Producer Hopes 'The Legend Of Conan' With Arnold Schwarzenegger Will Kickstart A New Trilogy

 by Drew Taylor

Fredrik Malmberg, the CEO of Paradox Entertainment, a company that currently holds the rights to the "Conan the Barbarian" franchise (originally created by pulp author Robert E. Howard), claims that the new 'Conan' movie, which is slated to star Arnold Schwarzenegger in the iconic role he made famous back in 1982, will actually/hopefully be the first part of a new trilogy. Good lord that's a lot of Conan!

"We have a great story," Malmberg told The Arnold Fans (via Total Film). "Everyone loves it. This is a role that’s perfect for [Arnold] and he’s very involved with the whole Universal team. It’s the best team they have. Arnold has been very instrumental to bringing this together saying, ‘We gotta make a good Conan!’"

Apparently the new film will disregard both the sequel, "Conan the Destroyer," which also starred Schwarzenegger, and 2011's abysmal remake. What it can't disregard, of course, is the franchise-hungry movie-making climate (keep in mind Universal, home to the endless "Fast and Furious" series, is behind the sequel). "I think if we do this right, we can do two more Conan movies right after," Malmberg continued. "I think 'Game Of Thrones' also shows a huge interest in fantasy. I’m psyched about it."

Malmberg also revealed a little bit about the movie's plot, which under the title "The Legend of Conan" and is being written by "Fast and Furious" mainstay Chris Morgan: "The idea is that this takes place after Conan has been king. But this is the legend of Conan where he has been gone and people say, ‘Do you remember the good ol’ days when Conan was around?’ And now it’s time for him to come back." He also claimed that they would not be going with an "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" approach and try to pass the franchise off to a younger actor ("This is Arnold's movie!") and said that the movie would most likely feature more of Basil Poledouris' unforgettable score, after an hour of unused material was recently discovered.

While a lot of Malmberg's claims sound like the overexcited ravings of a hype man trying to generate excitement for his project, there are enough specifics to think that it is probably a go movie. But what about a go trilogy? Is anyone really that excited about future Conan adventures? Or is one just enough nostalgia?  

Source;

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/producer-claims-new-conan-movie-the-first-part-of-a-trilogy-20130730

Jamie Foxx is ‘aggressively pursuing’ a new Spawn movie

by Josh Wigler

(CBR) Jamie Foxx is set to terrorize Peter Parker next summer in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, playing the charged-up villain Electro. But playing Max Dillon isn’t the end of Foxx’s comic-book movie ambitions. In a new interview, the Oscar-winning actor revealed a dream project he wants to star in: an adaptation of Todd McFarlane’s "Spawn."

“Spawn is one, yeah,” Foxx told Movies.com when asked about movies he wants to make happen. “And Mike Tyson. Those are two roles I would just love to do. I’m aggressively pursuing them.”

Foxx as Tyson is a big enough prospect for its own post, but his “aggressive” desire to play Al Simmons is especially interesting for comic book fans. Previously, Michael Jai White played "Spawn"  in the 1997 film  that didn’t receive the kindest reviews, while Keith David lent his voice to the demonic antihero for HBO’s animated series. In today’s world of constant comic-book movie releases, another Spawn is all but inevitable, especially considering that McFarlane wants to make the movie himself.

“Since [Spawn is] floating out there, someone’s always bugging me and going, ‘We’re looking to [buy] this independent stuff because we can’t get the X-Men or Spider-Man or Superman… so when are you going to let us have a shot at this?’” McFarlane told CBR News in 2010. “It’s been happening for the last few years nonstop, and it’s time for me to take advantage of it by finishing the script, trying to make the deal and see if I can direct it.”

Almost three full years have passed since that interview, with little public movement on the movie’s development. Perhaps Foxx’s announced interest will finally bring "Spawn back to life.

Source;
http://www.hitfix.com/news/jamie-foxx-is-aggressively-pursuing-a-new-spawn-movie

‘The Amazing Spider-Man 4′ To Feature Sinister Six?

The Amazing Spiderman 2 hasn’t even hit theaters yet, but we may already have a clue as to what we can expect from The Amazing Spiderman 4! We know it’s a little far in advance, but hey, when Marc Webb talks, we gotta tell you about it. The Spidey director sat down with Crave Online, and his plans for the franchise’s future may surprise you. Webb said that he originally thought of these Amazing Spiderman movies as a trilogy, and that there was a structured outline for the story.

However, for the fourth film the director made it seem like he wanted to bring in other “ancillary” characters from this Spider-Man world, and that quote “It might not be just a Spider-Man movie.” Alright! This sounds kinda interesting, considering none of the other heroes in the Spiderman Universe have ever really had any screen time. Webb said quote ” You know, what was fun about the comics is that there’s an entire sort of encyclopedia of characters and stories and histories and nuances and idiosyncrasies and off-shoots.

I think that that is something that seems to be really successful and has a lot of potential so it’s sort of, as yet, undefined, but intentionally so.” Ok, so which characters do we think could make an appearance in The Amazing Spiderman 4? Well, with a number of potential characters being introduced just in next year’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, things are potentially looking like we could actually see the creation of the Sinister Six come into the picture with Peter finally learning about the secrets behind his family’s history.

Source;
http://www.sohood.com/2013/07/the-amazing-spider-man-4-feature-sinister-six/

Star Wars sequels to be scored by John Williams

Composer John Williams is to return to score Star Wars: Episode VII, it has been announced.

The Oscar-winner, who has composed all six films in the sci-fi saga, said he was "happy to be continuing to be part of the whole fun" of the franchise.

Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy confirmed the news at a Star Wars fan event in Germany.
In an interview with StarWars.com, Williams hinted he would likely use some of the music from previous films.

"I haven't seen the script, so the story is still unknown to me, but I can't image there will not be some references to the existing stories that would make appropriate use of some of the earlier themes," he said.
The composer has won five Oscars over his 60-year career for his famous film scores including Jaws, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and the first Star Wars film.

He has also been nominated for more than 40 other Academy Awards for his work on movies including Superman, the Indiana Jones films, Saving Private Ryan and most recently, Lincoln.

In April, Episode VII director JJ Abrams indicated he wanted Williams to score his film, but said it was "early days".

In his latest interview, Williams praised the director saying he was "perfectly chosen to continue George Lucas's great odyssey".

Star Wars: Episode VII is scheduled to be released in 2015.

Source;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23488287

Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher told to `slim down` for `Star Wars` role

London: Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher, who played two of `Star Wars` best-loved characters- Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker, have been told to lose weight for the new Star Wars film.

The pair has allegedly been told to slim down before the film begins later this year if they are to resemble their original characters, the Daily Express reported.

A source told the Sun that the duo needs to be as close to their appearance in the earlier movies as possible.

According to the publication, the pair has been assigned nutritionists and personal trainers to work with them ahead of the production.

The source added that producers are keen to help out and have offered support as the budget of the film is huge so there will be no expense spared. 

Source;
http://zeenews.india.com/entertainment/celebrity/mark-hamill-and-carrie-fisher-told-to-slim-down-for-star-wars-role_137794.htm

'Prometheus' comic teased by Dark Horse

The company - which has published Alien franchise comics since 1988 - is working on a mysterious tie-in to Ridley Scott's controversial 2012 prequel.


"We're brewing something up that I think the fans of Ridley Scott's amazing film will really like," publisher and founder Mike Richardson told The Hollywood Reporter.

Dark Horse is expected to reveal more details of the title at San Diego Comic-Con International later in the month.

A sequel to Prometheus is currently in the works from screenwriter Jack Paglen.

Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, Noomi Rapace and Rafe Spall starred in last year's movie.

Source;

http://www.digitalspy.ca/comics/news/a495831/prometheus-comic-teased-by-dark-horse.html