William Monahan Writing/Directing Remake Of Becket

This news is almost a year old but it's still worth mentioning. Deadline reports that William Monahan's next directorial effort will be Becket based on the play by Jean Anouilh which he'll also write. Monahan is best known for writing the Departed which earned him an Oscar. I loved Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven which William wrote to see him revisit this genre is exciting. That being said Monahan's first film London Boulevard had a star-studded cast but was disappointing overall.

Better Look At Cobie Smulders As Maria Hill In Avengers

Steve McQueen's 12 Years A Slave Adds Fassbender

ShowBlitz originally reported that Steve McQueen's next film would be 12 Years A Slave. It tells the true story of Solomon Northrup, a New York citizen who’s kidnapped in Washington in 1841 and rescued from a cotton plantation in Louisiana in 1853. Chiwetel Ejiofor (Children Of Men) is playing the lead role and is slowly developing a serious acting presence similar to Michael Fassbender. McQueen is looking to add his good luck charm as Variety reports Fassbender is going to have a role in the film.

Steve McQueen came out of nowhere for me when his stunning film Hunger was released a few years ago. It was a excellent debut film for the new writer/director and it showed off Michael Fassbender's serious dramatic acting chops. Their latest film Shame is looking like it could be the film to beat during award season. The paring of McQueen and Fassbender is being compared to the early relationship of Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro, which is fair to say.

Powerful Trailer For Steve McQueen's Shame Starring Michael Fassbender

Tom Savini Joins Django Unchained

ThePlaylist has picked up a on report that special effects guru and genre character actor Tom Savini has joined Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained. Savini is a regular in Robert Rodriguez's films with roles in Planet Terror, Machete and From Dusk Till Dawn written/co-starring Quentin. The film already stars Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson, Dennis Christopher, Kurt Russell, Laura Cayouette,  M.C. Gainey, Don Johnson and Michael K. Williams.

Major Updates On Die Hard 5!

Die Hard 5 is quickly coming together with the official title of A Good Day To Die Hard and the release date of February 14th 2013. John Moore (Behind Enemy Lines) will be directing with Bruce Willis coming back for one more ride as the iconic John McClane. The fifth film follows McClane as he travels to Russia to get his son out of jail, but accidentally uncovers a terrorist plot.

Variety reports a shortlist of actors who will test for the role of McClane's son. The list includes Ben Foster (Messenger, Rampart, Mechanic), Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), Milo Ventimiglia (Pathology, Gamer) and Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood, Cowboys & Aliens). Paul Walker is also a studio hopeful but will not be testing. There is talk that this actor will carry on the Die Hard franchise similar to how Jeremy Renner is replacing Tom Cruise for future Mission Impossible films. Knowing that this actor could keep the franchise going I'd prefer Ben Foster getting the job since he's able to handle drama and mindless action. Yet, I wouldn't count out Milo and Aaron who are both interesting enough to keep up with Willis.

Director Patty Jenkins Confirmed For Thor 2, Release Date Moved

Deadline has the official press release from Marvel Studios announcing that Monster director Patty Jenkins has been hired to make Thor 2. The sequel had just been pushed back to November 15th 2013 so Disney could fit The Lone Ranger into their summer lineup. Hopefully this could mean a bigger spectacle with an extra four months to complete post-production special effects. While Kenneth Branagh won't be directing he is still producing the film and likely contributing from the sidelines. Jenkins is the second female director to make a Marvel film and is an excellent choice in my opinion. It's expected that the original cast will return along with talk of expanding the cast of Asgardians.

I'd like to see Patty cast Swedish actor Joel Kinnaman (Snabba Cash 1-2, Dragon Tattoo, Safe House, Darkest Hour) in a role. She previously worked with Joel when Jenkins directed the pilot episode of The Killing which earned her an Emmey nomination. Joel was one of the finalists for the role of Thor that included Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston. Hiddleston ended up landing the meatier role of Loki and is one of the best aspects of current run of Marvel films. It could be interesting to see Kinnaman in the role of Balder or one of the villains such as such as Malekith. Marvel might to move quickly before he gets cast in Steven Soderbergh's budding spy franchise The Man From UNCLE.


Another possibility is that Charlize Theron might re-team with Patty who helped earn her Best Actress Oscar for Monster. Theron is looking to make a powerful comeback after a batch sluggish films with roles in Jason Reitman's Young Adult, Ridley Scott's Prometheus and George Miller's Max Mad Fury Road. Not to mention starring alongside Thor himself Chris Hemsworth in Snow White And The Huntsman. I think she'd be great for Amora The Enchantress , Brunnhilde The Valkyrie or the villain Hela.

The only problem is that Fury Road is expected to start production in March and there are rumors of a sequel being at the same time.  That's of course if she can work it into her busy production for Mad Max. However, with the new release date and a spring production start Marvel would have plenty of time to accommodate Theron's other commitments.

Eduardo Noriega Joins The Last Stand

Variety reports that Spainish actor Eduardo Noriega (Devil's Backbone, Captain Alatriste) will play Cortez in The Last Stand. This villain is a ruthless drug cartel kingpin who is on the run to the Mexican boarder with $400 million dollars. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays the grizzled Sheiff who heads up a relativly new group of deputies who patrol the small town Cortez ends up in with his hired guns. The film also stars Rodrigo Santoro, Jaimie Alexander (Thor), Peter Stormare and Zach Gilford. It will be directed by Kim Jee-Woon (I Saw The Devil) with a release date of January 18th 2013.

Prometheus' Noomi Rapace Reveals Elizabeth Shaw's Backstory

While talking to MovieWeb, Noomi Rapace revealed some non-spoiler details about her character in Prometheus. Elizabeth Shaw is expected to be the central character which may or may not be similar to Ripley. Rapace gives some insight into the backstory of Shaw that ultimately gives us more depth than any previous character in the Alien franchise.

"I play Elizabeth Shaw, researcher and archaeologist. She's British but was raised in Africa because her father was a missionary. From him she learned to believe in God, and she has a strong inner self. She is the most complete person I have ever played. She has an inner light. She's very stubborn and determined. She lost her parents when she was a child, so she's been alone from a young age. But she's very intelligent. I know that when one has to survive alone from an early age, one becomes strong. But also fragile, because the hurt child within her hasn't been able to evolve in a natural way. You get easily hurt emotionally. She's full of hope, a dreamer, a little naive. Halfway through the movie a lot of things happen and she turns into a fighter. Another part of her comes to life."

Screenwriter Damon Lindelof recently confirmed that Vickers (Charlize Theron) would be in charge of the company that is funding the mission which is a change up from the familiar company stooge. He also stated David (Michael Fassbender) is indeed an android. During Comic-Con Ridley Scott confirmed the film would have at least two androids in the movie if not more, David now being one of them. There has been talk that Prometheus could be told from the point of view of androids.

Don Johnson Joins Django Unchained

Variety reports that Don Johnson (Miami Vice, Machete) has a role in Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained. While his role is unnamed it's expected the part is one of the few meaty ones left.

Director Nacho Vigalondo Talks Mark Millar's Supercrooks

Crave was able to talk to Spanish director Nacho Vigalondo (Timecrimes) about his adaptation of Mark Millar's Supercrooks. He gives some insight to how the film will look like compared to other comic book movies. Stating like the Godfather, it would be from the point of view from the villains with the super heroes as background players. It sounds like there could be a power struggle among the villains which could make for an interesting concept. Nacho also mentions there is already a script in place.  

"I’m involved in Supercrooks and Windows. Those are my next projects and it really depends on them what comes first. Those are two projects are in a really advanced situation. I didn’t write them. The scripts are already made so I hope they happen. Supercrooks is not a superhero film. It’s a supervillain film. Mark Millar explained to me that when you watch The Godfather, it’s about criminals all the time. You don’t get to see the cops in those films. It’s always about the mafia. In this case it’s the same. We’re going to show only supervillains and not superheroes. Superheroes are in the background."

Matthew Vaughn Making Mark Millar's Superior Into Movie

CBM has a press release that confirms writer/director Matthew Vaughn (X-Men First Class) has obtained the film rights to Mark Millar's (Wanted, Kick-Ass) comic Superior. Millar had mentioned that he had been in talks with directors and studios but nothing was ever announced. Superior focuses on a young boy multiple sclerosis who is granted his wish to become his favorite superhero by aliens.

It's assumed that Vaughn would direct the film but unknown when it would start production. Matthew is likely getting pressure from 20th Century Fox to deliver a First Class sequel by summer 2013. I would expect that Jane Goldman will also be involved with the script process. Jon Hamm (The Town, Mad Men) has been rumored as the ideal actor for the role of the hero. There had been an online campaign to get Hamm cast as the new Superman in Man of Steel. Hamm opted out stating he was too old for the part. It would make sense to cast Jon in Superior since the hero is a Superman archetype and could be any age.

Arnold Schwarzenegger tweeted this first image from the set of Expendables 2. Which shows Arnold alongside Stallone and Bruce Willis. I'm beyond excited for this action star filled epic in the making.

First Trailer For The Avengers

Ben Foster Joins Prometheus, Patrick Wilson & Guy Pearce Confirmed

JoBlo reported back in July that Ben Foster (Messenger, Mechanic, Pandorum) had joined Ridley Scott's Prometheus. Along with that older news, rumored additions Guy Pearce (Memento) and Patrick Wilson (Watchmen) have been confirmed for the film.