News – Page 26 – The Bad Wilf Network

Holy Hi-Def! Batman ’66 on Blu-Ray

It’s about bat-time but not a moment too soon! I can still remember being delighted and terrified by reruns of the 1966 Batman TV series, from the age of four onwards. From 10th November 2014 it will at last go on sale for Batman’s 75th anniversary, with the original film prints presented in high definition, Blu-Ray™ glory.

At the dawn of colour television, producer William Dozier adapted Bob Kane’s superhero comic in an intentionally vivid manner, from the rainbow colours of costumes, props and lighting to dramatic camera work and the lush physical texture of everything in vision. Batman comics of that era were straightforward adventures but with oodles of absurdity: adapted faithfully into live action they came off extremely camp. Resisting the temptation to cushion the spectacle with a laugh track gave Batman its signature feel.

Because a film studio brought Batman to telly, an army of Hollywood film stars were at hand. Each celebrity ‘did a turn,’ taking the campy spirit of the programme very much to heart. This luxury would also keep the programme off shelves for decades, mired in conflicts with actors’ contracts and studio ownership. Now all differences have been resolved and the wait is over!

Continue reading Holy Hi-Def! Batman ’66 on Blu-Ray

Michael Keaton speaks about Batman

After years of keeping schtum, Michael Keaton has finally spoken out about why he didn’t reprise his role as Batman/Bruce Wayne in Batman Forever.
Keaton famously played the role in Tim Burton’s successful movies Batman and Batman returns. When asked in a recent interview why he turned down the $15million pay packet he simply said:
“Sucked. Yeah, it just was awful”

He later expanded saying:
“I hadn’t been stupid about it. I always knew it was a big machine with a big studio and corporation behind it. But the simple answer was, it wasn’t any good. I was nice. I said to them, ‘This is a really interesting character with a dual personality.’ I tried to make them understand. But when somebody says to you, ‘Does it have to be so dark?’… I thought, are we talking about the same character? So finally I just said no.”

Fantastic four has wrapped

I knew there was a new movie on the way, but I wasn’t aware that filming had begun.
Yesterday, Kate Mara tweeted a picture of her and her co-stars post wrap. Yes, the new fantastic four film has finished filming.
The picture features Miles Teller (Mr. Fantastic), Michael B. Jordan (Human Torch), and Jamie Bell (The Thing).

The film caused a little controversy amongst racists, who were against Sue and Johnny Storm being played by actors of different race.
It’s worth remembering that the last Sue and Johnny Storm were played by actors of different race.

The film is expected to arrive in cinemas next year.

The mummy to launch a cinematic monster universe

Ever since Marvel had a hit with the Avengers, every studio wants an Avengers.
Universal recently announced Alex Kurtzman as the director of The upcoming Mummy reboot. Now, they’ve announced that the mummy will launch a cinematic monster universe.

In order to build this new universe, they have pushed the release date of The Mummy back to June 26, 2016.

Alex Kurtzman’s previous credits include Star Trek, Star Trek:into darkness, Transformers, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Fringe.

Bill Murray cast as Baloo

Bill Murray has been cast as Baloo the bear in Disney’s The Jungle Book.
I’m so hyped after hearing this news, Murray’s distinctive voice and impeccable comic timing make him the perfect choice.
He joins the likes of Sir Ben Kingsley as Bagheera, Scarlett Johansson as Kaa, Christopher Walken as King Louie, Idris Elba as Shere Khan, Lupita Nyong’o as Raksha, Giancarlo Esposito as Akela, and Neel Sethi as Mowgli.

The movie is a mix of live-action and animation and is directed by Jon Favreau.

A UK release date for the movie is yet unknown.

Ant-Man loses some cast members

Marvel really aren’t having a great time with Ant-Man.
First the production entered a number of delays and re-writes, then Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish stepped down.
Now, Patrick Wilson (Watchmen), Matt Gerald (Dexter) and Kevin Weisman (hello ladies).

The reason for them leaving is not yet known, but it’s thought that the constant delay in production has caused scheduling conflicts for the actors.

New image of Batfleck

Warner Bros have released a close-up image of Ben Affleck as Batman in Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
I’m really positive about his casting, I still remember the internets reaction in 1999, when it was announced that the 5ft 4″ Canadian, Wolverine would be played by a 6ft 4″ Australian who had only ever done musical theatre.

I just hope the script is decent and that warner have increased the budget, so Snyder could get a tripod.

Spider-Man to appear in Avengers 2?

This image from the set of Avengers 2, has been setting social media on fire.
The man trying his best to not be seen, looks an awful lot like Spider-Man.
It’s difficult to make out from the picture, but the mask is almost identical to the one Andrew Garfield wears in the Amazing Spider-Man 2, even the eye holes are in the right place. Of course, a red glove and mask do not a spider-man costume make, and It’s possible that I’m getting 5 from 2+2. But the fanboy in me really wants it to be so.
Marvel and Sony do have a great working relationship, Marvel have never held the toy licensing from Sony, like they have with Fox and they even printed a movie tie-in range of comics to bridge the gap between The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
I predict that if any studio were to cross franchises, it would be Marvel and Sony.

For comparison the image below was taken between takes on the Amazing Spider-Man.

What do you think? Let us know below.

Star Wars plot details?

A rumoured basic plot outline for episode VII has been doing the rounds online.
Do not read on if you’re planning to see episode VII completely fresh.

John Boyega and Daisy Ridley play two friends who find a severed hand holding a lightsabre.
They recognise the object as an old relic of the Jedi and set off to return it to the proper people. On the way, they meet Han and Chewie who recognise that the lightsabre belongs to Luke, whom they haven’t seen for thirty years.
The foursome then set off looking for the fallen Jedi master.
Meanwhile, a weapon capable of destroying an entire solar system is being developed on an ice planet.

I would certainly say that that plot sounds very plausible, it completely blows out the speculation that Ridley is a young Solo.

Christina Chong cast in Star Wars

The very reliable Latino Review are reporting that British actress Christina Chong has been cast in Star Wars Episode VII.

She has appeared in numerous UK TV shows including, Fresh Meat, The Wrong Mans and also made an appearance in the Kick-Ass films. She’s perhaps best known to Sci-Fi fans for her role as Lorna Bucket Doctor Who’s “A Good Man Goes to War”.
She also owns a restaurant.
Her role in Star Wars has not yet been revealed.