Prometheus writer Damon Lindelof promises Ridley Scott's movie is a return to intellectual science fiction, while Ender's Game co-producer Roberto Orci reveals how the movie preserves Orson Scott Card's vision. Karen Gillan talks her Doctor Who exit. Plus Carrie casting news!
Spoilers from here on out!
Top image from The Dark Knight Rises.
The Dark Knight Rises
Here are two new TV spots.
Here's a bunch of various banners and promo images. [Coming Soon and First Showing]
The Amazing Spider-Man
Here are some new promo photos, including a shot of Peter Parker wearing all black that doesn't evoke Spider-Man 3 nearly as much as I might have feared. [EW]]
Thor 2
We've already heard the rumor that Casino Royale villain Mads Mikkelsen could play one of the bad guys in the Thor sequel, but exactly which bad guy is still an open question. One possibility, piggybacking off the rumors that the Enchantress will be another villain in the sequel, would be for Mikkelsen to play the Executioner, who in the comics was one of the Enchantress's main allies. Obviously, that's just speculation, but it's as good a placeholder as any until we hear something more concrete. [Film School Rejects]
Prometheus
Writer Damon Lindelof discusses why Ridley Scott returned to the universe of Alien:
"My sense of it was that he felt like Alien and Blade Runner were enormously satisfying to him – so satisfying that he didn't need to do scifi any more. If he did it again, it was going to have to be different and special. But something happened over the course over the last 10 years, particularly with Alien. There was an itch he needed to scratch. Ridley always says that he was always very interested in the derelict spaceship and the space jockey that was piloting it. It was just something that sat in the back of his brain and never went away. So when the chance came up, he couldn't resist it. I wouldn't say he's a particularly spiritual, touchy-feely guy, but in talking to him I was surprised by the fact that he wanted to talk so much about what Prometheus would be about and what the characters wanted. Which is very different to the original Alien, where essentially the characters wanted to just not get killed."
He also offers some of the clearest descriptions I've seen of just what was in the original script by Jon Spaihts:
"It was a very good script by Jon Spaihts. Essentially, what Jon had done was a much more dyed-in-the-wool Alien sequel, in that it had all the things in it that we would expect to be in an Alien movie, from face-huggers to chest-busters to eggs. But there were also some original ideas in there, too. And what I pitched to Ridley was, 'I don't think this movie needs the face-huggers and chest-busters and all the things people are going to be expecting. I think these other ideas are original enough to power the whole thing.'"
He also confirms that the story follows two scientists - one of whom is star Noomi Rapace's Elizabeth Shaw - who find signs on the Isle of Skye pointing to a distant star system and convince others to investigate with them, with dire consequences:
"Somehow. They convince others that this is a worthwhile adventure, so they go out there to find answers to the most fundamental questions we've had since we've had cognitive thought. Like, who am I? Who made me? What is the purpose of my life? That is the jumping-off point. And in all great science fiction and even myth, characters who try to cross a line that should not be crossed often pay very harsh consequences."
Finally, he confirms that sequels are a distinct possibility:
"One of the things we've always said, that makes Prometheus not a direct prequel of Alien, is that if there were a sequel to Prometheus – and, God willing, there will be if people like it – then it will not be Alien. This film ends in a way that goes off at a different tangent to the original Alien. If you see Alien straight after, you will see it in a context that didn't exist for you before, but it's not going to do anything to change the story of Alien. Prometheus has to go off in its own new bold direction, and hopefully it does so. Ridley certainly wants to do more."
There's still more at the link, including Lindelof's most encouraging promise that the movie will avoid too many concrete explanations as to what's really going on. [The Guardian]
Ender's Game
Here's a bunch more highlights from co-producer Roberto Orci's recent post responding to fan questions, starting with discussion about how the characters' inner thoughts will be translated to the screen:
We have a muppet of the Colonel who narrates the whole thing from the future. Oh, no wait, different movie. I joke because that is a great question and I think [director] Gavin [Hood] would tell you that it was the biggest challenge he faced in composing his script. It was also the most challenging aspect of the casting process. So here we have two things that really make it happen. First, we got such an unbelievable group of actors who can convey so much with their faces and body language… frankly, with their performances, which is something a book is denied using to convey inner emotion or thought. And secondly, of course, Gavin elegantly translated some of the inner thought into action or character decisions in his script - drama - and that allowed him to find natural places for the characters to speak about what they are going through.
How much of Bean's story will we be hearing about?
Bean who? Oh, Bean! You should know how much Orson Scott Card advocated for as much Bean as we could muster, and really encouraged ways to make him pivotal. You'll decide if we succeeded! I think we did. And we're even more excited for you all to experience Aramis Knight's fantastic portrayal of Bean.How has the book been adapted to script to work with the ages of the actors?
Time has been compressed impressionistically. Though we don't specify how much time has passed, leaving it somewhat up to your imagination, it is clear that the time span is not as long as the book's.Is it still about using empathy as a weapon?
One of the great themes that is explored, in more ways than one, is how empathy can be seen as a weakness or a strength. How understanding an enemy makes you also understand their weaknesses. And even how withholding empathy can also be a weapon. The fact that the audience is going to want nothing more than for commanders to show these young people warmth and understanding, but that it has to be weighed against the fear of it being not in the young soldiers best interests in order for them to do what they have to do, makes for fascinating stuff.
And here's an image of the International Fleet insignia. [Ender's Game Blog]
Snow White and the Huntsman
Here's three sneak peek clips.
And here's a pair of interviews with stars Charlize Theron and Kristen Stewart.
Carrie
Boys Don't Cry director Kimberly Peirce is reportedly pursuing three actresses for supporting roles in her new adaptation of the Stephen King story: Arrested Development and Archer's Judy Greer, teenage Pan's Labyrinth star Ivana Baquero, and The Three Musketeers actress Gabriella Wilde. They would join the previously cast Chloe Moretz in the title role, while Julianne Moore is reportedly on board to play Carrie's mother. Greer would play the sympathetic gym teacher who becomes one of Carrie's only allies, while Wilde would be Sue Snell, "who initially picks on Carrie but later tries to atone for it by arranging for Carrie to attend the prom", and Baquero would be "mean girl Chris Hargensen, whose cruel prank turns out to be the straw that breaks the telekinetic loner camel's back." [Bloody Disgusting via /Film]
Wind
Commercials director Nic Mathieu is reportedly directing this sci-fi film from Warner Bros., which is top secret other than the lone detail that it supposedly involves a space colony. David Koepp, who most recently co-wrote Men in Black 3, is working on the screenplay. [Heat Vision]
Doctor Who
Star Karen Gillan promises big things from Amy Pond's exit:
''I literally couldn't read it without crying ... It was the most highly-charged read-through I've ever experienced. But I couldn't have asked for a better exit. I don't think it'll be what people expect.''
[Life, Doctor Who, and Combom]
Grimm
NBC has announced that season two filming will kick off on May 30 in Portland. The new season will kick off in August. [SpoilerTV]
Teen Wolf
Here's a synopsis for the first episode of season two, "Shape Shifted":
"Isaac's father is murdered; Scott, Stiles and Derek plan a break-out."
And here are some cast photos. [KSiteTV]
Additional reporting by Gordon Jackson and Charlie Jane Anders.