News Bites: Pixar and Pixels

It’s the end of May, and it’s also the end of the work week for most people. Which is to say, it’s Friday, and it’s time for the News Bites. Disney and their subsidiaries are dominating the news this week, but there’s also a bit of action news from other quarters, including some shuffling on a couple of spies. So if you want to find out what’s going on, just keep reading.

There’s going to be a different Man from U.N.C.L.E. than originally planned; Tom Cruise has bowed out of the role due to scheduling conflicts. The role has not yet been recast, but Henry Cavill is in talks.

Disney and Pixar have released their schedules for the next several years… though of course, most of the titles for projects in 2016 and later aren’t known, nor are the details. So pencil these in on your calendars, if you like, but I don’t know what you’ll be labeling them as. I’ve filled in the known titles as well. Of the other films, the only one that any details are known about is the Pixar film mentioned last week, themed on Día de los Muertos but no longer having that as its title. Since the Mexican holiday is November 1, that raises some interesting questions on where it might fit in the schedule; would Pixar be looking to schedule 5 months ahead, or most of a month behind?

• Pixar: Monsters University: June 21, 2013
• Disney: Frozen: November 27, 2013
• Pixar: The Good Dinosaur: May 30, 2014
• Disney: Big Hero 6: November 7, 2014
• Pixar: Inside Out: June 19, 2015
• Pixar: Finding Dory: November 25, 2015
• Disney: March 4, 2016
• Pixar: June 17, 2016
• Disney: November 23, 2016
• Pixar: June 16, 2017
• Pixar: November 22, 2017
• Disney: March 9, 2018
• Pixar: June 15, 2018
• Disney: November 21, 2018

Speaking of Disney, Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg, the directors of Kon-Tiki, have signed on to direct Pirates of the Caribbean 5.

A few weeks ago, we were surprised to hear that Robert Redford had joined the cast of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Now another Marvel comics movie has gained a surprising acting veteran. Glenn Close has joined Guardians of the Galaxy as the head of the Nova Corps. With Ben Kingsley in Iron Man 3, Redford in Captain America 2, and now Close, I think it can be concluded that there’s no longer a stigma about appearing in superhero films.

Given its viral nature, it’s quite likely you’ve already seen this on Twitter or other social networks, but just in case you were blissfully unaware, allow me to be the harbinger of disturbing news. New Line Cinema is producing a movie based on Grumpy Cat, the image macro meme, to star Jack Black and Will Ferrell alongside a CGI-animated, voiced Grumpy Cat. We’ve gone from movies based on plays and novels, to TV shows, to comic books and strips, to video games, to blogs, and now, finally, to image memes. This is it. This is officially rock bottom in the well of inspiration.

Also coming from the internet, although at least it was a video, is Pixels, Patrick Jean’s short film about 8-bit video game characters wreaking havoc in the real world (The original video is here). Happy Madison is working on adapting it into a feature film, reportedly with an eye towards making it a “Ghostbusters-style action comedy” (which presumably means some real people will be fighting these incursions?) Chris Columbus is in talks to direct.

I’ve got two questions, for anybody in the know. First, what action film fan found a magic lamp? And second, why did they wish for “Speed on a plane with Liam Neeson”? Actually, never mind the second question, I can kind of understand that. Universal has set a date of Feb. 21, 2014, for Non-Stop, starring Neeson as an air marshall on a transatlantic flight. He receives a demand to have the government transfer $150 million to an offshore account, with a warning that every 20 minutes, a passenger will be killed until they comply. Julianne Moore co-stars.

Rumors and Speculation:

We’re not quite done talking about Guardians of the Galaxy yet. There’s a casting rumor going around that John C. Reilly is in talks to play a character named Rhomann Dey, who is supposed to be the “Agent Coulson” of the space-faring heroes, keeping things tied together.

So there’s been some talk about who might direct James Bond #24 after Sam Mendes dropped out of the project. Recent rumors have included Shane Black, Tom Hooper, Ang Lee, Nicholas Winding Refn, and David Yates. And the newest rumor of all? Sam Mendes, as EON has begun active talks with him once again.