ROTTEN TOMATOES: Weekly Ketchup: new photos from Watchmen and Wolverine

Weekly Ketchup: new photos from Watchmen and Wolverine

Plus casting news on another Fast & Furious, and a look at Disney's plans for 2011

by Greg Dean Schmitz | March 07, 2008

WATCHING THE WATCHMEN

Our first really decent looks at Watchmen characters (besides Rorschach who has been leaked a little previously) came this week as the official site revealed AWESOME promotional shots of The Comedian, Ozymandias, Nite Owl, Silk Spectre and Rorschach in costumes that I'm going to guess are from their younger "glory days" (the movie's story spans quite a few years in our heroes' lives).

X-MEN ORIGINS: LUNCH

Not quite as impressive are the dozens of pictures of Hugh Jackman and Liev Schreiber standing around in military-style costumes at the crafts services table. We already know what Jackman looks like as Wolverine, so this is not that big of a deal in that respect, but it is interesting to see Liev Schreiber with long sideburns and claws as Sabretooth. Schreiber doesn't look that much like many renditions of Sabretooth (for one thing, he's not blonde), but I think this is obviously a sign that they are emphasizing acting chops over Sabretooth just being a slobbering beast (AKA the Tyler Mane version in the first X-Men).

ANIMALS VS HUMANS

Columbia Pictures (Sony) and producer Neil Moritz (I Am Legend, XXX, The Fast and the Furious) announced plans this week for a high concept horror thriller project that sounds to me like if it is done right, could have HUGE potential. Like Jaws 30+ years ago, it has a simple title: Animals, and a similar, but much larger concept: what if all of the animals of the world collectively decided to rebel against mankind's control of the world by wiping us out violently? We take it for granted that we don't have to come in contact with other species very often, I think, but if the bugs, bears and such of the world decided to get all up in our grills, we'd be toast.

JAMES CAMERON'S AVATAR HAS TITULAR COMPETITION

I've received a tip that M. Night Shyamalan's live action adaption of the popular anime series, Avatar: The Last Airbender, is preparing to start production in Pennsylvania (where he makes all of his movies) this June, 2008, which could conceivably put it in a position to come out around the time that James Cameron's Avatar (no subtitle) is scheduled next summer. I honestly know nothing about the anime series, but from what I can tell, it is set in a magical world divided into lands devoted to the four elements (air, earth, fire, water), and monks who devote themselves to the powers of each (as well as martial arts) are involved in a war amongst each other. If I'm horribly off in that description, I'm sure someone will tell us!

WELCOME TO THE HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA... SUCH A SCARY PLACE

Sony Animation announced new plans this week for a project they've been working on for years: Hotel Transylvania, which will be a CGI animated project from the same company that did Open Season. The horror-themed romantic comedy will tell the Romeo & Juliet-esque tale that evolves between one of the heirs of the Van Helsing monster hunting family, and a daughter of Count Dracula. Plenty of other monsters will also be featured as well.

DISNEY SEQUELS

A scooper writing in to Ain't it Cool News revealed what might be Walt Disney Pictures' big plans for 2011, and they include four high profile sequels: Pirates of the Caribbean 4, National Treasure 3, Cars 2 and a new TRON that would be 3-D.

ROSEMARY'S BABY: THE REBIRTH

Continuing their ravagi... err, "reimaginings" of classic horror properties, ShockTilYouDrop.com reported this week that Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes production company is now targeting Roman Polanski's very disturbing Rosemary's Baby. Although it probably seems quite quaint now, that doesn't mean it needs to be "modernized", but no doubt we'll see Polaski's nuance replaced with gore and monstrosities by late 2010 or so.

4 FAST, 4 FURIOUS

The second and third movies seemed to focus on newer characters being introduced, but for the 4th Fast and the Furious movie, it's more of a family reunion, with Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Michelle Rodriguez, all of whom were in the first movie, now signed on, with unconfirmed rumors that Jordana Brewster may also return. Whatever clever title they might eventually come up, the release date is scheduled for June 5th, 2009. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fast_and_the_furious_4/news/1680385/

That's it for this week. Write me via my MySpace page with any hot news or whatever you want to share: http://www.myspace.com/gregdean88.

Greg Dean Schmitz

(1-20 of 25 posts) | Reply

jokerboy1991 writes:
on Mar 07 2008 05:13 PM

Im a huge WATCHMEN fan, I am really glad this is finnaly coming to the big screen. I loved the look of RORSACH (MY FAVORITE CHARACTER) and THE COMEDIAN looks great! NIGHT OWL looks cool, it doesnt totaly bother me that hes not fat, he still looks cool. SILK SPECTRE II looks good and hot, like she friken should. Sadly VEIDT (OZ) looks off to me, he looks weir- MATTHEW GOOD will probably look better on the big screen. I still think this is gonna be a KICK-*** movie, I like this vision ZACK SNYDER is using. I only hope its as mind blowing as the BOOK was to me.

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Maalstrom Aran writes:
on Mar 07 2008 06:59 PM

For Sure!! I can't wait for Watchmen.
I can understand not showing Dr. Manhattan, otherwise they are Excellent promo shots.

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DrAvatar writes:
on Mar 07 2008 07:14 PM

I'm a fan of Avatar the Last Airbender and am waiting anxiously for the movie. According to the talent agency the movie wont finish casting until November. The film is scheduled to come out in 2010 so it wont be competing with Cameron's Avatar.

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jokerboy1991 writes:
on Mar 07 2008 07:20 PM

In reply to this comment (#1620100)
Yeah, I really wanted to see what MANHATTAN looked like, but I bet there still working on his look. He will probably look great, especially with BILLY CRUDUP (ALMOST FAMOUS, BIG FISH, MI3) playing him who is ausome.

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Dinobot77 writes:
on Mar 07 2008 11:03 PM

I know Watchmen is going to be an amazing movie, but I don't expect it to be anywhere near as great as the comic series. Some of the chapters in the series are breathtaking and a work of literary perfection. The chapter entitled "Watchmaker" is one of the greatest literary works I have ever read. If they are able to come anywhere close to Moore's achievements in the book, then I will be satisfied and happy. Unfortunately, I have seen Hollywood destroy Moore's work before, ie LOEG.

P.S. If you are one of the few that haven't read this yet, then do yourself a favor and read it!

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CMoney356 writes:
on Mar 08 2008 06:06 AM

the first thing i thought of when i heard the "Animals" outline was Hitch's "The Birds." if Animals can learn a bit from The Birds and explore some existentialist themes properly it may be fantastic, but if it is just gore and fright dont expect any oscars

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vitajex writes:
on Mar 08 2008 08:43 AM

I feel bad for all of you 'Watchmen' comic books fans. I can't help but believe you are going to be soooo disappointed in this film.

What makes you believe that Hollywood will treat this property with any more reverence than the other properties they've crapped all over in the past few years? It seems the people who most complain about these types of films (X-Men, Transformers, Spiderman, Superman) are the people who were the biggest fans of the originals, and their most common complaints involve the film not being faithful to the original story.

I honestly hope the film is everything you want it to be, but I would recommend not getting your hopes too high...

What worries me most is when you talk about how great of a story 'Watchmen' is...

Um, in case you haven't noticed, the films coming out of Hollywood nowadays care VERY little about story. They're all just patchwork Frankensteins, consisting of poorly stitched-together CGI effects.

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jokerboy1991 writes:
on Mar 08 2008 10:19 AM

In reply to this comment (#1620822)
Yeah I know what you mean with getting your hopes up to high, but us WATCHMEN fans cant help it. Wouldnt you be excited if a movie youve been dieing to see after being announced they were gonna make it like 20 years ago. I remember I had high hopes for SUPERMAN RETURNS (STILL PRETTY GOO), but it wasnt as great as i hoped it would be. Speaking of SUPERMAN RETURNS, when the hell are they gonna start working on THE MAN OF STEEL! (it will probably be better if SUPERMAN hits something)

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lilrummagesalecoat writes:
on Mar 08 2008 10:28 AM

didnt brandon routh back out of the superman sequal?

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Matanuki writes:
on Mar 08 2008 11:23 AM

In reply to this comment (#1620416)
I'll be doing myself that favor very soon, Dino. All this praise I'm reading for this series' literary merit, I'm surprised I didn't know about it back in my avid comic collecting days. Nonetheless, I know enough to know that it'll be tantamount to blasphemy if I were to see the film before reading the book.

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Matanuki writes:
on Mar 08 2008 11:27 AM

In reply to this comment (#1620956)
Oh, I know the feeling too well, Jokerboy. What comes to mind? Trans-fu cking-formers! lol. That in mind, Vitajex couldn't be more spot on in that warning about the danger of high hopes. But like you said, one can't help it. I feel relatively lucky that I'm a virgin to the Watchmen label.

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Poncho_E writes:
on Mar 08 2008 12:20 PM

As a Watchmen fan. . .i'll be pissed the hell off if the ending changes in ANY way. Especially if New York is spared it's "monstrosity". . .(hint,hint).

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Poncho_E writes:
on Mar 08 2008 12:22 PM

As a Watchmen fan. . .i'll be pissed the hell off if the ending changes in ANY way. Especially if New York is spared it's "monstrosity". . .(hint,hint).

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jokerboy1991 writes:
on Mar 08 2008 02:57 PM

In reply to this comment (#1621122)
Im sure they will use WATCHMEN'S ending, its way to great not to put in the movie.

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billjoss writes:
on Mar 08 2008 09:13 PM

In reply to this comment (#1621456)
O.K. VitaJex, Have you seen 300? Have you seen the Watchmen stills? This movie has already exceeded my expectations. As for X-Men, Spiderman, and Superman, honestly all three of those franchises did a pretty good job sticking to the story line. Obviously there are discrepancies from the "source" material, but you are talking about cramming 40 years of story telling into a 2 hour movie. OF COARSE IT'S NOT GOING TO BE EXACTLY TRUE TO THE "SOURCE" MATERIAL!!! (and yes, X-men three wasn't as good, but god-dammit... they killed both Charles and Scott! That has to count for something! And yes, Spiderman 3 blew, but you had two movies that got it pretty close to right.... As for Transformers, you were a dumbass, to expect anything good from Michael Bay. That's on you.)
"Hollywood nowadays care VERY little about story." - Dude... wake up. It's always been like that. But every once in a while, someone does get it right.

As for Poncho_E and the rest of you Watchmen fans. The main thing you have to worry about is that the TV show "Heroes" already stole your thunder. While that was a highly entertaining show, especially for network TV, it already had the "do I knowingly kill thousands to save humanity?" scenario by the well intentioned "good" guys. The whole time I was watching, I'm like, dude... Watchmen. Just like (as I'm sure most of you were) I was naming the corresponding Marvel character, either by demeanor or power, to every character they introduced.

I promise you, this movie will be awesome,

JIM

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High School With Money writes:
on Mar 08 2008 11:31 PM

Animals sounds like:

1. Smeliott's dream sequence of animats taking over mankind.
2. A story I'm writing myself (inspired by The Birds moreso than Open Season), except mine has a bit more depth than the description above. I'm greedily hoping that Animals will suck just enough so that my story won't be compared to it. ; )

Hotel Transylvania sounds like another Shrek, but this time with monster icons instead of fantasy icons. Lemme guess, there's a prom featuring "The Monster Mash" as a tune. Sung by... whoever sucks nowadays. Can't wait to cream my panties over that.

Expect Rosemary to have tons of gangbang edits and a "creepy" baby (shown this time, of course), but at least Bay's flunkies are targeting it instead of Repulsion. THAT classic must never be duplicated.

[/fanb!tch mode]

Will Airbender also be in 3D?

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dontknow252 writes:
on Mar 08 2008 11:58 PM

I loved every page of The Watchmen, borrowed it from a friend, then bought my own copy I loved it so much. So needless to say, I'm fairly stoked that one of the most capable director (snyder) is doing one of my favorite stories ever! Can't wait! Rorshach is lookin as cool as ever!

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Matanuki writes:
on Mar 09 2008 05:01 AM

In reply to this comment (#1622120)
There's an important difference between expectation and hope. And thus is the case with Transformers and Michael Bay. Fans of the label -a fair assumption, but ultimately I can only speak for myself- wanted a great Transformers film, hoped for a great Transformers film, but didn't necessarily expect one from Michael Bay. We hoped that with Spielberg involved, the story would be intact, and that the relationship between passionate storyteller and wild action director would balance out and deliver the epic sci fi that Transformers deserved, still deserves, to be. Hoped, not expected. Hope, a faith that trumps expectation and unfavorable odds. Hope, something that someone needn't necessarily be, as you so eloquently put it, a "dumbass" to possess. Not dishing on you, man. Just saying.

I agree with mostly everything else you said, except for the "buts". Where X Men is concerned, if the decisions made in X:3 are to count for anything, it's clumsy writing that they'll count for. Unless, a doubted possibility, those decisions are miraculously redeemed in a fourth film. Spiderman? yes, the first two (although I agree with whoever it was that predicted on here a few months past that the films won't age well) were passable. 3, on the other hand, there are absolutely no buts about it.

And my last point of disagreement is with your statement about Hollywood always having been the soulless cesspool that it is today. Not true. Not even remotely. The art of story, indeed, is in decline in Hollywood today. But it hasn't always been this way. And one needn't do more than take a walk down memory lane to see that.

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Elixor writes:
on Mar 09 2008 09:17 AM

In reply to this comment (#1622619)
Well said Matanuki. Story quality (character dynamics, dialog, plot) is on the decline, no doubt about it. The writing has become lazy, because most audiences seem to gladly ignore the poor quality of this aspect of the film as long as other "entertaining" elements are there. The demand just isn't there and the box-office numbers support this.

The Watchmen stills are great, love them. I still doubt that this movie will work, but if it does, it will be an amazing feat. There's a lot more depth to Watchmen than 300. It looks like the visuals will be there (an accomplishment, no doubt), but we'll see about the rest.

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Matanuki writes:
on Mar 09 2008 09:54 AM

In reply to this comment (#1622837)
Let's hope so. Because if anything at this point is clear, it's that Watchmen fans are in it more for its literary merit than all the rest. Anywhere I've looked, that's not even remotely in dispute. Nowhere, not any, have I read of or heard from a single fan who praises Watchmen simply because it's "cool". Any fool with a camera should be able to see that. Add to that, if nothing else, Moore has endorsed the screenplay for this film. That's something.

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