New Avengers banners feature Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson and others
Yahoo Movies debuted a banner featuring Chris Evans as Captain America, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk, Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man and Chris Hemsworth as Thor, for the upcoming film “The Avengers,” set for a May 4, 2012 release. The film is directed by Joss Whedon.
The Avengers who haven’t had their own solo movies as yet, plus one villain, are found on a second banner via Moviefone. Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury,Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye and Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow round out the second banner, which can be seen at Moviefone or by clicking past the cut.
- Matt Price
Please cast Mila Kunis as the Wasp, Joss Whedon (Oscar pictures)
Mila Kunis arrives at the 83rd annual Academy Awards.
Mila Kunis looked fantastic last night at the 83rd annual Academy Awards. While she clearly has her pick of roles right now, I’d love to see her in a superhero franchise – like the upcoming Avengers, perhaps? Who better to play Janet Van Dyne, aka the Wasp, who went from airheaded socialite to hard-nosed leader of the Avengers? Maybe Joss Whedon got the same idea watching the Oscars. What do you think? Should Mila Kunis play a superhero?
- Matt Price
Click past the cut for more Mila Kunis pictures from the Oscars.
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Joss Whedon: Glee was “enormously fun”
Joss Whedon (AP)
“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” creator Joss Whedon, who directs tonight’s episode of “Glee,” said working on the series was “enormously fun” and “gratifying.” The episode, “Dream On,” airs tonight on FOX and features Neil Patrick Harris (“How I Met Your Mother”). Whedon couldn’t give any updates on “The Avengers” or other projects, but did share his “Glee” on a conference call promoting the show. Excerpts from the interview are below:
Joss Whedon: Directing somebody else’s show is – I’ve done it once before, twice just with The Office. It helps if the show’s unutterably wonderful. That takes a lot of the pressure off. It’s a little tricky. You’re living in somebody else’s house and you have to make sure that you’re fulfilling their needs. It also takes some of the burden off you. You don’t have to be the guy who sees the big picture. You just take what they give you and make sure that you’re servicing it as best you can. Having said that, Glee is probably harder to shoot than any other show in recorded history, with all the different elements going on and whatnot; it’s a different kind of challenge, but ultimately enormous fun.
Question: What were you able to do with the dance number that maybe you weren’t able to do in your other musical episode from Dr. Horrible?
Joss Whedon: Well, dance would be one thing. There’s more real hard-core dancing in the show, not in every number. Some numbers are just about movement. Then I get to be seriously involved in creating that movement. Then some numbers are real dance numbers and that’s all Zach Woodlee and Brooke, the choreographers, they’re phenomenal. There were numbers that I didn’t know exactly how they worked narratively until I saw the choreography and then said, oh, this all works just fine. I got to really shoot some fun dancing and most of the stuff I’ve done has been more just movement.
Question: You obviously did a musical episode of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. How does that compare to Glee? Did it prepare you in a way?
Joss Whedon: Oh, yeah, oh, yeah. Doing Buffy and doing Dr. Horrible were both great prep for something like this. This is obviously not my first rodeo. It’s different, Glee, obviously, but knowing a little bit of the realities of the difference in a day’s work between shooting a musical number and shooting just a regular scene, is very useful. It’s the kind of thing that I would like to spend a lot more of my time doing. I love musicals deeply and dearly. This was a return to home for me. Not my home, but a very welcoming one.
Question: So, would you do another episode of Glee in the future?
Joss Whedon: “Nevah, nevah.” Oh, yeah, I choked, totally. Sorry. If I had the window and they would take me, yes, in a heartbeat.
Eliza Dushku: Nerdage’s #6 actress
Eliza Dushku (AP)
Eliza Dushku takes the No. 6 spot on Nerdage’s list of actresses with geek appeal. Dushku finished up her role as Echo on “Dollhouse” in 2010, as the Joss Whedon drama finished up its run after 27 episodes. Dushku previously starred as Faith on the Whedon series “Angel” and “Buffy: The Vampire Slayer.” She also starred as Tru Davies from 2003-2005 on the series “Tru Calling.”
She’s also been in multiple films, including “Sex and Breakfast,” “Bottle Shock” and “The Alphabet Killer.” She appeared in “Bring it On” in 2000, and Kevin Smith’s “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” in 2001. In 2009, rumors circulated that she might play DC Comics’ Wonder Woman, though she said she thought that was mostly wishful thinking from fans. Her name has also been mentioned in connection with a potential third “Ghostbusters” film.
- Matt Price
Will Joss Whedon direct the Avengers?
Joss Whedon (AP)
Deadline Hollywood reports Joss Whedon is in final negotiations to direct Marvel’s franchise property, “The Avengers.”
The “Avengers” film will team Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), and will likely also feature SHIELD’s Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). The individual heroes’ films are set to lead into “The Avengers,” which certainly indicates Marvel doesn’t want to blow this movie.
While Whedon’s box-office is tenuous, his geek cred is enormous, as the creator of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Serenity,” and as the writer of comics including “Astonishing X-Men” and “Fray.”
Whedon has been approached by those wanting to make comic-book films before; he was previously attached to “Wonder Woman,” and was approached about “X-Men 3.” In both cases, he didn’t end up making the film – he passed on “X-Men 3″ to instead work on “Wonder Woman,” which he eventually left over creative differences. I think fans will be thrilled if this happens, and it seems like a good choice for Marvel.
- Matt Price
Buffy may come to Web; Zack Whedon nabs Terminator comics gig
Two big Whedon-related announcements have come out today.
First, according to SciFi Wire, Joss Whedon’s “Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season Eight” comics could be coming to the Web as motion comics webisodes. For anyone who hasn’t yet read the comics, they are quite good. I’m not completely sold on motion comics as yet (I have, so far, always preferred the original comic), but it should be a good way to share “season eight” with those who might prefer it in this format.
In other Whedon family news, Zack Whedon, one of the writers of “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog,” announced via Techland that he will be writing a new Terminator comic-book series for Dark Horse.
“I am not a big-time, famous dude and yet now I am choreographing action sequences set in a post-apocalyptic future overrun by evil cybernetic organisms hell bent on destroying the human race. How is that possible?! I’ll answer your question, Made-Up Person. It’s possible because in comics it doesn’t cost 150 million dollars to tell that story. They can put an idiot like me in charge!” Zack Whedon writes.
While it’s been a rough month for Whedonites with the cancellation of “Dollhouse,” maybe this will ease the sting somewhat.
- Matt Price
Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse cancelled
According to Entertainment Weekly, Fox will not be ordering additional episodes of “Dollhouse” and will burn off the remainder of the 13-episode order in December. Fox moving it around on the schedule surely didn’t help anything. Hopefully fans will still be able see the promised episode directed by John Cassaday.
I’ll admit, I’m part of the problem. While I love Whedon’s work, I didn’t get into “Dollhouse” after watching the first couple of episodes. I planned to eventually catch up on DVD — and I suppose I still will — but that doesn’t help keep the show on. Overall, I guess it’s a surprise that a nearly naked Eliza Dushku (as seen in the first season promos) didn’t deliver big enough ratings to keep the show going. Those of you who watched “Dollhouse,” feel free to sound off in the comments.
- Matt Price
Former Oklahoman John Cassaday talks Dollhouse directing gig
The Beat talked to comic-book artist and former Oklahoma resident John Cassaday about directing an episode of Joss Whedon’s “Dollhouse.” Cassaday is a comic-book superstar, having drawn “Astonishing X-Men” for Marvel and “Planetary” for DC/WildStorm. After the recent wrap-up of “Planetary,” Cassaday says he’s stepping back from major comics work for the next couple of years.
Here’s an excerpt from the interview; click here for the entire thing, which is well-worth reading.
The Beat: Directing? Why directing? How long has this been going on? Was this your childhood goal?
John Cassaday: Directing has always been half the dream for me, the other half being comics. Friends I had growing up would tell you exactly that. I always knew what I wanted, which was to be a visual storyteller…to tell those stories the way that I saw them… I believe there’s a tangible cross-section of thought here. When I read a comic script, I often see the scenes behind a camera—the shots, the movements and sound, the actors… At times, I’ve read screenplays and see the comic page. These things blend in my mind, so I do my best to shape them into what is needed. I believe in cinematic storytelling, whether it’s on a comic page or on film.
I’m looking forward to seeing what Cassaday brings as a director, though I’ll miss his comic work. However, he says in the interview he won’t give it up completely, so I imagine we’ll still see covers and occasional interiors on projects from Marvel and Dynamite.
Let’s hope Marvel will reprint Cassaday’s currently out-of-print “Captain America” to fill some of the demand for Cassaday sequential art over the next couple of years.
- Matt Price
TheWB.com transitions to open beta
Look for episodes of “Firefly,” “Friends” and more at TheWB.com, moving to an open, public beta starting today. But that’s not all — TheWB.com will have original series as well.
Premiering today are the web series “Blue Water High,” “A Boy Wearing Makeup,” and “Whatever Hollywood.”
The McG-produced “Sorority Forever” launches Sept. 8. “Downers Grove” will debut on September 29, and “High Drama” will bow on October 6.
Full release after the cut.
Dr. Horrible Act III now online
See the conclusion of Joss Whedon’s Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, starring Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion.
- Matt Price
