MOVIE ROUNDUP (DUMBER & DUMBER TO, NEED FOR SPEED & GOTHAM TO TV)

MOVIE ROUNDUP 

(Jeff Daniels and Jim Carrey are Dumb, the Gods of Egypt have a Need for Speed)

DUMB AND DUMBER TO

After years and years of stagnation on the Dumb and Dumber sequel, production is finally underway, with the first images of Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels back in character have been revealed by none other than Carrey himself. 

The Farrelly brothers return to direct, the story picks up in Rhode Island 18 years after the events of the first film, and The Walking Dead’s Laurie Holden recently landed the female lead.

This past Sunday Jeff Daniels managed to win the Best Actor in a Drama series Emmy Award and now he returns to Dumber and Dumber.

"There are some things [that] we're going to do in 'Dumb and Dumber To' that make the toilet scene [in the original] seem lame”, he stated when speaking to E! after the awards. “It pales in comparison and I can't divulge what, but just that they've topped it. [The] best thing about it? I get to work with a comedic genius."

He will be returning ofcourse with Jim Carrey and Daniels is also starring alongside Rachel Melvin, Kathleen Turner, Brady Bluhm, Laurie Holden and Steve Tom.

GODS OF EGYPT

Gerard Butler is rumored to be eyeing a role in directors Alex Proyas, Gods of Egypt. Alex Proyas, the man behind I, Robot and The Crow, has been trying to develop a film based on the classic novel, Paradise Lost which told the story of Lucifer’s fall from heaven and his subsequent role in the Garden of Eve. Alas that has come to nought, as Proyas turns his attentions to the Gods of Egypt.

Geoffrey Rush is said to have signed onto the film, as he will be joining "Game of Thrones" actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (aka Jamie “Kingslayer” Lannister).

Proyas is directing from an original screenplay by Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazama. The film tells the story of a common thief teaming with Gods on a magical quest. Coster-Waldau is playing Horus, God of the Sky, who teams with Hathor, the Goddess of Love, and the human thief to avenge the death of his father, Osiris.

Rush, who won an Academy Award for his role in Shine, will play Ra, the Egyptian sun God, who is father to both Set and Osiris.

NEED FOR SPEED

DreamWorks Pictures has released the first trailer for Need for Speed, starring Aaron Paul, Imogen Poots, Dominic Cooper, Ramon Rodriguez, Rami Malek, Harrison Gilbertson, Scott 'Kid Cudi' Mescudi, Michael Keaton and Dakota Johnson.

Opening in theaters on March 14, 2014, Need for Speed captures the thrills of the video game franchise in a real-world setting. The story chronicles a near-impossible cross-country race against time—one that begins as a mission for revenge, but proves to be one of redemption. In a last attempt to save his struggling garage, blue-collar mechanic Tobey Marshall (Paul)—who with his team skillfully builds and races muscle cars on the side—reluctantly partners with wealthy, arrogant ex-NASCAR driver Dino Brewster (Cooper). Just as a major sale to car broker Julia Bonet (Poots) looks like it will save the business, a disastrous, unsanctioned race results in Dino framing Tobey for manslaughter.

Two years later and fresh out of prison, Tobey is set on revenge with plans to take down Dino in the high-stakes De Leon race—the Super Bowl of underground racing. To get there in time, Tobey must run a high-octane, action-packed gauntlet, dodging cops coast-to-coast and dealing with fallout from a dangerous bounty Dino put on his car. With his loyal crew and the surprisingly resourceful Julia as allies, Tobey defies odds at every turn and proves that even in the flashy world of exotic supercars, the underdog can still finish first.

GOTHAM SERIES

Deadline reports that Fox will bring the Batman inspired Gotham series to TV.  The show will see Commissioner Gordon working as a detective at the Gotham City Police Department before he even meets Batman.  In an interesting note, the Caped Crusader is not intended to be part of the series.  Also interesting to see Fox land the project, which might be an indication of its tone since it isn’t playing on The CW, a network that has found success with the DC property Arrow, and hopes to repeat with a Flash spin-off.

Fox has also made a series commitment for Gotham, scripted by Bruno Heller (The Mentalist).

The news comes as Fox won out on a bidding war for the Warner Bros. TV property.

