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Roger Rabbit 2: Two-Dimensional Toons & CGI Humans?

Written on November 5th, 2009 by Paul Young 
8 Comments

Roger Rabbit 2: Two-Dimensional Toons & CGI Humans?

Don’t act like you’re surprised. You knew this announcement was coming from the moment we first heard that director Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future) was making a sequel to his 1988 smash hit, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? It was just a matter of time, really. With three Mocap (that’s the new slang for “motion-capture”, FYI) films already under his belt – Polar Express, Beowulf, and A Christmas Carol – it was a natural leap of thought to assume Zemeckis would use his favorite new toy in a Roger Rabbit sequel.

However, it appears that the Toon characters (Roger, Jessica, Benny the Cab) will not be the ones making the leap into the 21st century. According to his interview with MTV, Zemeckis doesn’t plan on using Mocap for those characters, just the human ones (as if that makes it any better). Read what he had to say below:

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Berenstain Bears Movie Coming to Theaters

Written on November 5th, 2009 by Paul Young 
4 Comments

Berenstain Bears Movie Coming to Theaters

There are only a couple of reason why you clicked through to read this article. A) You have kids and they still enjoy reading the books and watching the cartoons made popular by Jan and Stan Berenstain or B) You have a morbid sense of curiosity and just had to see what all the hubbub is about.

Either way, the news is true; Coming Soon points to a report from USA Today stating that Walden Media has bought the movie rights to produce The Berenstain Bears movie adaptation. The film will be a comedy with a mix of live-action and CGI (of course it will). No 3D has been announced yet, but just wait, it won’t be far behind, I’m sure.

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Angelina Jolie in New Teaser Trailer as Agent Salt

Written on November 4th, 2009 by Paul Young 
8 Comments

Angelina Jolie in New Teaser Trailer as Agent Salt

I love salt, all types of salt really – Sea salt, table salt, rock salt and Evelyn Salt. Not familiar with that last one? She’s next summer’s female action spy played the ever so pouty-lipped Angelina Jolie. At one point, Tom Cruise was rumored to be attached to the Phillip Noyce (Patriot Games, The Bone Collector) directed secret double agent yarn but ultimately, Noyce and company decided to go with a more feminine touch. Good move guys!

Jolie has proven time and again that she is the go-to woman in Hollywood for lead female action roles. Say what you want about the Tomb Raider movie, but as Lara Croft there can be no other woman playing the part. Same goes for her roles in Mr. and Mrs. Smith and last summer’s Wanted. In Salt, she appears to be just as convincing while playing a wrongly accused woman on the run.

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David Goyer: Ghost Rider Sequel Not a Reboot

Written on November 4th, 2009 by Paul Young 
11 Comments

David Goyer: Ghost Rider Sequel Not a Reboot

The sequel to Ghost Rider is going to happen. Just deal with the reality and move on. You can whine all you want about how poorly done the first one was, in acting, script and direction, but that won’t change the fact the Ghost Rider 2 is on its way like a flame- skulled demon riding a motorcycle. All that fan boys can hope for now is a faithful retelling of the popular second tier Marvel/Disney property. I’m just hoping for a story that doesn’t include a flaming skeleton horse.

Last month, David Goyer (Super Max, FlashForward), who is producing his half a score old script (that’s ten years for you non-math majors), talked about his story a bit and confirmed he was attached to the project. Today, MTV has an interview with Goyer and addressed concerns about the sequel pulling off a PG-13 rating. So will it or won’t it be a reboot?

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WWE Planning Old West Undertaker Origin Movie

Written on November 4th, 2009 by Paul Young 
8 Comments

WWE Planning Old West Undertaker Origin Movie

We’ve seen a lot of origin stories in the past few years – Wolverine just came out this summer, Magneto may or may not be happening, there is always Superman and of course Batman’s origin has been told several times. Heck, The Hobbit can even be considered an origin story. Ghost Rider was unfortunately given an origin movie that dated back to the old west. I’m a huge fan of Tremors and the 4th movie went back to the old west as well, for an origin story about the subterranean monster worm.

