Bryan Singer X-Men Future In Doubt

X-Men Days Of Future Past may be riding high at the box office, but perhaps unsurprisingly given recent high profile sexual assault allegations against him, it’s being reported that Bryan Singer’s position as Director of sequel X-Men Apocalypse is now in doubt.

Various online sources are alleging that studio Fox may be considering pushing Singer back into a producers role for the next installment of the lucrative mutant franchise, as a way of avoiding production delays or adverse publicity surrounding any potential court case.

Singer had previously been replaced as director by Brett Ratner and Matthew Vaughn for X-Men Last Stand and First Class. He took over directing duties for Days of Future Past after Vaughn stepped way to focus on passion project Kingsman: The Secret Service.

The position is made more awkward by the fact that Singer’s return for Apocalypse had already been announced with contracts signed in advance of the recent unwelcome media storm.

Should Singer once again be pushed into a less prominent producers role it remains unclear whether the studio would favour bringing Matthew Vaughn back to complete he trilogy he started or would turn elsewhere.

Spielberg & Cranston set for TV Miniseries

Steven Spielberg is set to turn Tony winning play All the Way into a new mini-series. The play focuses on Lyndon B. Johnson and originally starred Bryan Cranston as the American president during its initial Broadway run. The Breaking Bad star is expected to reprise the role for the small screen adaptation.

It remains to be seen which network would play host to the series, given Spielberg’s past affiliations with HBO and Cranston’s long running relationship with AMC.

Del Toro Writes Pacific Rim Sequel

Guillermo Del Toro has confirmed that he has secretly been co-writing a sequel to Pacific Rim with Avengers writer Zek Penn, though the director admits that Legendary Pictures haven’t yet given the project a green light.

“I’m working very, very hard with Zak Penn. We’ve been working for a few months now in secret. We found a way to twist it around. [Pacific Rim co-writer] Travis Beacham was involved in the storyline and now I’m writing with Zak because Travis has become a TV mogul. I don’t have the money, but I’m proceeding like it is happening.”

Though Pacific Rim performed only adequately at the US box office, it managed to haul in over $400 million worldwide, mostly due to massive success in the Asian markets where watching Giant Robots fight Monsters is already a more firmly established national hobby.

Time will tell whether or not the studio will gamble on a second film and a possible franchise, swayed by the lure of merchandise profits and box office Yuan.

Tony Awards 2014 Winners & Pictures

Here’s the full list of winners and a gallery of fantastic photos from the 68th Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 8, 2014 in New York City.

Best Play -“All the Way”

Best Musical - “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder”

Best Revival of a Play - “A Raisin in the Sun”

Best Revival of a Musical - “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”

Best Book of a Musical - “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder”

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre –  “The Bridges of Madison County”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play - Bryan Cranston, “All the Way”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play - Audra McDonald, “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical - Neil Patrick Harris, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical - Jessie Mueller, “Beautiful — The Carole King Musical”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play - Mark Rylance, “Twelfth Night”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play - Sophie Okonedo, “A Raisin in the Sun”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical - James Monroe Iglehart, “Aladdin”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical - Lena Hall, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”

Best Scenic Design of a Play - Beowulf Boritt, “Act One”

Best Scenic Design of a Musical - Christopher Barreca, “Rocky”

Best Costume Design of a Play - Jenny Tiramani, “Twelfth Night”

Best Costume Design of a Musical - Linda Cho, “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder”

Best Lighting Design of a Play - Natasha Katz, “The Glass Menagerie”

Best Lighting Design of a Musical - Kevin Adams, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”

Best Sound Design of a Play - Steve Canyon Kennedy, “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill”

Best Sound Design of a Musical - Brian Ronan, “Beautiful — The Carole King Musical”

Best Direction of a Play - Kenny Leon, “A Raisin in the Sun”

Best Direction of a Musical - Darko Tresnjak, “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder”

Best Choreography - Warren Carlyle, “After Midnight”

Best Orchestrations - Jason Robert Brown, “The Bridges of Madison County”

 

Marvel Finds New Ant-Man Director

Marvel has said yes to Yes Man & Bring It On director Peyton Reed replacing the recently departed Edgar Wright for Ant-Man. The news comes as the studio looks to meet next year’s rapidly approaching summer release date.

Paul Rudd remains attached to star as the shrinking superhero, with Anchorman writer Adam McKay joining the project to re-draft the existing script. McKay was recently linked to directing duties on the long delayed superhero adaptation but reportedly turned down the role.

While it remains unclear why Edgar Wright quit/was pushed from the project after so many years of protracted pre-production it’s likely that his distinctive brand of comedy horror and quirky trademarks just couldn’t be married with the unified tone of the ever expanding Marvel universe. McKay likely has the task of lightening the tone a bit before persuading Will Ferrell & Steve Carell to do voices for talking CGI Ants.