Even though Megan Fox and Michael Bay had an infamous falling out during the Transformers days, it looks like the director has patched things up, not with roses, but with pizza.  Bay announced on his blog that Fox will be cast in his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot and will be playing “intrepid reporter and good-natured friend to reptiles” April O’Neil.  The actress was won over by a series of meetings with Bay, as well as impressive storyboard sessions with director Jonathan Liebesman (Battle Los Angeles).  Casting is currently underway for unknowns to play the heroes in a half-shell, who will be motion capture animated in the live-action/CG hybrid picture due out in 2014.  Hit the jump for more.

The upcoming Michael Bay-produced reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has brushed up quite a bit of passionate discussion regarding the finer points of turtle mutation, but the comic book series co-creator Kevin Eastman is put those reservations at bay (pun intended).  Though Bay’s comments about the Turtles coming from an alien race in this new iteration got many a Ninja Turtles fans’ undergarments in a twist, director Jonathan Liebesman shot back that whatever changes they were making to the source material were coming from Eastman himself:

“Whatever mythology we’re building on or expanding is coming from that guy, Kevin Eastman’s head, who created the Turtles in the first place.  And so everything will tie in with the mythology; fans will be extremely excited with what we’re coming up with.”

Now Eastman himself has spoken a bit about the property, confidently proclaiming that Ninja Turtles is the best adaptation of the comics yet, despite its glaring lack of Vanilla Ice.  Hit the jump for more from Eastman.

By now my reaction to a major Paramount film being pushed back to address major issues has become “classic Paramount!”  After pushing G.I. Joe: Retaliation back nine months in order to post-convert the film to 3D and revive Channing Tatum and then hiring Damon Lindelof to rewrite the Brad Pitt-fronted zombie pic World War Z ahead of massive reshoots and production problems, Paramount has now delayed the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot (retitled Ninja Turtles) in order to address script issues.  Originally slated for release in December 2013, the Michael Bay-produced reboot has now been pushed to May 16th, 2014 assuming these issues can be resolved.  Hit the jump for more.

Last week presented me with the first opportunity I’ve had in a while to catch two movies in a theater within 24 hours of one another (cue the scoffing of real cinephiles). While I’ll sure that I’ll be hammered for that previous statement when it comes time to renew my movie blogger certification, the truth is that, in the small market I call home, only the most mainstream of the mainstream films ever make it to the silver screen. So, with that said, I’d just like to thank the creative forces behind 21 Jump Street and The Hunger Games for giving me the opportunity to spend 1/6 of a day at the movies with films that, while drastically different in almost every conceivable metric, were solid from beginning to end.

Moving on, in this week’s installment the Top 5 is offering modest coverage of Anchorman 2‘s forward progress, Wrath of the Titans interviews with Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, director Jonathan Liebesman and more, the debut of our new podcast, The Collision, The Dark Knight Rises trailer in Lego form, and a recap of some of the week’s top trailers. Per usual, you can find a brief recap and link to each after the jump.

2010′s Clash of the Titans was an absolute mess.  The story made no sense, the movie wasted its cast, and the film was clearly cut to hell with perhaps a more interesting tale left on the editing room floor.  The problems were compounded by thoughtless action scenes and atrocious 3D.  Wrath of the Titans solves the confusing-story problem by making the plot stolid and obstinate.  The action scenes are just as big but even more pointless, and the 3D looks fine but adds nothing to the experience.  There are some brief, glorious moments where strong performances peak through, and we get a glimpse at some imaginative designs.  These few moments help the sequel barely clear the low bar set by its predecessor.

Opening tomorrow is director Jonathan Liebesman’s (Battle: Los Angeles) Wrath of the Titans.  In the sequel to Clash of the Titans, Perseus (Sam Worthington) is tasked with stopping the titans and saving Zeus (Liam Neeson) from Hades’ stranglehold (Ralph Fiennes). The film also stars Rosamund Pike, Bill Nighy, Edgar Ramirez, Toby Kebbell and Danny Huston.  And for those wondering how the sequel turned out, Wrath of the Titans is what I hoped Clash of the Titans would be.  It’s got a solid story, incredible effects, and the 3D is really well done.  I’ve seen it twice (including IMAX 3D) and it’s definitely recommended.  For more on the film, here’s five clips.

At last week’s press junket in New York City, I got to sit down with Liebesman for an extended interview.  During our wide-ranging conversation we talked about how he got involved in Wrath of the Titans, his process for addressing the things that didn’t work in the first film, the visual effects, editing, the monsters, how important was it to be accurate with the mythology while still being able to take dramatic license to make the story work, and more.  In addition, Liebesman talked about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (officially titled “Ninja Turtles”), Odysseus, his untitled Julius Caesar movie with producer Basil Iwanyk, the Battle Los Angeles sequel, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to watch.

Last week, producer Michael Bay and director Jonathan Liebesman had to wade through the overblown reaction to making the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the upcoming live-action movie originate from an “alien race” even though that’s where the infamous ooze comes from in the original comics.  Then a new spat came about from the rumor that the live-action film would simply be called “Ninja Turtles“.  On his official website, Bay has confirmed the new title, and Paramount dropped the “teenage” and the “mutant” for simplicity (read: marketing).  He also added that “The characters you all remember are exactly the same, and yes they still act like teenagers.”

I don’t mind the title change.  However, it does seem like they’re moving away from making the characters teenagers.  It looks like the Turtles will be adults who “act like teenagers.”  You know, like the adults who are losing their shit over a title change.  Hit the jump for Bay’s full quote.  Ninja Turtles is set to open on December 25, 2013.

Opening next weekend is director Jonathan Liebesman’s (Battle: Los Angeles) Wrath of the Titans.  In the sequel to Clash of the Titans, Perseus (Sam Worthington) is tasked with stopping the titans and saving Zeus (Liam Neeson) from Hades’ stranglehold (Ralph Fiennes). The film also stars Rosamund Pike, Bill Nighy, Edgar Ramirez, Toby Kebbell and Danny Huston.  And for those wondering how the sequel turned out, Wrath of the Titans is what I hoped Clash of the Titans would be.  It’s got a solid story, incredible effects, and the 3D is really well done.  I’ve seen it twice (including IMAX 3D) and it’s definitely recommended.

During my interview with Liebesman, we talked about what was the most complicated special effect, the difference between sunlight and darkness for making effects look real, whether he felt added pressure with the 3D conversion after the negative reaction to the 3D in Clash of the Titans, and what’s his favorite director, actor and movie.  In addition, I also got an update on the Battle Los Angeles Sequel.  Hit the jump for more.

Though 2010’s Clash of the Titans wasn’t exactly a critical success—and despite a pretty hefty shellacking for the film’s rushed 3D post-conversion—the action epic rounded up quite a substantial box office haul.  As a result, the studio is taking another shot at the sword and sandals story with the sequel Wrath of the Titans.  Director Jonathan Liebesman (Battle: Los Angeles) was brought in to take the helm, and star Sam Worthington has said that he’s been given the chance to rectify everything he felt they got wrong with the first go-around.  I’ve actually heard really good things about Wrath, and all signs point to a sufficiently entertaining Greek epic.  For more on the film, here’s five clips.

Steve recently got the chance to sit down with Liebesman at the Wrath of the Titans press day, and the director provided updates on a couple upcoming projects on his plate including an epic take on the Julius Caesar story, Odysseus, and his thoughts on returning for a sequel to Wrath. Hit the jump to see what he had to say.

In this week’s opening paragraph I want to use a few lines to encourage reader feedback. The “Top 5″ weekly feature has been up and running since May of 2011 and has undergone very few presentation and/or aesthetic changes along the way. Because I’m thrilled when you, the reader, chooses to spend a few weekend minutes with me, I want to make sure that I’m consistently delivering something you look forward to checking out. That said, I invite any and all “Top 5″ feedback be e-mailed to me directly at colliderjason@gmail.com. Don’t worry, constructive criticism isn’t required. We could all use a good “you suck because you suck” sentiment to keep us honest every now and then.

Awaiting you in this week’s “Top 5″ is a slew of interviews for The Hunger Games, a recap of Michael Bay‘s campaign to turn Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles into aliens so as to make them more believable (yes, you read that right), a NSFW international teaser trailer for David Cronenberg‘s Cosmopolis, a sparkling new Prometheus trailer, and all of our WonderCon 2012 coverage. In case you don’t know the drill, I’ll remind you that a brief recap and link to each follows after the jump.

