Farewell, Jim Kelly

Actor Jim Kelly, who played a glib American martial artist in “Enter the Dragon” with Bruce Lee, has died. He was 67. Marilyn Dishman, Kelly’s ex-wife, said he died Saturday of cancer at his home in California.

Sporting an Afro hairstyle and sideburns, Kelly made a splash with his one-liners and fight scenes in the 1973 martial arts classic. His later films included “Three the Hard Way,” ”Black Belt Jones” and “Black Samurai.”

source: The Philippine Daily Inquirer

Captain Planet and the Planeteers being developed as a live-action movie

Captain Planet and the Planeteers may have been one of the corniest cartoon shows that have come out in the early 1990s, but it certainly was one of the most successful and most popular cartoons ever. Plus, it was a good show that promotes environmentalism among children. Now, this cartoon has been picked up by Sony for a live-action movie adaptation. [read the rest of the article after the jump]

Pinoy Films at the PiFan Filmfest in South Korea, and the Asian Summer Filmfest in Spain

Filipino films will be screened at the 17th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan) to be held in South Korea, from July 18 to 28.

Rico Maria Ilarde’s “Pridyider” and Richard Somes’ “Mariposa (Sa Hawla ng Gabi)” will be shown alongside Erik Matti’s full-length feature “On the Job” and Rommel Tolentino’s short “Buog” in PiFan. [for more information about the Puchon Intl. Fantastic Filmfest, go to their website: www.pifan.com]

Ilarde’s “Pridyider” is also going to Spain, for the 10th Asian Summer Film Festival. Also to be shown at the Asian Summer Film Fest are Matti’s “Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles” and Tyrone Acierto’s “The Grave Bandits.” The Asian Summer Film Festival will be held from July 9 to 14 in Barcelona, Spain.
[for more information about the Asian Summer Film Festival, go to their website: www.cinemaoriental.com]

SOURCE: Philippine Daily Inquirer

The New Terminator Movie will be a Reboot

A while back, we reported that Schwarzenegger was going back to the Terminator franchise, that means a new movie is coming. Now, Paramount, Annapurna Pictures, and Skydance Productions have partnered for this project and have officially announced that the new Terminator movie will be a reboot that will launch the series anew, to be released by Paramount Pictures on June 26, 2015. If you ask me, a reboot does make sense; the Terminator series is a terribly flawed franchise (the whole time-travel scenario is messy and inconsistent), and does need a good re-organization and re-structuring of its entire story arc. [full article after the jump]

Before Midnight moved a week later

The Philippine release date for BEFORE MIDNIGHT has been moved to July 10, 2013. The film was originally set for a July 3 release date [check out this prominent press release which announces that]. But it looks like the slot for the date has been filling up with too many big name movies simultaneously piling up. If there is one lesson we should learn from the Kick-Ass 2 re-sked [check that news HERE], it's that local release dates are indeed subject to change as late as days before the scheduled date. [check out our previous report on the release date]

Knight Rider movie being developed

KNIGHT RIDER was one of the most popular TV series of the 80's, it was the show that made David Hasselhoff a household name. Now a movie adaptation of this show is being developed, and (Wild Hogs) screenwriter Brad Copeland has already been hired, indicating that this project is ineed moving along. The Weinstein Company, which owns the feature rights to the property, is aiming for a more high-octane, action-oriented adaptation, to catch up on the hype and the popularity of movies like the Fast & Furious movies. There are talks that David Hasselhoff, star of the original series, will be involved with the new version in one way or another, on the other hand, there is no word on whether Mr. Feeny (William Daniels) will return to voice the role of K.I.T.T., the extremely advanced and indestructible vehicle that was featured in the 80s original. [hit the jump to read the rest of the article]

Farewell, Richard Matheson

Author Richard Matheson, who was 87, has died at home. His family announced his passing in a protected Facebook post; the news was shared by publisher Tor/Forge.

Matheson's imaginative stories were enticing to Hollywood. His book "I Am Legend" was made into a film, not just once but three separate times. 2007's "I Am Legend," starring Will Smith, was preceded by "The Omega Man" with Charlton Heston in 1971 and "The Last Man on Earth" in 1964 with Vincent Price.[read the rest of the article after the jump]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Cast Looks Complete William Fichtner cast as Shredder

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is set for a reboot, directed by Jonathan Liebesman (Battle: Los Angeles, Wrath of the Titans), the production and filming on this project has already begun. Among its more prominent cast include Megan Fox as April O'Neil, Will Arnett as April's  cameraman and rival, Vernon Fenwick. Danny Woodburn as Splinter, and Whoopi Goldberg as Bernadette Thompson, a female version of Burne Thompson who is April and Vernon's boss at Channel 6 News. Now, it has been revealed that William Fichtner is going to be playing the role of the Turtles' arch-enemy: The Shredder. [read the rest of the article after the jump]

Independence day Sequels being developed

Roland Emmerich must have ran out of ideas for disaster movies that he's going back to one of the movies that had first generated his career. Emmerich is planning a sequel for his 1996 alien invasion movie: INDEPENDENCE DAY. Not just one, but two sequels. And the title of these sequels will be... (you better swallow whatever it is youre eating first before reading it) it's title is: ID Forever Parts One and Two [read the full article if this plan will materialize, after the jump]

Farewell, Lau Kar-leung

Legendary Hong Kong Actor and Director Lau Kar-leung (the director of landmark Kung Fu films "The 36th Chamber of Shaolin," starring "Kill Bill"’s Gordon Liu, and "Drunken Master II" with Jackie Chan) passed away after a two-decade battle with cancer.

Martial artist, action choreographer and film director Lau Kar-leung died on Tuesday morning following a two-decade battle with cancer. He was 76. [article continued after the jump]

Farewell, Sammy Lagmay

Comedian Sammy Lagmay passed away on Wednesday afternoon due to complications brought about by diabetes, his sister Mylene Mariano told the Philippine Daily Inquirer. He was 55.

A former production office messenger, the funny man was discovered and became a mainstay on the 1980s sitcom “Chicks to Chicks” on IBC 13/IBC Channel 12.

He often played the put-upon sidekick in several sitcoms (“Abangan ang Susunod na Kabanata,” “George and Cecil”) and movies (“Bala at Lipstick,” “My Monster Mom”) and also worked as assistant director on ABS-CBN shows (“That’s My Doc,” “Okay Fine Whatever”). [article continued after the jump]

Jesse Robredo biopic currently being developed

One of the most admired people in recent Philippine History is the late local government secretary Jesse Robredo. A man many consider worthy of being remembered in our nation's history. Now a film about his life is currently being developed, with Epy Quizon at the helm as director.

According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Quizon said that the film would be about Robredo as a father, husband and friend. He said he did not want “a political movie,” though Robredo’s political career would be woven into the story. Quizon noted, “He was very smart and goal-driven. He had no vices. He had lots of friends but no one was special—he treated them equally.” [read the full article after the jump]

The Poltergeist Remake is Greenlit

POLTERGEIST is set to be haunting a new generation of audiences as shooting on Gil Kenan‘s remake of Poltergeist has been set to begin this September.  MGM and Fox 2000 has sent out a press release announcing that they’ll co-finance the picture, and it will indeed shoot this fall.  Per the press release, “In a revisionist take on the classic horror film, a family struggling to make ends meet relocates to an outdated suburban home and is confronted by an angry spirit who kidnaps their youngest daughter and challenges them to band together to rescue her from the clutches of evil.” [hit the jump to check out the press release for this project]

KICK-ASS 2 moved to August

Bad news to the fans of, and those who are looking forward to the Philippine release of KICK-ASS 2. It looks like the Philippine release date which was officially set on June 26, 2013 will not be happening, and the release date has now been pushed to August 14, 2013 according to IMDB's release date for the film. [read the full article after the jump]

Trailer Tuesdays: Monsters University, The Place Beyond the Pines, 4 Sisters & A Wedding, The Heat, The Wolverine

Our Trailer Tuesdays this week brings forth some trailers for the upcoming Monsters University, The Place Beyond the Pines, and 4 Sisters & A Wedding. All of them set to open tomorrow June 26, and The Heat which will open on Friday June 28. We also get a glimpse of The Wolverine which is (arguably) a reboot that is clearly meant to overwrite the previous awful Wolverine movie. The Wolverine is set to arrive in Philippine shores July 25. 
UPDATE: Kick-Ass 2 moved to August 14, 2013
[hit the jump to check out the trailers]