The Flickcast

A ‘Pirates’ Life for Marshall?

Posted on August 4, 2009

Variety reports that Disney is considering Rob Marshall (Chicago, Memoirs of a Geisha) to direct the fourth installment of its Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. If successful, the move would easily put the film on track for a 2010 start with Johnny Depp reprising his role as Captain Jack Sparrow.

While Marshall’s involvement has yet to be confirmed, the studio is reportedly moving forward in the casting process, searching for talent to embody new characters that will appear in the picture. Gore Verbinski, who helmed the first three films in the series, stepped away from the fourth film to focus on a movie version of the vidgame BioShock for Universal. With the film’s future is currently on hold, Verbinski has moved on to other directing and producing projects.

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney have been meeting with a several directors in recent weeks, since the studio would like Depp to star in it before he begins work on The Lone Ranger. Regardless of who Disney taps for the next film, it will be certainly be big business for Disney, whose first three Pirates flicks grossed $2.6 billion worldwide.

Original Cast Members Return to ‘Futurama’

Posted on August 3, 2009

Futurama fans of the world have five reasons to celebrate. Variety is reporting that the show’s original stars — John DiMaggio, Billy West, Katey Sagal, Maurice LaMarche and Tress MacNeille – reached an agreement with 20th Century Fox TV late Friday to return to the show. This compromise comes on the heels of 20th putting out a casting call in July to find replacement voice actors for the show.

“We are thrilled to have our incredible cast back,” creators Matt Groening and David X. Cohen said in a statement. “The call has already gone out to the animators to put the mouths back on the characters.”

The studio announced in June that it would revive the long-canceled Futurama, and Comedy Central was on board to begin airing the new episodes in mid-2010. Part of the announcement included stars West, Sagal and DiMaggio returning to the series; however the actors had not finalized a deal and salary discussions soon escalated.

It’s believed that the Futurama cast initially asked for around $75,000 per episode (a number disputed by at least one actor), but that number was reportedly brought down to $40,000. The final number wound up below that, but above what 20th was offering.

Despite 20th’s move to start recasting Futurama, it was widely assumed that both sides would eventually figure out a way to stay in business together. In what many considered a positive sign, some of the Futurama cast attended the recent San Diego Comic-Con, although they were not a part of the show’s official panel discussion.

New Futurama episodes will begin airing on Comedy Central in 2010.

SDCC Bonus: Comic-Con Custom Drinks!

Posted on August 3, 2009

Since Hpnotiq’s release party a few years ago, a popular drink rising up on the club scene has been the Incredible Hulk. Created in Sean Combs’ New York restaurant, Justin’s, this became one of the first popular superhero inspired drinks. Years ago, no one ever would have uttered the names of comic book characters or sci-fi movies in a popular nightlife hotspot. It was just unheard of. But now with the acceptance of geek culture becoming mainstream, these kinds of drinks are on the rise.

The Incredible Hulk

Much to the delight of guests at the Hilton Bayfront at this year’s San Diego Comic Con, the hotel decided to cater to this rising trend, coming up with their own customer drinks for convention goers and we at The Flickcast were lucky enough to snag one of their recipe charts to share with you.

Some of these are very specific calling for name brand products but most can be substituted for a similar alcohol.

Drinks for the Kids (Non-Alcoholic, obviously)

“Muggle Juice” inspired by Harry Potter
Strawberries, fresh mint, lime, ginger syrup, fill with Soda – served in a highball (8 oz.) or Collins (12 oz.) glass

“Yoda’s Swamp Water” inspired by Star Wars
Cucumber, fresh mint, fill with ginger beer – served in a highball or Collins glass

Martinis

“Golden Lasso” inspired by Wonder Woman
1 1/2 oz. Rum, 1/2 oz. Velvet Falernum (sweet syrup liqueur), 1/2 oz. 99 Bananas (banana liqueur), 1/2 oz. Dole pineapple juice, Pechaud’s Bitters

“Mystique” inspired by the X-Men
3 oz. Van Gogh Acai Blueberry Vodka, lemon, blueberries, cane sugar

‘Battlestar Galactica’ Takes Top Honors at TCA

Posted on August 3, 2009

battlestar-galactica-the-plan For those of you who felt that Battlestar Glactica was unfairly passed over during the last four Emmy seasons, never fear. The Television Critics Association has your back. Battlestar Galactica earned the top program of the year honors at the recent TCA Awards.

Variety is reporting that Syfy’s popular series found many friends at Kudofest, held Saturday night at the Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, who gave its big prize to the show that has had a rabid following with sci-fi fans and critics but never with the TV Academy.

