In the summer of 2008 Will Smith showed off his ability to go days without shaving, act like a jerk and stop trains with his head by starring as the title character in the superhero movie Hancock.  The movie had a good box office run, banking over $600 million worldwide; so it’s no wonder that talks of a sequel weren’t too far behind.

While Hancock 2 has been in the pipeline for a minute, what was unconfirmed was whether director Peter Berg would be able to lure Will Smith and co-star Charlize Theron back for the sequel.  Theron had talked late last year about her interest in continuing her role as the female counterpart to Smith’s godly hero, but until now, the only confirmed facts were Berg returning as the director and the addition of Adam Fierro and Glen Mazzara as the script writers.

Well, all the fog of uncertainty has been lifted Berg recently talked to MTV News and dropped the following bomb about Hancock 2:

It was only last week that we reported on director Peter Berg talking about a possible plot for Hancock 2, and yet today The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that two writers have been brought on-board to pen the script for the superhero sequel. Berg stated recently that we might not see a Hancock sequel anytime soon because he and star Will Smith are busy, but it looks like Sony isn’t wasting much time.

The two writers Sony has brought on-board for Hancock 2 are Adam Fierro and Glen Mazzara, both writers of The Shield. The pair’s producing credits include other such TV work such as 24, Dexter and Nash Bridges. The plot for the film is being kept under wraps, but the two writers are going to be working with Berg and Smith to build on “the world” that was created in the first Hancock. This hints back to what Berg recently pitched as the plot for Hancock 2, and personally I think it’s the inevitable direction a follow-up film would have to go.

It’s almost September and that means that the big summer movie season of 2008 is finally over – but what a summer it’s been!

2008 delivered the kind of summer that superhero and action movie geeks dream of – this is the year that brought us three bonafide superhero movies: Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk and what was that third one… oh yeah: The Dark Knight.

Wow… things have actually been pretty quite here on the “tear Hollywood a new one” front, but this story puts the powers that be right in my sights once again. According to a recent interview with Will Smith, he was offered the iconic role of Superman in Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns before it was offered to Brandon Routh.

Thankfully, Smith had the presence of mind to turn it down.

According to MTV:

“There is no way I’m playing Superman!’ Because I had already done Jim West [of 'Wild Wild West'], and you can’t be messing up white people’s heroes in Hollywood! You mess up white people’s heroes in Hollywood, you’ll never work in this town again!”

It’s only Saturday morning, but Hancock starring Will Smith has already hit the $41 million mark and by all accounts, is on its way to the $100 million holiday weekend mark. $17+ million from each of Wednesday and Thursday’s screenings across 7,645 screens.

The film can now be added to a long list of July 4th opener successes such as Transformers, War of the Worlds, Spider-Man 2 and others. The July 4th weekend is one of the bigger weekends that production companies like to shoot for when they feel they have a bread winner on their hands.

Despite the movie getting mediocre reviews, (3.5 of 5 from Vic) Will Smith is proving his draw as an actor. He can take a rather stale component, add his own unique presence, or flair if you will – and create something more than what could be there if any other actor had a similar role. (Of course, this all makes sense if you’re a Will Smith fan.)

Having taken my own clue from Vic, I’m in no rush to see the movie. I am looking forward to catching it in some fashion, but I’m not sure I want to suffer the lines and crowds this weekend for a mere 90 minute “mediocre” flick.

source: Hollywood Reporter

image courtesy of celeb.wohoo.co.uk

Short version: Hancock is not the light and fluffy comedy you may think it is – it’s dark and coarse, but well worth checking out.

Screen Rant’s Hancock review

Here’s what you need to know about Hancock:

1. Everything you’ve seen in trailers and TV commercials (well, up until this week) takes place in the first 10 minutes of the movie.

2. This is one coarse, crass movie – so much so that I don’t know how it garnered a PG-13 rating with all the foul language in it.

3. If you like Will Smith, and want to see an unconventional superhero movie – go see it. Just leave the kids at home.

It was just last week when Boss (i.e. Screen Rant big-cheese Vic Holtreman) reported on problems with the upcoming Will Smith superhero comedy Hancock over its MPAA rating and subject matter.

Now according to Cinema Blend (as per their sources), the film’s world premiere in Sydney, Australia has been quietly canceled because it won’t be finished in time.

Today is an interesting news day for Sony Pictures’ upcoming entry into the summer blockbuster arena: Hancock. I was first tipped off to the actual tone of the film by my pal over at Movies Online, and then received further clarification after reading a post over at /Film.

So what’s so interesting?

This movie is not what you think it is, folks. Think it’s another light-hearted, funny Will Smith romp?

Think again.

Regular readers know how I hate to use YouTube trailers, but until a better version comes out (which I’ll update this post with when available), check out the latest trailer for Hancock, the Will Smith superhero movie.

I’ve thought from day one that this was going to be a cool, fun movie, and with this latest trailer even the naysayers are starting to come around. It premiered during American Idol this week and came out of the blue as no one seemed to be expecting it.

You can watch the crappy YouTube version below. Eventually there will be a much better version in it’s place here.

Here’s the first look at Will Smith looking super-heroey in Hancock.

Having seen the trailer, this image came as a bit of a shock to me. I really liked the slacker/bum look that Smith had in the trailer as a counterpoint to his superhero powers. He had a whole anti-heroic thing going, where he had to be convinced to go after the bad guys when he’d rather just be sleeping.

In retrospect I suppose I should have expected this. I don’t know why I was thinking that he’d maintain that attitude throughout the film… it seems like it’s going to be pretty typical after all, taking him from no account slacker to full-on superhero.

[UPDATE: You can find a newer trailer for Hancock here.]

Other movie sites have given the Will Smith superhero movie Hancock some coverage of late, and honestly I had no idea what they were talking about. I hadn’t heard anything about this movie until the bootleg trailer appeared on YouTube. It was yanked shortly thereafter and I never even saw it.

The basic plot is that Will Smith is a regular shmoe/slacker who happens to have superpowers. It is obviously a comedy and I think that putting together Will Smith plus superhero just can not miss at the box office.

He fights crime and such but apparently not without some prodding, and in the most comic book-like screen version of a superhero movie yet, he causes a LOT of collateral damage. Seriously, have you read a comic book lately? You do NOT want to have superheroes protecting your city. We’re talking millions of dollars in property damage every time they fight some supervillain downtown.