I love comic book writer Warren Ellis. His series Transmetropolitan and Planetary are among my all-time favorite comics. However, I found his Iron Man story arc “Extremis” a tad underwhelming, although it did offer up the interesting idea of Tony Stark needing to be completely one with his armor. As far as the book’s plot, it doesn’t easily translate to a blockbuster feature, but Iron Man 3 writer-director Shane Black recently told SFX Magazine that he found a way to make it work. Black talks about using the book as a starting point rather than a straight adaptation. It sounds like he’s found a way to flesh out bits from “Extremis”, and thoughtfully integrate them into the upcoming movie.

Hit the jump for more including a new poster. The film stars Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, and Ben Kingsley. Iron Man 3 opens in 3D on May 3rd.

We recently reported that Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale) would be joining Tom Hiddleston as a baddie in Thor 2, so Iron Man 3 went ahead and added their own firepower.  In this case, “Firepower” is actually the villain that Ashley Hamilton (Sunset Beach) is in talks to play.  In the Marvel universe, Hamilton’s character was the pilot of a “power suit” prototype built by the government (likely, S.H.I.E.L.D.) under the codename “Project: Firepower.”  And we all know that, once you’ve strapped on a suit of battle armor, it doesn’t take too long before you challenge Tony Stark/Iron Man himself (Robert Downey Jr.).  Also returning, in a producer capacity, will be Jon Favreau.  But it looks like fans will be able to see the Iron Man director on screen as well.  Hit the jump for more.

Disney and Marvel have tapped Rebecca Hall (The Prestige) for the female lead of Iron Man 3.  The powers that be have moved quickly to initiate talks with Hall, as the previous frontrunner for the role, Jessica Chastain (The Tree of Life), turned them down only yesterday, citing scheduling issues.  All the better for Hall, who can prepare for her role as a “sexy scientist” who rivals Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark in intelligence.  The third installment will feature the return of Downey Jr. after his scene-stealing turn in The Avengers, along with Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle.  Guy Pearce will join the fun and Sir Ben Kingsley is on board to play the villain.  Production on the Shane Black-directed Iron Man 3 starts this month in North Carolina before heading off to China en route to a May 3rd, 2013 release date.  Hit the jump for more on Hall’s role and the overall plot of Iron Man 3.

With 2010 coming to a close, and the imminent arrival of an entirely fresh, unexplored, and unpredictable decade of cinema, what better time to start bombarding you with top ten lists of past highlights? We’ve done top ten posters, top ten trailers and top ten Christmas movies (and an alternate Christmas list for those who disagreed with the first).

This time: scores and soundtracks. There is a distinction between the two, but it’s murky, and as more and more films are using a mix of both original scores and pre-existing tracks, who are we to try to keep them separate?  Hit the jump for more.

The first clip from Red has landed online.  Entitled “Restless” the 45-second excerpt from the film shows Bruce Willis and Helen Mirren discussing the trials and tribulations of life after retirement.  There is also a giant gun being used at one point which always makes for a good time.  Based upon what we’ve seen of the film thus far, I think it is fair to say that Helen Mirren’s hyper-violent character is single-handedly making a push for my box-office dollars.

Starring alongside Willis and Mirren is an ensemble cast including: Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Richard Dreyfuss, Mary-Louise Parker, and Karl Urban.  Directed by Robert Schwentke (Tattoo), the film is an adaptation of Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner’s comic-book series of the same name.  Red opens on October 15th.  To check out the clip, hit the jump.

Based on the D.C. Comics graphic novel by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner, RED is an explosive action-comedy about Frank (Bruce Willis), Joe (Morgan Freeman), Marvin (John Malkovich) and Victoria (Helen Mirren), who used to be the CIA’s top agents, but who are now the Agency’s top targets. Framed for assassination, they must use all of their collective cunning, experience and teamwork to stay one step ahead of their deadly pursuers and stay alive, as the battle with the new regime.

