Earlier this week we wrote about a new project that director Paul Verhoeven (seen above) is working on (an adaptation of the video game The Last Express), but we weren’t sure if that meant he was ditching his other project The Surrogate. Announced last year, The Surrogate is a thriller about a couple desperate to have a child who find themselves in an unbearable position when they find out the surrogate they hired to carry their baby is insane. Not the most interesting concept, but in the hands of Verhoeven, you never know. MTV ran new quotes from their recent chat with Verhoeven and word is The Surrogate is still in the works.

“That’s still in the works,” Verhoeven told MTV. “Halle Berry is attached to the project and we discussed it all. The question is where do we get the $30 million to do a project that includes a lot of things that have to do with abortion and… surrogate mothers.” Good question, but maybe it’s an early sign that no one wants to invest in this. We don’t want another Showgirls, now do we? While Berry is attached (as of June ‘09) to play the mother/wife, they still haven’t found someone for the husband or the surrogate yet. Verhoeven does also promise this will be “provocative and sexual,” which reminds me of Showgirls again. Speaking of which:

“There are nearly no movies anymore with sex clearly in it,” Verhoeven told MTV. “If you look at what’s there, it’s all PG-13. There is really no R anymore.” The plan is for The Surrogate to change all that.

He’s right – the way we treat sexuality and nudity in movies in the US is shameful. But that doesn’t mean he needs to overdo it to prove a point. Verhoeven’s always been an edgier filmmaker who sometimes takes that sexuality a bit too far (I heard more complaints about that “scene” in Black Book than I did compliments) and, well, I don’t think I need to mention Showgirls again, but I will anyway. Then again, I am usually a fan of Verhoeven’s crazier work, which it sounds like this could be, especially with an “insane” baby mama that Halle Berry has to fight. The Surrogate is in development at Fox through GG Filmz and Winter Road. It’s based on a book of the same name by Kathryn Mackel. We’ll keep you updated on its progress. Thoughts?

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Now that you’ve seen it, what did you think? Its been exactly 2 years, 27 days since we first learned that Matthew Vaughn would be adapting John Romita Jr and Mark Millar’s ultra-violent comic book series Kick-Ass. The finished movie arrives in theaters this weekend and it’s time to hear your thoughts about it. How does it compare to the comics? Is it better or worse? Is the movie as awesome as everyone is saying it is? Is Hit Girl the best character in the movie? Was Roger Ebert wrong to give it 1 star in his review? Or is it not that good? If you’ve seen it, then leave a comment below and let us know what you thought of Kick-Ass!

To fuel the fire, Kick-Ass is currently my favorite movie of the year so far. I’ve seen it twice and I completely and thoroughly love it. It packs a punch from start to finish, transcends the family friendly nature of most comic book movies in the wildest of ways, and is just the perfect bit of cinematic entertainment. My favorite scene was the strobe light fighting scene, which blew me away for being both beautifully shot and incredibly intense at the same time. I loved all of the characters, even Red Mist and especially Hit Girl and Kick-Ass, and I can’t wait to see the sequel. Kick-Ass really was one of the best recent comic book movies I have seen!

What did you think of Kick-Ass? One of the best comic book movies ever or one of the worst?

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I’m pretty damn sure no one has heard of this film before today, but you won’t forget about it after watching this trailer. Twitch first discovered this extraordinary teaser trailer for a disaster film called Aftershocks coming out of China about the devastating 1976 Tangshan Earthquake that killed over 240,000 people. This trailer reminds me of Schindler’s List with the little girl and the way it uses the red to accent the terror and chaos of the situation. I would say this is China’s big disaster film in response to 2012, but since this is about an event that already happened, it’s very different and much more emotional. Check out the teaser below. 

Watch the teaser trailer for Xiaogang Feng’s Aftershocks:

When a mother is informed by a rescue team that, since her 7-year old twins are buried under the debris close to each other, digging one out would result in the collapse of the wreckage on the other, she is forced to make the most difficult decision of her life. Based around the devastating Tangshan Earthquake of 1976.

Aftershocks, originally titled Tangshan Dadizheng in Chinese, is being directed by Beijing-born filmmaker Xiaogang Feng, of other Chinese films like The Dream Factory, Happy Funeral, A World Without Thieves and The Banquet previously. The film will be released in China in July of this year, but it does not have a US release date. In fact, it doesn’t even have a US distributor yet. We’ll let you know if we hear more about it!

This looks awesome! If you read up about the Tron Legacy viral event at WonderCon a few weeks ago, you may have heard that Alan Bradley announced that the original Space Paranoids game would soon become an online playable game. If you thought that was just part of the stunt, guess again, as FlynnLives.com has just been updated with an awesome new teaser trailer (you can watch it below) for the actual online playable Space Paranoids game. Yes, once this is released online it’s going to consume endless hours of your life until this December when Tron Legacy finally lands in theaters. You’ve been warned… but check this out anyway!

Watch the official teaser trailer for Encom’s Space Paranoids Online:

If you remember back to Comic-Con last year, Flynn’s Arcade had about 10 or so arcade units running this exact game with an old school joystick. So they’ve had the game for a while, and now Encom has created an online version of it. You can bet there will be some new viral events that will come with this, as Bradley said in San Francisco that there’ll be “15 new levels in Space Paranoids designed by Kevin Flynn himself,” which means that Flynn is probably going to “contact” us through the game (part of the ARG concept). The only bad news is that they don’t list a release date. I’ve got to imagine it’ll be up and running soon, right?

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Surely there is someone who is disappointed by the fact that Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley will not be returning for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, but there are also still plenty that don’t mind, especially with people like Ian McShane coming on-board. Well since there’s been recent development on finding a suitable young actor to fill Bloom’s shoes as the young heartthrob in the flick, surely there must be a comparable young beauty to fill Knightley’s shoes and it looks like Disney found her, as they announced that the young French actress Astrid Berges-Frisbey will be making her US feature debut in the sequel.

Astrid has landed the key role of Syrena, a beautiful and alluring young mermaid. A full press release for an actress almost entirely unknown to American audiences is totally unheard of, so she’s either such a treasure of France that her working stateside is quite the catch, or Disney really believes she’ll be the next big thing. Bergès-Frisbey’s credits include the following French films: La Fille du Puisatier, Bruc, Extase, La Premiere Etoile and Un Barrage Contre le Pacifique. This casting of a character who is a mermaid in the movie goes hand in hand with a recent casting call that was looking for professional dancers who are also swimmers.

Disney is certainly pulling out all the stops with trying to cast naturally beautiful women, with the previous casting of Penelope Cruz, and that other casting call that stated they were looking for “fit” female models who have real breasts (no floaters on these high seas). Anyone familiar with Astrid Berges-Frisbey?

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Back in 2007, it was announced that Jake Gyllenhaal would play football quarterback Joe Namath in a feature film about his life that was being put together. Jump to today and, well, no progress has been made. However, Pajiba says they’ve heard that James Mangold (of Kate & Leopold, Walk the Line, 3:10 to Yuma, Knight & Day) may have just landed this directing gig, which makes them (and us) wonder if Universal may actually be trying to get this into production as Gyllenhaal’s next big film following Duncan Jones’ Source Code (which he is already shooting). It all makes sense, and I won’t be surprised if this actually happens.

The project was originally setup with David Hollander (“Heartland”, “The Cleaner”) attached to write the screenplay. Namath himself approved of the movie after a “strong pitch” from Hollander and a belief that the “athletic” Gyllenhaal was the right actor to play him. This is an approval that the studio doesn’t want to let go of, which is probably why they’re keeping Gyllenhaal out in front while moving forward. Universal does want to take another pass at David Hollander’s script before it moves into production, though, and knowing them this means it could probably get shelved just as quickly, especially if the budget is too high.

Joe Namath was one of the first football players to achieve a “rock star” status in the NFL. This biopic will tell the story of how the golden-armed kid from Beaver Falls, PA became “Broadway Joe,” the New York Jets quarterback who became a ’60s cultural figure. “Most of the stuff you saw in Forest Gump, Joe lived through all of it,” producer and friend Jimmy Walsh said about Namath and his life. Namath played for 11 years with the New York Jets, from 1965 to 1976, and was the first to pass more than 4,000 yards one season. You can read up on all of his stats on his biography at Pro Football Hall of Fame. We’ll let you know what happens.

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Wait, wait, wait – Stanley Kubrick had a long lost project? Apparently so. The film is called Lunatic at Large and is based on a treatment by pulp author Jim Thompson that was commissioned by Kubrick in the late 1950s, after the two worked together on The Killing and Paths Of Glory. The script was discovered the a few years ago (read a NY Times article on it) and has been floating around for at least a few years. However, Production Weekly is reporting today on their Twitter (via The Playlist) that both Scarlett Johansson and Sam Rockwell are attached to star in Lunatic at Large. They’ve got a few good actors for now. Read on!

Set in New York in 1956, Lunatic at Large tells the story of Johnnie Sheppard, an ex-carnival worker with serious anger-management issues, and Joyce, a nervous, attractive barfly he picks up from a Hopperesque tavern scene. It’s described as “a dark and surprising mystery” about a person who is “the true escapee from a nearby mental hospital.” Kubrick was supposed to follow up Spartacus with this, but the only copy of the manuscript was lost and later found in his library. The latest draft of the script was finished by Stephen R. Clarke in 2006, but we don’t know too much else, including production details (when will it start shooting?).

It’s not surprising that Johansson and Rockwell were interested in this. Any and everyone in Hollywood is probably jumping at the opportunity to work on a project that has the late Stanley Kubrick’s name attached, even if it’s just as a writer. If it’s true that both actors have signed on, I’m sure a director is close behind, as they wouldn’t be this far along without one. Chris Palmer has been attached since 2006, but no word if he’s still involved at this point. This sounds like it could be a great project with touch of Kubrick, who hasn’t left any mark on the big screen since Eyes Wide Shut in 1999. We’ll keep you updated best we can. Stay tuned!

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This a fanboy dream come true. I don’t think anyone thought they’d ever wake up and read a headline saying that Joss Whedon, the geek creator of TV shows like “Buffy” and “Firefly”, would be directing the first big superhero team-up movie to ever hit the big screen – The Avengers. Deadline has confirmed the big news of the day: “Marvel Studios is in final negotiations for Joss Whedon to direct Marvel Studios’ The Avengers.” Earlier this month, it was rumored that Whedon was on the shortlist to direct, but no one seemed to believe it would actually happen. Joss Whedon’s The Avengers will hit theaters the first weekend of May in 2012.

Fleming lists a few confirmed superheroes that will be a part of the team: Iron Man ((Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), and SHIELD agent Nick Fury (Samuel Jackson). “Other signature superheroes” will be involved, but haven’t been announced yet. Whedon’s background is perfect for this movie, as he’s worked at Marvel before, specifically on the Astonishing X-Men series and a number of other comics. This is most certainly surprising news, but definitely good news. If there’s anyone who’ll be able to handle an immense cast of superheroes, it’s Joss Whedon. I just hope he doesn’t cast Eliza Dushku in this. What do you think of this? Will Joss Whedon do a good job with The Avengers?

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A brand new full-length trailer for Tony Jaa’s Ong Bak 3 showed up on YouTube today (via SlashFilm) for those who are fans of this franchise that began as a cult hit back in 2003. We also featured an early teaser trailer for this movie back in January, but this new trailer looks a lot better than that first one. It starts out very brutal and violent (so watch out) but then gets back to the awesome fighting we all want to see. There are no subtitles but you can still get a good idea for what’s going on. Although I have no clue who all these crazy supernatural people are or what they’re doing, but it still looks badass. Check out the trailer below!

Watch the full-length trailer for Tony Jaa’s Ong Bak 3:

Here’s a synopsis for those a bit confused: “The legend of Ong Bak 3 begins after Tien (Tony Jaa) has lost his fighting skills and his beloved step-father at the Garuda’s Wing cliff from the raid led by Jom Rachan. Tien is brought back to life with the help from Pim as well as Mhen and the Kana Khone villagers. Deep into the meditation taught by Phra Bua, Tien finally is able to achieve ‘Nathayut.’ His talents are put to the test again when his rivals including the Golden-Armored King’s Guard, the mysterious killers in black, and Bhuti Sangkha return for the final massive showdown.” The film was also directed by Tony Jaa. How’d it look?

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Back in February, we passed on reporting rumors about Logan Lerman meeting with Sony to potentially be cast as your friendly neighborhood wall-crawler in the Spider-Man reboot. Shortly after the news swept the web, it was squashed by THR just as quickly. At the time, the news had hit a bit too soon since the studio hadn’t even closed a deal with director Marc Webb yet, but now the exact same casting rumor is back with a vengeance as HitFix has learned exclusively from their source that is apparently close to the production that Lerman is “almost 100% locked” to play Peter Parker/Spider-Man in at least three forthcoming movies.

If this is true, Lerman will have beat out other mentioned big actors like Anton Yelchin, Jesse Eisenberg, Patrick Fugit and Johnny Simmons. And if the film (written by James Vanderbilt) will be taking cues from the Ultimate Spider-Man comics as it has been reported previously, then Lerman, who is the right age and has already led a big budget film (Percy Jackson & the Olympians) seems like the best choice (at least from the top list) to take on the arcs of Spider-Man that not only deal with his action-packed clashes with super-villains, but his teen angst as an average high school kid endowed with superpowers. This will differ from the struggles of Sam Raimi’s development of Peter Parker who only seemed to remain in high school for plot progression’s sake before he was off to college in Spider-Man 2, and swing dancing school in Spider-Man 3.

And honestly, as far as talent goes, Lerman seemed like he was holding back in Percy Jackson. For most of the problems in that film, I blame Chris Columbus for making what could have been darker, grittier material into such a blatant attempt at family fare that scaled down the impact of a lot of different character building plot points (mainly Percy’s angst with his mother’s decision to stay with hismdrunken step-father). But with Marc Webb at the helm to turn this twisted mess of an angst-ridden teen into a superhero, rather than try to make a superhero have the woes of an everyday teen, we’re in for a different Spidey as a more grounded superhero, which in the case of a huge reboot, seems like the right decision. So what do you guys think?

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