It appears that Favreau has yet to be locked into a contract for the much anticipated Iron Man sequel. The following information will divulged unto us through our friends over at firstshowing:

Favreau first told EW.com in an interview after the release of Iron Man that, “there’s no formal arrangement yet, but in theory we would all love to see it happen…” Now SlashFilm follows that up with more confirmation as of Tuesday this week. Favreau made an appearance on the Howard Stern Show, and told Howard that, “they haven’t offered me anything yet,” adding that “they’re all talking - they want to do it, they even announced a date.” So if you want to actually speak about this in terms of technicalities, no, Jon Favreau has not been signed to direct anything yet.

In the full article Alex goes on to remind us that this sort of thing isn’t uncommon so far away from the release date, and that we shouldn’t be alarmed by this news. I agree with him wholeheartedly. I am not certain if Favreau is making this announcement as a bargaining tool, or just calling things the way they are; but I would guess that his Iron Man 2 job is quite safe.

Iron Man has had an overwhelmingly positive response from both comic book fans, and Joe Movie goer. It has injected a boost of life into the genre that seemed to be getting a little stale, and with luck, Hulk will pick up where Iron Man left off. My hopes for Hulk have been raised by Iron Man; if Hulk knocks it out of the park… this could be one of the greatest geek summers in history.

We have news today about a new George Clooney pic called Men Who Stare at Goats! We get the saucy scoop from our friends at IESB:

George Clooney will topline, and his Smoke House partner Grant Heslov will helm, “Men Who Stare at Goats.”
Pic is an adaptation of British journalist Jon Ronson’s book about the U.S. Army’s First Earth Battalion, a unit that was to use paranormal powers. Title refers to the notion that one can kill a goat by staring at it.

I hope this film is about soldiers that are able to kill with a glance, or a word. Power word death, or the “death eye of the goat” are both fantastic powers. A paranormal Battalion is a kick ass idea for a story, and if any of you have had the chance to read Jon Ronson’s book - please fill us in with your thoughts.

The title for this film is so outlandish that I cannot help but give it two mighty thumbs up. If the poster ends up kicking ass, I may have to hang it in my room for the title alone. All hail the might and resilience of the goat!

We have pilfered the new The Rocker poster from our friends at cinematical. Please treat yourselves to this…….

I suppose I could say a bunch about this poster, but I think the phrase “fucking sucks” is most appropriate.

Who on earth thought this was a good idea?

We have obtained the new poster for The Love Guru. Thanks to comingsoon for the hookup:

This film looks like it is going to be a 90 minute nightmare. It may end up being a surprise sensation, but nothing feels “right” about this project so far. Everyone seems to have very low expectations for this film, and if it’s good at all - that will certainly work in its favor.

They have loosed a new clip from The Happening on Yahoo today. The extended clip features an introduction by Sham-hammer and was brought to our attention by comingsoon. We were unable to embed the trailer for you, but you can check it out over at the Yahoo page.

The Happening Extended Clip With Intro Link

The first The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor trailer has hit the web. You know what… it’s really not that bad. Pretty light hearted, looks like it may have lots of action… I liked it. Don’t know if the movie itself will be any good or not, but the trailer really wasn’t too bad. Check it out and leave your thoughts:

It looks like the Scooby Doo films will continue onward… in made for TV movie land. We get wind of a Scooby Doo prequel today thanks to our friends at the moviehole:

Brian Levant (“The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas”, “Are We There Yet?”) has signed to direct a new “Scooby Doo” film – a telemovie prequel to the two “Scooby Doo” films of previous years. Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr will be sitting this one out. A nation-wide casting call is now underway to find the new Fred, Daphne, Velma and Shaggy.

In this new pic, Daphne’s a mystery writer inspired by Murder She Wrote; Fred’s a football player with a penchant for jigsaw puzzles who decides to try out for the school paper, his idol is footballer turned supreme court justice Bryan ‘Whizzer’ White; Shaggy is as daft as ever and not doing so well at school; and Velma (who I hear might be Asian in the new film) is a teen U.S ambassador for World Hunger.

I am uncertain why they would make a made for TV prequel to the films if they don’t have the entire cast together. This film just seems like a waste of time. It reminds me of when I saw the Revenge Of The Nerds 4 on TV years ago; I felt embarrassed for those involved, and saddened that they were milking a classic with such a shitty sequel.

