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Sunday 2 August 2009

Live for Films has moved

For some unknown reason Google decided to suspend my blogger account and remove the Live for Films site for the past couple of days.

No warning or reason was given and having looked through their Terms of Service I cannot see what I had done to have that action taken against me.

While it was offline I decided to start again over on Wordpress so if you care to update your links you can now find me at

http://liveforfilms.wordpress.com/

http://www.liveforfilms.com will also take you there.

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Saturday 1 August 2009

The Informant - Cool poster for Matt Damon's new one


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Ponyo on the Cliff - New trailer

An animated adventure centered on a 5-year-old boy and his relationship with a goldfish princess who longs to become human

Ponyo on the Cliff is the new film by Hayao Miyazaki (Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, and Howl's Moving Castle). Due out on 14th August.
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Friday 31 July 2009

Fallout 3: Mothership Zeta DLC Trailer

A great looking extra bit of download content for the brilliant Fallout 3. This one sees you being abducted by aliens. Due out on Monday 3rd August.
Defy hostile alien abductors and fight your way off of the massive Mothership Zeta, orbiting Earth miles above the Capital Wasteland. Mothership Zeta takes Fallout 3 in an entirely new direction – outer space. Meet new characters and join with them in a desperate bid to escape the Aliens’ clutches. To do so, you’ll wield powerful new weapons, like the Alien Atomizer, Alien Disintegrator, and Drone Cannon, and deck yourself out in brand new outfits, like the Gemini-Era Spacesuit and even Samurai Armor.


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Iron Man 2 - The Mark IV suit

The good folks over on the VG Forum posted this photo of the Mark IV Iron Man suit from next years sequel. Not really that much different from the Mark III (shown below) and still not enough like my favourite version from the comic (shown at the bottom).

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A Perfect Getaway - Viral - Serial Killers Have Reached the US

News report from Channel Eight News Now: Another honeymooning couple was found murdered this morning in Honolulu Hawaii. Authorities now believe this is the work of a serial killers who have already murdered three other vacationing couples elsewhere in the South Pacific.

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Thundercats concept art...Snarf!

MovieLine have some wonderful images based on the script, written by Paul Sopocy which was to follow Lion-O’s origin myth from young cub to his anointment as Lord of the ThunderCats, and was to be directed by veteran art director Jerry O’Flaherty.

Movieline has obtained O’Flaherty’s never-before-seen Thundercats concept art, demonstrating just how gorgeous and ambitious his vision for this production is.

No word on what is going to happen and if this will even see the light of day, but they sure are pretty. Above is Lion-O and below is Mumm-Ra's pyramid.
What do you think of the images?

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You Might as Well Live - Red Band Trailer

Robert R. Mutt has never had it easy. His family thinks he’s a moron, the neighbors think he’s a pervert, and almost everyone else thinks he’s a total douche bag. He’s failed at everything he’s ever tried to accomplish, including his own suicide. If that wasn’t enough, he’s just been kicked out of the only place where he’s ever felt at home, the depression ward of the Riverside Mental Hospital… for being too happy. Despite all this, Robert is determined to prove that he’s “a real somebody,” and on the advice of his childhood hero (former local baseball hero Clinton Manitoba), he sets out to attain the three keys to success – some money, a girl, and a championship ring. This sets Robert on a madcap adventure involving a drug racket, a roller-skating transvestite, a bar-mitzvah and an air hockey tournament which leads to heartbreak and unexpected triumph.

Source: Quiet Earth

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A Perfect Getaway - Viral - Murder Suspects Identified

News report from Channel Eight News Now: Authorities have identified two individuals who were living in a house in Tahiti containing suspicious materials believed to be related to the murder of a Canadian couple. More couples have gone missing in the South Pacific.

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A Perfect Getaway - Viral - Honeymooning Couple Found Dead

News report from Channel Eight News Now: A honeymooning couple from British Columbia, Canada, that went missing last week has been found dead in Tahiti. Disturbing latex items and blood found in local garage.

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Twilight Saga: New Moon - First look at the Volturi Clan

Above is the first peak at the Volturi Vampire clain from the new Twilight film. You can see Michael Sheen, Dakota Fanning, Jamie Campbell Bower, Christopher Heyerdahl and Cameron Bright.

The Twilight Saga's New Moon stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Ashley Greene, Peter Facinelli, Elizabeth Reaser, Kellan Lutz, Nikki Reed, Jackson Rathbone, Edi Gathegi, Rachelle Lafevre, Billy Burke, Charlie Bewley, Jamie Campbell Bower, Daniel Cudmore, Christopher Heyerdahl, Dakota Fanning, Cameron Bright, Noot Seer, Michael Sheen, Graham Greene, Tinsel Korey and will hit theaters nationwide on 20th November.

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Jerry Bruckheimer to bring us World War Robot

Jerry Bruckheimer has snapped up feature rights to the graphic novel World War Robot from IDW Publishing.

The story is by Ashley Wood and recounted in war-diary form by participants on both sides, centers on a small band of humans and robots facing off in a battle on Earth, the moon and Mars.

The deal for the rights closed during Comic-Con last week in San Diego. Bruckheimer, as usual, hasn't commented on the pact.

Ten-year-old IDW is home to such titles as "30 Days of Night," "Popbot" and "Dark Days" along with licensed titles such as "24," "Angel," "CSI" and the Transformers toy line.

IDW has been eager to set up its books as film properties around town in order to generate more coin for the publishers. It's currently the third-largest behind Marvel and DC.

The adaptation of the company's "30 Days of Night," released by Sony in 2007, grossed $40 million domestically.

Source: Variety

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The Green Hornet - Michel Gondry talks about the film while his son does the beatbox thing


Source: Topless Robot

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A Perfect Getaway - Viral - Honeymooners Missing

News report from Channel Eight News Now: Honeymooning couples vanish in the South Pacific. Authorities are perplexed.

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Ridley Scott is directing the new Alien prequel

This is excellent news. The original Alien wrangler going back to the source and with todays technology. Should be something special methinks.

Variety are reporting that Twentieth Century Fox has hired Jon Spaihts to write a prequel that has Ridley Scott attached to return as director.

Spaihts got the job after pitching the studio and Scott Free (Isn't that the name of DC Comics Mr Miracle?), which will produce the film.

The film is set up to be a prequel to the groundbreaking 1979 film that Scott directed. It will precede that film, in which the crew of a commercial towing ship returning to Earth is awakened and sent to respond to a distress signal from a nearby planetoid. The crew discovers too late that the signal generated by an empty ship was meant to warn them.

The deal gives Fox another chance to keep the "Alien" franchise alive. There were three sequels to Scott's original, but it is the first time the director has set his mind on directing one.

Spaihts has become a go-to-guy for space thrillers. After Keanu Reeves became attached to his Warner Bros. sci-fi script "Shadow 19," Reeves hired Spaihts to write the space journey epic "Passengers," which is berthed at Morgan Creek. That script got Spaihts the meeting with Fox and Scott Free, and he won the job with an "Alien" reboot take that the studio and Scott loved.

How to you feel about the news?

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Paul Video Blog - Three Chairs on a Prairie - Part 1


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Thursday 30 July 2009

The stars of Tron Legacy speak

Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde talk about the new film.

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When Diablo met Stan

This is great. Check out Diablo Cody's (screenwriter of Juno and Jennifer's Body) when she spots Marvel giant, Stan Lee. Excelsior!

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The end of Back to the Future compared to the start of Back to the Future 2

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Fantastic Mr Fox - Trailer

The stop-motion film, marking Anderson's first foray into animation, is an adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic children's story, centering on a clever fox who must outwit three mean, dimwitted farmers who try their hardest to hurt Mr. Fox and his family. George Clooney will voice Mr. Fox, while Cate Blanchett voices his wife.

Out on 13th November.

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Jon Favreau sees Iron Man 3 and The Avengers in 3D

"I really love the 3-D," director Jon Favreau told MTV at the San Diego Comic-Con. "I think 'Up' was probably my favorite movie I've seen this year."

Marvel has plans to make at least one more "Iron Man" film, as well as an "Avengers" film in 2012 that will feature Tony Stark. If Favreau has his way, he'd like at least one of those films to be three-dimensional.

"I like all the new technologies, 3-D being one of them. James Cameron had brought me around a few months back to see what he was doing with 'Avatar'; that's what's been seen now by many of the fans," he said of the 3-D footage shown last week. "It was exciting to go in there and see what he's doing with cutting-edge technology. He's just a great storyteller as well, and to see a great filmmaker working with the cutting-edge of this technology is amazing."

"I talked to Marvel after I'd seen [Cameron's footage] about doing 'Iron Man 2' in 3-D," he said. "I was hoping to get a shot at doing it this time around, but it didn't work out that way. ... There are a few drawbacks to it at this point — there's more cost involved, and it also forces you to shoot digitally. My cinematographer [Matthew Libatique] really likes film, and 'Iron Man' had a certain look because it was film."

As of right now, Favreau isn't certain he'll direct "Iron Man 3" or "The Avengers." But Feige is on record as saying that he'd like to see Marvel films jumping off the screen soon, and Favreau is convinced that the technology will be there for whichever film he makes next.

