For a long time it was rumored that Saoirse Ronan would be playing the part of the Scarlet Witch in Joss Whedon’s Avengers: Age Of Ultron. But in a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, Samuel L. Jackson confirmed that the lovely Elizabeth Olsen will be donning the red bustier instead. He said:

“I don’t think we begin shooting before March of next year. I know we’re shooting in London, that James Spader is Ultron and going to be the bad guy, and that we added Ms. [Elizabeth] Olsen [who will play the Scarlet Witch], but I don’t know what she’s doing, if she’s on the inside or the…

Remember how Jack Ryan is a CIA analyst who sometimes accidentally gets thrust into action-y situations? Yeah, well, throw that concept away and put it out of your mind. In this version, it looks like Jack Ryan is being turned into some sort of secret agent. Also, the modest action that Jack Ryan gets into, where the plot and external influences provide the action and the drama… yeah… kiss that good bye as well. It looks like we’re turning Jack Ryan into a full blown action star. I was afraid of this. Looks like I am not going to enjoy this all that much.

Sigh.

The films about America’s dark period of slavery seem to be making the rounds these days, but this one does look like it has the potential to be good. There’s no denying that slavery happened and it was evil. And many of these stories can be compelling.

Here’s the synopsis:

Based on an incredible true story of one man’s fight for survival and freedom. In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty (personified by a malevolent slave owner, portrayed by Michael Fassbender), as…

So this weekend is the one we’ve been waiting for. This weekend, we get to see Sandra Bullock in space!

But seriously Gravity does look like it’s going to be a good film.

New in Theaters

Gravity — PG-13

It’s been a very long time since we’ve seen this much consensus amongst the critics. That must mean something, right? I mean it does look like it should be a really great film. And I keep hearing from critics who have already seen it that it is the space movie they have always wanted — whatever that means. I am very much looking forward to the film and am looking forward to reviewing it…

We’re just under eight months away from the release of X-Men: Days of Future Past and it’s shaping up to be the most ambitious X-Men film ever released. This kind of hyperbole isn’t lost on the cast as James McAvoy himself thinks it’s got a lot of potential.

“There’s an army of brilliant actors in that film,” he said in an interview with IGN. “Bryan Singer is back at the helm. Potentially it’s going to be the biggest, most epic X-Men they’ve ever had. I think it’s the second biggest production Fox have ever embarked upon, behind Avatar. So they’re definitely going for it.”

Come on, guys!…

What a difference a week makes. The second episode of marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. fell to a 3.1 adults 18-49 rating from last week’s huge 4.7. Full morning ratings coming soon!

That’s an unfortunate second week. I think as I’ve discussed on the podcast that the hype surrounding the show really made people’s expectations soar to heights unknown. I mean I don’t know exactly what they thought they were expecting, but it is just a TV show. I think it’s a really good TV show at that, with a lot of potential. And let’s not forget there are a lot of episodes for this thing to get ramped up…

I posted about this on Tuesday, but now I’ve got a video to go along with it. I love how sheepish JJ gets talking about it. He knows how stupid it can get and he’s embarrassed about it.

The other reason to watch this video is to be disappointed about the possibilities of Star Trek coming back to TV in some shape or form. JJ says that they have talked about it and thrown some ideas out, and CBS is just not interested right now. That’s a shame.

Check out the video.

TJ welcomes Chad back from a week of being away, and they discuss changes to the show’s format, keeping it interesting and engaging, and how to be candid with the listenership. That aside, they talk for a few minutes about the tragic death of Tom Clancy. Several of his books have made great films over the years, and there’s one in production now. He will be missed. Then, obviously, they have to spend a few minutes talking about ‘Agents of SHIELD’ because that’s the big new hotness in TV shows right now. And they also discuss a highly recommended video that’s been making the rounds about how to make ‘Star Wars’ great again. TJ and Chad agree with every point. And the topic of primary interest this week is the film ‘Rush’ directed by Ron Howard and starring Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl.

Last year, I traveled to London to visit the set of the Marvel sequel Thor 2: The Dark World. The photo above is me holding Mjölnir, Thor’s iconic hammer – it’s actually heavier than it looks — in the massive weapon room of the film’s production offices. After the jump you can read about the many things that I learned while on set, and watch a video blog reaction I recorded after the visit. Later this week we’ll be publishing some of the interviews we conducted on set with the talent and crew, so be on the look out for them as well.

I had a lot of fun reading this and I highly recommend it…