Shane Black to direct Iron Man 3

This is pretty interesting news.  Marvel has chosen Jon Favreau's successor to the Iron Man franchise.  Shane Black will be in charge of the third installment of the Robert Downey Jr. starring franchise.  Black has only directed one film, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.  But here's where the information gets interesting, he may write the movie as well.  As far as writing credits, Black has a ton.  Those films include the Lethal Weapon films, The Last Boy Scout, and The Long Kiss Goodnight.  Funny thing about those films is, they're all action films.  This is work really well for Black when it comes to Iron Man. 

I think he's a good choice for the script, I don't think he's the man to direct.  I think it will be nearly impossible for anyone to fill Favreau's shoes.  This is his baby, as much as Marvel doesn't think so.  He created the world that Iron Man inhabits and he got the Avengers movement going.  We'll see how long Black works with Marvel before they too ruin that relationship. 

Writer hired for Mark Millar's comic book, "Nemesis"?

Latino Review reported on this a few days ago, and I've been too busy to post my thoughts.  Matthew Michael Carnahan, has been hired to write the script for Nemesis, the Mark Millar comic book.  We already knew Tony Scott was set to direct, now Carnahan is writing. 

Matthew is brother to A-Team director, Joe Carnahan.  Matthew has an interesting resume.  He's written such films as The Kingdom, Lions for Lambs and State of Play.  Do you know what I universally hated about all three of those films?  The writing!

I think Carnahan is the absolute wrong choice for an action adventure film.  I mean, Nemesis has an amazing premise and I've read all the books, it's an amazing piece from Mark Millar.  Millar has been made famous by other comic books he's written that have become Hollywood hits, such as Wanted and Kick-Ass. 

What if Bruce Wayne was The Joker?  In other words, what if a billionaire playboy did bad instead of good?  THAT is what Nemesis is all about.  Can Carnahan really write something like this?  I don't think he can.  This is still rumor, but so was the Tony Scott rumor that has since become fact.  I hope its not true, but we'll have to wait and see.  

Nicolas Cage is back and these guys are going to direct Ghost Rider 2?

Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, the directors of Crank and it's sequel Crank: High Voltage are tapped to direct the sequel to Ghost Rider. This really worries me. I'm OK with movies like Crank: mindless, numb inducing action, really I am. But I don't think you can take that approach to Ghost Rider. What made the first film so bad was... well EVERYTHING ABOUT IT. GR has to be dark, demonic, similar to how Constantine was portrayed on screen. That battle between good and evil is how GR 2 should be done.


I already posted that the script was being written by superhero genius David S. Goyer. And I trust ANY approach he takes to this movie, because no matter what it's an improvement on the first film. Mark Steven Johnson wrote, directed, and obliterated the first movie.

Now, I guess the even bigger news is that Nicolas Cage will be back. It's in the "rumor" stage at this point, but it's reassuring nonetheless. One positive note to the first film was Cage's performance. He did what he could, but the movie was still really bad. If anything comes up, I'll post it. But for now: Neveldine and Taylor directing, Goyer writting and Cage is starring.

Sam Raimi directing Robert Downey Jr. as the Wizard of Oz

The origin story of the Wizard of Oz will be told through the eyes of Sam Raimi. Robert Downey Jr. will play the lead, the Wizard. The movie will be called Oz, the Great and Powerful which was written by Mitchell Kapner (The Whole Nine Yards).

Raimi created 3 of the biggest movies in the history of film with the Spider-Man trilogy. I really wasn't a fan. Yes, I paid to see all three in theaters and I own all three on DVD, but I didn't like the campy approach Saimi chose for the movies. Not every superhero movie needs to be The Dark Knight, but still, give me something a bit darker than Tobey Maguire skipping down the streets of New York. With no concept art, no other casting, no plot points, I'll stay skeptical of this project for now.

Green Lantern writer hired for Green Lantern 2 and The Flash?

