Chris Pratt Thinks Suicide Squad Introduced Too Many Characters



“I really like all the Warner Bros. movies. I think they’re really cool and I’m not a real tough critic on those movies. But one of the flaws might have been they were introducing too many characters in Suicide Squad. They spent 10 minutes telling us why should we care about these characters, rather than creating trilogies for each character and convincing us to care about the characters.”

 [ScreenRant]

The Avengers 4: Did Zoe Saldana Reveal the Film's Title?

Image result for the avengers 4 600x200 zoe saldana

It might no longer be a secret. "The Avengers 4" has, suspiciously, not had a title since its announcement more than a year ago. In fact, it has been kept so hush-hush that Marvel head, Kevin Feige, had to clear up rumors and indeed confirm our suspicions that announcing the title would reveal too much of the plot. Well, it seems like Zoe Saldana has kinda messed up the surprise as this video on Twitter shows us, Saldana let it slip out that its title is "Infinity Gauntlet." You can find the video HERE.


Heath Ledger's sister clears up rumour linking Joker role to actor's death

"I was really shocked because that was him having fun," she told the audience at a Q&A, according to The Telegraph. "Every report was coming out that he was depressed and that [the role] was taking this toll on him, and we're going, honestly, it was the absolute opposite. It couldn't be more wrong.
"He had an amazing sense of humour, and I guess maybe only his family and friends knew that, but he was having fun. He wasn't depressed about the Joker!”

Christian Bale Says the Only Superhero Films He's Ever Seen Are His Batman Films & The Original Superman

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Collider caught up with Bale while he was promoting his new movie The Promise.
Would you be interested in working with Marvel? Is being involved in another superhero film something that you are looking to do? Because it does feel like the genre is only getting bigger when I thought it might be slowing down by now.

 BALE: No, I’m not interested in doing that. I’ve never seen — I’m trying to think if that’s correct, I think I’m actually correct, I can’t remember a single superhero film that I’ve ever watched. Apart from the ones I made and like, the Christopher Reeve Superman films.

 I was just going to ask if you’ve seen the Christopher Reeve Superman movies by Richard Donner.

 BALE: Yes. Yes, I love those. Other than that, no I’ve never seen anything.

 SOURCE: Collider

Buster Keaton made his movie debut 100 years ago today, in Roscoe Arbuckle's "The Butcher Boy"



It's no surprise that I find it very hard to choose between Chaplin and Keaton. "The General" is an astounding technical achievement, even more so now 90 years after its release. "The Navigator" is also a delightful Keaton feature from 1924 that has aged magnificently well. In fact, one of the reasons why Keaton might just surpass Chaplin in my books is that his movies have aged incredibly. The set pieces are brilliantly conceived and much too risky to achieve in this lazy day and age of CGI. Which is not say that Chaplin's films have rusted, there is still a stinging satirical punch to his films such as "Modern Times" and "City Lights," plus he himself was no slouch in terms of stunts. Keaton wins, but barely.

Steven Soderbergh's first movies out of retirement, "Logan Lucky," has its first still.



“Logan Lucky” is Steven Soderbergh’s first film out of his so-called retirement, which always seemed like an extension of Soderbergh performance art.  In the meantime,  he’s been concentrating on television, most notably his excellent FX show “The Knick.” Now that it’s been, frustratingly, cancelled, Soderbergh is back and ready to add more to an impressive filmography which includes “Traffic,” “The Limey,” “Out of Sight,” Sex, Lies and Videotape,” “Erin Brockvich,” and “Ocean’s Eleven.” “Logan Lucky” is a heist movie, set in the NASCAR world, starring Daniel Craig, Adam Driver, Channing Tatum, and Hilary Swank, among many others.

 "Logan Lucky" comes out on August 18th.

The Avatar sequels will be released in 2020, 2021, 2024, and 2025.


Avatar's sequels now have official release dates. So, it seems, like this thing is actually happening. I can't really think of anyone I know that is actually looking forward to these.

Last month I wrote:

"I feel like its come to the point that by the time this movie is actually released nobody is really going to care anymore, personally I have gone past that threshold and don't really care if the whole thing gets cancelled at this point. Cameron is talented enough, a visual poet with a tin ear in my book, that he should stop wasting a big chunk of his career on this franchise. He needs to create something original again, this is, after all, the guy that gave us "The Terminator," "Aliens," and "Aliens."
Deadline has this:
"James Cameron is shooting the films concurrently and now the release dates have been pegged for the sequels the biggest box office hit of all time: Avatar, which took in $2.7B worldwide when it was released in 2009. 20th Century Fox’s plan has been to churn out sequel after sequel after Avatar 2 hits theaters every year and that’s what was announced on the Avatar Facebook page this AM as the Avatar team said production is underway. The first sequel will now be released on Dec. 18, 2020, followed by Dec. 17, 2021 and then three years later on Dec. 20, 2024 and then Dec. 19, 2025."

Martin Scorsese praises Margot Robbie and the "Wolf of Wall Street" audition that 'stunned us all'



Martin Scorsese's sprawling, flawed, but, ultimately, brilliant "The Wolf of Wall Street" might be one of the most timely movies released this decade. It's aged like fine wine. We didn't know much about Margot Robbie before this movie, but afterwards we wondered "Who was that?" She had left such an impression on us, building an ensuing Hollywood career that only seems to be growing by the year. The incredible thing about Robbie is that not only is she strikingly beautiful, but she CAN act. 

 Martin Scorsese has penned an incredible tribute to his "Wolf of Wall Street" star Margot Robbie, who has been named as one of Time's 100 most influential people.

 "Like no one else—that’s what Margot Robbie’s like. You’re asked this question a lot about actors—”What’s she like?”—and I’ve never been able to give an answer I’m happy with. With Margot, you can recall some classic precedents: the comedic genius of Carole Lombard, for her all-bets-off feistiness; Joan Crawford, for her grounded, hardscrabble toughness; Ida Lupino, for her emotional daring. Margot has all this in addition to a unique audacity that surprises and challenges and just burns like a brand into every character she plays. She clinched her part in The Wolf of Wall Street during our first meeting—by hauling off and giving Leonardo DiCaprio a thunderclap of a slap on the face, an improvisation that stunned us all. This is not a complete answer to the perennial question, but it’s a start. Margot is stunning in all she is and all she does, and she will astonish us forever."

 This from Reddit:

"A friend was in background casting (extras) for this movie. Apparently the scene where her character taunts Jordan in the nursery and spreads her legs was going to cut to a closeup of her open legs. It was obviously eventually cut, but before it was, they had to find a vagina double for her. My friend (a woman) literally spent the day taking pics of vaginas for the director to choose from. I like to imagine that somewhere there is a file cabinet full of Polaroids of stunt cunts that Scorsese once sat at home, pouring over for the perfect composition."

DiCaprio, De Niro & Scorsese Looking To Team Up For "Killers of the Flower Moon" Adaptation




I don't know what's changed with De Niro the last year or so, but, after more than 20 years not working with Scorsese, he now has two projects lined up with his legendary collaborating director. You don't see me complaining here. There's already "The Irishman" happening and now we're getting the word that an adaptation of David Grann's book "Killers of the Flower Moon" is also being considered.

Deadline:

 "The book was snatched last year after a bidding war for $5 million by Imperative Entertainment and now the Eric Roth feature film adaptation of David Grann’s book Killers Of The Flower Moon: The Osage Murders And The Birth Of The FBI may end up with another few good men. We hear that Imperative is working right now to put together some A-listers for the big screen; first choices happen to be Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, and we hear the three are seriously considering it. Imperative partners Dan Friedkin and Bradley Thomas are producing." "Grann’s Killers Of The Flower Moon, which bows this week from Doubleday, tells the true crime story about multiple murders of members of the Osage Indian tribe in Oklahoma that occurred after they found oil on their lands. It is about conspiracy, greed and murder in the Indian nation — so bad the federal government had to step in. It also chronicles the rise of J. Edgar Hoover, who led the investigation into the murders and ended up making a name for himself."

Marvel will NOT be unveiling Phase 4 any time soon according to source, here are 10 movies that might make it to the fourth phase

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We all really want to know what's Marvel's plan, Post-Phase 3. I mean, REALLY want to know. There is so much demand that Marvel head Kevin Feige had to address the swirling rumors earlier this week by stating that there is no plan, at the moment, to unveil a new phase. However, I'm betting that, once we catch "Infinity War," next year stuff will become a little clearer and we'll be able to decipher what's next for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

 According to Comic Book:

 "Following Phase 3 of the Marvel Studios films, the studio will keep titles of upcoming films a little closer to the vest. The studio's President Kevin Feige spoke with members of the press during a rare Open House event at Marvel Studios HQ earlier this week, teasing the new plan."

 The original Phase 4 would have followed Phase 3 - which is posted below:

phase 3 marvel original

But now that plans for "Inhumans" have turned into a television series there are lingering questions as to what's next ...

 Right now Phase 4 might look a little something like this if you pay attention to any of the rumors circulating the last few years:

 "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3"
"Black Widow"
"Doctor Strange 2"
"Nova"
"Spider-Man: Homecoming 2"
"Secret Avengers"
"Black Panther 2"
"She-Hulk"
"Captain Marvel 2"
"Fantastic Four"

"The Promise" director, producers say movie was hijacked on Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb


I mean, it was. Hijacked with 50,000 1-star reviews on IMDb after only three screenings, one of which I was at during the Toronto International Film Festival. Is it a good movie? Of course not. I panned it in my review at TIFF. In fact, I think I was too kind with my C+ review for The Film Stage, which you can read about HERE.

Here's a blurb from my review at TIFF:
"One can feel the importance of retelling these events when it focuses on the right circumstances, but when The Promise sags with cluttered, obvious tropes that have similarly downgraded countless war movies before it, it’s a disappointment. If George set his sights on capturing the effects of this tragic stain in history rather than love-making, we might have gotten a drama worthy of the talent involved."

The film comes out on April 21st.

On a side note, as I wrote 10/25/16, there is much controversy surrounding this film:

"The Turkish government is trying to stop "The Promise" from getting any sort of mainstream media attention. 86,553 votes have been cast on IMDB for the film, 55,126 of which are 1 star rating. The other 30,630 are 10 star ratings. Yikes. It is quite clear that some kind of power or force is trying to stop this film."

"There have been only three public screenings of the film, I was at the premiere and saw it at the Toronto Film Festival earlier this September and thought it wasn't very good, mostly due to the unnecessary love story added into the plot, but the Turkish Government's behavior here is atrocious. They are trying to silence the voice of ancestors and the pain they inflicted upon millions of people because of the genocide they created way back then. They have yet to recognize what happened, so a movie depiction is way out of their train of thought."

Here's what the film's director, Terry George, had to say to CBS:

“It can’t have been 50,000 individuals decided after we had two screenings in Toronto to give us 1 out of 10. It seems like a miraculously spontaneous thing to happen, so I definitely think that was a bot or series of bots to give us that vote.” 

“Then we had the counter reaction from -- which I genuinely think was 25,000 individual votes from the Armenian community who then voted 10 out of 10. It brought in the whole question of IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes -- the whole question of manipulating the internet reviews and people being swayed by that.” 

“I think the strategy unfortunately works to some extent because it’s confusing and distracting to people and throwing up smokescreens,” he said. “It doesn’t allow the truth to be as clear, and some people use these sites to determine whether or not they’re going to see the film. Hopefully the truth will shine and we won’t be subject to that.”

[CBS]

"Star Wars: The Last Jedi" Will Showcase The Flaws of All The Characters According To Oscar Isaac


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This is starting to look more and more like "The Empire Strikes Back." I'm sure that must have been the blueprint for Rian Johnson with "The Last Jedi."

 “The characters that you know already: their specific character flaws or their weaknesses get tested. And out of that, I think, you get to see a bit more of who they are. The best way to learn about somebody is to see them in a crisis.”

[The Guardian]

Never-before-seen "A New Hope" footage has been uncovered, including extended Leia scene and an uncensored F-bomb




THR reported earlier last week of rare, unseen footage from the original Star Wars shown at the Orland celebrations. Games Radar found the footage on YouTube today and has it explained here:

John Knoll, the visual effects supervisor who came up with the concept for Star Wars: Rogue One, hosted a panel at Star Wars Celebration Orlando 2017 in which he revealed some never-before-seen unused footage from 1977’s Star Wars: A New Hope. Two pieces of footage stood out (via THR): an extended scene featuring Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia reacting to Peter Cushing’s Grand Moff Tarkin when he orders her home planet to be destroyed, and one in which the Rogue Squadron’s Gold Leader (played by actor Angus MacInnes) dropped an F-bomb when he screwed up one of his lines.