Universal Eyeing 'John Wick' Directors for Chris Pratt's 'Cowboy Ninja Viking'

A while back it was revealed that Chris Pratt would star in the film adaptation of the graphic novel Cowboy Ninja Viking, and the project is now appearing to be picking up steam with Universal already looking at John Wick directors David Leitch and Chad Stahelski to take on the job of helming the film.

Variety reported on the directing duo of Leitch and Stahelski being in early talks to direct Cowboy Ninja Viking. According to the report, the directors have already met with Pratt and he has given his stamp of approval, the article adds that an offer has already gone out. If you are unaware, the graphic novel follows a character named Duncan, who participates in a secret government program that transforms Multiple Personality Disorder patients know as Triplets (for their three personalities) into assassins. Duncan escapes from the program and uses his skills to go on the hunt for the billionaire behind the entire program, accompanied by his three assassin personalities of a Cowboy, a Ninja, and a Viking.

I was on board with the idea of a Cowboy Ninja Viking film starring Chris Pratt since first hearing about it, even though I hadn't heard about the graphic novel before, like I said previously the whole concept is appealing to me and I think would make for a fun film. I didn't see John Wick but I heard good things about it so I see the possible addition of the directors as a good thing, and more than that it's good to see that the project is looking to move fast which is smart given how in demand Chris Pratt currently is. Hopefully things keep moving forward and we hear more soon about Cowboy Ninja Viking.

First 'Ted 2' Trailer Released

Universal has released the first trailer for Seth MacFarlane's loud-mouth and inappropriate teddy bear comedy sequel Ted 2, showing us what crazy situations Ted will get into while trying to get legally married. I have to say I enjoyed this trailer a lot, having loved the first film I found this trailer to have the same type of comedy of the first film so for me that was a drawing point. I really dislike when comedy sequels are pretty much the same film but with minor changes, so it was refreshing to see that Ted 2 is going in a different direction with the plot. The only small thing that worries me about this trailer and from most comedy trailers is that they showed us the majority of the jokes in the trailer, but that didn't happen the first time around so it's really just a small concern.

Ted 2 stars Mark Wahlberg, director Seth MacFarlane, Amanda Seyfried, Liam Neeson, and Morgan Freeman, opening in theaters on June 26th. Check out the trailer below (via YouTube).

Steve Jobs Biopic Officially Confirms Cast and Gets Synopsis

If there has been a recent film project with a rocky (to say the least) road it has been Universal's Steve Jobs Biopic, from casting changes to studios changes this film has been through its fair share of difficulties. But the Danny Boyle-directed and Aaron Sorkin-scripted film has apparently gotten back on track, with the biopic now getting an official casting list and synopsis.

The reveal of cast and synopsis comes directly from Universal via a press release (via Collider), confirming names that have circled the film for some time now and also the basic plot. The biopic will star Michael Fassbender  as Steve Jobs, Kate Winslet as former Macintosh marketing chief Joanna Hoffman, Seth Rogen as Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, and Jeff Daniels as former Apple CEO John Sculley. Katherine Waterston will play Jobs' ex-girlfriend and mother of his child Chrisann Brenna, Michael Stuhlbarg will play original Apple Macintosh development team member Andy Hertzfeld, Sarah Snook will play project leader of Apple Macintosh Andrea Cunningham, Adam Saphiro will play Apple Computer Senior VP of Software Engineering Avie Tevanian, and the role of Jobs' daughter during different stages of her life will be played by Perla Haney-Jardine, Ripley Sobo, and Mackenzie Moss. The official synopsis of the film reads as follows:

Set backstage at three iconic product launches and ending in 1998 with the unveiling of the iMac, the film takes us behind the scenes of the digital revolution to paint an intimate portrait of the brilliant man at its epicenter.

These latest reveals for the Steve Jobs biopic are great, for a film that has been through what this one has it is great to finally get some concrete material from the project. The synopsis sounds great, and before all the issues was what appealed to me the most about the film. Confirmation of the casting is great, and to finally have official word that names like Fassbender, Rogen, Winslet and Daniels are attached makes the project more appealing. I hope the films continues the positive streak it is on and we get to know more about it soon.

