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Movie Morsels: AGE OF ULTRON is Marvel’s Biggest VFX Movie Yet, Lex Luthor’s BATMAN V SUPERMAN House Party, INTERSTELLAR Comes Down to Earth, and More!

If you like your superhero films laced with as much special effects as possible, then you might just fall in love with Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. But hey, if DC is more your cup of tea, then we’ve got some Batman v Superman news for you to start your work week with. Plus, a new Interstellar TV spot, clips from Michael Keaton’s Birdman and The Theory of Everything, and more!

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Ultron comic

Think Guardians of the Galaxy had a ton of cool visual effects? Ha! You ain’t seen nothing yet. Marvel Studios executive producer and Vice President of Visual Effects Victoria Alonso announced on Saturday in a speech delivered to the Visual Effects Society that Avengers: Age of Ultron will feature two hundred and fifty more visual effects shots than Guardians and five hundred more than Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Alonso also spoke about how she’d like to see more women involved behind the scenes at Marvel: “You’ve got to get the girls in here, boys. I have been with you beautiful, handsome, talented, creative men in dark rooms for two decades and I can tell you those rooms are better when there are a few of us in them. So as you take this with you, please remember that it’s okay to allow the ladies in. They’re smart, they’re talented. They bring a balance that you need.”

Regarding when Marvel will announce its long-awaited first solo superheroine movie, Alonso remarked, “If it were up to me, it would be today.”

[Coming Soon]

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Dawn of Justice

The latest filming location for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University. The very sleek looking building is doubling as Lex Luthor’s house, where a party scene was shot last week. Among the guests? The actors playing DC’s Big Three of course: Ben “Batman” Affleck, Henry “Superman” Cavill, and Gal “Wonder Woman” Gadot.

[Batman News]

X-Men: Apocalypse

Apocalypse

Is there any superhero movie that Tom Hardy isn’t starring in? First the man they called Bane was rumored to be circling Warner Bros.’ Suicide Squad film, but now rumors are flying that he is being courted for the title role in X-Men: Apocalypse.

According to The Wrap, “Tom Hardy was once rumored to be in contention for ‘Doctor Strange,’ though he has recently been courted for WB’s ‘Suicide Squad’ and the title role in ‘X-Men: Apocalypse,’ so don’t expect to see him join the MCU anytime soon.”

Can you picture Hardy as En Sabah Nur, the most villainous mutant that ever did live? Well, he definitely cut an imposing swath as Bane that we weren’t expecting, so this could wind up being another piece of inspired casting. [Collider]

Birdman

The Brad Pitt-starring World War II tank warfare thriller Fury came in at number one at the box office this weekend, grossing $23.5 million. David Fincher’s latest Gone Girl followed in the number two spot with $17.8 million, crossing the one hundred million mark in its third week of release. And the new Guillermo del Toro-produced animated celebration of the Day of the Dead holiday, The Book of Life, opened at number three with seventeen million dollars. The best performing film, however, was the critically acclaimed Michael Keaton-starring Birdman, taking in $400,000 on just four screens. Here’s a new clip from the film…

[Comic Book Movie]

The Theory of Everything

The upcoming Stephen Hawking biopic The Theory of Everything is drawing rave reviews for its look at the personal and professional life of one of the most celebrated thinkers of our time. And we’ve got a new clip — titled “You Don’t Know What’s Coming” — as well as a behind-the-scenes featurette on the film. You can watch both videos below and catch The Theory of Everything when it hits theaters on November 7th.

[Playlist]

Pete’s Dragon

Pete's Dragon

With Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Robert Redford showed he was up for starring in high-profile genre entertainment as well as straight dramatic works like the recent All Is Lost. Now the Oscar winner is in negotiations to star in Disney’s remake of Pete’s Dragon, one of the studio’s few fondly remembered animated children’s films from the 1970s. Unlike the original Pete’s, which was set in a fishing town, the remake’s story of a boy and his dragon will take place “against the backdrop of loggers cutting down a forest.” Redford, if cast, will play “a local who tells stories about dragons that no one believes.”

[JoBlo]

Interstellar

Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar may be this autumn’s most hotly anticipated release. But just what kind of movie has Nolan made? Early trailers, and Nolan’s own remarks in interviews, have invited comparisons to 2001: A Space Odyssey. But the movie’s latest TV spot makes it appear to be a much more down-to-earth, gritty, and pragmatic thriller. Check out the spot below and see what you think Nolan will deliver when Interstellar bows on November 7th. [Screen Rant]

Share your thoughts on today’s stories below, or let me know what you think on Twitter (@jmacabre).

Images: Disney/Marvel, Warner Bros., Marvel, Disney

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Comments

  1. Are there no actors of color available to play Apocalypse? (I mean, I know he’s actually going to be grey in color, but still.)

  2. Graham says:

    If – THEN x 2 mistakes within the introduction paragraph! If Nerdist needs editors, I’m available.

  3. Brian says:

    “Regarding when Marvel will announce its long-awaited first solo superheroine movie, Alonso remarked, “If it were up to me, it would be today.”
    I know it flopped, but I’m pretty sure Elektra already has that tag…