New Wolverine Trailer

More commentary will come later, but for now enjoy!

Monday Morning Link Round-Up

Let's check out the big movie news stories that happened in the last week! These links will be from a whole host of sources. All of these blogs are excellent, and if you don't already, you should follow them! Plus, this link round-up makes my Monday's way lighter...

I will probably end up doing this every week, regardless of how many blog posts I get to. I'm hoping to regularly post movie news, even though I'm also juggling (real life) work and college. I realize that I probably only have a max of 6 faithful viewers, but I like to use this blog as a creative outlet. Sure the writing style is pretty lax, but I just like to have fun with it!

If you're interested in Guest Writing for Yet Another Movie Blog, click here! It would be awesome to get new perspectives on movies and even a review or two each week (seriously! I do NOT have time to watch movies... let alone write a review! Plus, I'm awful at reviewing movies).

Don't forget to Like us on Facebook, Follow on Twitter, and we're with the Google employees on Google+, too! Feel free to shoot YAMB an email at yetanothermovieblog@gmail.com.

Treat this kind of like an Open Thread that we used to do, and sound off on what you'd movies you're interested in!

All right, link time!

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 A-List Cast Keeps Growing

Amazing Spider-Man 2, complete with new suit.

This post requires more Emma Stone.

If you want to know who are the hot, rising stars in young Hollywood, look no further than the ever growing cast of The Amazing Spider-Man sequel. The rebooted franchise already boasts top young talent in Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, but that talent list keeps on growing with the additions of Dane DeHaan, Shailene Woodley, and Felicity Jones. To top it off, Chris Cooper, Jamie Foxx, and Paul Giamatti have signed on to the Marc Webb directed film with Sally Field and Martin Sheen set to return. However, with such an elite ensemble, there is a fear that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 could become weighed down by an influx of stars and their respective storylines.

While true to the comics, Webb's first film took a different approach than Sam Raimi's Spidey trilogy by choosing Gwen Stacy to be the one true love of Peter Parker. However, things may be changing in Parker's life with the introduction of Mary Jane Watson, to be played by Shailene Woodley (The Descendents).

Now the next paragraph may contain spoilers, so click here if you don't want to be spoiled.

Proof that the Cinema Gods Hate Us: Michael Bay's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

This is the coolest thing about this post.

Ruining your childhood since forever.

Yes. Let this soak in for a hot sec. Michael Bay is producting a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles live-action/CG mix. To top it off, Bay has tapped Jonathan Liebesman to direct. Leibesman has previously directed critically acclaimed films such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, Battle: Los Angeles, and Wrath of the Titans. Oh wait. Those weren't critically acclaimed. They were just bloated, CGI-infested excuses for movies. So Liebs and Bay are a match made in heaven. If heaven was full of crappy VFX and explosions. The only redemptive quality of this project are writing duo Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec, both of which worked on the script to Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol, which wasn't terrible.

Obviously, the news that Bay is producing a TMNT film reboot has caused quite a frenzy amongst fanboys of the pizza-loving, sewer dwelling reptiles. To further rub salt in fanboy wounds, Bay has renamed the film to simply, Ninja Turtles. Why? Well, they're not really "mutant" anymore. According to Bay, these turtles will be from space. So Teenage Alien Ninja Turtles. TANT. One letter away from what this project actually is to the film world. Cowabunga. 

Warner Brothers' Rough 2013 Start

And we act surprised
that this flopped?

While the multi-billion dollar corporation isn't necessarily stressing out just yet, Warner Bros. should be a bit concerned over the recent under-performing flicks they have released. Even with an all-star cast, Gangster Squad had a disappointing release and theatrical run. Warner was hoping to tap into the male audience with its release of Sly Stallone's Bullet to the Head, but it looks like there is a serious disinterest in the macho man style films these days. Fantasy film Beautiful Creatures didn't live up to expectations either, even though it boasted a solid cast. Recently, Jack the Giant Slayer stumbled at the box office, and The Incredible Burt Wonderstone failed to light up the box office, even with a trifecta of Steve Carell, Jim Carey, and Steve Buscemi.

Help with a JLA film.
PLEASE!

In a recent statement to The Times, Jeff Robinov, President of the WB Picture Group, expressed his disappointment with Warner's dismal box office return. However, Robinov doesn't seem too concerned with the slow start, as "...the last three or four months of the year looks incredibly strong." Even though the summer to winter lineup looks good, Warner Bros. easy money years seem to have passed.

