So Mickey Rourke Isn't Going To Be in Iron Man 2 After All?

What the Hell is going on with Iron Man 2?

First they replaced Terrence Howard with Don Cheadle in the role of Jim "War Machine" Rhodes.

Then we stop all negotiations with Samuel L. Jackson to appear as Nick Fury again (which said deal would presumably include other Marvel Film properties like The Avengers and what not) and just last week it's looking like Emily Blunt will have to bow out as the Black Widow for the highly-anticipated sequel.

And it appears there is yet another casualty.

Speaking to New York Magazine, Mickey Rourke (who has been "in talks" to join the cast as one of the film's villains) very plainly stated, "Right now, we're not doing Iron Man 2."

Why do I get the feeling Iron Man 2 will ultimately get pushed back later into next summer?

I say that because the sequel was originally supposed to commence production around the late March/early April period. But now it's said to have no start date.

Rodriguez Readies Nerverackers

The man clearly has the talent to pull it off. So it's odd to think that Robert Rodriguez has yet to helm a $100 million+ production for one of the big studios like 20th Century Fox or Warner Brothers - well Grindhouse came pretty close.

Granted, there were periods where the Sin City and Spy Kids director was indeed supposed to.

If you'll remember, he was signed up for John Carter of Mars for Paramount (which is now set up over at Disney for Wall-E's Andrew Stanton) and a remake of Barbarella for Universal.

In the mean time, Rodriguez is going back to Dimension (where most of his films were produced) with Nerverackers - which according to Variety is a "futuristic thriller centering on a character named Joe Tezca who is part of an elite unit dispatched to quell a crime wave in a theoretically perfect future society."

The studio has already set up an April 16, 2010 release which is far from un-doable considering Rodriguez's reputation for wearing multiple hats during production and his ability to work fast.

More Actors Joining The Expendables

Damn. In just under 24 hours, two of the "big-cheese" film-news sites have received exclusive updates on Sylvester Stallone's action-epic The Expendables - a film that is sounding more and more badass by the day.

Aint-It-Cool-News got a tip that Arnold Schwarzenegger will appear in a cameo in Stallone's film as....*you guessed it!* Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Word also came down that Eric Roberts has replaced Sir Ben Kingsley (much to many people's delight!) And after reports of being "in talks," Come-back King (and possible "Best Actor" Oscar winner) Mickey Rourke has in fact signed up to join the cast.

Meanwhile, the good folks over at Latino Review inform us that Danny "Machete" Trejo has also just joined the cast.

Even though they're coming out a year apart and are quiet different films, I can't help but think people are going to start comparing The Expendables to Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds.

TMT'S Movie Moan: Episode 5

On this week's show, Phil and Jamie discuss Christopher Nolan directing his sci-fi action thriller Inception next and what this means for Batman III. Also on docket is the rumor of a Wachowski-helmed Superman trilogy - Jamie's not buying it and Phil just doesn't care anymore (i.e. he just wants to see another Superman film released, dammit!)

Our hosts also dive into the latest casting rumors for The Flash, newly-released trailers for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Inglorious Basterds, The Taking of Pelham 1, 2, 3 and Angels & Demons, and whether or not Quentin Tarantino will be able to win back audiences after Death Proof with his WWII epic.

Jamie does his George Lucas impression - much to Phil's shock and delight. Meanwhile, Phil can't help but bring up his love for all things related to Akiva Goldsman, and much more.

So please join us for this week's latest edition of Movie Moan. And remember, next week is our "Oscar Prediction Edition" where our hosts will prove how right (or, more likley wrong) they'll call this year's Academy Awards ceremony!

TMT's Movie Moan: Episode 5

Nottingham now called Robin Hood

Ridley Scott has been talking to the 'MTV Movies Blog' and has revealed that the once red hot spec script for 'Nottingham' that caused such a bidding war with it's fresh take on the Sherwood legend with Nottingham as more of a good guy detective than evil lawman, is now simply gonna be called 'Robin Hood'.

"Nottingham" has now officially been renamed to reflect its lead character. "Oh yes, I think we are just going to call it 'Robin Hood'," Scott revealed. "We start in almost 2 months."

In an attempt to clarify all the confusion from a few months ago about Russell Crowe playing multiple roles, Scott was eager to say that he had changed his mind, and that Crowe will simply portray the famed archer who rises from an unlikely background. "Robin Hood is in the army of Richard Coeur de Lion," he said of how we'll find the character early in the film "He is a bowman in the army of Richard Coeur de Lion."

"[Crowe as both Robin and the Sheriff of Nottingham] was an idea so far back, way back when at the time I had this proposed to me, and I read it and thought, 'I don't really know what it does for it, but it's alright'," Scott recalled of the now-abandoned idea. "It is better to simply have the evolution of a character called Robin Hood, who will come out of a point in the Crusades which is the end."

So essentially it's just going to be yet another Robin Hood movie, I actually thought that the revisionist take the original Nottingham spec brought to the table was pretty exciting, the idea of a detective in Sherwood forest and Robin as more of a shady character than usual, now granted a straight Ridley Scott Robin Hood movie sounds way better than that nonsense of Crowe playing both roles, but still, this is all a little underwhelming.

In the interview Ridely also talks about two other projects he has lined up post 'Robin Hood', they are a Gucci biopic and the infinitely more interesting sounding than either of the above, Child 44.