'Ghostbusters' Reboot Gets Cast and Release Date

A while ago it was revealed that a female-led Ghostbusters reboot was in the works with Paul Feig directing and Katie Dippold writing the script, and those excited about that announcement will be even happier to know now that the film has an official leading cast and a release date. The new female Ghostbusters team will include Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon, and the film has received a July 22nd, 2016 release date.

THR reported on the names that will make up the new Ghostbusters, while director Paul Feig himself announced the release date shortly after via his twitter account. According to the report, negotiations for the roles continue but the four mentioned ladies are expected to be signed for the film which is reportedly looking to begin shooting in New York in the summer. Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig are big comedic names at the moment and worked with Paul Feig on Bridesmaids before breaking out, while Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon are known for being on Saturday Night Live.

I can't speak about Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones since I have yet to see their work, but being that they come from Saturday Night Live it makes me like the casting and expectant to see what they bring to the film as far as comedy goes. Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig seem like obvious choices for this film, and given their success and past work with the director they had to be expected to be included or at least considered for this new Ghostbusters, at least I was expecting these two names. All being said, I am really happy with the castings and also the release date since it isn't that far away, I am now looking forward to this film quite a bit. Like previously mentioned, the Ghostbusters reboot is set to hit theaters on July 22nd, 2016.

First 'Fantastic Four' Teaser Trailer

20th Century Fox has released the first official teaser trailer for the upcoming Fantastic Four film, giving us the first look at the reboot of the franchise. Like some people out there I wasn't sure what to expect from this film, and with the trailer now dropping I'm still not sure how to feel about the film. But don't get me wrong, I liked this teaser trailer, I think it was a good first glance at the tone and feel of Josh Trank's Fantastic Four. I felt from the trailer that this film will be much darker and more serious than the previous films, and to me that is a very good thing, the more this reboot can distance itself from the first films the better. I liked that the trailer didn't straight out show us the team in action or give us a clear look at the Human Torch or the Thing, I think it's smart to save that for later and keep us interested.

Josh Trank's Fantastic Four stars Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Bell, and Toby Kebbell. The film opens in theaters on August 7th. Check out the trailer (via YouTube) and poster below.

'Deadpool' to Begin Filming in March in Vancouver

Plenty of people were more than excited about the long-awaited announcement that a Deadpool film starring Ryan Reynolds was on the way, and that happiness was further solidified when the movie received a February 12th, 2016 release date. Now more good news come our way with the reveal that Deadpool is set to begin filming in Vancouver in late March, giving evidence that the film is apparently moving forward smoothly to hit that release date.

The report of Deadlpool starting principal photography in March in Vancouver comes from Global News (via Collider). The city of Vancouver is the hometown of Reynolds and joins the list of Canadian cities like Montreal and Toronto who aren't strangers to being filming locations for big productions like X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men: Apocalypse and Suicide Squad. Tim Miller is still set to direct Deadpool. Other than Reynolds no other casting confirmation have been made but with the filming date set and approaching, those announcements shouldn't be far away.

To me it's always nice to see information like a filming date for a film because it tells me that things are going well, and for a film that is anticipated like this one is it's even better. Fox is pushing hard for their superhero universe outside of the X-Men films, and The Fantastic Four and Deadpool will be the projects that have the responsibility of expanding that universe. I am very excited and curious about how Fox will handle such a unique character as Deadpool is, so we will see when February 12th, 2016 comes along.

2015 Academy Awards Nominations Announced

That special time of the year for movie fans is almost here, the 87th Academy Awards are close and today the nominations for the big event were announced. The 2015 Oscars will take place on February at 7pm ET/  4pm P and promise to be an exciting show as usual. Like I said, the nominations for the 87th Academy Awards were announced and they weren't short of a few surprises. I will get my comments out of the way now and then share the list, since my comments are many. My big surprise like it was for many others was not seeing The LEGO Movie nominated for best animated feature, no disrespect to the other nominees and I will not say which one shouldn't be there since I did not see all of the films, but I thought The LEGO Movie was such a special film that was enjoyed by children and adults alike so it deserved a spot among the nominees. Another surprise for me was the presence that American Sniper had among the nominations (6 total), since it wasn't really that present during other award shows, some people argue that Bradley Cooper's nomination should have gone to either Jake Gyllenhaal for Nightcrawler or David Oyelowo for Selma. Other than those few, I think the nominations were consistent, so here is the full list of nominees for the 87th Academy Awards:

BEST PICTURE
American Sniper
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash

BEST DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu – Birdman
Richard Linklater – Boyhood
Bennett Miller – Foxcatcher
Morten Tyldum – The Imitation Game

BEST ACTOR
Steve Carell – Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper – American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton – Birdman
Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything

BEST ACTRESS
Marion Cotillard – Two Days, One Night
Felicity Jones – The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore – Still Alice
Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon – Wild

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Robert Duvall – The Judge
Ethan Hawke – Boyhood
Edward Norton – Birdman
Mark Ruffalo – Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons – Whiplash

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette – Boyhood
Laura Dern – Wild
Keira Knightley – The Imitation Game
Emma Stone – Birdman
Meryl Streep – Into the Woods

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
American Sniper – Jason Hall
The Imitation Game – Graham Moore
Inherent Vice – Paul Thomas Anderson
The Theory of Everything – Anthony McCarten
Whiplash – Damien Chazelle

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Birdman – Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo
Boyhood – Richard Linklater
Foxcatcher – E. Max Frye, Dan Futterman
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Wes Anderson, Hugo Guinness
Nightcrawler – Dan Gilroy

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Ida (Poland)
Leviathan (Russia)
Tangerines (Estonia)
Timbuktu (Mauritania)
Wild Tales (Argentina)

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

CITIZENFOUR
Finding Vivian Maier
Last Days in Vietnam
The Salt of the Earth
Virunga

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Song of the Sea
The Tale of Princess Kaguya

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Into the Woods
Mr. Turner

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Birdman – Emmanuel Lubezki
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Robert D. Yeoman
Ida – Ryszard Lenczweski, Lukasz Zal
Mr. Turner – Dick Pope
Unbroken – Roger Deakins

BEST FILM EDITING
American Sniper
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Whiplash


BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inherent Vice
Into the Woods
Maleficent
Mr. Turner

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Alexandre Desplat
The Imitation Game – Alexandre Desplat
Interstellar – Hans Zimmer
Mr. Turner - Gary Yershon
The Theory of Everything – Johann Johannsson

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Begin Again – “Lost Stars”
Beyond the Lights – “Grateful”
Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me – “I’m Not Gonna Miss You”
The LEGO Movie – “Everything Is Awesome”
Glory – “Selma”

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
X-Men: Days of Future Past

BEST SOUND EDITING
American Sniper
Birdman
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar
Unbroken

BEST SOUND MIXING
American Sniper
Birdman
Interstellar
Unbroken
Whiplash

BEST SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
The Bigger Picture
The Damn Keeper
Feast
Me and My Moulton
Single Life

BEST SHORT FILM (LIVE-ACTION)
Aya
Boogalo and Graham
Butter Lamp
Parvaneh
The Phone Call

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1
Joanna
Our Curse
The Reaper
White Earth

'In the Heart of the Sea' Delayed Until December

In a surprising turn of events and just two months before the release, Warner Bros. has decided to push Ron Howard's In the Heart of the Sea from its March release date all the way to December. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Nathaniel Philbrick, following a whaling ship called Essex that was struck by a giant whale, leaving the crew drifting and fighting to survive. This true story inspired Herman Melville's Moby-Dick.

Collider reported on the delay to In the Heart of the Sea, and according to the report, it may be due to Warner Bros. believing that the Ron Howard film could be a contender for next year's award season. Liam Neeson's Run All Night will take the vacant March 13th release date spot left by In the Heart of the Sea, which now moves to December 11th.

From the trailers that I've seen I was really excited about this film, so I am a bit disappointed about having to wait more time to get to watch the movie. But from the dramatic nature of the film I can see why Warner Bros. would think that it could be up for some awards, and if that is the case then the new date will hopefully help. Directed by Ron Howard, In the Heart of the Sea stars Chris Hemsworth, Benjamin Walker, Tom Holland, Brendon Gleeson, Cillian Murphy, Ben Whishaw, and Jordi Molla, now set to hit theaters on December 11th.

Steve Carell in Talks to Join 'The Big Short'

Recently it was reported that Brad Pitt, Christian Bale and Ryan Gosling were teaming up with writer/director Adam Mckay for The Big Short, a financial crisis drama based on the book of the same name written by Michael Lewis. Now a new name has been added to the list, with Steve Carell now being placed in talks to join the project.

THR reported on Carell being in negotiations to join The Big Short, and after the acclaim for his role in Foxcatcher the actor is apparently continuing to pursue dramatic roles. According to the report, Carell will play the part of Steve Eisman, a money manager who shorted subprime mortgages for FrontPoint Partners. Pitt will play Ben Hockett, a partner at Cronwall Capital, Gosling will be Deutsche Bank trader Greg Lippmann, and Bale has the role of Scion Capital founder Michael Burry. No further details like a release date were given for the film.

The premise of the film sounds appealing, and the cast being gathered is even better. This ensemble is made up of great dramatic actors, and yes you can now add Steve Carrel in that category. I really like the work of Mckay so I am very interested and curious as to what will come from his dramatic debut.

'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2' to Start Filming in April in NY

The last thing I heard about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 was last month when it was reported that David Green was in talks to direct, and with the film set to be released next year we now have a shooting date courtesy of producers Brad Fuller and Andrew Form.

While talking to Collider about the upcoming film, the producers shared comments about introducing Bebop and Rocksteady in the sequel and the shooting schedule:

"We designed and we did lots of work on all of them and then only so many fit in the box and luckily we have another chance to make another one of these movies and some of those characters that got cut out of the first one can make it into the second one. We're in prep right now. We start shooting in New York in April."

From the comments it sound like things are moving along well, and that's always nice to hear from a film. I have already said that since I didn't really think much of the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles I'm not really excited about a sequel, but I would still give it a chance.  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 is set to be released in theaters on June 3rd, 2016.

'Jump Street' and 'Men in Black' Crossover Still Possible

In case you were unaware, one of the many things that came out of the recent infamous Sony hacks was the possibility that the studio could develop a film where the worlds from the Jump Street and Men in Black films crossed over. If you were curious about this idea you might be happy to know that the possibility of a crossover still exists, according to directing duo Phil Lord and Chris Miller.

While talking with MTV (via Collider), the directors were asked if the idea still remained as a possibility after it was revealed to the public, and the answer was that the idea was still being considered and the crossover could still happen:

"Nothing's changed.  It's still a crazy idea. We only do things that seem like they're gonna be terrible, so this only makes it more like that."

The answer isn't definitive, so there is still a chance that it might not happen. Personally, I'm not all that excited about the idea and it doesn't interest me at all to see these films crossover. I think that the Jump Street films are doing fine as they are, though they are going to have to come up with crazy ideas to move the story along. But I will say this, with all my doubts I think that if anyone could pull off something as crazy as this it would be Phil Lord and Chris Miller. We will have to wait and see what happens with this whole idea, In the mean time we can keep speculating.

New 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' Trailer

Marvel has released a new trailer for the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron, featuring more of The Hulk smashing. I really liked the new trailer, very similar to the first trailer in the dark and serious tone but gave us some new shots here and there. They are really doing a good job in teasing the fight between Iron Man and Hulk, or by the looks of it, Hulk and everyone else. I like that you can really feel the conflict in the film from this trailer, the team is going to be tested, not just by Ultron but by each other, and I can't wait to see how they rise up to take down this apparently unbeatable threat.

Directed by Joss Whedon, Avengers: Age of Ultron stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and James Spader, opening in theaters on May 1st, 2015. Check out the trailer below (via YouTube).

2015 Golden Globe Winners

Note: Better late than never, Happy New Year Babblers! I sincerely apologize for the delay in coming back to continue to give you the latest in movie news, trailers and reviews, but I am very happy to get back to it. So, without further delay, let's do this!

If you follow movies closely, you probably know that the 2015 or 72nd Golden Globe Awards took place last night. I enjoyed the show, it was hard not to with great hosting from Tina Fey and Amy Poehler and some pretty nice speeches from some of the winners. If you saw the show or just looked it up, you probably know who won, but I'm still going to share the results for those who don't know them and those who also want to know what I thought about the results. Keep in mind that I will only talk about the major movie categories since this is a movie site, you can check out the complete list of winners in the Golden Globes website. Now, I am embarrassed to say that I have not yet seen every winning film so some of my comments might not be as insightful as you or I would like, I will fix that by the time The Oscars come around. So, here is the list of winners in the major film categories including my comments:

Best Motion Picture - Drama: Boyhood
Boyhood was my favorite film of 2014, so naturally I was very happy when the film was announced as the winner. What I am interested in seeing is if it will happen again at The Oscars (I think it's safe to say it will be nominated), where the best picture category isn't divided into drama or comedy (rightfully so in my opinion) so the competition is greater.

Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama: Julianne Moore
Being the great year in film 2014 was, this category like most others was packed and really hard for me to call. Still Alice is one of the films I haven't seen yet, but when I saw the trailer a while ago I was really attracted by it and you can get a feel of the powerful performance Moore gives just from that trailer. Felicity Jones, Reese Witherspoon and Rosamund Pike I could have also seen winning and would have been happy with too (Yeah I know that they make up the entire category also with Jennifer Aniston, I just said it was packed).

Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama: Eddie Redmayne
I still haven't watched The Theory of Everything but was aware of the award buzz surrounding Redmayne for this role, so this was also a result I was on board with. When I get a chance to see the film I am sure I will agree even more.

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy: The Grand Budapest Hotel
I haven't seen The Grand Budapest Hotel yet, but I remember being interested when I watched the trailer for it. But, without having seen the film I'm about to mention either, I really thought Birdman would win this category.

Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical: Amy Adams
I have yet to see any of the films in this category, but from what little I know about the films, out of every other nominee in the category Amy Adams makes most sense to me as the winner.

Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical: Michael Keaton
Like I said, I have yet to see Birdman, but even from what little I know I thought Keaton would be the winner. Like with best picture I think best actor and also best actress will be so interesting at The Oscars, the spots are more limited and the competition is so close that it will be something to watch.

Best Animated Feature Film: How to Train Your Dragon 2
This was an animated film I didn't watch (I keep noticing how many films I'm missing as I go down the list and am feeling really embarrassed), but heard was really good. I was rooting for The Lego Movie which I did see, and I thought it would win. But apparently I'm missing something and should go watch How to Train Your Dragon 2.

Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture: Patricia Arquette
Even though I enjoyed her performance a lot in Boyhood, I really didn't think Patricia Arquette would get the win, so I was pleasantly surprised when I heard her name.

Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture: J.K. Simmons
I have heard and read so many good thing about Whiplash that I can'
t wait to see it, specially for the acclaim that Simmons is getting for his role. Even without seeing the film I thought this would be the result.

Best Director - Motion Picture: Richard Linklater
This was really a no brainer for me, with no intention to offend any of the other nominees. Such a groundbreaking film and concept, 12 years in the making. This was directing like it has never been done before, so the win is rightly deserved.

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture: Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo
Screenplay is really something I can't comment on without having seen the film, but great for Birdman to get a second win.

Those were the winners in the major film categories and my thoughts, but I would love to know yours so leave them in the comment section and start a conversation with other movie fans.