RDJ And Al Loved Guardians Of The Galaxy

There are many fans of James Gunn's film adaptation of Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy" (My Review) among them Iron Man Films star Robert Downey Jr. who praised the film while doing press prior to the Toronto International Film Festival

He told The Toronto Sun:

"Galaxy in some ways is the best Marvel movie ever. And it's odd for someone with - on occasion - an ego the size of mine to actually say that. We're talking about how the Iron Mans and the Thors and the Captain Americas and the Avengers movies have afforded Marvel the opportunity to essentially take what was a third-tier, minor, kind of upstart bit of potential from one of their comic books series and say: 'Look!' It's like you have a great quarterback, and his brother plays for another team, and then you say: 'Look, this is their second cousin and we think he has a great arm and he should start.' And then he goes and wins the Super Bowl."

Even acting legend and Godfather Trilogy star Al Pacino gave the flick high praise, telling Deadline:

"It was not something I would readily go see, but my kids got me to go, and one has to draw the line at where prejudice starts and where it ends — that was good stuff. I recognized the ingenious stuff they were doing; the invention, the attractiveness of the way they were performing it. It had Shakespearian feeling to it at times. I was caught up in the big screen, the great sound."

So, would he do a Marvel movie if he were offered?

"I would do anything that I could understand in terms of how I fit in it. And you know, of course if I could fit in it. Anything's possible. You know, I did Dick Tracy and I got an Oscar nomination, so come on. I mean, what can I say?"

"Holding The Man" Movie Ready To Roll

Anthony Lapaglia, Guy Pearce, Kerry Fox, Ryan Corr and Craig Stott are set to star in a film adaptation of the acclaimed Australian play "Holding the Man" says Screen,

The story covers a fifteen year love affair between two men in the late 1970s/1980s. The couple deal with disapproval, separation and, ultimately death.

Corr and Stott play the two leads--the other three and Camilla Ah Kin play their parents. The lead roles are tricky because the actors have to go from 16-year-old students to men in their thirties. There also had to be chemistry, and Stott has to lose a lot of weight to portray his later scenes where he's dying.

The production will take a seven week break in order for Stott to drop the weight.

Neil Armfield ("Candy") is calling action . The screenplay for the film is adapted from Timothy Conigrave’s memior

Tommy Murphy previously wrote and directed the play.

Shooting begins in Melbourne next week. The film production follows several successful stagings of a stage version around the world, most notably in Los Angeles earlier this year

"Shazam" Movie Is NOT Part Of DCU

Since New Line Cinema will produce the upcoming film adaptation of the DC Entertainment title "Shazam," rather than Warner Bros it not surprising to hear the news that the big screen exploits of "Captain Marvel" will NOT tie into the larger Cinematic Universe where "Man Of Steel," "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" and "Justice League" reside.

New Line president Toby Emmerich explained to Entertainment Weekly why that is the case:

"It feels to me like Shazam will have a tone unto itself. It's a DC comic, but it's not a Justice League character, and it's not a Marvel comic. The tone and the feeling of the movie will be different from the other range of comic book movies (It) will have a sense of fun and a sense of humor. But the stakes have to be real."

In the comics, Shazam is the alter ego Billy Batson, a boy who can transform into superhero form by saying the word 'Shazam' and is able to use the powers of six mythological god

Asked about the hiring of Dwayne Johnson as the villain Black Adam, Emmerich says:

"Black Adam is a complex character. The villain in superhero movies is often, I think, what makes the movie. And I thought Dwayne's take on the character, and the way that he saw Black Adam, was really compelling and fun"

Warners has distributed all of the recent DC Comics adaptations thus far and in more recent comics Shazam is a member of the Justice League, making his absence rather strange. Then again, Warners is developing a an adaptation of author Neil Gaiman's  popular comic book series Sandman, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt that isn't expected to tie in with the DCU either.

Darren Lemke ("Turbo," "Jack the Giant Slayer") has been hired to write the script but no production date is set. New Line has not confirmed a release date for "Shazam" yet.

Margot Robbie Hovers Over "Ghost In The Shell" Redux

"The Wolf Of Wall Street" and "Tarzan" star Margot Robbie is in early talks to star in the 3D live-action film adaptation of the Japanese manga, anime and game franchise "Ghost in the Shell" says Deadline,

The story follows a member of a covert ops unit of the Japanese National Public Safety Commission that specializes in fighting technology-related crime.

Masamune Shirow created the futuristic police thriller in 1989 as manga. It went on to spawn two more manga editions, three anime films, an anime TV series and several video games.

William Wheeler ("The Reluctant Fundamentalist") wrote the initial adapted script. Bill Wheeler wrote the latest draft from which Rupert Sanders ("Snow White And The Huntsman") is set to direct.

 Avi Arad, Steven Paul, and Mark Sourian are producing.

The film is a passion project of Steven Spielberg's.

Chastain And Wiig Circle "The Martian"

Deadline reports that Jessica Chastain and Kristen Wiig are in early talks to join "The Martian"

 The project is based on a 2012 novel by author Andy Weir, which chronicles an astronaut (Matt Damon) who becomes stranded on Mars and tries to find a way back to Earth.

 No details are available for either Chastain or Wiig's potential roles, though it's not expected to be the same one and Chastain is thought to be further along in the process.

While it may sound similar to last year's Oscar blockbuster Gravity, the story is said to be much different, described as a cross between Apollo 13 and Cast Away.

Drew Goddard was in talks to write and direct this pic, but Fox didn't want to wait for his schedule to clear, now that he is committed to directing Sony Pictures' Spidey film series villain spin off "The Sinister Six" and  Netflix's Daredevil TV Series he has left the pic. His script remains behind.

Ridley Scott is set to call action.

Scott, Simon Kinberg and Aditya Sood will produce the pic.

There's no word on yet when production would start. But a November 2015 release date being targeted.

George Clooney Charts A "Hack Attack"

Variety reports that George Clooney will direct a film adaptation of author Nick Davies' book
"Hack Attack".

The film will recount the British phone hacking scandal surrounding Rupert Murdoch's media empire. Davies investigated News Corporation and its subsidiary, News International over the course of six years documenting their habit of hacking into voice mails of politicians, actors, and ordinary citizens.

Clooney and Grant Heslov will produce the film.

Production is scheduled to start next year.

Clooney released a statement. "This has all the elements - lying, corruption, blackmail - at the highest levels of government by the biggest newspaper in London. And the fact that it's true is the best part. Nick is a brave and stubborn reporter and we consider it an honor to put his book to film."

Guardians Of The Galaxy: Gunn On Stan Lee's Cameo

James Gunn has posted a new behind-the-scenes photo on Instagram from "Guardians of the Galaxy" and a scene involving Stan Lee's original and ultimately cut cameo. The director also used took the opportunity to clear up the notion that Disney wouldn't let him keep the scene in the movie:

"At a panel on Sunday at DragonCon, I talked about a deleted @realstanlee cameo in Guardians, and promised the folks there I'd post a photo on Instagram - so here it is! As you can see, this is not Stan, but a double. In the original cut of the film, when the Guardians enter the Collector's museum, Rocket looks over and sees Cosmo the dog in one display case, Quill looks over into another display case and is surprised by a tentacle slapping against the glass, and Groot looks over and sees, in another display case, Stan Lee.

In one take, Stan Lee just slowly turns up his finger, flipping off Groot. We shot this footage with a Stan Lee double because Stan wasn't able to come to the UK at the time. The plan was to shoot Stan in the same lighting when I was back in LA, and we'd digitally replace the double's head with Stan's actual head (not quite as difficult as it sounds). Although I thought the cameo was funny, I thought the flipping off joke was too similar to the moment earlier in the film where Quill flips off the Nova Corps, so I excised that part of it immediately.

A couple of the guys at Marvel thought Stan Lee in a case was too broad of a joke in general, and that it took the audience out of the movie. I argued about it for a bit, but we ended up not keeping it in the film. In a pretty typical case of Internet-journalism-telephone, articles online yesterday said that Disney forbade the scene because of standards . However, that's incorrect - no one at Disney ever even saw the scene, and it was cut solely for creative reasons."

Dwayne Johnson Is Black Adam In The Shazam Movie

In July Dwayne Johnson tweeted a piece of art featuring Captain Marvel, Black Adam and Superman battling it out. He added the caption "Someone’s gonna get it".

While promoting Hercules in Mexico last month Johnson told the Associated Press:

"Interpret a character in DC Comics. It's the story of Shazam, but I can not say now if (my role) is Shazam and Black Adam. We've been developing for some time and have been a fan of anti-heroes. And this particular I think that we will make justice. I'm putting my heart and soul into this role."

