'Wolverine' Director Planning Unrated Version: Prepare For Even More Violence James Mangold reveals what exactly had to be left on the cutting room floor to guarantee the mutant movie a PG-13 rating.

When your primary superpower is stabbing people with six razor-sharp knives, it's impossible to make a "The Wolverine," the fifth film starring Hugh Jackman in the titular role of the hirsute berserker.

bloodless film. Director James Mangold discovered that while working on

And with Mangold's desire to do a back-to-basics film about the brawling mutant following 2009's unfocused "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," he knew that meant getting violent.

Will There Be An Unrated Version Of 'The Wolverine'?

"I was amazed that the trims we made to get a PG-13 were not devastating to the movie," Mangold told MTV News' Josh Horowitz. "The movie is mostly old-fashioned sword warfare — and arrows — so in many ways we dodged the kind of intense violence of guns."

The film is based on the character's first ever solo outing, 1982's "Wolverine" by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller. In the comic book limited series, Wolverine travels to Japan to reconnect with a woman that he's fallen in love with (Mariko Yashida) and gets caught up in a war between a clan of ninjas and the Japanese crime syndicate known as the Yakuza. Wolverine's claws clash with ancient katana blades in the story, just as they do in the big screen adventure. But not everything made the final cut, Mangold reveals.

The Wolverine

"Obviously when you get to the length we had, there will be some extras that people will see, in some kind of unrated version of the movie coming out." The film as it stands takes the hero physically further than any other; Jackman's jacked beyond belief and Wolverine's body count rises higher than ever before. The thought of an unrated version of this already action-packed adventure could send fans' minds reeling.

Wolverine finds himself tangling with foes in entirely new and unexpected locations, like on the outside of a bullet train and through the crowded city streets of Japan. His opponents prove to be as formidable as him, including the deadly Viper and Harada, an ally of the Yashida family and the leader of a clan of ninjas. Fans have wanted to see Wolverine throw down with ninjas on the big screen since Jackman's first appearance as the character back in 2000's "X-Men," and Mangold granted that wish. But, he promises, there's even more ninja-goodness where that came from.

"There's a larger fight in the ice village when he meets with Harada's men, that you will see parts of," reveals the director. "That actually wasn't about ratings. It was just about — I thought that except for the most die-hard lover of fights, [the movie] flows better emotionally the way it works [without the scenes]."

READ MORE:http://www.mtv.com

Amanda Bynes poses 'a substantial risk to herself and others,' is 'extremely paranoid' and has squandered money in 'very short amount of time,' parents say in filing for temporary conservatorship Lynn Bynes is asking for control of the former child star's personal and financial matters after she allegedly started a gasoline fire in a stranger's driveway Monday night.

ALO CEBALLOS/FILMMAGIC

Amanda Bynes is currently undergoing psychiatric evaluation and will remain under the care of doctor for two more weeks.

Amanda Bynes is a hyper-paranoid pothead who's blowing through her life's savings and "cabbed it" from New York to Los Angeles before lighting a neighbor's driveway on fire, her parents said in a petition to take control of her finances.

Parents Rick and Lynn Bynes were in court Friday seeking a temporary conservatorship, but the judge postponed any decision saying he first wanted a personal "dialogue" with the troubled actress.

Judge Glen Reiser said Amanda wasn't in a coma and there was no doctor with "a scalpel in hand" waiting for his ruling, so he wanted to take his time while she's undergoing a forced psychiatric evaluation that was extended Thursday to two weeks from 72-hours.

"This is not a case where there's an emergency right now, and because conservatorships of the person and estate involve liberty and property interests, there are a lot of t's we need to cross and i's we need to dot."

Bynes' parents Rick and Lynn Bynes agreed to return Aug. 9 after spelling out their grave concerns in a filing made public after the Friday hearing.

PHOTOS: AMANDA BYNES' BIZARRE ANTICS: IS SHE HAVING A MELTDOWN?

