After Transformers: Dark of the Moon was released last summer, Michael Bay and leading man Shia LeBeouf both said that if there were to be a sequel, they wouldn’t be returning for it.

But then in December last year, we heard news that Michael Bay was in talks to make his return, but still hadn’t decided one way or the other.

Collider are now reporting that not only is Transformers 4 (sub-title forthcoming) eyeing a Summer 2014 release, but producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura has officially confirmed in an interview with MTV that Bay will be returning for the fourth time around for a film that will reboot the franchise:

“Yeah Michael’s gonna direct and it’ll be releasing in the summer of 2014. We’re excited and I think the challenge there is we really are gonna do a reboot, and what that’s gonna be we don’t even know yet.”

Definitely sounds like a step in the right direction to me. Di Bonaventura’s been a producer for all three Transformers films so far, so you can assume that he knows what he’s talking about, even when he says that they don’t yet know exactly what the film will be like:

“Well I mean again it’s hybrid. It’s not the way—I’m not involved with Spider-Man but what I perceive Spider-Man to be is a redoing of the whole thing, [Transformers 4] is not. It’s an evolution. There’s still continuity that’s going on, and yet there’ll be a lot of new cast. Whether there’s anybody from the [original] cast, we don’t even know yet. But the truth is, it’s gonna be a whole new story. The characters that would certainly come along would be Optimus and Bumblebee I’m sure.”

As long as they bring back Optimus and Bumblebee, I think most people will be happy, and with Bay behind the camera, clearly knowing what he’s doing with the big blockbusters like these, that should comfortably convert into a healthy box office taking. Dark of the Moon went on to take more than a billion dollars at the international box office, as well as three Oscar nominations in this month’s awards to boot, and it will be interesting to see how a fourth film compares in two years’ time.

MTV’s Josh Horowitz asked the producer about the rumours of Jason Statham taking on the lead for the reboot, which di Bonaventura completely put to bed:

“No, it’s so silly. We’ve gotta get a story first. You can’t pick characters until you have a story.”

Still no word yet on who’ll be penning the script, and as you can tell from di Bonaventura’s comments, there’s no way to know exactly what we can expect from this new reboot. Needless to say, though, the effects will be immense, and if you’ve been a fan of Bay’s first three films, then this is good news for Summer 2014.

What is clear is that Bay will first be making his smaller project, Pain and Gain, with Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson this spring, and likely move on to direct the fourth Transformers from there. More news as we get it.

Oscar-nominated writer-director Whit Stillman returns after more than a decade’s absence since his last film with Damsels in Distress, which was chosen for the closing night of Venice Film Festival last year and has already been very well received.

We got the colourful first poster for the film last week, and now the first trailer has just gone online, courtesy of Yahoo Movies, and it’s definitely promising.

“A trio of beautiful girls set out to revolutionize life at a grungy American university – the dynamic leader Violet Wister, principled Rose and sexy Heather. They welcome transfer student Lily into their group, which seeks to help severely depressed students with a program of good hygiene and musical dance numbers. The girls become romantically entangled with a series of men – including smooth Charlie, dreamboat Xavier, the mad frat pack of Frank and Thor – who threaten the girls’ friendship and sanity.”

With a cast led by the likes of Greta Gerwig (Greenberg), Adam Brody (The O.C.), and Analeigh Tipton (Crazy, Stupid, Love.), it looks like Stillman is very much on top of his game, and after seeing Tipton in Crazy, Stupid, Love. last year, I’m really looking forward to seeing her again in a few months’ time alongside Gerwig and Brody.

Damsels in Distress is set to be released in the US on 6th April before coming to the UK a few weeks later on 27th April. Whilst that date sets it up against The Avengers, which isn’t really a film anyone really wants to be running in competition with, I’m hoping that Damsels in Distress will find the wide audience that it looks like it deserves. Here’s the trailer to give you a great first taste of the film.

Very interesting news coming from Variety tonight that Warner Bros. have secured Guillermo del Toro to direct a new version of Beauty and the Beast.

