News from the Rumor Mill: Fishburne Joins “Man of Steel”, Green Lantern 2, Francis Ford Coppola’s Avant-Garde New Film

I’m finally able to carve out some time to write about the rumor mill. Most of this stuff isn’t rumor anymore though:

Laurence Fishburne Will Play Perry White in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel

I have to say, I didn’t see this one coming, but Deadline and other sources are reporting that Laurence Fishburne just landed the part of Daily Planet editor, Perry White in Zack Snyder’s production-plagued Superman film, Man of Steel. For obvious reasons, I don’t think a lot of people would’ve predicted this, but I think it is a good change. I think Fishburne will provide a welcome change to the character for the film, not that Perry White usually plays a big role in Superman’s stories, but he will be a strong and recognizable screen presence that I’ll look forward to seeing.

The sad thing is that I can see Snyder making Perry White look like this.

He joins a well rounded cast that already has a relative newcomer, Henry Cavill, playing Superman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent, Russell Crowe as Jor-El, and Christopher Meloni in a TBD role.

Speaking of Zack Snyder:

Zack Snyder Will Direct  The Last Photograph

Last summer, there was some buzz about Zack Snyder working with Christian Bale on an original project entitled The Last Photograph. All that seems to be known about the plot is that it is a drama set in “war-torn Afghanistan” and involves two journalists travelling there due to something they saw in a photograph. Sean Penn is rumored to be playing the other lead role.

Originally, Niel Arden Oplev, who directed the Swedish version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, was set to take over as director. Snyder was going to act as co-writer and producer, but was going to let someone else take the reins behind the camera. Now, Snyder is apparently taking over because Oplev is stepping away from the project for unknown reasons.

My opinion of Snyder is based on his earlier works such as Dawn of the Dead, 300 and Watchmen. I haven’t seen Legend of the Guardians or Sucker Punch (although that one is in my Netflix Queue), but from what I hear they were marking a downward trend for him. From what I’ve seen, I like him as a director and I think it is admirable that he is trying to shift away from adaptations and remakes and work on more original projects as well. However, I am kind of waiting to see Man of Steel, which could be the deciding factor of whether I get excited about this or not, although I’m sure this will be a completely different style than his typical comic book movie.

Green Lantern 2 is Given the Green Light

The rumors about Green Lantern 2 have been bouncing around even before the film came out. It was surprising that as badly as the film tanked at the box office, and with fans and critics, that they were still pressing forward with the sequel. According to multiple sources, including Film School Rejects, Warner Bros is continuing as planned with the franchise and is making some adjustments, namely that they wants a “edgier and darker” approach for Green Lantern 2. They also are bringing in a new director.

I know a lot of people would disagree with me here, but I like this. Green Lantern was far below everyone’s expectations and I think there is a some potential for a good superhero film in there. Just like a Lantern, it is only limited by imagination. The most creative construct they could make Reynolds come up with was a hot wheels track, which was pretty lame. Also, as I mentioned in our review, we were teased with Sinestro at the end, who would make a far more compelling villain than a huge ball of fear, or Hector Hammond (despite Peter Sarsgaard’s best efforts).  Anyway, I think an edgier film is a better approach than the cartoonish look that the first film had, but it will be hard to transition to that, I’m sure. There is no word on who the new director will be, but hopefully they can find someone who is up to the task. It might be hard nailing a decent director, because selling this idea to someone will be difficult since there is so much negative buzz about this project.

That's never been a problem for Michael Bay, but he doesn't really pop to mind when I think "edgy and dark".

They also need to make sure they have a decent writer this time, preferably one who actually has a concept of plot structure.

Francis Ford Coppola Attempts Odd Film Gimmick with Twixt

I have an incredible respect for Francis Ford Coppola. Photos from his films line my apartment, and I rarely become immersed in films like I did with The Godfather and Apocalypse Now. He truly is a great director, so it is with great hesitance and with all due respect that I say…maybe old age is causing him to go a bit senile.

There may have been hints of it here.

His newest film, Twixt, which he showed footage from at the latest Comic Con is a droll looking horror film starring Val Kilmer as a “has been” horror writer who is looking to revive his career by going on tour. He ends up in a small town with a secret that piques his curiosity. You can watch the trailer here:

It is not the trailer that worries me, probably because I fell asleep halfway through, but how he plans to release the film. He wants to take his new project on a 30 city tour, which will include a live orchestra playing with the film and apparently will take input from the audience and re-cut the film based on their reaction. It is a little hazy how this will work, but he wants the film to be a living project, which sound interesting in theory, but I like the idea that the director has a singular vision and portrays that on the screen. Feedback is good, but this sounds like too much feedback, especially depending on the different audiences that he encounters. I still have faith in him, he did direct some of the greatest films of all time, but this does seem like a bit much. I suppose I shouldn’t judge until I see exactly what he is talking about, but I am just merely reacting to what I see so far.

What are your thoughts about the latest news? Did you like the Twixt trailer?