Humor District

A director has finally been chosen to bring the Superman franchise back to the glory it knew in the days of Christopher Reeve. The last Superman movie, Superman Returns, wasn’t a bad movie. It just didn’t live up to the hype. Brandon  Routh was actually a pretty good Superman, Kate Bosworth was a terrible Lois Lane, and it was decided that the series needed a reboot rather than live on in the previous franchise’s shadow. The man chosen to direct the newest incarnation of the man of steel is Zack Snyder.

Zack Snyder is best known for directing Dawn of the Dead, 300, and Watchmen. He did a pretty good job with both of those movies, although Watchmen did draw some criticism. Some fans of the Watchmen series didn’t think Snyder put in enough stuff from the comic, while some casual moviegoers thought that he put in too much. Either way, he managed to make two films that were talked about and entertained audiences, so he is a safe bet to make a Superman reboot that will garner some attention. Zack Snyder isn’t the only positive sign for the Superman reboot though.

You have probably heard of the Christopher Nolan. He has been involved with some great movies, two of them based off of another famous DC comic book character, Batman. He is also the executive producer for the Superman reboot. The man knows his way around some comic book mythos, so expect him to lend a helping hand to Zack Snyder in developing a comic book movie everybody will enjoy.

There have been a lot of rumors swirling around the next installment in the Batman franchise. Both Johnny Depp and Eddie Murphy have been rumored to play the Riddler in the next movie, and even more oddly, Cher was rumored to be a candidate for Catwoman, and a Shia LeBeouf as Robin rumor was also floating around. Basically everybody with an internet connection and a friend of a cousin of a friend in the industry was posting ridiculous crap about the next Batman movie on message boards. We now have one fact amidst all these rumors, Christopher Nolan will be directing Batman 3.

Christopher Nolan did a great job directing Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, and proved alongside Iron Man that comic book movies could be serious and seriously fun. When asked by Empire if he would be directing Batman 3, Nolan replied: “If I haven’t announced it, I think that people probably all know at this point that I’m doing it.” It would just feel wrong at this point to have anybody other than Nolan directing it. A change of this magnitude would rival replacing Christian Bale as Batman. Fans have become as attached to Christopher Nolan’s directing as they have to Batman’s gravelly voice. Perhaps most importantly, Nolan said he is hard at work for the script with his brother, Jonathan Nolan. Hopefully we will be getting casting announcements and finding out which Batman villains will be in the next movie. I’m hoping for Bane.

Deadpool has become a very popular character amongst comic fans. When it was announced that Ryan Reynolds would be playing him in the X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie, fanboys everywhere lauded the genius casting decision. Reynolds has the six-pack abs and quick wit to perfectly match the merc with the mouth. Then everybody became depressed when the Wolverine version of Deadpool was lamer than your dad’s jokes. Marvel heard the outcry of the fans and announced that a Deadpool movie would be put into the works, hopefully redeeming the character from the previous monstrosity. Ryan Reynolds has been leading the charge for a Deadpool movie, and it has been widely accepted that he would return to lead Deadpool to redemption. Now it seems that he is setting everyone up for heartbreak.

Ryan Reynolds recently announced that he will have to choose between the leading role in Deadpool or the leading role in R.I.P.D. On the plus side for comic fans, whichever he chooses he will still be doing a comic book movie. R.I.P.D. is about undead police officers working together to find a murderer, so that still sounds pretty awesome if he decides to go that way. The biggest problem here is it seems that Ryan Reynolds has been the driving force behind moving a Deadpool movie forward, who knows what will happen if he backs off the project. Even if it does get made without him, many people will probably wonder what could have been if Reynolds chose Deadpool. He hasn’t made any official announcements yet, but I know a lot of Deadpool fans are crossing their fingers that he chooses regenerating, psychopathic mercenary over zombie cop with a taste for brains and vengeance.

The Rock has come a long way from the days he spent grappling with other large sweaty men while wearing a speedo and elbow pads, so far that nobody even calls him The Rock anymore. Now that he is a respected actor he goes by Dwayne Johnson. Dwayne Johnson has tried his hand at action films such as Doom, Walking Tall, and The Rundown. Being a former professional wrestler, he was a pretty good action star. It is fairly believable that a man of his stature could beat the crap out of other men. Then something changed.

Dwayne Johnson, the man known for kicking the asses of others, made the transition from action star to the leading man in kid’s movies. Now we see him in movies like The Game Plan, Race to Witch Mountain, and Tooth Fairy. For testosterone laden men like myself, this is a bit of a disappointment. Still, he has made quite a name for himself in Hollywood and looks as if he will continue his trend of starring in kid’s movies. His next project is the Journey to the Center of the Earth sequel, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. One thing that can be said for certain is that Dwayne Johnson will be better for action scenes than Brendan Fraser. I expect Journey 2 will do well, but personally I am looking forward to Protection more. Protection features Dwayne Johnson as an American Special Forces operative who goes up against a Mexican Cartel. That is the Dwayne Johnson I want to see!

There were many interesting panels at San Diego Comic Con this year, and as a result there is no shortage of movie news. One of the biggest releases was the trailer for Zack Snyder’s latest movie, Sucker Punch. Zack Snyder has become nerd royalty after directing 300 and Watchmen, so it is no surprise that fanboys everywhere squealed in delight upon the release of the Sucker Punch trailer. Sucker Punch follows a young girl who has been institutionalized by her step-father and spends her time planning her escape from the asylum and having crazy adventures in a fantasy world. Basically this movie promises to have a great mix of action, hot girls, and a touch of craziness to round things out. Unfortunately, the trailer shown at San Diego Comic Con is not the same as the newly released trailer. Those of us who didn’t make it to San Diego Comic Con only get to see a shorter version of the trailer released at the Con. Check out the first Sucker Punch trailer released to the public below.

The trailer doesn’t reveal too much about the plot of the movie, but man does it deliver on the action, hot girls, and craziness. There is even a freaking dragon. As a guy who enjoys hot girls, ass kicking, and the occasional dragon or two, I can definitively say that I will be going to see this movie. What is exciting about the trailer is how much action is shown without revealing what is going on. It has definitely piqued my curiosity. I can’t say with absolute confidence that Sucker Punch will be an amazing movie, but my Magic 8 Ball says it is highly likely.

The trailers for  the new Christopher Nolan movie Inception look pretty awesome, even if they don’t reveal a whole lot about the story other than it will be confusing. Leonardo DiCaprio plays some sort of dream detective and a bunch of dreams involve things blowing up or flipping upside down. That’s the basic plot as far as I can surmise. Luckily the producers of Inception and Yahoo! have realized that some of us would like to go into the movie with some understanding of this dream world, and have released a graphic novel on the Yahoo! website.

The Inception graphic novel is 34 pages long and features a great story that introduces us to some of the main characters. The story focuses on Leonardo DiCaprio’s character of Cobb and Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character of Arthur. Yahoo! has done a great job of formatting the online comic so it is easy to read. Add the fact that the art is good and the story is fantastic, you should definitely check this comic out if you are planning on seeing Inception. The best part is the comic is a prequel, introducing us to the main characters without revealing any spoilers from the movie. You can read the Yahoo! Inception comic here. Do it.

Chances are Inception will still make you do some brain gymnastics, even after reading the comic. Christopher Nolan doesn’t really do straightforward movies. After you have read the comic you can see Inception in theaters on July 16th. I would definitely recommend seeing the IMAX version.

Many people think of the San Diego Comic Con as that place where fat guys dress up as Batman and look at each other’s comic book collections. This is only partly true. The San Diego Comic Con has grown far larger than a simple gathering of comic book fans, and has also grown to include types of media other than comic books. One of the biggest parts of the San Diego Comic Con these days is movie previews. Comic book movies have grown very popular, so producers use the San Diego Comic Con as a way to promote their movies before release. This means we get to see sneak peeks of movies and get some extra details on the production process. Here are some of the movies that will be featured, or we at least hope will be featured, at the San Diego Comic Con.

Megamind

Megamind is the latest DreamWorks production. This movie will answer the often asked question of what happens if a villain kills his heroic nemesis. With a cast including Will Ferrell, Jonah Hill, and Brad Pitt, Megamind is looking like it will be quite the entertaining movie. The first day of Comic Con features a panel dedicated to Megamind so we can expect some sneak peeks to be released. Maybe we will also find out why they changed the name of the movie from Oobermind to Megamind after they had released promotional materials.

The Green Hornet

We recently showed The Green Hornet trailer on here, so we can expect there to be a lot more Green Hornet news at Comic Con. I am personally hoping they show off the car used in the movie, a 1966 Imperial nicknamed Black Beauty. Expect another trailer to be released at Comic Con, giving us a better look at how Seth Rogen will handle the hero role. The trailer looks promising, but Comic Con will give us a better idea of what to expect from this movie.

Thor

It is no secret that Marvel is putting out movies featuring major heroes in order to make the big Avengers movie in the future. The Thor movie has been somewhat overshadowed by the Captain America movie, but Comic Con is sure to take a look at both. Chris Hemsworth will be playing the role of Thor, and so far we have just seen one picture of him in costume and no trailer. Hopefully Comic Con will fix that and give us plenty of information on the Norse God of Thunder. I would also like to see some information on Chris Evans and the Captain America movie, such as if Chris Evans will be cracking his usual jokes in this movie. Maybe Marvel will also explain why they like actors named Chris so much, I might have to get a name change.

Salt

San Diego Comic Con isn’t just about comics anymore, and as a result many movie studios bring special sneak peeks of their movies to the convention. One movie that will be featured is Angelina Jolie’s action thriller Salt. It will be interesting to see the Russian spy angle discussed, especially considering the fact the United States just found some real life Russian spies. A case of life imitating art indeed. More importantly, Angelina Jolie still looks super hot.

Deadpool

I don’t know how much Deadpool will be discussed at Comic Con, especially considering the fact that the star of Deadpool, Ryan Reynolds, will be busy promoting his role as Green Lantern over on the DC side of things. It is hard to imagine this movie project not being brought up at some point considering the support given by fans and Ryan Reynolds himself. Hopefully a production schedule will be released at Comic Con, but there is definitely no guarantee on that.

The Expendables

Another non-comic movie that will be featured at Comic Con is The Expendables. I really want to see another trailer for this movie, because it will be three minutes of ass kicking. I don’t care what the plot is, a movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Jason Statham  is going to be awesome. This is definitely not going to be a movie for intellectuals, but it will be amazing nonetheless.

We here at HumorDistrict will definitely be keeping an eye on movie news coming from the San Diego Comic Con, so you can look forward to updates on all the movies discussed here and more.

Jude Law recently presented some good news in a recent interview, revealing that the Sherlock Holmes sequel will likely start shooting in October. Both Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr. were excellent as Watson and Holmes, and I am definitely looking to their on screen banter returning. The fact that this movie is being put on the fast track is actually more exciting than worrying for once.

Many times that a popular movie is put on the fast track, quality is sacrificed to quickly put out a new movie that many people are going to buy tickets for. I don’t think that will be the case with the Sherlock Holmes sequel for several reasons. First off, Guy Ritchie has a history of putting out very entertaining movies. From Snatch to RocknRolla, it seems like Ritchie doesn’t know how to do anything but put out good movies. Another reason the fast track process is not worrying is that the story is not as important. This might come as somewhat of a surprise saying the story isn’t what makes Sherlock Holmes. Even in the first movie, the story itself really wasn’t that great. It was enjoyable, but what made the movie so good was the interaction between Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. Those two play off of each other so well that they really do make the movies themselves.

With that said, I am extremely confident that Guy Ritchie will make sure the story is decent, and Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law will remain as entertaining as ever. With shooting starting in October, expect the next installment of the Sherlock Holmes franchise to come out in 2011. I would also be surprised if this was the last mystery we saw Sherlock Holmes and Watson tackle.

I wrote Sunday about the new Twitter campaign to get Donald Glover an audition for the role of Spider-Man. Unlike many internet campaigns, the Donald Glover for Spider-Man movement appears to be getting stronger. Articles have been written on the subject by such illustrious companies as GQ and the Washington Post, and some notable celebrities have also stated their support. Among those celebrities are Craig Ferguson and, more importantly, Brian Michael Bendis. Bendis is the writer of the Ultimate Spider-Man series, which the new Spider-Man is said to be based off of. If Bendis supports the casting choice that speaks volumes about Glover’s chances.

With the possibility of Donald Glover becoming the next Spider-Man, we have to look at the possibility of some other central characters being recast as well. Since the new Spider-Man movie would be a reboot, there would need to be a new Aunt May and Uncle Ben, who would most likely have to be black. Would Morgan Freeman be open to the idea of playing Uncle Ben? Who would be a good Aunt May? Would other characters like Mary Jane stay white, become black, or become another race entirely? The possibility of Donald Glover playing Spider-Man opens up many more questions, but for now let’s just enjoy the ride and see how far this Twitter campaign can go. I do firmly believe that Morgan Freeman is the best man for Uncle Ben, though.

There has been a recent movement on Twitter to cast Donald Glover as the next Spider-Man. Glover is best known for his role as Troy on NBC’s Community, and for his sketch comedy group Derrick Comedy. It appears that one of the driving forces behind Donald Glover’s nomination for the Spider-Man role is that people want a black Spider-Man. Personally, I think Donald Glover would be great, but for a different reason.

First off, a black Spider-Man would be pretty awesome, especially if he teamed up with Luke Cage. More specifically, a Donald Glover Spider-Man would be awesome, because he fits the role so well. Anybody who has seen his sketch comedy performances knows that Donald Glover often plays the socially awkward guy with a touch of nerd. There we have the Peter Parker side. Donald Glover also has enough muscle definition to play the star quarterback on Community. Here we have solved the dilemma of having a character who not only has a nerdy side, but a side that can punch clear through your chest cavity. We only had one of those sides with Tobey Maguire. Most importantly, Donald Glover can recapture the humor of Spider-Man. Spider-Man used to be known for his witty one-liners in the heat of battle. It is his humorous personality that makes him so lovable. Tobey Maguire never showed that side of Spider-Man, preferring to go for the emo dance routine version. I firmly believe Donald Glover can bring that funny side of Spider-Man back. If you have seen any of his work I am sure you will agree. Not every comic book character needs to be moody and have a voice that sounds like a poorly maintained gravel driveway like Batman. That is why I plan on fully supporting the #donald4spiderman movement on Twitter. Let’s see what Donald Glover can do.