Studios Lining Up Their Blockbuster Super-Bowl Ads

It's that special time of year again, boys and girls.

Yes in just a few short weeks, Super Bowl XLIII (or 43 for those unfamiliar with the roman numeral system) will be upon us.

So while everyone will be stocking up on beer, pizza and chips & dips (Rotel all the way, baby!), the major studios are lining up which of their blockbuster tentpoles they plan on unveiling this coming February 1 in the form of 30-second TV spots.

As per Variety:

Confirmed for this year’s roster are high-profile titles like Paramount’s "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," "Star Trek" and "G.I. Joe"; Sony’s "Angels and Demons"; DreamWorks Animation’s "Monsters vs. Aliens"; and Universal’s "Land of the Lost" and its fourth installment in "The Fast and the Furious" franchise. Disney is also planning to use the game to raise the profile for Pixar’s next toon, "Up," while a "Wolverine" spot is likely from Fox.

Of course, the big question is whether or not Warner Brothers will show anything off during the big-game. They do have some pretty big films lined up for 2009 in the form of Terminator: Salvation, Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince, Watchmen (assuming that comes out under them) and Sherlock Holmes.

I mean, surely we'll see something from Terminator at least, right?

I'm also a bit surprised Universal isn't preparing people for Bruno, Sasha Baron Cohen's upcoming comedy that's scheduled to hit cinemas this May. Although one wonders if that will have anything near the impact that Cohen's Borat made back in 2006.

Regardless, it's always fun to point out the TV ads for the year's upcoming big releases along with commercials selling computers, colas and erectile dysfunction pills.

Iron Man 2 Lines Up Villains

Comeback King Mickey Rourke is currently in talks to play one of the villains in Iron Man 2, the highly-anticipated sequel to last year's surprise box-office smash.

The soon-to-be Oscar nominated actor (for his acclaimed turn in Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler) is up for the role of a Russian arms-dealer who will ultimately duke it out with Shellhead in a nuclear-powered (!?!) suit of armor. Apparently, that's the Crimson Dynamo.

Along with the man who was Marv, Sam Rockwell (Choke) is in the running for another villain - that of Justin Hammers, another multi-billionaire causing problems for our hero.

I guess that means we won't be seeing the Mandarian in Iron Man 2 after all.

It's casting-calls like these (along with the return of director Jon Favreau and star Robert Downey Jr.) that give me confidence in this project.

When Are We Watching the Watchmen?

Ever since 20th Century Fox was awarded distribution rights to Watchmen, fans have been (understandably) concerned as to whether or not this will effect its March 6 release.

According to the LA Times:

Lawyers for 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. have agreed to let a federal judge decide whether Warner Bros. will be allowed to release "Watchmen" this spring, forgoing a jury trial that could have put the high-profile film's future into even longer limbo.

In court papers filed Monday with U.S. District Judge Gary A. Feess, attorneys for Fox and Warner Bros. jointly said they would let the judge decide Jan. 20 whether Fox could block the film's theatrical distribution, now scheduled for March 6, as Fox has been seeking all along as part of its copyright infringement lawsuit against Warner Bros.

Don't kid yourself, folks. The film will get released...eventually. And Fox will walk away with a nice-sized paycheck. There's just no two-ways around it.

And at the end of the day, that's all this ordeal with Fox and WB has been about: money.

Besides, even if (God forbid!) Watchmen is delayed, civilization will in fact not end...

McG Goes Under...the Sea

I guess the old phrase is correct: "In Hollywood, you're only as good as your last picture!"

In this case, we're referring to McG whose upcoming Terminator: Salvation won't hit theatres for another five months. But considering its (so far) positive buzz, it appears the Charlie's Angels director is being offered damn-near every major gig in town.

According to Variety, McG has been set up over at Disney to direct 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo - a prequel detailing the origins of Nemo which is currently being written by Bill Marsilli (Deja Vu).

The House of the Mouse is fast-tracking the project hoping to commence filming later this year.

This is also begs to ask just where McG stands on Terminator 5.

Considering that Warner Brothers has already officially announced the Terminator sequel for a Summer 2011 release, it appears that McG (who will reportedly over-see the production regardless of whether or not he directs)     will have to decide which film he'd rather helm next.

To Lex or Not To Lex...

According to our buddies at Latino Review, Warner Brothers is actively meeting with various screenwriters regarding story outlines and/or treatments for the next Superman film.

They further elaborate revealing that one of the mandates of the pitches be the addition of a villian from Superman's rogues gallery other than Lex Luthor - who will all but take a back-seat this time out, if he's included at all.

Now I'm a huge fan of Latino Review, and they've certainly had a damn-solid track record of breaking news-items and what not (including casting news regarding the Superman and Batman franchises!) That goes without saying.

But this isn't exactly "breaking news," to be honest.

We've known that Supes would face off against a super-powered adversary in the next installment for quiet some time dating as far back as Comic Con 2006 when Bryan Singer revealed his plans of including an "alien threat."

What is interesting to note however is the fact that the studio is aggressively working on getting another Superman film out ASAP.

One can't help but wonder if this is because the studio needs it to fill in a missing gap in their schedule...