ScreenCrave.com » Joss Whedon

ABC Is Set To Make ‘The Hulk’ A TV Show In 2013

Travis Woods — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:57:05 +0000

Despite writer-director Joss Whedon’s gift for florid and witty wordplay for powerful actors, ironically, the breakout star of Whedon’s Avengers was a CGI Hulk who utters exactly two words (amidst some grunting and yelling) throughout the film’s two and a half hour running time. Positive fan reaction to the Hulk has been so strong that Marvel has announced they may repeal their “No More Hulk Movies” policy, and now, ABC is pushing to make the Hulk the star of his own TV show.

There has been a long-discussed plan for ABC to broadcast its own Hulk show for some time now, with Guillermo del Toro producing. However that plan appears to have laid dormant for some time. Until now, it seems.

During the ABC upfront presentations today, ABC entertainment president Paul Lee stated that he wants “some Marvel projects come to television,” which, given Marvel’s current dominion over the box office, audiences, and pop culture itself, makes sense.

As for the big green guy, Lee stated that Hulk wasn’t quite ready for the 2012 season—but that he should be shirt and pants a-ripping by 2013. “Hulk is in development,” he continued. “It wasn’t going to be ready this season but we hope it’s going to be ready for next season.”

Very little is known in terms of what the Hulk show would consist of—will it take place in the Marvel films continuity? Will it be set in its own serialized world, a la the original show? Would Mark Ruffalo be willing to star? Looks like we’ll have to wait until 2013 to find out.

Would you watch a Hulk TV show (again)?

Source: THR

Joss Whedon Wants To Add More Female Superheroes To ‘The Avengers 2′

Travis Woods — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:06:59 +0000

Between such works as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dollhouse, Joss Whedon is known for featuring strong female characters in his TV shows and films. And while The Avengers did have Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow kicking ass and helping to save the world, the film was still a festival of testosterone between Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk, and pointless archer that gives Jeremy Renner something to do. Now, Whedon says he wants to up the female hero quotient in Avengers 2.

In a recent roundtable interview with Entertainment Weekly, in which the Avengers cast and Whedon spoke about the film, Whedon stated that powerful women was something that The Avengers lacked:

Whedon joked, “I think we need to get some more men on the team,” while Thor’s Chris Hemsworth looked around Johansson at Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, and Samuel L. Jackson and agreed, “Yes, there are too few of us.”

Whedon went on to say that studios will argue that “a woman cannot headline an action movie,” but that “after The Hunger Games they might stop telling you that a little bit. Whatever you think of the movie, it’s done a great service. And after The Avengers, I think it’s changing.”

While Whedon’s aim is an admirable one, the problem now is to find a way to organically introduce new female superheroes into a franchise that is already overstuffed with major characters. Further, which Marvel female heroes make the cut? Wasp, She-Hulk, Scarlet Witch? And how do they get introduced into the Marvel franchise? Via Captain America 2, Iron Man 3, or Thor 2? However they appear, Avengers 2 might have to lose a major hero or two to make room for some new blood, as this franchise is starting to get rather crowded.

What do you think of Whedon’s Avengers 2 plan (assuming he’s given the nod to direct)?

Source: /Film

‘The Avengers’ Smashes $1 Billion Mark In Under 20 Days

Travis Woods — Mon, 14 May 2012 17:04:31 +0000

We get it, The Avengers—people like you. People like you a lot. But $1 billion in global box office receipts in 19 days? Now you’re just showing off, Tony Stark-style. Turns out people really, really want to see four superheroes (plus one athletic super-spy and one pointless dude with a bow and arrow) beat the hell out of New York City.

That’s right—by Monday’s end (the 19^th day of the film’s release), The Avengers will have raked in $1 billion dollars in box office totals. The Avengers will be the fifth Disney film and first Marvel film to cross into that mega level.

The film also busted another record this weekend—The Avengers is now officially the first film to take in over $100 million domestically for its second weekend in a row. And, as you’ll recall, the film also busted records for its opening weekend by pulling in $207.4 million. The Avengers was produced with a budget of $220 million.

The super-hero team-up film has now passed The Dark Knight’s spot on the top grossing films list to claim the number 11 spot on the worldwide grosser list. And, of course and unsurprisingly, all of this means that there will definitely be an Avengers 2, which Disney officially greenlit last week. And probably an Avengers 3, 4, 5 and 6. And a Hulk movie. And maybe an Iron Man 4, with or without Robert Downey, Jr. At this point, the franchise may be self sustaining and self-aware at this point, and will probably rise up and strike us all down if we try to pull the plug (I might be mixing up this news with the Terminator 2 plot, I’m not sure).

Have you seen The Avengers yet?

Source: ComingSoon

Joss Whedon Writes Thank You Note To Fans, Discusses ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ Competition

Laura Aguirre — Wed, 09 May 2012 21:46:29 +0000

Joss Whedon is on top of the world right now. He just had a smashing opening weekend at the box office with a little movie called The Avengers; and his horror film The Cabin in the Woods is being hailed as a ‘game changer.’ But despite the recent mainstream success, Whedon knows he could never have done it alone. Today, he posted a lengthy letter thanking fans for their years of support on his many projects. If you’re a fan, you’re going to want to read this.

Props to Whedon for not letting a $207 million opening weekend get to his head. Instead, he took his gratitude and wrote very funny letter for fans.

Well, it’s been quite a weekend…People have told me that this matters, that my life is about to change. I am sure that is true. And change is good — change is exciting.

What doesn’t change is anything that matters. What doesn’t change is that I’ve had the smartest, most loyal, most passionate, most articulate group of — I’m not even gonna say fans. I’m going with ‘peeps’ — that any cult oddity such as my bad self could have dreamt of. When almost no one was watching, when people probably should have STOPPED watching, I’ve had three constants: my family and friends, my collaborators (often the same), and y’all. A lot of stories have come out about my “dark years”, and how I’m “unrecognized”… I love these stories, because they make me seem super-important, but I have never felt the darkness (and I’m ALL about my darkness) that they described. Because I have so much.

I have people, in my life, on this site, in places I’ve yet to discover, that always made me feel the truth of success: an artist and an audience communicating. Communicating to the point of collaborating. I’ve thought, ‘maybe I’m over; maybe I’ve said my piece.’ But never with fear. Never with rancor. Because of y’all. Because you knew me when. If you think topping a box office record compares with someone telling you your work helped them through a rough time, you’re probably new here.

So this is me, saying thank you. All of you.

Whedon also took the time to talk about Christopher Nolan‘s The Dark Knight Rises, just in case it topples his Avengers this summer.

I will feel sad. But let’s look at the bigger picture, and I can’t say this enough: THIS IS NOT A ZERO SUM GAME. Our successes, whoever has the mostest, are a boon to each other. We’re in the business of proving that superhero movies aren’t just eye-candy (they’re eye-TRUFFLES!). People seem intent on setting us against each other, and though I’m proud to be Woody Strode to Nolan’s Kirk Douglas, I think they’re missing the point. Whatever TDKR does on its first weekend, the only stat that matters to me is the ticket I’M definitely buying. Nolan and Raimi INVENTED the true superhero flick, yo. (Special mention to Jon Favreau and James Gunn.) Happy to be in the mix.

Later in the post, the writer/director/producer says he’ll focus his attention on his micro-budget black-and-white adaptation of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, and will continue pursuing his adaptation of the comic series Wastelanders and a sequel to Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.

The rest of the playful FAQ makes reference to Dr. Seuss, Comic-Con, and Whedon’s ‘dark times’. Overall, it’s a nice gesture. The guy’s happy to be on top, and we’re happy for him, especially for taking the time to say ‘thank you.’ Not many successful directors do.

If you’d like to read the entire post, head over to his website Whedonesque.

Do you consider yourself a Whedon fan?

