CONFIRMED: Gyllenhaal is the Prince of Persia

Meh.
by Larry_Chimp_Man

The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed last month's rumour that Jake Gyllenhaal has landed the lead role in a Bruckheimer-produced Prince of Persia film. Read our initial reactions to the rumour HERE.



Actress Gemma Arterton has also signed on to the film and will play Gyllenhaal's feisty princess accomplice. Arterton will be in the spotlight this fall as she plays Agent Fields in the upcoming Quantum of Solace.



Mike Newell, director of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire as well as Love in the Time of Cholera, will helm the film. Jerry Bruckheimer will once again work with Walt Disney Pictures to produce the flick based on the hit Ubisoft video game.

If you've read our previous article on the subject you know I'm not a very big fan of this casting or the idea of a Prince of Persia film adaptation. Gyllenhaal is a great actor and he'll make a decent Prince of Persia but I'd rather see him doing something else. Also, in all likelihood, this casting takes Gyllenhaal out of the running to replace Tobey MaGuire if he decides to drop out of Spider-Man 4.

What do you guys think about all of this? Will Gyllenhaal make a good Prince of Persia? Will the film be any good? Is this the start of a new Bruckheimer trilogy? Post a comment and let us know where your opinions stand.

Cheers.

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Gyllenhaal a Persian Prince?

Jake Gyllenhaal has been offered the lead role in Disney's Prince of Persia: Sands of Time.
by Larry_Chimp_Man

It looks like Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney are gearing up for what appears to be another hot summer property. The two have their sights set on the Prince of Persia video game franchise with intentions of adapting it into a film trilogy on the scale of Pirates of the Caribbean. Director Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Donnie Brasco) has signed on to direct and today rumours have spread that Jake Gyllenhaal has been offered the lead role.



I'm a big Gyllenhaal fan and I've enjoyed almost everything he's done thus far. From his twisted performance in Donnie Darko to his gripping role in Zodiac to a gay dude in Brokeback Mountain. I even managed to appreciate his performance in Roland Emmerich's disaster The Day After Tomorrow. However, I simply cannot picture him as the lead in a Prince of Persia trilogy. While there's no doubt Gyllenhaal is a very marketable candidate, especially in a Jerry Bruckheimer picture, I can't see him playing the Persian Prince. I'd rather see a no-name play the part.

Also, if this rumour is true and Gyllenhaal does take the role, how does it affect the future of the Spider-Man franchise? Gyllenhaal has been rumoured to be Tobey MaGuire's replacement as Peter Parker for years and I had always assumed Gyllenhaal would step in if Maguire decided he didn't want to do a fourth film. I'm not sure this would be possible if Gyllenhaal was tied up shooting a Prince of Persia trilogy. Who knows, this is all speculation.

What do you guys think of this rumoured casting? Nothing has been confirmed as of yet so there's still time to debate whether or not Gyllenhaal would make a good Prince. Post a comment and we'll get a discussion going.

Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer hope to bring Prince of Persia to the big screen next summer. Check back to MediaZEALOT as we'll keep you up to date on this rumoured casting and the Prince of Persia film.

Cheers.

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Final WALL-E Trailer

Disney and Pixar have unveiled the final trailer for their upcoming box-office smash.

WALL-E is going to be BIG. Pixar have come off Ratatouille, arguably one of their best films, and have all the momentum leading into this June release. The film will be a box-office hit, guaranteed, but I wouldn't be surprised if it cracked $125-million on opening weekend.



Pixar has brought out a new, and final, trailer for the film. Check it out below or click HERE to watch it in HD.



As much as I refuse to respect cg-animation I must admit that I'm kinda excited for this flick. The character designs are really tight and robots are totally sweet. Pixar is also pushing the envelope with visuals in this film unlike any other. Everything is crisp and the atmospheric effects look absolutely amazing.

What do you guys think about this trailer? What about computer-animation as a whole? Will you go watch WALL-E on opening weekend? Let me know, post a comment.

WALL-E hits theatres on June 27th. If any film is going go head to head with The Dark Knight this summer it will be this one. Watch out.

Cheers.

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Official Wall-E One Sheet

Pixar has released the official movie poster for their next big animated release.

The final theatrical poster for Pixar's Wall-E has been released and will most likely start showing up wherever posters are hung in the next few weeks. Check it out below:



This is a much better poster than the boring white teaser Pixar released a few months back and really sets a good tone for the animated film. While the movie has been getting a ton of buzz leading up to it's June release I'm still not sold. Then again, I've had a really hard time buying into most of the CG-animated films released over the past few years, they just aren't my thing.

Wall-E lands in theatres on June 27th.

Cheers.

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FILM: Pirates: At World's End Trailer Hits the Net

The trailer for the third installment of Bruckheimer's cash cow looks to pack a punch.

The trailer for Gore Verbinski's, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer's, Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End has gone live on Dinsey's site. Click HERE to journey there and watch the trailer.

From this preview it looks like the conclusion to the trilogy will be more of what was found in the second film, which could be either a good or a bad thing. I personally didn't enjoy the second movie as much as I hoped I would but I'll give the third installment a fair shot before I pass judgement.



What do you guys think of this trailer? What about the Pirates franchise as a whole? Post a comment and share your opinion. Thanks.

Cheers.

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TV: Muppets Reality Show In the Works

Muppets set to the tune of The Office. I'm in.

Hoping to bring the Muppets back into the limelight, Disney has decided to develop a mini-series featuring the fuzzy puppets set to spoof reality TV. Shot in a similar style to NBC's The Office, the show will follow the muppets as they set out to create a new show. Rumours have also been circulating stating that, if successful, the show will be a launchpad for new full-time TV series.



This is huge news for me. I've been a fan of the Muppets as far back as I can remember and I'd love to see them start making a comeback. I'd cut off a toe to see Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, and the rest of the gang back in action in a full time TV series. In fact, just thinking about these guys makes me want to pull out all the old Muppet shows I have recorded on VHS in some dusty closet somewhere.

There's no doubt in my mind that the mini-series will be a success. The muppets are known for their banter and their wit and throwing them into a setting similar to The Real World would only amplify that.

If green-lit by Disney, the mini-series will most likely hit the air in the late fall or in early 2008.

Is bringing the Muppets back a good thing or a disaster waiting to happen? Tell me what you guys think.

Cheers.

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FILM: Toy Story 3 Confirmed For 2009.

New Toy Story will be fully financed by Pixar.

Over the past few years there has been more than a bit of tension between the folks at Pixar and the executives of Disney. Pixar threatened to leave the company and in return Disney threatened that they would release a crappy quality, straight to DVD, third Toy Story film (something along the lines of Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea). Now, Pixar didn't want their prized franchise being flushed down the toilet by greedy Disney executives, so they decided not to leave (along with other reasons).

Now things seem to have settled between the two studios. Disney calmed down and was able to acquire the animation studio without too many hassles. Pixar was then able to place powerful people in high enough positions inside of Disney to create Toy Story 3 under their own creative control.

John Lasseter, the chief creative officer at Pixar, has made it clear that Toy Story 3 will be done right and that the animation studio will put all of it's resources towards the feature film.



For starters, Lasseter announced that his Toy Story 2 co-director, Lee Unkrich, will direct the third installment of the trilogy. He also announced that Oscar-nominated writer Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine) will write the thing. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are also set to return along with the regular voice cast (except for Slinky Dog, Wheezy the Penguin, and Lenny the Binoculars due to voice actor deaths).

I'm fairly excited to see what Pixar and Disney can pump out here. While I may not be a fan of 3D animation flicks I respect what Pixar was done with the first two Toy Story films. While other studios pump out celebrity driven 3D garbage every few months, Pixar keeps their heads and (usually) releases well thought out films.

What do you guys think of a third Toy Story movie? Is it a good thing or are they just milking the cash cow for all she's worth? Post a comment, let me know.

Cheers.

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