Jonah Hill Continues to Be Superbad
Think Spicy Black Bean chips and Two Buck Chuck wine are the only great finds at Trader Joe’s grocery store?
Perhaps not. Funnyguy Jonah Hill gets some McLovin in the parking lot at a L.A.-area TJ’s, and earns himself a place in our heart and our Summer Lovin’ gallery.
Seth Rogen Says No to SuperBad 2, Yes to Pineapple Express 2
When I talked to Jonah Hill a few weeks before SuperBad was released last year, I asked about a possible sequel. Hill responded “We talked about it. But also like the movie hasn’t come out yet. No one could go see it, and the talk would instantly go away of there being a sequel.”
And of course, SuperBad was a big hit, grossing over $169 million worldwide and who knows how much on DVD. So what are the chances we’ll get a SuperBad 2? Seth Rogen told moviehole that the studio has been after them to do a sequel ever since the film was released nearly a year ago, but they’ve ultimately decided not to make a sequel.
“They’re been wanting us to do a sequel to Superbad for so long – but we’ve held off,” Rogen said. “We eventually said No.”
But Rogen isn’t against the idea of sequels all together, adding that he would love to make another Pineapple Express if all goes well.
“If it did well, and they gave us like $50 million dollars, as opposed to the $26M we got for this one, we could benefit from that.”
And from what I’ve heard, Pineapple Express is already tracking pretty high. Everyone I know who has seen it has told me that people are going to love it. And I’m sure Sony will be asking for a sequel after opening weekend.
Transformers 2: Weapon Modes Confirmed, Arcee Details, Possible Trailer Dates and More
It has been a few days since our last Transformers 2 update, so lets get to it.
A description of a Transformers 2 video game leaked onto the web yesterday:
The key line is “A new transformation system gives you more detailed control as you can switch between Robot, Weapon, and Vehicle modes” Recently screenwriter Roberto Orci revealed that there will be Transformers that transform into weapons in the sequel. But could this mean that all of the Autobots and Decepticons will have a third weapon mode in the new film?
The photo above gives you an idea of what Arcee might look like in alt mode. Will Kenefick tells the Ventura County Star the he created six custom motorcycles (three hero bikes and three stunt bikes) for Transformers. This pretty much confirms that three motorcycles will combine to form Arcee. According to Kenefick, 2309 hours were put in and each bike cost over $40,000, with $10,000 spent on paint alone. I’ve herd the actual bikes feature the pink and black paintjob seen in the unused concept art from the original Transformers below.
IESB explains what exactly happened in the Jonah Hill situation. Apparently Jonah was offered the part, but walked out of Michael Bay’s office after reading 20-pages of the script. Apparently the character he was to play was Shia’s chubby sidekick named “Jonah”.
And many people are wondering when we might possibly see the first teaser trailer. The mars rover teaser spot was released on June 29th, almost a year to the day of the release of the first film. Transformers 2 is scheduled to hit theaters on June 26th 2009, could that mean a new teaser trailer will hit by months end? Screenwriter Roberto Orci responded on Don Murphy’s message boards saying “Probably in fall — maybe late summer…” Eagle Eye, also starring Shia and produced by Speilberg, is the next big Dreamwork/Paramount release that fits in the same genre. If I had to guess, I would say the studio is shooting to release a trailer attached to Eagle Eye. But who knows…. I also can’t see Bay and company going to Comic Con in July empty handed.
The photo below above is our first look at Ramon Rodriguez who plays Leo in the sequel. He was spotted filming a scene at the Richmond Power Plant on Saturday with Megan Fox and Bumblebee. Is MEgan Fox on Ramon’s lap? Could this be confirmation that Sam (Shia) and Mikaela (Fox) are no longer an item in the second film? It would further explain the frat party scenes that Shia filmed opposite Isabel Lucas. Or maybe Leo is Mikaela’s brother?
And meanwhile, a scale model of an F-22 Raptor (Starscream) was spotted being unloaded from a trailer.
contributing sources: Movie Chronicles, neogaf, TLAB, filmonic, TFW2005
So Why Did Jonah Hill Turn Down Transformers 2?
One day at the end of April we heard news that Superbad actor Jonah Hill was in talks to appear in Transformers 2. However, a few days later it was reported that he was no longer in talks. I was happy about this because I wasn’t too keen on him being in Transformers 2, and it turns out he wasn’t either.
IESB got some interesting info about why he turned the role down:
“Apparently, Jonah was more or less offered the part in the room, but then had to go into Bay’s office to read the script - because it’s so super top secret and the plot is so extra-specially complex, you know.”
“Jonah sits down, opens the script. The character of the chubby sidekick is named “Jonah.” How perfect. Jonah reads 20 pages of the script, puts it down, and silently walks out of the room. Wants no part of it. Next thing you know, his reps call Bay, he’s off the project.”
Turning down a huge movie like Transformers 2 is a bold move, however I can see why he did it. He probably doesn’t want to be typecast as the chubby funny sidekick for the rest of his life. He played a chubby sidekick called Jonah in Knocked Up and he had been offered to play a chubby sidekick called Jonah in Transformers 2.
There was a time when Shia LaBeouf himself played the comic relief side kick, in movies like I,Robot, Charlies Angels: Full Throttle and Constantine. Thankfully, he’s kissed Steven Spielberg’s ass enough so he no longer has to play them roles now, instead he’s getting comic relief sidekicks of his own.
Could we be seeing Jonah Hill leading a sci-fi action franchise sometime in the future? Time will tell…