The latest photo release for Man of Steel features Superman standing confidently patriotic in front of an American flag. The photo comes from USA Today, and it was also reported that Warner Bros. has teamed up with Walmart for a special early screening of the film for fans.

On May 18th, Walmart customers will be able to purchase tickets to special advance screenings of Man of Steel. The screenings will take place June 13, a day before the highly anticipated film opens nationwide. You can find out more about it on walmart.com. The movie will get it's full theatrical release the next day June 14th. 

A young boy learns that he has extraordinary powers and is not of this Earth. As a young man, he journeys to discover where he came from and what he was sent here to do. But the hero in him must emerge if he is to save the world from annihilation and become the symbol of hope for all mankind.

Trance star Rosario Dawson is looking to join a new untitled comedy from Chris Rock. He will write and direct the film, which is described as an edgy showbiz romantic comedy. There's no other information on the film other than that it will shoot in New York this June.

It's been a while since I've seen Rock make a decent film, so hopefully this turns out good. As for Dawson, she seems to be doing great. I don't know if you've seen Danny Boyle's Trance yet or not, but that movie is amazing! I highly suggest you go check it out because it's sure to blow your mind.

Source: Deadline (http://www.deadline.com/2013/04/rosario-dawson-joining-chris-rock-comedy/)

Woody Allen is looking to cast Emma Stone in the lead role in his next untitled film. There's not a lot of information for the film on what it's about, but Deadline says Allen will shoot in the South of France where he made the Owen Wilson movie Midnight In Paris.

Stone is a fantastic actress, and she'll be great in a Woody Allen movie. I've actually been on a Woody Allen kick recently and have been watching all of his movies. A lot of them I'm seeing for the first time, and they've been fun to watch!

Allen just completed a film called Blue Jasmine, which stars Cate Blanchett and Alec Baldwin. As for Stone, she is set to work on a dark comedy called Birdman, the untitled Cameron Crowe film, and she reprises her role as Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

We've got a few more things to share with you for Star Trek Into Darkness. Above you'll find an image of the USS Vengeance. Below you'll find a couple of new character posters featuring Scotty (Simon Pegg) and Checkov (Anton Yelchin). Both of them seem to be going through some pretty stressful moments on the Enterprise. 

It's also been confirmed that the length of the movie clocks in at 131 minutes and 58 seconds. The movie hits theaters on May 17th!

In the wake of a shocking act of terror from within their own organization, the crew of The Enterprise is called back home to Earth. In defiance of regulations and with a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads his crew on a manhunt to capture an unstoppable force of destruction and bring those responsible to justice. 

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.

Source: Moviefone (http://news.moviefone.com/2013/04/24/star-trek-into-darkness-scotty-chekov_n_3141946.html)

Guillermo del Toro is teaming up with HBO to develop a new series called Monster, which is based on the Japanese Manga series created by Naoki Urasawa. Del Toro is set to co-write the series with Steven Thompson who has worked on the BBC series' Doctor Who and Sherlock. The filmmaker also plans on directing the pilot. 

I've never read the Manga, but the thriller "is about the worldwide search by a young doctor for the most evil sociopath that has ever lived. He is a 12-year old boy, and the doctor’s decision to save his life has unwittingly unleashed a Pandora’s Box that leaves the doc battling to stop a plot of mass genocide."

This sounds like it could be an amazing series. With these two talented guys bringing it to life, it's sure to be something that we'll enjoy! He's also teaming back up with producers Don Murphy and Susan Montford, who worked with him on trying to get At The Mountains Of Madness made.

According to Deadline, the project was originally set up to be turned into a feature film with New Line Cinema, but it didn't happen because the project "proved too sprawling to confined to a feature film." So it seems like a TV series on HBO would the best way to tell this huge story.

