By now you've all heard the latest "Spider-Man 4" casting rumors — depending on which source you read, both Julia Stiles and Anne Hathaway are up for the role of Felicia Hardy, the burglar known as Black Cat. We offered up our own suggestions for the role a while back in our weekly Secret Identity column, and also pondered Eliza Dushku's willingness to play the role.
However, Stiles' arrival on the rumor scene got us thinking about a recent interview with the actress in which she discussed her interest in comic book movies and debunked a casting rumor that had been floating around the 'Net. While the interview was conducted prior to the recent "Spider-Man 4" buzz, it seemed a good time to throw the clip out there and see what possibilities fans can draw from it.
"No, not that I'm aware of," Stiles said when asked about a rumor that she was up for the role of Sue Storm in the "Fantastic Four" movie. "I was never told that I was being considered for that role. I was surprised by that." Read more...
When "Shaun of the Dead" director Edgar Wright was first announced for the big-screen adaptation of of Bryan Lee O'Malley's "Scott Pilgrim" series, you could practically hear the collective sigh of relief around the 'Net. For many fans, the belief was that if anyone can successfully bring the surreal adventures of slacker hero Scott Pilgrim to theaters faithfully, it's Wright.
And while we haven't seen any footage from the much-anticipated film yet, "Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World" actor Jason Schwartzman would seem to agree with the sentiment that Wright was the right man for the job. Schwartzman plays Gideon, one of the final "evil ex-boyfriends" the title character must battle to win the affection of his girlfriend.
"One of the things that's so great about Edgar is that if he wasn't directing this movie, he would be Ticketholder #1 in line for it," Schwartzman told MTV News. "He is such a fan of movies and of these comics and what this movie is going to be. He gets just as excited as the people do — the fans. He's a fan." Read more...
Sure, Anne Hathaway is the latest in a long line of rumored contenders for the role of Black Cat in "Spider-Man 4" (even though there's no confirmation the character is even in the film), but does anyone remember another rumor from a few years back that cast an entirely different actress in the role?
Well, even if you didn't remember the pre-"Spider-Man 3" rumor that had "Dollhouse" actress Eliza Dushku playing cat burglar Felicia Hardy, we did — and we asked her about it when she dropped by Splash Page HQ a while back.
"Don't you love the Internet and the fans out there?" Dushku laughed when MTV Movies Editor Josh Horowitz asked if she'd seen the fan-made "Spider-Man 4" posters with her as Black Cat. "They do it up!" Read more...
Last week, I talked to one of comics greatest living legends, Stan Lee, about his arrival on the Twitter scene and why it makes him feel like he's writing his "Stan's Soapbox" column again. While Lee had some fun stuff to say about the world of micro-blogging, I also had to ask him about a few other things on comics fans' minds these days — namely, whether he'll be making the expected cameos in future Marvel movies.
"I had lunch with Branagh, [who's] the nicest guy in the world as well as the most talented," Lee told MTV News when asked if he's been contacted about a "Thor" cameo yet. "Months ago, when he was first starting on the movie, he said he would get a cameo for me." Read more...
Director John Woo has proven his eye for action with films like "Face/Off" and "The Killer," so when he dropped by Splash Page HQ to discuss his upcoming film "Red Cliff," we had to ask why he hasn't stepped behind the camera for an action-packed superhero movie yet. After clearing up his attachment to "Caliber," the Radical Comics series we spoke to creator Sam Sarkar about earlier this year, Woo offered up some thoughts on why superheroes aren't really his thing.
"It didn't work out because it's not good timing for me to take on the movie," said Woo, confirming he's no longer attached to an adaptation of the Arthurian saga set in the Wild West.
Read more...
Anyone following Splash Page (or me) on Twitter is probably well aware that martial arts champion and movie/television star Chuck Norris recently paid a visit to Splash Page HQ to chat about his new book, "The Official Chuck Norris Fact Book." Heck, it was all I could talk about for 24-36 hours. (I'm kind of a big fan.)
While Norris offered up some great stories about his first reaction to the online phenomenon known as "Chuck Norris Facts" and the stories from his life he's collected in the book to go along with many of the facts, one of my favorite moments from the very funny interview had to be when I gave Norris the ol' rapid-fire "confirm or deny" for some of the "facts" readers wanted me to ask him about.
Keep an eye on Splash Page and Movies Blog for more from my interview with Chuck Norris — including some thoughts on the Karate Kommandos! (Seriously!)
Let us know what you think in the comment section or on Twitter!
In August, James McTeigue told MTV News he would neither confirm nor deny rumors that he might direct the next "Superman" movie. What he was keen to do was delve into his vision for the next big-screen take on the Man of Steel: he wanted to start the franchise from scratch, avoid an origin story and make the whole thing super dark.
McTeigue had so much to say, it was hard to avoid the idea that he'd had some sort of contact with DC Comics or Warner Brothers about the project. Then last month, DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson told us the company doesn't "have any current plans for Superman." And when we spoke to McTeigue last Friday, it seemed he, too, no longer had concrete plans for the franchise.
"It's in a weird place at the moment," he told MTV News. "They're trying to work out what they're doing. Warner Brothers is trying to figure out their next move on it. There's some things you can do with the 'Superman' franchise, there's other things you can't do. So it hasn't gone anywhere." Read more...
Wes Anderson's stop-motion animated 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' is so rich with detail — every frame bursting with color and movement and utter coolness — it's almost hard to know where to look. During one scene, though, something jumped out to me: a fox reading a comic book.
The moment occurs about 2/3 through the movie, when Mr. Fox and his family are on the run from three murderous farmers. Fox's 12-year-old son, Ash (voiced by Jason Schwartzman), kicks back and opens a comic book called "White Cape." The audience gets a peek at the cover, but we never see a single page. The title does go a long way toward explaining why the young fox wears a makeshift white cape everywhere he goes — you could say White Cape is the bushy-tailed equivalent of Superman.
It turns out that while viewers never get more than a passing glance at the comic, Anderson and his team went to great lengths to design the book — so much so that they might turn the concept into an actual series. Read more...
While Jason Schwartzman's once-secret role as Gideon Graves in "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World" has been confirmed for quite a while now, that's pretty much the only secret that's been revealed when it comes to Edgar Wright's live-action adaptation of Bryan Lee O'Malley's comic book series. Little is known about the look and tone of the film, but what fans have been able to glean from Wright and his cast has been promising.
Take, for example, our recent chat with Schwartzman during the "Fantastic Mr. Fox" junket. Not only has he seen the first 20 minutes of "Scott Pilgrim," but he shared some thoughts with MTV News about how the footage looked.
"I saw the first 20 minutes of it and I'm very proud to be a part of it," said Schwartzman. "It's unlike anything I've seen in my entire life." Read more...
Much like yesterday's "Clash of the Titans" trailer, this new "Ninja Assassin" clip has nothing to do with comics—though I'm sure I could find a connection if I really tried. What it does have, however, is a bunch of bad-ass ninja-on-ninja action. Along with Korean pop sensation Rain in a starring role, "Ninja assassin" also features one of the greatest ninja-movie actors of all time: Sho Kosugi ("Enter the Ninja," "Revenge of the Ninja," "Nine Deaths of the Ninja").
"Ninja Assassin" is directed by James McTeigue ("V For Vendetta"—see, there's a comic connection!) and hits theaters November 25.
