Joaquin Phoenix Might be Lex Luthor

It’s reported that Joaquin Phoenix might be a surprise casting choice for Director Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel follow up. The sequel which already stars Henry Cavill as Superman and Ben Affleck as Batman is still looking for someone to play the villainous role of Lex Luthor.

Lex Luthor is the man of steel’s most iconic nemesis, with Gene Hackman and Kevin Spacey both playing the bald criminal genius in previous big screen efforts.  Phoenix would be a bold casting choice given his reputation for Oscar worthy performances and occasionally bizarre off screen antics.

Warner Bros have not yet made any official offer and it remains unclear whether the actor would even be willing to jump on board for a potential blockbuster comic book franchise. Phoenix is reportedly also currently contemplating accepting a lead a role in Gus Van Sant’s Sea of Trees.

Whatever happens, it probably won’t stop fans photo shopping pictures of Bryan Cranston’s bald Breaking Bad alter ego Walter White alongside Henry Cavill for fake Superman 2 posters.

Argo Writer Takes On Superman Sequel

Chris Terrio won an Oscar for providing the screenplay for Ben Affleck’s critically acclaimed Argo, now he will reportedly be re-writing the script for the Superman sequel that will introduce Ben Affleck as Batman.

David Goyer had previously produced a draft for Zack Snyder’s follow up to Man of Steel, but he has now moved on to writing an adaptation of Neil Gamman’s Sandman.  It’s believed Warner Bros will now replace that script with a new draft courtesy of Terrio.

Although Argo was Terrio’s debut feature screenplay, his academy award winning success and proven rapport with Ben Affleck seems to have given the studio confidence in overlooking his lack of blockbuster experience.

At least now they get to put ‘From the Oscar winning team that brought you Argo’ on all the posters, right below the big Superman & Batman logos.

Expendables 3 Teaser Trailer

The first teaser trailer for The Expendables 3 continues the franchises proud tradition of merely relying on listing its massive cast of aging action superstars to excite genre fans.

After some slow motion silhouette swaggering all you get is a brief glimpse at the fifteen cast members who get their names above the title this time. Notable new additions include Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Wesley Snipes and Antonio Banderas.

Here’s what Antonio Banderas had to tell us about the much anticipated sequel whilst taking a break from filming to enjoy a night on the red carpet.

Sofia Coppola To Adapt Fairyland Memoir

Sofia Coppola has finally found her next project, following up most recent effort The Bling Ring with Fairyland. Currently co-writing the script with Andrew Durham for American Zoetrop, its likely Coppola may soon be confirmed to direct as well.

The project is an adaptation of Alysia Abbot’s memoir  of her life in San Francisco with her father Steve Abbott, a celebrated poet and gay rights campaigner. The bittersweet coming of age story documents Alysia’s experiences at the heart of the wild and liberated San Francisco of the 1970s and 80s, as well as the AIDS epidemic that devastated it.

London Critics’ Circle Film Awards Nominations

The nominations for the 34th London Critics’ Circle Film Awards were announced today, with British director Steve McQueen’s 12 Years A Slave topping members’ ballots with 9 nominations.

Gary Oldman will be accepting the Circle’s most prestigious award, the Dilys Powell Award For Excellence In Film at the London Critics’ Circle Film Awards on 2 February 2014. He comments:

“I am truly honoured, and humbled to be named for this prestigious award, especially when one considers both who is doing the awarding and also the inspirational list of past recipients. I can’t wait to be there.”

The London Critics’ Circle Film Awards are voted for by the UK’s longest standing and most prestigious critical organisation, which boasts 140 members who between them see every one of the hundreds of films released in the UK each year. The Circle’s Film Section Chair, Jason Solomons comments:

“The London critics have yet again voted for a brilliant mix of films that reflects London’s position as a hub of world cinema culture, both in production and appreciation. All the nominated films and performances have found champions and crucial support from London critics as they journey around the world, from their debuts at festivals including Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Berlin, Sundance, London and Edinburgh, where our critics show that their taste, knowledge, passion and influence remain vital and highly respected aspects of film culture. More than 200 different films were nominated on the ballots. I look forward to finding out our winners and send early congratulations to Gary Oldman, an icon of London cinema who has given us all pride and pleasure watching his outstanding, constantly surprising and thrilling screen career.”

12 Years A Slave leads the pack with nominations in the following categories: Film of the Year, Best Actor (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Best Director (Steve McQueen), Supporting Actor (Michael Fassbender), Supporting Actress (Lupita Nyong’o), Screenwriter (John Ridley), British Actor (Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender) and Technical Achievement (Sean Bobbitt, Cinematography). 12 Years A Slave will be released in the UK on 10 January 2014.

