Author: Scott Alminiana

I'm a geek who steals peaches in a can that were put there by a man in a factory downtown!

New Character Posters For “The Dark Knight Rises” Released

by Scott Alminiana

Monday saw the release of the newest poster for “The Dark Knight Rises” and it left some feeling mighty a tad underwhelmed.

Well fret not, for new character posters for Batman, Catwoman, and Bane have been released and they are mighty fine.The Catwoman ones in particular are puuuuuuuurefect.

There are two series of posters, one with each character standing in the rain with the word “Rise” behind them, the second set has the characters standing in a blizzard with “The Legend Ends” above them.

What do you think of these posters, do they feel more inspired than the last poster?

     

The First Trailer For Baz Lurhmann’s “The Great Gatsby” Has Been Released…Ewwww

by Scott Alminiana

The first trailer for Baz Lurhmann’s take on The Great Gatsby has been released and it looks exactly as you’d figure it would look. It has bright colors, dancing and a bunch of modern music. You know, all spectacle and no substance. I’m not sure how many people have actually been clamoring for a new adaptation of F. Scott’s Fitzgerald’s classic novel. Alas, we will now be getting a new take on it (in 3D even) and it stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Toby Maguire, Carey Mulligan and Joel Edgarton.

The film opens December 25 and will no doubt ruin the holidays for anyone who pays to see it. Save yourself some money and read the book instead.

News Team Assemble! First Poster For ‘Anchorman 2’ Has Been Revealed

by Scott Alminiana

Put on some Sex Panther and get ready because Ron Burgundy and the Channel 4 News Team are back! First it was announced that a teaser trailer for Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues would be shown before The Dictator, which opens today, and now the first poster has been released.  And let me tell you, it’s like a glorious rainbow!

So back your bags, buy some scotch and come on back down to the Whale’s Vagina and lets have a party, but please leave your glass cases of emotion at home. The legend continues next year and the whole news team will be back. Until then stay classy.

 

James Badge Dale To Play Villain Role In ‘Iron Man 3’

by Scott Alminiana

Deadline is reporting that actor James Badge Dale is in talks to join Iron Man 3. Badge Dale  would play a villain named Savin in the movie. Nothing else is known about the role at this time.

James Badge Dale may be familiar to people for his staring roles on TV shows such as HBO’s The Pacific, AMC’s Rubicon, and Fox’s 24. He has also had roles in films The Departed, Shame, and The Grey. He will next be seen in The Lone Ranger and World War Z.

Iron Man 3 begins shootings in 2 weeks in North Carolina as well as China. It is shaping up quite nicely, Shane Black is writing and directing the film. Stars Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle are all set to return. They will be joined by Sir Ben Kingsley, Guy Pearce, Andy Lau, and Rebecca Hall. The film is set for release May 3, 2013.

 

Disney Releases First Episode Of ‘Tron: Uprising’ Online!

by Scott Alminiana

Greetings programs! Disney has released the first episode of their new animated series Tron: Uprising online and it is a sight to be seen.

Now, I love me some Tron and Tron: Legacy but I’ll be the first person to admit that they are flawed movies and far from perfect. You know what though? I’m okay with that. I love them for what they each represent. The first was groundbreaking for its use of computer animation and was one of the coolest looking things I’d ever seen as a child. The second played on my childhood nostalgia and looked amazing with its updated version of The Grid and was backed by the great Daft Punk soundtrack. Yeah, sure, the stories weren’t the best and the pacing lags in both but it’s better than a lot of the other crap that gets released.

Disney first announced their intentions for this prequel-series to Tron: Legacy back in December of 2010 and I’ve been eagerly awaiting it ever since. Disney then released a teaser trailer for the series when Legacy was released on DVD/Blu-ray. And now at long last it is here…

The series takes place in-between events shown in Tron: Legacy, and follows a young program named Beck (voiced by Elijah Wood), as he assumes the identity of Tron and attempts to start a revolution against the villainous Clu. The voice-cast is quite impressive, featuring Lance Henriksen, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Mandy Moore, Paul Reubens, Paul Reubens, Nate Corddry, and Bruce Boxleitner as Tron. The animation, a blend of 2D animation and CGI, is also quite impressive. It keeps the up-dated character, vehicle and landscape designs of the movie while setting out to tell a completely new story. The Tron-universe is an untapped gold-mine of stories to tell. If the rest of the series is anything like it’s premiere episode than I think fans have quite the ride in store for them. Don’t take my word for it, check it out yourselves and let me know that you think.

Tron: Uprising premieres on Disney XD on June 7.

Ryan Gosling And Sean Penn Movie ‘Gangster Squad’ Releases First Trailer

by Scott Alminiana

The trailer for Gangster Squad has hit the web and it packs quite the punch. Looks like guys won’t mind if their girlfriends drag them to this Ryan Gosling flick. In fact, it may be the guys who will be dragging their girlfriends to this one. Here’s the synopsis for the film:

Los Angeles, 1949. Ruthless, Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and–if he has his way–every wire bet placed west of Chicago. And he does it all with the protection of  not only his own paid goons, but also the police and the politicians who are under his control. It’s enough to intimidate even the bravest, street-hardened cop…except, perhaps, for the small, secret …

Gangster Squad is directed by Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer and stars Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin, Nick Nolte, Emma Stone and Sean Penn. No release date has been announced so stay tuned.