So I understand why studios and copyright holders want to make origin movies on comic book characters and even monsters, but I cannot for the life of me figure out this latest news coming from “wrastlin” news site Lords of Pain. WWE, in a bid to capitalize on one of their brands, is in the process of making a big-screen film on the origins of the current WWE SmackDown World Heavyweight Champion – The Undertaker. Yeah you read that right, a real-life, old-school wrestler is getting his own origin story. But why?

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Movie Theater Etiquette for the Modern Day Audience

Written on November 4th, 2009 by Paul Young 
49 Comments

Movie Theater Etiquette for the Modern Day Audience

It’s very sad that I have to write an article like this in our day and age. One would think that society has grown and matured over the years to the point where we wouldn’t have to be told how to act around other people. Well it would seem that courtesy has been thrown out the window and a new day is dawning where people couldn’t care less about others around them. Back in 2003, Screen Rant founder Vic Holtreman wrote a great rant about people talking during films. I’ve decided to expand on those thoughts.

We could talk for hours about how rude society has become and how we ultimately got to this point, but that is a discussion for a different time and place. I want to discuss some of the issues facing the modern day moviegoer and what they can do to make everyone’s movie watching experience more enjoyable. So, I will be discussing the 3 biggest problems in movie theaters today: cell phones, babies and talking during films.

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HBO Making Music Industry vs. Piracy Film

Written on November 3rd, 2009 by Paul Young 
8 Comments

HBO Making Music Industry vs. Piracy Film

As I write this, I’m listening to an eclectic mix of Michael Jackson, Pearl Jam, The Foofighters and David Sanborn all of which are being pumped through randomly via my Zune. Just a few years ago, I would have been concerned about receiving a legal notice in the mail or the FBI breaking down my door for illegally downloading a three and a half minute song, but thanks to Amazon, iTunes and the Zune Store, I can listen to anything artist I want legally for a small fee.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) are always touting how their products are on the cutting edge of technology. Musicians now sing and perform in Dolby Surround sound and High Definition while movies like the upcoming A Christmas Carol and Avatar use motion-capture and state-of-the-art 3D technology to enhance our theater experience. But what happens after we leave the concert or theater and want to listen or watch again?

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‘Storm’ Trailer: Uwe Boll Returns to (Bad) Form

Written on November 3rd, 2009 by Paul Young 
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‘Storm’ Trailer: Uwe Boll Returns to (Bad) Form

Every time that a new Uwe Boll film comes out, I watch it hoping that this will be the film in which he succeeds in blowing me away; I haven’t had that happen yet. Sure, his next release, Rampage, looks like it may be his finest work to date – but that is like saying a small bag of garbage is better than a large bag of garbage. Our buddies over at /Film have pointed out a new trailer for Boll’s next film titles Storm, or Final Storm if you check out the IMDB page.

To be honest, with Boll’s track record of video game movies, I fully expected Storm to be about the new Blackberry phone; however, the only synopsis I could find for Storm was on IMDB and it looks like I I’ll have to wait for that Blackberry film:

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[SR Pick]: Bill For ‘The Hangover’ Bachelor Party

Written on November 3rd, 2009 by Paul Young 
7 Comments

[SR Pick]: Bill For ‘The Hangover’ Bachelor Party

This summer’s breakout hit has to be The Hangover. Everyone expected it to be funny and do well at the box office, but no one expected it to eclipse the $400 million worldwide mark. In case you didn’t know (or couldn’t guess), The Hangover 2 is already filming and planned for a Memorial Day 2011 release.

The film revolved around a group of four guys who head to Vegas for a bachelor party and after a night of raucous activities, can’t find the bachelor, have a baby to take care of and a tiger in their bathroom. Needless to say, all the pieces come together at the end of the film but have you ever thought to yourself “Man! How much would a night like that cost?”

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Official Trailer for How to Train Your Dragon

Written on November 2nd, 2009 by Paul Young 
2 Comments

Official Trailer for How to Train Your Dragon

A little while ago, a teaser trailer for Dreamworks’ How to Train Your Dragon hit the internet but it was such poor quality that it really didn’t do the film justice. This would probably be the reason why Paramount asked us a day or so later to pull the video. A couple of weeks later, a proper teaser trailer came out with the exact same footage and to say it was tons better would be an understatement.

Today, thanks to Trailer Spy, Dreamworks has released the official trailer for How to Train Your Dragon in glorious HD and it is beautiful. The story is based on the 2003 children’s book by the same name written by Cressida Cowell. The movie is set in the land of Vikings and dragons and follows a Viking boy named Hiccup on the island of Berk. For Hiccup and his people, fighting dragons is an everyday occurrence.  The world Hiccup knows changes entirely as he ultimately befriends a wounded dragon instead of killing him, much to the embarrassment of his father.

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‘Tucker & Dale vs. Evil’ Red Band Trailer

Written on November 2nd, 2009 by Paul Young 
12 Comments

‘Tucker & Dale vs. Evil’ Red Band Trailer

Horror and comedy are two of my favorite genres and just like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, I like when they are combined. Last month, Screen Rant writer Ross Miller did a series on horror films that were combined with other genres. One of those combinations was horror plus comedy and the movie he choose was Shaun of the Dead. Other great examples are the always popular Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness with Bruce “The Chin” Campbell.

Well today, courtesy of our friends at Bloody Disgusting, we have a new trailer for the upcoming horror/comedy film Tucker & Dale vs. Evil. If the film is half as funny as the trailer then I am really looking forward to seeing it. The movie stars Alan Tudyk (Firefly, Dodgeball) and Tyler Labine (Zack and Miri Make a Porno) as two redneck hillbillies that want to do nothing more than enjoy their new vacation cabin in the middle of the woods.

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New Moon Stills, Clip and Twilight Re-Release Info

Written on November 2nd, 2009 by Paul Young 
9 Comments

New Moon Stills, Clip and Twilight Re-Release Info

Twilight fans grab your life-size Robert Pattinson stuffed doll, call all of your friends, gather around your computer monitors and giggle together in anticipation because Screen Rant has got some skin-tingling news for you. Last week MTV showed its first ever Halloween special, Ulalume: Howling at the New Moon. During the show, MTV showed an exclusive clip from the upcoming Twilight sequel New Moon and in case you missed it (if you are a Twilight fan, then I seriously doubt you missed it) you can watch the clip over at MTV or just check it out after the jump.

All the popular kids were on hand to debut the new clip, including every girl’s (and a few oddball boy’s) favorite brooding teenage vampire hunk, Robert Pattinson (Edward Cullen). Oh yeah, in case you care, Kristen Stewart (Bella Swan) and Taylor Lautner (Jacob Black) were there too. But seriously, did you see the dreamy, pale-skinned, red-eyed Edward? That man just exudes sexy, in an “I want to drink your blood” type of way.

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Web Series ‘Broken Toy’ Looks Promising

Written on October 30th, 2009 by Paul Young 
4 Comments

Web Series ‘Broken Toy’ Looks Promising

There are a lot of independent film makers in the world and most of them never get a chance to have their materials shown to a wide audience. That is until the Internet and YouTube came along and completely changed the rules of the movie game. It used to be that if you were lucky enough to attend an entire film festival, then you could watch one or two short films or low budget films that were very good but no distributor wanted to pick up.

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Confirmed: Tom Hardy & Charlize Theron in Mad Max 4 Negotiations

Written on October 30th, 2009 by Paul Young 
13 Comments

Confirmed: Tom Hardy & Charlize Theron in Mad Max 4 Negotiations

Just a few days ago, we talked about a report E! Online had put out which stated that RocknRolla star Tom “Handsome Bob” Hardy and Charlize Theron were on the short list to star in George Miller’s 4th installment of the Mad Max series, Fury Road. E! Online didn’t have any solid confirmation regarding the rumors so the information was to be taken with a grain of salt.

Today we learn (thanks to a heads up from First Showing), that The Hollywood Reporter is confirming both Hardy and Theron have entered into negotiations to star in Fury Road, with Hardy filling in for Mel Gibson as the titular role of Max Rockatansky and Theron as the female lead (does that mean she’s the new Tina Turner?). At this point, unless something wonky happens, Hardy and Theron will be the ones we see come release time.

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‘This Is It’ First Day Box Office (Sort of) Breaks Records

Written on October 29th, 2009 by Paul Young 
28 Comments

‘This Is It’ First Day Box Office (Sort of) Breaks Records

Sony Pictures Twitter account, @SonyPictures, was on fire Tuesday night with constant tweet updates about this celebrity or that celebrity showing up on the red carpet to go watch the premier of the late Michael Jackson in This Is It. Along with those celebrities, thousands of people across the nation were able to see the film for the first time as well.

According to CNN, This Is It brought in an estimated $2.2 million for Tuesday October 27th, and although the official numbers will take another day or so to be finalized, the final numbers shouldn’t be too much higher or lower than that. There are some conflicting numbers coming out though, and it may not be until later next week before we see anything concrete. While CNN is saying $2.2 million, Hollywood Insider is reporting $7.4 million domestic and $12.7 international. The LA Times seems to echo Hollywood Insider’s numbers with a global total of $20.1 million

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Six Clips from Disney’s A Christmas Carol

Written on October 29th, 2009 by Paul Young 
8 Comments

Six Clips from Disney’s A Christmas Carol

Ever since Comic Con, Disney has been pushing their Robert Zemeckis-directed version of the Charles Dickens’ classic story A Christmas Carol. They’ve done everything they can to ensure that as many people as possible know about the film and go see it. Of course, that is the whole point of marketing but I fear they may be over doing it a touch. The 7-month-long A Christmas Carol train journey was almost overdoing it but now I think they are showing way too much of the film two weeks before its release.

However, some people like to watch as much as they can for an upcoming movie; I just don’t happen to be one of them. Steve “Frosty” Weintraub at Collider is just like me (‘cept cooler) in that he doesn’t want to have the entire movie spoiled. We both want to experience it for the first time in the theater, in IMAX or 3-D; but on the off chance that you want to soak up as much Christmas Carol as possible; Collider has assembled 6 video clips into one 5 minute video for you to watch.

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Avatar Featurette Looks Behind The Scenes

Written on October 29th, 2009 by Paul Young 
8 Comments

Avatar Featurette Looks Behind The Scenes

All aboard the Avatar train! Next stop Pandora!

I won’t lie: I have been on the skeptical side of the fence when it comes to Avatar. Not because I thought the film was going to be a dud or not fun to watch, but because I didn’t think all the hype was justified. Well, I just watched the International Trailer for Avatar, and I must say, color me impressed. Today, Coming Soon has dropped a new behind-the-scenes featurette on the making of Avatar and it gives some further insight on the film.

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The First 5 Minutes of ‘The Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day’

Written on October 27th, 2009 by Paul Young 
17 Comments

The First 5 Minutes of ‘The Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day’

Yesterday we put up a link to the Eventful page where you could “demand” that Troy Duffy’s The Boondock Saints:All Saints Day be shown in your hometown theaters. So far, the movie has scraped together 18 thousand votes; that’s 5 thousand more votes than yesterday. Sadly, it’s not a big enough number to warrant a wide release. That may be why Apparition decided to release the first 5 minutes of footage of the film today in hopes of gathering some more attention.

I’m not thinking this was the best move or their part because (as much as it pains me to say it) I’m completely underwhelmed at the opening. There are more clichés than a bad 80’s action film. Duffy has managed to explain everything and nothing at the same time. He writes off 10 years of absence with scruffy beards and hair and then writes that off with a 2 minute shave, hair cut and shower montage.

I like rock music montages but this just feels cheesy and forced. I’m so upset right now I could spit. I can’t even type straight any more. Watch the preview after the jump:

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‘Paul Blart’ Director Helming Short Circuit Remake

Written on October 27th, 2009 by Paul Young 
36 Comments

‘Paul Blart’ Director Helming Short Circuit Remake

Early this summer, we announced that Dimension Films was in the process of giving Johnny 5 a remake-over with a new Short Circuit film. They just about had all of the pre-production people in place to make it happen; all they needed was a director. Dan Milano (Greg the Bunny) was putting together the script; David Foster, who produced the original, was returning to produce the remake and joining him were Ryan E. Heppe and John Hyde. So where did Dimension Films go to find a director? Where everyone else goes when they need to find something, of course – the mall.

Steve Carr, who directed 2009 surprise hit Paul Blart: Mall Cop, has been chosen to direct the Short Circuit remake and that just means one thing – a embarrassingly, unfunny actor will surely be cast as the male lead. What brings me to that conclusion? I’m glad you asked…

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Studios To Separate DVD Purchase and Rental Release Dates?

Written on October 26th, 2009 by Paul Young 
20 Comments

Studios To Separate DVD Purchase and Rental Release Dates?

Ben Fritz, a writer for the LA Times, reported the other day that the major studios are considering spreading out the time between when consumers can buy DVDs and when they can rent them. As it is right now (and has been for years), movies are available to rent the same day that they can also be purchased. According to Reed Hastings, chief executive of Netflix, he has recently met with several of Netflix’s biggest suppliers (read: studios and distributors) to discuss a “delayed-rental proposal.”

The current DVD release system has DVDs available for purchase and rental on the same day from companies such as NetFlix, Blockbuster and RedBox. Under the new DVD release system, those dates would be separated by a few weeks. What is the reasoning behind this move? Studios cite a sharp decline in DVD sales. Said Hastings:

“The studios are wrestling with declines in DVD sales while the DVD rental market has been modestly growing. One of the mitigating steps some are considering is introducing a DVD retail sales-only window for a few weeks.”

The faltering economy has families and individuals looking for ways to save money, not spend it. One of those ways is to rent DVDs and not purchase them; a theory that is backed up by NetFlix’s recent quarter numbers of 24% growth! That is a truly impressive financial achievement in this harsh recession; an achievement that surely has investors smiling, but not as impressive as rental company RedBox’s growth. RedBox saw a staggering 113% growth in the first six months of this year!

Those sorts of numbers where the reason that studios 20th Century Fox, Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. all attempted to keep RedBox from having access to their DVDs until well after the initial release.  The popular rental giant only charges $1 per night, per rental, and the studios felt RedBox wasn’t charging enough for people to rent their movies. Of course, RedBox responded with a lawsuit to keep that from the studios off its back and the suit is still in court…although the point may soon become moot.

The new release system could go into effect as soon as next year and if that happens, every rental company will be affected, not just RedBox, and I would suspect the suit would be dropped by all parties involved. Said a RedBox corporate spokeperson:

“We must have a level playing field and the right to buy movies at the same time as any of our competitors.”

Ben Fritz makes the following statement in his report:

“Hollywood studios prefer that consumers buy DVDs because that generates significantly higher profits than rentals.”

And Wade Holden, an analyst for SNL Kagan, gives this insight:

“The studios might try to implement something like this to increase demand for sales because they need to protect that revenue stream the best they can.”

Does that statement strike anyone else as extremely greedy? I understand movie studios are a business aiming to make money for both themselves and investors; I’m not arguing that point at all. What seems ridiculous to me is their business model and the idea that pushing back rental dates will make consumers buy a movie because they don’t want to wait another three or four weeks to rent it.

(Are studios getting greedy or getting their due? Keep reading…)

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Demand to See ‘Boondock Saints II’ in Your Town

Written on October 26th, 2009 by Paul Young 
35 Comments

Demand to See ‘Boondock Saints II’ in Your Town

Apparently, there is a new and developing trend in Hollywood and it all started with the breakout hit Paranormal Activity. You see, a few weeks ago Paramount wasn’t planning on giving Paranormal Activity a wide release, but then word started spreading about the film and its popularity grew. What happened next was nothing short of a miracle. The director and producers put a link at the end of the trailer where moviegoers across the nation could “demand” the film be shown in their town. The viral marketing worked and this weekend Paranormal Activity dethroned Saw VI to become the reigning Halloween champ.

The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, Troy Duffy’s long awaited sequel, opens in New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Jersey this Friday, October 30th, which is great news for fans living in those New England states – however the rest of us are out of luck.

Or are we?

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First (Good) Look At The A-Team?

Written on October 23rd, 2009 by Paul Young 
17 Comments

First (Good) Look At The A-Team?

I love it when ‘A Team’ comes together!

Yesterday, Entertainment Tonight did a behind-the-scenes report on the upcoming TV show-turned-movie The A-Team. The footage was mostly uninteresting fluff but there was a quick glimpse of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson acting like “B.A.” Baracus. It was slightly cringe-worthy but I think it wasn’t a true take and only represented a rehearsal moment. However, it did give fans a chance to see what B.A. will look like, because up to now, we’ve only gotten paparazzi pictures.

As you can see from the above header, that may no longer be the case. Courtesy of Peter Sciretta at /Film, we have what COULD BE the first true look at all four members of The A-Team. Sciretta points us to /Film reader, Dr. Malo, and his website, which is all in Spanish but thanks to iGoogle Translator, we find out Malo reportedly got the pic from Fox Chile.

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New Clip and Interview with ‘V’ star Morena Baccarin

Written on October 23rd, 2009 by Paul Young 
12 Comments

New Clip and Interview with ‘V’ star Morena Baccarin

In a couple of weeks ABC Television will air its remake of the 80s sci-fi hit V. Audiences are all crossing their fingers and hoping that this remake is much better than the past couple of attempts by television studios (Knight Rider, Bionic Woman). Right now, all hopes of success are resting on the shoulders of one vaguely known actress: Morena Baccarin. If you look at all of the marketing leading up to the November 3rd premiere one face sticks out looking down on the city on the bottom of a huge inter-galactic spaceship and it’s Anna (Baccarin).

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Halloween Beasts of Horror: The Animals That Scare Us

Written on October 22nd, 2009 by Paul Young 
21 Comments

Halloween Beasts of Horror: The Animals That Scare Us

As the spookiest day of the year (Halloween) approaches, people start talking about what actually scares them the most. We’ve run several articles this month discussing horror films from multiple genres (Comedy, Sci-Fi, Thriller) and then we covered a list of “fun for everyone” Halloween films.

In too many instances people focus on the alien, zombie, ghost and slasher films to represent the horror genre – and while those are all truly frightening topics for films, I think that ultimately one of the scariest horror sub-genres often gets overlooked: Animals gone crazy!

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Disney’s Russian Fantasy Film ‘Kniga Masterov’ Looks Impressive

Written on October 22nd, 2009 by Paul Young 
12 Comments

Disney’s Russian Fantasy Film ‘Kniga Masterov’ Looks Impressive

Did the title throw you off a little? Don’t worry, it through me off as well. Yes, it would appear that Disney has produced a Russian-only fantasy movie called Kniga Masterov or in its native Russian Книга мастеров. The English translation is Book of Masters and it’s the first Russian movie Disney has made. It stars an all Russian cast and dang if it doesn’t look brilliant.

I could easily throw out the names of the director, writer, actors and producers but honestly, I doubt you have ever heard of them and they are all Russian. Even IMDB doesn’t have pictures to go with their names. The film is based on Russian folklore and fairy tales but the imagery from the trailer and video clip lean heavily on the Lord of the Rings films. That’s not a bad thing though. I’m all for a good fantasy film, in whatever language it may be in.

Watch the trailer and the clip after the jump.

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Will the Original Captain Kirk Be in Star Trek 2?

Written on October 21st, 2009 by Paul Young 
56 Comments

Will the Original Captain Kirk Be in Star Trek 2?

The last Star Trek film was by all accounts a huge success, both financially and critically. The reboot brought in $384 million worldwide since its May 2009 release and with the DVD soon to hit store shelves November 17th, the financial gain is sure to continue. Director J.J. Abrams, along with writers Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci managed to reinvent the Roddenberry franchise without the use of *gasp* William Shatner.

Some people questioned why they wouldn’t bring Shatner on board for the reboot – not because he is the greatest actor in the world, but rather because he essentially IS the embodiment of Star Trek. Our friends at Cinema Blend pointed us towards The West Australian, who were at a Los Angles press conference promoting the Star Trek DVD, where J.J. Abrams addressed that very topic and it looks like William Shatner MAY (not will) show up in the new Star Trek sequel.

“The problem was his character died on screen in one of his Trek films and because we decided, very early on, that we wanted to adhere to Trek canon as best we could … the required machinations to get Shatner into the movie would have been very difficult to do given the story we wanted to tell and also to give him the kind of part that he would be happy with.”

I suppose that makes sense. Shatner did die in the Star Trek: Generations movie only to come back from the afterlife “Nexus” and die again later in the movie. So why wouldn’t Abrams and company do the same kind of thing for the prequel?

“It was a foregone conclusion we wanted him in the [Star Trek]. It was this thing where it would have felt like a gimmick in order to get Shatner in the movie, which would have honestly, to me, been distracting.”

Not quite as distracting as Leonard Nimoy returning to battle a snow beast as his home planet is destroyed, or as distracting as a green alien hottie in her underwear, but I understand what he means. Trying to start a franchise basically from scratch so that it may continue to live through numerous sequels is tough enough to do without bringing back in a familiar face just for the sake of branding.

So what has changed in the Star Trek universe that would allow Abrams to include Shatner into the upcoming sequel?

“In terms of moving forward, I am open to anything. I feel like the first movie did some of the heavy lifting that needed to be done in order to free us to continue going forward. Maybe there’s less of a burden and there’s going to be more opportunity to work with him (Shatner).”

I’m not really sure how I feel about that statement. The inclusion of Shatner in any manner other than portraying Captain Kirk would just be strange. That means in order to use both Chris Pine and William Shatner as Captain Kirk there would have to be time travel involved and honestly that would feel gimmicky to me. The whole topic is covered in detail on the upcoming Star Trek DVD, in a feature called “The Shatner Conundrum”.

I honestly don’t think Shatner should return to the franchise. He had his three decades of fame from Star Trek and should now fade into the background and enjoy watching younger actors pick up the torch and run with it. I’ve enjoyed watching him in his more comedic roles lately and who doesn’t like the Price Line Negotiator? But he most likely will play a part in the sequel because Abrams added:

“I would love to work with [Shatner]. We speak. We actually have a lunch date planned. “

What do you think about William Shatner coming back on board to play a part in Star Trek 2? Should he leave well enough or alone or does he deserve to be in every Trek movie as long as he lives?

The Star Trek Blu-ray and DVD comes out in the US November 17th, 2009.

