Personally I don't think it necessarily needs to be made as the nature of the Superman character never really intrigued me and the original Christopher Reeve films are going to have a hard time being matched, but just because it is challenging doesn't mean you shouldn't try and apparently they still are.

Peter at SlashFilm sent over word he had been sent backdoor entrance into a password protected portion of the Legendary Picture site where the above screen capture obviously indicates they are still hard at work trying to get something put together as the latest working title is Superman Unleashed with the following description:

Ramping up the action of its esteemed predecessor, the sequel to �Superman Returns� promises to raise the stakes and take the audience to heights of action that no other superhero movie can achieve.

First off, JoBlo talked to Will Smith regarding another Hancock film and got this:

We just got done talking to Will Smith, who's promoting SEVEN POUNDS, and he told us that we'll "definitely" be seeing a sequel. When we asked Will if he'd ever be up for playing another superhero he replied that there were a lot of unexplored characters in the HANCOCK universe that would be ripe for a sequel and confirmed that we'll definitely see the rumored HANCOCK 2 in a few years.

"Sin City 2 is written," he told the site. "It's mainly a matter of working out the details of the production. I'm hoping to do it with Robert Rodriguez again in the same circumstances that we did the first one, and we could be shooting as soon as April."

JH: But there is talk of a new film, though. Are you officially involved in this talk of the new film?

BS: I am not officially involved in the talk, no.

JH: But when talk happens they�ll call you.

BS: Well it�s, you know, I have relationships with Warner Brothers and with the character and, and, and, and it�s just the way things work out.

JH: But you are not divorced from Superman at this point.

BS: No.

Garth over at DH reached out to those that reported on the story pointing to an update where he reports the following:

A representative from Kennedy Miller Mitchell has categorically denied Monday's scoop that Dr. George Miller is off the 'Justice League' project. They have confirmed that Miler did not appear on the 'Sunrise Morning Show' let alone discuss anything to do with "Justice League" or "Mad Max".

I guess, for now, the abandonment of the Justice League project will just have to continue to be fanboy wishful thinking for the time being. You can read my original report on the situation here.]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/zombie-on-halloween-2-frank-on-apes-prequel-and-miller-off-justice-league

THE GOOD: The only film I am mildly interested in is the proposed new Planet of the Apes-like film and apparently it has now been confirmed that The Lookout writer/director Scott Frank is set to helm the feature and is busy rewriting the Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver previous script. It was previously said the film was a remake of Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, the story of Caesar, the first ape who could speak and led the ape uprising. Frank stressed in a new interview with CHUD (which strangely doesn't include a single quote) his ape film, titled Caesar, will be nothing like Conquest, here's a snippet:

Caesar is not a remake of Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. This is a fact that Frank can't stress to you enough - his film will not feature talking monkeys, and it will not end with chimpanzees running wild in the streets, taking over the world. But it isn't entirely divorced from the world of Planet of the Apes, either. In fact, Frank sees his movie as the opening chapter in a saga that could span the thousand years between today and a world where apes rule.

What's most exciting about Caesar is that Frank is committed to telling a hard science fiction story. The science that creates a hyper-intelligent chimpanzee is based on current real world research - this film would just take that science one step further.

THE BAD: Yesterday Dark Horizons reported that George Miller (Happy Feet) confirmed to the Sydney-based morning show "Sunrise" that he is no longer involved in the proposed Justice League film at Warner Bros. and that if it does get made it will be recast as "the studio seem to want bigger stars in their superhero movies now."

Miller was putting together a rag-tag group of teen TV stars for the feature making it damn near laughable. In all honesty, I just can't see this film getting made based on the current state of the Batman franchise, the slow death of the Superman franchise and the amount of money it would cost to create. The curious piece to the story is that Dark Horizons has removed the story, which was originally located here and luckily I had it saved in my browser before it disappeared. Was the reported news false? Who knows? Who cares?

THE UGLY: Shock Till You Drop is reporting Rob Zombie may be returning to the abortion of a Halloween film he created to direct the sequel. The news was originally a little sketchy since it was from an "insider" but the site has since updated the article with the following note:

I've been informed that Trancas International is sending out a press release in the next day or so. It appears we may be on the money with this. This afternoon, I put in one call to one of Zombie's reps and received a "no comment." In regards to something of this nature, I fully understand that the producers would want to give it a proper break in the trade papers. So, if confirmation does indeed come down in the coming days, just remember where you read it first!

Devin Faraci at CHUD has word of a remake of Conquest of the Planet of the Apes called Genesis: Apes that was written by Rick Jaffa (The Relic) and Amanda Silver (The Relic and The Hand That Rocks the Cradle). The film is something of an origin story centering on a baby monkey that is raised in a human household and shows signs of great intelligence and the ability to talk. The monkey grows up and sees mommy getting attacked, kills the attacker and is subsequently shipped off to an Ape Conservatory where he and the other apes are abused mercilessly. Get the rest of the story at CHUD.

Darren Aronofsky says his reboot of RoboCop will be a "real reinvention." Yay!

Brandon Routh talked about a sequel to Superman Returns and the idea of a darker story with IESB:

"I don't think the character necessarily has to be darker, I think he is kind of dark in a sense, emotional dark, in Superman Returns, and the movie as a whole was slightly dark, they could have had more prowess in it I suppose, and I think that's one thing that can be done in the sequel, so I don't know how much darker you want to make it necessarily. There are all kind of dark places to explore. But, I don't think Superman should ever be dark and brooding, that's not is nature. And that's now what people what to see."

