Excelsior! Stan Lee Blows His Amazing Spider-Man Cameo

As old as time itself comes the tradition that Stan Lee must cameo in every Marvel production. A rule that apparently the filmmakers of X-Men: First Class didn't honor. Those bastards...

But Stan the Man remains undeterred and at the Dallas Comic-Con this weekend (as found by Superhero Hype) blew his bit part in The Amazing Spider-Man:

Personally, I'm looking forward to when Marvel and Disney reach the bottom of the barrel and do a Marvel Zombies movie. Mr. Lee can play a random human whose brains get eaten by Chris Hemsworth and Robert Downey Jr. Excelsior!

Christopher Nolan Fills His 80s-Era Actors Quota for The Dark Knight Rises

First it was Rutger Hauer in Batman Begins. Then we got the one-two punch of Anthony Michael Hall and Eric Roberts in The Dark Knight. So since Christopher Nolan is wrapping up his Batman trilogy with The Dark Knight Rises, we were bound to hear of other 80s-era actor(s) being added to the cast.

Variety says Matthew Modine (Full Metal Jacket and Vision Quest, bitches!) along with Tom Conti (Scottish actor who got a "Best Actor" Oscar nomination back in 1984 for Reuben, Reuben) have joined the threequel. In addition, 11 year old actress Joey King (Ramona and Beezus) has also been added to the growing roster.

Just don't ask us who they're playing. Of course, Nolan & Co. aren't telling.

As we all know (because Warner Brothers and Legendary Pictures told us - via press release) production on The Dark Knight Rises finally started up recently after three years' worth of news, rumors and 100% Grade-A Internet bullshit. We also happen to get that first look at Tom Hardy as Bane this morning.

Busy times ahead for Batman fans...

Tom Cruise Commits to Joseph Kosinski's Oblivion

Months after the Mouse dropped it like a bad habit, Oblivion, Joseph Kosinski's Tron: Legacy follow-up based on his illustrated novel has locked in both a new home at Universal and its leading man in Tom Cruise according to "TOLDJA."

Here's the plot synopsis, in case you're curious:

"Book is set in a future where the Earth's surface has been irradiated beyond recognition and the remnants of humanity live above the clouds, safe from the brutal alien Scavengers that stalk the ruins. But when surface drone repairman Jak discovers a mysterious woman in a crash-landed pod, it sets off an unstoppable chain of events that will force him to question everything he knows."

I'm sure we'll continue seeing all those "Can Tom Cruise still carry a big expensive movie?" headlines. Mission: Impossible III under-performs and that question was rightfully brought up. Tropic Thunder and Valkyrie both do well and it goes away, only for it to resurface after Knight & Day did "Meh" business stateside.

Filming is slated to begin this Fall after Cruise wraps Rock of Ages.

Both Disney & WB Want Darren Aronofsky For Tentpoles

Darren Aronofsky is sitting in a nice, fat and happy position post-Black Swan. At this point, one could easily imagine his having little-to-no problem securing financing for his next endeavor if he so opts to go the independent route.

But while that remains to be seen, that hasn't stopped studios in town from knocking at his door reports Badass Digest. Word is both Disney and Warner Brothers are in heat to get their hands on Aronofsky.

Over at the Brothers Warner, they want him for the Dan Lin-produced Moses movie. Meanwhile the House of the Mouse is aiming for him to helm the Angelina Jolie-starring Maleficent. You may remember Tim Burton was onboard for that Sleeping Beauty "re-imagining" until his recent departure. He was reportedly too busy making more shitty movies with Johnny Depp.

Personally if Aronofsky really wants to wet his whistle with a big-budget studio-backed picture, I'd prefer it be neither of these. Then again, I'm just happy (as a film nerd) the dude's getting to continue to do his thang.

First Look at Tom Hardy's Bane from The Dark Knight Rises!

I'm a simplest. Thus viral marketing and the like make my little head swell up.

But this morning has, so far, followed a frenzy of information for The Dark Knight Rises (just a day after Warner Brothers/Legendary Pictures officially announced the beginning of production) with the official site launching with some kind of audible chanting being heard, followed by Super Hero Hype uncovering this whole #thefirerises affair. Long story short, the more people like yours truly says #thefirerises on Twitter, the more clear a picture appears here.

