HBO picks up Game of Thrones for Series

First official photo from HBO's Game of Thrones - Click to Enlarge

The Hollywood Reporter and several other outlets are reporting that HBO has given the greenlight for a ten episode order of Game of Thrones. The TV series, which is based on George R.R. Martin’s extremely popular A Song of Ice and Fire novels, shot its pilot in the UK and Morocco late last year. Thrones stars Sean Bean (Goldeneye, Lord of the Rings) and Lena Headey (300, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) as well as a whole host of recognizable actors, including Peter Dinklage (The Station Agent) and Jason Momoa (Stargate: Atlantis), who was recently cast as Conan in the new Conan the Barbarian film. The series is being produced by novelist and screenwriter David Benioff, the man behind 25th Hour, Troy and more recently Brothers.

Game of Thrones is set in the medieval world of Westeros, where rival houses vie for control of the Iron Throne that controls the seven kingdoms. The fictional medieval setting doesn’t necessarily mean high fantasy; there are no elves or orcs in Game of Thrones. The focus is less on the fantastical or magical and more on political machinations and brutal battles. Game of Thrones was pitched to HBO as “The Sopranos meets Lord of the Rings” and that’s not far off from what Thrones is.

I’m not a big fantasy guy, but I count the Song of Ice and Fire series amongst my favourite books. Television critics have been amazed by the unprecedented amount of hype that the pilot for Thrones has generated; based on that fact alone HBO was wise to pick up the series. Great writing combined with the wonderful cast they’ve assembled for the show and HBO production values makes Game of Thrones the must watch show of next year.

Game of Thrones is set to begin filming in June on track for a television debut in Winter 2011.

Christopher Nolan to Godfather Superman Pre-Production

Deadline Hollywood is reporting that miracle-working director Christoper Nolan (The Dark Knight, Inception) is set to take a “godfather” role for pre-production work on the upcoming Superman reboot. Talks about bringing the Man of Steel back on the big screen have ramped up recently, with the news about Nolan just coming today. Warner Bros. plans to abandon Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns storyline (which itself was a continuation of the storyline from the original Superman films) and totally reboot the franchise; new actors would be cast.  While there are no tentative plans for Nolan to direct the film, DC has certainly lent some credibility to the new Superman film by putting him in this executive position.

Nolan is at the top of his game coming off The Dark Knight, it’s awesome that he’s involved with the new Superman movie. With Nolan’s brother Jonah and David Goyer allegedly hard at work on the script for The Dark Knight follow-up and Martin Campbell’s Green Lantern already in production it looks like were in for some great stuff from Warner Bros. and DC Comics.  Makes you wonder if DC wants to follow the Marvel formula and start building a cohesive universe for all of their films. Clark Kent is set to appear in the upcoming Green Lantern film, so they may have already planned to have the actor selected as the new Man of Steel debut in that film first.

Via Deadline Hollywood

Green Lantern Casts Sarsgaard, Strong and Lively

Hector Hammond, Carol Ferris aka Star Sapphire and Sinestro

The Hollywood Reporter confirmed this week that actor Peter Sarsgaard is in talks to play Hector Hammond, the super-brained DC Comics villain in the upcoming Green Lantern movie. Hammond is to be the primary antagonist of Ryan Reynolds’ Hal Jordan in the film.

Sarsgaard isn’t the only actor set to join Green Lantern though. Blake Lively, best known for her work on the TV series Gossip Girl, has been cast as Jordan’s main squeeze Carol Ferris. The Ferris character later becomes the villainous Star Sapphire in the comics, but Lively probably won’t have to deal with any of that in the film. However, that’s not the end of the Green Lantern casting news; While promoting his new film Edge of Darkness, director Martin Campbell shot down the rumours that Jackie Earle Haley (Little Children, Watchmen) was in talks to play Sinestro. Campbell revealed to MTV that Warner Bros. were in fact in negotiations with British actor Mark Strong (Sherlock Holmes, Kick-Ass) to play Hal Jordan’s mentor-turned-nemesis.

I think Strong is spot on for Sinestro.  Not only does he have the acting chops to make Sinestro work, but at 6′2 he’s also closer to the physically imposing presence the character has taken in more recent incarnations. Who would you prefer to see as Sinestro? Haley or Strong?

The film stars Ryan Reynolds and is set to start shooting in New Orleans this March. Green Lantern is due in theatres July 17th 2011.

Via The Hollywood Reporter and MTV Splash Page

Spider-Man 4 Canned; Reboot Planned

In what comes as surprising, but not totally unexpected news Deadline Hollywood has confirmed that Sony has scrapped Spider-Man 4. For months the film has been plagued by script problems, production delays and a May 2011 release date which was starting to look increasingly unrealistic. Sources report that director Sam Raimi told Sony Pictures that he could not “go forward creatively” with such a rushed production schedule. With Raimi’s departure Sony decided that they would rather scrap Spider-Man 4, replace Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst and start fresh.