New Edgar Wright/Simon Pegg Movie ‘The World’s End’ Starts Filming In September!

by Scott Alminiana

Well it looks like fans of Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg have a little something to look forward to today. Deadline is reporting that The World’s End will start filming in September for a spring 2013 release. Wright will direct the script that he co-wrote with Pegg, who will once again star alongside Nick Frost. This will be the third film collaboration between them, following Shawn of The Dead and Hot Fuzz. Here’s the log line for the flick:

20 years after attempting an epic pub crawl, five childhood friends reunite when one of them becomes hell bent on trying the drinking marathon again. They are convinced to stage an encore by mate Gary King, a 40-year old man trapped at the cigarette end of his teens, who drags his reluctant pals to their home town and once again attempts to reach the fabled pub, The World’s End. As they attempt to reconcile the past and present, they realize the real struggle is for the future, not just theirs but humankind’s. Reaching The World’s End is the least of their worries.

If this flick is anything like the last two movies they worked on together then I think we will all have something to look forward to come next spring, but what does this mean for Wright’s long-in-devlopment take on Marvel’s Ant-Man? It was just last week that Wright posted a cryptic tweet, along with a picture (seen below), on his twitter page that read, “Received this in the mail. What can it mean?” The tweet, as well as recent comments from  Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige led many, myself include, to believe that Ant-Man would be Wright’s next movie. Well, it would seem as though that is not the case and that the movie is still in-development. On the bright side, fans will get a new Edgar Wright/Simon Pegg movie, which is always a good thing.

"Received this in the mail. What can it mean?" - Edgar Wright

 

Prometheus To Be Released With An R Rating!

by Scott Alminiana


Thank the space jockey, Fox has announced that Prometheus will indeed be rated R! The MPAA has issued Ridley Scott’s return to the sci-fi genre an R rating for “sci-fi violence including some intense images, and brief language.” These days studio’s tend to water down movies to get PG-13 ratings because they fear the dreaded R rating. Big budget movies that are rated R, such as Prometheus, are seen as risky business because they limit the exposure to younger audiences. I’m sure I’m not the only one though who will be glad to see Sir Ridley’s R rated return to the universe he helped launch with 1979’s Alien. Gods forbid we should have to sit through another PG-13 alien movie because we all remember how “awesome” Alien vs. Predator was.

Prometheus stars Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron and Guy Pearce and is set for release on June 8th.

Post-Avengers: What’s Next For The Marvel Movie Universe?

by Scott Alminiana

**WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS AVENGERS MOVIE SPOILERS**

So now that The Avengers have assembled and saved the world from an alien invasion whilst simultaneously racking up $200.3 million dollars in its first three days of release the logical question is “what’s next?” Marvel already has sequels lined up for the big three, which will begin what many have dubbed “Phase 2.” These sequels will all focus squarely on each character and will not feature the other Avengers. “Phase 2” will consist of:

Iron Man 3, which is scheduled to begin filming later this month and will be released on May 3, 2013. It is being written/directed by Shane Black and will be heavily influenced by the Warren Ellis story arc “Extremis.” The movie is being co-produced in China and leads many to believe that Iron Man will finally face off against his greatest villain The Mandarin.

Thor 2, scheduled for a November 15, 2013 release date. Filming begins later this summer and this time around Alan Taylor (best-known for his work on Game of Thrones) will be directing. Not much is known yet about the story but Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige recently said in an interview that Thor 2 will pick up where the first film left off in terms of Jane Foster and Thor, as well as what’s been going on in the nine realms now that the Asgardians are unable to use the Bifrost. Loki will appear in the sequel but a new villain will be introduced. Could this new villain be someone that was introduced in The Avengers? I’m getting ahead of myself, so let me come back to that one in a bit.

Captain America 2 has already set a release date of April 4, 2014 but no director or story have been announced. Most likely it will follow Steve Rogers as he tries to find his way in this new world that he finds himself in.

Marvel has also announced that they will release a movie on May 16th, 2014 but they have not yet announced what that movie will be. Some are speculating that the mystery movie could be Edgar Wright’s long  in development Ant-Man. Just yesterday in fact, Wright posted a tweet that refers to Ant-Man.  With Edgar Wright’s previous flicks Shaun of The Dead, Hot Fuzz, and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, he has already shown that he knows what to deliver the goods that we geeks so direly love. Henry Pym, the alter-ego of Ant-Man was referenced in Thor as the friend that Dr. Selvig e-mails that had previous “experience” with S.H.I.E.L.D., though his name was cut from the scene.

