Sci-Fi Movies Tuesday: Avatar, Battle Angel, Fantastic Voyage, Harry Potter, Hobbit, Xerxes + more

The last Sci-Fi Movies before Avatar, and we’ve got the latest developments on the film, including Cameron’s interest in a sequel (or sequels).  Plus we have have new details on the 300 prequel Xerxes and the Harry Potter theme park, plus casting updates on The Hobbit (and a Blu-ray release date for The Lord of the Rings trilogy). All that and more, including the latest box office numbers, casting bites, images and videos.

GENRE MOVIE NEWS

Avatar Receives 4 Golden Globe Nominations Including Best Picture and Best Director + Cameron Talks Sequel(s)
Ahead of this week’s release of James Cameron’s "Avatar", the film continues to get high marks from the critics (87% at Rotten Tomatoes) and it was recently rewarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association with four nominations — tied for third-most — for the "67th Golden Globe Awards" (airing Live on NBC on January 17, 2010).  The film itself was nominated in the Best Picture-Drama category while Cameron was nominated in the Best Director category.  The two other nominations came for Best Original Score (James Horner) and Best Original Song ("I See You", performed by Leona Lewis).  Here are the highlights of the other sci-fi/genre films nominated (for the record, some may consider "Inglourious Basterds" in the fantasy realm. It received four nominations, including Best Picture-Drama and Best Director for Quentin Tarantino): "Up" received two nominations (Best Animated Feature Film and Michael Giacchino ("Star Trek") for Best Original Score), while "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs" (Best Animated Feature Film), "Coraline" (Best Animated Feature Film), "District 9" (Best Screenplay), "Fantastic Mr. Fox" (Best Animated Feature Film), "The Princess and the Frog" (Best Animated Feature Film) and "Where the Wild Things Are" (Best Original Score for Karen O. and Carter Burwell) each received one nomination. Getting back to "Avatar", Cameron talked about potential sequels:

"Actually, when I pitched this to 20th Century Fox four-and-a-half years ago, I said, ‘You know, we’re going to spend a lot of money and time and energy creating not only a process but the assets, the CG assets, we call them – all the models of every rock and tree and plant and creature and the muscle rigs for all the creatures and the facial rigging for the main characters and all that’… huge, millions and millions of dollars. So it really makes sense to think of it as the potential start of a franchise, if you will, or a saga that plays out over several acts, each movie being an act of that saga. And I have it mapped out, but I haven’t written the scripts yet. And it all depends on whether we do well with the first film. But that was certainly the intention from the beginning – to create a foundation for a persistent world."

"Avatar" hits conventional, 3D, IMAX and IMAX 3D theaters beginning midnight Thursday/Friday, December 18, 2009.

Frank Miller Updates His 300 Prequel: Xerxes
Frank Miller has revealed some details on "Xerxes", the potential follow-up film to Zack Snyder’s "300".  According to Miller, the film begins about 10 years before the events of "300". The project will be released as a graphic novel first, but Miller says that Snyder has expressed interest in returning to direct a film based on the project.  Here’s what Miller told the LA Times’ Hero Complex Blog:

It’s the battle of Marathon through my lens. I’ve finished the plot and I’m getting started on the artwork. Every generation returns to ancient Greece because, well, the stories are so damn good. The fact and the myth are inseparable and, believe me, when you go sailing for a while in the Aegean Sea, you start believing in Poseidon.

James Cameron Talks About Future Projects: Battle Angel Alita and Fantastic Voyage
"Avatar" may be James Cameron’s first commericial film since 1997’s "Titanic", but it doesn’t appear likely he’ll be taking a similarly long break between his next project.  First up is an adaptation of the manga series "Battle Angel Alita", which he’s still attached to direct, then perhaps "Fantastic Voyage", which he won’t be directing, but will produce:

"We’ve been working on a script for ‘Fantastic Voyage,’ but that’s not for me to direct,” the director said. “That’s just a produced project. It’s quite different. But it’s got enough of the original story that you’ll still recognize it."