"We are deeply concerned that Amanda poses a substantial risk to herself, to others and to property based on recent events in her life," the petition to make Lynn her sole conservator reads.

BRUJA/JUAN SHARMA, PACIFICCOASTNEWS.COM

Rick Bynes appeared stoic in court.

They say they have no idea how Amanda, 27, traveled to southern California from New York last week or where she was staying prior to starting the gasoline fire in their sleepy Thousand Oaks, Calif., neighborhood that led to her forced hospitalization.

She was last spotted in New York on July 17 and arrived in Southern California three days later.

Her parents said she has no driver's license or formal identification and claimed she "cabbed it" across country.

"We believe she is essentially homeless," the filing states.

RELATED: AMANDA BYNES DONS BLUE WIG DURING NYC COURT APPEARANCE

They claim Amanda was "extremely paranoid" about being "watched" when she lived in their residence, covering smoke alarms with towels, taping windows shut and covering her car's dashboard with cardboard and tape out of fear that "cameras were watching her."

Amanda also has profound body image issues, calls family members including her young niece "ugly" and may be submitting herself to dangerous cosmetic procedures, the parents claim.

SPLASH NEWS

The Bynes family is being represented by Tamar Arminak, who is pictured arriving at Ventura Juvenile Court on Friday morning.

According to the filing, Amanda has written $63,000 in checks since May 3 and made bank withdrawals of $100,000 on June 4 and July 2 to fund her drug dependency and erratic behavior.

"We have received large doctor bills for purported services to Amanda from doctors that we do not know for unspecified services," they say in the filing. "We are informed and believe that a substantial amount of thi smoney is being used to pay for marijuana."

The parents claim Amanda had amassed $4 million in savings but has spent some $1.2 million in a "very short amount of time."

PHOTOS: CELEBRITIES WHO'VE FELT THE WRATH OF AMANDA BYNES

They are asking the court to give Lynn temporary control of Amanda's personal and financial matters, highlighting accounts that Amanda lit her pants on fire during the Monday night fire and injured her pet Pomeranian.

Judge Reiser said he didn't want to rush the issue.

He appointed Ventura County Public Defender Mary Shae as Amanda's lawyer and asked her to meet with the former Nickelodeon star and prepare a declaration.

SPLASH NEWS

A young woman believed to be Amanda Bynes is wheeled outside of a Los Angeles-area psychiatric ward where the actress is being treated.

"My assumption is that you would want an opportunity to speak to your client?" Reiser asked Shae

"Absolutely," Shae responded.

RELATED: AMANDA BYNES STRIPPED OFF HER PANTS AFTER STARTING FIRE IN STRANGER’S DRIVEWAY

Reiser also ordered an independent investigator to prepare a report. He said he had "every expectation" that Amanda would make it to court with Shae after her release from Hillmont Psychiatric Hospital in Ventura.

Lynn's lawyer Tamar Arminak said it was her understanding that Bynes had a habeas hearing at Hilltop set for Friday afternoon on the subject of her forced detention.

"So the situation might change?" Reiser asked.

"Drastically," Arminak said.

SELLEBRITY RICK / SPLASH NEWS

The burned driveway where Amanda Bynes started a fire Monday night.

The judge said if Bynes is released before the end of her current two-week hold, either side could ask for an emergency hearing.

PHOTOS: CHILD STAR MELTDOWNS

Arminak also said that Amanda's hospital did not allow her to give the former child star formal notice of the Friday hearing.

"The facility she is in monitors what goes in and out and they did not allow us to serve her," she said.

The judge asked Shae to help with matter or waive the requirement for five days of notice.

The judge also said Lynn Bynes also was obligated to serve all of Amanda's first and second degree relatives with her court filings.

"We'll have the luxury of two weeks in this case," Judge Reiser said.

BRUJA/JUAN SHARMA, PACIFICCOASTNEWS.COM/BRUJA/JUAN SHARMA, PACIFICCOASTN

Lynn and Rick Bynes appeared in court Friday morning.

