Storm Cameo Cut from 'Wolverine'

From: GetTheBigPicture.net

When she appeared briefly in the trailer, it was worth wondering how substantial a part she'd play in the movie. Apparently, however, we won't need to worry about it anymore. Producer Lauren Shuler Donner told Widescreen Vision (via Worst Previews) that a cameo by fellow X-Men member Storm has been cut from this summer's Wolverine. You can listen to the interview here.
"She was a little part of the movie. She is no longer in it," Donner confirmed. But there is life for Storm after the fact: "We'll show in the DVD scenes that were not included, but there weren't really that many."

We know why Marvel would want more X-Men in the film; the more branches on the tree of their comic book franchises, the better. So I wonder why such a minor role was cut, particularly if they're just building for future appearances?

On another note, Donner says the film is still being edited, but we won't need to worry about another Dark Knight in terms of length. Wolverine is "way under two hours."

Raunchy Risk Takers!

From: uk.eonline.com

James Marsden's got edge, sure, and with his primo projects like Hairspray and X-Men, he's seen as ultimately one of the coolest, most accessible hipster stars around. Aaron Eckhart, similarly, is respected for messy-but-loveable roles in Erin Brockovich, Thank You For Smoking and The Dark Knight. Both dudes are about to royally ef with their reps in movies out this month, and for these highly surprising reversals, we praise them thoroughly.

Marsden's starring in Sex Drive, a hysterical Road Trip-meets-Nashville-meets-Maurice, in which James is over-the-top and obsessed with antigay humor (trust, this flick ain't for the politically correct faint of heart). But then, you know what they say about those who protest too much, à la Isaiah Washington, right? Uh-huh. Check out the movie, definitely worth it if you like your sex sick, skanky and delicious—just like John Mayer does!

Darkly amusing, more disturbing, is Alan Ball's latest warped baby, Towelhead, starring Eckhart, Maria Bello and Summer Bishil, who's magnificent as a teenager who's sexually attacked in ways she doesn't entirely understand or necessarily dislike. Thank heavens she's got sassy next-door nabe Toni Collette to run to for aid and not Helen Mirren, as the movie's outcome would otherwise be even more hideous than it already is.

This, thanks to Eckhart's onscreen talent for being a completely loathsome creep whose actions will shock a lotta of Eckhart's loyal fans. Took balls for this dude to play such a menacing cretin. Where the hell does Alan Ball (Six Feet Under, American Beauty) find these nasty ne'er-do-well's, anyway? Neverland?

Is Fox Head Tom Rothman Dulling the Claws of 'Wolverine'?

From: Defamer.com

If there's one important lesson that can be drawn from the blockbuster performance of Warner Bros.' The Dark Knight, it's that audiences aren't afraid of a comic-book movie that takes a walk on the dark, grim side. However, the same can't necessarily be said for Fox topper Tom Rothman (the bane of AICN) who greenlit two Fantastic Four movies, hired Brett Ratner to direct X3, and now is allegedly mucking with the X-Men spinoff Wolverine. Despite the fact that the gritty, Hugh Jackman-topped film was met with a giddy response at this year's Comic-Con, Jeff Wells says that Rothman is pressuring director Gavin Hood to make the movie more kid-friendly — and when Hood won't cave, Rothman is taking matters into his own hands:

There was/is a huge Wolverine set being recently used. I'm not even sure which lot it was built on, but the look or mood of the set is, according to a source who was told Hood's view of things, supposed to be on the dark, dinghy and somber side. I only know what I was told, but the basics are that Hood was away from the set for whatever reason (shooting something else, taking a day or two off), and when he returned to the big somber set he was shocked to find that it had been repainted top to bottom on Rothman's orders. The murky-scuzzy vibe was gone, and a brighter and less downish look had taken its place.

Perhaps Rothman has taken his fan letter from Steven Spielberg too much to heart, but a child-friendly Wolverine feels less "X" and more "Y?" Does this mean his bristly greeting of "Bub" will be redubbed "Buddy," or his iconic cigar will be replaced with a pixie stick? C'mon, Tom: Wolvie isn't meant for buoyant musical numbers — or don't you remember what happened last time?

David Goyer May Bump ‘Magneto’ To Make Way For ‘Invisible Man’

From: MTV.com
Published by Larry Carroll

David Goyer is a busy man these days. Making the most popular film of the year, and one of the highest-grossing movies of all time, will do that to a guy.

Now, the “Dark Knight” screenwriter is hoping to capitalize on his success with such recent superhero scripts as “The Flash” and “X-Men Origins: Magneto,” which he’ll also direct.

“That may be next,” he told us recently. But first, Goyer revealed, he hopes to vanish for awhile.

“I’m writing a new version of ‘The Invisible Man’ for Universal,” said the red-hot writer/director, who was at Comic-Con recently to promote “The Unborn,” a horror flick due in theaters next year. “I’m in the process of doing ['Invisible Man'] right now, and I’m working with some conceptual artists in tandem with writing the script. I’m actually working with one of the artists from ‘Batman Begins’ and ‘The Dark Knight.’ So it could be ‘Magneto,’ or it could be ‘The Invisible Man’ next.”

Old–school horror fans will undoubtedly be rooting for the latter. And it should make them giddy to know that Goyer has been tracing the non-material man all the way back to his roots, in order to yank him into the modern age.

“Well, ‘The Invisible Man,’ the Universal film, is a great movie, a Claude Rains film,” Goyer said with admiration. “My take is kind of an extrapolation. It actually deals with a nephew of the first character. It’s got some of the characters from the H.G. Wells book, but it’s kind of a continuation.”

Goyer said that if you’ve seen the Rains film, you might actually get more out of the new version; but at the same time, there’ll be no prior knowledge required.

“It involves Scotland Yard getting their hands on the current Invisible Man and basically saying, ‘Wow, you’d be a really good secret agent to send into Imperial Russia right now,’” an enthusiastic Goyer said of the plot. “It starts off from there.”

As for the intended look of the film he’ll direct as well as write, Goyer made reference to a popular style of fantasy that has emerged over the last few decades: “It kind of crosses a lot of genres. It’s very steam punk.”

And if you’re thinking that the nephew of Jack Griffin will similarly be rendered as a floating hat and scarf in our age of CGI, think again.

“I don’t want to give too much away, but I took what being invisible could mean to the next logical extreme,” he explained. “We do a lot of crazy things in it that are sort of far beyond what anyone’s done with it yet.”

Hugh Jackman Looks Towards ‘Batman Begins’ For ‘Wolverine’ Inspiration, Talks Sequels

From: MTV.

At the moment, you’re likely drooling with anticipation to watch “Iron Man,” “The Incredible Hulk” and “The Dark Knight” over the next few months. Heck, maybe you’ll even go see “Punisher: War Zone.”

But once these thrills have come and gone, what comic book movies will come next? It’s a question we’re all dying to know, and vague promises of “Captain America” and “Thor” movies aren’t cutting it. So instead, we hold out hope for a new take on a familiar hero.

“It feels different,” Hugh Jackman told us recently about “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” which he’s currently shooting with eyes towards a May 2009 release. “But I don’t think its going be night and day.”

After being the breakout character in three blockbuster mutant flicks, Logan will try and set a spin-off blueprint that could eventually yield a “Magneto” movie and more. “We are dealing with a character who is probably one of the darker comic book characters ever created,” Jackman said of the flick, which co-stars Liev Schreiber, Dominic Monaghan and Ryan Reynolds. “The movie has a lot of fun elements, but there are layers of pain and darkness to this character.”

“Tonally, I would put it more in the ‘Batman Begins’ sort of realm,” he said, distancing the flick from past “X-Men” movies. “That’s sort of where we’re headed.”

And if Jackman has his way, “Origins” won’t be the last time we see him wielding adamantium claws. “There are two conditions for me doing any more: One is will anybody want to see it, and the second is: Will I still have the passion for it?” he explained. “I really wanted to do this spin-off movie, because I felt we hadn’t truly found who this character was.”

“Right now,” Jackman added, fueling hope for the fanboys, “I feel like I could do another ten or eleven.”