New Black Mass poster, Bryce Dallas Howard talks Marvel and first Hunger Games 4 trailer

The first two instalments of the Hunger Games franchise were genuine phenomenons, the first taking $691 million and Catching Fire receiving $864 million but Mockingjay: Part 1 slipped up with a drop to $752 million. The trailer for the series’ conclusion has been released and is hoping for a return to form.

Francis Lawrence (I am Legend) directs a cast including Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle), Josh Huthcherson (Epic), Liam Hemsworth (Cut Bank), Jena Malone (Inherent Vice), Sam Claflin (The Riot Club), Donald Sutherland (Ordinary People), Juliianne Moore (Still Alice), Woody Harrelson (True Detective), Elizabeth Banks (The Lego Movie), Stanley Tucci (Margin Call), Toby Jones (Infamous), Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones), Jeffrey Wright (Source Code), Mahershala Ali (House of Cards), Willow Shields (Beyond the Blackboard), Elden Henson (Daredevil), Natalie Dormer (Rush) and Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master).

Bryce Dallas Howard (The Help, 50/50) once worked with Marvel playing Gwen Stacy in 2007’s Spider-Man 3. Whilst promoting the new sci-fi sequel Jurassic World, she was questioned about returning to the studio in a different role, specifically Captain Marvel. Howard seemed immensely in favour of the idea.

“Oh my God, will you write that? Will you write that please? Yes, let’s start a campaign now. That would be rad. Those movies are so fantastic, because talk about just these incredibly drawn characters! That’s the joy of the comics, is that you fall in love with these characters and it’s who they are that carries you from journey to journey to journey… it’s not just about set pieces. It’s really about who these people are, and so, yes, I just would love to be in a Marvel film.”

So far the only serious suggestion for a casting and director are Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road, Prometheus) and Angelina Jolie (Unbroken) respectively. We do know that the script is penned by Meg LeFauve (Inside Out) and Nicole Perlman (Guardians of the Galaxy) and is heading for a 2018 release.

Johnny Depp’s career is in a particularly horrific phase of his career. The star of Edward Scissorhands, Donnie Brasco and Pirates of the Caribbean hasn’t hit the spot recently besides 2009’s Michael Mann thriller Public Enemies, 2011 animation Rango and cameos in 21 Jump Street and Into the Woods. A varied reception for Alice in Wonderland, The Tourist, The Rum Diary and Dark Shadows plus financial failures The Lone Ranger, Transcendence and Mortdecai. Gangster drama Black Mass might be a return to Oscar contender form. The first proper poster for the film has been released.

Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart, Out of the Furnace) directs a cast including Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game, Sherlock), Joel Edgerton (Warrior, The Great Gatsby), Juno Temple (Atonement, Maleficent), Corey Stoll (House of Cards, Ant-Man), Dakota Johnson (21 Jump Street, Fifty Shades of Grey), Adam Scott (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Parks and Recreation), Jesse Plemons (Breaking Bad, The Homesman), Julianne Nicholson (August: Osage County, Masters of Sex), Peter Sarsgaard (Jarhead, Blue Jasmine) and Kevin Bacon (Apollo 13, Cop Car).

Black Mass – November 13th

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 – November 20th

Captain Marvel – November 2nd 2018

Gosling, Pitt and more confirmed for Big Short and first look at Johnny Depp in Black Mass

Writer director Adam McKay is well renowned for his excellent comedy work with Step Brothers, The Other Guys and the cult classic Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy but he’s moving into a different phase of his career with a Marvel film in the works and now the new political drama The Big Short. It has already assembled one of the finest casts of any upcoming film.

The cast of the film will feature Ryan Gosling (The Ides of March, The Notebook, The Place Beyond the Pines, Drive), Brad Pitt (Fight Club, Burn After Reading, Moneyball, Seven), Steve Carell (Foxcatcher, The 40 Year Old Virgin, The Office, Despicable Me), Melissa Leo (Frozen River, Prisoners, Oblivion, The Fighter), Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler, My Cousin Vinny, In the Bedroom, The Lincoln Lawyer), Rafe Spall (Life of Pi, Prometheus, What If, Hot Fuzz) and Christian Bale (The Dark Knight, American Psycho, American Hustle, The Prestige).

Following a chilling turn as The Wolf in Into the Woods, we can now see the latest transformation of Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean, Finding Neverland, Public Enemies, Edward Scissorhands) as the gangster Whitey Bulger in the new thriller Black Mass. Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart, Out of the Furnace) directs while Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades of Grey), Joel Edgerton (Warrior), Juno Temple (The Dark Knight Rises), Corey Stoll (House of Cards), Adam Scott (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty), Jesse Plemons (Breaking Bad), Julianne Nicholson (August: Osage County), Peter Sarsgaard (An Education) and Kevin Bacon (Apollo 13) also star.

