Screen Rant » 2012

Weekend Movie News Wrap Up: November 15, 2009

Niall Browne — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:33:02 +0000

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.

Box Office

Say what you will about Roland Emmerich and his films, the director knows how to destroy the world on screen and make shed loads of money. His most recent disaster epic 2012 destroyed all competition and banked an impressive $65 million over the weekend to capture the number one position. The film has so far grossed an amazing $225million worldwide from a $200 million budget.

Disney’s A Christmas Carol is showing legs like a supermodel. The film dropped only 23% from last weekend for a $23 million take. It should play well in the run-up to Christmas and then have a decent life on DVD and with re-releases.

Precious was third with a highly impressive $6.2 million from just 174 locations. Never under-estimate the power of Oprah!

George Clooney’s The Men Who Stare At Goats was fourth with just a smidgen over $6 million.

Michael Jackson’s This Is It banked $5.1 million. The film has now made over $67 million in the US and huge $200 million worldwide. Not bad for a film that is essentially a DVD special feature.

Meanwhile Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr Fox grossed a mighty $250, 000 from just four screens!

Movie News

1. Harvey Keitel has joined the ever growing cast of Little Fockers.

Keitel will play a contractor employed by Stiller’s character in the Paul Weitz directed comedy.

The film also stars Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Teri Polo, Blythe Danner and Owen Wilson, Jessica Alba, Laura Dern and possibly Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand.

I still can’t believe the amount of talent that this film is attracting. The first two are entertaining enough films and they made enough money to warrant a third return to the well, but the budget must be pretty high unless everyone is looking for a huge backend on the gross.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

2. It looks like Brad Pitt’s troubled Moneyball may be inching closer to making it on to the big screen.

Since Steven Soderbergh’s departure from the film no director has been attached but now it looks like two interesting candidates have emerged as the front-runners to tackle the Sony picture.

Capote director Bennett Miller and (500) Days of Summer helmer Marc Webb have set their sights on the baseball film.

With Pitt still attached, the film is obviously still a high priority for Sony and I’d imagine that they want to snag a director soon before his interest wanes. Both Miller and Webb are interesting candidates but they aren’t Soderbergh so my interest in the film (unlike Pitt’s) has died.

It’ll be interesting to see if this film makes it to the screens. We’ll keep you posted.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

3. Belgian actress Cecile de France will join Matt Damon in Clint Eastwood’s Hereafter.

De France will play French journalist who has a near-death experience in the supernatural drama.

According to Variety:

“Hereafter tells the story of three people who are touched by death in different ways.”

The film which started shooting last month will take in global locations including Paris, London, Hawaii and San Francisco.

Damon will next be seen alongside Morgan Freeman in Clint Eastwood’s Invictus which opens next month.

Hereafter opens on December 10, 2010.

Source: Variety

4. Vincent Cassel, Winona Ryder, and Barbara Hershey have joined the cast of Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan. The supernatural drama stars Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis as warring ballerinas – one of whom may or may not exist.

SlashFilm has the character breakdowns for these new addiations to the cast:

“Ryder will play Beth, Nina’s (Portman) “sorta friend” who has been the school’s running lead in all the productions, but who is nearing the end of her career. All the dancers are aiming to take her place as Odette, the Swan Queen, in the next big ballet: Swan Lake. Cassel will be playing the ”handsome but sinister Yevna,” the director of the new stage production. And Hershey will play Nina’s mother.”

While the film doesn’t seem to fit into any sort of commercial box, I’m always interested in seeing what Aronofsky will do and I’m sure that at the very least, the film will have an interesting visual appeal.

Source: SlashFilm

That’s it for now. See you at the movies!

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2012 Review

Vic Holtreman — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:53:07 +0000

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.

Anyway, they have tracked a series of the biggest solar flares in history taking place over the last week, and it seems that they’re putting out some different type of neutrino that instead of just passing through the earth is interacting with the core, causing it to heat up to temperatures far exceeding normal. At this point I’m thinking “OK, OK, that’s not bad, I can buy that.”

Helmsley travels to Washington D.C. where he convinces high ranking Washington muckity-muck Carl Anheuser (a very rotund Oliver Platt) the importance of what he’s found. We jump forward to 2010 where the president (Danny Glover – seriously) is addressing European heads of state about the impending end of the world. Another jump to 2011 where it becomes apparant that some sort of stealth operations are taking place to insure the safety of works of art, wealthy and powerful people and presumably other odds and ends.

In the meantime we meet Jackson Curtis (John Cusack), a divorced dad and not very successful author who drives a limo for a living. While his young daughter still has eyes only for daddy, his slightly older son is a much bigger fan of mom’s live-in boyfriend (kids live with mom and her boyfriend – nice move, mom). Taking the kids camping to Yellowstone, he runs into a cordoned off military area where significant changes are happening geologically. It’s here we meet Woody Harrelson as a quasi-nutjob/free-spirit who seems to know what’s going on and fills Jackson in, including the plans for the world’s elite to escape the destruction in spaceships. Of course Cusack doesn’t believe him and heads on his merry way.

It doesn’t take long however for a series of increasingly strong and frequent earthquakes (along with some other things) to convince Jackson that the crazy guy isn’t crazy after all, and he grabs the ex-wife, kids and new boyfriend just in the nick of time in the scene we’ve all watched in trailers and TV commercials.

From here on, all hell breaks out everywhere, and watching it all happen is the whole reason for going to see this movie.

Jackson is determined to save his family, and his journey to find one of these “arks” grows more implausible with every passing scene. Thankfully director Emmerich spreads the destruction out throughout the entire film – so if you’re concerned that you’ll have already seen the best stuff in the trailer, fear not… that was just a taste. I found it interesting that they showed a number of landmarks being destroyed including the Vatican and the famous statue of Christ on a Brazil mountaintop – but although they showed the Kabaa in one scene he did not portray its destruction. I’ve heard that he didn’t show it destroyed due to fear of retribution.

Anyway, the destruction throughout the film was quite well done – I especially liked the scene at Yellowstone… VERY impressive. And of course the expanded version of the destruction of California was well done (and strangely satisfying… I kid, I kid). The arks were quite cool as well, although the MacGuffin that caused the “suspense” at the end was quite ridiculous.

There’s a a fair amount of ridiculousness in 2012, but really, what does one expect going into a film like this? In the end I enjoyed the visual effects and Chiwetel Ejiofor, who I think has a real screen presence about him. Woody Harrelson? Brief appearance but memorable. John Cusack seemed to me like a fish out of water here – like he just really didn’t belong. Thandie Newton was little more than eye candy (although she was supposed to be more). Oh, and Danny Glover as the President of the United States? LOL funny – I think the poor guy left any acting ability he may have had down in Venezuela.

Towards the end of the film it really fell apart as Emmerich tried to inject some emotion into the film. A big contributing factor was the cheesy music in the emotional scene – the whole thing felt like it was out of a made for TV movie. It might have actually worked better had he not tried to “make” us FEEL the emotion via the cliche’d music and maybe trusted the actors to make it happen. If only he could figure out a way to make a film that didn’t require actual people (you know, other than the ones who need to die for the destruction to mean something).

So if you’re looking for much in the way of plot or character development, move along, nothing to see here. But 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 may be the movie for you.

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‘2012′ To Have Spin-Off TV Series 2013?

Ross Miller — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:43:40 +0000

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]

As was speculated by a lot of people, the series would be called 2013, and apparently it will focus on the aftermath of the cataclysmic events that swarmed the world in the film. Emmerich says, “it’s not the bright happy future everyone was imagining [when the film ends].”

“At the end of the film, there is a band of survivors on giant rescue boats. The series follows those boats to Africa, where they land and find survivors of the massive tidal wave that struck the continent, and they’re none too happy about having been left behind.”

[End of SPOILERS]

As for what kind of tone the show would have, Emmerich made mention of both Lost and District 9,which, as Cinemablend points out, leads us to believe it will entail complex and very involved storylines, a huge cast and gritty realism. That all sounds great, but what I wanna’ know is what kind of budget it will have? I mean, 2012 had a couple of hundred million to play with to make the effects look jaw-dropping (granted, we haven’t seen the movie yet, but from the trailers that appears to be very much the case). However, that’s just not feasible for an ongoing TV series, and since a lower budget (usually) means less impressive special effects, the TV series is inevitably going to pale in comparison to the movie.

Would a TV budget maintain the spectacle of 2012?

That’s assuming that the TV series would follow suit in terms of spectacle being the focus. Just because the movie is about spectacle doesn’t mean the TV series can’t use that as a launching point to focus on other elements, such as characters and storytelling (something I think we can all admit isn’t the strengths of Emmerich’s films). I’m not saying it will, but there’s always a possibility.

Of course, this is all talk at this point as 2012 has yet to open and prove itself a box office success. I have no doubt that it will make an absolute ton of money, considering the amazing visual effects it boasts, along with the fact that it’s suited to audiences worldwide (it’s the world that’s in peril, not just America!). But all the same, Emmerich and Co. will need to hold off to see how it does at the box office before they go ahead with their plans for making anything more out of the property.

What do you think of a 2012 sequel spin-off TV series being planned? Are you surprised to find that there’s more to the story beyond the movie? Since the TV show can’t really have the same gargantuan budget, what do you think it would be like?

2012 opens in theaters on November 13th, 2009. Now word on when 2013 would hit the airwaves.

Sources: Cinemablend (thanks to SciFiWire)

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Two More Clips from Roland Emmerich’s ‘2012’

Anthony Ocasio — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:35:23 +0000

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 the second clip we find the Curtis family in a cargo plane being flown my some “Russian” pilots who appear to be trying to mimic Peter Stormare’s wonderful Soviet cosmonaut shtick from Armageddon. The clip concludes with the family Curtis attempting to drive a Bentley out of the back of the plane with a plucky Russian as the comic-relief. (I bet it’s the first time that was written… Russian comic-relief).

Still, if you’re in the belief that words can’t describe movie clips, check them out for yourself:

I don’t know about you, but I’m a fan of disaster movies; if there’s a disaster, I’ll watch it – in movie form. For some reason, this film just doesn’t feel like my preferred disaster movies (The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno, Armageddon, The Core), but more of a parody. Scenes that are supposed to feel climatic – feel humorous. I know these are only clips, but even with the previous five minute clip or movie trailer, I could care less about what’s going on. I hope that this isn’t a trend that’s happening with Hollywood disaster films, as Nicolas Cage’s Knowing (released earlier this year) was also underwhelming with a horrible ending.

So, if 2012 ends up being anything like Knowing, we can go into this movie knowing that aliens are behind it all. If that’s true, my only hope would be that someone early on takes some notes from M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs and “swings away.”

…cause we all know that aliens hate water(???)

2012 opens nationwide on November 13, 2009

Source: Cinema Blend

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New Theatrical Trailer For ‘2012′

Ross Miller — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:22:07 +0000

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.

But enough of the “plot,” let’s get on with more of the destruction! Thanks to FirstShowing, here’s the latest trailer for 2012:

Oscar-worthy stuff for Best Screenplay and Best Actor, right? Nah! Who are we kidding? This isn’t going to win any Oscars (apart from maybe the technical stuff like special effects – they look jaw dropping) but nonetheless it looks like one helluva of a fun ride. It’s one of those movies that I, and I suspect a lot of other people, will make the effort and buy the overpriced tickets to watch in the theater, as opposed to just waiting for the DVD. Unless you have a sweet home theater system, it looks like you’d be robbing yourself of a visually stunning cinematic experience if you settled for home viewing. What does that mean for the film when it comes out on DVD/Blu-ray, though…

What do you make of the latest trailer for the destructive looking 2012? Will you be making the effort to see it in the theater or will you wait for the DVD?

2012 smashes its way into theaters on November 13th, 2012 2009.

BONUS: Ever wondered what a Ronald Emmerich films looks like WITHOUT the massive F/X budget? Check out this stripped-down cut of the 2012 theatrical trailer, featuring an old friend from around the ‘Net.

Source: FirstShowing

BONUS source: The Hollywood Reporter

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5 Minute ‘2012′ Clip Brings More Destruction

Ross Miller — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:24:00 +0000

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.

An approximate $200 million budget sure does buy you some seriously amazing looking special effects. Don’t believe me? Take a look at the latest 2012 clip below (it’s YouTube so that international folks can view it without a hitch):

In case you’ve just been dazzled by the various clips, posters and numerous images from 2012, but don’t actually know what it’s about, here’s the synopsis: The film shows us what could happen if the Mayan doomsday prediction of the year 2012 comes true. We follow a divorced father and writer (Cusack) as he uses his knowledge of ancient prophecies to help, along with the Government, to ensure the human race isn’t completely wiped out from a series of global, catastrophic disasters.

Sounds like the perfect recipe for Emmerich’s talent for showing large scale destruction on the big-screen. As I said, the film looks ridiculous and over-the-top (read: rather silly), as well as having some questionable dialogue and plot points (how is it Cusack’s family has access to a plane? OF COURSE he knows someone who owns one and knows how to fly it…), but I’m still looking forward to it. If nothing else, it looks to be an intense visual effects feast to experience in a movie theater.

What do you think of the latest clip for 2012? Are you willing to forgive some of the ridiculousness in favor of enjoying the amazing special effects and copious amounts of chaos and destruction?

2012 opens on November 13th, 2012 2009.

Source: YouTube

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New Pics from 2012

Scott Miller — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:50:28 +0000

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”).

2012 was co-written by Emmerich and his regular co-collaborator Harald Kloser (who co-wrote 10,000 BC and was the composer for Emmerich’s The Day After Tomorrow). Seeing Kloser’s extensive composer credits, I’m guessing the script will be working closely with a dramatic, orchestral, world-ending soundtrack. Couldn’t hurt. John Cusack plays a science fiction writer/limo driver who will, no doubt, be competing with Danny “RIGGS!” Glover for the title of “Most Sincere Guy in this Movie”.

Check out the pics:

Dude, I can totally fit this plane between those two buildings...

Yeah... Maybe we'll just watch from over here...

"I'm gettin too old for this s@#%."

Not looking so good out there...

...Not looking so good out here.

There’s something to be said for this film cleverly tying its doomsday scenario to a prophesy that already exists. I swear that I remember May 5, 2005 getting a lot of hype in the same way (5/5/05 vs. 12/12/12) and since nothing happened, it left me disappointed and wary of ancient, calendar-based doomsday stories. Speaking of (and more importantly), will 2012 have a new, exciting (or at least thoroughly enjoyable) take on the well-tread, cataclysmic disaster genre?

2012 will overrun Earth’s theaters like so many natural disasters on November 13th, 2009.

Source: First Showing

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Screen Rant’s 2009 Fall Movie Preview

Mike Wilkerson — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 03:01:23 +0000

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!

SEPTEMBER – 2009

Whiteout
September 11th, 2009
The Scoop: Pretty little starlet Kate Beckinsale takes on this graphic novel turned killer-thriller. Beckinsale plays a U.S. Marshall investigating Antarctica’s first homicide as the sun sets for six entire months. Will she find the killer in the cold dark before he finds her?

SR Says: The trailer paints this movie as more X-Files than detective story, which could confuse some on the premise. However, cold weather and hot Beckinsale = worth the ticket price?

See it? Maybe.

The Informant!
September 18, 2009
The Scoop: Director Steven Soderbergh helms an all-star cast providing you “a mix of A Beautiful Mind and The Insider.” Damon plays the exec of a agri-business giant who goes overboard working as a snitch for the Feds. It’s bi-polar, whistle-blowing storytelling at it’s best!

SR Says: It’s going to be amazing to see what this cast can pull off under Soderbergh’s direction with such an involved script.

See it? Yes.

Jennifer’s Body
September 18, 2009
The Scoop: Megan Fox plays a possessed cheerleader, with a fetish for feasting on boys (and girls). Hot sexy teens, girl on girl kissing/rubbing and more social satire from Juno writer Diablo Cody.

SR Says: Depends on how you feel about Megan Fox looking both sexy and grotesque in one film.

See it? If you like teen horror flicks, or are a devotee of Cody.

Pandorum
September 25, 2009
The Scoop: Ben Foster and Dennis Quaid star as two astronauts who wake up on an abandoned future spacecraft and have no idea what’s happened. As with all things in movies, time unveils the “truth” of what they face – a ship full of crazy space monsters.

SR Says: Dennis Quaid has had some woofers lately, but Ben Foster always offers something unique. MMA fans may recognize cast member Cung Le as the current Strikeforce Middleweight Champion, which guarantees at least two raucous fights in this thriller.

See it? Yes.

Surrogates
September 25th, 2009
The Scoop: In a future where people live life through robotic surrogates, Bruce Willis plays a cop who must venture back into the real world to investigate a string of crimes involving people dying while connected to their Surrogates.

SR Says: Jonathan Mostow is an underrated director, and seeing Bruce “alive” again, with great f/x and a bit of gravitas sounds like a great combination.

See it? Absolutely.

(Continue to page 2 for October’s Movie Preview)

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New ‘2012′ Clip: Airplane Escape

Ross Miller — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 15:10:29 +0000

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…

The new 2012 clip is a bit less globally destructive than the trailers that have appeared so far, but gives us more of a look at the human side of the film (including Cusack’s) as they try to escape from a crashing plane in a Bentley. Standard stuff. Check out it:

I think just about every Bentley owner reading this (there’ve gotta be SOME out there!) just died a little inside after seeing those cars meeting their frozen, tumbling end.

By now everyone keeping an eye on 2012 with anticipation should now know what they’re getting themselves into. Emmerich’s resume reads as a what’s-what of destruction and chaos (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, Godzilla, 10,000 BC), and if it’s even physically possible, this looks to top everything he’s done so far in that department. Having a budget of about $200 million doesn’t exactly hurt in making the experience as thrilling and “realistic” as possible for audiences, either.

What do you make of the latest clip for 2012?

The film hits theaters on November 13th, 2012 2009.

Source: ScreenCrave and YouTube

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New Posters: The Road, 2012, Where The Wild Things Are & More!

Rob Keyes — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 06:42:30 +0000

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…

To start this week’s set, here’s the brand new poster for the heart-filled fantasy, Where the Wild things Are.

Where the Wild Things Are is brought to us by Spike Jonze who’s done an incredible job of bring the short childrens book to life. It opens October 16th and I’ll be there.

Source: MSN Movies

Continue through the pages for the rest of the collection…

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This Week’s Collection of Movie Posters

Rob Keyes — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 02:32:26 +0000

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.

First up: from the IMPA gallery, a new poster for Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, starring John C. Reilly, Josh Hutcherson, Chris Massoglia and Ray Stevenson. It also famously features Salma Heyek as “The Bearded Lady.” Hot, right? I’ll pass.

This adventure fantasy film, directed by Paul Weitz, is about a young boy who meets a vampire who heads up a freak show. Of course he ends up joining and becomes a vampire himself. It is based on the 12-book series, The Saga of Darren Shan. It was set up as four trilogies so the film could have several sequels if it does well at the box-office.

The Vampire’s Assistant opens October 23, 2009.

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‘2012′ International Trailer

Ross Miller — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:19:46 +0000

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…

However, in spite of all that, I still find myself looking forward to 2012. There’s just something about that kind of special effects bonzanza that often turns out to be a lot of fun to sit in a theater and experience. Thanks to Collider, take a look at the latest trailer, and witness what a $200 million budget gets you:

Even by Emmerich’s standards, the special effects in this movie look insane. That’s not surprising considering the mammoth budget, though. Emmerich has proven that he can draw huge audiences and make studios a lot of money, which is probably why they’ve invested so much money in this film.

Along with the advertising of, “From the director of Independence Day,” and so forth, they also have both the spectacle of global destruction and the common knowledge fear of the Mayan 2012 doomsday prediction to get people interested. I predict this will make a lot of money at the box office.

What do you think of the latest 2012 trailer? Are you looking forward to this movie, and if so, why?

2012 hits theaters on November 13th, 2012 2009.

Source: Collider

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‘2012′ Viral Site: Witness The End of The World

Kofi Outlaw — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:39:32 +0000

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).

The 2012 viral site is cleverly titled “The Institute for Human Continuity” (I.H.C.) and features the aforementioned disaster scenarios which you can watch in digital simulation – complete with a video game-style health bar at the bottom of the screen that drains away as humanity is wiped out of existence. Cheery.

The destruction scenarios are easily the best feature of the site; once you get into all the faux happenings of the I.H.C., it gets pretty boring, pretty quickly. But the disaster scenarios are cool – they kind of creep me out with their psuedo-science that could conceivably turn out to be real. All I need is to wake up tomorrow and have solar flares to deal with on top of everything else…

Oh, and if you visit the site, remember to register for the “Survival Lottery” now – if you one be one of the chosen few let into the bunker come Judgment Day.

2012 occurs on November 13, 2009.

Source: I.H.C. Official Site

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Comic-Con: Destructively Fun Times With 2012

Rob Keyes — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 05:28:38 +0000

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?”

A fair question since his previous films include Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow. I loved Independence Day when it came out but felt the complete opposite for The Day After Tomorrow.

He explained that he obviously doesn’t hate the world, that he loves it and that’s why he makes fun movies about destroying it. I guess there’s no sensible answer to that sort of question.

Without wasting any time, they quickly moved to presenting a brand new trailer. It included some more interesting plot development that takes place before the decimation begins. The second half of trailer was mostly stuff we’d seen before in the last 2012 trailer.

Next up, we got another brand new scene from the film that Emmerich said was only 70% finished. If that’s accurate then I’m madly impressed. The scene takes place when the destruction first begins in California and John Cusack is attempting to rescue them and drive through the armageddon with his limo.

It was insanely over the top but a great visual spectacle. The vast majority was CGI and I must give the director credit for giving us an action sequence with ridiculously awesome special effects that we can actually see. The sequence gave great shots that let us, the viewers, see EVERYTHING that was happening (completely unlike the Transformers films).

Emmerich explains that they had to create everything in this sequence (and many others) completely from scratch. They tried to do practical shots for the limo scene but it was incredibly restrictive and didn’t allow them to do what they wanted to – They quickly realized it wasn’t possible and went for CG.

Up until this point, I’ve had pretty close to zero expectation from this film and most others seemed to have mixed reaction from Emmerich’s history. For me, this last two directorial stints; 10,000 BC and The Day After Tomorrow were awful and I didn’t want to see any more. But, having seen this latest footage, I think this movie will be more fun and a better visual viewing experience than the last two.

In the discussion afterwards, Emmerich said he’s done with disaster movies and that next, he’s working on Foundation, his favorite science fiction piece of all time.

If you want to see a light visual sci-fi thriller/drama, check out 2012. I think I’ll be giving it a chance.

See the world fall apart on November 13, 2009.

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New Posters: 2012, Shutter Island And Saw VI

Ross Miller — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:28:53 +0000

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.

First up we have Roland Emmerich’s (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow) new disaster epic, 2012. Based on the “doomsday prediction” that the world is going to come to an end in the year (you guessed it) 2012, it looks to basically showcase the different cataclysmic disasters that are occurring around the world, presumably focusing on John Cusick’s character (the lead) and his family that we’ve seen in the trailer. Check out the poster below (click it, and any of the other posters, for a larger version):

The 2012 poster is the pretty cool one in my eyes, although it’s basically just like a still from the trailer where we saw cities being practically torn in half. Nonetheless I like it: it’s definitely eye-catching and think it gives of the appropriate vibe for the movie.

Next up is the new Scorsese film, Shutter Island, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley and the new Freddy Krueger himself, Jackie Earle Haley. This is the “pretty boring” poster I mentioned. It’s not too dissimilar to the previous poster we saw which was spotted at Cannes earlier this year, something I was hoping would not be the case. Check it out and see what you think of it:

It’s another case of a floating head really getting in the way of things (DiCaprio’s the star, I know, but do they really need to be that blatant?). If they just removed DiCaprio it would be a lot more effective.

Finally we have the “pretty intriguing” poster I talked about, which is surprisingly the one for Saw VI. This is a franchise who’s blood arguably ran dry three films ago, but nonetheless people keep going to see them and thus the movies make a killing at the box office (at least for the type of movies that they are). I find the poster strangely intriguing, check it out:

The first thing I noticed was the lack of the word “Saw” on the poster, which I guess means (at least for the teasers) they are confident enough that people will know what franchise it is just by a glimpse of one of the ads. I haven’t seen the fifth Saw movie (although I’ve seen 1-4), so perhaps what this poster depicts relates to something that happened in that film? But as someone who’s not completely informed, this poster has at least piqued my interest.

What do you make of this latest batch of posters? Which is your favorite?

2012 opens on November 13th, Shutter Island opens in the US on October 2nd and in the UK on October 9th; and Saw VI opens on October 23rd, all in 2009.

Sources: Yahoo and Bloody-Digusting

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SR Picks [Video]: 2012: It’s A Disaster!!!

Ross Miller — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:35:01 +0000

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.

For this Screen Rant Pick we have a hilarious video highlighting the disastrous aspects of the 2012 trailer we saw last month. We can only speculate whether Emmerich destroying famous landmarks and putting humanity in mortal peril once more will be good or not, but this comedic mash-up is enough to make me want to take the chance!

Oh, and in case you’re wondering about the music, it’s “Okay Dokey” and “Bongolia” by the Michael Viner’s Incredible Bongo Band. Watch and enjoy the video below:

“Yay Spaceships!”

Genius.

2012 opens in theatres on November 13th, in 2009.

Source: Cinematical and Hitfix

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Countdown To San Diego’s 2009 Comic-Con!

Vic Holtreman — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:51:53 +0000

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.

Unfortunately if you want to attend this year and don’t already have tickets you’re probably out of luck as it’s been sold out for a while. But fear not, we’ll try to give you all the goods here on the site over the course of the event. It starts with preview night on Wednesday, July 22nd and runs through Sunday July 26th.

Included among the movies and TV shows that will be covered this year are:

James Cameron’s Avatar (with 3D (rumored) footage from the film)
The upcoming Sci-Fi alien invasion flick with a twist: District 9 (including an appearance by Peter Jackson).
Mike Judge will be on hand to promote his new comedy Extract.
The premiere of Mystery Team.
Where the Wild Things Are.
Tron
Sherlock Holmes
Jonah Hex
2012
Thirst
Ninja Assassin
Lost
The pilot for the TV series remake V.
Doctor Who (with an appearance by David Tennant)
FlashForward
Caprica & Battlestar Galactica: The Plan

Oh, and of course Iron Man 2, for which I’m sure director Jon Favreau has something very special planned.

Also, this year Screen Rant has been invited to participate in the “Masters of the Web” panel (shocking, I know – I certainly didn’t expect it!). The panel will be moderated by director Kevin Munroe and will include an appearance by Brandon Routh and Sam Huntington, along with a preview of their upcoming film Dead of Night.

Here is the list of panelists:

Robert Sanchez (IESB.net)
Ryan Rotten (ShockTilYouDrop.com)
Mike Sampson (JoBlo.com)
Jeremy Smith (AintItCool.com)
Brad Miska (Bloody-Disgusting.com)
Drew McWeeny (HitFix.com)
Devin Faraci (CHUD.com)
Paul Christensen (MovieWeb.com)
Wilson Morales (BlackFilm.com/AOL Black Voices)
George Roush (LatinoReview.com)
and me, Vic Holtreman (ScreenRant.com)

It will be held Thursday, July 23rd at 3pm – 4pm in Room 32AB.

Robert Sanchez of IESB.net organizes the panel and puts together what is arguably the most awesome party every year at Comic-Con: The Wrath of Con party (one of my highlights of Comic-Con).

Last year at the Masters of the Web panel tickets to the party were given away to some lucky winners. Here’s my favorite pic from last year’s party.

Doug Nagy, Alex Billington and me with the beauties from the movie 'Bitch Slap': Erin Cummings, America Olivo and Julia Voth.

As Comic-Con approaches, keep up to date with our San Diego Comic-Con updates (check the logo on the right) here on Screen Rant and on Twitter.com by searching for #sdcc or #cc09. I’ll be there along with SR writers Kofi Outlaw, Bruce Simmons, Rob Keyes (and maybe) Paul Young. We’ll be doing live-blogging, panel summaries and hopefully we’ll get you an exclusive or two.

We may try to schedule an impromptu dinner, probably on Sunday night, where we’ll get together to decompress after the whole thing. If you’re around downtown San Diego maybe you can join us. We’ll firm this up as we get closer to the actual date.

Anyway, we’re all looking forward to it and we hope you are, too.

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Latest 2012 Trailer: Impressive CGI, But Will That Be All?

Vic Holtreman — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 21:48:47 +0000

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…

[See post to watch Flash video]

You can head over to Yahoo! Movies for the super-duper HD version.

