A Solution for 'The Wolverine'

I must say, when I got home from work and saw the news that Darren Aronofsky would no longer be directing The Wolverine, I was bummed, really bummed.  Aronofsky is one of the best filmmakers working today, and the fact that he was going to make this film, made me have beyond high expectations.  The Dark Knight good.  Oscar good.

Anyway, after doing my reading on the story, it seems legit that Aronofsky did leave the film for personal reasons.  The guy's going through a divorce and trying to keep custody rights for his kid.  As much as we love movies, we have to remember these people are just like you and I, they have problems just like any other person.  If he needs time to focus on what's going on in his personal life, that's fine.  Glad to see the man has his head in the right place.

Some are saying it's a smokescreen for "creative differences."  I disagree.  Fox knew what they were getting when they hired Aronofsky and know the man is a control freak when it comes to making a film.  Not to mention, the script is said to be fantastic so I don't think it had anything to do with the quality of the film either.

However, what I find interesting is that the official statements released by both Fox and Aronofsky make no mention of the devastation that is going on in Japan right now.  The fact that the film was to shoot all but two weeks in the country has to have something to do with Aronofsky leaving.  What's going on right now in Japan is a tragedy, and I'm sure allowing Hollywood to shoot a major motion picture there is the last thing on anyone's mind.

With that said, I propose a solution to this problem:

POSTPONE.

Yes, postpone The Wolverine.  I know Jackman has been training like a madman since the fall to be as big as he's ever been, but it looks like he'll have to put his workouts on hold.  I propose this solution for a few reasons:

1.) Aronofsky has been developing this film to his own unique nature.  Any director that comes in will have to try to adapt to his style, which never makes for a good mix.  Let Aronofsky deal with his personal issues, then let him come back when he is ready.

2.) Japan is a mess.  No film is going to be shooting there for a while.  Let the nation recover then bring The Wolverine back for filming in a year or two.  A film like this needs autheticty, not sounds stages.

3.) Fox already has an X-Men film coming out this year with X-Men: First Class.  That should quench X-Men fan's thirst for at least 2-3 years.  In that time, The Wolverine can be made, without sacrificing quality.

4.) This film was never officially greenlit nor did it have an official release date.  With that, there is no pressure to get the film rolling to make any kind of "deadline."

I know this is a tough solution, but it makes the most sense given everything going on.  Yes, the director has dropped out of the project.  But so has something just as important, the SETTING!  Trust me, if in a perfect world, an earthquake had not struck Japan, this project could have a chance to move forward.  But with that now gone, there should be no other choice but to postpone. 

The Wolverine has a chance to be one of the best film's of this decade, and with greatness comes sacrifice, this is the sacrifice: POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.

David Slade To Helm 'Daredevil' Reboot

Variety is exclusively reporting that David Slade (Hard Candy, 30 Days of Night, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse) will direct 20th Century Fox's Daredevil reboot.

Sources say the comic book adaptation will have no connection with the 2003 release, starring Ben Affleck and directed by Mark Steven Johnson.

No release date is set yet but expect casting news to start up shortly.

I for one am thrilled with this news.  Slade has proven himself to be not only a capable director of action but to have a keen eye for both story and visual excitement.  I think he's a great choice and will surely make a emotionally, action-packed Daredevil film.

Alec Baldwin On Why He Never Played Jack Ryan Again

For anyone who has seen The Hunt for Red October, you know it is a great film with fine performances from both its leads, Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin, respectively.

You probably also know that this was the first entry in the Jack Ryan film series which marked Alec Baldwin's only stint as the hero from the Tom Clancy novels.  Harrison Ford replaced Baldwin in the subsequent two films, Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger, along with Phillip Noyce replacing original director John McTiernan.

For years it's been pondered why Baldwin never reprised the role as the actor has remained coy about why exactly he gave up the chance to play arguably one of the best roles of his career.

Finally, on the twenty year anniversary of the release of Red October, Baldwin has finally spoken up about what exactly happened...and his answer might surprise you.

In his recent entry for his blog with the Huffington Post, Baldwin writes:

People often ask me why I never continued in the role of Jack Ryan in the movies based on Tom Clancy's great novels. Usually, I have given a half truth as an answer, something about scheduling conflicts and so forth. But the truth is the studio cut my throat. Or, more specifically, an executive at the studio named David Kirkpatrick who was, as studio executives are on their way both up and down the ladder, eager to prove he had that special quality that studio executives are eager to display. That quality is an utter lack of sentimentality while transacting deals around a business built on sentimentality.

