Come On, Lay Off Wonder Woman

You know, people are getting a bit anxious about the casting of the new Justice League movie. They're taking a look at this growing cast of unknowns and shaking their heads. They want Jessica Biel. They want Brandon Routh. They want Ryan Reynolds. And George Miller doesn't.And God bless George Miller for it. He's doing something different here. His approach isn't about putting big names in the big roles. On the contrary, he's thinking about the future. He's thinking about a cast that will sign three to five picture deals because he's thinking about making a franchise. Warner is thinking about spin-offs with these actors. I mean honestly, what sounds better to you: a one time mega star extravaganza or an event film followed by a movie about a different Justice Leaguer every year – complete with another JLA film every two or three years?

Are you feeling me now? Yeah. I thought you might be. But let's look at some Justice Leaguers of the past. Who the hell is Lynda Carter? Ask any grown man who she is and they will say without missing a bat that she's Wonder Woman. Nobody knew who she was before she got the role. But here she is, Wonder Woman to an entire generation. What about Christopher Reeve. Another unknown. Unknown until he suited up as Superman that is. Hugh Jackman? Chris Evans? Both relative unknowns until they donned super suits (as Wolverine and Johnny "The Human Torch" Storm respectively.)

And sure there have been a few good, prefect casting choices of stars in the past. Michael Keaton made a fine Batman, but Val Kilmer and George Clooney didn't. And while Patrick Stewart made an incredible Professor X, do I need to even talk about what happened when Academy Award winning actress Halle Berry suited up as Storm?

So lay off of Teresa Palmer for a while. She's our Wonder Woman. I don't care if she's only 5'6". Compared to other actors in Hollywood that IS Amazonian height. I mean I know I'm 6'2"…but every time I go to Los Angeles I feel like I've walked into the city of the Shetland People. Actors are small. Personally, If they could find a 6'2" actress who looked like Wonder Woman, could act AND they populated the rest of the film with people of the same height, THEN maybe we could talk. But for now, this girl sure looks like she'll do.

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

Seven People Not Being Considered for Justice League Roles

It was announced a few weeks ago that a Justice League movie was in the works, and the response within the nerd community was overwhelming: "We like Wonder Woman's breasts!"Also, there has been some discussion of casting. The Justice League, if you're not "hip" to the "jive," is a consortium of DC Comics heroes who work together to battle the forces of evil. The group includes Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter, all of whom besides Superman are of course unnecessary. And while it's been confirmed that George Miller will direct, no one knows yet who will play any of the superheroes.

This has led to rampant speculation on the Internet and plenty of false rumors. Jessica Biel will play Wonder Woman! No, it's Shannyn Sossamon! Christian Bale will play Batman! No, he won't! Rupert Evans is Superman! Whoops, never mind!

As an antidote to all this madness, we offer:

PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT BEING CONSIDERED TO PLAY JUSTICE LEAGUE MEMBERS:

Superman: John Goodman
While he has the all-American charm, the height, and the deep voice, we don't think Goodman would be right as the Man of Steel, primarily because he is very fat. And sure enough, Warner Bros. agrees with us, as John Goodman is not being considered to play Superman.
Batman: Zac Efron
Warner Bros. is all about finding hot young stars to play these roles, not old fossils. At first we thought Zac Efron, fresh off his High School Musical and Hairspray successes, would be a perfect choice for the Caped Crusader. But then we remembered that Batman is supposed to be tough and gritty, and Zac Efron is effeminate and made of satin. Because of this, sure enough, he is not being considered to play Batman.
Wonder Woman: Elizabeth Taylor
On the one hand, she has the dignified air of royalty about her; she's beautiful; and she's a Hollywood legend. On the other hand, she is 103 years old and possibly insane. Also, she's not particularly tall. For these reasons (mostly the height issue), Elizabeth Taylor is not being considered to play Wonder Woman.
Flash: Flash the Basset hound from The Dukes of Hazzard
It seems like a great idea. Roscoe P. Coltrane's faithful hound was named Flash, and here's a character named Flash! The dog that played Flash wouldn't even have to learn a new name to respond to! Unfortunately, the dog that played Flash has been dead for at least 20 years. Consequently, he is not being considered to play Flash.
Aquaman: Howard Stern
At first blush, he seems born to play the role of Aquaman. Like Aquaman, Howard Stern is fairly useless when compared to his colleagues. He and Aquaman also share a love for water sports. Unfortunately, Stern refused to take the part unless the movie's title was changed to Howard Stern in the Adventures of Aquaman, Starring Howard Stern. And so now he is not being considered to play Aquaman.
Martian Manhunter: We have never heard of Martian Manhunter before.
Our primary exposure to the Justice League comes from old "Super Friends" cartoons, and Mr. Manhunter was not in them. Hence we have no idea who should play him -- but we're pretty sure it shouldn't be Whoopi Goldberg.
Green Lantern: An actual green lantern
We love the ingenuity in buying a green lantern at Home Depot and using CGI to make it appear to talk, move, fight crime, etc. But since the other characters are being played by traditional human actors, and since there's a good chance at least one of those roles will be played by someone who could be out-acted even by an inanimate object, a green lantern is not being considered to play Green Lantern.

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

Justice League of America Plot Confirmed!

We still don't know who will be starring in it, but the storyline for George Miller's Justice League of America movie has been revealed.

A recent issue of Entertainment Weekly contains an article about the production, including a plot summary, obtained from "an early version of the script," that breaks down as follows:

Seven original members of the Justice League -- Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and the Martian Manhunter -- are featured in an origins story about the superhero conglomerate. The plot revolves around villainous businessman Maxwell Lord and involves cyborgs called OMACs (One-Man Army Corps), who can take over humans and turn them into killing machines. There are epic battle scenes between Superman and Batman, as well as Superman and Wonder Woman, and League could spawn a slew of additional franchises if it's successful.

The production is apparently still on track for a February 2008 start and a summer 2009 release.

In related news, IGN Movies has obtained confirmation from Jessica Biel's reps that she is really, honestly, seriously no longer in negotiations to play Wonder Woman in JLA -- which isn't really news, per se, but it sort of dovetails with the hubbub surrounding a recent decree rumored to be made by Warner Bros. president of production Jeff Robinov. Read on:

We are no longer doing movies with women in the lead.

Robinov's reasoning for this, apparently, is that The Invasion and The Brave One didn't perform well at the box office, and they had female leads, ergo female-led films are box office poison. It's innovative thinking like this that earns Robinov the big bucks, folks.

Anyway, one of the sticking points in the Biel negotiations was supposedly a guarantee, or lack thereof, that she'd star in a Wonder Woman spinoff. Now, as Comics2Film points out, Robinov's comments would seem to indicate that Warners has given up on the project entirely -- or, at the very least, that women need not apply for the starring role.

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com