Hugh Jackman

With films such as “Cop Land,” “3:10 to Yuma” and “Walk the Line,” director James Mangold has delivered gritty portraits of flawed heroes struggling to overcome their baser natures. He’s at it again with his next film, only this time the good guy isn’t a police officer, an old West lawman or Johnny Cash — he’s an immortal mutant with adamantium claws and a bad attitude. Opening July 26, “The Wolverine” features Hugh Jackman returning to his famed “X-Men” role in a more contemplative fashion. In it, Logan travels to Japan to bid farewell to a dying acquaintance only to find himself protecting the life of an heiress, even as he struggles to come to terms with the tragic events of his past. “What’s very much at play is this sense of a guy who’s figuring himself out and who’s […]

Has Wolverine found his kryptonite? And how will the rage-filled mutant who can heal from virtually any wound deal with the possibility of his own mortality? These are a few of the questions that a new trailer for “The Wolverine” raises. “The Wolverine” trailer, released Wednesday morning, opens with beautiful and deadly Japanese ninja Yukio (Rila Fukushima) confessing to Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine that she has been searching for him for more than a year. They get on a plane to Japan, where a very rich and sickly man has a gift for Wolverine. During World War II, Wolverine saved this man’s life by shielding him from a nuclear blast. Now it’s time to repay the debt. “I didn’t send for you only to thank you, Logan,” the man says, reclining on a bed made of thick metal pins. “I want […]

With “The Avengers,” “The Dark Knight Rises,” “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” and more sci-fi and fantasy films, 2012 was a landmark, record-breaking year for spectacle entertainment. But 2013 looks just as promising with a host of big, anticipated sequels — including “Iron Man 3″ and “Star Trek Into Darkness” — and such smart new offerings as “Pacific Rim” and “Elysium” on the calendar. With that in mind, here’s a look at Hero Complex’s 13 must-see movies in 2013. “Oz: The Great and Powerful” (March 8) Sam Raimi’s upcoming “Oz: The Great and Powerful” promises viewers a journey down the yellow brick road that will include a breathtaking array of dazzling visual effects. The Disney film stars James Franco as the man who will become the Wizard of Oz, and takes place well before Dorothy arrives in the faraway fantasy […]

“Real Steel,” the Hugh Jackman-starring robot-boxing movie out in theaters this weekend, owes a lot to its first incarnation — as a sci-fi short story by Richard Matheson that the author helped adapt into a  1963 “Twilight Zone” episode, the film’s director said. Shawn Levy and Evangeline Lilly talked about the origins of the film during Monday’s early IMAX screening, hosted by Hero Complex’s Geoff Boucher. “It’s been in development for eight, nine years, and frankly, in that period, ‘Transformers’ got made, so that made a certain tonality kind of off limits because it had been done,” Levy said. Hear more about ”Real Steel’s” back story in the video above, and be sure to check out the previous installments of the interview talking about Jackman’s generosity as an actor, the decision to film with actual remote-controlled robots, the casting of young […]

“Real Steel” actor Dakota Goyo, 12, was selected from “hundreds of boys” for the role of Max because of his “authenticity,” director Shawn Levy told the audience at Monday’s early IMAX screening of the film. “We did know that even if the rest of us did everything right, if the kid isn’t great, the movie can’t be great,” Levy said at the Los Angeles screening, hosted by Hero Complex’s Geoff Boucher. “I saw a lot of really talented kids, but I knew this part needed something different or more. It’s what Ricky Schroder had in ‘The Champ.’ It’s what Justin Henry had in ‘Kramer vs. Kramer,’ Henry Thomas had in ‘E.T.’ It’s what Spielberg calls an authenticity. It’s separate from acting.” Watch the video above to find out more about Goyo’s casting and performance, and be sure to check out […]

In an era when most movie effects are computer-generated, creating real, remote-controlled robots was “the most central decision” for “Real Steel,” director Shawn Levy told the audience at Monday’s early IMAX screening of the film. “In this moment, you can do everything digitally, so most movies just do everything digitally,” Levy said at the screening, hosted by Hero Complex’s Geoff Boucher. “It’s quicker. It’s often cheaper. So this notion of building real, full-scale, remote-controlled robots is kind of heresy now because it’s unnecessary. But it’s not unnecessary if you consider that you are going to get a visual reality and a reality to the performances that is incomparable.” Evangeline Lilly, who starred opposite Hugh Jackman in the robot-boxing film, which opens this weekend, praised Levy and the filmmaking team, saying the experience of acting with a real robot was considerably […]

One of the biggest challenges Hugh Jackman faced while filming “Real Steel” was putting aside his good nature to portray someone who behaves despicably, the film’s director Shawn Levy said at an early IMAX screening. “Truly, in any profession or category, he is maybe the actual nicest guy in the world, Levy told the audience at Monday’s screening, hosted by Hero Complex’s Geoff Boucher. “That was a source of great discomfort for him, especially in the scenes where it was him and Dakota [Goyo, his on-screen son,] and I would push him to be really kind of hard toward this kid.” Both Levy and Jackman’s “Real Steel” co-star Evangeline Lilly praised the actor’s warmth, kindness and generosity. “When you’re acting, a lot of it is very selfish, and a lot of the time, it’s every man for himself,” Lilly said. […]

Hollywood has called on Hugh Jackman to portray a feral mutant superhero, a vampire hunter, a singing penguin and a dapper cartoon rodent, so you would think his latest project, “Real Steel,” which opens Friday, would be a cinch — how hard could it be to channel a former boxer on the ropes in his personal life? But according to director Shawn Levy, the hard-luck protagonist Charlie Kenton took the actor into a unexpectedly challenging corner: It demanded he be casually cruel to his on-screen son, Max, played by the cherub-faced 12-year-old Dakota Goyo. “After certain takes, Hugh would come up to me, concerned, asking ‘Are you sure I’m not being too harsh to this boy?’” Levy said. “I would assure him that … his fundamental kindness came through and, second, if we don’t set this character up as an […]

The billboards and posters for “Real Steel” may focus on the robot boxers, but the film’s director, Shawn Levy, and actress Evangeline Lilly say the movie’s real mettle has less to do with robots than with the relationship between a father and son. “If it was going to be unique, if you’re going to make a robot movie in 2011… it had to be different, and it had to be about more than its machines and more than its action. I always felt that this thing was gonna sink or swim on the basis of its heart,” Levy told the audience at Monday night’s free IMAX screening of the film, hosted by Hero Complex’s Geoff Boucher. Lilly, who stars opposite Hugh Jackman in the film, which hits theaters Friday, said that she was at first skeptical when she read the […]

“Real Steel” arrives in theaters Oct. 7 but our readers can see it early and see it for free as part of the Hero Complex IMAX screening series. Our screening of “Real Steel” — which stars Hugh Jackman in a futuristic tale that is adrenaline-intense but also surprisingly heartfelt – is at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 3 at Universal Citywalk Stadium 19. Hero Complex lead writer Geoff Boucher will interview director Shawn Levy on stage after the film. You can find all of the details and sign up right here. To find out first about our special events and other films that will be featured in the Hero Complex IMAX Screening Series, follow us on Twitter: @LATherocomplex – Noelene Clark RECENT AND RELATED Has Shawn Levy made a robot film with heart? ‘Real Steel’: MMA with robots LaBeouf on Megan Fox leaving […]