Terrence Howard has finally spoken about Marvel Studios’ decision to replace him with Don Cheadle for the role of James Rhodes in Iron Man 2.

The surprise change, according to Howard, surprised him as well. He claimed that he found out about the change like many of the fans — through the news. He also denied that negotiations with him bogged down because of money.

Below is a quote from the interview conducted by NPR:

“It was the surprise of a lifetime,” he said. “There was no explanation. [The contract] just…up and vanished. I read something in the trades implicating that it was about money or something, but apparently the contracts that we write and sign aren’t worth the paper that they’re printed on, sometimes. Promises aren’t kept, and good faith negotiations aren’t always held up.”

I still think that the decision to replace Howard is a big mistake.

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Popular media has been deluged by reality shows and the massive availability of video recording equipment has made everyone a chronicler of sorts. The world has become heaven for the voyeurs who peep into the lives of other people – as seen in Youtube and various blogging sites that chronicle the life of celebrities or even the mundane lives of the normal joes.

This is the kind of world that George Romero wanted to take to task in his newest movie Diary of The Dead.

This latest edition of his zombie series is a rejigging of the whole mythos that began with the seminal cult hit Night of The Living Dead. Diary of The Dead happens right alongside the events that happened in the first movie. A bunch of college film students are shooting a horror film in the woods when reports of the dead coming back to life reach them. They retreat back to their RV and attempt to find a safe place to hide in as the whole world goes upside down.

Romero’s cinema verite style that evokes The Blairwitch Project is very visceral and immediate. Zombie movies, even Romero’s feel fantastical because of the very mythos it presents to the audience. But not Diary of The Dead, the gung-ho reality style makes you feel that the dead suddenly reanimating is entirely possible. You feel more for the people who only have their RV as their flimsy sanctuary. What also helps is that Romero has employed a bunch of “no-name” actors. You get a feeling that these are real people and not paid talent acting out their characters.

This decision to use untested talent is also the biggest flaw of the movie. The way some of the actors react to some of the situations they’re in are just too amateurish sometimes. You know these are greenhorns. I guess Romero is also partly to blame for this. Managing his actors better would have resulted in a more believable film. As it is, it’s the very actors in the film that occasionally shatter the illusion that what we’re watching is an actual documentary. In a sense this is where The Blairwitch Project really excelled. The movie had three tyro actors that really knew how to act and they helped sell the movie.

The effects employed in the movie are quite superb and believable despite the shoestring budget. It may not be the big budget gorefest that Land of The Dead was but the effects were not only passable, they were even quite realistic at some point. Romero has made some setpieces and imagery that will become part of the zombie canon. I especially loved the floating zombies in the indoor pool. It was a dreamlike vision that is made horrifying knowing that it was someone’s family down there.

Diary of The Dead is a flawed movie but it is still a cut above the rest of many of the horror movies that Hollywood has been churning out. It may polarize many moviegoers but for me, this is a worthy addition to the Romero zombie mythology.

Rating: B -

The next installment in the Bourne franchise has been given the go-ahead by Universal. The script has been assigned to George Nolfi, co-writer of the third Bourne film.

The fourth Bourne movie will be the first one that will not be based on a Robert Ludlum title.

Both Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass are reportedly on board for the new movie.

Porn star Sasha Grey recently got her biggest break as she was chosen by Academy-award winning director Steven Soderbergh to star in his new low-budget drama The Girlfriend Experience.

The movie tells the story of a call girl. and is part of Soderbergh’s six-picture deal with Mark Cuban.

Milla Jovovich is making a niche for herself acting in movie adaptations of video games.

The Resident Evil star is now set to work on Clock Tower, a horror game that was available on the Playstation. She will appear alongside Brittany Snow and Alyssa Jayne Hale. Jovovich will play the character of Alyssa Barron.

The movie will be based on the second Clock Tower game, in which the main character is trapped in a psychiatric hospital while she tries to escape from the curse that haunted her family.

It’s confirmed.

Don Cheadle will be replacing Terrence Howard in Iron Man 2.

Howard played Col. James Rhodes, Tony Stark’s friend and future hero as well as he is bequeathed War Machine.

According to reports, negotiations over salary was the main culprit in talks bogging down between Howard and Marvel Studios.

Much as I think Cheadle is a great actor I just don’t see him as donning the War Machine suit. I guess a War Machine movie may not happen after all.

Development of Lethal Weapon 5 has reportedly ground to a halt because star Mel Gibson turned down the project.

According to the original producer and director of the Lethal Weapon series Richard Donner, Gibson may have turned down the project because he is not involved in any capacity. Donner said that it would be a move that he would associate with the superstar.

Donner further said that he and the team he had formed had a very strong story for the sequel but it was unfortunate that Warner Bros. decided to hire the services of producer Joel Silver instead.

File this in the unconfirmed rumors department…

Travis Wright, one of the writers for the recently released Shia LaBeouf action thriller Eagle Eye, mentioned ata a Creative Screenwriting event that he, along with John Glenn, are currently developing the sequel to the seminal Ridley Scott Sci-fi classic Blade Runner. There are still no firm commitments from producers about the movie as the duo are still trying to make the Blade Runner rights holders that making a sequel will be a great idea.

I, for one, hope this really is just a rumor because a Blade Runner sequel is the worst idea in the world. Even worse than the ill-fated Gone With The Wind sequel.

Director George Romero is set to make another zombie movie. Principal photography for the as yet untitled film has begun. As most Romero zombies go (except for Land of The Dead) this movie will feature not so popular actors.

The movie will reportedly be set on an island located off the North American coast. The residents of the island witness their relatives coming back from the dead and laying havoc to the community. The leaders then get into a moral dilemma of whether to kill their reanimated relatives or to keep them in a safe place in the hope that a cure can be found.

I knew it was going to happen.

Zack Snyder recently revealed that there is a proposed sequel to his hit movie 300. Yes, you read it right guys, a sequel to a historical event that was just given fantastical elements to make it ubercool.

Snyder said that he is talking with Frank Miller, who created the 300 graphic novel, about writing and drawing the graphic novel that will be the basis for the second film. Snyder said that until Miller finishes the novel scriptwriting will not commence.

He further revealed that the sequel will take place between the Battle of Thermopylae and the Battle of Plataea. Snyder said that he will definitely return for the sequel.