Saturday at Comic-Con Robert Downey Jr. and Co. charmed the crowd with glimpses of Iron Man 3 , but Marvel Studios had bigger aces up its sleeve, firming up their upcoming slate with announcements and sneak peeks at sequels Captain America: Winter Soldier and Thor: The Dark World as well as Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man . In other news, looks like Ant-Man ‘s actually being made! Probably. Oh, and Ben Kingsley is The Mandarin. Your Marvel news blast after the jump. Thor 2: The Dark World will hit on November 8, 2013. Captain America 2 got a release date (April 4, 2013) and full title that highlights the villain you can expect to see duking it out with Steve Rogers: Winter Soldier. Somewhere out there Sebastian Stan is sipping on the celebratory champagne. Winter Soldier writer Ed Brubaker, meanwhile, Tweeted his elated surprise once the news hit: @ devincf Tell Kevin I said “thanks for the surprise” if you can. I pretty much shit my pants.—
The marketing noise at Comic-Con is always such a cacophony, it can be tough-to-impossible to get tiny movies noticed in the chaos unless they’ve got attention-grabbing hooks . Like, say, finding a thumb drive inside a condom that just happens to contain the first-look teaser at Ron Perlman as a transsexual named Phyllis greeting his Sons of Anarchy son Charlie Hunnam (both in town for this weekend’s Pacific Rim and SoA panels) and Bridemaids ‘ Chris O’Dowd with a big, fat kiss. Movieline’s got your first look at the indie comedy Frankie Go Boom ! Hunnam stars as Frankie, O’Dowd as his terrible brother Bruce, and Perlman as Bruce’s terrifying old ex-con acquaintance Phil, now a terrifying ex-con lady named Phyllis. Lizzy Caplan earned raves for her turn as Lassie, whose one-night stand with Frankie leads to complications… involving a sex tape… and, well, I’ll let the film’s synopsis do the explaining: 3,2,1 … Frankie go Boom follows Frank Bartlett (Charlie Hunnam) who has been tortured, embarrassed and humiliated by his brother Bruce (Chris O’Dowd) – usually on film – for his entire life. Now that Bruce is finally off drugs and has turned his life around, things should be different. They are not. 3,2,1 … Frankie go Boom is a comedy about two brothers a girl with a broken heart, a sex tape, an angel and a pig. Since Movieline was the first to debut Frankie Go Boom ‘s poster featuring Perlman as “Phyllis,” it’s fitting that we bring you this glimpse of his post-op vamping. Let Perlman’s ” HER , MOTHAF***A!” terrify you into addressing the trans community with cowering respect. (Fun fact: I’m told it was Hunnam who suggested his Sons of Anarchy father figure play the transgender Phyllis.) Frankie Go Boom (now titled 3,2,1… Frankie Go Boom ), written and directed by Jordan Roberts, will debut on VOD on September 10 with a theatrical release to follow October 12. As for you other would-be attention-grabbers here at Comic-Con: Good luck topping the visceral recoil followed by ” Oh thank God ” relief I experienced when I picked up the Frankie Go Boom viral “package” last night and realized what was (or wasn’t) inside… Read more from Comic-Con 2012. Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Twilight has been credited with really putting Comic-Con on the map, or if it was on the map already, then it put the massive fanboy (and girl) genre-action-science-fiction-nerd-bonanza front and center in mid-July pop culture. But now the franchise is complete, but the cast came out en force to promote the film (not that it should have much problem luring adoring audiences and their cash). At the event, Beyond The Trailer host Grace Randolph speaks with the stars including Taylor Lautner who gives his personal feelings about Jacob and Robert Pattinson who offers up his view on whether his character has redefined “prince charming.” And of course, there’s Kristen Stewart, aka Vampire Bella. The actress tells what she thinks about the un-dead version of her character and what she thought of her before reading Breaking Dawn . Randolph also speaks with Ashley Greene about villains, and looking quite the adorable young star, Mackenzie Randolph shares insight on Renesmee. Check out the latest Twilight goings-on from the red carpet…
Years before Dorothy Gale plopped down in Oz right on top of that mean old stripey-footed wicked witch, a man — not just any man, but James Franco — accidentally found himself in the magical land, blown into a world of Technicolor whirlygigs and CG fairies by Sam Raimi. I mean, by a tornado. But as Raimi (along with surprise guests Michelle Williams and Mila Kunis ) explained to the crowded Hall H audience Thursday at Comic-Con, his Oz won’t have that much to do with the 1939 classic; for starters, those ruby slippers? Nowhere to be found. “It’s the story of a selfish man. A bit of a lothario, a bit of a cad, not a great guy at first,” explained Raimi of the fame and fortune-hungry Oscar Diggs (Franco), the small-time magician at the center of the Oz prequel. After landing in Oz and meeting three witches — Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams) — Diggs uses his illusionist skills to pass himself off as a long-fabled wizard. As in THE wizard. Of Oz. The script (credited to writers Mitchell Kapner and David Lindsay-Abaire) culls information directly from L. Frank Baum’s Oz books, but because of rights issues the ruby slippers made famous by Judy Garland could not be reprised in Oz . Not only that, the film won’t feature the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, or the Cowardly Lion. No matter; Raimi’s got plenty else to keep you occupied, even if the first teaser (see below) is a tad underwhelming. Snatches of action and looks at the glam trio of witches feel Raimi-esque, and yet the entire thing feels as if the Evil Dead director were let loose with a few too many green screens in a CG sandbox. The world of Oz looks startlingly like Alice in Wonderland . (Producer Joe Roth also worked on Alice , not to mention Snow White and the Huntsman .) Synopsis: Disney’s fantastical adventure “Oz The Great and Powerful,” directed by Sam Raimi, imagines the origins of L. Frank Baum’s beloved character, the Wizard of Oz. When Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he’s hit the jackpot—fame and fortune are his for the taking—that is until he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone’s been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity—and even a bit of wizardry—Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz but into a better man as well. Oz: the Great and Powerful hits theaters on March 8, 2013. Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Though The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn director Bill Condon was absent this year from Comic-Con , (he was off finishing the November release but pre-taped tidings), he sent in his stead stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner, over two dozen cast members, Stephenie Meyer, and new footage for the thousands of attendees in Hall H Thursday morning that included a slew of fan-pleasing moments – Bella Swan devouring a mountain lion among them. But while Breaking Dawn ’s bright, well-paced clips (including the first seven minutes of the film) impressed, a surprise screening of footage from The Host – Meyer’s other fantasy-sci-fi-romance YA lit adaptation –confused viewers, indicating an uphill battle ahead for distributor Open Road. The good news for Summit is that sharing the first seven minutes of Breaking Dawn – beginning with newly turned Bella (Kristen Stewart) awakening into her bright new vampire future – was a smart move; not only did it drive fans into a tizzy, it highlighted how the Saga and its heroine have matured since previous installments. For starters, Breaking Dawn Part 2 boasts a new and improved Bella – strong, sensual, and utterly confident. No longer the self-conscious, maladroit teenager who spent much of the previous four films worrying/being rescued by/pining over her vampire beau Edward Cullen, Bella awakens at the start of Breaking Dawn Part 2 in full vampire mode (and very, very hungry). Condon speeds adeptly through her initial adjustment at a brisk pace, allowing for a few generous moments of languorous caresses and canoodling with Edward, who coos, “We’re the same temperature now.” (Cue collective Hall H swoon.) Suspense kicks in on Bella’s first hunt; she’s tempted by the delicious whiff of a lone mountain climber, but stops herself in time, instead finding her first meal in an unlucky mountain lion. Returning home with a proud Edward, she encounters old bestie/third wheel Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), but he’s changed, too; “imprinting” on your crush’s infant will do that to a guy. Onetime rivals Jacob and Edward even have a moment together as Bella heads in to meet her newborn daughter for the first time, unaware of what’s transpired while she’s been vampirizing. And thus ends the first seven minutes of the film , which are gorgeously photographed, to boot. A second clip showcased what a difference Condon’s made with his actors. Having been rendered at times cardboard-like by other directors, the cast comes alive, so to speak, in a scene in which the Cullen family teaches Bella how to pass as a human now that super strength and speed – not to mention not having to breathe or blink anymore – have turned her into a blood-sucking bull in a china shop. Stewart in particular shows off her comic side, playing Bella’s preternatural mannerisms with a nuanced sense of humor. She’s matured as a performer, but more to the point, Vampire Bella is simply a better fit for her talents – bold, feline, and assured, she’s the antithesis of Twilight’s Bella Swan, which is really the point of Breaking Dawn and the end game that many critics of the character didn’t grasp with previous sequels. Vampire Bella is who Bella Swan was born to become, and Breaking Dawn ’s final Comic-Con visit drove that point home. Less successful, however, was the clip package presented by surprise guest Andrew Niccol, who’d only recently wrapped filming on the sci-fi adaptation. Based on Meyer’s Twilight follow-up novel, The Host stars Saoirse Ronan as a human named Melanie Stryder in an alternate future in which alien body-snatchers have taken over the majority of the world, possessing their human hosts while attempting to squeeze out the last remaining pockets of resistance. Ronan plays both Stryder and her alien “soul,” Wanderer, who now dominates the body they share. Still following? The Host footage opens as Wanderer awakens in Melanie’s body – glowing blue eyes indicate the converted Ronan, who’s tasked with ferreting out information from Melanie’s memories (including one watery make-out flashback between Ronan and Max Irons’ Jared, shot like a Nicholas Sparks romance). But Melanie’s spirit is so strong she’s still inside her own brain, shouting at her alien parasite via interior monologue. That all works better than it sounds, but then comes the complicated plot to muddle things up as Wanderer is captured by humans. By the time the reel ended with a car chase and stand-off between two rebel-driven trucks and their alien overlords, the crowd had grown restless, pouring disinterestedly out of Hall H. And all without even touching on film’s love quadrangle between Melanie, Wanderer, and their dueling boyfriends! So suffice to say there’s a steep Host learning curve the studio needs to address for non-fans of the book ahead of the film’s March 2013 release. Niccol creates a clear-enough dystopian world onscreen (earthy Western-like settings for the human resistance, sleek high-tech trappings for the aliens), but none of that will matter if audiences don’t understand what the heck they’re looking at. Read more from Comic-Con 2012. Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
We had our complaints about Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis ‘ much-hyped lesbian scene in Black Swan (2010) here at Mr. Skin. But we have a feeling that the killjoys who griped about the film to the British Board of Film Classification last year had an entirely different issue with it. Black Swan tops the UK film board’s annual list of most complained-about films, receiving a total of 40 formal complaints from filmgoers who felt that the Sapphic scene ” was pornographic in nature ”, according to The Independent newspaper. The BBFC said that many of the complaints came from the ” confounded expectations ” of patrons who came expecting a ” ballet movie ” and instead were presented with an intense psychological thriller full of homoerotic subtext. Trust us, guys, it should’ve been a lot worse. The British have a long and not-so-proud history of censorship- check out the “video nasties” the BBFC doesn’t want you to see from Love Camp 7 (1969) to The Human Centipede 2 (2011) right here at MrSkin.com!
Snoozy but sumptuous, Benoît Jacquot’s quasi-historical drama Farewell, My Queen isn’t going to set the world aflame: The experience of watching it is something like lounging on a satin divan, being fanned lazily with a bouquet of ostrich plumes. But maybe that’s part of what you want in a picture about the last days of Marie Antoinette’s rule: The languorousness of Farewell, My Queen recalls the last days of summer, though in this case the air is quivering not with the chirping of crickets but with a whisper of foreboding. The picture coasts along quite nicely on the strength of its contemplative sensuality, its macaron colors, and the exquisite beauty of its three chief actresses, Léa Seydoux, Virginie Ledoyen and Diane Kruger. Oh, and there’s nudity in it too, not to mention lesbian undertones – or are they overtones? I knew that would get your attention. Kruger plays Marie Antoinette, and in our first glimpse of her, she’s just awakened from what must have been a hell of a beauty sleep: Bedecked in a cream-colored nightie and sitting up in her bed at Versailles, she looks fresh and creamy and glowing, like a prized blond peach. One of her servants, the quiet but astute Sidonie Laborde (Seydoux), has come to read to her. Shall it be a novel or a fashion magazine today? It quickly becomes clear that Sidonie harbors a special fondness for her mistress and seeks to protect her from the gossip of the court — or worse. Meanwhile, the queen lavishes attention and worry on her own special favorite, the regal and somewhat icy Gabrielle de Polignac (Ledoyen). Sidonie hopes that someday the queen will single her out; but her hopes are dashed when she learns that her mistress has a special task in mind for her, one that could demand the ultimate sacrifice. There are men in Farewell, My Queen : Xavier Beauvois plays Louis XVI, and Michel Robin appears as his historiographer. But really, who cares about them? The picture also gives an appropriate sense of the court’s decadence while being only marginally tolerant of the queen’s taste for expensive finery: I suspect that Farewell, My Queen is the movie that many of the detractors of Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette wanted that picture to be. Coppola didn’t want to punish her heroine, and her refusal to bow to that kind of moralism turned off plenty of people who thought the movie should have been more politically astute. But Farewell, My Queen — which was based on the novel by Chantal Thomas — is in its own way sympathetic to the ill-fated ruler. One servant claims to understand why Marie Antoinette spends hours staring at her accumulated luxury goods: “That’s how she forgets she’s queen.” She also longs for love, and her ardor for Gabrielle appears to skim lightly over any perceived impropriety of feelings or behavior. Her desire is only partly carnal; it seems that Gabrielle is a kind of sisterly twin to her. Seydoux’s Sidonie registers all of this not with pouty disappointment but with greater resolve, and, ultimately, a resignation that’s a kind of victory. Meanwhile, she’s the most overtly sensuous of the three: Kruger’s beauty is fine-grained and luminous, and Ledoyen’s is cool as pink marble, but Seydoux has both brains and a thumping pulse. The picture’s painterly production design and cinematography (by Katia Wyszkop and Romain Winding, respectively) ensure that everything is gorgeous to look at, but Jacquot never lets the picture slide into total sterility – even the sight of Seydoux scratching her mosquito bites is vaguely libidinous. Farewell, My Queen may move along at a stately pace, and it may not cut very deep. But even if it’s essentially little more than a pretty porcelain figurine, it’s one that at least nods to the glow and warmth of real flesh. Follow Stephanie Zacharek on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Also in Thursday afternoon’s round-up of news briefs, Strand Releasing and Cinema Guild pick up films for U.S. release. Ashely Judd and Robert Forster take on roles in an upcoming action-thriller and Universal sets a release for The Man with the Iron Fists . Nancy Schafer Departs Tribeca Film Festival Schafer has served in various posts with the festival since its beginning in 2002, including the post of executive director of the Tribeca Film Festival which she assumed in 2009. She will continue in a consultation capacity going forward while she pursues other interests. “Nancy has been a key part of Tribeca since the festival was founded in 2002,” Tribeca co-founder Jane Rosenthal said. “She helped grow the festival into the international showcase it is today and was instrumental in the formation of Tribeca Enterprises, the festival’s parent company. We will miss her immensely–she will always be considered family.” Strand Takes Rights to Dreams of a Life The doc centers on the death of 38 year-old Joyce Vincent who passed away in North London in 2003. Her skeleton was discovered three years later with her heating and television still on. Newspaper reports knew little about her and director Carol Morley seeks to find out who she is and how someone can be so forgotten today. Strand plans to open the film it picked up from Entertainment One August 3rd. Cinema Guild Picks Up The Law in These Parts The distributor nabbed U.S. distribution rights to Ra’anan Alexandrowicz’s Sundance World Cinema Grand Jury Prize winner The Law in These Parts , which it will open in November. The film explores the four-decade-old Israeli military legal system in the Occupied Territories. Around the ‘net… Big Movie Musicals are Coming Universal is moving forward to adapt the hit musical Wicked while Jon Favreau is in negotiations to direct Jersey Boys , Deadline reports . Ashley Judd, Robert Forster Board Olympus Has Fallen They join the White House-set action thriller starring Gerard Butler, which is being directed by Antoine Fuqua. Judd plays the first lady, while Butler will play a Secret Service agent trying to stop Korean terrorists who have taken over the White House, THR reports . Universal Sets Date for The Man with the Iron Fists The action-adventure, produced by Quentin Tarantino will be released by Universal on November 2nd. Wu-Tang Clan leader RZA is directing the project starring Russell Crowe and Lucy Liu, Deadline reports .
The upcoming Fifty Shades of Grey film is getting all sorts of hype … which it can’t possibly live up to. Could this movie possibly be any good at all? Given the popularity of EL James’ novels, there’s no reason why a 50 Shades film couldn’t win over general audiences and make money … in theory. The only problem with a Fifty Shades of Grey movie is … the Fifty Shades of Grey book. What has made it so successful simply may not translate. “The only way to make it into a crowd-pleasing film is to pretty much tear everything out of the book,” says author/screenwriter Christopher Farnsworth. “Those movies don’t historically make a lot of money. Studios don’t want to make R-rated films. They want more PG films that a lot of people can see.” Many believe Fifty Shades would be better suited to an HBO show, which, regardless of who plays Christian and Ana , could drag out its racy content for years. Of course, if the budget for this film is small enough, and the buzz strong enough, an R rating doesn’t have to stand in the way of a long-term profit. Especially if the flick sticks with the book’s main thematic elements, which, when you strip away all the sex, is basically glorified Twilight fan fiction. “It’s the classic big love story … the powerful man who plucks out a seemingly ordinary woman, and makes her feel special,” romance author Beatriz Williams says. “That’s emotional crack for women. We’re hardwired to love this stuff.” Indeed … but will you pay to see the 50 Shades movie? Vote!
The upcoming Fifty Shades of Grey film is getting all sorts of hype … which it can’t possibly live up to. Could this movie possibly be any good at all? Given the popularity of EL James’ novels, there’s no reason why a 50 Shades film couldn’t win over general audiences and make money … in theory. The only problem with a Fifty Shades of Grey movie is … the Fifty Shades of Grey book. What has made it so successful simply may not translate. “The only way to make it into a crowd-pleasing film is to pretty much tear everything out of the book,” says author/screenwriter Christopher Farnsworth. “Those movies don’t historically make a lot of money. Studios don’t want to make R-rated films. They want more PG films that a lot of people can see.” Many believe Fifty Shades would be better suited to an HBO show, which, regardless of who plays Christian and Ana , could drag out its racy content for years. Of course, if the budget for this film is small enough, and the buzz strong enough, an R rating doesn’t have to stand in the way of a long-term profit. Especially if the flick sticks with the book’s main thematic elements, which, when you strip away all the sex, is basically glorified Twilight fan fiction. “It’s the classic big love story … the powerful man who plucks out a seemingly ordinary woman, and makes her feel special,” romance author Beatriz Williams says. “That’s emotional crack for women. We’re hardwired to love this stuff.” Indeed … but will you pay to see the 50 Shades movie? Vote!
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