DC’s Entertainment president and chief creative officer Geoff Johns has confirmed the casting rumor that Joe Manganiello is Deathstroke for the upcoming Batman solo venture, according to The Wall Street Journal .
This will be the first time Batman and Deathstroke (Slade Wilson) are on the big screen together. Other villains are rumored to be in the film as well, including Jared Leto’s Joker.
Manganiello is most famous for his roles in True Blood and Magic Mike.
Johns and Ben Affleck are writing the script for the new Batman movie, which will be directed by Affleck.
Few others details are known about the project at this time, but stick with us for all the latest updates.
Deathstroke (Slade Joseph Wilson) was created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez. He is a mercenary and assassin who first appeared in The New Teen Titans (vol. 1) #2 (1980).
Originally the archenemy of the Teen Titans, writers have developed him over the years as an adversary of other heroes in the DC Universe. Parallels have been established between him and Batman, and he has a deep-seated grudge against Green Arrow. The character has been substantially adapted from the comics into multiple forms of media, including several Batman-related projects and the Teen Titans animated series. Slade Wilson/Deathstroke later appeared on The CW’s live-action TV series Arrow, where he is portrayed by Manu Bennett.
California is in the midst of another gold rush. This time the gold comes in the sudsy, sometimes hoppy form of craft beer. In recent years the Golden State has seen a craft beer explosion, with seemly a new brewery opening its doors every day.
The Summit Beer Festival will feature more than 400 beers. Courtesy: CCBA
“The CCBA wanted to produce an annual event that would be a fundraiser for the association. We didn’t want to do just another beer festival,” says Tom McCormick, Executive Director for the CCBA.
Instead the CCBA created a three-day beer symposium. The beer festival is still the centerpiece of the weekend featuring more than 450 different beers from more than 160 different California breweries. But the event also brings together a trade show, educational seminars and the opportunity to network with the best in brewing.
“(It’s) an event where attendees could expand their understanding and knowledge of craft beer and the industry. We also wanted to bring together not just consumers, but retailers, the hospitality industry and beer wholesalers. That was the original vision of the summit,” say McCormick.
BREWS & POLITICAL VIEWS
The beer festival in the shadow of the State Capitol Building in Sacramento. Courtesy: CCBA
The trade show and educational sessions will take place at the Sacramento Convention Center starting Friday. The Summit Beer Festival will line Sacramento’s Capitol Mall Saturday afternoon in the shadow of the State Capitol Building. It’s a location chosen for reasons as political as they are practical.
“The Summit helps our policy efforts by showing policymakers how vibrant and important the craft brewing industry is in California. The decision makers at the state Capitol can’t help but notice the excitement this event brings to town. The Summit help puts the craft brewing industry on the political radar,” McCormick explains. One of the main functions of the CCBA is to try to ensure legislative and policy changes do not negatively impact its members.
Though the event is just in its second year local brewers say they already see it as a valuable part of the state’s growing craft beer landscape.
“There will be many eyes and ears watching this year’s Summit, and most likely will be impacting much of the local craft scene for the next year,” says David Mathis, owner of American River Brewing Company. “With each new brewery, there is a new vision and a new approach to brewing. California has always been THE leader in brewing and the Summit is a major exclamation point.”
THE BEER SHOWCASE
Visitors entering last year’s Summit Showcase Courtesy: CCBA
Mathis is a long-standing member of the CCBA and his brewery will pour a special barrel-aged beer on the trade show floor. He says the more successful this summit becomes, the more successful the craft beer business will be in California.
“I enjoy every opportunity to meet and discuss the industry with my fellow brewers. I discover new approaches to help me both improve as a brewer and as a business owner,” he explains. “Getting this much raw talent and experience together in one place only fuels the engine that makes all of us better and more successful.”
The CCBA looks to build on last year’s summit, expanding the trade show floor with more hand-on displays. The beer festival will have a new layout and will also be color-coded by region. McCormick also says there’s one other change that attendees are sure to appreciate, “More food and better food.”
Still he says these are really just subtle differences, “The main theme, vibe and intent of the Summit has not changed from last year, but it is definitely improved from last year.”
Before the DC Extended Universe decided to make its superheroes dark, dull, and depressing there was a host of indie filmmakers ready to show the world how a live-action cinematic universe is done right. Sort of. Due to budget constraints (read: not having much of one at all) and, more importantly, pesky legal restraints, these films are short, sweet, to the point, and not-for-profit.
Author’s Note:Batman is awesome, we all know that, so all of these films center around the Caped Crusader in one way or another.
These first two play out like trailers for movies that could have (and maybe should have) been.
Grayson
An epic, five-minute extended trailer for what could be considered a Justice League movie. Inspired creator John Fiorella crafted a concept that was something new and something old.
World’s Finest
Batman and Superman reluctantly unite to fight off Lex Luthor (in a Power Suit!) and Two-Face.
Bat in the Sun Productions with Director Aaron Schoenke, created a trilogy of Batman-inspired indies that ranges from disjointed, short and sweet to epic and psychological.
Batman: Legends
Somewhat of a cluster-F, it’s Batman, Nightwing, and Robin trying to fend off the deadly assaults of Poison Ivy, The Joker, Bane, and more.
Batman: City of Scars
The longest and most complete of these films. City of Scars might be an even grittier take than anything Christopher Nolan did. Dirty, bloody, and crazy, City of Scars is a much more psychological take on Batman.
Batman: Seeds of Arkham
A sequel of sorts to City of Scars, Seeds of Arkham looks into the power struggle between Batman’s rogues gallery after the death of The Joker.
Batman: Dead End
At the rate things are going a super-cinematic crossover between the DCU and random franchises is probably not that crazy of an idea. Here, Batman is on the trail of The Joker which crosses paths with two other mortal enemies in a fight of their own.
Here’s a link to DC Entertainment on YouTube as thanks to Warner Brothers for not suing me for this article.
The ‘Arrow’ Version Of Suicide Squad Was Actually A Test Run For 2016 David Ayer Movie!
DC fans were confused when they saw some odd incarnation of the Suicide Squad on ‘Arrow‘ in season two. It seemed to be a weak attempt at bringing Task Force X together. While it did feature classic character like Bronze Tiger and Amanda Waller, the rest were none of the iconic characters we’ve come to associate with the Suicide Squad. Seems to make more sense now that ‘Arrow‘ producer Greg Berlanti confirmed DC used them as a test run.
“They said to us a year and a half before they started developing Suicide Squad, ‘Will you guys put [a version of] the Suicide Squad in your show? Because we want to have it as a film at some point.”
“It also happened with Geoff [Johns] when Geoff and Andrew [Kreisberg] and I were creating Flash. They were both really huge fans of Cisco Ramon, [also known as] Vibe, and had written a Vibe comic [in 2013] to try and bring him back. They said, ‘Could we please have Vibe on the show?'”
This also helps explain why DC made them kill off characters like Deadshot and Amanda Waller in ‘Arrow‘. And even more interesting to see how Cisco Ramon A.K.A Vibe was brought into the mix for ‘Flash‘.
In a recent interview with Variety, James Cameron revealed some new details about the plot of his upcoming sequel to the 2009 blockbuster Avatar. Cameron has previously stated that he plans to make four more films in the space saga, but has been wary of releasing any specific information about the flicks. However, during the interview Cameron said:
“The story line in the sequels really follows Jake and Neytiri and their children. It’s more of a family saga about the struggle with the humans.”
Avatar 2 sees Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington, and Sigourney Weaver return to the world of Pandora. It was originally slated for release this year, but was recently pushed to Christmas 2018.When asked whether they would be able to finish in time for their new date, Cameron said:
“We haven’t moved that target yet, but we will if we need to. The important thing for me is not when the first one comes out but the cadence of the release pattern.”
He then added that he would like to see the subsequent films released as closely together as possible by saying that:
“If it’s an annual appointment to show up at Christmas, I want to make sure that we’re able to fulfill on that promise.”
Beyond Avatar’s slated 2018 release, the future sequels have approximate releases in 2020, 2022, and 2023. However, that might change if Cameron really intends to release the films within one year of each other.
Rumors of Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Day-Lewis, the creative minds behind arguably the greatest film of the new millennium, There Will Be Blood, teaming up again began early in the summer. Now, Deadline confirms the project, and it’s coming out in 2017.
Happy Thursday!
According to the Deadline report, a bidding war broke out at TIFF over the project:
Universal and Focus Features won a worldwide rights auction for an untitled film that Paul Thomas Anderson wrote and will direct, re-teaming him with There Will Be Blood star Daniel Day-Lewis. Focus won the deal after a ferocious bidding battle with Fox Searchlight. The deal puts the lie to press reports speculating that buyer appetite has vanished going into Toronto.
The movie, as it was rumored back in June, will take place in the fashion world of London in the 1950s. There’s very little information other than this, and speculation that DDL will be playing a real person. All that really matters here is we get a new Paul Thomas Anderson film starring the greatest living actor, who was last seen in Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln way back in 2012.
Paul Thomas Anderson and Co. will start production early in 2017 with a release date some time late in the year, in the middle of Oscar season.
When discussing greatest directors of all time it is easy to get caught up in critical praise. It is a short path between a stacked award case and a director’s status in the history books. One of the most highly sought after statuettes is the Oscar. Handed out every year since 1929, the Academy Awards is easily the most distinguished trophy in the world of cinema. Simply being nominated puts you in exclusive company, but winning puts you in a league of your own.
That said, not every iconic director received that honor before they passed away. In this list we take a look at 10 of the best directors that never won an Academy Award before they died. We’re only looking at competitive wins, so we’re not counting honorary or lifetime achievement awards. Since a lot of directors write, produce, and do other tasks on their films, we are also excluding any directors that won in any category, whether that be special effects (Stanley Kubrick), music (Charlie Chaplin), or writing (Orson Welles). We are also excluding any directors that had their heyday before the Academy Awards started, such as many silent era directors (Buster Keaton).
10. Sam Peckinpah
Peckinpah’s work was often ignored by the Academy. While his output was a bit mixed in quality, he was capable of creating timeless classics. His 1971 thriller Straw Dogs still has an eerie feel to it, and his 1969 western The Wild Bunch gave new life to a struggling genre. The latter earned him his only Oscar nomination, a best writing nod he shared he with Walon Green and Roy Sickner.
9. Francois Truffaut
A man of many talents, this French writer/director earned three nominations; the first as best director for 1959’s The 400 Blows, the other two as best director and best screenplay for 1973’s Day for Night. While his earliest nomination was also the one most likely to earn him a win, his legacy has gone far beyond a single title. With films such as Shoot the Piano Player, Jules & Jim, and The Soft Skin, he has ensured his place in cinema history despite never lifting an Academy award.
8. Fritz Lang
While Lang’s most iconic film Metropolis saw the light of day two years before the Oscars began, this Austrian director had a long career well into the 1950’s. In addition to his landmark epic from 1927, Lang added to his legacy with films like M, Fury, and While the City Sleeps. Despite his storied filmography, Lang never received a single nomination before his death, nor has he received any honorary or lifetime achievement award following his passing.
7. Robert Altman
A giant of American cinema, this Kansas City native earned seven nominations before his death in 2006. After a long career in TV and documentary film making, he earned his first nomination as best director for M.A.S.H. in 1971. He went on to direct iconic flicks like Short Cuts, Nashville, Gosford Park, and The Player but never earned himself a fully fledged win.
6. Akira Kurosawa
This legendary Japanese director only earned one nomination throughout his career, a best director nod for 1985’s Ran. His earlier work was ignored by American award shows, yet when you look back at films like Seven Samurai, Rashomon, and Yojimbo it is amazing he never earned a mention earlier. It is likely politics played a big role in his exclusion from the proceedings, however another factor might be that the Academy were slow to recognize the brilliance of foreign directors, as seen with several of the other entries on this list.
5. Federico Fellini
It is said that practice makes perfect. If that is the case then this director likely learned how to deal with disappointment following his 12 loses at the Oscars. Receiving double digit nominations across nine films, this Italian director added several well respected entries to the annals of cinema. With films like 8 1/2, La Dolce Vita, and Amarcord, there is no shortage of celebrated material when it comes to this European treasure.
4. Ingmar Bergman
Looking back, it is surprising to see the man behind films like Cries & Whispers, The Seventh Seal, Persona, and Fanny & Alexander without an Oscar to his name. Despite earning a whopping nine nominations before his death in 2007, this Swedish director never won a competitive award. His dark Scandinavian films have amassed quite the following over the years, and while they triumphed in several other categories, Bergman himself never got a statuette.
3. Stanley Kramer
Like Ingmar Bergman, this New York native received nine nominations in his lifetime yet never won a competitive award. His work showed a fantastic range, as he delivered comedies such as It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, civil rights dramas like Inherit the Wind, and courtroom dramas like Judgement at Nuremberg. He shined a light at societal issue with films like Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, and The Defiant Ones, and proved himself to be a talented producer on films like High Noon.
2. Sidney Lumet
It is hard to oversell the influence Lumet has had on American cinema. He first made waves with his feature length debut 12 AngryMen, before truly marking his territory with Dog Day Afternoon, Serpico, Murder on the Orient Express, and Network. His work has a timeless feel to it, and the social commentary brought forth in films like Network is still eerily relevant to modern day society. He earned five nominations before his death in 2011.
1. Alfred Hitchcock
Most people would feel Hitchcock to be a safe bet as a director with an Oscar to his name. After all, this iconic director brought the world legendary movies on a conveyor belt during his heyday. The list is nearly endless, but includes classics like Psycho, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Rope, Strangers on a Train, The Birds, and Rear Window to name but a few. Yet, despite his perfect record, this British director had to settle for five nominations and no wins.
It looks like Matthew MCCnaughey might be gunning for some more awards with Gold, and I mean that as a compliment. The trailer for Gold, where Mcconaughey plays a balding loser who travels into the jungle to dig up some buried treasure.
Check out this awesome trailer, first released by Vulture:
As you can see there, Edgar Ramirez and Bryce Dallas Howard co star in Gold. But the main draw here is McConaughey, who looks to be in peak form. The bit where he’s touching the tiger is pretty damn funny.
Stephen Gaghan, whose writing credits include Traffic, Syriana, and The Alamo (whoops), directs.
Since winning Best Actor for Dallas Buyer’s Club, McConaughey has done True Detective and a handful of features, the worst being Gus Van Sant’s grating attempt at a human drama, Sea of Trees. That’s when Oscar attempts go horribly, wrong; this, on the other hand, looks like it has some serious legs. McConaughey looks terrific in that bald cap and he seems to be having fun while also throwing everything he has into the role. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
Gold opens on Christmas Day. With a title like Gold, the Oscar headlines sort of write themselves, don’t they?
From the team that brought you FABLES: THE WOLF AMONG US comes a new chapter of the FABLES legacy! In a post-Fables world where magic abounds, it can be wielded for the greater good or used to plant the seeds of anarchy and terrorism. The Shadow Players are a global network of agents—both Fable and mundane—tasked with policing a newly enchanted world and protecting humanity from itself. EVERAFTER features the return of series favorites Bo Peep, Peter Piper, Hansel, and Connor Wolf, as well as exciting new characters and a terrifying new villain! Written by FABLES: THE WOLF AMONG US veterans Matthew Sturges and Dave Justus with gorgeous art by Travis Moore (Fables: The Wolf Among Us, JLA All Stars), you won’t want to miss this series that FABLES creator Bill Willingham himself told us we had to get into your hands as quickly as possible!
Writing
This new series, which picks up after the intense finale of Fables #150, already had a lot of fans eager to see how the story would continue. Especially since the creator, Bill Willingham, stepped away to allow the new creative writing team of Dave Justus and Matthew Sturges to take over. Would these newbies be able to appease the legion of Fables followers out there? The answer to this question is an enthusiastic yes.
The first issue focuses on young Connor Wolf as he is brought into the Shadow Players while the rest of the team (Hansel, Bo Peep, and Peter Piper) are on mission and having to fight off zombies. The contrast between these two events is very entertaining and helps to set up what fans can expect in this new series. It’s a bit more action filled than previous stories involving these characters, but still it’s by no means a bad idea.
Artwork
The art for this issue was some of the best in recent memory. The details, such as when Peter takes damage in a fight or the intense final pages, are really worthy or praise. Artist Travis Moore really showed what he had to offer and it’s an impressive display.
Conclusion
While more action filled than previous incarnation of Fables, this book still brought some very familiar characters back and has a lot to offer the fans. Seeing beloved characters like Snow White and Bigby, even for simple cameos, is always a welcomed siht. This series is a defintte must-read for Fables fans.
Tom Holland loves his Instagram account and the young actor loves to share photos from the set of ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming.’ I guess if I were cast as Peter Parker I would be bragging about all the time on social media as well.
The latest photo depicts Peter Parker with his classmate Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon). It will be interesting to see what Ned’s role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is, as he becomes the Hobgoblin in the comic books and is awkwardly killed off.
About ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’
A young Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland), who made his sensational debut in ‘Captain America: Civil War,’ begins to navigate his newfound identity as the web-slinging superhero in ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming.’
Spider-Man will have his hands full in ‘Homecoming’ as it appears that he will have to deal with the Vulture, Tinkerer, and the Shocker in his first film in the MCU.
Jon Watts directs ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ starring Holland, Marisa Tomei as Aunt May, Robert Downey Jr., Michael Keaton, Zendaya, Donald Glover, Martin Starr, Angourie Rice and Hannibal Buress.
