Charlize Theron: Goodbye, J. Edgar & Hello, Alien Prequel?

Not trying to turn this into another "Who's really a movie star?" argument/discussion/rant. But how does 20^th Century qualify Charlize Theron as one? Is it because of her Oscar? I'm failing to see their logic behind wanting her on their 3D Alien prequel especially when citing the need of a star.

Says Vulture, the studio is in overdrive for a "name" actress to headline and Ridley Scott is content with filling his new truckers in space with character-actors (many us nerds know, but the masses don't) like Noomi Rapace, Michelle Yeoh and Michael Fassbender. But since it's Tom Rothman & Co. writing the checks, and unless Scott's deal includes final casting, they'll call the shots in that department.

No disrespect to her (Were she to sign on, she'd be fine as she always is), but it's not like she's successfully carried a big commercial movie firmly on her shoulders and isn't the Alien brand-name enough to get the attention of average movie-goers? Besides if there's anyone people would want to see a new Alien movie, its Sigourney Weaver, and we all know she won't be around...or is she!

While we're talking about Theron, stupid me assumed they'd work out a schedule to retain her services for both Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar and Snow White & the Huntsman. Neither role would require her to be on set during the entirety of the shoots.

Reports "TOLDJA," she's decided against playing the notorious FBI director's longtime secretary Helen Gandy (Eastwood is mulling between Amy Adams and Naomi Watts: go for the former, Clint!) and will instead be the Evil Queen in Universal's big Christmas 2012 release.

Would you, good reader, deem this an upgrade or downgrade for the Oscar winner?

Sir Ian McKellen Locked In for The Hobbit

Damn, that was fast!

Just a few minutes after the news broke of Andy Serkis securing a deal for The Hobbit (via "TOLDJA"), Entertainment Weekly and Heat Vision (Fuck it - give both of them credit) confirm Sir Ian McKellen is locked in to return as Gandalf the Grey for the epic two-movie shoot.

During that long doom-and-gloom period where it seemed all but assured it would fall apart, McKellen, to his credit, was the lone voice of optimism. Something that my Movie Moan pal Lou and I butted heads over in past podcasts. It appears my friend up North gets the last laugh here.

Negotiations were going on between him and Warner Brothers, who've recently taken over calling the shots on the Lord of the Rings prequels. The 3D production starts moving along next month.

Andy Serkis Returns for The Hobbit

If you were in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and are not currently expecting to pop up in The Hobbit, please leave us your contact information and we'll have someone get back with you immediately to correct this error.

A week after the confirmation of Elijah Wood's return to Middle Earth despite his character Frodo, the lead in Peter Jackson's trilogy not appearing in the J.R.R. Tolkien precursor novel comes confirmation of additional returning alum.

"TOLDJA" says a deal's been signed, sealed and delivered for Andy Serkis to reprise the Gollum role in the two movies. While a deal between the studio and Sir Ian McKellen are still ongoing, his return is expected. Hold out for every penny you can earn, Sir.

Surprisingly though (when you factor in comments in the press months back to the contrary), Christopher Lee is expected to return as Saruman and even Ian Holm as the older Bilbo, which would further explain how they plan to shoehorn Frodo into this. No word on Hugo Weaving though – odd.

Filming is expected to start in the new couple of weeks in New Zealand.

Jurassic Park 4 & Superman Fakery Strike!

For a couple of hours last night, the Internet was aghast with two items that screamed, "FAAAAAAAAKE!" But that didn't stop the talks from rumbling nonetheless on two franchises in Revival mode: one most definitely happening, the other eventually.

First up came a piece stating that not only was Jurassic Park 4 greenlit, but already filming. The item originated from Behind the Thrills, and picked up by AICN. The "evidence" as pictured on the left side of your screen stated the film was already taking space next to TV productions Desperate Housewives and Parenthood.

Didn't take too long for two separate outlets (Badass Digest and Coming Soon) to debunk it. A fourth Jurassic Park is one of those things that seem inevitable to happen. But you know, if one was really going on right now, A) don’t you think somebody would have heard about it and B) the filmmakers be working under an alternate code-name to throw everyone off?

Meanwhile, some snapshots supposedly taken for Superman: The Man of Steel popped up over on Superman Homepage. The text going along with the pics stated the actor in the trunks (unknown TV actor Geoff Ward) had read for director Zack Snyder three times prior and was now in the final screen-test stages.

No doubt the identity of the new actor will leak through the cracks on sites like "TOLDJA" or Latino Review. That shit just happens, nothing you can do to stop it. But we're supposed to believe that a production as security-tight as the Supes reboot somehow had pictures leaked from the screen-test phase - not to mention how many fan-films are there out there like this one?

Sounds like this came from the actor himself and/or his representation in an attempt to garnish fan-support. That shit never works.

