Latino Review has an exclusive that makes us all hopeful for the future of DC's movie properties.
Showing posts with label Movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Movies. Show all posts
Monday, March 4, 2013
Monday, July 23, 2012
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
The Ender's Game movie is actually happening?
Ender's Game is awesome. You should read it if you like things that are awesome...go ahead, I'll wait.
It was awesome, right? Anywho, Ender's Game came out in 1985, and ever since then people have been talking about making it into a movie. The author tried his hand at a script. The guys running the Game of Thrones show took a run at it. The problem is, Ender is a tough nut to crack. It's almost exclusively about pre-teens, so it's kind of like the early Potter books, but it's much more brutal than the first half of Rowling's stories. A decent chunk of the story occurs in zero gravity, so you've got to figure out a way to make that look cool. For whatever reason, thinks just never clicked between Ender and Hollywood, until now.
Summit Entertainment bought the rights. They hired Gavin Hood to direct off of a script he wrote. Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman are going to produce, and we even have a release date - March 15, 2013. All of those things are nice, but they're not "real". Directors and writers and producers get attached to projects all the time, and then nothing happens. But now, now they're casting. And not just one big name star who will eventually move on to something else. Looks like Ender is finally happening.
Asa Butterfield is Ender Wiggin
Asa was Bruno in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and Norman in Nanny McPhee Returns. He's in the theater right now as the titular character in Hugo. He'll turn 15 in April, so he's a little older than Ender is supposed to be, but he still looks like he could be younger. I couldn't be happier about this casting, and my only concern is that he can pull off an American accent. If you've read Ender's Game, this photo shows you everything you need to see.
Hailee Steinfeld is Petra Arkanian
Hailee was Mattie in last year's True Grit, and she was nominated for pretty much every acting award in existence. She just turned 15, so she's about six months older than Asa, which works for the characters. Hailee is a great actress, and I was really rooting for her to win an Oscar last year. She probably won't get nominated for her part in Ender, but I think it will giver her a great opportunity to play another aspect of the tough, reliant young woman character she nailed in Mattie.
Ben Kingsley is Mazer Rackham
I don't want to get too much into who Mazer is to avoid spoilers, but needless to say he's a major character who ends up influencing Ender in the second half of the story. We all know Kingsley. He won an Oscar for Gandhi, and great acclaim for Sexy Beast and House of Sand and Fog. Mazer is supposed to be half Maori, while Kingsley is of Indian and Russian descent, so it will be interesting to see what they do there, but you can't ever complain about having an Oscar winner in your beloved franchise.
Harrison Ford is Colonel Graff (????)
OK, so this one is still just rumor, but it's been said all over the internet that Ford is in negotiations to join the project. I'm a bit torn if this turns out to be true. On the one hand, it's Indiana Jones!!!! On the other, it's old Harrison Ford who hasn't seemed to give a flip since...The Fugitive? Maybe Air Force One? Ford is a huge name, and he would lend instant cred to the project if he is attached. He's a great actor, and I think he could have a ton of fun with the curmudgeonly old commander of Battle School. I just don't know if he wants to have fun anymore.
So what do you think? Are you happy with the three official casting announcements? Are you willing to roll the dice on Ford, or would you rather go with someone who will actually care about the movie? Who should play Ender's siblings, Peter and Valentine? What about the rest of his jeesh, especially Alai and Bean? Let me know in the comments.
It was awesome, right? Anywho, Ender's Game came out in 1985, and ever since then people have been talking about making it into a movie. The author tried his hand at a script. The guys running the Game of Thrones show took a run at it. The problem is, Ender is a tough nut to crack. It's almost exclusively about pre-teens, so it's kind of like the early Potter books, but it's much more brutal than the first half of Rowling's stories. A decent chunk of the story occurs in zero gravity, so you've got to figure out a way to make that look cool. For whatever reason, thinks just never clicked between Ender and Hollywood, until now.
Summit Entertainment bought the rights. They hired Gavin Hood to direct off of a script he wrote. Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman are going to produce, and we even have a release date - March 15, 2013. All of those things are nice, but they're not "real". Directors and writers and producers get attached to projects all the time, and then nothing happens. But now, now they're casting. And not just one big name star who will eventually move on to something else. Looks like Ender is finally happening.
Asa Butterfield is Ender Wiggin
Asa was Bruno in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and Norman in Nanny McPhee Returns. He's in the theater right now as the titular character in Hugo. He'll turn 15 in April, so he's a little older than Ender is supposed to be, but he still looks like he could be younger. I couldn't be happier about this casting, and my only concern is that he can pull off an American accent. If you've read Ender's Game, this photo shows you everything you need to see.
