Boston Legal Star James Spader Cast as ULTRON for AVENGERS 2

The villain for the second AVENGERS movie has been officially cast. Marvel announced today that Boston Legal and The Secretary star James Spader has been chosen to play the role of the mad robot Ultron for Joss Whedon's follow up to Marvel's The Avengers.

The actor starred in notable films like "The Secretary" opposite Maggie Gylenhaal, "Stargate" and he was also from Less than Zero.

Personally, I think this guy can pull it off. After all he's that guy from STARGATE and the same sleavy, conniving guy who spanked looked at Maggie Gylenhaal's bottom in The Secretary all wrapped in Adamantium exoskeleton goodness/ evilness.

Concept art for Ultron for AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON by Mattias Fahlberg

Marvel's The Avengers: Age of Ultron hits theaters 2015. 

HOT TOYS Tony Stark The Mechanic 1/6th Scale Figure Preview

For the hardcore collectors of HOT TOYS' MOVIE MASTERS line, here's the Tony Stark (The Mechanic) figure.

Tony Stark, the beloved hero and billionaire genius, faced some challenging issues in Iron Man 3. Terrorists badly injured his friend, destroyed his house, and kidnapped his girlfriend, but despite the downward spiral that he was in, Tony didn’t give up and was determined to take down The Mandarin.

Hot Toys is thrilled to introduce the Tony Stark (The Mechanic) Collectible Figurine after the exciting scene where Tony Stark creates homemade weapons to infiltrate The Mandarin’s mansion.

The movie-accurate Tony Stark (The Mechanic) Collectible Figurine is specially crafted based on the image of Robert Downey Jr. as the genius billionaire Tony Stark in his battle damaged civilian attire in the movie, highlighting the newly developed head sculpt, an advanced body with light-up chest light and greatly detailed weapons and accessories.
It is now open for pre-order.

The bonus 1/6th scale Homemade Wrist Repulsor will be included for selected markets only.

The official product name for Iron Man 3: 1/6th scale Tony Stark (Mandarin Mansion Assault Version) Collectible Figurine is now changed to Iron Man 3: 1/6th scale Tony Stark (The Mechanic) Collectible Figurine because of licensor’s comment.











Check it out, Hot Toys even managed to nail Stark's look for when he sneaks inside The Mandarin's mansion.

Robert Downey Jr. Doing the Gangnam

Just to pass this boring Friday, here's Robert Downey Jr. doing PSY's Gangnam Style

More after the cut

A Few Iron Man 3 End Credit Sequences That Never Took Off

If you've seen Iron Man 3, you know that Marvel Studios made a terrific job with the closing credits which features all the highlights from the three Iron Man films in random order. I recall saying that it was dynamic and colorful and very similar to the opening credits to the animated TV show 'Teen Titans'. Well there were other end credit options that never took off. Bleedingcool shares the videos and now I'm sharing it to you guys.

Check out the vimeo videos done by Jose Ortiz, Ash Sharp, Alasdair Wilson and Ken Pelletier after the cut.

Hot Toys Iron Man 3 Mark 42 - No Longer on Pre-Order

Adding this cool looking Hot Toys Iron Man 3 1/6th scale figure to my wishlist; well just because it looks nice. Could probably spend hours looking at it.

Oh and this one's in cold hard, diecast. 

I checked the Facebook page for Neverland Toys and the damned thing has been out of the pre-order game for weeks now. I might try other places like Big Boys Toy Store or Play Giant (yeah as if I'll even get a reply from them, those guys don't even reply to Facebook messages *blergh*) Or I could try my luck with Toy Empire; they've got a cozy place in Greenhills to boot.

More photos after the cut...

I was thinking that this was actually a good intro for Hot Toys as Marvel Studios is currently knee deep in unleashing their Phase Two movies. So we should definitely expect other Marvel stuff from the Hong Kong based figure maker such as Thor from Thor: The Dark World and Captain America's new 'Commander Rogers' costume from Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

In fairness, they got Robert Downey Jr.'s face down pat.

Congratulations to Disney as Iron Man 3 Grosses P62.2 Million for its Opening

MANILA, April 25 – Tony Stark rewrote the record books, as Marvel's “Iron Man 3” debuted yesterday to a stunning P62.6-million – the biggest first-day gross ever in Philippine history, foreign or local film.

This was announced today by Victor R. Cabrera, Managing Director of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Philippines, which distributed the movie. “`Iron Man 3' flew off the box office chart, soaring past the stratosphere to break the country's all-industry, all-time Opening Day records,” said Cabrera. “P62-M in one day is previously unheard of. What a boost to the industry!”

The third “Iron Man” installment surpassed the opening day record of “Spider-Man 3” at P58-million which was achieved on a May 1 Labor Day holiday back in 2007. “Iron Man 3” now also owns the biggest Wednesday gross ever in history, the biggest Marvel/Disney opening day ever, beating “Marvel's The Avenger's” record of P56-M last year.

Spoiler Heavy Iron Man 3 Review

The long wait is finally over as the third installment of the massively successful Iron Man film franchise from Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Studios has finally been released on our shores and boy does it deliver. Yes, Iron Man 3 is officially in our shores.

Iron Man 3 is directed by Shane Black who takes over the reigns from Jon Favreau who, on the other hand becomes the film's executive producer and reprises his role as Happy Hogan. The film still stars Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts and Don Cheadle as Col. Jim Rhodes aka War Machine. 

New additions to the cast include Guy Pearce as Aldrich Killian, Rebecca Hall as Maya Hansen and Ben Kingsley as The Mandarin. 

Now for the review. Oh and there might be a couple of spoilers here and there so be wary. 

Hot Toys Announce Battle Damaged Iron Man Mark VII Figure

In view of the great response of the Mark VII Collectible Figurine launched earlier, Hot Toys is proud to present the 1/6th scale Mark VII Limited Edition Collectible Figurine in battle damaged version from the smash hit The Avengers movie. It is a movie promo edition which will be exclusively limited to WORLDWIDE only to celebrate the Iron Man 3 movie launch.

The movie-accurate Battle Damaged Mark VII Collectible Figurine is highly detailed and fully deployed, specially crafted based on the image of Robert Downey Jr. as the iconic character Mark VII in the movie, highlighting the newly developed head sculpt, light-up functions, well equipped armor, and battle damaged features.

BECOME IRON MAN SM Mall Event Coverage

Got invited to cover the launching of the Marvel & Disney's "Become Iron Man" mall event together with Azrael of Azraelsmerryland featuring an awesome AR (Augmented Reality) tour of what it's like to be Tony Stark.

We actually had a fun time here in this event especially since it's a fresh concept in terms of Augmented Reality technology. You get to fire your repulsor beams at practice drones plus get the feeling that you're flying using Iron Man's Mark 42 armor.

 

So how does this work?

Robert Downey Jr. Suits up Anew in Iron Man 3

Two-time Academy Award-nominee Robert Downey Jr. returns as eccentric genius, billionaire, philanthropist Tony Stark aka the armored super hero known as Iron Man, in Marvel's new action adventure “Iron Man 3.”

Decompressing from his heroic, near-self-sacrificial action saved New York City from annihilation (in “Marvel's The Avengers”), Tony now finds himself unable to sleep and plagued by worry and trepidation. When his world is destroyed and those closest to him threatened, Tony must find a way to save them—and in the process find himself again.

“Even though the world knows and loves Tony Stark, he is still learning and struggling to define where Iron Man ends and his own life begins, which has made him increasingly dependent on his Iron Man armors,” explains executive producer Steven Broussard. “They have become such a big part of him that they’re affecting every aspect of his life, including those closest to him.”

Iron Man Takes Down One of Mandarin's Helicopters with a Piano in MTV Movie Awards Exclusive Clip

New Iron Man 3 clip shown during this year's MTV Movie Awards features entitled 'Shootout' shows us how resilient Tony Stark can be when it's really necessary.

Check out the clip after the cut...

The Mandarin Unleashes Extreme Terrorism in Iron Man 3

As with all Marvel films, there is always a tremendous amount of anticipation about what character or characters will be revealed as the villain and “Iron Man 3” continued the tradition. With so much source material to choose from, the filmmakers were happy to confirm, to the delight of the fans, that the highly anticipated character of The Mandarin would finally make his appearance after years of speculation.

