Both Disney & WB Want Darren Aronofsky For Tentpoles

Darren Aronofsky is sitting in a nice, fat and happy position post-Black Swan. At this point, one could easily imagine his having little-to-no problem securing financing for his next endeavor if he so opts to go the independent route.

But while that remains to be seen, that hasn't stopped studios in town from knocking at his door reports Badass Digest. Word is both Disney and Warner Brothers are in heat to get their hands on Aronofsky.

Over at the Brothers Warner, they want him for the Dan Lin-produced Moses movie. Meanwhile the House of the Mouse is aiming for him to helm the Angelina Jolie-starring Maleficent. You may remember Tim Burton was onboard for that Sleeping Beauty "re-imagining" until his recent departure. He was reportedly too busy making more shitty movies with Johnny Depp.

Personally if Aronofsky really wants to wet his whistle with a big-budget studio-backed picture, I'd prefer it be neither of these. Then again, I'm just happy (as a film nerd) the dude's getting to continue to do his thang.

First Look at Tom Hardy's Bane from The Dark Knight Rises!

I'm a simplest. Thus viral marketing and the like make my little head swell up.

But this morning has, so far, followed a frenzy of information for The Dark Knight Rises (just a day after Warner Brothers/Legendary Pictures officially announced the beginning of production) with the official site launching with some kind of audible chanting being heard, followed by Super Hero Hype uncovering this whole #thefirerises affair. Long story short, the more people like yours truly says #thefirerises on Twitter, the more clear a picture appears here.

Some have already cut right to the chase and uncovered this image - our first look at Tom Hardy as Bane and the first official glimpse from the third, and final, installment of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. That's...some look he's got going there, huh?

Because Noone Asked For It: Another Carrie Remake

Brian De Palma and Lawrence Cohen took Carrie (Stephen King's first novel, which as much as I've tried and as big a fan I am of his work, is not a good read) and made a great movie back in 1976.

Twelve years later, some schmucks thought the same material would work as a Broadway musical and its failure became the stuff of legend. In the late 90s in the midst of the post-Scream horror craze, some other schmucks took an unrelated script, slapped Carrie 2 on the title and even paid Amy Irving a couple of bucks (because her alimony from Steven Spielberg clearly wasn't enough?) to reprise her role from De Palma's film. Then even more schmucks at NBC (Not surprising in retrospect given that network in the last few years) did their own version where she actually lives at the end.

But in this day and age of reboots, remakes, re-whatevers, with brand-name properties, yet another set of schmucks (MGM and Screen Gems) think they can out-do the '76 film with their own version and have commissioned Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (whose work ranges from comics to Big Love to that seemingly-doomed Spider-Man Broadway play) to write, says "TOLDJA."

I fully expect more crap given the history of Carrie that we've just gone over, kids. Needless to say, the buck stops at the De Palma film.

Scientific Officials Have Confirmed Vin Diesel Is A Robot

Vin Diesel can't spend all his time doing just The Fast & the Furious movies. Although he'd keep raking in the dough and people would actually go see those.

No, that'd be the smart thing to do. Instead he's trying to expand himself and according to "TOLDJA," looking for another franchise to start-up, then refuse to do the second installment over money and ego in favor of another damn Riddick movie and then come crawling back ten years later after a series of flops.

In what will be their first production since their return from near-oblivion, MGM and Diesel are teaming up for the sci-fi action/comedy The Machine. The one they call Vin will play a "human-like machine" that gets its plug pulled by the U.S. government (Knowing them, it probably didn't work to begin with!), buried and then discovered and reactivated by a little kid twenty years later. So of course, the li'l tyke and the Vin Diesel-like robot bond and they protects him and his family when the G-men come back looking for him.

You know if Diesel is that Hell-bent on turning into Arnold Schwarzenegger, he should do a comedy where he gets pregnant thanks to the wonders of modern-science (and Danny De Vito!) Or perhaps Vin Diesel: Let's Get Silly? I would also assume his proposed involvement in Terminator 5 (via Movie Hole) didn't pan out?

