Legendary visual effects man Douglas Trumbull announced his intention to return to directing at the National Association of Broadcasters Show in Las Vegas this weekend.

Speaking at his keynote address at yesterday’s Filmmaker’s Views on Advance in Image and Sound session Trumbull spoke about the push for new technology, adding his voice to James Cameron’s when it comes to he utilisation of higher frame rates and 3D is the cinematic technology of the future.

Variety quoted him on expectations of cinema audiences today,

[T]he industry stopped 70mm, stopped Cinerama and multiplexed itself into oblivion.

on the higher frame rate,

I think that’s going to get people back into theaters, because I think frankly people are kind of bored. They see the same-old, same-old formula all the time. You see your master shots and your two-shots and your over-shoulder and your closeups and your inserts, and everybody says, ‘I’ve seen that a billion times. … And so along comes ‘Avatar’ that does something new, and it’s the biggest-grossing film of all time. So there’s a message.

on his own films, which he hopes to utilise the new technology for,

I’ve got two screenplays I’m almost finished on, and I’m going to be using some really extreme new digital technologies.

Sadly no more details have been released but it’s good to see Trumbull coming back, with the emerging technology making a tangible difference to the film, rather than a gimmick. THR also reported on the speech from Trumbull and have a good quote from Rob Legato who is visual effects supervisor on Martin Scorsese’s 3D debut, Hugo Cabret:

[Scorsese is] altering the use of 3D so that instead of a being an obvious, in-your-face visual effect, the viewer is experiencing a sensation of depth. Sometimes that sensation replaces dialogue. You don’t necessarily need to describe a scene in words if you can feel it, and if you can feel it, it’s usually a more powerful moment than anything else.

With X-Men visual effects man Tim Miller taking up the reins of the Deadpool movie and Gareth Edwards’ hands-on FX work with his break out hit Monsters there is a bigger, clearer, more immersive picture emerging here.

THR are reporting that Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese, the men responsible for writing the breakout zombie comedy Zombieland, will make their directorial debut with Doc & Howie.

Written by Steve Leff (TV’s Two and a Half Men), Doc & Howie centers on two slackers who refuse to help an elderly woman carry her groceries up a flight of stairs. That leads to them accidentally killing her, but while they panic about the repercussions, the incident allows them to meet the dead women’s sexy granddaughters.

Production is likely to get underway in the new year.

As well as signing on to direct Doc & Howie, Wernick and Reese have also written scripts for Deadpool, the GI Joe sequel and sold a sci-fi spec called Earth vs. Moon.

The writing duo behind last year’s surprise comic hit Zombieland, Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese, are tackling another similarly quirky project.

Deadline is reporting that Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese will write the script for a feature which Disney has purchased – an adaptation of a graphic novel called Cowboy Ninja Viking.

The intriguingly monikered one is the creation of one Dr. Sebastian Ghislain, a psychotherapist who recruits Multiple Personality Disorder patients to produce a unit of counter-intelligence agents called Triplets. When a number of these trained assassins get out of control, the deadliest of them all, Cowboy Ninja Viking, is called in to track down and destroy his own kind.

Wernick & Rheese are currently in high demand, having recently finished the script for X-Men spin-off character Deadpool – as played by Ryan Reynolds in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Ryan Reynolds seems to be keen on taking the lead in a Deadpool film and rumours of Robert Rodriguez coming on board to direct persist. Now, in addition to all of that “wait and see” we have a review of the most recent draft of the screenplay by Cinema Blend.

This should all be taken with a pinch of salt and to their credit, Cinema Blend acknowledge this up front. The screenplay is stated to be only one element of the finished film and no assumptions are made as to how the film will turn out, only what the current draft of the script has to say.

The first hurdle, namely the introduction, alteration and dismembering of Deadpool in X-Men: Origins: Wolverine is dealt with by setting the Deadpool movie in a world where Wolverine is merely a film that Deadpool has seen. In one fell swoop, Deadpool is liberated from all of that inconvenient backstory and can do his own thing.

Apparently there is a big role in the script for Colossus, who increased in prominence throughout the first three X-Men films, playing here the kind of straight man to Deadpool’s wise-cracker. Deadpool is said to be constantly making contemporary pop-culture references, full of sarcasm and wit and then moving seamlessly into brutal, bloody violence.

Structurally, “origin story” issues are said to be dealt with through a series of flashbacks, with the blanks gradually being filled in as the present day story unfolds. Tonally, Cinema Blend say:-

Till now, our superheroes have fallen into pretty much one of two categories. They’re either deadly serious and dark, like The Dark Knight, or they’re fun and light like Iron Man. If it gets made, Deadpool will be the first superhero movie to successfully be both styles all at once. It does it by taking everything to the extreme. All the darkness and despair of Batman is amped up and punctuated with brutal, almost horror movie-like violence while all the humor and flat out charm of Iron Man is amped up as well, to create a dark and deeply violent superhero movie that’s also ridiculously funny and engaging in nearly every single moment and all at once.

This certainly sounds good, although Blade: Trinity and Wolverine both taught us that trying to mesh Ryan Reynolds’ motor-mouth, light-hearted style of delivery with a film containing darker elements and certainly more serious, po-faced performances can create some grating clashes of style.

Ultimately, Cinema Blend are hugely impressed with what they’ve seen and their genuine affection for the character and their hopes for a successful film shine through. You can read the rest of their script review here and then pop back to comment below on what you think of it.

Let us begin with a spoiler warning. Considering I had never heard of Deadpool until X-Men Origins: Wolverine (don’t judge, I was clearly busy during the preceding decades), I am not the best judge of what comprises sensitive information and what does not.

While there will obviously be cameos from characters inextricably linked with the anti-hero – Blind Al, Patch and Vanessa Carlysle are all scheduled to appear – there are a few (maybe) surprises as well.

The news from New York Comic-Con is that Weapon-X characters Wyre, Ajax, Sluggo and Garrison Kane will appear in the promised Deadpool movie.

The bona-fide shock, however, comes with the news that an X-Man is also scheduled to appear. The character will be established in the Marvel movie universe, with two appearances to date. Any guesses?

Sources have confirmed to Bleeding Cool that Piotr Rasputin (aka. Colossus) has been written into the screenplay – and it won’t just be for a fleeting cameo either.

Nope. He is in more than one scene and has got some stuff to do.

While it is not yet known whether Daniel Cudmore – who played Colossus in X-Men 2 and X – Men: The Last Stand – will reprise the role for the Deadpool movie, it is difficult to imaging that the Twilight actor has not been approached even informally.

It has further been suggested that the version of Deadpool’s alter-ego Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) butchered in Wolverine will also feature in the character’s first solo adventure. With Deadpool famous for his liberal attitude towards the fourth wall, it will be interesting to see how the subject is broached.

After the character was fumbled in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a Deadpool movie has promised to put things straight and give the superhero a big screen adventure worthy of his considerable popularity.

In an interview with the L. A. Times (via Superhero Hype) the star of Deadpool, and part time Green Lantern, Ryan Reynolds discussed how the film would differ from Wolverine – and other comic-book movies in general.

It goes in such a different direction than a superhero movie usually goes. It’s a nasty piece of work. It’s just based in so much emotional filth, completely. It’s like ‘Barfly‘ if it were a superhero movie.

It sort of treads into the world of an emotionally damaged person.  I always say that Deadpool is a guy in a highly militarized shame spiral…. It’s so different than the superhero movies to date, it departs so far from that.

Reynolds also admitted that they would unlikely spare the time to ease audiences in.

With Deadpool, it’s a lot like going to prison for the first day. You got to walk up and hit the biggest guy you see to establish a bit of cred. With Deadpool, early on you have to establish that moral flexibility. There’s a gamble to it — you’re going to lose a few people right at the beginning but you take the gamble and know that eventually you’re going to win them back. You won’t lose the hard-core fans of the character, they already know who he is.

We have to play to a broader audience than that. As an actor you have to be willing to do something like … back in Vancouver we used to call it a [nasty] burger. ’You gotta eat the [nasty] burger to get to the cookies.’ And yes, I want to write a cookbook about that…

Reynolds will next be seen – sans lycra – in Buried, a claustrophobic thriller which surfaces later this month in a cinema near you. As for the rest of this interview, you can continue reading here.

Ryan Reynolds (Buried) is the current favourite to star opposite Denzel Washington in thriller Safe House according to Yahoo Movies.

