Jenkins is Wonder Woman director, Gosling in Blade Runner and Cannes lineup revealed: Woody Allen! Pixar! Mad Max?

Warner Bros suffered a major setback on their highly anticipated fantasy reboot of the DC hero Winder Woman. Director Michelle MacLaren, behind some of the best episodes of Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones, pulled out of the film leaving a gap to fill but the replacement has been announced as Patty Jenkins (Monster) is hired. Jenkins was in fact connected to Marvel’s superhero sequel Thor: The Dark World, long before the Edgar Wright/Ant–Man split, and left based on creative differences. Gal Gadot (Fast & Furious) is the Israeli star who’ll bring the new Wonder Woman to the screen.

Gladiator’s Ridley Scott sadly passed on the new Blade Runner sequel but BAFTA nominated director Denis Villeneuve (Enemy, Incendies, Prisoners) is taking his place. Harrison Ford (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars, The Fugitive) is confirmed to be reprising his role as the futuristic detective Rick Deckard but some new castings are now poised to be made. The latest report shows that Ryan Gosling (Drive, The Ides of March, Crazy Stupid Love, Blue Valentine, The Place Beyond the Pines) is in talks for a a so far unspecified role but you can’t deny some likeness to the original’s Rutger Hauer.

Festivals like Cannes are now major platforms for indie films to get the platform they need to campaign their way to the Oscars and the following list might show some early awards favourites, considering last year the films included Foxcatcher, Mr Turner, Two Days One Night, Maps to the Stars, Leviathan, The Homesman, How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Force Majeure but also included the massive flop Grace of Monaco. Here’s this years selection, which’ll each be scrutinised by the jury (led by Fargo and No Country For Old Men directors Joel and Ethan Cohen) for the prestigious prize of Palme D’Or.

Film: Dheepan
Director: Jacques Audiard (A Prophet, Rust and Bone)
Starring: Vincent Rottiers, Marc Zinga
Premise: The story of a Sri Lankan Tamil warrior who flees to France and ends up working as a caretaker outside Paris.
Nation: France

Film: Marguerite et Julien
Director: Valerie Donzelli (Declaration of War)
Starring: Anais Demoustier, Frederic Pierrot
Nation: France

Film: The Tale of Tales
Director: Matteo Garrone (Gamorra)
Starring: Salma Hayek (Frida), Vincent Cassel (Black Swan), John C Reilly (The Aviator), Toby Jones (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)
Nation: Italy

Film: Carol
Director: Todd Haynes (Far From Heaven, I’m Not There)
Starring: Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine), Rooney Mara (The Social Network), Kyle Chandler (Super 8), Sarah Paulson (American Horror Story), Cory Michael Smith (Gotham)
Premise: Set in 1950s New York, a department-store clerk who dreams of a better life falls for an older, married woman.
Nation: United States

Film: Nie yin niang (The Assassin)
Director: Hsiao Hsien Hou (Three Times)
Starring: Qi Shu, Chen Chang, Satoshi Tsumbuki
Nation: Taiwan

Film: Shan He Gu Ren (Mountains May Depart
Director: Zhangke Jia (Still Life, A Touch of Sin)
Starring: Tao Zhao
Nation: China

Film: Out Little Sister
Director: Hirokazu Koreeda (Nobody Knows, Still Walking)
Starring: Haruka Ayase, Masami Nagasawa
Nation: Japan

Film: Macbeth
Director: Justin Kurzel (Snowtown)
Starring: Michael Fassbender (12 Years A Slave), Marion Cotillard (Inception), David Thewlis (The Theory of Everything), Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby), Sean Harris (Prometheus), Jack Reynor (What Richard Did), Paddy Considine (The World’s End)
Premise: Macbeth, a duke of Scotland, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders his king and takes the throne for himself.
Nation: United Kingdom, France, United States

Film: The Lobster
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos (Dogtooth)
Starring: Colin Farrell (Minority Report), Lea Seydoux (Blue is the Warmest Colour), Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener), Ben Whishaw (Cloud Atlas), John C Reilly (The Aviator), Olivia Colman (Tyranasour)
Premise: In a dystopian near future, single people are obliged to find a matching mate in 45 days or are transformed into animals and released into the woods.
Nation: Greece