The director is currently filming his Robots Vs Aliens epic Pacific Rim and will also produce the new film for Warners, which will have a script from Andrew Davies, the prolific writer who has adapted most of Jane Austen’s works (notably Pride and Prejudice for the BBC) and the Bridget Jones novels as well the most recent adaptation of The Three Musketeers.

Emma Watson is also named as the actress the studio are actively courting to play the lead and if she were to accept this would mark her most visible role since the end of the Harry Potter films.

Tolkien fans were teased for years with the prospect of having a film version of The Hobbit directed by Guillermo del Toro and though his years working on the film, which will now be brought to the big screen by Peter Jackson, were not in vain it was a disappointing end, and his vision of the film will no doubt go down in history as one of the most intriguing films never made. His take on the classic story of Beauty and the Beast will be greatly anticipated.

Now, who to play the Beast…perhaps Hellboy man Ron Perlman, after all – he’s done that before.

After surprising more than a few by turning a $40m. budget into $360m. at the international box office, it was no surprise that the successful 2010 remake of The Karate Kid, led by Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith, would be getting a remake.

Frequent collaborators Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris, whose credits include working on Kung Fu Panda and Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood, were hired a few weeks after the film’s release to start scripting the sequel, and now Variety report that Sony have hired Zak Penn for a rewrite.

Though no official deals are in place, both Chan and Smith are expected to return to reprise their roles, with plot details currently being kept under wraps.

Penn’s credits include an impressive array of action films, including The Incredible Hulk, Behind Enemy Lines, and X-Men: The Last Stand, so needless to say he’s a talented writer and sounds like a great choice by Sony to work on the script.

Smith is currently on the set of M. Night Shyamalan’s film, After Earth, starring opposite his father, Will Smith, the first photos from the set of which we caught just a few days ago. Chan’s latest film, 1911, sadly didn’t get a UK theatrical release, but will soon be released on DVD/Blu-Ray next month, on 19^th March, which I can’t wait to see, even if it’s not on the big screen.

In case you missed the first film, which brought the younger Smith to the foreground as his breakthrough leading role, you can enjoy the trailer for it below:

Dominic Cooper (The Devil’s Double) has signed on to star in Cities, replacing Clive Owen (Closer) in the lead role.

Cooper will appear opposite Kirsten Dunst (Spider-Man), Orlando Bloom (Elizabethtown), and Anil Kapoor (Slumdog Millionaire) in the international thriller.

Cities intertwines the stories of characters around the globe, including a New York hedge fund manager, a Mumbai police officer and a couple who are house-hunting in London.

Roger Donaldson is attached to direct from his own screenplay.

Filming is expected to get underway over the course of the next few months.

Source: Variety

Australian actor Sullivan Stapleton is in final negotiations to lead in Noam Murro’s 300 prequel, it has been announced this week.

The apparently untitled prequel (Or 300: Battle of Artemisia as most are naming it), will tell the story of Greek General Themistocles, who leads Athens against Persian invaders in a battle played out simultaneously with the battle depicted in Zack Snyder’s 2006 gore-filled predecessor.

The star of Animal Kingdom is set to play the Persian King, Xerxes, whom the film will be centered around. It was reported in December that Eva Green, who recently appeared in Perfect Sense alongside Ewan McGregor, will also be joining the cast as the leading lady.

Murro signed for director when Snyder went on to direct the upcoming Superman reboot Man of Steel instead, but he is still set to produce the film and also co-wrote the script with Kurt Johnstad.

No word on when the film will begin filming as of yet, but it is set to be released sometime in 2013.

(Source: IndieWire)

With only a week until the release of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, a new poster has been released online, now emphasising the film’s two Oscar nominations for Best Film and Best Supporting Actor for Max von Sydow.

Adapted from Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel of the same name, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is an upcoming drama starring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock as the parents of a ten-year-old amateur inventor.

