Monthly Archives: November 2013

Edgar Wright Says ANT-MAN will Surprise People

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Art by Isikol

I never doubted that Edgar Wright‘s Ant-Man was going to be a very different kind of Marvel movie. I’m actually pretty excited about it, and at the same time I think it will end up being the least successful Marvel film so far. Not because it won’t be good, but because outside of the Internet and the comic book world not many people know about Ant-Man, and general audiences may think it sounds like a stupid movie. I hope I’m wrong, but when I bring it up with people not familiar with the property it doesn’t seem to interest them at all.

In a recent interview with ET, the director discussed the film a little by saying that “people will be surprised” by Ant-Man. He also acknowledges those who aren’t familiar with the character, saying,

“I want to make him into a badass [laughs]. No, I always liked that comic and I always thought it would be an interesting thing to see in live-action. That’s why I [showed] that Comic-Con test that we did for Marvel, to show this fight scene like a proof of content, like this is what the action is going to look like. I think a lot of people who maybe don’t know the character sort of see that test and go, “Oh, right, I get it. It’s like an action film,” so that’s the idea. I think people will be surprised by what kind of movie it is, and so in that respect it’s something that I know is going to stand out because it’s got a very different story and is a very different movie.”

Wright went on to talk about the tone of of the film, saying it will keep in line with the tone of the rest of the Marvel universe

Well, I think the Marvel movies are funny, you know? I think generally the Iron Man films and The Avengers are funny. They’re not ever in the comedy section, but they are funny and entertaining, so I think it’ll be something in a similar vein to that.

Ant-Man is sure to be a very entertaining movie, and I’m sure it will do great at the box office, I just don’t think it will do as well as the other Marvel films that have been released. It opens up on July 31st, 2015.

STAR WARS Characters Will Be in THE LEGO MOVIE

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Even though we haven’t seen any Star Wars characters in the trailers for The LEGO Movie, it’s being reported by The Wall Street Journal that a few Star Wars characters will appear in the film. There’s no information on what characters will be included in the film, or how big of a part they will play in the story.

The report goes on to explain the licensing rights to the characters since Star Wars is owned by Disney and LEGO is a Warner Bros. property. “Given that The Lego Movie has been in the works for several years, it’s possible that Warner struck a deal with Lucasfilm before Disney agreed to acquire the Star Wars company in October of 2012.”

The Phil Lord and Chris Miller-directed movie features the voices of Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Alison Brie, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Charlie Day, Will Ferrell, and Will Arnett, and it’s set to hit theaters February 7th, 2014.

Michael Bay Offers New TRANSFORMERS 4 Plot Detail

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We have another behind the scenes video from the Hong Kong set of Transformers: Age of Extinction for you to check out. It’s one of those annoying ET videos, and it kind of focuses more on the on-set pranks. But director Michael Bay did offer up a little plot detail on the film at the end of the video where he says,

“The world has progressed and modernized to a point where it can almost cannibalize and kill itself.”

I’m sure we’ll have a better idea of what he means by that when we see the movie, but it definitely sounds intense.

The movie stars Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Jack Reynor, Nicola Peltz, Kelsey Grammer, Sophia Myles, T.J. Miller, Peter Cullen, and Li Bingbing. It hits theaters on June 27th, 2014.

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 Poster

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DreamWorks Animation has released a new poster for their great looking animated film How to Train Your Dragon 2.  It features an older-looking Hiccup, voiced by Jay Baruchel, and his dragon, Toothless. I loved the first movie, and this looks like it’s shaping up to be an awesome sequel.

The thrilling second chapter of the epic How to Train Your Dragon trilogy brings back the fantastical world of Hiccup and Toothless five years later. While Astrid, Snoutlout and the rest of the gang are challenging each other to dragon races (the island’s new favorite contact sport), the now inseparable pair journey through the skies, charting unmapped territories, and exploring new worlds. When one of their adventures leads to the discovery of a secret ice cave that is home to hundreds of new wild dragons and the mysterious Dragon Rider, the two friends find themselves at the center of a battle to protect the peace.

The movie also stars America Ferrera as Astrid, Kristen Wiigas Ruffnut, Jonah Hill as Snotlout, T.J. Miller as Tuffnut, Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Fishleg, Craig Ferguson as Gobber, Gerard Butler as Stoick the Vast, and Kit Harrington as a Dragon Prince.

The movie comes out on June 13th, 2014 with a follow-up due in 2016. Click here to watch the first teaser trailer.

Sony Planning SPIDER-MAN Spin-Off Movies

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Art by Gary David
While Marc Webb and Sony Pictures are working on the next three Amazing Spider-Man films, it seems like the studio is looking to get some spin-off films into production as well! The news (via: Deadline and The Wrap) comes from Sony Pictures Entertainment Co-Chairman Amy Pascal, who says,

“We are going to access Marvel’s full world of Spider-Man characters, so be on the lookout for new heroes and villains.”

I’m actually surprised that they didn’t do this sooner, especially with Marvel having so much success with their cinematic universe. I guess it’s better late than never, though. Sony Pictures Entertainment chief Michael Lynton also added,

“We do very much have the ambition about creating a bigger universe around Spider-Man. There are a number of scripts in the works”

There’s no mention of what characters or villains will be featured, but I’d personally like to see Venom, Carnage, Morbius, and Black Cat on the list of characters to get their own films. There’s been talk of a Venom spin-off for a while, and Morbius was rumored to be a villain at one point as well.

Which Spider-Man characters would you like to see get their own movies? And will Stan Lee make a cameo in all of them? For a full list of Spider-Man supporting characters, click here, and for villains, click here. I’m not sure how many of these characters Sony owns, but it should give you a good idea of what they might be working with.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Executive Producer Talks Captain America: The Winter Soldier Crossover

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This week “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” held their first major crossover with one of the Marvel Studios movies as the team had to deal with the fallout of the events seen in Thor: The Dark World, and that was only the first step in their expansion.

“We’re trying to flesh out the world,” executive producer Jed Whedon told TV Guide. “The Marvel brand carries with it a lot of familiar faces. We’re trying to flesh out the world of S.H.I.E.L.D. with the established characters and the characters we’re introducing to build out the larger organization that we operate in. That’s where some of the fun can be had.”

In addition, Whedon confirmed that the series will crossover with Marvel’s next film, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which is set for release on April 4, 2014.

“Nick Fury [Samuel L. Jackson] is in that one, and S.H.I.E.L.D. makes an appearance, so we will definitely try to tee-up some stuff and probably play a little bit of the fallout from that film,” Whedon says. “We’re hoping to do some cool stuff.”

Whedon also touched on the revelation of Coulson’s return from the dead, which we’re still learning about on the series.

 “We know that there’s going to be a lot of theories and there’s no chance that whatever we reveal won’t, at some point, be written on the internet. We’re just trying to come up with ways to make it surprising or make it not how they expected it to unravel. We know what it is, but we know that no one else does yet.”

What do you want to see happen in the “Captain America” crossover? Sound off below!

Early Character Designs for Bryan Singer’s X-MEN

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icollector.comHere’s some very early concept art for Bryan Singer‘s first X-Men film from back in 2000. It gives us some very different character and concept designs from what actually ended up in the movie. The concept art was done by Tim Flattery, and it definitely would have given the movie a very different feel. I’m not really a big fan of these designs, but I wasn’t a big fan of the costume designs that were used in the film either.

New international robocop trailer

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We’ve got an awesome full international trailer for RoboCop to watch! This one focuses its attention on the more human element of RoboCop, played by Joel Kinnaman. There’s a good amount of new footage here for you to see, and I have to say that the more I see from the movie, the better it looks to me. I do like how the character keeps the memories of his life and his family. It also looks like it’s going to be packed full of fun action.

The movie was directed by Jose Padilha and it also stars Abbie Cornish, Michael K. Williams, Samuel L. Jackson, and Michael Keaton. It comes out on February 12th.

Lucasfilm Confirms R2-D2 for STAR WARS: EPISODE VII

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It was always safe to assume that R2-D2 would be in Star Wars: Episode VII, especially after J.J. Abrams released a photo of himself with the droid. Lucasfilm has now officially confirmed that the lovable droid will be included in the upcoming films.

They also reveal the identities of the two other guys standing with Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy in the photo. They are members of the worldwide R2-D2 Builders Club and have been hired to work on the film. Here’s the full press release with all of the details from StarWars.com,

The first behind-the-scenes photo from Star Wars: Episode VII hit Twitter last Thursday, featuring director J.J. Abrams, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, and a certain blue and white astromech droid — who StarWars.com can now confirm will indeed be in the film. But who are the two men standing behind Artoo, looking very protective of the “overweight glob of grease”?

Meet Lee Towersey and Oliver Steeples, Star Wars fans and members of the worldwide R2-D2 Builders Club. They create fully functioning, film-accurate astromech droids like the R2-D2 seen in the photo, and they’re officially part of the Creature Effects team for Star Wars: Episode VII. They didn’t apply for their jobs, but still had what is probably the best reference one could hope for.

“It all started when Kathleen Kennedy toured the R2-D2 Builders area at Celebration Europe this past summer in Germany,” says Steeples, who finished his first R2-D2 in 2007, after 10 years of collecting parts and researching. “She posed for pictures with us, looked at all the droids we’d built and was very complimentary. I mentioned that the R2-D2 Builders in the UK were available if required, as a semi-joke. When I was contacted to work on the film by [executive producer] Jason McGatlin, it was on her recommendation.”

Steeples, from Berkshire, England, and Towersey, from Middlesex, England, are working full-time on Star Wars: Episode VII at Pinewood Studios (where the Twitter photo was taken), focusing solely on astromech-building — for now. Keeping an astromech droid in working condition throughout the production of a film is a challenge, as it’s filled with gears, lights, and electronics; Steeples and Towersey were chosen because of their expertise and experience, both having worked on Star Wars­-themed commercials for the UK appliances megastore Curry’s. “We know the pressures of filming, prepping, and being able to assure reliability throughout the shoot,” says Towersey, who built the droid seen in the tweet. “We have a good knowledge of Artoo, with a large stock of parts for reference and drawings, plus we know what is involved throughout the whole building process, as well as potential problems we need to avoid.” Despite their impressive understanding of how to construct an astromech droid and keep it functioning, Steeples and Towersey still have a goal for Star Wars: Episode VII: to build a better R2-D2.

“What we do need to do is improve on the mechanics,” says Towersey. “We’re currently in a research and design phase where we’re looking at drive options for reliability on all possible terrains, whether it be a one-motor-does-all, or a system which is easily adjusted depending on terrain. We have a few mocked up ideas which we hope to road test very soon.” And while they’re now on the inside of Star Wars moviemaking, the two remain fans at heart.

“It’s fascinating to see the whole process of filmmaking as Star Wars: Episode VII grows around us,” says Towersey. “I feel very privileged to be in the working environment I’m in at the moment. It’s something I will never take for granted.”

“It’s a dream come true,” adds Steeples, “and I hope I can live up to the expectations of the thousands of R2-D2 Builders around the world, let alone the millions of Star Wars fans.”