Mondo Monday Movie Update:Astroboy, Everquest, Anaconda Oh My!

Caine's High Praise for Ledger's Joker: "He's Not Jack"

To all you thinking that Heath Ledger will be doing a Jack Nicholson impression for his role as the Joker in The Dark Knight (I won't name names, but believe me, there are some within the G'nerd halls), take these words straight from Michael Caine's mouth: "He’s fantastic. He’s gone in a different direction than Jack… Jack was like a really scary old, nasty old uncle with a funny face. Heath is like the most murderous psychopath you’ve ever seen on the screen... [he] frightened the bloody life out of me… It’s amazing and it’s so different from Jack."

Via /film.

Hit the jump for a first look at Astroboy, Kevin Smith getting shot down, Frank Miller getting more ladies and Warner Bros getting rid of 'em.

First Look: Astroboy

I must admit I've never read the manga nor seen the animated series, but this little robot boy is a big deal in his home country of Japan and don't be surprised if his CGI movie is the big crossover success he needs to take over America as well. First time director Colin Brady says he is "being faithful to [Astroboy creator Osamu] Tezuka's original story arc and at the same time bringing out elements needed for those unfamiliar with the story." From the image they just released, it looks like they've done a pretty good job maintaining the look of the 2D incarnation, though perhaps with slightly drabber colors than the original. Slated for a 2009 release.

Via Empire.

The Spirit Gets All the Ladies...

Two more lovely ladies have joined the lady train also known as Frank Miller's Will Eisner's The Spirit. Now we have Jamie King (Sin City) as phantom siren Lorelei and Paz Vega (Spanglish) as the knife-wielding Plaster of Paris. For a guy whose comics have such a misogynistic bent, he sure has a way of rounding up hordes of women to do his bidding. The full roster now, in addition to these two, is Scarlett Johansson, Eva Mendes, Sarah Paulson, and Stana Katic.

Via Variety.

And Warner Bros Hates All the Ladies

After disappointing returns from Jodie Foster's The Brave One and Nicole Kidman's The Invasion, Warner Bros president of production Jeff Robinov has made a new decree that "We are no longer doing movies with women in the lead." Snap! Apparently he doesn't even want to see a script with a woman in the primary position. Sounds like somebody is looking for a scapegoat for all the shitty movies he's been signing off on.

Via Deadline Hollywood.

Avi Arad Bringing Everquest to the Big Screen

The guy whose name you've seen at the beginning of every Marvel movie you can remember has been away from the House of Ideas for about a year now and is trying to make some waves. His first flick, Bratz, didn't go over so well with a meager $22mil in box office, and after his next toy "adaptation" Robosapien he will be taking on the computer MMORPG Everquest. 300 screenwriter Michael Gordon is on board, and he has a lot of work to do... Taking a generic fantasy setting with no central character and making it interesting to a bunch of fans that have long moved on to World of Warcraft? Unpleasant job.

Via Empire.

Weinsteins Pass on Kevin Smith's Red State

Possibly feeling a bit burned from their last attempt at concept horror (Grindhouse), the Weinstein's (who have been behind every Smith film but Mallrats) have decided not to have a hand in Kevin Smith's Red State. Smith says: "It’s the first time Harvey and Bob have passed on anything I’ve wanted to do, but if they were gonna pass on anything, this’d be the one to do it on... I get excited thinking about having to raise financing for our hot potato of a flick." Smith also posted the initial e-mail response he got from Harvey, who says "Your new script is quite disturbing and challenging, a departure from what I’m used to reading from you." I don't know about you guys, but all this talk makes me much more interested in the flick.

Via /film.

The Hoff Signs Up for Anaconda 3... And 4!

Distraught that he isn't involved in either of the Knight Rider movies and sick of eating hamburgers off the ground, David Hasselhoff is looking for a paycheck from two made-for-TV sequels to the revered Anaconda series. He'll be playing a "mercenary-for-hire who accepts a mission from a billionaire to capture a dangerous snake that could possibly help cure a terminal illness." MmHm.

Via Empire.