Michael Bay Woke Up in a New Bugatti for New Transformers 4 Car Models
Update: An official look at the aforementioned Camaro has been released. It has been added to the gallery.
Where are the car/Transformers fans at? As if the past week in Hollywood wasn't already full of car fascination, Yahoo pulled the covers off of a few of the new Autobot car models in Michael Bay's upcoming Transformers 4 sequel. Somebody on the production team must be an Ace Hood fan, because one of the new models used is a Bugatti Grand Sport Vitesse featuring 1,200 horsepower and a $2.4m price tag. Also featured is a green C7 Corvette Stingray, which could be an update on Autobot Sideswipe. Finally, the new Optimus Prime truck was featured, custom-made by Western Star, making the Autobot leader look more beefier and powerful than his Transformers: Dark of the Moon model. Bleeding Cool also found photos of a black and yellow Camaro, leading to speculation that this could be the new model for fan-favorite Bumblebee.
All of the photos are below. What do you guys think of the new cars for 2014's Transformers 4? Now that Mark Wahlberg has taken the lead role, I'm actually excited to see what he and Michael Bay can do with the franchise.
[via Yahoo, via Bleeding Cool]
[Video] Much Ado About Nothing "I am an Ass" Clip
Joss Whedon is no stranger to geek circles. The creator of such highly-acclaimed TV series as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, and others, Whedon entered the majority of peoples' radars when he directed 2012's record breaking blockbuster, The Avengers. Unbeknownst to many people is that he also short, wrote, produced, and directed a black and white modern adaptation of William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing directly after shooting ceased for the superhero film.
Shot during a relatively short 12 day schedule, Whedon's retelling of the Shakespeare classic stars a who's who of Whedon collaborators, including Nathan Fillion (Firefly), Amy Acker (Dollhouse), Alexis Denisof (Buffy), Clark Gregg (The Avengers), Fran Kanz (The Cabin in the Woods), and Sean Maher (Firefly). Much Ado About Nothing is about a a bumbling police constable, Dogberry (Fillion), who must investigate a scheme being plotted by Don John (Maher). In the clip below, aptly titled "I Am an Ass," Dogberry reacts hilariously to being called an ass by one of Don John's supporters, Conrade (Niki Lindhome).
Fans of Whedon will appreciate his sense of humor, especially when juxtaposed with Shakespeare's style of writing comedies. The black and white also helps create a film noir vibe to contrast with the adherence to Shakespearean language. Much Ado About Nothing will be coming to theaters on June 7th for a limited theatrical release.
http://youtu.be/lZwa0oDOvaU
[via IGN]
Craig Robinson: "Take Yo Panties Off" (feat. Snoop Dogg)
Early screening reports for This is the End have been overwhelmingly positive, and as one of my Top 10 Summer Movies, I'm super excited to hear that about the film. Today, the only original song from the Seth Rogen (Superbad) and Evan Goldberg (Superbad) directorial debut film was released. "Take Yo Panties Off" has Craig Robinson singing R&B-inspired verses for the ladies to be freed of their undergarments with Snoop Dogg delivering a feature verse as well. Fans of The Office know that Robinson, a Chicago native, isn't a stranger to musical ventures as his character on the show was prone to delivering jingles on a various amount of instruments.
You can listen to "Take To Panties Off" below and also check out the character posters for each main character in the film. This is the End will end the wait for its theatrical release on June 14th.
Sam Mendes Will Direct Bond 24 After All
After almost two weeks of rumors and speculation, the smoke has cleared and only one director has emerged from the ruckus. Yesterday, huge rumors came out that numerous directors were named to take on Mendes' vacated director role, including Nicolas Winding Refn, Ang Lee, David Yates, and Tom Hooper. This news itself came out in the wake of news that Bond producers tapped Inception director Christopher Nolan for the position a week and a half ago.
Now, Deadline has reported that Sam Mendes is going to come back after all. The Skyfall director will still go through with his stage production commitments, including the musical adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and King Lear. Sony, MGM, and EON are willing to wait for the director, as well, as I mentioned yesterday with their decision to move the 24th Bond film as far back as 2016.
This is how Hollywood works, guys, with hearsay and layers of rumors. Hopefully, the Bond franchise can stabilize now that they have a guaranteed director now.
[via Deadline]
New Directors Added into the James Bond 24 Mix
A little more than a week ago, we heard rumors that The Dark Knight Rises director Christopher Nolan was in preliminary talks with Sony to direct the next James Bond film. However, as I indicated in the post, some obstacles could prevent the dream pairing. It appears that Sony, MGM, and EON have realized that the reality of Nolan directing Bond 24 might be little more than wishful thinking as Collider reports that extra names are being considered for the position.
The names that have begun to pop up throughout the day include Nicolas Winding Refn (Only God Forgives), Tom Hooper (Les Miserables), Ang Lee (Life of Pi), David Yates (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows), and Shane Black (Iron Man 3). Each director has a distinct directing style that could take the James Bond franchise in an interesting direction, but talks are still really early, and changes can still be made. For example, a general 2014 target date for the next Bond film has been eased as EON and Sony are looking as far away as 2016 for a release.
Personally, I think the director (outside of Nolan) that could fit the James Bond vibe would be Black. However, with rumors that he's committing to the Doc Samson film adaptation as his next project, it seems unlikely that he'll be sitting in the Bond director chair. We'll see how this story progresses.
[via Collider]
[Trailer] The Act of Killing
http://youtu.be/SD5oMxbMcHM
One of my colleagues screened The Act of Killing at SXSW this past March and tried his best to share the experience with me; of course, no matter how he tried, I just didn't understand what he was trying to share with me. This is not due to his inability to explain the documentary, but rather, the documentary itself is not the type of doc we've ever seen. The Act of Killing, focused on the Indonesian massacre during the late '60s, took an experimental direction in its explanation of the near-genocide. The filmmakers not only interviewed some of the surviving murderers, deemed heroes by their country; they made them re-enact their memories of killing and stylized each re-enactment in a Hollywood-style short.
What results is this meshing of fictionalized acts of violence fueled by true memories of murder, death, and killing. In the process, the filmmakers analyze the psychology of the killers in hopes of understanding their psychology and guilt decades after they committed such heinous acts. The Act of Killing, just based on this trailer below, shifts the documentary form into a haunting examination of real-life killers. With the help of both Werner Herzog (Into the Abyss) and Errol Morris (Tabloid) signing on as executive producers after screening the documentary, The Act of Killing will have a limited theatrical release on July 19th.
[Short Film] ABE
http://vimeo.com/64114843
The conflict between robots and human emotions isn't new in fiction; decades of various art forms have touched on whether robots could ever have the capacity to understand free thought and emotions, with the capacity of love being a huge aspect. While sometimes the concept can grow long in the tooth in feature-length films, short films tend to be the perfect medium for the topic. Those who are familiar with my alter ego's film writing know exactly how much I love the short film form. So much more attention is given to every scene where each detail builds towards the importance of the short.
ABE, directed by Rob McLellan, combines two topics very near and dear to my heart: robots and short films. While it made the rounds at the beginning of the month, I watched the short and let it marinate in my mind for the past couple of weeks. The short is about a robot, the titular ABE (Sam Hoare) waxing poetic about his past to a female captive (Claire Huskisson). The film matchs its amazing blend of CG animation and live-action acting with a psychological thriller tone that examines ABE's existential crisis.
You can read more about ABE at the film's official website.
[Trailer] Maniac
http://youtu.be/CiULAdLufJs
Maniac screened at last year's Chicago International Film Festival, and I've been kicking myself since October for missing it. Starring Elijah Wood (The Lord of the Rings), the Franck Khalfoun-directed film is shot mostly in first-person, adding an extra layer of authenticity to the horror film. While most horror films are typically shot and narratively-focused on the victims, Maniac's first-person twist seems like the kind of twist needed for a genre that's been over-saturated lately with zombies and serial killers. Don't get me wrong, though; Maniac is still about a serial killer, but coming from his literal perspective is exactly what attracted me to the film despite my general disinterest in the genre.
Luckily, the film found distribution through IFC Midnight and will find a limited theatrical release on June 21st. It almost took a year, but I'll finally be able to eradicate my mistake of not seeing it last year. You can catch the trailer and the film's first US poster below or on the film's iTunes page.
[via /Film]
