X-Men: First Class

Fox CEO Tom Rothman Talks 48fps, THE WOLVERINE, PROMETHEUS, CHRONICLE 2, DIE HARD 5, Comic Book Movies, and a Lot More

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: May 3rd, 2012 at 8:43 pm

At this year’s CinemaCon, I was able to land an exclusive interview with Tom Rothman (Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fox Filmed Entertainment).  While we posted selected portions of the interview last week, after the jump you can read the entire conversation which covers a lot more than comic book movies.  I love getting to speak with actors and directors, but if you really want to find out which projects are moving forward and why certain decisions were made, a studio head has all the answers.

During the wide-ranging conversation we talked about 48 frames per second, the shift towards higher quality films on Fox’s slate, Prometheus (and it’s rating), Daredevil, Fantastic Four, the Chronicle sequel, The Wolverine, the Rise of the Planet of the Apes sequel, a New Mutants movie, A Good Day to Die Hard (Die Hard 5), and more.  Hit the jump to read what he had to say.

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS Sequel to Shoot in January to Avoid Scheduling Conflicts for Jennifer Lawrence

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: April 5th, 2012 at 9:00 pm

Who would win in a fight between Mystique from X-Men: First Class and Katniss from The Hunger Games?  The answer: Jennifer Lawrence.  While 20th Century Fox and Lionsgate studios were busy scheduling the shoots for their respective mega-franchise sequels, they got in a bit of a tussle over Lawrence’s availability. I’m sure the bankable young lady loves to have movie studios fighting over her, but luckily the conflict has been resolved. The Hunger Games sequel, Catching Fire, will shoot with Lawrence this fall; after that, she will film the sequel to X-Men: First Class the following January. Hit the jump for much more on both projects.

Matthew Vaughn to Direct X-MEN: FIRST CLASS Sequel; Simon Kinberg to Write the Script

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 30th, 2012 at 9:41 am

Matthew Vaughn has signed on to direct a sequel to X-Men: First Class.  According to Deadline, Simon Kinberg (X-Men: The Last Stand) will write the script and Bryan Singer will return to produce.  X-Men: First Class was terrific and I’m glad that Vaughn will return for the sequel.  I’m also excited to see what he’ll do with (hopefully) a bigger budget and more production time.  It’s a little surprising that Vaughn’s frequent collaborator Jane Goldman hasn’t signed on to pen the screenplay, but it’s possible that she’ll come on board later in the process.

Now we can let the speculation begin about what the sequel holds in store.  Vaughn said in May that he would like the second movie would open with the JFK assassination and Magneto controlling the “magic bullet”.  Indulging conspiracy theorists aside, I’m curious to see which new mutants will the fray.  If the movie is set in 1963, it’s probably too early to see Cyclops and Jean Grey kicking around Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, THOR, and HUGO Among Costume Designers Guild Nominees

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 19th, 2012 at 9:12 am

Though many are busy finalizing their predictions for the Best Actor and Best Picture Oscar categories, the Costume Designers Guild today announced nominees for excellence in wardrobe. The nods are split into three categories: contemporary, fantasy, and period. Among the films singled out are superhero fare like X-Men: First Class and Thor, blockbusters franchises Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and dramatic critical favorites like Drive and The Descendants. Personally, I’m thrilled to see the excellent work in X-Men: First Class singled out, and I’m still waiting for a reasonably priced way to own Ryan Gosling’s ridiculously cool jacket from Drive.

Hit the jump to see the full list of nominees. The winners will be announced on February 21st, and the nominees for the upcoming 84th Annual Academy Awards will be revealed this coming Tuesday, January 24th.

Michael Fassbender Talks HAYWIRE, TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE, PROMETHEUS, and X-MEN: FIRST CLASS Sequel

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: January 17th, 2012 at 1:57 pm

With director Steven Soderbergh’s spy-action pic Haywire opening this weekend, I recently got to speak with most of the cast to talk about making the movie.  Starring MMA fighter Gina Carano as a burned spy who takes revenge against her handlers, Haywire also stars Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor, Michael Angarano, Antonio Banderas, Michael Douglas, and Bill Paxton.  I’ve seen Haywire twice now and it’s fantastic.  On top of Carano’s star-making performance, the action scenes are some of the best I’ve seen in years.   It’s absolutely something you should see in a theater.

During my exclusive phone interview with Michael Fassbender we talked about how he got involved in Haywire, how he prepared for the role, the amazing fight scenes, how the script changed along the way, and if he remembered any of his training in real life.  In addition, we talked about whether or not he still has to audition, when he realized he’s won the actor’s lottery, what’s up with Twelve Year’s a Slave and the X-Men Sequel, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to either read or listen to what he had to say.

