WB Is Officially In the Harry Potter Prequel Business

Once the well went dry with Harry Potter & the Deathly Hollows - Part II, that was it for the Boy Who Lived and Warner Brothers couldn't have been sadder. A franchise where the average installment is a guaranteed $290 million domestic gross and $900-$950 million worldwide is a God send, and outside of Bond, no studio has that kind of reliable bread-winner.

Giving that up couldn't have been easy and in the six years since the final book's publication, no doubt higher-ups tried within the best of their ability to get the OK from author J.K. Rowling for a continuation of the universe onscreen. They got their wish. This morning the studio has announced a new franchise is in the works based on Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, the textbook-within-the-book Hogwarts students are required to read (and published as a stand-alone book back in 2001).

Rowling will author the screenplay. In the press release sent out, they really out of their way not to label this a prequel, but admitting its set in the same universe and 70 years before the events of Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone. Hey, Mrs. Rowling, that makes it a prequel.

Trailer for the SUPER DUPER Top Secret Film: ESCAPE FROM TOMORROW

 

If you follow a bunch of "movie nerds" on Twitter you've probably heard about how "bold" and "groundbreaking" the handy-cam shot Escape From Tomorrow is, which was filmed in secret at Orlando, Florida's Walt Disney World. 

Since people weren't sure how the fuck this was made or how they'd release, people kind of assumed it'd be buried in the sands of time and our kids would discover it on the internet. Well NOT SO FAST! Because this mother-damner is coming to an art-house theater near you, THIS October, and here's a trailer:

What do you guys think? Me personally, I was expecting something a bit....different? This looks cool though I guess, I'll def pick it up on Bluray or whenever it hits Netflix.

Roy Abramsohn, Elena Schuber, Katelynn Rodriguez, Annet Mahendru, Danielle Safady and Alison Lees-Taylor star in Escape From Tomorrow, in select-theaters October 11. 

 An epic battle begins when a middle-aged American husband and father of two learns that he has lost his job. Keeping the news from his nagging wife and wound-up children, he packs up the family and embarks on a full day of park hopping amid enchanted castles and fairytale princesses. Soon, the manufactured mirth of the fantasy land around him begins to haunt his subconscious. An idyllic family vacation quickly unravels into a surrealist nightmare of paranoid visions, bizarre encounters, and an obsessive pursuit of a pair of sexy teenage Parisians. Chillingly shot in black and white, ESCAPE FROM TOMORROW dissects the mythology of artificial perfection while subversively attacking our culture's obsession with mass entertainment.

BREAKING: First Look at GODZILLA Looks Just Like How You'd Expect Him To Look!

At a licensing expo in Sao Paulo, Brazil, some lucky visitors got to see the first image of the King of Monsters in Legendary's GODZILLA reboot, scheduled to release next summer.

The image comes courtesy of Godzilla fansite Godzilla-Movies, via the Godzilla podcast, Kaijucast.

 Big thanks to Fernando for forwarding this poster display from Brazil. Apparently this came from a licensing expo in Sao Paulo. What do you think? It certainly matches what I saw in the Godzilla Encounter, but perhaps looks a little jovial.

There's not much else to say really. I mean it looks like Godzilla. Plain as that. It's not the drastic redesign that the Roland Emmerich version had (which was unique, in my opinion, and memorable); but it should be enough to appease not only the hardcore fans; but newcomers as well.

Gareth Edwards (Monsters) directs the roaring beast of nature for Summer 2014's GODZILLA which stars Bryan Cranston, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, and Ken Watanabe.

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.

JURASSIC PARK IV NOW TITLED 'JURASSIC WORLD'; HAS RELEASE DATE

From the Official Facebook Page of Universal's wildly successful Jurassic Park, the 1993 film directed by Steven Spielberg that went on to spawn The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and Jurassic Park III along with endless video-games, toys, and memorabilia, it's been announced that the forthcoming sequel will be titled Jurassic World, and you should expect it to drop in 3D on June 12, 2015. 

 

Universal Pictures will release JURASSIC WORLD in 3D on Friday, June 12, 2015.

