If you've noticed a problem with modern movie trailers, you aren't alone. Now You See It has created a nice video essay that takes a quick pass through trailer history to arrive where we are now, where techniques that were once groundbreaking have become boring and stale.
What are some of your favorite non-traditional trailers?
Legendary composer Ennio Morricone's score for The Hateful Eight almost strikes me more as a horror score than something you'd normally hear in a western. But it totally works for the movie, and it was one of the few Oscar nominations the film garnered this morning. Considering how Morricone just won a Golden Globe for best score, chances are high that the 87-year-old could take home the Oscar in the same category next month. He's been awarded an Honorary Oscar before, but never won one in a competitive situation, and The Academy loves to bestow the top prize to older contenders in a sort of "late lifetime achievement" scenario.
A new video has emerged of writer/director Quentin Tarantino introducing Morricone, who conducts the Czech Symphony Orchestra as QT and star Kurt Russell watch from a distance. It's a short video, but worth checking out if you're a fan of Morricone's or The Hateful Eight.
Via: Vanity Fair
I watched Michael Bay's 13 Hours last night and saw a trailer for a new mysterious new J.J. Abrams produced film called 10 Cloverfield Lane. This, my friends, is a sequel to the 2008 movie Cloverfield, only it looks a hell of a lot more intriguing. The news was offically confirmed by Abrams himself. He told Collider:
“The idea came up a long time ago during production. We wanted to make it a blood relative of Cloverfield. The idea was developed over time. We wanted to hold back the title for as long as possible.”
The movie was directed by short film director Dan Trachtenberg, and it has a great cast that includes Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman, and John Gallagher, Jr. In an interview with the outlet, Winstead offered some information on the film, explaining that her character wakes up in a cellar where she’s being kept by a stranger, played by Goodman.
“He tells me that basically the world is over outside because there’s been a nuclear fall-out... you don’t know who’s telling the truth or who to believe. There’s a lot of, who’s manipulating who, and all of that. Tonally, it’s very different, but it has some of those same themes.”
There are still a lot of mysteries surrounding the movie, but I loved what I saw in this trailer, and I was completely drawn in. The movie is set to be released on March 11th, 2016. The trailer is in bootleg form, but the clarity is pretty damn good. I think you're going to enjoy this. It looks intense as hell!
While talking to the Toronto Sun, Wonder Woman star Chris Pine talked about the Patty Jenkins-directed superhero movie and offered some insight into the character he plays, Steve Trevor.
Pine will play the love interest of the Amazoninan princess heroine, who will find himself being saved by her. Pine also offered some details on his character:
“Steve Trevor is a roguish, cynical realist who’s seen the awful brutish nature of modern civilization. He’s a worldly guy, a charming guy and it’s going to be a great, fun film. There are some incredibly deep, interesting and morally relevant themes."
There's no doubt Pine fits the role perfectly. He also confirmed that the movie is set in World War I and praised the director for the work that she's doing on the film:
“Patty is just directing the daylights out of it. It’s shot beautifully feels so wonderfully period, but also has this wonderful pop sensibility.”
He went to talk about the lengths that the filmmaking team is going to to make sure all the details are accurate and that everything they do will look great visually:
“It’s a period we don’t see often; it’s usually World War II. Our costume design is incredible. We have scenes with, like, 500 extras all in period dress. I’d never been on a film with extras casting as beautifully done as it is here.
“It highlights a really important point. When background casting is done well, it can make or break a scene. I’ve got people in deep background that have entire lives. It’s awesome, it’s actual make-believe land.”
I'm excited that they actually set this movie in the early 1900s. This is going to be very different from any other comic book film that we've seen so far. We'll just have to wait until June 2017 to be able to watch it!
The Legend of Wonder Woman #1
Written and Drawn by: Renae De Liz | Inks and Colors by: Ray Dillon
In a lot of ways, Wonder Woman is a pure presence. Strong and fierce, her mix of power and grace is not easily matched. Unlike her DC trinity counterparts, however, there hasn't been a bevy of time devoted to her younger days. The Legend of Wonder Woman, by writer and artist Renae De Liz and inker and colorist Ray Dillon, attempts to put a light on this often lost time, with mostly positive results.
Immediately noticeable is the charming artwork on display. Bright and lush colors on ultra crisp lines serve the setting well. Even the gutters on the book are tied into the mythic theme, with cloud wisps swirling around the panels.
