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!
- Benedict Cumberbatch… Genius detective. Genetically modified madman. Fiery dragon. Tortured mathematician. One hell of an impressionist.
- We heard yesterday that Mark Boal (Zero Dark Thirty) will be penning the script for video-game adaptation Uncharted, and now we also know who won’t be starring in it as adventurer Nathan Drake. In THR’s report about Boal coming on board, they note that an offer was made current Hollywood golden boy Chris Pratt, but he apparently turned it down. With him headlining the new Jurassic Park, another LEGO Movie in the pipeline and all the Guardians of the Galaxy-centric action he’ll be doing for Marvel, it’s kind of understandable that he doesn’t want to take on another big franchise.
- If you, like Nick, are still trying to wrap your head around why humanity has allowed a Grumpy Cat movie to come into being, then here’s some consolation: Funny girl Aubrey Plaza, who voices said disgruntled feline, also thinks it’s the weirdest thing she’s ever seen and suggests you get drunk before seeing it.
- Just because Chris Nolan has now shown us his version of a spacey sci-fi flick, you shouldn’t get your hopes up that he would take on a Star Wars film one day. Not only would directing style be a real mismatch, but there’s also the problem of him being afraid to.
“I’m pretty excited to see what J.J. is going to do with that. I’m excited to see that he’s shooting on film and actually built the Millennium Falcon. As far as whether or not I would have ever done it, the truth is I think I’d be afraid to touch it! He’s boldly going where he went before in Star Trek, and it takes colossal balls. I’m a lot more comfortable trying to do my own thing than carrying the weight and expectation of the entire world—particularly 40-somethings like me who live and die with each new bit of information about Star Wars. But I’m very excited to see what he does.”
- Speaking of Chris Nolan, if you go see Interstellar at your local cinema this weekend and the sound is all messed up, don’t get mad at the movie theatre operator because apparently it’s all actually Nolan’s fault.
- Did you guys hear that M. Night Shyamalan has now retired from all filmmaking. Yeah, apparently all the critical bashing he was receiving just became too much for him….. PLOT TWIST!! M. Night Shyamalan has not retired! In fact he’s a got a new movie called The Visit and it’s coming out next year! SECOND PLOT TWIST! This movie doesn’t involve confused ghosts or genocidal trees. Maybe. The Visit is said to follow “a brother and sister who are sent to their grandparents’ remote Pennsylvania farm for a weeklong trip. Once the children discover that the elderly couple is involved in something deeply disturbing, they see their chances of getting back home are growing smaller every day.”
- And Star Wars Titlegate (I’ve always wanted to add “gate” to something for no reason) rages on, with some fans still unhappy with the recently unveiled The Force Awakens title for Episode VII, even though it’s nowhere less dumb than Attack of the Clones or The Empire Strikes Back. That being said, I have to admit that this list of 30 Star Wars Titles Better Than The Force Awakens is far superior.
- Keeping it Star Wars… If Meghan Trainor’s earworming track “All about that bass” has currently been occupying your brain lobes, maybe you can get rid of it with this Star Wars parody, “All about that base…”
- Somebody in Sweden is selling a Predator themed house and it looks absolutely insane.
- Looks like Night At the Museum‘s Shawn Levy is keeping his filmography magical. The director – who also helmed robot-boxing movie Real Steel – will apparently be leading a new adventure-comedy take on the classic Arabian Nights tale of “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves”, this time just titled Forty Thieves. And since this is a tale steeped in Middle Eastern mythology and featuring a bevy of Arabic characters, Australian actor Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games), English actor Dan Stevens (The Guest, Downtown Abbey) and American actor Evan Peters (X-Men: Days of Future Past) are of course all testing for the main lead. Nice one, Hollywood.
- Posters of the day: This incredible poster series for the recently completed 8th season of Doctor Who by artist Stuart Manning.
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: November 14, 2014