Focusing on the young boy, Oskar (Thomas Horn), the film isn’t your every day family drama as it deals with the World Trade Center attack on September 11th 2001, after Oskar’s father (Hanks) is killed in the attack. Finding a key that belonged to him, Oskar becomes obsessed with figuring out what the key opens, as his search brings him into contact with others around the city, played by the likes of Max Von Sydow, Viola Davis and Jeffrey Wright.

The new poster shows a still from the film with Oskar happily sat with his parents before the tragedy, taglined: “This is not a story about September 11th, it’s a story about every day after.”

Directed by Stephen Daldry, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close looks like it’s going to be a great film, and is set to be released on 17th February.

Here’s the new poster in full, via IMP Awards.

It was an excellent night in London’s Covent Garden for the 65th annual BAFTA award as Golden heads were handed out, The Artist ran quiet riot over everyone and took home the most awards while Colin Firth got down on one knee for Meryl Streep causing the hearts of the nation to flutter, and for the most part British film was celebrated in fine style.

None more stylish than a certain Miss Piggy who was installed by Orange at the head of the red carpet of the Royal Opera House to greet the guests as they arrived and there’s nothing more likely to raise a smile than a Muppet in a frock.

Here are her edited highlights from last night, with a special moment with Tom Hiddleston and a slightly terrified Daniel Radcliffe amongst others. If this doesn’t get The Muppets a presenting gig next year then nothing will.

Last week, we debuted a couple of new images from new movie, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter and now, Time (with a nod to our pals at BleedingCool) have released the first trailer for the movie. The film is directed by Timur Bekmambetov and stars Dominic Cooper, Anthony Mackie, Benjamin Walker, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jimmi Simpson, Alan Tudyk, and Rufus Sewell. It’s produced by Tim Burton so that will also give you an idea of what you might be able to expect. The screenplay comes from Seth Grahame-Smith and the movie is based on his novel Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter explores the secret life of our greatest President, and the untold story that shaped our nation. Visionary filmmakers Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov (director of Wanted) bring a fresh and visceral voice to the blood-thirsty lore of the vampire, imagining Lincoln as history’s greatest hunter of the undead.

Have a watch of the dark but brilliant trailer below and let us know what you think in the comments section. We’re loving the awesome axe wielding! There are some serious skills right there! Sorry it’s so small. Seems to be locked down by Time which is rather annoying.

Jennifer Aniston, of course best known for her role as Rachel in Friends, has been doing brilliantly with her movie career in the years since the end of that iconic TV show, taking roles in much-talked about films Marley & Me, The Break-Up, Horrible Bosses, and the upcoming Wanderlust, opposite her Friends co-star, Paul Rudd.

THR report that she’s now boarded her next project, the dramedy Miss You Already, and as if that wasn’t good news enough, Entertainment One has already pre-bought the UK, Australian, and Canadian rights to the film at the European Film Market this past weekend.

The film follows,

“two lifelong friends whose friendship falls apart when one gets pregnant and the other becomes ill.”

Paul Andrew Williams will be directing from a script he co-wrote with British actress-writer-producer Morwenna Banks. Williams is best known for feature debut with London to Brighton, and who moves into the drama-comedy drama with his next film, Song for Marion, due out this year, which will star Gemma Arterton, Vanessa Redgrave, and Christopher Eccleston. Clearly a director to be keeping an eye on.

The film is set to go before cameras this summer, so hopefully we’ll have more news to bring you soon about the project, including who’ll be cast opposite Aniston as the co-lead. With Aniston now attached, the project should be able to secure US distribution too, so if you’re reading this in the US, you can no doubt rest fairly soundly in the assurance that you’ll be seeing this film on the big screen as well, hopefully around this time next year.

Well it’s official, the crowds have cleared, the snow has settled, and the Sundance Festival has officially closed up shop for the year!  With this year playing host to over 120 films, it may be hard to sift through the rubble to find those hidden gems that we will continue to enjoy over the next year.  This is why I have decided to put together a list of all the wonderful films you should keep an eye out for as 2012 unfolds!  Some you’ll be able to catch at the multiplex, others on DVD or Netflix, and a few… well.. a few you should just avoid like the plague!

TOP 10 FILMS TO LOOK OUT FOR!

