Oh dear.

Lunakitty | June 06, 11:38 CET

Fine, then. Although I love Hugh Jackman and feel sorry that he'll be getting a serious step down from Singer as director, I didn't want Joss attached. I want to see things born of Joss primarily, and secondly things Joss is first to handle. No sloppy seconds!

aver | June 06, 11:42 CET

I enjoyed the Rush Hour movies, but I don't know about this. Oh well. We'll wait and see.

einral | June 06, 11:53 CET

I pretty much won't see it now. I liked the first two movies because even though they were splashy, pretty, CG-filled summer fare (i.e. no thought required, especially the second one), they had a kind of funky visual and kinetic energy. I liked them because I didn't much have to think or feel, but I enjoyed the energy.

I do not think Ratner can deliver the pretty or the energy.

dottikin | June 06, 12:10 CET

So Variety confirmed in their article that Maggie Grace is on board as Shadowcat. I wonder what that means for her character on Lost since both film at the same time.

eddy | June 06, 17:39 CET

I want them to stop casting a new shadowcat. Especially one that is definatly not a teenager (which is what we saw her as in the last film).

Rogue | June 06, 18:58 CET

Well, that Joss won't be attached....hardly a surprise at this point. As for Retner: 'Red Dragon' was okayish.....the Rush Hour movies...eh, neither hate nor love them, but I just don't see anything in his resume that makes me all that hopeful for a project like this.

And then Maggie Grace as Kitty? *Shiver!!* Yeah sure, for the role of a short, slightely cute, brainy, girl-next-door brunette we cast another typical tall, bony, photo model hollywood blonde. Why the hell not. Don't forget to cast Adam Sandler as Xavier...

And then what Harry says about the script... I'm thinking 'optimism' went out the window here.

EdDantes | June 06, 19:23 CET

Harry has grown a bias against Fox. Last time Moriaty posted about the script he didn't call it bad or anything. He even said the actors were EXCITED about the script. Now Harry says its a turd cause Brett Ratner is directing? Nah, Knowles has got a hate-on for Fox/Marvel now.

[ edited by eddy on 2005-06-06 17:36 ]

eddy | June 06, 19:36 CET

It could be worse. It could have been McG or Joel Shumacher. I think the movie will be more action oriented and less character driven now.

DarenG | June 06, 20:10 CET

On the strength of the outstanding "Layer Cake", I'm ready to declare Matthew Vaughn to be AT LEAST as good a director as Singer (who I think, heresy I know, is slightly overrated.). So this is a giant step down.

Ratner strikes me about 95% salesman and 4% party boy and 1% director. Ratner's best movie was probably "Red Dragon" -- but he was aping Jonathan Demme's work on "Silence of the Lamb", so I guess X-fans best hope here is that he decides to copy Singer!

(If there really are script problems, it might be part of the reason that Vaughn left. I'm guessing he's smart enough to know that if a movie has a bad script, there's really not much even the best director can do to overcome it, short of rewriting it completely.)

[ edited by bobster on 2005-06-06 20:04 ]

bobster | June 06, 20:43 CET

Look at it this way, at least it wasn't Simon West.

Oddjob | June 06, 20:46 CET

Maggie Grace??? That makes less sense than casting Sylvester Stallone as Quicksilver. Well, this franchise is officially dead.

ZachsMind | June 06, 21:42 CET

No...... :(
Anyway, I still will give this an opportunity.

I loved the first ones. Specially the less action oriented and more character driven.
For that reason, Vaughn fit well with the job ¬¬

At least I hope they will keept that realistic tone for the mutants and their story.
I want a dark movie, not a comedy.

I know everyone hates Maggie and Shannon, but I understand her character, and I like it.

[ edited by Angel TheVampire on 2005-06-06 20:00 ]

Angel TheVampire | June 06, 21:55 CET

wait, i thought the next one was going to cover some of what happened before the 2 movies? i was looking forward to that. oh well, maybe the next one will.

this one will definitely be a netflix rental. no way am i spending actual money on seeing anything ratner directs. yuk! though i have to say, relieved it isn't schumacher. x-men don't need nipple suits.

kittyholmes | June 06, 22:43 CET

Are you talking about the magneto spin off kittyholmes? Cause thats the only movie I heard would be a prequel.

eddy | June 06, 23:14 CET

If they have a good script, it'll be hard to mess the film up, and producers and everyone involved in X3, are praising the story they have. Ratner doesn't have to do much thinking, it's already been done, just get on with the cast,point the camera, and good film we'll get.

SeanValen | June 06, 23:44 CET

(If there really are script problems, it might be part of the reason that Vaughn left. I'm guessing he's smart enough to know that if a movie has a bad script, there's really not much even the best director can do to overcome it, short of rewriting it completely.)

bobster

You are incorrect, he left the film because he didn't want to be away from his family for a year, it was a last minute type thing.



The script is great, because everyone else involved in X3 know what their doing, give some credit to them.

I think everyone who thinks Rathner will let X3 down will be proved wrong, the producers behind xmen are gonna make sure some strong ideals will be in place, from script to screen.

[ edited by SeanValen on 2005-06-06 21:48 ]

SeanValen | June 06, 23:46 CET

To be fair to Maggie Grace, she *is* acting as the "blonde" type on LOST; Here is a link to a picture of Maggie Grace as a very convincing brunette: Click Here!

I think it's kind of short-sighted to write her off based on one role or one facet of her appearance. They can do wonders with hair/makeup/costumes--so let's hope that her audition was a fantastic channelling of the beloved Pryde of the X-men.

Lunakitty | June 06, 23:56 CET

What a shame. Just when Joss has helped push X-men visibility way out there with the excellence of AXM, Hollywood decides to pull a boner with the film. I like Maggie Grace fine and think she's very effective as Shannon on Lost, but in no way does she resemble what I'd imagined Shadowcat would look like. Whenever I go to movies that cast gorgeous actors for characters intended by their creators to be more average in appearance, I find myself wondering, where are the people who look like the rest of us? Just one representative would be, you know, nice. (I know pretty people have to eat, too -- though you wouldn't know it to look at most of them -- but would it kill these producers to try hewing to the spirit of the material? If they want more women to come into SF/fantasy and take comics translated onscreen seriously, they need to stop that knee-jerk impulse of casting eye candy for the boys when there's no call for it, and give us something to identify with up there.)

Poor Hugh Jackman. I just succumbed to watching Van Helsing last night on video (yes, I regret it) and was thinking within the first fifteen minutes, "man, does this guy need a hit with X3 now." Ratner's pretty good at action, but aside from that, there's not much *there* there in his projects -- certainly not enough to keep most X-fans satisfied. Unless the studio has the sense to beg Joss to script-doctor the characterizations before they actually start shooting, I'm not holding out a great deal of hope.

Wiseblood | June 06, 23:59 CET

This film is going to be so awful. I'm kinda depressed that Hollywood's shot at doing the whole Dark Phoenix storyline is going to get so mussed up. And Maggie Grace just isn't Kitty Pryde. I always saw someone like a slightly younger Jewel Staite personally. She's got to be real girl next doorsy. Although maybe Maggie Gyllenhall or Scarlett Johansson could have pulled it off. I guess it's not worth getting upset about - the third film in superhero movie franchises are always ghastly after all... We should just be grateful that Joss managed to avoid getting sucked into the whole train wreck that it seems to have become...

prospero | June 07, 00:43 CET

Maggie Gyllenhall? Isn't she like 30?! I think the perfect person to play Kitty is a younger Alexis Bledel.

And sadly the story isn't going to be all about Dark Phoenix, Avi Arad makes it out to be a minor subplot. How can anything be more important then the greatest X-Men story ever told is beyond me.

eddy | June 07, 02:17 CET

SeanValen: while it's true that "family issues" was the official excuse, the general consensus on the Internet seems to be that there were other factors involved, most likely Vaughn's concern that he wouldn't have enough time to make a good movie.

As far as the "other people involved" knowing what they're doing, that may be so, but as far as the two most important roles go, well, we've got the director of "Rush Hour" and "After the Sunset," the writer of "XXX2," and the writer of "Elektra." Oh yeah, this is gonna be great ...

bobothebrave | June 07, 02:32 CET

The general consensus on the internet is often wrong. Don't believe everything you read unless theres concrete facts behind it.

eddy | June 07, 02:35 CET

Well, Zach Penn was in X2 and X1 (I think), so, I don´t care about his previous scripts.

The same with Simon Kinberg, a lot of writers do bad movies, and then good ones.

[ edited by Angel TheVampire on 2005-06-07 00:43 ]

Angel TheVampire | June 07, 02:42 CET

eddy: Sorry i wasn't clear. What I meant was that SeanValen (and others) shouldn't necessarily just accept Fox's official story and tell others that "they're wrong" when their ideas contradict the party line.

I have no idea why Vaughn left. This whole "family issues" seems mighty suspicious to me, especially as I would have expected him to think about that *before* accepting such a high-profile assignment, but hey, in the end, it's not that important.

On principle, I have an intense dislike of franchises that get tossed from one director to another (yeah, it's not that different from different writers taking turns on superhero comics, but I guess that's why I'm pretty much fed up with work-for-hire superhero comics as well), so unless I start seeing reviews declaring "X3" the best movie since "Citizen Kane," I'll probably be giving it a pass, no matter who directs it.

PS And to echo everyone else: yeah, thank God Joss isn't involved in this.

bobothebrave | June 07, 02:44 CET

I don't like superhero franchises switching directors either. Usually the tone shifts dramatically and not for the better. But then again this has only happened twice. Batman and Superman and that was a long time ago. Hopefully these studios learned from past mistakes but I doubt it. The only superhero character where I think it'll work is Spider-Man(past 3). Because if the original actors/Director are gone and the story is about Venom/The Black Suit it'll feel like a whole new story and won't tarnish the previous films.

eddy | June 07, 03:01 CET

I dunno... Rush Hour's are extremely poor... but this guy pulled off Red Dragon fairly well I thought... I guess it all depends on what approach he takes, and whether the script can hold up any of his shortcomings

aapac | June 07, 04:38 CET

I've pretty much saw this from the beginning. We are only now seeing the facet break. Like many of you, I wish to see a good 'X-Men 3'. But, I think something broke down early in the film. Just a guess, but could FOX be railroading this film? Getting their fingers involved in every aspect? Actually, I'd believe Joss was asked to handle this film. After one look, he said,"No thanks." That's my opinion.

I'm quickly losing faith in 'X-Men' the film.

Madhatter | June 07, 05:03 CET

Rush Hour was very funny. The sequel was okay.

April | June 08, 02:50 CET