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Garrett Hedlund Takes the Lead on 'TRON 2'

Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, Disney, Remakes and Sequels

Hold on to your glo-suits, because Tron 2 has finally kicked into high gear. Just one month after Olivia Wilde signed on to star in the much anticipated sequel, The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Disney has chosen Eragorn's Garrett Hedlund for the lead in the sequel to the cult sci-fi flick. Plus, if you were like me and were less than thrilled with the working title TR2N, it looks like Disney has made it a lot easier on all of us and the film will now go by the much simpler title of Tron.

So while most details about the film have been kept under wraps, Sci Fi Wire recently got the chance to sit down with Wilde and she gave us a little tease of what we should expect from the sequel. Don't worry, the interview is spoiler free but Wilde was willing to share a few tidbits, including the return of Bruce Boxleitner, and that director Joseph Kosinski will not just be relying on green screen, and is actually building some honest to goodness sets for the film.

There had been a few hints that the film was going to act as a 'next chapter' in the story, but what we do know is that Hedlund plays a man who finds himself retracing the steps of a character from the original movie named Kevin Flynn. Flynn was originally played by Jeff Bridges (who will also be returning for the sequel), a computer programmer that ended up as the CEO of a software corporation.

Tron is expected to start production this spring, and should arrive in theaters in 2011. Sound off below, and tell us what you think about Disney's choice of leading man...

Confirmed: Arcade Fire Scoring Richard Kelly's 'The Box'

Filed under: Drama, Music & Musicals, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Well, now I just feel silly -- thanks a lot, Win Butler. Back in May, rumors began to circulate that Arcade Fire members Butler, Regine Chassagne and Owen Pallet were working on the score for Richard Kelly's The Box, but Butler had insisted there was nothing to those rumors. Now it's eight months later, and as it turns out he was just messing with us. In an interview with Pitchfork, Butler finally fessed up that he had been working with Kelly on the orchestral score for the Twilight Zone-inspired drama. He says, "We didn't really think we were going to do the whole thing, and then it just kind of was easier once we got in. It was like, 'Oh well, we'll just keep going.' It has so much to do with the editing, and your job is just to help the director. It's a very different experience."

Kelly's follow-up to Southland Tales is based on Richard Matheson's short story, Button, Button, and centers on a couple who come into possession of a mysterious box that can make all their financial dreams come true. But there's a catch: if they use the box, an innocent person will die (I can almost hear Rod Serling in the background telling me to "Picture a couple..."). The film stars Cameron Diaz and James Marsden as the husband and wife with financial woes, and Frank Langella as the box's strange 'delivery man'. It's a pretty creepy premise that would appear to be a perfect fit for the music of Arcade Fire ... and Kelly's own twisted sensibilities.

Back in November, Will brought us the news that the film had been pushed back for a second time from March to November 6, 2009. Hopefully the delays aren't signs of another troubled production for Kelly.

McG Heads '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'

Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, Scripts

Almost three years ago, there was word that New Line was going to remake 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea -- Disney's first live-action film that starred Kirk Douglas and James Mason. In 2007, Sam Raimi said he was looking over scripts (as producer, not director), and then nothing. The project just seemed to fade away. Well, while there's no remake on the immediate horizon, Variety reports that we are going to get an origin story courtesy of Disney and helmed by McG.

The project is called 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo, and will (obviously) feature Nemo as he creates the Nautilus. Bill Marsilli penned the screenplay, and Disney is fast-tracking this puppy to film sometime this year -- presumably before the director kicks the next Terminator into gear.

I wouldn't be surprised if this means that New Line (under Warner Bros.) gets that remake cooking to compete with, or go alongside Disney's creation. Should it happen, it would be nice to two companies compete on something complimentary rather than repetitive (think Steve Prefontaine or Truman Capote). Regardless, McG is certainly making a solid name for himself, but what of Nemo's origin? Do you want to know, or do you just want him and the Nautilus to be a mystery of the sea?

D.J. Caruso Directing 'Jack the Giant Killer'

Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, Newsstand

Normally I would've skipped this story and handed it to a writer who digs the more fantastical (like Elisabeth), but this little fairytale happens to holds a very special place in my heart. First off, Variety reports that D. J. Caruso (Eagle Eye) will be directing a (live-action?) version of Jack the Giant Killer, which is kinda similar to Jack and the Beanstalk, except Caruso's version will be more "adult" as it follows a young farmer who ventures off into the land of giants on a mission to save a kidnapped princess.

