Casting of J.K. Simmons confirmed for the upcoming Terminator: Genesis TV series

Fans of the Terminators series might be happy to hear the latest confirmed casting news of famed TV and film actor JK Simmons.

Simmons best known for playing Jonah J Jameson in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man series as well as con-man Vern Schiller from HBO's OZ

Simmons is set to play a regular role in the upcoming Terminator: Genesis as a "weary and alcoholic detective who has followed a bizarre case involving Sarah Connor and robots for more than three decades."

The reboot of the franchise being produced by Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions will bring back Arnold Schwarzenegger in the title role with Jai Courtney playing Kyle Reese, Jason Clarke as John Connor and "Game of Thrones" star Emilia Clarke playing Sarah Connor. The idea is to thread together ideas from the previous movies to re-launch the story of a cyborg from the future sent back to prevent computers from gaining sentience and turning on humanity.

The Hollywood Reporter notes that Simmons' character has been following the case since 1984, which is the year in which the original Terminator, directed by James Cameron, was released.

Simmons has been a regular on the big screen for many years, but he recently returned to television starring in NBC's comedy "Growing Up Fisher" and recently co-starred in the Sundance award-winning drama Whiplash opposite Miles Teller, which will be released by Sony Pictures Classics. He can also be seen daily on TV in commercials for Farmers Insurance.

James Cameron has some updates on his upcoming Avatar Sequel(s)

James Cameron recently talked to RTL (via MarketSaw) about the upcoming three sequels to Avatar, the top grossing movie of all time with $2.782 billion at the worldwide box office.
"We're still in the early stages. Right now we're developing the software. I'm writing the scripts. We're designing all the creatures and characters and the settings, and so on. So, I'm not actually directing yet, but I'm doing all the other creative processes that lead up to that," Cameron said.
He added that he thinks "it's going very well. I think it's going to be spectacular. You'll see new worlds, new habitats, new cultures. The primary conflict between the human view kind of dominating nature and the Na'vi view of being integrated into nature is the same, but it manifests itself in very different ways."
As far as the tech behind the upcoming films, they have greatly reduced how long one movie will take to make. "The first film… took almost four years to make. We expect to be able to accelerate the process quite a bit, because we've improved a lot of the software and the computer graphics tools, and we've been working very closely with Weta Digital down here in New Zealand developing a whole new suite of tools to speed up the process."
Cameron also said they are "looking at high frame rate. I'm studying that. I haven't made a final decision yet, whether the entire film will be made at high frame rate or parts of it. You know, we'll be shooting at a native resolution of probably 4K and so then there should be a lot of true 4K theaters by then as well."
So what can we expect story wise? "The thing that's great about 'Avatar,' it's such a rich world, I can explore any theme or any idea that I want. Once you've got the characters that an audience loves, it's great to surprise them and make changes and turns that they don't expect. And you don't have to spend so much time of the movie setting up all that stuff, because the audience will remember from the previous film."

Avatar 2 is scheduled for a December, 2016 release, Avatar 3 for December of 2017, and Avatar 4 in 2018.

James Cameron shooting 'Avatar’ sequels in New Zealand, all dates confirmed

James Cameron said he expects the films to be released the following December 2016, 2017and 2018

The filmmaker made the announcement at a press conference in Wellington, N.Z., with the New Zealand’s prime minister John Key.

The three films will spend at least $412 million (500 million in New Zealand dollars) in that nation as a condition of an agreement between Fox, Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment and the government of New Zealand. In return, the films will receive a film industry tax rebate of 25% — a figure which was recently increased from 15%.

“The ‘Avatar’ sequels will provide hundreds of jobs and thousands of hours of work directly in the screen sector as well as jobs right across the economy,” Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce said in a statement.

“Avatar” producer Jon Landau and Paul Hanneman, Fox’s co-presidents of worldwide theatrical marketing and distribution, were also on hand for the announcment. “New Zealand offers unparalleled support to films of this scale,” Hanneman said.

Cameron praised the New Zealand production crews and special effects houses.

“Avatar,” released in 2009, is the highest-grossing movie with $2.78 billion worldwide. The sci-fi actioner was shot in Los Angeles and New Zealand.

 Peter Jackson’s three “Hobbit” films were shot back-to-back-to-back in New Zealand with the final lensing taking place this fall. “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” grossed over $1 billion and “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” totaled $205 million in its opening weekend.

Cameron also said work on the “Avatar” sequels was already underway with Jackson’s Weta.
The deal for the three films receiving the 25% rebate was outlined in a memorandum of understanding between the New Zealand government, Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. It specified that at least $412 million would be spent on production in New Zealand, including most  live action filming and visual effects.

 The memorandum of understanding also spells out that 90% of live action crew are expected to be New Zealanders; an internship program will be supported; New Zealand will host at least one official red carpet premiere; and a featurette on New Zealand will be included in DVDs and Blu Rays.

The memorandum also states that Cameron and Landau have offered to serve as founding members of a new screen advisory board to provide advice and guidance to New Zealand filmmakers looking to succeed internationally.

 During an October interview, “Avatar” star Sam Worthington said he believed production on the sequel would begin by next October. Cameron had announced in August there would be three sequels and that screenwriters Josh Friedman (“War of the Worlds”), Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver (“Rise of the Planets of the Apes”), and Shane Salerno (“Savages,” “Salinger”) would collaborate with him on screenplays for “Avatar 2,” “Avatar 3″ and “Avatar 4.”

Terminator Reboot fresh off the...net news

I has been reporting by Production Weekly, that the upcoming Terminator film may have its title. The site reports that "Terminator: Genesis" is the current name for the project, however, the site notes that a pre-production title is only that- pre production, and may therefore undergo a change.

 Casting is still coming together for the film which is said to also be looking for a new John Connor and Kyle Reese. It's reported that the production is concentrating on casting Sarah before any of the other roles with Brie Larson and Emilia Clarke said to be the frontrunners.

The first in a stand-alone trilogy, Terminator will be produced by Megan Ellison of Annapurna and David Ellison of Skydance. Dana Goldberg and Paul Schwake of Skydance will serve as executive producers. Laeta Kalorgridis (Avatar, Shutter Island) and Patrick Lussier (Drive Angry) are attached to write the screenplay.

The Alan Taylor-directed film is slated to hit theaters July 2, 2015



In other Terminator news from The Mirror UK

"In exciting news for fans of the Terminator films series, it looks like the rebooted movies aren't the only projects in the works.
The sci-fi franchise looks set to make its return to the small screen with plans for a series to run alongside the new Arnold Schwarzenegger-led film reboot.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the producers behind the upcoming fifth movie in the series want Thor and X-Men: First Class writers Zack Stentz and Ashley Miller to write and executive produce the series.
The two projects would run alongside each other, with their respective narratives reportedly breaking off after a critical moment form the original Terminator movie.
From there, the stories would intertwine as they both progress, giving fans a unique way of enjoying the reboot."

New Terminator movie reboot news and new TV series coming soon

Skydance Productions and Annapurna Pictures have confirmed the earlier report that they are looking at bringing Terminator to television which will be a tie-in to the James Cameroin original 1984 version and a Segway to the upcoming reboot.
The new TV series is said to connect to the original timeline of James Cameron's 1984 in a way that will allow set up the upcoming big screen release.
No said date for the TV series, however chances are that it will be coming sometime later 2014 since  the new Terminator movie is scheduled for a summer 2015 release.