Stop Signing Worthless Petitions, Nerds: DREDD 2 is NOT Happening

 

Making the rounds for his smart sexy techno-noir thriller Ex Machina, screenwriter of the 2012 comic book remake of The Raid DREDD, Alex Garland, said that a sequel to the movie was unlikely, despite star Karl Urban giving fans the "Ron Pearlman/Guillermo Del Toro" treatment for the past two and a half years.

Courtesy of IGN:

And having his full and undivided attention, we asked Garland if Dredd 2 is still dead in the water.

“As far as I’m concerned? Yeah it is,” he explained. “My hope is, and I actually think this will happen – somebody else will do it. Not to be all coy and silly about it, but I think our film was better than the first one, right? Just to be blunt. And the job of the next people is to make their film better than ours. And then if they do that, then finally, maybe this character will break out in the way that it deserves to. But we’ll see.”

Garland, who comes across as kind of an asshole, does raise some valid points about annoying nerd-culture petitions for every single thing. (I myself signed quite a few to "Save" John Carter years ago) as he goes on to say:

“It makes me feel sad really. I feel grateful to the people who’ve attempted to get a sequel off the ground. And sorry that actually what happened was we let them down. Because the reality is that a film needs to acquit itself. It shouldn’t need a petition. And the truth is if it gets to the point where it needs a petition, it’s in big trouble anyway. That’s the cold hard reality of it. I feel a sense of residual guilt. It’s quite strong actually; it’s not that residual. Dredd was a very, very hard movie to work on, for all sorts of different reasons, and the reward would have been at the end of it that it all worked out. But it didn’t all work out. That’s the reality.”

Garland then discussed what would have happened to Dredd in future movies, which involves the 'Dark Judges' and other stuff that people will pretend to care about to get 'sympathy points'. 

DREDD released in 2012 to critical praise but only recouped $35 milllion of it's already miniscule $50 million production budget, and fan support has been unrelenting to get a sequel off the ground, even if comic book fans dont clearly understand how 'profit' seems to work.  

GONE GIRL Reunion Set for STRANGERS ON A TRAIN Remake

 

No rest for the wicked as they say, with news coming today that Ben Affleck, Gillian Flynn, and David Fincher of the acclaimed Gone Girl would be teaming up once again for a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's seminal 1951 adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's novel. 

Deadline reports:

This one might be best titled Strangers On A Plane, as Affleck will play a variation of the role played by Farley Granger of a tennis pro who is bored with his marriage and wants to get divorced, but instead gets entwined with a wealthy socialite psycho who proposes the notion of exchanging murders. The twist here is a compelling one. Affleck will play a movie star–in the middle of a campaign for an Oscar during awards season–whose private plane breaks down and is given a ride to LA on another plane by a wealthy stranger. In Fincher’s hands, who knows how that goes, but it sure does seem like fertile ground.

Certainly does seem right up Fincher's alley; but that would mean Affleck wouldn't get a dayoff for the next 10 years with Live By Night, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, and Strangers as well as the now dynamic duo of Flynn and Fincher, who are busy on their American spin of the British sci-fi thriller Utopia for HBO.

Either way, Hitchcock never really goes out of style, with films like Disturbia and programs like Bates Motel still in the public's eye.  

Bradley Cooper Looking to Make Directorial Debut with 'Honeymoon With Harry'

I'll admit, I've never been the biggest fan of Bradley Cooper.

Good actor, yes.  Seemingly nice guy, yes as well.  But there's always been just something about the dude I didn't like, maybe it's because I always felt he was trying too hard to be a 'great actor' or 'an A-list celebrity'.

I have to say though, recently - after reading a lot about his performance in American Sniper and the respect he's earned from many for his efforts - he's starting to grow on me.

I think he's likely to get his 3rd consecutive Oscar nomination this week, and if so, it would put him in a rare class of actors to be nominated by the Academy three years in a row.  That's pretty impressive.  Not to mention, if he does land the nom, I expect him to be the 'dark horse' to secure the trophy.

On top of that, it looks like the guy wants to find a new challenge in directing, with word coming that he's circling the project, Honeymoon With Harry, which he would also star in alongside Robert De Niro.

The film has long been in-development - with Crazy, Stupid, Love scribe Dan Fogelman coming in now to do a rewrite - as it tells the story of a formerly woman obsessed, booze hound (Cooper) who meets the girl of his dreams, only for her to die before their wedding.  Devastated, the man heads off on their honeymoon anyway, only to find the girl's father (De Niro) there too, who has come to spread her ashes.  The two find each other, both grieving in the loss of the same woman, together.

I think this would mark a great move for Cooper as what better way to follow-up the surge he's on right now then to direct, despite having the clout currently to pick any acting project he wants.

