Category: Film News

Posted on in Film News

‘Resident Evil’: Reboot Horror Film Adds ‘Shazam!’ and ‘Crawl’ Cinematographer Maxime Alexandre

The Ronin has been able to confirm that cinematographer Maxime Alexandre to the production team of the Resident Evil feature film reboot, as filming has been taking place in the Toronto area with the Canadian leg of the shoot expected to finish this month.

Maxime’s credits include The Nun, Shazam!, Crawl, The Hills Have Eyes, High Tension, Silent Hill: Revelations, and the Netflix series The Haunting of Bly Manor.

Johannes Roberts will be directing and it’s been confirmed that it will be an origin story taking place at Raccoon City in 1998.

Previously announced cast members include Kaya Scodelario (Crawl) as Claire Redfield alongside Hannah John-Kamen (Ant-Man and the Wasp, Ready Player One) as Jill Valentine, Robbie Amell (Upload) as Chris Redfield, Tom Hopper (The Umbrella Academy) as Albert Wesker, Avan Jogia (Zombieland: Double Tap) as Leon S. Kennedy, Neal McDonough (Yellowstone, Band of Brothers, Captain America: The First Avenger) as William Birkin, Donal Logue, Chad Rook and Lily Gao.

A release date for Resident Evil has yet to be announced.

Posted on in Film News

‘The Toxic Avenger’: Peter Dinklage Nabs Lead Role In Legendary’s Reboot of The Cult Comedy Superhero Franchise

Deadline reports that Emmy winning actor Peter Dinklage has been set for the lead role in Legendary’s reboot of the cult superhero franchise The Toxic Avenger from director Macon Blair. Peter isn’t a stranger to either comedy or genre projects with credits such as Game of Thrones, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and Pixels.

They don’t mention who Peter is playing but the assumption he’ll end up playing Melvin Junko or a version of him, a nerdy New Jersey janitor that is turned into the hulking Toxic Avenger aka Toxie after a prank by a bunch of bullies lands him into a batch of toxic waste.

It’s tone is all over the place as the violence is on par with stuff like RoboCop and Total Recall while being just as satirical as a parody like Scary Movie. I’m extremely curious to see how they want to approach the reboot and if they’ll attempt to be as violent as the original installments. However, with the popularity of a character like Deadpool that was created in the wake of Toxie’s popularity in the 1980s, it wouldn’t tough to see how Legendary might want to let director Macon Blair do what he likes with it. Blair is already working if Peter on the comedy Brothers for Legendary which co-stars Josh Brolin (Deadpool 2, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame).

The Toxic Avenger is an oddball franchise since the films were hyper-violent it still managed to be given a children’s cartoon titled The Toxic Crusaders along with a batch of toys spawned from the cartoon and some comics published by Marvel Comics. I had a couple of toys from the cartoon myself growing up. It wasn’t all that uncommon for R-rated films to have toys released or cartoons marketed towards kids as movies like Police Academy, Robocop, Rambo, and Aliens had similar money-making ploys.

Brothers is seemingly still in the pre-production phase at Legendary and it’s unknown when they’ll want to start on The Toxic Avenger.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

‘The Wolverine’s Hiroyuki Sanada Joins Brad Pitt In ‘Bullet Train’

Deadline reports that Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada (Westworld) has taken a role in Sony’s Bullet Train, an action film is set on a Japanese bullet train filled that happens to be filled with assassins with various motivations.

Hiroyuki Sanada is a legendary actor in Japan along with roles in Hollywood films such as The Last Samurai, The Wolverine, and had a brief cameo in Avengers: Endgame playing a Yakuza boss. I have to assume he would be playing some sort of Yakzua character in the film given the subject matter.

The rest of the cast consists of Brad Pitt (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood), Joey King (The Dark Knight Rises), Andrew Koji (G.I. Joe Origins: Snake Eyes), Michael Shannon (Knives Out, Man of Steel), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Godzilla, Kick-Ass, Avengers: Age of Ultron), Brian Tyree Henry (Godzilla vs Kong, Widows, Joker, Eternals), Logan Lerman (Fury, Hunters), Lady Gaga (Gucci, A Star Is Born, Machete Kills), Masi Oka (Heroes), and Zazie Beetz (Joker, Deadpool 2).

Filming is taking place in Los Angeles with director David Leitch (Deadpool 2, John Wick, Atomic Blonde) at the helm.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

Alex Garland’s Next Feature Will Be A Low-Budget Horror Movie Set In The UK – Might Begin Shooting Spring/Summer 2021

Writer/director Alex Garland is moving back into feature films as he tells Empire Magazine he abandoned a new series he was developing to focus on a low-budget horror film he plans to begin shooting in spring or summer of next year. Although, we don’t really get any preliminary details or teases concerning the project’s plot.

GARLAND: “I wrote a low-budget horror movie, set in the UK… I don’t know if it’s unrealistic or not. Always at this particular moment, a film always feels unrealistic, but then somehow it works out.”

You might remember that Garland wrote the screenplay for Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later which spawned a sequel titled 28 Weeks Later. Body horror was a huge part of Annihilation and there are plenty of horror/thriller elements in pretty much everything he’s done including his recent series DEVS.