RELATED: AMANDA BYNES' MOM FILES FOR TEMPORARY CONSERVATORSHIP

The Friday hearing was mostly procedural and did not cover the purported mental health issues at the center of the case - in large due to laws protecting against the release of private health information in a public courtroom.

Sources told the Daily News Thursday that Amanda's doctors "need more time" to understand the nature of her illness.

Celebrity website TMZ.com cited unidentified sources in a report saying Amanda has exhibited signs of schizophrenia in recent days.

Lynn's petition for the temporary conservatorship did not indicate that a diagnosis of schizophrenia has been made, a source to the News.

The "Easy A" actress has been on a downward spiral since a DUI arrest in West Hollywood last year. She allegedly tossed a bong out of a 36th floor Manhattan apartment in May.

She was charged with reckless endangerment, attempted tampering with physical evidence and unlawful possession of marijuana. 

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com

'The Wolverine' is born of Westerns, samurai

Superhero movies are famous for having do-gooders save the world from certain doom.

Not The Wolverine, though, and it's just one differing aspect of director James Mangold's movie (opening wide Friday), which has more in common withChinatown,Double Indemnity and The French Connection than The Avengers or Man of Steel.

Among the other non-traditional aspects: Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) has mysteries to solve when he ends up in Japan to say goodbye to an old friend; he encounters a host of women with their own secrets; and there's a distinct lack of mass populations in the crosshairs of a maniacal supervillain.

"It's essentially a character piece," Mangold says. "It's really about the fortunes, the loves, the losses and the issues of these characters within the film more than it's just about another doomsday plot of one kind or another. And that makes for a very different kind of film."

STORY: Somehow, Jackman has mutated into Wolverine
MORE: Rila Fukushima turns from runways to swordplay

Unlike a lot of what Mangold calls "spandex movies," The Wolverine draws heavily from martial-arts movies as well as Japanese cinema and samurai culture. The story finds Logan entering an ancient world he doesn't understand with strange rules, secrets and allegiances.

The qualities one associates with Japan — duty, family, honor and history — are all things the hero "couldn't give a rat's ass about," Jackman says. "The fish-out-of-water juxtaposition of having Wolverine there is fantastic."

The main theme is the character's immortality as a result of his mutant powers, which he doesn't see as a positive. When the movie catches up with him, he's isolated in wintry wilderness, having abandoned the X-Men, killed his love, Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) — to be fair, she had turned into a weapon of mass destruction in 2006'sX-Men: The Last Stand— and lost his mentor, Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart).

The fact that this torturing of a soul is not tackled in most superhero fare was appealing to Jackman. He also liked how Logan is given the chance to become normal, though that choice also is fraught with consequences.

"Pretty much everyone he loves dies — that's the curse of being this character. And in a way he wants to escape everything he's become," the actor says. "There's too much pain, too much damage, too much collateral damage everywhere he goes."

Exploring that kind of loneliness and alienation gives the story religious and mythical overtones, Mangold says.

"For a guy who never dies and who heals from anything, life becomes a series of losses in which you must keep going and persevere," he says. "The departure point of the story is a very dark place for Logan and in a way almost the predicament of a god — what is it like to have to go on forever?''

As in old-school noir movies, women turn out to be a problem for Logan — he's haunted by Jean in his dreams and falls for Mariko Yashida (Tao Okamoto), a member of one of Japan's most powerful families.

"His main kryptonite is women, really, which I always thought was really great and human about him," Jackman says.

Yet Mangold, maker of 2005's Walk the Line and 2007's 3:10 to Yuma, also wanted The Wolverine to have a Western influence. He kept talking with Jackman about the 1976 Clint Eastwood classic The Outlaw Josey Wales, enough so that the actor watched the movie as homework leading up to filming.

