Access Week In Geek: ‘Star Wars’ Coming To Theatres In 3-D

“STAR WARS” COMING TO THEATRES IN 3-D

The “Star Wars” saga is being prepped to hit theatres in 3-D beginning in 2012 according to The Hollywood Reporter.

“We’ve been looking for years and years and years of trying to take ‘Star Wars’ and put it in 3-D,” George Lucas revealed to Access Hollywood at the 2010 Golden Globes Awards in January. “But, [the] technology hasn’t been there,” he said.

Lucas went on to say that the success of James Cameron’s “Avatar” was a turning point in moving forward to finally add the extra dimension to his films.

”We’ve been struggling with it, but I think this will be a new impetus to make that happen.”

The 3-D conversion for each film will take approximately a year, and fans can be certain that Lucas will no doubt utilize a painstaking state of the art process and not go with the quickie transfer that has been used on several recent lackluster 2-D films which received less than stellar reviews from movie goers in the wake of the superior “Avatar” 3-D experience.

One chapter of the six theatrical “Star Wars” films would be released each year starting with “The Phantom Menace” (chronologically the first adventure in the series) in early 2012. Purists will have to wait until 2015 to see the Original Trilogy hit the big screen beginning with 1977’s “A New Hope,” though the question has to be asked — how strong will moviegoers’ appetites be for 3-D versions of older films by the time “Return of the Jedi” rolls out in 2017.

SUPERGIRL RETURNS TO “SMALLVILLE”

Taking some time off from her role on ABC’s “V” as the alien Visitor Lisa, Laura Vandervoort will return to The CW’s “Smallville” next Thursday to wrap up her storyline as Clark Kent’s Kryptonian cousin Kara as the show continues towards its series finale this year.

MTV Splash posted pictures of Vandervoort from the upcoming episode entitled “Supergirl,” including some images of her wearing a familiar red and blue outfit (albeit missing the famous “S”), but nonetheless still recognizable to loyal comic books fans.

Although Tom Welling has yet to don the iconic caped costume on the show, Brandon Routh’s supersuit from 2006’s “Superman Returns” made a cameo in the season premiere in a tease sure to pay off in a big way later on this season.

THE “MEN IN BLACK” FIND THEIR LADY

Deadline reports that Emma Thompson is in talks to join the cast of “Men In Black 3” as the head of the super secret MIB task force. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are set to return in their roles as Agents J and K in a time travel plotline which will see Josh Brolin playing a younger version of Jones.

Whether Thompson would be seen in the past timeline or appear as the replacement for Rip Torn (who served at the head of MIB in the previous films and will also return in the third installment) remains to be revealed.

RUFFALO WILL PLAY BOTH THE HULK AND BRUCE BANNER IN “THE AVENGERS”

Mark Ruffalo will do what the previous two actors who were cast as the big screen versions of Bruce Banner and Hulk didn’t get to do — actually play the Hulk.

While Eric Bana and Edward Norton’s facial likeness were digitally morphed onto their versions of the green skinned superhero hero in 2003’s “Hulk” and 2008’s “The Incredible Hulk,” Ruffalo will additionally provide the physical movement via motion capture that will be seen on the big screen in “The Avengers,” rather than having it be created entirely by CGI.
“I’m really excited. No one’s ever played the Hulk exactly, they’ve always done CGI,” he told Vulture.

“So I’ll actually play the Hulk. That’ll be fun.”

Ruffalo also revealed he will be looking back to the classic television show for his inspiration on playing Bruce Banner. “I really love the first TV version of it, the Bill Bixby one,” he said.

“I’m gonna shoot for that a little bit. He was an everyman in it. He’s always on the run and trying to find love. It’s really a sympathetic character.”

“The Avengers” is set to hit the big screen in 2012.

YES, CHRISTOPHER NOLAN WILL DIRECT “BATMAN 3”

While hardly breaking news, but just because you might have read or heard it countless times before, it doesn’t mean it’s absolutely true until you see the official press release or hear it straight from the source.

Empire Online talked to Christopher Nolan who confirmed he indeed would be helming the follow up to “The Dark Knight.”
“It’s becoming inevitable, I’ll put it that way,” Nolan said.

“If I haven’t announced it, I think that people probably all know at this point that I’m doing it,” Nolan confirmed.
Fans the world over can now sigh an official collective breath of relief