After countless shortlist stories and rumors concerning who would play Star-Lord in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, the search for the lead role is finally over, and fittingly the actor is someone who never appeared on any of the aforementioned lists. Deadline reports that Chris Pratt has been tapped to play Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, a character who was born of a human mother and alien father, and is a master strategist and combat expert who wears an ability-enhancing suit and pilots a psychically-linked ship. As Guardians features a cast of strange and cosmic characters, Quill was an important role to fill because he will likely act as the audience’s introduction to the vast, unfamiliar Guardians world. Hit the jump for more.
There were plenty of actors rumored for the role that made a lot of sense (John Krasinski, Zachary Levi, etc.), and Deadline notes that Marvel made test deals with Joel Edgerton, Jack Huston, Lee Pace, and Eddie Redmayne, but Chris Pratt actually seems like a perfect fit. His comic timing is excellent as evidenced by his work on NBC’s Parks and Recreation, and he’s shown his talent on the dramatic side with Moneyball and 2012’s Zero Dark Thirty, for which he also proved that he can beef up for a role if need-be.
Looking back on the previous shortlists and taking Pratt into consideration, it’s clear that writer/director James Gunn is planning on injecting a good amount of humor into Guardians of the Galaxy. A rumor surfaced recently that Marvel was looking at possibly tapping Jim Carrey or Adam Sandler to do voice work in the film (one of the guardians is a talking raccoon), so I’m interested to see the tone that Gunn settles on for the finished film.
With the role of Star-Lord secure, Gunn and Marvel now look to filling out the rest of the cast, which includes the powerful Drax the Destroyer, a giant tree named Groot, the aforementioned Rocket Raccoon, and the female lead Gamora. The story is also rumored to involve the villain Thanos. Expect to hear more soon as production gears up to begin later this year. Guardians of the Galaxy will be released in 3D on August 1, 2014. [Reply]
I thought the dialog was clunky, the camera angles weird and that RDJ was soooooooooo much more charismatic than anyone he shared the screen with that it was distracting. It literally took me like 5 nights to get through the movie.
Again, I know that I'm in the minority and I'm certainly not telling anyone else to how feel/react to these films. Outside of a few (and I forgot to add Ant-Man, which I really liked the first couple of times I saw it but began to wear on me over multiple viewings), I just can't connect with them.
Maybe it's because I didn't grow up reading the comics or watching the animated series?
I think I would have liked them either way but growing up with the stories definitely has a huge influence on how I feel about all of it.
It's crazy I get chill bumps from these movies.
Especially the whole Infinity gems storyline. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud:
I am so in the minority when it comes to Marvel films.
I purchased GOtG2 the week it was released digitally and finally got around to watching it last night.
Meh.
I stopped purchasing these films on DVD/Blu Ray after the disaster that was Iron Man 2 and The Avengers but gave in on this film.
I’m just going to wait until these films are on Netflix/the Disney app because outside of Spider-Man Homecoming and the first GotG, I just don’t connect with these films.
It has become abundantly clear to me that you and I have very different taste in movies, though at least we agree that GotG was awesome. [Reply]
Maybe it's because I didn't grow up reading the comics or watching the animated series?
I'm sure it would have helped. As long as you go in knowing the tone and aim of the film you can enjoy them. Clearly less than a comix nerd but you can say "Yeah, that was fun."
I thought IM3 was going to be great until the end of the second act. If they had kept the movie about him questioning who and what he is without the suit and cut the is/isn't Mandarin garbage it would have been a 4 star film.
GOTG/Ant man are just Disney family action-comedies taking place in bizarre settings. While GOTG2 was a lot darker than most Disney fare it still is what it is.
Spiderman is basically your YA/Teen hero movie.
IMO Winter Soldier is right up there with some of the better Nolan Batman movies. A better comparison might be "Cap: the Bourne Avenger."
I'm a Thor fan but have to admit none of his solo films hold up other than Ragnarok... [Reply]
Originally Posted by :
James Gunn has been removed as director of the Guardians Of The Galaxy series after a batch of old social media dispatches were unearthed that touched on areas like pedophilia and rape. In the latest shocking #metoo development in the entertainment industry, Gunn was severed from the Marvel Comics Universe after a slew of social media posts he wrote before getting Guardians of the Galaxy surfaced. According to Fox News, they were posted because Gunn is an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump and the effort was to knock him down a few pegs.
