Meet the new competitors in massive Hunger Games: Catching Fire banner

While you wait desperately for November, the returning tributes assemble. It's sort of the Avengers, but with more death.

Hunger Game: Catching Fire probably feels like there's a long time away, but that doesn't mean we're have to wait for some content. Lionsgate has released this tiny morsel for us to gobble up — a large banner revealing all the former winners of the past Hunger Games.

So, here's a look:

You can grab a closer look at the official site. But they're all here, most of them looking like they aren't afraid to kill if they have to. Again.

The adaptation of the first Hunger Games novel spared us a lot of the violence and gore that occurred in the book. But, seeing all these more defined characters in one place, we're hoping things are a lot more gruesome (and true to the text) for the movie sequel.

(via Collider)

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Vin Diesel hints plans for Groot in Guardians

He might’ve been up for a standalone movie role originally, but Vin Diesel has now joined up with Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. So how exactly is he planning to bring the ass-kicking tree alien Groot to life?

While chatting with The Huffington Post, Diesel opened up about his decision to join the project and why he’s excited to play Groot. It’s an admittedly weird casting move, mostly because (in the comics) Groot is best known for only uttering the phrase “I am Groot,” which can mean many different things depending on his inflection.

So how does Diesel plan on bringing a character to life when he will, probably, just have one line? That’s the fun part, and he believes his potential three-word line still leaves a lot of space for his acting skills to shine.

“The idea of bringing that physicality to a CGI character always tantalized me. To strip away everything is insane. In this case, the voice plays heavily into it, too. I don't know what kind of dialogue will be in it, but even if it stayed true to character, there's so much one can do with ‘I am Groot.’ It's the kind of challenge very few actors ever get.”


We still don’t know exactly how director James Gunn will imagine the character on the big screen, but whatever he has in mind, it looks like Diesel is up to the challenge. Do you think Diesel is the right choice for Groot?

(Via: Huffington Post And Blastr And Tv.com)

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Joss Whedon's Avengers sequel has officially found its Ultron

There might still be a a long wait ahead of us before seeing Avengers sequel, but Marvel has just dropped a Bomb of excitedment between fans like me: Meet the man who will be playing Ultron.

The company has signed James Spader (Stargate, Boston Legal) to play the evil artificial intelligence in the awesome sequel, which is set to come out in theters May 1, 2015. This announcement shoots down recent speculation that J.A.R.V.I.S. voice actor Paul Bettany might play the baddie.

Though Geeks and Nerds probably know Spader best from his role as Daniel Jackson in the 1994 cult hit Stargate, the guy has been racking up Emmy awards in recent years via acclaimed roles in Boston Legal and The Practice. He also co-starred in Steven Spielberg’s recent Lincoln biopic, adding to an already solid resume.

We still don’t know how Ultron will be introduced in the film, but here’s the best guess: Director Joss Whedon has already said the character won’t be created by Hank Pym (Ant-Man), as he is in the comics, and many fans think Tony Stark will likely be Ultron’s unwitting creator. Whedon has already said he will organically fit the story into the Marvel Cinematic Universe — and Stark seems like the obvious place to start.

Do you think James will do a good job?

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Vin Diesel Says He Talked With Marvel About Starring In His OWN Film

He may be playing Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy, but that wasn't Marvel's original plan for Vin Diesel.

Vin Diesel, despite being known mostly for voicing The Iron Giant and playing Riddick, is actually a pretty versatile actor. Marvel recognized this when they first had him come in to talk about his potential involvement in their upcoming movies.

Despite his voice acting ability, Groot was not the original intent for Diesel. Instead, there was the possibility that he'd get a franchise all his own. According to Diesel, "What we were originally talking about was a fresh IP (Intellectual Property) and that was the focus of our conversation."

Which has us wondering who he might have originally been tapped to play. Doctor Strange? Iron Fist? Ant Man? Even his wording is interesting. Could Marvel be considering creating movies based on brand new characters and then retroactively incorporating them into comics?

Meanwhile, Vin Diesel isn't definitely Groot yet. He's still got to work it out. "It's still up to my reps to allow that to happen," says Diesel. That probably boils down to time and money but, considering how much he's talking about it, we're pretty sure Vin Diesel will find a way to be Groot.

(via Comic Book Movie)

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NBC Buys ‘Wizard Of Oz’ Drama From Matt Arnold As Frank Baum’s Classic Becomes The Hottest TV Property This Season

A century after the release of L. Frank Baum’s Wizard Of Oz series, the books have become the toast of this TV development season. NBC just nabbed Emerald City, an Oz-themed drama from Siberia creator/showrunner Matthew Arnold. Two weeks ago, CBS put in development Dorothy, a medical soap inspired by the characters and themes from The Wizard of Oz. I hear there is another Oz drama making the rounds from Heroes alums Adam Armus and Nora Kay Foster, with Heroes creator Tim Kring supervising. 

And just last month, Syfy picked up for development a miniseries titled Warriors Of Oz from director Timur Bekmambetov, a fantasy-action reimagining of the classic story. The great interest in Wizard Of Oz is not entirely unexpected as the title has been getting a lot of attention in conjunction with the upcoming 75th anniversary of the classic 1939 feature, which will include a 3D re-release of the Judy Garland starrer. It also comes on the heels of the success of Oz The Great And Powerful earlier this year.

Emerald City, which Arnold is writing and executive producing through Universal Television, is described as a dark reimagining of the classic tale of Oz in the vein of Game Of Thrones, drawing upon stories from Baum’s original 14 books. Following the success of the 1900 The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz, Baum wrote 13 sequel novels. 

Emerald City reunites Arnold with NBC, which acquired his mystery drama series Siberia that had been financed independently and sold internationally before finding a U.S. home on NBC as a summer series. Arnold wrote and directed the pilot and the season finale. He also co-wrote three additional episodes and directed seven of the first season’s 13 episodes. Arnold, repped by ICM Partners, David Engel at Circle Of Confusion and attorney Jennifer Levy, recently wrote and directed the supernatural thriller feature Shadow People.

Not convinced that "Warriors Of Oz" is for you? OK, but remember that Syfy is the network that brought you this:

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Ben Affleck Is The New Batman, And The Internet Is Fighting About It

Ben Affleck is a superhero once more.Warner Bros. announced late Thursday that the director and star of the Oscar-winning Argo will play Batman (and his alter ego Bruce Wayne) in the upcoming sequel to this summer’s Man of Steel, to be directed by Zack Snyder. He will star opposite Henry Cavill’s Superman/Clark Kent, as well as Amy Adams (Lois Lane), Lawrence Fishburne (Perry White), and Diane Lane (Martha Kent).

The movie does not yet have an official title, but has been informally referred to asBatman vs. Superman ever since Snyder announced the movie at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con in July. It did, however, land an official release date: July 17, 2015.

The last time Affleck played a superhero, it was Marvel Comics’ blind crime fighter Daredevil in 2003.

While the movie made $179 million worldwide, it was seen as a disappointment. (In a superhero-adjacent outing for Affleck, in the 2006 movie Hollywoodland, he played the actor George Reeves of the ’50s TV series Adventures of Superman. So, yes, technically, Affleck has also played Superman.)Somehow, it seems like this movie will have a different fate.

In truth, Affleck suiting up in Batman’s cape and cowl isn’t that big of a surprise. His career resurrection as an acclaimed filmmaker was largely made possible thanks to his cozy relationship with Warner Bros., which produced and released both The Town and Argo. At one point, Affleck was rumored to direct Warner Bros.’ long-in-the-works Justice League movie — a rumor that is likely to be kicked back up again with this news.

Affleck will next star opposite Justin Timberlake in the October financial thrillerRunner Runner (he’s the bad guy), and he’s set to take on the lead male role in the highly anticipated adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s best-selling novel Gone Girl, which will likely shoot this fall.
The internet’s verdict was swift — a lot of people were NOT HAPPY about it:

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Here's the Star Wars quote most people get wrong

The most famous line in Star Wars history might be one that's never actually said in a Star Wars movie.

If you grew up with the name Luke, or you know someone who did, you're probably familiar with this scenario: Every time a guy named Luke introduces himself to anyone, there's at least a 50 percent chance that person will reply by taking on a deep voice and droning "Luuuuuke ... I am your father."

We've all heard this happen and we've all seen the Luke in question roll his eyes every single time, but next time it happens, perhaps guys named Luke can fight back against the cliche by pointing out that that particular line is never uttered in the classic twist scene in The Empire Strikes Back, which shows Darth Vader revealing to Luke Skywalker that they are actually father and son.

To be fair, Vader does in fact say "Luuuuke" during the scene, and the phrase "I am your father" is definitely uttered. They're just never said together. Here's the actual exchange:

Vader: "Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father."

Luke: "He told me enough! He told me you killed him!"

Vader: "No. I am your father."

So why do so many viewers consistenly get it wrong? Perhaps because it simply sounds better to say it all together like that, or because it's just easier to deliver all the information in a single sentence rather than relying on a second quoter to feed you Luke's lines. Whatever the case, it's been one of cinema's most common misquotes (along with lines like "Play it again, Sam" from Casablanca) for more than 30 years, and though Star Wars superfans already know this information, it's always worth putting out a reminder to those who are still in the dark because they haven't seen Empire 45 times yet.

So the next time you're faced with listening to that line for the thousandth time, feel free to fight back with the truth.

(Via NBC Entertainment)

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Syfy Orders Pilot Based on Terry Gilliam’s ’12 Monkeys’

Don’t panic, it’s not another Wizard Of Oz hybrid; it’s a little stranger – but seemingly much more palatable – premise based on the 1995 sci-fi film 12 Monkeys, which itself was inspired by a 1962 French film. 12 Monkeys starred Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt, Madeline Stowe and was directed by Monty Python alum Terry Gilliam.

If you need a refresher or have never seen the film, here’s a quick recap.
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In 2035, convict James Cole (Bruce Willis) is a reluctant passenger sent back in time by scientists to pinpoint a deadly virus’ origin that decimated Earth’s population decades earlier. But instead of 1996, an error sends Cole back to 1990, where he’s arrested and thrown in a mental hospital. Once his path crosses with the hospital’s psychiatrist (Madeleine Stowe) and the son (Brad Pitt) of a famous virus expert (Christopher Plummer), all bets are off.
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Need a trailer? No problem!

So what’s the deal? Well, Deadline reports that Syfy has ordered a “cast-contingent” pilot with story by Terry Matalas and Travis Fickett (“Terra Nova”) and produced by Universal Cable Productions and Atlas Entertainment (which makes sense as Universal Pictures/Atlas made the 1995 film in the first place) and the plan is to start shooting in November.
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I am GENUINELY curious to see who they’ll cast as Jeffrey, not only for the massive yet appropriate use of the middle finger but this is the role that garnered Brad Pitt several nominations (including one from a dude named Oscar) and a couple of big wins (Golden Globe, Saturn Award). The guy’s gotta be great – like Giancarlo Esposito (“Breaking Bad”) great.

Admittedly I was a little nervous at the thought of this film being scaled down for TV, but seeing as Syfy has a pretty decent track record when it comes to their original series, I’m reserving judgment until I see the pilot sometime next year.
So what do YOU make of all this? Sound off in the comments below!P.S we apologize for the lack of posting over the last week!

via Geeknation

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