Hugh Jackman is in talks for the role in the film that is looking like an X-Men: First Class sequel. Also in the news, Angela Bassett is joining Gregg Araki’s latest; Plans are in the works for a Humphrey Bogart Film Festival; China’s box office set to surge to number one; And the Hamptons International Film Festival gets new leadership.
Hugh Jackman Eyes Reprising Wolverine in New X-Men Movie
Jackman is in negotiations to reprise the role in the movie with is shaping up as a sequel to X-Men: First Class, featuring actors from the first X-Men trilogy – the first two of which were directed by Bryan Singer. Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult are also on board, THR reports.
George Clooney, Paul Greengrass Plot Crime Thriller
Greengrass will direct and produce the project along with Clooney and Grant Heslov, with writer Chris Terrio. Clooney will star in the project which re-teams some of the main figures behind Argo, Variety reports.
Angela Bassett Joins Gregg Araki’s White Bird in a Blizzard
She joins Gabourey Sidibe and will play Dr. Thaler in the indie drama about a young woman whose life spins out control when her mother disappears, Deadline reports.
Humphrey Bogart Film Festival to Host Film Noir
And, of course, a parade of Humphrey Bogart films are also on tap for the event taking place – naturally – in Key Largo, FL. The inaugural edition will be held on May 2-5, 2013. The festival will be hosted by Stephen Humphrey Bogart, the son of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, and will feature preeminent film historian and critic Leonard Maltin.
China Box Office Expected to Surpass U.S. by…
Full Story »Prepare for a double dose of mutant powers: The X-Men of the past and future will collide in Bryan Singer’s forthcoming sequel X-Men: Days of Future Past, which will bring Patrick Stewart’s Professor X and Ian McKellen’s Magneto together with their X-Men: First Class counterparts James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender in the same film, Singer announced today.
I’d like to officially welcome back James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, & Nicholas Hoult to #XMEN for #DaysOfFuturePast
— Bryan Singer (@BryanSinger) November 27, 2012
Thrilled to announce @ianmckellen118 & @sirpatstew are joining the cast of #XMEN #DaysOfFuturePast #magneto #professorX More to come…
— Bryan Singer (@BryanSinger) November 27, 2012
This should be exciting for X-Men fans, who’ve seen the comic book franchise flit around timelines and younger/older versions of the same characters since Singer’s X-Men spawned a film universe of spin-offs and standalone superhero pics. This synopsis for X-Men: Days of Future Past explains how two Professor Xs and Magnetos can co-exist in the same film (via The Film Stage):
The storyline alternates between present day, in which the X-Men fight Mystique’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, and a future timeline caused by the X-Men’s failure to prevent the Brotherhood from assassinating Senator Robert Kelly. In this future universe, Sentinels rule the United States, and mutants live in internment camps. The present-day X-Men are forewarned of the possible future by a future version of their teammate Kitty Pryde, whose mind traveled back in time and possessed her younger self to warn the X-Men.
It’s…
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Also in Wednesday morning’s round-up of news briefs, film critic/festival programmer Scott Foundas joins the Village Voice’s publications; Gerard Butler eyes a WWII-era drama; and Bryan Singer is confirmed for X-Men.
Scott Foundas Joins Village Voice As Principal Film Writer
Foundas served as Associate Program Director at the Film Society of Lincoln Center. Prior to that he was the film editor at the Village Voice’s sister paper, LA Weekly. Foundas’ features and reviews will appear in all of the Voice Media Group’s publications, including: Village Voice (New York), LA Weekly (Los Angeles), Westword (Denver), New Times (Phoenix), Houston Press, Dallas Observer, Riverfront Times (St. Louis), New Times (Miami), City Pages (Minneapolis), New Times (Broward), SF Weekly (San Francisco), Seattle Weekly, and OC Weekly (Orange County). He will begin December 3rd.
Around the ‘net…
Paul Giamatti, Billy Bob Thornton and Jacki Weaver Join JFK Drama Parkland
The drama centers on the chaotic events that occurred at Parkland Hospital in Dallas on the day that JFK was assassinated Tom Hanks is producing, Collider reports.
Gerard Butler Joins Dynamo
The story is based on the landmark soccer game that took place between an occupied Ukrainian soccer team and their Nazi occupiers during WWII. Butler will play Nikolai Trusevich, the all-star goalie who served as a leader for the team and inspired the war-ravaged city of Kiev. Dynamo will shoot in 2013 in Europe, Deadline reports.
Josh Duhamel Eyes Hilary Swank, Emmy Rossum in You’re Not You
Duhamel is in negotiations to star in the drama, which tells the story of a self-absorbed college student who undergoes a life change when she begins a part-time job taking care of a woman (Swank) who has Lou Gehrig’s disease. George C. Wolfe (Nights…
The most interesting part of Bryan Singer’s return to the X-Men franchise he helped launch is that in directing X-Men: Days Of Future Past,” the sequel to Matthew Vaughn’s 1962-set prequel X-Men: First Class, he’ll have helmed films in different sub-series timelines within the same franchise.
The only other example akin to this sort of thing might be in the James Bond universe, with directors like Guy Hamilton, Lewis Gilbert, John Glen, and Martin Campbell helming different Bond pics with different 007 actors in the role.
Singer directed 2000’s X-Men and 2003’s X2 to great commercial success before handing over the reigns to Brett Ratner for X-3: The Last Stand, but he remained onboard the franchise as Vaughn stepped up to direct First Class, which he produced. He’ll also produce Days of Future Past, which is set to bring back stars Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, and Jennifer Lawrence and already has a release date of July 18, 2014.
At this point Singer is uniquely invested in the X-Men franchise, and now that he’s done with Jack The Giant Killer he’ll turn his attentions back to the mutant comic book adaptation series. While he’s a safe choice for the directing gig, his last superhero outing, however, was the disappointing Superman Returns. Thoughts, Movieliners?
[Deadline]
Also in Thursday afternoon’s round-up of news briefs, Adam Sandler’s next comedy heads to a rival studio. Matthew Vaughn is departing X-Men. And Jill Scott boards a Fox Searchlight project.
Eli Roth Casts The Green Inferno
The film will shoot beginning November 5th in Peru. It will star Lorenzo Izzo (Aftershock), Ariel Levy (Aftershock), Aaron Burns (John Carter) and Daryl Sabara (Machete) Roth will direct the thriller based on a screenplay he co-wrote with Aftershock co-writer Guillermo Amoedo. This will be Roth’s much anticipated directorial follow up to the enormously successful Hostel franchise, which collectively grossed over $300 million worldwide. Roth spoke further with Movieline about the pic, which will be filming in a remote Amazonian village – read more here.
Around the ‘net…
Twilight Finale Tracking Like a Monster Hit
Breaking Dawn Par – 2 is running 16% ahead of Part – 1’s breakneck pace. It is outpacing Skyfall in terms of awareness. Summit is hoping to outpace the $138.1 million opening weekend grossed by Part 1, Deadline reports.
Adam Sandler’s Comedic Western Moves from Sony to Paramount
The film, which was in development at Sony, is said to be an untitled comedic Western and likely will follow the Grown-Ups sequel that opens in July 2013. Sandler’s last few movies haven’t reached mega-grosser status — June’s R-rated That’s My Boy grossed just $57 million worldwide for Sony, THR reports.
Matthew Vaughn Not Taking On X-Men: First Class 2
Speculation is that Bryan Singer will direct the 20th Century Fox spinoff after Vaughn decided not to direct the sequel. Singer launched the X-Men franchise with the first two films, Deadline reports.
Jill Scott Boards Fox Searchlight’s Baggage Claim
The…
“Why don’t people send this stuff to me?!” Bryan Singer cries through laughter, watching YouTube parodies of his films, including X-Men, The Usual Suspects, and Jack the Giant Killer. It’s kind of adorable. Welcome to the internet, Bryan Singer!
(Fun, but I do wonder why the folks at What’s Trending don’t show Singer any Superman Returns and Valkryie parodies. Because, oh yes, they do exist.)
Despite last week’s report to the contrary, it’s not especially surprising to hear that Gary Ross is not quite out as the director of the Hunger Games sequel Catching Fire: Various sources have followed up initial word of Ross’s franchise departure with news of predictable-enough salary disputes over ridiculously large sums of money that would push any spin machine into overdrive.
So buckle up — first for Deadline’s counterattack explaining why Ross has logical reason to leave the blockbuster series:
The Seabiscuit director knows the benefit of riding in a winner and not switching horses midstream. Ross lobbied hard to get The Hunger Games and turned it into the biggest hit of his directing career. Before that, he developed several serious historical dramatic projects under his deal at Universal that didn’t get off the ground. Staying for a sure-fire hit and a sequel that audiences actually want to see makes a lot of sense for Ross, particularly given how active the filmmaker has been in the construction of Catching Fire.
