Over at The Torch Online Heather Hogan has put together a nice preview of upcoming fantasy films in 2010. Quite a few films coming out this year, including some big ones. Ms. Hogan has previewed 15 films, the most notable, in my opinion, being Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Iron Man 2, Robin Hood, and last but not least, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1.
Check out all the previews, since there’s also quite a few others of interest to people who regularly read this blog. Oh yeah, there’s also some movie with sparkly vampires coming out this year too. 
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Thanks for this great post, revgeorge; I found myself tooling around at the Torch.
Aren’t Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett rather long in the tooth for Robin and Maid(!) Marian in the original story?
Yeah, The Torch has been a treasure trove of great articles. Lots of great fantasy & science fiction commentary & news. I’ve been meaning to put together a post to let people know more about it & the different types of articles.
Crowe & Blanchett maybe a bit long in the tooth for Robin & Marian but I suppose they can make a go of it. I didn’t particularly care for Blanchett as Galadriel in Jackson’s LOTR (but then did I care for anything in those movies
)
Maybe the movie will be something more like that old one that had Sean Connery & Audrey Hepburn playing the leads.
I had already caught a glimpse of a scene from the upcoming Percy Jackson film–my eyes were riveted to what looked like a Hippogriff charging at a boy, and for a moment, I was stunned into thinking, “Is that from Harry Potter? No, can’t be.” Then I saw that the film has been directed by Chris Columbus, who directed the first two HP films! Whooo-hoooo! After watching what I consider to be cobbled up versions of the HP story by David Yates on the last two HP films, I wish the producers had brought back Columbus for Deathly Hallows. It would have had nice symmetry to it, plus of all the directors in the series so far, I think Columbus is the one who “gets” the message in HP more than the others. I’ll probably being crying in my butterbeer when the final HP film comes out.
During the Super Bowl, there was an ad for The Wolf Man, starring Benecio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins. Makes sense–all those vampire films making money, I bet film-makers were chomping at the bit to get a Were-wolf film out. Another film promo during SB 44 was for Alice in Wonderland. Have to say, the visuals were stunning. The reviewer also mentioned that Alan Rickman and Stephen Fry are in the film as well as Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. I hope I will be walking without a support boot and cane by the time the film hits the theatres!
I also noted with pleased surprise that there’s another film in the Chronicles of Narnia that’s going to be released–this one is The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. ditto my thoughts above on hoping I’ll be able to get into a theatre without the aid of my support boot and cane by then.
Now a brief comment about the Nanny McPhee sequel that’s coming out fairly soon as well. Apparently the writer of these reviews is a bit of a Harry Potter fan, as he/she wrote that it’s a shame that Emma Thompson “apparently” became so tied up in writing and producing the film that she did not have the time to return as Trelawney in the last HP film. The writer furthermore wrote that it was “a hard pill to swallow,” as Ralph Fiennes, who of course plays Voldemort in the HP films, is headlining in Nanny McPhee 2. Hmmmmm.
The reviewer is also not a fan of the New Moon films, as he/she wrote nastily about the plot lines and “sparkles” of the film, and ended with the observation that the film would probably be headed quickly to DVD status… Finally, the review of the first HP film looks as though it’s written by someone familiar with the plot lines of HP. At last!
Sorry, that reviewer’s name was Heather Hogan. I was so engrossed in reading the snippets of info on all the films that I didn’t pay attention to the writer’s name! Mea Culpa, Ms. Hogan!
Fricka, I never said Ms. Hogan’s previews were fair, just previews.
As for Nanny McPhee, I don’t think most people were upset that Emma Thompson wasn’t going to return for DH but that they thought she made some dismissive comments about the HP films & Potter in general.
As for Twilight, well…
Hope whatever problem you have heals quickly.
Well, I’m a gamer, so Tron is high on my list of things to see. It can’t possibly top the original, but I’ll give it a shot. I also have the same guarded optimism for Robin Hood and The Last Airbender. I have a very hot/cold relationship with Crowe as an actor, and I’m deeply afraid that Robin will just be Gladiator in green.
Of course, Iron Man 2 will be totally awesome.
And then there is Nic Cage. Is it just me, or does Season of the Witch sound like somebody watched Monty Python and National Treasure back-to-back, and then cranked out a new “story”. Very sad…
About Season of the Witch: I’m leery of any movie where the title character is listed as “The Girl”. Doesn’t imbue her with much humanity, does it? This could go one of two ways: either she’s an innocent herbology student scapegoated with causing a natural disaster (as women often were in the Dark Ages), or she’s the real deal and Nick and the boys will have the devil’s own time trying to defeat her. And something tells me this isn’t a meditation on the societal dynamics of withcraft.
About Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett being “too long in the tooth” to play Robin and Marian. Crowe will be 46 this year. Blanchett will be 41. Does that make them too old to play the roles of a soldier back from the wars (Crowe) and a widow (Blanchett)? How old do you think the actors should be to convincingly portray those characters? Thirties? Twenties? Late teens?
Bedevere: Why do you think that she is a witch?
Peasant: Well, she turned me into a newt.
[Bedevere gives him a disbelieving look]
Bedevere: A newt?
[Silence]
Peasant: Well, I got better.
Peasant Crowd: Burn her anyway!
If Marian is a widow, she wouldn’t be a “maid.” Apart from that, their ages are okay, however they would have few teeth by then, so nix the blinding smiles. Aaaw, I’m too much a realist.
I almost choked for laughing after reading your last post, Arabella. I seriusly doubt that the film will show Crowe and Blanchett in need of dentures!
Anyway, back to the question of whether they are too old to play the parts; I’d say it depends on when the story is set. If it’s right after the crusades, and one of the lines I heard in the preview at the last was something about Robin being declared “Outlaw”; then yes, Crowe is too old. Same with Blanchett. I can’t see her being called “Maid,” if she were past her twenties, not in the middle ages, no, no, no. If the film is some kind of re-do of the thing that Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn did, it might work, although I didn’t care for the premise then, and even less so now. I suspect what has happened is that a producer and director got together and wanted to use Crowe in a film where he could play a super heroic type, which he does have the ability to pull off. However, Robin of Locksley, or whatever surname he is called by, in the legend is clearly presented as a young, rather impudent character. In those days, men were considered old when they got into their 40′s–if they lived that long. Can’t see an aging former Crusader doing all the things Robin Hood is known for. Red Rocker, I’d say for an actor/actress to pull of either of those roles convincingly, they should be in their early twenties, and the closer to their teens they appear, the better. A young woman like Maid Marian, with the connections she had, would simply have not been allowed to remain unmarried until her thirties. Maybe not even till her mid twenties. I will go further and say that the actors in the HP and Twilight films would be much more suitable in age range to play those roles than Crowe and Blanchett, good actors though they are.
Tom Felton for Robin Hood, anyone? Bonnie Wright for Maid Marian?(Heee Heee Heee–let’s play the “Who would be good in this role” game, shall we???)
Thanks for the good thoughts, RevGeorge. I have a broken bone in my left foot, and the support boot that takes the place of a cast is unwieldy. I have not yet been able to drive since my mishap, so that’s another reason I doubt I will be seeing many films in the theatre before the clunker comes off.
Some background here. Seems that the original plan was to tell the Robin Hood story from the pov of the Sherriff of Nottingham, with Crowe playing the aforementioned Sherriff. The script didn’t work, so they retooled it with Crowe in the traditional role of the outlaw. As well, Blanchett plays Lady Marian – which hopefully deals with conerns about whether Marian would have made it into her thirties as a maid.
As for historical acccuracy, the character of Robin Hood is a legend – a figure that appears in ballads and folklore. There is no evidence that he went to the Crusades, or didn’t go to the Crusades. But since the earliest mentions are in the late 13th century, if he existed he certainly didn’t live in the time of Richard I. He was also not a nobleman – although later versions made him into one. In fact, the earliest mentions of a Robin Hood appear to be synonymous with a generic name for a bandit. Earlier versions have him afiliated with Little John and Will Scarlet. Marian and the Friar don’t enter the legend until the 15th century.
So there you have it: Robin Hood is a folklore figure who made his first appearance in the 13th century. He’s an outlaw, skilled with the bow, and champions the poor. Over time, an assortment of supporting characters have been assigned to his legend.
Why such a figure has to be a certain age – why an outlaw champion of the poor has to be in his late teens or early twenties – is something that eludes me. As for favorably comparing the teen heart-throbs of the Twilight movies to real actors, that is a total stunner.
On the other hand, I suspect that many of you here believe in Jerry Rubin’s credo: don’t trust anyone over 30, even if you don’t quite remember who Jerry Rubin is.
I love Opera. A 45 year old woman of any ethicity and with no, or considerable, heft can easily play the role of Cio-Cio San – a 16 year old Japanese teenager. And be given a standing O. Or Juliette, or Susanna, or Hansel, or Gretel, or Cherubino – oh yeah – and they can play 16-year old boys or old men too!!!
It’s called acting.
Crowe and Blanchett?
Its the Antipodean Connexion!
Woooo!
Robin Hood as Opera??? Ah, Joivre, that’s quite an idea there. However, much as I agree with your premise of older opera performers being able to convincingly portray younger aged characters, the close up shots that invariably are used in films quickly reveal age lines(or that uglier word, wrinkles) and it’s a bit obvious when a filter is used to soften the appearance of a too old actor. And Red Rocker, I did not name any of the personnel in the Twilight series as possible candidates for the roles–I said they, like the HP younger actors, were closer to proper age range than Crowe and Blanchett. I still think those two are too old to be convincing in those roles, sorry.
Joivre, you remind me of the concerns raised about Alec Guinness’ ability to depict George Smiley, John LeCarre’s fat spy (Sir Alec was on the skinny side). Someone who knew him said “If George needs to be fat, he’ll act fat”. Also reminds me of Laurence Olivier’s response to the regimen of exhausting exercise and starvation Dustin Hoffman put himself through to depict the hero of Marathon Man: “My dear boy, why don’t you just act?”
But the ability of a young person to convincingly portray an older person, or vice versa, is not the real issue here. The issue is the fact that a lot of people tend to equate heroism and attractiveness with youth. Older people are not seen as typically representative of those qualities. I’m not singling out anyone here; I believe it’s a societal phenomenon, also known as ageism. And while there might be some justification for the belief that older people are uglier than younger people (wrinkles and sagging flesh and age spots and receding hairlines, oh my!), I don’t see that heroes need to be young.
It’s possible that I’m overgeneralizing here, the discussion after all is not about heroes, but Robin Hood. But I don’t see why Robin Hood has to be a teen-ager. It’s true that more people do crime as teen-agers, and desist with age, so that most people who do crime in their teens will be leading fairly responsible lives by their thirties, if not their twenties. And it’s true that people had shorter life spans in the Dark Ages since just about any infection was likely to be fatal. But is this argument based on epidemiological probablities? Or is it based on out prototypical image of “hero”?
I guess when I think Robin Hood I’m thinking more late 20′s to early 30′s.
But really my problem is, when I think of Robin Hood I can only picture Erroll Flynn or Daffy Duck. Yoicks and away!
I know what you mean revgeorge, when I think of Robin Hood, I picture him as Kevin Costner. And I don’t even like Kevin Costner. Coincidentally, Costner was 36 when the movie was released. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio was 31.
Guilty of ageism? Moi??? I rebut that slur, especially as I myself am too rapidly approaching the designation of “Senior Citizen” in our culture!
I think I should clarify that I do NOT think it is only young people who perform heroic deeds. My own paternal grandfather signed up to fight in WWII, when he was in his late forties, much too old to be drafted. And I’m sure there were many others like him, old enough to understand what the fighting was more likely to be like than some romanticized view that many younger men may have had. I just happen to prefer, when a story line is set within a certain time frame, that that be followed as accurately as possible. I realize the Robin Hood story is mostly legend, but like the one about King Arthur, based on fact at some point. Whether there was indeed an actual heroic Robin Hood is not so much the main point, as far as I’m concerned. We do know the time frame for when this character existed–somewhere around the reign of Richard, King of England, called the Lionheart. In other words, the medieval period of history.
Is it too much to ask of film producers that, even when presenting a legendary story, they include details that provide verisimilitude to that, I ask??? Using actors who are obviously in an older age range than that implied in the original story strains credulity. (Mine, anyway).
Apropos of almost nothing:
Prince John: And why should the people listen to you?
Robin Hood: Because, unlike some other Robin Hoods, I can speak with an English accent!
(Leave us alone, Mel Brooks!)
Eric, I hate that movie because it’s the one where Patrick Stewart detroyed my idealized image of him by French kissing Maid Marian.
Fricka, if I understand you right, your need for Robin and Marian to be teenagers is based on your wish for accuracy. However, the few facts we do know about the legend of Robin Hood would not suggest that the character has been portayed that accurately in fiction to date. The king who’s associated with him in ballads and old books is King Edward, not King Richard. In the legend he was a commoner, the idea of him being a disposessed nobleman was brought in by the 1938 movie version, as was the link to the Crusades. And any man who robbed for a living was a thug who hurt and probably killed a lot of people, regardless of what he did with what he stole. If you’re looking for verisimilitude, I believe that the Dark Ages as depicted in Monty Python’s Holy Grail was a lot closer to reality than any Robin Hood I”ve seen in movies or on TV. It was a brutish and dirty age. The people certainly did not look like Hollywood movie stars. I’m of the opinion that we would not have enjoyed seeing what they did look like. There is in fact a scene from Holy Grail that describes what I’m talking about:
ARTHUR: Old woman!
DENNIS: Man!
ARTHUR: Old Man, sorry. What knight live in that castle over there?
DENNIS: I’m thirty seven.
ARTHUR: What?
DENNIS: I’m thirty seven — I’m not old!
My point is we don’t know much about Robin Hood. We can barely imagine what life looked like in the Dark Ages. And ultimately, we have a need for our heroes to look the part. So we make them match our contemporary ideals of what a hero should look like. Which nowadays means youth (and perfect hair, skin and teeth). Give me Russell Crowe who is at least able to suggest the toughness required to survive and flourish in such dangerous times.
Yeah, there’s that other great quote from Holy Grail:
Large Man: Who’s that then?
Dead Collector: I dunno. Must be a king.
Large Man: Why?
Dead Collector: He hasn’t got s*** all over him.
The Torch Online now has a mostly spoiler free review of The Wolfman up. You can find it here.
I see where Percy Jackson releases today. I saw a trailer for it last night. Interesting but I’d still rather read the book before seeing the movie. I’d hate for a movie to ruin a book for me.
The Torch Online now has a mostly spoiler free review of Percy Jackson up.