A new photo has surfaced from Jake Gyllenhaal’s upcoming mountain climbing adventure drama Everest. The movie has an incredible cast that also includes Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, and John Hawkes. The movie is being directed by Baltasar Kormákur (Contraband), and it tells the true story of two groups of climbers who attempted to climb the world’s highest mountain during an insane snowstorm. This sounds like it’s going to be an insanely intense movie. Here’s the synopsis:

Inspired by the incredible events surrounding a treacherous attempt to reach the summit of the world’s highest mountain, EVEREST documents the awe-inspiring journey of two different expeditions challenged beyond their limits by one of the fiercest snowstorms ever encountered by mankind.  Their mettle tested by the harshest of elements found on the planet, the climbers will face nearly impossible obstacles as a lifelong obsession becomes a breathtaking struggle for survival. 

It will be released in IMAX 3D on February 27th, 2015.

Sandy Collora, the man behind the classic fan film Batman: Dead End, World's Finest and the indie sci-fi Hunter Prey, is kickstarting an art book called The Art of Creature and Design. Collora not only created these awesome film projects, but he also has worked as a character and creature designer for films such as Men in Black, The Crow, Predator 2, Little Monsters, The Abyss and more. They guy is very talented, and he brought together several of his talented friends and associates to help provide content for this book. Some of those people include Jordu Schell, Steve Wang, Joel Harlow, and Aris Kolokontes.

If you're a regular visitor of the site, then you already know how much I love art. Fan art, concept art, comic art, fine art, and more. I enjoy it all! I also have a large collection of film and TV concept art books that I've bought over the years, and this is a book that is definitely going in my collection.

Here's what Collora had to say about the book:

"The Art of Creature and Character Design, is a project I have been wanting to do for quite some time now. It's a very informative, comprehensive, lavishly illustrated volume on the art and aesthetics of creature and character design for film, video games and toys. It will explore the style, approach, technique, and inspiration of some of the best creature and character designers in the world.

"It will feature a lot of my own work, but I was fortunate enough to talk some of my talented friends and colleagues that I've worked on many films with, or have been fortunate enough to befriend over the past 25 years of traveling through the industry, into contributing some of their work as well. Guys behind some of the most iconic and recognizable creatures in film, television, video games, and toys over the past few decades. These phenomenal, award winning artists have helped make this volume the first book of it's kind. I hope start volume two in the upcoming year...

"This 100+ page book will be available in three formats; A digital, downloadable version, a softcover and a hard bound edition. Each printed copy will be signed by me, and I will try to wrangle as many of these artists who are local, to sign it as well (maybe a stretch goal). I will also do a sketch on the inside opening page, if you like. See all the different reward tiers to the right, for the specifics.

"The coolest thing about this book, is how different and varied the styles and design sensibilities are, of all the different artists who contributed to the book; Myself, Jordu Schell, Steve Wang, Eddie Yang, Joel Harlow, Brandt Peters, Bryan Wynia, William Basso, Aris Kolokontes, Dominic Qwek, Jonathan Fuller, Lee Joyner and Michael Broom. I've also included some collaborations I've done with other artists like Patrick Magee and Damon Bard, to name a few. I always found it interesting how other sculptors and artists, rendered my designs. Sometimes, it makes for some truly staggering results. There's literally too much art crammed into this book, it's impossible to describe. You'll just have to get one to see!"

You can check out the Kickstarter video, and several photos below. 

It's hard to imagine what Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey would be like without the iconic score that was composed by Richard Strauss. But before he came on board to give the film its unforgettable sound, it was originally supposed to include a score by Alex North. North actually composed a full score for the film, which Kubrick ultimately scrapped. I've never heard this score until recently, and now you can see what the opening of the sci-fi classic would have been like with this original score in place. It definitely gives the film a very different feel. 

Kubrick had this to say about the original score during a past interview with Michael Ciment:

Although [North] and I went over the picture very carefully, and he listened to these temporary tracks and agreed that they worked fine and would serve as a guide to the musical objectives of each sequence he, nevertheless, wrote and recorded a score which could not have been more alien to the music we had listened to, and much more serious than that, a score which, in my opinion, was completely inadequate for the film.

You can listen to it below! I also included a video featuring the score that Kubrick ultimately used for the movie. 

Via: /Film

We’ve got another trailer for you to check out for Disney’s upcoming inspiring sports movie, McFarland, USA. The film stars Kevin Costner, and it looks like a great little story. I like it when Disney makes sports films. They are almost always really good and worth watching. 

McFarland, USA focuses on the true story of a group of distance runners, and it has that inspirational feel that fans look for in these kinds of films. It also stars Maria Bello, Morgan Saylor, Martha Higareda, Michael Aguero, Sergio Avelar, Hector Duran, Rafael Martinez, Johnny Ortiz, Carlos Pratts, Ramiro Rodriguez, Danny Mora, Valente Rodriguez, Vanessa Martinez, and Chris Ellis. Here's the synopsis:

Inspired by the 1987 true story, McFarland, USA follows novice runners from McFarland, an economically challenged town in California's farm-rich Central Valley, as they give their all to build a cross-country team under the direction of Coach Jim White (Kevin Costner), a newcomer to their predominantly Latino high school. Coach White and the McFarland students have a lot to learn about each other but when White starts to realize the boys' exceptional running ability, things begin to change. Soon something beyond their physical gifts becomes apparent - the power of family relationships, their unwavering commitment to one another and their incredible work ethic. With grit and determination, the unlikely band of runners eventually overcomes the odds to forge not only a championship cross-country team but an enduring legacy as well. Along the way, Coach White realizes that his family finally found a place to call home and both he and his team achieve their own kind of American dream. 

The movie hits theaters on February 20th, 2015

"I am the screeching fingernail on the chalkboard of justice! I am the sour ball in the candy jar of goodness! I am Negaduck!"

Artist Mitch Mueller has created another piece of fan art for the classic 1990s Disney animated series Darkwing Duck. The one features the hero's nemesis, NegaDuck. The artist has definitely taken the character to a more sinister level in this illustration. To see his Darkwing Duck art, click here, and for GizmoDuck, click here. Mueller is on a kick with the Darkwing Duck series, and I hope he does more. He should also expand into some of the other classic Disney animated series' from the '80s and '90s.

This is Batmax, the Big Hero 6 character Baymax wearing a crazy cool Batman-style armor. The character illustration was done by artist Maby-chan, and it turned out to be a great design. The artist should do a whole series of Baymax wearing various superhero costumes.

Via: Loot Crate

Some really interesting intel has surfaced regarding Lucasfilm’s Han Solo Star Wars standalone film. It hasn’t been confirmed by the studio that Han Solo is officially happening, but it’s one of those things that seems fairly obvious. Thanks to Making Star Wars, who has provided a ton of legit information from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, we have some details on what might be happening with the movie.

Their source tells them the Han Solo movie will be the first standalone film that Lucasfilm develops, and that the filming of it will overlap with some of Star Wars: Episode VII. They also reveal that the code name for the production is “Luminac Industrial Goods.”

One of the more interesting aspects of the report is that Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul is "looking to be attached" to the film. They don’t say that he is in the running for Han Solo, though, so he could end up playing another character that they decide to introduce into the film. I think Paul is an amazing young actor, and it’s cool that there’s a chance he could be involved with this project. 

Just for conversation's sake, what would you think about the actor playing Solo? 

The internet seems to have an endless supply of Disney fan art for people to enjoy, and Disney princesses are more popular than ever. We’ve definitely posted our fair share of this kind of art over the years, and today we bring you some more. This series features several female Disney characters including the princesses reimagined in the style of the popular anime Sailor Moon.

