Peter Jackson Denies Hobbit Release Date Change

Damn, The Hobbit can’t seem to get a break. First Peter Jackson told the press that production on the two-part film adaptation with Guillermo del Toro at the helm wouldn’t start this coming March as originally planned as translated by One Ring (via German site Movie Reporter). Cameras would instead roll by the middle of next year in New Zealand. Then came news from The Wrap that the first installment had been pushed back from Christmas 2011 to 2012.

Midst these reports Jackson himself has publicly denied such claims to Collider. While making the press rounds selling The Lovely Bones, the Lord of the Rings trilogy writer/producer/director (and Hobbit writer/producer) said the rumors are to the contrary regarding any release date change:

"So you believe in December 2011 the first part is going to be in theaters.

Jackson: At this stage, that is certainly the plan. Yeah."

Eh, I’m not buying that. Jackson’s correct when telling the site “You don’t want to believe everything you read on the internet.” I’ll give him that. Plenty of ass-wipes just make shit up. But I’m not getting that vibe from this latest rumor.

Why? Because this story makes sense.  Filming on the Rings trilogy started in 1999 – a full 2 years before the first film Fellowship of the Rings hit screens. Given the massive under-taking Hobbit will be, I imagine they want to start principal photography a good chunk of time before its intended release much like what happened last time.

Jackson could be telling the truth. But this, more than anything else, feels like spin.

Mel Gibson Returns to Mexico

Not exactly the guy you'd expect to announce a new movie. Nonetheless Fidel Herrera (the presiding governor of Veracruz, Mexico) confirmed to The Associated Press that Mel Gibson will shoot his next film there:

"Veracruz Gov. Fidel Herrera says part of the Ignacio Allende prison will be emptied in January 'because a grand production will be filmed there with our friend, the actor and producer Mel Gibson.'"

What that film is remains to be seen. No other details were provided and we can only guesstimate Mad Mel will be retuning to the director's chair. Not coincidentally, his last film the underrated Apocalypto was filmed in Veracruz.

Not that they're the most reliable of sources. But IMDB has two projects listed "In Development" in his filmography: Under and Alone and The Drowner. Again, no additional tid-bits were given. It's altogether possible that this new project is neither of those titles.

Say what you will about Gibson (Yes, he's a bigot), but South Park really hit the nail with the hammer on him. As crazy as he is with his views, the man knows how to tell a good story.

Terminator Rights Be Damned! McG Promises Salvation Sequels

Sometimes I feel bad for all the shit McG gets from everyone...and then he opens his mouth.

The director recently participated in a live commentary/chat session for Terminator: Salvation. If you had a BD-Live capable Blu-Ray player and nothing to do Saturday night, you too could throw retarded questions like insulting his Charlie's Angels movies. Some losers actually did that.

Gizmodo transcribed the event and, low and behold, McG confessed that he was going to direct a sequel to Salvation. And then another installment after that! Remember, this was meant to be the start of a new Terminator trilogy and he'd already inked a new deal to return late last year. Problem is there are currently no plans for any more films as the franchise rights are up in the air. Halcyon (the company who produced the last one) have been in the financial shitter after Salvation under-performed leaving them in debt. Who ends up controlling the future of John Connor remains to be seen.

So what the fuck McG is talking about is beyond anyone's guess. What makes this development all the more interesting is a tid-bit from our pal Clint Morris of Movie Hole a few days prior to this "revelation." According to his sources, the next Terminator movie (whenever it ends up getting made) will not be a continuation of Salvation and there by not feature Christian Bale, Anton Yelchin or Bryce Dallas Howard.

Now who should we believe here? The director whose had a reputation for flat-out making shit up to look cool or a movie-news webmaster who doesn't? Thought so. This also confirms what I told you folks would happen right after Salvation fizzled last May in my What Now for the Terminator Franchise article.

