Wally Q

That said, Kingdom of Heaven: DC still is his finest work of the last decade.

I kept picturing the Ian McDiarmid-Palpatine angle from the Prequel trilogy. Either way, Robin Hood never should have been remade for the millionth time.

I never had much faith in Scott's Robin Hood once they ditched the angle where Russell played the Sheriff and Robin. I always took that as he played a dual role in the legend and I liked that idea.. I think I'll only get the home video release just for the documentary. On the sci-fi side, I think last year it was reported that Ridley was in talks to develop Brave New World with DiCaprio's production company, Appian Way.

Former 'Lost' co-showrunner Damon Lindelof is reportedly in talks to rewrite the Alien Prequel scripts, according to Deadline. I have a lot of hope that these films work.

There could always be that moment in The Avengers. Whedon was a story editor/writer on Roseanne.

Kirk's dad, wow

YOM YOM YOM YOM

SHOCKING NEWS!!! Or, given the thread's title, just "news".

 

Joss Whedon Confirms He’s Directing The Avengers

I think I read he might be writing the script himself, throwing out Zak Penn's draft. I'm totally fine with that. I can't really stand most of Penn's work and I'm pretty high on Whedon's work since starting Buffy on DVD.

OH SHUT IT!

What the Hell does Cloverfield have to do with Whedon?

(And it's actually a pretty damn good film)

And Torch, I love your Krasinski suggestion!

"We have made the decision to not bring Ed Norton back to portray the title role of Bruce Banner in the Avengers. Our decision is definitely not one based on monetary factors, but instead rooted in the need for an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members. The Avengers demands players who thrive working as part of an ensemble, as evidenced by Robert, Chris H, Chris E, Sam, Scarlett, and all of our talented casts. We are looking to announce a name actor who fulfills these requirements, and is passionate about the iconic role in the coming weeks."

 

Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios President of Production

 

Story 1

Norton's Agent responds:

"This offensive statement from Kevin Feige at Marvel is a purposefully misleading, inappropriate attempt to paint our client in a negative light. Here are the facts: two months ago, Kevin called me and said he wanted Edward to reprise the role of Bruce Banner in The Avengers. He told me it would be his fantasy to bring Edward on stage with the rest of the cast at ComiCon and make it the event of the convention. When I said that Edward was definitely open to this idea, Kevin was very excited and we agreed that Edward should meet with Joss Whedon to discuss the project. Edward and Joss had a very good meeting (confirmed by Feige to me) at which Edward said he was enthusiastic at the prospect of being a part of the ensemble cast. Marvel subsequently made him a financial offer to be in the film and both sides started negotiating in good faith. This past Wednesday, after several weeks of civil, uncontentious discussions, but before we had come to terms on a deal, a representative from Marvel called to say they had decided to go in another direction with the part. This seemed to us to be a financial decision but, whatever the case, it is completely their prerogative, and we accepted their decision with no hard feelings.

 

We know a lot of fans have voiced their public disappointment with this result, but this is no excuse for Feige's mean spirited, accusatory comments. Counter to what Kevin implies here, Edward was looking forward to the opportunity to work with Joss and the other actors in the Avengers cast, many of whom are personal friends of his. Feige's statement is unprofessional, disingenuous and clearly defamatory. Mr. Norton talent, tireless work ethic and professional integrity deserve more respect, and so do Marvel's fans.

 

Brian Swardstrom

WME"

 

Story 2

I love Hollywood! I'm more inclined to believe Marvel, to be honest.

Norton's a control freak who can't just play the actor. He has to involve himself in everything and I'd rather see Whedon have as little headaches as possible with this production. I'm respecting the guy a lot more the further I get with Buffy and I don't think he needs to get chopped down by Norton. I prefer Bana's methods more than Norton's and I personally believe that The Hulk was a better film overall than than the requel.

Edward Norton is not The Hulk in The Avengers... but he'd like to be - HitFix.com

I wasn't a big fan of Norton's portrayal and I'd love to see Bana come back for the role.

I couldn't have said it best.

+1, Merc.

And please God no Lex Luthor.

 

I wouldn't mind if Luthor was in it. As long as it's a version similar to Michael Rosenbaum's Luthor and not the campy Gene Hackman/Kevin Spacey Luthor.

Michael Rosenbaum is the superior Lex, in my opinion. I would only accept LL as the villain if he was pulling the strings from atop LexCorp.

And please God no Lex Luthor.

I like everything he's saying. Now I just want to know what this big idea is and that Goyer is only writing it with Jonathan Nolan and not directing it.

Maybe Denzel will rotate back to Ridley for this project.

He's telling me all the right things.

My initial reaction is,"Cool! Joss Whedon is doing a superhero flick!".

 

Then again, as I recall, I once said, "Cool! J. J. Abrams is doing a monster flick!".

I said that once too...and I liked that monster flick

 

a lot

Yeah, Cloverfield gets a lot of flack but it was a really great movie.

Ya know whats amazing is that essentially Ive never seen anything Whedon has done? I mean I saw Toy Story,but other than that. I never watched Buffy or Angel or Firefly. I never saw Serenity. Looking at his wikipedia page even for the most part stuff he did that he wasnt credited for I havent seen, other than X-Men.

You've never watched Roseanne?

How about that story, fellas?

I'm told Marvel Studios is in final negotiations for Buffy the Vampire Slayer series architect Joss Whedon to direct Marvel Studios' The Avengers. That's the fast-tracked film that would amount to an all-star team of Marvel superheros, including Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), as well as SHIELD leader Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). Other signature superheros will likely be involved, but I've listed the actors in active superhero duty. Whedon has been rumored for this job for awhile, and is high on the fanboy wish-list. He's an interesting choice: despite his writing/producing TV series resume, his lone feature directing effort, Serenity, was not a hit. After Iron Man 2, Marvel has three pictures left on a distribution deal with Paramount before it moves to Disney, and the studio has been churning them out. Iron Man 2 gets released in May, Captain America will begin shooting this summer in Europe, Thor is in production, and Marvel Studios just set Pete Sollett to direct Runaways, based on the comic book series created by Lost writer Brian K. Vaughan. Whedon has written installments of the latter, so he knows how to make those superheros fly. Marvel has considered all of the individual superhero movies to be an intro to The Avengers, so the wanna-see on this one will be huge. The film will be released in the first weekend of May, 2012.

 

 

Deadline - Hollywood

Once I'm done rewatching Mad Men on DVD, I'm going to finally watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer and then Firefly/Serenity. I loved Serenity even without having seen the short lived series; this announcement comes as a surprise but I appreciate Whedon as a guy trying to work and making a living.

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief. I can see why this is snapping Harry Potter fans up. It's very similar - engaging story and characters, and the writing is admittedly simple but not incredibly dumbed down (bonus points for throwing random Greek words and phrases in and not always translating them ).

I was thinking about skipping over the movie and just reading the series. Sounds pretty interesting, at least.

Currently reading Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Really great read! Might start Scott Pilgrim next.