Stuff: Andrew Garfield Spidey-Suits Up

The Pareto Principle states that 80% of the worthwhile pop culture news can be snagged by only taking in 20% of the volume of regular pop culture news coverage. (Or something like that.) This post is designed for anyone who wants pop culture news in digestible bits, all in one shot, so that person can take a few minutes to get up to speed and then get on with their lives. Enjoy.

Amazing Spider-Man has a release date: July 3, 2012. And while a previous picture showed a slightly battered Andrew Garfield in most of the Spidey suit, the official site now has a pic that’s supposed to be Garfield in full gear. I dunno…works for me. Click through to the official site to embiggen it.

Dominic Cooper has signed on to play Henry, the friendly neighborhood vampire, in Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter. Source.

Atlas Shrugged Part 1 has a trailer and a release date of April 15th. It looks, however, frighteningly good. Whatever it turns out to be, I imagine it has a screenwriter that didn’t blatantly misread the original novel. I won’t mention any names, because that would be indiscreet. Randall Wallace. Trailer comes after the break.

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Back Roads is interesting because, well, when you get Marcia Gay Harden and Andrew Garfield attached to a murder mystery co-written and helmed by Adrian Lyne…yeah, that’s pretty much all you need. Jennifer Garner is also attached. The film concerns Garfield as a young man who has to go take care of his three younger sisters when his mother gets imprisoned for the death of her abusive husband. Anyone want to place bets on a Fanning getting in there? Just wondering. Source.

Coriolanus, Ralph Fiennes‘ debut in the chair–with Gerard Butler and Vanessa Redgrave also in the cast–will be distributed in the U.S. by Weinstein. Should hit this year. So…trailer? Can we have a trailer please? Source.

Sorry, but Elektra Luxx looks like it might be a winner. It hits March 11th. Check out this cast…and the scenario…but while it contains no nudity, your co-workers might wonder what the hell you’re watching. So use discretion:

Direct link for the feedreaders.

Flawed Dogs, the book by Berkeley Breathed, is going to become a feature film thanks to DreamWorks Animation. The book was a celebration of the titular creations, who simply weren’t completely right for whatever reason. (Reminds me of a zoo that was dedicated to such creatures, called Zooland.) The film will center “around a dachshund who must reclaim his place in the family after being wrongly exiled by a jealous show dog.” Breathed is on board to executive produce. Source: Variety.

Bryan Singer‘s Jack the Giant Killer has gained cast members. Stanley Tucci will be playing the villain, while Variety has one of the best casting-related sentences you’ll read this year. It is in regards to Bill Nighy and John Kassir (Tales From the Crypt): “Nighy will play the leader of the giants, Fallon, who has two heads, with Kassir playing the smaller head.” I don’t know why that amuses me; it just does.

Could The Last Voyage of the Demeter be considered a “mid-quel”? I say this because it takes the doomed ship that brings Dracula to England and dramatizes the story. Ben Kingsley and Noomi Rapace are attached. No lead in place. (Although is the lead Dracula? Or the ship’s captain?) David Slade (30 Days of Night) is in the chair. Source: Variety.

The Logan’s Run remake has resurfaced…again. Previous times, to my knowledge, it’s always been a director attached. This time Ryan Gosling is in talks to attach himself. Nicolas Winding Refn (Valhalla Rising) is in talks to be in the chair. Don’t get overexcited–this has been in the works for literally fifteen years. At least. Source.

Masterpiece is going to star Al Pacino as Matisse. No start date yet, so says Variety. Also on Pacino’s plate, playing Phil Spector for scribe/helmer David Mamet. That should be one hell of a film. Of course, I remember back when there was a Phil Spector biopic in development for Tom Cruise as Phil with scribe/helmer Cameron Crowe. 1998, I believe.

Metal Hurlant Chronicles, a live action TV version of the magazine we know best as Heavy Metal, is being produced in France. Negotiations are in place for a home in the U.S. The seasons will last six episodes a piece and should arrive next January. Source.

Prometheus has Charlize Theron joining the cast. Source: Variety.

You’ve got to hand it to Kevin Smith. He at least has a great sense of humor about…seemingly everything. When Red State hits New York City on March 5th, a lot of NYPD officers will have the chance to grab free tickets for themselves and their significant others. (Granted, the trailer doesn’t really scream “date flick” to me, but whatever works.) Smith said, “I can’t think of a better way to say “I’m Sorry” for Cop Out than to give tickets to the New York Police Department.” Nice.

I believe you would term it an embarrassment of riches. The project is called Safe House and stars Denzel Washington as a criminal who’s being transported by a CIA trainee played by Ryan Reynolds. The catch is that apparently a lot of people want Washington’s character rather dead. The film hits February 10th of next year. Added to the cast are Liam Cunningham (Clash of the Titans), Brendan Gleeson, Robert Patrick and Sam Shepard. I pretty much would be fine with all four of them playing assassins. You? Source.

There’s a 3D animated film in the works called Soul Man. The only reason I mention this is to assure you it’s a French sci-fi thriller directed by Guillaume Ivernel and not some weird remake of the C. Thomas Howell film. So you can sleep tonight. Source: Variety.

Top Gear U.S. has been renewed for a second season. Expect much moaning and complaining on the next Weekend Justice. New season starts shooting this spring.

The Words will star Bradley Cooper and Jeremy Irons is in talks to join him. Brian Klugman and Lee Sternhal, who scribed Tron Legacy, are in the chair. The story is apparently about a writer who “discovers the price he must pay for stealing another man’s work.” I know this is probably inaccurate, but it just smells like Merchant Ivory’s Secret Window, Secret Garden. I may not have a problem with that, should it turn out to be accurate. I’m just saying. Source: Variety.

Home Video Releases

Amazon.com Widgets

Steven Spielberg‘s A.I., like it or lump it, hits Blu-Ray with two hours of behind the scenes bits on April 5th. When I get one here, I’ll let you know how it stacks up to the DVD.

The Fighter, which has, among its Oscar noms, a Best Supporting Actor nom for Christian Bale and two Best Supporting Actress noms, hits DVD and Blu-Ray from Paramount on March 15th.

Four Lions, the jihad comedy from Britain, is hitting DVD and Blu-Ray on March 8th from Magnola Home Entertainment.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 is hitting DVD and Blu-Ray on April 15th. But seriously, you want the Blu-Ray. The list of features on the Blu-Ray combo pack is formidable. The single-disc DVD is just anemic.

It’s digital (i.e. On Demand and For Download), but Life As We Know It is now available from iTunes here. Dungeons & Dragons, the live action film, is the same way.

Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader hits DVD and Blu-Ray on April 8th. There’s a single disc DVD edition as well, but seriously…who wants that one?

Rabbit Hole, the film that has Nicole Kidman nominated for Best Actress, is hitting DVD and Blu-Ray from Lionsgate on April 19th.

Music Releases

A massive Aretha Franklin set hits March 22nd: Take a Look: Aretha Franklin Complete on Columbia. It’s eleven CDs and one DVD: seven Columbia albums, two discs of studio sessions and then two new compilations. Plenty of unreleased material plus the DVD has Aretha’s 1964 appearance on the Steve Allen Show where she sings five songs. The set’s available for pre-order on Amazon at $131.65 as I write this. A bit over $10 a disc…not too shabby. And I mean…it’s Aretha, for crying out loud. (Click here to pre-order it from Amazon.)

Stuff: Andrew Garfield Spidey-Suits Up

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