Monday, August 31, 2009
Rambo 5 Gets Greenlit
Everybody's favorite Vietnam vet John Rambo is officially readying for a fifth mission variety can confirm.Nu Image/Millennium Films has greenlit the franchise's fifth installment, with Sylvester Stallone starring and directing, repeating his duties from 2008's "Rambo."
The upcoming project's storyline revolves around Rambo going vigilante fighting his way through human traffickers and drug lords to rescue a young girl abducted near the U.S.-Mexico border. Production will start in the spring.
Its A Long Road
Disney Buys Marvel Entertainment
Disney has bought Marvel and its portfolio of over 5,000 characters for $4 billion in stock and cash, CBR have posted the offical statment which says:BURBANK, Calif. & NEW YORK, Aug 31, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- --Acquisition highlights Disney's strategic focus on quality branded content, technological innovation and international expansion to build long-term shareholder valueMarvels editor in chief Joe Quesada had this to say about the deal via his twitter:
Building on its strategy of delivering quality branded content to people around the world, The Walt Disney Company (DIS) has agreed to acquire Marvel Entertainment, Inc. (MVL) in a stock and cash transaction, the companies announced today.
Under the terms of the agreement and based on the closing price of Disney on August 28, 2009, Marvel shareholders would receive a total of $30 per share in cash plus approximately 0.745 Disney shares for each Marvel share they own. At closing, the amount of cash and stock will be adjusted if necessary so that the total value of the Disney stock issued as merger consideration based on its trading value at that time is not less than 40% of the total merger consideration.
Based on the closing price of Disney stock on Friday, August 28, the transaction value is $50 per Marvel share or approximately $4 billion.
"This transaction combines Marvel's strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters including Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Thor with Disney's creative skills, unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties, and a business structure that maximizes the value of creative properties across multiple platforms and territories," said Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company. "Ike Perlmutter and his team have done an impressive job of nurturing these properties and have created significant value. We are pleased to bring this talent and these great assets to Disney."
"We believe that adding Marvel to Disney's unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation," Iger said.
"Disney is the perfect home for Marvel's fantastic library of characters given its proven ability to expand content creation and licensing businesses," said Ike Perlmutter, Marvel's Chief Executive Officer. "This is an unparalleled opportunity for Marvel to build upon its vibrant brand and character properties by accessing Disney's tremendous global organization and infrastructure around the world."
Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of Marvel including its more than 5,000 Marvel characters. Mr. Perlmutter will oversee the Marvel properties, and will work directly with Disney's global lines of business to build and further integrate Marvel's properties.
The Boards of Directors of Disney and Marvel have each approved the transaction, which is subject to clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, certain non-United States merger control regulations, effectiveness of a registration statement with respect to Disney shares issued in the transaction and other customary closing conditions. The agreement will require the approval of Marvel shareholders. Marvel was advised on the transaction by BofA Merrill Lynch.
If you're familiar with the Disney/Pixar relationship, then you'll understand why this is a new dawn for Marvel and the comics industry.Comingsoon.net has the following updates in what the deal means to the Marvel's films:
UPDATE #1: In a conference call, the companies said that the deals for movies for characters at other studios (Spider-Man, X-Men, etc.) will stay in place under the terms set by Marvel and the other studios.
UPDATE #2: John Lasseter met with Marvel last week about a possible team-up between Marvel and Pixar and got "pretty excited, pretty fast." They say there's definitely an opportunity there.
UPDATE #3: The deal with Paramount Pictures to distribute five films--"Iron Man 2," "Thor," "Captain America," "The Avengers" and "Iron Man 3"--stays in place as well, but Disney would like to self-distribute down the line. "When the time comes we'll take a closer look at it."
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Keep Track Of 'The Walking Dead' On Google Maps
For fans of 'The Walking Dead' or people interested to know more about it before it hits the small screen this is a must, thanks to user Jason McDonald you can track the journey of the survivors across the first 64 issues of ongoing zombie apocalypse at Google Maps.
Daniel Craig Cast In Jim Sheridan's 'Dream House'
Daniel Craig is to star in the Jim Sheridan directed David Loucka scripted 'Dream House'.Craig will play a New York publishing executive who relocates his family to a small New England town, only to learn that their new home was the scene of a vicious murder.
Shooting is set to begin in January 2010.
Rob Zombie Doing Another Remake, This Time It's 'The Blob'
Rob Zombie has signed on to direct a remake of cult horror classic 'The Blob'.The project will go in a different direction to the original, about an expanding alien blob devouring everything in its path.
"My intention is not to have a big red blobby thing - that's the first thing I want to change."
"That gigantic Jello-looking thing might have been scary to audiences in the 1950s, but people would laugh now.
"I'd been looking to break out of the horror genre, and this really is a science fiction movie about a thing from outer space. I intend to make it scary, and the great thing is I have the freedom once again to take it in any crazy direction I want to."
'The Blob' Trailer
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Stunt Choreographer Gives Some Details On 'Iron Man 2' & 'Tin Tin'
Stunt Choreographer Garrett Warren gave some interesting details on 'Iron Man 2' & 'Tin Tin' in a interview with Movieline:On Tintin: "It looks an awful lot like the cartoon. They really wanted to bring the cartoon to life. So if you know the cartoon, or have seen the books, that's what it looks like. It's beautiful. You would have thought to yourself that they would have tried to go for a more realistic look, but they're actually trying to preserve the look and essence of the original 'Tintin' characters."
On Iron Man 2: "Iron Man 2 had a double-whip sequence, and I am a whip specialist. There's not very many of us in Hollywood that do double-whips. In the movie, you won't see those whips. They'll digitally replace it with other types of whips. They're going to be these super whips that have an awful lot of power. They can cut through cars, they can do an awful lot of damage. And when the movie comes out, you'll see that he doesn't do just whip-cracks and grabbing people. He lays waste to an awful lot of vehicles and street pieces and other things."
Green Lantern Troubles
'The Green Lantern' has gotten off to a rocky start as it was due to start filming in Australia in two weeks, but due to the rising Australia dollar against the poor US dollar it has had to change location. /film have a source that says production will be relocated to New Orleans.
Steven Spielberg Interested In Making Michael Crichton's 'Pirate Latitudes'
Steven Spielberg is interested in adapting Michael Crichton's posthumously published novel 'Pirate Latitudes' for the big screen.The story centres on pirates planning to attack Port Royal and raid a treasure-filled Spanish galleon. Spielberg has given the writing duties to David Koepp to script Pirate Latitudes.
Discussing his plans for Latitudes and working relationship with Crichton, Spielberg said: "Michael wrote a real page-turner that already seems suited for the big screen. Michael and I have had almost two decades of solid collaborations. Whenever I made a film from a Michael Crichton book or screenplay, I knew I was in good hands. Michael felt the same, and we like to think he still does."
Stacey Snider, Spielberg's DreamWorks partner, added: "It's a mission movie, and we see it through the prism of what it might have been like to live on the island during that time. Anything that Michael wrote, Steven would be keenly interested to read. But without Michael knowing it, or even me knowing it, it turns out Steven always wanted to direct his own pirate film."
The Pirate Latitudes novel will be released on November 24.
Jason Bateman Confirms 'Arrested Development' Movie Is Still Happening
Jason Bateman confirmed at a recent round table interview for 'Extract' that an Arrested Development movie is still definitely happening.What is the state of “Arrested Development”?
Jason Bateman: The script’s being written and when Mitch (Hurwitz) is done with it we can go to the scheduling part of it which will probably prove to be a bit challenging given the size of the cast.
And they’re all attached?
Jason: He is asked us not to speak about specifics, but that he’s working on it.
It seems like 5 or 6 months there was a lot of momentum. A lot of people talking about the film. And then it seemed like it sort of got a little bit quiet. Everyone’s a little nervous it’s actually happening. Is it, in fact, actually being written right now?
Jason: Yes.
That’s 100%?
Jason: Yeah. Yeah. That’s never changed. I mean people have guessed and “rumored” and all that other stuff in all areas of the media. I’ve always been a little sort of…I’ve always felt bad that I never had more information to give people when they asked me about it, but I guess people kind of got frustrated by that and they just started kind of making up their own sort of “well, we haven’t heard that much” or “news hasn’t changed so it must be going away”. I don’t know. It sort of took a life of its own on and fatigue started to set in I think about the whole story of it. I mean, there’s really no need to write anything about it at all until he’s done writing it. Once he writes it then, just like any movie, then it becomes something a little bit more real and then you try to figure out scheduling and you try to figure out people’s deals. I mean, it’s got the same life that any other project would have. It has just as much a chance of happening as it does of not happening really.
Shane Meadows To Make A Follow Up 'To This Is England' For Channel 4
Shane Meadows is to make a sequel to 'This Is England' as a four-part serial which will be screened on Channel 4.'We Were Faces' picks up the lives of a gang of skinheads four years after the 1983-set original.
Thomas Turgoose will reprise his role as Shaun, who has left school and is still involved with the gang.
Meadows said he had "a wealth of material and unused ideas" after he had finished the film, which he also wrote.
"I was very keen to take it further - audiences seemed to really respond to the characters we created, and out of my long-standing relationship with Film 4 and Channel 4 the idea for a television serial developed."
"Whereas the film told part of the story, the TV serial will tell the rest," added the film-maker.
'This Is England' Trailer
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Black Dynamite Gets It's US Release Date & Distributor
US distribution company Apparition will be bringing Black Dynamite to US theaters begining October 16th.The film played in Sundance's Midnight section this year and was snapped up by Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group, which handles all domestic ancillaries for Apparition's releases.
In this case, Sony brought Apparition one of their titles to distribute theatrically.
Black Dynamite is helmed and co-written by Scott Sanders and stars Michael Jai White, who also co-wrote along with co-star Byron Minns.
A Irish & UK release date has still to be announced, but it will not be on our shores till next year!
'Black Dynamite' Red Band Trailer
The Simpsons Movie Sequel Still Some Time Away
The Simpsons producer David Mirkin spoke to Digital Spy recently and revealed that a big screen follow up to the first movie is still some time away due to the stress of the first big screen outing."We're in therapy to get over the last one and once that therapy is completed, we will sit down and do it again," Mirkin said. "But don't expect it to arrive as quickly as the last one!"
"Writing that film was supposed to take us two years, but it took us four!" he noted. "It was a challenge for our stamina! So it was a relief that it was received as well as it was by the fans. And more importantly, that it made as much money as it did!"
Monday, August 24, 2009
First Listen: 'Karen O & The Kids' Track From 'Where The Wild Things Are' OST
Here is you're first taste of Karen O's soundtrack for 'Where The Wild Things Are'. Under the banner of 'Karen O And The Kids,' Karen banded together an army of indie artists that consist of Tristan Bechet (Services), Tom Biller (co-producer with Karen O and member of Afternoons), Bradford Cox (Deerhunter), Brian Chase (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Dean Fertita (Queens of the Stone Age, The Dead Weather, The Raconteurs), Aaron Hemphill (Liars), Greg Kurstin (The Bird and the Bee), Jack Lawrence (The Dead Weather, The Raconteurs, The Greenhornes), Oscar Michel (Gris Gris), Imaad Wasif (New Folk Implosion, Alaska), Nick Zinner, (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and an untrained children’s choir to produce the soundtrack for 'Where The Wild Things Are.'Karen had this to say about the track:
“I didn’t want to make music that was hammering you over the head or go for some kind of pushbutton emotion,” O says. “What I initially wanted to do was close to Cat Stevens in Harold & Maude, really simple, but memorably and seamlessly woven into the movie.Spike Jonze Ad Feat Karen O
“Working with all these highly-empathetic musicians over of a couple of years on this soundtrack was a lesson in the power of collaboration.”
WTF?: Robin Williams To Portray Susan Boyle In A Film Based On Her Life
Robin Williams has been approached to play Susan Boyle in a movie about her life. Movie executives are planning a film detailing her rise to international fame after appearing on Britain's Got Talent earlier this year.Williams said "I've been asked if I want to play Susan in the movie. I think she's incredible. That clip of her singing on Britain's Got Talent was extraordinary. So inspiring. It was quite a shock when she began to sing. I saw some other clip of her singing Cry Me A River a few years ago. It was incredible. She's got a really great voice."
The recent media craze surrounding Susan Boyle, and the fact a film has been announced so soon after her quick rise to global fame, leaves us here at Flicks News scratching our heads in disbelief. "Why Hollywood, why?"
Charlie Brooker Brilliantly Sums Up The Susan Boyle Media Craze
Juan Carlos Fresnadillo To Helm 'BioShock'
'28 Weeks Later' director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo has emerged as the leading candidate to helm Universal's 'BioShock'.Fresnadillo is now in talks to replace Gore Verbinski, who dropped out of helming due to his commitment to animated movie Rango.
John Logan (Gladiator) penned the script for the video game adaption, which involves a struggle for power in the underwater city of Rapture. Gore Verbinski will stay on as a producer.
Samantha Morton, Dominic West & Polly Walker Join 'John Carter Of Mars'
Samantha Morton, Dominic West and Polly Walker have been cast in Pixar's John Carter Of Mars.The British trio join Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins and Willem Dafoe in the film based on Edgar Rice Burroughs's science fiction pulp series, which revolves around a Civil War veteran who gets transported to Mars.
Morton will play Sola, the daughter of Dafoe's Martian warrior Tars Tarkas; West a prince called Sab Tham, who believes it is his right to rule Mars; and Walker is Sarkoja, an evil member of the Thark race.
'Wall-E' director Andrew Stanton expects 'John Carter Of Mars' an early 2010 production start for the film.
Dakota Fanning To Star In Todd McFarlane's Sequel To 'The Wizard Of Oz'
Dakota Fanning looks set to star in the sequel to 'The Wizard Of Oz' which is based on Todd McFarlane’s 'Twisted Land Of Oz' action figure series.The actress is speculated to land the lead role in the Josh Olson (History Of Violence) scripted film.
Producer Basil Iwanyk said: "It will be set in the present day and feature Dorothy's granddaughter."
Co-producer Todd McFarlane added: "You've still got Dorothy trapped in an odd place, but she's much closer to the Ripley character from Alien than a helpless singing girl."
Dorothy With Munchkins From The Toy Series
Zach Galifianakis Joins 'Dinner For Schmucks'
Zach Galifianakis is to join the cast of Jay Roach's 'Dinner For Schmucks', the Hangover star will be a part of an ensemble cast that includes Steve Carrell and Paul Rudd.Galifianakis will play an assistant manager of a mattress store who is dating Carell's charachters ex-wife.
Production for Dinner For Schmucks will begin this autumn with a summer 2010 release date.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Simon Pegg To Star In John Landis Directed 'Burke And Hare'
Dread Central has news that John Landis will direct and Simon Pegg will star in 'Burke And Hare'. The Burke & Hare Murders also known as the West Port murders, were serial murders perpetrated in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1827 and 1828. The killings were attributed to Irish immigrants William Burke and William Hare, who sold the corpses of their seventeen victims to the Edinburgh Medical College for dissection.'The Flesh and the Fiends' Trailer
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Doctor Who Heads To Roswell New Mexico
The BBC press office have released the first image and details of Doctor Whos latest animated adventure Dreamland. The six-part series will be premièred via the BBC Red Button on BBC One and the Doctor Who website (bbc.co.uk/doctorwho). The 45-minute long animation will be broadcast in its entirety on CBBC on BBC Two this autumn and also on the BBC HD channel.Written by Phil Ford (Doctor Who, Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures) Dreamland will see the Doctor – played by David Tennant – arrive at the infamous alien hot spot, Roswell.
During a visit to a local diner he stumbles upon a mysterious alien artefact that leads him on a mission to rescue Rivesh Mantilax from the threat of the Viperox and the clutches of the American military.
Joining David Tennant will be Georgia Moffett (Doctor Who, Spooks) in the role of Cassie Rice – the Doctor's new animated companion. David Warner (Wallander, Hogfather) also stars as the leader of the ruthless Viperox. Current showrunner Russell T Davies said this about 'Dreamland':
"Dreamland is a remarkable project and I'm thrilled with it. Phil Ford is a wonderful writer and promises to send the Doctor into a whole new visual dimension."Russell T Davies Introduces Dreamland
Friday, August 21, 2009
Shutter Island Gets Delayed
Deadline Hollywood Daily has news Paramount Pictures has delayed the release of Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island from October 2nd to February 19th. The reason seem to be paramount doesn't have the financing in 2009 to spend the $50M to $60M necessary to market the film, also another key factor was Leonardo DiCaprio unable to do press for the film during October.
'Inception' Website Goes Live
Warner Bros has launched the official website for Christopher Nolan’s Inception here, at the moment it is just a spinning top, but be sure to keep your eye on it for futher developments.
Kevin Feige On Marvels Slate Of Films
Kevin Feige President of Production for Marvel Studios chatted with CBR about Iron Man 2 and the upcoming slate of Marvel films:CBR: After the success of the first Marvel Studios film, “Iron Man,” how excited were you to begin working on the sequel and what decisions were made to make “Iron Man 2” better than the original?
KEVIN FEIGE: Well, thankfully, the first film was big enough of a success that nobody was reticent. Certainly the studio was like, “Make another one, make another one!” The fear always is to make it good and to improve upon what you did last time. It was well received but there are certainly things we thought we could improve. That’s always the best part of the sequel.
Well, actually it’s two things. One, you get the chance to do it again and maybe improve upon elements that you were disappointed with, even if the audience wasn’t. We were disappointed on a few tiny, tiny things that we looked forward to redoing. Two, we’ve got fifty years of comic book stories to tell, so we have all sorts of stories that we haven’t gotten to yet.
You know, an origin story is great and it’s kind of pre-packaged if you do it right. It’s the sequel that frees you up. We committed ourselves to a direction when we had Tony out himself as Iron Man in the last frame of the first movie. We were sort of like, “Should we do this? Are we locking ourselves into something?” But we said, “Yes, let’s do it.” It’s locked us into something, which has opened up the whole franchise. That’s kind of what the whole movie is like. Everyone knows who he is now and he has to deal with that.
Was it a difficult decision to recast Rhodey with Don Cheadle, instead of working things out with Terrance Howard and brining him back?
You know what, ultimately we thought that we had a chance to improve the movie with Don Cheadle, for the story that we wanted to tell. Terrence did a great job for us in the first movie. I’m glad that he was in that one. The story that we wanted to tell, that [director] Jon [Favreau] and I started working on, was going to be much more Jim Rhodes-centric. As you now know, the War Machine story. So we thought Don was a better way to go. And he’s been great about it, by the way.
What are some of things you want to improve on from the first film?
Little things. Really little things. I don’t know, I think our end battle this time will be slightly more epic in scale. It’s that balance of delivering the character. All we really care about in these movies are the characters. But also, delivering a spectacle. On the highway and the rooftop in the last movie was great and the connection between Jeff [Bridges] and Robert was great but we wanted to give it a little more spectacle this time around for the finale.
Is there a lot of pressure on you to deliver a movie that is going to be as commercially successful, if not more so, than the first one?
There was a tremendous amount of pressure. You just have to work hard. That’s all that we do is work very, very hard on the movie. I think we maybe stopped working for four weeks after the release of the first “Iron Man” and then jumped right back into it. And that continues for me through “Thor,” “Captain America,” and “The Avengers.”
What’s it like working on three films - “Iron Man 2,” “Thor” and “Captain America” -- while developing “The Avengers” movie?
It’s great. I mean, we’re learning as we go. It’s a new thing. Jon clearly is enthusiastic about it. [“Thor” director] Kenneth Branagh is enthusiastic about it. [Director] Joe Johnston is just getting into the mix now on “Captain America.” It’s actually fun having the screenwriters have conference calls amongst themselves in terms of what we’re doing, and sometimes we’ll change something. We’re not going to lock ourselves into something because it pays off in three movies. You know, “It’s not great for this one but you kind of have to do it for three movies.” No, if it doesn’t work for the movie we’re making, we shuffle it.
Would any of those ideas you mentioned potentially be saved and used for “The Avengers?”
Yeah, it’s a big dialogue back and forth. You know, it’s the bullpen. We’re not re-inventing the wheel here. It’s just on a much different scale.
Black Widow is being introduced in “Iron Man 2” and is played by Scarlett Johansson. Will her character be a part of “The Avengers” movie or possibly be spun-off into her own feature film?
She’s signed on for all of those should we be lucky enough to have an audience that wants to see them.
How large will Nick Fury’s role be in “Iron Man 2,” “Thor,” and “Captain America?”
