-
Though not quite as strong a showing as the previous week's deluge of new Iron Man 2 promotional materials, this past week also saw a number of tantalizing releases. In addition to two new stills, a Chinese TV spot has been discovered that includes never-before-seen footage, and the viral campaign continues with a new web-site and videos. Director Jon Favreau also offered up an explanation for that soon-to-be-famous scene of Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey Jr.) lounging inside a giant donut.
see the new Iron Man 2 clips >> Posted 04.12.10 by BrentJS -
Paramount debuted the first TV spot for director Jon Favreau's Iron Man 2 during the Kids' Choice Awards on Nickelodeon and now it's online, courtesy of FirstShowing. While most TV spots are just shorter, re-cut versions of the theatrical trailer, this TV spot actually features additional footage of The Black Widow (played by Scarlett Johansson), War Machine (Don Cheadle), and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) not previously released.
See the video >> Posted 03.29.10 by BrentJS -
Latino Review's interview with an anonymous Marvel insider turned up some timeline and costume details for the upcoming adaptation of Thor, and the most recent interview with the nameless source revealed why Stuart Townsend abruptly departed the movie over "creative differences" after being cast as Fandral, a friend of Thor's and part of the Warrior Three.
It appears he wasn't happy withthe limited screen-time of his character Fandral. There was frictionwith him from the very beginning as far back as his screen test whichhe basically blew off. He wasn't the first choice of either Marvel orthe film's producers to begin with, but when they brought him in theyliked him. They thought he did a good job. It looks like the fact thathis character doesn't have a pivotal role in the movie made him sort ofslack off and say, "Well, f**k this movie. I'm not the lead, so whof**king cares?" They say he had a similar attitude when he made TheLord of the Rings ten years ago and look how that turned out. Theyreplaced him with Viggo Mortensen and the rest is history. He failed torealize the movie is not called Fandral, it's called Thor.The movie's not about him.
Its surprising, because he was one of thelongest working actors on the project yet he still acts like a diva.There was an incident where he had a costume test and blew that off.The studio had people working under deadlines fly in to meet him and heshowed up six hours late. When they complained, his response wassomething like "Oh, well could we just do it now?" Talk aboutarrogance.
Townsend's departure from the cast isn't the only unusual casting development for Thor. British actor Tom Hiddleston, who plays Thor's arch-nemesis Loki, was originally brought in to audition for the thunder god role, and wound up with the role of the villain instead.
He's great and what's funny isthat Tom had actually come in to audition for Thor but he's very talland very thin. Kind of lanky. Marvel said, "No", but then it came upthat maybe he should audition for Loki and he apparently put himself ontape and was amazing. He had also worked with Kenneth Branagh alreadyin London. This movie is as much an origin story for Loki as it is forThor and he's not only the hero's nemesis but his brother. How do youdeal with a situation like that where the very person who is trying todestroy you is your adopted brother? In the script, Thor is basicallybanished to Earth because he's arrogant and proud and must learn whatit is to live among mortals. And while the cat's away, the mouse willplay.
While he's gone, Loki starts discovering things about himself,including his desire to be all powerful. He wants to be as well lovedas Thor and that jealousy starts creating these complications. "Whycan't I be the ruler? Why am I always in his shadow?" So he startsdeveloping those feelings while Thor's gone. It's a very good scriptwith pretty much half of the movie in Asgard and the other half onEarth. I think people will be pleased with the way it unfolds.
One of the unconfirmed appearances in Thor is that of Samuel L. Jackson, who claims he's not sure his character Nick Fury will appear in the movie, even after he signed a contract to appear in nine Marvel movies. The Marvel insider says that Jackson is not in the script.
In the official script version,he is not. That could change in time though. He wasn't in the originalscript of Iron Man either but they changed it late in the game. Thesame can be said for Robert Downey Jr. In fact the only cameo of greatsignificance is from Stan Lee.
Thor opens May 20, 2011, with The First Avenger: Captain America following on July 22, 2011. The Avengers opens the following year on May 4, 2012, and is according to Marvel's plan according to the insider.
That's what [Marvel is] trying to do, line them up like that. May of every year, there will be a new Marvel movie out.
Posted 03.15.10 by Ryan -
Clark Gregg has been confirmed to return as S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Coulson in Thor, but what about Samuel L. Jackson as S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury? If Jackson is indeed appearing in Thor, as many have reported, the actor is apparently the last to know. Jackson told MTV that "nobody's told me anything" regarding the upcoming movie.
I was reading the trades last week and I saw the cast list. My name was in it, so maybe I am doing something that I don't know about and I'll hear about it soon. I don't know what's going on. Since Disney's bought the franchise, I have no idea what Marvel told them or even if my deal with Marvel is still valid.
When Jackson signed a nine-movie deal with Marvel back in February, Thor was one of the movies included. Jackson will appear in Iron Man 2, and it has been assumed that like his cameo in Iron Man, Jackson will appear in all Avengers-related movies as he recruits The Avengers team. Jackson either knows this and is excellent at keeping Marvel's activities a secret or someone needs to pick up the phone and make a call to Jackson.
Posted 01.27.10 by Ryan -
Marvel Studios took its first step toward building a "shared universe" of superhero properties by having Robert Downey Jr. appear as his Iron Man character, Tony Stark, in The Incredible Hulk. There has been talk of Edward Norton reprising the role of Bruce "Hulk" Banner in The Avengers and Tim Roth said that his character, Emil "Abomination" Blonsky, may return in as many as two more movies, but so far those are just rumors based on contract stipulations and "talks," not confirmed appearances.
Samuel L. Jackson has reportedly signed a contract to appear as his Iron Man character, S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury, in as many as nine movies, but the only other confirmed crossover appearance at this time is the character of S.H.I.E.L.D Agent Coulson, played by Clark Gregg. Variety has reported that Gregg will reprise his Iron Man role in Iron Man 2 , as well as make the jump over to Kenneth Branagh's Thor, which is currently in production.
In the first Iron Man, Agent Coulson was the character who pestered Pepper Potts (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) to set up a meeting with Stark to discuss his famous alter-ego. It is unclear at this time exactly how Agent Coulson will figure into the other movies, but his appearance in Thor is further confirmation that the super-spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D. will have an ongoing, active role in Marvel Studios films.
Thor stars Chris Hemsworth in the title role; Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, Thor's human love interest; Anthony Hopkins as Thor's father, Odin; Jaimie Alexander as Thor's Asgardian love interest, Sif; and Tom Hiddleston as Thor's step-brother, the villainous Loki.
Posted 01.19.10 by BrentJS -
Director Adam McKay's newest film, The Other Guys, beefed up its cast with three new additions: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Samuel L. Jackson, and Steve Coogan. Described as an action comedy, The Other Guys stars Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg as a couple of second-string cops who are envious of an elite cop duo. Johnson and Jackson will play the elite cops, while the other recent addition, Coogan, will play the film's villain.
The Other Guys is being produced by Mosaic and Gary Sanchez Productions. The script is by McKay and Chris Henchy, the writer of Ferrell's latest film, Land of the Lost.
Posted 09.23.09 by BrentJS -
For cinephiles (pronounced “movie nerds”), the works of Quentin Tarantino aren’t just fun on their own terms: They’re packed with nods, winks, and say-no-mores to other movies, genre clichés, and Tarantino’s own conventions. His characters are no exception, though some of them may pop us for saying so.
When Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds rides a pile of Nazi corpses into a theater near you, it’s a pretty safe bet that some of the writer-director’s favorite stock characters will be along for the genoride. And yes, many of them will be movie buffs. Here are the ones to watch for with your one good eye through a hail of bullets, sleet of blood, and freezing rain of gore.
Check out the Top 10 Tarantino Character Types.
Posted 08.14.09 by reelz -
With Samuel L. Jackson signed on to play S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury for 9 Marvel movies, it's inevitable that Jackson will get into some action, possibly even a movie all his own. Iron Man 2 is the next Marvel movie that Jackson will appear in, but he told MTV not to expect any action:
Not this time, not yet. Westill haven't moved Nick Fury into the bad-ass zone. He's still justkind of a talker.
Jackson's scenes were limited to appearing with Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson. However, the "bad-ass zone" may not be far away. When asked if Fury might be unleashed in The Avengers, Jackson replied:
Looking forward to that, yeah.
Posted 07.02.09 by Ryan -
Sure, Thor has been cast, but what about Captain America or the rest of the Avengers team? CraveOnline spoke to Doug Finberg, Head of Marketing for Marvel Studios, who explained the casting hold-up:
It's ultimately about we want to get Thor right and then move on and actually just really give that the time that it needs to develop it, get it on screen, bring it to the audience. Then we're going to move on to Captain America, so we're a little far out for The Avengers, so we'll get there. Let's get through Thor before we actually get that far.
With Samuel L. Jackson signed for nine movies as Nick Fury, SciFiWire asked Finburg about a solo Fury movie:
Well, we have a multi-picture deal with him, so obviously we're in business with him for a while to come, and we really enjoy working with Sam.
Does it seem like that quote was followed by a huge, knowing wink to anyone else?
Finally, the way Finburg feels about the Avengers movies is the way only a Head of Marketing could:
Ultimately, the final expectation, the final verdict, is with the fans, and that's something that the team of Marvel does a phenomenal job at, actually making the best movie from the material they can.
Posted 07.01.09 by Ryan -
Marvel President of Production Kevin Feige has been very busy lately speaking about the upcoming slate of movies Marvel has in production, from The Avengers to Thor and even Ant-Man, giving plenty of updates about each one.
While he could not confirm another Incredible Hulk movie, Feige did confirm that Hulk will appear in The Avengers:
Now at least we can talk about Hulk being onscreen and Hulk being in a movie. It will have been four years since he was in a movie by that point. By 2012, I'd like to see him in it. We're just starting the story. I was on the phone with [Avengers screenwriter] Zak Penn this morning. He's coming in next week and he's going to work on the outline this summer. It's so intertwined with what we're doing before it. I almost wanted to get done with production on Iron Man 2, and the scripts to Thor and The First Avenger: Captain America well underway, before we even started The Avengers.
With many of the movies being intertwined, this means that several characters will make appearances in different movies, in particular Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. Feige explained that he hopes to provide fans with a comic book experience, where characters from other books show up unexpectedly.
Feige gave an update on Thor confirming that Donald Blake, Thor's human alter ego, will not appear in Thor, which will take place on both Earth and Asgard. Meanwhile, The First Avenger: Captain America will "primarily" be a period piece taking place during World War II, with an appearance by Cap's sidekick Bucky "a safe bet."
As for casting Captain America, Feige clearly hasn't made a decision:
There are only a handful of stars that mean anything here, much lessoverseas. I do think that will be a factor in it. As long as we have the freedom to cast the best actor for the part. Whether it's an actorwho's been a great actor, but hasn't starred in marquee action movies before like Robert Downey, or somebody that came out of Australia that we've never heard.
As for the Ant-Man adaptation that Shaun of the Dead's Edgar Wright is working on, Feige said:
I want to make Ant-Man one of these days. I think that'll be surprising and funny. I love Edgar Wright. What he likes about it is that when he says he's doing Ant-Man, people go, 'Ant-Man? What thehell is that?' I think that's funny.
Ant-Man isn't the only movie Feige hopes to make post-Avengers, he's also excited about Doctor Strange:
I think Doctor Strange would kick ass. I think we've done very well atthis street-level superhero aspect of the Marvel Universe. I think with Thor, you'll see us cracking into the cosmic side of the MarvelUniverse in a very good way that's never been done before in our movies. I'd love to get into that supernatural element.
Marvel and Feige clearly have a lot on the horizon. However, ultimately, it's The Avengers that Feige is most excited about:
I think The Avengers is going to have it's own vibe. It'll have a different tone than the other Marvel movies. It is about saving the world, because there's no other reason for characters that powerful to band together. I think the scope and the scale will feel like a much bigger thing.
Iron Man 2 opens May 7, 2010, while Thor and The First Avenger: Captain America are due May 20 and July 22 of 2011, respectively. The Avengers should open May 4, 2012.
Posted 06.09.09 by Ryan