Film: Mon Roi
Director: Maiwenn (Polisse)
Starring: Vincent Cassel, Louis Garrel
Nation: France

Film: Mia Madre
Director: Nanni Moretti (The Son’s Room)
Starring: Margherita Buy (The Caiman), John Turturro (Barton Fink)
Nation: Italy

Film: La giovinezza (The Early Years)
Director: Paolo Sorrentino (This Must Be the Place)
Starring: Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener), Michael Caine (Batman Begins), Jane Fonda (Coming Home), Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood), Harvey Keitel (Reservoir Dogs)
Premise: Fred and Mick, two old friends, are on vacation in an elegant hotel at the foot of the Alps.
Nation: Italy

Film: Louder Than Bombs
Director: Joaquim Trier (Oslo August 31st)
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network), Amy Ryan (Birdman), Rachel Brosnahan (House of Cards), David Strathairn (Good Night and Good Luck)
Nation: Norway, France, Denmark, United States

Film: The Sea of Trees
Director: Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting)
Starring: Matthew MacConaughey (Interstellar), Naomi Watts (King Kong), Ken Watanabe (Letters Form Iwo Jima)
Premise: A suicidal American befriends a Japanese man lost in a forest near Mt. Fuji and the two search for a way out.
Nation: United States

Film: Sicario
Director: Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Incendies)
Starring: Emily Blunt (Looper), Josh Brolin (No Country For Old Men), Jon Beranthal (Fury), Benicio Del Toro (Traffic)
Premise: A young female FBI agent joins a secret CIA operation to take down a Mexican cartel boss, a job that ends up pushing her ethical and moral values to the limit.
Nation: United States

Films not competing:

Film: Mad Max: Fury Road
Director: George Miller (The Road Warrior)
Starring: Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises), Charlize Theron (Prometheus), Nicholas Hoult (X-Men: First Class)
Premise: In a post-apocalyptic world, in which people fight to the death, Max teams up with a mysterious woman, Furiousa, to try and survive.
Nation: Australian, United States

Film: Irrational Man
Director: Woody Allen (Annie Hall, Midnight in Paris, Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Starring: Emma Stone (The Help), Joaquin Phoenix (Her)
Premise: On a small town college campus, a philosophy professor in existential crisis gives his life new purpose when he enters into a relationship with his student.
Nation: United States

Film: The Little Prince
Director: Mark Osborne (Kung Fu Panda)
Starring: Rachel McAdams (Sherlock Holmes), Mackenzie Foy (Interstellar), Paul Giamatti (Saving Mr Banks), James Franco (127 Hours), Marion Cotillard (Inception), Jeff Bridges (True Grit), Benicio Del Toro (Traffic), Albert Brooks (Finding Nemo), Ricky Gervais (The Office)
Premise: A pilot crashes in the desert and meets a little boy from a distant planet.
Nation: France

Marvel targeting Ejiofor for Doctor Strange and X-Men: Apocalypse makes new castings

Following his BAFTA winning and Oscar nominated turn in 12 Years a Slave, Chiwetel Ejiofor (Children of Men, Serenity) has been the subject of various studios for mainstream roles. The Bond 24, later titled Spectre, rumours fell through but the Brit is reportedly under consideration for one of Marvel’s biggest upcoming projects: Doctor Strange.

Over the other choices of Jared Leto, Jake Gyllenhaal, Matthew MacConaughey, Tom Hardy and Ewan MacGregor, Benedict Cumbatch (The Imitation Game, Sherlock, Star Trek Into Darkness, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug) will take the lead on director Scott Derickson’s (Sinister) supernatural thriller while Daniel Bruhl (Rush, Captain America: Civil War) is rumoured to be playing a villain. Bill Nighy (Love Actually, Hot Fuzz), Morgan Freeman (The Shawshank Redemption, The Dark Knight) and Ken Watanabe (Inception, Godzilla) are the favourites for the mentor role of The Ancient One. We’re not sure where Ejiofor would slot in but he’ll be a valuable addition to Kevin Feige’s growing cannon.

