The past seven days

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Paranormal Activity 5 delayed until 2015

In a rather surprising turn of events, the monster franchise of Paranormal Activity has received yet another setback. We were set to get the fifth installment of the franchise this Halloween but Paramount has delayed the film until October 2015.

Originally we were supposed to get Paranormal Activity 5 back on October 25, 2013. Then they decided to film the spin-off, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, as a set up to the fifth film and give that a January 2014 release. As a result, #5 was delayed until October 24, 2014. Now it has received its third delay pushing it into a very jammed 2015 schedule.
Problems with the plot and script were cited as the main reason for this new delay. Screenwriters Jason Pagan and Andrew Stark have had some issues and some mess to clean up after a terrible fourth film. Paramount is apparently fast-tracking the film at this point so it can even meet a 2015 release.

Paranormal Activity has become the Halloween box office powerhouse since the Saw franchise exited back in 2010. Since the first installment we have seen a rather steady decline in quality and it seems most people see them just because they've seen the other ones. I personally am not a big fan of the PA franchise. They are cheap films with a weak plot and are full of nothing but cheap scares and jumps. I have no respect for them.


The Huntsman receives April 2016 release

Just a day after Universal announced Alex Kurtzman would be directing the reboot of The Mummy they promptly turned around and delayed it to June 24, 2016. Taking its place will The Huntsman, the spin-off from the 2012 fairy tale Snow White and the Huntsman.


Universal recently made it known that they had basically fired Kristen Stewart from the franchise after her affair with director Rupert Sanders and were intending on continuing the story primarily with Chris Hemsworth's character, the Huntsman. It seems they weren't kidding as the spin-off now has a release date of April 22, 2016. The film already has Frank Darabont attached to direct and Chris Hemsworth will be returning to reprise the role and, oddly enough, Charlize Theron will also return.

Seeing how bad Snow White and the Huntsman was I don't have much interest in this one. Chris Hemsworth is nice to look at and all but even he couldn't save that movie. The only draw is Charlie Theron's return. She was the only good part about that movie.



Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Alex Kurtzman to direct Mummy reboot

Universal has hired director Alex Kurtzman to direct their upcoming reboot of The Mummy. This comes after Kurtzman was hired alongside Chris Morgan to lead the new Universal Monsters crossover series. He is now the third director to be given the job. Previously Andy Muschietti and Len Wiseman had been hired but both left the project after a short period of time.

This reboot has a 2016 release date set so it would be in Universal's best interest to get this project going. Kurtzman is best known for his screenwriting partnership with Roberto Orci where they wrote blockbuster films such as Transformers, Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. This will be his first project without Orci.
All that we know about this new interpretation of The Mummy is it will be set in the present day and will be an action-adventure type film. However, it will not be a direct reboot of the films that starred Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz. There will be new plot points and new characters.

In addition to The Mummy, Kurtzman has been hired by Sony to direct Venom, an upcoming Spider-Man spinoff. However, with the recent disappointment with The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and The Amazing Spider-Man 3 being delayed until 2018 the fate of Venom is kind of in limbo. No one really knows if it's even going to happen anymore.

Monday, July 28, 2014

What we didn't get at SDCC this year

San Diego Comic-Con was full of surprises and footage, as always, but there is still a decent amount of things that fans expected to happen that simply didn't. Here are some of the things I can think of that were absent from SDCC that either should have been there or I assumed would be there and just weren't.

1. We got nothing for Justice League

I understand Justice League is still a few years away, but I honestly expected some kind of teaser for it. A photo, a logo... something. Don't get me wrong, I managed to see a leak of the BvS footage and it looked great but I expected something for Justice League.

2. No information on future DC films

We all saw that "leak" of Warner Bros' schedule for DC films that was leaked as a Comic-Con reveal. The basic fact of it is that it didn't happen. We didn't get any confirmation of release dates, future character movies, or crossovers. It was another thing that was expected but we didn't get it.

3. No footage for Jurassic World

Most of us expected at least a teaser for Jurassic World and it did not happen. The most we got for the fourth installment was the vehicle and the posters. Universal chose to tease test footage for Skull Island and announce Godzilla 2 instead.

4. No information on Marvel's massive schedule

Sure, we got a release date for Guardians of the Galaxy 2, but we didn't get anything else. I was expecting Marvel to reveal some more release dates and do something similar to what we got last year. Marvel didn't close out Hall H with the big bang they usually do.

5. Nothing on Doctor Strange

Along with Marvel's kind of disappointing weekend, we didn't get anything regarding Doctor Strange. The role hasn't been cast yet but we have a release date and a director. I assumed we would at least get a logo.

6. Nothing for Fantastic Four

Yet another thing most people expected to be present at SDCC was completely missing. We got nothing for the reboot of Fantastic Four. I don't see any reasoning seeing that they already have a cast and everything.



Aside from not having panels for things like Mockingjay - Part 1 there were a lot of surprises this year and not all of them were good. I'm a bit disappointed with SDCC this year because it doesn't feel like we got a lot of major announcements. It was mostly panels for stuff we already knew about. There was a serious lack of excitement for the future of franchises.



SDCC: First teaser for Mockingjay - Part 1

I guess I expected more.





Saturday, July 26, 2014

SDCC: Guardians of the Galaxy 2 fills 2017 release date

Well, we have an answer to which film will fill the July 28, 2017 release date Marvel has booked. That film will be a sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy which hits theaters next weekend.