My guess is that the TV series will be focused on Commissioners Gordon young days as Detective, long before Batman comes into the picture. Hopefully he will take down some memorable villains!

ESPN: THOSE GUYS HAVE ALL THE FUN

Derek Cianfrance is set to adapt ESPN: Those Guys Have All the Fun, The Wrap Reports. Cianfrance is known for his heavy Dramas with films like Blue Valentine and Place Beyond the Pines. 

Based on a book of the same name, ESPN: Those Guys Have All the Fun, synopsis is as follows:

It began, in 1979, as a mad idea of starting a cable channel to televise local sporting events throughout the state of Connecticut. Today, ESPN is arguably the most successful network in modern television history, spanning eight channels in the Unites States and around the world. But the inside story of its rise has never been fully told-until now.

Drawing upon over 500 interviews with the greatest names in ESPN’s history and an All-Star collection of some of the world’s finest athletes, bestselling authors James Miller and Tom Shales take us behind the cameras. Now, in their own words, the men and women who made ESPN great reveal the secrets behind its success-as well as the many scandals, rivalries, off-screen battles and triumphs that have accompanied that ascent. From the unknown producers and business visionaries to the most famous faces on television, it’s all here.

MOVIE ROUNDUP (FAST 7, A SLIGHT TRICK OF HAND & MORE)

MOVIE ROUNDUP 

(FAST 7, LIFE & EMMA WATSON) 

FAST AND FURIOUS 7

'Fast and Furious 7' is revving up and speeding into production with star Vin Diesel busily doing the promotional rounds for his latest 'Riddick'. After many rumours and reports of action icon Kurt Russell being a new addition to the 'Fast and Furious' franchise, Vin Diesel has just put his foot down and accelerated proceedings by declaring the rumours true.

 

Speaking to Extra, Diesel explained "There is a very big rumor that Kurt Russell will come in, and because it's you, I'll give you a little more… the eighth script in the series is somewhat akin to 'Escape from New York.' This won't make sense now, but it will make sense later. Kurt Russell was the perfect person to introduce in '7' to play out the eighth storyline that everyone is going to go crazy on."

Escape from New York features Russell as the one eyed anti hero Snake Plissken, an ex-soldier turned criminal who agrees to save the President of the USA when he crash lands in a future Manhattan island that is now a totally anarchic and impenetrable maximum security prison. With microscopic explosives injected into his body, Plissken is forced to cooperate and complete his mission.

"Game of Thrones" star Nathalie Emmanuel has joined the cast of Fast & Furious 7, which Universal Pictures will release in theaters on July 11, 2014.

Deadline says that, while her character description is staying under wraps, "Emmanuel will be part of the pedal to the metal team led by Dom Toretto, played by Vin Diesel."

THE ISLAND OF DR MOREAU

A new adaptation of H.G. Wells' classic sci-fi horror novel, The Island of Dr. Moreau, is in the works at Warner Bros. through Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way, Deadline reports.

Published in 1896, The Island of Dr/ Moreau follows shipwreck survivor Edward Prendick, who winds up on the mysterious Noble's Isle. There, the titular Moreau, a former London physiologist, has taken to experimenting on animals and, through vivisection, has created human-like beasts.

The new film would mark the sixth feature-length adaptation of Wells' story. The tale most was most recently brought to the big screen with a 1996 take directed by John Frankheimer with Val Kilmer and Marlon Brando in the leading roles.

LIFE

Director Anton Corbijn has snagged two leading men for his upcoming Life. The Wrap reports that both Dane DeHaan and Robert Pattinson are set to star.

Scripted by Luke Davies, Life is based on the true friendship formed between actor James Dean (DeHaan) and photojournalist Dennis Stock (Pattinson).

Pattinson, best known for his role as Edward Cullen in The Twilight Saga, can next be seen in David Michod's The Rover. DeHaan, meanwhile, soon stars in Kill Your Darlings before taking on the part of Harry Obsorn in Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Production planned to begin in February 2014.

