At the London premiere of Guardians of the Galaxy, Joss Whedon briefly spoke to HeyUGuys about finishing up work on Avengers: Age of Ultron and dropped quite an interesting tidbit that should get fans talking. When asked by the interviewer about the increased female presence in Age of Ultron, Whedon noted that everything is bigger this time around but revealed that he considers there to be four prominent female roles in the sequel.
Just ahead of kicking off production, The Weinstein Company has opted to change the title of Bradley Cooper's upcoming drama from The Chef to Adam Jones, evidently to avoid confusion with Jon Favreau's Chef, about a food truck owner struggling to stay afloat in his personal and professional lives. Apparently, there was some sort of legal dispute behind the scenes, including a cease-and-desist order, which eventually led to the new title. However, that's not holding Adam Jones back - in fact, as production is about to get under way, the drama has added Uma Thurman to its already impressive ensemble.
Damien Chazelle's Whiplash garnered immense acclaim at Sundance and only improved its stellar rep after being included in the Cannes Directors' Fortnight. By all accounts, it's one of the very best musical dramas in recent memory, thanks to its tight direction, thrilling story, dramatic tone and wholly compelling performances from Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons. And with its participation in the Toronto International Film Festival now set, something tells me that we're going to be talking about Whiplash all the way up until its theatrical release in October.
It's a coming-of-age story starring two of the most talented young actresses out there today, so why is it so very hard to like Very Good Girls? Almost nothing works in this limp excuse for a drama, from the contrived story to the clichéd characters to the oddly awkward costume design. Even Elizabeth Olsen, horribly miscast, and Dakota Fanning, so vacant she appears translucent, can't keep such a leaky vessel afloat.
As with most Ryan Murphy shows, viewers usually either love or hate American Horror Story. And with its campy, creepy, envelope-pushing storylines and characters, I'd definitely in the first camp of thought about it. This fall, it's coming back for a fourth season, promisingly titled American Horror Story: Freak Show, and I can't wait to see what the batty showrunner has up his sleeve. One especially exciting aspect of the fourth series is its cast - in addition to many series regulars, Freak Show has been announced to include new blood like Michael Chiklis, Wes Bentley and now Finn Wittrock.
For a while, we weren't sure whether Guillermo del Toro's terrific Pacific Rim would be getting a sequel, thanks to slightly disappointing box office numbers. Luckily, the big-robots-versus-bigger-monsters action spectacular has been set up with Legendary Pictures and Universal for a 2017 sequel, so we will eventually get to see what del Toro has lined up for the next installment. And though he's been tiptoeing around exactly what Pacific Rim 2 will be about, the helmer has dropped several hints over the past few months.
If it's this hard to get through the trailers for next month's If I Stay without curling up into a little ball and crying myself to sleep, I can't even imagine what it's going to be like at the critics' screening. Perhaps I'll relive my childhood days of running a lemonade stand and set up a booth selling Kleenex outside the theater - unless AMC already has that covered, which it very well might. Regardless, this YA adaptation is going to be one big sobfest, if the trailers are any indication.
Never underestimate the power of an indie thriller. Some of the most suspenseful, thought-provoking and supremely satisfying thrillers of the past few years have come from unknown directors working on shoe-string budgets with no-name casts and only their ideas to guide them. Blue Ruin, from Jeremy Saulnier and starring Macon Blair, may not look like much on the surface - but trust me, this all-American tale of good, old-fashioned vegeance has the kick of a mule.
This is going to be legen - wait for it - DARY! If you've been missing your weekly dose of How I Met Your Mother since the long-running half-hour comedy series wrapped up earlier this year, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will have you covered this fall. That's right - on September 23rd, How I Met Your Mother - The Whole Story will hit shelves on DVD.
Just yesterday, the web got all stirred up by some tweets from Star Wars: Episode VII star John Boyega which suggested he was in talks with Marvel to take on the role of T'Challa, aka the Black Panther, in an upcoming film (which, for the record, hasn't even been announced yet). It turned out that Boyega was just enjoying the Civil War storyline, not claiming that he was in fact up for the part, but the idea of the actor playing the character got us thinking about who would actually be a good fit for the agile leader of Wakanda.
