Saturday, April 19, 2014

4-19-14 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 and screenrant.com)


        It was revealed last week that the upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse will primarily focus on the remaining "First Class" cast members, including James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult and Jennifer Lawrence, but does that mean there's no room for folks from the original cast to return? Charles Xavier himself, Sir Patrick Stewart, was asked by MTV if he thought he'd be returning for the 2016 film, to which he replied:

        "I don't see why not. That is one of the blessings about fantasy and science fiction. You're never really dead. I would love to come back and do some more."

        Then Stewart dropped a bit of a teaser for the future of the "X-Men" franchise.

        "There might be something else. A little bird has whispered that there might be something 'X-Men' related."

        This news gets me a little excited. I Patrick Stewart's work as Professor X and I can't wait until X-Men Days of Future Past. This also means that there is a possibility that Professor X doesn't die as the rumors have been swirling that the older X-Men cast besides Hugh Jackman would be finished after this film. All we can do now is wait and see.



        It has long been a pipe dream for fans to see Spider-Man swing by the likes of Captain America and Iron Man in a future "Avengers" film, but the likelihood of such a thing happening is small while various studios hold the screen rights to Marvel's characters. Even though a brief Easter egg almost happened in Marvel's The Avengers, longtime Spider-Man producer Avi Arad says that a full-fledged crossover between the two franchises will only happen when they've run out of ideas.

        "I think I'm probably a little bit of the militant here," Arad said in an interview with IGN. "I think it will take a moment in which we've run out of ideas. There's so much to tell about Spider-Man. There's so much to tell about the Sinister Six. The relationship between Spider-Man and Venom will bring a whole other world in."

        I agree with Arad. Spider-Man in it's self has a massive universe and it simply doesn't need The Avengers help. Look would I love Spider-Man in The Avengers... yes, but if Spider-Man was owned by The Avengers, then we wouldn't get to see films such as Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man or the heavily discussed Dr. Strange and Black Panther movies. I honestly think that once Sony runs out of ideas that they'll simply reboot the franchise and start all over again.



        We’re been waiting to see what film Steven Spielberg directs next, to follow his seventh Oscar nomination for directing (two resulted in wins) for the historical drama Lincoln. The filmmaker legend was originally prepared to jump right into making the sci-fi apocalyptic blockbuster Robopocalypse, but budgetary and creative concerns resulted in the project being indefinitely delayed; since then, Spielberg has circle an eclectic collection of scripts, including the true-story drama American Sniper (which Clint Eastwood is now directing instead) and, most recently, a prospective remake of the classic musical West Side Story.

        Robopocalypse is a cinematic adaptation of the book written by Daniel H. Wilson; a World War Z-style oral history novel, Wilson’s source material details the human resistance against a robotic uprising, led by a renegade sentient A.I. being. Wilson’s source novel was adapted to script form by Drew Goddard (The Cabin in the Woods), though it’s possible that Goddard wasn't responsible for the latest rewrite – given that he’s been busy in recent months, with prepping Marvel Studios’ Netflix TV series Daredevil and working on the script for Sony’s Amazing Spider-Man spinoff Sinister Six (which he will also direct).


        Variety‘s insiders are reporting different things, with regard to the status quo for Robopocalypse; some claim Spielberg hasn’t settled on his next directing project yet, while others say that the sci-fi feature is very much a frontrunner.

        I can't describe how much I want to see this movie. I love Spielberg's work in science fiction (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, A.I. Artificial Intelligence or Minority Report anyone?). I think with today's technology and Spielberg's masterful directing capabilities I honestly think that this film could be one of, if not the greatest science fiction movie of all-time. 



        It’s a universally known fact that Ryan Gosling looks very good on camera, but last year the actor decided to try his hand at directing with his feature film debut, How to Catch a Monster. Filmed on location in Detroit, the film is described as an American fantasy neo-noir about a family who find themselves drawn into a surreal underworld.


        How to Catch a Monster has now been retitled Lost River, named after the dilapidated town in which it takes place, and stars Christina Hendricks (Mad Men) as Billy, the mother of two children. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. actor Iain De Caestecker plays Billy’s eldest son, Bones, who discovers a secret road that leads to an underwater town. The film also co-stars Saoirse Ronan as Rat, a girl who lives next door to the family, and Doctor Who graduate Matt Smith as a character called Bully.

        I'm very curious about this film. Now of course it's not surprising that a film's title gets changed (i.e. Star Wars Episode 6 was originally named Revenge of the Jedi and was changed to Return of the Jedi). Now I think Ryan Gosling is an incredible actor and I think he could be an incredible director simply because of he's worked with (George Clooney, Nicolas Winding Refn, Ruben Fleischer etc.). 



        Currently, Sony is developing several films based on hot video game properties – Watch Dogs, Uncharted, The Last of Us, Gran Turismo, and Raving Rabbids, just to name a few. If that weren't enough, the studio is apparently also interested in reviving the long-suffering BioShock movie. It was about a year ago the game’s creator, Ken Levine, confirmed that Universal’s production on a BioShock film was dead. When director Gore Verbinksi was still attached, he and Universal couldn't agree on a budget or whether or not the film should have an R rating. Once he left and another director was brought in, Levine no longer felt comfortable with the treatment being pitched and chose to kill the project.

        But there’s hope we may yet still see a BioShock movie. Kotaku is reporting that Sony has registered three new domains – bioshock-movie.com, bioshock-movie.net and bio-shock.net – which clearly hint that they may be starting production on a BioShock movie of their own. BioShock, for those unaware, is a first-person shooter set in 1960 where, after surviving a plane crash, the player swims to an abandoned lighthouse and finds a submersible that takes them to the underwater utopia, Rapture. The city is in terrible disrepair and has been overrun by mutants, dangerous drug addicts, and mad geniuses.

        I love the game BioShock and I'm certain I would love a movie. Now just because they have registered a domain name doesn't mean anything necessarily. While I'm excited a the possibility of a BioShock movie I'm also skeptical because video game movies don't tend to be very good (i.e. Super Mario Bros., Double Dragon, Mortal Kombat and the most recent Need for Speed). I myself (as well as many others) believe that two films have the potential to revitalize the genre and those two are Assassin's Creed and Warcraft. If those two films are very successful then I have no doubt that every video game imaginable will begin production immediately.


        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