#10 – Beasts of the Southern Wild

While some of us were off seeking relief from dysfunctional family dramas, a braver audience was off checking out Beasts of the Southern Wild.  As much as I loved the film I saw instead, I almost wish I had make the journey one theater over to check out this film.  No film this year generated near the amount of buzz from both press and attendees alike, and no other film garnered in such rave reviews.  It also just so happened to grab the Grand Jury Prize for Dramatic Film, as well an Excellence in Cinematography Award.  Not bad for a group of first timers huh?  Word on the street is that Icon Films has picked the film up for distribution, so you can most likely expect to see this film premiere at your local Indie theater in due time!  Don’t make the same mistake I did, see this film!

#09 -Where Do We Go Now?

I was hooked by this film from the first time I heard it described as a Lebanese Musical about religious conflict in Lebanon.  The film actually only has about 4 songs spread throughout it’s 100 minute run time, so it’s hardly a musical by traditional standards.  What the film truly is,  is a hilarious yet heartbreaking comedy reminiscent of films like My Big Fat Greek Wedding.  Often with these 100+ minute films, there tends to be a good 20 minute chunk in which I start to zone out.  This was not an issue during the screening of this film!  If you liked Nadine Lebaki’s last musical Caramel, then you will most certainly find this film to your liking.

#08 -The Pact

Ok, so Nicholas McCarthy’s feature length debut may not blow minds with any crazy horror twists that you haven’t seen, but that doesn’t stop it from being one heck of a thrill ride.  McCarthy is part of the new school of horror that has decided to tone back all the jump-scare tactics, and instead letting the audience psyche themselves out on their own.  Based on the 2011 Sundance Premiere Short, The Pact is an edge of your seat horror film that if nothing else, will keep you entertained for a good 91 minutes.  How can anything starring Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien) possibly be bad?

#07 -V/H/S

If you haven’t been paying close attention to the Horror genre as of late, then you likely will have missed quite a few exciting things.  In fact, you may be altogether unfamiliar with a group of guys that some consider to be the next generation of cutting edge genre Directors.  Thankfully V/H/S is here to remedy your ignorance with a heavy dose of 6 shorts, all directed by a group of guys whose names you probably want to start memorizing.  Directors include: Ti West, Adam Wingard, Joe Swanberg, Glenn McQuaid, David Bruckner, and a group of young fellows known simply as Radio Silence.  The film itself is yet another chapter in the recent string of ‘found footage’ films, but honestly there are some real gems here.  I absolutely hate found footage anything (even YouTube sometimes bridges on annoying), but I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of V/H/S.  And for the record, this film makes me want to cast Hannah Fierman in pretty much every film I ever personally make.  Due to the overall 6 short structure of the film, it’s unclear wa full theatrical release, but something tells me you’ll be hearing more from this film in the near future.

#06 – The Surrogate:

The Surrogate was probably one of the most challenging films of the festival, but at the same time, one of the most rewarding.  The story, based on true events, depicts the life of a man confined to an iron lung and his journey to experience the loss of his virginity.  The fact that the film heavily deals with sexuality, and that Helen Hunt remains nude for a good portion of it, all work to make this film a tough sell.  However once people get over the nudity and get over the tough subject matter, they will find a superbly executed, well acted film.  This film at no point ever comes across as obscene, just like it never releases its firm grip on the heart of it’s viewer.  I wish this film all the luck in the world as we move forward into the year (and during award season).

#05 – Bachelorette

Kristen Wiig and company opened up the flood gates so to speak with 2011′s Bridesmaids.  Now it seems we are set to be bombarded by female lead comedies, a trend which while seemingly overdone, is most assuredly overdo.  To some Bachelorette may at first give off the appearance of being just another Bridesmaids ripoff (it is a comedy centered around Bridesmaids after all).  However upon further inspection we find a film that is more polished and indeed funnier than it’s contemporary.  The highlight of the film is undoubtedly in Kirsten Dunst’s patently “bitchy” performance.  Something happens to her when she’s thrown into film’s about over-dramatic characters in the midst of a wedding, and whatever it is, I love it!  Expect this film to get a wide release at some point.

