X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is an upcoming superhero film based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Wolverine that will be released in most countries by May 1, 2009. The film is directed by Gavin Hood and stars Hugh Jackman as the title character. It is a prequel to the X-Men film trilogy, focusing on the mutant Wolverine and his time with Team X, before Wolverine's skeleton was bonded with the indestructible metal adamantium. The film was mostly shot in Australia and New Zealand.

Wolverine lives a mutant life, seeks revenge against Victor Creed (who will later become Sabertooth) for the death of his girlfriend, and ultimately ends up going through the mutant Weapon X program.

Hugh Jackman as Logan / Wolverine: The mutant and future X-Men member. Jackman, who played Wolverine in the previous films, has also become producer of the film via his company Seed Productions, and earned $20 million for the film. Jackman underwent a high intensity weight training regimen to bulk up for his role. He changed the program to shock the body into change and also performed cardiovascular workouts. He woke up each morning at 4 am to eat one of the small number of protein-based meals he was allowed each day. He wanted to portray Wolverine exactly as he did in the character's cage match entrance in X-Men, stating his inspiration was Robert De Niro in Cape Fear. He noted Wolverine had mellowed during the previous film and looked forward to revisiting a darker time in the character's life. Jackman worked out in a Queenstown gym where he would arrive daily at 6 am. He stayed in character and made noises while exercising. Jackman noted no digital touches were applied to his physique in a shot of him rising from the tank within which Wolverine has his bones coated in adamantium.

On March 31, 2009, a full length DVD-quality workprint of the film without a timecode or watermark, with some unfinished effects shots, was leaked online. The print contained a reference to Rising Sun Pictures, an Australian visual effects company working on the film. Within a day, the film had been downloaded 75,000 times, a sum comparable to when The Dark Knight's DVD was leaked. Since the workprint had forensic marks, the studio may be able to determine the source of the leak but it has not disclosed any findings. The FBI and the MPAA are investigating the illegal posting. Executive producer Thomas Rothman noted the leaked version lacked the ten minutes added during pick-ups in January 2009, while Rising Sun Pictures denied that they ever had a full copy of the film. Roger Friedman, a columnist for Fox News, reviewed the leaked workprint, adding, "It took really less than seconds to start playing it all right onto my computer," and his employment was terminated by News Corporation.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is due for release on April 29, 2009 in the UK, April 30, 2009 in Australia, and May 1, 2009 in the United States and Canada.

Website: http://www.x-menorigins.com/us/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPmbGzQaOCs