Media Bound

With the cameras set to start shooting on his latest, untitled film in China next month, Michael Mann is currently rounding up some people to put in front of them. According to Deadline, he has The Help’s Viola Davis in talks for a starring role.The cyber crime thriller, which Mann wrote alongside Morgan Davis Foehl, already has Chris Hemsworth attached to star. The director has typically been keeping his cards close to his chest as the film made its way through development, but we do know it’ll see American and Chinese forces working together to stop a case of high-level computer hacking. If she makes a deal, Davis will play an FBI agent.After dipping into history for his most recent outing, 2009’s Public Enemies, it appears Mann is going solidly topical for this one, with hacking big in the news at the moment, particularly between the US and China. From the sounds of it, he’s building another great ensemble.Davis was most recently seen in Beautiful Creatures. This year, she’ll also appear in The Disappearance Of Eleanor Rigby His and Hers and Ender’s Game, which is set to land in our cinemas on October 25. She’s also just finished work on Denis Villeneuve’s kidnap drama Prisoners.

CinemaCon kicked off tonight at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas with a presentation from Paramount. In only its  3rd year, what used to be ShoWest is proving to have the magic touch as once again all the major studios  – plus Lionsgate – will be doing  the dog and pony show for the nation’s exhibitors before the confab ends on Thursday. Paramount and its Vice Chairman Rob Moore offered the theater owners a slickly produced and very quick reel of upcoming product, along with extended looks at its hoped-for summer blockbusters Star Trek Into  Darkness and World War Z, as well as a complete screening of Michael Bay’s Pain & Gain which opens next week.

With the voiceover announcing the entrance of Brad Pitt, the crowd packing the enormous Colosseum Theatre got momentarily excited – only to learn it was an attempt at humor by CinemaCon’s Managing Director Mitch Neuhauser. He got things rolling by noting the venue has 495,000 watts of power (opposed to a normal theatre’s 4,000) so warned, “Get ready”. He introduced IMAX’s Greg Foster who talked about the new deal with Paramount for 5 films. The IMAX chief then offered a brief live infommercial touting $650 million in total box office for 2012  and screens now nearing 700. He was followed by an exec for Christie, the DLP projector company, who spoke about the improving digital situtation in theaters, particularly when it comes to screen brightness. But the night belonged to Paramount as Rob Moore gushed about the studio’s strong start this year with newcomer Hansel And Gretel: Witch Hunters grossing $220 million worldwide and sequel GI Joe: Retaliation continuing its mojo.
The well-received reel contained blink-or-you’ll-miss-them snippets of Star Trek Into Darkness, Pain And Gain, World War Z, Paranormal Activity 5 (touted as one of the most profitable franchises in Par history), Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Noah (with Russell Crowe as the biblical legend), Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, Hercules, new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and 3D Spongebob Pants kid projects, as well as the Fall Oscar hopefuls The Wolf Of Wall Street (from director Martin Scorsese), Labor Day (from Jason Reitman), and the black and white father/son drama Nebraska (from Alexander Payne). There had been buzz that the latter might turn up in competition in Cannes next month. But a source strongly connected with the film tells me it won’t since Payne likes to spend more time with it in post and won’t have it ready, so the Fall fest circuit is probably more likely.

It’s a big day for news of Young Adult adaptations, with word on a Mortal Instruments prequel and some new casting info on dystopian sci-fi hopeful Divergent. Ashley Judd has signed on to the film, which kicked off shooting last week in Chicago.Divergent, adapted from Veronica Roth’s novel, is set on a future Earth where society is divided up into groups according to certain human traits. Everyone is sorted into the appropriate group at 16, but Tris (Shailene Woodley) learns she’s a “divergent,” someone who doesn’t strictly belong in any one group.Though that might make it sound like she has options, it’s actually more dangerous than she first knows, as she discovers a conspiracy to destroy all those like her.Judd is aboard to play Woodley’s mother, a woman who sees both her children (Tris, and her brother Caleb) join differing factions. She joins a cast that also includes Kate Winslet, Theo James, Ray Stevenson, recent Empire Podcast guest Aaron Eckhart, Jai Courtney, Maggie Q and Zoe Kravitz.Neil Burger is calling the shots now, with Divergent set to arrive in UK cinemas on March 21 next year.

Hey, Iron Man 3 fans. I’ve got some more visuals for you. MTV will be showing an extended clip from the hotly anticipated Marvel movie during its MTV Movie Awards presentation on Sunday, which begins at 9 p.m. And as is the practice these days, the cable channel has put out a teaser clip to whet your appetite. Not much new here — Tony Stark’s existential anguish is apparent, already! — although the scene depicting the arrival of the Iron Men appears to be more of a close-up than the one used in previous clips.
MTV plans to put the clip up on its website after the presentation. Here’s hoping that during the show, host Rebel Wilson attempts to squeeze into an armored suit. That would be funny.
MTV Iron Man 3 Teaser Trailer
        Also, Marvel.com posted this clip today. Enjoy
Iron Man 3 Extended Featurette

I hear actor Charlie Sheen has parted ways with longtime manager Mark Burg. It is unclear if the separation is permanent, but if the duo’s history is any indication, we shouldn’t bet on it. The two have had fallings-out before, most notably during Sheen’s epic spring 2011 meltdown, but they’ve reconciled. Even if Sheen is not a client of Burg’s anymore, the two remain business partners as they both serve as executive producers on Sheen’s FX comedy series Anger Management, which is 40 episodes into its 100-episode (10+90) order. I hear there were no signs of a Sheen-Burg separation on the set of the show this week, and Anger Management producers appeared unaware of any change in the duo’s relationship. Sheen performed his duties on the show until Friday when he left the set due to illness. He is slated to do The Tonight Show With Jay Leno on Wednesday. Burg is not on the set of Anger Management every day but has a regular presence, most recently during the filming of Lindsay Lohan’s guest stint. In addition to Burg’s executive producer role on Arrested Development, Evolution Entertainment, his company with Michael Menchel, recently launched a TV division and signed a first-look deal with Lionsgate TV, the company behind Anger Management. Burg has been Sheen’s main representative as the actor has been without an agent for awhile.

One of Manhattan‘s most distinct fashion emporiums gets its close-up in Scatter My Ashes At Bergdorf’s, Matthew Miele’s documentary about the designers, buyers, window dressers and famous customers who make it a destination. Karl Lagerfeld, Oscar De La Renta, Diane Von Furstenberg, Christian Louboutin and Disconnect actor Marc Jacobs are among the fashion designers featured in this film, which has just unveiled a stylish new poster outfitted in the tasteful purple color — lilac, to be specific — of Bergdorf’s shopping bags.
Here’s an exclusive look at the poster, along with the trailer and a synopsis:
It’s the most mythic of all American emporiums – a one-of-a-kind Manhattan institution where over the last century, the view of fashion has been transformed into modern art.  But behind Bergdorf Goodman’s magical window displays lies a very real world where the rich and famous wield their power and eccentricity, where young and talented designers have their dreams granted and denied, and where money and ambition co-mingle with radical ideas of beauty and provocative style.  Now, for the first time, audiences get a chance to peek inside this world, as Matthew Miele’s Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf’s explores the history, inner workings and untold stories behind the store’s rise from a modest ladies’ tailor shop to a mirror of contemporary culture.

"Fast & Furious 6" might still be almost two months away from being released, but plans are already in the works for a follow-up. Star Vin Diesel took to his Facebook page to tease when the new movie will begin shooting.
"There was an early screening in LA this week of Fast 6. The crowd reaction was surreal… and their demand for the continuation was powerful… It’s remarkable to think I first embodied this character in 1999… and the evolution continues," he wrote, via /Film. "P.s. Filming begins this summer in LA, where it all started… talk about a studio in sync with the audience…"

For those of you who like to be spoiled, that recent Ain’t It Cool News rumor about "Fast & Furious 6′s" ending revealing "Fast & Furious 7′s" villain was recently confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter. Let’s just say that if you see Jason Statham pop up on the set of the upcoming "Fast and Furious" movie this summer, don’t be too surprised.
"Fast & Furious 6" is due in theaters on May 24, and trumpets the return of Michelle Rodriguez to the "Fast and Furious" franchise. Her character was teased at the end of "Fast Five," meaning it’s not much of a shocker that "Fast & Furious 6" will lead directly into "Fast and Furious 7."

Rapper Riff Raff has not exactly remained quiet about the fact that he thinks James Franco ripped off his persona for the role of Alien in "Spring Breakers." But has Riff Raff actually seen Harmony Korine’s indie hit?
Well, now he has.

The folks over at Next Movie did the world a favor and got Riff Raff to "review" "Spring Breakers" for them. The result is both unexpected and totally predictable.
Riff Raff claims that Franco bought a Riff Raff costume at the store and just put it on for "Spring Breakers," and then he proceeds to challenge the actor in a series of physical competitions to see which one of them is more legit.
That sounds about right.

Although state-of-the-art in its rendering of textures, movement and stereography, DreamWorks’ latest 3D toon, The Croods, adopts a relatively primitive approach to storytelling with its Flintstonian construction of stock, ill-fitting narrative elements. Part family adventure story, part romance and part eye-popping thrill ride, this tale of a prehistoric family seeking a new home in a dangerous and geologically volatile environment won’t have the broad appeal of DreamWorks’ Shrek and Kung Fu Panda pics, or Fox’s own B.C.-era Ice Age franchise. But it should prove a solid earner after its March 22 release in a frame relatively free of rival predators.
Conceived in 2005 under the catchier title Crood Awakening, with John Cleese and trade journo-turned-agent-turned-screenwriter Kirk DeMicco (Racing Stripes) set to script, The Croods was intended to further DreamWorks’ collaboration with Aardman Animation (Chicken Run, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Flushed Away) before the two companies parted ways in 2006. DeMicco and animation vet Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch) share scripting and directing duties, with Cleese co-credited for the story.
The main element from Crood Awakening that seems to have survived the transition to the screen is the premise of brutish cavepeople who meet a more evolved humanoid with clever ideas up his fur sleeve, like how to make fire. But instead of the original project’s quasi-Neanderthal community, the core characters here are a frightened family of six called the Croods, seemingly the last of their species after natural selection has chewed its way through their neighbors.
Enjoined by patriarch Grug (voiced by Nicolas Cage) to “never not be afraid,” the Croods hunt as a pack by day and huddle in a cave by night to hide from a delightfully designed bestiary of made-up monsters, such as the self-explanatory Bear Owl and the Macawnivore, a colorful saber-toothed tiger variant roughly the size of a rhino. Grug’s wife, Ugga (Catherine Keener); doltish son, Thunk (Clark Duke); tart-tongued mother-in-law, Gran (Cloris Leachman); and ferociously belligerent toddler daughter, Sandy (“Release the baby!” is one of the pic’s funnier catchphrases), are all content to stick to the routine. But teenage daughter Eep (Emma Stone) longs for broader horizons and a literally brighter view of the world.
Enter Guy (Ryan Reynolds), the only survivor of a family that, judging by his svelter frame, more erect posture and higher forehead, must have been a bit further up the evolutionary ladder. Although most of the Croods are impressed with Guy’s innovations, like fire and shoes, Grug wants no truck with this young hotshot who’s winning Eep’s heart, or any of his newfangled ideas. However, when it starts to look like Guy may be right about the world breaking up, they have no choice but to seek greener pastures.
The main problem with the film is that the script simply isn’t very funny, and its various subplots never quite mesh satisfyingly together; apart from Grug, Eep and Guy, the other characters add little to the proceedings apart from a few feeble jokes. Yet these story deficiencies are fairly well papered over by the pacey, smoothly animated action scenes, delivered at regular intervals. Highlights include an early hunt, with a football-like egg passed from character to character, that gains much from well-timed, Wile E. Coyote-style slapstick; and a nifty escape sequence involving volcanic eruptions, sticky tar and, of all things, makeshift puppets.
Younger auds will be hypnotized by the pic’s scorching color palette, particularly in the Avatar-like jungle setting, and throughout the animators have lavished loving attention on how different kinds of light (moon, sun, fire) play on the surfaces of skin, fur and landscape. Presumably, it’s in this area that ace lenser Roger Deakins lent his services as a visual consultant, as he did on DreamWorks’ How to Train Your Dragon.
Character design, however, is less adroit, although the Croods’ stocky, simplistic figures will lend themselves well enough to merchandising. Onscreen, they’re not terribly appealing, and Eep’s helmet-like hair and East German weightlifter physique make her a somewhat awkward match with the spindly Guy, even if it’s laudable for the animators to have designed a young heroine who doesn’t fit the usual Barbie-doll proportions.

It feels like it’s been a long time coming, but after a couple of years of rumours, producer scuffles, casting announcements and scriptwriter changes, the new version of Godzilla has finally kicked off shooting under the direction of Monsters’ Gareth Edwards. The start-of-production notice also includes a full cast list, with mention that Inception’s Ken Watanabe has signed on. He joins Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, David Strathairn and Bryan Cranston.Edwards, who’s working from a script that includes work by Max Borenstein, Drew Pearce, Dave Callaham and Frank Darabont, started the cameras cranking Monday in Vancouver, where the giant beast is expected to cause all sorts of mayhem. Godzilla, we mean. Gareth’s not usually known for causing mass destruction except when he points a camera at something. His family holidays must be a hell of an experience.After teasing the world with teaser footage at Comic-Con back in 2012, Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures plans to unleash the film, which aims to take a more realistic look at what happens when giant creatures terrorise humanity, on May 16 next year.