Sorry, guys, I lost focus on comic-book movies for about five minutes there.  It won’t happen again.  Yahoo just posted two Comic-Con exclusive posters for Thor and First Avenger: Captain America (seriously, can I just call it Captain America? we’re well-aware that the godd*mn Avengers movie is happening).  You can right-click and hit “view image” to see them in all their super-sized glory. They look pretty cool — I like the Captain America one a little better, myself — but they should.  They’re concept art.  “Look cool” is sort of the end-all be-all mandate of concept art (and also what I whisper to the mirror every morning).

Elsewhere, USA Today has a new picture of Chris Hemsworth as Thor, who apparently wears skin-tight v-necks and gets rained on indoors.  Whoa, did I wander onto the set of a Thunder Down Under fantasy photo shoot by accident?  Quick, put some leather and capes on the guy, this is starting to get a little gay.  Paramount also released this new picture of Thor and Odin.  In the email, they just called it “Thor,” even though this picture from Comic-Con seems to indicate that the full title will be “Thor: The Mighty Avenger.”  Again, enough with “The Avengers” stuff already.  We get it.

Lastly, FirstShowing is reporting a rumor from “a reliable inside source with a studio casting grid” that shows The Riddler as the villain in Batman 3, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the possible actor.  It’s the second time this particular rumor has surfaced (and was initially denied).  While I agree that Levitt’s Inception co-star Tom Hardy is a great actor who looks more villain-y, The Riddler is traditionally kind of boyish and spindly like Levitt, who’s also a fine actor and was awesome in Hesher.  Either one would be great. I just hope that the riddles will be all Inception-y.

“Riddle me this, Batman: If I show up inside your dream with my friend who’s impersonating your friend, and we then go inside a dream within that dream: whose subconscious will my friend represent? And when I look at his reflection inside your dream, why would I see his real face, when you can’t?”

“F*ck, dude, my brain hurts.  Just steal the art already.”

The print version of the LA Times (the what with the who now?) ran this new picture  from Thor over the weekend, and /Film helpfully scanned it and put it online (GRRR, INTERNET!). [Here's the original, I added Ratner and Vaughn in the above version for... uh... scale]. It appears to show Asgard, the magical realm of the Norse gods previously evoked only in the hottest Yngwie Malmsteen guitar licks.  The film is supposedly set partly on Earth and partly in Asgard.

To me it looks a lot like shiny, gold, imperial sets from Thor director Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet. It also looks a lot like the set of that victory parade with Jar Jar and Natalie Portman in that one Star Wars movie.  But let’s stick with just the Shakespeare reference so you guys can tell how smart I am.  (*adjusts ascot, lights fart with pinky extended*)

Also, I like whatever’s going on with this dude’s helmet. I think if you traveled back in time and told a Viking that in 1300 years, there’d be zero improvements to the horned helmet, he’d be rightly disappointed.

The LA Times today has a feature on Marvel’s upcoming slate of films, including this official publicity shot of Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Anthony Hopkins as Odin, and Tom Hiddleston as Loki in the Kenneth Branagh-directed Thor movie.  I still can’t get over a deity who can miracle himself a strapless eye patch but can’t cure his own lack of depth perception, but whatever.

Oh hey, did I mention Thor and Captain America will be available in glorious, post-converted 3D?  Because you bet your smelly ass they will be.  2D is for your minstrel shows, grandpa.  For their part, the creatives involved acknowledged problems with post-converted 3D in the past and admit they were wary, but eventually welcomed the opportunity to charge five bucks more per ticket creative challenge.

[Captain America director Joe] Johnston did a one-day test shooting with a 3-D rig — as opposed to shooting in 3-D and converting — and said it was “a nightmare” due to bulky gear, calibration issues and restricted filmmaking options. He said he’s a firm believer, though, in the conversion approach if done right and he’s enthused to move forward. “It’s a new challenge and it’s exciting,” Johnston said.

[Marvel Chief Kevin] Feige, in London for “Captain America,” pledged that “an unprecedented amount of time” would be devoted to the conversion process. He also said the films will benefit from the fact that the 3-D choice was made early on with passion and planning and not in post-production, as was the case with a flurry of films that came on the heels of “Avatar.”

“In being able to think in 3-D from the start — and having every bit of our special effects rendered in true 3-D — we have the opportunity to do it right,” Feige said. “When you’re working with a director like Ken Branagh or Joe Johnston, they’re not going to settle for less than perfect image. They’re not going to settle for something that isn’t up to the artistry of everything else they’ve done on the film … they’re not going to put on some overlay in the last 10 to 12 weeks of post-production for a fiscal reason.” [LA Times]

Said the interviewer, “This Joe Johnston who won’t settle for less than perfection, he’s the guy who directed The Wolfman, right?”  And burst out laughing.  “I’m sorry, forgive me.  I was just… thinking of this funny thing that happened.  To my friend.”

This clip has been making the rounds today, and it’s from a Marvel superhero movie, so I’d better post it (also, I’m lazy).  It’s a segment from Entertainment Tonight and there’s actually very little actual footage from the movie (at the 2:03 mark). It shows the cast running and star Chris Hemsworth saying ‘Look! Over there!”  Oh crap, was I supposed to say ‘spoiler alert?’ And to get to it, you’ll have to sit through the be-V-necked Mervin’s mannequin Little Lord Fauntleroy here asking Hemsworth and Natalie Portman tough questions like:

“So what’s it like being Thor?”

“Tell us about the chemistry between you two.”

“Have you ever seen her rap?”

“Do you feel pressure because of how well these franchises have done?”

“Chris is a big boy now.  Wow!”

I wasn’t being sarcastic when I said “tough questions.”  Because really, how does a person go about responding to such asinine throat queefs?  This guy makes Seacrest look like a Hell’s Angel.  This man is a human tampon.

Oh, I guess they did get this image of Anthony Hopkins as Odin.  You can tell he’s the big swinging d*ck of Norse Gods because his eyepatch holds itself up with no strap.  Call me crazy, but I wouldn’t subscribe to any religion where the supreme being can’t fix his own handicaps.

“Look, it’s Jesus!  He’s rolling across water in his magic wheelchair!”

Yesterday we got a look at the suit for Captain America.  Today Collider has some concept art images from Thor, set to be played by Chris Hemsworth.  I was hoping it’d look more like this, but oh well.

Thor is being directed by Kenneth Branagh (Hamlet).  The film also stars Natalie Portman as love-interest Jane Foster, Anthony Hopkins as Thor’s papa, Odin, and Tom Hiddleston as Loki, the film’s villain.  The film also stars Ray Stevenson (Punisher: War Zone), Tadanobu Asano (Mongol), and Joshua Dallas (The Descent: Part 2) as the Warriors Three; Idris Elba [Stringer Bell] as Heimdall, Stellan Skarsgard (Angels & Demons) as Selvig, and Jaimie Alexander (Kyle XY) as Sif. [Collider]

Not too many surprises with this one.  How come all superheroes wear boots?  Wouldn’t they seem faster if they were wearing some sweet Air Jordans or something?  Maybe they’re saving those for Idris Elba, the Norse God of Urban Flavor.  He carries a smaller hammer because he’s not compensating.

Higher res versions available at Collider.  Meanwhile, I’ve got some test footage of Thor and some of the other Norse Gods below.

Read the rest of this entry »