The Colin Trevorrow film, which was supposed to drop next summer, was almost cancelled, brought back, and been through quite a loop; but now it seems JP fans from all over can find solace knowing the film is picking up pace, and casting and concrete plot details should soon follow. 

Jurassic World will be written by Rise of the Planet of the Apes duo Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver.

Marvel Going Bold (Read: Stupid) - Slotting Ant-Man to July 2015

Marvel is king of the mountain because of their bold, and at times fearless, decisions that paid off. Once you rule the roost long enough, you're due for some missteps. Don't doubt for a second, it won't happen. Thor: The Dark World, so far, has pretty tepid buzz and Guardians of the Galaxy has yet to break away from the deadly "For Geeks Only" label that keeps the general public far away. But this may be the first genuine mistake in their, up-till-now, impeccable strategy.

Ant-Man is moving to July 31, 2015 from its original November 5^th release.

The Edgar Wright-directed project was always going to move. Competition from the likes of James Bond, the Hunger Games swan-song and Disney's own Finding Dory was too much. But I had it pegged for May 2016. Slotting it a mere two weeks after Warner Brothers' big Superman/Batman movie is just plain stupid. The Ant will get stomped on by the Kryptonian and the Bat.

But the move could be in relation to troubles elsewhere. If it's taking to July, then Pirates of the Caribbean 5 (slotted for July 10) is in trouble. Lest we forget those reports of Disney taking away power from producer Jerry Bruckheimer.

Opinion: Alan Taylor's a Solid Choice to Helm the New 'Terminator'

If you caught the news yesterday, it was reported that Game of Thrones alum and Thor: The Dark World director, Alan Taylor, is in-talks to direct the 5th entry in the Terminator series.  This new film - being distributed by Paramount and produced by the Ellison sibilings' production companies (Megan's Annapurna Pictures and David's Skydance Productions, respectively) - is said to be a reboot of sorts that will start a new trilogy, though franchise star Arnold Schwarzenegger has said he'll be back in his signature role.

What made me scratch my head a bit though was the majority of fans' lack of enthusiasm towards Taylor's hiring, seemingly citing him as a bad choice to helm the new flick.

In just looking at this guy's resume, I for one think it's a very solid choice and also have reason to believe the quality of the script is in damn good shape judging by the talent they went after prior to Taylor's hiring.

In regards to the new director and browsing through his filmmography, the man has mainly stuck to television (his only other feature-film being 2001's The Emperor's New Clothes), but man has he worked on some great TV.  From The Sopranos, to Mad Men, to Six Feet Under, to Lost, to Deadwood, to Law & Order, to Boardwalk Empire, and of course, Game of Thrones (which he also executive produced); those are all either Emmy winning or nominated dramas.  And please, don't even remark, "It's only TV."  Last I checked, there's a hell of a lot more high quality talent and work going on in television then the crap Hollywood dishes out year-to-year, so just stop.

As far as the quality of the script - which many have worried about based on the screenwriters being Patrick Lussier (Drive Angry) and Laeta Kalogridis (Avatar) - I actually perceive its in good condition.  If you read the original story from Variety reporting Taylor's involvement, they state producers behind the new film reached out to names such as Ang Lee, Rian Johnson (Looper), and Prisoners director Denis Villenueve.  Not for nothing, but you don't go after names like that unless you're confident in what you have.  And for those who say, "Well, they all turned it down so it can't be good," look at the facts.  Ang Lee's coming off his 2nd Academy Award win and can pretty much do whatever he wants.  I don't blame him for not wanting to do a Terminator movie.  Rian Johnson has always been about doing his own original projects so it doesn't surprise me neither that he didn't want the job.  And Denis Villenueve?  Who knows, maybe he just didn't connect with the material.

Look, all I'm saying is don't be so quick to be negative and jump ship on this new Terminator when still so little is known at this point.  We don't know what the film's about nor do we know what characters are officially coming back (contrary to what Arnold has said).

Just relax and be positive.  I actually think the franchise is in good hands now with this guy Alan Taylor.  I mean common, how did you all feel when you learned the director of Charlie's Angels was going to helm a new Terminator movie?

Thank you very much.

Did You Like STARGATE? Guess What, You'll Get A Reboot Trilogy Of It!

 

Roland Emmerich, who's strange variety of quality filmography includes Godzilla, Independance Day, Anonymous, The Patriot, and this summer's White House Down wants to bring back his 1994 Sci-Fi film, Stargate as a rebooted trilogy.

Emmerich told Digital Spy:

"We went to MGM, who has the rights, and proposed to them to do a sequel, but as a reboot... and reboot it as a movie and then do three parts. Pretty soon we'll have to look for a writer and start."

According to Emmerich, this works pretty well, since Stargate was supposed to be the start of a trilogy, and obviously he can't really do that now since Kurt Russel is going to be Fastin' and Furious'n and James Spader has signed his life away to be the villainous Ultron in Avengers: Age of Ultron. 

"I originally wanted to make [the original Stargate] a trilogy," the director said. "But now, after all this time, I couldn't do a trilogy anymore, because the actors look totally different, and it would not work."

Expect for the inevitable announcement that J.J. Abrams will direct and Channing Tatum will star within the coming months.

Stargate spawned 3 TV series, "SG-1", "Atlantis", and "Universe" and 2 direct-to-DVD films, The Ark of Truth and Continuum. 

Leonardo DiCaprio Might Bring You Back To THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU

 

Jesus, this Leonardo DiCaprio guy is going places! It appears since he'll be throwing everything into the Oscar-pot for the hotly anticipated The Wolf of Wallstreet this fall, he might as well do some more crazy stuff like his Viking movie, and maybe another adaption of the H.G. Wells' classic, "The Island of Dr. Moreau".

Deadline reports Warner Bros and Appian Way will team up with "Hemlock Grove", The Emmy-nomated Netflix horror series, writers Lee Shipman and Brian McGreevy to bring the adaption to life.

The intention is to make it a sci-fi film with a topical ecological message. Appian Way will produce with Mad Hatter Entertainment’s Michael Connolly.

No word yet on if DiCaprio plans to star, or who might direct; but I'm sure word will come soon.

The Island of Dr. Moreau was last adapted in 1996 with Marlon Brando and Val Kilmer, and was first brought to the screen in 1932 with The Island of Lost Souls starring Bela Lugosi and Charles Laughton.

You can check the trailer for the 1996 film, narrated by Optimus Prime himself.

Guillermo Del Toro Wants The "Fangirl" Audience: Tom Hiddleston Will Visit CRIMSON PEAK

 

Variety got the news that Tumblr-heart throb second only to Cumberbatch himself, Tom Hiddleston, most well known as Thor's treacherous and misunderstood brother, Loki, in Thor, The Avengers, and the upcoming Thor: The Dark World will be replacing Sherlock in Guillermo Del Toro's haunted-house epic, Crimson Peak (assuming the film ever gets made; but whatever).

Benedict Cumberbatch (Star Trek Into Darkness) dipped out of the film just weeks ago, to supposedly visit a galaxy far, far away; and now Legendary has hit up Loki to be terrorized alongside Oscar-nominee (Zero Dark Thirty) Jessica Chastain, and biker boy robot-pilot Charlie Hunnam, as well as Chastain's Lawless co-star, Mia Masikowska.

The film is expected to begin shooting in February 2014 on a script by Del Toro, Matthew Robbins, and Lucinda Coxon.

New Trailer For "Salinger" Documentary

Salinger features interviews with 150 subjects including Salinger's friends, colleagues and members of his inner circle who have never spoken on the record before as well as film footage, photographs and other material that has never been seen. Additionally, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Edward Norton, John Cusack, Danny DeVito, John Guare, Martin Sheen, David Milch, Robert Towne, Tom Wolfe, E.L. Doctorow, Gore Vidal and Pulitzer Prize winners A. Scott Berg and Elizabeth Frank talk about Salinger's influence on their lives, their work and the broader culture. The film is the first work to get beyond the Catcher in the Rye author’s meticulously built up wall: his childhood, painstaking work methods, marriages, private world and the secrets he left behind after his death in 2010.

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