Source: Deadline (http://www.deadline.com/2013/04/guillermo-del-toro-is-hatching-a-monster-of-a-series-at-hbo/)

20th Century Fox landed the rights to the stage and movie classic Guys and Dolls, which starred Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando. The studio is looking to start developing the project soon. According to Deadline they want to cast Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Channing Tatum as the two main characters. Apparently, they're both interested in doing it. The studio still has yet to bring on a writer and director. 

The musical was taken from Damon Runyon’s short stories that captured the rogue gangsters and gamblers of the 1920s and 1930s. Here, Nathan Detroit (Sinatra) has a town full of captive gamblers and wants to set up a floating crap game but needs money to do it. He bets his pal Sky Masterson (Brando) that Sky can’t get the wholesome Sarah Brown (Jean Simmons) — who runs a mission — to go with him to Havana.

The book was written by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, and the musical came from Frank Loesser. I can easily see Gordon-Levitt and Tatum starring in this movie together. The real life friends co-starred in several films including Havoc, G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra, and Stop-Loss. Tatum also makes a cameo appearance in JGL's directorial debut, Don Jon. Both actors also performed a music and dance number during this year's Academy Awards, and I think they both did a pretty good job! With a little work and polish, they might be able to pull this movie off!

What do you think about these two actors possibly starring in a movie musical together? 

Source: Deadline (http://www.deadline.com/2013/04/fox-seals-guys-and-dolls-rights-wants-channing-tatum-joseph-gordon-levitt-to-fill-frank-sinatra-and-marlon-brando-shoes/)

Like I've been saying, there were a lot of surprises in Iron Man 3, and people aren't expecting what they're going to get. I loved what they did with it though, and Iron Man will be back, but Gwyneth Paltrow doesn't think there will be an Iron Man 4. 

During an interview with Geek Nation the actress, who plays Pepper Potts in the film, is asked about a fourth film. This was her response...

I don’t think there’s going to be [an Iron Man 4]. I think we’re done with Iron Man.

It makes me wonder what Marvel is planning for the character, but having seen the movie I know for a fact that Iron Man will be back, Marvel says so. It's the last thing that pops up on the screen after the credits roll. So the question is... will there be an Iron Man 4, or is the character just going to appear in the other superhero movies Marvel is making? He's got to at least be in The Avengers 2, but you never know. As of right now Downey Jr. isn't signed on to do any more Marvel films, and neither is Paltrow.

I can't wait to see what you all think about this after you see Iron Man 3 for yourself. 

Here's the video, and she's asked about the fourth Iron Man movie at the 6 minute mark. 

Source: Via: Bleeding Cool (http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/04/25/iron-man-no-more-gwyneth-paltrow-says-there-wont-be-a-part-four/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter)

Studio Ghibli is mostly known for making classic anime films such as Castle in Sky, Grave of the Fireflies, My Neighbor Totoro, Ponyo, Howl's Moving Castle, Spirited Away, and Princess Mononoke. As you can see, they are a talented animation studio that makes amazing movies. Well, they've taken their talent and put together an epic live-action short film called Giant God Warrior Appears In Tokyo, which features a giant monster attacking Tokyo. 

The short was directed by Higuchi Shinji who is known for the Neon Genesis Evangelion series. The project was commissioned by Anno Hideaki, director of the Evangelion series and key animator on Miyazaki Hayao's Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind, for the Tokusatsu Special Effects Museum in Tokyo. What makes this short even more awesome is the fact that Miyazaki himself created the design for the giant creature. This is the first live action movie that has been produced by Studio Ghibli, and it's the first step to seeing them make a feature film. Hopefully it happens soon because this thing turned out so cool! Watch it now!

Source: Twitch (http://twitchfilm.com/2013/04/watch-studio-ghiblis-giant-god-warrior-appears-in-tokyo.html)

Disney has released the final trailer for Pixar's Monsters University. As you might expect, it's packed full to the brim with new footage! The movie was recently screened at CinemaCon, and it seems like everyone that saw it loved it. The film certainly seems like it will be a ton of fun, and I'm looking forward to taking my kids out to see it! Like the first film, the sequel looks like will have a lot of heart and humor that everyone can enjoy. 

