The Flickcast

‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ Sequel To Simply Be Called ‘The Wolverine’

Posted on November 15, 2010

What ever happened to simple numeric suffixes to titles like Jaws 2 or Friday the 13th Part 4: The Dream Master? In the past decade, films have gotten more ridiculous with titles of sequels like Step Up 2 The Streets or Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Now, Darren Aronofsky’s sequel to 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine is taking another route by going by the name The Wolverine.

In an interview with HitFix, Aronofsky explained that his film isn’t a traditional sequel.

The film that he’s directing is officially called “The Wolverine,” and there won’t be a number attached to it. In our interview, he referred to the movie as a “one-off,” and he emphasized that the film isn’t a sequel in any conventional sense.

In 2009, Origins was said to be the beginning of a film series based around the backstories of specific characters. For a while, Fox was toying with the idea of doing an X-Men Origins: Magneto with Ian McKellan attached. That idea was more than likely put on the shelf due to a certain Hobbit.

We already know that Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine is heading to Japan in the upcoming film, in which we expect to see run ins with the Yakuza-like gang The Hand and possibly even the classic villain Silver Samurai.

The Wolverine begins shooting in March for a possible release in the summer of 2012.

Apple To Make Big iTunes Announcement Tomorrow

Posted on November 15, 2010

Today, Apple posted a mysterious message at its website teasing an event for tomorrow involving iTunes. The message also features a clock which, presumably, is counting down until the event happens.

What could this announcement be? Could it be that a certain band is going to finally have their music for sale in iTunes? Or, could it mean the beginning of cloud storage where Apple can finally use that big data center they’ve built?

Obviously, speculation among the Apple interested press has started in earnest. Our friends at TUAW (Where I’m also a contributor, btw) have put up an impressive list of possibilities. Fortunately, we only have to wait until 7AM Pacific tomorrow to actually find out what all the fuss is about.

Until then, let the speculation continue. What do you guys think Apple will announce?

Pail Giamatti Joining The Cast of ‘Hangover 2′ In Thailand

Posted on November 15, 2010

Todd Philips’ Hangover 2 had better be the funniest movie in decades. In the midst of all the drama on the set between Galifiniakis, Gibson, and now Liam Neeson, this film is coming across as more dramatic than comedic.

About a month ago, it was announced that after putting his foot down, the film’s star Zach Galifiniakis won the battle to have Mel Gibson written out of the film. He was initially supposed to have a cameo in the film, much like the controversial Mike Tyson did in the first film. Zach wanted none of that, so Gibson had to go.

Later, he was replaced by the ubiquitous Liam Neeson, who filled Gibson’s shoes with his particular set of skills. Things seemed to quiet down, but now it looks like Giamatti is joining in all the fun with a cameo, according to Deadline.

It’s very difficult for this film to remain a secret, given it’s public shooting locations in Thailand. Some very spoiler–happy images have already gone up online, which may just ruin the film for you, so don’t click if you can’t handle it.

Hangover 2 is set to hit theaters May 26th, 2011.

Box Office: ‘Megamind’ Has Another Mega-Weekend

Posted on November 15, 2010

It was surprising to find out that Unstoppable was indeed stoppable at the box office over the weekend. The movie did extraordinarily well with critics and audiences alike, so its modest (but solid) take of $23.5 Million was a bit of a head scratcher. The Denzel Washington/Chris Pine action thriller is the fifth collaboration between director Tony Scott and actor Denzel Washington.

Megamind was the big winner of the weekend once again, adding another $30 Million to its two week total for a cumulative take of $89.8 M. It dropped about 35% from its opening weekend, which is typical. Megamind and Unstoppable both had per screen averages of around $7,000, which were the best of the top five this weekend.

The road comedy Due Date came in at third place with $15 Million. Despite taking a 52% tumble from last weekend, the film is poised to break even with its budget. It has made $59 Million in two weeks, and its budget was $65 Million.

Skyline wasn’t screened for critics, and it has received some of the most scathing reviews of the year, but it still was able to scrape up $11.6 Million, good enough to place in fourth.

First Footage of ‘Green Lantern’ Hits the Web

Posted on November 15, 2010

We’ve seen photos. We’ve seen the corpse of Abin Surr. We’ve heard Ryan Reynolds utter the oath. But this past weekend, all that paled in comparison to the very first video footage of next year’s Green Lantern film hitting the web. It may be pretty short, but it’s only a taste of what we’ll be getting this Tuesday night, thanks to (the incredibly cocky) Entertainment Tonight.

The footage shows the film off as being pretty epic, with a nice blend of comedy mixed in, much like Marvel’s highly successful Iron Man franchise. It’s been speculated, and this proves, that DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. are looking to compete with that franchise with their own Robert Downey Jr. in Reynolds.

If you are hoping to skip out on any potentially spoilery images, you may want to go late to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1 this Friday, because a full trailer for Green Lantern will be attached to that film.

In the meantime, catch the brief footage after the jump, and see the full report this Tuesday night on Entertainment Tonight.

The Flickcast’s ‘On the Radar’

Posted on November 12, 2010

Welcome to this week’s On the Radar where we delve into all corners of the entertainment, tech and geek Internets for news, views and whatnot that may have escaped our regular coverage this week. Let is know if we missed something interesting. Otherwise, on to the links!

• A comprehensive breakdown of what Republicans and Democrats watch has hit the web. Wait, democrats watch 30 Rock and Republicans watch Dancing With The Stars? Who Knew?!

• In case you missed it, and aren’t a big fan of sleep, here’s the Planters commercial starring Robert Downey Jr.

• Arnold Schwarzenegger in Phantom Menace? According to this list of bootleg DVD box art, that’s just the least amazing of the bunch.

• Love The Walking Dead? Then you’ll definitely love this new weekly recap show all about the show.

• Thanksgiving may be just around the corner, but it’s time to start picking out some great gifts, with a little help from the coolest gadget holiday gift guide we’ve seen yet.

• If you’re one of the few that weren’t blown away by Cameron’s Avatar, maybe you should try it drunk. Here’s an Avatar drinking game to help you get there.

• Why not some tunes for your weekly list fix? Here’s a list of 10 kick-ass cover songs. Sadly, Foo Fighter’s “Darling Nikki” didn’t make it on the list.

‘True Blood’ Graphic Novel Coming In February

Posted on November 12, 2010

Have no fear fans of HBO’s vampire drama True Blood, the network won’t make you wait for a new season of the show without giving you something to occupy your time. In fact, HBO and our friends at IDW are going to be releasing a True Blood graphic novel to do just that.

The graphic novel, called True Blood, Vol.1: All Together Now, is a hard cover compilation of all six issues from the first comic book series. The graphic novel will feature a new cover and bonus content including sketches and a cover gallery.

In case you’re not familiar with the current comic, it debuted in July and was an instant hit, selling out the first two issues and going into multiple printings. With four issues released (and two more to go)…it has become the best selling title for IDW Publishing in their history. Nice.

The book will be released on February 8, 2011 and retail for $24.99. Be sure to check it out as its a great way to experience the comic without having to try and follow individual issues.

TV RECAP: ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Dee Reynolds: Shaping America’s Youth’

Posted on November 12, 2010

The amazing thing is that the further anyone distances themselves from The Gang, the more like an actual human being they appear. Dee seems to be, sort of, doing pretty well as a substitute drama teacher, despite her own glaring lack of talent, and Charlie, well, was born to be a janitor, and, with his eidetic memory, ingratiates himself to the students. He even takes a young Juggalo (leave it to Sunny to make an ICP reference—is this 1998?) under his wing to teach him…uh…whatever it is he has to teach.

And Dee is showing a surprising amount of commitment to her duties as teacher, even though there is a distinct lack of understanding the allowances granted to a substitute and, indeed, the art budget, neither of which permit a field trip to New York.

And the rest of The Gang (Frank, Mac, and Dennis) is discussing their fan film of Lethal Weapon 5, specifically whether going in blackface to portray Danny Glover is morally superior to playing him as a white guy. Frank stubbornly insists on blackface, noting that Laurence Olivier played Othello, and, you can guess where it goes from there.

Older Posts

Newer Posts