Damon Houx
We've been hearing a lot of news about sequels recently (including '21 Jump Street 2' and 'Fast and Furious 7'), but those have been for hit films or are continuing a franchise that has already proved successful enough to rush. Today it's been announced that studios are working on sequels for 'The Heat' and 'Ride Along,' two films that haven't even hit theaters yet.
'Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story' was a pretty funny movie that was a surprise hit in 2004. It pitted Vince Vaughn and his gang of outsiders against Ben Stiller and his corporate stooges in a winner-takes-all game of dodgeball. When a film does as well as 'Dodgeball' did (it made over $100 million at the box office), a sequel is practically guaranteed, and though it took a decade, it looks like they're finally getting around to it.
It's been almost a decade since Keanu Reeves wrapped up 'The Matrix' trilogy, and over five years since his 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' remake, and in the interim Reeves has kept quiet. Sure, he's done some indie films, and produced a documentary, but he's been off the big screen for a while. But now he's signed on to star in 'Passengers,' which will return him to science fiction.
When 20th Century Fox was founded in 1935 (the combination of Fox Films Corporation and Twentieth Century Pictures) it's possible that the founders of the company may have joked that their name could become obsolete in sixty five years, but it seems unlikely they were thinking that far ahead. Now -- seventy-eight years later -- the company's name has been changed to reflect the times and updated to 21st Century Fox for everything but the movie side of their business.
Michael Bay is scheduled to start shooting 'Transformers 4' in the next couple weeks, so the final casting announcements should be hitting shortly. the latest addition to the cast is 'The Hunger Games's Stanley Tucci. .
'The Hunger Games' proved adept at keeping audiences excited by offering brief glimpses at the movie, and letting everyone know about every casting decision, so it's no surprise that the follow-up 'Catching Fire' is using a similar strategy. We're still more than seven months out from 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,' but it's just released two new images.
'The Way, Way Back' premiered at Sundance and will be released by Fox Searchlight later this year. That's been a winning proposition for many films, including 'Juno,' '(500) Days of Summer' and 'Little Miss Sunshine,' which this most resembled. Or maybe it comes across that way because both star Steve Carell. Now there's a trailer for the film.
Recently there was a list of three directors bandied about to take over the 'Fast and Furious' franchise from director Justin Lin, who saw the series through its last four sequels. But it appears Universal chose none of the above to direct the follow up, as James Wan has been tapped to helm 'Fast and Furious 7.'