Fast & Furious 7 Got A Lot More Badass - Kurt Russell Joins Cast

Kurt Russell has been away from the silver screen for six years. The last time the badass legend graced our presence was in Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof. And while he was the best thing in the otherwise ill-advised 70s throwback, Tarantino had the good graces to cast him in Django Unchained until Russell walked amid some 70% of his role having been completed (I was amused to see colleagues with ties to Quentin spinning the story in his favor. I'm a big fan but... *Shakes head* Russell was in the right, and that's all I'll say about that).

Either way, it's been too long and in a case of either Botham spies lurking within the Cinematallica headquarters or great minds thinking alike, they got their wish. Variety reports Russell has joined the cast of The Fast & the Furious 7 in an unspecified role (We're assuming a villain alongside Jason Statham) previously offered to Denzel Washington. Like Dwayne Jonnson coming aboard starting with Fast 5, this is the perfect blend of right actor to right franchise.

Ass Backwards Trailer is Painful

It's hard not to like June Diane Raphael and Casey Wilson and the rest of the players involved with Ass Backwards. Why it pains me how bad this trailer is. Hopefully this is a case where it's much better than they're letting on and this is nothing more than the trailer dropping the ball. Otherwise, it is gonna be deadly for those who see this VOD next month or wait till November when it hits cinemas.

When Indiana Jones Met The Terminator...

Straight from Arnold himself is the long awaited union of him and Harrison Ford from The Expendables 3 set. Their director Patrick Hughes is sandwiched between them and doing a good job keeping his composure. I mean think about how many times has Kindergarten Cop shot the shit with The Fugitive? Imagine being the third wheel in that get together and how awesome that must be.

Christopher Nolan Cropdusts Cast Of Interstellar

More set pictures from Christopher Nolan's space exploration-adventure Interstellar are making their way online, this time courtesy of The Lethbridge Herald. There's Nolan doing this thing along with stars Matthew McConaughey, Jessica Chastain, John Lithgow (My uninformed pick as the film's MVP because… he's John Lithgow!) and Topher Grace in action.

Meanwhile The Fort Macleod Gazette, while posting their own pictures, seem to have an idea of the plot saying it "details the toll climate change has taken on agriculture, with corn the last crop to be cultivated. The scientists embark on a journey through a worm hole into other dimensions in search of somewhere other crops can be grown."

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Poster Owes Hal Ashby $20

The trailer for Ben Stiller's remake of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty wowed when it premiered a few weeks ago. Who would have thought the worn-out (Seriously look at his face; even he is tired of the shitty comedies he now does in his sleep) and overexposed comedian had this bottled up in him all these years? We'll have to wait till Christmas Day to see if this isn't a case of an amazing trailer to a subpar movie.

But for now, it's all about the buildup. Before the inevitable second trailer, probably in October if I had to guess, here is the poster (via MSN). To say this owes a debt of gratitude to Being There is putting it lightly. Not that we're complaining. It's a nice li'l poster that stands out from the usual batch cropped heads one-sheets.

No, but seriously they should write a check to Hal Ashby's estate.

Legendary Wants In On the Jurassic Park Business

When Thomas Tull took his studio from Warner Brothers to Universal, he obviously wanted in on some of his new partner's bigger assets. While they contractually can't be within 100 feet of The Fast & the Furious or the Illumination Studios projects, he can put his money towards, say, Jurassic Park.

Not surprisingly, reports Variety, Legendary is very much eyeing the fourth installment (currently aiming for summer 2015 release under the direction of Colin Trevorrow) as one such property to co-finance. Well it fits with Tull's onscreen monster obsession and gets him close to another mega money-printing machine that I'm sure he could use. Though I'm curious how such a deal would affect Amblin if at all.

Zack Snyder TOTALLY Wanted All Those People in Metropolis Dead

Besides killing Zod, the destruction of Metropolis (Half of it, at the very least) and the nonchalant attitude of the Daily Planet, and seemingly the rest of the world, at the end was a major bone of contention for many critics of Man of Steel.

During our Movie Moan discussion, I brought up several logos and fliers on the set showing that they didn't just callously toss away all those dead and unaccounted for Metropolis denizens. That Zack Snyder had thought about that fallback but, whatever reason, chose against including them in the finished product. Speaking to Japan Times on the eve of his Superman epic's theatrical release there, Snyder addresses that controversy:

"I wanted the movie to have a mythological feeling. In ancient mythology, mass deaths are used to symbolize disasters. In other countries like Greece and Japan, myths were recounted through the generations, partly to answer unanswerable questions about death and violence. In America, we don't have that legacy of ancient mythology. Superman (who first appeared in 'Action Comics' in 1938) is probably the closest we get. It’s a way of recounting the myth."

Way to make me look like a horse's ass defending you there, Zack.

In Space No One Can See George Clooney Mugging

He gives this smug demeanor (Maybe that laughably bullshit "Last Movie Star" Time Magazine headline went to his head) and has said some pretty stupid things off-screen. But you know what, George Clooney has such impeccably good taste in the films he appears in and those he produces/directs, that I can easily look past that. His participation is one of the reasons why I'm not that worried about Tomorrowland, despite being written by Damon Lindelof.

His next directorial feature The Monuments Men opens this Christmas. While it's a subject I devour (WWII), the trailer was flat and struck me as Ocean's 14. But again, it doesn't matter. This is George Clooney. It's gotta be good. Why else would he have made it, right? Of course, the other big film he has this fall is this supporting role in Alfonso Cuarón's Gravity. The sooner that gets to my local IMAX, the better. In the meantime, here's the character poster focused on Clooney's character Matt Kowalsky.

Rooney Mara Joins Todd Haynes' Carol

Her filmography has been light in the two years since The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I wouldn't say Lisbeth Salander did any harm to Rooney Mara (Scoring the role against big-name candidates plucked her outta "Oh... HER!" status). I'm just not sure it set the world on fire either, besides positive critical notices and an Oscar nomination.

Then again, maybe it’s by choice. She can afford to be picky for awhile, and it's refreshing to not see her reduced to the "love interest" role in a studio blockbuster. Not yet - knock on wood. So far, her slate is one provocative film after another, and it appears that isn’t stopping anytime soon.

Screen Daily reports she will co-star opposite Cate Blanchett in Carol from director Todd Haynes. The period drama (based on the Patricia Highsmith-penned novella The Price of Salt) centers on the relationship between an ambitious twentysomething (Mara) and a woman stuck in a loveless, but financially secure, marriage (Blancett).

Ultron's Gonna Get All Boston Legal On The Avengers' Asses

Way to put those "Jarvis as Ultron" rumors to rest there, Marvel.

The studio has announced James Spader will play Ultron in The Avengers: Age of Ultron. Who saw that coming? Never a bad thing to see an actor of his caliber getting such a high-profile gig. Hell, in an alternate reality Spader would have been a great Tony Stark. What I would give to see him wearing one of those mo-cap pajamas with a Cuban cigar in mouth next to Robert Downey Jr. between takes.

Source: Marvel