A SLIGHT TRICK OF THE HAND

Sir Ian McKellen (magneto) is teaming up with The Fifth Estate director Bill Condon on A Slight Trick of the Mind. Based on a novel of the same name by Mitch Cullin, the screenplay is being adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher. The story is described as follows:

In 1947, Sherlock Holmes, long retired, lives in a sleepy Sussex village with his housekeeper and her amateur-sleuthing son. But far from living out a peaceful retirement, he is haunted by an unsolved case from fifty years ago. He remembers only fragments: a confrontation with an angry husband, a secret bond with his beautiful but unstable wife.

Condon and McKellen previously worked together on Gods and Monsters.

AI Film CEO Aviv Giladi added: "Bill Condon and Ian McKellen are a perfect match for this clever and intriguing project, the third on our current production slate. The next few months will be exciting as we move closer to shooting with our producer partners Anne Carey and Iain Canning."

YOUR VOICES IN MY HEAD

Emma Watson will star in Francesca Gregorini's Your Voice in My Head, written by acclaimed novelist Emma Forrest and adapted from her New York Times Bestseller.

Watson was previously attached to star in the project when it was at Warner Bros. Pictures with "Harry Potter" director David Yates directing. Later, both Yates and Watson left the project and Emily Blunt was attached to star for a while.

Your Voice in My Head, whose script was awarded a position on the prestigious Black list, will start shooting on November 4, 2013 in New York and is based on Emma Forrest’s inspirational story of a young bipolar English woman living in New York and the heroic, selfless psychiatrist who saves her life while fighting for his own.

MOVIE ROUNDUP (GRAVITY, TRANS4MERS, FF7 & MORE)

MOVIE ROUNDUP (GRAVITY, TRANS4MERS, FF7 & MORE)

 

GRAVITY

Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity is grabbing headlines the world over as the film is yet to release and already its widely praised by critics with whispers of its Oscar worthiness.

James Cameron (Titanic, Avatar) had no reservations in calling Gravity “the best space film ever done” while praising not just the technical achievements, but the performance of Sandra Bullock.

Here’s what Cameron had to say in reaction to seeing Cuarón’s Gravity speaking to Variety:

“I was stunned, absolutely floored.  I think it’s the best space photography ever done, I think it’s the best space film ever done, and it’s the movie I’ve been hungry to see for an awful long time … What is interesting is the human dimension. Alfonso and Sandra working together to create an absolutely seamless portrayal of a woman fighting for her life in zero gravity.”

He then went on to praise Bullocks performance in the film, saying:

“She’s the one that had to take on this unbelievable challenge to perform it. (It was) probably no less demanding than a Cirque du Soleil performer, from what I can see … There’s an art to that, to creating moments that seem spontaneous but are very highly rehearsed and choreographed. Not too many people can do it. … I think it’s really important for people in Hollywood to understand what was accomplished here.”

Gravity looks to be a visual spectacle, as James Cameron explains some of the technical aspects of filming:

“I read the script, and I thought it was tremendously challenging to shoot with a high degree of veracity to get the real look of zero gravity … I’m sure Alfonso had a real uphill battle with the studio, with everyone involved, to get it the way it needed to look. But he knew in his mind how it needed to look, and he went after it.”

Gravity, opens October 4^th in the US and the 18^th here in SA. Im really looking forward to this film and i think you should too! 

TRANS4MERS

In an interview with Beijing News, Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura seemed to confirm the appearance of the Dinobots in the new Transformers film.

We then got further confirmation when the official poster for the film released as it is officially titled, Transformers: Age of Extinction.

Starring Mark Wahlberg, Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor, Stanley Tucci, Kelsey Grammer, Sophia Myles and Bingbing Li, Transformers: Age of Extinction opens June 27, 2014. 

FIFTY SHADES OF GREY

A contingent of Fifty Shades of Grey fans are so upset over the casting of Charlie Hunnam and Dakota Johnson as protagonists Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele, respectively, in the big screen adaptation of the BDSM bestseller that they have created an online petition demanding the roles be recast.

According to Variety, "many loyalists had set sights on White Collar’s Matt Bomer to play the troubled billionaire and Alexis Bledel of Gilmore Girls fame to play Steele, and started a Change.org petition in protest of the decision, which has received more than 7,000 signatures in less than 24 hours." It was up to roughly 12,000 signatures at the time of this article's publish.

FAST & FURIOUS 7

Hollywood veteran Kurt Russell is in talks to join the seventh installment of the Fast & Furious franchise in an undisclosed part for director James Wan (The Conjuring).

Role that Russel is in talks for was originally offered to Denzel Washington, who turned down the role, which looks to be a lot bigger, then many of thought.

Russell has a few more projects in the works including the Jay Baruchel-starring comedy The Art of the Steal, and Bone Tomahawk, a Western with Peter Sarsgaard and Jennifer Carpenter.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook) is set to voice the CG Rocket Raccoon in Guardians of the Galaxy. This is Cooper’s first venture into voiceover work.

He joins Chris Pratt, Benicio Del Toro, Zoe Saldana, Glenn Close, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker and John C. Reilly in the cast, and Vin Diesel has been talking about coming on board to voice the tree-like Groot. Disney is set to release Guardians on August 1, 2014

MOVIE ROUNDUP (MAN OF STEEL CASTING, TONY JAA IS FURIOUS, SIMON PEGG X-FILES)

Worlds Finest FanArt

MOVIE ROUNDUP  

(MAN OF STEEL, THE HUNGER GAMES, 

SPAWN & MORE)

Worlds Finest FanArt

MAN OF STEEL 

A few days ago, the Internet exploded with the news that Ben Affleck would be playing Batman in the upcoming Man of Steel sequel.

To say this news was divisive would really be understated as this news brought a wave of positive and extreme negative responses to this bit of news.  

According to The Hollywood Reporter, talks began between Snyder, Warner Bros. and Affleck earlier this year. After completing work on Man of Steel, Snyder reportedly had an idea for a follow-up and the studio began to gauge interest from actors, including the rumored Josh Brolin and Ryan Gosling. Affleck was open to the idea and began discussing the story and the character with Snyder and when he liked what he heard, negotiations began for him to appear.

Now this isn’t the first time that Affleck has been linked to the role. About a year ago DC announced their plans for a Justice League film, at the time Affleck was under consideration to not only play Batman in Justice League but to direct the film as well. I’m thinking that his casting in the Man of Steel sequel would be the first step towards that goal.

So while many people might not be looking forward to seeing Ben Affleck as Batman, a Justice League film directed by him will definitely have any fan excited.

The trade adds that Affleck will shoot Gone Girl from September until February, then shift to the Superman/Batman film from February to August (while doing pre-production on Live By Night), then tackle that film, a Prohibition gangster movie, as writer-director-star next September.

While many celebrities have been throwing in their 2cents on the casting, with Joss Whedon the Avengers director showing tremendous support for Affleck, there was always just going to be one’s mans voice that mattered on this matter, and that’s Matt Damon.

Superman Vs Batman logo FanArt

Speaking with the Times of India (via CS), Damon unsurprisingly had encouraging things to say about Affleck playing Batman:

“I think it will be great. It will be terrific. I know there are a lot of people grousing on the Internet. I just think it’s kind of funny. You know, he’s not playing King Lear. It’s Batman! Certainly within his skill set. If anybody saw Argo or The Town, and all the work he’s been doing lately, it’s way more nuanced and interesting and way more difficult than Batman! Batman just sits there with his cowl over his head and whispers in a kind of gruff voice at people. Bruce Wayne is the more challenging part of the role, and Ben will be great at that.”

As for those that have suggested Damon play Robin to Affleck’s Batman, the actor laughed off the idea:

“I am a little older than Ben. I never saw Robin as older than Batman. Somebody sent me a picture actually (of his face photo shopped on Robin’s body and Ben’s on Batman’s). It was really funny. But it’s safe to say I won’t be Robin.”

Man of Steel's Henry Cavill will reprise his role as Superman in the film along with co-stars Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne and Diane Lane.

David S. Goyer is scripting the new film from a story he co-created with Zack Snyder. Charles Roven and Deborah Snyder are producing, with Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan and Wesley Coller serving as executive producers. It is scheduled to hit theaters on July 17, 2015.

Superman vs. Batman will be released on July 17, 2015.

X-FILES 3

X-Files fans have been clamoring for a third film in the series for a long time and every time the subject is brought up, the stars and creators always say they'd love to do it.

Gillain Anderson & Simon Pegg

While the stars and creators of the show would love to have a 3^rd film that is not a decision they get to decide, but that still doesn’t stop Chris Carter from talking about it though.

