Red Dawn remake to feature Kurt Russell - Go Wolverines!

Kurt Russell is always cool in my book - Escape from New York, The Thing, Big Trouble in Little China, Tombstone and many more - he is cool and knows how to kick ass.

ComingSoon.net exclusively learned today at the San Diego Comic-Con that Kurt Russell is talks to star in Red Dawn, the MGM remake scheduled for a September 24, 2010 release.

To be directed by Dan Bradley, the war film's cast includes Chris Hemsworth (Star Trek, upcoming Thor), Josh Peck and Adrianne Palicki (upcoming Legion).

The original Red Dawn was the Cold War brainchild of writer-director John Milius, who devised a World War III invasion of America by the Soviets and Cubans. The film followed the scrappy insurgency of a group of Midwestern teenagers who take on their high school mascot name -- "Wolverines!" -- as a rallying cry of resistance.

I wasn't that bothered about this remake, but now that Russell may be involved it suddenly got interesting. We just have to find out what role he will be playing. I wonder if he will be leader of the bad guys?

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A Perfect Getaway - 3 TV spots

Some more footage from David Twohy's A Perfect Getaway. It stars Timothy Olyphant, Milla Jovovich, Steve Zahn, Kiele Sanchez and Chris Hemsworth.

Due out on 7th August 2009

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Thor - Natalie Portman to play Jane Foster

It was back in March that we learnt Natalie Portman had been cast in Kenneth Branagh's adaption of Thor.

There was speculation as to who she would play - The warrior Sif, a female version of Loki or as the human, Jane Foster.

Loki has since been cast and will be played by Tom Hiddleston, Thor by Chris Hemsworth and Odin by Brian Blessed. All of which makes it sound like some kind of Asgardian range of aftershave.

Now OntheFlix have the news that Portman will be playing Jane Foster. This character is a nurse who had a bit of a thing with Thor's human alter-ego, Dr. Donald Blake.

Having Portman as the romantic lead with Blake (if they play up that side of the tale) may mean we will see more Earth bound action than previously thought.

The plot for the film has Thor as a powerful but arrogant warrior who reignites an ancient war with his reckless actions. Thor is then cast down to Earth and forced to live among humans.However,after he arrives, he learns how to be a hero when the most dangerous villain of his former world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth.

Could this mean that Jessica Biel may be playing Sif? What are your thoughts on the Portster playing Jane Foster? Do you want to see lots of Thor on Earth or do you want the first film to be heavy on Asgard?

Thor is due out on 20th May 2011 so still quite a while to go.

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Jessica Biel may be in Thor. Clifton Collins Jr won't.

Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston and Brian Blessed are cast as Thor, Loki and Odin, but who elso will be in Kenneth Branagh's adaption of the Marvel comic?

Clifton Collins Jr. isn't. He mentioned a while back that he was meeting with the Thor people, but he didn't mention for what role. He told The Dead Bolt this week that he's no longer a part of the project.

"That was a long time ago. I wasn't really getting into it, I was just preparing stuff. It's a fantastic director, a great piece, but I have absolutely nothing to do with it."

Meanwhile Jessica Biel is now being rumored to be playing a female character and love interest to the titular hero in the project according to Nuke the Fridge.

The site's source also says the role is likely to be that of Amora The Enchantress , however it could be theAsgardian warrior Sif. Still no word on what role Natalie Portman or Josh Hartnett may be playing.

Do you want to see Biel in Thor? What character do you think she will be playing?

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A Perfect Getaway - Poster

Here is a poster for David Twohy's A Perfect Getaway. The film is due out on 14th August and stars Timothy Olyphant (Hitman, The Crazies), Milla Jovovich (Resident Evil, Ultraviolet), Steve Zahn (Rescue Dawn, Sahara), Kiele Sanchez and Chris Hemsworth (Star Trek, Thor).

Cliff and Cydney are an adventurous young couple celebrating their honeymoon by backpacking to one of the most beautiful, and remote, beaches in Hawaii. Hiking the wild, secluded trails, they believe they've found paradise. But when the pair comes across a group of frightened hikers discussing the horrifying murder of another newlywed couple on the islands, they begin to question whether they should turn back. Unsure whether to stay or flee, Cliff and Cydney join up with two other couples, and things begin to go terrifyingly wrong. Far from civilization or rescue, everyone begins to look like a threat and nobody knows whom to trust. Paradise becomes hell on earth as a brutal battle for survival begins...

Check out some photos from the film.

Discuss in the forum or leave a comment below.

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Kevin Feige talks Avengers, Captain America and Thor

There is a great interview ove on Ugo with Marvel Films President Kevin Feige about the new films coming out over the next few years. He talks about the Hulk with the Avengers, Will Smith as a possible Captain America (which I think is a big mistake although he could fit into that universe as Isaiah Bradley that I've previously mentioned), Thor on Earth, the return of Blade and more. Here are some of the highlights.

Are you planning on putting The Hulk in The Avengers?

Feige: I think it'd be cool. I'd like to see The Hulk again. It will have been a number of years, four years since he was in a movie by that point, by 2012. So I'd like to see him in it. I'm not being coy. We're just starting the story. I was on the phone with Zak Penn this morning. He's coming in next week and he's going to work on the outline this summer, but because it's so intertwined with what we're doing before - I almost wanted to get done with production on Iron Man 2 [and] the scripts to Thor and Captain America well underway before we even started Avengers.

Is there any possibility of having SHIELD show up in a Spider-Man movie? Is that something you guys would like to do and is there a possibility of bringing these disparate properties back into the fold?

Feige: If we were talking about this four years ago and you asked if there was a chance to do an Avengers movie and a Marvel Cinematic Universe under one roof, I would've said that anything was possible, but that it's a long shot and I'm not sure. Now we're doing it. I'll kind of give you the same answer to that now. Anything is possible. Right now they're certainly different. What's at Fox is at Fox. What's at Sony is what's at Sony and what's at Marvel is what's at Marvel. When I say the MCU that's a goofy internal thing, but that's [how] we're referring to it.

You've got a lot now, but what other characters would you like to see make it onscreen?

Feige: Ant-Man. I want to make Ant-Man one of these days. I think that'll be surprising and a funny thing. I love that what Edgar [Wright] likes about it is that when he says he's doing Ant-Man people go, “Ant-Man? What the hell is that?” I think that's fun. I think Dr. Strange would kick ass. I think we've done very well at the superhero genre, if you will, this street level superhero aspect of the Marvel Universe. I think with Thor you'll see us cracking into the cosmic side of the Marvel Universe in a very good way that's never been done before in our movies and I'd love to get into that supernatural element. I think that Dr. Strange could be a good way of being the lynchpin to that universe with Werewolf By Night, with Blade again someday – that side of the Marvel Universe.

Recently it's been announced that more of the Thor story will take place on Earth. Is it a contemporary earth or Viking times?

Feige: It'll be contemporary.

How are you going to deal with the fish out of water aspect of it? Are you concerned at all about Thor dealing with the wacky modern day aspects of his life, being on a cell phone or something like that?

I am concerned about that and that's why we're not going to do that. We always think about, not in terms of “Thor,” but if you talk about fish out of water; if a character is goofy at any time he'll be goofy. If you bring in an idiot from the past he's going to come into the future and go [holding a recorder up to his face] “What is this? Hello?” That stuff is not funny and it's overdone. If Indiana Jones came to the future he's going to be cool. He's not going to be an idiot bumbling with things. There might be some fun humor out of him just getting something wrong for a minute, but he's going to play it cool and just not come off like an idiot. I think that Thor…if you look at [Jack] Kirby's Asgard, if you look at Walt Simonson's Asgard; they are technologically superior to us by far. They're not going to come and be flummoxed by much on Earth. There might be cultural differences that could be amusing or endearing, but he's not going to be talking to a lamppost for five minutes.

Is Donald Blake going to be in Thor and is he still going to be handicapped?

Feige: No.

Will Thor still be recognizable as a what we understand to be a superhero movie or is it going to be closer to fantasy?

I think it's going to be very much a Marvel superhero movie, but I think to the movie audience it's going to expand that definition more and more. Again, we've got a forty four year old guy who's going to be a superhero in a movie and he puts on an armored suit. That didn't necessarily mean superhero to people. In that same way, I think, someone who's got superpowers coming to Earth and dealing with other character from his realm will come off very much as a big ass superhero movie. But it's going to expand that definition, I hope, in a way.

QCan you talk about the casting of Chris Hemsworth and what it was ultimately about this guy after looking at all these other actors?

Feige: You couldn't take your eyes off of him. When he did his auditioned he worked for it. He put himself on tape. He put himself on tape again and then did it again and then came in and sat with Branagh and then worked again with Branagh and then ultimately did a very late in the process screen test and there was no question. It was very much like going back to 1999 when Dougray Scott got injured on Mission Impossible 2 and we had to go back to the videotapes and suddenly we saw Hugh Jackman who came in and did a screen test and it was like, “There's no question that this is our guy.” In this case it was actually even cleaner with Chris because with Hugh he was like two feet taller than the character was supposed to be which was nerve racking, but Chris is six four and looks exactly Thor.

Are you going to get a big name for “Captain” or are you looking to get another unknown?

Feige: We'll see. I do think that's something that we'll take into account, international appeal. There are only a handful of stars that mean anything here much less overseas. But I do think that will be a factor in it. As long as we have the freedom to do so at Marvel….to just cast the best actor for the part whether it's an actor who's been a great actor, but hasn't starred in marquee action movies before like Downey or somebody that came out of Australia that they've never heard of.

There's been some talk of going with a Will Smith and using the “Truth” storyline of Captain America.

Feige: I love the “Truth” storyline. I think that's very cool. I wouldn't do that as a first Captain America movie though. I think Will Smith is probably one of those handful of international stars. But I think that [arc] came about four or five hundred issues in to the “Cap” run. I don't see launching with that comic.

If one of the movies doesn't do well in this run, how will that effect The Avengers? It’s the riskiest one of the bunch because you're relying on people wanting to come and see Thor again and Cap again.

Feige: I think Avengers is going to have it's own vibe. I think Avengers will feel very much like…it'll have a different tone than the other Marvel movies. I'm not talking budget level here, but it'll have a much more massive global feel to it. Our movies aren't about saving the world. Iron Man doesn't save the world. Hulk doesn't save the world. Captain America, a little bit. But it's not about these comic bookey “I will save the world” things. The Avengers is about saving the world because there's no other reason for characters that powerful to band together. So I think the scope and the scale will feel like a much bigger thing. So whatever you had seen - whether Starscream was your favorite character or Megatron is your favorite character or Soundwave is your favorite character - you're going to see the experience of that epic thing together. I think it'll be the same thing. Clearly I hope it'll all work. I hope that people will, like they've done with the comics for years and years, argue about who their favorite is and who would win in a fight and all of that fun stuff.

For Avengers,will the threat to them come from outside the Earth?

Feige: It'll be big. It'll be something that no single hero can handle.

Discuss in the forum or leave a comment below.

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Gordon's Alive? Brian Blessed may play Odin in Thor

I am really looking forward to Kenneth Branagh's adaption of Marvel's Thor. Now this news has got me even more excited.

Rich Johnston over on Bleeding Cool had this to say:

I understand that British actor Brian Blessed has been cast in Kenneth Branagh’s THOR movie, based on the Marvel Comics title, as the character Odin.

Blessed is best known for his roles as Caesar Augustus in I CLAUDIUS and King Of The Hawk Men in FLASH GORDON as well as being a charity campaigner and mountaineer.

He has appeared in a number of Kenneth Branagh productions, including HAMLET and AS YOU LIKE IT, famed for his booming voice.

I still haven't found any official confirmation on this, however he apparantly confirmed it at a recent public appearance in York. I will keep looking for official confirmation on this, so at the moment count it as a rumour.
The fact that Branagh as previously worked makes even more sense as he has also worked with Tom Hiddleston who was recently cast as Loki. Chris Hemsworth is Thor. Now we just need to find out what characters Natalie Portman and Josh Hartnett are playing.

I personally think this is a brilliant piece of casting and hopefully it is true.

How would you feel with Brian Blessed as Odin?

Discuss in the forum or leave a comment below.

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Thor to be gritty and dirty says the scriptwriter

CineFOOLS have a great interview with Ashley Miller. He is the screen writer for Kenneth Branagh's adaption of Thor for Marvel.

Reading it does make me feel even happier about the project. Here are some of the main bits from it.

Are you a fan of Thor?

AM-Would you like me to pull my Simonson run out of its bags and boards? Zack had to take me down with an elephant tranq to stop me from throwing in a scene between Thor and a frog.

Is there any Thor storylines you are inspired by?

AM-So many things. Certainly, Walt Simonson's take on the character greatly informs what we brought to the script although I wouldn't say we went to a specific story from his tenure on the book. We saw part of our job as taking all the many approaches to the character over the years (including the myths) and distilling them down into a form that worked for a two-hour movie. There's a tremendous amount of ground to cover, so inspiration has to come from everywhere.

As a writer what would you like to bring to the characters in the Thor Saga?

AM-Grit. Not in the sense that you'd want to see a generic "dark" take on Thor, but in the sense that you want to feel Thor's rage when he rages. You want to see him fight like hell, and take as much he dishes out -- maybe more. You want to have a visceral reaction to the guy, and what happens to him. You don't want his adventures to be clean and antiseptic. You want to see the dirt, and grime and blood. You want to feel every bone crunching moment of every fight. And when he unleashes the storm, you want to feel like you're seeing the power of a GOD at work.

The best example I can give you is the end of Ultimates 2. When Thor shows up and kicks ass, he shows up and kicks ass. He isn't screwing around. There's a certain brutal, cock-eyed realism to Thor in that moment (and through that book in general) that I really resonate to and want to expand on.

As most people will want to see Asgard does it feature prominently in the script or will it mostly be in our world?

AM-Marvel's official description gives you a pretty good idea of what the divide looks like.

With all the Marvel films converging do you have to write with a bigger story in mind? Will you be involved with any other Marvel comic/film writers? E.g J Michael Stratzynski?

AM-We definitely wrote with the bigger story in mind, or at least the bigger universe. Our script is very firmly rooted in the Marvel film world. We were constantly looking for ways to connect Thor to the other movies and heroes, even if they were simply in passing. Part of grounding Thor in the world is grounding him in the specific, fictional world he inhabits. How many of those references and connections make it to the final product are beyond our control, but they are everywhere.

I'll also tell you the nicest thing about working for Marvel, as a fan. You never have to defend the character to the people who own him. You never have to explain to them why Thor is cool, or what he can do. They are as likely as you are to come up with some awesome bit of obscure continuity and pitch it as a story or character element. It's a very writer friendly place.

It is great to see that a fan of Thor is writing the screenplay. I also like the sound of the fights in that we will see the dirt, grime and blood. If they can make it like that then it should be amazing. Can Chris Hemsworth as Thor pull this off?

How do you feel about the Thor film? How can they tie it into the Iron Man film and other Marvel films? What look do you want Thor to have - classic Marvel or the Ultimate version?

Discuss in the forum or leave a comment below.

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Clifton Collins Jr may be in Thor

It looks as if J J Abrams Star Trek may have another link to Kenneth Branagh's Thor film after Chris Hemsworth was cast as Thor.

Clifton Collins Jr., who as the Romulan miner Ayel helped to kill Hemsworth’s character, George Kirk, appears to now be vying for a part alongside Hemsworth in the upcoming Marvel Studios film according to MTV.

“Studying my ass off for ‘Thor,’ gonna be a late night, well worth the loss of sleep!” Collins wrote Wednesday on Twitter. “Brewing big pot of joe, hitting ‘Thor’ hard this mornin!”

He also said that he would be heading into an audition for the part later that day, but didn’t specify which part he would be trying out for.

The question is what character would he be auditioning for? Possibily Fandral or Hogun from The Warriors Three. My feeling is that it will be for the part of Hogun based on the recent casting call announcement.

Official Casting Call for Hogun

[HOGUN]Male. ASIAN / SOUTH EAST ASIAN / MONGOLIAN / EAST INDIAN. Late 20s to mid 30s. Grim, stoic, fearless. A man of few words who lives for battle...SUPPORTING.

Clifton Collins Jr is one of those actors who always does top quality work. He was great in The Last Castle. Do you think Collins Jr would work as Hogun (he's the one on the right in the picture below)? If not Hogun who else could be play? Do you think Beta Ray Bill will be in the film?
Discuss in the forum or leave a comment below.

