Archive for the ‘News’ Category
| “The Losers” Commences Production for Dark Castle Entertainment | July 30th, 2009 |
Principal photography is under way on Dark Castle Entertainment’s action adventure “The Losers.” The film is based on the comic book series published under DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint, and is being directed by Sylvain White (“Stomp the Yard”).
“The Losers” features an ensemble cast that includes Jeffrey Dean Morgan (“The Watchmen”), Zoë Saldana (“Star Trek”), Chris Evans (“Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer”), Idris Elba (“Obsessed,” “RocknRolla”), Columbus Short (“Stomp the Yard,” upcoming “Whiteout”), Holt McCallany (“Vantage Point”), Óscar Jaenada (“Che: Part Two”) and Jason Patric (“In the Valley of Elah”).
An explosive tale of double cross and revenge, “The Losers” centers upon the members of an elite U.S. Special Forces unit sent into the Bolivian jungle on a search and destroy mission. The team—Clay (Morgan), Jensen (Evans), Roque (Elba), Pooch (Short) and Cougar (Jaenada)—find themselves the target of a lethal betrayal instigated from inside by a powerful enemy known only as Max (Patric). Presumed dead, the group makes plans to even the score when they’re joined by the mysterious Aisha (Saldana), a beautiful operative with her own agenda. Working together, they must remain deep undercover while tracking the heavily-guarded Max, a ruthless man bent on embroiling the world in a new high-tech global war.
“The Losers” will shoot entirely on location in Puerto Rico.
The film is scheduled for an April 2010 release and will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
From Business Wire
| Cameron plans big sneak peek for ‘Avatar’ | July 29th, 2009 |
“Avatar” doesn’t open in theaters until Dec. 18 but the publicity campaign has set sail, in “Titanic” fashion. On Aug. 21, Twentieth Century Fox and director James Cameron will debut the movie’s trailer (or preview) and select regular and IMAX theaters will screen extended footage. No word just yet on where those venues will be.
The worldwide trailer launch will be in all formats — IMAX 3-D, IMAX 2-D, digital 3-D, digital 2-D and 35mm 2-D — and folks not headed to the theater will be able to find the preview online.
“Avatar” is the story of an ex-Marine who finds himself thrust into hostilities on an alien planet filled with exotic life forms. As an Avatar, a human mind in an alien body, he finds himself torn between two worlds, in a fight for his own survival and that of the indigenous people.
“Avatar” stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez and Sigourney Weaver. Cameron, who has spent more than a decade on the film, showed 24 minutes of footage of “Avatar” at the just-concluded Comic-Con in San Diego and wowed the crowds.
Cameron is best known as the director of “Titantic,” the highest-grossing movie of all time and winner of 11 Academy Awards.
Also on Aug. 21, being modestly dubbed “Avatar Day,” Ubisoft will unveil the trailer for its video game, “James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game,” and Mattel will reveal the action figures for the film’s Avatar and alien Na’vi characters.
From the Post Gazette
| Comic Con 2009: Avatar Presentation | July 28th, 2009 |
I didn’t know what to expect from this panel, but I ended up being pretty freakin’ amazed. James Cameron, one of the great masters of film (IMHO), was immediately introduced in grandiose fashion by some producer whose name escapes me at the moment. And when he entered the stage I have to admit that even I felt a bit of a thrill to be in the same room with one of my favorite science-fiction directors, even if I was several hundred feet away from him.
Cameron didn’t waste much time in getting to the good stuff. Before I knew it, I was donning the provided 3D glasses to watch the world premiere of about 25 minutes of footage from Cameron’s upcoming (and long-awaited) film, Avatar. This was my first modern 3D viewing experience. I know this might seem like a “duh”comment to make, but everything just stands out more. The colors seemed more vibrant, and it really created a sense of being immersed in the world on the screen. The drawbacks were that the 3D sometimes made some elements of the CGI hard to see. I also got the impression that if I had to wear the glasses for 2-3 hours, I would definitely end up getting a headache.
I’m sure readers might like a play by play of the footage that was presented. I won’t do that, but I will synopsize it briefly. Basically, humans have set up camp on a naturally hostile world called Pandora. Presumably, we puny humans are unable to withstand the harsh fauna and flora on the planet’s surfaced, so a system has been developed which can link a person’s consciousness to lab-grown beings known as Avatars, which are something like human-alien hybrids. Avatars are created by mixing the DNA of humans with the DNA of the indigenous “people” of Pandora, known as the Na’vi. The result is a blue, eight-foot tall humanoid creature with feline-like features and a tail. Imagine what Lukas Haas might look like if you were having a conversation with him while experimenting with peyote.
| Zoe Saldana Talks ‘Star Trek’ And Sit-Ups At Comic-Con | July 27th, 2009 |
You want to know when the next “Star Trek” will start shooting? Look out for paparazzi shots of co-star Zoe Saldana wearing some sweaty workout gear as she leaves the gym. Why? Because, as the woman who played alien linguistics expert Uhura explained to MTV’s Josh Horowitz at Comic-Con, when “Star Trek” ramps up, she’ll be forced to hit the weights again.
So has she renewed the gym membership yet? Saldana revealed that producers have indeed been in touch, making sure the actress is clearing out space on her 2010 calendar.
“‘What are you doing in March?’” she said they’ve asked her. “‘What are you doing in June?’ ‘What are you doing in September?’ I’m just like, ‘I’m free for you guys whenever you come calling.’”
J.J. Abrams or others didn’t happen to drop any plot or character hints during these conversations, did they? Like if a re-cast Khan will make an appearance as James T. Kirk’s nemesis? Not so much. But Saldana’s belief is that the filmmakers should continue to explore unexpected “Trek” realms while staying loyal to the overall franchise.
Check out the video to hear the 31-year-old actress discuss where she’d like to see the “Trek” films go and why the prospect of heading into the gym has her saying, “Oh gosh!”
From MTV
| Zoe Saldana on “Star Trek” Sequel | July 26th, 2009 |
During a group interview at the San Diego Comic-Con, Zoe Saldana, who played Uhura in JJ Abrams’ “Star Trek” movie, said that she believes that the script for the upcoming sequel is halfway done.
“I do know that they are germinating a script,” she said. “That’s what they told us a month and a half ago, which actually means—in that kind of talk it means that they’re probably halfway done with a script. They just can’t present it to anybody.”
Writer Robert Orci also recently revealed to io9 that the next “Star Trek” movie will either end on a cliffhanger or have a story arc that spans the next two films. “You know what, I’ll give you a tidbit. [The studio said to us] ‘We thought maybe you could do that as like 2 and 3,” he explained.
Saldana added that the romantic relationship between Uhura and Spock (Zachary Quinto) will definitely continue in the second installment. “I am excited to see what they’re going to do with their relationship in relation to what happened to Vulcan and what kind of responsibilities Spock is going to have in this next journey,” she said. “Not only in his personal side but in terms of he’s a race in extinction now.”
According to Saldana, “Star Trek 2″ should go in front of the cameras next year.
From Worst Previews
The Losers
Death at a Funeral
Takers
Avatar
Star Trek
The Skeptic
