By Kevin Coll • FusedFilm.com

A new year is approaching and that always means updates on big Hollywood projects, one such, is the Marvel live-action film, The First Avenger: Captain America.

In a story from Fangoria we are being told that Marvel Studios is aiming to start production on The First Avenger: Captain America this June according to director Joe Johnston (The Wolfman).

“Principal photography was now less than four weeks away. “By the time I got on a plane and arrived, it was three,” recalls Johnston, speaking from the art department of The First Avenger: Captain America, which he’s readying for a June start.”

Born during the Great Depression, Steve Rogers grew up a frail youth in a poor family. Horrified by the newsreel footage of the Nazis in Europe, Rogers was inspired to enlist in the army. However, because of his frailty and sickness, he was rejected. Overhearing the boy’s earnest plea, General Chester Phillips offered Rogers the opportunity to take part in a special experiment… Operation: Rebirth. After weeks of tests, Rogers was at last administered the ‘Super-Soldier Serum’ and bombarded by ‘vita-rays.’

Steve Rogers emerged from the treatment with a body as perfect as a body can be and still be human. Rogers was then put through an intensive physical and tactical training program. Three months later, he was given his first assignment as Captain America. Armed with his indestructible shield and battle savvy, Captain America has continued his war against evil both as a sentinel of liberty and leader of the Avengers. The First Avenger: Captain America is slated be released on July 22, 2011, no one has been cast in the role of Steve Rogers yet, though many names have been rumored such as Will Smith and Channing Tatum.

By Katey Rich: CinemaBlend.com

Even though we don’t yet know any of the names that will be part of the Green Lantern cast beyond Ryan Reynolds in the lead role, director Martin Campbell isn’t wasting any time getting the below-the-line talent assembled. Superhero Hype is reporting that many of the key crew members are already on board, and there’s no lack of Oscars among them. DP Dion Beebe won a statue for his work with Rob Marshall on Memoirs of a Geisha, while production designer Grant Major and costume designer Ngila Dickson were both winners for Return of the King.

Perhaps the most exciting crew member, though, is the one who hasn’t won an Oscar– Francois Audouy just finished doing concept art for Avatar, and was also the art director for Watchmen and the first Transformers, movies that may have their flaws but look great throughout.

Of course talented people working on the set don’t guarantee a good movie, but Campbell’s commitment to bringing in good people– and the studio’s commitment to paying for them– indicates an intended level of quality for The Green Lantern that’s promising. Once they start casting more people and we can actually see what they’re up to, we’ll know a lot more for sure.

by Josh Rottenberg – Popwatch

Universal has just released a red-band trailer for Repo Men, a sci-fi thriller starring Jude Law and Forest Whitaker slated for an April 2010 release. Despite the similar title, Repo Men is not a remake of the director Alex Cox’s 1984 nihilistic sci-fi punk cult classic Repo Man.

It’s premise, though — in a dystopian future, a sinister megacorporation dispenses new organs to needy patients at exorbitant prices, then sends out repo men to reclaim them when they default on their payments — does bear a certain resemblance to Repo! The Genetic Opera, the campy, gory 2008 rock-opera musical that earned Paris Hilton a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress and grossed (in more senses than one) a paltry $188,127. That, in itself, may not bode well.

But based on this trailer, Repo Men actually looks like it has potential to be pretty fun, in a gruesome, bloodsoaked way, with a darkly comic, satirical edge that harks back to movies like Robocop and Total Recall.

 

Plot outline
The story of an archer in the army of Richard Coeur de Lion who fights against the Norman invaders and becomes the legendary hero known as Robin Hood.

Release Date: May 14, 2010

Directed by
  Ridley Scott

Writers
  Screenplay
   Brian Helgeland
  Story
   Brian Helgeland and
   Ethan Reiff & Cyrus Voris

Producers
  Russell Crowe … producer
  Brian Grazer … producer
  Charles J.D. Schlissel … executive producer
  Ridley Scott … producer

Cast
  Russell Crowe … Robin Hood
  Mark Strong … Sir Godfrey
  Matthew Macfadyen … Sheriff of Nottingham
  Cate Blanchett … Maid Marian
  Kevin Durand … Little John
  Danny Huston … King Richard
  William Hurt … William Marshall
  Max von Sydow
  Scott Grimes … Will Scarlet
  Oscar Isaac … Prince John
  Léa Seydoux … Princess Isabella
  Eileen Atkins … Eleanor of Aquitaine
  Bronson Webb … Jimoen
  Robert Pugh … Baron Baldwin
  Alan Doyle … Allan A’Dayle

Aaron Eckhart in Battle: Los Angeles

From ComicBookMovie.com

Aarron Eckhart of The Dark Knight fame is set to play a hardened solider fighting alien forces in his next film Battle: Los Angeles.

The premise is pretty simple, aliens attack Los Angeles, the army fights back. These set-photos were released online not to long ago and from those pictures it looks to, at least have some good action.

Battle: Los Angeles stars Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan and Micheal Pena. It is directed by Jonathan Liebesman and is released in theatres February 18th, 2011.

Bus Explosion from the set of Battle: Los Angeles

Bridget Moynahan

Michelle Rodriguez

by Allan Ford – Filmofilia.com

A brand new poster for the upcoming vampire film “Daybreakers,” starring Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe and Sam Neill has appeared online.

“Daybreakers” synopsis: Edward Dalton is a researcher in the year 2017, in which an unknown plague has transformed the world’s population into vampires. As the human population nears extinction, vampires must capture and farm every remaining human, or find a blood substitute before time runs out. However, a covert group of vampires makes a remarkable discovery, one which has the power to save the human race.

“Daybreakers”, directed by Peter Spierig and Michael Spierig (Undead), will hit theaters on January 8th, 2010.

From ReelzChannel.com

Are Warner brothers and DC planning a Hawkman movie after Green Lantern? According to Pajiba, the winged hero is next in DC’s line of Justice League heroes to get his own movie. Apparently, Warners is describing the project as “part Indiana Jones, part Da Vinci Code, and part Ghost,” which is a confusing trio to use in describing another movie. Does this mean Hawkman will be deciphering ancient codes to find an archeological treasure while speaking though Whoopi Goldberg?

DC and Warners have long wanted to develop a Justice League movie, though they may be trying to launch individual movies first, like Marvel has done with their Avengers characters. Producer Dan Lin, who was at one point working on the Justice League movie, told Collider that a plan from DC will be announced early next year.

“[Justice League's] on-hold right now as DC sorts out its strategy but as you’ve talked to Allen Horn and Jeff Robinoff it seems like they’re building to Justice League instead of going with the team movie first and doing individual movies after that… they’re unveiling their DC strategy in January so you’ll hear more about that and they’ll speak about that in the new year.”

Lin says that the only other adaptation he is working on is a Suicide Squad adaptation, which he described as “Dirty Dozen set in the world of supervillains,” while he was unsure if a Wonder Woman movie will get made. Lin wasn’t asked about a possible Hawkman movie, though it was his opinion that DC and Warners wanted to follow Marvel’s example.

“I don’t know for sure, but as a fan it feels like that’s what they’re doing as I watch their movies being laid out.”

by Rick Marshall – MTV News

“Sherlock Holmes” producer Joel Silver has his hands full with films based on literary heroes these days, and as many comic book fans are aware, quite a few of those projects hail from the DC Comics universe.

Since his name is attached to many of the projects we’re most excited about these days, Silver offered MTV News a quick update on some of those projects during the “Sherlock Holmes” red carpet event last week. We pressed the comics-friendly producer for his thoughts on everything from “Swamp Thing” to “Lobo” and many of the other films drawing on DC’s massive stable of characters.

When asked about his previous comments regarding a 3-D “Swamp Thing” movie, Silver reiterated his belief that 3-D was the intended format for a film about DC’s famous swamp creature. Of course, given the character’s history as the subject of multiple live-action movies, a live-action television series and an animated series, a move to 3-D is pretty much the only format in which we haven’t seen man-turned-monster Alec Holland.

“Yeah, if we pull it together and if the script works, that’s our intention,” said Silver of going the 3-D route.

The producer also indicated that Guy Ritchie’s departure from the “Sgt. Rock” movie hasn’t impeded plans to bring DC’s war hero to theaters. While he wouldn’t comment on rumors that the “Sgt. Rock” movie would be set in the future rather than its World War II roots, he did sound positive about progress on the film thus far.

“We’re working on ['Sgt. Rock'] now,” he said. “There’s a real possibility on that. There’s a good shot on that one.”

Conversely, Silver didn’t seem to be holding his breath for a “Wonder Woman” movie to go into production any time soon, despite Warner Brothers’ reorganization and renewed focus on DC characters under the DC Entertainment banner.

“I’m not really doing anything with ['Wonder Woman'] at the moment,” he said. “Once the studio knows what they want to do, and makes a decision, they’ll probably let us know.”

However, with “The Losers” on its way to theaters in April 2010, Silver said he expects “Lobo” to the next comic book movie he concentrates on. The film, which follows DC’s ultraviolent cosmic bounty hunter, was originally rumored to have “Sherlock Holmes” director Guy Ritchie behind the camera, but Ritchie cast some doubts on his involvement during a recent MTV News interview.

“I want to try and make ‘Lobo’ very soon,” Silver responded when asked which comic book project was next on his plate after “The Losers.”