During a press conference while they were at Comic-Con, co-stars Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren and Karl Urban talked about the entertainment value of movies adapted from comics and graphic novels, and the enjoyment of getting to not only work with an amazing cast, but also kick some ass. Check out what they had to say after the jump:

Four brand new Iron Man, Blade, Wolverine, and X-Men series will all appear on the G4 TV network in the U.S. in 2011, according to a press release we were sent, and some readers might immediately wonder what is going on. As great of a network as G4 might be, it isn’t incredibly mainstream nor is it a prime place to air something that is usually reserved for the various network’s Saturday morning blocks or dedicated cartoon cable channels. That’s when I did a bit more research and found something interesting.

Warren Ellis, whom you might recognize for his numerous comic runs on various properties, was recently at Comic-Con on behalf of the adaptation of Red, which he created back in 2003. Apparently the 12 different 30-minute episodes he wrote based off of various storylines already in existence were intended for the south east Asian market, and he got the news that G4 would be airing them here just as soon as we did; today. The interesting part that the press release fails to note is that the four different series, according to Ellis, “will either be dubbed or subtitled.” They are being made by Madhouse in Japan, and it will be in anime style, so this isn’t some wild bid that G4 won. For the full press release and more details, including a trailer for the Iron Man series, hit the jump.

Red is the kind of film that can really benefit from Comic-Con.  The film doesn’t come out too long after the Con (October 15th) and can appeal to this crowd even though it’s not based off well-known source material.  The teaser trailer is a lot of fun and that’s how they kicked off the presentation.  As far as marketing goes, I think Summit Entertainment is doing solid work, but today the film had a chance to build serious buzz.

Stars Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, Mary-Louise Parker, and Karl Urban came out to greet the enthusiastic crowd along with graphic novel creators Warren Ellis and Cully Hammer and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura.  Hit the jump to find out what went down in Hall H today at the panel for Red.

Bruce Willis is standing next to some very large shipping containers.  He’s wearing a black leather coat with a gun in one hand.  Next to him is Mary-Louise Parker.   She’s frightened because someone is firing a gun in their direction.  Across from the two of them is John Malkovich.  He’s also wearing a long coat…but he’s holding a large stuffed animal that looks exactly like a pink pig. It’s very funny to look at. More gun fire.  Malkovich then says, “Can we kill her now?”

The date is April 5, 2010 and I’m in New Orleans on the set of Summit Entertainment’s Red.  We’re in a shipping yard on production day 56 of 60 and the normal heat and humidity of New Orleans is somehow a beautiful sunny afternoon. It’s a perfect day to watch Bruce Willis and company try and kill some bad guys.

For more on my set visit as well as an interview with Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, hit the jump:

Last week, we reported that Guy Ritchie had signed on to direct Excalibur, which was based on a treatment by Warren Ellis (author of must-read comic series Transmetropolitan and Planetary among others).  Now, Variety is reporting that screenwriter John Hodge (Trainspotting) is working with Ritchie on a script for the film which will be “a re-imagining of the legend of Arthur,” and use Sir Thomas Mallory’s Le Morte d’Arthur as a primary source.

However, Ellis said that his treatment, “differs from the prior 751 King Arthur movies in many ways, but perhaps most obviously in that it is very specifically about the gathering of the Knights.”  Variety also never calls the project, “Excalibur” but I think it’s safe to assume that Ritchie hasn’t signed on to two different King Arthur projects at the same studio.

King Arthur’s profile has been getting raised recently as we also reported last week that director Sylvain White (The Losers) was in negotiations to direct the Knights of the Round Table flick Pendragon.  There’s also Bryan Singer’s separate Excalibur project which would be a remake of John Boorman’s 1981 film.

Director Guy Ritchie (Sherlock Holmes) is attached to helm Excalibur, written by Warren Ellis, for Warner Bros.  Pajiba reports that this will be the second Excalibur movie currently in development for the studio as they’ve also attached Bryan Singer to remake John Boorman’s 1981 film of the same name.  But Ritchie has a faster track on development for his magic sword movie.  Singer’s Exacalibur has to fall into his busy schedule, which also includes Jack the Giant Killer, Battlestar Galactica, and X-Men: First Class.  Conversely, Ritchie has Sherlock Holmes 2 and The Gamekeeper, and the latter requires another pass at the script.

Ellis says his telling of the legend, “differs from the prior 751 King Arthur movies in many ways, but perhaps most obviously in that it is very specifically about the gathering of the Knights.”  Pajiba adds that Ritchie’s take is closer to Star Wars than going medieval.  I enjoyed Sherlock Holmes and don’t have any intense feelings about Ritchie one way or the other, but I’m excited for anything Ellis does seeing as he’s penned two of my all-time favorite comic series (Transmetropolitan and Planetary).

Heat Vision reports that John Malkovich is replacing John C. Reilly in Robert Schwentke’s upcoming adaptation of Warren Ellis’ graphic novel, Red.  The story follows a retired black-ops agent (played by Bruce Willis) who has to go on the run when younger assassins attempt to assassinate him.  Malkovich will get to show off his comedic skills as the role has him playing a paranoid and erratic contemporary of Willis’ character.  Malkovich’s character suspects everyone is out to kill him and so joins Willis on his quest to find out who wants them dead.  I hope Willis comes to the conclusion its some shady figure from his past, while Malkovich comes to the conclusion it’s the checkout clerk at the Safeway.

Malkovich will have the pleasure of not only acting along side Willis, but almost every other actor in Hollywood.  Allow me to once again rattle off Red‘s ridiculous cast: Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, Mary Louise Parker, Julian McMahon, Ernest Borgnine, Richard Dreyfuss, and Brian Cox.  Filming begins this week in Toronto where they have flown in every trailer that exists.  Red is scheduled to hit theaters on October 22nd.

Variety reports that Summit Entertainment has penciled in October 22, 2010 as the day they’ll release the upcoming action-thriller, Red.  Directed by Robert Schwentke (Flightplan) and based on the graphic novel by Warren Ellis and Cully Hammer, the film stars Bruce Willis as a retired black ops agent who has to contend with younger, more high-tech assassins who show up to kill him with the White House some how involved in this nefarious endeavor.  The film co-stars (deep breath) Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, John C. Reilly, Mary Louise Parker, Julian McMahon, Ernest Borgnine, Richard Dreyfuss, and Brian Cox.  We have writers on call if any more actors try to cram into this movie.

We’re going to need a word which is harsher than “bleak”.  The word “bleak” does not do justice to The Road, John Hillcoat’s faithful adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel.  Set in an apocalyptic wasteland of nothing but ugly grey, “Man” (Viggo Mortensen) and his son “Boy” (Kodi Smit-McPhee) struggle with survival where the only point is to survive, and that’s not much of a reason.  When suicide is the best thing in the world and the best use of a bullet is to kill your son to make sure he isn’t eaten alive by cannibals, you come to understand that “bleak” just doesn’t get the job done as far as adjectives go.  Neither does “hopeless”, “grim” or “dismal”.  But perhaps the greatest flaw of The Road isn’t its inability to conjure up dark adjectives, but that Hillcoat completely embraces the journey of his characters: pointless.

The Hoeber Brothers script for Red must be downright brilliant because the movie now has nine talented actors on board.  In the beginning, there was Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman.  Then came Helen Mirren.  Then John C. Reilly and Mary Louise Parker joined the project.  Today comes the news that Julian McMahon, Ernest Borgnine, Richard Dreyfuss, and Brian Cox all want a piece of the action as well.  This is an epic cast which may indicate a much larger film than the plot synopsis has led us to believe.  Hit the jump to try and figure out the appeal or if this is just a massive Communist operation hiding in plain sight.