“The Mandarin is unquestionably Tony Stark’s greatest enemy,” says producer Louis D’ Esposito. “He is a very frightening, modern-day terrorist who has taken motifs from all over the world and it was a very cool, relevant and scary idea. So when we were casting the role we wanted somebody whose ethnicity was not specific and we also needed somebody who was a spectacular actor.”

The filmmakers got their wish when they cast Academy Award®–winning actor Ben Kingsley as The Mandarin and for Kingsley, the Marvel Universe was a completely new world that he was excited to explore.

Gwyneth Paltrow Says Iron Man 3 Ends in Really Unexpected Way

If there is one person you can count on to be at the side of Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.), it’s the CEO of Stark Enterprises and live-in girlfriend Pepper Potts, reprised by Oscar®-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow in Marvel's “Iron Man 3.”

“Tony and Pepper are very much in a relationship,” relates Paltrow. “They’re living together, as she’s moved into his house in Malibu, and there’s a lot of comfort between them now, so it’s not the kind of tentative relationship they had in the first two films. It’s very nice to have the relationship evolve over the course of a few pictures. Robert and I have always had a really great working relationship and it’s nice to phase it into something new. There is still a lot of playful banter between the two, but it’s less tenuous.”

“There are scenes in the story between Pepper and Tony that are very emotional and loving in a fun way,” adds producer Kevin Feige. “It was important to us that the relationship between Tony and Pepper carry through all four movies including ‘Marvel’s The Avengers’ and it sort of reaches its pinnacle in ‘Iron Man 3’ in a very memorable way.”

Writer-Director Shane Black Talks about Iron Man 3

He has long been considered one of the pioneer screenwriters of the modern action genre. Shane Black made his breakthrough at the age of 26 when he wrote the screenplay for “Lethal Weapon” in 1987 and set up one of the most successful action/comedy franchises of all time.

Black subsequently wrote the screenplays for “Lethal Weapon 2,” “The Last Boy Scout,” “Last Action Hero” and “The Long Kiss Goodnight.” In 2005, he wrote and directed the well-received “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” which marked the return to the big screen for Robert Downey Jr.

Now, he reunites with Downey as he directs the actor in (as well as writes the screenplay for) Marvel's “Iron Man 3.” Find more about Black's directorial journey in the following interview.

Iron Man 3 Displays in New York City

Check out this cool looking display for Iron Man 3 as seen in New York City. 

More photos after the cut.

Mark 33 and Mark 40 Armors for Iron Man 3 Revealed

Love that the Marvel Studios remembered the Silver Centurion armor from the now-classic Iron Man storyline 'Armor Wars'. The silver centurion armor is tagged as 'Mark 33' while another cool looking Iron Man armor dubbed the Shotgun is revealed to be the Mark 40 armor.

Here's what the Silver Centurion looked like when it first came out in the 80s...

There's also the hyper-velocity suit which was probably designed for high speed travel and missions...

Iron Man 3 will be distributed locally by Walt Disney Studios Philippines and is scheduled to be released April 24.

Iron Man 3 Shares Character Descriptions

The official character descriptions of “Iron Man 3” have just been shared by Marvel Studios. While careful not to reveal key plot twists, the descriptions are nevertheless informative and compelling. Let the guessing game begin!

Starring Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, with Jon Favreau and Ben Kingsley, “Iron Man 3” is directed by Shane Black from a screenplay by Drew Pearce & Shane Black and is based on Marvel's iconic super hero Iron Man, who first appeared in the pages of "Tales of Suspense #39" in 1963 and had his solo comic book debut with "The Invincible Iron Man #1" in May of 1968.

TONY STARK/IRON MAN [Robert Downey Jr.]. Eccentric genius, billionaire, philanthropist Tony Stark is the armored super hero known as Iron Man. Decompressing from his heroic, near-self-sacrificial action as Iron Man that saved New York City from annihilation, Tony finds himself unable to sleep and plagued by worry and trepidation. When his world is destroyed and those closest to him threatened, Tony must find a way to save them—and in the process find himself again.

PEPPER POTTS [Gwyneth Paltrow]. Pepper has progressed from Tony Stark’s assistant to the head of Stark Industries, pausing along the way to fall in love with Tony as well. Bright, loyal and honest, Pepper understands Tony Stark more than anyone and sometimes that can be both a worrisome and a dangerous thing.

COL. JAMES RHODES (RHODEY) [Don Cheadle]. Rhodey is the Liaison between Stark Industries and the U.S. Air Force. He is one of Tony Stark’s few trusted friends and, most of the time, has the patience to deal with the impulsive genius. Rhodey has a new suit of War Machine armor in a red, silver and blue patriotic design. When suited up, Rhodey becomes Iron Patriot.

MANDARIN [Ben Kingsley]. Mandarin is the sinister head of the terrorist organization known as The Ten Rings, from which all the acts of extreme terrorism plaguing the world appear to emanate. Although he is reclusive, Mandarin wields great power and makes his presence known by striking fear in the government and the populace through his brazen plans of attack. 

ALDRICH KILLIAN [Guy Pearce]. Through his privately funded organization A.I.M., Aldrich Killian created a team to further research and develop the Extremis virus, which imparts unusual levels of strength and resiliency to human subjects.

DR. MAYA HANSEN [Rebecca Hall]. Beautiful Dr. Maya Hansen is a brilliant botanist whose work helped create the game-changing biological process called Extremis. Her discovery has the power to change the human body, but it could be very dangerous if misused.

HAPPY HOGAN [Jon Favreau]. Happy is the trusted bodyguard and chauffeur in charge of protecting Pepper Potts. More of a friend than an employee, Happy always has Tony’s back too, even when the eccentric billionaire doesn’t think he needs him. Steadfast and loyal, Happy would do anything to keep Pepper and Tony safe.

Opening across the Philippines on April 24 in IMAX 3D, Digital 3D and regular theatres, “Iron Man 3” is presented by Marvel Studios in association with Paramount Pictures and DMG Entertainment. Marvel Studios' President Kevin Feige is producing and Jon Favreau, Louis D'Esposito, Charles Newirth, Victoria Alonso, Stephen Broussard, Alan Fine, Stan Lee and Dan Mintz are executive producers. The film is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

New Avengers Annual # 1 Shows How Badass the Iron Legion is

Seen the second trailer for Iron Man 3 with Tony Stark and Jim Rhodes (played by Robert Downey Jr. and Don Cheadle respectively)? Awesome right? Too bad we have to wait till April 25 to see Iron Man 3. To whet your appetite for the so-called Iron Legion, here's some scans from the now hard-to-find New Avengers Annual  #1.

In this tale written by Brian Michael Bendis and Olivier Coipel, we get a glimpse of the New Avengers during a down time.

Luke Cage and Jessica Jones at this point isn't married yet. They will be, however, at the end of the issue. Just right after the team fights off the attack of the vengeance seeking Yelena Belova, who also happens to be the second Black Widow. At this point in continuity, the New Avengers have just begun operating and foiled a conspiracy in the Savage Land. Poor, poor Yelena however is burned by Sauron during the encounter with the Avengers. Later, HYDRA offers to graft Super Adaptoid technology into her to get even with Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

Yelena's managed to defeat the team's heavy hitter, The Sentry, by absorbing his powers...

Spider-Man uses his big brain to give Iron Man an idea on how to effectively stop the rampaging Belova...

Stark leaves the battle for a bit and makes a heroic return...

... together with the rest of the armors in his armory...

That's not even the coolest bit, as we find out that the billionaire playboy philantrophist is nowhere in the battlefield but is actually in the comfort of the Avengers Tower controlling the movements and the actions of each and every armor with the help of the Extremis virus in his system.

I also want to point out that Tony Stark here in this particular scene looks so much similar to the Tony Stark we're seeing in the trailer (during the parts where he's testing out the new armor, with the said armor shooting straight towards his hand).

Of course, I'm not going to spoil anything more than what I already know, but it does not end well for Belova. On a lighter note, the team later celebrates the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Luke Cage.

The team even goes and get their picture taken, which is pretty, pretty sad. Sense of nostalgia and all that.

If anybody ever encounters this issue, don't go and think, just bloody the issue.