Atom Egoyan's Adoration Gets a Thrilling New Trailer
Sony Pictures Classics has debuted a rather thrilling trailer for Atom Egoyan's newest film, Adoration. In the film, a boy named Simon reinvents his life on the internet and tells a story that provokes strong reactions throughout the world. For someone who doesn't know much about this at all, it looks very interesting, to say the least. I'm curious to know more, despite its C rating from our critic Marco who saw it Cannes. "Adoration is a mixed bag that has good ideas about politics and technology but is way too convoluted to make any real impact." I definitely hope there's a lot more to this than what's in this trailer.
Watch the trailer for Atom Egoyan's Adoration:
[See post to watch Flash video]
You can also watch the Adoration trailer in High Definition on Yahoo
Adoration is both written and directed by profound Egyptian filmmaker Atom Egoyan, of numerous films including Peep Show, Exotica, The Sweet Hereafter, and Where the Truth Lies. The film first premiered at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year and also played at the Toronto International Film Festival.. Sony Pictures Classics will debut Adoration in limited theaters starting sometime in early 2009.
Discover More: Indies, Trailers, Worth Watching Finally - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Posters!
Paramount has finally released two official posters for David Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button a mere month before it's set to arrive in theaters. I first heard about what they looked like a few weeks ago and even at that time thought their concept was rather weak. But looking at them in full like this, it definitely seems like Paramount dropped the ball and pulled these designs together very last minute. As excited as I am to see Benjamin Button, these unimpressive posters make me even more skeptical. Is this really Fincher's masterpiece? Or has his fight with the studio result in nothing but a big mess?
Just in case you might be confused by the concept, these posters are meant to be placed side-by-side. Cate Blanchett's has "life" written forward, while Brad Pitt's has "life" written backwards. This is to signify that his life, and time, goes backwards for him - and that is the Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
 
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is directed by visionary filmmaker David Fincher, of Se7en, The Game, Fight Club, and Zodiac previously. The screenplay was penned by Oscar winner Eric Roth, of Forrest Gump, The Horse Whisperer, Spielberg's Munich, and The Good Shepherd. This story was originally adapted from a short story written by legendary writer F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1922. Paramount will debut The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in theaters everywhere on December 25th, Christmas Day.
Discover More: Hype, Posters Must Watch: Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler Trailer!
Fox Searchlight has unveiled the trailer for Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler. Drop what you're doing and watch this trailer now. The Wrestler may go on to win some Oscars and you'll want to see it as soon as you can. Every quote in this trailer is accurate. It is certainly "tender, gripping" and "remarkable" and unquestionably a phenomenal achievement for both Mickey Rourke and Darren Aronofsky. Even if you don't like wrestling, you need to watch this. The Wrestler is less about the sport and more about the lonely life of one wrestler. And it is as endearing as it is entertaining - a truly phenomenal bit of cinematic bliss.
Watch the trailer for Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler:
[See post to watch Flash video]
You can also watch The Wrestler trailer in High Definition on Apple
The Wrestler is both directed and produced by visionary filmmaker Darren Aronofsky, of Pi, Requiem for a Dream, and The Fountain previously, with a script written by Robert D. Siegel, of only The Onion Movie previously. The film first premiered at the Venice Film Festival and Toronto Film Festival and was quickly picked up by Fox Searchlight for distribution. The Wrestler will hit very limited theaters starting on December 17th before expanding wider throughout January. Don't miss this - you will love it!
Discover More: Hype, Indies, Trailers, Worth Watching In Love With Star Trek - My Full Reaction to J.J. Abrams' Presentation!
Live long and prosper. Those few words, unlike the lack of "Bond, James Bond" in Quantum of Solace, are uttered by Leonard Nimoy himself in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek. Their inclusion is only one of so many elements that keeps this newest Star Trek true to its roots. Yesterday I was lucky enough to attend Paramount's final Star Trek special presentation in Los Angeles. Abrams himself was on hand to introduce 20 minutes of footage, comprised within 4 scenes, to a large audience of fans and filmmakers alike on the Paramount lot. By this point, everyone knows exactly what was shown (you can find good write-ups online), so I'm not going to provide an additional breakdown. Instead, I thought I'd look at some of the reasons why I think Star Trek looks absolutely amazing and why Abrams was the right guy to reboot this franchise.
