This is the kind of story that sounds too absurd to be true. According to an insider for Vulture, Matt Damon will no longer be making his directorial debut with the project previously reported on. The idea came from Dave Eggers and John Krasinski, and the script was co-written by Krasinski and Damon, but the insider is citing “script issues” as the reason for Damon getting up from the director’s chair. Thus, Matt Damon is having trouble with the script from Matt Damon.

The best part? Apparently he’s still on board to star.

So there are 3 options here: 1) Either Matt Damon thinks the writing he (and Krasinki) did is good enough to star but not good enough to direct 2) he is having an existential crisis where he’s arguing with himself or 3) the insider is wrong.

Maybe Damon really is stepping back from directing, but the reasoning here sounds ludicrous in light of the work he’s already done. Hopefully some clearer information will come out before the FSR offices run out of aspirin.

Hopefully the spoiler warning is loud and clear enough here, and, yes, I still take them seriously. Even if a fancy scientific study shows that we like things that are familiar, there’s still no replacement for being surprised or awe-struck with the wonder of newness.

So if you’re avoiding information about Superman: Man of Steel, you can stop reading now.

And if you keep reading, simply know that all of this might be untrue – it’s the work of an “insider” with the production that scoop site Comic Book Movie trusts. Their track record is pretty stellar, but nothing is confirmed until it’s truly confirmed.

What Comic Book Movie is asserting is that there’s a giant battle scene featuring the US Army, Superman and Zod that takes place in Smallville. Windows at a hospital are being blacked out for CGI explosions to be added in later, and a 7-Eleven is being built just so they can blow it down.

There’s also a bank being wired to explode that matches up with the eyebrow-less promotional image that Warners released recently (see above). All of this is reportedly in the midst of a large action setpiece where Superman learns about one of his powers with “a glass [that] starts shaking and then breaks.” The easy money there is on laser vision. Which is pretty awesome.

All of this is encouraging. Just to see that Snyder will be bringing his love of action to a character that so desperately needs it is a victory. Plus, if this scene really exists and really takes place in Smallville, there’s no telling how old Supes might be when it goes down. If he’s young, his power-harnessing might come along with the attack from Zod. If he’s older, maybe Zod is trying to hit him where it hurts most.

What do you think?

All during the lead up to Transformers: Dark of the Moon, both the film’s director Michael Bay and its star Shia LaBeouf made it clear that three was going to be enough for them, and that they would not be coming back for a Transformers 4. Usually when declarations like this are made there’s a lot of hand wringing that goes on as everybody tries to figure out what it would take to get the big names back. In this case, however, the concept of huge robots turning into cars and fighting is way, way cooler than either Michael Bay or Shia LaBeouf.  You guys aren’t coming back? Great, then maybe we’ll finally get a Transformers movie that’s completely awesome.

And if the early rumors turn out to have nuggets of truth to them, then I already like Transformers 4 better than I’ve liked any of the first three. Showbiz Spy is claiming that they have sources close to the development of the franchise, and seeing as the third film is making so much money, a fourth is going to be attempted even without Bay and LaBeouf. And since they can cast off the shackles of the previous creative direction, they are looking to take the Autobots in a much darker and more adult direction. To that end they’re apparently looking at action star Jason Statham to become the new lead of the series.

Could this be a claim being made completely out of left field? Yeah, probably. But now that word is out there, people are talking about it. Even if executives weren’t thinking of Statham for the new Transformers movie before, then they probably are now. The fact that he’s dating Dark of the Moon star Rosie Huntington-Whitely gives him another connection to the series. After not responding to the first three movies very well I didn’t think that it would be possible to get me looking forward to a fourth Transformers, but when I start thinking about that last hour of action in Dark of the Moon (which finally got something right) with Jason Statham kicking ass in the middle of it instead of LaBeouf spazzing out and yelling… well that sounds like a movie that I would go see. How about you?

Remember how much everybody loved Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and how fandom has been clamoring for further father/son bonding adventures between Indy and Sia Labeouf’s Mutt ever since it left theaters? Me either, so why are all the cast members of that film going around talking to MTV cameras about another sequel? Probably because George Lucas and company know that no matter how bad it looks, we’ll all go and see it anyways. We can’t help ourselves; it’s a sickness. And because of that, Ford seems to be busy preparing his creaking old body for a fifth go around in the iconic Indy togs. According to Shia LaBeouf, “I talked to Harrison Ford. He said he’s staying in the gym, he said he’s heard no word, but he does know that George Lucas is out there looking for a MacGuffin. He said he’s staying in the gym, so it means the movie is not so far off.” If the amount of time it took Lucas to find a MacGuffin for Crystal Skull is any indication, then Ford may be in that gym for quite some time.

Still, this isn’t just second hand heresay; word of a fifth Indy film being in the works has even come directly from Ford’s hallowed lips themselves. When he talked to MTV he said, “It’s on George’s plate. And I’m hoping he’s working hard at it, because I’d look forward to doing it again if the three of us could get together — George, Steven Spielberg, myself — I’d love to do another.” That’s great for him, he gets to put on a fedora and hold a whip and play Indiana Jones; but what about the rest of us who actually have to watch the end results? Can we take another round of Shia LaBeouf swinging around on vines like some sort of stupid cartoon character? Ah, what’s it matter anyways? If you’ll excuse me, I’m off to the message boards to talk about how if we can just keep Lucas away from the script, and if Spielberg has been inspired enough by Super 8 to go back to making movies like he used to in the 80s, then this one might be worth watching. Fingers crossed!

Image by Gohead-Gostan

According to Deep Throat, we will in fact be seeing the planet Krypton, and we will get scenes with Superman’s birth parents Jor-El and Lara. And not only will we be seeing them, but they seem to be meaty enough parts that Snyder is going after big actors to play them. He’s even been hounding the greatest living actor Daniel Day-Lewis to play Jor-El.

In addition to Superman’s parents and the already cast General Zod, we’ll also be getting another female Kryptonian. Her name is Faora and she was a man-hating serial killer who offed 23 dudes back on Krypton before she was trapped in the Phantom Zone. The source also says that the crystalline look of Donner’s Superman films will be changed, and this time Krypton will have more of a futuristic cityscape look like Coruscant from the Star Wars prequels. So people complaining that this Superman movie looks like yet another retread of Donner’s films now have nothing to moan about, instead of crystals there’s going to be buildings. Happy? These are, of course, unconfirmed rumors that were most likely bribed from some drug addicted street person, so you should take them with a whole shaker of salt. But The Latino Review has had a good track record with their Man of Steel reporting so far, so they should also be scrutinized and complained about until we all get red in the face. Ready? Go!

After a very public break, Aerosmith front man and current judge on TV’s American Idol Steven Tyler has confirmed via his Twitter account that the band is going to head back into the studio together. Tyler stated, “AEROFREAKSREJOICE, Joe & I sent smoke signals… shot the shit & chewed the fat for the last year… but just smoked the peace pipe for an hour today and are on our way to rock’in your fkin worlds this summer by locking our selves [sic] away somewhere w/ guitars and drums.” Aerosmith has had several hits going all the way back to the 60s, but they are, of course, best known for their contribution to the Armageddon soundtrack, “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.”

Almost concurrent to this announcement, Tyler’s daughter Liv talked to FOX about she and her father trying to make some music together. “We sing all the time together. We always talk about doing something together. Sometimes when he is in the studio he’ll say ‘come down and sing backup or sing with me on this song.’ But I’m usually somewhere else, and our schedules make it so hard to meet up,” the younger Tyler said. Liv Tyler was, of course, the female lead in Armageddon. One has to wonder what has happened to sync up their schedules in a way that has her hinting at collaboration. Could it be that they’re both signed on to contribute to a new Armageddon movie?

From what Michael Bay says, it seems like that is a definite possibility. When talking to MTV about his upcoming third film in the Transformers series Dark of the Moon, Bay indicated that he was definitely done with making Transformers films. “It does have an end, yes,” he said. “Because I am finished doing this.” What mystery project could possibly draw Bay’s attention away from making all that transforming money? What could be so important that it could bring feuding musicians back together?

