10 Must See Football Movies

January 31, 2014, 10:26 am

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The ListsDen Of Geek1/31/2014 at 8:26AM

Ahead of this weekend's Super Bowl, we pick out our favorite Football movies...

Football fans are a passionate bunch. They’ll show up on game day painted up and ready to grill. They’ll yell at their TVs when their favorite team gets screwed on a bad call. They’ll yell at the ref in their son’s peewee football game. They’ll yell at people who don’t support the same team as they do. But come Super Sunday, football fans barrel down their stairs, cloaked in pajamas decorated with the logo of their favorite team and run toward the kitchen to begin prepping the Super Bowl appetizers. All those negative feeling subside and there's pure excitment for the game's biggest event.

We suggest that football fans order in their super snacks so they can spent the lead up to the game like only true football geeks know how, by watching some of the best bone-crushing, inspirational speech-filled, leave-it-all-out-on-the-field football movies of all time.

Any Given Sunday (1999)

With Jamie Foxx as the brash malcontent, Dennis Quad as the wily old vet and some dude named Al Pacino, Oliver Stone's 1999 football ode to the gridiron has become a classic sports film. With jarring, well shot football action and plenty of appearances from NFL legends, Any Given Sunday handles the often murky behind-the-scenes of the locker room as well as any sports movie.

Varsity Blues (1999)

James Van Der Beek (that’s right, Dawson Leery) plays Jonathan Moxon, a football player just going through the motions. He’s been pressured by his fanatical football-loving father to stay on the field and he’s not living up to his promise because he’s buried behind star quarterback Lance Harbor (RIP Paul Walker). When Harbor gets injured, you know how the story goes. Mox steps up to lead the team to victory. It would be higher up on the list if: (A) Katie Holmes was in the movie to terrorize Mox’s love life and (B) Joshua Jackson was cast to be Mox’s sly best friend. Dawson’s Creek fans could dream, though!

Wildcats (1986)

Goldie Hawn plays Molly McGrath, an American football-obsessed high school track coach at a prestigious school, who dreams of being given the opportunity to coach a football team. When an opportunity to coach the team of an inner city high school comes up, she applies and gets the job. She faces challenges in getting the team together but turns their fortunes around and ends up taking them to the championship game where she faces the school where she used to teach. The film also stars Wesley Snipes, LL Cool J and Woody Harrelson. It's predictable and cheesy (as a lot of sports movies are) but highly enjoyable.

North Dallas Forty (1979)

The source material was written by Peter Gent, a former wide receiver for the Cowboys and he's played here by Nick Nolte. Well, the character's called Philip Elliott, but it's obvious who he's supposed be. The Dallas Cowboys were reportedly none too pleased with either the book or film of North Dallas Forty, given the similarities between the legendary NFL team and the fictional North Dallas Bulls here, due to the fact that active encouragement of the use of pain killers features.

Remember The Titans (2000)

Loosely based on true events, Remember The Titans is a story about a group of young men overcoming racial boundaries and learning what it truly means to become a unit of one. The man to guide them there is the Denzel Washington, who portrays coach Herman Boone. We know whatever Denzel touches turns to gold, but this movie has to be up there as one of his most memorable and beloved performances. When this movie came out, I think using the phrase instant classic would have been an understatement.

Rudy (1993)

As with many (and arguably the best) football movies, this is based on a true story. Rudy was dyslexic and physically unimpressive, but persisted to achieve his dream of playing for Notre Dame. Rudy gets his dream and plays in the final play of the season in which he sacks the opposing team's quarterback. Sean Astin puts in one hell of a performance as Daniel 'Rudy' Ruettiger and the film features Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau in their earliest films credits.

The Longest Yard (1974)

This is the 1974, Oscar-nominated, Burt Reynolds version, not the 2005 remake starring Adam Sandler (that Burt Reynolds also stars in). This is not only one of the best American football movies, but one of the best prison movies ever made as well. We enjoy Adam Sandler’s turn as Paul Crewe just fine, but it’s almost bittersweet to watch that film knowing that the former “Water Boy” hasn’t made a good film since.

The Waterboy (1998)

While we’re on the topic of Sandler, he did hit it big with one of the funniest football films of all time. In The Waterboy, Adam Sandler's backwater simpleton, Bobby Boucher, discovers that he's able to tackle like a beast when he channels his rage. His new found talent helps him make the transition from waterboy to starting linebacker, helping his team reach the championship in the process. The usual suspects that hang around Sandler’s films make this one plenty of fun.

Brian's Song (1971)

If this movie doesn't make you cry, you're dead inside. This was originally a made for TV movie but got a cinematic release due to its popularity. Again, this is another film that's based on true events, focused on the life of Chicago Bears running back Brian Piccolo who is diagnosed with terminal cancer and his friendship with team mate Gale Sayers. James Caan plays Piccolo and Billy Dee Williams plays Sayers. The film was the subject of an unnecessary remake in 2001 that doesn't match the quality of the original.

Friday Night Lights (2004)

Based on the book by H.G. Bissinger, Friday Night Lights follows the exploits of the Permian Panthers, from the blue collar town of Odessa, Texas during the 1988 season and their run for the state championship. Coach Gary Gaines (played by Billy Bob Thornton) faces constant scrutiny and the possibility of losing his job if the team doesn't make the playoffs. When the team’s star running back is lost early in the season, the outlook is bleak, but they manage to remain competitive in their attempt to mount a title challenge. The film was followed by a TV series, which is widely viewed as one of the best sports series of all time.

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Submitted by Wild Bill on Fri, 2014-01-31 14:49.

THE REPLACEMENTS!?!?!?!

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Labor Day Review

January 31, 2014, 10:39 am

≫ Next: 12 Fictional Quarterbacks That Would Make Peyton Manning Proud

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ReviewDavid Crow1/31/2014 at 8:39AM

Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin sizzle in this otherwise messy, sexy Stockholm Syndrome melodrama.

After a long career of consuming the screen with passions that threatened to overtake her co-stars just as much as the audience, how exotic it is to see Kate Winslet spend her Labor Day in such a docile role of submission. A subservient presence to her kidnapper, son, and likely the mailman three blocks down the street, Winslet’s Adele Wheeler all but rolls over and plays dead at the slightest hint of another’s presence. So, it’s the highest compliment that Winslet is able to bring tangible vitality to this living, breathing visage of weakness. This paradoxical intensity applies just as easily to the whole long weekend itself.

Labor Day is the lackadaisical tale of what happens when one deferential woman and her introverted son pick up the world’s sweetest kidnapper, an on the lam convict with a penchant for sugary treats. This is made possible because Adele has been agoraphobic ever since she suffered several devastating miscarriages, which also led to the ending of her marriage. The good-natured son, Henry (Gattlin Griffith), attempts to fill the void during his lonely, isolated thirteenth year by doing the husband’s chores and taking his mother on a “date,” but alas, what she needs is a man’s touch. And what a man Frank Chambers (Josh Brolin) turns out to be.

Showing up one day at a grocery store while visibly bleeding from his abdomen, Frank not so much commands, but forcefully begs Adele to allow him to hostage herself and her son while he evades police after escaping prison for a murder charge. But he also is twice the man that Henry’s absent father (Clark Gregg) ever could be when he teaches the boy how to play baseball, change a tire, and then properly swing dance with mama. Their three-day bliss has the joy of the condemned, because the more Frank spends his nights inside Adele’s bedroom, the more Henry seemingly questions the prospect of a stepdad, fueling an ending that scours the frame for tears.

Based on the Joyce Maynard novel of the same name, Labor Daymassages early kinks out of its potentially unsavory premise by framing it in the rose-tinted light of the story’s protagonist, Henry. Adult Henry (Tobey Maguire) narrates this pivotal moment in his teenage life during 1987 with all the nostalgia for yesteryear Americana that’s usually reserved for the 19^th century. After also giving the same auditory framing in last summer’s The Great Gatsby, it’s become apparent that Maguire is gifted at finding the nuance within acquiescing observers, causing one to wonder if a voiceover career is in the offing. Between Maguire’s good-natured folksiness, underscoring shadings of melancholic regret, and Griffith’s quiet resilience, Henry seems quite the self-aware adolescent. This unfortunately causes some of his baffling choices in the third act to seem more narrative than character influenced.

However, Winslet and Brolin buoy up these contrivances from sinking the picture. Their chemistry bubbles like the golden crust of the peach pie that Frank teaches his willing prisoners to make on a gingerly Saturday afternoon. The act of baking has never so quickly transferred its ingredients into one of seduction of not only the husbandless mother, but also of the fatherless son. Henry’s persistent interest in his mother’s sex life leads to him being just as easily wooed by Frank’s culinary artisanship, raising the question of who in this movie is the subject of potential Stockholm Syndrome: the family or Frank?

These nagging questions are surprisingly glossed over for the warmth of a leather baseball glove in Henry’s hand and the joy that bounds out of Adele’s flesh almost instantly at the prospect of a man being in the house. Jason Reitman, fresh off his cynical backlash to previous feel-good movie successes with 2011’s acidic Young Adult, has veered back toward (and beyond) schmaltz that would have made even Ellen Page’s plucky, pregnant teen roll her eyes. It can be jarring how earnestly this tale embraces the concept of two pathetically sad souls finding each other in a rush of human contact and ending summer ecstasy. While that image is not nearly as sexy as this movie might infer, there is something nonetheless pure about its bluntness.

Then again, with talent like Winslet carrying what would be an otherwise repellant character, Labor Dayalways knew it could keep its hand that close to the mawkish flame.

Equal parts Patty Hearst and Nicholas Sparks, this slow-baking shapeless dough of understated sexuality and sentimentality will still burn to the touch by the end for those who are into that sort of thing. In fact, it’s probably exactly what you ordered if you have a tooth for it.

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12 Fictional Quarterbacks That Would Make Peyton Manning Proud

January 31, 2014, 11:00 am

≫ Next: Captain America: The Winter Soldier - New Poster and Super Bowl Teaser

≪ Previous: Labor Day Review

The ListsChris LongoNick Harley1/31/2014 at 9:00AM

Super Bowl week has us thinking about some of the best fictional quarterbacks of all-time. Check out these 12 awesome quarterbacks...

It’s Super Bowl week, and that means we’re being swarmed with stories about the big time players that will ultimately decide the outcome of our country’s most watched event. This year, one of the biggest stories is Peyton Manning. He’s already one of football’s most celebrated players, and as if he needed to further make his case for greatness, he’s come back from a career-threatening injury to make the playoffs for a 12^th time, leading his team to the brink of Super Bowl glory. It is truly the stuff of legends, if not something straight out of popular fiction.

Manning, to steal a color commentator’s go-to cliché, is a pro’s pro, a film room warrior who has earned the respect of anyone that has had the honor of calling themselves a football player. As a way of forming a bond with his new teammates, Manning insists that they watch his favorite movies so they could "get on the same page” with him and “repeat lines and quotes.” Though he doesn’t list any football movies as his in favorites, we imagine Manning’s seen every last one, even that one movie with The Rock.

As we attempt to analyze some of our favorite fictional quarterbacks of all-time, we’re keeping in mind the traits that have made Peyton’s career a smashing success and even mixing in a few on-screen rivals that would make for an epic gridiron showdown!

Time to Kickoff:

Joe Pendleton
Heaven Can Wait (1978)

In the film adaptation of Harry Segall’s stage play, Pendleton goes from boxer to quarterback. Like Manning, Pendleton is leading his team to a Super Bowl before he has an accident that gets him sent to heaven and then brought back in the body of a rich, old man. Pendleton’s played by Warren Beatty, who I’m sure would be just as good at endorsement ads as Peyton is.

Paul Blake
Necessary Roughness (1991)

When a Texas university is forced to field a team using only players from the actual student body, the coach calls on Paul Blake, a 34-year old former high school stand out to lead his team. The movie is essentially the college version of The Replacements and Blake is a poor man’s Shane Flaco. But really, who could live up to Keanu Reeves? Anyway, Blake has to adjust to life as a college student and playing with boys who are trying to become young men, just as the 37-year old Peyton Manning has to get the job done with 22-year old rookies as his targets.

Matt Saracen
Friday Night Lights (TV Show)

Saracen is QB2 until an injury to starter Jason Street sends him out onto the field and into the spotlight. He’s a tough, dedicated kid who fights hard to retain his title as starter, and even has that Peyton Manning accent. He can air the ball out and manage a game well enough to lead the Panthers to a State Championship.

Vince Howard
Friday Night Lights (TV Show)

The RGIII to Saracen’s Andrew Luck, Vince Howard is one of those extremely versatile athletes who can kill you with not only the passing game, but also, unlike Peyton, his ability to scramble and run. Sometimes a bit cocky and hotheaded, but Howard leads his rag tag East Dillon Lions to Coach Eric Taylor’s second Texas State Championship victory.

Jonathon Moxon
Varsity Blues (1999)

On Dawson’s Creek, James Van Der Beek played Dawson, an un-athletic sap and his father, Mitch, was a beefy football coach. When ‘Beek took a break from filming the teenage dramedy, he stepped into the polar opposite role in Varsity Blues as the clipboard QB shot into the starting job after his teammate goes down with an injury. His clashing with his head coach causes him to call a few Manning style audibles and he even has a football-obsessed daddy, too. So many similarities! Maybe the real ratings behemoth should have been “Peyton’s Creek.”

Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon (1980)

I’d like to think that Peyton Manning could step up and save the world like fictional New York Jets QB and fellow tow-head Flash Gordon. We don’t really get to see his football skill set, but I’m sure he’s got that cool demeanor that Manning shows in the pocket. Which rock band could we get to sing “PEYTON-AH-AHHHHH!”?

Ronnie “Sunshine” Bass
Remember The Titans (2000)

It would be a travesty if Remember The Titans was left off any list that has to do with football movies. The real-life Ronnie Bass has come out and said many of the scenes in the movie were fictionalized. But even so, it’s one of those movies from any genre that you can’t help but click away from on a rainy afternoon. Though “Sunshine” wasn’t the stud, do-it-all quarterback that could lead the team by himself, he was a crafty, serviceable player that would even kiss one of his own players to build some unity in the locker room. That’s the sign of a true leader.

Paul Crewe
The Longest Yard (1974, 2005)

Crewe is definitely not as respectable as Manning. Nor does he sport a mustache like Burt Reynolds. We know Peyton would never be caught point shaving or driving drunk, but by the end of the film, Crewe becomes the type of leader that you want to play for, just like Manning is. Crewe can also hatch-up some brilliant plays and is reliable for that late game winning touchdown drive. For the later incarnation, we also have the Adam Sandler/Peyton Manning SNL connection. Too bad Sandler wasn’t around for Peyton’s memorable guest turn.

Of course there are also some great fictional quarterbacks that would make for an impressive rivalry with Peyton Manning:

Willie Beamen
Any Given Sunday (1999)

Beamen is brash, cocky and confident. So much so that Beamen went off and shot a music video after only a handful of starts. Sure, Peyton became an endorsement hound during his career, but that was well after he became an all-pro. Beamen, like Peyton, enjoys an audible or several. But it’s his attitude and risky style of play that would make him an excellent on field rival for Peyton Manning.

Alex Moran
Blue Mountain State (TV Show)

Moran has plenty in common with Willie Beamen. He rode the bench, amongst other things (wink, wink), at fairly BSM well. When Moran wasn’t partaking in booze-filled Goat House parties or commanding the huddle with a few cheerleaders in the bedroom, he definitely wasn’t in the film room. He was probably off sleeping his hangover away somewhere. He’s the anti-Tim Tebow, the guy Peyton Manning replaced in Denver. Despite his willingness to stick to the bench, Moran actually turned out to be a pretty damn good quarterback when he got the chance to start.

