This news is rather unexpected. Just last week we had got news that rising star Emily Blunt had joined TheWolf Man. Now, Variety are reporting that director Mark Romanek has dropped out of the project, with filming expected to start mid February. The reason? ‘Creative Differences’. The film has had Benicio Del Toro on board for a while, with Anthony Hopkins joining a couple of months ago and more recently, Emily Blunt joining as the main female lead. Universal say they expect to get another directed attached quickly, with the February start date still their goal.
I don’t really know what went on as those details haven’t been released, but directors leaving movies when they are just about to film is just annoying. The Wolf Man would have been Romanek’s biggest film to date, so he must not have been happy with something for him to leave. The film was set to be released in December this year, but depending on whether Universal can get a director or not, that may not happen.
The movie is set in Victorian England where Benicio Del Toro plays an American who returns England, and is bitten by a werewolf. The Oscar winning make-up artist behind An American Werewolf in London had been hired to recreate some of his werewolf awesomeness, which you can see in the picture above.
Four days ago there was the big press conference, revealing the name of the next Bond film, Quantum of Solace, and we got a chance to see the cast together for the first time. They gave interviews to the press and we got to read it, well now we have a chance to see them talk. Some is the same, some is new. Here they are:
Having had months of rather depressing news that The Hobbit would be made without Peter Jackson in sight, came the rather joyful news that Peter Jackson would actually be involved. But due to his commitments on Tin Tin and Lovely Bones, he could only serve as executive producer, with approval over creative elements of the films. There were also rumblings that Jackson and fellow Lord Of The Rings writer Fran Walsh, would have some input on the script. Things keep getting better and better, and The Hobbit’s boulder of joy continues to roll: Guillermo Del Toro is apparently in talks to take the director’s chair.
With continuity the main issue, having a fellow plump and bearded man in the directors chair can only be a good thing. Witnessing Peter Jacksons dramatic weight loss while shooting the trilogy, Del Toro may want a bit of that Middle Earth weight loss goodness. But whatever his motives, having Guillermo del Toro as director is a great thing. Fans have been wanting Del Toro directing ever since it was announced Jackson couldn’t. Toro is best known for his work on Blade 2 and Hellboy, with the sequel being released later this year. Not only that, Pans Labyrinth earned 3 Oscars, along with another 61 wins and 55 nominations. Not onlythat, he turned down the chance to direct I Am Legend, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Halo, for Hellboy II: The Golden Army. If that isn’t dedication to something you love, then I don’t know what is.
The Hobbit is expected to start filming sometime in 2009, to be released in 2010, and the second in 2011. The films are expected to be filmed back-to-back, with each film being given $150 million budget. New Line are hoping the films will bring in similar numbers to The Lord Of The Rings, which is currently the highest grossing trilogy in the history of the universe.
2010 is a heck of a long time to wait, but if all goes well, it will be worth the wait!
Over the past week or so there have been many people expressing their sadness about Heath Ledger’s passing. Nicole Kidman, John Travolta and Mary Kate Olsen have all released statements regarding Heath’s Death. Jack Nicholson told everyone that he had ‘warned him’ and Daniel Day Lewis nearly shed a few tears on TV, even though he said he had never met Ledger. So imagine knowing Heath well, and having to see him every single day for the next few months. That is what Christopher Nolan has to do as he is editing The Dark Knight. Rather than releasing a statement that says the usual, he had written an great article on Heath.
When you get into the edit suite after shooting a movie, you feel a responsibility to an actor who has trusted you, and Heath gave us everything. As we started my cut, I would wonder about each take we chose, each trim we made. I would visualize the screening where we’d have to show him the finished film—sitting three or four rows behind him, watching the movements of his head for clues to what he was thinking about what we’d done with all that he’d given us. Now that screening will never be real. I see him every day in my edit suite. I study his face, his voice. And I miss him terribly.
The first X-Men film was released back in 2000, and got a small about of stick for the costumes being too similar to The Matrix, which was released a year previous. Now, as their trilogies are complete, the second you say ‘black leather’ you instantly think Neo or Wolverine. Well now you may have to add Hancock to that list, as the first stills of Will Smith in his costume have been released. While doing a bit of research I found out that Dan Bronson, a costume supervisor, has worked on two of the Matrix films, and has also worked on Hancock. Need I say more.
No doubt Hancock will be a massive hit, following on from the previous 10 movies Smith has made that have reached the $200 million mark worldwide. From the trailer, we got the feeling that Hancock was a hero that wasn’t too bright and wasn’t that much of a hero, however these images change a couple of things. No doubt all types of ass will be kicked, that is, when he isn’t throwing whales or stopping high speed trains.
SuperHero Hype have got some rather cool new images of Batman/Bruce Wayne form The Dark Knight. They weren’t released by Warner Brothers, as I think they are slowing down their marketing campaign for a little while. They seem to be taken from a magazine. One of the images can be seen below, and the other two can be seen by visiting the link about. I’m digging the Bat logo, what are your thoughts?
A rather lucky man, who just happens to live within camera zoom distance of the Avatar set, got a chance to take a good snap of a night shoot. Here’s what he had to say:
James Cameron is in Wellington at the moment filming his current project, 3D Sci-fi epic Avatar. I live quite close to Stone St Studios, where live action filming is currently happening. This is also where Lord Of The Rings and King Kong were made. Anyway here’s a photo I took tonight from my house. Bear in mind the green screen you can see is four shipping containers high. It’s huge. The thing on the left hand crane looks like a gigantic light. I was right beside it earlier but didn’t have my camera with me, might get a chance tomorrow.
