THOR revealed

From ComingSoon.net:

"For all the current buzz about Marvel Studios' Iron Man 2, which has already opened in some regions and opens in the U.S. on May 7, there's already a slightly lower hum generating for Marvel's next movie, the first feature film based on Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's Norse God Thor.

Although the movie has been shooting for months, it's somewhat surprising how little has gotten out other than a recent spy picture, so many have been wondering when we might get a chance to see the film's unconventional choice to play the Thunder God, little known Australian actor Chris Hemsworth, in costume.

Well, the wait is over and Yahoo! Movies are the lucky mortals who have received the very first picture of just that. Thor opens on May 6, 2011."

By the way, Chris Hemsworth is also George Kirk (James T. Kirk's father) from Star Trek. Sad, sad opening to a really great movie.

THE GREEN HORNET goes 3D

From ComingSoon.net:

"Sony Pictures has decided to give the Michel Gondry-directed The Green Hornet, starring Seth Rogen, the 3D treatment. Because of this, the studio has announced it is moving the film back from December 22 to January 14, 2011--Martin Luther King Jr. weekend--so that it will be released when there are sufficient 3D screens available."

Scorsese goes 3D

From Slashfilm:

"Back in March, Academy Award-winning filmmaker and historian Martin Scorsese announced his approval of Digital 3D filmmaking, stating 'We see in depth, for the most part. We go to the theater — it’s in depth. Why couldn’t a film like Precious be in 3D? It should be.' Scorsese even admitted that he’d love to make a 3D film himself.

And it was only a few months earlier, we heard that Scorsese’s next film might be an adaptation of Brian Selznick’s novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret (one of the projects that has been on the director’s slate since 2007). For the last few months, it has been rumored that Scorsese might be making the 3D plunge with Hugo Cabret. But Variety now confirms that this will be a 3D production.

Scorsese has said in the past that he’s 'very excited by 3D… But if the camera move is going to be a 3D effect, it has to be for dramatic purposes – not just throwing spears at the audience. And that, maybe I can’t do that. Maybe my daughter’s generation – she’s 10 now – can think that way.'

The Aviator scribe John Logan penned the screenplay adaptation of Brian Selznick’s bestselling children’s novel. The book description for The Invention of Hugo Cabret follows:

'Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo’s undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo’s dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery.'

So far, the film will star Sacha Baron Cohen as the inspector, Ben Kingsley as the old man, Asa Butterfield (Nanny McPhee) as the titular Hugo Cabret, and Chloe Moretz will play 'an eccentric, bookish girl' who comes into Hugo’s life as he navigates the Parisian train station where he lives.

The project will begin production in London in June 2010, and Sony will release the film on December 9th, 2011.'"

Michael Bay updates TRANSFORMERS III

From ComingSoon.net:

"Michael Bay has made a big announcement about Transformers III on his official website! We'll let him do the talking..

'Hey, it's been a long time since I've posted. Just been a little busy.

Transformers III has been going very well. We are going to shoot in LA, Chicago, Washington DC, Florida, Texas, Africa, Moscow, and China. On the talent front, we just locked in Frances McDormand and John Malkovich. Both amazing actors I've always wanted to work with. We also just got Ken Jeong, he is the super funny actor stuck in the trunk from Hangover and the Doctor from Knocked Up.

We start shooting pre-shoots in about one month.

I also was at a Ferrari charity event this week raising money for a hospital being built by Ferrari in Haiti. I announced that night the newest Autobot to join Transformers: the Ferrari 458 Italia.

I also want to thank everyone on this site that donated to the Make -A-Wish charity. We raised $20,000 which I will personally be matching. This is a great charity where they make wishes come true for kids who are very ill. We have had many Kids from Make-A-Wish visit us on our Transformers sets and this time we will be posting video of their visits on Transformers III.'

Michael Bay'"

Disney Studios are the real Scrooges

From Slashfilm:

"Very unexpected news from the Disney camp today: the studio has just issued a press release saying that, after production finishes on Mars Needs Moms!, the Robert Zemeckis studio ImageMovers Digital will be closed in 2011.


We don’t have a lot of details on the closing right now, but a statement from Walt Disney Studios president Alan Bergman says it all:

'Bob and the entire IMD team successfully built a state of the art studio and produced an amazing film, A Christmas Carol, at a time when the dynamics of the industry are rapidly changing. But, given today’s economic realities, we need to find alternative ways to bring creative content to audiences and IMD no longer fits into our business model.'

In other words, the movies from IMD are quite expensive, and if A Christmas Carol is any indication, they’re not making the sort of money the new Disney regime would like. The press release says that a new production deal may be formed to continue work on the Yellow Submarine remake.

The LA Times reports that 450 people will be laid off as operations at the studio wind down."

Here's the full press release:

"BURBANK, Calif. – March 12, 2010 – The Walt Disney Studios and ImageMovers Digital (IMD) today announced that they will close operations at IMD’s Marin County facility after production is completed on Mars Needs Moms. The IMD facility is expected to be closed by January 2011.

'Bob and the entire IMD team successfully built a state of the art studio and produced an amazing film, A Christmas Carol, at a time when the dynamics of the industry are rapidly changing,' said Alan Bergman, President of The Walt Disney Studios. 'But, given today’s economic realities, we need to find alternative ways to bring creative content to audiences and IMD no longer fits into our business model.'

'I’m incredibly proud of the talented team that we assembled at IMD and the fantastic work they have accomplished,' said Robert Zemeckis, one of the co-founders of ImageMovers Digital. 'Their pride and dedication to making quality movies is evident in everything we have produced.'

The Studio is hoping to create a new long-term production deal with Zemeckis and his IMD partners, Jack Rapke and Steve Starkey, which will include the continued development of the Yellow Submarine project."

Maybe they'll go back to Paramount (distributor of Beowulf) or Warner Bros. (distributor of The Polar Express) or Columbia Pictures (distributor of Monster House). I'm sure after the massive success of the mo-cap epic Avatar, they'll be welcome back with open arms.

GREEN LANTERN in 3D!

From Slashfilm:

"Warner Bros is going 3D crazy. Post Avatar, the movie studio has announced post production 3D conversions of the last two Harry Potter films and Clash of the Titans. Rumors have been circulating that the studio was also considering 3D for the upcoming big screen adaptation of Green Lantern. A few weeks back, director Martin Campbell was asked about the possibility, to which he replied that the studio 'haven’t really talked about it.' What a difference a few weeks can make…

Box Office Mojo has confirmed that Warner Bros will be releasing the superhero film in 3D, when it hits screens on June 17th 2011. The film begins principal photography later this month, and was said to have been shooting some tests recently. It is unclear if it is too late for the production to shoot the movie using 3D cameras, or if the same post production process will be used."

AWESOME!!!

Here's a fan-made poster:

FAST FIVE and MACGRUBER get re-dated

From ComingSoon.net:

"Universal Pictures today announced that Fast Five, the fifth film in the Fast and Furious franchise, will hit theaters on June 10, 2011. There are no other films scheduled for that date yet. Director Justin Lin, Vin Diesel and Paul Walker are returning for the action pic, in which Dom (Diesel) and Brian (Walker) are fugitives being pursued by relentless lawmen.

The studio has also moved MacGruber away from The Losers on April 23. The action-comedy based on the 'Saturday Night Live' sketch will now open on May 21, where it will face Shrek Forever After. MacGruber was directed by Jorma Taccone and stars Will Forte, Ryan Phillippe, Kristen Wiig, Val Kilmer and Powers Boothe."

Tom Cruise accepts MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE IV

From ComingSoon.net:

"Paramount Pictures announced today that it is making Mission: Impossible IV. The film, which will be produced by Tom Cruise, J.J. Abrams (Star Trek) and Bad Robot Productions and will star Cruise, will be released Memorial Day weekend 2011 [officially May 27, 2011].

'Tom and J.J. are great talents and we are excited to be working with them to re-launch this legendary franchise,' said Paramount Pictures Chairman & CEO Brad Grey.

Screenwriters Josh Applebaum and Andre Nemec are attached to write the script, from an original idea by Cruise and Abrams.

The studio, Cruise and Abrams are in now the process of identifying a director for the film. Cruise's Mission: Impossible franchise has grossed over 1.4 billion globally.

Mission: Impossible IV will be co-financed by David Ellison's Skydance Productions.

The move puts the fourth installment up against The Hangover 2, while Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides opens a week earlier on May 20th."

Ooh. That'll be a photo finish. Who will win in a three-legged race between the gang from The Hangover, Tom Cruise (playing his most famous character) and J.J. Abrams (coming back to produce a sequel to his first film), and Johnny Depp (playing his most famous character)?

May 2011 a Mess

From ComingSoon.net:

"Variety has confirmed reports that Sony Pictures has indeed postponed production on Spider-Man 4 so that more work can be done on the script.

Gary Ross, David Lindsay-Abaire and James Vanderbilt previously wrote drafts of the screenplay, and the trade says that Alvin Sargent is now 'retooling the story'. Sargent worked on the scripts for both the second and third Spidey movies.

Back in December, SuperHeroHype was told by the studio that the production was not on hold but that they were simply on hiatus for the holidays and that production would resume in the new year. Obviously, that is not the case.

Sony still has the movie scheduled for a May 5, 2011 release (not May 6 or May 11 as some sites are reporting), but Variety adds 'that date has become highly unlikely.'

'We'll try, but I think making May is a real question,' a source told the trade. 'We will not start until we have it right. The feeling is we are not going to rush it to make the date.'"

Because of that, May got rescheduled!

From ComingSoon.net:

"With yesterday's announcement that Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 4 will not start production in time for its planned May 5, 2011 release, other studios are looking to grab some of those dates for their own tentpoles. Making that rumored delay official is the news that Marvel Studios and Paramount will be releasing Kenneth Branagh's Thor on Spider-Man's original release weekend, kicking off the summer on May 6, two weeks earlier than its original release plan.

With Thor moved up two weeks, Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer Films' Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides grabbed its now-vacated date of May 20 for its own release one week before Memorial Day and the release of Todd Phillips' The Hangover 2.

According to Variety, Sony hasn't abandoned the date yet and still hopes to get Spider-Man 4 done in time, but Paramount has decided to not wait to see what Sony does before grabbing that date themselves. They suggest that if Sony decides to keep that date then Thor will move again, although it's doubtful they can get May 20 back again.

At this point, Sony hasn't announced a new release date for Spider-Man 4. July 4th that year has been held for Michael Bay's Transformers III followed two weeks later by the Harry Potter finale and then The First Avenger: Captain America, which hasn't even announced its cast yet, the following week. (Warner Bros.' Green Lantern has already grabbed June 17, potentially making it one of the busiest summers for comic book and superhero movies in some time.)

Nicolas Cage will DRIVE ANGRY in 3D

From ComingSoon.net:

"According to The Hollywood Reporter, Summit Entertainment has picked up the North American distribution rights to the Patrick (My Bloody Valentine) Lussier-directed 3D revenge flick Drive Angry, setting February 11, 2011 as its release date.

Having already had success with Cage's sci-fi thriller Knowing earlier this year with a worldwide gross of $183 million, Summit has gotten on board the movie which is now in pre-production.

In the movie Cage plays a man chasing after the people responsible for killing his daughter and taking her baby, a rescue attempt that gets out of control and quite bloody as he leaves bodies in his trail.

It will be Cage's first 3D live action movie (not including Disney's G-Force in which he voiced a mole.)"

SPIDER-MAN 4 to swing into IMAX

From ComingSoon.net:

"IMAX Corporation and Columbia Pictures today announced that the highly-anticipated action-adventure Spider-Man 4, will be released to IMAX(R) theatres simultaneously with the film's worldwide release on May 5, 2011. The fourth installment of the successful Spider-Man franchise, based on the Marvel Comicbook character, will be digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience. The film will be distributed by Columbia Pictures domestically and by Sony Pictures Releasing International overseas.

To date, the Spider-Man motion pictures have generated more than $2.5 billion in worldwide box office receipts.

'The last two Spider-Man releases have been available in IMAX theaters, and we're very much looking forward to our return to a wider IMAX theatre network with this exciting new chapter in the continuing adventures of Spider-Man,' said Rory Bruer, President, Worldwide Distribution for Sony Pictures Releasing. 'The addition of so many new IMAX locations will give even more fans of Spider-Man an opportunity to experience the action and adventure in a unique way.'

'Spider-Man continues to be one of the world's most popular motion picture franchises, and we are very excited to include the latest chapter as part of our 2011 slate,' said IMAX CEO Richard L. Gelfond. 'Our network has grown significantly and we continue to roll-out new theatres virtually every week, giving more moviegoers the opportunity to experience the movie in IMAX.'

'We're so excited to once again work with our friends at Columbia Pictures, Sony and Marvel to bring this beloved superhero back to IMAX theatres,' said Greg Foster, Chairman and President of IMAX Filmed Entertainment. 'The Spider-Man franchise has been so important to the growth of our network and fan base over the years and we're certainly looking forward to re-teaming with the entire cast and production team to bring this next chapter to moviegoers worldwide.'

Spider-Man 4 will reunite director Sam Raimi with stars Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. The screenplay is currently being adapted by Gary Ross. Producers are Laura Ziskin, Avi Arad, Todd Black and Grant Curtis. Executive producers are Stan Lee, Todd Hallowell and Josh Donen.

The IMAX release will be digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience with proprietary IMAX DMR(R) (Digital Re-mastering) technology. The crystal-clear images coupled with IMAX's customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie."

Cool!! Although I need to find a better IMAX theatre than the "educational" Pink Palace one in Memphis. The closest ones are in Chattanooga and Knoxville. I'm probably gonna pick Knoxville for next year in college for I'm seeing this one and Tron Legacy.

TINTIN sets sail in 2011

From ComingSoon.net:

"Paramount Pictures and Sony Pictures Entertainment today announced their release plans for the long awaited 3-D motion capture feature film The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by Spielberg, Peter Jackson, and Kathleen Kennedy. The highly anticipated film will be released by Paramount in the U.S. on December 23, 2011.... Starring Jamie Bell (King Kong) as Tintin, the intrepid young reporter whose relentless pursuit of a good story thrusts him into a world of high adventure, and Daniel Craig (Quantum of Solace) as the nefarious Red Rackham, the international cast also includes Andy Serkis, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Gad Elmaleh, Toby Jones and Mackenzie Crook.

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn is a Paramount Pictures and Columbia Pictures production from a screenplay by Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish, and is produced by Spielberg, Peter Jackson and Kathleen Kennedy. The film, which began production in late January 2009, is the first of a planned series of 3D motion capture films based on the iconic character created by Georges Remi, better known to the world by his pen name 'Herge.' Executive producers are Nick Rodwell, Stephane Sperry and Ken Kamins. The second feature in the series is scheduled to be directed by Jackson, with a potential for a third film as well.Eighty years ago, Herge introduced the world to a unique cast of characters who have been embraced by readers of all ages. 'The Adventures of Tintin' - a series of 24 books, the final unfinished adventure was published after Herge's death, became Herge's life's work. The first adventure was published in 1929. Over 200 million copies have been sold worldwide. The popular series has been translated into 70 languages and still attracts thousands of new fans each year. Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson will bring Herge's stories to life employing state-of-the-art performance capture technology developed by Jackson's Weta Digital."

2011? That's way too long for me!! I hope they put out official pictures or behind-the-scenes videos soon!