Some have already cut right to the chase and uncovered this image - our first look at Tom Hardy as Bane and the first official glimpse from the third, and final, installment of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. That's...some look he's got going there, huh?

Because Noone Asked For It: Another Carrie Remake

Brian De Palma and Lawrence Cohen took Carrie (Stephen King's first novel, which as much as I've tried and as big a fan I am of his work, is not a good read) and made a great movie back in 1976.

Twelve years later, some schmucks thought the same material would work as a Broadway musical and its failure became the stuff of legend. In the late 90s in the midst of the post-Scream horror craze, some other schmucks took an unrelated script, slapped Carrie 2 on the title and even paid Amy Irving a couple of bucks (because her alimony from Steven Spielberg clearly wasn't enough?) to reprise her role from De Palma's film. Then even more schmucks at NBC (Not surprising in retrospect given that network in the last few years) did their own version where she actually lives at the end.

But in this day and age of reboots, remakes, re-whatevers, with brand-name properties, yet another set of schmucks (MGM and Screen Gems) think they can out-do the '76 film with their own version and have commissioned Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (whose work ranges from comics to Big Love to that seemingly-doomed Spider-Man Broadway play) to write, says "TOLDJA."

I fully expect more crap given the history of Carrie that we've just gone over, kids. Needless to say, the buck stops at the De Palma film.

Scientific Officials Have Confirmed Vin Diesel Is A Robot

Vin Diesel can't spend all his time doing just The Fast & the Furious movies. Although he'd keep raking in the dough and people would actually go see those.

No, that'd be the smart thing to do. Instead he's trying to expand himself and according to "TOLDJA," looking for another franchise to start-up, then refuse to do the second installment over money and ego in favor of another damn Riddick movie and then come crawling back ten years later after a series of flops.

In what will be their first production since their return from near-oblivion, MGM and Diesel are teaming up for the sci-fi action/comedy The Machine. The one they call Vin will play a "human-like machine" that gets its plug pulled by the U.S. government (Knowing them, it probably didn't work to begin with!), buried and then discovered and reactivated by a little kid twenty years later. So of course, the li'l tyke and the Vin Diesel-like robot bond and they protects him and his family when the G-men come back looking for him.

You know if Diesel is that Hell-bent on turning into Arnold Schwarzenegger, he should do a comedy where he gets pregnant thanks to the wonders of modern-science (and Danny De Vito!) Or perhaps Vin Diesel: Let's Get Silly? I would also assume his proposed involvement in Terminator 5 (via Movie Hole) didn't pan out?

WB Would Like You to Know Dark Knight Rises Started Filming

Speculation was pretty crazy after Batman Begins opened back in June 2005 and everyone (us nerds and general public alike) couldn't wait to see what director Christopher Nolan had to store for what-ultimately-became The Dark Knight (then Batman II).

But after the Batman Begins sequel hit theaters and broke shit-loads of box-office records and won even more critical acclaim than its predecessor, anticipation for the next installment hit full-retard. Every rumor (ranging from the plausible, what little of those we heard, to the inane and utterly stupid, like "Eddie Murphy as the Riddler!") was deemed news-worthy, wasting much of our time and energy, let's be honest here.

Well gather the kids around the family computer because Warner Brothers and Legendary Pictures would like to make it officially official. The Dark Knight Rises, the third and final entry in the Nolan-helmed Batman trilogy, started filming. Granted we already knew that considering those snap-shots taken from both India and London recently.

But I digress. Here's the press release:

"BURBANK, CA, May 19, 2011 – Principal photography has begun on Warner Bros. Pictures' and Legendary Pictures' 'The Dark Knight Rises,' the epic conclusion to filmmaker Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy.

Leading an all-star international cast, Oscar® winner Christian Bale ('The Fighter') again plays the dual role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. The film also stars Anne Hathaway, as Selina Kyle; Tom Hardy, as Bane; Oscar® winner Marion Cotillard ('La Vie en Rose'), as Miranda Tate; and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as John Blake. Returning to the main cast, Oscar® winner Michael Caine ('The Cider House Rules') plays Alfred; Gary Oldman is Commissioner Gordon; and Oscar® winner Morgan Freeman ('Million Dollar Baby') reprises the role of Lucius Fox.