Hailee Steinfeld is Petra Arkanian
Hailee was Mattie in last year's True Grit, and she was nominated for pretty much every acting award in existence. She just turned 15, so she's about six months older than Asa, which works for the characters. Hailee is a great actress, and I was really rooting for her to win an Oscar last year. She probably won't get nominated for her part in Ender, but I think it will giver her a great opportunity to play another aspect of the tough, reliant young woman character she nailed in Mattie.
Ben Kingsley is Mazer Rackham
I don't want to get too much into who Mazer is to avoid spoilers, but needless to say he's a major character who ends up influencing Ender in the second half of the story. We all know Kingsley. He won an Oscar for Gandhi, and great acclaim for Sexy Beast and House of Sand and Fog. Mazer is supposed to be half Maori, while Kingsley is of Indian and Russian descent, so it will be interesting to see what they do there, but you can't ever complain about having an Oscar winner in your beloved franchise.
Harrison Ford is Colonel Graff (????)
OK, so this one is still just rumor, but it's been said all over the internet that Ford is in negotiations to join the project. I'm a bit torn if this turns out to be true. On the one hand, it's Indiana Jones!!!! On the other, it's old Harrison Ford who hasn't seemed to give a flip since...The Fugitive? Maybe Air Force One? Ford is a huge name, and he would lend instant cred to the project if he is attached. He's a great actor, and I think he could have a ton of fun with the curmudgeonly old commander of Battle School. I just don't know if he wants to have fun anymore.
So what do you think? Are you happy with the three official casting announcements? Are you willing to roll the dice on Ford, or would you rather go with someone who will actually care about the movie? Who should play Ender's siblings, Peter and Valentine? What about the rest of his jeesh, especially Alai and Bean? Let me know in the comments.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
The Girl On Fire
Gary Ross has chosen his Katniss Everdeen, and she's an Oscar nominee.
Jennifer Lawrence, recently nominated for Best Actress for her work in Winter's Bone, has been chosen as the lead in the upcoming film adaptation of The Hunger Games. If you haven't heard of the property, the trilogy by Suzanne Collins is the latest Young Adult phenomenon to dominate the book world. The story revolves around a distopian future where once a year the government forces a handful of teenagers to fight to the death for entertainment. In some ways the premise is similar to the story of Theseus, where the subjugated Greek cities were forced to send children to the maze of the Minotaur. It's a great read, and if you haven't checked it out yet I encourage you to do so.
Back to the announcement. On the positive side of things, Lawrence is a great actress. The biggest problem with adapting YA fiction to screen is always finding actors who can pull off the full range of emotions at such a young age. With Lawrence in the lead, I have full confidence that the acting will not be a problem for this project. On the negative end, she's a little bit old. She will almost certainly be 21 before the film wraps, and if it's a success she'll probably be past 25 by the time the third movie is made. The character of Katniss is 16 at the start of the series, and is not yet 18 at the conclusion. Unless they plan to drastically alter one of the main plots of the story, she can't possibly be any older than 18. That has some people up in arms. They're worried that they'll age up the whole story, or change the entire premise. I'm not that worried, because Hollywood has always loved casting people in their 20s to play teenagers. I'd rather see someone who has to act down in age a few years, rather than someone who can't act at all. But that's just me
Jennifer Lawrence, recently nominated for Best Actress for her work in Winter's Bone, has been chosen as the lead in the upcoming film adaptation of The Hunger Games. If you haven't heard of the property, the trilogy by Suzanne Collins is the latest Young Adult phenomenon to dominate the book world. The story revolves around a distopian future where once a year the government forces a handful of teenagers to fight to the death for entertainment. In some ways the premise is similar to the story of Theseus, where the subjugated Greek cities were forced to send children to the maze of the Minotaur. It's a great read, and if you haven't checked it out yet I encourage you to do so.
Back to the announcement. On the positive side of things, Lawrence is a great actress. The biggest problem with adapting YA fiction to screen is always finding actors who can pull off the full range of emotions at such a young age. With Lawrence in the lead, I have full confidence that the acting will not be a problem for this project. On the negative end, she's a little bit old. She will almost certainly be 21 before the film wraps, and if it's a success she'll probably be past 25 by the time the third movie is made. The character of Katniss is 16 at the start of the series, and is not yet 18 at the conclusion. Unless they plan to drastically alter one of the main plots of the story, she can't possibly be any older than 18. That has some people up in arms. They're worried that they'll age up the whole story, or change the entire premise. I'm not that worried, because Hollywood has always loved casting people in their 20s to play teenagers. I'd rather see someone who has to act down in age a few years, rather than someone who can't act at all. But that's just me
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
FIGcast - Episode 6 - "Guardian Biebers: Oscar Special"
Hooray for small naked gold men. It's Oscar season.
FIGcast - Episode 6 - "Guardian Biebers: Oscar Special"
Shownotes:
FIGcast - Episode 6 - "Guardian Biebers: Oscar Special"
Shownotes:
- Darren is practically a movie star, Trey got some sweet swag, and I read a book
- Trey talks about who should play Lex Luthor next on the silver screen
- Old Man's War gets a movie from the director of Das Boot
- We brought in Trey's buddy Shaun to help us talk Oscars
- More movies - we talk Blu Rays, Box Office results and coming attractions
Monday, February 14, 2011
Spidey reboot gets an official title
Sony just announced that the first film in the upcoming Spider-Man reboot will be called The Amazing Spider-Man. This follows a trend started by Christopher Nolan of using existing comic book titles for films. The Amazing Spider-Man. Superman: The Man of Steel. Batman: The Dark Knight. I hope this trend continues, because it's a little nod to the hardcore fans, but it's also better than Batman Forever or any other name some studio execs will be able to come up with over the course of a few months.
Sony also released the first official production still for the film as a companion to today's title announcement. Looks good to me, and a lot of people are really excited for the return of the mechanical web-shooters.
Sony also released the first official production still for the film as a companion to today's title announcement. Looks good to me, and a lot of people are really excited for the return of the mechanical web-shooters.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
Limitless - Trailer
OK, this isn't the Super Bowl trailer for Limitless. This is the regular trailer. I hadn't heard of this film until the Super Bowl, and now I'm pretty intrigued. I figured I'd share the full trailer rather than the 30 second spot they played last night. Premieres March 18, 2011.
Cowboys & Aliens - Super Bowl Trailer
Again, not much new in this one but I imagine this was the first time a lot of America had seen anything about this flick. Cowboys & Aliens premieres July 29, 2011.
Battle: Los Angeles - Super Bowl Trailer
Not as good as the previous trailer, but they only had 30 seconds to work with. Battle: Los Angeles premieres March 11, 2011.
Super 8 - Super Bowl Trailer
This is the second film where we got our first real look at footage during the Super Bowl. J.J. Abrams is directing, and Steven Spielberg is producing. That pedigree was enough to get a lot of people excited for Super 8 before last night. This trailer gives us a better idea of the direction the project will take, and I'm excited for a new E.T.-Goonies kind of film. Premieres June 10, 2011.
Captain America - Super Bowl Trailer
This is the first footage we've seen of Captain America, and I'm sold. Director Joe Johnston keeps comparing it to Raiders of the Lost Ark, and I hope he's not just spinning. Premieres July 22, 2011.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Captain America teaser poster
Marvel has just released the official teaser poster for Captain America that will be going out to theaters soon. Looks pretty cool to me.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
FIGs Casting: Lois Lane in "Superman: Man of Steel"
I've always enjoyed thinking about who should play different roles when new movie and TV projects are announced, so I think this is the type of post you'll see pretty regularly on the blog. We've already covered this on Episode #3 of the podcast, but I thought I'd provide some visual aids to continue the discussion.
Keep in mind, these are our suggestions for who Zach Snyder and Christopher Nolan should cast. We're not saying we have any info that they're up for the role.
Rashida Jones (The Office, I Love You Man, Parks & Recreation)
The more I think about it, the more I really like this pick. She's definitely the oldest one on our list, but I think it's good if she's a little older than Clark Kent. She's very attractive, but you can actually buy her as a reporter who might win a Pulitzer some day.
Rachel McAdams (The Notebook, Mean Girls, Sherlock Holmes)
Rachel is supposedly on the actual shortlist, and she's the only one on that list we really like. She's a great actress, and like Rashida she's a bit older than Henry Cavill and very believable as a newspaper reporter.
Olivia Wilde (The O.C., House, Tron: Legacy)
She wasn't on the initial "short list", but I'm reading more stories today that she might actually be the front-runner. She's a bit younger than Cavill, but she doesn't look like a college student. Bonus: according to Wikipedia, both of her parents are journalists, so she would already have tons of material for her character.
Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars, Heroes, Forgetting Sarah Marshall)
This pick was my contribution. She's the only one on our list who isn't brunette in every day life, but they can fix that with movie magic (here's a pic of her as Slave Leia to prove it). She'd be completely believable as a serious reporter, and she's also a few years older than Cavill.
Natalie Portman (Star Wars, V for Vendetta, Black Swan)
This one isn't going to happen. She's already going to be playing a major character in Marvel's Thor this spring, and she's probably going to win an Oscar pretty soon. I doubt she's going to sign up for another movie franchise. That being said, she's an incredible actress and has tons of geek cred, so this would be a big boost for the project, not that it needs it.
Keep in mind, these are our suggestions for who Zach Snyder and Christopher Nolan should cast. We're not saying we have any info that they're up for the role.
Rashida Jones (The Office, I Love You Man, Parks & Recreation)The more I think about it, the more I really like this pick. She's definitely the oldest one on our list, but I think it's good if she's a little older than Clark Kent. She's very attractive, but you can actually buy her as a reporter who might win a Pulitzer some day.
Rachel McAdams (The Notebook, Mean Girls, Sherlock Holmes)Rachel is supposedly on the actual shortlist, and she's the only one on that list we really like. She's a great actress, and like Rashida she's a bit older than Henry Cavill and very believable as a newspaper reporter.
Olivia Wilde (The O.C., House, Tron: Legacy)She wasn't on the initial "short list", but I'm reading more stories today that she might actually be the front-runner. She's a bit younger than Cavill, but she doesn't look like a college student. Bonus: according to Wikipedia, both of her parents are journalists, so she would already have tons of material for her character.
Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars, Heroes, Forgetting Sarah Marshall)This pick was my contribution. She's the only one on our list who isn't brunette in every day life, but they can fix that with movie magic (here's a pic of her as Slave Leia to prove it). She'd be completely believable as a serious reporter, and she's also a few years older than Cavill.
Natalie Portman (Star Wars, V for Vendetta, Black Swan)This one isn't going to happen. She's already going to be playing a major character in Marvel's Thor this spring, and she's probably going to win an Oscar pretty soon. I doubt she's going to sign up for another movie franchise. That being said, she's an incredible actress and has tons of geek cred, so this would be a big boost for the project, not that it needs it.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Snyder and Nolan choose their Superman
If acting was like horseshoes and hand grenades, Henry Cavill would be a Hollywood A-lister. Perhaps best known for his role in The Tudors, he has been in the running for just about all of Hollywood's major action franchises. Cavill was almost Superman in Superman Returns, he was almost James Bond, he was almost Superman again in the failed Justice League movie, and he was almost Batman in Batman Begins. It looks like his patience has finally paid off. Several sources are reporting that director Zack Snyder and producer Christopher Nolan have chosen Cavill as their Superman. He certainly has the look. Filming will begin in mid-2011.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
FIGcast - Episode 2
Episode 2 is now live, we're still trying to figure out why we're not on iTunes, but we'll get there eventually.
FIGcast - Episode 2
Shownotes:
If you're reading this, you've found the blog. You can email us at FullyIntegratedGeeks@gmail.com and we're now on Facebook, just search for our name. We hope to be up on iTunes by the time we record next week, look for Episode 3 to go up sometime on February 3rd.
FIGcast - Episode 2
Shownotes:
- We started off with a discussion of the new Wonder Woman TV series from David E. Kelley
- We mentioned the death of the the Human Torch
- We talked for a bit about the end of Wizard, and what that means for the future of comic books
- We finished off our discussion of the SpecFic movies coming out in 2011
- We wrapped up with a quick overview of the Oscar nominees
If you're reading this, you've found the blog. You can email us at FullyIntegratedGeeks@gmail.com and we're now on Facebook, just search for our name. We hope to be up on iTunes by the time we record next week, look for Episode 3 to go up sometime on February 3rd.
Friday, January 21, 2011
FIGcast - Episode 1
It's here, our very first episode! Follow us into the unknown:
FIGcast - Episode 1
Shownotes:
Give it a listen, and let us know what you think. You can email us at FullyIntegratedGeeks@gmail.com and look for us on iTunes very, very soon.
We'll be recording again on Wednesday, and hopefully Episode 2 will be up some time on Thursday the 27th.
FIGcast - Episode 1
Shownotes:
- We start out talking about the idea of the show, and explain the term "Speculative Fiction"
- We talk about the big story of the day, casting news for The Dark Knight Rises
- We discuss the recent announcement that the Alien prequel has become an original sci-fi movie titled Prometheus
- We look ahead to some of the SpecFic movies coming out in the first half of 2011
Give it a listen, and let us know what you think. You can email us at FullyIntegratedGeeks@gmail.com and look for us on iTunes very, very soon.
We'll be recording again on Wednesday, and hopefully Episode 2 will be up some time on Thursday the 27th.
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