This week:

Disaster at the box office with 2012; Harvey Keitel and Robert DeNiro re-team for Fockers; Brad Pitt’s Moneyball may finally roll; Belgian actress de France plays French alongside Matt Damon in Eastwood’s Hereafter and Vincent Cassel, Winona Ryder, and Barbara Hershey dance with Portman and Kunis in Black Swan.

Short Version: If you’re looking for some wicked-cool visuals and destruction on a scale that even Emmerich has never put on screen before, then 2012 is for you. Plot and character development? Move along, nothing to see here.

Screen Rant reviews 2012

That picture right there? That’s why you go see 2012. Heck, lately that’s why you go see any Roland Emmerich film – destruction on a massive scale. The man has taken what Irwin Allen used to do and multiplied it by 100.

2012 actually starts in 2009 – well first it starts out in space, showing us a few different shots of our solar system and the planets lining up all in a row, with the sun at the end of that line. When we get to good old Earth, we’re in India where geologist Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor, the assassin from Serenity) is meeting a fellow scientist at the Institute of Astrophysics. They go 11,000 feet down into a copper mine where it seems they figure they may as well do some scientific research as long as they’re down there.

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]

Columbia Pictures recently released two more clips from the upcoming disaster movie, 2012. These clips, while not as long as the five minute clip we previously posted, still have yet to show anything that makes me feel like this film will be anything more than a money-grab at the end of the world. (Which, I guess, would be the perfect time to do it).

In the first clip we find a zombie-free Woody Harrelson playing “crazy” internet blogger Charlie Frost who knows everything there is to know about the end of the world and warns Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) that, in typical movie fashion, the destruction will start in Hollywood, California. (It’s movies like this that always make me feel better about living in Michigan. So far it looks like I’m surviving Independence Day and when Skynet becomes self-aware on Judgement Day).

In case you happened to miss the 5-minute extended clip that we posted recently (or maybe you just don’t want to sit through it), you’re in luck as the new theatrical trailer for Roland Emmerich’s 2012 is basically just a condensed version of that sequence. And we have it here for your destructive viewing pleasure.

Not that story really matters in Emmerich’s films (such as The Day After Tomorrow, Independence Day and 10,000 BC), but 2012 centers around the Mayan doomsday prophecy that the world will end on December 21st, 2012. We follow a divorced father and writer (John Cusack) as he uses his knowledge of ancient prophecies to help ensure the human race isn’t completely wiped out from a series of global disasters.

A new five minute extended clip has appeared online for Roland Emmerich’s (The Day After Tomorrow, Independence Day) upcoming worldwide disaster flick, 2012. “Destruction” is the operative word for this film based on everything we’ve seen so far, and I don’t think you’ll be surprised to find this latest clip does nothing to alter that perception.

Similar to the minute-long clip we showed you recently, this five minute segment shows John Cusack and his family trying to escape destruction, although this time we get a look at the early stages of that destruction. As you’ll see, the film looks COMPLETELY ridiculous and over-the-top, with some eye-rolling dialogue and generally cheesy moments (one in particular that you’ll know when you see it), but I think you’ll agree that’s often part of the fun with Emmerich’s movies.

The folks over at First Showing pointed us to some new images from the upcoming Roland Emmerich (10,000 BC) “Humanity faces extinction and we gotta do something about it!” flick, 2012.  Nice to see so many familiar faces, including Danny Glover as the President (adding a bit more evidence to that theory connecting this film to Deep Impact and The Fifth Element) and the apparently crazy-as-ever Woody Harrelson.

The film’s ensemble cast struggles to survive the global cataclysm predicted by the Mayans and at least one other dismissed prophet (Harrelson!).  I myself have seen some interesting advertisements for the film around New York, purportedly funded by the (faux) governmental agency “The Institute for Human Continuity“, which ask creepy questions about where I’ll be in 2012 and come pre-graffitied with that “the end is nigh” style tagging, always in red, which I feel like I’ve seen 50 times already (the best of which, if memory serves, was in one of the Resident Evils, in a building filled with flesh-eating zombies, that read, “this too shall pass”).

As the days become shorter, and the nights become cooler, there is one thing on the horizon that all of us are quickly becoming aware of – the arrival of a slew of exciting 2009 Fall Movies. What’s always been great about this time of year is that it’s not just about “horror films” or movies that are made to touch the holiday hearts that burgeon each year as turkey, Santa and New Year’s Eve stretch into the new year and beyond.

The menu is varied, wide open and we hope – satisfying. While we couldn’t list them all, please join us as we quickly chronicle what lies ahead in Screen Rant’s 2009 Fall Movie Preview!

A new clip has been released from the upcoming Roland Emmerich directed disaster flick, 2012. In case plot matters to you more than the promised destruction, here goes: The film shows us what could happen if the Mayan doomsday prediction of the year 2012 were to come true. We follow a divorced father and writer (John Cusack) as he uses his knowledge of ancient prophecies to help, along with the Government, make sure the human race isn’t completely wiped out from a series of global, catastrophic disasters.

You know, all in a day’s work for Emmerich…

Happy Friday everyone! Today we have gathered the latest biggest and best posters for this week’s poster round-up.

Screen Rant’s wall this week now includes new one-sheets for Where the Wild Things Are, Fantastic Mr.Fox, 2012, The Road, Gamer, Bad Lieutenant and a pair of comedies: The Invention of Lying and Couples Retreat.

For the horror fans out there, we also have some fan-made posters for the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street, and as a little bonus, the first official photo for Saw VI.

Let’s get to it…

As per usual, this week we have a brand new set of one-sheets for your viewing pleasure. This latest batch includes posters for Pandorum, Agora, Whip It, Astroy Boy, The House of the Devil, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant and 2012.

All of these movies open in the next three months so stay tuned for more news! Check out all of the new posters after the jump.

A new international (Japanese) trailer for the upcoming disaster flick, 2012, has made its way online, and for those who may be hoping that there’s more to the movie than the worldwide destruction and chaos we’ve seen so far in other trailers and posters, you’re out of luck.

Roland Emmerich’s films have always been about spectacle and destruction. And that is often a weakness in that we never really get the chance to become invested in any of the human characters in peril because Emmerich’s far more interested in the collapsing buildings or explosions nearby. Just look at Independence Day, Godzilla, The Day After Tomorrow, 10,000 BC… I could go on…

Want to brighten your day? Then how about learning all the ways in which the world can – and might – end. Solar flares, tectonic shifts, collisions with “Planet X” – all the good stuff. On the bright side: you can sign up now to be selected as the leader of the post-apocalyptic world should you survive the great catastrophe that wipes out the rest of us in the year 2012.

Ok, so maybe it’s just a new viral website for Roland Emmerich’s (Independence Day) hundredth upcoming global catastrophe flick, 2012, which plays off the ancient Mayan prophecy that we’re all going get wiped out in three years time.

And I for one say good riddance (kidding, kidding).

As the first half of the Sony Pictures presentation (the Zombieland panel) came to an end, Woody Harrelson, who was a part the panel, helped lead into the second half, for another movie he’s also a part of: 2012.

2012 is the latest world destruction film by writer/director Roland Emmerich.

Upon being introduced on stage, he received the following opening question from the host: “Why do you hate this planet so much?”

Today we have a trio of new posters that just popped online recently, they include the disaster movie, 2012, the Martin Scorsese/Leonardo DiCaprio psychological thriller, Shutter Island, and the millionth next installment in the Saw franchise,  Saw VI. One is pretty boring, one is pretty cool and one is pretty intriguing. Find out which poster match up to which description below.

Much like Michael Bay, you just know that Roland Emmerich (Independance Day, The Day After Tomorrow, 10,000 BC) is really only interested in one thing – disaster, baby! Sure there’s the odd inclusion of political, global and humanistic issues in his movies somewhere, but when it comes down to it it’s about things crashing, blowing up, crumbling and falling over, with crowds of people running and screaming for their lives as a result.

Emmerich’s latest blockbuster, 2012, doesn’t look to be any different.

Wow, Comic-Con 2009 is already less than three weeks away. Seems like only a couple of months ago since we were there. Last year was a ton of work but also a blast (click here for our wrap up of the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con), and this year we’ll be providing even more extensive coverage for you with additional staff to cover the event.

