Behind The Films

Since Rich Ross became chairman of Walt Disney Studios, three high profile films have been scrapped. The third, Wild Hogs 2: Bachelor Ride” has been cancelled for unknown reasons. They recently cancelled ‘Captain Nemo: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’ and ‘Wedding Banned’.

The sequel, which was meant to begin filming next Summer, was continuing from where the last film left off – with Dudley due to marry his sweetheart Maggie.

John Travolta, Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy were set to reprise their roles, with Walt Becker back in the directing chair. Becker’s recent release of ‘Old Dogs’ did not do well at the box office and has not had very positive reviews.

It’s not clear exactly why this film was scrapped, however we do know that new writers were in the process of being hired this week. Original screenwriter Brad Copeland had written the script for the sequel.

Source: Variety

Well Bryan Singer has just let slip that he will be returning to the X-men franchise to direct X-Men: First Class. I think this is great news. I also think I’m the only person that actually loved Superman Returns. I have total faith in Singer. After the crap that was X-Men Origins: Wolverine, I was beginning to think the franchise was dead. Let’s hope this reinvigorates and re inspires all involved.

Singer was at the Avatar screening where he told the Myspace television crew (Myspace has a television crew?):

“I’m ramping up to do a movie called ‘Jack the Giant Killer’ at Warner Bros, and I just yesterday signed a deal to do an ‘X-Men’ First Class Origins’ picture, which is kind of cool. I’m very excited.”

X-Mean: First Class is part of the new ‘Origins’ series and will focus on the early days of Cyclops and the rest of the Xavier lead crew.

Source: SuperHeroHype

Well here it is! And boy is it BAD ASS. I’m pretty speechless, you’ve got to check it out for yourself! Check it out here or to watch it in Quicktime HD click here.

We’ve also got to thank Mirko P. for figuring out the clues from the viral campaign and unlocking this trailer!

Source: Apple, Trailer Addict

The Hollywood Reporter have reported that DreamWorks have acquired the rights to the 1982 novel, ‘War Horse’. It was originally written by Michael Morpurgo, and Lee Hall has been hired to write the screenplay.

Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Revel Guest are on the production team.

Morpurgo’s book tells the epic tale of a friendship between a boy and a horse, who are separated, but whose fates continue to be intertwined over the course of World War I. “Horse” was a runner-up for the Whitbread Award.

“From the moment I read Michael Morpurgo’s novel ‘War Horse’ I knew this was a film I wanted DreamWorks to make,” said Spielberg. “Its heart and its message provide a story that can be felt in every country.”

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

The nominations for the 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards were announced yesterday by The Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The awards show will be hosted by Ricky Gervais on January 17 at 8pm on NBC.

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Avatar (20th Century Fox)
The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment)
Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company)
Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire (Lionsgate)
Up in the Air (Paramount Pictures)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Emily Blunt – The Young Victoria
Sandra Bullock – The Blind Side
Helen Mirren – The Last Station
Carey Mulligan – An Education
Gabourey Sidibe – Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart
George Clooney – Up in the Air
Colin Firth – A Single Man
Morgan Freeman – Invictus
Tobey Maguire – Brothers

BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
(500) Days of Summer (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
The Hangover (Warner Bros. Pictures)
It’s Complicated (Universal Pictures)
Julie & Julia (Columbia Pictures)
Nine (The Weinstein Company)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Sandra Bullock – The Proposal
Marion Cotillard – Nine
Julia Roberts – Duplicity
Meryl Streep – It’s Complicated
Meryl Streep – Julie & Julia

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Matt Damon – The Informant!
Daniel Day-Lewis – Nine
Robert Downey Jr. – Sherlock Holmes
Joseph Gordon-Levitt – (500) Days of Summer
Michael Stuhlbarg – A Serious Man

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (Sony Pictures Animation)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Coraline (Focus Features)
The Princess and the Frog (Walt Disney Pictures)
Up (Disney•Pixar)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Baaria (Italy)
Broken Embraces (Spain)
The Maid (Chile)
A Prophet (France)
The White Ribbon (Germany)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Penelope Cruz – Nine
Vera Farmiga – Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick – Up in the Air
Mo’Nique – Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire
Julianne Moore – A Single Man

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Matt Damon – Invictus
Woody Harrelson – The Messenger
Christopher Plummer – The Last Station
Stanley Tucci – The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds

BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE
Kathryn Bigelow – The Hurt Locker
James Cameron – Avatar
Clint Eastwood – Invictus
Jason Reitman – Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino – Inglourious Basterds

BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE
Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell – District 9
Mark Boal – The Hurt Locker
Nancy Meyers – It’s Complicated
Jason Reitman – Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino – Inglourious Basterds

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE
Michael Giacchino – Up
Marvin Hamlisch – The Informant!
James Horner – Avatar
Abel Korzeniowski – A Single Man
Karen O and Carter Burwell – Where the Wild Things Are

BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE
“Cinema Italiano”; Mysic & Lyrics by Mary Yeston – Nine
“I Want to Come Home”; Music & Lyrics by Paul McCartney – Everybody’s Fine
“I Will See You”; Music by James Horner and Simon Franglen, Lyrics by James Horner, Sion Franglen and Kuk Harrell – Avatar
“The Weary Kind (Theme From Crazy Heart)”; Music & Lyrics by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett – Crazy Heart
“Winter”; Music by U2, Lyrics by Bono – Brothers

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
“Big Love” (HBO)
“Dexter” (Showtime)
“House” (Fox)
“Mad Men” (AMC)
“True Blood” (HBO)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Glenn Close – “Damages”
January Jones – “Mad Men”
Julianna Margulies – “The Good Wife”
Anna Paquin – “True Blood”
Kyra Sedgwick – “The Closer”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Simon Baker – “The Mentalist”
Michael C. Hall – “Dexter”
Jon Hamm – “Mad Men”
Hugh Laurie – “House”
Bill Paxton – “Big Love”

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
“30 Rock” (NBC)
“Entourage” (HBO)
“Glee” (Fox)
“Modern Family” (ABC)
“The Office” (NBC)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Toni Collette – “United States of Tara”
Courteney Cox – “Cougar Town”
Edie Falco – “Nurse Jackie”
Tina Fey – “30 Rock”
Lea Michele – “Glee”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Alec Baldwin – “30 Rock”
Steve Carell – “The Office”
David Duchovny – “Californication”
Thomas Jane – “Hung”
Matthew Morrison – “Glee”

BEST MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
“Georgia O’Keeffe” (Lifetime Television)
“Grey Gardens” (HBO)
“Into the Storm” (HBO)
“Little Dorrit” (PBS)
“Taking Chance” (HBO)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Joan Allen – “Georgia O’Keeffe”
Drew Barrymore – “Grey Gardens”
Jessica Lange – “Grey Gardens”
Anna Paquin – “The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler”
Sigourney Weaver – “Prayers for Bobby”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Kevin Bacon – “Taking Chance”
Kenneth Branagh – “Wallander: One Step Behind”
Chiwetel Ejiofor – “Endgame”
Brendan Gleeson – “Into the Storm”
Jeremy Irons – “Georgia O’Keeffe”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Jane Adams – “Hung”
Rose Byrne – “Damages”
Jane Lynch – “Glee”
Janet McTeer – “Into the Storm”
Chloe Sevigny – “Big Love”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Michael Emerson – “Lost”
Neil Patrick Harris – “How I Met Your Mother”
William Hurt – “Damages”
John Lithgow – “Dexter”
Jeremy Piven – “Entourage”

Source: ComingSoon

The poster for Christopher Nolan’s Inception hit the Interwebs today. We’ll get the second longer trailer with Sherlock Holmes. Inception stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, and Michael Caine. I’m expecting great things from this one. Inception is in theaters July 16th.

Source: Joblo

Ridley Scott is one of my favorite directors currently working which automatically puts ‘Robin Hood’ high on my must see list for 2010. The first trailer for Robin Hood hit the internet tubes today check it out embedded below:

Or check it out in glorious HD on Apple.com.

‘Robin Hood’ hits theaters on May 14th 2010.

MTV have cast Tyler Posey, Tyler Hoechlin, Crystal Reed and Dylan O’Brien in their upcoming ‘reinvention’ of 1985 film, Teen Wolf.

“MTV’s take on the film, which starred Michael J. Fox as a high-school student who discovers he is a werewolf, is a dramatic thriller with a buddy-comedy element at the center and a romantic plot line.

It revolves around Scott McCall (Posey), a dorky high-school student who gets a rush of new powers, including the ability to attract girls, after a wolf attack.”

The pilot has been scripted by the creator of Criminal Minds, Jeff Davis.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

ComingSoon attended the London press conference for Avatar today, where James Cameron mentioned a possible Avatar sequel.

He said that because so much went into creating the world in Avatar, it makes sense to use that to make more films. “Actually, when I pitched this to 20th Century Fox four-and-a-half years ago, I said, ‘You know, we’re going to spend a lot of money and time and energy creating not only a process but the assets, the CG assets, we call them – all the models of every rock and tree and plant and creature and the muscle rigs for all the creatures and the facial rigging for the main characters and all that’… huge, millions and millions of dollars. So it really makes sense to think of it as the potential start of a franchise, if you will, or a saga that plays out over several acts, each movie being an act of that saga. And I have it mapped out, but I haven’t written the scripts yet. And it all depends on whether we do well with the first film. But that was certainly the intention from the beginning – to create a foundation for a persistent world.”

With Avatar being released at the end of the coming week and with positive reviews already flying around the internet, it’ll be interesting to see how long it takes for the sequel(s) to develop. That’s not to say James Cameron doesn’t have any other projects lined up. He’s considering ‘Battle Angel’ – and was asked at this interview whether he would do this before the Avatar sequel.

“Not necessarily, that’s part of the decision making process.”

He is also planning to produce the upcoming ‘Fantastic Voyage’ which is being scripted now.

Source: ComingSoon