In the past, Warner Bros. could bank on Nolan's Batman trilogy and the Harry Potter franchise to rake in the cash. However, this year features no Potter film or sure-fire successful superhero film for the studio.

When taking over in the beginning of March, freshly minted CEO Kevin Tsujihara was probably hoping for a bit better in terms of box office success. However, like Robinov, Tsujihara doesn't seem too fazed by the slow start. Some outside concerns about the studio's future remain, though.

Veronica Mars and the Power of Kickstarter

A recent Kickstarter campaign for a movie based on the formerly popular show, Veronica Mars, received an inordinate amount of money. The Kickstarter raised well over the target $2 million in under 12 hours, a Kickstarter record. Needless to say, the film will be going into production soon, and is set for a limited release in 2014.

Fans of Veronica Mars are most likely beside themselves with glee (almost as much as Kristen Bell is when she sees a sloth. Almost.), as they have waited 6 long years for some Mars news. While Kickstarter isn't a new thing to filmmakers (over 30 films are Kickstarter funded at this year's SXSW and YouTube channels are no strangers to the site), this recent Kickstarter project does have fans of other long-cancelled shows eagerly anticipating a possible Kickstarter of their favorite show.

However, fans of Terriers, Pushing Daisies, Firefly and Chuck need to chill out. Seriously. Don't get so excited. The odds of a Kickstarter campaign for any of these shows are marginal at best.

Emma Watson Denies Fifty Shades of Grey Rumors

It looks like teenage boys and creepy men with pencil-staches will be quite disappointed with this news, but it looks like Hermione just isn't into bondage and S&M. The Harry Potter starlet took to Twitter to debunk the many rumors swirling around that had her playing Anastasia Steele.

Who here actually thinks I would do 50 Shades of Grey as a movie? Like really. For real. In real life.
— Emma Watson (@EmWatson) March 17, 2013

Emma Watson's reply comes on the heels of an apparently leaked report from a German movie studio, Constantin Film, by the hacking group Anonymous claimed that Watson is attached to the Fifty Shades project. The studio was quick to state that all the records that were hacked were "out of date and widely accessible" to employees. However, it didn't stop the Internet to start salivating over the thought of the Potter star headlining the erotic E.L. James adaption.

Reports of Watson being tied to a Fifty Shades of Grey film have pretty much been swirling around since the film was announced. While Watson is certainly attempting to branch out from her "good girl" image she had with the Potter franchise with The Bling Ring and The Perks of Being a Wallflower, it remains doubtful that she would go so far as to take on such a role as Anastasia Steele.

With no male or female lead and no director in sight, Universal Studios may have been too ambitious when they said the film would be released in the summer of 2014. E.L. James hand-picked Oscar nominated producers Michael De Luca (The Social Network and Moneyball) and Dana Brunetti (The Social Network) back in July of 2012, but very little has been announced since that point.

Deadpool Might be in Dev Limbo

This is most likely the news that no Marvel fan wants to hear. Although 20th Century Fox has yet to release any type of statement about the upcoming Deadpool movie, the Merc with the Mouth film adaption may be in developmental limbo. Former VFX wiz and Deadpool director, Tim Miller has been tapped to helm Fox's Artemis. No this won't be an Artemis Fowl series adaption (thankfully... because that would mean the Deadpool film would probably be dead), but rather a sci-fi action thriller set in deep space (think Lockout). Again, no official statement has been released concerning Deadpool, but it looks like Artemis will be a project that Miller focuses on first.

Well, bummer. Since Fox chose Miller to direct the untitled Deadpool film, there has been virtually zero news about it. Ergo a delay in production is really no surprise. Nonetheless, this is a pretty big disappointment, especially because many were under the impression that all it needed was the green light from Fox. Miller was the studio's third choice as director, as Robert Rodriguez and Swedish commercial director Adam Berg turned down the director's chair. While it is a bit surprising that Fox decided to use Miller for a big named, big budgeted film, he could very well be the right man for the job. He has worked has on the visual effects for Planet of the Apes, X-Men, and X-Men 2, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. 

