First AVATAR Sequel Not Happening In 2018 - No Firm Date Set

Want the good news or the bad news? Bad news? Ok. The first sequel to the record-breaking James Cameron opus AVATAR will not be released in 2018.

James Cameron: "Well, 2018 is not happening. We haven’t announced a firm release date. What people have to understand is that this is a cadence of releases. So we’re not making Avatar 2. We’re making Avatar 2, 3, 4 and 5. It’s an epic undertaking. It’s not unlike building the Three Gorges dam. (Laughs) So I know where I’m going to be for the next eight years of my life. It’s not an unreasonable time frame if you think about it. It took us four-and-a-half years to make one movie and now we’re making four. We’re full tilt boogie right now. This is my day job and pretty soon we’ll be 24-7. We’re pretty well designed on all our creatures and sets. It’s pretty exciting stuff. I wish I could share with the world. But we have to preserve a certain amount of showmanship and we’re going to draw that curtain when the time is right."

The good news is Cameron and his team are going full bore now. It takes a tremendous amount of work to get even one movie of this scope made, let alone four of them concurrently. Cameron is now keyed in. Once they hit 24-7 as he says, we'll see some amazing progress.

The delay doesn't surprise me, but now that the wheels are in motion and barring any technological problems we should see their next date stick. Sure it's disappointing to hear of further delays but we all want amazing movies. I'm sure we'll get that. Stay tuned.

Source: Toronto Star

Tim's Review of "The Amazing Spider-Man 2"

Tim here, and let me start by saying that this movie is an average film overall. Whether you want to look at amongst superhero movies or all of filmmaking history the movie falls into the category of average. This is why I ended up deciding to give the movie a C+ score, and after reading my thoughts you can see the movie for yourself to make up your own mind.

Flat out the story and plot are the main areas where this movie fell flat and was very "BLAAHH!" In the very beginning of the movie my suspension of disbelief is thrown because I can't understand how in the past Peter's father was supposed to have uploaded a video file over an Ethernet port from a private jet to the cloud... Did the cloud exist back then? When is back then? I'd say late 1990's or early 2000's if the movie was taking place in present day, which seems reasonable to assume. So how does he not only upload the file, but get interrupted and start from the same place each time. As some of us know if we start uploading a file to a server via FTP and it gets interrupted you have to start over again. Only sometimes if you're lucky it will continuing from where it got interrupted. That's one of the first things that was hard to swallow.

The movie continues at an uneven pace and often gets to a slow crawl despite the action sequences that pop up. At the center is a love story that is strong and is done well thanks to the great performances from Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, but the rest of the movie fails to take off. The plot revolving around what Peter's father did never really feels like it works, nor does his father's explanation for why Peter would have gotten his abilities while anyone else wouldn't. The movie is an exercise in waste, and as well fails to bring anything truly new to the table. The conclusion of the love story at the end of this movie is the only fitting aspect, and the only thing the audience will have an emotional reaction to. At the same time it makes it difficult to bring Peter's true love interest of the Spiderman universe Mary Jane Watson into the mix.

Another area I had trouble understanding how it could happen, and was not an area my suspension of disbelief would accept the event, was in the creation of Jamie Foxx's Electro. First, Foxx's Max/Electro character is underdeveloped and then there's no clue given as to why he would survive his accident to turn into this villainous character and no one else would. Especially since electric eels are involved and the movie establishes that Oscorp has abandoned animal experimentation after the events of the last film. So why are the eels there? Also, what about the bullies and tormentors of Max from earlier in the film? Why do they disappear never to be heard or seen again? I'm sure Max would have wanted revenge on them. There's a serious failure on the storytelling here.

So next we come to the other villain of the movie: Harry Osborn, AKA The Green Goblin. His character was also underdeveloped, but was also way too sullen. Dane Dehaan did a fine job with what he had to work with, but the emotional range of the character was sullen and really angry. His relationship with Peter wasn't developed enough and additionally the decease that afflicted his father and now consumes him felt rushed. His overall purpose was to setup the next installment's plot.

And, that's the biggest pitfall of this movie: it's all setup for the bigger franchise. It doesn't stand on its own. Paul Giamatti was poorly used as an extremely one-dimensional Aleksei Sytsevich who will end up being The Rhino in the next film. His character is over-animated and over the top and terribly uses the high level of acting Giamatti is capable of delivering. It doesn't seem like he'll work in The Amazing Spiderman 3 as a compelling villain. It's all a setup for the Sinister Six, and Harry Osborne will be at the center as The Green Goblin.

Beyond the story the technical aspects of the film were on par with a big budget movie like this. The stereoscopic 3D was average however because they chose to make it a hybrid instead of a fully native 3D production. I call it hybrid because it was shot in 2D with 35mm film and all the digital VFX were rendered in stereo. This caused a lot of the live action elements shot on 35mm to feel flatter as the 3D wasn't pushed enough for there to be true depth in the shots. A lot of the CGI elements created by the VFX department worked great in stereo and they pushed it as much as they should have, but that didn't help the earlier decision that the rest would be converted to 3D. It was a step back from the last installment. Also, 3D conversion on 2D shot action scenes where it's close shaky camera and quick cutting never works well for me. I saw the movie in MasterImage 3D and Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound.

The sound design wasn't anything innovative, but was technically good. The score by Hans Zimmer felt recycled from his previous scores. The Electro theme and music style worked well and had some creativity in it, but still sounded too similar to what Hans Zimmer has done in The Dark Knight franchise and last year's Man of Steel. It's easy to expect more from this talented composer.

Marc Webb did a fine job making this movie, but in the end failed to go beyond average. It's going to be hard keeping excitement amongst fans with this by the numbers delivery. Let's hope that things are greatly improved with the next installment.

PLANET OF THE APES 3 Re-ups Director Matt Reeves!

Seems DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES is causing quite a stir internally at Fox as the studio has decided to re-up director Matt Reeves for the 3rd movie of the rebooted franchise.

This is great news for fans of the Apes Universe, including myself. Reeves (LET ME IN, CLOVERFIELD) is perfect to tap again for it and obviously he has taken well to native 3D using 3ality Technica's rigs. Let the man do it again and again I say.

From Deadline: "This time, (Reeves) will write the script with Mark Bomback, one of the writers who scripted the sequel. Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa were the scribes who resurrected the franchise with Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, the Ruper Wyatt-directed film that grossed $482 million worldwide in 2011. The directing deal is done and the writer deals are being worked out right now. It is likely that Reeves will go right into the third film, a priority for the studio."

Here is the storyline for DAWN:
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.

For all of our DAWN coverage including the latest trailer, click here.

DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES opens on July 18, 2014.

Source: Deadline

Must Watch: New Trailer For THOR: THE DARK WORLD

I can't tell you how much I love seeing these comic book heroes come to life on the screen! Thor. I couldn't have imagined 10 years ago a scenario where suspension of disbelief could exist with this character, but here it is yet again! The trailer for THOR: THE DARK WORLD sets up expectations for the sequel just about perfectly.

Nice to see Idris Elba getting some more much deserved screen time in this movie. His star keeps on rising and Heimdall's character was practically begging for more exposure in Asgard.

Another cool add-on that YouTube has implemented (for awhile now) is the "POW" button which pixelizes videos to seem like moving comic books - check it out on this trailer. Kind of a fun thing.

Here's the storyline for the movie:
Marvel’s THOR: THE DARK WORLD continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself. In the aftermath of Marvel’s Thor and Marvel’s The Avengers, Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos…but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.

THOR: THE DARK WORLD opens on November 8.

AVATAR Sequels Slated For 2016, 2017 And 2018! Cameron Enlists New Writers!! *BUT* Are They Really All Sequels??

...And then there was four! Of course there has been hints and conjecture about having 3 sequels before and now that's been confirmed with James Cameron's AVATAR sequels 2, 3 and 4 being officially announced by Fox -AND- we also have the slated release dates for said movies: December 2016, December 2017 and December 2018 (yes, blockbuster 2015 actually took a step backwards today!).

BUT will they all be sequels? Part of the "hints" that have been dropped have included James Cameron himself back in September of last year when he said: "Because when we drop in, even in the first film in AVATAR 1, as it will be known in the future, we’re dropping into a process that’s 35 years into a whole colonization. That will complete an arc and if that leads into more, we’ll start - not imitating STAR WARS, but it’s a logical thing to do because we’ll have completed the thematic arc by the end of (AVATAR 3). The only thing left to do is go back to see what it was like on those first expeditions and create some new characters that then become legacy characters in later films. It’s a plan."

"I have an idea for a fourth. I haven’t really put pen to paper on it, but basically it goes back to the early expeditions of Pandora, and kind of what went wrong with the humans and the Na’vi and what that was like to be an explorer and living in that world."

So as a fan of the AVATAR universe, don't always believe what is being reported without digging a bit further. This is still conjecture but I have my sources on it. I'll let you know when I find out.

All three massive movies will be shot at the same time alluding to a massive budget green light from the studio. It seems like a no-brainer after the original is the reigning king of the box time office at almost $2.8 billion, but make no mistake - it takes guts to pull a trigger this size.

But the chairman and CEO Jim Gianopulos of Fox voiced nothing but confidence: "We at the studio have no higher priority, and can feel no greater joy, than enabling Jim to continue and expand his vision of the world of Avatar. The growing breadth and scale of Jim Cameron’s plans for his magnificent fantasy worlds continue to amaze us all."

"The growing breadth and scale of Jim Cameron’s plans for his magnificent fantasy worlds continue to amaze us all." That warrants repeating!

To emphasize the increased scope of the franchise and the workload that must be completed before production begins next year, Cameron has hired some writers to assist in the undertaking, and the countdown IS ON.

Writers Josh Friedman (WAR OF THE WORLDS), Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES) and Shane Salerno (SAVAGES) have all been tapped by the maestro of it all, Cameron.

Says Cameron: "Building upon the world we created with Avatar has been a rare and incredibly rewarding experience. In writing the new films, I’ve come to realize that Avatar’s world, story and characters have become even richer than I anticipated, and it became apparent that two films would not be enough to capture everything I wanted to put on screen. And to help me continue to expand this universe, I’m pleased to bring aboard Amanda, Rick, Shane and Josh — all writers I’ve long admired –­ to join me in completing the films screenplays."

So where does this leave us? It's interesting and still very much speculative. Will there be a prequel as Cameron has said in the recent past. Are the writers all working on the movies or are they branching off to help build the universe further - case in point, the AVATAR novel that Cameron was said to be working on. I could go on, but the only real answers here is the commitment to dates, the number of movies and the budget green-light on these projects which could and probably will top $1 billion to get made.

Stay tuned for more info. I've got my ears to the same ground that dropped us huge bits of info for the original! Can't wait to hear more...

Sources: THR | Deadline

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 Secures Garfield And Webb; Stone In Talks!

Wonderful news! The best Spider-man / Peter Parker actor (in my opinion) has been re-inked to headline THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 for Columbia. Andrew Garfield, who at the same moment can be bashful and timid but yet ooze new found power has been secured. Hey - that DOES sounds like Peter Parker.

Further and perhaps just as important, Marc Webb ((500) DAYS OF SUMMER) has also been tapped to return as director. It looks like he'll direct the sequel before having to go back to Fox Searchlight to finish his commitment with them. Time will tell. I thought that despite the normal studio filter than is placed on creativity, Webb's webhead tale was nicely done. But would I rather see a full blown, unfiltered Webb take for Spidey 2? You bet.

Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Jeff Pinker have penned the script so we should expect a solid story yet again, despite different writers. I loved the first movie.

Here's Doug Belgrad, Columbia's president on the re-signing:

"We could not be more confident in the direction we are taking this new Spider-Man storyline and we are tremendously excited to be ramping up production again with Marc at the helm and Andrew continuing on as Peter Parker. We can’t wait to share what we have in store for Peter and Spider-Man with audiences worldwide."

Emma Stone is still in talks to pick up her magnificent turn as Gwen Stacy. I suppose if things turn sour for whatever reason Mary Jane Watson could emerge for the first time, but for heaven's sake sign Stone. She's good for this franchise.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 is slated for a May 2, 2014 release with lensing to commence in Q1, 2013. And after the first one made $751 million, the stakes are high.

Source: Variety

AVATAR 2 Not Expected Until At Least 2015

We have gotten an update for the release of AVATAR 2 and as expected it looks like 2014 is out. 2015 or later is the newly revised estimate from the man himself, James Cameron.

However the upside is that Cameron will be shooting AVATAR 2, 3 and 4 at the same time so while we'll have to wait for the front end of these movies til 2015, the follow up movies should come on a fairly good schedule afterward.

New Zealand will definitely be a huge part of the AVATAR sequels as Cameron plans on using Peter Jackson's Wellington studios as well as his Weta Digital visual effects company. Motion capture will be done in Los Angeles.

Cameron is also personally investing in the kiwi island nation by purchasing a 2500 acre home on Lake Pounui. Word is he is considering building his own studios in Auckland. He was careful to point out however that "I'm not there to compete with Peter."

More AVATAR news when we get it!

Source: NYTimes

INDEPENDENCE DAY 2 In The Works - Sequel Worthy Story Written By Emmerich And Devlin

Interesting news from producer Dean Devlin (INDEPENDENCE DAY, STARGATE) from our friends over at Collider - INDEPENDENCE DAY 2 is definitely in the works!

Here's what Devlin had to say at the Saturn Awards:
“I can tell you that Roland Emmerich and I are working together for the first time in eleven years and we are working really hard to try and make this happen. I think that the story that we finally cracked is finally worthy of a sequel. And I think that the people who have been fans will feel like they got the movie they were waiting for.”

Further Devlin said that the time between the movies would be used as part of the plot which makes total sense to me. Time is a requirement for most fictional space travel so why not? I see it as being a plot device too for the sequel to DISTRICT 9 should that happen too.

However, I don't believe Devlin is your standard Hollywood writer / producer. Want proof? How about this quote from him:

“Many years ago, I was actually hired to write the sequel to Independence Day. And I wrote a sequel. And they paid me a boatload of money to go write this thing. And after I wrote it, I read it and I gave them back the money and I said, ‘look, this is an okay movie I just wrote. But it’s not worthy of the sequel to Independence Day.’ And I literally gave back the money. And afterwards I said, ‘You know what? I’m not even going to try anymore.’ And it was only about a year-and-a-half ago that Roland called me up and said, ‘We should try again.’”

No word on whether Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum or any of the other stars will be returning to the sequel, but Devlin did allude to it when he said that (paraphrased) it's necessary to account for the time between movies because the actors get older. Hint, hint.

More details when I get it! I am definitely up for another ID movie. Loved the first one despite some cheesy moments. Goldblum has GOT to come back.

Hello. Ridley Scott Describes A Scene From The Upcoming BLADE RUNNER Sequel

This man is awesome. Ridley Scott knows what to say to get the BLADE RUNNER fanboys jumping and this interview with Collider is no exception. Ridley fills us in on a visual for a scene he has floating around in his head for the planned sequel and I love it.

Again, I am counting on Ridley's affinity for 3D to make this sequel in three dimensions! No official word on this yet.

Here's Ridley's quote:
“There’ll be a vast farmland where there are no hedges or anything in sight, and it’s flat like the plains of—where’s the Great Plains in America? Kansas, where you can see for miles. And it’s dirt, but it’s being raked. On the horizon is a combine harvester which is futuristic with klieg lights, ‘cause it’s dawn. The harvester is as big as six houses. In the foreground is a small white clapboard hut with a porch as if it was from Grapes of Wrath. From the right comes a car, coming in about six feet off the ground being chased by a dog. And that’s the end of it, I’m not gonna tell you anything else.”

Watch the quote!

Source: Collider

James Cameron Diving Into AVATAR 2, 3 And 4 Next, Other Projects Backburnered

Well some good news and some bad news. The good news is James Cameron is back from his dive and while there is a 3D documentary coming out about it, he is hard at work on AVATAR 2 and 3. He's been writing. And filling in where he wants to take us, but he has stepped back from world building for the moment. As you can imagine, building worlds is a tough business to be in. Think about it for a minute: Pandora's environment, flora and fauna, cultures, language, the physics of this new world - unobtainium, floating mountains, etc. Time consuming to say the least!


So will we see another alien race or planet / moon in AVATAR 2 or 3? Looks like the answer is... maybe. I've listened to how some of my readers have interpreted his message and it is feasible that he intends on growing the AVATAR universe to other moons, etc. Cameron has pulled the plug on his development arm though. Let's hope it is ONLY new development.