Shane Falco
The Replacements(2000)

Outside Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium, the filming location for The Replacements, there is a bronze statue of Peyton Manning’s hero, Baltimore Colts Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas. Someday, to compliment Unitas, the city will erect a golden statue of Keanu Reeves as an ode to Shane Falco and it shall be glorious. Falco, a washed up college quarterback turned marina dweller, was called up to the big leagues after a players lockout forced the owner of the Washington Sentinels to hire replacements.

After an up and down strike-shortened season, Falco gets booted as the quarterback in favor of the returning star, then ultimately returns during the final game, kisses his babe cheerleader girlfriend on national television and leads his rag-tag group of nobodies to a memorable upset victory. Not bad for a replacement. As much as we hate to admit it, Falco’s role as the stand-in mimics Tom Brady’s struggles in college and his early pro career when he was given one shot to shine and never let it go.

Reno Hightower
The Best of Times (1986)

While we’re on the subject of Tom Brady, a young Kurt Russell in The Best of Times bears a striking resemblance to the Patriots signal caller. Russell’s Reno Hightower has the flowing hair, boyish good looks and unwavering confidence of Tom Brady. Oh and he has a receiver drop a sure touchdown in the team’s biggest game. Sound familiar?

There you have it. If Peyton is able to pull off the Super victory on Sunday, maybe he’ll get his own movie. As for who we’d cast in that role, that’s a whole other debate for a different day.

Enjoy Super Bowl XLVIII

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Captain America: The Winter Soldier - New Poster and Super Bowl Teaser

January 31, 2014, 12:17 pm

≫ Next: Back To The Future musical coming to West End

≪ Previous: 12 Fictional Quarterbacks That Would Make Peyton Manning Proud

TrailerDen Of Geek1/31/2014 at 10:17AM

Just a quick tease of the Captain America: The Winter Soldier Super Bowl trailer and a sharp new poster!

While the idea of teasers for trailers may be getting a bit ridiculous, it's tough not to get excited for this one. Marvel is clearly betting hard on Captain America: The Winter Soldier (they've even gone ahead and greenlit Captain America 3), so it's no surprise that they're going as hard as they are in advance of the trailer debut on Super Bowl Sunday. We do get a good look at Falcon's wings, though, which is kinda cool...

Anyway, watch the teaser, and then check out the poster!

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Books & Comics

Captain America

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

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Back To The Future musical coming to West End

January 31, 2014, 12:43 pm

≫ Next: Jennifer Lawrence, David O. Russell Looking To Re-Team For Joy Mangano Story

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NewsSimon Brew1/31/2014 at 10:43AM

Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale and Alan Silvestri are amongst the team bringing Back To The Future: The Musical to London in 2015...

The trend of adapting big movies into stage shows is accelerating if anything, with word already coming through earlier this year of a Groundhog Day musical, with Tim Minchin involved. You can read about that here.

However, that news has now been trumped by the announcement of a Back To The Future stage production, which is set to premiere in London in 2015. That makes it in time for the 30th anniversary of the first film, and the director of the movies - Robert Zemeckis - will also be helming the stage show.

It'll be a musical - we look forward to the song about how someone's mother unwittingly fancies their own son (we trust you wouldn't do anything as daft as attempt to come up with lyrics in the comments below) - and Zemeckis will be writing the book for the show, along with Bob Gale (the other original screenwriter) and Jamie Lloyd.

Alan Silvestri, who composed the score to the trilogy, is on board to compose the music this time around, and he'll be collaborating with Glen Ballard on the songs. Ballard co-wrote the music for the stage adaptation of Ghost. Skateboards too will be involved.

We're fascinated to see how this one turns out. Not least because if it's a hit, we'd be doubly fascinated to see if they attempt to do Part II on the stage as well...

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Back To The Future

Back to the Future musical

Robert Zemeckis

Bob Gale

Alan Silvestri

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Jennifer Lawrence, David O. Russell Looking To Re-Team For Joy Mangano Story

January 31, 2014, 2:40 pm

≫ Next: Jesse Eisenberg is Lex Luthor and Jeremy Irons is Alfred in Batman vs. Superman

≪ Previous: Back To The Future musical coming to West End

NewsDen Of Geek1/31/2014 at 12:40PM

David O. Russell and Jennifer Lawrence of Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle look to reteam on miracle mop true story.

The awards season of David O. Russell and Jennifer Lawrence’s second consecutive collaboration is not even over, but they’re already looking to re-team again, as American Hustle’s Russell is beginning talks with Fox 2000 to take over an as of yet titled film based on Joy Mangano’s life.

In a story first reported by Deadline, the Academy Award nominated director is in talks to rewrite and direct a screenplay by Annie Mumolo (also an Oscar nominee for her work with Kristen Wiig on Bridesmaids) about Mangano, the Long Island single mom of three children that invents the massively successful Miracle Mop. And Russell is already looking to bring Lawrence back as his leading lady.

David O. Russell and Jennifer Lawrence previously collaborated on Silver Linings Playbook andAmerican Hustle, both of which netted Russell directorial and writing nominations, a Best Picture nomination, and acting nods for Lawrence. Indeed, she won the Best Actress Oscar for Silver Linings Playbookand stands a competitive chance of beating Lupita Nyong’o for Best Supporting Actress with Hustle.

The film version of Mangano’s life has been marinating at Fox 2000, where it will be produced by John Davis and John Fox of Davis Entertainment, along with Ken Mok, due to its strong overtones of female empowerment. Despite working three jobs and coming from modest means, Mangano’s mop allowed her to eventually sell her enterprise, Ingenious Designs, LLC, to HSN where she remains president of her company, earning her the nickname, “Mother of Invention.” The script has also received work from Elizabeth Gabler and Rodney Ferrell leading to this point.

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Silver Linings Playbook

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Jesse Eisenberg is Lex Luthor and Jeremy Irons is Alfred in Batman vs. Superman

January 31, 2014, 3:10 pm

≫ Next: Seven Actors Fans Thought Would Suck

≪ Previous: Jennifer Lawrence, David O. Russell Looking To Re-Team For Joy Mangano Story

NewsDen Of Geek1/31/2014 at 1:10PM

Batman's best friend and Superman's greatest foe have both been cast in the Batman vs. Superman movie!

Jesse Eisenberg has been cast as Lex Luthor and Jeremy Irons will play Alfred in the upcoming (as-yet-untitled) Batman vs. Superman film. The dual announcement was made today by Greg Silverman, President, Creative Development and Worldwide Production, and Sue Kroll, President, Worldwide Marketing and International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.

“Lex Luthor is often considered the most notorious of Superman’s rivals, his unsavory reputation preceding him since 1940." Said Batman vs. Superman director, Zack Snyder. "What’s great about Lex is that he exists beyond the confines of the stereotypical nefarious villain. He’s a complicated and sophisticated character whose intellect, wealth and prominence position him as one of the few mortals able to challenge the incredible might of Superman. Having Jesse in the role allows us to explore that interesting dynamic, and also take the character in some new and unexpected directions.”

On the subject of Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, the director added, “As everyone knows, Alfred is Bruce Wayne’s most trusted friend, ally and mentor, a noble guardian and father figure. He is an absolutely critical element in the intricate infrastructure that allows Bruce Wayne to transform himself into Batman. It is an honor to have such an amazingly seasoned and gifted actor as Jeremy taking on the important role of the man who mentors and guides the guarded and nearly impervious façade that encapsulates Bruce Wayne.”

The film stars Henry Cavill as Superman/Clark Kent, Ben Affleck as Batman/Bruce Wayne, and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince. The film also reunites Man of Steelstars Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, and Diane Lane.

The new film is currently being written by Chris Terrio, from a screenplay by David S. Goyer. Charles Roven and Deborah Snyder are producing, with Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Wesley Coller, David S. Goyer and Geoff Johns serving as executive producers.

Batman vs. Superman (or whatever it's called) is set to open worldwide on May 6, 2016, and is based on Superman characters created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster, Batman characters created by Bob Kane, and Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston, appearing in comic books published by DC Entertainment.

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Seven Actors Fans Thought Would Suck

January 31, 2014, 4:15 pm

≫ Next: Batman vs. Superman: Everything We Know

≪ Previous: Jesse Eisenberg is Lex Luthor and Jeremy Irons is Alfred in Batman vs. Superman

NewsDavid Crow1/31/2014 at 2:15PM

In the wake of Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor casting breaking the Internet, we thought it best to revisit seven other times fans freaked out.

Yes, Jesse Eisenberg is Lex Luthor, and for that matter, Ben Affleck is Batman [insert Phantoms joke here]. After the roar of Internet rage washes over you like a warm, wet, impotent blanket, stop for a moment and let that sink in. Jesse Eisenberg IS Lex Luthor, and the world did not end this afternoon, despite what some of the more creative and enterprising snarkers have tweeted. The sun is shining, the birds chirping, and as resignation slowly drifts through the fan community, the thought that maybe, just maybe, Eisenberg can pull off Lex Luthor spreads….

It’s possible. While Eisenberg nor Affleck are my first (or tenth) choices for those roles, I have seen both give good performances before and in Batman vs. Superman, they will certainly be sharing half the burden with the likes of Jeremey Irons as Alfred, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Laurence Fisburne as Perry White, and an already perfectly cast Henry Cavill. Stranger things have happened. Don’t believe me? Well consider this list of seven actors who once upon a time fans were ABSOLUTELY positive would fail. Seven actors whose casting spelled doom in the trades and constituted an assortment of varying handwringing.

Here Are Seven Actors Fans Thought Would Suck:

7. Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games)

Before Jennifer Lawrence went on to win fans’ hearts at the U.S. box office with $408 million (a feat Iron Man 3 only just NOW barely matched) and everyone else’ with her Oscar Winning turn in last fall’s Silver Linings Playbook, she was The Girl Who Couldn’t Catch Fire. At least that is what a very vocal backlash in the fan community, as well as some decidedly harsh critics, had to say.

When she was cast over a slew of other fan favorites, including actual teenagers like Hailee Steinfeld, the then-21-year-old Lawrence was ridiculed for being too old, too tall and, most egregiously stupid, too “fat.” The actress who at 19 earned an Oscar nomination for playing a dirt-poor orphan of the Ozarks in Winter’s Bone was considered too well fed to star in a film called The Hunger Games(which was also shot in another humble mountain range setting: Appalachia). Even after the film was released, critics for The New York Times and The Hollywood Reporter suggested that she was too womanly and suffered from “lingering baby fat.” Funny how less than a month later, after The Hunger Games became one of the biggest films of 2012, some of the same critics were running glowing pieces about why Lawrence’s Katniss is a “new type of woman warrior” for young girls to admire. Riiiight.

6. Daniel Craig as James Bond 007 (Casino Royale)

Remember that one bloke called “James Blond?” He was that one who was cast as Bond back in 2005 when everyone wanted Pierce Brosnan to return. There was absolutely NO WAY he could play Her Majesty’s Loyal Terrier. Whatever happened to that guy?

As hard as it is to recollect now, Daniel Craig, arguably the most popular 007 since Sean Connery, was once repelled by a belligerent fan community. It got so bad that in 2006, before Casino Royale was even released, Craig had to speak of how stunning and vicious the calls were for him to be dropped from the role. He was accused of being too ugly, too mean and of course too blond. At least The Daily Mirror was slightly wittier when, after only a day had past since the casting announcement, they pronounced the actor, as if they were writing an obituary, to be James Bland.

5. Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly (Breakfast at Tiffany's)

Before the Internet Age, fan skepticism and outrage was kept to the quiet dignity of their own homes or ignored Letters to the Editor. However, sometimes these fans could find a famous champion to carry on their disdain at Hollywood developments. For example, it doesn’t hurt when the author who created a character leads the charge. Look no further than when Truman Capote reacted in disbelief to the casting of Audrey Hepburn in her now most iconic role.

When Capote sold the rights to his short novella Breakfast at Tiffany’s to Paramount Pictures, he did so with the express wish that Marilyn Monroe play the part of Holly Golightly, New York’s ultimate Goodtime Girl. After all, Holly is supposed to be seductive, charismatic and able to ensnare any man on her hook, if only ever fleetingly. But when Monroe passed on the part because Lee Strasberg advised Norma Jeane that playing a prostitute would be bad for her image, the part went to the decidedly less bombshell Hepburn. When Capote saw that this thin, gamine waif was going to be his ultimate creation of superficial and jaded femininity, he remarked, “Paramount double-crossed me in every way and cast Audrey.” Thank. God.

4. Anne Hathaway as Catwoman (The Dark Knight Rises)

Everyone should recall this: Anne Hathaway cast as Selina Kyle aka Catwoman? What? How? A DISNEY PRINCESS?!

Mind you many of those loudest critics likely never saw her riveting work in Brokeback Mountain or Rachel Getting Married (the latter of which got her a well-earned Oscar nomination). And if they wanted seductive, they had to look no further than Havoc. Yet for many, Hathaway was little more than the chick from The Princess Diaries with a very, very bubbly public persona. Hardly the stuff of femme fatale. That’s why all the way up until the film’s release, there were still blogs like this filled with unflattering photoshopped pictures and snap judgments based on movies she did 10 years prior. But lo and behold when the movie came out in July 2012, she was the single best-reviewed facet of the movie. Whether you were Michael Caine or a message board poster, the only thing you could talk about was how good she was in the skintight leather and a mean pout. Even President Obama gave Ms. Hathaway a shout out when he said, “I got a chance to see Batman, and she was the best thing in it.”

3. Heath Ledger as The Joker (The Dark Knight)

And before there was Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, there was Heath Ledger as The Joker. Look at the above pic. Let that one roll around for a minute. Still not satisfied? Here is a page of fans whining about why it should have been Christopher Walken, Crispin Glover or anybody else. In 2006, nobody thought anyone save for Jack Nicholson could be The Joker. Then this trailer hit, followed shortly by similar images:

Even after Ledger’s tragic passing, the role continues to be recognized as a benchmark of villainy not only in comic book films, but in ALL OF CINEMA, thus earning Ledger a posthumous Oscar, which was the first time the Academy had handed one out in the 32 years following Network. ‘Nuff said.

2. Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara (Gone with the Wind)

Casting a Brit in an iconic American role always earns a whisper of chagrin from U.S. audiences and press prior to release. However, none was more thunderous than when Vivien Leigh, an obscure English actress born in British India, was cast as Southern belle and revisionist history heroine Scarlett O’Hara in David O. Selznick’s adaptation of Gone with the Wind. Often cited as one of the most beloved novels of the Depression, particularly in states south of Missouri and east of Oklahoma, Gone with the Wind was practically American heritage in its few short years of existence. As the ultimate soap opera epic, it captured idyllic daydreams with a mythic, fairy tale quality. And at the center of all that passion was Scarlett O’Hara, everyone’s favorite wicked creature.

The casting process, lovingly followed in the press as The Search for Scarlett, lasted two full years. Unsurprisingly, when Selznick finally settled on his admittedly dark horse candidate, Vivien Leigh, there took a lot of coaxing. Angry letters poured in, Gossip columnists were pressured to boost Leigh’s heritage, and a tightrope was long walked all the way until the movie’s Atlanta premiere. Today, whatever inclinations people may have towards its politics 70 years on, there is no denying that Leigh is magnificent. She not only won an Oscar for the picture, she won a place in permanent cinematic immortality as one of the most fiercely realized leading female performances ever committed to celluloid. Fiddle-dee-dee.

1. Michael Keaton as Batman (Batman)

Yes the most obvious comparison is still the most fitting. Michael Keaton, America’s official Mr. Mom, was cast by Tim Burton to play the Dark Knight.

