Jawbone.TV Enters A 5D World

It's hard for me to get used to this not new but ever evolving "3D World" that has been all the rage in cinemas the past several years. Our friends over at Jawbone.TV seem to be far more advanced than myself or my colleagues as they were brave enough to dig deeper into the "5th Dimension". Todd Denis of Jawbone had the great opportunity to interview Alex McDowell and Tali Krowsky who are co- founders of "5D" and are responsible for the 5D: The Immersive Design Conference.

The conference will explore the advancement of interactive digital technology through narrative media and its impact on our creative futures. The next conference will be held at California State University, Long Beach in October 2010. Head over to Jawbone TV at the links above to learn more about the conference courtesy of the interview with its co-founders. After reading the interview be sure to explore the site for the greatest and latest advancements in technology related to the the evolution of story in all areas of media.

Cronenberg's The Fly - Take 2

Hand to God truth, I was talking to my mother last week when she said that my ol man and her caught the original 1958 version of The Fly on television for the first time. Both were surprised to learn that the David Cronenberg/Jeff Goldblum take from 1986 (which they’re big fans of) was actually a remake of that. I know, I know. But to fair, they’re not “movie people.” That and they procreated thus resulting in me. So it’s all good.

It’s with that sense of irony that THR’s Risky Biz Blog announced plans by 20^th Century Fox and Cronenberg to revisit The Fly in what they’re describing as a “reboot” to his ’86 masterpiece. Yes, he’s “in talks” pen the new version and possibly direct. No, I don’t know why anyone at said studio thinks this is even a remotely good idea. The mortgage at the Cronenberg house was due, perhaps?

Also annoying as shit is the continual use of the term “reboot” applied to everything. Reboots are supposed to be about re-starting a franchise (film, television, literature, etc.) that was DOA and giving its dignity back. Unless their plans entail future exploits of the new Brundlefly (or whatever the Hell they call the protagonist), this latest Fly should be categorized as a remake.

Because Noone Demanded It - Ghost Rider Sequel Coming

I’ve harped on this before (probably too much, honestly) but it bears repeating. We’re going to see tons of Marvel films produced because the studios in question don’t want to lose the rights and have them reverted back to the House of Ideas’ new owner Disney. Now all of a sudden, 20^th Century is rebooting the Fantastic Four franchise (to be fair, this has been in the works since the start of ’09) and more X-Men spin-offs and Sony is already making plans for two Sam Raimi/Tobey Maguire-absent Spider-Man films in addition to the in-development fourth installment.

Now Variety has added another one to the list. That’s right; we’re getting a sequel to Ghost Rider. Does anyone care? *Crickets* Thought so. The trades reveal that discussions are underway between Sony and David Goyer to write the film with Nicolas Cage (fresh off looking like a jackass in the “Is it or isn’t it real?” Superman Lives test suit) “expected” to return.

This isn’t Goyer’s first run in with the flaming-skulled cyclist. He worked on an ill-fated version years back with Stephen Norrington (having just worked together on Blade to great success) to direct under Disney ironically enough (via the Miramax label). That fell apart and we eventually got the ’07 incarnation with Cage and Mark Steven Johnson.

I realize that his bread and butter is with comic-related properties (outside of stuff like the Flash Forward television series and what not), but this is beneath Goyer. Don’t you think after Batman III, he should call it a day with the genre? I mean honestly, how could anyone be expected to seriously “top” those films?

Sony Acquires He-Man

Back in 2002, there was the excellent animated updating of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. It took the nostalgia of the 80's cartoon and reinvented it into one of the most ass kicking cartoons ever, in my humble opinion. Hard to believe seven years have passed since then.  Anyway, since that toon, I and many others dreamed of a live action version and the epic adventure that could unfold on screen. It would truly be a sight to behold.

We came close with Justin marks draft of Greystone, which I'd describe as an excellent adventure movie but not quite the He-Man the fans had been hoping for. Thankfully, that fell through, and then we came close again.  This time John Stevenson had been attached to direct a version where Skeletor was seeking to eliminate magic from Eternia. He's off the project and another bullet dodged.

If I'm not mistaken, it was merely weeks ago that He-Man left with Warner Bros. Well, now he and the masters have a new home - Sony.

I'm fairly certain most TMT readers are familiar with the product. But, if not, He-Man is about Prince Adam of Eternia. A young boy who on his birthday receives a magic sword, and when he holds it up and says "I have the power!" he transforms into He-Man the most powerful man in the universe. Aiding him in his quest are Teela, a friend of Adam's who is his age and a highly skilled warrior, her father Man-at-Arms whose suit would make Iron Man cower, the jester with magical powers Orko, and the enigmatic Sorceress.

As reported by both The Hollywood Reporter and Variety, without a doubt the two most reliable industry trades, the property is set up at Sony with heads Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch starting all over again.

This is the property more than any other from my childhood, and young adulthood that I've wanted to see adapted more than any other. I only hope Sony works with Mattel to give us the most kick as action adventure unlike anything yet to be seen on screen.

So, who else is stoked?

A Solomon Grundy Movie?…It Almost Happened

Yes, a Solomon Grundy movie was in the works a couple of years ago, but it had no association with DC Comics’ super villain zombie character, whom I personally would love to see have a cameo in the Green Arrow: Escape From Supermax (if said project ever sees the light of day).

This Solomon Grundy was to be based on the old nursery rhyme poem, from which The Marshfield Monster is named after:

Solomon Grundy, Born on a Monday,
Christened on Tuesday, Married on Wednesday,
Took ill on Thursday, Grew worse on Friday,
Died on Saturday, Buried on Sunday.
That was the end of Solomon Grundy.

Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle was to have helmed the film, which was shelved due to having too many similarities to another Oscar winning film, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button.

 “It’s sort of a crossover with ‘Benjamin Button’ only they’ve done it backwards, so it really fell apart because of the competition from that one,” Boyle told MTV in an interview last year. “It is a wonderful idea, and it’s got really potential still. Maybe. No one knows what ‘Benjamin Button’ is going to be like, so maybe it won’t be similar to t hat at all. Maybe it will feel really different to that, so [that ‘Solomon’] might come alive again.”

What would’ve made ‘Grundy’ differ from ‘Benjamin Button’? The casting of the lead, or should I say the multiple casting of the titular character, a move much like the Bob Dylan centered film I’m Not There.

 “’Solomon Grundy’ is a story about a guy who ages seven days. He lives his whole life in seven days. He’s born on a Monday, christened on a Tuesday, grew up on Wednesday, marries on Thursday, took on Friday, and it was like that,” Boyle explained. “And we were going to cast seven different actors to play the part because he starts at zero and ends up at eighty-five.”

Sounds like an interesting concept, so who knows, this may not be the end of Solomon Grundy.

David Fincher's The Social Network Has Its Cast

I’ll admit that I haven’t been reporting on The Social Network like I should. To be perfectly honest, I don’t know why. The script (penned by Aaron “Ya Liberalism!” Sorkin) is said to be quiet strong that went as far as attract the talent of one David Fincher.

That’s right, the same guy who delivered Fight Club and Seven to the world. Where some twerp would have previously said, “Why would he do something like this?” just simply has to take a look at Zodiac and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button to show that the director is making an effort to break out of the “mold” that audiences have placed him in. And he’s been quiet successful at doing that so far.

For those who don’t know (or simply need a reminder), the film is an adaptation of the book The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, a Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal detailing the formation (or “origin story” for you dorks out there) of Facebook. Last month, Carson Reeves of ScriptShadow  stated that Fincher had already assembled his main cast in the form of Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake.

Cut to Variety reporting the exact same information now. ScriptShadow isn’t given props, of course. So why should I hyper-link to the official trades if they won’t do the same for the person who actually broke the Goddamn story? Especially considering that we’ll soon to have to pay to see these fuckers steal from sites like Latino Review, IESB, CHUD, etc. Fuck that.

Getting back to the topic of this article (Sorry, I do that a lot!), Network is turning into quiet the film to check out since the initial “Oh my God, they’re doing a ‘Facebook’ movie?!?” reactions. I just like the fact that Fincher is continuing to churn out work.

Well if Rob Liefeld Said it, It MUST Be True!