The movie hits theaters on June 21st, 2013, and it stars Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, Alfred Molina, Dave Foley, Sean P. Hayes, Joel Murray, Peter Sohn, Charlie Day, Nathan Fillion, Bobby Moynihan, Julia Sweeney, Aubrey Plaza, Tyler Labine, John Krasinski, Bonnie Hunt, Beth Behrs, and John Ratzenberger. Check out the trailer!

Ever since college-bound Mike Wazowski (voice of Billy Crystal) was a little monster, he has dreamed of becoming a Scarer—and he knows better than anyone that the best Scarers come from Monsters University (MU). But during his first semester at MU, Mike’s plans are derailed when he crosses paths with hotshot James P. Sullivan, “Sulley” (voice of John Goodman), a natural-born Scarer.  The pair’s out-of-control competitive spirit gets them both kicked out of the University’s elite Scare Program. To make matters worse, they realize they will have to work together, along with an odd bunch of misfit monsters, if they ever hope to make things right.

Screaming with laughter and oozing with heart, Disney•Pixar’s “Monsters University” is directed by Dan Scanlon (“Cars,” “Mater and the Ghostlight,” “Tracy”), produced by Kori Rae (“Up,” “The Incredibles,” “Monsters, Inc.”) and features music from Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and award-winning composer Randy Newman  (“Monsters, Inc.,” “Toy Story 3”). The film opens in U.S. theaters on June 21, 2013, and will be shown in 3D in select theaters.

Mike Wazowski’s (voice of Billy Crystal) lifelong dreams of becoming a Scarer are derailed during his first semester at Monsters University when he crosses paths with hotshot James P. Sullivan, “Sulley” (voice of John Goodman), and their out-of-control competitive spirit gets them both kicked out of the University’s elite Scare Program.

Here's a new theatrical poster for Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim, and a couple more World War II style propaganda enlistment prints that were created to rally the population to contribute to their country’s war effort. If the military ever gets low on their recruitment numbers they just need to create giant fighting robots to get people excited to join! There's a good chance we'll be seeing a new trailer for the movie soon, so stay tuned! 

The movie stars Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy), Idris Elba (Thor), Rinko Kikuchi (The Brothers Bloom), Charlie Day (Horrible Bosses), and Ron Perlman (Hellboy). The ensemble cast also includes Max Martini, Robert Kazinsky, Clifton Collins, Jr., Burn Gorman, Larry Joe Campbell, DiegoKlattenhoff, and Brad William Henke. It blows up in theaters on July 12th, 2013.

To check out the first enlistment poster that was released click here. 

When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity’s resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes—a washed up former pilot and an untested trainee — who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind’s last hope against the mounting apocalypse.

Source: Pacific Rim Defense (http://www.panpacificdefense.com/#/register)

Another new photo has been released for Neill Blomkamp's spectacular looking sci-fi movie Elysium. It's another look at Matt Damon attacking some guy while wearing his new Exo-0592 exosuit. Would you want to wear an exosuit like this? Keep in mind that you would have to have holes drilled into your head. If you did, what would you do with it? Go around fighting people like Damon? 

Elysium also stars Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Alice Braga, Diego Luna, Wagner Moura, and William Fichtner. It's going to hit theaters on August 9th! Click here to watch the trailer again!

In the year 2159 two classes of people exist: the very wealthy, who live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined Earth. The people of Earth are desperate to escape the planet's crime and poverty, and they critically need the state-of-the-art medical care available on Elysium - but some in Elysium will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve their citizens' luxurious lifestyle. The only man with the chance bring equality to these worlds is Max (Matt Damon), an ordinary guy in desperate need to get to Elysium. With his life hanging in the balance, he reluctantly takes on a dangerous mission - one that pits him against Elysium's Secretary Delacourt (Jodie Foster) and her hard-line forces - but if he succeeds, he could save not only his own life, but millions of people on Earth as well.

