Tuesday, February 23, 2016

2-23-16 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)


        Despite rumors to the contrary, production on Warner Bros. Pictures’ upcoming Justice League movie is set to begin shortly. EW is reporting the Justice League filming will begin on April 11. “The idea that we could begin to boot up a Justice League concept was a cool thing,” director Zack Snyder told the outlet. “It was a little bit of an ‘about time’ moment, and I don’t blame [the studio] for feeling that way, because it’s a long time coming, but I do feel like it’s a little bit of a creative hurdle. It seems like an easy thing to do at first glance, the idea that, ‘Oh, we just get the rest of the superheroes in there.’ But you have to [establish] a world where they can exist.” Jason Mamoa, Ray Fisher, and Ezra Miller will star as Aquaman, Cyborg, and The Flash in Justice League where they will be joined by the DC Trinity themselves, Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill and Gal Gadot as Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. The Justice League filming will take place in London. Justice League Part One will debut in theaters on November 10, 2017.

        This may be one of the biggest pieces of movie news of all-time. It's only behind Disney buying Lucasfilm with the intention to make more Star Wars films and the Marvel and Sony striking a deal to let Spider-Man in the MCU. A Justice League film has been long in the making and as a comic book fan knowing that we are getting this film just makes me feel like a dream come true. The fact we'll get Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman on screen together in the a few weeks is already special, but add in  Aquaman, The Flash and Green Lantern and you just build the anticipation even more. There are still a few things we don't know, but I'm excited to see what we learn between April and November 10th, 2017. 



        Films based on video games don’t have the best track record with audiences. Be it critically or commercially, few have been able to achieve the levels of success that say comic book adaptations have had in recent years. That hasn’t stopped studios from making them, however, and it doesn’t stop actors from wanting to take part in them. Speaking with GameSpot, former UFC Bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey (herself an avid World of Warcraft player) expressed interest in playing the intergalactic bounty hunter Samus Aran in a Metroid movie. “I’ve always wanted to be Samus. That would be badass. I love how people found out later that it was a hot chick on the inside. And then most of the day you’re in a suit, so you can just hang out and eat donuts and be the star of Metroid. I hope they make a movie out of that.” Rousey has transitioned from fighting in the ring to fighting on the big screen recently with roles in The Expendables 3, Furious 7, and a cameo as herself in the Entourage movie. The fighter is also set to star as herself in Paramount Pictures’ adaptation of her own New York Times best-selling autobiography, My Fight/Your Fight, and in an upcoming remake of Road House, where she will play a female version of the character Patrick Swayze played in the 1989 original. Ever since the disastrous Super Mario Bros. movie in 1993, feature films based on Nintendo’s characters have not been in the cards; however Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto revealed last year they were reconsidering their stance on feature adaptations. Until then, you can enjoy the Metroid fan film, Metroid: The Sky Calls.

        This would be a very interesting choice for the role. Look I'm going to be blunt right off the bat, Rhonda Rousey is terrible actress and it's hard to watch her when she's on screen. The reason why I think this would be an interesting fit is due to the fact that we would never see her face as she'll be in a CGI suit for the entire film. Another thing is that Samus doesn't talk that much and I think that's something that fits Rousey because how hard can it be to mess up with hardly any dialogue. If this movie were to happen I think Rousey is the frontrunner, but I could also see someone like Charlize Theron or Emily Blunt take on the character. 



        Set to make his debut as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Punisher when Daredevil returns to Netflix next month, Jon Bernthal has today joined Edgar Wright‘s Baby Driver cast. According to Deadline, Bernthal will play a character by the name of Griff. The Baby Driver cast also includes Ansel Elgort (The Fault in Our Stars, Divergent) as Baby, Kevin Spacey (The Usual Suspects, Nine Lives) as Doc, Jon Hamm (Mad Men, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) as Buddy, Lily James (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Cinderella) as Deborah, Eiza Gonzalez (Jem and the Holograms, From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series) as Darling and Jamie Foxx (Django Unchained, The Amazing Spider-Man 2) as Bats. Baby Driver follows Elgort as a young man (called Baby because of his youthful face) who works as a getaway driver for different bank robbers. One day, he gets into trouble when a bank robbery goes wrong, putting him on the run from various parties. The story is partly inspired by the “Blue Song” music video, which Wright directed for the band Mint Royale in 2003. Jon Berthal is well known to many for his role as Shane Walsh on AMC‘s The Walking Dead. Recent big screen roles include David Ayer’s Fury, Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario and Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. Working Title Films – the producers and financiers of the “Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy” (i.e. Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World’s End) – is teaming with MRC (Ted) to finance Baby Driver, which is now filming in Atlanta. Working Title’s Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner will be producing along with Wright’s regular producing partner Nira Park.

        I think this is a great casting decision. Jon Bernthal is an amazing actor who hasn't really gotten his big break yet. He's had a lot of small roles playing supporting characters and even though this is another one of those roles for him to help continue building his resume. I think he'll be a great fit for Edgar Wright and I'm interested to see what Berenthal's character will be like. I like how Edgar Wright was supposed to direct Ant-Man (which was virtually a heist film) and after leaving the project his next film is basically a heist film and I'm really looking forward to seeing what he does with this film.



        According to Deadline, Walt Disney Pictures has set acclaimed Selma director Ava DuVernay to helm their big screen adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s 1962 novel A Wrinkle in Time. DuVernay was also courted by Disney’s Marvel Studios last year to helm Black Panther, although that ultimately fell through. The novel is described as follows: It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger. “Wild nights are my glory,” the unearthly stranger told them. “I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me sit down for a moment, and then I’ll be on my way. Speaking of ways, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract.” A tesseract (in case the reader doesn’t know) is a wrinkle in time. To tell more would rob the reader of the enjoyment of Miss L’Engle’s unusual book. A Wrinkle in Time, winner of the Newbery Medal in 1963, is the story of the adventures in space and time of Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin O’Keefe (athlete, student, and one of the most popular boys in high school). They are in search of Meg’s father, a scientist who disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government on the tesseract problem. A Wrinkle in Time is the winner of the 1963 Newbery Medal.” Frozen screenwriter and co-director Jennifer Lee will adapt the book into a screenplay, with Jim Whitaker and Catherine Hand producing. “A Wrinkle in Time” is the first title in L’Engle’s four-book “Time Quartet” series, which also includes “A Wind in the Door,” “A Swiftly Tilting Planet” and “Many Waters.” L’Engle’s 1989 novel, “An Acceptable Time,” was also marketed as part of the series but took place a generation earlier. The site reports that DuVernay also has an offer from DreamWorks to direct Intelligent Life, a sci-fi thriller scripted by Jurassic World‘s Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly, which is set to star Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years A Slave). It is unknown whether this or A Wrinkle in Time would move forward first, though the Disney project was the first deal to close.

        This is a fantastic choice. Ava DuVernay has only done one feature film and she is already become a very hot name for every project that comes up. I think she is a perfect fit for this film and it's a very interesting film to say the least. This film could be really special and so far it's on the right track by getting DuVernay on board to direct. What this also does is keep her in the Disney family so she could direct a comic book film, a Star Wars film, a live action Disney remake of an animated film or any other film under the umbrella of Disney. 



        Demián Bichir is joining Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant cast, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The Hateful Eight actor is joining newcomers Katherine Waterston and Danny McBride. Michael Fassbender will reprise his role as Prometheus‘ android, David, while Waterston is set to play a woman named Daniels. Set as the second chapter in a prequel trilogy that began with Prometheus, Alien: Covenant connects directly to Scott’s 1979 seminal work of science fiction. It begins with the colony ship Covenant, bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy. There, the crew discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world — whose sole inhabitant is the “synthetic” David, survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition. Jack Paglen (Transcendence) and Michael Green (Green Lantern) are providing the Alien: Covenant screenplay. The project is entering production in Australia with 20th Century Fox set to distribute the film in theaters on October 6, 2017. 

        This is a great casting choice. Demián Bichir is a really great actor and while he hasn't been in a lot of movies, he has done a very serviceable job in every role he's had. I really enjoyed him on the television show Weeds (a show everyone should watch while its one Netflix) and I think he fits the cast of this movie really well. This cast is becoming very diverse in a hurry with a wide variety of acting styles and talent I've ever seen in a movie. This is a film that we've been waiting for for a long time after the somewhat disappointment of Prometheus mainly due to the fact that it is going to be another Alien film directed by Ridley Scott. This film is going to be pretty fun and amazing and I cannot wait to see it. 

        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

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