A chance to follow up the biggest success of their career with a new song for Armageddon 2 is the only thing that I can think of. Add to it the possibility that Liv Tyler, the star of Armageddon, is likely to be on the recording, and Michael Bay, the director of Armageddon, is simultaneously clearing his schedule, and I don’t think it’s rash to start jumping to conclusions. Clearly these three have something going on, and most likely it is going to be an Armageddon sequel. What do you think?

Source: Spin

The shadowy source says, “The only stumbling block seems to be the number of films he is signing up for. There is a chance the character they want him to play could become a regular feature, like Blofeld back in the day.” That all sounds very interesting. A reoccurring villain might be just what this batch of Bond movies needs to get some of that serial storytelling excitement necessary for drawing an audience from film to film. And for Hopkins, an actor who seems increasingly content with taking showy roles and just having fun with them, being a mustache twirling bad guy in the Bond universe might just be the perfect fit.

We’ve heard rumors before that Javier Bardem was also in talks to join Bond 23, most likely in the role of a villain, and this adds a little intrigue to that. With the possibility of Hopkins playing a reoccurring role, could this mean that Bardem is who they’re looking at to play his underling? Maybe Hopkins is the head of some evil organization and Bardem is his muscle? I’m not the biggest fan of this franchise in the world, but I like the direction they’ve taken the series in since Craig took over as Bond.

Start throwing actors like Javier Bardem and Anthony Hopkins into the mix and I might find myself really looking forward to a Bond film for the first time ever. Do you guys think he has what it takes to have Bond right where he wants him and them blow his whole plan before it comes to fruition? Or is this just empty gossip?

Source: The Sun

From post-credits appearances by Samuel L. Jackson or Robert Downey Jr. to Clark Gregg’s straight-faced Agent Coulson popping up briefly across multiple films, Marvel characters cross pollinate all the time. This should really come as a no brainer seeing as the Marvel universe is more incestuous than the Partridge Family household, but it appears there’s one more character looking to extend his screen life.

Per the Swedish TT (Tidningarnas Telegrafbyrå, apparently the local version of Reuters), Stellan Skarsgard looks to be reprising his role of Dr. Selvig from this summer’s Thor in next summer’s Joss Whedon epic, The Avengers. The mention in the paper is brief and absent of any real detail and it has yet to be confirmed by the studio or by Marvel, but Swedish people are physically incapable of lying so the odds are this is solid information. The mention is translated below.

“Stellan Skarsgard confirmed to TT Spectra that he will play the same role in the upcoming “Thor”: Doctor Selvig. Not much is yet known about the character beyond that Selvig is a scientist in New Mexico.”

Thanks to Nick ‘Penis Pride‘ Kockum for the tip and explanation of the whole ‘TT’ thing!

Sorry about that. Try to forget the image that just popped into your head.

Instead of broadcasting this on the home page, go ahead and skip ahead of the jump if you want to know some possible details about what characters will be doing what (could it be more vague?). If not, stay golden, Pony Boy, and avoid this post like the spoilery plague.

Devin over at Bad Ass Digest has used his special connections to learn that:

1. Anne Hathaway will be playing (specifically) Catwoman (and not simply Selina Kyle) who eventually aligns with Batman.
2. They will be fighting against the League of Shadows, headed up by Talia Al’Ghul (so that might be why Marion Cotillard is joining up), aided by Bane (who we already knew was being played by Tom Hardy), and aided further by a character being played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
3. Gordon-Levitt’s character is unknown, but he’s definitely a baddie.

Some of this information shouldn’t be too surprising to Batman fans, especially those who have “Year One” sitting on their shelves on top of stack of other comics.

Catwoman’s role sounds especially plausible. Bane teaming with the League of Shadows makes sense for his character, and a little revenge from the Al’Ghul clan also sounds like a great way to bookend things.

Of course, it could all be wishful, sense-making, fan hope.

At any rate, if this is how the structure is set, it should make for one hell of a movie. It should also put to rest any speculation that Gordon-Levitt will be taking over the Joker role. Or add to it. Either way.

It also kills hopes for a Batman/Clone High cross-over where Bats takes on the Board of Shadowy Figures.

Guess away!

Editor’s Note: Special hat tip goes out to Bad Ass Digest for not spoiling the spoils in their headline and for using the word “whom” correctly.

Before Schwarzenegger’s announcement, interest in another Terminator film had come to a pretty abrupt halt. First McG’s fourth film in the franchise was a critical failure and a box office disappointment, and then a bankruptcy auction led to the rights to the franchise being bought by some hedge fund. Film execs willing to step into that quagmire to try to revitalize a franchise that seemed to be on its last legs were hard to come by. But now, with one mighty Tweet, we’re all back in the Terminator speculating game.

Personally I hope this never happens. How many more times can we watch a story about Skynet and Judgment Day and John Connor and killer cyborgs? We’ve seen it attacked from all angles now, by a few different directors, and a bunch of different actors. We got the future war movie that everyone always wanted and it sucked. And Arnold is too old to play the T-800 without a whole bunch of simple tricks and nonsense involved. What’s the point? For me, there are only two things that could get me interested in seeing another Terminator movie. 1) A return of Summer Glau’s ridiculously sexy Terminator character from that TV show nobody watched. Hubba-hubba. 2) A guy named Jimmy Cameron sinking a boatload of money into another huge, groundbreaking sequel that he directs and that revolutionizes Special FX in some way.

(For full disclosure, Budnick from Salute Your Shorts tooling around on a dirt bike in the trailer might also get me excited for another Terminator movie.)

Or some intense, dedicated weight gain that will win him an Oscar.

Sensible people vote for the latter, but according to First Showing, the project is written by a Simpsons alum and might be more heart than gimmick. They spoke with director Miguel Arteta (Cedar Rapids, Youth in Revolt) who claimed he was highly interested in the project as well (especially with the prospect of working with Sandler).

So, the validity of the rumor (not to mention its fragility even if true) is questionable, but if the script was truly “beautifully written,” “very funny,” and “very touching,” it might be the sort of thing that uses a fat suit to break someone out of the bland comedy mode they’ve been in for a while. In a way, Sandler is perfect for the role – or at least better than Zach Galifianakis. This sort of thing might be expected from Galifianakis (if it really is both grounded and off the wall), but not from Sandler. It would be a risk, and risks are what make great movies.

It’s no surprise that offers have been coming in for the young actor, but Cinematical is claiming that the chorus seems to be revolving around The Hunger Games.

The adaptation stands to be the next big thing, coming from the battle-tested grounds of YA novel competition, so Steinfeld very well could stand out as its star. It’s just a rumor, and a source isn’t even named, and The Hunger Games might be unrequited in its interest for her, or vice versa. So it’s a long way from being confirmed, but as a bit of dream casting, it’s pretty great.

Freeman is rumored to be circling around the role of the Colonel – a vital component in the story. He’s the closest thing to a father figure the plot has, and he does experiments on a young man that result in turning him into a giant globular monster.

Warning: if you don’t like hearing negative things about Morgan Freeman, do not read on.

Freeman is one of the best actors of our time. He’s an icon of commanding stature and prowess. However, he’s about as threatening as a marshmallow. He’s as threatening as a grandfather with Werther’s Originals-stuffed pockets who’s sitting on a front porch whittling and whistling a happy tune. He is not right for this role.

There’s nothing wrong with that. Some great actors just aren’t right for parts. It seems like a gut reaction to respond with positivity to even the possibility of his casting in a project, but his turn in Wanted proved the difficulty inherent in rising above sweet charm and attempting to be a murderous, cold-hearted maniac.

If the Efron casting is true, and if this casting is true, it just seems like the Hughes Brothers and everyone involved in this is attempting to load the circus with as much stunt casting as possible. Even if this movie had any right to be made, it shouldn’t be made with the wrong people, and all the feigned collective groaning in the world can’t hide the fact that real groaning should be going on.

If you know somebody that knows somebody that knows somebody that has a cousin connected with this film, sit them down calmly, pour them a nice cup of orange spice tea and then toss a bucket of ice water into his or her face. These may be rumors now, but they don’t bode well for the production, and common sense really needs to prevail here.

What do you think?

Source: Bloody D

Seriously. That equipment is expensive. Calm down.

Even without Will Smith, the prospect of a remake isn’t a pleasant one, so keep your fingers crossed that this remains a rumor. Pajiba has the inside scoop that I Am Legend writer Mark Protosevich’s pass at a script is into the studio, they like it, and that Mandate is attempting to get Spielberg back on board.

If this is true, and if they can’t get Spielberg, the secondary rumor is that they’ll try to put the hammer in Danny Boyle’s hands. Boyle might be a strong choice, even if Spielberg doesn’t shy away from violence the way people seem to think he does. Either way, while this all shakes out, I’ll be watching Chan-wook Park’s version on the television I didn’t destroy earlier.

According to Comic Book Movie, Theron would be a detective/love interest for Jim Gordon, and Farmiga is auditioning to be a socialite and love interest for Bruce Wayne.

Either way, even though this is just a rumor, the two women would make strong additions to the film. Or any film for that matter.

Word has been for months that the role would be going to a big name star like Pitt or Daniel Day Lewis, but according to the folks over at Latino Review (who are right a hell of a lot more often than not) the evil mastermind will be played by… that guy in the picture!

Jared Harris, son of the late Professor Dumbledore, can currently be found on AMC’s Madmen. He also has upcoming roles in John Carpenter’s The Ward and Tomas Alfredson’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. And yes, he is suitably British.

Sherlock Holmes 2 will see the return of Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law, and Harris will be joining other recently announced cast members Noomi Rapace and Stephen Fry. The sequel opens in December of next year.

Per online Swedish tabloid, Nojes Bladet, Michael Nyqvist may be starring against Cruise as one of the baddies in the latest installment of the action/spy franchise. If the name doesn’t sound familiar it may be that you have yet to catch international sensation, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, or its two equally popular sequels. I don’t speak Swedish, so I’ve had to trust in the infallible accuracy of Google Translator. Which means any errors in this post, big or small, can be blamed on the fine folks at Google. And probably on the Swedes too.

With all that Comic Book Convention 2010 stuff slowly dying out, someone out there in the superhero world had to pipe up and keep the train rolling down the track. After all the Marvel talk, it might as well be a DC property.

The rumor of the day is that Jon Hamm – the actor known as Mad Men’s Don Draper and Liz Lemon’s impossible boyfriend – might be up for the role of Clark Kent (a man who, if you look at him without the glasses, resembles Superman an awful lot).

This isn’t a done deal, but if it’s headed that way, it’s enough prompting to take a look at the pros and cons of what casting him might mean.

The Pros

• Jon Hamm has an all-American look to him. This look is so ingrained in his acting personality, it’s mocked on “30 Rock.”
• In addition to that look, he’s got a smoldering, brooding sensibility about him. In other words, the man has range.
• That range could be of great value whether the story is one of classic Supes or of the later-era Supers who wasn’t exactly the nicest guy on the block. Consultant Christopher Nolan has already spoken about wanting to stick with what makes Superman great, so there probably  won’t be a “dark Superman” here.
• Jon Hamm can already shoot laser beams out of his eyes.
• He’s the kind of actor that could take a role like this and be honest about it. No cheese. No camp. That’s right. In a statement about taking things seriously, I’ve alluded that there shouldn’t be any cheese with Hamm.
• His acting range also comes in handy for playing Kent and Superman. Since the character’s inception, this has always been a dual role of weakness and incredible strength, and it would probably be a joy to watch him slip eyeglasses on and become meek.
• The guy looks pretty much exactly like Superman.

The Cons

• Hamm would need to bulk up a bit before putting on the suit. That lean and hungry look works, but Superman is ripped. There’s no need for steroids, but Hamm has to find himself moving toward being bulky before stopping a train with his fist.
• This would do something to the Mad Men shooting schedule wouldn’t it?