The movie already has Zombieland writers, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, on the project, and Ryan Reynolds eagerly awaiting to wield a whole assortment of weaponry. Sure the version of Reynolds' Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine was absolutely nothing like the Deadpool in the comic books, Reynolds was an awesome Wade Wilson. He brought the right amount of sass and attitude to the role in an otherwise dismal movie.

Vampire Diaries' Nina Dobrev as Lara Croft?

With the release of the newest Lara Croft video game, Tomb Raider, rumors of the possibility of a film adaption have swirled. While video game adaptions have been, too be blunt, awful, there seems to be a renewed interest in basing films on video games. Uncharted (to be directed by David O. Russell, which is kind o the best), Assassin's Creed, Splinter Cell, and even an Angry Birds movie are in the works, and now it looks like the Tomb Raider film franchise will be rebooted like its video game counterpart.

Producer, Graham King, the man that backed The Departed, Aviator, Hugo, The Town, and Rango has teamed up with Tom Headington and both have acquired the reboot rights from Tomb Raider franchise company, Square Enix. King has expressed interest in making it a true reboot of the film franchise, as he wants to focus on a younger Lara Croft. It should be noted that her origin story is also the basis of the newest video game.

While I remain skeptical of video game adaptions, King's magic touch could very well vault  successful VG-to-film adaptions to the forefront of Hollywood. We saw it done when Sam Raimi started the comic book craze with his version of Spider-Man, and we may see a video game film kick soon as well.

Even though Angelina Jolie played the Tomb Raider heroine of the 2001 and 2003 movies, it is doubtful she will be back on board. Seeing as how King wants a younger Croft, the possibility remains very minimal that Jolie would reprise her role; although, there could be two versions of Lara Croft (aka a younger version in flashbacks as an older version tells of her adventures).

The latest version of Lara and her voice actress, Camilla Luddington

In the recent Tomb Raider video game, Camilla Luddington voiced the role of Lara Croft, and she remains tied to the film adaption. It should be noted that Croft a British archaeologist, and Luddington is indeed British. Her voice work in the video game is exceptional, and she would be an excellent choice (and an obvious one at that) to play Croft. Even though she is 29, Luddington could easily pass as a younger version of Croft.

However, another young Hollywood actress has been knocking on the door to play the role.

85th Academy Award Winners

Well, the 2013 Oscars have come and gone. From Seth MacFarlane's moderately awkward attempt at hosting (seriously, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, WE ARE BEGGING YOU!!!) to J-Law face-planting on the steps to Ben Affleck's Argo taking home the Best Picture prize, the Academy Awards offered few surprises, but plenty of fun for viewers. And plenty of fun for the many films, as there wasn't a clear dominating film this year.  

Life of Pi ended up taking home the most naked, gold men statuettes with 4, followed by Argo's 3. While Lincoln was an early award season favorite, Spielberg's epic finished with 2 awards. A bit disappointing for sure, but nonetheless, not surprising as Argo was sweeping up the award circuit in the past months. As it has been painstakingly noted to death, Argo is the only film since the 1989 film Driving Home Miss Daisy to win Best Picture without having a Best Director nomination. In the biggest surprise of the evening, a tie between Zero Dark Thirty and Skyfall for Best Sound Editing became only the sixth tie in Oscar history. The audience was so startled that equally stunned presenter Mark Walhberg said, "No BS, we have a tie." Ergo, nobody, I repeat NOBODY could have filled out a 100% correct Oscar ballot. So there.

One event that attracted attention was the post-Oscar protest of concerning Visual Effects. After being played off a bit early during the acceptance speech of Life of Pi Visual Effects winner, Ben Westenhofer, many people took to Twitter to point out the possible conspiracy. They claimed the Academy cut Westenhofer off early out of fear that he would mention the plight of VFX studios everywhere. It certainly is a problem, as Life of Pi (a film that based itself on visual effects) has been a big box office draw, yet the studio behind the visual effects, Rhymes & Hues had to file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. Westenhofer was able to get his message out, though, and in a statement he said:

"At a time when visual effects movies are dominating the box office, [the] visual effects companies are struggling. And I wanted to point out that we aren’t technicians. Visual effects is not just a commodity that’s being done by people pushing buttons. We’re artists, and if we don’t find a way to fix the business model, we start to loses the artistry. If anything, Life of Pi shows that we’re artists and not just technicians."

While the hubbub has been dying out, this might become a bigger problem in the future, especially due to the fact that, as Westenhofer pointed out, visual effects are becoming more and more necessary in big box office films.

Here are the winners of the 85th Academy Awards:

70th Annual Golden Globes and their Oscar Implications

Even though Ben Affleck's directing in Argo seemingly went unnoticed by the Academy, the Hollywood Foreign Press would not deny him at least some recognition. Affleck, while not nominated for Best Director in the upcoming Academy Awards, won the Critics' Choice Award and now the Golden Globe for the category that the Oscar voters snubbed him from. Argo also went on to win Best Picture for a Drama further muddying the waters for who will come out with the top prize at the Academy Awards.

The other big winner at the Golden Globes was Les Misérables. Tom Hooper's film took home Best Picture for a Comedy or Musical, along with actress Anne Hathaway winning Best Supporting Actress and Hugh Jackman winning Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical. While previously not projected to be a big player for Best Picture in the Academy Awards (musicals never do well, and the critics were mixed at best), Les Mis may be a force to be reckoned with.

The Golden Globes may not have the biggest impact on the Academy Awards, but it can give people a bit of a clearer indication on who will come out on top during the Oscars. However, this year added further complications with Argo and Les Mis winning big, along with other surprising, "un-Oscar-esque" picks.

The complete list of winners at the Golden Globes after their effect on the 85th Academy Awards:

Oscar Nominations for 2013

Earlier than I care for, the Oscar nominations were announced by Emma Stone and, to-be Oscar host, Seth McFarlane. There were certainly more than a few surprises (and huge snubs) for the 85th Academy Awards. Not surprisingly, Steven Spielberg's Oscar pandering sweeping epic, Lincoln, leads the way with 12 nominations. Ang Lee's self-righteous film snore visually stunning, Life of Pi, follows closely behind with 11.

Without any further ado, the official selection for the 85th Academy Awards!

EDIT: Just the Big 5 (more will come later)
Now that I'm out of class, here is the complete list.

12 Big Film News Stories of 2012

Looking back on 2012, records were shattered, hearts broken, dreams were made, and nightmares came to life. From the box-office glory of Joss Whedon's The Avengers to the grim death of Tony Scott, 2012 gave us plenty of highs and lows.

Let's take a look at 12 triumphs and tribulations in movie news from 2012.

12) DreamWorks Animation Leaves Paramount 

for 20th Century Fox 

While certainly not as big as another media acquisition (more on that later... Spoilers!), the end to the seven-year relationship between the animation studio and its distributor, Paramount, leaves the mountain's future looking a bit less solid. Fox, however, has very little risk in this partnership, and should reap some nice rewards with their new five-year pact. While they already own an animation studio, Blue Sky (makers of Rio and the Ice Age franchise), Fox did not shy away from acquiring another animation maker. Release date conflicts are really the only worrisome part to this partnership; however, since Fox will not have to shoulder any of the budget load from DreamWorks Animation films, 20th Century Fox's scheduling headaches should be easily cured with gobs of cash flowing their way.

11) Two Big Film Franchises Come to a Close

 

While Paramount is left looking to fill a hole in their animation branch, two studios will be looking to make up for losing two of the most lucrative film franchises in the last decade, Chris Nolan's Batman trilogy and the Twilight saga. Love it or hate it, Twilight was a major film franchise and a huge cash cow for Lions Gate Entertainment (distributed under Summit Entertainment). Making well over $3 billion worldwide, believe it or not, Twilight left a mark on cinematic history.
After the Harry Potter franchise ended last year and Nolan's final installment released this year, Warner Bros. Studios must be a bit apprehensive about their future. No longer will they have these two shoe-in cash creators; however, The Hobbit being made into three films should ease their worry. The studio also anxiously awaits Zack Snyder's Superman reboot, The Man of Steel, due out next year, as does every fanboy and fangirl, alongside the DC Entertainment branch. If successful, WB and DC could have a very lucrative film franchise that could open the doors to a long awaited Justice League movie/franchise. Fingers crossed!

10) Two Big Studios Dump Execs

Speaking of studios scrambling to fill giant holes, Disney and 20th Century Fox both showed their respective top dogs the door. After a slew of horrible film financial decisions, Rich Ross, the House of Mouse's Studio Chair, was finally given the boot after the bloated cesspool of awful that was John Carter. While Ross's intentions were good (fewer films with bigger budgets to streamline marketing for franchise merchandise/rides/toy lines), the results were lackluster at best. The now-former Disney exec landed on his feet, though, and is now CEO of Shine America, a production company under News Corp.
Another News Corp. unit, 20th Century Fox, had a serious power-shift as well. It canned its co-chair/CEO, Tom Rothman, after eighteen-years of eyebrow-raising decisions. Failing to secure Fox TV's star, Seth MacFarlane, and his new movie, Ted, and instead, opting for other R-rated comedies that utterly flopped (The Sitter, The Watch) and the absolute mess of a film Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, seemed to be the final nail in the coffin Rothman. Along with failed franchises such as The Fantastic Four and Daredevil, both of which were sold back to Marvel, Rothman's tenure at Fox was tumultuous, at best.

Zero Dark Thirty, Les Mis, and Django Unchained Poised for Strong Award Season Runs

While it's far from being a three horse race for Best Picture, the trifecta of films set to release in December are rapidly garnering copious amounts of Oscar buzz. The early favorites such as Argo, Lincoln, and The Master should certainly not be forgotten, but the December newcomers are quickly overshadowing their Oscar-hopeful counterparts. Headlining this group is Katheryn Bigalow's bin Laden manhunt film, Zero Dark Thirty. Not to be ignored is Tom Hooper's gorgeous adaption of the musical, Les Misérables, and rounding out the trio is Django Unchained, the latest brutally brilliant film by Quentin Tarantino.

Although this group may not seem to have much in common (seriously, who'da thought that a musical, a gritty war film, and a slavery romp with Tarantino would be mentioned together?), all three are poised to make strong award circuit runs.

Third Hobbit Movie Possible

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is Part I of the potential trilogy.

EDIT: The Hobbit franchise has been broken down into three films, the first (An Unexpected Journey) set to release the 14th of December of this year, with the other two (The Desolation of Smaug and There and Back Again) projected for 2013 and 2014 respectively.

In news that is already rocking my world, it was just released tonight that there's a possible third film coming to the Hobbit movies, directed by Lord of the Rings mastermind Peter Jackson.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is due to be released on December 14, 2012, with The Hobbit: There and Back Again coming out on December 13, 2013.

While a third film is certainly not guaranteed, it has been verified that Peter Jackson has been in talks about another sequel, possibly with actors Ian McKellen and Martin Freeman also participating in the discussion.

One of the largest obstacles to a third film is working out a budget between the directors, producers, and Warner Bros.

The decision to split The Hobbit into two films was greeted with some controversy, as the book is significantly shorter than any of the Lord of the Rings books. Jackson assuaged some of the anger by informing us that the movies would extensively cover topics not explicitly discussed in the books - topics that Hobbit and Lord of the Rings creator J.R.R. Tolkien wrote about in his notes, but never in published material. These topics cover in large part the comings and goings of Gandalf and The White Council, including their overthrowing of The Necromancer (Sauron) from the fortress of Dol Goldur in Mirkwood.

Rumor is that a third movie would draw more from those notes, but also from the Appendices located at the end of The Return of the King. The Appendices cover most of the history of Middle-Earth in very little detail, from brief snippets of the ancient Elves in previous ages through a close look at the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen. It's unclear what exactly Jackson would choose to adapt, if the sequel is approved.

Movie Review: The Dark Knight Rises

Pictured: two good actors.

The Dark Knight Rises was not at all what I was expecting, but neither was I at any point surprised while watching it. In short, The Dark Knight Rises was really just another superhero movie, despite all the hype. Many have gushed over the ostensibly intellectual nature of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, but The Dark Knight Rises is not a superhero movie for the thinking man. It is, however, a great superhero movie.

Of course, spoilers ahead.

The Dark Knight Rises Spoilers

It Goes Without Saying That This Is Completely Read At Your Own Risk

I told myself I wasn't going to do it.... but I did. The Dark Knight Rises comes out Friday at 12:01 in the States, but has been out overseas for a short amount of time. That being said, a lot of people know what happens already, and are posting it on the internet. If you're the person that likes to know these things before you see a movie, then by all means keep reading. If you're not one of those people, seriously, just stop now. This is a film that's going to be much more worth i if you go in blind. You've had your final warning, so here it is.