Henry Cavill (left) and Tom Welling (right) can play an older and younger Superman.
The buzz is making the rounds about the upcoming movie Superman: Man of Steel, which is slated for release in 2012. This will be a reboot of one of the most popular film franchises in recent history and will sort of retell the story of one of the most popular superheroes created.
British actor Henry Cavill has been cast in the lead role of the iconic American superhero, and this in itself isn’t as much of a stretch as one would think. After all, Christian Bale, who plays another iconic American superhero, is Welsh. What is interesting is that Cavill he bears a striking resemblance to actor Tom Welling, who played the young Clark Kent in the TV series Smallville. And then again, perhaps, that shouldn’t be surprising. The canonical looks of the Man of Steel might have changed somewhat in the decades since he first came out, but the main features—strong jawline, curly bangs—have remained the same, so it’s not much of a reach that the actor playing the part in the remake would look something like the actor who played the part in the character’s mostrecent media incarnation. Who knows, maybe in the future, these two actors will play the same character in different periods—a younger and an older Superman, perhaps?
Cowboys and Aliens is a film about "cowboys" in the 19th century fighting off an alien invasion in a town in Arizona. The cowboys and indians theme is so passe and politically incorrect these days, which is probably why the producers of this film opted to go for the far-out story angle - using aliens instead of Native Americans as the bad guys. In fact, in this movie, the Arizona natives help the cowboys out a bit.
Cowboys and Aliens presents extreme contrasts, with 19th century technology against super advanced weapons of destruction from outer space. What can a lowly cowboy do against an alien fighter ship that's got an arsenal of ray guns and grapplers that snag people up into its belly? In the movie, actor Daniel Craig's character has the answer attached to his wrist. It looks like a fancy flashlight, but it's got a secret. But, that's not what this post is all about. It's about the cables used by the aliens in kidnapping people. Why no use tractor beams?
In Cowboys and Aliens, there are scenes where the alien ships kidnap people at random. The victims are lifted up, or rather pulled up, into the air by what appears to be a cable. The cables appear to be those used in movie stunts where a harness is used to support the stunt person or actor, but in the trailer of Cowboys and Aliens, it would seem that the cables are part of the technology used by the aliens. It's strange that cables are used when those aliens are supposed to have technology that gives them command of gravity. The tractor beam is reasonably the better choice. But the producers of Cowboys and Aliens probably opted to use cables instead of optical effects to give the alien ships a more industrial "feel." If that's not the answer, it could be that the special effects people only forgot to digitally remove the cables during post production. =)
Cowboys and Aliens also stars Harrison Ford as a grumpy sheriff-like figure.
Ryan Reynolds plays The Green Lantern sans big muscular arms.
Superheroes are supposed to be heavily-built and muscular, right? That's how that always appear in the comic books. But of course, such physical attributes aren't really realistic in real life, so when actors play superheroes like Superman, you can expect their physiques to be less than defined, unless they're computer-generated, of course. But computer-drawn characters are only good for animation, and critics and awards judges may not give the actors who voice and portray them much thought, even when "emotion-capture" technology is used, like in the case of James Cameron's Avatar.
Now here's the Green Lantern movie (starring Ryan Reynolds) that had taken so long to be realized. This DC Comics character is one of those that had to wait for movie-making technology to catch up in order that the effects - particularly those used for the hero's power ring, becomes convincing enough for viewers and not campy and crude. The makers could easily have given Reynolds enough bulk to match the green suit, but instead, they chose to keep the actor's slim body and just "texturize" it with an organic-looking suit generated by the Green Lantern ring. Compared to other super hero characters played by other actors, Reynolds's Green Lantern is relatively slim with lightweight arms.
Is that bad or good?
Judging by the looks of the character, it's not bad at all. One can imagine how artificial Reynolds's body would be if it's beefed up more with the use of computers. His slim but chiseled look makes him more believable and down-to-earth - like he's a real person who bleeds and uses the ring only to give him a boost, so to speak. Even with lightweight muscles, Reynold's is pretty convincing as The Green Lantern, given the very human attitude he projects. Yes, he's got a sense of humor which lends fun to an otherwise serious movie. Definitely a hit for kids and adults alike!
It's already old news that the acting of the cast of the James Cameron all-time blockbuster, Avatar, were ignored by the 2010 Oscar Awards voters and failed to earn nominations. There could be a number of reasons why the Avatar performances were ignored, but what comes at the top is the fact that the movie's characters are "animated" and do not really show the actors themselves acting.
Director James Cameron disagrees. At the Producers Guild Awards, he says people simply confuse what they have done in the film with animation. "It's nothing like animation," he says. "The creator here is the actor, not the unseen hand of an animator." Co producer Jon Landau agrees with Cameron, saying it was a disappointment, but then he he adds, "I blame ourselves for not educating people in the right way. He explains that the system used in Avatar isn't simply motion capture, but rather emotion capture. He says the breakthrough involves photographing the facial features and expressions of the actors during performances which captures "every twitch and muscle movement."
Watching the cast of Avatar perform as computer-generated characters is really amazing. Even when they didn't look human, their faces definitely showed nuances that could only be portrayed by real actors. In the scene where Zoe Saldana's character, Neytiri, confronts Sam Worthington's, Jake, for betraying her trust, her expression is so real and true you'd feel the alien woman's hurt and denial at the same time. See how Saldana's acting is faithfully captured in the photo on top? For all it's worth, that one scene is already enough to win Saldana a best supporting actress award at the Oscars. Oh, those green dots on her face isn't chicken pox, nor are they bioluminescent Na'vi alien facial dots. They're emotion-capture markers.
