Rise of the Planet of the Apes: How Did They Do That?

Rise of the Planet of the Apes has so far been getting some shockingly good reviews.  Whatever your feelings are about this reboot/remake/prequel to the original 1968 Planet of the Apes (and its 4 sequels), you have to admit...the special effects we've seen with the apes so far has pretty damn impressive, especially since there were no actual apes used in the film.

So how did that motion capture stuff work?  20th Century Fox has released a behind-the-scenes look at how WETA Digital made an ape apocalypse look exceptionally real, and proves once again how Andy Serkis is one of the coolest actors working today:

And you can check out a clip from the movie here:

Oh, that's just not going to end well for anyone.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes opens in theaters tomorrow.

The Batpod In Action In Pittsburgh!

As everyone knows by now Chris Nolan's TDKR is shooting some huge action in Pittsburgh right now and today this Lady caught the great image below of the Batpod being driven down the City Hall steps.

Now as you can see it's a test run, rumour has it that Catwoman is the character who will be on the Batpod and the stunt will be shot for the film tomorrow, so the question is will a stunt man be doubling as Catwoman in our possible first look at the catsuit?

Trailer: Killing Bono

When I heard the title Killing Bono, I immediately assumed this had something to do with Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark.  Luckily for all of us, this film has nothing to do with that ill-fated Broadway musical.

Directed by Nick Hamm, Killing Bono is about two Irish rockers trying to become superstars in the shadow of U2, who is clearly doing that much better than they are.  It is based on Killing Bono: I Am Bono's Doppleganger, the 2003 memoir by Neil McCormick.  The film stars Narnia's Ben Barnes, Robert Sheehan, Krysten Ritter, and the late Pete Postlethwaite, in his final film role.

The trailer?  Looks pretty funny:

According to Variety, Killing Bono is set for video-on-demand release in October, and a theatrical release in November. 

Henry Cavill As Superman

Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures have provided the first look at the new Man of Steel, revealing star Henry Cavill as Superman in the film from director Zack Snyder.

The film also stars three-time Oscar® nominee Amy Adams (The Fighter) as Daily Planet journalist Lois Lane, and Oscar® nominee Laurence Fishburne (What's Love Got to Do with It) as her editor-in-chief, Perry White. Starring as Clark Kent's adoptive parents, Martha and Jonathan Kent, are Oscar® nominee Diane Lane (Unfaithful) and Academy Award® winner Kevin Costner (Dances with Wolves).

Squaring off against the superhero are two other surviving Kryptonians, the villainous General Zod, played by Oscar® nominee Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road), and Faora, Zod's evil partner, played by Antje Traue. Also from Superman's native Krypton are Lara Lor-Van, Superman's mother, played by Julia Ormond, and Superman's father, Jor-El, portrayed by Academy Award® winner Russell Crowe (Gladiator).

Rounding out the cast are Harry Lennix as U.S. military man General Swanwick, as well as Christopher Meloni as Colonel Hardy.

Man of Steel is being produced by Charles Roven, Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Deborah Snyder. The screenplay was written by David S. Goyer, from a story by Goyer and Nolan, based upon Superman characters created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster and published by DC Comics. Thomas Tull and Lloyd Phillips are serving as executive producers.

Henry Cavill Embraces The "Man Of Steel"

The upcoming issue of "Total Film" magazine includes a heroic amount of exclusives and one of them is an interview with Superman himself, Henry Cavill. The Total Film Website has a preview of the interview which you can enjoy below.

On his Man Of Steel workout:

“I’m on 5000 calories a day… You’ve got to eat protein first, then a little bit of carbs…you’ve gotta keep your hunger levels going. I’m training two and a half hours a day, pushing my body beyond its normal limits, putting on a lot of muscle mass and just making myself look like Superman.”

On putting on the Superman suit:

“It’s extremely cool. There’s no other feeling like it. They just put it on, I turned around and look in the mirror and you can’t really play it cool – you sort of guffaw and laugh. I thought ‘OK, holy hell, this is real, it’s not a joke anymore. This is it…you’re doing it, you’re right in the middle of it.’”

On his preperation for Superman:

 “Being as true as I can be to the original character and who the character is.”

On being a British actor playing an American superhero:

“I’m very proud to be British and playing an iconic American superhero…it means I’m doing something right somewhere.”

On almost becoming James Bond:

“That would be absolutely amazing. If they approached me on that I’d leap at the opportunity to do it. But that’s of course well away for the time being…

Every quote and every picture I have seen of Cavill has only helped to further solidfy him as Superman in my mind. I never thought The Brothers Warner would be going back to the well to cast Cavill, but I think they are going to be glad that they did. We already know he looks the part, doesn't take a visonary to figure that out, but he is embracing the opportunity to act the part off screen as well.

I don't think fanboys or the general public are going to have any problems with the actor donning the tights. It's the possible changes that will be coming to character traits & roles in the Superman universe we are all used to that could cause fanboys to worry & the general public to scratch their heads.

RIP, Hightower

If you grew up in the 80s, odds are you've seen at least one of the Police Academy movies.  Cinema classics they definitely weren't, and I seem to recall that I finally gave up on the series after the fourth movie, but in their heyday they were always good for a laugh and usually instantly quotable.

CNN is reporting that Bubba Smith, who starred in six of the seven Police Academy movies, passed away today at the age of 66.  Smith, of course, played the gentle giant Moses Hightower, the florist-turned-police-lieutenant whose memorable driving lesson in a tiny Honda Civic was one of the highlights of the original Police Academy movie.  He was also played nine seasons in the NFL, winning the Superbowl with the Baltimore Colts in 1971.

Of course, he didn't entirely leave football behind when he turned to acting:

Love that scene.  RIP, Bubba.  We'll miss you.

Soon To Be Released From Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. has announced release dates for their upcoming J. Edgar, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island and Gravity.

Directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Leonardo Dicaprio as the founding FBI director, J. Edgar will see a limited release on Wednesday, November 9th, expanding to theaters everywhere two days later (Friday, the 11th). The 11th puts the film up against Immortals, Jack and Jill, 11-11-11 and, in limited release, Melancholia.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close will open in limited release on Christmas Day, opposite The Darkest Hour, We Bought a Zoo, In the Land of Blood and Honey and the domestic release of The Adventures of Tintin. Opening the prior Monday of that same week are also The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol. The film, which stars Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock, will then go wide on January 20th, 2012, opposite Haywire, Red Tails and Underworld Awakening.

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island is being delayed from its January 27, 2012 date until February 10th. There, it goes head to head with Safe House, The Vow and the 3D re-release of Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menance.

Further out, the Alfonso Cuaron 3D sci-fi film Gravity has been dated for November 21, 2012. It will go up against 47 Ronin and Rise of the Guardians.

Via ComingSoon.net

On and Off With Green Lantern

So much smoke has been blown in our faces since the release of Green Lantern. There have been reports of a sequel being considered filled with uncertainty in abundance. Just yesterday a quote from Jeff Robinov went up with him saying a sequel was being considered but that it needed to be dark and edgier to gain a better opinion from the populace. Hollywood Reporter talked with the CEO of Warner Bros., Jeff Bewkes, who had this to say about the floundering property;

"It did not live up to expectations - fell fairly far short of those," Bewkes said. Still, he didn't rule out a sequel at this point, saying that he was not in a position to tell at this time if there will be one. "We will be deciding that in due course," he said. Sources had previously told The Hollywood Reporter that Warner Bros. was not giving up on a sequel.

Bewkes, however, calmed Wall Street concerns about TW's plans to use superhero films from its DC arm to fill the void that will be left after the final film in the Harry Potter franchise. "I'm not concerned about DC's strategy," Bewkes emphasizing, predicting that it will be "a major contributor" of hits and franchises in the future. He pointed to a planned Superman film and next year's latest Batman release as upcoming projects.

This has honestly been one of the most disheartening situations concerning a film that I've been involved with. Green Lantern has such a rich history in the comics and I had very high hopes that this movie would perform well and be a huge property for Warner Bros. Unfortunately it has ended up about as bad as it could possibly be. Even though I enjoyed the movie immensely it still wasn't what it should have been and certainly feels like a missed opportunity. I also feel a lot of critics were very unfair towards the movie and in no way is it as bad as many have made it out to be.

It's all a waiting game at this point. High home video sales could potentially give the studio an extra incentive to go forward with the sequel. With such a poor performance and negative response though, I don't see any reason why they'd even begin to think of a second film.

Hunger Games Soundtrack

LIONSGATE®, a leading global entertainment company, together with Universal Republic today announced a sweeping partnership on the soundtrack to the highly anticipated Lionsgate motion picture event THE HUNGER GAMES, which will be in theaters everywhere on March 23, 2012.

Unlike typical soundtracks, this collection will not only include music being recorded by major artists for inclusion in the film, but a series of companion recordings that will feature new songs directly influenced by the themes and subject matter of THE HUNGER GAMES, all recorded by some of music’s most successful and acclaimed artists.

Said Lionsgate’s Head of Music Tracy McKnight, “We are absolutely thrilled to be joining forces with Universal Republic. There is a tremendous opportunity for us to draw from so many different musical genres with this soundtrack. The setting for THE HUNGER GAMES ranges from what could be perceived as the rural Southern part of the U.S. all the way to the most advanced metropolis imaginable, and it all takes place in a vividly imagined future. The list of artists that could participate, and the opportunities for them to write and record, are really unlimited.”

The film’s Executive Music Producer and co-composer T Bone Burnett will produce many of these recordings, and will oversee all production. It was previously announced that Burnett will be collaborating with composer Danny Elfman on the film’s score, which will also be released by Universal Republic.

“THE HUNGER GAMES is a highly imaginative and thrilling narrative that combines edginess, raw emotion and themes of freedom,” stated Monte Lipman, President and CEO of Universal Republic Records. “And these are the same qualities we will be considering as we start building this innovative new music collection. We are not only looking for great music, but a diverse array of music that speaks to the universal themes of the movie.”

The deal was negotiated for Lionsgate by Lenny Wohl, EVP Music Business Affairs, and by Universal Republic’s head of Business Affairs Michael Seltzer.

Not knowing much about the books, I did some research on the great Wiki and found the story to be very interesting. For a movie like this, which I assume is aiming to be a franchise for the company, I normally prefer a musical score to accompany the story being presented on the screen. Twilight has also used the mainstream style and it just throws the events off a little bit for me. They may incorporate a mix of both and that could be fine as well. If the artists chosen create original tracks that help the emotion of the story then I won't have any problem in the decision to go this route.

Tom Hardy Digs Being Bane

The upcoming issue of "Total Film" magazine has a load of exclusives and one of them is an interview with Tom Hardy who is playing "Bane" in the "The Dark Knight Rises". The Total Film Website has a preview of the interview which you can enjoy below.

On Nolan asking him if he would be interested in playing Bane:

"Hang on a minute. You’re asking me to come round the world with you in a Batman movie, playing a villain, and the only downside to it is I have to wear a mask? Hmmm, let me think. I’ll get back to you… No, I’m fucking there, man! Anything you need.’”

On the possiblity of Bane breaking Batman's back:

 “Mmmmm… Good lead-in, but all I can say is that Chris has a plan up his sleeve that’s not at all disappointing. And that is a definite choice that’s watertight in every respect."

On Bane's characterization:

“I think Bane’s fucking cool so I’m really excited to play him. It’s not the guy in Joel Schumacher’s film, but it shouldn’t disappoint fanboys…”

On living up to the villian legacy that Heath Ledger established in "The Dark Knight":

 “No, none at all,” he insisted. “Brilliant actor, brilliant work – that’s it. I’ve got a job to do. It’s the same with Mad Max and Mel Gibson. I’m not here to engage in a competition with their talent. It’s to play the character that I’ve been given.”

On Bane's costume:

“Any time you put something over your face, you’re going to adopt a personality and a physicality that has nothing to do with acting. It allows a performance to be free.”

Hardy is saying all the right things and although I didn't love the idea of Bane, after seeing the character in action, I'm completely sold. You figured Nolan would well, Nolanize the character and he's certainly done so. Wonder when Hathaway is going to speak about Catwoman and when the hell are we going to see that tight outfit?

You can pick up the issue with Henry Cavill aka Superman on the cover on tomorrow the 4th. For you poster collectors the issue includes free posters for The Amazing Spider-Man, The Dark Knight Rises, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows