Friday the 13th reboot delayed

Paramount made a fairly big deal about releasing a new reboot of Friday the 13th on March 15, 2015. The film has now received a delay and now has a release date of November 13, 2015. This puts is just past the Halloween season. The film is being directed by David Bruckner.

As a result, Paramount has also moved their 2015 horror-comedy offering, Scouts vs. Zombies, to fill the March 15, 2015 slot.

[Updated] Ant-Man potential directors narrowed down

Marvel is scrambling to find a new director for Ant-Man after Edgar Wright departed the project earlier this week. We now have a shortlist of directors in contention for the spot. The list includes Rawson Marshall Thurber, Adam McKay, Ruben Fleischer, and Jonathan Levine.

Here is a list of some of the films we have gotten from these guys:

Thurber sat in the chair for We're the Millers, Dodgeball: An Underdog Story, and was announced to be returning for a We're the Millers sequel.

McKay brought us a decent number of Digital Shorts on Saturday Night Live, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Step Brothers, The Other Guys, and Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. He also has a long list of writing credits to his name.

Fleischer brought us Zombieland, Gangster Squad, 30 Minutes or Less, and has directed a number of Funny or Die skits. He also has producer credits for Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory.

Levine is probably the farthest from comedy as his credits include the horror flick All the Boys Love Mandy Lane and films like 50/50, Warm Bodies, and The Wackness.


With this shortlist it appears that Marvel is still looking to maintain a level of quirkiness and humor with Ant-Man because three of these guys mostly deal with comedies. One of the rumors was that Marvel thought Wright's British humor was a bit too weird for a primarily American audience, so searching for American directors makes a bit more sense for them, I guess. The one plot hole in that is the popularity and somewhat of a cult following around Wright's film Shaun of the Dead.
However, given that this is a superhero movie there is no doubt bound to be some action in there and I think Ruben Fleischer has a leg up on McKay and Thurber as he worked on Zombieland and Gangster Squad. The one advantage many think McKay has is the fact that he has worked with Paul Rudd before on the Anchorman films.
The potential dark horse here is Jonathan Levine because of how different he seems to be from the other three. It's assumed he was approached due to the success with Warm Bodies, but it's hard to tell.

[UPDATE]  Literally as I was writing this, there are now reports stating that Rawson Thurber is the frontronner and will most likely receive the job for Ant-Man.

Josh Brolin to voice Thanos for Guardians of the Galaxy

Josh Brolin has been given the task of voicing the iconic villain Thanos for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, specifically in Guardians of the Galaxy.

You might recall seeing Thanos in the mid-credits scene after The Avengers, but we did not hear a voice. Director James Gunn mentioned that Thanos will be appearing via CGI in Guardians of the Galaxy, but we didn't hear how much or if it would be motion capture or whatever else. Latino Review is claiming that Thanos is just in one scene. With the casting of Josh Brolin it is assumed now that it will just be voice work similar to what Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel did for Rocket Raccoon and Groot.

Rumor has it that Thanos will be a bigger part of Phase Three, but it is unclear on whether he will also be appearing in The Avengers: Age of Ultron. Either way I'm sure we can expect to hear Brolin bring Thanos to life in multiple films.

Left Behind - First Teaser

I guess the people who did this one didn't bother reading the entire book. There is a lot more to Left Behind than just the Rapture and from what it seems, this new movie doesn't focus on the journalist or the Antichrist at all. They are definitely making what was a very interesting story look like a typical Hollywood disaster movie with Nic Cage.

Either way, here is the first teaser for the latest Religious movie in Hollywood. Left Behind hits theaters on October 3rd and stars Nicolas Cage, Lea Thompson, Chad Michael Murray, Cassi Thompson, and Jordin Sparks.

Marilyn Manson joins Sons of Anarchy

Rock singer Marilyn Manson has joined the cast of the FX series Sons of Anarchy for the seventh season. He will apparently have a recurring role as Ron Tully; a white supremacist prison shot-caller using Jax to expand his power.
Manson expressed his interest and love of Sons of Anarchy and also stated the show was loved by his father, so he is proud to be a part of it. SOA is set to return to FX this September.

Manson has appeared in television shows such as Eastbound & Down and recently was hired to be part of the opening credits of Salem. He has also had small film roles in Jawbreaker and Party Monster.

[Confirmed] Why did Edgar Wright leave Ant-Man?

It was rumored that Edgar Wright hopped out of the director's chair for Marvel's Ant-Man over script rewrites and changes, but we now have confirmation that the rumors were true.

The Hollywood Reporter is stating that Marvel had been unhappy with Wright's interpretation of the character and with his direction for weeks prior the departure. What they have quickly discovered is by driving Wright away they have also lost quite a few key crew members who also departed after learning that filming would most likely not start on time. Marvel is currently scrambling to find another director and to fill crew positions to replace the people who left.
Filming was originally slated to begin on June 2nd and Wright had already gone through rather extensive rewrites of the script, but Marvel president Kevin Feige still wasn't happy. He had ordered even more revisions and rewrites of the script behind Wright's back. When Wright received the newly revised script last week he apparently walked on the spot. Marvel's way of cleaning it up was to say they didn't agree on the vision of the film.

This is still a bit shocking to me and to a lot of other people. Edgar Wright has been working with Marvel on this project for 7 years. Feige even credited Wright on the film even being considered saying that they believed in Wright's vision and the film was because of him.
However, this seems to be a trend with the Marvel Cinematic Universe ever since The Avengers was released. More independently thinking and visionary directors have already chosen not to return for Marvel sequels due to the concept of "Marvelizing" all of the Phase Two films. Kenneth Branagh did a rather fantastic job directing Thor, but he chose not to return to direct Thor: The Dark World because of clashes with the studio. Patty Jenkins had been hired to direct Thor: The Dark World but was subsequently fired due to disagreements with the studio. Joe Johnston also chose not to return for Captain America: The Winter Soldier after clashing with the studio over his vision of Captain America. The newest casualty, aside from Wright, is Drew Goddard who left the upcoming Daredevil series over creative differences.
The issues aren't exclusive to directors, either. Edward Norton came to a standstill with Marvel over The Incredible Hulk and was later replaced by Mark Ruffalo. Terrance Howard was also replaced by Don Cheadle after just one Iron Man film due to differences with the studio. Josh Dallas also left after Thor and was replaced by Zachary Levi.

Basically, sources are claiming that when it comes to Ant-Man that Wright turned out to be a bit too quirky for the vision that Feige and the other Marvel "powers that be" have in mind. They feel that they have taken enough risk with James Gunn and Guardians of the Galaxy and didn't want two bombs in one year if people find Gunn's film too weird. Hell, I went to see X-Men: Days of Future Past and when I got a trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy my dad looked at me with a very confused look on his face. Gunn has already expressed some sympathy for Wright but in the end stated that they, "just don't have personalities that mesh in a comfortable way."
At this point it does seem that Marvel wants to find filmmakers and actors that will just ride the gravy train that The Avengers gave the studio. Not to mention that Marvel is now owned by Disney and they are in the habit of milking things to the last penny no matter how many good people are thrown in the trash. If you express too much vision or independent thought about these characters, you can expect to lose your job. It's just the way it is now.


The question now is whether Ant-Man will be released on time. If they can't find a director soon there is word that some of the actors might have to walk due to other scheduling restrictions. Marvel is insisting that Ant-Man will be completed in time to meet the July 17, 2015 release date but at this point... don't hold your breath too tight. I still think this is one of the worst decisions Feige has made so far. It's even worse than the reveal of The Mandarin in Iron Man 3.

Source

Sequel in the works for My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Nia Vardalos and Playtone are reuniting for a sequel to the successful 2002 comedy, My Big Fat Greek Wedding. The film told the story of a first-generation Greek American woman who dared to date and fall in love with a non-Greek man. The film also starred John Corbett and is one of the most successful independent films to date.

Corbett and Vardalos will be reprising their roles of Ian and Toula. Producers Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, and Gary Goetzman along with Vardalos. The film was picked up after Vardalos spent years performing in a one-woman play about growing up in a Greek family and how she married a non-Greek.
Vardalos rode the Greek Wedding train for quite a while after the film was released. It spawned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay as well as a television sitcom, My Big Fat Greek Life. She is currently doing press for her best-selling book, Instant Mom. 

Apparently this sequel will involve the reveal of a new family wedding that will bring the Greek family back together.


I personally love My Big Fat Greek Wedding. It is by far one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. With that said, I don't see how they can make a sequel without really beating a dead horse. The sitcom was bad and it's been over 10-years since the movie was released. Just more proof that Hollywood can't come up with anything new.

[Update] Alfonso Cuaron will not direct Harry Potter spin-off

I previously posted (here) about director Alfonso Cuaron potentially returning to the world of Harry Potter as it was reported he was in talks to direct Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Cuaron has now come out and confirmed that he will not be directing.

He stated that directing The Prisoner of Azkaban was a great experience and he loved working with JK Rowling, but at this point in his career projects with a high amount of visual effects are not what he wants to do. He is coming off several projects with high levels of effects and he wants to step away from them.


Good for you, sir.

Drew Goddard exits Daredevil series

Marvel must be acting like a bunch of assholes with these upcoming projects as they have lost a second director in two days. Drew Goddard has exited the upcoming Marvel/Netflix series Daredevil citing creative differences.

Goddard was set to write, direct, and produce a 13-episode run for Daredevil which was slated to debut on Netflix sometime next year. There are also rumors of Zac Efron being brought in for the title role, but that is just a rumor. Goddard's replacement has already been announced to be Steven S. DeKnight. He is most known for the television adaptation of Spartacus.
Many are thinking that creative differences weren't the biggest issue, but that Goddard has also been hired to write the screenplay for the Sinister Six movie as well as direct the film. The thought is that Sony didn't think Goddard could properly split his time between Sinister Six and Daredevil. Again, that is just word on the street.

Either way, I think this goes to show that the creative input from Marvel Studios isn't going over too well at the current moment. Along with the departure of Goddard, the studio lost Edgar Wright yesterday due to creative differences. Apparently Marvel was putting Ant-Man into rewrites without Wright's input or permission and he felt uncomfortable with said rewrites. With the way the Marvel Cinematic Universe is unfolding I wouldn't put it past the studio to try and insert certain characters or arcs into each movie as a setup for the next rather than just have a great superhero film. I like the MCU but I'm not that much of a fangirl to overlook the fact that some things are put in just to set something up for another movie.

Could this have been the issue with Daredevil? Only time will tell.

X-Men: Days of Future Past - Review

In the future, mutant exterminating machines called Sentinels are sent to destroy the mutant race. A small group of survivors send one of their own back into the past to help destroy the future in X-Men: Days of Future Past.



I'm going to just go right into this and say this movie disappointed the hell out of me. I had very high expectations given how great X-Men: First Class was. I have to say I enjoyed First Class a lot more than Days of Future Past.
It has a great start bringing us into the future and re-introducing us to mutants we already know and it brought us into the past very well, but it soon became really jumbled together and it flipped back and forth way too freely. I have quite a few problems with this movie...

1. Character development was seriously lacking in this installment. There were way too many mutants that needed explanation and way too many with explanation of things we already knew. For example, there was no need to constantly explain what happened to Wolverine. He is probably the most developed and most utilized character of the X-Men franchise so far. He was a main character in the first three films and has two solo films. We know what happens to him and we don't need it explained to us all the fucking time.

2. Overhyped characters that were fairly irrelevant at the end of the day. The biggest offenders here were Bishop and Quicksilver. These two characters were hyped up at an alarming rate, especially Quicksilver, and they each failed to bring anything major. Bishop turned out to just be a surviving mutant battling Sentinels in the future. He had no explanation, no character development, and I don't think his name was said more than once.
Quicksilver was approached in the past simply because Wolverine said he knew him in the future. Again, no explanation other than the fact that he was fast. He has like 10min of total screentime and was one of the most hyped characters in the promos. Not to mention the Carl's Jr. commercial.

3. Despite being the main villain, Mystique was overshadowed heavily by both Trask and Magneto. Simple as that.

4. Not enough Sentinel action in the 70's. Actually, there wasn't enough action in the 70's at all. It was mostly Charles complaining and Wolverine struggling.

5. The time jumping got to be confusing. In the end, they focused more on the future than in the past and that was a huge mistake. The storyline we were invested in was not the mutants in the future. It was in the attempt to stop the Sentinels from being created. That was why Wolverine was sent back to begin with!

6. The way the mutants from First Class were utilized was stupid. Angel, Azazel, and Havok were completely wasted and would have been better off not being mentioned at all.



I think I just have to stop now. I am not saying I hated Days of Future Past because I didn't, but I did not love it like I thought I was going to. Definitely not the way I love First Class. There were things I enjoyed, but unfortunately they are a bit overshadowed by the bad. Nice try Bryan Singer, but Matthew Vaughn did a better job.

Edgar Wright drops out of Ant-Man over creative differences

This is so sad.

Director Edgar Wright is almost solely responsible for the upcoming Ant-Man film set to kick off Marvel Phase Three next year. We now have news that he has left the project due to creative differences with Marvel Studios.
This apparently will not change the 2015 release date as a new director will apparently be announced soon. Apparently the film Marvel wants to make zeroes in more on Ant-Man's origin and that is not something Wright wanted to do. It is also not what he wrote the script for either, so I won't be surprised if there is a rewrite happening along with this.

This is very surprising and confusing as Wright has been attached to this for several years already. Along the way he has been constantly altering the script and has even shot test footage. That was, mind you, all before Marvel hired him on in the first place so they knew what they were getting into. I can't help but wonder what went sour.

Star Wars spin-off to be directed by Gareth Edwards

The Godzilla train seems to be very prosperous for all involved. Director Gareth Edwards has apparently landed the director's chair for an upcoming Star Wars spin-off. This spin-off is set to hit theaters on December 16, 2016 which is almost exactly one year after Star Wars Episode VII.

In addition to this, a sequel to Godzilla was recently confirmed as well as a rumored third Godzilla film. Apparently Edwards is still attached to those films but there is no telling how quick those will be happening.  Legendary CEO Thomas Tull assured fans that a second Godzilla is still years away.
Due to how secretive the new Star Wars projects are being kept there is no telling which film Edwards is going to direct. However, rumor has it that Disney is planning spin-offs which will feature Boba Fett, Han Solo, and Yoda.

Clouds of Sils Maria - First Trailer

Cannes has brought us the first trailer for Clouds of Sils Maria, the new film starring Juliette Binoche, Kristen Stewart, and Chloe Grace Moretz.





It looks alright. Clouds of Sils Maria has been selected for the Palme d'Or in the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival tomorrow. Binoche plays Maria Enders, a famous actress who encounters a new actress (Moretz) who is set to reinterpret a movie role that made her famous 20 years ago. The collision of the two performances causes a rift and Enders drags her assistant Valentine (Stewart) into the Swiss town of Sils Maria.

This film is set for a US release on December 1st.

Skylar Astin returning for Pitch Perfect 2

Looks like the new leader of the Treble Makers is going to come back for some more. Skylar Astin has been confirmed for Pitch Perfect 2. Astin played Jesse, the loveable singer and romantic interest of Anna Kendrick's character, Beca.

Astin has been the star of the TBS comedy, Ground Floor, which was recently renewed for a second season. He joins returning cast members Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Elizabeth Banks, and Brittany Snow along with newcomers to the franchise Hailee Steinfeld and Katey Sagal. Pitch Perfect 2 opens in theaters on May 15, 2015.

It returning to New Line Cinema

Warner Bros. has been in the process of developing a new adaptation of Stephen King's It for quite a few years now. The studio previously hired Cary Fukunaga, Seth Grahame-Smith, Dan Lin, and Roy Lee to create this adaptation. Fukunaga is coming off a very successful series for HBO (aka, True Detective) and as a result the adaptation of It is shifting studios... kind of.

New Line Cinema recently announced that they are moving from West Hollywood to Warner Bros. lot in Burbank and are trying to make it clear that each division will be releasing specific kinds of films. With films like The Conjuring it is becoming apparent that the money maker these days, other than superhero films, are horror films. It will apparently follow suit and focus more on thrills and psychological horror rather than the classic slasher film.
The semi-tricky part about this one is they are apparently writing this adaptation into two films. The first film will focus on the children who have to defeat a creature called It. The second film will focus on the kids as adults who have to come together once again despite not remembering the initial events.

It was adapted into a television mini-series back in 1990. It starred Tim Curry in the title role along with Seth Green, John Ritter, and Emily Perkins. It has become somewhat of a cult classic among the horror community and many, including myself, are pretty skeptical of redoing it.