Home Entertainment Extras! Wes Ball runs a maze, Neil Burger gets Divergent, Fincher breaks it off with Cleopatra, Ashton Kutcher is Steve Jobs, Learn about dibbuks and Johnny is getting paid how much for Pirates 5?! Plus much more!

Extras! Wes Ball runs a maze, Neil Burger gets Divergent, Fincher breaks it off with Cleopatra, Ashton Kutcher is Steve Jobs, Learn about dibbuks and Johnny is getting paid how much for Pirates 5?! Plus much more!

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Welcome to The Extras! A daily dose of all the smaller movie related news, clips and just plain cool stuff that you might have missed!

We start off today with a bit of honesty, courtesy of the guys over at ScreenJunkies. They’ve added the latest entry into their Honest Trailer series, and this time The Hunger Games, has been chosen as tribute!  Now personally, I enjoyed the film, but fortunately for me, I had read all the books so I could easily fill in the gaps. For people who went into this blind, it was a lot more problematic. All of which get pointed out here with some brutal (but hilarious) honesty:

It feels like Angelina Jolie’s Cleopatra has been in development longer than the famed Egyptian beauty’s rule of the North African country, and now the project may have taken an asp bite to the breast (No, I’m not a pervert. Look it up). Director David Fincher, who’s been attached to the project since early 2011, has officially pulled out citing his busy schedule. Great news though, is that top of the list of replacements for Fincher is Brokeback Mountain‘s Ang Lee.

I do love me some future sci-fi stories, and I particularly love how those worlds are introduced. Apparently i09 do too as they’ve compiled this really great list of 13 Creepy Captions From Movies That Let Us Know It’s The Future. I’m particularly partial to The Saint’s “Moscow… tomorrow”.

Look, whether or not Ashton Kutcher has the acting talent of a left-over turkey sandwich is still up for debate, but based on these latest pics from jOBS, there is not a shred of doubt as to whether or not he looks the part of deceased Apple head honcho Steve Jobs.

Limitless was a rather big surprise for me in 2011. I expected nothing from the Bradley Cooper thriller, but instead walked out of it thoroughly entertained. And with a massive urge to do drugs (OK that might not be one for the “plus” column). A lot of that was down to the rather nifty directing of Neil Burger. And it looks like some guys over at Summit Entertainment were all rather impressed with him as well, as they’ve handed him the reigns to adapt Divergent, the first book in Veronica Roth’s young-adult sci-fi series. Now that Twilight is wrapping up, this could be Summit’s next big cash cow. I admit, the plot does sound intriguing though:

“In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she’s chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she’s kept hidden from everyone because she’s been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.”

OK, so this ain’t exactly movie news, but hey it’s pretty cool. Besides I make the rules around here. You know, when nobody else is around.. Anyway. Actor and comedian Dan Castellaneta, best known as the voice of Homer Simpson, spoke to the Archive of American Television about where Homer’s signature “D’oh!” came from:

Say it ain’t so! Walking internet meme and the greatest beard-wearer to ever live, Chuck Norris, has revealed that he won’t be returning for The Expendables 3. Why’d you have to roundhouse-kick my dreams, Chuck? Why?

The Sun is running a story claiming that Johnny Depp is set to receive a $95 million paycheck for Pirates of the Caribbean 5. When asked for comment, fellow filthy stinking rich person, Scrooge McDuck responded with “Daaaaaayyum!”. In all likelihood, this paycheck is just a rumour and probably won’t ever happen. If it did though, this is how much Depp would be making per hour while shooting. You may need to take off your shoes for this one, because those are just way too many numbers to just count with two hands.

I personally haven’t watched past the first Paranormal Activity (I just didn’t have the time, and had absolutely and completely nothing to do with the fact that PA kind of scared me. Totally), so to me this is just another white kid on the net, but I’m sure that you die-hard PA fans (Paranormal Activists?) might get a kick out of this new viral pic for Paranormal Activity 4: The Franchise Milking.

What a year this is turning out for Wes Ball. The animator had his short film, Ruin, picked up for a feature film by 2oth Century Fox earlier this year, and now the the first-time director has been tapped by Fox to adapt James Dashner’s YA novel, The Maze Runner. Here’s a synopsis of the book:

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls.

Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.

Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers.

Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.

Believe it or not, but that guy on the left of this pic is actually Michael Douglas in full makeup for Steven Soderbergh’s Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra. Collider has a couple more on-set shots for the production, including a pic of Matt Damon that looks like he’s just stepped out a Pantene commercial.

Sight and Sound recently announced their list of greatest films of all time. The highly popular list is compiled once a decade, using the votes of hundreds of critics, academics and filmmakers. Now, because you obviously have nothing better to do, you can go have look at the individual top ten picks handed in by some of the biggest directors alive today, such as Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Woody Allen, Guillermo Del Toro and many more.

Out of all the things coming out of Pixar’s stable soon, the one that has me the most excited is the short film Paperman, that will be playing in front of Wreck-it Ralph. What has really grabbed my attention is the pretty amazing sounding tech that the animation studio has created to blend the traditional 3D models of CGI animation with old school hand drawn 2D techniques.

It may surprise you, but we’re not just here for bad Channing Tatum jokes and Leon Schuster flame wars. Sometimes we also educate. Like this new featurette for The Possession, which sheds some light on exactly what a dibbuk is. So now at least when you watch the Sam Raimi produced horror, you’ll actually know the history behind the apparition that gave you your brown pants moment.

Last Updated: August 24, 2012

3 Comments

  1. Sho, that Possession trailer just scared the crap out of me! NICE! 🙂 As for Divergent, sounds way too much like Hunger Games, no?

    Reply

    • Kervyn Cloete

      August 24, 2012 at 19:08

      Yeah, it seems like everyday now there’s a new Hunger Games clone (which some would say is a clone itself) being adapted into a movie.

      Reply

  2. James Francis

    August 25, 2012 at 13:28

    Cool, no need to watch Hunger Games now.

    Reply

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