Jason Statham Virtually Died While Shoot 'Expendables 3'

Production on The Expendables 3 began last month in Bulgaria with director Patrick Hughes at the helm. We've seen a photo from the set with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Harrison Ford and the paparazzi has landed some shots of the rest of the cast, but we won't post them here. What we will post, however, is a story from cast member Terry Crews who talks about a supposed near-death experience. However, as he tells the story, it's clear that it's really Jason Statham who actually almost died while filming the sequel. Basically some faulty brakes on a truck resulted in Statham driving straight into the Black Sea. Watch now!

Here's the interview from "The Tonight Show" with Terry Crews telling the story via Movies.com:

The Expendables 3 is directed by Patrick Hughes and written by Sylvester Stallone and Olympus Has Fallen scribes Creighton Rothenberger & Katrin Benedikt. Barney (Sylvester Stallone), Christmas (Jason Statham) and the rest of the team comes face-to-face with Conrad Stonebanks (Mel Gibson), who years ago co-founded The Expendables with Barney. Stonebanks subsequently became a ruthless arms trader and someone who Barney was forced to kill...or so he thought. Stonebanks, who eluded death once before, now is making it his mission to end The Expendables, but Barney has other plans with a new era of Expendables team members, younger, faster and more tech-savvy. The film arrives on August 15th, 2014.

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'Tokyo Drift' Star Lucas Black Returns for 'Fast & Furious 7' 8 and 9

It looks like another reunion is in order as the Fast & Furious franchise continues. Following The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, franchise stars Vin Diesel and Paul Walker returned with the tighter titled Fast & Furious, which has since led to a whole new slew of sequels featuring the two original film's stars and nearly all the stars from the following sequels. Now Deadline reports Lucas Black, who starred in Tokyo Drift, is coming back as Sean Boswell in Fast & Furious 7. In fact, his return is the first of three more sequels as Fast & Furious 8 and Fast & Furious 9 have also been confirmed as being in development. Read on!

It's interesting to note that the unofficial Twitter feed which discussed the possibility of Kurt Russell not finalizing a deal for Fast & Furious 7 actually hinted at Black's return to the franchise. They must have a good insider since they also said that Fast & Furious 8 was on the way. Does that mean one of the villains in this seventh film really will be the father of Jesse from the original film? We'll have to wait and see. For now the cast of Fast & Furious 7 is getting pretty full with new stars like Djimon Hounsou and Ronda Rousey joining the old cast. We're still hoping Russell is part of the bad guys, but if he's not, hopefully a comparably exciting talent will sign up. Stay tuned for more as production on the sequel continues.

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Exclusive: First Look at Vin Diesel and Paul Walker in 'Fast & Furious 7'

Though we've heard production of Fast & Furious 7 will head back to Los Angeles, where part of the film's plot is supposed to unfold, right now the production is down in hot and humid Georgia for some scenes. And thanks to ever helpful and revealing Facebook page of franchise star Vin Diesel, we now have a first look photo from the film. As you might guess, the photo features Diesel, looking off camera, looking relatively intimidating, and we're not sure what he's looking at. Paul Walker stands in the background with some healing wounds on his face as well. No story details yet, so we're not sure what's going on in this scene.

Here's the first photo from James Wan's Fast & Furious 7 from Vin Diesel's Facebook page:

Fast & Furious 7 is directed by James Wan and written by Chris Morgan (who has written all the Fast & Furious sequels including and following Tokyo Drift). Though no plot details have been revealed, we know production will head to Pikes Peak in Colorado to film some sort of action sequence. Vin Diesel and Paul Walker return in the sequel along with most of their crew. Jason Statham is in hot pursuit as the film's villain (brother of Luke Evans' character Shaw) and other new cast members include Tony Jaa, Djimon Housou, Ronda Rousey and possibly Kurt Russell. The film opens on July 11th, 2014.

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Aaron Paul & Dominic Cooper Suits up in 'Need for Speed' Photos

He's got a need, a need for speed. Disney has officially released the first two "first look" photos from Scott Waugh's Need for Speed, adapting the popular racing video game into another adrenaline-fueled action movie. Considering we've only posted the early featurette for this on Facebook, it's worth sharing these two images as well. Following in the footsteps of the Fast & Furious franchise, Disney is getting their hands in the racing movie game. Up-and-comer Aaron Paul (of "Breaking Bad") stars in Need for Speed, along with Dominic Cooper, Kid Cudi and Dakota Johnson, all of whom can be seen in these rather stale early promo shots.

The first two photos released from Disney for Need for Speed, featuring Paul, Cooper, Johnson & Kid Cudi:

Need for Speed is directed by stuntman turned director Scott Waugh and written by George Nolfi, John Gatins and producer George Gatins. Framed for a crime he didn’t commit, muscle car mechanic and street racer Tobey (Aaron Paul) gets out of prison determined to settle the score with the man responsible for his false conviction. Tobey tears up the road in a gritty cross-country journey— one that begins as a mission for revenge, but proves to be one of redemption. Imogen Poots and Michael Keaton also star in the film. Disney will release Need for Speed in theaters early next year starting March 14th, 2014. We'll keep you updated on details, photos and eventually a trailer before then.

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Michael Shannon Link Up Andrew Garfield In Ramin Bahrani's 99 Homes

This summer we all got to see Michael Shannon go toe-to-toe with Henry Cavill's Superman in Zack Snyder's Man of Steel, but soon the Oscar-nominated star will find himself facing off against Spider-Man... albeit not literally. THR has learned that Shannon has signed a deal to star in the new drama 99 Homes, which already has Andrew Garfield attached,

Based on an original screenplay by Ramin Bahrani, who will also be serving as director, the film centers on a young man (Garfield) who finds himself in deep economic debt and has his house foreclosed on him. In order to try and get his life back on track he is forced to take a job working for a real estate broker - but the twist is that his boss is the same man who took the protagonist's house. The trade notes that it will be Shannon who plays the antagonistic broker, and not only does he take Garfield's character's house, he also, "entices him into schemes to embezzle money from the government." 

In addition to his performance in Man of Steel, Shannon also earned positive marks for his performance in the hitman thriller The Ice Man and had a small role in Jeff Nichols' Mud. He'll soon be seen in director John McNaughton's horror film The Harvest as well as David Wain's comedy They Came Together, and has completed production on Young Ones, a future-set action film starring Nicholas Hoult, Elle Fanning, and Kodi Smit-McPhee. He will soon reunite with Nichols on the sci-fi thriller Midnight Special, which will co-star Joel Edgerton and Kirsten Dunst, and can currently be seen weekly on HBO's Boardwalk Empire. 

There's no mention of when 99 Homes is planning to start production, but given the indie status of the film and the fact that it has enlisted its two lead actors we can probably expect production to start fairly soon. You will probably be able to find it on the festival circuit next year.

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'Mama' Director Andrés Muschietti Acquire Universal's 'Mummy' Reboot

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New Behind-the-Scenes Featurette + Images for 'Thor: The Dark World'

The Blu-Ray and DVD release of Iron Man 3 is coming on September 24th, and one of the bonus features on the disc will include the first featurette for Thor: The Dark World, the next chapter in Phase Two of Marvel's cinematic universe. Complete with interviews featuring Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Natalie Portman, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige and director Alan Taylor, we get a good tease of where this sequel will take the god of thunder. There's talk of going off-world for most of the movie and seeing the other Nine Realms. Portman teases that it's very "operatic" and the scale is truly epic. See below.

Here's the first featurette for Alan Taylor's Thor: The Dark World, originally from Trailer Addict:

The Dark World producer Craig Kyle explained to Empire where we find Thor and Asgard in the sequel:

Alan Taylor directs Thor: The Dark World which arrives in theaters on November 8th. What say you now?

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Twitter Reacts To Ben Affleck Cast As Batman In 'Man of Steel' Sequel

Ben Affleck as Batman?! Say it ain't so! It can't be true! This is the worst news in the history of the world! News that Ben Affleck has been officially cast to play Bruce Wayne aka Batman in Zack Snyder's Man of Steel sequel hit Twitter by storm last night, spreading instantly all over the world and evoking some of the most heated reactions and discussions we've seen in a while. The actor who gave us Daredevil and Gigli is going to be the next Batman? Thinking about that too much can make your head spin, which is why it's best to kick back (and relax until 2015 when the movie arrives) and enjoy the fun responses that have poured in.

Almost everyone had something to say about the Ben Affleck Batman news, good or bad. Many Hollywood celebrities chimed in as well, a few of them with some hilarious tweets. Here's some of the best ones around:

Really looking forward to seeing Affleck bring the depth and gravitas to Batman that he brought to Daredevil and Gigli.

— Wil Wheaton (@wilw) August 23, 2013

You read for a part, you feel good about it, you feel confident, then they cast Ben Affleck.

— Richard Dreyfuss (@RichardDreyfuss) August 23, 2013

Ben Affleck is Batman?!? Ugh, Warner Brothers read a freaking comic, Bruce Wayne is Batman. Ben Affleck is an actor/director.

— Brian Lynch (@BrianLynch) August 23, 2013

In the Ben Affleck version, Batman's parents kill themselves.

— Chase Mitchell (@ChaseMit) August 23, 2013

Casting Ben Affleck as Batman sounds like something The Joker would do to create a distraction at the nerd bank.

— Comedy Central (@ComedyCentral) August 23, 2013

Be thankful Ben Affleck said yes. You know James Franco was next on that list.

— Tim Siedell (@badbanana) August 23, 2013

Now that @BenAffleck is Batman in MAN OF STEEL 2 it's clear this is just a ruse to save American hostages in Vancouver.

— Ethan Anderton (@Ethan_Anderton) August 23, 2013

Spend ten years working your way back into everyone's good graces. Win an Oscar. Then you get cast as Batman, and BAM! You're Gigli again.

— Tim Carvell (@timcarvell) August 23, 2013

So @MarkWaid totally called the Batman casting. pic.twitter.com/13orI0vGGP

— Jocelyn, Miss Andry (@KryptonGirl) August 23, 2013

I've just seen Christian Bale going to Affleck's apartment with some Huey Lewis records and an axe.

— THE STUDIO EXEC (@studioexec1) August 23, 2013

Almost everyone had something to say about the Ben Affleck Batman news, good or bad. Many Hollywood celebrities chimed in as well, a few of them with some hilarious tweets. Here's some of the best ones around:

I like Ben Affleck. And I look forward to the next installment to add to the DC universe: TO THE WONDER WOMAN.

— Linda Holmes (@nprmonkeysee) August 23, 2013

#BenAffleck as #Batman > Josh Brolin, Gerard Butler, Joe Manganiello, Ryan Gosling as #Batman

— Josh Costella (@JoshCostella) August 23, 2013

The last Ben Affleck movie I saw was DAZED AND CONFUSED, so already I'm picturing Batman swinging a wooden paddle.

— Matt Zoller Seitz (@mattzollerseitz) August 23, 2013

I feel like Ben Affleck as Batman is bring us closer together. Now it's time to grab our torches and pitchforks.

— Pointless Levi (@IAmPointlessMan) August 23, 2013

Bradley Affleck is Rocket Bat in Zack Snyder's GUARDIANS OF THE GA'HOOLE GALAXY 2.

— Jesse A. Carp (@jessecarp) August 23, 2013

Ben Affleck to play Rocket Raccoon in Avengers 2, which will be shot on film. #NewsOverload

— Brian Salisbury (@BriguySalisbury) August 23, 2013

Ben Affleck as Batman. Does that mean Matt Damon will play Robin? #ThingsToPonderAtNight pic.twitter.com/CjNnTqnRwq

— Not Bill Walton (@NotBillWalton) August 23, 2013

How dare Ben Affleck ruin the integrity of a franchise where a grown man pretends he's a bat!

— billy eichner (@billyeichner) August 23, 2013

I don't like the idea of Ben Affleck playing James Bond at all. He's American, he's too young and last time I saw him he had a beard.

— Mike Booth (@somegreybloke) August 23, 2013

Fuck it. Just let Idris Elba play Wonder Woman.

