Fox, Josh Schwartz mutate 'X-Men'
'Gossip Girl' creator writing 'First Class' for studio
Source: Variety
Twentieth Century Fox is gearing up to continue its "X-Men" franchise with a younger set of mutants.
Studio has tapped "Gossip Girl" creator Josh Schwartz to write "X-Men: First Class."
Schwartz, the creator and exec producer of CW's teen sudser hit as well as Fox's youth-centric "The OC" and NBC's "Chuck," is expected to inject a next-gen sensibility into the superhero series, which has earned $1.2 billion worldwide.
Writing assignment has also included the possibility of directing the pic, but so far Schwartz has opted not to take the helm.
Lauren Shuler Donner, who produced all three "X-Men" pics, as well as next summer's "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," is producing "First Class" alongside "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" scribe Simon Kinberg.
Fox is keeping quiet on plans and declined to confirm details of the project. The studio has been considering ways to continue its successful series of "X-Men" movies after the third installment, the Brett Ratner-helmed "X-Men: The Last Stand," collected $459 million in 2006.
Fox has been leaning toward using the younger characters introduced in the previous pics in future installments -- teenagers with powers taught at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning.
Resulting film would likely draw from elements of the Marvel comic of the same name, launched in 2006, and enlist such characters as Iceman, Rogue, Angel, Colossus, Jubilee and Shadowcat, who have appeared prominently or made cameos in prior pics.
Given Hollywood's penchant for reboots with new actors playing familiar roles, pic could also reintroduce characters. Comicbook revolves around the Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Beast, Iceman, Angel and Professor X.
Naturally, "First Class" could also result in its own series of sequels.
Pic joins other "X-Men"-related projects already in the works at the studio. Fox is actively developing a standalone "Magneto" pic, as well as considering a "Deadpool" spinoff, based on a character played by Ryan Reynolds in "Wolverine." Shuler Donner is producing "Magneto."
Regular slate of "X-Men" pics would provide Fox with a reliable series of movies that perform at the B.O. and not repeat a dismal summer sesh like the studio experienced this year.
Although Schwartz has enjoyed smallscreen success, he has yet to crack the world of film with a significant project. He wrote and is attached to direct the coming-of-age comedy "Looking for Alaska" for Paramount.
Tackling a new "X-Men" installment will likely give Schwartz instant credibility within the studio world.
Bryan Singer Will Direct X-Men: First Class!
Source: ComingSoon
James Cameron's Avatar had its premiere in Los Angeles tonight, and MySpace had a television crew on-hand at the "blue carpet" to interview arrivals.
One of the people there was director Bryan Singer, who directed X-Men and X2: X-Men United for Avatar distributor 20th Century Fox at the start of the decade. In recent interviews, Singer has been asked about possibly directing the planned prequel X-Men: First Class, and he always seemed interested, but earlier this evening he let slip that he has in fact just signed the deal with Fox to direct the next "Origins" film, which will reportedly look at the early days of Cyclops, Jean Grey and others at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning.
You can see for yourself what Bryan Singer told the interviewer about signing to do X-Men: First Class if you go to the Official MySpace site, click on "Next Slide" at the bottom left and then scroll forward to the 27-minute mark where he's asked about what he has coming up next. He tells the interviewers without any hesitation and complete seriousness: "I'm ramping up to do a movie called 'Jack the Giant Killer' at Warner Bros, and I just yesterday signed a deal to do an 'X-Men: First Class Origins' picture, which is kind of cool. I'm very excited."
This is very exciting news for "X-Men" fans who have been hoping Singer would return to the fold and hopefully we'll have more to report on this news soon.
Heat Vision Q&A: Bryan Singer on 'X-Men: First Class,' 'Avatar' and more
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Director Bryan Singer sent some shockwaves through the geek community last week when he revealed that he was returning to Fox's "X-Men" franchise with "X-Men: First Class." Singer was going to direct the third "X-Men" movie when he famously jumped over to Warner Bros. to make "Superman Returns," leaving many wondering "what if?" -- especially after "X2," widely considered one of the best of this decade's comic book movies.
Singer got on the phone to talk "First Class," his other projects such as New Line's fairy tale "Jack the Giant Killer" and what he thought of "Avatar."
Heat Vision: So how did you end up coming back to "X-Men"?
Bryan Singer: It started with a conversation between (Fox co-chairman) Tom Rothman and I some time ago. We not only concluded a deal, but I've written a pretty concise treatment. There's a story that I really want to tell.
Heat Vision: What is the story?
Singer: I can't tell you that; it's secret. But it's basically about the formation of the X-Men. How they began and the relationship between a young Xavier and a young Magneto.
Heat Vision: I remember when you left "X3" to do "Superman Returns." It wasn't under the best of circumstances.
Singer: A lot of that was comical and exaggerated. When you set up a rather lucrative franchise and produce one of the company's biggest television shows ("House"), I think there is a lot of good energy on a business level.
But also, Tom Rothman and I have a very strong relationship from those early days of "X-Men 1" when he ascended to the chairmanship and I was involved in this very important movie for the studio. We bonded then. So I think he was frustrated then, as was I, because I couldn't do a third "X-Men," but that moment of frustration passed.
We have always looked at different projects to do together, but the timing was never right to do something like this. But now, it's been about 10 years since the first "X-Men," and this is a nice opportunity to look back at the origins of that universe.