#04 – Searching For Sugar Man:

Oftentimes I tend to steer away from documentary programming due to their tendency to be bleak one-sided affairs.  Every once in awhile though a film like Searching For Sugar Man comes along and completely breaks form.  It starts out as a depressing biographical film about a musician who died before his time, never realized his full potential.  As time passes and the film unfolds, we are instead greeted with a surprisingly uplifting film that actually speaks to the genial nature of man.  The film is also accompanied by a stirring score by it’s subject Jesus Rodriguez which will stick with you long after the credits come to an end.  Sugar Man marks the directorial debut of Malik Bendjelloul, but honestly there is nothing here that makes him seem anything but the most seasoned of vets.

#03 – Compliance

There’s just something about movies that only have 1 or 2 locations that is just so damn interesting (see London or Carnage).  It forces Directors such as Craig Zobel  to abandon their gimmicky airplane and SFX shots (Michael Bay), and requires that they for once exercise that little brain muscle used for narrative storytelling.  The end result is remarkably compelling film that is at times so patently absurd, you almost can’t believe the events truly happened.  Dreama Walker (Gossip Girl, Gran Torino), and Pat Healy (Rescue Dawn, The Innkeepers) put forth some of the best performances of their careers, and Director Craig Zobel goes 2-0.

#02 – Red Lights

It’s X-Files meets The Prestige, and that’s not just because Gillian Anderson co-stars!  The film itself revolves around a pair of University backed skeptics who set out to disprove the purported psychic abilities of the ever mysterious Simon Silver (Robert De Niro).  This film’s twist ending successfully polarized just about every audience member to screen it, making it one of the most talked about films of the whole festival.  Accompanied by Xavi Giménez’s stunning cinematography, Red Lights is definitely a film you do not want to miss.  Expect a US wide release in March

#1 – The Raid

With the original ’3 Dragons’ surely past their prime, there has been a giant gap left in the world of Martial Arts films.  Thankfully Gareth Evans and his rag tag band of Indonesian martial artists have put together a film that will change the landscape of action movies for years to come.  Think of the plot as a really really awesome video game.  Your goal, to fight your way through 15 levels of villains to reach the ultimate final boss at the top of the dungeon.  Oh and hope you’re good with a knife, because you’ve only packed a limited supply of bullets!  What ensues is one of the most dazzling and brutal displays ever to grace the action movie genre.  The Raid will likely spoil the next 10 action movies you watch, as it is most certainly in a league of it’s own

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

The Imposter: Other press members I met described it as a film that delivers more thrills and suspense than most fictional films.  It’s description that makes me want to catch this one that much more!  Rumor also has it that the cinematography is just breathtaking!

Excision: One of my favorite parts about the Sundance festival comes in the form of it’s midnight horror programming.  Excision was one of only two films I missed out on, but from what I hear, I missed quite a show.  One volunteer I met even went to see it 3 times at the festival!

AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE!

Lay The Favorite:

Sometimes we get so jaded by our blind love for the Die Hard films, that we tend to forget Bruce Willis is perfectly capable of starring in some truly horrible features.  Lay The Favorite is one such feature.  It’s not just the poor acting, or the pointlessly muddled plot line that makes this film so painstakingly awful, but in fact it’s everything!  Rebecca Hall’s performance as a pretty but incredibly naive ex-stripper ceases to be cute after the first 20 minutes and Bruce Willis as a Danny Tanner clone just doesn’t work .  The rest of the film only serves as a tortuous reminder that no matter how hard Director Stephen Frears tries, this will never be as good as The Grifters.

Wuthering Heights:

I went into this film expecting it to at least be on the same tier as the recent Jane Eyre remake.  However after about the first 30 minutes or so of extraneous bird and babbling brook shots, I became painfully aware that I had made a grave mistake in attending this film.  Director Andrea Arnold attempts to reinvigorate the story for new a new generation of audiences by updating the obscenities and casting a black actor (James Howson) for the role of Heathcliff, but in the end the film is never able to set itself apart from being just a poor novelty act.  Instead of a moving story about the pain and heartache that comes about from love, the viewer is instead left with a poorly acted tale about two extremely overdramatic teens (Twilight fans rejoice!).  In Arnold’s defense though, that’s kind of the jist of the original source material anyway.

