iron man

Last month, we heard the news that Angelina Jolie was looking to star in Gravity, a science fiction film to be directed by Alfonso Cuaron. Only a few days later, it was revealed that Jolie had passed on the project so she can adopt more third world children, leaving the film star-less and possibly in trouble.

Well...Iron Man to the rescue!

Deadline is reporting that Robert Downey Jr. is in talks to headline this nifty-sounding movie, which will, of course, by in "Eye-Popping, Mind-Belting, Ball-Busting 3D!" Before you think they're pulling a reverse Flightplan and rewriting the role that was offered to Jolie, hear this:

"[Downey] will play the leader of a team posted at a remote space station. While he and a female colleague are traveling outside the space station, the other team members are decimated by debris from an exploded satellite."

Interesting. The previous reports had suggested that this movie was a real one-woman show, think Moon with a sexy star instead of a disheveled Sam Rockwell, so it's interesting to know that while "much of the film is devoted to her struggle to get back to Earth and her daughter," there will be a male counterpart and/or foil to bounce off. In my previous report on this project, I commented that Jolie needed to get back into the A-Game and find roles that justify her fame and popularity. I honestly think an intimate but exciting 3D science fiction adventure opposite the genuinely beloved Robert Downey Jr. would have been the way to go.

Nothing makes the internet go insane quite like superhero casting news. The sheer number of rumors and hearsay and surefire scoops is maddening. Message boards turn into war zones. Civility goes out the window. If the internet had existed in the 1980s, the news of Michael Keaton being cast as Batman would have caused the entire system to explode. Literally. As in we'd all be sitting in front of burnt out, smoking computer husks.

We've seen rough times, but I don't think we've seen anything quite like the clusterf*ck that's been the Captain America casting. Who's still in the running? Who was actually considered? Who is actually going to play Captain America? Questions, questions.

Answers? Maybe.

A few weeks ago, Cinematical got its hands on some inside info all but confirming that John Krasinski was ready to slip into Cap's costume. Today, FOX411 acted like they were the first ones to hear this and reported the exact same thing. Old information being regurgitated? Or a confirmation of the previous report's accuracy? Time for that 'ol copy and paste:

"John has read 4 times and is doing screen tests...He has screen tested 2 times so far. It's very likely that he will be the new Captain America. He is a favorite among the key decision makers and has been asked to come back for more this week...The big bosses are having him read with multiple actresses up for the female leads. They want to lock down the role and then they will narrow down everyone else."

The Academy Awards just happened. I should be writing about who won, why they won and what can be expected from the winners and losers in the near future. But no. I'm here to tell you that the new trailer for Iron Man 2 has hit Apple Trailers and it's about sixty seven times more amazing than a golden statue of a naked man given out at at Hollywood's annual We're-So-Awesome-Have-A-Self-Congratulatory-Back-Rub-We-Love-You-Athon (with apologies to the excellent The Hurt Locker, congrats to Bigelow and company).

I don't like to be the typical online fanboy who sweats hyperbole and cries tears of hype, but this trailer compelled me to watch it three times. In a row. And when I'm done telling you about it, I'm going to go watch it again. Three times. In a row. So go watch it now, preferably three times in a row, and report on back.

What stands out to little 'ol me:

-Director Jon Favreau has apparently taken some criticism to heart and it looks like the action in Iron Man 2 has been increased ten-fold. We see a lot of flight, a lot of fire, a lot of explosions and a lot of energy-whip-on-racecar destruction. This trailer also shows that this Tony Stark adventure will have 100% more scenes showcasing Iron Man punching robot drones. This is a good thing. A great thing, even.

Another day, another Iron Man 2 tidbit. Another day, another key aspect of a major film revealed/spoiled by toy companies! This time it's Tony Stark's Mark VI suit, which we can safely assume is faster, stronger and more intense than the suit we saw in the first film. We can also safely assume that this new suit exists so youngsters will be compelled to lay down their meager allowances so they can have everything Iron Man. And by youngsters, I mean grown adults who collect toys.

But I'm not here to judge! Let's talk about this new suit, shall we?

The most obvious update is the triangular chest piece while everything else is a little more subtle. To my untrained eyes, it seems a little more streamlined and a little less bulky, but other than that, it's friggin' Iron Man. Any Tony Stark aficionados out there want to let me know what else is new here?

Iron Man 2 (or Iron 2 Man, as the trailers insist) is only a few months away. In terms of sheer summer fun, it's feeling like the movie to beat. Head on over to Marvel's official site to check out a nice big version of the armor.

Sam Rockwell may not have gotten a fancy teaser poster for his character like Mickey Rourke did, but he's still a major bad guy in Marvel's upcoming Iron Man 2. He plays unscrupulous industrialist Justin Hammer -- sort of the anti-Tony Stark -- and the details of his involvement with the film's plot have been scarce.

Apparently, he creates an army of Iron Man-like drones to battle the hero and his new sidekick War Machine. It's not exactly a spoiler -- you can see Iron Man and War Machine fighting back-to-back against hordes of something in the trailer. Those somethings are the Hammer Drones, whose designs, as far as I know, haven't been revealed by the filmmakers.

The Hammer Drones can be seen for the first time in upcoming Iron Man 2 Mini-Mates toyline, in a slightly disproportionate form, in keeping with the line's Lego-like look. Figures.com has pictures of the first wave of Iron Man 2 Mini-Mates, which also include Pepper Potts and a cute, squatty rendition of War Machine.

Iron Man 2 arrives in theatres on May 7.

The concept of a movie about gunslingers in the Old West taking on an alien invasion is either the greatest idea in the history of cinema or the absolute worst. It's the type of thing I would have enacted with action figures as a kid, blending my fascination with cowboys with my love of aliens. Cowboys & Aliens feels like my kind of guilty pleasure. So very silly. So very awesome.

Part of my attraction to this project was Jon Favreau hopping on board to direct and the casting of Robert Downey Jr. as the film's hero, the leader of the titular cowboys and presumably alien killer extraordinaire. Unfortunately, one half of that equation has left the building: Downey Jr. has left the film.

I would have loved to have seen these guys work together beyond the Iron Man franchise and a goofy concept like Cowboys & Aliens would be an ideal playground for an awesomely geeky filmmaker like Favreau and a performer with the proper mixture of charm, wit and self-awareness like Downey Jr. Sadly, some things are too good to be true and it looks like the folks with the money want to fast-track Sherlock Holmes 2, immediately tying Downey Jr. up for the time being.

Cowboys & Aliens is still set to start shooting this summer. Although losing Robert Downey Jr. feels like a major blow, Favreau has an incredible instinct for casting, so I'm sure he'll find a more than suitable replacement. My thoughts? Without knowing a single thing about the characters or plot outside of the basic concept? I've always wanted to see Jeff Bridges shoot down UFOs with a six shooter. You can have that one for free, Jon.

(Via the LA Times)

Disney's 4.2 billion dollar purchase of Marvel Entertainment is expected to close this week. With that kind of price tag, Disney's latest acquisition, announced back in August, is heftier than originally planned as Marvel's stock rose by 40% since the announcement, according to a Hollywood Reporter article.

Some of the Marvel properties, such as Spider-Man, are already locked into long term deals with rival studios, but that doesn't mean there isn't a lot of potential in Marvel's vault.

Disney's doing good, and with that 40% bump in the sticker price, Marvel's healthy, too. So now the question is which one of Marvel's 5,000 plus characters is going to the big screen? Iron Man's first movie took in $572 million, despite being considered a B-list superhero, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Based on the response to the Iron Man 2 trailer debut at Buttnumbathon earlier this month, the sequel will likely do just as well, if not better.

So which will it be? Ant-Man? The Runaways? Dr. Strange? What Marvel superhero would you most like to see brought to the big screen? Inquiring minds want to know.

It's no secret that War Machine was going to rear his metallic, butt-kicking head in Iron Man 2 (presumably to shoot missiles at Mickey Rourke and crack wise), but now that Yahoo has debuted the first poster for the highly-anticipated film, we can stop wondering what War Machine is going to look like and start complaining about what he looks like. Such is the way of the internet!

My layman's knowledge of the Iron Man universe prevents me from going into extensive detail about this particular exoskeleton-o-destruction, but I'll go on the record with saying it looks pretty cool. Far bulkier than the sleek, agile Iron Man armor, it looks ready to karate chop it's way through a tank while on the way to throw a boat at a terrorist (and with that gatling gun arm, War Machine certainly ain't got time to bleed).

Of course, new toys and armors aside, it's important to remember that Don Cheadle will be inside the suit and unless he's murdering the British accent alongside George Clooney, Cheadle is always a joy to watch perform (I have a gut feeling that no one is going to miss Terrence Howard in the role). It's funny to think that a tentpole summer release will feature Cheadle, Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell all trying to destroy/one-up/defeat each other...with a cast as talented as that and with armor as cool as this, Iron Man 2 has a lot of high quality ingredients on its plate. I expect nothing less than greatness come summer 2010.

It's a new day, which means another franchise thought to be abandoned to the depths of time and memory is being resurrected by Hollywood. This time, it's the cult 1970s British TV series UFO and it looks like Fringe star Joshua Jackson is on board. Or so says Variety.

My experience with UFO is limited in that I have never seen it and have never heard of it, but that's why Variety gets paid the big bucks:

"Jackson will star as Paul Foster, a test pilot who joins S.H.A.D.O. (Supreme Headquarters Alien Defense Organization), a covert org built under a Hollywood studio that defends Earth against a race of aliens who have been abducting humans and using the body parts..."

Okay, as a fan of secret organizations with needlessly overwrought acronyms for names, consider my interest piqued. I'm also into the whole "humans fighting evil aliens" thing, but don't tell anyone.

UFO is being directed by Matthew Gratzner, a first time director, but a serious visual effects veteran. And by serious visual effects veteran, I mean this man has worked on everything from Iron Man to The Fountain to Superman Returns. His IMDB page reads like a laundry list of the best, worst and most interesting genre efforts of the past decade or so. Interest remains piqued.

Just when you thought they couldn't find anymore ways to milk the popularity of The Dark Knight comes this pretty hilarious interactive stop-motion breakdancing competition that plays out through YouTube. It dates back to earlier in the year, which means some of you may have already seen this, but those who haven't should enjoy a good laugh or three. Essentially the idea is for you to choose a side, Batman or Joker, and then follow the instructions to join in on the ultimate b-boy breakdancing competition between two arch-rivals who come equipped with enough moves to place in the final two on So You Think You Can Dance.

Check out the video -- along with one of creator Patrick Boivin's other great stop-motion battles -- after the jump.