Wednesday, April 15, 2015

4-15-15 Movie News

        Hello ladies and gentlemen, here is some movie news with some of my thoughts and opinions (which will be in BOLD print). So without further ado...


(NOTE: All of these stories come from comingsoon.net)


        Warner Bros. Pictures has wasted no time in finding a new Wonder Woman director. Just two days after word broke that formerly attached “Breaking Bad” and “The Walking Dead” director Michelle MacLaren had exited the project over “creative differences,” The Hollywood Reporter brings word that Monster‘s Patty Jenkins will be taking the director’s chair on the DC Comics feature. Jenkins name is already well-known to superhero film aficionados as she was, at one point, attached to Marvel Studios’ Thor: The Dark World. She left that project, also due to “creative differences,” was was replaced by Alan Taylor. Gal Gadot remains attached headline Wonder Woman with the character planned to make her first cinematic appearance in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. She may even make additional appearances across DC’s new cinematic universe before her solo film sees release on June 23, 2017. It’s pretty much a guarantee, too, that Wonder Woman is also going to play an important role in Justice League Part One, hitting theaters November 10, 2017. Elsewhere in the big screen DC Universe, Scott Eastwood has joined the cast of David Ayer’s Suicide Squad in what is rumored to be the role of Steve Trevor. If accurate, those rumors suggest that Eastwood is likely to appear in Wonder Woman as well. Jenkins’ other credits include episodes of “Entourage,” “Arrested Development” and “The Killing”. Charles Roven and Zack and Deborah Snyder are attached to produce Wonder Woman.

        This was a really quick turnaround. I honestly think that they've had Jenkins in the wings waiting just in case something happened. I think she is a great fit especially since she was the first choice to direct Thor: The Dark World before dropping out and Alan Taylor took over. If Marvel wanted her than it's a good sign that WB/DC got her to direct this film. I'm excited to see how Gal Gadot does as Wonder Woman and how this film turns out. 



        The Hollywood Reporter brings word today that director Matthew Vaughn is in talks to direct a new version of Flash Gordon for 20th Century Fox! J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, who penned a draft of the upcoming Star Trek 3, have written the script. John Davis (Predator, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) and George Nolfi (Ocean’s Twelve, The Adjustment Bureau) are set to produce the film. This would mark Vaughn’s fourth comic-based film in a row, a pattern that began with 2010’s Kick-Ass and went to X-Men: First Class and this year’s hit Kingsman: The Secret Service. Created by Alex Raymond in 1934, Flash Gordon began life as a serialized comic strip, following the intergalactic adventures of the titular hero, his fellow adventurer and love interest, Dale Arden, and brilliant scientist Dr. Hans Zarkov. Together, the trio explore fantastic interplanetary locales like Mongo, home of the devilish Ming the Merciless. Tremendously popular in the late 1930s as a trio of big screen serials, Flash Gordon has since been adapted for both the big and small screen in a variety of different forms. Director Mike Hodges’ feature film (which boasted a soundtrack by Queen) failed to impress at the box office in 1980, but the movie has since emerged as a genuine cult classic. That film’s star, Sam J. Jones, played homage to the character in Seth MacFarlane’s 2012 comedy Ted and will reprise his role in the upcoming Ted 2.

        I think that if this happens then this is fantastic news. Vaughn is a talented up and coming director and his style would fit this film very well. I think that a Flash Gordon film mixed with his style would be an unreal movie and we pretty much see a mix of Kick-Ass and Kingsman and I loved both of those films. I'm a big fan of Flash Gordon and I hope this happens. 



        DreamWorks Animation announced today that Kung Fu Panda 3 has been moved up from a March 18, 2016 release date to January 29, 2016. The other films scheduled for the new date are The Finest Hours, The 5th Wave and New Line’s untitled horror film. Continuing on his now legendary adventures of awesomeness, Po must face two hugely epic, but very different threats: one supernatural and the other a little closer to home. This chapter in the continuing adventures of Kung Fu Panda is directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson, who also helmed the worldwide hit Kung Fu Panda 2 and features a script by series writers Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger. Jack Black returns as the voice of Po in the film along with Gary Oldman, Dustin Hoffman, David Cross, Angelina Jolie, Michelle Yeoh, Mads Mikkelsen, Danny McBride, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen, Jackie Chan, James Hong, and Bryan Cranston. The first two chapters of DreamWorks Animation’s critically-acclaimed “Kung Fu Panda” franchise opened in 2008 and 2011. Both films were honored with Academy Award nominations for Best Animated Feature Film. Together, they have generated approximately $1.3 billion at the worldwide box office.

        This is a great move. January is one of the worst months for movies and basically there is nothing but really terrible movies other than 1 or 2 every year. It's going up against nothing and I think it is going to make a lot of money up unitl Deadpool comes out 2 weeks later. 



        Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, who previously starred together in both Crazy, Stupid, Love and Gangster Squad, are looking at working together again today. Deadline reports that both stars are looking to potentially headline La La Land, the second film from Whiplash writer and director Damien Chazelle. Said to be a contemporary musical set in and inspired by the City of Angels, La La Land was originally planned to star Miles Teller and Emma Watson. Teller even spoke with ComingSoon.net about the project last month at SXSW where it sounded like he was looking forward to it. “I think Damien is so, so talented,” said Teller, admitting no deal was in place. “It’s also very cool to partner with someone who is around your same age. When you first get in this business, everyone is so much older. The directors are older than you and the actors are older than you. You just feel like you don’t belong. Now, as I start to work, I realize, ‘Oh, I’ve worked with this crew before! I’ve worked with this lighting guy! I’ve worked with this sound guy!’ You start to feel more familiar with it and it’s really nice.” Instead, it sounds like Teller will be working with Warm Bodies and 50/50‘s Jonathan Levine on an adaptation of Dan Marshall’s darkly comic memoir Home is Burning. Watson, meanwhile, is about to begin production on Walt Disney Pictures’ Beauty and the Beast. You can check out a behind-the-scenes image of the cast shared by co-star Josh Gad earlier today. As an actor, Gosling hasn’t been on the big screen since 2013’s Only God Forgives, although his directorial debut, Lost River, opened in theaters last Friday. Stone, then, starred last year in Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Woody Allen’s Magic in the Moonlight and Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman. She can next be seen headlining Cameron Crowe’s Aloha. Fred Berger and Jordan Horowitz are attached to produce La La Land through Gilbert Films.

        This is great casting. Ryan Gosling and Emma stone are two of the most talented actors on the planet and so far they are great on-screen together in both films they've been in together (Crazy, Stupid, Love and Gangster Squad) eventhough both films are pretty terrible. I'm excited for this film simply because Damian Chazelle who did an amazing job with Whiplash and anything he makes form here out will get my seal of approval. 



        The Fletch franchise has found a new home today as The Hollywood Reporter brings word that the big screen rights to the Gregory McDonald novel series have moved from Warner Bros. Pictures to Relativity. There, plans are underway to get a new Fletch film into production with the previously-attached Jason Sudeikis (Horrible Bosses, “Saturday Night Live”) still set to headline. The original novel series, first published in 1974 with “Fletch,” offers a humorous take on an LA-based investigative journalist. The first book spawned 11 sequels and served as the basis for a 1985 film that starred Chevy Chase in the lead. Chase would return to the character in 1989 for a sequel, Fletch Lives, not specifically based on any of the books. Since then, various attempts have been initiated to bring Irwin “Fletch” Fletcher back to the big screen. Filmmakers like Kevin Smith and Bill Lawrence have both been attached in the past to adapt the book series’ eighth entry, “Fletch Won,” which serves as the character’s “origin story.” No director is currently attached to the new Fletch project, but Relativity’s Ryan Kavanaugh is set to produce alongside David List, John Rickard and the Boies/Schiller Film Group’s Zach Schiller. Relativity’s Tucker Tooley and Anonymous Content’s Steve Golin and Michael Sugar will then serve as executive producers.

        This is great to hear. I'm always glad to see a movie that people have begun working on finally get a studio to back them up to release the film. I think that the film sounds really great and I can't wait for the final product. I'm also a fan of Jason Sudekis and anything he is in I'm willing to watch.

        So there you have it ladies and gentlemen, which of these stories peaked your interest or was there another story that interested you? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.

                                                                                                                                         Jonah Sparks

No comments:

Post a Comment