Batman vs. Superman pushed to 2016

It looks like we will have to wait another year to see Ben Affleck as Batman. Warner Bros. announced an inevitable schedule change for the Man of Steel sequel. The "untitled" Batman vs. Superman project has shifted from July 17, 2015 to May 6, 2016. In place of the DC Comics film, the new reboot of Peter Pan has now taken the July 17th spot.

Batman vs. Superman will now be released in the same year as X-Men: Apocalypse and an untitled Marvel project rumored to be Doctor Strange. It also moves it just a year apart from the planned Justice League movie and the same year as the announced Flash film. Whether this will shift more DC movies as a chain reaction is still unknown but it's possible. I won't be surprised if they move Flash to 2017 and delay Justice League to 2018. Reasoning for the delay was cited as a creative issue. In order for the filmmakers to fully capture their vision they needed more time. This also moves the budget to the second quarter of the fiscal year, so they now have more money to spend on it. There also is a rumor that Ben Affleck recently injured himself, but that hasn't been confirmed.

I personally don't mind this. It takes some of the heat out of the 2015 year which is already ridiculously overcrowded. 

Paranormal Activity 5 casting call reveals characters

A newly released casting call has revealed the new family that Paranormal Activity 5 will focus on. The characters will be Ryan, Emily, and their 6-year old daughter Leila. Also in the mix is Ryan's younger brother Mike.

Ryan is described as a 26-31 year old male who is a "big kid." He is a game designer who relocated from New York to Palo Alto, CA to take a job with Rockstar Games. His wife Emily is a self-described "hippie" who is more serious than her husband. Her sister also passed away a year before the events of the film. The daughter is described as a fearless tomboy.

Now, of course the plot is assumed to be a family quickly discovering there is something wrong with their house. Who knows if this will have a tie into The Marked Ones or not, but we will see shortly. Paranormal Activity 5 is set to hit theaters on October 24th.

2014 Oscar nominations announced

American Hustle and Gravity turned out to be the hits with the Academy this year as they both lead with 10 nominations each. 12 Years a Slave ended up with 9 total. There are quite a few surprises including the complete snub of Monsters University and the fact that Jonah Hill got nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Also a bit surprising: Tom Hanks not being nominated for Captain Phillips, Cate Blanchett not being nominated for Blue Jasmine, Spike Jonze not being nominated for Best Director, Blue is the Warmest Color not being nominated for Best Foreign Film (that was just expected), and Monsters University not being nominated for Best Animated Feature. Seriously, why the hate for Pixar this year? It wasn't a bad movie and the animation was beautiful.

The Academy Awards will air on March 2nd.

Here are the nominees!

Best Picture:

12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Actor:

Christian Bale - American Hustle
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Wolf of Wall Street
Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave
Bruce Dern - Nebraska
Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club

Best Actress:

Amy Adams - American Hustle
Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock - Gravity
Judi Dench - Philomena
Meryl Streep - August: Osage County

Best Supporting Actor:

Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper - American Hustle
Michael Fassbender - 12 Years a Slave
Jonah Hill - The Wolf of Wall Street
Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club

Best Supporting Actress:

Sally Hawkins - Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle
Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts - August: Osage County
June Squibb - Nebraska

Best Director:

Alfonso Cuaron - Gravity
Alexander Payne - Nebraska
David O. Russell - American Hustle
Martin Scorsese - The Wolf of Wall Street
Steve McQueen - 12 Years a Slave

Best Original Screenplay:

Woody Allen - Blue Jasmine
Craig Borten & Melisa Warlick - Dallas Buyers Club
Eric Warren Singer & David O. Russell - American Hustle
Bob Nelson - Nebraska
Spike Jonze - Her

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Steve Coogan & Jeff Pope - Philomena
Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy & Ethan Hawke - Before Midnight
Billy Ray - Captain Phillips
John Ridley - 12 Years a Slave
Terence Winter - The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Animated Film:

Despicable Me 2
Ernest & Celestine
Frozen
The Croods
The Wind Rises

Best Original Score:

Alexandre Deslplat - Philomena
Thomas Newman - Saving Mr. Banks
William Butler & Owen Pallett - Her
John Williams - The Book Thief
Steven Price - Gravity

Best Original Song:

"Alone, Yet Not Alone" - Alone, Yet Not Alone
"Let it Go" - Frozen 
"Happy" - Despicable Me 2 
"The Moon Song" - Her
"Ordinary Love" - Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Best Cinematography:

Phillipe Le Sound - The Grandmaster
Phedon Papamichael - Nebraska
Bruno Delbonnel - Inside Llewyn Davis
Emmanuel Lubezki - Gravity
Roger Deakins - Prisoners

Best Visual Effects:

Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Iron Man 3
The Lone Ranger
Star Trek Into Darkness

Best Foreign Language Film:

