, rings true. Studio wants to stay in business with the sibling directorial-duo judging by their distributing Cloud Atlas, as wonderful as it looks another expensive flop-in-the-making for Andy & Lana, and bankrolling Jupiter Rising.

The notion of "One for us, one for them" evidentially isn't a driving force behind their projects. One has to admire that. If not, then the Wachowskis wouldn't have passed on rebooting Superman (Long before Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder got their finger-prints on the red-and-blue suit) following the failure of Speed Racer.

'Side By Side' is a Must See

I've never written a proclamation for others to go see a movie, but in this case, it's needed.

For those unfamiliar, actor Keanu Reeves and director Christopher Kenneally (Henry's Crime) have made a documentary exploring the declining use of film in Hollywood today and the insistence on going digital, called Side By Side. 

The film - in which Keanu Reeves acts as both narrator and interviewer to many film heavyweights including James Cameron, Martin Scorsese, David Fincher, and Christopher Nolan - is an astonishing eye opener and educational piece for any film junkie out there who is interested in the movie-making process.

I rented the film last night On-Demand (it is also getting a limited theatrical run across the nation) and have watched in twice now with a third time coming tomorrow.  It is fascinating look at where the film-making age is going as well as where it's been, citing both the pros and cons of film vs. digital from a variety of perspectives.

I'm not going to get into details of what is explored (you can expereicne that for yourself) but after viewing the film, I must say I see why many still love film yet are extrememly excited by the dawn of digital filmmaking.  As one Hollywood legend puts it, "We have taken film as far as it's going to go...digital is only just beginning."

I've posted the film's (will that term become extinct considering film is on the way out?) trailer which you can view below.

Trust me when I say, this is worth the price of admission.

Passion Trailer

A new Brian De Palma film is always of interest at least until you've seen it, then it splits audiences down the middle more often than not.

The trailer is  here for his latest psychological thriller "Passion," which stars Rachel McAdams as a high powered business woman that appears to begin a sexual cat and mouse game with her protege played by Noomi Rapace, there is also a cool Kabuki style mask at play and some corporate intrigue as well.

Butter Trailer

Jennifer Garner is probably the most likable Hollywood actress there is, but she's not quite broken through as a a list actress and seems to have left her action roots behind.

With Butter she has taken on what looks like her most entertaining role in some time, playing the ambitious wife of a butter carving legend (Modern Family genius Ty Burrell) who is retiring after 15 years as “Iowa State Butter Carving Champion,”seeing her grasp on "fame" slipping she enters in his place to keep the Pickler name in the spotlight as she takes on a young adopted girl ( Yara Shahidi) and her husband's stripper mistress (Olivia Wilde), for the title.

The oddball comedy also stars Hugh Jackman and Alicia Silverstone and seems like it will be a mixture of quirky comedy and human drama. Butter will be available On Demand on September 7 before opening in cinemas on October 5th.

Stephen Gaghan to Direct 'Candy Store'

"They got Steve f*cking Gaghan?!?" - Ari Gold

If ever you watched Entourage, you know when that's from.  Anyway...

The Hollywood Reporter is, well, reporting Stephen Gaghan (Academy Award winning writer of Traffic) is in talks to direct Candy Store, a 'two-hander' crime thriller that he wrote himself.

That's not the best part though. 

Word is both Brad Pitt and Denzel Washington are in very, very early talks to star alongside each other in the film, set around a highly trained, deep cover operative who moves to Brooklyn in hopes of restarting his life, only to find the global organization he fought against is operating in his own backyard.

No word on who would play what role.

Gaghan last directed 2005's Syriana, which was also his directorial debut.  He recently did a script polish to next year's Will & Jaden Smith starrer, After Earth, being directed by M. Night Shyamalan.

More on this project as it becomes available.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Hi-Res "The Hobbit" Photo Of Thorin Oakenshield

The first film in the trilogy, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" opening December 14, follows title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers. Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain, first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever... Gollum. Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum's "precious" ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities... A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.