Mark 2011 as year of the sequel

Further proof that Hollywood is out of fresh material, the following is a list of sequels due out this year:


First sequels:
Cars 2
Diary Of Wimpy Kid 2
Hangover 2
Happy Feet 2
Hoodwinked Too!
Johnny English Reborn
Kung Fu Panda 2
Piranha 3DD
Sherlock Holmes 2

Second Sequels:
Alvin & The Chipmunks 3
Big Momma’s House 3
Madea’s Big Happy Family Too
Paranormal Activity 3
Transformers 3

Third Sequels:
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Pirates of the Caribbean 4
Scream 4
Spy Kids 4
Twilight: Breaking Dawn (part 1)

Fourth Sequels:
Fast Five
Final Destination 5
Puss In Boots
X-Men: First Class
Winnie The Poo (kinda)

Sixth Sequels (Kinda):
The Muppets
Rise of the Apes

…and Harry Potter comes in as a Seventh Sequel.

Isn't that fucked up!?! Do we need all these sequels? Does anyone really care? I know I don't. Out of the above list I am keen to see Sherlock Holmes 2, Piranha 3DD, Scream 4 and Fast Five. I will likely see Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol and Paranormal Activity 3. The rest can just GET OUT!

What say you? Do you care? Can you care? Is declining theatre attendance starting to make sense? No wonder Shawn and I stick to under-the-radar independent stuff.

X-Men: First Class trailer looks kinda classy

The Wolverine movie was a lackluster affair, a ball dropped, a missed opportunity. While we wait for the eventual, an apparently much better, follow up care of Darren Aronofsky, 20th. Century Fox moved ahead with a prequel to the whole damn X-Men universe.

X-Men: First Class hits theatres June 3. The trailer was released today and, in less than two minute of footage, actually looks better than the entire Wolverine movie. Matthew Vaughn -- Kick Ass, Layer Cake -- directs the early days of the X-Men, back when Professor X could walk and he and Magneto were buddies.

That means its a period piece. Having it set against the Cuban Missile Crisis is interesting, and Vaughn has done a fine job of selecting a cast that looks like their older counterparts. If the movie is half as good as X-Men and X2 then we've got a decent movie on our hands.

Enjoy the trailer!

Bryan Singer Makes some BIG Revelations about X-MEN: FIRST CLASS!

Producer Bryan Singer has made some interesting and rather big revelations concerning the upcoming X-Men: First Class movie that will be directed by Matthew Vaughn.

In fact, this is the most we've learned about the movie so far besides all the casting news that have popped up recently.

- The movie will be set in the 1960s and we'll get to see President John F. Kennedy as well as Martin Luther King and Malcolm X - probably on TV.

- We'll see Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) at the time he was at Oxford and before he lost his hair and gets in the wheelchair. In fact, we'll learn what put him there. We will also get to see how Professor X and Eric Lensherr a.k.a. Magneto (Michael Fassbender) met when they were in their late twenties and what they were attempting to do by creating the X-MEN.

- The movie will have a much more international feel, with filming set to take place in the United-States and England, as well as Russia. Singer didn't want to reveal what other locales will be used in the movie yet.

- Scott Summers a.k.a. Cyclops and Jean Grey are NOT in the movie but Cyclops' brother Alex Summers a.k.a Havok (Lucas Till) will be in it.

- Kevin Bacon is set to play Sebastian Shaw, the leader of the Hellfire Club. Singer didn't want to confirm if we would see Shaw with his trademark ponytail and Hellfire Club garb but the guess is that we will. In his opinion, the Hellfire Club belongs to the 60s era and it would be wrong to try and modernize it.

- The costumes will be much closer to their comic-book counterparts than the costumes we saw in the previous three X-Men movies. We'll also apparently get to see what these costumes look like within the next month.

- The technology in X-Men: First Class will be inspired by the James Bond movies set in the 1960s. In fact, seems they want to give the movie a 'Bond feel' to it.

Does that make you confident and excited with the direction Producer Bryan Singer appears to be taking the movie in? Are you now looking even more forward to June 3rd, 2011?

[Via AintItCool]

'X-Men: First Class' Alice Eve OUT January Jones In! and More Cast Announced

More casting news about X-Men: First Class this morning.

Deadline has announced that Alice Eve, who was supposed to play Emma Frost a.k.a. the White Queen in the Matthew Vaughn movie, is now out. The role has been given to Mad Men's own Betty Draper, Emmy nominated actress January Jones, instead.

It also appears that Zoe Kravitz (Mad Max: Fury Road), daughter of singer Lenny Kravitz, will be playing Angel.

This lat bit of news has me going 'Whut'? Angel is a MAN in the comics, going by the name of Warren Worthington III. The role was played by Ben Foster in X-Men The last Stand.

This change, if it's true, is not making me a happy camper at all. Do they really have to change a long-time established character's gender? I feal this is a terribly bad decision and I'm afraid the movie could be heading for a train wreck . . .

Anyone else happy or unhappy about these casting news?

[via Deadline]

'X-Men : First Class' adds Three new Actors to the Cast!

With a cast that boasts Kevin Bacon as the as-of-yet-unrevealed villain, Scottish actor James McAvoy as the young Charles Xavier (Professor X), Michael Fassbender as Erik Lensherr (Magneto) and Nicholas Hoult as Hank McCoy (The Beast) one wonders who else can be added to this already diverse cast? Well how about Jason Flemyng, Rose Byrne and Oliver Platt?

All three actors have just been added to the already impressive list of actors that will appear in X-Men: First Class, the upcoming 20th Century Fox film from director Matthew Vaughn.

Fresh off a recent stint as the villainous Calibos in Clash of the Titans, British actor Jason Flemyng (ITV’s Primeval) will play Nightcrawler’s father Azazel, and his character will indeed be covered in heavy makeup and boast a tail like his famous son. You can read about the character here.

Australian actress Rose Byrne (Troy, Damages) will play Moira MacTaggert, a role that was previously played by Olivia Williams in X-Men: The Last Stand. She will be Charles Xavier's love interest in the movie and is a scientist who specializes on genetic mutations. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the actress is currently in talks for the role but Deadline reports the news as if she's already been cast.

As for Oliver Platt, Deadline reports that the actor is set to play ‘The Man in Black’ a character who is apparently not a mutant. Nothing else has been revealed about him as of yet.

Here is the full list of actors set to appear in Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men prequel:

James McAvoy : Charles Xavier/Professor X
Rose Byrne : Dr. Moira MacTaggert
Michael Fassbender : Erik Lensherr/Magneto
Nicholas Hoult : Hank McCoy a.k.a. Beast
Jennifer Lawrence : Mystique
Caleb Landry Jones : Sean Cassidy/Banshee
Lucas Till : Alex Summers/Havoc
Edi Gathegi : Darwin
Alice Eve : Emma Frost /The White Queen
Kevin Bacon : Unknown but rumoured to be Sebastian Shaw
Jason Flemyng : Azazel

X-Men: First Class is set to open in theaters June 3, 2011.

Do all these casting news have you excited about the upcoming movie?

Source, source, source, source

Guess Who Kevin Bacon May Play Now in X-Men: First Class

A few days ago, it was reported that Kevin Bacon had signed on to play a villain in the upcoming movie X-Men: First Class.

However, Fox had declined to say which villain the actor would be playing and preferred to keep mum about it - no doubt to make an announcement at Comic-Con perhaps?

And most people, including me, were thinking that Bacon would be playing one of the X-Men's most nefarious villains, Mister Sinister.

Now, a story over at Forces of Geek (based on a source they have) is claiming that Bacon will play Sebastien Shaw - another nefarious villain - who is the leader of the Hellfire Club:

A mutant, Shaw possesses the ability to absorb kinetic energy and transform it into raw strength. He is the leader of the New York branch of the Hellfire Club, an exclusive secret society bent on world domination, although to the public, he is a legitimate businessman and ordinary human. He once funded the mutant-hunting Sentinel program to keep it under his thumb. In 2009, Shaw was named IGN's 55th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time. [Wikipedia]

 It seems that Sebastian Shaw figures heavily in the film's plot.
 [Forces of Geek via Collider]

Keep in mind that nothing has been confirmed yet and list this news under rumour, though it's a very plausible one.

What say you - Sebastian Shaw or Mister Sinister for Kevin Bacon?

'X-Men: First Class' - Kevin Bacon to Play Villain and Mystique is Cast!

Kevin Bacon (Footloose, Tremors, Mystic River) has apparently officially signed on to play the villain in the upcoming X-Men: First class movie. Though the name of the villain he will play has not been specified yet, most people think the actor is set to play Mister Sinister. Fox has apparently declined to comment.

Also, the role of Mystique has been filled by actress Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone). She will take on the role that was played by Rebecca Romijn in the previous three X-Men films.

Casting is definitely well on the way for X-Men: First Class. Bacon and Lawrence join James McAvoy (Charles Xavier), Michael Fassbender (Magneto), Nicholas Hoult (Beast), Alice Eve (Emma Frost) and Caleb Landry Jones (Banshee).
[Collider]

This movie is boasting a very interesting group of actors; I really, really hope that they will gel well together.

X-Men: First Class is scheduled to be released June 3rd, 2011.

X-Men: First Class Casts Two New Mutants!

First off, in the wake of Benjamin Walker's departure, the role of Beast has been offered to Nicholas Hoult who is most known for his role in About a Boy with Hugh Grant. He most recently appeared in Clash of the Titans and has signed on the be in Mad Max: Fury Road.
[Deadline]

Second, young Caleb Landry Jones has landed the role of Banshee, a.k.a Sean Cassidy, a mutant that uses a sonic scream which allows him to paralyze his enemies and to fly. Jones is practically a newcomer, having appeared in only a handful of roles including the TV series Friday Night Lights and the upcoming movie The Last Exorcism.
[Deadline]

The studio has definitely gone younger with Hoult who is not yet 21 (Walker was 28 and considered too old) and Jones who is also 21. In comparison, James McAvoy, who plays X-Men founder and mentor Charles Xavier, is 31.

What do you think of these two casting choices? Good or bad?

Benjamin Walker Leaves X-Men: First Class

It was reported not long ago that the 28 year old actor had nabbed the role of Beast on X-Men: First Class. Now the actor has left the project and will return to theatre.

According to showbizz411 it has a lot to do with the success of Twilight and Fox's lack of success with it's own recent movies. Well, partly. Seems Walker may have been too old for the role which was making Fox nervous and the studio apparently even looked at Taylor Lautner's filming availabilities!

Go read the full report here.

Do we really need more emo teenagers on screen?

Sci-Fi Movie Casting News Roundup

I'm a bit behind on these casting news so I'm just rounding them up here for you. you can clink on the links to read the full story.

Tommy Lee Jones has been cast as Colonel Phillips in Captain America: The First Avenger. [Collider]

Alice Eve is in negotiations to play Emma Frost, a.k.a the White Queen on X-Men First: Class. [Heat Vision]

Rosamund Pike, who had been in the running to play Emma Frost, will instead play Moira McTaggert. [Cinema Blend]

Dominic Cooper has been confirmed as playing a young Howard Stark (Tony Stark's dad - Iron Man) in Captain America: The First Avenger. [Collider]

Andrew Serkis, who was absolutely fantastic as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings, has been cast in the role of Caesar in Rise of the Apes. The role is a motion capture performance [Collider]

Its Official: Michael Fassbender to play Magneto in X-Men: First Class

According to Heat Vision Blog, Michael Fassbender has signed on the dotted line and has officially joined X-Men: First Class as the X-Men's arch-nemesis Magneto. He had also been courted as playing a villain in the Spider-Man movie relaunch.

Fassbender will join the previously announced James McAvoy as Professor Charles Xavier, and Benjamin Walker in the role of Beast.
[Heat Vision Blog]

Michael Fassbender has gotten his big break in the recent Quentin Tarentino movie Inglorious Basterds, and he has shown that he can be quite charismatic. My question is could he be as good a Magneto as Sir Ian McKellen, or could he be even better?

X-Men: First Class Casts it's First X-Man

According to Showbiz 411, The First actor cast in the role of one of Charles Xavier's students in the school for gifted youngsters is a stage actor named Benjamin Walker (Flags of Our Fathers) who is currently starring in the Public Theater’s 'Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson'.

Walker will play the role of Beast (A.K.A. Dr. Hank McCoy), which was previously played by Kelsey Grammer in the third X-Men film.

I've never really heard anything about Benjamin Walker until today but apparently he's 'the hottest newcomer in New York theater this season.'

[Showbiz 411]

X-Men: First Class - Young Magneto Almost Cast?

Could we have a new Magneto signed up soon? Heat Vision Blog reports that early discussions between Fox studio and actor Michael Fassbender (Inglorious Basterds, Jonah Hex), for the role of Magneto in X-Men: First Class, have begun.

The movie is getting prepped for a shooting start in august and will be directed by Matthew Vaughn.

If Fassbender signs on the dotted line, he will share the screen with James McAvoy, who has already been cast as a young Charles Xavier.
[Heat Vision Blog]

James McAvoy to Play Young Charles Xavier in X-Men: First-Class

Some really interesting piece of casting news I must say, Heatvision reports that Matthew Vaughn has cast British actor James McAvoy in the role of a young Charles Xavier in X-Men: First Class. Vaughn will direct the movie for FOX.

According to Fox, “First Class” will “chart the epic beginning of the X-Men saga. Before Charles Xavier and Eric Lensherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Before they were archenemies, they were the closest of friends, working together, with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to stop the greatest threat the world has ever known. In the process, a rift between them opened, which began the eternal war between Magneto's Brotherhood and Professor X's X-Men.”

I really like James McAvoy as an actor and I think it's a good casting coup to have him play a younger version of the Patrick Stewart character. However, will he go bald or will he have a full set of hair? Apparently Fox has not revealed anything yet concerning the looks of McAvoy for the movie. I myself am not too keen in seeing him hairless . . . But the main question I guess would be to see how much McAvoy will try to channel Stewart himself or if the young actor will choose to make the role his own.

There's no casting news yet for a young Eric Lensherr a.k.a the future Magneto. I could amuse myself with a casting game by naming names like, oh, I don't know, Benedict Cumberbatch, who does look like a younger version of Ian McKellen. Just throwing it out there.

Bryan Singer developped the story for X-Men: First Class and will be producing the movie along with Lauren Shuler Donner and Simon Kinberg. Production will apparently start soon in London over the summer and the release of the movie is planned for June 3, 2011.

[Heatvision]

What do you think of this casting news? Do you believe McAvoy has what it takes to play a young Professor X? I guess this casting news also rules him out for the role of a certain hobbit . . .