X3 - X-Men: The Last Straw

[Pwaybloe]

Some others fell for these...

http://www.xixax.com/viewtopic.php?p=115081&highlight=#115081

http://www.xixax.com/viewtopic.php?p=110816&highlight=#110816

[ᾦɐļᵲʊʂ]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/eo/20050603/en_movies_eo/16680

"X3" Doesn't Mark Spot for Director By Julie Keller


Another would-be X-Man has exited X3.

Just weeks before production was set to begin, British filmmaker Matthew Vaughn became the second helmer to drop directing duties on the third edition of the blockbuster superhero franchise.


Vaughn would have made his Hollywood directorial debut on the high-profile project after producing Guy Richie's low-budget British gangster flicks Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch before finally helming one of his own, the recently released Layer Cake.


Despite its career-making potential, Vaughn had a very good reason for leaving X3: The London-based filmmaker didn't want to be away from supermodel wife Claudia Schiffer and their two small children--two-year-old Casper and six-month-old Clementine--to spend the better part of year shacked up with mutants.


"As the shooting evolved, he realized he would have to move to Los Angeles and Vancouver for at least a year," 20th Century Fox said in a statement. "Not wishing to uproot his family for an extended period, Vaughn opted to depart the production.


"We understand Matthew's reasons for leaving, as nothing is more important than family."


Shooting is scheduled to begin next month. Hutch Parker, president of 20th Century Fox, tells Daily Variety that the movie still "right on schedule" to make its planned May 26, 2006 release.


But Parker had no immediate word on who would replace Vaughn.


This is the second major X3 directorial defection. Bryan Singer, who helmed the first two X-Men films, skipped out to take the reins of Warner Bros.' upcoming Superman Returns.


While Vaughn's out, there have been a couple of key additions to the X3 roster. Fraiser's     Kelsey Grammer has been tapped to play Beast, the super-intelligent blue behemoth good guy, and Lock, Stock star Vinnie Jones is set to star as the evil, metal-clad Juggernaut.


Also making an appearance will be the winged Angel and Kitty Pryde, aka Shadowcat, who can pass through walls. That role is rumored to be going to Lost's Maggie Grace.


No word yet if     Halle Berry will be back as Storm--especially after her abysmal showing in Catwoman--but the rest of the key players are all on board, including Ian McKellen (Magneto), Patrick Stewart (Professor X) and Hugh Jackman (Wolverine).

[Myxo]

Warner Bros. would have been wise to simply wait until Singer was ready and willing to do X3. They will cost themselves millions in attaching somebody new to the project. Horrible idea..

[Fernando]

I present: The I hate to be right post!

From AICN:

Shock! Gasp! Ratner is aboard to direct X-MEN 3! Aren't you just thrilled? Doesn't this fill you with glee & joy?

Hey folks, Harry here... Moriarty and I knew when we got multiple confirmations that Ratner was the lead candidate to replace Matthew Vaughn as the director of X-MEN 3 that you folks would be upset. Not only that, but when we began contacting everyone involved with no return calls... that it was definitely irreversible and true.
Now, I saw many of you suggesting Alex Proyas to direct X-MEN. Well, one of the reasons they couldn't get Alex Proyas is that after his experience working on I, ROBOT under Tom Rothman - the word I've heard is that Alex has been heard by some to say that he won't make another film for Fox until Rothman is no longer in charge. Personally, I know quite a few filmmakers that feel the same way... so, we're stuck with Brett Ratner directing X-MEN 3.
Now that we're stuck with this 'genius' is there a single solitary bright spot? Well - I haven't read the script - so I can't say anything good about it. The review Moriarty got is pretty fucking scary - and he'll have that for you as soon as his computer gets back online. The review read like a list of demands from talent and execs. Killing 2 of the top three actors in the series and another major character... Then - the regurgitate the angry father of a mutant plotline... whose answer is to make a demutant serum that he gets from... yet another mutant. Well, gosh - the plot worked last time right? Sigh.
9 Weeks till they begin shooting and what this script needs is the type of director that could tell Rothman to butt out of his film, and would work with his writers to weed out the idiotic ideas from the few good ones the script has. However, there is one real fun thing about bringing the Rat aboard... and that's Lalo Schifrin. He's coming aboard to score the film. Now - there's something else kinda funny going on here. You see, people seem to be acting like this was some miracle last minute something... but 3 weeks ago some visual effects folks that were in Canada were heard loose-lipping that they'd been called by Ratner to discuss X-MEN 3. 3 WEEKS AGO!
Moriarty should be back later this week with a full on expose on what sucks and doesn't regarding the script to X-MEN 3. Hey, remember - BATMAN BEGINS rules.

Link.



Is there an official word on this yet?

[MacGuffin]

Is there an official word on this yet?

Brett Ratner signs on as 'X3' director
Source: Los Angeles Times

For "X3," 20th Century Fox is hoping the third time is the charm. The studio announced Monday that "Rush Hour" veteran Brett Ratner would direct the latest "X-Men" installment — the latest filmmaker to step into that role. Fox production chief Hutch Parker said he was confident Ratner would have "X3" ready for its scheduled May 26 opening, with filming set to commence in early August in Vancouver. "The production plan is pretty much in place," Parker said. "You are not starting from scratch."

Ratner replaces Matthew Vaughn, who dropped out last week because, among other things, he didn't want to be away from his family for a long time. Vaughn had stepped in for Bryan Singer, who directed the first two "X-Men" movies but is currently making "Superman," which Ratner at one point was going to direct.

In addition to having cast most of "X3's" lead roles (including Hugh Jackman's return as Wolverine), the film's producers also have scouted locations, hired department heads and even storyboarded some key action sequences.

Asked about the fast track the film is on, producer Lauren Shuler Donner said that the earlier two "X-Men" films also were made in less than a year. "We've done it before," she said. "And we'll do it again."

[Pubrick]

Is there an official word on this yet?

"shitty"

[Fernando]

Is there an official word on this yet?

"shitty"

"classic"

[MacGuffin]

Brett Ratner Shrugs Off Critics, Promises More Humor In 'X3'
Director insists he'll deliver movie on time — with Berry and Jackman. Source: MTV

LOS ANGELES — Director Brett Ratner got his start in Hollywood by persuading Steven Spielberg to help finance his student film; when conventional wisdom seemed to be against it, he made "Red Dragon," a third movie starring Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter. Why, then, is this seemingly fearless man suddenly feeling some pressure?

"It's not going to be easy," Ratner said of his newest gig, taking over the seemingly cursed reins of "X-Men 3" with marching orders to deliver the effects-heavy film to theaters by next Memorial Day weekend. "But we're definitely going to hit it."

Like any great comic-book story, you need to understand the origin if you hope to fully enjoy the tale: Bryan Singer, who wrote and directed the first two installments of the Marvel Comics mutant-superhero series, declined a third volume to instead bring back DC Comics character Superman via "Superman Returns," which is currently being filmed.

"Layer Cake" director Matthew Vaughn then stepped in with ambitious plans that included the casting of Kelsey Grammar as well-mannered monster Beast and Vinnie Jones as one-man wrecking crew Juggernaut. Weeks later, Vaughn stepped down for reasons that remain unclear.

"They called me and they said, 'We're interested in you for "X3," ' " Ratner recalled. "I said, 'Yeah, great, I wanted to do the first one originally.' "

The 36-year-old Ratner, who proudly declares that he has "read comic books my whole life," had indeed been a candidate to initiate the "X-Men" franchise at the beginning of the decade. This is where things get real confusing: Singer instead took on the task of bringing Wolverine and friends to the screen, while Ratner came tantalizingly close to directing an earlier version of the Superman movie — yes, the same one that Singer is now overseeing.

"I think we bring stuff onto ourselves," Ratner said of the musical-chairs game with Singer. "He had dreams of doing 'Superman,' that was his fantasy, and I had a dream of it too, and it didn't work out, but 'X-Men' is a part of that dream as well.

"Bryan Singer and Brett Ratner are in that age range who grew up on comics," Ratner said, referring to himself in the third person. "Well, I don't know if he grew up on comic books, but in that generation where comic heroes are part of our society and part of our pop culture.

"Bryan Singer left ['X-Men 3'] because he didn't like the material," Ratner insisted. "But I don't think this movie is tainted; I think it is fantastic and the script is amazing.

"Jackie Chan says Brett Ratner is the luckiest guy in the world," the director said of his "Rush Hour" star's opinion of him taking over the comic-book franchise, "and I feel like I am."

Not everyone, however, considers Ratner quite so blessed. "[They think] I'm the antichrist!" he laughed when asked about what many diehard fans are posting on popular movie-discussion Web sites. "I don't think about it."

Ratner does realize that his résumé, which includes Chris Tucker vehicles and clunkers like "After the Sunset" and "The Family Man," doesn't exactly endear him to geeks looking for a Sam Raimi-like genre veteran harboring a unique vision. He also acknowledges that comic-movie heroes including Superman and Batman both went horribly wrong after new directors took over the franchise for the third installment.

"I'm not Joel Schumacher," he said of the fan-despised director behind "Batman Forever" and the even more poorly received "Batman & Robin," "and I'm not ... um ... who did the third Superman?"

That would be Richard Lester. "I'm Brett," Ratner said, "and all I know is what I know, what I can do and what I have to work with."

As far as the growing myth that the third film always kills a superhero franchise, Ratner responded: "Well, there's also the fact that all the Supermans die a tragic death," he said, referring to the sad fates befallen by the likes of Christopher Reeve and George Reeves. "Do you think the new guy [Brandon Routh] is going to die also?"

Ratner insists that the "X-Men 3" script is up to snuff, that production will commence in Vancouver, British Columbia, in eight weeks, and that series stars Halle Berry, Hugh Jackman, James Marsden and Rebecca Romijn will return. As for what he'll add to the successful Singer recipe, the director said, "I want to stay true to the franchise and true to the characters, but I think it's elevated ... I don't want to be pompous and say I'm going to take it to the next level. I think the script that Simon Kinberg and Zak Penn wrote gives me a tremendous amount of confidence."

He also said you can expect his X-Men to have an enhanced sense of humor. "Not jokes for the sake of jokes," Ratner added, "jokes that come from character humor, that come from characters and that come from the situations."

Will Brett Ratner have the last laugh, or will the latest "X-Men" director discover that the third time is anything but the charm? It's a question that would likely stump even Professor X himself.

---------------------------------------------------------

James "Cyclops" Marsden chatted with About.com regarding his roles in both X3 and its summer '06 rival, Superman Returns:

"I have all the confidence in the world in Fox and the director that they deemed worthy of directing X-Men 3. Sure, it's getting down to the wire. It's getting close. We've got to make this movie. But we've done two before and there's a comfort zone in there that we all feel like we've done it and we can do it again. Matthew Vaughn fell out for personal reasons or family reasons. Brett Ratner is directing and he's a very competent director and I think we'll be fine."

[Gamblour.]

"But we're definitely going to hit it."

I think he means the fan.

Seriously, has this fucker even seen Batman and Robin? Humor is what killed Batman. And for god sakes, he refers to himself in the third person. Even QT isn't that annoying.

[Tryskadekafobia]

Ratner's idea of humor would be putting Wolverine back in his yellow spandex.

[squints]

I'm not going to see this movie i can already tell

[modage]

well as long as he delivers the movie on time...

[Stefen]

haha this is now my most anticipated film of all time. this should be a treat.

[Pubrick]

"I'm not Joel Schumacher," he said of the fan-despised director behind "Batman Forever" and the even more poorly received "Batman & Robin," "and I'm not ... um ... who did the third Superman?"

That would be Richard Lester. "I'm Brett," Ratner said, "and all I know is what I know, what I can do and what I have to work with."

ugh, just self destruct already..

[Ghostboy]

This non-sequitur is hilarious:

As far as the growing myth that the third film always kills a superhero franchise, Ratner responded: "Well, there's also the fact that all the Supermans die a tragic death," he said, referring to the sad fates befallen by the likes of Christopher Reeve and George Reeves. "Do you think the new guy [Brandon Routh] is going to die also?"