Feeling a Draft

It's hard telling if I would be interested in Draft Day as much if it didn't focus primarily on the Cleveland Browns, but because it does, I'll be very interested to see if a Hollywood version of our draft turns out any better than our actual one.

Running on Diesel power

From JustJared.com:

Vin Diesel has officially landed the voice role of Groot in the upcoming Marvel film Guardians of the Galaxy!

The 46-year-old actor confirmed the news by posting the image of himself and the detailed character bust on his Facebook page. Director James Gunn also tweeted the news, saying he “is a super awesome dude. I can’t tell you how much I like this guy.”

Guardians of the Galaxy follows an unlikely cast of characters including Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Groot (Diesel), and Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) who must join forces to defeat a cosmic force of epic proportions.

Yesterday's news

I've become somewhat cynical to the "found footage" genre of filmmaking, but I must admit that this trailer for Welcome to Yesterday about a group of teenagers who discover the ability to time travel has caught my eye. If it is as fresh and innovative as Chronicle then this may have a chance of being a mainstream hit.

Paquin some, lose some

From comingsoon.net:

There will be one less mutant in this summer’s highly anticipated X-Men: Days of Future Past, which combines the casts of the original X-Men trilogy with those of 2011′s First Class. Director Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects) has revealed to EW exclusively that a rescue sequence — shot early in the film’s production and featuring Magneto (Ian McKellen), Professor X (Patrick Stewart), Rogue (Anna Paquin), and Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) — has been cut from the final film. Sadly, this means that Rogue’s screen time has been significantly chopped down as well.

“Through the editing process, the sequence became extraneous,” explains Singer. “It’s a really good sequence and it will probably end up on the DVD so people can see it. But like many things in the editing process, it was an embarrassment of riches and it was just one of the things that had to go. Unfortunately, it was the one and only sequence Anna Paquin was in, the Rogue character was in. Even though she’s in the materials and part of the process of making the film, she won’t appear in it.”

Singer emphasizes that the decision had nothing to do with the Oscar-winning True Blood star, who was on set for only week of Days of Future Past, or with her performance. “She did a fantastic job,” says the director. “She was awesome in the sequence. She’s a brilliant actress. I would work with her in a heartbeat.”

Singer, who is still editing the film in advance of its release on May 23, 2014, has already broken the news to Paquin. “She completely understood,” he says. “It’s very disappointing, but she’s very professional and she knows that stuff happens, particularly with material you shoot early on in production. Films evolve.”

Depp recesses of the mind

It shouldn't be newsworthy when Johnny Depp plays a normal human being that isn't caked in ghoulish makeup in a movie, but it is. Here is a teaser trailer for his newest movie, a sci-fi thriller called Transcendence that is being directed by Wally Pfister who is a first time director but long time cinematographer for Christopher Nolan.

African union

Here the first trailer for Blended, starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. Adam and Drew always have nice chemistry together, but this feels like another excuse for a paid vacation for Sandler.

Monkey business

As the trailers keep rolling in, we now get our first look at Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the sequel to 2011's surprise hit Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

Tub time

From EW.com:

The sequel to the 2010 comedy Hot Tub Time Machine is heating up. MGM and Paramount announced last night that the follow-up, which does not include John Cusack, will arrive sometime in 2014, with Paramount distributing in the U.S. and MGM handling the movie internationally. A press release confirms that the plot for the movie will emphasize the character played by Rob Corddry. “When Lou (Corddry) finds himself in trouble, Nick (Craig Robinson) and Jacob (Clark Duke) fire up the hot tub time machine in an attempt to get back to the past. But they inadvertently land in the future. Now they have to alter the future in order to save the past… which is really the present.”

Replacing Cusack, if not in character than at least in stature, is Adam Scott.

Tomorrow never dies

Somehow I forgot to add this one in my posting bonanza last weekend. Here's the first trailer for Tom Cruise's new sci-fi thriller, Edge of Tomorrow, which is set to come out next summer.

Getting a Jump start on the new year

More trailers keep rolling in previewing the 2014 slate. This time it's the sequel to surprise reboot of 21 Jump Street, this time named 22 Jump Street. I'll let the awesome Nick Offerman explain why.

Drumming up interest

We go from talking about this year's highly touted space adventure to previewing what could likely be next year's highly touted space adventure. Here's your first look at Christopher Nolan's Interstellar. It doesn't tell us much and yet I am already hooked.

He's got a spell on you

Jason Bateman plus spelling bees plus foul language equals me being very interested in Bad Words. Here's the red band trailer for the new film which not only stars Bateman but was directed by him as well.

Web of guys

The first trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is here. Most will most likely notice the large number of villains seen or hinted at in the trailer (Electro! Rhino! Goblin!). What I noticed is that it seems like someone finally turned the lights on. I wasn't overwhelmed with the 2012 reboot largely in part because it felt so dark. Here's hoping this sequel uses its winning cast more effectively.

Bullet theory

In an interesting (and timely) bit of viral marketing, the people behind X-Men: Days of Future Past has created this video which reveals that Magneto was actually responsible for the Kennedy assassination. Check out the perplexing, yet well made video for yourself below.

The host with the Most

Kermit and the gang are heading back to the big screen and this time they are taking their adventures overseas. Here's the newest trailer for Muppets Most Wanted.

Back into the Shadows

After news earlier this week about George Clooney's The Monuments Men getting pushed back to 2014, we get news today that another film has abandoned its December release date. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit will now also move to early 2014. Here's the full story from EW.com.

EW has confirmed that Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit has dropped off the Christmas release schedule and will now open Jan. 17, 2014

The Paramount Pictures’ action movie is based on characters from late author Tom Clancy and stars Chris Pine (Star Trek) as a young CIA analysis who uncovers a Russian plot to crash the U.S. economy with a terrorist attack. Kenneth Branagh (Valkyrie), Kevin Costner (Man of Steel), and Kiera Knightly (Anna Karenina) will also star alongside Pine in the upcoming action thriller directed by Kenneth Branagh.

Could a Christmas Day release date announcement for Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street be just around the corner? The speculation remains high that Jack Ryan’s move could be a strategic effort by Paramount to announce a Dec. 25 release date for Martin Scorsese’s highly anticipated The Wolf of Wall Street, starring Leonardo DiCaprio (The Great Gatsby) and Matthew McConaughey (Mud).

Moving Wolf Of Wall Street into Jack Ryan’s old release date of Christmas Day would effectively keep the film in the running for the Oscars but as of yet, Paramount has not commented on whether they will release the Scorsese film before the end of the year not.

Non the wiser

What is it about Liam Neeson that he keeps finding himself getting disturbing phone calls that result in him having to go into kick-ass mode? I'm not sure, but as a movie fan, I'm sure glad it keeps happening. Here's a trailer for his latest thriller, Non-Stop (directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, who also directed Neeson in Unknown) that has him busting out his specific set of skills on an airplane.

Rocket powered

We've got even more Marvel casting news today. This time from Comingsoon.net

Following rumors late last week, Marvel has officially confirmed a new addition to the cast of James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy: Bradley Cooper is set to voice Rocket Raccoon!

"Rocket has been genetically and mechanically altered," Marvel Studios' President Kevin Feige said of the character in a recent interview. "He's an experiment from one part of the galaxy."

Cooper, recently nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in Silver Linings Playbook, joins Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, Benicio del Toro, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, Vin Diesel and Gregg Henry in the sci-fi adventure, set to hit theaters August 1, 2014.

Feeling froggy

After their successful comeback a couple of years ago, Kermit and the gang are heading back to the big screen and bringing a whole new crop of famous faces along with them. Here's your first look at Muppets Most Wanted set to come out next spring.

Red Skull out, Redford in??

From EW.com

The new Captain America film is probably the most unusual of the upcoming wave of Marvel sequels, since — thanks to the first film’s climactic time-jump forward — most of the original supporting cast probably won’t be returning. (Although since the movie is subtitled The Winter Soldier, there’s probably at least one supporting cast member returning, NO SPOILERS.) But the film could be adding a genuine film legend to its cast. EW has confirmed the news, initially reported by the Hollywood Reporter, that Robert Redford — Oscar winner, Sundance founder, Sundance Kid — is in negotiations to join the cast of the Star-Spangled Sequel.

It’s unclear at this point who Redford would be playing, though THR indicates that he’d be playing Nick Fury’s boss. (Combined with the Variety report that the film would prominently feature Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow and Cobie Smulders’ Maria Hill, Cap 2 is shaping up to be a stealth S.H.I.E.L.D. movie.) Presumably he’s not playing the President, unless there’s an election in the Marvelverse after Iron Man 3 (with President William Sadler.)