Sony will not release The Interview at all

Just kidding on that whole VOD/DVD release. Sony Pictures responded to criticism about cancelling the theatrical release of The Interview by canceling its release altogether. The studio released a statement that they have no plans to release the James Franco comedy at all after US officials reportedly linked the Sony hack and theater threats to North Korea. As of yesterday the studio said they were looking into releasing the film on VOD and on home media, but those plans have apparently changed.

This decision could mean the rights to the film could go to another studio, but after all of this controversy I don't know what studio would want to pick this film up. On the other hand, if another studio did pick it up they could make a lot of money because there are a lot of people who have now said they'd watch the film just out of spite, even if they didn't want to see it to begin with. As it currently stands, this will result in a loss of millions of dollars to Sony Pictures as the film alone had a budget of $42 million. That isn't even counting the money spent on marketing and actor salaries. The Sony leaks told us that Seth Rogen received $8.4 million while Franco received $6.5 million.

Like I said in my previous posts about this, I didn't want to see The Interview to begin with and I wouldn't even watch it out of spite like many are saying they would. I thought the premise was stupid and I was surprised when I first heard about it that a studio actually funded the idea. I'm not saying I'm a supporter of North Korea or of Kim Jong-Un, but a little common sense would tell you it wasn't a very good idea in the first place. I'm sure at some point this film will see the light of day, but it isn't looking too promising right now.

Sony pulls theatrical release of The Interview

After several theater chains such as AMC, Cinemark, and Regal Cinemas decided to not show the upcoming Sony release, The Interview, the studio has decided to pull the film from its theatrical release altogether. This is a result of the recent "Sony hacks" by internet hackers as they issued 9/11-type threats against theaters still choosing to show the film next week. The studio is already exploring options to release the film such as an on-demand style VOD release or straight to DVD.

Sony's response was:

"Those who attacked us stole our intellectual property, private emails, and sensitive and proprietary material, and sought to destroy our spirit and our morale – all apparently to thwart the release of a movie they did not like. We are deeply saddened at this brazen effort to suppress the distribution of a movie, and in the process do damage to our company, our employees, and the American public. We stand by our filmmakers and their right to free expression and are extremely disappointed by this outcome."

Many theater chains who ultimately decided to drop the film prior to Sony's announcement have now come out and said the cancellation is due to Sony's lack of confidence in the film. Regal Cinemas made a statement saying they feel the cancellation is due to negative press over the film and that the studio had lacked confidence since news first broke of the film. Others feel that it would have destroyed the usual high box office numbers over Christmas and would have forced families to not see films such as Annie and Night at the Museum 3. Rest assured, those are still your holiday releases for this year and you won't have Seth Rogen or James Franco present to ruin it.

I don't think this is a bad move by the studio. People online are bitching about freedom and how the studio has given into the hacker demands, but the way I see it is this whole situation had no victorious outcome. You either screen the movie and potentially risk thousands of American lives or you pull the movie, lose some money, and give the hackers what they want. I don't see it as a freedom issue. I see it as playing things a bit safe and trying to avoid something terrible. Whether the threats had validity or not, I can guarantee that no one wanted anything going down at any theater in America. The last thing we need is more Century 16 shootings or bombings. Come on, people. Just wait until Sony releases it on VOD or DVD and shut up about it.

In my opinion, The Interview was a stupid premise to begin with and if I remember correctly it had already received a delay due to the subject matter. It was a gamble by Sony to even make this movie and they obviously lost the bet.

Yet another look at The Amazing Spider-Man 2

I swear, I feel like I have already seen this movie.

Today we have yet another look at Dane DeHaan as Harry Osborn (aka, Green Goblin) in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. You might recall that production tried to convince people he wouldn't show up until the third movie, but apparently after including him on one of the many teaser posters and trailers they just decided to go all out with the reveal... along with the reveal of just about everything else. Whoever is head of Sony's marketing department should be fired.

Anyway, here is the newest look at DeHaan in full costume:

If you want to pay and see The Amazing Spider-Man 2 instead of just looking at the promo pics and piecing together the five trailers we have, you can do so on May 2nd. It stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Dane DeHaan, Jamie Foxx, Sally Field, and Paul Giamatti.

First official X-Men: Days of Future Past image

Say hello to awkward, 70's versions of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), Beast (Nicholas Hoult), and Professor X (James McAvoy). This isn't anything special seeing that a majority of the effects aren't close to done, but at least it isn't a random Twitter pic from Bryan Singer.

Sacha Baron Cohen leaves Freddie Mercury biopic

Well, I can't say I'm unhappy about this one.

Sacha Baron Cohen has left the upcoming Freddie Mercury biopic over creative differences. If you don't know who Freddie Mercury is then I just feel sorry for you.




I'm just kidding. He is the late singer of the band Queen. Baron had been cast as Mercury quite a while ago and cited disagreements and creative differences with the living members of Queen as reason for his departure. Queen apparently wanted a family friendly, PG-rated film and Cohen wanted an R-rated raw look at Mercury's life. He had commissioned a script and had shopped it to directors like David Fincher and Tom Hooper. However, the band members never signed off on it.

Sony Pictures and GK Films is setting up this biopic but there is no telling where the project will go from here or who will replace Sacha Baron Cohen. If Queen wants a PG movie based off their late frontman I think they should just quit while they're ahead. Mercury did not really lead a PG-rated life. He struggled for privacy despite being openly gay and died of AIDS in 1991. I don't know how you can put a PG spin on that.
I say I am happy about this because although Cohen was a fairly decent choice to play Freddie Mercury, I don't think this should happen. Ever. I hope this departure leads to the project dying entirely.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 headed to Comic-Con

Hall H is starting to get pretty full. We now have confirmation that Sony is presenting The Amazing Spider-Man 2 at San Diego Comic-Con. There will be a panel consisting of Andrew Garfield, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, director Marc Webb, and producers Avi Arad and Matt Tolmec.
Back in 2011 while promoting the first Amazing Spider-Man film, Andrew Garfield shocked the audience when he appeared dressed as Spider-Man and gave a speech about his love for the character.

Other news regarding Sony's plans for Comic-Con include a detailed peek and panel for Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 along with a panel for the upcoming remake of Robocop. The panel for the animated film will feature Anna Faris, Terry Crews, and directors Cody Cameron and Kris Pearn. The panel for Robocop will feature Joel Kinnaman, Abbie Cornish, and Samuel L. Jackson.

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. 

Mary Jane cut from The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Mary Jane Watson was originally supposed to have a brief role in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Shailene Woodley was even seen filming on set. However, director Marc Webb has announced that Mary Jane's scenes have been cut entirely from the film and they are saving her introduction until The Amazing Spider-Man 3. The is no word on whether the scenes filmed for the sequel will be saved and included in the third movie or if they will remain cut and unused.

This comes after Woodley mentioned it in the upcoming issue of EW where she was discussing her upcoming film Divergent:

"Of course I’m bummed. But I am a firm believer in everything happening for a specific reason…Based on the proposed plot, I completely understand the need for holding off on introducing Mary Jane until the next film."

Maybe this means the whole rumor of Gwen Stacy dying is going to be a reality?

Sony confirms The Amazing Spider-Man 3 & 4

Sony is rolling along with their recent, and rather successful, reboot of Spider-Man. Seeing that The Amazing Spider-Man raked in over $750 million in 2012 and the is sequel currently in production, they have announced the release dates for The Amazing Spider-Man 3 and 4. We will get the third installment on June 10, 2016 and the fourth on May 4, 2018.

The details for each movie are non-existent and the sequel is still being filmed in NYC, so I wouldn't expect any more information for quite sometime. However, certain cast and crew members (specifically Andrew Garfield) have signed multi-year deals so it's pretty obvious that they will be sticking around until 2018. This also pretty much confirms that Sony is clinging onto the rights to Spider-Man, so those wishing for the Spidey cameo in a future Avengers movie can stop holding their breath.

We also have some new characters that are rather important to the Spider-Man story that will be introduced in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 such as Mary Jane Watson (played by Shailene Woodley) and Harry Osborne (played by Dane DeHaan). I have no doubt one or both of them will have a major part in the future Spider-Man movies Sony has just announced. 
My only concern with this is Andrew Garfield's age. He's already 29 and is portraying a 17-year old. By the time 2018 hits he will be pushing 35. That is a bit ridiculous.

First look at Jamie Foxx as Electro

I don't love this. Not really.

In case you are clueless, this is the first image of Jamie Foxx as Electro in the upcoming sequel The Amazing Spider-Man 2. The film also stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Shailene Woodley, and Dane DeHaan. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is set for release on May 2, 2014.

Sony plans Hotel Transylvania 2 for 2015

September 15, 2015 to be exact.

Sony is already developing a sequel to Hotel Transylvania which was just released this past September. I didn't see it but I didn't hear bad things. I'll catch it when it's on DVD. If I like it I guess you can count be in for the sequel.

Jamie Foxx in villain talks for The Amazing Spiderman 2

Jamie Foxx is in talks to play the villain in The Amazing Spiderman sequel. Which villain? None other than Electro... apparently.

When Shailene Woodley was confirmed for the role of Mary Jane Watson there were rumors circulating about who the main villain will be in the sequel. We heard rumors of Electro and I guess that was justified. This should be interesting.

Bill Murray not doing Ghostbusters 3

According to Dan Aykroyd, that is. Aykroyd said in an interview that the project as a whole is suspended for right now and that Bill Murray has no interest in being involved.

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/dan-aykroyd-says-bill-murray-wont-do-ghostbusters-3-says-project-is-in-suspended-animation-although-sony-still-interested

I think I might start dancing.

The Amazing Spiderman trailer #2

Another late one but here we go.

Personally I am still not excited for The Amazing Spiderman. I think the title is awful, Andrew Garfield is a dumb choice, etc.. I just don't like this at all. I'm  not planning on seeing it. I still might but it won't be because I want to.

Shiloh Fernandez announced for The Evil Dead

I feel like the only movie I have seen this guy in was Deadgirl. I had to look him up on IMDB to see who he was. The way this article makes it sound is that he will be the male lead alongside the female lead previously held by Lily Collins (she dropped out of the project a couple weeks ago).

http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/28187