Category: Fanboy

Shia is Sonny?

If adventure has a name, it must be…Shia LaBoeuf? AICN and others report a rumor that the Transformers/Bobby actor is set to play Indy’s son in the forthcoming Indiana Jones sequel. Nothing against LaBoeuf, but the idea of an Indy Jr. running around with Ford and Connery sets off red flags for me, particularly given George Lucas’ recent track record.

Dented Eckhart | Ripley Returns.

As rumored a few weeks ago and in a bit of inspired casting, Aaron Eckhart looks set to join Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight as Harvey Dent, a.k.a. Two-Face. And, also in fanboy casting news, the cast of James Cameron’s Avatar fills out, with Wes Studi, Sigourney Weaver, and others joining Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana for the 3D-epic.

Top Dog/Underdog.

Because noone demanded it, the trailer for Disney’s live-action Underdog. (Somewhere, Krypto is sulking.) No way on God’s green earth I’ll be seeing this one, although I did sorta like the Superman Returns spoof and the “One Nation Under Dog” tagline. (And if you think this film was unnecessary, how ’bout a grown-up Hardy Boys film with Ben Stiller and Tom Cruise? That’s just straight-up bizarre.)

The Clock is Ticking.

“The truth is, ‘300’ to the studio is a graphic novel movie. It’s not a movie that they necessarily understand exactly when I pitch it on paper. They feel in some ways the same about “Watchmen.” They don’t understand why it’s not ‘Fantastic 4.’ I have to remind them that it’s much more ‘Strangelove’ than it is ‘Fantastic 4’ which they don’t like hearing, but they believe that I know, and in that way, it helps.” 300 helmer Zach Snyder checks in with the status of Watchmen.

That’s Professor Robocop to you.

“It’s hard to imagine what freshmen think when they wander into Professor Banzai’s lecture hall. Weller reports that he loses a lot of students after the first class. ‘They thought they were going to get the easy A from old RoboCop,’ he says with a laugh.” Peter Weller, Ph.D. (pending) (By way of Quiddity.)

Blame the Skekses | In the Company of Dent?

The Power of the Dark Crystal, the sequel to the 1982 muppet fantasy announced last year, has officially been put on hiatus. (Sorry, Gelflings.) And Latino Review, breakers of the Heath Ledger Joker casting, says Thank You for Smoking‘s Aaron Eckhart is now in line to play Harvey Dent (a.k.a. Two-Face) in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. Great choice. (Also, apparently Katie Holmes has been kicked off the Batman Begins sequel — word is she’ll be replaced by Emily Blunt, Rachel McAdams, or Maggie Gyllenhaal.)

Buns in the Oven.

Writer-director Judd Apatow, late of The 40-Year-Old Virgin, gives fellow Freaks and Geeks alum Seth Rogen his time to shine in both the international trailer and the domestic trailer for Knocked Up. And, hey, look, Nick (Jason Segal) is here too. Does he get behind the drum set?

King (of the World) and Avatar.

“The Banshees and the other creatures are going to be about 90% or 95% animated. And with the humanoids hopefully we’re going to be coming down to 95% capture with the exception of ears and like I said clothing and hair and stuff like that.” I’m behind on this one — Sorry, I’ve been saving up links to space out the flurry of movie reviews, and then overestimating how much I can actually get written on a given day — but James Cameron has announced more details about Avatar (not to be confused with M. Night Shyamalan’s Avatar, which I couldn’t case less about) and granted AICN’s Harry Knowles an extended interview on the performance-capture project. Set for a 2009 release, the film will “star” Sam Worthington (recently in the Aussie Macbeth update) and Zoe Saldana (late of Pirates of the Caribbean II.)