Extras! 09 June 2014

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!

• Some dire news to start off today, unfortunately. Over the weekend, actor and comedian Tracy Morgan (30 Rock, Cop Out, SNL) was involved in a 6-car pileup in New Jersey on Saturday night, that has already claimed the life of fellow comedian James “Jimmy Mack” McNair who had been travelling with Morgan back from a live comedy show they had performed at earlier. Eyewitness accounts state that Morgan’s limo bus was struck from the rear by an 18-wheeler truck causing it to overturn and setting off a devastating chain collision with another truck, two other cars and a SUV, that left 4 people, including Morgan, in a critical condition.

The driver of the truck, who claims he did not notice when traffic in front him slowed down and barrelled straight into them, turned himself in on Saturday evening but is currently out on bail. According to the latest report from Morgan’s rep, the comedian is much more responsive now, but is still expected to remain hospitalized for weeks.

• And now to take your mind off that seriousness, here’s something much nicer: Huffington Post’s list of the 100 Greatest Movie Compliments.

• While I am a bit buoyed by Marvel picking Peyton Reed to replace Edgar Wright on Ant-Man, there’s still one big problem with the decision: He’s not Edgar Wright. Not only do I feel that Wright would make a more interesting film, but you have to think that the cast, who are already locked in, specifically signed up to work with Wright. And you can sort of hear it coming through in their statements, like this one from co-star Michael Douglas, which may not be badmouthing their new paymasters in Marvel, but definitely sounds like they’re not happy with how things went down.

“I was very disappointed. I am a big fan of his movies. It’s a very disappointing situation. It happened very late in the game. I don’t think anybody’s quite recovered. My heart goes out to Edgar. He’s been involved with the project for a long time. But he’s talented enough that you’ll be hearing a whole lot from him – and I’m sure with a little vengeance.”

• But just because Marvel pulled a last minute switcheroo on the writing and directing front, doesn’t mean that Ant-Man will suck formic testicles though. In fact, history has shown that often films with last minute replacements work out just fine. In fact, some of them are now considered cinematic classics.

• Poster of the day: HG Wells’ The First Men in the Moon

• I’d just like to point out that based on this list, world renowned physicist and all around awesome guy Neil deGrasse-Tyson and I have extremely similar tastes in sci-fi movies. Please note: I said “extremely similar” and not “exactly the same”, because his inclusion of Michael Bay’s The Island is a bit out of place.

• Yes, you can stop asking about it now. Guillermo Del Toro has indeed begun writing the script for Pacific Rim 2 with Zak Penn. Wait, Zak Penn?! The guy who wrote X-Men: The Last Stand and whose script for The Avengers Joss Whedon tossed out saying he wouldn’t shoot a word of it? Okay then…

“I’m working very, very hard with Zak Penn. We’ve been working for a few months now in secret. We found a way to twist it around. Travis Beacham [co-writer of the first film, now working on Fox’s Hieroglyph] was involved in the storyline and now I’m writing with Zak because Travis has become a TV mogul.”

• So have you guys checked out that new Disney movie yet with Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. You haven’t? Well, then clearly you haven’t seen this superb trailer yet!

• If you’ve been getting all excited for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (and I’m referring to the movie itself and not the title, which nobody can rightfully get excited for), then you may need to spend the entire day sitting down, just in case, as a string of tweets over the weekend from Warner Bros Tours indicates that we’ll be getting some major reveal from the movie some time today.

• I’m sure quite a few of you know Red vs Blue, the side-splittingly hilarious Halo-inspired web series that could be called the first really successful machinima. Well, the guys behind that barrel of digital laughs, Rooster Teeth, are branching into the feature film industry, but need a bit of your help. And money. They’ve started an IndieGoGo page for Lazer Team, a new sci-fi comedy that they’re looking to get crowdfunded. Here’s the movie’s sort-of-synopsis:

In the late 1970’s, the Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence project received a one time signal from outer space. It looked exactly as theorists thought a communication from an alien civilization would — unfortunately it has never been decoded. Or so we were told. Unbeknownst to the general public the signal was translated and told us two things:

1. We are not alone.
2. The galaxy is a dangerous place.

Our story is live action sci-fi comedy that takes place decades later in the aftermath of this event.

• While Luke Skywalker is easily Mark Hamill’s most recognizable role, that’s only the case when you’re using your eyes. But stick to just the sense of sound, and then his most iconic performance is of course voicing the Joker in many years of Batman cartoons. And this weekend, at the annual Star Wars celebration at Disney World, the characters finally got a chance to meet.

If you have anything you would like to contribute to Extras, whether it be interesting stories, funny videos, or artistic photos of yourself in morally questionable poses, feel free to drop a mail to kervyn@themovies.co.za.

Last Updated: June 9, 2014