Wednesday, November 7, 2012

The Circle Is Complete, Carrie Fisher Wants In For Next 'Star Wars' Trilogy

So we've heard sorta rumblings from Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford regarding their reactions for a return in Star Wars: Episodes VII, VIII, and IX. Last in line to complete the SW Trinity reunion is Carrie Fisher.

OK, not to slight Chewbacca, C-3P0, and R2-D2 on this, but Peter Mayhew reprised his role as the iconic Wookie in Episode III, and Anthony Daniels has been actively portraying C-3P0 in various forms since 1977. Original Trilogy fans are ecstatic at the possibility of finally seeing Luke, Han, and Leia back on the big screen together thirty years after Return of the Jedi, wrinkles and all.

TMZ caught up with our Princess Leia at LAX (caught up with as in stuck a camera in her face), and let loose with their form of assault 'journalism.'  The good news for us is they went right for the Star Wars jugular.

When asked how she felt that Leia is now a Disney Princess, she answered, "Fantastic. Made my day."

As far her response to if she wants to appear in the new Star Wars movie, Episode VII, "Yes, sure. Wouldn't you?" That'a a big 'yes' in my book, knowing she is sworn to secrecy to whatever she knows so far.

Although Mark Hamill revealed to Entertaiment Weekly that he and Fisher met with George Lucas last summer, and the sequel trilogy was indeed discussed, this is the first we have heard from her regarding anything to do with the new films since Disney bought Lucasfilm last week.

Good work TMZ, journalistic integrity be damned.



SOURCE: TMZ


Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Flock To Unlock Clips To The 'Firefly' 10th Anniversary Special


To all us Browncoats' delight, this Sunday, Science Channel is set to air the highly anticipated Firefly Tenth Anniversary Special, Firefly: Browncoats Unite.

Creator Joss Whedon reunites to reminisce with his crew (Nathan Fillion. Sean Maher, Summer Glau, Adam Baldwin, Morena Baccarin, Alan Tudyk, Gina Torres, and Jewel Staite) for the 60-minute round table retrospective special. Highlights include a re-created Serenity set, interviews, behind-the-scenes secrets, and a look back at the Firefly on-stage cast reunion at this year's San Diego Comic-Con's Hall H.

To hold us over until the weekend, Science Channel is offering the opportunity to "Flock To Unlock" four of the best moments that can only be released exclusively to the online community by tweeting @ScienceChannel with #FireflyNov11. For every 5,000 tweets, a new sneak peek video will unlock.

In addition, fans can pre-game on Sunday with a Firefly full series all-day marathon starting at 7AM leading up to the 10PM premiere of Browncoats Unite.




SOURCE: Science Channel



Harrison Ford Reportedly Open To The Idea For Returning In New 'Star Wars' Trilogy

Entertainment Weekly scored an interview with Mark Hamill earlier this week, now the magazine has word that Harrison Ford is indeed in the loop and willing to appear in the next wave of Star Wars films set to take place after the events of 1983's Return of the Jedi.

“Harrison is open to the idea of doing the movie and he’s upbeat about it, all three of them are,” a highly placed source told the mag.

In reference to "all three of them," fans will be happy to know that is Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher. Hamill and Fisher met with George Lucas last summer where the director brought up his ideas regarding Star Wars: Episodes VII, VII and IX. 

However, Ford may stipulate in his contract that Han may meet his demise at some point. It's no secret that Solo was originally supposed to be killed off halfway through Return of The Jedi in early drafts of the film, something the actor was not opposed to.

“I thought he should have died in the last one to give it some bottom…George didn’t think there was any future in dead Han toys,” Ford said in an ABC interview from 2010.

“We had an outline and George changed everything in it,” former Star Wars producer Gary Kurtz told the LA Times in 2010. “Instead of bittersweet and poignant he wanted a euphoric ending with everybody happy. The original idea was that they would recover [the kidnapped] Han Solo in the early part of the story and that he would then die in the middle part of the film in a raid on an Imperial base. George then decided he didn’t want any of the principals killed. By that time there were really big toy sales and that was a reason.”

EW reports any further movement on the return of Han Solo still depends on securing the script and director for Episode VII, which is targeted for 2015. Though it wouldn't surprise me to learn down the road that if Harrison Ford indeed reprises the role, it was mainly to give Han the proper poignant death the character was denied in Return of the Jedi

Also on the Star Wars update news ticker, Collider reports that Matthew Vaughn is on the short list for the coveted director's chair. The Kick Ass and X-Men: First Class director recently and abruptly dropped out of helming First Class' sequel, X-Men: Days of Future Past.  While he is still producing that film, and has a track record of leaving projects, he does have a lot more time on his hands to be a solid contender. 

This is going to be a story with non-stop rumors, speculation, and updates in the next few months, as it has been since Disney bought Lucasfilm last week. Even though the first new film under the new Disney banner is three years away, the undertaking will require some major things to be set in stone by year's end. Stay tuned...

SOURCES: EW, Collider



Friday, November 2, 2012

TRAILER: 'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' International Trailer

Check out the new international trailer for G.I. Joe: Retaliation, which shows a lot of new footage from the film. Originally scheduled for a summer 2012 release, Paramount abruptly pushed the film back to March 29th of 2013 after an eleventh hour decision to convert the film to 3-D, and according to some reports, beef up Channing Tatum's role as Captain Duke Hauser (who apparently died early on in the original cut of film).

The new trailer features new looks at Cobra Commander (in a familiar old school appearance), Storm Shadow, Zartan (disguised as the President), and Cobra's new ally Firefly (Ray Stevenson).

Added to the cast for the sequel is Dwayne Johnson as Roadblock, Bruce Willis as Joe Colton, Adiranne Palicki as Lady Jaye, D.J. Cotrona as Flint, and Elodie Yung as Jinx.




Official Synopsis:
"A follow-up to the 2009 release of G.I. JOE: RISE OF THE COBRA, which grossed over $300M worldwide, Paramount Pictures, MGM and Skydance Productions, in association with HASBRO and di Bonaventura Pictures, commences production on G.I. JOE: RETALIATION. In this sequel, the G.I. Joes are not only fighting their mortal enemy Cobra; they are forced to contend with threats from within the government that jeopardize their very existence. The film stars D.J. Cotrona, Byung-hun Lee, Ray Park, Adrianne Palicki, Jonathan Pryce, RZA, Ray Stevenson, Channing Tatum with Bruce Willis and Dwayne Johnson. Directed by Jon M. Chu, and produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Brian Goldner, from a screenplay by Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick based on Hasbro’s G.I. Joe(R) characters."



Thursday, November 1, 2012

Mark Hamill Has Discussed New 'Star Wars' Trilogy With George Lucas and Carrie Fisher

Entertainment Weekly caught up with Mark Hamill for his thoughts on the new future of Star Wars as part of the Disney Empire. While he does not know much about the grand plans that lie ahead, what is extremely interesting (and encouraging) is his revelation that he and Carrie Fisher had lunch with George Lucas last summer and discussed  Episodes VII, VIII, and IX.

Here is what Hamill had to say regarding Lucasfilm's purchase by Disney on Monday:
"I had no idea that George was going to sell to Disney until I read it online like everybody else. He did tell us last summer about wanting to go on and do [Episodes] VII, VIII, and IX, and that [newly appointed Lucasfilm president] Kathleen Kennedy would be doing them. He seems to be in a really good place. He’s really happy. And that’s nice because I know that when we were making the movies, he was not a jolly guy on set. [Laughs] I always felt badly for him because he agonizes over details, and I’m sure after imagining it in his head for so many years, to see it realized — he’d look up and just hang his head and groan. Harrison [Ford], Carrie [Fisher], and I were always trying to cheer him up and joke him out of his doom and gloom. I missed his call yesterday, but I spoke to him maybe three weeks ago. But until we know more, it’s hard to make any comment other than congratulations to George."

Hamill reveals that Lucas has been mapping out the path for the third Star Wars trilogy for some time (besides the fact that detailed story treatments have been written),  and has discussed it with both him and his former co-star Carrie Fisher:
Yeah, last August, he asked Carrie and I to have lunch with him and we did. I thought he was going to talk about either his retirement or the Star Wars TV series that I’ve heard about — which I don’t think we were going to be involved in anyway, because that takes place between the prequels and the ones we were in and, if Luke were in them, he’d be anywhere from a toddler to a teenager so they’d get an age-appropriate actor — or the 3-D releases. So when he said, “We decided we’re going to do Episodes VII, VIII, and IX,” I was just gobsmacked. “What? Are you nuts?!” [Laughs] I can see both sides of it. Because in a way, there was a beginning, a middle, and an end and we all lived happily ever after and that’s the way it should be — and it’s great that people have fond memories, if they do have fond memories. But on the other hand, there’s this ravenous desire on the part of the true believers to have more and more and more material. It’s one of those things: people either just don’t care for it or are passionate about it. I guess that defines what cult movies are all about. We’ll see. I’m anxious to know what’s going on, but the main story [yesterday] was the sale to Disney. I have mixed feelings about that, but they haven’t done badly by Marvel and the Muppets and Pixar. It’s one of those big decisions that at first seems unusual but then the more you look at it, the more it makes sense."

Hamill doesn't have much to reveal about the newer films, and even though at the time he was sworn to secrecy, hopefully will have more to share in the coming months.
"Well, no, he was just talking about writers and the fact that he wouldn’t be directing. I guess he wanted us to know before everybody else knew. He said, “Now you can’t tell anybody!” [Laughs] Even now I’m nervous about saying anything. I just don’t know!"

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly