Sci-Fi Storm

It’s been a while since there was news – now apparently Columbia Pictures would like to remake Total Recall, and are lining up Len Wiseman to direct. Kurt Wimmer (Ultraviolet) is working on the screenplay, to be produced by Neil H. Moritz (I Am Legend). Wiseman last directed a feature with 2007’s Live Free And Die Hard, along with the first two Underworld features.

For what is apparently the last Star Wars spoof that Family Guy will apparently tackle, the Return Of The Jedi spoof Family Guy: It’s A Trap! will be available on [asin=B003X4KHQM]Blu-ray[/asin] and [asin=B003X4KHRG]DVD[/asin] on December 21st, just in time for some last minute shopping – although I hope you’ll order now through those links! Fans at Comic-Con got a short preview of it, but we can expect Carrie Fisher (or at least her voice) to make a cameo, along with Michael Dorn and Patrick Stewart in their Star Trek personae, and even Rush Limbaugh as the Rancor!

Thanks to Greg for the following coverage from Comic-Con: As you already know, Comic-Con is going on and the coverage is amazing this year with live streams from every panel as well as up to the minute breaking news and insider interviews. I thought I would let you know about “The Green Hornet” coverage that is up on MakingOf.com. Two interviews were uploaded today, as well as a photo gallery. In one interview, Christoph Waltz admitted to being “acomic” before doing “The Green Hornet”. He had never been exposed to anything having to do with the whole Comic-Con culture. It will be interesting to see how well he plays the character of Chudnofsky.
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One of the early announcements from Comic-Con is that Guillermo del Toro, who recently left The Hobbit due to the constant delays, is making a new, scary version of Haunted Mansion for Disney, based on the park attraction – of which del Toro is a fan. There will be no connection to the previous version (an Eddie Murphy comedy vehicle), but it promises to be REAL scary. “It’s going to be a thrill ride for the whole family but it’s definitely going to be scary,” he said. “(Walt) Disney is one of the creators of some of the scariest images in my childhood. People forget that he not only made sweet images but also images of nightmare. We need to honor that side of the legacy.” Why would he leave The Hobbit (a potential gold mine, but in stuck in bankruptcy with MGM) for this? Well, it wasn’t just this movie but several projects that were in “deep freeze”, but this one he believes will need special attention and a long development cycle to do right. Hear hear…someone who won’t just stamp out something and depend on the name…

First among the rumors, there is the possibility that David Tennant could take over the apparently vacant role of Bruce Banner/The Hulk in The Avengers; now there is a rumor, although not necessarily a high confidence one yet, that 7th Doctor Sylvester McCoy has been cast in a role in The Hobbit, possibly in the role of Bilbo Baggins – a role he lost out to Ian Holm for The Lord Of The Rings. Lending credence to this is the fact that McCoy is 12 years younger than Holm, and the role is for a younger (relatively, in halfling years) Bilbo…

Just an update on the latest of the Hobbit saga – the production, not the story: Peter Jackson is reportedly meeting with actors this week in LA, with NY and the U.K. on the schedule, even though the production has not yet received a green light from studios WB and MGM due to MGM’s financial situation. WB is reportedly negotiating with MGM – which really means they are negotiating with creditors who probably see this as MGM’s only major franchise…

It appears that the big green guy’s alter ego will get a new face for the upcoming Avengers multi-superhero movie. Marvel has announced that Ed Norton will not return to the role of Bruce Banner that he himself took over from Eric Bana for The Incredible Hulk, with the producers opting to recast the role, alluding to wanting someone who might work better in an ensemble. Norton’s agent issued his own statement calling Marvel’s statement “offensive” and saying that Norton was “enthusiastic at the prospect of being a part of the ensemble cast.”

Sony has its Peter Parker for the reboot of their Spider-Man franchise – Andrew Garfield (The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus) has been named for the role after having been named to a short list a month ago. Production is expected to start in December, with the film set to be released 2 years from today on July 3rd, 2012.

A twitter account reportedly representing 20th Century Fox (I dislike the fact that you can’t really verify the source) reported that Andy Serkis will play Caesar in the upcoming Rise Of The Apes prequel, and a lot of news outlets are expecting that he will use his motion-capture prowess in yet another digitally created role – although the tweet does not mention this specifically, only that he will be teaming up once again with Weta, the digital shop that worked on Lord Of The Rings and helped create Gollum, the role most associated with Serkis.

Here is the latest trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows trailer, covering both parts. It is rapid fire shots from scenes, but in it you get an idea of how expansive it is…