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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

Disney Officially Announces ‘The Avengers 2′ (Of Course)

Bronwen Winter Phoenix — Wed, 09 May 2012 16:32:31 +0000

After The Avengers hit us with a massive $207 million opening weekend (grossing a worldwide $700 million), it should be no surprise that Disney/Marvel has officially announced the obvious; a sequel is on the way. Of course, we already knew a sequel would be on the way (Marvel rarely stops at just one, and its stars are all signed to multi-film contracts); this is simply the assurance of what we all knew would be happening.

According to Deadline, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced in an earnings call that “the company is developing a sequel.” Iger has apparently already gushed that the movie’s success is “a great illustration of why we like Marvel so much.” And that’s not all – there are more sequels on the way, with Iron Man 3, Captain America 2 and Thor 2 already announced – with maybe even an Ant-Man film in store (we’ll have to wait and see about that).

The Avengers raked in $18.7 million in midnight screenings alone from approximately 2,500 theaters which played the film in both 2D and digital 3D, as well as the 273 IMAX 3D theaters.

Marvel fans everywhere flocked to cinemas to see the story that finds Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) of S.H.I.E.L.D forming a super team of heroes called “The Avengers,” who try to save the Earth from Loki and his alien army. Fury and his team battle to save the Earth from disaster, and with a story like that, how could it possibly miss? Well, as you know, it didn’t.

The Avengers stars Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders, Stellan Skarsgård, Samuel L. Jackson, Gwyneth Paltrow and Paul Bettany, and was directed by Joss Whedon. No word yet on who will be returning and who won’t (you can bet Downey, Evans, Ruffalo and Hemsworth will be there); Whedon currently has an option to direct, but there’s been no official word yet on that front.

Are you already looking forward to The Avengers 2?

Source: FirstShowing

‘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

New ‘Avengers’ Clip Features Black Widow Hiring The Hulk

Travis Woods — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:43:17 +0000

We’re just under two weeks until the official release of The Avengers, one of the most anticipated films of 2012. The Joss Whedon-directed superhero film features such Marvel hotshots as Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, the Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye teaming up to defend Earth from the threat posed by Thor’s villainous brother, Loki. And in a new clip from the film, you can see how Black Widow draws a cranky Bruce Banner/Hulk into the Avengers.

The clip finds Black Widow being sent by Nick Fury (Sam Jackson) to recruit scientist Bruce Banner into the Avengers in order to use his expertise on Gamma radiation to track an item leaking minute traces of Gamma rays. She makes it clear that the group is not looking to use Banner’s Hulk abilities, something that Banner wants to put to the test.

It’s an interesting clip for two reasons—as we’ve seen from the trailers, the Hulk definitely makes a violent appearance or two in the film, meaning that either Banner accidentally loses his temper, or that Black Widow and Fury were manipulating him to use his Hulk abilities after all. The other reason: perhaps it’s just us, but Scarlett Johansson’s acting is so wooden in the scene, it’s almost as if Mark Ruffalo himself isn’t even there, and is as CGI’d as the Hulk itself.

The Avengers is set for official release on May 4.

What do you think of the clip?

Source: MovieWeb

News Roundup: Scarlett Johansson To Play Golden Age Star, Steven Spielberg Watches 1976 Oscars And More

Laura Aguirre — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 00:36:17 +0000

It’s time to catch up on this week’s news. First off, the role of young Carrie Bradshaw has been cast for the upcoming CW series “The Carrie Diaries”. It’s not Miley Cyrus, as some may have thought, but an up-and-coming young actress famous for a role she played in a Tim Burton movie. Also, Scarlett Johansson has been cast to play an iconic role in Sacha Gervasi‘s upcoming film. We’ve also got a neat clip of a young Steven Spielberg. All that and more below.

