Ben Kingsley reveals what to expect from the Mandarin in Iron Man 3. Anthony Mackie explains the Falcon's role in Captain America 2. Learn how the music in Star Trek Into Darkness reflects the movie's tone. The only Lord of the Rings actor who didn't return for The Hobbit says he'd be willing to appear. Spoilers below...
Top image from Pacific Rim.
Star Trek Into Darkness
Composer Michael Giacchino explains his approach to the film's score:
It is a much darker film. I think [Star Trek 2009] has more of a sense of adventure going on, whereas [Into Darkness] is more of a sort of psychological danger that is happening behind the scenes. So the music is quite different. It is quite darker. It is more internal. It is not as celebratory as [Star Trek 2009] is in many moments. And the film itself speaks to themes of the world today–sort of the geopolitical situation in the world. And it also kind of leans heavily on what is happening in the world today to tell the story... It was really interesting to get inside the head of the new characters. Benedict Cumberbatch is in the film and he is amazing. In watching the film I was able to get so much out of his performance. The first piece of music I wrote for was his theme–the villain’s theme. And I’m not going to tell you who the villain is–because I’m not allowed…But watching his performance gave me an idea and I couldn’t wait to sit down and write his music for the movie.
There's more at the link. [Trek Movie]
Here's a new clip. [IGN]
And here's a new poster. [IGN]
Man of Steel
Here's a pair of spoiler-y teasers for Zack Snyder's Superman movie, courtesy of Forbes. Check out the original article for five more:
— Clark wanders the world doing super-deeds, and reporter Lois Lane gets very interested. Part of his journey of self discovery involves traveling the world and looking for answers about his destiny, to decide what he’s meant to do with his powers. Along the way, of course, he’s going to help people using his powers, and that’s bound to attract some press attention. So Lois will start looking for this mysterious super-samaritan, and eventually she’ll find him (he’s the one in the big red cape).
— General Zod comes to Earth looking for Kal-El. While it’s not clear exactly what fate (if any, yet) has befallen the planet Krypton, Zod and Faora are tracking down Superman, and the fact our hero was illegally birthed on his home world might factor into Zod’s reasons for trying to track him down.
[Forbes]
Iron Man 3
Writer-director Shane Black makes it clear that his movie won't deal with the franchise's more fantastical elements, particularly as they pertain to Ben Kingsley's villain, the Mandarin:
"We decided very early on we liked the idea of taking Michael Crichton type elements and mingling them with a real world Tom Clancy environment. It's funny, I look at these blogs and some people are saying, 'What about The Mandarin's magic space rings? They should shoot lasers.' I almost want to apologize in advance to the people who want to see lasers shoot out of his rings because it's not going to happen."
And here's Kingsley on what to expect from his performance:
"There are demonic layers. He's in a state of solitude a lot of the time, and there's nothing to give him a boundary. I go crazy. You can put him in quite a different category from Whiplash, who's reliant on brute force. The Mandarin is reliant on manipulation of the media. He's an all-pervading presence through modern technology. He'll hack into your cell phone. He'll broadcast across the nation on TV."
Incidentally, if you want to check out an interview with Guy Pearce, who plays fellow villain Aldrich Killian, go here. [Total Film via Comic Book Movie]
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
The Hurt Locker's Anthony Mackie talks some more about his role as Falcon:
I’m happy to say that I’m in a good deal of the movie and I play an integral part with Captain America taking down the Winter Soldier. It’s great. They started the shoot 2 1/2 weeks ago and once I finished doing press for ‘Pain & Gain,’ I go in and join them. I’ve been doing combat training and fitness training just to get prepared. It’s going to be something and I’m excited for it.
How is the costume going to look like?
They just released pictures of the costume last week. It’s more of a military style tactical costume. He’s more along the lines of Captain America as far as being a superhero as opposed to a true superhero.
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Bryan Singer sent out this tweet, confirming that filming begins today and that Patrick Stewart is back on set as the original Professor Charles Xavier. The photo is below. [@BryanSinger]
Pacific Rim
Here's a TV spot.
Snowpiercer
Here's a character poster from the post-apocalyptic train movie. Go here
The Hobbit
Nobody tell Peter Jackson about this, because he most definitely doesn't need any additional motivation to make these movies any longer than they already are, but Viggo Mortensen says he would be happy to reprise his role of Aragorn if the movies needed him to:
Would I play Aragorn again? Sure, if it seemed sensible to do so. He's not in the book of The Hobbit but if they're working with the appendices they may be intending to bridge the 60-year Hobbit/The Lord of the Rings gap. I think I would have heard by now so I have to assume... But Peter Jackson is famous for his reshoots, so you never know!
