It’s a good guess that The Black Widow probably wouldn’t have been featured in The Avengers this summer if it wasn’t for a little movie called Alien back in 1979. Sigourney Weaver and Ridley Scott redefined the concept of an action hero and paved the way for a ton of female protagonists in genres previously thought to be a boys club. In an interview with The Daily Beast (via The Playlist), Scott spoke a bit about his upcoming new entry into the Blade Runner universe and offered some definitive words about the gender of the new film’s lead character.

When the project was first announced, there was a rumor that Harrison Ford would be returning to star in whatever this project ends up being (sequel, prequel, set in the same universe, whatever). Those rumors were almost immediately quashed by the producers, and we haven’t heard much about the movie ever since. Scott gave a quick update:

Funny enough, I started my first meetings on the ‘Blade Runner’ sequel last week. We have a very good take on it. And we’ll definitely be featuring a female protagonist.

Now let’s see how quickly fanboys take to the message boards and try to start petitions to get Sigourney Weaver reunited with her Alien director for this movie. In all seriousness, though, I’m glad Scott is thinking outside the box a bit and continuing to blaze a trail that should have been fully blazed long ago. I look forward to seeing Noomi Rapace and Charlize Theron stack up against Michael Fassbender and Idris Elba in Prometheus, but we’ve got a long way to go before we see this Blade Runner thing, because Scott has The Counselor set to go as his next movie.

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Gary Oldman and Harrison Ford are in negotiations to join The Hunger Games star Liam Hemsworth in Paranoia, a new film to be directed by Robert Luketic. Get all the details after the jump.

Deadline has the news, which describes the film as “a corporate espionage thriller set in the world of dueling telecom giants.” Paranoia is based on Joseph Finder’s book of the same name, and Amazon has a more detailed synopsis:

Adam Cassidy is twenty-six and a low level employee at a high-tech corporation who hates his job. When he manipulates the system to do something nice for a friend, he finds himself charged with a crime. Corporate Security gives him a choice: prison – or become a spy in the headquarters of their chief competitor, Trion Systems.

They train him. They feed him inside information. Now, at Trion, he’s a star, skyrocketing to the top. He finds he has talents he never knew he possessed. He’s rich, drives a Porsche, lives in a fabulous apartment, and works directly for the CEO. He’s dating the girl of his dreams.

His life is perfect. And all he has to do to keep it that way is betray everyone he cares about and everything he believes in.

But when he tries to break off from his controllers, he finds he’s in way over his head, trapped in a world in which nothing is as it seems and no one can really be trusted.

And then the real nightmare begins…

Reminds me of the Julia Roberts/Clive Owen film Duplicity crossed with the Bradley Cooper action drama Limitless. Hopefully the younger Hemsworth can use this as a platform to prove he’s actually got some talent, something we frankly haven’t seen yet from the young heartthrob. Ford has coasting lately, but maybe working with a legend like Oldman will raise his game up, too.

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On Saturday, the internet worked itself into a mini-frenzy when news came out that Harrison Ford had entered early talks to appear in Ridley Scott’s new Blade Runner movie. And while it’s too early to tell if that’ll end up happening or not, the producers of the film want to put the rumors to rest.

Andrew Kosove is one of the bigwigs at Alcon Entertainment, the company that’s producing and financing Scott’s upcoming return to the Blade Runner universe. Kosove spoke with Mike Fleming at Deadline to squash the recent rumors and give an update on where they are with the movie so far:

“It is absolutely patently false that there has been any discussion about Harrison Ford being in Blade Runner,” Kosove told me. “To be clear, what we are trying to do with Ridley now is go through the painstaking process of trying to break the back of the story, figure out the direction we’re going to take the movie and find a writer to work on it. The casting of the movie could not be further from our minds at this moment.”

Kosove, one of the heads of Alcon, also seemed to shoot down the idea of a direct sequel, comparing the new Blade Runner project with Prometheus.

“What Ridley does in Prometheus is a good template for what we’re trying to do. He created something that has some association to the original Alien, but lives on its own as a standalone movie.”

So now we’re right back where we started – with almost no information about the project at all. All we know is that Ford could return, but it’s too early to speculate. Does this news give your inner sci-fi geek a sigh of relief, or do you wish Ford was totally committed to the project?

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With Ridley Scott revisiting the world of Alien with Prometheus later this summer, it wasn’t that much of a shock to hear the director was planning a similar return to the equally iconic world of Blade Runner. Now, Twitch is hearing word that Harrison Ford “is in early talks” to join Sir Ridley in the sci-fi universe once again.

I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, it’s great to get the original creative team working together again and it would be amazing to see what kind of story they could tell with today’s technology. But on the other hand, Ford’s involvement will likely answer the “is Deckard a Replicant?” question once and for all, and I’m not so sure that’s a good thing. Yes, your curiosity may be slaked, but a big part of the reason the original Blade Runner has stood the test of time through pop culture has been the argument about the ending of the movie. I can’t see any way for Scott and Co. to dance around the answer to that question for the entirety of another movie, so that means the filmmakers are forcing their perspectives on us and robbing us one of the best things films provide: the passionate discussion that comes from ambiguity.

What do you think?

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When Asa Butterfield (Hugo) joined the cast of Summit Entertainment’s Ender’s Game adaptation last month we were told Harrison Ford was being sought for the role of Colonel Hyrum Graff. Now Variety reports that Ford’s involvement is confirmed, and he’ll be joined by young Oscar nominee Abigail Breslin (Zombieland).

Ender’s Game is an adaptation of Orson Scott Card’s 1985 sci-fi novel and is set in Earth’s future, where an imperiled humankind have barely survived two conflicts with the Formics (an insectoid alien species also known as the “Buggers”). These aliens show an ant-like group behavior, and are very protective of their leader, much like Earth ants protecting their queen.

In preparation for an anticipated third invasion, an international fleet maintains a school to find and train future fleet commanders. The world’s most talented children, including the novel’s protagonist, Ender Wiggin, are taken at a very young age to a training center known as the Battle School. There, teachers train them in the arts of war through increasingly difficult games including ones undertaken in zero gravity in the Battle Room where Ender’s tactical genius is revealed.

Ford’s character is in charge of the Battle School and while he is often portrayed rather coldly in the book, Graff shows affection for Ender which can be seen at several points throughout the story. Abigail Breslin will play Valentine Wiggin, Ender’s older sister, while Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit) will play Petra Arkanianthe who quickly becomes Ender’s ally and trusted right hand.

Summit Entertainment has set a March 15, 2013 release date for Ender’s Game. Gavin Hood (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) is directing, and Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Star Trek) are producing.

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According to Variety Asa Butterfield, who can currently be seen in Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, has signed on to play the lead role in Ender’s Game which will be directed by Gavin Hood (X-Men Origins: Wolverine).

Ender’s Game is an adaptation of Orson Scott Card’s 1985 sci-fi novel and is set in Earth’s future, where an imperiled humankind have barely survived two conflicts with the Formics (an insectoid alien species also known as the “Buggers”). These aliens show an ant-like group behavior, and are very protective of their leader, much like Earth ants protecting their queen.

In preparation for an anticipated third invasion, an international fleet maintains a school to find and train future fleet commanders. The world’s most talented children, including the novel’s protagonist, Ender Wiggin, are taken at a very young age to a training center known as the Battle School. There, teachers train them in the arts of war through increasingly difficult games including ones undertaken in zero gravity in the Battle Room where Ender’s tactical genius is revealed.

With the young lead cast the producers are said to be looking for an established actor to play Colonel Hyrum Graff, who is in charge of the Battle School. Talks with Viggo Mortensen apparently didn’t work out, so other actors such as Harrison Ford are being discussed. Wikipedia states the character “is often portrayed rather coldly” in the book but “the reader does see Graff’s struggle with what is moral and amoral in his quest to shape Ender’s life” and “while Ender sees him as a harsh manipulater” Graff shows “affection for Ender which can be seen at several points throughout the story.” I could see Ford working out quite well if he takes the role.

Summit Entertainment has set a March 15, 2013 release date for Ender’s Game and it is being produced by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Star Trek).

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Jon Favreau continues to prove himself as an excellent director with Cowboys & Aliens, a movie that is a good summer flick that ends up being not quite as good as the sum of its parts. It’s got a ton of energy, the cast is solid, and the effects are great, so even though the final product is missing that extra “spark,” it’s still a serviceable summer crowd-pleaser.

