Fox New's Roger Friedman Reportedly Fired For 'Wolverine' Leak Review

So Fox News columnist Roger Friedman reviewed the "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," leaked , stolen and unfinished workprint earlier this week and even though it was a positive review (of course), and the Internet freaked out, right? And with good reason, any blog would have done some such a dubious move and 20th Century Fox, would have freaked, no?

Well, Nikki Finke is reporting that Friedman has been shitcanned for the move according to her sources. Positive review or not (which many saw as transparent damage control), Fox apparently is viewing it as promoting piracy and he got the axe.

"Fox News, deleted the offending post after he was contacted by 20th Century Fox, and then fired Friedman as a freelance Fox News entertainment writer. I hear the move was done with the full support of News Corp. 'He promoted piracy. He basically suggested that viewing a stolen film is OK, which is absolutely intolerable. So we fired him,' a source told me Saturday. 'Fox News acted promptly on all fronts.' "

He's been writing his column for over a decade now, but his gossipy, controversial pieces, which have always pissed off many, including reader, journos and studios alike, and it appears as if they have finally caught up with him. "He has been both condemned and praised for years. Still, he must have known how his writings Friday would have hit a nerve with his employers," Finke's sources say. And it was a wantonly brazen and audacious move and a lot of people aren't going to have any sympathy for the guy. Fox Corp already condemned Friedman's review on Friday, so this seems like this is the logical move (though with Fox, nothing ever seems logical; see Bill O'Reilly getting away with his 2004 sexual harassment fiasco by swiftly settling the matter before it could finish off his career).

Demon Out Of The Bottle- Downey Suggests Popular Alcoholic Storyline Not In 'Iron Man 2'

While doing press for "The Soloist," late last week, Robert Downey Jr. was grilled by reporters -- who couldn't give a shit about a movie about a journalist and his homeless best friend -- regarding "Iron Man 2" details. When asked about the much-discussed "Demon In A Bottle" storyline, Downey was dismissive: “As a matter of fact, I think that’s probably best saved,” the star of "Chaplin" and "The Shaggy Dog" says, “ because it’s such its own storyline.” His answer jibes with the thoughts of director Jon Favreau, who last year voiced his desire to steer clear of that story so early within the "IM" saga (or at least to save it for "Iron Man 3").

Downey elucidated a bit more to Entertainment Tonight, claiming the movie would satisfy filmgoers and action junkies. “The film is almost entirely about character, and yet we still have twice as much action as we did last time, so it’s going to be nuts. Essentially ‘Iron Man 2′ is about looking behind the armor, or the armature, of a superhero. It’s one thing to say you’re Iron Man, it’s another thing to be fully ready to do that.”

Downey also told E!Online that talking about the whole Terrence Howard/Don Cheadle replacement issue is difficult. “The weird thing is it's hard to discuss it without being disrespectful to both of them. Terrence knows how much I love him, and I'm looking forward to making it work with Don.”

Will Don Cheadle Suit Up As War Machine?
Fans have been clamoring for that famous tale for quite awhile, though there's the feeling that it has more to do with the story's latent darkness (a sad commentary on the mindset of most modern comic fans) and the lack of truly great "Iron Man" stories to choose from- the more likely inspiration for the next film seems to be the "Armor Wars" story, with Sam Rockwell's Justin Hammer as a rival weapons provider- a theory also strengthened by Downey himself discussing the character of James Rhodes becoming armored hero War Machine.

"With Don Cheadle now playing Rhodie and therefore War Machine... it's strange...," he said in passing before going on to his quote about a film with twice the action and character. Will we see Cheadle suit-up in 'IM 2'?

Duty Now For The Future! Jerry Casale Co-Writes Devo Movie

Spudheads all over the world know the underrated New Wave legend Devo never really went away, in essence- in addition to founder Mark Mothersbaugh scoring several films from "Rushmore" to the upcoming "Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs," the band has had several projects in the pipeline. Working on and off through the mid-nineties and new century, they reformed in 2007 for a new single, and now claim to be working on an album set for release next fall. There's also the theory that, as a movement, Devo claims de-evolution came true, a theme struck during many shows played during the Bush era.

It looks like after the band has conquered the music world, they're moving towards the film world. In an interview with Flavorwire.com, bandmember Jerry Casale confirms that now it can be told: a movie based on the career of Devo is in the works. Working with Rolling Stone writer Matt Diehl, Casale claims the movie has taken the form of what sounds like a traditional biopic formula...
From the interview...

"I’m working on a first draft of the early days of Devo movie with Matt Diehl, a writer for Rolling Stone. It’s about Devo in the sad, sad Akron days beginning in 1974. It shows the truth, which is stranger than fiction, where, against all odds, and totally whacked-out, this art band goes from being this hopeless joke everyone laughs.. to synching up with the new wave and punk movements… It goes all the way through to where we get signed and try to start our first tour and get the deal to go on Saturday Night Live. The movie ends there, although there’s a coda or postscript that takes place in 1980 when “Whip It” is a hit, and everyone wants us to write another hit and meet with producers. There’s also a prequel including the killings at Kent State. It’s the probable journey and struggle to success, but the success is a question mark."

Casale first announced this film in a Spanish radio station interview in 2007 (mp3 here), under the title "The Beginning Was The End" . He claimed the goal was to get it in theaters by early 2008. Diehl was mentioned as the co-writer back then, and Casale referred to it as "'Spinal Tap' With Brains" but the project might have gone through more than a few permutations, especially considering a large portion of Casale's "De-evolution came true" argument in said interview revolves around the re-election of George W. Bush.

Download: Jocko Homo- Devo (Live)

'Wolverine' Director Upset With Fan Sites That Said He Fought With Fox's Tom Rothman

Usually all press is good press. Look at what just happened "Brüno." The film got slapped with an NC17 rating by the MPAA, but it just boosted its awareness quota and cutting it down to an R in time for July should be no big thing (in fact, many suspect Universal leaked that info out to get that good press).

But a leaked film that has already suffered some drama via semi-critical buzz, plus reshoots earlier this year (which generally never generates positive buzz, no matter how harmless and normal the reshoots are) is another story. 20th Century Fox has had a hell of bad week with the unfinished work-print leak of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" starring Hugh Jackman.

Fox seems to be in full-blown damage control mode and frankly, we don't blame them. Now THR's Summer preview (via Splashpage) has a video interview with 'Wolverine' director Gavin Hood who has takes umbrage with fanboys that reported rumors that he and Fox Chairman Tom Rothman got into blown-out arguments over the film and he's refuting that they didn't get along.

“I am very fond of Tom. We didn’t always agree, [but] we certainly never yelled at each other. Some of these fan sites have really been upsetting in that way.I have never had a stand-up fight with Tom Rothman. Never, ever in all his time with me — never. And that is a fact. It’s quite upsetting to see how these things spiral.”

Rothman said it was a “stupid notion” to believe that Rothman was trying to destroy the franchise. “This [movie] is a huge thing for the studio. Of course he doesn’t want to ruin the franchise. What, he’s gonna put a gun to his head? He has a huge amount riding on this movie, as do I.”

“When he and I are in a room together debating, he’s a very forceful personality — Tom Rothman — and I’m a fairly forceful personality. Did we discuss and debate what stylistically I was going to bring to the movie, and his expectations and mine? Of course. Of course you do that. And I hope it makes the movie better.”

We wonder how recent this interview is and how this helps at all. It doesn't but Risky Biz, had a recent interview with Hood and figured: perfect timing. How can you tell it's a little old? No quotes about the leak. Everyone needs to leverage an angle.

Meanwhile in other 'Wolverine' related leak news.
- An Australian effect house has denied that the leak came from them. Rising Sun Pictures evidently appears in a caption dated March 2 a few minutes into the high-quality leak, but their chairman and co-founder wrote on their website today, "As we worked on individual sequences within the film, neither Rising Sun Pictures or its staff members have ever been in possession of a full-length version, so it would have been impossible for the movie to have been leaked from here."
- Dallas Observer writer Robert Wilonsky may have found a connection. He says, "there was an FBI raid at a 'huge internet hub' in Dallas this morning. The owner released a statement saying it has something to do with a customer of theirs, and that the FBI needed access to their information." Or at least it's a rumored connection.

Weekend Box Office Options for April 3rd-5th: 'Adventureland' & 'Fast and Furious', Plus 'Sugar' And 'Gigantic' In Limited Release

After a pretty dismal week last time around, we're back with more (and hopefully better) movies opening this weekend. "Monsters vs. Aliens" crushed the competition last weekend through the magic of good release timing and, in spite of at least one strong contender, it may well hold on. Anyway, to the movies:

Wide Release:
This weekend's most exciting (only) wide release is, of course, "Adventureland," Greg Mottola's follow-up to "Superbad." The movie has a thoroughly impressive 89% rating on RT and stars Jessie Eisenberg ("The Squid and the Whale") as a shiftless college graduate who takes a dead-end job at a crummy amusement park for the summer. You can check out our thoughts in this review and we were mostly as impressed as everyone else. Almost every actor who has ever appeared in any movie ever--including Kristen Stewart ("Twilight"), Ryan Reynolds ("Just Friends"), Martin Starr ("Knocked Up") and SNL's Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig. For anyone who likes the gross-out comedy with heart formula of the Apatow gang, this is your best bet.

The other wide release out this weekend is "Fast and Furious," the third entry in a series that nobody particularly likes. Directed by Justin Lin (who also directed the last entry in the series), Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster all return to reprise their roles as the various people who drive the cars really fast. Not surprisingly, it has a 23% on the Tomatometer.

In limited Release:
"Gigantic" gets a small opening this weekend. If you are even a casual reader of the site, then you're aware that we really, really like this movie and have talked about it a lot as of late. To briefly remind those new to this corner of the internet, "Gigantic" is the story of a lonely and shy mattress salesman played by Paul Dano and his romance with a spirited young Zooey Deschanel. The rest of the cast is equally impressive--John Goodman, Ed Asner, Clarke Peters of "The Wire", Jane Alexander and comedian Zack Galifianakis all show up at some point. You can read our original review from TIFF here. But many critics do not like this film one bit and it has a poor 43% rating on RT. But what are you gonna do? We liked it's clipped writing, but a lot of people are finding it forced and not jiving with its ambiguities.

Audiences everywhere got a treat three years ago when screenwriters Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden made their debut with "Half Nelson." They return now with "Sugar," the story of a young man from the Dominican Republic struggling to make it as a baseball player in the Major Leagues. There's certainly many great qualities about it, but we didn't totally love some of the undramatic moments that made for a midsection that left us restless. But critics seem to love it and it has a 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Directed by Fleck, this movie -- while maybe not quite the supernova of greatness that is "Half Nelson" -- is still among the weekend's best choices.

For the unconventional cinephile, the Kazakh documentarian Sergey Dvortsevoy's debut feature film "Tulpan" opens this weekend. We saw this at NYFF and enjoyed it (read our thoughts here) in spite of the fact that Kazakhstan's government were less than enthusiastic. The story concerns a young shepherd, Asa, and his desire to marry and start his own flock of sheep. Unfortunately, the only girl in town--quite literally--is Tulpan, who claims she finds him unattractive because of his oversized ears. Critics are pretty effusive in their praise of the film, which currently holds a 94% rating at Rotten Tomatoes. To us it's a film to admire, but one not to neccesarily actively love.

Also highly rated (another 94%!) is "The Song of Sparrows" from Iranian director Majid Majidi. When an Iranian man loses his farm, he accidentally ends up as a motorcycle taxi driver in a large city. This causes a number of problems in his life that his family must help him overcome. A little traditional sounding, but possibly worth a look for fans of Iranian cinema.

If you're not into action, you can check out "Paris 36" about a working-class neighborhood in pre-war Paris. Directed by producer Christophe Barratier, the movie follows three show-biz types who are looking for a hit show so that they can buy the theatre where they work. Critics have been mostly kind, giving the movie a 65% rating. Fans of anything French, musicals and nostalgia should apply.

In documentaries, there's "Forbidden Lie$" from director Anna Broinowski. The film examines the story of Norma Khouri, a Chicago real estate broker who posed in Australia as a Jordanian refugee of an Islamic fatwah that would claim her life. In reality, of course, the woman was on the run from the FBI for over a million dollars worth of fraud charges that she had accumulated in America. The examination of her motives and the literary scandal should be gripping--the film has an 83%--so it might be worth a shot.

To round out the weekend there's a few less interesting selections. First, there's "Alien Trespass," a sendup of/homage to b-movie sci fi pics from the '30's. Coincidentally, the movie currently has a 30% on the Tomatometer! If, on the other hand, you'd like a teen comedy that isn't "Adventureland" you could try "Bart Got a Room," about a desperate boy's search for a prom date. It has a decent 70% rating, so it might not be a bust. There's also "C Me Dance," a religious movie about a girl with a rare blood disease who converts people to Christianity and battles Satan or "Enlighten Up!," a film designed to convert the viewer to a yoga enthusiast. There's also "The Escapist" from director Rupert Wyatt.

Well, good luck in your viewing...if you live in a smaller-market town, you're probably going to need it.

Michael Bay Manages Your Expecations On 'Transformers 3,' Throws 3D Trend Under The Bus

Before you roll out the barrel and celebrate for the gay ol' time that will be "Transformers 3," Michael Bay would like to keep your expectations in check.

At ShowWest in Vegas, when asked about the third "Transformers" film -- which Paramount already jumped the gun with by announcing a premature release date that Bay himself had to rectify -- he managed expectations by saying he would,"wait and see how the second one does."

Bay already seems semi-reluctant to jump into a third Transformers and when Paramount announced a summer 2011 date, he said, hell no, summer 2012. ""I said I was taking off a year from Transformers," he wrote on his website in mid March.

Everyone seems to be running towards the trend of 3D, after James Cameron including Tim Burton and Ridley Scott, but Bay seems more skeptical towards the inroads made in the technology.

“3D? I don’t know… I might be old school. I think it might be a gimmick,” Bay, also said at ShowWest. “I don’t know, we’ll see. I’m looking forward to [James] Cameron’s picture," but added, his testosterone might be too much. "The way I shoot is too aggressive for 3D cameras. It’s a time consuming thing. Who knows… It might be a fad. I’m kinda old school. I’m old school because I like to shoot on film. I like anamorphic lenses, and that is old school.”

After that, Bay pulled a b-boy pose and then walked offstage to rapturous geek applause.

Fox News Movie Critic Reviews 20th Century Fox Pirated Movie And Surprise, He Loves It!

Ahh, the delicious irony. Fox News, which is owned by the Rupert Murdoch-owned News Corp, has reviewed the 20th Century Fox-owned leaked and unfinished "Wolverine" workprint (basically it's all in the family). It seems like quite the brazen stunt to pull however, like a good Fox employee, crit hack Roger Friedman, actually loved it, so no axe is probably going to fall on his head today.

"I doubt anyone else has seen this film," he wrote despite the fact it's been downloaded by practically half the world already. "But everyone can relax. I am, in fact, amazed about how great Wolverine turned out. It exceeds expectations at every turn ... It’s miles easier to understand than 'The Dark Knight,' and tremendously more emotional ... A couple of times it was possible to see the harnesses on the actors. It didn’t take away from the film at all. I was completely riveted to my desk chair in front of my computer."

Despite the fact that Vulture went through the leaked workprint shot by shot and practically laughed out loud at all the visible harnesses (because it's not done, not because it's bad, but still...). Is this more damage control by Fox news as dictated by Rupert Murdoch? We generally have disdain for cynical conspiracy theories, but Friedman is the worst, frankly, and nothing would surprise us at this point.

All the more hysterical though? Fox as a corporation is off message. Friedman says the film is "95 percent completed," but yesterday 20th Century Fox chairman Tom Rothman said the picture is very "unfinished" and "a complete misrepresentation of the film." So which one is it guys, huh?

We all appreciate what Fox is going through, it's a fucking tough position to be in, but unctuous moves like Friedman's (and these flubs under the parent umbrella) make these kinds of PR salvages all the more transparent. This will actually turn people against the studio and the film all the more. Word to the wise, people.

Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden's 'Sugar' Is Sweet, But 'Half Nelson' Is A Tough Act To Follow

A version of this review ran during the Toronto International Film Festival last September.

Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden's "Sugar" was one of our most eagerly anticipated indie films during TIFF. Mostly because the duo's 2006 feature debut "Half Nelson" starring Ryan Gosling was one of our favorite films of that year. Though "Sugar" did appear to strong reviews at Sundance in 2008, most the chatter surrounding the film has quieted down, but Sony Pictures Classics eventually scooped up the film, but it's telling there was no real race to snatch it up.

"Half Nelson" deal with many issues of African-American culture in Brooklyn and similarly "Sugar" finds the filmmakers examining a culture outside their own by centering on an aspiring Dominican baseball hopeful (Algenis Perez Soto) trying to make it in the U.S. and Fleck and Boden really seem to almost have an aversion to telling stories about stuff that white people like (or what you might expect from young, white 20-3o something directors) much to all our benefit.

Baseball contender Miguel Santos is soon upgraded (and uprooted) to the United States with a few of his friends to play minor league ball and see if they can work their way up the ranks ("Azucar" which means sugar in Spanish is the sobriquet given to him for his proficiency on the pitching mound -- his throw is sweet), and the film is a acute examination of the alienation and troubles many of these carted-over like cattle baseball players face. The players are sent to live with sympathetic baseball families (who take in player after player) and the transition from living in the poverty-ridden, but free spirited Caribbean region to the Christian values of middle America (Iowa) is jarring to say the least.

There's much in "Sugar" to praise, including its authenticity, naturalism and the way it can turn on a dime and use sound, music and silence to transport the viewer into a moving and stylized moment of crisp and assured cinema, but we're not sure we were as moved by it as everyone else was during the festival (people seemed to be totally over the moon about it).

Perhaps expectations were too high, but it did genuinely suffer from a restless middle section and it didn't affect us as emotionally as we hoped it would. The directors could have amped up the narrative with conflicts and obstacles and or one-note villains (they wisely resisted the urge to make the middleman character a profiteer and making the white coach an unsympathetic asshole) and they should be applauded for avoiding these trappings, but we wonder if they're at the expense of drama and momentum.

Maybe it was just too many baseball scenes in the middle that really didn't do anything for us. In fact, the film can be put into three simple acts; 1) the Dominican Republic, 2) the minor leagues and Iowa and 3) the New York escape; and it's the bookends of the film that are the strongest. Honestly, we kind of wished they never left the DR as those scenes were so beautiful and strikingly honest with lovely cinematic flourishes and once they arrived to the U.S. the visuals were purposely laid flat and to convey the alienation the upended emigre felt. It's fitting, but sometimes it almost feels like the filmmakers might have better off trying to make a documentary about this subject rather than trying to only tentatively (or cautiously) dramatize the tribulations and distressing difficulties these young players exported into the U.S. face. It's a sad story of where most of them end up (dropped out of the leagues and living illegally in terrible conditions as they can't get proper jobs), but "Sugar" can't seem to effectively reconcile the cultural politics of the situation and the emotion of the individual. Or at least not to any captivating level that we had hoped.

Fleck and Boden are masters when they have a the right grasp of the material, but this one might have been slightly out of reach. Flawed or not there's some amazing moments and scenes in "Sugar": a pitching breakdown sequence was utterly marvelous and showcased the incredible eye and editing prowess this duo has in their arsenal, but as a whole, it's a tiny misstep. We didn't love it as much as "Half Nelson" (it's an extremely difficult act to top) but this team still has lots of inspiring cinema left to make in their auspicious career. And man, they always choose the most amazing cinematographers to lens their lovely looking films. [B]

Paul Dano Says Spike Jonze Has The Perfect 'Childlike Imagination' For 'Where the Wild Things Are'

Yesterday at a New York press conference for the indie film "Gigantic," actor Paul Dano revealed a bit of new info on the hotly anticipated Spike Jonze helmed/Dave Eggers penned adaptation of the Maurice Sendak classic "Where the Wild Things Are." Dano, who plays a frolicking Wild Thing goat named Alexander, talked a little bit about the movie saying that "Spike Jonze is the perfect guy for this movie...he's got a childlike imagination." On the rehearsal process (which was rumored to be awesome), he said the group spent some time working on a soundstage because "that's what acting is and if you just go into a recording studio it's all putting out and there's nothing to take in." Lastly, Dano says that he "feels quite good about how [the film] represents the book. It's a children's film about childhood that's not just for one audience." So there's just a few more reasons to hibernate until October.

We're also happy because Dano's name so far is not on any of the trailer or poster credits for 'Wild Things' so we were worried he might not be in the film anymore. Maybe he just didn't get top billing and the role in the script is rather small.

At the same event, director Matt Aselton revealed that he and "Gigantic" co-writer Adam Nagata have finished a new screenplay that is a comedy in the same fashion as his debut. We'll have to keep an eye out for that one.

Shortcuts: Cronenberg Talks 'The Matarese Circle', 'Gigantic' Wins Top Prize In Dallas

David Cronenberg recently talked about his project "The Matarese Circle." He revealed that he has " spoken to both Tom Cruise and Denzel Washington, and they both want to do it." The delays of the project has been due to the fact that he is rewriting the script, originally by Michael Brandt and Derek Haas ("Wanted"), from scratch and is "under a lot of pressure and [doesn't] want to screw it up." Also, he talked about how one of things that drew him to the project in the first was his belief that "when you get too comfortable, you need to scare yourself by trying something you've never done before." [Toronto Star]

Rosemarie DeWitt ("Rachel Getting Married", TV's "United States Of Tara") and Chris Cooper ("The Kingdom","Syrianna") have joined the cast of John Well's indie drama film, "Company Men." The film details the lives of three men over the course of a year as the company they work for implements corporate downsizing. The cast already consists of Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones and Kevin Costner. [THR]

Paul Weitz is in talks to helm "Little Fockers," the next installment of the franchise that stemmed from hit comedy "Meet The Parents." Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Teri Polo and Blythe Danner are all set to reprise their roles. [Variety]

Tyler Perry has added Grammy Award winner Gladys Knights and "CSI: Miami" star Adam Rodriguez to the cast of his next project, "I Can Do Bad All By Myself." They join Perry himself, Taraji P. Henson, Brian White, Hope Olaide Wilson, Kwesi Nii-Lante Boakye and Frederick Siglar. [THR]

Matt Aselton's "Gigantic," starring Paul Dano and Zooey Deschanel, has won best narrative at the AFI Dallas International Film Festival. [THR]

Amaury Nolasco (TV's "Prison Break") has jumped on board Bruce Robinson's "The Rum Diary," an adaptation of the Hunter S. Thompson novel. Starring in the film will be Johnny Depp, Amber Heard, Richard Jenkins and Giovanni Ribisi. [THR]

Tom Cruise will NOT be in Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's ("The Lives Of Others") "The 28th Amendment," a film scribed by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman ("Transformers","Star Trek") [EW's Hollywood Insider]

A trailer for "Powder Blue", better known as 'the film Jessica Biel plays a stripper in', has been released. The film is being helmed by Timothy Linh Bui. [First Showing]

Kevin Spacey will be involved in the upcoming film "Men Who Stare At Goats," which stars George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges and Robert Patrick. When are we going to hear some real details about this film, like some studio images, a trailer or a release date? [Variety]

Jason Schwartzman and Rainn Wilson, better known as Dwight Schrute, will have a cameo in upcoming music from Weezer. [Vulture/Weezer]

Zack Snyder Defends 'Watchmen,' Says Warner Bros. Still Loves Him

When "Watchmen" underwhelmed at the box office recently, many were wondering what this meant for director Zach Snyder and his hard R-rated films with Warner Brothers. Snyder has responded to such criticism recently in an interview with EW.

"All the studio has ever said to me is, 'We are proud of Watchmen, we think it's awesome and we stand behind it," Snyder admitted. "They've never said, 'Ahh, it could have been shorter,' or, 'Too bad it's so R-ish.' And that's really cool. I'm challenging them again with "Sucker Punch."

His next film, which sounds like a Quentin Tarantino on acid -- a group of gun-toting hot female mental patients escape an insane asylum, by fleeing to an Alice & Wonderland-like dreamscape -- recently completed its casting with the addition of Emily Browning in the lead role after Amanda Seyfried was forced to pull out. Browning joins Evan Rachel Wood, Vanessa Hudgens, Abbie Cornish and Emma Stone. Of his all girls cast, Snyder said "they are all super excited because they get to play these juicy, mentally difficult roles, plus they get to fight. We need to get the deals done because they've got a lot of fight training to do."

Does that mean others could drop out? Hmmm.. anyhow, as of right now, "Sucker Punch" is due out October 8th, 2010.

Fox Chairman Calls Leaked 'Wolverine' "Unfinished & Unfair Misrepresentation" - Vulture Posts Stills And "Review"

In a move that will probably get them shut down faster than you can say cease and desist, Vulture has put up a scathing and hilarious "review"/slideshow of the unfinished and leaked "Wolverine" workprint that's being labelled as a funny, "15 Reasons Not to Download Wolverine," deterrent but let's face it, it's basically 15 reasons why you shouldn't bother with the film when it hits theaters.

20th Century Fox, who is doing damage control left, right and center will not be happy with this at all.

Vulture says you should wait until the film hits theaters to see it, but it's clear they're being dismissive. "Really, though, if they're concerned about piracy sinking the movie's opening weekend, they shouldn't be — anyone with eyes can tell you that the leaked version is unfinished, with missing scenes, placeholder music, and tons of hilarious half-rendered special effects. "

Still, that can't help at all. They write about the still above, "In keeping with the spirit of this World War I flashback, the explosion seen here was rendered exclusively using technology available in 1918." Funny stuff, but it can't help the negative press that has already suggested even in finished form "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" is going to be unsalvageable.

Meanwhile, in an exclusive interview with EW, Fox chairman Tom Rothman has been trying to do his own damage control spin.

"The version that went out is unfinished. It's about 10 minutes shorter, doesn't have key scenes, it wasn't edited, and none of the effects shots were in any remotely final form," Rothman tells EW. "It's a complete misrepresentation of the film and is deeply unfair to the people who have worked on it for years."

While we think this project has looked dumb from minute one and was probably rushed during the writer's strike, this is every studios nightmare and we don't wish this on our worst enemies. Downloading is bad for everyone in the movie industry -- look how it's irrevocably decimated the music industry, so any blogger, journo, movie-related person who wants to earn a penny in there lifetime and make a career out of this should hope they found a way to stop it.

Rothman continues. "We, like everybody, thought our system was secure. Just like I'm sure there are lots of banks that get robbed that thought their vault was safe. We thought the post-production pipeline was secure at every juncture. But, obviously, it's self-evident that it wasn't. I have a high level of confidence we'll find out where the lapse in security was and we'll bring the perpetrators to justice."

Many have already speculated that this is either payback for the Warner Bros. "Watchmen," lawsuit or simply just because of the way the Fox studios press department behave (apparently difficult to say the least, but to be honest, we have zero experience there as most of their films are big tentpole vehicles that we have little interest in).

Those who think the FBI being involved is an overreaction, might be right, but this is a billion dollar industry and at lot of jobs could eventually be at stake -- especially in this already shitty economy -- so you'd protect your work too if you knew the long term effects could crush you.

Apparently Hugh Jackman was crushed when he heard about the leak. It'll be interesting to see how this story continues to play out in the media, but honestly, we kinda think "Wolverine," is fucked. It's too bad, because it should fail on its own merits or lack thereof if that's the case.

"Hugh was heartbroken and hurt when he found out," Rothman said. "He's lived with this thing for 10 years. But he's also a man and knows that life isn't fair, and is more determined than ever. Hugh and I exchanged e-mails: Basically, we're not going to let the bastards win. But we didn't use the word 'bastards.' That's a slightly sanitized version."

Todd Phillips Is Most Certainly Back: 2nd 'Hangover' Trailer Keeps Building Faith

Finally a good quality embed of the second trailer to "The Hangover." It's not radically different from what we've already seen, besides a first look at Heather Graham, but Todd Phillips' (2003's "Old School" is a pièce de résistance of aughts comedy) new comedy looks fantastically funny.

As we've written about a lot, Phillips seemed to have lost his way after "Road Trip" and "Old School" ("Starsky & Hutch," "School for Scoundrels" were decidely ungood), but he looks like he's returning to form with this comedy which boasts a stellar cast. It stars Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms and Bradley Cooper ("Wedding Crashers") as three best friends at a wild Las Vegas bachelor party who lose the groom just hours before his wedding. The film also stars, Heather Graham, Ken Jeong (of the Apatow family players), Gillian Vigman ("Step Brothers") and Jeffrey Tambor has been rumored (we still haven't seen him).

Bradley Cooper was severely underrated "Wedding Crashers," and Helms and Galifianakis have hopefully already established themselves as masters of silly comedy. "The Hangover" is due in theaters June 5, 2009. We can't wait. It's one of our most anticipated comedy of 2009.

Jessica Biel Goes Method For Straight To DVD Stripper Film 'Power Blue'

There's something about how seriously Jessica Biel and Access Hollywood take this behind-the-scenes look at "Powder Blue," her upcoming B-movie stripper film that's apparently so bad it's going straight to DVD that it cracks us up. You'd think she's been taught by Stella Adler and gone in deep underground cover to research the role or something. Director Timothy Linh Bui's CV doesn't inspire much confidence, nor does his penchant for always hiring Patrick Swayze in a major lead role, so it's no big wonder this thing will bypass theaters.

"I've gained such a greater respect for the women that actually do this for a living. It's so difficult," Biel told Access. Yes, she's in ridiculously good shape for the role, but maybe she should just stick to modelling and not let words come out of her mouth anymore. Here's the trailer, it looks like moody exoctica gone bad. It does feature Ray Liotta and Forest Whitaker who are no acting chumps, so if it's going straight to DVD, presumably a decent idea went awry. And here's the Access Hollywood interview.

'Adventureland' Is Honest, Painful, Funny And Full Of Life

Having been longtime champions of the screenplay, we feel a little bad that it's taken us to the last minute to review Greg Mottola's "Adventureland." Dubbed a coming of age comedy, Mottola has had issues with the demarcations and for good reason; the sharp and mature look at post-adolescence isn't easily defined, so much so it kind of defies basic categorization.

The film stars Jesse Eisenberg as a recent college graduate whose dreams of a European experience are quickly squashed by his parents economic woes and he's force to take a going-nowhere job at his local amusement park -- it's much like the slap in the face of adulthood and how life quickly manages your expectations. But his one gleam of joy is found in Em (Kirsten Stewart), a elusive young girl that captivates him and forces him to let down his guard for the first time ever. At the park we're introduced to a cast of character like Bill Hader (who does provide some broad moments), Kristen Wiig, Martin Starr and the lothario Ryan Reynolds (who does a strong job of playing a flawed, but likable asshole).

So yes, more of a first love tale than rom-com, this '80s set indie narrative, is at times, an intensely visceral heartbreak story and doesn't go for any easy notes you normally find in these stories (especially when they're replete with this much music). What we're saying is its absolutely not the broad comedy that it's being marketed as to catch all the audience flies (this is how it works) and we'd expect a lot of people to be disappointed with how painful and sometimes uncomfortably honest the heartache moments can be, but we've been pleasantly surprised to see the geek community really latch on to it.

It sounds almost silly to say, but part of our inarticulation in penning a review already is in describing a film which almost defies genres and or at least pushes the boundaries of what an indie 20 something dramedy usually constitutes. In fact, it's like a strange hybrid of Noah Baumbach's sometimes brutally candid, "The Squid & The Whale," meets Mottola's unique sensibilities, but there's rarely any cheap laughs

Incredibly understated, mannered and carefully observed, as much as "Adventureland" is personal, intimate and semi-autobiographical, it refuses to do many things that we applaud it for which is revel in nostalgia (with the '80s being the timeframe, it easily could have gone there) or wallow in much woe-is-me self-pity. Instead it delivers very credible and sometimes uncomfortable moments of longing and awkward romantic missteps. Jessie Eisenberg's character really puts himself out there is some naked moments that made us want to pull the covers over our heads -- a painful reminder of when you were too inexperienced and put your heart out way to open on your sleeve.

Featuring an tastefully curated soundtrack of '80s college rock and indie-alternative classics (Husker Du, The Velvet Underground, INXS, The Replacements) that we've already discussed at length, the film could have ostensibly become overstuffed with music montages and slo-mo music moments (like a recent mall-cop drama that did this at every turn), but again refuses to stoop so low. The one real music moment, a bumper cars scene set to The Cure's " Just Like Heaven," is thrillingly filled with that gulp in your throat, butterflies moment when you're falling fast in love and it literally made our cheeks flush with emotion.

But "Adventureland," is subtle, so much so we wished a few moments of forlornness and melancholy were milked every so slightly, but in a workmanlike discipline, the picture moves along at an economic clip and doesn't slow down to underline emotional moments for you. This won't work for everyone, it's almost emotionally faint in it's heartstring-pulling bittersweet scenes, but the film is probably better off for it.

The one criticism being thrown at the film is that it lacks dramatic impact and is somewhat aimless and lackadaisical, which to be fair aren't unfounded points as its penchant for avoiding cliches could come off as almost doggedly unfamiliar to some, but there's a strong humanity and it comes from the experiential heart. It's a sweet little indie with modest stakes and aims, but is much warmer and truthful than 90% of the 20-something, "coming of age" post-teen stories we're accustomed to and it's nice thing to witness.

"Adventureland," comes out today April 3 and stars Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Martin Starr, Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig and Ryan Reynolds. Definitely go out and support it.

Chris Pine Yet To Receive Offer Or Script For 'Green Lantern'

Contrary to rumours , Chris Pine has told MTV that he has not received an offer and has yet to even read a script for the upcoming DC-Comics property "Green Lantern."

While Pine reveals a meeting did take place between him and executives of the film, he concluded that "a meeting was all it was." "I have not been offered squat. I do not have the part and haven’t read a script.

Further, it seems that without a script, Pine would be not be signing on for anything, anytime soon: "I'm not a big comic book fan," he admitted. "I’m a fan of stories - so if there’s a story to be told, I love to tell a good story."

Early reports had linked Pine to the role along with Anton Yelchin, Sam Worthington, Jon Hamm and Nathan Fillion. "Green Lantern" is set to begin shooting in Australia later this year under the helm of Martin Campbell ("Casino Royale") - albeit despite still missing a main man.

'War of Gods' Delayed But Set To Shoot Later This Year?

Henry Cavill ("Stardust", TV's "The Tudors") has revealed that Tarsem Singh's "War Of Gods" has been delayed but still hopes to start shooting later this year.

In a recent interview, Cavill shed light on the status of 'Gods': "It’s been delayed and still sitting in pre-production. Hopefully we’ll start shooting after Tudors finishes. The script is still being re-written." Shooting for 'Tudors' is slated to begin in June and last year was completed by October.

Cavill also discussed his character in the film; "[Theseus] is a fairly angry man. Angry because he feels like he’s been dealt with unfairly throughout life, and has taken on fairly aggressive qualities. He’s still a good man, and still fairly self-aware, but I think he’s peeved at the world. Peeved is a light word to use, there."

'Gods' is a mythological tale set in war-torn ancient Greece, as the young warrior prince Theseus leads his men in a battle against evil that will see the gods fighting with soldiers against demons and titans. The potential style for the film was described by Tarsem as 'Caravaggio [an Italian Baroque artist circa the 16th Century] meets "Fight Club".'

"It's a really hardcore action film done in Renaissance painting style," he added. "I’m going for a very contemporary look on top of that so I’m kind of going with, you know, Renaissance time with electricity. So it’s a bit like Baz Luhrman doing "Romeo + Juliet" in Mexico; it’s just taking a particular Greek tale and half contemporizing it and telling it."

'Gods' was scribed by Charley and Vlas Parlapanides and has a tentative release date of 2010.

Exclusive: 'Scott Walker 30 Century Man' Tribute Soundtrack Album Hits Digitally April 21; DVD Arrives June 16

Here's a very cool twist from the camp of the very excellent music documentary, "Scott Walker: 30 Century Man," which charts the elusive career of one of rock's most enigmatic figures.

Instead of simply putting out a Scott Walker soundtrack that acts as a greatest hits collection (thought that would be good for the uninitiated but is a legal quagmire) of his orchestral and moody noir romance songs, Lakeshore records has found a creative alternate route and are releasing a tribute album but it's certainly not one of those carelessly tossed-off inspired by the film soundtracks we generally loathe.

With rights to original Walker songs being an uphill battle, Lakeshore Records chief Brian McNellis proposed a tribute record and then '30 Century Man' director Stephen Kijak reached out to musicians he knew were Walker fans but couldn't include in the original film, but with another twist being a female take on the singer's dark tenor voice.

"The idea was to get mainly women to interpret Scott's songs," Kijak told The Playlist. "A lot of male singers try to take on The Croon and just can't do it he's just got such a specific and amazing voice. The two that attempted it on the album (Damon of Damon and Naomi and Peter Broderick) totally nailed it, made it very much their own. It's a great collection, I'm really thrilled with how it turned out."

