Mel Gibson Considered for Suicide Squad 2

We have sequel news for Raspberry Award darling Suicide Squad. In a recent article by The Hollywood Reporter, it was revealed that none other than Mel Gibson is in talks to helm the sequel to last year’s multi-million dollar trash fire. Gibson shared the news during a Q&A for his most recent film, the WWII drama starring Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge. Although he had struggled to repair his image following a string of drunken incidents over a decade ago, Gibson has seen a recent resurgence in popularity with the release of Hacksaw Ridge. The film was a critical and commercial success, earning $164 million to date and netting him six Oscar nominations. This is still an odd move for Warner Bros to make, especially considering the number of big name auteurs they already have in their wheelhouse. Gibson himself has acknowledged that he is no fan of comic books, admitting that he “is familiarizing himself with the material” before progressing any further, not to mention the fact that an Oscar-nominated director’s unique style may not match with the tone and look that the DCEU is going for. Other directors are in the mix as well, including Safe House’s Daniel Espinosa, Zombieland’s Ruben Fleischer, and Warm Bodies’ Jonathan Levine, but none are generating the same level of buzz. Case in point, listeners, if you want everyone to forget about the horrible things you’ve done and said, all you have to do is make one award-winning film.

Ben Affleck Wants Out of Batman (Allegedly)

In a recent appearance on Collider’s Movie Talk Youtube series, entertainment reporter John Campea shared that he had spoken to multiple sources connected to the film, all of whom confirmed that Ben Affleck was in talks to walk away from the role of the Caped Crusader. Apparently, these sources claim that Affleck is no longer satisfied with life under the cowl, and, if released from his contract, the Batman film would be his last appearance as the character. As with all rumors and hearsay, these claims should be taken with more than a grain of salt. All official communication from both Warner Bros and Affleck himself have been mostly positive, with the studio swearing up and down that they are happy with the latest rewrite of the script and Affleck assuring interviewers that he’s glad to play such a widely known character. But as anyone in Hollywood can tell you, the official word is fickle as all get out and can change at a moment’s notice. It would make sense for Affleck to be souring on the prospect of playing the Dark Knight a bit. Neither of the films he’s appeared in so far, Dawn of Justice or Suicide Squad, has been a huge hit with critics. To further complicate matters, his gangster flick pet project Live by Night floundered in theaters, only making back $20 million of its $65 million budget since its release. Throw in the fact that things have continued to go south in his home life as well, and it’s not hard to see why he would want to take a break from everything. No official word has been given, but we may be seeing a new face under the bat ears before too long.

Ben Affleck No Longer Directing Batman, Script Being Rewritten by Chris Terrio, Everythin Awful

Sad Affleck is sad

This week in the DC Extended Universe being a hot mess, Variety is reporting that Ben Affleck will no longer direct the upcoming solo Batman film. The announcement comes after a series of soundbites from Affleck where he appeared uncertain that the project would come together. The latest development came earlier this week, with Warner Bros announcing that Affleck would step aside and focus on starring in the lead role, while an as-yet-undecided replacement takes over directing duties. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes director Matt Reeves is allegedly at the top of that list. Deadline has also reported that Batman v Superman scribe Chris Terrio has already turned in a rewrite of the script Affleck and DCEU Creative Director Geoff Johns had originally written. It’s no secret that I am often left scratching my head when it comes to DC movies and how they are being made, but this one has actually caused me to throw up my hands. Fans and critics have been split on the look and tone of these films, but nobody but nobody has had anything nice to say about the story in any of them. As I watched Batman and Superman growl and grimace their way through Dawn of Justice’s two and a half-hour runtime, I had little to no idea why they were doing so. Suicide Squad subjected audiences to around 20 minutes of character introductions before convincing them to care about maybe the most fleshed out of the two. So when I first heard the Batman solo film was having troubles getting started, I suspected narrative issues were to blame. In an interview with the Guardian, which I quoted a few weeks ago, Affleck said verbatim “...there’s no script. If it doesn’t come together in a way I think is really great I’m not going to do it,” all but confirming my suspicions. And now this week, lo and behold, he’s not doing it. This is not to say Chris Terrio is a bad writer; I don’t think you can win an Oscar for anything, especially writing Argo, and be considered bad at that thing. But I don’t think it’s a stretch to say he’s good at writing a particular genre of film; his track record with superhero films is short and spotty. I’d trust Quentin Tarantino to write a hyperviolent crime drama, but I’m not going to have him write a children’s book (although that would be interesting). I could be wrong. The film has yet to even receive a title, let alone a release date. But given the brief, turbulent history of this cinematic universe, I’m not filled with an abundance of hope. Is Wonder Woman here yet?

Oscar Nominees Announced

In awards season news, the academy of motion picture arts and sciences announced the nominees for the 89th Academy Awards earlier this week. La La Land once again leads the nominations with a whopping 14, tying Titanic and All About Eve for most of all time. This is also a historically diverse batch of nominees, with black actors nominated in every acting category for the the first time in Oscars history. A black director is making history too, with writer-director Barry Jenkins becoming the first African-American to be nominated in all three major categories (Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay) for Moonlight. It’s not all good news, though. This reviewer was disappointed to learn that both Deadpool and anime film Your Name were left out of this year’s nominations while nobody’s favorite summer blockbuster, Suicide Squad, walked away with a nomination for Best Makeup. The offbeat superhero comedy and the Japanese animated feature were among my favorite films of 2016, and it’s disheartening to see that the academy is still not giving comic book movies and non-Studio Ghibli anime their proper due. Oh well, it only took nearly a century for #OscarssoWhite to have an effect, so maybe they’ll eventually have their day. Baby steps, I guess. You can find the full list of nominees below:
BEST PICTURE Arrival Fences Hacksaw Ridge Hell or High Water Hidden Figures La La Land Lion Manchester by the Sea Moonlight BEST DIRECTOR Denis Villeneuve, Arrival Mel Gibson, Hacksaw Ridge Damien Chazelle, La La Land Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea Barry Jenkins, Moonlight BEST ACTOR Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge Ryan Gosling, La La Land Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic Denzel Washington, Fences BEST ACTRESS Isabelle Huppert, Elle Ruth Negga, Loving Natalie Portman, Jackie Emma Stone, La La Land Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Mahershala Ali, Moonlight Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea Dev Patel, Lion Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Viola Davis, Fences Naomie Harris, Moonlight Nicole Kidman, Lion Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Hell or High Water La La Land The Lobster Manchester by the Sea 20th Century Women BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY Arrival Fences Hidden Figures Lion Moonlight BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Arrival La La Land Lion Moonlight Silence BEST FILM EDITING Arrival Hacksaw Ridge Hell or High Water La La Land Moonlight BEST VISUAL EFFECTS Deepwater Horizon Doctor Strange The Jungle Book Kubo and the Two Strings Rogue One: A Star Wars Story BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN Arrival Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Hail, Caesar! La La Land Passengers BEST COSTUME DESIGN Allied Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Florence Foster Jenkins Jackie La La Land BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING A Man Called Ove Star Trek Beyond Suicide Squad BEST ORIGINAL SCORE Jackie La La Land Lion Moonlight Passengers BEST ORIGINAL SONG “Audition (The Fools Who Dream),” La La Land “Can’t Stop the Feeling,” Trolls “City of Stars,” La La Land “The Empty Chair,” Jim: The James Foley Story “How Far I’ll Go,” Moana BEST SOUND EDITING Arrival Deepwater Horizon Hacksaw Ridge La La Land Sully BEST SOUND MIXING Arrival Hacksaw Ridge La La Land Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi BEST ANIMATED FEATURE Kubo and the Two Strings Moana My Life as a Zucchini The Red Turtle Zootopia BEST DOCUMENTARY Fire at Sea I Am Not Your Negro Life, Animated O.J.: Made in America 13th BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM Land of Mine A Man Called Ove The Salesman Tanna Toni Erdmann BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT Extremis 4.1 Miles Joe's Violin Watani: My Homeland The White Helmets BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT Ennemis Entreniers La Femme et le TGV Silent Nights Sing Timecode BEST ANIMATED SHORT Blind Vaysha Borrowed Time Pear Cider and Cigarettes Pearl Piper

Ben Affleck May Not Direct Solo Batman Film

Our first story of the year is picking up pretty much where 2016 left off - the DC Extended Universe being a hot mess! After thinly veiled shots by Flash actor Ezra Miller and Alien Covenant director Ridley Scott, the latest person to cast doubt on nobody’s favorite cinematic superhero universe is Batman himself. In a recent interview with British outlet The Guardian, Ben Affleck gave a lukewarm at best update on his upcoming batman film. When asked about the movie’s progress, Affleck acknowledged that there was still a project in existence but was pretty mum on when audiences would be seeing it, or even if he’d be in the director’s chair. The problem is fairly clear from this quote: “...it’s not a set thing and there’s no script. If it doesn’t come together in a way I think is really great then I’m not going to do it.” This is not the first time Affleck is on the record about the story lacking punch. Earlier reports covered how he pressured the studio to push the film’s release date back, unwilling to move forward with a story that didn’t work. Can’t really argue with his logic here; the DCEU’s movies haven’t exactly been praised for their storytelling up to this point, with critics slamming both Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad for confusing character choices, villains with questionable motives, and gaping plot holes. A lot has already been written about the chaotic writing process for these films, particularly Suicide Squad and its expensive reshoots, so I won’t rehash that here. The bottom line is Warner Bros. has a decision to make: stop rushing these movies out to make the exhausting release schedule, or resign themselves to telling half-baked stories with second- and third-choice directors.