The gallery of character illustrations you see here were created by artist Drachea Rannak, who does them as commission pieces. She calls them "Sailor Heroines," and if you want one for yourself, you can have one whipped up for a price. I also included a piece featuring Anastasia, who I know is not from Disney. 

There has been a lot of talk about Idris Elba playing James Bond recently. There have been rumors in the past, which recently dredged in some of those leaked Sony e-mails, in which Sony Pictures co-chair Amy Pascal said, “Idris should be the next bond.” 

Elba took to Twitter and posted a photo of himself making a silly face with a caption saying, “Isn't 007 supposed to handsome?” You can see that tweet below.

Isn't 007 supposed to handsome? Glad you think I've got a shot! Happy New year people. pic.twitter.com/3g9lAl2Uo3

— Idris Elba (@idriselba) December 27, 2014

Elba also addressed the rumor of replacing Daniel Craig in a 2011 NPR interview in which he explained that he wasn’t interested in so-called “black” roles.

“I just don’t want to be the black James Bond. Sean Connery wasn’t the Scottish James Bond and Daniel Craig wasn’t the blue-eyed James Bond, so if I played him, I don’t want to be called the black James Bond.”

Who knows if this will ever pan out, but it seems like for the most part, fans are on board with the idea of Elba paying Bond.

Via: Variety

Prizmatec Cosplay released a video featuring a double helm automation test of an Iron Man Hulkbuster costume they are creating. This thing is shaping up to be freakin’ badass in every way. It is just in the testing phase, I can’t wait to see it when it’s fully complete! The video is short, but it packs quite an impressive punch. Enjoy!

Before you say, “wait a second, you’re wrong, Toy Story 3 did happen.” You should know that back in 2004, there was a rift between Pixar Studios’ Steve Jobs and Disney CEO Michael Eisner, and the partnership between the two studios ended. Disney held all of the rights to the films that Pixar had made, though, so when the two companies split, Disney set up their own CG animation studio that they named Circle 7 Animation, and they didn’t waste any time getting a Toy Story 3 movie into development… without Pixar. Not only did they start work on Toy Story 3, but they also began developing Finding Nemo 2 and Monsters Inc. 2. 

It was in 2006 that Disney's newly appointed CEO Bob Iger was able to strike a deal with Jobs in which Disney bought Pixar for $7.4 billion and put Pixar's leadership in control of Disney's animation department. Disney’s Circle 7 Animation was shutdown shortly after, and all of the projects they were working on were scrapped.

For those of you who are curious about what Disney’s version of Toy Story 3 would have looked like, we’ve got some concept art created by Jim Martin and Shane Zalvin. This version of the story was written by Jim Herzfeld (Meet The Parents), and here’s a little summary explaining the story it would have told:

“The other toys become concerned when Buzz Lightyear starts to malfunction and decide to ship him to the Taiwanese that originally built him, in the hopes they they could repair him. Soon after, Woody and the rest toys are shocked to learn that there has been a massive recall on all Buzz Lightyear toys. Fearing that Buzz will be destroyed, Woody and his gang (Rex, Slinky, Mr. Potato Head, Hamm, Jessie, and Bullseye) head off on a rescue mission. Over in Taiwan, Buzz is making new friends with other toys that have been recalled.”

Yeah, I like Pixar’s version of the Toy Story 3 so much better. This seems like it would have been a disaster. Check out the concept art below.   

Via: CBM

Cinemaquette has pulled the curtain open on a new Batmobile model toy based on the design from Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film. This thing is super detailed and incredibly slick looking. Is it worth the $2,500 price tag it was slapped with, though? Probably. Especially since it's a limited edition of 200 worldwide. You can check out the specs, photos, and video of it below!

Cinemaquette Presents an all-new updated mechanical Batmobile based on the design from Tim Burton's 1989 Batman movie.

This new remote control mechanical version comes to life with all the necessary gadgets and firepower to take down your own miniature Axis Chemicals plant!

