“Ms. Snider said she did not think the three-hour length would be an obstacle for moviegoers. Three-hour epics, she said, are Mr. Jackson’s ‘brand.'” The NYT checks in on PJ’s Eighth Wonder of the World, and unveils the running time: 3 hours.
Category: Fanboy
Red Six Downed.
R.I.P. William Hootkin 1948-2005, a.k.a. Jek Porkins, Red Six. Between he and Michael “Ozzel” Sheard, it’s been a bad couple of months for Star Wars role players. Ken Colley, Richard Le Parmentier, John Hollis, Julian Glover, Denis Lawson, and John Ratzenberger: Take your vitamins!
Or is it Bucky?
Two Fresno climbers discover a frozen WWII pilot on a Sierra Nevada glacier. As a friend of mine pointed out, this could be terrible news for the Red Skull…
Vera Draconian.
Imelda Staunton announces she’ll play Dolores Umbridge in Order of the Phoenix, while Ralph Fiennes talks more about Voldemort.
(Ice) Maidens & Minotaurs.
Coming Soon acquires a slew of new images from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The White Witch seems fearsome enough (although I can’t say much for her battle dress.) And it looks like WETA has turned in more stunning work (although I’m a mite concerned about CGI Aslan.) Update: The full trailer is now online, and an impressive one it is.
Shore Shipped?
In a strange turn of events this late in the game (particularly given this production diary), Howard Shore is off King Kong, to be replaced by James Newton Howard, late of the Batman Begins score. Says PJ: “During the last few weeks, Howard and I came to realize that we had differing creative aspirations…Rather than waste time arguing with a friend and trying to unify our points of view, we decided amicably to let another composer score the film.” Well, he was right about Stu Townsend, I suppose.
Stacking Gotham’s Deck.
For what it’s worth, Dark Horizons publishes a highly speculative “insider report” on the next Nolan Batman. Among the tidbits offered here, Liev Schreiber is up for Harvey Dent, as are Paul Bettany, Ryan Reynolds, Michael Keaton (!), and Johnny Depp for the Joker. Schreiber would be a great pick-up as Gotham’s two-faced D.A., and any of the others — well, except Reynolds, I guess — would make a solid Crown Prince of Crime, although I’m still rooting for Adrien Brody.
Skull Island Standoff.
While I prefer the teaser image below, the recently released international poster for PJ’s King Kong is definitely worth a look-see as well, if you’re in any way Kong-inclined.
Oil & Smoke.
In the movie bin, Jake Gyllenhaal welcomes the suck in the full trailer for Sam Mendes’ Jarhead (teaser noted here) , and John Turturro directs an all-star cast to song and dance in this first clip from Romance & Cigarettes.
Craig. Daniel Craig.
Welcome to the Layer Cake, 007. The London Evening Standard is reporting that Daniel Craig has been cast as the new James Bond. His name’s been floating around for awhile now and, this side of Clive Owen, I think he’s probably the best fit for the assignment. Now, if only they’d forsake the exploding pens and laser-guided paper clips for some quality, no-frills cloak-and-daggering.