Black Mass – September 25th

The Big Short – 2016

The Best Films of 2014 – the Half-Way Point

Looking at any annual film schedule, its evident that the first half of the year can never quite live up to the second and 2014 is no exception. This year really did get off to a rotten start with 47 Ronin, The Legend of Hercules and I Frankenstein dragging their heals at the box-office but this did pave a way for others; The Wolf of Wall Street and Ride Along both enjoyed three consecutive weeks at the top of the UK and US box-office respectively. Following that came some genuine surprises. Wes Anderson’s ensemble comedy The Grand Budapest Hotel reached 1st and 3rd in the UK and US against all odds and The Lego Movie, one of the most poorly marketed films in recent years, was an unexpected treat and certainly and future cult classic.

The biblical format seemed to increase in popularity around Easter with the low-key Christian dramas Heaven is For Real, Son of God and God’s Not Dead taking nearly thirty times their micro-budgets but these religious flicks aren’t proving successful outside of America, besides Aronofsky’s star-driven epic Noah. The “Katniss-effect” of The Hunger Games has evidently given studios the faith to put stronger female characters into the fray of action and adventure with Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent and Shailene Woodley’s Divergent winning out over Johnny Depp’s Transcendence or Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Sabotage financially. Edge of Tomorrow even managed it to the extent of Tom Cruise needing saving from Emily Blunt’s ultimate warrior.

In the last six months, certain individuals are lighting up the box-office left, right and centre. Former comedian Kevin Hart has lead a trio of success, Ride Along, About Last Night and Think Like a Man Too, while the Jump Street quartet (director Phil Lord and Chris Miller/stars Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill) have a cinematic Midas-touch. It’s evident that Lego’s Chris Pratt can do no wrong and, with Jurassic World and Guardians of the Galaxy coming soon, he’s well on his way to man-of-the-year status. The biggest winners of the year have to be Marvel. Even though their heroes are divided across Sony, Fox and Disney, Stan Lee’s creations of Spider-Man, Captain America (kind-of) and the X-Men are currently the three biggest films of the year so far and they’ll only continue to grow bigger.

Below you can find the international box-office top ten followed by our own personal picks of the year so far as well as the ten to look for in the rest of 2014:

International Box-office Top 10:

1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Director: Anthony and Joe Russo – Starring: Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Robert Redford, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Emily Van Camp, Samuel L Jackson, Hayley Attwell, Toby Jones – Box-office: $710.8 million
2. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Marc Webb – Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Dane DeHaan, Jamie Foxx, Colm Feore, Felicity Jones, Paul Giamatti, Sally Field, Chris Cooper – $703.3 million
3. X-Men: Days of Future Past – Bryan Singer – Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Peter Dinklage, Ellen Page, Evan Peters, Shawn Ashmore, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, Josh Helman, Omar Sy, Fan Bingbing, Adan Canto, Booboo Stewart, Lucas Till – $700 million
4. Maleficent – Robert Stromberg – Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Lesley Manville – $531.8 million
5. Godzilla – Gareth Edwards – Aaron Taylor Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Ken Watanabe, Bryan Cranston, Sally Hawkins, Juliette Binoche – $478.7 million
6. Rio 2 – Carlos Saldanha – Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Leslie Mann, Bruno Mars, Jemaine Clement, Jamie Foxx, will.i.am – $469.4 million
7. The Lego Movie – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell, Will Arnett, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Charlie Day, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Cobie Smulders – $467.2 million
8. Noah – Darren Aronofsky – Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, Douglas Booth, Anthony Hopkins – $356.2 million
9. 300: Rise of an Empire – Noam Murro – Eva Green, Sullivan Stapleton, Lena Headey, Jack O’Connell, Rodrigo Santoro, Callan Mulvey, David Wenham – $331.1 million
10. Edge of Tomorrow – Doug Liman – Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson, Jonas Armstrong – $298.8 million

Tuorhoth’s Top 10:

1. X-Men: Days of Future Past – Bryan Singer – Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Peter Dinklage, Ellen Page, Evan Peters, Shawn Ashmore, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, Josh Helman, Omar Sy, Fan Bingbing, Adan Canto, Booboo Stewart, Lucas Till
2. Godzilla – Gareth Edwards – Aaron Taylor Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Ken Watanabe, Bryan Cranston, Sally Hawkins, Juliette Binoche
3. The Lego Movie – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell, Will Arnett, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Charlie Day, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Cobie Smulders
4. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Anthony and Joe Russo – Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Robert Redford, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Emily Van Camp, Samuel L Jackson, Hayley Attwell, Toby Jones
5. Edge of Tomorrow – Doug Liman – Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson, Jonas Armstrong
6. The Two Faces of January – Hossein Amini – Viggo Mortensen, Oscar Isaac, Kirsten Dunst
7. Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom – Justin Chadwick – Idris Elba, Naomi Harris
8. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit – Kenneth Branagh – Chris Pine, Keira Knightley, Kenneth Branagh, Kevin Costner, Nonso Anozie, Gemma Chan
9. RoboCop – Jose Padilha – Gary Oldman, Joel Kinnaman, Abbie Cornish, Michael Keaton, Jay Baruchel, Jennifer Ehle, Jackie Earle Haley, Aimee Garcia, Michael K Williams, Samuel L Jackson
10. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Marc Webb – Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Dane DeHaan, Jamie Foxx, Colm Feore, Felicity Jones, Paul Giamatti, Sally Field, Chris Cooper