[Total Film via Comic Book Movie]
Divergent
Lionsgate has officially announced that Scandal star Tony Goldwyn will play Andrew, the father of Shailene Woodley's main character Tris, in the adaptation of Veronica Roth's dystopian YA novel.
Ninja Turtles
Catching Fire actor Alan Ritchson, who is providing the performance capture for Raphael, offers this spirited if defensive update:
We are shooting. It's been an interesting process, this live-action-motion-capture thing. There's just a lot of technology involved so there's some kinks to work out. So we've had some trial runs, we've started shooting some. We're also in this phase right now that is sort of developmental....We're learning a lot of the fight choreography. We've got these unbelievable stunt trainers that work us every day to the bone. It's been a great process. We'll pick back up with principal photography soon. "The frustrating thing for me since I've signed on is that you hear that it's already got a reputation, this movie that hasn't come out yet. I think people assume they know what it's going to be about, and those people are wrong. The assumptions, everything you read online is wrong and it's frustrating because you want to tell everybody how great it is, and you can't really say why, but it is. It's so much better than people think and it's going to look way better than anybody can imagine. I can't wait for people to see this. I think it's going to live up to and exceed everybody's boyhood dreams of being a Ninja Turtle. I grew up with it too and I want to see it come to life in the best way possible."
Mirror, Mirror actor Danny Woodburn has reportedly been cast as Master Splinter — or, at least, as the performance capture basis for the eventual CGI Master Splinter. [Deadline]
Once Upon a Time
Here's a promo for episode nineteen, "Lacey." [KSiteTV]
Touch
Here are the official descriptions for what are almost certainly the final three episodes of the series:
April 26 – "Accused"
Martin (Kiefer Sutherland) attempts to clear his name with a skeptical Detective Lange (guest star Mykelti Williamson). Meanwhile, Jake (David Mazouz) leads Avram (guest star Bodhi Elfman) to a possible member of the "Righteous 36," and Aster Corps executive Nicole Farington (guest star Frances Fisher) accelerates the company's nefarious mission.
May 3 – "Fight or Flight"
Following an intense encounter with Aster Corps enforcer Tanner (guest star D.B. Sweeney), Martin and Trevor Wilcox (guest star Greg Ellis) go undercover to prevent Farington from harming the "Righteous 36" in the name of corporate greed.
May 10 – "Leviathan" – Season Finale
As Aster Corps closes in on the completion of the number sequence that could catapult them to the top of the global economy, Farington endangers her two newest test subjects – Jake and Amelia (Saxon Sharbino). Martin and Trevor race against time to save them before they are killed and Aster Corps changes the world forever.
The Vampire Diaries
Here's a sneak peek at this week's new episode, "Pictures of You."
Orphan Black
Here's the synopsis for this Saturday's episode, "Effects of External Conditions":
Sarah realizes that the Orphans' survival is going to take more than police work. But tracking the killer threatens Sarah's long awaited reunion with her daughter, Kira. As Sarah gets closer to the killer, the killer gets closer to the truth - the ensuing showdown threatens to expose her ruse as a cop.
Defiance
Star Julie Benz discusses her character, Mayor Amanda Rosewater:
Amanda is an idealist, so she's in a bit over her head. Her job is to keep the peace amongst the seven alien races and the humans - it's a tough job and not one she was trained to do.
Yeah, it seems she's not quite ready when Fionnuala Flanagan (as Mayor Nicky Riordon) passes the baton in the pilot.
It's later revealed that there's a reason why this happened, but Amanda does her best because she really does believe in Defiance, in what it stands for. She believes that Defiance can maintain independence and be this town where humans and aliens can coexist peacefully and start rebuilding the planet. But there are so many factions against her.
Speaking of the other girls: Your good friend Jaime Murray is playing this alien mob moll type, and Mia Kirshner is the resident bordello owner. How do you find the fun in playing the "proper" female here?
It was definitely a new role for me in many ways, where I wasn't, like, "the sexy one," but it was definitely fun. The thing I loved about the script is that all the female characters are so strong and the relationships are extremely complex with each other that it allows for a lot of room to be creative.
There's more at the link. [TV Line]
And here's a behind-the-scenes look at the show, which premiered last night.
Teen Wolf
Here's a promo for the third season. [TV Equals]
Additional reporting by Amanda Yesilbas and Charlie Jane Anders.