Joss Whedon's The Avengers, was in mind, the most entertaining movie of the year. It was such a cool looking film, and all those cool scenes that we saw in the film started in the form of concept and key art. You've got to check out this series of keyframe illustrations that were done for the film by Andy Park, and as you can see they are all pretty awesome! The art features several of the main characters including Thanos, Iron Man, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Loki and more in some familiar scenes.

Check out this really cool video from Stan Winston Studios of the T-Rex sculpture being made for Jurassic Park. I remember seeing this epic adventure in 1993 and loving it. The excitement of dinosaurs jumped to gigantic proportions, with kids being super excited to learn about the time when these creatures roamed the earth. 

When Steven Spielberg enlisted Stan Winston to handle the full-size dinosaur duties for JURASSIC PARK, he based his faith in Winston — and, indeed, in the very idea of building full-size mechanical dinosaurs — on the alien queen in ALIENS. “Steven figured that if we could build a fourteen-foot-tall alien queen, we’d be able to build a twenty-foot-tall T-rex,” Winston explained.

“But that was a somewhat naïve assumption on Steven's part. There was a big difference between building that alien queen and building a full-size dinosaur,” continued Winston. “The queen was exoskeletal, so all of its surfaces were hard. There were no muscles, no flesh, and there was no real weight to it. The alien queen also didn’t have to look like a real, organic animal because it was a fictional character — so there was nothing in real life to compare it to. There was just no comparison in the difficulty level of building that alien queen and building a full-size dinosaur.” Even so, when Spielberg asked Winston if he could build a full-size dinosaur, Winston didn’t hesitate. “I told him, ‘Yes, absolutely.’ He said, ‘How are you going to do it?’ And I said: ‘I haven’t got a clue. But we’ll figure it out.’”

This video shows some of the cool practical effects created by Steven Spielberg from the film:

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Here is some cool mashup art by storyboard artist Sairobi. Imagine that instead of fighting evil, that S.H.I.E.L.D. is breaking the law as bootlegers during the Prohibition Era. Pretty cool concept, but then I often root for the bad guy and love Boardwalk Empire. Visit her deviantART page to see more of her work. 

Here is a description:

Tony's arc reactor runs on grain alcohol.

Steve punched the Kaiser.

Bruce hasn't been the same since the accident he had while working with Curies.

Thor makes some mean white lightning.

And Loki's the new boss looking to muscle in on Fury's business.

Follow Jim on Twitter and Tumblr

Source: io9 (http://io9.com/5968652/boardwalk-empire-meets-the-avengers-in-prohibition+era-shield-illustrations)

Deviant Art user UkkoRunner created this great custom made action figure of Han Solo as an older man. He basically took one of the Hot Toys collectible action figures, and gave it an old man makeover.

I really hope that we see Han Solo in the next chapter of the Star Wars saga! He's such a great character, and it wouldn't be the same without him. This action figure gives us an idea of what the character might look like. It would be amazing if he was still sporting that outfit as well!  

A couple of months ago it was announced that Zombieland and Gangster Squad director Ruben Fleischer would direct the big screen adaptation of the classic video 1983 video game Spy Hunter. It's a different and interesting project for the director, and I think he'll end up doing something really cool with it.

A film adaptation of this game has been in and out of development for years, and during that time the film has attracted talent such as John Woo, Dwayne Johnson and Paul W.S. Anderson. In the end, I think it ended up in the right hands. Comingsoon had a chance to talk to the director about the film in which he revealed that he wants to turn it into and American James Bond,

We'll see what happens. If I can make any movie, it would be a James Bond movie. I've always loved the genre but I don't think they'll hire an American to direct a James Bond movie, I've been told, so for me, 'Spy Hunter' is an opportunity to create a new spy franchise. It sounds silly but that was my favorite video game when I was a kid and it had a great title and a great theme song, but there's no real other associations that people have with it other than a cool car, so I feel like there's a lot of room for us to invent a new character and a new series. I think just the Spy Hunter that is the most bad-ass spy who hunts down rogue spies is a really cool launch pad for an idea and I hope that we can bring it to life.

