Remember just after The Expendables 2 came out, and there was talk of a female-focused spin-off and awesome people like Longmire star Katee Sackhoff and Gina Carano signed up for it?

And then Millenium Films, who owns The Expendables franchise, said: “We can do that too!” and announced its own female-focused spin-off?

Yeah, well it sounds like that officially sanctioned version is going to suck.

Not only does it have a horrible name: The ExpendaBelles (just typing it makes me do a little bit of sick), the screenwriters and director of Legally Blonde have been hired for the project.

And while there hasn’t been any info on the film’s tone or storyline, I think the hirings speak for themselves – especially when you consider that director Robert Luketic’s portfolio includes other throwaway fluff like Monster-In-Law, The Ugly Truth and the nightmarish Win A Date With Tad Hamilton.

It’s safe to say this isn’t going to be the hardcore explode-a-thon we were hoping for.

Maybe I’m wrong, and this is going to stand up against the proper Expendables and the competing project – but right now, it sounds like an even cheesier Charlie’s Angels with a bigger cast.

Last week, I speculated about what The Hunger Games: Mockinjay director Francis Lawrence will do following the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Hoffman plays Plutarch Heavensbee in the last two Hunger Games films, and he died with seven days of filming left.

Unfortunately, it transpires that a couple of key scenes remained to be filmed, and his absence cannot be accounted for with a rewrite.
As such, the filmmakers ‘are’ going down the CGI route, and recreating the actor using special effects.

As I mentioned last week, this has been done before, most notably in The Crow and Gladiator, but neither of those involved lengthy scenes, so this is on a different level altogether.

It’s going to go one of two ways: an awful looking mess that detracts from the film and damages Hoffman’s legacy; or the situation forces Lawrence and his team to create something better than we have seen so far, that keeps the integrity of the film in tact, as well as raising the bar for the rest of the industry.

I’m going to give the filmmakers the benefit of the doubt.

There’s not too long to wait though (or much time for them to get the work done), as The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 is scheduled to open on November 21.

We’re doomed. Will Smith has definitely and definitively decided not to appear in the Independence Day sequel.

While no official reason has been given, it’s believed it may have something to do with Will’s recent statement that he doesn’t want to be “the sequel guy”.

Perhaps the horrible Men In Black follow-ups made his mind up for him.

Fortunately, his choice isn’t going to affect how Roland Emmerich gets on with the film – he has two versions of the film lined up; one with Will, and one without.

However, with no handsome, charismatic man punching the aliens in the face on arrival this time, I fear for the future of our planet.

Last year, director Luc Besson revealed that he had struck a deal for three more films in The Transporter series, and my heart did a little jump for joy, because there’s little I love more than watching Jason Statham kick heads off while delivering one-liners in a terrible American accent.

However, today my heart is doing a little wiggle of woe, because the new Transporter films will not star The Stath, rather the titular transporter will be Ed Skrein, who previously appeared in Ill Manors and Game of Thrones.

What’s more, the first of the new films is going to be a reboot. A reboot?! The film is only 12 years old?

But I suppose, since Spider-Man got away with it, other people will give it a go, too.
The new film will also incorporate a Frank Martin origin story, which will help explain away why Skrein looks 15 years younger than Statham.