I like tele-films less than I like direct to DVD films, because they have to be clean enough for network TV. In this situation the content limitations will not be a factor (Scoby Doo is a pretty clean show), but I just have no interest to watch it. The sequel/prequel situation is out of control.

So we like to joke and post links to those “Im a Marvel/Im a DC” videos, but why is it that DC is having such a hard time getting their properties made into films?

Yahoo takes a look:

Well, actually, there is one big difference, as comic experts like Voiles are quick point out: Marvel is its own entity, cutting its own deals, and even financing its own movies. DC Comics is a subsidiary of Warner Bros.”Even higher profile DC properties have to fight through other Warner priorities and projects to get made,” Voiles wrote.

To Jim Littler, webmaster of ComicBookMovie.com, the long-planned Wonder Woman movie is a prime example of the superhuman challenges a DC superhero can face.

“Warner Bros. was able to get Joss Whedon at the helm—AND THEN THEY REJECTED HIS SCRIPT! Joss Whedon of Firefly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and more!” Littler wrote in an email. “I’ll bet the DC people were crying when that fell apart.”

I hadn’t considered this before. I had simply assumed they were on the same playing field and one team just couldn’t get it together!

Case and point, we talk about the projected efforts to bring us an Avengers film, and we shout from the sidelines that DC is getting it wrong.

Maybe the solution for WarnerBros is to follow the success of the Marvel Films model and start their own studio. Of course WB is their own studio, but perhaps they should open a sub imprint on their title that focuses its effort to bring its DC properties to the big screen. DC Films.

In my opinion, WB has been leaning in the right direction with their hero franchises that HAVE reached completion (yes, I liked Superman despite its faults) and I include the continued failure of the proposed Justice League film as a “step in the right direction”.

But imagine what could have been accomplished if DC had its own studio?

Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Aquaman…. all franchises that are not only in limbo, but all of which were competing with Speed Racer and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 for a slice of the WB budget. Marvel films has a budget that is for Marvel Films. If they want to make a film, they don’t need permission. They schedule it and make it happen.

If they followed a structure like Marvel Films and set a goal of putting out two DC movies a year under their own imprint, they could accelerate their presence in the big picture. Yes, it is a risk, but I think Marvel has proven that there is a market for these films.

What do you think? Should WB open a DC Films Division?

It appears that The Butterfly Effect 3 has begun production… before I figured out that a second one even existed. We get the news this morning, from our friends at the moviehole:

A second straight-to-video sequel to the Ashton Kutcher/Time-Travel Mindfuck “The Butterfly Effect” is in the works.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, “The Butterfly Effect 3” (two points to the geniuses in the title department!), will actually get a short theatrical release (After Dark Films, which will distribute it theatrically in the U.S. as part of its After Dark Horrorfest “8 Films to Die For” series) before it goes wide at, er, Blockbuster.

I didn’t think The Butterfly Effect would be a film that would have a sequel at all, never mind a deuce. I suppose the film had a big enough audience to warrant the direct to DVD spinoffs, otherwise they wouldn’t happen; but I wouldn’t have guessed it. I am interested at the number crunching that goes into a direct to DVD film; how a film is selected for a direct to DVD launch would be a cool thing to find out

The glut of direct to DVD films will eventually give us some gold - but it’s going to take a lot of mining through garbage.

I think it is high time I went to the grocery store and looked in the bargain bin for some discount DVD gems.

Earlier this week we posted an image from a Japanese magazine giving us our first look at Goku from the Dragonball Movie.

ComingSoon says:

Dbthemovie.com has posted a new scan from Japanese magazine Weekly Young Jump which includes a better version of the previous photo of Justin Chatwin as Goku, as well as another photo of Goku and a first look at Emmy Rossum as Bulma

The source website shows a scanned image from another Asian magazine, but I have to say that this actor looks more like Goku in the above images. I really have no clue who Justin Chatwin is. A quick look on IMDB reveals that he was in an episode of Smallville that I have watched as well as a role in Baby Geniuses 2: Superbabies. Which I did not see.

Emmy Rossum however, is just CRAMMED with serious talent and scads of appeal. And this picture just makes her look as cute as ever. If anything would make me want to watch a Dragonball movie (notice I didnt say Dragonball Z movie) then it would be her.

Does this aleviate some of the concerns voiced in the comments of the previous post, or do you still think he doesn’t look like Goku??

