George Clooney to Play George Clooney in Brad Bird's '1952'

If there's one actor today that consistently gets away with playing different characters yet basically plays himself every time, it's George Clooney.

From that all too familiar smirk, to that typical head tilt, to that recognizable voice we all know and love; George Clooney has made a career out of playing himself (somehow he's been nominated for an Academy Award 3x and won once too!).

With that said, it should come as no surprise that the man has lined up another lead role, this one coming in the form of director Brad Bird's Close Encounters of the Third Kind-esque, 1952.

Plot details are scarce but the story is said to revolve around a man - in the year 1952 of course - who makes contact with aliens on earth.  Clooney obviously will play that man (maybe he'll greet them with a smirk and head tilt).

It should be noted that Disney - the studio behind the project - is yet to officially greenlight the film which could have something to do with Brad Bird's rumored contention to direct the new Star Wars film.

We should know soon enough.

Source: Variety

Trailer for 'Warm Bodies' Looks Surprisingly...OK

When I first heard about this film, I basically thought, "So it's just Twilight with zombies instead of vampires, right?"

Not going to lie though, this looks not half-bad.  Obviously, you've got the teenage-love factor in there, but it looks both amusing and entertaining at the same time.  Probably because it's being directing by Jonathan Levine (the excellent 50/50).  With zombie interest peaking at an all-time high (thanks nonetheless to AMC's The Walking Dead), I can see this thing being a big money maker when it hits in February.

Take a look:

Opening in theaters on February 1, the zombie love story stars Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, Rob Corddry, John Malkovich, Analeigh Tipton, Dave Franco and Cory Hardrict.

A funny new twist on a classic love story, Warm Bodies is a poignant tale about the power of human connection. After a zombie epidemic, R (a highly unusual zombie) encounters Julie (a human survivor), and rescues her from a zombie attack. Julie sees that R is different from the other zombies, and as the two form a special relationship in their struggle for survival, R becomes increasingly more human – setting off an exciting, romantic, and often comical chain of events that begins to transform the other zombies and maybe even the whole lifeless world.

'World War Z' Poster; Trailer Coming Thursday

It's Election Day, plus I'm saving my two cents on the film until I see a trailer.  With that said, here's the official teaser poster for the Brad Pitt starring, zombie-apocolypse tentpole, World War Z:

The story revolves around United Nations employee Gerry Lane (Pitt), who traverses the world in a race against time to stop the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatening to decimate humanity itself.

Paul Thomas Anderson To Helm New 'Terminator'?

Let me be as crystal clear as I can possible be: this is nothing more than pure speculation and reading in-between the lines.  I have no source whatsoever and I have no factual idea about what Megan Ellison and Annapurna Pictures are up to concerning the Terminator franchise.

With that said, I am under the impression that Academy Award nominated writer & director Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood, The Master) is the 'news' that Annapurna Pictures cryptically tweeted is coming a couple days back.  For those not familiar, here's what they wrote:

Annapurna Pictures ‏@AnnapurnaPics

"The whole thing goes: The future's not set. There's no fate but what we make for ourselves." -John Connor, Terminator 2 (news is coming)

What many did not seem to notice was what TheTerminatorFans.com (the Batman-On-Film of the Terminator franchise) tweeted Annapurna Pictures following this and what Paul Thomas Anderson's Official Twitter Resource tweeted back:

The Terminator Fans ‏@terminatorfans

Could Paul Thomas Anderson be the director of Terminator 5? @AnnapurnaPics @cigsandredvines He did say he always wanted to make a T movie!

Now you might think, "So what?"  Well here's what sealed the deal for my suspicion:

When the runner of PTA's Twitter page wrote about being out of the country next week, he wrote this for his followers:

Cigarettes&RedVines ‏@cigsandredvines

Perhaps there will be an update from @fortyfps if any major news goes down. Otherwise, expect some cool stuff in about a week.

OK, so to recap.  Annapurna Pictures states an announcement is coming regarding the new Terminator film, a BOF style Terminator fan site (TheTerminatorFans.com) asks if PTA could be directing, in which the filmmaker's official resource page states how he always wanted to make a Terminator film, and finally, that same PTA resource, writes to 'expect some cool stuff in about a week.'

