Newsarama: 7th October

Newsarama: 7th October

Newsarama is here once again, rounding off the week with a look back at the most interesting tidbits of movie news from the last seven days. Exciting new teaser trailers this week, as well as the reveal of some bizarre boardgame adaptations in the works.

10. Captain America 2 auditioning for a leading lady.

Since his untimely departure from his own era, poor old Steve Rogers has been missing his beloved Peggy Carter. Well, he may be in luck, as there's a new love interest on the cards for him to bond with in his sequel Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Marvel have apparently assembled (geddit?) a wide range of female talent to audition for the unspecified role, including Imogen Poots, Teresa Palmer, Emilia Clarke and Jessica Brown Findlay. Logic would suggest that the part in question is that of Sharon Carter who, in the comics, is the granddaughter of Cap's girl in the first movie and offers him solace in his new modern setting.

Meanwhile, Marvel have also confirmed that Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow will be making an appearance in the movie, ensuring the Marvel universe stays consistent with its crossovers following The Avengers this year. Captain America 2 opens in the UK on April 4th 2014.

9. Director Matt Reeves confirmed for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

Rupert Wyatt jumped ship from the sequel to 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes a few weeks ago following disagreements regarding the tight release schedule. Now, Cloverfield and Let Me In director Matt Reeves will commandeer Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Reeves is no stranger to huge action blockbusters, and Cloverfield certainly showed off his ability to display chaos and destruction.

His appointment does not change the release date, which will be May 22nd 2014.

8. Andrew Garfield and Marc Webb confirmed for Amazing Spider-Man 2.

It was pretty much a given thanks to the success of the first installment, but Andrew Garfield has signed on to reprise his role as Peter Parker in the sequel to this year's The Amazing Spider-Man. The reboot of the Spider-Man franchise grossed over $750million dollars at the worldwide box office, so it's no surprise that Sony are looking to push forward with a sequel. 

Also, director Marc Webb has confirmed he will return to front the film. The only major player still in talks to return is Emma Stone, who played Peter's love interest Gwen Stacy, but given that the sequel(s) may revolve around Gwen's fate (spoilers!) it would be very inconsistent for the series if she didn't reprise her role. The film's plot is being kept under wraps for now, however it has a release date of April 18th 2014.

7. Hasbro going wild with boardgame adaptations.

Following the, er, "success" of this year's Battleship, Hasbro are clearly going a little crazy with the brainstorming sessions at boardgame HQ. They have announced 3 more movies to be adapted from their family-friendly toys, including (you ready for this?): Monopoly, Action Man and Hungry Hungry Hippos.

I swear I'm not making this up. I'm going to cross my fingers and hope that Monopoly turns out to be an 18-rated drug fuelled bender movie starring Christopher Lloyd as "The Monopoly Man", desperately trying to pay off his gangster debts by selling train stations and hotels.

6. Rian Johnson provides in-cinema commentary for Looper.

Cinema-goers who loved Looper enough to see it a second time are in for a treat, as writer/director Rian Johnson has provided an audio commentary which can be taken into the cinema. Here's what he had to say on the matter:

"I recorded a commentary track to be downloaded, put on an ipod and listened to in the theater as you're watching Looper. This is an odd thing I tried with The Brothers Bloom, and have gotten a few requests for it again, so here it is. It is totally different from the commentary track that will be on the Blu/DVD, a bit more technical and detailed. Needless to say, this is NOT to be listened to on a first viewing, or before you've seen the film. Also, please work it so that a glowing screening is never out of your pocket during the movie. Listen to the introduction before heading to the theater, it has instructions.  And lemme know how it works."

Rian Johnson's audio commentary can be downloaded when you visit his Tumblr by clicking right here.

5. Seth Macfarlane will host the 2013 Oscars.

Seth Macfarlane, the man behind Family Guy and this year's feature film Ted, will host the Oscars next year. The ceremony, which celebrates and awards the most outstanding movies of the past year, was hosted by Billy Crystal this year and Anne Hathaway and James Franco in 2011. Both shows were panned for being "stale", "boring" and "not risky enough."

Given Macfarlane's affection for poking fun at celebrities, as well as his pedant for showtunes, we should be in for a decent night. Not quite as risky as Ricky Gervais but still a lot more entertaining than Billy Crystal.

4. Warner Bros. to re-release The Wizard of Oz in 3D.

To coincide with their 90th anniversary next year, Warner Bros. have given themselves a shiny new logo. The sheen will no doubt be paid for when they re-release one of their biggest hits, The Wizard of Oz, in 3D. Expected to be released in late 2013, possibly October, the movie will be preceeded by a 100-film DVD boxset including some of Warner Bros. biggest hits. The sets will also include a variety of documentaries and never before seen footage.

The downside? They're expected to have a retail price of over £400. Well, now that Harry Potter and Batman are gone, Warner Bros. do need the cash...

3. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey's Extended Editions confirmed.

It was to be expected, following the phenomenal success of the extended versions of the Lord of the Rings movies. The Hobbit trilogy, a prequel to LOTR, will also recieve the extended treatment. 

While the movie adaptation of Tolkien's beloved novel will hit cinemas on December 14th this year, the DVDs will be released in the summer of 2013 and will include up to 45 minutes worth of extra footage, as well as exclusive documentaries and interviews with the cast and crew. 

Now you're Tolkien! Sorry...

2. Taken 3 could be taking it too far according to franchise director.

Poor old Taken 2 has had a tough time of it from the critics (you can read my review by clicking right here), but that hasn't stopped audiences around the world lapping it up.

So the inevitable question rose once again over the weekend - will there be a Taken 3?

Director Olivier Megaton (who is not a Transformer, as far as I know), squashed rumours immediately, stating: "We want to work with Liam again on another movie, and the priority is to do something else, another movie. I don’t think that it will go on for Taken 3, I don’t see the point. The second one, it was fine, we closed the books. Even the screenwriters, if this one’s a success too, maybe they’re going to think about it, money is money for them. But it will be very difficult to ask Liam to be back again. The logic of his character has ended for this one, for me."

 1. Trailer round-up: Die Hard 5, The Lone Ranger, Bullet To The Head and The Croods.

This week saw a steady trickle of trailers from Hollywood, including a new outing for Bruce Willis in A Good Day To Die Hard, Johnny Depp up to his (coughtboringcough) wacky adventures in The Lone Ranger, Sylvester Stallone kicking ass in Bullet To The Head and Nicolas Cage teaming up with Emma Stone in The Croods.

You can check out all of the trailers below. Check back to Movies Under The Microscope this week for reviews of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Liberal Arts and Ruby Sparks.