WB Would Like You to Know Dark Knight Rises Started Filming

Speculation was pretty crazy after Batman Begins opened back in June 2005 and everyone (us nerds and general public alike) couldn't wait to see what director Christopher Nolan had to store for what-ultimately-became The Dark Knight (then Batman II).

But after the Batman Begins sequel hit theaters and broke shit-loads of box-office records and won even more critical acclaim than its predecessor, anticipation for the next installment hit full-retard. Every rumor (ranging from the plausible, what little of those we heard, to the inane and utterly stupid, like "Eddie Murphy as the Riddler!") was deemed news-worthy, wasting much of our time and energy, let's be honest here.

Well gather the kids around the family computer because Warner Brothers and Legendary Pictures would like to make it officially official. The Dark Knight Rises, the third and final entry in the Nolan-helmed Batman trilogy, started filming. Granted we already knew that considering those snap-shots taken from both India and London recently.

But I digress. Here's the press release:

"BURBANK, CA, May 19, 2011 – Principal photography has begun on Warner Bros. Pictures' and Legendary Pictures' 'The Dark Knight Rises,' the epic conclusion to filmmaker Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy.

Leading an all-star international cast, Oscar® winner Christian Bale ('The Fighter') again plays the dual role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. The film also stars Anne Hathaway, as Selina Kyle; Tom Hardy, as Bane; Oscar® winner Marion Cotillard ('La Vie en Rose'), as Miranda Tate; and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as John Blake. Returning to the main cast, Oscar® winner Michael Caine ('The Cider House Rules') plays Alfred; Gary Oldman is Commissioner Gordon; and Oscar® winner Morgan Freeman ('Million Dollar Baby') reprises the role of Lucius Fox.

In helming 'The Dark Knight Rises,' Christopher Nolan is utilizing IMAX® cameras even more extensively than he did on 'The Dark Knight,' which had marked the first time ever that a major feature film was partially shot with IMAX® cameras. The results were so spectacular that the director wanted to expand the use of the large-format cameras for this film.

The screenplay for 'The Dark Knight Rises' is written by Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer. The film is being produced by Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Charles Roven, who previously teamed on 'Batman Begins' and the record-breaking blockbuster 'The Dark Knight.' The executive producers are Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Kevin De La Noy and Thomas Tull, with Jordan Goldberg serving as co-producer. 'The Dark Knight' is based upon characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by Bob Kane.

Behind the scenes, 'The Dark Knight Rises' reunites the director with several of his longtime collaborators, all of whom worked together on the 'The Dark Knight.' The creative team includes director of photography Wally Pfister, who recently won an Oscar® for his work on Nolan's 'Inception'; production designer Nathan Crowley; editor Lee Smith; and Oscar®-winning costume designer Lindy Hemming ('Topsy-Turvy'). In addition, Paul Franklin and Chris Corbould, who both won Oscars® for the effects in 'Inception,' will supervise the visual and special effects, respectively. The music will be composed by Oscar® winner Hans Zimmer ('The Lion King').

The locations for 'The Dark Knight Rises' span three continents and include the American cities of Pittsburgh, New York and Los Angeles, as well as sites in India, England and Scotland.

'The Dark Knight Rises' is a presentation of Warner Bros. Pictures, in association with Legendary Pictures. Slated for release on July 20, 2012, the film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company."

I can't ridicule others because I'll probably go crazy when filming starts on The Man of Steel (incidentially being produced by Nolan) and Steven Spielberg's Lincoln. But indeed I too am looking forward to see how Nolan plans to wrap everything up next July. It would probably be wise to go ahead and buy an advance ticket.

Our Hearts Will Go On in 2012: Titanic Gets a 3D Re-Release

April 10, 2012 marks the 100th anniversary of the ill-fated voyage of the passenger liner Titanic, which sank five days later in the frigid Atlantic Ocean after hitting an iceberg, killing 1,517 people on board.  1,518 people, if you count Jack Dawson, who of course won a lucky ticket in a poker game and...oh, never mind. 

If you don't know that story already, you'll find out in glorious 3D form when James Cameron's Titanic returns to theaters on April 6, 2012.  The film grossed an already staggering $600 million domestically without the benefit of 3D during its original release in 1997, going on to win Best Picture at the Oscars that year and holding first place as the world's highest-grossing film until finally getting knocked off by Avatar (another Cameron film, naturally) in 2010. 

The film's 3D re-release is set to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Titanic tragedy, which is how I'm sure the victims would have wanted it.  It's also, of course, another chance for Cameron to flex his considerable 3D muscle and get a chance to get even richer from a generation of Twilight-crazed teen romance fans who weren't here the first time around to fall head over heels with the doomed romance of Jack and Rose. 

Cameron says in a statement, "There's a whole generation that's never seen ‘TITANIC’ as it was meant to be seen, on the big screen. And this will be ‘TITANIC’ as you've never seen it before, digitally re-mastered at 4K and painstakingly converted to 3D. With the emotional power intact and the images more powerful than ever, this will be an epic experience for fans and newcomers alike."

Even though this seemed like the movie that would never go away after staying in first every weekend for what seemed like an eternity, it's actually still a pretty good movie.  I would go see it again, although I don't think it needs 3D at all.  I just hope we avoid seeing this song making a comeback.

CBS Fall Schedule

CBS announced today its new 2011-2012 primetime schedule, ordering five new series and making key time-period moves for CSI and THE GOOD WIFE to strengthen its already top-rated primetime lineup.  CBS will, once again, finish the season as America's most watched network, marking the eighth time it has done so in the last nine years.

The new series include three new dramas and two new comedies: PERSON OF INTEREST, a crime thriller from renowned executive producer J.J. Abrams starring Jim Caviezel, Emmy Award winner Michael Emerson and Academy Award nominee Taraji P. Henson; UNFORGETTABLE, starring Dylan Walsh and Poppy Montgomery as a former detective with a rare condition that enables her to remember virtually every detail from every day of her life; A GIFTED MAN about a preeminent surgeon whose life changes forever when his deceased ex-wife returns, starring Patrick Wilson and Jennifer Ehle; 2 BROKE GIRLS, a comedy about two strikingly different young waitresses who form an unlikely friendship, starring Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs; and an odd-couple comedy, HOW TO BE A GENTLEMAN, starring David Hornsby and Kevin Dillon, about a refined magazine columnist and his very unrefined personal trainer.

The freshman series will be joined by 19 returning shows, including the season's #1 drama/scripted series, NCIS; #1 comedy, THE BIG BANG THEORY; #1 news magazine, 60 MINUTES; # 1 new comedy, MIKE & MOLLY; along with two franchise reality series, SURVIVOR and the seven-time Emmy Award winner, THE AMAZING RACE.

The other returning series include: HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER; HAWAII FIVE-0; NCIS: LOS ANGELES; CRIMINAL MINDS; CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION; THE MENTALIST; CSI: NY; BLUE BLOODS; RULES OF ENGAGEMENT; 48 HOURS MYSTERY; THE GOOD WIFE; and CSI: MIAMI.
For mid-season, CBS will present the third season of the reality series UNDERCOVER BOSS, and the new police drama, THE 2-2, from Tribeca Productions and executive producers Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal.

The new 2011-2012 schedule is as follows:

MONDAY
8:00-8:30 PM              HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
8:30-9:00 PM              2 BROKE GIRLS (NEW)
9:00-9:30 PM              TWO AND A HALF MEN
9:30-10:00 PM            MIKE & MOLLY
10:00-11:00 PM          HAWAII FIVE-0

TUESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM              NCIS
9:00-10:00 PM            NCIS: LOS ANGELES
10:00-11:00 PM          UNFORGETTABLE (New)

WEDNESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM              SURVIVOR: SOUTH PACIFIC
9:00-10:00 PM            CRIMINAL MINDS
10:00-11:00 PM          CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (New Time)

