Green Lantern director Martin Campbell explains how his movie will be different. Plus Mad Max's surprising star, an Iron Man/Thor crossover, and find out which rocker supplied The Wolfman's howl. Plus Ghostbusters, Lost, Doctor Who, Caprica and True Blood spoilers.
Green Lantern:
Director Martin Campbell was doing interviews for his new film Edge Of Darkness, and people got a chance to ask him about Green Lantern. Among other things: The film will stick closely to the origin story (the script we read was basically Emerald Dawn, minus the alcoholism). Campbell wants Peter Sarsgaard for Hector Hammond, one of the film's villains, and Sarsgaard may be contracted already. Campbell wants a sense of realism in spite of the surreal-ness of a guy with a ring that can make green shapes, and he's running every scene through a "cheese-meter." And he doesn't want it to be like most superhero movies, where people get knocked into brick walls and then get up unharmed to fight some more.
The film will be closer to Iron Man than Batman Begins in tone, and Hal Jordan will be "the sort of shoot from the hip, irresponsible kind of cocky test pilot." His powers are psychological, based on willl, rather than coming naturally like Superman's. Green Lantern will definitely go off to another planet (probably Oa.) And we'll see the lanterns, as well as the Central Battery. Both Sinestro (Campbell wants Mark Strong to play this role) and Carol Ferris (Blake Lively) will be good guys in this movie, but you'll be able to see the seeds of how they both become villains eventually.
[Sci Fi Wire and Collider and Superhero Hype]
Australia's newspaper, the Herald Sun, reports that actor/model Teresa Palmer is playing the female lead in this film... even though Charlize Theron was already announced as the female lead. This seems to be based on Jay Baruchel, doing press for the How To Train Your Dragon, saying his friend Palmer is "the main chick in Fury Road." But "main chick" in this context may just mean "she gets some really cool scenes." [Herald Sun via Cinemablend]
Thor:
Clark Gregg will turn up in this film, playing Agent Coulson, the SHIELD agent he plays in Iron Man and Iron Man 2. Also, Samuel L. Jackson is definitely in Thor, and Variety seems to think that the Hulk will definitely be in Avengers along with Thor, Captain America and Iron Man. [Variety]
Now that Ivan Reitman is on board to direct, Sigourney Weaver hints that she's open to reprising her role — at least, she'll look at the script and see. [Digital Spy]
Iron Man 2:
Tennis star Novak Djokovic wrote on his website that he has a small role in this film. [Comic Book Movie]
The Wolfman:
Director Joe Johnston explains how we'll feel about the movie's main character:
You're rooting for him when he is fighting a worse evil than himself. The wolfman is really two characters in one. He's both hero and villain. Lawrence Talbot is essentially the good guy. And he has no control over what he does when he becomes the beast. You can't control the beast. That's a quote from Sir John Talbot in the story. You can't control the beast-you have to let him run free.
He says he rewrote the script to make the blood and violence integral to the story rather than gratuitous, but he was happy to make it an R-rated movie. And various people tried out to do the wolf's howls in the film, including opera singers, David Lee Roth and Gene Simmons — and one of Simmons' howls is in the film. [Box Office]
Lost:
Terry O'Quinn says we'll learn "who Locke is" in the first two-hour episode. "Although that's still kind of a mystery of who is that. But there's still a pretty big revelation there." Evangeline Lilly says we'll see a brand new Kate, and she's doing something totally new this time around. And Emilie de Ravin says she comes back in a "unique" way and gets to play with her character Claire more. And Josh Holloway says Sawyer changes his underwear. [CNN]
Sky One's press release lists some of the questions the final season will answer: "Just what are the meaning of the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42? What is the smoke monster? Why were Jack, Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and Sawyer (Josh Holloway) and the rest of the castaways selected in the first place?" [Sky One]
More filming updates. John Locke had a big scene in the studio, Libby filmed a hospital scene with some doctors. And Desmond, Minokowski, Hurley and Claire had a big crowd scene at the airport. Plus here are some set pics showing your favorite mental institution. [SpoilersLost and Ryan on Flickr]
Doctor Who:
Avid fans will remember new companion Amy's completely impractical policewoman costume, from the first episode, and the raging debate over whether she's actually a cop, or just playing dress-up. (Most people seem to think the latter, although there is a bit where the Doctor enters a police station, plus she does seem to be "arresting" him in one sequence, where she drags him by the tie.) In any case, the (not terribly) reliable tabloid The Sun is reporting that Amy is a "kissogram" and this is her "kissogram" uniform. Insert your own joke about how the only arrests she makes will be cardiac, etc. etc. Also, her sexy outfits are apparently part of Steven Moffat's plan to make the show "edgier." [The Sun]
True Blood:
Alan Ball is casting the role of Debbie Pelt, a badass werewolf you don't want to get on the wrong side of — and she does not like Sookie. The season premiere will include lots of sex, including Sam winding up in a hotel room with a familiar face, which will confuse and excite us. Meanwhile, Jason winds up in bed with two women at once. And Jason "will find love in the werewolf world, and love is a pretty unknown concept for him," says Ryan Kwanten. Also, Alfre Woodward says Lafayette's mom Ruby Jean Reynolds is "nuts" and the audience won't like her. "She's not very accepting of Lafayette, which is fun to play." [TV Guide Magazine]
Caprica:
Alessandra Torresani says she consciously tried to make her "original Cylon" portrayal different from Tricia Helfer or Grace Park — which is probably a good thing, since a teenage girl channeling Tricia Helfer would have been weird. [BuddyTV]
Additional reporting by Mary Ratliff.