The Hush-Hush News Report 3.16.10: The All-News Edition, Take Two

Posted by Jeremy Thomas on 03.16.2010

This week in an all-news edition, we have a Kick-Ass sequel already being talked about, a science-fiction film role for Robert Downey Jr., another addition to the cast of the Coen's True Grit, Teen Wolf going to the dark side, new mini-reviews, two red band trailers and more!

Welcome, one and all, to the Hush-Hush News Report for the third week of March, 2010. I'm your host as always, Jeremy Thomas, and this week we have one of our extra-special All-News Editions of the report! Yes, what that basically means is that things got a little crazy today, and I was fighting being nasty sick. As such, we will be forgoing an editorial while I recuperate; fear not however, for it shall be back next week in full force. Until then, let's get to the news, shall we?

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Vaughn, Miller Ready to Kick More Ass



The first film isn't even out yet, but already plans seem to be well underway on a "Kick-Ass" sequel.

Director Matthew Vaughn's first film adapts the original first-volume, eight-issue comic by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. quite closely.

Doing press after the first film's premiere over the weekend at the SXSW Film Festival, stars Aaron Johnson and Chris Mintz-Plasse tell Coming Soon that Millar and Romita Jr. are getting started on the second volume of the comic which it sounds like Vaughn will have a small hand in.

"Matthew and Mark have a lot of ideas, and I think they work quite tightly" says Johnson, while Mintz-Plasse adds "he [Millar] wants it to be very, very dark is what he's thinking."

"If you could get any more dark than 'Kick-Ass' is right now, then Mark had even darker ideas. Matthew went with absolutely everything but there were some things that were impossible to film. No one's going to see it because it's too disgusting" adds Johnson. A lot of course will depend on the first film which is scheduled to open April 16th.

Kick-Ass is one of the more anticipated upcoming films by several people around these parts, and if you've seen the red-band clip then I hope you're looking forward to it as much as I am. The superhero genre of films is obviously big business these days and this looks to have all the action and fun of Wanted applied in an irreverent way to the men in masks. It's certainly nice to see that the filmmakers are looking ahead, and if we have a solid hit here then Lionsgate may well have a franchise on their hands. I'm curious to see how dark would fit as a tail-end into what looks to be a more comedic film; that could just be the way it's being marketed, of course. Whatever the case, I'm rearing to see this one and if it's as good as it looks, the inevitable sequel should be as well.


Downey Feels Effect of Gravity



Robert Downey Jr. is in talks to join Alfonso Cuaron's 3D space-set feature "Gravity" for Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures says Deadline New York.

Set on a remote space station, the story follows a male (Downey Jr.) and female astronaut who are outside when debris from an exploded satellite apparently kills the rest of the crew.

Originally developed at Universal, Angelina Jolie was recently attached to star in the female role but left around the same time Universal passed on the project. Warners picked up the property and Downey soon slid right in.

Cuaron ("Children of Men," "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) will direct and co-wrote the script with his son Jonas. Filming kicks off this Summer in London and Downey is expected to segue from this right into the 'Holmes' sequel which shoots this Fall in London.

When you say Robert Downey Jr. is involved in a film project, my interest is automatically piqued. Mention that Alfonso Cuaron is directing, and I'm downright excited. And it's a science fiction thriller to boot? Sign me up. It's actually too bad that Jolie passed on the role because I would love to see her and Downey working together on-screen. Science fiction of course had a banner year last year, with Avatar, Star Trek and District 9 all scoring with critics and audiences both. This year we have Christopher Nolan's Inception, Disney's Tron Legacy, Robert Rodriguez's Preadtors and more. With a talent group lined up like this, Gravity could keep the sci-fi trend continuing through 2011.


Three Sign for Conan



Said Taghmaoui, who played Breaker in the summer hit "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra," has booked a role in "Conan," Nu Image/Millennium's take on the barbarian warrior created by Robert E. Howard.

Stephen Lang, the bad guy in "Avatar," has come aboard as the villain of the movie directed by Marcus Nispel. Ron Perlman has come on board to play Corin, the father of Conan. Taghmaoui is playing a leader of thieves who is saved by Conan (Jason Momoa) and later offers him aid. Lang is a ruler in search of a queen whose blood will bring life to the demonic minions of a long-lost god.

Mickey Rourke was originally slated to play Corin but opted out to star in "War of the Gods". Shooting is scheduled to start this week in Bulgaria. Taghmaoui also appeared in "The Kite Runner" and had a stint on ABC's "Lost."

The Conan project continues to get more and more interesting with each cast member. First we had Jason Mamoa playing the titular lead character, which sent up a collective "who?" from most movie-goers. Then came Rachel Nichols and Bob Sapp, which was certainly an odd combination but one that attracted more interest to the project. Mickey Rourke perked up fanboy interest, and when he bowed out the filmmakers made a smart move by maneuvering to get another fan favorite in Ron Perlman. Perlman of course is known for a wide variety of roles such as Hellboy, Blade II and his lead role on the television series Sons of Anarchy. Casting Stephen Lang as the villain coming off his bad guy role in Avatar is an excellent move as well; Taghmaoui is an X-Factor, as he didn't get a chance to show much in G.I. Joe but he has shown chops in films like The Kite Runner and Three Kings. As this project starts to come together it sounds a bit less like the disaster it started off as, and more like a project that may well be a fun little B-movie throwback.


Pepper Plays…uh, Pepper



Barry Pepper won't even have to use a fictional surname as he joins the cast of the Coen brothers' "True Grit."

The actor has inked a deal with Paramount to play the role of "Lucky" Ned Pepper, the notorious outlaw played by Robert Duvall in Henry Hathaway's 1969 classic Western.

Pepper will star opposite Matt Damon, Jeff Bridges, Josh Brolin and Hailee Steinfeld. Ethan and Joel Coen will lens from their adapted script. Scott Rudin is producing; Steven Spielberg is executive producer. The Coens also are producers.

Pepper will next been seen opposite Kevin Spacey in "Casino Jack," George Hickenlooper's picture about disgraced Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Pepper's previous credits include "Saving Private Ryan" and "The Green Mile."

Well, the obvious jokes about them having the same name aside, they could do worse in the similar looks department than casting Pepper in Duvall's old role. Check out the comparison pics I put together above; they're definitely close enough to be an inspired choice. Of course, this could work against what the Coens are wanting, since they've been talking about being a very different film than the John Wayne classic. Either way, Pepper is a good actor who can bring a lot to a role and he should be able to do some good work alongside Josh Brolin as Tom Chaney. Some people may be questioning the need for this remake, but there continues to be good news coming out about it and I can't wait to see more as we approach the release date.


Greer, Bridges, Lillard & Forster Are Descendents



Judy Greer, Beau Bridges, Matthew Lillard and Robert Forster are joining the cast of Alexander Payne's "The Descendants," which begins filming Monday in Hawaii.

Based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings, the film stars George Clooney as an indifferent husband and father of two girls, who is forced to re-establish his relationship with his daughters after his wife suffers a boating accident off of Waikiki. The cast also includes Shailene Woodley, Mary Birdsong, Nick Krause and Amara Miller.

Along with the writing team of Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, Payne wrote the screen adaptation, which is being produced by Ad Hominem's Payne, Jim Burke and Jim Taylor for release by Fox Searchlight. Searchlight's president of production Claudia Lewis and senior vice-president of production Matthew Greenfield are overseeing the project.

Greer is appearing in the upcoming features "Marmaduke" and "Love and Other Drugs," and is also starring opposite David Krumholtz in Fox's comedy pilot "Tax Man."