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A Perfect Getaway - Trailer for David Twohy's psycho stalkers in paradise film

Cliff and Cydney are an adventurous young couple celebrating their honeymoon by backpacking to one of the most beautiful, and remote, beaches in Hawaii. Hiking the wild, secluded trails, they believe they've found paradise. But when the pair comes across a group of frightened hikers discussing the horrifying murder of another newlywed couple on the islands, they begin to question whether they should turn back. Unsure whether to stay or flee, Cliff and Cydney join up with two other couples, and things begin to go terrifyingly wrong. Far from civilization or rescue, everyone begins to look like a threat and nobody knows whom to trust. Paradise becomes hell on earth as a brutal battle for survival begins...

Written and directed by David Twohy (Pitch Black). It stars Timothy Olyphant, Milla Jovovich, Steve Zahn, Kiele Sanchez and Thor himself, Chris Hemsworth.

A Perfect Getaway is due out on 14th August 2009.

Discuss in the forum or leave a comment below.

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Tom Hiddleston cast as Loki in Branagh's Thor

I almost had this right. On the 4th May I mentioned how Tom Hiddleston, the co-star in Kenneth Branagh's Wallander series, could possibly be Thor.

This turned out to be incorrect when it was announced yesterday that Chris Hemsworth (George Kirk in Star Trek) had been cast as Thor in Kenneth Branagh’s big screen adaptation of Marvel’s Thor and the Summer 2012 superhero team-up film The Avengers.

However, Nikki Finke are now saying that Tom will be playing the evil Loki, the God of Mischief.

I was half right. Hiddleston is in the film, but playing the big bad. As I mentioned when Hemsworth was announced, I like the fact they are not using big names for this film. To the mainstream audience, Marvel's Thor is a bit of an unknown quanitity and you want the characters to prove their worth rather than be overshadowed by the actor playing them.

Also Hiddleston does have a look of Loki about him in some photos.

Robert Downey Jr worked so well as Tony Stark in Iron Man because Stark is a huge larger than life playboy kind of character.

It does make me wonder whether Josh Hartnett will still be in the film as he had previously been rumoured to play Loki, as had Natalie Portman. Maybe Hartnett will be playing another Asgardian - one of the Warriors Three?

Discuss in the forum

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Captain Kirk's Dad is Thor

Chris Hemsworth, who played George Kirk in the opening of J J Abrams Star Trek has been cast as Thor in Kenneth Branagh’s big screen adaptation of Marvel’s comic. That means he will also be playing the Thunder God in the Summer 2012 film The Avengers.

Nikki Finke reports that Marvel and Branagh made the final decision earlier today after reviewing Hemsworth’s test footage. Chris is currently in production on the Joss Whedon-written Drew Goddard-directed horror film The Cabin in the Woods. The Australian actor (who used to star in Home and Away) was also just cast as the lead role in MGM’s Red Dawn remake last week.

Written by Mark Protosevich, Thor has been described as being “like a superhero origin story, but not one about a human gaining super powers, but of a god realizing his true potential. It’s the story of an Old Testament god who becomes a New Testament god”.

Marvel has announced a release date of 17th June 2011 for the film.

I thought Hemsworth was great in the Trek movie, so I'm happy with the casting. The other plus is that he is not a huge name or familiar face yet so it will be easier to buy into him as Thor.

How do you feel about the casting?

Discuss in the forum

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Sean Bean is in it for the CA$H

CA$H is an action-driven psychological thriller that examines the gripping power money wields over us all. In CA$H!, a stroke of good luck for Sam (Chris Hemsworth – Star Trek, A Perfect Getaway) and his wife Leslie (Victoria Profeta - Push) quickly turns deadly when the
strange and sinister criminal Pyke Kubic (Sean Bean) appears at their doorstep. As Pyke leads Sam and Leslie on a tumultuous adventure through the streets of Chicago, each are pulled deeper and deeper into a desperate spiral of violence and deception-- all in the name of money.

CA$H is the work of acclaimed director Stephen Milburn Anderson of SOUTH CENTRAL fame. Known for his examination of societal evils in SOUTH CENTRAL, Anderson continues his analysis of the human persona.

It will debut at the upcoming Cannes Marche du Film in May.

Thanks to musegal09 for the news.

Check out the official site.

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