Sunday, September 13

• X-Men Producer Updates X-Men: First Class, Deadpool and More

  At a promotional event for the Blu-Ray release of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, producer Lauren Shuler Donner gave out a few details regarding other X-Men-related movies. Donner has quite a few or them on her plate, including Wolverine 2, Deadpool, X-Men: First Class, and possibly, Donner told IGN, another X-Men:

  I think there are some wonderful storylines I'd like to pursue in X-Men 4 and 5, but who knows? Obviously Fox is my partner, so we're in discussions about what will be next

  As forDeadpool, Shuler sees that spin-off as a reboot, disregarding what happened to the character in Wolverine and instead making "it the Deadpool that's in the comics." Ryan Reynolds is set to play Deadpool again, even after Reynolds was cast in Green Lantern, but Shuler sees no problem with Reynolds playing both roles:

  Not on my end, personally, not on my end, no. I think you can do different characters. We've had different Bonds right, and I think if Harrison Ford can be in Indiana Jones and he can be in the Tom Clancy movies, I think if you are a good actor you become the character and it's alright.

  With X-Men: First Class, Donner would only say that the movie will concern "the X-Men's first class," set " way back when," implying that it would star Cyclops, Iceman, Beast, Angel, and Jean Grey, the first X-Men class in the comics, though Donner would not reveal which characters will be included. Bryan Singer has been mentioned as a likely director for First Class, to which Donner would only admit that "there's a possibility" and that Singer would not be too busy with other projects.

  Donner also said Gavin Hood may return to direct Wolverine 2, and that her husband, Richard Donner, director of Superman and Superman II, could return to the comic book world one day:

  He kind of feels like he did, he was very helpful, as you know he came and helped me on [Wolverine] but, look, I would never rule anything out but I don't know. He might, he might go back into the comic world, he might.

  Whatever X-Men movie is next to go into production, shooting will begin next year.

  
  

  Posted 09/13/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Bryan Singer | Lauren Shuler Donner | Richard Donner | Gavin Hood | X-Men: First Class | X-Men Origins: Wolverine | Deadpool | X-Men Origins: Deadpool

Saturday, July 4

• Brandon Routh's Superman Contract Expires

  Despite having survived his own death in the now-famous Superman (vol. 2, #75) back in 1992, Superman's future looks bleak. At least, that is, his future as a film star does.

  The under-performance of the relaunch film, Superman Returns, has led many to question whether the Man of Steel will return for a sequel. The 2006 film by director Bryan Singer cost an estimated $270 million to produce, but only took in $200 million at the domestic box office. International ticket sales of $191 million helped the film make a profit, but it was a major disappointment to the studio, especially in the wake of the $1 billion that The Dark Knight earned worldwide.

  In addition to the poor box-office numbers, Returns has been criticized by fans for having a plodding plot, borrowing too heavily from the 1978 Richard Donner-directed Superman, and for straying too far from the mythology established in the comic books. Actor Brandon Routh, who played the dual role of Superman/Clark Kent in Returns recently echoed those complaints by admitting that Returns suffered from a lack of action. Routh said that his Superman contract has expired, but that he is definitely interested in revisiting the role.

  
  
  

  Superman Returns - Trailer

  Posted 07/04/2009 by BrentJS

  Related: Brandon Routh | Bryan Singer | Richard Donner | Superman | Superman Returns

Friday, May 1

• Hollywood's Best Film Directors Premiere - Who Said It?

  The things you get fired for when you're young are the same things you win awards for when you're old.

  Tomorrow, ReelzChannel TV broadcasts the US premiere of the new series Hollywood's Best Film Directors. We're kicking it off with six back-to-back half-hour episodes starting at 8 p.m. ET/PT. If you're up early enough, get a sneak peak with an episode of Francis Ford Coppola at 9:30 a.m. ET/PT and again at 12:30 p.m. ET/PT. In it, Coppola recounts the first time he introduced The Godfather to Marlon Brando in a private meeting that involved a tray of deli meats, black shoe polish, boxes of Italian cigars, and a Japanese robe.

  In the back-to-back block, directors Chris Columbus, Barry Levinson, Richard Donner, Joel Schumacher, and Rob Reiner divulge their tales of movie making. Tune in and get to hear who said:

  No, it's about love, friendship; it's about hope, it ends high, it ends great. Couldn't get anybody to make it. Did it with independent money.

  How television became this thing that has moved in and has rearranged everything in terms of how we think.

  These two wannabe movie stars meet on a dead set…There's the glamour of Hollywood except the lights are off so it's not quite a movie set, it's a dead set with two people that will never be actors.

  It was basically born out of my life experience as a person who was making an utter mess of my dating life.

  It's like having sex for the first time, it feels good but you don't know if you're doing it right.

  Watch our six back-to-back episodes starting with director Chris Columbus this Saturday, May 2nd, starting at 8 p.m. ET/PT. And be sure to catch Hollywood's Best Film Directors at its regular time every Thursday night, 8-9 p.m. ET/PT.

  
  

  Posted 05/01/2009 by reelz

  Related: Hollywood's Best Film Directors | Chris Columbus | Joel Schumacher | Marlon Brando | Richard Donner | Rob Reiner | Barry Levinson | Francis Ford Coppola | The Godfather

Friday, January 16

• Wolverine Reshoots Update

  X-Men Origins: Wolverine reshoots have been planned since December, but details about the reshoots were minimal, raising speculation that the movie was in trouble. Rumors that Superman director Richard Donner was brought in as a "directing consultant" for Gavin Hood didn't help. Donner quickly debunked the rumor, saying "I was there to do nothing but help Gavin anyway I could, as a producer and never as a director. I would never step on another director, and I didn't go until Gavin asked me to come over and help him. He called me in L.A. and I said, 'Hey, pal, I'm on my way.' He's a good buddy of mine right now."

  Still, with 10 days of filming starting on January 12 in Vancouver, speculation abounds. Collider called the reshoots "extensive," while FOX downplayed them, saying that the reshoots were always planned and telling Collider they are "intended to capture specific weather conditions." But what exactly are they shooting?

  PopWrapBlog spoke to cast member Dominic Monaghan and asked whether the ten days were just for reshoots or new scenes. Monaghan responded: "We're doing a bit of both, more than anything else, it's an additional scene which I would get shot in the head if I told you anything about. But my character features in a huge set piece with Hugh [Jackman] and Liev [Schreiber]. I think the best thing I can tell you is that it's a flashback scene."

  With other X-Men movies dependent on Wolverine's success, let's hope whatever they're doing works.

  
  
  Next Showing: X-Men Origins: Wolverine opens May 1, 2009

  Posted 01/16/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Richard Donner | Dominic Monaghan | Gavin Hood | X-Men Origins: Wolverine | Superman

Monday, October 13

• Gibson Won't Mimic Stallone, Nixes Lethal Weapon 5

  Give Mel Gibson some credit: He may be nuttier than a fruitcake, but at least he still has his dignity. Director Richard Donner confirmed to the Los Angeles Times today that the Braveheart Oscar winner and owner of Malibu has opted against starring in a proposed fifth chapter of Lethal Weapon -- a move that signals, as Donner puts it, that the project is now "dead in the water."

  Gibson's decision bucks the recent trend, established by fellow aging action stars Sylvester Stallone and Harrison Ford, of going back to the well and resurrecting long-dormant franchises like Rambo and Indiana Jones in the hopes of staying relevant. Lethal Weapon 5 had been gathering steam of late thanks to the efforts of writer/director Shane Black, who penned the first Lethal Weapon and had hoped to write and direct the proposed re-boot.

  
  

  Posted 10/13/2008 by reelz

  Related: Mel Gibson | Richard Donner | Shane Black | Lethal Weapon