RADCLIFFE DECIDES ON POTTER 6 & 7
What with Daniel Radcliffe doing all grown-up, rudie-nudie roles on the boards these days, speculation has been rife as to whether he's going to part ways with the multi-billion dollar Harry Potter And The… franchise. Well wonder no more – he's in. It's been announced that Daniel will appear in both Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince and Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, the former of which will start shooting in September of this year. Tackle-in, we expect.
BUT MAGUIRE MIGHT NOT BE AROUND FOR SPIDER-MAN 4
In a press conference ostensibly about The Good German, Tobey Maguire has suggested that it might be the end of the road for himself and Peter Parker on the big screen. "To me it seems like this is a natural point for the team to break up," said the actor. "We have a lot of story conclusions that were going along for the main characters for the first two movies and we kind of tie almost everything up for the third movie… it feels like a trilogy to me and it feels like the end." Add this to director Sam Raimi's notion that he wouldn't be involved with the series forever, and this summer may herald the end of an era.
MEANWHILE: TOKYO FIRST UP FOR SPIDEY 3
Sony have confirmed that the first market to see Spider-Man 3 will be Japan. It's expected to open more than 400 screens (not that many in the greater scheme of things) in Tokyo on May 1, three days ahead of opening day in the U.S. If you're in the area of Toho Cinemas Roppongi Hills on April 16, you might want to bagsie yourself spot next to the red carpet well ahead of time, and you just might get a word with Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco and the great Stan Lee at the world premiere.
BEST. CROSS-PROMOTION. EVER. MAYBE.
Zack Snyder's 300 has been embraced by the most appropriate modern-day equivalent, North America's National Hockey League. Some bright spark has come up with the idea of creating a 30 second ad for the film, which inter-cuts battle scenes from the movie with some bone crunching, on-ice action highlights from the league. It'll be seen on various U.S. networks, and there's a streaming version to look at here. At the very least it beats the crap out of The Mighty Ducks.