Warner Brothers and Fox' Watchmen War Is Over

After much fanboy sweating and a great deal of negotiating, the convulted drama between Warner Brothers and Fox over the rights to 'The Watchmen' movie is finally over.

Full disclosure on the exact details of the settlement will not be forthcoming but it is believed that Fox recieved a large cash payment and will get a share of the box office, however they will not be a co-distributor and it will not have any ownership rights of the property from this point on.

Warner Brothers will now pursue producer Larry Gordon to reimburse the cost of the settlement, as he had not secured the rights properly before embarking on making the movie at the studio.

This news will come as a great relief to Watchmen fans that feared a delay of the movies release amid the battle between the two giant studios.

Everyone can now look forward to seeing 'The Watchmen' on March 6th in both regular cinemas and IMAX.

Soource: The Hollywood Reporter

New Trailer for Crank 2: High Voltage, Jolts Online!

IGN has posted the new trailer for upcoming Jason Statham ADD fest 'Crank 2 High Voltage', it is the implausible sequel to the equally implausible 'Crank'.

It looks even more crude and insane than the first, essentailly GTA in movie form but slightly more over the top, however it also looks fairly creative and while it certainly isn't for everyone, that creativity is to be applauded.

You can see the Trailer here

Crank 2 hits the big screen on April 17th

New Terminator Salvation Image

The Los Angeles Times has a new article up taking a look at Terminator Salvation and it's director McG's current promotion campaign, likening it to the one Jon Favreau embarked on with 'Iron Man'. Included in the article is the image above, I think it is very evocative of another James Cameron Sci/fi war movie 'Aliens'.

McG was a much ridiculed choice to direct the 4th installment in the classic sci/fi franchise but bought himself some time and faith when he cast fanboy favourite and highly respected actor Christian Bale as John Connor. From there through his candor and the quality of the footage shown he has seen the fanbase do a 180 on both him and the movie, here's hoping the movie can deliver on that new found faith when it opens on May 22nd.

*Special thanks to fceeviper of the SHH boards for bringing the pic and article to my attention.

Rob Cohen Takes To The High Seas For Modern Pirate Movie!

Rob Cohen has not had the best of runs lately, after his success in the early 2000's with 'The Fast and the Furious' and 'xXx' he has not really had a hit since, his summer 2005 offering 'Stealth' was a critical and commercial bomb, and last years 'Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor' failed to make it's budget back domestically but had a strong international run.

Well despite this /film is reporting via 'Production Weekly' that he has a new film in the pipeline, from a script by Tony Puryea called 'The Sea Artist'. It's a tale of modern pircacy and is apparently picking up good buzz. Personally I think this has potential, Ive liked a few of Cohen's movies (The Skulls, Daylight. The Fast & the Furious) and I am sure this will be in the action thriller mould, there hasn't been a modern pirate movie of any note so this is a fresh chance for Cohen.

No word on a start date or casting yet, or even what studio may pick it up, but Cohen gets his projects made so bank on seeing this one at some point.

Emily Blunt to play Black Widow In Iron Man 2 ?

She's the front runner for the role according to Variety, the English actress who starred in 'The Devil Wears Prada' and 'Charlie Wilson's War' heads the list of female hopefuls for the role of the Soviet spy Natasha Romanova AKA The Black Widow, in the much anticpated Iron Man Sequel.

In the comic books Romanova is a skilled sniper and martial aritst who has an advanced suit of weaponry, she has at times been a foe of top Marvel heroes as well as alligned with them, mainly the Avengers.

If Blunt lands the role she will most likely join comeback king Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell, along with original cast members Robert Downey Jr and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Iron Man 2 is set to start shooting this spring for a summer 2010 release.

Fast and Furious Trailer Screeches Online!

Yahoo Movies has debuted the full domestic trailer for Fast and Furious, the film reunites Vin Diesel and Paul Walker from the first movie. It starts out quite interestingly with a musicless foot chase that has a different feel to the gloss of the other movies, however it soon descends into cheesy dialogue and cars flipping and crashing everywhere, the end "Money shot" is an incredibly shonky piece of CGI. Ive gotta say it's a bit of a disappointment after the teaser, which made it look like a return to the dumb but fun with a bit of charm original.

