The Fantastic Four Screenplay Completed, More Actors Testing This Month

Variety reports that screenwriter Simon Kinberg has completed his re-write of Fox's The Fantastic Four reboot and that they're looking to finalize the film's cast shortly. The site notes that actors will continue testing for roles in the film later this month, including Miles Teller, Kit Harington and Richard Madden for Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic, and Kate Mara and Saoirse Ronan for Sue Storm aka The Invisible Woman.

As previously mentioned, the only name reported for the Johnny Storm/Human Torch role is Chronicle‘s Michael B. Jordan. No names have been mentioned for the Ben Grimm/The Thing role, though Terry Crews says he wants it.

Filming on the reboot is expected to begin in Baton Rouge this March. Josh Trank will direct the big screen adaptation, which is currently set for release on June 19, 2015​.

Rupert Sanders to Direct Live Action Ghost in the Shell

Next to Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira, a movie that Warner Bros. has been trying to turn into a live action epic for a long time, Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell may be one of the most known Japanese Manga comics and Anime films outside of Japan, and DreamWorks seems to be ready to move forward with the idea of doing a live action version of the Japanese cyberpunk cartoon after years of trying to make it happen. According to Deadline, DreamWorks has made a deal with Rupert Sanders, director of Snow White and the Huntsman, to help bring the sci-fi police thriller to life from a script by William Wheeler.

Produced by Avi Arad, Ari Arad and Steven Paul and with the backing of Steven Spielberg, the rights to Shirow's original 1989 complex futuristic thriller about the members of a covert ops unit that takes on technology-related crime were picked up several years ago with plans to use the latest 3D technology to film it. In Japan, the huge success of the comics led to a number of anime film adaptations, a TV series and a series of video games with DreamWorks releasing the second anime film in North America.

It's not yet determined whether Sanders might tackle Ghost in the Shell next since he has a number of other projects lined up, including 90 Church for Universal, a Napoleon Bonaparte movie at Warner Bros., a film called Juliet with Sony and New Regency, as well as an adaptation of Frederick Forsyth's thriller The Kill List.
Source: Deadline
January 24, 2014

Ellen DeGeneres To Return As Dory In Finding Nemo 2

 


We still don't know much about what will happen in Finding Nemo 2, the upcoming sequel to one of Pixar's biggest hits that sees director Andrew Stanton returning to the studio for the first time since Wall-E. But now we at least know one character we can expect to see. Ellen DeGeneres, who voiced the blue tang fish Dory so well that many of us thought she ought to win awards for it, is in negotiations to reprise her role.

She's been open about wanting to participate in a Finding Nemo sequel in the past, according to The Hollywood Reporter, so it probably won't be tough to hammer out a deal. Stanton was only confirmed to be returning to develop the film last month, so we haven't gotten any story details yet, or any idea of which characters the film might include. But Dory probably makes more sense than anyone else to return. At the end of Finding Nemo Marlin and Nemo were content, having reunited and going back to their normal lives, but Dory had just started out living in their community and understanding the meaning of "home." Inevitably a sequel would disrupt that, but as a character with no short-term memory, Dory's adventures could spin off in any number of interesting directions.

But if Dory is set to be the film's main character, and not just a jabbering sidekick, we might run into trouble. Because what worked so well about the original film was the balance of stick-in-the-mud Marlin and flighty Dory, and how the two learned to complement each other and rely on each other. Pixar's already centered one sequel around the former goofy sidekick by making Mater the center of attention in Cars 2, and we all know how that turned out. Despite the various issues with John Carter, I still have faith in Stanton as a storyteller-- and he and DeGeneres are both talented enough to make a great movie even without the Pixar team. But until we hear about more voices being added to the cast, we might have to wonder just what they have in story for Dory, and whether it will work a second time around.

Finding Nemo 2 is currently set for release in 2016.

Gerard Butler Won't Be In The 300 Sequel

 


The sequel to Zack Snyder's 300, which has been called 300: The Battle of Artemisia but may not stay that way, has already gone into production in time to meet its August 2, 2013. But it's taken us this long to figure out what we all kind of already knew for sure-- Gerard Butler, who broke out as a star in the original 2007 film, won't be making a return appearance in this stylized comic book universe.

Talking to MTV, Butler pretty blithely said "Oh yeah, I'm not doing it. I wish them the best, but it didn't [work out]. It wasn't really my thing." Of course, given that Battle of Artemisia is a prequel to 300, and Butler's character really didn't have to be involved in the story, that's not really a surprise-- they're taking the story in a new direction for one thing, and for another, Butler is a lot more expensive than he was five years ago.

Returning from the original film, though, will be Rodrigo Santoro as the villainous Xerxes-- we talked to him earlier this summer about his preparation to return to the part, and how he'll handle getting all those piercings back in. Who knows if Battle of Artemisia can be as big a hit as 300 was, but I think we can all admit Gerard Butler's absence isn't going to make a huge difference.