The Broken Circle Breakdown
The Great Beauty
The Hunt
The Missing Piece
Omar

Best Documentary Feature:

The Act of Killing
Cutie and the Boxer
Dirty Wars
The Square
20 Feet from Stardom

Best Documentary Short Subject:

CaveDigger
Facing Fear
Karama Has No Walls
The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life
Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Jack Hall

Best Production Design:

American Hustle
Gravity
The Great Gatsby
Her
12 Years a Slave

Best Costume Design:

American Hustle
The Grandmaster
The Great Gatsby
The Invisible Woman
12 Years a Slave

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:

Dallas Buyers Club
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
The Lone Ranger

Best Sound Editing:

All is Lost
Captain Phillips
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Lone Survivor

Best Sound Mixing:

Captain Phillips
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Inside Llewyn Davis
Lone Survivor

Best Animated Short:

Feral
Get a Horse!
Mr. Hublot
Possessions
Room on the Broom

Best Live-Action Short:

Aquel No EraYo
Avant Que De Tout Perdre
Helium
Pitakko Mun Kaikki Hoitaa?
The Voorman Problem

More info on American Horror Story Season 4 surfaces

Despite having a minor teaser of the theme during this past week's Coven episode, we now have more information regarding the fourth installment of American Horror Story.

Co-creator Ryan Murphy teased fans a bit more by giving us knowledge that it will take place in the year 1950 and that it will be a period piece. He also includes how they try and not do what they have done before, so to expect something different. The final teaser, "Jessica Lange is already practicing her German accent so I'm very excited!"


So I did some research on the year 1950...

• The Cold War was in full effect as early as January.
• In January, there were some German doctors and scientists who came out and admitted to being Soviet spies. They passed nuclear data from the British and Germans to Russia. 
• The first steps toward the European Union were set in place in May.
• The Korean War began in June.
• Communist riots erupted in Berlin, Germany in September. Also in the same month, West Germany purged all Communist leaders. 
• East Germany approves Communism in a landslide vote in October.

It is also worth mentioning that 1950 was still pretty much the tail end of World War II. Although the European Occupation was pretty much wrapped up by 1945, people were still picking up the pieces in the 1950's. It is possible that this season could be about remaining Nazi's and war criminals. Just putting that out there. I also think with the time frame it could have something to do with the Holocaust or the Cold War. It might be an excited theme to have Communism and spies.

The Conjuring spin-off moving forward

We got news a couple months back that after the major success of The Conjuring, New Line Cinema announced their intent to move forward with three spin-offs. The main one mentioned was a spin-off about the Annabelle doll. We now have official confirmation that New Line is moving forward with the Annabelle spin-off and it's assumed it will focus on the origins of the doll's possession before the Warrens obtained the object.

Annabelle Wallis and Ward Horton will lead the low-budget film and it will be directed by John Leonetti. Leonetti served as the main cinematographer for The Conjuring. James Wan, who directed The Conjuring, will serve as an executive producer.

Devil's Due viral video is a winner!

This is one of the better viral campaigns for a horror movie that we've received in recent years. I cracked up through this whole thing. "Why would they do this!?"

Devil's Due, presented by 20th Century Fox, comes out this Friday, January 17th.

2014 Razzie nominations

Ooh, 2013 was a fun year for sure. I'm a bit surprised to not see movies like Carrie and Jack the Giant Slayer on here, but you can't win them all. Here are the 2014 Razzie Award nominees:

Worst Picture:

The Lone Ranger
After Earth
Grown Ups 2
A Madea Christmas
Movie 43

Worst Actor:

Johnny Depp - The Lone Ranger
Ashton Kutcher - Jobs
Jaden Smith - After Earth
Sylvester Stallone - Bullet to the Head, Escape Plan, Grudge Match
Adam Sandler - Grown Ups 2

Worst Actress:

Lindsay Lohan - The Canyons
Naomi Watts - Movie 43
Selena Gomez - Getaway
Tyler Perry - A Madea Christmas
Halle Berry - Movie 43, The Call

Worst Supporting Actor:

Chris Brown - Battle of the Year
Larry the Cable Guy - A Madea Christmas
Taylor Lautner - Grown Ups 2
Will Smith - After Earth
Nick Swardson - A Haunted House, Grown Ups 2

Worst Supporting Actress:

Lady Gaga - Machete Kills
Salma Hayek - Grown Ups 2
Katherine Heigl - The Big Wedding
Kim Kardashian - Tyler Perry's Temptation
Lindsay Lohan - InAPPropriate Comedy, Scary Movie 5

Worst Screen Combo

Cast of Grown Ups 2
Cast of Movie 43
Lindsay Lohan & Charlie Sheen - Scary Movie 5
Tyler Perry & the worn out wig and dress - A Madea Christmas
Jaden Smith & Will Smith - After Earth