George Clooney is usually a match with "anticipated film" these days and Payne, best known for Sideways, adds a bit of credibility himself. Now we have this foursome of actors, who are an interesting set of choices. Forster is an actor with a considerable reputation and resume, and Beau Bridges is a good actor in need of a hit. On the other hand, Matthew Lillard hasn't done much to inspire confidence in people, not the least of which was his last high-profile role in Uwe Boll's disaster In The Name of the King. And Judy Greer has always seemed like a good actress who's fallen into the stereotype of playing the annoying best friend of the lead girl in romantic films. I'm interested to see if she'll be cast in that same kind of role here, or if she'll have an opportunity to spread her winds and try something different. All of these actors could be good if given the proper direction, even Lillard. Hopefully Payne will be the person to do that, and we'll get another good film from him.


Quoth the Phoenix, Nevermore



A representative for Joaquin Phoenix has shot down reports the star is preparing to return to the big screen as Edgar Allen Poe.

Slumdog Millionaire sound designer Resul Pookutty claimed earlier this week that Phoenix was turning his back on his newfound rap career to head back to filmmaking. He told India's Mumbai Mirror the star had signed up to play iconic American writer and poet Poe in an upcoming movie. But Pookutty's claims have been dismissed by Phoenix's rep, who tells GossipCop.com the star will not be appearing in the picture.

The Walk The Line actor quit Hollywood last year, announcing plans to focus on becoming a hip-hop star.

You know, I was just wondering what Phoenix had been up to; we hadn't heard anything since the first steps of his "rap career" hoax. And now we have this. Phoenix's whole gig has been interesting to follow; as time goes on, I can't help but start to wonder whether it's really a hoax, whether it's serious or whether it's something that started out as a hoax but now Phoenix has bought into. I must admit, I could have seen the actor as Poe and when I saw the first news articles reporting it, I thought that perhaps this was the end of the music career. But now that Phoenix is denying the rumors, I suppose that's not the case. It's probably just as well; there are already two Poe productions in the works and we don't need a third a la the King Arthur news from last week's Hush-Hush. We'll file this one under "wacky news bit of the week" and move on.


Teen Wolf Going to the Dark Side?



Russell Mulcahy ("Resident Evil: Extinction," "Highlander"), who is directing MTV's upcoming "Teen Wolf" remake, has defended the project in an interview with Den of Geek.

Asked about the online concern about remaking the cult original, Mulcahy says "We are not screwing around with the obviously very much beloved 80s Michael J. Fox classic, we are not doing that... obviously it's inspired by it, but the new MTV Teen Wolf takes out a totally different slant, taking more of the slant of The Lost Boys, so to speak."

He adds that the darker angle doesn't mean they'll lose the comedy - "It still has humor, but it's basically got horror and humor. The humor is in the characters and the real situations and the teenagers, it's very real and not played for any obvious laughs - they come from the situation. So there is definitely humor and horror, we really, really wanted to go for that and also the reality."

Sounds good so far, but then he caps it with one quote that definitely makes me scared - "Also it's obviously pumped up with not only a good scary score, but it's also pumped up with great music."

There are a lot of places I could have seen the Teen Wolf remake going; taking a turn into more of a straight-out horror film certainly wasn't the direction I imagined. I will give the filmmakers credit for trying to take the concept and go their own way rather than make a full-on remake that would try (and fail) to capture the fun of the 80's original, but I also don't see this ending well. One of the things that has always made Teen Wolf stand out from other werewolf films is that it wasn't a horror film, and that's always been part of its charm. But turning it into a furry Lost Boys is just a bad idea. As for the "humor and horror," I assume that would be coming across in a Frog brothers kind of humorous way, and I suppose that would work better than horror, then humor, then horror and so on. I know Mulcahy was trying to reassure skeptics here, but I don't think he got the job quite done.

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From Ben Piper:
* Shakes fist angrily *

You da man, Ben. For those who don't know Mr. Piper's work, you should totally check out his Get LOST column and 411 Movies Fact or Fiction. Go now! (At least, after you finish here...)


