In Other News: Gordon-Levitt and Cotillard's Dark Knight Characters Confirmed

Following the swill of rumors regarding who these two would be playing (JoGo was this close to being confirmed as Alberto Falcone, and Cotillard was most heavily applied to Talia Al'Ghul), we now finally have confirmation, IGN reports.

"Cotillard will appear as Miranda Tate, a Wayne Enterprises board member eager to help a still-greiving Bruce Wayne resume his father's philanthropic endeavors in Gotham.


Gordon-Levitt will play John Blake, a Gotham city beat cop assigned to special duty under the command of Commissioner Gordon."


There you go! Rather than have them playing roles fans of the comics know and love, Nolan is placing two of his most talented actors in roles he created. Now the rumors begin to brew as to what parts these two will play in the grand scheme of things. Is JoGo's John Blake assigned by Gordon to hunt Batman down, or is he instead going to be covertly aiding the caped crusader? Does MaCo's Tate only want to elevate Bruce Wayne, or does she have something trickier in mind?

Dear God! Why can't this movie exist now? We don't even have one production still, and I'm already dying from the wait!

Allow Me To Call Your Attention To This

So, what with Sucker Punch being the rotting corpse it was, you would not be blamed in the slightest if you were suddenly very worried about Zack Snyder's new film, Superman: Man of Steel. It's human nature.

Now, I am not that worried. Sucker Punch, in my opinion, failed because it was purely from Snyder's mind and he wasn't given any boundaries. No one told him when he went to far or when an idea he had was stupid. Superman is return to his usual tricks, what with it being an adaptation and all.

I'd like to point your focus to an article from Moviefone that I came across on Twitter. A blogging buddy of mine posted it, but I cannot for the life of me remember which one. Anyway, the article makes the case that Snyder will not only do fine with Superman, but that he is, in fact, the perfect director to helm the project.

Stop smiling! You got some repenting to do, you smug bastard!

The article makes the case that Sucker Punch will be a learning experience for Snyder.

"First of all, it's not like is unprecedented in Hollywood. Sucker Punch is Snyder's fifth full-length feature film, and the first that can be considered an all out misfire. In comparison, do you know what Steven Spielberg's fourth film was that hit theatre? 1941. Have you ever seen 1941? It is terrible (though, contrary to popular belief, it did make money. I promise you, patrons who paid their hard earned money to see 1941 were not happy with Mr. Spielberg that day either. What happened next? Spielberg learned, despite success, that not everyone will just magically love everything he throws at the screen. Should Spielberg have been removed from his next project - something called Raiders of the Lost Ark - as a result?"

Full article here.

Personally, I think it's gonna be David Goyer's script and Christopher Nolan's involvement as producer that are going to play the biggest roles in ensuring that the man from Krypton gets his due, but I think the article is on point. Snyder has realized that he's not invincible, and that his style means nothing without substance. Every great director in history has made at least one stinker. No reason to suspect that Snyder would be any different.

In Other News: JoGo's Dark Knight Character

He's playing Alberto Falcone.

For those who didn't pay attention during Batman Begins, Carmine Falcone was the big, bad crime boss who had a lot to do with the death of Bruce Wayne's parents, and was the first big shot that Batman took down. He then got the bad end of Jonathan Crane's fear drug. Alberto is his son.

In the comics, Alberto was outcast from his father's business because, apparently, Carmine wanted him to have a normal life. Guess Alberto was the Michael to Carmine's Vito. But, the little Falcone had other plans, and went on to become the Holiday Killer, a murderer who only struck on, go figure, holidays. Since The Dark Knight Rises is going to wrap up the story, bringing it back Falcone is certainly in the books.

If anything, this, effectively, kills all rumors that Robin will be showing up, since JoGo was the only one of the confirmed cast who could have played him. While it does seem like there's gonna be a lot of villains in this one, Nolan is better storyteller than to fall victim to the "multiple baddie plague". After all, TDK had The Joker, Two-Face, Sal Maroni, Scarecrow, Lau, Gambol, and the Chenchen. And, last I checked, TDK turned out alright.

Anyway, that's something new. I'm still excited!

Wow, the resemblance is uncanny!

Addendum: This news is false. I just found out today. Serves me right for reporting on it so prematurely. 

FFTSBH Presents: The 1st Annual Snubbies Telecast

Well, isn't this just lovely. Look at all these faces staring in awe at me. I know, you can't believe your eyes. Hello, and welcome to the 1st Annual Snubbies. I am your host, and I will do my best to MC this whole event without teasing or insulting anyone. I mean, Mel Gibson hasn't said anything too offensive in the past month, so it should be easy.
...
Wait, shit!

Ok, enough pleasantries. Your votes have been tallied. Let's get cooking.

A disclaimer before the jump: The keeper of the minutes for the ceremony decided to smoke a fat doobie before starting work, and as such, all the acceptance speeches have been lost. I do apologize. I will get better staff for next year when I have better funding.

The LAMB Devours the Oscars: Best Director

My continued attempts to legitimize this blog continue to progress in big ways. For my first year of taking part in The LAMB Devours the Oscars, I have the good fortune of being tasked with covering one of the most major awards, Best Director. Want to see my thoughts on the race? Take a leap.

Rising Ever Higher

Just in case you didn't put two and two together with my freakout post yesterday, let me break it down for you.

Still On the Rise

We've a new piece of info, and it's juicy!

2010: The Retrospect: MVPs of the Year (Directors)

It's getting even more legitimate!

Though they are never seen on the screen, unless they're named Clint or Woody, but directors are the real artistic forces behind whatever film it is that you are watching. Actors can be bad, sure, but at the end of the day, most, if not all, of the blame will be placed on the director. Director's are closely scrutinized, aren't they? They'll make one great film, be heralded as a new master, and then tank on the next one. 2010 saw once great directors fall into a deeper pit of awfulness, once lackluster directors up their game, and the usual masters turn in their standard excellent work. There were some sour apples, to be sure. But, how can you complain when the sweet apples were sooooooo sweet. Here are FFTSBH's MVP Directors of 2010.

Before we go on, let's notice some that didn't make my list of ten. David Yates (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1). Mark Romanek (Never Let Me Go). Lee Unkrich (Toy Story 3). Joel and Ethan Coen (True Grit). Joseph Kosinski (Tron: Legacy). Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass). Zack Snyder (Legend of the Guardians). Floris Sigismondi (The Runaways)

But, you don't really care about that, do you? You want the real list. Take a leap, and enjoy!

Oh hell no!

Gotham on the Rise

Well, after months of speculation, we have something to go on. Christopher Nolan has finally broken the silence regarding his third entry into the Batman franchise. He dropped some real winners of information, but, still kept a lot in dark. Here's what we know so far.

Good to be back, Gotham

Sweet Dreams

Thank God for Christopher Nolan! Thank God that there is at least one man out there who still has the talent, the chops, hell, the damn decency to make an intelligent action movie. It's been said before, but I'll say it again. This summer has sucked! There hasn't been one, truly spectacular film so far. Usually, the season brings us at least a few. We had Star Trek, Up, District 9, and (500) Days of Summer last year, Iron Man, WALL-E, and Nolan's own The Dark Knight in 2008. Well, all your petty grievances can be laid to rest. Summer 2010 is back on track! Inception is here, and it is brilliant! You thought The Dark Knight was good? You ain't seen nothing yet!

Let's see Batman do this! 

Inception Fever: Trailers

We're really coming down to the wire here, aren't we? As July 16th inches ever closer, the crazy levels of anticipation begin to reach monumental levels. I honestly have not been this excited for a movie since, well, since The Dark Knight. It's Chris Nolan, man! The guy knows where my weak spot is, and continually jabs at it with his sword of righteous awesomeness. Anyway, where was I? Oh, right! As I have said before, as July 16th looms around the corner, I will continue to review and analyze all the juicy little things that have made up the marketing. I've already gone over posters, so, now's the time to go over the trailers. Take a seat. Open your mind.

Inception Fever: Posters and Banners

Is it July 16 yet? No? RAGE! We still have a good month before Inception, the sure to be masterpiece from Chris "Batman Legitimizer" Nolan, hits the market. As I said previously, I would be closely stalking following the progress of the marketing/advertising as we inch closer to its release. Four new banners were just released to the public, so I though now would as good a time as any to take a look at all the posters that have been a part of this weird journey. Take a seat. Let's look at some pictures!

A Very Specific Type of Security

K, so. Now's about the time that of year where I start to obsessively follow my most anticipated movie of the year. In the past, I have stalked the progress of The Bourne Ultimatum, The Dark Knight, Watchmen, and Avatar. This year, it's all about Inception. No one has any idea what this Christopher Nolan mind trip is about, although the new trailer attached to Iron Man 2 does offer more insight into the plot. Here's what I know so far. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a man named Cobb who specializes in a very specific type of security, the subconscious kind. In this world, the technology exists to invade a person's dreams, and Cobb is a man who makes a living off entering an individual's subconscious and stealing their secrets. Ok, I'm confused, but, I don't really care. Let me break down for you what me and my mind discussed when this movie was first announced.

Me: So, what is this?

Mind: It's the new movie from Christopher Nolan.

Me: Really? Sweet! What's it about?

Mind: No one knows.

Me: Ok. Who's in it?

Mind: Leonardo DiCaprio. Joseph Gordon-Levitt...

Me: STOP! I'm sold!

Nolan seems to have tapped into my own, personal fantasy (by way of dream invasion, no less), because he has assembled a cast to die for. Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe, Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard, Michael Caine, Tom Berenger, AGHHHHHH!! Never before have I seen a cast filled with so much promise! DiCaprio looks like he will turn in an Oscar ready performance yet again, Page is doing an adult movie for a change, Cotillard is branching out, bringing her amazingness into blockbuster territory, Murphy and Watanabe both impressed the last time they worked with Nolan in Batman Begins, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt looks absolutely badass in what appears to be a villainous role! Throw in some gob-smaking visuals, a script written by Nolan, and more mystery than surrounded Cloverfield, and Inception looks to be a serious contender for one of the year's best films. God, I can't wait! There will be more coverage on this as we get closer to July 16. Keep in touch.