The Playlist

Preview: 20 Minutes Of 'Lone Ranger' Features Giant Trains, Possessed Rabbits And Palpable Chemistry

By Drew Taylor
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April 25, 2013 2:37 PM
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7 Comments

News

One of the biggest question marks of the summer is Disney's colossal "The Lone Ranger" reboot. Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Gore Verbinski, the epic western looks to contemporize the thirties pulp hero for modern audiences, with Armie Hammer donning the mask and white hat of the titular Ranger, with Johnny Depp, once again in kabuki make-up, assuming the role of Tonto, the Ranger's Native American sidekick and trusted friend. It's a big risk (like $250 million big) to spend so much money on a genre that has more or less been regulated to the sidelines. But last night at a special presentation in New York, Disney (along with Bruckheimer and Hammer, who were on hand for the event) previewed twenty minutes of footage from the movie, and made it known that "The Lone Ranger" can easily compete with all the superheroes and comic book movies the summer of 2013 has to offer.

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Review: 'Iron Man 3' Is A Solid, Sometimes Surprising Start To Marvel's Phase Two Movies

By Oliver Lyttelton
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April 23, 2013 10:38 PM
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16 Comments

Reviews

After just about as successful a start as you could ask for (three new franchises, and one mega-franchise that kicked off with the third biggest movie of all time), the Marvel movie machine is moving into its next phase. And with it comes the risk of dilution; we're getting at least two movies a year (plus TV series "Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D"), and with countless other superheroes also in the marketplace, there's a chance that diminishing returns could set in; what was once a special chance to see much-loved characters on the big screen might simply become a bi-annual check in to see much of what we've seen before.

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The Breakout Performances Of 2012

By The Playlist Staff
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December 11, 2012 1:56 PM
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12 Comments

Features

One of the great thrills of being a movie fan is discovery. In a few weeks, we'll be rolling out our lists of the films we're looking forward to in 2013, many of which come from established names. And yet invariably, many of the best movies that will surprise us over the next twelve months will be ones that are, as yet, barely on our radar, from directors with no track record, and featuring actors who you wouldn't have been able to pick from a line up a few months earlier.

Warner Bros Puts Jon Favreau's Musical 'Jersey Boys' Into Turnaround; Dominic Cooper, Paul Dano & More Were Eyed For Leads

By Kevin Jagernauth
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November 1, 2012 8:22 PM
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4 Comments

News

How are studios making their decisions these days? Very, very carefully. That's certainly true over at Warner Bros. who this year alone have iced "Akira," are moving very tentatively on "Arthur & Lancelot" (which seems to be on hold), passed on the sprawling "The Dark Tower" and let go of "The Imitation Game." And now they are sending a hit musical packing as well. Jon Favreau's "Jersey Boys" has been put into turnaround.

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First Official Set Photo From 'Iron Man 3' Thrillingly Shows Off The Back Of Robert Downey Jr.'s Head

By Kevin Jagernauth
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June 4, 2012 11:21 AM
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3 Comments

News

Sometimes we don't understand movie marketing. After showing off a pretty exciting batch of new footage at the MTV Movie Awards last night, Warner Bros. lawyers have been spending their Monday sending emails and promptly taking it down all over the internet. Sounds counter-intuitive to us. Meanwhile, Marvel formally announced that "Iron Man 3" is kicking off production today and treated fans with an official set photo featuring.....a bunch of junk in the foreground, some Iron Man suits that nerds will be clicking/zooming/obsessing over and most thrillingly of all, the back of Robert Downey Jr.'s head. Covered by a clapperboard.

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'Shame' Star James Badge Dale In Talks To Play Villain In 'Iron Man 3'

By Oliver Lyttelton
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May 16, 2012 2:19 PM
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2 Comments

News

The success of "The Avengers" doesn't seem to have made Marvel complacent when it comes to landing top-flight talent for their upcoming projects, even if it's presumably at their usual cut-price rate. The company, flush from their first billion-dollar hit, are gearing up to shoot "Iron Man 3," directed by "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" helmer Shane Black, in the next few weeks, and have assembled an impressive haul of talent to join the returning trio of Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle.

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James Badge Dale Gets Back In The Saddle For 'The Lone Ranger' As Dan Reid

By Kevin Jagernauth
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January 11, 2012 10:04 PM
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1 Comment

News

Before the whole budget crisis struck Gore Verbinski, Jerry Bruckheimer and Johnny Depp's "The Lone Ranger," a cast was being lined up that included James Badge Dale. Well, even with the delays and budget cuts and generally worrying over how many hundreds of millions need to be spent on this, everyone who was on board previously -- Armie Hammer, Tom Wilkinson, Ruth Wilson, Dwight Yoakam, Helena Bonham Carter, etc. -- are back, and that list includes Mr. Dale, according to Deadline.

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Liam Hemsworth, James Badge Dale & D.J. Cotrona All Vie For 'A Good Day To Die Hard'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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November 4, 2011 6:46 PM
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0 Comments

News

Wait a minute? Didn't we have a shortlist on this already? Sort of. A couple weeks back it was reported that Ben Foster, Paul Dano, Aaron Paul and Milo Ventimiglia were all going to be reading for the part of Bruce Willis' offspring in "A Good Day To Die Hard." Well, none of those guys survived except for the "Breaking Bad" star and he's got three people fighting him for the job, that he might not get anyway due to scheduling commitments for the AMC show.

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Melissa Leo & James Badge Dale Take 'Flight' Together

By Kevin Jagernauth
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September 30, 2011 12:26 PM
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1 Comment

Update: Shadow & Act reveal that "Franklin & Bash" star Garcelle Beauvais has also joined the cast.

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Watch: Two Minute, Blondie-Aided Clip For Steve McQueen's 'Shame' With Michael Fassbender

By Oliver Lyttelton
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September 20, 2011 1:03 AM
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3 Comments

The best films aren't necessarily the ones you walk out of raving about, but the ones that haunt you, lingering on your mind for the days, weeks and months afterwards. When we saw "Shame," Steve McQueen's follow up to his debut "Hunger," which reteams the director with star Michael Fassbender, we liked it very, very much indeed, but had a few issues with it that perhaps stopped it from reaching the very top tier of films we saw in Venice.

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