From The Great Capt. Smooth:
Iron Man 2 is going to be so much fun. I can't wait. Speaking of RDJ, "Sickly Mole People" would be a great rock band name.

That is a pretty good rock band name. "Pale Sickly Mole People" tops it by a notch, but I'm just spitballing there.


From Todd Vote:
"I sense disaster all over this one, and even worse I can imagine them filling this with the latest overexposed cast members like Jonah Hill, Michael Cera and Seth Rogan. No thank you, officer."

And don't forget the new "in thing" of taking R rated franchises and making them PG-13 so they are more accessible.

From Julian Williams:
Jeremy, a Police Academy reboot with Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen and Michael Cera would be PHENOMENAL. Hill could play the sarcastic loser of the bunch, Cera could play the awkward weirdo who becomes a bad-ass whenever things get crazy and Rogen could play the brown-nosing asshole who always tries to prove he's better than the other cops.

Add Neil Patrick Harris to play the Mahoney-type role and throw in Anna Farris to play the hot cop. Get Terry Crews to play the Tackleberry role (dude that's obsessed with guns and violence). Bring back Guttenberg to reprise his role as Mahoney, except he's Commander now. And then get Christoph Waltz to play the evil, foreign villain that the crew has to take down. If Waltz won't do it, get Sacha Baron Cohen.

Add in supporting roles from people like Keenan Thompson (from SNL), Isla Fisher, Anika Noni Rose, and Jay Baruchel. Sprinkle in a couple of cameos from some of the previous characters and you'll be good to go.

Imagine an R-Rated Police Academy movie with Neil Patrick Harris, Seth Rogen, Christoph Waltz, Jonah Hill, Anna Farris, Michael Cera, Terry Crews, and Steve Guttenberg. You wouldn't want to see that movie?? I know I would.

From Guest#0013:
On the Police Academy reboot: If it means a Guttenberg comeback, I am in. Someone other than you mentioned Seth Rogen, Anna Faris, Terry Crews and Neil Patrick Harris. That sounds good, but let's throw in Paul Rudd as well and it would make for a funny cast.

Speaking of Rudd, how about him being De Niro's foil in the Midnight Run reboot or sequel?

I could totally see Paul Rudd playing opposite De Niro in the Midnight Run sequel. He kind of has that Grodin feel to him and could make for a good counterpart to Jack Walsh. As for the Police Academy reboot, I think that's a bit of dream casting there. Don't get me wrong, I'd love a cast like that (the long list, not just Rogan/Hill/Cera) and they could probably get a concept like Police Academy over. But as Todd points out, the odds that it'll be R instead of PG-13 aren't that great. Yes there was The Hangover, but that was a rarity. The broader the audience, the more money for the studio. I think it will be a much less overall talented cast and a watered-down concept, but I could be wrong. It happens every once in a while!

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Wonder Woman: The best of DC's animated straight-to-video films to date, Wonder Woman benefits from a strong cast and a surprisingly solid narrative from screenwriter Michael Jelenic (Batman: The Brave and the Bold). Keri Russell captures the combined naiveté and strength of Diana, while she has a strong chemistry with Nathan Fillion who provides very good Steve Trevor. The two provide a solid base to frame the movie around, with the strong supporting cast backing them up that consists of actors like Alfred Molina, Rosario Dawson, Virginia Madsen, Oliver Platt and Marg Helgenberger. The story is fairly loyal to the Wonder Woman mythology and involves the young Diana, raised on the Amazonian paradise island of Themyscira, winning the right to escort Trevor home after his fighter plane crashes--and take on the villainous Ares (Molina) who has been a captive of the all-female society for centuries due to past crimes committed. While the story falls into the same traps the Wonder Woman story often does--of getting a bit preachy--the grandstanding is given more balance than usual thanks to the return banter from Trevor. Of course, he sometimes seems like a bit of a pig, but the chemistry between Russell and Fillion--past co-stars in Waitress--makes for some fun banter and Trevor gives as good as he gets. All in all the themes are handled more maturely than have usually been told with the character, and it makes for a more fulfilling story. The animation ranks among Warner Premiere's best efforts to date, on par with Green Lantern: First Flight which followed it. It also retains the willingness to shed blood that the DC Universe original animated movies have to date, though it never seems gratuitous or unnecessary. While not a perfect story, this is clearly the best incarnation of Wonder Woman that has been made to date, and the team behind the live-action story should take note of the successes here if they want to succeed themselves.