Expect more on this project in the coming weeks with Cooper soon-to-be finishing up his current stage act in The Elephant Man.

Source:  Deadline

PURGE 3 Slashes Into Theaters July 1, 2016

 

It appears Universal has set the date for The Purge 3 and they apparently have some high hopes for the action-horror film, which will open against WB's TARZAN and Disney's The BFG an adaptation of the Ronald Dahl classic. 

What a weekend that will be. 
The Purge and The Purge: Anarchy were both made on microscopic budgets and far exceeded expectations, and can basically be mounted now as one of Universal's go-to franchises.
Anarchy released just this past summer and starred Frank Grillo, shooting it's way to more than $100 million world-wide.

The franchise is set in the not too distant future where, for one night only, all crime is legal including murder and follow a family or group of friends caught in the crossfire, with Anarchy stepping it up a notch with a New World Order/1% angle and look into the world of the Purge. 

2015 People's Choice Award Winners

Favorite Humanitarian
Ben Affleck

MOVIE CATEGORIES

Favorite Movie
Maleficent

Favorite Movie Actor
Robert Downey Jr.

Favorite Movie Actress
Jennifer Lawrence

Favorite Movie Duo
Shailene Woodley & Theo James
Divergent

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Divergent

Favorite Action Movie Actor
Chris Evans

Favorite Action Movie Actress
Jennifer Lawrence

Favorite Comedic Movie
22 Jump Street

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Adam Sandler

Favorite Comedic Movie Actress
Melissa McCarthy

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The Fault in Our Stars

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Robert Downey Jr.

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Chloë Grace Moretz

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Maleficent

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Gone Girl

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Betty White

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The Big Bang Theory

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The Big Bang Theory

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Chris Colfer

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Grey’s Anatomy

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Patrick Dempsey

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Ellen Pompeo

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Melissa & Joey

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Pretty Little Liars

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Matt Bomer

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Angie Harmon

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Castle

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Nathan Fillion

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Stana Katic

Favorite Network Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Show
Beauty and the Beast

Favorite Cable Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Show
Outlander

Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actor
Misha Collins

Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actress
Kristin Kreuk

Favorite Competition TV Show
The Voice

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Ellen DeGeneres

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Jimmy Fallon

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Orange Is the New Black

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Nina Dobrev & Ian Somerhalder

Favorite TV Character We Miss Most
Sandra Oh as Cristina Yang
Grey’s Anatomy

Favorite Actor In A New TV Series
David Tennant

Favorite Actress In A New TV Series
Viola Davis

Favorite Sketch Comedy TV Show
Saturday Night Live

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The Simpsons

Favorite New TV Comedy
Jane the Virgin

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The Flash

MUSIC CATEGORIES

Favorite Male Artist
Ed Sheeran

Favorite Female Artist
Taylor Swift

Favorite Group
Maroon 5

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5 Seconds of Summer

Favorite Male Country Artist
Hunter Hayes

Favorite Female Country Artist
Carrie Underwood

Favorite Country Group
Lady Antebellum

Favorite Pop Artist
Taylor Swift

Favorite Hip-Hop Artist
Iggy Azalea

Favorite R&B Artist
Pharrell Williams

Favorite Album
x
Ed Sheeran

Favorite Song
“Shake It Off”
Taylor SwifT

COURTESY OF PEOPLE'S CHOICE 2015 & COMINGSOON.NET

Poster & Trailer For David Cronenberg’s "Maps to the Stars" With Julianne Moore

Meet the Weiss family, who are making their way in Hollywood rife with money, fame, envy, and relentless hauntings.  Stafford Weiss (John Cusack) is a famed TV self-help therapist with an A-list celebrity clientele.  Meanwhile, Cristina Weiss (Olivia Williams) has her work cut out managing the career of their disaffected child-star son, Benjie (Evan Bird), a fresh graduate of rehab at age 13.

Yet unbeknownst to them, another member of the Weiss family has arrived in town – mysteriously scarred and tormented Agatha (Mia Wasikowska), just released from a psych ward and ready to start again.   She soon works her way into a friendship with a limo driver (Robert Pattinson) and becomes personal assistant to unraveling actress Havana Segrand (Julianne Moore), who is beset by the ghost of her legendary mother, Clarice (Sarah Gadon).  But Agatha is on a quest for redemption – and even in this realm of the artificial, and the unearthly, she’s determined to find it, no matter what it takes.

The Pope Apparently Thought UNBROKEN Was Cool; Didn't See It.

 

Making her rounds promoting her inspiration World War II drama, Lara Croft met with Pope Francis after a Vatican screening of UNBROKEN which opens at the end of the month in Italian cinemas.