"We haven't had any talks about [me directing 'Avengers'], although we do have talks about what the content of 'Avengers' will be," Favreau said of the film expected to feature Iron Man, Nick Fury, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow and others. "I'm going to be involved in some capacity with it, but as far as directing goes, we're still working on this one. ... I'm happy they brought me back to do 'Iron Man 2.'

"But I think that, as the digital technology gets better, 3-D is going to be a lot easier," the filmmaker continued. "Certainly for 'Iron Man,' I think it would work out well."

Would you like to see the Marvel superheroes go 3D?

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Dead of Night - Poster for Dylan Dog film starring Brandon Routh


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Joseph Kosinski follows Tron Legacy with Oblivion sci-fi

Tron Legacy director Joseph Kosinski is developing Oblivion, based on his own concept, as a feature for Radical Pictures.

Kosinski has signed to direct the action feature and will produce along with Radical principal Barry Levine, filmmaker David Fincher and Anonymous Content's David Morrison.

"Oblivion" also will become an illustrated novel, Radical Publishing's first venture beyond comic books, done in a format featuring 40 fully painted landscape images that will accompany the prose.

Described as a “big sci-fi epic” set in a “post-apocalyptic Earth,” where civilization lives above the clouds and scavengers illegally collect artifacts from the polluted and destroyed surface below. The story centers on a battle-damaged soldier who, assigned to a desolate planet after a court-martial, patrols the bleak landscape in an effort to destroy the last vestiges of a primitive alien race. One day, he discovers a crashed spacecraft planetside- and a beautiful women within, who left on a science mission 60 years earlier. When she wakes up, she knows who he is, which doesn’t make any sense to him and together they have to unravel this mystery.

Radical's Jesse Berger will executive produce.

Kosinski began Oblivion when he moved to Los Angeles four years ago, coming up with the concept as something to kick-start a feature directing career.

"I was looking to make a science fiction film that I could do on a budget," Kosinski said of the initial concept. "It's grown since then, but it's intended to be a very spare science fiction film, with a small cast but big ideas and big landscapes."

Kosinski met Levine during the recent WGA strike. Kosinski was impressed with Radical's graphic novels and high-end art, and conversations led to "Oblivion" being turned into a book and film.

Source: THR

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Zombieland - New, unfinished trailer

A very cool trailer for the film. Watch it before it gets gone.

In the horror comedy Zombieland focuses on two men who have found a way to survive a world overrun by zombies. Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) is a big wuss -- but when you're afraid of being eaten by zombies, fear can keep you alive. Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) is an AK-totin', zombie-slayin' badass whose single determination is to get the last Twinkie on earth. As they join forces with Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), who have also found unique ways to survive the zombie mayhem, they will have to determine which is worse: relying on each other or succumbing to the zombies.

Source: Dread Central

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Joe Dante is in The Hole

Joe Dante (Gremlins, The Howling) was at the San Diego Comic Con where he debuted a trailer for his latest feature The Hole in 3-D. It's his first film since Looney Tunes: Back in Action although he has done a couple of Masters of Horror episodes and a zombie-themed CSI:NY.

The Hole stars Teri Polo, Haley Bennett, Nathan Gamble and Quinn Lord. Written by Mark L. Smith (Vacancy), it concerns a family that moves into a new home. There they discover a hole in the basement that feeds off of their darkest fears and manifests them. It sounds a bit like a cross between The Gate, Sphere and Poltergeist. STYD managed to speak to the director about his new film.

"I read a lot of scripts, seldom do they strike me on a character level," says Dante. "This is not a big movie, it's a modest picture. I managed to convince them to do it in 3-D because I thought of the visuals and also the drama. It's not a gore-fest. It's more in the line of The Others or The Devil's Backbone. It's creepy and sneaks up on you, and it's not filled with eyeballs on sticks poking out at you in the third row. Not that there's anything wrong with that, that's just not what this is, there are plenty of those movies out there. So the idea was to try and make the kind of movie they stopped making in the '80s when you can take your family to a scary picture and they were not traumatized, they were scared."

I like the sound of the creepiness rather than all out gore.

Regarding the 3D technology Dante had this to say. "We found a way to do it that only added a modest amount to the budget an we went ahead and did it. I think it was a great idea. It's an unusual 3-D movie in the sense that it's not what you expect from a 3-D movie. It's still got all of the stuff - breaking the frame - but to me it's immersive. You feel a little more like you're in the room with the people and what their problems are. I think you find that in some of the current 3-D movie, the animated ones at least."

He also said shooting went smoothly and that his fans will "find this to be a Joe Dante movie. It has its silly aspects, of course, as I do. But it's pretty straight-forward, a character picture. The kids are very good. I have Bruce Dern. It's a small cast and not a lot of locations, but people who are movie fans will get a lot of the references."

The Hole is still in post-production and doesn't have a release date yet.

"The trick is to not repeat yourself, but then again, what is Small Soldiers but Gremlins 3, so you can't escape that stuff."

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The Final Destination - French Poster

On what should have been a fun-filled day at the races, Nick O'Bannon has a horrific premonition in which a bizarre sequence of events causes multiple race cars to crash, sending flaming debris into the stands, brutally killing his friends and causing the upper deck of the stands to collapse on him. When he comes out of this grisly nightmare Nick panics, persuading his girlfriend, Lori, and their friends, Janet and Hunt, to leave...escaping seconds before Nick's frightening vision becomes a terrible reality. Thinking they've cheated death, the group has a new lease on life, but unfortunately for Nick and Lori, it is only the beginning. As his premonitions continue and the crash survivors begin to die one-by-one--in increasingly gruesome ways--Nick must figure out how to cheat death once and for all before he, too, reaches his final destination. The film marks the latest in the highly popular "Final Destination" series, and its first 3D installment, giving horror fans an especially visceral thrill ride.

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Captain Jack as Captain America

The Avengers film draws ever closer and we have our Iron Man, Thor, Nick Fury, and a few others. However, there is still no news on who will play Captain America.

Worryingly Will Smith's name keeps getting bandied about. Don't get me wrong, I like a bit of Big Willy stylee (hmm a dodgy sentence if ever there was one!) but they should stick with the Steve Rogers set out in the comic. However, another actor, who would agree with the sentiments of my previous sentence but in a whole different way, has said they'd like to give it a go.

During the BBC "Torchwood: Children of Earth" mini-series panel at Comic-Con last weekend, actor John Barrowman revealed that he would like the chance play Captain America in The First Avenger: Captain America and The Avengers films.

"You know what I want to play? Captain America," he said to the wildly receptive crowd, before adding that it "so won't happen."

Barrowman plays the fixed point in time, Captain Jack Harkness and is pretty good at it.

The question is would he make a good Cap? To be honest I think he would. He's got the looks (my wife and mother love him as do many other men and women), he's a bit of an unknown for the mainstream audience (only fans of TV sci-fi, musical theatre and 1980's Saturday Morning Kids TV would know him) which would make them buy into him as the character rather than as a big name playing a part. Although Kevin Feige has said they are looking for a star with international appeal.

Of course, there would be none of the shenanigans that Captain Jack gets up to if he took on the role of Steve Rogers.

I seriously doubt that this will come to pass or that he will even make it to an audition, just one of those things that the Comic Con throws up once in a while. I wouldn't be at all surprised if there are people working away on making vids and pics of Barrowman as Captain America right now.

Would Barrowman be a good Captain America?

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TRON Legacy - Could Michael Sheen be the big bad

A good few months back Michael Sheen twittered that he was heading to Vancouver to play a role and that he couldn't say what it was. At the time he said that the role he was playing wasn't a person, and other such clues. There was lots of guessing by various people, but the majority vote was that it was going to be Tron 2 (now called Tron Legacy).

Turns out the majority was right as today Disney have confirmed that he will star in it.

The question now is what role will he be playing? As he has already said it won't be human then it looks as if it will be a Computer program. I am guessing it will be the villain of the peace as he is a British actor and that's what usually happens. Plus in the original David Warner played the main bad guy.

Check out the Tron Legacy trailer for a whole dose of awesomness.

What do you think of the casting?

Source: Filmstalker

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Megan Fox talks Fathom and Wonder Woman

"They just wrote the first draft of the script, and everybody's really happy with it," Fox told MTV News when asked about the adaption of Michael Turner's Fathom. "I haven't read it yet, but the studio's really happy with it and there's growing excitement around the project."

While Fox already made a case for her geek cred during Comic-Con, she admitted that there isn't any other comic book roles she's really looking to take on right now -- and that includes Wonder Woman, a character she famously shot down a while back.

"I feel like that's a hard adaptation to make into a live-action film," said Fox. "She flies around in an invisible jet and she has a lasso of truth... It's going to be a hard movie to make live action."

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A Serious Man - Trailer for The Coen Brothers new film


A Serious Man is the story of an ordinary man's search for clarity in a universe where Jefferson Airplane is on the radio and F-Troop is on TV. It is 1967, and Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), a physics professor at a quiet Midwestern university, has just been informed by his wife Judith (Sari Lennick) that she is leaving him. She has fallen in love with one of his more pompous colleagues, Sy Ableman (Fred Melamed), who seems to her a more substantial person than the feckless Larry. Larry's unemployable brother Arthur (Richard Kind) is sleeping on the couch, his son Danny (Aaron Wolf) is a discipline problem and a shirker at Hebrew school, and his daughter Sarah (Jessica McManus) is filching money from his wallet in order to save up for a nose job. While his wife and Sy Ableman blithely make new domestic arrangements, and his brother becomes more and more of a burden, an anonymous hostile letter-writer is trying to sabotage Larry's chances for tenure at the university. Also, a graduate student seems to be trying to bribe him for a passing grade while at the same time threatening to sue him for defamation. Plus, the beautiful woman next door torments him by sunbathing nude. Struggling for equilibrium, Larry seeks advice from three different rabbis. Can anyone help him cope with his afflictions and become a righteous person – a mensch – a serious man?


Source: First Showing

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Wednesday 29 July 2009

Planet Hulk - Trailer

I had no idea they were doing an adaption of the excellent Planet Hulk storyline by Greg Pak, but here is the trailer and it looks fantastic.

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Funny People - An Inside Look


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Bryce Dallas Howard joins The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Summit Entertainment announced today that Bryce Dallas Howard will take over the role of "Victoria" in the studio's upcoming production of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. Actress, Rachelle Lefevre, who portrayed the character in Twilight as well as the upcoming release of The Twilight Saga's New Moon, will not continue in the role due to scheduling conflicts with another commitment the actor has made. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse will start filming in Vancouver this coming August.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, the third film in the studio's Twilight film franchise based on Stephenie Meyer's blockbuster book series, will be directed by David Slade from a screenplay written by Melissa Rosenberg. The film will be released theatrically in North America on Wednesday, June 30, 2010.

"We are incredibly happy that Bryce has agreed to come into the franchise," said Erik Feig, Summit's President of Worldwide Production and Acquisitions. "Rachelle brought "Victoria" to great screen life and Bryce will bring a new dimension to the character. The franchise is lucky to have such a talented actress as Bryce coming in to fill the role."

Howard most recently starred in Terminator Salvation as Kate Connor and has been seen in Spider-Man 3, Lady In the Water, and The Village. She was nominated for a Golden Globe for her leading performance as an actress in the HBO film As You Like It.

In The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger as Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob - knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella is confronted with the most important decision of her life.

Source: MovieWeb

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District 9 - First Look

Extended featurette for District 9 shows never before seen footage from the film while presenting interview with cast and crew. Preview explains the backstory to District 9 and the organization, MNU.

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Halloween 2 - Video Blog

Scout Taylor-Compton, who plays Laurie Strode in Rob Zombie's Halloween II, talks with Rob Zombie and what it was like to work for the Director.

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Paul W S Anderson takes on The Warded Man

Paul W. S. Anderson and longtime producing partner Jeremy Bolt have acquired film rights to Peter V. Brett's debut fantasy novel The Warded Man, according to MovieWeb.

Anderson is attached to direct and will produce with Bolt. Stephanie Johnson, who brought the title to the pair, will executive produce.

The book is set in an undetermined future where mankind is beset by nightly attacks from demonkind and has been thrown back into a feudal state. Three young people emerge with the potential power to turn the tide, including the title character, a man who has wards (spells) tattooed on his body.

"It was an occasion where it paid to be British," Anderson said. "It launched in the U.K. six months earlier than in the U.S., and we got wind of it when it was in galley form before the U.K. release. We think it has the potential to be a new 'Lord of the Rings'-style epic, and the book has all this great imagery."

Novelist Brett was an ad man with a two-hour commute to Manhattan; he wrote the book on his BlackBerry.

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The Avengers and Captain America - Could the Skrulls and The Invaders feature in them?

Some interesting facts have been hinted at by Kevin Feige, over on CHUD, regarding various things that may feature in their forthcoming Marvel films.
'Will the Skrulls be the villain in The Avengers?' I asked.

Feige gave me one of those looks he's good at giving and just said, 'We do own them.'

More digging turned up the fact that Marvel Studios owns the Skrull race, while Fox own the Super Skrull.

The Skrull are a shape changing alien race who have had a hard-on for Earth for quite some time. They would make a pretty great big bad for the film for a number of reasons: first of all, there's a bunch of them, so the film wouldn't have to contain just one or two fight scenes with the main threat, and each of the team members could have their own battles at their own power level. For another, they allow Marvel Studios to do something really cool - what if it's revealed that certain characters from the previous Marvel movies have been Skrulls all along? And Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch proved in the first Ultimates series that the Skrull (called the Chitauri there) make a convincingly cinematic threat.

Of course the other possibility is that The Avengers will battle Hydra. As I mentioned in this story about The Invaders possibly appearing in The First Avenger: Captain America, Feige name-dropped Hydra as being something with which Steve Rogers had to contend. Might the truth be that Steve Rogers would just meet some of the Nazi supervillains who go on to head Hydra? And with The Avengers being a SHIELD group in the movies, it might make sense to make the villain a SHIELD villain. On top of that, like the Skrull, the sheer number of Hydra agents mean the film could contain lots of battles and that each of the Avengers could get something to do during the course of the film.
Having the Skrulls in the Avengers films throws up some interesting possibilities - the Hulk may feature but turn out to be a Skrull, other characters in Iron Man, Thor etc may turn out to have been replaced by Skrulls at some point.

What do you think of the news?
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Bart Got a Room - Time to get laid

William H. Macy and Kate Micucci do a ukulele duet for the DVD release of Bart Got a Room.

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The Prisoner - Watch out Jim there's a big bouncing ball after you

Check out the first 9 minutes of the new series.

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Villains to be Fight Club of the comic book film world?

This sounds like if could be interesting if done right.

Viper Comics miniseries Villains, follows a main character who decides he wants to learn the dark art of villainy after discovering the old guy living next door is actually a retired baddie. Sounds a bit like Apt Pupil but with super powers.

Universal is giving the series the big-screen adaptation treatment and producers are conceiving the film as a big-budget, super-dark adventure directed by someone with a sensibility similar to the men who’ve helmed “Fight Club” and “Collateral.”

“I think we want to go big with it,” producer Sean Bailey told MTV News. “My personal ambition is to have it be operatic and epic. If Michael Mann or David Fincher were ever to go make one of these movies, what would that look like? That’s my hope for it. To be in that kind of world.”

“If you look at any war movie or any crime movie, who the hero is, is solely a question of the point of view,”
Bailey continued. “So we wanted to look at the rise of a villain—why and how it happened. It’s got a different slant than you’ve seen.”

The project was announced last year and “Wonder Woman” screenwriters Matt Jennison and Brent Strickland recently handed in a first draft of “Villains.” The studio and producers handed back notes, and now the writers are at work on a second draft.

With the script not yet nailed down, Bailey hasn’t yet begun the search for a director, nor thought deeply about casting choices.

“We’re still in the script stage,” Bailey laughed.

Have a look at a preview of the first issue.

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Ghostbusters - Did you know it was actually a film in 1954 starring Bob Hope?

An excellent trailer mash-up. You have to watch it.

What if...Ghostbusters, the movie, was shot in 1954 instead of 1984? Who should be part of the cast? Would they have the same equipment? Who would they battle? Considering Dan Aykroyd's concept owes a lot to Bob Hope, Abbott and Costello, and Lewis and Martin comedies of the 40s and 50s, it is not that big of a stretch to speculate.

Here's the recipe for the trailer:

Ghostbusters, The Three Stooges, Scared Stiff, Ghost Breakers, Topper Takes a Trip, The Ghost Busters, Abbott and Costello meet the Invisible Man, Star Trek, Ghosts on the Loose, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Spooks Run Wild, Flubber, Son of Flubber, The Caddy, 100 ans d'histoires de Bibendum

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Tuesday 28 July 2009

Astro Boy - Images of characters voice by Cage, Nighy and Sutherland

More lovely images from the excellent looking Astro Boy. MTV had them and below we see Dr. Tenma (Nicolas Cage) and Dr. Elefun (Bill Nighy).
In the picture below we see President Stone (Donald Sutherland) and a big robot.
The film tells the story of a scientist, Dr. Tenma (voiced by Nicolas Cage) who replaces his lost son with a powerful robot (Freddie Highmore), who must then come to terms with his own identity as a child, a robot and, most importantly, a hero.


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Arthur and the Vengeance of Maltazard

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Dolph Lundgren gives a Command Performance

Dolph plays a drummer who ends up fighting terrorists. What more do you need to know?



Source: Twitch

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Iron Man 2 footage from Comic Con

Well almost. Some people who saw it did a "sweded" version of it. Excellent stuff.

You can see some screenshots from the actual footage here.
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Alice Jacobs is Dead - Trailer for short zombie related film

John La Zar and Adrienne Barbeau (The Fog, Escape from New York, The Cannonball Run) star in the thrilling short film Alice Jacobs Is Dead, which was written and directed by Alex Horwitz. The story revolves around Dr. Ben Jacobs (La Zar), who is out to save the world. The drug he has created allows mankind to fight back against the Z-virus, which nearly destroyed civilization entirely. Now, in the aftermath of the crisis, he's trying to cure the last victims of the disease. But what will happen when he brings his mysterious work home to help his ailing wife?

