Ben Kingsley might join the cast of the Ender's Game adaptation. Director Peter Berg explains why you should take the Battleship movie seriously. Fox executive Tom Rothman promises they're not messing around with their new X-Men, Daredevil, and Fantastic Four movies.
All that plus Sinestro actor Mark Strong wants to do Green Lantern 2, Norman Reedus explains how Sophia's fate will affect Daryl on The Walking Dead, Ryan Murphy drops a ton of spoilers for American Horror Story, Fringe is casting an elderly scientist, and get ready for a science fiction thriller about identical septuplets!
It's spoilers all the way down!
Top image from Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.
The Dark Knight Rises
The viral marketing campaign is officially underway, and apparently it's all leading up to something called "Operation Early Bird", which was mentioned in the documents released yesterday. There's a site, OperationEarlyBird.com, which simply features a countdown timer that reaches zero in about four hours from now. So...watch that space, I guess, if that's the sort of thing you're into. [FirstShowing.net]
Iron Man 3
Robert Downey, Jr. praises director Shane Black's script, saying it's more than just another generic superhero movie script:
Iron Man 3 is probably the best script I've read in five years, which is so funny. I mean, things have come so full circle that a genre superhero movie can actually be the most artistic bit of writing I read. But I think The Avengers is something a lot of the fans are really looking forward to, so I'm excited about that. The third Iron Man to me is an opportunity to go back to the kind of storytelling and character exploration that made the first one good.
You can check out the full interview below. [Comic Book Movie]
X-Men: First Class Sequel
20th Century Fox executive Tom Rothman reaffirms the studio's commitment to making another X-Men prequel happen:
"We're trying like hell. We're trying as hard as we can. We really want to do it. We're planning to do it. The reason, in addition to those two guys and Matthew Vaughn, that it was as good as it was that the script was really good. The key to making a great continuing franchise is to have a great script, so we're working hard on it."
Daredevil Reboot
Rothman also discusses the Daredevil reboot, and why both it and their still nascent Fantastic Four redo need to be better than their first attempts:
"'Daredevil' is still with David Slade. It's in development now. We're working on it and 'Fantastic Four.' I think for all of us, the bar has been raised, so we've got to aim high now. Marvel's done a terrific job with their films. Where our Marvel movies are concerned or other movies like that. It's like what we had with 'Planet of the Apes' this summer. I think it's important for us to really aim high and deliver an A-level experience to the audience."
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
Here's a photo of a theater standee poster for the upcoming sequel. [Collider]
Green Lantern 2
Sinestro actor Mark Strong says he thinks a sequel will probably happen, and that if given the chance he would like to explore his character's fall into evil:
But I think what they've done, they feel they have a property that is interesting enough if they get it right. And now the advertising, the groundwork has been laid with the first one and I think they genuinely feel, because the second one I think exists in written form, they feel they have something that could work. Having said all that I've heard absolutely nothing and I have no idea whether they will go again, but I know there are two schools of thought. One, that it didn't work, it didn't make the money so we don't make another one, and the other school of thought is: "Imagine we made a really, really good second movie. It could fly."
Would you want to follow the path teased at the end with the yellow ring and getting corrupted?
Sure, yeah, because I got into the mythology of Green Lantern. I read all the comic books, or as many as I could, and I slightly got hooked. I got into that character. And if the second movie is exploring his fall, then I'd be very interested, yeah.
Ender's Game
Legendary actor Ben Kingsley is reportedly in talks for a role in Gavin Hood's adaptation of the Orson Scott Card novel. His part is simply described as "a legendary war hero presumed to be long dead." We're not totally sure which character from the novel that refers to - our best guess is Mazer Rackham, but we welcome anyone with superior Ender knowledge to offer their thoughts. [Heat Vision]
Battleship
Director Peter Berg insists this movie isn't a cynical cash-grab based on the Hasbro board game — it's actually a cynical cash-grab that's also a love letter to the navy. (OK, he may not have put it exactly like that.) He does say that he doesn't incorporate many, if any, shout-outs or references to the board game, and he instead focused on making this as accurate a representation of the modern navy as possible...except, you know, with aliens. Speaking of which, Berg describes how the humans can fight this alien menace:
Our aliens, again, are not so, so powerful that our weapons can't engage them. I mean, it takes a lot. They're hard to sink. We have to figure it out. Our radar can't see them. Their radar can't see us. We can't communicate with each other. We have some communication issues. But our weapons systems work. We have to figure out a way to make contact with the enemy without being able to see them by figuring out where we think they are which is a throwback to the game. But if we hit them properly with enough ordinance we can hurt them.
Our radar can't read them because the tech is so different?
Berg: It's stealth. Stealth is a technology that really exists today. The Stealth Bomber, and there are now stealth Navy ships. The lines on a modern destroyer are very angular and they're designed to confuse enemy radar. So, our warships are very hard to pick up on radar. You see them here and they suddenly might be there and there and there. You'll get a mirror effect. Well, their shape does a similar thing to our radar which is very real technology. We can't get a firm lock on exactly where they are because of their shape. They can't get a lock on us because of where we are because of the shape of our ships. That's real.
The same report also mentions a tidbit from producer Sarah Aubrey, who reveals there are two major types of aliens in the film, one of which is the scientists and the other is the bulky shock troopers known as "Thugs." There's tons more at the link. [ComingSoon.net]
Evil Dead Reboot
Fede Alvarez's remake is reportedly set to film in New Zealand next March. Here's the latest synopsis:
The story centers on five friends holed up at a remote cabin where they discover a Book of the Dead with a demonic force unleashed possessing each until only one is left to fight for survival. As we exclusively reported, there is a drug subplot.
And here are brief descriptions of the five main characters, David, Natalie, Eric, Olivia, and Mia:
David is a mechanic and is engaged to Natalie. Mia is the friend who is heading to the cabin to detox; Olivia is her best friend/nurse. Eric, presumably, is the kid who unleashes the demons.
Casting is thought to begin in the very near future. [Bloody Disgusting]
The movie has also received a release date: April 12, 2013. [Bloody Disgusting]
In case you were wondering if this movie was going to have anything to do with the Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell movies beyond sharing a title and the vaguest of plot similarities...well, check out this report, based on information from a supposed inside source:
from what our contact tells us it's much more akin to "The Shining". And after hearing the story and getting a good grasp on the tone they're going for here, I'm convinced it'll be a no-laugh zone this one. The redo plays it a lot more serious. These aren't cartoonish heroes like Bruce Campbell's Ash was in the original films, these are real folks with real world problems. And by golly are they in for some scary — not at all amusing — shit.
There's also a detailed synopsis, which basically explains that the five friends are at the secluded cabin to make sure the drug addicted Mia is able to completely detox, which is why nobody notices when a demon possesses her — they just assume she's going through withdrawal. Indeed, the friends refuse to leave even when it's clear that strange things are going down because they're committed to Mia finishing her detox. At the same time, the Book of the Dead is discovered, and the arrogant friend Eric starts copying down passages, which only intensifies all the demonic stuff. There's an even more detailed description link. [Moviehole]
What Happened to Monday?
This script by Mat Botkin, which was on the 2010 Black List of best unproduced screenplays, has been bought by Source Code makers Vendome Pictures and has now found a director in Morten Tyldum, who previously made the crime thriller Headhunters in his native Norway. Here's a plot synopsis:
A sci-fi thriller about a group of adult, identical septuplets who are trying to stay hidden in a time when having multiple children is outlawed. When one of the siblings goes missing (they are named after the days of the week - hence the title) the others must find out what happened without exposing their existence.
[EW]
Sandman Slim
Sandman Slim author Richard Kadrey says he will receive a draft script next week for the film adaptation of his paranormal fantasy novel, although he "will be able to tell you nothing about it." [@Richard_Kadrey]
Fringe
Here's a casting notice for episode thirteen:
[DR. OWEN FRANK] Male, 60s to 70s, open ethnicity. A brilliant former scientist now wheelchair bound in a retirement home. Officious and arrogant. Guest Star.
