Category Archives: News

Marvel Studios and Sony Cast Tom Holland as Spider-Man

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Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures have finally agreed on a Peter Parker with the casting of Tom Holland as Spider-Man for their collaborative reboot. Audiences will soon find out whether it’s “third times a charm” or “three strikes you’re out” because Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield haven’t gotten the job done. Not only have they cast Tom Holland as Spider-Man, but the studios have also selected Jon Watts to direct the film with a July 28, 2017 release date.

So who are Tom Holland and Jon Watts you ask? Well Tommy, 19, doesn’t have too many credits to his name, but he played the on-screen son of Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts in the Thai disaster film The Impossible. I’ve never seen How I Live Now, but have heard mixed things – you can watch it on Netflix now. Holland is also starring in the upcoming Ron Howard Flick, In the Heart of the Sea, which also features Marvel Studios’ the almighty Thor himself Chris Hemsworth. And as for Mr. Watts, he has directed a handful of videos for The Onion News Network, an indie horror entitled Clown, and Cop Car starring Kevin Bacon, which debuted at Sundance earlier this year.

Tom Rothman, Sony Pictures Motion Pictures Group Chairman, says,

“It’s a big day here at Sony. Kevin, Amy and their teams have done an incredible job. The Marvel process is very thorough, and that’s why their results are so outstanding. I’m confident Spider-Man will be no exception. I’ve worked with a number of up-and-coming directors who have gone on to be superstars and believe that Jon is just such an outstanding talent. For Spidey himself, we saw many terrific young actors, but Tom’s screen tests were special. All in all, we are off to a roaring start.”

Feige also commented saying,

“As with James Gunn, Joss Whedon, and the Russo brothers, we love finding new and exciting voices to bring these characters to life. We spent a lot of time with Jon and find his take and work inspiring.”

And producer Amy Pascal added,

“Sony, Marvel, Kevin and I all knew that for Peter Parker, we had to find a vibrant, talented young actor capable of embodying one of the most well-known characters in the world.  With Tom, we’ve found the perfect actor to bring Spider-Man’s story into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”

As we set forth into the next chapter of the cinematic Spiderverse, keep in mind that Sony has cumulatively over the past 13 years earned more than $4 billion in world wide box office grosses for this property. And with the web-slinger entering the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I can only imagine that number intensifying immensely.

Again, the untitled Spider-Man reboot is set to hit theaters in 2D, 3D, and IMAX on July 28, 2017. Captain America: Civil War is currently in production and will be released on May 6, 2016, which Spidey will be a part of.

Source: Marvel

First Images of ‘Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension’ Tease the Franchise’s End

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After various delays that may have prolonged a beautiful disaster, the first images of Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension have finally materialized on the Internets. The latest and supposedly final installment of the found footage horror franchise that started a flurry of copycat films is set to debut this October.

The Paranormal Activity series has seen its ups and downs, but could The Ghost Dimension bring everything around full circle to offer horror fans with a satisfying conclusion? In a recent interview with USA Today, Blumhouse Productions founder Jason Blum believes so:

“We made this movie like it’s the end of this Paranormal line for sure. And that title promises quite a few revelations. It’s coming to an end. This is it, the finale. We’re saying it before the movie opens. We’re not going to grind this horror franchise into the ground. This will keep Paranormal Activity as part of this culture and this particular time in a really fantastic way.”

As the mythology around the series took shape, many questions have built a delicate house of cards for such a basic premise. Answers to those questions will hopefully be unveiled. Blum continues:

“We couldn’t go just teasing. All the questions that everyone has asked from the past Paranormal Activity films: What does Toby look like? What’s the backstory to the families? These questions have been teased out. Now they will be answered.”

Oren Peli, the creator of Paranormal Activity and producer of The Ghost Dimension says fans will get more than just answers, we’ll finally see what the demonic “Toby” looks like:

“We’ve done well without showing Toby, being able to create tensions and scares based on audiences’ imagination. But people are very curious.”

Toby, of course, is the paranormal presence that has haunted the lives of one little girl named Katie and her family up through her adult life. The series took a turn in the spin-off, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, but tied itself loosely to the events of the main story – read my review. To me, revealing Toby’s physical form could make or break this series for me. I’d rather be in suspense not knowing what horrifying figure he could be.

Here are the first images of Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension for your viewing pleasure (Click on any image to enlarge):

To date, the five previously released Paranormal Activity titles have cost Blumhouse Productions $18.015 million and have earned the studio a jaw-dropping $811.6 million. Blumhouse is ending the series with a bang by introducing a 3D element into the scares, which is a franchise first. The additional costs for the 3D will definitely send the film beyond the micro-budget productions Blumhouse typically shoots for. The average production budget for each Paranormal Activity entry goes for $3-5 million, aside from the original that cost an astonishing $15,000.

Here is the official plot synopsis for Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension

Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension centers on the Fleeges — father Ryan (Chris J. Murray), mother Emily (Brit Shaw) and their young daughter Leila (Ivy George) — who move into a house and discover a video camera and a box of tapes in the garage. When they look through the camera’s lens, they begin to see the paranormal activity happening around them – including the re-emergence of young Kristi and Katie. The video camera footage will be presented in 3D in theaters.

Directed by Gregory Plotkin, Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension stars Katie Featherston, Chris J. Murray, Brit Shaw, and Ivy George. The last entry of the iconic horror franchise will hit theaters on October 23, 2015.

Source: USA Today

Katherine Waterston Cast in ‘Fantastic Beasts’ as Female Lead

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British actress and co-star of Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice, Katherine Waterston, has been tapped as the female lead in the Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. She will be casting spells alongside Eddie Redmayne throughout the streets of 1920s New York in which the movie takes place.

The Hollywood Reporter states that Katherine Waterston will play the role of Porpetina, or Tina, who is said to be a witch operating in the U.S. Whether she will embrace her British roots or portray an American character is unknown. But what we do know is that there will be a wizarding school mentioned or seen in Fantastic Beasts. A little nugget of information J.K. Rowling teased on Twitter:

Understanding how the mind of J.K. Rowling works, I can only assume that if there is a wizarding school in the states there will more than likely be a Ministry of Magic U.S. branch as well. Could Tina be a part of the Ministry of Magic or is she a foreign ambassador working in the U.S. from Britain?

Waterston will have some big shoes to fill thanks to Emma Watson who set the bar very high as Hermione Granger. I’m not familiar with Waterston’s work aside from Inherent Vice, and even then she wasn’t a huge presence in the film. But she was great in what she was given. She also appears in Michael Clayton, Robot & Frank, Being Flynn, Night Moves, and a handful of episodes of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. The next chance to see Waterston on the big screen will be in Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs biopic, where she plays Jobs’ love interest, Chrisann Brennan.

The Wrap also reported in May that another female role is up for grabs. This character in question will be Tina’s younger sister, Queenie. The actresses on the shortlist for that character are Saoirse Ronan (Hanna), Dakota Fanning (War of the Worlds), Lili Simmons (HBO’s Banshee), and singer-songwriter Alison Sudol (Amazon’s Transparent), but the casting announcement has yet to be made official at this time.

Set around 70 years before the events of the Harry Potter series, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them follows New Scamander (Redmayne) as he embarks on a mission to document magical creatures for his book. Scamander is the supposed trailblazer of “magizoology,” which even warranted J.K. Rowling to realize the book for fans curious about his life and the fantastic beasts he finds.

