Who's Going to Direct Star Wars: Episode 7?

Entertainment Weekly Gives Us a Rundown of Candidates

Following Tuesday’s nerd-shattering announcement that the Walt Disney Company is buying Lucasfilm, and the plan includes Star Wars: Episode VII, in early development and hoping for a 2015 release, the speculative race is on for who should direct.

Should it be Christopher Nolan, who exploded open the Batman franchise?  Or Star Trek reboot master J.J. Abrams? Or Joss Whedon, riding the superhero tidal wave of this year’s The Avengers? Lucasfilm founder George Lucas, who wrote and directed the 1977 Star Wars original and the later prequels, will work as a creative consultant on Star Wars: Episode VII, so love him or hate him, he won’t be returning to helm the next film.

Christopher Nolan

Here are their potential picks:

Christopher Nolan
Nolan is a genius at manipulating a genre to make it cool, darkly menacing, and new, as he did with the past three Batman films, elevating Heath Ledger’s Joker to Oscar-winning, cult status in The Dark Knight. Nolan could infuse the sci-fi fantasy franchise with grit and great character development.

Peter Jackson
Jackson is another director who has box office hit blockbuster credentials and smarts prime for a return to Star Wars. The same attention he places on knock-out special effects and pinpoint ensemble casting, as in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the upcoming Hobbit movies, he could pour into this.

Joss Whedon

Joss Whedon
Whedon, a geek fan’s dream director, is under contract by Marvel, and slated to direct the sequel to The Avengers, so it’s highly unlikely that he’d be freed up to direct. But he’s also the best kind of Star Wars director pick: someone who can balance dark, twisty humor, fluid action, and subtle character development (example: The Hulk as an approachable, sloppy guy in The Avengers, until he goes big and green). Original Buffy Sarah Michelle Gellar inheriting Princess Leia’s crown? Why not?

J.J. Abrams
Producing and writing television and movies across the board, his name is all over the place — from TV’s Revolution to the latest Star Trek films. After making Star Trek movies fresh, epic, and fun again with the 2009 release and the hotly anticipated upcoming sequel, Abrams is ripe to take on another sci-fi tour-de-force. He’s saucy and smart, and adds a sleek visual shine, plus spot-on casting.

Catherine Hardwick

Catherine Hardwicke
It’s about time a woman with cred directs a Star Wars reboot, and Hardwicke, as director of the first mega hit Twilight movie and last year’s Red Riding Hood, is adept at mining the psychological complexities of fantasy. She could take Star Wars to new heights, and also show that male directors aren’t the only ones out there to take on fanboy favorites.

Guillermo del Toro
Mexican director Del Toro, transitioning smoothly from Spanish to English language films, has become a sought-after director when it comes to BIG, monster-filled sci-fi. His upcoming Pacific Rim, making fanboys scream at Comic-Con, shows he can make blockbusters, following from fan favorites Hellboy and the beautifully filmed, strange creature-filled world of 2006 fantasy Pan’s Labyrinth.

Alfonso Cuaron
Cuaron, another Mexican director with international clout, shot some needed darkness into the Harry Potter franchise, directing 2004′s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. He’s a stickler when it comes to meaty, soul baring character development, something a new Star Wars film could use to elevate it from an effects juggernaut to a deeply felt hit. He’s jumped into sci-fi already with 2006′s stunning, realistically scary Children of Men.

http://popwatch.ew.com/2012/10/30/who-should-direct-new-star-wars-movie/?hpt=hp_t3

What do you guys think?

WHY DIDN'T JEREMY RENNER TAKE THE LEAD IN PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON'S THE MASTER?

Remember when Jeremy Renner had the lead in Paul Thomas Anderson's THE MASTER long before Joaquin Phoenix came along?

Or maybe this isn't really how it was...

In an interview with Graffiti With Punctuation, Anderson was asked about Renner's involvement with the film:

SB: When I first spoke to Jeremy Renner he was disappointed that he wasn’t in the THE MASTER. Was he considered for Freddie? Did he audition?

PTA: Jeremy didn’t really audition. We were talking and there was even a moment three or four weeks into pre-production, but the script wasn’t ready and we had to call it off. By the time we got started again Jeremy was off doing other films – multiple films – and the script had taken a different path. You know, in the life of a film every one of them is different but what ends up happening is usually the right thing.

