James Gunn

James Gunn

Dive into the creative world of James Gunn, the mastermind behind hits like Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad. Explore articles covering his latest projects, directorial insights, and impact on both the Marvel and DC universes. From his unique storytelling style to his influence on superhero cinema, discover everything about James Gunn’s career, movies, DCU, Superman, and future projects.

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Movie News

Epic Failure Part 2: Dancing Part Of Guardians of the Galaxy Sequel

[[wysiwyg_imageupload:22847:]]James Gunn did the equivalent of George Lucas’ Star Wars: The Phantom Menace with Guardians of the Galaxy
 

James Gunn, say it ain’t so!

Gunn came on board GOTG and rewrote the Nicole Perlman adaptation of the Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning Guardians of the Galaxy 2008 comic book, which was initially a more serious take. Gunn cut Richard Rider Nova out of the script – for whatever reason – and put his own goofy “Lost In Space” spin on the movie (sad, but true). Sure, the movie was a success, and I will admit enjoyable to a point, but from a Marvel Cosmic fan’s perspective, and one who started an entire site around the comics (before Marvel even gave a f’), Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy came off as a more of a joke compared to the DnA comic book Guardians of the Galaxy source material.

[[wysiwyg_imageupload:22848:]]I would take Richard Rider Nova over “Star-Lord” as a more relatable character ANY DAY
 

Now before all the negative Facebook comments hit, to put it in our perspective, can you EVER – and I mean EVER – imagine a dancing Harrison Ford Han Solo in ANY of the Star Wars movies (or how about a dancing Ripley in Aliens?!)?

Take a moment and think about it.

A dancing f’n Han Solo?!

Or even how about Darth Vader at the end of any of the Star Wars movies acting like Lee Pace’s Ronan (was I the only one thinking, “Why didn’t Ronan just blast Star-Lord at the end of the movie instead of looking like the biggest f’n idiot there ever was while watching him do the stupid dance?”).

Or how about Kylo Ren dancing in Star Wars: The Force Awakens?! Are you looking forward to that?!

[[wysiwyg_imageupload:22849:]]More Ewok-ness coming with GoTG 2 – excited?!
 

Basically, from a fan of Marvel Cosmic, what Gunn did is Jar Jar Binks Guardians of the Galaxy. Just about everything about the movie came off as generic, cheap, eye-rolling and Disney-fied (I did like Rocket, Groot and Nebula to a certain extent). Now, Marvel Comics is finally (five years later?) releasing the collected version of DnA’s GOTG comics, and I’ll hope you will all buy it to see what the source material is really like, but Marvel really f’d over DnA and their creative team when the movie came out, replacing it with the d-bag Bendis version. What bothers me more is that Kevin Feige and Gunn have both pointed to the DnA version as an inspiration for the movie, but the movie is more like the crappy Bendis-Loeb comic than the more serious (with humor that makes sense) version that Abnett created. 

And the bad news is that it seems we are getting more of the Bendis/Gunn version.

Vin Diesel, who is reprising as Groot, revealed in a Q&A on Facebook, that he received the script for Guardians of the Galaxy 2, which – get this – has dancing as a big part of the script.

Diesel revealed he received the Guardians of the Galaxy 2 script this weekend with Awesome Mix Vol. 2 (Vol. 1 was asinine, btw), and played a song by Megan Trainor after doing so — as Trainor did music for Fast and Furious 7. Diesel then said it’s ironic because the GOTG 2 script has dancing, too (please don’t tell me Trainor is on Awesome Mix Vol. 2 – can it get any worse, guys?).

If you haven’t noticed, Guardians of the Galaxy started and ended with Star-Lord dancing!

Yep, is that the tone of GOTG 2 we have to look forward to? More goofball dancing idiot-ness?

Who was looking forward to Adam Warlock? Well, now do we get to see Warlock and Magus do the Electric Boogalo?!

Ughh! Personally, that was the WORST part of the movie – watching Star-Lord dance!

Below you can check out Vin Diesel talking about Guardians of the Galaxy 2 for yourself (anybody else thankful he only has three words to say?)

 

 

Posted by Vin Diesel on Sunday, November 8, 2015

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Movie News

James Gunn Under Attack By Pretend Feminazis Again

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Cosmic Book News recently posted the casting call information for Guardians of the Galaxy 2 which includes mention of needing beautiful men and women as extras.

Well, that has apparently set off the “feminist” Mary Sue website who spun an article insinuating ugly (normal?) women aren’t wanted.

And of course some on the internet followed suit as James Gunn has taken to Twitter to defend himself and the movie.

I’m not a fan of the Mary Sue website at all as they regularly spin their articles in favor of women over men. The site is actually owned by some white rich dude from NYC by the name of Dan Abrams who regularly contributes to The View (need we say more). It’s pretty obvious the site’s gimmick is being pro-women, not that there is anything wrong with that, but when they spin BS articles like this one just for the sake of a headline and page views, that’s when it crosses the line.

I do like Gunn (never met the guy), and he comes off as a straight-shooter, so I have a lot of respect for him. His defense about the casting call (not that he really need one) is that this is only the first of many.

It should probably also be noted this isn’t the first time the Mary Sue website has attacked Gunn as following Gunn being announced as the director on Guardians of the Galaxy, the Mary Sue attacked Gunn because of some of his blog postings, but mind you only AFTER Gunn was announced as a Marvel director (how convenient).

For what it’s worth, I recently attended a cool panel at the recent NYCC where a comic book artist stated the Mary Sue created some BS uproar because of his artwork.

Yeah.

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Movie News

Danny DeVito Tried Out For The Voice Of Rocket Raccoon

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Yesterday saw James Gunn take part in a live Facebook Q&A where he spoke about a variety of topics with one including the voice of Rocket Raccoon in Guardians of the Galaxy.

While we all known Bradley Cooper ended up getting the part, Gunn let it be known they actually considered using Danny DeVito, but decided against it because of DeVito’s age.

“In all honesty, Danny DeVito is one of the voices we tried out, but Danny DeVito is an older man now and Rocket is not an older man, he’s a younger man,” Gunn explained. “Danny DeVito’s voice just wouldn’t work.”

Gunn also let it be known that Thanos was the villain in the original Guardians of the Galaxy script, and also that he isn’t a big fan of the Guardians of the Galaxy animated sound track.

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Movie News

James Gunn Will Be Able To Use The Sneepers In Guardians of the Galaxy 2

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A couple of weeks ago saw James Gunn post on his Facebook page that he was unable to use the alien race known as the Sneepers in Guardians of the Galaxy 2 because of a conflict with Iceland.

It turned out “Sneeper,” when translated to Icelandic, is a word for a female body part.

Marvel legal actually had issue with it and initially didn’t approve “Sneeper” because of the conflict.

However, now because of all the online chatter – as it’s not really that big of a deal – Marvel Legal has changed their mind and allowed Gunn use of the Sneeper for Guardians of the Galaxy 2, so per Gunn’s words below, we’ll see at least one Sneeper somehwhere in the background.

“Guardians of the Galaxy” Vol. 2 hits May 5, 2017.

 

Sneeper update. A couple weeks back I told you how the Marvel legal department advised against using Sneeper as an alien…

Posted by James Gunn on Wednesday, October 7, 2015

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Movie News

Watch: James Gunn’s Live Facebook Q&A

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Watch a video Q&A below with Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn.

Gunn answers a plethora of questions on a range of topics including: Thanos being the original villain in Guardians of the Galaxy; siding more with Tony Stark in Civil War; wanting to use the Watchers, Rom the Spaceknight and Kang the Conqueror; not wanting to use the Silver Surfer; not wanting to direct a Thunderbolts movie; being a fan of the Deadpool movie; being a fan of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning’s Guardians of the Galaxy comic book; the inclusion of at least one new character in Guardians of the Galaxy 2; not wanting Venom or Iron Man in the movie, and Gunn lets it be known at the end of the video that the Guardians of the Galaxy 2 script is complete. 

“Gaurdians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” hits May 5, 2017 and begins filming in February in Atlanta, Georgia.

 

Live Q&A

Posted by James Gunn on Tuesday, October 6, 2015

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Movie News

Thanos Was The Villain In Original Guardians of the Galaxy Script

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First Richard Rider Nova, and now Thanos.

James Gunn, you are killing us.

It’s learned that Thanos was actually the villain of the Guardians of the Galaxy movie prior to James Gunn getting on board.

Back around 2009, Marvel had a Writers Group that could basically come up with whatever script they wanted, with science-fiction writer Nicole Perlman choosing Guardians of the Galaxy, as she was impressed and inspired by the Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning Guardians of the Galaxy Marvel comic book.

When the movie finally was green lit and Gunn came on board, he re-wrote the script to his liking and in the process removed Richard Rider Nova because he wanted to keep the focus on Star-Lord being the human relatable character of the movie.

Now while participating in a video Q&A on Facebook, Gunn clears up some things regarding the involvement of Thanos revealing at one point the Mad Titan was the big bad . First, Gunn lets it be known he didn’t have to go back and do re-writes on Guardians and add in Thanos as Thanos was already a part of the script.

“That’s just totally not all all true,” Gunn replied to questioning regarding having to go back and add Thanos to the script. “When I came to Guardians there was a script, and Thanos was actually the bad guy in it the movie. I changed the script so that Ronan was the bad guy. Thanos became a part of that script.”

Gunn also let it be known they were contemplating removing Thanos in his entirety as they found it difficult to incorporate the Mad Titan with the rest of the story, but Gunn wanted to keep Thanos because of his appearance in Whedon’s The Avengers.

“There was a time later when we realized it was very difficult working Thanos into the script, but I wanted to keep him in the movie because I knew that people who liked Avengers would maybe be likely to see Guardians, which nobody knew Thanos was in the movie,” Gunn continued. “So I kept him in there. He was a pain in the ass to put in the movie because of his connection and family relationship to Ronan and Gamora and Nebula.”

Gunn also finished his Thanos thoughts with a rather interesting remark which seems to insinuate those people that wanted to cut Thanos from the movie might not be at Marvel any more.

“There was a group of people at Marvel who had a lot of ideas how things were suppose to be that aren’t there any more,” Gunn said.

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TV News

James Gunn Doesn’t Like Guardians of the Galaxy Animated Series Soundtrack

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Marvel TV under Jeph Loeb and Stephen Wacker (both of whom were in part responsible for the cancellation of DnA’s Marvel Cosmic that inspired the near-billion dollar Marvel movie) recently launched a Guardians of the Galaxy animated series on Disney XD.

The cartoon is, basically, a rather lame attempt to capitalize on the success of Marvel Studios’s Guardians of the Galaxy movie, and it has even ripped off James Gunn’s idea for a sound track.

As many fans know, Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy movie soundtrack (Awesome Mix Vol. 1) topped the music charts when it was released, and Gunn even named the sequel to the movie after the sequel to the soundtrack (“Vol. 2”). 

Marvel TV’s soundtrack for the series is dubbed “Cosmic Mix Vol. 1” and contains twelve soundtracks, but Gunn isn’t a fan.

In a live video QnA on Facebook, Gunn let it be known he hasn’t watched the Guardians of the Galaxy animated series and the soundtrack doesn’t exactly excite him.

“I have not seen it,” Gunn responded to questioning. “I think it’s interesting. I hope it’s good. I don’t like the sound track too much. I don’t like it, but other than that it seems really good.”

And just how bad is the Guardians of the Galaxy animated series? Well, the Guardians actually fly out of a space slug’s butt. Need we say more?

The producers on the animated series alo tried to isninuate that it was connected to the movie, but Gunn shot that down as well.

Recent reports also state Marvel Studios president and producer Kevin Feige parted ways with Marvel TV.

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Movie News

Michael Rooker Asks James Gunn For Yondu Guardians of the Galaxy Spinoff

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With the success of the Guardians of the Galaxy movie, will Marvel Studios decide to give us some cosmic spinoffs? It’s definitely a possibility, and one that Michael Rooker obviously sees the potential in.

James Gunn posted the following Yondu “movie poster” on Facebook adding: “#GotG spin-off? This is the kind of stuff Michael Rooker sends me at 3 am.”

Michael Rooker will be back as Yondu for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 which has a May 5, 2017 release date.

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Movie News

James Gunn Says No To Nova For Guardians of the Galaxy 2

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Well, boo on you, James Gunn. Again.

For the second movie in a row, James Gunn will not be including the fan-favorite Human Rocket, Richard Rider Nova.

Nova was a part of the original Guardians of the Galaxy script written by Nicole Perlman; however, when Gunn came on board and changed things, out went Rider.

Gunn’s reasoning is that he wants to only use Star-Lord as the only Guardians of the Galaxy member from Earth. Of course, our arguement is that Star-Lord isn’t really all that relatable as an Earthling as he’s half alien and was taken from Earth at a young age.

A fan asked Gunn on Twitter if there was a shot at seeing Nova as a new member, but Gunn replied: “They will get a new team member such as someone who is not Nova.”

On the bright side, at least we get to look forward to more dancing in the sequel…

“Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2” has a May 5, 2017 release.

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Movie News

James Gunn Can’t Use Alien Race In Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Because Of Female Body Part

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James Gunn is currently spearheading the Marvel Cosmic Universe by helming the Guardians of the Galaxy movies.

As was noted with the first film, Gunn had to switch out the Badoon for the Sakaarans due to Fox Studios owning the rights to the Badoon.

Now Gunn comments about character rights for Guardians of the Galaxy 2, which sees a bit of humor for the outcome.

Gunn mentioned he wanted to include the Sneepers in the background of a scene, mentioning he had to get the okay from Marvel Legal first; however, Marvel Legal gave the Sneepers a thumbs down. It turns out the reason is not due to another studio owning the rights, but the translation of “Sneepers” into Icelandic.

Another character James Gunn previously let be known that Marvel doesn’t have the rights to is Kang The Conqueror.

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” hits May 5, 2017.

Check it out:

 

While writing Guardians scripts I like to use the names of characters from the comics as much as possible – it makes…

Posted by James Gunn on Friday, September 11, 2015

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Movie News

No Chance For Hulk or Captain Marvel In Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Says James Gunn

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Over a year ago saw it rumored that at the end of The Avengers 2, the Hulk would be stuck in a pre-programmed Quinjet jettisoning the Green Goliath off to space where the Hulk would meet up with the Guardians in Guardians of the Galaxy 2.

Gunn previously shot down the Hulk Guardians of the Galaxy 2 rumor, and now seeing how it’s learned the Hulk’s story will not be told in Captain America: Civil War, speculation has again started up that the Hulk would be appearing in Gunn’s sequel.

However, Gunn once again shoots down any notion of the Hulk appearing.

“I will comment on it now (as I’ve done before) – there is zero chance you will see Hulk in GotGVol2,” Gunn offered on Twitter.

Gunn continued with mention that Captain Marvel won’t be featured in Guardians of the Galaxy 2 as well.

“For the time being, it’s important to me that Quill is the sole human (earthling) character,” Gunn replied to questioning about Captain Marvel making her MCU debut in Guardians of the Galaxy 2.

Gunn also offered he doesn’t want a lot of new characters in GoTG2 because he would like to focus on the characters already from the first movie.

“Not too many, that’s for sure!” Gunn responded in regards to how many new characters he would like to take on in Guardians 2. “I want all of our characters to get MORE personal time than they did in the 1st film.”

Regarding Gunn’s statement about Star-Lord being the sole human, which he has stated before, the line of reasoning stirs contention amongst the Cosmic fans as many Marvel Cosmic fans want to see Richard Rider Nova a part of the Guardians movies (Gunn cut Nova from an earlier script), and Star-Lord could easily be argued as not being a relatable human as, for one, he’s half alien, and secondly, in Gunn’s movie, Star-Lord was abducted at a young age and grew up in space. Hopefully a different director will want to tackle Richard Rider Nova’s story at some point.

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” has a May 5, 2017 release.

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Movie News

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Stars Filming February 2016

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James Gunn has let it be known that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will start filming next February.

Gunn answered a fan’s question on Facebook about when filming starts, but stated he doesn’t known a specific date.

“In February. Not sure of the actual date,” Gunn offered.

James Gunn also recently confirmed Vin Diesel will be back as the voice of Groot.

No specific plot details are known about the sequel, but Gunn has hinted Star-Lord’s origins and father will be explored as well as the movie may take a slighly more serious approach.

Gunn also previously said there will be less characters in Guardians of the Galaxy 2 than the first “because everything is just getting too sprawling and too crazy for me in these superhero comic book movies.”

Gunn did confirm they will be introducing a new character.

“There’s just too many characters so you can’t concentrate on one and really get to know that character, and I really want to get to know the characters that we know better, and yeah, we will be introducing a new character,” Gunn said.

In addition to the five core members of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Yondu, Nebula and Kraglin have been said to be returning as well.

Maybe Gunn can stick Richard Rider Nova, that he cut from the first movie, somewhere, too? (Help us, Obi Gunn. You’re our only hope).

“Guardians of the Galaxy” Vol. 2 hits May 5, 2017.

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Movie News

Vin Diesel Confirmed For Guardians of the Galaxy 3, Err 2

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Guardians of the Galaxy 3 isn’t even in the cards, and we already get confirmation that Vin Diesel will be back as Groot?!

That’s exactly what James Gunn confirmed on Facebook, but quickly caught himself and stated it’s for the sequel.

A fan asked Gunn: “Will Vin Diesel be back in GOTG3?”

Gunn replied, “Yes.”

Another fan noticed the question and inquired about Gunn confirming Vin Diesel for Guardians of the Galaxy 3.

Gunn replied back, “No – he means 2 and that’s what I was responding to. Stop it.” Gunn also further commented: “Believe me I have to be careful because it will be picked up as my confirming 3.”

While we do believe Gunn was referring to Vin Diesel reprising as Groot for Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (sorta), a few months ago Gunn did tease Guardians of the Galaxy 3.

“I knew for a long time what the story of the second one was gonna be,” Gunn said, before teasing, “And the third one!” 

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” has a May 5, 2017 release.

Vin Diesel brought “I Am Groot” to life not only for English audiences, but for fans around the globe. Check out behind-the-scenes footage of Vin Diesel recording Groot in foreign languages for Guardians of the Galaxy:

 

Pro Tip: FINISH WHAT YOU STARTWhen people ask me for advice on writing or directing, or almost any project, “finish…

Posted by James Gunn on Monday, August 24, 2015

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Movie News

No Guardians of the Galaxy 2 For D23 Expo

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Earlier it was learned there will be no Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer at this weekend’s Disney D23 Expo, and now just in case if you were wondering, there will also be nothing for Guardians of the Galaxy 2.

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is still a ways off, so this shouldn’t come as a surprise, but a fan asked director James Gunn on Twitter if he will be at the D23 Expo.

Gun replied they don’t have anything ready to announce for the event.

While no Guardians will be present, something is planned for Captain America: Civil War on Saturday.

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” has a May 5, 2017 release.

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Movie News

Guardians of the Galaxy Opened 1 Year Ago Today

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One year ago today saw the Guardians of the Galaxy take theaters by storm by introducing movie goers to a new team of Marvel Cosmic super heroes.

Led by James Gunn, Chris Pratt was introduced as Star-Lord, with Zoe Saldana as Gamora, WWE Superstar Dave Bautista played Drax, Doctor Who‘s Karen Gillan shaved her head for the nefarious Nebula, Lee Pace was the featured villain as Ronan, and Bradley Cooper voiced Rocket Raccoon with Vin Diesel voicing “I am” Groot.

The movie netted close to $40 million on its opening day and went on to break the August box office record with an opening of almost $100 million. Guardians of the Galaxy finished with a whopping $774 million worldwide giving it the fourth best performance for a Marvel Studios movie, only trailing The Avengers films and Iron Man 3.

Disney quickly announced a sequel for Guardians of the Galaxy and gave it a May 5, 2017 release.

James Gunn and Chris Pratt took to their social networks to remember the day.

James Gunn on Facebook:

One year ago today, Guardians of the Galaxy opened up in the U.S. and many places around the world. The movie massively over-performed that weekend, even by our own expectations, but what meant more to me is how much so many of you, no matter where you were from, took the story and the characters into your hearts. What meant more to me is that “We are Groot” became a rallying cry for unity among friends and families. What meant more to me is that you laughed at the dumb stuff I thought you’d miss, like “Cap’n’s gotta teach stuff” and “I was thinking of something else.” What meant more to me is that in our tenth week we were out-performing any comic book film in recent history – not because of the money, but because people were going back to see the film a second, third, fourth, fifth time, or more, because they loved it. What mattered to me is that after a lifetime of telling stories and half a lifetime making movies, I felt like you and I, filmmaker and audience, were at the same place at the same time.

It mattered to me mostly because I told a story fully with my heart, and you took it into yours. I don’t think I can ever explain how much that means to me. It makes every failure I’ve ever had well worth it.

I get a lot of messages from people saying, “You made me believe in movies again.” Well, you guys made me believe that what I spent my life doing was worth doing. And you strengthened my belief that nothing’s worth doing, if it’s not done honestly, and it’s not done with love.

On this, the one year anniversary of the cinematic Guardians entering our solar system: thank you, thank you, thank you.

We really are, truly, honestly Groot.

Love,

James

Chris Pratt on Twitter:

 

One year ago today, Guardians of the Galaxy opened up in the U.S. and many places around the world. The movie massively over-performed that weekend, even by our own expectations, but what meant more to me is how much so many of you, no matter where you were from, took the story and the characters into your hearts. What meant more to me is that “We are Groot” became a rallying cry for unity among friends and families. What meant more to me is that you laughed at the dumb stuff I thought you’d miss, like “Cap’n’s gotta teach stuff” and “I was thinking of something else.” What meant more to me is that in our tenth week we were out-performing any comic book film in recent history – not because of the money, but because people were going back to see the film a second, third, fourth, fifth time, or more, because they loved it. What mattered to me is that after a lifetime of telling stories and half a lifetime making movies, I felt like you and I, filmmaker and audience, were at the same place at the same time. It mattered to me mostly because I told a story fully with my heart, and you took it into yours. I don’t think I can ever explain how much that means to me. It makes every failure I’ve ever had well worth it. I get a lot of messages from people saying, “You made me believe in movies again.” Well, you guys made me believe that what I spent my life doing was worth doing. And you strengthened my belief that nothing’s worth doing, if it’s not done honestly, and it’s not done with love. On this, the one year anniversary of the cinematic Guardians entering our solar system: thank you, thank you, thank you. We really are, truly, honestly Groot. Love, James (Art by MJ Hiblen) #guardiansofthegalaxy #gotg #groot #WeAreGroot #gamora #marvel

A photo posted by James Gunn (@jamesgunn) on

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Movie News

James Gunn Explains Why Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 For Title

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Kevin Feige recently let it slip that the title for the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

James Gunn recently spoke about the title on on Facebook offering reasons as to why they went with “Vol. 2” as the official title.

Yes, the official title of the sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

Kevin Feige recently let the title slip while doing Ant-Man press, which I’m really happy about because God knows I’ve let more than one thing slip accidentally while chattering away on this FB page.

Also, hats off to some intrepid fans who figured out the title a couple of days after I posted the cover page. More than one person guessed “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” – I wanted so badly to give you props at the time, but knew I had to wait.

For Kevin to mess up. Haha.

And:

Yeah, I came up with a LOT of titles for Vol. 2. But because “Guardians of the Galaxy” is already so wordy, it seemed strange to add another bunch of words after it. I liked Vol. 2 the best, so that’s what I stuck on the cover of the screenplay – and, fortunately, the guys liked it.

Gunn also offered on Facebook that he isn’t sure if Guardians of the Galaxy 2 will be at the D23 Expo in August, and that Marvel hasn’t placed any storyline obligations on him for the movie.

While answering questions in regards to more of Nebula/Thanos, and the possibility of any of the Vell (i.e Mar-Vell) family being a part of Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Gunn responded with:

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“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” has a May 5, 2017 release.

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Movie News

James Gunn Approves Of Ant-Man

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Not only has James Gunn confirmed the title to Guardians of the Galaxy 2, but Gunn also approves of Marvel’s latest movie, Ant-Man.

Gunn posted the following about Ant-Man on Facebook.

Ant-Man may just be my favorite Marvel film since Jon Favreau’s Iron Man(well, maybe excluding one film to which I’m partial). Honestly, the movie is a complete blast! I was so happy after seeing it. It’s never boring for a second and it’s hilarious and warm throughout. It doesn’t get caught up in the webbing of its own science-fiction concept like so many movies do these days, remaining simple and elegant. It’s a part of the Marvel universe without being ruled by that fact. Paul Rudd is nuanced and charming and funny and is a surprisingly natural fit as a modern superhero (side-fact – Paul must be a nice guy, because he and I dated the same girl in college, and yet I still love him). Michael Peña KILLS IT – this movie is going to make him a huge star. My old pal Judy Greer (she was Deadly Girl to my Minute Man in The Specials (film) many moons ago) is great in a small role. And Michael Douglas is awesome. I think all of Peyton Reed’s years directing have led him to making something as deft and nimble and joyous as this; he did an incredible job. And, despite Edgar Wright’s parting from Marvel, his spirit is felt through the entire project, and there is no doubt everyone owes him a huge debt of gratitude. I left the theater incredibly happy. So often I see movies by people I love which are just okay – it’s great to love a movie as much as I love the people who made it.

This is a photo of me and David Dastmalchian at the premiere after-party last night – David plays a Russian hacker in the movie and nearly every single line out of his mouth gets a laugh. He’s getting on a plane this morning to fly back to Colombia to resume filming his other movie – my movie, The Belko Experiment.

Congrats to the the whole Ant-Man team. Amazing work, guys! And, for the 99.99% of the people reading this who aren’t part of the Ant-Man team, go check it out when it hits theaters (in a lot of places) July 17.

Have a great Tuesday.

 

Ant-Man may just be my favorite Marvel film since Jon Favreau’s Iron Man (well, maybe excluding one film to which I’m…

Posted by James Gunn on Tuesday, June 30, 2015

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Movie News

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Official Title Revealed

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The official title for the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel has become known as director James Gunn confirmed the title on Twitter.

Marvel Studios president and producer Kevin Feige accidently let slip the title in an interview, which is: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

Feige also stated the film will beging shooting around February or March of 2016.

“Vol. 2” obviously brings up recollection of Star-Lord’s music in the first movie, which was released as the soundtrack for the film with “Awesome Mix Vol. 1.”

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” hits May 5, 2017.

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Movie News

2015 Saturn Awards: Guardians of the Galaxy, Chris Pratt, James Gunn

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Last night saw the 41st annual Saturn Awards held, which recognizes the best of fantasy and science-fiction.

Guardians of the Galaxy came out on top taking home the best Comic Book-to-Film award, Best Actor In A Film, Best Film Director, and Best Film Makeup.

The Walking Dead, Game Of Thrones, Interstellar, The Hobbit and Dracula Untold also received recognition.

The Flash also took home Best Superhero TV Series Adaptation.

Below you can check out the list of winners.

 

Last night at The Saturn Awards we won four awards but, more importantly, I met this very friendly bug. PS YES IT’S A…

Posted by James Gunn on Friday, June 26, 2015

The Nominations and Winners are:

FILM:

Best Comic Book-to-Film Release:

The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Guardians of the Galaxy   (winner)
X-Men: Days of Future Past

Best Science Fiction Film Release:

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Edge of Tomorrow
Godzilla
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
Interstellar  (winner)
The Zero Theorem

Best Fantasy Film Release:

Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies  (winner)
Into the Woods
Maleficent
Paddington

Best Horror Film Release:

Annabelle
The Babadook
Dracula Untold  (winner)
Horns
Only Lovers Left Alive
The Purge: Anarchy

Best Thriller Film Release:

American Sniper
The Equalizer
Gone Girl  (winner)
The Guest
The Imitation Game
Nightcrawler

Best Action / Adventure Film Release:

Exodus: Gods and Kings
Inherent Vice
Lucy
Noah
Snowpiercer
Unbroken  (winner)

Best Actor in a Film:

Tom Cruise                          Edge of Tomorrow
Chris Evans                         Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Jake Gyllenhaal                   Nightcrawler
Michael Keaton                    Birdman
Matthew McConaughey       Interstellar
Chris Pratt                            Guardians of the Galaxy  (winner)
Dan Stevens                        The Guest

Best Actress in a Film:

Emily Blunt                           Edge of Tomorrow
Essie Davis                          The Babadook
Anne Hathaway                    Interstellar
Angelina Jolie                       Maleficent
Jennifer Lawrence                The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
Rosemund Pike                    Gone Girl  (winner)

Best Supporting Actor in a Film:

Richard Armitage                  The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies  (winner)
Josh Brolin                             Inherent Vice
Samuel L. Jackson                Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Anthony Mackie                     Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Andy Serkis                           Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
J.K. Simmons                        Whiplash

Best Supporting Actress in a Film:

Jessica Chastain                     Interstellar
Scarlett Johansson                 Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Evangeline Lily                       The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Rene Russo                            Nightcrawler  (winner)
Emma Stone                           Birdman
Meryl Streep                            Into the Woods

Best Performance by a Younger Actor in a Film:

Elle Fanning                            Maleficent
MacKenzie Foy                        Interstellar  (winner)
Chloe Grace Moretz                The Equalizer 
Tony Revolori                          The Grand Budapest Hotel
Kodi Smit-McPhee                   Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Noah Wiseman                        The Babadook

Best Film Director:

Alejandro G. Innarritu                                  Birdman
James Gunn                                                Guardians of the Galaxy  (winner)
Doug Liman                                                 Edge of Tomorrow
Christopher Nolan                                        Interstellar
Matt Reeves                                                Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Joe Russo, Anthony Russo                         Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Bryan Singer                                                X-Men: Days of Future Past

Best Film Writing:

Captain America: Winter Soldier                  Stephen McFeely, Christopher Markus
Edge of  Tomorrow                                       Christopher McQuarrie, Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth
The Grand Budapest  Hotel                          Wes Anderson
Guardians of the Galaxy                               James Gunn, Nicole Perlman
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies    Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro
Interstellar                                                     Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan  (winner)
Whiplash                                                       Damien Chazelle

Best Film Editing:

Captain America: The Winter Soldier            Jeffrey Ford, Matthew Schmidt
Edge of Tomorrow                                         James Herbert, Laura Jennings  (winner)
Guardians of the Galaxy                                Fred Raskin, Hughes Winborne, Craig Wood
Interstellar                                                      Lee Smith
Unbroken                                                       William Goldenberg, Tim Squyres
X-Men: Days of Future Past                          John Ottman

Best Film Production Design:

Captain America: The Winter Soldier             Peter Wenham
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes                      James Chinlund
The Grand Budapest Hotel                             Adam Stockhausen
Guardians of the Galaxy                                 Charles Wood
Interstellar                                                       Nathan Crowley  (winner)
Into the Woods                                                Dennis Gassner

Best Film Music:

Captain America: The Winter Soldier              Henry Jackman
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes                       Michael Giacchino
Godzilla                                                            Alexandre Desplat
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies       Howard Shore
How to Train Your Dragon 2                            John Powell
Interstellar                                                        Hans Zimmer  (winner)

Best Film Costume:

Dracula Untold                                                  Ngila Dickson  (winner)
Exodus: Gods and Kings                                  Janty Yates
Guardians of the Galaxy                                   Alexandra Byrne
Into the Woods                                                  Colleen Atwood
Maleficent                                                          Anna B. Sheppard
X-Men: Days of Future Past                              Louise Mingenbach 

Best Film Make-Up:

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes                         Bill Terezakis, Lisa Love
Dracula Untold                                                   Mark Coulier, Daniel Phillips
Guardians of the Galaxy                                    David White, Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou  (winner)
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies         Peter King, Rick Findlater, Gino Acevedo
Into the Woods                                                   Peter King, Matthew Smith
X-Men: Days of Future Past                               Adrien Morot, Norma Hill-Patton

Best Film Special/Visual Effects:

Captain America: The Winter Soldier                 Dan Daleeuw, Russell Earl, Bryan Grill, Dan Sudick
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes                          Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett, Erik Winquist
Edge of Tomorrow                                              Gary Brozenich, Nick Davis, Jonathan Fawkner, Matthew Rouleau
Guardians of the Galaxy                                     Stephane Ceretti, Nicholas Aithadi, Jonathan Fawkner, Paul Corbould
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies          Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, R. Christopher White
Interstellar                                                           Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian  Hunter, Scott Fisher  (winner)

Best Independent Film Release:

Grand Piano
I, Origins
A Most Violent Year
The One I Love
The Two Faces of January
Whiplash  (winner)

Best International Film Release:

Bird People
Calvary
Force Majeur
Mood Indigo
The Railway Man
The Theory of Everything  (winner)

Best Animated Film Release:

Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The LEGO Movie  (winner)
The Wind Rises

TELEVISION

Best Network Television Series:

The Blacklist
The Following
Grimm
Hannibal  (winner)
Person of Interest
Sleepy Hollow

Best Syndicated / Cable Television Series:

12 Monkeys
American Horror Story: Freak Show
Continuum
Falling Skies
Salem
The Strain
The Walking Dead  (winner)

Best Limited Run Television Series:

Bates Motel
From Dusk Till Dawn
Game of Thrones  (winner)
The Last Ship
The Librarians
Outlander

Best Superhero Adaptation Television Series:

Agent Carter
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Arrow
Constantine
The Flash  (winner)
Gotham

Best Youth-Oriented Television Series:

The 100  (winner)
Doctor Who
Pretty Little Liars
Supernatural
Teen Wolf
The Vampire Diaries

Best Actor in a Television Series:

Hugh Dancy                        Hannibal  (winner-tie)
Grant Gustin                        The Flash
Andrew Lincoln                    The Walking Dead  (winner-tie)
Tobias Menzies                   Outlander
Mads Mikkelsen                   Hannibal
Noah Wyle                           Falling Skies

Best Actress in a Television Series:

Haley Atwell                          Agent Carter
Caitronia Balfe                     Outlander  (winner)
Vera Farmiga                       Bates Motel
Jessica Lange                      American Horror Story: Freak Show
Rachel Nichols                     Continuum
Rebecca Romjin                   The Librarians

Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series:

David Bradley                       The Strain
Laurence Fishburne             Hannibal  (winner)
Sam Heughan                      Outlander
Erik Knudsen                        Continuum
Norman Reedus                   The Walking Dead
Richard Sammel                    The Strain

Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series:

Emilia Clarke                        Game of Thrones
Jenna Coleman                    Doctor Who
Caroline Dhavernas              Hannibal
Lexa Doig                             Continuum
Emily Kinney                         The Walking Dead
Melissa McBride                   The Walking Dead  (winner)

Best Performance by a Younger Actor in a Television Series:

Camren Bicondova               Gotham
Maxim Knight                        Falling Skies
Tyler Posey                           Teen Wolf
Chandler Riggs                     The Walking Dead
Holly Taylor                           The Americans
Maisie Williams                     Game of Thrones  (winner)

Best Guest Performance in a Television Series:

Dominic Cooper                    Agent Carter
Neil Patrick Harris                 American Horror Story: Freak Show
John Larroquette                   The Librarians
Wentworth Miller                   The Flash  (winner)
Michael Pitt                            Hannibal
Andrew J. West                     The Walking Dead

HOME ENTERTAINMENT:

Best DVD/BD Release:

Beneath  (IFC Film Release)
Blue Ruin
Odd Thomas  (winner)
Ragnarok
White Bird in a Blizzard
Wolf Creek 2

Best DVD/BD Special Edition Release:

Alexander: The Ultimate Cut
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Extended Edition
Nightbreed: The Director’s Cut  (winner)
Once Upon a Time in America: Extended Director’s Cut
Sorcerer
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: 40th Anniversary Collector’s Edition

Best DVD/BD Television Release:

Batman: The Complete Television Series
Hannibal: Season 2
Merlin: The Complete Series
Spartacus: The Complete Series
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season 7
Twin Peaks: The Entire Mystery  (winner)
Wizards and Warriors: The Complete Series

Best DVD/BD Collection Release:

The Exorcist: The Complete Anthology
Halloween: The Complete Collection  (winner)
Stanley Kubrick: The Masterpiece Collection
Steven Spielberg Director’s Collection
Toho Godzilla Collection
Universal Classic Monsters: Complete 30 Film Collection

LIVE STAGE PRODUCTION:

Best Local Live Stage Production:

Damn Yankees                                                                   (3-D Theatricals)  (winner)
Ghost Brothers of Darkland County                                    (Saban Theatre)
The Last Confession                                                           (Ahmanson Theatre)
Pippin                                                                                  (Segerstrom Center for the Arts)
Ragtime                                                                               (3-D Theatricals)
Stoneface: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Buster Keaton   (Pasadenia Playhouse)
The Wizard of Oz                                                                 (Segerstrom Center for the Arts)

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Marvel Movie News

No Marvel Studios Stated Again For Comic-Con; Batman Vs Superman May Be Big

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Confirming what James Gunn said back in March, now Deadline is stating that Marvel Studios will not have a presentation in Hall H at Comic-Con.

The report mentions that “Kevin Feige just doesn’t have anything new to show,” which is a rather odd statement as Marvel has Ant-Man opening the following week in addition to Marvel filming Captain America: Civil War and plans for Doctor Strange to be released in 2016, with filming to begin later this year.

There is also the fact that Marvel could have revealed their new Spider-Man at Comic-Con.

More than likely, Disney is holding back Marvel Studios from Comic-Con for either their own event, similar to the Avengers: Infinity War announcement with Black Panther at El Capitan theater from last year, or the Disney D23 Expo a month after Comic-Con in August.

It is noted that Marvel Studios’ absence will leave Warner Bros. with, potentially, a significant presence of its own as Batman Vs. Superman, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman and Justice League Part 1 are lined up. It’s possible Will Smith, Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Margot Robbie, Jared Leto and others may be at Comic-Con representing the DC movies.

For Marvel fans, while Marvel Studios will not be at the SDCC, Marvel Comics will be there with a booth and panels of their own.

Comic-Con takes place July 9-12 in San Diego.

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Movie News

Watch: Chris Pratt Says Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Will Be Greatest Movie Of All Time

MTV caught up with Chris Pratt while promoting Jurassic World and asked the actor about Guardians of the Galaxy 2.

Pratt wouldn’t offer anything about the movie other than taking a page from his favorite football team‘s running back, Marshawn Lynch, by replying: “I’m only here so the NFL won’t fine me.”

Pratt compared giving out details to spoiling Christmas presents, but Pratt did state he thinks Guardians of the Galaxy 2 will probably be the best movie ever.

Watch the video above for more.

Pratt also recently stated he teared up when he read the story for Guardians of the Galaxy 2, and director James Gunn also said he finished the first draft of the script and offered new details in that there will be less characters used than the first movie.

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 has a May 5, 2017 release.

Pratt stars in Jurassic World, out June 12th.

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Movie News

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Has Less Characters & Gunn Nixed A New One

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In addition to James Gunn finishing the script for Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and Chris Pratt stating the story brought him to tears, new details are learned about the sequel.

James Gunn has been using the new Periscope App as of late and answered a bunch of questions about Guardians of the Galaxy 2.

Screen Rant jotted down some of the answers with the most notable being Gunn mentioning Guardians of the Galaxy 2 will actually have less characters.

Gunn, who removed Richard Rider Nova from the Nicole Perlman’s first Guardians of the Galaxy script, also lets it be known he removed another character for this movie. He confirms instead of two new characters, there will only be one (assumed to be a Guardian).

“People ask for so many characters to be in Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and they ask for so many actors who they want to be in Guardians of the Galaxy 2 but we actually have less characters in Guardians of the Galaxy 2 than we have in Guardians of the Galaxy 1 because everything is just getting too sprawling and too crazy for me in these superhero comic book movies. And also in superhero comics in general. There’s just too many characters so you can’t concentrate on one and really get to know that character, and I really want to get to know the characters that we know better, and yeah, we will be introducing a new character…”

“I did not get any help with the first draft of Guardians of the Galaxy 2 other than I wrote a scriptment which I’ve been working on for nine months, and I wrote that very, very in-depth scriptment which is a 70-page combination of a script and a treatment and it goes through every beat of the movie, everything, and I’ve been going through that and showing that to [Marvel Studios Boss] Kevin [Feige] and getting feedback and seeing what worked and what didn’t, what characters work, what didn’t. I mean, people will be disappointed – at some point I’ll release – but I had another big character in my original draft and it was just getting too busy. I took that character out. And it’s a character I like a lot and hope to work with in the future but I just didn’t have room for that person, that character.”

Some other tidbits Gunn mentioned include:

• Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is “not forced to fit in puzzle pieces from other creators nor is it required to serve as setup for Avengers: Infinity War.”

• The Guardians movies don’t follow the comics too close because a lot of the Marvel Cosmic characters aren’t owned by Marvel Studios.

• The five core Guardians are returning along with Yondu, Nebula and Kraglin.

• It hasn’t been mentioned whether the Nova Corps will be involved.

• Star-Lord’s father has not been cast, yet.

• Scott Chambliss is the new production designer (known for Abram Star Trek movies, Mission Impossible).

• Guardians is the most standalone series Marvel has.

• Gunn said he is going to wait until after Guardians 2 to decide if he will do Guardians of the Galaxy 3.

• Gunn also again said on Facebook that the Hulk isn’t involved.

“Guardians of the Galaxy 2” has a May 5, 2017 release.

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Movie News

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Story Brought Chris Pratt To Tears (Video)

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James Gunn recently let it be known that he completed the first draft of the Guardians of the Galaxy 2 script.

Gunn previously mentioned the movie will be about family as well as Star-Lord’s father, and now Chris Pratt offers his take on the story.

While doing press for his latest film, Jurassic World, Pratt told Digital Spy the Guardians of the Galaxy 2 story brought tears to his eyes.

In the video below, Pratt states he knows “everything” about Guardians of the Galaxy 2 when mention is made of Star-Lord’s father, and Pratt also says he has talked with Gunn about the music for Awesome Mix Vol. 2 and continues with his thoughts on the story.

“His pitch and his ideas legitimately put tears in my eyes,” Pratt said. “It is so good.”

Pratt also offered Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is “so big” and that Marvel felt it was perfect. Check out more in the video below.

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is due out May 5, 2017; Pratt stars in Jurassic World, out June 12th.

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Movie News

First Draft Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Script Completed

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We are one step closer to Guardians of the Galaxy 2.

James Gunn posted earlier on Facebook that he just completed the first draft script of the sequel.

Gunn teased an image of the title page mentioning it took him almost two months to complete.

Phew. After 48 days straight without a day off, the the first draft of ‪#‎GotG2 ‬is done. I’m sorry to all my friends and family who I have ignored.

No specifics are known about the movie other than Gunn previously stating it will be about family and look to explain the identity of Star-Lord’s father, which will be different than the comic book version. Gunn also said the movie will take deeper look at who the characters are, and we’ll get to know more about Gamora, Nebula and Yondu.

I’m also guessing Gunn will be applying that deeper approach to the villain of the movie. I know Gunn said something to the effect he wished he could have done more with Ronan, so hopefully whoever – or whatever – is the big bad this time out will be fully explored.

There has also been talk of two female characters joining the Guardians – maybe Mantis and Moondragon?

Fans are also hoping for an Adam Warlock appearance, and many online are speculating Starhawk may very well be Star-Lord’s father.

Gunn also previously let it be known that Marvel said his approach to Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is risky, which is rather interesting, as it means Gunn isn’t going to simply copy what he did with the first movie.

It will also be interesting to see what direction Guardians of the Galaxy 2 takes: Will it lead to other Marvel Cosmic movies? Or will Marvel bring it down to Earth connecting it to the Avengers: Infinity War movies?

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is due out May 5, 2017.

Phew. After 48 days straight without a day off, the the first draft of #GotG2 is done. I’m sorry to all my friends and family who I have ignored.

Posted by James Gunn on Tuesday, June 2, 2015

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Movie News

No Kang The Conqueror For Avengers Movies; Fox Owns Him

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Scratch one more cool character off the Marvel Cinematic Universe list as Kang The Conqueror is owned by Fox Studios.

A hopeful fan questioned Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn about the use of Kang on Facebook, with Gunn replying the character is owned by Fox.

Gunn also let it be known Fox owns the rights to the alien race, the Shi’ar, as well; so both Kang and the Shi’ar won’t be appearing in Guardians of the Galaxy 2 or any Avengers movie any time soon.

Gunn did let it be known they chose the characters that are appearing in Guardians of the Galaxy 2 a while ago.

Regarding Kang The Conqueror, the time-travelling Avengers foe first appeared in Fantastic Four #19 in 1963 as Nathaniel Richards/Rama-Tut, which is why Fox probably owns him. He first appeared as Kang in Avengers #8 in 1964.

Likewise, the Shi’ar first appeared in X-Men #97 back in 1976, and we can also guess Fox probably also owns the rights to the members of the Imperial Guard with Gladiator and such.

I guess the good news is that both Kang and the Shi’ar can appear in Fox’s X-Men and Fantastic Four movies.

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Movie News

James Gunn Clarifies Chris Pratt F-Bomb Comments

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Earlier saw Chris Pratt talk about his Marvel contract which may hint at an appearance in The Avengers: Infinity War movies.

The article also saw Pratt mention how director James Gunn motivated him on set, with than more than a few times Gunn dropping the f-bomb.

Via GQ:

“I think that he had gotten a lot of success over the past few years being the funny sidekick,” says Gunn, “which means that he always has to juggle to entertain everybody. And the truth is, Chris didn’t trust himself to just be Chris Pratt—and how desirable that is to an audience.”

“I thought I was bad,” Pratt concurs. “I thought I was doing bad acting. I would just think: My bullshit meter’s going off. This screams inauthentic to me.” Pratt says that Gunn had little patience with this. “He’s like, ‘Who gives a shit what you think? I don’t fucking care!’ “

He’d literally say that?

“Yes! He’d be, ‘It’s not your fucking movie, dude, it’s mine! Trust me and shut the fuck up and do what the fuck I tell you, and scream it!’ He’s like, ‘More! Louder!’ I would get pissy because as an actor, you sometimes hate that direction: Louder, faster. But it’s true—sometimes you have to be louder, speak more clearly, let the words do the work, and just get out of the way.”