The run of events in 1991 went like this. John McTiernan, who directed The Hunt For Red October, called me repeatedly over a period of a few days and that got my attention because John was not someone who did that. I knew it must be something important. I had been traveling to Syracuse to see my mother who had been diagnosed with breast cancer. I had lost my dad in 1983 to lung cancer when he was fifty-five and the idea of being an orphan, technically speaking, at the age of 33 weighed heavily on me. It took a few rounds before John and I connected.

On the phone, John told me that during the period of the previous few months, he had been negotiating to do a film with a very famous movie star who had dropped out of his film days before so that he could go star in the sequels to The Hunt For Red October. John further told me that Paramount owed the actor a large sum of money for a greenlit film that fell apart prior to this, and pushing me aside would help to alleviate that debt and put someone with much greater strength at the box office than mine in the role. I sat there mildly stunned because not only was I in an active negotiation with Paramount, but for them to negotiate simultaneously with another actor was against the law. My mother was about to have a double mastectomy. I asked John if he was sure about all of this and he said yes, he had talked with the famous actor directly who confirmed the story. All of this served to explain why the studio would not close my deal over what I thought were some relatively arbitrary issues surrounding the dates of production.

I got a call from Mace Neufeld, the film's producer who I had worked with on Hunt. The call resembled that final scene in Sorry, Wrong Number (great film), where Burt Lancaster exhorts Barbara Stanwyck to get out of bed and scream for help lest she be killed by emissaries of Lancaster himself. Neufeld told me to sign whatever deal they were offering and "the rest would take care of itself."

I flew from Syracuse to Long Island to attend to some business. I drove to a friend's home where I was to have dinner and was informed by my assistant that I should call David Kirkpatrick right away. Kirkpatrick was a beady-eyed, untalented tool who had seemed like he was up to something throughout my sequel negotiation. Now, he became vividly clear. I had to decide if I would agree to an open-ended clause relating to dates for the first sequel and thus completely give up the chance to do one of the greatest dramas in the American theatre, or he would rescind my offer. They had the other guy all lined up, and they were looking for a way to gut me. I thought he wasn't serious at first. Then, when I realized he was, I chose A Streetcar Named Desire.

Wow.  What a dam shame for Alec Baldwin.  The guy is a hell of an actor, and it's unfortunate sleazy studio execs like this can screw people over so easily.

Ironically, just as I'm writing this story mid-sentence, that sleazy studio exec (David Kirkpatrick) has responded to Baldwin's comments, stating this on his blog:

Fundamentally, the reason that Alec Baldwin and  I ended our relationship over the character of the Jack Ryan franchise was an issue of trust. We did not trust one another to continue in the enterprise. The negotiations to continue as Jack Ryan had drawn out for almost a year and he was nervous over controls, as he was the man on camera and he had a right to be;  yet,  I had a responsibility, working for a publicly-traded company to keep the franchise alive.

Alec Baldwin withdrew from the project, Patriot Games, over an issue of script approval: I wanted him to approve a script and he refused.

Not sure what to make of all this, but I must say, with all the backstabbing that goes on in Hollywood, I'm with Baldwin 100%.

He got screwed.

Jennifer Lawrence Close To Playing 'Hunger Games'

Variety is reporting that recent Academy Award nominee Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone, upcoming X-Men: First Class) is close to be offered the lead role in Gary Ross's adaptation of the Suzanne Collins' novel, The Hunger Games, for Lionsgate.

Lawrence would play the role of Katniss, a young girl in a dystopian future who enters into a survival contest to save her community.

Insiders say Ross and Lionsgate execs have been mulling the decision for weeks on who to cast in the lead as fellow recent Acadmey Award nominee, Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit), and Abigail Breslin have been being considered as well.

Age is said to have been the deciding factor (Lawrence is 20, Steinfeld and Breslin are only 14) as it helps both determine the tone of the film and the casting of a male lead/love interest, Peeta.  While there are plenty of up and coming male teenage actors out there, and recognizable 20-something is more easy to find.

Lionsgate expects Hungers Games to be the next 'Twilight'-sized franchise as the novel is part of a trilogy.

The film is set for a March 23rd, 2012 release date so expect official casting soon enough.

Teaser Trailer for 'Conan The Barbarian' Online!

I'm not gonna lie, I only put that exclamation point at the end of that title to draw attention to this teaser trailer.  Why you ask?  Because if this is all they could muster up for a film that's been in the can for almost a year now, an exclamation is definitely needed.  You be the judge for yourself:

Conan The Barbarian opens in 3D (OMG!) August 19th.