Keaton is not an assuming man. As a comedian with thin, receding hair and a height of five-feet and nine-inches, a muscular uberman he is not. Also, when he was cast in 1988, many could not get past that this was the guy from Nightshift and Beetlejuice. Were they remaking the campy Adam West TV show? The Wall Street Journalreported on the hundreds (some say tens of thousands) of protest letters they received over the casting. There was literally protesting in the streets. And then this image appeared:

The whining stopped. To this day there is still a school of thought that prefers Keaton to all actors who have donned the cowl, even Christian Bale. Not bad for an actor who The Times once described as a prankster.

There you have seven actors who fans were once oh-so-sure would suck. But the list is actually much longer. I can recall the skepticism that surrounded Hugh Jackman as Wolverine and Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander. One can also note a slew of others in history from Hepburn again as Eliza Dolittle to Ian Fleming’s own misgivings toward Sean Connery. Ultimately, gut-reactions tend to be filled with hyperbole and slight embarrassment from hindsight. Hence, it may be best to take a step back before pulling out the message boards. Then again, I still want to leave you with this one more time:

So there is our list. Agree? Disagree? Still worried about Eisenberg or even Affleck? Leave us a message below!

Related:

25 Comic Characters Who Owe Everything to an Actor's Portrayal

Twitter Reacts to Ben Affleck as Batman

5 Things Dark Knight Returns Might Tell us About the Batman vs. Superman Movie

7 Delayed Movies People Also Thought Would Suck

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Submitted by Martin on Fri, 2013-08-23 21:17.

One can not forget about all the fans whining over Mark Ruffalo's casting as the Hulk or Chris Evans as Captain America. I'm really looking forward to this, it can be truly awesome!

Submitted by BobbyMBernstein on Fri, 2013-08-23 21:25.

I was one of those anti-ruffalo's. I was proven wrong.

Submitted by Patrick Bayard on Fri, 2013-08-23 21:29.

TEN MISCAST ACTORS FANS THOUGHT WOULD SUCK...AND THEY DID!

Jessica Alba (Fantastic Four)
Julian McMahon (Fantastic Four)
Halle Berry (Catwoman)
Kate Bosworth (Superman Returns)
Kirtsen Dunst (Spiderman)
Topher Grace (Spiderman 3)
Jean Claude van Damme (Street Fighter)
Tom Cruise (Jack Reacher)
Keanu Reeves (Constantine)
Vince Vaughn (Pshycho)

Submitted by BobbyMBernstein on Fri, 2013-08-23 21:36.

how dare you say jean claude van damme wasn't the best guile you've ever seen! I think he played the role perfectly for what the movie was (it poked fun at itself)

Submitted by kdoc13 on Fri, 2013-08-23 21:52.

With the exception of Dunst in Spiderman, the thing that all of those movies have in common which the ones in the article don't have, poor writing.

Also, it's spelled Psycho. No hate there, I'm hoping it was just a typo.

Submitted by Diana P on Fri, 2013-08-23 22:08.

I always knew Ruffalo would be good, but I didn't like the politics of how it happened and what they did to Norton.

Submitted by Diana P on Fri, 2013-08-23 22:10.

I guess I am the only one who didn't think Ledger was all that as the Joker. He was good, really good. But when I saw the movie -- it had been so overhyped, ya know, so it just didn't hit me like it should. I do not think he should have gotten the Oscar. It was just guilt for not wanting him to do the role. I think.

Submitted by Nine AM on Fri, 2013-08-23 22:10.

Keanu Reeves was awesome in Constantine.

Submitted by Mike on Fri, 2013-08-23 22:17.

Gotta say I'm not a big Daniel Craig fan. His version of James Bond is basically the antithesis of what James Bond has been. Bond was a suave,debonair proper gentleman who can occasionally do some super spy stuff, Craig is a rough and tumble action person who's trying to do the suave bit while being 007. Casino Royale hardly held my interest, Quantum of Solace I never wanted to see again, the last movie... hell I don't even remember what it was called.

Submitted by Edward La Guardia on Fri, 2013-08-23 22:39.

I'm glad this article came out...all of these naysayers need to just accept it and move on. I never get mad about casting even if it's someone I don't really care for. I don't like Jamie Foxx much at all but I'm cool with him being Electro...I mean I'm sure he will do it well.

Also, that list the guy posted about ten miscast actors that sucked is using examples from movies that had many things wrong with them besides the casting. Most of those movies are poor in more ways than one:

Alba was fine, McMahon was fine, Berry was fine, Bosworth was fine, Dunst was fine at first but later became grating as the series went on, Grace was actually good but wasn't given much to do, Van Damme was great for what that movie was, didn't see Reacher or Constantine but I know those movies aren't universally praised...and the less said about Psycho remake the better...that whole movie was a giant finger to Hitchcock...not just Vaughn's take on Norman.

Submitted by Soldier on Fri, 2013-08-23 22:58.

Michael Keaton and Daniel Craig are the only underdogs on that list that were great in their roles. The other ones were overrated as usual. Jack Nicholson is the best joker and people to this very day overrate Heath Ledger's joker because of it's darkness in the role and because he died. People tend to overrate someones legacy when they die young.

Submitted by FLD on Sat, 2013-08-24 00:36.

Hah, did Daniel Craig really receive "viscous" phone calls? Sure about that one, Crow?

Submitted by Ian on Sat, 2013-08-24 01:02.

Interesting article. Winter's Bone is set in the Ozarks, not Appalachia, though.

Submitted by scott on Sat, 2013-08-24 01:02.

Well, they were dripping with vitriol...

Submitted by Snath on Sat, 2013-08-24 01:34.

Keep in mind that the Pajiba post with Heath pictured is from April Fool's Day, this year.

Submitted by Horvath on Sat, 2013-08-24 01:39.

Um, that Pajiba article you screencapped? It's an April Fool's joke. Check the date. And pay closer attention, guys.

Submitted by Bebe Lutz on Sat, 2013-08-24 01:40.

Appalachia is NOT the Ozarks.

Submitted by Jess on Sat, 2013-08-24 01:49.

Uhhh...But Anne Hathaway WAS a bad Catwoman...I like her, but she was still a bad Catwoman.

Submitted by Grumpy_Bob on Sat, 2013-08-24 01:54.

Add Ben Affleck in Daredevil.

Submitted by Me on Sat, 2013-08-24 02:01.

The worst Batman ever was Michael Keaton, 2nd was Val Kilmer. As for Affleck as Batman, I don't think it will be so bad since his acting has greatly improved. As for the slamming of the Daredevil movie, I still enjoy it to this day. Mind you, I watch the extended director's cut which answered all my unanswered questions after watching it in the theater. I am more worried about the actor they have cast as Lex Luther, Michael Rosenbaum should have been picked. Matt Damon for Aquaman would be better than picking him for Martian Manhunter in the JLA.

Submitted by Nitpicker on Sat, 2013-08-24 02:02.

You realize that picture in the article about Nolan's mistake of casting Heath Ledger is dated April 1st, 2013?

Submitted by Jim Swift on Sat, 2013-08-24 02:31.

Um. that Ledger piece screenshot you posted was written this year.

Submitted by stringerbell on Sat, 2013-08-24 02:38.

Ben wasn't the only thing wrong about the movie. The problem was more that there was nothing right about any of it. Or the Elektra spin-off.

Schlockey-schlock-schlock let's make some more shitty hero movies, Hollywood. When's Ghost-rider 3 out?

Submitted by MrSatyre on Sat, 2013-08-24 02:48.

I think you are mistaking bad acting with bad scripts.

Submitted by Castor on Sat, 2013-08-24 02:50.

Anne Hathaway did suck.

Submitted by Carmichael on Sat, 2013-08-24 02:51.

I thought Keanu was awesome in that movie. Then again, I never read the comic so what do I know.

Submitted by MontandsArm on Sat, 2013-08-24 03:06.

Oh, shut up.

Submitted by JohnnyB82 on Sat, 2013-08-24 03:10.

Mila Kunis (Oz)

Submitted by Jaymz on Sat, 2013-08-24 03:40.

Depends. Are you refering to how Bond has been portrayed in the previous movies, or how he was written in Flemming's books? The Craig Bond has been a good representation of the book Bond. Not so much bravery as recklessness that comes from an acute sense of his own mortality and a fair amount of self-loathing that stems from his work.

If you want sleek, sexy, self-assured, supremely confident Bond, you watch the Brosnan and earlier movies. If you want tortured, conflicted, reckless, self-loathing Bond, you watch the Craig movies or read the books.

Submitted by Dr. Hoss on Sat, 2013-08-24 03:44.

Ledger was great. His facial expressions, body language, the voice he had going, every time he did that little licking his lips thing...he was perfect. He personified insanity. He actually acted crazy. If I hadn't already known it was him, I never would have guessed. He was the Joker, not an actor playing the Joker, if that makes sense. As for everyone else on this list, they may have been dealing a lot with bad writing and dialogue, but none of them were all that great.

Submitted by drewzer15 on Sat, 2013-08-24 03:52.

Actually, I was disappointed myself and over-hyped may be the best way to describe it. But I haven't like most comic movies, a few were okay and only one (Captain America) was good. I have high hopes for Days of Future Past, Guardians of the Galaxy and The Winter Soldier. We'll see.

Submitted by A Rational Thinker on Sat, 2013-08-24 03:53.

I believe Norton made excessive salary demands, which is what caused the change.

Submitted by J Ill on Sat, 2013-08-24 04:25.

Uhh... you know that you liked his performance. That should be enough for anyone. I can't stand when people are unable to separate the book from the movie. They are two different mediums, you can't compare them, and it is pointless to try. I thought he was pretty good that movie too.

Submitted by Jegg on Sat, 2013-08-24 04:32.

In an interesting juxtaposition, the writer has featured a photograph of Affleck with George Clooney - arguably the worst batman ever.

Submitted by Patrick Bayard is a Fat Idiot on Sat, 2013-08-24 04:45.

Jean Claude van Damme was awsome as Guile so was Keanu Reeves in Constantine

what the hell you talking about nab?

go eat poo you fat idiot

Submitted by adam west on Sat, 2013-08-24 04:47.

Are you kidding?!? The worst Barman, hands down, was George Clooney. (which adds a special dose of irony to the photo above)

Submitted by adam west on Sat, 2013-08-24 04:51.

Damnit ... Batman, not barman. I'm sure Clooney could serve a mean cocktail.

Submitted by Wesley Lovell on Sat, 2013-08-24 05:01.

FYI to the authors of this piece. Winter's Bone was not set in Appalachia. It was actually set in the Ozarks.

Submitted by mike Atreyu on Sat, 2013-08-24 05:11.

jack reacher was awesome lol

Submitted by Jeremiah Sherrill on Sat, 2013-08-24 05:12.

Keanu Reeves is awesome in everything. Sure he plays everything the same, but that is his style and he is the king of it.

Submitted by Benjamin Eugene NElson on Sat, 2013-08-24 05:14.

The whole f'n point is don't judge until you see the end result.

Submitted by Greg on Sat, 2013-08-24 05:15.

You don't think he should have won? Who should have? He still has the most memorable performance out of anyone that was nominated for any Oscar that year....

Submitted by Benjamin Eugene NElson on Sat, 2013-08-24 05:18.

He's the only person who's playd guile in the movies isn't he?

So yah.. of course he's the best.

Submitted by hazy7687 on Sat, 2013-08-24 05:32.

This

Submitted by gankor on Sat, 2013-08-24 05:34.

agreed

Submitted by Rupert Bubbletrousers on Sat, 2013-08-24 05:47.

I thought Elektra was dope. Daredevil was complete rubbish. Never dug Affleck until The Town, he was pretty badass in that. So fuck it, who knows? ....nah I'm just kidding, this is terrible. But at least I just saved 10 bucks on a ticket.

Submitted by Gryfer on Sat, 2013-08-24 05:56.

I disagree with some of this, but I maintain that the worst cast actor of recent history was Tobey Maguire in The Great Gatsby. What a trainwreck.

Submitted by Richard Smith on Sat, 2013-08-24 06:02.

*inarguably

Submitted by DubbleBubble on Sat, 2013-08-24 06:12.

Like anoyone gives a flying f--k.

Submitted by Rupert Bubbletrousers on Sat, 2013-08-24 06:12.

Still anti-Ruffalo. He wasn't terrible or anything, but he was no better than mediocre. Watch his work without any CGI Hulk action and it was a pretty boring, lackluster performance.

Submitted by Moviemusicfan on Sat, 2013-08-24 06:13.

Is everyone forgetting Val Kilmer and George Clooney?

Submitted by mrgrimme on Sat, 2013-08-24 06:20.

actually, I thought Clooney was the ONLY actor, thus far, that pulled off both Batman and Bruce Wayne well. He was just saddled with a horrible movie, in my opinion.

Submitted by Rupert Bubbletrousers on Sat, 2013-08-24 06:20.

If you think the worst Batman was Michael Keaton and you liked and still enjoy the Daredevil movie to this day, then everything else you will ever say is invalid.

You lost all credibility within your first 3 sentences.

Submitted by mrgrimme on Sat, 2013-08-24 06:22.

Theres NOTHING overrated about Ledgers performance. He brought the darkness to the Joker that Nicholson sorely lacked.

Ill never understand peoples love for that Tim Burton Batman Movie.

Personally I thought it sucked.

Submitted by mrgrimme on Sat, 2013-08-24 06:24.

Youre not the only one. But those who agree with you are just as wrong as you are.

The Dark Knight is the ONLY Batman movie of the Nolan Trilogy thats worth watching and thats because of Ledgers performance.

Bale made a decent batman but saddle him with a horrible story and an even worse take on a villain ( Bane ) and you end up with three hours of meh ( The Dark Knight Rises )

Submitted by Simon on Sat, 2013-08-24 06:36.

I could just as easily name seven that DID suck. These are utterly pointless comparisons.

Submitted by David Crow on Sat, 2013-08-24 06:52.

Thanks for the catch. It was corrected. :)

Submitted by Rupert Bubbletrousers on Sat, 2013-08-24 06:52.

You're right about Ledger, wrong on Burton. You don't have to choose between the two, they were completely different takes and attempts at portraying the character of Batman.

Burton's first 2 bat flicks were dope for their time. Remember that this was before mainstream comic book movies really existed.
And while Soldier is right that people tend to overrate performances based on the behind-the-scenes type of stories, tragedies or info behind them, Ledger's Joker is NOT an accurate example of this.

It may have been over-HYPED - in fact it definitely was in a thousand different ways - but not at all overrated in any way.
Dude was COMPLETELY unrecognizable as himself in that role. He blew the roof off of what that character could have been or was up until that point.

That was an as iconic performance of any larger-than-life character than I've probably ever seen. I'm an incredibly huge fan of great villains, and if Ledger's Joker isn't in your top 3 or at least top 5 of all time then you should slap yourself as hard as you can and rewatch that movie. No joke.

Submitted by Rupert Bubbletrousers on Sat, 2013-08-24 07:12.

I may sort of agree about the last Nolan bat flick, and I definitely agree that Bale was not great as Batman. He wasn't bad at all, he was okay, maybe even kind of good? But yeah, nothing about his performance in any of the 3 movies stood out to me as being impressive in any way. I believe he was mediocre in the roles of both Wayne and Batman, but I don't mean that to be as bad of a review as it probably sounds. I guess I mostly just mean that Nolan, the writers, the set designers and costume designers made those movies what they are in my mind, way more than anything about Bale's performance in any of them.

Anycrap, you (Diana P) really are wrong about Ledger's Joker (in my opinion, of course). I don't say that to be insulting, and I'm sorry if it comes off that way.
But all I really mean is that your experience should probably make you hate hype more than it should sour you on Ledger's performance.

Nobody can argue that both the film and Ledger's performance were ridiculously over-hyped after Ledger's death. In fact I even hesitated to see it because I started to believe it was all hype, no substance. I knew immediately that I was wrong, and several viewings later have confirmed my initial impression.
Just out of curiosity, have you checked out the movie again since whenever you first saw it under all of they hype?
I feel like if you just tried to watch again, and pretended there was no hype or back story, but that it was just some random movie you stumbled upon, and then evaluated his performance based on that you would probably be more impressed. Although I admit it can be hard to separate.
And more importantly, I'm not that smart, haha, so what do I know?

Submitted by Vic on Sat, 2013-08-24 07:26.

I really do like Lawrence as Katniss, she's brilliant, but I have to say she actually isn't an accurate physical representation of the character. The character is said to be very short--its hinted that its from malnutrition, as just about everyone is starving. The world, which wasn't portrayed to this severe extent in the movie, is definitely concentration camp-like. With that being said, the character is VERY skinny. Anyone who says Lawrence is fat is an idiot, but she is a healthy, average weight. The character is also described as possibly part Native American. So yes, to readers of the trilogy, Lawrence was an odd choice at first, but she nailed the character.

Submitted by becomingbilingualirregardless on Sat, 2013-08-24 07:26.

I love Jennifer Lawrence, but I do believe she is too fat... for that role. If you read the books Katniss and her district are all practically starving. Jennifer Lawrence herself is by no means "fat" but while reading the books I did imagine someone more gaunt. That's why there was fan backlash.

Submitted by Vic on Sat, 2013-08-24 07:28.

Haha, I like how someone else just thought the same thing I did. It really is nothing against her, but the characters physical description is a big deal because it is a reflection of the society she lives in.

Submitted by MollsGirl on Sat, 2013-08-24 07:35.

Gone With the Wind was not a novel of the Depression. It was about the Civil War.

Submitted by darib88 on Sat, 2013-08-24 07:41.

yeah that catwoman movie was awful and no amount of awesome acting could fix the terrible story

Submitted by CuFaWh on Sat, 2013-08-24 07:47.

I think most of those on this list only justify the reasoning people are complaining. Seriously, you're using Anne Hathaway's Cat Woman to say people overreact? Daniel Craig sucks. Jennifer Lawrence was relatively unknown and I don't recall there being an uprising about her playing that role.... One which is no where near as iconic and legendary as Batman. Heath Ledger was ok, but if he didn't pass away near the release time I would doubt his performance could have been as blown up as it has been. Michael Keaton is the only one I would have been surprised by in the entire list.

Submitted by just sayin' on Sat, 2013-08-24 08:39.

"... a dirt-poor orphan of the Ozarks in Winter’s Bone was considered too well fed to star in a film called The Hunger Games (which was also shot in another humble mountain range setting: Appalachia)."

Submitted by just sayin' on Sat, 2013-08-24 08:42.

got it, aarticle was already fixed when I read it.

Submitted by Someguy on Sat, 2013-08-24 08:53.

The reason for most of those was simply because of bad writing/directing.
VInce Vaughn is a terrible actor overall.

Submitted by icepic on Sat, 2013-08-24 09:02.

he slept walked that role. He even admitted to it.

Submitted by VulturEMaN on Sat, 2013-08-24 09:44.

Ruffalo was *okay*. He only got the role because of Robert Downey Jr since they had worked together before and he put in a good word for him. There's probably a better fit for the role somewhere out there in the world.

It took me a while to put my finger on why I don't like Affleck for this role...but it's his eyes. He's in a constant state of squint. "So? Vulture you're an idiot." but yea, think back to the 90's animated series with Batman in them. His facial expressions were lead by what his eyes did 99% of the time, and because of that we knew what batman was thinking/feeling based on what his eyes did. It's very subtle. Going into the movies with the same thought...every batman (minus Adam West) wears black around their eyes and rarely shows any facial expressions with their mouth (a smile once or twice, and rage a few times) while they have the mask on. It's all mostly stoic scenes, but there are plenty of times where the eyes are at the center of the frame...focusing on their despair, confusion, anger, etc. This actually explains why they picked Clooney for that particular movie: They wanted someone with eyes that could open up WIDE when he sniffed in that drug from Poison Ivy. And anyone that watches NCIS LA can tell you that Chris O'Donnell's eyes are always changing expressions.

Submitted by Critton on Sat, 2013-08-24 10:03.

Rooney Mara did suck as Lisbeth Salander. In the original film, Lisbeth is a dynamic badass and easily the main character. In the American version, she's there for Daniel Craig to play off of. Granted that's a decision made by writing team and the director, but she was cast because she wasn't going to steal the show from Daniel Craig. Now, I like Daniel Craig, but my point remains.

Submitted by Turkey on Sat, 2013-08-24 10:39.

Not really digging the Hathaway deal. I hated the thought of her as Catwoman and after watching the movie, I hated her as Catwoman.

Submitted by fanboi on Sat, 2013-08-24 11:15.

the problem with Affleck is the voice. Everyone is expecting him to come out with, "WOOK, IT'S DA JOKAH!" Bruce Wayne is not from Boston's mean streets. So, Ben, you'd better work on your Bruce Wayne voice or you'll get spanked.

Submitted by christraverse on Sat, 2013-08-24 12:23.

While I agree we have no idea if Batfleck will be good or bad, this conveniently forgets that a lot of people said that Daredevil, Elektra, Catwoman and Green Lantern and Green Hornet would all suck and they all did. Hard.

Submitted by Plinkett on Sat, 2013-08-24 12:30.

To be fair, there wasn't much more you could do with the limited screen time. Hulk in Avengers wasn't supposed to be great, it just had to be good (Avengers being an ensemble piece after all).

Submitted by meronym on Sat, 2013-08-24 13:57.

I'm surprised Tom Cruise as Lestat didn't make the list. Everyone's problem with Jennifer Lawrence was physical, and I think it was mostly fangirls. Everyone's problem with Tom Cruise, however, was that he was too much of a pretty boy to be Lestat. Anne Rice was horrified and furious. I still can't believe he managed to pull it off.

Submitted by stryder on Sat, 2013-08-24 14:15.

there is no such thing as bad publicity, maybe, just maybe, that's what this is, make everyone want to see the movie to see how bad he does?

Submitted by Donald on Sat, 2013-08-24 15:19.

Out of the entire group listed, the only individual I didn't like in the role they played, was Cat-woman, and Michael Keaton was at best a mediocre batman from a mediocre movie.

My problem with Affleck is that like all of his films, his accent will be the same, his performance will be the same, his ability to adopt the role will be the same. Which to sum up, means Ben Affleck will be Ben Affleck as Batman, not an actor portraying Bruce Wayne, or portraying Batman.

Submitted by FlixtheCat on Sat, 2013-08-24 16:18.

I REALLY REALLY wish people would quit citing Keaton as the ultimate Batman. He was terrible in the role.

Submitted by mrgrimme on Sat, 2013-08-24 17:45.

OH I remember. Compared to The Punisher starring Dolph Lundgren, Burtons Batman was awesome.

But I was comparing it to Frank Miller at the time and found Burtons Batman lacking.

I thought Batman Begins was only pretty good.

In my opinion the first AMAZING superhero movie was The Dark Knight and that only because of Ledgers take on the Joker.

Submitted by David Crow on Sat, 2013-08-24 18:30.

Everyone has opinions, but I strongly disagree. I thought she nailed the part better than Pffeifer, who admittedly played more of a Tim Burton creation than the original character. And given the glowing reviews sh amassed in 2012, I'd say you're in the minority.

Thanks for commenting!

Submitted by David Crow on Sat, 2013-08-24 18:33.

I did think about including that one. Anne Rice even took a page out of the New York times to criticize him...and then another to apologetically praise him. Good call.

Submitted by Chaucers Left Testicle on Sat, 2013-08-24 19:21.

Not a bad list by any means, but Audrey Hepburn and Anne Hathaway really did 'suck'. A lot.

Submitted by squiggysmom1 on Sat, 2013-08-24 20:44.

The first thing I thought when I heard he was cast for "Batman" is, "Wow, what a great idea". I don't know why there's so much indignation about it. He's a great actor, lean, tall and good-looking. Win.

Submitted by Earthenergy on Sat, 2013-08-24 22:40.

Go for Ben!! We are with you.

Submitted by Earthenergy on Sat, 2013-08-24 22:42.

I hope they let the heavy voice out. This was distracting me from the movies.

Submitted by Queen Carlotta on Sun, 2013-08-25 02:47.

Gone with the Wind was the Civil war...not the Depression. Wow...how could anyone mess that up?

Submitted by Monto Gawe on Sun, 2013-08-25 03:10.

Still don't like Keaton's Batman, Craig's James Bond. Thought Hathaway would be great as Catwoman; and Ledger as Joker. And both were magnificent. Lawrence is bland for me. While Hepburn and Leigh's take on their respective celluloid persona remain ICONIC.

Submitted by Monto Gawe on Sun, 2013-08-25 03:11.

And, oh yes, Affleck. He's tolerable but ultimately a let-down...

Submitted by Nick on Sun, 2013-08-25 04:21.

Some people are reading into this article incorrectly. The article is not saying "because fans were proven wrong about this casting then Affleck will be great," and it doesn't matter in the slightest if you could name 10 or 100 more roles in which fans were ultimately right in their disdain for the casting.

The point is ultimately this: don't make up your mind about the casting before you've seen anything.

Are people allowed to dislike Affleck being cast? Yes, and they can surely express their reasons until their fingers bleed. The issue lies in the trolling, in the childish remarks and childish actions, I mean, do people honestly believe Warners is going to buy-out Affleck's contract because of a petition? It lies in the proclamations that the film will definitely suck or Affleck will definitely suck, or that people will complain during the movie the whole time, or whatever.

But here's a thought: why not wait for production materials? Why not wait for sound bytes? Why not wait for stills? What about trailers, clips, and tv spots? What about seeing the actual movie?

That's the major issue here, that people are judging the casting without seeing what the casting ultimately brings.

When Affleck's portrayal finally hits the big screen, if it turns out to be utter crap, then by all means, critique the performances all you want, because guess what? You finally have something tangible to criticize. As of now, you have nothing but theories and ideas, but until the performance is solidified in the actual film, there truly is nothing for which to pass judgement on his Batman performance, because as of now that performance doesn't exist.

I mean, just look at the examples at the top, at their most basic ideas for which they were criticized at the time.

With Heath Ledger: a pretty boy no-name who doesn't look like the Joker, who never played a villain, who can't act, and once played a gay cowboy. These were the initial criticisms of his casting that I heard over and over again, that were perpetuated for nearly a year and a half before the first theatrical trailer was released. And tell me, of any of those criticisms, how many of them held any weight by the time Ledger's family accepted his Oscar?

What about Keaton: a short, unintimidating actor who doesn't look like Batman and dabbles in comedies. There's a reason he's #1 in this article, because if twitter and social media was available back then, then the negative response would've easily eclipsed what Affleck is getting right now. Easily. But of course, once people saw stills of Keaton in the suit and that first trailer, and ultimately the movie, none of those criticisms mattered, because Keaton WAS Batman, and to many he still is.

And this all comes back to the main point: it's the final product that matters, whether good or bad.

It's a shame that some of us have to endure the tantrums, the kicking & screaming, and generally all the hyperbole, but it's a small price one has to pay for following the production of a studio tentpole. I really wish that some fans would eventually learn to chill, step back & take a deep breath.

I'm all for them expressing their opinions, but why not express them thoughtfully and maturely as opposed to doing it...well, like a child. I know they feel as though they're representing the legacy of the character when they act out like this, but quite frankly, this behavior makes me embarrassed to associate myself under the same label as they are.

Submitted by Joss on Sun, 2013-08-25 06:05.

I will definitely get some thumbs down for this, but people should stop comparing this issue to the time when Keaton, Bale and Ledger were cast into the roles. We should note that these three actors have not played a superhero role before Batman so yes, we were proven wrong when they did a great job with it. However, Affleck has already destroyed Daredevil so this shouldn't even be a discussion to begin with. I'll give him credit for his last few movies he made, but I would suggest for him to stick to those and stay away from any superhero role.

Submitted by lev186211 on Sun, 2013-08-25 10:55.

I think Ben can do it. The problem is with how recognizable he is as "Ben Afleck". As said by angry joe

Submitted by Joshua Caldwell on Sun, 2013-08-25 15:07.

I remember when they cast Heath and I said " I love Heath Ledger but there is no way he can play the joker".... and boy was i wrong...so go Ben!

Submitted by David Crow on Sun, 2013-08-25 17:51.

Gone with the Wind was first published in 1936 during the height of the Great Depression, which was experiencing a double dip. By the time the film came out three years later, still during the Depression, it had become one of the highest selling books of the decade and had an almost sacred status among readers who used it as an escape from their own contemporary woes. How could someone mistake the time a book is set with when it was written?

Submitted by Shaun M Stanley on Mon, 2013-08-26 00:24.

And he is reportedly a pain in the ass to work for. Changing his lines and shots and character motivations. While that is not necessarily a bad thing, Disney/Paramount wasn't going to put up with it anymore.

Submitted by Ivana Cvetanovic on Mon, 2013-08-26 01:17.

Actually, IF you READ the books, Katniss and her family are NOT starving. He's an expert hunter who's been putting the meat on the table for years, as well as edible plants, and trading at the Hob (black market) for other foodstuffs. Katniss being a great archer and hunter is her #1 identity before she's reaped.
But I'm guessing that most of these "critics", you included, haven't actually read the books, just looked at the title and thought: "Ah! They must all look like they're in a concentration camp! Let's have an anorexic actress in the role!"

Submitted by Ivana Cvetanovic on Mon, 2013-08-26 01:20.

You mean this physical description?

"I stand straight, and while I’m thin, I’m strong. The meat and plants from the woods combined with the exertion it took to get them have given me a healthier body than most of those I see around me. The exceptions are the kids from the wealthier districts, the volunteers, the ones who have been fed and trained throughout their lives for this moment."

Submitted by Ivana Cvetanovic on Mon, 2013-08-26 01:31.

No, it's not hinted it's from malnutrition, or else Gale would have been short. and he's described as tall. In fact, she says she's "NATURALLY smaller". She's on the smaller side, yes, but "very short", well... She says "Almost all of the boys and at least half of the girls are bigger than I am, even though many of the tributes have never been fed properly." At least half of the girls? This would make her average height for a girl in Panem, or somewhat below average.

And she's definitely not supposed to be "VERY skinny". She describes herself this way: "I may be smaller naturally, but overall my family’s resourcefulness has given me an edge in that area. I stand straight, and while I’m thin, I’m strong. The meat and plants from the woods combined with the exertion it took to get them have given me a healthier body than most of those I see around me. The exceptions are the kids from the wealthier districts, the volunteers, the ones who have been fed and
trained throughout their lives for this moment."

Described as possibly part Native American? Based on what? Her grey eyes (which she got from her father, as opposed to her blue eyed blone mother)? Straight black hair, olive skin, grey eyes, that could be a description of white people or mixed race people, but it doesn't point out to any specific ethnicity. (It could also be a description of Olga Kurylenko or Ana Ivanovic.) Olive skin is often used to describe people from the Mediterranean. Yes, she could be POSSIBLY part Native American, but she also could be POSSIBLY part something else, or POSSIBlLY 100% white. And for that matter, someone looking like Jennifer Lawrence could also POSSIBLY be part Native American. Prim has blonde hair, pale skin and blue eyes, and if Katniss is part Native American, Prim is just as much, since they have the same parents.

Submitted by Bobby on Mon, 2013-08-26 09:26.

Ruffalo was the original choice to play the Hulk when they remade it following the Ang Lee/Eric Bana meltdown, he wasn't considered a big enough box office draw. Thats just according to an interview with the director of the movie, so it could just be bullshit.

Submitted by Amy on Mon, 2013-08-26 12:27.

I am very much in the thought that you can not judge an actor before you see their performance. Please, keep the scoffing until you actually SEE the flick?

Submitted by Diana P on Mon, 2013-08-26 16:19.

You are correct Rupert about me needing to watch the movie again away from the hype. And I did say that Ledger was really good. I just didn't get the reason for the hype -- mainly because I saw him in Brokeback Mtn & thought he was really great. So I wasn't one of the naysayers. So the whole movie underwhelmed me, and I didn't get the same orgasmic experience, seemingly everyone else did.

But I do definitely need to watch again. I hope I get that "magic" feeling.

Submitted by scottabc on Mon, 2013-08-26 19:24.

If true then the other actors, including the males, would also have to look 'starving' too but nobody whines about Peeta and other guys as being 'too fat'. Anyways, as others have pointed out, Katniss and co. were portrayed in the books as poor but not 'starving' and she was a hunter, so looking physically fit and not hollywood skinny is totally appropriate.

Submitted by Devil_Dinosaur on Mon, 2013-08-26 22:55.

So, was the author drunk when he wrote this? These are from the one entry I read:

"Remember that one bloke called “James Blond?” He was that one who was cast as Bond...."

"At least The Daily Mirror was slightly wittier when, after only a day had past...."

And I don't remember "everyone" wanting Pierce Brosnan back in the role. I remember most had different choices than Craig.

I'm so glad I didn't read this whole thing. If the author doesn't give a shit about what he's writing, why should anyone else?

Submitted by John Imig on Mon, 2013-08-26 23:14.

Somebody made a relevant point on the DKR trailer video comments though:
Affleck has 15 Golden Raspberry noms, and 5 wins for Worst Actor...none of these other actors on this list ever sucked that bad, that long, that consistently.
I have reeled in my initial vitriol for Affleck getting cast, but that doesn't mean I have any faith yet.

Submitted by Aty on Tue, 2013-08-27 06:19.

agree with all except Keanu. He was good, come on.

Submitted by Jordy Verrill on Tue, 2013-08-27 06:24.

Is Clooney that short?

Submitted by Eustace2 on Tue, 2013-08-27 06:48.

This person thinks portraying Batman is all about how you look.

Submitted by Phillip on Tue, 2013-08-27 15:21.

Kirsten Dunst was decent in Spiderman, the character wasn't written to have much substance. Jean Claude van Damme... sorry, but it's impossible to suck when playing in a movie based off a fighter game that has nothing to live up to. Tom Cruise was good as Jack Reacher, he just didn't fill the book's specifications, but they weren't making the character the same in the books. Vince Vaughn's Psycho sucked because the director was an idiot and tried to make it a shot-for-shot copy that didn't need to be made.

Submitted by Rene Fosdal on Wed, 2013-08-28 15:14.

But Daniel Craig DO suck as James Bond - he's the reason I stopped watching the movies after the horrible "Casino Royal" - he's taken the fun out of the franchise

Submitted by Connor on Thu, 2013-08-29 16:31.

I was super anti Ruffalo, and now he's my favourite Banner. He brought subtly to the role that the others didn't.

Submitted by Batmancw on Fri, 2013-08-30 13:07.

Agreed & yet now when I look at Evans--I see Captain America & Ruffalo was incredible(pun intended) as Banner/the Hulk.

Submitted by TwinStripeUK on Fri, 2013-08-30 17:28.

I still remember my reaction at watching Heath Ledger playing the joker - my exact words?
'F*ck, I was SO wrong about that guy...'

Submitted by Normita on Fri, 2013-08-30 17:50.

Except for Heath and Keaton the rest did suck and still do.

Submitted by Charlotte Morris on Fri, 2013-08-30 17:57.

I liked Kirsten.

Submitted by David Crow on Fri, 2013-08-30 21:46.

I never met someone who thought Audrey Hepburn sucked as Holly Golightly. You are a brave explorer to be so far out from the rest of humanity. :)

Submitted by Smithy of OZ on Sun, 2013-09-01 00:45.

Sorry Ben Afflick is NO BATMAN... This reminds me of the shamble batman films when Val Kilmer and George Clooney took on the role, these films were rubbish@!@@ and now they are running a thin line casting Afflick... god damn it, why wont Christian Bale come back for the final installment???

Full respect to Hugh Jackman for staying as Wolverine...

Submitted by squiggysmom1 on Sun, 2013-09-01 21:33.

Except this person also thinks being a good actor might contribute something to portraying Batman. It's not "Hamlet" you know.

Submitted by XAV on Mon, 2013-09-02 01:34.

The most outrage I recall was Tom Cruise in Interview With The Vampire. Even author Anne Rice took back her skepticism when she saw the film. I normally can't stand him, but his LeStat worked.

Submitted by vincent on Mon, 2013-09-02 23:08.

Well I personally was fine with seeing daniel craig as james bond in the trailer, although i still like Brosnan a lot. and hathaway was good too cuz I think we can trust christopher nolan's direction. I will however, disagree with the Obama, she was far from the best thing about it.

Submitted by Chaucers Left Testicle on Tue, 2013-09-03 16:50.

I have no antipathy for Audrey Hepburn as a person, but her acting was, almost without exception, dreadful.

I'm used to being in the minority when voicing that opinion though, and regardless of my views on her acting, I think it's nice that her work pleased so many people - I suspect she would too.

Submitted by MickT on Thu, 2013-09-05 01:41.

Just my opinion, but I don't think Ben has the 'voice' that a batman should possess. Batman needs to sound truly imposing, dark and scary... Someone help me out here.

Submitted by TimBeam on Mon, 2013-09-09 01:43.

Hathaway was still my least favorite part of TDKR

Submitted by Bass_Ackwards on Tue, 2013-09-17 15:50.

In the book, which is the source for the story, Craig's character IS the protagonist, so that's exactly right. And Lisbeth is not at all "dynamic," she's often confused for being mentally retarded, hiding a bruised genius, she's also described as looking underage, being extremely gaunt and petite. I liked Noomi, but in the movie her character came across more as simply an angry, defiant woman (and it was tough to hide Noomi's sex appeal). Rooney's physical appearance and guarded performance were much, MUCH closer to the character as she was written.

Submitted by Bass_Ackwards on Tue, 2013-09-17 16:12.

I'm surprised to find out not only did Capote not like Hepburn, but that he was rallying for Monroe? Holly Golightly was described as very thin, with almost a childlike face (the narrator guessed her age as anywhere between 16-32), large mouth, upturned nose, and had an affected way of speaking. I remember reading it thinking how crazy it was that Hepburn seemed to be the actual personification of what Capote had written. Aside from being blonde, Monroe seems all wrong for the role, I can only imagine Capote's judgement was clouded by his friendship.

I'd think if he was going to object to anything, it'd be the casting of hunky Peppard as the character in the book that was clearly modeled on himself, but I guess we have less objections to Holly

Submitted by Bass_Ackwards on Tue, 2013-09-17 16:25.

Agreed, I've seen a few of these articles pop up in the light of the Batfleck news, and am always surprised that they omit Cruise as Lestat. The furor over Cruise rated right up there with the backlash that came up for Keaton as Bats and Craig as Bond.

Submitted by OutPastPluto on Fri, 2013-09-20 19:31.

It makes perfect sense. Jack Nicholson played the joker. Heath Ledger was the joker. It's an entirely different kind of acting.

Submitted by Stu Olsen on Thu, 2013-09-26 19:38.

Im a little skeptical about affleck, but these guys seem to know what they are doing

Submitted by Potato on Wed, 2013-10-23 14:50.

Worst Batman? Yes. But best Bruce Wayne.

Submitted by Ched Groundheggin on Wed, 2013-10-30 17:45.

Who thought Anne Hathoway was going to suck? Same with Jennifer Lawrence... Fans were worried the hunger games would suck (which it did).

Submitted by Sindrow on Fri, 2013-12-06 22:21.

Um to be honest after Christian Bale as Batman... First movie I don't even recall it, second one was great bc of the Joker, Heath Ledger made the movie special. Third one a meh again. So all Affleck has to do is be better than Bale. With the right script we can get a better batman easily.

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Batman vs. Superman: Everything We Know

January 31, 2014, 4:36 pm

≫ Next: Twitter Reactions To Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor

≪ Previous: Seven Actors Fans Thought Would Suck

NewsDen Of Geek1/31/2014 at 2:36PM

With the additions of Jesse Eisenberg and Jeremy Irons as Lex Luthor and Alfred, we look at all the available info on Man of Steel 2!

When Man of Steel arrived, fans were promised the start of a DC cinematic universe to rival Marvel's. At the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con, the announcement was made that Man of Steel 2 would be more than just a sequel, and instead plant the seeds of a Justice League movie. Henry Cavill will return as Superman and Ben Affleck will play Batman/Bruce Wayne. Affleck fits the mold of the "older and wiser" Batman who "bears the scars of a seasoned crimefighter" that Warner Bros. was looking for, which neatly sidesteps the need to re-establish Batman's origins on screen once again.

While the first live-action meeting of Batman and Superman is historic enough, Batman vs. Superman goes even further, by introducing Wonder Woman into the mix, played by Gal Gadot. There's no word yet on just how large her role in the film will be, but this will mark the first appearance of Wonder Woman on the big screen, and her first live-action appearance (not counting an unaired NBC television pilot from a few years back) since Lynda Carter hung up her bracelets in 1979.

While they aren't calling this a Justice League movie (at least, not yet) there's still a chance that other superheroes may make an appearance in the film. Unconfirmed rumors indicate that the word is out for Dick Grayson, in his secret identity as Nightwing, to make an appearance, with Adam Driver's name having surfaced as a contender for the role. However, Driver has denied any involvement with the project so far.

Zack Snyder is co-writing the story with David Goyer (who will then pen the screenplay), which is said to draw some inspiration from The Dark Knight Returns, the classic story by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, and Lynn Varley which climaxed with an impressive street fight between Batman and Superman. While there are likely going to be some similarities, Goyer has stated that the film won't be an adaptation of that work. It seems possible that some of their conflict may stem from the controversial ending to Man of Steel, as Mr. Goyer promised, "we will be dealing with this in coming films...He isn't fully-formed as Superman in [Man of Steel], and he will have to deal with the repercussions of that in the next one."

At least one villain has finally been cast, though. Jesse Eisenberg is taking on the role of Superman's arch-foe, Lex Luthor. David Goyer has stated that "Lex [Luthor] in this world is more a Bill Gates or Rupert Murdoch like character. He's probably a multi, multi billionaire. He's not a crook." While this quote comes from an interview that was conducted well before the Batman vs. Superman announcement, Goyer's vision for Lex would certainly put him in the same social circles as someone like Bruce Wayne. Zack Snyder describes Luthor as "a complicated and sophisticated character whose intellect, wealth and prominence position him as one of the few mortals able to challenge the incredible might of Superman."

Jeremy Irons will play Batman's right-hand man, Alfred Pennyworth. While we don't know how much from previous incarnations of the character Irons will draw on, Alfred is described by Zack Snyder as "Bruce Wayne’s most trusted friend, ally and mentor, a noble guardian and father figure. He is an absolutely critical element in the intricate infrastructure that allows Bruce Wayne to transform himself into Batman."

Jason Momoa's name has come up in connection with the film, but it's unclear who he would be playing, with speculation ranging from Doomsday to Hawkman, although Momoa has dismissed all of this talk as rumor and nothing more. Even Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has seen his name come up, and he's made no secret of the fact that he's meeting with Warner Bros. for an unspecified DC-related project. If either actor is playing another superpowered villain (or hero), it does broaden the scope a little further and seem to indicate that this may be a stealth Justice League movie after all.

The film is currently in aggressive pre-production, with primary filming scheduled to begin in the early second quarter of 2014. However, some second-unit filming has already commenced, including at a football game between rival college teams from Metropolis and Gotham, as well as locations in Illinois which have doubled as the Kent farm. There have certainly been, at the very least, costume tests shot as Kevin Smith has seen a photo of Ben Affleck in a Batman costume, which he describes as something "you have not seen...in a movie before." Here's hoping that means it has some blue and grey...and maybe a yellow oval.

Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, and Diane Lane will also reprise their Man of Steel roles. Batman vs. Superman is produced by Charles Roven and Deborah Snyder. It seems likely that Hans Zimmer will return as composer, given his history with both characters, although he did express that he "might not feel right" returning to score Batman again, so this one may be a "wait and see" situation. However, Zack Snyder recently said that they'd want Mr. Zimmer back "as long as he'll have us" but seemed to confirm that Zimmer wouldn't reuse any previous Batman themes, in order to distinguish this version of the character from Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight films, which Zimmer also scored.

It also appears that Batman vs. Superman is just a working title, and that something less on-the-nose will replace it in the next few months.

Originally scheduled for a July 2015 release, the film was recently delayed, and will now open on May 6th, 2016. This can't help but make those rumors that this is, in fact, a Justice League movie considerably stronger. We'll let you know as we hear more.

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for all news updates related to the world of geek. And Google+, if that's your thing!

Disqus - noscript

Submitted by Optimu$ Prime on Mon, 2013-08-26 14:00.

... Besides the Ben Affleck as Batman part ... It all sounds GREAT!

Submitted by Jake on Tue, 2013-08-27 21:41.

If they left Batman out and replaced Zack Snyder this would be a great movie!

Submitted by Bridget LaMonica on Tue, 2013-08-27 21:51.

Agreeing with the "it sounds great except for Ben Affleck" thing. He doesn't fit the mold of an "older and seasoned Batman" let alone just "Batman."

Submitted by Laura on Fri, 2013-11-08 05:56.

Seriously aren't you people forgetting one thing about Batman. He's a figure that can be constantly reinvented, this version is gonna be different deal with it.

Submitted by Chris Longo on Fri, 2013-11-08 18:14.

Holy links, Batman!

Submitted by miranda on Tue, 2014-01-07 17:00.

Zack Syder, please do not change wonder womans origin. Kryptonian amazons is the worst idea. Do not do it. Do not power down wonder woman. Stay true to the comics do not screw wonder woman up. If you want to make the greek gods aliens fine, but not from krypton. Give us the wonder woman we all know and love...if anyone can pull this off it is you, but no kryptonian amazons or de-powered wonder woman. I would rather you not use her than see you screw her whole history up. Stay true to wonder woman.

Submitted by marcus hughes on Wed, 2014-01-22 02:37.

It's stupid because never ever in her origin has any writer turned her into a Krptionian throughout her 73 something years. I also never ran into any alien versions. That means she would have the same weakness as a Kryptonian same powers and same body structure. No connection to magic and the greek side of DC. ugh smh

Submitted by marcus hughes on Wed, 2014-01-22 02:38.

True. ZS is pretty flat when it comes to plots and BA isn't great for batman. I personally would build upon the cosmic aspect of DC since Earth was just attacked by aliens. Introduce more of them. Show that Martins and GL were looking at the battle, seeing Earth already has a guardian

Submitted by marcus hughes on Wed, 2014-01-22 02:40.

it might be a bad version though

Submitted by Kalyeb Gordon on Thu, 2014-01-23 05:38.

a version that has to be able to be on his A game at all times in order to live in a world of aliens and gods? (like the comics) I think we're going to see the best Batman ever in this movie. the world around him is only going to bring out his strengths and true potential

↧

Twitter Reactions To Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor

January 31, 2014, 4:57 pm

≫ Next: Lex Luthor: The Many Faces of the Greatest Criminal Mind of Our Time

≪ Previous: Batman vs. Superman: Everything We Know

NewsChris Longo1/31/2014 at 2:57PM

We rounded up the best tweets about Jesse Eisenberg's surprise casting.

Jesse Eisenberg is now set to play Lex Luthor in the upcoming Man of Steelsequel. That much we know. So far, the casting has been seen as an unfavorable one, considering everyone and their comic book loving mother had their heart set on Bryan Cranston. Fear not, we’ve been through these casting panics before.

Regardless of whether Eisenberg can pull off one of the best comic villains of all-time, it’s always a fun exercise to measure the pulse of the superhero world.

We’ve rounded up some of the best Twitter reactions from today’s news about the untitled Batman/Superman film.

Yeah, I can't imagine how anybody got the idea Jesse Eisenberg could credibly play a rich, jealous, terrifyingly efficient megalomaniac.
— Linda Holmes (@nprmonkeysee) January 31, 2014

I believe Jesse Eisenberg can tap into an anger and authority that will really surprise people. I love the casting choice.
— Brian Koppelman (@briankoppelman) January 31, 2014

Jesse Eisenberg is going to be playing Lex Luthor in the upcoming Superman-Batman film. What happened to Bryan Cranston?!
— Elijah DelaCruz (@VitaminEllegrah) January 31, 2014

I like Jesse Eisenberg as Luthor. Lex defined by arrogance and resentment of popular jock Superman. Very much Zuckerberg in Social Network.
— Alan Sepinwall (@sepinwall) January 31, 2014

I wonder if anyone on the Internet will have an opinion about Jesse Eisenberg playing Lex Luthor
— Max Silvestri (@maxsilvestri) January 31, 2014

Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor? Unusual choice but we'll see how it turns out.
— Dominic Briggs (@domcom360) January 31, 2014

Jesse Eisenberg has been cast as Lex Luthor when clearly Michael Cera could have nailed it.
— Ed Kaz! (@EdKaz) January 31, 2014

Jeremy Irons as the new Alfred? I can handle that. Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor? Have to wait and see on that one.
— Patrick (@NimrodCanada) January 31, 2014

So Bryan Cranston is not Lex Luthor: what?!?!? And Jesse Eisenberg is: WTF?!?!?
— Tony Pennino (@beatnikprof) January 31, 2014

Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor?? I feel like they're reaching for another Heath Ledger/Joker performance. Keyword: "reaching"
— Mike Morton (@The_Morty) January 31, 2014

If Jesse Eisenberg can be cast as Lex Luthor in Batman/Superman film , then we can and should have a black spiderman.
— Mashudu Mokhithi II (@Vho_Mokhithi) January 31, 2014

Jesse Eisenberg could actually make for a pretty good Lex Luthor. People also laughed when they cast Heath Ledger as the Joker.
— DBK Diversions (@DBKDiversions) January 31, 2014

I don't know if Jesse Eisenberg can really pull off a smug, condescending genius type with millions of dollars. Wait a sec.
— Reese Rackets (@expellate) January 31, 2014

And there's this guy, who called it on Aug. 26.

Not Joking: Jesse Eisenberg for Lex Luthor
— Daniel Kibblesmith (@kibblesmith) August 27, 2013

You win the Internet today, sir.

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for all news updates related to the world of geek. And Google+, if that's your thing!

batman/superman movie

↧

Lex Luthor: The Many Faces of the Greatest Criminal Mind of Our Time

January 31, 2014, 6:54 pm

≫ Next: Batman vs. Superman: 5 Reasons Why Jeremy Irons Will Be A New Kind of Alfred

≪ Previous: Twitter Reactions To Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor

The ListsMike Cecchini1/31/2014 at 4:54PM

Jesse Eisenberg may be the next Lex Luthor, but he won't be the first. Let's have a look at the other men who have played the role.

Lex Luthor! The greatest criminal mind of our time! Superman's biggest and most enduring pain-in-the-ass! Mr. Luthor has a screen history almost as storied as that of his caped nemesis, and he's about to be reborn once more in the still untitled Batman vs. Superman film coming in 2016. Jesse Eisenberg has been cast as the next bald scientist on the block, but he's certainly not the first. We look back at some of the notable actors who have played Luthor on the big and small screen. While this list isn't comprehensive (we offer our apologies to Super Friends voice actor Stanley Jones, and a number of talented actors who have given voice to Luthor in a number of DC Universe animated movies, for example), these are the guys who made the most impact portraying Superman's greatest foe. So, fasten your wigs, it's off to the lab!

Lyle Talbot

Atom Man vs. Superman (1950)

How many other actors can say that they played Commissioner Gordon AND Lex Luthor? None. Not only was Lyle Talbot the first actor to play Lex Luthor (arguably the first live-action interpretation of any legitimate "supervillain" this side of Ming the Merciless), he was also the first to sit behind Jim Gordon's desk (in 1949's Batman and Robin serial). Talbot gleefully wears the rubber bald cap for his time as Luthor, and sports a bizarre, Easter Island like headpiece for his part as the Atom Man. It's tough being the first, but the veteran character actor is as accurate a representation of the post-WWII Lex Luthor as you can hope for.

Gene Hackman

Superman: The Movie (1978), Superman II (1981), Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)

Despite being easily the most well known actor to ever play Lex Luthor, Gene Hackman's performance has always been a little divisive. While there's no questioning Hackman's acting chops, some have cited the series' questionable decision to make Luthor and his associates less menacing than they might have been. Hackman's refusal to go bald for the role (except for a handful of scenes) necessitated this version of Lex Luthor to sport a variety of elaborate hairpieces, several of which were used to great comedic effect by his co-star, Ned Beatty. Nevertheless, Mr. Hackman brought an arrogant charm that worked perfectly against Christopher Reeve's perfectly earnest, no-nonsense Superman. His Luthor, while clearly well-versed in science (we see more of this in the otherwise unfortunate Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, where he creates Nuclear Man out of some stray Superman genetic material), is more concerned with lining his own pockets with beachfront property (via a real estate scheme that would wipe out the existing West Coast of the United States in Superman: The Movie, and his desire to co-opt Australia for his services in Superman II) than eliminating Superman or advancing the cause of mad science.

Scott James Wells

Superboy (1988)

In 1986, DC Comics reinvented Lex Luthor. No longer was he a mad scientist intent on destroying Superman at ever opportunity in between stints in maximum security prisons. Lex became a billionaire and a well-respected man, who hid his evil deeds behind charitable works and an army of lawyers. Scott Wells was the first actor to take on the role in live-action (Michael Bell beat him to the airwaves by a few weeks as the voice of an animated Luthor cut from this mold in the criminally underrated Ruby-Spears Superman cartoon that ran from 1988-1989) in the first season of the syndicated Superboy TV series. Wells' Luthor, who took on a young Superman during their years in college, was an obnoxious frat boy, involved in everything from petty campus crime to fixing basketball games to black market dealings. Unfortunately, this Lex often came off more like a heavy in a Revenge of the Nerds sequel than a foe really worthy of the Boy of Steel. After the first season, both John Haymes Newton (who played Superboy) and Wells were replaced. Which brings us to...

Sherman Howard

The Adventures of Superboy (1989-1992)

Sherman Howard (Bub the zombie from George Romero's Day of the Dead) gave comic book fans a more familiar Lex Luthor. Gone was the big man on campus, replaced by a mad scientist with nothing to lose. Howard occasionally overplayed the part, taking Lex into realms of psychotic glee usually best reserved for the Joker, but in the post-Nicholson/Keaton Batman world, who could really blame him? By the third and fourth seasons, Howard had grown into the role nicely, and the show (which shifted its tone dramatically for those seasons) became a remarkably accurate live-action interpretation of the Superman mythos. Combining the "classic" Luthor sensibilities of mad science and deathtraps with the "Gene Hackman" Luthor's taste in bumbling assistants, Howard delivered one of the more faithful representations of the character we've ever seen. (image courtesy of SuperboyTheater.Net)

John Shea

Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993-1997)

Often overlooked, John Shea is a truly formidable Lex Luthor. Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman premiered at the height of Luthor's "well-respected businessman" phase. John Shea, particularly in the show's first season, played Luthor as an impossibly charming, witty, debonair man, who was not only a rival with Superman for the best interests of Metropolis, but also a legitimate competitor for Clark Kent in the affections of Lois Lane. It's almost impossible to dislike Shea's portrayal of Luthor, full of icy cool humor and always with a glass of cognac, a cigar, or a beautiful woman at his side. This is Lex Luthor as Bond villain: charming, urbane, and as deadly as a cobra.

Clancy Brown

Superman: The Animated Series (1996-2000), Justice League Unlimited (2000-2006)

There have been other actors to give voice to Lex Luthor in animation, but none have put in the hours that Clancy Brown has. Featuring in nearly every episode of Superman: The Animated Series, and as a recurring baddie on Justice League Unlimited, this Lex Luthor is of the "billionaire industrialist" variety, but has plenty of hands-on scientific knowledge at his disposal. By the end of Justice League Unlimited, Luthor certainly puts that scientific knowledge to bad use, and this character had none of the aversions to getting his hands dirty sometimes displayed by other "corporate" versions of Luthor. Mr. Brown was smooth, menacing perfection in the role, and the show's design (Luthor is at least as tall and broad as Superman) offered just the right of physical intimidation to mesh with Clancy's voice.

Michael Rosenbaum

Smallville (2001-2011)

The small screen's most famous Luthor, Michael Rosenbaum perfected the art of the slow heel-turn for TV supervillains. While you may have liked John Shea's Lex Luthor in spite of his clearly devious nature, Rosenbaum's Luthor actually made you question whether you ever really wanted to see him go down the dark path that we all knew was inevitable. In many ways, Smallville was as much a show about Lex Luthor as it was about Superman. Often the most interesting character on the show, and free of the doe-eyed romantic tension and existential wonderings that plagued Clark Kent, Smallville's Lex was self-assured enough to want to forge a destiny apart from that of his notorious father (Lionel Luthor, played to perfection by John Glover), and was often fiercely loyal to his best friend, Clark Kent. Nevertheless, by the time the show started giving viewers glimpses of Lex's villainous future, Rosenbaum rose to the occasion admirably.

Kevin Spacey

Superman Returns (2006)

In many ways, Superman Returns is a continuation of the previous live-action Superman franchise. There are familiar story and design elements, the return of John Williams' soaring Superman theme tune, and a Lex Luthor who is obsessed with real estate profit potential, hairpieces, and inept assistants. While not as shy about going bald as Hackman's character, and perhaps a little more involved in the scientific end of things, the Lex Luthor of Superman Returns also has more of a dark side. Just witness his savage beating of a Kryptonite-shivved Man of Steel, and you'll see echoes of a man who has been hardened by years of prison. While this is destined to remain Spacey's sole outing as Superman's greatest foe, it's a memorable performance.

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Superman IV: The Quest For Peace

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Batman vs. Superman: 5 Reasons Why Jeremy Irons Will Be A New Kind of Alfred

January 31, 2014, 7:19 pm

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The ListsDavid Crow1/31/2014 at 5:19PM

Jeremy Irons is Alfred in the Batman vs. Superman movie. All should rejoice, because this provides an opportunity for a new kind of butler.

In the least contentious superhero casting of the day, it’s been revealed that Jeremy Irons is Batman’s right hand, resident British badass in Batman vs. Superman. Yes, the man who would be king of the jungle or the papacy has been cast as Alfred Pennyworth, the ultimate ally with debonair flair and who can give the Batmobile repair.

The role of Alfred has been played by many a great actor in the past, including Alan Napier, Michael Gough, and Michael Caine, yet Irons offers the chance to reinvent the part once again for a new generation of fans. An actor who has dominated audiences whether on the stage, on the screen, or even in animated musicals, Irons’ layered, vinyl voice is almost as ubiquitous to his name as his unending versatility. And if his previous work is any indication, fans, old and new, are about to get a new kind of Alfred for the DC Cinematic Universe.

Alfred, A Man of Action

To date, all of the actors who have played Alfred have underscored either the character’s ability for impeccable service or his unspoken role as surrogate father to Master Wayne. However, despite some teasing from Michael Caine’s variation in The Dark Knight, Alfred has not been forthrightly depicted as a man who understands Batman’s quest for violent justice, because he has been on one of his own. Simply put, Jeremy Irons has proven himself in previous action roles as an actor who can physically and mentally intimidate even the most revered of action stars. After all in Die Hard With A Vengeance(1995), Irons was the only other actor in the franchise to stand up to Alan Rickman’s German villainy from the 1988 original. However, unlike Rickman, Irons brought a physical and wrathful threat that did not come from his wit, but from his quiet seething.

Despite never actually engaging in fisticuffs with either Bruce Willis or Samuel L. Jackson in this Die Hard threequel, Irons portrayed his Simon Gruber (brother to Rickman’s late Hans Gruber) as a cunning strategist who will terrorize every grade school in New York City for a fistful of gold. As much an Old West black hat as a 1990s tech-monster, Irons’ Simon says what goes in this action film and provides the biggest threat in John McClane’s career. As Alfred, he could bring some of the same physicality hinting at a darker past.

Alfred, A Man of Darkness

Of course, if we are going to speak of Irons’ ability to bring darkness to a role, one cannot understate his vocal capacity for malevolence. As Scar in The Lion King(1994), Irons’ modulation purred within his fratricidal lion with all the sweet comfort of a Machiavellian Prince. Based on Claudius in Hamlet, there is something even more depraved about this Disney-fable version of the Bard’s archetype, as he shows no remorse for murdering his brother or hunting his only nephew in a safari for power. Irons uses his distinct voice in both whispered words and insidious song to pour like morning coffee over the ears of his enemies, be they brother, nephew, or foolishly subservient hyenas.

His ability to manipulate of course extends to other unnerving roles, whether as creepy gynecologist twins in Dead Ringers(1988) or as an even creepier Humbert Humbert in a Lolitaremake that might make Stanley Kubrick blush. There is both something seductive and terrifying in Irons’ many onscreen personas, whether as peeked through the eyes or as teased in the voice. As Alfred, Irons could bring an air of menace and danger to a butler who can teach Batman everything he knows about intimidation techniques and enhanced interrogation. Perhaps, unlike Caine’s caring father who for two out of three movies verbally doubted Bruce’s crusade as one of self-destructive suicide, this Alfred can push him forward through his own mysterious connections.

Alfred, A Man of Secrets

This could play into what I have long wished to be explored as a new variation on the Alfred character: the underworld spy. While Christopher Nolan and Caine’s Alfred knew his way around Burma, and at least Joel Schumaucher’s take on Michael Gough's Alfred had a high pedigreed career at Buckingham Palace, it is time to see an Alfred whose previous career could have been just as complex as the Batman’s. Enter Alfred: retired spy. While Irons never played MI6 directly, he certainly got embroiled in the disturbing world of espionage with M. Butterfly (1993). However, as with the darkness that can be found in his audible scratch, Irons has the ability to bring something of the conspiratorial to M. Pennyworth.

