John Malkovich talks Jonah Hex

For my money, everything we've heard and seen about the Jonah Hex movie has been kick ass. One thing has always bothered me, though. We kept hearing talk that it would be a supernatural western instead of a straight western, which would be my preference.  You'll note below that John Malkovich makes no references to any otherworldlyness taking place.

Anyway, Empire Magazine's Damon Wise recently got to speak with Malkovich at the Kralovy Vary film festival in the Czech Republic. Here's what he had to say about how he got role of Quentin Turnbull

"I love Josh Brolin – he's a friend of mine," Malkovich told us,"and he said, 'Would you be interested?' And I like the guy, Jimmy Hayward, who's directing him, so I said, 'Sure.' "

Jonah Hex in addition to Josh Brolin, and John Malkovich, will star Michael Shannon, Megan Fox, and Michael Fassbender.  You can read the Empire article in its entirety here

And Then There Were 3

And the Green Lantern news is rolling in! A few hours ago, it was reported that Justin Timberlake was under consideration. Now, the Hollywood Reporter has given us a list of the final three candidates. Yes, JT is one of them, but the others are Bradley Cooper (should be no surprise there), and Ryan Reynolds, a choice I really like.

Here's what the Hollywood Reporter had to say:

This week, the race narrowed to Bradley Cooper, Ryan Reynolds and Justin Timberlake. The clock is ticking on the decision as the holding deal the studio had on the actors expired Monday, meaning the three are now free to accept other offers.

The studio ordered up two rounds of screen tests with Cooper, Reynolds and Timberlake. Other actors in the early mix included Michael Fassbender, Henry Cavill and Jared Leto.

It should also be worth noting that the article has the film scheduled for a Christmas 2010 release. If you'll remember, it was originally announced for that date until the beginning of the year where Warner Brothers pushed it back to Summer 2011. This raises the question, "Did the Hollywood Reporter make a mistake or has the studio in fact moved its release up yet again?"

For the full article, click the link here

Personally, I'm rooting for Reynolds.

The Losers set to start filming soon!

Mania has learned when and where "The Losers" will begin filming:

THE LOSERS Set to Sack Puerto Rico

In light of the recent news that 'The Losers' is set for an April 2010, Comics2Film at Mania checked in the sources close to the production to see what the status of the film is.
We've learned that Sylvain White's adaptation of the DC Comics/Vertigo series is set to roll cameras in Puerto Rico on July 22nd for about eleven weeks of filming.
The cast of Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Idris Elba, Chris Evans, Jason Patric, Zoe Saldana, Columbus Short and Oscar Jaenada are confirmed.

The oft-heard manta of "tax incentives" makes the island Commonwealth and U.S. territory an increastingly attractive location for Hollywood, not to mention easy access to seasoned professionals from Miami and New York.
'The Losers' was originally a classic DC Comics war title that was reinvented in 2004 by writer Andy Diggle and artist Jock. The updated version featured a squad of black ops professionals left for dead by the agency they work for. However, they survive and embark on a personal mission to get revenge on their handlers and topple the corrupt agency that sold them out.

This has easily become one of my most anticipated movies to see. Talented cast, great story -- I can't wait!

Green Lantern Brought Sexy back?

According to Aint It Cool News, one of the contenders in serious considerattion for the lead role of Green lantern Hal Jordan is none other than...Justin Timberlake?  No, seriously.  Now from what I have seen of JT's acting he's not a complete disaster IMO.  However, in no way, shape, or form, can I see him headlining a HUGE potential franchise like this.  I suppose in the studios mind, he's a big star who will rake in the cash, and fits the age, and look they seemed to be going for. 

But, if this is the look they want, why not go with Ryan Phillipe?  He has a similar look to Timberlake, and has proven time and again that he's a very capable actor, who could easily headline a film.

Now, could JT surprise us all?  Sure, but he'd have to pull a "Ledger as Joker" type performance to win over fanboys who hate him for being young, successful, good looking, and dating Jessica Biel.

Sandler and Rogen are Date Swappers

No, Date Swappers is not some new raunchy comedy featuring the comedic duo of Seth Rogen and Adam Sandler (soon co-starring in "Funny People"). What the articles title refers to is the switching of release dates by Sony of two of its high profile projetcs: Rogen's "Green Hornet" and Sandler's ensemble film "Grown Ups."

From what we've seen from these two these past few years, their new projects, like their predecessors, are all but guaranteed to be box office gold.

Wonders Never Cease

Wonder Woman is perhaps the most iconic comic book character yet to receive the silver screen treatment. Fellow fans who don't follow the film adaptations as closely as I do often ask, "When is Wonder Woman coming out?" That same question has been asked to me numerous times -- by non comic book fans, too. So, there is definitely an audience waiting to see the world's greatest superheroine come to life.

However, what is talked about most of all is: "Who should play Wonder Woman?" Suggestions have ranged from former American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee, to Beyonce, to Anne Hathaway. And the past few months have seen a new name enter the equation and rapidly rise in popularity: Bridget Regan, the 27-year-old star of Legend of the Seeker. The 5'8, blue-eyed beauty's resume includes Law and Order: Criminal Intent, The Black Donnollys and a cameo in the Sex and the City movie. But her true claim to fame has come from Legend of the Seeker, where she portrays the confessor, Kahlan Amnell.

As Kahlan, Regan portrays a character with many similar personality traits to the Amazonian Princess. Her character is a strong, confident, smart, loving and beautiful woman who wants nothing more than peace, even if she has to fight to the death for it. Sound familiar? It should.

I am a long time supporter of Ms. Regan's. TMT's own Sean Gerski (be sure to read his excellent interview with Marc Guggenheim just below this article) repeatedly asked me to write an article on her as not to be "scooped" in her "discovery" as a new-found fan favorite. Unfortunately, www.sfuniverse.comand MTV's Splash Page beat me to the punch with articles on her forum fame, and the hopes of her fans that she, at the very least, gets a screen test once a director is chosen.

Manip by DannyDreg

Friend to the site, and personal friend of mine, Dan Scaglione recently reached out to her representation, TMT Entertainment Group. He was able to find out that they are WELL AWARE of the online petition, and were interested to learn that within a 24-hour period, it went from 225 signatures, to 370. As I write, the current amount of signatures is 422. When Dan asked if Bridget herself knew of the fan support and petition, he was met with a standard reply of "It is our policy not to comment on what our clients may, or may not be aware of." One would wager that if her management is aware, it is more than likely that she is, too.

Dan also put in a call to Silver Pictures, which owns the rights to the "Wonder Woman" movie. This call was met with the perfunctorily response of "Wonder Woman is still in development and nowhere near casting."

If you're like I was several months ago, and have only seen stills of Bridget Regan, you're likely to think, "Sure, she's pretty, but nowhere near pretty enough for Wonder Woman," In my experience, and I'm sure more than a handful of others could attest, stills don't capture just how stunningly beautiful she is. Perhaps the clips I've linked throughout this article (just click the names of shows to see her) will help you see what her supporters see.

One more of her kicking tail, just to show she is capable of action sequences.

There are also a great variety of links on YouTube to see Bridget on talk shows such as The View and Jimmy Kimmel -- to see how she looks in "real life," Though my bet is if you do decide to check her out on those shows, the first thought to come to your mind will be the ZZ Top song "She's Got Legs."

If you'd like to sign the petition, here is a link.

Can a Cowboy and a Bunch of 'Losers' Make DC, Warner Bros. Into Winners?

Jonah Hex

Many people will tell you that the big boom of Marvel Comics movies started with the success of Bryan Singer's first X-Men movie in 2000. To these people, I say thee, nay!

It all started two years prior with Blade, which was a little-known commodity at the time. Blade is half-human, half-vampire. Known as the Daywalker, he has all their powers and none of the weaknesses.

As a movie, Bladeappealed to more than just the hardcore comic geeks who, in fact, knew he was a comic book character. His appeal crossed to another genre, that of vampire lore.

Vampires are a proven entity, and something we as viewers continually ask for -- as evidenced by the decades upon decades of movies such as Nosferatu, Dracula and Interview With a Vampire, Buffy and Angel on TV, and dozens of others that are too numerous to list.

The fascination we have with Vampires, combined with the star power of Wesley Snipes and Kris Kristofferson, helped build a "C-lister" into an overnight sensation who spawned a three-movie franchise (that raked in the cash) and a television series.

And, believe it or not, the similarities between Blade and Jonah Hex go beyond them being C-list comic characters who got the nod for a movie.

So, what do a Civil War-era Cowboy with a scarred face and a vampire-hunting, super-powered martial artist have in common? Well, both are not your typical always-do-the-right-thing heroes. They are definitely antiheroes; which, judging by comic sales and movie-going audiences, is what we want. Plus, like Blade before him, Hex appeals to a wider audience.

Only this time, it's not vampire mythology, but fans of the Western -- the audience who enjoys Clint Eastwood as The Man with No Name, the ones who turned out to see Appaloosa and 3:10 to Yuma.

And like Blade, Jonah Hex features "A-list" talent. Where Bladehad Snipes and Kristofferson, Hexbrings Josh Brolin in the lead role and the uber-talented John Malkovich as the antagonist. Add the sizzling hot Megan Fox to them and you've got yourself a pretty good start for a potentially-lucrative franchise of characters that people supposedly don't care about

THE LOSERS

On to The Losers, another "no-name" property from DC Comics that is being made into a movie by director Sylvain White (who, from what I've heard, will surprise people the same way Jon Favreau did with Iron Man).

Now, I know MANY of you will say the X-Men had WAY more name recognition than The Losers, but did they really? I mean sure, if you mentioned the X-Men prior to the live-action franchise, people could tell you it was a comic or a cartoon, but could those people actually name any of the X-Men for you?

Nowadays, I'm sure most everyone could name at least two to three X-Men.

And I'd say Wolverine alone is close to on par with Spider-Man in popularity, as evidenced by his nearly $400 million dollar gross between domestic and world wide box office.

But what what do The Losers have in common with the X-Men? In movie terms, minus the powers, they are fairly similar. Both are teams of diverse individuals with interesting and unique personalities, operating in secret so the government doesn't try to stop them from completing their missions. They do it for VERY different reasons, but both go up against a villain who, if they make one wrong move, they're in deep trouble and they know it.

The X-men had an edge as nothing like that had been seen on film before, but The Losers can be a whole team of Jason Bournes and Jack Bauers. C'mon, how cool does that sound?

The success of Blade and the X-Men is what finally brought the one we'd ALL been waiting to see on the big screen: Spider-Man. And when that succeeded, thenthey brought out the Hulk, Daredevil, Elektra, Ghost Rider, Fantastic Four, Iron Man and even a Sci-Fi movie original of Man-Thing!

Were they all great? No, but they did get made. And after starting a little lower on the name recognition scale, we are eagerly anticipating the upcoming Thor, Captain America, and Marvel's holy grail, The Avengers.

So for those asking why they are making movies of Jonah Hex and The Losers before The Flash or Wonder Woman or Aquaman, I say just be patient.

The Marvel boom didn't start with Spidey and Captain America and work its way down to middle and lower tier characters -- it started with a "C-lister" named Blade.

MY belief is that Jonah Hex and The Losers can provide the same kick start for the DC Movie Universe.

Josh Brolin as Jonah Hex

Academy Award nominee Josh Brolin, who is currently filming the Comic Book Western "Jonah Hex" along with John Malkovich, Megan Fox and a host of other talented actors and actresses, plays the lead of the facially-scarred Old West bounty hunter Jonah Hex. Now, the first pics of him have hit the net:

Now, the costumes and all-around feel of the movie seem to be accurate well-presented adaptations, but preferably I'd like more scarring to Jonah's face, unless they cgi his damaged eye? Though, I suppose it's hard to have a movie about a man who is hideously scarred on half of his face, when Hollywood likely wants to show as much of their handsome leading men as they can. It's a delicate balance for sure. For me, these are just okay, but perhaps others will enjoy them more.

So, guys, gals, what do you make of Jonah Hex?

We Seem to have our Odin

According to Rich Johnston's site www.BleedingCool.com friend and frequent collaborator of Kenneth Branagh's, Brian Blessed has landed a role in the upcoming Thor.  Blessed is perhaps best know for his role a sthe King of the Hawkmen in Flash Gordon.

His association with Branagh, powerful voice, and acting talent have made him a long time favorite for the role among Thor fans on message boards throughout the net.  He'll be joining Chris Hemsworth (Thor), and Tom Hiddleston (Loki).

The cast as of now, while talented and fitting to their roles, is lacking in star power.  I'd not be surprised to see the one time rumored Natalie Portman join the cast as one of the female leads, preferably Loki's love interest Karnilla, as I'm pretty sure we've never seen Nat as a villain before and it would bring something new.

So far so good as far as this Thor fan is concerned.  Things are in full swing here, and hopefully GREEN LANTERN will be soon as well.

Deadpool Villainess or Daredevil Reboot?

Katee Sackhoff, better known as Starbuck on the fan favorite television series Battlestar Galactica, was recently spotted in the trendy Golden Apple Comics shop in Los Angeles.  What was she doing there you ask?  Well, she wasn't picking up her weekly stockpile, that's for sure.  According to Golden Apple's blog, she bought every comic she could featuring Typhoid Mary "in hopes of getting a part in a Marvel movie."  You can read their blog here.

Typhoid Mary started as a villain and lover of Matt Murdock, known better as Daredevil, protector of Hells' Kitchen.  However, she also featured rather prominently in early Deadpool comics.  While I'd absolutely LOVE a reboot of Daredevil, as, for my money, done right, it could be every bit as good as The Dark Knight, if not better, I'd guess the latter ,as the Deadpool film is already confirmed.

Katee is a talented actress, and drop dead gorgeous. I'd like to see what she could do with the role, though, my hopes for the Deadpool movie are nil.