Sci-Fi Movies Wednesday: Batman, Ghostbusters III, Riddick, Terminator, Foundation, Avatar + more

In this week’s Sci-Fi Movies there are new rumors on the next Batman film, plus news on James Cameron writing an Avatar prequel novel and the announcement of a third Riddick. Also, there’s a report on Terminator 1 & 2 co-writer William Wisher’s take on the franchise. Plus updates on the Escape From New York remake and Ghostbusters III. All that and more, including the latest box office numbers, casting bites, images and videos.

 

GENRE MOVIE NEWS

James Cameron Writing Avatar prequel novel + helping with 3D Spidey
"Avatar"
producer Jon Landau told MTV that rather than releasing a novelization of the film, director James Cameron is going to write a prequel which he hopes will be released by the end of this year: "Jim wants to write a novel that is a big, epic story that fills in a lot of things," Landau said.  Landau explained that the prequel will "give a foundation for the [Avatar] world.":

"It would be something that would lead up to telling the story of the movie, but it would go into much more depth about all the stories that we didn’t have time to deal with — like the schoolhouse and Sigourney [Weaver’s character] teaching at the schoolhouse; Jake on Earth and his backstory and how he came here; [the death of] Tommy, Jake’s brother; and Colonel Quaritch, how he ended up there and all that," Landau explained.

In other news, Landau revealed that he and Cameron recently met with director Marc Webb to discuss "Spider-Man", which Sony is releasing in 3D:

“[Webb] wants to do the next one in 3-D, which they’ve announced that they want to do. So, we want to try to support that as much as possible.”

Batman 3 Rumors
Last week we reported on the news that Christopher Nolan and Warner Brothers are pushing forward with a third Batman film — with reports that Nolan has crafted a story and that his brother Jonah and David Goyer are currently writing the screenplay — and now there are some fresh rumors.  Comic Book Movie has received word from a source about a "plot outliner" for the film revealing some basic information (characters, setting, theme, etc.).  They stress these are all rumors and have not been able to confirm with a second source, however, here are the details they present:

  • The Riddler is the primary villain and he figures out Batman’s identity.
  • Arkham Asylum will figure prominently in the story.
  • Several classic villains will cameo, including the Penguin and Mr. Freeze (though as Dr. Fries, not as the super-villain).
  • Barbara Gordon will have a featured role.
  • Commissioner Gordon will mention Metropolis and possibly Lex Luthor.
  • Dick Grayson may be in the movie (though probably not as Robin).

Roland Emmerich will make Asimov’s Foundation with 3D motion-capture
Roland Emmerich plans to use 3D motion-capture for his adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s sci-fi trilogy series "Foundation".

“It has to be done all CG because I would not know how to shoot this thing in real,” Emmerich said, adding “Probably now all big movies have to be 3-D,” he said. “It’s not only the effect of 3-D, [‘Avatar’ has] just shown that if you do a movie in 3-D, you can ask for more money and that’s the trick.

At the time of the interview with MTV, Emmerich also revealed that Robert Rodat’s ("Saving Private Ryan") first draft of the script was expected to be turned in soon.

Terminator 1 & 2 co-writer has take on Terminator franchise
"Terminator" and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" co-writer William Wisher has written a 24-page treatment for a fifth "Terminator" film and a 6-page outline for a sixth that "accepts the storylines from Jonathan Mostow’s Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and McG’s Terminator: Salvation." Mike Fleming of Deadline Hollywood — who has read both the treatment and the outline — notes that Wisher "turns the story back to the core characters and time travel storyline of the first two films that [he] crafted with Cameron."  Here are the details:

  • Wisher’s two-picture construct takes place in a post-apocalyptic battleground and includes time travel that would allow for Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese to share more screen time than they did in Terminator.
  • Wisher has created a role for Arnold Schwarzenegger as John Connor’s bodyguard. Schwarzenegger wouldn’t have to appear until the second film.
  • New villains including "Night Crawlers", described as 4 1/2-foot border sentries/mines armed with 10 MM pistols.  Also includes new shape-shifting cyborgs that can morph together like Transformers.
  • Wisher’s two-feature idea allows for a "satisfying conclusion" to what would be a 6-film franchise "to preserve a future that allows mankind to prevail over the machines".

Vin Diesel returning for third Riddick
Vin Diesel is returning to star in "Riddick", a third entry in the sci-fi series that began with 2000’s "Pitch Black" and was followed up in 2004 with "The Chronicles of Riddick":

Plot details are being kept under wraps. But insiders say the third outing will hew closer in tone to the cult hit "Pitch Black" and will focus on the character of Riddick as opposed to the universe he inhabits, which was the case with the critically panned "Chronicles of Riddick."

David Twohy — who wrote and directed the first two films — will return to direct "Riddick" from a script he wrote. Universal will handle U.S. distribution rights and Lionsgate is selling international rights.

Escape from New York writer sees franchise potential
Allan Loeb, writer of the released announced "Escape From New York" remake told MTV that he hopes the project is successful enough to launch a new franchise:

"I see it as a big movie," he said in reference to the scale of the remake in comparison to the original. "I see it as possibly, hopefully the beginning of a franchise." As any super-fan knows, this won’t be the first attempt to continue the story of Snake Plissken.

"I know [New Line] tried with ‘Escape from L.A.’ a few years back and it didn’t work out but [it’s] try, try again [in] Hollywood. I definitely think of it as a big movie. I think New Line agrees [on] the possibility of a franchise, and bringing back Snake Plissken is very exciting."

Loeb also said he hopes that the original Snake Plissken Kurt Russell could return for a cameo:

"The only reason I would think [he wouldn’t be involved] is if Kurt didn’t want to do it," Loeb said. "I’d be the first to jump on my computer and find the cameo for you. If [New Line] asked me to, it would be a lot of fun."

Ivan Reitman address Bill Murray in Ghostbusters III rumors
Ivan Reitman seems to confirm Bill Murray’s hopes for his character Peter Venkman’s return [SPOILER — highlight to view] as a ghost in "Ghostbusters III":

"We’re well aware of his interest," Reitman told SCI FI Wire with a chuckle when asked whether Murray’s Venkman will be going ectoplasmic. "I’ve had some wonderful conversations with him—and that’s all I’ll say.

However, Reitman noted that the inclusion of Murray — along with the return of any of the original stars including Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Sigourney Weaver — is still very much in the early stages: "We’ll see. It’s still not a reality. There are no deals. There’s no real finished script."

Report: Breaking Dawn will be split into two movies
Summit Entertainment hasn’t confirmed it yet, but Deadline Hollywood’s Nikki Finke reports that the studio will film back-to-back movies for the final part of Stephanie Meyer’s "Twilight" book series, "Eclipse" beginning this October. Finke, who calls her report "definitive", also noted that Summit is looking at "high-end" directors for the two-part film.  Responding to the report, Summit Entertainment held firm to their "no decision has been made" line, adding "we are continuing to work with Stephenie Meyer to bring ‘Breaking Dawn’ to the big screen."  Screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg — who has written all the "Twilight" films thus far — is currently adapting "Breaking Dawn".

Weekend Box Office: Percy Jackson & Wolfman Finish 2nd and 3rd
The Presidents’ Day weekend box office may have been dominated by "Valentine’s Day" ($63.1M), but both "Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief" ($38.7M) and "The Wolfman" ($35.6M) had respectable debuts.  However, it should be noted that ‘Percy Jackson’ is in the more favorable position given its more reasonable budget ($95 million vs. the bloated $150 million budget of "The Wolfman").  Meanwhile, "Avatar" had yet another incredible weekend, grossing $28.8 million over the 4-day frame and pushing its domestic cume to $666.4 million well on pace for more than $700 million.  Although it wasn’t first domestically, "Avatar" held off "Valentine’s Day" overseas and is now at $2.37 billion worldwide.

NEW IMAGES

The Crazies

Promotional stills [more at /Film and Shock Till You Drop]

U.K. quad poster [ShockTillYouDrop]

Defendor

Promotional stills [more at IGN]

Kick-Ass

Hit Girl U.K. poster [Empire Online + more character posters at IGN]

Repo Men

Promotional stills [one more at mirror.co.uk]

Tekken

Promotional stills [more at ComingSoon.net]

Toy Story 3

Lots-O’-Huggin’ Bear character poster [Disney Facebook Page]

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Robert Pattinson (Edward) & Kristen Stewart (Bella) [more at Celebrity-Mania]


NEW VIDEOS

Clash of the Titans

Featurette: "Meet the Characters" [Trailer Addict]

The Crazies

New clip: "Where’s Dads film clip" [YouTube]

Despicable Me

International trailer [YouTube via CinemaBlend]

Defendor

Official movie trailer [Trailer Addict]

Gentlemen Broncos

Clip from Blu-ray/DVD [ComingSoon.net]

Shutter Island

Featurette [ComingSoon.net]

Toy Story 3

Second movie trailer [Trailer Addict]

International movie trailer [YouTube via Upcoming Pixar]

The Wolfman

Sample of Paul Haslinger’s rejected score [YouTube via CHUD]

MOVIE BITES

  • Chase Palmer has been hired to write the script for director Pierre Morel’s "Dune".  Palmer will work in Morel’s ideas into original writer Josh Zetumer’s screenplay. [THR]
  • Disney has launched a new viral website for "Tron Legacy" that features a clock counting down to Wednesday, February 24th at 8:00 a.m. PT. It’s assumed that the clock is counting down to the release of a new trailer. [FlynnLives.com/ZeroHour]
  • Producer Joel Silver’s Dark Castle label is in the final stages of closing a distribution deal with Warner Brothers for the sci-fi thriller "Splice". The deal would give the film a wide summer release (3,000 screens) and a prints & advertising commitment in the neighborhood of $25-40 million. [Deadline]
  • After pushing "The Losers" out of April 9th and into June, Warner Brothers has moved the graphic novel adaptation back into April (April 23rd). [Box Office Mojo]
  • Film and TV-maker David S. Goyer is expanding into books.  The ‘Dark Knight’ scribe is working with author / TV writer Michael Cassutt on a three-book publishing deal for the sci-fi adventure trilogy, "Heaven’s Shadow", "Heaven’s War" and "Heaven’s Fall".  The trilogy is based on an object heading to Earth that threatens to destroy all of mankind. [Variety]
  • Syfy is teaming with producer/director Roger Corman ("The Little Shop of Horrors", "Death Race 2000") for the Syfy original movie "Sharktopus". [@SyfyMovies]
  • U.K. cinema chains may boycott Tim Burton’s "Alice in Wonderland".  The issue stems from Disney’s release window for the film.  Disney is looking to cut the gap between the film and DVD/Blu-ray release to just 12 weeks, down from the standard 17 weeks. If neither side backs down, ‘Alice’ won’t be screened in 95% of the UK’s 3D screens. [Guardian.co.uk]
  • Joseph Gatt plays a villain in Kenneth Branagh’s "Thor" and says even with a few changes, the film aligns closely with the comics: "As with most movies based on comic books, changes are necessary to make the transition smooth and also for the benefit of those theater goers who aren’t familiar with the comic books. The producers are on set the whole time watching every shot and making sure the Marvel look isn’t lost." [Comic Book Movies]
  • Topher Grace doesn’t think a "Venom" spin-off is likely, at least not with him in the leading role: "Well," he grinned, "I died in the movie." Once you die [it’s] hard to go ‘No, I’m not [dead]’." [MTV Splash Page]
  • Lionsgate has pulled the Nicolas Cage-starrer "Season of the Witch" from its March 19, 2010 release date.  The studio hasn’t announced a new date yet. [ShockTillYouDrop]
  • Disney has renamed "Rapunzel" to "Tangled". [Walt Disney Studios Animation]
  • Lionsgate has picked up the U.S. distribution rights to "The Last Exorcism", Eli Roth’s horror film originally titled "Cotton". The deal reportedly includes a high-six-figure advance and a $16 million prints & advertising commitment. [Variety]
  • "The First Avenger: Captain America" director Joe Johnston unsurprisingly confirmed that the film will be PG-13 "like all those Marvel movies." [About.com]
  • Christoph Waltz dropped a BIG spoiler about his character Chudnofsky in "The Green Hornet" [SPOILER — highlight to view]: "[Seth Rogen’s Green Hornet and Chudnofsky] do sort it out through the course of the movie, but unfortunately it happens fatally for one of them and it wasn’t Seth." [Superhero Hype!]

CASTING BITES

  • Sean Bean and Ving Rhames have been added to the cast of "Death Race: Frankenstein Lives".  Bean will co-star as Luke Goss’s hold mob boss, with Rhames playing the man responsible for giving the greenlight to the Death Race, a character described as a "Rupert Murdoch" type. [Shock Till You Drop]
  • Tyrese has confirmed that he’s returning for Michael Bay’s "Transformers 3". [Tyrese Gibson]
  • Hollywood is still contemplating a new "Masters of the Universe" film and Dolph Lundgren — who played He-Man in the original — says he’s open to making a cameo if the film gets made: "Yeah, why not. Why not. [Laughs] Even if I had to put the suit back on, I’d do it." [io9]
  • Alicia Silverstone will star with Krysten Ritter in a new romantic comedy called "Vamps" about two young female vampires living in New York city. Amy Heckerling ("Fast Times At Ridgemont High", "Clueless") will direct. [The Playlist]


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

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first! sounds like T5 and B3 are gonna happen after all…

Mmmmmmm….Tekken. Hot ninja karate babes.

Foundation?!?!? NO WAY!!!! That’s awesome, but it has to be done right!

If T5 is including continuity from T3 & T4, it’s pretty much guaranteed to suck. They should hand the story over to Josh Friedman so he can finish TSCC’s storyline, which was better than both movies put together. .

Oh and am I the only one who would find a reference to Superman in Nolan’s Batman series a bit incongruous with the ‘real’ world he’s created? That would seem so weirdly out of place.

Re: Foundation – “It has to be done all CG because I would not know how to shoot this thing in real,” Emmerich said, adding “Probably now all big movies have to be 3-D,” he said.

There are so many things in this sentence that make me want to weep.

all the rumors for B3 sound like they came from Batman Forever and batman & Robin!

well, Foundation would require mostly CG, I mean all those cities and things, and in 3d, it’d be cool

I am wondering how they are going to make Foundation, essentially a set of stories where most of the action is offstage, into a 3D CG-fest.

I suppose this will go the way of “I Robot.” I actually liked the film, but it was nothing like the series of short stories that Asimov wrote. Harlan Ellison took a stab at it, but that was not the version filmed.

I guess I won’t be surprised when Hari Seldon becomes a super spy with Kung Fu grip who prefers his drinks “shaken, not stirred.” sigh…

Well, I still have my books….

RE: sounds like t5 and b3 are going to happen

was there any doubt? If WB didnt produce a sequel to a billion dollar movie, i think the shareholders would not be happy.

And this investment company just paid big money for the terminator rights, they want to make that back. They dont own any of the library, they paid SOLELY for the license to make future films.

I am very much looking forward to the next batman. Not too sure on the Terminator. I think it might be worth rebooting that franchise. As Terminator is all about time travel, they can take a page from ST09 and to a an ‘in canon reboot’ by doing a remake, but have it somehow tied to the continuity of the others. Although they have to figure a way to bring sarah connor into modern times (instead of setting it in the 80s)

To the Escape from NY re-booter,

Kurt Russell shouldn’t cameo, stupid, he should star.

Thank you.

They can do what they want with Ghostbusters 3, but I am furious. I hate the idea of the movie killing off Peter Venkman. That’s a deal killer as far as my aspirations for buying a movie ticket, would go.

Twilight is REALLY starting to irk me. Summit is trying to make this crap franchise into something reminiscent of Harry Potter which is stupid because that will NEVER happen. HP has had amazing directors from the get go and now Summit is trying to make up for their past of settling for second rate actors and tiny budgets. And since HP7 is being made into two movies (thank God) they decide that Twilight should too! They even took the HP6 spot when they moved the date for a better date! All they can hope for is more of HP’s sloppy seconds (hello Rob Pattinson).

Okay Im done :)

Great news for the Terminator Franchise. Just please get rid of McG !

Regarding the batman rumors…. its soo untrue. Lex Luthor mention in the film ? Chris Nolan would never allow it.

#14 – He’d allow it if the rumors are true about Nolan “mentoring” the new Superman reboot

Honestly though, if there isn’t even a finished script, isn’t it a little early to talk about easter egg lines and nods/winks to the audience?

Shutter Island is out.

#4 – I whole-heartedly agree!!

Roland Emmerich doing Foundation is possibly the worst SF related news I have ever heard. This is worse than David Lynch doing DUNE.

@ 15

I think Nolan explicitly said that he never wanted to mix both universes together, regardless of ‘mentoring’ the superman movie. Anyways, begins and dark knight were routed HEAVILY in reality. The Superman franchise is completely fantasy’ish.

Its pure fanboy rumors. Never gonna happen. (I hope it doesn’t happen, because i don;t want superman universe invading my batman universe :P)

Yeah, I’m real sure that the vague plot outline for Batman 3 contains a part where it just says “and then a guy says something about superman lol”.

Gotta love those hit whoring batman sequel stories with no basis in reality.

As one who hasn’t been wild about the new Batman movies I hope that if the ?Riddler is the latest villain they do some homage to Frank Gorshin. After all he took a bargain bin, throw away villain and fleshed him out into a major one. Gorshin was always my favorite Batman villain.

And why does Nolan have to do Superman? Sigh. I miss the days when my superheroes were fun.

#7 “all the rumors for B3 sound like they came from Batman Forever and batman & Robin!”

All except Lex Luthor and the Penguin.

But I’m pretty sure Chris Nolan won’t follow Joel Schumacher’s “Cirque de Solei” route in regards to the 3rd Batman flick. If the rumors of the Riddler and Arkham Asylum end up being true, that would make a sweet movie. The Riddler would be nothing like Jim Carrey’s version. It would probably be more along the lines of what we saw in the video game “Arkham Asylum” or the animated series. And I don’t expect to see any oversized silver jockstraps, nipples, ass and crotch shots, seizure-inducing neonized environments, or ridiculous scenes such as the Batmobile driving up the side of a building. That scene always “drove” me up the wall :-)

As for the “Terminator” franchise, I don’t know where they can go with it now. I did enjoy all the movies, but I think a sabbatical might do everyone some good.

And finally, I hope they don’t remake “Escape From New York”. That one is a classic. Apart from the superb performance of Kurt Russell, the World Trade Center was an important part of the movie. I don’t know how they think they can redo the movie in New York without the audience thinking to themselves “What happened to the Twin Towers in this version?”. Its unlikely the “inmates” destroyed them. Plus, they played a fairly large role in the original. Such as Snake having to land the plane on the roof of one of the towers because it was the only way to get into Manhattan.

@5
I’m sure you’re not referring to the realism behind the injuries that Two-Face had… Right?

Because that would just be silly…

You know, I hate hearing about new Terminator ideas that sound EXACTLY like old ideas. The Arnold protecting John Connor thing was original and amazing when done the first time, in the SECOND film, it’s formulaic and boring now. These writers don’t seem to realize that you don’t NEED a shape-shifting robot and you don’t need a protector robot. Focus on the people for goodness sake like the first film. It’s trite and dull, otherwise I would be excited for it.

#23 The injuries suffered by “Two-Face” in “The Dark Knight” looked pretty convincing to me. On the other hand, Two-Face’s scars in “Batman Forever” looked like a poorly designed prosthetic designed by pre-schoolers using Play-Do and facepaint.

Guys …. DROP TERMINATOR. Nothing after the second film has been even halfway decent. And it really hurts me to say that because I had such a boner for the Terminatrix in the 3rd film.

Also; why the Tekken movie? They already made it, except it had Liam Neeson and there was some plot about him rescuing his daughter.

yah if anyone can make an intelligent epic story into an inferior efx filled yet still inferior big yet vapid n empty blockbuster emmerich could do it- i actually liked lynches dune a lot–so by comparison-lynch is genius!

yah if anyone can make an intelligent epic story into an inferior efx filled yet still inferior big yet vapid n empty blockbuster emmerich could do it- i actually liked lynches dune a lot–so by comparison-lynch is genius!

Tekken movie? Blagh! Doesn’t anyone remember how the “Street Fighter” movie went down? No, of course not! This is Hollywood we’re talking about, folks.

When I first heard that Cameron was writing an ‘Avatar’ novel, I thought it was an adaptation of the film… which would essentially be an adaptation of ‘FernGully.’ Now I see it’ll actually be a prequel to ‘FernGully.’ That’s good, I always wanted to read about the fairies’ first battle with Hexxus.

I always figured The Riddler would feature in the next Bat movie. I think everyone did. Not that those “plot details” will turn out to be true, of course. If The Penguin is in the movie, I hope Bob Hoskins gets the part. That would be awesome!

I feel sorry for anyone who is a fan of Asimov’s Foundation series. They’re getting the Roland Emmerich treatment, which means they’re about to get f’ed up. Granted, it’s not as bad as Michael Bay doing it, but it’s not much better.

We don’t need any more Terminators or an Escape to LA remake, thanks. You’re going to make it anyway, I know, but they’re about as necessary as a fourth Matrix movie (though that is neither needed nor wanted by the vast majority of the population). And another Riddick? Didn’t the second one bomb?

I hope they get Ghostbusters III right. Not sure I’m crazy about Murray’s character being killed off and ghosted, but I guess it is kind of fitting.

Ok, so now we’re getting five ‘Twilight’ movies instead of the zero we should have gotten. Sitting through the first ‘Twilight’ was an ordeal, to say the least, and I agree with the majority who say it is one of the worst movies of the last decade. Everybody’s saying ‘New Moon’ is just as bad; I will have to take their word for it, because I sure as hell don’t plan on finding out. Sorry, but I prefer movies with decent storytelling, exciting characters, and good acting and direction. If I want to see something in which absolutely nothing happens, I’ll go see a production of ‘Waiting for Godot,’ which is at least well-written and (hopefully) well-performed.

And please don’t tell me, “You’re a guy, you’re not the target audience.” I know that it’s meant for women (and only women); that doesn’t mean they have to create a crappy product that patronizes its target audience. Why not make something that is intelligent and well-crafted? Are they afraid the teeny-boppers that makes up 70% of its audience won’t take to it? Hmm… they might be right.

An addendum to #31: For the record, I have many female friends, and most of them don’t give one lick about ‘Twilight,’ and many of them even hate it. (One likes the books and though the first movie was decent, but hated the second one.) And yes, the vast majority of the audience are tweens and teenagers, most of whom are so young and naive they don’t yet know what good cinema really is. Or they just don’t care. Not trying to be insulting, it’s just the truth.

Having said all the above … job well done, Rosario, as always. :)

Hmm… that “tweens and teenagers” comment might strike a nerve. Oh, well, sorry in advance. Don’t mean it’s not true :-P

Terminator after Terminator 2 has been disappointing for me. T3 was fun but weak, lost interest in TSCC and Salvation was the final nail in the coffin for me.

The first two will remain cinema classics for me but without James Cameron it has lost something.

Can’t believe a Disney DVD dispute is thretening to prevent Alice in Wonderland from being released in the UK. I am looking forward to seeing it.

Sooner the Twilight craze dies down, the better.

May the Great Bird of the Galaxy bless you….

On June 8 of 2003, I published in one of my blogs a piece about the then-current sequel to Terminator 2, and I thought I would republish it here, given the interest in the Terminator franchise.

LATE NIGHT THOUGHTS ON VIEWING TERMINATOR 2

(With apologies to Lewis Lapham.)

Years ago, as the rain poured, as the sky thundered with the wrath of a thousand gods, I waited for a taxicab. An atypical day in Los Angeles. A day of Eastern weather. The kind the Establishment snobs take pride in — out of desperation, if nothing else.