Now I know this seems like a stretch, but it's well-known how close PTA is with Megan Ellison and how the man is a huge fan of the Terminator franchise.  It is also known that PTA has always talked about wanting to make a big-budget tentpole film (but insisting no studio would ever give him the chance).  That chance however, is something Megan Ellison's Annapurna Pictures can give him.

We shall see, as news is expected to come sometime next week.

'Terminator 5': Something's Coming

Funny how a few weeks back news came out that the long-in-silent development Terminator 5 had hit a snag and the project was basically dead.

Look how things have changed.

Yesterday, Annapurna Pictures (the production company behind this year's many notable big-budget art films including Lawless, The Master, Killing Them Softly, and Zero Dark Thirty) made this cryptic message on Twitter concerning the new Terminator film:

"The whole thing goes: The future's not set. There's no fate but what we make for ourselves." -John Connor, Terminator 2 (news is coming)

Something is boiling.  Whether it's the creative team they are bringing in, a release date, or maybe just an announcement that they have a story in mind, Terminator 5 is happening and I for one could not be more excited.

What is the one thing that this Terminator film has going for it that neither Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines or Terminator Salvation had?  Complete creative and artistic freedom...with a huge budget.  No studio heads.  No execs to please.  Just money to be spent and a vision to bring to the screen.  How is that you ask?  Two words:

Megan. Ellison.

You know, the billionaire heiress to the Oracle Corporation founded by her father, Larry Ellison.  Megan founded and owns Annapurna Pictures, who bought the Terminator rights last year.  She can offer any talented filmmaker who grew up loving James Cameron's Terminator films complete control to bring credibility back to the franchise...again, with money too.

You have to realize how extremely enticing that is to a filmmaker.  Think about it.  Very few filmmakers not named Spielberg, Nolan, Fincher, Bay, and of course, Cameron, have the ability to call the shots on every aspect of a film they make.  Ellison offers that.  She's shown it for all the films she has coming out this year as well as many more already in production.  It is why I think she is putting together an extremely talented team for a new Terminator film...and is doing it behind the scenes as well.

We shall see as - no pun intended - the future is not set.

Update on Fri, November 2, 2012 by John DiNicola

Paul Thomas Anderson?  Writing might be on the wall.  Stay tuned later today. 

To Those Affected By Hurricane Sandy: Stay Safe

Having lived in NJ my whole life, I was pretty fortunate not to lose power or have any damage to my home.  The same can't be said for many, many others.

On behalf of the entire ThinkMcFlyThink staff, I'd like to send out our condolences and prayers to those affected by this natural disaster and a quick recovery back.

Don't Count Out Arnold Schwarzenegger

Since news broke a couple days back that Arnold Schwarzenegger would be reprising his famous role of Conan in the tentaviely titled The Legend of Conan for Universal, there have been many skeptical comments:

"Is he crazy?"

"He's going to have a f*cking heart attack!"

"Why doesn't he just give it up!"

While it is expected and obviously natural for those to question why Arnold - now 65-years-old - would take on such a project at his advanced age, you need to understand the type of person this man is and has shown the world for the past four decades and counting.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is undoubtedly the most successful American story of our lifetime.  An immigrant from Austria who succeeded in not just one phase of life, but three: bodybuilding, Hollywood, and politics.  This is a human being who came up from literally nothing and has become one of the most world-renowned figures of all-time.  He is a legend who will be talked about long after he is gone and will be admired and written about for years to come.

A figure such as this does not come along often.  They reach such heights from unprecedented hard work, determination, focus, perseverance, and most of all, will.  Arnold Schwarzenegger is a man who never stops challenging himself and is always looking for the hardest goal possible to accomplish.  In that sense, why wouldn't he take on the challenge of reprising one of his most notable Hollywood roles nearly 30 years after he last played it?  I without a doubt believe he feels he can not only play this role again but surpass any expectations we might have of him.  Many say there's no way he can physically reach the same heights he once had.  But let's not forget, this is Arnold Schwarzenegger we are talking about, the greatest bodybuilder of all-time.  If there is one individual who can exceed physical limits at the age of 65, it is him.

