Josh Brolin Joining Men In Black 3?

I figured Men In Black 3 wouldn't move past the script phase. The disappointing 2002 sequel took years to get under way because of money disputes. Getting Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones and director Barry Sonnenfeld back before you even write the first word of your screenplay doesn't exactly scream cheap. Nevertheless, it appears Sony has every intention of getting a third installment out there.

Hero Complex reports that mega-star Will Smith is now expected to return as Agent J as well as Sonnenfeld in the director's chair. Although the participation of Jones remains a question-mark, the filmmakers are apparently already eyeing other actors. The genre-oriented section of the LA Times says that Josh Brolin is being courted for a role in the forthcoming threequel. Whether his character would be a replacement for Jones' Agent K, the villain (seems to be playing that role a lot lately) or a character in between remains to be seen.

Eh, is this really something the masses are still clamoring for? Hasn't it run its course? I just don't know if there is honestly anything left to do with the Men In Black franchise after two movies and an animated series.

Final Avatar Poster

Strange feeling has overcome me. After hearing vague remarks of it here and there since the mid-1990s, Avatar will finally be released in theaters next Friday. Will the minds (and eyeballs) of fanboys and general public alike explode? Will it best every box-office record humanly possible? Will its sheer awesomeness bring an end to war and world hunger? All signs point to a disappointing, "No."

Nonetheless, IMP Awards got their hands on the final theatrical poster for James Cameron's over-hyped (and over-pricey) sci-fi action epic. Looks quite meh to be honest. If I was Joe Doe Movie-Goer and didn't know anything about this film (frankly, most people know it as "the blue people movie that looks kinda dumb"), I'd guesstimate this was about a man and his love for his blue cat. Not intentionally trying to fuck this movie over - just telling you how this looks from that perspective.

Like I said, it's all next weekend, ladies and germs.

The Penguins Strike Back

Ironic. George Miller agreed to direct Justice League: Mortal for Warner Brothers if they bankrolled Mad Max 4: Fury Road. In addition, he and the studio had already agreed to make the Happy Feet sequel. Cut to almost three years later, Justice League became mortal (aka it died), Fury Road is being produced under independent investors with WB distributing and Happy Feet 2 is moving forward.

Say what you will about the first two discussed films, but another dancing penguin movie was guaranteed. Back in November 2006, it held its own against the mega-hit Bond reboot Casino Royale earning just under $200 million stateside and nabbed the “Best Animated Film” Oscar that year. Yes, George Miller is an Academy-Award winning filmmaker. Toddlers across the U.S. were dancing their little feet off. Case in point: my then two year old niece.

Now THR posts that Elijah Wood and Robin Williams are in talks to reprise their respective roles of Mumbles, the dancing penguin lead, and comic-relief Ramon. What else would they have cast Williams as? The sedated penguin? Both actors are expected to travel to Australia at the start of next year to record their voice tracks.

WB has already set a November 8, 2011 release and the motion capture work has been said to have already taken place.

Reshoots on Elm Street

Warner Brothers sending their Nightmare on Elm Street reboot to April 30^th sent warning signals. Opening the week before the summer film season kicks off is never a good sign. In fact, it’s often a dumping ground for studios to unload their crap before unveiling their mega-players. Adding insult to injury, the movie that opens the gate is Iron Man 2 – a film with a legit shot at matching New Moon’s $142 million 3-day opening. Then came rumblings that the film hasn’t been previewing too terribly well with test audiences.

Now SpoilerTV has nabbed a casting call for new characters who weren’t a part of the original shoot. This particular sheet pertains to a sequence set in a diner where Nancy works. So reshoots are underway and it’s not illogical to think more scene have been written to be filmed as well. There’s also the high probability we get more scenes with Jackie Earle Haley’s Freddy Krueger or maybe the death scenes might get beefed up for the gore-hounds.

It’s a question mark right now. But it’s good that the studio is concerned enough about the new Nightmare (which they obviously want to launch a new franchise) to go back in and tinker with it.