Now that the cosmic universe has been introduced into the Marvel movie universe with the alien race Chitauri in The Avengers, the sky is no longer the limit. Marvel now has the option of further exploring their cosmic characters if they so choose, and it would appear that they have indeed chosen to explore them. Kevin Feige has already confirmed that movies featuring The Guardians of The Galaxy and The Inhumans are currently in development.

I think that an Inhumans movie would be the perfect place to further explore the Chitauri, who are also known as the Skrulls in the comics. The Inhumans, the result of genetic experimentation by another alien race known as the Kree during their war with the Skrulls/Chitauri, have fought the Skrulls/Chitauri on numerous occasions in the comics so it would seem like a perfect fit for the Chitauri to be the villains in The Inhumans movie.

The other movie in development is The Guardians of The Galaxy, who are basically the cosmic equivalent to The Avengers. This film could help further establish the cosmic universe in the Marvel movies and could even lay the seeds for The Avengers 2, which the groundwork has already begun to be laid out as is evident by the post-credit scene featuring ***SPOILER ALERT*** “The Mad Titan” himself Thanos!

For those of you out there (after this weekend I doubt there will be many of you) unfamiliar with Thanos, he is one of the greatest threats that the entire Marvel Universe has ever faced. Thanos is essentially a god-like presence and he has quite the knack for causing death and destruction, which he does for the love of Death, whose love he tries to prove himself worthy of (she takes the form of a female-like Grim Reaper when she appears), hence the “courting death” line during the post-credit scene. He is not just a threat to Earth but the entire universe.

The Guardians of The Galaxy flick could further explore this and lead directly into The Avengers 2 or Thanos could also be the new villain that Kevin Feige was referring to for Thor 2 but I hope not. Just think of how awesome it would be for The Guardians to figure out Thanos’s plan at the end of their own movie, and realize that they must warn “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” of his plan. Avengers 2 could start similar to AVX and show Nova crashing on Earth and warning The Avengers that “he’s coming…” just before he passes out. That would be a pretty awesome start to the sequel.

Soon to be guarding a galaxy near you!

But just what might be Thanos’s plan, you might be asking yourself? Well, the answer is simple… he wants The Infinity Gauntlet!  Previously introduced in Thor as an easter egg in Odin’s treasure room, The Infinity Gauntlet contains six gems known as the Infinity Gems (or Soul Gems) and when all six gems are brought together give it’s wielder the power over power, mind, space, reality, time, and the soul. An object containing that much power in the hands of Thanos would surely spell doom and it would make for a pretty epic battle between Thanos and The Avengers. In order for Thanos to get the Infinity Gauntlet he would have to fight his way into Odin’s treasure room on Asgard to obtain it. That in itself would make for one bad-ass action scene between Thor, the entirety of Asgard and Thanos (and actually could make conceivable content for Thor 2).

The Infinity Gauntlet as seen at Comic Con '10

Marvel has proven this weekend that anything is possible in their movies and that not just the sky is the limit. While this article has been half fact and half pure speculation, I know one thing is for sure. Whatever else Marvel releases from here on I am immensely looking forward to it! To quote the great Stan Lee himself, “Excelsior!”

Sam Raimi Files Lawsuit For Rights To “The Evil Dead”

by Scott Alminiana

Deadline is reporting that not only has filming begun on The Evil Dead reboot but so has a legal battle. Sam Raimi’s production company Renaissance Pictures, who is producing the reboot, has filed a lawsuit against Award Pictures over Award’s plans to produce an Evil Dead 4.

Renaissance Pictures, the production company which Raimi started with The Evil Dead producer Robert Tapert and star Bruce Campbell, are suing for false advertising, injury to business reputation, unfair competition and trademark infringement. They also claim that Evil Dead 4 conflicts with the reboot and will only confuse people into believing that Award Pictures had anything to do with the original or the reboot.  Award Pictures isn’t taking the suit lightly and have in turn released a statement that says a quote from Raimi  “we’re never going to do a sequel,”  was “a public declaration by the defendant that the defendant abandoned the alleged ‘mark’ on Evil Dead decades ago.”

This whole thing seems to have started last year when Renaissance filed paperwork with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to register the Evil Dead trademark and Award in turn filed a complaint. They claimed that they (Award Pictures) had rights to the film because Raimi had allowed his to expire.

So while the legal battle over the dead gets underway in a courtroom near you, the reboot is currently filming in New Zealand and will be released April 12, 2013.

"Evil Dead 4" will happen over my dead body!

Obiwan Kenobi Arrested And Charged For A Hit-And-Run?!

by Scott Alminiana

Saw this article on Yahoo and thought it was too good not to share. It would appear that some idiot, who legally changed his name to Obiwan Kenobi, was arrested and charged with a felony hit-and-run in Roseville, California. The charge came following an investigation by the Roseville PD that determined that Mr. Kenobi was the douche bag responsible for a  five-car accident that happened on March 19. The article sadly doesn’t say how it was that the police found their Obiwon, so I can only hope that it went something like this…

A long time ago ( like two months ago), in a place not too far, far away….the intergalactic police department of Roseville, CA found midichlorians  at the crime scene of a five hoovercraft pileup. Not having the proper equipment in their CSI crime lab, PD had no choice but to turn turn to George Lucas to help determine whom the midichlorians belonged to. Faster than he fucked up the prequels, George was able to determine that the midichlorians belonged to Obiwan Kenobi. But of course we all know that the real Obi-Wan died years ago aboard the Death Star and thus he was not the Obi-Wan Kenobi they were looking for. So, PD did the next obvious thing and looked in the phone book and wouldn’t you know it, they found their culprit. 

The 37-year old Obiwan was arrested on April 21 and was also wanted on an outstanding warrant for a misdemeanor petty theft. He was released from custody without bail on April 26, but was placed “on electronic monitoring” from the Placer County Jail, according to TSG. He is due to appear in court on April 30.

Kenobi as it turns out, was born Benjamin Cale Feit, and changed his name as part of a  radio station contest in 1999 that offered $1000 to the first listener to legally change their name to Obiwan Kenobi. Now being the geek that I am, I was curious just how much it actually costs to legally change your name and come to find out it’s not cheap. After what appears to be a some-what lengthy process it would cost at the very least $500 to change your name.  So Benji Feit spent at least $500 to become Obiwan Kenobi and earned himself $1000, which makes him an official idiot. I’m sorry but if I’m going to go through the hassle of changing my name, A: I’d better be getting more than $1000 for it and B: you can be damn sure that I would be sure to use the correct spelling of Obi-Wan!

This is the Obiwan Kenobi we're looking for

Prometheus Gets An Awesome New International Trailer!

by Scott Alminiana

A new international trailer for ‘Prometheus” has it the web and it is glorious! Each new trailer that has been released has given not only given us more of an idea as to what the story is about, but has also shown us more of the wonderful sci-fi world that director Ridley Scott and crew have created. This newest trailer shows some amazing visuals and has enough geektastic moments crammed in it to make any geek cream their pants in joygasm.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS TOO: Was that a glimpse of a xenomorph and a “facehugger Jr” in the trailer?! I have no idea, but I know I’ll be there opening day to find out!

Again, don’t watch this trailer if you want to go in completely fresh!

“Fringe” Gets Renewed For Fifth And Final Season!!!

by Scott Alminiana

Good news “Fringe” fans, Deadline is reporting that Fox has picked up the ratings challenged series for a fifth and final season. The renewal comes after months of negotiations between Fox, Warner Brs TV, and J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot. The final season will consist of 13 episodes and will give fans the proper send off that they have long been hoping for.

Co-creator/executive producer JJ Abrams had this to say regarding the renewal, “We are thrilled and beyond grateful that Fox – and our fans – have made the impossible possible: Fringe will continue into a fifth season that will allow the series to conclude in a wild and thrilling way.” 

 Here’s a teaser trailer Fox has released for season five. While it may not be “six seasons and a movie,” I’m glad to see “Fringe” is ending on it’s own terms rather than cancellation.

Here’s the New Trailer For Samurai Jack Director Genndy Tartakovsky’s “Hotel Transylvania”

by Scott Alminiana

A new trailer for the computer-animated movie Hotel Transylvania has hit the web and it looks quite entertaining. It features a voice cast including Adam Sandler as Dracula, Selena Gomez as his daughter Mavis, Kevin James as Frankenstin and Cee-Lo Green as Murray the Mummy. Here’s the synopsis per IMDB:

Dracula, who operates a high-end resort away from the human world, goes into overprotective mode when a boy discovers the resort and falls for the count’s teen-aged daughter.

We know that that sounds like a pretty annoying cast for a movie but the promise of seeing the visually amazing Genndy Tartakovsky (Samurai Jack) direct his first feature really peaks our interest. Hotel Transylvania scares its way into theaters on September 21st.

CinemaCon: Why We Can’t Allow Texting At The Movies

by Scott Alminiana

Deadline has some excellent coverage of CinemaCon, which is currently taking place in Las Vegas (April 23-26). One of today’s panels titled “An Industry Think Tank: Meeting the Expectations of Today’s Savvy Moviegoer” had a subject that particularly struck a chord in me. That subject being texting and cellphone use in a movie theater, it would appear that some theater chains have actually begun discussing and might even begin to be more lenient on people who use cellphones during a movie.

Regal Entertainment CEO Amy Miles says that her chain currently discourages cell phone use “but if we had a movie that appealed to a younger demographic, we could test some of these concepts.” For example, she says that the chain talked about being more flexible about cell phone use at some screens that showed 21 Jump Street. “You’re trying to figure out if there’s something you can offer in the theater that I would not find appealing but my 18 year old son” might. 

Someone needs to slap Amy Miles upside her head for making such a dumb-ass statement.  I don’t give a shit what demographic a movie has, allowing texting in a movie is just a stupid idea. Too many people today, kids/teens in particular, feel a sense of entitlement towards life and I think that letting some stupid tween text in a movie theater will only add to that sense of entitlement. Listen, junior, just because you entered the science project with your solar system diorama (which still has Pluto listed as a planet) doesn’t mean you should get a ribbon for it. If you’re on a baseball team and finish in last should you really get a damn trophy?! Oh hells no! Alas, I digress…

Tim League, CEO of Alamo Drafthouse knows what I’m talking about though (sorta). He had this to say regarding the subject: 

“Over my dead body will I introduce texting into the movie theater,” he says. “I love the idea of playing around with a new concept. But that is the scourge of our industry….It’s our job to understand that this is a sacred space and we have to teach manners.” He says it should be “magical” to come to the cinema. But Miles shot back that “one person’s opinion of magical isn’t the other’s.”

He’s totally right, seeing a movie in a theater is a magical thing. When I see a movie in theaters I become immersed in that movie, regardless of what the movie is, and nothing breaks that moment like some douche bag in the next row texting on his brightly lit smartphone texting away. It’s bad enough paying $11-16 and hearing people feel the need to talk during a movie but then you add texting into the mix and I “hulk out” and want to smash. For myself and throngs of others the movie-going experience is like going to a place of worship. The movie theater is my temple, the Cinerama Dome is my Sistine Chapel. Would you text in your god’s house, no, I didn’t think so. So please…please…please don’t text in my god’s house, okay?

The movies are the last place that contain that sense of wonder and magic that make many of us feel like kids again, well in my case I will forever be one of Peter Pan’s lost boys, but with the advent of new technology that magic is in danger of fading away fast. I go to the movies to escape reality and be taken to another world, one where super-heroes exist, wars are wagged in a galaxy far far away, and hope forever springs eternal. Let’s leave our phones on silent and put them away for a few hours and get lost in the wonder of the cinema together. Our tweets and Facebook posts can wait until we get out….unless of course the Apocalypse happens during the movie, in which case I’d like a refund.


Hulk no like texting during movie

 

Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci To Write Amazing Spider-Man 2

by Scott Alminiana

The folks over at THR are reporting that Sony Pictures has hired the screenwriting duo of Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci to write ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2.” For those of you  unfamiliar with Kurtzman & Orci, as if you geeks don’t actually know who they are, they have written some of the most popular blockbusters (not always a good thing) of the last 5 years. Their credits include, 2009’s “Star Trek” reboot, Mission Impossible 3, the abomination known as “Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen,” the sleeper movie (in my case, literally) “Cowboys & Aliens,” and are the co-creators of Fox’s “Fringe.”

“The Amazing Spider-Man” swings onto movie screen’s July 3.

The guys who brought jive talking Autobots to the life!

Mel Gibson To Join Cast Of “Machete Kills”

by Scott Alminiana

Well, it looks like troubled star Mel Gibson is up for a supporting role in the sequel to “Machete,” according to Deadline. The sequel, “Machete Kills” will be directed by Robert Rodriguez and will once again feature bona fide bad-ass Danny Trejo as Machete. This time around: The U.S. government recruits Machete to battle his way through Mexico in order to take down an arms dealer who looks to launch a weapon into space. 

It has not been revealed as to how big the role will be or whether or not he will be friend or foe to Machete, but what I do know for sure is that Mel had better not fuck with the wrong Mexican!

Zak Penn To Release First Comic “Hero Worship” From Avatar Press

by Scott Alminiana

Deadline is reporting that Zak Penn, the screenwriter of “The Incredible Hulk” and “X-Men: The Last Stand” will be making his debut in comics with “Hero Worship.” The six issues mini-series will be co-written by screenwriter Scott Murphy and drawn by Michael DiPascale. Avatar Press will release the book beginning in July.

Avatar Press released the following synopsis of the mini-series:

“Hero Worship” introduces the ultimate celebrity, an indestructible superhero called Zenith, and the rabid fans that worship him. These legions of adoring admirers follow every disaster, trying to speculate where they can catch a glimpse of their modern messiah – even risking their own lives in the process. But what happens when one fan’s unhealthy obsession leads to the development of powers all his own?

The story sounds interesting enough but let’s just hope that it’s better than Penn’s abominations known as “X-Men: The Last Stand” and “Electra.”

Jessica Chastain In Talks To Join “Iron Man 3”!

by Scott Alminiana

The fine folks over at Deadline are reporting that Jessica Chastain, last seen in “The Tree of Life” and “The Help,” is back in talks with Marvel for a role opposite Robert Downey Jr in “Iron Man 3”. The role is a “sexy” scientist that’s every bit as smart as Tony Stark. Shane Black is writing and directing “Iron Man 3” and it is reportedly heavily influenced by Warren Ellis’ six-issue “Extremis” arc. Is it possible that Ms. Chastain will be playing Maya Hansen, a character from “Extremis”, who was indeed a “sexy” scientist?

This casting announcement comes hot on the heels of the recent (possible) casting announcements of Guy Pearce and Ben Kingsley. “Iron Man 3” is shaping up to have quite the stellar cast. As always, we fine geeks here at Geekscape will keep you posted with any new announcements we come across.

Is Francis Lawrence Catching Fire?!

by Scott Alminiana

Variety is reporting that “I Am Legend” director Francis Lawrence has been offered the directing job for “Catching Fire.” As millions of geeks already know, “Catching Fire” is the second book in “The Hunger Games” trilogy and continues the story of Katniss Everdeen following her victory during ‘The Hunger Games.”

The announcement that Lionsgate has chosen Francis Lawrence comes less than two weeks since “The Hunger Games” director Gary Ross bowed out of directing the sequel which is set to start shooting in late summer for a Nov. 22, 2013 release date. Lawrence’s other films include “I Am Legend,” “Water for Elephants” and “Constantine.” So, geeks, what do you think of Lionsgate’s choice? Will Lawrence do more justice to this source material than he did with “Constantine”? Only time will tell.

Production Video And New Images Released For The New James Bond Film ‘Skyfall’!

by Scott Alminiana

Bond is back! Skyfall, the newest Bond flick which opens November 9th, has this geek in a frenzy! I’m a hardcore 007 fan and I have been eagerly waiting for this . Last week the producers released some fancy new pics from ‘Skyfall’ and today a production video showed up over at Deadline, which shows some of the locations where filming is currently underway.

Skyfall once again features Daniel Craig as 007 and costars Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes and Naomie Harris. Sam Mendes is directing with a script from John Logan. As usual, the plot is being kept under wraps but a brief plot synopsis was released:  “In Skyfall, Bond’s loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her.  As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.”

What do you think, my fellow geeks? Are you looking forward to this as much as I am? I know I’ll be there opening night looking sharp in my suit with a martini (shakin’ not stirred, of course) in hand.



Kratos Is Back! God of War Ascension Announced for PS3!

by Scott Alminiana

Kratos is back and bloodier than ever! The fine folks over at the Playstation blog have just released a trailer for God of War: Ascension, but be warned it’s a tad bloody…as if you expected anything less from Kratos.

Not much is known about the story or game play thus far, but on Monday, April 30th at 8am Pacific Time there will be a live streaming event on PlayStation.Blog and the official God of War: Ascension Facebook page that will give a glimpse of what’s in store for the game. I’m looking forward to this one so I’ll be keeping an eye out for more details when they are released.

The Rock Signs On To Star In Film Based On IDW’s “Lore” By Ashley Wood

by Scott Alminiana

According to Deadline, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is now attached to the Warner Bros. flick Lore, a movie that is based on the IDW comic by Ashley Wood. Lore tells the story of a world in which mythical creatures have been held back from the modern world by a secret society called Shepherds. But the line of Shepherds has been broken and these creatures are coming back.

For those not familiar with Wood, you might know his work. He is the man responsible for the awesome covers on  30 Days of Night and the artwork in the PSP game Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops. I personally have never heard of nor read Lore, but after finding out it’s from Ashley Wood will check out out for sure. Dwayne Johnson and his ‘pop peck of loving’ self will next be seen in G.I. Joe: Retaliation.

Willis! Gordon-Levitt! As The Same Guy!?! “Looper” Gets a Trailer!

by Scott Alminiana

I’ve been eagerly waiting this one for quite sometime. It’s finally here….the first teaser trailer for the new sci-fi/time-travel flick Looper! The movie is written/directed by Rian Johnson (Brick & The Brothers Bloom) and stars Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Emily Blunt. I’d give a synopsis but I figure watching the trailer will be far more entertaining. It opens across time and in a theater near you on September 28.


Marvel Wants to Give You $5 in Comics (KINDA)!!!

by Scott Alminiana

Marvel.com wants to give you free money! No, seriously they do. Starting at 12:01 AM Eastern on (tomorrow) March 25 and ending at 11:59 pm (Sunday) March 31, when you purchase select Avengers or X-Men comics using the Marvel Comics app you will be e-mailed a coupon on April 1 valued at five dollars good towards any Marvel comic at your local comic shop.

The promotion comes just a weak prior to the launch of Avengers Vs. X-Men and you can bet Marvel is hoping this will help what is an already eagerly anticipated book. Marvel, first tried this promotion back in January and after getting feedback from local comic shops and geeks-alike, they found that the promotion helps bring in new geeks AKA customers. In this ever-growing digital age, it’s nice to see that Marvel, while pushing the digital form, is still dedicated to not only maintaining the customer base for shops but help get them new customers. Smart tactic, Marvel…now let’s see DC try it!

The Hunger Games: The Geekscape Review

by Scott Alminiana

And so The Hunger Games movie adaptation is here at last; did the big-screen version of the best-selling novel by Suzanne Collins live up to all the hype? I’d say that for the most part, it did indeed, but that is not to say that it’s not without its flaws. For those of you not familiar with the plot; Katniss Everdeen is choosen as a Tribute from District 12 to take part in The Hunger Games. The games were created by the Capital as a reminder t0 the 12 Districts of Panem of their failed rebellion years ago. Each of the districts has a “Reaping” (lottory) and picks one male and one female between the ages of 12 and 18 to be “Tributes” (contestants) in the games where they will fight to the death until there is only one left alive.