It's hard to think that we'll ever see a really cool American style James Bond, but Fleisher can certainly try. He's a really talented director, and I hope he's able to pull off the Spy Hunter movie he wants to do. What do you think of his vision, and do you think he can actually turn it into an American James Bond style franchise? 

The story of the game follows a highly trained spy whose job it is to eliminate rogue agents when they become liabilities to their governments. He travels in the badass G-6155 Interceptor tricked out sports car with an array of weapons that frequently is challenged by enemy vehicles.

Since James Cameron's Avatar Sam Worthington really hasn't made a film worth watching. I can't think of one film I've liked of his since. We now have the first trailer for his Australian surfing drama Drift. The movie was directed by Morgan O’Neill and Ben Nott. The story is set in the 70s and follows two brothers who are trying to work towards and obtain surfing glory, but they slip into a life of crime when they try to get their family out of debt. It looks like a decent film, but that mostly because I'm a fan of surfing and movies set around the sport.

Synopsis:

Australia, 1970s. The Kelly brothers, Andy and Jimmy, have one great passion: riding big waves. As kids, their mother escaped from Sydney to Margaret River, a sleepy coastal town with some of the world’s most challenging and dangerous waves. For the next 12 years, the boys perfected their surfing skills, always searching for the perfect ride. Free-spirited Jimmy is a gifted surfer and innovator but he starts to slip toward a life of crime to help the family out of debt. Andy makes a big decision.

Quitting a stable job, he bets on Jimmy’s surf inventions and his own business skills and launches a backyard surf gear business. They rethink board design, craft homemade wetsuits and sell their merchandise out of their van. Encouraged by their new friends, travelling bohemian surf photographer and filmmaker JB (Sam Worthington) and his gorgeous Hawaiian surfer companion, Lani, who stirs the two brothers’ hearts, they start to seek ways to expand. After they get mixed up with a local drug dealer, it looks like everything they built up, will be ruined…

Set in breathtaking locations and inspired by the true story of Australia’s legendary surfwear moguls, the film chronicles the rise of surf brands and the expansion of the laidback surf attitude as a global lifestyle. A story of passion and corruption, friendship and loyalty, deadly addictions and fractured relationships, DRIFT tells a tale of courage and the will to survive against all odds.

The movie is set to come out sometime in early 2013. 

Source: Twitch (http://twitchfilm.com/2012/12/hell-yeah-finally-the-australian-surf-movie-youve-been-waiting-for-drift-trailer-rides-in.html)

Paramount Pictures has released the first incredible full trailer for Star Trek Into Darkness showing off more action-packed footage! This looks like it's going to be even better than the first Star Trek film J.J. Abrams made. It looks like Benedict Cumberbatch is going to steal the show, he's just so awesomely menacing! Captain Kirk definitely has his work cut out for him this time around. This looks like an incredibly intense and exciting movie! 

In Summer 2013, pioneering director J.J. Abrams will deliver an explosive action thriller that takes Star Trek Into Darkness. When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

Star Trek Into Darkness opens in theaters on May 17th. The movie also stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, ZoeSaldana, Anton Yelchin, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Peter Weller and Alice Eve.

Dead Space 3 is a game that I am warming up to. When I first saw the E3 videos, I was afraid that they were turning the franchise into an action series like Lost Planet and not sticking to their horror roots. Well, my hesitations are subsiding because Visceral Games has been very vocal about the game's new style. They are saying that the co-op is not pushed or needed to experience the total game, it is merely a different way to play.

This latest trailer shows the real horrors when working with a buddy. The game looks to be the craziest and the most frightening game in the series so far. I mean, really, look at those little soldiers! WHY DOES HE SEE THEM? WHY DOES THAT DUDE GET A ZOMBIE FACE? I could feel my skin crawling watching this trailer and I hope that carries over to the final product.

Source: Giant Bomb (http://www.giantbomb.com/whether-played-alone-or-with-a-friend-dead-space-3-is-still-pretty-messed-up-looking/17-6887/)

We still don't know much about Michael Bay's Transformers 4 other than Mark Wahlberg will be playing the father of a high school girl with a race driver boyfriend. There will also be some new robots introduced in the film and one of them might be the epic transforming planet devourer Unicron.

