As an actor, Mickey Rourke has gained a reputation for his hard-edged roles in films like "Sin City" and "The Wrestler." However, outside of the film industry Rourke is an outspoken animal activist and a well known dog-lover — characteristics that helped motivate his upcoming role as Whiplash in "Iron Man 2."
According to The Daily Express, Rourke used pictures of his deceased pets to stimulate his emotional performance while on the set of "Iron Man 2."
“He would have someone holding pictures of recently deceased pets off camera to make him feel sad or whatever for a scene,” said Robert Downey Jr.. “It was all serious stuff. I’ve never seen anything like it.” Read more...
Earlier this year, dozens of young actors including Garrett Hedlund, Channing Tatum, John Krasinski and Ryan Phillippe vied for a chance to play Steve Rogers in "The First Avenger: Captain America."
And while Chris Evans has emerged victorious from the various contenders on his way to starring as Captain America, director Joe Johnston has revealed that Evans was cast in the role without having to audition.
"Chris didn't audition at all," said Johnston during an interview with Earth's Mightiest. "I was already familiar with everything he'd done and was championing his cause, not that I had a fight from the Marvel team. They were fans of his as well. He came in to the art department to say hi, saw all the jaw-dropping art and designs on the wall and reacted the way I'd hoped he would." Read more...
Last year, "Batman: Arkham Asylum" delivered one of the best Batman video games ever with intuitive gameplay and an engrossing story by animation veteran Paul Dini. And while a special "Game of the Year" edition is set for release in May, the inmates of "Arkham Ayslum" will also be breaking out of toy stores and comic shops.
According to PreviewsWorld, DC Direct will produce a new line of "Batman: Arkham Asylum" action figures which will be unveiled in the June 2010 issue of Toyfare. While no specific figures are currently confirmed, the game's reinterpretation of classic Batman villains Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy and Bane have been speculated to be among the contenders for this line.
In the "Batman: Arkham Asylum" video game, Batman is trapped in Arkham with some of his greatest adversaries courtesy of an elaborate scheme by The Joker. "Batman: The Animated Series" actors Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, and Arleen Sorkin reprised their roles as Batman, the Joker, and Harley Quinn, respectively. Read more...
While director Martin Campbell's "Green Lantern" has been filming in New Orleans since last month, another actor has joined the cast in a pivotal role.
According to Superherohype, Jon Tenney has signed on to portray Martin Jordan — Hal Jordan's father. "Ryan Reynolds is the Green Lantern, and when he is a young boy, like 11, I'm his father," said Tenney. "I'm Hal Jordan's dad. I'm very excited — it's incredible company."
When asked about the film's script, Tenney replied "Well, it's under lockdown, that script. It's very, very secretive. They’re only releasing sections of it, so they're keeping everybody in the dark. What I've read is amazing. And 'Green Lantern' was one of my favorite comic book characters as a kid." Read more...
Back in 2008, director Sam Mendes said he'd "love to make 'Preacher,' but there’s no script" — a problem that was solved when screenwriter John August came on board the project.
However, Mendes was reportedly linked to the next "James Bond" film earlier this year, which caused some to question whether he'd still helm "Preacher." Now it appears that Mendes has officially left the project behind.
"We were originally talking with Sam Mendes about doing the movie," producer Neal Moritz told Collider. "Sam Mendes is going to go off and do the Bond movie, so there’s another director that we’re talking to right now." Read more...
In "Iron Man," Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) had their hands full with Jeff Bridges' villainous businessman Obadiah Stane. Still, director Jon Favreau is confident that the triumvirate of villains featured in "Iron Man 2" — Whiplash (Mickey Rourke), Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) and possibly Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) — will be able to avoid the problems that plagued previous superhero movies featuring multiple villains.
"You want to be sure you don't suffer from multi-villainitis," Favreau told The Los Angeles Times. "That's been the downfall of many other superhero franchises."
"I was more concerned about the interpersonal dynamic and how the presence of [Johansson's character] would affect Tony and Pepper," continued Favreau. "Because what I didn't want to do is make this film episodic, like just another episode of a TV series." Read more...
Later on this year, director Michel Gondry's long awaited "Green Hornet" adaptation will finally hit the big screen with Seth Rogen in the title role. And while word on the film has been relatively quiet in the past few months, a recent report has offered an update on the film's status.
"I watched the first hour on Friday," stated "Green Hornet" producer Neal Moritz during an interview with Collider. "We brought Sally Menke who edited 'Inglourious Basterds' to come in and edit the movie. She showed us the first hour, myself and the studio on Friday. We’re thrilled at what we’re seeing. Obviously taking a combination of two genres action/comedy… super hero comedy and bringing them together."
"We saw a very early version of a fight scene that [Gondry's] doing where we do a thing called Kato Vision where Kato can kind of see things before it happens in fight scenes so he knows how to take people out," added Moritz. "And it was amazing." Read more...
Earlier this week it was revealed that actress Alaina Huffman will reprise her role as Black Canary on the ninth season finale of "Smallville." However, she won't be the only superhero to return to the series before the end of the season.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Hawkman, Stargirl and Cyborg will also be coming back in the season finale. Michael Shanks and Britt Irvin first appeared as Hawkman and Stargirl during the Justice Society episode of "Smallville" earlier this season.
Last month, Geoff Johns publicly stated that the Justice Society would return in the ninth season, confirming comments by Shanks last year that Hawkman could return as mentor for Tom Welling's Clark Kent. Read more...
Earlier this year, word broke that Mark Strong would appear as Sinestro in director Martin Campbell's "Green Lantern" opposite Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan. And while Strong has recently appeared in villainous roles in "Sherlock Holmes" and the upcoming "Kick-Ass" movie, his version of Sinestro will stay true to the initial heroic qualities of the character.
“For anybody who’s familiar with the 'Green Lantern' and the origin story, the film closely follows the early comics," stated Strong during an interview with USA Today. "Sinestro starts out as Hal Jordan’s mentor, slightly suspicious and not sure of him because obviously Hal is the first human being who’s made into a Green Lantern. He’s certainly very strict and certainly unsure of the wisdom of Hal becoming a Green Lantern.”
“He is a military guy but isn’t immediately bad," continued Strong. "It’s the kind of person he is that lends himself to becoming bad over the course of the comics being written, but initially he’s quite a heroic figure.” Read more...
Over the weekend at WonderCon in San Francisco, word broke at the Image Comics panel that two of their comic books have been tagged for adaptation by Hollywood.
According to Comic Book Resources, Richard Starkings announced that his creator-owned series “Elephantmen” has been optioned to be “a major motion picture,” before adding that directors and actors are currently being approached. Originally created by Starkings as a spinoff from "Hip Flask," "Elephantmen" takes place in a dystopian future in which human/animal hybrids struggle to integrate into society after being rescued from a brutal life as mindless, corporate soldiers.
Additionally, Frank Cho screened a short animated pilot of "Liberty Meadows," which depicted a comedic group therapy session between the anthropomorphic residents of an animal sanctuary and their beautiful human caretaker, Brandy Carter. Read more...