Screen Rant » punisher war zone

Thomas Jane Talks Perfect Punisher Movie

Kofi Outlaw — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 20:12:41 +0000

Thomas Jane (Hung) doesn’t think that The Punisher has gotten his due on the big screen. After portraying Frank Castle in the 2004 big screen adaptation of the Marvel character, Jane (something of a fan favorite) dropped out amidst much controversy of the 2008 (reboot? Sequel? Flop?), Punisher: War Zone.

While talking exclusively to MTV recently about his new movie, Dark Country, Thomas Jane addressed the subject of both Punisher films, what makes the character great, and what kind of film it would take for him to reprise the role of a character he seems to very much know and love almost as much.

Here are some exerts from what Jane had to say about The Punisher:

“My interest has always been based more in reality than in superhero fiction…The strengths of ‘The Punisher’ that I did lie in the reality that we were able to bring to the character, and the weaknesses of ‘The Punisher’ I did were all based on people trying to make this a ‘comic book movie’—with funny characters and goofball s–t that has no place in a ‘Punisher’ film.

‘Punisher 2′ went more in the direction of goofball comic-book world than in reality..that’s why I dropped out of ‘Punisher 2′—because I’m not going to make a ‘comic book movie.’ It’s just doing a disservice to Frank Castle.

Everyone gets it backwards…You don’t want to strengthen the idea that it’s a comic book in film, because film gives you the chance to actually bring it one step closer to reality—and that’s the direction that ‘Punisher’ wants to go in.

['The Dark Knight'] made $500 billion at the box office, so I felt vindicated…[that film] validates the idea that a Frank Castle movie needs to be a gritty, reality-based film.”

Now I’ve cut these quotes WAY down, and Jane has some pretty interesting things to say if you read the full transcript. Head over to MTV News for the exclusive look.

Jane as The Punisher

This whole “Punisher curse” really is a head-scratcher. The character is one you would think would be easy to bring to the big screen: hell, how many movies (The Brave One), TV shows (24) or video games (Max Payne) made since 1974 – when the Punisher was created – can YOU name that emulate (or at least make you think of) the character? Yet, somehow The Punisher has been unable to find a $olid foothold in any one of those forms of media I just mentioned. So why can’t the originator succeed where so many imitators do?

I don’t really have an answer for that, I’m actually asking you guys to think it over and tell me. We’ll discuss in the comments.

For now it doesn’t look like The Punisher is going to be back up on the big screen anytime soon – but if and when it does return, does it need to go in the kind of direction Thomas Jane describes? And is Jane the man for the role?

Source: MTV

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2009 Scream Award Nominations

Ross Miller — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:37:08 +0000

The nominees have been announced for the fourth annual Scream Awards, held every year by Spike TV. The decisively more “fan-friendly” award ceremony (compared to the Oscars) honors films from the sci-fi, fantasy, horror and comic-book genres of movies, TV shows and comic books. The awards are described as, “the first and only global event of its kind,” to honor those genres.

The Scream 2009 nominees were chosen by the Advisory Board of Hollywood and Genre Leaders, a list which this year includes the likes of Wes Craven, Roland Emmerich, Neil Gaiman, Frank Miller, Eli Roth and Zack Snyder, plus many more. The event will be taped on Saturday, October 17th this year at The Greek Theater in Los Angeles, and will air on Spike TV ten days later on Tuesday, October 27th (check for local times).

Along with the awards, the show will also be airing some exclusive, world premiere of footage of some of the most anticipated movies of 2010! Presenters and musicians for the event are to be announced shortly.

Below is the list of a selection of the 32 categories from this year’s Scream nominations. For those of you (all of you?) who want to have YOUR say on which film should win, you’re in luck! Public voting for the awards has opened already and will run right up to October 17th. But before you head off to vote, here are some of the nominees:

BEST FANTASY MOVIE

“Coraline”

“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”

“Twilight”

“Up”

“Watchmen”

“X-Men Origins: Wolverine”

BEST HORROR MOVIE

“Dead Snow”

“Drag Me to Hell”

“Friday the 13th”

“Let the Right One In”

“My Bloody Valentine 3D”

“Splinter”

BEST COMIC BOOK MOVIE

“Dragonball Evolution”

“Punisher: War Zone”

“The Spirit”

“Watchmen”

“X-Men Origins: Wolverine”

BEST VILLAIN

Eric Bana as Nero; “Star Trek”

Cam Gigandet as James; “Twilight”

Lorna Raver as Mrs. Ganush; rag Me to Hell”

Liev Schrieber as Victor Creed/Sabretooth; “X-Men”

Alexander Skarsgård as Eric Northman; “True Blood”

BEST DIRECTOR

J.J. Abrams; “Star Trek”

Tomas Alfredson; “Let the Right One In”

Michael Bay; “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”

Pete Doctor & Bob Peterson; “Up”

Duncan Jones; “Moon”

Sam Raimi; “Drag Me to Hell”

BEST TV SHOW

Battlestar Galactica

Dexter

Fringe

Lost

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

True Blood

BEST ACTOR IN A FANTASY MOVIE OR TV SHOW

Ed Asner, “Up”

Hugh Jackman, “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”

Robert Pattinson, “Twilight”

Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

Daniel Radcliffe, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”

Michael Sheen, “Underworld: Rise of the Lycans”

BEST ACTRESS IN A FANTASY MOVIE OR TV SHOW

Scarlett Johansson, “The Spirit”

Jamie King, “The Spirit”

Rhona Mitra, “Underworld: Rise of the Lycans”

Kristen Stewart, “Twilight”

Emma Watson, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”

For the rest of the nominees you can head over to Spike.com, where you can also cast your votes.

Although some of the awards are truly suspect (how the hell The Spirit got nominated for ANYTHING is beyond me), I still like the overall celebration of the type of sci-fi, fantasy, comic book and horror films we here at Screen Rant revel in Although I won’t go into a specific rundown of who I think should win, I’d like to throw my opinion in the ring for a few of them:

Lost should win Best TV Show (I love Dexter, but it’s no Lost); Best Horror Movie should go to Let The Right One In (I would say Drag Me To Hell, but since that’s a comedy too, Let The Right One takes it for me); Best Actor in a Fantasy Movie Or TV Show should go to Brad Pitt for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; and Best Comic Book Movie should (EASILY) go to Watchmen.

But enough from me, what and who will YOU vote for? As stated, you can cast your votes over at Spike.com, and you can see if the winners match your picks when the Scream Awards 2009 air on October 27th this year on Spike TV.

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Weekend Movie News Wrap Up: December 14, 2008

Niall Browne — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 22:20:34 +0000

This weeks Weekend Movie News Wrap Up features:

The Box Office; Brad Pitt gets Lost; Pesce is Smokin’ Aces; we learn more details about Stallone’s The Expendables; Twilight really is Near Dark and Kenneth Brannagh talks Thor!

