Industry UPdate--March 30, 2016

Will Jesse Eisenberg Return??

Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor

Jesse Eisenberg stars as Lex Luthor in the latest DC release, Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice. If you liked his portrayal of Luthor you may not get to see Eisenberg in that role again. As DC talks about future projects, Eisenberg's future looks uncertain. The Social Network star is unsure if he'll be involved in any upcoming movies. Recently in an interview he said: "I don't know if they are so settled on where my character goes. I only hope I have another opportunity to work with these wonderful people and play this interesting character." (Cinemablend.com) Will Eisenberg live another day as Lex Luthor? Stay tuned to find out.

Issac & Garland Are At It Again.

Oscar Issac (left) & Alex Garland (right)

Alexander Garland and Oscar Issac worked together on the 2015 thought provoking sci-fi, Ex Machina. They are teaming up again for another sci-fi based on the novel Annihilation. ImDb has the plot listed as: a biologist (Natalie Portman) signs up for a dangerous, secret expedition where the laws of nature don't apply. Also saddling up for this adaptation are Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rogdriguez, and Tessa Thompson. Annihilation will hit the big screen in 2017.

Pete's Dragon Update

November 3, 1977 the fantasy, family film Pete's Dragon came to be. For 39 years it has laid untouched, but this year Disney will breath it back to life.This beloved film of many will be polished up and donned with a fantastic cast. Bryce Dallas Howard, Robert Redford, Wes Bentley, and Karl Urban are starring in this cult classic. Pete's Dragon premieres August 12.

Industry UPdate--March 26, 2017

 NEWLY RELEASED TRAILERS

 Wahlberg's Getting In Deep

Mark Wahlberg's latest project is based on a true event that made history (and not in the greatest of ways) and was directed by Peter Berg (Lone Survivor and Friday Night Lights). DEEPWATER HORIZON has a trailer that will keep you on the edge of your seat as it gives you a glimpse inside the explosive event involving the offshore drilling rig Deep Horizon and it's crew. The true tale hits the big screen September 30,  2016 and stars Mark Wahlberg (Lone Survivor and The Departed), Dylan O' Brien (The Maze Runner and Teen Wolf), Kurt Russell (Escape From New York and Tomb Stone), Kate Hudson (How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days and Almost Famous), and John Malkovich (Empire of the Sun and Red).

The Hangover Goes East

Imagine The Hangover in the Middle East, which considering this is brought to you by the director of The Hangover it's an appropriate comparison--Bradley Cooper (The Hangover and American Sniper)  is even in it. Miles Teller (Whiplash and Fantastic 4) and Jonah Hill (21 Jump Street and Superbad) star in this raunchy humored, based on a true story movie about two guys in their 20's who give a low ball bid that was "too attractive" for the government to pass up. Teller and Hill get involved in the Iraq War by landing a $300 Million deal to arm the Afghan Military. The two will have to deal with some corrupt government officials and have to go to the "giant sandbox" as the U.S. Military calls it. War Dogs will premiere August 19th of this year.

 1970's Cop Duo 

Imagine Ryan Gosling (The Notebook and Drive) as a quirky private investigator and Russell Crowe (Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind )as a brutish enforcer then you get Nice Guys. This comedic cop duo flick takes place in Los Angeles during the 70's. Kim Basinger's (Batman and L.A. Confidential) character works for the Department of Justice and her daughter Amelia, played by Margaret Qualley (The Leftovers) has gone missing. The trailer looks like a lot of laughs and the chemistry between Gosling and Crowe is great! This looks like it has the same kind of feel as Kiss Kiss Bang Bang starring Val Kilmer and Robert Downey, Jr. Nice guys hits theaters May 20, 2016. 

 

Industry UPdate--March 23, 2016

BATMAN V. SUPERMAN, THAT'S RIGHT ANOTHER POST...

AFFLECK, GADOT, & CAVILL

A SMALLER SCALE PREMIERE HAPPENED IN LONDON LAST NIGHT. AFTER THE ATTACKS IN BRUSSELS THE EVENT WAS THOUGHT TO POSSIBLY BE CANCELLED, BUT THE STARS STILL ARRIVED--THERE WAS JUST NO RED CARPET.
BATMAN V. SUPERMAN HAS ALSO SURPASSED THE PRE-SOLD TICKET SALES FOR BOTH AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON AND THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. THE 2.5 HOUR LONG MOVIE COULD POSSIBLY RAKE IN $350 MILLION ACCORDING TO THE WRAP AND CINEMABLEND.COM.
  

ALSO IN THE DC WORLD

SUICIDE SQUAD MOVIE PROMOTION

SUICIDE SQUAD WILL KEEP THE PG-13 RATING...FOR NOW. AFTER DEADPOOL'S SUCCESS AS AN R-RATED COMIC BOOK FLICK, SEVERAL OTHER MOVIES HAVE CONSIDERED FOLLOWING IN IT'S FOOTSTEPS AND CHANGING THEIR RATINGS. BUT SUICIDE SQUAD WON'T BE ONE OF THEM.

A SIDE NOTE FOR ALL YOU HARLEY QUINN FANS, THE ACTRESS WHO WILL BE HITTIN'

TONYA HARDING (LEFT) & MARGOT ROBBIE (RIGHT)

G THE SILVER SCREEN AS JOKER'S CRAZILY FUN SIDEKICK HAS BEEN ON FIRE! MARGOT ROBBIE HAS BEEN VERY BUSY SINCE HER DAYS IN THE WOLF ON WALL STREET (OK SO MAYBE IT WASN'T THAT LONG AGO, BUT BOY DOES IT FEEL LIKE IT CONSIDERING HER SWAMPED SCHEDULE).  SUICIDE SQUAD, THE LEGEND OF TARZAN, WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT, AND TERMINAL ARE JUST THE MOVIES SHE'S PREMIERING IN THIS YEAR. SHE'S ADDED ANOTHER FILM TO HER RESUME THIS WEEK--I, TONYA. ROBBIE WILL BE PLAYING TONYA HARDING, THE WORLD RENOWN FIGURE SKATER WHO FELL INTO OBSCURITY WHEN INVOLVED IN PLAN TO INJURE FELLOW SKATER NANCY KERRIGAN. A RELEASE DATE HAS NOT YET BEEN ANNOUNCE AND PRODUCTION HAS YET TO START.

THE CAPED CRUSADER GOES LEGO

THE TRAILER FOR THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE HAS FINALLY HIT THE WEB AND EVERYTHING ABOUT IT REALLY IS AWESOME. AFTER THE OVERWHELMING SUCCESS OF THE LEGO MOVIE, FANS WERE LEFT SALIVATING FOR MORE. DIRECTOR CHRIS MCKAY AND WILL ARNETT AS BATMAN WILL RETURN. RALPH FIENNES ALSO HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE CAST AS ALFRED ALONG SIDE MICHAEL CERA
AS ROBIN, ROSARIO DAWSON AS BATGIRL, AND ZACK GILIFINAKIS AS JOKER. MCKAY IS COMPARING THIS MOVIE TO ABOUT A BOY, AS DIRECTED BY A WELL KNOWN ACTION GUY MICHAEL MANN. IF ANYTHING THE TWO THINGS WE DO KNOW IS THAT IT WILL BE HYSTERICAL AND EMOTIONAL. SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO HERE'S THE TRAILER FOR THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE.

RUMOR ALERT:

RENNER IN MISSION IMPOSSIBLE-ROGUE NATION

AVENGERS STAR JEREMY RENNER MAY RETURN FOR THE 6TH INSTALLMENT OF MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE. CHRISTOPHER MCQUARRIE WHO'S HEADING THE PROJECT AS BOTH WRITER AND DIRECTOR HAD A CONVERSATION VIA TWITTER WITH RENNER HINTING AT HIS RETURN. WILL RENNER WEAR THOSE FANCY SUITS AND ADD SOME CHEEKY WIT TO M:I 6? WHILE THERE IS NO RELEASE DATE YET SET WE HAVE TO IMAGINE THE CAST WILL HAVE TO BE STACKED WITHIN THE COMING MONTHS.

 INDIANA JONES 5 RECRUITS...

