Sunday, July 21, 2013

Marvel Studios Begins Production on Guardians of the Galaxy

“Guardians of the Galaxy,” the next epic adventure from Marvel Studios has started shooting at the UK’s Shepperton Studios.  Directed by James Gunn (“Slither,” “Super”) from his screenplay, with a story by Nicole Perlman and Gunn, the film will introduce audiences to a whole new side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  The all-star cast includes Chris Pratt (“Zero Dark Thirty”, “Moneyball”) as Peter Quill aka Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana (“Star Trek Into Darkness”, “Avatar”) as Gamora, Dave Bautista (“Riddick”) as Drax the Destroyer, Lee Pace (“The Hobbit,” “Lincoln”) as Ronan the Accuser, Michael Rooker (AMC’s “The Walking Dead”) as Yondu, Karen Gillan (BBC TV’s “Doctor Who”) as Nebula, two-time Academy Award nominee Djimon Hounsou (“Amistad”, “Gladiator”) as Korath, with Academy Award® winner Benicio del Toro (“Traffic”) as The Collector,  Academy Award nominee John C. Reilly (“Chicago”) as Rhomann Dey, and six-time Academy Award nominee Glenn Close (“Albert Nobbs,” “Fatal Attraction”) as Nova Prime. Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” is slated for an August 1, 2014 release in the U.S.
Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige is producing the film.  The executive producers are Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Jeremy Latcham, Alan Fine and Stan Lee; the co-producer is Nik Korda.
The creative team includes director of photography Ben Davis, BSC (“Wrath of the Titans”, “Kick-Ass”), production designer Charles Wood (“Thor: The Dark World”), BAFTA-nominated Editor Fred Raskin (“Django Unchained,” “Fast Five”) and Academy Award-winning editor Hughes Winborne, A.C.E. (“The Help,” “Crash”), and Academy Award winning costume designer Alexandra Byrne (“Marvel’s The Avengers,” “Elizabeth The Golden Age”).  The film will also shoot at Longcross Studios, and locations in and around London.
Marvel Studios’ last two releases were “Marvel’s The Avengers” and “Iron Man 3,” which are the #3 and #5 highest grossing films of all time and the two highest-grossing films ever released by the Walt Disney Company.  The two films are the #1 and #2 all-time domestic 3-day weekend box office record holders at $207.4 million and $174.1 million respectively.  The studio’s upcoming release schedule includes “Thor: The Dark World” on November 8, 2013, and “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” on April 4, 2014.


More on Marvel.com: http://marvel.com/news/story/20914/marvel_studios_begins_production_on_guardians_of_the_galaxy#ixzz2Zk4uGhoS

Friday, July 19, 2013

Celebrate a New Year with the Young Avengers

Celebrate a New Year with the Young Avengers

Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie welcome an all-star team of creators for the Young
Avengers after party!

YOUNG AVENGERS says goodbye to 2013 in December and welcomes a new year in January, 2014 with Becky Cloonan, Ming Doyle, Joe Quinones, Emma Vieceli, Christian Ward and more join Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie for the celebration! Check back tomorrow for more details.
Can’t make it to the convention? Follow along with our liveblogs and on Facebook. And don't forget Marvel's SDCC News Hub, the Marvel Events App & events.marvel.com, the best way to get exclusive videos, real-time announcements from the convention floor and up-to-the-minute panel, in-booth and signing schedules of all your favorite Marvel creators!

The Wolverine (2013)

The Wolverine is an upcoming American-Australian superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Wolverine. It is intended to be the sixth installment in the X-Men film series and follows the events of X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). Hugh Jackman reprises his role from previous films as the title character, with James Mangold directing a screenplay written by Christopher McQuarrie, Scott Frank, and Mark Bomback, based on the 1982 limited series Wolverine by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller.
McQuarrie was hired to write a screenplay for The Wolverine in August 2009. In October 2010, Darren Aronofsky was hired to direct the film. The project was delayed following Aronofsky's departure and the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. In June 2011, Mangold was brought on board to replace Aronofsky and Bomback was hired to rewrite the screenplay in September 2011. The supporting characters were cast in July 2012 with principal photography beginning at the end of the month in New South Wales before moving to Tokyo in August 2012 and back to New South Wales in October 2012. The film was converted to 3D in post-production.
The Wolverine is scheduled to be released on July 24, 2013 in various international markets; July 25, 2013 in Australia; and on July 26, 2013 in the United States.

Premise

Sometime after the events of X-Men: The Last Stand, Logan travels to Japan, where he engages an old acquaintance in a struggle that has lasting consequences.Stripped of his immortality, Wolverine must battle deadly samurai as well as his inner demons.

Cast

Hugh Jackman as Logan / Wolverine: a mutant and member of the X-Men. Jackman, who portrayed the character in the previous X-Men films, also produced the film via his company Seed Productions. Regarding Logan's struggle with immortality, Jackman said, "He realizes everyone he loves dies, and his whole life is full of pain. So it's better that he just escapes. He can't die really. He just wants to get away from everything."Jackman stated that he ate six meals a day in preparation for the role. Jackman contacted Dwayne Johnson for some tips on bulking up for the movie. Johnson suggested that for six months, he gain a pound a week, by eating 6,000 calories a day which consisted of "an awful lot of chicken, steak and brown rice".

Hiroyuki Sanada as Shingen Yashida: a character created by Claremont and Miller, who is a Yakuza crime boss and antagonist to Wolverine.
Hal Yamanouchi as Yashida, the head of the Yashida clan to which Shingen belongs.
Tao Okamoto as Mariko Yashida: the daughter of Shingen, who is torn between her love for Logan and her duty to her father. Logan is hired to protect Mariko as she becomes threatened by a gangland war between law enforcement and the Yakuza.About her character, Okamoto said that Mariko is no pushover and is proficient in karate and knife-throwing.
Rila Fukushima as Yukio: one of the deadliest assassins in Shingen’s clan.Fukushima said, "My character's very physical. Yukio and Wolverine have a lot in common. She really takes care of him and he also cares about her." Mangold described Yukio as a lethal fighter who is "both sexy and almost kind of sprung from the anime world."
Will Yun Lee as Kenuichio Harada / Silver Samurai: the illegitimate son of Shingen, who possesses the ability to charge his katanawith "tachyon energy", which can then cut through almost anything. Lee said that he underwent rigorous sword training for the film.
Brian Tee as Noburo Mori: a corrupt minister of justice who is about to marry Mariko.
Svetlana Khodchenkova as Viper: a mutant, who has an immunity to toxins.About her character, Khodchenkova said "Viper doesn't really have many people that she cares about, most of them she just uses for her own purpose." Mangold said, "as her name would imply, she's kind of snakelike," and that Viper views Logan "like a great hunter might view hunting a lion in his quarry."
Additionally, Famke Janssen reprises her role as Jean Grey from previous films. Jackman said, "There’s no doubt that the most important relationship in his life is—we’ve seen through the movies—is his relationship with Jean Grey. Yes, we saw her die at the end of X-Men: The Last Stand, but in this movie, she has a presence which I think is vital to the movie, particularly for him confronting the most difficult thing within himself."