Stephen Doriff Talks Blade Prequel

Deacon Frost has to be one of the greatest on screen Marvel villains so it's no surprise Stephen Doriff wants to continue playing him. Back in 2009 it was reported that Doriff and director Steven Norrington were working on a Blade prequel focusing on Deacon Frost. The prequel could spawn into a new trilogy which made sense since New Line was aiming to reboot the franchise.

The first Blade film was the first serious adaptation of Marvel material and it's first success story even though X-Men gets all the credit. The world Norrington created was a blue print for most of the comic book films we now see which mix comic book elements in a real world film.

Doriff while promoting his current film Somewhere commented on the status of the project (via DarkLordBunnykins) and gives insight of what it could look like. He mentions making a vampire version of Scarface which sounds like a perfect fit for the character. While he seems optimistic the pair doesn't count out throwing out the use of the Frost character to avoid being held back by New Line. It sounds like the studio could be asking for a PG-13 movie which goes against every that Blade had established. By not using the Deacon Frost name they could take their pitch to other studios while still making the film they want to. Currently Steven Norrington is working on his Crow reboot with Mark Wahlberg interested in the lead role (bad idea) so it's unlikely it would get made anytime soon.

RUMOR: Alan Tudyk Playing Hank Pym In Ant-Man?

ComicBookMovie is reporting the rumor that Alan Tudyk will be playing Ant-Man in Edgar Wright's film. While there is no reason to believe their out of the air source. This is pure speculation and wishful thinking until it's backed up by a credible source. It's still interesting and somewhat possible if you think about it.

Tudyk isn't a large film star something Marvel has been keen on when casting their heroes. Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. (pre-Iron Man) were never known for headlining blockbuster films. Alan like the others is slowly gathering steam playing roles in films like A Knight's Tale, Death At A Funeral, Dale & Tucker Vs Evil and the upcoming Transformers: Dark of The Moon. He even had some scene stealing scenes alongside Kristen Wiig in Knocked Up.

His working relationship with Avengers director/writer Joss Whedon also could come into play. Alan and Joss worked together on the television series/movie Serenity and Dollhouse. They say that Hank Pym will indeed have a cameo in Avengers and will have an after credits scene. Considering Kevin Feige's recent update of Edgar Wright starting work on the second draft of the script it's possible they could be casting. The Avengers script wasn't even finished before they hired Jeremy Renner for Hawkeye.

Actor & Director For Superior To Be Announced In January

Mark Millar has Tweeted that along with a director to be announced in January an actor has been locked in to star in Superior. The comic focuses on a teen with MS who is transformed into his favorite superhero, think Superman meets Big. It mixes well established comic book mythologies from Superman, Thor to Shazam!. Even more impressive is Millar's statement "highest profiled actor of 2010". That is suggestive as there are lots of names that he could be referring to from Ryan Reynolds to Leonardo DiCaprio. The list of actors I have in my head that would consider this project include Sam Worthington and Tom Hardy. Jon Hamm's name has been tossed around by Millar for the film but didn't have a massive breakout in 2010 besides his role in The Town.

Now comes the director involved. I won't pretend to know what direction the film is going since I don't even know which studio has grabbed the project. If it's Universal or Fox I expect someone like Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Let Me In) could very well be lined up. Reeves has been in contention for both Superman and Wolverine 2. He also made my list of possible directors for Iron Man 3. If it's Warner Bros. Guy Ritchie's name had been thrown around during talks for Nemesis before Tony Scott was hired. Yet since this is too similar to Superman I doubt he'll direct this one considering his relationship with both Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment.

Matthew Vaughn on the other hand could be another person to take on the film. He campaigned with Millar for their own pitch for the Superman reboot to Warner Bros. Vaughn also had been attached to direct Thor before Kenneth Branagh came on board. While Matthew has stated he believes the superhero film genre is on it's last legs he went on to direct X-Men First Class and is still interested in making Kick-Ass 2. Superior is a very different take on the whole genre and could interest lots of director, so who knows?

