NEWS: He Man, Captain America, and the Worst. Idea. Ever.

Hey guys! Here are your major headlines for this Wednesday, the 19th of November, 2008...

- It looks as though the director of Kung Fu Panda, John Stevenson, will be helming the much talked about adaptation of He Man...

- Early reviews for Valkyrie have been released, and lets just say they aren't to hot, particularly one scene in which Tom Cruise must give the "heil Hitler" salute...

It’s an unsettling scene but you almost start to laugh…His character is resisting it but you never forget it’s Tom Cruise saying “Heil Hitler.” It’s funny and shocking at the same time.

READ THE FULL MSNBC ARTICLE HERE

Also, a new article over at the New York Times discusses just how much risk this film is and can be for MGM...

Valkyrie has turned into a test not only of Mr. Cruise’s career durability, but of MGM’s determination — with new ownership, and under the chairmanship of Harry E. Sloan since 2005 — to be taken seriously as a producer and distributor of the kind of risky event films that define a major studio.

If Valkyrie succeeds, even moderately, MGM wins a modicum of credibility in image-is-everything Hollywood. A failure brings fresh sniping that the studio does not know what it is doing, making the job of attracting top-notch talent even harder. Financially speaking, the stakes are considerable. With a stated production budget of $75 million — competitors insist it is closer to $90 million — Valkyrie is the most expensive film made for distribution by MGM under Sloan’s watch. The studio will now spend about $60 million to market the movie — if nothing else, to make the point that it can play in the big leagues.

Thanks to /film for the update!

- Disney will be rereleasing Beauty and The Beast in 3D come 2010...AWESOME

- Gore Verbinski is set to produce, with much talked about commercial director, Frank Bond in the directors chair, a remake of the critically beloved, including much love from yours truly, Korean monster film, The Host...

- Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, scribes of the recent Chronicles of Narnia films, are in final negotiations to pen the script for the upcoming Captain America film. Also, in an interesting thought, a few people, mainly the guys over at cinematical, have begun discussing who could fill the boots of Cap himself, and they have talked about Channing Tatum, most famous for his roles in Step Up, and the upcoming G.I. Joe film. What are YOUR thoughts on that? I think it could really work. He's a fine actor, especially in A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints, and he wouldn't be a big hit on the Avengers budget, like a previously talked about actor, Matthew McConaughey, would be. Thoughts?

- Finally, in the worst idea in the history of man category, it looks like the man behind the brilliant cinematic achievement that was Poseidon, Mark Protosevich, has landed the job of penning the script for the upcoming Oldboy remake...this makes me disappointed, angry, and mainly sad. I challenge all of you to PLEASE rent, no, buy the original, and see what a brilliant film it is, and how it will not work with the current people at the helm.

I have one question for you all to answer, and it relates to this ridiculous idea. What makes subtitled films SO unpopular, so much that American remakes are almost needed to get people to see a film? Why do you like or dislike subtitled films? I LOVE them, and I really think, especially foreign horror films, are so much better than there American counterparts, that it's almost laughable to see people try to remake them. Thoughts?

Expect a review of Australia tomorrow, and come back later for more movie news and notes...

Go see something good!

NEWS: We Have A Director For Captain America...

Hey guys! At this late hour, I have the great honor of bringing you the new news today surrounding the hiring of a director for Marvel's upcoming Captain America film...

Thanks to /film for the info...

Marvel Studios has just signed Joe Johnston to direct The First Avenger: Captain America. Like many, I was impressed with Johnson’s early art/effects work, loved October Sky, but was pretty disappointed with everything he has done since (::cough:: Jurassic Park III ::cough::). However, the footage I saw from The Wolf Man at Comic Con was very impressive. Johnston seems like an odd choice for this Marvel franchise, especially considering his background in visual effects, which would have made him more valuable in a project with a more visually dynamic superhero (like The Incredible Hulk).

Johnston started his career as an artist at Lucasfilm, having famously provided the final designs for Star Wars characters Yoda and Boba Fett. He won an academy award for his visual effects work on Raiders of the Lost Ark. Supposedly Johnston and George Lucas got close, and Joe was invited to cit in during George’s editing sessions. Later when Joe announced that he would be leaving the company to travel the world with the money he had saved up, Lucas convinced him to attend his alma mater USC film School, and even paid his tuition.

Johnston was a second unit director on *batteries not included, and made his directorial debut with Honey I Shrunk the Kids. In the 1990’s, Johnson directed The Rocketeer, the live action sequences of The Pagemaster, Jumanji, and crescendoed with October Sky. Steven Spielberg handed Johnston the Jurassic Park series with Jurassic Park III. His remake of The Wolf Man for Universal will hit theaters in April 2009. Interestingly, Johnson was also at one point in line to direct Hulk, but for one reason or another decided to drop out.

The First Avenger: Captain America is set to hit theaters on May 6th 2011, just two months before Marvel’s superhero team-up film The Avengers (July 15th 2011). Considering the films will be interconnected, this means Johnson will need to cast his Steve Rogers / Captain America very soon. Also, no screenwriters have been hired for the project, but Marvel has supposedly been heading pitches and hopes to hire someone soon.

What are your thoughts on this news? I'm glad that they've got a person to helm it, although I'm skeptical on wither or not it's the right choice. How about you guys?

Go see something good!!