“It certainly feels appropriate that we received the acknowledgment from the people who were champions of this show from its outset,” said Mark Stern, exec VP of original programming at Syfy. “Critics really adopted this show early on and, in a weird way, this feels like a conclusion to the process.”

Battlestar Gallactica ended its run on Syfy in March. The prequel Caprica, which takes place 58 years prior to Battlestar, will launch on Jan. 22.

Spielberg’s Next Film Is ‘Harvey’ Remake

Posted on August 3, 2009

steven-spielberg According to Variety, director Steven Spielberg, known for such films as, well, if you don’t know his work you probably don’t belong here, has supposedly chosen his next project. Will it be a further exploration of the atrocities of war or another indictment of society’s ills and reliance on technology? No, its going to be movie about a 6½-foot-tall invisible rabbit called Harvey — an adaptation of the Mary Chase Pulitzer Prize-winning play about a man, played by Jimmy Stewart in the 1950 film version, and his invisible furry friend.

According to the article, Spielberg is ready to get back behind the camera and hopes to begin production on the film early next year. To facilitate this, the director will reportedly seek actors for the lead role, such as Tom Hanks and Will Smith, who can accommodate that schedule. Spielberg will produce the film with Don Gregory while Elizabeth Gabler and Carla Hacken will oversee it for Fox 2000, which acquired the rights last year.

Spielberg recently got a draft of the Harvey script, the first written by novelist Jonathan Tropper, and reportedly felt that while the source material is 65 years old, its themes are “timely, uplifting and relatable.” Not only that, he probably just wants to make a fun, funny, happy movie for a change. After all, how many times can you make a movie where people get gassed, burned, shot, preemptively put in prison, eaten by dinosaurs or otherwise have a really bad day?

Liam Neeson’s ‘The Other Man’ Looks Familiar

Posted on August 3, 2009

For those unaware, Liam Neeson is probably best known, at least lately, for having “a particular set of skills.” Skills he used in his recent film Taken to track down his missing daughter, take down a European human trafficking ring, drive completely through a house in an Audi, and outrun a boat…on foot. In Neeson’s newest film, The Other Man, he seems to be going back to a familiar place when he finds out that his wife, played by Laura Linney, is cheating on him with Antonio Banderas.

There has been talk of a sequel to Taken, and Neeson’s performance was highly celebrated, which wasn’t clear until we saw clips from this newest film. Could this be a new, dark place that Liam Neeson will be residing in, leaving behind roles like Qui-Gon Jin?

Granted, Neeson’s accent is different, but it’s pretty clear that he is playing the same, boat-chasing character from Taken here. There is a scene towards the end of the trailer (which you can see after the jump) where Banderas and Neeson face off in an intense game of Chess. Another one of the Irish actor’s skills? Perhaps.

Take a look at the trailer, and see for yourself. The Other Man hits theaters nationwide this Friday.

Marvel Comics On Sale This Week

Posted on August 3, 2009

CaptainAmericaReborn02 Now that the dust has pretty much settled from Comic-Con in San Diego, its back to business as usual in the world of comics. So, that means our friends at Marvel are getting down to it and hitting us with a whole bunch of new comics coming out this week. Following is a list of all the Marvel comics on sale this Wednesday, August 5th via the official press release.

Plus, of course, we’ve also got cool covers from some of the new books after the jump. Check ’em out.

Hey there True Believers, here’s your official list of comic books, collections and posters arriving in comic stores on August 5th, 2009. For more information on any of these titles, and on upcoming mighty Marvel releases, please visit http://www.marvel.com/catalog/?date=2009-08-05 or contact your local comic book retailer at 1-888-comicbook. Stay tuned each week for a brand new list of Marvel releases so that you’ll never miss your favorite heroes in action!

Comics On-Sale:

AGENTS OF ATLAS #9

AGENTS OF ATLAS #9 70TH FRAME VARIANT

ALL WINNERS COMICS 70TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

ALL WINNERS COMICS 70TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL MARTIN VARIANT

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #601

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #601 70TH FRAME VARIANT

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First Trailer for ‘Planet Hulk’

Posted on August 3, 2009

Back in February, during a panel with legendary artist Neil Adams, he explained that the future of comics is in animation. Nobody really understood what that meant, but now with Marvel and DC releasing animated film after animated film, we are now starting to get the picture.

Shortly after Marvel announced their first two projects in the world of Anime, the first trailer for another adapted storyline has hit the web. In this story, originally written by Zak Penn, Hulk is exiled to an alien planet, where he is taken as prisoner and forced to fight in a series of gladiator-style games. The jade giant eventually becomes ruler of this world, and goes to war with Earth, which is where World War Hulk the comic picks up, but there is no word on what impact that story will have on this film.

Check out the very first trailer for the animated Planet Hulk film below, which hits DVD shelves February of 2010.

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