Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Red Band Teaser Trailer for Crank 2: High Voltage!

Well… here you go. Enjoy.


Watch the insane red band trailer for Crank 2: High Voltage:

In this high-octane sequel, hitman Chev Chelios launches himself on an electrifying chase through Los Angeles in pursuit of the Chinese mobster who has stolen his nearly indestructible heart.

Crank 2: High Voltage is both written and directed by visionary filmmakers Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, the two crazy guys behind Crank and the upcoming Game. The film was produced by Lakeshore Entertainment and is being distributed by Lionsgate. Mark and Brian shot this entirely handheld with consumer and prosumer digital video cameras, which should make for quite an interesting experience. Crank 2: High Voltage arrives in theaters everywhere on April 17th.

New 4-Minute Watchmen Featurette

MySpace offers up an exclusive video with Director Zack Snyder geeking it out while explaining why Watchmen is such a different type of superhero film. When I watch something like this I completely forget that there is a legal battle going all. In the end all I want is to see this exactly as Zack Snyder imagined. Just as the graphic novel changed the comic book world forever, this movie might have as big of an impact on the cinematic world. Enjoy!




Watchmen is directed by Zack Snyder (of Dawn of the Dead and 300) and written by David Hayter (The Scorpion King, X-Men, X-Men 2) and Alex Tse. The movie arrives in theaters everywhere on March 6th, 2009.

My Best Movies Of 2008

1. Wall-E: Easily, without question and hands down the best film of 2008. The movie is a brilliant mixture of humor, emotion and message. Never before have I seen a character so engaging, likable and emotionally investable without ever really saying a word (other than Eve a couple of times). It is the #1 critically rated film of the year for good reason.

2. The Dark Knight: Sometimes you just have give it up for the leader. And this one dominated the box office for the best of reasons: outstanding technical elements, a story that thrills and provokes and a crackerjack cast led by the cackling Joker of the late, great Heath Ledger. If only every blockbuster were this good.

3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: The special effects alone make you stare in wonder, as Brad Pitt seamlessly transforms from senior to newborn. But there's also grand fable and epic inspiration in this life lived backwards, with David Fincher's skilful direction pulling it all together.

4. Kung Fu Panda One of two fantastic animated films in the first half of 2008. The great thing about both animated features this year is that neither one of them relies on silly pop culture references and actually have a fun story to tell. So many animated films today think name dropping pop culture icons and mimicking them is an easy out for a source of comedy, but, as Shrek has proven, it’s an old tactic that many audiences are wise to.


5. Cloverfield I Loved it.... So what? I don't care what many critics said about it — I loved this movie!


6.Ping Pong Playa Easily the funniest movie of the last two years. It eventually hit theaters earlier this year, but barely anyone knew it even existed. It was sad to see it go unnoticed because not only does its lead actor, Jimmy Tsai, and its director, Jessica Yu, deserve plenty of praise for their skills, but it is literally one of the funniest movies I've ever seen.

7. Tropic Thunder I certainly was skeptical when I heard that Ben Stiller was directing himself and Jack Black in a war comedy, and then there was that whole business of Robert Downey Jr. in black face, which got a lot of "what the ?!?!" reactions. Amazingly, this works, not really as a spoof of war films as much as a war film gone horribly wrong, and it's already up there as one of my favorite comedies. The opening war sequence is really impressive, but when it gets into the relationship between a group of actors stranded in a South-Asian jungle filled with armed drugdealers and the behind-the-scenes of making such a film, that's where the movie delivers the best laughs of the year. Robert Downey Jr. as Australian method actor Kirk Lazarus playing a black soldier was particularly genius--well worthy of what looks to be another Oscar nomination in the fallen actor's comeback year--but it was the work of the ensemble as a whole that made the movie so funny.

8. HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY One of the best action movie of the year didn't make the most money at the box office or even come inside the top ten. What it did do is bring Guillermo del Toro's artistry of Pan's Labyrinth to a superhero template and went far beyond where most action films dare to tread. He ended a set piece on a sad and contemplative note with the defeat of the Forest Elemental. He took us to a world unlike any we'd seen before with the Troll Market. He contemplated the conflict between the fantastical and the mundane and where a demon, sent to destroy us all and instead working as our protector, finds a new destiny. GdT did all of this and more with "Hellboy II" and while I respect "Hulk" and "Iron Man", Big Red easily bests them both.

9. Iron Man I think the first half of Iron Man is utterly fantastic, this film suffers from major final act problems that are too many to mention here. Simply put, turning what could have been a kick ass war on terrorism into a monster movie wasn’t what the first hour was building toward.

10. Hulk I believe this may be the first time ever that I actually enjoyed watching an all out CGI vs. CGI monster mash battle. The climax in The Incredible Hulk was a fun and extremely loud brawl that gave me plenty of enjoyment.

New US Poster for Chocolate

Thanks to Twitch, we've got the official US poster for Chocolate, which is Ong Bak director Prachya Pinkaew's latest film. While the art on this poster isn't anything new, the tagline is, and it's one of the very reasons I had to share this. So do yourself a favor and check it out (and watch the trailer if you haven't) because this is finally hitting theaters in February.


Chocolate is directed by Thai filmmaker Prachya Pinkaew, of Tony Jaa's Ong Bak and The Protector previously. The screenplay was written by Chukiat Sakveerakul (13 Beloved, Body #19) and Nepalee Sakweerakul. The film stars martial arts newcomer Nicharee "Jeeja" Vismistananda. Chocolate first opened in theaters in Thailand this February and played at the Toronto Film Festival and Fantastic Fest this year as well. Magnet Releasing will debut Chocolate in limited theaters starting on February 6th, 2009.

The Teaser for Jerry Bruckheimer's G-Force

Walt Disney Pictures has revealed the new teaser trailer for the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced 3D adventure comedy G-Force on the company's official website.



Opening July 24, 2009, G-Force is about the latest evolution of a covert government program to train animals to work in espionage. Armed with the latest high-tech spy equipment, these highly trained guinea pigs discover that the fate of the world is in their paws. Tapped for the G-Force are guinea pigs Darwin (voice of Sam Rockwell), the squad leader determined to succeed at all costs; Blaster (voice of Tracy Morgan), an outrageous weapons expert with tons of attitude and a love for all things extreme; and Juarez (voice of Penelope Cruz), a sexy martial arts pro; plus the literal fly-on-the-wall reconnaissance expert, Mooch, and a star-nosed mole, Speckles (voice of Nicolas Cage), the computer and information specialist.

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Fox Still Fighting to Delay Watchmen Release!


Twentieth Century Fox are set to block the release of Warner's "Watchmen".

But they can't do that!? I hear you comic-book buffs scream.

Well, yeah, they can. And they will.

Though Warner's is adamant it'll still release "Watchmen" on March 6th, Fox, who contends it retains distribution rights under a 1994 turnaround agreement with producer Larry Gordon, who took "Watchmen" to Warner Bros. after attempts to make it with Fox, Universal and Paramount, is determined to see that doesn't happen.

Gordon, who's not a defendant in the case, had never exercised his option to acquire Fox's remaining interest in "Watchmen" nor had he honored his agreement since 2005 to offer the project to Fox under the "changed elements" part of the pact. For its part, Warner contended that Fox did not own any rights to "Watchmen."

Its a case of He Says, She Says that won't be solved overnight. And until this whole matter is resolved - it's likely Warner's won't be putting their flick into theaters this March.

Monday, December 29, 2008

More Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Pics

Like the previous photos, there's not much revealed about the flick although we do get the first look at Optimus Prime and he looks pretty much like he does from the first movie. Perhaps a little more battle damaged, but other than that, he's still Prime.

Click over to USAToday to see these photos in higher resolution.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is again directed by action film superstar Michael Bay of Bad Boys, The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, The Island, and Transformers previously. The story and screenplay for the sequel was written by Transformers writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci as well as Ehren Kruger (The Ring, The Brothers Grimm, Blood and Chocolate). Paramount is unleashing Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen in both IMAX and regular theaters on June 26th this summer.

Japanese Street Fighter Trailer

The first trailer for Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li is now online, and although it's the Japanese version (which would explain the non-English voiceover), it still looks like a half-decent fighting flick. And, I mean, c'mon -- what else are you looking for out of a film like Street Fighter? Are there lots of badass fights in the streets? According to this trailer, yes. Good. Done. Satisfied.

Based on the popular video game (which you had to have played at some point in your life -- remember the one where you were feverishly tapping buttons, while your friends yelled "Dude, how did you do that roundhouse kick?" -- and you were all like, "I don't know, I'm just hitting the buttons as fast as I can!"), Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li follows, well, the legend of the female warrior Chun Li (Kristin Kreuk) as she sets out on a quest for justice ... or something like that. Look, just bring on the fights -- that's all we want.



Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li hits theaters on February 27th. Check out the trailer above, and look for an English-language preview to arrive real soon.

New Up Photo

The new issue of Empire Magazine also has a new photo from Pixar’s Up. The photo shows 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen and the chubby eight-year-old Wilderness Explorer neighbor Russell. Aside from the mysterious far away locale visible in the background, not much is new. Head on over the Empire for the full resolution photo. Up hits theaters in Digital Disney 3-D on May 29th 2009.

First Transformers 2 Photos Revealed

Empire Debuts Photos from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen!

Finally! Empire has debuted the first three photos from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and a gnarly cover shot featuring Optimus Prime looking badass as always. One of these photos has the "oh shit!" factor going for it and another features Megan Fox in action again. They shot footage in Egypt? Apparently this is going to be a lot more epic than we originally thought. This is the first look at any photos from Michael Bay's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, as he hasn't yet debuted a trailer or anything else. I will officially say that I am definitely excited - I can't wait to see Optimus and friends back on the big screen!

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Photos

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Photos

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Photos

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is again directed by action film superstar Michael Bay of Bad Boys, The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, The Island, and Transformers previously. The story and screenplay for the sequel was written by Transformers writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci as well as Ehren Kruger (The Ring, The Brothers Grimm, Blood and Chocolate). Paramount is unleashing Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen in both IMAX and regular theaters on June 26th this summer.

Saturday, December 27, 2008

First Look at Paul Giamatti in Sophie Barthes' Cold Souls

We were sent the first batch of photos from Cold Souls, a dark comedy starring Paul Giamatti that will be premiering at Sundance. In the film, Giamatti (ironically) plays himself, an actor that during an existential crisis decides to explore "soul extraction" as a relief from the burdens of daily life. I thought the concept for this already sounded great, but looking at these photos I'm now convinced to make sure I catch this as soon as possible.

Sundance programmer Caroline Libresco says of Cold Souls: "Sophie Barthes’s debut feature is strikingly original, not only for its haunting concept but for its poetic execution. Inspired production design and lyrical cinematography create a melancholic, heightened world. Perfectly cast, Giamatti and a gifted ensemble maneuver seamlessly through shifting ontological landscapes without ever betraying the surrealism. With this dazzling accomplishment, Barthes establishes herself as an auteur to reckon with."



Cold Souls is both written and directed by up-and-coming filmmaker Sophie Barthes, of only two shorts previously titled Zimove vesilya and Happiness. The film will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January where it will be looking for a distributor. Expect to hear more about Cold Souls in 2009.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen First Photos???

Ever since the official title, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, was first announced back in June, fans have been speculating that "the Fallen" is actually a nasty new robot that is set to appear in the film as the villain. Obviously Paramount and Michael Bay have kept things under lock and key, so no one knows whether this is indeed true or not. However, some weird blog (via Latino Review) has posted what they're claiming are photos from the set of Transformers 2 that show the curled up remains of "a new robot" found inside a hidden cave behind a painting. Is this really The Fallen or just some random fake photos?

I've added all four of the photos below (click to see them bigger) because I can't really make out the remains. Maybe I'm just missing it and someone needs to point them out. I thought putting them closer together might help? All I see are the legs of a Cloverfield monster, not a Transformers robot. Thoughts?

The Fallen Photos?The Fallen Photos?
The Fallen Photos?The Fallen Photos?

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is again directed by action film superstar Michael Bay of Bad Boys, The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, The Island, and Transformers previously. The story and screenplay for the sequel was written by Transformers writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci as well as Ehren Kruger (The Ring, The Brothers Grimm, Blood and Chocolate). Paramount is unleashing Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen in both IMAX and regular theaters on June 26th this summer.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Judge Says Fox Owns Rights to Watchmen!

Yikes -- Warner Bros. obviously landed on Santa's naughty list this year. The New York Times reports that the judge has ruled in favor of Fox Studios. Sayeth the Honorable Judge Feess "Fox owns a copyright interest consisting of, at the very least, the right to distribute the Watchmen motion picture."

Watchmen

This comes as quite a surprise since last we heard, the judge didn't have enough information to make a ruling, and was moving the trial to January 20th. Judge Feess indicated he would make a more detailed ruling soon.

Warner Bros. has declined to comment, and as of now, has not backed off the film's planned release date of March 6. I can hear you all crying (and I hope it's in your very best Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer voice) "There goes Watchmen, and there goes Christmas!" But it's highly doubtful Watchmen will lose its release date. There's no need to panic. Feess advised Fox and Warner Bros to look towards a settlement or appeal. "The parties may wish to turn their efforts from preparing for trial to negotiating a resolution of this dispute or positioning the case for review." So, expect a major payoff from Warner Bros. (and maybe those rumored Batman television show rights) to Fox in order that we'll still be at that March 6th show. And you thought a lump of coal was bad.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

State of Play First Trailer

Universal has debuted the trailer for State of Play, a crime thriller about an investigation surrounding the murder of a congressman's mistress. This trailer has been playing in front of Frost/Nixon, so some might have already seen it already. If you weren't too fond of Russell Crowe's last few movies (American Gangster, Body of Lies), then State of Play may be for you. Crowe is joined by one hell of a supporting cast, including Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright Penn, Helen Mirren, and even Jeff Daniels. I really think this looks fantastic - a smart intellectual thriller lead by a very strong cast.

Watch the first trailer for State of Play:

You can also watch the State of Play trailer in High Definition on Yahoo

State of Play is directed by Kevin Macdonald, of the Oscar winning documentary One Day in September as well as Touching the Void and The Last King of Scotland. The screenplay was co-written by Matthew Michael Carnahan (The Kingdom, Lions for Lambs), Tony Gilroy (The Bourne Ultimatum, Michael Clayton, upcoming Duplicity), and Billy Ray (Flightplan, Breach). The film is based on Paul Abbott's BBC mini-series of the same title. Universal will be premiering State of Play in theaters on April 17th.

New 9 Trailer

9 is a computer animated film produced by Tim Burton (The Corpse Bride) and Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Nightwatch), directed by former WETA Digital artist Shane Acker, and featuring the music of Danny Elfman. Based on Acker’s Academy Award-nominated 2005 film festival short (watch it on YouTube), 9 is a post-apocalyptic nightmare in which all of humanity is threatened. The official plot synopsis follows:

“When 9 (Wood) first comes to life, he finds himself in a post-apocalyptic world. All humans are gone, and it is only by chance that he discovers a small community of others like him taking refuge from fearsome machines that roam the earth intent on their extinction. Despite being the neophyte of the group, 9 convinces the others that hiding will do them no good. They must take the offensive if they are to survive, and they must discover why the machines want to destroy them in the first place. As they’ll soon come to learn, the very future of civilization may depend on them.”

The group includes 1 (Christopher Plummer), a domineering war veteran; 2 (Martin Landau), an aged inventor; 5 (John C. Reilly), a stalwart mechanic; 6 (Crispin Glover), a visionary and artist; and 7 (Jennifer Connelly), a brave warrior. I like Acker’s unique art style which could be described as a darker/post apocalyptic version of what Tim Burton use to do, with a touch of LittleBigPlanet. Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Watch the trailer in High Definition on Apple. 9 hits theaters on 9.9.09.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Star Trek Will be Locked Next Week

Star Trek director J.J. Abrams says that they are nearing the finish line for the anticipated movie, opening in theaters and IMAX on May 8. He wrote the following on Facebook:

We're just making final tweaks to the movie -- we should be totally locked next week. Then we're going to flash-freeze it so it's totally fresh for you in May. I can't wait for you to see the movie. The cast is awesome. The action and effects pushed the stunt team and ILM beyond their limits. I'm so grateful to this cast and crew -- and to all of you for your interest and patience. We'll continue to update this page with new info and exclusives, so check back when you think of it. In the meantime, have a happy, healthy, fun holiday!

From the last days of the sound mix,

JJ

Star Trek, written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, stars John Cho, Ben Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Winona Ryder, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin, Eric Bana, Leonard Nimoy, Marlene Forte and Jimmy Bennett.

First Look at Jerry Bruckheimer's G-Force

USA Today has your first look at five new photos of the guinea pigs in the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced 3-D comedy adventure G-Force, opening in theaters on July 24 and featuring the voices of Bill Nighy, Will Arnett, Zach Galifianakis, Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, Jon Favreau, Penelope Cruz, Steve Buscemi and Tracy Morgan. G-Force is directed by two-time Oscar®-winning visual effects master Hoyt Yeatman.





The film is about the latest evolution of a covert government program to train animals to work in espionage. Armed with the latest high-tech spy equipment, these highly trained guinea pigs discover that the fate of the world is in their paws. Tapped for the G-Force are guinea pigs Darwin (Rockwell), the squad leader determined to succeed at all costs; Blaster (Morgan), an outrageous weapons expert with tons of attitude and a love for all things extreme; and Juarez (Cruz), a sexy martial arts pro; plus the literal fly-on-the-wall reconnaissance expert, Mooch, and a star-nosed mole, Speckles (Cage), the computer and information specialist.

New Posters: Land of the Lost & Fast and Furious

Click the images to view bigger versions!

Universal has premiered a movie poster for their big screen take of Land of the Lost and the sequel Fast and Furious. Click on the images above to see the large versions on Cinematical and MTV. The Land of the Lost poster looks silly and CG’d, which goes right alongside my expectations of the film. The Fast and Furious poster looks like something a 5th grader created in photoshop, which makes sense because I’m expecting the film to have a 5th-grade-level of story construction.

Final Poster for PUSH

Will this poster attract any new moviegoers? I doubt it, but I commend Summit for putting out something very different, as it's refreshing to see.

Thanks to our friends at IMPAwards for first debuting this. Check out it in full below!

Push Poster

Push burrows deep into the deadly world of psychic espionage where artificially enhanced paranormal operatives have the ability to move objects with their minds, see the future, create new realities and kill without ever touching their victims. Against this setting, a young man and a teenage girl take on a clandestine agency in a race against time that will determine the future of civilization.

Push is directed by Paul McGuigan, of Wicker Park and Lucky Number Slevin previously, with an original script written by David Bourla, of Nostradamus and Larceny previously. Summit Entertainment is debuting Push in theaters everywhere on February 9th. Will the first half of the year be friendly to Push?

Monday, December 22, 2008

Batman 3 casting Rumors


Despite the ass-kicking he's getting via optic cable, the British reporter who ran with those ridiculous "Batman 3" (or "Gotham", which is what the writer said the film would be titled) casting rumours a couple of weeks ago - Eddie Murphy as The Riddler, Shia LaBeouf as Robin, Rachel Weisz at Catwoman - is sticking to his guns, or rather, wonky report.

Despite Warner Bros publicly slamming the hard-to-believe rumours, stating that the film's not even close to beginning its casting phase, Sun reporter Gordon Smart is still claiming there's truth to his story.

There's one thing going for Smart's story - he did announce the casting of Daniel Craig as the new James Bond a wee bit before anyone else did.

"Everyone had a crack at us when we published that one," Smart tells The Guardian. "I was almost laughed out of conference that day, but it turned out to be spot on. I wish I had had a bet on it."

Is it possible his Batman story has an ounce of truth to it?

FUCK no! but power to the man for standing by his story.

Inglourious Basterds Set Photos

/Film reader received some new photos from the Paris set of Inglourious Basterds. Above is director Quentin Tarantino talking to one of the cast members. Below is German singer/actress Jana Pallaske and Daniel BrĂĽhl, who plays Frederick Zoller. And further below are photos of faux movie posters and billboard advertisements for actress Bridget von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger).

You can see some more Pics Here

'Yes man' takes the lead

Three new movies opened in wide release this weekend taking over the top three spots at the box office. Despite a lot of star power and high concept premises, none of them were able to gross more than $20 million, attributed in some part to the huge snowstorms that hit the Eastern seaboard and the MidWest on Friday, leading to one of the slowest pre-Christmas box office showings in a long time.

Comedy superstar Jim Carrey headlined the comedy Yes Man (Warner Bros.), which bore a similar premise to his earlier hit Liar, Liar, and though it only grossed $18.2 million in 3,434 theaters over the weekend, it was enough to take the #1 spot this weekend. It opened just ahead of Will Smith's enigmatic drama Seven Pounds (Sony), which made $16 million in 700 fewer theaters, averaging $5,800 per venue. It's the weakest opening for a movie starring Will Smith since Michael Mann's Ali in 2001.

The animated fantasy The Tale of Despereaux (Universal) opened in third place with a disappointing $10.5 million in 3,104 theaters, although it's likely to take advantage of the Christmas holidays to pick up business much like past family Christmas films like Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web.

20th Century Fox's remake of the 1951 classic The Day the Earth Stood Still starring Keanu Reeves plummeted in its second weekend, dropping 67% to 4th place with $10.1 million to bring its total take to $48.6 million, a far cry from its $80 million production budget.

The holiday comedy Four Christmases (New Line/WB), starring Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon, crossed the $100 million mark this weekend as it dropped to fifth place with $7.7 million.

Sixth and seventh place were taken up by the hit romantic thriller Twilight (Summit Entertainment) with $5.3 million and a total gross of $158 million and Disney's animated Bolt with $4.2 million, which has grossed $95 million after five weeks.

After winning a number of critics' awards and being nominated for a number of SAGs, Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight) finally broke into the Top 10 with $3.1 million, enough for 8th place. It's grossed $12.1 million without ever playing in more than 600 theaters.

Baz Luhrmann's Australia (20th Century Fox) settled into ninth place with $2.3 million and a total of $42 million, while Sony's Quantum of Solace rounded out the Top 10 with $2.1 million and a total gross of $161.3 million.

Opening in limited release on Wednesday, Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler (Fox Searchlight) starring Mickey Rourke grossed $210 thousand in four theaters over the weekend (averaging a strong $52k per site) and $295 thousand in its first five days.

Click here for the full box office results.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Jennifer's Body Gets a Release Date

20th Century Fox has set a September 18, 2009 release date for Jennifer's Body, starring Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Simmons, Adam Brody and J.K. Simmons. The horror comedy was written by Diablo Cody (Juno) and directed by Karyn Kusama.

In the film, a gorgeous cheerleader (Fox) is possessed by a demon and starts feeding off the boys in a small Minnesota farming town. Her "plain Jane" best friend must kill her, then escape from a correctional facility to go after the Satan-worshipping rock band responsible for the horrible transformation.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Metal Gear Solid Updates

During the red carpet event last Sunday at the Spike TV Video Game Awards, Collider.com was able to get a few brief moments in with Metal Gear Solid mastermind Hideo Kojima and enquired on the progress of the rumored MGS movie adaptation.

According to Kojima, the movie is "brewing, brewing, and very slowly moving."

In terms of his involvement with the movie, Kojima said that while he won't have the director seat, he will be very much involved with the development of the "projects." In addition, he is also looking into the possibility of developing a new Metal Gear Solid title that will coincide with the movie, but it's just a matter of coming up with a plan and making sure it works for him.

For more, check out the red carpet interview below.





4 New Posters for G.I. Joe Rise of Cobra

It's only the middle of December, and already I feel like Summer 2009 is just around the corner. G.I. Joe The Rise of Cobra is back with a few new character posters. They're not entirely new, as they first appeared over the summer at a licensing fair, but have been scanned online for the first time thanks to Film.ru. There's four in all -- Duke, Snake Eyes, Baroness, and Ripcord, and all four have been added to the GI Joe gallery below. Unfortunately, they haven't appeared in a big, hi-res version yet.

Paramount might want to reconsider the design since they look just like the Star Trek character posters. You can't have people wandering into Trek, and wondering where the heck Snake Eyes is. G.I. Joe is the All American Hero! Make these screamingly obvious -- red, white, and blue all the way! At least throw in the camoflauge I remember (and probably wrongly) from the packaging. None of this classiness and silver font -- that has to be left for Mission: Impossible installments.

G.I. Joe Poster - DukeG.I. Joe Poster - Snake Eyes

G.I. Joe Poster - BaronessG.I. Joe Poster - Ripcord

G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra is directed by big action filmmaker Stephen Sommers, of The Jungle Book, Deep Rising, The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, and Van Helsing previously. The screenplay was co-written by both Stuart Beattie, of Collateral, Derailed, and 30 Days of Night, and Skip Woods, of Swordfish and Hitman. The movie is based on Hasbro's G.I. Joe line of toys that first debut in 1964. Paramount will premiere G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra in theaters everywhere on August 7th, 2009 this summer.

First X-Men Origins: Wolverine Trailer

Fox has finally unleashed the first trailer for X-Men Origins: Wolverine starring Hugh Jackman and Liev Schreiber. Fans have been waiting patiently for this very moment ever since Brett Ratner ruined X-Men 3, and unlike that film, this trailer delivers! Not only do we get to see Jackman at his finest with his razor sharp claws yet again, but we also get a first look at Deadpool, Gambit, The Blob, and even Emma Frost in action. I'm also excited to see that a lot of the story is taken directly from the Wolverine: Origins comic series. There's a lot to love in this trailer and not a lot to complain about. So from the looks of it, X-Men Origins: Wolverine is going to be a hell of a way to kick of the summer. Check it out!

Become the animal… Embrace the other side… Given this trailer has been playing in front of The Day the Earth Stood Still all weekend, its had a few days to soak in. Now it's time to ask whether it looks like the Wolverine movie we were all hoping to see or something else better or worse. What do you think?

