Here is a video promo / trailer of sorts (some internet heads are claiming legit trailer, though I suspect it simply cannot be) for Sylvester Stallone’s upcoming actioner The Expendables. The video plays out in trailer-like fashion but is in many ways a jumbled mess of ass-kicking action, cheesy dialogue, and explosions. This sounds right about par for the course of what we expect to see come next year from this film. It is a good compliment to this behind the scenes video for the movie.
The cast includes a bevy of action movie “has beens” and “still ares” (TM) in Sly himself, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Mickey Rourke, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews, etc. There are no glimpses of Arnold (who has an expected cameo) or Bruce Willis (ditto), and its sad that there will not be a Steven Seagal sighting in the pic. That is just a swing and a miss there, but I believe they tried. If nothing else, the video shows a firm glimpse of what the internet has anticipated as a general good time at the theater next year. Enjoy the mayhem.
Last night, TV’s “Entertainment Tonight” aired a five-minute segment about their visit to the set of Iron Man 2. Most of the filming appears to have been taking place during the racetrack scene (which you’ve not doubt seen pictures of by now) and the appearance of Mickey Rourke in his Whiplash garb.
Interviews abound with Robert Downey Jr., Jon Favreau, Gwyneth Paltrow and Scarlett Johansson. Don Cheadle gets to answer one question…about Scarlett Johansson. Nobody would accuse “ET” of having journalistic integrity. Sadly, no Rourke camera time is had. On a positive note, Downey continues to transform himself into what’s probably the most likable personality in Hollywood. Just years ago, I hated the guy with a passion. A “Tonight Show” joke from the 1996 Summer Olympics, will always stick with me: “Another world record was broken today, Robert Downey Jr. was arrested for the 317th time.” Downey has put in a lot of work to climb back on top and I’m happy he’s the soul of this franchise. I don’t think anybody could do it like he can. Enjoy the video.
There are a couple of new pics for upcoming films I thought you’d be eager to check out, so rather than separating them into different posts, I figured I’d hit you with both at one time.
Iron Man 2 is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated films for next year and we last brought you a pic of Mickey Rourke as main baddie, Whiplash. Up to this point, I don’t believe we’ve seen Scarlett Johansson sporting the hair color her first-name would suggest, as the character Black Window.
The new issue of Entertainment Weekly features a spread of Iron Man 2’s cast of Robert Downey Jr., Rourke and Johansson on its cover for their Comic Con preview. Below is that cover and a photo of Johansson doing her thing in costume.
Not to be outdone, though, we have a couple of new pics, courtesy of Filmsactu.com, from Wes Anderson’s upcoming Fantastic Mr. Fox. Last week, we brought you an image that wasn’t of the highest caliber. Here, the picture has been expanded like full-screen to wide-screen, plus a solo shot of the George Clooney-voiced Mr. Fox. Enjoy.
Here is the first photo of Mickey Rourke in character as Whiplash in Iron Man 2. It was widely publicized that Rourke had intentions of turning down the role at first, due to a lack of money, but we can officially put all that to rest with this first pic of him in full regalia. Can’t really say much from this photo alone, but the Iron Man sequel is one of the most anticipated films of next year. Chime in with your thoughts of the pic that conjures images of Mad Max.
Here with our weekly Wednesday news recap, we decide to start off familiarly with some comic book news. Kenneth Branaugh’s big screen adaptation of Marvel Comics’ Thor seems to have cast its two primary characters. Thor himself is to be played by 25-year-old Australian actor Chris Hemsworth, whom you probably saw for the first time in Star Trek, as James T. Kirk’s father. [Deadline Hollywood]
Branaugh also found a foe for Hemsworth in British actor Tom Hiddleston to portray Thor’s nemesis, Loki. Hiddleston is even less known than Hemsworth, but both will be blowing up come May 20, 2011. [The Moving Picture]
From comics to board games (the latest craze for some very unknown reason) comes the news that director Peter Berg (Hancock) is looking to turn Battleship into a feature film. This craze hasn’t actually materialized in a film just yet, but I’m curious to see what the result will be. I honestly can’t imagine all these things will continue to be greenlit after the first one comes out. [Film-o-filia]
George Clooney is set to star in A Very Private Gentleman, about an assassin who hides out in a quaint village and ends up developing relationships with the townsfolk, doing his best to conceal his identity. Assassin movies are always cool. Clooney is always great. I’m sure the marriage of the two will be something to behold. [Celluloid Tongue]
Check out some concept art of Mickey Rourke as Whiplash in the upcoming Iron Man 2, courtesy of [New Film Dimension]. I think it looks kinda cool.
I didn’t think we needed another Grimm-related film after the atrocity that was The Brothers Grimm, but that’s what we’re getting with Grimm, which Bruce Willis is helping deliver to us. [Latino Review]
Lastly, we leave you with some Ghostbusters 3 news in which Dan Aykroyd states he wants Eliza Dushku (”Dollhouse”) and Alyssa Milano (”Who’s the Boss”) to be the new team of people who bust ghosts. WHAT? [Rama's Screen]
So, while the plethora of yesterday’s April Fools jokes were primarily meaningless and pointless exercises in stupidity, there were a few that were funny (still pointless, mind you) and yet I’m still not entirely sure we are out of the dark yet. The latest movie news is below.
The full list of Transformers robots that will appear in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is officially made public. [USA Today] has the entire list.
More Megan Fox news drops as she is “a slender beauty with wings” in Passion Plays, opposite Mickey Rourke. [Risky Business Blog] Might this be the perfect woman opposite Mickey? How happy is he? I am sure he will do everything he can to get in her pants too.
[The One Ring] claims that there might be a third Hobbit film, meaning the original two planned by Del Toro need expansion. Not sure if this is a joke or not, but other sites have also reported on it, so we’ll leave the guesswork to you.
[Spike] has thoughts on Robert Patrick’s involvement in Terminator 5, which has already been green-lit. McG and T2’s Patrick are tight but nothing is confirmed yet.
Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard and Cillian Murphy join Christopher Nolan’s Inception. Leonardo DiCaprio is the lead in the sci-fi/psychological film. [Cinematical]
It’s a little older, but [IESB] breaks down a planned Vin Diesel The Chronicles of Riddick sequel. Pitch Black was pretty well done, but Riddick bombed hard, leaving Fast & Furious to prove Diesel still has clout.
[UGO] interviews Quantum of Solace Director Marc Forster to discuss that film, World War Z, and his other films and interests well.
The “Mount Rushmore of Forgettable Actors” is conceived at [MCN] and while I disagree with some of the names on the list, it is a mildly intriguing concept at least.
Since almost everybody knows about this by now, I went straight to the source [Variety] for the news that X-Men Origins: Wolverine has been leaked online. Check the torrent sites to see it early. But I don’t advocate that. I’ll tell you what’s up but leave the ethical/moral part to you.
The Mickey Rourke, “will he or won’t he” saga with Iron Man 2 has reached a conclusion. He is in, with a pay raise. It was widely reported that he was offered $250,000 to join the cast, a paltry sum in some people’s eyes, that he apparently turned down. But with Robert Downey Jr’s heavy recruitment and further negotiations by Rourke’s agent, he got a boost in pay (an unreported sum) and is officially going to be a part of the film. Variety has the scoop on more goodies regarding the process, and the character that Mickey will be playing.
When Downey, Rourke as well as (other) actors… took part in a roundtable discussion with Newsweek’s David Ansen, Downey interrupted the proceedings, reached across the table and flat out asked Rourke to do “Iron Man 2.”
Rourke also met with Jon Favreau and scribe Justin Theroux and got to be part of the development of his character. He’ll play Whiplash, a character that includes elements from that comicbook villain and Crimson Dynamo, another Russian baddie.
This is good news for the franchise, Rourke is a great actor, he will be playing Whiplash, which means next to nothing to me, since I don’t know much about the comic books but I am sure he will be a great fit. I still loathe that Jackson is involved, but what’s a brother gonna do, continue to whine about it? It is what it is. Those who know more about Rourke’s Whiplash character, please share about what his role is with regards to Iron Man. Thanks.
Some of the greatest casting speculation in recent months has been that of Mickey Rourke taking on a role in the sequel to last years’ summer smash, Iron Man. It was widely reported that he was offered $250,000 to play a role in the film. Then of course, there has been speculation about which character he might play. All of this talk going on for a film not yet shooting and not yet due until 2010. That’s some serious heat for a guy who 3-4 months ago was all but an also-ran as far as actors went. Then came The Wrestler, a stellar comeback performance, and now comes word that he is out of Iron Man 2…currently. He tells NY Mag:
...for his rumored role as a villain in Iron Man 2… “Right now, we’re not doing Iron Man 2,” Rourke told us grimly.
A statement of clarity, without saying much, if you know what I mean. Essentially, it sounds like, due to his role in Sylvester Stallone’s The Expendables, he may be busy (and making more money) or he simply wants to get more money for what would be his work in the near automatic blockbuster in 2010. I am betting more than anything that it is the latter. His agent at ICM, David Unger is supposedly trying to hammer out a deal worth more money, but with Marvel already ousting Terrence Howard in favor of Don Cheadle in an apparent cost-cutting move, it might be difficult to see Rourke getting more money to come on board. This will be interesting to see how it all plays out, but in my estimation, this is far from done…regardless of what is currently being reported as a back out. What say you?