You know, that remains to be seen. I think [Sam Jackson’s] gone on the record as saying that he hasn’t busted into badass action mode yet. At the end of the first one, for the people who were patient enough to wait through the end credits, they met this guy named Nick Fury. They or Tony had no idea who he was. In this movie, he opens that door a little bit more for Tony and invites him to walk through it. Tony may or may not do that in this movie. But Nick Fury is the conduit through which all the characters will connect.
In that case, how important was it for you to sign Sam Jackson for all of those films?
We wanted to do it. We wanted to do it for the continuity and clearly he had inspired the Ultimate Comics incarnation of Nick Fury of the past ten years. So we were very happy when we got him involved in all of the movies.
Will the Hulk factor into “The Avengers” film at all?
I think so. In the comics, he has.
Would “The Incredible Hulk” star Edward Norton return for the Avengers movie?
I don’t know? We should ask him.
How is “First Avenger: Captain America” shaping up?
“Captain” is going to start prep in October. We already have some concept artists working on it. Joe Johnston is finishing up “Wolfman” now. We’re deep into the script and he was in the office with us recently. We open the offices officially in October.
How close are you to actually announcing the “Captain America” cast?
I think it will be a few months.
How is “Thor” coming along and when does it start shooting?
Kenneth Branagh is great and we’ve got Tom Hiddleston and Chris Hemsworth and I can’t wait till next year when we bring all of those guys to Comic-Con. Natalie Portman is onboard, which we’ve mentioned. We are about halfway through prep and we start shooting in January.
Finally, what sold you on Chris Hemsworth as Thor? What made you say, “This is the God of Thunder?”
It’s one of those rare things that doesn’t happen often but people like me always say it so it probably sounds cliché. But we auditioned a lot of people. We did a lot of screen tests. We put a lot of people on video. One guy just kept popping out, it was Chris and you realized, regardless of what he’s saying or how he’s saying it, you’re engaged with him. It’s that movie star quality which I think he has. And, thankfully, he looks like Thor, which is a good combination.
A Clip From 'Defendor'
Reality intersects with delusion in the mind of Arthur Poppington (Woody Harrelson), a regular man who adopts a superhero persona known as Defendor, and combs the city streets at night in search of his arch-enemy, Captain Industry.
In his attempts to combat crime and bring down Captain Industry, a drug and weapons dealer who he mistakenly blames for the death of his mother, Defendor ends up befriending a young prostitute, Katerina Debrofkowitz (Kat Dennings). Armed with unconventional weapons of mass confusion, aided by his new friend, and putting his life on the line, Defendor proves that everyone is capable of making a difference.
If your a fan of Lo-Fi superhero antics, be sure to check out the superb 'Special' starring Michael Rapaport.
Special Trailer
In his attempts to combat crime and bring down Captain Industry, a drug and weapons dealer who he mistakenly blames for the death of his mother, Defendor ends up befriending a young prostitute, Katerina Debrofkowitz (Kat Dennings). Armed with unconventional weapons of mass confusion, aided by his new friend, and putting his life on the line, Defendor proves that everyone is capable of making a difference.
If your a fan of Lo-Fi superhero antics, be sure to check out the superb 'Special' starring Michael Rapaport.
Special Trailer
Don Cheadle Talks 'Iron Man 2'
CBR had a interview with Don Cheadle about 'Iron Man 2,' were Cheadle got to talk about stepping into the role of James “Rhodey” Rhodes from Terrance Howard, and donning the War Machine armour:CBR: To begin with, Marvel Studio’s Kevin Feige has stated publicly that as an actor, you really embody where they wanted Rhodey to go in this sequel. Can you tell us more about that?
DON CHEADLE: Well, I’m not sure exactly what he was talking about but I think they knew that I was coming into a situation that was a little different. They were very open and allowed me to sort of figure out who he was on my own. Robert [Downey, Jr.] was very collaborative and Jon [Favreau was] as well. It was just a very creative process that made me feel like I wasn’t just jammed in trying to fill someone’s shoes.
Were you intimidated at all to be stepping into a role originated by another actor in a movie of this size and scope?
