Producer Avi Lerner dropped a handful of big names when asked which action heavyweights are being courted for the inevitable Expendables 3; I'm willing to bet at least one of them (*cough* Snipes *cough*) takes him up on the offer. "We've approached Clint Eastwood to be one of the guys, we've got a character in mind for him," Lerner told Total Film. "We're talking to Harrison Ford. [And we want] Wesley Snipes when he comes back from prison. I'll give you one more name, we've got Nicolas Cage to play [one of the characters]... And we're going to bring Mickey Rourke back, if he won’t be too crazy." Which begs the question: When has Mickey Rourke not been "too crazy?" Is he still Mickey Rourke if he isn't acting just a little insane? [Total Film]
Two newcomers, The Possession and Lawless topped the overall box office over Labor Day weekend, ending a summer that ended with not much of a bang. Overall, the Summer theatrical season fell nearly 3% from last year, winding up at $4.275 billion (vs $4.4 billion). The Expendables 2, which had topped the box office for two weekends, made a landing in the third spot with only slightly less screens. Today's grosses reflect a Friday through Monday Labor Day weekend numbers. The per cent change in revenue vs. the previous weekend only considers Friday - Sunday numbers.
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The weekend box office was anything but stellar over the weekend. Expendables 2 and The Bourne Legacy remained the top two earners in the final weekend of August. One bright spot, however, was conservative doc 2016 Obama's America, which went wide after spending the first three weeks with limited runs. Its gross jumped over 400% and it landed in 8th place in the overall box office despite remaining in far fewer theaters than compared to other titles in the top 10. Newcomers Premium Rush and Hit and Run bowed softly.
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Also in Friday morning's round-up of news briefs, Martha Marcy May Marlene director is heading for a TV gig. The Kids Are All Right director eyes her next project. And a British television star eyes joining the cast of August: Osage County.
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Former NFL linebacker-turned-actor (not to mention past and future President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho) Terry Crews took a slightly different journey to action stardom than folks like Sly Stallone, Bruce Willis, Dolph Lundgren and Arnold Schwarzenegger; his route carved a path through the comedy world, with turns in films including Friday After Next, White Chicks, and Balls of Fury. Cast as the bicep-flexing, quip-happy Hale Caesar in 2010's The Expendables — a role he admits Wesley Snipes might have otherwise played if things had worked out differently — Crews more than earned his spot on the team, backed by Stallone's vote of confidence: "He literally told me, 'I’m going to make you an action star.'”
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Appearances can be deceiving, and as audiences learn in Friday's testosterone-fueled sequel The Expendables 2, even Dolph Lundgren's volatile Gunnar Jensen has a few surprising secrets to share. Such as: In addition to being a habitual alcoholic and reformed-but-unpredictable member of the squad, Gunnar's revealed to be a chemical engineering savant and former Fulbright scholar — elements cheekily borrowed from Lundgren's real life.
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To even describe The Expendables 2 as a movie seems to do both the medium and this strange, smirking effort a disservice. It isn't a movie — it's more like the world's most expensive, elaborate viral video, making a detour to the big screen before being broken up into more easily consumable segments to be consumed on YouTube.
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Some time after turning down a role in 2010’s Expendables (the part he was offered lacked substance, legend has it) Jean-Claude Van Damme thought better of opting out of the Sylvester Stallone throwback, which went onto become a hit. But perhaps things worked out for the best: In this week’s Expendables 2, Van Damme steals away with the spotlight as the eccentric and hilariously disdainful uber-villain Jean Vilain (yes, really) with an over-the-top performance that called for full commitment to character on set.
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Tragic news from the New Orleans set of G.I. Joe: Retaliation, where a crew member suffered fatal injuries after an accident while breaking down the set. Filming closed earlier this week under director Jon M. Chu, who had already Tweeted his departure from the set days before the incident occurred. The tragedy marks the latest in a string of on-set accidents on big budget studio productions including The Expendables 2 and The Hobbit.
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How does the machismo-filled cast of Expendables 2 entertain themselves in between takes on the Simon West-directed blockbuster sequel? Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis pose for photos in abandoned airplane hangars. Chuck Norris updates his Facebook account with shoddy tourist pics in Bulgaria and Jean-Claude Van Damme, it seems, plays with toy guns.
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The Expendables 2 is shaping up to be the biggest, baddest ensemble action film ever with a cast that includes proven superstars Sylvester Stallone, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mickey Rourke, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Chuck Norris. Today, we've received proof that this sprawling adrenaline-fueled blockbuster is indeed in production via a photo of the three bulky leads mugging in Bulgaria. This calls for a round of Caption This!
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Variety's Showblitz reports that youngster Liam Hemsworth, who gets his biggest break since dating Miley Cyrus in next year's The Hunger Games, has been cast in the sprawling ensemble of The Expendables 2. Wait, you say -- isn't he, like, four or five decades too young for this film? At 21, Hemsworth is quite a bit less wrinkly than his co-stars. Let's start guessing now who he'll play: Sly's son? A flashback version of Jean-Claude Van Damme? Mickey Rourke's bicep? [Variety]
Earlier today came word that Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme might be joining Sly Stallone & Co. for The Expendables 2 (although the reported cast listing at Millenium Films now reads "TBA"). Now it seems Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis are onboard to reprise their cameos from the first film, with bigger parts this time around. (Expanded Expendables!) So let's just take a minute and regroup: Who isn't onboard or under consideration to join the beefy action sequel?
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Last month it was revealed that Sylvester Stallone was looking for a new director to helm the follow up to his $274 million worldwide-grossing action pic, The Expendables -- and Deadline reports that is still the case. Will Sly take Movieline's humble suggestion of five potential replacement directors who'd be well-suited to helm Expendables 2? And which veteran action stars (Seagal! Van Damme! Snipes?) will join the cast this time around? [Deadline]