The next strongest showing at the nominations stage is for Stephen Frears’ Philomena, with nominations for British Film, Best Actress (Judi Dench), British Actor (Steve Coogan), British Actress (Judi Dench) and Screenwriter (Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope) bringing the picture’s total to five nominations.

Also receiving multiple nominations were Woody Allen’s BLUE JASMINE, Jon Baird’s FILTH, Alfonso Cuarón’s GRAVITY and Martin Scorsese’s THE WOLF OF WALL STREET, with four nods each. Following hot on their heels, the following films all received three nominations each: David O. Russell’s American Hustle, Abdellatif Kechiche’s Blue Is the Warmest Colour, Paul Greengrass’ Captain Phillips, Noah Baumbach’s Frances Ha, Paolo Sorrentino’s The Great Beauty, the Coen Brother’s Inside Llewyn Davis, Alexander Payne’s Nebraska and Clio Barnard’s The Selfish Giant.

 Full official nominees list below:

FILM OF THE YEAR
Blue Is the Warmest Colour
Blue Jasmine
Frances Ha
Gravity
The Great Beauty
Her
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street

 

FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
Blue Is the Warmest Colour
Caesar Must Die
Gloria
The Great Beauty
A Hijacking

BRITISH FILM OF THE YEAR
A Field in England
Filth
Philomena
Rush
The Selfish Giant

 

DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR
The Act of Killing
Beware of Mr Baker
Leviathan
Stories We Tell
We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks

 

ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Bruce Dern – Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf of Wall Street
Michael Douglas – Behind the Candelabra
Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years a Slave
Tom Hanks – Captain Phillips

 

ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock – Gravity
Judi Dench – Philomena
Adèle Exarchopoulos – Blue Is the Warmest Colour
Greta Gerwig – Frances Ha

 

SUPPORTING ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Barkhad Abdi – Captain Phillips
Michael Fassbender – 12 Years a Slave
James Gandolfini – Enough Said
Tom Hanks – Saving Mr Banks
Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club

 

SUPPORTING ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Naomie Harris – Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Sally Hawkins – Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence – American Hustle
Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave
June Squibb – Nebraska

 

BRITISH ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Christian Bale – American Hustle / Out of the Furnace
Steve Coogan – Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa / The Look of Love / Philomena / What Maisie Knew
Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years a Slave
Michael Fassbender – The Counsellor / 12 Years a Slave
James McAvoy – Filth / Trance / Welcome to the Punch

 

BRITISH ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Judi Dench – Philomena
Lindsay Duncan – About Time / Last Passenger / Le Week-end
Naomie Harris – Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Sally Hawkins – Blue Jasmine
Emma Thompson – Beautiful Creatures / Saving Mr Banks

 

YOUNG BRITISH PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
Conner Chapman – The Selfish Giant
Saoirse Ronan – Byzantium / The Host / How I Live Now
Eloise Laurence – Broken
George MacKay – Breakfast With Jonny Wilkinson / For Those in Peril / How I Live Now / Sunshine on Leith
Shaun Thomas – The Selfish Giant

 

DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Alfonso Cuarón – Gravity
Paul Greengrass – Captain Phillips
Steve McQueen – 12 Years a Slave
Paolo Sorrentino – The Great Beauty
Martin Scorsese – The Wolf of Wall Street

 

SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR
Ethan Coen & Joel Coen – Inside Llewyn Davis
Spike Jonze – Her
Steve Coogan & Jeff Pope – Philomena
John Ridley – 12 Years a Slave
Terence Winter – The Wolf of Wall Street

 

BREAKTHROUGH BRITISH FILMMAKER
Jon S Baird – Filth
Scott Graham – Shell
Marcus Markou – Papadopoulos & Sons
Rufus Norris – Broken
Paul Wright – For Those in Peril

 

TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
American Hustle – Judy Becker, production design
Behind the Candelabra – Howard Cummings, production design
Filth – Mark Eckersley, editing
Frances Ha – Sam Levy, cinematography
Gravity – Tim Webber, visual effects
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – Trish Summerville, costumes
Inside Llewyn Davis – T Bone Burnett, music
Stoker – Kurt Swanson & Bart Mueller, costumes
12 Years a Slave – Sean Bobbitt, cinematography
Upstream Colour – Johnny Marshall, sound design

 

DILYS POWELL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN FILM
Gary Oldman