While there aren't changes across the board, I did feel some subtle changes to the origin story I'd seen before, but that isn't a bad thing. In fact, I feel like I could hand this book to just about anyone looking to get into the character and they would be pretty much up to speed. It takes place in the world of Greek myths, without suffering from over-saturation. The myths provide a setting and a sense of history without being a crutch. That said, I did feel as if this was the most flawed I've seen Hippolyta portrayed. Typically she is presented as the ultimate Amazon, with the strictest of codes. Here she is presented as a fine ruler, but with such an unfulfilled longing for a child that it costs some of her sisters their lives. Whether you appreciate this take on the character is quite subjective, but I think I prefer the more human elements presented here than in past takes.
A few other things of note before we end. The team introduces an aspect of Diana that I really hope gets explored further. Since she came from the Earth (clay specifically), it seems she has a weird sort of connection with it, which comes into play later in the story. This was something I never really thought of before, but it makes complete sense. Other than than, I have to say Alcippe made quite an impression on me, and definitely will serve as inspiration for Diana in the days ahead.
I enjoyed this book a great deal, and whether or not you felt that Wonder Woman needed a retelling of her origin, this one is off to a good start.
20th Century Fox has picked up the right to the graphic novel Sexcastle from Image Comics. The property was created by Kyle Starks, and the studio has brought on Captain America: Civil War directors Joe and Anthony Russo to produce it. This is their first post-Marvel film project, and they will be helping develop it as they prepare for Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 and Part 2.
The film itself will be directed by Kyle Newacheck, who is behind the Comedy Central show Workaholics. The story is a throwback to the classic '80s action movies that many of us grew up on, and it tells the story of a former assassin named Shane Sexcastle who is pulled back into the deadly profession. The character will be played by Blake Anderson, who is also from Workaholics. Here's the official description from Image:
The Former World's Greatest Assassin leaves the world of killing to a small town only to be pulled back in. An exciting action romp in the style of classic '80s Action Film.
“SEXCASTLE is a perfect mix of homage and comedy, action and irony, loving tribute and hilarious send-up of the great, good, and ungodly-bad action movies of the ‘80s. I don’t remember the last time a debut book hit me this hard. Literally, this book punched me in the face. It’s THAT mean.”
With the people who are involved with bringing this comic to life on the big screen, it has the potential to be a solidly funny, action-packed movie.
Source: Deadline
"How to Cope With Death" might be an older animated short that came out in 2009, but until recently, I had never seen it. The short was created by Ignacio Ferreras, and it’s wonderfully badass in every way.
Death, the Grim Reaper, will fall foul of an old lady that appears ripe for the harvest. But the exterior can be deceiving and this is an old woman who knows how they must deal with death.
The animation is beautiful and fluid, and if you’ve never seen this before, you’re in for a real treat! When death comes for me in the end, this is exactly how I’m going to handle it.
Last summer a rumor spread like wildfire online that Darth Vader would be in director Gareth Edwards' Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. This is a believable rumor because he plays a major role in the development of the Death Star, and the movie is about a band of resistance fighters embark on a mission to steal the plans for the weapon of mass destruction. When the rumor first hit, these were the details that came along with it:
[Vader] will not be the main antagonist but he will be working behind the scenes, pulling strings and will appear onscreen. Literally, I'm told - he'll be showing up via viewscreen or holo projection or something. Will our heroes actually run into the Dark Lord of the Sith in person? My source wouldn't say. My source was also mum about Grand Moff Tarkin, who was of course the commander of the fully operational Death Star.
We now have some additional details on this character and how he will factor into the film, thanks to Making Star Wars. They say that he will be a "prominent player in a few scenes and something to fear for the heroes. If it amounts to a few shots or a few sequences is still up in the air. It certainly does paint the picture that Darth Vader chasing the stolen plans at the start of A New Hope is simply a continuation of the events from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story."
They go on to reveal that the Darth Vader costume that we were first introduced to in A New Hope has been "meticulously recreated to match A New Hope perfectly." The best part is... they say that James Earl Jones will be reprising his role! I hope this is true because it would be amazing! He did it for Star Wars Rebels! Why wouldn't he do it for a new Star Wars film?
It'd be so cool to see Darth Vader back on the big screen in all his villainous glory. He may not have a lead role in the story, but maybe we'll at least get to see him Force choke some people again.
It’s been confirmed that the upcoming Jumanji remake will be helmed by the guy who also directed Sex Tape — Jake Kasdan.
Kasdan’s career sways smoothly between movies, including Zero Effect, Friends with Kids, and Bad Teacher, and sitcom TV series such as New Girl, Californication, Ben and Kate, Fresh off the Boat, and others.
At first blush, I wouldn’t really say that he looks like the perfect match for Jumanji (taking into consideration his filmography which consists of more comedic productions), but maybe the idea of him directing the remake will grow on me.
Jumanji is set to hit the big screens on December 25th, 2016.
Deadpool fans rejoiced when the upcoming Tim Miller and Ryan Reynold’s film was given a R-rating by the MPAA. The movie is rated R for "strong violence and language throughout, sexual content and graphic nudity.” Now there is a petition to get a PG-13 rating for the film so that an 8-year-old boy named Matthew can see it.
Let me make this very clear, and I know every Deadpool fan already knows this, but Deadpool is not a character for kids. Deadpool is violent, vulgar, and a freakin’ killer. Deadpool may have a childlike wonder and silliness about him, but he's definitely not a character who was created or targeted to kids like little Matthew.
Even if the movie were PG-13. it still technically wouldn't be appropriate for an 8-year-old kid. Deadpool is still going to be an inappropriate murdering anti-hero in a PG-13 film. So if the parent is ok with having their son watch a movie about a hilarious psychopath like Deadpool in a PG-13 movie, then they might as well take him to the R-rated version and cover his eyes when the graphic nudity pops up.
I’m sorry if I’m being so insensitive about this, but I have kids of my own who want to see Deadpool, but there’s no way in hell I’ll be taking them to see it! They'll have to wait until they're older to watch this one, and I’m not going to put the studio in a situation to cater to my kids because again… this is not a kids movie! Even if it were PG-13 I probably wouldn’t take them to see it, because it’s freakin’ Deadpool, and I know the kind of f**ked up person that Deadpool is.
No. I will not support this petition because I think it’s absurd. If you want to support it, though, here’s the link. I also included a video that was made for the petition below, which is ridiculous. These people obviously don't know Deadpool.
There’s no such thing as a PG-13 Deadpool!
It's the most slept on hit of 2015. Bigger than Making A Murderer, Jessica Jones, and Orange Is The New Black. No joke, Mentalfloss tells us the film Oscillating Fan For Your Home is one of Netflix's hottest shows at the moment. I guess in the Nick Offerman sipping whiskey in front of a fire craze this one slipped off the radar for me. Here's the synopsis...
This summer, beat the heat with a neat treat — a fan that literally provides no breeze whatsoever! Invite the rustic charm of a traditional oscillating fan into your home. Let its gentle rhythmic oscillations soothe you through the season, as the hum of the electronic din provides a backdrop for all manner of family fun. Premieres December 23, only on Netflix.
It even has a trailer, which gives the Yule Log a run for its money! Every day I'm amazed at the ridiculous things we make trendy. Guess I have yet another thing on my list to binge watch!
To this day, there has not been a game show that has topped Nickelodeon in the 90s. They had GUTS, Family Double Dare, and Nick Arcade, but none of them reached quite the level of awesomeness that was Legends of The Hidden Temple. What wasn't to love? You had a giant head named Olmec quizzing you on history while you battled against other children for supremacy and a shot to enter "the temple."
Get in and out of the temple in 90 seconds (which was nothing short of a miracle) and you won a cruise for your family. Of course, it wasn't that easy. You could be kidnapped by temple guards who could only be stopped by pendents, and you had to solve super tough puzzles that most adults may not be able to solve, let alone kids! It was a show so inspiring that I have a Purple Parrots t-shirt in my closet right now.
In the video below, former host Kirk Fogg tells us some of the lesser known facts about the show we didn't care about back then. I wish I could've been on the show. No doubt I would've walked away with at least two Huffy bikes...
Marvel has always had a good amount of comedy in their movies. I like that they aren’t completely dark and serious films. Captain America: Civil War might look like it could be a pretty heavy and dramatic film, but according to directors Joe and Anthony Russo, it’s actually going to be more comedic that The Winter Soldier. Talking to Collider, they explained why there will be more comedy:
“Of course, Winter Soldier was a political thriller. We think of Civil War as a psychological thriller. It’s a complicated movie. And yes, it divides these people that you’ve known to not only be a team, but Cap and Natasha, in this movie, they’re evolving into a surrogate family for each other. So, it’s a closer group of people that’s being divided. That’s a difficult thing to do.