Box Office

Keanu Reeves barely justified his hefty salary for The Day The Earth Stood Still. The Sci-Fi remake mustered a disappointing $33 million over the weekend. Not great for a $100 million plus film. It might barely limp to the century mark and the box office, but word of mouth isn’t great. By the time next weekend is over it may be lucky to have earned $50MM in the U.S. – so this could be another financial disappointment for Fox.

Four Christmases should manage another $14 million bringing its total close to $90 million. Rival Christmas film Nothing Like The Holidays should muster about $3 million over the weekend. Looks like there wasn’t much festive cheer for that. Well a good turkey is always needed at Christmas.

Twilight should muster another $8 million bringing its total to $150 million. Not bad going for movie that only cost $37 million. James Bond film Quantum of Solace should bank another $4 million bringing its total gross to $160 million. It looks like it should become the highest grossing Bond in the franchise’s 46 year history.

Punisher War Zone will make about $1 million dollars this weekend, bringing its total to a pathetic $7 million. Not good, not good at all.

On a more cheerful note, Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino should bank about 250, 000 from six theaters. That’s pretty damn impressive!

Movie News

1. Brad Pitt will star as Percy Fawcett in The Lost City Of Z for director James Gray. The film is based on a true story. According to Variety:

“Fawcett left Victorian society to explore in the Amazon, and he became obsessed by the idea of an advanced civilization he called Z, which he believed existed in the depths of the jungle. Along with his son, Fawcett headed into the jungle in 1925 in search of Z and was never seen again.”

Sounds pretty interesting, and if done right it could clean up at the box office and during awards season.

Source: Variety

2. Joe Carnahan has announced that PJ Pesce will be directing the follow-up (it’s actually a prequel) to Smokin’ Aces.

It’s not the first direct to DVD sequel for Pesce, he directed the belated Lost Boys 2 last year.

I still haven’t seen Smokin’ Aces even though I’ve had it on DVD for the last year. Even if it’s a masterpiece I can’t imagine wanting to see Pesce’s film.

Source: Smokin’ Joe Carnahan

3. The main film on any true film fan’s calendar for 2009 has to be The Expendables. The Sylvester Stallone film co-starring Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren and Forrest Whitaker.

Harry Knowles at Ain’t It Cool News spoke with Sly who revealed that UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture has joined the film’s line up. He also revealed that Lundgren and Li would indulge in some sort of fisticuffs.

Come on Sly – get Arnold and Bruce involved – even if only in a brief cameo capacity.

Source: AICN

5. It would appear that recent tween vampire film Twilight has put a stake through the heart of the propsed Near Dark remake. The reason? The films would be too similar! Producer Brad Fuller had this to say:

“I think that Twilight was the same type of thing we were going for although Near Dark was a much darker, sexier, rated R version of that. But I’m concerned that, conceptually, that Near Dark and Twilight are too similar in terms of a vampire movie. For now, that movie is on hold…with the success of that film, we would not measure up. It’s not the right time to make that.”

That has to a first for Hollywood – not making a film because the idea wasn’t original enough.

Brad – you do realize that your film as a remake? Just checking.

Source: Empire

5. My fellow Irishman Kenneth Brannagh has been talking about his Thor movie to MTV. Brannagh said the following:

“I am directing Thor or The Mighty Thor as you might like to call it. I think it will (just) be Thor.”

When asked about the appeal of directing such a film he said:

“To work on a story about one of the immortals, Gods, extraordinary beings, inter-dimensional creatures. There’s science fiction and science fact and fantasy all woven into one. It’s based on Norse legends which Marvel sort of raided in a brilliant way.”

When casting came up Ken said:

“There’s been lots of talk – I sound like a politician – but we are too early at this stage. We’re getting the story and the visual effects together and all of that is very exciting. Someone sensational is going to play the part but it is early days.”

Fifteen years ago Brannagh would have been a great fit for the role, but alas- that’s not going to happen. The Shakespearean star has had a bit of career resurgence recently with his Sleuth remake, along with his starring role in Valkyrie as well as BBC television’s detective show Wallander.

Source: MTV

That’s it for now. See you at the movies.

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Weekend Movie News Wrap Up: December 07, 2008

Niall Browne — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 18:39:47 +0000

It’s hard to believe that we are now into December. It seems like only yesterday I was talking about the big summer releases – and now we are looking forward to next years big movies.

This weeks Weekend Movie News Wrap Up features the obligatory box office wrap up as well as:

La Beouf is The Associate; Stiller talks Zoolander 2; who is Angelina Jolie? Zombie returns to Halloween and Brownlow Vs Captain Blood.

Box Office

America just loves Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon. How do I know this? Simple: Four Christmases grossed another $18 million over the weekend, keeping it the top movie at the box office despite terrible reviews. That’s only a 41% drop from opening weekend, usually an indication of a movie being very popular.

Twilight should bag another $14 million keeping it in the No. 2 position. Man, it must suck being a Studio Executive who turned this vampire flick down.

Bolt should manage another $10 million, keeping Disney quite happy with its gross. $100 million is well on target.

Bond, James Bond should collect another $8 million or so giving Quantum of Solace a little over $150 million.

Australia should manage another $6 million giving the Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman film a weak $30 million gross. Not good. After Deception flopped earlier in the year and now this – Jackman must be praying that Wolverine does well.

Punisher: War Zone flopped HUGE on its opening, grossing just $4 (four!) million – about half of what Thomas Jane’s The Punisher grossed in 2004. It looks like the movie-going public just don’t dig Frank Castle. This is the third attempt to bring The Punisher to the screen and it will probably be the last. It looks like the Lexi Alexander directed film didn’t benefit from all of the pre-release rumor that was floating about over the summer. It should make a killing on DVD, so maybe a series of straight to DVD Punisher films is what is needed. Just a thought.

Movie News

1. Shia La Beouf goes where Tom Cruise, Matt Damon and Matthew McConaughey have gone before. Get your mind out of the gutter – it has nothing to do with Penelope Cruz. He will be top-lining a John Grisham adaptation. La Beouf will star in The Associate, a legal thriller based on an as yet unpublished novel by Grisham.

According to Variety:

“LaBeouf will play a student who’s about to graduate from Yale Law School when he’s manipulated into accepting a job at a prestige law firm and given privileged information about a multibillion-dollar lawsuit.”

Sounds like pure Grisham. Should be another $100 million hit under Shia’s belt.

La Beouf’s Transformer producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura is producing.

Source: Variety

2. Ben Stiller must be in the sequel mood as he’s developing a follow-up to 2001’s cult favorite Zoolander.

Stiller currently in the UK promoting Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa told The Sun:

“I’ve been trying to get Zoolander 2 together and we’ve had a few scripts. I feel that is the sequel I really would like to do some day because I like the original and I would make sure it was something new and worthy of it first.”

