'Alien' Prequels, 'Ant-Man' and More

I have an exam I need to study for and loads more work to get done. But movie news never stops, so below I am providing a ton of links to several different news stories.

If you're interested in the topic, head over to those sites and read on. I'll go study and be back up to full speed on this blog as soon as I can.

"Alien Prequel"

News - there will be two prequels...and both in 3D.

Rope of Silicon
First Showing
The Geek Files
Screen Rant

"Ant-Man"

News - Edgar Wright may be making the film after "The Avengers."

First Showing
MTV News

"Final Destination 5"

News - Even though the last one was supposed to be the end, it made enough money to warrant another sequel...again in 3D.

Latino Review
UGO Movie Blog
First Showing
Screen Rant

"Sherlock Holmes 2"

News - Guess what? It's going to be in 3D.

Screen Rant

"The Thing"

News - the prequel to John Carpenter's "The Thing" is paying close attention to detail and according to the screenwriter will lead perfectly into the original film.

Live for Films
io9


"The Ring 3D"

News - the Japanese horror remake "The Ring" was successful enough to warrant a sequel, but now a third film is being planned to bring the franchise into the next dimension.

Screen Rant
First Showing
UGO Movie Blog

"Resident Evil: Afterlife"

News - Just some cool behind-the-scenes footage from Entertainment Weekly.



More news to come! Catch ya' later!

Edgar Wright Reports on 'Ant-Man'/Pixar Rumor

Many have wondered how Disney's pending acquisition of Marvel Entertainment might affect the company's upcoming comic book movie slate, with one report suggesting that the long-awaited "Ant-Man" adaptation could be developed by way of Pixar—but director Edgar Wright tells a different tale.

Wright has denied the reports that Disney animation studio Pixar is to be involved in the Marvel film project.

"Ant-Man," the alias of scientist Henry Pym, can shrink to insect size and also control ants using a special helmet. A film adaptation written and directed by Wright ("Hot Fuzz," "Shaun of the Dead") has long been in the pipeline.

He told CHUD: "The news that Pixar is involved is not wholly accurate and a little premature to comment on. I love Pixar's work more than anyone and indeed would love to collaborate with them.

"I'm not sure though that they would want to do a 'shrinking' film as a Pixar animation - since 'Toy Story' and 'A Bug's Life' already cover this territory to some extent. Am guessing that someone just speculated on the 'bug' angle and tried to put two and two together."
But he assured superhero fans he was still determined to get the character on to the big screen.

He explained: "I am still attached to 'Ant-Man' and indeed am still working on a second draft with Joe Cornish. That had to take a back seat while I worked on 'Scott Pilgrim,' but am keen to get back into it once I get into post[-production].

"I just spoke to Kevin Feige for the first time since I wrapped and we are meeting this week to discuss the next phase. It's been something that I have worked on for over five years on and off. There's even a treatment I wrote that dates even further back than that.

"It's true that the character is not considered one of the Marvel brand leaders and that is precisely what excites me about it. I want to make a film inside the Marvel Universe that is something a little different; a genre film within the superhero genre so to speak.

"My spin on 'Ant-Man' is very different than a straight superhero origin - and very much live action. At some point in this century, I intend to stop talking about it and make the damn thing."

Do you want to see Edgar Wright's live-action version of "Ant-Man" or do you want to see Pixar-produced "Ant-Man" film?

More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: MTV News, The Geek Files

Edgar Wright Delaying 'Ant-Man'

With Edgar Wright currently hard-at-work on his comic book adaptation, "Scott Pilgrim Vs The World," fans are left wondering what he’s got lined up next. A lot of us assumed it would be the comic book adaptation, "Ant-Man."

Wright’s involvement in the Marvel-based project first surfaced almost two years ago, with him later saying that the adaptation will be funny but not in a spoof kind of way. It’s one of those projects that’s presumed to be still on the way, but courtesy of Empire, we got some news that could mean that Wright’s "Ant-Man" may be further away than we think.

"I'd like to make Baby Driver next if possible," he said. "Baby Driver" is something that Wright wrote himself and isn't based on anything; it's being described as "a wild spin on the action and crime genre which will be set in the US." Wright explains: "I think when I do that one I’d like to go completely silent for once. Probably because it’s not an adaptation or anything, or a sequel to anything else. I’d like to just make it in private, basically."

It seems kind of strange Wright would go for this one first, considering both "Ant-Man" and the yet-to-be-named third part of the “three-flavor Cornetto trilogy,” (parts one and two are "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz") with Simon Pegg were announced first.

"Simon’s not involved in 'Pilgrim.' And I was kind of involved with 'Paul' as a producer at the start, but basically I can’t be in two places at once. I’m not one of those people who can do three things at the same time, even though I try to be. So once I’m doing one thing, like this, I’m only doing this. Other things – like 'Ant-Man' and me and Simon’s next film – have all gone away until I’m done with this."

Even though there was no official release date set for "Ant-Man," it was still expected to come along fairly soon, especially with a director already in-toe. The last word on the script front was that it was being revised, but that status hasn’t been updated since. I’m sure we’ll still get "Ant-Man" with Wright at the helm at some point, but now it seems it’ll be later rather than sooner.

Neither "Ant-Man" nor "Baby Driver" have any official release dates.
More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: Screen Rant, First Showing

Edgar Wright Still Working On 'Ant-Man'

Filmmaker Edgar Wright has his hands busy with “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World,” but the director already has another comic book movie in mind. His name has been frequently linked to “Ant-Man,” a film based on one of Marvel Comics’ more obscure heroes.

Although “Pilgrim” has prevented him from diving into the project anytime soon, Wright’s interest in “Ant-Man” has not faded. The director spoke with Omelete about the superhero film, saying that he’ll revisit the character once his work on “Scott Pilgrim” has finished.

“‘Ant-Man’ is something I need to return to,” Wright said. “I wrote a draft before ‘Scott Pilgrim’ started and it’s kind [of] on back burner slightly just because I’ve been busy with this. But it’s something that I have got to return to. I have to do another draft after ‘Scott Pilgrim’ is done.”

As far as that first draft goes, Wright said that he’s pretty satisfied with his work thus far and is looking forward to penning the next draft.

“When you come away from something it’s good and fun to rework what you’ve already done,” he said. “But I’m very happy with the first draft and we need to get back into business.”

Wright might want to get back on the “Ant-Man” train soon as Marvel continues to align the stars for “The Avengers,” the promised superhero team-up that features Thor, Iron Man and Captain America. Ant-Man was a founding member of the team in the comics and has long been speculated for a role in the Marvel blockbuster. At this rate, however, the character’s solo debut might wait until after his potential premiere in “The Avengers.”

More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Source: MTV News

Marvel Films Updates

An update on Marvel Studios' upcoming superhero films has been given by president of production Kevin Feige at a conference in Culver City, California.

Feige told the conference that the failure of the Warner Bros film "Batman and Robin" in 1997 was seen as a turning point for comic book movie adaptations and led to them being treated more seriously.

He then gave updates on Marvel's scheduled film slate up to 2012, which consists so far of "Iron Man 2," "Thor," "Captain America" and "The Avengers."

Feige also told us the latest on the proposed "Ant-Man" movie and then mentioned a surprise superhero film project.

In regards to "Iron Man 2," Feige said that at the start they sat down and talked about their favorite sequels and why they worked so well. What they discovered was that "they told a relativity simple story so they could focus on the characters and crack open the mythology instead." He explains that they really wanted to carry over the sense of humor and the tone from the first movie, as that tone was the most delicate element that they had to establish the first time around and it turned out so well. What they wanted to improve upon for the sequel was to add more characters, to see if they could maintain that tone with a wider ensemble, and up the action.

Feige also confirmed that Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston were officially cast in "Thor." He spoke very highly about both actors, but focused more on Hiddleston, who plays the villain Loki. Feige explained that finding a classic villain that could be sustained over the course of many films and provide the hero with a challenge while also being a mirror of that hero himself was very tough. "Loki has those aspects." He also did say that Thor takes place on both modern Earth and other worlds like Asgard, confirming what we heard the other day about Donald Blake not being a part of the story and the setting be primarily Earth. And lastly, he said that director Kenneth Branagh would not let them use any classic Shakespearian dialogue like was often used in the comics.

Feige confirmed that "The First Avenger: Captain America" is "primarily" a period piece that takes place during WWII. He said they went and looked at "Raiders of the Lost Ark," which he says he "didn't know" was a period piece when he was watching it. They want to make Captain America with the "same level of fun" as that. And in regards to director Joe Johnston, he said that this would be a little bit of "The Rocketeer," lots of "October Sky," and a little bit of the ship designs that Johnston did for "Star Wars," (What? No "Jurassic Park III?") alluding to how this is the perfect movie for him to direct. "It's the movie his entire career has been leading towards."

One reveal Feige did make is that Cap's sidekick Bucky would indeed be in "Captain America."

We already know that "Iron Man 2" is up next, then "Thor," then "Captain America," then "The Avengers" in the summer of 2012. Feige said that they're "ordered this way for a reason." And confirmed that Samuel Jackson and Scarlett Johansson as well as Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston are signed on for multiple movies or "multiple franchises," further extending that hint that Loki will be a villain who shows up quite often. Feige kept saying often that he'd love for audiences to have the same experience that comic book readers have - where characters make surprise appearances almost out of nowhere in issues they pick up.

Edgar Wright is currently finishing up another draft of "Ant-Man" for Marvel to look at after he finishes "Scott Pilgrim."
Feige said that they'll be announcing another new movie for 2012 within the next few months. What could it be?

The mystery movie might be any of these:
# Deadpool (if it's being made by Marvel, not Fox, as has been rumoured)

# Doctor Strange (Marvel is keen on this project and said it would be part of the next slate of movies. It's been reported that "Grey's Anatomy" actor Patrick Dempsey visited Marvel's offices to express his interest in the title role.)

# Namor (The rights had been sold to Universal many years back but will by now have reverted to Marvel)

# Luke Cage (This has been in development for a long time, with John Singleton attached to direct and Tyrese Gibson set to star)

# Black Panther (John Singleton has said he is interested in directing a "Black Panther" movie, and Wesley Snipes has long been keen on this role)

That is a lot of Marvel news to take in. Just one question. Where is Hulk?
More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: First Showing, The Geek Files

Marvel talks movies

Kevin Feige, the President of Production at Marvel Studios, answered interview questions from UGO Movie Blog and spoke about the next big upcoming hero movies.

On whether or not there will be a Hulk 2.

"We’re working on four movies right now that we’ve announced release dates for between now and 2011. A specific Hulk 2 isn’t one of them...where the green guy pops up next, I’m not entirely sure but I’m almost positive that we won’t be able to keep the green guy down. In terms of who the casts are, it enters the realm of contract discussions and negotiations that we’re rarely able to talk about. "

On if the Hulk will be the villain in the Avengers.

" Certainly there have been great comic issues in the past...and there’s a great animated feature called Ultimate Avengers a few years ago that features really cool battles between the Avengers and the Hulk himself. I think that’s a classic element of the Avengers. When or where we would actually do that I’m not sure. The stories of all the films are continuing to be developed and pieced together. There’s nothing firm yet on the Avengers plot. "

On who will play Captain America.

"I think we’re a little ways away from that. That’s a film that doesn’t come out until May 6th, 2011. So the first announcement that I think you will hear in the not-too-distant future is on the film making front. On the screen-writing front. As we announce the partners that we’ve brought on to bring it to life with us. And soon after that, well, maybe not soon, at some point after that, there will be announcements such as casting, but that will be a little ways off."

On Ant-Man and Edgar Wright (writer for Shaun of the Dead) writing it.

"Yeah. I mean, Edgar has been passionate about Ant-Man for years. I think it was probably three or four years ago that I first met Edgar down at Comic Con. He wanted to meet to talk about a character, and I was like, Ok, Spider-Man? What’s It going to be? And he had pictures of Ant-Man, which I was surprised about until I heard his pitch, and then it made perfect sense. And we brought him on right away. He has delivered an excellent, excellent draft with his writing partner Joe Cornish. They’re at the tail end of doing a revised draft as well. And then, of course, Edgar is going to go off and do Scott Pilgrim. So we hope at some point after that, to bring Ant-Man to the screen. "

On whether or not more heroes from Marvel will be made into films.

" There are lots of them. Lots and lots and lots...I’ll get together with the development team and say, pitch me a character that I’ve never heard of. Because, believe it or not, there are characters in the Marvel universe that I’ve never heard of. Even having lived with it for all of my thirty-four years and having worked with Marvel for eight years...and you look back at the very first film of the new Marvel era and it was a character that never had his own title, that just appeared in somebody else’s book, that had the seed and the core idea that was great and was able to be fleshed out into movies and TV shows and it was Blade. So there are more of those there. And it’s about finding them and letting them grow. One that I’m excited about somewhere down the line, certainly because it’s unlike anything we’ve ever done before and I think it could be an exciting challenge, would be, of course, Dr. Strange."

Sounds interesting! More Marvel news to come! Catch ya' later!