If the report over at Pajiba is correct, then Hamm might be in close consideration for the job already. The odd question, or the one that I haven’t seen yet, is who else would play him? Brandon Routh? Another unknown? Frankly, there are few that actually look or feel the part in any way.

Plus, Hamm has a leg up because he’s cemented himself in the cultural mind with a role that is at least close to the time period in which Superman was created. Yes, it’s decades past it, but Don Draper is a figure of the earlier part of the 20th century. A character who fought in WWII The Korean War. A character who probably spent his late adolescence reading the Superman comic book or listening to the radio show. Of course, Hamm is as modern as it gets, but we’ve mostly seen him living in that world of new antiquity so it’s not a stretch to think of him talking the talk, walking the walk, and beating a giant robot into submission.

What do you think?

According to an inside source, Saturday Night Live’s Dan Ackroyd is reportedly pitching a supernatural comedy about ghost hunters who travel through time to go to war with fiendish apparitions.

There’s not much info on the project, but there’s a rumor that Harold Ramis is showing interest in collaborating on the screenplay with Ackroyd. Interest from Ramis is no small thing. This is the man who penned the hits Meatballs and Animal House.

Details about this film are as elusive as a ghost in a haunted high rise. It’s early, so there’s no director, no cast, no solid details about the story other than it’s being pitched as a supernatural comedic ghost story on an epic scale.

But let’s think about it. John Belushi could have the inside track to play the ghost hunter as he and Ackroyd are both SNL alumni and Belushi was in the Ramis hit Animal House.

As for directors? That’s tougher, but the word “epic” could point to Steven “1941“ Spielberg. He directed Belushi in the film, and if anyone brings epic to the screen, it’s Spielberg.

Even though this is all rumor and speculation, we’ll keep an eye on it.

What do you think? Could a comic film about Ghost hunters be a hit?

Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker, North Country) recently spoke with Empire magazine, and he hinted at a possible role for him in the Marvel universe. The Empire chaps suspected the hero in question was Captain America, but Renner surprised them when he revealed instead that he may be up for Hawkeye.

I don’t know if I’d be right for Captain America… I met with the Marvel guys, actually, but we didn’t talk about Captain America. But one of the writers, Zak Penn… he was thinking maybe Hawkeye could be interesting. He sounds like an interesting character.”

I’m no real comic-book fan, but even with my limited knowledge of the characters I’d have to agree with Renner’s assessment. Hawkeye is probably most similar to DC’s Green Arrow, a hero who preceded him by over twenty years, but he’s definitely the cooler of the two. Both men lack any true special powers, but they make up for it with highly trained skills and disciplined bodies. Hawkeye’s weapon of choice is a high-tech bow and a quiver filled with a seemingly endless supply of specially designed arrows. He’s most famous as a member of The Avengers, but he’s also had quite the career away from the group. And judging by the way Hawkeye “applied” for a position with The Avengers (ie breaking into their mansion/HQ and tying up the butler) I’d have to say he’s got quite a bit more personality than many of the more generic heroes do (I’m looking at you Superman).

This could all be empty talk of course, and keep in mind that Renner was linked to George Miller’s upcoming Mad Max sequel/reboot, Fury Road, for months before apparently being replaced by Tom Hardy (or Charlize Theron). Renner even admits that “No offer has been made… I think there’s a little ways from that.” Again, this is far from official, but Renner did add “If I was a betting man, I would bet that Hawkeye would probably show up in Thor, and then be in The Avengers.”

Good news? Bad news? Renner’s a fantastic actor and will excel in any role, but it’d be nice to see him play a bad-ass superhero. And this is where I mention the perennial go-to name when trying to cast the roguish, tough but funny hero roles like Hawkeye or Green Lantern… Nathan Fillion. Would he be a better Hawkeye? Some want him for Captain America, but isn’t he a bit too uptight and proper for Fillion’s particular brand of mischief?

What do you think? Can you see Renner as Hawkeye? If not, who would you prefer?