THURSDAY
8:00-8:30 PM              THE BIG BANG THEORY
8:30-9:00 PM              HOW TO BE A GENTLEMAN (New)
9:00-10:00 PM            PERSON OF INTEREST (New)
10:00-11:00 PM          THE MENTALIST

FRIDAY
8:00-9:00 PM              A GIFTED MAN (New)
9:00-10:00 PM            CSI: NY
10:00-11:00 PM          BLUE BLOODS

SATURDAY
8:00-8:30 PM              RULES OF ENGAGEMENT (New Time)
8:30-9:00 PM              COMEDYTIME SATURDAY
9:00-10:00 PM            CRIMETIME SATURDAY
10:00-11:00 PM          48 HOURS MYSTERY

SUNDAY
7:00-8:00 PM              60 MINUTES
8:00-9:00 PM              THE AMAZING RACE
9:00-10:00 PM            THE GOOD WIFE (New Time)
10:00-11:00 PM          CSI: MIAMI

Person of Interest Featurette

There was great excitement in the geek community when it came to the announcement that JJ Abrams and Jonah Nolan were collaborating on a TV show together, and now we have a first look at what they have been up to.

PERSON OF INTEREST stars Jim Caviezel, Emmy Award winner Michael Emerson and Academy Award nominee Taraji P. Henson in a crime thriller about a presumed dead former-CIA agent who teams up with a mysterious billionaire to prevent violent crimes by using their own brand of vigilante justice.

Reese's (Caviezel) special training in covert operations appeals to Finch (Emerson), a software genius who invented a program that uses pattern recognition to identify people about to be involved in violent crimes. Using state-of-the-art surveillance technology, the two work outside of the law using Reese's adept skills and Finch's unlimited wealth to unravel the mystery of the person of interest and stop the crime before it happens.

Reese's actions catch the attention of the NYPD, including homicide detective Carter (Henson), and Fusco (Kevin Chapman), a cop who Reese uses to his advantage. With infinite crimes to investigate, Reese and Finch find that the right person, with the right information, at the right time, can change everything.

The show is a high tech thriller that comes off like a cross between Minority Report and The Equalizer, which pleases me very much. It will debut on Thursday nights on CBS this Fall.

A Tranformers-less Transformers Clip

Unless any of those sweet cars sitting in Dr. McDreamy's office are secretly robots (in disguise!), I'm not sure what the point of this clip from Transformers: Dark of the Moon is.  Most likely it's to introduce Megan Fox replacement Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.  Maybe it's to show us that it looks like Shia LaBeouf got to keep his Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps wardrobe, or that Patrick Dempsey just looks to nice too be playing some kind of corporate sleaze.

I certainly hope it's not trying to show us that the movie will have a better plot and characterization this time, because if that's it...yikes, we're in trouble. 

You can check out the clip here, courtesy of Yahoo Movies.  Transformers: Dark of the Moon opens on July 1.       

First Look at Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games

She got much deserved raves for her turn in Winter's Bone, including an Oscar nomination and she'll be seen next month as Mystique in X-Men: First Class. But I'll be surprised if the X-Men prequel doesn't end up as the lowest grossing entry in that franchise. Don't see her gaining (or losing) points for that one, and she appears to have walked off The Beaver unscathed.

For most movie-goers, their eyes are on Jennifer Lawrence to see how she'll do as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games.

The greatly-anticipated film adaptation of the popular Suzanne Collins novel won't hit cinemas until next March (You can bet your ass that will be one of the big hits of 2012) but Entertainment Weekly has a first-look at Lawrence in character.

Having no immediate knowledge of the book(s), I don't have much of an opinion truth be told. I like the director/screenwriter pairing of Gary Ross and Billy Ray behind Hunger Games and Lawrence is a promising actress to watch as shown by the afore-mentioned Winter's Bone.

Actually, a friend of mine is quite the fan of the book trilogy. So I'll have to bum the books off her before the film opens.