Guardians of the Galaxy To Get A Rewrite

It was recently announced that Chris McCoy has been tapped to rewrite Guardians of the Galaxy, a new space adventure movie from Marvel Studios. The film is part of Marvel’s second wave of movies, and according to The Hollywood Reporter, it is the only new title among the group. The rest are sequels featuring Iron Man, Thor and Captain America.

The Guardians of the Galaxy are a fictional superhero team that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Guardians first appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy (vol. 2) #1 in May of 2008.

The comic series was published to wide acclaim. The May 2008 sales estimate for the first issue was 39,854 copies, making it the 61st top-selling comic title that month. The first and second issues sold out as well but were reprinted in a special collectors edition.

The film was officially announced at Comic-Con in July.

Though there have been multiple incarnations of the Guardians team in the comic series, the film’s team will include Dax the Destroyer, a human resurrected as a green warrior tasked with killing Thanos (the villain featured in the teaser scene at the end of The Avengers), Groot, a giant tree-man, Star-Lord, a gun-wielding alien-human hybrid and vigilante, Rocket Raccoon, a genetically engineered raccoon who uses explosives, and Gamora, the sole survivor of her species, saved by Thanos to be his assassin, but now fights against him.

Nicole Perlman, a graduate of Marvel’s former writing program, wrote the previous draft of the script, according to THR.

For more information about Guardians of the Galaxy, click here. The film is scheduled to be released on August 1, 2014

Philip Seymour Hoffman On Plutarch Heavensbee and Catching Fire

Lionsgate announced a few weeks ago that the role of Plutarch Heavensbee has been cast with the role being filled by renowned actor Philip Seymour Hoffman. Many were surprised by this casting as Hoffman is most known for his serious roles in films such as “Doubt,” “The Ides of March,” “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead,” “Capote,” and “Cold Mountain.” (Though he was also gold in the comedy film Along Came Polly.) 

Hoffman recently spoke about why he chose the role. A major fact, he explained, was the character he would be portraying.

“I liked the people involved. It’s a great group of actors. It’s a great environment. And the character was something I was attracted to. It was just an interesting role,” Hoffman recently told EW.com.

Plutarch becomes the head gamemaker during the 75th Hunger Games Quarter Quell in Catching Fire and eventually helps the main character Katniss.

“He’s somebody who’s part of the revolution, but you don’t know it. The idea that somebody would be risking themselves in such an extreme way to join something that’s that dangerous because he thinks it’s the future…that’s interesting stuff, you know?” he continued.

Before taking the role, Hoffman revealed he hadn’t even read the novels. However, once offered, he read the entire series and watched the first film to catch up.

 “It’s good. I’ve read the script, which is true to the book — I kinda ruined it for myself. But I’m reading it anyway, because I really want to find out everything I need to know about this guy,” Hoffman said in the interview.

Hoffman is expected to return for Mockingjay part 1 and 2, a two part film based on the third and final novel.  The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is due out in theaters Nov. 22, 2013.

Game of Thrones and True Blood Aren’t Going Anywhere

HBO easily has two of the most popular series around. “Game of Thrones” continues to be a top performer along side their other series “True Blood.” But many wonder what future do these shows have? Thankfully, HBO executives recently sat down to answer questions while sounding off about the futures of the mega popular shows they air.

Richard Plepler and Michael Lombardo talked about where they see the two hit shows going in the future.

“Game of Thrones,” based off the book series written by George R.R. Martin, is about to enter its third season which will be based on the first half of the third novel, “A Storm of Swords.” The show’s future, however, is largely dependent on the novels.

Plepler offered a conforting statement for those who worry the series will end before the books do.

 “As long as he keeps writing we’ll keep producing, and he seems excited with that prospect.”

The novel series, A Song of Ice and Fire, has two novels left still to be written by Martin, however, in case something should happen, the producers of the HBO series, know how it is going to end. This also means they wrote make any major changes to the plot either.

“True Blood,” based on the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris, is halfway through its fifth season. Plepler and Lombardo seem confident that the series will continue on despite showrunner, Alan Ball, stepping down.

This coming year Alan Ball is taking a little bit of a step back, but I think creatively, they’re still engaged and excited by the storytelling,” Lombardo explains. “As long as it continues to be performing with the consumer, but more importantly exciting the storytellers, I think we’re there.”

HBO definitely seems to know where their money is coming from. Now, if only they would allow an online subscription…

Kristen Stewart To Lie Down In Darkness

Like she recently did with Rupert Sanders, BA-ZING!

Ok, I’m going to put my K-stew serious face on. It was recently announced that Stewart is set to play the lead role in the upcoming adaptation, Lie Down In Darkness. The film is based on the novel of the same name written by William Styron that was first published in 1952.

“Lie Down In Darkness” was Styron’s first novel and has received wide critical acclaim.

The official description of the novel is as follows:

“Lie Down in Darkness” centers on the Loftis family — Milton and Helen and their daughters, Peyton and Maudie. The story, told through a series of flashbacks on the day of Peyton’s funeral, is a powerful depiction of a family doomed by its failure to forget and its inability to love.

Scott Cooper is attached to direct the project. Stewart will play Peyton, however, there is no official start date yet.

There is also no word on any other talent attached to the project or an anticipated release date.

Warner Bros. Acquires Beautiful Disaster

Warner Bros. has won a bidding war for “Beautiful Disaster,” Jamie McGuire’s Fifty Shades of Grey-like series aimed at the young adult demographic. Donald De Line, producer of Michael Bay’s Pain and Gain, is attached to the project.

The book began as a self-published online novel, became a hit and was picked up by a publishing house, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

It tells the story of squeaky-clean college student Abby Abernathy, who doesn’t drink or swear. She meets Travis Maddox, who is “lean, cut and covered in tattoos,” according to the book’s description. Maddox makes a bet with Abernathy, and if she wins, he must abstain from sex for one month. If she loses, she must live with him for one month.

Beautiful Disaster, according to THR, is being seen by studio executives as a safer and less risky adaptation than E.L. James’ increasingly popular Fifty Shades of Grey, which is full of sexual content that could cause issues at the box office.

McGuire’s book has sold more than 200,000 copies, first as an ebook, and later as a trade paperback through Amazon’s Createspace. It topped Amazon’s self-published sales chart, and appeared on The New York Times bestseller list.

Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, signed McGuire and will release an official paperback version on Aug. 14.

Read Beautiful Disaster’s official description below:

“The new Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate percentage of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance between her and the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at college with her best friend America, her path to a new beginning is quickly challenged by Eastern University’s Walking One-Night Stand. Travis Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby needs—and wants—to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating fight ring, and his days as the charming college co-ed. Intrigued by Abby’s resistance to his charms, Travis tricks her into his daily life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis’ apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no idea that he has met his match.”

What do you think of the new risquee trend in literature? Tell us in the comments!

Deadshot To Appear In CW’s Arrow

The CW recently revealed that DC Comics villian Deadshot will in fact appear in their upcoming TV series “Arrow,” an adaptation of The Green Arrow comic series. Canadian actor Michael Rowe will portray the villain in the third episode, “Lone Gunmen.”

Rowe joins Kelly Hu, who will portray China White, and Deathstroke to round out the early list of bad guys Arrow will face.

Executive producer Marc Guggenheim (Green Lantern) explained that Arrow’s take on the character would be more faithful to the source material than DC’s last CW show, Smallville.

“You’ll definitely see the red eye piece, which is the most distinctive, iconic feature of that character, and I will say that with no slam to ‘Smallville’ intended, it’s a much more faithful version of Deadshot than the Deadshot that was in ‘Smallville’.”

But, Guggenheim explains, the show will take liberties with the character.

“In the same way that the pilot is a more grounded and realistic take on the material, our Deadshot is a more grounded and realistic take on the character than the fully costumed and masked super-villain that you see in the comics.”

Guggenheim also spoke about why he cast the unknown Rowe in the role in regards to his physical stature.

“Deadshot doesn’t speak much, so he has to have that physicality,” he says.

Stephen Amell (HBO’s Hung), who will portray the Arrow in the series, says Arrow’s relationship with Deadshot will be complicated.

“I can tell you that they are going to be after some of the same people,” Amell says. “Oliver does have a code. Obviously, it doesn’t include ‘no killing,’ as we’ve established so far, but there is a code. I don’t think Deadshot has it. I don’t think he respects his methods, which puts him in Oliver’s sights.”

