As you may recall, I’m not a big Thor fan. It’s the costume. Still, I consider it my duty as a Marvel Comics fan to bring you this trailer from Thor: The Dark World , which hits U.S. theaters on Nov. 8. The action isn’t quite as exciting as the slam-bang stuff that happens in the Iron Man 3 trailers, but it sure does look like Thor’s Earth-bound lady love Jane Foster ( Natalie Portman ) ends up in a heap o’ danger when the superhero takes her on what looks like an impromptu journey to Asgard and, perhaps, doesn’t guard her ass enough. The scenes that begin at the 1:16 mark and use of the word “sacrifice” in the voiceover certainly hint that Foster’s life could be at stake. Take a look below: See Jane Menaced: By the way, did you see that Loki’s back and looking like the Edris Salon is doing his hair in that high-security prison where he’s cooling his heels? Fabulous. Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
Dutch actress Sylvia Kristel, who passed away overnight at the age of 60 after battling cancer, defined the character of Emmanuelle as much as it defined her four-decade film career. With her first appearance as the doe-eyed sensual adventuress and 1970s softcore icon in 1974’s Emmanuelle , Kristel became synonymous with the character, which, in turn, became shorthand for an entire genre of art-house erotica: gauzy, softly lit tales of women exploring their own sexual curiosity in exotic lands and pushing the boundaries of social conventions. Without Emmanuelle and Kristel, would we even have EL James’ 50 Shades of Grey ? [ GALLERY: Images of Sylvia Kristel in 1974’s Emmanuelle ] Kristel’s career began as a model at the age of 17. She won the Miss TV Europe contest at 21 and the following year made her acting debut in Emmanuelle , which also marked the first film of director Just Jaeckin, who pioneered the soft-focused “arty” look of the series and its many imitators. (Jaeckin and Kristel both went on to enjoy successful careers in the world of erotica and later reunited for 1981’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover .) While the later films featured amazing score contributions by Francis Lai , composer/musician Pierre Bachelet enjoyed one of his earliest hits with his theme song to Emmanuelle , which Lily Allen sampled in 2006. The tale of a bored diplomat’s wife in Bangkok learning to embrace her carnal desires, Emmanuelle was adapted from the 1967 French literary phenomenon of the same name. Credited to writer Emmanuelle Arsan, the book and its film adaptation detailed its heroine’s sexual exploits in the Far East with men and women, strangers, lovers, and assorted hedonistic expats. (The real behind-the-scenes saga of who exactly wrote Emmanuelle is dramatic in itself: French diplomat Louis-Jacques Rollet-Andriane is said to have been the original writer although his wife Marayat Rollet-Andriane accepted credit as “Emmanuelle Arsan,” supposedly to protect her husband’s public service position and, probably, to advance her own career. Similarly juicy ground was explored in last week’s 50 Shades of Grey -style episode of Law & Order: SVU .) Despite attempts by French President Georges Pompidou to ban Emmanuelle — his predecessor Charles De Gaulle attempted to do the same for the book, which became a bestseller — the film was a hit; Columbia Pictures picked it up for distribution stateside on the strength of its popularity with female audiences and the sexploitation hit went on to gross $100 million worldwide, according to IMDb, spawning six sequels, made-for-television spin-offs, and numerous knock-off films. What Emmanuelle did for erotic cinema then was akin to the recent 50 Shades of Grey phenomenon: It made sexual fantasy an acceptable indulgence for mainstream and female audiences through its hazy, dreamlike, and (mostly) non-sleazy scenarios in which lust was unabashedly embraced as an utterly human impulse. Significantly, it told the tale from a woman’s perspective, one in which sexual teachers were almost as often other sexually experienced women as they were men. Kristel starred in four Emmanuelle films, returning to the series in later years in supporting roles. Emmanuelle IV (1984) marked the passing of the torch and the series’ decline into full-on camp, as Kristel’s signature character underwent surgery to emerge with a new look, portrayed by newcomer Mia Nygren. A series of Italian knock-off films under the Black Emanuelle (note the single “m” spelling differentation) moniker starred Laura Gemser, and the official Emmanuelle series devolved into the bizarre Emmanuelle in Space sequels starring Krista Allen. But Kristel remained the prototypical Emmanuelle, and the series’ best — and she’ll forever be the iconic face of its legacy. Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Walt Disney dropped a few more hints about the plots of Iron Man 3 and Thor 2″ The Dark World” on Thursday, and, well, I wish I could say they were scintillating. In an effort not to give away the store, both synopses are fairly vague, although both stress how “personal” the battles they’ll be waging are. According to the plot for Iron Man 3 , for example, the super hero’s alter ego Tony Stark “finds his personal world destroyed” and then must rely on “his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him.” Well, I certainly hope that new gold Iron Man suit they’ve been talking about comes into play because if this is going to be some sort of Marvel Comics version of a Bergman film, I’d rather watch Bergman. Over at Screen Rant , they’ve been reporting a much more detailed story that involves Ben Kingsley as the Chinese super-villain Mandarin and something called Extremis nano-technology serum that was developed to replicate the Super Soldier Serum that turned Steve Rogers into Captain America. Here’s the synopsis in its entirety: Marvel Studios’ “Iron Man 3” pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy’s hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man? As Screen Rant notes , the last line sounds like a reference to the Iron Man comics “Extremis” 2005-06 story arc written by Warren Ellis, in which Tony Stark is injected with the Extremis serum and becomes a cyborg-like being who doesn’t necessarily need his suit. Thor, meanwhile, must embark on “his most perilous and personal journey yet”. There’s a little more meat on the bones of this synopsis: Marvel’s “Thor: The Dark World” continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself. In the aftermath of Marvel’s “Thor” and “Marvel’s The Avengers,” Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos…but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all. Iron Man 3 is set for a May 3, 2013 release. Thor 2: The Dark World will hit theaters on Nov. 8, 2013 and both will screen in 3D. Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
