Dr. House Versus Robocop

I'm not sure there is much more Jeff Sneider can do over at Variety, the guy is having a crazy couple weeks in the scoop department and it continues tonight with word that Hugh Laurie is in talks to play the main villain in MGM's RoboCop remake. Laurie, who was completely mesmerizing as Dr. House creating a legendary character on television, is shooting for the most significant film role of his career.

To me "in negotiations" means this gig is Laurie's and it is just a matter of crossing some t's. He would be playing the CEO of Omni Corp, the company that invented RoboCop. The cast already consists Gary Oldman, Abbie Cornish, Samuel L. Jackson, and Joel Kinnaman.

As many of you can tell by my whining and moaning I'm not a fan of many of the regurgitated garbage the studios are spewing forth under the guise of remakes or reboots. However, there is one film I think deserves the modernization treatment and that is Robocop.

"The Dark Knight Rises" Soundtrack Listing

01. A Storm Is Coming (0:37)
02. On Thin Ice (2:55)
03. Gotham's Reckoning (4:08)
04. Mind If I Cut In? (3:27)
05. Underground Army (3:12)
06. Born In Darkness (1:57)
07. The Fire Rises (5:33)
08. Nothing Out There (2:51)
09. Despair (3:14)
10. Fear Will Find You (3:08)
11. Why Do We Fall? (2:03)
12. Death By Exile (0:23)
13. Imagine The Fire (7:25)
14. Necessary Evil (3:16)
15. Rise (7:11)

"Man Of Steel" Marketing Prepares For Take Off

It hasn't really been a secret that the Man Of Steel teaser would be debuting in front of The Dark Knight Rises on July 20th, although never really confirmed. The forums and websites have been speculating on this pretty much since the release date for Man Of Steel was officially revealed. Now we might have some news that comes close to a confirmation courtesy of a magazine I've never heard via their Facebook page... FB Weekly's Facebook Page

I'll be honest, I have no idea what FB Weekly is or how accurate this information is, but it's interesting nonetheless. The statement is below, the above photo was also on the page in anticipation of the teaser. I must confess I did some surgery on the photo though, it originally had Justin Bieber on the cover of FB Magazine to the left and read Kneel Before Bieber. I have no idea what Superman has to do with Bieber unless he is secretly Jimmy Olsen, but you can see the original if you click the link provided above.

The most important part of the below is that we should expect stills in movie magazines and via the interwebs in the next couple days. IF, this is true. IF.

Warner Bros. will begin promoting its Zack Snyder-directed Superman reboot ‘Man of Steel,’ in a few days (a whole year before it’s June 14, 2013 release date). The studio had a similar strategy with ‘The Dark Knight Rises’. The teaser trailer for that film debuted July 18, 2011, almost a year to the day of its July 20, 2012 scheduled release date. The ‘Man of Steel’ teaser trailer is set to debut on or before July 20 (When The Dark Knight Rises arrives) with official movie stills to appear in movie magazines and online in the next few days!

New Poster For "The Campaign"

When long-term congressman Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) commits a major public gaffe before an upcoming election, a pair of ultra-wealthy CEOs plot to put up a rival candidate and gain influence over their North Carolina district. Their man: naïve Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis), director of the local Tourism Center. At first, Marty appears to be the unlikeliest possible choice but, with the help of his new benefactors’ support, a cutthroat campaign manager and his family’s political connections, he soon becomes a contender who gives the charismatic Cam plenty to worry about. As Election Day closes in, the two are locked in a dead heat, with insults quickly escalating to injury until all they care about is burying each other, in this mud-slinging, back-stabbing, home-wrecking comedy from “Meet the Parents” director Jay Roach that takes today’s political circus to its logical next level. Because even when you think campaign ethics have hit rock bottom, there’s room to dig a whole lot deeper.

Black Panther Up Next For The Marvel Machine

Marvel is like that giant rolling boulder in Raiders Of The Last Ark if there was no way to stop it and it just kept rolling forever crushing everything in it's path. That is what Marvel has been doing, at least until The Dark Knight Rises comes out in a month and a lot of change.

The story gumshoes over at Latino Review have unearthed another gem. Marvel's next hero to get the super treatment on the big screen is Black Panther. I have to say I have no idea who the hell this character is or what he does but if Marvel is making it happen then I am going to see it.

I am not sure how you can't trust Latino Review at breaking stories at this point, that is what they do. It's their thing. Off the top of my head they broke Routh as Superman, Bale as Batman, Ledger as Joker, Goyer writing Man Of Steel, Loki in The Avengers, and Renner in Bourne Legacy. That is what they call track record.

