THE FANTASTIC FOUR (Now with Shitty)

[TheButcher]

EXCLUSIVE: Talking 'Fantastic Four' and 'X-Men: Apocalypse' with Simon Kinberg

LR: You are involved with FANTASTIC FOUR; will we see any of it at this year’s Comic-Con?

Simon Kinberg: No, I can definitively officially tell you that there will not be anything from FANTASTIC FOUR at this year’s Comic Con. We are still very much in the middle of shooting and we don’t want to show anything until it’s ready and it’s not ready yet. We want the first stuff that we show from the film to really blow people away, and it will but we have got to wait until it’s ready.

LR: You don’t want to do a disservice to the film…

Simon Kinberg: Yes, we are hopefully going to be refining the way the people see the FANTASTIC FOUR movies. There are so many things we are doing different from the previous film and so many things different from other comic books films. When we really step forward we want it to be with our best foot forward. Instead of rushing something together for the Con we’d rather really wait until we have that perfect first image, perfect first sequence and first scene to show people. And I know that there’s a lot of people that think that’s the big surprise from Fox this year at the Con and knowing that I’m talking to a reporter and I’m going on record that I’m saying unfortunately that will not be a surprise for the fans of Comic-Con this year. Obviously the Comic-Con world is incredible important to FANTASTIC FOUR and because of that we want to give them the best version of what we are making.

LR: There’s always New York Comic-Con.

Simon Kinberg: Yes, there is New York, there’s Wonder Con, there is a lot of other places were we may indeed pop up with a surprise down the road. It just didn’t time out well this year and we are really so focused on making the film here in Baton Rouge and its going great. You have a lot of people that want to do something really special.

LR: Speaking of the FANTASTIC FOUR, are the FANTASTIC FOUR and the X-Men ever going to team up?

Simon Kinberg: I would love to see the X-MEN and FANTASTIC FOUR team up if only because I’m a fan and certainly it’s something we’ve thought about and talked about. The challenge is that they essentially live in different universes. In the X-Men world of the movies we never hear them talk about a famous super team called the FANTASTIC FOUR and in the FANTASTIC FOUR movie they are fantastic because they are the only ones of their kind meaning there aren’t other people with super powers on the streets. The FANTASTIC FOUR are in this movie are the first to transform into something super powerful. So given that they exist in these different domains or dimensions there are some inherent challenges. Part of the fun of working in this realm is trying to overcome those challenges and try to figure out how you can bridge the gaps between different worlds and different dimensions.

LR: Ultimate FANTASTIC FOUR was bonkers, eventually making Reed Richards one of the biggest villains of the line and the Classic FANTASTIC FOUR comics play broad and goofy to a modern audience. Kate Mara recently said that the new FANTASTIC FOUR is different from the comics and it's not surprising. What's the crux of the FANTASTIC FOUR to you?

Simon Kinberg: I actually think that this FANTASTIC FOUR movie is sort of a celebration of all the FANTASTIC FOUR comics that have preceded it. We have elements from the original FANTASTIC FOUR that there’s a sort of optimism and inspirational quality to the film. In some ways a comedy that was really distinct in the original FANTASTIC FOUR. Also, the notion of this dysfunctional surrogate family that comes together and has to work together is very present in the movie that owes a great debt to the originals. And this idea that they are scientist and that it’s almost like this science adventure, more than being superheroes, they are almost like scientific adventurers, that’s a big part of the movie too. We also owe a lot to the Ultimate’s and the current crop of FANTASTIC FOUR comics and you’ll see that. I don’t want to give anything away but you will see it in the details and a lot of the story telling. It’s really sort of inspired by all the different history of the FANTASTIC FOUR comics. I think what Kate meant, and I read that comment, I think what she meant which was right is that it’s not based on any one run. DAYS OF FUTURE PAST was obviously based on DAYS OF FUTURE PAST comic run and that was something that I could easily give the actors to read and they’d know the whole story. In this case because we are really snatching details, story lines, moments, action sequences from across the whole gambit of the decades of FANTASTIC FOUR, there isn’t one comic that defines the movie.

LR: It’s spread out pretty much.

Simon Kinberg: Exactly.

LR: So how has that changed during scripting and production?

Simon Kinberg: It hasn’t changed much in the scripting process. Josh Trank, the director, had a very clear vision as to what he wanted the movie to be, tonally especially. He knew he wanted it to be a more grounded, more character driven, more emotional, and a little more dramatic movie certainly more than the previous films. I think that tone has remained consistent through every draft and through for the however many days of shooting we’ve had now. We are well past the two-thirds mark of photography. As we go it’s like any movie or any movie I’ve worked on that’s a good movie, things evolve, you learn stuff while you are on the floor when you have good actors. The actors start to teach you more about the characters because they are the person who is living the character every day, it’s not me, the writer, or Josh, the director – it’s the actor. We have to think about the over all story and how all the characters interact, but for each the actors they are just focused on their character in that scene. As you go you learn from them. That I think has changed and evolved as we’ve been shooting. You’ll get a lot of good ideas, little nuances, little moments and warnings from the actors. That happened on X-MEN and all the X-MEN movies I’ve worked on and actually going on X-3 but certainly and especially X-MEN FIRST CLASS and X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST it’s a very collaborative environment. Especially when you have an ensemble like this, it’s creates a camaraderie on the set and that in turn creates a more collaborative environment.

LR: From a fan perspective, will a fan of the FANTASTIC FOUR comics come out of this movie feeling like they just watched a FANTASTIC FOUR movie?

Simon Kinberg: Absolutely. This is being made by fans of the FANTASTIC FOUR comics. Josh and I are humongous fans of the FANTASTIC FOUR comics. In fact when the studio first called me about doing this movie it was right at the end of X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST last summer. They said are you interested in doing the FANTASTIC FOUR movie and I said I was only interested in doing a FANTASTIC FOUR movie, meaning a movie that really honors the FANTASTIC FOUR comics. I’m not interested in doing something just to use the title as an excuse to do a goofy kids movie.

LR: Like a found footage type of film?

Simon Kinberg: When filmmakers honor the essence and the tone and the voice and the characters of the comics those make the best movies. To me X-Men 2, SPIDER-MAN 1 and 2, THE DARK KNIGHT movies, IRONMAN and everything Marvel has been doing. I think what we did with FIRST CLASS and DAYS OF FUTURE PAST, those were all made by people who really love, respect and really want to honor the books and that’s the same approach we are taking here. The most important audience for us are the core fans, the fans who love the books and for them to come out and feel like it’s really the first time they’ve seen the FANTASTIC FOUR on the screen.

LR: How much freedom does Fox have with the FANTASTIC FOUR rights as far as steering away from the source material and the essence of the characters?

Simon Kinberg: I don’t know how much Fox legally what kind of control Fox has. I know the mandate we went into it with, meaning me and Josh Trank, was we wanted to create a movie that is made from the love we share for the FANTASTIC FOUR comics and characters. If there’s story points and details where we have to steer away in some ways to go deeper with the characters then we’ll do that. I think a lot of adaptation whether it’s an adaptation of a comic or a great novel; the things that they are most importantly devoted to is the essence and the themes, the tones and the characters. Sometimes the actually stories, like the plot can shift a little bit. With this FANTASTIC FOUR we are not beholden to a singular plot from the comics. We are drawing story ideas from the whole history of the FANTASTIC FOUR. There is a little more flexibility with the story and a real focus and commitment and dedication with the characters.

LR: Which do you prefer as a story teller, a movie like X-MEN; DAYS OF FUTURE PAST where the director was instagram’ing things from the set or a movie like Josh Trank’s FANTASTIC FOUR which has been notoriously hard to pin down?

Simon Kinberg: I don’t know. I think different movies need different things to be honest. I thought what Bryan was doing was fun online and yet I also like being here on set where there is very little distraction. I think different movies demand different things. With X-MEN: DAYS FUTURE PAST there was so much positive energy and sort of hype going into that movie partly because of the cast and partly because we had been building toward it all the way from X-MEN 2 thru FIRST CLASS to finally getting all these actor together. There was so much energy that I thought it was a fun idea to be giving the fans a little taste of it as we were going. With a movie like this where there is actually some suspicion about what a FANTASTIC FOUR movie was going to be, because fans were not happy particularly happy about the last two, I think for us we didn’t want to show them stuff until it was really cooked. Until we feel like we are going to show it to you and it’s going to blow you away and in a blink you are going to know we made a FANTATSIC FOUR movie you wanted us to make. I think if you let people into the kitchen too much you sort of get too focused on the different ingredients and the tiny details instead of serving the meal knowing this is delicious. The hope and the reason that this one has been a little more locked down is like I say, we really just want to let the fans in when everything is ready and they can see all the work we’ve done has led, in a blink, the real FANTASTIC FOUR.

[TheButcher]

Is this our first look at The Thing from Josh Trank's FANTASTIC FOUR reboot!?!

[TheButcher]

Kate Mara Shares Celebratory FANTASTIC FOUR Image to Mark End of Filming

[TheButcher]

WILL FOX SELL FANTASTIC FOUR IF THIS REBOOT FAILS? - AMC MOVIE NEWS

[Spandau Belly]

Fantastic Four seems like it's stuck in that same awkward inbetween zone as Green Latern that makes it hard to adapt for any real audience. It's got too much cosmic space shit to be the accessible vigilante story that most superhero movies are; but then it doesn't seem to have enough cosmic space shit to be a full on space adventure movie. Too far out / not far out enough. Despite being a fairly recognizeable property, it's a tough sell.

[Al Shut]

It's got too much cosmic space shit to be the accessible vigilante story that most superhero movies are.

They could go in the opposite direction and fight Mole Man

[Ribbons]

I actually think the Mole Man is in this new movie.

I watched the 2005 Fantastic Four on HBO this weekend and couldn't believe how bad it was. I mean I knew it wasn't good or anything when it came out, but it's aged really poorly.

[papalazeru]

I actually think the Mole Man is in this new movie.

I watched the 2005 Fantastic Four on HBO this weekend and couldn't believe how bad it was. I mean I knew it wasn't good or anything when it came out, but it's aged really poorly.

I found it absolutely average. No decent Dr Doom backstory really ruined it but the kicker was it was too lightweight. In fact it was so lightweight it could have drifted off into orbit.

I didn't feel able to invest in any of the characters at all and the story was just really weak.

It certainly wasn't terrible in my opinion.

Oh, and the fact that Marvel have reused Evans in Cap 'merica, which he does seem to actually fit. It seems to be Hollywood doesn't want to let go of some stars (Reynolds as Green Lantern, R.I.P.D and now possibly Deadpool)

[TheButcher]

TheWrap:
Miles Teller on Lending Clothes to One-Night Stands:
‘You Will Not Get That Sh-t Back’

[TheButcher]

Fox Casts Doctor Doom Villain in 'Fantastic Four' Reboot
UPDATED: Fox already likes the actor since it cast him in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, which is riding a wave of good buzz from last week’s CinemaCon.

Toby Kebbell "Koba" Behind the Scenes Movie Interview

[TheButcher]

Why Is Fox Hiding The Fantastic Four?
Fox's next big superhero flick is coming to theaters next year... so why hasn't Fox released so much as a movie poster?

Fox had a pretty damn good Summer, especially if you're talking about superhero movies. With X-Men: Days of Future Past they've handily established themselves as the only game in town who can open a comic book movie to huge box office, audience enthusiasm and good reviews not named Christopher Nolan or Marvel Studios. And that's after weathering two movies everyone hated, a movie people mostly liked but didn't exactly pack theaters to see, a movie people went to see but forgot about a week later, and a pretty serious-sounding legal scandal.

Now, imagine you're Fox, and you just made all the money off a Marvel-based team-superhero movie. If you had another movie in that same genre that had finished shooting, was in post-production, was the big-budget debut of the director of a cult-fave superhero flick and was coming out before X-Men: DOFP's sequel is even halfway through shooting. You'd probably want people to know about it, right?

You'd probably at least have one of those logo-only early posters. Maybe even a brief teaser cobbled together from whatever footage you had. Pop out a still or two of the actors standing around, perhaps? "Leak" some snaps of random actors setting up in front of a green screen to one of the traffic-thirsty lower-tier nerd blogs who'll run anything? "Look the other way" when your more social media-addicted stars Instagrams a prop? If absolutely nothing else, you'd surely show up at Comic-Con and pitch the film to a rabid, eager-to-be-pleased fanboy crowd that won't mind a "trailer" of unfinished FX and animatics, wouldn't you?

Of course you would. Who wouldn't? By even the most tortured pretzel-logic of the least gifted C-student MBA with a cherry executive gig by the most nepotistic of uncles knows that nobody buys a ticket for a movie nobody told them about.

So why isn't Fox telling anyone about Josh Trank's Fantastic Four?

In case you hadn't heard, that movie finished shooting a while back. And unlike some other studios, it can be safely assumed that most of the important non-CGI work is in the can, ready for assembly and a final polish. But there was barely any publicity -- certainly not the kind we're accustomed to in an era where a dutched-angle snap of Paul Rudd dressed like Colin Farrell on his day off qualifies as a "reveal"and even infamously-secretive J.J. Abrams has been drip-feeding the press Star Wars - Episode VII hints at a pace that qualifies as a torrent -- for J.J. Abrams.

[TheButcher]

CBM:
Josh Trank Answers 'The Fantastic Four' Twitter Questions!

CBM:
Josh Trank ("Chronicle") is back on Twitter and he has tweeted that his Fantastic Four has officially wrapped filming and that the leaked image of The Thing/Ben Grimm is in fact the version that will appear in his film.

[TheButcher]

HOT SCOOP: New FANTASTIC FOUR Plot Details Revealed!

Hey Schmoeville!

One of the most interesting films set to come out next year is the new Fantastic Four reboot with Josh Trank directing and a main cast filled with some of the better up and coming actors working today. There isn’t really a lot known about the film yet, with only rumors and some set photos leaking online the past few months and Trank making a few statements about the tone the film will have. I’m really excited for it honestly, and with the talent involved, I wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up being one of the best and most interesting superhero films we end up getting.

And today Schmoeville, we here at Schmoes Know got our hands on some new interesting plot details for the film from a very reliable source! First, remember all of the controversy that happened when Michael B. Jordan was announced to be cast as Johnny Storm in the film? For those of you that don’t know, in the comic books Johnny Storm and Sue Storm are brother and sister, and since Sue Storm is being played by Kate Mara in the film, people were worried and curious if they were still going to be siblings in this new reboot. The general thought among the fan community eventually became that Johnny would simply be adopted and they would still be brother and sister, just not biologically.

Well, we have heard from our source that it is actually Mara’s Sue Storm who is adopted in the film, with her and Michael B. Jordan’s parents being African American! (So it’s still basically what we have all assumed about their relationship, only the film has flipped it around.) We have also heard that instead of the group gaining their powers from a failed scientific mission in outer space like in the original comics and (awful) existing films, this time the group’s origin story will be much more like their Ultimate versions.

In the film, the team will gain their powers through a lab experiment gone wrong in a way, where they create a portal to another world or dimension (its not clear) and they get their powers after the exposure to this other dimension/planet. Much like how the group gets their powers in the Ultimate Fantastic Four comics, after they are engulfed in a failed teleporter experiment.

This definitely makes sense with what the film’s screenwriter, Simon Kinberg has been saying about the film being much more scientific than the previous adaptations and some of the comics. So from both the new cast’s ages and how they get their powers in the film, it seems like this reboot is going to be following the Ultimate run of the comic books much more than the original run.

The other small tidbit of news that we have is that the film is going to be VERY character-driven. I don’t want to say that the action in the film takes a backseat or is secondary, but this first installment is much more focused on setting up the characters and their relationships with each other and their nemesis Victor von Doom (Toby Kebbell) than it is about making things blow up in big action set pieces. Which I love! The reason Trank’s earlier film, Chronicle, was so good was because it focused so heavily on it’s characters and you felt emotion towards them, so this definitely makes me happy.

That about does it for this scoop Schmoeville! I love all of these new details honestly, and I’m really pumped to see where Trank and Twentieth Century Fox plan on going with this new franchise and how it fits into their cinematic universe!

[TheButcher]

‘Fantastic Four’: Miles Teller On Changes Between Reboot & Original Movie
‘The Fantastic Four’ star Miles Teller talks about what the reboot is doing different from the original 1994 movie adaptation of the Marvel comic.

[TheButcher]

Simon Kinberg Offers An Update On Possible FANTASTIC FOUR/X-MEN Crossover Plans

Miles Teller Says ‘Fantastic Four’ “Took Lots Of Convincing”
Michael B. Jordan Says “No Cheesy Superhero” Suits

[TheButcher]

THE FANTASTIC FOUR To Wear Gritty "Containment Suits" In Josh Trank's Reboot

[TheButcher]

The Four: Could This Twisted Vision Be The Inspiration For Fox’s New Fantastic Four Movie?

The production has been so secretive that nobody outside of the making of Fox’s new take on the Fantastic Four knows exactly what the flick is going to look like or be about, but it’s possible that we’ve already got a blueprint for the Four’s reboot. If you know where to look, that is.

With its X-Men movie franchise now appearing to turn out quality pictures, Fox is looking to make Marvel’s Fantastic Four into an equally bankable property. There hasn’t been much leaked from the production, and that has fans of the Fantastic Four worried.

Adding to those worries have been some of the things people affiliated with the film have said about the new Fantastic Four reboot. For one, the new FF movie will apparently have Johnny and Sue Storm as adopted siblings rather than blood relations, a move that has some fans howling.

Add to that some commentary from Miles Teller, who plays Reed Richards, saying that the story will be told “in a different way,” without a “kitschy, overly comic-book world,” and your average Fantastic Four fan probably just fainted. And that’s not even mentioning Michael B. Jordan’s recent remarks about the Four all in “containment suits” in what he classified as a “gritty film.”

So what could Fox possibly be crafting for a new take on Marvel’s Fantastic Four? It might be the case that the “gritty” nature of the Four was already set out in another comic, but not a Marvel comic.

Starting back in 1999, Wildstorm comics began publishing Planetary. We won’t go into the details, but suffice it to say that Planetary was an amazing journey through the history of comics, expertly written by noted internet madman Warren Ellis and beautifully illustrated by John Cassaday. If you haven’t read it already, do yourself a favor and pick it up.

The main villains in Planetary are a group of former adventurers who went into space, encountered a portal between universes, and returned from their journey much changed. They’re known as the Four.

The leader of the Four is Randal Dowling, creator of Science City Zero. A brilliant scientist, Dowling comes up with the plan to launch the Four into space, and he comes back with the ability to “stretch” his mind, allowing him to steal information from others.

Next up is Kim Süskind, daughter of a Nazi rocket scientist and Dowling’s lover. Kim is able to turn herself invisible and project invisible force fields.

Alongside those two, there’s William Leather, a hothead who comes back from the Four’s journey with the ability to project a fire-like energy from his body, as well as some other super skills.

Finally, there’s Jacob Greene, the pilot who flew the mission that took the Four into space. Greene faired worst of all of the Four, mutating into an incredibly durable but hideously disfigured monster.

So, a stretchy guy, a woman that turns invisible, a hothead fire guy, and a tough, rocky monster. Sound familiar? They should; the Four were, of course, based on Marvel’s Fantastic Four, mimicking the powers of Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch, and the Thing.

What does all this have to do with Fox’s Fantastic Four reboot? Well, think back to what Jordan said about “containment suits” and a “gritty” take on the Fantastic Four. Jordan also had a peculiar way of referring to the Fantastic Four’s fantastic abilities.

“We’re more or less a bunch of kids that had an accident,” Jordan said to MTV News back in July, “and we have disabilities now that we have to cope with, and try to find a life afterwards – try to be as normal as we can.”

“Disabilities,” eh? One thing about the way that the Four are portrayed in Planetary is that they’re not all totally happy with their powers. Süskind can turn invisible, sure, but she also loses the ability to see – because the light isn’t absorbed by her eyes, because they’re transparent, because science! – unless she uses special goggles. Greene, of course, is near indestructible, but so deformed that he can’t live among people.

It’s possible that the more “grounded” approach Fox keeps talking about for the new Fantastic Four could be rooted in the twisted funhouse mirror version seen in Ellis’ Planetary. Not that Jordan, Mara, et al would be villains, per se, but that their powers won’t be exactly the way fans are expecting them to be having read the comics.

And that could be a good thing, because – frankly – the Fantastic Four are kind of silly. That shows through in the rather lackluster reception the two previous Fantastic Four films got; neither was a bomb, but nobody has been clamoring for Michael Chiklis to put his Thing costume back on, eh?

Of course, this is all just conjecture, as nobody knows what the Fantastic Four will look like when they take the screen late next summer. Still, taking a page from some other comics and avoiding the happy-go-lucky, shiny look of the previous films could be exactly what Fox needs to do to turn the Four into a household name.

[TheButcher]

Exclusive: Toby Kebbell Reveals Doctor Doom’s Radically New Origin in THE FANTASTIC FOUR Movie

https://mobile.twitter.com/VictorDomashev

[Ribbons]

[Fievel]

IPAMPILASH!!!!!

[Fievel]

https://mobile.twitter.com/VictorDomashev

If that isn't Marvel, WTF were they thinking not scooping that up?!?!?

And if that IS Marvel..... why would they make Doom the Marvel version of Kirks?!??

[TheButcher]

io9:
Comic Book Movies should be anything but 'Lo-fi' and 'Ultra-Real'

[TheButcher]

Fantastic Four Comic Cancellation Not Related To The Movie According To Disney & Fox Executives

When Fox’s Gianopulos was asked during the roundtable if he felt Marvel Comics pulling the Fantastic Four comic was an attempt by Disney’s Marvel to strangle Fox’s Marvel, Gianopulos said, “No, I don’t think so. I don’t know how that decision came about. The comic was not a huge seller. The Fantastic Four is a very established group of characters, and the film is awesome. Yeah, I think…I don’t know how that played into their decision, but it wasn’t…the book wasn’t selling as well as others.” Gianopulos also reiterated that it didn’t matter from their perspective.

After Gianopolus finished talking, Disney’s Horn chimed in, “Fully independent decision, by the way, I didn’t even know about it. I mean, honestly, we don’t even [shrugs his shoulders].”

[TheButcher]

Rumored Plot Synopsis:
Reed is a genius convenience store clerk with Ben. Reed's parents don't care about him, and Ben's dad is abusive. They're good friends and have each other's backs. Reed writes a paper for community college on teleportation that attracts the attention of Dr. Franklin Storm, CEO of the Baxter Building research center.

Storm has a son, Johnny, and an adoptive daughter, Sue, whose father, Storm's old partner, died in an experiment gone wrong. Johnny and Sue are party kids, and Sue is particularly disdainful of science. Reed and Sue don't get along at first.

Victor Doomashev is a anti-social Eastern European computer programmer and hacktivist who calls himself "Doom". He hates the 1%, particularly Storm, whom he claims corrupts science for profit.

Storm uses Reed's paper to complete some equations on a machine to access another dimension, the N-Zone. Reed invites Ben to watch the machine being turned on. Sue and Johnny are also there. Doom manages to hack into the Baxter Building's servers and use a computer virus to damage the machine, which explodes. Reed, Sue, Johnny and Ben are exposed to otherwordly energy and become mutants with powers that they can't control.

Storm takes them to the Baxter Building and creates containment suits for their powers. They begin to train. Reed and Storm also begin developing a way to revert the accident. Sue blames Reed for everything, but they eventually become friends and then a couple. Ben can switch off his powers when he's not in danger. Johnny changes colors based on heat intensity, and Sue has some borderline telekinetic thing. Reed is pretty much Reed.

Doom finds out that the four have acquired powers and becomes angry it's not him, so he comes up with a plan to break into the Baxter Building to access the N-Zone through the rebuild machine. As a distraction, he reprograms a bunch of stolen military drones, the "Doombots", to attack the building. The four come together as a team for the first time and save people.

Doom activates the machine and gets technopathy powers or something, basically energy blasts and making machines obey to him, and a fight ensues. The machine goes critical, and, in order to prevent it from exploding and destroying the city, the four push into it and Storm shuts it off.

There's a countdown before it reaches critical mass. Inside the N-Zone, the four battle Doom again, and manage to leave him trapped there after he disfigures himself soaking up too much power. The Four manage to escape, but Ben gets the blunt of it to protect Reed and can't switch back.

The machine is destroyed, Doom is gone, the four have learned to work as a team, and Reed vows to find a cure for Ben. And it ends there.

[TheButcher]

Teller Responds to ‘Fantastic Four’ Critics: ‘We’re Proud of What We Did’

[TheButcher]

"Sony Hack" Reveals AQUAMAN Director And FANTASTIC FOUR/X-MEN Movie Plans
Jeff Nichols is seemingly going to direct Aquaman

Michael De Luca, co-president of production for Columbia Pictures, told Sony boss Amy Pascal that they should be trying to emulate what 20th Century Fox are planning on doing with the X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises; a giant team-up movie! His source? Writer and producer Simon Kinberg. "[Simon] Kinberg told me fox is steering Xmen and Fantastic Four into an eventual team up film,"

[TheButcher]

Simon Kinberg Talks FANTASTIC FOUR Reshoot Rumors And CONFIRMS When The Trailer Hits

To confirm - Fantastic Four will be doing 3-4 days of additional photography with director Josh Trank and some key cast members. We are very excited about the film and can't wait for you to see what we've been up to. And you will be able to do that very soon as I can confirm here that the teaser will be on Kingsman in theaters February 13."

[TheButcher]

UK To See Fantastic Four Trailer In 13 Days – January 29th

[TheButcher]

Collider3.0:
Exclusive: Josh Trank and Simon Kinberg Talk THE FANTASTIC FOUR; Plus First Images From Set

[Fried Gold]

Christopher Nolan's Fantastic Four:

[so sorry]

Christopher Nolan's Fantastic Four:

If they didn't throw up the Fantastic 4 logo at the end I would have thought that was another X-Men origins-like film. I don't know the FF comics at all, only that its been around for a long time, so I'm sure that its gone thru all sorts of "eras" from campy to dark and gritty.

[Ribbons]

For me, the best Fantastic Four runs have been campy and fun. So this is certainly a change of pace. I can't really tell whether I think it looks good or bad yet, but it looks nice at least.

[Peven]

looks like they are going for more of a science-fiction take on the story with some weight to it

[TheBaxter]

i found the narration of the trailer jarring. i realize not every trailer can be narrated by the Movie Trailer Guy (especially now that he's dead) but this voiceover guy was different enough that it was distracting.

of course this has nothing to do with the film whatsoever, just saying i found it hard to focus on the actual trailer itself (or maybe the problem was there wasn't anything in the trailer interesting enough to distract me from his voice). maybe they can get the Honest Trailers guy to do the next one, he sounds closer to what most people are used to.

[TheButcher]

This looks FANTASTIC!

[Fievel]

For me, the best Fantastic Four runs have been campy and fun. So this is certainly a change of pace. I can't really tell whether I think it looks good or bad yet, but it looks nice at least.

looks like they are going for more of a science-fiction take on the story with some weight to it

I agree with both of these statements. I didn't read a whole lot of FF as a kid, but the books I did read were bright, light, and fun. After the catastrophes of the previous films, I'm definitely intrigued.... until I see the Four of them in character.... and THEN I'll prejudge it!

This looks FANTASTIC!

Damn you!

[Fried Gold]

I wonder if the change in tone, compared to the previous two Fantastic Four movies, has anything to do with bringing it more in line with the X-Men films? I heard Fox wanted to stage their own Avengers movie.

[Peven]

it certainly seems as if the director has brought at least some of the same sensibilities that earned "Chronicle" such a positive response among moviegoers. both stories are similar in their set-up, and look to be similar in their approach in there being a price to pay and dangers that come with acquiring great power, which is probably why he was chosen to direct this reboot. why reboot just to do the same schtick? "Chronicle" was considered fresh, a new take on the "superhero" story, I think similar to the way Blomkamp did with "District 9" as a new take on alien movies (for one because we are the aliens in it), and as damaged as the FF4 brand was from the last two movies maybe the studio figured they needed to really change the feel of the franchise or just hang it up for a while.

[TheButcher]

it certainly seems as if the director has brought at least some of the same sensibilities that earned "Chronicle" such a positive response among moviegoers. both stories are similar in their set-up, and look to be similar in their approach in there being a price to pay and dangers that come with acquiring great power, which is probably why he was chosen to direct this reboot. why reboot just to do the same schtick? "Chronicle" was considered fresh, a new take on the "superhero" story, I think similar to the way Blomkamp did with "District 9" as a new take on alien movies (for one because we are the aliens in it), and as damaged as the FF4 brand was from the last two movies maybe the studio figured they needed to really change the feel of the franchise or just hang it up for a while.

They can't "hang it up for a while." If they do that they'll lose the rights to the franchise. It's in their best interest to keep rebooting the FF every few years.


io9:
Execs: There's A Reason We Keep Making Sequels

Variety has a bunch of short essays about the problems in Hollywood, but two executives discuss the commonly-held sentiment that there are just too many sequels coming out of Hollywood.

Jim Gianopulos, chairman and CEO of Fox Filmed Entertainment defends the choice to make more movies in a series, so long as they're good:

If you do sequels badly, that's the problem. I think the risk in sequels is for Hollywood to take the audiences for granted, to assume you only have to give them a little more. We as a studio are very careful to avoid that. We do that by introducing new filmmaker voices. We have to work hard to constantly advance the mythology of a property that people love. If you bring all the elements together, you'll succeed.

The other person addressing the reliance of Hollywood studios on franchises was Walt Disney Chairman Alan Horn, who said that film economics have made it very hard to make movies on a small budget. And tentpole franchises can actually make a profit:

I've long been a believer in the power of tentpoles to drive our business, but there's a special place in my heart for smart, emotional films on a smaller scale. I think that's true for all of us who love movies. Great stories come in all sizes, but the economics of the business have made it increasingly difficult for smaller movies to be profitable and, in turn, to get made. Audiences have so many things competing for their time and attention that just having a good movie with big stars from a reputable studio isn't enough anymore; it's extremely difficult to break through the noise.

Interestingly, Gianopolus pointed out that investment in making sequels bigger has paid off for them:

We gave "X-Men" and "Planet of the Apes" substantial budgets to allow the filmmakers the creative freedom to realize their vision. In the case of "X-Men," we were reuniting two sets of "X-Men" casts from "First Class" and from the earlier films. The nature of the story and the number of characters required a bigger budget. "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" was told from the perspective of the apes, so it required more apes. The critical response and the audience response were greater than the fanbase prior to the movie. That's the other benefit of a sequel: It will introduce a new audience that may have been aware of prior movies but hadn't connected to them.

[Peven]

yeah, well , there is that reason, too, sure, like, I thought that was just a given. when I said "hang it up for a while" I meant, of course, within the time constraints required to retain the rights, geez, I guess I have to be more specific in the future

[TheButcher]

Simon Kinberg Talks X-MEN/FANTASTIC FOUR Crossover And Evolution Of 'Doctor Doom'
Fantastic Four (Fant4stic?) writer and producer Simon Kinberg talks here about the science fiction tone of the new movie, the door being wide open to a crossover with the X-Men at some point down the line, and how they're handling the origin story of Doctor Doom in the reboot...

Christopher Nolan's Fantastic Four

FANT4STIC Interstellar Mashup Trailer

Fantastic Four Teaser Trailer 2015 Recut To 2005 Version

Fantastic Four - 1994 Roger Corman Original Movie Trailer!

“The Fantastic Four 2″ has moved up from July 14, 2017 to June 2,

[TheButcher]

Exclusive: Four New Fantastic Four Stills Arrive
Teller! Mara! Bell! Jordan! Mole Man!

Speaking to Empire for the new issue, Trank explains that the general tone of the film is that of a "dark Amblin movie". Writer / producer Simon Kinberg goes on to say that "there was an Amblin-style approach to the characterisation, and to contextualising everything in a real world". In other words, don't expect any skintight blue lycra on these heroes any time soon.

"There's the opportunity to make something that is challenging and tragic and dramatic," adds Trank. "The opportunity is right there in the material. We'd rather steer it in that direction as opposed to just embracing a tone that comes right off the page."

[TheButcher]

New FANTASTIC FOUR Images

Additionally, in an interview with Empire [via The Playlist], producer Simon Kinberg reiterated what we’ve heard before with regards to the film’s “darkness” and “grounded tone”:

“The original two films to me are very similar to a lot of recent movies that have come out, in terms of that kind of cartoonish. It’s just not something that me and [producer] Simon [Kinberg] are interested in as storytellers. There’s the opportunity to make something that is challenging and tragic and dramatic. The opportunity is right there in the material. We’d rather steer it in that direction as opposed to just embracing a tone that comes right off the page.”

Presumably, the “cartoonish” movies he’s referring to are Marvel’s—you know those movies critics and audiences love and make tons of money.

Kinberg also seems to be reinforcing the tired notion that in order for something to be “challenging” and “dramatic” it must therefore be dark and sad, which is ridiculous. A brooding teenager isn’t inherently dramatic; he’s irritating. By the same token, someone who is lighthearted isn’t inherently shallow.

But here’s my larger concern about Fantastic Four: how far can you get from the “cartoonish” comic before it ceases to truly be “Fantastic Four”? I look at these images and the trailer, and I may as well be watching the adventures of Stretchy Man, Vanishing Lady, Flame Guy, and Rock Person. I’m not rejecting director Josh Trank’s approach, but I’m wondering how much of his approach will reject what he’s supposedly adapting.

[TheButcher]

FANTASTIC FOUR Sequel Backs Down From STAR WARS EPISODE VIII With New Release Date
0th Century Fox has announced that Fantastic Four will now be released a week later than expected on June 9th, 2017

[TheButcher]

FANTASTIC FOUR: New Trailer Reveals Doctor Doom

[Ribbons]

FANTASTIC FOUR: New Trailer Reveals Doctor Doom

Wow, that complete lack of response does not bode well for this movie.

I still can't tell if it looks good or bad, but I respect the fact that they're trying something a little different, at least.

[Peven]

still on the fence, looks pretty but can't tell much about how these people are going to interact, what kind of onscreen chemistry they have. also not sure about the full scope of movie, yet

[TheButcher]

THR:
Inside a 'Star Wars' Firing: 'Fantastic Four' Problems Led to Director Josh Trank's Ouster
According to sources, Trank was sometimes indecisive and uncommunicative.

While director Josh Trank said Friday that he had “made a personal decision” to leave the Star Wars universe, sources say reports of the young director’s unusual conduct during the making of Fox’s upcoming Fantastic Four movie had raised alarm among Lucasfilm executives that were entrusting him with the second Star Wars standalone film.

Trank, 30, had raised eyebrows in April when he didn’t appear as scheduled at a Star Wars celebration in Anaheim. At the time, both Disney and the director cited illness as the cause but multiple knowledgeable sources say the studio had asked the filmmaker not to attend while considering whether to proceed with him on the second spinoff in a planned series of films.

Indeed, producers on Fantastic Four, set for release July 30, are said to have faced great challenges pulling the film together given behavior described by one insider as “erratic” and at times “very isolated.” Trank did not offer clear direction, this person adds, saying, "If you've got someone who can't answer questions or who isn't sure or is in hiding, that's not good."

A Fox spokesman says the studio is “very happy with the movie and we can’t wait for audiences to see it” but acknowledges, “There were definitely some bumps in the road.”

Among those bumps: Trank has several small dogs who were left in a rented house in New Orleans while the film was shooting there. According to sources, as much as $100,000 worth of damage was done to the property. A source says the production considers any destruction of the property to be Trank's responsibility.

Citing Trank’s work on the 2012 found-footage superhero movie Chronicle, an insider says: “No question there’s talent there. You can’t do Chronicle by accident.” But Trank seemed “like one of these kids who comes to the NBA with all the talent and none of the character-based skills to handle it. There’s equipment he doesn’t yet have.”

According to sources, Trank was sometimes indecisive and uncommunicative. Producers Simon Kinberg and Hutch Parker had to step in to help pull the film together, though sources stress that Trank was still on set and directing the film. (Were that not the case, the production could have run afoul of the Directors Guild of America.)

Just over three months from opening, Fox’s Fantastic Four has done re-shoots. Those were complicated because stars Miles Teller, Kate Mara and Michael B. Jordan had obligations on other films. The most recent round, which involved three days of re-shoots at the end of April, had to take place on weekends because of Teller’s work on Todd Phillip’s Arms and the Dude. Parker and Kinberg are said to have been heavily involved in those re-shoots, pulling them away from duties in Canada on X-Men: Apocalypse, which they also are producing.

Given the issues with Trank’s performance, the production added Stephen Rivkin (Avatar) to help pull the film together. Trank had hired his Chronicle editor, Elliot Greenberg, on the project.

Fantastic Four is meant to reboot the Marvel superhero franchise for Fox. The comic is venerated for its place in history as it launched Marvel Comics in 1962 and was the early creation from Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Fox made two movies, released in 2005 and 2007, that made $330 million and $289 million respectively but failed to capture moviegoers’ imagination. Fox hastened to make a new movie as it risked having the rights revert back to Marvel.

Kinberg, who is producing the second Star Wars standalone project (the first, Rogue One, is being directed by Gareth Edwards for a December 2016 release), is said to have communicated his displeasure with Trank to Kathleen Kennedy and the team at Lucasfilm. As the Star Wars brain trust heard more about Trank's behavior and working style, they became less confident in handing over the film to him.

Now, having decided to part ways, the studio is searching for another filmmaker to take over the project.

Disney declined to comment.

[TheButcher]

Variety:
Josh Trank No Longer Directing ‘Star Wars’ Spinoff

Sources close to the situation tell Variety that Trank and screenwriter Simon Kinberg weren’t thrilled with the idea of working together again. The duo apparently clashed while filming 20th Century Fox’s “Fantastic Four” reboot, which opens later this summer, and Kinberg wanted another director.

Also a writer of Fox’s “X-Men” films, Kinberg is a major force in Disney’s “Star Wars” universe. He recently served as a creative consultant on J.J. Abrams’ “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” which bows in December, and continues to help shape the cherished fantasy series.

Trank’s exit on Friday wasn’t a total shock. Less than two weeks ago, the “Chronicle” director was a no-show to Disney’s Star Wars Celebration at the last minute, prompting internet speculation that something was afoot. The 30 year-old quickly apologized on Twitter, telling fans that he was sick with the flu.

Another oddity from the Star Wars Celebration on April 19 event came when 20th Century Fox released the “Fantastic Four” trailer during the Trank and Gareth Edwards’ scheduled panel, leaving industry observers scratching their heads: Why would a major studio film drop a high-profile trailer on Sunday morning? Were they trying to send a message?

Fox, of course, used to distribute the “Star Wars” films before Disney bought Lucasfilm for $4 billion in 2012.

News of Trank’s exit was announced the same day that Disney released its biggest film of the year, “Avengers: Age of Ultron.”

As for Trank’s next move, a rep for 20th Century Fox told Variety that no director or writer has been set for the “Fantastic Four” sequel. Starring Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell and Michael B. Jordan, the new “Fantastic Four” will be released Aug. 7.

[TheButcher]

RUMOR: Matthew Vaughn Directed FANTASTIC FOUR Reshoots; 3D Release Plans Scrapped
We all know just how troubled production on Fantastic Four has been, especially as Josh Trank's behaviour led to him being fired from the Star Wars spinoff he was attached to! Now, it's been revealed that Matthew Vaughn stepped in to direct those reshoots...