'Moneyball' Doesn't Strike Out After All

It looks like Columbia Pictures was able to get over Steven Soderbergh's draft of "Moneyball" afterall. The Trades are reporting that Bennett Miller has been given the coaching reigns over "Moneyball" with Brad Pitt still attached to star. Pitt will be portraying baseball stats guru Billy Beane who is the general manger of Major League Baseball's Oakland A's. The film will show the rise of Beane and detail how he applied revolutionary statistical analysis to field a competitive baseball team in Oakland even as others questioned his methods as non-traditional.

Steven Sodenbergh was a few days from rolling film on the project when the the rug was ripped from underneath his feet by studio head Amy Pascal. The studio was already having their doubts about the project but Sodenberghs rewrite of the script sealed his fate. Pascal wasn't happy with the direction Sodenberg was taking the project and wasn't ready to back his vision. It remains to be seen if the Miller will be using the early drafts written by Stan Chervin or later drafts penned by Steve Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. Miller reportedly beat out director Marc Webb for the race to take on directing duties for the film which is based off of Michael Lewis' hit novel of the same name.

'Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows' Teaser

Worst Previews and eleventeen other websites have posted a high quality version of the new "Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows' teaser.

Movie Moan - Corporate Whoring

 By that, we're referring to this past week's episode of Bones. Yep, Fox turned their successful police procedural into a corporate whore for Avatar. Who needs to solve a murder when you can talk about how amazing Cameron and his movie are going to be. That along with other topics are discussed on the latest edition of the Movie Moan podcast.

Phil, Ed, Lou and Jamie chat up the recent delays on The Hobbit. Filming has been pushed to the middle of next year and there are conflicting reports of just when the Hell its coming out now. Paul Greengrass delighted Jamie by announcing he was walking away from Bourne 4. Lou gives his thoughts on the four film he's recently seen - A Christmas Carol, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, 2012 and The Road. Phil finally pissed off fanboys with something he said. No, it wasn't about Twilight or Superman. It was Conan! *Gasp!*

All of that plus Ed and Jamie face off against Phil and Lou over the actual budget of Avatar. The former believe it cost $400-$500 million and the latter doesn't. Who will win the debate? More importantly, why should they care since none of its profit will go to them?

Movie Moan - Corporate Whoring

Fox Hits All-Time Low Whoring Avatar

A studio selling their mega-budget tentpole on television is Film Marketing 101. They want to get the awareness of its impending release out there. If the studio happens to also own a television network, it's not exactly out of the norm to air "A Very Special Sneak-Peek" presentation showing off clips or premiering the latest trailer. I remember tuning into an episode of Smallville back in the fall of 2005 to see the Superman Returns teaser trailer unveiled before it was to be attached to prints of Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire the following week.

20^th Century Fox has been doing the same with James Cameron’s Avatar as of late. They’ve been showing off TV trailers during broadcasts of shows like Glee and what not. That is all well and good. But this has officially gotten out of hand. I’m talking "Really, people?" out of head. Last night’s episode of their popular procedural Bones was Avatar centric. In fact coining a phrase made by CHUDs Devin Faraci, this has officially hit “full Avatard” territory.

I09 has the report up including screen-caps and video clips from the broadcast where the characters are talking about, you guessed it, Avatar. Watching one of the trailers? Check. Talking about how excited they are to see it? Check. Standing in a huge line on its opening day? Duh! Check, of course! Did I mention that Bones regular Joel Moore (shown in the clips provided in the link) happens to have a role in Avatar? What a strange coincidence, huh.

Yes, it’s bad. No, it's not meant to be ironic like having the cast of 30 Rock talking about how great Snapple tastes while flashing its likeness across your television screen. That was clearly meant as a gag by Tina Fey and her team. This, on the other hand, isn't such the case. God if only American Idol was on the air right now. Then we can have Simon Cowell "confess" how his eyeballs were royally fucked by the sheer awesomeness of Avatar.

Do you see the cast of Gossip Girl or Smallville talking about seeing Sherlock Holmes? Give me a fucking break.

Will Matt Damon Be Bourne Again?

The departure of Paul Greengrass from the Jason Bourne franchise leaves a handful of questions left unanswered. Mainly will Matt Damon return to kick super-mercenary ass for a fourth time? Most of the time when the director responsible for a franchise’s creative success jumps ship (whether by choice or being fired by the producers), the lead tends to stick around. Yes, I know that Doug Liman was actually the filmmaker behind The Bourne Identity. But you get what I’m saying.

Bucking that trend, it’s been widely reported in the past that if Greengrass were to head to the EXIT door, Damon goes with him. No questions asked. That sentiment was further confirmed by the actor himself to reports today (via Coming Soon) while doing press for Invitcus:

"When [Greengrass] wants to do one, we'll do it," said Damon.

"Are you saying that it's Greengrass or no 'Bourne'?" one reporter asked.

"Yeah, I've always said that," replied the actor, adding, "But I think it'll happen down the road. We just don't have a script yet."

“Down the road" could also refer to a Bourne 4 without Damon, mind you. Either way, we’re better off without another one anytime in the near future. Although I’m really hoping Universal leaves the damn thing alone.

Iron Man 2, Kick Ass, & Buried Posters

Iron Man 2 International Poster Courtesy Of Empire Online

Kick Ass Poster Courtesy Of Aint It Cool

Buried Poster Courtesy Of Quiet Earth

One Crazy Warner Bros Summer

Warner Bros, the studio that routinely kicks all kinds of ass when it comes to the Summer movie season, has released their entire schedule for 2010. WB's summer slate looks slim to put it lightly. The studio that brought us films such as "Batman Begins", "The Dark Knight", "Superman Returns", and "The Hangover" in past Summers appears to be pumping the breaks in 2010. Their most high profile release for Summer 2010 will be "Sex and the City 2" which drops on May 28th. The film is sure to make a solid run at the box office providing an alternative to Paramount's "Prince of Persia: Sands of Time", but could be hard pressed to surpass the 415 + million take the original enjoyed

On June 18th WB is releasing obscure comicbook film "Jonah Hex", starring Josh Brolin and with a small role by the "hot" but no longer a media darling, Megan Fox. I personally don't think this film is going to play that well at the box office and releasing it in the summer is a mistake. Hex makes a lot more sense in late August or even in September. Going up against Paramount's "Footloose" and "Toy Story 3" won't help it. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is set for a 6/30 release which will bury any possible success that "Jonah Hex" might have a chance to experience.

Christopher Nolan, the man who had fanboys drooling with 2008's "The Dark Knight" was given complete control of "Inception" which is set to be released on July 16th. Featuring an all star cast that includes Leonardo DiCaprio and Ellen Page you would think that this movie is set up for major success. With all due respect to Nolan, who shook the movie world with his dark and gritty look into Gotham's only hero, Inception has the possibility to be a slight disappointment for the studio. The budget is around 200 Million and I can't see "Inception" making this back domestically due to a really tightly packed July, sandwiched between similar movies like "Knight & Day' & "Salt"

"Cats and Dogs: Revenge of the Kitty Galore" and "The Lottery Ticket" bring up the rear for WB's Summer. The sequel to 2001's successful movie "Cats and Dogs" debuts on July 30th and should perform solidly, pulling between 90 - 100 million domestic, in the same range as the original. "The Lottery Ticket" is a much smaller comedy with Bow Wow in the lead. Instead of going out with a bang, WB is going out with a wimper. The comedy reads like a 30 million dollar domestic flick, a young man who is living in the projects needs to make it through a harrowing three day weekend when his neighbors discover he has a winning $350 million lottery ticket in his possession.

How the mighty have fallen. I'd bet my Tron poster that WB is kicking themselves for not positioning a Superman film or other similar tentpole for Summer 2010. It is all together possible that they can move around some tentpoles, it's not like moving furniture but it sure is doable. WB could still be feeling the after effects of the strike, but it seems odd that a perennial Summer Box Office Champion is going into Summer 2010 with a butter knife while studios like Paramount are bringing the heat with rocket launchers courtesy of "Shrek Forever After", "Iron Man 2", and "The Last Airbender". For WB, that's one crazy summer.

Check out WB's entire 2010 slate at Coming Soon.