Batman vs. Superman set to enter production next month
It's been a little more than a month since the Batfleck announcement rippled across the internet. In the interim, internet communities have died down following the initial throngs of people both hating and defending Ben Affleck's casting as Bruce Wayne/Batman in the upcoming sequel to Man of Steel, Batman vs. Superman. As "fans" boycotted the announcement and began writing petitions to remove Affleck from the role, Warner Bros., DC, and director Zack Snyder have pushed forward with the upcoming sequel. So much so, in fact, that pre-principal photography is set to take place in a little over a month from now (October 18) if a French casting call is indeed true.
Further adding fuel to the rumor fire is Batman vs. Superman screenwriter David S. Goyer stating, "One of the things that has been fun for us, is we’re a bit a further a long than what I think people realize." While that's not a confirmation by any means, it shows that Snyder and company are doing their best to get production going as fast as possible. It won't be enough to bump the film up from its tentative Summer 2015 release date (which is typically prime time for large Hollywood blockbusters), it'll give the studio enough time in post-production to polish it up as much possible before rabid fanboys find more to complain about than Ben Affleck's chin not being suitable enough for Batman's cowl.
[via /Film]
Michael B. Jordan might be a slam dunk for Independence Day 2
Michael B. Jordan made some early waves in his roles in The Wire, Friday Night Lights, and Chronicle, has received critical acclaim for his role in Fruitvale Station, and is set to portray the Human Torch in Chronicle director's upcoming Fantastic Four reboot. Now, early reports have come out that Jordan is being targeted for a major role in Roland Emmerich's Independence Day 2.
With Independence Day proving to be one of the largest summer blockbusters of all time, a major role in the sequel would be a huge career move for Jordan. The proposed script involves the film taking place 20 years after the original film and revolving around the children of the original film's characters. Jordan playing Will Smith's son with a potential team-up/cameo between the two in the film? I'm in.
Note: Michael B. Jordan has no relation to the Chicago Bulls star and actually doesn't like the comparisons to Mr. 23.
[via Collider]
Rockstar is interested in making a Bully sequel
When Bully came out in 2006, it was both the anti-Grand Theft Auto and a psuedo-Grand Theft Auto Lite. It took the GTA formula, but framed the game within a private school setting with a decreased focus on rampant violence and carnage. However, what Bully may have lacked in the violence department, it more than made up in the game's humor, tight storytelling, and amazing gameplay. Unfortunately, seven years have come and gone with little to no word on the franchise's future (outside of the game's re-release on the Xbox 360 and Wii, as well as a digital re-release on the PlayStation 3).
With the national focus on the success story that is Grand Theft Auto V, the questions have come up again about a Bully sequel. In a talk with Polygon, Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser wants to make a sequel to Bully by stating, "Well, hopefully, you never know. There's a lot of directions I could go with that one [...]" The video game industry and the mainstream society's tolerance/acceptance of video games is in a better position than it was almost a decade ago, which could hopefully help the odds of a Bully 2 become that much more realistic. Keep your fingers crossed and make a wish, ladies and gentlemen.
[via Polygon]
Smart Guns Aren't So Smart
Guns, guns, guns. America is absolutely obsessed with guns. Well, now it's even easier to shoot at things. Austin-based company Tracking Point recently unveiled a rifle that aims itself, making it easily the most advanced, and easy-to-use weapon in the gun lexicon today. They're called "Smart Rifles," a ubiquitous name for a gun that allows even the most inexperienced gun user to hit a target 1,000 feet away with 100% accuracy. So, to rewind for a moment: it's a gun that aims and shoots for you-all you do is hold the trigger. Vice recently profiled the company for one of their documentaries and talked about how someone who has never shot a gun before can be on a range hitting targets in an hour. It brings to mind some troubling trends in recent years. As the south and west sides of Chicago continually turn into warzones and weekly mall and school shootings become more and more routine, we have to ask ourselves if a Smart Gun is smart at all. Last week gunmen shot up a park in Chicago where friends and family were taking in a neighborhood basketball game, hitting 13, including a 3 year old boy. Reports estimated somewhere around 20 shots, fired blindly into a crowd. Now, a proliferation of these Smart Guns would almost definitely result in their hitting the streets. Imagine if the shooters last week in Chicago had hit every target with 100% accuracy, a terrible night in the Back of the Yards neighborhood very well may have been a massacre. Smart phones are ok for me. Gun? Not so much.
