Ben Affleck Talks Batman

Sitting down recently for Playboy's 60th anniversary issue (I know, a little weird writing that but hey, it's where the interview came from), Ben Affleck talked all things his career including (of course) his surprise casting as Bruce Wayne/Batman which was met with overwhelmingly negative buzz from the Internet.

Affleck stated that originally, he turned the offer down, until Warner Bros. urged him to meet with director Zack Syner to see what he had planned.  After going in to see what the filmmaker had cooked up, the actor-director-writer-producer was instantly on-board:

“The stuff was incredible.  It was a unique take on Batman that was still consistent with the mythology. It made me excited.  All of a sudden I had a reading of the character.  When people see it, it will make more sense than it does now or even than it did to me initially."

In terms of how his portrayal of the character will differ from what Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale did:

“The idea for the new Batman is to redefine him in a way that doesn’t compete with the Bale and Chris Nolan Batman but still exists within the Batman canon.  It will be an older and wiser version, particularly as he relates to Henry Cavill’s Superman character.”

Finally, Affleck did bring up his first try at the superhero genre in 2003's Daredevil, stating not only is that film the biggest regret of his career but also, if he felt he would be making the same mistake again, he wouldn't be taking on Batman:

“It just kills me.  I love that story, that character, and the fact that it got fucked up the way it did stays with me.  Maybe that’s part of the motivation to do Batman.  If I thought the result would be another Daredevil, I’d be out there picketing myself.  Why would I make the movie if I didn’t think it was going to be good and that I could be good in it?”

Well said there Ben, and a damn good point.

I happen to think Affleck is going to kick ass in the role and will make a lot of people both surprised and taken aback by his portrayal of the character.

Filming for the flick begins spring of next year.

Source:  DEADLINE

DISNEY Gets Rights to Make More INDIANA JONES Films

Walt Disney Studios have apparently made a deal with Paramount, who's already feeling pretty bad about the whole "Avengers franchise" thing, which would mean that Disney can now make Indiana Jones and the Retirment Home of Doom  more Indiana Jones films, if they want. 

According to Variety:

Under the arrangement, Disney gains distribution and marketing rights to future films, in addition to retaining its current ownership rights which it secured when it acquired Lucasfilm.

Paramount will continue to be responsible for distribution of the first four films in the franchise and will receive a financial participation on any future films that are produced and released.

Though Disney now owns the rights they have not officially announced that a fifth films is in the works.

Since Disney is also making Star Wars Episode VII, another continuation of a George Lucas franchise that fans weren't pleased with the latest entries with, you should probably expect Disney to get Harrison Ford, now famous for literally sleep walking through his roles, back for another installment that will probably be fast-tracked and crammed into a Summer 2015 window. 

Details On How X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST Post Credits Scene Ties Into APOCALYPSE

It's been an exhausting few days for anyone trying to keep up with the INSANE influx of comic-book movie related news, this one comes after the announcement that 20th Fox and Bryan Singer are set to release X-Men: APOCALYPSE in 2016, detailing what (or who) we can expect Apocalypse to be. The article cautions SPOILERS ahead for X-Men: Days of Future Past's post credits scene; but this does not have anything to do with the film's ending.

First Showing.net got the exclusive details today:

...However, the credits bumper jumps back to the past with a young Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) in a ramshackle house in the desert eating dinner, clearly on the run from all the authorities who want to bring him down. While using a well outside to get some water, the young Magneto sees something fall from the night sky and crash to Earth nearby. Upon inspecting the impact zone, he encounters what is described as an "alien form" who is "towering, terrifying, with a twisted metal face and dark pits for eyes." It's Apocalypse and he says, "I have crossed rivers of time to find you." Magneto asks, "Who are you?"

The alien responds, "I am your future." Suddenly Apocalypse merges with Magneto, who screams and blasts an insane amount of energy and shockwaves around him. This energy explosion levels everything around him, with a blast radius that goes for miles. As Magneto looks at what he's done, he has a realization of the power he now holds and a villainous grin begins to form before the film cuts to black.

If what they'e saying is true, that'd certainly be an extremley interesting way to not only do Apocalypse; but actually make Magneto the villain of the film, since we was only ever in direct conflict with the X-Men in X-Men and X-Men: The Last Stand and he's been 'with them' in mutual understanding in X2: X-Men United, X-Men: Days of Future Past and obviously X-Men: First Class.

Also this would give Fassbender the opportunity to go crazy with being an all powerful channel for a mythical evil God and all. 

