***Johnny Depp Close to Signing on for Fifth PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN ***Adam Sandler to Lead Voice Cast for Animated Family Film HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA ***Official Synopsis Revealed for LAY THE FAVORITE ***Clark Gregg and Rachel Bilson Join Amazing Cast of THE TO DO LIST ***Danny Boyle Eyeing Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson for TRANCE? ***New Posters for FINAL DESTINATION 5, TYRANNOSAUR, DREAM HOUSE, and THE ICEMAN

Johnny Depp Close to Signing on for Fifth PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: July 5th, 2011

For a while there, it looked as if we might be spared another rushed entry in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, as star/lynchpin Johnny Depp was reportedly not entirely certain he wanted to return. Well apparently the actor realized that he doesn’t own enough houses in France and/or armbands, because now The Wrap reports that Depp is close to a deal to return once again in a fifth Pirates of the Caribbean film. (The Wrap now reports that Depp’s total profits from the entire franchise so far is $350 million. Holy hell).
This really isn’t all that surprising. The latest sequel, On Stranger Tides, just crossed the $1 billion mark at the global box-office. Obviously Disney and everyone involved behind the scenes that stands to make even more money was itching to go back to the well. Hit the jump for more.  http://collider.com/johnny-depp-pirates-of-the-caribbean-5/100506/

Adam Sandler to Lead Voice Cast for Animated Family Film HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: July 5th, 2011

Sony Pictures Animation has lined up the voice cast for their 3D family comedy Hotel Transylvania.  Adam Sandler, King of the Family-Films-I-Never-Want-to-See, will play the lead voice of Dracula, the head of the lavish “five-stake” resort for monsters, Hotel Transylvania.  Dracula tries to prevent his teenage daughter Mavis from adventuring into the outside world, but runs into a complication when an ordinary guy (voiced by Andy Samberg) stumbles into the hotel and falls for Mavis.  The voice cast also includes Kevin James as Frankstein, Fran Descher as his bride Eunice, David Spade as Quasimodo, Steve Buscemi and Molly Shannon as a pair of married werewolves, and Cee Lo Green as a Murray the Mummy.  Genndy Tartakovsky (Samurai Jack) will direct.
Hit the jump for the press release which includes a longer synopsis and the box office clout of Sandler as if that were some indication his movies were actually good.  Hotel Transylvania is due out September 21, 2012.
http://collider.com/hotel-transylvania-adam-sandler-voice-cast/100460/

Official Synopsis Revealed for LAY THE FAVORITE

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: July 5th, 2011

We’ve received a press release announcing that Stephen Frears’ adaptation of the Beth Raymer’s memoir Lay the Favorite wrapped principal photography today.  The release includes the first official synopsis of the film and there are (unsurprisingly) some variations from the book.  While the book covers Raymer’s rise through the ranks of sports gambling, the movie apparently adds romantic entanglements and drama that, going by the synopsis, seem awfully forced.  But with Frears at the helm and a cast that features Rebecca Hall, Bruce Willis, Joshua Jackson, and Catherine Zeta-Jones, I’m still interested in seeing this flick.
Hit the jump for the full synopsis. http://collider.com/lay-the-favorite-movie-synopsis/100456/

Clark Gregg and Rachel Bilson Join Amazing Cast of THE TO DO LIST

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: July 5th, 2011

The raunchy comedy The To Do List (formerly titled The Hand Job) already has an outstanding cast and now has added two more great names to the list.  The Playlist reports that Clark Gregg and Rachel Bilson have signed on to the flick which stars Aubrey Plaza as a sexually inexperienced teenager with a type-A personality who decides to engage in numerous sex acts before she goes to college.  Allow me to blow your mind with a rundown of who else is in this film: Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, Alia Shawkat, Mae Whitman, Johnny Simmons, Donald Glover, Connie Britton, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Scott Porter, D.C. Pierson and Dominic Dierkes.  The Playlist speculates that Gregg will play the conservative father of Plaza’s character and Bilson will play her older sister.
Written and directed by Maggie Carey, filming is likely to get underway soon before the majority of the cast has to return to their various TV shows.
http://collider.com/to-do-list-clark-gregg-rachel-bilson/100444/

Danny Boyle Eyeing Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson for TRANCE?

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: July 5th, 2011

Danny Boyle has settled on the heist thriller Trance as his next film, but it’s going to have an odd schedule.  He plans to shoot it in 2012, break to direct the Summer Olympics, and then edit it with an eye towards a March 2013 release.  Michael Fassbender was rumored for the lead role he shady leader of a heist team gang partners with an art gallery assistant who masterminds the crime but then gets amnesia and forgets the location of the stolen portrait.  Fassbender ultimately passed on the role, but James McAvoy started circling another role in the flick.
Twitch now reports that Boyle is courting Oscar-winner Colin Firth to replace Fassbender (not a step down by any means) and he’s also looking at Scarlett Johansson for a supporting role.  Presumably, the role for Johansson would be the hypnotist the gang hires to get into the assistant’s memory.  Twitch also reports that Zoe Saldana and Mélanie Thierry (Babylon A.D.) are also on his short-list for the part.  Hit the jump for a refresher on Firth and Johansson’s other projects. http://collider.com/trance-colin-firth-scarlett-johansson/100429/

New Posters for FINAL DESTINATION 5, TYRANNOSAUR, DREAM HOUSE, and THE ICEMAN

by Phil Brown    Posted: July 5th, 2011

With the holiday weekend behind us it’s time to give up the multinational obsession with fireworks and blowing things up so that we all finally can get back to obsessing over pop culture minutia. Fortunately that transition was made a little easier today with the release of four posters for upcoming movies that will soon be plastered all over multiplex lobbies. Today the internet has been graced with pics of the Sundance award-winner Tyrannosaur, as well as the upcoming thrillers Dream House, The Iceman, and Final Destination 5 (yes, shockingly The Final Destination didn’t end up being the final chapter in the franchise after it became a hit. Who could have seen that coming?). Hit the jump to get your required daily dose of teaser poster jollies. http://collider.com/dream-house-iceman-fina-destination-5-posters/100421/

***Irrfan Khan to Play New Villain Van Atter in SPIDER-MAN Reboot; Campbell Scott and Julianne Nicholson to Play Peter Parker’s Parents ***Aaron Eckhart Confirms He Won’t Be in THE DARK KNIGHT RISES ***Teaser Trailer Description for TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON ***Disney Planning to Shoot PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 5 & 6 Back-to-Back

Irrfan Khan to Play New Villain Van Atter in SPIDER-MAN Reboot; Campbell Scott and Julianne Nicholson to Play Peter Parker’s Parents

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 3rd, 2010

While Spider-Man was already going to have to face down the Lizard in Marc Webb’s upcoming 3D Spider-Man reboot, he now has to contend with a second villain.  According to Heat Vision, Irrfan Khan (who is doing outstanding work on the new season of In Treatment) is in talks to play a new baddie named “Van Atter”.  Annie Parisse (Rubicon) is in negotiations to play Van Atter’s wife.

And if the spidey sense wasn’t already going crazy, the film is throwing Peter Parker’s rarely-seen parents into the mix.  Campbell Scott (Roger Dodger) has been cast as Papa Parker while Julianne Nicholson (Law & Order: Criminal Intent) is in talks to play Mama Parker.  Hit the jump for more on the film, which is set to open on July 3, 2012.

It’s currently unknown whether Mr. and Mrs. Parker will appear in flashbacks, a prologue, or during the course of the movie.  I hope they pull from the comics and have the characters actually turn out to be robots because that would be delightfully stupid.  As for their history in the comics, the real Richard and Mary Parker were secret agents but died in a plane crash.  Peter was raised by his Uncle Ben (Richard’s older brother) and Aunt May.

Andrew Garfield (The Social Network) is playing Peter while Emma Stone (Easy A) has been cast as his love interest Gwen Stacy.  Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill) will play the villainous Lizard.  Aunt May and Uncle Ben are being played by Sally Field and Martin Sheen.  Production on the film is slated to begin later this month in Los Angeles.

http://www.collider.com/2010/12/03/spider-man-reboot-irrfan-khan-campbell-scott/

Aaron Eckhart Confirms He Won’t Be in THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 3rd, 2010

While death is no match for a little comic-book ret-conning, it’s a bit tougher to pull off in the movies.  It’s particularly difficult when you’re in Christopher Nolan’s reality-based Batman movies.  So it’s no surprise that Aaron Eckhart has confirmed that he won’t be returning to play Harvey Dent/Two-Face in The Dark Knight Rises.  Eckhart tells MTV:

“Chris and I had a meeting, on the beach, just the two of us.  I said, ‘Chris, a lot of people are asking me if I’m in the next ‘Batman.’ And Chris said, ‘Yes?’ I said, ‘Am I?’ He looked at me and he said, ‘No.’”

So if you were hoping to see Two-Face come back via flashbacks or a Lazarus Pit, no such luck.  It’s currently unknown who the villains in the film will be, but rumors suggest that if the film is based on the graphic novel Prey, then it looks like Batman will be facing off against Dr. Hugo Strange and Catwoman.  The Dark Knight Rises is set to open on July 20, 2012.
http://www.collider.com/2010/12/03/the-dark-knight-rises-aaron-eckhart/

Teaser Trailer Description for TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 3rd, 2010

Last week, director Michael Bay announced that the first trailer for Transformers: Dark of the Moon would be attached to either The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader or TRON: Legacy.  Now, a description of the teaser trailer has gone online.  Like the upcoming films Apollo 18 and Dark Moon, the teaser reportedly plays on conspiracy theories of what we really found on the moon.  It also sounds like there will be a cool 3D effect where we actually get to go inside a Transformer.
Hit the jump for the full description.  Transformers: Dark of the Moon stars Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, and John Malkovich.  It’s set to open in 3D on July 1, 2011.

Here’s the full description from BadTaste.it, who saw the trailer at a convention during Giornate Professionali di Cinema di Sorrento:

Transformers: Dark of the Moon, from the teaser, plays it on conspiracy theories related to the moon landing. The first part of the movie alternates images of the control room at NASA and of the astronauts on the moon. The landing is what we know well, as are the famous words about the “giant leap for mankind.” But we did not know what is the journey of the astronauts on the dark side of the moon, until the control room do not tell them that “…then we are not alone.” Then we see some Transformers: the camera comes close to the eye of one of them, which starts to flash. But the camera does not stop, and takes us inside the robot and its mechanisms, making us understand that it’s coming back into action.

It sounds a lot like the teaser for the original Transformers that played on what the Mars rover had “found”:


 — http://www.collider.com/2010/12/03/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-trailer-description/   

Disney Planning to Shoot PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 5 & 6 Back-to-Back

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 3rd, 2010

While Disney hasn’t even shown a trailer for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the studio is already planning to shoot the fifth and sixth installments in the franchise back-to-back.  According to Hitfix, the studio is “quietly telling cast and crew to set aside a major block of time in the very near future so they can shoot Pirates 5 and Pirates 6,” back-to-back.  For those who don’t know, Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End were shot this way and despite their gargantuan budgets, they made an even bigger return.  The Pirates series has become one of Disney’s marquee franchises so it’s no surprise they’re already planning out the new sequels.

Hit the jump to learn about Johnny Depp’s schedule, which will likely dictate when these bad boys shoot.

Depp is currently planning to shoot Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows and Gore Verbinski’s The Lone Ranger in 2011.  Depp has also expressed interest in starring in a re-adaptation of Dashiell Hammett’s The Thin Man and has been in talks to costar in Kathryn Bigelow’s Triple Frontier.

There’s currently no word on whether Disney is trying to get Pirates 4 helmer Rob Marshall to direct the next two movies or where they plan to go with the story.  The big question is whether audiences will still want to see more Jack Sparrow.  We’ll get our answer to that question when Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides hits theater in 3D on May 20, 2011.

For those just tuning in, here’s the film’s official synopsis:

Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Rob Marshall, “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” captures the fun, adventure and humor that ignited the hit franchise—this time in Disney Digital 3D™. Johnny Depp returns to his iconic role of Captain Jack Sparrow in an action-packed tale of truth, betrayal, youth and demise.  When Jack crosses paths with a woman from his past (Penelope Cruz), he’s not sure if it’s love—or if she’s a ruthless con artist who’s using him to find the fabled Fountain of Youth. When she forces him aboard the Queen Anne’s Revenge, the ship of the formidable pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane), Jack finds himself on an unexpected adventure in which he doesn’t know who to fear more:  Blackbeard or the woman from his past.
The international cast includes franchise vets Geoffrey Rush as the vengeful Captain Hector Barbossa, and Kevin R. McNally as Captain Jack’s longtime comrade Joshamee Gibbs, plus Sam Claflin as a stalwart missionary and Astrid Berges-Frisbey as a mysterious mermaid.  In theaters Memorial Day weekend, 2011.

http://www.collider.com/2010/12/03/pirates-of-the-caribbean-5-6-johnny-depp-disney/