Here’s some more on "Battle Angel Alita", courtesy MTV:

"The mixture of live-action and CG is a little trickier in 3-D than it is 2-D," Cameron told MTV News. "Now we see it’s good to have done ‘Avatar’ first before ‘Battle Angel,’ because the tricky scenes are where you’re blending live-action photography, stereoscopic photography and CG."

"Shooting live stuff in 3-D and then adding CG characters and landscapes beyond that, that’s a little tricky," he explained.

As for where the film stands, Cameron seemed to indicate that "Alita" is still on his radar — though he hasn’t progressed to the point of casting the film thus far.

"We’re not that far down the line," he said. "We have a very good script and we’ve done a lot of production design. We’ve done about a year of production design and we’ve put together an art reel that shows the arc of the film."

"It’s pretty much just add water and we’re ready to go," he laughed.

Jackson Wants Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving To Return for The Hobbit; Plus Lord of the Rings Blu-ray Gets New Date
While we’ve known for sometime that Ian McKellen would be reprising his role as Gandalf in "The Hobbit", other casting decisions haven’t been revealed yet.  But writer/producer Peter Jackson says he would like to see Hugo Weaving and Cate Blanchett — who played elves Elrond and Galadriel — return for "The Hobbit" [via MTV]:

"In book terms, the world of ‘The Hobbit’ takes place 60 years before ‘The Lord of the Rings,’ as it was written by Tolkien," he said. "So, not a lot of the characters actually feature, because they weren’t around yet." 

"We have a process that would start with showing them the script," Jackson explained. "We’re not [beginning] any official process until we have the ‘official’ script that they can read." We already know that McKellen has seen the script, even gotten a copy of his own. So the question now becomes where Jackson, del Toro, et al are in the writing process.

"It’s two movies, and we’ve written the first script, which the studio responded well to," Jackson revealed. "And we’re now halfway through the second script." Jackson is excited to be playing a part in the writing process, describing this stage as his "favorite part of the whole process."

Watch a video segment of the interview:

And in a related note, director Guillermo del Toro wrote at TheOneRing.net that he "cannot imagine Gollum being played by anyone but Andy [Serkis]". Also, the casting rumor about Tobey Maguire being in negotiations for the role of Bilbo Baggins has been flat-out denied by his publist. And finally, the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy will be released on Blu-ray on April 6, 2010.  The set — remember these are just the theatrical versions — was originally scheduled to be released on Blu-ray in November 2009.  Suggested Retail Price is $99.98, but you can preorder now on Amazon.com for $69.99.  Head on over to DVD Active for complete details.

Blu-ray cover art [DVD Active]

Batman update – Catwoman as villain?
Morgan Freeman says expects Christopher Nolan to be back to direct a ‘Dark Knight’ follow-up, and personally would like to see Catwoman appear as the main villain in the new film. Watch the video below. [MTV]

Details on Harry Potter Theme Park: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
"The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" theme park will debut next spring at Universal’s Islands of Adventure park in Orlando, Florida and with the recent release of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" on DVD and Blu-ray, some new details have been revealed. [Attractions Magazine (via SlashFilm)]:

• You’ll be able to buy a butterbeer, which looks just like a real beer with the froth on top, but it’ll be non-alcoholic. J.K. Rowling was at a butterbeer tasting and loved it. Steve Jayson, executive chef with Universal Parks and Resorts said, “The flavor of this is great, real comforting, nice and smooth going down – and you get a mustache.”
• Hogwart’s Castle will feature the queue to the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride. The queue will feature a lot of moving portraits and will take you by or through the Defense of the Dark Arts room, the Common Room and the Great Hall.
• The actors filmed scenes specially for the new ride in the summer of 2008. A movie clapboard reveals the name of the filming as “Strongarm.” Some have speculated that refers to Universal’s partnership with RoboCoaster Ltd. and that Forbidden Journey guests will ride on some sort of robot arm, such as the one featured in the new Sum of All Thrills ride at Epcot.

Head on over to Attractions Magazine for more details, and check out the Winter 2010 issue of "Orlando Attractions Magazine" to read a full feature story on the Wizarding World.  A preview video for the theme park is included below.

Preview for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (theme park) [YouTube]

Interview with Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) [movies.spoilertv.com]

Watch another interview with Felton here

Daniel Radcliffe talks about splitting the final book "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" into Parts I and II [MTV]

NEW IMAGES

The Book of Eli

Character posters [one more at IGN]

Clash of the Titans

Movie posters [one more at Yahoo! Movies]

Inception

Movie poster [InceptionMovie.com]

Iron Man 2

Character poster: Whiplash (Mickey Rourke) [Apple]

New image of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) [CinemaSpy]

Iron Man 2 clue [Superhero Hype]

Kick-Ass

Character poster: Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) [UGO]

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

First official still [edgarwrighthere]

Sherlock Holmes

Promotional stills [more at /Film]

Splice

Promotional stills [ShockTillYouDrop]

Toy Story 3

Promotional stills [moviefone & Empire]

The Wolfman

Final French poster [Filmsactu via ShockTillYouDrop]

CASTING BITES

• Natalie Portman has joined the cast of "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies", based on the bestselling book written by Seth Grahame-Smith and Jane Austen. She’ll play heroine Elizabeth Bennet, "who is distracted from her quest to eradicate the zombie menace by the arrival of the arrogant Mr. Darcy".  Portman will also produce the project alongside producing partner Annette Davitch and Richard Kelly ("The Box"). [Variety]
• Producers on "A Nightmare on Elm Street" are looking for actors and actresses to fill the roles of five extras. [movies.spoilertv.com]
• …Meanwhile, here are the details on the new scenes being filmed for the film. [Bloody Disgusting]
• Bryce Dallas Howard has been cast in Clint Eastwood’s supernatural thriller "Hereafter", joining Matt Damon in the film, which "tells the story of three people — a blue-collar American, a French journalist and a London school boy — who are touched by death in different ways."… [Variety]
• …Speaking of Howard, the actress says she hasn’t been contacted about appearing in "Spider-Man 4".  She also revealed that she’s not committed to re-appearing in a fifth or sixth "Terminator" movie from McG, although she would welcome a return if asked. [ComingSoon.net]
• A casting call for "Jonah Hex" is seeking six actors and actresses for six roles in the film, including the wife of Jonah Hex (Josh Brolin). [movies.spoilertv.com]

NEW VIDEOS

Avatar

Team Avatar (spoof based on "Team America: World Police")

Batman: Arkham Asylum 2

Teaser trailer [GameTrailers]

Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever

Trailer

The Crazies

Trailer #2 [SlashFilm]

Iron Man 2

ET preview of trailer [YouTube]

Interview with Olivia Munn on her cameo [YouTube]

Kick-Ass

Clip featuring Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) [UGO]

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Sneak peek preview [YouTube]

Behind The Scenes: Dastan [Yahoo! Movies]

Star Wars

David Lynch talks about beingn asked to direct "Return of the Jedi" [YouTube via JoBlo]

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 (video game)

Teaser trailer [GameTrailers]

Toy Story 3

Video from the scoring session [@leeunkrich via SlashFilm]

Tron Legacy (video game)

Teaser trailer [GameTrailers]

