What kind of Spidey will we be getting?

The Spiderman Reboot. By now, we all know its going to happen. We know, by name, the director and his suggested route in which to take our beloved friendly neighborhood wall crawler’s movie franchise. Highschool. Teenage angst. Love triangles. Oh, what a tangled web we weave. Sorry, is that too cliché?

We’ve heard descriptive phrases like “new direction” and “gritty” that, for some of us at least, tear at our hearts a little. Now, I’m all in agreement to steer away from the derailed train that was Spiderman 3. There were so many loosely tethered ties from character origins to the sanctity of already established supporting characters, that they couldn’t even hold for the hour that Spidey’s webbing could suspend a pumpkin bomb. Poor casting. Poor story. Yada yada yada, but I digress. Leaving all of that behind, Raimi did serve up some decent mythos in the first film. I’m not going to get misty eyed over it, by any means, but he did establish the web head with an accurate origin story. What? Organic web shooters you say? Will you guys never stop? Seriously. Stop.

So, exactly to what extent will this new direction be taking us? Message boards across the world wide web,..hehe…web…have offered up multiple suggestions of what the viewers do NOT want to see. I’m going to touch on only one of those.

One lonely blogger suggested that Paramore create the soundtrack for the movie, and the plot be centered around Mary Jane Watson, the vivaciously attractive redhead that moves to a new school and quickly finds herself enamored with the mysterious Peter Parker. Before any of you start foaming at the mouth, I’m sure Sony isn’t going to have Peter Parker revealing to Mary Jane in the middle of the woods that he’s Spiderman, but with the success of the Twilight saga so far, studios are definitely going to give notice to the potential that such a take on a character could exploit.

With that said, we have to consider the fact that this character was created in 1962. 1962! That means that Spiderman, by way of his original story, has already lasted longer than most of us readers have been alive. Myself included. If anyone approached a studio today with a story about a kid that gets bitten by a spider and inherits its genetic powers, that person, at best, would be offered a slot on the ScyFy Channel between syndicated episodes of Battlestar Galactica and Mutant X.

Yep, Spidey has survived the test of time, which is also a catalyst in this potential cluster. Could it be that Sony’s feeling the urge to dump out a few more box office hits based on the character name alone before their rights to the franchise are taken from them by the recent purchase of Marvel Comics by Disney? You bet your webbed arm pits they are. Just like making that pit stop after Thanksgiving lunch. You could care less about how it comes out. As long as you’re good to indulge again at Granny’s house that night.

Call it pride. Call it a need to feel I’ve added to the world, but if I’m about to make my last stab at creating something with a timeless classic, I’m making something that not only I’ll be proud of, but that the fans are going to love as well. So, keep your chairs locked in their upright positions, or don’t, and hold on, because we’re going to embark on a lengthy and bumpy ride of what could be.

The budget for this film has already been reportedly set at $80 million. That’s 10 million more than the original budget for Sam Raimi’s Spiderman in 2002, which ended up crossing the $100 million mark due to the unforeseen costs of the effects needed to create Raimi’s vision of Spiderman’s aerial stunts. Keeping that little tid bit of knowledge way, way in the back of our minds, let’s assume that we already know this film will never be made for $80 million and argue the fact that for the turn around the executives will get off of the newly designed franchise in merchandizing alone will support the extra cash needed to create a quality film.

I won’t dwell on the age old argument of casting. Instead, I’ll throw out a few names for key characters that, while I wouldn’t mind seeing them in the respective roles, I wouldn’t be devastated and swear off the film if they weren't cast either.

Spiderman: Zac Efron

Yes, its already been rumored. And given the fact that this may carry on into the hands of Disney, the High School Musical star would make perfect sense to play the part. Beyond that, however, there is a certain amount of genius to his acting. Take his role in 17 Again, channeling the mouthy Matthew Perry as a youngster, spouting off insults of inadequate wiener size to the film’s own version of Flash Thompson. Pretty boy or not, he’s got acting chops as far as I’m concerned. Parker does transform from nerd to respectable model student after the spider bite, by the way. 

Mary Jane : Emma Stone

This pick I feel a little more strongly about. As of yet, she hasn't had very many roles, but she's done astonishingly well in what I've seen. She's got the firey attitude. The sultry look...on some occasions. If you're not familiar with her, check her out as Jules in Superbad opposite Jona Hill. Just makes sure your kids are wearing ear muffs.

Norman Osborn: Hugh Laurie

Hugh hasn't done an extensive amount of film work, but his reprising role as the title character of Fox's (and Brian Singer's) House speaks volumes for his ability to act. For that matter, his mannerisms, albeit a little overkill, would go in stride with Norman's better than thou approach to the world. 

We’ll leave casting at that for now and settle in on costume design. The costume from Raimi’s first flick was good, in my opinion. It went down hill from there with the added foam muscle that squished under the fingers of the guy that held the unmasked Spiderman from falling off the train track in Spiderman 2.

Imagine, if you will, that you’re a teenage boy with very little money and even less sewing skills. Of course, we have to stay with the original design but perhaps a much more primitive approach than the raised webbing of yesterday’s costumes. That’s so last decade.

I’d propose slightly more than makeshift suits. A mixture between Alex Ross and Todd Mcfarlance’s creations, complete with oversized eyes outlined in black and the webbing under the arms for Spidey and a rubber mask for Green Goblin. Oh, and if that’s not enough to get the pitchforks in hand, Peter should make his webshooters. I always thought that demonstrated his genius as a scientist. Believe me, web fluid is not easy to make. And don't ever get it in your eyes. It burns. Again, costume design is almost equally as volatile a subject as casting, so we’ll quickly be moving on before any of you have a chance to light the torches and storm the castle.

The story is the real importance of any great film. I’m not going to say it…I’m not going to say it…okay, I’ll say it. The Dark Knight was what it was for multiple reasons, but most importantly was the great, dynamic story it told. You have to maintain a good flow throughout the movie, while balancing several arcs that fit together well in the third act if not at the end of the film. As with most superhero flicks of recent, we’ll base this first movie as it would be the first of an intertwined trilogy.

Start with some action. We all know how Peter Parker became Spiderman. Use a lesser villain in a chase scene. Maybe Spiderman, talking to himself, sums up the origin story in a comedic way, while dodging debris being thrown at him from the villain. The villain endangers enough citizen to occupy Spidey long enough for an escape and Spidey carries on and ends up at school, which shows us how well he balances the chaos of his life. School life is much the same as it was before the spider bite, but a few girls are starting to take notice of Peter, which causes the already harassing Flash to be even more antagonistic.

Peter and Harry are inseparable friends both in and out of school in the beginning, but Harry's more socially accepted due to his family's money and he starts ditching Peter in order to fit in better. To stay in line with what Marc Webb is apparently wanting to do, Peter can become close friends with Gwen, his associate at Empire State University where he serves his internship, while pinting over Mary Jane. Gwen starts to fall for Peter, who's oblivious of course. Peter does eventually fall hard for Gwen, but that just sets up her death in the second film. Yeah, I said it. This should all take a back seat to the fact, though, that, as Peter Parker, Spiderman learns from Harry that a series of break ins have been occurring at Oscorp at the exact same time that Spideman is facing off against the lesser villains. The villains could be borrowed from the Ultimate series. The Enforcers. Rhino...etc. Spidey confirms his suspicion that his run ins are mere distractions from a bigger crime by swiping...er...borrowing video evidence from the police department. Maybe even have him point out some helpful info to Captain Stacey to start building that relationship.

Life at the Daily Bugle would, of course, be centered around the antics of Jameson. He's always good for a few laughs, but its really not necessary to camp it up they way they've done in the past. Jameson, while making snide remarks, has a soft spot for Peter and uses him whenever he can to cover events unrelated to Spiderman. Or so he thinks. Peter can use those opportunities to help his efforts as Spiderman. We could throw in a couple of Easter eggs here, too. Like Eddie Brock, the guy Peter says is a pretty good guy, but he talks about his dad too much. 

I'd like to see Spiderman going on his nightly patrols. Doing a little investigating here and there. Tracking down some bad guys. There was a great couple of pages in one of McFarlane's books where Spidey has a mugger suspended face down between two buildings in an alley way by webbing on his feet and finger tips. Spiderman is perched on the guy's back, getting him to confess to the mugging while belittling the guy with sarcastic remarks. Instead of focusing on how hard it is to find that line of where Peter Parker ends and Spiderman begins, have him actually enjoy the escape that his powers allows him. You know? Let him take a nap in a web over the city or eat a snack while he's hanging upside down.