Visual Effects Oscar Category Narrowed Down to 10 Choices; Contenders Include HARRY POTTER, CAPTAIN AMERICA, and THE TREE OF LIFE

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 4th, 2012 at 2:00 pm

We’re just a little less than two months away from the 84th Annual Academy Awards, and today the choices in yet another category have been pared down. AMPAS announced today that 10 films remain in contention for the Best Visual Effects award, with films like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, Hugo, and The Tree of Life making the cut. The pretty clear frontrunner in this race is Rise of the Planet of the Apes (and rightfully so), but there’s much to admire in the 10 films that have been shortlisted.

Though Terrence Malick’s existential drama The Tree of Life is heavy on the naturalistic visuals, the extended “history of the universe” sequence is gloriously enchanting and features some breathtaking visual effects work (dinosaurs!), so I’m happy to see that it hasn’t been overlooked. All members of the Academy’s visual effects branch will view 10-minute excerpts from each of the 10 shortlisted films, after which they’ll vote to nominate five pics for the Academy Award. Hit the jump to read the full press release, which includes all 10 singled-out films. The Oscars will be presented on February 26th.

97 Original Scores Up for Oscar; DRIVE and ATTACK THE BLOCK Ruled Ineligible

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: December 23rd, 2011 at 12:04 pm

As the 84th Academy Awards move closer, we’re starting to get a better sense of how things will pan out. We recently shared the 39 songs that will contend for the Best Original Song category, and now the Academy has announced the 97 original scores eligible for the Best Original Score award. AMPAS is notoriously picky when it comes to eligibility in this category, and as we feared the scores for both Drive and Attack the Block have been deemed ineligible. Also disappointing is the ineligibility of Alexandre Desplat’s mesmerizing score for The Tree of Life.

While it’s upsetting to see some of the year’s best work side-lined, there’s plenty to be happy about. I was a huge fan of Howard Shore’s work in Hugo and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s score for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, as well as The Chemical Brothers’ brilliant work in the criminally underseen Hanna. Hit the jump for the full list, as well as who I think will make the cut.

Fox Executive Tom Rothman Updates on the Status of a Sequel to X-MEN: FIRST CLASS and Reboots for DAREDEVIL and FANTASTIC FOUR

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: December 7th, 2011 at 6:20 pm

Ever since 2008′s Iron Man, Marvel Studios has carved out a profitable niche in Hollywood independently financing the film adaptations of the Marvel comics.  However, because of the nature of film rights, a few of Marvel’s most popular properties are housed at other studios.  Fox has three: X-Men, Daredevil, and Fantastic Four.  In a recent interview, Fox executive Tom Rothman stressed the studio is eager to continue development on the next chapter in those respective stories—a sequel to X-Men: First Class and reboots for Daredevil and Fantastic Four.

Hit the jump for the interview clip (plus quotes) to see what Rothman had to say.

Michael Fassbender Talks SHAME, A DANGEROUS METHOD and the X-MEN: FIRST CLASS Sequel

by Christina Radish    Posted: November 21st, 2011 at 8:55 am

With A Dangerous Method hitting theaters on November 23^rd and the NC-17 rated Shame opening on December 2^nd, Michael Fassbender is busy promoting both films and his truly excellent performances in each. In A Dangerous Method, he plays Carl Jung, a doctor seduced by the challenge of an impossible case who tries the Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen) method of treatment known as psychoanalysis on a patient (Keira Knightley) who has been diagnosed with hysteria. In Shame, he plays Brandon, a handsome and successful New Yorker who is consumed with his sexual obsession, on an inevitable path towards self-destruction. Although very different films, both explore themes of sex and sexuality, and what is culturally accepted behavior in the bedroom.

During our exclusive chat, Michael Fassbender talked about how lucky he feels to be working with the people he’s working with, that he spends a lot of his preparation time for a role just reading and absorbing the script over and over again, and how both Steve McQueen and David Cronenberg are great leaders that love what they do. He also talked about what he’d like to see in a possible sequel for X-Men: First Class, and then played it coy when it came to his next collaboration with McQueen – Twelve Years a Slave, co-starring Brad Pitt and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Watch the video or read the transcript after the jump:

James McAvoy Taks ARTHUR CHRISTMAS, Danny Boyle’s TRANCE, the X-MEN: FIRST CLASS Sequel, Showtime’s SHAMELESS, FILTH and More

by Christina Radish    Posted: November 19th, 2011 at 7:15 am

In the animated family film Arthur Christmas, hitting theaters on November 23^rd, actor James McAvoy voices Arthur, the awkward but enthusiastic youngest son to Santa Claus (Jim Broadbent). When the ultra-high-tech Christmas gift delivery system fails, missing one child out of hundreds of millions, Arthur embarks on a rogue mission, with the help of his rather naughty Grandsanta (Bill Nighy) and a giftwrapping-obsessed elf (Ashley Jensen), to deliver the last present before Christmas morning.