FAKE OR REAL? MoviesOnline.ca has a picture from S. Darko featuring Daveigh Chase (The Ring) as the title character Samantha. The picture looks real to me, but the poster below it is obviously fake.

J. Michael Straczynski (Changeling, Ninja Assassin) is working on writing a remake of the 1956 sci-fi classic Forbidden Planet which featured the introduction of Robby the Robot.

David Lindsay-Abaire, who won a Pulitzer in 2007 for his play "Rabbit Hole," is in final negotiations to write Spider-Man 4 for Columbia. There is no word on whether this is a page-one task or a rewrite of James Vanderbilt's previous script.

Maggie Cheung and Samuel L. Jackson have been cast in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds as Madame Mimieux, the French matron of the Cinematheque and the narrator respectively.

IGN has yet another age gated top ten, this time it is Top 10 Halloween Kills.

According to a survey from MovieTickets.com this is the list of the most anticipated films of 2009:

1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Warner Bros)
2. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Fox)
3. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Paramount)
4. Public Enemies (Universal)
5. Angels and Demons (Sony)
6. Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian (Fox)
7. The Informant (Warner Bros)
8. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (Fox)
9. The Day the Earth Stood Still (Fox)
10. The Taking of Pelham 123 (Sony)

Chris Nolan was asked about Justice League in relation to his Batman films (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight) and came to the conclusion that in his films "superheroes simply don't exist" making the case for why a crossover such as Justice League just wouldn't work in his story. For a complete look at the quote in context click here.

Even more set pics from Sherlock Holmes are now online.

Ron Perlman is supposedly in line to take over for Bruce Campbell in Bubba Nosferatu. So says Paul Giamatti.

POSTERS: Fanboys, five new posters from Hotel for Dogs (one, two, three, four, five), Seven Pounds, Adam Resurrected and Cadillac Records

MTV has a first look at Robert Pattinson as Salvador Dali in Little Ashes.

Bloody-Disgusting has a tiny first look at George A. Romero's next zombie film. Big whoop...]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/new_batman_is_found_20080926 The Dark Knight elevated Batman to a level I am sure Warner Bros. never anticipated and it looks like one Batman just isn't enough.

E! Online has a scoop that Armie Hammer, an actor that has seen a little bit of TV work on shows such as "Desperate Housewives" and "Veronica Mars" as well as a role in Flicka as Male Prefect, is next in line to play the caped crusader in the continuing attempts to bring the Justice League to the big screen in George Miller's Justice League: Mortal currently rumored to be hitting theaters in 2011.

Of course, this gives Christopher Nolan and company more than enough time to hammer out a third film in the Nolan Batman Trilogy, such as a 2010 release with the start of the Justice League in 2011, but Hammer is going to be facing comparisons to Christian Bale the entire time.

E! caught up with Hammer and got the news straight from his mouth when he said, "That guy's got his sh*t down," referring to Bale, then jokingly adding, "My codpiece is bigger." Hammer is currently shooting "The Reaper" for CW in Vancouver. Hammer has apparently been attached to the role ever since first being rumored as Batman discussing his early training in Australia for the part before production was shut down due to reported script issues and the lingering writers' strike.

"I would spend hours training with actual guns to prepare me for this stuff," Hammer said. "It was very intense. Our workout regimens were so rigorous that most of us would vomit. We weren't trying to get ourselves aesthetically good looking. We were trying to get ready for the demands of shooting."

I get anxious when thinking about these massive superhero films such as Justice League: Mortal and The Avengers, because unlike X-Men, these two films are taking major superheroes known by more than just comic book fans and tossing them into one film together. If it costs upwards of $150-250 million to make one big budget superhero movie how much will it cost to make one with all the superheroes? Where do you skimp if budget cuts must be made? The cast is where it looks like the cuts will be made with a tendency to bring in smaller name TV actors, but the superhero audience is proving to be a more sophisticated and judgmental audience than I believe studios originally believed. Will they buy into a CW-style superhero flick even if it has their favorite heroes? Just gonna have to wait and see.]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/top_ten_movie_sequels

With The Dark Knight now firmly set as the second largest grossing film of all-time with I felt there was no time better than right now to take a look at the all-time greatest sequels in film history. Not an easy task and many factors must be considering when devising such a list.

First off, I didn't consider any of the James Bond films or the Man with No Name films (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, For a Few Dollars More, A Fistful of Dollars) as sequels. To me pulling out one James Bond film is pretty much impossible. I have my personal favorite (The Living Daylights) and perhaps I will do a list of James Bond films when Quantum of Solace releases, but for now this list is without a Bond film. I also didn't add any of the films from The Lord of the Rings trilogy. For a while I had Two Towers on this top ten, but decided to nix it as those films were basically all made as one giant film and released broken up into three parts. You may disagree with the decision, but if you think it is disrespectful of the films check out my list of Top Ten Film Trilogies and you should have renewed faith.

Other than those two exceptions the only qualification was that you had to be a direct and intended sequel to a theatrically released film. I say "theatrically released" because that restricts film such as The Queen, which was, for all intents and purposes, a sequel to the 2003 HBO/Channel 4 TV film The Deal. As much as I love The Queen it just doesn't fit the criteria. So, with that said, let's get underway with the Top Ten Movie Sequels of all-time.

This list includes at least eight films I consider to be better than their original film and two others that serve as a complete toss-up for most. I am not sure how much you will agree or disagree with my decisions, but I am sure you will have an opinion...

Superman II

Photo: Warner Home Video

Rocky II

Photo: 20th Century Fox

Magnum Force

Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures

Aliens

Photo: 20th Century Fox

The Dark Knight

Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures

The Bourne Ultimatum / The Bourne Supremacy

Photo: Universal Pictures

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Photo: Paramount Home Entertainment

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

Photo:20th Century Fox

Before Sunset

Photo: Warner Home Video

The Godfather Part II

Photo: Paramount Home Entertainment

A few films just missed making the list including X2: X-Men United, Star Trek IV: Voyage Home, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Rocky IV, Kill Bill: Volume Two, Infernal Affairs 2, Spider-Man 2 (even though I am not a fan) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/isnt_it_too_early_for_a_superman_restart As fanboys got their quick fix of stock tips they also skimmed through the online version of the Wall Street Journal and came across an article by Lauren A.E. Schuker discussing the future of Warner Bros. and their hope to have eight big budget films a year by 2011. A staggering number if you ask me. Apparently a bulk of those films will be occupied by superheroes as they have finally figured out that every 14-year-old in the world will go see a comic book movie even if Nic Cage is in it. On top of that, if you actually make a good movie people over the age of 14 will go see it as well, and they will see it multiple times.

The Dark Knight and its soon-to-be $500 million domestic box-office tally is obviously the reasoning behind this epiphany, but it seems Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk helped pave the way as they hint at a superhero merger of sorts with a planned Avengers film in 2011 that will bring superhero properties such as Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and others together in one movie. Yippe-ki-yay, it's an orgiastic feast of metal men running around with guys with wings on their heads. This is great!

WB scoffs at the idea that this could be singularly exclusive to the world of Marvel, which spawned the likes of Spider-Man, Iron Man, Hulk and other misfits of superhero lore. Warner Bros. owns the rights to the DC Comics side of things, a hand-painted source of folks such as Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Flash, Wonder Woman and then some. An idea for a mash-up of the heroes called Justice League of America fell through earlier this year. The writers' strike was to blame, but the fact that they cast a bunch of tweens couldn't have helped along with the outcry of hatred from an online fan base that didn't want the film to exist in any form it seemed like. I would say the distaste for the film was not the idea per se as much as it seemed to be the feeling that it was coming together as a rush job, an obvious complaint since you don't want to bury the characters before they get their fair shot, and fair shot they shall get.

Along with a third Batman film (duh), Warner Bros also aims to be working on a reintroduction of Superman (more on that in a sec) as well as two movies focusing on other DC Comics characters. Which two exactly is not known, but movies featuring Green Lantern, Flash, Green Arrow, and Wonder Woman are all in active development. The goal of each is to copy The Dark Knight in tone, keep it dark and keep it brooding. "We're going to try to go dark to the extent that the characters allow it," Warner Bros. Pictures Group President Jeff Robinov says. That goes for the company's Superman franchise as well.

Yup, instead of Superman Returns 2 With His Super Son we are going to get Superman Goes Dark. There is no telling of when exactly the Superman restart will take place, but it certainly sounds like it is in active development and I would definitely expect it no later than 2011 since that seems to be the year Robinov expects his new experiment to be running at full-steam. However, that means it�s only going to be five years between Superman franchises, which is a bit different than a few years between sequels.

The quote Robinov gave the WSJ says "the plan is just to reintroduce Superman," which makes me believe Brandon Routh would not be back as Clark Kent/Superman and everything we saw in 2006 is forgotten. Doesn't this sound a bit like the Incredible Hulk franchise at Universal, which went five years between original to reboot and only managed to score $2 million more at the box-office, while spending $13 million more to make the second flick? Not exactly winning numbers. On top of that I don't think the problem with Superman Returns was that it wasn't dark and disturbing enough, the problem was that it was long and boring. The first Christopher Reeve Superman in 1978 wasn't a dark tale and it was good, the sequel was even better. The problem was the script and the story and the Super Son should have been the clue that the film had problems. Then again, at least it didn't have a giant spider at the end. Right, Kevin Smith?

Maybe I am the wrong one to comment because I have never been a huge fan of Superman in the first place. My problem exists around the fact that he is Superman; he's unstoppable unless you get a bit of Kryptonite or are simply bad ass, a la General Zod. In Superman Returns he took a bullet to the eye for crying out loud, which still makes me wonder why he had such a hard time stopping that plane. I do enjoy the 1978 and 1980 Superman flicks so I am interested in seeing more, but I think it is one hell of a hard sell to general audiences unless you can find an actor such as Christopher Reeve to really connect with the audience. I thought Routh was fine and the story failed him, maybe give him a second chance, but can you really do that with a reboot and if so what do we do with that stinking kid?

As for that Kevin Smith remark a 'graph back take 19 minutes out of your day and watch the following video, and that fake poster I made is just below the video. Also be sure to vote in the poll just below the poster.

Not perfect, but it was fun to make... I put a hi-res version on my blog
Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures

And I'll be like, "�TA'? What's TA?" (because I'm stupid slow when it comes to acronyms).

"The�Avengers."

"Ohhhh. TA. Very clever. Almost like a music note." I'll say. "Hmm. I don't know. I guess I'll be somewhat open-minded, especially if Robert Downey Jr. signs up. These days, I could watch him in anything, doing the strangest of things�like a minstrel show�because he's that damn special."

"You wanna see a TA film? Screw you el douchebago! JLA rules!" the snot-nosed fanboy will yell and then run (well more likely, since the snot-nosed fanboy is probably overweight�maybe even obese�he'll shuffle) off home to watch his bronzed copy of Underworld: Evolution.

