Posts

Established DC Comics Character To Come Out Of The Closet By Angie Han/May 22, 2012 9:00 am EST As mainstream politics and pop culture become increasingly gay friendly, DC Comics is jumping on the pro-LGBT bandwagon with a new gay character. Or rather, an old character who’s newly gay. During this weekend’s Kapow! comic convention, DC co-publisher Dan DiDio announced that the publisher plans to bring out of the closet a character who has previously been established as straight, with the hopes of making said character “one of our most prominent gay characters....

First Look: Simon Pegg And Paula Patton In ‘Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol’ By Russ Fischer/Dec. 14, 2010 7:00 am EST Here’s your first look at Simon Pegg in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, in which the actor reprises the role he originated as a very small appearance in Mission: Impossible III. This time out he seems to be taking a more active role, as Pegg, Paula Patton and Tom Cruise were all photographed while shooting a scene in Vancouver, Canada....

First Look: The Big-Screen Return Of ‘Winnie The Pooh’ By Russ Fischer/Nov. 10, 2010 12:30 pm EST Amidst other new projects, Disney is prepping the a new theatrical Winnie the Pooh film, and the first two stills have been released. They’re quite nice, and more than other recent films featuring characters created by A.A. Milne, they echo the lovely hand-drawn qualities of the classic Pooh films from Disney. Stephen J. Anderson (Meet the Robinsons, Journey Beneath the Sea) and Don Hall co-direct Winnie the Pooh, with Disney veteran Burny Mattinson, who was an animator on 1974’s Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too!...

First Volume Of Graphic Novel Version Of Darren Aronofsky’s ‘Noah’ Available In Europe; See Pages And A Trailer By Russ Fischer/Oct. 20, 2011 4:00 pm EST In February, as Darren Aronofsky was trying to find a studio to back his epic-scale take on the story of Noah, we learned that he and Ari Handel had begun working with Canadian artist Nico Henrichon to make a graphic novel version of the script....

HBO Execs Promise Lengthy Run Of ‘Game Of Thrones,’ Talk ‘American Gods’ By Russ Fischer/July 29, 2011 3:30 pm EST There’s a certain risk in falling in love with an HBO show. Talk to fans of Deadwood, Carnivale and/or Rome and you’ll hear bitter tales like those spat out by jilted lovers. That won’t be the case with Game of Thrones, say HBO execs, who during a press tour today addressed plans for the show’s future....

Ivan Reitman Producing Adaptation Of Young Adult Novel ‘The Kid Table’ By Russ Fischer/Aug. 18, 2010 10:05 am EST We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. Over the course of five family events, Ingrid chronicles the coming-of-age of her generation. Her cousins each grapple with growing pains, but it is Ingrid who truly struggles as she considers what it means to grow up. When first love comes in the form of first betrayal (he’s Brianne’s boyfriend), Ingrid is forced to question her own personality and how she fits into her family....

Jane Lynch, Donald Glover And Danny Trejo Join ‘The Muppets’ By Russ Fischer/Nov. 11, 2010 9:42 pm EST There’s quite a lot of small casting news for The Muppets tonight. Jason Segel and Amy Adams have the key roles, and obviously the other biggest parts will mostly be played by the Muppets. Now Jane Lynch, Donald Glover, Danny Trejo and possibly more are on board. Between The Wrap and Production Weekly we’ve got a list of new names and, for some, the roles they’ll play....

New Images: Genndy Tartakovsky’s ‘Hotel Transylvania’ And ‘The Croods’ From DreamWorks Animation By Russ Fischer/March 2, 2012 2:30 pm EST Here are new images for a couple of upcoming CG animated features. One is Sony’s Hotel Transylvania, featuring the efforts of Dracula (Adam Sandler) to celebrate the birthday of his daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez), which end up being complicated by the attentions of a regular ol’ human (Andy Samberg). The movie is directed by Genndy Tartakovsky (The Powerpuff Girls, Samurai Jack, Star Wars: Clone Wars) which for me at least, represents the primary appeal of the project....

Noam Murro To Direct ‘Die Hard 5’ By Adam Quigley/Feb. 11, 2011 4:35 pm EST Kevin Smith is one of the few outspoken, brutally honest voices in Hollywood, so when he confessed that Bruce Willis was a prima donna who wouldn’t take direction and was stuck in the mindset of the ’80s when the actors ran the show, it seemed likely that there was some truth to his claims. That could be why this news doesn’t come as much of a surprise....

Penelope Cruz Could Round Out The Cast Of Ridley Scott’s ‘The Counselor’ By Angie Han/April 20, 2012 6:00 am EST Is there any project in Hollywood that has the potential to boast a hotter cast than Ridley Scott’s The Counselor? Man of the moment Michael Fassbender was the first to board the project back in February, while Brad Pitt and Javier Bardem signed on last week. (Bardem beat out another shining star, Jeremy Renner, for his part....