He also reportedly threatened another Meet The Parents.

Take these rumors with a pinch of salt a British tabloids have a habit of being creative with the truth.

Source: The Sun

3. Speaking of Salt, there appears to be some confusion of Angelina Jolie’s forthcoming action-thriller Salt.

Salt is a thriller that Jolie inherited from Tom Cruise – originally titled Edwin A.Salt. Some believe that the film may be Erika Salt, while others are of the opinion that the film will be simply called Salt – with the character called Evelyn..

Apparently in the sequel she teams up with a soldier from the US Army called Sgt. Pepper. This follow-up will be called Salt and Pepper.

Sorry – I just made up the last bit.

Source: Joblo

4. It looks like shock-rocker Rob Zombie will helm the sequel to his re-imagining/remake/rehash of John Carpenter’s Halloween.

Originally Zombie had stated that he would not return, but I’m guessing that Dimension made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo were originally signed to make the film, but they left due to “creative differences.”

Apparently shooting is due to star in March, however there is no confirmation of a script being in place.

That’s never stopped a movie though!

Source: Shock Till You Drop

5. John Brownlow will write the script for Phillip Noyce’s remake of the legendary Captain Blood.

The original starred Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland and Basil Rathbone. The remake won’t have anyone half as cool.

Source: Dark Horizons

That’s it for now. See you at the movies!

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Punisher: War Zone Review

Vic Holtreman — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 21:58:37 +0000

Short version: Whether you enjoy Punisher: War Zone or not will depend completely on what you’re looking to get out of it.

Screen Rant reviews Punisher: War Zone

So… there are two approaches I take to reviewing movies here at Screen Rant. Sometimes I review movies from a more “overall” perspective – generally speaking, and compared to most other movies out there, is it a good movie or a bad one overall?

Then I have what I call a “context review.” This is where I decide whether to basically adjust the bell curve and review a movie from more of a niche perspective. In other words, does it accomplish what it sets out to do within the context of its genre?

Examples of this would be movies I’ve given 4+ star reviews to like The Signal and Shoot ‘em Up, and even movies I’ve given 5 out of 5 stars to like Kung Fu Hustle.

Were these movies perfect? Oscar-worthy? Of course not. Did they deliver what they promised within their respective genres? Absolutely.

So the question is: On which side of the fence does Punisher: War Zone fall? Based on what I’d heard prior to seeing the film I would have to say I’d have to review it in the latter category. But even using that criteria, some films fail miserably.

This film has suffered through probably the MOST controversy throughout its production of any movie we’ve covered here at Screen Rant – yet I kept an open mind going in.

Enough of that, right? What’s the verdict?

Punisher: War Zone was fun.

At least as much fun as an R-rated, bloody, violent as hell movie about a vigilante can be.

This version of the Punisher is a clean-slate restart of the movie version of the character – it assumes there has never been a Punisher movie prior to this one. During the opening credits (which were really cool, btw) we learn that a mob boss who was on trial has been set free due to a mistrial – the judge presiding over the case was murdered. Cut to a fancy mansion with cars arriving where we meet Billy Russoti (soon to become Jigsaw) and from the first moment we see him his brutal personality is made clear. As it turns out he’s an extremely vain SOB, making his soon to be fate that much more meaningful.

It doesn’t take long for the first action scene to arrive, and it’s a doozy. The violence and gore in this first scene, while not played for laughs, is so over the top that I found myself laughing out loud – in a good way. Who knew that watching a bunch of bad guys getting shot, stabbed, skewered and beaten could be so much fun?

We also see that the NYPD is on Frank Castle’s (the Punisher’s real name) side. They go through the motions of having a “task force” (of one apparently inept guy) trying to hunt him down – but really they’re glad to have his help.

While trying to track down and go after Billy, Castle accidently kills an undercover FBI agent and he takes it extremely hard. BTW, this is where Russoti turns into Jigsaw and all I can say about how it happens is, DAMN…

Having lost his own wife and two children in violence, attending the funeral of the agent and seeing the surviving wife and young daughter causes Castle to decide to hang it up. The fellow who supplies him with weapons convinces him that Jigsaw will be going after the wife and daughter, so Castle says fine, but this will be his last job.

In the meantime Jigsaw breaks his apparently insane, homicidal maniac brother James out of a mental institution in order to help exact revenge and kill the Punisher. This guy was played by Doug Hutchison and I thought his performance was one of the worst things about the movie. It was pretty cheesy and goofy in my opinion. I actually liked Dominic West as Jigsaw (moreso when he still had his own face). He played the character as “hard core” New Yorker – I half expected him to throw in a “mook” or “palooka” at some point, but it worked for me.

And Ray Stevenson as Frank Castle? I thought he nailed it. No disrespect to Thomas Jane, but I never bought him as the Punisher. Stevenson on the other hand – never doubted him as the character for a second.

As to the violence in the film – holy cow. Earlier rumors of a possible PG-13 for this? Give me a break. Doubts about Lexi Alexander doing justice to the kill scenes because she’s a woman? Leave those at the door. Punisher: War Zone is at its best when it’s delivering its particular brand of over the top, 1980s movie style violence. This is gun action/violence as it should be: bloody and gory as hell.

So why all the bad reviews? I think people are judging this from an “overall” point of view instead of a “niche” view. You see this isn’t Iron Man or The Dark Knight… this is (as Massawyrm at AICN pointed out) a comic book movie that knows it’s a comic book movie. It’s not shooting for a serious, real-world take as much as other movies are in the current superhero movie trend. The action is over the top – sometimes to the point that it makes you laugh, but in that put-a-grin-on-your-face “that was AWESOME!” kind of way.

It’s no cinematic tour de force – no Oscars will be given here. Most of the acting is mediocre, some outright bad. There’s cheesy dialog and some silly characters (a free-running Rastafarian-looking black guy with a Brit/Irish accent for one), but when Frank Castle is doing what he does best, you’ll forget all that and revel in the awesomeness of seeing scores of bad guys get what’s coming in a ton of creative ways. Oh, and the beat-down the two main baddies get at the end are among the most satisfying “bad guy finally gets what’s coming to him” scenes I’ve seen in a film in recent memory.

So, if you go into this looking for a good time I think you’ll come out pretty satisfied. Go into this expecting a “good” movie and you’ll end up laughing at it, not with it.

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Loads Of New Pics From Punisher: War Zone

Kofi Outlaw — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 19:44:32 +0000

It seems as though the powers that be behind Punisher: War Zone have finally come to the conclusion that they need to ramp up the marketing campaign if they want people to actually go see this much-belabored film. Lately the TV spots have been popping up like zits on a fanboy’s face, and now new stills from the movie are flooding the Net in droves.

Taking a cue from our friends over at Latino Review, we here at Screen Rant have gathered a hefty pile of new Punisher pics for your viewing pleasure. Some are stills from the finished movie, others are production stills taken on the set while cast and crew tried work out how best to convey the dark story of Frank Castle, and his quest to punish the guilty.

See for yourself:

Director Lexi Alexander and star Ray Stevenson on the set

Jigsaw (Dominic West) shows off advanced chiropractic techniques

The Punisher demonstrates proper knuckle cracking techniques

Punisher busts his guns

Jigsaw visits a friend in the psyche ward

The Punisher gabs with God

Punisher Movie? Or Saw VI?

Punisher and friends enjoy a low-key Friday night

Punisher gets the party started (notice the portrait of Hilary Clinton in the background)

For the rest of the latest batch of new Punisher images head over to Latino Review, who have a bunch more.

Special thanks to myself for all those witty captions. Seriously though, the photos make me very curious to see what the finished product of Punisher: War Zone is going to be. The more pictures I see, the more I can’t help but feel like the film is some weird mashup of The Punisher and the Saw movies. Maybe Lionsgate has some kind of specific rules about how their films are lit? That could be it.

But honestly, I’m tired of any and all speculation about this flick. After more than a year of the rumor mill churning, I’m going to buy a damned ticket for the first show on December 5, just so I can see what all the hubub has been about! Who knows, maybe agitated curiosity was the marketing plan all along…

What do you think about the new pics? And are you eager to see Punisher: War Zone?

Source: Latino Review

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Jigsaw Pics From Punisher: Warzone

Kofi Outlaw — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 23:25:37 +0000

So there’ve been a lot of rumors surrounding Punisher: War Zone. Everything from day one script problems to rumors of the director being fired and even talk of the finished movie being as horrendous as the heavy metal soundtrack.

This overwhelming flood of rumors has effectively drowned out the usual questions we hear about comic book movies: Is the lead actor/actress doing right by the character? Is the director being faithful to the source material? Is the film more Dark Knight (gritty, real) or more Iron Man (tongue-and-cheek fun)? And of course, in this post-Joker era we must ask how good is the villain going to be?

To answer that question Screen Rant got a hold of the latest pictures of War Zone’s main villain, the deformed gangster known as Jigsaw (The Wire’s Dominic West). And we’re delving into the 1,000 words about the character that the pictures are worth. Check it out.

Jigsaw admires his pretty face

Don’t eat dinner with Jigsaw if you like breathing

The first thing I notice about these (and all pics from Punisher: War Zone) is that the color scheme seems wrong. Like the characters are trapped inside a Marylin Manson video instead of the gritty (and realistic) urban terrain that the Punisher stalks.

The second thing I’m noticing is that, despite the fact that this is a Punisher movie, the filmmakers seem to have gone the Iron Man route of keeping things tongue-in-cheek – at least as far as the villain is concerned. Because if that Jigsaw “makeup” they’ve got on my boy McNulty (West) is supposed to be anything else besides wink, wink, funny… then someone in the makeup department needs to get their ass kicked. Jigsaw looks like a cross between James Cagney and the 1930’s creature-feature version of Quasimodo after a drunken brawl. Definitely not winning any awards for that makeup work.

But how is West going to play Jigsaw? After hearing the line in the trailer “Gather your army!” something tells me that West is going to take this role a teeny-weeny bit over the top, rather than play it straight-faced twisted like Heath Ledger did with the Joker in The Dark Knight. In other words: don’t expect Jigsaw to live on in your memory more than five minutes after you’re out of the theater. Hate to be Debbie-Downer, but I calls ‘em like I sees ‘em.

What about you, though? Do you think that Dominic West is going to bring the necessary acting chops to make Jigsaw a villain for the ages? Are you still holding on to the hope that Punisher: War Zone is going to the movie that finally does right by the one comic book character whose story should be the easiest to translate to film? Or is the Punisher forever doomed to be damaged goods? Let us know what you think.

Source: Latino Review

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Punisher: War Zone Update

Vic Holtreman — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 03:33:14 +0000

Director Lexi Alexander has updated her blog with a new post talking about the military background of Frank Castle (played by Ray Stevenson). She highlights an interview with the production’s military adviser, real life hero Sergeant Jonathan Barton.

We’ve got few excerpts from the interview below, but you can head over to her site for the whole thing.

In her interview, Lexi talked about what she wanted Castle’s background to be in the film:

“We wanted to be very close to Frank Castle’s original biography, so I asked you [JB] to make him look like he spent some time in every branch of the Military before he became a renown Force Recon/Special Ops instructor.”

When Barton was asked what it was like to work on Punisher: War Zone

“Working on the new Punisher, from a Marine’s POV, was a dream come true! The Punisher, as a character, has a huge Marine Corps following. He represents the harder side of the Marine Corps. In Iraq my squad and I would spray paint the SKULL on anything we could find!”

Again, based on the production, it seems like this should be a good movie – but that doesn’t always turn out to be the case in the final product. I’d love for this thing to turn out great and leave all its troubles behind, but we won’t know until Punisher: War Zone opens on December 5th.

For the full interview, head on over to LexiAlexandar.com.

Thanks to Screen Rant reader Kevin for alerting us to the news!

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New Punisher War Zone Clip: A ‘Thank You’ Or Damage Control?

Vic Holtreman — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 19:01:35 +0000

With less than two months to go before the opening of Punisher: War Zone, things are starting to happen on the marketing front for the movie.

A few days ago the official website for the film was revamped and after that a new lenticular poster for the movie was revealed.

Now (thanks to Screen Rant reader “Rampage”) we have a new, never before seen clip from the movie.

Not only is it a series of connected scenes from the film, but there’s also an introduction by sometimes maligned, sometimes defended director Lexi Alexander. In it she thanks for fans’ for their “positive reinforcement and commitment to Frank Castle and his mythology.”

She delivers her message from the edit bay, apparently confirming that she was not removed from the film. At one point it was rumored that the Punisher: War Zone would get a PG-13 rating (since debunked) and also that Lexi had been kicked off the production due to mishandling the film according to the studio (also debunked, and confirmed by the video below).

Since this has all turned out to be B.S., I tend to wonder if these things were the idea of some misguided marketing type who thought it would bring “viral” attention to a movie destined to attract a narrow audience. If that was the case, as far as I’m concerned it just leaves a bitter taste in my mouth for the whole thing.

Having said all that, although I’m not a big Punisher fan, while only a couple of days ago I said I wasn’t optimistic about this movie, the more I see of this film the more it looks like it’s much more true to the comic book than the previous film. Check out the clip for yourself:

[See post to watch Flash video]

Just based on the trailers and clips, I’m not a huge fan of the red-tinged monochromatic look, but maybe it’s only in certain scenes and will fit within the context of the entire film.

Punisher: War Zone opens on December 5th.

Thanks again to “Rampage,” a regular over at the Punisher forum site GlobalPunisherArmy.com.

What do you guys think? Is this looking any better to you? Or does this little clip reek of damage control?

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Cool Punisher: War Zone Poster

Vic Holtreman — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 19:28:32 +0000

Not much of an update,but I just thought the new Punisher: War Zone (aka Punisher 2) poster looked pretty cool. I haven’t seen it in a theater yet, but it is a “lenticular” poster, meaning one of those that seems to follow you when you walk past it. From the image below it seems the guns Ray Stevenson is holding will follow you around the room.

Gun-laden Lenticular Punisher: War Zone poster

This film has had its share of problems throughout the production period with the bad blood between Thomas Jane (the previous Punisher) and the production team, Lexi Alexander and her (or the studio’s) “kicked off the movie” stunt. For the whole sordid history you can check out our post “The Real Punisher War Zone Story“.

While I’m still hoping it will be great I’m not terribly optimistic.

Punisher: War Zone opens on December 5th.

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Max Payne & Punisher 2 Movie Sites Updated

Rob Keyes — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 01:24:36 +0000

Two movies that follow angry men with guns each have their own new websites up this week: Punisher: War Zone and Max Payne.

PunisherWarZoneMovie.com

The first, Punisher: War Zone, is entirely made in Flash and it looks and animates as if it were straight from a video game. Because it is Flash intensive, it takes a little while to load at first, even on broadband.

My first impressions are that it’s simply really cool. It runs very smoothly and the effects and graphics are extremely professional and stylistic, matching the tone of the film (from what we’ve seen in the trailers). The cursor is a gun sight and like the other animation on the site is very smooth as well.

The website features the usual plethora of filmed-based sections including information on the film, a photo gallery and some downloadable goodies. Some parts parts of the site like ‘cast and crew’ are not yet complete and are marked with ‘coming soon’ when you hover or click them.

The site definitely does the film justice and the best part is that there is no out-of-place thrash-metal music! For years I was looking down on this film simply because of Tom Jane being separated from the franchise, but upon seeing Ray Stevenson and his incredible performances in Rome and The Outpost – I am 150% on board for this. Especially after seeing the pictures of him in the role and even moreso now that everything has settled down on the rumour and gossip front.

MaxPayneTheMovie.com

The Max Payne website opens with a page featuring the more recent of its trailers with a button to enter the real site.

Upon entering the actual website, we’re again met with a loading screen for another Flash-intensive site. The site is crazy professional like the Punisher site and although it’s easier on the eyes, the animations are a lot choppier.

The Max Payne site also offers several photos, some concept art, some downloadable content and a little information about the movie. And again like the Punisher site, one of the sections (the features) is not yet up and is marked with ‘coming soon’.

One really cool feature is the Graphic Novel section which takes you through a few scenes from the film with a neat little conversion to comic animation.

Max Payne stars Mark Walhberg and Mila Kunis and is based on the popular video game franchise made famous by its bullet-time features.

If you’re a fan of the Punisher comics or the Max Payne games, or are just looking forward to the movies – definitely check these sites out.

Max Payne opens October 17th and Punisher: War Zone on December 5th.

Source: Facebook Marvel Movies Group (Thanks, Ed!)

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Mid-Week Movie News Wrap Up – Oct. 2, 2008

Niall Browne — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:56:24 +0000

Welcome to the first October Screen Rant Mid-Week Movie News Wrap Up.

This week:

Battle: Los Angeles finds a director; Mickey Rourke’s Angel Heart gets remade; Jack Black is Bourne again, Punisher War Zone is rated while Sheen and Lucas joins Alice In Wonderland.

1. Battle: Los Angeles has finally landed a director. The Sci-Fi action pic will probably be helmed by Jonathan Liebesman, the man behind such frighteners (in more ways than one) as Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning and Darkness Falls. The South African born director is currently in negotiations to direct the film which is being billed as Black Hawk Down meets Independence Day.

According to The Hollywood Reporter :

“In August, Liebesman went out to locations in Santa Monica and downtown Los Angeles, shooting sequences and plates, and adding CGI aliens. He also created a pre-viz alien invasion sequence.”

It sounds like he really wanted that gig.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

2. Now that Mickey Rourke is currently on the comeback trail with The Wrestler it’s time for Hollywood to raid his filmography for remakes. Michael De Luca has partnered with Alison Rosenzweig have optioned rights to William Hjortsberg’s novel Falling Angel, on which Alan Parker’s Angel Heart was based.

The original is a fantastic low key thriller that co-stars Robert De Niro and I highly reccomend that you check it out on DVD – just don’t let anyone ruin the ending for you.

Source: Variety

3. Jack Black will star in an untitled live-action action comedy that is a pastiche of the Bourne movies. The Hollywood Reporter says that the film is:

“A sort of comedic The Bourne Identity, the story sees Black as an American who finds himself washed up the shores of Cuba with no idea of who he is and how he got there. He comes to the conclusion that he must be a superspy, though in reality he is far from one.”

The film was penned by Kung Fu Panda writers Jonathan Aibel and Glenn.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

4. Despite rumors to the contrary Punisher: War Zone is now locked and loaded with an R rating. The film was given the rating “For pervasive strong brutal violence, language and some drug use”.

It sounds just like one of my Friday nights. Just kidding – live free and well people!

Source: Rope of Silicon

5. Matt Lucas will star as Tweedledum and Tweedledee, in Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland. Lucas is huge here in the UK (but enough about his waste line) due to Little Britain. The US version aptly titled Little Britain USA is currently on HBO.

Meanwhile, another British actor Michael Sheen (Tony Blair in just about every political film) has also joined the cast.

Source: Joblo and Variety

That’s if for another week. See you at the movies!

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The Real Punisher War Zone Story

Vic Holtreman — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 22:57:27 +0000

Thanks once again to Screen Rant reader “Nomad” we have another inside scoop on what’s been going on behind the scenes of Lexi Alexander’s Punisher: Warzone (aka Punisher 2). Nomad says that although the source cannot be named, they are HIGHLY reliable.

What follows are the details of what’s happened behind the scenes of the production from the first draft of the screenplay, to the Comic-Con, PG-13 accusations and the revelation that yes, the movie will be rated R. I’m posting what I was sent unedited for the most part, and have added my thoughts here and there.

Keep in mind I really don’t have any bias towards this film one way or another…

Punisher: War Zone rumors deconstructed

I have a very dear friend who’s been around Hollywood for a long time. He’s a unique person here, because his ethics are still intact AND he still has his sanity. (Which means he’s NOT rich!) I think you’ll agree that’s a unique combination here! So I asked him to check out Punisher: War Zone, Lionsgate, and all the surrounding hoopla. He did, bless his sweet heart, and he wrote a fooking dissertation! Well, he’s brilliant, too. Did I mention I adore him? I do!!!

What follows is his report, which I have NOTedited, even though it conflicts with some of my own previously held opinions. At the end of his letter, I’ve attached a bit of a time line he wrote, so people can follow what happened and when.

