Probably THE spectacle movie of 2009 is going to end up being Roland Emmerich’s latest big-budget disaster flick, 2012, which focuses on the Mayan prophecy that the world will end in December of the year 2012. The $200 million, special-effects laden, film stars the likes of John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Woody Harrelson, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton and Danny Glover, and is set to crash into theaters in a week’s time.

However, with a film of this size, you know the buck rarely stops at one. In this case, Emmerich is already looking ahead at making more out of his latest disaster tale. Recently news surfaced that there was a 2012 sequel spin-off  TV series in the works (yes, they’re thinking about furthering this seemingly finite disaster story). But wait, how can there be a sequel, in any form, of 2012… isn’t it supposed to be about the end of the world? That’s what I thought, but apparently that’s not exactly the case. Thanks to Cinemablend we have some info on what the spin-off show might take:

[SPOILERS ahead]

Ever since a live-action, 3D Yogi Bear movie was announced back in February this year, there hasn’t really been any movement on the news front regarding it. However, fast forward to now and we may have our main cast in the form of Dan Aykroyd, Anna Faris and Justin Timberlake.

Aykroyd is in negotiations to voice the titular character in Yogi Bear, with Faris set to play a nature documentarian who follows the antics of Yogi in the fictional Jellystone Park. Timberlake is also in talks to join the project, possibly playing Yogi’s sidekick, Boo-Boo. The film is being directed by Eric Brevig (Journey To The Center of the Earth), and produced by Donald De Line and Karen Rosenfelt as a live-action/CGI hybrid in the vein of Alvin and the Chipmunks and Garfield (aim high, why don’t you?).

Remember when word of a mysterious project called Cloverfield first surfaced? Before we knew it, we were getting a movie about a mostly unseen giant monster causing chaos in New York. Well, it seems that J.J. Abrams might be bringing us something in the same top-secret vein with a project that is being referred to as 500 Rads.

The guys over at Pajiba (thanks to /Film for pointing us to this) have an inside source (who they’re keeping nameless, for good reason) that has given some details on 500 Rads, a project that Abrams and his production company, Bad Robot, are apparently developing in secret.

These Sherlock Holmes trailers just keep on coming, don’t they? An action-packed fourth one has appeared online over at MTV, and we have it here for your viewing pleasure. We’ve seen plenty of action in all the other trailers for the movie – including explosions, chases and hand-to-hand combat – but this latest trailer really turns up the action significantly.

Just as a reminder, Sherlock Holmes stars Robert Downey Jr. as the titular detective, and it co-stars Jude Law as his faithful assistant, Dr. Watson. Mark Strong plays the villain, Lord Blackwood and Rachel McAdams is the beautiful love interest, Irene Adler. Directed by Guy Ritchie (Snatch, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels), this fresh take on the classic detective character makes use of some things not seen in most Holmes tellings, namely his often-forgotten martial arts skills.

The Hangover star Zach Galifianakis is certainly making a name for himself as of late: after starring in the $461 million comedy smash hit this summer, he has garnered himself a slew of roles (which is unsurprising – he was hilarious in The Hangover), the latest of which is voicing children’s nursery rhyme character, Humpty Dumpty, in the upcoming Shrek spin-off movie, Puss In Boots.

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Galifianakis is in talks to voice Humpty Dumpty, and if cast he’ll be joining the voice of Puss In Boots himself, Antonio Banderas, as well as Salma Hayek who’s voicing “Kitty.” The spin-off will be written by Tom Wheeler, and will be a prequel (an origin story, we’ve heard) leading up to the feisty feline’s meeting-up with Shrek and Co. in Shrek 2.

When does the movie business ever go as planned? Rarely, it seems, as evidenced by the change-ups with the upcoming thriller The Tourist, the remake of the 2005 French film, Anthony Zimmer.

We recently reported that Angelina Jolie had replaced Charlize Theron in the movie, with Jolie joining the already-cast Sam Worthington (who originally replaced Tom Cruise). Then a week later came news that after previously attached director Bharat Nalluri had stepped away from the project, The Lives of Other director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck was being eyed to helm the film instead.