The bad news is it looks like BATTLE ANGEL may be far in the future. Cameron is now saying he is totally in the AVATAR business (which IS great news) and that there may even be an AVATAR 4 before anything else. So all of you BA fans will have to wait longer (myself included). I am actually ok with this. There is so much he can do with the AVATAR universe that his mind must be racing.

Add in the fact that Ridley Scott looks like he has a diamond soon to be released in PROMETHEUS, Cameron is going to want to answer that movie with resounding: "Ok Ridley, top THIS one!"

So let's get to the quotes:

Cameron on other filmmakers:
"I don’t find my inspiration in movies. I find my inspiration in life – in the natural world, in daily life. There are filmmakers that come along that are quite iconoclastic. And that I’m in awe of, frankly. Zack Snyder’s “300.” I think that was a really revolutionary film, because it was a completely deconstructive form of filmmaking in a way that nobody had done before, other than maybe Robert Rodriguez. That’s inspirational to me. Zhang Yimou’s films are inspirational to me. I have to see them multiple times to really see how he’s doing it and what exactly he’s doing that seems to work so well. So as a fan of film, there are certain films that come along that are just stunning to me, and I’ll study them."

"...You know, there’s the old guard. You know, Spielberg, Kubrick and all that sort of thing. But in terms of new filmmakers, up and coming, I haven’t seen anybody that blew me away in the last year or so."

Cameron on his next projects:
"I’ve divided my time over the last 16 years over deep ocean exploration and filmmaking. I’ve made two movies in 16 years, and I’ve done eight expeditions. Last year I basically completely disbanded my production company’s development arm. So I’m not interested in developing anything. I’m in the “Avatar” business. Period. That’s it. I’m making “Avatar 2,” “Avatar 3,” maybe “Avatar 4,” and I’m not going to produce other people’s movies for them. I’m not interested in taking scripts. And that all sounds I suppose a little bit restricted, but the point is I think within the “Avatar” landscape I can say everything I need to say that I think needs to be said, in terms of the state of the world and what I think we need to be doing about it. And doing it in an entertaining way. And anything I can’t say in that area, I want to say through documentaries, which I’m continuing. I’ve done five documentaries in the last 10 years, and I’ll hopefully do a lot more. In fact, I’m doing one right now, which is on this, the Deep Sea Challenge project that we just completed the first expedition. So that’ll be a film that’ll get made this year and come out first quarter of next year."

"We’ve spent the last year and a half on software development and pipeline development. The virtual production methodology was extremely prototypical on the first film. As then, no one had ever done it before and we didn’t even know for two and half years into it and $100 million into it if it was going to work. So we just wanted to make our lives a whole lot easier so that we can spend a little more of our brainpower on creativity. It was a very, very uphill battle on the first film. So we’ve been mostly working on the tool set, the production pipeline, setting up the new stages in Los Angeles, setting up the new visual effects pipeline in New Zealand, that sort of thing. And, by the way, writing. We haven’t gotten to the design stage yet. That’ll be the next."

"It’s conceivable (on working in China for the AVATAR sequels). You know, one of the things I want to explore while I’m here is the idea of co-production on those films, but it’s a slightly different case because they’re studio films. There were zero… I can’t say zero exteriors. We did one night in the parking lot next to the sound stage. But there were no locations."

I'll have more when I get it, and when I hear back from my sources. Once work ramps up on the AVATAR sequels we'll have some cool updates guaranteed! :-)

Source: NYTimes

Two New Photos For THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN. Orci And Kurtzman Rewriting Webhead Sequel

Recently Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman were hired to rewrite THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN sequel after Sony had James Vanderbilt have a crack at it last spring. Apparently the first go at it didn't met expectations and you can do worse than hire Orci and Kurtzman, clearly. We'll see how this iteration turns out by Sony's reaction to further "retouches". SPIDER-MAN 2 has a slated release window in May 2014.

In the meanwhile we still have a solid and in-the-can movie to talk about! THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN. Here are two officially released photos of Andrew Garfield as the webslinger.

Click images to enlarge.

Here's the official storyline for the movie:
Like most teenagers his age, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. In his journey to put the pieces of his past together he uncovers a secret his father held…a secret that will ultimately shape his destiny as Spider-Man. This is the first in a series of movies that tells a different side of the Peter Parker story.

On July 3rd, 2012, the untold story begins.

Source: /Film

CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 In Development

According to Variety, Sony Pictures Animation's CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 is starting to develop.

Apparently the studio has tapped two of their artists to direct the sequel, Cody Cameron (OPEN SEASON 3) and Kris Pearn. They were also on the original film as story artist and head of story respectively. Phil Lord and Chris Miller (the directors for the first iteration) will executive produce.

Not much is known about where they are taking the movie except that it "will continue the adventures of inventor Flint Lockwood."

It is generally an automatic announcement for animations (alliteration!) that if the original does well (CWACOM made ~$230m), there will be a sequel(s). I happened to really enjoy the first one and its brilliant use of color, cool story and sight gags. Looking forward to it.

Sequel To CLASH entitled: WRATH OF THE TITANS! Neeson Says It Will Start Shooting In March And It Will Kick @ss!!

One of my favorite actors is Liam Neeson. Of course he is headlining (as Zeus) the sequel to CLASH OF THE TITANS which we now know is called WRATH OF THE TITANS.

Neeson said (via Belfast Telegraph): "I've only read half of the script and there is still some work being done - they're on script 10 - but I think it's going to be some kick-a** stuff and a very human story to it. We will start next March. I'm very much looking forward to it. It's a whole revamping, you know."

Neeson doesn't know if WRATH will be shot in native 3D or not. I would wager not as I believe there is an existing agreement in place between the studio and the conversion company for multiple 2D to 3D projects. HOWEVER, that being said I would quickly follow that by saying LESSONS HAVE BEEN LEARNED. In other words, no ridiculous timelines for completion.

Thanks for the heads up Adam!

PIRANHA 3D Sequel Already Has Teeth!

Yes, you read that right! Due to the overwhelming critical response to the Alexandre Aja re-imagining of PIRANHA, Dimension Films is talking sequel very publicly. PIRANHA 3D has been hovering around the 80% fresh rating at RottenTomatoes and does not seem to be moving, so obviously the horror comedy has been well received.

Press Release Excerpts:
Audiences have been slow to warm up to the movie and we will soon see what kind of legs the film will have in theaters. I loved it. If it wasn't for the terrible 3D conversion (ok, most of the short range shorts were passable) I would have really praised it. After earning rave reviews from top critics, wild cheers from audiences around the country, and $10 million in its opening weekend boxoffice, Dimension Films is pleased to announce that PIRANHA 3D – THE SEQUEL is in the works.

PIRANHA 3D producer Mark Canton stated, "We are thrilled that audiences are not just loving PIRANHA 3D, but cheering for it. And it's fantastic that so many critics are really getting the movie and recommending it. We can't wait to get to work on the sequel."

PIRANHA 3D opened with fantastic reviews from top critics like the ASSOCIATED PRESS and REUTERS, enjoying a very FRESH rating of 80-82% favorable reviews on the popular movie review site ROTTEN TOMATOES throughout it's opening weekend. The movie has captured the attention of movie fans as well as elite media outlets like The Wall St. Journal, The Daily Beast and The Huffington Post. And taking Hollywood by surprise, PIRANHA 3D - via a partnership with Funny Or Die - is the subject of a much-talked about campaign to be named Best Picture of the year. Funny Or Die's "For Your Consideration" video for PIRANHA 3D took the nation by storm last week. And, as announced over the weekend, Academy Award ® nominee and Piranha 3D heroine Elisabeth Shue will debut a brand new video in the coming days on Funny Or Die.

Directed by Alexandre Aja (The Hills Have Eyes, Mirrors), produced by Mark Canton (300, upcoming Immortals) and starring Elisabeth Shue, Jerry O'Connell, Jessica Szohr (Gossip Girl), Steven R. McQueen (Vampire Diaries and grandson of the legendary actor), Eli Roth, Adam Scott, Kelly Brook (current cover of Playboy), Riley Steele, Paul Scheer, Ving Rhames, Ricardo Chavira, Richard Dreyfuss and Christopher Lloyd, PIRANHA 3D opened to rave reviews from the Associated Press and other top critics.

So while the movie will most likely break even or maybe even squeak out a little profit after disc sales, the critical response has earned it a sequel nod. Or at least a hint of a sequel to help propel current theatrical sales. ;-)

Warner Begins Work On GREEN LANTERN 2 And THE FLASH!!

