Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Newsbites: The comics and fantasy edition!

1. Fox and Warner have agreed to forego a jury trial and to let a federal judge decide whether Watchmen will be released as planned on March 6. The judge is expected to render his decision January 20, only a month and a half before the release date, but Warner has asked him to render it as early as this Monday. -- Los Angeles Times, Variety, David Poland, Hollywood Reporter

2. Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell are in talks to play the bad guys in Iron Man 2. As usual, story details are a closely-guarded secret, but the speculation is that Rourke would play either Whiplash or Crimson Dynamo, while Rockwell would play Justin Hammer. For what it's worth, between Rourke and Robert Downey Jr., that now makes two talented but washed-up 1980s movie stars whose recent comebacks have been capped by a role in this Marvel Comics franchise. -- Variety, Hollywood Reporter

3. The first three Harry Potter movies were rated PG. The next two were rated PG-13, as befits the fact that Harry is getting older and the stories are getting darker and more mature, with raging hormones and major characters dying, and so on. But now comes word that the sixth film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, has been rated a mere PG, for "scary images, some violence, language and mild sensuality." Can it possibly be that the sixth movie has toned things down, just as the series is moving towards its death-filled climax? -- FilmRatings.com

4. It's official: Taylor Lautner will be back as the werewolf Jacob Black in New Moon, the sequel to Twilight. -- Stephenie Meyer, Anne Thompson, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Nikki Finke

5. DJ Caruso, who helped make Shia LaBeouf a movie star by directing him in Disturbia and Eagle Eye, has signed on to make Jack the Giant Killer for New Line Cinema. The story "is set in motion when a princess is kidnapped, threatening a long-standing peace between men and giants. A young farmer is given an opportunity to lead a dangerous expedition to the giants' kingdom in hopes of rescuing her." -- Hollywood Reporter

6. Teresa Palmer will play the love interest in The Sorcerer's Apprentice, a modernized version of the fable made famous by Fantasia (1940). The film also stars Nicolas Cage as the sorceror and Jay Baruchel as the apprentice. -- Hollywood Reporter

3 Comments:

Blogger RC said...

i don't really remember a love interest in the sorcerer's aprentice...there was no minnie for mickey in that famous cartoon scene.

nicholas cage, a love interest, feature length film...i think this sounds horrible.

8:45 AM  
Anonymous coffee maker said...

Roarke was right to hold out for more money; it's Iron Man 2 -- they can afford more than 250k

11:39 AM  
Anonymous Movie Blaster said...

The most recent Harry Potter movies aren't that good anymore especially since most of the young characters got older now.... There was a certain cuteness to Harry Potter before that appealed more to kids... I doubt if its still there.

6:59 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home