The Vatican said Jolie, accompanied by daughters Shiloh and Zahara and by Zamperini’s son, Luke Zamperini, attended the screening at the Pontifical Academy for Sciences for high-ranking Vatican prelates.

Among all religions, it can be said the Catholic Church has some of the most interesting tastes in film as released on their 'List of Films' from 1995, which can be read here  but should really be updated to include Man of Steel if we're being honest. 

Unfortunatley, Pope Francis did not see the film; but apparently thought it was a cool idea:

The Pontiff did not see the film, but met with Jolie in private shortly after the screening and was reportedly interested in the uplifting spiritual message of the pic in which Zamperini gets over post-traumatic stress thanks to his faith.

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said the film shows “positive human and spiritual values, in particular forgiveness.”

Jolie also released a statement about the visit:

"Being invited with my film to the Vatican is an honor and a great tribute to the story that I have told in Unbroken. The story of the hero Louis a great example of strength and forgiveness."

UNBROKEN is now playing nationwide. 

Marco Beltrami to Score FANTASTIC FOUR

 

Academy Award nominated composer Marco Beltrami will be scoring 20th Century Fox's controversial Fantastic Four reboot, FIlm Music Reporter has learned. 

Beltrami, who has done the scores for Hellboy, Speed Racer, The Hurt Locker, 3:10 to Yuma, and the upcoming Hitman: Agent 47 has one of the craziest discographies in the business, and is often the go-to guy for a stylish and dark soundtrack,which would be in line with the tone Fantastic Four seems to be aiming at. 

The Marvel property seems to be the dark-horse of the upcoming 2015 year which includes Marvel's heavy hitter Avengers: Age of Ultron as well as ANT-MAN. 
The film stars Kate Mara, Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Bell, and Toby Kebbell and is set to release August 7th, 2015.

 The movie based on the Marvel Comics series centers on four young outsiders who teleport to an alternate and dangerous universe, which alters their physical form in shocking ways and who must learn to harness their daunting new abilities and work together to save Earth from a former friend turned enemy.

50 SHADES OF GREY Gets The 'R', Because of 'S'...And 'M'.

 

February is heating up despite the weather cooling down, as the first 'big' month for Hollywood in 2015 is set to kick off with the adaptation of E.L. James #1 Best-Seller, Fifty Shades of Grey premiering Valentine's Day weekend- and now with an R Rating attached.

Variety reports:

 The MPAA has deemed “the strong sexual content including dialogue, some unusual behavior and graphic nudity” worthy of an R rating

While some would argue that would damage the film's attendance, look no further than October's critically acclaimed Gone Girl which scored a bit north of $350 million off it's $60 mil budget, and spent almost an entire month in the Top 5. 
Grey has the distinct advantage of 'shock value' and 'see it just to see it' that will likely draw herds of housewives and girlfriends.

The unique thing about the film's rating is that this will be battling Kingsman: The Secret Service which was pushed from it's Fall 2014 release to battle Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele, a conflict which will see two big-name films, both with R ratings, and radically different content, battling for the top spot.

Sponge Bob, Jupiter Ascending, and Seventh Son premier the weekend before, so it's anyone's guess at this point how those will effect Grey if at all, given that the two fantasy movies have been pushed back almost an entire year from their original slate, and the fact Sponge Bob hasn't been culturally relevant since the early 2000's.  

Ethan Hawke Came 'As Close as Anybody Could' To Playing Doctor Strange

Well, if you followed comic book film-related news last year, you'll probably know that for a long while, Joaquin Phoenix was 'in-talks' to play the lead role in Marvel's 2016 release of Doctor Strange.  After it was revealed Phoenix's deal with studio had fallen-through, many actors were discussed for the project, including Ethan Hawke (currently an Oscar fave for Boyhood).

As you probably know by now, another Oscar fave this year - Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game) - nabbed the role and will be starring in the flick.  But while sitting down for a recent podcast interview with MTV's Josh Horowitz, Hawke revealed he actually came 'as close as anybody could' to getting the role.  He says a lot of it probably had to do with the film's director, Scott Derrickson, having worked with the actor before for Sinister.

You can listen to the podcast below with Hawke discussing the project.

All I'll add is this:  While I'm sure there are many Ethan Hawke fans out there who are disappointed the actor didn't land the gig, there are plenty more Benedict Cumberbatch fans out there who went nuts that he did.  That dude is like a God among a lot of people, and almost certainly will get a Best Actor nomination, if not win, at the Oscars this year.

Also, ironically enough, both actors took part in this year's The Hollywood Reporter Roundtable - The Actors, which I recently posted about below.

Source:  MTV, Happy Sad Confused