No, I will NOT tell you who he is. So please don’t bother asking. His credibility is in what he writes, which is balanced and fair. You’ll decide on your own, neh?

********************************************************************

Nomad,

Sorry it took so long. I think I’ve read enough on “Punisher: War Zone” and Lionsgate Films (hereafter PWZ and LGF for brevity) now to offer an educated analysis of what may have happened and why you shouldn’t worry too much.
First I want to dispel a few MISPERCEPTIONS about PWZ, since those have unfairly put some people off.

MISPERCEPTION #1: “PWZ is a sequel whose script was so horrible that star Thomas Jane walked away from it.” Not quite! Per PWZ co-writer Kurt Sutter in a Collider.com interview: “Nick Santora and myself, whose names were on the second big draft, got caught in the crossfire when Tom Jane was growing dissatisfied with the turn Punisher was taking. Tom lashed out at the script using it as his scapegoat for exiting the project. [...] I like Tom Jane, I’ve had lunch with him, think he’s a decent guy. But I always felt that if Marvel really wanted to re-invent the franchise, you’d have to re-invent the Punisher”. And PWZ did in fact morph from sequel to REBOOT, so recasting was likely inevitable anyway to avoid confusion. Tom himself said that his reason for leaving was that LGF rejected Walter Hill as director and he stood by Hill — but I think he saw the writing on the wall and left before he could be recast. Tom strikes me as generally bitter about his parting with PWZ and even told fans at July 2008’s San Diego Comic-Con that PWZ is a “piece of s***” (though he has no way of knowing this), but to his credit he later wished new Punisher Ray Stevenson well (”He sounds like a cool guy [who] loves the character and wants to do him justice. For his sake I hope the movie doesn’t suck.”).

Sutter, whose draft began the shift towards rebooting and was cited as Tom’s other reason for leaving, ultimately removed his name from credit arbitration because so little of his work remained; credited writers are Santora, Marcum & Holloway (the latter two are Marvel’s “go-to guys” whose “Iron Man” later did big business). The only person who HAS seen the actual shooting script AND publicly commented on it is Kurt Sutter. His verdict per his blog: while it was obviously not HIS vision, he graciously said it was “tight”, “followed the perfect comic book formula”, and he predicted “true fans of the Punisher comic books will enjoy this movie” and “it will open huge”.

How will that shooting script translate to the screen? “The Spirit” producer Deborah del Prete has seen Lexi’s rough cut and said she loved it and thought it would please fans. We’ve no word yet on how much of Lexi’s cut remains intact, but PWZ cinematographer Steve Gainer said that the August 16 cut that he viewed was “something wonderful” that he “loved” — he sounded proud of the results. [From what I've seen of "The Spirit" so far, I don't think I'd take del Prete's comment as a ringing endorsement. - Vic]

MISPERCEPTION #2: “Nobody will see PWZ because there’s no star power in the cast.” PWZ is probably relying not on big names but on a high concept designed to appeal to a niche audience of Punisher fans as well as a general action fanbase. Punisher ‘04 had a bigger budget but higher overhead because of big names like John Travolta, and it performed poorly, so I can understand LGF refining their strategy and leveraging their risks. In any case, PWZ’s cast are all experienced actors, if not widely known. [I honestly don't believe that anyone ever expected this to be some huge blockbuster seen by "everyone." - Vic]

Now I want to discuss the RUMORS about PWZ that have unfairly put some people off. LGF could put an end to all of the bad publicity pretty easily with a press release, but for whatever reason they haven’t, so I’m simply going to analyze what is known and how it may affect the finished film; the truth usually lies somewhere in the middle.

Many agree that PWZ director Lexi Alexander is a tough cookie whose enthusiasm for her work is infectious. Cast members Ray Stevenson and Dominic West both attested to being uninspired by early drafts they read, and Lexi talked them into doing the film based on sheer enthusiasm. Crew member Tom Book hadn’t cared for the project at first, but he attested that Lexi soon inspired everyone to believe they were working on “a masterpiece” so they worked diligently through the packed 40-day shoot consisting of mostly wintry Montreal nights. Her blog inspired the many Internet-savvy Punisher fans to get excited about the film as well.

On the flip side, I believe Lexi’s made her fair share of enemies (and who in Hollywood hasn’t?). The IESB source who slammed Lexi’s rough cut as “one of the worst movies ever made” strikes me as just some malcontent Lexi pissed off, especially given that UGO’s more impartial “Detective Soap” said that in spite of Lexi’s “Jekyll/Hyde” personality, her footage was fantastic. It hasn’t escaped me that Lexi’s “Hooligans” co-writer Dougie Brimson popped out of nowhere on the FilmSchoolRejects comments section just to retort to Tom Book that Lexi was “disloyal” and “devious”, adding “trust me, Im far from alone in thinking that way.” [I have no opinion on this as I'm not privy to the details. Personally all I care about is the final product and even directors and actors with bad attitudes who are disliked can produce a great film. - Vic]

(Click to continue reading “The Real Punisher War Zone Story”)

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Punisher 2 Will NOT Be PG-13, Lexi Still Involved

Vic Holtreman — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 22:28:58 +0000

The saga of the Punisher: War Zone movie production has got to be one of the most soap-opera-ish things I’ve seen in the time I’ve been covering movie news here on Screen Rant. Rarely have I seen such angst and pain among not only fans of the comic book character that is being brought to the big screen, but movie fans in general.

Of course the roots run deep… all the way back to 1989 when New World Pictures brought us the first Punisher movie, starring of all people Swedish-born Dolph Lundgren playing the title character that was supposed to be a hard-boiled New York City cop. At the time he was considered “hot,” having come off of a couple of Rocky movies, and some genius thought it would be a great idea to cast him in the role.

Actually, if you want a good laugh, I’d recommend you try to find that version of the film for a rental.

Dolph Lundgren as The Punisher (1989)

Fifteen years later in 2004 came another version, this time starring Thomas Jane. This was essentially a “reboot,” long before the word became common in the movie biz as a term for re-starting a franchise. This film was FAR better than the one that came before, but was still lacking. Again seemingly odd decisions were made, such as casting John Travolta as the bad guy and setting the film in sunny Florida of all places. I wrote a Punisher review that in hindsight was perhaps a bit harsher than it should have been.

Thomas Jane as The Punisher (2004)

Then early in 2007 came word that there would be a sequel, hopefully better than the one made three year earlier – but word was that the script was pretty terrible. So terrible in fact that Thomas Jane, who starred in the previous one, dropped out of the project rather than be part of something that he didn’t believe in. Then director John Dahl decided not to do the film due to budget concerns and the fact that he didn’t like the script either.