Watch the first trailer for X-Men Origins: Wolverine:

You can also watch the X-Men Origins: Wolverine trailer in High Definition on MySpace

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is directed by South African filmmaker Gavin Hood, of the Oscar winner Tsotsi and Rendition previously. The script was written by veteran screenwriter David Benioff, of 25th Hour, Troy, and The Kite Runner previosuly. The character of Wolverine was first created by Len Wein and John Romita Sr. back in 1974. Fox will debut X-Men Origins: Wolverine in theaters on May 1st, 2009.

First 'Up' clip online

A short clip from Up (the first non-trailer footage we've seen) can now be enjoyed at Disney.com/Up. But it's hidden: You've got to click on Carl's house to watch it.

The clip is an extended version of the "Hi, Mr. Fredricksen... Please let me in!" scene included in the first theatrical trailer.

Watch the short clip for Pixar's Up:

From Disney-Pixar comes Up, a comedy adventure about 78-year-old balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen, who finally fulfills his lifelong dream of a great adventure when he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wilds of South America. But he discovers all too late that his biggest nightmare has stowed away on the trip: an overly optimistic 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell.

Pixar's Up is directed Pete Docter, who also directed Monsters, Inc previously in addition to writing the stories for Toy Story and Toy Story 2. The film is co-directed and written by Bob Peterson, who wrote Finding Nemo previously. Disney is planning to debut up in theaters everywhere on May 29th, 2009 next summer. For more information on Up, head over to our first look at the characters and the story.

Friday, December 12, 2008

The Day the Earth Stood Still - What Did You Think?

Now that you've seen it, what did you think? This very discussion has been 22 months in the making. if it indeed turned out any good? So if you've seen it, state your opinion. Was Keanu Reeves a better Klaatu than Michael Rennie? Did the CGI hurt or help the film in the end? Were there any redeeming values at all? Sound off below, leave your thoughts, and let me know what you thought of The Day the Earth Stood Still.

What did you think of The Day the Earth Stood Still? Good remake or a waste of time?

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

International Trailer for Dragonball Evolution: DONT WATCH

The new international trailer for 20th Century Fox's Dragonball Evolution is now online and can be watched using the player below! Opening on April 8 and written/directed by James Wong, the big screen adaptation stars Justin Chatwin, James Marsters, Jamie Chung, Emmy Rossum, Eriko Tamura, Joon Park, Chow Yun-Fat, Texas Battle, Randall Duk Kim and Ernie Hudson.


Sunday, December 7, 2008

Four Christmases Shoots Up The Punisher

New Line/Warner Bros.' Four Christmases remained in the top spot with an estimated $18.2 million, a drop in sales of just 41.5% from last weekend. The holiday comedy, starring Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon, has earned an impressive $70.8 million in two weeks and cost about $80 million to make.

The second spot belonged to Summit Entertainment's Twilight, which added $13.2 million in its third weekend, bringing its total to $138.6 million. Based on the Stephenie Meyer novel, the Catherine Hardwicke-directed film stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. It cost only $37 million to make.

In third place, Walt Disney Pictures' animated comedy adventure Bolt collected $9.7 million to push its three-week total to $79.3 million.

Baz Luhrmann's Australia, starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, made $7 million in the fourth spot. 20th Century Fox's $130 million epic has earned $30.9 million in two weeks.

Sony/MGM's Quantum of Solace rounded out the top five with $6.6 million, taking the 22nd James Bond film to $151.5 million domestically in four weeks. Directed by Marc Forster and starring Daniel Craig, the 007 film cost $200 million to make.

DreamWorks Animation's Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa added $5.1 million in its fifth weekend in sixth place. Made for $150 million, the animated hit has reached $165.7 million so far.

In seventh, Lionsgate Transporter 3, starring Jason Statham, made $4.5 million in its second weekend and has earned $25.4 million.

Newcomer Punisher: War Zone, directed by Lexi Alexander and starring Ray Stevenson, bombed out of the gate with just $4 million from 2,508 theaters, a low average of $1,595 and good for only eighth place. It is less than a third of what the studio's first "Punisher" film opened to in 2004.

TriStar Pictures' new drama Cadillac Records, featuring Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright and Beyoncé Knowles, fared better in the ninth spot, as it opened in only 686 theaters yet managed to earn $3.5 million, an average of $5,102 per site.

There was no interest in indie release Nobel Son, which opened in 893 theaters, but only made $371,000. On the other hand, director Ron Howard's Frost/Nixon, starring Frank Langella and Michael Sheen, took in an impressive $180,000 from just three theaters - an average of $60,000 per theater, the second biggest of the year.

