Film
“The Global Phenomenon” Featurette For Marvel’s ‘The Avengers’
May 15th
The good folks over at Marvel have put together this “The Global Phenomenon” video as a thank you to all the fans who’ve assembled around the world for ‘The Avengers.’ The superhero ensemble crossed the $1 billion global box office mark on Sunday, on just its 19th day of release – colossal figures! ‘The Avengers’ became the highest-grossing opening of all time in the US, raking in $207 million. The previous record was held by last years ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2,’ which earned $169.2 million its opening weekend. This weekend, in its second weekend of release in the US, Marvel’s ‘The Avengers’ added $103.2 million, which is the first time in history a film has crossed the $100 million mark its second weekend.
Directed by Joss Whedon, ‘The Avengers’ (‘Avengers Assemble’ in the UK) stars Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye/Clint Barton), Robert Downey Jr (Iron Man/Tony Stark), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Scarlett Johansson (Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow), Chris Evans (Captain America/Steve Rogers), Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner/Hulk), and Tom Hiddleston (Loki). The likes of Cobie Smulders, Clark Gregg, and Stellen Skarsgard co-star. On May 8th, Walt Disney Pictures announced that a sequel to Marvel’s ‘The Avengers’ was in development, following last month’s announcement that a follow-up to 2011′s ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ will be released April 4th, 2014. A sequel to last summer’s ‘Thor’ is scheduled for release November 15th, 2013, and the third installment of the hit ‘Iron Man’ series, which has earned over $1.2 billion worldwide, will arrive in theaters May 3th, 2013.
UK Poster For ‘ParaNorman’ – Starring Kodi Smit-McPhee, Casey Affleck & Anna Kendrick
May 15th
Total Film has premiered this new UK poster for the stop-motion animated film ‘ParaNorman.’ Featuring the voices of Kodi Smit-McPhee, Casey Affleck, Anna Kendrick, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Leslie Mann, Jeff Garlin, John Goodman, and Alex Borstein, ’ParaNorman’ comes from the animation studio LAIKA (Coraline). The film follows a misunderstood boy who can speak with the dead, takes on ghosts, zombies and grown-ups to save his town from a centuries-old curse. ’ParaNorman’ is set for release August 17th in the US and September 14th in the UK.
When a small town comes under siege by zombies, who can it call? Only misunderstood local boy Norman, who is able to speak with the dead. In addition to the zombies, he’ll have to take on ghosts, witches and, worst, of all, grown-ups, to save his town from a centuries-old curse. But this young ghoul whisperer may find his paranormal activities pushed to their otherworldly limits.
Grisly New ‘Prometheus’ TV Spot Showcases Fresh Footage
May 15th
This is officially the last piece of marketing material I watch, I’m RIDICULOUSLY excited for the film - I’m already sold 85 times over! If you still want to see more footage from Ridley Scott’s ‘Prometheus,’ Prometheusnews has uncovered this new TV spot for the film which highlights a number of never-seen-before clips. ‘Prometheus’ features a stellar cast in Michael Fassbender, Noomi Rapace, Logan Marshall-Green, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Sean Harris, Kate Dickie, Rafe Spall, and Guy Pearce. Check out my interviews with Michael Fassbender for the film here, Ridley Scott here, and a joint interview with Noomi Rapace and Charlize Theron here. Look out for ‘Prometheus’ June 1st in the UK and June 8th in the US.
In the distant future, two superpowers control Earth and fight each other for all the solar system’s natural resources. When one side dispatches a team to a distant planet to terraform it for human colonization, the team discovers an indigenous race of bio-mechanoid killers.
Ridley Scott, director of ‘Alien’ and ‘Blade Runner,’ returns to the genre he helped define. With PROMETHEUS, he creates a groundbreaking mythology, in which a team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a thrilling journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.
Terrence Malick’s Next Film To Be Titled ‘To The Wonder’
May 15th
The Classifications & Rating Administration has revealed (via The Film Stage) the title for Terrence Malick’s upcoming romantic-drama to be ‘To The Wonder.’ Starring the likes of Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko, Javier Bardem, Barry Pepper, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen, Amanda Peet, Jessica Chastain and Rachel Weisz, the film has been rated R in the US for “some sexuality/nudity.” Currently there’s no official release date set for ‘To The Wonder,’ fingers crossed we hear some concrete news for the film during the Cannes Film Festival in the coming weeks. The story concerns a philanderer (Ben Affleck) who, feeling at loose ends, travels to Paris, where he enters a hot-and-heavy affair with a European woman (Olga Kurylenko). Said Lothario returns home to Oklahoma, where he marries the European woman (in part for visa reasons). When the relationship founders, he rekindles a romance with a hometown girl (Rachel McAdams) with whom he’s had a long history.