What do you all think?

X-Men: Days of Future Past will release May 24, 2014 and X-Men: Apocalypse will follow May 27 of 2016.

First Look at Henry Cavill's Superman: Flyby Screen Test

Don't know about you. But when it comes to Special Features, the only thing that interests me is the screen tests. Those few minutes of crucial footage showing whether the no-name actor is right for the role and the blockbuster in question can rest on their shoulders.

You can't show everyone who tested. I get it. Nothing but a landmine of legal red-tape to get past and nobody ever wants to admit they put themselves out there and failed. But one can't understand why they exclude said clip of the actor who got cast. Don't talk about how awesome so-and-so was, show it.

So I was perturbed to hear the DVD/Blu-Ray for Man of Steel didn't showcase anything from Henry Cavill's screen tests. The British thespian first wore a prototype red-and-blue design for Superman: Flyby, the ill-fated relaunch via McG, and by all accounts, so impressed he was cast. Then it fell apart and when Bryan Singer took over, he opted to go in another direction and made Superman Returns. And when it came time to re-restart for Zack Snyder and Christopher Nolan, Cavill was once again called upon, this time wearing a replica of the Christopher Reeve design. And we all know how the rest of that story turned out.

Not breaking news or anything, but we figured this was a cool enough li'l item you good readers would like to see; a twenty-one year-old Cavill from the Superman epic that almost was nearly a decade ago.

New Trailer for Paul W.S. Anderson's POMPEII

 

While everyone (and I mean everyone) was busy buzzing about this week's hellacious onslaught of comic-book movie news (Apocalypse, Wonder Woman, Batman/Superman, Spider-Man, you name it), the latest trailer for director Paul W.S. Anderon's (Resident Evil, Event Horizon) POMPEII was released. I guess Sony thought they'd just slip that one out right on the coat-tails of The Amazing Spider-Man 2's big trailer.

If you ask me, the movie looks fantastic; but I'm biased towards Anderson because I'm an un-apologetically huge fan of his Resident Evil films (and his hot wife, Milla Jovovich, who is shockingly absent from this feature).

It’s late summer in 79 A.D. and the city of Pompeii glitters at the foot of the mighty Mt. Vesuvius. MILO, the slave of a shipping tycoon, dreams of the day he will buy his freedom and marry his master’s daughter, COLUMBA. What he doesn’t know is that Columba’s debt-ridden father has promised Columba to a despicable Roman Senator to pay off an overdue loan.

Milo does know that his friend, the Gladiator NIGELLUS, is being forced to compete the next day in a seemingly unwinnable battle in the Coliseum. As Milo tries to find a way to save his friend, he learns that Columba has been promised to another man and that he himself has been sold to a new master. Just as it seems things can’t get any worse, Mt. Vesuvius suddenly explodes with the power of 40 nuclear bombs, sending a torrent of 1,000-degree ash and smoke into the city. Lava flows down the mountainside, killing thousands. As Pompeii crumbles, Nigellus is imprisoned inside the Coliseum, Columba is locked inside her family’s villa, and Milo is trapped aboard a ship bound for Naples.

As the people of Pompeii flee the obliterated city, Milo is determined to return to it to save his friend and his beloved Columba. With fire and ash destroying the only world he’s ever known, an ordinary man is tested to his breaking point in this heart-pounding tale of extraordinary heroism.

POMPEII stars Kit Harrington, Jared Harris, Keifer Sutherland, Emily Browning, Jessica Lucas, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje

GODZILLA Trailer to Premier with THE HOBBIT 2; Description and Run-Time Length

 

It's been a while since we heard anything about the highly anticipated reboot of the King of Monsters, since the very heavy trailer leaked months ago.
It was about this same time last year that fans were wondering what Legendary/WB were waiting for with promoting last summer's Pacific Rim, another giant monster movie, which like Godzilla, had enormous fan-reaction from Comic-Con but didn't quite sel lto the general audience. 
That's something I don't think they'll need to worry about with GODZILLA...or I hope not.

Godzilla fansite, Godzilla-Movies, has dug up some details from those who saw advanced screenings of The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug.

However now, thanks to a number of sources, who have claimed to have seen advanced screenings of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, it has been confirmed that we will finally see the 2:12 long, Godzilla trailer we've all been waiting for!

The site notes that the trailer will NOT be the Comic-Con trailers or anything else people have seen; but something new entirley, finally showing off the film's impressive cast.

Starting thing off, a user over on IMDB posted up a lengthy description of the trailer, detailing everything which we'll be seeing. You can check out his write-up below:

"The trailer begins with Aaron Taylor Johnston (Kick-Ass) on a C17 air force plane getting ready to do a halo jump with others. As he is getting ready the camera pans towards the back door and it opens revealing the dark sky. 

As this is happening actor David Strathairn, who I think plays a high ranking military official, is giving a monologue about how we have never faced a threat like this before and basically giving them hope. 

Anyways they jump out, I would say about 8 of them with flares attached to their feet going off giving a red trail of mist as they fall. Just awesome shots of the plane in front showing the sun rising. Then as they fall you see a long shot of an in coming storm with dark clouds, lighting at this point they are still in the atmosphere falling. Another weird thing is that what is playing in the background is the humming from 2001: A Space Odyssey as Bowman goes into the infinite. The video is below. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIwvLJX-Olg 

Then the military men keep falling and we get shots from inside their helmets its still cloudy and they breath heavily. Then out of no where you get an over the top shot of a city burning. Then it cuts to a wide angle shot of the city in ruins, not totally destroyed but burning as they fall from the sky. 

They keep going and see a shadowy figure among the dust and debris we fans can make out what it is of course. It kind out reminded me of 9/11. Again all this they are still falling and its from the top that you get a glimpse of Godzilla. 

After that awesome shot they start to do cuts of other scenes, showing Bryan Cranston running, Elizabeth Olsen at a hospital, Ken Watanabe in a suit like a hazmat suit with a clear window helmet going into some pit or cave. A shot of a destroyed train, a shot of Godzilla destroying the train. 

The last shot was Godzilla hidden within the cloud of dust and debris moving his foot then the camera slowing moves up giving him time to show his massive heavy fluid motion, you see him turn around showing the spikes on his back, then extends his neck and ROARS!!! 

The trailer cuts revealing the date May 2014 in IMAX 3D 

That was all I remember after I saw it like 3 times. It did have some similarities to the one shown in Comic Con but I didnt go there. I was just excited to see him for the first time on the silver screen." 

Sounds like GODZILLA is definitely ramping up to be a surprise of the summer, it's also sounding like Gareth Edwards is carrying his tone of emotional human resonance in the shadow of a terrifying and fictional monster threat, as in his debut film, MONSTERS.

 An epic rebirth to Toho's iconic Godzilla, this spectacular adventure pits the world's most famous monster against malevolent creatures who, bolstered by humanity's scientific arrogance, threaten our very existence.

The film stars Bryan Cranston, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, and Ken Watanabe and will release May 2014 in IMAX 3D. 

JUSTICE LEAGUE to be a "United Nations" of Heroes, And Guess Who's Been Testing for Lex Luthor?

These past few days have been big for Warner Brothers and DC Entertainment, who are kick-starting their own shared cinematic universe, which we saw started somewhat in this past summer's Man of Steel.

Just yesterday, Israeli Actress Gal Gadot (Fast & Furious, Knight & Day) was announced as Diana Prince AKA Wonder Woman in the upcoming Man of Steel 2/Batman Vs. Superman/The Untitled Zack Snyder Super Hero Film as Box Office Mojo calls it (since Warner Brothers won't confirm a title, who can blame them?), followed Callan Mulvey being eyed for a villain role, which we hear is intended as Metallo.

Well we have also learned from a trusted source in Hollywoodland (the same one who first alerted us to Batman Vs. Superman getting quietly developed, David Goyer back on writing duties for the next Superman film and the Gotham Central-inspired series) the studio has been testing for Lex Luthor. No, it's not Bryan Cranston. Or Mark Strong. Or any other bald, Caucasian character-actor. Instead it appears they are testing actors from all ethnicities to portray the billionaire arch-nemesis of Kal-El.

Denzel Washington was their hope of hopes but nothing ever materialized and before you even ask, yes Idris Elba was on "the list" as impossible as that would have been given his current status as Hemdall in Marvel's Thor films. Another actor fitting this description that was approached for the role of Lex Luthor is a certain re-occuring cast member from Arrow. If true would put a kink in theories that Arrow would be tied into DC's Cinematic Universe.

This does not mean Luthor will definitely be played by non-caucasian actor.

It's a bold choice and that is often frowned upon at glance. Look at how the angry internet tribes reacted to Gadot yesterday ("Too thin!" "So Small!" "No breasts!"), Ben Affleck as the new Dark Knight ("He fucked up Daredevil!" "Wow, really? Muh John Hamm") and Heath Ledger as the Joker ("The Buttback Mountain dude???"), and the rumors of Michael B. Jordan as The Human Torch in Fox's Fantastic Four reboot ("OMG Human Torch can't be black, he's WHITE") to name a few.

