Saturday, December 5 has been fixed for the book signing session by Paul Cornell. Read the rest of this entry »

Emily Blunt, Eliza Dushku, Scarlet Johansson

The role of Black Widow in Jon Favreau’s forthcoming sequel to Iron Man has become a hot topic of late with fans eager to see the right actress picked for the job.  Quite a few contenders have been named, and quite a few actresses eager to get the job, but there are really only three names on everybody’s lips: Blunt, Dushku, Johansson.

According to reports Emily Blunt (Charlie Wilson’s War /Curiosity) has committed to the role, although as official as ‘committed’ sounds, she hasn’t officially signed a contract.  It seems because Blunt has already committed to so many films that are already in production (Wild Target / The Gir l/ The Young Victoria /The Wolf Man /Gulliver’s Travels / Gnomeo and Juliet) her schedule might be full.  Since Iron Man 2 is still in pre-production, a filming date hasn’t been set – meaning Blunt is as yet unable to officially commit to the project.  Many fans want her – so this isn’t good news to them, although small consolation can be taken by the news that she’s still hoping to find the time.   Want and ability are two different things however, and given the sheer volume of work she is currently involved in, a big question mark remains over the possibility that she will, in the end, get the role.

Enter Eliza Dushku (Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Wrong Turn), another fan favorite who arguably wants the role more than any other woman living on the planet.  Dushku made waves when she appeared on the Howard Stern Show to promote Joss Whedon’s new sci fi drama, Dollhouse, in which she plays the lead character.  Instead she promoted her desire to snare the role of Black Widow.  Her comments on the Stern show leave no room for interpretation:  “They’re doing Iron Man 2, I’m so perfect for the Black Widow character, that they just need to get into it.  They need to understand I just learned Russian because I had to play a Russian girl in Dollhouse.”  Yet whilst Eliza Dushku may want the role badly, there’s been no indication that she’s on the short list.

One actress that does appear to be on the short list is Scarlett Johansson and, from all reports, might very well be the actress who gets the job.  According to The Hollywood Insider:

Marvel will not confirm, but sources around Hollywood say Johansson has indeed met with the filmmakers and is interested in taking the role of Russian superspy Natasha Romanoff, who doubles as Black Widow.

And:

Blunt’s reps are still trying to make both projects work, but Gulliver’s is further along, with a start date of April 15. Iron Man 2 still doesn’t have a shooting script and a start date has not yet been determined.

There’s quite a few opinions surfacing about who would be good at what – and of course opinions about who wouldn’t.  Some question Johansson’s acting ability to pull the role off.  Some question the same for Dushku.  Few seem to have a problem with Blunt.   As far as acting goes, I personally don’t have much of a problem with either of them – given the right script and the right direction I think all of them could shine, and it’s pretty obvious they’ll have the right direction. 

When it comes to looking the part, many think both Dushku and Blunt hold the ace and that Johansson is way off the mark.  Take a look at this image and you can see why:

Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff)

But, Romanoff was not the only Black Widow.   Granted, the Romanoff Black Widow is the character we are talking about for Iron Man 2, but there was another Black Widow – Yelena Belova – who in the world of the comic was the replacement for Romanova.  When you look at some of the comic images of the Belova Black Widow, well its almost as if the drawn character was completely modeled from a posiing Johansson.  Take a look at this image and see for yourself (it’s really quite uncanny):

Black Widow (Yelena Belova)

Perhaps this image of the Black Widow is what the producers of Iron Man 2 are seeing as well.  They haven’t taken the script to film yet, so it could be as simple as changing the Black Widow characters name from Romanoff to Belova and bang, Johansson is a dead ringer for the part.  Either way,  perhaps Iron Man 2 is a chance for Johansson to really break out and surprise us all.  Let’s hope so, because all factors considered, the odds are stacked in her favor to get the official nod.

Battlestar Galactica – Want to buy a full size Colonial Viper?  Your chance is now.  Between January 16-17 the Auction Network are going mad on auctioning off real Battlestar Galactica props.  Not just any old prop either, some very cool and very iconic gear is included in this auction.  No need for me to list the items as there are far too many.  In fact, if you can name it as a prop from the show it’s probably in the auction.  These are the real deal, so if you’ve got some money to burn head on over to The Official Battlestar Galactica Props and Costumes Auction and take a look at what’s up for sale.  Oh yes, and don’t forget, the final eleven episodes begin airing today!

Terminator: Salvation – McG has let more info out about Terminator: Salvation – a lot more.  Linda Hamilton, who played Sarah Connor in the first two movies, will be back.  Not in person, but doing a voice over.  Remember Sarah Connor (John Connor’s mother) was making tape recordings for her son in the 1984 Terminator movie?  Well these will be the recordings we hear in Salvation (freshly recorded by Linda Hamilton).  If that wasn’t cool enough, McG also hints that talks are underway for Arnold Schwarzenegger to become involved – whatever it is it will probably be minor, but it’s looking like he will be involved in some capacity.  Rumors have it that there may be Terminator T800’s sporting Schwarzenegger’s face in the movie, perhaps using some form of CGI capacity. Read the rest of this entry »