Rating: 7.0

Wrong Side of Town: As good as a movie starring Rob Van Dam, Dave Batista, Ja Rule and Omarian can be expected to be, Wrong Side of Town stands above recent efforts by professional wrestlers such as Kurt Angle (End Game), Ted DiBiase (The Marine 2) and John Cena (12 Rounds). Van Dam is rather dull and unconvincing in the lead role of Bobby Kalinowsky, an ex-Navy Seal who finds his family the target of a crime boss after accidentally killing his brother. Van Dam is not a naturally gifted actor, and as admirably as he tries, he spends most of the film sounding exactly like he's reading lines off a teleprompter. Jerry Katz is over the top as the main villain; he is given little outside of the stereotypical bad guy to work with but doesn't seem up to the task of raising the role above the material. Batista, on the other hand, comes off far more natural as the wisecracking, shady former friend Big Ronnie. Director David DeFalco handles the action tolerably, though the fight scenes do occasionally lack in smoothness and visual style. In terms of straight-to-video films this is far from the worst, though the generic story and very uneven acting make for a film that is really only worth a recommendation for wrestling enthusiasts that are interested in seeing Van Dam, Batista and Nelson Frazier, Jr. (better known as Mabel, Viscera & Big Daddy V) in a role outside the squared circle.

Rating: 4.0

American Gangster: The second collaboration between Russell Crowe and director Ridley Scott, American Gangster is no less of an epic than Gladiator was; it's simply a modern epic. Based on the real-life story of Harlem gangster Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) and Richie Roberts (Crowe)--the detective who tries to bring him down--Scott's crime film utilizes a fantastic script by Schindler's List scribe Steven Zallian to bring the story to life. Washington and Crowe are excellent as the two leads; as Lucas, Washington shows a calmer but no less ruthless character than his Oscar-winning performance from Training Day. Crowe has a less flashy performance, but it's certainly no worse for that fact. The Australian actor takes the honest-to-a-fault Roberts, who becomes a police pariah for turning in almost a million dollars in unmarked money early in the film, and shows us both the strengths and flaws inherent in that kind of honesty. Scott's attention to detail scores big here, as he builds tension during confrontations between Lucas and the police or criminal rivals and weaves the separate stories of Lucas and Roberts seamlessly into one by the end. The art direction netted production designer Arthur Max and set decorator Beth Rubino well-deserved Academy Award nominations, and the cinematography from Harris Savides gives everything a bluish wash that works well for the most part in conveying the feel of the period. The supporting cast turns in universally good performances, from Josh Brolin as a crooked cop to Chiwotel Ejiofor as Lucas's younger brother, Ruby Dee as the matriarch of the Lucas family and even Cuba Gooding Jr. as rival Nicky Barnes. While the film does have its flaws and wanders a bit too much, it is a rewarding and engaging film from three masters of their craft working together and well worth seeing.

Rating: 8.5

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And that is all we have this week for you. Or almost all we have since before we skedaddle, it's time for the Random Video of the Week! This week, since we don't have an editorial I'll double up on the Video front! First is the red-band trailer for Kick-Ass that I mentioned above; second is the red-band trailer for Repo Men which comes out this Friday and I'm sure to see and have a review of up this weekend! Check them both out below…





Until next week this is Jeremy Thomas, off the record, on the QT…



…and definitely, "Hush Hush!"