C. Thomas Howell Added to Spider-Man Reboot

Holy 80s alert, Spider-Man!

C. Thomas Howell, whom history will forever remember for donning black-face for Soul Man in addition to The Outsiders, The Hitcher and Red Dawn (was a finalist for Back to the Future too!), has joined the cast of the Marc Webb/Andrew Garfield 3D reboot.

The actor confirmed the news on his Facebook account (via Movie Hole). But he's wisely not saying much beyond that.

Doesn't scream J. Jonah Jameson, a role that remains uncast to the best of everyone's knowledge - unless the cigar-chomping Daily Bugle editor doesn't appear in the redo.

Norman Osborn, on the other hand, yeah it's not hard to visualize Howell in that role. Assuming the plan involves building up the Green Goblin for any down-the-line sequel.

X-Men: First Class Trailer Described

The last two X-Men movies were basically one of those frozen Lean Cuisine meals. They smelled fan-fucking-tastic and you couldn’t wait to tear through the clear foil and chow down on your reduced fat and portioned meal. Then you took a bite. The taste was...off and you begrudgedly finished only to swear you won't buy that one ever again.

It's the fear of that bad taste in audiences' mouth you'd figure 20^th Century Fox would get the word spreading on X-Men: First Class ASAP. Assuming this latest "meal" actually tastes good. But this past Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays came and went with nary a trailer or official photo of the cast in costume on their high-profile prequel/reboot/something with Bryan Singer producing.

The Daily Blam! claims to have seen the trailer and gives the gory details:

"- The trailer opens with the 20th Century Fox logo which pans up as the two spotlight beams cross and form a white "X" on the left of the screen. A white circle goes around the 'X' forming the X-Men logo, as Magneto's helmet comes up on the right.

- Patrick Stewart and Ian Mckellan voice over the opening lines about destiny and which side will you stand for as scenes of each in their previous X-Men movie roles flash until the entire screen flashes from white to black.

- A very young Xavier and Erik meet for the first time, followed by a different angle of the scene from the opening of X-Men in the concentration camp.

- Camera pans outside of an old castle-style building that greatly resembles the X-mansion. McAvoy and Fassbender are seen walking through the halls. The words "One wanted peace" flash by Xavier.

- Scene transitions to Erik yelling dramatically as metal tables in the room begin to float around him. Xavier and Mags shake hands with a tall man in a lab coat introduced as Dr. McCoy.

- The words 'The other was too far gone' flash as a very pissed off Erik storms through a hallway killing guards as he passes them.

- Cut scene to what appears to be a red Nightcrawler with swords taking out a room full of people; the close up reveals Azazel's face.

- The Hellfire Club stand next to Xavier on a bed as Emma goes into diamond form. Olver Platt and Kevin Bacon were next to Emma in black aristocratic clothes, with Emma wearing the exact same outfit from the Wolverine and the X-Men cartoon.

- Mystigue on a bed with her skin turning black; Beast is shown transforming, with his feet growing and toes webbing and fur growing.

- Havok shoots a red beam of energy -- looks almost exactly like cyclops's eye beam, but larger -- from his chest (SIDE NOTE: Havok's powers in comics have always had a blue energy, this change may be to relate his character to Cyclops).

- It then shows Beast all blue and furry (looking almost exactly like Kelsey Grammer in make-up) in the pilot seat of a crashing jet, followed by several rockets flying towards an island.

- Xavier's face goes all CGI and his head begins to go bald as he mentally pulls a large ship that was sinking out of the water, as well as some smaller boats around it (seems to allude to Xavier have telekinesis).

- Back to Xavier (with hair) telling Erik he only wanted peace for him, and he replies there was never a chance for anyone to have that.

- Final scene: Erik picks up a black helmet, then he is shown from behind wearing a black and red suit (no cape or coat though) and the helmet. Screen cuts to black and the X-Men: First Class logo shows up (the one described above), then the release date."

Am I the only one who thinks people will ask, "Where's Hugh Jackman?" when the release date approaches? If this report is to be believed, Fox isn't planning to put the above-described trailer out for another four-to-six weeks.

Have the Three Stooges Been Found?

The Farrelly brothers may have found their Three Stooges.

Just a few months shy from its start, The Wrap reports Jackass extraordinaire Johnny Knoxville, SNL occupant Adam Samberg and Australian comedian Shane Jacobson could be our Moe, Larry and Curly. The three have made the short list for the 20th Century Fox release. Nothing is rock-solid although as the publication put it - "advances have been made, representatives have been approached and discussions have taken place."

That's not exactly the hungry-for-work unknowns the producers were previously looking for, as first reported by What's Playing. Besides, Mr. Jacobson (an unknown stateside, and yeah, you can definitely see some Curly in him – not a clue if he's a hoot or not). This duo is also a far cry from the originally-attached Benicio del Toro, Sean Penn and Jim Carrey.

My hunch is this could be a repeat of The Expendables as silly as that might sound. The masses eat this up and it's a ginormous hit and a large chunk of us movie-news sites bitch and moan about its success, how bad it is and how the better movie release around the same time frame (most likely a geek-friendly property) is failing miserably.

WB Fully In Control of The Hobbit

God, if only someone higher up in the studio food-chain had nutted up sooner. Then it'd still be Guillermo del Toro's The Hobbit. Alas.

Warner Brothers has officially announced they will fully distribute and bankroll both Hobbit movies. The original arrangement, dating years back, entailed WB and MGM splitting the costs with the lion taking international distribution (easily the stronger market for genre films like this) and WB tacking domestic.

Here's the press release:

"LOS ANGELES, CA, January 6, 2011- Roger Birnbaum and Gary Barber, MGM Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officers, Toby Emmerich, President and Chief Operating Officer, New Line Cinema and Alan Horn, President and Chief Operating Officer, Warner Bros. Pictures today announced that MGM and Warner Bros have concluded a deal for Warner Bros. Pictures to handle international theatrical and video distribution responsibilities on MGM's behalf for Peter Jackson's highly anticipated adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Hobbit.' This arrangement results in Warner Bros. Pictures handling the bulk of worldwide distribution, while MGM will handle international television licensing for the films. MGM and WB will work collaboratively to coordinate marketing and release plans worldwide.

Jackson, who directed all three 'The Lord of the Rings' films, will helm the two films back-to-back, telling the story of 'The Hobbit' from screenplays written by Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Guillermo del Toro.

The two 'Hobbit' films are set to begin production in February 2011, with release dates targeted for December 2012 and December 2013. Jackson will utilize groundbreaking visual effects and his incomparable storytelling to bring Tolkien's novel to the big screen. Both 'Hobbit' movies will be filmed in Digital 3-D, using the latest camera and stereo technology to create a high quality, comfortable viewing experience.

Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Carolynne Cunningham are producing the films for New Line, Warner Bros and MGM, with co-writer Philippa Boyens serving as co-producer and Ken Kamins and Zane Weiner as executive producers. The Oscar-winning, critically acclaimed 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy, also from the production team of Jackson, Walsh and Cunningham, grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide at the box office. In 2003, 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' swept the Academy Awards, winning all of the 11 categories in which it was nominated, including Best Picture - the first ever Best Picture win for a fantasy film. The trilogy's production was also unprecedented at the time."

While we're on the subject, negations are still (still!) ongoing between Sir Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis and Hugo Weaving, says "TOLDJA." As if that wasn't enough word is Elijah Wood (!) will also return for the two Lord of the Rings prequels. Despite the li'l factoid that his character Frodo Baggins, the lead in the Rings trilogy, wasn't yet born.

One Ring confirms the item, and elaborates the plan will have Frodo in the opening sequence of each installment. Shooting down in New Zealand next month with December 2012 and 2013 release dates targeted. Just don't hold your breath waiting to see it next Christmas.

Paul Rudd & Leslie Mann Reprising Knocked Up Roles

Note to Katherine Heigl: don't expect a call.

Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann will reprise their Knocked Up roles of Pete and Debbie in Judd Apatow's latest, reports the trades. The new comedy, scheduled for June 1, 2012, will see the married couple, who served as a guiding hand for Seth Rogen and Heigl into parent and couplehood as well as a warning signal of things to come, as the leads.

What the focus of the film will be is anyone's guess. But going by Apatow's ongoing theme of growing up in previous efforts, another crack in their marriage may be the issue at hand.

They have the talent, chemistry and comic-timing, and best of all, neither will run off and shit-talk Apatow and the film(s) that made their careers. Unlike Heigl.

Stephen Sommers Off G.I. Joe 2

No matter what I think, Paramount is gung-ho for G.I. Joe 2. I'd imagine losing The Avengers to Disney has played a factor in the sequel becoming a priority to fill their 2012 summer release slate along with Star Trek 2. But contrary to reports from last summer, it won't be Stephen Sommers directing.

Reports 24 Frames, representation for other filmmakers confirm their clients have been approached by Paramount to take a meeting over the job. Rumors were rampant leading up to G.I. Joe's release of productions with Sommers reportedly fired, only to be brought back.

Still don't think another two-hour bacon and cheddar fest is a good idea, despite my love of all things cheese. You can only enjoy the taste so long before it gets stale and something like this property I get the feeling would go bad by the second movie. The taste, or in this case the charm of the 2009 movie, would go away.

As for who the studio will lean on to helm, this sounds like a job suited for Rob Cohen, another filmmaker with a cheese-heavy filmography.