Coventry Telegraph - The Geek Files

Jessica Biel reportedly in talks for role in Thor

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:04:16 +0000

JESSICA BIEL is in talks to play the love interest in Kenneth Branagh's Thor movie, it's being claimed.

Biel, 27, whose film credits include co-starring with Edward Norton in 2006's The Illusionist, is to play a female character who is also in the Hulk vs Thor DVD movie, according to NukeTheFridge.

Bill Nighy joins cast of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:44:21 +0000

BILL NIGHY is no stranger to fantasy adventure movies, having played the elder vampire Viktor in the Underworld series and The Flying Dutchman's tentacle-faced captain Davy Jones in the last two Pirates of the Caribbean films.

He now tells The Independent he has joined the cast of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the two-part film adaptation of the final book in J.K. Rowling's series.

The 59-year-old actor told the newspaper: "I don't think I'm allowed to say it but I'm going to be in the next Harry Potter film. I won't say which character, but he's a goodie. I just got the gig."

Miley Cyrus rumoured for role in X-Men film

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:16:13 +0000

RUMOURS are flying across the internet that American pop star Miley Cyrus may be in line for a role in a future X-Men movie.

The 16-year-old singer and actress, who starred as Hannah Montana in Disney's TV series and movie, was seen having lunch in Los Angeles with Hugh Jackman and a group of producers.

Will Roland Kickinger play the new Conan?

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:37:24 +0000

ROLAND KICKINGER is in talks to play the lead role in the new Conan film, according to The Hollywood Reporter's Risky Biz Blog.

The barbarian warrior was previously brought to the screen in two movies starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, in 1982 and 1984.

Kickinger played the body of the T-800 in new sci-fi prequel Terminator Salvation, with Arnie's face digitally added to recreate the Terminator role he portrayed in the previous films.

The 41-year-old Austrian bodybuilder-turned-actor (pictured above) also played a younger version of the California governor in the 2005 biopic See Arnold Run.

But Latino Review claims its studio sources have dismissed the report as untrue. The site says a casting director has not been hired by Lionsgate and Nu Image/Millennium, the two companies behind the Conan reboot.

Marcus Nispel was recently named as the director of Conan, with shooting to begin in the autumn.

Paramount dismisses rumours that G.I. Joe director was fired

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:15:54 +0000

STUDIO bosses have shot down rumours that claimed Stephen Sommers, the director of upcoming action movie G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, was fired and locked out of the editing room following poor responses to test screenings.

Paramount responded by saying: "In this day and age we are constantly dealing with online rumours that take on a life of their own. We love Steve and couldn't be happier with the movie he made."

According to Variety, Sommers' contract gives him final cut of the film and the early screenings have resulted mostly in positive reviews.

The original allegations have now been deleted from the internet forum where they were posted and G.I. Joe producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura added: "It's very unfair to Steve. It's completely untrue. He was never asked to leave or been fired. That's ridiculous."

In the latest twist, what's claimed to be an early first review of an unfinished version of the film (purportedly from a test screening in March) has now been posted online.

James Bond: Rounding up the rumours on the next film

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 22:00:09 +0000

JUST recently, producer Michael G. Wilson said work had started on the next 007 adventure - known only as Bond 23 at the moment - and that Daniel Craig was keen to return for a third outing as the agent.

The Observer has now reported that screenwriter Paul Haggis is likely to be involved in the script. Haggis had reworked the screenplays for Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, both penned by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. He had also turned down an offer to direct Quantum.

Meanwhile, The Guardian speculates that some of the next Bond movie will be set in Afghanistan's Helmand province after an official at the British embassy in Kabul was hired as a consultant for the film.

It claims the official signed a confidentiality agreement with the filmmakers to prevent any discussion of the project.

It wouldn't be the first time 007 had ventured into Afghanistan. In 1987's The Living Daylights, Timothy Dalton's Bond was imprisoned there in a Russian camp and teamed up with anti-Soviet freedom fighters.

Brian Blessed reportedly cast as Odin in Branagh's Thor

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:33:16 +0000

BRIAN BLESSED has been cast as Odin in Kenneth Branagh's big-screen adaptation of Thor, according to an unconfirmed report.

Bleeding Cool says the English actor - known for his booming voice - has landed the role of Thor's father in the movie, which is based on Marvel's comic book version of the Norse thunder god.

Battlestar Galactica actress in speculation over role in Daredevil or Deadpool films

Sun, 24 May 2009 00:54:07 +0000

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA actress Katee Sackhoff has started a plague of gossip after buying a stack of comic books featuring the character Typhoid Mary.

The character is an enemy and former lover of Daredevil and has also featured in stories with Deadpool. She has multiple personalities and powers of telekinesis as well as pyrokinesis (setting people or objects on fire).

Sackhoff is being linked with the mutant villain (see montage above for Typhoid Mary alongside the actress) after Golden Apple Comics reported that she had visited their Los Angeles store and bought up all issues featuring the character.

Star Trek actor Chris Hemsworth reportedly cast as Thor

Sun, 17 May 2009 16:18:29 +0000

FOUR DAYS ago, director Kenneth Branagh said a casting decision on Thor would come 'sooner rather than later.'

Well, sooner has turned out to be very soon, according to a report from showbiz blogger Nikki Finke at Deadline Hollywood Daily.

Finke says that Branagh and Marvel Studios' chief Kevin Feige have chosen Chris Hemsworth for the part of the hammer-wielding deity.

Australian actor Chris plays Captain James T. Kirk's father George in the opening scenes of the new Star Trek movie. Prior to that he had a long-running role in Down Under soap opera Home and Away.

