Henry Cavill: Hollywood’s Nearly Man

This week the first trailer for Zack Snyder’s Superman reboot Man of Steel was released. In the starring role is British actor Henry Cavill. The role of Clark Kent and Superman is always going to be a huge one as he is one of the most famous and iconic characters ever created; the fact that the film is being produced by Christopher Nolan perhaps adds even more pressure onto the film itself too after his success with Batman. This film could make or break Cavill’s career: if it goes well Cavill will be leading a worldwide franchise and will have work set for the next few years, but if it goes wrong he could easily be thrown back into the pool of obscurity.

Henry Cavill is relatively new to this acting lark having really only made a name for himself in 2007. He starred in the films Tristan & Isolde and Stardust in this year but he was far from the leading man. It was in fact on television where Cavill got his big break, in British television drama The Tudors. Cavill starred in The Tudors up until 2010 and then went back to the world of movies full time. Last year he starred in Immortals which was deemed pretty average on all floors and this year he appeared in The Cold Light of Day alongside Bruce Willis so his career certainly seemed to be on the up before he was plucked from nowhere and chosen to don the tights and cape of Superman. It is a huge, very quick leap to the top that Cavill has made but this has not come without his fair share of bad luck and near misses that could have seen his career pan out very very differently.

Back in 2004 the Superman franchise saw an unsuccessful return to the big screen with Superman Returns. The film was eventually directed by Bryan Singer who dropped out of a third X-Men film in favour of the job. However, originally Superman was to be rebooted with Supernatural producer McG at the helm and when that was the case Henry Cavill was set to star as Superman, but when Singer dropped out so did Cavill and Brandon Routh replaced him. This was probably a lucky escape for Cavill because, well, where is Brandon Routh now?

Henry Cavill and his following probably aren’t huge fans of Robert Pattinson because of what happened next. In 2005, Cavill was the subject of a write-in effort made by Harry Potter fans in an attempt to get their man Cavill cast in the fourth instalment of the franchise Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire as Cedric Diggory. As Potter fans will know Diggory has a huge part to play in Goblet of Fire and the success of these films surely would have helped boost Cavill’s profile. In 2008, Twilight was released. The author of these vampire romance books, Stephanie Meyer, claimed that Henry Cavill would be the “perfect Edward [Cullen]” and showed her preference to Cavill being cast in the lead male role. By the time production of the film began Cavill was deemed too old to play the part and lost out to Robert Pattinson once again who has gone on to become a world famous actor (despite his acting skills not being that good).

Cavill still has his eyes on the James Bond role once Daniel Craig leaves.

In 2005 MGM were looking for the man who was going to become the next James Bond for 2006’s Casino Royale. There was reportedly a list of 200 possible people to replace the outoging Pierce Brosnan. The man who eventually landed the life changing role was Daniel Craig, who actually turned down the job after the first offer but upon reading the script decided to change his mind. It was later revealed by Martin Campbell, director of Casino Royale, that the only other actor in serious contention was Henry Cavill, however he was only 22 years old and this time was deemed too young for the role!

Despite all of this bad luck for Henry Cavill it could have been even worse. There are rumours that Cavill auditioned for and almost got the job of Batman before Christian Bale won it but Cavill himself has debunked this rumour and said there was absolutely no truth behind it. With all of those near misses in his career it is really good to see that Cavill has now landed what is sure to be the most iconic role of his career. Man of Steel is in the safe hands of Snyder and Nolan and will surely springboard Cavill’s film career into action making his first option for so many more films in the future!

Fast and Furious Six Casting Rumours – A Little Bit Ridiculous?

So once you’re over the fact that the Fast and Furious film franchise is getting another instalment, it’s time to analyse these casting rumours that are doing the rounds. There is no doubt that this series of films are highly entertaining despite all of the films being pretty much the same. And whilst the films manage to pull in a huge audience thanks to their continuous ‘fast cars and hot women’ model that they follow and also throwing in the eye candy for the women, it seems as though they are aiming for an even wider fan base with Fast and Furious 6, or Fast Six, or The Furious Six or whatever it ends up being called.

So there are three main rumours that are doing the rounds at the minute and I’ll start with the most sensible of the three (in my opinion). Luke Evans has been linked with the role of the villain in the sixth film and the series would be a good fit for him and vice versa. Above all things, the Fast and Furious films are high budget, adrenaline fuelled action films; Evans has appeared in big budget films before such as Immortals, Clash of the Titans and will be appearing in The Hobbit so should be a good choice for the film.

 

The next choice is an interesting one. David Tennant, Scottish actor. I am a big fan of David Tennant and I think he has been brilliant in BBC series’ like Casanova and Doctor Who and there is no doubt that he brings an unchallenged enthusiasm to every role he undertakes (even the adverts he does) but is he really right for such a film as this? I don’t think I’m the only one who has trouble imagining David Tennant in a drag race with Vin Diesel or having a hot scene with Jordana Brewster.

 

There is such a thing as being TOO ridiculous, and this is just an outrage! Rihanna has also been linked with a baddies role in the next film. Rihanna is not an actress; it is bad enough that she forces people to listen to horrible songs that all sound the same and talk about her sex life all the time in her lyrics but now she has to punish us more by appearing in films? What is her problem? What does she dislike about the human race so much that she feels like she has to continually punish us? I get that Fast and Furious has to include the sexy women and what not but at least Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez have a bit of acting credibility to their name!

 

All the usual suspects are reprising their roles for Fast and Furious Six: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Tyrese Gibsion, Dwayne Johnson, Jordana Brewster and even Michelle Rodriguez is signed on to appear (get your head around that one considering she died a couple of movies ago) and Gina Carano is also a new addition to the cast. Diesel has revealed that this latest film will be filmed in Europe and is set for a 2013 release.

Who Will Be The Next James Bond?

Whilst there is no news that Daniel Craig has any intention of stepping down as the English special agent, there are always rumours flying around about who will be next to portray James Bond. Skyfall is released later this year and will be Craig’s third Bond film; although he is contracted for another five outings it seems unlikely that Craig will make it this far as he is already 44 years old and these blockbusters take a while to make, especially if there are delays to future films as there have been to Skyfall. So who will be next to don the suit and become James Bond? Here are my five nominations:

  

Henry Cavill

Having had bit parts in a few films during his career, Cavill was then cast as a main character in the BBC’s hit drama The Tudors where he stayed up until 2010 before deciding to try his hands at films once more and, last year, starred in Immortals. Coming up very soon Cavill stars in The Cold Light of Day which will see him put his action skills to the test. Cavill auditioned for James Bond before Daniel Craig was given the nod as producers felt Cavill was too young. But being that extra few years older now could see him as the favourite for the role. This must be a long shot now, however, as since then Cavill has gone on to win the role of Clark Kent (or Superman, as you might know him) in the upcoming superhero reboot.

 

Benedict Cumberbatch

Here is a British actor taking Hollywood by storm. Best known to audiences for portraying Sherlock Holmes in the BBC’s modern adaptation of the famous detective, he is now moving into films. He has recently starred in two critical successes War Horse and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and has a role in the sequel to JJ Abrams Star Trek and has two roles Lord of the Rings prequel, The Hobbit. His name has been banded about by fans of Sherlock as a possible successor to Daniel Craig and having already portrayed Sherlock Holmes, Cumberbatch knows the pressures of playing an iconic character.

 

Tom Hardy

Hardy is without a doubt one of the best British actors of the moment. He has starred in hit after hit with Bronson, RocknRolla, Warrior, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Inception and will soon be playing the villain in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises. There is no doubting this man’s talents; he has past experience of playing a spy, showing his serious side in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and his charming and funny side in the less serious This Means War. Hardy always throws his all into any acting role and has expressed an interest in playing Bond, although that relies on Christopher Nolan directing, which does not seem very probable at all.

 

Michael Fassbender

Michael Fassbender is fast becoming a wanted man in Hollywood with his performances gaining praise whatever he does. After bursting onto the scene, the half-Irish, half-German actor has become a favourite of mainstream audiences. When X-Men First Class was released there were many comments about the similarities between James Bond and Fassbender’s Magneto at the beginning of the film. There is no doubt that Fassbender has the ability to carry off the part if he was given it but with his commitments to the X-Men it may be hard to find time within his schedule.

 

Dominic Cooper

Okay, so this suggestion is a bit out there but Dominic Cooper is a fine British talent and deserves more recognition across mainstream audiences than he gets at the minute. I think that he definitely looks like a guy who could play James Bond and despite having a career more geared towards drama and romance he is stepping into action films; he was in Captain America and will soon be seen in Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter. He may not have the full set yet, but who knows, when the time comes Cooper might be in with a shout.

 

I think that the next James Bond definitely has to be British. Bond is an English spy and so an English actor is necessary, although with the recent influx of British actors taking over American icons such as Batman, Superman and Spider-man film makers may feel that the nationality of the actor is no longer important. Daniel Craig still has the suit at the minute though and this is purely speculation, but my choice would definitely be Tom Hardy.

 

The Raven Trailer

UK Release Date: 9th March 2012.

The Raven tells a fictitious account of Edgar Allen Poe’s last days. The poet is called in to assist the police when there are a series of murders that mirror the Poe’s stories.

Edgar Allen Poe is being played by John Cusack who I am a big fan of. Some of his recent films, Hot Tub Time Machine and 2012 for example, haven’t been that great but he has been good to watch despite the film itself being below average. Luke Evans plays secondary character, Detective Emmett Fields. Evans is a young and relatively new actor who has been very prolific in the last couple of years with his credits including Robin Hood, Clash of the Titans, Immortals and The Three Musketeers.

The trailer, I think, looks really good. There seem to be similarities between this film and Guy Ritchie’s reboot of Sherlock Holmes. The Raven looks very promising and could provide some very tense moments. Being Hollywood there is bound to be a twist in this crime thriller and will keep audiences guessing which of the characters is the killer right from the off.