The album, which is due digitally via iTunes on April 21 and physically in stores on April 28, features Scott Walker covers by fans like post-modern synth artist Laurie Anderson (who we actually sat next to when we saw the film's debut at Tribeca in 2007), moody indie duo Damon & Naomi, U.K. indie dance act Saint Etienne, evocative shoegazy British singer Dot Allison, German electronic artist Ulrich Schnauss and many, many more.

The soundtrack leads the awareness on all things Scott Walker as the DVD will be released June 16 via Oscilloscope films. If you don't know who Walker is you should probably run to your closest record store right now. Fans and tastemakers who are featured in the film offering glowing testimonials of his work include David Bowie - also an executive producer of the film-- members of Radiohead, Jarvis Cocker, Brian Eno , Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz), Neil Hannon (The Divine Comedy), Marc Almond, Alison Goldfrapp, Sting, Johnny Marr (The Smiths) and many more.

"Scott Walker – 30 Century Man" tracklist
01. Duchess - Peter Broderick
02. Big Louise - Sally Norvell
03. The World's Strongest Man - Damon & Naomi
04. Manhattan - Saint Etienne
05. The Electrician - Laurie Anderson
06. The Seventh Seal - Nicole Atkins
07. Montague Terrace (In Blue) - Dot Allison
08. The Bridge - Bee & Flower
09. Rhymes Of Goodbye - Stephanie Dosen
10. It's Raining Today - Ulrich Schnauss
11. A Lover Loves - Jarboe
12. Such A Small Love - Little Annie & Paul Wallfisch

Here's the trailer to "Scott Walker: 30 Century Man"

"Funeral Tango"
"Black Sheep Boy"
Scott Walker performing "Mathilde"

"'Borat' Was So 2006:" 'Brüno' International Red-Band Trailer Hits!

"How do you defend yourself against a man with two dildos."

The first trailer, an international version that's age-gated, for Sacha Baron Cohen's "Brüno" has hit. Oh man. Ha, there's plenty of footage we've seen from at SXSW (Brüno with his baby on the reality show), but still tons of scenes that none of us have seen before including the Brüno character in the Army, hunting with red necks, at a mall with an S&M submissive and much glorious more. "Brüno" has been slapped with an NC17 rating so far, but many are suspecting that's just another publicity ploy to build more buzz for what seems like a very intensely outrageous picture that has upped the game from, "Borat."

When we saw 20 minutes of footage at the South By South West Film Festival, we wrote, "Brüno" was seriously uncontrollably funny, and with a dangerous subversive and transgressive bent that will smash the limits of UNPC-ness and will surely outrage people. We died laughing and everyone in the theater did as well. "Borat" the film doesn't have a lot of staying power, but it was riotously hilarious on the first viewing and "Brüno" looks like it will do the same only with an even more aggressive bent of social satire.

One would assume that Cohen would try and one-up his wicked, near Machiavellian culture pranksterism, but one never assume he could never mount such a militaristic successful tet-offensive on his previous work."

Universal has provided this very-wrong, but very right and hilarious black and white photo of Bruno and his adopted African baby in the film. We've already posted most of the plot details which you can read here, but basically a disgraced Brüno fucks up his TV gig when he ruins an Italian fashion show, so he comes to the U.S. and gets into all kinds of crazy shit (not unlike the "plot" of "Borat")

And on a personal note, Rossini's "The Barber of Seville" (which soundtracks part of the trailer) is one of our all-time favorite classical pieces. As previously reported the music was written by Cohen's brother, Erran Baron Cohen and he's listed in the credits. The film is due in theaters July 10, 2009.

Noah Baumbach's 'Greenberg' Becomes An Untitled Film

A little update on Noah Baumbach's relationship dramedy "Greenberg," which stars Ben Stiller.

As previously reported the film also stars Rhys Ifans, Brie Larson and Juno Temple and mumblecore "star" Greta Gerwig and centers on a New Yorker (Stiller) who moves to L.A. to housesit for his brother and figure out his life and ends up having a relationship with his brother's assistant.

But according to a press release about the production beginning in Los Angeles last week (and re-confirmed with the publicist), the film has dropped it's "Greenberg" title (which is how it's written in the script) and reverted to an untitled state. Perhaps "Greenberg" doesn't quite sell it to audiences, and we can understand that.

The script was written by Baumbach, but based on a story that he and his wife Jennifer Jason Leigh conceived together. She's one of the producers on the film as is Scott Rudin. There appears to be no release date for it yet, but it's conceivable it could come out in fall 2009, no? We're psyched for it.

'Sex And The City' Sequel Set For May, 2010

You'll have more reasons to be sexist and ageist together at the same time again next spring!

The sequel to "Sex And The City" (announced earlier this year) has been set for a May 28, 2010 release date by Warner Bros. and New Line.

The film will reunite writer-director, Michael-Patrick King with the cast from the original and HBO show, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis.

No plot details have been revealed and no shooting plan has been set. "Sex And The City" the movie basically tarnished what was a well-written HBO show (no, seriously), but the outpouring of wanton misogyny semi-veiled as film criticism as the time was rather heinous even for joksters like us (don't you people have a mom that you love?). Presumably, the makers of this sequel will do little to up the quality of the film in order to side-step this nastiness again, but here's to hoping they use it as motivation to better themselves. [E!]