Joss Whedon Promises 30 Minutes Of New Footage For Three-Hour ‘Avengers’ Blu-Ray

Travis Woods — Mon, 07 May 2012 16:19:00 +0000

If the box office is any indication (and it is), a lot of you enjoyed The Avengers this weekend. And even though the record-breaking superhero film is already 2.5 hours long, fans are already clamoring for more. While it’s a bit early for sequel news, director Joss Whedon is promising a three-hour director’s cut of The Avengers with 30 minutes of new footage… for the film’s Blu-Ray release.

The Avengers surprised everyone last weekend—while everyone expected big, respectable numbers, the film’s $200 ravaging of the box office was certainly a shocker. But the film’s getting (mostly) excellent press, Whedon’s an always-reliable writer-director, and hey, let’s face it: this is a movie that features Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and the Hulk fighting each other and a bevy of aliens throughout New York City. What more do you want?

Well, apparently, if you more footage, character beats, and Captain America, you’re in luck—The Avengers Blu-Ray will feature Whedon’s director’s cut, which adds 30 minutes to the 2 hour and 22 minute theatrical cut. Most of the new footage apparently concerns Captain America, whose pathos at being shuffled into the 21^st Century was mostly put aside in order for him to look ridiculous in that suit and for some shield throwing.

It will be nice to see some extra character beats in the film to even out the sense of spectacle, even if they do concern Cap, who happens to be one of the blander characters of the Avengers film franchise. But at this point, one gets the sense fans will take whatever they can get. Look for an Avengers Blu-Ray around the holiday season.

Will you be picking up The Avengers Blu-Ray?

Source: Cinema Blend

‘The Avengers’ Scores $18.7 Million In Midnight Screening Ticket Sales

Travis Woods — Fri, 04 May 2012 18:54:36 +0000

Not that it’s any surprise, but in case you were curious, The Avengers took in nearly $20 million from midnight showings on Thursday night, entering a pantheon of memorable blockbuster films that set records for their midnight-premiere screenings: The Dark Knight, The Hunger Games and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1.

The team up between Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, the Hulk, and two people in leather that no one cares about (Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner) earned a reported $18.7 million in midnight screenings from approximately 2,500 theaters that played the film in both 2D and digital 3D, as well as the 273 IMAX 3D theaters.

Some context: Earlier this year, The Hunger Games scored $19.7 million during its midnight release, while The Dark Knight came through with $18.5 million (which set the record for a superhero movie, until The Avengers came out swinging).

To take that further, The Dark Knight grossed $158.4 million in its first weekend out, while The Hunger Games netted $152.5 in its first weekend. Knight held the record until Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows – Part 1 waved its magic wand and took the top spot with $169 million. What does it all mean? Our own Damon Houx speculates that Avengers will certainly clear $150 million by Sunday night, and will probably end up with approximately $165 million.

That’s not quite the record breaker, but don’t feel bad for The Avengers—internationally, the film has already raked in $304 million in ticket sales. I think it’ll be OK.

Did you see The Avengers at midnight?

Source: Coming Soon

Interview: ‘The Avengers’ Cast Talks Pressure, Power and Expectations

Krystal Clark — Thu, 03 May 2012 21:00:24 +0000

After four years, five films, and countless castings, The Avengers have finally assembled. In less than 24 hours, anxious fans will see Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye fight side-by-side on the big screen. The Avengers Hollywood premiere took place last month, and immediately after, the cast participated in a press conference where they dished on their characters and each other.

Check out some highlights below…

It all began in 2007, when Robert Downey, Jr. was cast as genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist Tony Stark in Iron Man. The film planted a seed that would grow and spread into the next Marvel films, leading to this cinematic event.

Robert Downey Jr.: Going back to 2007 when I was cast in Iron Man and Kevin Feige over there said, you know, this is all going to lead to where we’re going to have all of these franchises come together. And, we’re gonna do something unprecedented in entertainment. We’re gonna make this Avengers movie. And I just remember, I would get nervous about it and excited about it and doubtful of it.

Initially, director Joss Whedon shared Downey’s nervousness. He knew The Avengers would be a huge undertaking, and wanted audiences to be satisfied with the finished product.

Joss Whedon: I think the exciting thing kind of speaks for itself. That bunch of characters,that bunch of actors playing them,that much money. It was kind of a no brainer. The hardest part is and always will be structure. How do you put that together? How do you make everybody shine? How do you let the audience’s identification drift from person to person without making them feel like they’re not involved. It’s a very complex structure. It’s not necessarily particularly ornate or original, but it had to be right. It had to be earned from moment-to-moment, and that’s exhausting. That was still going on in the editing room after we’d shot.

No one knows about trying to identify more than Mark Ruffalo. The actor had the tough task of replacing Edward Norton, who played Bruce Banner in 2008′s The Incredible Hulk. After being cast, Ruffalo quickly learned how harsh and critical the fanboy community can be.

Mark Ruffalo: It was terrifying. I knew what my responsibility was — or I felt it just by making the mistake of going online and reading some of the fanboy responses to the announcement that I was playing the next version of Bruce Banner. That was a mistake. I will never do that again. I’ve never had a role be more scrutinized and criticized even before I shot a single frame. Coming onto the set with all of these guys was pretty daunting. I knew that I had big shoes to fill, so to speak.

Ruffalo wasn’t alone in feeling out of his element. Chris Evans, who plays Captain America, also had to switch it up. The majority of the film’s jokes are handed off to his counterparts, while he delivers earnest dialogue. As someone who’s spent the majority of his career playing smartasses (like Johnny Storm in Fantastic Four), Cap was a welcomed change.

Chris Evans: That’s his role. It’s necessary, and that’s kind of why I like it ’cause I am used to kind of leaning on cracking jokes and being a wise ass. It’s nice to kind of play it straight a little bit. You know, that’s — I think even in this film more than the first Captain America, he, Steve Rogers has some issues, some conflict, some trouble given the fact that he is, a man out of his time. But given who he is as a man, his nature, he puts that second. He puts the mission first, and he’s just selfless.

Chris Hemsworth‘s Thor couldn’t be more different from Captain America. In his first film, he was forced to eat a huge slice of humble pie because of his arrogance. And even though he’s learned the error of his ways, Hemsworth believes Thor’s stubbornness is one of his best qualities.

Chris Hemsworth: I like the sort of visceral, gut instinct that Thor has. I always thought the childlike quality in the sense that if he believes something or, he wants to do something, he does it and says it. You know how kids own their environment and there’s no opinions that they really care about. I think Thor is — it’s there. It’s surrounded by bravado and strength and all that, but end of the day he’s pretty true to who he is and what he wants to do.

Thor will have plenty of time to show off his strength and bravado when he (once again) goes head-to-head with his brother Loki. As the film’s villain, Tom Hiddleston has the honor of battling not one but six of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. It’s a fact the actor has a hard time wrapping his head around.

Tom Hiddleston: It’s such a great character. It’s like playing an iconic Shakespearean character or something. It’s just a privilege to be asked to do it. With a character like Loki, he’s got such a level of complexity and so many layers to him. When I read it, I couldn’t believe my luck. The film was called The Avengers and yet Loki was almost on every page. I just was so excited about it, so I was, there was no trace of fear, just a huge amount of fun.

Two-time Oscar-nominee Jeremy Renner had an interesting way of preparing for his role as Hawkeye. As the team’s master archer, he does things with a bow and arrow Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games) and Legolos (Lord of the Rings) could only dream of.

Jeremy Renner: I stretched a lot, and I prepared by stretching. I did take some archery, but I realized very quickly that I couldn’t really use it in the film. It ended up being superhero type archery. It is nice to know the technique behind it but then, you know, shooting behind my back and over my shoulder and using fake arrows and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I gave it a go and shot a few bales of hay and missed a few. And yeah, you get injured, banged around every day when it’s hand-to-hand stuff.

Cobie Smulders, who’s best known for starring on CBS’ How I Met Your Mother, opened up about making the transition from TV to film.

Cobie Smulders: I made it a point to do a lot of training to prepare myself for this role with weapons and to get myself mainly comfortable using them. That was the thing that I tried to do the most. In terms of schedule, it’s very different. I’m very blessed at my job at How I Met Your Mother. We have a very nice schedule,and this too was,very good. But we had a lot of stunts to do and a lot of fun things to explode, so it’s very different.

As the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and foreman of The Avengers, Samuel L. Jackson revealed what he really loves about his character. And why Fury is dead-set on making this team work.

Samuel L. Jackson: I just like the fact that Nick Fury believes that these unique individuals deserve the love and admiration of the world. We pretty much owe everything to [The Avengers] because there are things out there greater than us.

The Avengers opens nationwide May 4.

The Avengers: Movie Review

Damon Houx — Wed, 02 May 2012 21:00:13 +0000

The Avengers is here, and it’s the film Marvel has been planting the seeds for since Iron Man hits screens in 2008. In that time we’ve had films featuring Hulk, Thor, and Captain America to help get audiences in the mood and in the know about these characters. And knowing the characters is important for Joss Whedon’s film, because character development and – for the most part – motivation is kept to a minimum. You’ve got an all–star cast facing evil, and it all builds to a blockbuster conclusion. But too bad it’s such a rocky ride to get there.

The Players:

Written and Directed By: Joss Whedon
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Tom Hiddleston, Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlet Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Colbie Smulders, Clark Gregg
Music By: Alan Silvestri
Cinematography by Seamus McGarvey

The Plot:

Loki (Hiddleston) is sent back to earth to find the Tesseract (which will open a portal for invasion), and has the power to turn humans into slaves. He invades SHIELD headquarters, and that sends Nick Fury (Jackson) Agent Coulson (Gregg) and Black Widow (Johansson) to gather Captain America (Evans) Iron Man (Downey Jr.) and the Hulk (Ruffalo) to help stop Loki. Eventually – along with Hawkeye (Renner) – they become a team to fight the alien invasion (the Chitauri).

The Good:

That Third Act: New York is in the crosshairs, as The Avengers must stop an oncoming horde of aliens from taking over the planet. This is what you paid to see and it delivers some great moments of the Avengers fighting bad guys and doing cool stuff. The Hulk is a stand out here.
The Cast: It’s hard to be as excited about some of the returning actors who are doing their well-defined characters, but this is a muderer’s row of talent, and it’s the people who get something new to do who shine. Johansson gives as good as she gets, and has some of the best moments in the film, while Mark Ruffalo as Banner and as Hulk steals the movie.
Quips: It’s Joss Whedon, and they’re mostly funny.

The Bad:

Marvel: This is the big film they’ve been building to for years, and they decided with this one that they were going to shoot it flat (1.85:1) – instead of scope (2.35:1) as they have every film they’ve been behind previous. Not only does that break continuity, but it robs the film of an epic feel. It makes the movie that much smaller. On top of which it’s just a very small feeling film. Not intimate, but none of the early set pieces feel epic. Everything comes across as if it was done on a budget until New York – and even then that’s kept contained.
Nothing to Do: Loki shows up and then gets arrested in a sequence that lays out what little is going on under the surface of this movie (good versus evil, maybe a little anti-fascism) and spends the middle section of the movie waiting for things to happen. Captain America is here because he’s a soldier, and does nothing in the film all that memorable, while Tony Stark also seems to be here because they asked him (and because he’s a little curious about SHIELD himself), same with Bruce Banner. Black Widow and Hawkeye are company men, and Thor joins the group just because – and this was Nick Fury’s big plan? To have people like Thor just show up? No one is acting like they’re trying to stop the end of the world, and the moments where these iconic figures of comic book world finally meet for the first time and then decide to work together seems as powerful and iconic as a coffee date. There was a lot of wrangling that went in to getting this film made, but it seems the film doesn’t find its iconic footing until the last section, when it realizes you want to see the team together. When Banner shows up in New York to fight along side his compatriots, there’s a sense that he’s showing up more because the plot demands it than him feeling like it’s the right thing to do.
It’s a Godzilla Movie: This has been a complaint of mine for a long time with super hero movies, and – to be fair – this is more Destroy All Monsters than Godzilla Vs. The Smog Monster, but it never really functions as a team movie because at no point during the course of anything that happens during the first two thirds of the film do they work together as a team. Seriously. And when they do, they rarely work as a group so much as co-ordinate their assaults. But it’s not about using skill sets so much as random butt-kicking. The set pieces don’t build in the early sections of the film, so much as get things into place for the final act. Which delivers, but still. When they do work together – like Hawkeye and Iron Man – it’s where the movie really soars.

