Movies

Okay so Sally Field has been cast as Aunt May. Hiring a bone density spokeswoman to play a frail old biddy who was always clutching her heart is puzzling, but hey, it's the 21st century.

While there may be some perception that comic book movie fever is cooling off, at least one super-epic-mega film that will change the world is in the works -- the Steven Spielberg/Peter Jackson Tintin 3D-mocap-CGI epic. Spielberg is directing while Jackson produces The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn, which comes out 12/23/11. The cast includes Jamie Bell, Daniel Craig, Andy Serkis, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Gad Elmaleh, Toby Jones, Mackenzie Crook, Carey Elwes and Daniel Mays, most of whom did mocap or supplied vocal talents.

We managed to get hold of a pdf of today's EW story on Captain America. We won't be stinkers and post the whole thing in readable form, but there are LOTS of pictures, including:

This week's EW debuts Chris Evans in actual Cap clothing, which turns out to be similar to the outfits that were leaked a while ago. The online excerpt include Evans discussing his fear of the role, and director Joe Johnston going firmly back into ROCKETEER territory:

Hm. Maybe it IS time to put the superhero genre on the shelf for a bit. Details are scant but it appears that there's a new superhero movie on its way, directed by controversial helmer/pugilist Uwe Boll (BLOODRAYNE, POSTAL) and it's called BLUBBERELLA:

We haven't been covering the Hobbit movie drama because it was just too....dramatic. Despite everyone being a total wanker and trying to prevent a Hobbit movie from actually being made, it seems that Peter Jackson & Co. are set to start filming two films back to back in February... Somewhere. A dispute involving the New Zealand acting union was quickly resolved when Jackson threatened to move the production -- however, the studio was so pissed off that they might still move the two Hobbit films to a more hospitable location. Common sense would say "You've already GOT Hobbiton and Rivendell in New Zealand" but...we shall see. Meanwhile casting is moving right along! Lets see who we have here.

Bits and pieces of scrimshaw from the Green Lantern movie are leaking out, and here are a few nice pieces of concept art, as seen at Splash Page.

Armie Hammer is a giant, beautiful human. Now that we have that out of the way, it's very obvious -- after his scene-stealing turn as the rowing Winklevoss twins in THE SOCIAL NETWORK -- that he would make a swell giant, beautiful Kryptonian. However, as he blabs in an interview with Vulture, at 24 he's too young for the upcoming Zack Snyder Superman movie which will deal with a more mature 35-40 year old Man of Steel. Given that we've seen the original of Superman told so well in the Christopher Reeve versions, an older I-know-what-I'm-doing Man of Steel might be a good change-up. It's also more in line with the age of Christian Bale's Batman. And, it just feels more Curt Swan, y'know.

Despite worries, RED held its own against the Jackass onslaught this weekend at the ox office. The Summit Pictures film -- loosely based on the Warren Ellis/Cully Hamner comic of the same name, came in a solid second and appears to have had wide appe

Tom Hardy, lately of INCEPTION, has joined the Christopher Nolan repertory company with a role in the upcoming BATMAN 3 movie. No word on...

There is a small, snivelling and flinching part of me that would rather not have his name inextricably linked with The Last Comic Book Movie Flop Of 2010. But, you know, I am today pretty much at peace with the whole thing. I’ve met fine people and I’ve learned many useful things, and that is the most you can ask of any walk.

Did Zack Snyder get the Superman gig because he's the only director in town who could get the baggage-heavy franchise back in production before 2011? That's what Claude Brodesser-Akner is reporting over at Vulture. And why 2011? It's not because of the Mayan calendar, but rather a deadline of another sort. Based on their filings for copyright reversion (which Warner Bros. has pulled out every trick in the book to stop) the Siegel family will regain control of their half of Superman in 2013, with the Joe Shuster heirs expected to get theirs back soon after. So a movie has to get made before then.