All seemed to be in place and The Tourist was set for an early 2010 shooting start. However, although the latter is still true, there appears to STILL be major change-ups happening, as not only is yet another new director being looked at to now replace Donnersmarck, but Worthington may be getting replaced by Johnny Depp!

Whether fans of the original Swedish language film Let The Right One In like it or not, the American remake, entitled Let Me In, is firmly going ahead, with filming already started a couple of days ago in New Mexico. But just as that news appeared, another piece surfaced that three more actors have joined the cast: Elias Koteas (playing a policeman), Cara Bruono (playing the main character’s mother) and Sasha Barrese (playing a character called “Virginia”). They join the previously announced Kodi-Smit McPhee, Chloe Moritz, and Richard Jenkins.

Last week we reported on the fact that the all-singing, all-dancing host of the 2009 Oscars, Hugh Jackman had turned down the opportunity to return in 2010 because he didn’t want to host two years in a row. At the same time, there was a rumor flying around that Neil Patrick Harris was going to be picking up the reigns, after doing such a great job at the Emmys in September. Although not my first choice for an Oscar host (I still maintain George Clooney is the perfect choice), NPH would have been a fine runner-up, IMO.

However, as happens a lot with these pesky little things we call rumors, NPH hasn’t gotten the gig. So who has? Well, I’m glad you asked – none other than Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin. That’s right, the Academy has decided to double-up this year and bring on a comedic acting duo.

Of all those involved in the upcoming adaptation of The Hobbit, Ian McKellen seems to be the most vocal. The last time he “spilled the beans” about the pre-Lord of the Rings adventure (along with him talking a little bit about the standalone Magneto movie),  McKellen talked about when we could expect the script, which, he stated, would be “very soon.”

That was last month – fast forward a few weeks and it appears The Hobbit script has surfaced (or at least a draft of it) and lucky Sir McKellen has apparently had a read of it. However, it’s early days yet for the film (Part 1 doesn’t come out until the end of 2011), and sadly but not surprisingly, McKellen is staying tight-lipped about what’s in the script. Here’s what he told SciFiWire about it during an interview last week promoting AMC’s The Prisoner:

How did this news slip past us all? According to a source that the guys over at Pajiba have, Robert Rodriguez won’t be directing the long in-development live-action Jetsons movie. It was only this summer that we got word that The Jetsons was firmly on its way, with an early draft of the script having been written, and Rodriguez himself sounding enthusiastic after he said he’s been working on ideas for the adaptation for a long time.

However, Rodriguez has his fingers in a lot of pies right about now: He has his full-length Machete movie (currently in the editing stages); he’s heavily involved in the Predators reboot; apparently he has Spy Kids 4 in the works (it was only a matter of time…); and, of course, there’s the much-anticipated, long gestating Sin City 2 (which could be filming next year, last we heard). So it’s kind of understandable, but nonetheless saddening to find he’s (apparently) dropped out of The Jetsons.

Alongside what seems like every second toy or board game on the shelf, a Ouija board movie is apparently on its way to the big screen. Over time, Michael Bay (or at least his company, Platinum Dunes) has been attached to the project, which did give it some legitimacy. But for some reason I never thought they would go ahead and make one. Well I was wrong.

According to The Hollywood Reporter’s Heat Vision Blog, not only is Michael Bay going to be producing Ouija through Platinum Dunes (who were responsible for horror remakes such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th and the upcoming A Nightmare on Elm Street, FYI) alongside Brad Fuller and Andrew Form, but they have signed writers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz (Tron Legacy, Lost) to pen the script. Hasbro’s Brian Goldner and Bennett Schneir will also produce.

Since I’m a huge fan of his cult film Donnie Darko, I’m automatically looking forward to anything writer/director Richard Kelly puts out. And the upcoming Cameron Diaz, James Marsden starring thriller, The Box, is no different.

The Box stars Diaz and Marsden as a married couple in financial trouble who are one day visited by a mysterious, facially scarred stranger (Frank Langella) who makes them a strange and bold offer involving a box: if they push the button on the box they will receive a payment of one million dollars, but the catch is someone, somewhere in the world who they don’t know will die.

Happy Halloween everyone! If you’re a regular Screen Rant reader you’ll have noticed (and hopefully read) our Halloween lead-up series called “Horror Plus.” If not, just so you know it’s a feature which sets out to showcase one film that combines horror with another genre. Each instalment will basically serve as a review of the film at hand, explaining why it’s such a good example of genre merging.

So far we’ve had Horror Plus Comedy: Shaun of the Dead, Horror Plus Sci-fi: Alien, Horror Plus Thriller: 28 Days Later and Horror Plus Crime: Se7en. And finally we come to our final installment which is Horror Plus Action.

Back in April we reported on news from the Sony ShoWest presentation that the studio was developing a script for a third Men in Black movie, something which built on the rumors from over a year ago that franchise stars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones were interested in suiting up for some alien escapades once more. Fast forward to now and an update has come out that Men In Black 3 has found its writer in the form of Tropic Thunder screenwriter, Etan Cohen (not to be confused with one half of the famous Coen brothers, Ethan).

Variety is reporting that Columbia Pictures (which Sony owns) has tapped Cohen to pen the script, but beyond that no deals have been made for either Smith or Jones to reprise their roles. Although I’d be very surprised if the studio didn’t have talks going on with the two stars to come back for another if they’ve already got the screenwriter sorted out. Unfortunately the studio is currently staying tight-lipped as to the direction they’re going with the story of MIB 3. Let the speculation begin .

For months now all we’ve really had on the Sin City 2 front is “it’s happening… it’s on its way… it’s coming… at some point!…” Well, maybe not that exactly but you get my point. Back in May this year, we reported that Sin City 2 was finally moving forward, with Rodriguez saying he’d talked to “key players” about the sequel. A couple of months later Alexis Bledel (the blue-eyed girl from the first Sin City) talked about how her character would fit into the sequel considering her character was [SPOILER] presumably murdered by Josh Hartnett’s “The Man” at the end of the first film. [END SPOILER] From what she revealed it leads us to believe it’s going to be – as fellow Screen Rant writer Kofi Outlaw called it – a prequel, midquel and sequel.

However, despite those forward-thinking terms, it all seems like just talk, with no real confirmation of anything…

UPDATE: Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin have been confirmed as the duo of hosts for the Academy Awards in 2010. Click here for details.

If you’re like me and very much enjoyed the job Hugh Jackman did hosting the Oscars last year, you’ll maybe be a bit disappointed to learn that he probably won’t be hosting the ceremony when that time rolls around again early next year. /Film reports that sources are saying that although he’s not ruling out hosting the Oscars in future years to come, he doesn’t want to do it two years in a row.

Personally, I don’t really see the issue there – Jackman did a great job and whether he repeats that success a few years down the line or the year after doesn’t really matter (Billy Crystal did it four years in a row from ‘89-’92). But that’s just me.

Back in June of this year the first trailer appeared for Shutter Island, Martin Scorsese’s latest collaboration with favorite leading man, Leonardo DiCaprio. It was creepy-as-hell and solidified it on my list of most anticipated movies of 2009. Unfortunately a couple of months later news hit that Paramount had moved the release date from October 2nd this year to February 19th next year. As a movie fan – as well as a follower of daily movie news – that ranks right up there with the most annoying things to happen.

With the hoopla over James Cameron’s upcoming sci-fi blockbuster Avatar, you wouldn’t expect a spanner to be thrown in the works at this stage in the game, less than two months from its release. But that appears to be the case, with the aforementioned  trouble taking the form of an uncanny resemblance between Avatar’s plot and the plot of a 1957 Poul Anderson novella called Call Me Joe.

Some sites – such as over at io9 where this story originated – are asking the question of whether or not Avatar is a rip-off of Anderson’s sci-fi story from over five decades ago. It seems a bit strong to say “rip-off” but the evidence of the similarities between the two plots is undeniable. One of io9’s readers, “Goldfarb,” pointed them toward Call Me Joe – take a look at the plot synopsis for both it and Avatar, along with some artwork for both, and see if you think they bear more than a passing resemblance to one another:

Just recently a couple of trailers appeared online for two highly-anticipated films starring Matt Damon: Paul Greengrass’ Green Zone and Clint Eastwood’s Invictus. They are very different types of movies – Green Zone being like Bourne set during the Iraq War and Invictus looking like one of those biopics that is clearly “Oscar-ish.” Check out both of the trailers below.

Green Zone

Green Zone reunites the Bourne director Paul Greengrass and star, Matt Damon, and is a war-drama/thriller about about a pair of CIA agents on the trail of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. We reported back in the summer of this year that Green Zone had been moved from a late 2009 release to March 12th, 2010, leading to some confusion over that why, as the film seems like prime material for the Oscars.

Back in May of this year we reported on the fact that Martin Scorsese was going to be taking on the legendary figure of Frank Sinatra in a biopic about the singer, simply titled Sinatra. Along with that news came word that a couple of actors were lined up to play the titular man, in the form of Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Depp was reportedly the studio’s first choice for the role, while DiCaprio’s name was being thrown around as a possibility more than anything, particularly because he’s lead many of Scorsese’s movies over the past few years (The Aviator, The Departed, Gangs of New York).

If you’re reading this as a Lost fan I’m sorry to bring you some disappointing – some would say outright BAD – news about the much-anticipated sixth and final season. IGN (from Abramsology) reports that the last season of Lost will be broken up into two-parts because of, wait for it… the Winter Olympics.

I know, I wish I was joking, too…

Variety is reporting that Matt Damon and Josh Brolin are in talks to join the previously announced Jeff Bridges in the Coen Bros.’ remake of the John Wayne classic, True Grit. On top of directing, the Coens have also written the script (as they do with virtually all their films) which is said to be more faithful to the original Charles Portis novel than the 1969 film.

Bridges was previously announced as being in talks to play U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn (played originally by Wayne) and that appears to still be the case. If cast, Damon would play the lawman (called La Boeuf in the original, played by Glen Campbell) who teams up with Cogburn, while Brolin would play the man who kills a 14-year old girl’s father. The girl has yet to be cast.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon promotional train just keeps on steamrolling along with news/details of an upcoming mall tour, as well as two new TV spots and a clip.

You’re probably in one of two camps with regards to this Twilight sequel: either you couldn’t give a crap about anything Twilight related, or you are fully on-board and you welcome the avalanche of promo materials. If you’re the former, please bear with us; If you’re the latter, here’s our latest Twilight treat for you!

Despite some rumblings here and there, here’s a little piece of news that I didn’t see actually becoming a reality. We already know Sylvester Stallone is well underway with his awesome looking The Expendables, and that he’s already got Rambo 5 in the pipeline. But that’s not all – apparently after that, Sly is going to give his most well known character another bout in the ring with another Rocky flick.

Stallone reportedly spoke to Tele 5 in Germany recently and since then, the quotes from that interview have made their way online and spread like wild fire (don’t they always?). The quotes are being sourced everywhere from Teen Say (special thanks to /Film for picking it up from them), where Stallone reveals his desire/intention to make Rocky 7. Here’s what he had to say:

A new trailer has appeared online for the upcoming George Clooney, Ewan McGregor comedy, The Men Who Stare at Goats. And I think you’ll be happy to know that the first trailer wasn’t just a happy accident – the new trailer also makes it look nothing less than fantastic.

