Coventry Telegraph - The Geek Files

Harry Potter's box office broomstick soars past Twilight

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:55:09 +0000

THE RUSH to buy tickets for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is on track to beat pre-release sales for Twilight.

Online box office Fandango says the number of tickets purchased for the Half-Blood Prince is about to swoop past figures for Twilight and take over the third spot on its all-time advanced ticket sales list, behind only The Dark Knight and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

Updated: Stephen Chow has dropped out of Green Hornet

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 10:44:02 +0000

A NEW casting call has been issued for the role of Green Hornet's sidekick in the upcoming superhero movie.

Stephen Chow (pictured) had been cast as Kato, alongside star Seth Rogen as the title character, but a fresh appeal for actors to come forward indicated he had left the project.

The Hollywood Reporter says the studio confirmed there was a "mutual and amicable decision by both sides to move on."

Rogen co-wrote the film with Evan Goldberg and will star as Daily Sentinel newspaper publisher Britt Reid who, by night, becomes the eponymous masked hero with a sidekick named Kato and a hi-tech car called Black Beauty.

Christopher Heyerdahl reveals New Moon role and hints at future

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:53:20 +0000

CHRISTOPHER HEYERDAHL, who plays vampire Marcus in upcoming Twilight sequel New Moon, has spoken of the amazing impact of the series, comparing it with The Beatles phenomenon of the 60s.

He says he signed on to appear in the film after seeing his niece become a devoted fan of the franchise.

Heyerdahl is already well known to sci-fi fans from his roles in Sanctuary (as Bigfoot and time-traveller John Druit, pictured below), Supernatural, Smallville (as Clark's uncle and Supergirl's father Zor-El, see above) and Stargate: Atlantis, as well as film credits in Blade Trinity and The Chronicles of Riddick.

Firefly star Nathan Fillion in talks for DC Comics superhero role?

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:13:12 +0000

NATHAN FILLION has long been a fan favourite for the role of Green Lantern on the big screen.

There has even been a fan-made trailer splicing together pieces of different movies and TV shows to portray Fillion in the lead role of pilot Hal Jordan, who finds a powerful ring when a dying alien crash-lands on Earth.

But the 38-year-old was reportedly ruled out of playing the superhero on the grounds of his age and we've just heard that Ryan Reynolds has landed the role of the DC Comics character.

In an interesting new twist, MTV reports that, according to a Twitter message, Fillion has just been in talks at DC Comics, along with Rainn Wilson.

Will Captain America comeback lead to movie casting announcement?

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 20:30:44 +0000

DEATH is often a temporary condition in the world of comic book superheroes.

The latest to be revived is Captain America who, as many people will know, returned in the first issue of a five-part miniseries this month. Be warned that this article contains spoilers on the content of the first issue if you have not yet read it.

The character - real name Steve Rogers - had seemingly been shot dead on the steps of a courthouse in 2007.

Monster makeover for Benicio Del Toro's Wolf Man

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 22:05:00 +0000

THE new big-screen version of The Wolf Man has had a further transformation after the first creature reportedly looked 'too cuddly' and 'daft'.

The movie - a remake of Lon Chaney Jr's 1941 horror classic - will star Benecio Del Toro as the man who sprouts fur and fangs. Also in the movie are Hugo Weaving as Detective Aberline, plus Emily Blunt and Anthony Hopkins.

Warner Bros under pressure to start next Superman movie by 2011

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:55:35 +0000

A NEW court ruling over the rights to Superman has put pressure on Warner Bros to start work on another movie featuring the man of steel.

The studio and DC Comics won a lawsuit filed by the heirs of the character's co-creator Jerry Siegel.

A US District Court judge has ruled that the fee paid by Warner Bros studio bosses to DC Comics to use the character in films and TV shows such as Smallville was at fair market value.

Cameron Diaz in line to join Seth Rogen's Green Hornet

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:13:34 +0000

CAMERON DIAZ is reportedly in talks for a role in the Green Hornet superhero movie starring Seth Rogen.

Rogen co-wrote the film with Evan Goldberg and will star as Daily Sentinel newspaper publisher Britt Reid who, by night, becomes the eponymous masked crimefighter with a sidekick called Kato and a hi-tech car called Black Beauty. Stephen Chow is in line to play Kato.

Entertainment Weekly says 36-year-old Diaz is in "early talks" to play the female lead in the film.

I think it's highly likely the actress is considering an offer to play Reid's secretary Lenore 'Casey' Case, who becomes aware of her boss's dual identity.

French filmmaker Michel Gondry is to direct the movie, which will begin shooting shortly for release on July 9, 2010. The release date was pushed back from June 25, 2010, to make room for the studio's all-star comedy Grown Ups, which was moved to that date from March 12.

Green Hornet began as a radio serial in the 1930s and went on to feature in a 60s TV series starring Van Williams and Bruce Lee and also numerous comic books.

Tangled web: Spider-Man 4 gets third writer for another overhaul

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:54:20 +0000

THE SCREENPLAY for the next film in the Spider-Man franchise is to get another overhaul, it's been revealed.

Zodiac scribe James Vanderbilt was first to put pen to paper on Spider-Man 4. It has since been reworked by Broadway playwright David Lindsay-Abaire, who recently handed in his script to the studio.

The Sony project will now get a further rewrite, this time from Gary Ross, according to Variety.

The Hollywood Diet: sequels, prequels, remakes...but which is the most exciting?

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:53:41 +0000

RECYCLING is a major trend and even the movie world is well and truly on board.

Anyone who follows film news in even the most casual way cannot fail to have spotted the trend for remakes, sequels and prequels.

Part of the reason is that studios are less willing to take huge risks with their investments in this economic climate so they are raiding the archives for familiar names and faces.

Stephen Dorff confirmed for Blade prequel trilogy

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:03:32 +0000

A NEW BLADE trilogy starring Stephen Dorff - and omitting the title character - has now been confirmed

Director Stephen Norrington says the 35-year-old actor had come up with the idea for the new project and that it had "evolved into a very interesting story."

Wimbledon stars Serena and Venus Williams were in line for X-Men role

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:53:07 +0000

SERENA WILLIAMS powered her way to her third Wimbledon title on Saturday, beating her older sister Venus in the women's singles final.

But the tennis-playing twosome nearly had another set of abilities altogether when they were in line for an X-Men movie role.

Harry Potter director nearly took reins on Twilight

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 12:53:22 +0000

HARRY POTTER film-maker Chris Columbus has revealed he could have ended up directing the vampire romance movie Twilight.

Columbus (pictured) had directed the first two adaptations of J.K. Rowling's books - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Sorcerer's Stone in the USA) and the Chamber of Secrets - and was a producer on Prisoner of Azkaban.

He also helmed Home Alone and Mrs Doubtfire and is currently filming children's book adaptation Percy Jackson & The Olympians.

He told MTV he had seen the Twilight script at the start of the adaptation process, admitting: "I did read a script early on. But I was doing something else."

Anna Paquin on True Blood vs Twilight - and returning to the X-Men

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:34:20 +0000

VAMPIRE TV series True Blood has been the subject of many comparisons with the Twilight books and films.

Anna Paquin, who stars in True Blood as telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse, recently made the distinction that her show was very much aimed at an adult audience.

I then took a look at the similarities and differences between True Blood and Twilight.

Paquin has now added to the debate, in a new interview with AOL Television.

The 26-year-old Oscar winner said: "It seems kind of funny. Just because two things happen to end up being released around the same time, it's not like we all got together beforehand and had a chat about how we're going to make sure vampires had a comeback.

The Crow: New film not a remake of Brandon Lee classic

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:33:39 +0000

A NEW film adaptation of The Crow comic book will feature a completely different version of the goth avenger, it's been reported.

Director Stephen Norrington is relaunching the franchise, which was previously adapted into a 1994 film starring Brandon Lee.

It was followed by three film sequels - The Crow: City of Angels in 1996, The Crow: Salvation in 2000, and The Crow: Wicked Prayer in 2005 - and a TV series called The Crow: Stairway to Heaven in 1998.

The first film was a critical and commercial success and has become a cult classic, earning a place in film legend because its star Lee died, at the age of 28, in a tragic gun accident on set. The three sequels were all flops, with the last two going straight to video.