Mission accomplished. Gunn has long been a provocateur who has drawn ire in the past for his unusual humor. Among the tweets that forced Disney and Marvel’s hand were: “I like when little boys touch me in my silly place.”
Another: “The best thing about being raped is when you’re done being raped and it’s like ‘whew this feels great, not being raped!’” There were others that made satirical comments about the 9/11 attack, AIDS and the Holocaust.
Disney responded quickly and decisively: “The offensive attitudes and statements discovered on James’ Twitter feed are indefensible and inconsistent with our studio’s values, and we have severed our business relationship with him,” said Alan Horn, Walt Disney Studios chairman, in a statement just released.
Disney and Marvel had never announced that Gunn would direct the third installment of Guardians of the Galaxy, but Gunn certainly declared it on social media. And after Guardians of the Galaxy 2 last summer grossed $863 million worldwide, to the original’s $773 million, there was every expectation he would remain at the helm. After all, the sly humor and tone that just crushed his career trajectory helped fuel the irreverently humorous tone of the Guardians franchise.
Since the fall of Harvey Weinstein, a heightened level of sensitivity in Hollywood has led to one headline after another, from Scarlett Johansson withdrawing from playing a transgender character in the $30 million New Regency film Rub & Tug, to Paramount TV chief Amy Powell being fired for alleged racially insensitive statements. This was just the past nine days.
The idea of being held to task for old social media posts might be new to Hollywood, but we see it rear up all the time in sports, most recently when all-star Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Josh Hader was forced to apologize for old homophobic and racist posts made while he was in high school in 2012. One and one-half of the Two and a Half Men cast were felled by outlandish social media messaging, as both Charlie Sheen and Angus T. Jones issued volatile statements that disparaged the long running hit sitcom.
This opens a new can of worms, and might well have Hollywood people trying to strike old missives. It reinforces yet again that social media is a fine place to wish people happy birthday and sell things, but the need to foist personal opinions that stick like napalm, is potentially a career ending decision. Gunn’s missives in particular were beyond the pale, and have no place in a family friendly environment that is the core of Disney values. It wasn’t like he was registering these opinions after his career changed dramatically with Guardians of the Galaxy. When he was directing films like Slither, nobody cared much what he thought. But his outspoken liberal opinions made him an easy target for anyone who keeps a record of such outrageous commentary, whether it was delivered sarcastically or not.
Gunn’s Twitter feed was down for a bit, but it’s back up and it’s easy to see he is unsparing in his language. For instance: asked why he was taking part in a reading with a convicted pedophile, he answered: “Yeah, that was the point of the tweets, dummy. I left. I showed up to the reading and there was a convicted pedophile there – Victor Salva, the director of Jeepers Creepers, and I was fucking horrified.” Salva had served time for molesting a cast member on an early film of his.
We found these tweets below in a report by Fox News, and perhaps it is not a coincidence that it came from that outlet.
Here is Gunn defending the prior tweets, which were captured by Fox News before his Twitter feed was taken down.
1. Many people who have followed my career know when I started, I viewed myself as a provocateur, making movies and telling jokes that were outrageous and taboo. As I have discussed publicly many times, as I’ve developed as a person, so has my work and my humor.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 20, 2018
2. It’s not to say I’m better, but I am very, very different than I was a few years ago; today I try to root my work in love and connection and less in anger. My days saying something just because it’s shocking and trying to get a reaction are over.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 20, 2018
4. For the record, when I made these shocking jokes, I wasn’t living them out. I know this is a weird statement to make, and seems obvious, but, still, here I am, saying it.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 20, 2018
5. Anyway, that’s the completely honest truth: I used to make a lot of offensive jokes. I don’t anymore. I don’t blame my past self for this, but I like myself more and feel like a more full human being and creator today. Love you to you all.
My sympathy would be higher if he hadn't spent last week doing the same thing to Ben Shapiro because Mark Duplass had the audacity to say he seemed like a nice guy. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Baby Lee:
My sympathy would be higher if he hadn't spent last week doing the same thing to Ben Shapiro because Mark Duplass had the audacity to say he seemed like a nice guy.
Gunn blasted Shapiro? I’m Not on Twitter much. [Reply]