“There’s a good portion of [Civil War] that’s actually funnier than Winter Soldier, because there are characters in that film, that come from worlds where the tone is more comedic. Not all the characters in that movie have the same history as the Avengers. They’re coming at the problem of the film, not embedded with that baggage.
“They’re not tied to the central arc of the movie with the same motivation as the other characters, so they can be lighter. I think there are a lot lighter moments because there are much darker moments as well. We did have to work very hard at that.”
Two of the characters he’s obviously referring to here are Spider-Man and Ant-Man. These characters have the personality to really lighten things up no matter how dark it gets. I’m excited to see just exactly how these characters will be utilized in the movie, which opens up in theaters on May 6th, 2016.
I know some of you were waiting for a Kylo Ren costume hoodie so that you can show your love for the hot-tempered, father-murdering bastard. It's the perfect hoodie for you to wear whenever you get into an argument with your parents, just don't tap into the characters psyche too much!
Created in the image of Adam Driver's character from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the 100% polyester Star Wars Force Awakens Kylo Ren Costume Hoodie will help you rock out to Dio. He has a song about this master of the Dark Side, right? Wait, that's Holy Diver. You could see how became mistaken, right? Great for looking like the new baddie from JJ Abrams movie, the Star Wars Force Awakens Kylo Ren Costume Hoodie is the first step in your path down the new-NEW Dark Side and giving Han Solo a big ol' hug. Plus, it has this sweet faux-cloak thing going on so...you're welcome.
The hoodie will cost you $69.99, and if you want to buy one, click here.
A new Flash Gordon film has been in and out of development for several years. It's a movie I'd love to see happen, as I think it could be a huge sweeping sci-fi epic. The last thing we heard about the movie is that Kingsman: The Secret Service director Matthew Vaughn was in talks to direct, and it sounds like he's attached to the project.
According to AICN, 20th Century Fox has hired Thor screenwriter Mark Protosevich to write the script for Vaughn. They go on to say that "this will not be like any version of Flash Gordon we've seen on film before."
I'm a huge fan of Flash Gordon, and I'm completely excited for the prospect of what this movie could be. I would absolutely love it if captured the amazing tone and style of artist Alex Raymond, who is the creator of Flash Gordon.
It was previously rumored that this new movie could serve as a sequel to the classic 1980 film. That information originated from original Flash Gordon movie star Sam J. Jones, and you can read all about it here.
Protosevich isn't the only writer who has been attached to this project. Star Trek 3 writers JD Payne and Patrick McKay came on board last year, but I guess that didn't quite work out. Protosevich has also worked on films such as The Cell, Poseidon, I Am Legend, and the Oldboy remake.
Hopefully, Fox is finally able to push Flash Gordon into production. With Vaughn on board, I know fans will get something awesome.
Grumpy Old Bastard creations has been having a day on Facebook. His Pokemon Gijinka (humanized) warrior sketches for cosplay have gone viral on the web, and the community is loving it! As someone who appreciates, but doesn't participate in cosplay, I would love to see any of the below gallery imitated by someone at an upcoming convention. I especially like the mixture of designs ranging from European medieval armor to traditional Japanese shogun stuff.
Could you see yourself making any of these? By the way, if you do, totally email your results to me so I can throw them up on the website!
So the Russo Brothers went viral a couple days back when it was released they made a statement at New Orleans Comic Con that there would be 67 total Marvel heroes in Avengers: Infinity War. The statement spread quickly with good reason, as 67 is way more Marvel heroes than we've seen in the cinematic universe...and still a high number if you add live action television!
Well, it turns out that news was wrong. ComicBook says the Russos spoke at a special IMAX screening of Captain America:The Winter Soldier and said that 67 was just a "figure." They did assure fans in attendance, however, that there would be a lot of heroes in the film!
“Infinity War is meant to be the culmination of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe up to that point...It’s very ambitious in its scope, it wants to take everything that you’ve seen before and coalesce into some kinda of climactic ending. It’s complicated , ambitious storytelling…We’re not talking about lead characters, just people that make an appearance.”
