Ridley Scott confirms "Prometheus" sequel is a go

Long rumored this project has been sputtering through development for the past year with writers leaving, writers coming and the presumed director tied up with a plethora of other high-profile projects. Now however, Ridley Scott has finally put something like an official stamp on it with his statement (made during a press conference for his new film "The Counselor") that the sequel to the prequel "is being written right now". Whether or not you believe that's good news I suppose depends on what you thought of the original film. Personally I thought "Prometheus"' was stunning from a visual standpoint and that its problems stemmed from really poor writing that had Damon Lindelof's kind of "wouldn't it be cool if..." TV mentality all over it. Also, the musical score was one of the weakest I've ever heard for a major motion picture with the theme sounding like it was lifted from a 40 year old episode of "Cannon".

With Lindelof and composer Marc Streitenfeld not attached to the se-prequel (or is it pre-sequel?) hopes are high that Scott will get it right the second time around and give the rabid Alien fan-base a film they can sink their multi-tiered teeth into. Whether or not the near 80 year old Scott will wind up directing it may well depend on which completed script hits his desk first: this or the one being developed for his "Blade Runner" sequel.

New TV spots for "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"

I see approximately 1.7 seconds of new imagery in these two spots but I'll take what I can get.




"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" opens wide December 13th.

The top 10 movies for the weekend of October 25 - October 27, 2013

1) Bad Grandpa	$32 Million
2) Gravity	$20.1 Million
3) Captain Phillips	$11.6 Million
4) The Counselor	$7.8 Million
5) Cloudy w/a chance of Meatballs 2	$6.2 Million
6) Carrie	$5.9 Million
7) Escape Plan	$4.5 Million
8) 12 Years a Slave	$2.1 Million
9) Enough Said	$1.5 Million
10) Prisoners	$1 Million

The number one movie a year ago this week was Warner's "Argo" which managed to snag the top spot in its third week of release (albeit against pretty weak competition) with only $12 million in ticket sales.

(Green indicates new release)

Off the beaten track trailer of the day - "Another"

Mom: "Before you go to bed dear I should probably tell you... your blood is dead and you're a murderous, bug-eyed, undead mutant. Sweet dreams!"


Jason Bognacki directs.

"The Counselor" viral piece with Michael Fassbender

This vignette is apparently designed to fill in some background of Michael Fassbender's character for the soon-to-be-released Ridley Scott film. Not sure if you'll see any of this in the movie since the youtube blurb says no yet Natalie Dormer (the blond seen here) is listed on the movie's IMDB page as being part of the cast.


Ridley Scott's "The Counselor" opens this Friday.

Stephen Lang returning for Avatar 2, 3, 4

Pandora: home of the undead

Deadline is reporting that Stephen Lang will be returning for the trio of "Avatar" sequels that begin filming next year, in spite of the fact that he was killed good at the end of the original film. According to writer/director James Cameron  

“Steven was so memorable in the first film, we’re privileged to have him back... I’m not going to say exactly HOW we’re bringing him back, but it’s a science fiction story, after all. His character will evolve into really unexpected places across the arc of our new three-film saga. I really look forward to working with such a gifted actor, who’s also become a good friend.”

Well alright! I'm assuming if they can bring back scarface then it won't be any problem bringing back 'home tree' too. And while we're at it let's not forget Dr Grace Augustine. (Oops! Chris tells me Sigourney's already said she's coming back. Yikes!)

The top 10 movies for the weekend of October 18 - October 20, 2013

1) Gravity	$30 Million
2) Captain Phillips	$16.4 Million
3) Carrie	$16.1 Million
4) Escape Plan	$9.8 Million
5) Cloudy w/a chance of Meatballs 2	$9.6 Million
6) Prisoners	$2 Million
7) Enough Said	$1.7 Million
8) The Fifth Estate	$1.67 Million
9) Runner Runner	$1.66 Million
10) Insidious Chapter 2	$1.4 Million

The number one movie a year ago this week was Paramount's "Paranormal Activity 4" which grabbed the top spot with $29 million in ticket sales.

(Green indicates new release)

Sam Worthington on Avatar sequels

Though it seems like he's dropped off the edge of the planet since "Avatar" Sam Worthington is apparently still alive and kicking and resurfaced this past week to give a radio interview in which he touched briefly on the fate of the much-delayed "Avatar" sequels and indicated that there is apparently a genuine start date in place for production. Said Worthington:


"I think Jim is building the ship to Pandora to be honest... We are going to start this time next year and we will do two, three and four. I'll be grateful if it finishes." 

While any news is good news regarding Avatar, when you do the math it seems like holding your breath for the sequels would not be a good idea. Let's see: they start filming in 1 year, then 1 year of production, then at least 1 year of post production on each film plus inevitable delays... whew! Wake me up when we get there.

Thor returns, Jane gets whiny in new "Thor 2" clip

Apparently dealing with chaos in the 9 realms and saving humanity from Loki's intergalactic mercenary army isn't enough for some people. In this clip from the upcoming "Thor: The Dark World" the god of thunder must deal with his most formidable opponent yet; a lady who's staked a claim to him after little more than some sweet talk and a kiss in the desert. Time to give Darcy a second look.


"Thor: The Dark World" opens November 8th.

Off the beaten track trailer of the day - "Amerian Muscle"

Some guys do their time and rejoin society in a more or less orderly fashion. Some guys however, most certainly do not.

From the official blurb: (American Muscle) follows a recently paroled convict hell bent on revenge against those whom he holds responsible for his incarceration...including his own brother.

Michael Bay assaulted: The story from Hong Kong

As you may have heard Michael Bay was assaulted in Hong Kong yesterday while filming "Transformers 4" in the Chinese territory. Reports have been sketchy but most have alleged the attack was carried out by a pair of brothers who were unimpressed with compensation the film crew offered to local merchants to make up for the inconvenience of effectively shutting down their neighborhood to shoot. Now comes this video report from Hong Kong television which goes into things in a bit more detail, alleging the brothers were actually gang members intent on extortion. Take a look.

First trailer for "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit"

Chris Pine stars and Kenneth Branagh directs this Tom Clancy story that isn't from any particular Clancy novel. Keira Knightley also surfaces in something other than a POTC movie and the cast is rounded out by Kevin Costner and the director himself playing a Russian baddie. Looks slick and well put together.


"Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit" opens on Christmas Day.

The top 10 movies for the weekend of October 11 - October 13, 2013

1) Gravity	$43.1 Million
2) Captain Phillips	$25.7 Million
3) Cloudy w/a chance of Meatballs 2	$13.7 Million
4) Machete Kills	$3.8 Million
5) Runner Runner	$3.7 Million
6) Prisoners	$3.6 Million
7) Insidious Chapter 2	$2.7 Million
8) Rush	$2.38 Million
9) Don Jon	$2.36 Million
10) Baggage Claim	$2 Million

The number one movie a year ago this week was Fox's "Taken 2" which held on to the top spot for a second week with $49.5 million in ticket sales.

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New "Thor: The Dark World" featurette

Tom Hiddleston and Chris Hemsworth talk about the dynamic between Thor and Loki in this short featurette. Happily the piece also includes a few tidbits of footage not seen in the trailers.


"Thor: The Dark World" hits theaters November 8th. Can't wait.

Off the beaten track trailer of the day - "Run"

The burgeoning Cambodian film industry has apparently decided that zombies are the way to go and in "Run" they demonstrate that they've made a thorough study of undead cinema. Lots of frightened locals, drooling post-humans and snazzy visuals point to a lively, if not totally original, effort and hopefully also mean brighter days ahead for the Cambodian film industry.

The top 10 movies for the weekend of October 4 - October 6, 2013

1) Gravity	$55.7 Million
2) Cloudy w/a chance of Meatballs 2	$20.9 Million
3) Runner Runner	$7.7 Million
4) Prisoners	$5.7 Million
5) Rush	$4.4 Million
6) Don Jon	$4.1 Million
7) Baggage Claim	$4 Million
8) Insidious Chapter 2	$3.9 Million
9) Pulling Strings	$2.4 Million
10) Enough Said	$2.1 Million

The number one movie a year ago this week was Fox's "Taken 2" which debuted at number 1 with $49.5 million in box office receipts.

(Green indicates new release)

Off the beaten track trailer of the day - "Gun Woman"

Nudity and gun violence abound in this NSFW trailer for Mitsutake Kurando's "Gun Woman". Far as I can tell it's about guns and a woman who's almost always either partially or completely naked. Works for me.

"Out of the Furnace" - trailer

Christian Bale continues to make interesting acting choices and this tale about brothers in rust-beltia trying to squeeze a living out of an unglamorous and unforgiving environment is no exception. When his younger brother (an Iraq War veteran and bare knuckle fighter played by Casey Affleck), disappears Bale's older brother goes after the local hillbilly kingpin (Woody Harrelson) for answers. Forest Whitaker, Zoe Saldana, William Dafoe and Sam Shepard co-star. Scott Cooper ("Crazy Heart") directs.


"Out of the Furnace" opens December 6th.

4th "Narnia" film finally gets the green light

"I'm not in the 4th movie?" "Sorry hon. At least we'll always have Paris, sort of."

Seems like a long time that the 4th installment in the Narnia series has been tied up in development hell. Which is a little weird because, while the third film - "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" - didn't do as well as the first, it was no slouch at the box office pulling in $415 million worldwide on a $155 million budget.

But, whatever the reason for the wait word has finally come that N4 has apparently been greenlit. The new film will be drawn from the C. S. Lewis novel "The Silver Chair" and will follow the exploits of King Caspian and Eustace Scrubb, played by Will Poulter in the 3rd film. I'm glad the series is finally moving forward but a Narnia film without any members of the Pevensie family? Whose idea was that?

5 new banners for "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"

While I'm on the subject of The Hobbit here are 5 newly released banners from the film featuring (top to bottom) Bilbo and the Dwarves, Thranduil, Bard the Bowman, Gandalf and Legolas. If you click on the images in the post it should take you to larger versions.

New full trailer for "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"

In the first Hobbit film it seemed a little like Peter Jackson was flailing around a bit trying to get a hold of the material. If what I've seen so far for "The Desolation of Smaug" (including this new trailer) is any indication I'd say he's found his footing. Lots more Legolas here too which indicates Orlando Bloom won't just be a walk-on like Elijah Wood was in "An Unexpected Journey" and at last... the dragon speaks!


Look for "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" this December.