Studios Fighting To 'Kick Ass'

Studios weren't even giving Matthew Vaughn's comic book flick "Kick Ass" a second thought until some kick ass footage was showcased at Comic Con. Now studios are falling over themselves trying to secure a deal with the adaptation written by Vaughn and Jane Goldman. Sony Pictures, which had a deal with Vaughn and his company Marv Films, might be kicking themselves as Lionsgate, Paramount, and Universal all try to take advantage of their pass on the project Since Sony and Vaughn weren't on the same page with the project, Vaughn decided to invest in the project himself along with independent resources, seems Vaughn's leap of faith has paid off.

The comic book written by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr involves a high school nobody who tries to stand out by adopting the identity of a costumed hero. His lack of skills are put to the test when he is confronted by a number of real villains who actually know what they are doing. One of Mark Millar's favorite pastimes is talking about his "Superman Project" that never was or never will be. That aside, the guy is really making some headlines with some of his hard work that has or is actually happening. I'm sure Millar is hoping for a similar dose of success that was enjoyed with the big screen adaptation of "Wanted".

Courtney Cox Wants To Scream Again

I'm a huge fan of the horror genre but this new era which consists of an onslaught of remakes, prequels, and sequels makes me feel like I've been blindsided by a machete. Granted horror isn't the only medium whose fans are enjoying a big heaping spoon of the unoriginal, no genre is safe from that "where have I seen this before feeling". Apparently the Scream series is no exception.

Courtney Cox revealed some "scary" plot lines from a possible "Scream 4" while doing some promo work for her new show "Cougar Town". Cox revealed that her character, Gale Weathers, is now married to David Arquette's character Dewey. Cox is actually married to Arquette as most of us know, life imitating art? Then she uttered five very disturbing words.

"She has a kid now."

I already have reservations about what Kevin Williamson is calling, "a beginning of a new trilogy", but now they are adding a little kid to the mix. I don't really think it is a good idea to follow in the "jump the shark" ways of "Superman Returns" and "Indiana Jones: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". Granted those films made some money but adding a kid makes me want to wretch up my movie popcorn.

Billy Loomis must be rolling in his grave right now. "Scream 4" just won't go away even though I really want it to.

'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

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

Movie Moan: Turn Back The Clock

August is a popular month for vacations and this past weekend Movie Moan decided to take some time off. To keep your appetite wet for future installments, we're reposting the very first episode on TMT. Enjoy.

TMT's Movie Moan Podcast: Opening Night

I'm proud to debut the first edition of TMT's Movie Moan podcast hosted by Jamie Williams and Phill Gee. When Jamie and I first thought about opening up a website one of the first moves we wanted to make was securing Phil Gee's Movie Moan to add to our site. I'm happy that Phil and Jamie have decided to move from the Now Live Network to Think Mcfy Think.

Jamie and Phil discuss the Fox & WB Watchmen settlement, the troubled production of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Terminator Salvation, Sherlock Holmes, Iron Man 2, Marvel, The Avengers...and more!

Check it out via the link below:

TMT's Movie Moan: Episode 1

Bryan Singer Goes Back To SyFy

Bryan Singer has finally selected his next project and it doesn't involve an alien wearing blue tights and sporting a red flowing cape. The Trades are reporting that the director is reuniting with the SyFy channel for a new six-hour series that is being described as a cross between "National Treasure" and "The Da Vinci Code". The adventure project involves the hot topic of the Mayan calendar's seemingly cryptic prediction of when the world will end.

"I have always been fascinated by the various myths and conspiracy theories surrounding the Mayan calendar," Singer said. "Our story will explore whether we are truly alone in the universe and other related mysteries, all of which are set against the backdrop of an incredibly exciting and fast-paced adventure."

Singer's first joint venture with SyFy resulted in the 2005 mini series, "The Triangle". The director still hasn't publicly acknowledged what his next studio film might be although is name was attached to The Prisoners earlier in the year. One film that seems to have flown away from his grasp is another Superman. WB is reportedly fastracking another Superman movie and James McTiegue has been mentioned as a possible directing choice. Although Bryan Singer is going to walk away from the aftermath with a really heavy wallet.

People Choose "Funny People"

Weekend Actuals (July 31st - August 2nd)

1 Funny People $22,657,780
2 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince $17,909,385
3 G-Force $17,515,489
4 The Ugly Truth $13,187,433
5 Aliens in the Attic $8,008,423
6 Orphan $7,525,419
7 Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs $5,526,015
8 The Hangover $5,194,475
9 The Proposal$4,931,064
10 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen $4,688,329

Superman Flying Fast At Warners

In what should come as no surprise to anybody with a keyboard, Rob Sanchez over at IESB has some sort of golden ticket to Burbank as evidenced by another exclusive passed on to him from inside the cubicles at Warner Bros. Feeling some heat from the recent lawsuit ruling, the Brothers Warner are moving swiftly towards meeting the mandate set forth by the court of achieving production on a Superman film by 2011. Rob is reporting that the new film will not be a continuation of the middle ground that was "Superman Returns" but an entirely different take. Returns will act as the exclamation point or in some people's minds, the period for the "Donnerverse".

There will also be a new director behind the lense and some names that Rob has been hearing include James McTeigue and the Wachowski's. McTeigue's latest film "Ninja Assassin" is enjoying rave reviews and the Wachowki's were last seen hiding out in Germany costing WB millions with their migraine inducing work on "Speed Racer". It is hard to fathom that WB would hand over the keys to the car to the Wachowski's after they crashed and burned on the race tracks of their last flick. McTeigue on the other hand makes a lot of sense.

There are a lot of questions that still need to be answered. Who will be playing Superman? The studio could certainly still turn to Brandon Routh who seems to have a good relationship with the execs of both WB and Legendary. A search for a new Superman would be a long and arduous process but the studio could certainly go that route. In that case, I think they will go with a virtual unknown, not on the scale of Brandon Routh, but more of an "Oh THAT guy!"

What about a script? TMT is hearing from our guys in the sky that Grant Morrison is involved story wise on one level or another on any new Superman film going forward. It would fit with WB's plan of bringing in a comic book writer to lay out the groundwork before handing it off to a screenwriter or two as is the case with Geoff Johns, who just contributed heavily on the possible new "Flash" movie. In my "Superman Limbo" four part series I put forth what WB is looking for in a creative team and what directors and writers would fit this criteria.

This is just the beginning of the news concerning our favorite blue tighted friend that can fly. This story will surely crack open the gates for even more news and you can be sure the netmasters and forum dwellers will be along for the always bumpy ride.