Gina Carano Is An Expendable Female

I have a lot of respect for Gina Carano as an athlete and an actress. I obviously don't know her personally, (there is time for that) but you have to admire her career path. I drooled over her as Crush on American Gladiators then rooted her on as the "Face of Women's MMA"

I thought her film debut in Haywire made for a sold introduction to the general public. Yes, I know I typed debut, I'm discounting everything that came before because I can. I'm not saying Gina is going to be the female version of Dwayne Johnson but there is somewhat of a similar resume. Funny enough Gina is going to star alongside the behemoth in Fast 6 and as one of TMT's favorite writers Jeff Sneider of Variety is reporting, she is the first female Expendable.

"I don't know how I'm supposed to make a movie that is supposed to be the female version of 'The Expendables' without Gina Carano in it. It would be like making Twix without caramel or Jamba Juice without jamba," said Shankar, whose shingle recently co-produced Joe Carnahan's "The Grey," Pete Travis' "Dredd 3D," Andrew Dominik's upcoming Brad Pitt-starrer "Killing Them Softly" and the viral Internet hit "The Punisher: Dirty Laundry," starring Thomas Jane.

I like the thought of a female version of The Expendables, the question is, who else would you cast alongside Gina? I would personally like to see Jessica Biel kicking some ass, Jennifer Garner also would be a nice choice. Ali Larter? Maggie Q?

Eh, the Indifference - Len Wiseman Directing the Reboot to the Remake of The Mummy

That sinking feeling of "God, I'm old" settles into the bones when you see Universal is rebooting the remake of The Mummy. The sequels and spin-offs (both theatrical and DTV) are hard to forget. But Stephen Sommers' serialized adventure from May 1999 starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz (Our living answer to Dorian Grey) still works.

Having squeezed the last ounce of sand (Read: dollar bill) from the Fraser incarnation, crap writers-turned-crap producers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman are in charge and promise another four-quad friendly Mummy, just darker and modern. So expect the Mummy to be involved with 9/11?

Enough bashing of K&O for the moment (Their Abrams-absent filmography does that on its own), there has to be a director and oh has Universal found their connoisseur: Len Wiseman. A guy the Internet hates because he started in props, shags Kate Beckinsale on a regular basis and then visually brags in his work. Notice the wide shots of her in white panties in the Total Recall remake. Can't say I blame the guy. Who wouldn't brag?

His films look great, despite varying degrees of quality. By that I refer to Live Free or Die Hard, assuming you're amongst the general populous who rightly likes it. Not that his participation on a new Mummy will make it any better or worse, let's be honest.

Internet Boogeyman Tom Rothman Producing Steven Spielberg's Robopocalypse

Fanboys are so stupid they get ideas planted in their head (or, as they say in geek, incepted) and never let go. Or God forbid grow a brain and have ideas of their own. Tom Rothman is not, nor has he ever been, the boogeyman. Getting to the top of a multi-billion-dollar company doesn't entail walking li'l old ladies across the street. You have to kick ass. Every day.

In fact, do me a favor and find a studio-head who isn't a total bastard. When you don't (Since, like Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny, they don't exist!), you have my permission to shut the Hell up. Forever.

There were two clear paths for Rothman on his way out of Fox. Run another studio or developing his own projects as a producer full-time. THR says it's the latter. Rothman is in talks to produce Robopocalypse, the Steven Spielberg-helmed sci-fi actioner headlined by Chris Hemsworth and, apparently now, Anne Hathaway.

That's about as big a project to get your feet wet on as it gets.

Weekend Box Office: September 21-23

Courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1.  End of Watch - $13.1 million

2.  House at the End of the Street - $12.2 million

3.  Trouble With the Curve - $12.1 million

4.  Finding Nemo 3D - $9.6 million

5.  Resident Evil: Retribution - $6.7 million

6.  Dredd - $6.2 million

7.  The Master - $4.3 million

8.  The Possession - $2.6 million

9.  ParaNorman - $2.3 million

10.  Lawless - $2.2 million

Finally!  And without much to really report.  This was one of those weekends where a bunch of new movies came out...but no one really wanted to see any of them.  When your number one movie only earns $13.1 million, that's a slow weekend.  But that first place prize goes to End of Watch, which at least showed somewhat of a pulse this weekend. 

Just behind that was House at the End of the Street, starring Jennifer Lawrence, which was kept from the critics until last minute, and apparently for good reason.  That opened with $12.2 million, which isn't great, and will likely be forgotten by the time the first photo from Catching Fire (which started filming earlier this month) surfaces sometime soon.

Clint Eastwood's Trouble With the Curve struggled to find an audience as well, earning only $12.1 million.  And no, the lackluster performance had nothing to do with Clint's performance with a chair at last month's Republican National Convention.  He's still Clint Eastwood, for god's sake.  The movie itself just never generated enough interest to be much of a draw, and with a pretty exciting pennant race playing out in the actual MLB, baseball fans were most likely home watching that.

Finding Nemo 3D isn't really gaining much traction in the 3D re-release genre, having only earned $30.2 million since opening last weekend.  Last week's champ, Resident Evil: Retribution, crashed and burned in its second weekend, dropping nearly 70% to earn just $6.7 million.  And that's with 3D and IMAX.  Ouch.

The news was even worse for Dredd, which opened with just a barely noticible $6.2 million.  Again, ouch.

There was some good news this weekend, as The Master expanded to 788 screens and earned $4.3 million.  Not sure how it will do as it expands, as the film's non-narrative storytelling will likely impact word-of-mouth going forward.

Next weekend, theaters will get their Halloween-thing going on, as the animated comedy Hotel Transylvania opens in theaters.  Joining that will be the Bruce Willis/Joseph Gordon-Levitt sci-fi thriller Looper, the school drama Won't Back Down, and the teen musical-ish comedy Pitch Perfect.

"Smurfs 2" Teaser Poster

In the sequel, the evil wizard Gargamel (Hank Azaria) creates a couple of mischievous Smurf-like creatures called the Naughties that he hopes will let him harness the all-powerful, magical Smurf-essence. But when he discovers that only a real Smurf can give him what he wants — and only a secret spell that Smurfette knows can turn the Naughties into real Smurfs — Gargamel kidnaps Smurfette and brings her to Paris, where he has been winning the adoration of millions as the world's greatest sorcerer. It's up to Papa, Clumsy, Grouchy, and Vanity to return to our world, reunite with their human friends Patrick and Grace Winslow, and rescue her! Will Smurfette, who has always felt different from the other Smurfs, find a new connection with the Naughties Vexy and Hackus – or will the Smurfs convince her that their love for her is True Blue?

New Poster For "Les Miserables"

Set against the backdrop of 19th-century France, Les Misérables tells an enthralling story of broken dreams and unrequited love, passion, sacrifice and redemption–a timeless testament to the survival of the human spirit. Jackman plays ex-prisoner Jean Valjean, hunted for decades by the ruthless policeman Javert (Crowe) after he breaks parole. When Valjean agrees to care for factory worker Fantine’s (Hathaway) young daughter, Cosette, their lives change forever.

New "The Hobbit: Unexpected Journey" Poster

The film follows title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers. Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain, first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever... Gollum. Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum's "precious" ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities... A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.

First Look at The Wolverine

Any first thoughts of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in The Wolverine?

He's been playing the character for twelve years onscreen, spanning five films. How can he look any different? Didn't think it was possible, but he does. The Aussie star lacks the trademark Wolverine standup hair and side-burns. He's also so flexed up, his veins have veins!

Not bad.

Something From "The Wolverine" is Coming on Monday

 

No, we don't know what it is, either.  But savvy Twitter followers of The Wolverine director James Mangold caught this hint of things to come when this was posted late yesterday: 

James Mangold‏@mang0ld

Stay tuned Monday, friends. For fans of THE WOLVERINE... Something wicked this way comes.

Adding to the suspense was Marvel's Ryan Penagos, who visited the set of The Wolverine in Australia over the summer, who tweeted this:

Ryan Penagos@AgentM

Just got word that I have something WAY cool to share on Monday morning. #TheWolverine #seeeekrits #IteasebecauseIlove

So, there you have it.  Is it a teaser poster?  Trailer?  Picture?  Wolverine cover of "Call Me Maybe"? (hey, Batman did one)  We have no idea.  But be on the lookout on Monday for what appears to be our first official look at The Wolverine, which opens in theaters next July. 

We'll update as soon as we know more...

First Trailer, Poster, & Synopsis for Jackie Robinson Biopic: '42'

I usually comment, but I think the trailer speaks for itself:

Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures are teaming up with director Brian Helgeland for “42,” the powerful story of Jackie Robinson, the legendary baseball player who broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier when he joined the roster of the Brooklyn Dodgers. “42″ will star Academy Award(R) nominee Harrison Ford (“Witness”) as the innovative Dodger’s general manager Branch Rickey, the MLB executive who first signed Robinson to the minors and then helped to bring him up to the show, and Chadwick Boseman (“The Express”) as Robinson, the heroic African American who was the first man to break the color line in the big leagues.