Michael Keaton in talks for Kong: Skull Island

A new King Kong origins story is set to open in 2017 and Universal is already shopping around for stars to appear in the film. Still high on very positive reviews of Birdman, the studio has approached Michael Keaton to star. He will join previously announced cast members, Tom Hiddleston and J.K. Simmons.

There is no info on what Keaton's role would involve, but I'm sure information on Kong: Skull Island will continuously reveal itself. 

Tom Hiddleston confirmed for Skull Island

We were teased on an upcoming adaptation of Skull Island this past July at SDCC, and now it seems that Tom Hiddleston has been cast as the film's lead. In addition to Hiddleston's casting, we learned that Jordan Vogt-Roberts has been hired to direct.
There is no other word on exactly what role Hiddleston will be playing, but we do know it will be mostly on the island itself and that Godzilla writer, Max Borenstein, is writing the screenplay. Skull Island is currently set to hit theaters on November 4, 2016.

You will most likely recognize Hiddleston from his work as Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He won the respects and praise from many comic fans for his portrayal of the mischievous villain in Thor, The Avengers, and Thor: The Dark World. He was most recently seen in the indie vampire hit, Only Lovers Left Alive, and is rumored to be part of the upcoming reboot of Ben-Hur.

Universal unveils release dates for 2015

Just days after the announcement that Elizabeth Banks signed on to direct Pitch Perfect 2, we have some release dates from Universal including the acapella sequel.

Pitch Perfect 2 is set for release on May 15, 2015. The press release states that the Barden Bellas will return. Also on Universal's agenda are Everest which will be released on February 27, 2015 in IMAX and IMAX 3D. Guillermo del Toro's Crimson Peak also nabbed an October 16, 2015 release in IMAX.

In addition to the 2015 release dates we also got some lined up for 2014. Michael Bay's Ouija will be released on October 24, 2014 putting some competition against Paranormal Activity 5 while A Walk Among the Tombstones is slated for September 19, 2014.

World of Warcraft film set for 2015

Add another movie to the long list of 2015 releases.

Legendary Pictures and Universal have announced their intent to release Warcraft on December 18, 2015. The film is indeed based off the popular computer game World of Warcraft. The Duncan Jones film will compete directly with Ron Howard's Inferno and could potentially compete with Star Wars: Episode VII as the film is expected to announce a December 2015 release.
Recent news reported that Paula Patton was in negotiations for a lead role. Other sources are saying Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin, Paul Dano, or Anson Mount could join her as a male lead.

This release comes after Legendary decided to break ties with Warner Bros. earlier this summer.

Legendary exits Batman vs. Superman

It has already been announced that Legendary Pictures was ending their partnership with Warner Bros. and will begin partnership with Universal, but they were going to stick with them long enough to co-finance Zack Snyder's Man of Steel sequel, Batman vs. Superman (or Superman vs. Batman). In a change of events... that isn't happening anymore.

Legendary has decided to exit the Superman sequel and give up all their stake in the film in exchange for a portion of Christopher Nolan's upcoming sci-fi film Interstellar. Batman vs. Superman is not scheduled until 2015 while Interstellar hits theaters next year. This is also somewhat of a given as Legendary has partnered with Christopher Nolan for all three Batman films in the Dark Knight trilogy as well as Inception. Interstellar is being co-produced by Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., so Legendary is probably going to see a hefty payday from this one.

Batman vs. Superman has yet to enter production or announce who will be playing Batman, but the apparent top three is Ryan Gosling (Drive, The Notebook), Josh Brolin (Jonah Hex, Oldboy), and Joe Manganiello (True Blood, Magic Mike). 
Interstellar has already compiled a pretty interstellar (ha ha ha) cast which includes Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Topher Grace, Matthew McConaughey, Michael Caine, Wes Bentley, Ellen Burstyn, John Lithgow, etc.. Production officially began earlier this week and is set for a November 7, 2014 release. 

Legendary Pictures moves to Universal

As I previously posted, Legendary Pictures was shopping around to find a new partner after choosing not to renew with Warner Bros. This meant a pretty great deal, especially for the DC Comics movies.
It has been announced that Legendary has chosen to partner with Universal Pictures and NBC. As a result, all Legendary properties such as The Hangover trilogy, The Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, and Man of Steel will now be owned by Universal. This also means future projects such as Justice League and Man of Steel 2 will now be under Universal and not Warner Bros.

Thomas Tull, Legendary's CEO, announced the merger during a red carpet interview for Legendary's newest film, Pacific Rim. He stated that he wanted to go beyond what Warner Bros. could offer and moved to Universal for the "theme park and a television and cable network." In other words, he obviously sees the potential for profits on theme park rides based on the films (no doubt the DC Comics movies) and potential television shows that would air on NBC, USA, or SyFy. This also means Universal's projects can be co-financed by Legendary if they choose to do so.

Here is the official press release:

UNIVERSAL PICTURES AND LEGENDARY ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCE MULTI-YEAR FILM PARTNERSHIP

Legendary to Leverage Comcast and NBCUniversal’s Businesses Including Universal Studios Theme Parks

UNIVERSAL CITY, CA, July 10, 2013 — Universal Pictures and Legendary Entertainment will enter into a multi-year film partnership in which the two companies will produce and co-finance Legendary and Universal films with Universal distributing Legendary films worldwide.  Making Universal its new home enables Legendary to not only leverage the power and success of Universal’s film business and theme parks, but also the cross promotional support from NBCUniversal and Comcast assets through the company’s “Symphony” program.  The announcement was made today by Universal Pictures Chairman Adam Fogelson and Co-Chairman Donna Langley and Legendary Entertainment Chairman and CEO Thomas Tull.