In past months, Terrence Malick has been shooting the tentatively-titled ‘Lawless,’ while he’s scheduled to film a second film, ‘Knight Of Cups’ later this year. ’Lawless’ will star Ryan Gosling, Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Haley Bennett, and Natalie Portman. ‘Knight Of Cups’ stars Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Wes Bentley, Isabel Lucas, Natalie Portman, and Justin Wheelon. Since Malick’s debut film ‘Badlands’ in 1973, the acclaimed filmmaker has only made four other films, ‘Days Of Heaven,’ ‘The Thin Red Line,’ ‘The New World,’ and last years ‘The Tree of Life’ - which won the 2011 Palme d’Or at Cannes.
New ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ Fan-Poster & Wallpapers Highlight Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman
May 15th
While we patiently await new official posters and character banners for Christopher Nolan’s eagerly-awaited finale to his Batman trilogy, ‘The Dark Knight Rises,’ I’ve come across this excellent fan-made character poster, in addition to these three wallpapers for Tom Hardy’s ruthless and methodical villain, Bane, Christian Bale’s Batman, and Anne Hathaway’s Selina Kyle/Catwoman. I’m definitely intrigued to see how Anne Hathaway’s Selina Kyle/Catwoman fits into the story. Also, to see what Tom Hardy brings to the table as Bane, Batman’s new physically imposing and intellectual foe, is one of the MANY reasons I’m supremely excited for ‘The Dark Knight Rises.’
The plot for ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ is currently being kept under wraps. Judging by the latest theatrical trailer and the previous two films, I think it’s safe to say that we can expect something E P I C. For me, Sergio Leone’s western trilogy ‘A Fistful of Dollars,’ ‘For a Few Dollars More’ and ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ is the only other trilogy I can think of that might fit the “original < sequel < threequel” pattern. Fingers crossed ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ will also! ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Tom Hardy as Bane, Gary Oldman as Commissioner Jim Gordon, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as John Blake, Michael Caine as Alfred, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, and Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tate. Juno Temple, Josh Pence, Daniel Sunjata, Nestor Carbonell, Tom Conti, Joey King, Brett Cullen, Chris Ellis, Josh Stewart, Christopher Judge, Adam Rodriguez and Rob Brown co-star. ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ is scheduled for release July 20th. Christopher Nolan directs the film from a screenplay he wrote with Jonathan Nolan. The production notes and fan-made wallpapers for ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ are below. Sources: Poster by Elgato. Wallpapers by AlexanderStojanov.
Director Barry Sonnenfeld Interview For ‘Men In Black 3′
May 15th
In ‘Men in Black 3,’ Agents J (Will Smith) and K (Tommy Lee Jones) are back… in time. J has seen some inexplicable things in his 15 years with the Men in Black, but nothing, not even aliens, perplexes him as much as his wry, reticent partner. But when K’s life and the fate of the planet are put at stake, Agent J will have to travel back in time to put things right. J discovers that there are secrets to the universe that K never told him — secrets that will reveal themselves as he teams up with the young Agent K (Josh Brolin) to save his partner, the agency, and the future of humankind. Alongside Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin, ‘Men In Black 3′ also stars Alice Eve, Jemaine Clement, Bill Hader, Michael Stuhlbarg, Nicole Scherzinger, and Emma Thompson. The film arrives in cinemas May 25th.
How did the idea for ’Men In Black 3’ come about?
Barry Sonnenfeld: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Sony and I, we really enjoy doing these “Men In Black” movies. The issue was coming up with a concept or a plot for ‘Men In Black 3’ that would be worthy of going back again. One night, weirdly, while Will was shooting with me on ‘Men In Black 2,’ he said, “You know Barry, if we ever do ‘Men In Black 3,’ I should go back in time. Time travel to some other era, where I have to save Young Agent K, and in doing so the audience and I find out secrets about the Men In Black that none of us knew.” It sounded like a great idea. We all done that movie, ‘Men in Black 2,’ then we went off, did other things, and then over the ensuing six or seven years, Walter Parkes, the producer, and Sony hired a writer named Etan Cohen, who wrote ‘Tropic Thunder,’ and a first draft was written. I had nothing to do with the first draft, but I thought it was pretty great and I got involved with additional scripts and then directing it.