INDIANA JONES 5 HAS PICKED UP NONE OTHER THAN JURASSIC PARK WRITER DAVID KOEPP. KOEPP HAS AN EXTENSIVE RESUME INCLUDING MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, SPIDER-MAN, WAR OF THE WORLDS, AND CARLITO'S WAY. I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I'M ON BOARD IF THIS GUY IS TAKING THE PEN TO THE PAPER FOR THIS ONE. I HAVE TO ADMIT THAT I DIDN'T SEE THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULLS. BUT I MAY BE MORE ENTICED TO WATCH THIS ONE. ESPECIALLY IF HARRISON FORD IS ON BOARD. LET'S JUST HOPE SHIA LA BOUF GETS LEFT OUT OF THE CAST FOR THIS ONE AND SOMEHOW THE RUMORS OF CHRIS PRATT WINDING UP IN THIS ONE AREN'T JUST RUMORS.

 

Industry UPdates--March 22, 2016

BUDGET CUTS:

THEO JAMES, ANSEL ELGORT, & SHAILENE WOODLEY IN ALLEGIANT

LIONSGATE AND SUMMIT PRODUCTION COMPANIES ARE CUTTING THE BUDGET FOR THE FOURTH INSTALLMENT OF THE DIVERGENT SERIES, ASCENDANT. ALLEGIANT ONLY OPENED WITH $29 MILLION, SO THE BUDGET HAS BEEN CUT. THE DIVERGENT SERIES HAS SEEN A GRADUAL DECLINE IN REVENUE SINCE THE FIRST MOVIE WAS RELEASED. ASCENDANT WILL STILL BE RELEASED ON TIME. THE FOURTH INSTALLMENT OF THE DIVERGENT SERIES WILL PREMIERE JUNE 9, 2017, SLOTTED FOR THE SAME DAY AS WORLD WAR Z 2 AND THE MUMMY.

 WWZ GETS AN ENCORE & THE MUMMY GETS A FACE LIFT

BRAD PITT, PIERFRANSCESCO FAVINO, & DANIELLA KERTESZ IN WWZ

TOM CRUISE (LEFT) & BRENDAN FRASER (RIGHT)

SPEAKING OF THE WWZ 2 AND THE MUMMY, BRAD PITT WILL BE BACK TO FIGHT THOSE ZOMBIES AS GERRY LANE IN WORLD WAR Z 2. THE PLOT FOR THE ZOMBIE THRILLER IS UNKNOWN. AS FOR THE MUMMY REBOOT, TOM CRUISE WILL BE THE NEW FACE OF THE FRANCHISE. BRENDAN FRASER HAD STARRED AS THE MALE LEAD IN THE 1999, 2001, AND 2008 INSTALLMENTS ALONG SIDE RACHEL WEIZ (THE BOURNE LEGACY &  ENEMY AT THE GATES) , ARNOLD VOSLOO (G.I. JOE RETALIATION & BLOOD DIAMOND) , ODED FEHR (RESIDENT EVIL: EXTINCTION & DEUCE BIGALOW) , AND JOHN HANNAH (SPARTACUS & THE HURRICANE).

WANT BATMAN V. SUPERMAN? WELL YOU GOT IT!

WHO WILL WIN? IN 2 DAYS FIND OUT

AT LEAST THE MUSIC THAT IS! WARNER BROS HAS RELEASED THE SOUNDTRACK. HANS ZIMMER AND JUNKIE XL HAD A HAND IN THE AUDIO PRODUCTION FOR THE FLICK, WHICH MEANS IT HAS TO BE GOOD! SO IF YOU NEED A LITTLE SOMETHING TO HOLD YOU OVER UNTIL THURSDAY NIGHT OR WHENEVER YOU GET A CHANCE TO SEE BATMAN TAKE ON THE MAN OF STEEL,  YOU CAN HAVE A LISTEN TO THE SOUNDTRACK TO GET YOUR FIX.

 TO A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY...

STAR WARS:ROGUE ONE TEASER POSTER

IT COMES AS NO SURPRISE THAT ANNOUNCEMENTS ABOUT THE UPCOMING STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE FILM HAVE ALREADY BEGUN TO CIRCULATE. OBVIOUSLY AFTER THE OVERWHELMING SUCCESS OF EPISODE VII THE PRODUCTION TEAM, LUCASFILM, AND ALL THOSE INVOLVED WITH THE STAR WARS FRANCHISE WILL WANT TO HYPE THE UPCOMING MOVIE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. SO WHY NOT RELEASE A NOVEL AND A PREQUEL COMIC? THEY WILL BE RELEASED THIS UPCOMING FALL AND STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE WILL DROP DECEMBER 16, 2016.

