There may not be many of you out there, but considering the success of the first Avatar movie there must be at least a few people who are looking forward to James Cameron’s promised sequels.  Though the first was, in my humble opinion, a shallow pile of crap with little plot, a terrible script, mediocre acting and action scenes that were about as cliché as they come, it did make tons of cash.  And Cameron has some sort of hard-on for making more, so they will be coming.  But how’s the schedule going with that, you ask?  Check out what Avatar and Star Trek alumni Zoe Saldana had to say about it below.

In an interview with MTV, Zoe had some things to say about director James Cameron and how his progress is going:

I know that he’s sort of been removing himself from things that might distract him so that he can focus on doing the final tweaks on the scripts. He did share that he’s in a very interesting and fragile place, because the story is dictating itself.
You walk a fine line when you’re the creator of the story you’re going to tell, of the manipulation that you may have unconsciously of the story and the characters versus allowing the story to unfold it, because you did create such a monumental and solid platform that they’re just living and breathing organisms and they’re the ones that need to make their own decisions. I’m geek talking right now, but that’s how intense it affects me and how I feel about amazing storytellers like James Cameron, like J.J. Abrams. They create things that are real out of unimaginable scenarios, and that is beautiful to me.

That was an amazingly insightful response from Saldana, especially considering the not-insightful nature of Avatar.  Thumbs up to you Zoe and may your future hold projects more worthy of your brains and talent.

Currently, Avatar 2 and 3 are scheduled to begin shooting sometime early next year and the first sequel has a tentative release date of late 2014.

Thanks to ComingSoon for the heads-up.

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Since no one can wait another 5 weeks until Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel finally hits the big screen, the folks at marketing have decided to ply us with more footage.  You may feel like you already know half the story considering all the trailers, TV spots, pictures and spoilers that have been circulating the great landscape of the Internet, but if not then check out some more.  Here is the latest UK TV spot for Man of Steel, complete with multiple explosions and 50% more epicness:

Feel free to check out the actual film in its entirety when it releases on June 14th.

Thanks to collider for the heads-up.

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Okay, so yeah, no real apes are featured. All you’re really seeing are a bunch of actors in mo-cap suits. But! One of those actors in Andy Serkis, who’ll be reprising his role of Caesar in the Rise of the Planet of the Apes sequel, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. And, he’s on a horse. A what? A HORSE! Guys, we’ve got apes on horses coming our way!

(click it to embiggen)

The image was shared via director Matt Reeves‘ Twitter and as you can signals we’re in for a very different world in Dawn. And it’s also got me wondering, how awkward these apes will appear on horses? Hopefully the animators have a plan to straighten that out.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes will star Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Toby Kebbell, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Enrique Murciano, Kirk Acevedo, and Judy Greer.

A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier. They reach a fragile peace, but it proves short-lived, as both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth’s dominant species.

What has this picture got you thinking? I mean, come on, apes on horses is pretty damn cool.

Source: io9

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A recent Deadline article floated the possibility that Robert Downey Jr. may not be the only person getting a big payday from the upcoming The Avengers 2. Writer/director Joss Whedon, whom many credit at least a portion of the film’s success too, is supposedly going to make somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 million for the project. Not bad for the man that used to make his bread and butter at the WB.

But not so fast, says Whedon, I’m rich, but I’m not that rich. He went on his blog, Whedonesque, to explain:

Hi guys.

I was going to let it slide, but I’ve got this sour taste in my mouth. (Mmmm, lemonade!). Some facts are not facts. I’m not going to go into the whole thing, but jeepers, I’m not getting $100 mil on Avengers 2. If I were, I would come on this site and laugh and laugh and laugh. I’m not making Downey money. I’m making A LOT, which is exciting. I’m not pretending to be a poor farmer, an Everyman, an ANYman. But that number is nuts. A few other things about me that have been “reported” that people should take with a grain of salt:

That I throw wild Hollywood parties where everyone is naked and dancing and wild and I remember to serve enough snacks.

That I can get a movie greenlit by sighing and staring into the middle distance.

That I ate a unicorn and made it winter for three years.

That I “can write.”

Well, that’s a load off. Sorry to get so personal — the whole thing’s a bit tawdry. But honestly, it bugged me. I’m off for a nice juicy steak. There’s a place downtown that does it with rosemary butter, it tastes just like unico — like a steak.

BYE-ee! J.

Now you’ll notice that Whedon clarified that he’s not “getting $100 mil on Avengers 2,” when in actuality Deadline reported that Whedon’s services for that pay check included writing and directing Avengers 2, consulting on the wide field of Marvel movie projects, and developing and executive producing the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. series for ABC. That’s still a lot of scratch, but if it’s more multiple projects over three years, then it seems to make (a little) more sense. Either way, Whedon’s a rich man who even FOX would be hard pressed to treat like $#!% anymore. Way to go, Joss!

Source: Screen Rant

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With The Avengers 2 still two years out, rumors of just who’ll be joining the team in the sequel are already everywhere. It’s all but confirmed Scarlet Witch and her twin, Quicksilver are joining The Avengers, with Joss Whedon hinting he was writing a brother-sister team into the script. And while Kevin Feige didn’t confirm that duo would be Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, he didn’t deny anything either.

Now, Super Hero Hype is hearing murmurings Marvel already has an actress in mind for Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch. They report,

Although Joss is still writing and probably not ready to send anything out to actors, for the two roles, they’re generally looking for actors in their 20s and we’ve heard word that the “prototype” for their Scarlet Witch is none other than Irish actress Saoirse Ronan. Except something to note is that they’re going “British” for the role rather than trying to have actors playing Eastern Europeans.

Ah yes, the grand Hollywood tradition of casting British actors anytime you need someone foreign. Just look at Sir Ben Kingsley, the man’s made quite the impressive career playing non-whites. Anyway, the mention of Saoirse Ronan is hinting more towards what type of actress they have in mind, rather than seeking her directly.

Still, I like how they’re thinking and I believe an actress like Ronan would be a good choice. Sure, it’d be nice if they actually sought out an Eastern European actress for the role, but I know not to get my hopes up. What do you think of the direction they’re taking with the role?

Source: CBM

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The recent announcement that there was another Dungeons & Dragons movie in the works at Warner Bros was met with the usual enthusiasm by fans for the RPG franchise, but it seems that the usual Hollywood complications may be interfering with just how soon we see a finished film.

Confused yet? Well so is Hasbro. The toy company is claiming that they own the rights to any Dungeons & Dragons film since they bought D&D developers Wizards Of The Coast several years back. Hasbro, it turn, has a development deal with Universal Pictures, with whom they produced last year’s Battleship, also based on Hasbro-owned property. “Hasbro owns the intellectual property rights to Dungeons & Dragons, period, because of Hasbro’s acquisition of Wizards Of The Coast in 1998,” said Wayne Charness, a spokesperson for Hasbro.

However, Warner Bros. asserts that Courtney Solomon, director of the 2000 bomb called Dungeons & Dragons still has the rights to develop a D&D film, which he’s now doing at Warners as a producer with David Lee Johnson (Wrath of the Titans) now penning the screenplay. Meanwhile, Universal has producer Chris Morgan (five out of the six Fast & Furious movies) guiding its own adaptation of D&D.

This has all the makings of another Spider-Man or Hobbit years long legal battle over who owns the rights to what. I guess the point is don’t hold your breath for a new D&D movie for sometime in the near future.

More news as it develops.

Source: Blastr

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Alfonso Cuaron first came to our attention with the dystopian future film Children of Men. Now he’s got another Sci-Fi movie coming to the big screen, Gravity, starring the man himself, George Clooney. It’s definitely going to be one of the best Sci-Fi date movies for those of us nerds dating the not so nerdy this summer.

The story: Two astronauts (Sandra Bullock and George Clooney) become stranded on a damaged space station with no ability to communicate with Earth. How will they manage to survive? In the trailer we get to see the accident unfold in a breathtakingly beautiful sequence which leaves the two astronauts struggling to survive in space.

The cinematography is incredible, Cuaron is known for his long uninterrupted shots and Gravity is said to have a seventeen minute long opening shot that will blow us all away.

This trailer has me sold on buying a theater ticket. What do you think?

Gravity will hit theaters on October 4, 2013.

Via: Bleedingcool

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In case you have been worried about that fact that those in China got to see a longer version of Iron Man 3 than you, put those cares to rest.  As it turns out, the execs in charge have decided that we in the West shall also be graced with the extra footage, albeit sometime in the vague future.  They’re taking the cut scenes from the Chinese Iron Man 3 and putting them together in a short film.  And – bonus! – they’ll be putting in some other cut footage as well, footage that not even China has been witness to.

Tentatively titled The Prologue, this short film is supposed to show some more back-story for Dr. Wu along with all the other stuff that didn’t make the cut.  From what I’ve heard, it’s mostly forgettable, though you never know what other footage they might find lying around that they’ll cram into the film at the last minute to make it even cooler.  So cross your fingers.

Unfortunately, there’s no word on the how and when of it.  So we may all end up having to wait for a Blu-ray release to see any of it.  Whatta scam, you greedy bastards!

Thanks to GeekTyrant for the heads-up.

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After much internal struggle, I have decided to come clean with all of our loyal Nerd Readers.  We here at Nerd Bastards are secretly aligned with Michael Bay and have dedicated our souls to helping him destroy both your mind and childhood via spreading the disease that is the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film.  In what we and Bay refer to as “Stage 4”, we’re circulating some more TMNT set pics.  This time around, you can see the actors who play the titular turtles all gussied up in their motion-capture suits, along with what appear to be a few of Shredder’s Foot Soldiers.  Check it all out below.

And now, you will forget everything I have said while still retaining those images in your mind.  Continue your life as normal and don’t forget to buy tickets to Michael Bay’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles when it arrives on June 6^th, 2014.

Thanks to /film for the heads-up.

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Ever since filming began, Bryan Singer has been hard at work tweeting pictures of his new X-Men: Days of Future Past.  We’ve been graced with pictures of all sorts of folks thus far, though a few still remain.  Earlier today we here at Nerd Bastards sent you a pic of Hugh Jackman looking a little bit disheveled.  Now, here’s one more pic, this time of young Professor X, AKA James McAvoy.

Seems like they got him all dressed up like a reject from a 90s grunge band.  Either that or the singer of a successful modern-day indie band.  But whatever…  Stay tuned for even more pics as we feed them to you.

Thanks to ComicBookMovie for the heads-up.

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