SB: He told me he wanted to work with you again. Do you think in the future you will have a role for him?

PTA: For sure. Without question.

It's weird to hear this since a couple of years back, as The Playlist points out, Renner said this about time spent with PTA and Philip Seymour Hoffman, "It really kind of stalled because when we were rehearsing — Phil [Seymour Hoffman], Paul and myself — we kept coming up against a wall that we couldn't overcome. Or at least Paul couldn't overcome." Well they both agree that it wasn't working out for either party. Either way, I'm glad to hear that PTA would love to work with Renner on another project because that's something I would like to see.

Director Paul Thomas Anderson

http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/why-didnt-jeremy-renner-take-the-lead-in-paul-thomas-andersons-the-master

Disney Buys LucasFilms...Star Wars 7?

 

In a move sure to shock fans of the Mouse House and George Lucas, the Walt Disney Company said Tuesday it has agreed to acquire Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion in cash and stock. The company also announced that it is prepping Star Wars: Episode 7 for release in 2015.

“For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to seeStar Wars passed from one generation to the next,” Lucas, the sole shareholder of Lucasfilm, said in a press release announcing the acquisition. “It’s now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers.”

With the acquisition, Disney adds one of the world’s most enduring — and most profitable — sci-fi franchises to its ever-expanding stable. Disney, which has grown from humble animation company to massive media brand, successfully roped in Pixar in 2006 and bought Marvel Entertainment in 2009(also for a $4 billion price tag). Buying Lucasfilm, Disney chairman Robert Iger said, was in line with the Marvel acquisition: The move essentially means Disney has cornered the market on superhero and sci-fi/fantasy films.

In a conference call with investors, Iger called Lucas a “true visionary” and applauded him for building a “company at the intersection of entertainment and technology.” As part of the deal, Disney will also take control of Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound. But the most lucrative part of the deal has to be the Star Wars brand, and to that end Disney announced it would be releasing a new film from the franchise in 2015, with more to follow.

“We believe we can do great things with these amazing assets,” Iger said.

Under the agreement, Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg’s producing partner who was named co-chair of Lucasfilm in June, will become president of the company within Disney. Lucas has been discussing retirement in recent months, particularly when Kennedy’s position was announced, and even though Iger noted that Lucas will stay on as an adviser for the new Star Wars trilogy, he is moving forward toward retirement.

“This transaction combines a world-class portfolio of content including Star Wars, one of the greatest family entertainment franchises of all time, with Disney’s unique and unparalleled creativity across multiple platforms, businesses and markets to generate sustained growth and drive significant long-term value,” Iger said in a statement.

The boards of both Disney and Lucasfilm have approved the acquisition, but it is still subject to clearance under U.S. and international business regulations.

Thanks to http://www.wired.com/underwire/2012/10/disney-buys-lucasfilm/

'The Wolverine' Reveals Vintage Teaser Poster

Man of Steel Sequel?

 
Now that Warner Bros. Picters hassecured the rights to the Superman franchise, some people begin to speculate about a possible sequel to "Man of Steel" despite the fact that the film is still a year away from being released everywhere. Weighing in on the subject, director Zack Snyder decided to play it safe when asked by E! News to comment on the follow-upmovie. 


"We like to take it one step at a time and not curse anything," Snyder said very carefully when attending the Arthritis Foundation gala in Beverly Hills recently. "It's kind of thing so we'll see what happens," he added. When urged further to spill a little hint about the upcoming film, the director insisted to stay tight-lipped as stressing, "It's super hard to keep it a secret." 
 
Though he managed to play coy on the possible sequel project, Snyder did have some good words for lead actor Henry Cavill who gave his best performance in the Superman getup. "It was awesome," praised the filmmaker. "You look at him and you're like, 'That was a good idea!' " 



Christopher Meloni, who was also at the gala with Snyder, was equally secretive as the director. Discussing the upcoming film, the Colonel Hardy depicter carefully said, "I just keep telling everyone it's a reimagining and something that you've never seen before in your life - how a superhero is portrayed, the journey he gave him and how it's filmed. You've never see anything like it." 

While details of "Man of Steel" are kept under very tight wraps, an alleged emblem animation for the movie leaks onto the web. Per Comic Book Movie, the video shows a stunning shot of the Superman logo, which allegedly will be used as the official title treatment or will be part of a new trailer for the film. 


"Man of Steel" is slated for a June 14, 2013 release in theaters across the United States. In addition to Cavill and Meloni, it stars Amy Adams,Michael Shannon, Russell Crowe, Diane Lane, Kevin Costner andLaurence Fishburne among others. 

Aronofsky's 'Noah' Filming in trouble

While prophet Noah built his ark to save his family from massive storm and flood thousands of years ago, Darren Aronofsky apparently faces similar condition as his "Noah" ark is in danger to be destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. Los Angeles Times reports that the prestigious biblical film project must postpone its filming on Monday, October 29 because the storm threatens to damage the movie's colossal boat in New York. 



Emma Watson, who plays Noah's adoptive daughter Ila, tweeted about the incident on Sunday night. "I take it that the irony of a massive storm holding up the production of Noah is not lost @DarrenAronofsky@russellcrowe @MattyLibatique," so the English beauty wrote. Aronofsky himself was using the break time to watch other films "Cloud Atlas" and "The Master". 




Arnofsky's production team has actually built two massive arks for the pic. One is kept inside a Brooklyn sound stage, while the other is put in the water at Oyster Bay, New York. The outdoor ship is the one which is in danger to be wrecked by the storm since Oyster Bay will very much be in the path of Hurricane Sandy with local flooding and wind gusts of up to 63 mph. 




The Oyster Bay ark is 450 feet long, 75 feet tall and 45 feet wide. The problem is, the boat is not designed as a seaworthy ship because the movie is expected to wrap filming soon. LA Times says that the ark was prepared to be used sparingly in the weeks ahead and was partially dismantled over the last several days. Paramount Pictures has yet to say anything about the issue. 






"Noah" is slated for a March 28, 2014 release in the United States. It also stars Russell Crowe, Ray Winstone, Jennifer Connelly, Anthony Hopkins,Logan Lerman and Douglas Booth. 
http://www.aceshowbiz.com/news/view/00055038.html

Set Photos from Red 2

Thanks to http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=96462

Iron Man 3..Racist?

Now that the first trailer for Iron Man 3 is out, we've all seen our first glimpse of the Mandarin, Tony Stark's biggest adversary in the comics. The Mandarin is sort of a Fu Manchu knock-off, who was described as a "racist caricature" by none other than Shane Black, the director of Iron Man 3. So even if Iron Man 3 wasn't a co-production with China, chances are the studio would have toned down the character a lot.

How good a job did they do of removing the weird racial subtext from the character? And how does it work to cast the Anglo-Indian Ben Kingsley in the role? We asked some real-life Asian comics nerds, including one Marvel Comics writer, for their thoughts.

Marjorie M. Liu is the author of the Dirk & Steele series and the Hunter Kiss series, and she's also written a lot of Marvel comics over the years, including Astonishing X-Men, Dark Wolverine, NYX and X-23. She tells us:

The Mandarin is pretty much a direct descendent of the Fu Manchu yellow peril caricature-at best Orientalist, at worst, racist. The diabolic Asiatic is a hoary Hollywood staple – one of many stereotypes that Asian Americana have long had to endure - whether it's the Fu Manchu, the Kung Fu master, the Dragon Lady, or the bucktooth nerd. What's amazing is that China through its economic might has succeeded in extracting from Hollywood what civil rights groups and Asian American petitions have been unable to: more respectful representations of its citizens. If only every minority group had a massive economy! No more Jar-Jar Binks, no more Hugo Weaving playing a future Korean but looking more like a bad cosplay Romulan.

As for Ben Kingsley's portrayal - ultimately, this is a bit of racial pinch-hitting. Can't upset our Chinese economic allies - well, any brown face will do. After all, the Mandarin was created multiracial –- his father Chinese, his mother an English noblewoman — and Mr. Kingsley, himself biracial, has long played characters of various ethnicities (Prince of Persia anybody?). And if you're going to do yellowface, its probably "safer" with another minority playing the role. Safer for the studios, but not for any of us who've had to live with the stereotypes hanging over our heads.

We also talked to Jeff Yang, who's edited two anthologies of Asian American shared-universe superhero comics, Secret Identities and Shattered. Yang tells us:

So I've seen the trailer, and I've also read the assertions from [Marvel Studios President] Kevin Feige that the Mandarin's ethnicity is "purposefully blurred" — something that's obvious given the images of Anglo-Indian Ben Kingsley in the role, with a wardrobe and hairstyle that look vaguely Mongol warrior in origin. Marvel fanboys will remember that the Mandarin is actually biracial: His father is said to be a "direct descendant of Genghis Khan" (not that big of a brag: The Great Khan had so many offspring that one in 200 living males are his direct descendants!) — and in fact, the Mongol empire spread so widely that many of these descendants are spread across Eastern Europe and the Middle East... as well as India, where the Timurid royal house claimed to be of the lineage of Khan's son Chagatai. Khanate lineage is particularly prized in many Muslim societies, such as Russia's Tatars and among the Uzbeks of Central Asia. So it actually makes more literal sense for Kingsley to be cast in the role, with an updated Mongol look, than someone who's Han Chinese wearing the Mandarin's traditional Chinese scholar-inspired outfit. The Mongols, if you recall, kicked Mandarin-speaking Chinese butts and took over the country for generations. If a descendant of the Khan took the name it would really be out of sarcastic spite.

                                  

But that doesn't answer the question of whether this is any better as far as racial portrayal. My own take — and the point that we make in SHATTERED, which is an anthology that's all about upending and reinventing cliche images of Asian Americans — is that a good villain is not a bad thing. If Kingsley, a terrific actor, can bring authenticity, three-dimensionality, complexity, and that dark charisma that's central to a great bad guy's success to the role, then I'll be the first to cheer him on. If, on the other hand, the Mandarin ends up as another Fu Manchu manquee with no real backstory and nothing but lame buzzphrases to flesh out his character, then I'll boo louder than anyone.

And finally, we spoke to Marissa Lee, the editor of Racebending.com, who speculates that making the Mandarin more of a Central Asian villain may play well in China, where the country is currently dealing with a huge Uighur separatist movement that's being described as "China's war on terror." She adds:

The shift of Iron Man's villain to a vaguely Middle Eastern-type character is reflective of how American orientalism attitudes have shifted to focusing on otherizing the Middle East. If structurally functions the same as yellow peril, it just kind of aggregates all of America's attitudes towards the otherized "East" into this antagonist character. (Contrast to Tony Stark, this wealthy, white, brilliant, capitalist American hero.)

To be honest, with the Mandarin the greatest concern is just how the character will be portrayed. Can they separate the character from yellow peril no matter how it is fanwanked or no-prized? Especially with his character design hodgepodged from so many cultures that Hollywood has otherized. As Entertainment Weekly pointed out, he's got Fu Manchu robes, "samurai hair", a "bin Laden-esque" beard...so it's still all of these physical markers of the Western conceptualization of the mysterious and shady "Orient" folded visually into one villainous character.

I giggled when I read Kevin Feige's explanation: "It's less about his specific ethnicity than the symbolism of various cultures and iconography that he perverts for his own end." The Mandarin and Hollywood have a lot in common!

Universal Soldier: DAY OF RECKONING

RoboCop New Images

http://www.joblo.com/newsimages1/joel-kinnaman-robocop-motorcycle-scenes-26.jpg

George Clooney's next got a full cast!

Actor/director George Clooney has rounded up one hell of a cast for his upcoming film MONUMENTS MEN, a WWII-set drama, which will star Clooney, Daniel Craig, Bill Murray, Jean Dujardin, John Goodman, Hugh Bonneville, and Bob Balaban, and Cate Blanchett.  Now, that's a cast! 

According to Deadline, the story "confronts the final chapter of Germany’s rule, which came down to the absolute destruction of everything that makes a culture keep its standing, including the lives that are lost and the sacrifices that are made. All of this is in danger of being lost forever as Hitler and the Nazis try to cover the tracks of a murderous regime. A crew of art historians and museum curators unite to recover renown works of art that were stolen by Nazis before Hitler destroys them."

Sounds like a cool pic.  Clooney hasn't exactly floored me with his directing skills thus far, but with a cast like this I have high hopes that he'll knock one out of the park.  His previous directorial efforts include CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND, LEATHERHEADS, GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK, and THE IDES OF MARCH.

The drama was scripted by Clooney and his writing partner Grant Heslov.  Production is set to begin March 1, 2013 in Europe with a release date yet to be determined.  It was also announced that Alexandre Desplat (ARGO) will be supplying the score.

More as this develops.

Great News for Brooklyn! Kimmel Refuses to Cancel Show!

A storm can't prevent "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" from filming its shows in Brooklyn. Despite news that Hurricane Sandy is predicted to hit the East Coast on Monday night, October 29 or early Tuesday, October 30, the ABC talk show is moving on with its plans to shoot this week's shows at the Brooklyn Academy of Music starting Monday.




"We are bringing in back-up generators and will be able to do our show in the event of a power failure," says a representative for the Jimmy Kimmel-hosted program in a statement to Entertainment Weekly. "We are also flying staff and crew out earlier to beat the storm. We have had no audience drop-outs so far despite news of the storm." 



The late-night talk show has enlisted Chris Rock, Kelly Ripa and Alicia Keys as guests for October 29 episode, Howard Stern, Tracy Morgan and Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings for October 30, David Letterman andVampire Weekend for October 31, and Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert as well as and The Avett Brothers featuring The Brooklyn Philharmonic for November 1 episode. 

In anticipation of the storm, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has ordered all train, bus and subway service to be shut down starting Sunday night. The warning also led the Broadway League to cancel all shows on Sunday and Monday nights. 

Mission Impossible 5?

After making his biggest hit to date through "Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol", Tom Cruise apparently has prepared to continue the famous action film franchise with a fifth installment. Sharing to Total Film, the "Jack Ryan" actor gave a little update on the planned "Mission: Impossible 5". 




"We're already working on different images. Talking conceptually," the "Rock of Ages" actor told the moviemagazine, which named him Icon of Our Life Time in its 200th issue. "I love traveling around promoting different movies because I'm always looking at different places, and I always walk around to see the city. I look at architecture, subways... coming up with different sequences." 

During the chat, Cruise also gushed about the big success of "Ghost Protocol" that led him to plan the possible fifth movie. "Seeing an audience respond... to have that experience is really wonderful," he said. "I started Mission: Impossible hoping I could make many of them. It's a character that I can grow with." 




He went on admitting that the "Mission: Impossible" series was very important to him. "At that time it was the most expensive film in the history of Paramount Pictures, and the first film I was producing," he recalled. "It's been pretty exciting. I'll make a bunch of those. I'll make as many as people want to see... because they're very challenging, and so much fun to make." 

Being released in the U.S. on December 16, 2011, the last "Mission: Impossible" movie took in $209,3 million domestically and $693 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film in the franchise. It also became the highest-grossing Cruise-starring movie, knocking down 2005's "War of the Worlds". 

'Lone Ranger' being compared to the 'Dark Knight'

Armie Hammer states that his take on "The Lone Ranger" is pretty much like Batman in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" trilogy. Promising that the Gore Verbinski-directed movie will be more complex than the original 1950sTV series, Hammer claims that his titular character is very similar to the Gotham hero, who was recently made popular by Christian Bale. 




"Our take is darker and more complex, more action packed and more badass than the old TV show," he tells Empire magazine. "It's a 21st century version of the character, you know. There's a little ofThe Dark Knight in him." 

Hammer goes on dishing, "There's less moral ambiguity, but there are definite similarities. They're both vigilantes who fell they have to wear a mask to serve justice because the people who are supposed to be doing it aren't." 

"The Lone Ranger" follows Native American spirit warrior Tonto (Johnny Depp) who recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid (Hammer), a man of the law, into a legend of justice. The two unlikely heroes must learn to work together and fight against greed and corruption. 

Of Lone Ranger's bromance with Tonto, Hammer says, "It's an odd couple relationship, a lawman, an attorney who comes back to the West where he grew up, hoping to bring justice with him. He meets this wise Commanche who knows that, out West, you make your own justice.' 

The big-budget Western movie will grace cinemas across the U.S. on July 3, 2013. Tom Wilkinson, Ruth Wilson, Helena Bonham Carter,James Frain, James Badge Dale and William Fichtner are joining Hammer and Depp in the casting department.