Timur Bekmambetov to Direct New 'Ben-Hur'

In rather surprising news, Timur Bekmambetov has signed-on to direct a remake/reboot/new adaptation of the 1880 Lew Wallce novel, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, for MGM.

The reason this is surprising should be an obvious one:  why try to make another Ben-Hur?

The 1959 classic starring Charlton Heston is one of the greatest films of all-time and holds the record - along with Titanic and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - with 11 Academy Awards.  A film like this should not be remade ever again, much like The Godfather, Casablanca, and Gone with the Wind to name a few.  It's not that they can't be remade, it's just I would think no Hollywood exec is stupid enough to try given their place in cinema history.

The other piece here that stands out just as much is the choice to direct, Timur Bekmambetov.

Ben-Hur was an epic, grand, Hollywood classic that is known just as much for it's quality for filmmaking as it's lust visuals.  Why choose a man who has pretty much lived off of making style over substance films?  I've seen both Wanted and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (really?) and if those CGI-filled 'films' are to be anything like what his Ben-Hur remake is going to be, Hollywood is more stupid than I thought.

Source:  Deadline

Batfleck Speaks!

Maybe it's Oscar-caliber acting at work (Ironic since he's a two-time Academy Award winner for his producing and writing with nary a nomination as a thespian), but Ben Affleck can sure sell that humble pie. I recall him going on The O'Reilly Factor and in the most respectful and non-Hollywood-asshole way of backing John Kerry during his ill-fated Presidential bid back in 2004. Then there were the years of listening to him and Kevin Smith yucking it up on commentary tracks. He seems like a genuinely down-to-Earth guy, who happens to have had one of the great career comebacks of our time.

Oh yeah, and now he's Batman. You might have noticed the burnt effigies and online petitions signed by tens of hundreds of 9 year-olds. He appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and spoke for the first time publicly of being the newest heir to the cape-and-cowl.

Arnold Schwarzenegger To Play The Villain in 'Avatar 2'?

Well ain't this just great news if it turns out to be true?

El Mayimbe over at Latino Review (the guy who gloats like no other about all the scoops he breaks around Hollywood) is reporting that none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger will play the villain in Avatar 2!

He states Arnold will be playing the lead human general (much likes Stephen Lang's character in the first one) who will arrive on Pandora to take down Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) along with the rest of the Na'vi clan.

This would mark Arnold and James Cameron's first film together in well over 20 years following, of course, The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and True Lies.

It's pretty hard not to get excited about this - and considering the awesome shape Arnold looks to be back in (check out the cover story he did for October's Muscle & Fitness) - I can definitely see it happening.

We'll be sure to keep you posted as more news becomes available.

Source:  Latino Review

Lucas Black Back for 'Fast & Furious 7' And Beyond

I'll be damn.

The star of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Lucas Black, has signed on to reprise his role of Sean Boswell in not only Fast & Furious 7 but also the 8th and 9th installments as well.  His deal apparently calls for his character to become a series regular.

If you've seen the post-credits scene in Fast & Furious 6, you kind of figured this was going to happen, but it still doesn't change the fact that Black starred in the series almost a decade ago when he was playing a teenage character and will now return at near 31 years-old (but I guess that's what movie magic is for).

The 7th installment in the franchise just began filming last week under the helm of James Wan (Insidious films, The Conjouring, Saw) and will star series regulars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, and Chris Bridges, as well as newcomers Jason Statham, Tony Jaa, Rhona Rousey, Djimon Honsou, and Kurt Russell.

Fast & Furious 7 opens July 11th, 2014.

Source:  Deadline

Weekend Box Office: September 13-15

Courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1.  Insidious Chapter 2 - $41 million

2.  The Family - $14.5 million

3.  Riddick - $7.5 million

4.  Lee Daniels' The Butler - $5.8 million

5.  We're The Millers - $5.4 million

6.  Instructions Not Included - $4.2 million

7.  Planes - $3 million

8.  One Direction: This Is Us - $2.5 million

9.  Elysium - $2 million

10.  Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters - $1.8 million

Summer is over and the Halloween decorations are going up, so folks were in the mood for a horror film this weekend, as Insidious Chapter 2 blew away expectations with an estimated $41 million.  The sequel earned three times the opening weekend of the first Insidious film (that opened with $13.3 million in 2010), and with a budget reported at around $5 million, its undisputably a huge hit.

Also opening this weekend was the mob comedy The Family, which opened with a decent $14.5 million.  Nothing earth-shattering, but not a flop either.  Riddick, which floundered even first place last weekend, dropped more than 60% in its second weekend and earned just $7.5 million. 

Lee Daniels' The Butler earned another $5.8 million this weekend, and is expected to pass $100 million domestically today.  We're the Millers kept going strong, earning another $5.4 million to bring its domestic total to $131 million.  Spanish-language success story Instructions Not Included continues to do well, earning $4.2 million.

Next weekend brings the kidnapping drama Prisoners, and James Gandolfini's final film, Enough Said.

'Fast & Furious 7' Has Begun Filming

Vin Diesel took the liberty this past Friday to inform everyone that filming has begun on the 7th installment of the Fast & Furious franchise, via his Facebook page.

Posting the first photo show above, Diesel wrote:  'Seven... Has begun...'

Along with this, he posted another pic yesterday from the set of both himself and Paul Walker (also shown above) with the caption:  'The unknown road ahead...'

With a July 11th, 2014 release date looming, it's certainly about time the flick got underway into production.

Just last week it was announced that Djimon Hounsou had been added to the cast that already includes newcomers Rhonda Rousey, Tony Jaa, Kurt Russell (in a small role that will apparently be a bigger part in the 8th installment), and of course, Jason Statham.

In a changing of the guard, James Wan (The Conjouring, Insidious) will take over directorial duties from Justin Lin who helmed the past four installments in the franchise.

Besides Diesel and Walker, those officially returning from the previous films include Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, and Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges.  Dwayne Johnson hasn't been confirmed yet but it's pretty safe to say he'll be back though assumingly in a smaller role due to scheduling conflicts with Hercules (which he's currently filming).

Not much is known about the specific plot of the new film but judging by the post-credits scene in Fast & Furious 6, it's going to be a tale of revenge.

Source:  Vin Diesel Facebook

From Mama to Mummy

THR reports Andy Muschetti, director of Mama, is in talks to helm the latest reimagining of The Mummy.

Mama was a surprise hit this past January for Universal. So they want to reward an up-and-comer who still has much to prove. He hasn't failed yet breaking out still eludes him - an interesting phase for any filmmaker to be in. Sometimes that yields the best results. Imagine there is a lot a guy like him can bring to this more horror-oriented version.

Only downside is Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (who by the grace of God or more likely his manager deleted his Twitter to troll anonymously on fan forums, I'm sure) are still involved as producers.

First Images from Aaron Paul's 'Need for Speed'

In his first post-Breaking Bad gig, Aaron Paul stars in the long-running video game adaptation of Need for Speed, playing a street racer whose out for revenge after being framed in the killing of a friend.

I know nothing about this game nor have I ever heard of it so I'm not sure if the synopsis of the film correlates to what the game's about (video game movies tend to stray a bit from the actual source material).

In speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Paul had this to say regarding the film:

"This set was different than anything I've been on, you're walking through a very thick cloud of testosterone.  It's really a throwback to the Steve McQueen era of car movies. I think people are going to be pleasantly surprised."

The film, also starring Michael Keaton, Dakota Johnson, Imogen Poots, and Dominic Cooper, hits theaters March 14th, 2014.

Source: EW

Jason Statham Kicks Breaking Bad/James Franco's Ass in HOMEFRONT Trailer

If you're a red-blooded American, nothing excites you more than watching Jason Statham pretend to be a red-blooded American, kicking ass and taking names, and it's especially apparent in the latest actioner, pitting James Franco (Springbreakers, 127 Hours) against Statham (SAFE, The Italian Job) in meth-central America.

I legitimately think this looks really good, and Statham's action movies can really pack a punch in more ways than one, especially his last film, SAFE, which I felt had a lot more beneath the surface than his usual fare, and is by far one of my favorite Statham films. Plus, James Franco basically plays Riff-Raff again from Springbreakers, and I like how he's not above doing movies like this. Info courtesy of Fandango and Collider.

Written by Sylvester Stallone (First Blood, ROCKY) adapted from the novel of the same name by Chuck Logan, Homefront also stars Kate Bosworth, Winona Ryder, Rachelle Lafevre, Clancy Brown, Omar Benson Miller and Frank Grillo. The film opens this Thanksgiving.

A former DEA agent (Jason Statham) heads to the hills with his family to get away from the dangers of the job only to find a small town terrorized by a meth head gang leader (James Franco) in this action thriller written by Sylvester Stallone and directed by Gary Fleder. Kate Bosworth and Winona Ryder co-star.

New Poster For ROBOCOP (2014) For You Guys To Be Mad About

So, they're remaking the 1987 film Robocop, and there was a trailer last week and people seemed to either vehemently hate it ("movie nerds" to cry foul when someone judges the newest Marvel trailer wrong 'you havent even seen the movie, don't judge!') not care at all, or think it looks pretty good (me).

Well now we have a poster courtesy of the Official Sony Pictures Twitter that features the OTHER iconic Robocop line that the 2014 trailer didn't have in it, and no it's not "Bitches, leave", sadly.

Check out the all-new #Robocop poster reveal - In theaters 2014. pic.twitter.com/ZDNaPWbhMC

Robocop stars Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Joel Kinnaman, Abbie Cornish, Jay Baruchel, and Jackie Earle Haley and will released February 7, 2014.

 In RoboCop, the year is 2029 and multinational conglomerate OmniCorp is at the center of robot technology. Their drones are winning American wars around the globe and now they want to bring this technology to the home front. Alex Murphy is a loving husband, father and good cop doing his best to stem the tide of crime and corruption in Detroit. After he is critically injured in the line of duty, OmniCorp utilizes their remarkable science of robotics to save Alex’s life. He returns to the streets of his beloved city with amazing new abilities, but with issues a regular man has never had to face before.

In RoboCop, the year is 2029 and multinational conglomerate OmniCorp is at the center of robot technology. Their drones are winning American wars around the globe and now they want to bring this technology to the home front. Alex Murphy is a loving husband, father and good cop doing his best to stem the tide of crime and corruption in Detroit. After he is critically injured in the line of duty, OmniCorp utilizes their remarkable science of robotics to save Alex’s life. He returns to the streets of his beloved city with amazing new abilities, but with issues a regular man has never had to face before. - See more at: http://film-book.com/robocop-2013-official-plot-synopsis-movie-banner/#sthash.98n4sutp.dpuf

In RoboCop, the year is 2029 and multinational conglomerate OmniCorp is at the center of robot technology. Their drones are winning American wars around the globe and now they want to bring this technology to the home front. Alex Murphy is a loving husband, father and good cop doing his best to stem the tide of crime and corruption in Detroit. After he is critically injured in the line of duty, OmniCorp utilizes their remarkable science of robotics to save Alex’s life. He returns to the streets of his beloved city with amazing new abilities, but with issues a regular man has never had to face before. - See more at: http://film-book.com/robocop-2013-official-plot-synopsis-movie-banner/#sthash.98n4sutp.dpuf