Overall:

If you are just happy to see these characters together, you will love this film, and the idea of this film feels unimaginable. Unfortunately, the imagination that went in to bringing the characters together and what they do once they are together is severely limited by budget and creativity. Once again, it’s an origin story with familiar characters where it feels like it’s all building to an awesome conclusion. But since there’s no real main character or thematic heft or even interesting motivation to latch on to, it’s empty spectacle.

Rating: 6.5/10

The Avengers opens May 4.

Photos:

Trailer:

Joss Whedon Has a Remedy for That Troubled ‘Justice League’ Movie

Krystal Clark — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 23:06:23 +0000

How do you solve a problem like the Justice League? It’s no secret that fans of the superhero team have been yearning for a big screen adaptation. But Warner Bros. has delayed a live-action film more times than we can count. With Marvel’s The Avengers hitting theaters this summer, we can’t help but wonder — what’s the hold-up on the next super-group superhero film? Director Joss Whedon has an idea of where DC Comics and Warner Bros. may be going wrong.

This afternoon, the cast and crew of The Avengers participated in a press conference promoting their superhero extravaganza. During the event, a journalist asked Whedon a pretty intriguing question: “What advice would you give Warner Bros. on getting their Justice League movie going?”

Joss Whedon: It’s enormously difficult to take very disparate characters and make them work. And DC has a harder time with it than Marvel because their characters are from a bygone era. Their characters were bigger than we were. They’ve amended that but Marvel really cracked the code in terms of ‘Oh, they’re just like us.’ A dose of that sort of veracity that Marvel really started with Iron Man, I think you need to use that as a base.

Do you agree with Whedon’s sentiment? Does the size of the characters keep audiences from relating or accepting them on the big screen? To be fair, not every Justice League member is an intergalactic being. Batman, Green Arrow, Black Canary and the Flash are pretty relatable on a human level. But for some reason, the WB still can’t get their act together.

What do you think is holding the Justice League back?

Watch A 20 Minute Behind The Scenes Doc About ‘The Avengers’

Travis Woods — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 22:35:53 +0000

The Avengers had its Hollywood premiere last night, and the early buzz on the film is that it’s a home run, with analysts predicting the film will clear at least $120 million, like, immediately. Not only that, the film is reportedly a blockbuster that’s—gasp!—actually good. Curious about how the film came together? Check out a 20 minute behind the scenes documentary about the making of The Avengers below!

The Avengers is the story of how S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury assembles Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, the Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye to defend the Earth against a group of otherworldly invaders led by Thor’s evil brother, Loki. There’s a lot riding on this film, as Marvel has structured an entire tentpole franchise around it, creating such films as Iron Man 2, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, and Captain America: The First Avenger to essentially act as two-hour prologues to set up this epic film. That’s a pretty impressive windup before the pitch.

But early word suggests that the film is a success, with a nice balance of humor, action and character beats (this is a Joss Whedon film, after all). Check out the behind the scenes doc below.

Will you be seeing The Avengers?

Source: /Film

The Cabin in the Woods: Movie Review

Kit Bowen — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 20:07:52 +0000

Wow. I mean, seriously, WOW. The Cabin in the Woods is unlike any horror film you will ever see, bending not only the horror genre on its totally whacked ear but twisting all kinds of other cinematic techniques as well. From the minds of Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard, it is truly one of the most inventive and ingenious movies to come around in a long time.