Well, I did a big CGI movie [before] but it didn’t perform like this one did and I wasn’t replacing anyone. But I was encouraged to find my character by myself and figure out who he was, and not have to try to play any of the beats or character dynamics that Terrence had. I was my own man.
Were there any ideas that you had about the character that you were able to bring to the film?
Well, mostly it was based off the script, what the dynamics were and what was already kind of established. But I just really had more questions than answers about the relationship. When I looked back over the comic books, all of the different iterations of Iron Man and Rhodey that there have been, the one thing that seemed like it was always there was this friendship. There was a real friendship and underlying kinship. I was always asking, “Where did it come from? What’s it based on? How tenuous is it, now that Tony is kind of a free agent and Rhodey is a military man? How does that work?” That’s what drove my questions about our relationship for the whole movie.
Fans were extremely excited when they heard Rhodey’s “Next time, baby!” line spoken in the first movie. How does it feel to fulfill that promise in this film and what’s it like to put on the War Machine armor?
Well, it was amazing. [Comic-Con] was the first time I’d seen that footage, so I didn’t know what to expect. In a movie like this, you do your performance and then you hand it off. Then teams of people flesh it out and create what we saw, so you have to trust a lot. But wearing the suit, it’s heavy this is true.
How much of the film’s story is Rhodey’s and is it possible that we’ll see him breakout into his own film at some point?
We haven’t discussed that. I have no idea. Maybe. Potentially. But, he’s an integral part of the “Iron Man 2” story, for sure. His relationship with Robert is a big part of the story, what happens with Tony Stark and me.
Were you a fan of the superhero genre before shooting this film? Was playing a superhero something you always wanted to do?
Sure. You fantasize about it as a kid and think it would be a lot of fun. Then you’re 40 and you’re like, “Nah.” But I saw the first “Iron Man” and I just really enjoyed it. I thought they did a great job. They were able to really combine the CGI and the pyrotechnics with some real character stuff going on, so I thought it was a very interesting mix. When I got the call I had to ponder it for a while but ultimately I thought, “Yeah, this is a good thing to do.”
Tell us about acting opposite Robert Downey, Jr. Were you really looking forward to going head-to-head with him?
Yeah, we had a lot of that. That’s basically what we were trying to find. That’s the kind of friendship question I was asking. “Why are these guys friends? On what level do they connect and on what level do they miss each other?” So it was constantly tweaking stuff, improv-ing a lot and grinding over scenes to figure out how that worked. You know, under obviously the watchful eyes of Jon and Kevin Feige.
As a director, what does Jon Favreau bring to the film and how did you enjoy working with him?
I think the fact that he is an actor himself, he understands that process and understands what you need. It was really helpful. He was always trying to make sure that we were attending to that, as well as paying off everything we had to pay off with the effects, the suit and the mythology of the story. You know, we’ve got to feel like this is really real because I think that’s what the first movie did very well. It gave you both of those dynamics and that juxtaposition made it enjoyable for kids and for mature people as well.
What was the biggest surprise for you making “Iron Man 2?” Was there anything that happened that you just didn’t expect?
I didn’t expect the “Rhodey CGI” character to work more days than me. I didn’t think my stuntman would work as many days as I did. But you know, really it’s a combination of your work. You’re in this motion capture suit, then stuntmen do some stuff, you get to do some stuff, then they don’t need any of you and they draw it themselves. So it’s really a very interesting process.
Finally, what’s next for you? After shooting “Iron Man 2,” are you looking forward to returning to a smaller film?
I’ve got to get this Miles Davis project off, so that’s going to take my time. It’s going good. We have a script that we’re working on. It’s not a cradle to grave story at all, but it touches on a lot of parts of his life. It’s not a biopic. We’ve just got to go beat the bushes.
Bryan Singer May Remake 'Excalibur'
Warner Bros. required the rights to remake the 1981 'Excalibur,' with Bryan Singer producing and developing the picture as a potential directing vehicle, variety confirms.Deal comes as Singer gets serious about making the New Line-Legendary co-production 'Jack the Giant Killer' his next directing effort, according to sources. This adds to the directors plate which includes a film adaptation of Battle Star Galaltica and a possible return to the X-Men universe, also he still has not ruled out a possible squeal to 'Superman Returns.'
Excalibur Trailer
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)