During this exclusive phone interview with Collider, James McAvoy talked about his desire to want to do more films for kids because they’re the best audience around, that he responded to the integrity and humor in the story, the challenge of voicing a character that is always so enthusiastic and nice, and that, if given the choice, he would likely go with the simple and classic ways of doing things versus the high-tech ones. He also talked about how freaky it was to watch even 10 minutes of the Showtime remake of Shameless (he starred in the original), his hopes for the X-Men: First Class sequel, which has not been greenlit yet, the amazing experience he’s had working with director Danny Boyle on Trance, for which he has one day left of shooting, how good the action-thriller Welcome to the Punch turned out, and shooting the fantastic but twisted script for Irvine Welsh’s Filth, starting in January 2012. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

Michael Fassbender Talks X-MEN: FIRST CLASS Sequel

by Christina Radish    Posted: November 11th, 2011 at 9:20 am

With A Dangerous Method hitting theaters on November 23^rd and the NC-17 rated Shame opening on December 2^nd, Michael Fassbender is busy promoting both films and his truly excellent performances in each. Although very different films, they each explore themes of sex and sexuality, and what is culturally accepted behavior in the bedroom.

While Collider got to sit down with the ultra-busy actor to talk about those films, we’ll run the video interview closer to their release dates. However, in the meantime, we did want to share what he had to say about his return to the role of Magneto for the eventual sequel to X-Men: First Class, how he’s looking forward to working on ideas with James McAvoy and hopefully Matthew Vaughn, and that he’s interested to see how Charles Xavier turns into Professor X. Check out what he had to say after the jump.

SHERLOCK HOLMES Writer Simon Kinberg to Pen X-MEN: FIRST CLASS Sequel?

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: November 3rd, 2011 at 4:42 pm

Word on the street has it that the follow-up to Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men: First Class will be written by Simon Kinberg (Sherlock Holmes). The scribe will have to try and match or outdo the first film, which has grossed over $350 million to date and was well-received critically. Some of the films in his resume suggest he’d be a good fit: Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Sherlock Holmes. Then, some make my head hurt: xXx: State of the Union, X-Men: The Last Stand and Jumper.

Kinberg was a producer on X-Men: First Class. He was also the writer behind the 2012 releases This Means War and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, which he is also executive producer on. Hit the jump for more on the sequel to X-Men: First Class.

Hugh Jackman Tells the Story Behind His X-MEN: FIRST CLASS Cameo

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: September 28th, 2011 at 2:45 pm

Fox’s X-Men: First Class caught quite a few people off-guard when it opened this past May.  The stories of the rushed production schedule and reshoots had many thinking that the prequel would be a mediocre popcorn flick at best.  Instead, we got a smart, taut, and entertaining period film that turned out to be one of the best superhero movies of the year.  Among the film’s many strengths were the nods to the previous entries in the X-Men franchise, including quite possibly one of the greatest cameos of the past decade: Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine.  The actor turns up for just a few seconds, and delivers just one line, but he gets the biggest laugh of the entire film.

Recently, Steve got the chance to sit down with the actor to talk about his upcoming pic Real Steel.  We’ll have the full interview up soon, but Jackman told a great story about how his cameo in the X-Men flick came to be. The scene was filmed at the last minute, and Jackman came up with the final version of his line himself. Hit the jump for the full story.

Exclusive: Producer Lauren Shuler Donner Talks X-MEN: FIRST CLASS Blu-ray/DVD, THE WOLVERINE and the DEADPOOL Film

by Christina Radish    Posted: September 8th, 2011 at 7:23 am

With the critically acclaimed X-Men: First Class available on DVD and Blu-ray this Friday (dubbed “First Class Friday”), Collider was invited to the 20^th Century Fox lot for a media event celebrating that release and previewing some of the bonus features. Along with extended and deleted scenes, this ultimate collection has a Cerebro Mutant Tracker Portal that allows fans to access videos and information of their favorite mutants from the X-Men universe, along with 10 Marvel X-Men digital comics, an eight-part behind-the-scenes featurette, and an interactive feature that allows viewers to learn more about specific scenes.

Following the presentation, we got a few brief minutes to sit down with Lauren Shuler Donner, producer of the X-Men franchise. During the interview, we talked about the fact that all of the deleted scenes from the film can be found on the Blu-ray, what her favorite deleted scene is, how the success of the film has helped move along other films in the X-Men universe, and that she is currently prepping the next Wolverine film, but is also talking about a sequel for First Class and hoping that the Deadpool film will have a life, at some point. Check out what she had to say after the jump:

X-MEN FIRST CLASS Featurette Shows How Long It Takes to Turn Nude Jennifer Lawrence Into Mystique

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: August 30th, 2011 at 10:13 pm

The  X-Men: First Class DVD/Blu-ray sees release very soon on September 9.  To sell a few a more copies, Fox released a behind-the-scenes featurette that details the seven-hour process it takes to transform Jennifer Lawrence from naked to Mystique.  I can’t say I loved the way the makeup looked on film, but I appreciate the effort to achieve the mutant look with practical effects over CGI.

Watch the featurette after the jump to see Ms. Lawrence be a real trooper.

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