[Video] Behind the scenes Oldboy featurette
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Oldboy is going to be one of the most polarizing films of the year when it's released to theaters this November. Fans of the original Oldboy have been up in arms over the first trailer that released back in July. As I so eloquently put it, Spike Lee's American remake is practically a shot-for-shot re-envisioning; despite how amazing the Korean version was, when you're adapting a film for American audiences, you can't simply just re-tell the exact same story with the exact same shots. However, audiences that haven't seen or aren't familiar with Park Chan-wook's version were amazed by the latest trailer, and with good reason: Despite Spike's attempts at simply glazing over the Korean version with American shine, Oldboy, at its root, is an amazing revenge film.
Recently, a new behind the scenes featurette for the film was released that not only shared some mini-interviews with Samuel L. Jackson, Elizabeth Olsen, Josh Brolin, and Spike Lee, but also showed some new footage from the film. And, once again, based off of the new scenes shown, it looks like Spike isn't attempting to distance himself from the Korean version as much as he should. Sure, he attempts to reason this by attempting to claim his film is closer in line to the Oldboy manga and not the Korean film.
Reasonable excuse? Sure. However, it's just not working for me, Spike. I'll watch your version of Oldboy; I'll probably even enjoy it. Will I be happy with it or myself? Probably not.
The Wolf of Wall Street might slip into 2014, missing Oscars consideration in the process
It looks like Martin Scorsese's (The Departed) next film, The Wolf of Wall Street, might miss its scheduled November 15th release date. Reports have come out that Scorsese submitted a three-hour cut of the film that still has to be trimmed down closer to a two hours. Unfortunately, the editing process to ensure the final film runs smoothly will take an extended period of time.
The most important factor in the potential delay is that The Wolf of Wall Street will miss the window for Oscars consideration. Even if a film does well critically, any film released post-holiday almost always gets looked over come awards season. The first trailer for the film exuded energy and charisma, and waiting longer would be a huge critical blow for Scorsese and fans alike.
[via /Film]
Amazon Introduces The Kindle Fire HDX
Since the release of the Kindle Fire Tablets, Amazon has been aggressively going after the competition trying to become the go to place for tablet products. With the release of the Kindle Fire HDX, Amazon is set on taking on the iPad Mini and Nexus 7 with what looks to be better specifications plus a video technical support system. This live tech support allows the customer and rep to video chat and enables the rep to draw on the person's screen to help walk them through their problem. The tablet is "powered by the latest 2.2-GHz Quadcore Snapdragon 800 processors, 2GBs of RAM, Adreno 330 graphics, 11 – 12 hours of battery life, 1900 x 1200 resolution in the 7?/2560 x 1600 resolution display in the 8.9" and optional 4G LTE connectivity." For more on the specifications and features, head on over to Amazon where you're also able to pre-order the Kindle Fire HDX for $229 USD.
[Via Highsnobiety]
YouTube launches the YouTube Audio Library, free music for personal YouTube videos
Have you ever uploaded an amazing homemade video with your friends to YouTube, just to have it taken down or forever muted because of copyright claims? YouTube's always been a pro-community service and understands how important background music can be in a video which is why the company has recently announced the YouTube Audio Library. The service offers more than 150 instrumental tracks that can be downloaded and used for videos. Despite the seemingly paltry number of songs (with more coming, I'm sure), YouTube has made it easy to search for tracks as they can be filtered by length, genre, and even mood. Are you looking for a sappy, strings-filled song to accentuate a kiss? How about some thrash to complement a fight scene? It's all in the YouTube Audio Library.
After an eight-year absence, I might finally be able to re-upload my AP European History video on Chicago's railway system using the YouTube Audio Library... as long as I can cover up the Eminem song playing in the background.
[via YouTube Creator Blog]