This trailer amps up the disaster action about 1000% compared to the first one, and no doubt that destruction will be the main thing that puts butts in seats when the film opens. But if it’s anything like The Day After Tomorrow, those cool CGI shots won’t be enough to make you leave the theater feeling like you’ve seen something worthwhile.

Then again, what do I know? That eco-disaster/global-warming-will-be-the-death-of-us film made over $186MM in the U.S. and over half a billion dollars worldwide. Of course that could have been the impeccable timing of the release at the height of the climate change hysteria. I tend to wonder what, if any “message” 2012 will carry with it.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d LOVE for this to turn out to be a kick-ass film, and yes, I’m clear on the concept of a “popcorn movie,” but it needs to make viewers care about the main characters being affected by the disaster, otherwise it’s just watching earthquake and flood footage on the evening news. Seeing John Cusack and Chiwetel Ejiofor (the assassin from Serenity) does give me some hope that perhaps the film will indeed deliver some of that needed character connection – we’ll just have to wait and see.

2012 has been pushed back from its July release date to November 13, 2009.

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Mid-Week Movie News Wrap Up – April 30, 2009

Niall Browne — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 19:07:17 +0000

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.

1. Miramax will produce a remake of hit French thriller Tell No One.

The original film saw a French doctor discover that his dead wife may be alive – don’t get funny – I know that would mean she’s not really dead but get over it.

The film sounds like a 1990’s Hollywood thriller starring Michael Douglas or Harrison Ford (that’s not a bad thing). Jurassic Park producer and Spielberg protégé Kathleen Kennedy will produce the film.

The original film was based on a novel by Haralan Coben.

Source: Variety

2. Roger Donaldson the man behind such first rate thrillers as No Way Out and Thirteen Days will direct The Day They Stole the Mona Lisa. It’s not a sequel to The Day The Earth Stood Still – or Mona Lisa Smile for that matter.

According to Variety:

“The book centers on the theft of the world’s most famous painting from the Louvre in 1911. It was missing for more than two years before an Italian carpenter named Vincent Perugia showed up with the painting in Florence. The film will center on the conman who masterminded the theft.”

Even if the film doesn’t turn out to be good at least Donaldson will get a holiday out of it.

Source: Variety

3. Danny Houstin is taking the Poseidon. Sorry that was just a little bit of phonic toilet humor.

The X-Men Origins: Wolverine actor will play Poseidon in Clash of The Titans.
Son of the legendary John Huston.

The remake of the great Clash of The Titans will also star Terminator Salvation and Avatar star Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes and Gemma Arterton.

Source: UGO

4. Maria Bello and Craig T. Nelson have joined the line-up of Company Men. The John Wells written and directed film will also star Oscar winners Ben Affleck, Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones and Chris Cooper.

The credit crunch drama is currently shooting in Boston.

Source: Variety

5. Amanda Peet will star alongside Jack Black in 20th Century Fox’s Gulliver’s Travels.

According to The Hollywood Reporter:

“The modern retelling follows travel writer Lemuel Gulliver, who heads to an assignment in the Bermuda Triangle only to end up on the secret island of Lilliput, home to a population of industrious tiny people. Peet will play Black’s editor and potential romantic interest.”

The original story was written by Jonathan Swift – the author behind the darkly comedic “A Modest Proposal”.

Peet is a serial co-star of Black’s High Fidelity chum John Cusack – appearing in three films with the actor – their next being 2012.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

That’s it for now. See you at the movies.

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New Posters For 2012 & Terminator Salvation

Rob Keyes — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 19:00:07 +0000

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.

Take a look and see what you think:

New Terminator Salvation poster

Japanese Terminator Salvation poster

I can’t wait for this flick! Check out the amazing Terminator Salvation trailer if you haven’t already (or even if you have, watch it again).

Next up, we have a pretty basic poster for 2012. The big numbers in the center represent the title of the movie and the date of the event, get it? As for the question posed at the top of it, where are they going?

2012 teaser poster

I’m very unsure of what to expect of this film. The cast has me worried and the fact that it’s directed by Roland Emmerich whose last two films, 10,000 BC and The Day After Tomorrow, I thought were horrible, doesn’t help.

What do you think of the posters?

Terminator Salvation opens May 21, 2009 and 2012 opens November 13, 2009.

Sources: Rotten Tomatoes, IESB

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