Before I begin, let me just say that the footage was outstanding. It felt like they took everything that's great about the Star Trek universe and re-imagined into one of the most epic and exciting reboots I've seen in a long time. To give everyone an idea of how important this presentation was, directly in front of me sat Zachary Quinto (who plays Spock), John Cho (who plays Sulu), and Bruce Greenwood (who plays Captain Pike), while directly behind me sat Kevin Feige, Marvel's president of production. It was an exciting presentation that I couldn't wait to see and didn't want to end. Abrams introduced the 4 scenes and from there we were quickly pulled into his vision of Star Trek and damn was it unbelievably incredible.
J.J. Abrams has become an increasing controversial choice for director since the trailer hit. However, I have complete faith in him, even though he isn't the biggest Trekkie (or Trekker) out there. He explained that he grew up a bigger fan of series like Planet of the Apes and The Twilight Zone than Star Trek. At first he wasn't initially that interested in directing this, but it was the great script (written by Transformers writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman) that sold him. What little glimpse we got of the full film did have some great writing. Or at least made me realize this wasn't just a glossy throwaway summer movie - it had a lot of substance and a lot of extensive and exhilarating storytelling. When Abrams took over, he wanted it to be epic but intimate and encompass "everything", from romance to adventure and so much more.
After seeing this footage, I was finally able to interpret what the plot is actually about. As we all know, it's essentially about how all of the entire USS Enterprise crew get to their current positions, with a focus on Captain James T. Kirk. However, it's also about the maiden voyage of the Enterprise as well. By the time it leaves (on an emergency mission to assist with a lightning storm at planet Vulcan) with Captain Pike at the helm, every crew member that eventually comes to run the ship is on it, in various ways. One comical scene shows us how Kirk gets his friend Bones McCoy (played by Karl Urban) to inject him with a virus, making him sick and allowing him to get on board via a technicality since he is in his care. It may be a little off-putting at first, but that kind of quirky comedy is what makes the Star Trek universe so fun.
From there the ship gets to Vulcan only to realize that the lightning storm was a trap set by a mysterious Romulan ship. Through various extreme circumstances, we get to see Bones become the head medical officer, Uhura become the head communications officer, and Spock eventually be given command of the ship before Kirk challenges him for it (in a scene we didn't get to see). For a mild fan of Star Trek, it was very exciting to see all this happening, all set amidst an emergency mission that the Enterprise was sent out on. How's that for intensity? And if you think that plot is intense, just wait until you see some of the "extreme" scenes, like the free fall from space that Kirk and Sulu do to get down to Vulcan.
What I really loved about Abrams' casting choices are that the biggest actors are in the smaller roles. For example, Karl Urban and Eric Bana seem to be the biggest names, and both do have big roles, but Abrams' choices for Kirk, Spock, and even Chekov, are all lesser-known actors but some of the best in the whole movie. For example, Anton Yelchin, who plays the Russian engineer Chekov, has a thick accent that I was shocked to hear in one of the scenes. But by the end of it, I was more than impressed. This kid could really pull it off and I was amazed that it didn't sound tacky or cheesy, it felt like it fit but also had that quirky nature to it, just like the original show. I don't think I even need to begin talking about Chris Pine or Zachary Quinto - because they had the biggest shoes to fill and pulled it off without question.
My favorite scene (seen below), and the one that really convinced me that Abrams was the right guy, was the last one we were shown. Everyone got a glimpse of it in the trailer: it involves the giant beam of energy that is being shot from space down onto the planet. Without giving away too much, that beam is a drill that is extending down from the Romulan ship. Captain Pike sends Kirk and Sulu down to the planet to the edge of the drilling platform to blow it up and disrupt the beam. Pike heads out in a transporter and the two of them (along with a "red shirt") dive out of it in futuristic suits and free fall all the way down to the planet. Eventually they encounter some Romulans on the platform and must fight to live, but the effects, the beautiful futuristic look, the action, the intensity - all of it was all utterly unbelievable.
