Category: Rumors

Harrison Ford Reps Deny He Wants Indiana Jones Killed

Being that it’s a slow Christmas week, The Huffington Post reported that, according to Showbizspy, Harrison Ford wanted to kill off his alter-ego Indiana Jones.

“Harrison thinks it would be good for Indy to die and pass on his hat to his son in the next one,” the site quotes an insider as saying.

“[Producer and creator] George [Lucas] especially is resisting the notion but [director] Steven [Spielberg] is considering it. Funnily enough Harrison wanted the same for Han Solo in the final Star Wars but George put an end to it. This time he doesn’t have all the say though.”

Not so fast says Ford’s reps:

“Ford representatives reached out to The Huffington Post to deny reports of Fords’ wish to kill off the Indiana Jones character, calling them false.”

Ford has played Professor Jones 4 times beginning with the 1981 classic RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK in 1981. The latest one was in 2008’s INDIANA JONES AND THE CRYSTAL SKULL with Shia LeBeouf playing Jones’ son.

Indy 5 is still in the planning stages of development.

Source: The Huffington Post

Luhrmann Talks THE GREAT GATSBY

The on-going rumor about another go at F. Scott Fitzgerald’s THE GREAT GATSBY is alive and well. Too bad Hollywood is attempting to top the original. The Oscar winning 1974 version filled with soft lensed close-ups of Redford and Farrow is still sublime. The Nelson Riddle score forever magical.

I’d say anyone would be hard pressed to try to recapture that kind of lightning in a bottle, unless your MOULIN ROUGE director, Baz Luhrmann. MTV News pinned down Luhrmann on the status of the film he’s still pursuing as well as casting rumors. Here’s what the director had to say on THE GREAT GATSBY. 

And on Thursday, Production Weekly tweeted this:

Rumored casting for THE GREAT GATSBY, Leonardo DiCaprio for Jay Gatsby, Tobey Maguire for Nick Carraway & Amanda Seyfried for Daisy Buchanan.

To be truthful, I’m kind of torn on this. On the one side, a remake, or whatever you may call it, is so unnecessary. The idea of DiCaprio and Maguire in this film is fine, but Seyfried? Shame if that casting rumor comes to fruition. On the other side, if the project is green-lit, who better to go forward with it than Luhrmann. Undoubtedly, his wife and collaborator, Oscar winner Catherine Martin will once again serve as Production Designer.

We’ll keep you updated if and when the film begins production.

Source: MTV News

Jolie & Clooney To Star in Monroe Biopic?

In what seems like a bit of a stretch, The Daily Mail online is reporting that Angelina Jolie and George Clooney will star as Marilyn Monroe and Ol’ Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra, in a new film about the Hollywood bombshell.

The 35-year-old actress is set to play Monroe in an adaptation of Andrew O’Hagan’s The Life And Opinions Of Maf The Dog, And Of His Friend Marilyn Monroe, the author revealed at the Edinburgh Book Festival yesterday. And George Clooney has been lined up to play Monroe’s close friend Frank Sinatra, O’Hagan confirmed, adding that production on the film would begin soon. While Scarlett Johansson and Christina Hendricks had previously been in line for the role, it was eventually decided Jolie would be the best choice to play Monroe in the new film. The story will take place during the last two years of Monroe’s life.

Jolie bears more than a striking resemblance to Monroe in the film LIFE OR SOMETHING LIKE IT.

O’Hagan’s novel tells the story of Monroe’s final two years before her death in 1962 through the eyes of her pet Maltese terrier Maf – a gift from My Way singer Sinatra in 1960. As well as meeting Monroe’s friends including former U.S. President John F. Kennedy, Maf also accompanied the star to acting classes and restaurants.

Beloved pet: Monroe pictured with Maltese terrier Maf in 1961

When she received the dog from Sinatra, Monroe decided to call it Mafia – a joke reference to Sinatra, before shortening the name to Maf, or Maf Honey. In the book, written entirely from Maf’s perspective, the canine comments: ‘She was an artist to her fingertips… a strange and unhappy creature, but at the same she had more comedy to her than anybody I would ever know. More comedy and more art.’ When Monroe died in August 1962 aged 36, Maf was inherited by Sinatra’s secretary Gloria Lovell. It has not yet been revealed who will be voicing Maf in the movie.

 

For this biopic to be plausible, a director will need A-list actors like Jolie and Clooney to pull this off. I like the idea. What do you think?

Source: The DailyMail

Robert Downey’s Golden Globes Facial Hair Could Reveal Much

I knew there was a reason I tuned into the Golden Globes Sunday night.  It’s not so I could see who was wearing who or witness James Cameron unceremoniously beat ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow for Best Director.  It was to see Robert Downey Jr, his awesome acceptance speech, and his facial hair.  If you look closely, it resembles that of Tony Stark.  Some of you might not find this so odd, seeing as how Downey plays Stark in the IRON MAN movies, but the question has been raised as to why he was still sporting this look.

Principal photography wrapped back in July, and Jon Favreau announced via his Twitter feed they were “‘locking reels’ today.”  So it more than likely doesn’t mean they are going back for touch-up shots.  Sure, Downey played the most method of actors in TROPIC THUNDER, but surely he isn’t wearing the Stark goatee for publicity on the film.

Really, the only reason Robert Downey Jr. would be wearing this facial hair now is if he is planning to shoot scenes for other pre-AVENGERS films that are currently in development.  At this stage of the game, the most likely one is THOR, which is set to begin shooting in the next week or two.  This isn’t that big of a surprise, either, when you consider how tightly wound Marvel Studios is keeping these movies leading up to THE AVENGERS.  Expect more and more cameos to pop up in films like THOR, CAPTAIN AMERICA, and even this May’s IRON MAN 2.

As indicated, this is strictly conjecture on my part based on Downey’s facial hair.  For all I know, he really likes the look and wanted to keep it.  It does make you wonder, though.

Sigourney Weaver Drops Some GHOSTBUSTERS 3 Bombs

sigourney weaver ghostbusters

Another week, another rumor going around about what to expect from the possible GHOSTBUSTERS 3.   There were early talks that Chris Farley would be in the film.   That is how far back these rumors go.   I think, at this point, it’s just the staples of the first two films (Bill Murray, Ivan Reitman, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, even Ernie Hudson) all dragging this out seeing how far they can string us (and Dan Aykroyd, who genuinely thinks it’s going to happen soon) along.

Today’s unobtainable carrot bit of information comes from Weaver herself, who was doing interviews promoting AVATAR.   She sat down with Channel 4, and the subject of a third GHOSTBUSTERS film was broached.   What she had to say was pretty startling and gives some serious spoilers as to what the direction for the next film might be.

Here is the gist.   Note, if this does end up becoming true, these could be considered major spoilers for the new film.   You were warned.

  • She hopes people are excited for it.
  • She is not officially involved, but she has had some offers to read the script.
  • Her son from GHOSTBUSTERS 2 is likely going to be a Ghostbuster in the new film.
  • Bill Murray’s character, Peter Venkman, is going to be a ghost.

In all honesty, at this point, I could care less if there is another GHOSTBUSTERS film.   The first one is a classic.   The second one is funny in parts but, overall, a let-down from the first one.   We will always have THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS episodes and the new video game to keep us company.   We really don’t need another film, and these plot points, if they are true, don’t do much to sway me the other direction.

What do you think?   Should another GHOSTBUSTERS film be put on the fast track?   How much do you think Weaver is really giving away in her comments here?   Are you, like me, under the impression that this is all a big, decades-long April Fool’s joke on Aykroyd?   Let us know by commenting below.

In case you wanted to see it, here is the video clip from Channel 4 where Weaver makes these comments:

Are Jude Law and Robert DeNiro Standing Up to THOR?

thor

With a director like Kenneth Branagh behind THOR, it wouldn’t surprise me a bit to learn he is casting bona fide thespians in his film rather than cheap imitations of actors.  This way of casting has done wonders for Christopher Nolan and it didn’t treat Jon Favreau too bad, either.  However, taking into note that this bit of rumor is just that, rumor, there’s no telling where the cast list of THOR might stand once this is officially confirmed or denied.

Nonetheless, Ain’t It Cool News is saying German actor Matthias Schweighöfer  makes the claim in the German edition of GQ that Jude Law and Robert DeNiro have joined the cast.  Schweighöfer says he is, actually, in the running for a role, but that, too, has not been confirmed by other sources.

While the thought of Law stepping into the role of Thor’s arch-nemesis, Loki, might whet a few comic book geeks’ appetites, that role has already been filled by Tom Hiddleston.  If this turns out to be true, Law and DeNiro would be joining a cast list that already includes Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Jaimie Alexander, Colm Feore, Samuel L. Jackson and Stellan Skarsgard.

THOR is set for release on May 20th, 2011.

Could ‘Metropolis’ Be a Feature Length Spinoff of “Smallville”?

smallville

This bit of news/speculation goes out to all the people who, after eight years, are still catching up on every episode of “Smallville,” whether the annoying protagonist can friggin’ fly or not.  Evidently, there will be a “Smallville” panel/presentation at next month’s Comic-Con. Someone wrote to Ain’t It Cool News about the signage that is being prepped for this presentation. Here is how the description breaks down:

On black, with crimson/red text in the same font lettering that Smallville uses, and a transparent grey Superman “S” watermark behind the text:

METROPOLIS

CHRISTMAS 2010

Then at the bottom is a banner advertising the Smallville presentation, with the time/place (can’t remember).

This “untested” source, who calls himself/herself Yoda’s Bitch, also claimed that this is in preparation not for a spinoff TV series from “Smallville,” which is rumored to be entering its final season.  They claim this is for a feature-length project, one that will likely air on the CW a number of months after “Smallville” ends.  If next season is to be its last, “Smallville” would conclude in May, 2010, giving the CW nearly seven months to market the “film.”

Hercules, the guy over at AICN who put up this bit of rumor, says 18 months isn’t much time to put together a big-screen film for Tom Welling nad company to finish up the series in theaters.  However, he then does note that Warner Brothers had ‘Clone Wars’ into theaters with much notice.

I guess well all find out for sure next month when Comic-Con rolls around.

Source: AICN

Possiblity of new ‘Spawn’ Movie still Very Real!

spawnremake

The folks over at IESB caught up with comic book maverick Todd McFarlane while at the ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ World premiere in Tempe, Arizona. (Do you think someone like McFarlane gets turned away if he doesn’t have an invite? Doubt that!)

McFarlane, creator of ‘Spawn’ and Arizona native, laid down some juicy bits about the status of a new ‘Spawn’ movie, and even maybe a new animated series.

Todd McFarlane tells us he has five offers on the table to do a new Spawn film. From big special effects studio budgets to a smaller indie budgets that he hopes to be able to write and direct himself. — IESB

Personally, I think it would be great to see the ‘Spawn’ franchise successfully translated into a live-action feature. As for the possibility of another animated series, I can take it or leave it, really. Check out IESB’s exclusive video interview by clicking the link below.

[source: IESB]

So, now McConaughey WANTS to be Captain America?

captain-america41

Many of you will remember back when Matthew McConaughey was being touted as the shoe-in for the role of Captain America in the coming movie from Marvel, but the reality is that the rumors never ceased for this role.

The difference at the time was that McConaughey showed very little, if any, interest in the role. Of course, it’s not really his genre of expertise. Now, on the other hand, McConaughey is apparently having a change of heart and the idea is growing on him.

McConaughey told MTV that “it would be fun” in response to being asked about landing the role of Steve Rogers, aka Captain America. Better yet, Jennifer Garner chimed in as well…

“You would be a great Captain America,† Garner told McConaughey during a recent press event. “You could wear a cape and tights and little pointy shoes.†

Funny! Someone hasn’t been reading their comic books, eh? Then again, this isn’t nearly as funny as some of the other rumored casting choices that include Channing Tatum and John Cena.

[source: MTV]

Is Faran Tahir returning as ‘Mandarin’?

farantahir

So, technically this only a quasi-rumor with some merit to it’s theoretical possibility based on an interview with the actor himself. Sci Fi Wire spoke with actor Faran Tahir about his involvement in the ‘Iron Man’ franchise (he played Raza, the terrorist leader who captured Tony Stark at the beginning of the movie) and the idea of Mandarin being the villain in a “future” installment of the franchise came up. It’s unclear if Tahir would play Mandarin himself, but it obviously is a thought that’s being tossed around, based on the interview and what he had to say.

[source: Sci Fi Wire]