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Friday, October 19, 2007

Stop Remaking Classics You Bird-Brains

Okay, so I've liked a few remakes. Big deal, I've never said one remake is better than the original film and I still think many movies should not be remade. Here's an example: Alfred Hitchcock's "The Bird's."
Why? Why is a talent such as Martin Campbell ("Casino Royale," "The Mask of Zorro") agreeing to direct this? What's the point? I can understand "King Kong." It was remade once before and it caters to the big special effects that are so popular today. It good and it was fun. But "The Birds?" I got enough of it in "Resident Evil: Extinction." Why? Why the birds? Am I the only person who remembers the crappy "Psycho" remake? Am I going to keep ending sentences in confusing question marks? Probably I am? Did I mention Michael Bay's company is producing it? No thanks? End rant?

Damon Might Be Re-"Bourne"?

During "Ocean's 13" buzz, Matt Damon was quoted saying that he was "done with the whole Bourne thing." But apparently he's having second thoughts. Here's a recent quote from the Bourne star, no pun intended:

"Personally, the character means a lot to me because the character has done so much for my career. You know, it put me in the position where I have a lot more choices of kind of movies I want to make. If Paul Greengrass (director of the previous two "Bourne" films), maybe years down the road, was interested in doing another one, then I would do it, too," he said. "I don't think either of us completely put the character to bed yet."

...My! I hope so! If the baton ever gets passed on to another actor to play Bourne, I hope it's simply because Damon has outgrown the role. I'd love to see him as Bourne yet again. There are two other books in the series that could easily be adapted to film and enough was left open at the end of "Ultimatum" to warrent a sequel. Perhaps...years down the road.

Raimi Wants Jackson for "Hobbit" & Works on Spidey 4

Cult director Sam Raimi was, and probably still is, considered to direct "The Hobbit." Supposedly it's still set for a 2009 release, but Raimi would perfere if Jackson directed:

"There's no better choice to direct 'The Hobbit' than Peter Jackson." said Raimi, "I'm a fan of 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy and Peter Jackson's a brilliant filmmaker and he would be the guy I think everybody would love see direct it. And I hear [New Line and Jackson are] talking, too, from what I read in the trades, I don't really know first hand, hopefully he will direct it and give us his great version of it. If he doesn't direct it and decides to produce it, I'd love to be considered as the director."

Raimi is a classy guy for saying this. It seems like he realizes that Jackson would best suit the atmosphere already set by his "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

Meanwhile, Raimi is in the early stages of planning "Spider-Man 4."

"Right now, Sony is meeting with different writers to try and bring a fresh new story and approach to the 'Spider-Man' franchise, so I've been in meetings with Avi Arad and Laura Ziskin, the producers, and Amy Pascal. Different writers have been coming in and spinning different tales of where 'Spider-Man' can go from here."

I love Raimi. "Evil Dead?" "Spider-Man?" He wants Jackson to direct "The Hobit?" Pin a medal on this guy.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

This is the Crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise...

Incase you've missed, the casting of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek film has been blowing by and most of the crew members have been cast. Most fans are cringing at the long list of unknowns and young cast members, but frankly, what were they suppose to expect? This is something of a prequel as I recall and the crew is suppose to be a tad younger.
I've still got faith in this project. Afterall, who knew over half the cast members from "Lost?" As I recall, the cast won Best Ensemble and several cast members are constantly nominated and awarded for their acing on that show. Anyway, here's the current casting for "Star Trek," due November 2008.


Chris Pine as Captian James T. Kirk

I don't know how good of an actor he is, but I can see it.


Karl Urban as Dr. Leonard McCoy

Finally! Okay, so I don't see it at all, but I'm a fan of Urban. I hope he gets a chance to shine a bit more in this role. "Pathfinder" nearly killed his credibility.


Zachary Quinto as (Young) Spock

This was one of the first casting announcments along with Leonard Nemoy as "Old" Spock. Most fans are pleased with it and I can see it. I trust this choice a lot. The guy is known for his role in "Heroes."


Simon Pegg as Scotty

Again, I have to squint to see it, but I love Simon Pegg. He's an incredible talent, so I'm sure he'll pull it off beautifully. Can't wait to him in this role. Maybe we'll get a "Shaun of the Dead" or "Hott Fuzz" reference? Unlikely.


John Cho as Lt. Sulu

Pretty good choice. I have no idea who this guy is, but he looks the part.


Zoe Saldana as Uhura

This girl is probably well known among "Pirates of the Caribbean" fans. This is the young lady that told Jack he owed her a ship and slapped him for it. So we know that she atleast has the spunk for the iconic role of Uhura.


Anton Yelchin as Chekov

This one makes the least amount of sense to me. He doesn't look the part, he seems too young and I, again, don't know who he is. Anyway, lets see how he does.

Eric Bana as Nero
Apparently he's the villian of the film. Love Bana.

Leonard Nimoy as Old Spock
Nothing more needs to be said.

Well there you have it! The crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise (NCC-1701)! Goodluck to them and Abrams, I eagerly await next fall!

Wolverine Arrives in 2009

"X-Men Origins: Wolverine," the (as of right now) official title of the Wolverine solo movie directed by Gavin Hood will be released May 1, 2009. The film begins shooting in a few months.

In addition, Liev Schrieber ("The Manchurian Candidate") is set to play the young William Stryker. (The character was played by Brian Cox in "X2: X-Men United.")

I'm getting pretty excited for this. Gavin Hood seems like an unusual choice, but at the same time he is a talented director. Hugh Jackman is enthusiastic. The fact this movie isn't coming out until Spring of 2009 gives this film enough time to get all the kinks worked out. Lets hope the strike doesn't interupt that.

The "Saw" is Getting Dull...Back-To-Back

How much time do I want to spend on this? Not much, so I won't. I was appauled at the fact that a fourth movie was being add to the already awful three-movie Saw series, now apparently "Saw V" and "Saw VI" are going to be filmed back-to-back.

In an attempt to assure there will be a Saw movie for Halloween 2008 and 2009, Lionsgate is filming both movies before the pending Hollywood strike. If it's Halloween, it must be Saw indeed. What could be scarier? (Maybe another "28 ... Later" movie and "Pathfinder 2." Oh how dreadful!)