05.21.18

The sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming is still in the early stages of production, but it might have already landed one of the movie's most important roles: its villain. None other than Jake Gyllenhaal is reportedly in talks to play Mysterio, a classic nemesis for the titular web-slinger from the comics.

Mysterio, the brainchild of Marvel legends Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, made his big debut in the comics in 1964. The supervillain's alter-ego is Quentin Beck, a stunt man with an extraordinary talent for special effects and illusions, which he uses to pull off major crimes. Those abilities, partnered with his skills as an amateur chemist, help him take on Spider-Man a number of times.

While Gyllenhaal's casting isn't official just yet, we can totally see the Stronger actor playing a bad guy. He'd be joined by Tom Holland, who will be reprising his role as Peter Parker, as well as Zendaya as MJ.

08.21.15

Casting a Female Lead in the Nightmare on Elm Street Remake

It is exciting to have a Nightmare on Elm Street remake in the works.

Known for terrorizing his victims in their dreams with a custom glove of razor knives, Freddy’s horribly burnt skin and sharp wit sets him apart from other slasher villains.

Freddy Krueger is an iconic horror character, and the first attempt at remaking the film didn’t do it justice. A change of direction could be what is needed.

Casting a female lead character would be a bold move, and the right talent could rejuvenate the Nightmare franchise. The trick is to find someone who has the talent to pull it off, not just recycle the same leading ladies who have recently been in horror films.

Here is a list of females that could accomplish this difficult task.

Continue to see Matthew Myers ideas of who can do it....

04.12.15

Despite a lukewarm reception for "Tron: Legacy" in 2010, Disney is reportedly moving forward with plans to make a third "Tron" movie, featuring "Legacy" leads Olivia Wilde and Garrett Hedlund.Get your light cycles ready, Users. Disney looks set to make another "Tron" movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"Tron: Legacy" stars Olivia Wilde and Garrett Hedlund are reported to reprise their respective roles as Quorra and Sam Flynn for the upcoming movie, and director Joseph Kosinski will be back as well. The film is rumored to begin filming later this year in Vancouver, which would put it on track for a theatrical release sometime in 2017 or 2018. Details on the film's plot have not yet been revealed.

Sadly, it doesn't look like we'll see Jeff Bridges in Disney's new "Tron" flick, as "Tron: Legacy" all but ensured that Bridges' time in the Grid has come to a close. What's next for Sam and Quorra? Only a few more years until we find out.

08.04.14

 Marvel's got a new star (or five) in its roster: Guardians of the Galaxy launched to an estimated $94 million this weekend in 4,080 theaters, setting a new record for an August debut. (The previous winner was 2007's The Bourne Ultimatum, with $69.3 million.)

That's the third biggest opening of 2014 so far, behind Transformers: Age of Extinction ($100 million) and Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier ($95 million). It's also the seventh best opening in history for a non-sequel (or sixth if you count Marvel's The Avengers as a mega-sequel), outpacing other superhero series debuts such as 2011's Thor ($65.7 million) and 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger ($65.1 million). One more fun stat: Guardians is Marvel's ninth (!) consecutive No. 1 movie, a streak that reaches back to Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2012), which debuted at No. 3.

Guardians was a $170 million gamble for Marvel that featured unfamiliar characters and an untested lead actor, Parks and Rec favorite Chris Pratt, who stars with Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, and the voices of Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel. But a marketing campaign that highlighted the movie's outer-space action and sarcastic, Iron Man-esque tone (not to mention Pratt's newly sculpted physique) drew early buzz, and the movie's release brought a wave of critical praise: Guardians scored a great 92 percent from reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes and an A- from EW's Chris Nashawaty, who called it "a giddily subversive space opera that runs on self-aware smart-assery." With an A CinemaScore, the PG-13 adventure looks likely to perform well in the coming weeks—and Marvel recently announced that a sequel is already in the works. The movie also earned $66.4 million overseas, bringing its global gross to a stellar $160.4 million.

07.27.14

Acclaimed indie horror helmers Jen and Sylvia Soska (American Mary) have been tapped to direct Painkiller Jane -- a film adaptation of the 1990s comic book by Joe Quesada (Spider-Man: One More Day) and Jimmy Palmiotti (All-Star Western).

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Palmiotti will also produce and writePainkiller Jane under his Paperfilms banner, alongside Solipsist Films' Stephen L'Heureux (Sin City: A Dame to Kill For). 

The indie comic has already been adapted for the small-screen twice -- once as a 2005 TV-movie with Emmanuelle Vaugier, and again as a series with Kristanna Loken as the lead character.

Based on the comics series of the same name, Painkiller Jane follows the titular cop who goes undercover so that she can take down an interconnected drug ring from within. After her identity is revealed to the crooks, she is brutally tortured -- but remarkably walks away from the incident with regeneration powers and a newfound high tolerance for pain. 

Published by Palmiotti and Quesada at Event Comics, the company would later evolve into the acclaimed Marvel Knights imprint that saw the duo reunite for their Dardevil series.

Painkiller Jane doesn't yet have a release date.

My favorite filmakers currently are now taking on one of my favorite indie comics. Jen and Sylvia are really stepping it up in Hollywood and I, for one, cannot be happier for them. @twisted_twins

07.27.14

Based on Friday results, at least, the Summer box office slump seems to be drawing to an end this weekend.

Sci-fi action movie Lucy opened in first place with an exceptional $17.1 million haul. Meanwhile, Hercules out-performed modest expectations, though it will probably still fall short of $30 million this weekend.

Lucy's $17.1 million debut is significantly higher thanAngelina Jolie's Salt, which took in $12.5 million on opening day in July 2010. More impressive is the fact thatLucy opened nearly on par with action sequels Taken 2and The Bourne Supremacy (both around $18.4 million).

The Scarlett Johansson flick did receive a poor "C+" CinemaScore, which suggests word-of-mouth will be mixed. Still, it's guaranteed to earn at least $43 million this weekend, and could wind up near $47 million.