And it’s even wearing black!
According to Brit film site HeyUGuys, the fast-food delight dreamed up by French chain Quick is timed to coincide with the 3d rerelease of “Phantom Menace.”
“This lovely image promoting the delightful treats tells us the burgers will be available until March 1st so if you’re in France and read this, please send us a photo of you eating one,” the site pleads.
Leave it to the French. Guess we’re lucky it wasn’t wearing a turtleneck and reading a Sartre …
The Wrap reports this morning that “War Horse” actor Benedict Cumberbatch has signed on to play a lead role in the continuing voyages of the starship Enterprise:
“A spokesperson for Paramount would not confirm which role Cumberbatch will play.
In addition to “War Horse,” Cumberbatch’s resume includes “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” and “Atonement.” He is also voicing multiple characters in “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.”
Read the full story here.
Empire reports that the actress will play Mary Guibert, the mother of the cult folk-pop singer, who died in 1997.
Here’s the nut graf;
“The film, which according to whatever source you believe is either untitled or called Mystery White Boy, will follow Buckley’s life and cruelly short career from his early musical days and his mother’s encouragement to his tragic death at 30 in 1997.
[Director Jake] Scott has the advantage over fellow Buckley biopic-makers (competing project Greetings From Tim Buckley has Penn Badgley up as Jeff), as he’s not only got the blessing of the real Mary Guibert, but also access to Buckley Jr’s music and personal archives, including key permission to use the now legendary version of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. Arquette’s presence will mark her second time working with a Scott after appearing in 1993 True Romance for Jake’s Uncle Tony.”
Read the full story here.
Here’s Buckley performing “Hallelujah.”
Here’s a little something to keep the fanboys (and girls) going. Sony has released new stills of stars Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) and Emma Stone (Gwen Stacy).
Here’s Garfield:
And here’s Stone:
(h/t ComicBookMovie)
Are you ready for Taylor Swift as Eponine?
SlashFilm reports this morning that the country-pop star has been offered the plum role in director Tom Hopper’s bigscreen adaptation of the well-loved Broadway musical.
Actress Amanda Seyfried, who’s starring in the upcoming Linda Lovelace biopic, has been offered the role of Cosette, SlashFilm reports. She has musical experience with the Abba-themed “Mamma Mia” film from a couple of years back.
If they sign, the two actresses would join an ensemble cast that also includes Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen,Aaron Tveit, and Eddie Redmayne. The musical is due out next winter.
In October, I reported that Anne Hathaway had been signed to play Fantine in the musical adaptation of Victor Hugo’s tale of Revolutionary-era France.
From IO9, here’s some crazy new promo art from the Joss Whedon-directed superteam flick. It hits theaters in May.
Courtesy of IO9, here’s a few more new promo shots from the upcoming “Hunger Games.”
Jennifer Lawrence stars.
Whenever I think about the box office problems that faced Hollywood in 2011, I’m always reminded of the author P.J. O’Rourke.
In his 1987 book “Holidays in Hell,” a collection of O’Rourke’s foreign reporting for Rolling Stone and other outlets, the author recounts a conversation with a Russian about the problems facing the former Soviet Union.
Those issues, the wit tells O’Rourke are “fatal, but not serious.”
Writing in The Wrap today, Sharon Waxman offers five remedies for filmdom’s current doldrums. But there’s not reason for optimism. I’ve written a couple of times of why that’s the case (hint: rhymes with ‘endless reboots.’).
She notes the industry has “lived through a decade of declining movie attendance – seven of the last nine year have represented falling attendance or, at best, flat attendance (see box, left, sourced to Boxofficemojo.com). The 3D bonanza, adopted last year by A-list directors Martin Scorsese (“Hugo”) and Steven Spielberg (“Tintin”) hasn’t translated into robust box office sales. We know that technology has decimated the DVD money gusher.”
And when she asked one expert whether things will get better, she got this answer in return:
“It’s not cyclical. This is a technological shift on a generational scale, and the long term technology is distribution on the web—and that’s not 10 years, that’s forever,” said the respected financial analyst Hal Vogel, who declared that the business “will never be the same again.”
To address the slide, Waxman offers a couple of thunderously obvious prescriptions (tell better stories, don’t forget the grown-ups) and one less obvious one:
“Explore the overseas markets beyond movie-saturated India and quota-bound China. Other markets are ripe for exploitation, countries with a middle class that is growing exponentially and eager to discover the pleasures of consumer society. We’re talking Brazil, Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia.”
And, oh yeah, don’t loathe high-tech, embrace it: “. So you didn’t buy a new media monster? Get used to working with the digital masters who move the needle in our brave new world. They will eventually bring Hollywood major revenue, even if it won’t match the billions lost from DVDs.”
Read the full story here.
Looks like “Dark Knight Rises” director Christopher Nolan is heeding the complaints of theatergoers who said the voice of villain Bane (who wears a full-face mask) was unintelligible during the teaser prologue shown before iMax screenings of the new “Mission Impossible” movie.
Via ComicBook Movie:
“Just a couple a weeks ago Nolan told THR that he had no plans to rework the sound mix. Any chances to Bane’s voice would be minimal, even though many fans such as myself has a very difficult time understanding whatever the hell Bane was saying. I mean Batman growling is tough enough, but to hear Tom Hardy’s gentiled Darth Vader like voice is nearly impossible to decipher at times.
The source for Collider has good news, so don’t fret. He says the quality of Bane’s dialogue is clearer by as much as 40% to 50%. Which sounds like Nolan has made some major corrections. The source goes on to say, “because he’s no longer being overpowered by the background noise that drowned him out before.”
Here’s a report on the voice problems the prologue trailer:
Via TotalFilm:
“It seems that the film’s UK distributors, Entertainment Films, aren’t convinced by the merits of another 3D phallus popping out at British audiences, and have instead pencilled in a DVD release on 19 March 2012.
To our minds, this seems a slightly bemusing move, particularly since the first film performed respectably at the box office and even won over some of the grumpiest critics with its deliriously OTT sense of fun.”
The magazine goes on to the note that, for U.S. fans, the sequel will get a proper theatrical release:
“It became clear very early on that our goals were not realistic because we needed sun, water slides, and bikini-clad coeds,” says [writer Patrick] Melton, “three things not very prevalent in the United States during the months of January and February.”
Here’s the teaser trailer (added bonus! David Hasselhoff!):
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