Transformers 3D

Despite his previous protestations that 3D may be nothing more than a fad, and unsuitable for his style of film making, rumours are circulating that Michael Bay may in fact shoot the third Transformers movie in the format.

Speaking on 'In The House' a TV series on American cable channel Starz, Bay told the interviewer that :-

“It (3D) is a process we’re testing with some ‘Transformers‘ scenes, how successful it is with my movie in terms of a lot of real stuff coming out of the frame, real dirt, real complicated little particles coming towards the lens, because hopefully that process will work. I’ve seen some tests that look great on other movies. I just want to see how it looks on my footage.”

Whilst some may disagree with the suggestion that there is anything 'real' about the special effect sequences in Bay's movies, the series does seem to be a good candidate for the 3D treatment and Paramount is apparently very keen on making this happen.

Transformers 3 is set for a summer 2011 release with Bay directing and Shia Lebouf, Megan Fox and a lot of bad CGI explosions also returning.

Source: Slashfilm

Avatar 2

It is no great shock that a sequel to Avatar is already in the planning stages, but what may be more surprising is the potential involvement of Sigourney Weaver.

Weaver appeared on French TV show 'Le Grand Journal' this week to plug her forthcoming hosting duties at the Cesar Awards, AKA the French Oscars.

During her interview, Weaver was asked if she would be part of any Avatar sequel, and she responded that she has in fact already discussed this with writer/director James Cameron, who has confirmed he is planning to include her in the sequel.

Spoilers below

Those who have seen the film will express some surprise at these news, for the simple fact that Weaver's character was killed in the original film. Whilst the Na'avi attempted to transfer Grace's consciousness from her dying human body into her avatar the attempt was apparently unsuccessful.

However, according to Weaver the key is that after the transfer, Mo’at declared that “she is with Eywa now”. Cameron apparently explained to Weaver that despite her character's apparent death, she still exists “in the tree”, and that he has some ideas on how to keep “the family together”.

Repo Men

Here's a new poster for forthcoming Sci-fi film Repo Men.

Rather than being a sequel to Alex Cox's 80's classic Repo Man (although that too is apparently on the way), Repo Men is instead a dark comedy about a future world in which life saving organ transplants can be repossessed if the recipients fail to make their repayments. Jude Law and Forrest Whitaker co-star in the movie, which hits theatres on March 19th.

Burke and Hare

Courtesy of Dark Horizons, here's the first shot of Simon Pegg and Andy Serkis in Burke and Hare. The currently shooting film tells the story of the notorious 17th century grave robbers and murderers who made a lucrative business out of selling corpses to Edinburgh medical students.

The black comedy co-stars Isla Fisher and Tim Curry and marks a return to feature filmmaking for John Landis, whose last cinematic release was 1998 flop Susan's Plan.

Paranormal Activity 2

In surprising news, Paramount pictures has supposedly approached Brian De Palma as a last minute replacement director for their sequel to last years suprise hit Paranormal Activity.

You will no doubt recall that production on the film hit a major snag recently when Lionsgate exercised their contractual rights to pull original director Kevin Greutert from the film in order that he could fulfil his duties on Saw 7. Greutert was quite vocal in his displeasure at this course of events, but Paramount seem to have given up any hope of resolving the situation.

Whilst De Palma may not be the obvious choice, his recent Iraq war film Redacted used similar techniques to the original Paranormal Activity to tell it's story and he does of course have a long relationship with the horror genre through such films as Carrie and The Fury.

Zoolander 2

The original Zoolander was not a big success on it's initial cinema release, but since then has rapidly became a cult classic on DVD. Now, after several false starts, it looks like Ben Stiller could be returning to the role.

Stiller has been working on the script with Justin Theroux, co-writer on Tropic Thunder and Iron Man 2. Theroux is also attached to direct. Jonah Hill is in consideration to play the films baddie, replacing the original's Will Ferrell.

Source: Slashfilm

A Nightmare on Elm Street

Following Tuesday's new poster, here's a further trailer for New Lines Nightmare on Elm Street remake. The trailer simultaneously seems to give away an awful lot of the films surprises and make the film look like an exact retread of the original. Whether this is the case or not will become apparent on 30 April when the film hits American cinemas.

Iron Man 2

For those who cant wait until April, The French version of MSN Video has a (very) short featurette containing some interview clips and behind the scenes footage from the forthcoming Iron Man sequel.

Superman

Latino Review reports that David Goyer, co-writer of The Dark Knight, has been hired to pen a reboot of the Superman franchise.