This looks superb and has had some cracking reviews by people who have seen it.

Source: MovieWeb
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The Secret of NIMH gets another go


Paramount is developing a feature version of the award-winning children's tale Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, director Neil Burger (The Illusionist) is in talks to write the screenplay, and former Walden exec Cary Granat is on board to produce.

This film would be the second theatrical go-round for the book, which MGM brought to the screen in 1982 as the animated The Secret of NIMH, directed by Don Bluth.

Robert C. O'Brien's "Rats of NIMH" won the Newbery Medal in 1972 and has been a staple in children's bookstores and libraries since. The story centers on a mouse -- the titular Mrs. Frisby, re-named Mrs. Brisby in the MGM movie -- faced with a crisis when her son falls ill and she must move her family to escape a farmer's plow.

Mrs. Frisby enlists a group of former lab rats, whom she soon discovers run a highly evolved society, who possess advanced technologies and divide labor in the manner of a human community.

It's likely the new "NIMH" would combine live-action and animation in the manner of Alvin and the Chipmunks and other kiddie hybrids, but should hopefully be a little better!

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The Expendables - Rourke and Stallone get close

A not very action orientated photo from Sylvester Stallone's The Expendables. No explosions, no guns, no fights, just two dudes tattooing and sitting on motor bikes. I wonder if they like snails or oysters?

In this photo from Empire Rourke's arms dealer and part-time tattooist Tool inks Stallone's Barney Ross.

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Prince of Persia - Some action shots

We are starting to see more and more of Mike Newell's Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Luckily, they are getting more exciting as time goes.

These photos actually show the Prince in action. Jake Gyllenhall and Gemma Arterton jumping over walls. Empire debuted the pics. What do you think of them?

District 9 - Interviews with Neill Blomkamp, Peter Jackson and Sharlto Copley

The first screening of District 9 was at the San Diego Comic Con (honestly, you would think that there have been no other sources of film news over the past few days!)

After the screening the Neill Blomkamp (director), Sharlto Copley (star) and Peter Jackson (producer) chatted about the film.



The film is on general release from 14th August.

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Holy Excalibur - Warren Ellis writing King Arthur movie


Interesting news indeed from the blog of a certain Warren Ellis - writer of Planetary, Transmetropolitan, Crooked Little Vein and so much more.
I was actually cleared to talk about this at San Diego, but all the press I
did there was Japanese-oriented for the Marvel Anime deal… so I’m going to
mention it here, to say I did, and to maybe make up for that by giving the
comics news sites something to post post-SDCC.

I’m writing a film treatment for Hollywood Gang, who co-produced Frank Miller’s 300. Hollywood Gang have previously optioned my graphic novel (with Chris Sprouse) OCEAN.

On my desk, the treatment is called Untitled Arthurian Project.

On their desk, the project is called EXCALIBUR.

I’m working directly with Gianni Nunnari, Oliver Kramer and Craig Flores (whom I was delighted to bump into on the Warner’s lot the other day) and having a great time.

So… yeah. Movie stuff. Other things to talk about soon. I’ve been sitting on that one for months
What do you reckon to that? Will it feature hints of the bleed or a certain snowflake existing in 196,883-dimensional space?

What do you want to see in a King Arthur film by Ellis?


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Iron Man 2 won't end on a cliffhanger for the Avengers to resolve

At the moment we know that War Machine (check out the screenshot from the Iron Man 2 footage) will make a significant appearance, Black Widow could be good or evil, and Sam Rockwell will be reinventing the character of Justin Hammer. Director Jon Favreau weighed in as well at Comic-Con with his own details on the film, stating that the sequel won't leave an open-ended cliffhanger for Marvel's 2012 "Avengers" movie. We also know what heroes to expect in the Avengers film.

"We're working towards 'Avengers,' but by the same token we want to resolve this film and make ['Iron Man 2'] play on its own," Favreau told MTV News. "It's not a serial. It's a self-contained film."

Since Marvel Studios began planted movie crossover appearances in "The Incredible Hulk" and the first "Iron Man," continuity buffs have had a great deal to speculate about, given Marvel's ambitious calendar of releases, including "Thor" and "Captain America: The First Avenger." Favreau stressed that while the movies would all be working off of each other, his focus remains on making his film work on its own.

"It's not building towards a cliffhanger that's the next movie," he explained. "It's about wrapping up our story and making it a complete tale."

