suckage like the hoover lord

Updates:




King Kong: The New Zealand Herald has two insightful articles regarding the cast of King Kong (starring Naomi Watts, Jack Black and Adrien Brody) who’ve arrived in New Zealand to shoot the Peter Jackson movie next month. Here are quotes from the New Zealand Herald with the cast talking about production:

I think it's going to be gorgeous. I've seen the story board and if the movie is half as good as what the pictures I've seen look like - it could be the greatest film of all time," Black said.

He described the tour, which included special effects houses Weta Workshop and Weta Digital as "unbelievable".

Actress Naomi Watts also talked about how Andy Serkis, the actor that brought Gollum in Lord of the Rings to life has studied and interacted with wild gorillas in Rwanda to prepare for the motions of King Kong in the film.

"He's extraordinary, the amount of research he's done. He brought back incredible tapes of all that (gorilla) behaviour that we need to get very familiar with," she said.

King Kong will be released December 14, 2005.




Thanks to Movieweb





Angelina Jolie is one great looking woman. But she's not like many of those bubbleheads with big boobs walking around the hallowed halls of Hollywood...oh no, she actually has a brain, a heart and a damn cute smile (that means "bootie" in English) to boot! Jolie recently spoke to Coming Soon about her latest film entitled SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW (opening September 17) and reportedly said that she and the rest of the film's cast (which includes Jude Law and Winnie Paltrow-- mother of Apple) would film a prequel to the movie, if it were successful at the box-office. Sweet! I really loved this flick, so that's a great thing to hear! The prequel would apparently explain some of the stuff from this film, like her eye-patch and past romance with the captain of the sky. She also noted that she would no longer be doing any TOMB RAIDER movies because she'd apparently "done everything with the character that she could." I always thought she was perfect in those films, but let's face it...they were dog-****.


Thanks to joblo.com





Naomi Watts, Jack Black, and Adrien Brody have arrived in Wellington, New Zealand to prepare for the filming next month of Peter Jackson's King Kong, which Universal Pictures will release December 14, 2005. The New Zealand Herald has two interesting articles with the cast talking about the production. Here's a clip from the first article which features quotes from the three stars:

"I think it's going to be gorgeous. I've seen the story board and if the movie is half as good as what the pictures I've seen look like - it could be the greatest film of all time," Black said.

He described the tour, which included special effects houses Weta Workshop and Weta Digital as "unbelievable".

Hit the link above for more of Brody and Watts. Also, this article talks about how Andy Serkis has studied and interacted with wild gorillas in Rwanda to prepare for doing the motions of King Kong in the film:

The film's leading lady, Naomi Watts, has revealed that Serkis, the model for the computer-generated Gollum in The Lord of the Rings, has been to Rwanda to observe and interact with wild gorillas.

He even painted pictures with them.

"He's extraordinary, the amount of research he's done. He brought back incredible tapes of all that (gorilla) behaviour that we need to get very familiar with," she said.


Thanks to Coming Soon





Angelina Jolie is one great looking woman. But she's not like many of those bubbleheads with big boobs walking around the hallowed halls of Hollywood...oh no, she actually has a brain, a heart and a damn cute smile (that means "bootie" in English) to boot! Jolie recently spoke to Coming Soon about her latest film entitled SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW (opening September 17) and reportedly said that she and the rest of the film's cast (which includes Jude Law and Winnie Paltrow-- mother of Apple) would film a prequel to the movie, if it were successful at the box-office. Sweet! I really loved this flick, so that's a great thing to hear! The prequel would apparently explain some of the stuff from this film, like her eye-patch and past romance with the captain of the sky. She also noted that she would no longer be doing any TOMB RAIDER movies because she'd apparently "done everything with the character that she could." I always thought she was perfect in those films, but let's face it...they were dog-sh*t.


Thanks to joblo.com






Despite the rumours, it's looking like the 'Tom Welling is in Batman Begins' rumour was a hoax. Superman - V.com talked to a WB publicist who said she knew nothing about. In addition, Blue Tights talked to "Smallville" producer Jeph Loeb who said you can basically rule out Welling playing "Superman" on the big screen too - he's committed to "Smallville". "It would be great to have Tom play Superman in the movie - it's the perfect transition. But that would push the movie back two years since we're planning through Season 6 at least and that's not going to happen", he says.

Meanwhile, Superman - V is reporting that Daniel Cudmore, Colossus from "X-Men 2", has auditioned for the role of Superman.

Finally, there's a note from Comic book writer Mark Miller on his official site saying he knows who has got the role. "You remember I told you to relax about Superman? That a very, very trusted and experienced director we'd all love was coming over? That McG was just a blip? That everything would be fine? Well, my same good buddy has informed me that, as of last Thursday night, Mister Jim Caviezel is officially the new man of steel and what a perfect choice he is. Expect an announcement shortly. Also, this Superman Returns thing was just for the press release. The movie itself is called SUPERMAN (Reeve's was called SUPERMAN THE MOVIE) and it's starting everything from scratch. Brainiac. Krypton. Robots. Alien super-cities."

Should be only days now until we hear something official.

Thanks to Moviehole


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War of the Worlds: According to The Hollywood Reporter, Dakota Fanning has closed a deal to join Tom Cruise in Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds, a DreamWorks-Paramount Pictures co-production.

The deal continues a streak of projects for the actress. She is prepping for her role opposite Kurt Russell in DreamWorks' Dreamer for helmer John Gatins, and she is attached to play Alice in live action adaptations of "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass," which Les Bohem is scripting for DreamWorks.

Even though the young actress has already worked with Robert De Niro, Denzel Washington and Sean Penn, "War" marks Fanning's highest-profile gig, since it will team her with both Spielberg and Cruise. She acted in the Spielberg-created Sci-Fi Channel series "Taken" but did not meet the Oscar-winning helmer during that

Thanks to Movieweb







Obviously impressed with his work on "Batman Begins", David Goyer has signed a one-year first-look writing, producing and directing deal with Warner, says Variety.

Goyer, who penned the "Batman" pic for helmer Christopher Nolan, has not identified any projects under the deal and will stay in his current production offices at the Jim Henson (news) Co.'s headquarters in Hollywood.

One possibility is a remake of futuristic thriller "Soylent Green," though no deal is in place. Based on Harry Harrison's classic science fiction novel, 'Make Room! Make Room!', "Soylent Green" is an apocalyptic vision of the future set in the year 2020. Pollution, overpopulation, and a chaotic social order have turned New York City into a giant roach trap for humans. But that's not the worst part. Wait till you see what they're serving for lunch! Synthetic wafers made out of plankton. Or is it some other top-secret ingredient that the government refuses to reveal?

Goyer is expected to develop two comicbook-related properties with DC Comics.

"I had a great experience with Jeff (Robinov, president of production, Warner Bros. Pictures) on 'Batman' that was sort of the model for what the development process should be. Lynn (Harris, exec VP of production) was a huge supporter of mine at New Line," Goyer said.

Goyer has a number of projects set up at various studios, including a pic at DreamWorks, an adaptation of Jeffrey Long's "Descent," which may move to Sony under Michael De Luca's production deal there.

At New Line, Goyer is producing "Alone," being rewritten by Josh Olson ("A History of Violence"), and "Y: The Last Man," penned by Jeff Vintar. Goyer is producing latter with Benderspink as a potential directing vehicle.

Other projects include Michael Cooney-penned "Unique," at Disney with David Heyman producing and Goyer directing, and the Miramax property "Murder Mysteries," which is in turnaround



Thanks to Moviehoe






Sounds like another "Stargate" film might happen after all.

A couple of years back, the Emmerich/Devlin team announced that they had an idea for another "Stargate" film - one that would probably bring back Kurt Russell - but they ultimately scrapped the idea. "Stargate 2" would have shown the connection between the Egyptian pyramids and the Mayan pyramids. A second sequel, "Stargate 3" was also on the drawing board. It was going to connect every myth on Earth, from yeti to the Loch Ness monster. Suffice to say, both films fell apart.

Now, seems the sequel plans are back on, but for something on a much smaller scale - direct to DVD - starring the cast of the "Stargate" TV show, not the earlier film.

Gateworld says "The show's cast and crew ["Stargate SG-1"] have mentioned the project at more than one convention over the past few weeks, and co-executive producer Joseph Mallozzi confirmed to GateWorld that the project is currently being considered -- but isn't a sure thing yet. The story currently being considered is set in the show's second season. Actor Christopher Judge told fans at July's Vulkon convention that he's interested to see how they will get the cast looking like they did six years ago."

A film version of the "Stargate SG-1" TV Show was mulled a year or so back. A Script was even written. What ended up happening though is they decided not to push ahead with a feature film and adapted the script to be a two-part season finale.

Thanks to Dark Horizons




Cinescape landed an interesting scoop from one of their spies today hinting that Sharon Stone has her sights set on Ashton Kutcher for the "Basic Instinct" sequel.

He's apparently in talks and Stone was on the set of the Kutcher-starring comedy remake of "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" a while back. The role the young actor/comedienne is up for is a young educated shrink that she manipulates (you can guess how).

"I'm sure he's just one of many Sharon's considering - I dare think of the casting couch for that one - but never the less, that's what's been heard here" says the source.

Thanks to Cinescape


Harry Potter News:

The Times of India reports that Mira Nair ("Monsoon Wedding", "Vanity Fair") has been offered the job of directing "Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix", the fifth installment of the series. Mike Newell is currently directing "Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire", due out November 2005 . Of the potential job, Nair says "I'm getting offers to direct Harry Potter: The Order Of The Phoenix. I read it over the weekend. I'm still deciding... I'm not letting all this go to my head. I'm grounded. I practise detachment, it helps me keep my balance...My son Zoharan's excited. I've seen all the Harry Potter movies with him".

Thanks to Dark Horizons




Don't you just love controversy? After I ran my review for Paul W.S. Anderson's Alien vs Predator , I've been receiving email after email regarding my opinions. Many agreed, many wanted my head on a stick- but what really got everyone going was Paul Anderson's responses to the movie that appeared on the web after an industry screening. Not only did it get fans a little excited and yet confused, it got people who actually worked on the film upset, because they felt it was filled with lies. Well it just so happens that I'm friendly with Peter Briggs, who wrote the first draft of Alien vs Predator all those years back and he had a lot of interesting stuff to say about the film- you can find it ALL inside per our recent conversations.


Thanks to Bloddy Disgusting


The Fantastic Four: A 45-foot tall flying fox type contraption, possibly to fly the Human Torch from one mountain to the other has already been constructed.




Producer Tom Rosenberg gave IESB a status update on the sequel to Underworld, which goes into production soon and may have a different title.

“We start in November. We may call it something else. We’ll probably call it something with Underworld 2 [but] it’s Underworld 2. I think the real intense followers of the whole saga will really, really love the second one. It’s very intricate. It gives Selene’s history, Viktor’s history and then of course now Marcus is going to come out of the crypt. So it’s really cool. I’m excited about it" says Rosenberg who's been out promoting "Cellular".

The action is also expected to be bigger - "It’s much bigger action but still, we have to keep the coolness of it and not let the action overwhelm it. I like the whole world that’s created and you have to stay within that world. I don’t want to jam mindless nonstop action at the audience and this is going to still be story driven. But we’re going to have cool sequences and some bigger action, but if you do that on a sequel, and that’s what often happens, what’s the point? This story is better. This story is more intricate and more interesting. That’s what I really like about it".

Thanks to Dark Horizons


War of the Worlds: An awesome official site for news can be found
here






Film and TV property Highlander is on track to become an animated feature for release in Spring 2006, reports Variety. Davis-Panzer Productions and Imagi International are developing the project, which will be animated through Madhouse of Japan (Tokyo Godfathers).

David Abramowitz, who was head writer on the Highlander TV series, will write the screenplay. The franchise details the adventures of an immortal 16th century Scottish warrior who fights evil in modern America with his special powers.

The first film starred Christopher Lambert opposite Sean Connery and was produced by 20th Century Fox in 1986. In addition to its many sequels, it also inspired an animated series through Gaumont Animation and two syndicated television series.

The latest live-action feature, Highlander: The Source, is scheduled for production through Dimension Films later this year, for release in 2005

Thanks to Coming Soon




Keira Knightley has reportedly refused to be a Bond girl because she thinks her breasts aren't big enough.

The 19-year-old actress doesn't believe she can compare to Halle Berry in a bikini, according to published reports.

Pierce Brosnan told film-makers the King Arthur star would be perfect as 007's love interest in the next film.

But Keira told Empire magazine: "I don't think I have the assets to be a Bond girl. Anyway I'm no good with bikinis."

Thanks to The Movie Insider

Well, i may whole-heartedly disagree with her, but you gotta respect her for it.

Superman!!!! you think Jim is a bit too tan?

i've heard talk of some sort of AVP:supremacy to hit TV, but not theaters, any news on that MoPro?

Not that I have heard as of yet. Where did you first hear about it? Maybe you can give me some starter tips

As soon as I hear anything you'll be the first to know.

i only heard about it today, on the AVP2 pc game forum

http://community.vugames.com/[email protected]

Jesus Christ is the New Superman!!!

Boo-Yah!

Noooooooooooooo!!!! I have to disagree on her boob comment 100%. :randy: Anyways, It's a not a bad reason.

Updates






Simon Thompson from UK's Capital FM tells us he talked to Sir Ben Kingsley, who is putting a shout out to the producers of the 21st James Bond film that he wants to land a role as a villain.

"I would like to make it known, on this program, loud and clear, that I would absolutely embrace with all five of my arms being a Bond villain," Kingsley said on the radio station.

The Oscar winner starred this year in Universal's Thunderbirds and can currently be seen in theaters in Paramount's Suspect Zero. Kingsley won an Oscar for Best Actor in 1982's Ghandi and has been nominated three times for Bugsy, Sexy Beast, and House of Sand and Fog.

There's still no word who is going to be the next Bond, in case Pierce Brosnan has really made his exit from the franchise. MGM has the 21st film scheduled for a November 18, 2005 release. It is unknown if a possible MGM acquisition by Time Warner would change that.

Thanks to Coming Soon




Jennifer Garner's been plugging "Suddenly 30" (or "13 going on 30" as it was released everywhere else) to the Aussie press, and mentioned "Elektra".

Garner told The Herald Sun that although Ben Affleck makes a cameo in the film, reprising his role as Daredevil, he's hardly in the film - and she missed him. "I did miss him," she admits. "I missed his advice. I could hide behind him on Daredevil, and I suddenly didn't have anyone there."

Elektra is scheduled for a January 2005 release and her action-heavy background suggests she'll pull it off with aplomb.

"To take a character from a comic book and make it real is really challenging," says Garner. "Making her story keep going in a way that is truthful and interesting is what made the idea of doing a sequel appealing."

And how does she feel about squeezing into those tight leather outfits again? "That's always a bummer," she giggles, "but that's just part of being a girl."

IESB also talked to Garner, who talked a little more about "Elektra".

“The rest of the shoot went really well,” Garner said. “We had a few more big fights. We shot all the big finale stuff. It continued to be rough and tumble and really fun.”

Garner went on to detail some of the intense fight scenes, showing off some remaining scratches on her hands. “They were the toughest fights I’ve ever done. I fought five guys with a bo stick, five ninjas. That was pretty intense. And I had a fight with my sais against two kitanas. I kept getting bonked and there was some bloodshed there. That was pretty intense as well.”

Now working on the fourth season of Alias, Garner is still surprised to be the action hero. “If you’d ever told me that I would be shooting a fight scene, and that I would be like, ‘Yeah, you know, I need to go shoulder to shoulder…’ if you’d ever told me that I would know what that was about ever at all, I wouldn’t have believed you.”


Thanks to Moviehole





There hasn't been much mentioned in the way of "The Prophecy" sequels recently - two new sequels were shot a year or so back and have yet to be released - but actor Doug Bradley gave Fangoria a bit of an update on both Walken-less installments saying they're worth hanging out for.

“We went back to Romania in the spring of last year to shoot those,” Bradley tells the site. “I actually only appear in part five as a photograph of a corpse, ’cause I meet an unseemly end in part four, in which I play a Romanian policeman—yes, it’s set in Bucharest... We have a pretty strong cast—Tony Todd is in it, though mostly in part five, same with Jason Scott Lee, and also Kari Wuhrer, Stephen Billington is playing one of the angels, Sean Pertwee is in it, so it’s a good cast. Joel Soisson [producer of the entire PROPHECY series] directed both of them.”

As for the sequels’ storyline, Bradley reports, “It’s fairly familiar in terms of the PROPHECY mythology as established in the earlier films. It continues the battle of the angels, the fallen angels; Lucifer is among them this time, and Belial, Lucifer’s old adversary, is pursuing him and flitting from host to host. He inhabits a variety of bodies as the film goes on, and mine becomes the last of his temporary resting places. It centers on an ongoing Book of Revelations, the idea being that Revelations was not the last word of the Bible—that it goes on, and is writing itself. It’s a pretty cool story.”

Speaking of horror sequels, Bloody Disgusting also have a bit on "Final Destination 3" today. According to the site, Tony Todd has confirmed that the film is a go again, and is currently in the early stages of pre-production.

Thanks to Moviehole





Empire Online plonked a PC in front of "Hellboy" director Guillermo Del Toro and had him chat away to fans online. Among topics discussed with the onliners, a third "Hellboy" movie.

"I would love to make Hellboy into a trilogy. Creatively, Mike Mignola and I know that we want to at least do that. Economically, it's the studio's decision", says the Director.

And would he be interested in doing "X-Men 3" now that Bryan Singer isn't? "...I hear that Joss Whedon is doing it and as a fan I think that's perfect. I think that the character I love the most in the X-Men mythology is Beast, so it's too close to Hellboy for comfort".



Thanks to Moviehole





With MGM recently nixing the idea of doing a new "Rocky" film, all signs started to point to Dreamworks to take it on, who Sylvester Stallone has been working on TV's "The Contender" with. But seems the Shrek stable doesn't want Balboa.

"I have a friend (call him Gooburn) that works at Dreamworks and he says that THE CONTENDER -a boxing reality series produced by Sly, Mark Burnett and Jeffrey Katzenberg and featuring Sugar Ray- is the only boxing project Sly and Dreamworks will be making together! He says that ROCKY VI will not be made by Dreamworks as far as he knows.

It looks like MGM and Sly might come to an agreement instead of battling each other in court. If The Contender is a hit, the new Rocky: Legends game is a hit (in stores December) and the new Rocky box-set is a hit (THE ROCKY ANTHOLOGY due out in December), then Rocky VI will sure to get made!".

And of course, there's still hope for "Rambo 4" with talk that Dimension Films might be about to get going on it.


Thanks to Moviehole





Regardless of how abysmal the Hellraiser series has become, or how many needles we've jabbed into our eye sockets over the lack of actual Pinhead exposure there has been with each subsequent installment, there are some of us out there who are still looking forward to Dimension's next two films, subtitled Deader and Hellworld (parts seven and eight, respectively).

Oh wait, you didn't know there was going to be sequels? You silly bat, either you're being genuine or perhaps you've just forgotten they were even on the way. I believe it would be the latter case because, damn, I know I've forgotten. Pinhead actor Doug Bradley has not, however, nor have his most devoted fans who made sure that questions concerning the sequels were the first thing rolling off their tongues when they met the man this past weekend at Rue Morgue's Toronto-based Festival of Fear convention. And Bradley appears to be just as clueless as the rest of us.

"I've tried to speak to people involved in the movies, everybody seems to be in the dark," Bradley said before a packed room at the show. Deader and Hellworld, both directed by Rick Bota (Hellseeker), were lensed in Romania back-to-back in 2002, with the former slated to come out in late '03 and the latter earlier this year. "I looped the movies early last summer in London, so the damn things have been in the can for nearly two years and I have no idea what the issue is. Everything seemed to be going ahead. I have seen a more or less finished cut of Deader, which is looking good. I haven't seen part eight which has Lance Henriksen in the cast." The friendly British actor adds that he and Henriksen clicked on the set right away. "I, in fact, discovered that Lance was apparently very close to playing Larry in the first film, the part Andrew Robinson played."

As for another Dimension franchise, the Prophecy series – two sequels are expected for this one, too – Bradley says, "It's a similar fate for Prophecy 4 and 5. We shot those back to back in Romania in the spring of 2003. No word yet on when those are going to be released." Meanwhile, bloodsucker fans are still holding their breath for Dimension's third installment of the revamped Dracula series.

Bradley also addressed the recent news that Clive Barker is preparing to seal the gates of hell shut with the death of Pinhead in a forthcoming novella."People seem to think I will be greatly distressed and upset about this and I will never speak to Clive again," Bradley says calmly. "That's fine, I have absolutely no problem with that. If anyone is going to write the demise of Pinhead it should be [Barker]. And, well, how many times have I died? Here's the practical point as well, Clive retains the literally rights to the Hellraiser world so he can write whatever he likes, but he doesn't control the cinematic rights. So whatever he does in print has no effect on what goes down in the movies. If the series ever does close out, which it must do at some point, then as far as I'm concerned it would be the perfect bookend to have Clive come in and direct a climatic episode to the series."




Thanks to The Horror Channel





Star Wars: Episode III Update: Jeremy Bulloch, know globally as Boba Fett from the old films, is cameo-ing as an Alderaanian pilot of the Tantive IV. He has one line of dialogue, informing Jimmy Smits character of an incoming transmission. Jimmy Smits and Anthony Daniels wrapped their shoot yesterday. The reshoots are aiming for a Friday wrap.



X3 Update: A look at a concept design for the Sentinels is up at X3 Movie , whilst "Beastmaster" star Marjean Holden is rumoured for the role of Storm according to Uncensored Entertainment.






According to The Hollywood Reporter, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will be available as a video game on the same day Warner Bros. Pictures releases Tim Burton's movie based on the classic Roald Dahl book.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has awarded Global Star Software, a publishing label of Take Two Interactive Software Inc., the exclusive worldwide license to develop, publish and distribute video games inspired by the upcoming film. Jason Hall, senior vp at Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, said the unique content "offers a rare opportunity to create a great interactive extension of the fiction," in particular because it "lends itself to numerous ways of bringing people into its extremely imaginative universe."

Thanks to Movieweb










Lord of the Rings Oscar-winning helmer Peter Jackson will be living out a childhood dream when principle photography ramps up on his remake of, the mother of special -effects extravaganzas, the 1933 classic King Kong in his hometown next week.

During a Thursday press-conference from his New Zealand studio, the "Lord of The Rings" director said his first attempt to film "King Kong" was as a youngster. It involved a Super 8 camera and a cardboard model of the Empire State Building.

"It's great to be able to finally get the film made. It's a film which I've loved ever since I was a child. It really inspired me to want to become a film-maker," he said.

A screaming, vine-swinging special effects extravaganza, Jackson's King Kong will also be a character-driven psychological study of a monster -- and, of course, a love story.

Jackson says he will pay homage to the original, which starred Fay Wray, who died on August 8 aged 96, and retain the "mystery and romance of a bygone era." However, the characters -- including Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts), Carl Denham (Jack Black) and Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody) -- will not be carbon copies of those in the original film.

"To put modern political beliefs onto something that was made in 1933 is obviously putting a spin on it that doesn't really exist. It was a product of its time," he said.

"We're really just attempting to make a wonderful, mysterious adventure film ... it's about gorillas, it's about dinosaurs, and lost islands, and this relationship."

Watts said she accepted the part without seeing the script.

"This story is very simplistic and very human, so that's why I'm here," she said.

Jackson already had in mind Brody and Watts to play their characters, but decided on Black during the social whirl at the Academy Awards in February, when he won three Oscars for his final installment of the "Rings" trilogy, The Return of the King.

"THAT'S STUPID"

Black said he had wanted to work on a Jackson film after seeing the "Rings" films.

"I remember thinking while I was watching The Lord of The Rings: 'man, I've got to get an audition for whatever he does next'," Black said.

"Then I thought that's just stupid. Everybody's going to want to be in his next film, better to just put it out of your mind."

"Then I got the call to come in and talk with them about 'King Kong' -- you wait your whole life to get a call like that."

Andy Serkis, who was the human model and voice of the computer-generated Gollum in two of the "Rings" movies, will do the same for the giant gorilla, as well as have a "live" role of a cook.

Black, who stars in folk-rock comedy act Tenacious D, and Brody both said they planned to play a lot of music in between filming in Wellington.

Jackson, who suffers seasickness, will use a number of land-based studio lots to film scenes, including those featuring the tramp steamer Venturer, which brings the giant ape to "civilization."

Special effects will be done by New Zealand-based Weta Digital and Weta Workshops, which won Oscars for their "Lord of the Rings" creations.

Universal balked at Jackson's previous "King Kong" script (but even a casual read will reveal just how thoroughly it was cannibalized then put to work in both The Mummy and The Lost World: Jurassic Park) before his overwhelming success with the phenomenally successfully Rings trilogy. "The Return of the King," created Oscar history by winning all 11 categories in which it was nominated.

"King Kong" will reportedly cost as much as $130 million to make. But, Jackson spent $300 million making his three Rings films, and they’ve grossed around $3 billion worldwide – making the director a good bet by any measure. Universal is slated to release his "King Kong" on December 14, 2005.


Thanks to Movieweb

Thanks for the update on Elektra.
They should just stop making Rockys!

hellraise, sequels, i have enen seen the ones that are out yet!!!

Updates




- This isn't gonna be a cameo-heavy affair, a'la "Strike Back." The only returning characters are Dante and Randal, and Jay and Silent Bob.

- This isn't gonna be a star-studded affair. The biggest names in the cast are gonna be Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, and Jason Mewes.

- This isn't an "I'm not even supposed to be here today... AGAIN!"-heavy, wink-wink affair. We barely refer to the first flick (though I do love Lynch's proposed tagline of "They Still Don't Like You"; considering the tone of the script, an even more appropriate tagline would be "They Like You Even Less").

- Jay and Silent Bob have about as much screen time as they had in "Clerks." This is Dante and Randal's flick all the way.

- The title makes sense. Sure, there's a bit of cheekiness in there, but it's pretty appropriate, based on the material.

- This is the funniest thing I've ever written. It's also really poignant.

- We'll still be making a "Clerks" cartoon movie, separate of this.

- This is not a grab at the green. Saying so is kinda laughable, if you're privy to what I make per film now, vs. what I'll make for this film. Part of the idea about doing "Passion" is to strip away the trappings of success we've been enjoying for the last few years, in an effort to get to the raw and pure. None of us are making our usual salaries on this flick; we're all doing it favored-nations style, with deferments. If the flick does well, we'll get paid our full-freight on the back-end. If not, we did it for the love. But if I was "all about the green", I'd be gearing up for "Hornet" or "Fletch" instead. This one's about the passion; the passion of the "Clerks."

- Some of the key players from the "Clerks" saga who've already read the 143 page first draft: Mos, Jeff, Brian, John Pierson, Bob Hawk. Jay's reading the new, refined 119 page second draft this week. Once they were all on board, any doubt or hesitation I might've felt about monkeying with the original's legacy disappeared completely.

- This isn't about "Jersey Girl." While disappointed that we didn't do double the theatrical business we crawled to, I understand why what happened to that flick happened (considering how poorly "Gigli" did, I consider us kinda lucky that we got to 25m). If this is a reaction to anything, it's more of a reaction to "Green Hornet", and the trajectory my budgets have been taking lately. Before (and if) I direct "Hornet", I wanted to do something small and more me-like. While working on the "Clerks X" dvd, it became clear to me that "Passion" was the way to go.

- We almost did this flick three years ago, instead of "Strike Back." I'm glad we didn't, because I was able to say much more now than I would've then.

- There are gonna be lots of folks expressing disappointment or downright hostility with the idea of this movie. Let 'em vent. If it's all that bad, Xtian will just sweep it off the board. But the last thing I'm interested in is opinions on what I'm doing this early in the process, if at all. The beauty of making that first flick was being able to do it in a vacuum. Granted, I could've kept my mouth shut about it 'til we were done shooting; but with "Clerks X" coming out, it just felt right to share. Regardless - I don't want folks running here with reports of what's being said about the idea of this film at other boards. Don't waste your/my time with the braying of the jackasses. There's not even a movie to bray about yet. Once there is, if you still still feel the need to tell me what some random, knuckle-headed Talk Backer has to say about the finished product, then God bless. But until then, leave it in the locker room.

- Oh, who am I kidding? This flick makes me so happy, I'm not even bothered by the bitching (could still be even happier without it, though). I'm in love with this flick. If other folks aren't, I can't really say I'm concerned. I've read the script; they haven't. I have the benefit of insight into the flick beyond the title and the notion of it; they don't. The reaction is pretty much what I thought it'd be: a ton of positive, and minimal amount of bitching. Even if the equation was reversed, I'd still feel as good as I do now.

- At this point in my life, this flick makes absolute ****ing sense.

- I can't wait to shoot it, and I can't wait 'til you all see it.

Added 8/29
-------------
- That storyline about Dante and Randal shooting a movie about working at the Quick Stop is the plot of the "Clerks" CARTOON movie. It's secure. The plot of "PotC" is something completely different.

- The flick does NOT employ the tone of the "Clerks" cartoon. It's OG "Clerks" all the way.

- The flick's in both black & white and color.

- Having not seen "South Park" since season two (unless you count the movie), I was unaware they did an episode called "The Passion of the Jew." I don't know how (or if) this info will affect our title.

- There will be no "reunions" or "crossovers" in the flick. Again - the only characters returning are Dante, Randal, Jay, and Bob.


Thanks to Kevin Smith on The View Askewniverse Message Board




Don Mancini and the editor of the film (the same guy who edited the almighty Shaun of the Dead) came straight from the editing suite to show us a couple of clips from the film. First they showed us the full length trailer, which had me laughing so hard I nearly pissed my pants. It ends with a shot of Britney Spears driving her car along the road, only to be run off by Chucky driving a Jeep, after which her car explodes and she dies, only to have John Waters playing a member of the paparazzi capturing the whole thing on film, capping the scene with the cracking line "God Bless The Little People!". Then they showed the clip from Comic-Con with Jennifer Tilly seducing Redman while chucky jacks off in a plastic cup. Brilliant. Genius. Bring it on.




Hellboy 2 Relese Date Update - We can now expect it to be released in the Spring of 2006.






In a webchat with Empire Online readers, "Hellboy" director Guillermo del Toro who's currently writing the sequel, talked about its plot and potential future films.

The idea of a trilogy has come up - "I would love to make Hellboy into a trilogy. Creatively, Mike Mignola and I know that we want to at least do that. Economically, it's the studio's decision" says Del Toro.

What's the second one's story? "We tried to do an entire sequel based on the Roger [a homunculus created by a scientist to bring about the end of the world] origin story, and found it to be actually very similar to what Hellboy is in the first movie - a conflicted monster. So the sequel will have another BPRD member, Johan the Ectoplasmic Agent".

What about his assorted other projects: "I am hopefully doing a version of At The Mountains Of Madness. My dream for that movie would be to band together with people like Gahan Wilson, Corbin, Geiger, Moebius and the lot and conceptualise a truly cosmic horror movie". He also has "the mother of all ghost stories, which is called Crimson Peak. It's a Gothic Victorian horror tale, done in the 19th century, and I hope to get down and start writing it in the mid-future".

Thanks to Dark Horizons

Updates:




In an interesting development, the gang over at IGN Filmforce have reported the news that Gary Oldman has officially left his voice-over role as “General Grievous” in the upcoming “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith”.

According to Oldman’s management team Douglas Management Group , Oldman had a falling out with George Lucas and the “SW” production crew over a Screen Actors Guild disagreement.

The site says: “Gary Oldman's voice will NOT be heard in the upcoming STAR WARS film. Gary was offered, and agreed to perform in the film, in fact he was excited and looking forward to the work. The snag that made it impossible however is that this film is being made as a non-SAG (Screen Actor's Guild) film. George Lucas and gang agreed to hire Gary Oldman if he in fact would become a union buster, and perform work illegally overseas. As a resident of America, and also a member of SAG, out of respect and solidarity with the other members, he could not and would not consider violating his union's rules.”

Now, in my opinion, I find this more than a little bit suspect.
Not only would this group have to be one of the most unprofessional that I have come across yet, that they would feel comfortable airing any potential dirty laundry out in public, but they also stoop to a “he said, she said” match involving Oldman and actress Samantha Morton!

That being said, something doesn’t seem quite right here, so I have contacted Lucasfilm for an official comment (every link on the DMG site goes back to the same article), so hopefully we’ll hear back from them shortly.

Thanks to Moviehole

(Exclusive: But beware of spoilers!)

Oceans 13? you never talked about it?

Updates



Batman is back, and not only is he deeper, darker and more sinister than before – he's Welsher too, and has had four genuine £1 million, 100mph Batmobiles built for him. John Hiscock reports
It is nearing midnight and the street leading to Chicago's Franklin Bridge is jammed with hundreds of extras dressed as riot police, firemen and paramedics.
Someone hoses down the street to give it a wet-by-night look while lights and cameras are moved into position and police cars, men on horseback and film production assistants mob the entrance to the bridge.
Everyone is waiting for the Batmobile to roll into position for a stunt involving a car jump across the Chicago River.
Calmly supervising the apparent chaos is the 33-year-old British director Chris Nolan, who has never before directed an action film, let alone anything like Batman Begins, the £100 million production that Warner Bros executives hope will revive the lucrative Batman franchise, which crashed with the disastrous Batman and Robin in 1997.
Nolan, whose previous films include the low-budget Memento and Insomnia, won the job on the basis of his enthusiasm, ideas and a promise to return Batman to its roots in character drama. Unlike Tim Burton's gothic Batman fantasies, Nolan has opted for gritty urban realism, delving into just how and why Bruce Wayne became Batman.
"This Batman is grounded in reality," he explains, leaning against the bar of a nearby restaurant during a break in filming. "He has no super-powers; all he has is his wealth, which he uses to obtain the technology he needs to do what he has to do."
While the choice of Nolan may be something of a gamble, an even bigger roll of the dice is his casting of Christian Bale, a British actor relatively unknown to American audiences, as Batman.
The Welsh-born Bale, who as a child actor starred in Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun and in 2000 played the serial killer Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, is portraying Batman as a sinister figure.
Bale's Batman is far removed from the campy, comic-book character played by Adam West in the 1960s television series and darker than previous film Batmen Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer and George Clooney, whose nipple-studded Batsuit made the Caped Crusader more of a laughing stock than a hero.
"This Batman remains in the shadows and is fuelled by a great deal of rage," says Bale, 30. "He has tremendous anger. He's not a knight in shining armour, because of his personal need for revenge."
Nolan has surrounded Bale with virtually an all-British crew and cast, which includes Michael Caine as Bruce Wayne's butler and guardian, Alfred; Gary Oldman as Lieut James Gordon of the Gotham City police department; and Liam Neeson as Wayne's mysterious mentor, Henri Ducard.
Most of the filming is being done at Shepperton, where a dank, monstrous Batcave has been built, complete with lagoon, waterfall and subterranean bachelor pad. In a converted airport hangar, Nolan's crew have built a full city block of Gotham, much of it based on the slums of Kowloon in Hong Kong, which were torn down in 1994.
For added realism, many of the outdoor scenes are being shot in Chicago, which is standing in for Gotham City.
City officials have co-operated by blocking off streets to allow the high-tech, armour-plated Batmobile to roar through the city at speeds of up to 100mph, and some of the city's buildings are being used for spectacular stunts involving Batman and the arch-villains, Scarecrow, played by Cillian Murphy, and eco-terrorist Ra's Al Ghul, played by Japanese actor Ken Watanabe.
Nolan studied 65 years of Batman comics to come up with Batman Begins, the story of how a young Bruce Wayne sees his parents murdered and then, after a long exile, returns to Gotham as a 25-year-old bent on seeking revenge. "Batman is one of the great figures of pop culture, but there has to be a good reason for making this film," says Nolan.
According to the new storyline, which Nolan concocted with David Goyer, Wayne's family's military subcontracting business, Wayne Enterprises, has been seized by shareholders who have dumped the company's most ambitious designs and their inventor, Lucius Fox, played by Morgan Freeman, on the scrapheap.
Wayne befriends Fox, using his designs to create Batman, just in time to take on the villainous Scarecrow, who is intent on poisoning all of Gotham.
But the starting point for Nolan's vision was the Batmobile. For a full year he and his British production designer Nathan Crowley holed up in the garage of Nolan's Los Angeles house working on a design for the Batmobile that would make sense for the story.
"I wanted to make sure that the Batmobile, like everything else in the film, is possible and believable," says Nolan.
Unlike the Batmobiles in previous films, this one is a genuine, high-speed, militaristic vehicle – a muscle-car for a tortured soul. A cross between a Lamborghini and a Humvee with three engines – one of them a jet – the front is covered with jagged plates of armour.
Four have been built at a cost of £1 million each and stunt driver George Cottle swears they are among the fastest vehicles he has ever driven.
The man at the centre of all the activity and expense, Christian Bale, treats everything with a cool nonchalance and is seemingly undaunted by the responsibility he bears. Like the character he portrays, he is something of a loner and takes his job seriously.
"This is probably the biggest film I will ever do, and if I didn't treat it seriously, nobody else would," he says. "I wanted to make Batman more like a creature, more like a beast, than a human being. I didn't want him to be just a funny bloke in a fancy-dress costume. You're either going to look like a complete fool or you're going to look like a bad-ass. So you have to look like a bad-ass."
His female lead, American actress Katie Holmes, 26, who plays the Gotham district attorney Rachel Dawes, has no doubts about her co-star. "He's a great Batman," she says. "I got the chills when I first saw him in his costume. Christian's ideal for the part because he's got a bit of a dark side, too."
Bale began acting in British television commercials when he was nine and appeared on stage with Rowan Atkinson in the comedy The Nerd.
His film break came when, at 13, he won the leading role in Empire of the Sun. He moved to America in 1992 to portray the pro-labour leader of a band of urchins hawking newspapers in the ill-fated Disney musical Newsies and then played Laurie in Gillian Armstrong's Little Women.
He followed that with Velvet Goldmine and several low-budget and not very successful films until he undertook his most challenging role of Wall Street stockbroker-cum-serial killer Patrick Bateman in the controversial American Psycho.
He had just lost 80lbs for his role in the psychological thriller The Machinist when he was cast as Batman, so he had to work hard to quickly regain the weight.
Now he is struggling to keep cool and retain his weight in the confines of the neoprene-and-foam-latex Batsuit. "It's hot, dark, sweaty, claustrophobic and it gives me a headache," he says with a grin. "But I'm not going to sit around whining about it."
Due for release next summer, Batman Begins may not yet mean anything to cinemagoers, but the odds are that they will be seeing plenty of Christian Bale in the next few years: he has already signed up for two Batman sequels.

Thanks to The Telegraph and Dark Horizons



Superhero Hype just learned that Worlds Finest actor Michael O'Hearn had an audition for the new Superman film. Below is a brief description in Mike's own words of what happened...

I went in on Tuesday at 2:45 at Warner Bros. and met with the casting director. They put me on tape, then last night I got a phone call from my manager who stated he talked to the casting director, and their response was they loved my reading, and they are sending me onto the next level. I hope the fans are on my side. Just to give you an update - all the people at Warner Bros. loved my size. They were all screaming out "Now that's a jacked up Superman!" The other 2 guys that were reading besides me, were both about 5'10" and 160 lbs. I think they are looking for somebody taller, because the first thing they asked me when they put me on camera was how tall I was. 6'3" - the same size as Superman.

We all wish Mike luck and look forward to more updates on the casting process of Superman.

It would seem that Warner's is still actively looking for their Superman, and that the rumors of Jim Caviezel being cast are still up in the air.

Thanks to Superhero Hype


( * Personal Note - I just wish that they'd just use Jim Caviezel....UGH! )


The Amityville Horror Update: Downtown Antioch will be turned into downtown Amityville, NY for a day when Long Island Productions rolls into town in early September to shoot a few scenes for the remake

Charlie & The Chocolate Factory Update: Christopher Lee is due on the set of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in the next few weeks.

Star Wars: Episode III Update: There's already talk that a teaser trailer will appear before "The Incredibles" on November 5th, much like the way the SW2 teaser came with "Monsters Inc" in 2001.

Thanks to Dark Horizons



More blood, more action and more zombies – Resident Evil: Apocalypse is certain to be everything fans of the first film will expect and, well, more.
IGN FilmForce goes behind the scenes of the new Screen Gems horror / action film that stars Milla Jovovich as Alice, the genetically enhanced survivor of Resident Evil. Engineered by the Umbrella Corporation, Alice is best weapon available to fight the evil corporation and their scientifically created hellspawn.

Choose which size in Windows Media from the list below. If you're on a slower connection, you may want to right click on the file and save it to your hard drive for easier viewing.


Low (15.9MB)
High (55.1)

Resident Evil: Apocalypse opens nationwide on September 10th, 2004.


Thanks to IGN Filmforce



Toy Story 3 in the Works?:

Moviehole visited Disneyland and talked to the folks behind the Buzz Lightyear of Star Command animated series who revealed that a third "Toy Story" movie is indeed in the works.

There's movement on a "Toy Story 3". The troops behind the 'Buzz Lightyear' show know a bit about it, pointing out that it'll be happening at a different camp and that it is in the planning stages (pre-production?) and definitely theatrical.

The first two films were created by Pixar which has not renewed its distribution deal with Disney. The last two films in the deal include The Incredibles and Cars.

Thanks to Coming Soon

Thanks jrs, :D

Updates:



John Travolta has disclosed that Quentin Tarantino is considering a prequel of his 1994 film Pulp Fiction. In an interview appearing in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica Friday, Travolta, who is attending the Venice Film Festival to promote A Love Song for Bobby Long, remarked that Tarantino calls him every six months to discuss the prequel, in which he would again star as hitman Vincent Vega. "The problem is that we worked together in tight times," he told the newspaper. "Now he makes films for millions of dollars. I don't know if I'd still be OK for him."

Thanks to Movieweb



Bruce Davison talked to Glare (via the Chicago Sun Times) about the status of X-Men 3. Here's a clips from the interview...

"I don't know what the story is with the third film. I had lunch with ['X-Men' director] Bryan Singer in Vancouver recently and he seems pretty busy. I know he wants to make 'Logan's Run' and he's directing 'Superman' now. I know they're trying to put a script together for 'X-Men 3,' but no one knows how the story is going to evolve."

He's also heard rumors that Halle Berry won't come back as Storm because the part isn't large enough. "I guess I could play Storm if all else fails," he said. "I'd just have to get a wig."

Thanks to Superhero Hype



Piracy is rampant worldwide, including across the pond. Security surrounding the "Bridget Jones" sequel, "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason," has been tightened in light of rumors that pirates are offering a $10 million "bounty" for a digital copy of the project, reports the BBC News .
"We are aware that significant sums of money are being offered for any early material on the movie," says a spokesman for Working Title, the studio producing the film.
The studio has not commented on the multi-million dollar bounty or the reports that they have hired Kroll, risk consultants, to protect the film.
The Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT), says, "A blockbuster film of the caliber of 'Bridget Jones' will be targeted extensively by organized crime gangs and we would anticipate considerable interest among film pirates."
FACT contends that piracy gangs are linked to racketeering, drug trafficking and even terrorism and that they are infiltrating the film industry on all levels in order the get the best quality copies of films.
The DVDs created from any clean, digital copies will be of a higher caliber than the usual shaky camcorder copies obtained from taping films in the auditorium, which constitutes about 90 percent of the pirated DVDs.
"Bridget Jones's Diary," based on the book by Helen Fielding and starring Renee Zellweger, made a gratifying $254.4 million worldwide. The highly anticipated "Edge of Reason," which continues the adventures of London's favorite singleton, will be released nationwide on Nov. 19.

Thanks to zap2it.com



“You can’t have [a movie about] hip-hop without having fly rides,” a Nike-clad F. Gary Gray says as he surveys a traffic jam of his making on Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles. “I did the Mini Coopers in The Italian Job. Now I have Cadillacs and Hummers with spinnin’ rims.”
In today’s scene, a Russian mobster (Brian Christensen) leaps out of a 1967 Ford T-Bird to confront former gangster Chili Palmer (John Travolta) and gun down Palmer’s pal, Tommy (James Woods). “Bang! Bang!” Christensen yells, aiming a pistol at Woods, who promptly crumples onto a café table, knocking over his iced tea. Between takes, a grip uses a high-powered hairdryer to evaporate the murky liquid, while Woods examines his vintage Sergio Valente jeans on the sidelines. “I’ve spilled a lot of iced teas today, but I never got the jeans wet,” he says, proudly. “I’d never ****ing own these, okay?”
In 1995’s Get Shorty, Palmer went from hard-hitting loan shark to hit-making film producer. In this sequel, also adapted from an Elmore Leonard novel, he learns an even dirtier business: the music industry. “Chili is cooler than me for sure,” says Travolta, dressed to match his black tricked-out Escalade. “He’s the street James Bond.”
Uma Thurman plays Chili’s love interest, a widow managing her late husband’s record business. Though the Pulp Ficton duo won’t be twisting again, Travolta has a Latin dance scene in the movie, which features Andre 3000 as a rapper and the Rock as a gay bodyguard.
Says Woods, “John’s a black guy in a white guy’s body. He’s got the moves, but so do I. We were actually jitterbugging yesterday, and he was following, doing kick ball changes.”
Traffic rolling again, Travolta and producer Stacey Sher discuss whether Palmer should drop an F-bomb in the next scene. Sher then confirms that RZA from Wu-Tang Clan has sent the T-shirt Thurman requested. The day is winding down, but an important question remains: Can Travolta take Andre 3000 on the dance floor? “Maybe, maybe not,” Travolta says, hedging his bets like any good loan shark.
Welcome back, Palmer.

Thanks to Premiere



Although it's very definitely a sequel to the battle between werewolves and vampires, the "Underworld" sequel probably won't be called "Underworld 2," says the film's producer Tom Rosenberg.
"We may call it something else," says the producer, while doing press for "Wicker Park." "We'll probably call it something with 'Underworld 2.' "
Like "Resident Evil: Apocalypse," which is essentially "Resident Evil 2," Rosenberg says the script to the horror-action sequel is complete, and has a more interesting story than the first one, which stars Kate Beckinsale as the vampire Selene, Bill Nighy as the vampire leader Viktor and Scott Speedman as Michael, who becomes a werewolf.
"It's very intricate. It gives Selene's history, and then Viktor's history," says Rosenberg, who is also executive-producing the sci fi film "Aeon Flux."
"It's much bigger action but still, we have to keep the coolness of it and not let the action overwhelm it," the producer adds. "I like the whole world that's created and you have to stay within that world."
At the moment, the "Untitled Underworld Sequel" is scheduled to start shooting in November and will bring back the original stars.

Thanks to zap2it.com


Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, is set to star in an adaptation of the classic videogame Spy Hunter. The muscular star of The Scorpion King, whose latest film The Rundown opens in the US today, will play a former fighter pilot who chases secret agents in a high-performance car. The Universal film is expected to go into production next spring, Variety reports.



Besides announcing that Kate Beckinsale and Scott Speedman are already rearing to go on a sequel to Underworld, Director Len Wiseman talked a little bit about what you can expect from the sequel, er prequel?
Cinema Confidential talked to Len Wiseman about a sequel to Underworld:
"There's actually a sequel and a prequel that was mapped out when we sold this film. [Co-writer] Danny McBride and myself - there was so much that we wanted to tell in this story that it was getting a bit confusing for us to map out all the history and the wars. We said, 'You know what? Let's map out a long story that would maybe span out three films and let's then be able to tell our film in the middle.' But we had to kind of map out the whole thing to get to the point where we are now because it does have a lot of layers in it. But we do want to tell a lot of that back story and I'm obsessed with going back to the Dark Ages and showing the war when it was legions of werewolves fighting an army of vampires on horseback, invading their castle. I think that would be insane visuals! So that's a bit of what the sequel is. We are already in the deal for the sequel and the studio's incredibly excited about it. I think the 15 minutes [of the sequel] will be a prequel for the sequel, much like an 'Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade' type of situation."

For the full interview, go to Cinema Confidential


Thanks to Bloody Disgusting



Underworld star Scott Speedman is to get all heroic in action sequel xXx: State Of The Union.

Speedman will play National Security Agent and fellow adrenaline junkie Kyle Steele who fights alongside xXx Agent Darius Stone (Ice Cube) in the movie.

Also featuring will be Willem Dafoe as, US Secretary of Defence and five-star General, George Deckert plus Samuel L. Jackson, who'll be reprising his role as NSA Agent Augustus Gibbons from the first film.

Thanks to Yahoo! Movies UK



Knowing that Romero's fourth Dead film, Land of the Dead, isn't going to be shot in Pittsburgh is a bit unfortunate. It's a breaking of tradition, but one that is far outweighed by the fact that Romero is actually getting the chance to do another zombie movie.
Last week the Post Gazette reported that it's now official: Dead will be rolling cameras in Toronto, Canada. Atmosphere Entertainment president Bernie Goldmann confirmed the news after speculations arose that location scouts were eyeing not only Toronto and Pittsburgh but Vancouver and Africa as well. Goldmann's company is producing the film and says that the decision was based on monetary factors. The bottom line? They're saving money. Lensing in Pittsburgh for perhaps a few pick-up or plate shots hasn't been ruled out, however.
Toronto was also the backdrop of Zach Snyder's Dawn of the Dead remake and Romero's last film, Bruiser.

Thanks to The Dead Trilogy HQ



‘Donald the Explorer’ on Hollywood North Report was kind enough to snap a few shots of a Fantastic Four set currently under construction at West Pender & Richards Streets in Downtown Vancouver. This is not the famed ‘downtown Vancouver parking lot that’s being turned into a garden in the heart of NYC setting’ that we’ve been hearing about.

The set under construction on West Pender & Richards is apparently “incorporating Fashion Junkeez into the set scene.” In other words the set will blend in and use the vintage clothing store next door. The photos posted give you an idea of what’s happening.

In addition we've also learned that famed local music venue The Picadilly Pub (a few blocks from the above location) at 622 West Pender Street has closed for a month to be used as a location for Fantastic Four. The pub is said to be undergoing a total renovations after production is complete so we expect the pub to be used quite intensively over the next few weeks.

Also, last Friday September 3rd Fantastic Four was on location at the Annacis Island Sewage Treatment plant in suburban Delta to film a large scene involving lots of extras. We’re told by one source that the scene shot was “some sort of scene involving the launch/flight of the Fantastic Four Plane”….same location as 'The Host' Episode 2/Season 2 of X-Files (one of the best episodes of all time!)

If you live in the Greater Vancouver Region keep your eyes peeled for VDI set signs as that is what Fantastic Four is using.

Thanks to Superhero Hype



Back in early 1998 / mid 1999, rumors began circulating that RESIDENT EVIL, a zombie based game, that has highly character-driven and influenced by the Romero Trilogy would be put into development as a film.
Almost from the start, Romero's name became attached to the film, but nothing was offical during pre-development of the film until word was announced that Romero was attached. Romero being the writer and director, that he is intended to adapt the film based as accurately as he could on the game as the first draft (dated Oct. 7, 1998 and co-written with Peter Grunwald). The attempt as you can tell from reading the script is true to the game in almost every form, but Constantin Films, the Producers on the film didn't take to the film and Romero was fired.
Romero went away to work on his first draft of DEAD RECKONING after being fired. Constantin Films hired Writer / Director Paul W. Anderson, who created a loosely based prequel to the game. Anderson's film met with decent reviews and spawned the current sequel, but backed out of directing the sequel allowing Alexander Witt to take the reigns, while Anderson focused on ALIEN VS. PREDATOR.


Thanks to The Dead Trilogy HQ

not interested in underworld 2 but excited about F4 and Pulp Fiction