Directed by David Yates, from a screenplay written by J.K. Rowling, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them hits theaters November 18, 2016 in 3D and IMAX.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

‘Ben 10’ Animators Developing ‘Mega Man’ TV Series Set for 2017

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New Mega Man Aniamted TV Series 2017

In the realm of gaming, there’s been an incredible lack of Mega Man titles as of late. And with the 30th anniversary of one of the most iconic characters ever created on the horizon, there will be justice as of 2017. Dentsu Entertainment USA has partnered with Man of Action Entertainment to develop a new 26-episode animated series based on Capcom’s little boy blue reploid (UPDATE: I was corrected on Tumblr that Mega Man is not a reploid, but in fact the reploids were based on his model and my false claim, despite some references to him being one, “hurts credibility” for the character.) Find out more about this development after the jump. Continue reading →

Rumor: Next ‘Star Wars’ Anthology Movie May Involve Han Solo and Boba Fett

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Han Solo Boba Fett Anthology Star Wars Movie

After the recent departure of director Josh Trank from the second Star Wars Anthology film, speculation began as to who would take his place. Not only are there two directors in the running, reportedly, but also the new Anthology entry will focus on the story of Boba Fett and Han Solo. Many Star Wars fan boys’ and girls’ wet dreams are about to come true if this rumor turns out to be accurate. Learn more about this exciting rumor and more after the break. Continue reading →

‘Harry Potter’ Spin-off ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ Officially Casts Eddie Redmayne

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Eddie Redmayne Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

In the grand world of wizarding news today, it was officially announced that The Theory of Everything and Jupiter Ascending star Eddie Redmayne has been cast as Newt Scamander in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Set in 1920’s New York, Redmayne will be front and center as the lead of what is set to be a new trilogy of movies. Learn more after the break. Continue reading →

2015 Critics’ Choice Television Awards Winners List

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2015 Critics Choice Television Awards Winners List

Tonight the Broadcast Television Journalists Association held its 5th Annual Critics’ Choice Television Awards. Just like its sister organization (Broadcast Film Critics Association) has its own award show now going on its 21st year, the BTJA honors the greatest in television, as its name implies. The ceremony honored programs and performances that aired between June 1, 2014 and May 31, 2015. HBO walked away tonight the big winner with seven awards while the rest of the board was pretty scattered due to the recently excellent year on the small screen. See the full winners list and some brief commentary after the jump. Continue reading →

Chris Pratt Addresses ‘Indiana Jones’ Casting Rumors and Future with Marvel Studios

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Jurassic World Super Bowl Trailer Screenshot Chris Pratt Owen 2

With his involvement in the 2014 blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy and the highly anticipated Jurassic World, Chris Pratt seems to be the hottest leading man in Hollywood right now. People can’t get enough of this loveable goofball. There have even been rumors buzzing around Hollywood of him being involved in other high profile roles such as the new Indiana Jones and Knight Rider. Hit the jump for the truth behind these rumors.

Continue reading →

‘The Fault in Our Stars’ Director Josh Boone to Helm ‘X-Men’ Spinoff Movie, ‘The New Mutants’

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'The Fault in Our Stars' Director Josh Boone to Helm 'X-Men' Spinoff Movie, 'The New Mutants'

With Marvel Studios continuing their successful run with their box of toys, 20th Century Fox is busy expanding the X-Men universe with the upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse, Deadpool, and a sequel to The Wolverine. But with the ‘First Class‘ team’s trilogy coming to an end, producers Simon Kinberg and Lauren Shuler Donner have found a way to stretch their legs just a little further. It was  recently announced that Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars) will be directing and co-writing The New Mutants, a standalone spinoff that works within the X-Men universe. Learn more after the break. Continue reading →

Nintendo World Championships Will Return for E3 2015

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Nintendo World Championships Will Return for E3 2015

Get your power gloves ready Nintendo fans because the World Championships return in celebration of E3. After a 25-year hiatus, President and COO of Nintendo of America Reggie Fils-Aimé has made the executive decision to revive the long forgotten tournament of tournaments. Alongside the big announcement, Nintendo also offered a preview of what’s to come during the expo, including the opportunity to play Mario Maker for Wii U early. Keep reading after the break to find out more. Continue reading →