Friday 1 August 2008

Hyde Pierce: 'Grammer Is A Tough Old Coot'

From: IMDB.com

Kelsey Grammer is on the road to recovery after another health scare in New York at the weekend, according to his former Frasier co-star David Hyde Pierce.

Grammer was taken to a medical centre in the city on Sunday night, after feeling faint - just a month after he suffered a near-fatal heart attack.

His representative has revealed medics carried out tests and altered the medication he was on.

The 53-year-old actor was discharged on Tuesday, and Hyde Pierce - who played his onscreen brother in the long-running U.S. sitcom - has already been in touch.

He says, "He's doing great. He's out of the woods. He sounded great on the phone. He's a tough old coot."

Tuesday 29 July 2008

EXCLUSIVE: Hugh Jackman Talks New Mutants In ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’

From: MTV.com

When we chatted up Hugh Jackman the other day at Comic-Con he was clearly in good spirits. Walking off a stage where 6,000+ just went bananas for you will do that I guess. He said he was game for an “Avengers” cameo but the superpowered folk he really had something to say about were Deadpool and Gambit, two mutants making their big screen debuts in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” Jackman had a lot to say. Check it out below or read about it after the jump.



Jackman on Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool: “We were so thrilled to get Ryan. He’s the greatest guy. Incredibly funny. He plays Deadpool, the merc with a mouth. Not an easy guy to play. He’s always jabbering. He’s always going. Physically he’s in unbelievable shape and yet he’s also got that comedic ability. There are only a handful of actors that can do that.”

Jackman on Taylor Kitsch as Gambit: “I can say it. He’s sexy, right? He’s a little bit like a junior Wolverine in a way. He’s a little bit of a wise guy. He’s an outsider. He’s got some issues himself. He’s mischievous. He’s cheeky. He’s a bit of a badass. We have a really great fight sequence. Physically that guy is an animal. He was chucking himself around on the concrete. He has that passion that I remember having when I first did Wolverine. There was no way a stunt double was doing anything for him.”

Stan Lee's Wolverine Cameo Confirmed by Hugh Jackman

From: ComicBookMovie.com

Hugh Jackman learned of Lee's cameo from the X-Men creator himself while both were attending the San Diego Comic-Con...

Jackman, who returns to his iconic role as the mutant super-soldier, Wolverine in the X-Men films, was amongst the first to hear the news directly from Lee, and soon spilled the beans to the attending press.

Jackman and Lee, who have known each other since 2000 from the first X-Men movie, hooked up Thursday at the con after Jackman made an unscheduled surprise appearance. Jackman later proceeded to make an unscheduled surprise announcement when he accidentally told the the Associated Press about Lee’s cameo appearance. “Don’t tell anyone,” he joked. “It's always a big shock when people see him."

Jackman went on to praise Lee; "Around here this guy is like a god," he said. “People see this guy, they faint. Their whole livelihood and everything they're interested in came out of his mind."

Lee joked with Jackman, promising that he would try not to overshadow him in the movie.

Side note: The character of Wolverine is one of the few characters not created by Stan Lee. He was created by writer Len Wein and Marvel art director John Romita Sr., who designed the character, and was first drawn for publication by Herb Trimpe in a cameo appearance on the last page of Incredible Hulk #180 (October 1974) and his first "full" appearance in Incredible Hulk #181 (November 1974). X-Men writer Chris Claremont played a significant role in the character's subsequent development as well as artist/writer John Byrne, who insisted on making the character older than the other X-Men. Frank Miller also helped to revise the character in the early 1980s with the eponymous limited series in which Wolverine's catch phrase, "I'm the best there is at what I do, but what I do isn't very nice", was first written.

A mutant, Wolverine possesses animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, retracting bone claws, and a healing factor that allows him to recover from virtually any wound. This healing ability enabled the supersoldier program Weapon X to bond the near indestructible metal alloy adamantium to his skeletal system. He is also a master of hand-to-hand combat and martial arts.

20th Century Fox’s new X-Men film, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, is due for release in May 2009.

Weekly Ketchup

From: RottenTomatoes.com

COOL COMIC CON CLIPS: WATCHMEN AND WOLVERINE
There was plenty of footage screened at Comic Con this weekend, but after TR2N, the two movies that seem to have been received the most positively were and Watchmen. The Watchmen footage hasn't appeared online yet (sob), but the Wolverine trailer thing has, for as long as that lasts. Presuming it will get pulled eventually, here's my quick take: the story is set up as a sort of a "regenerating buddy flick" gone bad, as Wolverine and Sabretooth seem to start off on good terms, which then turn sour as they start trying to hack each other to bits. Wolverine has a wee bit of an advantage over Sabretooth's dirty-finger-looking claws. Oh, and we see some new mutant friends like the Blob (he looks a lot like Fat Bastard, unfortunately), Deadpool (played by Ryan Reynolds, without nasty scars, strangely) and Gambit, who I have to admit (as a Gambit hater), was surprisingly one of the cooler things in the trailer. Interpret that however!

BRYAN ("I WASN'T A COMIC BOOK FAN BEFORE I DIRECTED X-MEN") SINGER PICKS UP TWO MORE "COMIC BOOK" PROJECTS
This week, Bryan Singer (X-Men, Superman Returns) announced two separate comic book projects that he will produce, while we are still left waiting for firm news about when the next Superman movie will start filming. Well, Freedom Formula is "sort of" a comic book movie, in that it is another of those comic book titles from a company (see above, #2) that produces comic books pretty much just so they can then sell the rights to movie studios. Basically, the comic book is just a storyboard that they can also sell. Freedom Formula is described as being like Top Gun, but with mechs. Well, the Variety writer probably wasn't versed enough in nerd jargon to know that term, but that's what he meant. Basically, with both Transformers and Iron Man raking in cash, you're going to see more mech-type movies. Tobey Maguire is producing a Robotech movie, for example. The other Bryan Singer production announced this week is Capeshooting, a comedy about two guys who make their money shooting videos of superheroes in action who get in trouble when they discover one of them is actually a villain. Capeshooting is described as an upcoming comic book, but I can't find any evidence that it exists other than stories about this movie project. Again, this appears to be an example where the "comic book" is secondary to the movie based upon it. Meanwhile, there's about 70+ years worth of comic book stories that existed before Hollywood got hip to us, that struggle to get sold or produced as movies.

Rebecca Romijn-O'Connel Pregnant with Twins

From: Newsradio610.com.

The babies, which are due this winter, will be the first children for the couple.

U.S. actress Rebecca Romijn-O'Connell is pregnant with twins, a representative for her and her husband, actor Jerry O'Connell, has confirmed to People.com.

The babies, which are due this winter, will be the first children for the couple.

Romijn and O'Connell married last July after dating for about three years.

The model-turned-actress is best known for her roles in the "X-Men" movies and the TV series "Ugly Betty."

O'Connell's film credits include "Stand By Me," "Jerry Maguire" and "Kangaroo Jack." He has also starred in the TV shows "My Secret Identity," "Sliders," "Crossing Jordan" and "Carpoolers.'

Fox Opening Registration for X-Men: First Class?

From:

An interesting listing at Production Weekly caught our eye - "X-Men: First Class." Could 20th Century Fox be developing a movie based on the series written by Jeff Parker and pencilled by Roger Cruz? Or are they using the title of that comic for their proposed Young X-Men spin-off?

What makes it even more interesting is that X-MenFirstClass.com redirects to FoxMovies.com.

The "X-Men: First Class" was an eight-issue mini-series published from September of 2006 through April of 2007. As Special was also released in May of 2007 followed by a monthly series that started in 2007 with the same creative team. The comic is described as follows:

For millions of years, mankind's place on Earth was unchallenged – until five young people paved the way for a new kind of human. While students at the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Angel, Beast and Iceman taught the world what it meant to be X-Men. These are the hidden stories of the team that laid the foundation of a mutant dynasty!

We'll have to wait and see if official news on this hits.

Monday 28 July 2008

Leaked Wolverine Trailer

Here it is, somebody taped the screening at the San Diego Comic-con, so the quality isn't great. But you won't care about that once the trailer begins. ;)

The vid I originally posted was removed, but I found a new one. If you want to see the actual trailer, go about 1 minute into this vid and the real trailer can be found.

Sunday 27 July 2008

SDCC 2008: 'Wolverine vs The Hulk'

From: Cinematical.com
by Elisabeth Rappe

I meant to write this up last night, but you don't know how dead tired I was. I'm running on about one meal a day, which isn't hugely unusual for me, but when you're covering roughly 9 miles a day (that's the estimated distance of a few circles round the old convention center) and sprinted to a press roundtable, you need carbs. And I'm living on Starbucks.

Anyway, after the accidental sit-in of Race to Witch Mountain, I kicked back for Wolverine Vs. Hulk. It turned into one of the con moments you just kind of cherish -- and one I wish I could have shared last night, when it was fresher in my mind. I was sitting next to a really cool guy, who finally asked me "So, you're really just here to watch this because you want to?" I guess chicks are a rarity at this kind of screening. "Oh yes, I'm one of those people who buy all Wolverine's solo series!" "Well, cool!" (By the way, if you're reading this Hall H friend, hi!) I love when I get to share panels with cool people, when you can talk back and forth, laugh hysterically and groan aloud at the face pounding. It's what can make or break ComicCon for me.

'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' Poster!

First official poster form X-Men Origins: Wolverine, snapped at the San Diego Comic-Con.

'Wolverine' Hugh Jackman X-Men Coat Goes On Auction Block

From: Postchronicle.com

A leather jacket worn by Hugh Jackman in the X-MEN franchise is expected to fetch $20,000 (£10,000) when it is sold at auction.

The coat will go under the hammer alongside Jackman's Van Helsing costume at the latest Profiles in History auction, which will take place on 31 July and 1 August (08) in California.

The auction, touted as "the ultimate superhero costume and prop auction," will be held on July 31 and Aug. 1.

In addition to the "Star Wars" T.I.E. Fighter, other props include a full-scale animatronic male Velociraptor from "Jurassic Park III," a 'Winkie' spear from "The Wizard of Oz," a hero prop shotgun from "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," a 'Jack Skellington' filming miniature house from "The Nightmare Before Christmas."

Other items up for sale include Ben Affleck's suit from the 2003 movie Daredevil, Tobey Maguire's 'Spider-Man' and Kirsten Dunst's 'Mary Jane' costumes from "Spider-Man" and "Spider-Man 2," the Grail Cup from "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", and a miniature model of an original TIE fighter from Star Wars: A New Hope.

Profiles In History experts expect the "Star Wars" T.I.E. Fighter to attract the most attention, listed as likely to receive between $150,000 and $200,000, but possibly as much as $300,000 to $400,000. (c) tPC

Stan Lee to Make a Cameo in New "X-Men" Movie

From: HappyNews.com

The creator of ''X-Men'' bumped into Wolverine at Comic-Con.

After happy introductions between Stan Lee and Hugh Jackman, the actor announced that Lee would make a cameo in the upcoming 20th Century Fox movie ''X-Men Origins: Wolverine,'' due out next May.

''Don't tell anyone,'' Jackman joked about the accidental announcement. ''It's always a big shock when people see him.''

''I promise not to try and overshadow you,'' Lee said.

Jackman, who made an unannounced appearance Thursday at the convention to tout ''Wolverine,'' later said that he and Lee had met before, at the opening of the first ''X-Men'' movie in 2000.

''I don't know if he remembers,'' said Jackman, who went on to praise the 85-year-old comic-book king.

''Around here this guy is like a god,'' Jackman said. ''Around here, people see this guy, they faint. Their whole livelihood and everything they're interested in came out of his mind.''

One character Lee didn't create, Jackman added, was Wolverine.

But there is always room for more superheroes on screen, Lee said. The success of superhero flicks will continue to inspire new and better big-screen stories, he said.

''You could tell having seen 'Iron Man,' having seen 'Batman,' the writers and producers and directors now know how to treat these movies,'' he said. ''They're not just silly stories of people wearing capes hitting a bad guy. They have more dimension to them.''

'' ... It's like gangster movies,'' he said. ''There will never be an end to crime stories. There will never be an end, I think, to superhero stories. They'll just evolve, they'll be done in different ways and I think they'll keep getting better and better.''

Hugh Jackman interview with G4

G4’s Blair Butler interviews Hugh Jackman at the San Diego Comic-Con. Click here to view video.



Hugh Jackman & Stan Lee at the Comic-Con