Hmm. OK? I mean, of course Ross reportedly backed out on creative and professional terms (whatever), which, if we were to take at face value, would imply that the Catching Fire upside isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. But since we don’t take things at face value — particularly after a third consecutive number-one weekend at the box office — let David Poland walk you through the prospective, dizzying economics of it all:
[F]or the director/co-writer of four films to be paid, at best, 2.5% of the NET revenues on a franchise like this does not seem excessive or abusively demanding. [...] And if Gary Ross has to settle for 5 years of his
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The fairytale action subgenre gets another entry next summer when Bryan Singer’s CG-fantasy take on the Jack and the Beanstalk tale hits screens, with fresh-scrubbed Nicholas Hoult in the lead. That officially makes it “from the director of X-Men,” starring that one kid who was in that other X-Men movie — no, not X2. Or X3. The other one. Get your flaming tree catapults and Jurassic Park moment after the jump in the new trailer for Jack the Giant Killer.
Hoult stars as Jack, a lowly farmhand bequeathed with a handful of special bean who pays no mind to the age-old adage “Beans, beans, the magical fruit…” He gets them wet and soon enough there are ginormous stalks of green shooting through the floorboards to heaven — or, giant-heaven, where enormous beings live. These beings, however, are to be feared; we know this because their CG-composed feet squish ominously in the mud like Tyrannosaur toes on Isla Nublar. I imagine rousing adventure follows in ye olde storybook adventure style, complete with evil scheming humans (Stanley Tucci is… somewhere, supposedly!) and valiant palace guards (Oh hey, Ewan McGregor).
Alas, I can’t quite get excited for this given the uber-vanilla vibe it exudes, fancy CG beanstalks and soaring crane shots or no. Hoult may be, in fact, too fresh-faced to root for; I get shades of Matthew Vaughn’s Stardust from this trailer, and that’s not a good thing.
Plus? It was filmed in 3-D (on a RED camera), so expect beanstalk shoots and swords and whatnot to zip out…
Full Story »· Next time you think acting on a big-budget film is nothing but free Starbucks and waiting around for effects shots to be set up, think of Jennifer Lawrence. For her part as Mystique in X-Men: First Class, the future Katniss Everdeen had to stand around practically naked for seven hours while a team of make-up artists painted her blue. Now that’s commitment to the craft! Click through to watch, then stick around for more Buzz Break.
[via Awards Daily]
· Vulture points you to a weird-ish story about Anne Hathaway’s dad interacting with an unhappy critic when his daughter was working on Get Real. [Vulture]
· Watch Movieline’s fall preview queen Jessica Chastain wax poetic about Tree of Life director Terrence Malick. The film hits Blu-ray and DVD on Oct. 11. [EW]
· Twitch Film reported a rumor that Craig Gillespie had left Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, but Shock Till You Drop says it isn’t true; per Lionsgate, Gillespie is still onboard. Womp, womp. [Twitch Film]
· BuzzSugar asks the always important question: What’s your favorite line from This Is Spinal Tap? [Buzz Sugar]
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Marvel Studios founder (and former toy inventor) Avi Arad has built an empire out of the superhero business, having produced everything from the Blade films to the X-Men, Fantastic Four, Ghost Rider, Hulk, Iron Man, and Spider-Man films and the upcoming Andrew Garfield-starring reboot, not to mention the 2012 superhero superfilm The Avengers. Needless to say, there was a ton to discuss and not nearly enough time when Movieline caught up with Arad at Comic-Con right before Sony’s Hall H panel for The Amazing Spider-Man.
With decades of comic book adaptations under his belt, Arad is something of the grandfather of modern-day superhero movie, having tried time and again to adapt classic Marvel superheroes for television and film. Somewhere around a decade ago, he happened on the formula for success with Blade (1998) and X-Men (2000), two films that launched the popularization of the genre and taught Arad how to fine-tune his approach as geek culture moved to the fore.
Now, the youth-oriented pursuits that always captivated Arad (toys, games, comics) have become dominant in the pop cultural landscape. Movieline chatted with the gentle-voiced super producer about his toy-making past, his disappointment over the Bratz movie, how X-Men taught him how to handle the sprawling, planned Avengers film franchise, why he connects to Ghost in the Shell but couldn’t figure out how to film Akira, and the status of his hunt for a Mass Effect director.
[Shaking hands, Arad marvels at my grip] How are you?
I shook hands with a girl who plays the violin. I couldn’t believe it. “Wow,” I said. “How did you do that?” She said, “I play the…
