New Info on Batman’s Beginning in BATMAN V SUPERMAN

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Yesterday some video surfaced of Ben Affleck on the set of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice as Bruce Wayne. You can see in the video that he’s sporting some grey hair on the sides of his head, which is more confirmation that he will be playing a much older version of this character.

Thanks to Badass Digest, we have some new information on the character and how he will be presented at the beginning of the film. I’ll throw out a SPOILER warning, just in case you think the following are spoilers. I personally don’t see them that way, but to each their own. Now on to the good stuff!

The movie opens with Batman, who has already been around for “close to thirty years, which would place Wayne in his 50s. In this version Batman is still an urban legend, a creature of the night, and no one has ever taken his picture. But he’s had plenty of adventures, and the Batcave includes a memorial centered around a tattered Robin costume.”

I do love that they are going with this version of the Dark Knight as we’ve never seen on the big screen before. This will obviously be very different from what Bale brought to the character, which is what needed to happen. The site goes on to explain that “he’s a quieter operator, not involved in blockbuster battles but in all sorts of badass vigilantism.”

Their source also tells them that “Wonder Woman has also been in operation for some time before Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice begins, and her activities have been just as secretive as Batman’s. Her activities were badass as well… but in a very different, and unexpected, way.”

Everything is exciting so far  lets see  where this  all leads too!   what are your thoughts!

Report: The Future of Studio Ghibli in Question

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Take this with a grain of salt because we’re dealing with unconfirmed information via screencapped translations, so…

This has been rumored for a while, but it’s looking increasingly like the retirement of Studio Ghibli founder Hayao Miyazaki will also mark the beginning of a break in feature film production for the beloved Japanese animation studio.

French-language animation news site Catsuka reports that during an interview with Japan’s MBS, Studio Ghibli co-founder and producer Toshio Suzuki, they would cease production of animated films while still retaining a small number of staff for “Hayao Miyazaki projects.”

This following reports from earlier this year in sites like Liberation that the studio was struggling to find its footing following Miyazaki’s retirement after the release of his latest film, The Wind Rises, which nabbed an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature earlier this year (and got this writer a little choked up during his first viewing). When the Liberation piece was written, Studio Ghibli had yet to find a successor to Miyazaki, the only man seen by the studio who could rally the troops, putting future projects up in the air. Amid all of the speculation, the studio still launched a new feature film back in July, When Marnie Was There from The Secret World of Arrietty director Hiromasa Yonebayashi.

This isn’t the first time Suzuki has talked about restructuring the studio: back in March, during a shareholder’s meeting, amid discussion about dismantling Studio Ghibli in its entirety, Suzuki suggested simply dismantling the animation department, in effect making Studio Ghibli a holding company for its numerous properties.

Kotaku offers a little bit of clarification here: during the MBS program, Suzuki talks about restructuring the studio and in very broad terms discusses bringing an end to production as they attempt to figure out the future and direction of Studio Ghibli in the wake of Miyazaki’s retirement. If true, that could leave the studio open to resuming film production once they sort out what kind of direction they’d like to take in the future.

For now, let’s wait for a more official confirmation from Studio Ghibli about where they’re going and what they’re doing before we all panic.

Craig Ferguson Has a Successor to THE LATE LATE SHOW

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It would appear CBS is going to keep the host of The Late Late Show largely the same. It’ll still be a male, and it’ll still be someone from the United Kingdom. The Wrap is reporting that British writer, actor, and comedian James Corden has been tapped to replace Craig Ferguson at the end of the year when Ferguson’s contract expires.

Corden is known for co-writing and co-starring in the series Gavin & Stacey for which he’s won several awards, for co-writing and co-starring in the BBC/Hulu series The Wrong Mans, and can currently be seen opposite Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo in the film Begin Again. However, to most Doctor Who fans, Corden is best known for playing Craig Owens, aka the dad of Stormageddon and him what got jealous of the Doctor, in the Series 5 episode “The Lodger” and the Series 6 episode “Closing Time,” both written by Gareth Roberts.

The 36 year old actor has certainly been funny in most things I’ve seen him in, and can clearly write, but I’ll be interested to see how his sensibilities not only translate to a late night talk show but also to American audiences. Other, much wider known names in the U.S., had also been thrown around in the mix, including Joel McHale and Neil Patrick Harris. However, even though Corden wasn’t anyone’s guess (the Vegas odds-makers must be having a field day), he does have a hefty social media presence with over 4 million Twitter followers.

Disney is making an A Wrinkle In Time movie with the Frozen director

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Frozen writer and co-director Jennifer Lee is slated to adapt Madeleine L’Engle’s children’s book A Wrinkle In Time for the big screen, according to Variety. The first and most well-known of L’Engle’s series about the Murry family, A Wrinkle In Time tells the story of Meg Murry’s cosmic journey to save her scientist father. Lee says the novel was one of her favorites as a child and that she plans to emphasize its strong female lead in her script. A Wrinkle In Time certainly seems primed for a Disney franchise: L’Engle’s Time Quartet includes three more novels about the Murry family, and there’s another four books beyond that based on the next generation of the Murrys.