Back to the plot. I think maybe a good angle would be to treat the reoccurring thefts to both Oscorp and its competitors as a mystery to the audience as well. Don't reveal the Goblin's identity before hand and make Osborn so believable as a victim that, although we know in the end that he is the Green Goblin, we almost start to side with him and wonder if a new direction is being pursued. Limit the Goblin's screen time in the first half of the film and touch on a few supporting characters by having Spiderman deal with them before they take on their super villain personae. This serves as your action sequences and helps to both develop those characters for later use and to build suspense toward the real threat. 

I say we leave the masks on. No one should be learning anyone’s true identity in the first film, although, as an objective spectator, MJ may have her suspicions about why Peter is continuously running off.

In the end, Spiderman does defeat the Green Goblin and thwarts whatever master plan he had hatched, but the body of the Goblin is never found. See? We don’t have to always kill off our villains. Sometimes we need them to come back and play hell with our hero’s emotions by killing his girlfriend.

I know I got a little long winded and very opinionated, but I hope that enough articles like this surface between now and the time production starts to raise a few eyebrows and maybe, just maybe, make the big guys think twice.

First Images From 'The Smurfs'

UGO has gotten their hands on the first image from "The Smurfs" film. See below.

'The Shadow' Script Review & Director Update

Below is an exerpt from "The Shadow" script review. Head over to IESB to find out more about the script and some news on Sam Raimi entering the picture as director.

The script was written by Siavash Farahanl, and what I had in my virtual hand was the 2nd draft dated 8/01/09. From what I can gather from some quick research, this is a debut script by Farahanl, but he did take on director duties on a project titled "Ingenue" in 1999. From page one you are thrown into a dark and gloomy version of New York City, as a girl in her twenties contemplates suicide teetering on the beams of the Brooklyn Bridge. This is the readers first look at Margo Lane. The name certainly caught my attention, a hybrid of Margot Kidder & Lois Lane I thought to myself, not realize that the character of Margo Lane made her first appearance in 1937. Before there was a Lois Lane. The young suicidal girl is hesitant and ends up loosing her balance falling fast off the bridge, only to be caught by a laughing "Shadow" who gives her a second a chance at life. "The Shadow" who knows a little too much about her sad past, propositions her with a new life which later leads to money and heart thumping adventure as an agent working under his umbrella.

Let me just say Margo Lane and The Shadow are characters you care about, Farahanl plays up the mystery of The Shadow against the vulnerability and naivety of Margo Lane, and they remained connected even though their storylines criss-cross throughout the script. Although the possible film could be looked as an ensemble piece because of the plethora of characters, these two characters are the backbone of the script. You never get sick of The Shadow's viewpoint on the world around him and his role as the ultimate anti-hero. He's menacing, he can break bones with his bare hands, and mow down an entire room of thugs with his Colt 45's. Margo Lane is that fish out of water that you grow with. She goes from a helpless lost soul to a empowered heroine because she has to. Being thrust into a word of murder and mayhem would force anybody to learn the way of the gun and you really believe in her character development. 

Is Zac Efron Our New Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man?

That's the latest rumor flying around anyhow. Brendon Connelly over at Slashfilm is reporting on a UK tabloid, OK, that has apparently broken the news that the next Wall Crawler is none other than High School Musical heart throb, Zac Efron. 

For the moment this should be taken with even less than a grain of salt. The OK article is reporting that Vanessa Hudgens may come along to play Mary Jane and that Efron's paycheck will be one eighth of the film's entire budget. Odds are this is the first of many ridiculous rumors that are bound to be circulating over what is now the most coveted role in Hollywood.

Still, you know the old saying, "every lie contains some truth,"?  Could OK have gotten this one right and if so how do you feel about it? Sound off in the feedback section and let us know what you think.

A Look Back at the Spider-Man Franchise

The following article is an editorial. It doesn't reflect the views of TMT, the staff, or anyone else other than it's author, Eric Sopko.

I don’t know if you have heard, but Spider-Man is getting the boot! Reboot that is. Debate is raging across the internet and the Spider-Man fan base about the direction this franchise is currently taking. However, I don’t want to focus on the future right now. I want to take some time and reflect upon this franchise’s past!