In helming 'The Dark Knight Rises,' Christopher Nolan is utilizing IMAX® cameras even more extensively than he did on 'The Dark Knight,' which had marked the first time ever that a major feature film was partially shot with IMAX® cameras. The results were so spectacular that the director wanted to expand the use of the large-format cameras for this film.

The screenplay for 'The Dark Knight Rises' is written by Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer. The film is being produced by Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Charles Roven, who previously teamed on 'Batman Begins' and the record-breaking blockbuster 'The Dark Knight.' The executive producers are Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Kevin De La Noy and Thomas Tull, with Jordan Goldberg serving as co-producer. 'The Dark Knight' is based upon characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by Bob Kane.

Behind the scenes, 'The Dark Knight Rises' reunites the director with several of his longtime collaborators, all of whom worked together on the 'The Dark Knight.' The creative team includes director of photography Wally Pfister, who recently won an Oscar® for his work on Nolan's 'Inception'; production designer Nathan Crowley; editor Lee Smith; and Oscar®-winning costume designer Lindy Hemming ('Topsy-Turvy'). In addition, Paul Franklin and Chris Corbould, who both won Oscars® for the effects in 'Inception,' will supervise the visual and special effects, respectively. The music will be composed by Oscar® winner Hans Zimmer ('The Lion King').

The locations for 'The Dark Knight Rises' span three continents and include the American cities of Pittsburgh, New York and Los Angeles, as well as sites in India, England and Scotland.

'The Dark Knight Rises' is a presentation of Warner Bros. Pictures, in association with Legendary Pictures. Slated for release on July 20, 2012, the film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company."

I can't ridicule others because I'll probably go crazy when filming starts on The Man of Steel (incidentially being produced by Nolan) and Steven Spielberg's Lincoln. But indeed I too am looking forward to see how Nolan plans to wrap everything up next July. It would probably be wise to go ahead and buy an advance ticket.

First Look at Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games

She got much deserved raves for her turn in Winter's Bone, including an Oscar nomination and she'll be seen next month as Mystique in X-Men: First Class. But I'll be surprised if the X-Men prequel doesn't end up as the lowest grossing entry in that franchise. Don't see her gaining (or losing) points for that one, and she appears to have walked off The Beaver unscathed.

For most movie-goers, their eyes are on Jennifer Lawrence to see how she'll do as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games.

The greatly-anticipated film adaptation of the popular Suzanne Collins novel won't hit cinemas until next March (You can bet your ass that will be one of the big hits of 2012) but Entertainment Weekly has a first-look at Lawrence in character.

Having no immediate knowledge of the book(s), I don't have much of an opinion truth be told. I like the director/screenwriter pairing of Gary Ross and Billy Ray behind Hunger Games and Lawrence is a promising actress to watch as shown by the afore-mentioned Winter's Bone.

Actually, a friend of mine is quite the fan of the book trilogy. So I'll have to bum the books off her before the film opens.

Mel Gibson In Talks for Heist Comedy Sleight of Hand

There was a poll on TMZ asking if people had forgiven Mel Gibson. The results were overwhelmingly "Yes" which surprised some including big-cheese Harvey Levin. Here's the inside dish behind the "shocking" reason. Folks see the hypocrisy when crying foul on Gibson (who is a jackass for all the crap he's pulled), but Hollywood's willingness to look past others who did far worse. Cut to obligatory Roman Polanski and Woody Allen references!

While Jodie Foster's The Beaver came and went (That was a tough sell from the start), there will be those non-idiots in charge who will give Gibson a chance. Because those cats realize that the man can still make them a lot of money.

Case in point, Variety reports talks are underway for Gibson to join the Brad Mirman-directed heist comedy Sleight of Hand. The likes of Kiefer Sutherland, Thomas Jane and Jon Lovitz are already committed.

Might not be what he immediately set his sights for, but it's something for Gibson. Personally, I think the guy needs to get his ass back behind the camera.