First, let me start with what did work in the movie. Namely, the cast, it was top-notch and well acted from all involved. Jennifer Lawrence is cast perfectly as main character Katniss Everdeen and has the acting chops to prove it. The rest of the cast is made-up of equally talented actors, including Josh Hutcherson as fellow District 12 Tribute Peeta Mellark, Donald Sutherland as the creepy President Snow, a hilarious Stanley Tucci as the blue-haired host of the Hunger Games Ceasar Flickerman, Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket, and Woody Harrelson (who is greatly cast) as Haymicth Abernathy. They all help flesh out the characters, who could have easily been forgotten if performed by less-talented actors. Hell, even Lenny Kravitz gets in on the action as Cinna, Katniss’s stylist and isn’t too shabby of an actor. Making its film debut is the awesomely-weird beard of Seneca Crane played by Wes Bentley, the beard is just great and the world needs more beards such as his… just saying.

Director Gary Ross was a good choice to helm this flick, but is limited with what he is able to convey on the screen. I felt that the ‘was it or wasn’t it made-for-TV’ relationship between Katniss and Peeta, which was a major focus of the book, never quite has the same gravitas and attention that it had in the book and the movie suffers slightly due to that. The scene between the two characters in the cave is a perfect example of this, but despite that scene not working as well as I’d have hoped for there is room for their relationship to be further explored in the sequel ‘Catching Fire‘. The cinematography is nicely handled, despite the problems of the hand-held shot fight scenes which limit the scope of the action at times.

Despite the flaws that The Hunger Games has, it is still a great movie and fans of the book will be able to enjoy it as a companion piece to the book. Newcomers will also enjoy the movie but might miss a thing or two. I will leave you with the words of Effie Trinket, – “Happy Hunger Games, may the odds be ever in your favor!”

A Geekscapist’s 1st WonderCon: Day One

by Scott Alminiana

Today the happiest place on earth was not Disneyland, but was actually across the street at the Anaheim Convention Center, home to this year’s WonderCon. It managed to be everything I love about Comic Con in San Diego, but without the massive crowds. Sure, there were cosplayers galore and plenty of comic book industry people walking about, but one could walk around without feeling claustrophobic and being bumped into constantly by a bunch of B.O. reeking mouth-breathers.

Upon arriving, I went downstairs to the basement to pick up my badge, from there I made my way up the escalator which spat me directly out onto the exhibit hall floor, where I took in the beautiful sights of geekery all around me. At last, I was at home amongst my fellow geeks and nerds. I walked around the convention floor, letting my eyes take in everything around me and checking out the booths. Before too long I found myself walking down autograph alley, slowly taking in the faces of the pseudo-celebrities all around. There was Lou Ferrigno, the Incredible Hulk himself; sitting across was Cassandra Peterson AKA Elvira (she still looks super-hot at 60), John Saxton (Nancy’s dad from the original Nightmare on Elm Street), Cindy Morgan (Yori from Tron), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), Ray Park (Darth Maul, Snake Eyes) and more. I actually gave into my inner fan-boy and got an autograph and picture with Ray Park,  a genuinely nice guy who could no doubt kick my ass and yours at the same time.

Despite the smile, I was terrified for my life ...the man is a sith lord, a ninja and an evil mutant after all

 

After making my way to the Geekscape booth and shooting the proverbial geek-shit for a while with a few of my fellow Geekscapists, I decided it was time to go check out some of the panels the Con had to offer. I went to site in on a spotlight panel on J. Michael Straczynski but was a few minutes early so I took a seat in the back to wait. After a few minutes, a girl walked up to an elderly gentleman sitting directly in front and said, “excuse me, but I just had to tell you that I’m a huge fan and absolutely love Babylon 5”, she then proceeded to shake uncontrollably in a geek frenzy before asking if she could take a picture with JMS, himself. Holly crap, JMS was sitting directly in front of me?! Had I known this prior, I too would have probably been in a geek frenzy. This is the kind of stuff that can only happen at conventions such as this. His spotlight panel was pretty good,  but I only sat in on half of it before I left to catch a Marvel Panel on Amazing Spider-Man. The panel consisted of artist Humberto Ramos and ASM editor Tom Brevoort, and they talked a little about what’s in store for Spidey’s 50th anniversary. First up was the next major story arc on ASM, titled ‘Ends of the Earth’. It will pit Spider-Man against Doctor Octopus and the rest of The Sinister Six. After a brief discussion about ‘Ends of the Earth’ and a preview of covers for the arc, they talked about some of the other things in store for Spidey. The most shrouded in secrecy thing happening in the Spider-verse this year is Spider-Men which the panel said they couldn’t say anything about other than it will debut in June and will be a historic event for Spider-Man. Rumor has it though that this will be the first crossover between the classic Marvel Universe and the Ultimate Marvel U.

