After successfully bulking up enough to trade blows and dialogue with Tom Hardy in the recent fight film Warrior, Australian actor Joel Edgerton has proven that he can pretty much do anything. And after starring in another recent, high profile Hollywood film, the remake of The Thing, he has shown that he’s an actor whose star power is on the rise. So it makes sense to me that Warner Bros. and director Noam Murro would be looking at him to fill Gerard Butler’s shoes as the star of a 300 movie. According to Vulture, Edgerton is in talks to join Murro’s 300 sequel/prequel Battle of Artemisia as the lead badass Themistocles. Themistocles was an Athenian general and politician who is mostly remembered for leading the Athenian Navy in a successful campaign to beat back a Persian invasion. After his military exploits, he stuck around Athens as a bigwig politician, but eventually rubbed a lot of people the wrong way because of his arrogance. Also, he rubbed the Spartans the wrong way because of his insistence that Athens be refortified. Once he was eventually ostracized from Athens, he had nowhere else to go in Greece – he had pissed pretty much everyone off. What choice did that leave him? It meant that, in a stunning bit of irony, he had to flee to Persia and work in service of their king.

Shooting in downtown Chicago for Zack Snyder’s upcoming Superman movie Man of Steel will begin on Wednesday, and local rag Chicago Business has scoops on some of the locations that will be used and what they will be doubling as. More specifically, while they’re not sure of the locations of any street shots, they know what building Snyder plans to use as the headquarters of Metropolis’ number one newspaper The Daily Planet. Apparently Chicago’s Board of Trade building will serve as the Planet building exteriors (with digitally inserted globe atop, I’m sure) and the interiors of the newspaper office will be filmed inside of the Wesley Willis Memorial Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower). These choices make a lot of sense, because the Board of Trade is a big imposing building that looks nice standing at the end of a street, and the Willis Tower is huge, so there’s probably plenty of room inside to be converted into movie sets. Eagle eyed Chicago enthusiasts or great big super hero nerds might have noticed that there’s a sweet little bit of trivia created by Snyder’s choice though. The Board of Trade looks so good as a big imposing building that it was also used as the headquarters for Wayne Enterprises in Christopher Nolan’s Batman franchise. Using the same building twice for two big superhero movies shouldn’t be a big deal; you slap a big W on it the first time, you put a big globe on it the second time, [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

A couple weeks ago a spy photo from the set of Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel made the Internet rounds. It contained what appeared to be Michael Shannon wearing what appeared to be a motion capture suit. If that was the case, then that would mean General Zod, the Evil Kryptonian General that Shannon is playing in the film, would have a completely computer generated outfit akin to the super suits in the recent, awful looking Green Lantern. Okay, so your opinion may vary, but I thought that the effects in Green Lantern looked horrible. Depending on whether you agree with me or not, a recent interview that Shannon did with MovieFone could either make you weep or make you cheer. It turns out that yes, that was Michael Shannon in that photo, and yes, the General Zod costume will be created using CG. When asked about the motion capture suit Shannon said, “ … it’s funny because when I met with Zack we were talking about it before it started and he mentioned that there was going to be a lot of CGI, or whatever. I said, ‘Just don’t make me wear one of those silly suits.’ He said, ‘Oh, yeah, don’t worry, I know exactly what you’re talking about.’” It turns out that Zack Snyder is a liar. Shannon is wearing the suit. However, even though Shannon was forced to wear a silly suit because of Snyder’s lies, he assures everyone that fans will be happy with how [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

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.

Here’s a nice little surprise to start your Thursday morning. Warner Bros. has released a first look image of Henry Cavill as Superman in Zack Snyder’s upcoming reboot, Man of Steel. At first glance, it all looks a little darker and broodier than the Sups men of the past. Even Brandon Routh’s stoic demeanor didn’t look quite as menacing. Cavill’s version, based on this one lone image, looks a little like Danny Zuko crossed with Clark Kent, with something potentially sinister mixed in. Are we sure they’re not doing a remake of Superman III with evil Superman? Also, that suit has a little grunge thing going on. It’s a fascinating indicator as to what sort of style Zack Snyder will be delivering. After the jump you can see the official press release (with no mention of Danny Zuko) and an image you can make full size. Now just try and imagine it all moving in slow-motion.

That headline should really say that Laurence Fishburne has been cast as the first non-white Perry White for Man of Steel, because it’s not like there’s been a Chinese or Puerto Rican version of the character either. The LA Times is reporting that the veteran actor will suit up (hopefully with suspenders) for Zack Snyder to play the iconic boss at The Daily Planet. Speaking of which, with a scoop this close to their doorstep, you think The Daily Planet would have broken it. Digressions aside, Fishburne brings years of dramatic experience to a cast that echoes his talents. In one way, it’s historic that this production (in a long line of television and film adaptations of Superman) will have the first African-American White, but in another it’s not such a big deal at all. The casting makes sense, no matter the actor’s race. Unless they put him in White Face, which would be horribly, horribly racist. Otherwise, there’s not much else to say beyond how over the top Fishburne could be in this role. Just don’t call him Chief.

Zack Snyder has been involved with the upcoming, set in Afghanistan drama The Last Photograph from the very beginning. Since the project’s inception he has served as a co-writer and a producer. When you hear that Snyder is involved with a drama set in a war torn country, the concept instantly sends up some red flags. How would his flashy, comic-booky style fit with more real-world, dramatic subject matter than men in loin clothes eviscerating each other or girls in short skirts fighting giant robots? In the past this wasn’t too much of a concern, however, as Snyder was just in a producer’s role. The director’s job was going to go to someone else, and that someone else ended up being The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo helmer Niels Arden Oplev. He’s good, right? Yay, everyone cheers, and we all live happily ever after. Not so fast. Twitch is now reporting that Oplev has dropped out of the project for mysterious reasons, and seeing as he is already so engaged in it’s development, Snyder is going to step into the director’s role as an easy fit. The Last Photograph should fit perfectly into Snyder’s schedule, as he can slip right into shooting after he finishes work on the Superman reboot Man of Steel. That brings up some problems. Will Christian Bale’s reporter character be doing slow motion spin moves, snapping off photographs in mid air, while mortar shells explode around him? Will we get a scene of Sean Penn’s character [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

Despite having a director, a script, and a huge chunk of its cast ready to go, Warner Bros’ upcoming re-re-boot of the Superman franchise is going to have to wait a while before it comes to theaters. Originally the film was scheduled to have a December 2012 release, but Warners has officially announced, while all eyes are on the San Diego Comic Con and comic properties in general, that they are pushing the film back six months to June 14, 2013. No reasons for the move are explicitly given, but there are a few that can be inferred. This is a project that has been rushed and in a bit of turmoil ever since its inception, largely due to copyright issues that Warners is having with the families of Superman’s creators. In order to hold on to the rights for this film, the studio has to have it in production by the end of 2012. That will still happen under the new plan, the film just won’t be released until 2013.

We’ve known for a while that since Zack Snyder is directing Man of Steel, somebody else will have to come on board to direct the sequel to 300 and that it probably won’t end up being called Xerxes, like Frank Miller’s graphic novel sequel was. Things seem to be progressing on both those fronts. We now have word of what that new title is going to be and that the suits have narrowed the candidates to direct down to two choices.

When it was recently mentioned in Movie News After Dark that Christopher Meloni would be joining Zack Snyder’s upcoming Superman film Man of Steel I was left struggling with an overwhelming mix of emotions. There was joy at what an awesome actor Meloni is, whether he’s fondling sweaters in Wet Hot American Summer or looking grim as a detective on Law & Order: SVU. But there was also pain at being left in the dark about exactly which role he would be taking. Would he be playing a big role in the Superman mythos that we hadn’t hear the casting for yet, could he be doing a super secret cameo as a character we’re not supposed to know appears in the film, or would he just be playing a guy in a hard hat who looks up and says something like, “it’s a bird …”?

At this point it’s starting to become a certainty that Zack Snyder’s upcoming Superman movie Man of Steel is going to be mostly about a young Superman developing an Oedipal complex. First came the news that super sultry Diane Lane was on board to play Superman’s kindly, old earthbound mom Martha Kent. And now it appears that super sexy British actress Julia Ormond is close to signing on as his spacemom Lara. That’s a lot of MILF for one superhero movie. I’m jealous of Superman’s dads, who happen to be Kevin Costner and Russell Crowe.

There’s no reason to list them all, but there are a lot of similarities between Marlon Brando and Russell Crowe. According to Variety, there’s about to be one more. The trade is reporting that he’s taking the role of Superman’s father, Jor-El, for Man of Steel. With another origin story, it gives Zack Snyder and Christopher Nolan an opportunity to bring Kal-El’s parents into the mix, but they will most likely have relatively small parts. However, as Brando proved, it doesn’t take a large part to make an impact. Oddly enough, Latino Review is also reporting that Connie Nielsen has been offered the role of Superman’s mother, Lara, meaning that if she accepts, she’ll reunite with her Gladiator co-star Crowe. The pairing will make more than a subtle nod to that film, which of course was more than a subtle nod to the film Witness (or just a massive love letter to wheat fields). Thus, the new Superman reboot is a giant, long-form tribute to Harrison Ford and Peter Weir. Layers! But, seriously, all of this casting sounds phenomenal. It also means that an Australian is siring a British alien that becomes a symbol for the American way.

A while back we were hearing rumors that in addition to General Zod, the evil Kryptonian revolutionary that Superman fought in Richard Donner’s Superman franchise, Zack Snyder’s upcoming Man of Steel would also be featuring a new female Kryptonian antagonist named Faora. Don’t expect any sort of Batman/Catwoman sexual tension to be going on with the announcement of a female villain though. There are a couple of versions of Faora floating around in the comic verse, and neither of them are as friendly as a sexy jewel thief. The first version of Faora, who debuted in “Action Comics #471,” is a man hating serial killer whose killed 20 some dudes back on Krypton. An updated version, who first appeared in “Action Comics #779,” is an aid to General Zod who has the ability to create a destructive mutagenic virus. It remains to be seen which version of the character is being used for Snyder’s film; perhaps we could even be getting a combination of the two or a take on her that is completely new. But any way you look at it, she doesn’t seem like very much of a warm personality. So what do you do when you have to cast a character that is cold and abrasive? Duh, you cast a German. That’s why Snyder and company are close to signing Pandorum actress Antje Traue to take on the role. She’s so German that I don’t even know how to pronounce her name. I’m not really familiar with [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

Recent comments by Diane Lane pointed to the fact that Zack Snyder’s upcoming Superman reboot Man of Steel would be yet another origin story of the Kryptonian cast-off turned farm boy turned big city reporter; and I and others like me instantly started whining. Well, to add to this story, The Latino Review says that they have a shadowy source involved with the film, and they’ve beaten some more specifics about what we’ll be seeing out of him. Possible spoilers that will be revealed in the film’s advertising eventually anyway below. 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 [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

Diane Lane is all set to become to most buxom and vivacious Martha Kent of all time in Zack Snyder’s upcoming Superman film Man of Steel, but she’s echoing something the future General Zod Michael Shannon has already publicly said: nobody seems to have a copy of the script. Lane told E Online that, “I read the script under lock and key. I was locked in a room with the script and was only allowed three hours with it. I nailed it into my memory. I’m really excited. I’m really not allowed to talk much about it, I think, but it does cover the entire range of years, from infancy on.” She may not be able to talk much about it, but already I feel that she’s said too much. Lane’s comments seem to confirm that this new take on Superman is going to be yet another origin story, and if there’s anything I know to be true in my heart of hearts, it’s that nobody wants to see another superhero origin story. At this point Superman is such a part of Americana that our kids are born probably already knowing the tale of the baby jettisoned from the planet of Krypton and his new home on Earth where he finds he has strange powers. Do we really need to see the story “from infancy on” yet again? Can’t we finally just get a good movie where a grown-up Superman battles a bunch of giant robots or something in the [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

The Last Photograph is a story about a war reporter in Afghanistan who is the only survivor of an attack on a group of Americans, and an ex-special ops soldier who is related to the victim of a kidnapping. The soldier has come to find and rescue his relation, and he convinces the reporter to help identify his attackers/the kidnappers in exchange for letting him tag along and report the story. Christian Bale is already set to play the reporter, and now Sean Penn is reportedly close to signing on to play the part of the soldier. I see this move as a risk. Everybody knows that Liam Neeson is the one who rakes in the big bucks when he’s hunting down kidnappers, not Sean Penn. The film is going to be directed by The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo’s Niels Arden Oplev with the 300 gang of Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder, and Gianni Nunnari producing. No funding for the picture is yet in place, but Dark Castle is reportedly close to inking a deal that would give them the task, with Warner Bros. handling the distributing end of things. With a couple of actors like Bale and Penn on board, this is a film that’s sure to get a lot of attention. And with a couple of actors like Bale and Penn on board, this is a film that’s sure to have a tense set. My best wishes go out to Niels Arden Oplev, who I think impeccably directed [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

Michael Shannon recently spoke to an audience at the RiverRun International Film Festival, and since he was just cast as General Zod in the now officially titled Zack Snyder Superman movie Man of Steel, talk of course turned to that. What sort of a rigorous casting procedure did Shannon go through to land such a big role in such a big movie, you might wonder? Shannon describes his meetings with Snyder; “So I go meet him and he’s seriously sitting there and he’s telling me, he’s like, ‘You can’t read the script, so I’m just going to tell you what happens.’ And he spent like a half hour telling me every scene in this movie. And then it’s a month later, it’s like ‘Okay, you’re General Zod.’” Whoa, that sounds easy. Maybe I should be an actor.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve long been a fan of Crazy Michael Shannon. This person bares a striking resemblance to Actor Michael Shannon, but one can only assume that they are two different people. When Actor Shannon slips into one of his many wonderfully insane roles, he becomes a new man entirely. This will help him in the near future, as he has signed on to play the villain Zod in Zack Snyder’s Superman: Man of Steel.

The sequel to Zack Snyder’s super successful swords and sandals epic 300 used to look like a much more straightforward proposition than it does now. Frank Miller was writing a graphic novel sequel, Zack Snyder would once again adapt it into a feature film, and it was going to be named Xerxes. Lately all that doesn’t seem to be so set in stone. Since Zack Snyder signed on the make the next Superman, the question of who is going to direct has been up in the air. Sitting down to talk with MTV, producer Mark Canton has cleared up a few things about where the project is, and stayed a bit more vague about where the project is headed. The big news is that he says the film will no longer be called Xerxes. He said that the story is more of a “Xerxes Plus.” I suppose this hints that the film will be taking a more epic scope than being just a bio of the Xerxes character, but it also means that someone is still working on the development of and thinking about this project, despite the fact that Snyder has been shunted off to Superman. While Canton doesn’t have a new title to give us, he does seem to think that the story is in place. He says, “It’s been worth the wait. You know, that group of people, we’re really a family. That’s part of what made that movie . . . so gratifying. Rather than doing [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

The LA Times did a big profile on new Warner Bros. president Jeff Robinov. They talk about a few things in it, from his managerial style to controversial decisions he has made such as passing on Slumdog Millionaire and refusing to work with David Fincher. But what is most interesting about the piece is that it slips in some pretty major news about the direction of Warner’s big, tentpole DC Comics properties. According to Rubinov, he wants both new Superman and Batman films to come out in 2012, and then he’s aiming for a Justice League movie to come out in 2013. There’s even mention of spinning off Flash and Wonder Woman films after that. We already know that the Superman movie is being overseen by Christopher Nolan and is going to be directed by Zack Snyder, and the Batman movie is Nolan’s next directorial effort The Dark Knight Rises, but will these be the same characters that appear in the Justice League movie? Superman doesn’t get a mention, so it seems like the answer for Snyder’s character is yes, but post Dark Knight Rises Batman will be getting a reboot. Much like with the Superman project, Robinov has gotten Nolan on board to oversee the character’s new direction. If you add in this year’s Green Lantern, it’s looking like Warner Bros. finally has the proper leadership in place to give Marvel’s recent spate of film adaptations a run for it’s money. With this news and the announcement of all [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]