Starting at the front, machine guns pop from the hood with the effect enhanced by lights and sound. The cockpit now features a scaled Batman figure at the controls, with the front and rear lights activated with a dashboard switch. To the rear the exhaust pipe simulates smoke and the sound of the turbine engine. Finally the vehicle also comes equipped with switch-out grappling hooks to make those high speed turns even faster!

The mechanical version of the Batmobile is officially licensed by Warner Brothers and DC Comics. Please note this version of the Batmobile is not supplied with a base.

Specifications:

• Approximately 29" long x 12" wide x 6" high.

• Eletronic LED headlights and tailights, and simulated smoke and fire effect in rear.

• Cockpit opens to reveal detailed interior.

• Complete with remote control to control mechanical effects, lights and sound.

• Limited in production to 200 units worldwide.

Back in August, Vin Diesel offered a little tease on his Facebook page saying that Marvel thought he was “Inhuman.” This led many fans to believe that the actor might make his way into another Marvel franchise down the road on top of Guardians of the Galaxy. It would be easy for him to do as he only provides the voice of Groot in Guardians, so it leaves him wide open to involve himself with something else in the Marvel universe, and it looks like that something else might be Inhumans. 

Marvel has officially announced the film and given it a release date of November 2nd, 2018. Diesel is back with another tease that he posted on Facebook. It's a photo of himself that asks the question... "Are You Inhuman?" You can check out the photo below.

Diesel obviously enjoys throwing out these little teases. If Diesel does join the film production, chances are he will portray the character Black Bolt, who is the leader of the Inhumans. The character doesn’t speak because his voice could unleash massive destruction. 

That would be pretty cool if he lends his voice to one marvel character, and offers his body and his looks to another. We've got a long way to go before the movie is released, and I'm sure that between now and 2018, the actor is going to be teasing a lot of stuff. 

You’ve got to check out this video of a robotic spider dress that actually will attack anyone that comes too close to the person wearing it. It’s pretty damn spectacular and creepily cool. It’s still in the testing phase, but it looks like it’s coming along nicely. Here’s some additional inforamtion from Anouk Wipprecht:

Aptly called the 'Spider Dress', this piece of wearable tech features animatronic mechanical limbs that respond to external stimuli while defend the personal space of the wearer. The dress provides an extension of the wearers intuition: It uses proximity sensors as well as a respiration sensor to both define and protecting the personal space of the wearer. Approach the wearer to aggressively and the mechanical limbs move up to an attack position. Approach the system under calmer circumstance and the dress just might beckon you to come closer with smooth, suggestive gestures.

3-D printed sensor based animatronic/mechatronic dress enabled by the Intel Edison acts as the interface between the body and the external world using technology and the garment as a medium of interaction. 

Now check out a little teaser video of the dress in action!

Industrial Light and Magic has released a new video reel called "Behind the Magic: The Visual Effects of Captain America: The Winter Soldier." It shows off some incredibly cool digital effects that their effects team created for Anthony and Joe Russo's badass Marvel film. I think it's fascinating to watch these things and see how all of the awesomeness comes together to form the incredible scenes that we watch in these films. Here's a note that came along with the video.

We are proud to present a sampling of of ILM’s visual effects work for Marvel's blockbuster hit, 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' directed by brothers Anthony and Joe Russo. 

This reel represents a small sampling of the nearly 900 visual effects shots ILM contributed to the film created by an international crew of 300+.

The bulk of ILM's work appears in the film's third act and consists of the helicarrier's massive underwater hanger, their ensuing battle, and the helicarriers themselves inside and out, sprawling digital Washington D.C. and Rosslyn environments including the Triskelion building complex on Roosevelt Island, highly detailed digital doubles for Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Falcon (Anthony Mackie).

Enjoy the video!

We have a couple of really cool fan-made trailers for you to check out out called Batman Vs. Green Arrow. They were created by YouTuber ShadesAtKnight and use footage from Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy and The CW's Arrow. These two properties mesh together extremely well, and there’s no doubt that this would make for a pretty awesome flick. It’s one of those things that will probably never happen for real, but that's what these fan-made productions are for. Who do you think would win in a fight? Christian Bale's Batman or Stephen Amell's Arrow?

Thanks to Fortune Magazine we have a couple new images of the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. These images give us our closest official look yet at the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy. That's Disney CEO, Bob Iger in the foreground, thinking he's more important than that Millennium Falcon he's blocking our view of. Here's a little explanation behind the magazine cover below:

“Yannick Dusseault, visual effects art director for The Force Awakens, and his team gave Fortunesix options showing the Falcon in different ways. The resulting image required the custom rendering of ILM’s computer generated Falcon. According to ILM, the fabled ship was rendered in wireframe form (a skeletal version) as well as a more layered “textured render,” which were combined in Photoshop to create the final image.”

ILM also created the interior image and the Falcon in the image above of Iger standing on the set. So it may be a digital image, but it's still pretty damn cool.  

Any fan of the classic 1980s sci-fi horror film Critters is going to love this fan-made short film created by Jordan Downey. The short is called "Critters: Bounty Hunter," and I think you’ll all be pleasantly surprised by its awesomeness. It’s definitely one of the better fan films in general that I’ve seen. You can tell Downey is a huge fan as it has the same vibe and spirit of the original movies. Here’s a note from the director:

“Call the Bounty Hunters, the Critters are back! CRITTERS: BOUNTY HUNTER marks the return of the carnivorous space creatures made popular by the 1986 classic. The short fan film from director Jordan Downey (ThanksKilling) serves as his pitch for the directing gig on an upcoming web-series from Warner Bros. The studio recently announced plans to revive the cult series under their digital unit, Blue Ribbon Content. Downey has been a die-hard fan of “Critters” since childhood and made the short to showcase his vision for the project. Completed in less than two months with a six man crew, Critters: Bounty Hunter is a quick slice of horror sure to please fans everywhere! to [sic] show that I would be the right director for the project. This short film is my pitch.”

This is a solid pitch, and if Warner Bros. hasn’t found a director for their web-series yet, Downey seems like a solid contender. "Critters: Bounty Hunter" was quite the entertaining short, and I’d love to see more from the filmmaker. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.

It feels like I just wrote up the news that Frank Oz would be reprising the role of Yoda on Star Wars Rebels. Today, we have a clip of Kanan (Freddie Prinze Jr.) in what I believe to be the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Kanan is meditating and then hears the voice of Yoda. This is not a completely new thing to Star Wars with Obi-Wan Kenobi telling Luke Skywalker to "use The Force." But this is the first time that a living Jedi was able to speak in the mind of another through The Force. The clip does reveal that Kanan being in the temple is what has allowed this to happen. But this could have larger implications in future Star Wars films. Imagine Luke Skywalker being able to speak to all Force wielders just by meditating. This single clip changes what we know about The Force.

Source: IGN

UPDATE:

A few readers in the comments have pointed out that Luke reaches out to Leia through the Force at the end of Empire Strikes Back. I've rewatched it and stand by my earlier statement. My interpretation of that scene is that she feels him and is very clearly not having a full on conversation like in the Rebels clip. Luke and Vader do speak through the Force but it seems only by close proximity. Dagobah is on the outer rim of the galaxy and Coruscant is closer to center.

I didn't realize that anime themed cars were a big fad in Japan, but, of course, I've never been to Japan. Apparently it's not unusual to see these anime cars driving around the streets of the country or parked in a parking lot. 

The photos you see here are just a few from an anime car gathering in Takehara, which is a small city in Hiroshima Prefecture with a population of under 30,000. The town is known for being the setting of the anime series, Tamayura. Thanks to io9 for the photos!