Callum Blue To Menace Clark Kent as Zod

Callum BlueThe last season of Smallville started strong, but the show'squality plummeted about halfway through. By the end of the season, I was ready for the show to say goodbye.

However, we have another season coming and at least the producers are giving us something for which we can get excited about. And that, namely, would be the slate of villains they are assembling.

Last week, we got word that Brian Austin Green will be portraying Metallo.

Now, we havelearned that Callum Blue will step into Terence Stamp's boots to play Zod.

I have seen Blue in several movies and shows, most notably "The Secret Life of a Call Girl," and I have been impressed with him.

Maybe there's some hope for "Smallville" next year after all -- provided Lana Lang manages to stay out of the picture.

Facebook Making Friends With Sorkin, Fincher?

Every year, I sort of dread April Fool's Day. That's the day when typically level-headed journalists create supposedly humorous fake stories. You can't believe anything you read that day; but, as most journalists know, it is very important that your readers always have 100% faith that what you are telling them is accurate. therefore, it is not a tradition that makes sense to me.

I bring this up because the following information feels like an April Fool's Day story. And yet, somehow, it's completely legit.

According to Variety, Aaron Sorkin has written a story about the creation of Facebook, and David Fincher is in "advanced talks" to helm the movie, which will be called "The Social Network."

The Variety story states: "The film will focus on the evolution of Facebook from its 2004 creation on the Harvard campus by sophomore Mark Zuckerberg to a juggernaut with more than 200 million members. Scott Rudin and Michael De Luca and Trigger Street are producing for Columbia Pictures. The hope is to begin production later this year."

A movie written by Sorkin and directed by Fincher has every chance to be epic. A movie about the founding of Facebook has every chance to be a colossal waste of time. What will happen when an irresistible force meets an immovable object?

Christian Bale Gives Status Report on Batman & Terminator Sequels

Picture courtesy of our pal dark_bWith Public Enemies about to hit cinemas next week, Christian Bale has been hitting the press circuits recently to promote his latest film. And of course, the inevitable "So, what's going on with Batman 3?" questions are being poised to the actor. Certainly doesn't help matters with the news last week of Christopher Nolan's participation still being in question.

Speaking to Collider, Bale claims be "none the wiser" towards a third Batman installment. He goes further to state, "I really cannot tell you if there will ever be another 'Batman' movie right now."

Sounds like Bale is playing a game of "passing the ball" and to question the prospects of Batman 3 is a stretch. The Dark Knight churned out $1 billion at the box-office and made a killing on DVD/Blu-Ray not to mention the profits made from television/cable rights, merchandising, etc. So everyone damn-well knows Batman 3 will most certainly happen. And by his own admission, Bale is contractually obliged to at least one more Batman film. So it's safe to assume he'll be donning the cape and cowl one more time. It's merely a question of when and under whose direction.

Nowhere near as surprising is his revelation that "no conversation has been had” regarding the sequel to last month's Terminator: Salvation. Sure the film is doing solid business in the foreign markets, but that was a given. The film is nothing short of a box-office failure here in the U.S. with its $200+ million budget vs. the current $120 million gross. Especially when you consider most of the box-office analysts had the film hitting as high as $250 million.

And considering plans were under-way as far back as last December to have Terminator 5 again with Bale headlining and McG in the director's chair for a Summer 2011 release, the fact that there is zero movement on the project (and coming from the star, no less) confirms the obvious. It isn't happening.

Grisham's 'The Testament' headed to the big screen

In the 90's there was a spate of successful movies based on John Grisham's thriller novels, such as 'The Firm', 'The Pelican Brief' and 'A Time to Kill' to name but a few. His style of accessible legal thrillers probably had the elitists turning their collective noses up but the general public ate them up and he became the "go to guy" in Hollywood when it came to buying a ready made thriller hit.

The last Grisham adapted for the big screen was 2003's 'Runaway Jury' which was an underperformer, failing to make it's budget back domestically, however now, after a decade of resistance, he has signed a deal to allow an adaption of one of his most well recieved books 'The Testament', reports Variety.

After a decade of saying no, John Grisham has made a movie deal for his 1999 bestselling novel "The Testament."

Producers Mark Johnson and Hunt Lowry are teaming with 821 Entertainment Group to option the book, with 821's Eric Geadelmann and Ben Horton taking exec producer credit.

In the novel, a billionaire defies his greedy relatives and leaves his $11 billion fortune to a mysterious illegitimate daughter doing charity work in the Brazilian wetlands. A down-and-out lawyer helps her battle her relatives over the fortune.

The last time Grisham ended a self-imposed moratorium on selling a book to Hollywood, his first novel, "A Time to Kill," went to Warner Bros. and New Regency in a near-record $6 million deal that led to a 1996 hit movie on which Lowry was a producer.

That was at a time when Grisham's thrillers were considered "can't miss" properties. Nobody pays that much for screen rights to books anymore, and Grisham will receive a six-figure option against a bigger payday if "The Testament" goes forward.

He will also have the right to provide creative input, which he didn't always have in the past -- one of the factors that pushed him away from Hollywood until about three years ago, when his fans prodded him to end his self-imposed movie moratorium.

The deal for "The Testament" shows the power of persistence on the part of producer Johnson, who has kept on Grisham and his agent-editor David Gernert for the better part of a decade.

"I've been calling them since I read it the first time and felt it had the best of the courthouse stuff that John writes so well, plus this exotic adventure in deepest Brazil," Johnson said.

Once Johnson joined forces with Grisham's old friend Lowry, the author said yes. The producers found development financing through 821 Entertainment, the Nashville-based financier-producer that CEO Geadelmann said is in the throes of raising $250 million in equity and debt to finance productions with "heartland appeal."

Geadelmann, who made a fortune in the health care technology business, said he and his partners can finance production but would prefer to co-finance with a studio, once they have a script that Grisham approves.

"The Testament" becomes one of several Grisham legal thrillers headed for the screen. An adaptation of Grisham's nonfiction tome "The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town" moved from defunct WIP to WB, with Smokehouse partners George Clooney and Grant Heslov (the picture is stalled pending a lawsuit filed by a subject in the book). Phoenix Pictures continues to forge ahead on "Playing for Pizza," with a script by J. Mills Goodloe and Adam Shankman directing; and Paramount is developing "The Associate" with Shia LaBeouf and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura.

Ive never actually read the book but it sounds a little more expansive in scope than his more traditional delta set thrillers. It's early days yet but I imagine the storyline will provide an attractive hook for many of Hollywood's A-list actors and directors.

'The Last Airbender' Teaser Trailer

M Night Shyamalan has had a rocky patch with 'Lady in the Water' underperforming and 'The Happening' being a box office dud as well as critically panned. So it seems he's switched tact and chosen to make an adaption, something he's never done before, all seven of his previous features have been self penned original stories.

His choice for this change of path is an adaption of 'The Last Airbender' a popular Anime show, which means that he will be in the eye of the storm from the start given the general view from Anime purists that Anime is not meant for Western live-action adaption.

From the standpoint of someone that knows nothing of the Anime it is based on I think the teaser works well, it captures a mystical feel and showcases the quality effects with a tremendous reveal shot of some warships. Not sure if this is footage specifically shot for the teaser or if it will be in the finished film but it certainly does the job of getting the film noticed.

'The Last Airbender' opens July 2nd 2010 and you can check out the teaser trailer below.

'My Name Is Earl' Has Had Its 'Final Season'

For anyone who has any lingering hope that "My Name Is Earl" will somehow get a reprieve from being canceled, the newly-released cover of the season four blu-ray is the final nail in the show's coffin.

After NBC canceled the show, rumors abounded that another network, specifically FOX, would swoop in and save the show.

When those talks ended, negotiations began with TBS to move the show to cable.

Unfortunately, the two sides couldn't come to an agreement on a budget for the show.

So, when those talks ended, 20th Century Fox released the following statement:
“While we had hoped to find a way to produce additional episodes for TBS, in the final analysis we simply could not make the economics work without seriously undermining the artistic integrity of the series. As none of us, [show creator]
Greg [Garcia] included, want the show to go out on anything but a high note, we regret that we must put to rest any speculation that Earl will continue. We are grateful to everyone at TBS for their enthusiasm for the series and wish to offer our heartfelt thanks to the cast and crew of My Name is Earl for their incredible work.”

Despite the announcement, some fans still held out hope that the show would live on and the cliffhanger at the end of the season would be resolved.

The artwork for the season four blu-ray, however, ends that hope, as "The Final Season" is written on the spine of the packaging.

Hopefully, the show's producers will find a way to have Earl explain what happened next and how he finished the list as a bonus feature for the DVD.

Season one attracted nearly 11 million viewers, but by season four, that number was down to just over 6 million.

New 'Halloween 2' Trailer

I'm not a horror fan but there are certain characters that transcend the genre, one of those is Michael Myers of the Halloween franchise. Now last year, the franchise reached the popular Hollywood crossroads of the reboot, a reboot from Rob Zombie that met with a mixed reaction from the fanbase.

One year on and the sequel is upon us with a second trailer to stoke the debates once more. I personally thought the first trailer had its strong points but lost its way with the stuff featuring Myers' Mommy in ghost form.

This second trailer entirely omits the controversial ghost mom angle, instead focusing purely on Myers as a giant juggernaut of death and is all the better for it. However, it does make you wonder if the studio will do anything to remove the sub plot from the final movie.

'Halloween 2' is released on August 28th and you can check the new trailer out below.

Update on Tue, June 23, 2009 by Rob Hunter

Apparently the trailer above was from the Spike TV Guy's Choice Awards on June 21st, Yahoo has now posted the official full trailer with nearly 30 seconds more worth of footage that you can check out below.

Burton Unleashes Bizarre 'Wonderland' Images

Pictures from Tim Burton's forthcoming "Alice in Wonderland" popped up over the Internet this weekend and, of course, they are incredibly strange.

However, what really surprised me has been the response from people who have seen them. Over and over, I have read that people wish Burton would make "more normal" movies and stop trying to be so "bizarre."

Now, I'm not really a Burton fan. I see some of his movies and miss others. Why? Well, because his "bizarre" style isn't my cup of tea. However, I really don't want to see him stop making those kinds of films, because it is never better for the movies to see unique visions watered down for the masses.

Do I think the movie looks weird and nightmarish? Undeniably, yes. Will I go see it? Probably not. Am I glad he is making it and his vision remains uncompromised? Yes, absolutely.

   

Update on Tue, June 23, 2009 by Sean Gerski

CC2K.US has a review of the script available at: http://tinyurl.com/AliceScriptReview.

The following is an excerpt from the site's review of the script:

Written by Linda Woolverton, who also co-wrote The Lion King, and had a part in Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, and the Teen Wolf cartoon, the script isn’t exactly an adaptation of the original story by Lewis Carroll, as it is an extension of it. Alice went to Wonderland as a child, and she’s now almost grown. She’s 17, and she’s back for more, but doesn’t remember her times there earlier. She’s about to be engaged, maybe. A rich suitor wants to marry her, and the opening scenes of the movie are of her engagement party. But she, of course, gets distracted by a white rabbit.

The White Rabbit (who will be played by Michael Sheen), goes after Alice (played by In Treatment’s Mia Wasikowska) because of an omen that she is the one to slay the Jabberwock, who guards the Red Queen’s empire. But when she arrives, she has no knowledge of this, or of Wonderland at all. She meets Tweedledee and Tweedledum and the Dormouse, the Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry), the Catepillar (Alan Rickman), and of course the March Hare (Noah Taylor) and the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp).

See, the good White Queen (Anne Hathaway), of who these were all loyal subjects, has been banished by the bad Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter). She is much larger than everyone else and surrounds herself in a court full of people with enormous lips, or noses, or ears, as well as the Knave of Hearts (Crispin Glover), her most trusted aide.

Second Trailer Up for Tarantino's 'Basterds'

After hearing it being talked about for so long, it's still somewhat of a surprise that we are actually going to see Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds."

Tarantino kept talking about how he was going to get around to making it someday, but if there are two things everyone knows about Tarantino, they are: the man loves to loves to talk; and he takes forever to make his movies.

Oh, wait, there is a third thing: he is still a terrific filmmaker. And, as evidence, here is the second trailer for "Inglourious Basterds" (due in theaters Aug. 21):

Monica Bellucci Pics cast a spell!

/film via SpoilerTV have gotten hold of the first on set images of the ageless Monica Bellucci in the live action adaption of 'The Sorcerer’s Apprentice'. Now to me this is one of the oddest ideas of all time, to adapt a timeless Animated Disney Classic into a live action movie starring Nic Cage and directed by Jon 'National Treasure' Turteltaub. The images seem to suggest some peril and may be a bit spoilery so beware! It also seems Nic Cage is busting out another in a long line of hideous hair pieces for this role.

Ive posted some of the images below but left the spoiler one out, if you want to see it check the link.

This is a movie that could be tremendous and enchanting fun of a kind not seen in some time, or it could be an absolute disaster, we'll find out when it opens on July 16th 2010.