During the Marvel presentations in Hall H today, President Kevin Feige announced the sequel along with revealing specific characters for Ant-Man and showing new footage for The Avengers: Age of Ultron. Booking a sequel for Guardians of the Galaxy shows Marvel's confidence in the film seeing that this comes before it has even hit theaters. However, judging from early reviews and test screenings so far I don't think the studio has much to worry about. People are loving it and I can't wait to see it next week.

One major disappointment in all the excitement is the fact that the GOTG sequel was the only future release confirmed. Marvel has untitled projects booked through 2019 and this is all we got. At last year's SDCC we received release dates and logos for The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thor: The Dark World, Ant-Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Just getting an announcement for a sequel to a movie we haven't seen yet is a bit disappointing to say the least.
I'm sure more announcements will follow but for now... Marvel didn't finish Saturday off with the bang they're usually known for. It's a bit sad.


SDCC: Ant-Man panel confirms roles and tests more footage

Marvel, as always, closed out the Saturday events in Hall H with panels for Ant-Man and The Avengers: Age of Ultron. For the Ant-Man panel we received confirmation on who has been cast in which role as well as some new footage.

Present for the panel were director Peyton Reed, Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Corey Stoll, and Evangeline Lilly. Reed was apparently met with very low enthusiasm which I can honestly say I expected. After the fiasco with Edgar Wright it's an understatement to say fans are pretty pissed. Evangeline Lilly also mentioned that her main job up until today was to avoid the press. Apparently Marvel didn't want any information about her role or her involvement prior to SDCC.

While on the subject of roles, we did learn which roles Lilly and Corey Stoll have been cast. Lilly will be playing Hank Pym's daughter, Hope Van Dyne (aka, Wasp), while Stoll will be playing Darren Cross (aka, Yellowjacket).
The basic plot revealed during the panel includes information surrounding a heist after Hank Pym (Douglas) appoints Scott Lang (Rudd) to takeover the Ant-Man suit. Cross begins taking Pym's company in an unfavorable direction and eventually gets his hand on some Ant-Man particles and does wear the Yellowjacket suit for this film.

Ant-Man will begin full production in two weeks in Atlanta and is still set for release on July 17, 2015.



SDCC: Wonder Woman revealed during BvS panel

We received our first glimpse at Gal Gadot as the DC hero Wonder Woman today during the Warner Bros. panel today. It is a similar photo to what we saw of Superman a couple weeks ago and many are already talking about the different costume.



In addition to this peek at Wonder Woman, guests were shown a small bit of footage. Here is a description via Matt Goldberg:
"It’s pouring down rain in the night sky. Batman is an armored suit, his eyes glowing, and standing next to the Bat-Signal. He pulls down a switch and powers it up. The Bat-Signal (bearing the new Bat-Symbol) blasts into the sky. We pan to follow the light, but in the sky, floating in front of the signal, is Superman. His arms are crossed. His cape billows in the wind. Batman, with his mask’s glowing eyes, stares down the Man of Steel. And the Man of Steel stares back. His eyes begin to glow red. Cut back to the Dark Knight. He is unmoved. Cut to black."


Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is currently scheduled for May 6, 2016. 

SDCC: Godzilla 2 announced; King Kong being revived via Skull Island

We received news for two famous "monsters" today at SDCC. In addition to an official announcement for Godzilla 2, we got word that Legendary Pictures is looking to revive the King Kong franchise and offered some test footage of Skull Island.

Director Gareth Evans will be returning for Godzilla 2 and confirmed that in the sequel we will see Mothra, King Ghidorah, and Rodan. Legendary CEO Thomas Tull showed teaser footage including each of the rivals as classified figures. Evans will begin on Godzilla 2 after he completes his Star Wars spin-off film.

As far as King Kong goes, apparently a new version of Skull Island is being planned for a 2016 release. Legendary is now in equal share of the rights for these films after being absorbed by Universal. However, SDCC guests were somewhat disappointed as they assumed the footage shown was going to be a teaser for Jurassic World. The last adaptation of King Kong was Peter Jackson's take on the character back in 2005.



SDCC: Second trailer for Horns premieres

I liked the first trailer, but I have to say I like this one a lot more.This is also the first time I wasn't immediately reminded of Harry Potter when I saw Daniel Radcliffe. Well done, sir.

You can head over to MTV to check out the trailer because the html code is giving me issues at the moment. http://www.mtv.com/videos/movie-trailers/1065309/horns.jhtml


Horns stars Daniel Radcliffe as a young man who becomes the main suspect in the murder and rape of his girlfriend. It's an adaptation of the novel by Joe Hill and is set for theaters and VOD this Halloween.


Friday, July 25, 2014

SDCC: The Walking Dead Season 5 - First Trailer

And I must say... it looks like Rick got his balls back.




The Walking Dead came into SDCC with a panel narrated by Talking Dead host Chris Hardwick. During the panel we received the trailer premiere and some words from showrunner Scott Gimple. Apparently we will see a lot of definition of our characters and more apparent actions on how they have adapted post-prison. We will also see a lot of the background of Terminus which is a good thing. The Walking Dead returns to AMC on October 12th.

SDCC: Evil Dead television show in the works

During the panel for Last of Us at SDCC today, we learned from Sam Raimi that he is currently developing a television show based off his 1981 cult horror classic, The Evil Dead.

There was an overall lack of details but he did say that he is writing the series with his brother, Ivan Raimi, and that Bruce Campbell will also be involved. One plus side about this is that a lot of cable networks are not afraid of horror. We see gory, bloody television shows all the time like True Blood, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Bates Motel, Hannibal, American Horror Story, Dexter, etc.. The list goes on at this point. Making a show about this story won't be as hard for people to grasp as it would have been just 10-15 years ago.
However, just because it's being written doesn't mean it's actually going to be made. Seeing the development hell that both Army of Darkness 2 and Fede Alvarez's Evil Dead sequel are going through it doesn't seem that things are so easy.

What do you guys think? Do you want an Evil Dead show?


Joaquin Phoenix rumored for Doctor Strange

Another bit of Marvel news that hit today is regarding the upcoming adaptation of Doctor Strange. Actors such as Johnny Depp, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Jared Leto have been rumored for the part, but the latest bit of news is claiming that Joaquin Phoenix is in negotiations for the role.

You might recognize Phoenix from films such as Her, The Master, Walk the Line, and Gladiator. He was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Johnny Cash in Walk the Line back in 2006 and also received nominations for The Master and Gladiator.
I personally think this would be a fantastic choice. Phoenix is a real force on screen and I would be more than happy to have him join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I think he could bring a lot to the character.


Actors depart Ant-Man due to scheduling conflicts

Ant-Man just can't seem to catch a break. In addition to massive rewrites and director Edgar Wright suddenly leaving the project, there is now news that three actors have dropped out of the project due to scheduling conflicts caused by the film's delay.

The actors that have left include Patrick Wilson, Matt Gerard, and Kevin Weisman. Wilson's character is rumored to be a villain so he will no doubt remain in the script but will require a recasting. The other two characters have apparently been cut out of the latest rewrite entirely and will not require recasting.

Ant-Man still has Michael Douglas, Paul Rudd, Michael Pena, Corey Stoll, and Evangeline Lilly on board. It is set to kick off Marvel Phase Three on July 17, 2015. 


SDCC: Jurassic World vehicle debuts

In addition to SDCC exclusive posters being handed out this weekend, we are seeing our first look at a vehicle from Jurassic World.

The silver Mercedes is being used as promotion and contains the SDCC exclusive posters. The license plate has the Jurassic World logo on it as well as the tag "G-012 Isla Nublar." The pics are seen via Twitter on the official @JurassicPark page.



Some other users have added pictures from other angles to showcase the entire vehicle.



Thursday, July 24, 2014

SDCC: Christopher Nolan makes Comic-Con debut

Christopher Nolan crashed the party today at San Diego Comic-Con by making his first ever appearance at the event. To go along with his surprise appearance he debuted a new trailer for his upcoming sci-fi film, Interstellar.

Paramount chose not to specify what films they were going to showcase during their panel today, so it's needless to say that the room was pretty empty. Paramount presented a redband trailer for Hot Tub Time Machine 2, The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, and Project Almanac. They saved Nolan's appearance, as well as Matthew McConaughey's SDCC debut, until last and surprised those who did attend with the new Interstellar trailer.
We will probably have to wait a week or so to see the trailer publicly, but judging from what people who were lucky enough to see it are saying it was pretty awesome.

Interstellar hits theaters on November 7th.



SDCC: New image of Ben Affleck as Batman emerges

I hate admitting this. Like, I really hate it... but Ben Affleck looks pretty awesome as Batman.

There. I said it.



Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has a panel in Hall H on Saturday, so it is expected that we will get something. It's a bit early for a trailer but Warner Bros. might show some footage so far. BvS is currently set  to go head to head against Captain America 3 on May 6, 2016.

Fifty Shades of Grey - First Trailer

I would say I should probably read the book again but I really don't want to. Just like I don't really want to see this movie. If I wanted to watch a bad plot with creepy bondage sex I would watch a porno online for free.




But, nevertheless this is a big thing for a lot of people. As far as the casting goes I actually think the actors they decided on are good choices. They seem to have a lot of chemistry which is never a bad thing for a film like this. I foresee this being another Twilight type franchise. It will be widely made fun of and criticized, but the true fanbase will love it no matter how bad it is. Fifty Shades of Grey whips its way into theaters (oh, that pun) on February 14, 2015.

And in case you really don't know what this story is about... do not go see this with your parents. It will get very awkward very quickly.


EDIT:  I decided to take the plunge and re-read the first book and continue on with the second and third. I was curious to see if I could make it through all three of them. After finishing the trilogy and watching this trailer a couple more times I will compliment them on one thing... it looks very close to the book.
You can pinpoint exact scenes from the book and they are right there in the trailer. Examples being Christian carrying Ana down the hall in the bathrobe (it is described in much detail), seeing Ana's hair in the braid (explained in the book), Christian's "special" jeans (explained in the book), Ana's dinner with the Grey family (a rather... awkward chapter), Christian flying the glider with Ana in Georgia (surprise), him picking her up in the helicopter (duh), etc.. It is all there. If the whole movie is that close they definitely did something not many movie adaptations achieve.
Another thing I will reiterate since I already mentioned it is this is really good casting. Since I found out that Dakota Johnson had been cast I did remember briefly seeing her in The Social Network and recalled people online saying she is becoming a notorious scene stealer. Although she was close I wouldn't say she stole the whole scene from Justin Timberlake in The Social Network, but she definitely overpowered Jason Segel in The Five Year Engagement and she was only in it for maybe 5min. She looks a bit older than she actually is, but there is no denying that she is very likeable and that is definitely something they needed for Ana because the character is unbelievably annoying. She doesn't become likeable, for me, until the last quarter of the third book.  She is crippled by attraction, stubborn, and weak minded.
As far as Jamie Dornan goes, I think he has a lot of promise but there is no telling for sure. Here's to hoping he has the creep factor because Christian is definitely a creeper and is very intense. If I see the movie and he isn't making me uncomfortable then they went with the wrong actor. Simple as that.


Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Sinister 2 to hit theaters in 2015

Focus Features has provided us with a release date of August 21, 2015 for the sequel to the 2012 horror film, Sinister. Director Scott Derrickson will not be returning to direct, but he co-wrote the script and will produce alongside Jason Blum. Cirian Foy has been hired to direct the sequel.
Blumhouse is co-financing with Focus Features and it is expected this will be another micro budget horror project similar to Insidious and The Purge. However, we saw budgets increase for both sequels so it is possible that Sinister 2 will be a bigger production this time around. 

Despite a bad villain name and the fact that it looked like a member of Slipknot, I was surprised by Sinister and wound up really liking it. I don't know where they will go with a sequel, but if it carries the same properties as the first one I think it will be just fine.


Marvel announces another 2018 release

In the past week we have received planned release dates for Marvel films through 2019. Marvel has announced one more untitled project for May 3, 2018. The weekend opportunity opened up after Sony removed The Amazing Spider-Man 4 from the date. The speculation is already swirling around which project this could be and one name is on the top of the list...

Did Marvel just announce the release date for The Avengers 3?


The previous dates announced for 2018 were July 6th and November 2nd. I personally already made the prediction that the May 5, 2017 spot could be The Avengers 3, but it is possible they might delay a third film until 2018. The only issue I see with that is that will make Phase Three incredibly long and will have way too many characters to try and wrap into a single Avengers film to finish.


Here are the Marvel release dates as they currently stand:

Guardians of the Galaxy (8/1/2014)
The Avengers: Age of Ultron (5/1/2015)
Ant-Man (7/17/2015)
Captain America 3 (5/6/2016)
Doctor Strange (7/8/2016)
Untitled (5/5/2017)
Untitled (7/28/2017)
Untitled (11/3/2017)
Untitled (5/3/2018)
Untitled (7/6/2018)
Untitled (11/2/2018)
Untitled (5/3/2019)


It's hard to say exactly when The Avengers 3 will hit, but if they stick with the May tradition we only have three possible dates for 2017, 2018, and 2019. It is worth mentioning that there is a three year gap between The Avengers and Age of Ultron so a 2018 release would keep them on that track, but there aren't nearly the amount of releases in Phase Two as there are currently planned for Phase Three and/or Phase Four.
Since The Avengers we have seen Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and are about to get Guardians of the Galaxy. That is four releases. If a third Avengers film doesn't come out until 2018 we will have another gap of three years, but we will also have a total of six releases instead of four. Unless one or two of those dates include spin-off films for The Hulk (finally) and Black Widow, I think six films is a bit much. Not to mention we are receiving two brand new characters with Ant-Man, Doctor Strange, and also a rumored film for Black Panther. We also shouldn't forget one of those 2017 dates could be a sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy or a third Thor project or a fourth Iron Man. There really is no way to tell what their timetable is. 

It is also worth mentioning that even though Sony removed The Amazing Spider-Man 4 from the release date, they announced today that they have immediately refilled the date by delaying The Amazing Spider-Man 3 until then. Unless Sony and Marvel want to go head to head like Marvel is currently doing with Warner Bros. over Batman v Superman being released the same day as Captain America 3, I doubt The Avengers 3 will be released the same weekend as Spider-Man. Unless Marvel is that confident their film will win I foresee a date change for one of them if Marvel announces that May 3, 2018 does indeed belong to The Avengers.
Either way I am sure we will have more answers to what projects belong to these untitled dates by this weekend. No doubt Marvel will come into SDCC at full speed with announcements and footage of some kind. If they don't then things will continue to be mysterious for a while longer.





[EDIT] It seems that Sony was thinking the same thing as they have already removed The Amazing Spider-Man 3 from the May 4, 2018 release date and are now saying it will be released in 2018. There is no specific day set.

Comic-Con poster for Mockingjay - Part 1

We are getting a sneak peek of the exclusive Comic-Con poster for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1. The film won't have any real presence at the con this year as Lionsgate decided to forfeit a panel, but we are still getting some pieces of info from the film.



Personally, this poster looks like a freshman Photoshop project but it is what it is.

The Amazing Spider-Man 3 delayed until 2018

We have news about a couple release dates that were announced and delayed today.

Starting off with Disney, they have finally set a new release date for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. About a year ago the film was pulled from its original 2015 release but it was delayed indefinitely. Disney announced today that the fifth installment of the Pirates franchise will be released on July 7, 2017. Johnny Depp is slated to return as Capt. Jack Sparrow.

Moving onto Sony, they have made some significant moves in the Amazing Spider-Man franchise. The Sinister Six will be released on November 11, 2016 while The Amazing Spider-Man 3 has been delayed until May 4, 2018. It was recently rumored that Sony was going to push TASM3 from 2016 to 2017, but with them pushing it an additional year to 2018 is a bit surprising. Many are speculating the delay is to test the waters of Drew Goddard's take on the Sinister Six and see if the film can rescue Marc Webb's Amazing Spider-Man franchise because after very dismal and overwhelmingly negative reviews of TASM2 they obviously realized something had to be done to fix the momentum.
Keeping up with Sony, we also got news that a film adaptation of the Playstation video game, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, will be released on June 10, 2016. The film has been in the works for years and recently director Seth Gordon signed onto the project and stated that he hoped filming would start by early 2015. No one has been cast as Nathan Drake just yet, but I am sure it will be a very competitive role. I personally loved the Uncharted games so I am oddly excited for a movie to come out. It has the potential to be great.



[EDIT] It seems that Sony was thinking the same thing as just about everyone else when Marvel snatched up the May 3, 2018 date as they have already removed The Amazing Spider-Man 3 from the May 4, 2018 date and are now saying it will be released in 2018. There is no specific day set anymore. Another thing Sony has rushed to announce is the delay does not mean they are rebooting Spider-Man once again. 

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

First image for Insidious 3 confirms it is a prequel

We have the first image of Insidious Chapter 3 and it also comes with confirmation that the third installment will serve as a prequel.



The third film in this low-budget franchise will follow a teenage girl and her family as they dabble in the world of the supernatural and the other realm, The Further. The film stars Dermot Mulroney, Lin Shaye, Angus Sampson, Stefanie Scott, and director Leigh Whannell. A new release date is set for May 29, 2015 with production currently underway.

Just a heads up

With all the big Comic-Con news set to hit this weekend I figured I would just put a warning out there that this blog will be a little delayed with news. I am scheduled to work this weekend into the evenings so I will try and keep up as much as I can, but I will most likely miss some stuff.

What I will probably do is do wrap-up posts for stuff that I missed and save individual posts for the major events. I also want to mention that I have somewhat joined the anti-spoiler movement and will be staying away from some things based on principle. If something seems to revealing or is excessive I will be skipping it and you can read about those things elsewhere.
That also explains my lack of posts recently regarding multiple trailers and clips for Guardians of the Galaxy and other films, like the map and plot leak for Jurassic World, because I simply feel like it spoils the movies a bit too much. Truth be told, I haven't watched or read anything about Guardians of the Galaxy since the second trailer was released. I don't like going into a theater feeling like I have already seen the best parts. I mean, we all saw what Sony did with The Amazing Spider-Man 2 with the five trailers plus photos plus clips that revealed just about every key point in the film. I think studio marketing has reached a point of being too revealing and I'm sure Comic-Con won't be any different. Simple as that.

So yeah, just a heads up on what to expect this weekend regarding SDCC as far as this blog goes. I'm bummed I can't sit glued to the news like I have in previous years, but what can you do.





Monday, July 21, 2014

FXX to set TV history with The Simpsons marathon

FX recently acquired syndication rights for The Simpsons and announced their intent to air reruns of the animated classic on the side network, FXX. We now have news that in addition to being the first network other than Fox to air the show, they will be setting a record for the longest marathon in television history.

FXX will kick off their syndication by running every single episode of The Simpsons, that means all 25 seasons, in a killer marathon. Yes, you have the opportunity to watch all 522 episodes plus an airing of The Simpsons Movie after the 400th episode. The marathon will run from August 21st through September 1st and will go all 24-hours of the day. If you want to catch an episode you haven't seen in a while you better make sure you set your DVR.
After the marathon is over you will have the chance to see the show in heavy rotation on FXX as well as on demand on the FXNOW app and SimpsonsWorld.com. On both the app and the website you will have access to every episode and they will be full-length episodes.

First poster for Jurassic World

You'll have the first chance to pick up both variants of the poster for Jurassic World at San Diego Comic-Con this weekend, but here is a peek at the new poster design by Mark Englert.




Both variants will be available at SDCC. If you text "JURASSIC" to 834567 you will get details on the poster drop. You can also follow @JurassicPark on Twitter or @JurassicWorld on Instagram.

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Did the plot for Episode VII just leak?

If this is true I must say I am rather disappointed that we found out this early because it sounds pretty awesome. The following paragraphs will contain potential spoilers about Star Wars Episode VII, so proceed with caution if you want to be spoiler free.



You have been warned.





Badass Digest is reporting that the plot, and a lot of script details, for Star Wars Episode VII have leaked. Included in this leak are key plot points, characters, and the overall flow of events. It even details an opening scene. Now, keep in mind that this is all a rumor at this point but also remember that it could very well turn out to be true.

According to this leak, we will see the familiar Star Wars credit roll and it pans to find a floating, severed hand in space with a lightsaber in its grip. It lands on a desert planet and is discovered by the film's heroes to be played by John Boyega and Daisy Ridley. Boyega is apparently playing a character trying to change the course of his life (familiar enough). The pair recognize the lightsaber as an old Jedi relic and decide to return it to its rightful place.
The quest leads them to Han Solo and Chewbacca where they recognize the relic as Luke Skywalker's lightsaber and mention they haven't seen Luke since the events of Return of the Jedi which happened 30 years prior. Meanwhile, there is an evil force on a nearby frozen planet is developing a weapon capable of destroying entire solar systems, not just planets.


One thing that this plot reminds me of is A New Hope. It's almost like Luke stumbling across R2-D2 on Tatooine only it's characters stumbling across a severed hand. One thing it does reinforce, if it's true, is that John Boyega is indeed the main character of this new trilogy. It also is curious to think that Han and Leia are married, but they haven't seen Luke in 30 years? Also wondering, does Luke not develop a new Jedi academy? If lightsabers and Jedi tales are still considered relics that is somewhat curious.
I find this plot interesting enough, but I want a little bit more before I make a full judgment. Something about opening a movie with a severed hand is a bit odd.


Saturday, July 19, 2014

Marvel announces release dates through 2019

Although they are all untitled releases, Marvel has shared some added release dates for planned films through 2019.

We will have Marvel releases on:

July 28, 2017
November 3, 2017
July 6, 2018
November 2, 2018
May 3, 2019


It is assumed that some of these dates will be sequels to films set for Phase Three (aka, Ant-Man and Doctor Strange), but we could also see a solo Black Widow spin-off and a film for Black Panther. Doctor Strange is still without an official release date, but most are assuming it's going to fill one of the 2016 release dates.

Upcoming releases we currently have dates for include:

Guardians of the Galaxy (August 1st)
The Avengers: Age of Ultron (May 1, 2015)
Ant-Man (July 17, 2015)
Captain America 3 (May 6, 2016)

There are also still two unfilled 2016 slots for July 8, 2016 and May 5, 2017. Many are guessing that the May 2017 date will belong to a third, and possibly final, Avengers film. I would also guess if Guardians of the Galaxy takes off that we will see a sequel to that and possibly some solo spin-offs.



Mark Romanek to direct prequel to The Shining

Warner Bros. has hired Mark Romanek to direct Overlook Hotel. It will serve as a prequel to the horror classic, The Shining.

The prequel has been drafted by former Walking Dead showrunner Glenn Mazzarra and apparently his script is adapted from the original prologue written by Stephen King.King's prologue was cut from his novel just before it was published. It focuses on Bob T. Watson, a robber who was the hotel's first owner.
Romanek is no stranger to this sort of genre. His films include Never Let Me Go and One Hour Photo. However, he has mostly directed music videos and shorts. He's worked with artists such as Nine Inch Nails, David Bowie, Madonna, Iggy Pop, Michael Jackson, Johnny Cash, Fiona Apple, Linkin Park, and Coldplay. His music videos have always been considered visionary and very detailed. That includes setting a Guinness World Record alongside Michael Jackson for the most expensive music video ever made with "Scream." The video carried a $7 million price tag and was less than 5min long.
The first and most notable adaptation of King's novel was directed by Stanley Kubrick in 1980 and starred Jack Nicholson. It followed a struggling writer who brought his family to the Overlook Hotel during the off-season. An evil presence in the hotel takes hold of him and he attacks his wife and his psychic son. One of the most celebrated aspects of The Shining is the mystery and the fact that the audience never quite has anything laid out for them. You are left guessing which makes everything very unsettling.

I think Romanek will do just fine, but he has a history of just walking away from projects. He was hired to direct The Wolfman and he suddenly left right before filming and he also departed from Disney's new adaptation of Cinderella due to creative differences. He is also no longer attached to Boston Strangler starring Casey Affleck. It's all good if he manages to stick around.


Friday, July 18, 2014

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 trailer to premiere at SDCC

We finally have confirmation that the first full trailer for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 will premiere at San Diego Comic-Con next weekend. The trailer will air on the Galaxy Tab S as part of the Samsung Galaxy Experience on Friday, July 25th at 12pm. The trailer will be introduced by the cast despite there being no Hunger Games panel this year. The main reason the trailer is premiering this way and not in Hall H is because there is no panel.

Now... actually seeing this trailer right away is going to be a bit tricky if you're not at Comic-Con or don't own a Samsung device. If you are not at SDCC, you can see a short preview of the trailer at participating Best Buy locations. They will also be handing out a limited supply of complimentary tickets for Mockingjay - Part 1 if you watch the preview.
Another way to participate is to download the Hunger Games Movie Pack app. The app will be a free download on capable Samsung devices beginning July 28th and will give Galaxy owners access to exclusive Hunger Games content.

In other words, if you're not at SDCC or don't own a Samsung device you're pretty much screwed on seeing the trailer right away. There isn't any information on when the trailer will be available for everyone to watch, but I am pretty sure something will leak online before the weekend is up. Stuff from SDCC always finds its way out before it should. I also agree with the guys over at Collider in saying that this marketing campaign seems to be more of a Samsung advertisement than one for The Hunger Games. It's a bit of an odd choice.


First look at Marilyn Manson in Sons of Anarchy

We have our first look at shock rocker, Marilyn Manson, in the upcoming season of Sons of Anarchy. The seventh and final season will premiere on FX with a 105min episode on September 9th.

Manson (aka, Brian Warner) has been cast as a new white supremacist leader who, judging from the picture, is in prison with Jax (Charlie Hunnam).



Chris Franjola will be hosting an aftershow, Anarchy Afterword, after the premiere of season 7. The show will air live and stream on FXNOW. It will air three times throughout the season and all episodes will be available on streaming and VOD for one month after the air date.

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Deborah Ann Woll joins Daredevil

The upcoming Netflix series, Daredevil, has added a new addition to their cast. True Blood veteran Deborah Ann Woll has been cast in a female lead role of Karen Page. She joins Charlie Cox, Elden Henson, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Rosario Dawson.

Karen Page is the most notable and long-time love interest for the blind hero, Matt Murdock. In the comics, she and Murdock go through quite a few make up and break up situations and she is ultimately killed by Bullseye. She also shared her love with Murdock's close friend, Foggy Nelson, and had traded her secretary job for acting after Murdock revealed his alter-ego to her.
Thought she was cut from almost the entire theatrical cut, she was portrayed by Ellen Pompeo in the 2003 adaptation of Daredevil with Ben Affleck and Colin Farrell. Woll is a television veteran at this point and is no stranger to fantasy. She's appeared in all seven seasons of HBO's True Blood and has had small roles on The Mentalist, Law & Order: SVU, and CSI. She's also starred in films such as the remake of Mother's Day, Ruby Sparks, and Seven Days in Utopia.




Annabelle - First Trailer

Annabelle is not the official sequel to The Conjuring, but we have the first teaser for the horror spin-off set to hit theaters on October 3rd. It looks pretty crazy, too.




The only thing I will say, so far, is it definitely doesn't look like a prequel. It looks very modern. Either way I think this looks pretty promising. I will definitely see it.

Bryan Cranston to star as LBJ on HBO Special

After a very successful run on Broadway as former President Lyndon Johnson, Bryan Cranston has teamed up with Steven Spielberg to bring the play, All the Way, to HBO.

Cranston has already won a Tony Award for his portrayal of LBJ and it seems as though he's aiming for an Emmy as well. The play followed LBJ as he struggled to pass the Civil Rights Bill of 1964 and with the escalation of the Vietnam War. It just ended its run on Broadway last month and in addition to Cranston winning a Tony, it also took home the award for Best Play.
Spielberg has already tackled a struggling presidential tale as he earned rave reviews for his 2012 film, Lincoln, which starred Daniel Day Lewis. Word has it he's been eyeing an adaptation of this play for quite sometime.

The role required Cranston to stretch a bit as he had to portray both personalities of LBJ; the self-pitying man and the threatening President. Play writer Robert Schenkkan will adapt the script for Spielberg and Cranston. He previously worked with Spielberg on the HBO series, The Pacific, and Cranston previously teamed with him for Saving Private Ryan.




Marvel reveals the new Captain America

Marvel just keeps rolling the punches right in.

Just a few days after announcing a new female Thor for Marvel comics, Marvel's Chief Creative Officer, Joe Quesada, revealed who will be the new Captain America on the Colbert Report last night. You might recognize the name Sam Wilson as he also goes by Falcon. Well, Falcon will now wear Cap's suit as Steve Rogers' super soldier serum has worn off and he rapidly aged 65-years.
Wilson is a longtime friend and partner of Rogers so it makes sense for him to take over the duties as Captain America. The takeover will take place this October in the "All-New Captain America" series.

Similar to what has been said about the upcoming female Thor, this might serve as some foreshadowing for the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well. That doesn't necessarily mean that Anthony Mackie will be replacing Chris Evans as Cap, but it might be a hint that Evans will be walking away from the MCU. He has already hinted that he would not like to renew his contract which led people to think that The Winter Soldier arc will be moving forward and that Sebastian Stan will take over the Captain America role. This new comic arc might put a wrinkle in things, so it's definitely something to pay attention to. 


Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Ouija - First Trailer

Well, I can't say I'm surprised that this looks horrible.





Ouija hits theaters on October 24th. I would expect since it's a Universal release that this will be a scare zone at Halloween Horror Nights in one or both of the Universal Studios parks. Just calling that one right now.


First official images for The Avengers: Age of Ultron

I'm a bit surprised this is hitting now and not at Comic-Con later this month, but I'll take it.

Marvel has released, via Entertainment Weekly, the first images from The Avengers: Age of Ultron. The film is the featured story in the upcoming magazine issue and includes an interview with director Joss Whedon.











With these images we get the first official look at Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch along with confirmation that Colonel James Rhodes, aka War Machine/Iron Patriot, will be in this Avengers film. We also see Banner working closely with Stark and what seems like an Avengers party in the Stark tower.
Joss Whedon also elaborated a bit on what role the villain robot, Ultron, will play in the film. There is already confirmation that Ultron is being portrayed by James Spader via motion capture, but he originates directly from Tony Stark as he creates an AI robot to replace the necessity for him to physically wear the Iron Man suit. Seeing that Ultron is AI and much smarter than the average human, he determines that Earth would be better without humans and aims to destroy them.

I am sure we will know more after Comic-Con next week and that we might even get another teaser like we did last year. However, it is possible that Marvel will do what they did with the first Avengers film and save the teaser for the post-credits scene of Guardians of the Galaxy. Either way, I'm sure we will see some footage soon. The Avengers: Age of Ultron opens on May 1, 2015.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Big Hero 6 - Full Trailer

Marvel reveals a female Thor

After teasing a massive reveal coming on The View, Marvel has announced that the role of Thor will be filled by a female in the Thor comics.

This marks the first time a female will yield Thor's mighty hammer, Mjolnir. She will make her first appearance in the new, relaunched Thor comics this fall. Many are speculating this is hinting a replacement for Chris Hemsworth in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a lot of comic events have served as a precursor to film events.

Writer Jason Aaron released a statement warning readers about this new woman:
"This is not She-Thor. This is not Lady Thor. This is nor Thorita. This is THOR. This is the THOR of the Marvel Universe, but it's unlike any Thor we have seen before."

The current Thor is apparently being named "unworthy" and will be replaced as the classic God of Thunder we all know. In replacement of Mjolnir he will be equipped with a giant axe called Jarnbjorn.


Monday, July 14, 2014

Horns - First Trailer

This looks pretty awesome. I won't lie.





Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - Review

10 years after the Simian Flu outbreak, Caesar and his growing population of genetically altered apes is confronted by humans nested in a nearby compound as they struggle to survive. After briefly coming to peace, a war begins between apes and humans to determine which is Earth's dominant species in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.


I was excited for this one primarily because I am a fan of Planet of the Apes in general. I liked the old movies and I really liked Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Now that I have seen Dawn I think that this is well on its way to becoming a dominant new take on the story.
The effects were spot on, the new characters and actors were a nice change, and it had a fairly interesting plot. My main complaint about this movie was timing, though. It seemed to take a very long time to even get to the real conflict and climax of the plot. I understand they wanted to focus on the progress Caesar made with the apes, but that seemed to surpass the struggles humans have faced over the past 10 years.

As far as the plot goes, the basics of it revolved around Malcolm who was given the task to regenerate a nearby dam so the compound could restore electricity and try to find other survivors or compounds. That's all well and good until Caesar is pressured by his ape council, primarily the former lab-monkey Koba, to show dominance over the humans. Caesar struggles with it ultimately pushing Koba away as well as inadvertently threatening the humans.
I will say the main wasted character, in terms of screentime and development, was Gary Oldman's character Dreyfus. The marketing built him up to be this major villain and ape hater but in reality he was hardly in the movie. He made a couple speeches and helped in the battle between apes and humans but he wasn't really a main character. I don't think any of the humans were really main characters other than Malcolm. This was truly an ape story and those apes were the main characters. I liked seeing Caesar's family and his interactions with his son. I also liked the brief return to James Franco's character and, I won't lie, it made my eyes a bit misty.

The main battle scene and the short events leading up to it were fantastic, but like I said before it seemed like we were waiting forever to get there. There was a point where I was sitting in my chair thinking, when is this going to pick up? When will someone fuck with Caesar or when will one of the apes go rogue and betray him? It was a long wait. 

Overall I don't think I would say this one was better than Rise of the Planet of the Apes, but it was still very good. Definitely worth seeing.


SDCC implementing a wristband system for Hall H

San Diego Comic-Con is coming up, hence the lack of movie news lately, and it seems they have finally realized just how many people attend each year. Apparently organizers will be using a new wristband system for Hall H events this year which is hoping to give guests a more realistic idea of how likely they are to get in.

Hall H is notorious for the high scale of guests and information that is in that room. It is where the first footage for films like Man of Steel and The Avengers along with announcements for projects like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and The Avengers: Age of Ultron. Superstar panels for superhero films, comedies, and just about everything under the sun happens in Hall H, too.
Guests have been steadily getting more irritated with the amount of people trying to enter Hall H all at once and how organizers just flood people through the doors. Last year people were camped out in line to enter on Friday afternoon and evening. SDCC organizers are saying this new system, deemed the Toucan Tracker, will give guests wristbands when they arrive in line. When Hall H is at capacity for that panel or time there will be no more wristbands distributed and whoever arrives after then won't be able to attend that panel or event. They will also be color coded based upon which number you are in line. For example, the color for the first 50 people is green. After that the color morphs to yellow. Let's say the last bundle of bands is red. By that color code you know that if you have a red wristband you are near the back of the line and will most likely be sitting in the back of the room if you can get in at all. There will be a total of four colors, but they have not revealed which colors will represent which place in line.
There is also a clause stating that if you obtain a wristband but leave the line, you are then forfeiting your spot. The only way to get around this is if you have a group and take turns leaving. As long as you have someone with the same color wristband holding your spot you can re-enter the line. 

Now... this still doesn't guarantee you getting in even if you have a wristband. I will repeat that, they are not guaranteed entrance bands. Why? Well, there are those people who will stay in Hall H if they're lucky enough to get in. If you have three people who obtain the first round of wristbands for the first event in the morning and they decide to stay all day, that takes three seats away from the group of people in line for the next event and the one after that, etc. Also, there is still hope if you don't have a wristband. As soon as the last color runs out they will begin admitting non-banded guests into Hall H if space is available.


San Diego Comic-Con International kicks off next week and goes from July 24th through the 26th at the San Diego Convention Center. Schedules have been posted on their official website (here) along with a PDF of the program.





Thursday, July 10, 2014

Darren Lynn Bousman to direct sci-fi film

The so-called Predator meets Call of Duty sci-fi action flick, Apex, has enlisted Darren Lynn Bousman to direct. Bousman is somewhat of a horror favorite as he's directed three of the seven Saw films (II-IV), Repo! The Genetic Opera, the underground indie hit The Devil's Carnival, and the modern remake of Mother's Day.

Apex follows a unit that is transported to another world while deployed to North Korea to confiscate a WMD. After being transported the unit must aid in the fight against an alien species. Bousman has already stated that his vision for this film is a 1980's action style with modern combat technique.
The script is being written by James E. Cavanaugh and will be produced by Aaron Ray and Joe Di Maio.

I personally think Bousman has a lot to bring to the table. Two of my favorite Saw movies were led by him and I absolutely love Repo! The Genetic Opera. It should be interesting to see him tackle this genre.


Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Wes Bentley joins American Horror Story: Freak Show

Wes Bentley has joined the cast of the FX drama, American Horror Story, for the two-part Halloween special of the upcoming fourth season. Details on his role include he is a former tormentor of Kathy Bates' character and is determined to exact his revenge. There isn't really any information if these will be the only two episode he is set to appear on or not.

American Horror Story: Freak Show is set to premiere on FX this October. It takes place in the last traveling American freak show in 1952. AHS veterans Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, Angela Bassett, Denis O'Hare, and Frances Conroy are set to return. In addition to Bentley our other new cast member is The Shield veteran Michael Chiklis.


The Conjuring spinoff receives a release date

We now have an answer for what the unannounced Warner Bros. horror title will be for 2014. The date now belongs to The Conjuring spinoff, Annabelle. The spinoff is set to hit theaters on October 3rd, over a year prior to the planned sequel to The Conjuring which is set for October 23, 2015.

John R. Leonetti served as director for Annabelle with The Conjuring director James Wan on as a producer. There is no plot announced for this film, but I am sure we will get a trailer for it before too long. It is already July.