The Players:

Directors: Drew Goddard
Writers: Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard
Cast: Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford, Chris Hemsworth, Kristen Connolly, Jesse Williams, Anna Hutchinson, Fran Kranz
Music: David Julyan
Cinematography: Peter Deming

The Plot:

From the title, The Cabin in the Woods sounds like the typical horror flick, in which reckless college 20-somethings isolate themselves and get hacked to pieces by something unspeakable. Partly, this is true. But then The Cabin in the Woods quickly veers off the bloody path to uncover a master plot involving two men in a control room, pulling the strings. It also includes rituals, lots of gore and all other manner of horrific weirdness. You won’t believe some of the sheer craziness that happens in this movie.

The Good:

The pitch: Think Friday the 13th zombies meets The Hunger Games with a little bit of Wrath of the Titans mixed in for good measure. I kid you not – and yet, it all does make sense, if not completely and wonderfully farfetched.
The kids: Five relatively unknown actors (Chris Hemsworth, Kristen Connolly, Jesse Williams, Anna Hutchinson and Fran Kranz) signed on to make this fun tailspin of a movie, but because of the release delay, Hemsworth went on to play Thor and is now entirely recognizable. No matter. These actors take their jobs as hapless victims with a grain of salt, mixing in their own quirky sensibilities, especially Connolly and standout Kranz.
Bradley Whitford and Richard Jenkins: These two excellent character actors are the master puppeteers in this mad game of who slashes who. They are also just two work colleagues, talking football and barbeques on their coffee break. They represent the heart and soul of The Cabin in the Woods – and its comic relief.
A well-placed cameo by Sigourney Weaver: Enough said.
Sheer genius: The credit for The Cabin in the Woods’ brilliance lies solely with its creators. Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Firefly) understands how to take something formulaic and turn it into fascinating entertainment, while Goddard worked with Whedon on Buffy and went on to write for Alias and Lost, as well as penning the J.J. Abrams thriller Cloverfield. It’s clear these two guys have been dreaming up this wacky stuff for years. With The Cabin in the Woods, they have seemingly tapped into the recess of their incredibly vivid imaginations with aplomb. Ah, to be a fly on the wall when they came up with this plot.

The Bad:

The release date: The film was shot in 2009 but is now just being released. Why? Apparently, the studio wanted to turn it into a 3D flick, but Whedon and Goddard balked. They won that battle, thankfully, but it must have taken some time to convince the bonehead powers that be. That’s it, though. I can’t think of anything else negative about it.

Overall:

The less you know about this movie, the better off you’ll be because you really must experience The Cabin in the Woods firsthand. Oh, you might lose some sleep but not because you’re scared, per se; it will simply mess with your head.

Rating: 9.5/10

The Cabin in the Woods opens April 13. Run to see if, if you dare.

Photos:

Trailer:

Watch A Scene From Joss Whedon’s ‘The Cabin In The Woods’

Travis Woods — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 15:50:54 +0000

Joss Whedon’s having a rather eventful 2012—in addition to writing and directing the megabudget superhero colossus that is The Avengers, a horror film that he produced and co-wrote with director and former Whedon Buffy the Vampire Slayer collaborator Drew Goddard in 2009 called The Cabin in the Woods is finally seeing the light of day after three years of silence due to the film’s parent studio, MGM, going bankrupt. And if you’re curious about the unconventional horror film, we’ve got a spooky clip after the jump.

The film concerns “a group of five friends going on a quiet cabin retreat” who then “scratch the surface of something so massive and horrific that they can only begin to fathom what might possibly be going on just as time quickly runs out.” While the premise sounds familiar, early word on The Cabin in the Woods is that the film is a near-classic horror film/haunted house story almost on par with a genre classic like Evil Dead II.

The film has been languishing in the vaults due to MGM’s bankruptcy, as well as an attempted 3D conversion. Lionsgate then saved the day and picked the film up, which is set for release this Friday, April 13^th.

The new clip comes courtesy of Yahoo! Movies, and finds a pre-stardom Chris Hemsworth going from group hero to something… well, slightly more sinister, all in the course of 50 or so seconds. It’s an intriguing clip—check it out below.

What did you think of the new clip?

ScreenCrave.com » Joss Whedon

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