SOURCE: EMPIRE MAGAZINE

Posted on in Film News

Mads Mikkelsen Officially Playing Franchise Villain Grindelwald In ‘Fantastic Beasts 3’ and Beyond

In an official press release from Warner Bros., they have confirmed that Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Casino Royale, Hannibal, Doctor Strange) has replaced Johnny Depp as the Fantastic Beasts franchise villain Gellert Grindelwald. Depp announced his forced resignation of the role on social media and this led to a Deadline report that placed Mads as director David Yates’ top contender to fill the part.

Filming is already underway on Fantastic Beasts 3 at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in Watford, England.

He joins fellow cast members Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Callum Turner, William Nadylam, Poppy Corby-Tuech, Jessica Williams, Victoria Yeates, and Jude Law.

The studio is also developing Fantastic Beasts 4 and Fantastic Beasts 5. We have to assume that Mikkelsen will be playing the role in those films as well.

Fantastic Beasts 3 will be released on July 15th, 2022.

SOURCE: WARNER BROS.

Posted on in Film News

Francis Lawrence Confirmed To Reunite With ‘Red Sparrow’ Cinematographer Jo Willems For ‘Slumberland’ Starring Jason Momoa

The Ronin can now confirm from multiple sources that cinematographer Jo Willems will be reuniting with director Francis Lawrence for the upcoming Netflix film Slumberland. The cast of the film includes Jason Momoa (Aquaman, Dune), Kyle Chandler (Godzilla vs Kong), Chris O’Dowd, and Marlow Barkley.

Jo and Francis previously worked together on Red Sparrow and his three Hunger Games films. Also has a history with Jason as well working on the Apple TV+ series See. Other credits include Hard Candy, 30 Days of Night, and Limitless.

We can also confirm that production designer Dominic Watkins (The Mummy, Green Zone, Bad Boys II) has joined the film’s crew as well.

Slumberland is said to be taking cues from Winsor McCay’s Little Nemo: Adventures In Slumberland.

Filming on Slumberland will take place from February to mid-April in Toronto.

Jason has already been spotted in the city.

Posted on in Film News

Mark Ruffalo Is The Latest Marvel Alumni To Join Ryan Reynolds’ Sci-Fi Film ‘The Adam Project’

The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively learned that Hulk actor Mark Ruffalo and veteran actress Catherine Keener (Get Out, Out of Sight, Being John Malkovich) have joined Shawn Levy’s upcoming sci-fi action film The Adam Project, Ruffalo becoming the fourth actor from a Marvel Comics film. The time-travel film coming from Skydance Media and will land at Netflix.

The pair will be joining Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool), Zoe Saldana (Avatar, Guardians of The Galaxy), and Jennifer Garner (Daredevil, Elektra).

Ruffalo and Garner worked together on 13 Going On 30 back in 2004.

Reynolds is starring as a man who travels back in time to get help from his 13-year-old self. Together, they have to find their late father, who is now the same age as Reynolds, and set things right in order to save the future.

Ruffalo is playing Reynolds’ dad, a brilliant physicist. Keener will play the movie’s villain, a woman who has stolen powerful technology from the physicist.

We previously confirmed that Brian Smrz will act as the second unit director on The Adam Project and will be overseeing the film’s action sequences. Brian’s credits include X-Men 2, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, X-Men: First Class, X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men: Apocalypse, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Iron Man 3, Terminator Genisys, The Predator, Rise of The Planet of The Apes, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

A sign to the scale Skydance could aiming for with the action scenes.

Filming is already underway in Vancouver.

Mark Ruffalo had a stellar role in Best Picture winner Spotlight as he’s been mostly working on Marvel Studios films with The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and is expected to play Professor Hulk in the upcoming Disney+ series She-Hulk.

She-Hulk begins filming in Atlanta around March when The Adam Project is said to wrap.

Director Shawn Levy (Real Steel, Stranger Thins) and Ryan have already worked together on the 20th Century Studios film Free Guy.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Film News

Saoirse Ronan, Sam Rockwell and David Oyelowo Join Searchlight’s London-Set Whodunit That Takes Place During The 1950s

Deadline reports that a new untitled period thriller is in development at the Disney owned Searchlight Pictures as three high-profile casting additions are announced. Director Tom George (This Country) is assembling a cast for his untitled murder mystery that includes Irish actress Saoirse Ronan (The French Dispatch), Sam Rockwell (Jojo Rabbit), and David Oyelowo (The Midnight Sky).

Here are plot and characters details of the film penned by Mark Chappell.

The story is set in 1950s London, where a desperate Hollywood film producer sets out to turn a popular West End play into a film. When members of the production are murdered, world-weary Inspector Stoppard (Rockwell) and overzealous rookie Constable Stalker (Ronan) find themselves in the midst of a puzzling whodunit within London’s glamorous Theatreland and sordid underground.

A production start isn’t mentioned but will seemingly be shot in United Kingdom.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

‘Spider-Man 3’ Officially Sees Return of Composer Michael Giacchino

Spider-Man 3 will officially see it’s score composed by Michael Giacchino!

The composer announced his return on his Twitter account yesterday and used the first official set photo that had been previously shared by franchise star Tom Holland. Michael will now secure scoring an entire Spider-Man trilogy.

We are hearing that there is an expectation that Giacchino will be back for Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness after tackling the first film’s score. Both films are currently in production with Spider-Man 3 shooting in Atlanta under the working title The November Project and Doctor Strange 2 filming at Longcross Studios in Surrey, England.

Jon Watts is directing a cast that includes Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jamie Foxx, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Marisa Tomei, Tony Revolori, Angourie Rice, Jon Favreau, and J.K. Simmons.

There have been rumblings that we could learn the film’s title in the coming weeks/months. We do know the film is will follow the events of Spider-Man: Far From Home where Peter Parker is outed publicly by J. Jonah Jameson as Spider-Man along with being framed for the murder of Quentin Beck aka Mysterio. The extent of those consequences or Parker going on the run or being captured are currently a mystery.

Questions remain about the inclusion of Jamie Foxx’s Electro and if this will become an MCU incarnation of the Spidey villain rather than a resurrection of the same character from Amazing Spider-Man 2 via The Multiverse. J.K. Simmons’ reprisal of J. Jonah Jameson is clearly a new soft-reboot of the character for the franchise and is expected to cross into the other Sony/Marvel films like Morbius. The Jared Leto film has already had it’s connection to Spider-Man: Homecoming outed with it’s trailer including Michael Keaton’s Vulture.

The deal between Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures expires after one more Marvel film that most likely will be the Doctor Strange sequel given that Benedict is confirmed to appear in Spider-Man and could easily lead to Peter Parker showing up in Doctor Strange’s “solo” film as these installments are quickly become quasi Avengers movies because of the team-up nature of them.

I have to assume that Disney and Sony will eventually come back to the negotiating table to work together on more movies as it is an increasingly beneficial situation for both companies.

Olivia Wilde is reportedly directing a Spider-Woman film but it remains to be seen if Kevin Feige/Marvel Studios will be involved with that project. It’s been assumed they will be, as Marvel has access to Jessica Drew the alter ego that is traditionally known as Spider-Woman. The heroine debuting outside the Spider-Man comics and happens to be an agent of S.W.O.R.D. that is firmly set within the MCU via WandaVision along with other upcoming projects.

Sony Pictures has given Spider-Man 3 a release date of December 17th, 2021.

SOURCE: MICHAEL GIACCHINO

Posted on in Film News

‘Predator 2’ Director Explains How Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch Would Have Been Introduced and Why He Passed On Steven Seagal – Sequel Turns 30 Today!

Today marks the 30th anniversary of Predator 2 and director Stephen Hopkins stat down with Scream Magazine for an interview about the film. Hopkins explains how they wanted to originally introduce Arnold’s Dutch in the start of the film and how he ultimately had to chose between making Terminator 2 or making Predator 2.

HOPKINS: “I think we got on okay, in fact, the opening scene of the film was supposed to be these guys playing golf on a golf course and a helicopter lands, and there is a guy with white hair golfing and they come and say ‘he’s back’, and Arnold turns around he’s got white hair and a scar across his face. Him and Danny Glover would have teamed-up.”

“Actually what I think it was that Jim Cameron, who I used to work for, he said to Arnold that he wanted him to do Terminator 2 and he didn’t want to both to happen. He didn’t feel like help Terminator 2 if Predator 2 happened with Arnold in it and Jim was preparing it for a long time. I think Arnold had to make a choice and clearly it was a great choice because Terminator 2 is one of the great science fiction films.”

He also confirms the rumors that Steven Seagal almost joined the film but Hopkins met with him to talk him out of doing it as he wasn’t a fan of the action star.

HOPKINS: “I had to go up to have a meeting with [Seagal] at his house which was one of the most craziest afternoons I’ve had, sort of to talk him out of doing it. He’s an unusual kind of twisted kind of guy and in the end I couldn’t see myself doing it with him, it didn’t feel right.”

“He was desperate to do it. I went up to his house and he crushed my hand [makes handshake motion] and took me into a room where all the walls were covered with guns. He told me about how he wanted to play a C.I.A. psychiatrist, who also is a martial arts expert and carried a gun, I listened to him for a long time and he was clearly a little crazy at the time…then he threw his arm around me on the way out and he said ‘I want you to come to my ranch in Santa Barbara because I have a grenade launching range there so we could go launch grenades together’. That didn’t happen. I’m sorry, I’m not a fan of his.”

Predator 2 is considered one of the better sequels and totally worth revisiting for that fun cast along with some interesting action scenes.

PREDATOR 2 – Los Angeles is enduring a heat wave and a crime wave, so the pressure on police officer Michael Harrigan (Danny Glover) to solve a strange string of murders is mounting. Harrigan thinks the culprit can be found among the warring gangs and drug cartels, but FBI Special Agent Peter Keyes (Gary Busey) knows the horrible truth: Their killer is a fearsome extraterrestrial (Kevin Peter Hall) with keen hunting abilities that include superior night vision and the power to make itself invisible.

SOURCE: SCREAM MAGAZINE