But you have to hand it to them. Man of Steel was full of unconventional casting choices, with Cavill being the first non-American playing Superman, a ginger Lois Lane, whatever you wanna categorize Jenny (First she was Jenny Olsen then they reneged and made her Jenny Jurwich) and yes an African American Perry White.

What about Justice League, you ask? According to our source, making the team a "United Nations" of Superheroes is the plan. The concept we’ve heard plays Superman represents the world as a whole (Being an immigrant of Earth he speaks for everyone), Batman would represent the United States with the American Affleck in the cape-and-cowl with the Flash possibly portrayed by an Hispanic or Laitno actor and as we saw announced yesterday an Wonder Woman played by an Israeli.

It's a pretty neat idea, same as with Gadot's other (multi-million) film franchise, Fast & Furious, which has such a wide appeal: exotic locations with a multi-cultural cast that brings all walks together with the common purpose of entertaining and being entertained.

X-MEN: APOCALYPSE Coming Summer 2016

As if this week wasn't busy enough with Wonder Woman casting, more Superman/Batman news and today's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 trailer drop, Bryan Singer, who is currently wrapping up on X-Men: Days of Future Past set to release this summer, dropped a bombshell on Twitter today:

Following that, Exhibitor Relations (a premier Box Office authority) Tweeted:

No stopping the X-Men franchise. Fox's X-MEN: APOCALYPSE will drop May 27, 2016.

Locking in a release date for this big god-dammer.

Well hot damn, y'all. This comes off of the rumors that Apocalypse, the "first Mutant" and an ancient and powerful mythological force of pure evil, would be featured in X-Men: Days of Future Past  in some form or another.

What do you guys think? This'll mean 20th Fox is beating Marvel at their own game and unleashing THEIR big world-ending cosmic baddie before Marvel Studios can bust out Thanos.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Trailer

After a week of hype, including quick-clips and posters, the first trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is here. The Avengers effect is in full force. They weren't fooling. It is all about the Sinister Six. Eh, eventually.

You have to commend them for going all out. Even if it still looks like it's aping the 2002-2007 Sam Raimi/Tobey Maguire iteration and the whereabouts of Richard and Mary Parker is not a plot thread many preferred seeing continued. Not in the slightest bit am I saying this sucks. On the contrary, this single trailer is an improvement above everything we saw from The Amazing Spider-Man pre-release. But that feeling of "I've seen this before" lingers.

"We've always known that Spider-Man's most important battle has been within himself: the struggle between the ordinary obligations of Peter Parker and the extraordinary responsibilities of Spider-Man. But in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Peter Parker finds that a greater conflict lies ahead. It's great to be Spider-Man. For Peter Parker, there's no feeling quite like swinging between skyscrapers, embracing being the hero, and spending time with Gwen. But being Spider-Man comes at a price: only Spider-Man can protect his fellow New Yorkers from the formidable villains that threaten the city. With the emergence of Electro, Peter must confront a foe far more powerful than he. And as his old friend, Harry Osborn, returns, Peter comes to realize that all of his enemies have one thing in common: OsCorp."

Second Trailer for 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE; Less Homo-Erotic Because They Added Two Girls

 

The second trailer for Shirtless Oily Half-Naked Buff Men in Costume 2  300: Rise of an Empire hit today because Warner Brothers decided after the Wonder Woman announcement they needed more, less subtle, news to stay on the radar.

The film, a sequel to 2006's 300, directed by Zack Snyder, is now directed by Noam Murro (Smart People) but contains just as much, if not more, fantastically half-naked dudes fighting in slow-motion because if there's one thing I bet Snyder fought for as Producer, it was to make sure we get our fair dosage of sexy oily men.

 Based on Frank Miller's latest graphic novel Xerxes, and told in the breathtaking visual style of the blockbuster "300," this new chapter of the epic saga takes the action to a fresh battlefield-on the sea-as Greek general Themistokles attempts to unite all of Greece by leading the charge that will change the course of the war. This film pits Themistokles against the massive invading Persian forces led by mortal-turned-god Xerxes, and Artemesia, vengeful commander of the Persian navy.

The film stars Eva Green, Lena Heady, Rodrigo Santoro, Callan Mulvey, and Jack O'Connell  and releases March 17, 2014