Sci-Fi (Movies) Monday: Thor, Harry Potter, Green Lantern, Tron, Superman, District 9, Alice in Wonderland + more

Like with our TV roundup, there is a lot of groud to cover for movie news over the last couple of weeks, starting off with the ultimate sci-fi hookup of Natalie Portman joining Chris Hemsworth in Thor. We also have a big update on the new Harry Potter, plus Green Lantern’s casting, a synopsis for Tron, the future of Superman and more. And we have all the latest previews, including District 9 and Alice in Wonderland.

GENRE MOVIE NEWS FOR THE WEEK

Luke Skywalker’s Mom hooking up with Kirk’s Dad in Thor
Confirming Rumors, Marvel has announced that Natalie Portman (Padme Amidala – Star Wars prequels) has signed on as the female lead in Kenneth Branagh’s "Thor". Portman will be playing Jane Foster, who was a nurse and Thor’s main love interest in the comics. Portman will be playin opposite Chris Hemsworth (George Kirk – Star Trek), who plays Thor.

Portman and Hemsworth – the ultimate sci-fi parent pairing 

Marvel also released a fresh synopsis of the film which is included below:

Marvel Studios expands its film universe with a new type of super hero: "Thor." This epic adventure spans the Marvel Universe; from present day Earth to the realm of Asgard. At the center of the story is The Mighty Thor, a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war. Thor is cast down to Earth and forced to live among humans as punishment. Once here, Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth.

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost Introduce the Story, Cast and Crew of Paul
Speaking of projects from Star Trek alumni, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, the two stars of the upcoming sci-fi comedy "Paul" from director Greg Mottola, are out in New Mexico on-location.  The two have taken a short break from filming to film this video which introduces the story, cast and crew.  Watch it below.

You can also check out an interview with Jane Lynch who plays the owner of a restaurant in the film at SCI FI Wire.  "Paul" hits theaters in 2010 and co-stars Seth Rogen as the voice of the alien Paul.

Ryan Reynolds Is The Green Lantern + Superman Cameo?
Warner Brothers has settled on Ryan Reynolds ("X-Men Origins: Wolverine") to play the "Green Lantern" in the studio’s upcoming live-action adaptation of the DC Comics property.  Reynolds was one of four finalists for the role, coming out ahead of Bradley Cooper, Justin Timberlake and Jared Leto who were also considered for the role.  Meanwhile co-writer Marc Guggenheim told MTV that the film could still potentially feature a cameo appearance by Clark Kent/Superman, a suggestion he originally brought up over a year ago:

"Honestly, it changes on a daily basis. Whatever information I gave you today would be obsolete in a week, and maybe come back again in two weeks… I will say, all the Easter Eggs and the cameos that I put in, I couldn’t even begin to predict at this point which ones will stay and which ones will go. I’ll be as interested as anyone else to see what we end up keeping and losing by the time the picture is actually locked… and that’s pretty far away from now."

“I will say, all the Easter Eggs and the cameos that I put in, I couldn’t even begin to predict at this point which ones will stay and which ones will go,” he said. “I’ll be as interested as anyone else to see what we end up keeping and losing by the time the picture is actually locked… and that’s pretty far away from now.”

"Green Lantern" hits theaters on June 17, 2011 and will be directed by Martin Campbell from a script written by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and Michael Green. 

Harry Potter Opening Weekend News + Producers Talk ‘Deathly Hallows’ I & II
As "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" nears its opening day release on Wednesday (with advance ticket sales already out-pacing "Transformers"), there’s already talk about the last two films in the series, ‘Deathly Hallows’ Parts I (Nov. 19, 2010) & II (July 15, 2011).  Here’s what director David Yates and producer David Heyman told reporters at a press conference for ‘Half-Blood Prince’ about [Spoilers follow for anyone who hasn’t read the seventh book in the series] how they plan to work in the flash forward that is featured at the end of "The Deathly Hallows":

io9: In the last book there is a flash forward for the characters, and rumors have it that you are working on CGing the faces of the young actors to look older. Is that still on the table, or have you decided to swap them out for older replacements?

David Yates: "You know, we’re still exploring how exactly we’re going to be dealing with that. It’s an absolutely beautiful part of the book. One of the most unique of this franchise is the fact that you’ve grown up with these characters. Is what I think makes it special for the audience. So we want to be delivering at the end of seven [the seventh book] part two. We’re looking at various options of how we do it. And we still haven’t quite figured it out yet."

The two were asked about using "Benjamin Button"-like technlogy, but Heyman says that’s not the direction they’ll be taking:

"Benjamin Button technology was used to make him look younger, but we’re taking people who are 20 years old, and making them look like they’re in their late 30s. So that’s a different experience. And we may use some of the techniques from Benjamin Button technology, but we’re still exploring. We’re going to do everything we can — but it will be Dan, Rupert and Emma, not someone else."

Speaking to the style of the two parts, Heyman said they’d be very different and called the first part a "road movie" and the second a "big opera," adding "It’s a great bic epic with huge battles..it’s oddly moving, because it concludes the whole saga".  Star Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) agreed, echoing his statements about how different the two parts are:

"It feels totally different," Watson said. "I feel like I am on a different film. The other films had a structure where it’s like we come into the Great Hall, and then it’s the opening talk, and … that is just gone. It’s not very often in the middle of filming you stop yourself and go, ‘This is going to be awesome.’ And I’ve done that on a number of occasions. We just [shot] this amazing scene in the forest, where we are being chased by the Snatchers. I’ve never done anything like it; nothing even close. I have never done any serious stunts or real action, and this is so exciting and dynamic. And all of us are now done with school, so we are totally focused on this finale at Hogwarts. I hope it’s going to be brilliant."

And as to where the split will occur between Parts I and II?  Heyman says that they’ve nailed it down, although it could change somewhat in the final edit:

"Because we are shooting both films as one, shooting them together, we’ll see what happens ultimately," he said. "It’s written in a very specific way, and that, I’m sure, is where we’ll end up, but I don’t want to say now and then all of a sudden we go, ‘Hmmm?’"

Reviews have thus far been very strong and it stands at 98% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes (40 Fresh, 1 Rotten).  Here are a few more bites to round out this weeks’ coverage on the film:

• While it opens wide on Wednesday, July 15th, several theaters will be participating in the midnight release on tomorrow (Tuesday).
• Tuesday will also see the release of the original soundtrack for the film via New Line Records.  The score features more than 60 minutes of music from the film, written by Nicholas Hooper. [SCI FI Wire]
• The cast and crew wore white ribbons on their wrists at the world premiere in Leicester Square last Tuesday in honor of actor Rob Knox, who was murdered last May in London. [SCI FI Wire]

Stills [more at io9]

Set images [more at ComingSoon.net]

HBO First Look: Part 1

HBO First Look: Part 2

Clip

More clips: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Comic-Con 2009; WED, THU, FRI, SAT & SUN Schedules Released
The complete schedule of events for all four days of Comic-Con 2009 in San Diego — plus the preview night on Wednesday — have been released and can be checked out on the Comic-Con.org website.  Here are the direct links:

• Wednesday, July 22nd: Preview Night
• Thursday, July 23rd
• Friday, July 24th
• Saturday, July 25th
• Sunday, July 26th

WB Wins Superman Court Case, But No Film In Development
One of the most interesting pieces of information to come out of the recent court win by Warner Bros, in which the Siegel and Shuster heirs disputed ownership of the Superman property, was the revelation by WB chairmen Alan Horne that while the studio hopes to make another film, the property is currently not under development.  It has no script and he says the earliest it could be released would be in 2012. Here’s some of what was said about "Superman Returns", and the prospects for another film [via the New York Times]:

…Mr. Horn testified that Warner was not entirely at ease with the outcome. “What hurt us is that the reviews and so on for the ‘Superman’ movie,” said Mr. Horn, “did not get the kind of critical acclaim that ‘Batman’ got, and we have other issues with ‘Superman’ that concern us.”

According to the judge’s account, Warner spent a staggering $60 million over 10 years developing the movie that became “Superman Returns.” But the studio — despite Mr. Horn’s expressed “hopes” to push the character to a next step — does not have a “Superman” property in development. “No script has been written, filming has not commenced, and the earliest a ‘Superman’ film could be theatrically released would be in 2012,” the judge wrote.

There’s definitely a time issue here, as attorney Marc Toberoff, who represented the Siegel heirs, asserted in a written statement that the Siegel heirs and the heirs of co-creator Joe Shuster will own the Superman copyright in 2013:

"This trial was only an interim step in the multifaceted accounting case which remains, in that it only concerned the secondary issue of whether DC Comics, or DC Comics and Warner Bros., would have to account to the Siegels," he said. "To put this in further perspective, the entire accounting action pales in comparison to the fact that in 2013, the Siegels, along with the estate of Joe Shuster, will own the entire original copyright to Superman, and neither DC Comics nor Warner Bros. will be able to exploit any new Superman works without a license from the Siegels and Shusters."

He also claimed that if WB "does not start production on another Superman film by 2011, the Siegels will be able to sue to recover their damages"

Nimrod Antal Will Direct Predators
Robert Rodriguez, who will write and produce "Predators" for 20th Century Fox, confirmed to Ain’t It Cool News that Nimrod Antal will direct the project.  Rodriguez also spoke about why he won’t be directing and offered some details on the story:

When I was hired to write the original draft back in 1994, i was only brought on as a writer. I never thought I’d get to work on it in any other capacity. So a few months ago, when Alex Young at Fox contacted me about re-inventing the franchise using my original draft as a template for getting as far away as possible from the AVP movies, I jumped on it. It’s hard to be just a writer on a picture, because you write in some of your really great ideas, and then off they go to someone else and you have no real involvement after that. I was already booked up as a director when this came back to me, but I still wanted to have a hand in making it. So I lobbied to have the movie done through my studios so I could oversee it in a stronger position than a producer usually takes on. Alex came down and saw Troublemaker Studios, and the facilities and crew that I’ve built up over the past 12 years, and he felt right away that this is where the movie should be made and that doing it down here would be the best way to protect it from the studio system. He was keen on making a very "non-studio" picture.

Here’s what he said about the story:

"I can’t go too much into the story right now, because we’re still writing. But it still involves a very intense group of people stranded on a Predator planet discovering unspeakable horrors (that are not always from outside their group). So like the original movie, the title does have a double meaning. Aliens was a different take on the Alien idea, and an original movie in it’s own right, and that’s what we want to do with this."

Head on over to Ain’t It Cool News to read the rest.  "Predators" is scheduled to hit theaters on July 9, 2010.

Green Hornet Pushed Back + Cameron Diaz In Talks for Female Lead and Kato To Be Recast?
Sony Pictures has pushed back the release of the Seth Rogen-led action-comedy "The Green Hornet" from June 25, 2010 to July 9, 2010, according to Variety.  That report still notes that Stephen Chow — who was at one time slated to direct before Michel Gondry was brought on board — will co-star as sidekick Kato.  However, SpoilerTV has gotten their hands on a casting call for the character, so it looks like he may get recast:

[KATO] ALL ASIAN ETHNICITIES, Male, 20’s – early 40’s. Brit Reid’s manservant/chauffeur by day and Green Hornet’s martial arts-skilled sidekick by night sptv050769. Actor doesn’t have to have Martial Arts experience

In other casting news, EW is reporting that Cameron Diaz is in talks to play the female lead in the project.

Tron Plot Synopsis
In their recent press release announcing their lineup for Comic-Con 2009 — you can read the full press release at this link if you like — Walt Disney Studios included the following plot synopsis for the upcoming Joseph Kasinksi-directed sequel "TRON" (working title):

TRON is a 3D high-tech adventure set in a digital world that’s unlike anything ever captured on the big screen. Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), the tech-savvy 27-year-old son of Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), looks into his father’s disappearance and finds himself pulled into the same world of fierce programs and gladiatorial games where his father has been living for 25 years. Along with Kevin’s loyal confidant (Olivia Wilde), father and son embark on a life-and-death journey across a visually-stunning cyber universe that has become far more advanced and exceedingly dangerous.

Gary Ross to Rewrite Spider-Man 4
Gary Ross has been hired by Columbia Pictures to rewrite the script for Sam Raimi’s "Spider-Man 4".  This is the second time that the project has gone through a rewrite.  The script was originally written by James Vanderbilt and was rewritten by David Lindsay-Abaire.

Harold Ramis Talks Ghostbusters 3
Director/screenwriter Harold Ramis was recently interviewed by MakingOf and he spoke at length–roughly seven minutes– on "Ghostbusters 3", the unproduced draft of the Ghostbusters in Hell script and more.  Watch it below.

Sam Jackson: Nick Fury Won’t See Much Action in Iron Man 2
Samuel L. Jackson, who recently signed a nine-picture deal with Marvel Studios, told MTV that his character Nick Fury in "Iron Man 2" won’t see much action:

Not this time, not yet… We still haven’t moved Nick Fury into the bad-ass zone. He’s still just kind of a talker.

Jackson also revealed that he’s completed filming on the film and that most of his scenes with with Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark/Iron Man), but that there were also a few with Scarlett Johansson.  In other news, Los Angeles DJ D.J AM.,  has filmed a cameo for the film.  His scene takes place at a club where Tony Stark is celebrating his birthday.  And finally, Road & Track Magazine snapped a spy photo of a race car with the Stark Industries logo on it, taken during filming at the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique, while IESB has an exclusive first look at the Stark Expo logo.  The logo is used for the Stark Expo, a World’s Fair type event from the film.

Zombieland Set Reports Interviews and More
Various media outlets were invited to the set of Columbia Pictures’ horror comedy "Zombieland" and their reports are just now coming out.  First up, if you’re not fully up-to-date on the film, here’s the synopsis:

Columbia Pictures horror comedy Zombieland focuses on two men who have found a way to survive a world overrun by zombies. Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) is a big wuss — but when you’re afraid of being eaten by zombies, fear can keep you alive. Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) is an AK-toting, zombie-slaying’ bad ass whose single determination is to get the last Twinkie on earth. As they join forces with Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), who have also found unique ways to survive the zombie mayhem, they will have to determine which is worse: relying on each other or succumbing to the zombies.

With that out of the way, here’s a round-up of some of the better set reports:

• /Film (and Collider) includes video

• SCI FI Wire

• IGN

Rounding out the rest of the coverage, /Film has posted two interviews: one with writers/producers Paul Wenick and Rhett Reese that you can check out at this link and another with co-star Emma Stone which you can read here. And SCI FI Wire has posted their own interview article which you can check out here. "Zombieland" hits theaters on October 9, 2009.  Check out the trailer below.

NEW IMAGES

A Christmas Carol

German poster [DVD-Forum.at]

Alice in Wonderland

Character shots (from Vanity Fair) [one more at Planet Disney via /Film]

Astro Boy [SCI FI Wire]

Avatar

Comic-Con banner [ComingSoon.net]

Blood: The Last Vampire

Concept art [more at Alex Tuis and Rotten Tomatoes–via io9]

District 9

Movie poster [Yahoo! Movies]

The Final Destination [more at DVD-Forum.at]

G-Force [more at IGN]

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Poster art [SpoilerTV]

Halloween II [Bloody-Disgusting]

Movie poster [Filmz.ru]

Jennifer’s Body

Empire Magazine scans [more at Film School Rejects]

Megan Fox [Fangoria]

Kick-Ass [more at /Film: here and here and at MTV]

Nightmare on Elm Street [Brad Fuller]

Pandorum

Concept art [more at DVD-Forum.at]

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World [more at edgar wright here]

Star Wars

Comic-Con Toaster [Wired]

Surrogates

Movie poster [ComingSoon.net]

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Devastator concept art [seibertron]

Overload robot mode [seibertron]

NEW VIDEOS

9

French movie trailer

District 9

Movie trailer [HD Version]

G-Force

Behind-the-scenes clip

Gamer

International movie trailer

Gatchaman

Anime Expo 2009 teaser trailer

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Japanese movie trailer

TV spot

Jennifer’s Body

Red-band trailer

Green-band trailer

Knowing

Behind-the-scenes clip

Planet 51

Movie trailer

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Video blog

Bonus video blog here

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li

Clip

One more clip at ComingSoon.net

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Parody video [via Topless Robot]

CASTING BITES

• Guy Pearce and Bailee Madison are in final negotiations to star with Katie Holmes in Miramax’s supernatural thriller "Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark", to be directed by Troy Nixey and produced by Mark Johnson.  The film is a remake of the 1973 ABC telefilm.  The script was written by Guillermo del Toro and Mathrew Robbins. [THR]

MOVIE BITES

• Will Smith may reunite with his "I Am Legend" director Francis Lawrence for the fantasy drama "The City That Sailed". [THR]
• Colin Ferguson, who plays Sheriff Carter on the Syfy series "Eureka" talked to reporters about his role on the upcoming Syfy original movie "Lake Placid 3".  Ferguson is also directing a movie for Syfy called "Fossil", which he says is about "a flying Tyrannosaurus Rex attacking Oregon." [io9]
• "300" producer Mark Canton says that director Zack Snyder will return for the sequel and says that things are "looking good" for the sequel. [MTV]
• Matt Reeves ("Cloverfield") has recently finished a second draft of his script for an American remake of the Swedish cult hit "Let the Right One In". The American remake, which he’s also directing, is called "Let Me In" which is the English translation of John Ajvide Lindqvist’s original novel. [LA Times]
• The recently announced "An American Werewolf in London" may not be a remake after all.  According to reports, due to rights issues, there may not be any interest in a remake.  Thus Dimension Films — Universal Pictures has the rights to the original — is talking about franchising it, perhaps taking it across the world. [AICN]
• Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animated have settled on Raja Gosnell (the "Scooby-Doo" movies) to direct the live-action/animated hybrid "Smurfs" movie. [THR]
• Korean actress Gianna Jun, star of "Blood: The Last Vampire", says that she "wanted to portray Saya’s inner pain and her charm through more action scenes." The film opened in limited run last weekend (20 theaters) and grossed $110,029. [SCI FI Wire–check out their review at this link]
• Kristen Bell plays Cora in the upcoming 3-D animated film "Astro Boy" and discussed her role and the process of working in an animated feature in a new interview with SCI FI Wire.
• Director Stephen Norrington’s "Crow" movie will not be a remake.  Norrington will deliver his script this month and the story is said to be "very different from the original – a whole new story about a whole new character." [Mania]
• Disney has brought Randall Wallace on board to rewrite McG’s "Captain Nemo: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea". [THR]
• Stan Lee’s cameo for "Venom" has already been written, says co-writer Rhett Reese: "Oh, yeah. Stan Lee is in it," Reese told us. "I feel like that’s the one thing we can say. He does appear in our script, and we’re very specific about where he is and why." [Superhero Hype]
• Terry Gillam has pulled the plug on his sci-fi project "Zero Theorem". Billy Bob Thornton was attached to star. [smart.co.uk via io9]
• Director Chris Columbus is confident that his take on the "Ripley’s Believe It or Not" film will be the correct one: "My take on Ripley is to turn it into a fantasy film, really: a big fantasy adventure film where we believe that all of these oddities are possible." [SCI FI Wire]
• "Up" is now the 2nd highest grossing Pixar film of all-time, standing at $273.8 million domestically. [Box Office Mojo]
• Chris Casmassa, who played the role of Scorpion in the first two "Mortal Kombat" films, claims that a third film in the franchise is scheduled to start filming this September. [FirstShowing]
• The new trailer for Spike Jonze’s "Where The Wild Things Are" will be attached to the premiere of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", which hits theaters this Wednesday, July 15th. [JoBlo]
• …A replica of the Optimus Prime Truck from the ‘Transformers’ films has been put up for sale on eBay…
• …Meanwhile, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" has crossed $600 million worldwide faster than any film other than "The Dark Knight".  The film’s current cume stands at $339.2M domestic (it just passed "Spider-Man 3" for #16 on the all-time list) and is at $672.3M worldwide. [Variety and BOM]…
• …More than $30 million of the film’s box office comes from IMAX screens… [IMAX]
• …And finally, why did a 2 second shot in "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" take 3 months to complete?  Find out at Gizmodo.
• The soundtrack to "Jennifer’s Body" will feature the music of "Panic At The Disco", "White Lies", "Dashboard Confessional", "Cobra Starship", "Silversun Pickups" and "Little Boots". [The Playlist]
• The "Ghostbusters LittleBigPlanet DLC" for the Playstation 3 will be made available this week starting on Thursday.  The pack will cost you $5.99, or you can purchase individual costumers for $1.99. [Joystiq]
• Chistopher Heyerdahl ("Sanctuary", "Stargate Atlantis") discusses his role as the vampire Marcus in the upcoming "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" in a new interview with SCI FI Wire.
• Director Robert Rodriguez and star Jimmy Bennett (young Captain Kirk in "Star Trek") chatted with MTV about the upcoming sci-fi comedy "Shorts"…
• …Co-star Leslie Mann also discussed the film, explaining it as "a series of short films," adding: "about a kid who finds a magic rock. And whoever is holding this rock, whatever they wish for, it will come true.” [MTV]
• Italian scientists have created a real-life Wall-E.  DustCart is an on-demand robot trash collector. [GlobalPost]
• Principal photography on "A Nightmare on Elm Street" has wrapped. [Brad Fuller]
• According to a report referencing an unnamed actor on the set of Joe Johnston’s "The Wolfman", there have been a total of six weeks of reshoots. [The Daily Mail]
• A casting call has gone out for Mirage Studios’ new "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" live-action film, calling for actors as part of The Foot Clan. [TMNT25 via /Film]
• Producer Frank Marshall has responded to a report from The Insider that a fifth ‘Indiana Jones’ would be ready for release in 2011, saying "The story for INDY5 is still in the research phase". [Frank Marshall]
• Both Rainn Wilson and Nathan Fillion had a meeting with DC Comics for the same unknown project. [via /Film]
• You may want to hold off on buying the director’s cut of "Watchmen".  Turns out WB will be releasing a five-disc Ultimate Collector’s edition Blu-ray in December… [The HD Room]
• …Director Zack Snyder previews the upcoming director’s cut of the film, plus easter eggs and other extras to SCI FI Wire.  Also, I’ve included a deleted scene from the Director’s Cut below.

MISC VIDEOS

Batman: Arkham Asylum (Video Game)

10 minutes of gameplay footage

The Late Show with David Letterman

Top 10 Things That Sound Cool When Spoken by a Giant Robot

Tron Reboot

Episode 01 [via io9]

Episode 02 will be released on July 14th

MISC BITES

• "Hellboy" creator Mike Mignola says he plans to return to drawing "Hellboy" comics in early 2010: "Hellboy is in an extremely dark place, and where we go from that is still a very dark place, but it’s going to have a little bit different personality than what I originally intended," he said. "It’s going to go really, really dark, and then it’s going to take a left-hand turn. So it’ll still be dark, but it’ll be a different kind of dark." [SCI FI Wire]
• If have you haven’t picked it up yet, Marvel has put up an eight-page prelude issue of "Captain America: Prelude" by writer Ed Brubaker and artist Luke Rose. [Marvel]
• "Batman & Robin" writer Grant Morrison discussed his recent comic book series. [io9]
• "Star Wars" creator George Lucas hasn’t been shown footage of BioWare’s "Star Wars: The Old Republic" video game, but CEO Ray Muzyka told G4 TV that "he keeps his finger on the pulse of everything that LucasArts is working on, so I know he’s involved in it. I’ve talked to him about the project in the past and I know he’s excited about it."
• Here’s the cover art for Dan Brown’s next book in ‘The Da Vinci’ franchise, "The Lost Symbol".

Follow Russ on his blog: Your Entertainment Now and on Twitter: Twitter.com/YourEntNow.