Re: 'X-men: Days Of Future Past' News and Rumors thread

[webhead2006]

http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/171763-comic-con-a-few-hints-on-the-direction-of-the-x-men-sequel

Comic-Con Exclusive: A Few Hints on the Direction of the X-Men Sequel
by Edward Douglas
July 14, 2012
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Yesterday was a busy day for us at Comic-Con and before the Sony panel for Neill Blomkamp's Elysium, ComingSoon.net/SuperHeroHype had a chance to sit down with the movie's producer Simon Kinberg, an incredibly prolific Hollywood writer and producer, and we asked about one of his other key projects, the sequel to 20th Century Fox's X-Men: First Class which he's currently writing.

Kinberg has been working closely with Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman on the script with hopes to start shooting next spring for its July 2014 release date and that's been taking up the bulk of his life.

Kinberg admitted the "X-Men" franchise is one he absolutely adored but more importantly, he gave us a few hints on the direction they'll be taking with it and the characters they want to focus on.

"I'm not allowed to even breathe a word of any sort of details but I can say that the things that we thought worked well in 'First Class' were the characters, especially the four or five lead characters. The Charles-Erik relationship was obviously incredibly resonant and James and Michael did such an amazing job as those characters. Jen Lawrence and Nick Hoult, that's a really interesting relationship between Raven and Hank, so we're really going to be focusing on character and personally I really liked the period aspect of 'First Class' so we may well do that."

We also spoke with Kinberg about his relationship with developing this reboot of sorts with director Matthew Vaughn and the decision to bring him back after he departed X-Men: The Last Stand quite suddenly.

"I was involved with X-Men: The Last Stand and I was the producer of X-Men: First Class, so I was with (Matthew) for both since he was going to direct X3 and Matthew and I and Zak Penn really wrote that together. Matthew was in the room with us breaking the story and then he went away off X3 for various reasons and when 'X-Men: First Class' came back around, which I developed with Lauren Schuler-Donner and Bryan Singer as producers. Right around the time 'Kick-Ass' came out, we were looking for a director and we all saw 'Kick-Ass' and we all were like, 'You know, we wanted him before, he's a fantastically-skilled director…" I mean, I thought 'Kick-Ass' was astounding, another sort of groundbreaking movie, and we ended up back in the X-Men world with him. I thought he did such a great job with 'First Class' that it gave us all license to do some really ambitious things with the sequel."

We also wondered how important it was that these prequels connect to the other three movies, because we certainly found a few discrepancies in First Class which were somewhat distracting, being that we're such fans of the characters and some of the things done in the first three movies. Here's what he said on whether these movies should be seen as prequels or straight reboots.

"It's an interesting thing and I wouldn't know how to define it because we tried to be as respectful as possible in 'First Class' to the 'Singer-verse,' to 'X1-3' really, and there are places where we diverged from that and broke that, but there were other places where we were really respectful to, like even little silly things like the Rebecca Romijn cameo, so we are constructing it with 'X1-3' in mind. There may be some places where we don't line up perfectly but it is something we are very aware of and want to be respectful of and the people who are responsible for those movies--Lauren Schuler-Donner, Bryan Singer and Fox--are all involved."

Look for the rest of our video interview with Kinberg over on ComingSoon.net, talking about Neill Blomkamp's Elysium sometime soon.

[webhead2006]

saw an article the other day saying vaughn has dropped out as director. That is disapointing to hear. Since he did well with the first film and I wanted to see what he do with the sequel. Only thing I don't like hearing is singer is on shortlist to do film now. Now if singer had stayed with xmen films and never did sr. I probably be happy. But since he screwed supes up and I haven't bothered with his other films. I don't have much faith right now. Here is story:
http://deadline.com/2012/10/matthew-vaughn-wont-direct-x-men-first-class-2-will-bryan-singer-replace-him/

Matthew Vaughn Won’t Direct ‘X-Men: First Class 2′; Will Bryan Singer Replace Him?

BY MIKE FLEMING | Thursday October 25, 2012 @ 3:31pm EDT

EXCLUSIVE: Matthew Vaughn has decided not to direct the sequel to 20th Century Fox‘s hit spinoff X-Men: First Class. Ready for the next shocker? Atop the studio’s replacement short list is Bryan Singer, who launched the X-Men feature franchise with the first two superb films and who has been a guiding influence in this spinoff by writing the treatment and producing. If this works out, Singer and Vaughn would essentially be switching roles. Vaughn, who wrote the treatment for the sequel for X-Men: Days Of Future Past that was scripted by Simon Kinberg, would step back to produce the film with Kinberg and Lauren Shuler Donner. Vaughn will do another film for Fox, and I’m hearing it will be the drama Secret Service, an adaptation of the Mark Millar comic book series that Vaughn has been working on with the author.

Fox already has the script for X-Men: Days Of Future Past, and set to return is Fox’s First Class cast that includes Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy and Jennifer Lawrence. Fox hopes to make the July 18, 2014 release date it set for the sequel, but it will have to find a director quickly. I’m not exactly sure why Vaughn is bowing out, but he is pretty picky on projects that he directs. You’ll recall that he briefly bowed out of the original First Class film, prompting Fox to start a search before he changed his mind and returned. Vaughn also passed on directing the sequel to his Kick-Ass film, entrusting the job to Jeff Wadlow. Wadlow is shooting Kick-Ass 2: Balls To The Wall right now with Aaron Johnson and Chloe Moretz.
The studio just navigated a similar situation when Rupert Wyatt decided not to come back and direct the sequel to Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes. The studio had a cream of the crop group of directors waiting to take Wyatt’s place, and the search ended when Fox’s top choice, Cloverfield helmer Matt Reeves, committed to the job.

Fox has been trying to up the pedigree of directors who make films at the studio, and bringing back Singer while keeping Vaughn in the fold would be a pretty good feat. The studio did not immediately comment, but I’ll update my story when I have more information. Singer’s next film is Jack The Giant Killer for New Line.

[webhead2006]

Its official singer will direct first class 2:
http://www.slashfilm.com/bryan-singer-officially-set-to-direct-x-men-days-of-future-past/

Bryan Singer Officially Set to Direct ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ Posted on Tuesday, October 30th, 2012 by Angie Han

Last week, we learned that X-Men: First Class director Matthew Vaughn would not be returning to direct the sequel X-Men: Days of Future Past, as had been previously expected. While that made for some disappointing news, perhaps the latest update on the project will cheer you up.

Bryan Singer has officially closed his deal to direct the upcoming film, confirming rumors that the First Class producer would swap places with the First Class helmer for Days of Future Past. More details after the jump.

Singer, as even a casual X-Men fan could tell you, already has a long history with the franchise. His X-Men and X2 were at the forefront of the current glut of comic book movies, and are still considered among the highlights of the genre. Fans mourned when the director departed the franchise before the third film to direct Superman Returns instead, leaving Brett Ratner to close out the trilogy. But Singer returned to his beloved mutants with last year’s First Class, as a writer and producer on that film.

Talk that Singer could direct Days of Future Class began circulating last week, and as of today Deadline reports that the filmmaker has actually signed the deal. As someone who dearly loved Singer’s two X-Men movies, I’m honestly having trouble finding a downside here. Singer knows the story and characters inside and out, and has already shown us what he could do with them. Plus, his insight into the earlier movies should come in handy, as Days of Future Past is rumored to link First Class arc with Singer’s older movies.

Singer is currently putting the finishing touches on Jack the Giant Slayer, due out March 1, and will presumably get on X-Men: Days of Future Past soon after that. At present, Fox is still aiming to push out the latter in time for its previously announced July 18, 2014 release date. Vaughn is said to be nearing a deal to produce Days of Future Past.

[James Stocks]

And I'm kind of glad he's returning to direct an X-Men flick.

[Apologist Puncher]

And I'm kind of glad he's returning to direct an X-Men flick.

And I'M glad I won't have any reason to watch the next 'X-Men' flick.

[thecolorsblend]

IGN: One thing that’s interesting about the alternate universe/timeline in Days of Future Past is that it could potentially give you the opportunity to revisit things that happened in the third film in terms of characters and endings that you might like to see changed.

Bryan Singer: You mean, what you’re politely saying is, “fix s**t.” Is that what you’re saying? That’s what I’m hearing. [Laughing]

URL- http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/02/22/x-men-days-of-future-past-director-bryan-singer-says-he-will-be-repairing-things-that-went-wrong-in-the-brett-ratner-directed-x-men-last-stand

Am I imagining things or is this guy just not capable of giving an interview and skipping the French? Is that it? Again, I'm not offended by language but when you represent a movie studio talking about a movie that with a nine figure budget, shouldn't you take a more professional line? Is it just me? Am I the crazy one here?

[Apologist Puncher]

IGN: One thing that’s interesting about the alternate universe/timeline in Days of Future Past is that it could potentially give you the opportunity to revisit things that happened in the third film in terms of characters and endings that you might like to see changed.

Bryan Singer: You mean, what you’re politely saying is, “fix s**t.” Is that what you’re saying? That’s what I’m hearing. [Laughing]

URL- http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/02/22/x-men-days-of-future-past-director-bryan-singer-says-he-will-be-repairing-things-that-went-wrong-in-the-brett-ratner-directed-x-men-last-stand

Am I imagining things or is this guy just not capable of giving an interview and skipping the French? Is that it? Again, I'm not offended by language but when you represent a movie studio talking about a movie that with a nine figure budget, shouldn't you take a more professional line? Is it just me? Am I the crazy one here?

Not only that, but this loser has the SACK to talk about "fixing" things from a less than well received comic book film? SERIOUSLY?

I hope Zack Snyder talks about "fixing things" when it comes time to do press for 'Man Of Steel'. Remind everyone just how SHITTY Singerman was, and whose fault it was.

[Apologist Puncher]

Wow. Just. Wow...

http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/GraphicCity/news/?a=78055

[thecolorsblend]

Interesting how she has more of a "comic booky" look now that those types of films are more trendy. But... really? Isn't this supposed to take place in the 60's? You know, when Storm should've still been in diapers?

Don't get me wrong, I think there's juice to be had in setting Marvel films in the 60's. They're of a piece with that era. But for fuck's sake, there's a timeline that's already been established here so why aren't we sticking with it?

[Apologist Puncher]

Interesting how she has more of a "comic booky" look now that those types of films are more trendy. But... really? Isn't this supposed to take place in the 60's? You know, when Storm should've still been in diapers?

Don't get me wrong, I think there's juice to be had in setting Marvel films in the 60's. They're of a piece with that era. But for fuck's sake, there's a timeline that's already been established here so why aren't we sticking with it?

The sequel is called 'Days Of Future Past'.

[James Stocks]

Guess getting another wig for her was too expensive.

[Apologist Puncher]

Guess getting another wig for her was too expensive.

Nah, in 'DOFP', Singer is having Storm be a middle-aged lesbian in the future.

[James Stocks]

Honestly, I could have done without Berry returning. Never liked her as Storm (I rarely like her in anything, for that matter). But I guess FOX wants their stars.

[James Stocks]

First posters released.







Definitely a step up from the teaser posters for FIRST CLASS.

[thecolorsblend]

I hadn't realized the likenesses were quite that close. Then again, there could be some Photoshoppery going on there.

Either way, not bad.

[James Stocks]

I always thought McAvoy had a good resemblance to Stewart. I don't quite see it with Fassbender though mainly because McKellen has a more distinctive face. Either way, I thought it was a nice touch having the x composite.

[thecolorsblend]

I liked First Class so I'm happy about a sequel. But it's Bryan Singer and I think the guy's entire pre-2006 career was an absolute fluke so I don't know what to make of this. Hmm...

[Apologist Puncher]

Boringly pretentious.

[thecolorsblend]

Anna Paquin Cut From 'X-Men: Days of Future Past'

Director Bryan Singer says in interview her one scene was cut from the film
Justin Kroll

While several castmembers from past installments of the "X-Men" franchise will return to the series next summer in Fox's "X-Men: Days of Future Past," it looks like there is at least one member that will miss the reunion.

In an interview with EW, director Bryan Singer has revealed he had to cut a sequence from the film that contained the only screen time for Anna Paquin's Rogue character. (The "True Blood" star had only shot a couple days worth of footage).

Singer says in the interview the reason for the cut had to with the film already having so much in it and the sequence ultimately feeling unnecessary. He goes on to add that it probably will be included on the DVD with other deleted scenes.

"X-Men: Days of Future Past" bows on May 23, 2014.

URL- http://variety.com/2013/film/news/anna-paquin-x-men-cut-1200981552

Eh. I've always liked Anna Paquin but this doesn't seem all that troubling to me. Whatever...

[thecolorsblend]

Well, I basically called it. I figured I'd get dragged to this thing and I sure enough did. The compromise I settled on was that IF I was going to see this film, I wouldn't pay for the ticket. I didn't want to do anything to financially support a child molester's film.

Figured one of my friends would buy my ticket. Imagine my surprise when my employer paid for it as part of a company outing.

Anyway. What'd I think? I'd give a spoiler tag if I gave a crap. But I don't. So I'll say that if you're a fan of X2 and felt let down by X3 (and arguably the solo Wolverine films), you'll dig DOFP. It's a return to a lot of what Bryan Singer developed back in X2. A shitload of the original cast members returned. Even incidental parts. I mean, would anyone have cared if Daniel Cudmore had been replaced by someone else? I wouldn't have... but apparently Singer or someone else would've been because he was brought back.

If you're intimately familiar with X-Men comics, this thing's got to be a treasure trove for you. A lot of characters from dystopic-future X-Men stories pop up here: that Indian dude, Bishop, Blink and maybe others I'm not familiar with.

If that sounds fun to you, enjoy!

But for me... well, the Apologist Puncher pretty much called it. Hank is pretty much a ripoff of Hulk now. It's hard to ignore. On top of that, it really does feel like Quicksilver's only in the movie to steal Age of Ultron's thunder. He's only got a small role in the movie and doesn't do anything completely indispensable to the plot. What he contributes to the film could've been done in other ways/by other characters. It really does come off like a middle finger to Whedon and Marvel.

Don't get me wrong, he's actually a pretty enjoyable character. It's typical for speedsters to be lighter, more carefree types of characters. And that's pretty much Quicksilver in DOFP. It's not an issue of the actor or the writing. It's the simple fact of the character being in the movie at all when it had to have been known to Singer and company that Whedon was going to use Quicksilver in Age of Ultron.

Overall, Singer's never impressed me with his tact and class. He wore jeans and a t-shirt to the Singerman premiere. It's a Hollywood tradition that goes back decades that people put on their Sunday finest for premieres. How much more does that apply to films they create themselves? But Singer flouted tradition and common manners by showing up dressed like a frat boy. Remember how SSS made fun of Blandon for attending the 2006 Teen Choice Awards in t-shirt and jeans? Well, where do you think ol' BJ got that idea?









One of these is not like the others...

Anyway, if the guy's enough of a dick to do something like that, is it REALLY beyond him to steal another studio's thunder like that?

[non_amos]

I haven't been to see this yet but there's a possibility of this coming weekend. Of course there's a possibility of the Cap film this weekend too but not on the same day. Yeah, I'm reading all these rave reviews by all these so-called fanboys but I honestly can't give an opinion until I actually see it. But I have to agree with the middle finger to Marvel Studios & Joss Whedon. That really shows a lot of class huh? Here's hoping Whedon blows Singer away (but not like he'd like LOL).

[thecolorsblend]

I haven't been to see this yet but there's a possibility of this coming weekend. Of course there's a possibility of the Cap film this weekend too but not on the same day. Yeah, I'm reading all these rave reviews by all these so-called fanboys but I honestly can't give an opinion until I actually see it. But I have to agree with the middle finger to Marvel Studios & Joss Whedon. That really shows a lot of class huh? Here's hoping Whedon blows Singer away (but not like he'd like LOL).

Oh man, can't believe I forgot but I completely buried the lead in my last post.

Singer being a classless, tactless, pompous dick of a person? Yep, he "unfucked" the franchise alright. Still not entirely sure how this is all supposed to work out in continuity but, yeah, X3's basically toast. Scott's back, Rogue's seems to have her power, Xavier... well, guess he never really died (completely) in the first place but he's back. So now Singer can pick up more or less where he left off if he wants.

Say whatever you want about Nu Trek but that basically left the original timeline in place. This could be the first example of a retcon in live action...

... except it maybe isn't because Singer himself attempted to retcon Superman III and IV out of existence with Singerman. So hmm.

[non_amos]

Speaking of 'Nu Trek' I liked how they basically set it up as an 'alternate' universe, not unlike what we got in Back To The Future II. Might need Doc Brown to explain it to the nimrods on some of these message boards I read. So in this altered timeline Vulcan is destroyed..........yet if 'old Spock' would really examine this then he'd realize that his own Vulcan still exists.....somewhere. Just getting back there would be the problem. But like you say, original series, etc., time-line still intact. Somewhere. So like Doc Brown would explain, Biff didn't really change history. No, rather his actions created this alternate universe that diverged from the regular one at that point in time. See, simple enough.   

Speaking of Singerman though, Singer chose to just ignore S3 & 4 out of existence & do a 'vague sequel'. I like what Abrams did better.