Spider-Man, rumored to be the first Classic Marvel/Ultimate Marvel crossover

The last thing I went to for the day was the premiere of the new DC animated movie Superman vs. The Elite. While it was not DC’s best effort to date it was also not its worst. I did not care for the character design for Superman, and the over-all story seemed to drag a bit, but the last 20 minutes or so were pretty bad ass. Also, it did have perhaps the coolest opening credits sequence of any DC animation that I’ve seen; it was like the love child of Super-Friends and The Sex Pistols’ Never Mind the Bollocks . Followed by the movie was a pretty lame panel which I will spare you the details of, but was capped off with the first trailer for what is perhaps the most anticipated DC animated movie to date…The Dark Knight Returns. It was only a minute or so long, but it looked amazing and had me drooling for more.

 

All in all, my first day at WonderCon was a great success and I can’t wait to go back for more. I wish that WonderCon was going to stay in Anaheim for years to come, because as an Orange County local, only having to drive ten minutes to get my geek on at a convention is pretty badass. And now this geek had best get his beauty sleep, so he can get his geek on for Day 2. More to come…

’24’ Movie Killed by Fox Over Budget Issues

by Scott Alminiana

According to The Wrap: “Kiefer Sutherland is furious at 20th Century Fox, which has called a halt to the movie version of his hit television show, “24,” over budget and star salary issues.”

The movie (set to be a big-screen spin-off of the long running show) was in pre-production and scheduled to start shooting next month, was shut down because Fox refuses to pay no more than $30 million to get it made.  Sutherland, who is producing/staring, and producer Brian Grazer feel the budget should be no less than $40 million.

Sutherland, planned on filimg the new movie during the hiatus of his new FOX show ‘Touch’, but with the movie currently dead who knows what his hiatus will entail. Perhaps, he’ll make an appearance in the next ‘Lost Boys‘ direct-to-DVD sequel. At this point, that sounds more likely than my getting to see ’24’ on the big screen. Guess, I’ll just have to settle for (what I can only assume to be) a subpar sequel to ‘Die Hard‘.

Looks like Fox's notorious cheapness has killed the 24 movie...for now anyway.

Image Comics Vampire Series To Be Adapted For The Big Screen By Piranha 3D Director

by Scott Alminiana

According to Deadline.com, Piranha helmer Alexandre Aja is negotiating to direct Undying Love, an adaptation of the Image Comics title created by Tomm Coker and Daniel Freedman for Warner Bros studios. The movie will revolve around a former solider who falls for a vampire, though in order to be with her, he must take on the vampire who created her in the first place and his army of monsters in the Hong Kong underworld. Original comics book series creators Coker and Freedman are writing the script.

Director Alexandre Aja, the French director best known for the horror film High Tension and the remake of The Hills Have Eyes and Piranha 3D, is still in negotiations, so no cast news to report yet, but as long as the vampires don’t sparkle like the bedazzled Twilight vamps and it doesn’t star anyone from The CW, I am so far intrigued.

Director Alexandre Aja

Frustration! San Diego Comic Con Sells Out In One Hour!

by Scott Alminiana

And so another year of trying to get San Diego Comic Con tickets has begun, and ended. A few days ago this geek, along with every other geek who signed up for “pre-registration” at Comic Con, received an email notifying us that tickets would officially go on sale at 8:00 AM PST on March 3rd. The email included a link for ticket purchases but informed users that it would not be active until 8:00 AM when ticket sales started. Not wanting to miss out on yet another year of Comic Con I set my alarm for 7:45 AM so that I could be ready to get my place in the EPIC waiting room. Although to be fair, there was nothing ‘epic’ to be found in that room.

At precisely 8:00 AM PST, I clicked the link… but nothing happened. Refresh, still nothing, close the browser and try again, still nothing. This continued for the next few minutes with my rage slowly building and flashbacks to last year’s Leap Frog ticket sales disaster running through my mind. After finally just going to Comic Con’s website I was able to get in the waiting room and started the wait with my place being around #35000 in line. Every few minutes the browser would automatically update with my place in line slowly dwindling down. Around the time I became #25000 in line the 4 day passes had all been sold out. ‘That’s okay’ I thought, as long as I can go for 2 or 3 days I’ll be happy. Time slowly passed and so did the number of tickets. After being in the waiting room for about an hour and getting down to #3000 I was informed that ALL tickets were sold out. NO WAY CAN THIS BE HAPPENING. No, not now, not again this year!!!! I was James T. Kirk screaming “Connnnnnnnnnnn!!!!” from the rooftops. My quest for Comic Con had come to an end; and this geek was one sad panda.

As it turns out, that link that was in the email was a dead link and many a geek/nerd are bitching about this in various online forums as I write this. More tickets might go on sale at a later date according to the Con website, but I imagine those will be far and few between. Once again, Comic Con International has managed to mess up the ticket sale process. Oh, and it should be noted that whomever runs their website doesn’t know the difference between ‘their’ and ‘there’. Looks like it’s time to prepare my “will work for Comic Con tickets” sandwich sign for when I go to Wonder Con. The next step after that of course is taking a page out of the IMF playbook and pulling some espionage-type shenanigans trying to get into Comic Con. I’ll keep you posted…

DENIED.