Along with Clooney and McGregor, The Men Who Stare at Goats co-stars the likes of Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey (that quartet of actors is reason alone to see it). It’s directed by Grant Heslov and is based on the 2004 non-fiction book by Jon Ronson. Just as a reminder, here’s the official synopsis for the film, and then we’ll get to the new trailer:

Yesterday, a snippet of info from James Bond himself, Daniel Craig, made its way online about the upcoming sequel to Quantum of Solace, referred to as simply Bond 23 for the time being. A Bond fansite called Commanderbond.net picked up on the info which came from when Craig was signing autographs after a performance of his stage play, A Steady Rain, with Hugh Jackman.

When I said a snippet of info, I meant exactly that. According to a quick comment Craig gave to a fan, Bond 23 will, “start at the end of the next year.” That’s it. He was really busy signing autographs to elaborate and the play he’d just done was probably at the forefront of his mind more than Bond was. Just in case you think he’s been misquoted, there’s an actual video on YouTube of it and we’ve included it in the post for you (Craig says it just before the 1:00 mark):

One of the better films of the 2009 summer season was District 9, the directorial debut of commercial/short-film director, Neill Blomkamp. Boasting an impressive set of special effects for a film with such a low budget (around $30 million), it proved all those nay-sayers wrong who thought giving Blomkamp the chance to direct such an ambitious film was a bad idea considering he’d never done a feature film before.

Those of you who saw District 9 might remember that a sequel is a possibility (although IMO not essential), and some people actually thought that might be his next project. But today we learn that isn’t the case as BFDealMemo is reporting (thanks to /Film for picking up on it) that Media Rights Capital has committed financially to Blomkamp’s next film.

Short version: Ong Bak 2: The Beginning isn’t for everyone, but for action junkies, it provides exactly what you’d expect.

Screen Rant’s Ross Miller reviews Ong Bak 2

The first Ong Bak (subtitled Muay Thai Warrior) I found to be quite entertaining, with some seriously kick-ass fight sequences, consisting of some often jaw-dropping choreography and stunts. Unfortunately, there were also some not-so-great aspects, notably the poor acting and thin storyline. But overall there was enough there to make it worthwhile, and it was pretty much inevitable that another movie would follow.

It’s no surprise to find that Ong Bak 2, or Ong Bak 2: The Beginning, is practically more of the same, but it manages to get rid of (or at least better mask) the bad elements, while subsequently improving on the fight sequences (if you can believe it).

Probably the number one point of conversation in our daily lives is the weather. What’s next on the most discussed list? I’d make a strong case for TV/movies: They’re something we’re all fans of, some to far more of an extent than others (can’t you tell we here at Screen Rant are an example of that? ). But did you ever think that movies and the weather would collide (outside of a Roland Emmerich movie)? Well today, in a rather odd piece of news, that’s exactly what’s happened.

The guys over at /Film are reporting that The Weather Channel (yes, THE Weather Channel) will start showing movies starting the day before Halloween, October 30th, and every Friday thereafter. So what sort of movies will the channel be showing? Well, weather-related movies, of course! What else? Starting off the series – which runs from the end of October to the end of November – is the George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg disaster movie, The Perfect Storm, coinciding with the anniversary of the actual 1991 storm that the movie is based on.

Since you’re reading Screen Rant, I’m going to safely assume you’re a movie fan. That’s a given, right? That said, do you have a Twitter account? And if so do you use it to Tweet what you think about the latest movies? “Transformers sucked!” “Zombieland is the best movie of the year!” “Spider-Man 3 was such a disappointment!” and so on and so forth. Well, if you do use Twitter at least partly for that purpose, you might be interested in the latest Twitter-related website that has launched called TwitCritics.com.

So what is it? Well, it’s pretty simple, really: TwitCritics is basically the Rotten Tomatoes of Twitter, but taking the opinions of average movie fans instead of movie critics. Basically it searches through all Tweets that have keywords related to a particular movie, and then compiles a percentage rating of how many are positive and negative. So in the header image you see Couples Retreat sitting at 72%, which doesn’t mean that it gets a rating of 72 out of 100, but rather that out of the total amount of “reviews” Tweeted for Couples Retreat, 72% of that total were positive. If you’re familiar with the aforementioned Rotten Tomatoes it works in pretty much the same way.