I wonder how many web postings today have had some variation of that title…

After yesterday’s photocall, the cast of Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire took to the red carpet last night for the premiere of their film at the Berlinale. Woo Hoo! Good enough reason to bring you some Michael Fassbender in a suit, am I right?

Fassbender and Antonio Banderas were clowning around, all while looking extraordinarily handsome.  I can only imagine some of the dialogue: “Miguel, mi amigo! Didn’t I just see you two hours ago?” “Why yes Antonio, you did. And I must say we look even better now than we did then.” “Agreed!”

The genetically gifted duo posed alongside the film’s leading ladies, former MMA fighter Gina Carano in a shiny LBD and Natascha Berg in red.

We have lots of pics below, but we also have a bit of news.  MTV spoke to writer/producer Simon Kinberg at the premiere of his latest film, This Means War, and they talked about the highly anticipated X-Men: First Class sequel!

"I don’t know what the title is going to be but certainly I’m working on the sequel to 'X-Men: First Class' right now," Kinberg said. "I’m going to be writing and producing it, I’m starting now, with Matthew Vaughn directing."

Kinberg went on to say that while they're still in the early stages of story-planning, the second film will likely involve a lot more Magneto.

"That’s what was so cool about the first one and what we want to continue," Kinberg said of exploring the supervillain's tortured beginnings. "Magneto becomes the villain ultimately of the franchise but he’s a much more complicated character as a young man. He’s someone you sympathize with, you care about you root for even though might not necessarily agree with his methods, you understand his philosophy."

"…a lot more Magneto.” Skweeeeeee!  Yes please!

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"Hey Fastbanger! My eyes are up here!"

"Just keep smiling and don't make me kick your ass again."

"You could try. I quite enjoyed it the last time. Especially the bit with your thighs wrapped around my head…'Oh the shark bites…with his teeth dear'…"

Your daily Fassbender today includes pics from the Haywire photocall held today February 15 at the Grand Hyatt in Berlin as part of the 62nd Berlinale. Haywire is screening out of competition at the festival but Michael Fassbender, Antonio Banderas, Ewan McGregor, director Steven Soderbergh and of course, star Gina Carano all came out in support of their film.

I have to say, these are the best pics I've seen of Carano. She certainly looks good in "the dress" (a reference to a line in the movie), even if she can't act her way out of a paper bag. Enjoy the pics!

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Jean-Jacques Annaud’s Black Gold is a film I’ve been waiting for for a long time. As you probably know, I have a serious Mark Strong jones  and those of us that do are so used to only getting snippets of him in any given film. When he takes a starring role, we get understandably excited. It was way back in mid October that we finally got the first English language trailer (with the voice!) but then…pfffft…nothing. It was supposed to open in the US in December and obviously that didn’t happen. It is, however, set to open in the UK in February, so we now have a UK trailer to share.

 The film is set in what is now known as Saudi Arabia during the 1930's at the beginning of the oil boom. It centers on young Arab Prince Auda (Tahar Rahim, A Prophet) torn between his conservative father (Mark Strong) and his modern, liberal father-in-law (Antonio Banderas). Frieda Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire, Rise of the Planet of the Apes) costars as Auda's wife, Princess Lallah. 

 Synopsis: Under the unforgiving desert sky, two warring leaders come face to face. The bodies of their warriors litter the battlefield. The victorious Nesib, Emir of Hobeika (Banderas), lays down his peace terms to his rival Amar, Sultan of Salmaah (Strong). The two men agree that neither may lay claim to the area of no man’s land between them called The Yellow Belt. In return and according to the tribal customs of the time, Nesib will “adopt”- or take hostage- Amar’s two boys Saleeh (Akin Gazi) and Auda (Rahim); a guarantee that neither man can invade the other. Years later, Saleeh and Auda have grown into young men. Saleeh, the warrior, itches to escape his gilded cage and return to his father’s land. Auda cares only for books and the pursuit of knowledge. One day, their adopted father Nesib is visited by an American oil man from Texas (Corey Johnson). He tells the Emir that his land is blessed with oil and promises him riches beyond his imagination.

With a screenplay by Menno Meyjes (The Color Purple, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, A Matador's Mistress), Black Gold is based on Hans Ruesch's "The Great Thirst" (alternate title "The Arab") and is Annaud's (The Name of the Rose, Seven Years in Tibet, Enemy at the Gates) first film since 2007's His Majesty Minor with Vincent Cassel. Black Gold opened the Doha Tribeca Film Festival in Qatar and opens in the UK on 24^th February. Hopefully a US date will soon follow!

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Despite a testosterone saturated cast including Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor, Antonio Banderas, Channing Tatum, Michael Angarano, Michael Douglas and Bill Paxton, Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire is really all about Gina Carano’s Mallory. Carano plays freelance black ops super solider Mallory Kane who is hired out by her handler to various global entities to perform jobs which governments can't authorize and heads of state would rather not know about. After a mission to rescue a hostage in Barcelona, Mallory is quickly dispatched on another mission to Dublin. When the operation goes awry and Mallory finds she has been double crossed, she needs to use all of her skills, tricks and abilities to escape an international manhunt, make it back to the United States, protect her family, and exact revenge on those that have betrayed her. (I think I want to be her when I grow up.)

Helllloooo… She got paid for sitting on Michael Fassbender like that? I still think she killed him wayyyyy too fast. They’re both fully clothed fer… but I digress (and that’s not a spoiler, it’s in the trailers. Yell at them.)

Just in time to dope-slap January into getting its lethargic post-Holiday, mid-Winter blahhhed ass in gear, Haywire opens in the UK on 18th January and in the US on January 20.

Check out the new tv spot, clips and pics below.

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We have a new “final” poster for Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire, as well  as a new tv spot (via Comingsoon) both featuring Michael Fassbender. Yeah, I know, MMA fighter Gina Carano is the star of the show, but it’s Hump Day and Hump Day must have some Fassbender. (It’s a rule.)

In any case, the spot below gives far less away than any of the trailers or clips we’ve seen (probably due to time constraints) so I like it. I know we’ve been talking about Haywire here for months, but I’m sure that most of the movie going public still hasn’t heard about it. (It’s easy to lose sight of that fact when one writes or even reads about movies all the time.)  Carano plays freelance covert operative Mallory Kane who is hired out by her handler to various global entities to perform jobs which governments can't authorize and heads of state would rather not know about. After a mission to rescue a hostage in Barcelona, Mallory is quickly dispatched on another mission to Dublin. When the operation goes awry and Mallory finds she has been double crossed, she needs to use all of her skills, tricks and abilities to escape an international manhunt, make it back to the United States, protect her family, and exact revenge on those that have betrayed her.

Just in time to give an adrenaline jolt to the post-Holiday, mid-winter doldrums, Haywire, starring Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor, Antonio Banderas, Michael Douglas and Bill Paxton opens in the UK on 18th January and in the US on January 20.

Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire is another film I’m looking forward to in the new year. It’s not that I think that it promises anything new. On the contrary, it appears to tread some familiar territory but with slightly different shoes. Instead of the size 14 combat boots of a Stallone or a Statham (or even Matt Damon’s Bourne), we get the size seven stilettos of former MMA fighter, Gina Carano as the highly skilled assassin betrayed by her bosses.  Carano is Mallory Kane, a black ops specialist, dispatched by Ewan McGregor, as her handler, to apply lethal force wherever its needed in the world. After a mission goes wrong, she is set up and betrayed by agency she works for. On the run and hunted, Kane has to keep on the move and one step ahead as she attempts to unravel the conspiracy.

As I said, it’s in no way original. In fact in the recent past we’ve had variations on the theme with Hanna, Knight and Day, The American and Salt. Not all of them successful.  I’ve put forward by theory, more than once, that there’s nothing new under the sun and it’s all in the execution. Having said that said, the action in Haywire looks fierce, kinetic and as over-the-top entertaining as one could wish for in a film of this nature. Relative newcomer Carano is more than ably supported (in fact, I’ve heard that she’s the weakest link-too bad she’s the lead) by talented and charismatic actors like McGregor, Michael Fassbender, Antonio Banderas, Michael Douglas, Bill Paxton and oh, yeah Channing Tatum-tot.

Check out the UK trailer below. Not much we haven’t seen before but edited more tightly. Haywire opens in the US, Canada and the UK on January 20.