— Martha Plimpton (@MarthaPlimpton) August 23, 2013

The last one is great because by that point of the night, many folks had reached the "fuck it" stage and were tweeting absurdly hilarious things. For more amusement, Mashable has memes + Uproxx has more tweets.

In all honesty, it's still way too early to really judge this kind of casting decision (especially considering this won't be in theaters until July 2015). There's so much we don't know about the sequel and where Warner Bros / DC Comics wants to take the story next after Batman vs. Superman (or Man of Steel 2). This could all be leading towards Ben Affleck directing the Justice League movie (while also playing Batman) and if that happens, things will get even crazier. But for now, it is fun to see all of the reactions and responses, and to laugh at how much this has enraged fans. Even if you hate this casting, don't worry, the world isn't over.

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'Pirates of the Caribbean 5' Gets an Official Bombastic Title

Disney is getting ready to set sails on their high seas blockbuster sequel Pirates of the Caribbean 5 with Kon-Tiki directors  Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg gearing up for production late this year or January 2014. Johnny Depp will shoot the sequel after completing the musical Into the Woods (also at Disney) and the crime comedy Mortdecai with director David Koepp, and while the studio is still sorting out its deal with producer Jerry Bruckheimer, potentially taking away his final cut privileges after The Lone Ranger failed to perform at the box office, the official title for the sequel has been revealed. More below!

Rønning and Sandberg recently spoke with This is Infamous and they revealed that the title is Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, guaranteeing that the full title will rarely be used in headlines. The title is a reference to a line from the theme park (there's even a fansite called TellNoTales.com) where a skull and crossbones (similar to the image) on a wall utters the phrase. It's a flashy way of saying that someone who is dead can't tell secrets, so it's better to dispatch with them so they don't cause any trouble. Sounds like someone might be in pursuit of Captain Jack Sparrow for some information he knows? We'll get the full story on July 10th, 2015.

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Ben Affleck to Play Batman in Zack Snyder's 'Man Of Steel' Sequel!

Wow. This came out rather quick. Word is that Zack Snyder has cast the one, the only, Ben Affleck to play Batman in the upcoming Man of Steel sequel - tentatively titled Batman vs. Superman. Warner Bros made the official announcement, confirming a July 17th, 2015 release date for the highly anticipated DC Comics sequel, as well as Affleck's involvement. Affleck won an Oscar this year for directing/producing Argo (which won Best Picture) and also won one in 1998 for Good Will Hunting's Best Screenplay. Many may remember he already played George Reeves, aka Superman, in Allen Coulter's Hollywoodland and was one of the best parts of that movie. No more rumors - it's official, it's happening. Affleck vs Cavill in 2015. Are you ready?

Man of Steel director Zack Snyder provided a quick comment on the casting in the press release sent out by WB: "Ben provides an interesting counter-balance to Henry [Cavill's] Superman. He has the acting chops to create a layered portrayal of a man who is older and wiser than Clark Kent and bears the scars of a seasoned crime fighter, but retain the charm that the world sees in billionaire Bruce Wayne. I can't wait to work with him." In addition, Warner Bros' President of Production Greg Silverman commented: "We knew we needed an extraordinary actor to take on one of DC Comics' most enduringly popular Super Heroes, and Ben Affleck certainly fits that bill, and then some. His outstanding career is a testament to his talent and we know he and Zack will bring new dimension to the duality of this character." Let's hope that is true.

This news is definitely going to shake up the fanbase in a big way. Not many were expecting someone like Ben Affleck to be in consideration for this role, but he is obviously a very experienced actor. However, one could argue that his directing and writing is much better than his acting, at least nowadays. That said, this sounds like it might just be a good fit. My hope is that Zack really pushes Ben and challenges him to give a performance that lives up to the legacies of Michael Keaton, Christian Bale and Adam West. Warner Bros is really pushing with Man of Steel to make sure this is their new Avengers-like comic book series that will (maybe one day) lead to Justice League. Don't forget, Affleck was once rumored to be directing the Justice League movie, but that's still a few years away. For now - his casting is the biggest news. What say you?

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