No, no, no. It could go the other way though. I forgot we're talking about a true snot-nosed fanboy here (very fickle)�the type who saw Fantastic Four an ironic (yet charming) four times in the theater (even though he said he hated it), but it was based on a comic book and it did have Jessica Alba, so actually, he sort of liked it. So what if she can't act? And he bought the DVD, maybe even 2 copies for collector's sake. So really, because I will waffle a tad�"Hmmm I don't know"�I might provoke this retort: "You don't wanna see a TA film? Screw you la douchebaga! JLA and TA rock!"

And I will not know how to respond, other than to scream, as the snot-nosed fanboy runs (or most likely shuffles) across the street, "Watch out for that cement tru�!"

Be buzzed for a comic book movie. Snot-nosed fanboys flame you. Spew some hot magma towards a comic book movie. Snot-nosed fanyboys flame you. You can never satisfy a snot-nosed fanboy with your opinion. Although you can satisfy me by hitting a snot-nosed fanboy with a very big truck�preferably traveling no less than 70 kilometers per hour.

Could I see The Avengers delivering a lesson in cinematic pain? Oh yeah. Definitely. It faces several of the same obstacles JLA does (Did? Really is this film truly dead? Could we get some confirmation from someone other than Joel Silver?). You have a eccentric assortment of characters (like Wonder Woman in JLA, how would you make Thor fit into the somewhat believable world of Iron Man?) and some silly ass costumes to translate into reality (Captain America, anyone? Just like The Flash, he's got stupid wings on his head too).

Yet, the one element (other than my man Downey) packing hope for The Avengers is how Marvel has tackled the issue of exposition. Unlike JLA, which would have been a stand-alone flick with no ties to Christopher Nolan's Batman or Bryan Singer's Superman and would have had to build from scratch, Marvel is connecting its cinematic properties by cross populating the different franchises with the same characters�played by the same actors. It's just like taking the model for continuity and exposition for comics and retrofitting it for cinema. So when The Avengers arrives, it could be considered a quasi-sequel and doesn't need to be bogged down with introducing all the characters and origins and such.

Now, I'm not saying this is going to work. But it could. And Marvel has taken it one step further with the tentatively titled Captain America movie, The First Avenger: Captain America (terrible title by the way, almost as bad as the I-refuse-to-repeat-it title for Wolverine). I don't think it takes much reading into this to detect that The First Avenger (or TFACA) will heavily establish the foundation for The Avengers�in fact, The Avengers might be played off as a direct sequel to Cap's flick (pure conjecture though).

I'm not sold on The Avengers. Yet, nor am I going to act like I'm sucking lemons when talking about it either. I'll just wait and see, and let the snot-nosed fanboys twist their Batman underpants over it for the next few years. And hopefully they'll watch out for cement trucks when taken hold by one of their typical frothing frenzies.]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/top_ten_superhero_movies

With the upcoming release of Iron Man, The Dark Knight, The Incredible Hulk and even Hellboy 2 I felt it was a perfect time to take a look at my top ten favorite superhero movies before four new contenders vie for a spot.

Unbreakable

The Incredibles

Batman

Blade II

Superman

Superman II

Constantine

The Crow

A rocker, with a perfect life comes home to a horrible situation. His wife is being raped. He tries to intervene and gets stabbed and shot, then thrown out the window. A crow carries his spirit and he comes back to kill everyone.

X2: X-Men United

Batman Begins

You tell me... What are your favorites? Are you upset a certain web-slinger didn't make it onto my list?

I also wonder if you think V for Vendetta is a superhero movie? I almost added it and if I did I felt it would have come in at #1. The Crow is very similar to Vendetta in that it is an origin tale, but I think the far more supernatural elements to The Crow are what gives it a superhero classification I just couldn't give to V.]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/justice_league_served_its_pink_slip
CHUD tells us that producer Joel Silver said Justice League in its current form has been "tabled", which is to say that all the names you have heard that were cast in it are buh-bye. But hey, maybe a dumb Wonder Woman film can get made instead.]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/shallow_end_the_justice_league_boondoggle
I've been slagging the Justice League of America movie ever since it busted from the phantom zone and into a holy-sh*t-they're actually-making-this entry on the Warner Bros' production slate. Then the writers' strike scissor kicked the project at the neck, which caused me to boogy and perform several other sacrilegious acts upon its grave. And now the damn thing is back. It's the Michael Myers of dumbass film projects�as long as money can be made, you can't kill the bastard.

It's not that I want a craptastic JLA flick (especially one with some of my favorite characters such as Supes and Bats). I'm a fan of director George Miller, and if he pulls this rabbit from out his hat then maybe he'll have enough clout to make the fabled Mad Max 4: Fury Road. Nothing would please me more than to stroll into a screening of JLA and come crawling out, humbled and with crow feathers between my teeth.

However, my beef with JLA isn't the direction the film appears to be heading (bad script, horrible casting), it has more to do with the fact that I don't believe a good film can be made of JLA. The concept doesn't easily lend itself to film. Too many characters with too divergent of backgrounds. How do you fit Wonder Woman with her weird ass origins into the same puzzle with the Green Lantern or Batman and make sense of it? How do you do it without a flood of silliness spilling in? Sh*t, how do you translate Wonder Woman's and The Flash's costumes to live action without looking ridiculous? The guy has got freakin' wings on his head. Wings!

Yet, with all of that said, I was still willing to give JLA, as a workable film concept, a shot. Last week the animated Justice League: The New Frontier (buy it here) landed on the DVD racks and some folks were going clown happy over it. The source of praise bellowed from AintItCool.com, mainly its head honcho Sir Harry Knowles. On February 2nd he already declared the film�in full Pete Hammond fashion�his favorite film of 2008. And that was just the first sentence. Later on Knowles slobbed the knob more by declaring, "the absolute best comic film has been accomplished." Hahaaa, f**k you Daredevil!

Outrageously awesome hyperbole of the most brilliantly insipid masterpiece nature (!!!) and Harry Knowles go together like Fonzie and his leather jacket. Without it Knowles would just be another rumor chasing greaser with a bad haircut in the movie news business. Nonetheless, despite my opinion of Knowles (unrepentant shill!!! but likeable guy!!!), I occasionally get caught up in the man's contagious enthusiasm�falsely constructed or not. So the other day, as an impulse buy, I dropped a few dollars for The New Frontier (mission accomplished Sir Knowles, well played). I figured if this film is half as great as proclaimed, then maybe there's hope for a live-action JLA film.

Hope quashed.

The New Frontier didn't form a black hole of suck and collapse my skull or anything. Nor did it rock my Reeboks off either. It was mediocre. But more than that, it emphasized all of the pickles I foresee with Miller's JLA boondoggle: half-baked characters, thudding stretches of exposition, and jarring juxtapositions of the characters' wildly different worlds. Even with so much of the film dedicated to exposition, you'd have to be a comic fan to understand a fair share of whom and what is happening in the movie. What's the deal with Wonder Woman and chicks? Or who in the hell is that gay looking Robin Hood wannabe who shows up for no apparent reason during the climax? And what do some egg-head dudes have to do with the Green Lantern? In fact, what is a "Green Lantern" and why in the f**k does his Cracker Jack decoder ring do cool sh*t that mine can't. Some noncomic readers, such as my mom, would suffer an aneurism trying to figure out this stuff if the movie was her sole stream of info. What's that? My mom isn't the target audience? Don't talk about my mom you dick!

Now, I understand with the film being animated it would have a significantly shorter running time than a live-action version. Yet, even a two hour version of this story would still suffer from the discombobulated tones and exposition issues�and two hours still isn't a big enough canvass to make a well rounded film with so many characters. Plus the live-action version would still have to deal with the wings on The Flash's head. Freakin' wings!

So, if The New Frontier, according to Knowles and others, is the ideal Justice League film, then I'm just going to keep sharpening my knives for Miller's version. The foundation is sand. It won't work. However, I'd love nothing more than to be proven wrong.*

* I won't.]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/justice_league_loses_moviegoers_win Justice League movie by the middle of this week. Thanks to IESB.net we can now stop holding our breath and go back to watching "American Idol". JLA is on hold. Which in Hollywood speak tends to mean "dead."

Perhaps I am being (very, very) optimistic and it doesn't mean "dead" entirely, but one can hope. Nevertheless, this outcome seemed inevitable. If you Googled the movie, I bet 99% of the articles include the word, "troubled." Honestly, I always wondered whether the news of a JLA movie was just an epic prank pulled on Internet fan boys by a bored Warner Bros. suit still pissed over getting flame-broiled for Batman and Robin.

It's no secret that a few of us here at RopeofSilicon were anticipating a JLA movie like the outcome of napalm in a microwave. A JLA movie is just a goofy idea, no matter how you spin it. The premise requires too much exposition to make good cinema. So either we'd get a movie that was all setup or one that was completely half-baked. Regardless, the final result would probably be a silly, tire-mark on the undies of Batman Begins (and even Superman Returns) sort of McDonald's movie. Our universe is better off without a JLA film.

I'm glad Warner Bros. (for now) agrees. Apparently, few were happy with director George Miller's cast of rejects from Laguna Beach playing some of America's greatest fictional icons�although part of me doubts Warner Bros. had trouble with this, after all this is the studio that was courting Josh Hartnett and Ashton Kutcher for Superman�and reportedly no one was feeling jolly about the script. So no writers equals no rewrites which equals no film. In my mind, the writer's strike has accomplished its mission and then some. Pin a medal on these heroes.

Now maybe Miller can go and finally make Mad Max: Fury Road, a film in which I've read nothing but exuberant raves about from everyone who has either viewed the script or preproduction work. But that's just me being (very, very) optimistic again. ]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/dont_expect_justice_league_too_soon Variety's Anne Thompson posted an interesting little tidbit on her blog today with regards to the world of DC Comics and films relating to Superman, Batman and the hot topic Justice League. It seems she has it on good information that Bryan Singer will not be returning to direct Man of Steel, the long talked about follow-up to Singer's Superman Returns, as Singer is expected to begin work on The Mayor of Castro Street following Valkyrie. As a matter of fact, the Man of Steel movie may be thrown on the back burner and left to simmer as Justice League is the most likely place fans will be seeing Superman any time soon, but even with that project "soon" is relative word.

Thompson goes on to say that Justice League will likely not be shot, however, until after the WGA strike is resolved. This doesn't come as a huge surprise considering Warner Bros. has always been quite careful with their superhero films since the final two installments in the first Batman franchise.

Speaking of Batman, the whole article was prompted by Thompson's run in with The Dark Knight helmer Christopher Nolan at a Christmas party in the Hollywood Hills. She goes on to say that Warners is so happy with Dark Knight that their fondest hope is that Nolan will return to do another Batman.

Ahhh, isn't that the hope we all have? Just make sure the idea of a Justice League movie featuring a different Batman doesn't spoil his mood.]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/is_this_the_new_wonder_woman
After browsing the numerous fanboy websites all I seem to read in their comments are how even the fanboys are not excited about the Justice League movie and even though I am not a comic book reader making my opinion on the matter not worth much at all, I can say I am also not interested. My primary disinterest lends to the fact that it steps all over the toes of Christopher Nolan and his Batman franchise as well as Bryan Singer and his potential Superman franchise. As much as I disliked Superman Returns I would still love to see Singer get a chance to redeem himself without this ensemble feature in place.

