William Shatner says he has been approached by J.J. Abrams about Star Trek 3

William Shatner has shed more light on the rumours of a potential appearance in Star Trek 3, by revealing J.J. Abrams has been in touch to sound him out.



According to Shatner, Abrams called him recently, saying, “I’m calling because the director of Star Trek, the next movie, has had an idea where you might be involved, so I’m calling to find out whether you would be interested.”



Unsurprisingly, Abrams had asked Shatner that he keep their discussion private, but as far as the actor is concerned, the rumour mill had pretty much got to the bottom of things anyway.



“It’s all over the internet that the director had held an interview and said they want Shatner and Nimoy to be in the next movie," he said. "I’ll bet you J.J.’s frothing at the mouth at this point. So the news is out that they have an idea that they want Leonard and myself…”



We’re not sure how much that will appease Abrams, but in any case, Shatner is at least keen on the idea in theory…



“I would love to do it,” he continued. “But how do you get me fifty years later into the movie? I mean how do you rationalise it? I know it’s science fiction, but even I couldn’t come up with an idea.”



Over to you, Mr. Orci… Star Trek 3 is expected to arrive in 2016, with a release date yet to be confirmed.

via Total Film

Magic Mike XXL adds Elizabeth Banks, Andie MacDowell and Amber Heard

Magic Mike XXL has been on a bit of a casting binge, adding no fewer than five major names to its growing ensemble.



Elizabeth Banks, Andie MacDowell, Amber Heard, Donald Glover and Jada Pinkett-Smith have all signed on to star in the forthcoming sequel, which goes some way towards making up for Matthew McConaughey’s non-appearance.



The film has also unveiled an official synopsis, with the road-movie skeleton fleshed out with a few more details…



“Picking up the story three years after Mike bowed out of the stripper life at the top of his game, Magic Mike XXL finds the remaining Kings of Tampa likewise ready to throw in the towel,” reads the official blurb.



“But they want to do it their way: burning down the house in one last blow-out performance in Myrtle Beach, and with legendary headliner Magic Mike sharing the spotlight with them.”



“On the road to their final show, with whistle stops in Jacksonville and Savannah to renew old acquaintances and make new friends, Mike and the guys learn some new moves and shake off the past in surprising ways.”



Channing Tatum will be back in the leading role, and while Steven Soderbergh has been replaced by Gregory Jacobs, the former director will be returning on cinematography duties.



Magic Mike XXL will open in the UK on 7 August 2015. Plenty of time to get chiselling those abs…

via Total Film

David Fincher Will Direct The First Season Of HBO's Utopia

He'll be busy next year...

Out and about plugging his latest film, Gone Girl, David Fincher has also been talking up his plans – announced earlier this year – to produce an adaptation of Channel 4’s conspiracy series Utopia. He’ll be even more involved than we thought, as he’s aiming to direct all the episodes of the HBO version’s first season.

Utopia, in case you didn’t see the Channel 4 original, set things in motion with the discovery of a manuscript for a legendary graphic novel known as The Utopia Experiments, long shrouded in mystery. When a small group of previously unconnected people unite in their shared interest, things take a much darker turn.

Because they are by no means the only ones interested in the manuscript. Targeted swiftly and relentlessly by a murderous organisation known as The Network, the terrified group are left with only one option if they want to survive: they have to run.

“I like the characters – I love Dennis Kelly’s honesty and affinity for the nerds,” Fincher tells The Guardian. “I mean, I’ve always been a bit of a junior conspiracy theorist ‘cos I don’t have time to connect them all! But it’s nice to see that somebody has.” Unlike House Of Cards, where he shot the first two episodes, established the series’ look and then handed off the job to other directors, he’s going to replicate Cary Fukunaga’s True Detective trick and shoot all of Utopia’s initial run across 2015, working from a script by Gone Girl novelist (and screenwriter) Gillian Flynn. Gone Girl itself lands on Friday.

from Empire News

Netflix To Simultaneously Release Crouching Tiger 2

Streaming service makes big deal

If you’ve been reading our Future Of Film series (coughity plugginton), you might have seen our piece a couple of weeks ago about streaming services becoming movie players. Clearly inspired by that*, Netflix is taking its first steps into a larger world, partnering up with The Weinstein Company to release martial arts sequel Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend on the site the same day it hits US cinemas next year.

Of course, premiering films via digital services is not new; indie movies have been tapping that well for a while. But the impact is more in the size of the film and the debate over release windows. There is already some controversy, according to Variety, with a couple of cinema chains across the pond refusing to offer screens for the release.

The movie itself, now in production under the direction of Yuen Wo-Ping, adapts the fifth book of Wang Du Lu’s Crane-Iron Pentaology, Silver Vase, Iron Knight (the original Crouching Tiger drew from the fourth tome). Michelle Yeoh is back as Yu Shu-Lien, with Donnie Yen as Silent Wolf. With a script by John Fusco, the cameras are rolling now in New Zealand. The schedule calls for the movie to arrive on August 28, 2015 in the US simultaneously on screens big and small. And it’s just one of the movies Netflix has a hand in, with the company continuing its push into original content for both movies and TV.

Whether it arrives in UK cinemas and the British arm of Netflix at the same time remains to be seen – but it’s definitely an interesting development.

_{*Hey, we can dream, right?}

from Empire News

Billy Elliot show tops UK box office

A special live screening of Billy Elliot the Musical Live tops the UK and Ireland box office taking £1.9m - making it the highest grossing event cinema release.



from BBC News - Entertainment & Arts

New Look At Oscar Isaac In A Most Violent Year

J. C. Chandor's Once Upon A Time In America

The richly talented J.C. Chandor’s latest feature film, A Most Violent Year, takes him back onto terra firma and back to Manhattan, the scene of his terrific debut Margin Call. This one is set a few blocks from Wall Street’s snake pits in the world of big oil, and a new image from the film shows its protagonist Abel Morales (Oscar Isaac) and his wife (Jessica Chastain) in action.{New Look At Oscar Isaac In A Most Violent Year}

Set in New York’s murderous months of 1981, A Most Violent Year pitches its superb cast into a murky milieu that encompasses corruption, crime and murder. Isaac’s crude-dude is an immigrant who has to navigate these perilous waters with all the canniness and savvy at his disposal. But with his wife in the Lady Macbeth role, his scruples slowly fall away and the allure of criminal shortcuts becomes too great to resist.

As Tony Montana showed us, for every great crime empire that starts out this way, another ends in a career-limiting hail of bullets. The film’s first teaser trailer doesn’t give much away to suggest that Morales will fare the same, but don’t bet on him being voted into high office either. Along for the ride in supporting roles are Albert Brooks, David Oyelowo, Alessandro Nivola and Catalina Sandino Moreno.

The film makes its US bow on December 31 before a UK release on January 23, a release that plonks it right into the midst of awards season. Don’t be surprised to see Chandor adding to his Margin Call Oscar acclaim with another Best Original Screenplay nomination.

from Empire News

Chinese cinema set for record year

Chinese cinema box office revenue surges 32% in the first nine months of the year, figures show.



from BBC News - Entertainment & Arts