Simon West‘s The Expendables 2 opens this weekend, and the film has Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) and his gang of mercenaries out for revenge while also having to deal with a baddie (Jean-Claude Van Damme) who wants some weapons-grade plutonium.  I was very disappointed with the first film, but the sequel is a blast.  I think one of the big problems with the original was the lack of a great antagonist.  But by bringing in Van Damme (who is one of the best parts of the sequel), the fight scenes are a lot more fun.  The Expendables 2 also stars Jason Statham, Yu Nan, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Liam Hemsworth, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

At the recent Los Angeles press day I got to speak with Randy Couture and Terry Crews.  We talked about the first time they heard about the sequel, how they prepared for the second film, the big action scenes, and who would they like to see in The Expendables 3.  Hit the jump to watch.

Move over, fellas! The ladies are setting up to take to the screen in an all-female version of The Expendables.  Adi Shankar’s 1984 Private Defense Contractors has selected Dutch Southern to pen the action script. In the past, the banner has co-financed The Grey, Dredd 3D, Broken City and Killing Them Softly.  They’ve also previously picked up a hitman-action spec script from Southern titled Hoof Harrington’s Greatest Hits, which was pitched as a mashup of Payback and Snatch.  The company is reportedly in talks with a number of prominent action actresses, but no names have been reported as of yet.  So let’s have some fun and speculate, shall we?  Meet me after the jump to do some dream casting.

Simon West‘s The Expendables 2 opens this weekend, and the film has Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) and his gang of mercenaries out for revenge while also having to deal with a baddie (Jean-Claude Van Damme) who wants some weapons-grade plutonium.  I was very disappointed with the first film, but the sequel is a blast.  I think one of the big problems with the original was the lack of a great antagonist.  But by bringing in Van Damme (who is one of the best parts of the sequel), the fight scenes are a lot more fun.  The Expendables 2 also stars Jason Statham, Yu Nan, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Liam Hemsworth, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

At the recent Los Angeles press day I got to speak with Dolph Lundgren.  We talked about his reaction to the first film and the sequel, how he prepared for the second film, filming in Bulgaria, the big action scenes, and who would he like to see in The Expendables 3.  Hit the jump to watch.

Simon West‘s The Expendables 2 opens this weekend, and the film has Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) and his gang of mercenaries out for revenge while also having to deal with a baddie (Jean-Claude Van Damme) who wants some weapons-grade plutonium.  I was very disappointed with the first film, but the sequel is a blast.  I think one of the big problems with the original was the lack of a great antagonist.  You can’t have all these huge action stars fighting a no-name actor in the middle of nowhere.  But by bringing in Van Damme (who is one of the best parts of the sequel), the fight scenes are a lot more fun.  The Expendables 2 also stars Jason Statham, Yu Nan, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Liam Hemsworth, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

At the recent Los Angeles press day I got to speak with Jason Statham.  We talked about how he prepared for the sequel, filming in Bulgaria, who would he like to see in The Expendables 3, and what’s the status of Crank 3.  Hit the jump to watch.

I haven’t seen The Expendables 2 yet, but the biggest selling point for the sequel and the original is the cast.  If you were an action movie star, then The Expendables franchise wants you to pick up a gun and blow shit up.  According to Producer Avi Lerner, they’ve already got Nicolas Cage signed up to do just that in The Expendables 3.  It’s worth noting that The Expendables 3 isn’t a done deal.  Lionsgate hasn’t given the third film a greenlight, but the studio will most likely continue the franchise if the upcoming sequel dominates the box office this weekend (and it probably will).

Cage is the latest addition to the cast (all of which are slated to return, according to Lerner), but he may not be the only big name to join the series.  Hit the jump for more.

Yesterday it looked like Universal’s The Bourne Legacy might get as high as $45 million by the end of its first weekend. That was not to be; although the re-born Bourne did open to a very respectable $40.2 million from 3,745 locations. Also falling in the ‘respectable’ range with $27.4 million was The Campaign, starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis. The comedy did well enough from 3,204 locations to keep The Dark Knight Rises in third.

At the ESPN portion of the TCA Press Tour, Arnold Schwarzenegger was there to talk about the first installment of the 30 for 30 Shorts documentary series, premiering online.  Focusing on his teenage years in the Austrian Army, the short shows how the young Austrian farm boy’s mandatory military service played a critical role in his journey to international fame.

Before the panel ended, talk naturally turned to his acting career, and Schwarzenegger commented on why it’s taken so long for him to team up with Sylvester Stallone, how he originally got involved with The Expendables, what it took to work the first film and its sequel into his very busy schedule, how The Expendables 2 looks like it will be a big enough hit to do a third film, and teaming up with Stallone again for The Tomb, an action thriller due out in 2013.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

If action movies of the 80s and 90s are my religion, then The Expendables 2 just gave me my last rites.  Lionsgate is letting us premiere a new poster that features the entire kick-ass cast assembled along one of the most famous tables in artistic history.  While scholars have deciphered Da Vinci’s painting “The Last Supper” for centuries, the companion image from The Expendables 2 is more my style, complete with guns, skulls and plenty of booze.

Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Chuck Norris, Dolph Lundgren, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Liam Hemsworth, Scott Adkins and Yu Nan star in the sequel to Stallone’s bone-breaking 2010 original film.  Directed by Simon West, The Expendables 2 opens August 17th.  Hit the jump to see the exclusive poster.

Lionsgate has released a new behind-the-scenes featurette for The Expendables 2.  The new film has Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) and his gang of mercenaries out for revenge, and also having to deal with a baddie (Jean-Claude Van Damme) who wants some weapons-grade plutonium.  This featurette isn’t going to change anyone’s anticipation for the flick one way or the other, but I do like the emphasis on practical effects and trying to offer a break from CGI-heavy action (although you will also notice green screens in this featurette).

Hit the jump to check out the featurette.  The film also stars Jason Statham, Yu Nan, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Liam Hemsworth, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.  The Expendables 2 opens on August 17th.

We previously showed you Comic-Con exclusive posters for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Pacific Rim, and now The Expendables 2 is getting in on the action.  More precisely, they’re getting in on the 1980s action.  Since the film’s cast is populated mostly with 80s action stars, it only makes sense that there should a poster that carries an 80s vibe.  If you’re looking forward to the upcoming sequel and are going to be at Comic-Con, you’ll probably want to try and track this down (assuming they’ll be giving out copies).  My advice is to head to the Lionsgate booth (#4035) on the show floor.

Hit the jump to check out the poster.  The film stars Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Liam Hemsworth, Jean Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.  The Expendables 2 opens August 17th.  The film’s Comic-Con panel will be this Thursday at 4:45pm in Hall H.

I make no apologies for being excited about The Expendables 2, regardless of how over the top and absurd it might look.  Actually, I’m excited because of that, not in spite of it.  So now that we’ve got a look at the first clip from the film, I’m happy to say that it’s more or less what you would have expected if you were a fan of the first film.  It features Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) and Lee Christmas (Jason Statham) trading bullets, explosions and one-liners with a gang of mercenaries.  Lucky for the expendable duo, they brought backup.

Simon West’s The Expendables 2, also starring Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Liam Hemsworth, Yu Nan, Chuck Norris, Scott Adkins and Jean Claude Van Damme, opens August 17th.  Hit the jump to check out the clip.

The most badass action heroes from the 80s and 90s are back for another knock-down, drag-out slugfest in the first TV spot for this summer’s The Expendables 2.   Simon West (The Mechanic) directs this installment about a band of mercenaries led by Sylvester Stallone and featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme.   Earlier this month, we brought you this fan-made trailer that questions your love of America and fun and encourages you to go see the film.  The Expendables 2, also starring Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, Liam Hemsworth, Scott Adkins and Yu Nan, opens August 17th.  Hit the jump to see the first TV spot.

With The Expendables 2 hitting theaters this summer, a fourth installment of Step Up arriving in July and a sequel to Red in development, Lionsgate is pretty well set for film franchises. But now it sounds like the studio might be looking to bring those properties to the small screen as well. Deadline has word from a meeting that CEO Jon Feltheimer had with Wall Street analyst this morning where he explicitly mentioned turning RED and Step Up into TV series, properties that come from the studio’s recent merger with Summit Entertainment. And while it wasn’t mentioned at this specific meeting, apparently The Expendables is also part of this endeavor to bring the films’ brand to TV. More after the jump.

You’ll have to wait until August 17th to see Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone together again in The Expendables 2, but this video from the set visit of The Tomb should hold you over.  Production started recently in New Orleans on the Mikael Hafstrom (1408) picture that stars Sly as Ray Breslin, the world’s foremost authority on structural security who is framed and incarcerated in a prison of his own design.  In prison, Breslin meets Emil Rottmayer (Schwarzenegger), the leader of the prisoners who wants to get out just as badly as Breslin does.  In this video, Stallone and Schwarzenegger comment further on their characters in The Tomb, their work together on The Expendables and The Expendables 2, and the old-school machismo of action movies and their stars, which Sly calls, “male pattern badness.”  Written by Miles Chapman (Road House 2: Last Call) and Jason Keller (Machine Gun Preacher), The Tomb also stars Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Jim Caviezel, Amy Ryan, Vincent D’Onofrio, Vinnie Jones, and new addition Sam Neill.  Hit the jump to check it out along with some images from the set.

Do you love America?  Do you love guns, explosions, muscles, action, tanks, explosions, violence, fighting and explosions?  If you do, then you’re a lot like me, pal.  And we’ve got mutual friends in The Monocular Group, who have put this awesome fan trailer together for The Expendables 2.  They’re also here to remind us that long before a bunch of gussied-up prima donnas assembled to fight evil, there were men to handle our problems: big, strong men with powerful guns and boots on the ground.  In a summer dominated by superhero fare, let us not forget the men that built the foundation of the action movie.  These men include Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Chuck Norris, Dolph Lundgren, Jason Statham, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jet Li, Randy Couture and Terry Crews. The Expendables 2 also stars Liam Hemsworth, who has something to prove, and Scott Adkins, who should feel right at home with this crew.  The movie opens this August 17th in America, the Land of Guns and Awesome.  Hit the jump to check out the trailer.