Michael Bay caused quite the hubbub the other day with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fans.  He’s producing a new iteration of the lovable characters in the form of a live-action reboot directed by Jonathan Liebesman (Wrath of the Titans).  Said hubbub was caused when Bay commented that the turtles in the reboot would be “from an alien race.” Fans were perplexed given that the word “mutant” is right in the title of the series, and “alien race” would imply that these new martial arts-inclined turtles weren’t mutated, but are actually extra terrestrial beings.

Steve got the chance to speak with Liebesman at the press junket for Wrath of the Titans earlier today and the director took the time to clear the air about his version of TMNT.  He addressed the “alien race” comments, talked about his approach to the characters, revealed whether they’re thinking CGI or practical effects to bring the turtles to life, and said when he thinks they’ll start filming and where.  Hit the jump to see what he had to say.

We’ve previously brought you four exclusive images and 19 new images from Clash of the Titans sequel, Wrath of the Titans, along with posters, trailers and interviews.  Now we’ve got nearly 40 hi-res images from the swords-and-sandals sequel that features all of your favorite gods and mortals. Wrath of the Titans stars Sam Worthington, Edgar Ramirez, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Bill Nighy, Rosamund Pike, Toby Kebbell and Danny Huston. The sequel opens in 3D on March 30th. Hit the jump to check out the images.

Paramount is in development on a live-action reboot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  It has been a rough transition so far from comic to feature, but the studio is taking the project in an unexpected direction.  Michael Bay, Brad Fuller, and Andrew Form of Platinum Dunes—the production company behind horror remakes such A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th—are shepherding the reboot.  The studio assigned the script to Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec, the writers who most recently penned the whip-smart Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.  Now Variety reports Jonathan Liebesman is in negotiations to direct.  Liebesman directed Battle: Los Angeles, and his next project is Wrath of the Titans.  He’s the up-and-comer you call when you want a big action film.  Tone will always be tricky when your main characters are anthropomorphic turtles who know martial arts.  But if they can reinvent TMNT on the level of, say, Bay’s Transformers… well, that sounds like a blast.

The first trailer for Wrath of the Titans has gone online.  I was disappointed by Clash of the Titans, but the trailer has somewhat restored my interest in the sequel.  Jonathan Liebesman (Battle: Los Angeles) has taken the reigns from Louis Leterrier and obviously the action scenes are bigger because that’s what sequels do.  But I was taken with the imaginative design for the sets and the creatures.  Presumably the 3D will be much better this time around since it’s not a post-converstion.  But the larger question remains: Is the script any better?  Here’s hoping. [Correction: It is a post-conversion. I was under the impression the filmmakers didn't want to do something so blatantly stupid.]

Hit the jump to check out the trailer and poster.  The film stars Sam Worthington, Ralph Fiennes, Liam Neeson, Danny Huston, Edgar Ramiez, Bill Nighy, Toby Kebbell, and Rosamund Pike.  Wrath of the Titans opens March 30, 2012. [Update: A couple of crazy banners a new image have been released, which are now included after the jump.]

To the surprise of no one, Warner Bros. has won the battle to use the title of Wrath of the Titans for their upcoming sequel to 2010’s Clash of the Titans. The studio had already settled on the name when the announcement of a sequel was first made, but they ran into a bit of trouble as “Wrath of the Titans” had already been trademarked by comic book publisher Bluewater Productions. Today it was announced that an agreement has been reached and the studio wil be able to use the moniker after all in exchange for licensing rights to the name.

Directed by Jonathan Liebesman (Battle: Los Angeles), the sequel takes place 10 years after the frist film and finds Perseus (Sam Worthington) called back into action when Zeus (Liam Neeson) is captured by Ares (Edgar Ramirez) and Hades (Ralph Fiennes) in a plot to unleash the titans. The cast also includes Rosamund Pike, Bill Nighy, and Danny Huston. Hit the jump to read the full press release regarding the title. Wrath of the Titans will be released in 3D on traditional screens and IMAX on March 30th.