However, we aren't here to discuss my dislike at the idea for this film, we are here to talk about the news AICN dropped today as they proclaim Aussie actress Megan Gale is "100% going to be" Wonder Woman in George Miller's flick.

Apparently the news originated in Australian magazine "Who Magazine" and AICN claims to have confirmed the news with "multiple independent sources within Warner Bros. and unnamed agencies". Soooooo, I guess we can say this is "confirmed" casting... This does agree with the casting information SuperheroHype! announced back on November 19th.

I gotta wonder... does this matter to any of you?]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/conflicting_justice_league_cast_names_batman_too Justice League as SuperheroHype's casting speculation agrees with IESB on those counts (get the earlier report here, but there are some differences.

IESB said they weren't confident in the word that "Friday Night Lights" star Scott Porter would be playing Superman and SHH is right there with them on that one speculating that D.J. Cotrona is there currently rumored man for the blue tights.

In the role of Batman they have heard Armie Hammer is the man; as opposed to Adam Brody as The Flash they report it may be Anton Yelchin, which is doubtful since he is going to be busy with Star Trek for quite some time as he plays Chekov in the new film.

SHH continues saying Santiago Cabrera is rumored to play Aquaman, Zoe Kazan to play Iris and Megan Gale (who hasn't been in a movie since Stealth in 2005) as Wonder Woman.

Quite frankly this sounds like a bunch of BS to me, because I get the feeling fanboys will eat the filmmakers alive if Common is the most well known name in the cast. Not a good decision in my estimation.]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/justice_league_casting_rumors_including_superman Justice League casting rumors, some more credible than others, but finally - as news of a complete casting announcement looms - I think we are getting somewhere as IESB has leaked three names they have recently been whispered.

The names are...
Adam Brody as The Flash...

Common as Green Lantern...

..and Teresa Palmer as Talia al Ghul, the daughter of Ra's al Ghul played by Ken Watanabe and ultimately Liam Neeson in Batman Begins

Then, on top of that, Slash Film is reporting that Scott Porter of "Friday Night Lights" fame will play Superman. I have put together four little image previews for each actor and their character to give you and idea of what to look forward to. We are expecting an official announcement next week.]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/strike_updates_on_angels_and_demons_transformers_2_and_more Yeah, if you are anything like me that last question really sticks with yah. Variety has posted a rather lengthy article taking a look at the status of several films from the majority of the studios giving an update on where they stand and what we should expect. We are talking about films like Angels and Demons, Transformers 2, Tony Gilroy's Duplicity, G.I. Joe, Nottingham, X-Files 2, Justice League and Wolverine. All of these films are expected to go into production inside the next six months, but should this strike continue perhaps you will only see half of them when you were expecting too.

First things first, the films that are expected to start on schedule include Angels and Demons with Ron Howard and Tom Hanks back for the sequel to The Da Vinci Code, Duplicity with Julia Roberts and Clive Owen, Wolverine and G.I. Joe. While Tony Gilroy says he could shoot his script word-for-word, he does say that "it's not ideal any way you look at it. This is all an experiment. I'm happy I don't start shooting till March." However, later start dates may not matter in some cases.

Transformers 2 is currently moving forward as the project is far enough along to go into pre-production, location scouting and advance VFX work, but will face serious issues if the strike continues for several months. TF2 is not set to start filming until June, but I am guessing if the strike lasts too long it could be in serious jeopardy.

Angels and Demons has a script, a director and a star, but nothing else. Akiva Goldsman rushed the script to meet the November 1st deadline, but nothing is known of its status. Word out of Columbia is that the Tony Scott and Denzel Washington remake The Taking of Pelham 123 is also having script issues.

As for G.I. Joe, Stuart Beattie, John Lee Hancock, Brian Koppleman and David Levien teamed up to finish the script, which producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura says is a shootable script. However, while Paramount insists it is going to meet its February start date I have to wonder if a studio would actually move forward on a $100-million film with only a "shootable script" since no one will be around to polish it up during the shoot.

Wolverine and X-Files 2 are expected to move along without a hitch as well as Fox's The Day the Earth Stood Still with Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly and Kathy Bates remaking the 1951 sci-fi classic.

Finally, the superhero ensemble that even the fanboy sites have stopped talking about, Justice League, remains uncast and is a crucial potential franchise boasting popular DC Comics characters. Apparently if the strike goes beyond February the studio will have to re-evaluate the film.

The Variety article mentions several other films, read the complete article here.]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/justice_league_wonder_woman_is Moviehole is reporting that the role of Wonder Woman in the upcoming superhero ensemble feature Justice League has been cast and it is none other than Teresa Palmer, co-star of The Grudge 2 and Wolf Creek . Personally I couldn't care less about this film since I think it steps all over the toes of Dark Knight helmer Christopher Nolan as he makes his Batman franchise and ruins that chances of creating a successful Superman franchise. I think the casting of Palmer is just fine, but who really cares?

Like director George Miller, Palmer herself is an Aussie. Moviehole reports that Palmer barely beat out "Friday Night Lights" star Minka Kelly and Mary Elizabeth Winstead for the part. Yay.]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/superman_returns_scribes_will_not_return_for_sequel Man of Steel ever get made? Speculation on the follow-up to Bryan Singer's Superman Returns has been batted around a lot lately, and with Warner Bros. pushing forward their superhero ensemble feature Justice League doesn't bode well for a Superman solo flight any time soon, and now that it has been made official that Returns scripters Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris have decided not to return for the sequel WB is taking pitches for the next installment.