I realize that 20^th Century Fox will now churn out as many X-Men related films as long as they make money as to avoid the property going to their (new) owner Disney. But after the announcement that Ryan Reynolds (who played Deadpool in the ill-received Wolverine spin-off and lined up to headline his own solo film) was to play the Green Lantern for Warner Brothers, most of us rightfully assumed that was it for seeing Wade Wilson again.

Well, his creator Rod Liefeld (via his Twitter account) claims that isn’t the case and Deadpool is still headed our way according to his updates:

“Great Deadpool movie meeting! Lauren Schuler Donner and her team are headed in the right direction!”

“Deadpool movie checklist- DP in costume-check! Breaking 4th wall-check! Loads of killing-double check!”

“Donner Company is on top of making the Deadpool movie that fans want. They get it. He’s funny, tortured, clever, a bastard and mucho action!”

Sorry, but this whole “Reynolds will headline two comic-book franchises at the same time” thing is a hard pill to swallow. Studios don’t tend to like “sharing” their leading man with one another – especially companies with the kind of constant rivalry like DC and Marvel.

To be fair, it’s not like Liefeld is some press-whoring, lie-spreading fucktard to my knowledge (read: Mark Millar). So I’ll just be nice and take him at his word. Until he's been proven otherwise.

"Fee Fi Fo Fum, I Smell the Blood of Bryan Singer!"

Initial reports indicated that Bryan Singer would most likely choose Jack the Giant Killer as his next directorial feature. This is despite the fact that he had already agreed to produce/direct another reboot of Battlestar Galactica and an Excalibur remake. Well looks like they were right.

Heat Vision (a sub-section under THR) reveals that Singer has in fact signed on the dotted line for said property. Although there’s currently no start date as of this publication, the project (being produced under Warner Brothers and Legendary Pictures who had previously worked with Singer on Superman Returns) is being put on the fast-track.

I realize it’s routine for a filmmaker to have multiple projects in development concurrently. But Bryan’s been flirting with a number of high-profile gigs for awhile now. To his credit, he pulled the ultimate “Fuck you!” on critics who immediately labeled Valkyrie as a turkey a year before it was even released. Cut to the WWII thriller being a box-office success that did so much as get Tom Cruise back in the public’s good graces. So Singer is riding high right now and been understandably cautious towards what to do next.

But come on, Bryan. If Jack is what you’re doing next, let’s get going on it.

Jaimie Alexander joins Thor Cast!

The stunningly beautiful, and talented actress Jaimie Alexander has nabbed the role of Sif, a love interest of Thor, and powerful warrior goddess in the upcoming film based on the Marvel hero to be directed by Kenneth Branagh.

Alexander will be joining the already impressive cast which includes Chris Hemsworth as the title character, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, Thor's human love interest, and Wallander's Tom Hiddleston as Loki.  Her casting was confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter.  The trades go on to list the plot of Thor's film as follows:

The movie's story centers on Thor, a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions re-ignite an ancient war. As punishment, Thor is cast down to Earth and forced to live among humans. Once here, he learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends dark forces of Asgard to invade Earth.

In addition to Jaimie Alexander, Colm Feore who is recently coming off a stint on 24 has signed on to play an unspecified villain role.  Let the speculation begin!

I have to say, as Thor is easily amongst my favorite characters in the Marvel Bullpen, and I've long dreamed of seeing his adventures come to life on the silver screen, the casting announcements here continue to impress me.  As does the enthusiasm of its director Kenneth Branagh.

Thor is scheduled to be released Summer of 2011.

"The Tooth Fairy" Poster

Sometimes they say a picture is worth a thousand words.....this is one of those times, I can only hope that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson finds another script like "The Rundown" soon because this is just "Mr Nanny" level lame.

/Film has the poste synopsis

Dwayne Johnson is “The Tooth Fairy,” also known as Derek Thompson, a hard-charging minor league hockey player whose nickname comes from his habit of separating opposing players from their bicuspids.   When Derek discourages a youngster’s hopes, he’s sentenced to one week’s hard labor as a real tooth fairy, complete with the requisite tutu, wings and magic wand.  At first, Derek “can’t handle the tooth” – bumbling and stumbling as he tries to furtively wing his way through strangers’ homes…doing what tooth fairies do.  But as Derek slowly adapts to his new position, he begins to rediscover his own forgotten dreams.