Hemsworth is 25 and proved charismatic even in just his brief (but pivotal) scenes in the new Star Trek. He's currently filming Joss Whedon horror movie The Cabin in the Woods.

Chris had reportedly read for the part of Thor earlier on but was rejected. His younger brother Liam had got as far as screentesting, but was cut from the shortlist at that stage. Feige was asked to reconsider Chris for the role, and Branagh gave final casting approval.

Variety has confirmed that Hemsworth is in final negotiations but there has not yet been any official announcement of casting for Thor. The film, due out in May, 2011, will be based on Marvel's comic book version of the Norse thunder god.

Rumour: Anthony Hopkins in new Hannibal Lecter movie

Sun, 17 May 2009 13:45:58 +0000

IT APPEARS that the lambs have not been silenced - and neither have the rumours.

There are unsubstantiated reports flying across the internet that Anthony Hopkins is to reprise his role as cannibalistic Dr Hannibal Lecter.

Hopkins, 71, appeared in 1991's The Silence of the Lambs, its sequel Hannibal and the prequel Red Dragon (a 2002 remake of the 1986 Manhunter).

It's now being claimed Hopkins has agreed to a fourth film, with director Ridley Scott also on board.

Does X-Men Origins: Magneto have a new director?

Sun, 10 May 2009 19:18:29 +0000

THE roaring debut of X-Men Origins: Wolverine has been the launchpad for several other spin-offs getting the green light.

We've heard about a second Wolverine film, a Deadpool movie and a Gambit spin-off. And it now seems there is new movement on X-Men Origins: Magneto, a project that would explore the backstory of the magnetically-powered archvillain played in the X-Men trilogy by Ian McKellen.

Sources are now saying that James McTeigue is in negotiations to direct the movie, instead of David S. Goyer. And Internet Movie Database confirms this, with its listing for McTeigue saying he is in talks to take on Magneto.

As I mentioned yesterday, McTeigue is apparently also being sought to take on the Conan remake after Brett Ratner left the director's chair so it will be interesting to see which project he opts for, or whether he is able to do both. At one point, Children of Men director Alfonso Cuaron was also rumoured as a candidate for helming Magneto.

James McTeigue reportedly in line to direct Conan remake

Sat, 09 May 2009 14:13:09 +0000

ONLY a day after it was revealed that Brett Ratner had left the director's chair for the new Conan movie, it's being reported that the producers have lined up James McTeigue to take on the project.

The $120million movie for Nu Image/Milllennium is due to start filming on August 24 in Bulgaria. No lead actor has yet been cast.

Movie site Chud says it has heard McTeigue is in talks over Conan but has not yet signed for the project. The director previously helmed V for Vendetta and the upcoming Ninja Assassin and has a long history of collaboration with the Wachowski brothers, who were themselves once linked to a Conan movie.

While McTeigue has the skills for action movies, he usually ends up working with small budgets - $50million for Ninja Assassin and $54million for V for Vendetta - which has led to some concern that the cash for Conan may now be slashed.

McTeigue had earlier been reported as saying the Wachowskis were to take on the next Superman film, but that report was later dismissed as a load of kraptonite.

Shawn Roberts in auditions for Green Lantern role

Fri, 08 May 2009 00:04:08 +0000

HUNKY Canadian actor Shawn Roberts has emerged as yet another contender for the role of superhero Green Lantern in the Warner Bros movie.

It's being reported by Latino Review that Roberts has auditioned for the film's director Martin Campbell several times.

Roberts, 25, played the unlucky boyfriend that mutant Rogue (Anna Paquin) left in a coma with her first life-draining kiss in Bryan Singer's X-Men in 2000. He was also in the sci-fi film Jumper and has a long list of TV show credits.

He's also just finished working with Campbell on the murder thriller Edge of Darkness.

Roberts is a suitable age and definitely has the right look and physique. Other contenders being mentioned at present are Bradley Cooper, 34, and Brian Austin Green, 35, who are at the upper end of the required age range but still possibilities.

As I reported earlier, the release of Green Lantern has been pushed back from December 17, 2010, to June 17, 2011.

Bradley Cooper latest frontrunner for Green Lantern role

Wed, 06 May 2009 16:40:51 +0000

BRADLEY COOPER is the latest actor linked to the role of Green Lantern in the Warner Bros superhero movie.

Cooper, 34, is known largely for comedy film roles including Wedding Crashers, Failure to Launch, Yes Man, He's Just Not That Into You and upcoming release The Hangover.

Entertainment website HitFix reports: "Bradley Cooper is now one of the guys most likely to don the suit and slip on the power ring as the Green Lantern for director Martin Campbell.

"They have not hired him yet. But the process is far enough along that this is more than just a meeting or some spot on a wishlist.

Michael C Hall or Matt Damon for Daredevil reboot

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:47:14 +0000

TOM ROTHMAN, the co-chairman of 20th Century Fox, said last October that the studio was seriously considering a reboot of the Daredevil franchise, saying: "What it really needs is a visionary at the level of [The Dark Knight director] Chris Nolan."

Rothman explained: "It needs someone who has a genuine vision. What we wouldn't do is just do it for the sake of doing it. What we try to do is to get a creative engine for it, that really had a great vision for it, that's what we would look for."

But who could step into the role of Daredevil, the Marvel Comics' acrobatic crimefighter who 'sees' via an enhanced sonar sense? By day, the character is blind lawyer Matt Murdock so it needs someone who is also convincing in that intelligent, articulate courtroom role...