So how does Sony plan to revive the franchise? By putting Peter Parker in high school naturally. That’s how you make things young and fresh, right? From the sounds of the press release Sony’s new Spider-Man film can be likened to Marvel’s Ultimate Spider-Man line in which the hero was literally a 15 year old high school kid. No director or actors are currently attached. Though Anton Yelchin and Michael Cera (Jesus Christ, WHY!?) have already been mentioned as potential replacements. The Spider-Man reboot is set for a 2012 release date.

This is probably a good thing for both the Spider-Man franchise and Sam Raimi. Spider-Man 3 was awful; the studio interfered too much and Raimi lost creative control, the result was a bloated, mess of a movie. Spider-Man 4 seemed to be heading in the same direction: too many villains (Black Cat, The Vulture and The Vulturess(!?) too much going on and too many story threads needing resolution. A fresh start with a younger Peter Parker (Maguire will be 36 in June) will be a good thing. Plus now Raimi is free to work on other projects like his new Evil Dead movie… and the World of Warcraft film. On second thought, maybe Sony should reconsider Raimi and spare us all what is sure to be an awful, awful Warcraft film.

Director Morel Controls the Spice, Controls Dune

Paramount Pictures has found a new director for their adaptation of Frank Herbert’s landmark science fiction novel Dune.  Director Pierre Morel (Banlieue 13, Taken) replaces Peter Berg who had been attached to the project for some time.  This will be the second film adaptation of Dune, the first being David Lynch’s abortive 1984 attempt.  The Sci-Fi channel also made two decent TV miniseries based on the novels.

Morel is an action director, his version will probably become a tentpole sci-fi action vehicle and have none of the heady themes or political drama that were present in Herbert’s novel.  Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert, authors of the more recent Dune novels are also said to be consulting on the production.  Given the quality (or lack thereof) of their novels, Anderson and Herbert’s involvement does not get my hopes up for the film.

The Dune franchise has had a storied history being brought to the screen.  David Lynch’s Dune was a financial disaster, a ballooning budget and creative differences with producer Dino de Laurentis resulted in the director losing control and subsequently disowning the project.  However, Lynch’s version wasn’t the first attempt to bring Herbert’s work to the big screen; in the mid-1970’s Chilean director Alejandro Jodorowsky (El Topo, Santa Sangre) teamed with surrealist Salvador Dali to make a ten hour version of Dune. The film was well into pre-production —with a team that included legendary sci-fi artists Moebius and H.R. Giger—when it fell apart due to differences (both financial and artistic) between Jodorowsky and Dali.  Jodorowsky has written about the Dune film he never got to make, which would have included Orson Welles, Alain Delon, Mick Jagger and music by Pink Floyd.

After Jodorowsky’s effort collapsed, producer Dino de Laurentis bought the rights to Dune and hired Ridley Scott to direct the film.  Scott’s version went deep into pre-production, H.R. Giger was even doing designs for this version.  However, Scott eventually quit the project to make a little sci-fi film called Alien, which Giger also did design work for. Producer de Laurentis hired David Lynch to replace Scott, the end result was an ambitious but rather unfortunate film.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that many people have attempted to make a movie of Dune, all of them more talented than Pierre Morel.  That’s not meant as a shot at the guy, merely a statement of fact.  He’s a competent director and I’ve enjoyed his films.  I just don’t think he’s cut out for Dune, or at least the version of Dune that I’d like to see.

Via Entertainment Weekly

First Tron: Legacy Poster and Still

UK site HEYUGUYS! has the first poster and official still for Disney’s upcoming Tron: Legacy.  The sequel to the 1980’s cult classic Tron is being helmed by first time director Joseph Kosinski and stars Garrett Hedlund as Sam Flynn.  Sam is the son of Kevin Flynn, a role that Jeff Bridges will reprise in the new film.  The film also stars Olivia Wilde (House, Alpha Dog) and Micheal Sheen (Frost/Nixon, The Queen).

Unlike most people, I’m not a huge fan of the original film.  To be fair Tron was definitely ahead of it’s time though.  Plus the teaser trailer that went live recently looks totally cool.  I think the poster is a bit of a snoozer, but the still definitely shows that the film is going to be as dark and visually impressive as the original.

Tron: Legacy is set for release in December 2010.

Via HEYUGUYS!

Malkovich and Hathaway are Spider-Man 4 Villains?

Dropped pre-production sketch from Spider-Man 3

Movieline has posted a solid rumour regarding casting for Spider-Man 4.  Allegedly, the main villains on deck for the sequel are The Vulture and… The Vulturess?

John Malkovich and Anne Hathaway are rumoured to be in negotiations to play the Vulture and as the Vulturess respectively.  The Vulturess is being described as a sidekick/assistant to the Vulture.  This could be great, Malkovich was actually almost cast as the Green Goblin in the first film.  Many people are wondering why the Vulture keeps popping up as a villain;  Director Sam Raimi has always been a fan of the character and has stated previously that he wanted to have a villain with a human face/element rather than simply being overtly superhuman.  As for Anne Hathaway, I have no clue who the the Vulturess is, but she’s a solid choice.

I was hoping Raimi would use the Lizard for Spider-Man 4, his character (pre-transformation) played by actor Dylan Baker has appeared all the previous movies.  People have also been rooting for fan-favorite Mysterio to have a role, naturally played by Bruce “The Chin” Campbell.  Personally, I think the Vulture sucks and that they should go for Kraven or Mysterio instead.  And isn’t Black Cat supposed to be in the film too?  We saw what happened with too many villains/characters in Spider-Man 3.

Via Movie Line

Ubisoft Toronto Studio Location Announced

Ubisoft Toronto

After months of rumour and speculation, Ubisoft today announced the location for its new Toronto game development studio.  Ubisoft Toronto will be located at 224 Wallace Avenue in the city’s West end, just north of Bloor and Lansdowne.  The location was actually deduced by an intrepid fan yesterday thanks to some hints from Employee #1, but we now have official confirmation.

No word yet as to which “triple A” franchise Ubisoft will be bringing to the GTA.  Though it must be noted that Jade Raymond, producer on the first two Assassin’s Creed titles, has been named President of the new studio.  Given her presence all signs point to Assassin’s Creed 3.  Anything is possible though, perhaps Sam Fisher, a Persian prince or a new character entirely will make T.O. their new home.  The studio is set to open very soon, so expect the job postings to start any day now.  Check out Ubisoft Employee #1’s Facebook page and Twitter for updates.

Also make sure you check out our interview with Employee #1 for more info.

New Iron Man 2 Images

Yahoo Movies has the first look at the Iron Man 2 poster.  It features the first official look atTony Stark’s sometimes-friend-sometimes-enemy War Machine.  Click the picture to embiggen.  The site has also posted some new shots of Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow and Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark.

The only other glimpse we’ve seen of War Machine was from the blurry cell phone video shot at the San Diego Comic Con.  Word is that the teaser trailer form Iron Man 2 will debut with Sherlock Holmes (another Downey Jr. starring film) on Christmas Day.

See the Iron Man 2 photos here.

Thor adds Asano, Stevenson and Townsend

The cast for Kenneth Branagh’s Thor just keeps getting better and better.  Twitch is reporting that the big screen adaptation of Marvel’s Norse hero has added three more extremely talented actors to its already stellar cast.  Tadanobu Asano (Ichi the Killer, Mongol), Ray Stevenson (Rome, Punisher: Warzone) and Stuart Townsend (Queen of the Damned, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) are set to “play Warrior’s Three, a trio of Asgardian adventurers who fight alongside the Norse god.”

It’s exciting to see these three join the cast, particularly Asano.  The enigmatic actor’s presence has me even more intrigued by Branagh’s production.  Stevenson is no stranger to the Marvel universe, having played Frank Castle in the recent Punisher sequel.  In addition, his role as Titus Pullo on the HBO series Rome secured his place as a legendary onscreen bad ass.  Townsend is a talented guy, he deserves a chance to redeem himself after the mess that was The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Cameras begin rolling on Thor this January in Los Angeles, with a release date set for May 20th, 2011.

Via Twitch Film

Toronto Reel Asian Film Fest Starts This Week

The Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival starts tonight and runs from November 11th to the 15th.  Showcasing the best in contemporary Asian cinema, Reel Asian is in its 13th year.  The festival has a really awesome lineup of films this year, if you’re looking for a different kind of film experience this week I urge you to check out Reel Asian.

The festival opens tonight with Overheard; the new film from Alan Mak & Felix Chong, creators of the Infernal Affairs trilogy.  Another highlight is sure to be the South Korean film Breathless, which recently won the Best Feature Film jury prize at Montreal’s Fantasia Film Fest.  Also make sure you’re there to see the return of kung fu to The Royal Cinema; Colin Geddes is co-presenting the very first Canadian screening of the 1929 martial arts film Red Heroine; super rare stuff.  If you’ve never seen a silent era martial arts film (who the hell has?!), don’t miss your opportunity to see this presentation featuring a live musical accompaniment.  They even got artist Kagan McLeod of Infinite Kung Fu fame to create a very cool poster for the film.

There is so much other great stuff playing at the fest, so be sure to check out the full schedule on the Official Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival site.

Anthony Hopkins to play Thor’s Daddy

The Heat Vision Blog has some intriguing news about Kenneth Branagh’s big screen adaptation of Marvel Comics Thor, both on the casting and story front.  Word has come down that Sir Anthony Hopkins is in negotiations to play Odin, the chief god of Asgard and the father of Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston).  The film sees Thor banished to Earth, forced to live among humanity.  However, when evil forces from Asgard threaten his new home Thor attempts to redeem himself.  Ah, the good old cast-down-god-seeks-redemption story, don’t see that very often.

Hopkins joins a great cast that includes Colm Feore, Natalie Portman and allegedly Robert De Niro and Jude Law.  With Branagh at the helm and a cast like that, the film is shaping up to be one of the most interesting Marvel projects to date.  Thor is certainly heavy on acting talent, hopefully Branagh can match that with a solid story and great action.  Only time will tell, Thor is due in theatres May 20th 2011.