The next time we see Cate Blanchett will be in her New Age form as Galadriel, the ethereal elf, in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. But although Blanchett often plays those kinds of positive, likable characters, she's also more than capable of being quite terrifying when she puts her mind to it. In the upcoming version of Cinderella directed by Kenneth Branagh, Blanchett will appear as the wicked stepmother who makes life difficult for her new daughter.
I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that the various Hobbit films were not quite long enough, right? I mean, Peter Jackson already managed to turn a 300 page children's adventure story into a three-film epic, with each instalment totalling over two hours of dwarf-on-dragon action. Is it possible for him to squeeze anything more out of the classic novel? Yes, apparently it is, as we now have word that there will indeed be yet another extended cut, this time of the yet-to-be-released The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, with a remarkable 30 minutes of footage added.
As with many directors from his generation, Spike Lee was once a household name who has since fallen on hard (creative) times. His more personal projects have failed to produce much critical or box office interest, while his "safe" films like Inside Man and Oldboy have been more successful, but arguably less interesting. Lee's latest film Da Sweet Blood of Jesus looks like it's a melding of the personal narrative with the vitality of his more commercial works.
In case you were beginning to forget that Exodus: Gods and Kings is a movie about ancient Egyptians featuring a cast made up of mostly white Anglo-European actors, Ridley Scott is here to remind you in the crassest way possible.
With the popularity of Victorian and Edwardian melodramas right now, I'm surprised that there have not been more current big-screen versions of Thomas Hardy's novels. Director Thomas Vinterberg (The Hunt) is going some way to rectifying that in his production of Far From the Madding Crowd, starring Carey Mulligan and Matthias Schoenaerts. In the first trailer for the film, Mulligan's beauty vies with the English countryside for captivating qualities, and it's a toss-up which one wins.
Scientology has suffered some pretty bad PR in the past few years, and it's likely to get worse. With everything from abuse scandals to media exposes to tell-all memoirs from former members, the Church of Scientology has looked increasingly bad. Now we hear that HBO is preparing to air documentary Going Clear by Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side), focusing on Scientology's powerful grasp on Hollywood.
I know what you're thinking: "Exodus: Gods and Kings? Didn't that movie come out already?" Indeed, it does seem like we have now had so many conversations and seen so much footage of Ridley Scott's upcoming Biblical epic that the movie must have been released by now. But the truth is that Exodus: Gods and Kings does not hit theaters until December 12. In preparation for that landmark, we now have a few more clips and two more featurettes to whet the appetite for swords, sandals, and Christian Bale.
As big dumb action movies go, The Expendables franchise has been among the biggest and the dumbest. Unfortunately, The Expendables 3 was not quite big and dumb enough, trying to expand the appeal of the franchise by toning down some of the madness and mayhem enough for a PG-13 rating. Sylvester Stallone now admits that this was a miscalculation, but has promised to up the ante with The Expendables 4.
Bad news for fans of NBC's Constantine: the network has called an immediate production halt on the show, meaning that its current run will be capped at 13 episodes. While NBC claims that the production halt does not mean that Constantine is canceled, it most certainly does not bode well for the show.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has come back in a big way. Following his pretty successful time as the Governator...I mean, the Governor of California, Arnie stepped back onto the big screen in bit parts and leading roles alike, doing everything from stints with The Expendables to ludicrously enjoyable outings as badass sheriffs and convicted criminals. But Arnold Schwarzenegger is hoping to remain true to his roots, as he steps back into his iconic T-800 part in Terminator: Genisys and prepares for the possibility of both a Twins and Conan return. Now, we can add The Running Man to list of iconic Arnie remakes/sequels that the action star has on the dock.