Source: Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=157539117746782&set=a.151774454989915.1073741828.109741662526528&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf)

At the premiere of Iron Man 3, Yahoo! caught up with The Avengers writer/director Joss Whedon and asked him a few questions about The Avengers 2. They covered a wide range of interesting things concerning the upcoming film. When asked what the status of the screenplay was Whedon had this to say:

I have actually finished a draft, we're in a very good place. It's an evolution, and that goes on all through shooting and it never stops. I've done enough shows and movies to be comfortable with that. You do come to a point where we all agree … You lock certain things in. But then there's a certain fluidity when you're working with Robert [Downey Jr.]. Robert's going to want to do something new on the day, and you're going to want him to, because it’s going to be funny. So you always keep yourself open. I try not to think of it as topping The Avengers, I try to think of this as its own movie.

As we all know, there is going to be a spin-off TV series of the Avengers called Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and many of you are wondering how Agent Coulson will be coming back to life for it. It will all be explained...

We've finished the pilot, Agent Coulson is in it, we will explain why in the pilot, and it is wonderful and [Gregg] is phenomenal in it, and we should find out in the very near future whether or not everyone gets to enjoy it as much as we already have.

I don't know about you, but I am excited to see who Joss brings to the next party. We know the The Guardians of the Galaxy may be there in some capacity, and possibly Ant-Man, but will there be more? Of course! He even gives a hint on who else we might actually see in the film:

I've got these two characters, two of my favorite characters from the comic book, a brother-sister act. They're in the movie.

For comic book fans that means only one thing. Quicksilver and The Scarlet Witch, which would be amazing. Part of the rights to the characters is owned by Fox. However, Kevin Feige explained last year how they would be able to use them:

We both have them. There's a specific arrangement with those two characters that would allow us to use them with Avengers, but not discuss or reference their mutant or Magneto-related lineage. They can use them as mutants and as Magneto's relatives, but cannot have anything to do with The Avengers.

I love both of those characters. I was also hoping with the welcome return of Daredevil back into the Marvel fold, we might see him too. However, we must remember that rumors are rumors and Joss Whedon loves to throw us off. We are just going to have to wait and see. 

With all of the hype and spectacle that come with this next film, do you think that we are expecting too much? Do you think Marvel will deliver with Phase 2 as well as they did with Phase 1?

Until next time...

Billy Out!

The second phase of Marvel's movie plan is really interesting because they kind of have to avoid calling their Avengers teammates for help. Tony Stark couldn't call for their help in Iron Man 3, and Thor isn't able to ask for their help either in Thor: The Dark World. Marvel president Kevin Feige explains why in a recent interview with io9. When asked about these individual heroes not being able to ask for the help of the Avengers this is what he said,

That’s a new issue, right? That’s a new problem of Phase II, and the way we treat it in this movie and a lot of the movies is not dissimilar to how they treat it in the comics. Which is to say they’re either busy somewhere else — we know Thor is on another planet. But also, having the events happen very quickly in a way that there wasn’t time for the other characters or entities to get involved. And Shane has said recently, you know without giving too much away, the element of the government that would have reached out to S.H.I.E.L.D. was in on the plan, so they kept that at bay. And Tony tells us very specifically in a message he leaves for Pepper, I’m basically going off the grid, I’m going off the radar to try and figure this out on the down low, which is why he doesn’t pick up a phone and call a helicarrier to fly over and help him out.

He goes on to discuss Iron Man 3. He explains how it ties into the rest of the Marvel movie universe, but also how it's kind of its own film and doesn't really set up any of the other upcoming Marvel films.

Our plan was always, even before we started filming The Avengers, was post-Avengers to focus on the individual characters. To surprise the movie-going public with the notion of individual movies they could connect to another big movie, and then surprise them again by separating them and making them just as interesting when they’re apart again. And Iron Man 3 is obviously the first of the post-Avengers movies. And I think you can see with the unique voice of Shane Black behind it, it sort of reestablishes the character of Tony Stark.

He's asked about what he learned from Iron Man 2 and 3, and how he can apply those things to their future sequels,

I’ve been involved in a lot of sequels — some that have been great, [including] Spider-Man 2 and X-Men 2, and I think Iron Man 3, and some not so great. So, you know, basically I’ve found that mixing it up, that changing people’s expectations and sort of turning things on their head is most fruitful, is the unexpected is the most exciting for people.

And I think Iron Man 3 is very unexpected, and what we’re doing in the next Thor film and in particular the next Captain America film [are as well]. They’re almost different genres than their predecessor movies. Which I think, again, just as unusual and unique as it was to have three or four different tent pole movies that could combine into a single tent pole movie [i.e. The Avengers].

Phase II is about changing even the genre that the prior movies were. So, there are elements of detective, technological thriller in Iron Man 3. I've already described publicly the next Captain America film as inspired by political thrillers of the seventies. Um, Guardians of the Galaxy is a whole other unique film and a totally new thing for us, so always putting that spin on it is what’s required.

He also goes on to talk about a little bit about Guardians of the Galaxy and the CGI special effects in the film saying that he hopes it doesn't turn out like Green Lantern. You can read what he had to say about that over on io9.

Of course in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Steve Rogers is going to get plenty of help from S.H.I.E.L.D. It might not be the full team, but he's going to have Nick Fury, Black Widow and The Falcon helping him out. In addition to the individual films and the Avengers films, I'd actually love to see these Marvel characters together, mixing it up a bit more. One of the things I would love to see is Iron Man and The Hulk team up in their own movie adventure. I bet that would be amazing! Marvel needs to do that!

Back in the 1990s, self-proclaimed “24th century interior designer” and Star Trek fan Tony Alleyne transformed an apartment into a fantastic looking  replica of the Transporter Control Console featured in the series Star Trek: The Next Generation. It's extremely detailed, and as you can see, he spared no expense. The guy went all out and created something really spectacular! You can even take a virtual tour of the apartment over on 24th Century Interior Design.

I don't think I would ever do anything like this to a house or apartment, but I always thought an office in the style of J.J. Abrams' Enterprise design would be really cool. 

Source: Laughingsquid (http://laughingsquid.com/apartment-designed-after-star-trek-control-console/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+laughingsquid+%28Laughing+Squid%29)

Immortals director Tarsem Singh and Ryan Reynolds are in talks to team up on a new supernatural thriller called Selfless. The movie is being produced by Endgame Entertainment and FilmDistrict from a script written by Carriers scribes Alex and David Pastor.

The story "focuses on a wealthy older man who discovers he’s dying and pays to have his mind transplanted into a younger man’s body. Turns out that body is a cadaver whose previous inhabitant was murdered. Soon, he’s hunted by killers as he tries to get to the bottom of who took him out in the first place."

It seems like Tarsem and Reynolds would make an interesting team. If you've seen any of Tarsem's films, then you know the guy has an insane imagination. On top of Immortals, he also directed The Fall, The Cell, and I'm not sure why he made it, but he also did Mirror Mirror. Selfless sounds like a good film for him to take on, it seems like it would fit his storytelling style. 

Source: Deadline (http://www.deadline.com/2013/04/tarsem-ryan-reynolds-in-selfless-talks/)

Mondo has announced their next art gallery show featuring some really cool artwork from Mike Mitchell. The art show is called "A Collection of Portraits From Icons Of Film," and as you'll see, a lot of our favorite movie characters have been included. The artist had this to say about his art,

For the portrait series, I wanted to keep the personalities there, at least how they exist in my own mind. Then apply that to a traditional portrait, something that most of these characters wouldn't be doing. There's an ironic sense about them that I like, but I also just really love these dudes for who they are, and I didn't want to take too much of that away. When I watch a movie and really connect with a character, I often feel a strong urge to draw/paint that person. This show is allowing me to do that, it's giving me the chance to catch up on years of great characters that I appreciate and admire.

The show will run from April 26th to May 25th at the Mondo Gallery located at 4115 Guadalupe St. in Austin, TX. The gallery will open to the public on April 26th from 7:00 - 10:00 pm with regular business hours to follow for the show's duration.

Let's get the whole SPOILER thing out of the way because this post obviously contains spoilers. If you didn't want to know who the actual villain that Benedict Cumberbatch is playing in Star Trek Into Darkness, you wouldn't have clicked through. Knowing who he's playing only gets me more excited to see the movie. I'm not sure why J.J. Abrams and everyone felt they needed to keep the identity of Cumberbatch's character a secret. People have seen the movie, and they are starting to talk. That's how we know who the villain is.

One more time just to cover my ass... SPOILERS ahead.

.

.

.

So this John Harrison character that they made up is actually the iconic villain Khan Noonien Singh, which is who we were all expecting it to be anyway, so it's really no big surprise. The news comes from Furious Fanboys who explains how it all comes together,

Benedict Cumberbatch is playing Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness. All that bullshit of him not being Khan and really ‘John Harrison’ was just a cover to hide the truth from moviegoers. Oh, he does go by ‘John Harrison’ in the movie…but that’s not his real name. He reveals his name to Kirk later in the movie.

So there it is, Khan is the villain. Knowing this doesn't ruin the movie for me, I'm still extremely excited to see it.

Now that you know the truth, do you think it was worth keeping it a secret? 

If you haven't seen or heard of Casey Pugh's Star Wars Uncut fan film project, you're in for a treat. It's actually really cool. Pugh spear heads the project and Star Wars fans around the world are excitedly participating! They already did Star Wars Uncut: A New Hope; they are now in the middle of making Star Wars Uncut: The Empire Strikes Back, and today we bring you the first great teaser trailer for the fan film!

Star Wars Uncut is a crazy fan mashup remake of the original Star Wars movies. The saga continues with over 1500 participants re-imagining the classic Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. This teaser is full of awesome Empire Uncut scenes from far and wide, ready for your previewing pleasure. We are continuously blown away by the creativity and craft we’ve seen from every user - now it’s time to spread the word to the rest of the galaxy!

You can still claim a scene to remake until May 1. Get excited for new viewing options to watch completed scenes coming soon...

starwarsuncut.com/empire

Check out the teaser below, and I've also included the full first Star Wars Uncut movie that was made. Check it out when you get a chance if you haven't already because it's got some great moments. 

Star Wars Uncut: The Empire Strikes Back TEASER from Star Wars Uncut on Vimeo.

Here's the first Star Wars Uncut film:

Marvel has released yet another clip from Iron Man 3 called "After New York". The clip features a softer side of Tony Stark that we haven't really seen before. It gives you a sense of the state of mind that Stark is in early on in the film and how the events of The Avengers affected him. I'm sure you haven't forgotten when the movie comes out. I remind you every freakin' day, but just in case... it's May 3rd! You don't want to miss this one! 

Marvel’s Iron Man 3 pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy's hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?

"One man. One job. But in the desert, nothing is simple."

Check out this slick short film called Desire that was produced by Ridley Scott, directed by Adam Smith and stars Homeland's Damian Lewis. The film is an action thriller that "tells the story of Clark (Lewis), who delivers cars for a living, running into trouble after a chance encounter with a mysterious young woman (Shannyn Sossamon) in the middle of a lawless desert."

The film also serves as an ad for the Jaguar F-TYPE. Enjoy the short! 

Source: The Film Stage (http://thefilmstage.com/news/watch-ridley-scotts-short-film-desire-with-homeland-star-damian-lewis/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thefilmstage+%28The+Film+Stage%29)