NEWS: Bale To Be Batman; No Matter Who Directs?

Recently, Total Film was able to get to Mr. Wayne himself, Christian Bale, about what exaclty the chances are of a Dark Knight sequel.

Ever since the release of The Dark Knight, Bale has insisted, to many a film website or publication, that not only does the story have to be quality, but that he can't imagine doing the sequel without the series director, Chris Nolan. Well, it looks as though he may have to. Here's a snippet from the Total Film interview.

"I would like it if people say, 'You'll never make a good third movie.' I say, 'OK, let's make a third movie in that case, let's prove them wrong. But that's just me. The fact is, I have to! I've signed up! Chris doesn't. So I'm in a bit of a fix if he says he doesn't want to!"

It looks like Bale will be suiting up again, no matter who will be directing him, as Chris Nolan still hasn't signed up, and will be working on Inception for a while.

I whole heartedly believe that Nolan WILL return for a third film, and along with the production and release of Watchmen, the patience that Warner Brothers is showing is proof that their may not be a better and more artist friendly major studio on this planet. I will be shocked if Nolan doesn't return, so really, it's just a matter of time. Most likely, he will finish Inception, take a tiny break, and then get to work on the new Batman film, if some things haven't already been going on behind the scenes over in the Nolanverse.

However, it's fun to think about who would be an interesting director for the third film. Who do you think should take the helm if Nolan can't?

Go see something good!

NEWS: Bale To Become a Fighter

So, it looks as though some big news has come through late tonight.

Via Variety it looks like Chrisitan Bale has joined the cast of the upcoming film, The Fighter.

Starring Mark Whalberg, The Fighter tells the story of Mickey Ward (Whalberg), and how he went on to gain the lightweight championship, with the help of Bale's character, Dicky Eklund. Eklund ended up forfeiting his elustrious career to drugs and crime, but was able to redeem himself by helping Ward through his title run.

However, it's not the news of who was put INTO the film, but rather, who has LEFT the project.

Originally set to be Darren Aronofsky's next film, it looks as though I Heart Huckabees/Three Kings director, David O. Russell has jumped into the directors chair.

Maybe the project is far to similar to The Wrestler, but this does not bode well for this project. Sure, the film will feature two great leads, but with a less than stellar director leading them, the outcome may not be all that great.

Who the hell knows though. All I know, is that Aronofsky is one of the three best film makers working today, and I sure as hell hope that this means that his RoboCop adaptation is getting a go ahead, or maybe this could be a open space to be filled by his much talked about Noah's Ark project, which is something I am far more interested than maybe any project out there in what is the cinematic equivalent of no mans land.

What are YOUR thoughts?

Go see something good.

TRAILER: Public Enemies...

So, yesturday the first poster for the upcoming Michael Mann film, Public Enemies was released. Well, the first trailer has just dropped, and it looks damn good...



HERE'S THE PLOT SYNOPSIS...
In the action-thriller Public Enemies, acclaimed filmmaker Michael Mann directs Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and Academy Award® winner Marion Cotillard in the story of legendary Depression-era outlaw John Dillinger (Depp)—the charismatic bank robber whose lightning raids made him the number one target of J. Edgar Hoover’s fledgling FBI and its top agent, Melvin Purvis (Bale), and a folk hero to much of the downtrodden public.

No one could stop Dillinger and his gang. No jail could hold him. His charm and audacious jailbreaks endeared him to almost everyone—from his girlfriend Billie Frechette (Cotillard) to an American public who had no sympathy for the banks that had plunged the country into the Depression.But while the adventures of Dillinger’s gang—later including the sociopathic Baby Face Nelson (Stephen Graham) and Alvin Karpis (Giovanni Ribisi)—thrilled many, Hoover (Billy Crudup) hit on the idea of exploiting the outlaw’s capture as a way to elevate his Bureau of Investigation into the national police force that became the FBI. He made Dillinger America’s first Public Enemy Number One and sent in Purvis, the dashing “Clark Gable of the FBI.’’