Ignoring 2006's woeful Superman Returns, the new script is not intended to be an origin story and will begin with most of the key elements (Lex Luthor, Lois Lane etc.) already in place. This seems a smart idea, as there cannot be many members of the movie going public who are not already aware of the mythology surrounding the character.

Speedy Gonzalez

Following the success of the Alvin and the Chipmunk films, producers are dusting off other cartoon properties for live action / CGI remakes. Next up, according to The Hollywood Reporter, is Warner Bros take on Speedy Gonzalez, with comedian George Lopez on board to provide the voice.

Garfield screenwriters Alex Socolow and Joel Cohen (not coen) have penned the screenplay, which according to producer Anne Lopez recasts Speedy as "a misunderstood boy who comes from a family that works in a very meticulous setting, and he's a little too fast for what they do. He makes a mess of that. So he has to go out in the world to find what he's good at."

Lopez has also indicated that they will be careful to avoid the accusations of racial stereotyping which have plagued the cartoon in the past.

Whilst this sounds terrible and it is difficult to see the appeal of such an outdated character, the same could be said a few years back of Alvin and friends, and if they can achieve a fraction of that success Warner Brothers will be speeding their way to the bank (groan..)

The Karate Kid

Jackie Chan and Will Smith's offspring star in this June's remake of The Karate Kid. The trailer suggests this is aimed at a younger audience than the original, and the makers of the film don't appear to realise that Karate and Kung Fu are not the same thing. Nonetheless, Jackie Chan seems a good fit for the Mr Miyagi role, and at the very least the gag at the end should make fans of the orignal smile.

Source: Aint It Cool News

Doc Savage

Shane Black, writer of Lethal Weapon and The Last Boy Scout, and director of the much under-appreciated 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang' has been hired to co-write and direct the forthcoming film adaptation of comic super hero Doc Savage.

Doc Savage was last seen on screen in 1975's camp classic 'Doc Savage - The Man of Bronze' but rumours of a return have been mooted for over ten years, with Schwarzenegger attached way back in 1999.

According to Variety, the film will keep the 1930s setting and will also feature 'The Fagulous Five', Doc Savage's recurring companions.

A Nightmare on Elm Street

Here is the new poster for New Line's reboot of the Freddy series.

In addition, head over to Slashfilm for a lengthy transcript of a roundtable interview with the film's producers, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form. In some surprisingly frank exchanges, they talk about the development of the film, fans reactions to both this film and their previous Friday the 13th remake and series creator Wes Craven's lack of involvement in the new film.

Die Hard 5

Whilst promoting his new comedy Cop Out, Bruce Willis told MTV news that a fifth Die Hard is in the offing, with production to begin as early as 2011.

Willis also said that Len Wiseman, the director of the last film in franchise, 2007's Die Hard 4.0, is also his preferred choice to helm the new movie. In terms of plot, look for John McClane to travel abroad, with Willis stating "It's got to go worldwide. That would be my contribution to the next movie."

BAFTA Awards

No massive suprises at the British Academy awards last night, with the big winner being The Hurt Locker , which took six awards to Avatar's two.

Colin Firth was a deserved winner for his role in A single Man, but will struggle to repeat the feat at the Oscars, where Jeff Bridges is a clear favourite to win.

The full list of winners was as follows:-

Best Film: The Hurt Locker

Outstanding British Film: Fish Tank

Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

Original Screenplay: The Hurt Locker

Adapted Screenplay: Up in the Air

Film not in the English Language: A Prophet

Animated Film: Up Leading Actor: Colin Firth, A Single Man

Leading Actress: Carey Mulligan, An Education

Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Supporting Actress: Mo’Nique, Precious

Music: Up

Cinematography: The Hurt Locker

Editing: The Hurt Locker

Production Design: Avatar

Costume Design: The Young Victoria

Sound: The Hurt Locker

Special Visual Effects: Avatar

The Orange Rising Star Award: Kristen Stewart

Hit Somebody

Following his directing-only gig on this week's 'Cop Out', Kevin Smith will be returning to writing duties for his next film, 'Hit Somebody', a hockey drama based on the song by Warren Zevon and Mitch Alborn.

In an interview with www.nhl.com, Smith revealed that Seann William Scott will play the lead role of 'Buddy', a hockey 'enforcer' whose wish is to score just one goal in a game.

Smith also says the movie will take place over a period of decades, and unlike his previous movies will be 'big and epic in scale'