Josh Hutcherson To Star in Benicio Del Toro's Short 'Monday'

TOLDJA! is reporting that former Spider-Man contender, Josh Hutcherson (The Kids Are All Right) will star in Benicio Del Toro's directorial debut short film, Monday.  The short, which will make up the feature, 7 Days in Havana, revolves around a young tourist (Hutcherson) taking in the city's culture for the first time.

The other six days (or shorts you could say) will have the talents of directors Laurent Cantet, Julio Medem, Gaspar Noe, Elia Suleiman, Juan Carlos Tabio, and Pablo Trapero.

The rest of the cast is expected to be annouced sometime soon as the film is set for a September 23rd release date.

David Koepp is the Newest Writer for 'Men in Black III'

How much more bad news needs to come out about Men in Black III before we can circle it as Summer 2012's "biggest turkey?"

After initial delays with the film's production start date back in the fall (apparently due to Will Smith budding heads with the creative team), then an announcement that the film would have a planned hiatus until February so Jeff Nathanson (Rush Hour 2) could punch up the time travel scenes, then another announcement that shooting wouldn't start up again until the end of March, finally comes news today that David Koepp has been brought on to work on the script.

TOLDJA! reports Koepp (best known for Spider-Man, worst known for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) will work on the script for several weeks to have it ready for the 2nd phase of production.

What's that old saying?  You can't polish a turd?  Just ask McG about Terminator Salvation.

The plot of Men in Black III involves the movie’s villain (Jemaine Clement) traveling back in time to kill Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones), but that assassination will set off a chain of events that will destroy the world.  Agent J (Will Smith) must travel back in time to protect Agent K and the universe.

Despite all the production problems, the film is reportedly still on track for its May 25th, 2012 release date. 

I know, why else wouldn't it be?  That's over a year away.

Shia LaBeouf Up For 'The Bourne Legacy'

Add one more name to the slew of young actors in the running for Tony Gilroy's The Bourne Legacy: Shia LaBeouf.

Latino Review confirms an item originating from What's Playing a few days back of LaBeouf recently meeting with Gilroy about the film out in LA and is in the mix for the yet unnamed, Bourne-like assassin role.

With all the names mentioned, LaBeouf is actually someone I like.  Say what you will about him (though I don't understand all the negativity) the guy is a honest, hard working young actor who takes his job very seriously.  Along with this, I think he is exceptionally talented and would bring a hell of a determined attitude to the Bourne franchise.  Not to mention, LaBeouf being picked would be an inspired choice, just like Matt Damon was over a decade ago when we only knew him as "that guy who wrote Good Will Hunting."

We're likely to hear official casting soon as The Bourne Legacy is set to start filming this summer.

Update on Tue, March 1, 2011 by John DiNicola

Interesting tidbit.  After I wrote this article, I decided to check out LaBeouf's IMDB profile to see what films he's got planned after Transformers: Dark of the Moon.  Low and behold, all I was able to find was the pre-production listing of John Hillcoat's The Wettest County in the World.  Nothing listed after that.  As well, I came across a link for recent pictures of LaBeouf, and found this:

Dude's put on some muscle.  I wonder why...

Did Michael Fassbender Reveal His Role in 'Prometheus'?

Recently, it was announced the Michael Fassbender (X-Men: First Class) had joined the cast of Ridley Scott's Alien sidequel, Prometheus (my way of saying it takes place in the world of Alien, much like next year's The Bourne Legacy will take place in the world of Jason Bourne).

Though the character Fassbender will be playing was not revealed (as almost nothing is quite known about the film at this point), the actor gave a hint recently during an interview as to what role he'll be taking on.

While speaking to Entertainment Weekly, this little blurb came out:

When asked if he’d be playing an android in the film, Fassbender laughs, “I don’t know what I can say!” But as he says this, he glances down at a damning tape recorder between us and nods affirmatively. “I don’t want to get into trouble…”

Did Fassbender just confirm he'll be playing an android?  Probably.  Until we know for sure, let's just take comfort in the fact that this film seems to be coming together the right way.  It's had a long, but necessary development process, casting has taken forever which means the right actors are being chosen, and the film has a lenghty production and post-production time period.

Prometheus opens June 8th, 2012.

First Image from 'Rise of the Apes' Starring James Franco

"Rise of the Apes" is an origin story in the truest sense of the term. Set in present day San Francisco, the film is a reality-based cautionary tale, a science fiction/science fact blend, where man's own experiments with genetic engineering lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy.