Magic Mike XXL - First Trailer

The real reason behind Jupiter Ascending's delay

I don't think it necessarily disappointed anyone that the newest Wachowski Siblings film, Jupiter Ascending, was unexpectedly delayed but we now have some information as to why it was.

According to Yahoo! Movies, the studio decided to scrap the July 2014 opening after test screenings documented a large number of complaints about the film's incomplete digital effects and wacky plot. WB President of Worldwide Marketing and Distribution Sue Kroll and other film executives also saw the film and decided it wasn't quite ready for release.
Jupiter Ascending is already sitting on a $175 million budget and the cost of the fixes that need to be made and general marketing costs to delaying a film is no doubt going to skyrocket it even higher. The estimated figure for the new worldwide marketing alone is $100 million. Not to mention the film already has gone through two reshoot schedules this past January and April to clarify plot points and gain extra footage.

This isn't the first time Warner Bros. has delayed a film feeling it wasn't quite completed. Studios have recently become more apt to delay a film, despite the ridiculous cost to the studio, to ensure a better product in the end. The CEO of Framestore, who did the effects for Jupiter Ascending, backed this up citing examples such as Gravity and 300: Rise of an Empire. Gravity was completed a year prior to its release and 300 was delayed several months as the studio received complaints that the film's effects were not ready.
Warner Bros. no doubt remains hopeful that this delay will gain more interest for Jupiter Ascending. I saw a preview for this before Godzilla and I thought it looked ridiculously stupid. The effects looked bad and I'm sorry, but Channing Tatum shouldn't be in a film like this.
It also is leaving a big gap in the schedule for the studio's films. Godzilla did well, but both Blended and Edge of Tomorrow did not do as well as expected. Edge of Tomorrow isn't even close to breaking even on its $175 million budget. This also hurts the Wachowski's as their previous two films (Speed Racer and Cloud Atlas) were complete bombs at the box office. Jupiter Ascending was supposed to be their big return to the sci-fi genre.

Jupiter Ascending delayed until 2015

This is a rather surprising move since the release is a month and a half away, but Warner Bros. has decided to push Jupiter Ascending from July 18th to February 6, 2015. The sci-fi flick directed by the Wachowski siblings Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum.

The July release put the film against The Purge: Anarchy, Planes: Fire and Rescue, and Sex Tape so to say the weekend was crowded is not stretching it. The new release puts it against Mortdecai, Seventh Son, and Run All Night. However, I personally don't understand this move. That is how much money wasted on marketing, materials, post-production, etc.. Not to mention the fact that 2015 is much more crowded than 2014.

But at the same time I don't give a shit because this movie looks terrible. Bummer.

Channing Tatum confirmed to play Gambit

It was previously rumored that Tatum was being considered for the role of Gambit in the X-Men franchise, but we now have confirmation that Tatum has indeed been cast in the role.

People are insisting that a solo Gambit film was all depending on studio cooperation and the studio finally greenlit the project in the wake of X-Men: Apocalypse. Producer Lauren Shuler Donner confirmed Tatum's casting on the red carpet for X-Men: Days of Future Past. However, she kind of implies that the only reason he was cast is because he is originally from the South and that is a pretty stupid reason.
Rumors are circling around Tatum not appearing in X-Men: Apocalypse, so we most likely won't see a solo Gambit film until 2017 or 2018. However, The Hollywood Reporter insists we should keep an eye out in Apocalypse as Tatum might appear in a cameo as a setup for a solo film.

Either way... this is stupid. But I don't see how it could be worse than Taylor Kitsch. His portrayal of Gambit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine was pretty darn terrible.

Magic Mike 2 receives 2015 release date

Expect production on this to start before too long.

Despite being overly crowded already, Warner Bros. has elected to give the sequel to Magic Mike (rumored to be titled Magic Mike XXL) a July 3, 2015 release. It will face off against Terminator: Genesis in a rather important 4th of July holiday weekend.
Channing Tatum recently revealed that everyone is likely to return for the sequel including a newly dubbed Oscar-winner, Matthew McConaughey.

I still don't understand this because Magic Mike sucked ass (figuratively and literally), but it made money so what can you do.

Magic Mike 2 lands a director and an official title

Just yesterday I wrote about Joe Manganiello claiming filming for the Magic Mike sequel began this fall. We now have confirmation about a director and an official title.

Magic Mike XXL will be directed by Gregory Jacobs and is still rumored to begin production this fall. Jacobs is a long-time second unit director and assistant director and has done the duty for such films as Ocean's Eleven, Contagion, Erin Brockovich, Side Effects, and the Golden Globe winner Behind the Candelabra. He has also produced a number of the films he has directed.
It was previously rumored that Channing Tatum would co-direct with Reid Carolin, but that doesn't seem to be working out.

No telling exactly when production will officially start or if this info is completely true, but there it is.

Magic Mike 2 planned for the fall

After the rather unexpected success of the male stripper movie Magic Mike, a sequel was pretty much a given. However, with busy schedules for Channing Tatum and Stephen Soderbergh the timeframe has been a bit rusty and not too definite. We now have some quotes from Joe Manganiello that Magic Mike 2 will start up in the fall of this year.

Manganiello claims that the announcement should be coming soon and that filming will start up this fall. The sequel has no definitive cast or a director, but it was rumored that Channing Tatum will either co-direct with Reid Carolin or will make his directorial debut with the sequel. Tatum recently went to social media to share a photo of himself working on the screenplay for Magic Mike 2, so it is in the works. We just don't know for sure when.

I personally didn't like Magic Mike and I guarantee the only reason it was so successful is because people got to see Channing Tatum and Matthew McConaughey strip dance. The plot was terrible, Alex Pettyfer shouldn't quit his day job, and it wasn't that interesting. It was mild played drama underneath drama at a male strip club. I listed it in my "Worst of 2012" list which can be seen here. 

Channing Tatum eyed for Gambit movie

You might remember seeing Gambit once already in X-Men Origins: Wolverine where he was somewhat poorly portrayed by Taylor Kitsch. Producer Lauren Shuler Donner is apparently trying to get Fox on board to bring the card-throwing thief back to the big screen, but instead of bringing back Kitsch she has been negotiating with Channing Tatum.

Shuler Donner spoke with Empire and flat out told them she is trying to make a stand-alone Gambit movie:

"I'm dying to do a Gambit movie with Channing Tatum that doesn't have to be a great big movie. It's a thief in New Orleans, it's a whole different story. He's on board, and I have to get the studio on board. How can anyone resist Channing? He's such a sweetheart."

Channing Tatum had this to say about the potential project:

“I would like to play Gambit. Gambit’s my favourite. I’m from New Orleans, around that area. My dad’s from New Orleans, and I like to do a Cajun accent. I could do it for real. No knock on Taylor Kitsch, though, ’cause I actually like his Gambit, but I’ve always lived around Cajun people. Gambit was always like the woman-loving, cigarette-smoking, drinking guy. He was the punk rock of all the superheroes. He’s a thief. He kind of rode the line.”

Given the fact that Fox seems fully resistant to bring a much desired R-rated Deadpool movie to the big screen, Gambit could be a nice bet for a low level X-Men movie. You wouldn't need a lot of mutants to appear and due to the nature of the character, it probably wouldn't get anything worse than a PG-13 rating. I don't think Channing Tatum would necessarily be my first choice to play Gambit, but he definitely couldn't be worse than Taylor Kitsch was.

22 Jump Street - First Trailer

Here's to hoping you have a YouTube account because the trailer is redband.