'I, Frankenstein' Concept Art

Shock Till You Drop along with three other websites revealed some exclusive concept art for the upcoming film "I, Frankenstein". Head over to IESB, Bloody Disgusting, and Aint It Cool News for the rest of the lot.

Here is what director Kevin Grevioux of "Underworld" fame had to say to Sci Fi Wire back in April when asked about translating the comic to film:

Like with Underworld, my inspiration has always been the classic horror movies, in particular House of Frankenstein, which had Frankenstein, the Wolf Man and Dracula all in one film. Looking at stuff like that, I conceived building a world where all of the classic ... monsters of literature lived in the same city, called Dark Haven. So I thought it would be cool to put them in a modern film-noir kind of setting, where the public is completely unaware that these creatures of legend actually exist. I thought that would be interesting, and have Frankenstein as the star, so it was kind of cool, it was kind of fun. Like, one of the things that I've always wanted to see is Frankenstein versus the Mummy, so in a sense we'll get a little bit of that, things like that: pairings of different monsters, how they would interact in this city.

Read the rest of the interview HERE.

'Astro Boy' Trailer

MSN has the exclusive on the new "Astro Boy" Trailer which looks pretty damn amazing if you ask me. The official movie synopsis below along with your ticket to the official website.

Official Synopsis:

Set in futuristic Metro City, Astro Boy is about a young robot with incredible powers created by a brilliant scientist named Tenma (Nicolas Cage). Powered by positive "blue" energy, Astro Boy (Freddie Highmore) is endowed with super strength, x-ray vision, unbelievable speed and the ability to fly.

Embarking on a journey in search of acceptance, Astro Boy encounters many other colorful characters along the way. Through his adventures, he learns the joys and emotions of being human, and gains the strength to embrace his destiny. Ultimately learning his friends and family are in danger, Astro Boy marshals his awesome super powers and returns to Metro City in a valiant effort to save everything he cares about and to understand what it takes to be a hero.

Astro Boy Official Website

'Crisis' Heading To DVD

According to the back cover of the packaging, the upcoming "Superman/Batman: Public Enemies" DVD will include a sneak peek at the next release in the DCU animated film line: "Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths."

This marks the Justice League's return to the world of animation after last year's faithful adaption of "The New Frontier."

It is unclear whether "Crisis on Two Earths" will be based on the team-up tales of Earth 1's JLA and Earth 2's Justice Society of America (whose lineup consisted of JLA's Golden Age counterparts) or an abbreviated version of the epic "Crisis on Infinite Earths."

Heck, it could possibly be based on one of the other numerous events stamped as a "Crisis" over the years in DC Comics. Whatever the story shall be, I'm sure it will be entertaining.

"Superman/Batman: Public Enemies" is slated to be released Sept. 28. "Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths" is expected to have an early 2010 release date.

Will Paramount Say "Yo Joe!" to Sequel?

I'm sorry, what now?My Movie Moan partner-in-crime Phil and I were proven wrong. G.I. Joe didn't suck. In fact, the film was quiet retardedly awesome. A number of moments during my screening this past Friday night I laughed out loud saying, "This is retarded!" Yet, the film never pretended to be anything but that and I enjoyed the Hell out of it for doing so. Take note, Transformers franchise.

Now comes the inevitable question being asked: "How long till we hear about the sequel?" Paramount vice-chairman Rob Moore has confirmed to the LA Times they will "soon" be moving forward on G.I. Joe 2 after it managed to pull in $56 million this past weekend.

However what some are looking past and/or not noticing is the studio's own box-office estimates had Joe breaking past $60 million+ after it made $22 million on its opening day. Instead the film earned $54 million. AKA: It went down on Saturday (when a film like this would usually get a bump) and the word-of-mouth among the general public might be not as strong as it is with us nerds of the Internet.

It also doesn't help matters that District 9 hits cinemas this coming Friday, and the advanced word (or "buzz" for you douchebags) is the film plays great. Then again, Joe might do well enough at the end of the day for Paramount to give the thumbs-up for a sequel. We'll see.

