The New SUPERMAN & the leading lady yet to be announced

Warner Bros. Pictures has announced that Henry Cavill will play Clark Kent/Superman in the Zack Snyder-directed Superman movie:

Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures announced today that Henry Cavill has won the coveted role of Superman, the iconic superhero.

The film will be directed by Zack Snyder, who stated, “In the pantheon of superheroes, Superman is the most recognized and revered character of all time, and I am honored to be a part of his return to the big screen. I also join Warner Bros., Legendary and the producers in saying how excited we are about the casting of Henry. He is the perfect choice to don the cape and S shield.”

Charles Roven, Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Deborah Snyder are the producers of the film. The screenplay is being written by David S. Goyer based on a story by Goyer and Nolan. Thomas Tull and Lloyd Phillips are serving as executive producers.

Targeted for release in December 2012, the new Superman movie will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

So how about the Female Lead?
Alice Eve, Diane Kruger and Rosamund Pike have emerged as the three actresses being considered for the unknown character, says the trade.
Variety is reporting that these three actresses are in contention for the role - though it's not Lois Lane.

Not Lois Lane? Latino Review's insider information states that Lois Lane will still be in the movie but perhaps a smaller role? They're probably saving her up for a sequel. Since this Snyder-directed movie is under the watch of Chris Nolan, it's possible that they're having the same route with Nolan's Batman Begins, where they created the character Rachel Dawes, a character made only for this movie version, to play off the main hero's character development in the origin movie. But Latino Review says that the three actresses cited were auditioning for the role of Ursa, who Superman fans will remember from the 1980 sequel Superman II as General Zod's second-in-command. Snyder has mostly denied that General Zod would appear in his movie although that may have changed since he was last asked, and the choice of a European actress would follow in line with her casting in the earlier sequel in which she was played by British actress Sarah Douglas. I personally think that's borderline ridiculous, but hey, if Nolan is involved there's that assurance that it wont be all that bad.

Filming is expected to start this summer for a December, 2012 release.

Anne Hathaway as Catwoman? Tom Hardy as Bane? The Dark Knight Rises News

Warner Bros. Pictures announced today that Anne Hathaway has been cast as Selina Kyle (AKA Catwoman) in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises. She will be starring alongside Christian Bale, who returns in the title role of Bruce Wayne/Batman.

Christopher Nolan stated, "I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Anne Hathaway, who will be a fantastic addition to our ensemble as we complete our story."

In addition, Tom Hardy has been set to play Bane. Nolan said, "I am delighted to be working with Tom again and excited to watch him bring to life our new interpretation of one of Batman’s most formidable enemies."

Nolan will direct the film from a screenplay he wrote with Jonathan Nolan, from a story by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer. Nolan will also produce the film with his longtime producing partner, Emma Thomas, and Charles Roven.

The Dark Knight Rises is slated for release on July 20, 2012. The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

SINENG PAMBANSA Iloilo Film Fest 2011 report

THE SINENG PAMBANSA Iloilo Film Festival 2011 report
by Reymundo Salao

The City of Iloilo and the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) have launched, this week, the first major Philippine film festival outside Metro Manila, the Sineng Pambansa Iloilo Film Fest 2011, the first of what is destined to go on as an annual series. This film fest showcases the country's best films made by the "indie" film community. The screenings of the Film Fest is actually FREE ADMISSION, you don’t have to pay a single centavo to watch these movies. Regular audiences would get to watch internationally acclaimed Pinoy movies like Himpapawid, Bakal Boys, Yanggaw, and many more.

According to the chairman of the FDCP, Briccio Santos, there are plans to make this event an annual series, with a wider scope that would include short films and ilonggo films, additionally the next festival will also possibly one that would include international films, and would include workshops and symposiums to go along with it. He is very much happy that the FDCP has this mutual cooperation with the city government to make this event possible.

The event formally opened last Wednesday January 19, 2011, first with a press conference at Hotel Del Rio in the afternoon, then on that evening was a red carpet event and cocktail party which was followed by an opening program that formally launches the event. That program featured a number of impressive musical numbers both locally here in Iloilo, and from Metro Manila as well. The movie that was screened directly after the program was Jim Libiran’s HAPPYLAND. The entire Film Festival will be a series of screenings of various films on SM Cinema 2 and 3, from January 19, 2011 up until January 21, 2011. The Festival closed in the late afternoon of January 21, 2011 with the closing film EMIR by Chito Rono, which was greeted by an overwhelming number of audiences that it literally filled up the SM Cinema 3. It even kinda reminded me of the good old days of moviewatching, when audiences would literally sit on the floor because the moviehouse is really filled up. A fitting ending to what is a milestone event for our city and for Philippine Cinema, of what is destined to be a great film festival that will continue for generations.

SINENG PAMBANSA Iloilo Film Fest 2011 Screening Schedules

The Sineng Pambansa Iloilo Film Festival 2011 will be held from January 19, 2011 to January 21, 2011. The venue of the event will be on SM City Cinema (specifically Cinemas 2 and 3). Several Movies will be shown on the said dates, and on some specific dates, the screening will be coupled with a Question and Answer segment between the audience and the Director/Producer/Stars in attendance.

Here are the Screening Schedules of the Festival:

DAY 1 - January 19, 2011 Wednesday

Cinema 2
10:30 am - Lola
12:30 pm - Bakal Boys
2:30 pm - Red Shoes
4:30 pm - Halaw

Cinema 3
11:00 am - Sigwa
1:00 pm - Kano
3:00 pm - Himpapawid
6:00 pm - [Reception/Cocktails]
7:00 pm - Festival Opening Program (Filipiniana Attire) / Featured Film: Happyland

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DAY 2 - January 20, 2011 Thursday

Cinema 2
11:00 am - Red Shoes (Director/Star in Attendance + Q & A)
1:30 pm - Sigwa (Director/Star in Attendance + Q & A)
4:00 pm - Lola (Director/Star in Attendance + Q & A)
6:30 pm - Kano (Director/Star in Attendance + Q & A)

Cinema 3
10:30 am - Happyland (Director/Star in Attendance + Q & A)
1:00 pm - Sampaguita (Director/Star in Attendance + Q & A)
3:30 pm - Himpapawid (Director/Star in Attendance + Q & A)
6:00 pm - Yanggaw (Director/Star in Attendance + Q & A)

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DAY 3 - January 21, 2011 Friday

Cinema 2
11:00 am - Lola
1:00 pm - Red Shoes
3:00 pm - Yanggaw
5:00 pm - Sampaguita

Cinema 3
10:30 am - Bakal Boys (Director/Star in Attendance + Q & A)
1:00 pm - Halaw (Director/Star in Attendance + Q & A)
3:30 pm - Sigwa
5:30 pm - Festival Closing Film: Emir (Director/Star in Attendance + Q & A)

Iloilo Film Festival to be held this January

The Iloilo City government will host the screening of some eleven independent films for free in Cinemas 2 and 3 of SM City Iloilo starting January 19 to 23, 2011.

The critically acclaimed indie movies are the feature films in the “Sineng Pambansa Iloilo Film Festival 2011”, a project spearheaded by the city government in cooperation with Film Development Council of the Philippines which is under the Office of the President.

The 11 films include “Lola”, “Sigwa”, “Red Shoes”, “Bakal Boys”, “Halaw”, “Himpapawid” (Manila Skies), “Sampaguita”, “Yanggaw”, “Kano”, “Happy Land”, and “Emir”.

According to the Iloilo City Information Office “Yanggaw” of Richard Somes is the sole Ilonggo feature included in the film festival.

The City Information Office said that Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog worked out the realization of the film fest following his meeting with FDCP Chairperson, Usec. Briccio Santos as part of his efforts to show the Ilonggos’ awareness in movies, culture and arts. Likewise, the event will highlight the city’s capability to host film event and draw art patrons.

Some of the dignitaries invited to attend the formal launching and grand opening program on January 19 are the Ambassadors of France, Italy and other European countries.

Also, expected to perform during the program include renowned Filipino pianist Raul Sanico and popular Ilonggo artists.

The three-day event will be a prelude to this year’s Dinagyang Festival on January 21 to 23. (PIA)

RPG: METANOIA

RPG: METANOIA is Excellently-crafted, Well-thought of, and Extremely Entertaining
by Reymundo Salao

Many critics often have this belief that there are no good video game movies (even though Resident Evil movies have been successful commercially, they are thought of as really badly made movies). RPG: METANOIA is not based on an existing video game, but I now think of it as the best video game movie I have ever seen. It is one video game movie that really does mirror, interpret, and captures the essence of MMORPG gaming; from the designs of how the virtual universe of the game looks like, to the character designs, up to how the players are able to play their game (spell casting, creature summoning). In a manner of speaking, this is an adaptation of MMORPG gaming in general.

...READ THE FULL REVIEW

Jon Favreau is NOT directing IRON MAN Anymore

After Sam Raimi, Terrence Howard, and Edward Norton had their untimely and somewhat unpleasant severance of ties with Marvel, it looks like this time, it's Jon Favreau who is having an untimely divorce from Marvel, with his announcement that he will not be directing IRON MAN 3.

When Favreau did the first IRON MAN movie, he was pretty much in high spirits, he loved the Iron Man comics, and the excellent movie he made was an evidence of how much he loved it. Part 2 was, well, okay. Fun when I first watched it, but taking a step back and taking a while to let the hype cool down, many of us realized that it was just a little bit above satisfactory. Regardless of which, we would have thought that Favreau would continue his run on this series for up until at least the third movie. But it looks like its not gonna be that way.

According to various reliable sources, Favreau has just informed Marvel Studios that he won't direct a third Iron Man film. It's unclear whether the impasse was financial or creative or both. One informed source hears that he was frustrated with Marvel's urge to stuff more of their in-house heroes into the next film in the wake of The Avengers. In a recent interview with MTV News, Favreau explained that based on his conversations with Marvel Studios executives, he had no clarity as to what a third Iron Man film would even be about. “In theory, Iron Man 3 is going to be a sequel or continuation of Thor, Hulk, Captain America and Avengers,” said Favreau at the time, “This whole world … I have no idea what it is. I don’t think they do either, from conversations I’ve had with those guys.”

Favreau's next project will be the studio's Magic Kingdom, about a family trapped in Disneyland and their magical encounters with all sorts of Disney attractions and rides. Marvel currently has no script for a third Iron Man, and while it has no plans to shoot the film until 2012 at the earliest, Marvel execs hope to put a director on the project to guide its development as soon as possible.

Farewell Irvin Kershner

The Man who made STAR WARS Great has passed away

Lucas may have been the creator of Star Wars, but Irvin Kershner was the one who made it great with his 1980 Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.

IRVIN KERSHNER Kersh, as he was fondly known, died at his home following a long illness. He was 87.

Kershner was, of course, best known for directing The Empire Strikes Back, arguably the greatest chapter in the Star Wars saga (and which celebrates its thirtieth anniversary this year). But Kershner also made contributions to other franchises, directing RoboCop 2 and Sean Connery's last appearance as James Bond in the 'unofficial' 007 flick, Never Say Never Again.

Having fought in World War II, Kershner began his career by teaching film at the University of Southern California, but quickly made the move behind the camera via a detour as a stills photographer and TV director, calling the shots on Stakeout On Dope Street in 1958.

A decent career followed, in which he directed the likes of Sean Connery in A Fine Madness, Richard Harris in The Return Of A Man Called Horse, and Faye Dunaway in 1978's Eyes Of Laura Mars (based on John Carpenter's screenplay).

It was this movie that persuaded George Lucas, looking for someone to take the reins on his Star Wars sequel, to approach Kershner to direct The Empire Strikes Back. The rest is movie history: Kershner's no-frills storytelling style, coupled with a strong script and an imaginative visual pallet, gave Empire a gravitas that marked it out as an instant classic.

Kershner only directed twice more on film, with Never Say Never Again and Robocop 2, but he also made a habit of appearing in films, showing up in Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation Of Christ and, of all places, Steven Seagal's On Deadly Ground.

His last contribution to film was a cameo as Statistics Professor in the 2005 film, Berkeley - but Kershner's unmistakeable contribution to film history had already been made. For Yoda, for Vader telling Luke, "I am your father", for Cloud City, for Lando, for the battle of Hoth, for the asteroid field chase, for Boba Fett, for Lobot, for Wampas, for Tauntauns, for "I thought they smelt bad... on the outside!", for "I love you"/"I know", for Chewie screaming in pain as Han is frozen in carbonite, and for the Empire striking back, we'll never forget the legendary Irvin Kershner. Rest in peace, Kersh.