Stars of the original X-Men such as Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Shawn Ashmore, Anna Paquin, Ellen Page, Kelsey Grammer, Famke Janssen and James Marsden were revived for the superhero crossover X-Men: Days of Future Past but are being dropped in favour of the First Class graduates in the next instalment, Apocalypse. Still, some of those characters will have younger incarnations appear in the form of these new castings.

Beating off the competition of Kick-Ass/Hugo’s Chloe Grace Moretz, British Game of Thrones regular Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark) will play the unstable telepathic Jean Grey. Getting the role of laser-eyed Cyclops/Scott Summers over Kingsmans’ Taron Egerton is Tye Sheridan (The Tree of Life, Mud). Relative newcomer Alexandra Shipp is the tribal goddess Storm.

Bryan Singer (X-Men, X-Men 2, The Usual Suspects) directs the cast of Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games, American Hustle), Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave, Prometheus), James McAvoy (Filth, Atonement), Oscar Isaac (A Most Violent Year, Inside Lleweyn Davis), Evan Peters (Kick-Ass, American Horror Story), Nicholas Hoult (Warm Bodies), Channing Tatum (Foxcatcher, 21 Jump Street) and Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables, The Prestige, Prisoners, The Fountain).

X-Men: Apocalypse – May 19th 2016

Doctor Strange – October 28th 2016

The Top 10 Internet-Buzzed Films of 2014

Defining success is a difficult thing to categorise: critically, the likes of Boyhood, Birdman, The Imitation Game, Foxcatcher and Gone Girl lead the pack; commercially, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Guardians of Galaxy, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay and Maleficent thrived. A digital word of mouth is another interesting definition and Google Trend’s end of year report publishes the most searched, and perhaps most popular, releases of 2014.

1. Frozen – Directors: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee – Starring: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Josh Gad
2. Interstellar – Christopher Nolan – Matthew MacConaughey, Mackenzie Foy, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Casey Affleck, Michael Caine
3. Divergent – Neil Burger – Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Jai Courtney, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort
4. Gone Girl – David Fincher – Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Tyler Perry, Neil Patrick Harris
5. Lone Survivor – Peter Berg – Mark Wahlberg, Emile Hirsch, Taylor Kitsch, Ben Foster
6. Godzilla – Gareth Edwards – Bryan Cranston, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, Elizabeth Olsen
7. 22 Jump Street – Phil Lord and Chris Miller – Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube, Wyatt Russell
8. Big Hero 6 – Don Hall, Chris Williams – Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, TJ Miller, Maya Rudolph, Alan Tudyk
9. Annabelle – John R Leonetti – Annabelle Wallis, Ward Horton
10. Maleficent – Robert Stromberg – Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Juno Temple, Imelda Staunton, Sharlto Copley

The most surprising entry hear is Annabelle, a low budget and universally trashed horror flick that’s beaten off the likes of The Fault in Our Stars, The Lego Movie, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Edge of Tomorrow, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay. Marvel’s four smash hits (Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, X-Men: Days of Future Past) has conceded to a Disney triple bill (Maleficent, Big Hero 6, Frozen).

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

Godzilla review

Director: Gareth Edwards

Starring: Aaron Taylor Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Ken Watanabe, Bryan Cranston, Carson Bolde, Sally Hawkins, David Straithairn, Juliette Binoche

The King of the Monsters has been dormant for sixteen years after Roland Emmerich did for the Japanese icon what Joel Schumacher did for Batman but that horrifying franchise slayer allowed a Phoenix-like rebirth in 2005 with Batman Begins. Our first query was if Legendary’s new Godzilla could now have a Nolan-esque reboot? The second was how can visual effects maestro Gareth Edwards gain a huge hit when his only feature film directing credit is the micro-budget horror/drama Monsters? Finally, we questioned Godzilla’s relevance in a modern world of Pacific Rim and Cloverfield.

Fifteen years after the supposed natural disaster at the Janjira nuclear plant, frantic physicist Joe Brody (Cranston) is determined to prove that the destruction of his site was no accident. He enlists the help of his soldier son Ford (Taylor Johnson) but they discover that decades of conspiracy and cover ups have been hiding the truth of monsters. However, as the creatures return and threaten apocalypse, Ford is torn away from his family to fight against Godzilla, the King of the Monsters.

