Skip to main content

Extended Trailer for 'Green Lantern' is Online!

By Jacob Hall (Subscribe to Jacob Hall's posts), Posted Apr 2nd 2011 6:40PM
Filed under: Movie News, Video, Cinematical
With a summer season looking to be stuffed to the bursting point with geeky goodness, 'Green Lantern' often feels dangerously close to being lost in the shuffle. Aside from the controversial costume reveal and a now 5-month-old trailer, things have been pretty quiet on Warner Bros.' end. After all, 'Thor' just debuted its 857th poster -- where is 'Green Lantern'?

In a move that feels like a very loud "You want some 'Green Lantern'? Here's some 'Green Lantern'!", a slightly shorter version of the 'Green Lantern' footage that recently played at WonderCon has made its way to Apple Trailers for your viewing pleasure. Whether you like what's on display here or not, it's obvious from the get-go that this movie has something that most of this summer's releases seem to lack: a truly epic sense of scope.

Click that link to check it out! Read
Continue Reading

Will You Pay $30 to Watch 'Just Go With It' At Home Before It Hits DVD?

By Jacob Hall (Subscribe to Jacob Hall's posts), Posted Mar 31st 2011 7:15PM
Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical
The past decade has seen the window between a film's theatrical release and home video release shrink rapidly, with most films hitting retail shelves mere months after their premieres. It would be impossible to nail down a single, direct cause for this, but there are a number of contributing factors, chief among them Netflix and Redbox, which have made skipping the theater experience easy and convenient.

Well, the times, they are a'changin,' and after so many years of fierce resistance several major studios look ready to move into this brave new world. Variety reports that Warner Bros., Sony, Universal and 20th Century Fox are teaming up to launch Home Premiere, which will act as "the industry's official brand" for on-demand movie releases.

Here's how it would work in a nutshell: Home Premiere will launch via DirecTV (and eventually other providers) and will allow customers to watch movies a scant two months after their release for $30 a pop, with the Liam Neeson action film 'Unknown' and the Adam Sandler comedy 'Just Go With It' being the first films available when the service launches next month. Read
Continue Reading

How Maurice Sendak Almost Illustrated 'The Hobbit'

By Jacob Hall (Subscribe to Jacob Hall's posts), Posted Mar 28th 2011 2:10PM
Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical


The problem with the "What If?" game is that it always ends in frustration and sadness. For all of the temporary joy you get out of imagining an unwritten novel or an unfinished film, the realization that it's never going to happen is a nice little slap in the face. For fans of fine illustration and fantasy geeks, the L.A. Times has a piece about one particular "What If?" that belongs in the pantheon of great projects that never came to be: an illustrated adaptation of JRR Tolkien's 'The Hobbit' by 'Where the Wild Things Are' artist Maurice Sendak.

The piece, written by fantasy artist Tony DiTerlizzi, goes into great detail about how this project almost happened, but here are the broad strokes:

The year is 1967 and 'The Hobbit' and 'The Lord of the Rings' are going through a major resurgence thanks to a paperback release. Tolkien, now 75 years old, continues to oversee every aspect of his literary empire. The American publisher hires Sendak to create an illustrated children's book adaptation of 'The Hobbit,' but Tolkien has the final say on whether or not the book happens. Some knucklehead mislabels Sendak's illustrations, so the one featuring hobbits is says "elves" and vice versa. Tolkien is furious and thinks Sendak didn't actually read his work. The publisher tries to straighten everything out, but Sendak has a heart attack and goes to a hospital for an extended period to avoid, you know, death. The project never happens. Read
Continue Reading

'Black Swan' Ballerina Controversy: Where Do You Stand? (Updated)

By Jacob Hall (Subscribe to Jacob Hall's posts), Posted Mar 28th 2011 11:50AM
Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical
Update: 'Black Swan' director Darren Aronofsky has responded with comments. See what he has to say about this whole mess after the jump ...

If you happen to be one of those people who read things about movies on the Internet -- and since you're reading this, it's safe to assume that you are one of those people -- you've surely heard about the entire 'Black Swan' controversy by now. For those of you who may have missed the news, here's what you need to know to catch up.

Entertainment Weekly broke the story: Ballerina Sarah Lane has gone on something of a warpath, claiming that she did most of the dancing for Natalie Portman's role and that the Oscar-winning actress only danced in close-ups, leaving her to do all but 5 percent of the major dance sequences (which saw Portman's head digitally grafted onto her body). Naturally, Ms. Lane thinks she deserves due credit, since many people (including Portman's choreographer fiancee) have emphasized Portman's dancing contributions.

And that's where a potential debate can begin. ReadRead
Continue Reading

New 'Narnia' Film Being Planned -- 'The Magician's Nephew'

By Jacob Hall (Subscribe to Jacob Hall's posts), Posted Mar 23rd 2011 11:35AM
Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical
This may very well be the first and last time that The Christian Post breaks the news regarding the latest entry in a series of blockbuster fantasy films, but that's not too unexpected when you're dealing with the 'Chronicles of Narnia' series, which wears its religious influence on its sleeve.

Despite inconsistent box office and mixed critical reaction, Walden Media and Fox seem dead-set on filming all seven books in C.S. Lewis's 'Narnia' series. Although 'The Silver Chair' is technically the next chronological entry in the series, Walden Media co-founder and president Michael Flaherty told The Christian Post that they'll be taking on 'The Magician's Nephew' next, a prequel story and the sixth book published. As Flaherty himself says:

"We are starting to talk to Fox and talk to the C.S. Lewis estate now about the Magician's Nephew being our next film ... If we can all agree to move forward, then what we would do is find someone to write the script. So, it could still be a couple of years."

ReadRead
Continue Reading

David O. Russell Ready for 'Fighter' Sequel

By Jacob Hall (Subscribe to Jacob Hall's posts), Posted Mar 22nd 2011 6:00PM
Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical
It may be redundant to heap further praise on a movie that was recently nominated for seven Academy Awards, won two and turned out to be a crowd pleasing hit at the box office, but David O. Russell's 'The Fighter' truly is a wonderful little movie, taking what should be, by all accounts, a retread of every rags-to-riches cliche ever burnt onto celluloid but instilling them with heart, humor and personality. It's a rarity: a warm, powerful movie that never wears any grand artistic intentions on its sleeve and wins the audience over by the sheer force of its characters and story.

But does it need a sequel? Star Mark Wahlberg thought so and now director David O. Russell has joined him. Here's what he told MTV:

"I think that would be awesome ... I just love those characters and I think we could do a lot of fun and interesting stuff."
Continue Reading

Watch the 'Harry Potter' Kids Shoot Their Final Scene (Video)

By Jacob Hall (Subscribe to Jacob Hall's posts), Posted Mar 22nd 2011 2:25PM
Filed under: Movie News, Video, Cinematical
After ten years and eight films, principal photography on the 'Harry Potter' film series is over and done with. What was the final scene shot for Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, who have literally grown up before our very eyes on film? Was it part of the final, epic showdown with Lord Voldemort and his forces? Was it a quiet, emotional and introspective scene? Maybe even that infamous epilogue that still divides fans?

Nah. It's the three of them running in front of a green screen and jumping off camera onto a mattress. Luckily, cameras were on hand to capture this pivotal moment from behind the scenes.

You don't schedule a film shoot based on what would be the most fitting or dramatic scene to end production on. You schedule a film shoot based on convenience, time and money, meaning that the long journey for this trio of actors ended on a large, crowded soundstage, with them battling obvious exhaustion and pretending that they were in some sort of exotic fantasy location. Movie magic!

Check out the video after the jump. Read
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Hot Topics

From Our Partners