Thursday, 31 January 2013

JLA resting on Man of Steel's shoulders


Recent interviews with Warner Bros pictures reveal that the stuido will be waiting on the results of Christopher Nolan's upcoming Superman movie Man of Steel, before they go ahead with any work on the Justice League of America project.



This of course comes as no surprise, as the DC comic movies have not had an awful lot of sucesses with their previous attempts. 2011's Green Lantern failed to live up to its expectation, not receiving the critical and commercial success that the studio had hoped for. The studio would be even more hesitant with the release of the next Superman picture, since Bryan Singers Superman Returns did even more poorly back in 2006.

In 2009, DC underwent a massive restructuring, creating DC Entertainment, “a new company founded to fully realize the power and value of the DC Comics brand and characters across all media and platforms.” but Green Lantern had already been completed before hand, not being part of DC Entertainments work.

Warner Bros have also discussed plans to have the JLA universe separate from the DC movies so far, about moving the project away from the universe that Nolan has created for his Batman movies, and now also Man of Steel. From the gritty dark realism of these films to a more "comicy" and bright place. Talks are even in to reboot the Batman series, to be more fitting for this style, which could even mean that Superman will need to be brightly rebooted after Man of Steel

News source Variety said the following in an article related to the project;

 "Further out, the studio's planning a 'Justice League' tentpole -- encompassing DC Comics mainstays Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash and the Green Lantern -- on the order of Marvel's 'The Avengers.' Will Beall is scripting but no director has been attached yet. Stakes are high for 'Man of Steel.' Other than Nolan's Batpics, Warners has not been able to effectively exploit the DC library. Its 2011 'Green Lantern' underperformed, and a 'Justice League' film wouldn't likely be in theaters before 2015, as Warner's top brass has indicated that they are awaiting the results of 'Man of Steel,' which opens June 14, before moving further ahead."

 So looks like even more is riding on Nolan's work now, if we get another Superman debacle this year, we likely wont be getting a JLA film for a little while yet.

-Welsh 31/01/13

Sources:

Tuesday, 29 January 2013

3D Star Wars Prequels on hold...for now

Did you end up seeing the re-release of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace when it came back to screens in 3D? We didn't either. This being so it comes as no surprise that Disney and Lucasfilm are putting the other 3D conversions on hold for the time being.



Following the confirmation that J.J.Abrahms will indeed be directing the next entries in the franchise, Lucasfilm has released the following statement, concerning the post-poning of the 3D conversions.
"Lucasfilm has decided to postpone this fall's scheduled release of Star Wars Episodes II and III in 3D. Given the recent development that we are moving forward with a new Star Wars trilogy, we will now focus 100 percent of our efforts on Star Wars: Episode VII in order to ensure the best possible experience for our fans. We will post further information about our 3D release plans at a later date."

It's a wise move of Disney, to distance themselves from the prequel series for the time being, many people claiming that they were milking the franchise, and the poor performance of the first 3D re-release leads many more to feel the same way. Episode II: Attack of the Clones was meant to be released in 3D on September 20th 2013, with Episode II: Revenge of the Sith to follow in October 11th.

-Welsh 29/01/13

Sources
  1. http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/01/28/star-wars-3d-releases-reportedly-cancelled
  2. http://www.deadline.com/2013/01/exclusive-no-more-star-wars-3d-prequel-releases-lucasfilm-passes-to-focus-on-new-trilogy/
  3. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/121754-Disney-Shelves-3D-Star-Wars-Sequels

Australian Box Office Weekend Results, 17-20

As the Holiday seasons begin to fade away, so to does the amount of movie-goers. This weeks totals dropping significantly since last week.


 Fox's Oscar nominated Life of Pi remains in first place during its third week of release, with This is 40 having a strong opening to 3rd, having the highest average earning per theatre. Trouble for Roadshow's Gangster Squad as it drops from 3rd last week, now down to 6th.
  1. Life of Pi
    $2,859,331
  2. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
    $2,016,576
  3. This is 40
    $1,877,215
  4. Les Miserables (2012)
    $1,681,744
  5. Wreck-It Ralph
    $1,555,874
  6. Gangster Squad
    $1,533,253
  7. Jack Reacher
    $918,680
  8. Parental Guidance
    $818,725
  9. Hitchcock
    $741,547
  10. ParaNorman
    $687,358
-Welsh 29/01/13

Friday, 25 January 2013

Michael Scott will not return to work



Much to fans dismay and disbelief, Steve Carell has announced that he will not be making an appearance in the final, ninth season, of The Office (US). There has been a lot of talk about the topic lately, as more stars are announcing return cameos, even David Denman (Roy) has appeared in an episode, with B.J Novak (Ryan) and Mindy Kaling (Kelly) both planning on reprising their roles for an episode.

Carell had previously stated that he had no plans to return, even for a cameo, when he left back in the seventh season. Being asked about a return now that the series was due to end, he had the following to say.

"I just didn’t think it was right for the character, because that character had had an arc within the story and kind of grew and sort of evolved past the idea of the documentary.
I’m really good friends with everybody on the cast and with [executive producer] Greg Daniels and I want to go back [to the set] to say, ‘Hi,’ certainly, before it all ends, but I just thought, in terms of the character, it didn’t make sense."

So Michael Scott has already had his swan song, now it's time for The Office itself to have its own. In the final episodes, the cameras will be turned and we will get to see the film crew that has been "documenting" their workplace from day one. Series creator Greg Daniels said that the next few episodes are really the beginning of the end, where they pick apart whats going on with the "documentary" and who is actually behind the whole thing.

On a more personal note, the end of this series will be heartbreaking for all of us at Done Did It, remaining one of our favourite shows to this day. Some of us have even watched the show from the beginning, and the next couple of months will be quite a strain, seeing a show we've followed for nine years come to a close. Losing Carell in season seven was a big blow to the show, and some feel it has lacked a little this past year. Will this final season be its redemption? We look forward (albeit sorrowfully) to finding out come March.

-Welsh 25/01/13

Sources:

J.J.Abrahms to direct next Star Wars?

Reliable news source "The Wrap" has declared J.J.Abrahms as the director to take over the Star Wars franchise earlier today. "The Wrap" is a very credible news source, and state that an individual close to the production has revealed this information. Ben Afleck is also said to have been in the running for the directing role.



In November of last year Abrahms was questioned about the possibility of directing Star Wars, where he had the following to say.

"Look, Star Wars is one of my favourite movies of all time. I frankly feel that – I almost feel that, in a weird way, the opportunity for whomever it is to direct that movie, it comes with the burden of being that kind of iconic movie and series. I was never a big Star Trek fan growing up, so for me, working on Star Trek didn’t have any of that, you know, almost fatal sacrilege, and so, I am looking forward more then anyone to the next iterations of Star Wars, but I believe I will be going as a paying moviegoer!"

So Abrahms may have had hesitation towards this role, understandable given the weight behind such a project, and his strong relationship with Paramount pictures. But if anybody was to take the helm, the director behind the successful return to screen of Star Trek, with a sequel Star Trek: Into Darkness also on the way, you would have some confidence with Abrahms as the choice.

This news is not to be sung about just yet however, as much speculation and rumours have already started to surface about the production, with not much information to back it up. Recent news surfaced that Zack Snyder (300) would be directing a separate stand alone film within the Star Wars universe, from another highly credible news source "The Vulture". However, when Snyders rep was contacted about the news it was denied by his reps. The failed news story has given reason to keep your wits about you with any future Star Wars leaks.

Disney and Lucasfilm have set a 2015 date for Star Wars Episode VII and are planning yearly releases after that.

- Welsh 25/01/13

Sources;

Thursday, 24 January 2013

Doctor Who due for Easter Return

Daleks beware, the seventh season of Doctor Who Part 2 starts again on Easter Saturday, March 30th on BBC and will continue with the rest of the season throughout the year. Season 7 started way back in 2011, and in true Whovian fashion on Christmas day itself. There was a large break however due to the teams other commitments, until September 2012 when the season picked back up. Fun fact, Season 7 is the first season to span over two Christmas specials!


The latest episode was 2012's Christmas special The Snowmen where we are introduced to the doctors latest companion, although not in the way that we have come to expect over the years.

2013 also marks the 50h anniversary of the show, with writers promising a huge year to celebrate the occasion. In the anniversary spirit, New Zealand Mint, in association with the BBC are making a series of collectible coins to mark the occasion. All eleven actors that have portrayed the doctor up until this point will be commemorate in coin form, and they can be pre-ordered from the New Zealand Mint site here newzealandmint.com. The coins will be officially launched at the World Money Fair in Berlin on the February 1st, and come inside 3D model replicas of the Tardis (Time and Relative Dimension in Space) that plays the ships well known materialisation sound when opened.

-Welsh 24/01/13

Sources:

The Walking Dead coming to Australian consoles



Good things do indeed come to those who wait. Telltale games held off on releasing The Walking Dead game on PSN and Xbox Live in Australia for a while now, but now that wait is over thanks to the arrival of our R18+ rating. The following statement was recently released by Telltale games on the subject;

"Telltale can confirm today that the award-winning game series The Walking Dead was submitted to the Australian Classification Board and has received a rating of MA15+. The game will be available for purchase digitally on consoles via Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network very soon, and we will confirm expected release dates shortly. Retail release dates for The Walking Dead on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC in Australia will also be announced in the coming weeks."

Telltale announced that it would not be releasing console versions of the game, in Australia and New Zealand, in April last year due to our lack of an adults-only rating on our games. Not wanting another Left 4 Dead 2 fiasco, they held off on the console release until now, which some are claiming was pointless as it only got the MA15+ rating, but you can't blame them for making sure.

The game has been available on PC through loopholes in steam and on line downloads, so some of us here at Done Did It have already played through the emotion-straining game, but for those who have waited patiently (hungry for those achievements girl) the exciting news is a huge relief. Just a few more weeks....

- Welsh 24/01/13

Sources:

  • http://www.capsulecomputers.com.au/2013/01/the-walking-dead-game-gets-rating-in-australia/
  • http://au.gamespot.com/news/telltales-the-walking-dead-coming-to-australia-6402694

Wednesday, 23 January 2013

X-Men: Days of Future Past set for 2014 release date



In recent interviews with legendary actor Hugh Jackman, he has teased at the massive size of the next X-Men instalment.

"Every other actor who's ever put on a superhero uniform will be in it." Jackman said to the Daily Mail, "There's an element of time travel and, naturally, it will be action-packed."

So far confirmed along with Jackman are Ian Mckellen, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Patrick Stewart, Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult, but more names are expected, and even rumoured, to be added to the cast in future updates.

The film is scheduled for a release date of the 18th of July 2014, and will be heavily influenced by two stories from the comics, "Days of Future Past" (1981) and "All New X-Men" (2012), both comics featuring time travelling mutants hoping to change the future.

Matthew Vaughn, the director of X-Men: First Class was meant to be returning to direct, originally planning on shooting a direct sequel to First Class being set in the 1970's, ideas early on involved Mutant encounters during the Vietnam war. But since Matthew Vaughn has declined the role of director, Bryan Singer who produced First Class has signed on to direct. The new script involves characters form the prequel and from the first three movies and will involve mutant time travelling that could shape and alter the world as they know it. Rumours are abound, that this move will allow them to rework the ending of X-Men: The Last Stand, opening the possibility of future sequels in the series.

- Welsh 23/01/13

Sources:

Zombieland comes back to life




Much to fans dismay, the 2009 Zom-Com Zombieland will not be getting a sequel anytime soon. However, we wont be saying goodbye to the Zombie Apocalypse World just yet. The original Zombieland screenplay was in fact written as a television show pilot, as much as it was reworked into a feature film, the script kept much of the TV features to it, like "Zombie-Kill of the week" for example.

The project was originally undertaken by Fox, presumably to combat AMC's hugely successful The Walking Dead series, but now reports are in that the series will more than likely be heading to Amazon, who have been working hard on original series for their video streaming service. It's thought that this is a good move for the site, and for the show, as they could possibly get away with much more gore than would be allowed on Fox programming.

The show will be blending familiar characters, with new characters blended in, although no information has been released in regards to casting yet, its highly likely that the movie cast will not be appearing here so prepare for some re-casting here. Rumours are saying that the original characters will only be used to frame the world and allow us to meet the new characters, so more of a cameo. But nothing is in stone as of yet.

-Welsh 23/01/13

Sources:

Tuesday, 22 January 2013

Sin City 2 Casting Buzz


Work on the highly anticipated Sin City sequel is currently well underway. The project is in production with an October 7th release date, but even more actors are said to be joining the cast, even as late as now. The movie has added three more actors to its already star-studded cast, although as of yet in unknown roles. Ray Liotta (Goodfellas, Hannibal), Juno Temple (Mr.Nobody, The Dark Knight Rises) and Jeremy Pivven (Pirates! A band of Misfits, Entourage). Liotta and Piven had previously worked together in Smokin' Aces and Juno Temple will be joining another recently added cast member, who she had worked previously with on Batman: The Dark Knight Rises.
As of January 7th, Joseph Gordon-Levitt was cast as Johnny, "a cocky gambler who disguises a darker mission to destroy his most foul enemy at his best game."

These new members along with Dennis Haysbert, Jamie Chung, Christopher Meloni and Josh Brolin, are going to be joining the returning ensemble cast of Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson and Jaime King.

Aside from the casting news, the directors have teased more information regarding the presentation of the film aswell. The first movie was hugely succsessful with its artistic style, and this sequel is hoping to expand on this. The filming itself is allowing actors to shoot scenes togethor, who under normal circumstances woudlnt of been able to due to availability. Rodriguez said in a recent interview that he is planning to really push the limits of our film technology and even 3D features. "We're really playing with stuff because that's a very two dimensional world, and to see that sylization in 3D, it'll blow people's minds. 3D hasn't been used like this yet."
-Welsh 22/01/13

Sources:

Veteran artist approached for next Star Wars movies

The name Drew Struzan might not ring any bells to you, but do you know these posters?


Drew Struzan is an American artist who has worked on over 150 movie posters, including the entire Indiana Jones, Star Wars and Rambo series, and he has also worked on album, comic and book covers in his life. Now the retired poster artist has been approached by Disney to pick up the pencils and paintbrushes once more to work on the new Star Wars movie posters. He has not confirmed that he will be doing the work, but it shows that Disney is definitely heading in the right direction with the latest instalments to the franchise.

Struzan had this to say on the offer;
"I got a couple calls already this week on Star Wars from Disney. Oh my god, I'm trying to be retired! You know, I spent 35 years painting Star Wars. [laughs] I painted Star Wars before most of you were born! But I guess there is always a chance. There's no intention. But I would love to have a day off every now and again, and I have to work a weekend and all through the night. If the opportunity arises, it will be a real temptation. But it's going to have to be a real temptation to get me away from my wife and my little grand kids and my family. Away from the green trees and the blue skies for a change instead of just locked in the studio. But, you know, never say never. All things are possible."

The retired artist is definitely playing hard to get on this one, but the possibility intrigues him at the very least. It will be a big loss if the films don't receive his legendary treatment, and one that Disney cannot afford if they are trying to win us over with the new films.

-Welsh 22/01/13

Sources:

Monday, 21 January 2013

Australian Box Office Weekend Results, Jan 10-13

Quite the surprise this week, as we have a new number 1!

  
 This week the number one spot is handed over to Ang Lee's Life of Pi, muscling out The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey by over half a million dollars!

  1. Life of Pi
    $3,952,729
  2. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
    $3.303.349
  3. Gangster Squad
    $2,271,491
  4. Les Miserables
    $2,227,488
  5. Wreck-It Ralph
    $2,182,233
  6. Jack Reacher
    $1,648,385
  7. Hitchcock
    $1,245,119
  8. Parental Guidance
    $1,105,022
  9. ParaNorman
    $937,587
  10. Quartet
    $660,378


 No changes in the top earners either, as Skyfall still sits about $12 million dollars ahead of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey with Twilight holding onto third place. Just like the characters in its story, the Twilight franchise just refuses to die.

-Welsh 21/01/13


Friday, 18 January 2013

Franken-Fever

It would seem that the old and tried monster that is Frankenstein has had new life pumped into him in the last year, as several projects have come about in recent months.
Sam Mendes and John Logan, the director and a writer from the 2012 Blockbuster Skyfall are currently in talks to develop a "high-concept, psychological drama" series for US TV Channel Showtime, according to Deadline.

"The untitled drama, which has undergone some tweaking from the original spec to tailor it to the Showtime audiences, is described as a psychological horror drama series with literary underpinnings, including Dr.Frankenstein and his creature, set in the 1800s."

20th Century Fox are working on an untitled Frankenstein project at the moment, aiming to be a scifi take on the classic Mary Shelley novel, about a creature produced through a scientific experiment. Daniel Radcliffe is reportedly interested in the lead role for the film, the main character Hunchback. Max Landis, writer of 2012 movie Chronicle is said to be penning the script, and Paul McGuigan, the director of Lucky number Slevin and BBC's Sherlock will be directing.

A feature film adaptation of the graphic novel I, Frankenstein, that was written by Kevin Grevioux (co-creator of the Underworld franchise) is also underway, written by Stuart Beattie (Pirates of the Caribbean, 30 Days of night). Aaron Eckhart, or as most of you would know him Harvey Dent from Nolan's Batman: The Dark Knight has the lead role of Frankenstein, and Real Steel director Shawn Levy is on to direct. The story follows Dr.Frankensteins monster Adam, if the creature didn't commit suicide over the death of his creator. Instead, he survives on to an alternate version of the present thanks to some genetic quirk of his, that makes him the target of two warring immortal clans.
Also set to star alongside Eckhart is Bill Nighy (you shouldn't need me to tell you who this is), Yvonne Strahovski (Chuck), Jai Courtney (Spartacus) and Miranda Otto (The Lord of the Rings).
Hopefully these projects will follow in the path of Tim Burton's Frankenweenie, a film that I personally loved, and that really kept the feel of the novel and brought it into a whole new generation of movie goers.

- Welsh 18/01/13

Sources

Mark Wahlberg talks Ted sequel



Seth Macfarlane, Milna Kulnis and Mark Wahlberg at the Ted premiere.
The sequel to the 8th highest grossing film of 2012, Ted 2,  is reportedly in the works. Recent interviews with Mark Walhberg about his current Michael Bay projects Pain and Gain, and Transformers 4 reveal that the star is supposedly starting work on Ted 2 when he is done.

"We're shooting Transformers in May, and then I believe we're gonna do Ted 2 right after. They're working on it now and we've kind of gone through the negotiation process." He told Collider.

Seth MacFarlane has just signed on to direct and star in a live action Western comedy as his next project, A Million Ways to Die in the West as his next project, and production is beginning next summer. With Wahlberg booked up with the Transformers sequel for the next few months, it's possible that they will both be free for work on Ted 2 as of next year. Along with these commitments Seth will continue to work on his 3 running TV series as well.

Seth MacFarlane is also hosting the Oscars in February, with Mark Walhberg along with Ted himself making an appearance. It looks like its going to be a busy year for the dynamic duo, but rest assured when the sequel does happen it will be just as extraordinary as the first.

"The great thing about it is Seth's ideas for the second one are sick." Wahlberg said in the Collider interview, "He comes from the world of episodic television so he knows how to tell the stories, man, in a way that most people don't, like for instance The Italian Job we've been trying to do the sequel for 10 years. He's a different kind of guy."

-Welsh 18/01/13

Sources:

Done Did It Podcast Episode 5

Done Did It Podcast Episode 5

Done Did It Podcast returns for a new year! This week the guys talk about 2012, and what they feel were the best of the best when it comes to games, dlc, movies and tv shows. The debates get heated, as they talk out what they think deserves the presdigious Done Did It awards.

Thursday, 17 January 2013

Kid Cudi joining Need for Speed film adaptation



According to Deadline the most recent addition to the Need for Speed film adaptation currently in the works, is none other than Mr Solo Dolo himself, Scott 'Kid Cudi' Mescudi.

The movie is going to be an adaptation of the much loved franchise, rather than any individual game entry in the series. It is going to be a high octane, fast paced film, very much in the style of the great car culture films of the 70's, while keeping true to the feel of the games.

Scott Waugh is said to be directing the feature film, coming from a long history of stunt work and a role directing and producing 2012's Act of Valor.

The cast so far has the likes of Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), Imogen Poots (28 Weeks Later) and Dominic Cooper (Captain America: The First Avenger)

The movie will be released on February 7th 2014.

-Welsh 17/01/13

Sources:

White House respsonds to recent slew of petitions

After receiving quite a number of quirky and abnormal petitions over the last few months, the White House has decided to increase the number of signatures required for an official White House response to 100,000.

We the People, a government site that is designed to give American citizens access to petitions and causes relevant to themselves, has sparked a lot more interest than they originally anticipated.
"When we launched We the People, none of us knew how popular it would be, but it's exceeded our wildest expectations. Through the past year, interest in We the People exploded and we're closing in on 10 million signatures." Macon Phillips, White House Director of Digital Strategy wrote.

The previous number of signatures required was only 25,000, and in the last two months of 2012 about 73,000 petitions were created on line. It became evident that the 25,000 mark was far too low for an official response, when such petitions as making a trillion dollar coin or getting certain church organisations to be marked as hate groups started nearing the mark. Some of the more bizarre ones even made it past it, one in particular was for the government to secure funding and resources to begin construction of a working Death Star in 2016.



The Death Star petition reached over 30,000 signatures, and was responded to with the following from Paul Shawcross, the head of the White House Budget Office's Science and Space branch.

"The construction of the Death Star has been estimated to cost more than $US 850,000,000,000,000,000. We're working hard to reduce the deficit, not expand it. The Administration shares your desire for job creation and a strong national defence, but a Death Star isn't on the horizon. The Administration does not support blowing up planets."

-Welsh 17/01/13

Sources:

Wednesday, 16 January 2013

Soundwave 2013: Metallica going all Black?

Twitter conversations and posts on the official Metallica page, are leading fans to believe that Metallica will be playing through their Black album in its ENTIRETY during their Soundwave 2013 tour.

If the tour is to go as expected, the set list should look a little something like this;

Intro
Hit the Lights
Master of Puppets
The Shortest Straw/No Remorse/Fuel/Ride The Lightning/The Four Horsemen
For Whom the Bell Tolls
The band receiving their applause in front of their "Snake Pit"
Blackened/Battery/Fight Fire With Fire/Hell and Back

"The Black Album"
The Struggle Within
My Friend of Misery
The God That Failed
Of Wolf and Man
Nothing Else Matters
Through the Never
Don't Tread On Me
Wherever I May Roam
The Unforgiven
Holier Than Thou
Sad But True
Enter Sandman

Encore
Fuel/Creeping Death/Battery/Blackened/Fight Fire with Fire
One
Seek & Destroy

According to the bands official page, with previous tours they have stated "what would a tour of the Black album be without a snake pit?". The presence of this snake pit is what has lead others to believe they are doing the same for this tour.

Needless to say that if this is indeed the case it will be the ultimate closing act for Soundwave 2013.

Is there any songs that you think they've missed?

- Welsh 16/01/13

Sources:

Ben-Hur Remake in the works

 
 
Following on from the huge successes of such movies as Skyfall and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, MGM is now planning a remake of the classic movie Ben-Hur.
The movie will be based off of the 1880 Lew Wallace novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of Christ, and was adapted by MGM into a silent movie in 1925. It was then remade again by MGM in 1989 starring Charlton Heston and winning a record breaking 11 awards.
 
The project joins a growing number of Bible epics that are currently in production. Warner Bros have attached Brad Pitt to star in their film Pontius Pilate, two different movies about Moses that might possibly be worked on by Steven Spielberg and Ridley Scott, and Daron Aronofsky's Noah, with Russell Crowe.
No information yet as to who is involved, but Sean Daniel and Joni Levin will produce the feature, with Kieth Clarke (also working on the script) and Jason Brown exec producing.
As well as covering the familiar revenge tale of Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish prince sold into slavery who vows vengeance on the man responsible, the film will also tell the parallel story of Jesus, including his execution at the hands of Pontius Pilate.
Needless to say there has been much controversy with the announcement, and the general vibe is that this movie cannot live up to the legacy of its predecessors. It will be interesting to see how this movie progresses over the next few months, keep an eye out for any updates!

-Welsh 16/01/13

Sources:

Tuesday, 15 January 2013

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles starts shooting in April


TMNT Artwork not related to the Bay Movie

Michael Bays Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is set to commence principle photography in April this year. The movie has been plagued by fan abuse and script rewrites since it was announced last year, and is now set for a May 16 2014 release date.
It's interesting to note that May 16th is also the planned release date for Gareth Edwards Godzilla reboot. Leaked information revealed that the original (hopefully binned) script for the movie, had the turtles as aliens, not as mutants (what the?), Shredder had been changed to Colonel Schrader and controlled an army known as "The Foot".

The project had since been shelved, and no word yet as to what the new script might possibly contain.
Jonathon Liebesman is on to direct the movie, his previous works including Wrath of the Titans (2012), Battle for Los Angeles (2011), and Bay's own production company "Platinum Dune" is making the film.
After all the negativity attached to this movie, its hard to imagine there being a good outcome in this, but we will soon see come May next year, when TMNT and even Godzilla, attempt to reclaim the spotlight.

- Welsh 15/01/13

Sources:

Monday, 14 January 2013

Australian Box Office Weekend Results, Jan 3-6


No surprises here as the Australian Box Office figures for the weekend of January 3rd to 6th are released. 
  1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
    $5,853,821
  2. Life of Pi
    $4,937,861
  3. Les Miserables
    $3,113,930
  4. Wreck-It Ralph
    $3,016,784
  5. Jack Reacher
    $2,941,094
  6. Parental Guidance
    $1,449,311
  7. Skyfall
    $966,133
  8. Quartet
    $919,848
  9. Rise of the Guardians
    $746,948
  10. Pitch Perfect
    $384,209

Skyfall is still the highest earning movie in the Top 10, with a total of $45,713,107 in the seven weeks since its first showing. Second palce is The Hobbit on $28,636,856 over 2 weeks and the final Twilight movie is third earning $28,511,067 over eleven weeks.


-Welsh 14/01/13

Sources:

Jack Sparrow set sail for big screen return



Disney has hired screenwriter Jeff Nathanson, famous for such films as Catch me if you can, Tower Heist and the god awful Indiana Jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull, to pen another Pirates of the Caribbean movie.
Johnny Depp and producer Jerry Bruckheimer are expected to return although shooting has been post-poned due to Depp's work on The Lone Ranger.
No word as of yet on whether the rest of the crew will be returning, since the director of the first 3 films Gore Verbinski will not be.
The previous instalment, On Stranger Tides, gave proof that a movie could work without the likes of Bloom, Knightley, and Verbinski earning over a billion dollars world wide. That being said Orlando Bloom has expressed his interest to be a part of the fifth film.

In related news, Disney has also announced work on a sequel to Alice in wonderland. Depp has not yet signed on to the production, but has often said that he would happy to return as long as the material is good.

- Welsh 14/01/13

Sources:

Jurassic Park IV set for June 2014



Announced today, the sequel the Jurassic Park series, Jurassic Park 4 will be hitting theatres in June 13 2014. Not much is known about the movie as of yet, only that the movie will be shot in 3D. Steven Spielberg is on as producer, not as the director similar to his involvement in the 3rd entry in the series, along with Frank Marshall (Raiders of the Lost Arc, Back to the Future).

The most recent draft of the script has been written by the writers of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver.

Rumours are abound, that with Spielberg postponing his work on future Sci-Fi Epic Robopocalypse, he could take up more of a roll with the new Jurassic movie.

The series was meant to have ended with the third entry, but was revealed to be in the works whilst Spielberg was generating hype for The Adventures of Tin Tin last year. Hopefully this one wont blow again!

- Welsh 14/01

Sources:

Friday, 11 January 2013

85th Acadamey Awards Nominees



The 2013 Oscar Nominees have been announced this week. Not every ones thoughts are reflected across the categories however, Skyfall and the Hobbit are only noted on some of the technical categories. But nonetheless there are some incredible movies nominated this year, the following are the nominees for the main categories.

Best Picture
  • Amour
  • Life of Pi
  • Argo
  • Lincoln
  • Beasts of the Southern Wild
  • Silver Linings Playbook
  • Django Unchained
  • Zero Dark Thirty
  • Les Miserables
Actor in a leading role
  • Bradley Cooper - Silver Linings Playbook
  • Joaquin Phoenix - The Master
  • Daniel Day Lewis - Lincoln
  • Denzel Washington - Flight
  • Hugh Jackman - Les Miserables
Actress in a leading role
  • Jessica Chastain - Zero Dark Thirty
  • Quvenzhane Wallis - Beasts of the Southern Wild
  • Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook
  • Naomi Watts - The Impossible
  • Emmanuelle Riva - Amour
Actor in a supporting role
  • Alan Arkin - Argo
  • Robert De Niro - Silver Linings Playbook
  • Phillip Seymour Hoffman - The Master
  • Tommy Lee Jones - Lincoln
  • Christoph Waltz - Django Unchained
Actress in a supporting role
  • Amy Adams - The Master
  • Sally Field - Lincoln
  • Anne Hathaway - Les Miserables
  • Helen Hunt - The Sessions
  • Jacki Weaver - Silver Linings Playbook
Animated Feature Film
  • Brave
  • Frankenweenie
  • ParaNorman
  • The Pirates! Band of Misfits
  • Wreck-It Ralph
The full list can be seen on the official site, http://oscar.go.com/nominees

- Welsh 11/01/13

Hellboy 3 needs one hell of a Kickstart



For quite a while now, we've heard little rumours and talks about the Hellboy series getting another sequel.
Interviews with lead actor Ron Pearlman and director Guillermo Del Toro have teased at the idea, both announcing their willingness and readiness to go ahead with the film. Del Toro has always viewed the series as a trilogy, with the first two movies being act one and two, the third and final movie to be the grand finish to the series.

Pearlman was on board for this vision, saying in an interview 2 years ago.

"he (Del Toro) always thought of it as a trilogy . . .the take that Guillermo had on finishing the trilogy was epic, and if it doesn't get made it would be unfortunate because it was always designed to have this big finish and I would love to see it being filmed."

So with the lead actors on board, a relatively successful release of two movies already, and a director with a story eager to go, you may find yourself asking what is the hold up? How come its been eight years since we saw Hellboy on the big screen? (Yeah! Hellboy 2: The golden army, is now EIGHT years old!)

It turns out that it all comes down to money. Del Toro talked about it in a recent interview with Latino Review.

"A couple of weeks ago or months ago, I did make a couple of phone calls to test, to gauge the possibility of doing that because its a big movie. There's no takers for a movie of that size. The two movies made their money back and a little bit, but one was $50 (million) and the other was $80/$85. This is $140, so no one wants to do that leap from the financial side."

When questioned on the possibility of a Kickstarter, Del Toro is all to aware that there is a big jump between a $2 million indie game and a $140 million blockbuster, "Unless we find a way to do the mother of all Kickstarters" Del Toro said, "It's just not going to happen."

Sources:

Thursday, 10 January 2013

Glenelg confident for cinema to open in 2015

Back in 2009, the local Glenelg cinema was closed down, screening its last film Gone with the Wind. The cinema itself was shut down with the structure still standing, the owners planning to build retail developments in its place. Locals filed a 1200 signature petition, to try to keep the building as a heritage site, but was unsuccessful, with the structure finally being demolished in August 2011.


Now, developer Andrew Taplin wants to build a $17 million cinema on the lot, only waiting on local government to give the OK.

An artists impression of the proposed cinema
Taplin is confident that if approval is given in the coming weeks, the cinema itself could be finished by summer 2015, hoping that the addition to Jetty road will boost local business and benefit other traders.

The decision is yet to be made by the government on whether or not this project will go ahead, but Taplin and other local traders are confident that it will go ahead and be a great success to the area.

Taplin talked about the Norwood cinema, and how the introduction of it helped The Parade become such a desirable shopping and entertainment precinct, and is hoping for the same successes.

- Welsh 10/01/13

Sources:

Microsoft sheds a little light

Microsoft has stepped up during Samsungs keynote speech at this years CES to reveal a project of theirs that could change the perception of "bigger is better" with tv screens.

Enter Illumiroom, an experimental project that augments the area around your screen with in game projections to enhance the experience.

What? Yeah it's a little odd of a concept, but just look at the proof of concept trailer below to get the gist of it,

Illumiroom will use a combination of a rear mounted projector and the kinect sensor, to sort out the size of your room and what needs to be projected where.

Microsoft patented an immersive display experience last year, with the hopes to make gaming "more realistic" by elminating exterior out of context images, and now it would seem that they have reached this goal with the illumiroom.
Comparisons are being made to the "ambilight technology" from a few years back, where TVs would project coloured lights depending on what was on the screen at the time. It wasn't a neccessity but it was a nice touch. Illumiroom on the other hand seems to show actual in game footage and effects on your back wall.
They are still a little way off having this product ready for purchase, and it is still isn't known whether this will tie in with the next xbox or future kinect technology, but Microsoft plans to reveal more information in Paris later on in the year at the ACM SIGCHI Conference in April. (Assocaiton for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction).

As an avid gamer, and a heavy consumer of television shows and movies, I am very keen to see how this technology pans out across the board. Keener still to see how it works when you already use a projector!

- Welsh 10/01/13

Sources:

Wednesday, 9 January 2013

LEGO MARVEL GAME ANNOUNCED!



The next cover of Game Informer
 That should be enough, shouldn't it? Just telling you that this game is being made, should be enough good news for this week, but nonetheless I will tell you what I know, just to make it even better!

Warner Bros. has announced that a Marvel LEGO game is to be made, LEGO Marvel Superheroes coming to us later this year. We have already seen such iconic franchises as Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and DC converted into colourful building block form but this is the first time that Marvel characters will receive the treatment.

The game will have a brand new storyline, wherein Nick Fury calls upon the help of such heroes as Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Spiderman, Wolverine, yeahhhh you get the picture, to save Earth from such powers as Loki, and Galactus the Devourer of worlds.

In true LEGO game form, LEGO Marvel Superheroes will have the most characters ever in a console game boasting over 100 playable characters from all areas of the Marvel Universe, and the family friendly action packed puzzle solving is obviously going to remain, along with endless collectibles.

Players will brave the ultimate mission to save the universe, in a LEGO-fied version of New York, along with a selection of Iconic locations from the Marvel universe.

More news will be coming out with the next release of Game Informer, the cover of which can be seen above.

Just quietly, I'm still fangirling like crazy over this announcement :D

- Welsh 09/01/13

Sources:

Transfomers 4 starts new trilogy


Transfomers 4 is due for a June 2014 release.

So you may or many not of heard by now that Michael Bay was planning another Transformers movie, the net has been littered with rumours, here say, possible actors, possible plots, but not much has come to light on what is ACTUALLY going on with this project.
Rejoice (maybe) for Michael Bay, as of January 8th announced on his official site some news on the film. We recently heard that Mark Wahlberg has been selected as the lead role, and now Bay has revealed his casting for another lead, acting opposite Wahlberg. Bay had a reasonably large pool of young up and comers to pick from, including actors such as Luke Grimes, Landon Liboiron and Australian actor Brendan Thwaites, but he has chosen relatively unknown Irish actor Jack Reynor to fill the role.

Bay had the following to say on his choice, "Jack Reynor, he is an Irish kid who came to America with 30 dollars in his pocket. Pretty ballsy. Seriously who does that? Anyway I spotted him in a great little Irish movie What Richard Did. This kid is the real deal."

Along with the casting announcement, Bay took the time to quell some of the other rumours that have been floating around by defining the movie a little more.

"This movie takes place exactly 4 years after the war in Chicago (Transofmers:Dark of the Moon). The story makes a very natural transition, and reason as to why we have a whole new cast," Bay wrote. "This 'Transfomers' will feel very different then the last three. We are embarking on a new trilogy."

So what do you think Didders? Will a new cast, new time, new range of transformers bring new life to a series that has become staler with each dose of robot destruction pornography?

- Welsh 09/01/13

Sources;

Tuesday, 8 January 2013

11th Annual VES Awards Nominees





With 2012 drawing to a close, its time to stop, look back, and reflect upon what the best of the year was in numerous awards ceremonies. As of January 7th, the Visual Effects Society (VES) announced their nominees for the 11th annual VES awards, which recognize outstanding visual effects across 24 categories of film, commercial, television, animation, and video games.

This year the VES are honouring Ang Lee with the VES Visionary Award, for his ground breaking work on "The Life of Pi".

The nominees include:
  • The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
  • Prometheus
  • Life of Pi
  • The Avengers
  • BattleshipRust and Bones
  • The Impossible
  • Argo
  • Flight
  • Zero Dark Thirty
  • Game of Thrones: Volar Morghulis
  • Once Upon A Time: The Stranger
  • Falling Skies: Worlds Apart
  • Curiosity
  • Munsters: Mockingbird Lane
  • Call of Duty: Black Ops II
  • Halo 4
  • Dirt Showdown
  • Forza Horizons
  • Dishonored
  • Brave
  • Paranorman
  • Rise of the Guardians
  • Wreck-It Ralph
  • Hotel Transylvania
So what do you think? What Visual Effects really stood out for you in good old 2012?