"He was constantly directing me in a way to keep it more and more internal," Jackman says. Logan is "tightly wound up on the inside but keeps it buried and restrained. It's not always easy. It's easier to fall into more of that ad-libbing, quippy side of Wolverine, but I think the intensity we're going for in this movie is one we haven't gotten before."

The Wolverine is not without certain superhero elements. The story's based on the classic 1982Wolverine comic-book miniseries by Frank Miller and Chris Claremont; the femme fatale Viper (Svetlana Khodchenkova) is a mutant who spits green acidic mist and has a snake tongue; and there is seeding for the next movie in which Wolverine will appear, next year's X-Men: Days of Future Past.

But Logan is more modeled on Eastwood in The Wolverine than on a comic-book superman.

"He doesn't have a lot of gimmicks or gizmos, he doesn't live in a world of technology, he doesn't need technology,'' Mangold says. "It's just him and his claws and his incredible strength and ability to withstand pain and survive calamity.''

In many ways, Mangold says, "the character of Logan is a very, very palpable mythical fantasy for a lot of men and women, which is this idea of having a piece of you inside you that is primal, that is feral, that is like an animal — a kind of rage and primeval emotion about the pain you felt and the injustices that have been done."

NEWS SOURCE:http://www.usatoday.com

'The Wolverine' review: Looking sharp

The Wolverine

 Action. Starring Hugh Jackman, Rila Fukushima and Tao Okamoto. Directed by James Mangold. (PG-13. 120 minutes.)
Somewhere along the line somebody must have had a crazy idea, that maybe for once the Wolverine required a decent script, and shouldn't rely only on action, audience goodwill and the sight of Hugh Jackman with his shirt off. And so a team was assembled, made up of people who have made some very good movies.
Those movies are too many to list here, but for a taste: Director James Mangold made "Walk the Line" and "3:10 to Yuma," and screenwriters Mark Bomback, Scott Frank and Christopher McQuarrie made "Live Free or Die Hard," "Out of Sight" and "The Usual Suspects," respectively. This time out, nobody is slumming.
Within five minutes, it's apparent that the audience, and "The Wolverine," are in good hands. The movie, a sequel to 2009's "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," begins with three gripping sequences, including a vivid one in which our hero survives the atomic bomb blast at Nagasaki. Of course he does - he's that kind of person. His hair and skin may be burned off, but he flexes and growls, and a moment later, everything has grown back.
Less immediately apparent than the quality of the action is the subtle and welcome change the filmmakers have wrought in Wolverine. Of the mutant superhero X-Men, he was always the sad sack, the depressive, the self-hating one, the one who didn't want to use his powers; but in "The Wolverine," he is less angst-ridden, and more angry and motivated, which activates the movie.

Straight-up action hero

At the start, he is drifting and haunted by nightmares, but he still has the gumption to pick a fight when he witnesses an injustice. In the best way, he is more like a straight-up action hero - no longer a miserable guy like Lon Chaney Jr.'s Wolf Man, but capable, dangerous and, when it's called for, sarcastic.
The clash between mutants and humans has been the relentless focus of previous "X-Men" movies. "The Wolverine" drops that exhausted subject in favor of something more clear-cut and immediate: The Wolverine is asked to travel to Japan in order to say goodbye to the man whose life he saved in Nagasaki. The Wolverine, who's not doing much of anything these days besides growing out his sideburns, agrees, and soon gets involved in a tangled and dangerous conflict over the old man's will. The old man skips over his own son and makes his granddaughter, Marika (Tao Okamoto), the richest woman in Asia.
A nice feature of "The Wolverine" is that it always stays with our hero, and his task is always simple and easy to grasp, despite whatever complicating machinations are taking place off camera. He saves Marika's life - as soon as people find out that she is about to inherit everything, armies of assassins pop out from everywhere - and he becomes determined to keep her alive. Why? Because he's a nice guy, and he likes her.
Unfortunately, the Wolverine is not the best relationship material at the moment. He can't go to sleep without having nightmares that cause him to leap out of the sheets, waving his adamantine knuckle blades, ready to kill anything that moves. Handsome or not, he is definitely a case for separate beds.
"The Wolverine" is the first film from the X-Men universe to show Jackman to full advantage. The actor has worked himself into a physical condition that is downright humbling, or inspiring, depending on your viewpoint, and his performance is in the best action tradition of strength and humor.
The action sequences are not perfunctory and, though they had to have been cooked up on a computer, they don't look like it. Or at least, they're imaginative enough that you don't have time to think of them in that way.

