Tuesday, February 17, 2015

2-17-15 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)


        Those lucky blokes at Empire got the chance to catch up with Mark Ruffalo on the set of May’s Avengers: Age of Ultron for an in-depth discussion about the character and what direction he’s headed in for the sequel (and beyond). “I think he’s definitely matured a little bit since the last one,” said Ruffalo, who showed the first inklings of Banner mastering his alter-ego in 2012’s The Avengers. “He’s become more acclimated to this thing and to being part of the team. I think he feels more a part of them all. But in this particular take on it, it’s a much more character-driven version of The Avengers than the first one. It gets a little deeper into each character. S.H.I.E.L.D. is not happening anymore, so there’s not that much time spent with the S.H.I.E.L.D. stuff.” We’ve all salivated over that footage of Tony Stark’s Hulkbuster in action, but you might be surprised to learn who designed the new suit… Bruce Banner himself! “Hulk is the kind of wild card,” Ruffalo admits. “He’s the loose cannon of the group. He’s more like an atom bomb. You could guess where he’s going to go but he could go either way. I think that there is, obviously, the day when everyone expects it to go wrong and that day comes. And they’re ready. And Bruce designed the contingency plan. As much as you feel Bruce has some mastery over it – certainly, with ‘I’m always angry’ and he can turn into it at will – I still feel that there’s some part of him that doesn’t completely trust it and doesn’t completely trust himself.”

        While the “Jekyl & Hyde” duality has always existed in the character, Ruffalo and writer/director Joss Whedon get to explore more of the nuances of that dynamic this time around. “There’s a battle going on between these two opposing egos that live inside him,” says Ruffalo. “He’s definitely worried that the day is going to come when the Hulk gets the best of him, and maybe won’t release him, maybe won’t give him back. The Hulk knows this too. There’s a moment in here where he, begrudgingly, decides to go back to Banner. Who knows where these things will go, but as Bruce is able to impress his will on the Hulk, going into The Hulk and being inside the Hulk when he’s raging, The Hulk’s will is also growing and able to impress upon Bruce. That makes for some wild things. We’re laying the groundwork for that here. It’ll be interesting to see if that ends up being what would be the next Hulk movie.” As for that idea of a new solo Hulk movie, Ruffalo is very conscious of why his version may work better as a supporting character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe after the middling performance of 2003’s Hulk and 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. “It’s a tough nut to crack,” he admits. “Traditionally you’re watching a guy who doesn’t want to do the very thing that you want him to do. It’s hard to take for two hours. I don’t know how many times you can use that same framing for it, but now he’s maturing and there’s a cool dynamic growing between Banner and The Hulk. And the CGI is so much better. The stuff we can do now, you can do a real performance. I’ve been working with Andy Serkis [at his Imaginarium studio] and he has it set up where you go in there and you just start working on a character. It is so exciting to me, because I can do whatever I can imagine, with a team of people of course.”

        These are some really great comments. First off I want to say that out of all the people who have portrayed The Hulk, Ruffalo is the best one yet. As for the comments I love it when an actor is passionate about the role and he is able to understand the characters. As for a solo Hulk film I agree with Ruffalo. A Hulk film is hard to do because of the balancing act you have to do in order for you to care about Bruce Banner and The Hulk. I love this version of the character and I;m really looking forward to seeing where the character goes in future films.



        Production has officially commenced today on Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer Films’ Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales! The fifth entry in the blockbuster franchise inspired by the classic Disney Theme Parks attraction is directed by Espen Sandberg and Joachim Rønning (Kon-Tiki) and will film entirely at Village Roadshow Studios and on locations within Queensland, Australia. Johnny Depp returns to his iconic, Academy Award-nominated role as Captain Jack Sparrow, newly joined by Oscar winner Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men, Skyfall), rising young stars Kaya Scodelario (The Maze Runner, “Skins”), Brenton Thwaites (Maleficent, The Giver) and Golshifteh Farahani (The Patience Stone, Exodus: Gods and Kings). Rejoining the action are Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush as Barbossa, Kevin R. McNally as Joshamee Gibbs and Stephen Graham as Scrum.Thrust into an all-new adventure, a down-on-his-luck Captain Jack Sparrow finds the winds of ill-fortune blowing even more strongly when deadly ghost pirates led by his old nemesis, the terrifying Captain Salazar (Bardem), escape from the Devil’s Triangle, determined to kill every pirate at sea…including him.  Captain Jack’s only hope of survival lies in seeking out the legendary Trident of Poseidon, a powerful artifact that bestows upon its possessor total control over the seas. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and written by Jeff Nathanson (Catch Me If You Can, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull). The executive producers are Chad Oman, Joe Caracciolo, Jr. and Brigham Taylor.

        Does anyone honestly care. Look I really enjoyed the first film and the franchise has gone down hill from there. The plot of the film sounds just absolutely horrible and is a waste of time for actors like Javier Bardem and Geoffrey Rush who are Academy Award winning actors and they don't need to be in this film. This film will make a lot of money, but the film will be terrible and who knows I may be wrong on the latter, but this franchise died a long time ago.     