The Walking Dead
Norman Reedus explains why finding Sophia meant so much to Daryl:
First off, in that scene I mentioned with Carol, I'm covered in scars. You couldn't see them super up close in that scene, but I'm shredded with scars. There's a backstory with Daryl that he was a beaten child and he was [abandoned], and I'm really trying to play that up. He's a very damaged person. When Sophia gets lost, he takes it upon himself to look for her, to clear up some of the demons he has. He took it very personally. Besides, he can handle himself in the woods. He doesn't really need these people for survival - he's looking at them for a very different kind of survival, for interaction that he's not used to, which is a new world for him. Looking for Sophia alone in the woods isn't a scary thing for him; he can go out there himself. But he took it personally because that girl represented something to him that was larger than just this world we're living in, trying to survive. He went after her with a lot of gusto.
He also discusses how her tragic fate will affect his character going forward:
It's going to be interesting. It sets him back in certain ways, in that the hope's gone. That little girl that he's looking for, if she's one of them, he doesn't really give a crap anymore. You can have these so-called leaders of the group saying "do this, do that," and he doesn't really need them anymore. So you find out that Daryl sort of separates himself a little bit. He reacts violently to anything emotional revolving around that story line. There's another side of that in that he's looked upon more as one of the leaders now, so there's a new set of responsibilities that Daryl has to deal with. Whether he wants them, whether he wants to take them, [is another story]. But it's interesting to see him looked upon as a leader. Fireworks fly. It's not necessarily something he wanted or asked for. He's not super thrilled about it.
[MTV News]
Terra Nova
Here's four sneak peeks for Monday's episode, "Within." [Terra Nova TV]
American Horror Story
Here are some promo photos for episode eleven, "Birth." [SpoilerTV]
And here's a promo video.
Tessa Farmiga explains how Violet's role on the show will change, now that she knows she is dead:
She becomes really protective of her parents. She accepts her death because she's been so immersed in this world already. You saw that she accepts it pretty easily, actually. But she doesn't want her parents to know because she doesn't want to hurt them any more than they are already. So she does try to deal with it — but then all these other issues come up with her mother being pregnant and then the Tate of it all.
She also gives this brief tease about the finale, as well as her long-term future on the show:
I was creeped out by the ending, especially the last act. It's really, really twisted.
Is there any chance that Violet could stick around for Season 2?
If they have talked about that, I wasn't let in on the discussion. I have no idea. I wanna know. I'm dying to know. But no one tells me anything. I have nothing to share. It bums me out.
[TV Guide]
Co-creator Ryan Murphy says the Harmons will figure out Violet is dead eventually, although even that seems like it would tax their seemingly non-existence powers of deductive reasoning. Anyway, if it does happen, it will have a big impact:
They will eventually find out if she's dead, and imagine what you would do as a parent if you found out your child was dead. Would you want to live? Would you want to die yourself? I knew that it would be ripe for that family.
He also confirms that the last episode was likely the last we will see of Larry, and he drops the unusual hint that Constance's fourth child "is Michelle Pfeiffer", and "That's all I'm gonna say." He also promises that next week's episode will see the return of the Infanta:
The infantata is further explored and we really get into him in the one after this one. The thing about the episode that's great is we've been very careful to only show split seconds of the infantata and in the next episode you really get to see what that little baby has grown up to look like and it's really scary. I think it's the scariest shot of the year.
He also offers some more general teases about next week's "Birth", including a big showdown between Jessica Lange and Zachary Quinto:
"Birth" is dealing with the fact that [Violet]'s deceased so she's trying to protect her parents from the pain of that. I think that episode is really about "Out with the old and in with the new," so to speak. Also, there's been so much talk in the last five episodes that people want those babies. Everyone in that house has baby fever.
It has one of my favorite scenes we've ever done. Zach Quinto and Jessica Lange wanted a scene where they went head-to-head. So we were like, "We are happy to oblige." So we wrote this really great, three-page fight scene between them where it's Chad vs. Constance which is quite delicious. It's really good. I'm sort of pissed we didn't do this earlier because truly the only person who go against Constance is Chad.
There's more at the link. [EW]
The Vampire Diaries
Here are some set photos from episode thirteen, "Bringing Out the Dead." [SpoilerTV]
Additional reporting by Natalie Baaklini and Charlie Jane Anders.