Click here for the full box office results

Will Smith Reveals I Am Legend Prequel Story Details


Ever since it was officially confirmed that Warner Brothers was developing an I Am Legend prequel, we've been anxious to find out what exactly it would be about, since there's not much of a story to tell besides what we've already seen. However, Will Smith has finally cleared the air this weekend, since it took a long time for Smith and director Francis Lawrence to actually figure out a good story to tell. Collider picked up the news, directly from Smith, who said that, "it's essentially the fall of the last city - the last stand of Manhattan." In it, a "small band" of people would be forced to go to first go to Washington D.C., then back to New York City after D.C. falls as well. And of course, "yes, the dog will be a puppy."

I'm personally very supportive of the idea of a prequel, because I loved I Am Legend and with the same creative people leading the team this time (Smith and Lawrence), I'm expecting to see something just as good. I agree with Collider in that this sounds like a great idea. "Imagine a big road movie with a few characters having to fight their way somewhere and then returning and having to protect the last city." It's kind of a twisted way of telling the story of Robert Neville - we've already seen how it all ends and how he dies, but now we get to see the story about him becoming the last man alive. And if that's what we're going to see, then I'm definitely excited. Hopefully it doesn't take too long to get into production. Thoughts?

Friday, December 5, 2008

The Dark Knight to be Re-Released in Jan. 23

Warner Bros. Pictures is bringing The Dark Knight back for a return engagement in theaters and IMAX on January 23, 2009, giving audiences one more chance to see the film on the big screen. The film will re-open nationwide, it was announced today by Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. Pictures President of Domestic Distribution.

In making the announcement, Fellman stated, "'The Dark Knight' is a crowning achievement in every sense of the word. We wanted to provide one more opportunity for moviegoers to experience it on the big screen as it was meant to be seen."

One of the most celebrated and successful films of this or any year, The Dark Knight has been hailed by both critics and audiences since its original release last July. The film garnered widespread acclaim for its artistic and technical achievements, including the work of its outstanding cast and its director, Oscar®-nominated filmmaker Christopher Nolan (Memento).

Led by Christian Bale, reprising his role from Batman Begins, and Academy Award® nominee Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain), the ensemble cast also includes Academy Award® winner Michael Caine (The Cider House Rules), Gary Oldman (the "Harry Potter" films), Aaron Eckhart (Thank You for Smoking), Maggie Gyllenhaal (Stranger Than Fiction), and Academy Award® winner Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby).

In addition, critics and moviegoers alike applauded Nolan's revolutionary use of IMAX cameras to film some of the most challenging action sequences ever created—a first for a major feature film.

Nolan directed The Dark Knight from a screenplay written by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer. Charles Roven, Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan produced the film, with Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Kevin De La Noy and Thomas Tull serving as executive producers.

Collaborating with Nolan behind the scenes were two-time Oscar®-nominated director of photography Wally Pfister (The Prestige, Batman Begins), Oscar®-nominated production designer Nathan Crowley (The Prestige), Oscar®-nominated editor Lee Smith (Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World) and Oscar®-winning costume designer Lindy Hemming (Topsy-Turvy). The music is by Oscar® winner and multiple Oscar® nominee Hans Zimmer (The Lion King, Gladiator) and seven-time Oscar® nominee James Newton Howard (Michael Clayton, The Fugitive), who previously collaborated on the score for Batman Begins.

Originally released on July 18, 2008, The Dark Knight broke virtually every possible box office record to become the top-grossing film of 2008 and the second-highest grossing movie (domestically) of all time.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Watchmen Gets Shorter


SCI FI Wire talked to Zack and Deborah Snyder, the husband-and-wife directing/producing team of Watchmen, who said that the film's final length hasn't been approved yet, but that it is getting shorter:

"We're getting really close," producer Deborah Snyder said in a telephone interview on Nov. 18. "We're at two hours and 35 minutes."

Director Zack Snyder added: "The movie's pretty long ... compared to 300, which was an hour and 58 minutes. The director's cut [of Watchmen] is about three hours and 10 minutes long. It has even more than the theatrical version as far as the detail that gets even closer to the graphic novel."

There's also the "Tales of the Black Freighter" version in the works which you can read much more about here!

Watchmen is directed by Zack Snyder (of Dawn of the Dead and 300) and written by David Hayter (The Scorpion King, X-Men, X-Men 2) and Alex Tse. The movie arrives in theaters everywhere on March 6th, 2009.