Train chase

For example, there's a chase on top of a train, a familiar action-movie trope last seen as recently as "The Lone Ranger," a few weeks ago. But the chase in "The Wolverine" takes place on a Japanese bullet train going 300 mph, which completely changes the dynamic. The scene is faster, quieter and more eerie, and the fighting requires different strategies.
"The Wolverine" shows that, while originality would be nice, a little novelty and enthusiasm in the presentation of the familiar can be quite enough. The bottom line is that audiences aren't stupid and will not settle for just anything, as the anemic box office for recent blockbusters is showing. "The Wolverine" deserves to break out from the pack.

NEWS SOURCE: http://www.sfgate.com/

Amanda Bynes Judge Extends Psych Hold

TMZ has learned ... the judge just GRANTED the request to extend Amanda's psychiatric hold for another 2 weeks.   So even if the judge denies the temporary conservatorship Friday ... Amanda will stay in the psych ward for 2 more weeks.



Amanda Bynes is in a court hearing right now to determine if the 5150 psychiatric hold will be extended for 2 weeks, and if the judge denies the extension Amanda could walk free tonight ... TMZ has learned.

Sources connected with the matter tell TMZ the hearing is being held in the psychiatric hospital where Amanda has been confined. A judge is presiding over the hearing at the hospital.

We're told Amanda has her own lawyer who is arguing that the extension should be denied.

Our sources say the doctors are arguing that they need the 2 weeks to properly diagnose Amanda ... and that releasing her could pose a danger to herself and others.

If the judge denies the extension the 72-hour hold expires in a matter of hours and Amanda could go free.

People connected with the case tell TMZ, however ... they feel confident doctors will win an extension.

We're also told the reason Amanda's parents are going to court Friday morning is because they are worried the judge will reject the 2 week extension and they want the ability to control her actions in the event that happens

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/

FANS TO COMIC-CON: FIX THE WAIT LINES

Comic-Con, one fan gamely told a top Con official, should be renamed “line-con.”

Knowing laughter followed in a room filled with attendees Sunday afternoon, eager to get their chance to vent, rant — occasionally praise — and make suggestions about San Diego’s biggest convention.

John Rogers, president of Comic-Con International’s board of directors, responded, half-joking: “I thought we were running a Comic-Con convention, but we’re running lines.”

As the pop culture confab wrapped up its sold-out, four-day gathering that draws 130,000 attendees and transforms the Gaslamp Quarter into a mega entertainment playground, organizers held their annual “Comic-Con talkback” session to solicit feedback, good or bad, from the fans.

Rogers, taking notes throughout, was patient but circumspect, frequently refraining from offering clear-cut solutions. Not surprisingly, the infamously long lines to get into the more than 6,000-seat capacity Hall H were a common complaint, with several of the fans suggesting that the popular celebrity panels promoting TV shows and films be shown in a separate room or streamed on the web.

Many fans this year chose to camp out overnight or arrive in the predawn hours in hopes of seeing cast members from “Game of Thrones” and “Breaking Bad” or to see up close film stars like Sandra Bullock, Hugh Jackman and the occasional surprise celeb, like this year’s Tom Cruise, there to talk up their upcoming movies.

