David Varod is the CEO of a Bulgaria based film studio called Nu Boyana. This is notable because Sylvester Stallone and his new director pal Simon West are filming scenes for their upcoming sequel to Stallone’s team-up movie The Expendables in Bulgaria. This is newsworthy because Varod is claiming that some big names, not previously confirmed as being in The Expendables 2, are on their way to Bulgaria to film for the movie. When speaking to Novinite, Varod first confirmed that shooting was taking place in September, and then hinted that a lot of Hollywood stars would be moving into the country to do work, “Yes, we are definitely going to do that project. It is going to be a sequel the (sic) The Expendables. The shooting is going to take place the second week of September. The movie is on, definitely. It will be a very good thing for Bulgaria, since there are some very big stars coming.” Big stars, that makes sense. It’s long been assumed that the stars from the original film like Stallone, Jason Statham, and Mickey Rourke would return. There was even some notion that guys like Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who only made small cameos in the first film, might return in larger roles this time. But when pressed to name off the “big stars” that would be making their way into the country, Varod named a few that could potentially be huge casting announcements.

As was reported in last night’s Movie News After Dark column, a television actress by the name of Sarah Shahi that Neil Miller has some sort of creepy, obsessive crush on has been cast to play Sylvester Stallone’s daughter in the upcoming Walter Hill film The Movie Formerly Known as Headshot: Formerly Directed by Wayne Kramer. Clearly, the project has had a few hiccups getting all of the pieces together to move ahead with filming. But there are a few things about it that we know for sure. The first is that it’s an adaptation of the graphic novel “Bullet to the Head”, which was penciled by Colin Wilson and written by something called Matz. Because of this we also know that it is the story of a New Orleans based hitman who teams up with a police officer to take down the killer of their respective partners. Stallone has always been set to play the hitman, that’s for sure. And the cop is either going to be portrayed by Thomas Jane, or somebody with more of an ethnic flavor like Fast Five’s Sung Kang, we don’t really have any solid news on that. But what there is some new news on is who will be playing the role of the killer, Keegan. The Latino Review is reporting that actor Jason Momoa, whose gargantuan size and intimidating presence has led to him playing the horse lord Khal Drogo on the HBO series Game of Thrones and Conan the Barbarian in

The last time I heard about The Cooler and Running Scared director Wayne Kramer, he was jumping off of Sylvester Stallone’s upcoming hitman movie Headshot because they couldn’t agree on a direction for the film. Kramer reportedly wanted to make it more dark and violent, while Stallone was looking for a lighter, more humorous approach. Needless to say, at the thought of Stallone doing more comedy, I easily fell down on Kramer’s side of the disagreement. So now that he’s gotten some distance between himself and the Headshot debacle, what is the director going to try for next? According to Deadline Tembisa he’s going to be filming Ecstasia, an original script that he wrote himself, for Relativity Media. Ecstasia is said to tell the story of an alternate universe where love no longer exists. In order to feel any sort of emotional attachment to someone, people must go through a medical procedure called “commitment” which sends emotional signals to your brain through an implanted computer chip. The problem is, commitment is a very expensive procedure to maintain, so when couples run out of money they either have to resort to desperate measures to keep it going, or fall out of love completely. Ecstasia centers on a couple that is in just such a predicament. Given Kramer’s penchant for the dark, I’ll be interested to see just what those “desperate measures” end up being. And also what his explanation is for people who can’t fall in love wanting to fall in

Sylvester Stallone voices a lion, teaches Kevin James how to woo the likes of Leslie Bibb. Somehow, some way, Zookeeper is going to be a smash hit just like Paul Blart: Mall Cop. And by smash, I’m of course referring to the collective heads of smart people everywhere and their relationships to nearby walls. But remember, Columbia Pictures wouldn’t be making movies like this if movies like Grown Ups didn’t gross $268 million worldwide. It’s our own damn fault. As penance, lets all watch the trailer together.

Even though The Expendables 2 hasn’t really finished casting, nailed down a director, started shooting, or done much of anything, that doesn’t mean it isn’t too soon to start churning out publicity for it. To that end, they’ve put up some sales posters at Cannes and First Showing has snapped a pic. Despite the fact that I was kind of disappointed by the first Expendables, which wasn’t really the action dream team film that it marketed itself as, but instead more of a Stallone/Statham team-up movie, I’m already kind of excited about the sequel for a couple of reasons. The first is the way the 2 is emphasized in this poster. It feels very much like a throwback to 80s era action sequels. This isn’t The Expendables: Delta Mission Alpha or whatever goofy colon titles that modern sequels get. It’s just straight up The Expendables 2. Something feels right about that. The second reason I’m looking forward to this sequel is the plot synopsis that Cinema Blend directed my attention to on Nu Image’s official site. Check out the poster and synopsis (with spoiler for the first film) below:

We previously reported that Sylverster Stallone was courting Walter Hill to direct Headshot after Wayne Kramer dropped out over creative differences. And what a sexy courting that must have been. Now, an email to Aint It Cool’s inbox from Stallone makes it official. Even setting aside that this is an action film, and that Stallone will finally get to work with Hill, I’m just excited to see Hill get back to work. His output has been spotty in the past decades, and it’s mostly been low-budget action flown under the radar. This promises to be a higher-profile flick that could see Hill back on top of his game. The last really great film he directed was Another 48 Hrs. back in 1990 (unless you just really love Wild Bill), so while Stallone has hit the cinema world again, this would be a lazarus act for Hill. This would obviously work best with Hill writing from page one, as well, so we’ll have to see how that process pans out. Stallone is domineering in projects, so hopefully Hill will be able to let his voice shine through as early on as possible.

It was just reported yesterday that director Wayne Kramer was exiting Sylvester Stallone’s upcoming starring vehicle Headshot, and already there is word of who might step in to take his place. As far as his falling out with the film’s original director Wayne Kramer, Stallone says, “Initially, Mr. Kramer was hired to direct a dark comedy. However, his vision was much darker and exceptionally more violent than how the project was originally conceived. It was decided that it would be better for everyone to move on and consequently Mr. Kramer was dismissed by producers earlier this week. There were no volatile clashes, it was simply a professional parting of the ways.” So, who does Stallone think has what it takes to fulfill his more comedic vision for the project? One of the top names being considered, and the one Stallone seems to want, is veteran director Walter Hill. Stallone says, “I completely respect Walter’s incredible body of work and hopefully this legendary director will become attached to the project.” I can’t fault that sort of logic. If you want to make a funny film, what better way than going out and getting the guy who made Brewster’s Millions? I have to say that I am a little disappointed to hear the reason for Kramer’s dismissal, however. While Hill has made one of the most beloved action comedies of all time with 48. Hours, I think Stallone is forgetting what his own track record with the comedy genre is. Has Stallone

Headshot was going to be the first movie that Sylvester Stallone starred in without directing himself in quite some time. When the project was announced a couple months ago it was said to be stemming from a script written by Alessandro Camon, that it would star Stallone, but someone else would direct. That someone else turned out to be Wayne Kramer, director of The Cooler and Running Scared. But that’s now off after Kramer and Stallone have reportedly clashed over the direction of the film, and Kramer has decided to leave the project to make something he wrote himself instead. There have been stories about Stallone being hard to work with going around Hollywood ever since there has been a Sylvester Stallone in Hollywood. I remember once hearing his brother Frank Stallone tell an anecdote about how Sylvester hates Renny Harlin because when they worked together on Cliffhanger, Harlin did whatever Stallone wanted and ostensibly directed the film as his puppet, but when Stallone hired him to make Driven, he went off on his own in the editing room and made his own choices. The nerve of the man! Most of the commentary on Kramer leaving Headshot presupposes that Stallone may just bite the bullet and end up directing himself, but I imagine it’s just as likely that he’ll find someone younger and less headstrong than Kramer, and then simply direct the movie through them. When the chips were down and his career needed a serious resurgence, Stallone sat in

What is Movie News After Dark? This is a question that I am almost never asked, but I will answer it for you anyway. Movie News After Dark is FSR’s newest late-night secretion, a column dedicated to all of the news stories that slip past our daytime editorial staff and make it into my curiously chubby RSS ‘flagged’ box. It will (but is not guaranteed to) include relevant movie news, links to insightful commentary and other film-related shenanigans. I may also throw in a link to something TV-related here or there. It will also serve as my place of record for being both charming and sharp-witted, but most likely I will be neither of the two. I write this stuff late at night, what do you expect?

Sylvester Stallone has signed on to star in a new action film coming from IM Global and EMJAG Prods. Which are apparently two companies that make movies. The film Headshot will see Sly star as a hitman from New Orleans who finds himself forced to team up with a New York City cop to solve an investigation into several murders. Several murders that I would guess took things from being business to being personal. I love it when things get personal. Executive producer Stuart Ford says of the project, “Headshot is exactly the type of fast-paced, universally themed project that suits our business model. Sylvester Stallone is an international icon and we’re really excited to be in business with him.” Fast paced? Universally themed? International icon? Yikes, what a terrible quote. Ford might as well have just yelled from the rooftops that he’s making this one for all the wrong reasons. Normally I would just be marginally interested in a project this generic sounding because of the delightful proposition of Stallone trying to growl out a Cajun accent, but there are a couple glimmers of hope that indicate Headshot could be worth our time anyways. Firstly, it’s the first film that Stallone has agreed to star in that he didn’t direct himself for quite some time. That could be a tell that there’s something more going on here than meets the eye. And secondly, the script was written by Alessandro Camon, who also wrote The Messenger. That one was pretty

Welcome back to Junkfood Cinema: we will not meet you halfway. This is the internet column that, weekly, finds itself on the losing end of a wrestling match with good taste. Every Friday I shovel a truckload of terrible into your eye sockets in the form of a terrifically bad film. I cut the hulking turkey down to size by noting exactly what makes it so bad, but then raise it’s arm victoriously by confessing my all-consuming love for it. To really drive the disaster home, I will then pair the film with an appropriately inappropriate snack food item to execute a perfect takedown of your girlish figure. Since the inception of this column, there have been a few old standards whose perpetual schlockyness has made them easy, if consistently hilarious, targets. In an effort to spread the mockery around and not unfairly single out a select few, I promised myself that I would avoid roasting Sylvester Stallone for as much of 2011 as I possibly could…I made it to the last week of January. You’re welcome Sly! Today’s Snack: Over the Top

Welcome back to that thing the title line said it is! Well another year has passed and you’ve wasted dozens of Fridays scarfing down bad movies until your eyeballs cry out for mercy. Good for you! When Master Chief Neil Miller asked me to a be a part of the Film School Rejects 2010 Year in Review, I cursed him for making me put forth some modicum of effort. I mean honestly, how could I possibly choose my 10 favorite Junkfood Cinema entries when I don’t feel any of them are worth celebrating? So instead, I’ve decidedly to launch what will surely not become a yearly tradition: The Junkfood Cinema Awards. Prepare yourselves…for The Junkies!

Terry Crews is a bit of a renaissance man. He’s the type of guy you don’t want standing next to you at a party in fear that he’ll easily make you look bad. An art major at Western Michigan University, a former NFL defensive end and linebacker, and someone that is undeniably hilarious but also has the capability of beating you to a pulp in a matter of seconds. A man who once starred in White Chicks and Norbit isn’t the type of actor you’d think be tearing up the screen as a crew member of The Expendables. But lately, President Camacho (which I desperately wanted to call him, at least once) has been playing in the action arena. Crews took a nice over-the-top turn in Gamer and his Hail Caesar was a highlight in Stallone’s ’80s throwback, especially with his notable weapon of choice. 10 years ago he started off in action with the The 6th Day, and now he’s going further under, thankfully, better circumstances. I recently had a short amount of time with Crews to discuss the blu-ray release of The Expendables, and he was basically what you’d expect Terry Crews to be like: overwhelming charismatic. It was a loose, small conversation starting off with talking about the character names in the film. An odd topic to start off with, but keep in mind this is a film with names like, ‘Hail Caesar’ and ‘Lee Christmas’.

If the purpose of a teaser trailer is to bring you slightly forward in your chair, raise your eyebrow and get you interested in a film, the new teaser for Zookeeper is what it might be to see a strip tease from that lazy janitor that never empties your trash can and eats hot pockets while he buffs the floor. The voice casting is already blatantly bad. Sylvester Stallone sounds like he’s doing his best Sylvester Stallone impression, and it appears as if they’re attempting to make the animal mouths correspond with the speech to disastrous results. Mr. Ed did it better with peanut butter. Long live middling comedy. What’s the over/under on how many times Kevin James falls down in this?

So the news cycle has already moved on to chirping about The Hobbit (making it feel like January again) and about Steven Spielberg making a robot movie (making it feel like 2005 and 2001 again), but that won’t stop us from going all the way back to last week and continuing the conversation about Halo. With renewed efforts being made to bring it to the screen, the question continues to be who the best director would be for the job. We don’t know the answer to that, but we do know who would make the most interesting version of Master Chief blasting the slaughter dew right out of some alien hordes. That’s why we gathered together the bold (sometimes twisted) minds of the Rejects to answer the call and deliver a list of a few directors who would look outside the box to turn something incredibly commercial into something either brilliant or completely inaccessible. Without further ado, here’s the list:

Every so often, a film emerges from the fray to prove its popularity and warrant a sequel. More and more, franchises are planned out in advance, but when one film turns into a franchise, a cash register sound goes off in the ears of the studio. Even though the kid stays in the picture, sometimes the director does not. Maybe the director is done working with the material. Maybe the producers want a more seasoned hand. Maybe a simple schedule conflict keeps him or her out of the chair for the next round up. But the show must go on, so the producers find another director to fill the slot – a director who ostensibly inherits all the strengths and weaknesses of a franchise birthed by someone else. Cinematic sloppy seconds that could have easily turned into sloppy sequels if it weren’t for a steady, talented director guiding the ship. Here’s a list of the ten best.

With a dominant weekend opening knocking girly films all over the place with its testosterone fueled hyper-aggression, there are about 35 million reasons why The Expendables will get a sequel. Stallone is already said to be plotting out the story and, if rumor is to be believed, has talked to more than one actor about joining the team on their next adventure. While we trust Sly (with everything but CGI) to cast a fantastic team, once our peanut brains get rolling we can’t stop. Personally I’ve been thinking non-stop about who I’d like to see join the team – or fight against them – in the next installment. Enough bull, let’s talk team! The current poster for the team included nine action stars, at least one of whom probably isn’t returning. So we figured that means we have to come up with at least 10 new members, and possibly a villain. Because we’re ridiculous.

Dear Mr. Sylvester Stallone, Long time fan, first time letter writer. I recently had the pleasure of watching your film, The Expendables, in theaters. Congratulations on an impressive opening weekend, virtually guaranteeing the green light to proceed with a sequel. I welcome another entry into this celebration of action heroes, past and present. Brutal action fun is missing from theaters these days and The Expendables looks to be the cure, much as Marion ‘Cobra’ Cobretti was the cure for the disease of crime.

This week, Fat Guy Kevin Carr takes a gander at the demographically delineated movie selection this weekend. The ladies have Julia Roberts finding herself in Eat Pray Love. The dudes have Sly and the action family Stallone with the much anticipated The Expendables. And the fanboys fresh from Comic-Con have the high-concept slug-fest Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Sorry to all the teenage girls out there. You’ll just have to go see Eclipse at the dollar theater this weekend.

In addition to providing health tips, Fitness and Film will occasionally shine a spotlight on the actors and actresses who embody fitness on the big (and small) screen. With the imminent release of The Expendables, we have reason to cover any number of action heroes, past and present, but our first spot in the Fit Hall of Fame is going to the man who’s making it all happen: Sylvester Stallone. From his first truly notable appearance on-screen as Rocky Balboa (a film that saw him nominated for two Oscars), Stallone carved a name for himself through chiseled abs and athletic performances. How many people in the word can claim to have been in such shape that a statue was carved of them and prominently displayed for decades?