Kristen Stewart Will Not Be Lois Lane In Zack Snyder’s ‘Superman’

UPDATE: According to People.com, Stewart’s reps said: “There are a number of fabricated stories circulating. The fact is that she has not met on this film nor has she been approached for this film.” Our original story remains below.

Now that Zack Snyder has cast his Clark Kent, our attention has turned to the second lead in Metropolis, Lois Lane. The rumor mill is stirring over which actress will play the intrepid reporter in Snyder’s Superman reboot and seemingly every young woman in Hollywood has been floated as a possibility. One name on the list that raised a few eyebrows, however, was Kristen Stewart. Apparently not only does the Twilight star agree, she thinks one franchise is more than enough and has reportedly taken herself out of the running. Read the juicy details after the break.

According to the New York Daily News, Stewart met with Snyder and his producer/wife Deborah to discuss the role. Snyder didn’t formally offer the role to her, but had “definite interest.” Stewart, however “ultimately passed” indicating she was “caught off guard” by the success of Twilight and wanted to concentrate on “smaller, independent films.”

The best part is that the News reports Snyder felt “slighted” by the actress and that she “wasted his time.”

When contacting Stewart’s publicist, all they would say was that she “did not read for the role” which could easily mean she took a meeting. Snyder’s people didn’t comment.

Whether or not any of this actually happened is pretty insignificant. The fact of the matter is, Stewart will not be Lois Lane. Almost all the other actresses that have been rumored – Rachel McAdams, Mila Kunis, Jessica Biel, Dianna Agron, Malin Akerman, Olivia Wilde, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and either Kristen Bell or Lake Bell – are definitely solid choices. If I had to rank them in my mind, it would be McAdams, Agron, Winstead, Wilde, Kunis, Bell (either), Akerman. But that’s just me.

Do you think Stewart could have pulled the role off? And how do you rank the actresses who are rumored to be up for this, obviously, coveted role?

Source

‘Avatar 2′ Rumors Explained

James Cameron’s Avatar 2 doesn’t come out until December 2014 but the news is already starting to trickle out. It’s going to be a long four years. We’ve already heard about how Cameron is trying to develop some new technologies for the film, that the story might go off Pandora and there will be water sequences. Producer Jon Landau, who worked on both Titanic and Avatar with Cameron, has now added some context to that info about the sequels. He talks about a possible link between the second and third films, and provides updates on some other Cameron projects.

Empire Magazine talked to Landau and he commented on how the seas are going to factor into the film, whether or not the film will go off of Pandora and if Avatar 2 will end with a cliffhanger that will be resolved in Avatar 3, which is scheduled for release in December 2015.

First, here’s what he had to say about the water worlds in the movie.

Water will be a part of the movie, but it won’t be all of the movie. There’s been a lot of rumors that it’s an underwater movie – it’s not. Just like the Floating Mountains, and the Na’vi’s interaction with the mountains, were a part of Avatar, it’ll be the same type of thing.

Read more

DC Says No Plans For Justice League Movie

Geoff Johns, speaking at New York Comic-Con, confirmed that Warner Bros and DC are not currently planning for a superhero team-up Justice League of America movie. ComicBookMovie reports that when Johns was asked about the possibility of shared-universe films á la Marvel, Johns responded with the following:

“I’m going to speak frankly: I think our characters are bigger than Marvel’s.” He said that he’d rather spend time building each character on his or her own rather than “smashing them together.”

I understand that Johns statement can come off as being arrogant, I think he’s right in the sense that DC needs to first build these films based on the characters and maybe later on in the sequels talk about crossover possibilities. I know that’s not what the fanboys want to hear, but it’s the most logical way to handle things from a pure storytelling perspective.

One of the biggest complaints of Iron Man 2 was that it seemed to be mostly a set-up/prequel for The Avengers. And rumors have circulated that even director Jon Favreau was a little ticked off at just how much Avengers pre-build was packed into his superhero sequel. I love the idea of what Marvel is hoping to do with crossovers and connected storylines, but so far I feel like it’s been nothing more than a gimmick. I support the concept, and can’t wait until the day when we have a summer of superhero movies which are somehow linked within the same universe. But right now it’s just fanboy nods to what might come next (”hey look at Captain America’s shield, thats funny…”).

Source

DreamWorks Wants To Make The ‘Halo’ Movie

Halo: Reach, the latest game in the hugely successful Microsoft video game franchise, might have done what some of the biggest studios in Hollywood could not: once again breath life into a Halo movie. The game, which made $200 million in its first day, has rejuvenated interest in a franchise whose insider back story is more interesting and vicious than anything Master Chief has ever encountered. Though it had been rumored in the past, reportedly DreamWorks is now “renewing its efforts to obtain the rights and revive the project.” And their solution to get around all the red tape created by five years of development hell? Adapt the Halo video game novelizations. Hit the jump for more. Vulture broke the news of DreamWorks’ latest efforts to get a Halo movie off the ground and in their story they give an extremely detailed history on the Halo project. It’s a fascinating read that features men showing up to all the major movie studios dressed as Master Chief, Fox and Universal splitting insane costs, Peter Jackson, Neill Blomkamp, several million dollars in development, last minute deadlines, backstabbing, lawsuits and more.

The project has been dead for several years and while recently Microsoft said they still want to make a movie, the problem is that Universal is already several million dollars in the hole and certainly looking for retribution. By saying “we’re not adapting the video game, we’re adapting the novels” DreamWorks is probably trying to avoid being part of the drama.

Stuart Beattie, the writer behind G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, wrote a Halo spec script in 2007 that was based on the book Halo: The Fall of Reach. That fits in line with this story and could be the basis for this new interest from DreamWorks but nothing is confirmed. “I’m just a huge fan,” he told Vulture, “and my long-term goal is to get three Halo movies [based on the three novelizations] made. It’s not something I can accomplish tomorrow. But if I can help, I am glad to do it.”

The Vulture piece also brings up a great point about Microsoft’s risk/reward. While dealing with DreamWorks means two words: Steven Spielberg, if a film comes out and it’s not as awesome as the video games, it runs the risk of ruining the franchise. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” right? But “if it ain’t broke, why not try and suck a few more billion out of it?” sounds good too.

Only time will tell if Halo will ever have its day in a theater near you. But it’s pretty obvious that everyone knows it’s a very valuable, untapped property.

Source

Maggie Grace Cast In ‘The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn’

Maggie Grace, of Lost and Taken, is the latest addition to the ever-expanding cast of Breaking Dawn, aka the final two films in the Twilight series.

Grace will play Irina, “a member of the Denali coven, considered cousins to the Cullen clan as the only other “vegetarian” vampire group. When Irina blames the Cullens for the death of her lover, her actions set in motion a terrifying chain of events.” (’Vegetarian’ vampires being ones that don’t feed on human blood as a matter of course.)

Both halves of Breaking Dawn are being directed by Bill Condon, who is shooting the two films in old-fashioned 2D, despite a great deal of supposition that the films would jump to 3D for these final chapters. Post-conversion could still be an option, however. [Deadline]

Source

Kate Beckinsale Will Return For ‘Underworld 4′

Usually when the central protagonist is absent from the latest entry in a franchise, that’s a sign that it’s on its last legs, and the studio is making a last-ditch attempt to milk it of all its remaining worth. One might’ve thought that was the case with Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, but lo and behold, Kate Beckinsale will portray the leather-clad Selene once again for the fourth film in the Underworld series, which has yet to be tagged with a generic, nondescript subtitle. Learn more after the break.

CHUD received confirmation of the casting in a press release, which shares a lot of other info that we already know, but makes no mention of the film being shot in 3D. There are a couple of new tidbits: directors are being sought out for a spring 2011 production start date, and more interestingly, Selene will have a daughter this time around.

On a personal level, I can’t say I have any interest in another Underworld movie (I had my fill after the second), but at least Beckinsale’s involvement makes for a compelling factoid. How many other series of films are there that have spun off into sequels/prequels sans the original cast members, and then had them return to the franchises as though they never left? To my knowledge, there have only been two: The Fast and the Furious and The Mummy. And assuming a third sequel ever happens, American Pie would make three. So if nothing else, Beckinsale can feel proud that she’s contributing to a very rare occurrence in cinema. That’s something, right?

The screenplay for the fourth installment of the Underworld franchise was scripted by The Shield-writer John Hlavin, with revisions by J. Michael Straczynski (Changeling). As with Rise of the Lycans, Len Wiseman will serve only as a producer, not a director.

Screen Gems is planning a January 20, 2012 release date for the film.

Source

‘Black Widow’ Spin-Off Movie May Become Real

Several months back, somebody asked Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige if Iron Man 2 side character and The Avengers team member Black Widow (played by Scarlett Johansson) would be getting her own solo outing, to which he replied that it was “definitely possible”. While more revelatory than a flat “no”, that response doesn’t mean much in the world of Hollywood. When it comes to a potentially bankable property, a studio isn’t likely to outright write off an opportunity to take advantage of it.

In the case of a Black Widow movie though, there may have been more truth to Feige’s words than previously suspected. Read what he had to say after the break.

Feige mentioned that there was movement on the project in a Q&A to promote the DVD and Blu-ray release of Iron Man 2, which you can read in full over at Superhero Hype. The relevant bit is below.

We’ve already started discussions with Scarlett about the idea of a solo movie and have begun putting together concepts, but ‘The Avengers’ comes first.

Well, naturally. The Avengers coming first is kind of a necessity here, isn’t it? Iron Man 2 only really served as an introduction to the character, doing more to show off her form-fitting attire and fighting abilities than present a role with any sort of human complexity. Were The Avengers to somehow find the time amidst the half dozen other team members to imbue Black Widow with a conflict and character arc worth investing in, then obviously a Black Widow movie could have potential. It’s possible that even Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye could play a part in it, as his relationship with Black Widow is said to factor into the story of The Avengers.

All of this is still a ways off though, so let’s return to the topic once we see how The Avengers fares. The film hits theaters May 4, 2012.

Source

Del Toro Talks More About ‘Mountains of Madness’

While many of you are psyched at the prospect of seeing H.P. Lovecraft’s classic novel At the Mountains of Madness come to life on the big screen, I can almost guarantee none of you are as excited as the film’s director, Guillermo del Toro. We heard not too long ago that Tom Cruise and James McAvoy were being pursued to lead the literally monstrous adaptation, and since Collider broke that story, that’s the first thing they asked about in a recent interview. Del Toro says it’s too early to begin casting as they just turned in a new draft of the script to James Cameron and producers. However, he does up offer some amazing details.

Though the film hasn’t officially been greenlit yet, del Toro has met with ILM’s Dennis Muren, who is designing the monsters for the film. If you don’t recognize the name, you’ll surely know his work in visual and creature effects for the Star Wars Trilogy, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Jurassic Park. Yea, he’s kind of a big deal in the visual/special effects world. Apparently Muren turned to del Toro at one point and said, "You’ve never seen monsters like this." Apparently the book doesn’t describe the creatures in very intricate details so that gives Muren and del Toro a lot of room for creativity.

Don’t worry though, because del Toro isn’t looking to stray far away from the novella. Helping along the adaptation process, del Toro will be anding out the project to some Lovecraft scholars to get their input on it. However, he’s quick to say, "I’m not going to get it right for all the fans. There’s no chance of that." The fact that he understands that concept is reason enough for me to believe without a doubt that he’s the right man for the job. Other directors will blow smoke up your ass and say that they want to please all the loyal fans, and that’s what makes an honest and true artist like del Toro so inspiring. This is also the very reason that it sounds like he’ll have no interference from the studio in the creative process (more on that below).

Read more

Will Ryan Reynolds’ Busy Schedule Kill ‘Deadpool’?

A few weeks ago, we got word that Red director Robert Schwentke was first in line to direct Ryan Reynolds in the supernatural action film R.I.P.D., based on the Dark Horse comic of the same name. Now there’s confirmation that Schwentke will in fact direct. The question is: does this, along with the rest of Reynolds’ schedule, kill Deadpool?

Deadline says that Reynolds will shoot The Change-Up, then the Denzel Washington film Safe House, then likely R.I.P.D., which will go late next summer. Notice a couple of things there. That leaves little time for Deadpool, and depending upon how the full schedule goes, Warner Bros. would have to work to fit a Green Lantern sequel into his calendar before the end of next year. If all these projects come together, and Green Lantern hits with audiences, Reynolds could be quite the superstar by 2012.

From our previous report, producer Neal Moritz recently described the film to Collider:

It’s about two cops, one recently dead and a gunslinger who’s been dead for hundreds of years who work on the Rest in Peace department – which is the police department of the dead. And they basically… it takes place on a normal day and it’s about trying to keep the dead quiet.

And here’s the official synopsis of the comic:

Welcome to the Rest In Peace Department — the devoted, yet dead, officers of divine law enforcement “patrolling the deadbeat…reporting to one boss.” Yep — THAT boss. Nick Cruz was murdered by an unknown assailent, at the height of his personal and professional life. Now he’s traded a hundred years of service to the R.I.P.D. in exchange for a shot at finding who killed him. Unfortunately his search will take him to Hell and back — literally!

• Source

Fan-Funded Nazi UFO Movie Has Raised $7.65 Million

You must have loved the trailer for that Nazi UFO movie we showed you last week, because thanks to fan donations, the project has already pulled in 90 percent of the feature-length project’s $8.5 million budget.

Iron Sky‘s premise is that Nazis in flying saucers escaped to the moon during the closing days of World War II, and in 2018 they return to conquer the Earth. Casting for the film is almost done, and filming will begin in Australia and Germany later this year.

Though Iron Sky‘s success in pulling in fan funding might encourage others to create films in which the audience and investor are the same, special-effects guru Samuli Torssonen warns that theirs is a special case.

“We didn’t come out of nowhere,” he said. “We’ve been building our Internet community and visibility since 1999, with Star Wreck. You have to invest a lot of time and energy to win the trust of the Internet audience.”

Teaser Footage Below: Read more

« Previous Page — Next Page »