But where does this all lead? Will awards organizers recognize and qualify motion-capture acting in future Oscars? Or will there be a new category for the acting awards? What's clear is that with more movies using the kind of motion (or emotion)-capture technology in Avatar, the Oscars may have to adapt with the changing times. In that light, I'd like to add there was a time when actors only performed on a stage. When motion-picture technology came about, the "acting" of the actors was then "captured" by a camera into film rolls which were played in a movie house. I believe critics in those days may have said that "film acting" is not the same as "stage acting." Well, times have changed and life goes on. Register with Cheap Visitors and see the difference it can make in your online business.
This is the official Neytiri Limited Edition Signed (by James Cameron himself) Paper Giclee. It's limited to only 50 pieces worldwide and very rare and expensive! Click here or on the image to place your order.
Tsutomu Yamaguchi (left), the only person officially recognized as the only survivor of the two atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan was visited by film director James Cameron in the hospital before he died. He was 93. Yamaguchi was on a business trip on August 6, 1945, when the first bomb was dropped in Hiroshima. He suffered serious burns on his body. He went home to his hometown in Nagasaki and the next bomb was dropped there three days after Hiroshima. The city government of Nagasaki mourned him as their precious storyteller.
Cameron was reportedly considering making a movie about the bomb droppings. If we consider Cameron's style, the movie's story may revolve around common people in a tense drama that takes place amidst the bigger historical backdrop of the Second World War. Unlike in the Titanic tragedy where people knew what was coming, in this movie, the event would literally be portrayed to drop like a bomb and tragically change the world and people's lives as it did in history. On the other hand, instead of a period drama, the movie may be a documentary.
The movie may involve Yamaguchi's tale. If it goes into production, we may have a bomb disaster movie like Titanic that's unlikely to bomb. It could be another moneymaker and success story for Cameron, who's worked on film projects about World War 2 before like the Discovery Channel Quest documentary special on the sinking of the German DKM Bismarck.
After Filipino boxer, Manny Pacquiao's huge win over Puerto Rican slugger, Miguel Cotto, there's been talk on who could possibly play Pacquiao in a Hollywood movie biopic (if such a movie is ever made). With the popularity of Pacquiao rising like a tsunami, it's likely that there will be a Hollywood movie about his life in the future. But who are the actors and actresses who can play Pacquiao and the people around him?
During training at Coach Freddie Roach's (left) Wild Card gym, actor Mickey Rourke came in for a visit. A documentary or news report on Pacquiao was also being filmed and he joked about him playing the now famous trainer "ten years from now". Those are the actor's own words. Rourke was apparently kidding about Roach's old age. Rourke is a frequent visitor to Roach's gym and has watched Pacquiao train in ad out of the ring.
Rourke (left) used to be a professional boxer and had Roach as a trainer. They became good friends in the partnership. A lot of the boxing equipment in Roach's Wild Card gym came from Rourke after he retired from his brief career in boxing. Pacquiao certainly made good use of them in his bid to become the only boxer to win seven titles in seven different weight divisions.
Anyway back to the Pacquiao movie. One likely pick on who can play "the Pacman" convincingly, even if he's not Asian, is actor Johnny Depp. This actor is so versatile. He can easily morph his appearance, character, and manner of speech as he sees fit for a character. He's played so many interesting characters in his career, like in the movies of director Tim Burton, there's no doubt about his acting abilities.
Depp (left) certainly has what it takes to play Manny Pacquiao very well. If you compare his appearance to Pacquiao's, you can see that he can definitely pull it off, especially with his mustache and goatee. While it's true they do not really look alike, Depp will only need to trim his hair a bit and add a little makeup, and you've got a Manny Pacquiao character for a Hollywood movie. Depp and Pacquiao even have the same taste for hats!
Another actor who's been picked by don in Yahoo! Answers, is Jason Scott Lee, who's also Asian like Pacquiao. Lee, who's more Chinese than South East Asian, also has what it takes to play the Filipino champion. He's already played Bruce Lee before and has the physical attributes of a boxer already that would look good on film.
Well, a Pacquiao movie will not be complete without the boxer's mother, who's popularly known in the Philippines as "Aling" Dionisia (left). The Pacman's mom is known to pray the rosary every time her son has a match. After the fight against Cotto, she asked her son to call it quits. It's really a dangerous sport. The role is right for actress Victoria Principal.
We all know beautiful Victoria Principal (left) from the hit series Dallas from the 1980s. She only needs to change her hairdo, add some defining features, and she's perfect. Of course, as she'd be catering to a Western audience, her looks would likely be tailored to meet expectations in a Hollywood movie. You can view another picture of Victoria Principal here.
Of course, if the mother's there, the wife, Jinkee Pacquiao (left), should also be a major character in our hypothetical movie. She's always there to support her husband in his fights and played a big role in his success. The ideal actress for this part is undoubtedly Fairuza Balk. Most of you will remember her from the witchcract movie, The Craft.
Fairuza Balk (left) can obviously play Mrs. Jinkee Pacquiao very well. They already look alike to start with. In fact, if you didn't know Fairuza is an actress, you'd swear she's the sister of Jinkee. With or without makeup, they look alike enough to be twins! You'll see the resemblance even more in the couple of pictures that follow below. The difference in eye-color can be fixed with colored contact lenses.
There are lots more characters around Manny Pacquiao who we can choose our favorite actors and actresses to play these roles. Floyd Mayweather, for example, can be played by Will Smith. Not everyone will agree, but Smith is still a good choice since he already played legendary boxer Muhammad Ali. Another pick by cessyboo in Yahoo! Answers is Jamie Fox. But until Manny and Floyd "Money" fight, there might not be a story that's worthwhile enough to be turned into a movie. If there's ever going to be a Manny Pacquiao movie, it's likely going to be made many years from now.
Great boxers are honed by time. Let this wall clock remind you of that fact. Click here or on the image to place your order.
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