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Leterrier Set To CLASH With Some TITANS

Last week, we discussed what comic projects might lie in Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier's future. Well, they are all going to have to wait. Variety is reporting that Leterrier has signed to direct the Clash of the Titans remake.

Leterrier replaces the previously announced Steven Norrington, who dropped out of the project over budgetary concerns.

Warner Brothers is putting the project in the fact track for a 2010 release due to competition from a similarly themed War of the Gods from director Tarsem Singh and production house Relativity Media.

Both projects are set in the world of Greek Mythology and the similarities go all the way down to the lead character's name: Perseus in Clash, Theseus in War.

Usually, in foot races like these, there is one winner and one movie that doesn't get made. However, there are rare occasions where two mirror image films make it all the way to theaters at the same time (as exemplified by 1998's Armageddon and Deep Impact).

I have to agree with FilmBuff Online Grand Poobah Rich Drees assessment of this remake. The original was known primarily for its intriguing mix of name actors and being the last film to feature Ray Harryhausen's trademark stop-motion animation. The remake's tight budgetary reins would seem to prohibit the former, and the producers are replacing the latter with computer generated images. All you have left to imitate from the 1981 version is the campy, overly familiar story. Good luck with that.

Rodriguez To Helm RED SONJA Film

Everyone's favorite She-Devil With a Sword is coming back to the big screen, and Robert Rodriguez is bringing her there.

USA Today announces that Rodriguez with be producing and directing a remake of Red Sonja. Who will be filling out, and filling out quite nicely, I'd image, the chain mail bikini? Rodriguez's real-life paramour, Rose McGowan.

My knee-jerk reaction to this is mixed. The positive is that the director of such kick-butt films as El Mariachi, Sin City and Grindhouse: Planet Terror is guiding Red Sonja's return to the big screen. However, it seem a bit like a vanity project he's doing for his fiancee. I mean, McGowan is an improvement over Brigitte Nielsen (who played Sonja in 1985's Red Sonja film), but would she have the lead in a sword and sorcery actioner if she wasn't engaged to the producer/director?

Red Sonja is a minor character from the Robert E. Howard mythos who gained higher exposure in the 1970s when Marvel Comics' writers increased her role in the pages of their Conan the Barbarian books. The character currently has her own ongoing series published by Dynamite Entertainment.

This version of Red Sonja is set for a 2010 release.

This Week's Theatrical Releases

1.Wall*E (3,992 Theaters, 103 Minutes, Rated G): It's going to be a tough weekend for movies in the Gatevackes household. While we each want to see both of the movies opening this weekend, my wife wants to see this film more and I want to see Wanted more. Top that off by us going out of town to see friends this weekend, and might not be able to see any. Ach, such is life.

This is the story set almost 700 years in earth's future. All the humans are gone, having colonized the stars. They left behind a robot to clean up the planet named Wall*E. But the years of solitude and tedious work have done something to the little guy--they've made him develop a personality.

This sounds charming, and since the Pixar name is attached to the film, you can pretty much guarantee that it is. Pixar holds a place with me where they can't lose. Their films have all been of such a high quality and so good that I can't see them doing any wrong. Or, at the least, their failures are ten times as interesting and entertaining as anybody else's good stuff.

There have been a few naysayers who have been critical of this film ahead of time, especially the fact that there is no dialogue for the first 30 minutes of the movie (and rumor has it earlier versions of the film had no dialogue at all). But don't listen to them. Go see it and be charmed.



2. Wanted (3,175 Theaters, 110 Minutes, Rated R): Now we come to a comic book movie that bares little resemblance to the comic book that inspired it. Instead of superpowered bad guys, we have a fraternity of less-colorful assassins.

This time, it might not be the fault of the producers. Mark Millar, writer of the comic this movie is based on, said that when he was shopping projects around to producers, it was an early version of the script and the characters were assassins, not supervillains. Yes, this project was shopped around way before the comic book even came out.

If you flip through the trade paperback the next time you are in the book store or comic shop, you can tell how desperately Millar and artist J.G. Jones wanted this film to become a movie. They did pre-casting in the comic. Wesley was drawn to look like rap star Eminem, who was hot off his 8 Mile film. Fox was drawn to look like Hallie Berry, and Wesley's dad was drawn to look like Tommy Lee Jones.

Hollywood being what it is, Wesley is now James McAvoy, Fox is now Angelina Jolie, and while I'm not sure who is playing Wesley's dad, Morgan Freeman has become Wesley's boss/mentor in the film. I think that casting is a slight improvement over the casting.

Another thing that has changed from the comic is the motivations of the characters. In the comic, they are evil through and through. There is no redeeming quality about them. As a matter of fact, that was the point. But since it is hard to market a film chock full of evil jerks, the characters become that rare breed of assassin who only kills to make the world better. See, even though they are cold-blooded murderers, they are good cold-blooded murderers.

Shall We Play A Game? WAR GAMES Returns To Theaters In July

It seems almost impossible to believe, but John Badham's War Games is celebrating it's 25th Anniversary this year. And NCM Fathom is presenting a special, one night event to celebrate that fact.