G.I. Joe Is Not This Year's 'Speed Racer'

As Roadblock (he was the Joe who talked in rhyme) might say:

"Those box office numbers fill Paramount with glee, I think Phil Gee owes us an apology"

And indeed I do.  Although I was not alone, I was absolutely adamant that G.I.Joe, regardless of the quality of the film, would be the summer's big blockbuster bomb.  Peter has the box office specifics for the weekend in our box office section and it's clear to me at least that given the awful marketing campaign and the bad buzz throughout the year, a weekend hoard of $56 million is a very impressive achievement for the film.  I therefore feel compelled to apologise for my lack of faith.

My only guess as to how the film pulled in such an impressive number is due either to the large number of G.I.Joe fans out there who were going to see it no matter how bad the buzz was (count me in that crowd) or the lack of any other action orientated films this month.

Now I have no idea how much the film will gross from here but I think it's fair to say that a worldwide haul of $200 million is achievable meaning the film will have made back its $170 million budget and then some.  It's hard to say how word of mouth will affect its chances because the word is all over the place.  I had a thoroughly good time with the film and there are plenty of other people who feel the same.  Then again, there are plenty of people who really thought it sucked, and there are even some people who stayed away from the film because the buzz was so bad (or maybe because it wasn't screened for critics).  Will they give the film a chance this coming weekend?

And do we have the beginnings of a series here?  The film has a long way to go before a sequel gets the greenlight but I'd be game for one.  Not because I think they'll pull off an X-Men 2 (ha ha ha, let's all laugh for a second, ha ha ha) but because I want to see Joseph Gordon Levitt & Christopher Eccleston prance around in those ridiculous masks they wear at the end of the film for a full 2 hours.  I want the Crimson twins Tomax & Xamot, Kevin J O'Connor in full Doctor Mindbender garb, Shipwreck and Roadblock joining the Joes, Sgt Slaughter played by himself and Hugo Weaving as Serpentor... 

....And then I want Cobra-La in the third movie because that's the kind of card you pull when you want to go completely off the rails and destroy the franchise.

Here's to the next few years.

Jackman Confirms Wolverine 2

He read the reviews...I doubt guest-stars on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit endured the kind of raping that X-Men Origins: Wolverine got at the beginning of this summer. I didn't hate the film per say. It was just a big piece of "Meh!" Then again, the filmmakers had a Helluva lot more time to get this one right after X-Men: The Last Stand. So I guess they had it coming with the same half-assed approach.

Of course, Wolverine was still able to gross $350 million mostly on the popularity of the first two Bryan Singer directed films, the popularity of the character and Jackman himself. So while any chance of additional spin-offs featuring X-Babies or Magneto have most likely evaporated. A Wolverine sequel is still highly probable - despite the fact that the general public and nerds alike hated it.

Logan himself Hugh Jackman confirms to who else but MTV that they're in the "first steps of developing that story." And by "that story," he refers to the fan-favorite Chris Claremont-written and Frank Miller-pencilled mini-series back from 1982. A time when a character like Wolverine getting a comic-book all to himself was considered a big deal.

Will audiences be willing to give the X-Men franchise a third chance now after being disappointed the last two times? All signs point to "highly fuckin doubtful!" But then again, that may just be me speaking for everyone.

The Casting Couch

Variety: Frank Langella Set For Wall Street 2

~~Frank Langella, most recently of "Frost/Nixon" and "Superman Returns" fame, has been added to the cast of "Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps". Michael Douglas his returning as the ruthless Gordon Gekko and Shia LaBeouf is also set to star in the Oliver Stone helmed picture. Langella will be playing a character by the name of Lewis Zabel, who will act as a mentor to Shia's character.~~

The Hollywood Reporter: Four In Training For Red Dawn Remake

~~Chris Hemsworth, Josh Peck, and Adrianne Palicki will be receiving company in MGM/UA's relaunch of "Red Dawn". Josh Hutcherson, Isabel Lucas, Connor Cruise and Edwin Hodge will now also be suiting up as teenagers who band together to defend their town from invading soldiers. The film is on track to begin shooting next month with a scheduled release date of September 24th, 2010.~~

