One bad thing about relying on other news sites for stories that appear here is that sometimes, other sites get it wrong. Last Friday, Deadline stated that Jessica Biel was cast as The Viper in The Wolverine. Not “might be cast” or “In talks for the role,” they said she was cast. Fair enough. We reported that as a fact here, expanding on the news as to the comic book origin of the character she would be playing and how she might fit into the film.

However, today, Collider has an exclusive stating that not only wasn’t Biel officially cast, but also that talks had broken down and she wouldn’t be playing the part at all. (For their part, Deadline has a terse, three sentence blurb admitting they were wrong.)

So, Jessica Biel will not be in The Wolverine, which might be all for the best. While I think Biel is an attractive and  capable actress, when I think of The Viper, I think of a more exotic beauty in the role. I would think of someone like Morena Baccarin (Firefly, V, Homeland) or Mila Kunis (Black Swan, Ted). Or, for an oddball choice, Rachel Weisz. While she might be out of the film’s pay rate, and the ageist Hollywood system might not see someone 42 as being able to convincingly play a femme fatale, she has a similar, Eastern European lineage as the character (Weisz mother was of Austrian ancestry and her father of Hungarian), she has shown chemistry with Hugh Jackman (in The Fountain), has an Oscar on her shelf, and has comic book movie cred (from Constantine).

Just an idea. If thissounds good to you, Fox executives, no need to send money. Just a couple passes to the New York premiere would be fine.

Seth MacFarlane’s recently released Ted has become one of the more successful R-rated comedies in recent memory. And of course that leaves audiences and very probably its studio Universal wondering if we will be seeing more pf the foul-mouthed teddy bear.

And that question was asked of MacFarlane this weekend during an appearance at the San Diego Comic Con. His answer – ““I’d be open to making Ted 2.”

MacFarlane didn’t offer any more information as to whether he had a story already in mind or if star Mark Wahlberg would be willing to return for a second go-round. In fact, it all sounds just purely speculative pipe smoke at this juncture. Besides, Between overseeing his three cartoon shows – Family Guy, American Dad and The Cleveland Show – MacFarlane is also working on developing a new version of the science series Cosmos and had to put a reboot of The Flintstones onto the backburner due to lack of time. I think that the key factor for whether or not we will see a Ted sequel will be MacFarlane’s schedule more than anything else.

Via Deadline.

Here’s a tip if you are planning on going to see Ted, the feature film directorial debut of Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane. Give the 1980 version of Flash Gordon a quick watch. Without giving away too many spoilers, the film is an important one in the lives of John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) and Ted, the stuffed teddy bear that Bennett magically wished to life when he was a boy. The film serves as the basis for a couple of jokes as well as a plot point or two. (No a crazy, bearded scientist doesn’t kidnap them on a home-built rocketship to Mongo.) Having the film somewhat fresh in your mind will certainly help with appreciating those moments.

But that’s not to say that the film is entirely dependent on a parade of pop culture references, a charge that has been fired at MacFarlane’s Family Guy by its critics. If anything, Ted is a combination romantic comedy, bromance and very fractured fairytale. It is also a very funny and raunchy film that still manages to have some sweetness at its core.

An avuncular narrator informs us at the beginning of the film that following the initial media explosion of Ted’s miraculous appearance, he slipped back into relative obscurity, “like Corey Feldman”. And now, 25 years later, he is still John’s best friend. They share an apartment, get high and still watch their favorite movie from childhood – Flash Gordon. And although the pair may have physically moved from the suburbs to downtown Boston, their lives have not progressed much further.

Surprisingly, even though John works the counter at a local car rental agency, he has managed to land himself a fairly successful girlfriend in the form of Lori (Mila Kunis). On the eve of their fourth anniversary of dating, Lori tells John that they need to take their relationship to the next level and that includes diamond rings and Ted getting his own place. John reluctantly agrees and even though Ted moves into a rather dingy apartment above a Chinese takeout place, John still spends an inordinate amount of time with his furry buddy, to the point where Lori breaks up with John in exasperation. However, the two reunite when Ted finds himself the target of some unwanted attention from a stalkerish former fan and his son.

As expected, MacFarlane plums every situation for laughs and never is satisfied with just giving us the first one he finds. Many sequences, such as an out-of-control party at Ted’s apartment and a fight between Ted and John in a hotel room, continue to build and escalate to absurd levels. And kudos should be given out to the handful of celebrities who cameo as, and poke fun at, themselves.

But MacFarlane manages to ground the high concept and silly shenanigans with some strong character writing for the three leads. Unlike many movie couples, where you only believe that they are together for the sake of the plot, the relationship between John and Lisa feels very natural and sweet. MacFarlane’s script gives the couple moments that hint at their long relationship and Wahlberg and Kunis’s chemistry together sells it easily. When it comes time for Lori to insist that Ted move out, there is a hint of sadness revealing that although she feels what she is asking is the right thing for everyone, she still realizes that she is coming between two great friends. It could have been very easy to make her seem like a bitch at this point, but MacFarlane goes for a more nuanced moment. For his part, Wahlberg delivers his best comedic performance yet and manages to enhance it with some pathos when he finds himself torn between Lori and Ted.

While some might dismiss the film’s high concept of a talking teddy bear as just another in a long line of talking non-human characters that have appeared in his work, MacFarlane manages to use the relationship between Ted and John as a metaphor for the pressure to leave behind childish things when one reaches adulthood. It’s an additional layer one doesn’t normally expect to find in a summer comedy, and its inclusion is welcome.

The weakest portion of the film is the plotline involving the creepy father and son who bear-nap Ted. This is what drives most of the third act and although it does help to resolve the relationship issues between Ted, John and Lori, it still manages to feel a bit tacked on and perhaps could have been more strongly set up earlier in the film.

1. Ted (Universal, 3,239 Theaters, 106 Minutes, Rated R): It’s hard to imagine when Seth MacFarlane wasn’t one of the most powerful men in Hollywood. Family Guy was cancelled after three seasons and it looked like he might just fade into the ether.

However, Family Guy got an unheard of reprieve  on FOX after it became a hit as part of Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim line-up. FOX gave it another chance on the network, the new found fans followed it back, and soon enough, MacFarlane add American Dad! and The Cleveland Show to the FOX line-up, lining his pockets all the way.

And now, films. This one has an interesting premise (a childhood wish for a bear that could come to life has different implications when the kid grows up) and a good supporting cast, but, for me at least, Mark Wahlberg seems miscast in the lead role. Not to be ageist, but I feel the part would have been better served with a younger actor.

2. Magic Mike (Warner Brothers, 2,930 Theaters, 110 Minutes, Rated R): So, we finally get to the male stripper movie.

Loosely based on the real-life adventures of star Channing Tatum’s days as a stripper, the film focuses on a young man being taught the stripping ropes by a more experienced dancer. All directed by Steven Soderburgh (?).

I have no idea how how this film will do at the box office. I did get the cover story in Entertainment Weekly, but that was back in May. The film looks like either a drama or a comedy, depending on what ad you saw. It does have a good ensemble cast. But will it draw a big enough audience to make some money? We’ll see.

3. Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Witness Protection (Lionsgate, 2,161 Theaters, 114 Minutes): Tyler Perry once seemed to be a sure-fire box office draw. He had a built in audience and every film he did seemed automatic to debut at number one. He’s been struggling of late, but this latest film seems to be an attempt to reach a larger demographic.

Eugene Levy and Denise Richards star as the Needlemans, a family that has to enter witness protection. Why? Because Levy’s character was accused of running a Ponzi scheme that somehow the Mob was involved in. How were they involved? I don’t know. But I also don’t know why Madea’s house was chosen as the Needlemans hiding spot either.

The Madea movies still do well at the box office, but I doubt this film could beat the other films released this week, let alone Brave. 

4. People Like Us (Touchstone, 2,055 Theaters, 115 Theaters, Rated PG-13): Chris Pine stars as a man who finds out while settling his late father’s estate that his father, well, got around. Got around so much that his father fathered a daughter with another woman.

He does what anyone would do in this kind of situation–he tracks his sister down, infiltrates her life without ever once telling her who he is. She does the natural thing when a cute young man ingratiates himself into her life and becomes a positive role model for her son. She falls in love with him.

EWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!

All brought to us by the writers of Star Trek, Cowboys and Aliens and  Transformers. Of course.

Never it let it be said that Ted MacFarlane doesn’t put himself into his work. In the case of the Family Guy creator’s first live-action feature length film Ted, this entailed him crawling into a motion capture suit to play the foul-mouthed teddy bear that Mark Wahlberg’s character wished to life when he was a child.

The process is shown in the video below from Funny Or Die, which illustrates how MacFarlane and the rest of the cast were able to improv on the set during filming even though his character wasn’t technically “there.” As for the results, well, I saw Ted last night and will have a review coming on Friday when the film opens in theaters.

Snow White And The Huntsman (June 1) I have to say that I find it hard to believe out of the two duelling cinematic takes on the Snow White the one that looked more visually compelling would not turn out to be Tarsem Singh’s Mirror, Mirror, but this film from new comer director Rupert Sanders. Thanks to Disney’s ultra-cuddly animated classic, people have forgotten that the story has some dark underpinnings but this definitely looks as if it aims to remind them of that. (In case they miss the PG-13 rating.) Drop in Chris Hemsworth, subbing out his Thor hammer for an ax, as the titular huntsman going after Kristen Stewart’s Snow White at the behest of evil queen Charlize Theron and add Bob Hoskins, Nick Frost and Toby Jones among the seven dwarves for spice and you have got the makings for a really good film. – Rich Drees

Prometheus (June 8) To say that most people were skeptical of Fox’s first announcement that they were developing a prequel to their classic Alien franchise may be an understatement. And considering how that franchise has puttered out with the fairly terrible duo of Alien Vs Predator films, it was hard not to blame them. But then something happened. The director of the original film Ridley Scott became involved and then the project slowly evolved from being a prequel to another story set in the same universe that would share some “DNA” with the original film. Now I’ve had friends who have criticized the trailers for looking too much like an Alien retread – Spaceship crew lands on mysterious planet, discover alien lifeform, much running and screaming ensue – but I have to believe that Scott has something far more deeper and smarter than that in store for us. -RD

Rock Of Ages (June 15) When Rock of Ages opened on Off-Broadway in 2008. I didn’t give it much of a chance to succeed. It’s well-worn star-crossed lovers plot set against the rock clubs of the Sunset Strip didn’t seem the type of show New Yorkers would go for, even if it didn’t feature a score provided by an iPod Shuffle full of 1980′s Hard Rock hits. But succeed it did, moving to Broadway in 2009 where it still resides, and it has made it to the big screen before many other high profile musicals–most notably Wicked.