While no director has been announced for the project, Jim Whitaker and Catherine Hand will produce. Lee co-wrote Wreck-It Ralph and won 2013’s best animated feature Oscar for Frozen.

Bruce Campbell is Getting a Film Festival

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It’s not weird that Bruce Campbell is getting a film festival in his name – it’s weird that it’s taken this long.

The Evil Dead star and producer has teamed up with Philadelphia’s Awesome Fest for the Bruce Campbell Horror Film Festival later this month. The four-day festival will run August 21-24, right alongside Wizard World Chicago in the city of Rosemont, IL (that it’s not taking place in Michigan is a damned shame).

Campbell isn’t just lending his name to the fest – he’ll be participating during a scheduled Q&A where I presume 99% of the questions will be about his work in the first Maniac Cop, and what it was like to work with Tom Atkins and Robert Z’Dar.

Campbell is really more than just The Evil Dead at this point: the character actor on the end of one of Hollywood’s most prominent chins is also a filmmaker himself, having directed and produced several movies. It’s nice to see him throwing some support out to a few movies that might not get seen outside of Netflix or VOD. Killers and Starry Eyes in particular have been getting some good word of mouth on the festival circuit, and I’m bummed that I can’t be there to check them out.

‘Dragonriders of Pern’ Set Up as Movie Franchise at Warner Bros.

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The Dragon Riders of Pern

Warner Bros. is launching development of a movie franchise based on the sci-fi series “Dragonriders of Pern.”

The studio has optioned the 22-volume book series from the estate of American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey, who died in 2011.

It has yet to set up the project with a producer.

The books are set in a pre-industrial society with  intelligent firebreathing dragons and their riders teaming to fight a rogue planet that attacks the world of Pern. The books take place over a period of over 2,500 years.

Drew Crevello and Julia Spiro are overseeing for the studio, which has launched the “Harry Potter,” “Lord of the Rings” and “Hobbit” franchises.

New star wars comic book lines from marvel!

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Earlier this year, we learned that Marvel would be taking back the Star Wars license from Dark Horse Comics. The change seemed inevitable given Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm. Dark Horse has released piles of great stories over the years, and Marvel will hopefully follow suit. They announced the first of their upcoming Star Wars titles at Comic-Con, and it seems like they’re off to a strong start.

At Marvel’s Cup o’ Joe panel, Joe Quesada previewed the Star Wars line, and I have the opposite of a bad feeling about this. Marvel will return to the galaxy far, far away in January 2015 with a Star Wars series by writer Jason Aaron and artist John Cassaday. It will take place right after the destruction of Death Star in Episode IV and will focus on the core cast we know and love.

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Star Wars #1 by Jason Aaron and John Cassaday

And that’s not all! Two more titles will be out in February and March. Ongoing series Star Wars: Darth Vader by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca will explore facets of Vader’s personality we haven’t necessarily seen before. Gillen tells StarWars.com it’s about where see Vader before the beginning of Episode V.

“Vader has so many more responsibilities and problems to deal with than anyone could possibly understand. There are things that people above him may want him to do, versus what he actually needs to do to achieve his own aims, which is not the least bit to discover what the hell was going on with that mysterious fighter pilot who was strong with the Force.”

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Star Wars: Darth Vader #1 by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca

Finally, there’s a Star Wars: Princess Leia five-issue miniseries by Mark Waid and Terry Dodson coming in March will also take place after A New Hope and show Leia as she wrestles with the destruction of Alderaan. Waid explains the basics of the story:

“So, our story is about Leia not long after the end of Episode IV deciding, “Well, as the princess, there are still responsibilities that fall to me, like making contact with any stray Alderaanians out there who may not know what happened. It is my job as princess to deliver the bad news. It is my job to bring those who survived by being in other places, together. It is my job to help preserve some sort of cultural heritage of my people, so that everything my planet stood for and everything my people stood for doesn’t get forgotten.”

Sign. Me. Up.

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Star Wars: Princess Leia #1 by Mark Waid and Terry Dodson

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE TITLES? we want to know what you are thinking?  me  personally  i think the  Liea series will go down first!

Spider-Man Spinoff News — Female Superhero Film Planned, Venom Title

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Sony Pictures continues to expand their Spider-Man cinematic universe. The next film set to be released in the franchise is writer and director Drew Goddard‘s Sinister Six. That’s the first of several films that will revolve around Spider-Man’s rogue gallery of villains. That movie is coming in 2016, and The Amazing Spider-Man 3 is now set for 2018.

According to Deadline, the studio is now looking to add a female superhero to the mix. They’ve hired Lisa Joy Nolan (Pushing Daisies, Burn Notice, Westworld) to work on the script for the character’s story. We don’t know exactly which character the film will center on yet, but Black Cat, Silver Sable, Firestar, and Spider-Woman are a few characters that come to mind. But right now any of these names are speculation. I will say that the Black Cat character was already introduced in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, played by Felicity Jones, so that is a strong possibility.

It is only a matter of time before we see a comic book movie that centers on female superhero, and this is the first one that has kind of been announced in this new generation of superhero movies that is actually going into development. Hopefully it turns out better than the Electra and Catwoman movies. Those did not work at all.

The report also mentions that the title of the Venom movie being developed by Alex Kurtzman is called Venom Carnage. No other details are given, as it’s just mentioned in passing, but if the word “Carnage” is in the title, does that mean we’ll see the character Carnage in the movie?! I sure hope so, because I would love to see Carnage finally brought to life on the big screen!

There’s a lot of potential with these Spider-Man spin-off movies. There’s some decent talent being hired to help in their development, so hopefully they turn out great.

‘Big Bang Theory’ Trio Inks New Deals, Securing Hefty Pay Raises

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The Big Bang Theory Cast Restaurant - H 2014Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco have reached new deals with studio Warner Bros. Television. Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar, meanwhile, are still working out new agreements.

Following prolonged negotiations that resulted in a brief production delay, stars Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco have inked rich new three-year deals to return to the CBS hit, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar are still in negotiations, but an agreement is expected to be reached this week. Warner Bros. Television declined to comment.

The show, which was renewed for three additional seasons through its 10th run, likely resumes production Wednesday after a one-week delay that occurred when the five stars refused to return to work without new deals. (Their contracts expired in May at the end of season seven.)

Emmy-winner Parsons, Galecki and Cuoco negotiated together and were seeking big salary increases. Sources tell THR that the trio, who currently earn $325,000 per episode, likely secured about $1 million per half-hour with an increased cut of the show’s backend. The deals are said to bring the three into the Friends region, with that cast negotiating together and locking in $1 million per episode with studio WBTV. (Big Bang Theory is a massive hit in syndication, with TBS’ repeats regularly topping the weekly syndication ratings.) The pacts are also said to include a greater percentage of the show’s back-end, overall deals and more.

Co-stars Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch previously inked new deals with WBTV, with both earning big raises in September when the cast’s contract talks began.

It’s unclear if the one-week delay will result in a reduced episode from the show’s standard 24, though it typically takes three weeks to turn in a completed episode and the delay could likely be overcome during the season.

The three-season renewal gave the cast considerable leverage — especially considering Big Bang is TV’s No. 1 comedy among total viewers, a metric it has held since the 2010-11 season. Season seven regularly topped 20 million viewers per week, up 4 percent year-over-year, with an impressive 6.1 rating among the advertiser-coveted adults 18-49 demographic. The show is also a hit in syndication on TBS, with repeats often topping some of the Big Four broadcast networks’ original fare. Big Bang is again nominated for best comedy series, but the show has yet to take home that trophy. Parsons — a three-time winner — is nominated for the seventh time for his starring turn as Sheldon Cooper.

The cast was a no-show last month at San Diego Comic-Con, where for the second year in a row, the panel consisted of series writers. Last year, Galecki made a surprise appearance with Rauch moderating. Parsons was at Comic-Con the day before the show’s panel to DreamWorks Animation’s Home, in which he has a voice role.

Meanwhile, showrunner Steve Molaro has a three-year overall deal (his first) with WBTV, and co-creator/EP Chuck Lorre is also under contract with the studio. Securing Big Bang Theory‘s future was a top priority for CBS, which last season bade farewell to Monday staple How I Met Your Mother. CBS recently scored rights to Thursday night NFL games, pushing Big Bang Theory to Mondays for the first few weeks of season eight, before it returns to Thursdays. The network, which sources say did not have a contingency plan in place had the cast not reupped, is looking to The Big Bang Theory to help launch rookie drama Scorpion on Mondays at 9 p.m., after abandoning its two-hour comedy block that night.

For his part, Lorre didn’t see the contract negotiations as a problem. “There are people at Warner Brothers Television and people representing the actors who have done this before,” he told THRthis month. “This will work itself out. I think it’s great; I want them all to be crazy wealthy because nobody deserves it more than this cast. It’ll work out.”

The cast’s new deal comes after the Modern Family co-creator/EP Christopher Lloyd staged a walkout before — missing the first week of work in the writers room — until he had reached a new deal with studio 20th Century Fox Television. The Emmy-winning comedy’s cast also had a well-documented and contentious contract renegotiation in 2012 that threatened to delay production, which concluded with the six adult actors earning major pay increases.

Alex Kurtzman’s THE MUMMY to Launch Cinematic Monster Universe

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Alex Kurtzman was recently announced as the director of The Mummy reboot, which will be the first in a Universal Pictures cinematic monster universe, in the same way Iron Man launched the Marvel cinematic universe. Kurtzman is a brilliant choice to direct and has been involved with lots of acclaimed TV and movies, notably Star Trek, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Star Trek Into Darkness, Fringe, Sleepy Hollow, and Alias. His knack for great episodic and cinematic storytelling is exactly what’s needed for the movie that will kickstart a whole universe of films.

Universal is also pushing its release date back to June 26, 2016. My guess is that Universal and Kurtzman want enough time to properly develop the movie and map out the cinematic universe.

I’ve heard rumors that Universal Pictures cinematic monster universe will be set in modern day, a rumor I hope is not true. Maybe it’s my limited vision for these characters, but I’ve always seen them as period movies.