Here is a description of Black Panther, it's sounds very strange and he kind of looks like Batman?

The title “Black Panther” is a rank of office, chieftain of the Wakandan Panther Clan. As chieftain, the Panther is entitled to eat a special heart-shaped herb, as well as his mystical connection with the Wakandan Panther god, that grants him superhumanly acute senses and increases his strength, speed, stamina, and agility to the peak of human development. He has since lost this connection and forged a new one with another unknown Panther deity, granting him augmented physical attributes as well as a resistance to magic.

His senses are so powerful that he can pick up a prey’s scent and memorize tens of thousands of individual ones. T’Challa is a rigorously trained gymnast and acrobat, showing mastery in various African martial arts as well as contemporary ones and fighting styles that belong to no known disciplines.

Will Beall To Pen Justice League For Warner Bros

Would it mean I was completely full of myself if I was to believe that The Brothers Warner actually cared about what I said? Absolutely it would, but it's going to happen anyway. I was complaining on Twitter today that Marvel was already working on getting Black Panther up and running, a 3rd tier character, and WB/DC couldn't even do anything with Wonder Woman or Flash. I guess they wanted to shut me up?

A TMT favorite, Jeff Sneider over at Variety, has broken that Warner Bros has selected Will Beall to be their hero and swoop in to take pen to paper on Justice League.  According to Sneider Beall hasn't turned in a draft as of yet but is a big wig favorite over at the studio due to his work on Gangster Squad, Lethal Weapon, and Logan's Run.

We all remember the failed attempt at Justice League by Warner Bros only several years ago. George Miller directing the likes of Adam Brody and Megan Gale. I'm very glad that never took off. Although I heard the original draft of Justice League Mortal by Kieran and Michele Mulroney was pretty damn good before it got hacked apart by some other writing lightweights.

Some interesting tidbits at the end of Sneider's article. He confirms that Greg Berlanti was in line to direct The Flash, which Jamie and I broke when writing for the now defunct and defamed IESB.Net, along with touching upon other DC properties:

...while another "Green Lantern" scribe, Michael Goldenberg, was hired to write "Wonder Woman." Additionally, Brad Peyton is working on a new draft of "Lobo," while John Kamps and David Koepp are developing "Spy vs. Spy" as a potential directing vehicle for Ron Howard. WB also developed the "Aquaman" property several years ago.

"The Dark Knight Rises" Footage From MTV Movie Awards

Although I was watching the Boston Celtics most of the night, I had to sit through some of Brand's stand up as I alluded to in an earlier post in order to see some new The Dark Knight Rises footage. I would have to say it was worth it. Dig the scene with Catwoman warning the "bad guy" that Batman is right behind him as he slinks down from the ceiling, a nod to Batman Begins. Also, why is Bane so obsessed with stacking cars? Must have really loved his childhood.

Coming Soon

Two "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" Tv Spots

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter explores the secret life of our greatest President, and the untold story that shaped our nation. Visionary filmmakers Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov (director of Wanted) bring a fresh and visceral voice to the blood-thirsty lore of the vampire, imagining Lincoln as history’s greatest hunter of the undead.

Latino Review

First "Ted" TV Spot

Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane brings his boundary-pushing brand of humor to the big screen for the first time as writer, director and voice star of Ted.  In the live action/CG-animated comedy, he tells the story of John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg), a grown man who must deal with the cherished teddy bear who came to life as the result of a childhood wish…and has refused to leave his side ever since.

Latino Review

"Expendables 2" TV Spot

The Expendables are back and this time it’s personal… Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), Lee Christmas (Lee Statham), Yin Yang (Jet Li), Gunnar Jensen (Dolph Lundgren),Toll Road (Randy Couture) and Hale Caesar (Terry Crews) — with newest members Billy the Kid (Liam Hemsworth) and Maggie (Yu Nan) aboard — are reunited when Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) enlists the Expendables to take on a seemingly simple job. The task looks like an easy paycheck for Barney and his band of old-school mercenaries. But when things go wrong and one of their own is viciously killed, the Expendables are compelled to seek revenge in hostile territory where the odds are stacked against them. Hell-bent on payback, the crew cuts a swath of destruction through opposing forces, wreaking havoc and shutting down an unexpected threat in the nick of time — six pounds of weapons-grade plutonium; enough to change the balance of power in the world. But that’s nothing compared to the justice they serve against the villainous adversary who savagely murdered their brother. That is done the Expendables way….

Latino Review