The biggest thing about the film seems to be the curiousity surrounding Tom Cruise making his musical debut as washed up hair band singer Stacee Jaxx. But the original musical had less going for it and is still going strong. This film could be the surprise of the summer.  - William Gatevackes

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (June 22) I didn’t expect much out of this film other than it being a tounge in cheek piffle. However, the ads for the film look good. Really good. Granted, the film cannot be all that serious. I mean, it portrays our most iconic President as a male Buffy. But it appears to be slightly more than just one note.  - WG

Brave (June 22) Cars 2 was a critical disappointment for Pixar. Not that Disney even noticed, the film was one of the Top Ten highest grossing films of 2011. But it showed a chink in the armor of the usually dependable output from Pixar and some might be worried that it was the first step in the downward spiral of diminishing quality. From what I’ve seen of this film, I think Cars 2 more an abberation than a warning sign. This film seems utterly charming and even the trailer evoked an emotional response from me. It appears to be a return to form for Pixar. – WG

GI Joe: Retaliation (June 29) I can’t wait for this film since I…wait, what? Really? Nevermind.- WG

Ted (June 29) – Judging by the red band trailer, this story about a grown man and his living teddy bear will be just as profane as one would expect from Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane. Mark Wahlberg has made a few stabs at doing comedy before but this looks like it might actually be the film where he scores a hit. Also, in a summer full of big budget tentpole action pics an original high concept comedy could be just the cinematic sorbet we need in the middle of the summer movie season. – RD

With a little over a month before it was supposed to hit theaters, Paramount has announced that it is moving GI Joe: Retaliation from its announced June 29th release back nine months to March 29, 2013. The studio is moving the film in order to accommodate a post-production conversion to 3D.

According to Deadline, an unnamed Paramount exec stated “We’re going to do a conscientious 3D job because we’ve seen how it can better box office internationally.” If March seems like an odd time to open a big-budget film, it should be noted that the recent success The Hunger Games had in that month may be rewriting the line of thought.

Meanwhile, Universal is not about to let the date go vacant and have moved their comedy Ted forward from it’s originally announced July 13 premier. The move will allow the film to get a head start on the busy July 4th long weekend during which movie attendance skyrockets.

It should come as no real surprise that Seth MacFarlane’s feature film debut features a talking teddy bear in its title role. After all, this is the man who either created or co-created animated series that feature talking dogs, aliens, goldfish and bears interacting with human characters. And as the red band trailer shows, his film Ted also lies in the land of the hard R rating that MacFarlane regularly pushes his animated fare towards. The trailer is a red band one, so consider it unsafe for work or for those who thing some words are bad.

Also released this weekend were three photos from the upcoming film, the one above and the two below, the feature stars Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis.

Ted also stars Joel McHale, Patrick Warburton, Giovanni Ribisi and the voice of MacFarlane as Ted and opens July 13th.

Joel McHale is the latest addition to the cast of Seth MacFarlane’s just-heading-into-production comedy Ted. McHale will play the slimy boss of star Mark Wahlberg who is a human resources professional’s sexual harassment nightmare with his constant hitting on Wahlberg’s co-worker, to be played by Mila Kunis.

The film revolves a wish that was granted to Wahlberg’s character made as a child to have his teddy bear come to life. Two decades later, the stuffed toy, to be voiced by Family Guy creator MacFarlane, is still alive but now causing problems for his owner.

McHale has had a busy schedule of late. In addition to headlining the ensemble cast of the NBC series Community now in its sophomore year, he has roles in three films scheduled for release later this year - Spy Kids 4, What’s Your Number? And The Big Year. He will be hosting the Independent Spirit Awards ceremony tomorrow evening.

Earlier this week, Giovanni Ribisi joined the cast. Filming commenced this past Tuesday in the Boston suburb of Norwood.

Giovanni Ribisi has joined the cast of Seth MacFarlane’s comedy Ted.

The film stars Mark Wahlberg as a man whose childhood wish that his teddy bear could come to life was granted. While this can be great fun when you’re ten, complications can arise when he’s still hanging around two decades later. Ribisi will be Whalberg’s friend Donny who is strangely obsessed with Ted, the living teddy bear. MacFarlane will supply the voice of the titular living toy.

Family Guy creator MacFarlane started production on this his debut feature film yesterday, with filming commencing in the Boston suburb of Norwood.