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Mark Millar Says Kick-Ass 2 Has Been Greenlit

Krystal Clark — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:57:52 +0000

Last week, we posted an article entitled, “Was It Bad Timing That Befell Kick-Ass and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World?” It pretty much explained the reasons why neither film was a huge commercial success, even though we’re sure they’ll gain a following on DVD. Despite its low ticket sales, comic creator Mark Millar recently revealed during an interview with BBC Radio that a Kick-Ass sequel has already been greenlit.

According to Millar,

“The estimate is [Kick-Ass] will do 100 to 150 million on DVD based on the American sales, you know, so it’ll end up making a quarter of a billion on a 28 million investment. So It should be okay. So the sequel’s greenlit, we can go ahead and do the follow up now, you know. The first made so much compared to what it cost it would be crazy not to.”

That’s true, the movie was a labor of love for director Matthew Vaughn who fought tooth and nail to get the film into theaters. And because of its low budget, they earned a decent profit but do they really want to push it? It’s gained a lot of momentum on DVD but I’m not sure if that’s enough to make another film.

Even if Kick-Ass 2 is greenlit and goes into production, who’s to say that it will gain enough support for a theatrical release? Lionsgate distributed the first film and they’ve invested in some questionable material in the past, but are they willing to take another gamble on this property?

What do you think? Do you want to see a Kick-Ass 2?

Mark Millar Talks Kick-Ass 2: Balls to the Wall

Krystal Clark — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 21:46:45 +0000

It’s no secret that a sequel to Matthew Vaughn’s Kick-Ass adaptation is in the works. Even though the film wasn’t a huge commercial success, it made enough money to warrant a follow up. According to Movieweb, Kick-Ass creator and writer Mark Millar recently opened up about his comic book sequel entitled Kick-Ass: Balls to the Wall and discussed how it will tie into the upcoming movie version.

He revealed that he’s currently working on the comic and he should be done by Christmas. At that point he plans on working with Vaughn on the film adaptation next spring (April). Here’s what he had to say in regards to where the first Kick-Ass left off and where the new one will pick up.

The film and the comic book are very closely tied together. There are only a few minor changes towards the end. It does led directly into a sequel, and I am writing the sequel as I always planned it to be. The actors may be a little bit older, or bigger. They can address that in the movie. But I am not changing anything for the comic book. We left things off with her being adopted by this extremely nice man. He is a cop. And she has to stop killing people, you know? That seems like an interesting starting point in the next one in regards to her character.

She is going to be like Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven, where she hasn’t picked up a gun in years. It’s that type of thing. I like the idea of doing that with an eleven year old girl. She was part of this massive cacophony of violence. But she’s not allowed to kill people anymore. She is consumed with anger, and forced to watch TV shows instead. Halfway through the movie, or the comic, we will follow her as she picks up a gun again. It is going to be awesome.

As for the future of Red Mist…

He heads off and develops his martial arts skills. He learns how to become a better villain. That type of thing. He is going to come back and wreck unholy vengeance on our team. But in reality, he just comes back and gets stoned, and he spends a lot of money. He can’t do anything, so he hires this bad ass girl from Russia, she comes into the story, and her plan is to kill Hit Girl. Red Mist becomes like Charles Manson. He goes on-line and influences a bunch of young villains to go against Kick-Ass and Hit Girl. The whole thing ends up as a big gang fight like you’d see in The Warriors. There is going to be a big gang fight in the middle of Times Square between all of these costumed heroes. And at the head will be the Red Mist and Hit Girl.

This fight sounds like a scene taken directly from the story mode of Tekken 5. Other than that, I’m intrigued. A Russian assassin chick going head to head with a revamped Hit Girl sounds like pure entertainment. I was really hoping that Red Mist would return as a true bad ass but he’s just going turn into a sociopath, which has a totally different appeal. Not necessarily bad, but different.

What do you think of Millar’s plan for Kick-Ass: Balls to the Wall?

Kick-Ass: Movie Review

Mali Elfman — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 01:30:05 +0000

As I said right after seeing this film at ShoWest, this film does what it says it will, it kick’s ass. There are some things that I could pick at if I really wanted to but overall it’s a darkly comedic film about fake superheros fighting crime and it’s some of the most fun I’ve had in theaters all year. The tone, the dialogue and the comedic-violence are brilliantly well executed…I was sold as soon as I saw the adorable Chloe Moretz call a group of mobsters “cunts” and stab the living shit out of them…

The Players:

Director: Matthew Vaughn
Writers: Jane Goldman (Script) and Mark Millar (Comic-Book)
Actors: Aaron Johnson, Nicolas Cage, Chloe Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Clark Duke, Evan Peters, Mark Strong, Lyndsy Fonseca

The Plot:

Without giving too much away, the film is about a teenager who decides that he can’t take the violence in his neighborhood anymore so he does what comes naturally to him… puts on some cheap spandex and starts kicking some ass! He begins to gather a group of followers, some who are more professional, others who have more money… all with their own distinct personalities and reasons for joining. Let the ride begin!

The Good:

The Tone: What makes this movie so great is that for however fantastical it is still based on real people AND has a strong sense that it’s based in an insane reality. Yes it goes over the top and crazy, but always in a very organic, believable way (until we get to the end). From the colors on the screen, to the lighting, and the overall tone, they did a great job of never making it feel like an unattainable movie. It’s more like a real life story with extraordinary happenings.
The Acting: Across the board, great performances. Nicholas Cages gives one of his best performances in a LONG time by finally letting his inner nerd come out! There are few 10-year-olds that could be both as sweet and violent as Chloe Moretz who steals every scene she’s in with her amazing performance. Mark Strong, the token bad guy of the year delivers again. Christopher Mintz-Plasse will have you laughing as always. And Aaron Johnson proves that all the recent attention he’s been getting is much deserved.
The Violence: There are some graphic scenes when needed, but for the most part the violence is done with a sense of humor that allows you to have fun and let loose. Yes you may cringe, but odds are you’ll be laughing while you do it.
The Comedy: As I’ve said before, what makes this film so great is it’s ability to mock other films like it and even itself. It has fun and never takes itself too seriously.
The Directing: There were a lot of good choices made in this film, starting with Vaughn believing in the film when no one else did. The fact that no one would fund it so he raised $35 million on his own and made the movie anyway (and ended up selling it for more than he asked for). You can tell that this is a passion project and that he really put everything he had into the film and left no stone unturned.

The Bad:

Meh: Id’ have to get really picky, there were some structure issues towards the end which if I’m honest, really didn’t effect the movie for me at all. It’s a fun ride, this film isn’t about being perfect, it’s about kicking some fucking ass.

Overall:

Go see it now! Find a packed theater (it’s great to hear everyone’s response), buy some popcorn, and have a blast!

Rating: 9/10

Kick-Ass is coming to you in theaters April 16th!

Photo Gallery:

Trailer:

Amazing Hit Girl Line Cut from Kick-Ass

Mali Elfman — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 20:17:50 +0000

Mark Millar, the author of the Kick-Ass comic book series recently spoke a little bit about Matthew Vaughn‘s upcoming release and some of the changes that had to be made so that the original series would work on the big screen. For the most part many of the changes that took place were to help the structure of adapting the film (so that it didn’t want to fall victim to some of the problems The Watchmen had), but some things had to be changed for other reasons. For however insane and violent the film may be, there were a few places Vaughn and writer Jane Goldman weren’t willing to go.

First Millar discusses the changes that were made to his original work…

Millar: Any changes they made they discussed beforehand (with Vaughn and Goodman) and I get why. A comic book is a monthly thing with an eight act structure, where as a movie three acts and people have to leave the theater feeling better then when they came in. So all the changes were made to make it a better movie. I think that movies like Watchmen, which are a very literally adaptation of the book and fails in that sense as a movie because it was a bit clunky in places, where as when Matthew and Jane made a change it for the sake of the movie, so I was happy about that.

One of the changes that was made was a scene being cut from the end of the film when Hit Girl and Kick-Ass are going up to the Penthouse to have a fight and when they’re in a lift (elevator) together, Kick-Ass notices that his 10-year-old counterpart is doing something unexpected…

Kick-Ass: What are you doing?

Hit Girl: Activating “Condition Red.” Dad gave me this for emergencies and said it would give me the strength of 10 men.

Kick-Ass: Is that cocaine?

Hit Girl: No lame brain. It’s a super-secret chemical compound designed by scientists. Now, open my Hello Kitty bag, I think I’m coming up.

Apparently, a 10-year-old “coming up” was just a little too shocking for the filmmakers. They had to draw the line somewhere and it’s at a kid using Hello Kitty bags for coke. I for one love the line, but I do get how that adds another dynamic to the film, one that might not be appreciated by parents and over-appreciated younger kids sneaking into the film.

This reminds me of one of the alternate lines from Fight Club where Helena Bonham Carter‘s says “I haven’t been fucked like that since grade school”, which if you watch the DVD extras could have been “I want to have your abortion.” Personally I think they went for the stronger line in the film. Pedophilia has to be worse than abortion right??? (ohh Catholicism…. I’m looking at your Pope-y.)

Kick-Ass hits theaters on April 16th.

What do you think of the cut line? Do you know of any other great lines that were cut out of films?

Watch more clips and check out the posters for the film now!

Kick Ass Sequel Already Confirmed

Krystal Clark — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:18:16 +0000

Matthew Vaughn‘s live action adaptation of the Mark Millar comic Kick-Ass hasn’t even released an official trailer, but a sequel has already been confirmed. Over at MTV, author and creator Millar told their correspondent that we can definitely expect to see more Kick-Ass in the future. The film won’t hit theaters until April 16th of next year, so this is a bit premeditated on the studio’s part don’t you think?

When speaking with MTV, Millar said “There’s a basic plot. The series ends on a teaser for the next one, and the movie ends on that teaser, too.” He added that the first film “didn’t cost that much money to make. There will definitely be another one.”

So without much to go on, they’re going to assume that the first film will be a massive hit and make them all the money they’ll need to produce a second? This may be an example of putting the cart before the horse. Granted the fan response to the Kick-Ass trailer at Comic-Con was phenomenal, but those were die hard fans. You have to think about the general population.

Lionsgate picked up the distribution rights for the film after a hefty bidding war, due to that overwhelming Comic-Con response. I hope they don’t put all their eggs in one basket. I want the film to do well, but not at the expense of them pushing sequels out one after another. That’s usually when the story begins to suffer.

What do you think about a Kick-Ass sequel being confirmed so early?

Matthew Vaughn’s Kick-Ass Footage To Be Shown At Comic-Con

Kara Stanford-Jones — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:15:59 +0000

Comic-Con is almost upon us and information is starting to steep out about what is showing and who will be there. Yesterday we saw the first banner for Avatar, today it has been confirmed that footage from Matthew Vaughn‘s new film, Kick-Ass, will be shown towards the end of the day on Thursday, July 23. There is no word on whether or not the stars of the film will make an appearance.

Kick-Ass is a Mark Millar comic about a dorky high school student, named Dave Lizewski, who decides to become a superhero. The only problem is he has no defining ability or even coordination. A few problems arise when Dave encounters bad guys who can fight and have weapons. The film stars Nicholas Cage, Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Chloe Moretz. Aaron Johnson stars as Dave Lizewski and Lyndsy Fonseca plays his love interest. Nicholas Cage plays a former cop who has trained his daughter, Chole Moretz, to be a lethal weapon.

Check out a few pictures from the movie…

I like the idea of this movie; it sounds like it could be pretty good. I am not really familiar with the story or Mark Millar, but I am curious to hear what people think of Mark Millar and Matthew Vaughn directing this movie.

What do you think?

Source: Superherohype and Collider

Mark Millar’s Planning a Kick-Ass 2!

Krystal Clark — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 23:30:55 +0000

Writer and creator Mark Millar has had his hands full recently with the success of last year’s Wanted, and the upcoming comic adaptation, Kick-Ass. The film is based off of Millar’s popular series about a high school boy who moonlights as a superhero. The movie stars Aaron Johnson as the title character Dave Lizewski/Kick-Ass, Nicolas Cage as Big Daddy, and Chloe Moretz as his 11-year old daughter Hit Girl.

With the exception of a few photos, there hasn’t been a heavy flow of Kick-Ass promotion coming our way. Millar has been very protective of the film, which is currently in post-production. Only a select few have seen actual footage from the movie, yet the writer is pretty confident that there will be a sequel.