See cars randomly fly all over the screen at the link below. Fast and Furious hits screens on April 3rd.

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809989992/video/11537903

Jackie Chan To Teach The Crane Kick!

Variety is reporting that Jackie Chan is in final negotiations to star in the remake of 80's classic ' The Karate Kid'. He will be playing the mentor role, although there is no confirmation in the article that the character will still be called Mr Miyagi, as played by the late Pat Moritia in the original.

The film has been developed as a star vehicle for Jayden Smith and is being produced by his father Will's production company 'Overbrook Entertainment'. Harald Zwart is set to direct, he has just finished up on 'The Pink Panther 2'.

I am not one that has been vocal about this remake as I don't feel it is amongst the real gems of the 80's like Back to the Future, Ghostbusters and Raiders of the Lost Ark, although many fans of the 80's are dismayed at the prospect. The addition of Chan in a role that saw Moritia garner an Oscar nomination and the fact it's being directed by a guy responsible for the truly horrendous looking 'Pink Panther 2,' is doing nothing to assuage their fears.

Will Smith To Go 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ?

Last Week it was announced that McG (Charlies Angels & Forthcoming Terminator Salvation) was set to direct  '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo', a remake of the Disney classic that starred Kirk Douglas and James Mason which was adapted from Jules Verne's novel of the same name.

This week McG has been out and about promoting Terminator Salvation and told Latino Review that he is eyeing none other than Big Will Smith to play Captain Nemo.

"The character Nemo in this film is more about obsession, he is obsessed and people tend to forget that when you become so obsessed you end up being the villain," ..... "Man I'm trying to get Will Smith to do it, been trying to get a hold of him. I've been wanting to work with him for a long time already. That guy's great."

I am sure Disney wont object to this casting idea, bringing on board the current biggest box office draw in the world is always a good business move, and after the misstep of 'Seven Pounds' Smith may just be looking for the kind of summer blockbuster hit that 20,000 Leagues can provide.

New Killshot Trailer!

Despite boasting a cast that includes Diane Lane, Thomas Jane, Joseph Gordon Levitt  and Mickey Rourke, John Madden's 'Killshot' has sat on the shelf for close to two and a half years. I suspect the sudden arrival of a new trailer is due in no small part to the fact Rourke is hot again on the back of his unanimously praised performance in Darren Arnorfsky's 'The Wrestler'. It is based on a novel by Elmore Leonard, previous books of his that have been adapted include 'Get Shorty' and 'Out of Sight'.

Synopsis:

A botched scam sends an old-school hitman (Rourke) and a young stick-up kid (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) on a mission to find and kill an innocent couple (Jane and Lane) in order to protect their identities.


The new trailer is more involved than the first and gives a better sense of the tone and especially of Levitt's character. I'm a big fan of this type of movie, and while it's nothing new, it does look stylishly made with an excellent cast.

The movie is set to begin a limited release on January 23rd, you can check out the trailer at the links below.

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1505755929/

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=V5A5QSJPkyg

Rourke Wrestles Away A Golden Globe!

Source: goldenglobes.org

The amazing comeback of 80's icon Mickey Rourke continued tonight as he took home the Golden Globe for 'Best performance by an actor in a motion picture - drama' for his raw and critically acclaimed role as Randy 'The Ram' Robinson in Darren Arnorsky's 'The Wrestler'. It's another step on the road to that Oscar for the grizzled hellraiser on his comeback trail!

The big winner of the night was 'Slumdog Millionaire', the Danny Boyle directed feel good drama took home 4 Globes including 'Best director' and 'Best motion picture - Drama'.

It was a good evening for British luvie Kate Winslet as well, she scooped two acting awards, one for 'Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama' for her role in hubby Sam Mendes 'Revolutionary Road', and one for 'Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture' for her role in 'The Reader'.

The late Heath Ledger won 'Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture' for his screen searing performance as The Joker in 2008's biggest movie 'The Dark Knight'.

For a full list of the winners check this Link