‘The entire thing is one-shot singing,’ the actor joked about involvement in superhero sequel. By Amy Wilkinson, with reporting by Josh Horowitz Hugh Jackman in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” Photo: 20th Century Fox
‘His ultimate weapon is rage,’ Jackman reveals of Logan’s upcoming return to the big-screen. By Josh Wigler Hugh Jackman in “The Wolverine” Photo: 20th Century Fox
Well, it’s certainly great to be cast in a hit franchise that producers are itching to see the good times roll on. Scarlett Johansson ‘s portrayal as the Black Widow in Marvel’s The Avengers was one component in a half-dozen super-heroes that has brought in over $1.45 billion since its release in late Spring. With money like that rolling in, no point in jiggering with a winning formula. And to keep the good times going, the producers have offered up a record-breaking paycheck for Johansson to reprise her super-hero role. The Hollywood star has been offered a cool $20 million in order to lure her back in the skin-tight black suit for more flips, punches and acrobatics for future adoring audiences in the franchise’s next installment, according to the New York Post . That is “slightly” more than the $19 million Angelina Jolie reportedly received for her turn in The Tourist If that pans out, that will be quite a pay raise from the current film, which is the biggest of the summer tentpoles so far. According to The Hollywood Reporter in May she made between $4 – 6 million plus bonuses, similar to Samuel L. Jackson, but much less than Robert Downey, Jr.’s reported take (Chris Hemsworth, Chis Evans, Jeremy Renner and Mark Ruffalo made about half that). Last month, Forbes magazine dubbed Kristen Stewart the highest paid actress in Hollywood between her Twilight and Snow White and the Huntsman gigs. The two made her a celestial $34.5 million between May 2011 and May 2012. If Johansson accepts the twenty mill. and adds in another pic for good measure, she could well be on her way in topping Stewart. [Source: NY Post via The Huffington Post ]
School principal Judd Nelson sees his bratty charges as he wants to see them… in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. Because they’re all cliches in the Breakfast Club genre-spoof Bad Kids Go to Hell , an indie film adaptation of Matthew Spradlin’s comic book/graphic novel. Watch the trailer for the horror comedy, which debuts at Comic-Con, after the jump, and decide if this kind of fast-talking self-awareness still seems fresh in a post- Detention world. That’s the biggest obstacle facing Bad Kids Go To Hell , if you ask me: Joseph Kahn has already traversed this ground, and with an unapologetically hopped-up, take no prisoners visual style and razor wit, in spring’s indie horror satire Detention . Like that film (which starred The Hunger Games ‘ Josh Hutcherson ), Bad Kids Go To Hell seems to take ’80s teen movies like The Breakfast Club and spins its tropes around in various post-modern ways, dropping pop culture references galore. Unlike Detention , however, Bad Kids seems pedestrian in comparison – but then almost any iteration of a teen movie spoof would seem that way, juxtaposed with Kahn’s ADD speed freak-out of a genre romp. Behold, the Bad Kids synopsis: Six private school high school kids find themselves stuck in detention on a frightfully dark and stormy Saturday afternoon. During their 8 hour incarceration, each of the six kids falls victim to a horrible “accident” until only one of them remains. And as each of these spoiled rich kids bites the dust, the story takes on a series of humorous and frantic twists and turns. Is one of the kids secretly evening the school’s social playing field? Or have the ghosts of prestigious Crestview Academy finally come to punish the school’s worst (and seemingly untouchable) brats? One thing is for sure…Daddy’s money can’t save them now. Bad Kids Go To Hell will have its North American premiere at Comic-Con this Friday, July 13th.
Also in Monday afternoon’s round-up of news briefs, Drafthouse Films picks up a lauded film festival circuit doc for U.S. release. James Franco has tapped an Outfest filmmaker to make a ‘Homo-Sex-Art-Film.’ And rounding things out, casting news for a pair of projects. Drafthouse Films Picks Up The Ambassador The dark comic documentary that exposes the corrupt business of selling diplomatic titles to exploit lucrative and limited resources of war-torn third world countries has been picked up by Drafthouse Films, the film distribution label of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. The film by Mad Brugger ( Red Chapel ) was financed by filmmaker Lars von Trier’s production company Zentropa. Around the ‘net… Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh Put on Show for N. Korean Leader Disney did not approve the characters that appeared in a concert attended by North Korea’s new 20-something leader Kim Jong-un at an official event last week. Mickey, Minnie, Pooh and Tigger made appearances and footage from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Dumbo played in the background. Western references in any North Korean event has been unheard of until now and had been strictly forbidden, ABC News reports . Wolverine Sets Japanese Cast Fox’s 2013 summer tentpole starring Hugh Jackman has set additional cast. The studio won’t discuss details but Japanese actors Hiroyiki Sanada ( The Last Samurai ), Hal Yamanouchi ( Sinbad of the Seas 0 and two newcomers Tao Okamoto and Rila Fukushima are set to star in the film. The story is based in Japan, Comingsoon.net reports . James Franco to Collaborate on a “Homo-Sex-Art-Film” The 127 Hours star is joining filmmaker Travis Mathews on a new project. He wrote on his website that that he received an email from Franco’s agent about possibly working together on a ‘homo-sex-art-film’ and that they soon got on the phone and a week later they were in pre-production. The filmmaker’s indie I Want Your Love played Outfest, Vulture reports . Keri Russell to Star in Thriller Dark Skies She will play the lead in the supernatural thriller, written and directed by Scott Stewart. The film has comparatively a modest budget than producers Blumhouse’s earlier Insidious and Paranormal Activity , Deadline reports . Brie Larson Boards Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Don Jon’s Addiction The 21 Jump Street and Rampart star has joined the project which will be Gordon-Levitt’s directorial debut. He will star as a porn-addict trying to be a better person after meeting a widowed older woman, played by Julianne Moore.. Larson will play his sister, Variety reports .
Bruce Lee as Spidey? Harvey Keitel as Wolverine? Now this is fantasy superhero casting I can get behind. Check out these and more pieces of gorgeous concept art from French artist/creature designer Alexandre Tuis , who racked his pop culture-loving memory banks to envision Marvel’s most famous heroes as played by a roster of legends and favorite actors. Rutger Hauer as Thor? Come on now . Perfection. Tuis is a talented artist who’s contributed concept art to film productions including Dark Shadows and the soundalike Dead Shadows and cites Frank Frazetta as an inspiration; he frequently circles back to his love of movies in his work, hence fun side projects like this Marvel series. Scroll down to see Tuis’s Marvel superheroes, re-imagined (all art work reposted with permission): Harvey Keitel as Wolverine: Eat your heart out, Hugh Jackman. Bruce Lee as Spider-Man: If only! Possibly the best fantasy Spidey casting I’ve ever heard. Arnold Schwarzenegger as Colossus: No need to hide an accent! Plus, the added cheeky nod to the T-1000. Who’s made of metal now? Rutger Hauer as Thor: Hauer in his heyday as the Norse god. Chris Hemsworth who? Head to Tuis’s website for the full set of Marvel superheroes, including some truly inspired choices including Zorro / Lost in Space ‘s Guy Williams as Iron Man and Bill Bixby as (what else?) the Incredible Hulk.
A friend once told me that his gold standard for new acquaintances involved the Leonard Cohen song “Anthem.” “There is a crack, a crack in everything,” the song goes. “That’s how the light gets in.” He applied it as a kind of authenticity test, because — pace Mr. Cohen — there are people out there who appear to lack the crack, whether it never fully formed or has been willfully spackled shut. There are films that lack it, too, some more ironically than others. Watching The Art of Getting By , the story of a singular teenager told in oppressively uniform terms, I was reminded of my friend’s judgment of a man I was seeing: No crack, no sir.
Gavin O’C onnor didn’t win the directing run-off for The Wolverine , which is a shame. For Hugh Jackman. At least judging from this new poster for the fall MMA drama Warrior , which makes stars Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton look like co-Mr. Universes. Imagine what O’C onnor could have done for the already-jacked Jackman! The Wolverine could have been Pumping Iron with Adamantium. Anyway! Click through for the ladyporn poster.
No offense to David Slade or Robert Schwentke , but this is how you get a fanbase excited again for The Wolverine : Over the weekend in London, Source Code director Duncan Jones said he has met with Twentieth Century Fox about replacing Darren Aronofsky at the helm of the Adamantium-covered next chapter in the X-Men franchise. Whether he takes over, however, remains to be seen.
In the Small Mercies department, Ridley Scott recently revealed to soul sister site Deadline that his much talked-about Alien prequel movie has gone through a metamorphosis. Specifically, it’s no longer a prequel tied to the Alien mythology, it’s just a standalone movie now. And for that, I am quite thankful.