Posts

The Tobolowsky Files Ep. 2 - Local Hero By David Chen/Nov. 5, 2009 5:50 am EST The Tobolowsky Files is a new podcast from the people who brought you the /Filmcast, featuring a series of stories about life, love, and the entertainment industry, as told by legendary character actor Stephen Tobolowsky. In this episode, Stephen explains exactly what Davy Crockett and a rogue hippopotamus named Bubbles had in common. You can always e-mail Stephen at stephentobolowsky(AT)gmail(DOT)com, or you can e-mail David at slashfilmcast(AT)gmail(DOT)com....

Video: Jurassic Park Special Effects Before And After By Peter Sciretta/June 16, 2014 11:00 am EST We get to see a lot of computer generated special effects breakdowns these days, but nothing like this. Today I came across a video showing the before and after shots from Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park. While the film is known as one of the first blockbuster films to extensively employ computer generated effects, there are actually only 15 minutes of dinosaurs in the film: 9 minutes of which are Stan Winston’s animatronics, and only 6 minutes of ILM’s computer animated versions....

VOTD: Super Smash Wars Is ‘Star Wars’ Meets Nintendo In An Animated Adventure By Germain Lussier/Oct. 31, 2013 2:00 pm EST Two names that instantly gain my interest are “Nintendo” and “Star Wars.” Mix the two together and you have something potentially exciting. Director James Farr has just created a web short called Super Smash Wars: A Link To The Hope, which he touts as a “Star Wars / Nintendo-verse Mashup....

Will Smith To Star In ‘The City That Sailed’ For Director Shawn Levy By Russ Fischer/Nov. 14, 2013 4:45 pm EST But Smith’s company Overbrook Entertainment is actively developing The City That Sailed again, and Smith has committed to star. Deadline says that Audrey Wells (The Game Plan, Under the Tuscan Sun) is scripting a draft of The City That Sailed, which has a previous draft by Andrew Niccol (Gattaca, Lord of War, The Truman Show)....

Zoe Saldana To Play Gamora In ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’ By Germain Lussier/April 3, 2013 11:36 am EST The third member of the Guardians of the Galaxy has just been cast. Zoe Saldana, who is well-known to franchise fans for her work in Avatar and Star Trek, is in talks to play Gamora in James Gunn’s Phase Two Marvel film, set for release August 1, 2014. The Hollywood Reporter broke the story and say the actress is currently in contract negotiations....

‘A Million Ways To Die In The West’ Red-Band Trailer: Seth MacFarlane Had A Sucky Childhood By Russ Fischer/May 7, 2014 9:30 am EST This new A Million Ways to Die in the West red band trailer isn’t the same as the previous red-band trailer for Seth MacFarlane’s new film. It’s just a lot like it. But it opens with a much-needed glimpse into the childhood of MacFarlane’s character in the film, showing us why he’s so pessimistic about life....

‘Brooklyn Castle’ Adaptation Coming From Seth Rogen By Angie Han/Feb. 27, 2014 2:00 pm EST Directed by Katie Dellamaggiore, the original film centered on the adolescent chess whizzes of I.S. 318. Though the kids’ triumph would’ve been admirable in any context, it was made even more so by the fact that they hailed from Intermediate School 318 — a poor inner-city school in Brooklyn where about two-thirds of the students live below the federal poverty line....

‘Ender’s Game’ 2-Minute Spoiler-Free Video Review By David Chen/Nov. 1, 2013 6:00 am EST It is difficult to believe that a big-budget version of Ender’s Game is finally going to be playing at your local multiplex this weekend. It’s taken 28 years for a film to finally be made based upon the beloved book. After many, many aborted attempts, false starts, and different scripts, I questioned whether the version of the film we ended up with would be any good....

‘Not Fade Away’ Musical Clip Offers The Best Of David Chase’s Directorial Debut By Germain Lussier/Dec. 18, 2012 2:30 pm EST Most of us have come to terms with being disappointed by films. Unfortunately, it happens more often than not, mostly in the summer, where a film with a fantastic trailer, poster, cast and premise ends up being terrible. In fact, it happens so often, many of us have become desensitized to it....

‘Room 237’ Trailer: What Mysteries Still Live In The Overlook Hotel? By Russ Fischer/Feb. 8, 2013 12:30 pm EST IFC picked up the film and will release it later this year as part of its IFC Midnight label. The first US trailer is out (the one we posted last year has been pulled) and it is an appropriately simple thing. It won’t take you long to figure out where this one is going, especially if you’re familiar with the teaser for The Shining, but that doesn’t make the payoff any less entertaining when it happens....

‘Sinister 2’ Will Star Shannyn Sossamon And James Ransone By Angie Han/Aug. 13, 2014 11:30 am EST Jason Blum returns to produce, while Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill are once again writing the script. However, Derrickson won’t direct this time around; he’s handed over the reins to Ciaran Foy (Citadel). At the center of Sinister 2 is a protective mother (Sossamon) of 9-year-old twins (Robert and Dartanian Sloan), who have taken up residence in “a rural house marked for death....

‘Solo’ Trailer: Shock Till You Drop’s First Film Takes Camp Initiation To Another Level By Germain Lussier/Oct. 8, 2013 9:00 am EST Horror blog ShockTillYouDrop.com will soon begin distributing films, and their first foray into your home is called Solo. Isaac Cravit wrote and directed the thriller which is about a young summer camp counselor (DeGrassi’s Annie Clark) who must survive on her own for two days as initiation to her new organization....

‘The Dark Knight’ Cinematographer Wally Pfister’s Directorial Debut Is ‘Transcendence,’ Johnny Depp In Talks To Star [Updated] By Russ Fischer/Oct. 24, 2012 9:29 am EST For a few months we’ve known that Wally Pfister, the cinematographer who has shot all of Christopher Nolan’s major work from Memento on, would be making his directorial debut with a top-secret film. We’ve known that Nolan and Emma Thomas are producing, and Pfister said not long ago that “it’s a present-day science fiction film, a fairly big concept....

‘The Man With The Iron Fists’ Trailer: Bronze Lion Is Ready To Fight By Russ Fischer/Oct. 15, 2012 4:52 pm EST I’m really curious about The Man With the Iron Fists, which is the martial-arts laden directorial effort from RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan. RZA is doing a promo tour for the soundtrack now, but Universal isn’t showing the film yet. I don’t know anyone who’s seen it, which is pretty unusual for a film that opens in weeks....

‘The Muppets… Again!’ Will Feature Miss Piggy’s Wedding By Angie Han/Feb. 11, 2013 4:22 pm EST The Muppets… Again! will feature Kermit and company gallivanting across Europe after a case of mistaken identity, but apparently the gang will find some time to squeeze in a bit of romance. We’ve just learned that the film will feature Miss Piggy’s wedding — and that in typical fashion, it’ll be a grand affair at one of Europe’s iconic landmarks....

‘The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty’ Trailer By Angie Han/July 30, 2013 9:42 am EST Ben Stiller’s efforts as a director have been fairly well received for the most part. The zeitgeisty Reality Bites is still fondly remembered today, and The Cable Guy, Zoolander, and Tropic Thunder were each among the comedic highlights of their respective years. But his latest, the dramedy The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, may be the first time we’ve heard the O-word tossed around about him....

Bryan Singer Breaks Down The ‘X-Men: Days Of Future Past’ Trailer By Angie Han/Oct. 30, 2013 9:32 am EST There was a lot to absorb in that first trailer for X-Men: Days of Future Past. Original trilogy X-Men were bumping up against First Class X-Men, new characters were showing up left and right, and the emotional arc was cresting just as action and mayhem broke out in both timelines. Fortunately, director Bryan Singer is happy to guide fans through that jam-packed promo....

Check Out This Exclusive Concept Art From ‘The Croods’ By Germain Lussier/March 14, 2013 7:00 am EST We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. The film, featuring the voices of Nicolas Cage, Ryan Reynolds Emma Stone, Catherine Keener, Clark Duke and Cloris Leachman, is out March 22 and it’ll be followed by The Art of the Croods, a hardcover book with over 400 pieces of concept art written by Noela Hueso....

Cool Stuff: Gallery 1988 Does ‘Lost’ Reunion Poster By Germain Lussier/March 11, 2014 4:00 pm EST The history between Gallery 1988 and the show Lost has been well-documented. The Los Angeles art gallery curated not one, but two uber-successful viral art campaigns centered around the final season of the show. Now, ten years since the show’s debut, they’re doing it one more time. Gallery 1988 and Phantom City Creative have teamed up to do a limited edition screenprint for the 10th anniversary Lost reunion happening at PaleyFest in Los Angeles this weekend....

Dev Patel Enters Talks For Neill Blomkamp’s ‘Chappie’ By Angie Han/July 9, 2013 7:02 am EST Actor Dev Patel spent much of his feature film debut, Slumdog Millionaire, trying to escape the slums, but for his next role he may head back into them. The British actor has entered early talks for Neill Blomkamp’s sci-fi comedy Chappie. He’d play the human lead opposite Blomkamp’s District 9 and Elysium star Sharlto Copley, who’s been attached to play a robot for months....