Film News: Jonah Hill on The Wolf of Wall Street; Demon baby terrorises NYC

A round-up of film news: Jonah Hill discusses the 'greed is good' ethos of The Wolf of Wall Street; demon baby terrorises New York in horror viral; the latest rumours about forthcoming superhero movies; plus the latest trailers

Article by News Team | 15 Jan 2014

JONAH HILL ON THE WOLF OF WALL STREET: "THERE'S A PART OF US THAT WANTS EVERYTHING"
In a video interview with The Guardian to promote his new film The Wolf of Wall Street, in which he gives a bravura performance as the right-hand man of fraudulent stock trader Jordan Belfort (played by Leonardo DiCaprio), Jonah Hill defends the film against allegations that it celebrates the 'greed is good' ethos. "In every one of us, there's a part of us that wants everything," says Hill. "Hopefully, in most people, it's a small percentage. What I felt, when playing Donnie, was, 'what if there was someone who was all that?''"

The Wolf of Wall Street, directed by Martin Scorsese, received a Golden Globe award last week for DiCaprio's lead performance. Watch it in full over at The Guardian

VIRAL CLIP FOR DEVIL'S DUE SEES DEMON BABY TERRORISE NEW YORK
Devil's Due is a new horror film from Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, last seen in the director's chair in one of the segments from anthology horror V/H/S. On the surface, the film looks like a found footage spin on Rosemary's Baby, with a young pregnant mother discovering that the child she is carrying is far from normal.

More intriguing than the rather unoriginal premise of the film, however, is this awesome viral clip created by the film's special effects unit, which features a demon baby terrorising people on the streets of New York. One reaction in particular is worth watching the entire video for, as a rubbish collector is completely nonplussed by the growling, zombie-skinned infant. 

THE RUMOUR MILL: SUPERHERO SPECIAL
The Rumour Mill is at its most active when addressing the interests of fanboys – specifically comics fans – and the first half of the year is superhero rumour prime-time, as the big studios gear up for the next round of Summer blockbusters. Here's a round-up of the latest superhero movie casting rumours, across film and television.

First up, it was confirmed this week that Edgar Wright's Ant-Man will feature not one but two Ant-Men. The title role is going to Paul Rudd, who will play the part of Scott Lang, the second Ant-Man. This week it was confirmed that veteran actor Michael Douglas will play the role of Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man. Marvel movie architect Kevin Feige, speaking to Coming Soon, commented: "With Hank Pym's rich history in the Marvel Universe, we knew we needed an actor capable of bringing the weight and stature to the role that the character deserves. We felt incredibly relieved when Michael Douglas agreed to step into the part with the charm and fortitude he brings to every character he inhabits, and couldn't be more excited to see what he will do to bring Hank Pym to life." Douglas meanwhile told Reuters: "The script is really fun, the director is really good." 

Sticking with Marvel, this week saw rumours that Johnny Depp is being considered for the title role in a potential Doctor Strange movie. Latino Review reported the story, claiming that Depp had met with Marvel executives to discuss coming on board for the project, which tells the story of a surgeon who loses the ability to use his hands, whose recovery leads to him being trained as a magical warrior. The same site reported last year that Joseph Gordon-Levitt was being considered for the role – so this story may prove to be wishful thinking. 

Shifting focus to DC Comics, the latest rumours flying around about Zack Snyder's Affleck-starring Batman vs. Superman suggest that the film's ending could provide a set-up for the long-mooted Justice League film, and that the two might shoot back-to-back this year. Reported by the site Comic Book Movie, this rumour also claims that Lost's Josh Holloway is being "strongly considered" for the role of Aquaman, and that Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson will feature in a cameo role – previous speculation links him to the role of alien detective Martian Manhunter, or possibly one of the film's villains.

One of DC's 'mature readers' titles, with a very distinguished critical pedigree, is Hellblazer, featuring the adventures of chain-smoking, cynical Liverpudlian magician John Constantine, memorably played as a vacuous LA hipster with religious issues in the dismal film adaptation, Constantine. Deadline reports that a new adaptation of the much-loved character has been green-lit for a new TV series by NBC, with the pilot to be penned by Daniel Cerone and The Dark Knight scribe David S. Goyer. While the show's pilot has reportedly been given the OK, no word has yet surfaced about whether or not an English actor will be considered for the role.

One final (and severely disappointing) piece of news from the DC stable: more details have emerged of the in-development live action TV show Gotham, which first surfaced last year, with rumours suggesting it would be based on Ed Brubaker's Gotham Central comics, which focused on characters on the margins of the Batman stories, including a young Detective Jim Gordon. Collider reports that the show will in fact be a Smallville-style teen drama, with characters such as the Joker, Harley Quinn, Catwoman and the Penguin attending high school together. The report mentions director Danny Cannon and The Mentalist scribe Bruno Heller as the project's showrunners. Fox chairman Kevin Reilly is quoted, saying: "The show will track Bruce from a child (around 12-years-old) until he puts on a cape in the finale. We will see how they get to become what they are as Gotham is teetering on the edge." Two words, if this one proves correct... Oh dear.

TRAILERS: JACK RYAN - SHADOW RECRUIT, AWFUL NICE
Moon-faced pointy-chin wearer and notoriously unconvincing Captain Kirk impersonator Chris Pine's next impression is 'young Harrison Ford', following in the footsteps of previous Jack Ryan, Ben 'Shit Batman' Affleck. In this clip for Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, Pine scraps, goes to Russia, runs away from gunfire and pow-wows with Kevin Costner about national security. Astoundingly, this by-the-numbers spy thriller is directed by Kenneth Branagh (he must really need the money). 

Rather more promising is Awful Nice, the debut feature from Todd Sklar. Two dumb-as-a-post American jocks inherit a beach house, leading to all manner of slapstick violence, witty banter and unlikely criminal capers. This looks like a more violent twist on Step Brothers, and is all the more promising for its simple premise and focus on dialogue. 

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