December 30, 2011

There have been some major changes made to plans for an upcoming action-adventure movie set to star former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Deadline reported last October that the star was set to play a loner who “wages war against a ruthless weapons manufacturer and his private army” in the tough-as-nails drama Black Sands.

Now the star tells a fansite, the picture has been revamped into a thriller with the new title Black Sunday. Schawarzenegger describes his character as being supernatural, but refuses to give anything else away.

“I’m a kind of angel,” Schwarzenegger tells website TheArnoldFans. “I can not currently say more about this film.”

The picture is set to be shot by directors Scott Waugh and Mike McCoy from a script by A-Team scribe Skip Woods. Shooting is slated to start April 1, but fans can look forward to seeing the star back on the screen in the upcoming, action-packed sequel The Expendables 2.

That picture will land in theaters everywhere in the summer of 2012.

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December 30, 2011

A comic book writer who says he created the mystical Marvel superhero Ghost Rider has been denied his claims in court.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gary Friedrich says he was inspired by daredevil superstar Evel Kneivel when he first imagined the hellbent motorcycle madman known as Ghost Rider some 35 years ago.

Friedrich was reportedly driven out of the funny pages business thanks to a nasty battle with the booze, but when Marvel announced plans to release a Ghost Rider film in 2004, Friedrich contacted a lawyer and claimed ownership of the character.

That the film, released in 2007 and starring Nicolas Cage as the hero, grossed over $230 million at the box office only encouraged the writer to stand his ground as the case made its way through several courtrooms.

Now, with a new Ghost Rider adventure ready to blaze onto the silver screen in the new year, Friedrich has been dealt a nasty blow by a judge who has ruled that the character belongs to Marvel Comics.

New York federal judge Katherine Forrest says Friedrich signed two contracts that hand over ownership of his work at the time to the comic book giant.

There’s no word yet on whether Friedrich plans to appeal the decision.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance roars into theatres February 17, 2012.

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December 30, 2011

Earlier this week it was reported that Cheeta, the chimpanzee from the classic Tarzan films starring Johnny Weissmuller had died. But now questions are beginning to arise over the real identity of the ape in question.

The chimp, who died Sunday December 25, at an animal sanctuary in Florida, was said to be 80-years-old – too old to be believable according to many scientists.

Scientist Dr. Steve Ross told the New York Times’ Arts Beat blog, “To live into your 70s is really pushing the limits of chimp biology, eighty is tough to swallow.”

Meanwhile, R.D. Rosen, who has previously debunked Cheeta claims, tells the Associated Press, “I’m afraid any chimp who actually shared a soundstage with Weissmuller and [Maureen] O’Sullivan [who played Jane] is long gone.”

This week isn’t the first time it’s been reported that Cheeta has died. In 2008, a ‘Cheeta’ from Palm Springs, Florida passed away. His caretakers also claimed he was the real deal until paperwork proved otherwise.

Debbie Cobb, who had been raising the ‘Cheeta’ that died this week, tells the Times she’s upset by accusations she’s monkeying around with the truth.

“I’m sad to hear that people are questioning that,” she says. “It cracks me up how ignorant some people are, but I think that causes controversy, and isn’t that what it’s all about?”

Age aside, Cheeta was indeed played by more than one chimp and many of those actors are unidentified. According to The Hollywood Reporter, James Lever, who wrote a book about Cheeta, says, “Nobody seems to know very much (or even anything at all) about the chimps who played Cheeta. I rather think he’ll be dying a lot over the next few years.”

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December 30, 2011

A new documentary aims to expose the secrets and secret meanings behind Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 horror film The Shining.

Entertainment Weekly reports that director Rodney Ascher’s new film Room 237 dissects the Jack Nicholson freakout fest for hidden details and extra levels of insight.

The doc is set to feature at this year’s Sundance film festival in the New Frontier category.

“It’s a film-nerd love-fest,” Sundance programmer Trevor Groth says of Room 237. “These obsessive people dissect The Shining, and they’ve watched it thousands of times, all finding their own coded meaning and language in it.”

Groth tells the magazine audiences will be shocked to learn the extent to which some people have read into the movie.

“There’s one guy who says The Shining is Stanley Kubrick’s way of telling the world he shot the footage from the [Apollo 11] moon landing,” he says. “He knew he and his family would be killed if he told anyone, so he’s telling us through The Shining.”

Starring Nicholson, Shelley Duvall and Scatman Crothers, The Shining is based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, about a writer who moves his family into a gigantic hotel as the winter caretaker.

Room 237 will screen at Sundance in January.

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December 30, 2011

A possible massive spoiler from the plot of the upcoming Batman adventure The Dark Knight Rises might have leaked.

A reporter for the Los Angeles Time visited the set of director Christopher Nolan’s third Bat-Pic and has now shared info on what is said to be a crucial scene.

WARNING, POSSIBLE SPOILER: The Times reports that, in the movie,  the Caped Crusader is put to the test by ferocious new nemesis Bane, played by Inception and Warrior star Tom Hardy. Bane wages war on Gotham City, rounding up and imprisoning citizens – including, in one shocking scene – Bruce Wayne.

Star Christian Bale’s Wayne is, of course, the multi-millionaire alter-ego of the troubled hero. Attention in the scene suddenly shifts, however, with the emergence of Anne Hathaway, purring her way down a staircase as Catwoman.

Hathaway, who wears goggles, stilettos and a skin-tight bodysuit as the feline-esque Selina Kyle, told the paper she thinks the costume is perfect.

“I love the costume,” she said. “I love the costume because everything has a purpose, nothing is in place for fantasy’s sake, and that’s the case with everything in Christopher Nolan’s Gotham City.”

Nolan has said that Rises will be his last Batman adventure, telling EW that the movie will be “the last chapter of our Batman saga.”

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