There is no denying Beyonce's talent, stardom, or status as an enduring stronghold in show business, but would you call her "a new talent [that] represents a generation"? Because in a new interview about her role in Clint Eastwood's A Star is Born remake, she kinda claims to be just that.
Today in news that doesn't relate to Comic-Con: Deadline reports that Steve Carell, Jack Black and Nicolas Cage are in various stages of negotiations to star in Frank Or Francis for director and writer Charlie Kaufman. Details on the film are slim, but when it was first announced back in March, Frank Or Francis reportedly dealt with a filmmaker and the blogger "who takes delight in berating his cinematic talent." (It sorta sounds like that movie Pitchfork that Jonah Hill was rumored for; bloggers, they're not just for blogs anymore!) Assuming Carell, Black and Cage sign on for Frank Or Francis -- and assuming at least two of them are in talks for the lead roles -- this news raises a fairly legitimate question: who among them is believable as a blogger?
Here's one way to make yourself a screen sensation: star in as many movies in a row as possible! Justin TImberlake is so ubiquitous as a film presence right now that it's bizarre how only a year ago, his casting as Sean Parker in The Social Network felt like a questionable anomaly. Now, there's no denying Timberlake's panache as a romantic lead, comic actor, and serious thespian talent. And to think it all began with Mickey ears and a failed trial with Ed McMahon. Let's reinspect nine moments in the evolution of Justin Timberlake.
Good news for Marvel and the team behind Captain America: The First Avenger: The summer's latest major comics-hero tentpole also had the genre's best midnight showing of the season with $4 million. That exceeds the previous best of X-Men: First Class's $3.4 million and hints at a better-than-expected three-day total near $60 million. Drop by Movieline this weekend for more box-office dispatches as events warrant... [via THR]
· Robert Rodriguez made a moderate splash at Comic-Con on Thursday by announcing plans for the seemingly perpetually rumored sequel to Sin City. That's great and all, but why bother when there's already Bunraku -- a hyper-stylized actioner with Sin City veteran Josh Hartnett (with moustache) playing a mysterious drifter trying to save a town from evil. Woody Harrelson, Ron Perlman and a nearly unrecognizable Demi Moore co-star. Seriously -- Demi is the female Ben Button. Click through to watch, then stick around for more Buzz Break.
Riiiiiight: "Zac Efron could become the latest actor to play a superhero in a movie based on a Marvel comic book character. [...] There's just one tiny little problem -- he's been offered a role playing Namor the Sub-Mariner. The Sub-Mariner is one of Marvel's earliest superheroes, debuting in 1939. He's the mutant son of a princess from Atlantis and a human sea captain with a variety of superpowers, including strength, speed, flight, and the ability to breathe underwater (he's like a merman with legs)." [Gather via ONTD]
Also in this special Comic-Con edition of the Friday Broadsheet: Posters for The Raven and Haywire... Dredd gets a release date... Hugh Jackman sneaks Wolverine baddie... and more ahead.
Comic-Con is up and running, and that can mean only one thing: Photos of your favorite stars and filmmakers interacting with fans at the San Diego Convention Center. Ahead, a gallery of images from day one of 'Con, featuring many of your favorite Breaking Dawn co-stars, with cameos from Carey Mulligan, Guillermo Del Toro, and... the Free Hugger of San Diego?
Comic heroes and A-list romcoms aside, you might call this weekend a lull between the sheer Pottermania of last weekend and the sheer multitude of new titles facing moviegoers next weekend. One left you no choice, the other leaves with almost too much. And in between, there are these:
Peter Jackson couldn't make Comic-Con this year, but he's taking time to titillate dorks, dorks, and also dorks with this new still of The Hobbit's dwarf patrol -- together at last after multiple separate photos. They are a dandy bunch. These butch woodsmen are bearded, armored, and dressed for winter! Looks a little like a catalog shoot for a post-apocalyptic Eddie Bauer.
Annette Bening will play Kristen Wiig's mother in Imogene, the tale of "a moderately successful Gotham playwright (Wiig) who stages a fake suicide attempt to win back her ex-boyfriend, only to end up forced into the custody of her gambling-addict mother." I hope this means the return of the shifty, savvy Bening we saw in The Grifters. I assume Kristen Wiig has a mean Anjelica Huston impersonation in her arsenal. In the meantime, Bening is working on He Loves Me with Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan. Oscar, please! [Deadline]
Friends with Benefits will surely exhibit more of Justin Timberlake's comic brio, but is anyone worried that we're forgetting what's really important? I'm talking about keeping pop stars where they belong -- in melodramatic music videos. In honor of Timberlake's new film and the 2011 Video Music Award nominations, Movieline is reinspecting the careers of seven pop stars who also act, and picking their single best performances in music videos. Bring your leafy skirt, Beyonce fans.
Warner Bros. isn't bringing Zack Snyder and Man of Steel to Comic-Con this year, but there's always next year. Thursday, the studio announced that the Snyder-directed Superman reboot will hit theaters on June 14, 2013, a change from the previously set time period of December 2012. That gives the film separation from not only The Dark Knight Rises, but also The Hobbit -- two other major WB properties. It also gives Kurt Johnstad time to finish those script revisions. Mark those Google Calendars accordingly. [Coming Soon]
· The Tarsem Singh-directed version of Snow White (i.e., the one that doesn't include Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth and a battalion of awesome British character actors) doesn't have a title just yet, but it does have a release date -- and a photo of Lily Collins in costume. The Relativity Media project is due out on March 16, 2012, and judging from the new pic, at least Snow White's costume is in order. Next stop: a name! Click through for a look, then stick around for more Buzz Break.
Just in time for Comic-Con comes word that Afro Samurai, the popular manga whose two successful TV mini-series featured the voice of Samuel L. Jackson as the revenge-seeking title character, will get a live-action big-screen adaptation with the Oscar-nominated actor co-producing. One can only presume he'll have an onscreen role as well, though the announcement from his partners at The Indomina Group does not confirm this. (He's a little too old for the lead, alas.) Check out the full release -- and propose any brilliant casting suggestions -- below.
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