The Countdown To SDCC 2012!

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The Story Behind Marvel's The Avengers New Post-Credits Sequence

by SuperHeroHype

May 06, 2012

Robert Downey Jr. made headlines when, at the press conference for Marvel's The Avengers, he let slip that production wasn't entirely finished despite the film's premiere the night before.

"We're actually not done shooting," his said. "We're shooting another scene tonight."

You can video of the entire press conference by clicking here and today, courtesy of EW, go behind the scenes of the post-credits moment.

One of the most fascinating technical details of the final assembly of superheroes is the fact that, as you can see in the press conference video, Chris Evans is already sporting a full beard for his next role. The article reveals that a prosthetic face was created for the actor and, even on-screen, much of it is hidden behind Evans' hands to complete Captain America's clean-shaven look.

Also starring Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston and Samuel L. Jackson, Marvel's The Avengers opened to a record-shattering $200.3 million this weekend. Make sure you stay through the entire credits to catch the new scene and click here to read the full EW article.

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Mike
(66 Days Until SDCC 2012!)

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Exclusive: Sir Ben Kingsley's Iron Man 3 Character Still Being Developed

by SuperHeroHype

May 06, 2012

With the enormous opening weekend for Marvel's The Avengers, many people are already looking forward to Marvel Studios' summer 2013 release Iron Man 3, written and directed by Shane Black, and what we can expect from it.

It was announced a few weeks ago that Sir Ben Kingsley would be playing an unnamed villain in the movie--something Marvel Studios has yet to confirm with any sort of press release, mind you--and though it was reported he won't be playing the Mandarin (as suggested by Favreau way back in 2008),  when SuperHeroHype had a chance to talk to Sir Ben, we wanted to ask whether he's figured out exatly what level of bad guy he'd be bringing to the movie, knowing full well he wouldn't be able to say much.

Even though the production is starting in Wilmington, North Carolina soon, Sir Ben is actually going to be doing another movie first as he told us:

"I'm filming 'Ender's Game' in New Orleans right now and then I go onto a film called ' The Physician,' which is a beautiful film about a physician and then I go into 'Iron Man,'" he told us during the junket for Sacha Baron Cohen's The Dictator. "Quite soon I'll be with everybody and we'll be discussing the look and the feel and the direction of the character. It's very early days yet, but I'm so thrilled to be on board."

Iron Man 3 is scheduled to open May 3, 2013, and hopefully we'll learn more about Sir Ben's character soon.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger to Star in David Ayer's Ten

Source: ComingSoon

May 7, 2012

Open Road Films has acquired all U.S.distribution rights to Ten, an action thriller starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, to be directed by David Ayer and financed by QED International. The announcement was made today by Tom Ortenberg, CEO of Open Road Films and Bill Block, CEO of QED International.

Schwarzenegger, who is currently filming The Tomb, will next appear in The Expendables 2, being released in August, and stars in The Last Stand, which will be released in January 2013.

The project re-teams Open Road Films and filmmaker David Ayer, whose latest film, End of Watch, will be released by Open Road on September 28, 2012.

The original screenplay for Ten is by Skip Woods (X-Men Origins: Wolverine, A Good Day to Die Hard). Bill Block, Paul Hanson, Joe Roth, Palak Patel and Al Ruddy will serve as producers. Alex Ott of Ayer’s Crave Films is executive producer.

In Ten, an elite DEA task force deals with the world's deadliest drug cartels. Specializing in complex mobile operations, the team executes a tactical raid on a cartel safe house. What looks to be a typical raid turns out to be an elaborate theft operation, pre-planned by the DEA squad. After hiding millions in stolen cash, the team believes their secret is safe – until someone begins assassinating them one by one.

"I am really excited about this project and the team that's come together," said Schwarzenegger. "David Ayer is incredibly talented and exactly what I want for a story this compelling."

Ayer stated, "This is going to be an amazing role for Arnold. Reality is the watchword of this project and an exciting cast is in the works. I couldn't be more excited as a filmmaker to work with one of my longtime heroes."

"We are thrilled to be working with a world class movie-star like Arnold Schwarzenegger and to continue to be in business with the extraordinarily talented David Ayer," stated Ortenberg. "And we could not be more pleased to be doing another picture with our friend and partner Bill Block."

Block stated, "We've put together a real dream team on 'Ten.' Arnold has been a longtime friend and bringing him together with a provocative filmmaker like David Ayer as well as Tom Ortenberg and his talented team at Open Road is a win for all of us."

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Grahame-Smith on Beetlejuice 2 and Night of the Living

Source: ComingSoon

May 7, 2012

ShockTillYouDrop.com got a chance to talk to Dark Shadows screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith and got updates on Beetlejuice 2, Unholy Night and Night of the Living.

While Tim Burton said last week he's waiting on the writer's take on Beetlejuice 2, Grahame-Smith is not jumping on that project right away.

"Everyone is waiting for me to get my ass in gear," Grahame-Smith said. "I just finished a script called 'Night of the Living,' and I'm giving it to Tim this weekend. And I'm moving now into adapting 'Unholy Night,' which I have to deliver to Warner Bros. I've got to do this, then I'm going around the world for 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,' so I'll be writing Unholy Night on the plane and in hotel rooms."

He also provided more details on Night of the Living, which was believed to have humans as the threat to the zombies this time.

"[It's] not just zombies," he added. "Let me put it this way, Tim and I are big fans of classic movie monsters. The title pretty much where you're going to be at. Plus, it's a Tim Burton stop motion-animated movie. That movie for me is my love letter to all of the movies I grew up on."

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Jessica Chastain Will Not Appear in Iron Man 3

by SuperHeroHype

May 07, 2012

Despite reports of her potential involvement last week, Jessica Chastain will not be appearing in Iron Man 3, the actress herself revealed via her Facebook page.

"Sorry to say that 'Iron Man' 3 isn't going to work out," she writes. "My schedule is jammed packed and I can't fit anything else in. The press announced my possible attachment far too soon. I know many of you wanted me to be involved, and I'm so sorry to disappoint you. Hopefully there'll be another Marvel film in my future. Shane Black and everyone on the IM3 team are really wonderful. I'm very excited to see the film when it comes out. xx"

Chastain was said to be up for the role of a scientist that is the intellectual equal of Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark. Although it's not confirmed, it's possible that the role is that of Dr. Maya Hansen, a character responsible for the "Extremis" nanotechnology that is said to be a key part of the sequel's focus.

Written and directed by Shane Black (and co-written by Drew Pearce), Iron Man 3 also stars Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Ben Kingsley and Guy Pearce and is set for release on May 3, 2013.

[Burn]

"Sorry to say that 'Iron Man' 3 isn't going to work out," she writes. "My schedule is jammed packed and I can't fit anything else in.

Yes, by all means, don't star in the follow-up to one of the most popular, financially successful movie franchises of all time.  I'm sure whatever your schedule is jam-packed with is way, way cooler than this.  Solid plan.   

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The Avengers Opens Bigger Than Expected with $207.4 Million!

by SuperHeroHype

May 07, 2012

Marvel's The Avengers has posted the biggest domestic opening weekend of all time with $207.4 million for May 4-6, The Walt Disney Studios announced today. The previous record of $169.2 million was held by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 last year. The Super Hero team-up crossed the $600 million threshold at the global box office in 12 days, and its cumulative worldwide box office gross is an estimated $654.8 million.

"'Marvel's The Avengers' is something we've been carefully building toward since we began production on the first 'Iron Man' film, and it is quite rewarding for all of us that 'The Avengers' is appealing around the globe to both passionate fans and general audiences alike. It is a testament to all involved with this film that audiences across the board are embracing the film in this record-setting way," said Marvel's The Avengers producer Kevin Feige.

“Joss Whedon, Kevin Feige and the whole Marvel team have done something really incredible with 'The Avengers,'” said Dave Hollis, Executive Vice President, Theatrical Exhibition Sales and Distribution, The Walt Disney Studios. “From the super-talented cast to the spectacular visual effects, it’s a grand slam, and we’re proud to be a part of this history-making film.”

In just three days, Marvel's The Avengers is the fastest movie to reach $200 million domestically. The domestic debut kicked off Friday, May 4, and marks the second-highest single-day take of all time at $80.8 million, followed by record-breaking days on Saturday ($69.5 million) and Sunday ($57 million). Moviegoers gave Marvel’s The Avengers a rare and perfect A+ CinemaScore.

Marvel's The Avengers began opening internationally April 25 and has set records as the biggest opening weekend of all time in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Central America, Peru, Bolivia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, and United Arab Emirates. It opened in Russia May 3 with $17.9 million to make it the biggest Marvel opening weekend ever. It debuted in China on May 5 with $18 million over two days. Marvel's The Avengers has now opened in all major markets except Israel (May 10), Poland (May 11), and Japan (August 17).

"The Avengers" has also surpassed IMAX's domestic opening weekend box office record by generating $15.3 million of the film's record-setting domestic gross, resulting in an IMAX per-screen average of approximately $56,000 in 275 digital IMAX® theaters. Internationally, the film generated approximately $6.1 million over the weekend in 176 IMAX theaters, of which 80 were debut runs. This brings IMAX's international total to $16 million. The film also set a new IMAX three-day opening weekend global box office record with $21.4 million, bringing the worldwide gross to $31.3 million in IMAX theatres worldwide since its global release on April 25.

The film's successful debut comes a month after Marvel and Disney announced that a sequel to 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger will be released April 4, 2014. A sequel to last summer's Thor is scheduled for release November 15, 2013, and the third installment of the hit "Iron Man" series, which has earned over $1.2 billion worldwide, will arrive in theaters May 3, 2013.

Marvel's The Avengers is the first Marvel Studios film to be marketed and distributed by The Walt Disney Studios.

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New Dredd Image Showcases Lena Headey

by SuperHerohype

May 07, 2012

The film slated to hit theaters later this year, The LA Times today ran a special feature on the upcoming Dredd, including a new photo of Lena Headey as Madeline "Ma-Ma" Madrigal and a special interview with the actress.

“She’s a prostitute who then kills her pimp and takes over his drug-running business,” says Headey of her role. "And Ma-Ma is a bit of a man-hater.”

Dredd takes place in the wild streets of Mega City One, the lone oasis of quasi-civilization on Cursed Earth. Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) is the most feared of elite Street Judges, with the power to enforce the law, sentence offenders and execute them on the spot - if necessary.

“I think of her like an old great white shark who is just waiting for someone bigger and stronger to show up and kill her,” continues the "Game of Thrones" star. “She’s ready for it. In fact, she can’t wait for it to happen. And yet no one can get the job done. She’s an addict, so she’s dead in that way, but that last knock just hasn’t come. This big, fat, scarred shark moving through the sea and everyone flees and she’s like, ‘Will someone just have the balls to do it? Please?‘”

Dredd will be released in 2D and 3D on September 21st.

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Go Behind the Special Effects of Marvel's The Avengers

by SuperHeroHype

May 07, 2012

With the record-setting opening of Marvel's The Avengers this past weekend, a number of different sites are offering looks at the visual effects side of the superhero ensemble. If you want to take a peek behind the curtains and see how the incredible post-production tricks are pulled off, check out some of the different stories below.

First up, Studio Daily takes a look at three different stages of VFX work, including Previs, Techvis and Postvis and the work done by companies like Industrial Light & Magic, WETA digita, Hydraulx and many more.




FX Guide, meanwhile, looks specifically at ILM's contributons including background replacement, the construction of the CGI hulk and building a computer model of New York City. They also speak with ILM VFX supervisor Jeff White in a special podcast segment.



Next up, CG Society speaks with Evil Eye Pictures and their work on the Joss Whedon film.

Finally, Fuel FX offers an extensive image gallery of the work they did to place CG work inside live-actions scenes.



Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård and Samuel L. Jackson, Marvel's The Avengers is in theaters now.

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Del Toro Says Prometheus May be the Demise of At the Mountains of Madness

Source: ShockTillYouDrop, ComingSoon

May 7, 2012

Guillermo Del Toro is coming to grips with the fact that his adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness is likely never going to happen.

After Hellboy II, it looked like the film was going to be the next directing vehicle for Del Toro, but Universal Pictures pulled the plug on "Madness" over budget problems. Del Toro immediately moved on to Pacific Rim--a giant monster movie for Legendary--leaving a glimmer of hope that maybe, someday, At the Mountains of Madness would happen.

But with Prometheus now on the way, you can pretty much forget about that Lovecraft adaptation. Del Toro took to the message boards of Del Toro Films to explain why. He began with:

"I have been interviewed about this lately and wanted to post my two cents about this:

Prometheus started filming a while ago - right at the time we were in preproduction on PACIFIC RIM. The title itself gave me pause - knowing that ALIEN was heavily influenced by Lovecraft and his novella.

This time, decades later with the budget and place Ridley Scott occupied, I assumed the greek metaphor alluded at the creation aspects of the HPL book. I believe I am right and if so, as a fan, I am delighted to see a new RS science fiction film, but this will probably mark a long pause - if not the demise - of ATMOM.

The sad part is - I have been pursuing ATMOM for over a decade now - and, well, after Hellboy II two projects I dearly loved were not brought to fruition for me.

The good part is: One project did... And I am loving it and grateful for the blessings I have received."

Pressed further about the connections between Madness and Prometheus, he wrote:

"Same premise. Scenes that would be almost identical."

Followed with:

"Both movies seem to share identical set pieces and the exact same BIG REVELATION (twist) at the end. I won't spoil it."

Clearly, Del Toro is privy to information about Ridley Scott's film that the common public does not know, so we'll have to take his word for it on the similarities.

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Mike
(65 Days Until SDCC 2012!)

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Five More Join Angelina Jolie in Maleficent

Source: ComingSoon

May 7, 2012

Following last week's announcement that Sharlto Copley is in talks to join the cast of Walt Disney Pictures' Maleficent comes word, via The Hollywood Reporter, that five more have signed on, including Kenneth Cranham, Lesley Manville, Miranda Richardson, Sam Riley and Imelda Staunton.

The film, a live-action fantasy that explores the origins of the evil fairy Maleficent and what led her to curse Princess Aurora in Disney's animated classic "Sleeping Beauty," is already set to star Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning.

Cranham (Hot Fuzz, Made in Dagenham) will play a human king with machinations against the world of fairies. Manville (Another Year) will play Fittle and Staunton (Vera Drake, Harry Potter films), Knotgrass, two pixies that guard Fanning's Aurora. Richardson (The Hours, Harry Potter films) is the fairy Queen Ulla and aunt to Maleficent and Riley (Control, On the Road) is Diaval, Maleficent's aide with the power to turn into a raven.

Directed by Robert Stromberg with a script by Linda Woolverton, Maleficent is scheduled to hit theaters on March 14, 2014.

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Exclusive: The Final Poster for G.I. Joe: Retaliation!

Source: ComingSoon

May 8, 2012

Following the debut of 8 character posters last month, we now have the exclusive final poster for G.I. Joe: Retaliation, hitting theaters on June 29.

In this sequel to the 2009 release of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, which grossed over $300 million worldwide, the G.I. Joes are not only fighting their mortal enemy Cobra; they are forced to contend with threats from within the government that jeopardize their very existence. The film stars D.J. Cotrona, Byung-hun Lee, Adrianne Palicki, Ray Park, Jonathan Pryce, Ray Stevenson, Channing Tatum with Bruce Willis and Dwayne Johnson. The movie is directed by Jon M. Chu and produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Brian Goldner, from a screenplay by Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick based on Hasbro's G.I. Joe characters.

Click the poster for a bigger version!

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Marvel's The Avengers Passes $700 Million Mark in 13 Days

by SuperHeroHype

May 08, 2012

Walt Disney Pictures is reporting today that Marvel's The Avengers earned an additional $28.4 million at the international box office yesterday (public holiday in UK & Russia) and another $18.9 million domestically to cross the $700 million mark in just 13 days.

The film's international box office has reached $475.8 million and the domestically total is at $226.4 million for a worldwide total of $702.2 million.

"The Avengers" has already passed the total global box office totals for Captain America: The First Avenger ($364 million), Thor ($449 million), Iron Man ($585 million) and Iron Man 2 ($624 million).

The film has already passed the total international box office totals for Captain America: The First Avenger ($192 million), Iron Man ($267 million), Thor ($268 million), and Iron Man 2 ($312 million).

And "The Avengers" has already passed the total domestic box office totals for Captain America: The First Avenger ($177 million) and Thor ($181 million).

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