Kurt Sutter, who wrote the original draft (it’s not clear to me whether it was HIS script that Jane and Dahl thought was awful) had his name removed from the credits earlier this year because he said that there wasn’t much left of his story in the film, apart from the how the main bad guy becomes the villain “Jigsaw.” The primary story came from Nick Santora, who has written TV episodes of gritty shows including Prison Break and Law and Order, and much of the script was written by Art Marcum and Matt Holloway (both of whom have a writing credit on one of this year’s biggest hits: Iron Man).

Ray Stevenson as The Punisher (2008)

Eventually (actually, pretty quickly) the film turned from a sequel into a reboot, with director Lexi Alexander coming on board and Ray Stevenson taking over the title role. From that came concerns of whether a woman could direct a kick-ass, dark vigilante film (for the record, we never asked that here at Screen Rant). As production moved forward, she went out of her way to assure fans that yes, it would be hard core and brutal and would match the spirit of the comic book.

People still weren’t convinced, and then a series of news items floated that added fuel to the fire:

The release date was pushed back from September to December of this year.
A rumor that Lexi Alexander had been kicked off the movie right before Comic-Con
Then comes word that yes, she is still involved with the film after all
And for a cherry on top a couple days ago Latino Review reported that it was looking like Punisher: War Zone might be getting edited down to a PG-13 rating instead of an R by Lionsgate.

Honestly, having seen the trailers and based on what’s come out regarding this film I had a very hard time believing that any studio would be dumb enough to try to trim this down to a PG-13.

So today from loyal Screen Rant reader “Nomad” comes a link from The Raw Board forum where the cinematographer for the film, Steve Gainer, emphatically denied a lot of what has been said about the film. He stated the following:

Lexi is not off the film.
Lexi is still involved in the edit process.
The film is not (nor could it ever be) PG-13.
He saw a cut that ran 91 minutes.
Lexi did in fact get married (referencing the “she’s on her honeymoon” reason given by the studio for her non-appearance at the Con).
Lexi is an incredibly talented director, and this film kicks major ass, as will be proven when it is released in theaters December 5th.
The film is most certainly not all exploding heads, but will reveal a great deal of Frank’s persona and pain.

So there you have it, from someone involved in the production of the movie.

Now does this mean the movie will actually be great? Of course not… I’m sure that most people who work on even movies that turn out terrible think that the movie is awesome while they’re working on it (this is, by the way, a major mystery to me – you’d think it would be obvious).

I don’t know if Punisher: War Zone will be good or not at this point, but I’d put my money on an R-rating for the film.

All will be revealed on December 5th when the movie opens.

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Will The Punisher Be PG-13?

Niall Browne — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:42:00 +0000

There has been a tremendous amount of bad press surrounding The Punisher War Zone over the past several weeks.

Stories have been flying about stating that the director Lexi Alexander was fired from the production and that the film was being re-cut and laced with a Heavy Metal soundtrack.

Now the reliable Latino Review has a source stating that the film is going to be cut so that it is suitable for a PG-13 audience..

So what the heck is going on with The Punisher? Will the film be any good?

My belief is that the film will turn out to be pretty average. I enjoyed the last Punisher film, but I can’t say that I’m a big fan of the comic book. This new version appears to be a film made by a committee, which is quite strange considering the low budget and pulp leanings of the character’s origin.

The Punisher isn’t a character who will sell Happy Meals – he’s a gritty vigilante who uses murder as an act of revenge. Due to this I don’t think that he’s suited to a PG-13 rating, although some would argue that Batman isn’t either – but at least he doesn’t kill!

I just don’t think that The Punisher as a character has enough going on to warrant a film (or series of films). I believe that Lionsgate feels that they need to make the film, having bought the rights to the comic book without fully understanding what they wanted to do with them. This film has had a long and painful gestation process with Thomas Jane dropping out (to be replaced by Ray Stevenson); issues with finding a director; and then the original script being rewritten. Now it would appear that the film’s post production is equally traumatic.

Following the release of the Red Band trailer it seemed like fans of the character were about to get the big screen version of their favorite character that they always wanted. Now it would seem like they’ll have to wait for the unrated DVD to be released. Maybe this has been Lionsgate’s plan all along: Release the film as PG-13, make back its modest budget (like the previous film) and then make a killing with multiple DVD versions. It wouldn’t be the first time that something like this has happened.

I’m sure that we will discover the truth soon enough, but I would hate to feel that the studio is trying to rip-off true fans of the character. If I was a fan of The Punisher (and I’m not) I would like to see my favorite hero on the big screen without knowing that he was neutered so that that the studio could squeeze another few bucks out of me with a DVD double dip.

More news as we get it on this one.

Some version of The Punisher War Zone will be released on December 5, 2008

Source: Latino Review

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Movie Grab Bag – August 6, 2008

Vic Holtreman — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 04:35:55 +0000

We get busy, we miss stuff. Here are some of the items of note that didn’t get individual posts today…

- Seth Rogen won’t be a fat Green Hornet. (Super Hero Hype)

- Maybe Goonies 2 isn’t on track after all. (Cinematical)

- Kevin Smith’s Porno gets an R rating. (AP)

- Natalie Portman feels bad she hasn’t been in a remake, remedies situation. (Bloody Disgusting)

- Paramount caves in to political correctness on Tropic Thunder. (Movies Online)

- Castle Wolfenstein is not dead. (Sci Fi Wire)

- Lexi Alexander says “Now, if I would have real balls a picture of me mooning the vicious cyber world would follow, but unfortunately I haven’t had time to workout, so it wouldn’t be a pretty sight.” after movie sites rise up saying that it was terrible that she was supposedly fired from Punisher: War Zone. (Lexi Alexander) [If that's really how she feels I hope her damned Punisher movie tanks. Hard. - Vic]

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What Is Going On With Punisher: War Zone?

Niall Browne — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 00:40:35 +0000

Hollywood, what a crazy, unpredictable place!

Although we all watch movies, I don’t think many of us will ever get to have that true Hollywood experience – and I’m not talking about the type that Hugh Grant got back in ‘95! (Zing!)

Last week we told you that director Lexi Alexander had been removed from post-production on Punisher: War Zone by studio Lionsgate. Her website seemed to corroborate the news when it posted a picture of three monkeys in the classic “See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil” pose.

Now CHUD is reporting that Lexi is firmly on-board with the film, and that the story of her “departure” was a work of fiction meant to drum up publicity. Meanwhile, her website has now been updated with a few words from the director herself that appear rather vague, but seem to imply that she’s had a rough ride with the film.

SO WHAT’S THE REAL STORY?

The history of Hollywood is littered with people who have been chewed up and spit out by the dream factory. Films have been written, shot and edited, only to have the wonderful minds behind them cut out of the final stages. Heck, directors have even been removed from projects before they could even wrap principal photography. In the end, many of these mangled projects go down in legend as “the films that might have been.”