The Expendables, Sylvester Stallone’s action flick that is supposed to begin shooting at any time now continues to have some cast reshaping going on. First, there was the news that JCVD, Jean Claude Van Damme was out because he couldn’t get on board with the script that Sly is still hammering out. Latino Review is reporting that Danny Trejo is in as (what else?), a villain in the movie. Now comes word from AICN that Arnold Schwarzenegger is going to be in the movie, albeit cast as the Governor himself. The report states:
…Arnold Schwarzenegger is going to be playing Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in THE EXPENDABLES. He will be shooting for one day, and it seems that the Gov and Sly’s character Barney Ross have some history back when the Gov was shooting CONAN THE BARBARIAN!
Also – Ben Kingsley is out as the dirty bastard CIA sob, and Eric Roberts is in! Also, Mickey Rourke has finally signed on officially!
So JCVD has dropped out, as has Sir Ben Kingsley. Stepping in are Julia Roberts’ brother, Eric, ice-grilled up baddie Danny Trejo (who actually has a remarkable story as an ex-Con in real-life), and now Arnie is in, although in what will from all appearances amount to a cameo. And Rourke is officially signed up. We had first mentioned the movie to discuss Rourke’s addition, and the movie continues to take shape. Hopefully, a solid script can finally get ironed out and this thing can start shooting as planned in the next month. I am definitely interested in what can happen here. This still has the makings of a sick actioner if done right. Agree or not?
A couple of casting rumors, while another actor turns down a job. You’ll never guess who. Seriously. It’s bewildering.
From China.org (everybody’s favorite film news site) via FilmSchoolRejects.com lies the tidbit of Anne Hathaway possibly getting together with Jack Black, for the next Stephen Chow (CJ7) film. You might remember Chow dropping out of the director’s chair on The Green Hornet and this is presumably the reason why. He is currently the writing the script for what is apparently a special-effects-ridden, superhero, action-comedy. No other tidbits have been revealed, aside from the aforementioned Black and Hathaway as possible stars, along with Chow himself.
The same person?
The last action-comedy Hathaway was involved in was last summer’s Get Smart. It was mostly unfunny and very forgettable. It did, however, wake me up to Hathaway’s beauty, and that’s certainly commendable. I wouldn’t put the onus on her for the film’s failings. I assume Chow saw something in her that made him think she’d work here. I’m definitely curious to see how this shapes up. Here’s the trailer for Get Smart in order to relive some past glory:
Courtesy of The Telegraph is the news Cate Blanchett has been mentioned as possibly filling the shoes left by Sienna Miller as Maid Marion for Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood film, Nottingham. Russell Crowe is set to play the dual role of Robin Hood/Sheriff Nottingham in the film. Actor, Mark Strong (studly in RockNrolla), playing Guy of Gisbourne, talked about the chances:
“I think Cate Blanchett is set to take the Maid Marian part. She is a wonderful actress and it would make it a much classier film if she was in it.”
That assessment is probably correct. Certainly classier than Sienna Miller, but I guess you’d have to combat the antics of Russell Crowe, too. Although I haven’t seen Scott’s past two teamings with Crowe (Body of Lies and A Good Year), I’m somewhat down with this movie. I haven’t been Blanchett’s greatest fan due to the costume dramas, but I don’t diss her either. I’m still on board with this.
To this day, this is what I think about with I hear the name Robin Hood:
Lastly, from TotalFilm comes an excerpt from an interview with Jean-Claude Van Damme about why he turned down a role in Sylvester Stallone’s old-school action-star throwback project, The Expendables.
“Stallone gave me a part in his next movie,” he told us. “But I ask him about the subject, about the story.”
“He said, ‘You’re gonna make lots of money.’ I don’t want to hear that, I want to hear what was my character. He was unable to tell what it’s going to be.”
“[Stallone said:] ‘You know, uh, well, the fighting will be good.’ [So I said:] ‘Sly, what is my character?’ So I didn’t do the movie.”
So, he’s a serious actor now? Perhaps all the positive buzz from JCVD has gone to his head. I do like Stallone’s idea of this reunion of all these 80’s action stars for one last go-round, combining them with the stars of today, kind of passing the proverbial torch to them. It’s far better than the incessant remaking of the entire 80’s film catalogue.
As of now the action cast stands at: Stallone, Mickey Rourke, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li and Jason Statham. Steven Seagal and Arnold Schwarzenegger somehow need to free themselves up for this.
Although most others would probably prefer Bloodsport, the combination of hockey and action film was my Van Damme haven. Gotta love it when he skates out and tends goal! Here’s a clip from Sudden Death:
