Movie Talk 9

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Jim Carrey as The Colonel in 'Kick-Ass 2'

As filming on the sequel to Kick-Ass begins this week, it sounds like we have some confirmation of an exciting cast addition. Just a couple a weeks ago we heard that Jim Carrey was being offered the role of The Colonel in the sequel directed by Cry_Wolf helmer Jeff Wadlow. Now it looks like an update on Twitter (via ScreenRant) from the filmmaker himself seems to confirm Carrey's involvement as the new character who joins Justice Forever, the team of new heroes, including Kick-Ass (Aaron Johnson), who unite to take down Red Mist and his team of villains. Wadlow tweeted a couple days ago, "6 days till we start shooting… and we officially have our Colonel. Alrighty f’n then." As you an see, he doesn't mention Carrey by name, but using a more profane version of his Ace Ventura's signature "Alrighty then" line pretty much seals the deal. This will be the first comic book flick since Carrey took on the role of The Riddler in Batman Forever, a performance that was perfect for the actor, but just happened to exist in a subpar Batman film that returned the hero to his cheesy, 60s TV roots. But knowing how dark and twisted the Kick-Ass comics are, I think this will be something very refreshing for Carrey and all the fans who have been waiting for another great performance. If the movie sticks to the comic, there's a good chance Carrey might have a counterpart as The Colonel used to work for John Genovese (the character is Mark Strong's Frank D'Amico in the movie), but joins Justice Forever along with a henchman who becomes Lieutenant Stripes. Since this is a fairly highly anticipated project, I'd imagine we'll get some kind of official press release announcing the start of production, complete with confirmation that Carrey is indeed part of the cast along with new members Donald Faison playing Dr. Gravity and Robert Emms playing Insect Man, two members of the superhero team. The Kick-Ass sequel hits theaters June 28th, 2013. Stay tuned.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

The Big Bang Theory: The Last Season?

Producer Chuck Lorre is seriously thinking the show's time might be up, after concerns that the series may become stale. Speaking to Deadline, Chuck expressed concerns that the comedy could become repetitive, saying: "You don't want to repeat yourself. After 100-some-odd episodes, redundancy is looming." Chuck also argued that the success of the show, which is just about to start its sixth season, doesn't make it any easier to produce. "That has nothing to do with what you do every day - just to try and find a good story and execute it," he insisted. But actress Kaley Cuoco, who plays Penny, recently told Digital Spy that she wants the show to run for ten years in total. "I'd like to reach the big ten - I think that would be amazing," she said. "If people want to keep watching us, I can see no reason why it wouldn't happen." Kaley recently made it onto the Forbes list of highest earners on TV, after earning a more than respectable $8 million in the past 12 months. She is the youngest lady in a TV sitcom who made it on to the Forbes' list this year. The 26-year-old, famous also for her role in 8 Simple Rules, earned as much as Desperate Housewives stars Teri Hatcher and Marcia Cross.

Big Rumor: A Rebooted Batman to Make Debut in 'Justice League'?

Though news surfaced over the weekend that Ben Affleck would not be directing Justice League for Warner Bros, word on the street is that The Matrix directing duo Andy and lana Wachowski are also in the running for the job. Clearly the studio is serious about getting the DC Comics' superhero ensemble off the ground, but with the project as a priority, fans have been wondering how individual films for the team that would include Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Wonder Woman and more would play out beforehand or afterwards. Now we might have our answer, at least in the case of The Dark Knight. Batman on Film has learned that a new Batman will be introduced in Justice League, and a stand alone film featuring the new Caped Crusader won't come until afterwards. That's in line with what we heard back in March of 2011 when Warner Bros. new president Jeff Robinov said that Batman would have to be rebooted for Justice League. Of course, at the time, it was also believed that Christopher Nolan and his wife and producing partner Emma Thomas would be involved, but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. Honestly, if Justice League is happening this quickly, this seems like the only way it could be done. However, it would be interesting to see if Warner Bros. would try to fit in the new Batman angle with Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. Stop reading if you don't want *spoilers*, but I'm wondering if the studio has any plans to try and get Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who assumes the Batman mantle at the end of The Dark Knight Rises, to take on the role in Justice League. It's unlikely, but it's a fun thought. Either way, this talk of a Batman reboot should be taken with a grain of salt for now as we don't know what the studio plans on doing. Anyway, the bigger question is how Warner Bros. thinks they can pull this off with the rest of the superhero team. First of all, we're not sure if Zack Snyder's Man of Steel is supposed to be linked to Justice League or not. In addition, there's been talk of whether or not Green Lantern needs to be rebooted, or if Ryan Reynolds version will stay active for the superhero team. Meanwhile, Wonder Woman, The Flash and whoever else gets included on the team don't have their own movies yet either. That's a lot of superheroes to bring to the big screen for the first time without having an audience already invested in them by way of Marvel's five-film lead-up to The Avengers. Personally, I think this planning sounds hasty and a little too driven by greed. Marvel had their cinematic universe in the works for years before it actually came together, and Warner Bros and DC seem to think they can pull it off with less effort and time. We don't really know what's happening behind the scenes, but this all seems to be happening really quickly. Will audiences been keen on a new Batman so quickly? Can a superhero team be successful without a series of films leading up to a grand sort of finale bringing them altogether? I guess we'll find out over the next couple years. What do you think?

Thursday, August 16, 2012

New Trailers

Kick ass 2 adds to its cast

Hot on the heels of Donald Faison joining the comic book sequel Kick-Ass 2 as Dr. Gravity,

two more names have joined the cast. Aaron Johnson, Chloe Moretz and Christopher Mintz-Plasse are reprising their roles from the first film (with rumors of Nicolas Cage making a cameo), and now Deadline reports Robert Emms (of Broken)and Morris Chestnut have landed a couple of supporting roles. Emms is playing Insect Man, a policeman who takes on a secret identity to do things that the law doesn't allow him to do.

Along with Faison's character, he joins the newly formed "Justice Forever" group of superheroes. Meanwhile, Chestnut is playing a character introduced in the first film. Omari Hardwick played Sergeant Marcus Williams in Kick-Ass, the only cop who new Big Daddy's true identity and had Hit Girl's best interest at heart. Now Chestnut is playing that character who has become a guardian of Hit Girl. We're still not sure how the story will pan out on the big screen but the comic sees Red Mists becoming a villain called Motherfucker and gathering a team of villains to take down Kick-Ass and his hero friends. Universal is sending Kick-Ass 2 to theaters on June 28th, 2013

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

'Homeland,' 'Dexter' Get Return Dates

What will Dexter's sister do after catching him in the middle of a murder? And will "Homeland" agent Carrie remember the evidence that Brody has terrorist ties after her shock treatments? You'll get the answers to both questions on Sunday, Sept. 30.

Showtime announced Monday that both "Dexter" and "Homeland" will return then, when they'll again share a night. "Dexter" returns for its seventh season and "Homeland" for its second.

It's a good thing for fans of both shows, since they ended on serious cliffhangers. Dexter's (Michael C. Hall) sister, Deborah (Jennifer Carpenter), realized she's in love with her adopted brother -- and then caught him dispatching the Doomsday Killer.

The first season of "Homeland," meanwhile, ended with Sgt. Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) refusing to carry out a terrorist plot, and disgraced and deactivated CIA agent Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) undergoing shock treatments to treat her mental illness. But she had an important realization about Brody just as the procedure began.

"Showtime" is also eagerly awaiting the series' return: "Homeland" averaged a strong 4.4 million weekly viewers across platforms in its first season, and its finale was one of the highest rated for a first season in network history, earning 5 million viewers. "Dexter," meanwhile, had its highest-rated season ever, averaging 5.5 million weekly viewers.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Frank Darabont & LA: Noire

TNT announced Monday that they have ordered a pilot for a drama series called L.A. Noir, which is based on John Buntin’s book L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America’s Most Seductive City. Darabont (The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption) will write and direct the pilot and will be one of the executive producers with Michael De Luca (The Social Network, Moneyball) and Elliot Webb (Tall Time Tales).

L.A. Noir follows the true story of the street war waged by Los Angeles Police Department under Chief William Parker and the L.A. organized crime world led by Mickey Cohen. It will be set in the 1940s and ’50s, the post-World War II era, and be a backdrop where Hollywood stars and studio heads rose to fame and ran amok while a massively corrupt police force and criminals jockeyed for control of West Coast’s most prominent city.

Darabont said this through a statement from TNT:

“Noir is a passion of mine, so I feel blessed to delve into a project that speaks in the hardboiled vernacular. John Buntin’s superb book, though non-fiction, is our touchstone and inspiration for the stories we’ll be telling, weaving fiction throughout the facts and facts throughout the fiction. The book provides elements that are irresistible, a big canvas with endless possibilities. The goal is to deliver on the tone that the title L.A. Noir promises: a smart, gritty, authentic, period noir drama.”

“Also a blessing is the warm welcome we’ve gotten from Michael Wright and TNT, a great bunch of folks with huge enthusiasm for the source material. The best bonus of all is getting to work with my friend Mike De Luca. He’s terrific, a tremendously smart and talented producer, a gem. Partnering with him on this marvelous project after knowing him for so many years is an absolute treat for me.”

We’ve seen what Darabont did with zombies and TNT could give him carte blanche to do what he pleases to portray this stylish, violent period of history for Los Angeles. Think L.A. Confidential in a serialized form, or the video game L.A. Noire come to life. With Darabont at the helm, there will be no shortage of talent lining up to be involved. We’re also glad to see Darabont bounce back so quickly from The Walking Dead firing and head back to television where we feel he wants to prove he can make a TV series his way.

As for TNT, their signature has been cops and robbers. Procedurals like The Closer, Rizzoli & Isles, and Southland, heist show Leverage, and law comedy Franklin & Bash have shaped the network’s current identity. Last summer TNT stepped out of its comfort zone with the military sci-fi hit Falling Skies and this summer they are resurrecting 1980′s evening soap, Dallas. With L.A. Noir, TNT delves into a world where there are no “heroes” with a period piece drama that will target fans of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire (which is set a few decades earlier during the Depression) and gritty crime noir novels and comics. It’s still cops and robbers–but unlike anything the network has seen.

If TNT picks up the series, could we see a time slot of Sunday nights at 9PM or 10PM and put it head-to-head against Boardwalk Empire and The Walking Dead? The plot thickens… Currently the 9PM time slot is occupied by Leverage on Sunday nights, but it could be paired with LA Noir. This could be TNT’s biggest show or most expensive show. Why wouldn’t TNT want this to be featured on the biggest TV night of the week? It will depend on when the series (again, if picked up) would be ready and if it would run during the summer when TNT usually launches series or during the fall or winter season and give the cable network more original programming when the major networks are running their new content as well. Either way, it’s instantly become one show we’re going to be keeping our eye on.

What do you think about Darabont’s return to television and L.A. Noir?