On July 24, 2008 at 7:30 local time, NCM Fathom and MGM will be showing War Games on the big screen at theaters near you.

A Cold War thriller for the teen set, War Games featured Matthew Broderick as a teenage hacker who tries to break in to Atari for a peek at the latest games. It turns out that the new game he found, Global Thermonuclear War, wasn't part of Atari's Christmas releases, but rather part of the U.S. Government's doomsday scenario. Inadvertently, he sets the world on the course for, well, global thermonuclear war.

NCM Fathom has done similar events around the 20th Anniversary of Dirty Dancing and the 25th Anniversary of Poltergeist. It also simulcasts performances of the Metropolitan Opera and other special events.

Tickets for the showing of War Games go on sale June 27th. To purchase tickets or find the location of a participating theater near you, vist the NCM Fathom Website.

WATCHMEN: Veidt Enterprises Advertising Contest Winners Online.

A few months ago, Watchmen director Zach Snyder started a contest where fans who were handy with a camera could construct ads for products put out by company owned by the character, Adrian "Ozymandias" Veidt. Winners would get the chance to have their ads play on television sets in the background of the film.

Well, it appears that the contest is over and the winners have appeared online. You can see all the clips on the Watchmen YouTube Channel. The best commercials capture the mid-80s cheese (Watchmen is set in 1985) of that era's ads quite well.

Cinema Blend has posted five of their favorites on its site. Here are three of mine.

This one is for the Veidt toyline that fans of the comic will remember well.



Love the director credit at the beginning. This next one is an ad that might have made the 1985 High School version of me buy the hairspray in an attempt to be cool.



The creator of this fake ad has two other versions of this idea in the winning ads.

And, finally, this ad for Nostalgia perfume captures the Bergmanesque quality of the 80s Calvin Klein Obsession ads (which many contest entries tried to do to varying degrees of success), but also ties in to the comic's (and, hopefully, the film's) plot as well.



The five winners voted best by the fans received a High-Definition Canon Vixia HG10 camcorder and eight other winners picked by Snyder himself received $1,000. All presumably have a shot of making it to the big screen.

MY NAME IS BRUCE To Finally Get Released!! (We Hope)

Pretty much everyone here at the FilmBuffOnLine offices are big Bruce Campbell fans. And we have watched in growing frustration as his comedy My Name Is Bruce has been repeatedly had its release date pushed back. So forgive us if we are skeptically hopeful that this latest announced release date - this coming October – actually holds.

The word comes from Dark Horse Comic’s Mike Richardson, who was chatting with the folks from Shock Till You Drop at last evening’s Saturn Awards.

Some people maybe thought the film fell out or that there was something wrong with it… We did our shoot, put it in the can and the studio that financed it liked it so much they gave us more money to do a second shoot. We beefed it up so it could go into the theaters.

For the uninitiated, in My Name Is Bruce, Bruce Campbell stars as Bruce Campbell, an actor recruited to rid a town of invading undead based on the fact that he did it so well in the Evil Dead movies. Yes, it’s a goof concept, but can you really see anyone else pulling such a story idea off?

Richardson also states that they are already knocking around the idea of a sequel if the first film does well. We'’l believe it when we see it.

Via Cinematical

Zack Snyder WATCHMEN Video Interview

If you are a fan of Watchmen like the crew here at FilmBuffOnline, then you'll be sure to like this. The folks over at Collider.com have a great two-part video interview with director Zack Snyder and wife Debbie.

The interview, recorded yesterday at the 34th Annual Saturn Awards, clocks in at about ten minutes and covers everything from Snyder being the main attraction at next-month's Comic-Con to how long the running time will be on the DVD. One interesting reveal: the looming possibility of a Watchmen trailer in front of The Dark Knight. While the question isn’t directly answered, it seems Zack and Debbie can't refrain from smiling LARGE.

You can see the interview here.

Just When You Thought It Was Safe: A DISASTER MOVIE Trailer

As you may already know, it has been the ongoing mission of FilmBuffOnline to serve and protect our faithful community of readers. Once again we come to your aid to steer you far, far away from the movies created by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, the pair that dared give us such humorless time-and-money-wasters like Meet The Spartans, Epic Movie and Date Movie.

FilmBuff editor Rich Drees wasted no time to dutifully direct your eyes here. Also, in the last 48 hours fellow FilmBuff writer William Gatevackes clued you on another poster here.

Well, the cinematic criminal duo have tried to foil us again by unleashing a most sinister weapon; the movie trailer. But have no fear, we have corralled it and brought it to your attention. Watch at your own risk, PLEASE!

Hmm, you know, Garfield: The Movie doesn't seem so bad now.

Chris Carter Pulls A CLOVERFIELD

As those watching for news leaks from the set of the upcoming X-Files: Fight The Future have learned, writer/director Chris Carter is good at keeping secrets. It should come as no surprise then that the Hollywood Reporter has uncovered that Carter is already midway through the production of his next film, Fencewalker.

The Reporter describes the film as "a coming-of-age semiautobiographical character piece with no supernatural elements." The cast reportedly includes Natalie Dormer, Katie Cassidy, Xzibit, Derek Magyar and Meckah Brooks.