In an interview with Empire he said, “I think all of us are interested in putting the band back together. I have an idea for a third movie in my head. The colonization date has passed and that is something we wouldn't ignore. For the second movie, we only had the budget for a standalone story, but we want to go back to the mythology."

Carter then went onto say that if the third film indeed receives the green light that he would like Simon Pegg to join the gang:

"Gillian [Anderson] worked with Simon Pegg on a movie and told me that he was a big fan. We actually thought about putting him in the second movie, but there was no part for him. I certainly would think about him if we were to go forward in any way."

SPAWN

After years and years of talk of a potential Spawn film, Spawn creator Todd McFarlane is talking and he says that a new take on his Image Comics antihero could be in front of cameras as early as next year.

“The thing that keeps slowing it down is that the negotiation I’ve done is I write, produce, direct,” McFarlane tells The Gate (via The Hollywood Reporter), “but I’ve got to push a lot of my other endeavors off to the side so I can just get tunnel vision on it. And so everybody at my company is now going, ‘We’ve got to find Todd the time to finish all this.’”

He goes on to say that the film is looking at a 60-70 day shoot and reiterates his previous claims that the project will differ greatly from big screen version released by New Line Cinema in 1997.

“It’s not going to be a giant budget [film] with a lot of special effects,” he says. “It’s going to be more of a horror movie and a thriller movie, not a superhero one.”

“Spawn,” which launched as a solo-series in 1992, follows the adventures of Al Simmons, an assassin who, after being murdered, returns to the world as a Hellspawn, a demonic undead creature powered by necroplasm.

FAST AND FURIOUS 7

Tony Jaa

While the world was still in recover mode after the big Batman Affleck announcement, the following day it was announced that Tony Jaa would be joining James Wan’s Fast and Furious 7.  

Tony Jaa is the star of the Ong Bak series as well as The Protector, although this will mark his first Hollywood film, Jaa has gained International recognition for some of the most mesmerizing fight and stunt scenes. He was previously linked for potential roles in Live Free and Die Hard and Rush Hour 3, but it looks certain that he will be making his debut in Fast and Furious 7.

The Hollywood Reporter brings word that Jaa would join Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jason Statham, Tyrese Gibson and MMA Champion Ronda Rousey who just signed onto the film herself, with many more franchise favorites expected to be confirmed in the days to come.

While FF6 proved to be action orgy, it might have lead to many believing that the Fast and Furious franchise running out of steam, but with actors such as Statham and Jaa joining the franchise it seems the franchise still has quite the punch!

Natalie Dormer

THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY

The second installment in the Hunger Games franchise, Catching Fire, will be releasing on November 23^rd later this year, but it would seem the studio has its eyes on the future as three new stars join the cast of the film series as the third film gets ready to start shooting in just 3 weeks time!

Stef Dawson has been cast as Annie Cresta, Finnick’s (played by Sam Claflin) love interest, in the final two chapters of the Hunger Games series, The Hunger Games: Mockinjay - Part 1 and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2.

While, Natalie Dormer (Game of Thrones) has officially signed on to plays the role of Cressida in both The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and Part 2. Book fans will remember Cressida as the film director who, along with Castor, Pollux, and Messalla, flees The Capitol to join the rebellion and ends up taking her camera crew on a journey to follow Katniss and get footage of the uprising.

Stef Dawson

Evan Ross on the other hand, is set to play Messalla, Cressida's (Natalie Dormer) cameraman, in the final in the final two chapters of the Hunger Games series, The Hunger Games: Mockinjay - Part 1 and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2.

Both those films will be directed by Francis Lawrence, which based on the novel by Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games: Mockinjay follow Katniss Everdeen’s (Jennifer Lawrence) journey as she leads the districts of Panem in a rebellion against the tyrannical and corrupt Capitol. As the war that will determine the fate of Panem escalates, Katniss must decipher for herself whom she can trust and what needs to be done, with everything she cares for in the balance.

Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland and Julianne Moore are slated to star with the first part hitting November 21, 2014 and the final film arriving November 20, 2015.

Filming is set to begin in just a few weeks in Georgia.

While Catching Fire releases on November 23^rd later this year.