Mon, October 19, 2009 
Weekend Actuals: Oct. 16th - Oct. 18th
1 Where the Wild Things Are $32,695,407
2 Law Abiding Citizen $21,039,502
3 Paranormal Activity $19,617,650
4 Couples Retreat $17,227,390
5 The Stepfather (2009) $11,581,586
6 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs $8,017,871
7 Zombieland $7,616,939
8 Toy Story / Toy Story 2 (3D) $3,016,580
9 Surrogates $1,917,315
10 The Invention of Lying $1,907,398
Sun, October 18, 2009 
Stan Lee is most definitely a comic book legend, you won't here and argument from me, but does that mean he has to enjoy a cameo in every Marvel related film? To me it has lost it's charm, at first I found myself looking for him and almost felt comforted by the gray mustached legend. Now it's like playing being forced to play "Where's Stan Lee" while in a room of nude models serving beer and fried food. Unfortunately for me this trend is going to continue according to Mr. Lee's conversation with Collider at the "Scream 2009" awards. He discusses his cameo in "Iron Man 2" and his potential cameo in "Thor", video below.
SuperHeroHype via Marvel Movies as gotten their fanboy hands on a shot of the Iron Man 2 Mark VI suit courtesy of the movie tie in action figure and packaging.
Last but certainly not least let's go over the "Thor" cast list:
Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Natalie Portman, Jaimie Alexander, Colm Feore, Samuel L. Jackson and Stellan Skarsgard.
Not exactly household names if you take away Samuel L. Jackson and Natalie Portman. According to the grizzly keyboard veterans over at Ain't It Cool News, the cast is about to grow both in size and stature. Matthias Schweighofer talked "Thor" with GQ magazine, German edition, and revealed he was in the running for a role in the film. I know what you're saying, who? There is bigger news to be found here, Schweighofer also let loose that Robert Deniro and Jude Law have joined the cast. If it turns out to be true, not a bad way to pad the cast.
Sat, October 17, 2009 
Not only did Empire get the chance to kick it like high rollers in a private jet on the way to a Wolverine Blu-Ray press junket, they got to do so with the classy and prolific Lauren Shuler Donner. While most likely enjoying Sushi and Saki the discussion quickly turned towards the X-Men universe and Donner had a lot to say in regards to our mutant friends.
"Harry Potter is a bit of a role model for us, absolutely. But we want it to be like the recent, darker Potters. It should not be a kiddie movie - we're in the X-Men world so you can't suddenly change the tone."
"There's also still an element of friction between the mutants and the outside world. Remember that this will be set way back before anyone knew mutants existed."
"I don't see it as a problem that Ryan [Reynolds] is also playing Green Lantern. I mean, look at Harrison Ford - he was in Stars Wars and Indiana Jones at the same time and everyone was fine with that."
"We're right in the thick of talking to writers right now, and hopefully by November we'll have decided who's going to do it"
"David Goyer has written a brilliant script. It starts in the concentration camps and has Magneto coming out of there. But you know, I'm not sure that film is going to be made."
"We used Lola technology in X-Men 3 to de-age Ian and Patrick for one scene, but it's very expensive. To do that for a two-hour movie would be prohibitive financially. And to find a younger actor to fill Ian's shoes, that's pretty daunting. It's not easy."
I like the analogy that "X-Men: First Class" would be like Harry Potter for mutants. That might have actually been the pitch. You can reboot all the characters and see the origins of said characters using younger and cheaper actors. "Magneto" is the project I am most interested in seeing on screen but is most likely the project that has the least chance of happening. What luck.
In regards to "Deadpool", I am not sure how Donner or anybody believes that Ryan Reynolds will be playing the wise cracking Deadpool and the ring bearing Green Lantern, that is what contracts are for. If you remember, Brandon Routh had it in his contract that he had to get the green light from Warner Bros if he wanted to play another comic book character. I don't think Warner Bros would want to see Green Lantern talking to the audience dressed in scarlet body armour. That would be like the Celtics loaning Larry Bird to the Lakers in the NBA finals and him going on to drain a three-pointer over Kevin McHale's head.
Fri, October 16, 2009 
Coming Soon via The Geek Files at the Coventry Telegraph has produced and interview with Sam Raimi ifound in the latest print edition of "Dvd & Blu-Ray Review":
"I think I've learned about the importance of getting to the point and the importance of having limitations, and I'm hoping to take that into a production where I'm actually allowed to explore with more of the tools to pull it off with a little more splendour. I hope I don't lose that edge that I've just found. That would be my approach to Spider-Man 4: to get back to the basics."
Sam Raimi is saying all the right things. I wonder if the light bulb just went off or did he realize during pre-production of "Spider Man 4" that bringing Eric Forman to the future from the 70's to play the iconic Venom wasn't a good idea. When the light dawned on Raimi that it was mistake doesn't matter at this point, what matters is that he actually puts the studio's money where his mouth is and delivers. It's been discussed and debated as to whom the culprit was behind the villain traffic jam that was "Spider-Man 3" but this follow up is going to be all on Raimi's shoulders.
While most of the fans are just hoping for another "Spider-Man" film, with all due respect to them, they really don't matter. The general public is where the key to success lies and this next installment is going to be aimed straight at them. A tighter film with less crying and dancing, along with some dramatic action and new fresh villains should and will be part of the menu. This will be Raimi's last stand with with your favorite neighborhood webslinger and I'm sure he'll be pulling out all the stops.
Wed, October 14, 2009 
Jon Favreau sure has some "Geek Cred" on his resume. First playing sidekick to Ben Affleck as Foggy Nelson in 2003's "Daredevil". Next parking himself behind the lense and owning "Iron Man". Now Favreau is faced with the tall task of competing with his own success as he works on "Iron Man 2". At the press junket for "Couples Retreat" MTV had the pleasure of speaking with Favreau as they cruised around on a golf cart. Video & what I deem the most important quote below.
"It's going to be hard, because I was so involved in creating the world of Iron Man and Iron Man is very much a tech-based hero, and then with 'Avengers' you're going to be introducing some supernatural aspects because of Thor," he continued. "How you mix the two of those works very well in the comic books, but it's going to take a lot of thoughtfulness to make that all work and not blow the reality that we've created."
To me it doesn't sound like Jon Favreau is interested in injecting a technologically advanced Iron Man into a world that features an angry Nordic God wielding a giant hammer. I don't blame him, what's next a giant green angry monster or a guy fighting crime with a star spangled shield. Asking Favreau to direct "The Avengers" is like asking Christopher Nolan to direct "The Justice League". Do we really want to see Nolan struggling with the proper wind resistance needed to properly portray Wonder Woman's invisible plane. I think not.
I don't want Favreau tackling "The Avengers", his heart and mind aren't into it. Bring somebody in that can look at this project from the outside and attack it. Favreau is obviously too close to Iron Man and his love and passion for said character won't allow him to previs giant hammers. "Thor" seems like it is moving forward but "Captain America" might be buried under a thick chunk of ice somewhere, pun completely intended. When "The Avengers" finally does enter the world of production, if at all, we'll see a director who can embrace the world of technology and magic. I heard George Miller is available.
Wed, October 14, 2009 
"Daybreakers" Poster Courtesy Of Latino Review
"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" Poster Courtesy of Coming Soon
Mon, October 12, 2009 
Weekend Actuals: Oct. 9th - Oct. 11th
1 Couples Retreat $34,286,740
2 Zombieland $14,802,431
3 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs $11,527,480
4 Paranormal Activity $7,900,695
5 Toy Story / Toy Story 2 (3D) $7,766,643
6 Surrogates $4,268,314
7 The Invention of Lying $3,339,263
9 Capitalism: A Love Story $2,630,292
10 Fame (2009) $2,543,067
Sun, October 11, 2009 
In what would be a surprise to only those still living on a chunk of Krypton floating out in space, Bryan Singer would be interested in doing another film in the X-Men universe. This falls under the same surprising news as "Santa Clause isn't real." and "The sky is blue." I know that if you are reading my article that you also read The Trades. I also read The Trades, but sometimes non news becomes news just because "Variety" or "Hollywood Reporter" is present in the URL. Guess what Associated Press, I also want to direct an "X-Men" related film, run with it.
Yes I know, I am commenting on said article that I am dubbing irrelevant, but it's more then that. I am interested in the comings and goings of Bryan Singer because of his relevance to all the lovable freaks and geeks that keep escalating TMT's hit counts. I mean this man helped resurrect the comic book film series from the comedic clutches of Richard Pryor and the nipple enhanced chest plate of George Clooney. Granted we have to give a little credit to one David Goyer and "Blade" but Singer had his claws in the X-Men series and soared with Superman.
I have no doubt that Singer has had discussions with Fox about X-Men and possibly returning in some capacity, but the fact that he is even talking about it out loud tells me that long shot gone by the wayside. I'm sure if you asked him if he would like to return to Superman he would jump at that chance as well. What's next? "Usual Suspects II: Keyer Soze Strikes Back". Isn't there an old saying that goes something like this, "You can never go home again." Sure I go home every Thanksgiving, but it's for turkey and stuffing, not claw wielding mutants or storm casting sex kittens with poor acting chops.
Don't hold your breath waiting for Bryan Singer to go all mutant on us any time soon, his slate is pretty stacked at the moment.
Mon, October 5, 2009 
Weekend Actuals: Oct. 2nd - Oct. 4th
1 Zombieland $24,733,155
2 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs $15,809,039
3 Toy Story / Toy Story 2 (3D) $12,491,789
4 Surrogates $7,241,054
5 The Invention of Lying $7,027,472
6 Whip It $4,650,812
7 Fame (2009) $4,626,952
8 Capitalism: A Love Story $4,447,378
9 The Informant! $3,689,235
10 Love Happens $2,749,025