Hollywood Snitch: Edward James Olmos Joining Green Hornet

~~Michel Gondry's "The Green Hornet" will be adding to the rapidly growing cast of Seth Rogen, Nicolas Cage, and Cameron Diaz with the addition of Edward James Olmos. What character Olmos will be playing is still a mystery at this stage but this comes on the the heels of Jay Chou replacing Stephen Chow in the role of Kato.~~

The Boston Globe: Three Stooges Casting News

~~Peter and Bobby Farrelly were forced to go out and look for another actor to play the part of Larry in their upcoming flick "The Three Stooges" when Sean Penn decided to drop out and go find himself. Apparently they have done just that by singing on Paul Giamatti to take over the spot vacated by Penn. Giamatti will join Benicio Del Toro who will be playing Moe. Curly has yet to be officially cast.~~

G.I. Joe: Box Office Hero

Weekend Estimates (August 7th - August 9th)

1 G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra $56,200,000
2 Julie & Julia $20,100,000
3 G-Force $9,804,000
4 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince $8,880,000
5 Funny People $7,866,000
6 The Ugly Truth $7,000,000
7 A Perfect Getaway $5,765,000
8 Aliens in the Attic $4,000,000
9 Orphan $3,730,000
10(500) Days of Summer $3,725,000

More Star Trek 2 Non-News? Jooooooooy!

Karl Urban ponders his character motivation to saying "He's dead, Jim!"Back in the fall of 2005, we all payed attention to even the most non-of-news regarding Batman II (now The Dark Knight.) "What's that? Steve Carell is rumored to be the Joker? The Penguin might be in it too? And he could be played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman? Ohhhhhhh...*Nerdgasm!*"

So it's good to see how things change since then when non-news-items hit. This time coming in the form of Star Trek 2. The sequel is gearing up after the J.J. Abrams helmed reboot churned out close to $400 million worldwide and the general public is hungry for more exploits with Kirk, Spock, Bones & Co.

 IGN Movies caught up with executive producers/writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (during the Television Critics Assosication panel for their also-successful television series Fringe) and the pair gave yet-another update on how things are going on the sequel.

Among the highlights include the confirmation that Karl Urban's McCoy will say "He's dead, Jim!" at least once, Abrams' acting alumni (and current Heroes cast-member) Greg Grunberg is "campaigning" for the role of Harry Mudd (I'll have to ask our sometime Movie Moan co-host Lou Sytsma who the Hell that is) and no mention of Khan whatsoever. Thank God.

As long as they continue making this assessable to the general public like the first film was, they should be alright. But the worst thing they can do at this point is bog the sequel down in useless bullshit for the sole purpose of pleasing the hard-core fans. And to that, I will make you good folks a promise. I will no longer waste my and more importantly your time on the Trek sequel until we hear legitimate news and/or rumors we haven't heard 20 times before.

Spielberg Meet Master Chief

I have a rather non-existent relationship with video-game systems outside of Nintendo. Thus I've only played Halo once and that was the last night of a semester at University. And I had my ass handed to me by the other three people playing the game. Granted two of the those three were rather attractive members of the female species. So I didn't mind.

The history of Halo getting to the silver screen is rather infamous with Peter Jackson hand picking then (and rather still, to to honest - at least until District 9 hits this coming weekend) unknown filmmaker Neil Blomkamp to direct the film version for 20th Century Fox. Said project since fell apart and it appeared that a cinematic under-taking of Master Chief & Co. would never happen.

"Not so fast!" says IESB who have received word that "King of the Blockbusters" himself Steven Spielberg is actively pursuing the property for him to produce under DreamWorks who are now aligned with the Mouse. The Beard is said to be impressed with a Halo script commissioned by Stuart "I wrote G.I. Joe, and didn't lose my dignity after all!" Beattie.

I remember Patrick Sauriol (the big cheese over at Corona Coming Attractions) saying recently on Twitter that Spielberg is trying to remind his new DreamWorks investers of his ability to deliver profitable commercial properties. Hence the Harvey remake being his next film and why he was briefly going after the directing job for Matt Helms. Meanwhile stuff like Lincoln or Trials of the Chicago Seven are collecting dust.

I won't argue with that logic because it makes sense. But hasn't the Beard proven that enough over the last oh-I-don't-know 30+ years?