Source: Cinema Blend, The West Australian

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All A Bored Disney’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ Train Tour

Written on October 20th, 2009 by Paul Young 
19 Comments

All A Bored Disney’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ Train Tour

The marketing genius that is the Walt Disney Company is at it again, and this time it’s a unique tie-in to the upcoming Robert Zemeckis-directed 3D digital CGI extravaganza, A Christmas Carol. Maybe you’ve heard of it? I don’t see how anybody can’t know about it – Disney has been pushing this movie hard since the beginning of summer at the Cannes Festival and followed it up with a good showing at Comic-Con.

To help mass-market A Christmas Carol, Disney teamed up with Amtrak and HP to help bring a train full of goodies to 40 cities. It all started back in May in Los Angeles and so far, the special train has stopped at 37 cities including my hometown of Jacksonville, Florida. I went with my family today thinking it was going to be a whole lot of fun and the kids would get a kick out of seeing the train, because what kid doesn’t like trains?

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New Clip For Michael Jackson’s ‘This is It’ [Updated]

Written on October 20th, 2009 by Paul Young 
18 Comments

New Clip For Michael Jackson’s ‘This is It’ [Updated]

[Update: We now have a new featurette for This Is It]

This will certainly make all of the hardcore Michael Jackson fans, who are sitting on pins and needles in anticipation of the his post-mortem rehearsal movie This Is It, very happy. Someone (read: AEG or Sony) leaked a clip from the upcoming movie and oddly enough, no one has been asked to take it down and the video is still available on YouTube. So, chances are the studios want it out there and that it’s viral marketing.

Michael Jackson does look like he’s on top of his game preparing for the tour. Everything I read about his last work says he was meticulous about practicing for his shows and liked to have full creative control. It still amazes me how he could talk so mousy in public and in front of cameras, but put a microphone in the man’s hand and his voice drops a couple of octaves. It also appears that he was breaking out his old dance moves from the videos for the song he is performing.

You can watch the clip below after the jump. Thanks to Cinema Blend for the heads up.

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Monster Squad Finds A Shrek-Type Director

Written on October 19th, 2009 by Paul Young 
2 Comments

Monster Squad Finds A Shrek-Type Director

If you are like me (and we can only hope you have more of a life than I do), then when you read the title you were hoping it was a remake or sequel to the awesome young boys monster movie from the 80’s, The Monster Squad. Alas, this is not the case because the Warner Bros film was previously titled Nightcrawlers and will be a supernatural action comedy. Great, that means somewhere Will Ferrell will make a ridiculous cameo or heaven forbid, have a starring role.

Warner Bros. Studios has tapped Mike Mitchell (Sky High, Shrek Forever After) to helm the new Monster Squad movie which will work off of a nine year-old spec script written by Brian Lynch and rewritten by Brad Copeland (Wild Hogs). Donald De Line (The Italian Job) is attached to produce and the studio hopes to start filming next summer 2010.

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Stan Lee Talks Iron Man 2 & Thor Cameos

Written on October 19th, 2009 by Paul Young 
9 Comments

Stan Lee Talks Iron Man 2 & Thor Cameos

Is there anybody that doesn’t know or respect Stan “The Man” Lee, the official godfather of comics? The octogenarian artist is responsible to bringing many of the comic superheroes that readers have come to love and that movie audiences are now becoming familiar with as well. One of the fun points in the each of the Marvel films is a “Where’s Waldo?” style game that is played with Stan Lee standing in for Waldo.

Starting way back in 2000 with X-Men, he’s appeared in majority of the Marvel Comics-based movies. The one he was most notably missing from is this summer’s blockbuster (financially) X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Steve at Collider had a great interview with him at Scream Fest, where Stan explains that he likes doing the cameos but that they weren’t his idea and doesn’t do them if he has to travel far. Since Wolverine was filmed in Australia, that would explain his absence.

In the upcoming Iron Man sequel, Lee says director Jon Favreau called him up and said “put on these thick black glasses and these suspenders; you’re playing Larry King.” Watch the entire interview after the jump.

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