Via Sci Fi Wire
Iron Man 2‘s Scarlett is very flexible
Paramount released a bunch of new images from Iron Man 2 to go with the new poster we revealed yesterday.
We’ve got two new looks at Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark, a new look at Mickey Rourke’s Ivan Vanko and a nice one of Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow.
Iron Man 2 opens May 7, 2010.
See more images here
Surprising first look at Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows
Images [were] published in USA Today, which also ran a short story about the two films based on the seventh and final book by J.K. Rowling:
The first installment finds young wizards Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) struggling to find their way in the Muggle (human) world, with their own lives in the balance and the fate of the magical realm in their hands.
“They’re paranoid,” says Grint. “It’s quite a scary world because the Snatchers and Death Eaters are running around everywhere. Harry, Ron and Hermione are just camping out in random places, living rough, in regular clothes.” Snatchers and Death Eaters are minions of the evil Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes).
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By Iain Blair: Peter Jackson clarifies Hobbit schedule and what he’ll do
Peter Jackson, who is producing The Hobbit, confirmed to us that he and his partners will deliver a second version of the script by the end of the year, with production slated to begin sometime in 2010. The first of two envisioned films will come out “by the end of 2011,” he added.
“We’re still working on the script, and of course it’s going to be directed by Guillermo [del Toro],” Jackson said in an exclusive interview with SCI FI Wire. “That’s going really well, and in fact we’ve already delivered the first script to the studio, and they really liked it, so now we’re working hard on the second script, and that’s going to keep us pretty busy until the end of this year.”
Jackson tapped del Toro, of Pan’s Labyrinth fame, to direct the two-film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings prequel, which Jackson is producing and co-writing along with his partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens for a New Line/Warner release. The budget is projected to be at least $250 million for the films, but Jackson says “it’s too early” to comment on that.
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By Iain Blair: Why Peter Jackson added MORE violence to Lovely Bones
When Peter Jackson started to do early test screenings of his eagerly awaited new film, The Lovely Bones, which opens Friday, he says he was “shocked and surprised” to get a lot of complaints about the level of violence in the PG-13 film. (Big spoilers ahead!)
“…we had to go back in the editing room and fix it, so audiences would be happier.”
It’s understandable, as the film, based on the 2002 best-seller by Alice Sebold and with a reported budget of $70 million, tells the harrowing and intensely emotional story of a 14-year-old girl (played by Atonement‘s Oscar-nominated Saoirse Ronan) who is brutally raped and then murdered by her neighbor, George Harvey, played by Tucci.
But here’s the twist: The Oscar-winning director found that he’d “totally misjudged” audiences’ reactions to Tucci’s death scene. “They actually wanted MORE violence!” he admits. “And I was quite taken aback—audiences were simply not satisfied with the killer’s death scene—they wanted far more violence and suffering.”
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By Andy Sambidge at Arabian Business: Sci-fi blockbuster Avatar to close Dubai film festival
The much anticipated science fiction movie Avatar, directed by James Cameron of Titanic and Terminator fame, will close the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), organisers have announced.
Its showing in Dubai on December 16 will come six days after its world premiere in London.
“This year, our Gala screenings will span the globe in an unprecedented range of offerings; showcasing the creative brilliance of industry frontrunners to sensational young talent. DIFF is a meeting ground for international filmmakers that is increasingly respected around the world, and we hope to engender fruitful relationships between thriving film cultures.”
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Via Sci Fi Wire: Sci-fi’s contribution to the 10 most controversial films is …
Inspired by Lars von Trier’s new “nausea-inducing piece of cinema” Antichrist, Rotten Tomatoes has picked their most controversial movies of all time, and A Clockwork Orange was the one sci-fi film that made their list.
Here’s what they had to say about the 1971 picture, which was rated X in the U.S. when it was originally released:
Stanley Kubrick’s vision of a dystopian society and the corruption of power in near-future England was banned by its own director, after copycat killings with gangs of thugs dressed up as Alexander DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell) and his ‘droogs.’
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