Despite that fact that James McAvoy served as a replacement for Joel Kinnaman on Dreamworks' upcoming WikiLeaks film, he's now officially departed from the project, leaving Inglourious Basterds' star Daniel Bruhl to step in. Who knows who'll come to eventually replace him? Set to be directed by Bill Condon (That's right, "Condon") and also starring Benedict Cumberbath, the film will be based around David Leigh and Luke Harding's book WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange’s War On Secrecy.
Not one to be left out of all those Stephen King adaptations headed for film, television have also got themselves attached to one of his apparently very-adaptable novels: Yes, Under The Dome, which has been in development for a number of years now, will makes its debut next year for a 13-episode run. The original novel, first published in 2009, concerns the small American town of Chester's Mill, one which is plunged into chaos after finding itself separated from society by means of a giant invisible dome. What ensues is extremely Stephen King, what with some people being good and others being really evil, and something something allegory.
Recently we brought you the bizarre but somewhat smile-inducing news that classic TV sitcom Boy Meets World would be getting a sequel/spin-off in the creatively titled Girl Meets World. And though nobody was quite sure just how to take that news without thinking about how old George Feeney would be nowadays, it's been announced that both Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel have signed on to reprise their roles as quirky couple Cory and Topanga.
Sure, you've got your Brad Pitts, your Robert Downey Jr.s, your Johnny Depps. And yeah, there's that chameleon-woman Meryl Streep, the wonderful Helen Mirren, and the now-everywhere Jennifer Lawrence rounding it out on the female side. So what do all these players have in common? They're stars. They're the best of the best. They sell tickets. And though we appreciate the great performances they've given over the years, sometimes the big stars just get too much credit. I mean, yeah, these guys are brilliant, but what about the other people acting in the movies? The people who you just kind accept are just there time after time. So what's the big deal, you ask? That's their job, right? They're not supposed to overshadow the stars.
Eager to give audiences another dose of spiritual blue tree people and 3D-induced headaches, James Cameron has announced that he'll start filming the long-awaited Avatar 2 at some point next year, because wouldn't you if it guaranteed a cash injection of $1 billion straight into your bank account? Though lately Cameron has been putting his name on other people's bad movie projects as just a producer, Avatar 2 will mark the first time since 2009 that he returns to the director's chair.
Not content with just, like, making a movie with Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult, director Bryan Singer apparently wants to bring his old buddy Wolverine back into the mix, meaning that Hugh Jackman is reportedly set for a cameo in upcoming sequel X-Men: Days of Future Past. Jackman did pop up, of course, in Matthew Vaughn's X-Men: First Class, though only so cinema-goers could turn to one another and exclaim: "Whaaaat? I wasn't expecting that!" Presumably that's what Singer wants to do with Hugh Jackman here, too - unless he's eyeing the Les Miserables star for a full-on part. "Whaaaat? I wasn't expecting that!"
If you ever managed to see Shane Carruth's Primer, you're probably a very confused person. That's to say, the 2004 time-travel flick strove to be as realistic as possible, and by realistic, we mean completely mind-boggling. Saying that, Primer remains one of the most intriguing movies of the past decade (even if we still can't figure it out), which means that the promise of a second movie from writer/director Curruth is something to be excited about.
With Django Unchained less than a month away, the final trailer has emerged, one that emphasises a particular trait that us sure to interest just about everybody: relentless violence. Yes, there's no doubt that Quentin Tarantino's seventh film will be on bloody affair, especially when you check out all the bullets flying past Jamie Foxx and Christoph Waltz's heads in the latest trailer. Aside from that, we're also treated to a few new lines from Leonardo DiCaprio's ruthless plantation owner Calvin Candie, and some added musical cues.
Getting a whole bunch of great directors together in a room for an hour or so just to shoot the shit is every movie geek's dream, especially if said directors are Ben Affleck, Quentin Tarantino, David O. Russell, Ang Lee, Gus Van Sant and Tom Hooper, who have come together as Best Director hopefuls to sit down and spout their wisdoms upon one another and the world. This particular roundtable (though it's not actually round - tut tut) is filled with interesting tidbits regarding all six directors and their thoughts and ideologies when it comes to filmmaking.
The premiere for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey took place in New Zealand last night, and the first lucky human beings to see Martin Freeman in action as Bilbo Baggins have unveiled their first thoughts on the film. And though these Tweeters might be well-included to, you know, praise the movie given that they saw it first (and/or don't want to offend Peter Jackson), we're going : they've been mostly positive.
