Sci-Fi Sunday: Transformers, Ghostbusters, Spidey + more movie news May 24, 2009
by Rosario T. Calabria , Filed under: Sci-Fi , trackback
This weekend TrekMovie splits its genre news up with all the TV news yesterday and movie news today. We start off with all the latest on the next big summer movie, Transformers 2. We also have updates the third entries from the Ghostbusters and Spider-man franchises, plus tons of new video and image previews for more summer movies.
MOVIE NEWS
Transformers Revenge of the Fallen interviews & previews
Writers/executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci chat about "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" in an interview with Newsarama. Here’s an excerpt:
NRAMA: Looking at another one of your projects, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is one of the summer’s most highly anticipated movies. Did the success of the first one allow you to go even bigger with this installment?
Kurtzman: Certainly the movie is bigger, but that is definitely not how we thought about it. We feel like the action scenes in these movies are a given to some degree, but they always have to have a serious emotional context or they mean nothing. That means you have to have a small character story at the heart of whatever movie you’re making. For us, it was really coming up with an emotional story that we believed in and felt was sequel worthy.
Orci: And yes, it’s bigger. We have more resources for effects and some of the locations which are just gorgeous and amazing.
Read the rest of the interview at Newsarama. Meanwhile, Michael Bay screened about 25-30 minutes of the film for the LA Times Hero Complex blog. Here’s an excerpt, including a brief description of the film’s opening scene [LIGHT SPOILERS]:
There was the first scene in the film for the nubile Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox) and of course she was wearing very little and posed like a grease-monkey hottie on a garage pin-up poster. "Of course we had to get that out of the way," Bay said with mock resignation. There was plenty more of Fox in seductive mode and a romantic rival as well — at Princeton, a curvy mystery girl pounces on Sam in his dorm-room but there’s something a little alien about her. Maybe it’s the nasty steel tail that suddenly emerges from under her skirt like a scorpion’s stinger.
For more scene descriptions and more thoughts from director Michael Bay, head on over to the LA Times. And rounding out this week’s "Transformers" news, the new single from Linkin Park ("New Divide") is out and can be be downloaded at LinkinPark.com and Apple iTunes.
New images and videos
[MichaelBay.com -- more Cinematical and Yahoo! Movies]
Set images with director Michael Bay [one more at MichaelBay.com]
Sideways [MichaelBay.com]
Ravage 2GB USB Drive [via Gizmodo]
Trailer
Clip
Sam Raimi Talks Spider-Man 4 and Regrets on Spider-Man 3
Director Sam Raimi told press that he has taken the criticism leveled at "Spider-Man 3" to heart and intends to correct those mistakes for the fourth installment:
Do I take the criticism into consideration? Yeah, absolutely. I don’t make an artistic type of picture that I can say to myself, "Even if this crowd doesn’t like it, it stands as a work of art and will be appreciated years later or has meaning without the audience." I simply am an entertainer, and I make films for audience appreciation. When they don’t like it, I don’t have a leg to stand on. You really want to please people.
Raimi added that he’ll have a better handle on what corrections he’ll be making on the fourth film once he reads the script, which writer David Lyndsay-Abaire should be done with "in about four weeks". Raimi expressed his regrets more forcefully in an interview with the LA Times, saying that if he had it to do all over again he "would have done everything differently, every single shot." Meanwhile the director chatted with FearNET and hinted at the possibility of Morbius showing up in "Spider-Man 4". Head on over to CHUD to watch the clip.
Ghostbusters 3 May Start Shooting This Winter
Dan Aykroyd told the LA Times that Sigourney Weaver is now on board "Ghostbusters 3", she’ll join Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson as the other originals on board the project. Murray’s involvement was the most important since he holds a one-fifth controlling interest in the property rights:
"I don’t put not making the third movie on Billy. We can’t do that. I’ve been very busy. Harold’s been busy, Ivan’s been busy. And a third script really didn’t coalesce properly. And Billy, you can’t blame an artist for not wanting to do the same thing again. He did two of them, for God’s sake. Although I’m the biggest cheerleader as the originator of the concept but I’ve never begrudged Billy not doing a third movie. I never said he held it up or that he refused. Hey, listen, he’s an artist."
Aykroyd believes that things are moving along nicely and that they "could be in production by winter." Aykroyd threw out two names as possible directors (first choice Ivan Reitman, second choice Harold Ramis), but admits that both may be too busy to take on the project. In regards to story details, Aykroyd said he’s hoping for a five-member "new generation" team with some female members:
"I’d like it to be a passing-of-the-torch movie. Let’s revisit the old characters briefly and happily and have them there as family but let’s pass it on to a new generation."
He mentioned two names, Alyssa Milano (who voiced a character in the upcoming "Ghostbusters" video game) and Eliza Dushku: "I think they’re amazing," he said. "And I’m excited about the whole idea of getting this done." Both actresses responded to Aykroyd’s interview via Twitter:
Alyssa Milano: "Can’t speak for @ElizaPatricia (Hi, pretty lady)but this is the first I’m hearing of Ghostbusters 3. Did the VO in the game tho."
Eliza Dushku: "Ghost-rumor-buster in a big way @Alyssa_milano (hey girlene) it’s nuthin’ I know of." and "Ahh, just saw the article, Danny A’s genius! There are so many ways I’d ’suit’ up. GB’s IS hot :)"
Night at the Museum Beats Terminator at Box Office
As reported earlier in our ST09 weekend box office report,
"Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" is estimated to have a $53.5M three-day opening weekend, beating "Terminator Salvation" which brought in $43.0M over the three-day frame ($56.4M including Thursday). "Terminator Salvation" should be at about $62M for the five-day holiday weekend (Thur-Mon), while ‘Battle of the Smithsonian’ should have a bit more through Monday ($70M). More "Terminator" coverage below:
- Moon Bloodgood talks about her deleted topless scene. [io9]
- [SPOILERS--highlight to view]. McG says that Kate Connor’s pregnancy will "be explored in the prospective second and third picture," adding "Now, I would never be so bold to presume that there will be another ['Terminator' sequel]. But we’ve arced out a story that includes that child and its fate and what it becomes in this world of man versus machine." [MTV]
- Watch the Episode 1 preview of "Terminator Salvation: The Machinima":
Director McG interviews star Common
Artist on Artist interview with McG and Common
3D Holographic Display
Clip [one more at MTV]
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