Did you hear?
Nerdy Bird here, your one and only source into the scandalous lives of the superhero elite. Hal Jordan has a girlfriend! Her name is Blake Lively, she’s only 22-years-old and, get this…she’s a blonde. Couldn’t you just dye! I mean, die! And what’s going on with Thor, Spider-Man and Jonah Hex? I mean, get it together guys, you’re supposed to know what you’re doing.
Why am I talking like a Page Six columnist? You’ve probably heard by now, Carol Ferris has been cast for the upcoming Green Lantern flick and the actress is none other than Gossip Girl star, Lively. The Hollywood Reporter said the roll called for someone slightly older but the studio was impressed with her audition. Fans however, seem to be in an uproar about the casting saying Lively is too young and too blonde for the role. True, she looks closer to Hal’s other gal pal, Cowgirl, but that’s what wigs and hair dye are for.
Kerri Russel, Eva Green and Jennifer Garner were all said to have been considered to play Carol at one point but it’s the youngster who gets to play opposite Ryan Reynolds. I would have preferred someone a little bit older and I’ve never seen Lively act but I’ll tell you why I’m not up-in-arms. I like that she’s not a big name actress. This is going to be Reynolds’ movie and we all know it. To add to that, Carol isn’t as vital to Green Lantern as say, Lois is to Superman or Mary Jane is to Spider-Man. Hal is out in space by himself, at least until the sequel when Carol gets that pretty pink stone (presumably). Hector Hammond, Abin Sur and Sinestro have yet to be cast but with production starting in just under two months you can expect word any day now.
Speaking of Spider-Man, what the hell are they doing? The fourth film in the franchise has given away their May 6, 2011 release date to Thor because according to THR, Sony and director Sam Raimi can’t decide on a villain. Really? Shouldn’t all of this have been decided a while ago now? “Like anything, it’s a process,” Maguire told THR. “We’re just in the midst of the process. We have a lot of great stuff in terms of story and script. We’re just trying to dial it in and get it ready as quickly as possible. Of course, these movies are a very big undertaking and take a lot more time than a drama or something more straightforward.” Translation: We ain’t got shit.
EDIT: Apparently John Malkovich just told the world he’ll be playing Vulture in Spider-Man 4.
EDIT (Again): Spider-Man 4 is no more. Sam Raimi and Toby McGuire are out. The next Spider-Man film will be a complete reboot with script by Jaimie Vanderbilt. According to Deadline.com Raimi “felt he couldn’t make its summer release date and keep the film’s creative integrity.” A statement from Raimi via THR, “Working on the Spider-Man movies was the experience of a lifetime for me. While we were looking forward to doing a fourth one together, the studio and Marvel have a unique opportunity to take the franchise in a new direction, and I know they will do a terrific job.”
Meanwhile, Thor is having it’s own issues. THR reports Stuart Townsend, set to play Fandral, has left the film because of “creative differences.” Considering shooting begins today, it’s a good thing they’ve already replaced him with Joshua Dallas. Babel actress Adriana Barraza also just joined the cast last week. The troubles aren’t limited to Marvel, Warner Bros. is also having some difficulty. They’re bringing the Jonah Hex cast back for re-shoots at the end of the month. “Although no test screenings have taken place, the studio has decided to work on story and action during the shoots, working in 12 pages of additional script mixed in with some re-shoots,” says THR. People, this is no way to make movies.
If I hear any more juicy news, you’ll be the first to know!
Despite your contention that Blake Lively is not a 'name' actress, the fact that she's on the WB, on a highly watched by the teen demographic anyway show, basically meant that she was a shoe in for the part. And as we have seen in the past, much to our detriment, the moviemaking side of the brothers Warner don't really give a rip about what us comic book fans think. Adjust your expectations accordingly.
I was baffled by the choice of Ryan Reynolds for Hal Jordan to begin with so following up with Blake Lively isn't as bad. She's seems a little young to play Carol Ferris. As long as she can act tough and reign those fly boys in, I guess it will be OK.
They are totally rebooting Spider-Man now. I guess they would want to do the Ultimate version so it would fit in with the Avengers movie?
Spidey 4: why not just fire Raimi and get the pic on screens as sched? Could it be Sony wants to go after Avatar money, so doing a NEW Spidey trilogy (they always want at least 3), with a new cast in 3D makes more economic sense (to them at least).
GL: Blake Lively did not impress as SNL host, aside from the fact she's gorgeous. I've always enjoyed Ryan Reynolds comedy (even liked him in Definitely, Maybe), so I hope he can do "serious" with GL.
Jonah Hex: reshoots is one thing but also doing 12 pages of new script seems a bit odd (unless you're George Lucas or Woody Allen). And Josh Brolin in print sounds like an idiot, with his comments about wanting to do the most awful movie he could find.
They are going to completely screw 'Green Lantern' up.
Ryan Reynolds? Who the hell thought that would be a good idea?!?
Jennifer Garner would have been perfect as Carol Ferris! Okay, maybe I'm a little biased as an Alias fan. "I think {Jennifer} should play everything. Even the shark from Jaws? Yes, the shark from Jaws."
I tend to think Lively got picked to bring in the Gossip Girl audience aka The OC, New York.
Personally, I think Lively is a great choice for Carol Ferris. Having a wife whose interests are rather less..ahem..geek-ish than mine. I was given the opportunity to see the first Pants movie she was in. She impressed me. I think she'll be fine. Especially when it comes time to adapt the Star Sapphire to film.
As far as Spider-Man 4 goes…sigh…it doesn't surprise me that Raimi and the studio are clashing. It was the studio that shoe-horned Venom in the third one and the film suffered for it. You'd think that the simple fact that Raimi's vision made the first two films many. many dump trucks full of money would be enough to let them leave him alone.
John Malkovich is just brilliant casting for whatever movie he is casted for. And Adrian Toomes will certainly be a lot better for this.
As far as the Thor news…eh. I'm not as excited. Thor is going to be a challenge to put on film because you have to mix up the Lord of the Rings style of fantasy with enough real world action and I think that's going to be tough to pull off. I'm waiting until I see previews before I et excited about this movie.
I was all ready to chime in about the Malkovich/Vulture news, but you beat me to it. Not only is that brilliant casting, but I like that Raimi is sticking to his original vision of using the old school villains. Especially after the mess the third movie was because he got strong-armed into working Venom into it.
Hmmm. Not sure about Miss Lively yet…but should be interesting. According to AICN Townsend was fired for being 6 hours late to a screen test.