The Laugh-Free Hangover Part III Trailer Is Here

They promised this wasn't a retread of The Hangover third time out.

That puts Todd Phillips in a Damned If You Do, Don't If You Don't predicament. Of his own doing, granted. He bold-faced lied about The Hangover Part II not copying the plot beats of the 2009 original.

You change things up and audiences, now familiar with what a Hangover movie is, might sour at it, especially after the first sequel's reception. Or you replicate the first film thrice and admit you're a liar, have little respect for the millions who gave you their hard-earned money in good faith and out of (good) ideas. So yeah seeing the trailer for The Hangover Part III tells me it's gonna be a different, even if slightly, beast. I'll give them that.

Alan (Zack Galifianakis) riding down the Interstate with a Giraffe with violent results? Not funny, but it's different! Don't worry, there's still going to be more of Ken Jeong's unfunny Chow to hog screen-time. And if he's in luck Justin Bartha's dialogue might go beyond one page this time.

Jessica Chastain Up For Tarzan - Sadly Minus a Loincloth

Warner Brothers thinks there's an audience for a new Tarzan. There is. Our grandparents and, to a lesser degree, our parents. What worked "way back when," doesn't mean it will translate to today's cynical, techno-savvy, Information Superhighway generation. The works of Edgar Rice Burroughs fall on deaf ears to youngsters. Honest question: do little boys today roam the backyards pretending to be cowboys, Tarzan... or Iron Man?

New York Post says producers are looking for high-maintenance talent for Jane in the David Yates-directed update: Oscar-nominee (and future winner; you know it, I know it) Jessica Chastain. She's on a roll and nothing from her slate as of late suggests she's in on studio fare and/or crap; unless you count Mama, which few would since that made money and considered a quality horror flick.

Until they find their Lord of the Apes (Rumored candidates include Henry Cavill and Alexander Skarsgard), this is all for naught.

The Hangover Part III Poster - An Exercise In Parody or Self-Importance?

Warning: a diaper may be required prior to viewing The Hangover Part III poster.

"The Epic Finale to the Hangover Trilogy"

There is no telling if the marketing department is serious or in on the joke. Knee-jerk reaction is the former, and that makes it even funnier. Yes, I say that knowing it's taken straight from Enemy Mine and, more recently, Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows - Part II.

Sam Mendes & James Bond Are Done Professionally - For Now

Remember that "75 per cent" chance? Well, the 25 per cent won out.

Sam Mendes reveals to Empire he will not return to the world of James Bond in the immediate future. Despite the money Skyfall earned Eon and the critical accolades bestowed, commitments elsewhere are the culprit, officially speaking, and perhaps he was simply hesitant to go right back into it so soon; a predicament Guy Hamilton found himself in after Goldfinger):

"'It has been a very difficult decision not to accept Michael and Barbara’s very generous offer to direct the next Bond movie,' explained Mendes. 'Directing Skyfall was one of the best experiences of my professional life, but I have theatre and other commitments, including productions of Charlie And The Chocolate Factory and King Lear, that need my complete focus over the next year and beyond.'"

The door is still open down the road (A Martin Campbell situation, if you will) and when the time comes for Daniel Craig's retirement from the tuxedo and Walter PPK, perhaps the Oscar-winner's presence will grace 007 once again.

Until then, let the guessing game begin. Tom Hooper? Just saying...

Carrie Fisher Confirms the Obvious - She's In Episode VII

Mark Hamill said talks were underway (No contracts signed) and Harrison Ford said he was open to the idea (Pay me). Carrie Fisher, on the other hand, has been the quiet one. Don't recall her speaking out publicly about returning for Episode VII.

During a recent Q&A, the inevitable was asked: 

"Disney is going to continue the Star Wars saga, producing movies set to hit theaters starting in 2015. Can you confirm whether you’ll reprise the role of Princess Leia?

Yes."

No surprises there.

All three Star Wars leads were going to come back – like it or not. One sight of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Han Solo with grey whiskers, lightsaber action and Ariel dogfights in space and you have 2015's top-earner. How active a role they play in the story, and the new trilogy as a whole, is another matter.

Source:  Palm Beach Illustrated

New Iron Man 3 Trailer

"Today is the first day of what's left of your life."

Still nary a trace of the traditionally, high-flying "fun" from Shellhead's earlier cinematic entries, plus The Avengers, but that's so appealing about everything presented for Iron Man 3. This time... shit gets real and there doesn't appear to be anything Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) can do to buy, and more appropriately charm, his way out of trouble.

The newest trailer is up courtesy of Yahoo! Movies. Take a gander and yes, that looks like the Hulkbuster armor to me too:

Harrison Ford Will Give a Damn in Anchorman: The Legend Continues

These days, I associate Ralph Garman's dead on impression of Harrison Ford more than his films. Hey, he'll always be Indiana Jones in my heart (and like many, I still want to be Indy when I grow up) but I'm not sure he's all there anymore. For the last decade, he's that mumbling old dude, with an earring, who used to be Indiana Jones, Han Solo, Jack Ryan, President Air Force One and the Guy Who Didn't Kill His Wife (and Tommy Lee Jones didn't care!)

Every time there's Ford news, I always give Jon Favreau shit for "Harrison Ford gives a damn in Cowboys & Aliens, guys!" Kidding aside, I too want to see Ford a damn again. Damn it! And The Hollywood Reporter has just the oddball/genius casting that could do it. He's joined rank for Anchorman: The Legend Continues as "a legendary newscaster a la Tom Brokaw."

Long as Ford is in the zone, and aware of his surroundings, this is great news. And it has me more excited seeing him act again than Old Fart Solo in Episode VII. I can't wait to see the next Star Wars, but please leave Ford out of this, J.J.

Halle Berry Added to the List of X-Men: Days of Future Past Extended Cameos

Her deal to return after the notorious X2: X-Men United on-set spat off versus Bryan Singer was to give Storm more stuff to do, and more money (Duh). A silly request since she had a nice B-plot with Nightcrawler and even played up the possibly she was racist towards humans. But she got what she wanted and Storm had lots of... stuff to do in X-Men: The Last Stand like fight people... and stuff. No, that awful haircut doesn't count.

But that threequel came and went and Halle Barry's career went with it.

This weekend during the promotional rounds for The Call (Opens next Friday, closes Saturday morning, out in Wal-Mart Discount DVD bins Sunday afternoon), she told Blackfilm she was returning for X-Men: Days of Future Past. It didn't come directly from Singer's Twitter feed so we were all apprehensive at first. But no, it's true. And that's cool. She made a good Ororo Munroe.

Irony is she'll stick around long enough to get stomped on by a Sentinel before Wolverine and someone else (Kitty Pryde, right?) time travels back to the 70s for a Disco Dance Fight against Michael Fassbender's Magneto. Expect a wheelchair race between the two Professor Xs too.

Christopher Nolan Doing What WB/DC Can't - Get Justice League Going?

"How do we go up against... that!?"

There is little doubt that was the question Burbank executives asked themselves following The Avengers' monumental success last summer.

Made worse by the fact their counterpoint to the Marvel juggernaut, Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy was wrapping up before their very eyes. So while The Dark Knight Rises was the mega financial bread-winner as expected, Warner Brothers was back at Square One and no closer to Justice League, the logical answer to The Avengers.

Lots of chatter, lots of attempts and lots of directors offered with no bites at the apple. They're in a corner they can't get themselves out of. And like three years ago as they sat powerless (in this case, directionless) over what to do with Superman in order to keep the rights on their home-turf, they're turning to a familiar and reliable face to get them out of their rut.

Christopher Nolan.

Latino Review reports Nolan will anchor (ahem "Godfather" – remember that term bantered about in 2010) a Superman/Batman feature to the silver screen. It could be Justice League. It could be World's Finest. The important part is its Krypton's Last Son and the World's Greatest Detective together for the first time at the multiplexes. And like Bats trapped against the Gotham police with a drugged-up Rachel Dawes, Nolan's brought backup. Well... maybe. They speculate David Goyer could write, Zack Snyder (with his fresh, and looking like victory based on the buzz, bruises from The Man of Steel) could direct.

And Christian Bale could come back as Batman. That is the key selling point. Bale is Batman in the eyes of the public, more so after all the charity work he's done since the release of The Dark Knight Rises. And the goodwill left over from the concluding Batman chapter is high with the general public.

But would both Nolan and Bale be willing to essentially retcon the ending to their own story? That they swore to the highest of heavens for the last three years, especially last year during the heavy press circuits, was the final hurrah?

Money talks and stranger things have happen (Bryan Singer is back at 20^th Century Fox making X-Men pictures, Michael Bay and Megan Fox are working together again).

The Hobbit 3 Goes There & Back Again to Christmas 2014

Don't act surprised. This was always going to happen.

The Hobbit: There & Back Again is migrating away from July 18, 2014 (Same date as X-Men: Days of Future Past – where the mutants would have clobbered the dwarfs) and headed to December 17, 2014. The summer slot never made sense. This isn't Harry Potter where you can move it wherever you so please and still earn $290 million on average. The Lord of the Rings flicks belong in Christmas.

This always felt like a place-holder 'till the studio found something else, like Christopher Nolan's Interstellar, Transcendence or even possibly move Godzilla. Well on the latter, that's if Pacific Rim registers.

But back to Bilbo, it allows Peter Jackson his usual time for reshoots (New round of filming for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug hasn't yet begun) and simultaneously working on those Extended Edition DVD/Blu-Rays.