Heat Vision: Do you think the X-Men can exhaust themselves? You've got the original three, you've got "Wolverine," you've got a "Deadpool" and "Magneto" in the works ...
Singer: This story would probably utilize some of the Magneto story because it deals with a young Magneto, so it might supersede that because this would explore that relationship between a young energetic professor and a disenfranchised victim of the Holocaust.
But no, I don't see an exhaustion. The X-Men universe is boundless. These are great characters. And as young characters, they are quite different than the characters we have seen in the contemporary movies.
Heat Vision: Would you do "Jack the Giant Killer" first?
Singer: Right now that is the plan. Unless there's a problem in the development process. There is a script for "Jack"; we're in visual development. We've got artwork and pre-viz that we are doing. But you never know how things go.
I have a writer named Jamie Moss working on "First Class."
Heat Vision: Why did you choose to work with him?
Singer: He's a really good writer, and of the writers I met with, he interpreted my story the best and brought the most to it. Because I'm so actively involved in the script development of my movies, I'm very hands-on, I need a certain kind of writer and a certain kind of availability to me. And he fit that bill. He's quite talented.
Heat Vision: And what is going on with "Battlestar Galactica" (the big-screen take on the TV show) and the other projects?
Singer: We just concluded a deal for "Battlestar Galactica," and we're looking for a writer. And for "Excalibur," we're still in negotiations. Those are the four directorial projects that I and my company are involved in.
Heat Vision: So are you still looking for more projects?
Singer: From an event movie development position, it's a healthy slate for me, it's things that I'm passionate about. But you never know. In between two big movies, a smaller, more character-driven movie can fit. I'm never opposed that. "Valkyrie" was supposed to be that, and it turned out to be bigger than it was intended to be.
I enjoy these large canvas movies, I enjoy sci-fi and fantasy, and my company produces a lot of things that allow me to do smaller, character-driven projects.
Heat Vision: You took a breather after "Valkyrie," but over the past few months you have become attached to some big projects. What made you come out of your self-imposed exile, if you will?
Singer: Well I have been working a lot, on producorial stuff. When you have a company, you have five or six film projects in development, some TV, like the one I'm doing with Bryan Fuller called "SelleVision" for NBC, but when you're shooting abroad, it's frustrating because you can't devote a lot of time for them.
So when I was through with "Valkyrie," I was able to devote eight or nine months to that and also take some personal time for my family. And then focus on these. These are big undertakings.
So it appears as a self-imposed exile but I was actually working quite a bit. And as a result, now these projects are coming to fruition. So when I go presumably to London to make "Jack," a lot of these things will be running at my company and I'll be able to enjoy the (film) process in London.
Heat Vision: What did you think of "Avatar"?
Singer: It was very cool. I had seen 30-40 minutes before, but the whole thing was amazing. From the beginning, with those shots in space, I felt goosebumps. It was inspiring. I'm going back and forth, debating, on using 3D for "Jack," and it pushed me a little closer in the 3D direction.
Heat Vision: Just a little bit?
Singer: 3D is a little daunting. And then there's the decision of, do you shoot in 3D, or do you post in 3D? And how to achieve that? I have a very good visual effect supervisor on "Jack" who has a lot of 3D character experience.
Heat Vision: What are your holiday plans?
Singer: I go to Hawaii. I go to the same hotel, I sit in the same room, and then I get bored of vacationing in two days then I go to a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in a strip mall overlooking a parking lot in Oahu and I work.
A lot of good work has come out of those sessions in that Coffee Bean. I feel very energized and not distracted. It's a local strip mall with Hawaii people who have no idea who I am. They just know I am always there around the holidays and working on stuff.
Bryan Singer on 'X-Men: First Class': It's got to be about Magneto and Professor X
Source: Los Angeles Times
Through the years, comic-book films took audiences to all the predictable places, including the grim streets of Gotham City and the doomed spires of planet Krypton, but, a decade ago, a new type of comic-book film had the audacity to set its opening sequence in a truly unexpected place -- the gates of Auschwitz, where Jewish families were bring marched through mud on their way to death and despair.
From those first moments, "X-Men" set itself apart from the entire Hollywood history of comic-book adaptations and marked the beginning of this current era of fanboy cinema, which has dominated the box office and elevated San Diego's Comic-Con International into something resembling a Cannes for capes.
"The opening, it really was a declaration of intent," producer Lauren Shuler Donner said of that sequence, which showed a terrified young boy exhibiting mutant powers as his family was separated by German guards. "It said to the audience this is a serious film, grounded in the realistic and the historic and somewhat dark. It was so smart. And it was all totally Bryan."
That would be Bryan Singer, the director of "X-Men" and its first sequel, who was sitting next to Shuler Donner in her office on a recent afternoon. The pair both had big smiles on their faces -- they had been reunited by an invitation to reminisce about the legacy of the July 2000 release, which they were happy to do, but the conversation kept veering into giddy plans for the future. Singer is returning to the "X-Men" universe, it's clear now, for a project called "X-Men: First Class"; it's all just a matter of timing.
"I had lunch with Hugh Jackman today," Singer said, and Shuler Donner, after asking for an off-the-record moment, pressed the 44-year-old filmmaker for details. A few minutes later, with the recorder back on, Singer said he is mightily enthused to work again with Shuler Donner, who has produced two X-films without him, the Brett Ratner-directed "X-Men: The Last Stand" in 2006 and the Gavin Hood-directed "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" in 2009.
"I genuinely like the people, and my personality meshes more with this universe than it does with other universes, I think; I see that now at this point," Singer said, no doubt referring to his defection to the DC Comics universe to make the oddly lifeless 2006 movie "Superman Returns." "I feel a connection to the X-Men characters and also the ensemble nature of the films. If you look at 'Usual Suspects'' or my last film, 'Valkyrie,' I feel especially comfortable with ensemble juggling. In the space between all the characters you can disguise a central thought that's hidden in all the discourse. I missed that with the singular relationship story of Superman. And, well, it always gives you something to cut to..."
More on the future of "X-Men: First Class" in a moment, but first let's cut to the past -- 1999, when the Hollywood approach to comic books was a far different one.
It was the year "Mystery Men" was released as yet another campy spoof of the masked-man sector. Still fresh in the public mind, too, was Joel Schumacher's "Batman & Robin" (1997), which stripped away any psychological elements of the orphan-turned-vigilante tale and instead gave the world the questionable innovation of putting nipples on the bat-suits. Marvel Comics, meanwhile, was a joke when it came to the silver screen, with only three wide-release films based on its characters -- "Howard the Duck" in 1986, "Punisher" in 1988 and "Blade" in 1999 (that last one was actually satisfying for movie fans but had very little in common with the comics and was based on a relatively obscure character from the "Tomb of Dracula" comics of the 1970s).
Considering all that, the plan for "X-Men" was nothing short of revolutionary. Singer and his team, working from a script credited to David Hayter, would take the mutant superheroes of the wildly popular "X-Men" comics and treat them as believable outsiders in a reality-based world. Instead of spandex suits, though, they were outfitted in black leather, following in the fashion-savvy footsteps of "The Matrix," which hadn't been a comic-book movie but certainly felt like one.
"Some reviews were brutal and some lovely, but we had a $21-million Friday, a record at the time, and we knew we had turned a corner," Singer said.
The movie became the opening salvo in an onslaught of superhero movies that were like night-and-day when compared to the films of the 1990s and earlier. "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight," three "Spider-Man" films, "Iron Man," two "Hellboy" movies, two "Hulk" films and "Watchmen" all followed "X-Men" in tone and spirit. There are many, many more to come: "Iron Man 2" arrives in May, "Thor" has just begun filming, and "Green Lantern," "The First Avenger: Captain America," a third Batman film and reboots of Spider-Man and Superman are gearing up. That's just a few; there are three dozen other comics-based projects at various points in the Hollywood pipeline, which was unimaginable in the days after "Batman & Robin," when the source material was considered radioactive in studio boardrooms.
Shuler Donner has watched the legacy of "X-Men" grow but she says that, at the time, in the closing days of the editing process she wasn't sure what kind of movie Singer had on his hands.
"There wasn't anything else like this; all the other superhero movies were made with a different tone and we were nervous," Shuler Donner said. "You lose perspective, and now in hindsight it seems like the right choices were made but at time it was scary, believe me."
Singer was feeling the fear for sure. In the editing bay, at one point, the director wondered if the train was about to leave the track. "I was in the cutting room and I got up and went for a walk with [Twentieth Century Fox executive] Peter Rice and I said, 'When this thing fails critically and financially, I will never have the opportunity to make this kind of film again.' I was very depressed. Peter said, 'Well, let's just hope it doesn't fail. That was his advice."
Singer was no comic-book fan growing up; his compass point for heroic tales was Richard Donner's "Superman" film in 1978, which made it no surprise that he jumped at the chance to work with that director's wife on "X-Men" and then jumped ship after two films -- with the blessing of both Donners -- so he could re-conjure Metropolis for a new generation.
Even without the comic-book passion of, say, Sam Raimi, the director of the three "Spider-Man" movies, Singer knew that "X-Men" would need to win over the true believers who had been reading the comics for years. The characters of Wolverine, Magneto and Cyclops were hardly household names like Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent, and the director believed that the Hollywood tradition of dismissing hard-core comics fans would be a disaster in this case.
"Ultimately, the comic-book fans are your first core audience, the ones that are going to embrace it and talk about it and embrace it or reject it," Singer said. "They were the first people we worried about."
Shuler Donner nodded. "If the fans didn't embrace us, we knew we were in trouble. We wanted a wider audience, but it began with the comic book fans. The approach was to do a more realistic approach to the characters that the fans loved. They second-guess us a lot, still, but we did win them over."
The film made a star out of Hugh Jackman, who was a late-in-the-game replacement for Dougray Scott, who was tied up on the set of "Mission: Impossible II."
Jackman arrived on the set late in the day and Singer took a good look at him. "I thought, 'Oh his face is rounder than I thought.' It was important that Wolverine have a round face and I thought Hugh's face looked longer in the tape I had seen. He also wasn't as huge as I thought he would be. My opinion was, 'Maybe this isn't as impossible as I thought it would be.' "
To make the final call, Singer had two cameras set up in the lobby of Roy Thomson Hall, where the crew had been shooting a U.S. Senate scene that day. Jackman and Anna Paquin, who played young Rogue in the film, were seated in two folding chairs put side-by-side so they could run through a scene where they are driving in a pickup truck together.
On the second take, Singer stepped away from the monitor so he could just filter everything out and listen to Jackman's voice. A janitor working for the venue sidled up to the baby-faced filmmaker and, mistaking him for a production assistant, began whispering a question.
"He didn't want to bother anyone important, so he sees me, this kid, and walked up and whispered, 'Hey, is that the guy they got to play Wolverine?' And I thought, 'Hmm, this is the moment, take the leap.' I said, 'Yes.' The first guy to know was the cleaning guy. And he said, 'Cool.' It's a good thing he didn't say, 'Ugh, are you kidding me?' "
Singer offered the role to Jackman then and there. It took a month, though, for the actor to really find the feral center of his character.
"He's a real sweetheart," Singer said. "He's the most loving guy, and someone who came out of musical theater. I send some ridiculous note, 'I need anger, that rage, that Russell Crowe side, get into a fight with your wife or something.' The next day he came up to me and said, 'Bry, I thought about what you said but if I ever got in a fight with Deborra, I would show up for work in tears.' I realized that's the other side of Wolverine and we didn't want to lose that either -- he's a guy you wouldn't want to get into a bar fight with but you'd let him babysit your kids."
Jackman was the breakout star but the cast was an especially deep one. Paquin would go on to the success of "True Blood" and Halle Berry would a year later win an Oscar for "Monster's Ball." Ian McKellen (who had worked with Singer on "Apt Pupil") was a year away from his signature role as Gandalf in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy and, along with "Star Trek: The Next Generation" veteran Patrick Stewart, he brought a gravitas to the superhero film that kept it from slipping into a camp affair.
"I was a big Trekkie, so I was excited to go see Patrick and meet him," said Singer, who dropped by the set of Richard Donner's "Conspiracy Theory" to make his pitch to Stewart. "He didn't know much about the X-Men at all, we had to explain it all. As for Ian, he liked the idea of the movie because of the gay allegory -- the allegory of the mutants as outsiders, disenfranchised and alone and coming to all of that at puberty when their 'difference' manifests. Ian is activist and he reality responded to the potential of that allegory."
How did Fox respond to Singer's plan to start a superhero movie with a Holocaust scene and infuse it with subtext about the struggle of homosexual teenagers in modern America? Singer said there were really no battles to be won. "There was no particular expectation, really, or pressure -- it wasn't an enormous budget -- and there was no template because these characters were not Superman or Batman. There was no issue of content or even tone."
The reviews were generally good (the film stands at an 81% rating on Rotten Tomatoes) but not fawning. For instance, Kenneth Turan, writing in the Los Angeles Times, was supportive but not dazzled: "While 'X-Men' doesn't take your breath away wire-to-wire the way 'The Matrix' did, it's an accomplished piece of work with considerable pulp watchability to it. And having a self-referential sense of humor ('You actually go outside in these things?' Wolverine says when face-to-face with an X-uniform) makes the special effects go down that much smoother."
The first "X-Men" film made $296 million worldwide, but its sequel, "X2: X-Men United," with the benefit of a bigger budget and story elements already in place, rang up $408 million worldwide and 88% on Rotten Tomatoes. The biggest win, though, was in the hearts and minds of Hollywood. As time went on, people began to see Singer's "X-Men" films as special. David Denby, in the New Yorker, wrote in praise of "the liquid beauty and the poetic fantasy of Singer's work." Denby didn't feel the magic with replacement director Ratner, however, whom he dismissed as "a crude synthesizer of comedy and action tropes."
The third X-Men movie made the most money at the box office ($459 million worldwide) but many fans found it unsatisfying, and Donner Shuler, choosing her words carefully, made it clear that she is ready for Singer to come back to the mutant universe. "He has an authorship, I feel, and I love all of my directors but with Bryan I would send him e-mails saying 'Where are you? You should be here.' "
That's why Donner Shuler went to Singer with "X-Men: First Class," a prequel to the 2000 film that shares its name with the eight-issue comics series that began in 2006 and was written by Jeff Parker with art by Roger Cruz. Singer says the film will find its axis in the relationship between Professor X and Magneto and the point where their friendship soured. It will also detail the beginning of the school for mutants and have younger incarnations of some characters with new actors in roles of Cyclops, Jean Grey, the Beast, etc. (He only shrugged when asked if Hugh Jackman might appear as Wolverine, the one character who doesn't age at the same rate as humans.)
The premise has compelling elements to it, Singer said. "Just doing younger mutants is not enough. The story needs to be more than that. I love the relationship between Magneto and Xavier, these two men who have diametrically opposite points of view but still manage to be friends -- to a point. They are the ultimate frenemies."
Before Singer can dive into casting, he has a rather large problem -- the fact that Warner Bros. has the filmmaker on the hook to direct "Jack the Giant Killer." Fox, flush with money from "Avatar," is eager to move forward with its mutant franchise in all of its permutations, so there are negotiations that need to be done.
Shuler Donner also has pitched Singer on doing a fourth installment of the previously established "X-Men" franchise and Jackman had that lunch with Singer to coax him into a project as well, which may or may not be a "Wolverine" film, which Jackman has said will be set in Japan and released in 2011. "I wish I could be four people," the director said with a moan. "I could make everybody happy."
Singer turned to Shuler Donner and said of "X-Men 4": "Hold that one off for just a little, I'm fixated on the other one right now." She nodded and answered, "I will, I will ... I'm holding it open with high hopes. It's totally different [from 'First Class'] and it will be so interesting for you."
At that point, Singer and Shuler Donner asked for some more off-the-record time to talk about the future instead of the past. Then, with the recorder rolling once more, Singer was asked if he believed his first mutant movie would be remembered as a pioneering moment in Hollywood.
"I don't know if people followed in our footsteps or maybe we were just the first of a group going down the same path together," Singer said. "I can tell you this: I remember when Marvel Comics was in bankruptcy and I bought stock for a friend as a joke. That was before 'X-Men' and it was one of the reasons we had so much freedom. And now Disney paid $4 billion for the company. That sort of caught my attention. I just think we made some good movies. And now we're going to make more."
Bryan Singer Producing 'X-Men: First Class'
By MIKE FLEMING; Deadline Hollywood
While many in Hollywood are having trouble finding work these days, Bryan Singer's problem is there is only one of him to go around and everybody wants him. So Singer and 20th Century Fox have formalized his move from director to producer on X-Men: First Class. That is the bad news for X-Men die-hards who love the first two films Singer directed. Here's the good part: he is leaving because Fox liked the script that Jamie Moss wrote from Singer's treatment so much that the studio wants the film right away, envisioning it as the first leg of a trilogy. The hope is to have it ready for 2011 release.
Singer will join Lauren Shuler Donner and Simon Kinberg as producers. He's not available because Warner Bros and Legendary are locked into a summer production start on Jack the Giant Killer. They'll begin casting shortly. It is a big CG project, and they are likely to either shoot 3D or convert it later.
Last December, Singer agreed to direct the First Class prequel after the studio sparked to his detailed treatment, with the studio knowing full well Singer would likely make the other movie first. The willingness to wait changed when execs flipped for Moss's script. He's now honing the origin story that focuses on Xavier and Magneto and offers similar opportunities that JJ Abrams took advantage of to resuscitate Star Trek.
Fox is short-listing directors and has talked to several. Perhaps sensing the momentum and worried Singer might get booked for First Class passage, Warner Bros and Legendary were quick to lock Singer into an iron-clad deal on Jack the Giant Killer. After all, it was they who got the director to do Superman Returns when Fox didn't close him fast enough on X-Men 3. That move singed Singer's relationship with Fox until they kissed and made up with First Class.
Fox hasn't definitively set this as the next X-Men project, but why replace Singer for any other reason? Fox did get a strong draft of a Wolverine sequel from Christopher McQuarrie, and while there is no director, production could start in the fall when Hugh Jackman is free from the Shawn Levy-directed Real Steel. Fox also has new versions of Marvel Comics franchises Fantastic Four and Daredevil percolating. My bet is First Class starts production in summer or early fall, when Singer will be off slaying giants of his own.
'X-Men' Exclusive: Fox offers Matthew Vaughn 'X-Men: First Class'
Source: EW
In a move that may tilt the axis of fanboys worldwide, Kick-Ass director Matthew Vaughn is in talks to direct X-Men: First Class for Twentieth Century Fox. Why is this so bizarre? Because Vaughn is the very director who turned down directing X-Men: The Last Stand back in 2005 after he had already negotiated his deal with the studio. (Fox later hired Brett Ratner to helm the most successful of all X-Men films.) Vaughn went on to direct the disappointing Stardust for Paramount and, just two weeks ago, released the well-reviewed R-rated Kick-Ass.
Of course, considering Vaughn's history with the X-Men franchise, he could very well turn down the First Class offer, as well (sources say the studio is also speaking with other possible directors). Should a deal come together, however, Vaughn would be helming an origin story of the X-Men crew, one that tells the story of Cyclops, Jean Grey, and the other X-Men in their younger years, played by younger actors. (No word yet on whether Hugh Jackman would reprise his role as Wolverine since his character doesn't age as the others do.) The script comes from Jamie Moss based on Bryan Singer's treatment. Though the studio had wanted Singer to direct once again, the director is only signed on to produce, since he's preoccupied with directing Jack the Giant Killer for Warner Bros.
Quote from: MacGuffin on May 01, 2010, 04:02:39 PM
(Fox later hired Brett Ratner to helm the most successful of all X-Men films.)
But it was shit.
Quote
But it was shit.
(https://xixax.com/index.php?action=dlattach;attach=1958;type=avatar)
James McAvoy playing Professor X in "X-Men" film
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - James McAvoy has joined the cast of "X-Men: First Class," a prequel to Fox's superhero trilogy.
The British actor, last in theaters with "The Last Station," will play a young Charles Xavier, a.k.a. Professor X, a role originated by Patrick Stewart in the preceding films.
According to Fox, "First Class" will "chart the epic beginning of the X-Men saga. Before Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Before they were archenemies, they were the closest of friends, working together, with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to stop the greatest threat the world has ever known. In the process, a rift between them opened, which began the eternal war between Magneto's Brotherhood and Professor X's X-Men."
Patrick Stewart's character was a bald, wheelchair-bound telepath. Fox did not say if McAvoy would sport a follicle-free pate.
The studio is moving fast on the production, hiring director Matthew Vaughn in early May and planning a summer start in London. The movie is set for a June 3, 2011, release.
Beast and Banshee Cast for X-Men: First Class
Source: ComingSoon.net
We have confirmed that Nicholas Hoult will play Beast and Caleb Landry Jones will play Banshee in X-Men: First Class, to be directed by Matthew Vaughn. The Banshee casting was first reported by Latino Review.
They join James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Alice Eve, who are set to play Charlies Xavier, Erik Lensher and Emma Frost, respectively.
X-Men: First Class, following the classic Marvel mythology, charts the epic beginning of the X-Men saga. Before Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Before they were archenemies, they were closest of friends, working together, with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to stop the greatest threat the world has ever known. In the process, a rift between them opened, which began the eternal war between Magneto's Brotherhood and Professor X's X-Men.
I'm gay for James McAvoy and straight for Alice Eve, and I like Matthew Vaughn as a friend, so right off the bat they've got me intrigued. Still, though. X-Men prequel. Meh.
TRAILER (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrbHykKUfTM)
Gotta say, it looks a lot better than I thought it would. I think it's a good story to tell. There's plenty of room for it to suck, but still...
oh, and normally I don't find January Jones hot... but...
New Trailer here. (http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810159061/trailer)
It was pretty good! (http://modage.tumblr.com/post/6071875324/x-men-first-class-review)
In 2000, the first "X-Men" film was a landmark. Not only was it the first Marvel film ever that didn't suck (arriving 2 years before "Spider-Man"), but it had the difficult task of introducing not one, but an entire team of angsty superheroes to general audiences who may have been unfamiliar. It had it's flaws but was remarkable for how much it got right. "X2" was the fan favorite in the series, now that the characters had been introduced there was more time to explore their relationships and just kick a lot of ass (remember that White House sequence?) Unfortunately the third film was rushed into production and Brett Ratner stepping into the director's chair practically signed the franchise's death certificate. Six short years after it had been launched, the X-Men films were now creatively bankrupt. Even if the third film did outgross the previous two, its budget was the most inflated and fans on the whole, were not pleased. After exploring the idea of spinoff films, with the horribly titled and even worsely produced "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," and an unproduced "Magneto" origin film, the studio decided it was time to scrap everything and start over.
"X-Men: First Class," set in the 40's and 60's traces the beginnings of Professor X and Magneto before they had their monikers (or knew what to do with their powers) and pulls off the trickiest juggling act of prequel/reboot since 2009's "Star Trek." 90% of prequels don't work because you already know how they're going to end and though the finale was etched a little too concretely for my tastes (would have preferred more ambiguity without wrapping everything up in this film), everything leading up to it was thrilling. The film has a lot of ground to cover and even more characters to service, so it moves fast and you rarely get a breath from all the globetrotting. The film only starts to disappoint when Charles assembles the actual team and suddenly there are more characters than the film has time to give proper arcs to.
I would have preferred more focus on Moira MacTaggart, Raven, Hank and definitely Charles and Erik. If the whole movie had been focused on the relationship between those two, I would have been happy. Michael Fassbender is amazing here and early sequences of him hunting down Nazi's are some of the highlights of the film. They prove that the film doesn't need huge special effects or increasingly elaborate action sequences to be absolutely worth geeking out over. The best effect here is a great character and Erik/Magneto, as portrayed by Fassbender is magnetic (sorry). (Unfortunately the special effects do come later and don't seem as polished as they could be, some of the flying around outside just isn't as convincing as it could be.)
The Bryan Singer films were fun but also took themselves seriously but 'First Class' keeps things pretty light and comic-booky. Mostly it's breezy fun but it's almost a little too frothy and sometimes you want to dig in a little deeper and the film doesn't oblige. You would also think that the film's 60's setting would be a great chance to dig into some of the racial and gender issues of the day but the film leaves them completely untouched and uses the period only as a groovy backdrop for it's cast. (Women in the CIA are treated as equals and African-American's face less prejudice than a white genius with hairy feet? Not in 1962, my friends.) It seems like a wasted opportunity and and there is so much potential to be mined here I wondered what a filmmaker like Christopher Nolan would have done with this film. The effects would have been immaculate, the story weighty and the cast all given proper arcs.
Director Matthew Vaughn ("Kick-Ass") is a much scrappier filmmaker, when the film is working it's firing on all cylinders but a few sequences seem rushed in their execution. The irony here is that Vaughn was originally slated to direct the third X-film but left when he realized the tight schedule wouldn't allow him to make the film as good as he thought it should be. He returned to direct here but the schedule was just as tight. A few of the scenes are a little clunky (particularly the coming up with the names sequence), one of the villains (Azazel) looks like he was rendered from a 90's Jim Lee drawing and not a 60's one, but on the whole my nitpicks are small ones. Under the circumstances it's even more impressive what he's pulled off. The 60's setting is great eye-candy and (as many have pointed out) recalls Connery-era Bond films.
Overall though, the film is a blast. There was definitely audible geeking out during our screening and a few small ties to the previous films that fans should find really fun. While watching some of Marvel's other recent offerings I found myself wondering if I was just too old and cranky to get the same sort of geeky thrills I'd gotten out of superhero movies past. "X-Men: First Class" proved to me last night that it was definitely not the case. While the film is not perfect (and a few scenes shy of being great) it's an extremely fun summer movie that should satisfy all but the pickiest comic book fans by giving them a fresh take on the X-Men series.
good to hear. hollywood needs more directors like matthew vaughn. he's never represented independent cinema but it's been very interesting to see the growth of his ambitions, and how he's managed to keep his films personal, even if the budget gets bigger and bigger. i admire the guy. i see paul mcguigan as the opposite. a director with a similar background, that held some promise but ended up being just another shit-producing (lucky number slevin, push) hack.
i am looking forward to first class. it's so strange that a prequel to a comic book movie could be one of the coolest things i see this summer.
I liked it, looking forward to new X-Films (FINALLY) where I won't have to worry about the quality, as long as Vaughn is on board for one or two more. He should really do films in between to flex his muscles like Nolan has done with the Batman franchise.
The only part that didn't work for me was Beast looked stupid. REALLY stupid. Like nobody put any thought into him, or at least how the prosthetics would inhibit Nicholas Hoult's face. And some rushed character arcs, yeah, but what I did like is how codenames were come up with while partying, possibly drinking, from some sarcastic/goofy teenagers. It reminded me of Gen13 a bit.
Also certain cameos, although if thought about too much might be cutesy, certainly did the trick this time around. Much better than 'Thor' wanted to be.
Overall, thank got they picked a more gritty filmmaker over the 'LOOKATMELOOKATMELOOKATME' options...*coughBrettcough*
I really would want to write more, but the above review by Modage says most of it.
I will review this in haiku form, because why wouldn't I:
Quite entertaining.
Matthew Vaughn made it his own.
Fuck you, Brett Ratner.
Haikview #2:
More Byrne and Lawrence!
As for January Jones,
She is just the worst
I didn't even know this came out. :ponder:
And I probably won't see it because Super 8 opens this weekend and that will be my movie for the weekend.
Seriously, everyone should see the new X-Men simply for the first 20 minutes or so, where magneto goes on a tarantino-style quest for revenge. Fassbinder is fucking awesome. Bacon is crazy.
I was really surprised by how much of Matthew Vaughn's style actually made it into the movie. I assumed that the studios involved would have diluted away any sense of individuality from it, but I was pleasantly surprised to see otherwise. There was just enough of that layer of madness that Vaughn brought to Kick-Ass and Layer Cake, and it really helped elevate the movie.
It's impossible for me to believe that the same writers were responsible for this and for Thor. This was great, Thor was obnoxious and instantly forgettable.
But seriously, January Jones IS THE ABSOLUTE WORST.
Brett Ratner Quietly Fights Back On Twitter After Matthew Vaughn Trashes 'X-Men: The Last Stand'
Source: The Playlist
Brett Ratner isn't going to be Matthew Vaughn's punching bag anymore. But first, quick history lesson of sorts. Vaughn was initially lined up to direct "X-Men: The Last Stand," developing the story and working closely on the film, until he bailed on the job fearing that the production schedule Fox had given him was too tight (ironically, "X-Men: First Class" would be shot and delivered in an even shorter time frame). So in steps Brett Ratner, and the rest, as they say, is history. Vaughn hasn't been shy about his distaste for 'The Last Stand." As early as 2007, he told the Telegraph his reasons for abandoning his shot at that X-Men film and pretty much threw Ratner under the bus in the process: "What happened with 'X-Men' was I didn't have the time to make the movie that I wanted to make. I had a vision for how it should be, and I wanted to make sure I was making a film as good as 'X-Men 2,' and I knew there was no way it could be. I just suddenly knew it wasn't the right thing for me to do. It was a tough decision because it was a hell of an opportunity. But I was trying to make a career as a director, and I didn't want to be the guy accused of making a bad 'X-Men' movie," Vaughn said. "As it happens, I could have made something a hundred times better than the film that was eventually made. It sounds arrogant, but I could have done something with far more emotion and heart. I'm probably going to be told off for saying that, but I genuinely believe it." But Vaughn's low regard for Ratner's effort reared its head again more recently on press rounds for 'First Class,' when he continued to kick 'The Last Stand' saying, "I storyboarded the whole bloody film, did the script. My 'X3' would have been 40 minutes longer. They didn't let the emotions and the drama play in that film. It became wall-to-wall noise and drama. I would have let it breathe and added far more dramatic elements to it." But Ratner has finally fought back in his own way. While he didn't mention Vaughn by name, the timing and context say it all. Over the weekend he tweeted a link to BoxOfficeMojo's breakdown of the opening weekend numbers for all "X-Men" films. Why? Well, believe it or not, 'The Last Stand' has brought in more cash than any of the other three films (and we know this because he also tweeted a link to the Marvel movies box office breakdown). Perhaps feeling proud (or insecure?) Ratner also tweeted another link to the most successful martial arts movies of all time with his "Rush Hour" films in three of the top five slots. Although, calling "Rush Hour" a martial arts film is like calling "Spaceballs" a sci-fi movie. So, has Ratner made a compelling counterargument? Not really. What he fails to realize is that 'The Last Stand' hit theaters on a wave of goodwill thanks to the two solid entries that came before it, and what he doesn't acknowledge is that his film, along with the awful "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" are part of the reason 'First Class' had a less than explosive opening. Audiences were wary after being hoodwinked twice. And the whole idea of using box office numbers as proof of a film's quality is fairly ridiculous, but from a studio perspective, execs love Ratner because shitty or not, his movies make money. So when "Tower Heist" hits later this year, it will be another big hit for the director who will continue to confuse box office dollars with filmmaking acumen. As for Vaughn, 'First Class' will hopefully have some decent legs and at the very least, he will remembered for breathing fresh life into a franchise that Ratner and Gavin Hood had left for dead.
Slow news day?
IT'S SHIT LIKE THIS PLAYLIST!
Just checked it out, I really enjoyed it. I thought Michael Fassbender stole the show and Kevin Bacon was really good too. I wasn't a fan of January Jones either so I googled her and this came up:
"Everyone seems to be raving about X-Men: First Class.
Well, everyone except Damon Lindelof.
OK, so that's not totally true. The Lost cocreator might have loved the movie, which came out in theaters last week, but he did hint on Twitter that there was something not very enjoyable about it.
And it has to do with January Jones...
MORE: Five Things You Need to Know Before Seeing X-Men: First Class
The TV exec tweets— "Emma Frost's THREE mutant powers: Telepathy, Transformation to Solid Diamond and last but not least, Sucking at Acting."
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.eonline.com%2Feol_images%2FEntire_Site%2F201156%2F%2F425.twitter.cm.6611.jpg&hash=b074facc8e5b67788c9907f1ca93f9e8ede3beda)
Haha this movie makes hollywood people bitch each other, cool.
Can't wait to see it, might even settle with the local french dub.
I really liked it, but it doesn't ever live up to the Nazi hunting Fassbinder does at the beginning. I wanted more scenes like that bar scene. Nothing like that ever happened again.
It also tried to do too much which resulted in some really awkward editing.
Still, super fun.
Quote from: RegularKarate on June 07, 2011, 10:45:10 AM
I really liked it, but it doesn't ever live up to the Nazi hunting Fassbinder does at the beginning. I wanted more scenes like that bar scene. Nothing like that ever happened again.
It also tried to do too much which resulted in some really awkward editing.
Still, super fun.
Your review is my review. But shorter.
Fassbender is so cool and McAvoy is so lame that only a real moron would actually want to be an X-Man at the end of that movie. I would like January Jones' SAG card to be stamped "Only to play Betty Draper." I'd still give the movie a 6 or 7 out of 10.
Quote from: RegularKarate on June 07, 2011, 10:45:10 AM
I really liked it, but it doesn't ever live up to the Nazi hunting Fassbinder does at the beginning. I wanted more scenes like that bar scene.
This scene and the *Spoiler* metal-filling removal *End Spoils* are the best scenes in the film. I was happy with the price of admission if only for this little bit.
yeah it's pretty obvious which parts work and which are a mess. in a way, it's good that this movie shows the pornstar skills of january jones in order to contrast what makes actors like mcavoy or fassbender so likeable film stars. i liked it a lot. i felt a cool metal gear solid vibe that somebody that played snake eater will understand. i will probably buy it, i guess that's they highest compliment some of us can give to movies.
I enjoyed this very much. I'll echo what everyone has said about Fassbender, he's fantastic in the role. I also enjoyed Professor X's corny way of picking up women. Kevin Bacon would make a great Bond villain, in fact I really dug the whole Bond vibe of the film, with sidekick bimbos who can't act and the Cold War backdrop. There's a lot wrong with it, namely the way the other mutants are handled/rushed, but the film never strays too far from McAvoy and Fassbender and it really works because of it.
Haven't seen it. Surprised/glad about the general good word of mouth. The main complaint I'm hearing is that there are just too many mutants introduced late in the game that they are rushed and not fully fleshed out. For those who've seen the film: do you think they could have done without them. From the impression I get, this is more of an intimate film focusing on the very beginning of the x-men and the Professor X/Magneto relationship. Almost seems like they would have been better to keep the characters limited, then market the shit out of the sequel by doing a series of viral shorts introducing the key new mutants so that they can just hit the ground running with more or less established characters in the second movie. Plus it would be a nifty way to avoid a lot of this origin-fatigue that the movie apparently suffers from, as do all super hero/comic book movies.
spoilers:
The only difference between this film and the other comic book "origin" films is that the origin scenes in this one are the strongest parts of the film. It only suffers from trying to force all the characters into their proper places (Magneto as the villain, Mystique by his side, Professor X in a wheelchair). There's still plenty of story left to play with and many years to play with it. Bringing all of the characters to where they were at the beginning of the first X-Men film, which takes place almost 40 years later, makes it seem as if nothing happens in all that time. I would've been perfectly happy seeing an entire film bringing Magneto and Professor X together, then saving the school/recruitment stuff for later.
As it stands, it's still very solid. None of the characters are bad necessarily, just a bit undercooked. I even enjoyed January Jones, although I don't think she gave that performance on purpose.
This is the first X men movie I truly liked. Diggler is right, the origin parts are the best sequences in the film. It actually made me want to rewatch the X men movies of the past and see the events that followed. I'm intrigued to watch more of these origin stories now...
michael fassbender.
I really liked this. I will buy it when it's out on blu-ray (which is the ultimate stamp of approval). I could watch McAvoy and Fassbender for hours and hours. They are far and away some of the best actors working today, and I can't wait to see what else they do. As for Vaughn, he finally made a film I liked.