McG & Breck Eisner Frontrunners To Direct Ouija

TheHollywoodReporter says that McG (This Means War) and Breck Eisner (The Crazies) are the frontrunners to direct Universal's Ouija. The supernatural adventure film written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz (Tron Legacy) is becoming a priory for the studio with a set release date of November 9th 2012. It's being compared to films like The Mummy, Indiana Jones and Pirates of The Caribbean.

Other directors who presented pitches included Sylvain White (The Losers), Pierre Morel (Taken), Scot Stewart (Legion) and John Moore (Max Payne). McG would be my choice out of the two since the Charlie Angels films were entertaining enough and even his disappointing Terminator Salvation was still fun to watch. His next film This Means War could very well be a great action comedy.

Joseph Kosinski Teases The Return of Cillian Murphy In Tron 3

Tron Legacy director Joseph Kosinski was dropping hints on what could possibly go on in Tron 3 (via SpinoffOnline). While I'll avoid spoiling the film one character he mentions spends all of two minutes in the movie. Ed Dillinger Jr., the son of the first film's villain shows up in a very brief cameo played by Cillian Murphy (Inception). You don't get a great read on the character knowing if he's good or bad but I'd like to see him return none the less.

It's unknown at this point when we could see Tron 3 go into production since it's currently at the scripting stage and has yet to be greenlit by Disney. Tron Legacy writers have been put onto working the sequel and could very well have something for the studio soon. Disney has been vocal of rounding out a trilogy. Tron very well could be the studios' science fiction version of Pirates of Carribean and develop into a decent franchise. It's expected Disney could be waiting on the final worldwide box office returns before moving forward with a sequel.

Disney has two other projects lined up for director Joseph Kosinski. The first one is a remake of the classic Disney science fiction movie Black Hole. That one is still in the scripting phase with Travis Beacham (Clash of The Titans, Pacific Rim) working on it. The other is an original concept from Kosinski titled Oblivion. The studio has hired Oscar winning writer William Monahan (Departed, Kingdom of Heaven) to handle the script. The film revolves around a repairman named Jak who finds himself on a life-altering adventure after he discovers a mysterious woman in a crashed pod

Christian Bale To Star In Chinese Epic Nanjing Heroes

Christian Bale is coming into his own lately with his performance in The Fighter gathering tons of Oscar buzz. He's also primed to start production The Dark Knight Rises in the fall. His next project according to TheHollywoodReporter will be Nanjing Heroes a film focusing on the Japanese invasion of Nanjing during 1937 that lead to the Nanjing Massacre.

It's not new subject matter for Bale as a child actor he starred in Steven Spielberg's Empire of The Sun. Where he played a young British boy living in China and is forced into an interment camp but still idolizes Japanese pilots. The era has also been used as settings for recent films such as Shanghai and City of War.

The Chinese production will cost $90 million and will be the one of the most expensive films made in China along with John Woo's Red Cliff. It will be directed by Zhang Yimou who is best known to western audiences for making the Jet Li epic Hero. Zhang has hired Dark Side FX to handle the film's effects they've worked on Saving Private Ryan and The Dark Knight.

TRAILER: Hanna

My Top 10 Films of 2010

2010 was full of great and not so great flicks. Here is my list of my favorite ten films of year. I based this on my personal scale of enjoyment. Of course I will put out a revised version when I see films like True Grit and The Fighter.

MY TOP 10 Films of 2010

  1. The Social Network
  2. Inception
  3. The Town
  4. Kick-Ass
  5. Scott Pilgrim
  6. 127 Hours
  7. Shutter Island
  8. Black Swan
  9. Nowhere Boy
  10. Animal Kingdom




HONORABLE MENTIONS

BEST HORROR: Let Me In

BEST ACTION: The Expendables & Machete

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE:  Snabba Cash (Sweden)

BEST ANIMATED: How To Train Your Dragon

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS

1. Iron Man 2
2. Wolfman
3. The A-Team
4. Daybreakers
5. MacGruber

Red Epic 3D Cameras Will Be Used For Alien Prequel

Cinematographer Dariusz Wolski confirms via BleedingCool Ridley Scott's Alien Prequel (aka Paradise) will also be using the revolutionary Red Epic 3D camera system. Wolski is a very talented cinematographer working on all four Pirates of The Caribbean films, Alice In Wonderland, The Crow and Dark City. His addition along with art director Peter Dorme (Goldeneye, Casino Royale, Dark Knight, Sunshine, John Carter of Mars,) and production designer Arthur Max (Se7en, American Gangster, Gladiator, Robin Hood) makes for a excellent crew being lined up for the films. Other high profile productions using the Red Epics include Peter Jackson's Hobbit and Marc Webb's Spider-Man. Noomi Rapace is still rumored as the frontrunner for the lead role but zero casting announcements have been made by the studio.

TRAILER: PAUL

Schwarzenegger & Tom Arnold Teaming Up For Expendables 2?

Tom Arnold was talking up a new film with former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Howard Stern yesterday. He didn't name the project but does admit the roles are similar to the ones they had in True Lies. While Tom previously mentioned a sequel to True Lies months back which seems unlikely. I believe it very well could be Expendables 2 and it makes sense. Arnold is expected to return to acting and his cameo in Expendables led many to think it was foreshadowing him returning for larger role in the sequel.

Bruce Willis will play the film's main villain and Charlie Sheen is rumored for a role. Sly is also rumored to be in talks with Jean Claude Van Damme who turned down a role in first film. I expect the next film is going to be bigger, louder and feature more body counts (if that's even possible).

Bana, Wilde & Hunnam In Talks To Star In KIN

Variety reports Eric Bana and Olivia Wilde (Tron, Cowboys & Aliens) are in talks for KIN. It focuses on two desperate sibling fugitives (Bana, Wilde) on the run who subsequently collide with the holiday homecoming of a troubled ex-boxer. Charlie Hunnam (Green Street Hooligans, Sons of Anarchy) is being pursued for the role of an ex-boxer.

Oscar winning director Stefan Ruzowitzky (The Counterfeiters) will helm the thriller. Stefan's next film is the Dracula horror flick The Last Voyage of Demeter which has Noomi Rapace and Ben Kingsley attached to star.

Eric Bana In Talks For Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter

TheWrap reports that Eric Bana (Star Trek, Munich) is considering the lead role in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. The film produced by Tim Burton and directed by Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted) is based on the novel by Seth Grahame-Smith (Pride & Prejudice & Zombies). It features the President fighting and killing creatures of the night. Tom Hardy had once shown interest but I doubt it was for the role of Lincoln.

Director For Mark Millar's Superior To Be Announcent In 2011

Mark Millar might run his mouth on a regular basis even more so when it comes to the progress of Kick-Ass 2. Yet he is somewhat reliable when it comes to his comics becoming films. Recently Tony Scott signed on to direct Nemesis which Millar believes should star Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp.

Now there is word from Millar via an interview with TheList that his newest comic Superior is also getting the film treatment. While he doesn't give us a hint who is directing or even the studio. Mark teases an announcement for film's director will be released in January.

A name Mark has thrown around for the lead is Jon Hamm. If Hamm doesn't get the Superman job which is very likely. This could be an excellent consultation prize. The story takes influences from Superman, Thor and Shazam! combining elements of their mythologies.

George Clooney Joins Sandra Bullock In Gravity

HeatVision reports that George Clooney will replace Robert Downey Jr. in Alfonso Cuarón's (Children of Men) Gravity. The site also confirms that Sandra Bullock will indeed star in the lead. Previously Angelina Jolie had been attached but left to focus on her directorial debut. Then a slew of talented young actresses were tested for the role they included Marion Cotillard, Scarlett Johansson, Blake Lively and Natalie Portman.

I'm excited to see Alfonso jump into the space side of science fiction but hesitant to picture Bullock in the film. It centers on a female astronaut struggling to survive and trying to make it to Earth after a disaster in space.