Kurt Russell in Talks for ‘Fast and Furious 7’

Kurt Russell in Talks for ‘Fast and Furious 7’
Germain Lussier - /Film

Casting Russell in Fast and Furious 7 gives this installment an almost instant superiority over the other films. We already know Jason Statham is a major villain in this movie, and that was a big “get” on its own. But Russell’s involvement (and the fact they initially offered the role to Washington) suggests a role of even greater importance. Maybe something like a big boss.

Cannot. Stiffle. Yawns…

James Spader Will Face Off Against The Avengers as Ultron!

James Spader Will Face Off Against The Avengers as Ultron!
Marvel.com

James Spader will face off against Earth’s Mightiest Heroes as the villain in Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” the sequel to 2012’s record-breaking “Marvel’s The Avengers.” The Emmy Award-winning actor will play Ultron in the Avengers’ much anticipated return to the big screen from writer/director Joss Whedon. The film comes to theaters on May 1, 2015.

Well there you have it. The original Dr. Danial Jackson will now take up the role of the major villain that The Avengers will have to face in the upcoming film Avengers: Age of Ultron. While this is worthy news, I don’t have a lot to say…

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Hayley Atwell Joins Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella

Hayley Atwell Joins Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella
Kevin Jagernauth - The Playlist

Hayley Atwell—probably best known to nerds as Peggy from “Captain America: The First Avenger” and the upcoming “Marvel One-Shot: Agent Carter”—has tweeted today, “Shooting Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella in Pinewood this week.” No word yet on her role, but she joins an already impressive cast for Disney‘s live action reboot, that includes Lily James in the lead, Cate Blanchett as the Evil Stepmother, and “Game Of Thrones” star Richard Madden as the prince, along with Holliday Grainger and Sophie McShera as the stepsisters. Maybe Atwell is rounding out that trio? We’ll find out soon enough. The…

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Tom Hiddleston Confirms Loki is not in ‘Avengers 2’

Tom Hiddleston Confirms Loki is not in ‘Avengers 2’
Drew Taylor - The Playlist

First and foremost, Tom Hiddleston, who has become a breakout star of the Marvel cinematic universe (especially when he adorably appeared at Comic-Con in full Loki regalia), confirmed to Entertainment Weekly what he had been skirting around since his appearance at the Con: that Loki will not be a part of “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” “He’s not in it,” Hiddleston told EW flat out. “Here’s the thing: I don’t think there’s anything else Loki could contribute to ‘The Avengers,’ narratively. Joss gave me so many wonderful things to do in that first film that we’d only be trying to repeat ourselves…

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Ryan Gosling and Josh Brolin Being Considered for Batman

Ryan Gosling and Josh Brolin Being Considered for Batman
Kevin Jagernauth - The Playlist

As we heard at the end of last week, rumors suggest that Warner Bros. is looking for an older Batman, a grizzled version of the character in their 40s and for the most part (something we suggested would be a good idea too), the names put forth by THR as early contenders mostly bear that out. Ryan Gosling and Matthew Goode are the two youngest at 32 and 35, respectively, but they are both folks the studio has been keen on previously. Gosling was previously attached to WB’s long brewing “Logan’s Run” reboot (his buddy Nicolas Winding Refn is still on board), and his directorial debut “How To…

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Follow-Up: Gosling Not Appearing in ‘Star Wars VII’

Follow-Up: Gosling Not Appearing in ‘Star Wars VII’
Christopher Rosen - Huffington Post

A few days ago, I told you about a rumor that actors Ryan Gosling and Zac Efron had for roles in JJ Abrams’ upcoming Star Wars film. Since then, however, Gosling’s representatives have contacted the Huffington Post to say “this is not true.”

For what it’s worth, Gosling has expressed a desire to back away from acting in the short term. “I’ve been doing it too much,” he told The Associated Press in March. “I’ve lost perspective on what I’m doing. I think it’s good for me to take a break and reassess why I’m doing it and how I’m doing it. And I think this is probably a good way to learn about…

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Sacha Baron Cohen Exits Freddie Mercury Biopic

Sacha Baron Cohen Exits Freddie Mercury Biopic
Nikki Finke - Deadline

For those of you who didn’t know, a biopic about the life of Queen’s lead singer Freddie Mercury has been in the works, with Sacha Baron Cohen starring as the late rock singer, who died of AIDS in 1991. However, according to Nikki Finke over at Deadline, there have been creative differences between the actor and the surviving members of the band, Brian May and Roger Taylor, who have script and director approval for the film. 

The reason is that the band wanted to make more of a PG movie about Queen while Cohen was counting on a gritty R-rated tell-all centered around the gifted gay singer.…

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Rumor: Gosling and Efron Considered for ‘Star Wars VII’

Rumor: Gosling and Efron Considered for ‘Star Wars VII’
Kellvin Chavez - Latino Review

Part of what made the original Star Wars trilogy so great was its use of actors who were at the time unknowns, especially Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker and Harrison Ford as Han Solo. Even the prequel trilogy, as widely derided as it is (I’ll save my personal opinion for another time…), used many then-unknown actors, such as Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker and even, to an extent, Ewan McGregor. However, there’s a rumor circulating that we might be seeing a few familiar faces in the first film of the new trilogy, and I don’t mean “familiar” as in “from previous Star Wars films.”

Latino…

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Will Vin Diesel Be In ‘Avengers 2’?

Will Vin Diesel Be In ‘Avengers 2’?
Chris Eggertsen - HitFix

The “Riddick” star took to his official fan page this evening to offer a brief update on that Marvel meeting he revealed late last month, stating:

Marvel meeting today…

Only the people in the room can tell you what was discussed…

P.s. Thanks to Our page, for pushing to make it happen… you know I get tunnel vision with my work… and after that meeting today… wow!

While the above statement contains nary a hint of what the project in question might be, the real story lies in the photo Diesel posted along with the update: a Photoshop-y image (embedded below) that shows him standing in…

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Mark Strong Rumored as Contender for Role of Lex Luthor

Mark Strong Rumored as Contender for Role of Lex Luthor
Alex Maidy - JoBlo

Cosmic Book News is claiming an exclusive that says director Zack Snyder wants British actor Mark Strong to play Luthor. Strong has prior comic book experience having played the villain in KICK-ASS as well as Sinestro in GREEN LANTERN. If Strong does get the part as Luthor, I would expect that to put the final nail in the coffin for Ryan Reynolds to play Hal Jordan in the JUSTICE LEAGUE movie.

Strong would make an excellent Luthor. While I have a childhood connection to Gene Hackman as Luthor, his take on the villain never felt like much of a threat to Superman. Strong is physically more…

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