The fact that the film is more of a drama than a genre piece may explain why it hasn’t shown up on the geek press radar. Both Carter’s and the cast’s agents would not confirm to the Reporter that the film was in production.

Produced independently on financing raised by Carter, the film has no distributor yet.

Poster: THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL

If there is one film currently in production that I am NOT looking forward to seeing, it is the upcoming remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still. And despite what some would think, it has less to do with my continuing apathy towards star Keanu Reeves than it does towards the fact that this project even exists. The original not only is one of the best science-fiction films of all time, but one of the best films of the 1950s. Even today, though its special effects may appear dated, its message isn't. Director Scott Derrickson is going to have to go a long way to improve and come up with some worthwhile new take on the story, and I don't think he can.

The just released poster, via AintItCoolNews, doesn't give me pause to rethink my attitude towards the picture. If anything, its allusion to the scene in Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters Of The Third Kind where the aliens emerge from the mothership to greet the waiting scientists, makes me despise this film just a bit more.


Click to enlarge, if you dare.

Lee And Simon Discuss Marvel's Movie Slate; Plus: Potential AVENGERS Line-Up Revealed.

USA Today has a nice article on Marvel's slate of movies, where they speak with comic legends Stan Lee and Joe Simon about their creations who are due to hit the big screen.

But the paper also speaks with Iron Man director, Jon Favreau, who reveals that Marvel is pushing for the team line-up for 2011 Avengers film to be Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Ant-Man and Iron Man.

This should come as a surprise to no one, because by the time The Avengers is released, all of those characters should have had a film in theaters.

The movie Avengers line-up mirrors the line-up in the first several issues of the Avengers comic book. The Wasp, a female character who was the romantic interest of Ant-Man, was also a founding member of the comic book team. Hopefully, she will be a supporting character in the Ant-Man movie and eventually become part of the movie Avengers herself.

And, to further nitpick, the Hulk left the team in its second issue and Captain America wasn't defrosted until its fourth. But it is close enough for a Avengers comic book fan like me to get excited.

Could the Siegel Lawsuit Delay SUPERMAN Sequels?

Could the Big Red "S" be on the shelf due to a high-profile lawsuit? And does this mean good things for The Big Red Cheese?

In a recent press junket, Get Smart director Peter Segal was asked by AMC's SciFi Scanner blog about his upcoming Billy Batson and the Legend of Shazam, which adapts DC's Captain Marvel the screen. Segal's response raised a red flag for many comics fans.

Here is the back and forth about the comic book adaptation:

Q: You're working on an adaptation of Billy Batson and the Legend of Shazam. Why depart from comedy?

A: I think superheroes are heroes with flaws, and in their flaws, there is a sense of humor. A few people have asked me if I'm trying turn the film into a light comedy, and I'm saying absolutely not. However, real fans of Shazam know there's a great sense of humor just in the fact that a 13-year-old boy morphs into a 28-year-old superstud, Captain Marvel. There's almost a genre for movies like that - Big, 13 Going On 30 -- but they're all following in the footsteps of Shazam.

Q: There are a lot of similarities between this property and Superman. In fact, DC successfully sued for infringement in the '40s. Do you worry people will continue to connect the two?

A: I'll name two incredibly successful comics right now that are about a millionaire who wants to fight crime and uses technology to build suits and gadgets to help him do so. But quite frankly, I was concerned: Superman literally squashed Captain Marvel in the '40s. There are a lot of Captain Marvel fans who are saying he got a raw deal. And since there seems to be some legal trouble in ever bringing another Superman to the screen, now feels like the right time.

The legal trouble that Segal refers to could be the ongoing lawsuit by the heirs of Jerry Siegel over the rights to the Superman character. Earlier this year, a Federal District Court in California awarded the Siegel family a share in the copyright of the Superman story in Action Comics #1. Legal theorists, both armchair and scholarly, ponder what this judgment could mean to rights to the Superman character, and if the Siegels are due any money from any film adaptation. This could certainly delay any sequel until this matter is settled once and for all.

If this lawsuit is putting a hold on the sequel to Superman Returns, someone forgot to tell its star, Brandon Routh. In an interview with Comingsoon.net, Routh stated he expects to be back in the cape and boots soon:

CS: Do you have any expectation as to when you might go to work on "Man of Steel"?
Routh: I expect that we'll be working early next year. I know that Bryan [Singer] has pretty much finished out "Valkyrie" and is back in the states and is zeroing in on the story that he wants to tell. Once that arrives it's going to move pretty quickly. I think that everybody is getting excited. It's been three years now, really. It's hard to believe that it's been long, but everyone is getting jazzed and ready to go again. I certainly am.

The Superman Returns sequel, tentatively titled Superman: The Man of Steel, has been delayed from a proposed Summer 2009 release date by the project losing its writers, Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris, and further complicated by the Writer's Guild Strike of earlier this year.

So, could the Siegel lawsuit mean that it will be 19 more years before we get another Superman sequel? Or will shooting really begin in early 2009 like Routh claims. Either way, it looks like Captain Marvel is ready to step in and hold Supes place on the movie screens until this is all settled.