Just to revisit the miscommunication, the Russos did say 67 originally, and now are correcting themselves. It seems weird to throw out such a specific number when you really have no idea...do you think they really were being hyperbolic...or perhaps let a little too much out of the bag?
NASA is trying to turn the traditional way we design robots upside down. No wheels or legs, just an amorphous gelatin-filled blob. They would slither and roll across terrain, moving with more ease than its traditional counterpart! The idea is an ingenious adaptation for space exploration, as you can't really do anything if your Mars rover lands a wheel in a pothole and can't roll out.
On a more practical level, these robots would be ideal for disaster situations around the world. Rescue bots could slither into hard to reach places and through rubble to search for survivors.
The video below, which I first saw via TechCrunch, is really cool. Never in a million years would I have imagined robots could one day look like this, and it seems NASA is deeming this the future of space exploration. Hell, I want one just to go under my house and do plumbing work.
Paramount Pictures has released the first poster for Bad Robot's new film 10 Cloverfield Lane. This is the same project that's been referred to at various times as The Cellar and Valencia throughout its development, which centers on a young woman (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) trapped in an underground bunker. Dan Trachtenberg is directing, and J.J. Abrams is producing. You can (and should) watch the first trailer right here.
We'd never heard anything before about this project being associated with Matt Reeves' 2008 film Cloverfield, so I'm going to speculate for a second: I wonder if this movie maybe wasn't testing as well as Bad Robot hoped, so they decided to market it as a Cloverfield sequel in order to drum up more interest. If so, it worked: I was interested in the movie before, but I'm certainly more excited about it knowing that it has Cloverfield in the title, and I'm excited to see whether there's actually a direct connection to that movie, or if, as Abrams himself has said, it's simply a "blood relative" to the original. I've seen a lot of speculation that the word Cloverfield (which comes from the Santa Monica street on which the Bad Robot offices are located) could simply be Bad Robot's umbrella title for low-budget mystery projects, so the alien from Cloverfield might not be what Winstead's character sees outside.
The tagline — "monsters come in many forms" — may be a gentle way of setting expectations early that we won't see the alien from the first movie, but if that's the case, I can imagine a lot of people being disappointed. The way the trailer displays the title certainly indicates that Bad Robot and Paramount are absolutely trying to play up the connection between the two, so it remains to be seen how it'll all play out.
Either way, I haven't felt that sense of confusion and excitement in a long time, and it's cool that Abrams and his team are still able to organize last-second surprises even for people who have been following the development of all of Bad Robot's projects for years. One final thing worth noting: Whiplash writer/director Damien Chazelle has a co-writing credit on 10 Cloverfield Lane, and back when it was called Valencia, he wasn't mentioned in any of the press releases. I wonder if he's the guy they brought in to create the connective tissue between what was originally just slated to be a normal movie and the 2008 hand-held disaster film.
I hope there are a bunch of movies that take place in that same world, telling different stories about different people reacting across the world to the events in New York. I remember hearing after the first one came out that there might be a sequel involving another group of people running through New York with their own hand-held camera, and they might briefly pass Rob, Hud, Marlena, and the rest of the crew without really interacting with them. I thought that would be a cool way to make a sequel, but this (if it actually does take place in the same world after those events occur) looks even better.
With an appearance in only one movie, BB-8 has already become one of the most beloved characters in the entire Star Wars saga. It's easy to see why: the lovable little droid is brave, clever, and has a killer sense of humor.
Now you can utilize your own BB-8 to shine a light — the light side of the Force, even — into your bedroom or office. ThinkGeek has a cool BB-8-themed desktop lamp for sale. This officially licensed product has three different lighting modes, which you can read about in the official description below. If you're interested in picking one up, click here.
He doubles as a projector, a fire extinguisher, a navigator, and a power coupler. We know all the things that R2-D2 does, but we don't yet know all the things BB-8 can do, having just been introduced. Maybe BB-8 also doubles as a lamp in a sticky situation. We just don't know.
But it definitely can double as a lamp for you. This BB-8 Desktop Lamp stands 8 1/2" tall and casts light on your subject of choice, whether that's astronavigation or algebra. It has LED light inside the head, which shines downward through a diffuser. A gentle tap on BB-8's head switches between three different lighting modes: natural white, amber, and warm white. And off. Also a good mode when you need to go to sleep.