However, Dillinger and his gang outwitted and outgunned Purvis’ men in wild chases and shootouts. Only after importing a crew of Western ex-lawmen (newly baptized as agents) and orchestrating epic betrayals—from the infamous “Lady in Red’’ to the Chicago crime boss Frank Nitti—were Purvis, the FBI and their new crew of gunfighters able to close in on Dillinger. Public Enemeies is set to hit theaters on July 1st 2009.

To me, this is an interesting film. The cast is amazing, Michael Mann is a great filmmaker, and his gritty, almost cinema verite style is an interesting contrast to the period that this film is set. The period looks completely sold, but seeing it shot in what looks to be digital, it is a bit jarring. More on this film as it gets released!

Go see something good!

POSTER + PHOTOS: Public Enemies...

There may not be a single bigger cast set to hit the big screen than the one that will be featured in the upcoming Michael Mann film, Public Enemies.

Opening in theaters on July 1st, the Michael Mann-directed action-thriller is the story of legendary Depression-era outlaw John Dillinger (Depp)—the charismatic bank robber whose lightning raids made him the number one target of J. Edgar Hoover's fledgling FBI and its top agent, Melvin Purvis (Bale), and a folk hero to much of the downtrodden public.

Public Enemies stars Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, Giovanni Ribisi, Billy Crudup, Stephen Dorff, Rory Cochrane, Stephen Lang, David Wenham, Stephen Graham, Channing Tatum and Jason Clarke.

MSN has an exclusive look at the newest poster for the film, along with a few new photos, and I must say, it all looks really amazing. Not much else has come out about the film, but with that plot and cast and crew, look for me to update you all as things come out. Check out the poster below, and click HERE for the photos...



Go see something good!

NEWS: Kool Aid and The Birds...

Hey guys! Today has been a pretty busy day, with a couple of pretty big headlines making the rounds....

- First, Gus van Sandt is set to helm a new film called The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test...Thanks to The Movie Blog for the information...

Fox Searchlight has picked up “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test,” a project based on the 1968 Tom Wolfe book. Gus Van Sant is directing.

“Kool-Aid” is Wolfe’s account of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” author Ken Kesey and a group dubbed the Merry Pranksters as they drive across the country in a DayGlo-painted school bus dubbed Further, reaching personal and collective revelations through the use of LSD and other psychedelic drugs.


I must say that this is one film that I am really excited about checking out. It is an interesting fit to combine a story about LSD and other psychedelic drugs along with Van Sandt's more lyrical and almost poetic film making. This is one that I will definitely be looking forward to. How about you?

- Rumor has it that a deal could be struck in the next couple of weeks casting Christian Bale as Dr. Strange in the upcoming Marvel comic book film...This is unlikely and still in the RUMOR stage, but Bale IS at the top of Marvels list, and they are looking at getting him in the title role.

- After the huge success of High School Musical 3, it looks as though Paramount has fast tracked the upcoming remake of Footloose re-teaming Zac Efron with HSM3 Director, Kenny Ortega...

- Leonardo DiCaprio and his production company Appian Way are set to produce a remake of Ninja Scroll. Watchmen scribe Alex Tse is set to pen the script...

- The Saw film series is now the highest grossing horror franchise in history (not adjusting for inflation, and only domestic gross)

- Finally, it looks as though George Clooney may have a role in the upcoming remake of the Alfred Hitchcock classic, The Birds...Thanks to the guys over at Cinematical for the information...

First came Naomi Watts as a possible replacement for Tippi Hedren in that long-brewing remake of The Birds. Now a rumor straight from Metro.co.uk claims that George Clooney might play Mitch Bremner. It seems that the original Mitch, Rod Taylor, told the Daily Express: “I often cringe when I hear mention of remakes but I’ll hold judgment, especially since I’ve been told Clooney’s the favorite.” To add to the displeasure, Tippi herself said: “Can’t we find new stories, new things to do? Must you be so insecure that you have to take a film that’s a classic and try to do it over?

What are your thoughts? I don't want this remake to happen at all, and knowing Michael Bay will be behind makes me pretty suspect. I'm a big fan of the original, but if I had to pick one person to take over the flick, at least in the acting realm, Clooney is a perfect choice. Maybe he should direct it too...What do you think?

That's all I've got for now, so come back later for more movie news and reviews...

Go see something good!

Some news...

Hey guys! It's the weekend, so I hope you are all having a good time, and I have come to enlighten you all with your film related headlines for this Saturday, the 16th of August...

- Batman has been cleared! The alleged assault charges on actor Christian Bale have been dropped. Hopefully, since no one out of either camps have been saying anything, this can just be dropped.

- Matthew Vaughn, producer of the amazing films Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrells and Snatch, and director of Layer Cake and Stardust, is looking to adapt the cult comic book, Kick Ass...sounds like something right up his alley...thoughts?? Thanks to Yahoo! for the info...


Written by Millar — whose “Wanted” series was adapted for the screen earlier this year — and drawn by John Romita Jr., “Kick-Ass” follows a high school dweeb who attempts to reinvent himself as a real-world costumed superhero named Kick-Ass who seems doomed to failure because he’s not athletic or coordinated until he runs into real bad guys with real weapons.

I'm all for this...what do you guys think???

- It looks like Mike Meyers is looking to get a small part in Quentin Tarantino's upcoming Inglorious Bastards...You all may roll your eyes right now, but I really think this could work, and this is something that his career needs. Thoughts?

- The upcoming Punisher film, Punisher: War Zone, may end up being PG-13...

- David Goyer is in talks to do the Invisible Man before X Men Origins: Magneto...NOT GOOD!

- Finally, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is set to be pushed back to summer of next year...

Alright, thats all I've got for now...come back later for some more news and notes!!

Go see something good!!

News...BIG COMICON NEWS!!

Hey guys! Today is a big news day as it is the start of the largest pop culture convention of the year, Comic Con. So, to get this rolling, here are your headlines...

-- Kevin Smith's next film, Zach and Miri Make a Porno will be recieving an NC-17 rating, unless Smith decides to change his cut...
-- A remake of The Rocky Horror Picture Show is in the works...OH did I mention it will be done by MTV studios...
-- Hairspray is looking to get a sequel...you can expect this one in mid July of 2010...
-- A live action adaptation of Cowboy Beebop IS INDEED in the works.

-- DARREN ARONOFSKY will indeed be helming the upcoming RoboCop remake...SCORE!!!

-- The first footage from X Men Origins: Wolverine has been shown...sounds pretty solid. All that was shown was a rough teaser with Sabertooth and Wolverine being captured during war...and then shots of Gambit and Deadpool...

-- Robert Rodriguez has confirmed that their will be a Machete trilogy...

-- Disney suprised Comic Con atendees at their press confrence with the release of Tron 2 footage!!!

-- This really isn't big news, but Lost fans, you can expect to see the Series be rerun until you know every word as G4 will now be running the series in "2.0" just as they do Cops. You will now see your favorite show with trivia and extra random info.


Alright, so the biggest news today comes from overseas. Christian Bale was back on the promotion path yesturday, as he was at the Spain premiere for The Dark Knight. He was allowed to leave custody to continue his promotion, and it is coming out that the mother and sister may have actually had alterior motives. It is rumored that the mother has been jelous of her son, and husbands fame, and this is a direct correlation of that. Witnesses have also said that the abuse was indeed physical, but not to the stature that the true "dynamic duo" has blown it out to be. Also, reportedly some big time magazines have already begun offering the two huge sums of dinero to tell their side of the story. Wow...thoughts? For me, this changes a lot. I was giving the mother and sister the benefit of the doubt, and sticking up for them almost, until today. While it's not alright in any shape or form to strike your sister or mother, it's also not right for the woman who raised you to use one of your own faults, in Bale's case, his temper, for cash profit. What are your thoughts?

Alright, so that's all I have for now. Expect more news to come as Comicon starts (on G4), in about a half an hour...

Go see something good

Terminator Salvation Trailer...

The title says it all...here's the trailer...



What do you guys think??? Bale as John Connor??? Possibly JOSH BROLIN as the Terminator??? McG as the director??? Let me know what you think!!!