Variety also adds fuel to the fire saying, "Industry chatter claimed the studio would start fresh with a new take on the Man of Steel, as if the previous pic never happened." While I didn't really think Superman Returns was very good I didn't think it was Hulk-bad and needs to be forgotten. Apparently the problems seem to be with the introduction of Superman's son with Lois Lane on top of box-office dollars ($391 million worldwide). Of course if money is mentioned at all we all pretty much know that is the reason, but can you believe we live in a world now were a movie that makes $391 million worldwide is looked at as a relative failure? Yikes, movies sure have changed.

Of course, this is all just speculation and the article goes on to say that WB is still calling it a sequel and Brandon Routh is expected to be back as Supes, which I am cool with since I actually thought Routh was pretty good, at the very least moderately decent.]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/who_are_the_potential_justice_league_members The Hollywood Reporter has posted an article saying that 35-40 actors took place in a casting marathon for director George Miller in Los Angeles today, October 14, and will continue tomorrow as they test for roles in the comic book movie Justice League of America. Who are the candidates? They have a list.

On the roll call are Adam Brody (Fox's "The O.C."), Joseph Cross (Running With Scissors), D.J. Cotrona ("Windfall"), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Grindhouse), Michael Angarano (Sky High), Teresa Palmer (Wolf Creek), Max Thieriot (Jumper) and rapper Common.

The cast of NBC's "Friday Night Lights" is well-represented as well, with Minka Kelly, Adrianne Palicki and Scott Porter also among those testing for parts. No costumes are involved in the tests, which are being taped as actors read script pages.

The article goes on to say that Miller is looking for very young names as he hopes the actors will grow into their roles over the course of several movies. Miller is not necessarily testing the actors for any specific roles, but looking more at how the actors interact with one another while keeping an eye on the look of the whole group. The director is due to present his findings to the studio midweek.

Stay tuned, IESB is reporting that WB may be looking at November 18, 2007 as the day the names are officially announced. Why that day, I have no idea.]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/tyrese_as_the_green_lantern love the Green Lantern and want someone ultra cool to play the character. IESB reported that T.I. has read for the part of John Stewart/Green Lantern in WB's Justice League, but news comes today from UGO that Tyrese is also in the running to play the superhero.

However, the site does note that Tyrese is merely one of several potential candidates that Warner Bros. is considering for the role, which means no one knows yet what the hell is going to happen. I do know one thing though, if Tyrese gets cast they will have to add a line to the script where the Green Lantern yells, "Bring IT!" because Tyrese delivers that line like he was born to say it... He really should trademark it and have t-shirts made.

Ironically enough, while IESB did not mention Tyrese as a candidate they did say they "were told studio execs were looking for a young hip actor that would cater to the urban demographic, a Tyrese Gibson or Common-type (I don�t know if either of these guys ever read or were contacted for this film)." Perhaps the suits are reading.

Who knows what will happen?]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/what_does_justice_league_need_to_succeed Justice League is going to become. Warner Bros. has put the film on the fast track for production, but will they be able to move as quickly as they would like with the stars they are interested in?

Three days after we learned Jessica Biel had been offered the role of Wonder Woman in the Justice League we get word she turned the film down from Entertainment Weekly. This certainly doesn't help production, and I am now starting to wonder what caliber actors they are going to be able to land for this massive ensemble piece.

Just the other day MTV posted an article with a wishlist of actors for roles in the film. The list went like this:

• Superman: Tom Welling
• Batman: Christian Bale
• Flash: Ryan Reynolds
• Green Lantern: Jamie Foxx
• Aquaman: Ryan Phillippe
• Wonder Woman: Kate Beckinsale
• Martian Manhunter: Keanu Reeves

The reason I point this list out is because it would cost TONS to get all of these folks in one movie, not to mention how much it would cost to get all of these folks in a movie involving superheroes and tons of special effects. IESB said the budget had been approaching $160 million at one point already and we all know that budgets rarely go down once they begin production.

I can't help but look at this project and think Warner Bros. is going to try and make it for as cheap as they can and as quickly as they can. Superman Returns had a budget that blossomed to astronomical heights and was even rumored to balloon over $300 million. A lot of that had to do with how long it actually took to make and the variety of individuals involved before it became a reality, but after that film didn't live up to expectations I have to assume they don't want a repeat performance.

So, I think the biggest question the Justice League movie faces is just how far down the Hollywood list can you go to find your actors for an ensemble piece of this magnitude?

For Zack Snyder and his Watchmen production he was able to cast great actors and didn't need to go after the big name, can the same be done for Justice League? Christian Bale wasn't exactly huge when Chris Nolan cast him as Batman, Brandon Routh was certainly no one before Superman, Eric Bana wasn't on the tip of everyone's tongue when he played Hulk, Ioan Gruffudd was certainly not water cooler chatter when he signed on for Mr. Fantastic and Alan Cumming hasn't been heard of since he played Nightcrawler, the most memorable comicbook movie character in a very long time in my eyes.

So what's the formula?

I would guess you don't need a big name, you just need the right name. I don't think a bunch of A-list actors signing contracts fighting for top-billing is your first priority. I would guess if most people hear there is a new movie involving both Superman and Batman, not to mention some hot chick running around in a Wonder Woman outfit there will be asses in the seats. The formula here if I was making the film would be adding up great actors and not worrying about the names, the characters sell themselves.]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/jessica_biel_eyeing_role_as_wonder_woman Variety reporting possible casting decisions for the superhero ensemble piece Justice League of America and Wonder Woman is the topic of conversation. Word form the trade is that Jessica Biel is in talks to play the Amazon superhero for director George Miller.

