Film projection has met its demise. The digital age has basically killed it off, and it's kind of sad if you really think about it. Most of the movies I've seen in my life time were projected on film. On top of that, there are film projectionists out in the world whose jobs are now obsolete, and theaters that are forced to shut down. This short documentary called "Going Dark: The Final Days of Film Projection" centers on two projectionists as they talk about their work, the differences between film and digital, and their feelings on the changes that have been made. It's sad. 

Hollywood is forcing theaters to either go digital or go dark. Studios have decided they will no longer send out film prints of new releases after 2014, eliminating the need for a 35mm film projectionist in most theaters. Going Dark profiles two projectionists during their last days on the job.

This fantastic documentary was directed by Jason Gwynn and Jay Sheldon. It's a heartfelt and honest film that I hope you take the time to watch. This is one of those stories that needs to be told. 

Here's a few great pieces of He-Man comic art for you to check out that was created by artist Dave Wilkins. The first piece above is a wraparound cover he did for the Masters of the Universe comic series. The one directly below is an alternative design featuring a more classic look for the characters in their original costumes. The third illustration is another cool cover that he created. I hope a decent live action version of this movie gets made one day. 

The History Channel has released a full trailer for their new four-hour Houdini miniseries. The show will follow the life of the legendary magician from his beginnings in desperate poverty to the worldwide fame that he gained. The series stars Adrien Brody, and it looks like it's going to be pretty damn good. 

Before David Blaine and David Copperfield, there was one man whose name was synonymous with being the master of illusion and escape - Harry Houdini. HOUDINI follows the man behind the magic as he finds fame, engages in espionage, battles spiritualists and encounters the greatest names of the era, from U.S. presidents to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Grigori Rasputin. The drama will chronicle the life of a man who can defy death through his stunts, his visions and his mastery of illusion.

HOUDINI stars Academy Award winner Adrien Brody (The Pianist) as the ace magician and Kristen Connolly (House of Cards, The Cabin in the Woods) as his wife Bess. Gerald W. Abrams (Nuremberg, Family of Spies) and Andras Hamori (Sunshine) will serve as executive producers of HOUDINI. Academy Award nominated Nicholas Meyer (The Seven-Per-Cent Solution) is writer and Academy Award nominated director Uli Edel (The Baader Meinhof Complex, Hotel Adlon) will helm HOUDINI. Academy Award winning veteran Patrizia von Brandenstein (Amadeus) is production designer and Karl Walter Lindenlaub, whose work ranges from American blockbusters (Independence Day) to award-winning art house movies (Black Book) is cinematographer. Dirk Hoogstra and Julian P. Hobbs are Executives in Charge of Production for HISTORY.

The series is set to premiere on Monday, September 1st, 2014.

It's no surprise to hear that Paramount Pictures is moving forward with a sequel to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Like I've been saying, it doesn't matter how bad the movie was, it still made a shit-ton of money, so of course the studio is going to cash in. The studio announced that Michael Bay will be back to produce the movie, and they set a release date for June 3rd, 2016. 

Screenwriters Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec (Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol) will return to write the sequel. I liked their script for Mission: Impossible IV, but unfortunately, their script for Ninja Turtles was terrible. There's no word on whether Jonathan Liebsman will come back to direct the sequel or not, but it doesn't matter who directs it, I'm sure it will be just as bad as the first one.

 Adam Goodman, President of Paramount’s Film Group, said in a statement,

“Launching a new take on the Turtles into the feature film world was a daunting task because as fans of them ourselves, we felt a great responsibility to ensure audiences were going to experience everything they loved about the Turtles, while also getting to see them brought to life in a way they had never been seen before. The result exceeded our high expectations and the response to the film is beyond great, making it all the more fun to get started on the continuation of their story.”

I personally didn't see anything that I loved about the Ninja Turtles in this movie. For me it was a terrible interpretation of the Ninja Turtles I grew up loving in the comics and cartoon. 

The creative team lead by director Guillaume Blanchet has created a short called "A Girl Named Elastika." It uses pushpins and rubber bands as its visual medium. For backgrounds, they use colored paper and exposed cork from a bulletin board. There isn't really much of a story, it's more of study in creative uses for pins and bands. The short has been a "Official Selection" of over 70 film and animation festivals.

The Star Wars, the graphic novel adaptation of George Lucas' original Star Wars screenplay, on trade paperback is #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list for "Paperback Graphic Books." You should be able to find the collection of issues #1-8 at your local comic shop for about $20. The Star Wars also comes in hardcover and includes issue #0. I haven't been able to find a price on it, it's available August 13th.

When it comes to comics, I rarely pickup single issues. I'm all about the trade paperback.

Source: Dark Horse via Jedi News

Before Star Wars, there was The Star Wars! This is the official adaptation of George Lucas’s rough-draft screenplay for what would become Star Wars—the film that changed motion pictures and the world. You’ll see familiar characters and places—but not all is the same in this long-ago and faraway galaxy. Still, strap yourself in for high adventure and lazersword duels, Jedi Knights, Princess Leia, Han Solo, and a battle to defeat the evil Empire!

* Trade paperback collects issues #1–#8 of The Star Wars.

* Hardcover collects issues #1–#8 and issue #0 of The Star Wars.

* The deluxe oversized boxed-set edition contains the entire saga—plus extras—in three deluxe, foil-stamped, hardcover volumes.

Think Geek has created an awesome set of Super Mario Bros. vinyl wall decals. Turn your home or office into the game level of your dreams. Because they are restickable they are perfect for decorating walls you can't paint. They are pretty pricey at $70, but they look to be very high quality.

The classic Super Mario Bros. is a game I remember vividly from my childhood. For years I thought I had terrible hand-eye coordination because my younger brother was so good at it. Well, it turns out I'm an okay gamer, but my brother was a freak of nature with mad game skills.

Clancy Brown is one of my favorite character actors of all time. He's been in a ton of stuff over the years, and he has been cast in a pivotal recurring role in the CW's new superhero series The Flash.

According to THR, he will be playing General Wade Eiling, also known as The General, "the head of a black ops army team pursuing Plastique (Kelly Frye) in the hopes of using her as a human weapon. Described as a tall and imposing man, with 'a face carved from years of duty,' Eiling is fanatically intent on protecting American interests around the world and may have ties to a central Flash character."

The character will be introduced in the fifth episode of the first season, and I have no doubt that Clancy is going to be awesome in role. He's set to appear next in Duncan Jones' Warcraft. He also provided the voice of Lex Luthor in several DC animated properties and the voice of Parallax in Green Lantern. 

We've seen several movies reimagined as 8-Bit video games over the years (you can check them out here). Today we bring you a really cool video created by YouTuber Phillip Raupach, who has re-edited one of the cool fight scenes from Matrix: Reloaded with 8-Bit sound, and it's freakin' awesome! Thanks to Firstshowing for the heads up. Enjoy the video! 

Disney Animation has released a new TV spot for their upcoming superhero adventure film Big Hero 6. In it, Baymax has some advice for anyone who is looking to take a swim after eating a big meal. 

The movie was inspired by one of the comics that Marvel published, and everything I've seen from the film looks amazing. I think fans are going to really enjoy what directors Don Hall (Winnie the Pooh) and Chris Williams (Bolt) and the rest of their team have done to bring this story and these characters to life.

Big Hero 6 is about "brilliant robotics prodigy Hiro Hamada, who finds himself in the grips of a criminal plot that threatens to destroy the fast-paced, high-tech city of San Fransokyo. With the help of his closest companion—a robot named Baymax—Hiro joins forces with a reluctant team of first-time crime fighters on a mission to save their city."

The movie is set to hit theaters on November 7th.

AMC has released a brief teaser trailer for their Breaking Bad spin-off series, Better Call Saul. It features Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman giving some humorous insight into why people need lawyers. The network also announced that the series is set to debut in February of 2015. Co-creator Vince Gilligan had this to say in a statement to THR about the series and where it's headed:

"I don't think we're giving anything away to say we're still figuring this out — including if and when we'll see some of these characters. We like nonlinear storytelling. I would point you in the direction of anything that was possible on Breaking Bad is possible on Better Call Saul."

I'm excited for the potential that this series has, and I'm sure it will give us fans some solid entertainment.

SPOILERS ahead for anyone who hasn't read Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.'s Kick-Ass 3 finale. CBM pointed out something incredibly interesting that kind of blew my mind. There's a couple little Easter eggs in there that indicate that all the events that happened after issue #2 could have been a hallucination as a result from a coma Dave has been in after he got the shit kicked out of him. They never come right out and say it, but here are the clues that may prove this to be true.

"Near the end of Kick-Ass 3 #8, there's a scene with Dave and his girlfriend Val (a nurse) in the hospital. However, as you can see from the images below, Dave Lizewski's name is written on the list of patients in the ICU unit, something which makes little sense considering the fact that he's physically fine for the most part here."

"We also see in the background of another panel a man standing over his son's bed. Look familiar? If you go back and read through the second issue of the first volume of Kick-Ass, you'll see that it's an exact recreation of a scene from the opening of that comic when Dave's (now DEAD) father visits him after he was stabbed and hit by a car following his first attempt at fighting crime as Kick-Ass!"

Also, both of the panels confirm that he is in room number three. 

We can also go on to speculate about Dave's girlfriend being a nurse. Why a nurse? Is it because he is being taken care of by a nurse while he's in his coma? 

We also learn that the world of Kick-Ass is connected to Millar's other comic book titles  Nemesis and Superior. The site then brings up another interesting point… How crazy would it be if this and every other Millarworld title are all just a dream from a kid in a coma who wanted to try and be a superhero?

Art by  LamboMan7

Only 4 official images for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice have been released so far. The ones released are Batman and the Batmobile, Superman in Gotham, Batman in profile, and Wonder Woman. Because we try to only use official images on the posts we write, odds are you've seen the same images again and again.

