Entertainment Tonight looks at U.N.C.L.E. movie

Here’s a low-resolution version (via Henry Cavill Online) of Entertainment Tonight’s June 10 story about The Man From U.N.C.L.E. movie. A few tidbits of note:

–Hugh Grant as Waverly tells Henry Cavill’s Napoleon Solo his new code name is “U.N.C.L.E.” (or just “uncle”).

— A general observation: even though the movie is set in 1963, it appears the film makers used clothing styles from various points of the 1960s.

— There are some scenes that were in the trailer shown in some U.S. theaters during the May 29-31 weekend, in particular Armie Hammer’s Illya Kuryakin ripping off a trunk lid.

— Kuryakin calls Solo “cowboy,” not in a flattering way. Again, something that was in the May 29-31 trailer.

If you haven’t seen it, take a look. The story runs for about two minutes.

The comic book movie ‘glut’ of 2015

Avengers: Age of Ultron poster

Over the past few months, we’ve been reading various comments on social media such as, “I’m tired of all of the comic book movies!” Or “Comic book movies are ruining the cinema.”

We’re not quite five-and-a-half months into the year. How many have there actually been?

Well, most prominently, there’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, the sequel to 2012’s Marvel’s The Avengers. As of June 8, it had worldwide box office of $1.35 billion, ACCORDING TO BOX OFFICE MOJO.

That’s less than the $1.5 billion for the 2012 original and the $1.51 billion for this year’s Furious 7. Still, most studio executives would kill for box office exceeding $1 billion. Also, Avengers: Age of Ultron’s budget still came in $50 million cheaper (with location shooting in South Africa, South Korea and Italy) than SPECTRE and its $300 million (or more) budget.

Other comic book-based films released so far? Well, there’s Kingsman: The Secret Service, which based on a limited series of comics and revamped significantly from the original. After that, not so many.

What’s coming in the second half of 2015? There’s Marvel’s Ant-Man in July and Fox’s new attempt at a Fantastic Four movie in early August. After that….not so many.

Granted, movie goers have been seeing a teaser trailer for Batman v Superman: The Dawn of Justice. But that won’t be out until March 2016. Granted, Marvel/Disney and Warner Bros./DC have announced slates of comic book-based films going out to 2020. But they’re not out this year.

A half-century ago, James Bond films were dismissed by some critics as little more than comic books. Older Bond fans seethe at the memory. At the same time, some of those same fans look at comic book-based films the same way those 1960s critics looked at Bond. The more things change, they more they stay the same.

Guy Ritchie reveals final U.N.C.L.E. poster

Image that accompanied Guy Ritchie post

Director Guy Ritchie IN A POST ON INSTAGRAM displayed what he described as the final poster for The Man From U.N.C.L.E. movie and said a new trailer debuts June 11.

The short message reads as follows:

guyritchieFor my beloved followers! You’ve seen it here first, the final poster for The Man From U.N.C.L.E the trailer debuts tomorrow. Saving the world has never looked so good #themanfromuncle

The U.N.C.L.E. movie’s teaser trailer debuted on Feb. 11. At the recent CinemaCon event in Las Vegas, intended for theater operators, there was another trailer shown, but that hasn’t been seen since.

Yet another trailer was shown in some U.S. theaters the weekend of May 29-31 along with the Warner Bros. movie San Andreas. But that trailer hasn’t been online.

The movie, with Henry Cavill as Napoleon Solo and Armie Hammer as Illya Kuryakin, is scheduled to debut Aug. 14. Ritchie’s film is a different take compared to the original 1964-68 series, with U.N.C.L.E. not yet formed, and Solo an agent for the CIA and Kuryakin a KGB operative.