Today's Double News: Hercules ain't part of the Avengers yet here

Must post more news, must post more news!:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/154668/eerste_trailer_dwayne_johnsons_hercules

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/154639/nieuwe_setbeelden_avengers_age_of_ultron

This Hercules is more like it. All kinds of monsters and supernatural elements present, just as the original Greek myth offered aplenty. It's amazing there hasn't yet been a Hercules/Herakles movie to do those elements of the story justice. You wish Ray Harryhausen had made a movie about the demi-god in his time. It seems this is the closest we will ever get, even though the central part of the story isn't about the Twelve Labours (so I wouldn't hope for too much solid monster action just yet). Instead, it's about Herc playing a merc and fighting a tyrant to save a kingdom. That sounds a little bit too much like The Scorpion King (The Rock's breakthrough in the film business), which in itself was doing a derivative job of the Eighties' Conan the Barbarian franchise. In fact, apart from the monsters and the instantly recognizable "brand name" Hercules, there's very little here that seems to set this story apart from Scorp. Oh well, at least it looks to be a fun action flick, with a good cast. And sorry Dwayne, I'm not referring to you. I'm talking about established GBAs (Grand British Actors) like John Hurt and Ian McShane. Plus less grand but still very British actors like Peter Mullan, Joseph Fiennes and Rufus Sewell. Why is it that action flicks like these always have to rely on Britain's top talent to carry the acting, while the Americans only show off their muscles? Acting your way out of a CGI heavy film like this, now that's a real Labour!

And we got our first glimpses of several new highly anticipated Marvel characters as photos from the Italian set of Avengers: Age of Ultron leaked. First off, there's Magneto's kids siblings Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. It seems this Quickie retained his familiar thunder bolt patterned costume while the one from X-Men: Days of Future Past keeps his ties to the Mutant Master of Magnetism. Scarlet however looks little like her top model outfit sporting equivalent from the comics (too bad really!), or even her Ultimate Universe counterpart (unlike Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye, also present on these pics). It seems they made up a girlie costume appropriate for her intended age for this movie. However, her hexing moves are straight out of the comics, so there's at least some tribute to those at least. I wonder how they're gonna explain these kids' powers if they're not allowed to call them mutants. Was Quicksilver bitten by a radioactive/genetically engineered roadrunner perhaps? As for Scarlet Witch, how do you probably explain altering the laws of probability by using spells in a scientifically sound manner? Last but not least, we may have our first glimpse of the titular nemesis, the maniacal robot Ultron. Or at least, we see a guy wearing some sort of armour which kinda resembles Ultron. Otherwise, there's little robot-ey to the suit. I reckon this is a stand-in giving the kids something to work with on set. Or some Italian fan who ran onto set after avoiding the heavy set security. This has yet to be confirmed by Marvel.

Today's News: rise of the sustainable superhero

Another MS newsflash from mine own hand:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/153835/nieuwe_behind-the-scenes_featurettes_the_amazing_spider-man_2

Not much novel actual content from the movie itself here, except for some new snappy gags showing off Spidey's trademark sense of humour (sorely missed in Raimi's trilogy of Spider-films). Otherwise these are typical puff pieces, in which the cast and crew reminisce about how great it was to make this movie, how much they adored each other on set and how lucky they are to have these jobs. Which is the usual sort of thing for featurettes like these to show. They serve as little more than promotional pieces reminding you of how much you want to see this movie by displaying little new material but showing mostly 'the good times' from the set so you get the idea that these people have the greatest jobs imaginable, and therefore the resulting final film is a work of love, instead of mere business. The 'Sustainability' video is interesting in this regard too, as it reveals how much studios aim to appear as if they care about more than just the huge sums of money that are involved, in this particular case by 'going green'. Producing big blockbuster movies is after all a hugely wasteful exercise, and there's definite room for improvement there. Now that public sentiment towards ecological thinking turns ever more in the direction of widespread embrace by vast audience numbers, studios hop on this bandwagon to show the folks that are likely to buy tickets they care about the environment too. Especially in the case of giant multi-million dollar projects like this one, public relations are of the utmost importance, so the studio must appear as likeable and openminded as possible. You didn't think they were going green because it actually is the most responsible and sound thing to do, right? They're doing this because the audience needs to like their new movie in every way imaginable, and ecological thinking is "all the rage" right now. Sounds harsh? Maybe it is, but time must tell whether the current Hollywood fad of sustainable filmmaking leads to actual permanent changes in the industry and its general short-term way of thinking. That said, it's still a change in the right direction and as such a laudable objective. But I doubt most audiences will care really much about all this hard work on the sustainability front when they sit down in theaters to watch The Amazing Spider-Man 2. They just want to see their webslinging hero wisecracking around as he's kicking bad guy butt. Bad guys like the Green Goblin. See, there's some subverted ideological overtones right there...

Today's Double News: can't hate this behind the scenes video

Two more bits of news I posted on MS yesterday:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/153580/tarantino_maakt_mogelijk_alsnog_hateful_eight

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/153579/nieuwe_blik_achter_de_schermen_game_of_thrones

So Game of Thrones has a new production designer. Considering the stunning design of the sets of the first three seasons, that's a tough act to follow. From the looks of it, Debbie Riley seems up to the task, as the new sets (as well as new versions of several locations used prior, including the Eyrie) look equally grand as those that came before. At least, so it appears from this short puff piece video. Of course, the grandeur and beauty of the sets not withstanding, it's the actors which make them come alive, and what we want to see most is which of our beloved characters - the ones that yet live, that is - will return next season. Apart from that, first glimpses of new characters are also most welcome. The preview this little behind-the-scenes clip offers introduces another new character, namely Tycho Nestoris of the Iron Bank of Braavos, played by Mark Gatiss. That's one more down. No other new faces here, but fan favourites including Daenerys, Brienne, the Hound, Arya and Cersei Lannister still appear very much alive. For a moment longer at least, you know how this show works... characters come and go, but at least we'll always have fabulous production design.

And surprise, surprise: Tarantino may be reconsidering dropping The Hateful Eight. I was sorta expecting him to. You don't shelve a project that fast just because someone leaked a script. Scripts get leaked all the time. You do some damage control, but you don't throw out the project completely. How many members in the audience actually bother to read scripts? Even if some people know the story and post it online, the vast majority will still be surprised by the finished movie. Better yet, you can slip in some sneaky rewrites to catch those who spoiled themselves off-guard. Folks in the industry will know better than to leak Tarantino again now, since even though The Hateful Eight might still end up on the big screen despite what we first heard, I bet the lawsuits (all-American style sueing!) this hateful Tarantino is preparing will not be abandoned so easily. Let that be a lesson for those who spoil things for others!

Today's Double News: Amazon wants Barbarella, we want Game of Thrones

A few more items I collected for MS these past few days:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/153167/set_visit_video_game_of_thrones_seizoen_4

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/153191/amazon_wil_barbarella_serie

Good television series continue to be made due to ever growing public demand, and so the search for potentially profitable properties also drones on. While Game of Thrones is currently at the height of its popularity - despite its fabulous quality, you know in terms of success it can only go down at a certain point, and I think that's not far off, as there's little new audiences to be reached (except for paying ones instead of them dirty freeloadin' downloaders!) - rival studios won't sit still, looking for that next piece of audiovisual entertainment that grips spectators by the eyeballs and won't let go until the season is over, at which point it has proven so addictive that stopping the show would be nothing less than a crime against humanity. I doubt Barbarella will be that next hit. That is, if they stick to the campy, Sixties' tone of love and permissiveness established by both the original comics and the 1968 movie, which just seems to outdated. It's basically soft-erotic Sci-Fi escapism with a touch of surreal comedy mixed in. There's nothing wrong with that (far from it!), but would audiences be waiting for such fare in these darker, grittier times of crisis and misery, where serious and bloody shows like Game of Thrones reign supreme? Maybe I'm wrong and Barbarella will prove popular amongst mature audiences (certainly won't be a kids' show!) just because it's so cheerful and positive and silly, so it will be a great addition to the existing fantasy shows due to its different style. That is, if they indeed stick to the Barbarella of old instead of needlessly adapting her to the present times, which I hope they won't. With someone like Nicolas Winding Refn, a connoisseur of classic (or less so) movies if ever I saw one, at the helm, I doubt Barbarella will undergo many changes to her promiscuous personality, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Nor would the HBO-saturated audience that expects a fair amount of bare skin these days. But Amazon is not HBO, and would do well not to gratuitously copy HBO. Better the studio develops its own distinct personality, just like Barbarella has. If you want HBO, stick to Game of Thrones. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. I'm as pumped for Season 4 as the next man, and I have already scoured this seductive little video for any new revelations it might insidiously offer. Not much of those, except for a first glimpse at Mace Tyrell, and the continuing promise of a badass Red Viper. Just ten more weeks until Season 4 premieres, sit tight! And HBO, please keep these videos coming to help us get over any signs of withdrawal...