“Last year I got in line for Hall H at 6 a.m. I did get in, but it seems like every year you have to get in line earlier and earlier, and I think that’s unacceptable,” said Papool Chaudhari, who traveled from Texas for the convention. “San Diego should move to a three-tier system with the first tier reserved seating, and you sell separate badges. The other 3,000 seats camp out, and with the revenue you get (from selling reserved seats), use that for live simulcasts and exclusive footage at other locations.”

While Rogers could not say what might change to address the Hall H issue, he said he’s well aware of fans’ frustrations.

“We look at all this stuff every year, and what you propose would be a very different model we’d have to think about,” he said as a long line of attendees waited for their turn at the microphone. “It’s hard to say what we’ll do next year. We’ve discussed a lot of different ideas for Hall H, and a lot of them didn’t go forward, and I’m sure we’ll talk about that again. I had an idea of a wireless simulcast, but not sure it’s possible.

“And no, I don’t think it’s a great thing that everyone camps out. I wouldn’t want to do it.”

The annual scramble to purchase badges to the always sold-out convention was also very much on the minds of fans who wondered if there isn’t a better, fairer system than everyone going online the minute that ticket sales open. One fan suggested a preferential system for longtime convention-goers, who have been attending long before it became “Hollywood 2,” as he put it.

NEWS SOURCE:http://www.utsandiego.com/

Comic-Con: Marvel’s ‘Age of Ultron,’ ‘Guardians of the Galaxy,’ more

Marvel Studios pulled out all the stops for its Hall H panel presentation during Comic-Con on Saturday, wowing with surprise after surprise, including an introduction by Tom Hiddleston in full Loki costume, an unannounced discussion with the entire cast of “Guardians of the Galaxy,” and an appearance by “The Avengers” director Joss Whedon, who unveiled the sequel’s title: “The Avengers: Age of Ultron.”

The panel also focused on “Thor: The Dark World” and “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.”

The lights cut out as the panel began, and a disembodied voice hissed, “Humanity, humanity, look how far you’ve fallen,” chastising the audience for “sweltering in line” and “huddling in the dark like beasts … in this meager palace of Midgard, the arena they call Hall H.”

A spotlight revealed “Thor: The Dark World” costar Hiddleston, decked head to toe in his green and gold Loki attire.

“I am Loki, of Asgard! And I am burdened with glorious purpose. Stand back, you mewling quim!”

The audience erupted in cheers and began chanting, “Lo-ki! Lo-ki! Lo-ki!”

Hiddleston, fighting a grin to stay in character, raised his arms to accept the worship before silencing the 6,500-seat arena simply by bringing his finger to his lips.

FULL COVERAGE: San Diego Comic-Con 2013

“You should have let me rule you when you had the chance, yet here you are,” Hiddleston said. “Your ears yearn for untold stories. Your eyes crave unseen sights. Your imaginations ache and hunger. Where are your Avengers now? … Say my name. Say my name!”

When the fans took up the chant again, he said, “It seems I have an army. Feast your eyes!”

Actress Scarlett Johansson at the Marvel panel. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

If the preview footage that followed is any indication, Loki will have a large role to play in “Thor: The Dark World,” and just might betray Chris Hemsworth’s hammer-wielding hero once again. The teaser also showed dark elves, giants and some fun banter between Thor and Sif, the Asgardian warrior woman played by Jaimie Alexander. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) gets rainbow-whisked to Asgard, and in one scene slaps Loki across the face, saying, “That was for New York,” referring, of course, to the climactic battle in “The Avengers.”

The “Thor” presentation was followed by a panel discussion with the directors and stars of “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.” In the film, Chris Evans’ titular character is still adjusting to the modern world after his 65 years frozen in the Arctic.

“He’s getting there,” Evans said. “It’s not so much about his shock with tech.… It’s more about the societal difference with the ‘40s to today. I think he comes from a world where the people were more trusting.… The world today, it’s harder to know who’s right and who’s wrong.”

Evans mentioned that the compromise of civil liberties in the name of protecting the public is “harder for him to swallow.”

Evans was joined on the panel by directors Anthony Russo and Joe Russo as well as costars Scarlett Johansson (Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Cobie Smulders (Maria Hill), Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes), Anthony Mackie (new character the Falcon), Frank Grillo and Emily VanCamp.

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige noted that Bucky Barnes’ role in the film will adhere closely to Ed Brubaker’s comic book story line of the same title. Fans caught a glimpse of the character picking up the Cap’s iconic shield in a teaser for the film. The preview footage also featured a brutal fight scene, in which Steve Rogers is trapped in an elevator and ambushed by goons. Of course, he single-handedly takes them all out.

“This film is gritty,” Johansson said. “It’s got some down-and-dirty, knuckle-baring fighting.”

The footage introduced Anthony Mackie as the Falcon, who appeared to be facing off against fighter jets.

“I have wings and guns,” Mackie said. “That’s all you need, right?”

Actors Anthony Mackie and Cobie Smulders at the Marvel panel. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

The footage also showed off Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce, who tells Rogers, “Captain, to build a better world sometimes means tearing the old one down.”

Redford’s casting was in keeping with the tone the directors were hoping to strike.

“The movie is really based on, its tone is derived from ‘70s political thrillers,” Joe Russo said, calling the directing gig “a dream come true.”

COMIC-CON PHOTOS: Cosplay costumes, in all their crazy glory

Afterward, Feige brought the entire cast of “Guardians of the Galaxy” on stage, flown in this morning from the London set just for Comic-Con.

Director James Gunn took the stage, along with Chris Pratt (Star-Lord), Zoe Saldana (Gamora), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Michael Rooker (Yondu), Dave Bautista (Drax the Destroyer), Benicio Del Toro (the Collector), Lee Pace (Ronan the Accuser) and Djimon Hounsou (Korath).

Pratt, best known for his comedic “Parks and Recreation” role, talked about the physical transformation he has undergone for the part.

“I got the role six months ago, and they were like, ‘Great job, but you’re too fat,’” Pratt said. “I was like, ‘All right, I can work on that.’”

“Doctor Who” alum Karen Gillan also underwent a transformation for her character Nebula, who is bald in the comics.

“I might have done something a little bit crazy,” she said, pulling off a red-haired wig and revealing her shaved head to the stunned audience.

“I was a little worried that I was going to look like an overgrown fetus,” she said. “Maybe that’s true. But it’s liberating. It’s very liberating. Everyone here should shave their heads.”

Gillan and “The Walking Dead” actor Michael Rooker later compared head-smoothness, rubbing each other’s shorn scalps.

Promotional artwork for “Guardians of the Galaxy.” (Marvel)

Perhaps most movingly, Dave Bautista appeared overwhelmed as he talked humbly about landing the role.

“There’s a point where I go to set every day and I still can’t freaking believe I got this job,” he said. “It’s something that I wanted more than anything I ever wanted in my life. When I got it, I broke down and cried like a little baby.”

Feige dismissed the notion that Bautista, best known for professional wrestling, was cast merely for his hulking size, saying that he auditioned seven or eight times for the part.

“Dave earned this job based on his acting ability, which is tremendous,” Feige said.

Marvel showed some scenes from the “Guardians of the Galaxy,” which has only been filming for 10 days. The tone is strikingly different from previous Marvel films, with more snark and irreverent humor. At one point, Star-Lord slowly cranks out his middle finger.

Pratt described his character as a scoundrel.

“He had a hard time as a kid, and now he goes around space, making out with hot alien girls and just being a rogue and a bit of a jerk, and through teaming up with these guys, finds a higher purpose for himself,” he said.

After “Guardians,” the audience chanted, “More! More! More!”

Feige introduced Joss Whedon to unveil the title of the “Avengers” sequel — “The Avengers: Age of Ultron.”