That's confidence for you! Warner Bros. is apparently hiring writers for GREEN LANTERN 2!!

On the strength of what they are seeing already from the Ryan Reynolds topped comic book adaptation, Warners has re-hired the writing team of Greg Berlanti, Michael Green and Marc Guggenheim to work on its sequel. They have asked them to write a treatment for THE FLASH as well! Both are dream gigs if you ask me - solid stories surround these characters which makes it much more likely to have big screen success.

From THR: It also appears to be the first moves the studio is making under its newly configured relationship with DC. In September, DC was reorganized to bring it closer to Warners, with Diane Nelson named president of newly created DC Entertainment. In February, artist Jim Lee and executive editor Dan DiDio were named publishers of DC Comics. Star writer Geoff Johns was appointed chief creative officer of DCE, with the aim of bridging the comics and filmed entertainment sides. With new Batman and Superman films in the writing stages and “Lantern” filming, the team thought “Flash” was the next logical hero to tackle.

Director Martin Campbell has GREEN LANTERN in production right now on location in New Orleans. Ryan Reynolds plays a superhero who is part of the Green Lantern Corps that police our galaxy.

I take this as a HUGE sign that all is proceeding as planned. If you will recall, Warner Bros. has committed to 3D tentpoles with comic book adaptations replacing the Harry Potter cash cow. Can't wait to see what they have in store for us!

Dreamworks Animation Announces HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON Sequel For 2013!

Jim here. Dreamworks Animation has announced that the sequel to HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON will light up the screens in 2013.

"2010 is off to a strong start, thanks in large part to the performance of 'How to Train Your Dragon,' which – having grossed nearly $375 million to date in worldwide box office – has become DreamWorks Animation's next franchise. We plan to release the sequel theatrically in 2013," said Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation. "3D continues to have a tremendous impact on the industry at large and we are now looking forward with great anticipation to bringing 'Shrek Forever After,' the final chapter in our beloved 'Shrek' series and the first in 3D, to audiences across the globe next month."

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON has thus far made $180m domestically and $193m overseas for a total worldwide box office of $373m, and of course the movie was #1 at the box office last weekend.

I knew we were in for a treat with this movie and always thought that it would do KUNG FU PANDA type numbers + the 3D premium. I think the voice acting was bang on and the material perfect for kids AND families of all ages. Keep up the excellent work DWA!!

TRON Is Prepping It's LEGACY!

Jim here. Disney is prepping for TRON: LEGACY sequels as of right now. Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz have started penning the second iteration of the newly invigorated sci-fi franchise. Do I hear trilogy in the works?

So far nothing has been heard from director Joseph Kosinski on a return to TRON sequels but I would wager that his return would be a safe assumption.

Obviously Disney is happy with what they are seeing so far with TRON: LEGACY and that fits perfectly into what I am hearing from my sources. The 3D is supposed to surpass even AVATAR. If the story is a good one (and it must be as they are already working on expanding the franchise), then it should be another home run for the mouse house.

TRON:LEGACY is at the top of my most anticipated movies of 2010. I see no reason yet to change that! Bring it on. Opening wide on December 17.

"Condition Dead" To Be Shot In 3D? "My Bloody Valentine 3D" Sequel? It Is Being Discussed...

Jim here. Moviehole's Clint Morris recently interviewed Patrick Lussier (MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3D - photo on left) and the topic of his next project came up, namely CONDITION DEAD. Here is Lussier talking about 3D:

"Condition Dead would be a perfect 3D movie... It's an aggressive gritty zombie movie with the tagline: When the Dead Rise... Leave it to the professionals.

The story centres on a team that polices 'outbreaks' of a certain kind all over the world. But this time, the outbreak proves to be different than expected.

It's a great script by Dave Davis and would be a blast to make and even more fun to watch."

And on a MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3D sequel:

"Todd (Farmer) and I have a great concept for the continuing adventures of those who might survive. But we'll have to stay tuned and see if we're lucky enough to make that."

I think Lussier has got the chops to make this happen now. He did a bang up job on MBV3D and if you haven't seen it yet - get out and see it in 3D! It is well worth it and loads of fun. I am fairly sure you will see a sequel as well as more 3D projects from Lussier - hopefully CONDITION DEAD!