So she is probably Itaril then, huh?

So I've never read the books, though they are favorites here. I have thought about reading them, since a friend on another forum highly recommended them. But I just saw on BOM that they are making a movie of The Hunger Games, I assume book 1. Set for release in 2012, (IMDb says 2013, which I assume is the old date since BOM just put that up).

Didn't know if you all know that. I searched the forum and found nothing of it.

I've been following the progress of this movie myself - the release date is cool, but i'm really waiting on the announcement of the cast. Some of the names being tossed around are interesting, but a few alarm me, lol.

BTW, you're right - it's book 1. So far, anyway.

I'm glad it's book 1- there's more then enough in there for a movie. And yep, the release date is March 23, 2012.
I'm following the progress too-I never knew how fun that was
I've pretty much made up my mind about who I want for some characters, but I can't find my ideal Katniss anywhere :/
Some say Halilee Steinfeld, but I think she's too young-she's 14 and looks like it, plus her face (while very pretty), looks far too young and innocent for Katniss. Malese Jow seems to want the role, but I don't think she fits the description at all (isn't she Chinese?) And some people say Kaya Scodelario, which I wouldn't mind if she tanned up a bit. And there's probably a dozen more names that have been mentioned

Henry Cavill has been cast to play Superman/Clark Kent in the upcoming Superman movie. Since I've never seen him in anything, anyone else want to offer their opinion on this?

Booky, I've only seen him in The Count of Monte Cristo, I Capture the Castle, and Stardust. He had small to medium roles in each and as far as I can tell, has little to no experience as a lead. He usually does pretty stoic roles, which might fit the role, but I wonder if he'll be able to do the subtle emotion that Superman needs. I'm sure the casting people knew what they were doing though. He's certainly a very handsome fellow, but he doesn't really look like Superman to me.

What's the idea behind this movie? I thought we just had a Superman movie.

Edit: after I Googled the matter, I came across the fact that they're redoing X-Men. Based on how young James McAvoy is, I'm guessing it's a prequel or something. What do the superhero buffs think about it?

I didn’t even realize that Henry Cavill was in The Count of Monte Cristo until you said something Kate. Now I recognize him.
I personally think he looks the part.
I am really interested in this take on Superman, because Christopher Nolan helped out with it a little bit. And because I am interested to see how Zack Snyder handles the directing.

@Kate: Yes X-Men: First Class is sort of like a prequel, it takes place in the 60’s when both Professor Xavier and Magneto were younger. The Movie is about their friendship.

Here is the Synopsis from Comingsoon.net:

"X-Men: First Class," following the classic Marvel mythology, charts the epic beginning of the X-Men saga. Before Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Before they were archenemies, they were closest of friends, working together, with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to stop the greatest threat the world has ever known. In the process, a rift between them opened, which began the eternal war between Magneto's Brotherhood and Professor X's X-Men.

And here is a photo of some of the cast.

I believe this new Superman movie is meant to be a reboot, similar to Batman Begins. Zach Snyder's involvement worries me a bit, but I'm happy about Nolan being on board.

As for the new X-Men film, I'm highly skeptical. They've basically tossed the film continuity in the garbage can. It's a prequel, back when Magneto and Professor X still got along. They've randomly made mutants who've always been amoral at best good guys and created some sort of silly nuclear war plot. I expect it will be anvilicious in the extreme.

I've heard that the production of X-Men: First Class is rushed and pretty much a mess with reshoots and all kind of stuff. Continuity is definitely screwed up and without Wolverine i think it will flop, cause this summer will be filled with hordes of other comic movies that seem much more interesting.
http://www.latinoreview.com/news/exclus ... kens-12317

I really hope all those comic books movies will end some day, they just keep coming reboots (Hulk, Spider-Man,Superman), spin-offs and all superheroes have about the same origin stories...

That's too bad, really, about X-Men. It has a pretty great cast. My guess is that I will probably enjoy it anyway though since I'm one of those despised bandwagoners who really only enjoys superhero dramas when they're shiny and on the silver screen. I know nothing about continuity.

There are some interesting historical and literature based films coming out. The Conspirator has an impressive cast and looks a little bit cliche, but interesting. It has Robin Wright and James McAvoy and is about the only female conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

There are also plans to "Do for The Scarlet Pimpernel what Guy Richie did for Sherlock Holmes." I'm not sure how I feel about that. I'd love to see a TSP adaptation, but I tend to like things to stay at least somewhat close to the source material (unlike the Downey, Jr. SH). But I can also see how TSP is far less interesting than it could be. It's about a man who rescues people from the guillotine, yet somehow much of the action takes place at a society party. I think, in this case, I like the idea and swagger of TSP better than the actual plot and I'd be willing to see some changes made in order to make a really great movie. I'm pretty happy with the casting of Neil Jackson too (though he's no Ian McKellen).

I heard that there's going to be a Jetsons movie in the future. This sounds awesome! I hope it's live action! I don't want it to be like that Beowulf type animation.

If they really want to reboot a series they need to stop fiddling with Spiderman (which was perfectly fine in my opinion) and go redo Fantastic Four. The first one is ok but the whole Galactus as a cloud thing in #2 was just terrible...

I cannot believe they are rebooting Superman. He is one of the worst comic book characters imho... right up there with the Hulk. Too much of an easy-mode button with those guys. The only weakness Superman seems to have is Kryptonite, this super rare mineral that anyone and everyone can get their hands on. But who knows? Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.

...go redo Fantastic Four. The first one is ok but the whole Galactus as a cloud thing in #2 was just terrible...

That's funny. I thought the first one was terrible and couldn't stomach the idea of seeing the second one. Too bad too, I liked a couple of the actors they cast in that series. For some reason, I thought I heard it was being rebooted as well.

The superhero movie I'm definitely looking the most forward to right now is Thor.

I heard that there's going to be a Jetsons movie in the future. This sounds awesome! I hope it's live action! I don't want it to be like that Beowulf type animation.

aww this would be such a cute movie!! I would love to have it be live action!!

I'd definitely have to agree about Superman. And he uses his powers stupidly. With all the power he has and how vastly intelligent he is, the only thing he can think to do when fighting supervillains is run up and punch them? But I'm hoping with Christopher Nolan on board we'll get a better quality film and hopefully a portrayal of the character that actually has some personality besides being a Christ figure.

Not terribly thrilled about the Spider-man reboot either. Not necessary at all. The fact of the matter is all of the studios are scared to death of losing the rights to the characters, since they will then revert to Marvel. Marvel has demonstrated they're very keen on making movies now, so the film studios know they have no chance of getting the rights back then.

I could get behind rebooting the Fantastic Four though. The second movie was an absolute travesty of one of the most iconic storylines in the Marvel-verse. Not the worst superhero movie ever, that would be the last two Batman movies before that franchise's reboot, but still pretty terrible.

I am rather happy that Anne Hathaway got the part of Selina in The Dark Knight Rises. I just didn't want Angelina Jolie or Jessica Biel to get her part because they would be obvious choices and the only reason why they get attention is because of the way they look. No Anne Hathaway is natural talent!

In a recent interview with Guillermo del Toro, (who was formally going to direct The Hobbit) he explains some of the ideas he had for his version of The Hobbit.
I think it is very interesting to see what may have been.
After reading this I am even more happy and relieved that Peter Jackson is directing instead of Del Toro.

Guillermo del Toro: Smaug
“I paused at what looked like an image of a double-bitted medieval hatchet. “That’s Smaug,” del Toro said. It was an overhead view: “See, he’s like a flying axe.” Del Toro thinks that monsters should appear transformed when viewed from a fresh angle, lest the audience lose a sense of awe. Defining silhouettes is the first step in good monster design, he said. “Then you start playing with movement. The next element of design is color. And then finally—finally—comes detail. A lot of people go the other way, and just pile up a lot of detail.”
I turned to a lateral image of the dragon. Smaug’s body, as del Toro had imagined it, was unusually long and thin. The bones of its wings were articulated on the dorsal side, giving the creature a slithery softness across its belly. “It’s a little bit more like a snake,” he said. I thought of his big Russian painting. Del Toro had written that the beast would alight “like a water bird.”
Smaug’s front legs looked disproportionately small, like those of a T. rex. This would allow the dragon to assume a different aspect in closeup: the camera could capture “hand” gestures and facial expressions in one tight frame, avoiding the quivery distractions of wings and tail. (Smaug is a voluble, manipulative dragon; Tolkien describes him as having “an overwhelming personality.”) Smaug’s eyes, del Toro added, were “going to be sculpturally very hidden.” This would create a sense of drama when the thieving Bilbo stirs the beast from slumber.”

Guillermo del Toro: Designing Smaug and Writing
“The visual aspect was under my control,” he said. “There was no interference with that creation.” In collaboration with Jackson and two screenwriters, del Toro had completed drafts for Parts 1 and 2. But final revisions were still to come, and he noted that any “strong disagreements” between him and Jackson would have occurred when they debated which scenes to film and which to cut—“You know, ‘I want to keep this.’ ‘I want to keep that.’ ” But, he said, he had quit “before that impasse.” I asked him if there had been creative tension. At Weta, he said, the production delay had made everyone anxious, and he “could not distinguish between a real tension and an artificial tension.”
He admitted that there had been discomfort over his design of Smaug. “I know this was not something that was popular,” he said. He said that he had come up with several audacious innovations—“Eight hundred years of designing dragons, going back to China, and no one has done it!”—but added that he couldn’t discuss them, because the design was not his intellectual property. “I have never operated with that much secrecy,” he said of his time at Weta.

Guillermo del Toro: On adapting
Del Toro’s production design for “The Hobbit” seemed similarly intent on avoiding things that viewers had seen before. Whereas Jackson’s compositions had been framed by the azure New Zealand sky, del Toro planned to employ digital “sky replacement,” for a more “painterly effect.” Sometimes, instead of shooting in an actual forest, he wanted to shoot amid artificial trees that mimicked the “drawings in Tolkien’s book.” In his journal, I spied many creatures with no precedent in Tolkien, such as an armor-plated troll that curls into a ball of metal plates. Del Toro said that it would be boring to make a slavish adaptation.

Guillermo del Toro: Thorin
Even the major characters of “The Hobbit” bore del Toro’s watermark. In one sketch, the dwarf Thorin, depicted in battle, wore a surreal helmet that appeared to be sprouting antlers. “They’re thorns—his name is Thorin, after all,” he said.

Sorry for the long post.