Malkovich & Hathaway 'Spiderman 4' Updates

A lot of "Spider-Man 4" rumors floating around lately. This is a good thing, because where there is smoke there is a red hot fire. What does this mean? There is movement on the casting front, problem is you have to dig through the sand to find the needle. Anne Hathaway has been linked to "Spider-Man 4" for weeks, she has been rumored to be up for the role of Felicia Hardy along with fellow thespians Rachel McAdams and Julia Stiles. In the comics Felicia Hardy eventually transforms into Black Cat. According to Movieline, Sam Raimi doesn't agree with the comics and wants the character of Felicia Hardy to transform into a a different superpowered villianess whom is being called Vulturess.

What is a Vulturess without her Vulture. Movieline is also reporting that none other than John Malkovich is up for the roll of the Vulture. Raimi originally wanted to include the character in Spider-Man 3, but due to studio pressure decided to include fan favorite Venom in the 3rd installment instead. According to reports Raimi had met with Ben Kingsley to take on the role of Vulture in Spiderman 3. Malkovich surely looks the part, as did Kingsley, and both definitely have the acting chops, but what does this mean for Dylan Baker's character Curt Conners. Could the studio be choosing to pass on a CGI Lizard in order to use a man brandishing feathers and talons? Pick your poison I guess.

Although creating a hybrid character based off the comics wouldn't be that bad of an idea, the Vulturess certainly sounds like one. Although I do believe that Movieline has done there homework and there is some truth to it, on the surface it screams fake to me. It could be me hoping it is. This could be another article in a long line of articles dealing with casting rumors or the studio could have finally settled on the actors they want to finish up Raimi's run on Spider-Man. I guess the question is how will Vulture and Vulturess connect to Spider-Man and his universe? I hope Raimi knows what he is doing, by all accounts he is looking to redeem himself after "Spider-Man 3", but I'm not sure if Vulture and Vulturess are the answer.

The Hobbit Officially Begins Casting

What’s another morning without hearing something about The Hobbit? This isn’t another set of rumors about script delays, release date changes and so on. No, this is official news. *Gasp!*

Peter Jackson tells Heat Vision that casting on the films starts this week. As things stand, every role is up for grabs with the obvious exception of Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey. Strange that he didn’t mention Andy Serkis as Gollum. I can only assume he merely forgot to mention him.

This revelation also squashed month’s worth of casting rumors ranging the likes of Brian Cox to James McAvoy. To be fair, Jackson did tell IGN Movies last week they were auditioning unknowns for Bilbo in addition to discussions of “name” actors.

As The Lord of the Rings filmmaker further explained to the trades:

"(These movies) have never been a star-driven vehicle. The star is (author J.R.R.) Tolkien and the world he created. We are not under any pressure. We want to find the right people. Casting someone to portray a hobbit is not as easy as you might imagine. They have to have a particular type of physical appearance and a sensibility. And the same with an elf or a dwarf."

He says that and watch it turn out that McAvoy does play Bilbo.

The Wachowskis - Back in Action?

Even if Speed Racer was the hit Warner Brothers was hoping, we still wouldn’t be hearing much from the Wachowskis. They’re just so damn secretive. To be fair, that’s not a bad thing per say. But it’s frustrating for fans. Sometimes it feels like you’re chasing a ghost. I recall Steve “Frosty” Weintraub over at Collider saying how he begrudgingly admitted he’ll never get an interview with them. You never know, bud...

There have been plenty of rumors about what they’re working on - Superman trilogy, anyone? But no concrete info has yet to surface…until now. Arianna Huffington (founder of the The Huffington Post and all around left-wing nut job) said on her Twitter account yesterday, “Do u want to know what I'll look like in 90 years? Here's a shot from the set of the Wachowskis' futuristic movie.” This is quickly followed by a number of snapshots taken of Huffington behind a green screen and hanging out with the Wachowskis.

According to CHUD, this was a part of test shoot and not footage intended to be used in the actual film. So what is this "futuristic movie" then? Cinematcial speculates it could be Cloud Atlas, a 2004 post-apocalyptic novel the Wachowskis optioned earlier this year.

Frankly all this "We won't talk to the press and must keep everything top secret" bullshit won't cut it for Warner Brothers (or any other studio for that matter) if they keep delivering bombs like Speed Racer.

