Darren Aronofsky abandona la dirección de la nueva película de Wolverine

Efe | Los Ángeles (EEUU)

Actualizado viernes 18/03/2011

 

El cineasta Darren Aronofsky ha decidido deshacer su acuerdo con 20th Century Fox para dirigir la segunda película de Lobezno, titulada 'The Wolverine' y con Hugh Jackman como protagonista. Las causas aludidas por el director son familiares: el rodaje le obligaría a estar mucho tiempo alejado de su hogar, informó hoy Variety.

 

El realizador de títulos como 'Cisne Negro', 'El luchador' o 'Réquiem por un sueño' renunció al trabajo semanas antes del comienzo de la grabación que estaba prevista para primavera en Japón, si bien la actual situación en el país nipón podría afectar a los planes del estudio. La película se basa en la obra 'Lobezno: Honor', escrita por Chris Claremont e ilustrada por Frank Miller.

 

"No estaba cómodo pasando tanto tiempo lejos de mi familia. Me entristece que no veré cómo se hace todo el proyecto porque tiene un guión fabuloso y estaba muy ilusionado con trabajar con mi amigo Hugh Jackman de nuevo", explicó Aronofsky, quien hace unos meses rompió su relación con la actriz Rachel Weisz.

 

Uno de los candidatos que suenan para reemplazar a Aronofsky es David Slade, quien ya está envuelto en otro proyecto de Fox basada en un personaje de Marvel, la nueva versión de 'Daredevil'.

 

"Aunque estamos decepcionados con el hecho de que Darren no pueda hacer 'The Wolverine', entendemos y respetamos sus razones", dijo en un comunicado oficial Fox. Darren Aronofsky ya le había pedido a su amigo Hugh Jackman que potenciera su aspecto físico respecto al que lució en la anterior película del personaje, 'Lobezno: Orígen'. Para ello, el actor estaba ingiriendo 6.000 calorías diarias.

Darren Aronofsky deja plantado a Wolverine

LOS ANGELES, 18 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS)

Darren Aronofsky no dirigirá Lobezno. El realizador de Cisne Negro ha abandonado el spin off de la saga X-Men por problemas con el calendario ya que el rodaje le obligaría a estar un año fuera de casa.

La segunda película de Lobezno iba a ser la primera incursión de Aronofsky en el mundo de los superhéroes e iba a suponer un cambio de registro brutal respecto a sus trabajos anteriores donde destacan títulos como Réquiem por un sueño, Pi (fe en el caos) o The Fighter. Pero finalmente no dirigirá los designios del superhéroe de Marvel, ya que no desea estar separado un año de su hijo de cuatro años, fruto de su ya rota relación con la actriz Rachel Weisz.

"No estaba cómodo pasando tanto tiempo lejos de mi familia. Estoy muy triste porque no veré cómo se hace todo el proyecto que tiene un guión fabuloso y estaba muy ilusionado con trabajar con mi amigo Hugh Jackman de nuevo", afirma Aronofsky, que dirigió a Jackman en 'La Fuente de la Vida', en declaraciones a Variety.

La Fox también se ha mostrado apesadumbrada con el abandono de Aronofsky, un director con el que en los últimos años habían cosechado éxito de crítica y público con The Fighter y Cisne Negro. "Pese a que estamos decepcionados con el hecho de que Darren no pueda dirigir Lobezno, entendemos y respetamos su decisión", afirma la productora en un comunicado.

El rodaje de la nueva película de Lobezno iba a comenzar la próxima primavera en Japón, aunque podría retrasarse 'sine die' tras el terremoto y posterior tsunami que hace una semana arrasó el país nipón y que todavía le tiene sumido en una situación de alerta y caos nuclear.

Visita al set de First Class (en inglés)

Breve informe desde el set, mas una vista previa a las entrevistas a James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender y Matthew Vaughn.

UK, March 9, 2011
By Chris Tilly / IGN UK

At the tail-end of November IGN headed to Pinewood Studios on the outskirts of London to meet the brand-new X-Men on the set of 2011's most eagerly anticipated blockbusters.

A reboot of sorts, X-Men: First Class is set in 1962 - against the back-drop of the Cold War - and introduces the world to Charles Xavier before he became Professor X, Erik Lehnsherr before he became Magneto, and a huge cast of mutant characters.

Produced by Bryan Singer and directed by Kick-Ass helmer Matthew Vaughn, First Class is an attempt to kick-start the franchise following the critical and commercial disappointment of X-Men: The Last Stand, and while there will certainly be nods to the recent trilogy, the plan is to launch First Class as very much a standalone film.

"This is going to be very different", explains Vaughn during a break between shots. "What I'm doing no one has done in superhero films. It's James Bond, it's a political thriller and it's an X-Men movie. It's not like the other X-Men movies which I think is important. I think they need to sort of take on a new... you know, what Batman Begins did for all those Batman movies? We bloody well need it. I'm not saying it's going to be as good as Batman Begins, but it's the same sort of attitude."

So what of the story? At this early stage we're bound to secrecy regarding specific plot-points, but the film's official synopsis is as follows:

X-Men: First Class charts the epic beginning of the X-Men saga, and reveals a secret history of famous global events. Before mutants had revealed themselves to the world, and before Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Not archenemies, they were instead at first the closest of friends, working together with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to stop Armageddon. In the process, a grave rift between them opened, which began the eternal war between Magneto's Brotherhood and Professor X's X-Men.

We can talk about cast however, with Vaughn opting for two of the UK's most talented rising stars to play his iconic lead characters.

James McAvoy - best known for his work in Wanted and The Last King of Scotland - plays Charles Xavier, although his will be a very different take on the character to Patrick Stewart's previous incarnation.

"It's set in a completely different time and you are also taking these people to a much earlier point in their personal development as well as their physical and super development", explains McAvoy as he sips on a cup of tea in his trailer.

"What's fun is you get to figure out who they were. For me Charles is a monk. He's like a selfless, egoless, almost sexless force for the betterment of humanity and mortality. And getting to kind of go 'Well, he's got to be different from that' is quite fun because the complete opposite is an ego-fuelled, sexed-up, self-serving dude. And we've not gone too far from that... he's definitely got an ego and he's definitely got a sex drive as well."

Indeed, throughout the day there were hints regarding Xavier's luck on the lady front, both with a young mutant and with Rose Byrne's character - geneticist Dr. Moira MacTaggert.

On the other side of the fence, playing Charles' soon-to-be-nemesis, is 300 and Inglourious Basterds star Michael Fassbender.

Yet while Erik Lehnsherr could be seen as the villain of the piece, the actor says he was attracted by the part's ambiguity. "I don't really think in terms of good and evil. I think about what he wants to get and how motivated he is and what sort of morals he has got in place. It's like I see him very much as a Machiavellian character. The end justifies the means. And you know, he is in a situation where he is really right!"

And what of the relationship between the two characters, the most complex within the X-Men universe and the beating heart of First Class?

"Charles has this sort of empathy for everybody", continues McAvoy. "He has this connection to everybody because he can feel and see their experiences; their memories are his memories. But he wasn't looking for Erik; he didn't know he was there and he suddenly felt Erik and perhaps he has never connected to anybody quite the same way that he connected to Erik, you know? Maybe because of the nature of the horrible things that happened to him and the level of anger that he carries. That makes a big impression on him, not just because he feels empathy for him, but also because it's a big challenge to fix someone and to try to help someone like that."

Neither McAvoy nor Fassbender were shooting the day we visited, but they very kindly stopped by the set for lengthy interviews - to be published at a later date - in which they discussed Nazi-hunting, hair-loss, Murderball, superhero love triangles and Erik's hatred for Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon); Hellfire Club member and the real villain of the piece.