Now Gunn has taken to his Facebook page to offer the following:

Nice GQ article on Chris, in which I’m heavily quoted and there is a bit of Guardians of the Galaxy 2 talk. Although I’m often very honest in articles about myself, I’m usually much more careful when I am interviewed about others. You never know what someone else is sensitive about. This was probably the most honest I’ve been in an interview about an actor, and both Chris and I talk about how he would initially tend to get in the way with his thoughts on set (and also the accompanying self-judgments). I’d yell at him and tell him I didn’t give a shit what he thinks. It seems kind of mean and funny in the interview, but I think it’s an important thing for all artists to remember: IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOU THINK. What matters is the work and the act of creation. It is our job to DO, not to judge. Constant assessment of what we are doing, especially while we are doing it, creates a stilted and needy piece of artwork, when the world needs boldness. If you’re a true artist, the world needs YOU, not what you think you should be.

My job with Chris on set was to help get him out of his head. Chris was able to transform his way of acting throughout the making of Guardians and I’m really proud of what he’s done (and, like him, I get teary when I think of what we’ve got coming in GotG2.)

It’s all good as the two are reteaming for Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and likely a third Guardians film.

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Movie News

James Gunn & Joe Russo Respond To Joss Whedon Leaving Twitter

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Earlier last night saw Avengers 2 director Josh Whedon bid his 1.14 milion Twitter followers good-bye and close his account.

Now James Gunn has taken to his Facebook to offer the following.

Imagine being a guy, like Joss Whedon, who has committed his life to fandom and to creating the best characters he possibly can, characters he loves, and has spent two years of his life working on a movie, and then has to wake up to this shit on Twitter. Yes, I know – Age of Ultron has an “A” Cinemascore, and far and away most people loved it. But the angry contingent of fandom is getting more aggressive all the time, and it’s difficult to block out as a person in the public eye.

My plea to all of you – and this is nothing new – is that we all try to be a little kinder, on the Internet and elsewhere. And, honestly, that includes being kind to the people who are tweeting this nonsense. I don’t believe you can tweet about wanting to find a movie director and “curbstomp” him and be a happy person. That person’s statement might make you a little angry – that makes me angry too. But thank God the circumstances of my life and your life didn’t lead us to being the person that has the need to anonymously tweet that to someone on the Internet. And, as much as we may want to respond with vitriol to these tweets, I think that just creates more insanity.

As a young person I was very angry, and it’s something I have worked on, both personally and through years of therapy. And if I can say one truth about anger, it is that anger is almost never anger. Anger – especially aggressive and abusive anger – is a way to deal with feeling insecure, sad, hurt, vulnerable, powerless, fearful, or confused. Those feelings, for many of us, are a lot more difficult to deal with and acknowledge than anger. Anger makes us feel “right”. And powerful. But it also usually exacerbates whatever the underlying, more uncomfortable feeling is.

A couple months ago someone on Twitter wrote me that something one of my characters said in my movie hurt him. I’ve gotten hundreds of tweets from people angry about moments in my films over the years, and I just ignore them, or get angry in return. But that one tweet affected me profoundly. The last thing I want to do with my work is hurt someone, especially someone who already feels disenfranchised. That made me think about what I write and what I put in my films, and I will be more thoughtful about situations like it in the future. That is, one honest and vulnerable tweet affected more change in me than hundreds of angry ones.

So, again, it’s easy to be outraged by these tweets. But whatever these angry tweeters are in need of, I don’t think it’s more anger and more rage thrown back at them on Twitter. I actually think that’s what they’re seeking. But what they need is something different. Compassion, maybe? A kind request for boundaries? I don’t know. Maybe you guys have some ideas.

And by the way – Yes, I know there are real issues at play here. But, again, I don’t think the way to affect change is through rage. That is just going to increase whatever divide you’re experiencing in the first place. I believe that there are a handful of truly evil, awful human beings out there. But the majority of us on all sides of an issue think we’re doing the right thing and are doing the best we can. If we assume that of each other, it makes life a lot easier.

Love you all,
james

Updated: Gunn also posted the following from Joe Russo:

My friend Joe Russo of the Russo brothers on the rage that’s been directed toward Joss Whedon on the Internet the past couple of days: “This kind of vitriol should be reserved for issues that actually demand outrage. Look around at your world… fiction is not one of them.”

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Movie News

James Gunn Wrote A Silver Surfer Movie Treatment

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James Gunn graces the cover to Marvel’s Silver Surfer #11 with a cover blurb.

Gunn posted the pic on his Facebook with mention at one time Fox approached him for a Silver Surfer movie.

Gunn says this was in 1999 before the 2005 Fantastic Four movie and its Silver Surfer sequel, so the FF weren’t included.

Check it out:

Hey my quote is on the cover of this month’s Silver Surfer so pick it up. Little known fact: When I first moved to LA in 1999, one of the first people I met on a meeting was an exec at Fox. He told me they wanted to make a Silver Surfer movie, and I might be right for that, so I wrote an extensive treatment. It was a huge story, cosmic as hell, and featured the Silver Surfer turning on Galactus (but no Fantastic Four – this was before the first FF film). At the same time, I was approached by director Jay Roach and his producer Shauna Robertson about writing a live-action Spy Vs. Spy film. That film seemed more likely to get made, and I loved Jay and Shauna, so I took that gig instead. It was my first studio film job. Of course, in eventuality, neither movie ever got made. But people liked the Spy Vs. Spy script, so I got a lot of work because of it. That said, I sometimes wonder what it would have been like had I truly jumped into the cosmic Marvel pool 16 years ago. Instead, I shall satisfy myself reading the great work of Dan Slott and Mike Allred every month!

James? Any chance there was a Surfer vs Galactus dance off at the end, bro?

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Movie News

Guardians 3000 Not The Title For Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Says James Gunn

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A few days ago it was reported the title for Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is Guardians 3000.

Guardians 3000 is a current Marvel comic book from the writer who inspired the original movie, Dan Abnett, so it seemed a possibility.

Now, however, director James Gunn has taken to Twitter to shoot down the rumor.

“BTW – I’m getting a lot of questions – there is NO truth to the rumor GotG2 is called Guardians 3000. I don’t know where @prodweek got that,” Gunn tweeted.

It was thought that if Guardians 3000 was the title to the sequel, that Gunn may have been featuring the original Guardians, as Abnett’s comic centers on the characters from the future. There is a mystery surrounding the father of Star-Lord, which will be different for the movie than the comic, with Cosmic fans speculating Quill’s father might be Starhawk.

“Guardians of the Galaxy 2” has a May 5, 2017 release.

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