Unleash The Fanboy claims to have gotten their hands on a copy of the script and they claim that Unicron in the main villain, and also reveal a few other details about the script that fans of the franchise might be excited to know about. I think Unicron will be a great villain! I'm surprised he hasn't already been used, but I like that they are finally going to play with this character.

For those of you who don't want to know what this script includes then don't read ahead as it contains some possible spoilers. Here's a description of the script from the site. It definitely sounds like another Bayfest, but it sounds like there's going to be some really cool elements.

The script begins 4 years after DARK OF THE MOON, in the midst of yet another destructive meteor storm. The opening is very much like the other films, with a generic “crisis montage”.  All the major news networks are scrambling to cover the event, fearing that another alien attack is on its way.

Cut to a giant metal space ball, hurtling through the atmosphere, landing right beside Stonehenge. It creates a cylindrical portal and launches an unseen entity into another dimension. As you can imagine, this agitates pretty much everyone, and the Autobots assemble to figure out what the hell is going on.

Eventually we discover that this giant ball is actually a space ship, designed by an ancient Autobot known as Vector Prime. He’s the guardian of Primus, the one being in the universe that can defeat the planet eating Transformer, and main villain, Unicron. So, Optimus and a handful of Autobots have a grand ol’ time hanging out with Vector Prime, trying to locate Primus.

Meanwhile, Unicron’s flunkies, led by Galvatron, attack a super secret government base in Colorado. This place is important for two reasons

1) It houses Decepticon Corpses (including Megatron)

2) It’s the home of a brand new array of Cybertronian-Earth weapons and armor suits. Imagine Iron Man, but sexier and crazier.

Anyway, Galvatron destroys the installation, plugs into the Decepticon bodies in order to download their memories, and in the process he becomes possessed by Megatron. Yeah… that guy’s back in action.

Oh… and when the base is completely destroyed, one human character (Josie/Circuit Breaker) crawls to safety, but in order to survive, she initiates some weird robotic surgery, and transforms herself into a kickass cyborg.

As you’d expect, there are a handful of other human characters tossed into the mix. There’s a Special Ops Sergeant (Beller) who seems perfectly crafted for Mark Wahlberg, a few reckless kids (Beller’s teenage daughter and her race car driving boyfriend) in the style of Shia Labouf and Megan Fox, but sadly no John Turturro cameo.

I don’t want to bore you with the nitty bitty parts of the script, even though there are a fair share of interesting points before it concludes. Here are the bullet points:

• Optimus, Vector Prime, and a handful of Autobouts travel to Mount St. Hellen on the day of its eruption in order to retrieve Primus from Space & Time… or at least I think that’s what they’ve done. Galvatron/Megatron attacks them, revealing himself to Optimus, and craziness unfolds
• They return to the present in order to defend the portal at Stonehenge against Megatron and his Unicron flunkies, in an attempt to survive long enough to ensure Primus’s return
• Josie/Circuit Breaker goes on a wild binge of Transformer murders, unable to distinguish between Autobots and Decepticons because she’s so damn pissed off, having almost been killed.
• Eventually Josie joins forces with the Autobots.
• As the climatic battle unfolds, with Unicron drawing closer to Earth, a group of Dinobots jump through the portal to assist Optimus. Yeah, I said it… DINOBOTS!
• Unicron arrives, transforming the planet into a mechanical sphere reminscent of Cybertron, but he never gets a chance to finish.
• Primus finally makes his debut. He defeats Unicron, kicks that baddie’s soul out of his gigantic metal body, and creates a new planet out of the corpse, perfectly fit for the Autobots.
• In the midst of Unicron’s defeat, Optimus kills Megatron/Galvatron, and all ends well. Kinda. The closing shot reveals Galvatron’s secluded ship, hovering in space, with two bright red eyes shining from within. DUN DUN DUN!

It has yet to be seen if this will end up being better, worse or the same as the last three films. I do hope it ends up being a great Transformers movie, because that's all I've been waiting for from this franchise! When Bay said he was done making them I was excited because it would have been nice to see another director take a shot at the franchise. But I'm still hoping that Bay can still pull off his best Transformers movie yet. 

What do you think of the story details revealed here?

We're going to eventually see a third Expendables film, and when we do we're going to see some new actors join in on the fun. It looks like one of those actors will be Jackie Chan! Of course it makes sense that Chan joins this group of action stars! Chan revealed the news himself at a press conference for his new film CZ12,

Sly had invited me to be in 'Expendables 2' but I was too busy filming 'CZ12' and couldn't make a commitment to the film. But he did extend his invitation to the third movie, which I agreed on the condition that I will be appearing as more than just a minor role with a few scenes.

I think that's fair. If Chan's in the movie give him a really cool part to play! Chan also said that he told Stallone that he hoped the third installment of the franchise would run along the lines of a 'buddy-buddy' movie should Chan be starring in it, and apparently Stallone obliged. The script is currently being developed to meet the criteria. I think this is cool, it will be fun to see him star along side these other big action stars. 

Chan went on to talk about Rush Hour 4, and how he hopes to team up with Chris Tucker again to do it.

The script is currently viewed by Chris Tucker. Personally, I feel that if he were to pick it up, it would be better if we turned it into 'Rush Hour 4,' but I do think that three movies for the franchise is a perfect ending. It would be better to start a new buddy movie with someone new.

The script that is currently being worked on is called Skip Tracer, but that could end up being Rush Hour 4. I guess it all depends on if Tucker signs on to do it or not. 

Chan concludes by saying that CZ12 will be his last big action movie, but he's not quitting movies,

What am I supposed to do if I stop making movies? Which is why, I will make an amendment to my announcement. "CZ12" will be my last big action movie. I won't be able to complete every stunt myself now and will probably relax a bit in that area by using CG effects in the future. But I will never quit movies.

I grew up watching Jackie Chan movies and I've always been a fan of his. Unfortunately, he's made a lot of terrible films in recent years, but I'm looking forward to seeing him in The Expendables 3.

Source: Cinema Online (http://sg.entertainment.yahoo.com/news/expendables-3-jackie-chan-072400081.html)

Two new posters for A Good Day to Die Hard have been unleashed thanks to Total Film. I am excited to see Bruce Willis and Jai Courtney on screen together. The film is directed by John Moore and opens in theaters on February 14th.

Follow Jim on Twitter and Tumblr

Source: TotalFilm (http://www.totalfilm.com/news/a-good-day-to-die-hard-gets-two-new-posters)

It should come as no surprise to us that we wouldn't see Jamie Foxx sporting the classic green and yellow Electro costume in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Here's what the actor had to say in an interview with Blackfilm.com about the costume,

It won’t be green and yellow. It will be a different color. They (the producers) want something for the future. They want to have it more grounded and not as comic bookie, so it won’t be green and yellow. They want to try new things, like a liquid rubber and things like that, and there are all these bolts and stuff in my arms when they are hanging me upside down and trying to figure out what happen. How did he become this way? So, it will be some new stuff.

In the script, this villain is the first time it’s be written well. Andrew Garfield and Marc Webb both commented on how great the script is, so it should be an exciting time.

There's a possibility that the new costume is more influenced by the "Ultimate" version of the character which also didn't feature the green and yellow, but then it could also end up being something completely different. Either way, I'm looking forward to seeing Foxx in the role!

The movie also stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Martin Sheen, Shailene Woodley as Mary Jane Watson and Dane DeHaan as Harry Osborn. The movie will be released on May 2nd, 2014. 

Twentieth Century Fox and director Matt Reeves are in the midst of prepping up for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, but it doesn't look like James Franco is going to be a part of it this time around. Here's what the actor had to say about it in a recent interview with MTV,

I was going to be a small part of the next one. There was a moment when Rupert Wyatt was going to direct the second one. A lot of the human characters that were in the first movie were dead in the sequel that Rupert was going to direct. But there was one scene, between Caesar and my character, maybe even just like on a video that was left behind, but then a lot of things happened, like [former Fox co-chairman] Tom Rothman who was a big part of the first movie, left. Now Rupert's not a part of it so I don't know. My guess is I won't be in it. Nobody's talked to me since Rupert left.

I sounds to me like Franco is out, it shouldn't really matter anyway as it sounds like his part in it wouldn't have been big anyway. I really enjoyed the first movie, it was a great film, and I hope Reeves will be able to make a sequel that's just as good or better. It will be released on May 23rd, 2014.

Here's a wonderfully cute, feel-good, sci-fi short film called Paraphernalia. The short was directed by John Williams, and it centers on a little boy and a Robot that annoys him. I really loved it, it has a great little twist that I think you'll enjoy. 

When young Atari Withers gets annoyed with the little robot that follows him everywhere, he tries to leave it, sell it and smash it up... But this robot is more than just a toy.

I really hope you enjoy this one as much as I did. With all of the crazy things going on in the world right now, I thought it would be nice to share something a little uplifting. 

Paraphernalia from John Williams on Vimeo.

Dark Knight Rises co-writer Jonathan Nolan recently did an interview with Empire magazine in which he talked about the ending of the film, why other villains weren't used in it, his excitement for the upcoming Justice League movie, and what he thought about Joss Whedon's The Avengers. Here's a few quotes from the interview...

Here he talks about bringing Robin into Nolan's universe,

It is a little hard to imagine Robin working in that universe, so the idea had to be limited to that gag at the end. But Joe’s character is very important to the story. In any movie you need a character looking at proceedings the way you see them, and Joe’s character is that character for this film. One of my favourite scenes is when John tells Bruce how he knew he was Batman. It’s like that scene in The Prestige where the little kid sees through Christian’s trick. Little kids, they don’t have any illusions, they just see the truth of the situation. I feel there’s a kind of spiritual connection between the two movies there.

I loved how Robin was included in the story, and Nolan's explanation of how John Blake knew Bruce Wayne was Batman is pretty cool. Nolan goes on to talk about why some of the other Batman characters didn't make the cut,

Yeah, like Clayface or, indeed, The Penguin. Part of what’s compelling about Chris’s take is the naturalism of it and I think that’s one of the things I loved about the Frank Miller comic books was that they were sort of urban, gritty vigilante stories first and formost. So everything had to stick within that universe. It’s hard to imagine [in these movies] any of the rogue’s gallery characters who have sort of a more supernatural or science-fiction bent to them. And I think that’s one of the aspects of Batman which are fascinating: in 70 years, the character has been sort of fully laundered. Because of writers and artists having every month coming up with a different story to tell with this character, there are often different genre aspects to it. You have your science-fictions, you’ve had fantasy elements along the way, horror, camp comedy... I mean there are so many different versions.

There's so many other villains that Batman could take on in a film, and I hope the new reboot that Warner Bros. will eventually develop plays with those characters. He then goes on to talk about his excitement for Justice League,

I’m incredibly excited. I was a big Batman fan when I was a kid. In fact he was the only comic-book character I really liked. I went through a brief spell where I was reading Captain Britain, because I was an English kid living in the States, and Wolverine for 30 seconds, Spider-Man too, but really Batman was the one. And I love that there are different versions of the character. I love that in the context of The Justice League, he’s kind of the black sheep of that family.

I'm sure he's got to know a little bit about what is happening with Justice League. I wonder if he was ever asked to work on it. He also talked about what he thought of The Avengers,

I did. To me Joss Whedon is a god, I’m just a huge fan of his work, I love his work on TV. And I thought The Avengers was just an incredible achievement.

So there ya have it! Jonathan Nolan is a fanboy just like the rest of us! 

There's been no shortage of cancellations of media due to the recent tragedy in Newtown Connecticut. Tom Cruise announced a delay on the release of Jack Reacher, and Seth McFarlene put both Family Guy and American Dad on hold for the time being at risk of offending audiences at a sensitive time. This is not a route Quentin Tarantino intends to take, and of course he's candid about his reason why. When asked about violence in films at a press junket in NY, Tarantino said this.

