1.) I didn't really mind X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Everyone else seemed to hate it. That's fine. Now a sequel to the film everyone hated is on the way and with the new picture of Hugh Jackman sporting some bone claws as the title character in the pages of Empire magazine, director James Mangold reveals that while the first film may have been considered a prequel to all the other X-Men features, The Wolverine is not.
Mangold told the mag, "Where this film sits in the universe of the films is after them all. Jean Grey [Famke Janssen] is gone, most of the X-Men are disbanded or gone, so there's a tremendous sense of isolation for him... I wanted to be able to tell the story without the burden of handing it off to a film that already exists and having to conform to it. The ideas of immortality reign very heavily in this story and the burden of immortality weighs heavily on Logan. For me that's such an interesting part of Logan's character that is nearly impossible to explore if you have a kind of league or team movie."
The mention of Janssen's Jean Grey is interesting considering a rumor only a day ago suggested Janssen had recently flown to Australia to film a cameo as Jean Grey. Perhaps in a flashback scene? [Empire]
2.) Without any detail, Variety's Justin Kroll revealed in a tweet that Ryan Gosling is no longer attached to star in Nicholas Winding Refn's remake of Logan's Run. The project has been in the works for some time and I can only assume Gosling's involvement is due to no longer wanting to leave open a large gap in his schedule. We will, however, see him reteam with his Drive director in Only God Forgives next year.
3.) Cameron Crowe's We Bought a Zoo was rather forgettable, but he's moving on and is setting up his new project that currently has Emma Stone attached to star and now he's looking to add Bradley Cooper to the mix. What's the film? What's it about? No one knows, but it's expected to begin filming in spring of 2013. [Deadline]
4.) Derek Jacobi will play a role in Olivier Dahan's Grace of Monaco opposite Nicole Kidman as the former Oscar-winner Grace Kelly, who after already spending six years as the monarch of a European nation, the retired starlet was called upon to save Monaco from an escalating situation regarding its standing as a tax haven, with French leader Charles de Gaulle giving her husband, Monaco's Prince Rainier III (Tim Roth), six months to reform its tax laws. Jacobi will play Count Fernando D'Aillieres, a flamboyant aristocrat and expert on all-things-Monaco who helped transform Kelly from an American movie star to a refined princess. [Variety]
RAPID FIRE AT #5: Shea Whigham has landed a role in Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street. David Paymer will have a small role in Jack Ryan. Heather Langenkamp (the original Nightmare on Elm Street) has a small part in Star Trek Into Darkness. No details on any of these roles are available. [Deadline / Variety / Horror News
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Kinda bummed about the "Logan's Run" news since I like Gosling. It's one that I'm looking forward to quite a bit.
I really hope Refn drops out. The last thing the world needs is another remake.
Didn't know Logan's Run was a remake until Brad posted it today. The 1976 version seems to have mixed reviews and isn't well known amongst my generation, so hopefully a talented director like Refn can do something special with it. Story seems like an interesting premise.
You should check out the original G-Man. Sure, it's quite dated now but it was way ahead of it's time and is quite entertaining, I'm usually against remakes but I would be interested in this one, especially if Refn sticks around (which i have doubts about).
Thanks for the heads up, maja. Added to Netflix queue. :)
Couldn't agree more. I don't know why he'd be interested in doing this film in the first place.
What Mangold says about 'The Wolverine' being after all of them doesn't make any sense to me. Considering that Logan ends up going to Japan after Origins, which is set way before any of the X-Men films.
True... Doesn't mean he can't end up back in Japan after X3. There are questions no doubt - like why does he have boneclaws if it takes place post-X3? But keeping people guessing is a good thing.
I'm glad it's not a straight up prequel. As long as it's better than Origins, I'll be happy.
I mean how about Silver Samurai? Shouldn't he be dead? Could it be his son?
'We Bought a Zoo' was pretty great.