The Hobbit Movie in Production, with Jackson at the helm
That’s right, after years of being in developmental hell, The Hobbit is finally in production and fully cast. Among the actors returning to Middle Earth are Ian Mckellan as Gandalf, Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, Elijah Wood as Frodo, Andy Serkis as Gollum, Christopher Lee as Saruman, and Orlando Bloom as Legolas. The presence of Elrond, played by Hugo Weaving, is oddly absent from the cast list. An odd thing since Rivendell is the adventurers first stop on the way to Erebor.
As for the new actors: starring as a young Bilbo is British actor Martin Freeman (The Office, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) and Saorise Ronan (The Lovely Bones) as Itaril. Among those rumored to be in the film is Doctor Who’s David Tennant as Thranduil and Leornard Nimoy as the voice of Smaug. The same writing team of Jackson, Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh have written the script for The Hobbit which will be broken up into two films, with the intention of bridging the gap between The Hobbit and Fellowship of the Ring.
The first film is set for release in 2012, and the second in 2013. The films will be presented in 3-D.
A Nightmare on Elm Street – First trailer (in HD)
Well, here it is folks… The first trailer from the re-imagined Nightmare on Elm Street starring Jackie Earl Haley as Freddy Krueger…
Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland – First Trailer
Those who attended Comic-Con recently were the first to see the first trailer for Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland, starring Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway and Crispin Glover. Here’s what they saw. Enjoy.
Australia Gets Drunk and Wakes Up in the North Atlantic
According to Australia’s prime minister, “We’re not bloody moving!”
Read the full story at Satire Wire.com.
The Dark Tower Movie News
For those of you who don’t know, Lost Executive Producer J.J. Abrams bought the rights to The Dark Tower Series for a incredible 19 dollars (presumably in keeping with the recurring number in the books). Abrams is quoted as saying this in regard to the upcoming project’s status:
“Damon Lindelof and I talked to Mr. King. We got the rights for ‘ The Dark Tower’ as a film. Damon is obviously still on ‘Lost’, and we’ve been working on ‘Star Trek’ together. As soon as ‘Lost’ is done, hopefully we’ll begin tackling that.”
The plan is to make seven films out of the seven books in the series, a la Harry Potter.
Lindelof had this to say about the series’ potential:
“The Dark Tower is to me every bit as daunting an adaptation as the Lord of the Rings trilogy must have been for Peter Jackson, except we’ve got seven books we’re looking at. And the idea of doing that at the same time Carlton and I are bringing Lost to a close is simply not viable. There are always Dark Tower conversations, but the figuring out of what this will look like as a movie has not begun. If The Dark Tower were in the right hands, I would love to see seven movies executed just right. But you have to get people to see the first one to get them to come and see the second one.”
I think that with J.J. Abrams, The Dark Tower is in pretty good hands. Even if your not a fan of everything he has done, you cannot deny that he takes pride in all his projects and strives to make the best possible movie or TV show that he can.
UPDATE: SORRY TO SAY, BUT THE PROJECT IS APPARENTLY OFF. I SUPPOSE THERE’S NO TELLING WHEN OR IF WE WILL SEE ROLAND AND HIS KA-TET ON THE BIG (OR LITTLE) SCREEN…
The New Freddy Krueger
Well, apparently Hollywood has this strange obsession with remaking movies from the seventies and eighties. Horror movies are the most recent genre targeted for Hollywood face lifts. Halloween, Last House on the Left, Hellraiser. Now, Nightmare on Elm Street. My only question is why? We last saw Freddy on the big screen only a few years ago. Robert Englund has been and will always be Freddy Krueger. However, the makers of the new N.O.E.S. have a different idea. And it’s actually not a bad one. It’s still sacrilege, but if they are hellbent on remaking Nightmare with a new Freddy, their choice of actor to don the red and green sweater maybe the only guy other than Englund who could pull it off: Jackie Earl Haley, most recently seen as Rorschach in Watchmen. Not a bad choice. I still don’t see the need to remake a classic horror film–although I will admit to being a fan of The Hills Have Eyes and Dawn of the Dead remakes. Either way, that’s the news on the new Freddy. Filming on the project began on May 5th in Chicago.
New trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Here is the newest trailer for the next Harry potter film, coming to theaters on July 17, 2009.
World War II, Tarantino Style
Well, before long we will see Quentin Tarantino’s version of WW II and the American soldier’s attitude toward the Nazis a.k.a. Inglorious Basterds (intentionally misspelled). The trailer below is essentially the opening of the movie (Brad Pitt adressing his men) with brief glimpses of other scenes throughout the film. This has been a film that has sat in pre-development for years, and it’s almost here. But first, the trailer…
Preacher Movie News
For those of you who don’t know, director Sam Mendes (American Beauty) will be directing the movie adaption of the popular Vertigo comic Preacher. The 66-issue series, written by Garth Ennis and drawn by Steve Dillon is considered by many (including myself) to be one of the best comic series of all time. I say “one of the best” because of the existence of Sandman, Watchmen, Transmetropolitan, and a few others; which are all equally great in their own unique ways. Currently, John August is writing the script. For those of you who do not know who the hell this guy is, he wrote Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Go, and both Charlie’s Angels films. The only film that comes remotely close to Preacher is Go, and that’s only because of the violence and swearing, other than that, the two projects bear no resemblance.
I am still on the fence if this is the right guy to write the screenplay. Who knows? We might all be pleasantly surprised. I certainly hope so.
However, to be completely honest, I was hoping that the HBO series would stick. That would have been the perfect venue for a serial that ran for 5 and a half years.
So how will this story carry over to the big screen? Can you rally take a 2000 page story and condense it into a two hour film? Even Watchmen was nearly three hours and it only ran twelve issues. Let me know your thoughts on all this by sounding off on the comment board.
What about casting? No one has yet been named to portray these characters. Who are you picks? Let us know.
My picks:
Jesse Custer: Johnny Depp (I also think he would make a good John Constantine if someone decides to actually make an adaption that does the comic justice, or at least doesn’t butcher it until it’s unrecognizable.)
Tulip: Charlize Theron or any number of talented blonde actresses who are not afraid to play tough.
Cassidy: Colin Farrell (Farrell would essentially be playing an undead version of himself.)
Herr Starr: Not sure on this one.
The Saint of Killers: This chacter was always based on Clint Eastwood, but Eastwood is a bit old for the part, I think. I recently saw Don Swayze (Patrick’s brother) on an episode of True Blood and he looks a lot like the Saint, i.e., big, tall and ugly as hell. Same hook-like nose, too.
The inbred descendant of Jesus Christ (“He’s shitting in his hand, Brendel.”): D.J. Qualls
What do you think?
Sound off below…
Onion News: Hot New Video Game Consists Solely of Shooting People Point-Blank in the Face
Hot New Video Game Consists Solely Of Shooting People Point-Blank In The Face
The Sunday Funnies… Wednesday Edition
Bless this food I'm about to eat. Amen.
Please don't sodomize the sheep. This isn't Scotland.
I think I'll just take my chances with the traffic.
I get the feeling this guy will be walking.
Everybody knows not to leave your ice cream truck out in the sun.
I think this one pretty much speaks for itself.
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CLOCKWORK and GHOSTS OF WEST VIRGINIA By Geoffrey Foster
The Daily Wire 