In order to fully understand my feelings on this situation, we have to go back many years. Even before I was born. The Salkinds over at Warner Bros. were looking for a new franchise to bring them boat loads of cash. They turned to an untapped resource: comic books. Namely The Man of Steel himself, Superman. Eventually, Richard Donner was brought in to film 2 back to back Superman films. Donner faced many challenges in bringing the Man of Steel to life, the most basic of those being how to make him fly. He spent more money than the studio anticipated, and eventually was not even on talking terms with the Salkinds.But, the end result was a phenomenon known as Superman: The Movie. Superman: The Movie was the beginning of the modern comic book film, and many future comic book films would rinse and repeat the 3 act formula utilized by Donner. The film was a smash hit, and Christopher Reeve became a household name. However, despite Richard Donner’s success in bringing Superman to life, and having a sequel 75% finished, the Salkinds would give him the axe, and replace him with Richard Lester, whom was brought in late as a mediator of sorts between Donner and the Salkinds. As I move forward with my history lesson, keep Donner’s story in mind.

Let’s fast forward to 1985. Outside of Superman, comic book films have yet to be really tested in the film industry. Superman III disappointed at the box office, so major film companies were still weary of the genre. Enter producer Menahem Golan of the notoriously low budget Canon films. Golan bought the rights from Marvel for Spider-Man, and tried desperately to bring Spider-Man to the silver screen. Despite his best efforts, Golan couldn’t get financial backing for the film.

Golan ended up selling the TV rights to Viacom in an effort to get his money back for the unused scripts for the previous Spider-Man film projects. He then sold the film rights to Carolco films, whom had made James Cameron’s hit The Terminator. This was a connection Carolco tried to utilize once again, as they commissioned James Cameron to write the now infamous script which featured things such as Peter cursing and having sex with Mary Jane on a bridge. Despite these story points, all the wheels were in motion to bring Spider-Man to the big screen!

Then came trouble. In 1993, Golan spoke out about his anger at Carolco trying to cut him out of the film’s production the best way businessmen know how: sue! Carolco responded the best way they knew how: counter sue! Pretty soon, Carolco was suing Viacom and Columbia Pictures, Viacom and Columbia Pictures were suing Golan, Carolco, and Marvel, and on and on the circle of paperwork would go. Marvel would file for bankruptcy in the midst of all this bureaucracy.

However, Marvel would rise from the ashes! In 1998, the original deal with Golan was ruled to have expired, so Marvel got the rights back to their most popular hero. They promptly would sell them to Sony, whom still has their grimy hands on the film rights. Director Sam Raimi, most known at the time for the cult classic Evil Dead franchise, would be brought in to adapt our friendly neighborhood wall crawler to the big screen. Tobey Maguire was cast as the beloved Peter Parker, and Kirsten Dunst was cast to play the beautiful Mary Jane Watson, though that bit of casting has been questioned ever since she landed the role.

Production was hard, effects took longer than expected, and the release date was pushed back from Christmas of 2001 to May 2002. This move would turn out to be a good deal for the wall crawler opening weekend.

I still remember May 3^rd of 2002. I skipped school that day in order to suck in the moment my childhood hero came to life. I had my tickets a month in advance, my mother took me shopping for Spider-Man action figures in honor of the occasion at the above Toys’ R’ Us, and I got in line a full hour early. The entire city of New York was sold out for the weekend on the first day of the films release, and my anticipation for the film couldn’t have been greater. Watching the 9:00 showing was probably the greatest theater going experience of my young life.

Now, the film wasn’t perfect, by any means. The CGI is dated by today’s standards, it basically recycles the formula of Superman: The Movie, the Green Gobin looks stupid, and after the Green Goblin kills the board members of Oscorp, I still have no idea what he meant by wanting power. What kind of power do you mean? But, the film got the heart of Spider-Man: with great power comes great responsibility. The origin was perfectly done, Maguire and Dafoe were amazing, JK Simmons owned J. Jonah Jameson, and Elfman’s score was haunting at times. Despite some problems, this was a solid Spider-Man film. I couldn’t wait for the sequel!

After the record breaking success of the first film, Spider-Man 2 hit theaters 2 years later. Now, this time, I made it to the theater an hour early, but was at the back of the line and had to sit in the front row! I had to move my head around to see all the things on the screen! Despite my discomfort, the film that I saw that day remains one of my favorite films of all-time, if not my favorite. Where Spider-Man was weak, Spider-Man 2 was strong. Where Spider-Man was strong, Spider-Man 2 was stronger! The effects were groundbreaking, resulting in an Oscar for the visual effects department. Alfred Molina was perfect as Doc Ock, right down to Ock’s dark sense of humor. But, what made this train run above all was the story. Watching Peter Parker grow in this film was a treat. From him losing his powers and letting go of this burden he put upon himself, to the moment he realizes that he can’t sacrifice his responsibilities in order to achieve his main goal, Spider-Man 2 was poetry in motion. The moment where the subway car riders pull an unconscious Peter Parker into the subway car after saving them from certain death is still one of the most haunting moments for me in film. This film was another smash hit, and Spider-Man was once again on top of the world!

Here is where the story starts to go downhill. Naturally, Spider-Man 3 was put into production. Sam Raimi decided to return, but with the Green Goblin and Doc Ock already used, where would they turn to for a villain? Sam Raimi had set up Harry to be a villain at the end of Spider-Man 2, so he was a natural pick. Raimi would also add classic Spider-Man villains Vulture and Sandman into the script with the focus on a storyline about forgiveness.

Sony wasn’t convinced this was a good follow up. The producers wanted Raimi to use the popular Spider-Man villain, Venom. Raimi didn’t want to use Venom due to being a fan of the Stan Lee era on Spider-Man, and not really understanding Venom. Never-the-less, the studio would get its way, and Venom replaced the Vulture in the script. Harry and Sandman were kept. Now, Vulture is a much simpler villain to explain than Venom, so adding Venom was no easy task. You have to cover the black suit before you can even talk about Venom, and that is practically a movie into itself. Then the studio asked for the Stacys to be added to the film to make it even MORE convoluted! The idea of doing this over two films was tossed around, but with no one under contract past Spider-Man 3, that really wasn’t a realistic possibility.

Spider-Man 3 would be one of the most hyped films of all-time. It would also become one of the biggest let down in blockbuster history. While Spider-Man 3 made over $900 million at the box office, the film would be met with mediocre, at best, reception. Spider-Man 3 continues to be the subject of much debate on various internet sites, and much of the fan backlash landed upon the shoulders of Sam Raimi, whom was once a god amongst the fanboy nation.

I personally don’t think Spider-Man 3 was bad. I thought it was very flawed, but still good. The effects are sketchy at points, but it also has great moments like the Birth of the Sandman. Elfman’s score is definitely stronger than Christopher Young’s effort, though I think his score was decent. In fact, I like a lot of the Sandman and Harry stuff. But, the story is definitely the culprit on this movie failing to meet the standards of the first 2 films of the series, and all the story problems stem from one subplot: Venom. The black suit doesn’t mesh in with the story well. The meteor randomly falls into the park Peter and MJ happen to be in? Sandman killed Ben and Peter is now full of hate? Not to mention Brock is in a very small number of scenes, which makes it hard to feel anything for him as he is ruined by Peter. He’s just kind of there. Also, the Butler knew about Norman! But despite all these interlocking plots, the film manages to reach some level of cohesion, and I feel it has enough of Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 in it to make it a decent movie. I know I am in the minority on this, don’t remind me. I’ve been fighting this battle for nearly 3 years!

Now that Spider-Man 3 was out, Sony still had 3 films to make under the current contract. Which brought about the question: Where do we go from here? Sony decided initially to bring Sam Raimi and co. back for a 4^th film. He was also supposed to have been promised more freedom on this film. Now we’ll get a proper ending to his Spider-Man films. Spider-Man 3 won’t be his lasting legacy on the series I have adored and waited to see for many years before that faithful day in 2002!

Unfortunately, fate is not always so kind to us. Raimi and Sony were apparently fighting for control through most of the production on Spider-Man 4. Raimi wanted to use the Vulture, as played by John Malkovich. The studio apparently wanted to turn the character Felicia Hardy into a new villain called the Vulturess, likely to replace the unhappy Dunst and provide more action due to a lack of confidence in Vulture as a prime villain. Many rumors have long since been reported. That there was a kid involved in the film; Vulture was maybe killed by Spider-Man, Peter quits, etc. We don’t know what all happened, but whatever happened we know one thing: it was a mess. After much turmoil with the producers. After 3 successful films that grossed billions of dollars worldwide. After over 10 years of working on the character, Sam Raimi walked away from Spider-Man.

