New Captain America Tv Spots and Poster

Marvel’s promotional campaign for the final superhero flick that will hit theaters this summer, Captain America: The First Avenger, is well underway. Just the other day, the studio released a TV spot teasing the discovery of a frozen Steve Rogers in the present day -- an event which ties director Joe Johnston’s Cap movie directly to the events that will take place in next year’s The Avengers.

Three more TV spots for Captain America have been unveiled, offering a taste of what the period flick (and, in turn, Chris Evans’ version of the character) has to offer on the action side of things.

Captain America co-writer Stephen McFeely previously discussed how the receptivity of moviegoers to the WWII aspects of the film will definitely influence the structure of the sequel -- with regards to how much it will take place in either a modern-day setting or flashback to events during the early 1940s.

Hence why the action-oriented Captain America footage unveiled so far ought to be scrutinized, since we could be getting a whole lot more (or less) of it in the followup. So far, footage of Steve Rogers as he participates in old-fashioned motorcycle chases, swings his way onto moving trains, punches his way into underwater submarines, or chucks his iconic shield at opponents (including the camera, it seems), makes Johnston’s film look like a nice mix of period-oriented thrills and sci-fi effects.

For more of that, here are the links to the three new TV spots for the film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbPTJaQ5bkA&feature=player_embedded, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq24sKC8vmg&feature=player_embedded, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBIc-rfRnuU&feature=player_embedded

One concern for Captain America at this point is that general moviegoers might be suffering from superhero fatigue -- and even though The First Avenger could end up being the best comic book adventure of the summer, its box office receipts might not reflect that.

On the other hand, the different time period and stylistic design of Captain America should help to distinguish it from, say, the CGI-heavy Green Lantern or the contemporary-set Thor. So perhaps the Raiders of the Lost Ark-inspired atmosphere of this new Marvel production will work to attract others besides those who are longtime fans of Cap.

Finally, check out the new international poster for the film folks. Thoughts on the movie itself, and on all the publicity that has been doled out now that the release date is fast upon us. 

Joe Johnston talks 'Captain America' & 'Rocketeer 2'

Captain America: The First Avenger is just a little under a month away from release, which is why we’re seeing more and more news regarding the star-spangled superhero film.

Director Joe Johnston – who cut his teeth as the visual effects art director on Raiders of the Lost Ark and the director of The Rocketeer – recently talked about directing Captain America. How did they achieve the the skinny Chris Evans effect? Is Rocketeer 2 in the works? Read on to find out.


On whether or not he was familiar with Captain America before signing on, courtesy of Film Journal:

“I was certainly aware of the character but had not been a regular reader. I didn’t see this as a disadvantage of any kind. I was able to approach the character with a more objective viewpoint than someone who would call himself a fan. Once I signed on to the project, I did a lot of research, focusing on the various iterations of the character since the first issue in 1940.”

On the difficulties of translating a World War II-era character to the big screen, as he has done for both The Rocketeer and Captain America:

“Period comic-book adaptations can be more challenging for action sequences and pop-culture references, especially in trying to reach a younger audience. I always try to be true to the period while making a film that feels contemporary in its style. Both Captain America and The Rocketeer take place in roughly the same period—the late ’30s and early ’40s. I’ve always loved the visual elements of the period: the cars, architecture, clothing, and the overall sense of style that we seem to have lost. As a society we used to seem to care what things looked like. We took care to build beauty and passion into the world around us, and decisions didn’t seem to be based on the bottom line.”

On working with such a widely-recognized character and property:

“A bigger fanbase for a certain character actually makes it more difficult. There are not only preconceived notions, there are elements of the character that are practically held sacred by fans. The challenge is in reinterpreting the character from the comic book to the movie screen. You can get away with a lot on a comic book page, and the reader will fill in the blanks. Filmmakers don’t have that luxury.”

This was certainly the problem X-Men: First Class ran into prior to its release.

On directing a film that has a shared continuity with other films (Iron Man 1 and 2, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and The Avengers):

“There are threads that run through all the films in the Marvel universe. I had more flexibility because Captain America takes place in a different period. There are references to other films that the fans will spot but they won’t bump for someone unfamiliar with the Marvel universe. Basically I think all the films have to stand on their own merit.”

On how they achieved the “skinny Steve Rogers” effect seen in the trailers:

“We used two major techniques. Most of the shots were done by an L.A. company called LOLA that specializes in digital “plastic surgery.” The technique involved shrinking Chris in all dimensions. We shot each skinny Steve scene at least four times; once like a normal scene with Chris and his fellow actors in the scene, once with Chris alone in front of a green screen so his element could be reduced digitally, again with everyone in the scene but with Chris absent so that the shrunken Steve could be re-inserted into the scene, and finally with a body double mimicking Chris’s actions in case the second technique were required. When Chris had to interact with other characters in the scene, we had to either lower Chris or raise the other actors on apple boxes or elevated walkways to make skinny Steve shorter in comparison. For close-ups, Chris’ fellow actors had to look at marks on his chin that represented where his eyes would be after the shrinking process, and Chris had to look at marks on the tops of the actor’s head to represent their eyes. These marks then had to be digitally removed in post-production.
“The second technique involved grafting Chris’s head onto the body double. This technique was used mostly when Chris was sitting or lying down, or when a minimum of physical acting was required, although the body double was an actor in his own right. Unfortunately, the body double also proved to be too large and we usually had to shrink his element before we could graft Chris’s shrunken head onto the body. Both techniques were time-consuming and immensely complicated for the visual-effects team, but the end result is quite amazing.”

In the first couple trailers, the “skinny” effect was shaky at best, but the most recent trailer has all but assuaged fears on that front.

As for what future film projects Joe Johnston would like to be involved with, he said:

“I’d love to make a sequel to The Rocketeer. The film didn’t do as well at the box office as we all hoped, but it has endured and generated a following. It was great fun and I’d love to re-explore Cliff Secord’s world. If there are other comic-book heroes who have as human a story as Steve Rogers, I’d be interested. Too many comic-book movies rely on spectacle when the story is weak. With Captain America, we got the story firing on all cylinders first so the spectacle was fully justified. More than anything, I want everyone in the audience to sink into the alternate reality of the 1940s, enjoy the ride and come out of the theatre humming the Captain America theme. The movie is a hell of a lot of fun.”

While Joe Johnston is by no means a bad director, his work (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, The Rocketeer, Jumanji, Jurassic Park 3, The Wolfman, etc…) has yet to reach the pinnacle of success, either creatively or financially.

Hopefully, Captain America is more Raiders of the Lost Ark than The Wolfman and breaks that pattern.

Are you looking forward to Captain America? Do you want to see a sequel to The Rocketeer? Let us know in the comments.
Captain America: The First Avenger hits theaters July 22nd, 2011.

 
 

'Green Lantern 2' Moving Ahead

Despite under-performing at the box office, and receiving overall negative reviews from critics, Warner Bros. is apparently moving forward with Green Lantern 2.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, sources at Warner Bros. have called Green Lantern a “slight disappointment,” which, in executive speak, means it’s an enormous disappointment. Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution, has said on record that the superhero film was expected to experience a monetary drop-off in its second weekend, as most “fanboy films” do.

But Green Lantern didn’t just experience a typical “fanboy film” box office drop-off – it experienced a significant box office drop-off. From $53.2 to $18.4 million, a difference of nearly 66% and enough to allow an R-rated film starring Cameron Diaz to usurp the second place slot.  For a film that by some estimates cost about $300 – this includes a $200 (+) million production budget and one of the most expensive ad pushes in history – this is gloomy news, to say the least. 

This wouldn’t be the first time we’ve heard that there would be a sequel to a superhero film, despite that film lacking financial success. For years, people at Warners insisted that Superman Returns would be getting a sequel from Bryan Singer. Five years later and it’s Zack Snyder, not Singer, who is in the process of rebooting the property with The Man of Steel.

On the other hand, Ang Lee’s Hulk received mixed critical reviews before underperforming financially – it remains, to this day, the largest opener to never reach $150 million – and yet it spawned a semi-sequel/reboot in the form of Marvel’s The Incredible Hulk (which actually went on to perform almost exactly as well).

It would be a massive shame to see the potential of Green Lantern as a cinematic property go to waste, so we hope Warners does follow up with a sequel, a reboot, or some kind of se-boot. The audience doesn’t need to see Green Lantern’s origin again. Heck, just briefly show us Hal Jordan’s origin (man is pilot, man-pilot finds dying alien in a desert, man-pilot gets super-duper ring from alien and joins an intergalactic police corps) in the opening credits, a la Spider-Man 2, then get straight to the meat of the film.

Take, for example, The Road Warrior, a sequel that went in a completely different direction from that of its predecessor. It utilized the same character, of course, but had a wholly different style, format, story, and so forth… and went on to out-perform its predecessor in every way imaginable. Who wants to see the filmmakers for a Green Lantern sequel pull a Road Warrior? Anyone?

On a somewhat depressing note, it’s hard not to notice that the opening box office takes for the past three big-budget superhero films (Thor, X-Men: First Class, and Green Lantern) have steadily declined, and that the second week box office drop-offs have steadily increased. Maybe Green Lantern is just performing so poorly because of the bad reviews and word-of-mouth. But what if audiences are legitimately getting sick of superhero films altogether, as they did in the 1990s with Joel Schumacher’s Batman films? It’s up to Captain America: The First Avenger to break the pattern.

As more news keeps coming, I'll keep bringing it folks.

‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ Trailer 2; ‘Patriotic’ & ‘Vintage’ Posters

The summer blockbuster season is gearing-up and, following the success of the first two out of three Marvel film properties this summer (Thor and X-Men: First Class), movie fans are expecting Captain America: The First Avenger to secure the box office hat-trick.

Now, following the recent Captain America TV spot that provided a quick sound-bite of Hugo Weaving’s Red Skull voice, we’ve got the second trailer for The First Avenger – as well as a glimpse at a couple new First Avenger posters – the special edition retro one-sheet given to the film’s cast and crew as well as a new patriotic theater one-sheet.

The initial Captain America: The First Avenger trailer focused heavily on the story of Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) – as he made the jump from underdog army reject to the iconic red, white, and blue super-soldier via Project: Rebirth. While the trailer did a great job of establishing the character for non-comic book fans, it provided very little context for the larger story and events that will be featured in the film – offering only a brief glimpse at Red Skull (Weaving) and his HYDRA cronies.

Fortunately, the second Captain America trailer, which debuted a few weeks back at the Hero Complex Film Festival, provides plenty of high-octane action-teasing as well as even more information about the greater plot-points, Avenger tie-ins – not to mention a bit of fan-service.

Here is the link for the trailer (courtesy of  Yahoo Movies): http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi780442649/

Weaving is undoubtedly an ominous presence in this trailer but, even more interesting, is the success of the footage in capturing the period-piece setting – providing both an immersive look at alternate-history 1942 coupled with large-scale action sequences that will still captivate modern audiences. It’s a delicate balance, one that helped elevate X-Men: First Class above a simple good verses evil race to save the world. A lot of fans were somewhat skeptical of an Avengers tie-in that was so far removed from the current time-frame, but based on the new footage it’s safe to say that Captain America owns the time period – and will provide an intriguing foundation for next summer’s super hero mash-up.

Speaking of successfully harnessing 1940s culture, as an added bonus, we’ve also included the “vintage” Captain America: The First Avenger poster (from comic-book artist Paolo Rivera) that was given as a gift to the entire cast and crew – as well as a new, and especially patriotic, theater one-sheet.

Longtime Captain America fans will undoubtedly notice some similarities between the “vintage” poster and the original cover of Captain American #1.

Only five more weeks till opening people, get those tickets ordered as soon as possible, and if you have got a costume, certainly get it fixed, pressed and dusted off for the big night!

Ron Howard to Direct 'Spy Vs. Spy' and 'Rush'; 'Dark Tower in Development Hell?

The future of Ron Howard’s ambitious adaptation of The Dark Tower series looks to be growing decidedly more grim with each passing day. Concerns over the project’s massive budget recently forced Universal to hit the brakes on the production.

Howard quickly jumped into damage control mode and insisted that everything was still on track, but his interest in an assortment of new films seems to indicate that we probably won’t be seeing Roland Deschain on the big screen anytime soon.

Warner Bros. is developing a live-action film based on MAD Magazine’s long-running Spy Vs. Spy comic strip and according to Deadline, Howard will be calling the shots. The strip centers around two warring spies who use outlandish and over the top booby-traps in an ostensibly unending struggle to eliminate one another. Spy Vs. Spy segments are currently featured on the Cartoon Network series MAD and the titular characters also appeared in animated interstitials on the sketch show MADtv. The property has also been licensed for action figures, video games, and board games.

Howard and his Imagine Entertainment partner Brian Grazer will produce Spy Vs. Spy alongside David Koepp. John Kamps (Premium Rush, Ghost Town) is set to write the screenplay. Deadline affirms that the film will stay true to the spirit of its source material and describes it as “a physical and highly visual action comedy with two spies going mano a mano in ruthless fashion.”

Howard is also attached to direct Rush – a film based on the real life rivalry that existed between Formula One drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda. The script was written by Academy Award-nominee Peter Morgan, who recently collaborated with Howard on Frost/Nixon. Paul Greengrass previously expressed interest in the project, but ultimately chose to make Maersk Alabama instead.

Howard has also been offered a new Frankenstein feature that’s set up at 20th Century Fox – so clearly he has no shortage of options. The question remains, though – is he simply trying to squeeze in another film before The Dark Tower gets underway or is this further evidence that the beleaguered production is headed for development hell?

Vulture seems to think it’s the latter. They’ve heard that the reason Howard is suddenly circling so many other films is that word has started to spread through Hollywood that the prolific director’s relationship with The Dark Tower is about to come to an end. Universal has yet to approve of the latest batch of rewrites, but Howard was optimistic that he’d get an official green light by the end of the summer. If that turns out to be the case, his priorities could potentially shift once again.

The problem is that even with a reduced budget, The Dark Tower is still a risky endeavor for the studio. The epic story is set to unfold over the course of three theatrical films and two television mini series – a strategy which puts an immense amount of pressure on the inaugural film. If it failed to perform as expected, production on the first season of the television series would already be underway.

It seems like an intriguing gamble, but it might not be one that Universal is prepared to make at this time. They already nixed plans for Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of At the Mountains of Madness for similar reasons – and right now it looks as if The Dark Tower is coming dangerously close to suffering the same fate.

Rush sounds like a promising film, but something tells me that Spy Vs. Spy won’t be much of a consolation for fans that were ready to see The Dark Tower brought to life.

'Puss in Boots' Trailer is Oddly Enough, funny

Ok, so when we all heard there was going to be a Puss in Boots movie from Dreamworks, it probably lead to thoughts of a Shrek 5 kinda film. Now the teaser trailer didn't do much for fans, it showed the typical Shrek style of film- namely pop music tunes, references to other films, and a premise that offered a "hip" and comical spin on a classic fairy tale.

 Now an official Puss in Boots trailer has been released – and while it’s doesn’t exactly make the movie look fantastic, it does suggest that director Chris Miller (Shrek the Third) went in a more original direction with this animated adventure.

“Adventure” surprisingly abounds in the theatrical preview for Puss in Boots, which picks up with the cute-but-deadly orange feline (once again voiced by Antonio Banderas) in his pre-Shrek days. The film follows Puss on a quest to save the world, when he is joined by the likes of the clumsy Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis) and the slinky Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek).

 It goes without saying that Puss in Boots is aimed at kids – not to mention, the movie does look to follow in Shrek’s footsteps by featuring elements from classic fairytales (ex. Jack in the Beanstalk). What’s genuinely surprising, though, is how the full-length trailer makes the film look like its own unique comical spin on classic fables about dashing heroes in fantastical lands.

Take a look for yourselves folks, here's the trailer link: http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809796671/video/25686029. 

 While the humor in this Puss in Boots trailer partly goes the way of Shrek (re: bad puns for kids, double entendres for adults), there’s also the suggestion that the film will actually have a fully-formed fantasy action-adventure plot – that’s more than just an excuse for gags involving Puss acting like a cat. At the least, credit ought to go to Miller and his screenwriting team for not going the lazier route of having the movie be about how Puss becomes a hero; instead, the titular feline is already a “legendary warrior”, who is recruited to save the day. We’ve already seen one comical animated movie with the standard hero’s journey storyline (Rango), and that’s enough for now.

Banderas, Hayek, and Galifianakis all appear to be fun fits for their respective Puss in Boots characters – and the absence of painfully obvious product placement (see: The Smurfs trailer) or Shrek’s brand of pop culture-heavy humor in this trailer is pleasant as well. Adults might not have as much fun as their kids when they go and see this one in theaters, but at least they shouldn’t be really annoyed either.

Finally – if the music in the Puss in Boots trailer seems a bit reminiscent of Pirates of the Caribbean, there’s a reason: the film’s soundtrack was composed by Henry Jackman, who provided “additional music” for the second and third films in that swashbuckling franchise. Take that as you will.

Puss in Boots hits theatre's this fall on November the fourth.

'The Muppets' Trailer is full of fun

Alright, just to point out, yes this is a post about the Muppets, and no, they are not superhero characters, or science-fiction characters, but who cares! They are the Muppets, some of the most lovable, timeless and beloved characters in the world. Everyone has grown up loving them, laughing with them, and above all, never stopped wanting them.

It has been seven years since a new Muppets film was released, and if you ask me, its about time a new one was made. With the full cast of classic Muppets characters, we also get Jason Segel, and Amy Adams as Gary and Mary, along with the human-like puppet Walter (brought to life by Peter Linz) as Muppets fans who reunite the whole gang in order to put on a grand performance and save the original Muppet Studio from being demolished by an oil tycoon (played by Chris Cooper). The film will be directed by James Bobin and co-directed by Segel.

 As with any Muppet movie, the “plot” is largely an excuse for the Muppets to perform their old-fashioned but nonetheless one-of-a-kind brand of jokes, humor, and toe-tapping showtunes. Plus, what other film hitting theaters this year promises to feature bear fencing, pig fighting, AND a bunch of penguins lip-synching to Starship’s “We Built This City”?

On that note, here is the link to the new Muppets film trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay5skbka9Yk&feature=player_embedded.

Just seeing the Muppets back in action, should be enough to conjure up warm feelings for those who grew up watching any of the TV shows or movies with Jim Henson's beloved characters. Plus, now a whole new generation of young people can be introduced to Kermit and Co. in a big-screen venture that takes place in a more modern setting -- though, chances are good that watching The Muppets will inspire them to seek out older titles like the original Muppet Movie, The Great Muppet Caper, etc.

Another thing to admire about all the Muppets theatrical previews so far is how they’ve by and large kept the innumerable celebrity cameos in the film under wraps -- though the few glimpsed so far (especially Danny Trejo’s) have been quite entertaining. Considering that the actual movie is said to feature brief appearances by the likes of Ed Helms, Mila Kunis, Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Rashida Jones, Whoopi Goldberg, Neil Patrick Harris, Jack Black, and Zach Galifianakis -- among others -- there should be plenty more where that came from. 

Finally -- Segel and Bobin in particular seem like virtually ideal candidates to be responsible for bringing the Muppets back to theaters. Both of these fellows are well-known for their own irreverent, often off-beat and quirky style of comedy, which makes them an excellent fit for the job. It’s also all too clear that Segel and his flesh-and-blood co-stars are just pleased to be hanging with the Muppet crew. 

Case in point: Check out the expressions on Segel and Adams’ faces during the car scene in the new trailer. Having to look like you’re having fun being surrounded by Muppets isn’t exactly the hardest job in the world, right? So lets get those popcorn buckets loaded, those drinks iced and cold, because soon it will be time to play the music, time to light the lights, time to meet the Muppets!

The Muppets arrives in U.S. theaters this fall on November 23rd, 2011.