MOVIE BITES

• Universal Pictures is eying Carl Erik Rinsch to make a new version of its 1954 classic "Creature From the Black Lagoon". Rinsch was originally tapped to direct the "Alien" prequel, before Ridley Scott decided to take on the project. [Variety]
• The new trailer for MGM’s R-rated sci-fi comedy "Hot Tub Time Machine" will be released online this Thursday, December 17th… [SlashFilm]
• …Meanwhile, a new trailer for Disney’s "Tron Legacy" may be attached to "Avatar" this Friday, December 18th. [Tron-sector via SlashFilm]
• Charges have been dropped against a 22-year-old Chicago woman accused of videotaping part of "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" at a locla movie theater.  The woman, Samantha Tumpach, could have faced as much as three years in jail (she was actually held in jail for a few days).  Director Chris Weitz recently defended Tumpach, arguing that the punishment was far too severe. [THR & THR, Esq.]
• Sigourney Weaver ("Avatar") says the last time she talked to director Ivan Reitman about the proposed "Ghostbusters 3", it appeared Bill Murray would be the only original Ghostbuster returning: "…the last time I talked to Ivan was a couple of months ago. It’s not meant at this point to be a reunion of our particular group of ‘Ghostbusters’ at this point, it’s a younger group. My only wish is that Oscar, my [on-screen] baby in ‘Ghostbusters II,’ has grown up to be a Ghostbuster, too." [LA Times’ Hero Complex Blog]
• "I Am Legend" director Francis Lawrence is reportedly consulting on reshoots for Warner Brothers’ adaptation of the DC Comics property "Jonah Hex". [Bloody Disgusting]
• "The Princess and the Frog" won the Box Office weekend with $24.2 million.  "The Twilight Saga New Moon" drew slightly less than 8.0 million in its second weekend (down 48%) bringing its domestic tally to $267.3 million ($628.1 million worldwide).  Meanwhile, "A Christmas Carol" continues to hold steady during the holiday season, grabbing another $6.8 million (-12%) and bringing its domestic cume to $124.4 million ($243.2 million worldwide).  Rounding out the top 10, "2012" added about $4.3 million in its sixth week to bring its total domestic cume to $155.3 million ($710.8 million). [Box Office Mojo]
• George Romero’s "Survival of the Dead" will be released on DVD in the U.K. on March 15, 2010, but the film hasn’t been given a U.S. release yet. [Dread Central]
• Abbie Cornish, co-star of Zack Snyder’s "Sucker Punch", reveals that the film will feature singing and dancing: "There’s been three months of training, all the martial arts and swords and guns, and on top of that we’re dancing and singing. I’ve absolutely loved it." [Movieline]
• Robert Downey, Jr. talked a little bit about the evolution of his character in Jon Favreau’s "Iron Man 2" in an interview with Rotten Tomatoes.
• Disney has optioned the rights to Lauren Kate’s young-adult novel "Fallen" which is about "an alienated girl torn between two charismatic young men, unaware that they are fallen angels who have battled over her for centuries." The first book was released last week and is the first in a planned four-book series, all of whicih were included in the Disney deal. [THR]
• Ray Stevenson, who will play Volstagg the Valiant in "Thor", says he’ll be wearing a fat suit to make him look bigger: "It’s fantastic. I’ve tried the suit on, and what they’ve done is kind of sex him up: he’s sort of slimmer but rounder".[Empire]
• "Dark Shadows" producer Graham King clarified remarks he made about the film begining production next October: "I said to someone last week in L.A., I said, "You know, I think, you know the script’s being rewritten – I know that the studios are hoping to move it next fall," suddenly it’s on the internet everywhere I said the movie’s going next October. Waiting for a script. I know Johnny wants to do it and Tim wants to do it and just has to get the script." [ShockTillYouDrop]
• Charlie Hunnam says his screenplay for the recently unveiled "Vlad" doesn’t delve into vampirism: "…we don’t touch on vampirism. That was my one non-negotiable area when we were developing it, and thankfully, nobody suggested that we should delve into it at the end. But you can clearly see the things that Bram Stoker took…. Vlad was such a brutal man, and the trick is to make him sympathetic." [EW]
• The supposed "Transformers 3" script which was recently discovered on the Internet is fake. [Shoot for the Edit]
• Disney’s Touchstone Pictures has announced a November 18, 2011 release date for DreamWorks’ first independent movie "Real Steel".  The Shawn Levy-directed futuristic robot boxing movie currently shares a date with "James Bond 23" and George Miller’s "Happy Feet 2". [ComingSoon.net]
• "Thor" writers Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz have been tapped to write a script for "Damn Nation", a futuristic vampire project being set up at Paramount based on the Dark Horse Entertainment comic by Andrew Cosby (and artist Jason Alexander). [THR’s Heat Vision Blog]

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