x-men

Is Fox Head Tom Rothman Dulling the Claws of ‘Wolverine’?

8:05AM Defamer Hollywood | If there’s one important lesson that can be drawn from the blockbuster performance of Warner Bros.’ The Dark Knight, it’s that audiences aren’t afraid of a comic-book movie that takes a walk on the dark, grim side. However, the same can’t necessarily be said for Fox topper Tom Rothman (the bane of AICN) who greenlit two Fantastic Four movies, hired Brett Ratner to direct X3, and now is allegedly mucking with the X-Men spinoff Wolverine. Despite the fact that the gritty, Hugh Jackman-topped film was met with a giddy response at this year’s Comic-Con, Jeff Wells says that Rothman is pressuring director Gavin Hood to make the movie more kid-friendly — and when Hood won’t cave, Rothman is taking matters into his own hands:

Whither Our Superheroines? An Outraged Culture Demands To Know

7:40AM Defamer Hollywood | In all the drama surrounding Edward Norton’s Hulk trouble and Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr.’s gloriously checkered past, we’ve overlooked one of the more conspicuous problems afflicting this summer’s superhero glut. To wit: Where are all the women? Are there any comics featuring female heroes whom some studio will take a chance shepherding to the screen? At least one commentator shares our concern at Vulture, and the prognosis isn’t looking good: More »

Trade Roundup: Ben Silverman’s Great Taste In Foreign TV Hits Rewarded By Emmy Voters

8:15AM Defamer Hollywood | · X-Men fans, take heart: Tsotsi’s Gavin Hood, not X-Men 3: The Last Gasp of a Once Vital Franchise’s Brett Ratner, has signed on to direct Wolverine. [Variety] · It’s official: NBC’s Ben Silverman is the new Norman Lear. In producing two of the Emmy nominees for best comedy (The Office and Ugly Betty), Silverman has equalled a feat last acheived by his idol, who in 1973 earned sitcom nods for All in the Family and Maude. [THR] · In other Emmy oddities, Fox’s instantaneously premiered/cancelled Drive makes history as the first-ever Primetime Emmy broadband nominee for a three-minute clip that streamed on Fox.com. [Variety] · Upon learning of her Emmy nomination for her work on Brothers & Sisters, Sally Field was overwhelmed by a Meg-Ryan-in- When-Harry-Met-Sally-quality orgasm, a spasm of ecstasy so paralysing she was unable to do her usual, “You like me, you really really like me!” schtick. [THR, THR] · When John Travolta in drag and fake gay-married firefighters clash at the box office, no comedy fans will escape unscathed. [Variety] More »

Fox And Marvel Announce ‘Magneto: The Early, Nazi-Hunting Years’

10:28AM Defamer Hollywood | Fox and Marvel have announced they will be spinning off an X-Men character into his own movie. Not Wolverine, however, which is still listed as in development, but telepathic metal manipulator Magneto: [Ian] McKellen’s participation in “Magneto” will likely be limited, since the film is an origin story. In a storyline hinted at by the original “X-Men” films, Magneto comes to grips with his mutant ability to manipulate metal objects as he and his parents try to survive in Auschwitz. Magneto meets Professor Xavier (played as the wheelchair-bound mutant leader by Patrick Stewart) when Xavier is a soldier liberating the concentration camp. More »