Over at SciFiWire, Millar spoke about how Wanted literally broke the bank, and opened the door for him to adapt more of his comics for the big screen. He expects Kick-Ass to be bigger and better than his previous work, and already has the story for the sequel mapped out.

Kick-Ass 2 is already being plotted out. We’re planning it, because all the actors are quite young and we have to make it relatively quickly. So we’ll definitely do that inside the next 18 to 24 months. Wanted made a fortune. It made a ton of money, and it was a property nobody had ever heard of. And I think Kick-Ass is going to be even bigger. Everybody who’s seen bits of it were rubbing their hands together with excitement because they think they’ve stumbled onto something very big. So I can’t complain. It’s not been a genius plan of mine or anything. It’s just been a bunch of happy accidents that led to this.

His excitement scares me. I know a lot of people who weren’t really pleased with the film adaptation of Wanted. Yet, he seemed to enjoy it and think it was great! If he thinks Kick-Ass will be even better than Wanted, I dont’ know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing? Kick-Ass is directed by Matthew Vaughn and is scheduled to hit theaters sometime later this year. No definite release date has been set, which I find a bit unsettling, so stay tuned.

Do you think Kick-Ass will be as good as Millar says? Are you interested in seeing the film?

Winnie the Pooh Writer Tackles Wanted Sequel

Krystal Clark — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 16:21:31 +0000

What does Mark Miller’s graphic novel Wanted and the children’s classic Winnie the Pooh have in common? On the surface it seems like absolutely nothing, but Universal saw something and they’re going to use it. According to THR, the studio has just hired a writer for the sequel to the 2008 comic blockbuster and it’s none other than Evan Spiliotopoulos. He’s the guy who co-wrote the screenplay for Pooh’s Heffalump Movie, and it’s Halloween spin-off.

Mark Miller gives some details about the story for Wanted 2 after the jump.

According to /Film, Miller stated that the sequel will include some of the material that wasn’t used from the first book in the original film. “So in the loosest sense it will be based on the book, but only very little.” Wanted 2 will be produced by Marc E. Platt and Jim Lemley, with the Timur Bekmambetov returning to direct. The first film was co-written by Chris Morgan, Derek Haas, and Michael Brandt. There had been rumors that Morgan had written an early draft for the sequel, but it’s probably dunzo now that Spiliotopoulos is on board.

I’m not familiar with Spiliotopoulos’ work at all, so I don’t even know what to make of this news. I remember the commercials for the Heffalump movie and I absolutely hated them. Those things seriously annoyed me. I think this is a brave choice for the studio and Millar to put this in his hands.

What do you think about Spiliotopoulos being hired to write Wanted 2?

Matthew Vaughn and Mark Millar to Adapt American Jesus

Krystal Clark — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 15:30:22 +0000

British director Matthew Vaughn wants to try his hand at some biblical material for his next film. According to THR, Vaughn and comics creator Mark Millar are thinking about re-teaming for another comic book adaptation. They previously worked on the upcoming film Kick-Ass which will open in theaters later this year. The project in question is called American Jesus, which is another one of Millar’s creations. Vaughn wants to direct and produce the film with his Marv Films partner Kris Thykier.

American Jesus centers on ”the return of Christ in the modern world, leading to a final confrontation with the Antichrist in a bid to save humanity.” The book originally appeared in 2006 as a three part series called “Chosen”. When Millar decided to continue the series as a trilogy miniseries he changed it to the overarching title American Jesus. The follow up to “Chosen” is entitled “The Resurrection” and will be released this fall. Vaughn is hoping for a summer production start for the film.

Mark Millar is one of the most popular comic writers around, and lately his work has been catching the eye of Hollywood. He is the creator of the graphic novel Wanted, which was turned into an action blockbuster last year. Besides his upcoming Kick-Ass, he has the film version of War Heroes in development over at Columbia Pictures. Vaughn on the other hand has been making his rounds in various genres of film. He helmed the acclaimed 2004 Daniel Craig film Layer Cake, as well as 2007′s Stardust with Claire Danes.

What do you think about Millar and Vaughn teaming up for American Jesus? Are you familiar with the series?

ScreenCrave.com » mark millar

Mark Millar Says Kick-Ass 2 Has Been Greenlit

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The Good:

The Bad:

Overall:

Rating: 9/10

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Trailer:

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