A New Carrie Bradshaw: Sarah Jessica Parker‘s signature character, Carrie Bradshaw, is getting a new face. Anna Sophia Robb, who’s best known as Violet in Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will play a younger version of Carrie in “The Carrie Diaries”, a prequel TV show being developed by The CW. The show will focus on Carrie’s life in high school, before the sex column and various failed relationships.
Star To Play A Star: Scarlett Johansson has been cast to play Psycho star Janet Leigh in Sacha Gervasi’s Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho. Also starring is James D’Arcy as Anthony Perkins, Anthony Hopkins as Hitchcock, and Helen Mirren as Hitchcock’s wife, Alma. The film will showcase the director’s struggles while making the classic horror film. We’re thinking this will be something along the line of My Week With Marilyn – a movie within a movie.
Underappreciated Comedy And More: Unreality Magazine put together a list of Six Underappreciated Comedies More People Need To See. The list includes titles like Black Sheep, The Foot Fist Way, Top Secret, and more. The magazine also put together a list of The Best Geniuses in Movies, like Will Hunting, John Nash, Ray Babbitt and more. And finally, there’s a list of Seven Extremely Depressing Movies. The list includes titles like Million Dollar Baby, 21 Grams, Requiem For A Dream and more.

New Clips And Trailers:

Steven Spielberg Watches The Oscars: Slashfilm posted a cool video this week showing a much younger Steven Spielberg watching the Oscar nominations in 1976 unfolding life. Below you’ll see Spielberg anxiously awaiting for Jaws to be announced an Oscar nominee. It’s pretty amazing, check it out.

That’s the end of our round-up. Keep checking back at ScreenCrave for more entertainment news.

What are you excited for?

Latest Avengers Pictures and Superhero Cameo Rumors

Damon Houx — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:12:50 +0000

With less than four months to go until the launch of the The Avengers, we’re getting all sorts of stories, pictures and rumors about the film, which has a May 4 release date. Of late, Empire Magazine has had four character-specific covers, there’s hints at what the film’s Hulk might look like, and a completely baseless rumor about a possible Marvel franchise cross-over. Take a look….

Empire has four covers for the movie with Robert Downey Jr., Scarlet Johansson, Chris Evans, and Chris Hemsworth, and you can view those on their site, or right here:

Empire also has a sculpture for the upcoming Hulk Toy, and here’s some artwork from the likely film-approved comic-book tie-in.

But the most iffy news to come out is that Jenny Agutter (best known for her work in such films as Walkabout and An American Werewolf in London) was interviewed by The Radios Times, and talked about her role in the film where she mentioned how much secrecy was involved in making the movie. Though Agutter is not directly quoted, she supposedly shared Winnebagos with Iron Man and – more interestingly Spider-Man. Spider-Man is currently owned cinematically by Sony, and though it’s possible that the companies could work out some sort of cross-over for promotion, it seems more likely that the journalist or Miss Agutter are not all that comic-book savvy and thought the web-slinger was in the film. But what is the internet for if not baseless speculation?

What is the internet for if not baseless specualtion?

News Roundup: Scarlett Johansson, Ryan Gosling, Titanic 3D, and More

Laura Aguirre — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 21:22:35 +0000

Several high-profile films are heading to theaters and The Muppets are leading the way! Disney has released their latest parody posters, which feature Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog channeling their inner Twilight. We’ve also snagged the first one-sheet for the revamped, 3D release of Titanic, and we’ve discovered Scarlett Johansson’s new behind the scenes film role!

Catch up below…

Fight for 35mm: If you’re a fan of 35 mm films, beware — they’re in danger! It’s no secret that they’re being pushed out by digital, but soon you won’t be able to watch them. There’s a petition going around called ‘Fight for 35mm’ which aims to keep 35mm films available to screen. As movie lovers, it is our duty to keep that part of film history and production alive. Go over to The Petition Site to sign ‘Fight for 35mm.’
Ashley Greene Interview: The Twilight Saga offers a lot more than just Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner. This week, Ashley Greene, who plays Alice in the series, appeared in an interview with MovieLine where she talked about her character’s relationship with Bella and the details of planning her wedding. Check it out at MovieLine.
Bradley Cooper vs. Ryan Gosling: New Yorkers are really in a protesting mood. This week a group of 15 people, in Ryan Gosling masks, showed up outside Manhattan’s Time-Life Building to protest their choice for 2011′s Sexiest Man Alive (Bradley Cooper). The protesters do have some grounds, this was a big year for Gosling. He proved that romantic comedies can still rock, he’s fighting crime on the streets of NYC, and he’s really, really good-looking. Cooper’s great, but as far as 2011 goes — it’s all Gosling.
Titanic Returns: Titanic is returning to theaters 14 years after its debut. Come April 6, you’ll be able to experience the love story that made us cry our eyes out — in 3D. We’ve got a look at the first Titanic 3D poster below. Check it out.

Director Scarlett Johansson: Woody Allen’s muse is switching gears from actress to director. Scarlett Johansson will helm the feature: Summer Crossing. In 2009 she directed the short These Vagabond Shoes (for New York, I Love You), but Crossing will be her feature debut. The plot details are currently being kept under wraps.
The Muppet Saga: The Muppets are coming to theaters next week, are you excited? Before their big screen return, they decided to pay homage to this week’s vampire release: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1. Check out their Twilight-inspired posters below:

That’s the end of our round-up. Keep checking back at ScreenCrave for more entertainment news.

What are you excited for?

‘The Avengers’ Full Trailer Has Been Released

Travis Woods — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 16:29:25 +0000

Well, it’s finally here—the trailer for the Marvel Films juggernaut in which they mash together the Iron Man, Incredible Hulk, Thor, and Captain America films into a gargantuan, two-hour plus sandwich of explosions, Robert Downey Jr. quips, unconvincing Hulk CGI, and Scarlett Johansson doing things in tights: The Avengers. Toss in some Nine Inch Nails music, the bad guy with the slick mullet from Thor, and some Sam Jackson action in which Sam Jackson acts all Sam Jackson with that Sam Jackson style (did I mention Sam Jackson is in this? Sam Jackson is in this), and you’ve got just about every single Marvel movie trailer you’ve ever seen, all rolled into one convenient mush for you to slurp up.

Dig the trailer:

So, what do you think? The film is directed by Joss Whedon, the man behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Dollhouse, and Serenity, so there’s a sliver of hope that this won’t simply be a directed-by-committee film which is essentially a checklist of studio-mandated moments that just barely hang together and exist solely to generate ad revenue via action figures, video games, fast food tie-ins, and overseas markets. Oh, who am I kidding—there’s loud rock music, Scarlett Johansson is kicking things, and stuff goes boom real loud. I’ll see you there on opening day.

What do you think of The Avengers trailer?

Source: The AV Club

The Avengers Are Assembled (Via Photoshop)

Damon Houx — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 19:25:45 +0000

Marvel studios has been building to Joss Whedon‘s The Avengers since 2008, when Robert Downey Jr. and Samuel L. Jackson had an end credit scene that laid out the possibility of Tony Stark working with a team. Since then we’ve seen Chris Hemsworth cast as Thor, Scarlett Johansson cast as Black Widow, Chris Evans cast as Captain America, Jeremy Renner cast as Hawkeye, and Edward Norton cast as the Hulk. Six out of seven isn’t bad. All of The Avengers save Jackson grace the latest Entertainment weekly cover, and features the new Hulk Mark Ruffalo. Check out the cover….

The Avengers has a teaser poster out, and we’ve been hearing word that an official trailer may hit as soon as next week on Real Steel. Which means shooting is about done, and post is already under way for the film, which opens May 4, 2012. AND THIS is the best they can come up with? What the heck is that look on Mark Ruffalo’s face?

The Entertainment Weekly story has more pictures of the shooting and suggests that the shoot went well-ish (though Robert Downey Jr. asked for lots of rewrites) which may get people excited. Bottom line is that the fanbase is pre-sold, so though this may be putting the wrong foot forward, it does get across what to expect from the film. An ensemble. Hopefully they work together better than this cover suggests.

There’s no way this would dissuade you from seeing The Avengers, right?

Matt Damon in the We Bought a Zoo Trailer

Damon Houx — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 19:01:47 +0000

Getting Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson for his follow up to Elizabethtown was not a bad idea for Cameron Crowe. We Bought a Zoo is his first feature since that 2005 fiasco, and it’s coming just in time for award season. Damon plays a widower who buys a zoo, and probably figures out how to deal with grief and new love in this Dramedy. Check out the trailer…

Okay, comedy, pathos. Having seen Cameron Crowe’s last movie, this trailer bothers me because he seems to be in the same sort of movie – albeit now with a much stronger leading man, and children who need his support. But from the familiarity of the quitting scene to some of the advice as therapy buzz words talk, this trailer makes me a little worried.

Crowe’s highpoint as a filmmaker still seems to be Say Anything, though everything else has its moments and charms. Here, he seems to be going after the same things that made Elizabethtown such a slog to sit through. This is based on a true story, but reality has never gotten in the way of cinematic saccharine. Of course, the film could work like gangbusters, and maybe this is a subject matter and a theme that Crowe is trying to work through. Or it could be someone trying to recapture the highs of the greatest successes using the cheapest device possible (death) to create empathy.

For better or worse, this is going to be a very important film for Crowe and his legacy. Almost Famous was his autobiography, and perhaps he’s said everything he ever wanted to in cinema. Perhaps now – like Tim Burton - he’s drawn to certain subject matter, but no longer has the same creative drive. We Bought a Zoo opens December 23.

Does this trailer get you excited?

First Look At Cameron Crowe’s We Bought A Zoo

Laura Aguirre — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 16:17:49 +0000

It’s been a while since we had a Cameron Crowe feature in theaters. Luckily, we won’t be waiting much longer – We Bought a Zoo is coming out this winter. While there’s still no news on a first trailer, USA Today revealed a set of first look photos. From that we can get a hint that we’re in for a treat. See for yourself.

The new Crowe film is set in Southern California. Matt Damon stars as a father who moves his young family to the countryside to renovate and re-open a struggling zoo. The cast also includes Scarlett Johansson, Elle Fanning and Thomas Haden Church.

There’s also a whole feature written about Crowe and his new film, where he expresses his eagerness to get back to directing:

I wanted to direct again, and it was so much fun to get back into it. The size of this film felt right. I just wanted to get back into a group of characters and feast on all of them.

Crowe also talks about working with his actors and what he’s been doing on his time off, which doesn’t surprise us. He is first and foremost a writer.

In the photos below we see some behind the scenes, Damon coming face to face with a tiger and a beautiful family portrait. Check it out!

What do you think?

Scarlett Johansson Gets Big Laughs on SNL

Laura Aguirre — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 22:30:24 +0000

If you thought Jessica Alba was a hot pregnant mom, get a hold of this – this weekend SNL’s host Scarlett Johansson appeared on SNL for a “My Super Sweet 16 and Pregnant” skit which a parodied the shows “My Super Sweet 16″ and “16 and Pregnant.” In the skit, Johansson flaunted a huge pregnant belly while wearing a super short-and-sexy red dress and a huge tiara while delivering the line, “I’m rich. I’m beautiful and I’m fully dilated,” said Johansson.

Aw, to be rich, beautiful and fully dilated. Let’s MTV doesn’t get any ideas now…

Johansson also role-played as Bravo’s extravagant matchmaker Patti Stranger from “Millionaire Matchmaker.”

“Ok, every body shut up, what Goomba Jew are we helping this week… There’s no way I’m working with her, let’s go meet her right now. Candance is a wonderful girl with a lot of great qualities, who happens to look like a dump dog.”

This was Johansson’s third time hosting SNL. You can check out the entire episode on hulu.com. The lovely Anne Hathaway will be hosting SNL next (November 20) with Florence and the Machine as the musical guest.

Did you watch? What did you think?

ScreenCrave.com » Scarlett Johansson

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