Promo Trailer: Alejandro González Iñárritu’s ‘Biutiful’ By Russ Fischer/May 19, 2010 9:54 pm EST One of the films that has generated the most interest and buzz at Cannes this year is Biutiful, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and starring Javier Bardem. This time, the director of Amores Perros, 21 Grams and Babel wrote the film himself, having parted ways with creative partner Guillermo Arriaga. Despite mixed reception, the film may still be a Palme d’Or contender, and will likely find distribution in the States....

Roland Emmerch Talks Anonymous, Foundation And Independence Day Sequel By Russ Fischer/Feb. 14, 2011 3:30 pm EST Roland Emmerich holds a position unique among genre filmmakers in that he is the target of constant jibes and disparagement, but still makes films that people see on the promise of pure spectacle alone. He is currently finishing up the Shakespeare conspiracy thriller Anonymous — not exactly the subject matter you’d expect him to tackle — and is mulling future options....

Roland Emmerich Passed On ‘Asteroids,’ Making ‘Singularity’ Next By Russ Fischer/Sept. 14, 2011 9:00 am EST Good news: Roland Emmerich passed on a big sci-fi project. But there’s no news here about the director deciding not to do an adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s classic sci-fi novel series Foundation, alas. Instead he has passed on the sci-fi film for which is is exceptionally well-suited: a big-screen story inspired by Atari’s game Asteroids....

Ron Howard Keeping Controversial Gay Joke In ‘The Dilemma’ By Germain Lussier/Nov. 1, 2010 4:00 pm EST Howard wrote a detailed letter to Patrick Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times, who had been covering and discussing the controversy. Here’s what Howard had to say. laughter? Patrick, I’ve been reading your posts about THE DILEMMA with a lot of interest. In the couple of weeks since you started covering the debate over our joke, it seems a larger conversation made up of many questions about all sorts of freedoms of expression has broken out: When’s it okay to walk off of a talk show if you disagree with the guest?...

Ron Howard Says ‘The Dark Tower’ Could Shoot In Spring 2012 By Russ Fischer/May 25, 2011 9:18 am EST The Ron Howard, Akiva Goldsman and Brian Grazer adaptation of Stephen King’s sprawling novel series The Dark Tower quickly became an equally sprawling film and television project. Three movies are planned, with short television series linking them, and Javier Bardem possibly starring as lead character Roland Deschain. But the project is at Universal and as the studio reconsiders its plans in the wake of several underperforming films, the budgetary scope of The Dark Tower has been reduced....

Shoot Your Eye Out: ‘A Christmas Story 2’ Is Coming To Blu-Ray By Germain Lussier/Aug. 10, 2012 3:30 pm EST What do you get for the kid who has everything, including a Red Ryder BB Gun? Either a car, or a copy of A Christmas Story 2 on Blu-ray. Yes, whether you like it or not, a sequel to the seminal 1983 film about a young boy named Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) who pines for the aforementioned piece of hardware during the holiday season is coming to a store near you....

Showtime Renews ‘Dexter’ For Two Possibly Final Seasons By Russ Fischer/Nov. 18, 2011 11:45 am EST Over the years I’ve wondered how long Showtime could possibly sustain a reasonable storyline for Dexter. The early tension between Dexter’s human nature and his ‘dark passenger’ was fun to watch, as was his constant juggling of dual lives. But how long can that go on? We like seeing Michael C. Hall kill people, but there’s a point where it just becomes untenable....

Sony Buys Jason Sudeikis Comedy ‘A Good Old Fashioned Orgy’ By Russ Fischer/Feb. 9, 2011 4:00 pm EST The European Film Market is getting underway tomorrow in Berlin, and a big pre-emptive buy has been made by Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions, which partnered with Samuel Goldwyn Films to grab US rights for a Jason Sudeikis comedy called A Good Old Fashioned Orgy. The film, written and directed by Pete Huyck and Alex Gregory, boasts a great collection of comic talent: Jason Sudeikis, Tyler Labine, Leslie Bibb, Will Forte, Lucy Punch, Lake Bell, Michelle Borth, Martin Starr, Nick Kroll, Lindsay Sloane and David Koechner....

Stallone On The Future Of Rambo: “I Don’t Think There’ll Be Any More” By Russ Fischer/May 1, 2010 3:50 pm EST Ever since Sylvester Stallone turned most of the adult male population of Burma to bloody gibs in his return to the Rambo character, there has been talk of a fifth Rambo film. Just what the story might be has been subject to speculation. Rumors abounded of a homecoming tale, a film tinged with sci-fi, and, based on one of Stallone’s last updates, a south of the border tale in which Rambo finds or avenges missing women....

Steven Spielberg Discusses ‘Lincoln’s’ Timeframe, Release Date And More By Germain Lussier/Sept. 20, 2011 9:00 am EST Richmond, Virginia will serve as the primary backdrop for Steven Spielberg’s long gestating biopic, Lincoln, starring Daniel Day Lewis as the legendary 16th President of the United States of America. Instead of focusing on Lincoln’s full life, though, Spielberg revealed his film – written by Tony Kushner and based on the book Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin – will only focus on the final four months of Lincoln’s life leading up to his assassination at the hands of John Wilkes Booth....