John Travolta Could Headline Toxic Avenger Remake

 
 This summer Colin Farrell stepped into the amnesiac action hero role originated by Arnold Schwarzenegger in Total Recall. This fall Karl Urban will take to theaters in Dredd, playing a part previously defined by Sylvester Stallone and Richard Waters. And next summer Joel Kinnaman will be the new (and improved?) Robocop, following in the clunking footsteps of Peter Weller and Robert John Burke. But beyond that John Travolta could re-define the role originated by Mitch Cohen in 1987's The Toxic Avenger.

Obviously, the last possibility is strange on a few levels. First up, when a reboot is discussed, it's often with a mind to bring in young audience unfamiliar with the prior version. To attract this crowd, it's frequently a young, and often rising star that is attached to the project, not an established and aging A-lister. Then, there's the fact that of all the titles above The Toxic Avenger is by far the one that seems least likely to attract a mainstream audience. And yet Twitch reports industry tracking site It's On the Grid has Travolta attached to star in the reboot of the cult classic about a mutant and his mop destined for greatness!

It's worth noting, the item doesn't say what role Travolta would play, and as I outlined above, it seems highly doubtful that he'd play Toxie. More likely, he'll play some sort of bloated villain. But despite its B-movie origins, this Toxic Avenger is looking to avoid campiness as the project is described as an action-comedy remake in the vein of The Mask, basically a comedy meant to appeal to a broad audience. Though comedy is not exactly Travolta's strong suit (Old Dogs, Wild Hogs), but he made for a wily and captivatingly over-the-top baddie in Oliver Stone's Savages, so maybe this casting news isn't so crazy after all.

Hot Tub Time Machine helmer Steve Pink will directThe Toxic Avenger reboot, which he co-wrote with Daniel Mitchell. There's no word on when the film may lens. Author: Kristy Puchko

Dumb And Dumber Sequel Plot Revealed

 


 At this point the Dumb & Dumber sequel might need to live on as a "wishful thinking" kind of movie, though one with more powerful wishful thinking behind it than most. It seemed to be full speed ahead into production earlier this year, until Jim Carrey suddenly backed out over the summer, claiming the studio wasn't committed enough. Then Jeff Daniels stepped up to promise that it was really going to happen, but no firm dates have yet been set.

But all this time, directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly have stuck by the movie, and talking in the UK to Digital Spy (they're just now getting The Three Stooges over there, poor bastards), the Farrellys hinted at a spring start date, as well as the story that will send Harry and Lloyd on a new adventure:

"I can tell you that there is no growth out of either one of them and it's 20 years later… The story revolves around the fact that one of them may have sired a child. They want to go and find the child because he's having a kidney problem and he wants to ask him for one of his kidneys."

All that stands to reason, both the fact that Harry and Lloyd haven't gotten any smarter-- wouldn't it be disappointing if they had?-- and that it takes a selfish request for a kidney to get one of them to hunt down the kid. Of course, all this depends on one of them convincing a woman to sleep with him, and given how things went with Mary Swanson last time, that doesn't seem too likely. If we do finally wind up getting this long-promised sequel, though, I'm sure we can get over that little narrative hump. 
  Author: Katey Rich

Karen O Debuts Frankenweenie Song Strange Love

 





Many modern moviegoers grew up with the weird and wonderful movies of Tim Burton inspiring our dreams and sometimes our nightmares. Now, one of these self-proclaimed "impressionable offbeat youths" is all grown up and giving back to the wild-haired auteur who inspired her. Yeah Yeah Yeahs front woman Karen O has recorded a brand new track for Burton's upcoming animated feature Frankenweenie.

Based on a live-action short the filmmaker crafted prior to his feature debut with Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Frankenweenie centers on a young boy named Victor Frankenstein who brings his beloved family pet back from the grave with a little bit of mad science and plenty of electricity. Through the film's latest trailer and a string of character images, it's clear that Burton drew inspiration for his latest venture from classic horror films of his childhood idol Vincent Price and James Whale. So, it's fitting that O, who told Rolling Stone her artistic sensibility was shaped by Burton's catalog, is continuing the daisy chain of nostalgia-based inspiration.

When Burton asked her to create "unconventional unconditional love song," she married her memories of early Burton movies with the very influences that shaped Frankenweenie, saying:

"My music inspiration came out of the same era of B-movie fright film references sprinkled throughout the film. I went in the direction of exotica and calypso stylistically because it's quirky, good vibes music of that era, and when you throw in a Theremin solo, it's a marriage made in heaven. I remember Beetlejuice introducing me to the genius of Harry Belafonte's calypso record, so I wanted to give a nod to that, too."

The results are a fittingly, funky and sweet tune called "Strange Love," which you can hear in full at Pitchfork. O's catchy ode to puppy love—complete with barking back-up singers—will be reportedly play over Frankenweenie's end credits and will be included on the album Frankenweenie Unleashed!. The supplemental soundtrack will include songs from Neon Trees, Plain White T's, Robert Smith, and Winona Ryder. It will be released alongside Frankenweenie: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack on September 25th. The Frankenweenie
  Author: Kristy Puchko