It sounds like the only “green” we’ll see Edward Norton dealing with in the near future will be for his upcoming film Leaves of Grass.  Speaking at SXSW, Norton was asked about whether he would be doing a sequel to The Incredible Hulk.  For fans of his take on the Hulk, his answer is somewhat disappointing:

“I don’t think so,” he said. “I think it has got more to do with what Marvel is doing. I get the sense they have this grand vision of unspooling a lot of their characters and then starting to put them together. I think they can only do so many at a time. Obviously, they are doing Iron Man 2 and then getting some of the new ones out.”

I’ll be the first to admit The Incredible Hulk was by no means awesome, but it was pretty good entertainment.  If nothing else, Norton’s portrayal of Bruce Banner was great, so it’s unfortunate he may not return.  So, if he’s not on board for another Hulk film what about the other Marvel tie-in films like Thor and The First Avenger: Captain America?

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Continuing our recent previews of upcoming SXSW films brings us to our latest, Leaves of Grass. The film, written and directed by Tim Blake Nelson and starring Edward Norton, Kerri Russell, Susan Sarandon, Richard Dreyfuss and Edward Norton, is being released by First Look Studios and we’ve got a trailer and info about the film for you today.

The film concerns Ivy League professor Bill Kincaid who receives news of the murder of his estranged identical twin brother, Brady (both played by Norton), in a pot deal gone bad. He leaves the world of academia to travel back to his home state of Oklahoma. But once he arrives he finds things are not what they seem and reports of his brother’s death are greatly exaggerated.

Soon Bill is caught up in the dangerous and unpredictable world of drug commerce in the Southwest. In the process, he reconnects with his eccentric mother (Sarandon), meets a wise and educated woman who’s chosen the simple life (Russell), and unwittingly helps his brother settle a score with a drug lord (Dreyfuss) who uses Tulsa, Oklahoma’s small Jewish community for cover.

With a cast such as this and under the direction of Nelson, who’s previous films The Grey Zone and Kansas proved his directing talents, Leaves of Grass manages to be at times dangerous, compelling and poignant. It follows a somewhat simple narrative but still provides some potential answers to a complex question: What does it mean to live a happy and constructive life?

Leaves of Grass will be released in New York and LA on April 2nd. Check out the trailer after the jump.

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Here’s a list of some of the new movie and TV shows coming to DVD and Blu-ray this week that we’re looking forward to seeing. Also, there’s some classic, and not-so-classic, movies hitting Blu-ray for the first time this week as well.

Of all the new releases, we’re particularly interested in the Blu-ray versions of movies and TV shows such as J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek, Gone with the Wind, Thirst, Rome: The Complete Series and the Blu-ray debut of David Fincher’s awesome Fight Club (shown above with Brad Pitt and Edward Norton). We are Jack’s excitement at this release finally coming out.

Check them out:

Movies

Bruno ~ Sacha Baron Cohen, Paula Abdul (DVD and Blu-ray)

Clerks ~ Brian O’Halloran, Kevin Smith (Blu-ray)

Downhill Racer (The Criterion Collection) ~ Robert Redford, Gene Hackman (DVD)

Fight Club ~ Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter (Blu-ray)

Galaxy Quest ~ Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman (Blu-ray)

Gone with the Wind (Ultimate Collector’s Edition) ~ Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh (Blu-ray)

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Since the official announcement came out that Marvel Studios was going to make The Avengers movie, I’ve maintained this would be the biggest comic book film ever. Coordinating the efforts to bring so many Marvel characters together, specifically Iron Man, Captain America and Thor, is something that just hasn’t been done before. It’s a massive endeavor and while we know who the heroes will be, the film’s antagonist still remains a mystery.

Speaking with MTV, Hulk star (and The Hulk himself) Edward Norton gave his thoughts on the matter,  “In the comics, there was always a tension between the rest of the superhero community and he was always this problem… They treated him as this problem.”. Further, “Norton said he could definitely see the Hulk character becoming something that the rest of Marvel’s superheroes joined forces to battle.”

I agree making the Hulk a “problem” in the upcoming film is necessary as he was the anti-hero of the group; causing as many problems as his alter ego Bruce Banner solved. Perhaps more importantly he was technically a founding member of the team so his inclusion cannot be overlooked. That said, is the Hulk enough to be The Avenger’s sole antagonist? In my opinion, no.

While we have only seen Iron Man and the Hulk on the big screen so far it’s already apparent these heroes are powerful. Very powerful. Once you add Captain American and Thor to the roster you’re going to end up with an incredibly strong team who needs a villain that can equally that might. Also, with Thor dealing with actual Gods like Loki as enemies in his upcoming film, The Avengers will need something major to oppose them. Hulk just isn’t it.

At this point, even I’m still guessing as to who, or what that enemy could be. Have an ideas? Let us know in the comments.