This whole matter brings me back to Donner’s situation once again. Superman: the Movie was a great film, but a personally frustrating one for me as a fan. The film is almost perfect, until the turning back the Earth ending. The film then becomes incredibly confusing on the logic behind it and how it exactly worked, and is a bad lasting effect on a film that had me truly believing a man could fly. Instead of making up for the lame ending, Donner got the boot from a film he almost finished. Sure in 2006, we got a DVD release of Donner’s footage into a new, and if you ask me far superior, cut for Superman II, but it isn’t the same. That film feels incomplete due to not having a new ending made by Donner. I can see his Superman II and only imagine the possibilities had Donner got to finish his work.

I look at Spider-Man 4 in the same way. Raimi had a vision, and just when I felt a proper ending to his Spider-Man series could have finally been made after years of fighting over Spider-Man 3, I am left with that same bitter taste Donner’s Superman II leaves in my mouth. That feeling of unfinished business. That feeling of a story left on the cutting room floor.

Now, before I get accused of condemning the reboot, I don’t want the reboot to fail. I hope Marc Webb brings us something truly incredible. I have been a Spider-Man fan for as long as I can remember, and I always will be. I would never hope for the demise of my favorite character just to vindicate a man I like. I hope Webb brings me that joy I felt in 2002 once again.

That is not the focal point of this piece, however. I just wanted to bring back the good times I had watching this franchise develop over the Raimi’s run, and maybe show all the people who have condemned Raimi post-Spider-Man 3 that there was a time before that when we could look at this series, and be proud of having the best comic book franchise in all of comicdom.

Lastly, I also want to thank Sam Raimi. Mr. Raimi, thank you for all your hardwork these past years. You gave me a theatrical experience I will never forget, and made what will probably be my favorite film for many years to come. No matter what the Raimi haters say, and no matter how this reboot turns out, either good or bad, I will always be able to look at these films, and smile. You at least made one Spider-Man fan happy.

Captain America Auditions

 

                                                      It has been a lenghty absence for me. But, it feels good to be back at TMT. For my re-debut, I've been juggling over what to write an article about. Each day brings us new news items on projects of various interest. In deciding, I went with a great lovbe of mine, and many of our loyal TMT readers. Superhero movies. I will focus on one movie in particular which is getting underway as I write this article. Captain America! As I am sure our eagle-eyed readers have deduced by now, thanks to the picture accompanying this article.

Thanks to Twitter, and love it, hate it, or don't give a rats patoot, it gets us information out fast, we know that Captain America auditions are currently going on. Thank you Rick Malambri. Because of Mr Malambri's tweet, which was subsequently deleted it tells us a couple of thngs. One, that the aforementioned Captain America auditions are underway, and secondly that Joe Johnston, the man who will helm The First Avenger as it will be called is searching far and wide for the right man to wield the star-spangled shield, and inevitably lead The Avengers. In laymans terms, he wont just be picking from a select group of marketable names.

While  it was initially Mr Malambri who set the geek world ablaze, there have been a couple others, who've voiced their desire to portray the good Captain. One notably, is Robert Buckley. His name might not seem familiar, but you likely have seen his face before. He's been on several tV shows, including One Tree Hill, Priveleged, and Lipstick Jungle.

Could he be our Steve Rogers?

He's a good actor from what I have seen, possesses that handsome look our superheroes need, and is already in "Captain America" shape, as any google search will clearly show you. Best of all, he is one of us. A comic geek. How could you not root for a man who not only wants to be Captain America, looks the part, and has read Watchmen and Fables?

I think I've found my Captain  America.  So, what do you think true believers? Now, let the universe howl in despair for I have returned! (Kudos to any who realize where I stole that last line from. For those interested, my next article will be about a certain Avian Avenegr that none but me seem to take all too seriously.

Looking forward to some comments, and I'll be writing agin very soon.  Hope to entertain and hopefully bring some exclusive new salong the way.

"The Losers" Trailer

I've never read the books but the impression this entertaining trailer gives me is that of "What if Tarantino made The A Team!?" The action is over the top, the grimy feel of the trailer is a bit on the grindhouse/exploitation vibe side, and oh.....Zoe Saldana looks very nice.

It looks like your standard story of a betrayed team of special forces guys who get a shot at covert redemption through a government agent, that just happens to need their particular brand of skills and who is also hot so she can have a fling with the leader of the team.

Interesting side note, this movie is directed by the guy (Sylvain White) that did "Stomp the Yard"...Just goes to show, never judge a director by his cheesy teen dance movie!