Today we found out that the decision has been made:

"Kneel at his feet or get crushed by his boot." My honor to become.. #BlackAdam #TheAntiHero #DCComics pic.twitter.com/Qk55eNf3R7
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) September 3, 2014

In the comics, Shazam is the alter ego Billy Batson, a boy who can transform into superhero form by saying the word 'Shazam' and is able to use the powers of six mythological gods. In the last decade, Shazam has regularly been a part of the Justice League in the comics.

 Black Adam first appeared in 1945 as Teth-Adam of Kahndaq. He was originally a villain, but slowly transformed into an anti-hero who matches Shazam in strength, agility and fighting. He also knows magic.

Variety adds that Darren Lemke ("Turbo," "Jack the Giant Slayer") has been hired to write the script but no production date is set. 

Mission: Impossible 5 In Morocco

Footage has gone online of some explosions and car stunts on the set of "Mission: Impossible 5" in Morocco when the production moved there over the holiday weekend.

Tom Cruise will star again as special operative Ethan Hunt in the sequel. Jeremy Renner is all set to reprise his role of William Brandt from 2011's "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" Simon Pegg also returns as will Ving Rhames .

Rhames was a regular in the first three installments of the film series, but only had cameo in "Protocol". No word on how extensive his role is in this film.

The White Queen star Rebecca Ferguson's character is said to be some sort of assassin. This is reportedly the role Jessica Chastain turned down to scheduling, The role requires months of intense training leading up to and during production. Alec Baldwin will play a high-ranking CIA official who oversees Cruise's division.

There's still no word as to whether Paula Patton will reprise her role from 'Ghost Protocol'.

Christopher McQuarrie ("Jack Reacher") is directing MI #5 from a script by video game scribe Will Staples. Drew Pearce penned the initial script.

The filmmakers behind the action sequel have reportedly closed a deal to film inside the Houses of Parliament in London - the first motion picture to do so. Until this year, filming on the site was forbidden. The Shard and Olympic Stadium are also being scouted as well. This would also mark the film series' return to London since the first film in 1996 Paramount has not confirmed this report.

Cruise, David Ellison and J.J. Abrams are producing.

A Christmas 2015 release being targeted

Vince Vaughn Is "The Politician"

Vince Vaughn will in to star in the comedy The Politician says THR.

The story centers on a Washington D.C. politician (Vaughn) who becomes ensnared in a controversial scandal involving prostitutes. He is forced to go on the run with his "underachieving accomplice" to elude the FBI, U.S. Marshals and a group of vicious drug dealers.

Michael Dowse (What If, Goon) has signed on to direct here using a 2013 Black List script by Matthew Bass and Theodore Bressman.

Seth Rogen Evan Goldberg, James Weaver and Mark Gordon are producing the pic.
 
Drew Simon Michele Wolkoff Hannah Minghella and Andrea Giannetti are exec producing

Alden Ehrenreich Poised To "Hail Caesar"

Alden Ehrenreich ("Beautiful Creatures," "Blue Jasmine") is in talks to join the cast of the Joel and Ethan Coen dark comedy "Hail Caesar" says Variety.

The story is set in the 1950's at the time of the old Hollywood Star System and focuses on Eddie Mannix, a man who works for the studios to protect the squeaky clean image of their under contract stars. That means squashing scandalous stories before they happen be it sex, drugs, DUIs, etc. At the time, those threats had to be handled any means necessary be it bribes or threats, or use of things like illegal wiretapping.

Ehrenreich's role is unknown at this time,

George Clooney "No Country for Old Men" cohort  Josh Brolin Channing Tatum, Ralph Fiennes, Tilda Swinton  Scarlett Johansson and Jonah Hill also star in the film.

The Coens, Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan will produce the pic.

The plan is for the star packed film to go into production this fall

TV's CHiPs Gets A Movie

Parenthood's Dax Shepard will write, direct and star in a feature film reboot of the classic TV Show "CHiPs" says Deadline.

The original followed two officers, Officer Jon Baker (Larry Wilcox) and Frank 'Ponch' Poncherello (Erik Estrada), who patrolled the highways of California on motorcycles

Shepard is set to play Baker while Michael Pena is attached to play Ponch.

Andrew Panay is producing the film.

Warner Bros. tried to adapt the property into a comedy film a few years ago with That '70s Show star Wilmer Valderrama set to take on the role of Ponch but the project stalled. This version is said to boast a more serious tone along "Bad Boys" or "Lethal Weapon"

Shepard is expected to perform his own riding and stunts since he's a professional driver race car and motorcycle rider.

Sam Claflin & Emilia Clarke Team Up On "Me Before You"

Sam Claflin ("The Hunger Games: Catching Fire") and Emilia Clarke ("Terminator: Genisys")  are in negotiations to star in the film adaptation of author Jojo Moyes' bestseller called Me Before You says Deadline.

The story follows a small town girl (Clarke) caught between dead-end jobs and a high-profile, successful man (Claflin) who becomes wheelchair bound following an accident. He has decided his life is not worth living until the woman is hired for six months to be his new caretaker. Worlds apart and trapped together by circumstance, the two get off to a rocky start. But, she is determined to prove to Will that life is worth living and as they embark on a series of adventures together, each finds their world changing in ways neither of them could begin to imagine.

Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber ("500 Days of Summer") penned the most recent draft of the adapted screenplay from which Thea Sharrock will direct. Moyes wrote the first draft of the screenplay. The book has sold over half a million copies.

Karen Rosenfelt is producing the picture.

An August 2015 release is planned.

Hawkeye's Lost "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" Cameo

We have known for some time that  that Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye had a cameo written for him in the original screenplay for "Captain America: The Winter Soldier", but it was cut before it went into production.

 Co-director Joe Russo talked with Screen Rant and explained the cameo in detail and why Hawkeye was in the story:

"What it was going to be, we were trying to complicate the relationship between Cap and his S.H.I.E.L.D agent friends. If Hawkeye got a call from S.H.I.E.L.D saying Captain America is a fugitive, would he listen to that call or not listen to that call? That sequence actually was heartbreaking for us to cut it. I think it ultimately might have been a conflict with Renner's schedule. But there was a great sequence where Hawkeye was chasing Cap through Washington D.C. there was an awesome sequence where they confronted each other in a ravine on the outskirts of D.C. and Hawkeye was shooting a series of arrows closing in on Cap, Cap closing in on him. And then Cap took him down and he realized for the first time that Hawkeye was trying to trick S.H.I.E.L.D, where he whispered something into Cap's ear that Cap had a tracker on his suit and to punch Hawkeye to make it look real, because there was a Quinjet hovering above where they were watching the feedback back at S.H.I.E.L.D. So it was a cool sequence. But look, there's a million iterations of films, and especially when dealing with Marvel movies where characters can come in or come out during the creative process. And you keep working and working like a Rubik's Cube till you find the right configuration where everything lines up. So even though we lost that sequence, I think we may have streamlined the movie and made it a little bit more propulsive."

The "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" Disc hits stores on September 9th.

Cameras Roll On "Avouterie"

THR reports that Pretty Little Liars co-star Sean Faris and Necessary Roughness star Mehcad Brooks will star in the indie thriller Avouterie.

Inspired by true events--the story follows a man (Faris) who returns home to find his wife (Danielle Savre) cheating on him on their anniversary. He holds her and her naked and humiliated lover (Brooks) captive at gunpoint while he decides whether or not he's going to kill them. The action takes place over one day and is set in New Orleans during a stifling heat wave.

H.M. Coakley will call action here using a Black-listed script that he wrote.

Monica Floyd and Mark E. Walker are producing while Marc Porterfield is executive producing.

Production is underway in Los Angeles.

A movie still has already been released:

Ross Katz Charts "The Choice" Movie

Ross Katz ("Adult Beginners," "Taking Chance") is set to direct the film adaptation of author Nicholas Sparks' 2007 novel "The Choice" says Variety.

The story follows a man and a woman who meet first as neighbors in a small coastal town in North Carolina and end up pursuing a relationship that neither could have foreseen.

Bryan Sipe has written the adapted screenplay  Sparks, Theresa Park and Peter Safran are producing the pic

This will be the eleventh Sparks novel to be adapted.

Production begins in October in Wilmington, North Carolina.

"Fingersmith" Gets A Korean Redux

Screen reports that original Oldboy and "Stoker" director Chan-wook Park is set to make a Korean-language thriller based on author Sarah Waters' 2002 crime novel "Fingersmith".

Set in Victorian London, the book followed a group of young women who are petty thieves (fingersmiths). Park’s adaptation will be renamed "Agashi" and set in Korea during the time of Japanese rule.

Casting begins this month, with young unknowns expected to get the two lead female roles, ahead of a shoot in the first half of 2015.

The book was previously adapted into a 2005 BBC mini-series starring starring Sally Hawkins, Imelda Staunton, Rupert Evans and Charles Dance.

Miltos Yerolemou Joins "Star Wars: Episode VII"

Miltos Yerolemou, who had a small but memorable role as Arya Stark's sword trainer in the first season of "Game of Thrones," has joined the cast of  J.J. Abrams' "Star Wars: Episode VII" in an undisclosed role reports The BBC. The role is said to be only a minor one.

 Original Trilogy stars Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker Harrison Ford as Han Solo  and Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, Peter Mayhew playing the legendary Wookiee Chewbacca, and Kenny Baker as Astro droid R2 D2 will be back.
 
Franchise creator George Lucas told Bloomberg Businessweek that he begun talks with original stars to have them return to for its new films -- before he had even begun the process of the ultimately $2 billion deal and sale. It's been said that Lucas' actually spent about a year planning the franchise's future before handing the reigns of Lucasfilm over to Disney.

The new cast members also include John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson,Christina Chong and  Max von Sydow as a villain character. 12 Years a Slave Best Supporting Actress Lupita Nyong'o and Game of Thrones co-star Gwendoline Christie have officially been cast in the film as well. Parkour master Pip Andersen and actress Crystal Clarke have joined the sequel--the pair were two of the 37,000 or so hopefuls who attended casting calls across eleven cities

Disney/Lucasfilm haven't revealed any character details at all however, so which of the newcomers is playing which roles is all speculation at this point.

Scottish actor Ian McDiarmid who played Emperor Palpatine attended the recent London Film and Comic Con and confirmed that he would not return to the "Star Wars" universe in the  upcoming trilogy--but he didn't rule out a return in a potential spin-off pre-Return of the Jedi:

"I'm definitely not in [Episode VII]. As you know, he's dead by then. I know, we believe in reincarnation, and holograms… But you know, they are going to take many twists on the story as the years go on, and I guess they may go back to a time - I've got no clue, I'm speaking off the top of my head - when the Emperor ran the universe. And I don't want anyone else to play him, do I?"

In a recent post Latino Review claims that Palpatine is part of the new trilogy after all--though played by another actor...

James Earl Jones, the man behind the voice of Star Wars villain Darth Vader was asked by Variety recently about the possibility of playing the character in more films, perhaps one of the Spin-Off Films for example set before "Return of the Jedi". He said: "Oh no. I've got no illusions that I will or even hankerings to be in them, but I'm very proud to have been part of the original."

Abrams wrote the script with Lawrence Kasdan for the film. Oscar winner Michael Arndt ("Toy Story 3," "Little Miss Sunshine") vacated his job scripting the next film--after disagreements over which characters the film will focus on.

Kasdan ("The Empire Strikes Back," "Raiders of the Lost Ark") and Simon Kinberg ("Sherlock Holmes," "X-Men: Days of Future Past") have reportedly closed deals to pen the final two installments of the new "Star Wars" trilogy. Kasdan and Kinberg are also indeed writing the stand alone/origin Star Wars features. Company CEO Robert A. Iger recently revealed that the studio has three features in the works - not two as previously indicated.  "Godzilla" reboot director Gareth Edwards is going to direct the first of the upcoming Star Wars Spin-Off Films. "Fantastic Four" reboot and "Chronicle" director Josh Trank is officially set to direct the as yet Untitled Number 2 stand alone spin-off film.

The plan is to have each of these films come out in the years when we don't see a new episode of the saga - They would come out in 2016, 2018 and 2020. We still don't know which characters these spin-offs will focus on. Current franchise chief, Kathleen Kennedy spoke to Yahoo about the stand-alone films saying that they will NOT affect the main narrative of the Episodes.

Looking ahead "Looper" and "Brick" writer-director Rian Johnson has inked a deal to both pen and call action on "Star Wars: Episode VIII" as well as write a treatment for "Star Wars: Episode IX".
  
The series MVP composer John Williams is set to score Episode VII, Episode VIII and Episode IX.
  
Kasdan and Kinberg would also join the projects as producers with Kennedy.

There was  a scheduled two-week production hiatus in August to allow for adjustments in the shooting schedule following Ford's recovery from that injury where he  broke his left leg. The injury is also said to have happened during filming on a top secret set rather than on the Millennium Falcon set as was widely reported.

Production is scheduled to take place through September at Pinewood Studio in England. The film has a confirmed release date of December 18, 2015.

Lots Of Fresh Footage Marks Newest Dracula Untold Trailer

Universal Pictures has released the international trailer for its "Dracula" reboot called "Dracula Untold".

Formerly known as "Dracula Year Zero"--the project centers on Vlad the Impaler (Luke Evans) and his lust for blood which inspired the mythology behind Bram Stoker's classic novel. In this version Dracula is a Transylvanian prince who risks eternal damnation in order to save his wife and son from a Turkish horde.

Sarah Gadon, Dominic Cooper, Samantha Barks and Art Parkinson also star.

Matt Sazama & Burk Sharpless wrote the latest draft of the screenplay from which commercials guy Gary Shore directed Michael De Luca will act as producer.

 "Dracula Untold" is set to hit theaters on October 17, 2014

"Magic Mike Xxl" Gets Down To Business

Production has started on the upcoming sequel "Magic Mike Xxl". A tweeted pic of the slate marked the occasion.

It's ON! pic.twitter.com/zczZdpqzdt
— Bitchuation (@Bitchuation) August 31, 2014

Writer and star Channing Tatum told GQ that the sequel sees Mike and some of the others heading out on a road trip tour of stripper conventions. Once again, the film will be based on his own experiences. Tatum,  Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, and Alex Pettyfer have agreed to return--It's unclear if Matthew McConaughey is reprising his role as Dallas.

Steven Soderbergh's longtime assistant director Gregory Jacobs ("Criminal," "Wind Chill") is taking over the helm of the film. Jacobs served as both assistant director and producer on the first "Magic Mike," while Soderbergh will stay on as an executive producer director of photography, camera operator and film editor for the sequel. Tatum and Reid Carolin penned the script for the second film

"Mike 2" hits  July 1st 2015.

24 Movie: The Clock Is Ticking Again....

FOX Broadcasting Company's recent limited TV series "24: Live Another Day" was solid enough in the ratings to revive talk about the possibility of a big screen version.

The series 24 followed a day in the life of counter terrorist hero on the run Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland).

Though never officially green lit, the film had a script in which Mark Bomback ("The Wolverine" "Shadow Divers") had tweaked from Billy Ray's initial script that was reportedly going to be the first in a possible film trilogy. Antoine Fuqua was tipped to call action before things fell apart.

Series co-creators Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran and show runner Howard Gordon initially planned a feature film between the sixth and seventh season of the show. It was then decided to hold off  until the series ended.

Now, TV Line reports that interest in the film has happened again with Imagine Entertainment planning to pitch a feature length premise to studio bosses at Fox.

Imagine chief Brian Grazer is said to really like the pitch which is a new idea for the film that's different to the previous effort that never took off. How it will tie into the end if 'LAD' and what characters we can expect to see is unknown at this point.

Holiday Box-Office Update: The Summer Of Our Discontent

The actioner The November Man and the found footage flick As Above, So Below
were no match for  Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy" (My Review) over the extended Labor Day weekend...Ending the dismal Summer of 2014.

Pamela McClintock of THR has the UPDATED Info:

Closing out the troubled summer at the North American box office, James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy easily ruled the Labor Day holiday, earning a victorious $22.2 million in its fifth weekend for domestic total of $280 million. It will even break the curse that has plagued other summer tentpoles and hit $300 million domestically.

Globally, the Marvel Studios and Disney event pic has earned $553.6 million.

New Labor Day weekend entries As Above, So Below and The November Man did only modest business, coming in No. 5 and No. 6 behind Guardians, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, If I Stay and R-rated comedy Let's Be Cops with $10.3 million and $10.2 million, respectively. November Man, opening Wednesday, did a total $11.9 million in its six-day debut.

Hollywood is more than ready to say goodbye to one of the most disappointing summers in memory (some prospered, such as Disney and Fox).

North American revenue for the season barely cracked $4 billion, marking an eight-year low and, when accounting for inflation, a 17-year low. And revenue is down 15 percent from last year's record haul of $4.75 billion, the biggest year-over-year decline that anyone can remember. Even Labor Day, never a big moviegoing holiday, was down more than 14 percent from last year.

Attendance was also down by more than 5 percent.

Guardians has been one of the summer's few bright spots and is now the top-grossing film of 2014 to date domestically, eclipsing the $259.8 million earned by fellow Marvel and Disney tentpole Captain America: The Winter Soldier. And international returns remain strong, helping to make up for the gap for many films.

From Legendary Entertainment, As Above, So Below skewed notably younger, with 65 percent of the audience under the age of 25. The audience was split evenly in terms of gender.

The psychological thriller cost a mere $5 million to make, and follows a group of explorers who discover dark forces when they dive into the catacombs that lie beneath the streets of Paris. Universal is releasing the film, which targeted younger consumers with an aggressive digital campaign.

From director Roger Donaldson, The November Man follows an ex-CIA agent (Brosnan) who is brought back for one more mission and finds himself pitted against his former pupil. The movie, returning Brosnan in a James Bond-like role, skewed notably older, with 85 percent of ticket buyers over the age of 25.

The $20 million-plus movie was made and financed by The Solution Entertainment Group, Palmstar Media Capital and Merced Media Partners. Olga Kurylenko and Luke Bracey also star in November Man, which Relativity acquired for $3 million.

Poor reviews likely November Man, although audiences liked it better, giving it a B+ CinemaScore. As Above, So Below earned a withering C- CinemaScore.

For the nostalgic set, Sony celebrated the 30th anniversary of Ivan Reitman's Ghostbusters by releasing the classic supernatural comedy in 784 theaters before the anniversary edition comes out on Blu-ray.

Among more limited releases, Spanish-language venture Pantelion and Lionsgate launched biopic Cantinflas in 382 locations to a pleasing $3.3 million. The movie stars Oscar Jaenda as Cantinflas, Mexico's greatest and most beloved comedy star of all time. Cantinflas opens in Mexico in September.

Cantinflas earned an A CinemaScore, and Pantelion is hoping it becomes nearly as successful as Instructions Not Included, the top grossing Spanish-language film of all time in North America. Among indie films, Jon Favreau's Chef crossed the $30 million mark at the domestic box office as it re-expanded nationwide, cooking up a sweet victory for the filmmaker and Open Road Films.

John Carney's Begin Again also took advantage of the Labor Day holiday to once again expand. The Weinstein Co. grossed $1.1 million for the four-day holiday for a domestic total of $15.6 million.

Box-Office Crash: What Caused Hollywood's Miserable Summer?

Next Up:The faith based film The Identical is this weekend's sole wide release...

Batman v Superman-DOJ: Lex On Set-Bald Or Not?

We have yet to see any pics of Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor in Zack Snyder's upcoming superhero team-up film "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" that is until now...

Still the new paparazzi set photos show Eisenberg covering his head with a towel so who knows whether or not he will be bald for the role, or a blond or even ginger as has been rumored.

Remember those Batman v Superman set candids we promised?... look for them on Tuesday! #HenryCavill #Exclusives pic.twitter.com/bTS01xpgoY
— Henry Cavill (@HenryCavillNews) August 31, 2014

DOJ will see the return of Henry Cavill as Superman/Clark Kent, Ben Affleck will play Bruce Wayne/Batman amid lots of fallout--while Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne and Diane Lane are set to reprise their roles as Lois Lane, Perry White and Martha Kent. "Fast Five" star Gal Gadot's playing Wonder Woman.

How big Gadot's role as WW is, is unknown at this point. Godot beat out Olga Kurylenko and Elodie Yung for the role. Thor: The Dark World" actress is Jaimie Alexander was also linked.

Some time ago there was noise that the production was seeking is a love interest for the Dark Knight in the film. The Type? A woman in their late 20s of any ethnicity. Adding that she be tall and "possess physicality".

The notice DID NOT give a name for the character, which led to speculation that it was anyone from Vicki Vale to Wonder Woman. A leaked casting call had fanboys thinking that the Amazon warrior was in the pic.

A love interest for Bats suggests that he will have a larger part in the film than expected.

Rumors started that reportedly confirmed that Jason Momoa has been cast as Aquaman for both DOJ and "Justice League".  In response Momoa posted a new photo via Instagram that seemed like a response to the chatter that could go either way (though most likely it's a denial) - The pic sees him  holding a pitchfork like a trident, but he's also holding up his middle finger.

Momoa has been linked to Warner Bros' upcoming DC Entertainment plans for a long time but he's been suggested for numerous other roles like Doomsday or Metallo alien hero Martian Manhunter who also happens to like Oreo Cookies. The imposing actor has been asked about the talk several times but has always denied that he's up for a role.

 Ray Fisher is playing the role of Cyborg in the film. Jeremy Irons has been cast as Wayne's butler Alfred Pennyworth.

There were reports that suggested that the chatter about former "Breaking Bad" star Bryan Cranston was playing Lex in the upcoming movie were true were denied by the actor. In fact he and fellow early frontrunner Mark Strong were never offered the role. Tom Hanks was internally discussed but an offer was never made.

Instead, they stuck with a next generation' mandate. We were told that Joaquin Phoenix came up as a contender for Lex. The trade says that he passed.

Latino Review reports that four secondary villains are making an appearance in DOJ: Victor Zsasz Morgan Edge Amanda Waller and David Cain.

According to their sources, the serial killer Zsasz will fight with Affleck's Batman in an early Gotham City-set scene. Edge will be the slimy public relations head of LexCorp who goes toe to toe with Lois Lane on a TV talk show. Cain will meet with Luthor's bodyguard Mercy to set up an assassination. There's also another baddie  that is yet to be cast . In this incarnation Waller's a stern, intimidating senator who sees Superman as a threat and comes up with a counter measure to stop him.

Holly Hunter, Callan Mulvey and Tao Okamoto ("The Wolverine") have joined the cast. Specifics about their new characters are being kept under wraps. Australian actor Mulvey ("Zero Dark Thirty) has  been rumored for the role of an (unnamed) villain in the film for quite some time now....Scoot McNairy ("Argo," "The Rover") has joined the film. Nobody at the studio will confirm the news or reveal what the role is.

 Spanish site El Multicine which claims that "Looper"and "Edge Of Tomorrow" actress Emily Blunt is close to inking a deal for an unspecified role.

Batman on Film also suggests that the character of Commissioner Jim Gordon is in the film, however there's no word on potential casting or confirmation at this time. The character is front and center in Fox Broadcasting's fantastic looking new Fall TV Series prequel Gotham starring  Ben McKenzie, Donal Logue, and Jada Pinkett Smith

More rumors ran recently that Girls co-star Adam Driver was the frontrunner to play the character of Dick Grayson, the post-Robin Nightwing incarnation in the film. The original story mentioned that two other actors are in the mix for the role. Less than 24 hours later "Gossip Girl" and "Easy A" star Penn Badgley and "The Perks of Being A Wallflower" and "We Need To Talk About Kevin" star Ezra Miller were said to be in mix for the part. Driver denied any such talk...With good reason since he was really up for Lex. He turned it down due to scheduling conflicts. Denzel Washington was also among a list potentials for Lex generated by Thinkmcflythink as were Idris Elba and Colin Salmon.

Singer Justin Bieber uploaded a photo on his Instagram account showing him holding up what appeared to be a personalized script for the film with the hashtag "#Robin" but it turned out to be a prop for a Funny or Die skit.

The speedster The Flash is said to be in the script.

Meantime: The star of The CW's popular Arrow TV series Stephen Amell posted a "Justice League" comic image on his official Facebook page.  We already know that Flash (Grant Gustin) showed up there for a few eps before getting his own show this Fall (Watch an extended trailer). Could more of DC Entertainment's "Justice League" be coming to "Arrow"? For now the DC Cinematic Universe will NOT co-exist with the TV heroics...There are rumors about where the films might go as well as the  TV side of things...

"Man Of Steel" writer David S. Goyer was back on the keyboard but now--THR reports that  Chris Terrio, who won an Oscar for writing Affleck's “Argo,” has been hired to write the latest draft of the MOS 2 script. 

Goyer is in the midst of developing several projects including an adaptation of author Neil Gaiman's  popular comic book series Sandman, which he’ll produce with Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Christopher Nolan and Charles Roven return to executive produce the multi-hero film.

Sources say the new movie is going for the tone of the relationship and fight seen in Frank Miller’s 1980s ground-breaking mini-series The Dark Knight Returns.

The DOJ release was delayed a full 10 months for a number of reasons. As a result, the original release date of July 17th 2015 was no longer. The studio then targeted a May 6th 2016 release. They quickly inserted the fantasy Pan into that original slot. The sequel was to go head to head with "Captain America 3" ...Nobody thought that the comic book pics would ultimately share the date--Sure enough DOJ blinked--and will now open on March 25th 2016.

Once DOJ is completed  Snyder will helm the long planned Justice League movie penned by "Argo" scribe Terrio