“Comcast and NBCUniversal’s global assets in film, television and theme parks offer Legendary unmatched breadth and opportunity to grow our business.  We are delighted to be in business with this exceptional team and look forward to a successful partnership,” said Tull.

Universal and Legendary’s film partnership is a complementary arrangement for both companies.  Legendary, which is known for producing and financing successful large scale films, will continue to create and finance tent pole films based on intellectual property that is uniquely appealing to the coveted fanboy audience.  And Universal, which has a proven track record of turning films of all shapes and sizes into hits with special skills in growing and nourishing original franchises, will market, co-finance and distribute Legendary films for five years beginning in 2014.

“Legendary has demonstrated a keen ability to identify and acquire powerful fresh intellectual property based ideas, match them with strong filmmakers and turn them into blockbuster hits,” said Fogelson and Langley.  “The Universal team is thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with Legendary in turning those ideas into the best and most successful versions of themselves around the world.”

Under the terms of the deal Universal and Legendary will jointly  identify opportunities to expand Legendary’s franchises and intellectual property into Universal’s theme parks, and Universal will have an opportunity to collaborate with Legendary on projects in China following Legendary’s historic deal with China Film Group.

“Legendary continues to prove that big ideas are relevant and profitable with our global movie-going audience.  We couldn’t be more thrilled to embrace the challenges and changing marketplace with Thomas and his team and we are also excited about what opportunities this will bring to our Theme Parks around the world,” said Ron Meyer, President and COO, Universal Studios.

“We are very excited to be in business with Thomas and Legendary,” said Steve Burke, CEO of NBCUniversal. “The partnership is a perfect fit for both companies and I am confident that together we will be in an even better position to deliver compelling, profitable entertainment content to a global audience for years to come.”

This is a pretty big deal. Universal probably just landed one of the biggest deals possible right now. 

Legendary Pictures separating from Warner Bros.

One of the best partnerships in recent history appears to be coming to a close.

Legendary Pictures is responsible for films like Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, The Hangover trilogy, Man of Steel, Inception, 300, Watchmen, etc.. It appears that the company is looking to part ways with Warner Bros. and bond to another company.
Many were hoping the recent executive reconstruction at Warner Bros. would convince Legendary to stick around but it doesn't seem to have made much of an impact. Companies in the running to partner up with Legendary are Universal, Sony, Fox, and Lionsgate.
However, there is a bit of a hiccup with all this. Legendary CEO Tomas Tull has expressed interest in keeping the company separate from any co-financers in an attempt to do what Warner Bros. did with Harry Potter only with the future DC Comics movies. By going solo on production Legendary will then gain all the benefits of the films. If this doesn't happen and Tull finds a studio he likes, the deal will most likely go through before their next big release, Pacific Rim, which comes out on July 12th.

The only issue I see with this is... are the DC Comics movies contracted through Warner Bros. or through Legendary? If they are through WB I don't see how Legendary can gain access to continue making these films without the partnership, especially if they co-finance with a company like Sony who owns quite a few Marvel franchises like Spider-Man.


[UPDATE] - Universal has won the prize. Legendary announced on July 10th that they have merged with Universal and their television partners NBC, USA, and SyFy. 

Man of Steel - Review

Clark Kent is put forced to face the truth of his race and his destiny after ancient members of his race come to find and destroy him on Earth. In an attempt to save the human race from General Zod's genocide, Clark is forced to reveal who he really is to the world in Man of Steel.


I'm going to jump right into this because I don't really have much else to start with. And yes, there are spoilers so beware.

1. It was way too long. They could have cut a half hour out and no one would have known the difference.
2. The whole Lois Lane knowing exactly who Superman was the whole time bugged me.
3. The beginning dragged a lot and despite the drag they didn't really reveal a ton of information. Zack Snyder did what he does best and focused on shots that aren't really relevant just because he can make them look cool.
4. There was a lack of downtime. The amount of constant action was a bit overkill.
5. The sound effects are downright painful. I consider myself an individual with good hearing, but when your ears start hurting and ringing because of the volume and high pitch of the effects there is a problem.
6. Clark got the Superman suit way too fast. Speaking of the suit, I still hate it and the new logo.


Now with that said, I do have to say that despite all that I did like Man of Steel. I enjoyed it a lot more than I was anticipating and I was very shocked. However, I still am not a fan of Zack Snyder. I think his overuse of visual effects and the lack of time management is ridiculous and I have felt that way for years.
I also felt that this movie had the origin but it lacked. They showed Clark being sent to Earth from Krypton and then it hit fast forward 33 years where he was working odd jobs in the Arctic trying to find where he came from. They used flashbacks as the explanation and even then it was really choppy. It's like they dragged on with the part on Krypton and then all of a sudden rushed through to play catch-up and gave him the suit. It's like they just assumed that everyone knows the Superman story. I like to think people do but not everyone. That is just a given and they ignored that.

Like I said, I did like it for the most part. I thought the effects although overused were pretty well done. I also thought the acting far exceeded my expectation. Henry Cavill was awesome and I absolutely loved Kevin Costner, Russell Crowe, and Michael Shannon. All of them were great. The only disappointment I really had was with Amy Adams. She was a terrible Lois Lane and I don't understand why she was cast.
I loved the parts where Clark was in Kansas and where he was searching for the right times to use his powers. I thought that was extremely well done. The only parts that really lacked, for me, was on Krypton and the battle in Metropolis. That just took too damn long.


What did you guys think of Man of Steel? The reception has been so mixed up so far.