Joaquin Phoenix Mulling Over Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

It's one thing to do a couple of bad movies, and another to alienate millions of paying movie-goers who first brought you fame and fortune. Whether this fall out of public favor was political commentary (generally folks don’t give a shit about an entertainer's politics regardless if their color of choice is blue or red) or pushing your controversial religion, it's never an unwise decision to keep your mouth shut. Just ask Will Smith and Hugh Jackman – people love those guys.

On the other hand, Joaquin Phoenix spent the last two years squandering his talent and time with brother-in-law Casey Affleck of the "documentary" I'm Not Here. Considering how both swore up and down it wasn't a hoax (That David Letterman interview has become the stuff of legend), people weren't amused when it turned out to be just that. Hell, I still haven't seen it or even its trailer.

Phoenix, despite being a very good actor, seriously needs to get back to what made people dig him in the first place – appearing in good movies that make a lot of money. That brings us to this news-item.

"TOLDJA" says he's being eyed for 20^th Century Fox’s big summer release Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. If he accepts (Word is the part is his if he so desires), he'd play the mysterious mentor figure to our 16^th President of the United States (to be played by Benjamin Walker) and show him the ways of vampire killing.

This is such an oddball project (I still laugh at how stupid it sounds even despite the said popularity of the novel this is based on) I wonder if Phoenix is better suited for Honest Abe.

Kristen Stewart & Four Others Battle For Lois Lane

Now that Team Nolan and Team Warner has their Superman in the young British actor Henry Cavill, the search for his flying partner seems to have accelerated into second gear.

According to What's Playing, WB has a short list of actresses that are clawing it out for the role of Lois Lane in the upcoming Superman film. Kristen Stewart, Malin Akerman, Dianna Argon, Jessica Biel, and Rachel McAdams are going toe to toe now.

Stewart made her mark toeing the line with werewolves and vampires in the Twilight series, she really needs no introduction. Dianna Argon is bringing in week in and week out on "Glee" and she is rumored to have read for both Spider-Man. You can see the interest in these two young ladies because of the notoriety among the younger demographic, imagine theaters crawling with Twihards or Gleeks?

One might think that Malin Akerman would have some sort of inside track because of her work with Snyder on "Watchmen", but that didn't really seem to work for Matthew Goode.  McAdams has long been a forum fanboy go to when casting Lois, she has the chops and worked with WB before on "Sherlock Holmes"

That leaves Biel. The reason she intrigues me the most is because we have heard her name before on a previous shortlist, except that was for the role of Catwoman in "Dark Knight Rises" which ultimately went to Anne Hathaway. Biel also read for the Wonder Woman role in the doomed from day one "Justice League: Mortal" Could Biel be in a similar situation as Cavill? He was in the mix for the role of "Batman Begins" and also cast as Superman in a previous incarnation during the McG days.

Originally Posted On SupermanLives.net

Christopher Nolan On "Dark Knight Rises" & Henry Cavill

Sunday night Christopher Nolan was at the Santa Barbara Film Festival graciously excepting the honor of the Modern Master Award. Surprisingly there wasn't a WB secret service team shielding him in an octagon of dudes wearing sunglasses, protecting their investment from the rabid geekdom.

Hitfix revealed that The Brothers Warner even left him alone long enough to engage in a Q&A with Pete Hammond. The questions almost immediately turned to the world's greatest heroes. Nolan touched upon where he was going with "Dark Knight Rises", the last installment in his Batman series.

"I think really it was about finishing the story. For me it's about…knowing where I want to go with the thing and I think with Batman the story we're going to tell is Bruce Wayne's story. So, that's what gets me excited about getting back into something," Nolan says. "The sequel thing is rather interesting because there is a lot of comfort in the familiarity of it, but there is also a challenge of reinventing it for yourself as well as the audience.  You just can't do the same things again. But once you start thinking about Bruce Wayne's story you want to see where that goes."

Then of course was the inevitable "Superman" related question, fresh of the heels of Henry Cavill being cast in the coveted role. Is it me or does Nolan proest to much every time his involvement with "Superman" is brought up. I think its pretty safe to say he had the heaviest say when it came to the writer, director, and who would be playing "Superman."

"What I'm doing on that is that I hired a great director to take it on and it's more his problem than mine hopefully," Nolan says laughing. "I'm going to be very busy, but I'm super excited to watch Zack's movie when its done and I think Henry [Cavill] is going to be amazing."

Another "Scream 4" Poster.

I don't know. I just don't know. I'm really trying to embrace the idea of a "Scream 4". I just don't have that loving feeling for the franchise anymore. From the looks of it, I think the new installment of the Scream series will hit all the right notes, but to me that might be a problem.

Nothing I have seen has been "different". The trailer screams of the previous films, even the posters and official photos have a been there done that feeling. I sure will see this in the theater, because I am a "horror guy", but I hope I don't get a feeling of deja vu.

My mild rant now over, enjoy another poster from the upcoming slasher.

Chris Evans on Cover of Empire as Captain America

In the latest issue of Empire Magazine, Chris Evans is featured on the cover as Captain America.  The magazine offers an in-depth look at the Marvel comic adaptation coming out this summer.

Haven't had a chance to read the article (I'm not a subscriber unfortunately), but judging by what I've seen of this film's production, we're in-store for a spectacular movie come July 22nd.  The level of detail and care that seemingly has gone into the making of this film is unavoidably noticeable.

Now I'm not saying the same attention to detail and passion didn't go into the making of other comic book films being released this year (obviously it did), but there just seems to be "something" about this film that strikes me as being special.

Looking forward to the first trailer.

Captain America: The First Avenger hits domestic cinemas July 22nd.

Who Did Henry Cavill Beat Out for Superman Gig?

I can no longer call Henry Cavill the "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride" of franchises after his surprising (for multiple reasons) casting as the new Superman. But I'll tip my hat to his devoted fans that got their wish and fully admit that I blew it on this one.

Interesting to note how (similar to Cavill's Kryptonian predecessor Brandon Routh) we were spared months worth of official short-lists and so forth. Just boom, here's the guy – end of story, let's get going. But that doesn't mean we can't find out after the fact.

Heat Vision has the details. In typical Christopher Nolan fashion, things were so secretive on casting only a handful of top WB executives knew what was going down. As for who we can add to the "Coulda beens" list of Kal-Els, Matthew Goode, who’d been rumored a few months back, was in fact the Runner-Up. He even went as far to jump out of the Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter race to focus his attention to sporting the red-and-blue trunks.

Other contenders ranged from the expected Armie Hammer and Joe Manganiello to Colin O'Donaghue (co-starring in this weekend's box-office champ The Rite) to another epic "WOOOOW" surprise in Matthew Bomer – not a knock against him, mind you.

How long till we find out who the new Lois Lane is?

Javier Bardem Flips Coin for James Bond Offer

You guys remember that awful VH1 show Best Week Ever?

It's safe to say Javier Bardem is coming off one. The birth of his first child with wife Penelope Cruz, his second Academy Award nomination for Biutiful (one that was a huge surprise, to add) and getting the offer to headline Ron Howard's Dark Tower film trilogy/limited-run television series. Apparently his week of good fortune didn't stop there.

"TOLDJA" says the No Country For Old Men Oscar-winner was also formerly offered the lead for the next James Bond installment. The details of the proposed role are being kept under lock and key, but we're all assuming it’s a baddie next to Daniel Craig's British Gentleman agent.

But it's just an offer - for the moment. In the same manner, the Dark Tower remains one too. He might accept or he could hypothetically pass on both. There's also the chance (assuming it’s doable) he says, "Hells yeah!" to both.

The untitled Bond entry hits November 9, 2012 and The Dark Tower opens on May 17, 2013.

Weekend Box Office: January 28-30

Courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1.  The Rite - $15 million

2.  No Strings Attached - $13.6 million

3.  The Mechanic - $11.5 milllion

4.  The Green Hornet - $11.5 million

5.  The King's Speech - $11.1 million

6.  True Grit - $7.6 million

7.  The Dilemma - $5.4 million

8.  Black Swan - $5.1 million

9.  The Fighter - $4.05 million

10.  Yogi Bear - $3.1 million

Another unremarkable weekend at the box office, as The Rite claims the top spot with just $15 million.  This weekend's other new release, Jason Stratham's The Mechanic, earned $11.5 million, which puts it in a tie with The Green Hornet - which has already been out for three weeks.  Last weekend's champ, No Strings Attached remained a popular date night destination, dropping just 30%, to land in second place with $13.6 million.

It was a better weekend for the Oscar nominees, which continued to pull in strong business and should continue for the next few weeks (the Oscars air on February 27).  The King's Speech and True Grit both jumped up in attendance this weekend, while a mini-rerelease of 127 Hours also did nicely with $2 million.

Not much on the horizon for next weekend either, as the 3D thriller Sanctum and the Single White Female-esque The Roommate open nationwide. 

Henry Cavill is Superman!

Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures announced today that Henry Cavill has won the coveted role of Superman, the iconic superhero.

The film will be directed by Zack Snyder, who stated, “In the pantheon of superheroes, Superman is the most recognized and revered character of all time, and I am honored to be a part of his return to the big screen.  I also join Warner Bros., Legendary and the producers in saying how excited we are about the casting of Henry.  He is the perfect choice to don the cape and S shield.”

Charles Roven, Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Deborah Snyder are the producers of the film.  The screenplay is being written by David S. Goyer based on a story by Goyer and Nolan.  Thomas Tull and Lloyd Phillips are serving as executive producers.

Cavill recently wrapped production on “The Cold Light of Day” and stars in the upcoming “Immortals,” opening this fall.

Targeted for release in December 2012, the new Superman movie will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Robin Williams as Hugo Strange?

I'm not one to ever put all my eggs into a basket when it comes to internet movie rumors.  Too much BS goes around the net.

But when it comes to The Dark Knight Rises and the great Batman-On-Film, anything I hear from that site is legit.  Time and time again Jett has come through with reliable info when it comes to Batman films...along with debunking the trash.

With that said, The Jett-Man posted this little blurb on Twitter Friday morning:

RW as Strange? Hmm...

Take that for what you will, and no matter what it said, there's something behind this.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone.