Archive for the ‘News’ Category
| ‘Avatar’ sequel planned for 2014 | August 23rd, 2010 |
James Cameron has warned Avatar fans it may be another four years before they see the next part of the planned sci-fi trilogy – because he’s still writing “tons of notes” to develop the sequel.
The Titanic director began drafting the alien-human love story in 1994 – 15 years before it hit the big screen last December and shattered worldwide box office records.
Fans are already clamouring to find out what’s next for Sam Worthington’s character, Jake Sully, and his Na’vi lover Neytiri, played by Zoe Saldana, but, according to the New York Post, he isn’t planning to release the first Avatar sequel until 2014.
Cameron tells the publication, “Right now, the thinking is that (films) two and three are going to be done together. They’ll be released separately, probably a year apart or maybe even two, but they’ll be done in a bunch.
“I’m mapping out the story line right now, so there’s a proper arc that plays out over two films, but (it) buttons nicely at the end of two, so you don’t get this horrible second-act Matrix feeling – you know: ‘I’ve just sat through a three-hour movie and f**k all happened at the end!’”
Avatar has so far earned $2.7 billion in box office revenue worldwide, a figure which is expected to skyrocket when the film is re-released for a limited-run on Friday, featuring nine minutes of never-before-seen footage.
From the Toronto Sun
| Zoe Saldana To Appear on “Sesame Street” | August 11th, 2010 |
The 41st season of “Sesame Street” premieres on Sept. 27, and with it comes the promise of a star-studded year.
Actors like Jason Bateman, Amy Poehler, Colin Farrell, Jude Law, Jennifer Garner, Ryan Reynolds, Kyra Sedgwick, Zoe Saldana, husband and wife team Taye Diggs and Idina Menzel, Wanda Sykes, Anna Faris, Terrence Howard and names from “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Modern Family,” “The View,” Food Network, “Today,” “The Insider” and “American Idol’s” Kara DioGuardi have all signed on to appear in different episodes of the PBS Kids television program.
Music and sports stars weren’t left off either, with Katy Perry, Reverend Run, Usher, will.i.am and NFL players Reggie Bush and LaDainian Tomlinson also on slate.
Some original pop culture parodies will include “True Mud” (“True Blood”), “The Furry Four” (as opposed to the Fab Four), “Ironing Monster” (“Iron Man”), “The Closer” (well, “The Closer”) and “A Team” (you get the idea). Reynolds will star in the latter, as the letter A.
Other teased highlights from the science-centered season include the new recurring segment “Super Grover 2.0” and some short films with NASA.
From Hit Fix
| ‘Star Trek 2′ Begins Pre-Production In January 2011 | July 20th, 2010 |
The as-yet untitled Star Trek sequel – which we will continue to refer to as Star Trek 2 for now – is on course to begin filming in January 2011, according to Bruce Greenwood (aka. the original Enterprise Captain, Christopher Pike).
Greenwood will grace the screen once again in next week’s Dinner For Schmucks, but he has yet to learn about his future in the Star Trek franchise. His character played a pivotal role in director J.J. Abrams’ series reboot but is not actually a member of the classic Star Trek crew – so his return is anything but assured at this point.
What is known about Star Trek 2 at this point is that the main Star Trek cast members – Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, etc. – are all set to reprise their roles; Damon Lindelof is working on the script alongside Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci; and J.J. Abrams is still poised to direct the sequel, once he has completed work on Super 8.
Former Captain-turned-Admiral Pike could potentially become a powerful ally (or foe) of the young Captain Kirk (Pine), whose brash nature will undoubtedly lead him to continue butting heads with Starfleet authority figures in future installments. Greenwood (see below) was solid in the role and he has the support of most Star Trek fans so his return in the next film is possible.
The January start date is a good fit for the Star Trek cast and crew as well with their busy schedules. After all, Simon Pegg will probably be working on Mission: Impossible 4 this fall; Chris Pine is still prepped to play Jack Ryan in Moscow, which should begin production in the second half of 2011; and Zoe Saldana has at least another year before Avatar 2 gets underway. Scheduling production on Star Trek 2 for any time other than early 2011 may prove tricky at this point.
We should begin to find out some definite information concerning the plot of the Star Trek sequel over the upcoming months – for creativity’s sake though, let’s hope it doesn’t involve time travel this time around.
UPDATE: Trekmovie.com caught up with Star Trek producer Bryan Burk earlier this month and learned that although pre-production on the sequel could begin in January 2011, shooting on the film is scheduled for late spring/early summer of that year. That would explain Greenwood’s speculative comment.
Star Trek 2 is tentatively scheduled to arrive in theaters in the U.S. on June 29th, 2012.
From Screen Rant
| “Avatar” returns to movie screens August 27 | July 10th, 2010 |
Film fans who haven’t seen Avatar yet — or who can’t wait to see it again — now have their big date: It’s coming back to theatres on Aug. 27.
The re-release on 3-D and Imax screens will include eight minutes of new footage.
Avatar, the highest-grossing movie of all time, has already brought in $2.7 billion worldwide, and 20th Century Fox points out that it’s also the top-selling Blu-ray Disc of all time.
“Since — and largely as of result of — Avatar’s release last December, the number of available digital 3-D screens has exploded, and moviegoers who missed experiencing the film in 3-D will now have that opportunity,” Fox said in a news release. It said the studio has been inundated with requests to re-release the movie in theatres in 3-D.
It quoted Cameron as saying, “Audiences repeatedly told me they wanted more of Pandora, and wished they could have stayed there longer. So we’re making that possible. Avatar: Special Edition will be exclusively in 3-D, and will have eight minutes of never before seen footage, including new creatures and action scenes. Whether you already love the movie, or you’ve never seen it, with this Special Edition, you’ll be seeing it like never before.”
From the Vancouver Sun
| Zoe Saldana Lands Calvin Klein Underwear Campaign | July 7th, 2010 |
Having quite the spectacular year, Zoe Saldana has been named as the new face for the women’s Fall 2010 Calvin Klein Underwear global advertising campaign.
Chief executive Tom Murry made the announcement at a press conference at Mercedes-Benz Berlin Fashion Week on Wednesday (July 7), with the “Avatar” babe grabbing the much sought after gig shortly after announcing her engagement.
According to WWD, the campaign was shot by Mikael Jansson – with plans to launch the Envy range campaign with the October 2010 magazine issues.
Of the offer, Zoe told press, “I just want to say I’m extremely excited to be part of the Calvin Klein family. It feels like Christmas.”
As for her hopes when it comes to public reaction to the campaign, Miss Saldana said, “I’m hoping they will embrace the fact that inner beauty and strength is what’s sexy about a woman. I didn’t want to overdo it, because I’m also representing women of all shapes. I didn’t want to sell something unrealistic.”
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