Welcome to The Extras! A daily dose of all the smaller movie related news, clips and just plain cool stuff that you might have missed!
- In case it hasn’t quite sunk in yet: There are only 2 weeks left until Christmas. And before you now start bouncing off the walls in pre-last minute Xmas shopping panic, let the Avengers officially kick off the season with some caroling!
- Remember that rumoured Teen Titans TV series that was mentioned a few months back? Well, it’s not a rumour anymore as DC Chief Creative Office Geoff Johns didn’t just confirm on Twitter that the show will be getting a pilot next year, but also that Nightwing aka Dick Grayson aka Batman’s very first Robin now all grown up, will be in it as well.
- And staying with the comic book adaptations, Casino Royale director Martin Campbell (who also
was manipulated by the studiodirected Green Lantern, but we don’t mention that) has signed on to helm an adaptation of indie comic Sebastian X. The 2006 graphic novel was penned by Michelangelo La Neve and drawn by current Marvel superstar artist Stuart Immonen, and follows an elite cop who “after a near-fatal injury, is implanted with the memories of the world’s most notorious terrorist — Sebastian X — in order to infiltrate his group before their next attack.” Deja Vu screenwriter Bill Marsilii will be penning the script.
- Poster of the day: Ghost In The Shell
- I scream! You scream! We all scream for Scream Queens! And that’s exactly what we’re going to get for Ryan “American Horror Story” Murphy’s latest TV series, which has just cast one of the original Queens of Scream, Jamie Lee Curtis. The veteran actress of course shot to fame in the late 1970’s playing heroine Laurie Strode in John Carpenter’s Halloween, so she definitely fits the profile. She’ll be joined by Emma Roberts, who has been behind a few more recents screams on American Horror Story and Scream 4. Although the two are expected to be the leads in the series, it’s uncertain which roles they would play in the 15-episode anthology comedy-horror series which “revolves around a college campus that is rocked by a series of murders.”
- Looks like Shawn Levy has decided to not play with blocks after all. The Night At The Museum helmer has apparently pulled out WB’s feature film adaptation for addictive video game Minecraft. Apparently Levy wasn’t seeing eye to eye with the studio on what the movie should be about. Based on the fact you can probably count on your two hands the amount of words it would take to sum up the video game’s entire narrative, I would love to exactly which direction the studio wanted to go in.
- I’m a huge fan of Quentin Tarantino but every time I watch his movies I can’t help thinking that there’s something missing. And now I know what: A talking frog with a man’s hand up its butt.
- Veteran actor Christopher Lee has played Saruman the White in Lord of the Rings, Dracula in several Hammer productions, was Bond villain Scaramanga in The Man With the Golden Gun and even Count Dooku in Star Wars. With that kind of pedigree you may think it impossible for Lee to get any cooler. That is until you discover that he is also a heavy metal musician and has released a new Christmas album called “Darkest Carols, Faithful Sing” which you can get a sample of below.
- Looks like Danny Boyle and Aaron Sorkin’s planned Steve Jobs biopic just can’t catch break. After the film lost it’s lead in Christian Bale (reportedly replaced by Michael Fassbender), it was also dropped by Sony Pictures (but luckily then picked up again by Universal). And now comes word that Natalie Portman, who was looking set to play Jobs’ daughter, who would be the focus of large portions of Sorkin’s screenplay, has turned down the role instead. No word on why she passed on the gig though.
- Bonus poster of the day: What Guardians of the Galaxy would have looked like if it was made in the 1980’s…. and starred Michael Jackson. Hey, somebody signed off on that Moonwalker mess, so you never know. Also, both Wacko Jacko and Peter Quill kind of have a thing for red leather jackets.
- And while we’re sticking with Guardians, it’s time to take an honest look back at what was arguably 2014’s most enjoyable movie. And honestly, there’s not a lot to fault here!
If you have anything you would like to contribute to Extras, whether it be interesting stories, funny videos, or artistic photos of yourself in morally questionable poses, feel free to drop a mail to kervyn@themovies.co.za.
Last Updated: December 10, 2014