Why do I care so much about Jack the Giant Killer? Well, because it so happens that I played Jack in the third grade as part of my class' performance of -- yup -- Jack the Giant Killer. So speaking as someone who's battled those pesky giants before (and won!), this project will be no easy task. No word on where this leaves Caruso's adaptation of Y: The Last Man, which was supposed to start shooting early next year, but when they're looking for their Jack, one imagines the director will put a call in to the star of his previous two films first (ahem, I believe he goes by the name of LaBeouf).

Discuss: The Action Flicks of 2009

Filed under: Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Mystery & Suspense, Disney, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Brothers, Fandom, 20th Century Fox, The Weinstein Co., Quentin Tarantino, Johnny Depp, Harry Potter, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels

So Erik-with-a-k covered the coming comedies of 2009, Scott was all over the horror picks (though his inclusion of Race to Witch Mountain still boggles my mind), Eric-with-a-c nabbed the family-friendly fare, and Elisabeth went over the geek fodder that awaits. But while I respect their calendar years and made-up math alike, I've opted to divide my list of 2009's action and adventure flicks into four categories: Action Flicks I Couldn't Care More About, Action Flicks I Couldn't Care Less About, Action Flicks That I Hope Surprise Me, and Those Which Fell In Between. Enjoy!

Action Flicks I Couldn't Care More About: First and foremost -- Watchmen (March 6th). It's one hell of a graphic novel and looks to be one hell of an adaptation (with or without the Giant Blank), and come Fox or high water, it'll see the light of day soon enough. Then there's Public Enemies (July 1st), which has me sold on not the subject matter, but sheer pedigree: Michael Mann directs Johnny Depp and Christian Bale as '30s gangsters. (It doesn't hurt that the earliest word ranges from damn good to great.) On the skimpier side, I can only hope that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (July 17th) streamlines its source material as the previous one had, and I can only hope that Crank 2: High Voltage (April 17th) lives up/down to the depravity of its predecessor. There's one last action movie that I couldn't care more about because, well, I've already seen a version of it. The international cut of Taken (January 30th, though reportedly opening with some R-dodging trims) is about as brisk and butt-kicking as one might hope out of a man-on-a-mission kidnapping thriller, and if you disagree, I'll send Liam Neeson to change your mind.

'Terminator: Salvation' Action Figures are Scary and Spoilery

Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Warner Brothers, Fandom, Newsstand, Movie Marketing, Remakes and Sequels, Images



Check out a preview of the merchandising terror that awaits us this summer when Terminator: Salvation hits theaters. While I would like to think they're rough prototypes, they look pretty darn finished ... and wow -- these remind me of the action figures we had back in the 80s, the ones that looked absolutely nothing like Harrison Ford or Mark Hamill. I thought today's children were going to be safe from that kind of disappointment.

As bad as they are (are those happy cyborgs?), there's actually a little Sam Worthington spoiler involved in the next set, which I'm including after the jump. As Slashfilm notes, it's not technically a spoiler if you were watching the trailer and putting two and two together, and the marketing will probably let it slip anyway. But just in case, I'm putting the next photos after the jump -- and then including our Terminator: Salvation gallery so you can remember what Christian Bale actually looks like. That is supposed to be Bale, right?


Zack Snyder's 'Guardians of Ga'Hoole' Gets a Cast?

Filed under: Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, Warner Brothers, RumorMonger, Family Films, Newsstand

Zack Snyder isn't a director that lets a little legal drama bring him down, and currently he's busy at work on Guardians of Ga'Hoole, the Lord of the Rings of owl stories. (Two young friends of mine have since assured me it's a really good series; I should drop hints until they lend it to me.)

Sydney's Daily Telegraph is reporting that Aussie up-and-comer Ryan Kwanten has joined the voice cast of Ga'Hoole, along with fellow Aussies Hugh Jackman and Hugo Weaving.

While their involvement hasn't been confirmed anywhere else, this certainly could be the "schedule conflict" alluded to in Jackman dropping out of Cleo -- but would Snyder really reuse two memorable parts of the Happy Feet voice cast? Then again, why wouldn't he? Weaving is The Voice of All Voices, and Jackman did a pretty memorable job in Happy Feet and Flushed Away. Plus, they're Australian, which is where most of the Ga'Hoole work will be done. You might as well save on the production costs by using the local talent, right?

Going by Wiki's character list (don't read it, it's chock full of spoilers), I can hazard a guess as to which Aussie will be playing what owl -- Kwanten is probably going to be the young hero, Soren. Jackman sounds rather perfect for Twilight, "a confident and boastful owl who is always singing songs about himself." There's far too many wise and kingly owls to assign one to Weaving, so we'll have to wait and see on that one. I'm really very curious about this film -- an epic about owls sounds a lot more promising than half the stuff that gets optioned, anyway. At least there will be no question as to who owns the rights to this Snyder film.

New Images: 'Public Enemies', 'Terminator', 'Wild Things', and More!

Filed under: Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fandom, Newsstand, Johnny Depp, Movie Marketing, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Images


Above: Johnny Depp as John Dillinger in Public Enemies, and Christian Bale as John Connor in Terminator: Salvation

To celebrate the new year, Entertainment Weekly has gone live with a gallery full of brand new photos from some of the hottest films in 2009. Among them we have the much-anticipated Michael Mann-directed Public Enemies, starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, more cool images from Terminator: Salvation, another first look at Where the Wild Things Are, the debut image from the Judd Apatow-produced Year One (directed by Harold Ramis), a duo of images from The Taking of Pelham 123 remake, another shot from Pixar's Up, Beyonce in Obsessed, Meryl Streep in Julie and Julia, a little somethin' from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, an image from The Ugly Truth, Angels & Demons, Watchmen, Jonas Brothers Concert Movie, X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Land of the Lost ... and I believe that's it. Check out the first image from Year One below, then head after the jump for a few more -- while the rest can be found over at EW.


Year One - in theaters June 19
When a couple of lazy hunter-gatherers (Jack Black and Michael Cera) are banished from their primitive village, they set off on an epic journey through the ancient world.

Cinematical Seven: Best Mayhem of 2008

Filed under: Action, Comedy, Foreign Language, Horror, Independent, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Mystery & Suspense, Disney, Lionsgate Films, Magnolia, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Brothers, Fandom, Focus Features, 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight, Family Films, Dreamworks, Cinematical Seven, Comic/Superhero/Geek



When we were kicking around ideas for year-end superlative Cinematical Sevens, I was proudly tasked with chronicling the year's finest in big-screen mayhem, violence, destruction and other such shenanigans. When I was kicking around ideas for said feature between me, myself, and I, there were too many titles to leave off the list, so instead of highlighting only a mere couple of movies, I've opted to sort these puppies out by specific manner of cinematic excess.

So there.

1. Most pervasive destruction - The Joker may have terrorized Gotham to the tune of a destroyed hospital, a wrecked helicopter, a sunken SWAT truck, a toasty fire engine, and a golden district attorney, but even he can't top the Cloverfield monster's swath of destruction across the real-life Gotham. Statue of Liberty? Gone. Brooklyn Bridge? History. Central Park? Adios. And that's not including all the Hollister stores that our protagonists might've fled to. (On a smaller scale, though, Inside's lady in black terrorizes a pregnant woman on Christmas Eve to the point of all but painting every last wall in her house with the blood of her victims. Gotta love the French!)

Why We'll See 'Watchmen' on March 6th

Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, Warner Brothers, Distribution, 20th Century Fox



If Warner Bros. is to be believed, the studio is going to fight to the death to keep from making a payout to Fox. Their lawyers are running around swearing that a settlement is "unlikely," that they will prevail on appeal or at trial, that tonight they dine in hell, etc.

Don't believe it. Warner Bros. will pay up. Events over the next couple of weeks may determine how much they'll have to pay. But I would be astonished if Watchmen misses its date with the multiplex.

No one wants to go to trial in the best of circumstances. Something like 95% of all court cases settle. When it comes to big, multi-million dollar brawls between huge corporations, that number jumps even higher. Trial is expensive. Warner Bros.' legal fees would be astronomical. Trial is uncertain. Juries are unpredictable. You could be clearly right and still lose.

Furthermore these are not the best of circumstances for Warner Bros. I'll skip over most of the legal-speak involved here, but the crucial fact is that the judge has already decided the biggest issue in the case: whether Fox owns a distribution right in Watchmen. It's a done deal. The jury's not getting another crack at it. What's left to decide is stuff like damages and whether Warner Bros. should be enjoined from releasing the film. So even the best case scenario for Warner Bros. at trial isn't that great. To take a risk like that would be... Well, I repeat that I'd be astonished.
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