One only has to look at a list like Ridley Scott on Blade Runner; Terry Gilliam’s Brazil; Richard Stanley’s The Island of Doctor Moreau; Paul Schrader’s The Exorcist: Dominion; and Orson Welles on just about anything, to realize that $tudio/creative tug-of-war is an all too frequent occurrence in the film industry. While some “interrupted” films ultimately get salvaged and turn out to be classics, others have been forgotten in the mists of time. (How many of you have heard about Stanley’s ordeal on Moreau?)

Is Lexi Alexander’s Punisher: War Zone the latest to be added to the list of cinematic stillborns?

Perhaps not.

According to CHUD ’s source:

“…most of the drama is a bunch of hooey. Hype. Hullabaloo drummed up to generate more interest in the film. Lexi Alexander is still the director and the cut will be locked in a couple weeks.”

This is an interesting assertion; but is bad publicity ALWAYS good publicity, considering the jaded history of The Punisher on the big-screen?

Lexi Alexander had this to say over on her website:

“Since my monkeys made so much news, I decided to replace them with something a bit more interesting to talk about. Now, if I would have real balls a picture of me mooning the vicious cyber world would follow, but unfortunately I haven’t had time to workout, so it wouldn’t be a pretty sight. Yes, my formerly cute ass has been planted on a chair in front of my computer to adapt the Brit book that Deborah Del Prete (producer of THE SPIRIT) mentioned at Comicon. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.”

Now that is a very interesting quote.

She goes on to say about her website:

“I’m not using this site as an information source anymore, I figured it could
be a “vision board”.

She adds,

“Now for me it’s time to move on and look towards the future… The way I see it, no matter if you work in an Ice cream shop, or a textile mill or in lovely peaceful Hollywood, life is all about getting the full experience. If things would always go smooth, it wouldn’t even be a half ass experience. You gotta win it all, lose it all, start from the beginning, get it all back and so on. Exciting times.”

These words seem to imply that she is no longer involved with the film at all, and that she’s had a tough time with War Zone since the day one. And, with no mention of the film by name, one can only presume that her non-disclosure agreement with Lionsgate has already gone into effect.

But then, maybe Alexander is just playing the marketing game. She could still be behind the wheel of Punisher: War Zone, steering it through post production even as we speak. However, truth be told, I feel that the info coming from CHUD was just damage control by Lionsgate, aimed at soothing fanboy worry. I could be wrong, but I’m pretty certain that we’re going to be hearing a lot more about these behind-the-scenes shake-ups in the coming weeks. I’ll keep you posted.

Do we even dare state a release date for Punisher: War Zone at this point? Let’s just hope (or not) that the movie gets to see the light of day.

Sources: Lexi Alexander and Chud

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Lexi Alexander Punished By Lionsgate?

Niall Browne — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:02:57 +0000

Apparently, The Punisher is just not meant to be a big screen icon.

First Dolph Lundgren took a stab at the character way back in 1989 following the original post-Batman comic book movie frenzy. Then Thomas Jane was cast in a reboot that didn’t please fans, and now it would seem that Ray Stevenson is the third and possibly final actor to play the role in Punisher: War Zone.

Word from AICN is that the director Lexi Alexander has been kicked off the project.

Film School Rejects also heard that the editing team from The Incredible Hulk has also been brough in to help the post-production process.

Now, I’m a pretty curious guy, that so I decided to check out Lexi Alexander’s personal web page – a site that had given copious updates throughout filming, and what did I see?

What does that mean?

Hear no evil, see no evil and speak no evil.

I think that a picture really does say a thousand words.

It would appear that Alexander has indeed been kicked off the film and the AICN rumors of her signing a non-disclosure contract are true!

Apparently this is the news:

“Lexi Alexander has been kicked to the curb – part of that treatment was her “honeymoon” from Comic-Con. However, there’s more totally awesome wedding gifts that Lionsgate has given the blushing bride. She’s off the movie and wrapped up in a non-disclosure clause – so we won’t be hearing from her anytime soon, UNLESS THINGS CHANGE RADICALLY – but Lionsgate isn’t necessarily known for calming down. They’ve decided to market it HARD CORE – and they’ve decided to jettison the composer for the film in lieu of loud thrashing metal, because nothing says PUNISHER like raspy amps.”

I hate when this happens, and it’s a shame – if there was ever a movie that needed good buzz it was The Punisher.

The rough cut of Punisher: War Zone seemed to go down well - after it was shown to the studio she said:

“Well, thank God it went well and, although I’ll probably have to compromise on a few minor notes, it’s not nearly as bad as some of my filmmaker friends predicted it would be. I guess I got away with an actual okay studio experience (knocking on wood since it’s not quite over yet).”

It looks like she didn’t knock on that wood hard enough!

Oh, the above quote is no longer on Lexi’s website – nor is there any Punisher: War Zone material.

It would seem that things went sour once Alexander handed in her cut of the trailer and then became “childish” when asked to make changes.

Interesting.

It will be interesting to see what happens here, I can only imagine fan outrage, and very sore ear drums if there is a loud thrashing soundtrack. Check out the latest trailer at IGN for clarification on thrashing soundtrack.

The aim is that the film will have a theatrical release, but if the film can’t be saved expect to see it coming to a DVD store near you.

Oh dear.

If there’s more news read it here on Screen Rant.

Sources: AICN , Lexi Alexander and Film School Rejects

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Two New Punisher War Zone Movie Posters

Vic Holtreman — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:38:32 +0000

My movie fanatic buddy Advanced Dark alerted me to these via his Marvel Movies Facebook page. They’re the first posters for the upcoming Punisher reboot Punisher: War Zone.

I think they convey a seriously dark, militaristic vibe – much more than the first film. I don’t know if people will show up to see this one, but it certainly looks like it’s going to capture the feel of the comic book version of the character.

Check out the posters below.

So what do you think?

Punisher War Zone opens December 5th, 2008.

Images: Getty Images

(And thanks to Scott for the kick in the pants to get these posted up.)

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First Punisher: War Zone Trailer!

Vic Holtreman — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 01:23:33 +0000

Courtesy of IGN.com comes the first trailer for Punisher: War Zone (aka Punisher 2), directed by Lexi Alexander and starring Ray Stevenson as the title character.

The similarities to what they’re doing for this Punisher reboot and what they’ve done with Hulk is uncanny. It’s the same situation: Marvel movies that didn’t do that great first time around, essentially rebooted to do the second time what they should have done initially: Keep the feel much closer to the comic book source material.

You can check out the first Punisher trailer below.

[See post to watch Flash video]

I like this trailer a LOT. It strikes me as what the world of Frank Castle should be like. Dark, gritty and in New York City.

I think that how The Incredible Hulk does at the box office will be a good indicator of how this Punisher reboot will do, so it will be interesting to follow the numbers on both movies.

If you want to see the trailer in much higher res/HD head over to IGN.com.

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