Top 10 Anticipated:

1. Interstellar – Christopher Nolan – Matthew MacConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, Topher Grace, Casey Affleck, David Oyelowo, John Lithgow, Matt Damon
2. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – Peter Jackson – Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Evangeline Lilly, Luke Evans, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Aidan Turner, James Nesbitt, Ken Stott, Sylvester McCoy, Lee Pace, Manu Bennett, Benedict Cumberbatch, Hugo Weaving, Christopher Lee
3. Gone Girl – David Fincher – Ben Affleck, Neil Patrick Harris, Rosamund Pike
4. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn – Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Michael Caine, Samuel L Jackson, Mark Hamill, Mark Strong
5. Guardians of the Galaxy – James Gunn – Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, John C Reilly
6. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – Matt Reeves – Jason Clarke, Andy Serkis, James Franco, Judy Greer, Gary Oldman, Toby Kebbell, Kodi Smit McPhee
7. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – Francis Lawrence – Jennifer Lawrence, Donald Sutherland, Woody Harrelson, Julianne Moore, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Jena Malone, Sam Clafin, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Toby Jones, Natalie Dormer, Philip Seymour, Hoffman
8. Fury – David Ayer – Brad Pitt, Logan Lerman, Jason Isaacs, Michael Pena, Shia LeBeouf
9. Exodus: Gods and Kings – Ridley Scott – Christian Bale, Aaron Paul, Sigourney Weaver, Joel Edgerton, Ben Kingsley
10. The Judge – David Dobkin – Robert Downey Jr, Robert Duvall, Billy Bob Thornton, Vera Farmiga

New Maleficent poster and Jon Favreau confirmed for Vince Vaughn’s Term Life

Today, we’re kicking off with the chilling new poster from Disney’s haunting revival of their animation Sleeping Beauty. This comes in the form of a transformed Angelina Jolie taking the sinister role of Maleficent. The outcast returns to her home and curses the young Aurora into an eternal sleep. Director Robert Stromberg also adds Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Juno Temple, Miranda Richardson, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Lesley Manville and Peter Capaldi to his cast. Don’t be confused by Disney’s presence; this’ll be an exciting watch.

Since their classic pairing in Swingers, Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Elf) and Vince Vaughn (Dogeball, The Internship) have gone their separate ways; Vaughn departed to form the immortal Vaughn/Owen Wilson duo with Wedding Crashers while Robert Downey Jr and Favreau formed a multi billion combo in the Iron Man trilogy. They are set to reunite however now that Favreau has signed on for the new thriller Term Life.

Term Life sees heist planner and criminal trick writer Nick Barrow who comes to the epiphany that nearly every vengeful mob boss is after him after the numerous times he’s foiled their plans. He attempts to reconcile with his estranged daughter (Hailee Steinfeld) and reconstruct his life but that itself may have hours left. The film, directed by Peter Billingsley (Couples Retreat – another Favreau/Vaughn production), also stars Bill Paxton, Shea Whigham, Anna Colwell and Jonathan Barks.

Term Life – 2015

Maleficent – May 30th

Star Wars 7 for Britain open auditions, Gemma Arteton part of search for 2014 BAFTA Rising Star and Favreau for Jungle Book

I remember names like Benedict Cumberbatch and Mark Kermode being part of the judging panel for the BAFTA Rising Star Award over the years. Now Gemma Arteton, who’s impressed in supporting roles in Quantum of Solace, Prince of Persia and Clash of the Titans and recently starred with Justin Timberlake and Ben Affleck in thriller Runner Runner, has been recruited by the British Academy of Film and Television to help select next year’s nominees and winner alongside Empire Magazine’s Chris Hewitt, Harry Potter’s casting director Karen Lindsay-Stewart, In Bruges producer Peter Czernin and Nanny McPhee director Kirk Smith. If you think it’s a random pick at today’s talented youth then think again. Previous winners of the award include James McAvoy (2005), Eva Green (2006), Shia LaBeouf (2007), Noel Clarke (2008), Kristen Stewart (2009), Tom Hardy (2010), Adam Deacon (2011) and most recently Juno Temple.

Jon Favreau started his directing career with family fantasies like Elf and Zathura. After that, he took to the more adult superhero franchise starters Iron Man and Iron Man 2. He took a quick break to TV, directing episodes of The Office, Revolution and About A Boy, but he’s back to cinema next year with Robert Downey Jr comedy Chef (May 9th 2014). He’s now in talks for a new remake of the classic Disney animation The Jungle Book, itself based upon the Rudyard Kipling novel.

Deadline interviewed the man on his new project. “I can’t say that much, but there is an interesting take that could be very cool and the hope is to relaunch a family brand with certain mythic elements. It is my first real family film since Elf, and there are action elements and visual effects that I feel like my experience on the Iron Man films are going to be useful.”

The aforementioned Benedict Cumberbatch, Saorise Ronan, Sullivan Stapleton, Daniel Day Lewis and more recently Chiwetel Ejiofor are just some of the names rumoured to be in JJ Abrams sci-fi epic reboot Star Wars: Episode VII. It’s now revealed that Disney will be recruiting for roles with open auditions throughout the UK. Here’s the casting call.

Seeking young woman to play 17-18 year old. Must be beautiful, smart and athletic. Open to all ethnicities (including bi and multi-racial) Must be over 16.  

Rachel – Was quite young when she lost her parents. With no other family, she was forced to make her way in a tough, dangerous town. Now 17, she has become street smart and strong. She is able to take care of herself using humor and guts to get by.  Always a survivor, never a victim, she remains hopeful that she can move away from this harsh existence to a better life. She is always thinking of what she can do to move ahead.

Seeking young man to play 19-23 years old. Must be handsome, smart and athletic. Must be over 18.  

Thomas – Has grown up without a father’s influence. Without the model of being a man, he doesn’t have the strongest sense of himself. Despite this he is smart, capable and shows courage when it is needed. He can appreciate the absurdities in life and understands you can’t take life too seriously.

I first thought that Thomas and Rachel don’t sound like the kind of names that you’d find in the Star Wars universe but they could be the working names of Han and Leia’s children to throw the public of the scent. The names I mentioned above were all of well established stars so they’ve got to try and mix up the cast with some unfamiliar, but, talented, faces. After all, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher had seen very little screen time before landing the roles of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia while Alec Guinness was already a screen legend at the time of A New Hope’s release. We’re likely to do a special on what the future Star Wars titles could be in the future.

A meet and greet with casting directors will be coming to:

Amolfini Art Centre, Bristol – November 9th and 10th, 11 am to 3 pm

Progress Centre, Manchester – November 16th and 17th, 10 am to 2 pm

South Block Wasp Studios, Glasgow – November 16th and 17th, 10 am to 2 pm

Filmbase, Dublin – November 23rd and 24th, 10.30 am to 2.30 pm

Apiary, London – November 23rd and 24th, 10 am to 2 pm

You will also need warm clothing as some venues may not be heated and bring a headshot of yourself for the casting directors to keep. You could be landing a four year long role on the world’s biggest franchise so good luck!

Star Wars: Episode VII – Christmas 2015

The Jungle Book – 2016?

New Monuments Men trailer and Maleficent reshoots

Maleficent is Angelina Jolie’s potential new huge role. It’s the story of Sleeping Beauty told from the point if view of it’s villain, a misunderstood but ultimately corrupt witch. Elle Fanning (Super 8) plays the young Princess Aurora who falls into Maleficent’s malevolent traps. Sharlto Copley (Elysium, District 9), Peter Capaldi (The Thick of It, Doctor Who), Miranda Richardson (Harry Potter, Blackadder), Sam Riley (Byzantium, On the Road), Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake, Harry Potter), Juno Temple (The Dark Knight Rises, Killer Joe) and Lesley Manville (Another Year, A Christmas Carol) also make up the supporting cast. Hopefully, they can make this darker than the average Disney film but put it a level higher than the plain dullness that made up Snow White and the Huntsman.

That strong concept will be tweaked however now that John Lee Hancock (director of The Blind Side, which won Sandra Bullock an Oscar, an the upcoming Saving Mr. Banks, which could do the same for Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson) has been drafted in to rewrite the opening of Robert Stromberg’s fantasy adventure which will lead to a reshoot. “He’s not directing,” producer Joe Roth tells is, “He wrote pages and I hired a first-time director and it’s good to have him on set. The movie is gorgeous to look at and the last 75 minutes are really entertaining.”

George Clooney writes directs and stars in The Monuments Men, the true story of a team of art experts venturing into the warzones of WW2 to reclaim some of Europe’s cultural treasures before Hitler wipes them out, alongside Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray, Jean Dujardin, John Goodman, Bob Balaban and Hugh Bonneville. This more action based trailer for the film was released for your entertainment recently. Enjoy!

The Monuments Men – January 9th 2014

Maleficent – May 30th 2014

Saving Mr. Banks – November 29th