Will Smith joining "Independence Day 2"?

After the recent announcement that a sequel to 1996's Independence Day was going forward, many wondered how many would return for Roland Emmerich's followup.  While actors Bill Pullman and Jeff Goldblum signed on almost immediately, most were disappointed to hear that the original's main character, Captain Steven Hiller, would not return.  This by default meant no Will Smith.

Well calm down DJ Jazzy Jeff.  All may not be lost after all.

Emmerich originally sited salary reasons as to why Smith wouldn't be  joining in the film.  However, "Digital Spy" reports that although Smith was initially hesitant to do second film, Emmerich and Smith now have a meeting scheduled to discuss the project.

Let's face it, After Earth was a disaster and Smith desperately needs a hit.  Why not return to the film that helped make you a star? 

Independence Day 2 releases July 3rd, 2015.

Gandalf the game's afoot!!! Sir Ian McKellen to play Sherlock Holmes in an upcoming film

Seems like Sherlock Holmes is everywhere these days.  "Sherlock" is a successful television show in Britain while its American counterpart "Elementary" has met with similar success.  Then of course there are the Guy Ritchie films of the past few years.  However, audiences are about to experience an older Holmes.  MUCH older.

"Vulture" reports that Ian McKellen is set to star as Sherlock Holmes in the adaptation of the novel A Slight Trick of the Mind.  Here's a brief plot description of Mitch Cullin's book:

It is 1947, and the long-retired Sherlock Holmes, now 93, lives in a remote Sussex farmhouse with his housekeeper and her young son. He tends to his bees, writes in his journal, and grapples with the diminishing powers of his mind. But in the twilight of his life, as people continue to look to him for answers, Holmes revisits a case that may provide him with answers of his own to questions he didn’t even know he was asking–about life, about love, and about the limits of the mind’s ability to know.

Sounds like a much more emotional and less cerebral exploration of Doyle's character than we've seen before.  McKellen will team up with director Bill Condon once again.  (The two previously worked on the film Gods and Monsters.)  McKellen can next be seen in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug on December 13th while Bill Condon's next movie, The Fifth Estate, releases October 18th.

Bill Murray to play music manager in film "Rock the Kasbah"

 

Audition for Groundskeeper Willie in The Simpsons live action movie?

Nailed it.

 

 

 

 

 

Bill Murray's film choices have become pretty eclectic over the last decade or so.  The chances of him ever starring in another film like The Man Who Knew Too Little are probably slim and none.  It looks like Murray's latest film choice also fits the mold of his recent films.

 

 

According to "Deadline" Murray will star in the upcoming film Rock the Kasbah where he plays:

 

 

"a burned-out music manager who goes to Afghanistan on the USO tour with his last remaining client. When he finds himself abandoned, penniless and without his passport, he discovers a young girl with an extraordinary voice, who stows away with him back to Kabul to compete on the popular television show, The Afghan Star, Afghanistan’s equivalent of American Idol."

 

Sounds like the perfect role for Murray.  It also reunites him with screenwriter Mitch Glazer, who also penned Scrooged.

 

Murray can next be seen in director George Clooney's The Monuments Men, out December 18th.



And your official title for the the fourth Transformers film is.....

When the first three films make a grand total of $2.6 billion worldwide, what comes next is more predictable than Lindsey Lohan's bad decisions.  A fourth film.

Like it or not the fourth edition in the Transformers franchise heads into multiplexes next summer.  Consummate explosion artist--er director--Michael Bay is currently filming the sequel with Oscar nominee Mark Whalberg.  (Which reminds me, say hi to Optimus Prime's motha for me Mark.)

In the last few days Paramount bought up multiple website names involving the Transformers franchise, however they've finally settled on a name.  Drum roll please.  Your new Transformers movie will be called:

Transformers: Age of Extinction. 

I'm so excited I could just fall into a coma.

Now granted these movies are supposed to be fun, but man this is getting old.  Maybe Wahlberg can inject some new life into this franchise but I almost hope not.  I'm just so done with this franchise.  However, if any of you were wondering if the Dinobots were going to be in the film, the title probably clears that up.

Transformers: Age of Extinction releases June 27, 2014.

Double dose of Cumberbatch--actor linked to Star Wars and The Lost City of Z

Benedict Cumberbatch is popular right now.  I mean really popular.  Hey everyone!  Come see how popular Benedict Cumberbatch is!

It's hard to argue with the actor's success right now.  He had an amazing turn as Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness, he has a hit show in Britain with "Sherlock", he's got the wikilinks movie The Fifth Estate coming up, AND he's going to be voicing the grand daddy of all dragons, Smaug, in December's The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

Yep he's a hot commodity and not surprisingly the offers are coming in fast and furious, two in particular.  The first comes courtesy of "Film Chronicles" and "Badass Digest" which report from a "trusted source" that Cumberbatch is in talks to play a villain in the upcoming Star Wars Episode VII, almost certainly a Sith.  Furthermore, the source states the character will be present throughout the entire new trilogy and Cumberbatch's involvement is the reason he had to drop out of Guillermo Del Toro's Crimson Peak.

The second film is about as far from Star Wars as you can get.  According to "Deadline" Cumberbatch is in talks to star in director James Gray's The Lost City of Z.  I know what you might be thinking but no, it is not another zombie movie.  The film is actually based on the book by David Grann.  It chronicles the exploits of explorer Percy Fawcett (who Cumberbatch would play).  In 1925 Fawcett entered the Amazon and supposedly found a mysterious lost city.   However, his peers claimed the whole thing was a hoax so he returned to the Amazon with his son and a friend...and disappeared. 

Sounds intriguing.  I'm game.  And as for Cumberbatch as a Sith Lord?  Um yes please.

Cumberbatch can next be seen in 12 Years A Slave on October 17th and The Fifth Estate on October 18th. 

Mom Porn--er--50 Shades of Grey finally snags it's leads!

We've known for quite some time that E.L. James's novel 50 Shades of Grey was coming to the silver screen. Casting speculation ran rampant with everyone having varied opinions. For fifty year old Moms everywhere the casting selections were just as important as who would play the new Batman for their thirty year old basement dwelling sons.

While I don't believe the decisions will cause quite as much controversy as Ben Affleck, I'm sure there will be at least some debate.

According to "Deadline" "Sons of Anarchy" star Charlie Hunnam will play the male lead, billionaire playboy Christian Grey, while relative newcomer Dakota Johnson will play naive literature student Anastasia Steele. (Pornstar name much?)

While many probably know Hunnam from the popular FX biker show and this summer's Pacific Rim, most probably aren't familiar with Dakota Johnson. Johnson is actually the twenty-one year old daughter of actors Don Johnson (Django Unchained) and Melanie Griffith (Working Girl). She's had minor roles in 21 Jump Street and The Five Year Engagement but is still a relative unknown. That may no longer be the case come next summer.

For those of you not familiar with the novel (which I hope most of you aren't) here's a brief synopsis:

 

When literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, despite his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms.

Shocked yet thrilled by Grey’s singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success—his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving family—Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian Grey’s secrets and explores her own dark desires.

A regular War and Peace. Sigh.

Director Sam Taylor-Johnson (Nowhere Boy) will direct and the film is slated to release August 1, 2014.

Hunnam can next be seen in the penultimate season of 'Sons of Anarchy' kicking off September 10th while Johnson is currently filming Cymbeline with Ethan Hawke.

Hollywood is the Dune Killer: Why Frank Herbert's Classic Science Fiction Novel Nees a Solid Movie Treatment, How to do it the Right Way, and Who the Cast Should Be Part 1 of 3

*Note 1: In Part 1 of this segment I will examine WHY Dune needs a quality film, in Part 2 I will explore HOW to make Dune into a successful feature film, and finally in Part 3 I will delve into WHO should play the major roles.

**Note 2:  Also for those of you unfamiliar with  Frank Herbert's Dune, here is a brief synopsis:

Dune is a 1965 epic science fiction novel by Frank Herbert. It won the Hugo Award in 1966, and the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel. Dune is the world's best-selling science fiction novel and is the start of the Dune saga.

Set in the far future amidst a feudal interstellar society in which noble houses, in control of individual planets, owe allegiance to the imperial House Corrino, Dune tells the story of young Paul Atreides, the heir apparent to Duke Leto Atreides as his family accepts control of the desert planet Arrakis, the only source of the "spice" melange. Melange is the most important and valuable substance in the universe, increasing Arrakis's value as a fief. Melange extends life, possesses curative properties, and allows for space travel. The story explores the multi-layered interactions of politics, religion, ecology, technology, and human emotion, as the forces of the empire confront each other in a struggle for the control of Arrakis and its "spice".

For as long as I can remember, I've been a science fiction fanatic. Even before films like Star Wars and Back to the Future ensnared me in their nets of awesomeness, I recall watching the miniseries "V" at the age of four and being completely enthralled.

As I grew older, naturally I branched out into the literary world of science fiction--Ender's Game, Stranger In a Strange Land, Battlefield Earth, Rendezvous With Rama--but the one novel I never found any particular interest in was Frank Herbert's Dune.  The reason was two fold. First was that I wasn't mature enough for a novel of that literary magnitude. I was more of an alien invasion kind of guy. The social, political, economic, and religious intricacies of the novel felt too convoluted and dense for my taste. The second was something that happened during New Year's Eve when I was fourteen.

I watched David Lynch's Dune on the SyFy Channel.

 

 

Come away to a world where none of your expectations will be fulfilled.
 

Cliche as it might sound, the experience was like watching a train wreck--it was terrible but I just couldn't look away. Furthermore, it was the extended edition, made for television, that was something in the neighborhood of four hours long. You can't even find that version anymore. It's more elusive than the 1978 "Star Wars Christmas Special."

Although the 1984 film has developed a cult following in the near three decades it's been out, it fails on several levels. From a special effects stand point it's pretty horrendous for a big budget film. The explosions at Arrakeen look like a five year olds setting off cherry bombs and the guild navigators (with the exception of the one who meets Emperor Shaddam at the beginning of the film) look like bad cartoon drawings. Secondly the acting is pretty terrible. Sean Young is stiff as a board as Paul Atredies' (Kyle MacLachlan's) love interest Chani, and Kenneth McMillan is SOOOOO over the top as Baron Harkonnen, he makes Schwarzenegger in Batman and Robin look like Daniel Day-Lewis by comparison. Maybe worst of all the film is incredibly boring, so much so that you almost wish a sandworm would just put you out of your misery. To say that the film didn't capture the spirit of Frank Herbert's novel is an understatement the size of a Maker.

 

I'm channeling William Shatner right now.

 

Years later when the SyFy channel produced the miniseries version of "Dune", and later "Children of Dune", I was moderately impressed. It was definitely a step up from the 1984 film. The storyline and acting were much more accessible and entertaining. However, I still didn't feel that the miniseries had that visceral quality that Dune possesses.

 

 

Wait you want me to be in "Desperate Housewives"?

 

For some erroneous reason I allowed my dislike for Lynch's film warp my vision of what the novels would be. Reluctantly a few years ago I decided to try and give Frank Herbert's seminal novel another shot without much hope. Much to my surprise and delight, I found the novel fantastic. It worked on so many levels, not only as political, economic, and religious social commentary but had the advantage of being one of the earliest science fiction novels to address environmental issues. It's a novel as relevant today as it was almost half a century ago.

Plus it was a just a damn good adventure tale.

 

 

MAKE ME INTO A QUALITY FILM!!!!

 

Upon completing the novel I had two thoughts. One was that I had to read the rest of the series and two, that the book needed a much more deserving cinematic treatment than Lynch's incarnation.

Critics have often stated that Frank Herbert's Dune is to science fiction what Tolkien's Lord of the Rings is to fantasy. I'd say that's a pretty fair assessment. It stands to reason then that such a fundamentally important work needs a legitimate adaptation. New Line and director Peter Jackson were able to take an "unfilmable" and dense fantasy epic and turn it into a multiple Oscar winning box office smash. An ambitious studio and an established director with vision should be able to get this project off the ground.

Not surprisingly, many Dune enthusiasts feel the same way I do--including apparently movie studios. As recently as the mid-2000s Paramount Pictures kickstarted a Dune remake. Peter Berg was attached to direct but pulled out to make Battleship. That's right. He literally pulled out of making Dune to make a film based on a board game. Then in 2010 Pierre Morel of Taken fame came on board but that fizzled out. Concerns arose about the budget (Paramount Pictures didn't want to go above $100 million) and eventually the project was put on permanent hiatus. Now unfortunately, Paramount Pictures has let the rights to the novel lapse, meaning the rights owners can shop it around to whomever they choose.

To paraphrase the novel, the sleeper has NOT awoken. He's in a coma.

 

 

Don't stand so, don't stand so, don't stand so close to Dune.

 

How can we possibly exist in a world where Norbit, White Chicks, Bloodrayne, and Cop Out are films, but Frank Herbert's masterpiece can't get a decent adaptation? It's criminal. An atrocity that Baron Vladimir Harkonnen would cringe at.

So the question of should this film be made is academic. It's patently self evident.

The second pressing question, how to make a Dune film successfully, is equally important and something I wall examine in part two of this three part segment.