It opens April 9th so it's aiming for that "Fast and the Furious" Pre-summer blockbuster money, and if the film lives up to the trailer it will get it.

No More Sal?

Bad news for Mad Men fans hoping (or at least assuming) that formerly disgraced art director Sal Romano would be joining the new Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce ad agency next season.  TV Guide is reporting that Bryan Batt will not be returning to the series. 

Batt, whose character was uncermoniously fired by Don Draper last season after being outed by a client, tells TV Guide he was supposed to hear by December 31 if Sal would be returning to the show.  So far he hasn't heard anything.

Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner confirms that Batt will not be back, saying "We don't murder people on our show, but there have to be consequences," calling Sal's departure from Sterling Cooper as "the ultimate case of sexual harrassment."

It certainly seems that way.  Despite Don Draper's mounting list of lies and infidelities, we're somehow always willing to forgive him his shortcomings (seriously, is anyone rooting for Betty in the divorce?).  But his firing of Sal was one of the ugliest moments in the series.  We knew Don was on to Sal's secret, but we weren't expecting him to turn on Sal the way he did.

This is definitely disappointing news.  Bryan Batt was terrific in the role, and with the brilliant Sterling Cooper mutiny that ended Season 3, all signs certainly seemed to point to Sal returning as the new agency's art director.  Alas, it doesn't seem to be happening.  Damn you, 1960s discrimination!

At least Mad Men fans can still look forward to Jon Hamm's second SNL hosting gig this weekend.

Mel Gibson to reunite with Shane Black on "Cold Warrior"

 Mel Gibson is about to blast back onto screens this week with "Edge of Darkness, a revenge thriller with political elements, it's a return to badass form for Gibson according to most reports and he is already lining up his next action outing, teaming up with "Lethal Weapon" scribe Shane Black, Variety has the details.

Mel Gibson is in talks to star in Universal Pictures' spy thriller "Cold Warrior."

Project reunites Gibson with "Lethal Weapon" scribe Shane Black, who is helming.

Based on a script by Chuck Mondry, pic centers on a spy from the Cold War era who comes out of retirement to team with a younger agent from the new school to confront a domestic terrorism threat orchestrated by Russia.

Pic will be produced by Michelle Manning ("The Eye"). David Greenblatt and Anthony Bagarozzi are also producing.Gibson has been absent from the bigscreen ever since his 2006 drunken-driving arrest, when he reportedly made anti-Semitic remarks. In the ensuing years, Hollywood's majors have been reluctant to cast the actor in a starring role, and Gibson has instead signed on to a number of independently financed projects, including "Edge of Darkness," which opens Friday. He recently completed production on Jodie Foster's "Beaver."

"Cold Warrior" marks the actor's return to toplining a studio-backed project.

Gibson will begin shooting in March the indie action drama "How I Spent My Summer Vacation," based on a screenplay he penned. He told Daily Variety that he is hoping to segue to "Cold Warrior" in June. Gibson also recently committed to direct Leonardo DiCaprio in a pic about Viking culture to be financed by GK Films. That pic has no start date.

I recall this one being announced quite a while back but I figured like many projects it had hit a wall, great to see it revived,  Gibson is an ideal choice for this role and hopefully they cast the young agent with Mel's age in mind, Gibson is looking very craggy these days so they don't need to cast someone who looks straight out of college, I'd go for Ryan Reynolds or Jake Gyllenhaal.

On the directing front I am glad to see Black back in the directors chair as I loved "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" and despite the fact he will be working from someone else's script I am sure he will have given the dialgue a once over given the buddy buddy dynamics of the concept.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps - Teaser Trailer

When this belated sequel was announced I was firmly in the "Why bother?" camp, granted the current financial climate gives it a good backdrop but still, I wasn't feeling it.

Fast forward to today and the trailer drops, I find myself doing a 180, Gordon Gekko as a fish out of water when he is released from prison looks like great fun and as the trailer picks up pace it reveals what looks to be a slick thriller, although younger fans may be annoyed with the lack of Shia in the trailer, however my main concern is that Shia's character is not just a rehash of Charlie Sheen's.

Of course this could just be a case of a really well cut trailer, fusing Gekko's story with a thriller st in the intoxicating high powered, high living glamour world of Wall street is a potent mix, but for now I am won over.

"Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" Open on April 23rd and you can check the trailer out below.