Gary Oldman Leading Mankind in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

The ways of the character actor...

You're so convincing in a role, casting agents only want you for "another one of those" from then onward. Back in the 90s, it was impossible to not see Gary Oldman playing someone villainous or merely... not right. Not sure where that started (Bram Stoker's Dracula, perhaps?) but Oldman was living it up, and cashing plenty of paychecks, as the heavy. Hey, work is work.

And like the snap of a finger, one role playing the polar opposite and guess what? Suddenly after Batman Begins, Oldman was playing the good guy. True, he was Sirius Black first. But there was still that lingering villainy to his role until the reveal of his real persona in the 3^rd Act of Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban (Spoiler alert for a nine year old movie everyone saw based on a fourteen year old book everyone read!)

He's sticking to the light side of the Force as the latest addition to Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, reports Coming Soon. The Oscar-nominated British thesp will play "the leader of a human colony." The Matt Reeves-helmed follow-up to 2011's surprise hit (We all laughed off those trailers, even devoted fan of the original Apes fan yours truly but damn it didn't turn out great!) starts filming in my neck of the woods pretty soon. I'll have to hit up some of my pals for details.

RUMOR: David Goyer Penning Man of Steel Sequel

Reports surfaced over the last few weeks, specifically yesterday outta the offices of JoBlo and Slashfilm on Zack Snyder's cinematic reintroduction to Superman, The Man of Steel.

Yes, it's screened to select crowds. Friends & Family, different levels of execs, and the filmmakers themselves have taken a gander at what Snyder hath wroth. And yes, the word is good. The range of positive varies. One trusted source liked it, with reservations, while another exclaimed it as downright "AMAZING" (their exact words – all caps included). Regardless of how good, it is good and high-ups at Burbank are walking on clouds like Kal-El. Now the question leading up to June 14 is, "Great... and then what?"

We all know Warner Brothers/DC Entertainment can't get their house in order. The narrative for the longest has been they'll wait and see how the Supes redo does. Then they'll make their move. All the talk has been pumping adrenaline into Justice League and have that out by 2015 – a non-subtle way of countering The Avengers 2. A tall order with no director within walking distance and the most recent script, by Gangster Squad typist-turned-WB Golden Boy Will Beall tossed faster than a speeding bullet. It's doable – just looking less likely by each passing day.

Some rumblings suggest Justice League remains the priority, others suggest it's on hold. Rumor we're hearing, and frankly the one that makes the most sense – hence the article you're reading, has the studio aiming their tractor beams at a Superman sequel. Whatever title they bestow upon it (The Man of Tomorrow? The Last Son of Krypton? It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman Two?) the studio is accelerating it into development with David Goyer back on writing duties. Script problems, be damned! Goes to show how tensions disappear in the face of success or in this case, confidence there is success to be had.

Yeah, yeah I know. "Didn't you guys say they were looking at a bunch of writers who weren't Goyer like two years ago?" Correctamundo. They were spit-balling ideas. Execs do that – for the kind of cash they pocket that’s all they do besides li'l things like overseeing productions and making sure they keep their jobs upon the latest regime change.

So if Superman's return (again) to the multiplexes delivers (All signs are good), WB, to their credit, is thinking smart. Supes is here to stay. For real this time.

Best Stupid News of the Day - Sony Considering Animated Ghostbusters 3

Ghostbusters 3 is categorized under NNBN – Need Not Bother News.

It all stems from Dan Aykroyd getting asked by brain-dead hit-whores during all press events and his politely giving the same answer. This happens every six months. Bill Murray wants to leave a good thing alone (I imagine if he could go back, he wouldn't have done Ghostbusters 2) and Sony is in no mood to push it through. If they really wanted this to happen, they would.

I say all of that. This latest news-item is out there. So much so, it rings true. Only a room full of executives, nary a lick of good sense in their noggins, would be stupid enough to think this up. Bloody-Disgusting is hearing the studio wants to do Ghostbusters 3... as an animated feature.

They figure Murray would accept a check with a couple of 0s at the end of it if he could show up in a sound-booth for a couple of days. Clothing optional. To be fair, studio reps tell Coming Soon the info is bogus. But they have to deny it either way, don't they?

It's a laughably stupid idea. The folks don't wanna spend their cash on seeing CG-animated versions of their old favorites when the actors still have a pulse. I don't doubt this (lack of) thought process to getting Ghostbusters 3 to the greenlight.

Back when Warner Brothers wrapping their heads around how to make Justice League without pissing off Christopher Nolan and Bryan Singer, the idea of doing it as a motion-capture feature (a la The Polar Express, Beowulf and what other ones Robert Zemeckis pissed away the 2000s makings) was considered.

Chris Cooper Joins The Amazing Spider-Man Sequel

Something is in the air.

Whatever your thoughts on The Amazing Spider-Man, it is what it is and that’s all in the past. To their credit, the filmmakers, Marc Webb leading the pack, seem to acknowledge their Spidey do-over didn't work. They're making a real effort of making the sequel (currently called The Amazing Spider-Man 2; not intended as the actual title FYI) worthwhile.

Lose the "Diet Nolan" atmosphere of last July's re-do and embrace Spider-Man being a fun character at his core. The new suit, unveiled earlier this week, has a wonderfully, bright comic-book vibe and the more you see the new additions to the cast the more you see they mean business.

The latest in that growing line-up is Chris Cooper, Heat Vision reports. Will he be full on Green Goblin or are they planting the seeds for The Amazing Spider-Man 3's, or whatever they call it, baddie?

He doesn't have the up-front "Something is up with this dude" look Willem Dafoe excelled at. Cooper's played troubled well. Hiring him, however, means any inevitable turn to the Goblin will be less manically-laughing psycho to something quieter, more sinister even. It's a cool casting addition though I worry the sequel is making the same mistake as Spider-Man 3. Too many characters and too much going on to keep focus.

Oh, Amazing Spider-Man Sequel! What Big Eyes You Have!

"Amazing?" Not really. But it's good and an improvement from the threads from The Amazing Spider-Man. Not that there was anything wrong with the costume Andrew Garfield sported there.

Coming Soon has the First Look at the new suit the web-slinger sports in Marc Webb's as-yet-titled sequel (The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a place-holder title).

You always hear the wardrobe people talk up how they make subtle changes between films. Not hard to spot here; the noticeably big eyes. Maybe the largest we've see from Spidey so far – I'd have to make close inspections on the Sam Raimi suit(s) to say definitely. A more cartoon, kid-friendly look this time around – a sign Webb is lightening up the tone on his sophomore Spider-Man effort?

"Victory Tour" Posters for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Debut

One can already see how causal fans and movie-goers who made The Hungers Games such a monster success last March will react to these "Victory Tour" posters for the forthcoming Catching Fire.

Both are quite the eye-catchers, slick and showcase how viral marketing, when done right, can be as effective as plain old trailers and photos. No need of posting both, so we'll put up the cooler of the two, and that's saying something since both are excellent.

Source: Facebook and HitFix

BREAKING: Bryan Singer Has Good Taste; No CG Dinklage in Days of Future Past

In the week since it broke, the identity of Peter Dinklage in X-Men: Days of Future Past has caused much online fodder. Speculation (Not telling if it was legitimate rumor or just fan-forum suggestion) pegged him playing a motion-capture/CG character. Because hey, why hire a great actor like Dinklage in a straight role where his dwarfism is irrelevant? An insulting prospect when you think about it.

Bryan Singer set the record straight speaking to IGN Movies during his Jack the Giant Slayer press-rounds:

"He's not going to be a CGI character. He'll be himself. Not that he'll be playing Peter Dinklage, he'll be playing this character. It's not a shy character."

Good taste prevails. Thanks for reminding us you have that, Bryan.

Awesomeness Got Even Awesomer - James Marsden Joins Anchorman 2

His bread and butter may be playing "the other guy" in romantic triangles onscreen. But like his more famous, Australian co-star, James Marsden has the range to do anything. Take a gander at his filmography. He sings, he dances, he plays the romantic lead, he's the action hero when he needs to be, and he's literally played a cartoon brought to life.

With that mad array of acting, how did he never break out into full stardom? Sigh. But he still gets work and here is a real chance to shine. He's joined the cast of Anchorman: The Legend Continues where he'll be Ron Burgundy's antagonist; a rival anchor.

Hopefully with a stache fitting to outdo Channel 4 Action News Team.

Adam Sandler the Romantic Returns

Unless I'm reading into this too much, this is Adam Sandler's way of saying Grown-Ups 2 is crap (I realize it shouldn't take motor mouth Stephen Hawking to figure that out) and his wide, but dwindling, fan base won't accept it as they didn't embrace Jack & Jill and That's My Boy.

His next phoning-it-in/fart joke/fat guy falls/random celebrity bit-part comedy was supposed to be the Western The Ridiculous 6. Fill in the blanks which of his Saturday Night Live pals-turned-puppets play which role. That's been nixed for the time being (Reportedly wasn't shitty enough to Sandler's liking and undergoing a rewrite). So he's on the hunt for his next feature settling on an untitled romantic comedy, his return to the genre that first made women love him, at Warner Brothers.

And not one to jinx it, and evidentially an attempt to reclaim that magic, they're talking to Drew Barrymore for the female lead. Hey, makes sense. The Wedding Singer and 50 First Dates are two of his biggest hits and Barrymore has worked best off him. Assuming the deal comes together (Unless Barrymore's management are idiots), they'll play "a couple who, after a disastrous blind date, find themselves stuck together with their kids from a previous marriage."

They're looking for a director who won't be Dennis Dugan and expect one of Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade or Nick Swardson to play one of Sandler's kids.

Source: Variety

Mandarin Is Too Cool For School In Iron Man 3 Poster

Guess he's been in the LA scene too long. Went from being a decades-long racist stereotype (Was green-skinned in the mid 90s Iron Man cartoon!?) to what looks like Terrence Stamp's bored "I've taken over the world and now I have nothing to do" demeanor midway through Superman II.

No clue if it's a real scene or a character pose intended for posters like this and production stills, but I dig it. Ben Kingsley's portrayal is what fuels my interest in Iron Man 3. Are the Ten Rings used in action and retain their other-worldly powers or are they ceremonial and suggest the supernatural without going there, a la Ra's al Ghul in The Dark Knight trilogy. If it's the former, that would fit into the rumored, cosmic ending of Tony hooking up with the Guardians of the Galaxy.

These are the questions that keep me awake at night.