A few days back I showed you the teaser poster for the City of Ember. Well today we catch wind that the trailer has come out.

ComingSoon describes it:

In the fantasy-adventure, the people of the City of Ember have flourished in an amazing world of glittering lights for generations. But Ember’s once powerful generator is failing… and the great lamps that illuminate the city are starting to flicker. Now, two teenagers in a race against time, must search Ember for clues that will unlock the ancient mystery of the city’s existence, and help the citizens escape before the lights go out forever. Bill Murray, Tim Robbins, Saoirse Ronan, Harry Treadaway, Martin Landau, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Toby Jones and Mary Kay Place star.

I think this actually looks quite charming. It surely gives us a better look into the synopsis above. It will certainly have the kids at the edge of their seats and the pseudo steampunk look will have me on mine. I will have to add Jeanne Duprau’s book by the same name (from which this was adapted) to my list of books to pick up before I see it.

You can also view a widescreen HD version of the trailer at The Official City of Ember Website

Sex and the City is one show that never quite grabbed my attention. Well it wasn’t supposed to. I am a guy.

But with the upcoming film, many see this as closure to the insanely popular TV series tying the one loose end in Sarah Jessica Parker’s character’s long running story. Happiness.

But it seems the people that are happiest about this movie are not the gaggle of women chomping at the bit to see this cinematical extension of the Series Finale. It is the partners for product placement in the film.

Yahoo gives us:

New Line Cinema has reportedly dubbed it “the Super Bowl for women” in reference to the U.S. football championship that sees companies pay millions of dollars for television ads.

The movie has “promotional partnerships” with at least eight companies whose products appear in the film.

In a world where they made GI Joe dolls to cross market the success of Barbie, and making pink Lego’s to capture the girl market is it any surprise that they take this marketing strategy and apply it to adult markets?

Superbowl commercials are clearly targeted at the men. Beer commercials with bikini clad party girls, trucks for sale, More beer commercials. So this is the perfect opportunity for those markets targeting women to hit up their demographic with their hottest wares.

The most interesting thing about this is that most of these product placement spaces are getting their place in chick flick history on trade. Sex and the City will be promoted through their own commercials, and in trade, the products get to appear in the movie. So expect to see a commercial with the bragging rights that you saw their product in Sex and the City in Mercedes-Benz commercials, while two of the main cast are spotted driving them during the film.

This is the same as most product placement goes, but for these material girls it makes sense for them to have these things around so it adds punctuation to their upper class lifestyle. Unlike the blatant Burger King bag in Iron Man, these products will fit in on purpose.

The Archaeoligical Institute of America has chosen to recognize Harrison Ford’s contribution to their craft by electing him to their Board of Directors.

Yahoo says:

Harrison Ford, who portrays the adventure-seeking Indiana Jones, has been elected to the Boston-based organization’s board of directors. The group promotes archaeological excavation, research, education and preservation worldwide.AIA President Brian Rose says Ford’s Indiana Jones character has played a major part in stimulating interest in archaeological exploration.

Without pulp heroes like Dr Jones, archaeology may not have been glamorized in films at all. Maybe they are hoping with Indiana Jones on their board that more of them members will be sent to find mysterious wonders of a forgotten era. And melt Nazis.

Despite the respect and honour given I am often surprised by this as I wonder just what Harrison Ford brings to the table. Literally. What qualifications does he have that would make him a valid member of an Archaeological Institution? Perhaps like an honorary degree, this position holds little value and is more about the respect to the character and the actor that brought him to life.

Do you think this is a waste of time for these organizations, or a respected tradition to pay due tribute.

Sean Penn has been in a number of policical films as of late including the upcoming Milk where Penn plays an openly gay community activist in the late 70s who strives to be an elected office.

But this week he is being introduced as holding a title of a different kind, yet still a President. President of the Cannes Jury.

As President of the 61st Cannes Film Festival’s jury, Penn doesn’t plan on making fellow jurists such as Natalie Portman and Alfonso Cuaron watch every movie twice or sit down for screenings at midnight, as some of his predecessors have done. Rather, joked Penn during a press conference yesterday, “the idea is to be wide awake with an empty bladder at the beginning of every film.”

I have always seen Penn as an outstanding actor, and with a dramatic role playing a gay man, could an Oscar be far off? Seems the right formula for success.

But now he is facing a big job, judging his peers. In the past Penn has criticized the ranking of one film over another and is now finding himself in that hot seat. With is standard drypan humour he responded “Because finally somebody with the discernment to choose right is on the jury,”

He seems very down to earth and responded to a lot of the questions with humour where they tried to put him on the spot, and utter seriousness when he is asked how he decided The Third Wave, his choice for this year’s Special Presidential Jury Screening. “It was the closest thing that I had ever seen on film to giving any kind of answer to what’s the purpose of life,”

I seem to like this guy more and more.

In a list dominated by Movie Stars and Musical artists. Maxim’s Hot 100 list is topped this year by a Supermodel - Marisa Miller

Yahoo reports:

“(Miller) embodies the official return of the all-American supermodel. Not since Cindy Crawford ruled the catwalk has a pinup born and bred on U.S. soil so thoroughly captured the imagination of the American male,” noted Maxim editorial director James Kaminsky.

The interesting thing is that FHM, the direct competitor to Maxim’s demographic pegged Megan Fox as the Sexiest Woman of the Earth, and on Maxims Hot 100, Fox sits at a modest 16 just above the entirity of the Pussycat Dolls.

The top Ten were as follows

10. Ashley Tisdale
9. Lindsay Lohan (Last Year’s #1)
8. Christina Aguilera
7. Eva Mendez
6. Elisha Cuthbert
5. Sarah Michelle Gellar
4. Eva Longoria
3. Jessica Biel
2. Scarlett Johansson
and of course
1. Marisa Miller

I often over look supermodels for these roles as often we only see their pictures. We do not hear their voices, or see their personalities. They just embody photographs. That and it seems an unfair advantage. All these other women attempt to be more than just a pretty face, while models have to be pretty. Thats what they do.

But why exclude them?

Anyways, others on the list that I appreciate, Olivia Munn (99), Kristen Bell (55), Amanda Bynes (46), Blake Lively (43), Megan Fox (16), and Hayden Panettierre (13).

Rumors have squeaked out that Tyrese Gibson has landed the role of Mr. T. We get this saucy scoop thanks to our friends at CHUD:

Last night I talked to Tyrese on the set of Legion, an ambitious religious action/horror movie co-starring Paul Bettany and Dennis Quaid. It was late at night in the cold, dusty desert outside Santa Fe, but the elements didn’t keep Tyrese from dishing on his many upcoming projects… including playing BA Baracus in John Singleton’s The A-Team.

Tyrese is excited by the opportunity, even if it isn’t set in stone, since the script is still being worked on and him taking the role would depend on scheduling. He said that a mohawk is not out of the question, but otherwise he’s excited to bring BA into the 21st century, so don’t expect a ton of bling around his neck. The not in bad shape by any means singer/actor did mention that he’ll be hitting the weights to prepare for the role, saying that the physique of the original is a lot to live up to.

I am actually quite happy about this news. Tyreese is just a shade taller than Mr. T, Is in outstanding shape (and beefing up), and is game to grow the mohawk. The mohawk is a necessity as far as I am concerned, the gold - I can go either way. The gold is more Mr.T than BA, so maybe it makes sense to thin out the bling for the role of the A-Team’s master mechanic/bruiser.

I was starting to get scared that Ice Cube would nab the role after he made a public declaration that he was interested. With luck, word will start to trickle down the pipe about who the other 3 heroes will be. If this movie is awesome - it will transport me back to childhood. If it sucks, I will rip trees out of the ground and throw them at the sun till the earth is devoid of all greenery.

It looks like a team up of epic proportions has come about with Werner Herzog and David Lynch! We get the scoop thanks to the caves of Yahoo:

Directors Werner Herzog and David Lynch are teaming for “My Son, My Son,” a horror-tinged murder drama based on a true story. Herzog and his longtime assistant director Herbert Golder co-wrote “Son,” loosely based on the true story of a San Diego man who acts out a Sophocles play in his mind and kills his mother with a sword.

The low-budget feature will flash back and forth from the murder scene to the disturbed man’s story. A guerrilla-style digital video shoot on location is tentatively set for March. Lynch is executive producing the project.

Werner Herzog was born to tell the story of a madman that kills his own mother with a sword. I am wondering what type of sword it will be. I’m hoping it’ s a family heirloom brought home from the great war. A sword with history behind it, and some rust on it, will make the murder all the more sinister.

Herzog is a man that wrestles his films into existance, and squeezes them for what he calls an ecstasy of truth. I am still trying to understand the full meaning of this statement; Herzog himself says it is hard to do with words. When Herzog talks about the need to see adequate images, he sounds more like a missionary than a filmmaker, his deep convictions force him onward and compel him to try and show us truth through pictures on the screen. He sees this as a necessity in a world where we are surrounded by falsehoods.

Werner Herzog is a man of conviction, talent and vision. I am forever in the debt of Jay Cheel for introducing me to his work; I now catch Herzog’s films whenever possible and dig for symbolism, and meaning, in the images. This is one to watch for - this is certain.

Well I guess it was only a matter of time. Tom Cruise is apparently set to star as the President of the United States in the new political thriller “28th Amendment” (not based on the book of the same name). The folks over at Moviehole give us this:

Cruise would play President Ben Cahill in Warners action thriller, which follows the adventures of an American President (Cruise) that discovers the United States is actually being controlled by a super secret organization (run by Denzel Washington) that terminates those that get in its way. The deal should be official in a few days.

Wow… I ummm… wow. The presence of Denzel Washington in there does arouse my interest, but I don’t know. On the one hand, I do think Tom Cruise is a talented actor (As a side note, early word is that he’s terrible in Valkyrie… but I haven’t seen it yet), but with all the stuff going on around Cruise the last few years…. are people really going to flock to the theaters to see him play the President? Wouldn’t that be more like… I don’t know… people’s worst nightmares???

Personally, I still believe Cruise should do some really rich small indie films (in the vein of Magnolia) to rebuild some of his cred… or dive into some mindless fun action or comedy stuff to soften his image among film goers. Him playing the President doesn’t seem like something that will work to me. Denzel or no Denzel, I small a flop in the making.

Reitman has resumed work on a film adaptation of Walter Kirn’s novel Up in the Air. We get wind of this news and the following story thanks to the professionals at Variety:

Jason Reitman will write and is attached to direct Walter Kirn’s novel “Up in the Air” for Montecito. Story centers on a ruthless human resources exec whose only joy in life comes from the prospect of notching his millionth frequent flyer mile, a goal he pursues with zeal as the rest of his life falls apart because he is constantly on the road.

In 2004, Montecito optioned the book, which had previously been in development at Fox 2000 and Jay Roach’s Everyman Pictures, and the younger Reitman penned 30 pages on spec. He got halfway through writing the script when he read Diablo Cody’s “Juno” screenplay and turned his attentions to helming that project. He has since resumed adapting “Up in the Air.”

What interests me most about the above story is that Reitman dropped this project to do Juno, and then picked this up again. This man knows when to strike when the iron is hot. He saw the potential in Juno, capitalized on it, and then returned to what he was doing before. Reitman, son of Reitman has “the business” in his veins, and the wherewithal to use his instincts accordingly.

A million miles in the air is something I don’t want to even think about. As someone that’ s in the sky from Toronto to Los Angeles a few times a year, I can tell you without reservation that it ’s something I don’t look forward to. I wish rail was faster. If they had a high speed train - I would take it over a plane any day of the week, even if it took 3 times as long to get there. I am a lilly-livered land lover through and through.

Could a Goosebumps movie work? There is a LOT of horror stuff all over the place. People usually like their horror to be in the “R” rated area, and for good reason. But why should horror be for adults only? Horror can be a very fun genre to watch… or even read. I think that’s the reason the Goosebumps series of books was always so popular. And it looks like that popularity is being turned into a film.

The good folks over at Cinematical give us this:

Prolific producer Neal H. Moritz knows a whole lot about making patently un-scary horror flicks (his resumé is littered with two Urban Legends, three Skulls, a Soul Survivors, three people who Know What You Did Last Summer, and one Prom Night — so far. Therefore simple logic dictates that, now that the mega-successful Goosebumps books are about to leap into the multiplexes, Mr. Moritz should be in charge of the operation.

Ok, so maybe it’s not the best guy in the world to be producing it… or is it? I mean, the guy clearly has experience in doing watered down horror (unfortunetly it’s been when it SHOULDN’T be watered down) and that is KINDA what they’d need for a Goodebumps movie right? (I’m trying to be optimistic)

Overall, I do think this is a good idea.