Frank Marshall reveals Indiana Jones tidbits

Every time it crosses my mind that there’s going to be a new Indiana Jones movie, I get a big goofy grin and my brain starts playing the theme song.

I played Indiana Jones a lot as a kid. I remember how my dad combined an old piece of rope and some black electrical tape to make me a whip, and how my mom cut a whole bunch of holes in an old shirt so I’d look (or at least feel) like I’d just escaped from the Temple of Doom.

On May 22, this 32-year-old boy plans to reward his parents for their love and support by taking them to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Producer Frank Marshall, whose credits you’ve got to see to believe, recently spoke to USA Today and revealed some interesting (and very exciting) bits and pieces.

About what Indy’s been up to:

When last we saw Indy, he was riding off into the sunset in 1989’s The Last Crusade, set in 1938 near the start of World War II. The new movie, due this spring, is set at the height of the Cold War in 1957, so the character has aged in real time — 19 years.

“He’s teaching and having kind of a quiet life,” the producer says. Once the archaeologist is thrust back into danger, the signature Indiana Jones red line tracing across the map will take him to New Mexico, Connecticut, Mexico City and the jungles of Peru.

Regarding Cate Blanchett’s character:

The Nazis are no longer Indy’s chief foe — he’s racing for the Crystal Skull against operatives from the Soviet Union, including Oscar winner Cate Blanchett as the seductive Agent Spalko. “Indy always has a love-hate relationship with every woman he ever comes in contact with,” Marshall says.

Cate Blanchett as a hot villain? Delicious.

Regarding the title:

The artifact of the title is inspired by real quartz sculptures of disputed origins that are carved in a way that defies the natural structure of the crystal.

“The theory is they are shaped by higher powers or alien powers or came from another world, or an ancient Mayan civilization had the powers,” Marshall says.

This is going to be so awesome.

Steven Spielberg directs.

Harrison Ford returns as Indiana Jones.

Life is good.

Keep your eyes on the official site for news, photos and exclusive video!

The Punisher: War Zone marches on

I thought the Tom Jane Punisher movie that came out in 2004 was pretty lame, regardless of the fact that Jane himself went above and beyond the call of duty with his total dedication to the role and fans of Frank Castle.

And when it became clear to Jane that the sequel was shaping up to fail on every level, he bowed out to save the fans from another heartache.

Then something else happened. Rome actor Ray Stevenson was cast as the new Frank Castle, and gorgeous kickboxing champ Lexi Alexander signed up to direct not a sequel but a total reboot, which is something Marvel Comics seems to be doing a lot these days.

(Just look at what’s going on with The Incredible Hulk, which is getting its own brand new franchise courtesy of writer/actor Ed Norton.)

(And for my money, I enjoyed the 1989 Dolph Lundgren version of The Punisher for what it was.)

Anyway, production has begun on the new movie, which has been titled Punisher: War Zone (after a Marvel Comics series that began in 1992 and wrapped up in 1995).

So if you’re a Punisher fan, you should hot-foot-it right now to Superhero Hype’s coverage of the film.

They’ve got a synopsis, photos from the set, lots of comments from Lexi Alexander and the first official photo of Ray Stevenson in his Punisher gear.

When I first read about Stevenson being cast as the new Punisher, I thought he’d make a pretty good Punisher. But when I look at that photo, it looks to me like they tried to make him look as unlike Ray Stevenson as they possibly could.

He looks more like Steven Seagal.

And I’m not sure it works.

Maybe they should have just gotten Steven Seagal.

I don’t know what I’m saying.

But here’s something I do know:

Tom Jane might just get the last laugh after all. Here’s a hilarious audio clip of Jane trashing the new Punisher movie, and I guarantee it’s more entertaining than any past or future Punisher production.

Please give it a listen.

You’ll thank me later.

Hilarious.

I’m pretty sure he’d been drinking.

And hopefully this means he’s finally free to make Homeless Dad.

“I just want my kids back!”

Catching up with Aliens and Predators

I thought Alien vs. Predator was kind of a cop-out, but I’m really excited about its sequel, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem.

It opens this Christmas.

And while the first film offered up watered-down shadows of the individual franchises, this one promises to return to the darker, scarier roots of the original films.

Directors Greg and Colin Strause said all the right things in this interview with MTV:

“The studio knew that, although the last movie made a lot of money, it didn’t really resonate solidly with the fans,” admitted Greg Strause, one-half of the filmmaking duo billed as the Brothers Strause. “To get the same people back into the theater a second time, it was gonna be a bit of an uphill battle.”

“We really have to prove to the fans,” added his brother Colin, “that this movie’s gonna be very different from the last one.”

And this golden nugget:

Given the go-ahead to make their hard-R flick, the Brothers Strause are steering clear of the PG-13 traps that rendered their predecessor so despised that an “AVP” podcast recently declared, “The only thing [director] Paul [W.S.] Anderson did correctly was bring people closer together in their community hatred of him.”

“I don’t think anyone wanted us to talk to him,” Colin laughed, confirming that they haven’t met with Anderson. “This movie works even if you didn’t see [Anderson’s].”

The good folks over at Yahoo! Movies scored some really cool new promo photos, and you can also watch the trailer via Apple.

One of the photos in that new Yahoo! batch gives a glimpse of the Predator home planet, which suggests that not all the action takes place on Earth this time.

Sweet.

In fact, the Brothers Strause are already talking about the sequel:

The brothers told us that “AVP-R” definitely leads into another film. While this film takes place in an American Midwestern town, for the next film, they want to take the action back into space. As a matter of fact, they said that 20th Century Fox has no choice other than to agree to take it back into space following “AVP-R.”

While the brothers are currently in discussions with the studio about another pic, the studio is taking a wait-and-see approach. If “AVP-R” makes enough money, the brothers will get the green light for a sequel.

It sounds to me like this movie just might be what the fans were hoping for out of the first one.

We’ll find out soon enough!

_______________

Update:

Check out this awesome Japanese poster for the movie, and go here if you’d like to watch the first five minutes.