SPEAKING OF STAR WARS

LARA CROFT ANIMATED (LEFT) & DAISY RIDLEY (RIGHT)

THE BREAKOUT STAR OF EPISODE VII, 23 YEAR OLD DAISY RIDLEY HAS CONFIRMED THAT SHE IS IN TALKS TO POSSIBLY BE IN THE TOMB RAIDER REBOOT AS LARA CROFT. AS OF RIGHT NOW RIDLEY IS LISTED AS THE MAIN ACTRESS ON IMDb.COM. SO WE'LL SEE IF THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENS. IT HAS BEEN 13 YEARS SINCE THE LAST LARA CROFT MOVIE WAS RELEASED. NORWEGIAN DIRECTOR ROAR UTHAUG WILL BE UNDERTAKING THE TASK OF GETTING THE NEXT TOMB RAIDER OFF THE GROUND AND RELEASED BY NEXT YEAR. I WONDER IF ANGELINA JOLIE WOULD ENDORSE AND PUT HER STAMP OF APPROVAL ON RIDLEY TAKING ON THE ROLE?

HARRISON FORD (LEFT) & TARON EGERTON (RIGHT)

 ALSO IN STAR WARS NEWS, KINGSMAN, TARON EGERTON CLAIMS THAT HE HAS NOT IN FACT BEEN CONTACTED BY LUCASFILM TO BE IN THE HAN SOLO SPIN OFF.

THE QUESTION IS WHO WILL THE NEW SOLO BE?

PREVIEW-- BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

THE CAPES ARE COMING!

 The most anticipated movie this year Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice has DC fans holding their breaths. The only assurance (if you can call it that) comic book and movie enthusiasts have is the star studded cast. Some familiar and some new faces have been added to the DC roster.

Batman V. Superman is not only a follow up to Man of Steel starring Henry Cavill, but also is a platform to launch Wonder Woman--which will star Gal Gadot. Could this also boost for a new Batman franchise, too? I think we can safely say "yes" based on the possibility of loosing the rights to making the movie DC will have to make a Batman movie within the next few years.

A review will be posted here on Cinematic Rundown Monday, March 28th, but in the meantime here's a quick rundown of what we know.

SYNOPSIS:
It's been a couple of years since the Superman-Zod face off that

turned the high standing skyscrapers of Metropolis to rubble. With such a high death toll leaving not only the citizens of the city, but the world terrified. After seeing the destruction that Superman and Zod caused first hand, he sets out as Batman to destroy the Man of Steel. Batman isn't the only one who has a score to settle, Lex Luthor has also set his sights on Superman.

WHAT WE'VE SEEN:
The new bat suit, Jeremy Irons as Alfred, images of Zod frozen, the return of Lois Lane and Clark Kent's love and a possible flame between Diana Prince and Bruce Wayne, loads of action, and Lex Luthor making a comment to Bruce about not picking a fight with Clark (does that possibly mean that Luthor knows the identities of both heroes?).

WHAT TO EXPECT:
Awesome fight scenes--including Wonder Woman kicking some major butt, fantastic costumes, a few laughs, cool gadgets, and a creepy crowd reaching for Superman (what's that about?), the bat signal, the Kent farm, and Lex Luthor being a bit of a puppet master all while rocking that hair.

THE ROSTER:

Ben Affleck--Batman/Bruce Wayne
Henry Cavill--Superman/Clark Kent
Gal Gadot--Wonder Woman/Diana Prince
Jesse Eisenberg--Lex Luthor
Amy Adams--Lois Lane
Jeremy Irons--Alfred
Holly Hunter--Senator Finch
Diane Lane--Martha Kent
Laurence Fishbourne--Perry White
Michael Shannon--Zod

CAMEOS: 
Charlie Rose, Anderson Cooper, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Nancy Grace to name a few. 

NEW FACES:
A walking dead star, Jeffery Dean Morgan (Supernatural, The Watchmen), and a new hero who has his own movie coming out in 2020.