We did however get to witness Vaughn shooting an action-packed set-piece involving an assault on the MIB HQ.

The sequence in question revolved around a group of Shaw's men - led by the devlish Azael (Jason Flemyng) - laying waste to a team of security guards before attacking the compound's recreation room.

Inside, a clearly terrified group of young mutants panic, with their number including Raven (Jennifer Lawrence), Hank (Nicholas Hoult), Angel (Zoe Kravitz), Darwin (Edi Gathegi), Alex (Lucas Till) and Cassidy (Caleb Landry Jones). We grabbed face time with each and every one of them in between shots, which will form our forthcoming 'Mutants of X-Men: First Class' piece.

So with that being saved for a later date, what can we tell you now? Well it looks like X-Men: First Class will be an utterly original take on the superhero genre, setting it apart in a summer chock-full of masked men.

The 1960s setting will ensure that the movie is smothered in cool, from the soundtrack to the costumes to the locations, while a multitude of Bond-like gadgets, vehicles and villainous lairs will doubtless be a welcome addition to the franchise.

In setting the story against the back-drop of real-life historical events - most notably the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Civil Rights movement - First Class is grounded in reality, meaning that the stakes will be higher than in previous movies.

And with a cast that combines the cream of Hollywood's young acting talent with established stars like McAvoy, Fassbender and Bacon, Vaughn may just have assembled the most exciting ensemble of 2011.

Will that be enough to defeat the likes of Thor, Captain America and the Green Lantern at the global box office? Only time will tell, but in the meantime we'll be posting interviews with everyone involved in X-Men: First Class - including an exclusive one-on-one with the film's producer Bryan Singer - right up until the film's release at the end of May.

Jenkins habla sobre "X-Men: Prelude" (en inglés)

By Dave Richards, CBR, Wed, March 2nd, 2011

One of the more fascinating concepts in the Marvel Universe is mutantkind, a race of people who are just like humanity in every way except for one seemingly small difference -- they posses a genetic quirk that endows them with a super power that manifests during adolescence. That small difference means a great deal to a large portion of the Marvel U. Many fear or resent mutants because of their powers. They view mutantkind as an alien race they have nothing in common with. Mutants have been wrestling with humanity's prejudices and trying to find their place in the world since Stan Lee and Jack Kirby introduced the concept in 1963's "X-Men" #1.

Over the years, a number of different leaders have emerged and attempted to guide mutants down various paths. Professor Charles Xavier believed humans and mutants could co-exist peacefully and founded the X-Men to promote this agenda. They serve as a team of mutant super heroes tasked with protecting a world that hates and fears them. Magneto, once Xavier's best friend, believed another path was necessary. He formed the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, a terrorist group designed to create a world where mutants dominate humanity. After years of being divided by that conflict, mutantkind was united when the Scarlet Witch, a mentally ill mutant with reality-alterting powers, used her abilities to depower most of the world's mutant population.

Now there are less than 200 mutants left in the world, and the majority live together on Utopia, an island home created by the X-Men, now under the leadership of Xavier's former student Scott Summers AKA Cyclops. As leader of the X-Men, Cyclops has had to make a number of difficult and dangerous decisions. Sometimes he listens to the advice of Xavier and Magneto who are now his trusted confidants, and other times he goes his own way. That way often annoys other X-Men, especially Wolverine, who has his own perspective on leadership demonstrated via his role as co-leader of the secret team of heroic assassins known as X-Force. This spring writer Paul Jenkins and artists Laurence Campbell and Roberto De La Torre will examine the different perspectives of each potential leaders as they interpret a dangerous situation in the four issue "X-Men: Prelude." CBR News spoke with Jenkins about the May debuting project.

Jenkins, whose body of work includes the six issue "Wolverine: Origin" mini-series and the recent "X-Men: Mythos" one-shot, finds the X-Men to be an intriguing metaphor. "They're in part a metaphor for the melting pot that is America. They're also in part a metaphor for racism," the writer told CBR News. "Like any great characters there's so much potential there for really, really good stories and hopefully we're going to tell a really good story that not only delves into the core of who these people are and why, but help sets up some things that they're doing in the X-Office."

