Screen Rant » punisher war zone

Ray Stevenson Talks Fat Volstagg in Thor

Rob Keyes — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 04:32:14 +0000

Ray Stevenson made his mark playing Titus Pullo in the incredible Rome series, but he also made a splash earlier this year playing the title character of Frank Castle in Punisher: War Zone. Unfortunately the film was a bit of a disaster critically and at the box office but he was perfectly cast and did his job right.

Stevenson has also played some cool characters in King Arthur and Outpost among many others, but the best is yet to come as we’ll be seeing a lot more of the growing star in the next few years with him being cast and working on a few big films including a role in the Denzel Washington starrer, The Book of Eli. For the Rome fans out there, a feature film based after the ...

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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 ...

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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 ...

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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 ...

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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 ...

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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
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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:

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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 ...

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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 ...

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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 ...

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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 “
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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 ...

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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 ...

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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, ...

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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 ...

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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 ...

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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 ...

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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 ...

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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, ...

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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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