Damon Houx
Though we're still waiting for actual casting announcements for 'Star Wars: Episode 7,' another big aspect of the new Disney-run Lucasfilm is the idea of multiple 'Star Wars' films a year. And though we've heard about spin-off movies for some of the characters, the latest rumor is that the popular 'Star Wars' video game 'Knights of the Old Republic' may be brought to the big screen.
It looks like the casting process has begun in earnest for the latest 'Planet of the Apes' film 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.' We recently heard that Jason Clarke joined the cast, and today we've learned that young actor Kodi Smit-McPhee has landed a role.
December is often a surprising month at the box office as many films that never top the box office end up making a lot of money. The Tom Cruise vehicle 'Jack Reacher' opened right before Christmas and had a $15 million opening weekend. Sounds weak right? And yet the picture has grossed nearly $80 million domestically, and over $200 million worldwide. Which is why Paramount is talking about a sequel.
Joe Carnahan has had some of the worst luck in Hollywood as his list of almost-made films is nearly as long as his actual resume. And now another title can be added to the pile of almosts as Carnahan has exited the 'Death Wish' remake.
When Megan Fox left 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon,' it seemed that her relationship with director Michael Bay (who she jokingly refered to as Hitler) was over and the two would never work together again. But now Bay has announced that Fox is joining his 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' reboot.
'Anchorman: The Legend Continues' is actually happening, and casting is coming together now. Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, Christina Applegate, and Kristen Wiig are already signed on, and now word is that James Marsden has joined the cast as a rival anchor.
Often the early months of the year offer few good movies, which made us nervous about Park Chan-wook's 'Stoker.' It's due out in a couple weeks, but word out of Sundance and other screenings has been great (we rather liked it ourselves). Now there's a featurette that talks about the film's Southern Gothic flavor.
We're at an interesting crossroads for the new wave of young adult literature being adapted for the big screen. Sure, films like 'Twilight' or 'The Hunger Games' have shown that there is a sizable audience for these films, but yesterday's poor opening day showing of 'Beautiful Creatures' suggests that it takes more than just a series of modestly popular books to net a big screen audience. Perhaps author Stephenie Meyer will be enough to get people into the adaptation of her book 'The Host' and here's a new featurette with the author talking about the film.
Even though 'Public Enemies' wasn't his best effort, we'll always keep our eye open for whatever Michael Mann does next. Though he had bad... something with his HBO show 'Luck,' it looks like Mann is returning to the big screen for an untitled thriller with Chris Hemsworth set to star.
Bryan Singer has been very active on Twitter, and has been using the platform to give scoops that normally would come from the trades. Today he's revealed that he's just cast Peter Dinklage in 'X-Men: Days of Future Past.'