"X-Men: Prelude" sets the next major X-Men event in motion, but it's also a series of character studies. Each issue spotlights a different character and explores their thoughts on leadership. Jenkins was given "Prelude" because of his aptitude and affinity for telling character-driven stories like "X-Men: Mythos," which was part of a series of "Mythos" one-shots spotlighting a number of different Marvel characters. "I think at this point in my career there's an interesting misconception that I don't do or don't have the desire to do monthly books. My preference is that I like to write character-driven material and I really like to delve into the nuts and bolts of what makes people work in these stories," Jenkins said. "I have done monthlies before. I just don't think that I'm so adept or interested in referring to 17 other comics in a sense. It's not something I really dig, but I love doing this kind of thing."

Each issue of "X-Men: Prelude" will be told from the perspective of one of its four protagonists: Cyclops, Magneto, Professor X and Wolverine. Jenkins and company will take into account each character's experiences with and opinions on leadership.

"Cyclops really has done something that nobody else was capable of doing so far and that's unite mutantkind. He brought them all together in one place and really gave them a sense of identity. Before that Xavier had his thoughts on how that should be done and clearly Magneto had his thoughts, which were driven in large part by what happened to him as a child and what happened to his family. Then there's this wild card out there, which is Logan. He obviously has thoughts on leadership and he really cares about what happens to all of the mutants. He wants to make sure things are done right," Jenkins explained. "We're examining the way they get things done, which allows us to tackle their similarities and differences all in one. The differences are Xavier had a model of the things he thought you needed to do to lead. So did Magneto, and now so does Cyclops. Logan also seems to be formulating a concept."

"I recently completed the story that focuses on Magneto. I thought what was really interesting about it was, here's a guy that had a very radical idea of what he needed to do in order to do what he believed was best for mutants. He once was very, very extreme, but like any good villain his reasons are quite understandable. He could explain them to you and you could actually understand why he would do the things he does. It would be his methodology of killing people and doing bad things to get his point across that you would have a problem with," Jenkins added. "He's completely done a 180 though. I think he now understands and appreciates that, of all people, this young man Scott Summers has found a way to unite people using different methods. Each of these four characters has a core conceit or concept of how you lead and Magneto's is that you can go anywhere as a leader and you can go to some very surprising places. His advice to Scott might be, 'Don't do what I did. Don't fall slave to an ideology. Be prepared to accept all things.' That's quite a radical departure for the guy."

While each issue of "X-Men: Prelude" will provide insight into the point of view of a different character, the plot of all four issues is connected in a unique and complex way. "We're doing a 'Rashomon' style thing where you see the same scene from four perspectives," Jenkins stated. "I don't think we're giving anything away by saying the X-Men united on Utopia are about to go forward with their concept of a nation and there's this massive, massive thing that's about to happen. I can't say right now what it is, but the X-Men know it's coming and they're looking on nervously. There's a feeling like whatever is coming will be there very, very soon. Cyclops has united the mutants and they're facing an incredible danger that could lead to their extinction in about ten minutes, so how does he face this terrible thing that's about to happen?"

Jenkins was quick to add, "The entire story takes place on Utopia and it's really one scene essentially replayed four times, but you see it processed through four different perspectives. When you see it replayed like that you realize that each of our four core characters are seeing things in a different way and anticipating things in a different way."

The supporting cast of each issue of "X-Men: Prelude" will include the three other characters not currently being spotlighted as well as Cyclops' other trusted advisers. "The inner circle of Utopia are all gathered together in the war room trying to work out what's going to happen," Jenkins said. "It's sort of like facing the first day of the battle of the Somme. They're preparing for the charge that's about to come."

Bringing to life such a complex, character-driven story is tricky work, which is why Jenkins is happy to have Laurence Campbell and Roberto De La Torre as his collaborators on "X-Men: Prelude." "I've had the opportunity to tell some great stories with some great artists. Two guys I've often gone back to are Sean Phillips and Jae Lee. Part of the reason for that is their ability to really carry those character moments. I think both of the guys we have on board for this series show they clearly have a real concern for the people in the story and they're not necessarily focused on the explosions," Jenkins remarked. "I've said this before and I'll say it until I'm blue in the face, we don't care about the fight unless we care about the people in the fight. So these guys really seem to concentrate on that and since this book is about character studies these are the perfect guys."

In addition to "X-Men: Prelude," Jenkins has plenty more comic work his fans of his will want to be on the look out for, including several titles from Marvel Comics like the previously announced "Thor: Heaven & Earth" mini-series, which will hit later this year. "In addition to the 'Thor' series I have another series in the works about the Second World War that is very far into production right now. I'm pretty sure that will be solicited some time very soon. It's something I'm incredibly proud of. I love that kind of material and I've got to say that the art work looks absolutely beautiful," Jenkins said. "It's sort of in the vein of my 'Captain America: Theater of War' specials, but those were all self contained single issues. This is actually an eight issue series that has a self-contained story, but what's cool about it is the series contains perhaps one of the most explosive and monumental secrets in mankind's history, which is in part covered up by members of the Marvel Universe.

"Then in the vein of the Thor series I'm going back to the single issue mini-series where we explore different characters. I've got a couple of those in the works right," Jenkins continued. "2011 is going to be a big year for me in terms of comics. Plus I continue to work on all of the film and video game stuff. I'm under NDAs for every single part of that. So I can't talk about those projects, but I'm having a blast working on them."

X-Men MMXI: Uncanny X-Force (Entrevista en inglés)

X-Men MMXI: Uncanny X-Force

By Kiel Phegley, Editor, CBR, Tue, March 1st, 2011

The future of Marvel's X-line continued to roll out today as the focus of the publisher's MMXI relaunch of the books turned towards "Uncanny X-Force." Writer Rick Remender joined the talk with members of the press along with editors Nick Lowe and Jody Leheup, and CBR News was there with all the news on the future of the black ops book.

The team started out by talking about the teaser centering around May's "Uncanny X-Force" #11 (whose cover by Esad Ribic is on the right). "These characters have been off the board for a while...and we wanted to try something a little different with it," Remender said. "It's tricky because we've announced that they're coming up, but we don't want to spoil too much...we have a group of X-Men and X-Force that will go to the Age of Apocalypse world...it's connected to some of the different arcs we've done in the book."

The writer and Lowe said that the Dark Beast character from the original "Age of Apocalypse" series will play a large role not just in the coming arc but the future of "Uncanny X-Force" as a whole. "This is not just a fun 'Age of Apocalypse' story that will have no bearing on the Marvel Universe. It will have a HUGE impact on the 616," Lowe said. "You do run the risk of telling stories that don't matter," Remender added, noting that he wanted to find a story that was worthy of taking the 616 X-Men cast into the world of Apocalypse.

"I think that there are fans out there going 'This is what Marvel always says...that'll it'll change everything!' but this really does change things," Lowe said.

When asked what sets this X-Force team apart from previous versions of the franchise, Remender said that the fact that the team of five heroes can't talk about their missions makes them a unique, true X-Men family. "People who are taking it upon themselves to assassinate the very evil [of the world]...I wanted to take it upon myself to be true to how that plays out."

Apocalypse himself came up, and Remender confirmed "The version of Apocalypse we know is dead," meaning that after the first arc, the classic take on the character is not coming back, but after long talks with his editors, the writer feels that he'll be able to tap into the villain's mythology from his connection to the Celestials through his obsession with evolution and find a real purpose towards an epic story. "The first 17 issues of X-Force is one big story told in five chapters," he said.