        Back in October, it was revealed that Robert Downey Jr. would be making his way into the upcoming third Captain America film which was later revealed to be Captain America: Civil War. The film is set to position his character Tony Stark against Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers in an on-screen bout that fans have been dreaming of for years. Speaking with Empire, Downey was asked about Tony’s position in the film and how perhaps a change in his perspective (branching out of this year’s Avengers: Age of Ultron) could result in “Civil War.” “The main thing to me is, and this is where I think the Russos are quite brilliant and where Kevin backed the play, is what sort of incident could occur and what sort of framework could we find Tony in? The clues are in “Ultron” about where we might find (Tony) next. But what would it take for Tony to completely turn around everything he’s stood for, quote-unquote, because he was the right-wing guy who could still do his own thing….There’s always the bigger overarching question, that Joss brings up all the time – it’s kind of weird that these guys would have all these throw downs all over planet Earth and it looked like a little collateral damage happened over there, and yet when the movie’s over, it’s like nobody minds. You have to figure, ‘Were you to ask the question, what would the American government do if this were real? Wouldn’t it be interesting to see Tony doing something you wouldn’t imagine?’”

        When asked if Tony would be the “bad guy” of the film, Downey replied: “I wouldn’t put it that way. Ultimately it’s Steve’s story; it doesn’t say ‘Iron Man 4: Civil War’. I think that’s great too. I think Chris [Evans] has been hungry to bring even more of an underside and some shadow to that. I remember the comics – on the surface you got the sense that Cap was baseball and apple pie, but underneath there was all this churning stuff of being a man out of time. Now we know he’s made his peace with that. What’s the bigger issue? It can have a little something to do with the past, but it can be about someone becoming more modernized in their own conflict.” Downey and Evans will be joined in the film by Chadwick Boseman in his MCU debut as Black Panther, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Daniel Bruhl in a mystery role, Frank Grillo as Crossbones, (potentially) Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, and even the brand new Spider-Man as it’s been reported he will debut in the 2016 film before his own 2017 solo movie. Anthony and Joe Russo return to direct the sequel, which is slated for release on May 6, 2016.

        I love these comments. Downey is a very smart man in knowing what he can and can't say and this right here is a pure tease. I really like how Marvel has secretly planted seeds for for future movies in every one of their films and it gets me as a fan really excited to see what'll happen next. I'm looking forward to seeing how the events of Age of Ultron play out and pave the way for Phase 3.



        Fresh off the heels of a casting breakdown found earlier, “X-Men” cast member Daniel Cudmore has confirmed on Twitter that he will not be reprising the role of Colossus in the upcoming Deadpool film. Cudmore made his debut as the character in X2: X-Men United and appeared in X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men: Days of Future Past. This isn’t the only bit of “X-Men” recasting going on at Fox as the roles of Jean Grey, Cyclops, and Storm were all recast with younger actors for the upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse. Ryan Reynolds will lead the film as the titular Merc with a Mouth and he is joined by T.J. Miller, Ed Skrein and Gina Carano as the mutant Angel Dust, a member of the Morlocks. Tim Miller is set to helm the movie from a script by Zombieland writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. Deadpool is currently scheduled for a release on February 12, 2016.

        I really hate to hear this news. It's always bad to see a guy who has played a character for a long time be cut loose from it. I also understand why and it's because that I have heard it may be an origin story for Deadpool and it'll be set around the same time as X-Men: Apocalypse and that makes sense because of the new timeline and eventhough it's not considered apart of the timeline, the Wade Wilson at the beginning of X-Men Origins: Wolverine is alive during the events of X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Days of Future Past. Like I hate it for this guy, but I understand why the decision was made.



        Columbia Pictures has just revealed the full cast of the upcoming Inferno, the third film in the franchise that launched with The Da Vinci Code in 2006 and continued with Angels & Demons in 2009. Ron Howard returns as both director and producer with Tom Hanks set to reprise his role as Robert Langdon opposite Oscar nominee Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything) as Dr. Sienna Brooks, Irrfan Khan (Life of Pi) as Harry Sims (also known as The Provost), Omar Sy (The Intouchables) as Christoph Bruder and Sidse Babett Knudsen (“Borgen”) as Dr. Elizabeth Sinskey, the head of the World Health Organization. The filmmakers — which also includes returning producer Brian Grazer — are also in talks with several other internationally-recognized actors for major roles. The Imagine Entertainment production, which has a screenplay by David Koepp based on the book by Dan Brown, is slated for release on October 14, 2016 and will begin principal photography at the end of April. The project’s executive producers include Dan Brown, Anna Culp, Bill Connor, and David Householter. Inferno continues the Harvard symbologist’s adventures on screen: when Robert Langdon wakes up in an Italian hospital with amnesia, he teams up with Sienna Brooks, a doctor he hopes will help him recover his memories and prevent a madman from releasing a global plague connected to Dante’s immortal tome.

        “For this film, I wanted Tom Hanks to be surrounded by an international cast of actors whose energy will underscore Robert Langdon’s life-or-death peril,” Howard explains, “the high-stakes action he takes, and the global threat that he’s trying to prevent. Felicity, Irrfan, Omar, and Sidse have all broken through with recognition here in America as well as their home countries – they are phenomenal talents and we can’t wait to get started.” “We’re thrilled to be making a third Robert Langdon film with Ron, Tom and Brian,” adds Doug Belgrad, President, Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group. “‘Inferno’ will deliver all of the excitement, intrigue and international adventure that audiences expect from a film based on Dan Brown’s huge selling Langdon book series. We can’t wait to see this character back on the big screen." Michael De Luca and Andrea Giannetti are overseeing the project for Columbia Pictures.

        This is actually a really great cast. I love the addition of Felicity Jones and I think she will help bring new life to this franchise. The problem is that this film is a little to late and I don't think anyone is really interested in this film. I'm a fan of Ron Howard, Felicity Jones and Tome Hanks, but I think this film is going to be a major bomb.

        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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