I just think you know there's violence in the world, tragedies happen, blame the play makers...It's a Western give me a break.

Jamie Foxx had a different perspective than Tarantino, saying we cannot ignore violence in media doesn't play some role.

We cannot turn our back and say that violence in films or anything that we do doesn't have a sort of influence. It does.

The attitude of Tarantino is nothing new, as he has been quoted in 2010 as saying, "Violence is the best way to control an audience." Should Django be chained for the time being, or do you support Tarantino defending his film?

Source: BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-20754172)
Source: Telegraph Co (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-news/6975563/Quentin-Tarantino-violence-is-the-best-way-to-control-an-audience.html)

I guess it was only a matter of time before the 9-minutes of IMAX footage for Star Trek Into Darkness leaked online. I haven't seen it in the theaters myself, so this was the first time I've watched it, and I love how it opens up, there's a lot of exciting and humor. I'm so excited to eventually see this movie! The video is a little blurry at points because it's in 3D. But the movie still looks pretty amazing, and I think it will be better than the first film! Feel free to watch first part of the film below while you can.

Source: Yandex (http://video.yandex.ru/users/geogz/view/7)
Source: Via: Gizmodo (http://gizmodo.com/5969174/the-first-10-minutes-of-star-trek-have-been-leaked)

Tim Burton directed this great music video for The Killers song "Here With Me" from their "Battle Born" album. The video stars Winona Ryder and Submarine star Craig Roberts. I'm a fan of both The Killers and Burton, and I really liked how this video turned out. I think fans of Burton will enjoy it as it's loaded with everything we love about Burton's style. This isn't the first time that Burton has worked with The Killers, he previously made a cool Ray Harryhausen-inspired music video for "Bones."

Source: STYD (http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/171467-watch-the-tim-burton-directed-music-video-for-the-killers-featuring-winona-ryder)

Check out this striking piece of Star Wars fan art created by Deviant Art user jazreet911 of a burlesque style Princess Leia. It comes complete with thigh high boots and Sith/Jedi tattoos.

We've already heard Benedict Cumberbatch talk about his villainous role as John Harrison in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek Into Darkness a few times already, but there's a new interview in which he talks about it even more. Here's some really interesting information on his character,

He is fed into the crew of the Enterprise and creates a lot of shadow play between Kirk and Spock. He is an awesome single-handed weapon of mass destruction but also a master mind-player and manipulator who plays with their roles and loyalties and understanding of what's right and wrong. As far as his own purpose, beyond the terrorist means, he has a noble cause, which will hopefully resonate with the audience.

We've previously heard this is going to be one of the craziest villains that the Star Trek crew has ever encountered. Cumberbatch went on to compare the role to Eric Bana's Nero saying,

It's a compliment to me, not a disservice to Eric Bana… I think what he was saying is that second time round you've established the origin story there. All the crew understand each other, but at the same time you have to up the stakes with their peril, which means bringing in a stronger antagonist. It's one of hugest compliments [J.J. Abrams] wanting to work with me, knowing how big this villain is.

Alice Eve also talks about the movie and playing Carol Marcus, and the characters relationship to Captain Kirk.

What happens in the first film is that Kirk is given his captaincy, but by the second film he maybe is wielding that power thoughtlessly. Spock and Bones are satellites of his ego and they represent a morality and a logic that he is lacking. My character is bossy and knows things and he is maybe not wanting to hear the truth. His journey is a journey of humbling oneself. A journey of pathos.

I can't wait to see Benedict's character in action, they are building it up to be completely mind blowing, and expectations are high. Like the first film, I think they will deliver on those high expectations and give fans another incredible Star Trek film.

A new viral website has also been launched for the film at AreYouThe1701.com that you should check out! The movie comes out on May 17th, 2013, and here's a separate video interview of the two discussing the film as well.

Source: IGN (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMWQ3kKv-bU)
Source: Yahoo! (http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-editors/exclusive-benedict-cumberbatch-talks-terrorist-star-trek-darkness-231459433.html)