The plot involves the sole survivor of  terrorist attack on a CIA safe house as attempts to transfer a dangerous prisoner (Washington) to a second safe house. The character’s efforts are hindered by violent forces who want both individuals dead.

If cast, Reynolds will have beaten fellow candidates Tom Hardy, Zac Efron, James McAvoy and Shia LaBeouf to the coveted role.

The project, which has Daniel Espinosa attached to direct a script by David Guggenheim, is housed at Universal and will join Reynolds’ list of upcoming projects which currently include Green Lantern, R.I.P.D and Deadpool.

We reported at the beginning of the year on some of Ryan Reynold’s thoughts about his upcoming X-Men spin-off, Deadpool. Since then, much of the Reynolds/superhero focus has been on his turn as The Green Lantern, however Deadpool seems to still be very much on the cards.

There were various reports last month that Robert Rodriguez, who produced Predators recently, has Machete coming out soon and is also working on Spy Kids 4, might direct Deadpool. However all that came out of those “reports” was the usual maelstrom of speculation and denial from fans, the director and 20th Century Fox.

After all that though, The LA Times are reporting here that we might have lift-off after all. Rodriguez and Fox are apparently “negotiating”, which could mean a lot or very little, although the discussions do seem to have moved on from casual chit-chat to a serious consideration of the precise points of any actual deal.

His appearance in Wolverine (at least in the earlier scenes) re-enforced what Reynolds initially showed in Blade: Trinity, namely that he can handle both the action and the comedy elements required for Deadpool, what we don’t yet know is whether he can manage more than just being witty and charismatic in inferior sequels with too many colons in their titles. The Green Lantern will give us something of an answer to that question in due course.

In the meantime, let’s hope Rodriguez can strike a deal with Fox. Rodriguez’s films are always greatly entertaining and he would seem to be a great fit for the action / comedy balance that will likely be required for a Deadpool spin-off.

Currently donning the tights for the Green Lantern movie, which is attracting a very interesting cast including Mark Strong and Peter Sarsgaard, Ryan Reynolds has another comic book turn coming up, and with Zombieland writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick officially on scripting duties, Deadpool has the talent to make it a fun film.

MTV recently caught up with Reynolds at Sundance where his film Buried garnered some serious praise and a Lionsgate distribution deal into the bargain, and he talked a little on his collaboration with the writing team.

I talk to them every single day…It’s actually a really wonderful creative trifecta — we’re having a very good time.”"Tonally, they got it…They just [understood 'Deadpool'] right off the bat. They’re fans of the character and they were so excited. We couldn’t have done any better [than Reese and Wernick].

There’s a nice little video over at MTV and Reynolds’ own affinity for his character may mean his creative input will greatly affect the writing process, and while no other details on the production side have been confirmed there is hope that the X-Men spin off fares better critically than Wolverine, though the box office takings surprised a lot of people.

The other big toy movie of the summer of 2009 was met with an eager audience (eager to the tune of $300 million) and a critical reception that praised its live action Team America vibe. It was nonsense, but profitable nonsense.

That it is getting a sequel will surprise no-one, and news is slowly leaking on who will be behind the next rise of Cobra.

Collider’s article on the establishment of a sequel has recently been updated with the news that Zombieland scribes Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick have been tasked with writing the next instalment of G.I. Joe.

Clearly these guys are in demand, only yesterday we reported they had been hired to resurrect Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool movie.

I’m a fan of these two, particularly after hearing their conversation with Jeff Goldsmith on the Creative Screenwriting Podcast, and I think they’ll bring something a little different to a sequel that could easily rehash the original, peppering itself with a number of obscure character cameos, illuminated in a bouquet of napalm explosions.

It’ll make a mint of course, but here’s hoping it’ll be a worthy use of Reese and Wernick’s time.

About a month ago rumours began to make the rounds (thanks to CHUD) that Zombieland writers, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, were in talks to write X-Men spin-off movie Deadpool. Well it turns out that there was a lot of truth to those rumours as Variety have today announced the writing duo have officially been hired by Fox to move forward with the project.

When these rumours first surfaced I, like many people, thought that these guys would be a good choice to pen Deadpool purely based on their screenplay for Zombieland, which was one of my favourite films of 2009. Zombieland blended action with comedy brilliantly, and also had great control over the timing whenever the fourth wall was broken by Columbus (played by Jesse Eisenberg) to interact with the audience, much like Deadpool would have to do in his own movie.

Now even though I am still not thrilled about Ryan Reynolds being cast as both Deadpool and the Green Lantern, having previously likened that to seeing Hugh Jackman (Wolverine) playing Superman or Christian Bale (Batman) playing Captain America, the casting of Deadpool is not even close to being my biggest problem with this proposed spin-off movie. In order for this movie to work in any way, shape, or form it has to outright ignore all four X-Men movies, in particular the complete disaster that was X-Men Origins: Wolverine which was the introduction of Wade Wilson, AKA the Merc with a Mouth, AKA Deadpool, to the big screen. Deadpool has to be made as a completely separate franchise to the X-Men if it is to work, and as such just further reinforces the idea that the character should be recast. I am not anti-Ryan Reynolds, I think he did a good job as Wade Wilson in the early stages of Wolverine before the character was butchered by that film’s plot (which Reynolds was clearly disappointed by when he was doing interviews to promote the movie), and Reynolds was directly referenced in the comics as being a likeness of Deadpool. So even though I think he is a good choice for the part, the fact that he is also playing the Green Lantern and the idea that the Deadpool movie should have nothing to do with the X-Men film franchise logically leads me to conclude that another actor should take over the role.

The 33 year old star of The Proposal sat down for an interview today with MTV to discuss the past year of his life, including the two big budget superhero movies he has signed on to star in: The Green Lantern and X-Men Origins: Wolverine spin-off Deadpool.

Speaking about The Green Lantern, which is the first of the two films to go into production, Reynolds said:

“I’ve known about “Green Lantern” my whole life, but I’ve never really followed it before. I fell in love with the character when I met with [director] Martin Campbell. When I sat down with him, I really got what it is that this guy is all about. When you have a guy like Martin Campbell, part of his charm is that he has ba–s of titanium, and the other part is that he’s slightly crazy, and you have to be to take on something with the scope of “Green Lantern.” He’s less of the director and more of a general. He just really knows strategies, he knows the intricacies, and his attention to detail! It’s infectious. I sat down with him, and I could not even believe what he was saying. When I went to the meeting, I was entirely cynical. I thought, “What the hell, I’ll see what they have to say,” and I left the room with a completely different perspective.”

When asked about the highlight of his big year, Ryan responded:

“I think, seeing the prototypes for the Green Lantern costumes was a huge moment. It was a moment when I was like, “This is happening, and it’s happening in the right way.” That’s a pretty cool, definitive moment for me.”

And regarding the proposed Deadpool spin-off:

“I’ve been in so many meetings lately about “Deadpool” and meeting all these writers. Everyone is always looking for that one line, “What is that character?” and for me it’s kind of like, “There’s a guy, and he’s in a highly militarized comedic fame spiral.” That’s not an easy thing to write — an entire screenplay, let alone a franchise.”

I’ve been somewhat of a Ryan Reynolds fan since watching him on TV over a decade ago in Two Guys and a Girl, and it was inevitable that his onscreen charisma would lead him to eventually become a star in cult comedies and Hollywood blockbusters. However, even as a fan who has seen his best comedic and dramatic performances and knows what he is capable of, I don’t like the idea of him being in two separate comic book films as the lead character, especially when those film will be released within a fairly short time-span of one another.

In my opinion, Reynolds playing The Green Lantern and Deadpool will be the equivalent of seeing Hugh Jackman playing Superman or Christian Bale playing Captain America. It just doesn’t work, regardless of whether the characters wear masks or not. To make matters even stranger, Reynolds has previously played Hannibal King in Blade: Trinity and has been the front-runner (no pun intended) to play the lead role in the big screen adaptation of The Flash, which Reynolds himself confirmed.

Many believe that the reason Reynolds has signed on to play two major comic book characters is simply studio rivalry. The rumor is that executives at Warner Bros. (DC’s parent company) wanted to cast him as The Green Lantern in order to tamper with 20th Century Fox’s Deadpool schedule. A strategic move from a studio perspective perhaps, but one that is sure to have fans up in arms when the films are released.

You can read the full interview with Ryan Reynolds over at MTV.