As I always try to look for some new way to expand my offerings, I have decided to keep an eye out across the world of entertainment news and try my hand at news reporting/commentary on stories that catch my eye. Obviously, I cannot cover everything. What I will do is catch whatever I can as I can and hope that it delivers something new to you.
GNR's Chinese Democracy is Real!?
Tell me if you believe this. November will see the release of a new Guns N' Roses album. True or false. At the moment it is true, according to Blabbermouth.net. Not only that—the album will be a Best Buy exclusive.
This album has been rumored to be coming out for years, but it kept getting pushed back, and pushed back, and pushed back again. Honestly, I never thought this album was going to come. I remember when End of Days had a new GNR track during the end credits back in 1999. I remember being a little anxious to hear it, but then I did and it was not good at all. Then there was the MTV awards show where Jimmy Fallon introduced Axl and his current Guns lineup, and they didn't sound all that good then. Frankly, I lost interest in any new Guns material. All I need is Appetite for Destruction, thank you very much.
Now November 23 is the day when Chinese Democracy will hit stores. Before that date, you will be able to get a taste when a new song plays during the credits for Body of Lies. The song is called "If the World" and will not appear on the soundtrack album.
Well, here's hoping that the wait was worth it. I will be checking it out, but I cannot say I have high expectations.
Iron Man 2 Trades Howard for Cheadle
Here is an interesting bit of news coming out of The Hollywood Reporter -- Terrence Howard is out and Don Cheadle is in. While Robert Downey Jr. will be returning as the troubled hero, his best friend will be putting on a new face.
It is being reported that financial issues were one of the chief reasons that negotiations broke down with Howard. So, when that fell apart, they turned to Cheadle, with whom Marvel Enterprises has expressed desire to work with in the past.
This is definitely an interesting turn of events. Although I think Howard is a very good actor, Cheadle is, quite frankly, one of the strongest going right now. Don Cheadle has turned in a number of strong performances in recent years, including the lead role in the recent Traitor. That said, I couldn’t say that I can picture Cheadle as Jim Rhodes (the Howard role). I always imagine someone of imposing size as Rhodes. Of course, I felt the same way about Howard and felt he was fine in the role.
In any case, I am definitely intrigued to see what Cheadle will bring to the table. I suspect he will work well with Robert Downey Jr., especially if the Rhodes role will have a larger part in the sequel as has been reported.
Saw - The Ride
Can you believe they are making a Saw ride? UK's Thorpe Park will be debuting the coaster next spring. Designers have been working with Lionsgate to make sure they get the series-specific sights and sounds accurate for the roller coaster. Frankly, I find the whole thing a little bit ridiculous.
If this is a "family friendly" sort of park, will the surrounding ride paraphernalia be toned down to PG, with "tickle torture" devices? I kid. I guess it may just be because I am not the biggest fan of the Saw franchise. I certainly enjoy the gore and some of the traps; I just don't care for the over-plotting the series has undergone over the years.
As for the ride itself, it will feature a ‘beyond vertical’ drop of 100º from a height of 100ft (a 4.5 G-force experience), making it the steepest freefall drop in the world. There will also be three loops in the ride that lasts 1 minute and 40 seconds, 30% of which will be inside the station building. The track is 2363 feet long.
Take a look at the ride's developing site.
Raimi Talks Spidey
Recently MTV's Movie Blog sat down with Sam Raimi to talk about the future of the Spider-Man franchise. Things are sounding positive, but the quotes are so roundabout that it is hard to get a real handle on what is going on, but other than it is a foregone conclusion that more sequels will be made.
So, what do we learn? Well, we already knew that Tobey Maguire is coming back, but we learn that the return of Kirsten Dunst is still up in the air, despite her comments that she wants to be involved. Raimi says that he wants to work with her again, going on to say how hard it is to work older characters into the script, especially those who have died, such as Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe) and Ben Parker.
There is also talk about the rumors that Spider-Man 4 and 5 will be shot back to back. It seems like this is a real possibility if a script can come together and the producers choose to go that route. I like this idea, as it would give a story room to breathe and hopefully avoid what happened with the third film, which had so much crammed into it that there was no room for anything to develop.
Raimi also gave a hint that maybe we will finally see The Lizard. We have had Dylan Baker playing Curt Connors in the first three films; it would be great to see him back as the villain. Again, the quote is rather obtuse.
Not that I don't understand that a script is needed first. Even without a script, Raimi expects production to start early 2010.
"A sinister cabal of superior writers."
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