Okay, now I’m starting to get new-trailer fatigue.  Nonetheless, I can’t deny that this is big news.  Directed by Jon Favreau, Cowboys and Aliens stars Daniel Craig as a Civil War vet named Jake Lonergan who wakes up in the desert with a strange handcuff around his wrist and no memory.  It’s basically the Bourne Identity… in the old west… with aliens. The exec who first heard that pitch probably started jacking off right at the conference table (total movie exec move).  It was also co-written by the writers of Iron Man, Star Trek, and Lost.  FERGUS AND OSTBY AND KURTZMAN AND ORCI OH MY! (*cough*) LINDELOF! (*cough, cough*)

The concept seems kind of dumb, and as far as old west sheriffs go, Harrison Ford is no Gene Hackman.  But given the talent level involved, there’s reason to be excited.  Anyway, with that many writers, I like to imagine that the Iron Man guys’ only contribution was yelling “ROCKET HANDS!” every five minutes.

Sidenote:  Did Daniel Craig stab that guy in the junk?

This post will be a nice little round-up of the new pictures and posters going around the web today.  First up, John Cusack as Edgar Allan Poe in The Raven (source).  I kid you not, this is the actual plot:

Based on an original script by Hannah Shakespeare and Ben Livingston, The Raven is set in the last five days of Poe’s life, when a serial killer is running around Baltimore using Poe’s stories as the backdrops for his killings. Poe and a young detective have a ticking clock to outsmart the killer before he strikes again.

Iiiiiiiiin YOUR EYES
at my chamber doooooor
YOUR EYES
forgiveness I imploooooore
YOUR EYES
You filled me with fantastic terrors never felt befooooore….
IIIN YOUR EYES…

Sorry, that was uncalled for.  I know how much he hates that reference.  Suffice to say, I hope Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Edgar Allan Poe: Homicide Detective team up at some point.

Read the rest of this entry »

Just in case this video gets pulled like my wiener before you have a chance to see it, this is the alternate opening scene to Iron Man 2.  It starts with Tony Stark puking in the toilet of what turns out to be his cargo plane, followed by playful banter with Pepper Potts, who’s trying to coach him through his hangover (try this Egyptian-lavender scented alka-seltzer, just $69.99 on goop.com).  It ends with the bit you saw in the trailer, where Gwyneth Paltrow kisses his helmet (hee hee!) and he jumps out of the plane after it. This part ended up getting cut, and the actual film begins a few seconds later, with Tony Stark landing on stage at the Stark Expo.

Director Jon Favreau has said that the sequence was removed because he wanted to give Robert Downey Jr a big entrance, and the reveal of Stark on stage after landing worked better without the opening bit of comedy. [/Film via GammaSquad]

I like the alternate version better.  With the excess of characters that didn’t do that much, the rushed feel, and the lack of significant conflict, Iron Man 2 at times felt more than just a little Entourage-y, and opening with him onstage as the world’s biggest celebrity (as opposed to a hungover smartass) only plays more into that.  Oh my God, bro, don’t you want to be just like Tony Stark, or one of the talentless jackasses that hangs out by his pool?  He’s like the coolest guy ever, please turn this into a GQ article about grooming tips.

"Good, now mind the stepchildren..."

There’s a question mark in the headline, and you know what that means: It’s time to prognosticate!  We don’t have the answers to these questions, but we’ve got the next best thing: wild speculation!  Yee haw! (*fires pistols in the air*)

CinemaBlend recently ran a story based on the word of an inside source close to the Marvel-Jon Favreau situation, and while their source is never named, I’m inclined to believe him or her because the story is very much in line with what I’d already assumed — it’s the American way.  Long story short, all that time Iron Man 2 spent pimping future movies (to its own detriment), Jon Favreau wasn’t thrilled about it either.

Part of the problem was the movie seemed wrapped around an odd, Avengers-focused, subplot which never really fit into the story. Jon Favreau may not have liked it any more than you or I do.

Our source says Iron Man 2 wasn’t the movie Jon Favreau wanted to make. Marvel interfered heavily with his work on the movie and turned the project into an infomercial for The Avengers. Favreau felt the movie was rushed into production (and if you followed the development process you know it was) and they pushed him into making it without a fully realized script. Iron Man 2 wasn’t the movie he wanted to make and because of that, if there’s an Iron Man 3, there’s every reason to think he won’t be back. Marvel doesn’t want to pay him and Favreau may not want to deal with more Marvel interference.

Favreau wasn’t the only one unhappy with Iron Man 2. Robert Downey Jr. saw those same problems and according to our source, “While he’s locked for Iron Man 3, chances are, that will be his last movie.” In the meantime, Downey will get (and probably deserves) top billing in The Avengers.

I hope this is true, because I’d have a hard time respecting someone who thought that scene where Tony Stark randomly pulls Captain America’s shield out of his ass and uses it to prop up his particle accelerator in Iron Man 2 was a good idea. If you cheered for that like a couple people did in the theater where I saw it, guess what, you are an idiot.  That’d be like if when Indiana Jones went sliding under the stone door in Raiders of the Lost Ark, a light saber randomly fell out of his pocket and he used it to hold open the door. “Yay! I’m excited for Episode I!”

This introduction video and surprise appearance by Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr. comes from a special invite-only screening of Iron Man 2 at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin last night, hosted by AICN’s Harry Knowles (Beyoncé’s fat, red-headed brother).  I wasn’t invited, I assume because they knew these guns aren’t registered in that state.  Thanks, fellas, I appreciate you lookin’ out.  Anyway, by most accounts, it sounds just like what you would expect, i.e., “a virtual sea of competing novelty T-shirts,” size double X, sporting cat and beard hair, I’m sure.

The video [via Cinematical] shows Downey telling Favreau he “doesn’t need to suck up to these nerds anymore, they’re going to see it anyway.”  Then they both step out from behind the video onto the stage, where the crowd goes wild, creating a cloud of Cheeto dust and wave of undulating man boobs that could be seen from space.  But apparently, Favreau’s contribution to the evening didn’t end there:

Jon Favreau, who’s been doing months of post-production followed by a vicious, volcano-interrupted press tour, needs to blow off some steam. He does it by mix-mastering beats from The Jackson Five and Guns N Roses and Eric B. and Rakim and AC/DC. He mashes up “It’s Tricky” and “Brown Sugar.” He brings the house down with a power ballad by The Outfield. The DJ hired by the Alamo thought he’d hand over the turntables for maybe ten minutes but Favs won’t stop. You’d think he’d be mugging to the crowd but, no, he’s really workin’ it. [UGO]

I’m sure watching Jon Favreau DJ would be cool, but nearly as cool as watching Robert Downey Jr. in blackface DJ.