Wednesday, January 21, 2015

1-21-15 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)


        Through April, Leonardo DiCaprio will be shooting in the wilds of Calgary amid the Canadian Rockies playing a fur trapper hunting the men who left him for dead in The Revenant, the latest from Academy Award-nominated director Alejandro González Iñárritu (Birdman). Entertainment Weekly has the first stills from the film, which you can check out below! “He’s a brave, incredible actor. I’m so surprised about how good he is,” Iñárritu says of DiCaprio. “I think there’s a profound understanding of humanity that I can see through his eyes.” It has turned into an arduous shoot, due to the remoteness of many locations and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki’s penchant for shooting with only natural light, meaning the crew can only shoot for a few hours each day.Says Iñárritu, “It’s a very experimental thing that we’re doing here…I’m now addicted to doing things that can fail horribly or maybe that can give us a surprise. We are all into it.” DiCaprio will play Hugh Glass, a 19th century fur trapper who is mauled by a grizzly bear, left for dead and then robbed. When he survives against all odds, he sets out on a treacherous journey to exact revenge on his betrayers in this captivating and inspiring story based on the Michael Punke novel, “The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge.” The Revenant co-stars Tom Hardy, Will Poulter and Domhnall Gleeson, and will receive a limited release on December 25, 2015.
     
revenant-01_612x381revenant-02_612x381
(courtesy of Entertainment Weekly)

        These are some really cool photos. This is our first real look at the film and I can just tell by these photos that the film will be amazing. The Cast and director alone should get someone excited and I'm going to echo something that a lot of people are saying and that this may be the film that get's Leonardo DiCaprio the Oscar he has been chasing for over 20 years. I'm excited for the film and I cannot wait to see it. 



        Simon Pegg, who played Scotty in the last two “Star Trek” films, is taking on a second task for the third installment – screenwriter. According to Deadline, Pegg has been set to co-write Star Trek 3, which will be directed by “Fast & Furious” helmer Justin Lin. This is following the news from December that Roberto Orci would no longer be writing the Paramount/Skydance film. Pegg is co-writing the script with Doug Jung (“Dark Blue,” “Banshee”), says The Hollywood Reporter‘s Borys Kit. Pegg will also reprise his role as Scotty, of course, reteaming with Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Anton Yelchin, Karl Urban, and Zoe Saldana as the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise. J.J. Abrams, who directed the last two films, is producing this time around. Pegg has previously written the Edgar Wright-directed Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World’s End, as well as the comedies Run, Fatboy, Run and Paul. Paramount Pictures has Star Trek 3 scheduled for a July 8, 2016 release, which coincides with the 50th anniversary of the “Star Trek” franchise.

        This is a pretty interesting choice. Now granted Simon Pegg has wrote a few screenplays, but Star Trek is a different animal. He has been involved with the franchise for two films now and if you want someone to help co-write the screenplay then he's the guy to do it, but I'm just nervous about him writing. This is an important film to Star Trek because this is the film to help honor the 50th anniversary of the franchise and it needs to be a huge hit.



        While J.J. Abrams is putting the finishing touches on Star Wars: The Force Awakens for its release on December 18, things are already moving forward on the first Star Wars standalone film with The Hollywood Reporter‘s Heat Vision reporting that actresses are being tested for the female lead in the Gareth Edwards-directed film.  Canadian actress Tatiana Maslany, who has made huge waves playing multiple clones in BBC America’s hit series “Orphan Black,” and Rooney Mara , nominated for an Oscar for her performance in David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, are two of the names being mentioned with The Theory of Everything‘s Oscar-nominated star Felicity Jones also on the short list.  THR’s Borys Kit says that Jones may have scheduling issues as she’s already pegged to co-star in the Da Vinci Code sequel Inferno opposite Tom Hanks and directed by Ron Howard. There still has been no word on who the focal character of the first of the planned stand-alone “Star Wars” movies will be, although Disney and Lucasfilm have already snagged the release date of December 16, 2016. They’re currently looking for a writer to step-in following the departure of Gary Whitta after turning in his draft.  A second stand-alone movie being co-written by Simon Kinberg and Lawrence Kasdan will be helmed by Chronicle helmer Josh Trank, who is currently finishing up his relaunch of The Fantastic Four for 20th Century Fox.

        These are some really great actresses to be recruiting. It's never wrong to get talent and to be talking to two Academy Award nominated actresses (Rooney Mara and Felicity Jones) means you want the film to be good. I would prefer Mara simply because Jones's schedule will probably hurt her and I don't think enough people know Tatiana Maslany. I honestly dont' know what to believe when it comes to the film as we don't even know who or what it will be about so right now we just have to wait and see.



        “This thing… is gonna follow you… someone gave it to me and I’ve passed it to you.” In advance of its scheduled showing at Sundance this Friday, RADiUS-TWC has debuted a new international trailer for their bold, critically-acclaimed new horror film It Follows, which hits theaters and VOD on March 27 and you can check out the trailer below! Written and directed by David Robert Mitchell, the film stars Maika Monroe (The Guest) as Jay, a 19-year-old girl who after a strange sexual encounter finds herself haunted by nightmarish visions and the inescapable sense that something is after her. Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto, Jake Weary, Olivia Luccardi and Lili Sepe co-star.



        This was an ok trailer. Nothing about the trailer really scared me, but I thought there were a couple of creepy parts. The premise sounds really interesting I just wonder if the filmmakers can actually execute their game plan. 



        Last August, actress Milla Jovovich announced that she and her husband Paul W.S. Anderson were expecting their second child together, thus delaying the shooting of Resident Evil: The Final Chapter. Now she has taken to Facebook (tip of the hat to Bobby Napoli) with word that she is already preparing to return as Alice for the revived shoot in August. Says Jovovich, “I’m really proud of myself for not gaining the same amount of weight that I did with our first child (75 lbs.) because I have to be ready to start filming ‘Resident Evil- The Final Chapter’ in August of this year and I will also be nursing an infant simultaneously.” Shooting was initially being prepped for Cape Town, South Africa, which will be one of several locales used for the sixth and (supposed) last part in the long-running Resident Evil franchise. The last film to see release was Resident Evil: Retribution in 2012. Targeting a September 2, 2016 release date, Anderson returns for his fourth outing as director and writer of the Screen Gems release Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, with actor Wentworth Miller reprising his role as Chris Redfield from 2010’s Resident Evil: Afterlife.

        This news really doesn't excite me. I say that because I'm not a huge fan of the film or game franchise, some of you are and that's great they are just not for me. I honestly feel that this film is another cash grab and it will probably end up being just as bad as the rest of the franchise. 

        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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