Giant Hulk Statue Invades Theaters!

If you went to see Iron Man this weekend, it's very likely you saw the new "life size" Hulk statue sitting in the lobby somewhere.

I always admire (and critique) the in-theater marketing efforts that the studios send out, and this time this one is worth mentioning. Like The Simpsons Movie couch and Silver Surfer statue last year, this is becoming the "talk of the town," at least when it comes to marketing material. The statue is for this summer's upcoming Incredible Hulk movie. I suppose Universal thought the best way to get people to realize there was a Hulk movie was to literally put a giant Hulk statue right in the lobby of every movie theater. And I suppose it worked, but I still don't know if the movie is going do too well. In case you live beneath a rock and haven't seen this yet, some photos can be found below.

Photos above are courtesy of SlashFilm.

The statue actually weighs somewhere around 800 pounds. It's being referred to as life size, but in actuality I think it's a bit smaller than the Hulk in the movie. If you watch the trailer, you'll see that Hulk is pretty damn big in comparison to Emil Blonsky. In the theater, this thing is around 10 feet tall. Either way, it's still an eye-catching statue that I'm sure is grabbing the attention of moviegoers - but I don't know if it's enough to actually guarantee that this movie will be a success. Thoughts?

The Incredible Hulk is directed by French filmmaker Louis Leterrier of The Transporter, Unleashed, and The Transporter 2. The script for the film was originally written by Zak Penn (Behind Enemy Lines, X-Men 2, X-Men 3), but after joining the film as the lead character Bruce Banner, Edward Norton himself took over the reigns and re-wrote the screenplay. The Incredible Hulk arrives in theaters on June 13th.

Cine Hulk statue movie comics Iron man Ironman Avengers Incredible Hulk

Cine Hulk statue movie comics Iron man Ironman Avengers Incredible Hulk

Young X-Men Prequel Being Written by Josh Schwartz Already?!

Although all eyes are on the upcoming X-Men Origins: Wolverine, apparently that's not the only X-Men move in the works. After X-Men 3 hit theaters a few summers ago, reports about the future of the franchise included three distinct films: Wolverine, Magneto, and a young X-Men.

As of this year, I believed the only active one was Wolverine, but alas I was wrong, as far as I can tell. An interview over at BlackBook with Gossip Girl writer Josh Schwartz recently revealed that he is indeed writing the screenplay for the young X-Men prequel. And if that news isn't enough, Schwartz takes it upon himself to actually diss the upcoming Incredible Hulk and misunderstand Transformers fans all in one.

While I'd like to hold out hope and say that this new X-Men movie could maybe turn out better than X-Men 3, it really doens't sound like this guy knows what he's doing. Right off the bat it sounds like we're getting a Gossip Girl version of the X-Men. The sequel will center on teenage mutants at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning and give Schwartz the opportunity to feature lesser known X-Men characters. What's not certain is whether this will be specifically a sequel or a prequel, because it could be either one in actuality (and just not feature any of the characters we've seen previously). At least Schwartz is interested in the comic, saying, "I'm very well aware that I'll be bludgeoned by purists, but I love its mythology, and it comes with a pretty hefty paycheck."

So he's doing this more for the money, okay, but he's not going to butcher it is he? "It's not like I'm adding new characters like Toaster Head, or anything like that." Phew! But wait, he forgot to tell you, he isn't done explaining how bad the upcoming Hulk movie looks and how much the fans never complained about Transformers. Please tell me he's joking?!

"The Hulk looks like it's going to be terrible. And why does he look like he's fighting against the monster from Cloverfield? I mean, with Transformers, it's not like fans were going to come back saying, 'You used the wrong car.'"

That's just about all we get before the interviewer hurriedly returns to chatting Gossip Girl. Well, he does throw in this final jab: "Brett Ratner didn't have a lot of credibility going in to the first two X-Men movies." At least he got one thing right! I'm not entirely sure what happened, but if it is true that Schwartz is working on another X-Men film, I'm very worried. This is starting to sound like that Justice League movie, and not in a good way. Young X-Men isn't inherently bad idea, but in the hands of a screenwriter like this, it will be bad. Before anyone jumps the gun, let's just take this in strides - as far as I know the film isn't really in production yet or even close to it!

First things first, would anyone actually want to see a young X-Men movie? Or an even better question, does anyone want to see this come together soon? Or would we all rather see the Avengers? Right now I'd rather have Marvel keep everything constrained within the new universe they've created - Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, and the upcoming X-Men Origins: Wolverine. There is really no need to venture back into the X-Men universe for the next few years, especially with the Gossip Girl creator writing the screenplay. How did they let it get this bad?

Cine X-Men Wolverine movie comics Josh Schwartz Gossip Girl Avengers Prequel

Cine X-Men Wolverine movie comics Josh Schwartz Gossip Girl Avengers Prequel

The Promotion Poster

The Promotion is a film you must see, and we were given the heads up on the poster thanks to our friends at cinematical:

This was one of my favorite films from SXSW and I am glad that the rest of you will get to see it in June. It was a great film about how competitive we can get (for noble reasons), and the chaos that this drive can create. Sean William Scott and John C Reilly are outstanding in this film and riff off of each other like absolute champs.

We have already done a review for this film and you can check it out by following this link.

Marvel Considers Next Franchise

With Iron Man set to pop, the Masterminds at Marvel are considering which super-hero to launch next. We get the following news from the magical caves of Yahoo:

With “Iron Man” set to explode this weekend, the next question for producer Marvel Entertainment is: What now? Marvel likely won’t be releasing any movies in 2009, as the studio would have to be in pre-production now to make a summer date but isn’t, mainly because of fears that Hollywood’s actors will go out on strike in the summer. The studio’s next project is expected to be announced on an earnings call Monday, with “Avengers,” “Ant Man” and “Thor” the favorites. (”Captain America” is a prime property but is perceived as a tough sale overseas.)

Some question whether the Marvel characters waiting in the wings have the appeal of previously licensed characters like “Spider-Man” and “The X-Men.” But Marvel president David Maisel said the key ingredient to make a film successful isn’t “more well-known or less well-known characters but tender-loving care.”

From the reports coming in, Marvel has done a fantastic job with Iron Man, and I think the heroes will be best represented in their hands, rather than farming them out to various studios. We will have to wait and see if Marvel Studios had beginner’s luck, or if their dedication to excellence will continue.

I personally hope the next hero up to bat is Thor. I have always loved the character and would lose my shit if they were able to make a kick ass film in his honor. It would be my hope that the writings of Simonson would be the largest source of inspiration, along with the viking myths themselves. I love Kirby Thor comics as well, but Simonson really nailed the character in a way that has yet to be duplicated. The man started his tenure with the arrival of Beta Ray Bill and ramped into a story line that featured Surtur the fire demon and the impending DOOM of Ragnarok.

If I were helming the series - I would use the first film as intro to the world, and set the stage for the Ragnarok story line in 2&3.

As much as I favor Thor, I will welcome any of the above heroes. It’s a blast to see the heroes you grew up with on the big screen, and downright fun to share in the mythology with others. With hope, Marvel has learned from the Fantastic Four disaster, and the Iron Man success. Quality benefits everyone in the long run. When you delight the fans with excellence - money floods into your storehouses.

Stay After the End Credits of Iron Man!

Normally we stay far away from spoiler territory but this time I'm going to do a favor for all you comic fans - stay after the end credts of Iron Man! You will definitely be in for a treat that I know will get some huge cheers.

Let's just say… you might have heard some rumors floating around on the internet last year, and one of these rumors is true. I haven't personally confirmed this, since it was not included in the print I saw on tuesday, however, confirmation comes from other showings around the world - including an actual video of the scene. If you prefer to stay under a S.H.I.E.L.D. and not hear about this until you see it, then do NOT read anymore!

If you are really that curious to know, the scene in question includes an appearance by Samuel Jackson as Nick Fury, a super-spy and the lead agent for S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Espionage Logistics Directorate). I do NOT condone watching this video - as it will RUIN your in-theater experience, but you can check it out on YouTube if you really need some confirmation. That's definitely some solid proof that this scene is attached. However, for all we know, there could be more that is set to appear in American versions, including a rumored Hilary Swank cameo.

We first wrote about this last summer - and now it's official. I'm very excited to hear that the Avengers is now really coming together! However, I'm not sure if this really means an Avengers movie is actually going to be made before we get to Iron Man 2 or 3, but alas, only time will tell! The first step is to make sure Iron Man rocks the box office this weekend - so go see it and make sure to stay after the credits to catch the scene on the big screen!