What about Iron Man 3? "There’s an Iron Man 3. Here’s how I know. When they make the option deals, they include Iron Man 3. So I know they’re planning on 3. Whether that would be before or after Avengers, they’ve announced that Avengers is next but they pushed back The Avengers once which I thought was encouraging."

As for whether, like many sequels, there will be too many villains in Iron Man 2 Favreau had this to say, "Well, we had to walk a fine line. I think you’re good for number two. Two seems to be the charm because you got your origin story out of the way. You can add some complexity to it and you have room, because you don’t have to tell the origin story, to introduce the characters. When you get to number three, you can get hidebound. You’re like a beached whale sometimes because you have so much, you collapse under the weight of the complexity that you’ve created. We looked at the successful sequels that we liked. I’m not talking about Two Towers or films that are chapters based on novels or Harry Potter. I’m talking about true sequels. The two that we liked the most, this was me and Kevin Feige talking, were Wrath of Kahn and Empire Strikes Back. Those were the two that we said, “They did it right. Now let’s look at what they did right.” There were so many others that didn’t feel as good as the first but for those two, what we found was that it really gave room to explore the characters and the villain plotlines were very simple but the stakes were very high. The less you get bogged down in complexity, the more you could really let the audience enjoy what they really like which are the relationships. Two years later, I know I’m a pretty savvy audience member, I don’t remember the dynamics and the subtleties of it. It’s not as precious to me as it is to the filmmakers. So it’s putting yourself in the seat of the audience and saying, “What do they want to see more but you want to go bigger.” You go from Alien to Aliens and then you want to show them the characters that they’ve invested in and how they’ve changed and change those dynamics by introducing new characters. Don’t just add to the action but throw the relationship into a little bit of a curve ball."

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King Kong Prequel in the works

Spirit Pictures is looking to breathe new life into King Kong and a project initially developed by effects legend Ray Harryhausen according to Variety.

Producers at the shingle have picked up the rights to the book "Kong: King of Skull Island," a prequel to the well-known tale of the big ape.

Penned by Joe DeVito and Brad Strickland, book focuses on the backstory of Skull Island and how the giant gorilla became king there. It introduces other giant gorillas and dinosaurs only hinted at in the previous films.

The book was published at the same time Peter Jackson was producing his remake of "King Kong."

Rights to make the movie were brokered with the Merian C. Cooper family, who own the Kong property. Cooper co-directed the original "Kong," released in 1933.

"We're very concerned with honoring Merian C. Cooper's legacy in Hollywood. We want to make sure that whatever we deliver will honor his memory," said Spirit's Steve Iles, who worked on videogames for the "Star Wars" and "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchises through his Pocket Studios game company.

The plan is to produce the film using motion-capture technology such as Robert Zemeckis used to make "The Polar Express," "Beowulf" and the upcoming "A Christmas Carol." Spirit's own facility would produce the CG work.

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Halloween II - TV Spot - Birth of Evil

Due out on 28th August. Which, as we all know is definitely not October 31st!

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G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra - TV Spot - Good Luck


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Monday 27 July 2009

Dark Country - Trailer for Thomas Jane's new 3D thriller

I posted some cool photos for Thomas Jane's new thriller, Dark Country, back in March.

Now we have a trailer.

Good news is it also stars the mighty Ron Perlman and is due out on DVD on 6th October.

Two honeymooners rescue a mysterious car crash survivor in the Las Vegas desert. But their decision to save the man becomes increasingly regrettable when he turns on them, forcing the newlyweds to do the unthinkable.

In a blur of paranormal chaos, the couple must take drastic measures to cover up their actions from the local police, ultimately leading each character to an inescapable fate.

Source: Quiet Earth

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Ivul - Stay on the trees

Fifteen-year-old Alex is spending the summer with his beloved 18-year-old sister Freya in a farmhouse in the middle of a forest. It is a world of play and dreams, and they live with their younger sisters, their mother and their eccentric father, an aged Russian emigrant. When Alex and Freya are caught by surprise in a very intimate game, however, the familial balance is shattered. The father casts out his son, who manages to rescue himself on the rooftop. Alex swears to Freya that he will never set foot on the ground again and promises to wait for her forever. Moving from tree to tree, he progresses ever deeper into the forest.
Source: Quiet Earth

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The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard - Red Band Trailer

Second red band trailer for The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard shows never before seen footage that is NSFW. Preview gives added emphasis on Ed Helms' character.

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Inglourious Basterds - Photos from the Premiere

Inglourious Basterds premiered in London last week. I had been invited to it and the press conference, but was unable to make it....grrr!

Luckily the excellent Craig Grobler was on hand to take some wonderful photos of the event. Here are just a few of Quentin Tarantino and Diane Kruger at the event. More of his photos here.


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