It sounds and looks exciting whatever they are filming. Lets hope he can get some more shots! (Without breaking the law of course)
This awe-inspiring documentary film will take you from the dazzling coral reefs of the Bahamas to the warm depths of the waters of the exotic Kingdom of Tonga for a close encounter with the surviving tribes of the ocean. Through the powerful IMAX theatre medium and stunning images captured for the very first time in 3D, view their lives and habitats as never-before-seen. You will come so close to wild dolphins and belugas you will virtually touch them. You will witness the profound love of a Humpback mother for her newborn calf, and will come eye-to-eye with singing Humpback males. You will meet an orca, the mighty King of the ocean, and enjoy a wonderful moment with the gentle manatee. Explore many little-known aspects of these fascinating and fragile creatures capable of sophisticated communication and social interaction. Join the expert team of ocean explorers that brought you Sharks 3D and Ocean Wonderland 3D in an unforgettable diving experience that documents the life of these graceful, majestic yet endangered sea creatures.
Warner Brothers have had a lot to think about this week. Heath Ledger died. He was one of the stars of their summer film The Dark Knight. The whole marketing so far has been something to do with The Joker, whether it be writing messages in the sky at events or appearing on viral sites for the movie. The fans were getting excited, playing the games, until it was brought straight back into reality. I imagine Warner Bros had other ideas up their sleeves, that may be changed, or simply delayed. I think they have done the right thing, acknowledging Heath’s death and probably keeping quiet for a while. Wait a month or so and start with the marketing again. The website for The Dark Knight has been changed. You can check it out here or below.
Most people know about another film Heath was involved in, called The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. Reports suggested that the film had shut down, however now there are rumours that a certain Johnny Depp may replace him.
A source said: “There is a point in the film when Heath falls through a magic mirror. He could change into another character after that and that is where Johnny would come in.
“It’s a weird, fantasy, time-travel movie so Heath’s character could easily change appearance. It would be a poignant moment. Johnny’s not working at the moment so everyone is praying he will do it.”
The lovely Emmy Rossum took time out of filming to blog on her Myspace. Emmy hasn’t done a film in two years so it’ll be good to see her on screen again, and what we will see sounds good. I can’t imagine Emmy on a motorcycle, she has always played the ’sweet and innocent’ girl so it’ll be interesting to see her do something different.
Since the new year I’ve been back on the set of “Dragonball.” In addition to working in Durango, we’ve been shooting in some pretty remote yet stunning locations. So, I’ve been litterally “out of range” for a few days at a time. We shot in Mexiquillo, about 2 hours outside of Durango where the landscape is amazing and looks - in places - much like the forests of New England. The dense green trees reminded me of New Hampshire and Maine, and made me feel very at home. The sunrises and sunsets are really spectacularly beautiful.. Mexiquillo is pretty remote, and there weren’t any hotels around, so we were actually “camping” in log cabins, all together. It was exactly what you’d imagine, campfires at night with smores and kumbaya… Okay, maybe not kumbaya, but we did do the smores! Its been a LOT of fun, especially bonding with the cast. All the actors get along great! After only a few weeks shooting we already have inside jokes and pretty much know each others life-stories. I’ve been listening to some harder music to access the edge inside me to bring to the character, some Lincoln Park and Dream Theater. I’m enjoying developing the character and training, learning to ride a motorcycle has been thrilling.. Its manual, so I’ve been learning all about clutch and throttle (don’t laugh, this is all new to me!) And I think I’ll be able to drive a stick-shift car after this film too!
Right now I am writing from a helicopter (with my costars, Chow Yun Fat, his lovely wife and Joon Park). We are on our way to the desert where we will be filming for the the next few days. I am the lucky one who gets to sit up front with the pilot (who was very careful to instruct me not to touch anything; knobs, controls or otherwise) Chow and Joon are taking pictures in the back and we are having a lot of fun. The landscape is alternating between, rolling sand dunes, green mountains dotted with cactus and farms layed out in geometric order with terracotta colored earth. I want you all to see what I see, so I’ll upload some pics later when I can connect my camera to my laptop. Also, I’m attaching a picture from the cockpit right now!
The following day she posted:
I’m happy to report I’m finding little bits of time on set in between takes to write you. Today we woke up in Torreon, a pretty big city in Mexico, at about 4:30am. We drove an hour to set, just outside Dunas de Bilbao. Our location is, what I can only describe as, a sand dune desert. I’ve been riding the motorcycle in 4-foot sand drifts since sunrise to get the shot just right. The wonderful, kind and talented Chow Yun Fat is hanging on for dear life in back. We’ve been doing about 40mph, and over bumpy sand dunes that is enough to make anyone a little queasey. Chow is so kind, so calm and a bit of a prankster (which I love!) and he hasn’t complained once. The sand is pretty deep here, and we’ve had to dig the bike out a few times when it has stalled in the drifts, but the crew and stunt guys and girls are so helpful…
Back to set, I’m really enjoying getting to know Joon Park. I’m not allowed to spill any secrets, but our characters interact a lot in the film.
This news is rather unexpected. Just last week we had got news that rising star Emily Blunt had joined The Wolf Man. Now, Variety are reporting that director Mark Romanek has dropped out of the project, with filming expected to start mid February. The reason? ‘Creative Differences’. The film has had Benicio Del Toro on board for a while, with Anthony Hopkins joining a couple of months ago and more recently, Emily Blunt joining as the main female lead. Universal say they expect to get another directed attached quickly, with the February start date still their goal.