The second trailer for Roland “disaster film” Emmerich’s apocalyptic 2012 has premiered online today, and we have it for you here. Now I’ll be honest and say that the grand vistas of destruction shown in this new trailer are very impressive, but the problem is that Roland’s films seem to rely on 80% “cool shots” and 20% plot and character.

Before I go on, check out the trailer below…

Another week means another wrap up.

This week:
We Tell No One about a new remake; Hollywood decides to tell us about The Day They Stole The Mona Lisa; Wolverine’s Danny Huston is beyond the Poseidon adventure; Maria Bello and Craig T. Nelson are Company Men and Amanda Peet Travels with Jack Black.

A pair of new posters for Terminator Salvation and a new one-sheet for 2012 have arrived and we have them here for you to see.

The two Terminator ones are a little brighter then we’re used to be they keep within the same color scheme and style we’ve seen in the previous posters. They’re nothing special but they show us a Terminator unit and the two main characters and that’s all they really need.

In this weeks Mid Week Movie News Wrap Up features:

The Ghost just got very curious; 2012 is a long way away; Josh Whedon has A Cabin In The Woods and Tom and Jerry…well you guess the rest!

MovieFone has premiered the trailer for Roland Emmerich’s next big all-style-and-no-substance popcorn movie: 2012. They have high res and HD versions over on their site, but we have a smaller one for you right here.

As usual, Emmerich looks like he’s putting out another movie that has special effects that will be a CGI visual feast, but (and yes, I know it’s to early to tell) I’m betting it’s another “check your brain at the door” movie.

As it stands, Hollywood studios are deadlocked in their contract negotiations with the Screen Actors Guild. That news stirs up foul memories of a year ago, when the Writers Guild of America was at a similar juncture with the studios… Soon after that there were no TV shows for about half a year.

And we all know what that did last year’s TV season.

There’s a synopsis and review of the spec script for Roland Emmerich’s end of the world disaster movie 2012 that Sony bought before the writers’ strike over at Latino Review. It is completely spoiler-filled so I’ll only give the highlights here.

Since it’s an Emmerich film and that pretty much guarantees it will be awful, I didn’t mind reading the full thing.

Irwin Allen is best remembered for having pretty much invented the disaster movie genre with such films as The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno. To make sure he covered all the bases he went on to produce made-for-TV-movies with titles like Fire!, Flood! and Cave-In.

I’ve been a very busy man this week, so I haven’t been posting that much. That will all change this week, and just to get the ball rolling we have a new and fantastic Weekend Movie News Wrap Up. This week we feature an A-list line up:

George Clooney becomes a Tourist, Harrison Ford dabbles in science, Amanda Peet gets her diary ready for 2012, The Three Musketeers make a comeback (come on – if Stallone can do it so can they!) Liam Nesson and James Nesbitt return to Ireland and Val Kilmer and 50 Cent make sweet music together.

Danny Glover, Thandie Newton and Oliver Platt are in negotiations to join the cast of Roland Emmerich’s forthcoming disaster movie 2012. They will join the already solid line up of John Cusack and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Glover is in negotiations to play the president, Newton would play his daughter and Platt’s agents are hammering out a deal so that their client will play the president’s chief of staff.

The president and the chief of staff – hmmmm I’ve never seen these characters in a disaster movie before.

I’d also bet good money that Newton will play Cusack’s love interest.

John Cusack has just signed on the dotted line to star in Roland Emmerich’s global disaster movie 2012.

Also in talks for the film is the bane of my spell check – Chiwetel Ejiofor, the English actor has also delivered solid support in films such as American Gangster and Children of Men.

The plot of the film involves the destruction of the world as we know it, and the struggle of the survivors.

The title of the film comes from the Mayan calendar, as they believed that the world would end in 2012. Hence the reason why this movie is being “rushed into production” for 2009.

Yes, that was a joke.

However, if it is true then it might have a major (deep?) impact on life as we know it. Sorry to panic you!

This sounds like something that Emmerich could do in his sleep following films like Independence Day, Godzilla and The Day After Tomorrow. However, what is John Cusack doing in this?