In the film Wonder Woman is expected to be featured along with Superman, Batman, the Flash and Aquaman. No solid casting has been announced yet, and even earlier today Australian movie site Moviehole was reporting that Australian actress Victoria Hill had tested for the role of Wonder Woman.

In all likelihood Biel will take on the role and the studio even denied Variety a comment saying that they would prefer to announce an entire cast rather than piecemeal deals. With production hoping to get underway in early 2008, expect official announcements soon, but even more rumors before then.]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/justice_league_gets_its_director George Miller (Happy Feet) has finally been officially announced as the director of Justice League as Variety carries the story.

Over the past two months his name has been connected to the film without any "official" word on his involvement. The project is in the initial phases of casting, but is labeled as a pre-strike priority for the studio, which needs a superhero tentpole in 2009. This must mean Bryan Singer's Man of Steel follow-up of Superman Returns is firmly placed on the back burner. It also means Dark Knight helmer Chris Nolan and star Christain Bale are probably not so happy, since both had expressed wishes that Warner would hold off on the project until they were done with their Batman franchise, which I would assume they were eyeing a trilogy.

The Justice League flick is set to feature the characters of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash and Aquaman. It has pretty much already been confirmed that Superman star Brandon Routh and Bale would not be reprising their roles as Superman and Batman for the next film. Online rumors have stated interest in "Smallville" star Tom Welling as the Man of Steel, and Ryan Reynolds has been mentioned for the Flash, but those are all rumors as of right now.

Word is that one of the reasons for moving quickly is that Warners is so keen on the Justice League script by Kieran and Michele Mulroney. So, I guess we should expect a special effects extravaganza in 2009, but I remaing hopeful that it doesn't stop Chris Nolan from making a third Batman flick for 2010.]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/justice_league_wore_me_out_already_and_heres_more ObsessedwithFilm has caught word that there is a little casting going on for the film adaptation of the superhero ensemble Justice League of America.

The site reports that Warner Bros has hired casting directors Susan Shopmaker (The Holiday, Mean Girls), Michelle Allen Michelle Allen ("Dead Like Me") and RDC Casting (The Shipping News) in New YorkVancouver and Toronto, respecitively, to cast the Justice League movie.

Showfax audition site is where the news originated and the roles are mainly tagged as �Male/Female Option #1, #2and#8243;. Yup, so these may be fake names so that word doesn't get out on what superheroes are being cast so none of the story gets spoiled, or they are legit and boring. Either way the news is limited.

George Miller is rumored to be directing the feature, but Warner Bros. has remained mum on the whole thing. Guess we will have to wait and see.]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/is_tom_welling_taking_superman_to_the_jla Justice League of America and the fact that they are all major superheroes I am starting to believe these rumors won't by letting up for quite some time as IESB comes to us with yet another update on the film.

First off they touch on the subject of the motion-capture animation revealed a short time ago and apparently "there will be motion capture used in the film but it will not be an all out motion capture production. Heavy motion capture will be used for the OMACs, the underwater sequences and such."

The second bit of news is a bit bigger as they have heard word that "Smallville" star Tom Welling may be taking his Superman from the small screen to the big screen. The official word from the site tells us "Tom Welling, TV�s Clark Kent, has been approached to take up the Superman role in the Justice League film."

So there you have it, update #1174 is now over.]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/spacey_confirmed_for_man_of_steel Bryan Singer is going to shoot Man of Steel, the follow-up to the rather disappointing Superman Returns. All that wondering can go away now as Variety reports the film will indeed be shot, but not until after Singer finishes filming his WWII thriller Valkyrie starring Tom Cruise and The Mayor of Castro Street.

However, word is that the plan is to get Man of Steel into production next year with a summer 2009 release planned. On top of that we learn that Kevin Spacey will be back as Lex Luthor as he hopes to shoot his Luthor role in a six-week block, as he did on Superman Returns, after he completes his run in David Mamet's Speed the Plow in April '08.

There is no word on the storyline Man of Steel will follow, but we do know that Michael Dougherty is penning the script right now.]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/singer_interested_in_more_x_men ComingSoon is carrying a story that originated in The Honolulu Advertiser of all places talking about Bryan Singer, Superman and the X-Men... Of course there isn't an actual quote in the story yet it makes some bold claims:

According to The Honolulu Advertiser, Singer acknowledged that he has also been approached to direct the fourth "X-Men" movie, but said he wouldn't have time to take on another large-scale project before the next "Superman" gets underway. He is interested, however, in seeing the script for the "X-Men" spinoff Wolverine.

We are told to be on the lookout for the as yet Untitled Superman Returns Sequel in 2009 as it is just getting underway.]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/superman_returns_sequel_gets_the_green
So, Superman Returns finally hit the $200 million dollar mark at the box-office recently and word out of Variety and all around the Net is that Bryan Singer has signed on to direct and produce a sequel to the superhero flick for Warner Bros. with Legendary Pictures expected to co-finance.

The pic is tentatively scheduled for a summer 2009 release but without a script, budget or an official green light the word "tentative" seems to be stressed. The film is in the early stages of development and the concern is keeping the budget down and upping the action quotient as word is spreading that the budget must remain below $200 million, $70 million less than that of Superman Returns a film that carried rumors that it's budget had ballooned north of $300 million. The studio reports a budget of $209 million after tax rebates and incentives but apparently that number excludes more than $40 million in development costs.

Beyond Singer's involvement and Warner's option for star Brandon Routh nothing else is confirmed including the return of scripters Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris who penned Superman Returns based on a story they created with Singer.

Stay tuned as I am sure this is not the end of the news on this production.]]>