Could Superman Comics Change Future Film?

I remember when baseball used to be called the "National Past Time". You would sit for hours at the park or in front of your television enjoying peanuts and cracker jacks. Americana at it's finest. This is what Superman was and is. Then football's popularity sky-rocketed. It was a faster game, "America's Game". Cheerleaders, beer, and buffalo wings. This is Batman, faster and sleeker. Superman, like baseball, has become secondary in America. The \S/ has been replaced by a BAT, and things just haven't been the same.

Bryan Singer's "Superman Returns" didn't help matters, especially when you compare it against Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight". Singer brought a knife to a gun fight and forgot to sharpen it. Did I mention there is also a lawsuit creating a kryptonite laced cloud over the Superman franchise which has further delayed the Man of Steel's return to the big screen.  In past years, my sources at WB/DC told me that deliberation was going on regarding a way to get around some of the roadblocks the lawsuit has created,starting with changes to the origin in the comics and then possibly expanding to film. One of the ideas involved a retelling of the origin in the comics and then later translating this to the big screen. According to DC Universe the retooled origin is on its way via the comics, could a film version be next? 

Starting next year, DC Comics will unveil SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE and BATMAN: EARTH ONE, two graphic novels spotlighting the most powerful heroes of the DC Universe, with their first years and earliest moments retold in a standalone, original graphic novel format, on a new earth with an all-new continuity.

Return to Smallville and experience the journey of Earth’s greatest adopted son, as he grows from boy to Superman in SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE by J. Michael Straczynski and artist Shane Davis.

J. Michael Straczynski: “What I’m trying to do is to dig in to the character and look at him through modern eyes. If you were to create the Superman story today, for the first time, but keep intact all that works, what would it look like?”

Shane Davis: “It is monumental for us as comic readers to see Superman birthed for the first time. It’s a privilege to realize that you’re the artist that gets to draw it, better yet having the luxury to do it in an original graphic novel. This is going to be epic!”

'Deadpool' Script Heads To 'Zombieland'

Ryan Reynolds has been telling anybody within earshot of his hard to block out voice that being cast as Hal Jordan in WB's upcoming comic book film "Green Lantern" does not hinder his chances of reprising the lead in a possible "Deadpool" film. Of course we laugh and shrug at Reynolds comments knowing full well that DC and Marvel would never allow an actor to play a character from both comic book houses at the same time. Why would Marvel via Fox want their Deadpool making an appearance on Conan to promote Green Lantern while in production on a Marvel property and vice versa. Sounds absurd doesn't it?

While letting that all process, let us absorb another piece of news courtesy of Devin over at one of my favorite sites to surf, CHUD. In an exclusive, Mr. Ferarci reveals that there is some movement on the long gestating "Deadpool" over at Fox. The studio is on the verge of signing Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick of "Zombieland" fame to pen the "Deadpool" script. Trusting Chud as I do, it looks like this means that "Deadpool" is actually moving forward. What does this mean for Reynolds? What about "Green Lantern"

There are a number of scenarios to explore. One such scenario would be that Reynolds has moved on to "Deadpool" because DC Comics' "Green Lantern" has stalled over at Warner Bros. We really haven't heard much on the project, there have been no casting announcements since Reynolds many months ago, and time keeps ticking. Another possibility is that "Deadpool" is in such early stages that by the time it even gets moving into preproduction, "Green Lantern" will already be showing off that green power ring.

Then again, writers or no writers, "Deadpool" might never see the light of day. Welcome to Hollywood, where projects start and stop and the women are fast.

Bullock Blind Sides Box Office

Weekend Actuals Dec 4th - Dec 6th

1 The Blind Side $20,043,181
2 The Twilight Saga: New Moon $15,427,628
3 Brothers $9,527,848
4 A Christmas Carol $7,763,244
5 Old Dogs $6,892,265
6 2012 $6,771,665
7 Armored $6,511,128
8 Ninja Assassin $5,061,499
9 Planet 51 $4,386,873    
10 Everybody's Fine $3,852,068