So now it looks like he's made yet another attempt at this same logic only this time he's getting a standing applause. I guess I'll see for myself shortly. Just keep him away from Supes & Trek, fair enough LOL?

[thecolorsblend]

tl;dr- One or two good ideas doesn't change the fact that Bryan Singer's an asshole.

But if you need more commentary on the subject...

Speaking of 'Nu Trek' I liked how they basically set it up as an 'alternate' universe, not unlike what we got in Back To The Future II. Might need Doc Brown to explain it to the nimrods on some of these message boards I read. So in this altered timeline Vulcan is destroyed..........yet if 'old Spock' would really examine this then he'd realize that his own Vulcan still exists.....somewhere. Just getting back there would be the problem. But like you say, original series, etc., time-line still intact. Somewhere. So like Doc Brown would explain, Biff didn't really change history. No, rather his actions created this alternate universe that diverged from the regular one at that point in time. See, simple enough.   

Speaking of Singerman though, Singer chose to just ignore S3 & 4 out of existence & do a 'vague sequel'. I like what Abrams did better.

So now it looks like he's made yet another attempt at this same logic only this time he's getting a standing applause. I guess I'll see for myself shortly. Just keep him away from Supes & Trek, fair enough LOL?

Funny, you pretty much nailed it. Doc had that chalk board scene in BTTF 2 where he broke it down for Marty (and the audience) how things went down after old Biff gave young Biff the almanac. We got that kind of melodramatic scene in Trek 2009 where the characters talked about it.

But there's really nothing like that in DOFP. You're basically expected to fill in the blanks on your own. This harmed the narrative.

Another issue was that knowing what I do about the comic ultimately screwed me up. What I can recall about the comic was that the dystopic future was maybe twenty'ish years in the future while the time Kitty Pryde came back to was "the present day" (relatively speaking). So when Kitty did whatever she needed to do in "the present day", the future she came back from ceased to exist.

In the movie, it seems like it's a dystopic present (relatively speaking) and Logan has to travel back to 1972 in order to prevent the dystopic present from ever coming to pass... except that's not really explicit anywhere in the narrative. Yes, I think we can assume the dystopic present is right now based on the ages of the characters in the dystopic present... but the lack of a chalk board scene ultimately works against people like me who walked in expecting a dystopic future and were thrown for a loop. Maybe that's my fault for bringing unnecessary baggage along with me but there it is.

There's also a narrative flaw at work here where, I'm sorry, the mutants proved by their own actions that they're a hostile force. No, that doesn't justify the extreme measures used against them and the regular folk who took their side, blah blah blah, but Mystique tried to kill the midget once, tried to kill him again, placed the President and several of his staff in direct mortal peril and then Magneto pimps in there, tries his dead level best to murder the President and several of his staff with their own weapons and this is all AFTER he takes control of the Sentinels and cordons off the entire White House perimeter with a fucking transplanted baseball stadium to keep would-be rescuers away.

I mean, sorry, but if anything all this chaos and mayhem should've amplified the anti-mutant faction's point. You don't need to wait for someone to get killed by a mutant when this much carnage is there to serve as your counter-argument. The dystopic present Wolverine was working to prevent should've looked like a picnic compared to what he'd be going back to.

One thing the movie did well though is that it tied the present day to the past by using Wolverine as a tether. Usually, the passing of time in the past shouldn't affect any peril that's going on in the future. But because Wolverine's consciousness is being projected into the past... not sure if I'm doing a good job of explaining this but basically the hellish present and the distant past use Wolverine's perception of time as the tether point. So victory won't be the mutants' until Wolverine achieves his objective in real time relative to the people in the dystopic present.

Hopefully that makes sense reading it. If not, it'll make sense when you watch it.

Either way, there are a few good concepts at play in the film (Quicksilver, the First Class cast, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, the above "real time" tethering to add double peril to the plot) along with some really horribly thought out plot points (again, the anti-mutant faction now have a bulletproof argument for any policy they care to enact).

The midget dude who plays the baddie in the film... can't remember if I said so before but it was actually kinda cool to see a midget play a serious character. Don't want to sound like Mr. PC or anything but they're often used to comedic effect in media. This is a real and serious performance by an actor who happens to be a midget. And the audience I saw the movie with mostly bought it. They didn't laugh at that guy.

Anyway. It doesn't amount to much either way but it's probably the one classy decision Singer made in the entire film.

[Apologist Puncher]

Haven't seen it. Probably won't until my toe rents it....

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