Favreau and his massive writing squad (Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Damon Lindelof, Mark Fergus, and Hawk Otsby) are clearly passionate fans of the western genre, and their love for the material comes through on screen. The director takes a modern approach to framing vintage character archetypes, and his history of fantastic visual effects from the Iron Man films serves him well yet again. This is much more western than sci-fi, and that’s to the film’s benefit; the characters take this alien invasion seriously, and there’s no joking tone or winking at the camera. It’s a big world, full of similar vistas, gorges, and sweeping plains that you might find in an old John Ford movie. Favreau also battled the studio when they wanted the movie shot in 3D; he held his ground and shot it on film to capture the texture of those classic westerns that came before.

Daniel Craig is stoic, rugged, and dirty throughout – in other words, he makes a great cowboy. Taking a page from Eastwood’s playbook, he lets his actions do most of the talking; his wandering amnesiac is a total badass, reminiscent (in attitude) of Kurt Russell’s Wyatt Earp in Tombstone. Harrison Ford gives one of his most inspired performances in years as the ridiculously-named Woodrow Dolarhyde, a hardass father with a good heart. The supporting cast does a good job, but ultimately their parts seb a bit undeserving of their talents. Guys like Sam Rockwell, Clancy Brown, Paul Dano, and Walton Goggins have earned a bit more than what they were given here.

The alien design is pretty by-the-numbers (although better than the atrocious designs in Battle: Los Angeles), and their excuse for invading is laughably bad. Olivia Wilde’s exposition gets a bit dreary at times, but it’s evened out by some memorable chase sequences across stark scenery via land, air, and sea. The climax also features some memorable shots, including one in particular that was clearly influenced by Neill Blomkamp’s District 9.

Listen, I liked this movie. It won’t be among my favorites of the year or anything, but the structure and predictability is exactly the kind of “turn off your brain” entertainment that most people go to the movies for in the first place. It’s well put-together, Favreau puts some style in it, and Craig and Ford go toe-to-toe in entertaining roles. But I still can’t shake the feeling that it was too predictable, the script suffers from its familiarity, and ultimately the movie just ends up coming up short. For summer fluff, Cowboys & Aliens is fine. Looking for anything more? Keep searchin’, cowboy. Until next time…

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We’ve had a number of trailers and TV spots for Jon Favreau’s Cowboys & Aliens over the past few months, and Universal will no doubt be releasing a few more as we enter July.

Today sees the release of the third trailer, which contains even more awesome looking footage. Cowboys & Aliens is a fairly unknown property compared to other movies being released next month so I can understand why Universal would want to push the marketing. I just hope they follow the Super 8 route by not revealing the mystery before its release.

You can watch the trailer below:

In the movie cowboy Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) has no memory of his past, and stumbles into the desert town of Absolution in 1800s Arizona with a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. As the gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he’s been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against an invading alien force.

Cowboys & Aliens also stars Olivia Wilde as elusive traveller Ella and Harrison Ford as Colonel Dolarhyde, and will be released July 29th 2011

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At the Spike Guys Choice Awards on Friday Universal Pictures released a new extended sneak peek from director Jon Favreau’s Cowboys & Aliens. The trailer contains some new footage, including more from Sam Rockwell which is always welcomed.

Watch below:

In the movie cowboy Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) has no memory of his past, and stumbles into the desert town of Absolution in 1800s Arizona with a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. As the gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he’s been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against an invading alien force.

Cowboys & Aliens stars Olivia Wilde as elusive traveller Ella and Harrison Ford as Colonel Dolarhyde, and will be released July 29th 2011

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Universal have released the second full trailer for Jon Favreau’s Cowboys & Aliens. It’s a lot like the previous trailer, just with more plot details, more of Olivia Wilde, and more footage of the aliens attacking (we don’t actually see the aliens, that’ll probably be something they save for the movie itself).

You can watch the trailer below: (Is that an alien hand we see at 1:58?)

From the trailer it looks like Favreau has delivered another fun movie, but it’ll be interesting to see how general audiences respond to this. It’s not a well known property, but has a strong cast. It could go either way.

In the movie cowboy Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) has no memory of his past, and stumbles into the desert town of Absolution in 1800s Arizona with a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. As the gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he’s been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against an invading alien force.

Cowboys & Aliens stars Olivia Wilde as elusive traveller Ella and Harrison Ford as Colonel Dolarhyde, and will be released July 29th 2011

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