Ben Affleck may direct Justice League
The Town established Ben Affleck as a credibly rising star behind the camera and it now looks like Warner Bros. may offer him the chance to take on the long awaited film version of DC Comics Justice League. Combining the heroic talents of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman to save the world and hopefully give the studio and Avengers style box office hit.
Warner Bros have long been admirers of Affleck, already reportedly working with him on an adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand and a biopic of infamous Bostonian gangster Whitey Bulger.
Justice League would undoubtedly represent a new level of pressure and fan expectation for Affleck, giving him his first crack at helming a major tent pole franchise. It remains to be seen whether Affleck will decide to accept the invitation.
A Justice League movie has long been delayed and represents a significant challenge and could prove a costly failure if it doesn’t live up to the inevitable Avengers comparisons and dispel existing fan concerns.
To clear up any lingering confusion, it’s already been confirmed that the Batman and Superman characters in the new Justice League film will not be connected in any way with the recent Dark Knight series and Zack Snyder’s forthcoming Man of Steel Superman reboot. So that means new actors replacing Christian Bale and Henry Cavill. It’s a confusing complication and a major part of why the production has long stalled.
The studio has been hesitant about trying to launch an ensemble superhero adventure without the luxury of leading up to it with a series of stand-alone adventures as Marvel did with The Avengers. While the heroic characters may be iconic and instantly recognisable, it is concerning that Wonder Woman, The Flash and Aquaman are unproven on the big screen; while fans may also be reluctant to accept yet another reincarnation of Batman and Superman.
Sony Pictures making new ALF Movie
Sony Pictures Animation has acquired the rights to ALF, the cult classic 1980s TV sitcom about a wisecracking furry alien living with a typical American Suburban family. Tom Patchett and puppeteer Paul Fusco, the creators of the original series, will be collaborating with experience family friendly producer Jordan Kerner to revive the series on the big screen. Kerner recently took on a similar role producing The Smurfs movie.
Paul Fusco is expected to continue to provide the voice of ALF, although it’s likely that CGI will replace puppetry courtesy of Sony Pictures Animation’s involvement. It’s expected they’ll take the ALF revival in a similar direction to the recent Smurfs reboot, combining CGI hijinks with a cast of live action actors testing the limits of their own likability.
Paul Fusco speaking as news of the return of ALF first broke explained the plot of the new film will “explain how ALF got here and put him with a new family”. Perhaps unsurprisingly there won’t be a return for the Tanner family from the original series. So the search begins for a set of new human victims for ALF’s obnoxiously hilarious antics.
Joss Whedon will Direct The Avengers 2
Disney’s CEO Robert Iger has officially confirmed that writer-director Joss Whedon will return to direct the sequel to his universally adored and staggeringly lucrative franchise opener for The Avengers.
It’s unsurprising that the studio are happy to give the Buffy & Firefly creator a second chance to turn their most popular heroes and a $220 million budget into a global box office haul of over $1.4 billion. Not even the box office hype of The Dark Knight Rises had the might to climb above that stunning figure.
The next Avengers adventure will see earth’s greatest heroes doing battle with intergalactic villain Thanos. The grinning alien overlord was teasingly introduced during the closing credits of the first film. A major part of the Marvel comic universe for over three decades, Thanos is a death worshipping monster armed with a gem powered infinity gauntlet that gives him near omnipotent powers.
Captain America 2, Thor The Dark World, Ant-Man, Guardians of The Galaxy, Iron Man 3 and even possible Hulk & Black Widow spin-off movies will likely all come out before Marvel has the Avengers sequel actually start production. So don’t expect to be avenging anything anytime too soon, unless you count buying the first film on DVD next month.
The Hunger Games Signed Photo Competition
In celebration of the amazing London 2012 Games we have a very special competition for fans of The Hunger Games. It’s your chance to win a stunning movie still signed by Miss Katniss Everdeen herself, the beautiful Jennifer Lawrence.
The rules are very simple and all you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is follow the instructions below.
Step 1: Follow us on Twitter @RedCarpetNewsTV – https://twitter.com/RedCarpetNewsTV
Step 2: Tweet us the following message to enter the prize draw:
@RedCarpetNewsTV May the odds be ever in MY favor #KatnissCompetition #HungerGames
Step 3: Check back on Twitter or here at www.redcarpetnewstv.com where we’ll be announcing who’s won.
* It’s one entry per Twitter account, but of course if you want to get your friends and family to throw their Twitter names into the hat to stack the odds in your favor it’s a legitimate tactic.
We’ll be picking the very lucky Tribute on 12th August at the climax of the Closing Ceremony of London 2012. Till then Happy Olympic Games and may the odds be ever in your favor….
The prized photo pictured below as well as our own Russ with the lovely Jennifer Lawrence in London:
As an extra treat check out our video interviews below with Hunger Games Tributes Rue (Amandla Stenberg) and Thresh (Dayo Okeniyi ) below:
Abhisek Bachchan hosts Bollywood Olympic Party
Bollywood superstar Abhishek Bachchan hosted a Bollywood themed night of celebration at the exclusive venue of the official Olympic Timekeepers Omega last night. Olympic star athletes and inspired celebrities partied late into the night while nibbling on Indian delicacies and dancing to a steady stream of bhangra music.
Sporting stars in attendance included Team GB’s Men’s gymnastics team and Gold medallist USA Rower Caryn Davies. Members of the incredibly successful Team GB rowing team enjoyed a well-earned night of celebration, including Britain’s first London 2012 gold medallists Helen Glover & Heather Stanning.
Media guests in attendance also included Preeya Kalidis and smouldering True Blood star Ryan Kwantan, who plays heartthrob Jason on HBO’s top rated Vampire series.
Check out the exclusive gallery of party pictures below:
