Watch/Discuss: Iron Man 3 gets a solid, but rather similar-looking teaser, as Tony must save himself yet again.

That I'm not a fan of the new armor's color scheme is a minor point.  I'm still bitter that they switched Mario's color scheme in Super Mario Bros. 2 almost 25 years ago.  But while the footage looks good and the stakes seem higher this time around, I can't help feeling a sense of deja vu.  Is this not the second sequel where a diabolical villain decides to teach Tony a lesson in humility by tearing his world apart, just as Tony himself is going through a mental/emotional crisis?  Or more to a point, is this not the third Iron Man  film where Tony basically has to use his toys and his brains to basically save himself and/or his company from destruction?  We see a quick flash of Guy Pearce, reminding us that we're basically seeing The Mandarin (played by non-Asian actor Ben Kingsley) tossed into the "Extremis" story arc.  The most interesting moment is what is apparently a possibly mortally wounded Happy Hogan, as he's certainly a likely candidate for a major death who's absence won't screw up the franchise too much.  Since Favreau arguably doesn't want to stick around forever watching other people take on his franchise, it's a good bet he doesn't survive this chapter.  Anyway, Shane Black's Iron Man 3 opens in the US on May 3rd, 2013. As always, we'll see.  Now it's your turn.  What is the chance that Iron Man 3 can become the first truly *good* part 3 in comic book film history?   

Scott Mendelson

Watch/Discuss: J.J. Abrams's new series, Revolution, gets a trailer. Or the inherent peril of close-ended television.

The premise is genuinely chilling, and the opening moments have a real kick to them.  But once the show starts up its real storyline, we quickly see the problem with this kind of seemingly short-term narrative storytelling.  By the end of this four-minute clip, we already know that there is some amulet that apparently makes electricity work again.  So it appears that the core arc of the show will be a journey to find this amulet and theoretically use it to restore power to a world that currently has none.  Fine, but does that not presume that the show will in-effect be a long waiting game as we (im)patiently wait for the core problem to be solved.  Yes we can hopefully become invested in certain characters and enjoy the two decent actors on display (Gincarlo Esposito and Billy Burke), but won't every would-be goal post be a false alarm, every climactic reveal be the equivalent of 'Your princess is in another castle'?  

Weekend Box Office (07/31/11) part I: The Smurfs, Cowboys and Aliens do battle,tying with $36.2 million, while Stupid Crazy Love opens with $19.2 million.

This weekend is an excellent example of why it's the numbers, not the rankings that matter when discussing box office.  And, more importantly, the context of the numbers must be taken into account as well as the hard figures.  As of this moment, The Smurfs and Cowboys & Aliens are battling for the top slot at this weekend's box office, with both films hovering at $36.2 million.  One cost $110 million while the other cost $165 million.  One has strong foreign prospects and a guarantee of eternal life as a family DVD purchase/rental, while the other faces an uncertain future as it belongs to a distinctly American genre.  Point being, The Smurfs can take solace that it somewhat over-performed this weekend, while the Jon Favreau genre mash-up may go down as one of the bigger whiffs of the summer season.

Apparently domestic audiences don't like aliens or armed women... A tale of two Cowboys and Aliens posters.

 

The poster on the left is domestic and the one on the right is international.  For what it's worth, the domestic poster is a better piece of art.  It is moodier, with more natural looking photo-shopping for the two leads.  However, the international poster is interesting for two reasons.  First of all, the international poster actually has alien imagery on the poster while the domestic one does not.  Is this mere artistic choice, a choice to not reveal certain visual elements a month prior to release, or is Universal concerned that casual moviegoers will be turned off by explicit outer-space imagery in their western poster art?  Second of all, most obviously, the international poster actually features (and bills) Olivia Wilde, while the domestic one leaves her off.  So the question is, was the domestic omission a matter of trying to sell a more arch-typical 'two men against the world' western iconography, or is Universal somehow under the impression that putting Wilde on the poster (armed and ready no less) will turn off certain traditionalist segments of the audience?  You make the call, but there you have it.  Cowboys and Aliens opens on July 29th.  Expect the phrase 'in glorious 2D' to be thrown around quite a bit in junkets.

Scott Mendelson

Cowboys and Aliens gets a more plot-heavy second trailer.

Truth be told, I kinda like the moodier, scarier first teaser better. Favreau gets points for giving little away even in this longer trailer, especially when it comes to the visuals. I really don't care for the punk-rock western music that kicks in during the second half, as it really takes me out of the material. Everyone looks solid, although it's apparently obvious that Olivia Wilde has nothing to do other than look hot, get naked, and eventually get kidnapped. It's a shame about Clancy Brown, but it appears that he will not be in the sequel. In a summer filled with reboots, remakes, and sequels, Cowboys and Aliens still stands out as a genuinely original project, which this summer means that it's based on a comic book that no one has heard of. Nonetheless, this still looks like solid entertainment, and I'm always thrilled to see Harrison Ford in something that feels like a different kind of role (Morning Glory was a mediocre picture, but its just the kind of character role that Ford should be doing). This one comes out July 29th, so we'll see...

Scott Mendelson

Cowboys and Aliens gets a terrific Super Bowl teaser.

I'm not going to do a rundown of every single Super Bowl movie ad, primarily because there were just too many of them. One of the better spots of the night was another stellar showing by Universal for Jon Favreau's cult-comic book adaptation. Like the fantastic teaser, this one is selling the reality of its premise first (it's a real western, that happens to involve aliens), and holding off on the money shots until later. I've heard that much of the two teasers is mainly comprised of material from the first 40 minutes of the movie, so that's a promising sign. The nerds will already show up for this in droves. The key is convincing the general moviegoers who rediscovered their love of westerns through True Grit to buy a ticket on July 29th. So far, so good.

Scott Mendelson

Yesterday's News Today: Jon Favreau off Iron Man 3.

We all saw this coming from as far back as mid-summer 2008, when Marvel basically played hardball with Jon Favreau in regards to financial compensation for Iron Man 2. Favreau wanted more money and a 3-year gap between films. He got the raise, but he only got two years between films. By all accounts, Marvel micromanaged the sequel into the aimless, pointless, glorified backdoor pilot that it now remains (Mickey Rourke allegedly acting like Marlon Brando on set probably didn't help either). So with Favreau having enjoyed general creative freedom with Cowboys and Aliens and now all set to tackle a fantasy film based on the Disney World theme park entitled The Magic Kingdom, it was only a matter of time before it was confirmed that yes, Favreau would not be finishing up his would-be Iron Man trilogy. What does it mean? Does it mean anything at all?

Now THAT's a teaser! Jon Favreau's Cowboys and Aliens gets a trailer.

Knowing nothing about the source material, I'm kinda shocked at how tense and creepy the whole thing looks. Obviously there will be action and adventure, but the prevailing mood seems to be dread and horror. It's obviously a kick to see Harrison Ford playing a grizzled character role, and he certainly seems to have a pretty large part. It's nice to see Jon Favreau get his name on the trailer, as the poster merely said 'from the director of Iron Man'. This is obviously a pretty thorough tease, but it certainly gets the job done. The film feels like a genuine western that happens to involve aliens from outer space. After the last few days of kinda terrible trailers, this one stands out as a genuine triumph, both as a piece of marketing and as a stand-alone piece of art. So far, so good.

Scott Mendelson

Jon Favreau's Cowboys and Aliens gets a poster.

Obviously, this is as much of a tease as the Pirates of the Caribbean 4 poster. We can assume that the mysterious gunslinger is Daniel Craig. Apparently directing Iron Man is enough to get you a credit on the poster, but not enough to have your name on said poster. The big question marks for this one are A) how will one of the biggest 2D-only films fare in summer 2011 amidst a flurry of 3D and IMAX blockbusters, B) can Jon Favreau prove that Iron Man 2 was more Marvel's fault that his own, and C) how will Harrison Ford fare in basically playing the 'Kris Kristofferson role'. The last one is of most interest to me. Colorful supporting turns like this is exactly how Ford should be spending the last act of his fabled career. And, most amazingly, I'm pretty sure this is his first western since The Frisco Kid with Gene Wilder back in 1979. We'll apparently see a teaser trailer on Wednesday. I'm guessing that in the run-up to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part I, we will likely be a deluge of geek-friendly trailers (Green Lantern, Cowboys and Aliens, etc).

Scott Mendelson