Worst Director:

The 13 people who directed Movie 43
Dennis Dugan - Grown Ups 2
Tyler Perry - A Madea Christmas, Temptation
M. Night Shyamalan - After Earth
Gore Verbinski - The Lone Ranger

Worst Screenplay:

After Earth
Grown Ups 2
The Lone Ranger
A Madea Christmas
Movie 43

Worse Remake or Sequel:

Grown Ups 2
The Hangover III
The Lone Ranger
Scary Movie 5
The Smurfs 2

My 2014 Oscar Predictions

We are now a little over a day and a half from learning the official Oscar nominations, so I figured I would share my personal predictions of what we might see this year. I'm not claiming to know everything, obviously, and I could be wrong but it's fun to guess.

Best Picture:

12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Blue Jasmine
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Inside Llewyn Davis
Saving Mr. Banks
The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Actor:

Christian Bale - American Hustle
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Wolf of Wall Street
Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave
Tom Hanks - Captain Phillips
Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club

Best Actress:

Amy Adams - American Hustle
Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock - Gravity
Judi Dench - Philomena
Emma Thompson - Saving Mr. Banks

Best Supporting Actor:

Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper - American Hustle
Michael Fassbender - 12 Years a Slave
James Gandolfini - Enough Said
Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club

Best Supporting Actress:

Sally Hawkins - Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle
Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts - August: Osage County
June Squibb - Nebraska

Best Director:

Alfonso Cuaron - Gravity
Spike Jonze - Her
Steve McQueen - 12 Years a Slave
David O. Russell - American Hustle
Martin Scorsese - The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Original Screenplay:

Woody Allen - Blue Jasmine
Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack - Dallas Buyers Club
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen - Inside Llewyn Davis
Alfonso Cuaron & Jonas Cuaron - Gravity
Spike Jonze - Her

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Steve Coogan & Jeff Pope - Philomena
Tracy Letts - August: Osage County
Billy Ray - Captain Phillips
John Ridley - 12 Years a Slave
Terence Winter - The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Animated Film:

Despicable Me 2
Ernest & Celestine
Frozen
Monsters University

Best Original Score:

Alexander Ebert - All is Lost
Randy Newman - Monsters University
Steven Price - Gravity
John Williams - The Book Thief
Hans Zimmer - 12 Years a Slave

Best Original Song:

"I See Fire" - The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
"Let it Go" - Frozen
"Ordinary Love" - Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Best Cinematography:

Barry Ackroyd - Captain Phillips 
Sean Bobbit - 12 Years a Slave
Bruno Delbonnel - Inside Llewyn Davis
Emmanuel Lubezki - Gravity
Hoyte Van Hoytema - Her

Best Visual Effects:

Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Iron Man 3
Pacific Rim
Star Trek Into Darkness


Like I said, this is just a prediction list. I'm excited to see how many I got right and wrong. The Oscar nominations will be revealed on Wednesday, January 16th. 

Planet of the Apes receives 2016 date

Now for some release date news we got today.

• In addition to the announcement that Matt Reeves will direct a third installment of Planet of the Apes, we now have an official release date. The third installment is set to hit theaters on July 29, 2016.

• Next up, we have an official release date for the Poltergeist reboot. The horror rehash will hit theaters on February 13, 2015. Yes, that is the same weekend as Fifty Shades of Grey.

• To avoid too much competition for the Valentine's Day weekend, Fox has shifted the newest Nicholas Spark's adaptation, The Longest Ride, from February 13, 2015 to April 3, 2015. 

We also got minor, assumed, confirmation that Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana will return for the Avatar sequels. Plot details for the sequel have yet to be released, but we do know that their characters will have children and will be filmed entirely in New Zealand. We won't see Avatar 2 until 2016 while Avatar 3 and Avatar 4 are set for 2017 and 2018. 

Michael Pena in talks for Ant-Man

Now that January is about half over we are starting to get more valuable news. Marvel isn't skimping on announcements right now as we have news that Michael Pena (End of Watch) is in early talks for Ant-Man. The role offered to Pena is unknown at this time, but reports suggest he is keen on accepting. Pena is a very versatile actor who has tackled, and succeeded, in both comedies and dramas. Edgar Wright has described Ant-Man to be a bit of both comedy and drama, so he might just be a perfect fit.

Kevin Feige and the rest of Marvel are now working on casting the female lead. Rumors are circulating around Bryce Dallas Howard and Rashida Jones, but there is no telling who might be cast next. Filming is supposed to start in April, so I figure we will have some more solid casting news before too long.

Man shot in Florida over texting in movie theater

I just thought this was ridiculous and had to share.

The basics of this story are a 71-year old retired police officer fatally shot a man because he wouldn't stop texting inside a Tampa, FL movie theater. The man claimed he felt imminent danger after the 43-year old texter threw a bag of popcorn at him after refusing to stop texting. After the bag was thrown the man pulled out a .380 calibur and shot the texter in the chest. The texter was taken to a nearby hospital where he later died of a single gunshot wound.
The movie being screened was Lone Survivor, an adaptation of a Navy SEAL team fighting in Afghanistan. The retired officer, Curtis Reeves, retired a Captain from the force and was instrumental in creating the area's first tactical response team. He recently participated in crime stoppers and worked at a local Busch Gardens theme park. He is scheduled to appear in court today.


I'm sorry, but if the texting is bothering you that much maybe you should just change seats and sit in front of the person. You don't confront them, cause a scene, and kill someone. Why this guy had a gun on him in the first place is beyond me. Yet another installment of, "Congratulations, you're an asshole."

[Rumor] Marvel seeking Johnny Depp for major role

Rumor alert!

This is minor but potentially big. According to the mighty internets, Marvel has someone in mind for Doctor Strange and that person might just be Johnny Depp. Previous rumors circling around this project included Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Viggo Mortensen potentially being cast in the lead role.

Sources are claiming that Depp accepted a meeting with Marvel to discuss the character and the role. Depp has been vocal in the past about his desire to jump on board with Marvel at some point if the opportunity presented itself. It is also notable to mention Depp's longstanding relationship with Disney. He is basically their poster child for the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and has also starred in Disney films such as The Lone Ranger and Alice in Wonderland. He is also scheduled to reprise the role of the Mad Hatter in a second Alice in Wonderland installment as well as donning Captain Jack Sparrow at least once more.
Disney and Marvel are both probably thinking that Depp will draw viewers to a new, unknown character. It is also notable to mention the fact that he is a good 20-years older than the title character. Depp will be 51 this year and Doctor Strange is described to be about 30-years old. However, it has been said that if he signs the contract the script will be altered to fit him in pretty much any way possible.

Now... one important thing to remember is that we won't see a Doctor Strange movie until at least 2016. It is part of Phase Three which is kicking off with Ant-Man on July 31, 2015. The earliest we will see anything about Doctor Strange is probably a post-credits cameo after The Avengers: Age of Ultron or after Ant-Man. I wouldn't think they would hint at him earlier than that.


What do you think about all this? Would you like to see Depp enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe or do you think he should walk away?

Magic the Gathering movie in development

Not too long after Magic the Gathering celebrated its 20th anniversary, we have confirmation that the long standing game will get a movie. 20th Century Fox has picked up the rights while Simon Kinberg is set to produce and develop the story into a potential franchise.

Whether it should be or not, at least Magic the Gathering has franchise potential. Over the past 20 years there have been numerous expansion packs which give a lot of different characters potential. There isn't any information other than this so far, but I'm sure this will hit theaters by late-2015 or 2016. If they want competition with another fantasy storyline, they could try for 2015 and compete with Warcraft. 

Michael Douglas to play Ant-Man

This is coming totally out of left field. Marvel sure played this one out well.

We have new news about Edgar Wright's Ant-Man coming in 2015. Previously, we all believed the casting of Paul Rudd to mean we had our Hank Pym. We now have confirmation that Paul Rudd will be playing the role of Scott Lang and Hank Pym will be portrayed by none other than Michael Douglas.
If you are as unaware of Ant-Man as most people are, there are multiple people who have taken on the suit. It originated with Hank Pym and later moved onto a reformed thief named Scott Lang. Lang took on the role of Ant-Man after Pym retired his identity. Given the age of Michael Douglas I am wondering exactly how much of a presence Rudd is going to have in this one. Unless they show the slight origin on Lang while at the same time following Douglas on his road to retirement remains unknown. It also remains unknown whether Rudd or Douglas will appear in future Marvel films like The Avengers: Age of Ultron or The Avengers 3. Either way this is shaping up to be an interesting project.

Michael Douglas makes another rather impressive addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In addition to Douglas we have had other acclaimed actors such as Robert Redford, James Spader, Bradley Cooper, Jeff Bridges, and Tommy Lee Jones appear (or set to appear) in Marvel films.

The Purge 2 receives a new title

Let The Purge 2 now be known as The Next Chapter of The Purge.

Yes, Universal has picked an extremely stupid title for their fast-tracked sequel to The Purge. The sequel is currently in production as they aim for a June 20, 2014 release date. The film stars Frank Grillo, Michael K. Williams, Zach Gilford, and Carmen Ejogo.
Returning are writer/producer Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions, James DeMonaco, and Platinum Dunes partner Michael Bay.

I personally hated The Purge, so I am not excited or looking forward to The Next Chapter of The Purge. I thought it was a great concept they flushed down the toilet with weak characters, a lacking plot, and a severe lack of detail.