Or at least unbelievable in a sense that someone was actually making this all real. I've been a big fan of Abrams ever since Mission: Impossible III. I think the reason why I loved that movie so much was that he took a great script and turned it into something as thrilling and exciting as the first movie. The action scenes in M:I:III were a huge step up from anything in the series previously. Abrams put that same level of energy in Star Trek and took its action up a notch, too - this ain't you dad's Trek anymore. It's not just that the last scene where they free fall looked completely and utterly real, but the intensity, the way it was shot, and everything about it was something that I felt like only Abrams could genuinely pull off.
Other journalist out there might try to dissuade you about Abrams' vision of this franchise and claim that he's taking something classic and turning it a pile of glossy Hollywood crap, but I couldn't disagree more. What Abrams is doing is taking a franchise that has progressively lost its magic over the years and is pumping it full of modern-day energy and excitement - which is exactly what it needs. It's not only fun, but it's intense, it looks great, and it's a true Star Trek film at its core with massive space battles and epic fight scenes. If you're curious to delve into more details from the Star Trek presentation, our good friend Peter at SlashFilm has a great write-up on the footage, too. And now that I've seen nearly 20 minutes from both movies, I'll make a confession - I'm more excited for Star Trek than I am Watchmen.
Discover More: Editorials, Hype, Movie News, Opinions Imagi's Astro Boy Teaser Trailer Officially Unveiled
Imagi has unveiled the first short teaser trailer for Astro Boy, the CGI cinematic version of the popular Japanese manga character. I really wasn't expecting a teaser trailer this early but wow, this looks pretty bad. I guess I should've known it was headed downhill when the original director (who we actually interviewed) unexpectedly left the project. Up until this point we'd only ever seen some early concept art and other rough photos from the film, but now I wish that is still all we'd ever seen. I'm really trying to find something good in this, but it's damn near impossible. Go ahead and watch this if you so dare.
Watch the teaser trailer for Astro Boy:
[See post to watch Flash video]
You can also watch the Astro Boy teaser trailer in High Definition on AOL
Set in futuristic Metro City, AstroBoy is about a young robot with incredible powers created by a brilliant scientist to replace the son he has lost. Unable to fulfill the grieving father's expectations, our hero embarks on a journey in search of acceptance, experiencing betrayal and a netherworld of robot gladiators, before he returns to save Metro City and reconcile with the man who had rejected him.
AstroBoy is directed by ex-Disney animator David Bowers, of Flushed Away previously, with a screenplay written by Timothy Harris, of Brewster's Millions, Kindergarten Cop, and Space Jam previously. Imagi Animation, the studio behind TMNT last year, is developing this animated film which is based on Osamu Tezuka's manga series. AstroBoy will arrive in theaters everywhere on October 23rd, 2009.
Discover More: Trailers, Worth Watching New Batch of Photos from Ben Stiller's Night at the Museum 2
One of the few movies I'm not looking forward to next summer is Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian, the sequel to Ben Stiller's holiday comedy from 2006. Alas, there are plenty of fans of the first film, so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt this time (at least until we get a trailer). USA Today has our first look at a new batch of photos from the film, most of which include Stiller and/or one of the many comedic faces that appear in the sequel. They're expanding the fantastical universe from the Museum of Natural History in the first movie to the Smithsonian this time - and that means so many more historical characters will be coming to life. If you're at all excited for the sequel, then definitely take a look!
"The range of comic talent, from legendary and well-established to the up-and-coming and new, was part of the casting strategy," director Shawn Levy explains. In addition to Ben Stiller, comedians Ricky Gervais, Robin Williams, Steve Coogan, Paul Rudd, Christopher Guest, Hank Azaria, Bill Hader, and Jonah Hill all appear in the film as well. This time it's the Evil Pharaoh Kahmunrah (played by Azaria) that Stiller must battle. He believes he must defeat Stiller in order to take over the world, but along the way, he loots Smithsonian exhibits, including Muhammad Ali's boxing robe. Click any of the photos for a few more!
Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian is again directed by Shawn Levy, of Big Fat Liar, Cheaper by the Dozen, The Pink Panther, and the first Night at the Museum as well. Original screenwriters Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon (of "Reno 911!" fame) are back and they're joined by Simon Kinberg, of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Jumper. Night at the Museum 2 will arrive in theaters everywhere on May 22nd, 2009 next summer. Who will win this fight: Terminator or Larry Daley?
Discover More: First Look, Hype, Photos Mary and Max Kicks Off the 25th Sundance Film Festival
For the first time in Sundance history, a stop-motion animation movie will headline this year's festival. The 2009 Sundance Film Festival kicks off on January 15th, 2009 early next year and will mark the 25th anniversary of the greatest film festival in the world. The remaining line-up for this year's Sundance will be announced on December 3rd and 4th. The opening night film at Sundance is usually one that would otherwise go unnoticed during the fest but is chosen to be in the spotlight. This year Mary and Max, a clay animation feature film from Oscar winning short film creator Adam Elliot, will kick off the fest.
Starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Toni Collette and narrated by Barry Humphries, Mary and Max is the tale of two unlikely pen pals: Mary, a lonely, eight-year-old girl living in the suburbs of Melbourne, and Max, a forty-four-year old, severely obese man living in New York. The story is based on the director's own pen-friendship that has lasted over twenty years. "Mary and Max is the first film of its kind to open the Festival and we anticipate audiences will embrace Adam Elliot's feature-length directorial debut for its poignant story, exceptional voice talent and technological creativity," said festival director Geoffrey Gilmore.
Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the Sundance Film Festival runs January 15th to 25th, 2009 in Park City, Utah. As always, we will definitely be in attendance. For more info, head over to sundance.org.
Discover More: Indies, Movie News RKO Remaking Classic Road Comedy Love on a Bet
The recently re-established RKO is developing a remake of the 1936 road comedy titled Love on a Bet for comedy regular Steve Carr (of Daddy Day Care and Are We Done Yet?) to direct. The original was directed by Leigh Jason and starred Gene Raymond and Wendy Barrie. In the film, to raise money for a play, a man bets his rich uncle that he can begin a journey in New York's Central Park with nothing but his underwear and end up in California with a suit, $100 and a fiancee. I really love that concept, but in the hands of Steve Carr, it's going to be turned into one hell of a shitty Hollywood movie. What a travesty!
"The original took place in the days where it was racy to be in underwear," producer Ted Hartley told Hollywood Reporter. "This movie is going to start out with the guy wearing a lot less than his underwear. It's going to be edgy and romantic." Dave Punch is writing the updated screenplay, which will focus on the romance and the cross-country nature of the story. This is Carr's first romantic comedy, but that doesn't mean we'll get anything better than his past work (which includes Next Friday, Dr. Dolittle 2, and the upcoming Paul Blart: Mall Cop). Is there any hope that this will turn out good? Or is RKO ruining a classic?
Discover More: Movie News, Opinions Must Watch: First Full Trailer for Henry Selick's Coraline
Focus Features has unveiled the first trailer for Coraline, the next stop-motion animation movie from Henry Selick. Damn, does this just look incredible or what! The film is about a young girl who finds a secret door in her house and discovers an alternate version of her life. If you're at all a fan of stop-motion or the Nightmare Before Christmas, you'll definitely want to check this out. The story is actually based on a book by Neil Gaiman, which should tell you that it'll be pretty damn good. I also really love the look of that cat - I think he's going to be the best part of it. Take a look for yourself and let us know what you think!
Watch the full trailer for Henry Selick's Coraline:
[See post to watch Flash video]
You can also watch the Coraline trailer in High Definition on Yahoo
Coraline is both written and directed by Henry Selick, who directed the other stop animation movies The Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach, and Monkeybone. The film is an adaptation of Neil Gaiman's novel of the same name. Coraline is set to arrive in theaters on February 6th, 2009.
Discover More: Hype, Trailers, Worth Watching Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor Leave Jonah Hex Behind!
Crank duo Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor have decided to drop out as directors of Jonah Hex, the adaptation of the DC comic book series. Josh Brolin, who was first rumored last month, will remain attached to play the lead character. Neveldine and Taylor penned the script but ended up leaving due to "creative differences," which we all know means so much more than will ever be publicly revealed. Warner Brothers is still moving quickly to find a new director and get the project back on track for a spring start next year. While we don't know exactly why they left, this is some very interesting news.
This announcement coincidentally follows some questioning by Brolin at a recent press appearance. He was asking various press off the record what they thought of Neveldine and Taylor. It seems like the producers were the ones who chose Brolin, but didn't like the direction Neveldine and Taylor were taking the project. My speculation is that they wanted it to be darker and much more R-rated (that is what they do), but Warner Brothers wanted something potentially PG-13. I wish I knew more about what happened behind the scenes but I doubt we ever will. Who will they end up getting to replace Neveldine and Taylor?
Discover More: Movie News, Opinions 3D Updates: Alice in Wonderland, Beauty and the Beast and Pirates of the Carribean
It's no coincidence that the three films mentioned in the title are all Disney films. It seems Disney, who is very well versed in the world of theme parks, believes 3D really is the future and is pushing very hard to put out nearly every film they're releasing from now on in 3D. This even includes such timeless classics as Beauty and the Beast and Tim Burton's upcoming Alice in Wonderland. We've got three updates today in regards to 3D, two of which pertain to Beauty and Wonderland, the third of which pertains to Pirates of the Caribbean. As always, I jump at any opportunity to talk about 3D and how bad it might be because this time not all this news is necessarily good news! Care to find out more?
First up, Disney is re-rendering their 1991 classic Beauty and the Beast in Digital 3D and will be re-releasing the new version in theaters sometime in 2010. The process is expected to take 9 months to complete. The original team of filmmakers, including producer Don Hahn and co-directors Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale, will be back to oversee the process. "By going back to the original animation files, which have been carefully archived for 17 years, and using the separate background, effects and character animation elements, we're able to come up with a fun and unique 3D experience for existing and new fans of the film," Hahn said. This actually doesn't seem that bad of an idea. I'll be curious to check it out.
Second, our friends at MarketSaw have uncovered some interesting news regarding Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. While the film has always been touted as a 3D feature, blending a mix of CGI and live-action photography, apparently it's not actually being shot in 3D. "Tim Burton is NOT shooting AIW in 3D at all. Period. They intend on converting to 2D movie to 3D after the fact in post production!" It'll still be 3D in the end, it just won't look as good as if it were entirely shot in 3D (like say, James Cameron's Avatar). To me this just means that it's going to turn out a lot worse in 3D, because anything not built (or shot) from the ground up in 3D usually ends up terrible. I'll just stick with the 2D version, thank you!
Lastly, David Cohen at Variety speculates that we could end up seeing Pirates of the Caribbean 4 in 3D by the time it hits theaters in 2011. "We can't help but notice that 1) Disney is heavily invested in 3D, including live-action. 2) Gore Verbinski and Johnny Depp are making an animated 3D movie together, Rango. and 3) Jerry Bruckheimer is making G-Force in 3D." He actually makes a very good point. Considering Pirates of the Caribbean is their money-making gem, I wouldn't be surprised if Disney is trying to find out ways to make even more money from the franchise, including putting the entire film out in 3D. Swashbuckling pirates in full 3D? Sounds like a theme park ride more than a movie to me.
It looks like Disney is really trying to make sure 3D is the future. Any of these announcements excite you?
Discover More: Hype, Movie News, Opinions Kung Fu Panda Director John Stevenson Taking On He-Man?!
Woops! It looks like Grayskull: The Masters of the Universe isn't as dead in the water as we first thought. Our friends at Latino Review picked up another scoop saying that the film is very much alive and well at Warner Brothers due in thanks to John Stevenson, who might yet direct this live-action version of He-Man. Who is he? His only official directing credit is Kung Fu Panda (which he shared with Mark Osborne), although he does have an extensive background in storyboard art and animation previously. He apparently gave a presentation to the execs at Warner Brothers as well as Joel Silver that impressed the hell out of them. Is Stevenson really the right guy to bring us a live-action He-Man movie? I'm not too sure…
In October, we ran an article saying that the He-Man movie, titled Grayskull: The Masters of the Universe, was pretty much dead for the time being because Warner Brothers didn't get the idea. Before that, we ran an article looking at El Mayimbe's review of Justin Marks' script, which was reportedly a "fanboy masterpiece." It sounded like this could potentially turn out pretty awesome in the end, especially for those who are fans of the He-Man universe, which is why I was hoping it would be greenlit. Now with Stevenson potentially directing, I'm still a bit hesitant. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy that can actually make a great high concept action movie - at least not yet. Maybe he'll direct a few other projects first?
Discover More: Movie News, Opinions, Rumors Check This Out: Underworld: Rise of the Lycans Poster
It may not have the same following as Twilight, but the Underworld series is solid vampire fare and a line of films that I certainly categorize as guilty pleasure. Last month we brought you the first trailer for the third installment, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, and today (thanks to ShockTillYouDrop) we have the official poster for the film. Overzealous Photoshopping aside, Bill Nighy as the vampire king, Viktor, is such a cool sight. I'm thrilled he continues to be a part of the Underworld series, despite former lead Kate Beckinsale being replaced by smokin' Brit Rhona Mitra (decidedly my new sci-fi / fantasy crush).
To recap, Rise of the Lycans is a prequel to other two films, and details the history around the centuries-old feud between lycans and vampires. Mitra plays Sonja, Viktor's daughter, who falls in love with Lucien (the eventual leader of the lycans), played by the very talented Michael Seen (of The Queen and Frost/Nixon). Sonja's decision to be with Lucien combined with an uprising among the vampires' slaves causes an epic battle, replete with fangs, fur, blood and rain. It's going to be great! Who else is excited?
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans is directed by Patrick Tatopoulos, a visual consultant and long-time creature designer who is making his directorial debut. The screenplay and story have numerous writers attached, with Dirk Blackman and Howard McCain (of the upcoming sci-fi flick Outlander) and Danny McBride (of Underworld and Underworld: Evolution) credited as the primary screenwriters. Sony is debuting Underworld: Rise of the Lycans in theaters everywhere on January 23rd, 2009 next year.
Discover More: Hype, Posters P.C. and Kristin Cast's House of Night Optioned - Smells Familiar
"Harry Potter" comparisons have rightly or wrongly followed Stephanie Meyer's "Twilight" series for some time now, partly because both are supernatural stories targeted at young adults and both have achieved wild success. It appears we have a property that seems to blend the two, called "House of Night" written by P.C. and Kristin Cast, which was just optioned (all nine books) by producers Michael Birnbaum and Jeremiah Chechik (TV's "The Middleman"). The timing of the news is oddly coincidental considering the adaptation for Meyer's first book bows this weekend. Given Twilight's thunder of impending box office domination, might Birnbaum and Chechik be sly opportunists hoping to nab the next big thing?
"Night" is said to be equal parts vampires and prep school. Teenagers attend the House of Night to learn about their night-feeding abilities once they manifest in puberty - traits categorized as a genetic anomalies. The school and afflicted are known to the public, as vampires and humans exist openly alongside each other. While not a terrible premise, there's a lot that smells familiar here, and not just from Potter and Twilight; there's even discernible scents of X-Men and HBO's "True Blood" (vampires and humans coexisting). Mother-daughter authors P.C. and Kristin Cast have certainly created an intriguing story, but I fear there's little room for "House of Night" in the motion picture landscape.
How do we think "Night" would fair competing against a sequel to Twilight? Will there be much market left open among the young-adult, vampire-loving crowd? Not to mention, Harry Potter will be still be going strong. And then you have X-Men: First Class. It feels like "Night" is a little late to the party, but maybe audiences are looking for a nice supernatural smoothie that brings together so many elements. Beyond that, Birnbaum's summation of the work isn't exactly my game. He told Variety, "P.C. and Kristin Cast created a thrilling world that juxtaposes teen drama with supernatural suspense, using the transition from human to vampire as a metaphor for the transition from adolescence to adulthood." Sounds like nothing more than a fantasy after-school special. Is there room for "House of Night" any more?
Discover More: Movie News, Opinions Theater Hopper - Nov 19: Twi-Late
Theater Hopper is a webcomic about all things movies written and illustrated by Tom Brazelton. Starring Tom, his wife Cami, and best friend Jared, Theater Hopper perfectly captures Tom's feelings and reactions to recent and upcoming movies in a way that will easily have you laughing. New updates will be posted every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. This is the webcomic that every movie-lover out there can't miss! Wednesday's comic, #900 - Twi-Late, has been posted below. Enjoy!
#900 - Twi-Late
  
If you're new to Theater Hopper, you can visit the archives to catch up on all of the history and past comics. New updates will run here on FirstShowing.net every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The official website for Tom Brazelton's Theater Hopper is located at: theaterhopper.com.
Discover More: Webcomic Arcana Comics' Gearhead Rights Picked Up by Valhalla
Valhalla Motion Pictures has picked up the rights to Arcana Comics' Gearhead. The series is about a young female mechanic who leaves the drag strip to team up with a group of rebels to fight the corrupt superheroes who govern the US. Gale Anne Hurd, who we all know as the producer behind such as the Terminator trilogy, Armageddon, The Punisher and The Incredible Hulk, will be producing the project. No writer or director has been officially announced just yet. Gearhead was created by Dennis Hopeless and Kevin Mellon and was first published in late 2006. Who will they cast as Gearhead?
I'm not sure what it was that interested Hurd so much in Gearhead, but it does seem like a pretty cool comic. Shelby Cooper lives just outside a world of spandex politicians and electric cars - but screw them and their world! She's a hot chick with a hotrod! She drives fast, talks trash, and hurts people with a big-ass wrench. What does any of that have to do with super powers? You can pick up the trade paperback on Amazon. This may not have a lot of buzz at the moment, but I'm sure once they cast the lead and find a director, it will get a lot of attention. Is Megan Fox too busy to take on another project?
Discover More: Movie News, Opinions Gore Verbinski Producing The Host Remake for Universal
We knew this was coming. Universal Pictures is remaking Bong Joon-ho's 2006 Korean monster movie The Host (aka Gwoemul). First-time feature filmmaker Fredrik Bond is set to direct, with Mark Poirier (Smart People) penning the script, and Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski producing. While Bond hasn't directed a feature film yet, he has directed numerous commercials (of which you can see a few of over on SlashFilm) and seems to at least get the idea of the film: "It processes a few genres together, and visually it feels close to the stuff I've made over the last few years in commercials, the tonality of humor and the scale." I hope that means they won't butcher this remake in its Americanized adaptation.
Not that this is uncommon, but The Host is one of those films that I really felt already surpassed normal Hollywood standards (unlike films like Day the Earth Stood Still that could use an update). Its effects were great, the story was fantastic, the acting was phenomenal, so there really is no need for a remake! But alas, that's what Hollywood does, they take everything and remake or reboot it. If you haven't ever seen The Host, please do yourself a favor and pick up a copy right away. As long as you watch it with English subtitles (and not dubbed - a nod to a friend who forgot to do so) you'll end up loving it. As for this reboot, thankfully I've got some faith in Verbinski and Bond doesn't seem that bad either. Maybe it'll turn out good?
Discover More: Movie News, Opinions Narnia Screenwriters Hired For Marvel's Captain America
It's time to speak up Captain America fans! Here's your movie: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely are writing the WWII-set screenplay and Joe Johnston will be directing. Markus and McFeely previously penned the screenplays for both Chronicles of Narnia movies as well as You Kill Me. Johnston, as we previously announced, directed Jumanji, October Sky, and Jurassic Park III, as well as a few other films. There's your lead creative team behind The First Avenger: Captain America. Will they be able to pull it off? Will they give us the Captain America movie that we've waited to see ever since Jack Kirby and Joe Simon introduced him in 1941? It's here and it's happening and we want to know what you think?
While we wait for Marvel to announce who will play both Thor and Captain America in their next few upcoming movies, it's time to open this up for some discussion. First things first, I think Marvel is saving the big guns for The Avengers movie. While I'm not exactly excited by their choices for Captain America, I'm relieved that Markus, McFeely, and Johnston are not particularly involved in The Avengers (or so I hope). However, I'm concerned that we won't get an introduction to Captain America that we need. His character is important to the Marvel universe considering he eventually leads The Avengers, which will follow the Captain America movie within months. So what do you think - will they pull it off?
Discover More: Discussion, Hype, Movie News, Opinions Fox Moving Forward With Gossip Girl Young X-Men Spin-Off
Oh no, it begins! Fox is officially moving forward with an X-Men spin-off titled X-Men: First Class. Here's where it gets bad - "Gossip Girl" creator Josh Schwartz is writing the screenplay. He was also offered the chance to direct, but (thankfully) declined. Not only did Schwartz create "Gossip Girl", but he also created "The O.C." and "Chuck". Fox won't reveal any more details about the spin-off, but we can be sure it'll focus on some youngsters at the Xavier Institute. This isn't actually the first time we've heard about this - Schwartz mentioned it in an interview way back in May. However, it looks like Fox has decided to greenlight ideas like this in order to be more successful in the future since they had such a bad summer.
No director has been chosen since Schwartz declined. The only chance that this has to potentially end up any good is if a strong director comes on board. But I'm fearing even that won't help (or could even hurt it). Fox also mentions that they're continuing development on the Magneto spin-off and Deadpool spin-off, with no official plans for either at the moment. Besides X-Men Origins: Wolverine, I think X-Men: First Class is the only X-Men movie we're going to see for a while. If you need any further proof that bringing on Schwartz was a terrible idea, just go back and read some of his quotes from the interview in May. He talks about how bad he thought The Incredible Hulk looked and mentioned that "it's not like I'm adding new characters like Toaster Head." I'm getting a headache just writing about this!
This time I want to know what everyone else thinks about this news? Be sure to leave a comment below! Is there anyone (or anything) that could save X-Men: First Class from certain doom?
Discover More: Discussion, Movie News, Opinions Watchmen Legal Battle is About the Sequel Rights, Too?!
This is all just speculation, nothing official, so don't get too heated up over it. Blame Hollywood for the lack of interesting news, because I wasn't going to mention this today until I ran out of things to write about. Over the weekend, the LA Times ran an extensive article on the ensuing legal battle between Fox and Warner Brothers over the rights to Watchmen. There isn't a soul left who doesn't know about it and it isn't over yet - but everyone (including me) is tired of writing about the mundane legal aspects especially when we just want the two to figure it out. However, an interesting quote was found in their article that makes me a little nervous. "They are not just fighting over Watchmen, they are also fighting over sequel rights."
Before I get too far in, let me clarify what the statement really means. Entertainment attorney Mel Avanzado, who is not at all involved in the litigation, told the LA Times that. However, he added at the end: "Whoever controls the franchise probably controls quite a bit." Obviously this guy doesn't exactly know what he's talking about and shouldn't be commenting on this. He may know legal issues, but anyone who has ever read Watchmen knows that there is no way there would ever see a sequel. However, he is right in that whoever wins will control the franchise, and if Watchmen turns out to be as big of a success everyone is predicting, this means making money on merchandising galore, DVDs, and so much more.
That's I'll mention from their write-up, unless you've got time to spare and want to read through it all. They do actually clarify what the battle is about, though, in terms everyone can understand. "20th Century Fox believes that no matter how many hands Watchmen has passed through, Fox controls the right to make or, at the very least, distribute Watchmen, even though Warners is currently producing and distributing the film." On the flip side: "As Fox sees it, Warners infringed on Fox's rights, and Watchmen producer Lawrence Gordon gave Warners rights he didn't possess. Warners says Fox's claim is baseless and, as one of its court filing says, 'opportunistic' — a last-minute, backdoor attempt to cash in on another studio's potential hit." Hopefully they get to the bottom of this soon. The day that happens, we'll be here to report it!
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