After suffering setbacks due to legal issues, economic hardships and even part of a New Zealand workshop burning down, fans of Middle Earth have something to get excited about. TheWrap has it that MGM, New Line and Warner Bros. are all confirming “The Hobbit” has been greenlit to start production in early 2011 and that Peter Jackson will be directing both films (the book being split into two parts).
Recently, news came down that director David O. Russell (I Heart Huckabees, The Fighter) had returned to the game adaptation after departing and now Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-Long Blog) has taken to his Twitter account to campaign for the starring role of treasure hunter Nathan Drake.
It’s not official news, but it didn’t take long for someone in the movie blogosphere to get inside information on the true identity of the villain that Rhys Ifans will play in the “Spider-Man” reboot from director Marc Webb. According to TheWrap, that villain — which Sony announced just days ago as undisclosed — will indeed be Dr. Curt Connors, also known as The Lizard.
Vulture states that Natalie Portman (Black Swan, V For Vendetta) is now a favorite for Fox to play the heroine. News of her potential involvement comes at a time where her name is reaching new heights with Black Swan, having already built a name for herself in the “tough heroine” market with “Vendetta” (shaving her entire head in the process) and now in next summer’s Thor.
Tom Hardy is reportedly signed on to star in Christopher Nolan’s upcoming Batman film in an unknown role. Deadline suggests that Hardy might be playing a villain, as there is much speculation concerning the villain or villains in the next Batman installment.
The actors who portrayed the villains in Nolan’s last two installments in the Batman franchise, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, were Liam Neeson, Cillian Murphy, and Heath Ledger. Each portrayed their respective characters with intense dedication and innate actability, fully translating their complex characters from the pages of the script to the silver screen.
Deadpool has yet to get the green light, but info on the proposed spin-off keeps making it’s way out of Hollywood. According to Bleeding Cool (by way of the New York Comic-Con), the project will naturally feature a number of key players in Deadpool’s background, with his Weapon X team being at the front and center. Further, the site claims that one of the X-Men will step forward to make an appearance in the project (and no, it is not Wolverine). If you would prefer to remain clean of details, look away now.
It is a mixed of release this week, with a variation of action, indie films, comedy, crime thrillers and animated adventure for your viewing pleasure. First Release – Jonah Hex (DVD and Blu-ray) – Leaves of Glass (DVD and Blu-ray) – The Oxford Murders (DVD and Blu-ray) – I Am Love (DVD and Blu-ray) – Arn: The Knight Templar (DVD and Blu-ray) – How to Train Your Dragon (DVD and Blu-ray) (Released 15th October), Re-Release – The Magician (DVD and Blu-ray) – The Darjeeling Limited (DVD and Blu-ray)- Red Dragon (Blu-ray) – Three Kings (Blu-ray) – The Hangover (Extreme Edition) (Blu-ray) – Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones (Blu-ray)
Last week, Universal announced Bourne series writer Tony Gilroy would helm the fourth film in the hit spy thriller franchise and Damon’s involvement was still up in the air. This week, Gilroy tells Hollywood Elsewhere that not only will Damon not be involved, but also that the currently titled The Bourne Legacy will feature a different character(s) altogether.
The Social Network is the big movie on campus. For the second week in a row the Facebook movie held the number one spot at the box office. The film edged out three new entries from the week, though not by a landslide. Life As We Know It was the runner up with $14.6 million. Katherine Heigl has done better in the past even withKillers, her most recent critical abomination with 12% on Rotten Tomatoes
Rhys Ifans has been offered the role of the villain in Marc Webb’s upcoming Spider-Man reboot. It has yet to be revealed who this villain will be, but speculation has included that the villain might be Venom. Since the Gwen Stacy plot in the comics dealt with the Green Goblin, he is also a possible villain. Having the Green Goblin as the villain could be too reminiscent of Sam Raimi’s first Spider-Man film. Additionally, Venom appeared in Spider-Man 3, which is perhaps one of the most reviled sequels in motion picture history. Fans were upset that Venom didn’t get his own film (he had to share with Sandman and Harry Osborne’s “New Goblin”). Perhaps Webb will solve that problem here.