I was reading this at /Slashfilm and really didn't know what to think. Sooo, Warner Brothers is loving Green Lantern (1), so much, they're starting part 2? Wowzers. I am impressed. WB hired Greg Berlanti, Michael Green, and Marc Guggenheim to start writing Green Lanter 2 as well as The Flash.

So we knew that WB was green lighting superhero movies left and right. We knew that. But we didn't know it was going to happen so fast. I've told you my thoughts on the superhero movies WB has lined up. I've also told you who I think should play these characters, now it's up to the studio to cast them correctly! Let the writing begin!

Judge Dredd remake a reality?

Maybe I'm just nostalgic. But I really enjoyed the 1995 Judge Dredd. Sylvester Stallone starred as the comic book hero who was judge, jury and executioner. Pretty cool concept for a futuristic comic book hero. The movie didn't do well, and I think a lot of that had to do with studio involvement. They took a "buddy" comedy approach that just didn't feel right considering the source material. So yesterday came news of a remake! That exclamation mark is on purpose.

Deadline first reported that financing and a script are ready. The financing doesn't come from a major studio, but rather an Indian entertainment corporation with a budget around 50 million dollars. The script has been turned in by Alex Garland, writer of The Beach, 28 Days Later and the upcoming Halo. A director is rumored as well; Pete Travis, director of Vantage Point. Another rumor is that it will be brought to life in 3D (booooo).

That's all there is for now, if anything comes up, I'll be sure to let ya know, cause this sounds like it could be good.

Screenwriters hired for He-Man: Masters of the Universe!

The exclamation mark is on purpose! Heatvision is reporting that the men behind the new Predators script, Mike Finch and Alex Litvak, have been brought on to write Masters of the Universe for Columbia. Back in September of '09 we told you about Columbia buying up the rights to the movie; and not much has been reported about the project since. So this is very exciting for me because I grew up watching He-Man the animated series, played with the toys and was about the only kid on the block that loved the 1987 film starring Dolph Lundgren.

Like the picture above? I've told you guys about the website before, but check it out; deviantart.com/... the artist is Greg Semkow.

UPDATE: Hahaha, I swear this wasn't planned. After I wrote the post, I went looking through some old photos my dad has been scanning and found this marvel... HAHAHA, I SWEAR THIS WASN'T PLANNED. 

That's me dressed as He-Man for Halloween and in case kids couldn't tell, the makers went ahead and wrote the name on the chest. LOL.

Etan Cohen to write Men in Black 3

"Here come the Men in Black, galaxy defenders"! Sounds like a bad 80's cartoon theme song. Variety is reporting that Etan Cohen is set to write Men in Black 3. ETAN Cohen, not one half of the Cohen brothers, that's ETHAN, not Etan. Etan Cohen wrote Tropic Thunder and the under appreciated Idiocracy.

Columbia is hard up for a hit and they're probably thinking this is a sure thing, but I respectfully disagree. Men in Black 2 was so bad, so stupid, I think they lost the charm and wit that made the first one so good. Couple that with the amount of time its been since the sequel, would anyone really be interested? None of the cast has signed on, and this could end up in a company drawer somewhere for a few years. Let's just hope it doesn't become a straight-to-DVD movie involving the grandchildren of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones' characters. Ha!

Quickie: Gears of War Script in the works

Billy Ray, director of Breach, has been reported to start on a Gears of War script, based on the best-selling XBOX games.

Apparently he's teaming up with Chris Morgan, writer of Wanted.

Sweet!

Writer Hired on Raimi's "WarCraft"

Slashfilm is reporting that Saving Private Ryan screenwriter Robert Rodat has started working on a script for a WarCraft movie.

The film is set to be directed by Spider-Man director Sam Raimi. The script will be original and not based on The Wrath of the Lich King as once rumored.

Raimi had this to say:

"We want to be really faithful to the game. We would have our writer, Robert Rodat, really craft an original story within that world that feels like a ‘World of WarCraft’ adventure. Only obviously it’s very different ’cause it’s expanded and translated into the world of a motion picture."

I'm looking forward to this film because I was a WarCraft and WarCraft II fan, even though I never really got in World of WarCraft. It will be great to see what direction Raimi takes this. It may turn out a lot like The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Tony, your thoughts?

Ghost Rider 2 script ready

David S. Goyer, the best comic book scribe there is, talked to collider recently about Ghost Rider 2. The script for Ghost Rider 2 is ready, in fact, it's been ready. The script is something Goyer wrote 9 years ago. It just needs to be cleaned up a bit. It was originally written with an 'R' rating in mind, it's being toned down a bit for that elusive 'PG-13' rating.

I think this is the exact direction the character should be headed. Nothing campy, no love storyline, just a straight up half man/half devil beast of burden! Sorry, I got carried away. But in all seriousness, the character should be treated in all seriousness. He should be a scary mo-fo who no one wants to mess with. He needs to be the devil you dread, create fear in criminals like Batman does. The first movie was bad, real bad, and it's because of its director/writer. Goyer is exactly the missing link to making this movie a blockbuster we want to see. Keep it posted for more folks.

Venom Spin-Off moving along at Sony

"Zombieland" writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese have been working on a script for a Venom movie for Sony Pictures. Werrick told Sci-Fi Writer “We’ve written two drafts of Venom, and the studio has it, and they’re pushing forward in whatever ways they push forward.”

It will be interesting to see whether or not Sony will try to tie this in with the upcoming Spider-Man 4, or if it will be a true spin-off.

Tony & I both disliked Spider-Man 3 very much and think the Venom character deserves a better movie outing. Zombieland has been getting mostly positive reviews, and seeing as how both writers Wernick and Reese also wrote for TV's excellent Joe Shmoe Show, we have high expectations of their creative talents.

So what do you guys think of a Venom movie spin-off: yay or nay? Click on "comments" below and let us know!

Quickie: Bad Boy 3

The Hollywood Reporter announced that a third Bad Boys film is in the works, and a writer has been hired. Peter Craig has been hired to write the script. There's no promise that Michael Bay, Jerry Bruckheimer, Will Smith OR Martin Lawrence will be involved at this point. And remember my review of Revenge Of The Suck? Here's the quote:

The movie will win one award this season... Michael Bay's worst movie ever. Previous winner: Bad Boys 2.

YEAH I SAID IT! Bad Boys 2 was bloody awful!

So would you even want to see a Michael Bay 'Bad Boys'? Let us know what you think in our comments.

Hancock 2 is a go... writers hired

Last week the director of Hancock, Peter Berg, gave us a solid hint that a sequel was coming. Today, the news has been announced that Adam Fierro and Glen Mazzara have been hired to write the script. Both writers come from a background in TV. That was quick! Well, the first movie made so much money, we knew it was a matter of time before this would happen.

***SPOILER ALERT***

Berg has hinted of a possible third God getting into the mix. To be honest, that was what I liked least about the first movie. The idea of an alcoholic superhero that swears and destroys more than he saves, BRILLIANT! It was executed well by the director and actors, the script just needed work. So hopefully this go around they can do it right. Anyone up for a Hancock sequel?

Writer found for X-Men Origins: Wolverine 2

Every few days to a week we are getting more details about the 'Wolverine' sequel. Last week, Hugh Jackman revealed that the film would follow the Japan saga made popular in the 1980's comic. This week a writer has been hired, a good one! Christopher McQuarrie has written movies like Valkyrie, The Way of the Gun, and won an Oscar for The Usual Suspects in 1996 for Best Original Screenplay. Not a bad resume.

The next rumor/ order of business is, who will direct? Neither the studio or Jackman are saying if Gavin Hood would return. The greatest rumor of all is Bryan Singer. A few months ago we told you that producers wanted him for a Gambit spin-off. Now we're hearing he may do the Wolverine sequel. He has a great relationship with Jackman, whom he discovered. So it looks like a good fit considering Singer has worked with McQuarrie on three films now. We'll see what happens in the upcoming weeks. But I am very pleased with McQuarrie as writer of Wolverine 2, hope the studio doesn't mess this one up.