The plot to Arrow sees billionaire Oliver Queen returning home with after being marooned on a remote island for five years. When he returns he has a mysterious new agenda, and a lethal skill set he will use to fight a war on crime.

Arrow will premiere Wednesday October 10 at 8 p.m.

The series co-stars Colin Donnell as Tommy, Katie Cassidy as Laurel Lance, David Ramsey as John Diggle, Willa Holland as Thea Queen, with Susanna Thompson as Moira Queen and Paul Blackthorne as Detective Quentin Lance. Greg Berlanti (Green Lantern), Andrew Kreisberg (Warehouse 13, Fringe), and David Nutter (Smallville, Game Of Thrones) will also join Guggenheim as  co-executive producers.

Two New Cast Members Added To City of Bones

The upcoming film adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s “City of Bones” has almost rounded out is main cast. The author announced the addition of two new cast members yesterday including Aidan Turner as Luke and CCH Pounder as Madame Dorothea.

Turner is most known for playing (incredibly sexy) vampire Mitchell on the British “Being Human.” He also is gaining attention for his upcoming role in The Hobbit trilogy in which he will play the character of Kili. Turner is set to play Luke in “City of Bones,” a character that is a father figure to Clary as well as a protector to her family.

“Luke has a hell of a dark past despite his current mild-mannered, bookstore-owning ways. The scars he bears belie his gentle heart — but he could tear you apart with his teeth if you threatened something he cared about,” says Clare about Luke.

CCH Pounder has been in several television shows over the years and has a wealth of experience in the industry. She is set to play the role of Madame Dorothea, Clary’s next door neighbor who is definitely more than she appears at first.

“You may know her from The Shield. Or The X-Files. Or Warehouse 13. Or ER. Or The West Wing. Or pretty much every cool show in the known universe. Our director’s wanted to work with her for ages and I think she will be amazing,” says Clare.

Turner and Pounder join the already star studded cast that includes:

  • Lily Collins is Clary Fray
  • Jamie Campbell Bower is Jace Wayland
  • Robert Sheehan is Simon Lewis
  • Jemima West is Isabelle Lightwood
  • Kevin Durand is Pangborn
  • Robert Maillet is Blackwell
  • Lena Headey is Jocelyn Fray
  • Godfrey Gao is Magnus Bane
  • Jared Harris is Hodge
  • Aidan Turner is Luke
  • CCH Pounder is Madame Dorothea

The film is being directed by Harald Zwart.

‘True Blood’ Actress Janina Gavankar Talks Nude Scenes, Sookie’s Love Triangle

 

HBO’s hit series, “True Blood” is known for many things. A large audience, kinky and not so kinky sex scenes and about a million different plots shoved into every episode. Recently, Janina Gavankar, the woman who plays Luna, Sam Merlotte’s shifter sometimes girlfriend, sat down with Celebuzz to talk about the show as well as its copious amounts of sex and nakedness.

We know that the shifters in the series are often naked. When they change form they have to be so that means both for Sam and Luna, lots of time in front of the camera naked. Gavankar assured that she feels completely comfortable to be naked in the professional environment of the show.

I am. Besides the fact that it is obviously the most professional environment that you can imagine, I joined in season four so by then they had already seen way worse than what I was about to do. Shifters are naked so much just because we shift into other things that we’re not even connected to. I feel like I’m just as connected to my human form as I am to a horse form. So in that regard, the brain space of nudity is a little different for shifters, and that is something obviously I’m very OK with.

To prepare for her nude scenes and/or racier scenes with in the series, Gavankar explained the process of keeping everything professional (even when her mother was in town watching.)

We do fittings for a day of nudity, meaning what kind of nude-colored undergarment am I going to tape to my body to make sure that everybody can remain professional. We have really long work days so you’re in these outfits — or non-outfits — with everybody around you doing their job. On one day, my mother was actually in town — and when my mom is in town I take her everywhere — so she was there for the entire fitting watching it all happen.

It demystified the entire thing for her [mother]. She really got to see how it’s very much work. It’s a full work day and she got to see how professional it really was. She was there for the entire fitting watching it all happen — how we’re talking about sizes of underwear and which color matches my skin tone. It’s really very technical. There’s nothing sexy and therefore awkward because of it. There is nothing awkward about it because there is nothing sexy about it either.