We have three art pieces that combine and remix the official photos into something new. There are a lot of images that have done what these three are doing, but these are the best of the bunch. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, a.k.a. Justice League Beta, will open in theaters March 25th, 2016.

Did we miss a good piece of Batman v Superman art? Send it our way.

Art by KanomBRAVO

Art by fmirza95

This fantastic animated sci-fi short Orbits comes from Primeframe.com and director Jaime Maestro. The story for the short is about "an impossible love which revolves around a planet at war." The animation style is great, and it has a nice touching story that I think you'll enjoy. 

The Weinstein Company has released five film clips from their fantastic looking adaptation of Lois Lowry's The Giver. One of them reveals Taylor Swift's brief appearance in the film as Rosemary, who was a past receiver, and a bittersweet memory for Jeff Bridges' character. The four other clips are called "Lose Him," "Rescue Gabe," "Something More," and "The Girl Has a Name."

The haunting story of The Giver centers on Jonas, who lives in a seemingly ideal, if colorless, world of conformity and contentment. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community. 

The Giver was directed by Phillip Noyce and also stars Brenton Thwaites, Alexander Skarsgard, Katie Holmes, Meryl Streep, Cameron Monaghan, and Odeya Rush. It hits theaters on August 15th.

Here's a fun video from San Diego Comic-Con featuring Marty McFly, who came back from the future to perform magic for attendees at the epic geek event. YouTube magician Stuart Edge is the man in the Back to the Future outfit, and as you'll see, he had a lot of fun with the fans. Enjoy!

Via: LaughingSquid

I actually really enjoyed the Sam Rami-produced and Fede Alvarez-directed Evil Dead remake, and I would have loved to see a sequel set in that same world. However, according to the star of the film, Jane Levy, it doesn't sound like it's going to happen. It makes sense that a sequel would be put on the back burner now that a TV series is in development. This is what Levy said to Bloody-Disgusting:

"I don’t think they’re gonna make it. I mean, they’re always coming up with a new thing- now I hear they’re making a TV show. I was like, what? [Laughs] I honestly don’t know, but it doesn’t seem like there’s going to be an EVIL DEAD 2 anytime soon. At least, not with me in it."

I still hope that it happens one day and that the project isn't completely dead. Levy also acknowledges that Raimi and Bruce Campbell and the rest of their gang enjoy screwing with fans.

“I think they just like exciting their fans and confusing them.”

So if this is the case, then who knows what they are actually planning? As long as it involves Evil Dead or Army of Darkness, I'll be happy! I'd like to think that the Army of Darkness sequel is still in development as well, but I guess we'll just have wait and see how all this plays out. 

We've got several behind the scenes photos showing off several different alien makeup designs that were created for Guardians of the Galaxy. A couple things that I noticed and loved about this film were all the practical effects that were used to help bring it to life and the retro look of it all.

Dave White was the special effects makeup designer that helped Gunn create the looks for Gamora, Drax, Nebula, Yondu, Korath, and several of the other aliens in Guardians of the Galaxy. This is what he had to say about working on the movie:

“James [Gunn] always pushed for practical and makeup effects. He wanted, like me, to see the real deal there on set. I’ve been fortunate to have been around the Marvel world for a little while. I like to think my own artwork and style has worked well within the universe. James had very specific ideas and I would give an interpretation of what I thought would work. Ultimately, it’s down to what the director wants to see: He needs to go through that process of testing ideas to see how they read in the world he wants to create. There is a retro hint in the [Guardians] designs. I was very careful not to use modern creature design influences that could have fallen short in the unique world Gunn had envisioned.”

As you saw in the film, the results of their creations were amazing!

Source: Co.Create Via: CBM

After all these years, it looks like Terry Gilliam is actually going to get to make his Don Quixote film. Years ago he set out on a journey to make a movie called The Man Who Killed Don Quixote with Johnny Depp, and it never finished production because it was plagued with all kinds of problems famously portrayed in the documentary Lost in La Mancha. 

Gilliam never gave up on the project though, and over the years he has retooled the story from a modern day ad man who travels back in time, to a film set in the present day about how movies can damage people. Gilliam has finally secured the financing he needs to make the film, and plans to shoot it after Christmas this year. Here's what he had to say about it in an interview with The Wrap:

"I keep incorporating my own life into it and shifting it. The basic underlying premise of that, the version Johnny was involved in, was that he actually was going to be transported back to the 17th century, and now it all takes place now, it’s contemporary. It’s more about how movies can damage people.

"Our main character actually made a Don Quixote movie a lot earlier in his history, and the effect it had on many people wasn’t very nice. Some people go mad, some people turn to drink, some people become whores."

This sounds like it will be even more interesting than what he was trying to do before. I'm definitely intrigued with the direction that he's taking the story. It sounds depressing and entertaining! Obviously the battles that he has fought to make this movie over the years have taken a toll on him. 

Via: xombiedirge

Artist Chase Kunz has created a lithograph poster print called "The Spartan." It features Halo's Master Chief from Halo 1-4 in a Warhol style four split. The prints are 18" X 24" and are available for $40 on Dark In Art.