One need not look any further than his recent work as Rodrigo Borgia, aka Pope Alexander VI, in Showtime’s The Borgias. While lacking the real life Borgia pope’s excess girth, Irons found himself right at home in embodying Rodrigo’s penchant for manipulation and shadowy underworld power. The basis for Mario Puzo’s Vito Corleone, Pope Alexander VI ruled over the Papal States of Renaissance Italy with an iron fist in a velvet glove as his two illegitimate sons, initially one in the cloth and one in armor, confiscated all military and ultimately cardinal power around the Vatican. He proved a force worthy of thwarting French kings and spiteful matrons of power by creating his own network of spies across Western Europe. Alfred Pennyworth, the spymaster? That sounds pretty impressive. The Avengers may have Nick Fury, but the upcoming cinematic Justice League may have their own with connections to MI6, the CIA, Mossad, PLO, and the SVR. Plus, he can cook dinner too.

Alfred, a Man of Decadence

Michael Caine’s Alfred marked the first time we had an Alfred with a cockney twang in his step. It was refreshingly different, offering up an image of an Alfred who worked his way up to a notable position in Gotham’s First Family from across the sea. Irons provides the opportunity to go in an opposite direction. Imagine an Alfred who not only served the wealthy, but also came from that most luxurious world. Yes, why he would be in a role of servitude could thus be questioned, but perhaps he met Bruce later in life and just believed in the cause that much?

After all, Irons played one of the great worshippers of English nobility in the 20^th century’s most beloved ode to fading aristocracy with the BBC’s Brideshead Revisited. Indeed, the novel, written on the cusp of an ending Second World War, so romanticizes its period setting of the 1920s as the last gasp of English greatness before the ravages of another war, that it’s author, Evelyn Waugh, eventually wrote a forward about how much he regrets its fawning for what many would now consider Downton Abbeyera. And they still do fawn, and Brideshead Revisited’s1981 BBC miniseries faithfully captures that vision with Irons being an artist who dances in those circles without quite being one of them due to his birth. That makes perfect sense for an Alfred who may now be more gentleman guide than a bemused butler. It would even explain why this Alfred could be more gung-ho with the idea of his wealthy patron going out in the middle of the night to thrash poor people. One step closer to the return of proper aristocracy!

Alfred, A Man of Feeling

Yet, at the end of the day, Alfred must remain the voice of fatherly concern to an otherwise isolated superhero who walks on the edge of the abyss every night. Alfred must be his teacher, his friend, his confidant, and most of all, his mentor. And for all these other new facets, Irons can do that too. Whether if it’s as the well-intentioned and knowledgeable Marshal of 1184 Jerusalem in Ridley Scott’s criminally underrated Kingdom of Heaven (2005), or even as the one bright spot in the otherwise interminable Eragon(2006), Irons brings confidence and poise to his roles as the helping hand for the protagonist. And despite what the most ardent fanboys will say about their special Bat-God, he will always need help.

So there are five reasons we should hope for something different from Irons’ Alfred Pennyworth. Agree? Disagree? Have more reasons? Let us know in the comments section below!

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die hard with a vengeance

Die Hard

The Borgias

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Noah Super Bowl TV Spot

January 31, 2014, 7:26 pm

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TrailerDen Of Geek1/31/2014 at 5:26PM

Take an early look at Darren Aronofsky's Noah Super Bowl TV spot!

Noah, Darren Aronofsky's upcoming biblical epic, hits theaters on March 28. To get us all very excited about this highly anticipated film, Paramount released an early look at Noah's Super Bowl TV spot!

Check it out:

The film looks like a definite change of pace for Aronofsky, who's best known for subtle dramas such as Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler and Black Swan, but many consider The Fountain an epic and his magnum opus. Could Noah be the film that Aronofsky was born to make?

Noah, of course, is an adaptation of the famous biblical story "Noah and the Ark" in which a man named Noah must build an ark before a flood wipes out every living thing on the planet.

The film stars Russell Crowe (Noah), Jennifer Connelly, Emma Watson, Anthony Hopkins, Logan Lerman, Douglas Booth, and Frank Langella. It's an all-star cast unlike any Aronofsky has ever had. And we hope they deliver!

We have a feeling they will. Do you? Tell us in the comments!

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Movies

Noah Super Bowl TV Spot

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Liam Neeson Will Star In Martin Scorsese’s Silence

January 31, 2014, 11:41 pm

≫ Next: Super Bowl Disaster Movies

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NewsTony Sokol1/31/2014 at 9:41PM

Liam Neeson will star in Martin Scorsese's missionary film, Silence

Liam Neeson may be getting into the missionary position for the first time since 1986. It was announced that Liam Neeson will star in Silence, Martin Scorsese’s next movie. Silence is based on a novel by Shusaku Endo about 17 Century Jesuits bringing Christianity to Japan. Silence will also star Andrew Garfield and Ken Watanabe.

Martin Scorsese has been waiting two years to make Silence. The screenplay for Silence was written Martin Scorsese and Jay Cocks and Scorsese. Production is scheduled to begin in Taiwan later this year.

Liam Neeson worked with Scorsese on the film Gangs of New York. This isn’t the first time Neeson will play a missionary. He starred in the film The Mission. He made Robert De Niro push a big rock while choirs sang “eat a snowcone.”

Liam Neeson is also set to star in A Million Ways To Die In The West, which is being directed by Seth MacFarlane and A Walk Among The Tombstones. Neeson will soon be seen in the action films Taken 3 and Non-Stop. He will also do a voice in The Lego Movie.

Silence is being produced by Irwin Winkler, Randall Emmett and George Furla, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Checchi Gori, Barbara DeFina and Paul Breuls

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Super Bowl Disaster Movies

February 1, 2014, 12:15 pm

≫ Next: Alfred: The Many Faces of Batman's Butler

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FeatureJim Knipfel2/1/2014 at 10:15AM

There aren't many disaster films set at the Super Bowl but we do what we can, given we’ll never have another.

With the skies above New York and New Jersey abuzz with black helicopters, armed troops wandering the streets of Times Square, bomb-sniffing dogs giving train passengers the once-over, speed boats with radiation detectors prowling the Hudson, and a game-day security plan that includes a ban on tailgating and undercover snipers positioned throughout the stadium, it seems it’s time once again to pull out my Super Bowl disaster films. Of course I do this every year, but this year in particular it seems appropriate, given people are far more anxious about the possibility of something going really, really wrong than they are about the game between the Broncos and the Seahawks.

There haven’t been many Super Bowl disaster movies, in no small part because the National Football League is comprised of a bunch of litigious tightasses who seem to think snipers, crashing blimps loaded with projectiles, and thousands of panicking fans trampling one another to get to safety would somehow reflect them in a bad light. Movies like that might also discourage your more jittery types from dropping $2,000 a ticket on next year’s game. They’re so desperate to maintain a squeaky-clean image we aren’t even allowed to use the name “Super Bowl” anymore unless we’re an official corporate sponsor.

(Well SUPER BOWL SUPER BOWL SUPER BOWL! So there.) Legal disclaimer DoG is irresponsible

Interestingly enough, the only two Super Bowl disaster films we seem to have at our disposal came out a year a part, at the tail end of the Disaster Movie Era (DME), and both were based on novels which themselves came out a year apart.

Two-Minute Warning (1976)

Universal took the opening kickoff in the Disaster Bowl with a colorful all-star cast in a Larry Pierce film based on a cheap thriller by George La Fountaine. The plot’s a very simple one. It just reeks of High Concept. In fact I can sum the whole thing up in an easy seven-word sentence: “There’s a sniper at the Super Bowl!”

Of course they aren’t allowed to say “Super Bowl,” or show any team logos, or even mention any team names, but WE ALL KNOW WHAT THEY’RE TALKING ABOUT (even if the actual game footage we see is from a college game). But who’s even going to notice such trifles when you have Charlton Heston as a security chief, and he gets to say “Oh...my...God” a lot? Then you’ve got John Cassavetes (who considered this the worst movie he ever made) as a swaggering SWAT team commander, Martin Balsam as the stadium manager, Jack Klugman as an unlucky gambler (what else?), screen legend Walter Pidgeon as an elderly pickpocket, Beau Bridges as an unemployed father trying to prove something to his shrill and abrasive family, an endless stream of big names and sort of big names all filling out the standard disaster movie roles. Oh, and there’s a sniper, too, up there by the scoreboard, but he just sits there for much of the film making everyone else a little antsy.

In the novel (which yes I own and have read several times, so let’s just shut up about it), the sniper is loosely based less on Charles Whitman than on Arthur Bremer, the would-be assassin who was after Nixon but shot George Wallace instead. In fact in the novel the sniper is out to get Nixon, who’s supposed to be at the game. We learn an awful lot about him and his dysfunctional background, from his trouble with girls to his abortive effort to join the Black Panthers. All that is stripped away in the film in favor of a much more Witmanesque villain. Pierce is far less interested in psychological profiles and social commentary than he is in sticking to the standard disaster format of filling us in on the personal lives of all these side characters (David Jannsen’s reluctance to marry Gena Rowlands, for instance), which is really just a clever way to get the audience betting on who was gonna go down once the shooting started. It didn’t matter who was doing the shooting or why, so long as it got started at some point.

We have to sit through an awful lot of exposition and what Pierce was hoping would pass for “tension” before the audience got what it paid for. And during those two minutes when the bullets are flying randomly this way and that through the crowd things do get lively (even if it is only a college game), and there’s no guessing who’s going to drop next.

Well okay, maybe there’s some guessing, the same way you could guess the fates of certain characters the minute they stepped aboard The Love Boat or landed on Fantasy Island. Watching it again recently, in fact, it struck me how much Two-Minute Warning not only plays like a Love Boat episode, but is shot like one, too. Except, y’know, with a sniper up there in the crow’s nest.

Save for that business at the end, the movie itself is pretty drab, and we’re not given much reason to care about any of these people. Despite all those stars and that high concept, Pierce fumbled on his own six-yard line, and his picture has since been mostly forgotten.

Black Sunday (1977)

Even if Black Sunday wasn’t the megablockbuster Paramount was expecting it to be, director John Frankenheimer had much better luck than Pierce on several levels, and made a much better picture than the previous year’s effort. First he was working from the novel Thomas Harris wrote before he introduced Hannibal Lecter. Inspired by the Black September assassination of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics, he came up with a more politically and psychologically complex story than “well, there’s some guy shooting up the Super Bowl,” and one that makes the big whiz-bang ending a little more understandable.

Instead of signing a bunch of big stars to line up in little boxes across the bottom of the poster, Frankenheimer instead opted to get, um, good actors. So there’s Robert Shaw as an Israeli counter-terrorism agent, Marthe Keller as a Palestinian terrorist, and Bruce Dern, in a role he would play again and again throughout the ‘70s, as the unbalanced Vietnam vet.

Best of all though, not only did Frankenheimer get permission from Goodyear to use actual blimps complete with logos (thanks to a long relationship with their PR department), he was even able, miracle of miracles, thanks to the intervention of the Miami Dolphins owner, to get permission from the NFL to film a real Super Bowl on location, using real team names and everything.

You really do have to wonder how that conversation went down, don’t you?

“Well, Johnny, what’s the scoop? Tell me all about this movie you got in mind.”

“Well, Pete, glad you asked. Here’s the story. So there’s this crazy ex-POW, see? And he’s a Goodyear blimp pilot. And there’s this Palestinian terrorist group led by a sexy broad. They got some wacky political agenda, right? And they want to make a big splash by doing something real big in America. You know them terrorists. So what they do, see, is they recruit this crazy vet guy, and he’s gonna crash his blimp right into the Orange Bowl while the Cowboys and Steelers are in the middle of the Super Bowl next month! Can you dig it? I mean crash it right the fuck down in there during the game and then set off this kind of explosive thing that’ll kill thousands and thousands of football fans!”

“Wow! Just completely wreck the game AND kill thousands of fans? Now THAT’S what I call a whiz-bang picture! I think we got ourselves a deal!”

“Glad to hear it, Pete. See, it’s that realism we’re after. That kinda realism would just make the whole thing so much more, well, real, right? I mean, you ever see Two-Minute Warning last year?”

“No.”

That’s how I like to imagine it anyway. I mean, Frankenheimer had to make certain concessions, sure. Dern had to be a freelance pilot, not a Goodyear employee, and the blimp itself could not kill any innocent football fans. Not right there on the screen, anyway. But they were comparatively minor things, and that he was able to get away with what he did is nothing short of astonishing.

Thing is, being a Frankenheimer film, it’s an extremely gritty, tough-minded picture in which the hero (unless you’re one of those sick pups rooting for Bruce Dern) is just as nasty and ruthless and unlikable as the villains (who themselves are presented more sympathetically than you’d expect). Audiences who’d seen the commercials and the posters might’ve been disappointed they had to listen to a bunch of yakking about Middle Eastern politics first, and that the blimp crash sequence wasn’t quite the massively explosive set piece they’d been expecting. Still, brief and maybe even anticlimactic as it may be to some, it’s a doozy, and a cinematic first (unless you count The Hindenburg). Even if the political thriller wasn’t the touchdown pass everyone was hoping it would be, that image of the Goodyear blimp nose-diving into the Orange Bowl is as indelible as Bart Starr shoving his way over the goal line or Franco Harris’ Immaculate reception. To me, anyway.

Ah, but thanks to the NFL and Homeland security we’ll never see their likes again, which is too bad. It seems a magic combination, a genre waiting to happen. Super Bowl Disaster movies bring together those two American favorites, the glitzy, overproduced small-scale brutality and violence of the Super Bowl itself and overwhelming scenes of mass destruction and public hysteria. What could be better than that?

Okay, I think I’ll keep my last crack to myself, because it would probably get me arrested. And I’m already in enough trouble for saying “Super Bowl.” Legal disclaimer again

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Alfred: The Many Faces of Batman's Butler

February 1, 2014, 3:02 pm

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The ListsDavid CrowMike Cecchini2/1/2014 at 1:02PM

Jeremy Irons may be the next Alfred Pennyworth, but he's not the first. Let's look back on the other men who have played the role.

Like a ruby the size of a tangerine, Alfred Pennyworth is a rarity amongst superheroes. Before Tony Stark had Jarvis or EON’s James Bond had Q, there was the trusty butler who always knew how to keep Batman’s darkest secrets, along with any other shadows hidden away at Wayne Manor. Now, he has been cast for the screen again as Jeremy Irons in 2016’s Batman vs. Supermanextravaganza.

However, despite being only the most recent of many onscreen variations of the consummate Dark Knight accomplice, Irons has more leeway than many might suspect with a character who has been portrayed as everything from a retired actor of the stage to an underworld spook looking for a slightly less chaotic job in the U.S. (and that’s just the comics!). Irons is in excellent company with a series of performers who each brought something unique to the gentleman superhero’s hushed confidence. Join us now as we look back on the actors who made the greatest impact on Batman’s greatest friend.

William Austin

Batman (1943)

The first live-action interpretation of Alfred doesn't exactly come with the prestige of some of the ones who came after. Columbia's 1943 Batmanmovie serial, which marked the first appearance of the Dynamic Duo and friends on the big screen, is oft-overlooked...and with good reason. The racist depictions of Japanese bad guys marks it firmly as a product of the World War II era. However, William Austin played Alfred in a manner true to the comics as a mystery/detective story enthusiast (in addition to his obvious duties as a butler), and our first look at him in live-action backs this up. The thing is, he looked considerably different from his comic book counterpart at the time!

When Alfred first appeared in 1943's Batman#16, he was a rather portly fellow, more resembling Alfred Hitchcock than the whip-thin gentleman's gentleman we've become accustomed to. Veteran character actor William Austin's slender, mustached manservant quickly became the standard for the comic book version of the character that has endured for the next seventy years! (We owe a tip of the cowl to Comic Book Resources for that William Austin as Alfred screengrab!)

Eric Wilton

Batman and Robin (1949)

Columbia's second attempt to bring the Batman mythos to life is considerably better than the first. 1949's Batman and Robin is full of more scientific gadgets and less distasteful racist depictions, and on that basis alone it becomes more watchable. They certainly cast the right man for Alfred this time around. Eric Wilton's brief IMDB entry claims that Wilton was cast as a butler "more than any other" in "usually uncredited" roles across 200 films. Wilton's Alfred Pennyworth is, well...a butler, and he's played to perfection.

Less comedic than William Austin's Alfred, Wilton also has a more hands-on role in the Dynamic Duo's adventures as the Batmobile's driver. Don't get too excited, though. Batman and Robin's Batmobile is nothing more than a convertible, and Bruce and Dick can be seen leaping into the back seat to change clothes while Alfred drives down an alley (in broad daylight) and putting the top up to conceal their identities. Hey, you do what you can on a serial budget...

Alan Napier

Batman (1966-1968)

Everyone remembers Burt Ward’s precocious “old chum” rapport with Adam West’s groovy Batman. But before Dick, it was Alan Napier’s proper English butler who the Caped Crusader had to rely on in the field. Indeed, it’s revealed over the course of the series that Napier’s Alfred (never designated the “Pennyworth” surname) often provided driving services for the Dark Knight until Robin came of age. He also still occasionally ventured into Gotham with a mask, as pictured above from the 1966 Batmanfilm, to save the day and do some undercover snooping for the Dynamic Duo. Alfred even gave Batman a lift from time to time on the strangely inconspicuous Alf-Cycle (a regular bike that Batman would piggyback onto).

A former employee of the Earl of Chutney, Napier’s Alfred was a consistently upbeat and amiable fellow who eagerly assisted our heroes in whatever was required, including answering the perpetually ringing Bat-Phone and providing the rare longbow lifeline, as he was once the William Tell of Liverpool. Napier, a terrific actor in his own right having appeared in cinema classics like The Uninvited(1944), Cat People (1942), and Orson Wells’ Julius Caesar (1953), brought a natural English gentleman charm to a role that depicted a butler of the stiffest upper-lip. Poised and grandfatherly, Napier’s Alfred was nothing less than immaculate.

Michael Gough

Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992), Batman Forever (1995), Batman & Robin (1997)

Perhaps the most revered live-action Alfred is the one who managed to serve three different Batmans over the course of four films. As much as the tone shifted from Tim Burton to Joel Schumaucher in Warner Brothers’ original Batman movie franchise, Gough’s unflappable Alfred Pennyworth never did. Played with a natural warmth and the driest of underhanded wit, this Alfred insisted on calling his surrogate son by the name of “Master Wayne” out of tradition, although he was clearly so much more.

Presented throughout all four films as the man who raised Bruce—after an unspecified stint as an employee of Buckingham Palace—he was always supportive of his surrogate son’s efforts to confront crime, at least after the first Batmanfilm. In the 1989 original, the darker tone of Burton’s style permeated throughout, and Alfred would quietly reject his employer’s one-man war on crime, only ever saying aloud that he wished not spend his few remaining years grieving for "the loss of old friends or their sons."

By the time Batman Returnsrolled around, Alfred had gotten with the program, not least of all because Bruce still seemed irked about Alfred’s civil disobedience of allowing Vicky Vale into the Batcave. In the later films, he served as Batman’s conscience and lone friend on Christmas Eve, as well as the wise father forcing his son to accept the next generation’s choices with the birth of Robin (grandparents just spoil their grandkids, don’t they?). In fact, Gough’s genial presentation of the sole Wayne Manor keeper became the saving grace of the 1997 train wreck that was Batman & Robin. If not for the subplot of Batman having to let go of his beloved butler, that toyetic neon nightmare would have been devoid of a single shred of humanity. But leave it to Gough, a genre veteran of fare like Hammer’s The Horror of Dracula(1958) and Konga(1961), to find the urbane Tenzing Norgay to every type of Batman’s Edmund Hillary.

Efrem Zimbalist Jr.

Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1995), The New Batman Adventures (1997-1998), Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993), Justice League (2003-2004)

A number of actors have voiced the cultured superhero assistant in the past, but none have been as omnipresent as the tenor of Efrem Zimbalist Jr. This old school gent, who has also served with the likely more pleasant company of Audrey Hepburn in Wait Until Dark(1967) and Karen Black in Airport 1975(1974), became the go-to vocalist for Batman’s right hand in the war on crime. Primarily a definitive adaptation of the Post-Crisis variation on the character, Alfred in The Animated Series mostly keeps to himself and provides only the sparsest amount of wit while waiting in the wings. Occasionally permitted the chance to comfort his surrogate son, this Alfred is still very much a product of the comic book source’s reticent servitude, albeit with a dash of Pre-Crisis espionage thrown in. A constant source of unspoken companionship for Bruce, it is only in the sounds of Batcave silence that deafen elderly Bruce’s life in Batman Beyond where Alfred’s (as well as the whole now-defunct Bat-Family’s) importance can be truly measured. Also, fun fact: Zimberalist Jr. is also the fan favorite voice actor of Doctor Octopus from Spider-Man: The Animated Series.

Ian Abercrombie

Birds of Prey (2002-2003)

A cross between Michael Gough’s Alfred Pennyworth and a Greek Chorus—at least by WB standards (CW for you youngin’s)—Abercrombie’s Alfred acted as narrator for the pilot and several episodes of this short-lived soap that was equal parts Smallville and Charmed. Set in the near future, Alfred watches over Helena Kyle much as he did her father…Bruce Wayne. Helena is the lovechild of Bruce and Selina Kyle, and Batman turns out to be a deadbeat dad when he skips town following the murder of Catwoman and the paralysis of Batgirl. Now, Helena Kyle leads a super-team that includes Oracle/Barbara Gordon and Black Canary while Alfred provides the tactical support of an old veteran. He also has the meta-aware of an onscreen Santa Claus. Birds of Prey did not survive long enough for Abercrombie to really differentiate his Alfred beyond his abounding congeniality, but he still remained one of the better parts of this show.

Michael Caine

Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

As the most prestigious thespian to don the cufflinks, Academy Award winning Michael Caine brought a vividly different energy to the role of Alfred Pennyworth. Like most modern interpretations of the butler, he was more father than servant to the Bruce Wayne of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy. However, as the only live-action pairing to last three films, Caine and star Christian Bale developed a genuine rapport of father and son in a trilogy that pushed that dynamic to its breaking point. Played with a coy cockney accent from a man who clearly wasn’t born into a profession of deference, Caine’s Alfred is more than a conscience on Bruce’s shoulder; he’s a constantly sardonic devil’s advocate. With the responsibility of a parent for a guy who jumps off rooftops in his spare time, Alfred develops severe reservations about what Bruce is doing to his mind and body, causing him to question the crusade early about how this reflects the great Thomas Wayne’s legacy, and to downright plead for it to end by the time of The Dark Knight Rises.

For all of their emotional contention, which brought new verisimilitude to the aspect of playing father and friend to a superhero, Caine’s Alfred remains the most deprecating and humorous iteration of the character, cherishing his cockney accent over sophisticated decorum. Caine’s previous filmography also plays a part in developing some of this Alfred’s mysterious biography, as he tends to have a working knowledge throughout the series of criminal psychology and speaks in riddles about his time as a freelance mercenary for a Burmese warlord. Despite timeline incongruities, it is easy to imagine Caine’s British soldiers of Queen and fortune in films like Zulu(1964) and especially The Man Who Would Be King (1975), with maybe a dash of Harry Palmer and Jack Carter thrown in, having been a rough sketch of this Alfred Pennyworth’s youth. When Alfred is at his most conspiratorial with Bruce in The Dark Knight, he can be just as dangerous as the Batman himself.

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Pompeii Super Bowl TV Spot

February 1, 2014, 9:02 pm

≫ Next: Philip Seymour Hoffman Dies at 46

≪ Previous: Alfred: The Many Faces of Batman's Butler

TrailerDen Of Geek2/1/2014 at 7:02PM

Check out this explosive Pompeii TV spot before it airs during the big game!

Pompeii, the upcoming disaster film starring Kit Harington (Game of Thrones) and directed by Paul W. S. Anderson (Resident Evil), hits theaters on Feb. 21.

But before you see the film in theaters, check out the very special Super Bowl TV spot:

It's the year AD 79: the year Mount Vesuvius erupts and destroys Pompeii. A gladiator named Milo (Harington) must risk it all to save the love of his life Cassia (Emily Browning) before it's too late. Rounding out the cast is Kiefer Sutherland, who plays a villainous senator who wants to have Cassia for himself.

Get ready for this explosive tale of love and death!

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Philip Seymour Hoffman Dies at 46

February 2, 2014, 4:55 pm

≫ Next: Dinobots Unleashed in the Transformers: Age of Extinction Super Bowl Trailer!

≪ Previous: Pompeii Super Bowl TV Spot

NewsTony Sokol2/2/2014 at 2:55PM

We're very sorry to report that Philip Seymour Hoffman has died at the age of 46.

Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead in his New York City apartment this morning. He was 46 years old.

According to multiple sources screenwriter David Katz found Hoffman in the bathroom of his fourth floor apartment in the Pickwick House on Bethune Street in the West Village around 11:15 a.m. The New York Police Department and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will investigate.

Hoffman was best known for playing Truman Caopte in the 2005 movie Capote, which won him a Best Actor Oscar. Hoffman was active on stage and screen, appearing in 2012's Death of a Salesman and directing 1999's In Arabia, We'd All Be Kings. Hoffman joined the LAByrinth Theater Company in 1995. Hoffman was nominated for Tony Awards for his roles in True West (2000), Death of a Salesman (2012) and Long Day's Journey into Night (2003).

Philip Hoffman started acting in 1991. By 1992, he was cast in the Al Pacino vehicle, Scent of a Woman. He also played in Twister in 1996. Hoffman was first noticed in Boogie Nights from 1997. Gathering steam in 1998's The Big Lebowski and 1999's Magnolia. Hoffman also played in Patch Adams (1998), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Almost Famous (2000), 25th Hour (2002), Punch-Drunk Love (2002) and Cold Mountain (2003).

Hoffman played Capote in 2005. He followed that with three more Academy Award nominated roles in Charlie Wilson's War (2007), Doubt (2008) and The Master (2012). Hoffman’s most recent screen role was the The Hunger Games: Catching Fire sequel, the most successfull domestic release of last year and for which he was scheduled to appear in the Mockingjayfollow-ups of.

He also played a DJ in the rock and roll movie, Pirate Radio, my personal favorite of his roles, just because it made me happy.

Hoffman is survived by his two sisters, Jill and Emily, and his brother Gordy, screenwriter of Hoffman's Love Liza.

His family has released a statement: “We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Phil and appreciate the outpouring of love and support we have received from everyone. This is a tragic and sudden loss and we ask that you respect our privacy during this time of grieving. Please keep Phil in your thoughts and prayers.”

Movies

Phillip Seymour Hoffman

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

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Dinobots Unleashed in the Transformers: Age of Extinction Super Bowl Trailer!

February 2, 2014, 10:27 pm

≫ Next: Watch the Need For Speed Super Bowl Trailer Here!

≪ Previous: Philip Seymour Hoffman Dies at 46

TrailerDen Of Geek2/2/2014 at 8:27PM

Check out your first good look at the Dinobots in the trailer for Transformers: Age of Extinction!

No matter how you may feel about the Transformers films, there's one thing everybody agrees on: Dinobots are awesome. The Transformers: Age of Extinction Super Bowl trailer has got the Dinobots on full display, and there's no question that they look pretty darn cool. If you're like us, you'll be watching this over and over again for the rest of the week. We'll stop talking now and let you watch some proper Dinobot action!

Transformers: Age of Extinction is in theaters on July 10th.

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Movies

Transformers

Transformers 4

Transformers: Age of Extinction

Mark Wahlberg

Michael Bay

dinobots

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Watch the Need For Speed Super Bowl Trailer Here!

February 2, 2014, 10:48 pm

≫ Next: Extended Super Bowl Spot For Muppets: Most Wanted Online

≪ Previous: Dinobots Unleashed in the Transformers: Age of Extinction Super Bowl Trailer!

NewsDen Of Geek2/2/2014 at 8:48PM

Check out Aaron Paul in the big game spot for Need For Speed!

Watch Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul in the trailer for Need For Speed! "Framed for a crime he didn't commit, muscle car mechanic and street racer Tobey (Aaron Paul) gets out of prison determined to settle the score with the man responsible for his false conviction."

Need For Speedhits theaters on March 14th.

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Ahead of this weekend's Super Bowl, we pick out our favorite Football movies...

Disqus - noscript

Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin sizzle in this otherwise messy, sexy Stockholm Syndrome melodrama.

Super Bowl week has us thinking about some of the best fictional quarterbacks of all-time. Check out these 12 awesome quarterbacks...

Joe PendletonHeaven Can Wait (1978)

Paul BlakeNecessary Roughness (1991)

Matt SaracenFriday Night Lights (TV Show)

Vince HowardFriday Night Lights (TV Show)

Jonathon MoxonVarsity Blues (1999)

Flash GordonFlash Gordon (1980)

Ronnie “Sunshine” Bass Remember The Titans (2000)

Paul CreweThe Longest Yard (1974, 2005)

Willie BeamenAny Given Sunday (1999)

Alex MoranBlue Mountain State (TV Show)

Shane FalcoThe Replacements(2000)

Reno HightowerThe Best of Times (1986)

Just a quick tease of the Captain America: The Winter Soldier Super Bowl trailer and a sharp new poster!

Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale and Alan Silvestri are amongst the team bringing Back To The Future: The Musical to London in 2015...

David O. Russell and Jennifer Lawrence of Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle look to reteam on miracle mop true story.

Batman's best friend and Superman's greatest foe have both been cast in the Batman vs. Superman movie!

In the wake of Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor casting breaking the Internet, we thought it best to revisit seven other times fans freaked out.

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With the additions of Jesse Eisenberg and Jeremy Irons as Lex Luthor and Alfred, we look at all the available info on Man of Steel 2!

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We rounded up the best tweets about Jesse Eisenberg's surprise casting.

Jesse Eisenberg may be the next Lex Luthor, but he won't be the first. Let's have a look at the other men who have played the role.

Jeremy Irons is Alfred in the Batman vs. Superman movie. All should rejoice, because this provides an opportunity for a new kind of butler.

Take an early look at Darren Aronofsky's Noah Super Bowl TV spot!

Liam Neeson will star in Martin Scorsese's missionary film, Silence

There aren't many disaster films set at the Super Bowl but we do what we can, given we’ll never have another.

Jeremy Irons may be the next Alfred Pennyworth, but he's not the first. Let's look back on the other men who have played the role.

Check out this explosive Pompeii TV spot before it airs during the big game!

We're very sorry to report that Philip Seymour Hoffman has died at the age of 46.

Check out your first good look at the Dinobots in the trailer for Transformers: Age of Extinction!

Check out Aaron Paul in the big game spot for Need For Speed!

Joe Pendleton
Heaven Can Wait (1978)

Paul Blake
Necessary Roughness (1991)

Matt Saracen
Friday Night Lights (TV Show)

Vince Howard
Friday Night Lights (TV Show)

Jonathon Moxon
Varsity Blues (1999)

Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon (1980)

Ronnie “Sunshine” Bass
Remember The Titans (2000)

Paul Crewe
The Longest Yard (1974, 2005)

Willie Beamen
Any Given Sunday (1999)

Alex Moran
Blue Mountain State (TV Show)

Shane Falco
The Replacements(2000)

Reno Hightower
The Best of Times (1986)