It’s unclear how closely the film will tie to the recently finished “Age of Ultron” story in Marvel Comics, or whether Ant-Man (the protagonist in another upcoming Marvel film, directed by Edgar Wright) will be part of the film. In the comics, Ultron is an insane, sentient robot who tries to destroy his creator, Dr. Henry Pym, the original Ant-Man.

Tom Hiddleston in character as Loki at the Marvel Studios panel. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

The panel also focused on “Thor: The Dark World” and “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.”

The lights cut out as the panel began, and a disembodied voice hissed, “Humanity, humanity, 

look how far you’ve fallen,” chastising the audience for “sweltering in line” and “huddling in the dark like beasts … in this meager palace of Midgard, the arena they call Hall H.”

A spotlight revealed “Thor: The Dark World” costar Hiddleston, decked head to toe in his green and gold Loki attire.

“I am Loki, of Asgard! And I am burdened with glorious purpose. Stand back, you mewling quim!”

The audience erupted in cheers and began chanting, “Lo-ki! Lo-ki! Lo-ki!”

Hiddleston, fighting a grin to stay in character, raised his arms to accept the worship before silencing the 6,500-seat arena simply by bringing his finger to his lips.

FULL COVERAGE: San Diego Comic-Con 2013

“You should have let me rule you when you had the chance, yet here you are,” Hiddleston said. “Your ears yearn for untold stories. Your eyes crave unseen sights. Your imaginations ache and hunger. Where are your Avengers now? … Say my name. Say my name!”

When the fans took up the chant again, he said, “It seems I have an army. Feast your eyes!”

Batman/Superman teamup movie coming in 2015

SAN DIEGO --Start your drooling, fanboys and fangirls, and get ready for lots of Batarangs and heat vision. Batman and Superman will soon be teaming up on a big screen near you.

At a Warner Bros. panel at Comic-Con Saturday, the studio announced that Henry Cavill, the star of this summer's Man of Steel, will reprise the role of Superman in a sequel that will also feature Batman.

Man of Steel director Zack Snyder will act in the same capacity for the follow-up, expected in 2015.

No casting for Batman was mentioned but Snyder teased that the Gotham City hero's relationship with Superman in Frank Miller's seminal 1980s comic The Dark Knight Returns will inform aspects of Man of Steel 2.

NEWS SOURCE:http://www.usatoday.com

Actress Rae Dawn Chong uses racial slur to rip former co-star Oprah Winfrey

Rae Dawn Chong co-starred with Oprah Winfrey in "The Color Purple," and said the two were friends on set. But in a crude radio interview on Thursday filled with expletives and a racial slur, she said that soon changed.

Appearing on Matty P’s Radio Happy Hour for a segment later published on TMZ, Chong said Winfrey was "lovely" on the film, but became jealous when Chong got a part on Arnold Schwarzenegger's action flick "Commando.”

“That’s when she was a total biotch,” Chong said. "I starred in ‘Commando.’ And she just wasn’t having me. She’s competitive. She didn’t like me."

But Chong was just getting started.

“The thing that’s really great about Oprah that you can’t take away from her is that she’s a great brown-noser," she said."If you go into a room with her she will pick the most powerful person and will become best friends with them."

Then she went even further.

“She was that fat chick that was a cheerleader or the wannabe cheerleader in school that was the student council president that was the best friends with the principal," she said. "She was the fat chick in school that did everything and everyone loved her.”

Then Chong really got down and dirty, even dropping the n-word.

“If you look at the way [Oprah] looks, she looks like 60 years ago she would have been a house keeper, luckily." 

She then used the n-word and said had Winfrey been a slave, she would have been working in the field.

Chong wrapped things up with a compliment of sorts.

“This woman is a miracle and I respect her and I say kudos to you, and I don’t give two cents about the other parts of it," she said. "She shifted the DNA in terms of our thinking of a woman of a certain size and a certain shade. I love her for that.”

A rep for Winfrey's network, OWN, did not immediately return a request for comment

NEWS SOURCE:http://www.foxnews.com