The Buzz: G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Iron Man 3, George Lucas’ Successor
Dan Koelsch
The Buzz is a feature in which we round up the Top 3 most-buzzed-about movie/TV stories of the week (in chronological order). Why go through pages of blogs just to find out what everyone is talking about? We’ve got it all right here.
1) The Real Reason “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” Delayed
Last week we talked about Paramount pushing the release of G.I. Joe: Retaliation back to March of next year. While the official explanation was that they decided to make the film 3D and needed time for the conversion, reshoots and doubt about the film’s quality made the rumor rounds. Now we know that the real reason comes down to one man: Channing Tatum. The actor was the lead in the original G.I. Joe film, and apparently focus groups liked his rapport with Dwayne Johnson’s Roadblock character in the sequel. Why is that a problem? (Spoiler alert) Tatum’s character Duke dies early in the film, and test audiences weren’t happy. Tatum’s recent resurgence in popularity with 21 Jump Street and The Vow doesn’t help. The actor is also starring in Magic Mike, which comes out the same weekend. If you’re going to go see Tatum in theaters, you’ll probably choose the movie about him being a stripper.
2) “Iron Man 3” Villain Rumors and Spy Shots
Now that Iron Man 3 has begun filming, we are getting bombarded with news. As you can see in the embedded photo, Iron Patriot is in the film, and supposedly James Badge Dale (as Eric Savin) dons the suit. The character is the cyborg Coldblood in the comics, so it looks like there will be some changes to canon. We also have some clues into the hierarchy of the villains, including sources confirming that Ben Kingsley will indeed play Mandarin. Guy Pearce will play Aldrich Killian, who in the comics is the doctor that creates the Extremis serum. In the film, he is supposedly backed by Mandarin.
3) George Lucas Chooses His Replacement
George Lucas recently revealed in an interview that he is planning to step away from his company in order to focus on making smaller, indie films. Later in the week, Lucasfilm officially announced Kathleen Kennedy as co-chair. As stated by Slashfilm, “She’ll leave the Kennedy/Marshall Co to run Lucasfilm. George Lucas will remain CEO and co-chair of the board at Lucasfilm, but Kennedy will be in charge day-to-day.” A co-founder of Amblin Entertainment, Kennedy already has a long history with Lucas, as well as Steven Spielberg. She is also married to legendary producer Frank Marshall.