Most of us would probably be mortified to watch a taped sex scene featuring ourselves, but not Gavankar, she explains how the post production crew makes it look much better than it did the day it was filmed.

Here’s the truth: They make us look even better than we do in real life, because were in full makeup. We’ve probably been sprayed tanned, made up and the lighting is perfect with wind blowing through your hair. There’s even a film score behind it and the music makes it even cooler. By the time you watch it, it’s all been cut together so beautifully that it looks way better than it did on the day of the shoot.

Gavankar also let us know who she thinks Sookie should end up with.

I love Bill (Stephen Moyer) but I think she needs to give Alcide (Joe Manganiello) a real shot. But in the very end? I would say Bill. I feel like whenever she’s crying and she’s with him, I’m always more choked up. Maybe it’s just because of their real life chemistry.

11 New Promo Images For The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Pt. 2

For those of you stoked about the upcoming finale movie installment in The Twilight Saga, you’ll be happy to see these 11 new promo images recently revealed online. And yes they all look positively brooding and/or ridiculous because it wouldn’t be Twilight unless all the vampires and werewolves were angsty (although the one of Stewart above appears she is sort of smiling, so thats something)

Despite being amidst a cheating scandal between stars/ former lovers Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, the film is expected to still do extremely well in the box office. The Bill Condon-directed adaptation opens in theaters on November 16.

Check out the new promo images below:

 

Based on Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” series, the film’s large cast includes:

Main cast
  • Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan/Cullen
  • Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen
  • Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black
  • Peter Facinelli as Carlisle Cullen
  • Elizabeth Reaser as Esme Cullen
  • Ashley Greene as Alice Cullen
  • Kellan Lutz as Emmett Cullen
  • Nikki Reed as Rosalie Hale
  • Jackson Rathbone as Jasper Hale
  • Billy Burke as Charlie Swan
  • Sarah Clarke as Renée Dwyer
  • Julia Jones as Leah Clearwater
  • Booboo Stewart as Seth Clearwater
  • MyAnna Buring as Tanya
  • Maggie Grace as Irina
  • Casey LaBow as Kate
  • Michael Sheen as Aro
  • Jamie Campbell Bower
  • Christopher Heyerdahl as Marcus
  • Chaske Spencer as Sam Uley
  • Christian Camargo as Eleazar
  • Mía Maestro as Carmen
  • Mackenzie Foy as Renesmee Cullen
Part 2 adds new cast members:
  • Dakota Fanning as Jane
  • Cameron Bright as Alec
  • Charlie Bewley as Demetri
  • Daniel Cudmore as Felix
  • Noel Fisher as Vladimir
  • Guri Weinberg as Stefan
  • Lee Pace as Garrett
  • Joe Anderson as Alistair
  • Judi Shekoni as Zafrina
  • Tracey Huggins as Senna
  • J.D. Pardo as Nahuel
  • Rami Malek as Benjamin

Walking Dead Game Now Available on iOS

Fans of the “Walking Dead” series can now experience the apocalypse on the go; the first episode of the critically acclaimed video game based on the comic book series has finally been released for iOS download.

Walking Dead: The Game (not to be confused with the app that allows you to read the comic series) follows Lee Everett, an original character created for the game, through his adventures in a world overrun by zombies.

The game was developed by Telltale Games, who previously developed games based on other hits shows like “CSI” and “Law & Order.” Uncharacteristic of other games in the zombie genre, the game is not action-based, but rather focuses on the stories and the characters.

Series regulars (and fan favorites) like Glenn and Hershel Greene will also make cameo appearances in the video game.

This allows fans of the series something else to be emotionally invested in while we count down the days till October 14, when Season 3 premieres.

As for what took Telltale so long to reach iOS gamers, according to http://www.idigitaltimes.com, “Telltale has taken the time to integrate their new interface design into the iOS version of their Walking Dead game. In other words, the company took the extra time to make sure the iOS version had a more intuitive experience by seamlessly blending the game’s actions into the environment.”

Walking Dead: The Game episode one, “A New Day,” is now supported on the following iOS devices: iPad, iPad 2, iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, and 4th Generation iPods and above.

Four more episodes are planned to be released in the coming months.