"Apocalypse is not the big bad in this story...he's dead. They killed him," said Lowe. "That does have to have meaning in this X-Force book or any death won't mean anything...The other reason this book is so attractive is that it dances on the skinny branches. It takes a lot of risks, and that makes it very enjoyable to me."

"Early on, we wanted to make sure there wasn't a lot of murder," Remender said. "It's an ethical slippery slope...that has to be give the weight it deserves. And beyond the ethical things we deal with, we have momentum on the book. We went through the first six issues and cut out the fat. Everything was boiled down to its core."

Remender reinforced that the long planning on the series has opened him up to seeding small details in a way that brings the book more in line with his work like "Fear Agent" and "The Punisher." Fans who stick with the series will see payoff from the very first issues even as the scribe remains flexible.

"The Age of Apocalypse world will be defined for you. The rules will be defined," Remender said before adding "I never, ever assume that anybody has read another X-book besides this." As the broad story has been built, only pieces introduced within the story will play a key role rather than simply throwing fan favorite concepts into the mix simply to drum up interest.

"Archangel is not there for a reason, and it's a reason you don't expect." the writer said of the absence of the winged X-Forcer from the book's teaser and cover. He also said that they're looking for a natural way to expand the team membership. "While there are some new members coming up, I don't think people will see it coming."

The issue of Deadpool's role in that family/team dynamic and his recent deflection from pure joking mayhem addict was raised. "People who are constantly joking, it's something of a defense mechanism," said Remender. "When I get into the character, I start seeing a three-dimensional character...killing a kid for me was something he had an issue with. I know this sounds strange, but I do see a bit of vulnerability in Wade. He'd be the one who was up late at night."

An appearance by the Age of Apocalypse version of Nightcrawler came up. "There was more and more to be mined out of [this world]," the writer explained. "Beyond the high-paced version of it, there is a lot of drama here." Wolverine's relationship with the Age of Apocalypse version of Jean Grey and Nightcrawler, and the latter will be a much more violent and active character than fans might expect from Kurt Wagner as this version was raised in hell.

As for how the team makes it to the AoA world and why they go there, "

There is something in the Age of Apocalypse or someone in the Age of Apocalypse that they need for some reason. When you're dealing with dimension-hopping, one thing that is incredibly important is to find a way to make it significant," said the writer. "One thing we've spent a whole lot of time doing is that when we knew we had to go there for this mission, we also had to find a way for this to move the story forward.

"Once you see what the results are, they're long lasting. If the dimension-hopping happened too much, it wouldn't work well. It works best on a limited basis."

Continuity came up in terms of where this Age of Apocalypse story fits with previous trips to this world. "It's ten years after the 2005 series. It's been a while. The world has changed and not for the better. The person involved in it is a big deal, and [the mythology of] Apocalypse plays a major role...it puts our team in a tough spot because these are alternate version of their friends, but they've got their own mission as well." Remender added that Jean Grey's role as well as that of the Silver Samurai will help place what fans know of Age of Apocalypse.

Remender's new role as the revitalizer of '90s franchises like "X-Force" and "Venom" was discussed as he said that despite the fact he had moved on to mostly indie comics during the heyday of the '90s and stories like Age of Apocalypse "I was deeply, deeply in the scene when Venom hit and X-Force hit and Deathlok...those things are so incredibly iconic that when I was presented with the job, I immediately had a year's worth of stories. I didn't expect that to be the case, but it was."

As for art teams coming up in the book, three issues by Billy Tan will be followed by Mark Brooks for three AoA issues, and the Jerome Opeña comes back after that to be followed by Remender's recent collaborator Greg Tocchini.

Finally, the writer spoke about stories coming sooner including the appearance of Captain Britain in issue #6. Remender said that because Psylocke falls in a family where one brother is a shining superhero and the other a madman, those relationships were important for him to dig into. "One thing we're going to play with here is how she sees herself in contrast to her brothers," he said.

Carteles Internacionales de First Class: Magneto y Xavier