Daily digest of some of the sci-fi and fantasy news that’s caught our eye including: Peter Jackson and Doctor Who; Jim Carrey and Aaron Johnson filming Kick-Ass 2 video; The Cabin In The Woods Blu-ray disc faults; and Dredd sequel unlikely to happen.
Michael Bay’s to film fifth Transformers movie
Even though he and the movies have had their criticisms, Michael Bay may be set to film a fifth Transformers movie. Glenn Morshower, who played a military leader in the previous installments said “After I did the opening ceremonies for the [Transformers theme park] ride, Steven Spielberg walked up to me and chatted and said ‘You know we’ve got you set to do the fourth one and probably the fifth one on the heels of that. So, I guess in December we are on our way to making 4 and 5.”
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey to get Royal premiere
The first part of Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy has been chosen for this year’s 65th Royal Film Performance and will premiere in London on 12th December.
Dredd sequel not likely after poor takings
Despite being a pretty good action movie, Dredd has performed poorly at the box office. This means it’s highly unlikely we’ll get another movie based on the classic British comic. Dredd didn’t meet the estimates of $9 million to $10 million in its first weekend in the United States, pulling in an about $6.3 million instead. Unfortunately it hasn’t even done well enough in the UK and other countries to compensate for the poor US takings.
It’s a real shame as Dredd is actually really good and the Slo-Mo effects are stunning. They didn’t go easy on the violence which is very graphic in part. Dredd is stil out, you should go see it.
New Hulk movie?
Everyone loved Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner and Hulk in The Avengers movie and now Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige is considering the prospect. “Do I think Hulk can carry a movie and be as entertaining as he was in ‘Avengers’? I do believe that. I do believe he absolutely could. We certainly are not even going to attempt that until [after] ‘Avengers 2.’ So there’s a lot of time to think about it. Part of what’s fun about the way we played him in ‘Avengers’ is the ensemble quality of it. I think the pathos and humor, most importantly, that Mark and Joss brought to it showcased a different element of Hulk that’s there in the comics, and was always inherent in his character. But when he was so brooding in his other two films, he didn’t get to have that wry sense of humor that Mark did such an amazing job performing.”
Buzz Lightyear Balloon Costume Cosplay
Jeff Wright and his very cool Buzz Lightyear costume made from balloons.
The Cabin In The Woods Blu-ray disc faults
Having been dicked about with the multiple versions of Joss Whedon’s The Avengers (Assemble) in the UK, none of which has his commentary; there’s now a problem with an authoring fault on Lionsgate’s UK Blu-ray of The Cabin In The Woods.
The disc does play, but it annoyingly freezes briefly at eleven points in the film. If your disc is one of those affected, you can email cabin@technicolor.com to ask for a replacement. You’ll need to provide proof of purchase. You’ll be asked to scan that and send it in or if you ordered online, you’ll be asked to supply a copy of the order confirmation email. Retailers like Amazon have acted quickly to withdraw the Blu-ray from sale because of this technical issue.
Lionsgate say replacement discs are now in production and are asking customers to return their Blu-ray to the retailer where it was purchased (along with their receipt). Check their Cabin In The Woods Facebook page for further updates.
The DVD version is unaffected.
Philip Pullman rewrites Grimm Tales
Philip Pullman has taken a break from writing a companion novel, The Book Of Dust, to the His Dark Materials trilogy, to put his own spin on fifty of the Grimms’ classic fairytales.
Grimm Tales for Young and Old is published by Penguin Classics on 27 September 2012.
Jim Carrey and Aaron Johnson filming Kick-Ass 2 in Toronto
Peter Jackson would love to direct Doctor Who episode
Peter Jackson has revealed that would love to direct Doctor Who and it looks like the BBC might be open to the idea.
Executive producer Caro Skinner said “It is beyond wonderful that Peter is a fan of the show and it’s beyond flattering that he’d even think about it,” says Skinner. “I’m absolutely sure that we couldn’t afford him but, you know, we can always negotiate. His enthusiasm is just fantastic of course.”
“Of course at some point we’d love to bring Doctor Who down under . . . it won’t be possible until at least a year after the 50th anniversary. We are already two-thirds of the way through the shoots of series seven and although we filmed a couple of episodes abroad I can confirm for the rest of series seven we will be shooting entirely in Cardiff Bay.”
