All the News that's fit to type

Hello, and welcome to RA's news update. Lots of new things happening here. I'd like to extend a welcome to our newest writer, my kid brother Michael. Unlike myself, Michael is actually studying film, so instead of some random baseless opinions, you will be getting college educated baseless opinions. Much more desirable.

And now... the news.

News: Irishcentral.com has recently reported that bad boy Colin Farrell is Paramount Pictures' first choice to play rocker Ozzy Osborne in an upcoming biopic. LINK
RA's Take: As the article points out, Mr. Farrell is more than capable of passing for crazy. Portraying the bat-eating lead singer of Black Sabbath is just the next logical step. I, for one, am rooting for Farrell to get the part.


News: Collider has posted a Steve Carell press conference where he talks about voice-acting, the new animated film, Despicable Me, and his impending departure from The Office. LINK
RA's Take: The biggest news here is obviously The Office and when Carell removes Michael Scott from the equation, it's hard to imagine the show being nearly as good. I must confess however, to being within the group that thinks the show stopped being great a while ago and should take this a sign to call it quits.


News: Contrary to previous RA reports, it appears Andrew Garfield will be playing Peter Parker in the new Spider-Man reboot. Here is a rumor that Garfield will only make $500,000 dollars for the film. For comparison, Tobey Maguire made $4 million for  the 2002 version. LINK
RA's Take: While that certainly appears to be a low amount, the movie is rumored to have a fairly small budget, and Garfield is no Maguire. Garfield has appeared in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, and will be in the upcoming Facebook movie, The Social Network, but Spider-Man will make him a star if all goes to plan. Hence his acceptance of the low price tag.


News: We have here a link to an interview with Sir Ian McKellen discussing acting in the theater, and more importantly, the likelihood of playing Gandalf the Grey in The Hobbit. He is not under contract, and is not willing to wait endlessly for the film's numerous other delays to sort themselves out. He is not gone for sure, but the situation seems precarious. LINK
RA's Take: It is hard to blame McKellen for wanting to pursue other avenues for his career, but this announcement still comes at a bad time for a project that has been wracked with difficulties. I really hope that Peter Jackson can step in and sort this all out, but that appears to be increasingly less likely. I just can't picture anyone else playing Gandalf.

News: Cinematical has just published a long and in-depth review of Inception. This is probably the most anticipated film of the summer as director Christopher Nolan releases his first movie since the record-breaking, The Dark Night. LINK
RA's Take: Nolan is on a hot streak, and the rave reviews Inception is getting would seem to indicate he doesn't plan on slowing down anytime soon. I can not wait to see this movie.

News Hour with Routinely Average

Here are some news stories about whats going on in the movie business, accompanied by RA's take.

News: The notorious Tom Cruise might be reprising his wildly popular role as Les Grossman, the foul-mouthed movie exec from the 2008 comedy Tropic Thunder, in a spin-off movie with Grossman as the main character. He also recently made an appearance as Grossman at the MTV movie awards where he performed a dance number with J. Lo. LINK
RA's Take: I'm not usually a big fan of spin-offs, but Cruise was hysterical in Tropic Thunder. Some smart writing, and maybe Ben Stiller back to direct could lead to very funny things. Plus its nice to see Tom back in the spotlight in a positive way.

News: It sounds like Sony has settled on Jamie Bell as the new Peter Parker for the upcoming Spider Man reboot. Cinematical looks at how appropriate the choice is. LINK
RA's Take: I don't really get why we need a reboot anyway considering we just finished a trilogy with a significantly more popular actor in Tobey Maguire. Cinematical raises some interesting points though, and who knows. I try not to write off a project before it has even begun filming.

News: Guillermo Del Toro is no longer directing The Hobbit. The director of Pan's Labyrinth seemed to be the perfect fit to bring the world of Middle-Earth to life in his own distinct way. Apparently filming delays and uncertainty surrounding the financial side of the movie were too much for Del Toro. LINK
RA's Take: I was truly excited about a Del Toro version of The Hobbit and it seems that this troubled production might never get made. MGM's financial woes, combined with the difficulty of finding a new director to not only step in so late, but also be up to the task artistically seem like they might be insurmountable obstacles. Very disappointing news.

News: Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl's new comedy, Killers gets panned by critics once they were finally able to see it. LINK
RA's Take: Not all the surprising. It looked crappy, and then gave the figurative finger to movie critics everywhere. Can't imagine Lionsgate execs are shocked.

News: The annual actresses under 30 power rankings by lovefilm.com were just released with some surprising entries. LINK
RA's Take: It's not that the usual suspects aren't on there, but many of them are much lower than expected as a new group of young women have burst onto the scene in the past year.

News: Since we are getting so close to the World Cup, here is an interesting LA Times article for you about why there is no definitive Hollywood soccer movie. LINK
RA's Take: I love soccer, and have often lamented the lack of a major soccer movie. Maybe one is coming down the pike as soccer (or should I say football) continues to increase in popularity in the US.