Fox Cancels Fantastic Four 2

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X-Men 7 - Scheduled for shooting

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According to the Journal de Montreal a third X-Men film will be filmed in Montreal.   Even more the paper is reporting that Bryan Singer will helm.
 Translation by Google.

Three is ... After shooting the last two X-Men in the metropolis, the Hollywood studio 20th Century Fox will be relocating to Montreal in late 2016 for shooting the next film in the saga, The Journal has learned.
L'équipe de X-Men – dirigée encore une fois par le réalisateur Bryan Singer – ouvrira ses bureaux de production en novembre 2016 en prévision d'un tournage en 2017. The team of X-Men - directed once again by director Bryan Singer - will open its production offices in November 2016 in preparation for a shoot in 2017.
Il s'agira du troisième film de la série à être tourné à Montréal, après X-Men: Jours d'un avenir passé (qui a été tourné en 2013) et X-Men: Apocalypse (qui a été tourné plus tôt cette année et qui prendra l'affiche à l'été 2016). This will be the third film in the series to be shot in Montreal, after X-Men: Days of Future past (which was shot in 2013) and X-Men: Apocalypse (which was shot earlier this year and which will screen in the summer of 2016).
«C'était déjà un miracle qu'on ait réussi à attirer un film X-Men à Montréal en 2013. Convaincre Fox de revenir pour un second et maintenant un troisième est tout simplement incroyable, se réjouit le grand patron des Studios Mel's, Michel Trudel, qui dit avoir travaillé d'arrache-pied au cours des derniers mois pour attirer cette méga production à Montréal. "It was a miracle that we managed to attract an X-Men movie in Montreal in 2013. To convince Fox to return for a second and now a third is simply amazing, welcomes the great patron of Mel's Studios, Michel Trudel, who said he worked hard in recent months to bring this mega-production in Montreal.
«C'est toujours une excellente nouvelle pour notre industrie quand on accueille ce genre de production. "It's always great news for our industry when we welcome this kind of production. On parle de films qui ont des budgets de plus de 200 millions de dollars. We talk about films which have budgets of more than $ 200 million. Une grosse production comme X-Men génère des retombées économiques directes et indirectes de plusieurs centaines de millions de dollars et fait travailler plus de 2000 techniciens québécois.» A big production like X-Men generates direct and indirect economic benefits of hundreds of millions of dollars and makes work more than 2,000 Québec technicians. "

Marvel Announce Sequel to Ant-Man

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At the opening of New York City Comicon Marvel Studios announced the release date for the sequel to this summer's Ant-Man catching most completely off guard.
 
The sequel, titled Ant-Man and the Wasp, will see Paul Ruud and Evangeline Lilly reprise their roles from this summers film.  With an announced release date of July 6, 2018 Marvel will be shifting around the release dates of a few other movies.   Black Panther will be moved up to February 16, 2018, Captain Marvel pushed back to March 8, 2019.  
 
In addition marvel announced the release dates of three Phase Four films in 2020, May 1st, July 10th, and November 6th.   Beyond the release dates no addition details have been provided. 

Gambit Update

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Bella Donna Bordeaux
Courtesy Marvel Comics
French Actress Léa Seydoux has signed on to play Bella Donna Bordeaux in 20th Century Fox's forthcoming Gambit movie opposite leading man Channing Tatum.  Léa Seydoux stars as the Bond Girl Madeline Swann in the upcoming James Bond film Spectre.

Bella Donna Bordeaux is a mutant assassin who in the comic book universe is a childhood friend, lover and wife to Remy LeBeau - aka Gambit.  

Fantastic Four in name only

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Generally I am referred to a crumdgeon when it comes to my views on films.   You know that 85 year old crusty grandfather, with an ultra bad attitude.   It get it from father, Grumpy, himself.   So people expect me to shred "bad" movies.   In many cases I get very frustrated because film makers have decent concepts and ideas but the follow through on them fails.   


I understood what Tim Story was tasked to do back in 2005 for the "Fantastic Four".  He was supposed to make a family friendly superhero movie with a limited budget under the constraints that the CGI was not able to keep up with the concepts from the comic books.

Josh Trank, Simon Kinberg, and the rest of the production staff were tasked with creating more realistic grounded version of the elder superhero group that brings both old and new viewers to the theater.   

Much like Brett Ratner and Gavin Hood, Josh Trank is going to be skewered for this film, the only difference I think, if any of the rumors are even partially true, Josh Trank deserves to be cashiered.   The revisioning of the Fantastic Four doesn't work.   The 2015 movie is currently the worst reviewed film of 2015, and when additional reviews roll in I expect its whooping 9% rating to take a nose dive.  

The movie had the potential to be a decent Sci-Fi film, if it would have changed its title and the than removed any reference to the Fantastic Four.   It is an interesting concept and the first 75 minutes of the film are okay, a little slow but not bad.   The film falls apart however as the film transitions from an interesting sci-Fi film to superhero film.   It lacks the action, the comedy, the inside jokes, and what is expected from good superhero film.   

The film clearly lacks pacing, whether that issue is from the script, directing, cinematography or editing I will let you choose.  I lean on the first two and think the latter two were brought along for the ride.   

There are problems with the acting, or is it directing through out the film.  Clearly the principal characters were put in boxes and they ended up forcing many scenes with the score attempting to create the emotion rather than the actors.   Having seen these actors in other films I know they have the ability so I again lean towards the direction as the issue.    

The question for the critics, both professional and amateur alike, is whether you are looking at this as a independent film, or a Fantastic Four film based upon the comics.  I never once bought these actors as Fantastic Four and I doubt the audience will either.

Deadpool Trailer - NSFW

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Spider-Man Cast - Director Named

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http://marvel.com/news/movies/24758/sony_pictures_and_marvel_studios_find_their_spider-man_star_and_director

Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios Find Their 'Spider-Man' Star and Director
Tom Holland Cast as the Web-Slinger, Jon Watts to Direct the Next Spider-Man Adventure.

Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios are proud to announce that after a full worldwide casting search, Tom Holland will play Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the next Spider-Man film, in theaters in IMAX and 3D on July 28, 2017.  The film will be directed by Jon Watts, director of "Cop Car," the upcoming thriller that made its debut earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival.

Marvel and Sony Pictures, and producers Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal conducted an extensive search for both the actor and the director.  The studios and producers were impressed by Holland’s performances in "The Impossible," “Wolf Hall,” and the upcoming "In the Heart of the Sea," and by a series of complex screen tests.  Following Marvel’s tradition of working with the brightest next wave of directors, Watts also went through multiple meetings with Feige, Pascal, and the studio, before winning the job.

Commenting on the announcement, Tom Rothman, Sony Pictures Motion Pictures Group Chairman, said, “It’s a big day here at Sony. Kevin, Amy and their teams have done an incredible job.  The Marvel process is very thorough, and that’s why their results are so outstanding.  I’m confident Spider-Man will be no exception.  I’ve worked with a number of up-and-coming directors who have gone on to be superstars and believe that Jon is just such an outstanding talent.  For Spidey himself, we saw many terrific young actors, but Tom’s screen tests were special.   All in all, we are off to a roaring start.”

Feige commented, “As with James Gunn, Joss Whedon, and the Russo brothers, we love finding new and exciting voices to bring these characters to life.  We spent a lot of time with Jon and find his take and work inspiring.”

Pascal added, “Sony, Marvel, Kevin and I all knew that for Peter Parker, we had to find a vibrant, talented young actor capable of embodying one of the most well-known characters in the world.  With Tom, we’ve found the perfect actor to bring Spider-Man’s story into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”

Sony Pictures will finance and release worldwide the next installment of the $4 billion Spider-Man franchise on July 28, 2017, in a film co-produced by Kevin Feige and his expert team at Marvel and Amy Pascal, who oversaw the franchise launch for the studio 13 years ago. Together, they will collaborate on a new creative direction for the Web-Slinger.

Spider-Man, embraced all over the world, is the most successful franchise in the history of Sony Pictures, with the five films having taken in more than $4 billion worldwide.

ABOUT SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition and distribution; television production, acquisition and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services and technologies. For additional information, go to http://www.sonypictures.com/.

About Marvel Entertainment

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy-five years.  Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing, including licensing the Spider-Man universe to Sony Pictures.  For more information visit marvel.com. © 2015 MARVEL