Posts

Watch: Interpreting ‘Synedoche, New York’ With Amy Nicholson (Part 1) By David Chen/Feb. 5, 2014 2:00 pm EST The recent, tragic passing of Philip Seymour Hoffman prompted me to look back at some of his most memorable work. One of his films that I’ve always wanted to delve more deeply into is Synecdoche, New York, Charlie Kaufman’s meditation on mortality and creativity. While I admired much about what the film is trying to do and say – and Hoffman is tremendous in it – I found that even after repeated viewings, many of the film’s meanings and themes eluded me (despite already having recorded a lengthy podcast episode on the topic 4 years ago)....

Watch The Hilarious Story Of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Scrapped ‘Predator’ Role By Russ Fischer/April 8, 2014 3:00 pm EST You may know that Jean-Claude Van Damme originally had a faceless but significant part in John McTiernan’s Predator. Specifically, he was going to be the guy in the Predator suit, back before the alien design we all know and love was totally finalized. In fact, Van Damme spent a couple days running around doing tests in a lobster-like costume and feeling pretty pissed-off about the fact that his martial arts skills were going to waste....

‘Blended’ Trailer: Adam Sandler And Drew Barrymore Head On African Safari By Germain Lussier/Dec. 17, 2013 5:03 pm EST First was The Wedding Singer, then 50 First Dates, now Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore team up once again for another Hollywood romantic comedy. This one is called Blended and it’s scheduled for release May 23. Directed by frequent Sandler collaborator Frank Coraci, Blended tells the story of two people who go on a terrible blind date, then find themselves on vacation together on African safari....

‘Blue Caprice’ Trailer: Beltway Snipers Get The Spotlight In Sundance Drama By Angie Han/Aug. 15, 2013 12:30 pm EST Eleven years after the Beltway sniper attacks in 2002, first-time feature director Alexandre Moors revisits the horrific episode from the perspective of the killers in Blue Caprice. The haunting indie drama drew raves at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, and now it’s headed for a theatrical and VOD release next month. Watch the first trailer after the jump....

‘Frozen’ Sequels Are Coming Next Year, But Not To Theaters By Angie Han/Aug. 11, 2014 9:15 am EST Disney’s box office juggernaut Frozen is finally getting a follow-up, but not in the form you’d expect. Random House has announced that it will release a series of Frozen sequel books, with the first two entries set to hit shelves in 2015. Hit the jump for all the details. Barbara Marcus, president of Random House’s children’s division, compares the Frozen sequel series to the Disney Never Girls series which launched last year....

‘Magic Magic’ Trailer: Michael Cera Drives Juno Temple Nuts By Angie Han/June 11, 2013 9:00 am EST Since breaking out on Arrested Development a decade ago, Michael Cera has gotten a lot of flack for his tendency to stick to the George-Michael Bluth type — awkward, timid, but fundamentally sweet. But just as George-Michael has matured into a more confident, independent young man in the new fourth season of the series, Cera’s started to branch out into darker, stranger material....

‘Saving Mr. Banks’ Writer Kelly Marcel To Script ‘Fifty Shades Of Grey’ By Angie Han/Oct. 8, 2012 1:30 pm EST Despite its humble origins as a bit of Twilight fanfiction, E.L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey is picking up some interesting talent on its road to the big screen. The Social Network producers Michael De Luca and Dana Brunetti signed on back in July, and have been looking for a writer to adapt the erotic novel ever since....

‘The Leftovers’ Trailer: The Rapture Instantly Transforms Middle America By Russ Fischer/April 28, 2014 11:30 am EST Writer/producer Damon Lindelof returns to TV — or, excuse me, to HBO — with the upcoming show The Leftovers. Based on the 2011 novel by Tom Perotta and directed by Peter Berg, the pilot of The Leftovers begins to explore the aftermath of a society that loses a small percentage of its population overnight....

‘Walk Of Shame’ Trailer By Peter Sciretta/Jan. 16, 2014 6:00 am EST Little Nicky/Drillbit Taylor writer/director Steven Brill’s new comedy Walk of Shame stars Elizabeth Banks as “a high-strung news anchor who, after a wild night out, finds herself locked out on the street with no phone, money, ID or car, and embarks on a series of misadventures as she finds her way to the most important job interview of her life....

Bradley Cooper To Star In ‘Chef’ (But Not Jon Favreau’s ‘Chef’) By Russ Fischer/May 15, 2013 12:37 pm EST There’s a showdown brewing in the kitchen. Years ago, David Fincher was attached to direct a film called Chef. His version never happened, but John Wells, whose film adaptation of Osage: Orange County just debuted a trailer, is going to make the movie from the script by Steven Knight. The Weinstein Company is behind the film, and they’ve just landed Bradley Cooper as the star....

Cool Stuff: A Working Life-Size ‘TRON’ Light Cycle Replica By Germain Lussier/Dec. 2, 2010 3:00 pm EST Okay, this is so frigging cool. Parker Brothers Choppers in Florida have made ten working, life size Light Cycles just like the ones in TRON: Legacy. They don’t leave a trail of light or anything like that, and it doesn’t look like they can actually turn, but they’re tangible and not on The Grid so that’s good enough for us....

Donal Logue Goes To ‘Gotham’ After All By Russ Fischer/Feb. 12, 2014 9:42 am EST Briefly: A few weeks ago there was a rumor that Donal Logue (Terriers, Sons of Anarchy) was the pick to play James Gordon in Fox’s Batman prequel TV series Gotham. Logue denied the report, and in the end Ben McKenzie was tapped to play the future commissioner of police. Then the rumor report changed, saying that Logue was actually offered a part other than Gordon: Detective Harvey Bullock....

First Look: Tom Hanks As Walt Disney In ‘Saving Mr. Banks’ By Germain Lussier/Nov. 6, 2012 1:00 pm EST IMAGE REMOVED When filming a major Hollywood movie at one of the busiest locations on the planet, a photo or two is bound to leak out. That’s just happened with Saving Mr. Banks. Tom Hanks, who plays Walt Disney in the film, has been spotted in character during filming at Disneyland in Anaheim, California....

First Two Images From ‘The Simpsons’ Lego Episode Plus More Details By Germain Lussier/April 17, 2014 11:30 am EST The Simpsons Lego episode airs on May 4 and the first two images have been revealed. [Not that image above, which is of the actual Lego Simpsons toys.] Talking to Entertainment Weekly the two men primarily responsible for the episode, co-executive producer Brian Kelley and executive producer Matt Selman, also revealed the plot, the difficulties in the production, connections with The Lego Movie and more....

By Angie Han/Feb. 19, 2014 12:45 pm EST If Spike Jonze’s Her left you yearning for a virtual Scarlett Johansson of your very own, we have some good news. According to futurist Ray Kurzweil, who spends a lot of time pondering such things, a Samantha-like A.I. could be available as early as 2029. Other aspects of the movie, like the foul-mouthed video game character, could be available even sooner, around 2020....

Kevin Feige Talks ‘Thor’ And ‘Captain America’; New Thor Still And Winter Soldier Concept Art Revealed By Angie Han/May 2, 2013 11:45 am EST It’s easy to forget how insanely ambitious Marvel’s Phase One plan seemed back in 2008, when the first Iron Man movie was all we’d seen so far. But now that the strategy’s turned out to be a smashing success, Marvel’s challenge will be to clear that high bar again in Phase Two....

Must See: ‘Breaking Bad’ Cameraman Releases Behind-The-Scenes Photos By Germain Lussier/Oct. 16, 2013 12:30 pm EST Like Anthony Hopkins said, the level of quality maintained over five seasons of Breaking Bad was “awesome.” This is on every level: acting, writing, directing, cinematography, production design, costumes, effects. However, over the course of five seasons, the actors, writers and directors got most of the accolades. Those people, such as Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, and Vince Gilligan, would be the first to tell you it’s impossible to have such a great show without talented people in every position....

New ‘Transformers: Age Of Extinction’ Images Feature Cars And Claws By Russ Fischer/Nov. 27, 2013 10:42 pm EST The real promo push for Transformers: Age of Extinction has started, even though the movie doesn’t open until June of next year. Empire recently debuted a cover featuring the new Optimus Prime and humans Mark Wahlberg, Jack Reynor, and Nicola Peltz. Now some other scans have come online. The best shot is the one above, in which Michael Bay menaces Peltz not with a green pitchfork, but with a stand-in for a robot arm....

Page 2: Kevin Smith, Sirius And XM, Sunshine Cleaning, Scarlett Johansson, Academy Awards And More By Peter Sciretta/Feb. 20, 2007 5:30 am EST I never thought I’d see the day when they would have a college class to study Kevin Smith’s films. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, I’d take it — Hell, I could teach it: CA 520J – Films of Kevin Smith (1 credit hour) This course will examine the films of prolific Indy film director Kevin Smith....

Page 2: Pee Wee Herman, Monsters Inc, Steve Buscemi, Beavis And Butthead, Sandra Bullock, Snooki, J. Edgar, Will Ferrell, Zombies, Diablo Cody, Star Wars, Joel McHale By Peter Sciretta/Oct. 27, 2011 12:00 pm EST Header Photo: Darth Vader and Pee Wee Herman discuss plans to take over the world at the Scream Awards ArcLight Cinemas will launch a documentary festival next month in Hollywood. Check out the new poster for We Need to Talk About Kevin....