I expect Arnold Schwarzenegger to shock the world and silence critics.  It is what he has done his whole life.

Why would now be any different?

'Iron Man 3' Trailer

Wow.

Looks like Shane Black may have just made a kick ass Iron Man film.

You be the judge:

Marvel Studios’ Iron Man 3 pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy’s hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?

Starring Robert Downey Jr. , Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale with Jon Favreau and Ben Kingsley, Iron Man 3 is directed by Shane Black from a screenplay by Drew Pearce and Shane Black and is based on Marvel’s iconic Super Hero Iron Man, who first appeared on the pages of Tales of Suspense (#39) in 1963 and had his solo comic book debut with The Invincible Iron Man (#1) in May of 1968. Iron Man 3 is presented by Marvel Studios in association with Paramount Pictures and DMG Entertainment. Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige is producing and Jon Favreau, Louis D’Esposito, Stephen Broussard, Victoria Alonso, Alan Fine, Charles Newirth, Stan Lee and Dan Mintz are executive producers. The film releases May 3, 2013, and is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

'Iron Man 3' Trailer Sneak Peak #s 1 & 2 Along With Teaser Poster

Yup, this is what it's come to.

No longer do we anticipate the release of a film by viewing its trailer but now we get to anticipate the trailers themselves with sneak peaks.  Think about that for a second.  Your anticipation builds for a film by watching a trailer which builds for that by watching a trailer in itself.

Anyway, Disney & Marvel have given us two sneak peaks from the first trailer for Iron Man 3 which goes online tomorrow.

My anticipation for IM3 is kind of meh considering the 2nd one was more of the same of the first but they do have Shane 'Lethal Weapon' Black directing this time (and co-writing as well) so here's hoping the man has come up with something great.

You can view both sneaks peaks below as well as the film's teaser poster with it's official synopsis:

Marvel Studios' "Iron Man 3" pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy's hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?

David Oyelowo To Play Sugar Ray Robinson in Feature-Film Biopic

David Oyelowo (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, upcoming Jack Reacher) has signed on to play legendary boxer Sugar Ray Robinson in a feature-film biopic based on the Wil Haygood biography, Sweet Thunder: The Life And Times Of Sugar Ray Robinson.

The film will be produced by Moneyball producer Rachael Horovitz and written by Danny Strong (Game of Thrones).  Oyelowo will also executive produce the film which came together recently on the set of the Lee Daniels-directed The Butler, a film in which Oyelowo stars and Strong also wrote himself.

This is definitely a high-profile project as boxing films typically garner Oscar worthy buzz as well as breakout stardom.

Keep an eye on this project as it takes shape.

Sweet Thunder: The Life And Times of Sugar Ray Robinson [synopsis via Amazon]:

Sugar Ray Robinson was not only one of the most iconic figures of the fight game; almost all sportswriters agree that he was the greatest boxer of all time. This illuminating biography grounds the spectacular story of Robinson’s rise to greatness within the context of the fighter’s life and times. Born Walker Smith Jr. in 1921, Robinson’s early childhood was marked by the seething racial tensions and explosive race riots that infected the Midwest throughout the twenties and thirties. After his mother moved him and his sisters to the relative safety of Harlem, he came of age in the vibrant post-Renaissance years. It was there that--encouraged to box by his mother, who wanted him off the streets--he soon became a rising star, cutting an electrifying, glamorous figure, riding around town in his famous pink Cadillac. Beyond the celebrity, though, Robinson would emerge as a powerful, often controversial black symbol in a rapidly changing America.

From Robinson’s gruesome six-bout war with Jake “Raging Bull” LaMotta and his lethal meeting with Jimmy Doyle to his Harlem nightclub years and thwarted show-biz dreams, Haygood brings the champion’s story, in the ring and out, powerfully to life against a vividly painted backdrop of the world he captivated.

Source: Deadline