A common trait of disaster films is an unequal distribution of a focus on the monsters or the danger and development of characters. What Godzilla has undoubtedly done excellently is build up a greatly credible set of human characters to allow a presentation of humanity’s personal and political reaction to the apocalypse, not dissimilar to the World War Z novel.

Across the all star ensemble, the power of the film comes from two astonishing supporting performances. First off is Bryan Cranston who unsurprisingly dominates the screen in whatever time he’s given; he consistently burns a hole into each scene.

Elizabeth Olsen who’s making a huge impression in her first blockbuster role. She portrays Ford’s wife with great strength and presence putting genuine heart into the narrative. It’s just as well as there’s a lack of heart in the main plot threads.

Taylor Johnson (although he has a good dynamic with Olsen), as well as the rest of his frustratingly underdeveloped army buddies, is far too annoyingly nondescript to be the film’s lead while the immense talents of Ken Watanabe and Sally Hawkins seem to be wasted on generic scientist roles. The motives for obsessing over the monsters, and also their relationship, is hinted at but never fully explained.

Sadly the main storyline of Godzilla battling the irradiated MUTOs is slightly disappointing but it gets right the horror-like build up of suspense for the epic final reveal. The finale kicks off in style with the much-hyped parachuting sequence which has to be the most tense, well constructed and electrifying action sequence I’ve seen on film. From that, it evolves into a brilliant three-way brawl that genuinely pushed boundaries of filmaking – hats off to cinematographer Seamus Montgomery.

Comparing this, or any reboot for that matter, to Batman Begins is a harsh example but Godzilla, through its faults, honours the original while still being this year’s freshest and most horrifying action film. Daring yet successful, Gareth Edwards has cemented his place as Hollywood’s new king of monsters. Bring on Mothra!

9/10

“You’re hiding something out there! And it is going to send us back to the Stone Age!”

Fantastic Beasts rumours Alfonso Cuaron and work begins on Godzilla 2

The obvious next step for JK Rowling’a Harry Potter spin off Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, having likely got together a script, is to find a director but they are going back through their list of former Potter directors to see if they’re interested. There were four director across the eight films: Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuaron, Mike Newell and David Yates. Unsurprisingly, Cuaron is rumoured to be the first director to be approached for the film. Since he made his mark on the series with Prisoner of Azkaban (our personal favourite from the bunch), the Mexican has made the smash hit sci-fi thrillers Children of Men and Gravity (which one seven Oscar – winning Best Director, Cinematography and Editing and nominated for Best Picture and Best Leading Actress – last year) so his return will be most welcome.

Our review of Gareth Edwards’ new vision of Godzilla is coming very soon but you’ve likely picked up that it became the US’ second biggest opening weekend release of the year so far, only slightly behind Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and took an astonishing $190 million worldwide. It isn’t too far fetched to expect distant roars of a sequel headed our way. Writer Max Borenstein has expressed interest but everyone’s wondering what could be the new film’s focus. The word of the day seems to be Mothra, another legendary monster from the time that certainly was hinted at in the new film, but we’re interested if the sequel will just stick with Godzilla. Many monster film, and disaster films in general, give very little thought to its human characters but that’s something the new film got right. It needs to dedicate to that ideal by reviving the likes of Aaron Taylor Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen and Sally Hawkins to retain humanity’s presence.

Godzilla 2 – 2017?

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – November 18th 2016

ABC calls for more Marvel TV, Bourne 5 gets a new writer and John Goodman and Ken Watanabe

The Bourne Legacy was a fairly mediocre action spin-off to a modern masterpiece trilogy, and was a minor box office let down, and yet Universal want to expand on Aaron Cross’ (Jeremy Renner) story, despite Matt Damon, the original Jason Bourne, saying he’s willing to do another with director Paul Greengrass. We had believed that Sherlock Holmes’ Anthony Peckham would be the new Bourne’s writer but newcomer Andrew Baldwin has been appointed. Baldwin has no existing credits but has multiple projects in development such as Bastille Day and The Outsider. As long as the script has smarts to it, my only existed issue would be the style. The Bourne films are far more hard hitting when they subscribe to less CG effects but that’s unlikely with Justin Lin (Fast and Furious) aboard.

The principal photography of Michael Bay’s action sequel Transformers: Age of Extinction wrapped up long ago but that hasn’t stopped it from making a few last minute castings. These aren’t your run of the mill extras or post production stand ins. Golden Globe winner John Goodman (The Big Lebowski, Monsters Inc, Argo, The Artist, Barton Fink) and Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai, Inception, Letter From Iwo Jima, Godzilla, Batman Begins) will be voicing their own transformers named Hound and Drift respectively. They join the likes of Mark Wahlberg, Jack Reynor, Peter Cullen, Nicola Peltz, TJ Miller, Kelsey Grammer and Stanley Tucci in the cast.

Agents of SHIELD hasn’t been the ratings smash many expected but the meticulous twists of the second half of its first season have been great fun. That lead to the making of Netflix’s The Defenders but ABC will be looking to install future Marvel adventures. It’s pleasing to hear that a second series has been confirmed, most likely in time for the new season.

As well as this, Captain America star Hayley Atwell took to Twitter to confirm a 13 part Agent Carter series which, if successful, will likely be extended to 22. The expansion of 2013’s Agent Carter short film will likely explore the origins of SHIELD shortly after WW2. Hopping and dancing around MAOS and The Winter Soldier spoilers, we’d be surprised if the eagle eyed Carter doesn’t find something askew in the intelligence organisation. Although there’s been no word on this, it’d be awesome if the films’ stars Dominic Cooper (Howard Stark) and Toby Jones (Arnim Zola) reprised their roles to become series regulars.

Agent Carter – 2015 on ABC

Agents of SHIELD season 2 – this autumn on ABC

The Bourne Betrayal? – August 21st 2015

Transformers: Age of Extinction – July 10th

Neeson in talks for Scorsese’s Silence and Her and Captain Phillips triumph at Writer’s Guild Awards

In loving memory of Phillip Seymour Hoffman, an Oscar winning legend and star of The Master, Capote, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Mission: Impossible 3, who died today aged 46. July 23rd 1967 – January 2nd 2014

Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity) picked up the Director’s Guild; American Hustle, Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine), Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave), Matthew MacConaughey and Jared Leto (both Dallas Buyers Club) swept up at the Screen Actor’s Guild; Gravity and 12 Years a Slave tied and Producer’s Guild. The Guild Awards now conclude with the Writer’s Guild Awards.

Best Original Screenplay:

Her – Spike Jonze

American Hustle – Eric Warren Singer, David O’Russell

Blue Jasmine – Woody Allen

Dallas Buyers Club – Craig Borten, Melissa Wallack

Nebraska – Bob Nelson

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Captain Phillips – Billy Ray

August: Osage County – Tracy Letts

Before Midnight – Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy

Lone Survivor – Peter Berg

The Wolf of Wall Street – Terence Winter

Best Documentary Screenplay:

Stories We Tell – Sarah Polley

Dirty Wars – Jeremy Scahill, David Riker

Herblock: The Black and the White – Sara Lukinson, Michael Stevens

No Place on Earth – Janet Tobais, Paul Laikin

We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks – Alex Gibney

In TV, Breaking Bad, Veep, Days of Our Lives, House of Lies and The Colbert Report won one award each.

Just a quick snippet of news to say that two Oscar nominated legends will be teaming up for an upcoming project. Director Martin Scrosese (The Departed, Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, Shutter Island, Hugo, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Aviator, Casino, Cape Fear, The Age of Innocence, The Last Temptation of Christ, After Hours, Raging Bull, The King of Comedy and Mean Streets) has just added Liam Neeson (Taken, Schindler’s List, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight Rises, Star Wars, The Chronicles of Narnia) to the cast of the upcoming drama Silence alongside Andrew Garfield, Ken Watanabe and Adam Driver. The pair will be reuniting for the first time twelve years, the last being when the acclaimed Gangs of New York was released.

Silence – 2015