Friday, August 21, 2009
Wolf Man trailer and . . . Shazam!
Another interesting trailer today (though nowhere near the “big deal” yesterday’s Avatar teaser was), this time for the much-delayed remake of Universal’s classic The Wolf Man, starring Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins. This thing was originally supposed to come out, if I’m not mistaken, last November (I believe I saw footage from it after ComicCon in 2007), but it’s now set for release on February 12, 2010.
This trailer actually looks pretty cool. I know that usually when a studio delays a movie as much as The Wolf Man has been delayed, it’s often seen as a bad sign, but this trailer’s got me interested. It’s got top-class acting talent, a nice, slick look, and I appreciate the period setting. And those transformation sequences look like they could be awesome. And because I can tie just about any movie news back to comic books, another reason I’m looking forward to checking out The Wolf Man for myself is that director Joe Johnston was signed a few months ago to direct the Captain America film for Marvel. And you can bet your sweet can I’ll be covering that movie as more information surfaces. Stay tuned, true believer!
To keep the comic book movie theme going, The Hollywood Reporter is, erm, reporting that Warner Bros. has hired actor-turned-director Bill Birch (he was on Grey’s Anatomy, a show I don’t watch) to write a script for Shazam!, an adaptation of
the DC Comics title. (The character is actually called Captain Marvel, but he’s always better known by the magic word he exclaims to transform from a young boy into a barrel-chested Superman riff. It’s also more fun to say.)
A Shazam! movie’s been in the works for years, and last I heard WB cooled on the more kiddie-friendly superhero after Speed Racer (which was geared at younger audiences) tanked and The Dark Knight (which was most definitely aimed at adults) was a box office phenomenon. Personally I’ve always thought a superhero movie specifically targeted at kids is a brilliant idea; superhero stories are all about adolescent wish fulfillment, and a movie about a 12-year-old boy who can transform into a beefy adult with amazing powers seems to me like a license to print money. Get Smart director Peter Segal is apparently still attached to direct, and while that movie didn’t blow me away, Segal proved he can balance action and comedy quite astutely. As awesome as The Dark Knight was, Iron Man shows there’s still plenty of room for “fun” superhero movies as well, and if done right, there’s no reason Shazam! can’t be similarly successful.
Hey, another trailer! This time it’s a proper trailer (as in, includes actual footage from the movie) for Michael Moore’s Capitalism: A Love Story. Say what you will about Moore and his previous movies, there’s never been a more appropriate time for a movie about this subject. If nothing else, it will hopefully spur some more discussion about some very real issues facing not just America, but the world. I know I’ll be checking it out.
This trailer actually looks pretty cool. I know that usually when a studio delays a movie as much as The Wolf Man has been delayed, it’s often seen as a bad sign, but this trailer’s got me interested. It’s got top-class acting talent, a nice, slick look, and I appreciate the period setting. And those transformation sequences look like they could be awesome. And because I can tie just about any movie news back to comic books, another reason I’m looking forward to checking out The Wolf Man for myself is that director Joe Johnston was signed a few months ago to direct the Captain America film for Marvel. And you can bet your sweet can I’ll be covering that movie as more information surfaces. Stay tuned, true believer!
***
To keep the comic book movie theme going, The Hollywood Reporter is, erm, reporting that Warner Bros. has hired actor-turned-director Bill Birch (he was on Grey’s Anatomy, a show I don’t watch) to write a script for Shazam!, an adaptation of
the DC Comics title. (The character is actually called Captain Marvel, but he’s always better known by the magic word he exclaims to transform from a young boy into a barrel-chested Superman riff. It’s also more fun to say.)A Shazam! movie’s been in the works for years, and last I heard WB cooled on the more kiddie-friendly superhero after Speed Racer (which was geared at younger audiences) tanked and The Dark Knight (which was most definitely aimed at adults) was a box office phenomenon. Personally I’ve always thought a superhero movie specifically targeted at kids is a brilliant idea; superhero stories are all about adolescent wish fulfillment, and a movie about a 12-year-old boy who can transform into a beefy adult with amazing powers seems to me like a license to print money. Get Smart director Peter Segal is apparently still attached to direct, and while that movie didn’t blow me away, Segal proved he can balance action and comedy quite astutely. As awesome as The Dark Knight was, Iron Man shows there’s still plenty of room for “fun” superhero movies as well, and if done right, there’s no reason Shazam! can’t be similarly successful.
***
Hey, another trailer! This time it’s a proper trailer (as in, includes actual footage from the movie) for Michael Moore’s Capitalism: A Love Story. Say what you will about Moore and his previous movies, there’s never been a more appropriate time for a movie about this subject. If nothing else, it will hopefully spur some more discussion about some very real issues facing not just America, but the world. I know I’ll be checking it out.
***
Talk about an about-face. A few months back, following a decidedly unspectacular debut at Cannes, Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds was being talked about in some circles as a potential misfire for the one-time Hollywood golden boy, especially after he underwhelmed just about everyone with his half of Grindhouse, Death Proof. Now QT’s World War 2 flick is looking like one of the best-reviewed films of the year. I’ve heard nothing but good things about it, particularly Christoph Waltz as the movie’s villain. I mentioned not long ago that up until the latest trailer I wasn’t really all that excited about Inglourious Basterds, but now I can’t wait to see it. Watch this space for my take on it next week. Labels: comics, Movie news, trailers
¶ 10:13 AM