Jonny Quest Moving Forward

You gotta hand it over to IESB - they can certainly get their hands on scoops.

Awhile back, Warner Brothers pegged Dan Mazeau for screenwriting duties on Jonny Quest - the live action feature-length adaptation of the 1960s Hanna Barbera animated-series.

So impressed with his script was the studio that they had hoped to fast-track the project for Summer 2009 last year. That, and of course they've subsequently hired Mazeau to write The Flash for them in the mean time.

Things are definitely moving forward on the project with current teen-idol (for the moment, at least) Zac Efron pegged to portray the title character (whose age is said to have been bumped up from 12 years old to 18 to better suit the actor) and Dwayne Johnson set to play Race Bannon - the government agent assigned to protect Quest.

The studio is also eyeing Andy Fickman to direct - whose no stranger to Johnson having directed him in The Game Plan and the upcoming remake of Escape From Witch Mountain.

For me, Efron's a question-mark only because he's yet to headline a successful film on his own, and it's always a risk putting a $100 million production on the shoulders on a yet-proven actor. We'll see how his forthcoming "body-swap" comedy 17 Again performs.

On the other hand, Johnson has had quiet the comeback starting with the above-mentioned Game Plan and last summer's Get Smart. Hell, Escape From Witch Mountain looks to be a big money-maker as well - honestly wouldn't be surprised if it kicks Watchmen's ass at the box-office.

As long as this doesn't turn out to be another Speed Racer, they should be fine.

A good look at The Fallen!!!

Over the weekend our very own Brett posted the bootleg 'Transformers Revenge of the Fallen' trailer, and today the HQ version came online (you can check it out below.

Now in amongst all of the insane robot carnage, stunning SFX and slick transformations is our first look at the big bad of the title, The Fallen! I thought the design looked good in toy form but he looks simply awesome rendered in the movie, check out the cap below, this is gonna be epic!

'Wall-E' singer pulls out of this year's Oscars

 

One of the pet peeves that many of us avid Oscar viewers have had each year when watching the telecast is the displeasure of having to sit through the five nominees for 'best original song' performing each one live, taking a massive 20-25 minute chunk out of an already overlong show.  All of this to honour songs whose only contribution to the film, in most cases, is making sure the end credits don't play in silence.........and to sell a few soundtrack albums.

Because I believe that the Oscars is a television show first and an awards show second, I started to accept that they would never let this tradition go as the songs have just become part of the entertainment package along with the jokes, the monologues, the opening spoof and the bloody montages. 

But bugger me, the Academy has actually nipped this cliche in the bud this year, albeit with one slight hiccup along the way.  One of the scheduled performers, Peter Gabriel, has decided to pull out performing his song at all.  'Yahoo Movies' gives us this: 

The singer has pulled out of performing his Best Song nomination on the awards show after producers, in one of their many concerted efforts this year to increase telecast ratings and otherwise shake things up, limited him to just 65 seconds on stage.

His nominated tune, "Down to Earth" from Wall-E, clocks in at just under six minutes.

"I'm an old fart and it's not going to do me any harm to make a little protest," Gabriel said in a video posted to his website. "But the ceremony should be fun and I'm looking forward to it."

My good buddy Jamie told me they were shaking things up this year but I never thought they'd do that. It's a shame that Gabriel has pulled out and reducing the length of the songs (of which there are only three nominees this year) seems to make them almost completely redundant as a catergory anyway but this is a good enough compromise for all of us who have long wanted them gone completely from the show.

The only problem for me is that I used to use the song performances as a toilet or a tea break. I suppose I'll just have to do that when Hugh Jackman bursts into song this year.

Jason Cuts Up Competition On Friday

Although the reviews seem to be mixed, Jason Vorhees is putting asses in the seats and cutting the competition down to size. Call it a remake, reboot, or quasi-sequel but we're going to have to call it a box office success as "Friday the 13th" pulled in 19.3 Million on it's opening night. Warner Bros/New Line should be laughing all the way to the bank by the end of the weekend as early estimates point to 50 Million plus for the Michael Bay produced slasher film.

Update on Tue, February 17, 2009 by Peter Georgiou

Weekend Actuals (Feb. 13 - 16)

1 Friday the 13th $40,570,365
2 He's Just Not That Into You $19,518,465
3 Taken $18,985,260
4 Confessions of a Shopaholic $15,066,360
5 Coraline $14,783,157
6 Paul Blart: Mall Cop $10,983,319
7 The International $9,331,739
8 The Pink Panther 2 $8,513,476
9 Slumdog Millionaire $7,284,808
10 Push $6,863,022

Scarlett A Black Widow For Iron Man 2 ?

Initially the role was set for Emily Blunt but scheduling conflicts have meant she will most likely have to pull out, then earlier this wee Eliza Dushku was peddling herself for the part on Howard Stern, now news comes from 'hollywoodinsider that the sexy and talented Scarlett Johansson is in talks for the role. Apparently she is interested and just awaiting a 100% confirmation that Blunt is out.

Now Iron Man 2 does not yet have a locked script and as far as I know neither Rourke nor Rockwell have actually signed on, plus there is no start date, but Scarlett would be an exciting addition to the cast, she's never really done action before, in fact her only action film to date is 'The Island' and she really only ran around in that.

I'm sure some will complain about her age or the fanboy classic "She's too famous" but personally I love this choice and hope it comes off.