A cab pulled up. Valley Cab, I think it was.

“Where to?”, the driver asked. “Nowhere special. Just out of this rain,” I kidded. But actually, I wanted to go home.

The ride took, how long? Can’t remember. Couldn’t be more than a half hour, 45 minutes, maybe. The conversation turned, as it often does, to Hollywood.

“Ever seen Terminator 2?” he asked.

“Yeah, great flick.”

“Well, guess what? I was involved in that movie!”

“Huh,” I said. “Yes, part of the special effects crew. You remember the scene where Sarah saw the nuclear blast? You know — in her dream sequence?”

“Sure. Who could forget it?”

“I was part of that. Setting up the scene, I mean.”

“Really.”

“Really.”

So the newest sequel is coming out, and the theme of it is, as usual, universal armageddon — or at least, armageddon of the global variety. The rise of the machines.

And as I listen to the theme from Terminator 2, I wonder: In a thousand years, will any of this really, really matter?

Strangely enough, I did not read the post 34 before posting 35.

@27- LOL

The Foundation trilogy, I’ve been wanting to see that on the big screeen for years now but as Darkwing said, it has to be done right. Problem is Emmerich hasn’t EVER made a great film. His films tend to have great first and second acts and third act fails. Asimov’s classic deserves better.IMO

10

Anthony

Didn’t thewy take a leaf from Star Trek XI with The Sarah Connor Chronicles. I saw that as an in canon reboot.

I altered from before the events of T£ yet the movies continue with the same universe.

Is this not siilar to the two universe of Trek now?

Do you think 3D is going to become too dominant?

I don’t mind 3D but not sure if I want every big budget film to be 3D.

My hope is that if B3 (Batman 3) does happen, they at least bring in a female character that’s not only crucial to the plot but also not prone to being a helpless hostage and a “Women in Refrigerators”. By the end of The Dark Knight, there are no more female characters left in the Nolan Batman universe that stick out and that sucks.

Imo, 3D is good as long as it serves a good story. Strip Avatar from 3D effects and you have a lame, dull, unoriginal movie.

40

To me it would make sense to bring Selina Kyle into the next batman movie

#37..so I guess you thought Independence Day and the original Stargate film were steaming piles of you-know-what, then. -_-

#40…the answer to your hope: Make the Riddler’s partner HARLEY QUINN:D

#41–strip away Avatar’s 3-D effects and you have and give or take a couple story elements you have Star Trek: Insurrection combined with the Voyager 2-parter Unimatrix Zero

Re: Foundation.

I will hope that Emmerich might actually get a great script that he can actually make into an even greater movie but…

As was noted, Foundation is really a series of stories covering a huge period of time–more of a space opera set in a common universe.

I don’t expect a movie version to be able to closely follow the stories but it might have to merely pick up the theme (psychohistorians manipulating society to avoid a major fall of rome scenario). I suppose they could do a what Asimov eventually did when he tied his robot stories together with his foundation series by having a major character being a robot that would link the historical periods together.

Lots of potential here if…if it is done correctly and no one seriously expects it to be the books actually turned into movies but rather a “faithful” adaptation of the major themes and ideas developed in the series (a good recent example might be “Flashforward” on TV–it is the same concepts as in the novel but the details are changed to fit the serialized vehicle of TV). In fact, it might actually make a better TV series than a movie(s) since it was originally serialized in the pulps.

All that being said–I hope for a good movie but will not be surprised if it fails to truly capture the spirit of “Foundation”. However, maybe it might inspire someone to explore the TV series version! Otherwise, as noted earlier on the posts, there are the books–and if you haven’t read them yet then do so NOW!!

41

Without 3D you will still have the wonderful visuals

46

Unfortunatley FlashForward has all but evaporate for me in terms of interest.

Do you think Sleina Kyle should be in the next Batman movie?

I think it makes sense since Rachel Dawes is out I think its time to bring Selina in for his love interest.

@7
my thinking exactly. :(

There goes the franchise