Actor to watch out for: Pat Healy

Healy has been traveling under the radar ever since he first caught a gig playing a Agent Rogers in the not so popular Home Alone 3.  However his last few roles as a awkwardly comedic hotel employee in The Innkeepers, and the malicious orchestrator of the prank call from hell in Compliance, have shown that Healy most certainly has the charisma needed to hold a starring role.  Keep a sharp eye out for this guy!

Most Films at the Fest: Mark Webber

Webber has come a long long way since his role in the ever nostalgia inducing Snow Day.  This year alone he has 3 films slated to be released (The End of Love, Save The Date, For a Good Time Call) and every single one of them had their premiere at this years Sundance festival (talk about a busy guy!).

Coolest Soundtrack: Mike Shinoda (The Raid)

Apparently the powers that be weren’t to keen on the original score for this Indonesian power house film, so in order to spruce things up they brought in Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda.  I’m not sure how different this new soundtrack is from the original but Shinoda has most certainly outdone himself this time!  We’re talking pulse pounding drums layered upon grimy low frequency oscillations that would even make The Notebook seem like a John Woo film.

Momentum Pictures have sent over the brand new UK poster for new movie, Act of Valour which is set for release in the UK 23rd March. If you missed the trailer for the movie, click here to have a watch. Act of Valour (or Act of Valor if you’re American) uses real-life US Navy Seals to make the movie as realistic as possible as well as using real mission reports to make the storyline as authentic as possible. It stars Roselyn Sanchez, Emilio Rivera, Nestor Serrano, Gonzalo Menendez, Ailsa Marshall, Jason Cottle and is directed by the Bandito Brothers.

We’ve seen it and really enjoyed it but keep your eyes peeled for Adam’s review when it goes live in the coming weeks.

I’ve embedded the UK poster below the synopsis which you can click to enlarge.

Momentum Pictures are proud to announce the UK release of the Bandito Brothers’ explosive Navy SEAL action movie, ACT OF VALOUR, starring active-duty Navy SEALs that takes you deep into the secretive world of the most elite, highly trained and deadly group of warriors in modern combat.

Conceived by former Baja 1000 champion Mike “Mouse” McCoy and former stuntman Scott Waugh, ACT OF VALOUR goes deep into the secret world of today’s most elite and highly trained group of warriors.

When the rescue of a kidnapped CIA operative leads to the discovery of a deadly terrorist plot, a team of SEALs is dispatched on a global manhunt. As the men of Bandito Platoon race to stop a coordinated attack that could kill and wound thousands of innocent civilians, they must balance their commitments to country, team, and their families back home.

Based on real events, the film combines stunning combat sequences, up-to-the minute battlefield technology and heart-pumping emotion for the ultimate action adventure.

The official Facebook for the movie can be found here.

With the release of his latest film, Restless, on DVD and Blu-ray today we’ve got an exclusive clip from the film for you as well a look back on the key relationships in Van Sant’s previous films.

Often blossoming from difficult circumstances the love stories in Van Sant’s films hold to a notion of breaking free from a sense of being trapped, be it be society or addiction, external oppression (literal and imagined) or from a lifestyle the characters find themselves in. What always interests me about his films are the instances of love appearing often without being looked for, sometimes unspoken but always naturally occurring and always, crucially, believable.

From the starkness of his early work with My Own Private Idaho and Drugstore Cowboy, through the unfulfilling Even Cowgirls Get the Blues to the darkly funny To Die For Van Sant’s exploration of the impact of finding another person in the world whose view and care changes something significant in our main character is something that stands out, and more often than not is at the heart of why his films works as they do.

Here are a few of the key relationships in Van Sant’s filmography, if we’ve missed any let us know in the comments.

But first here’s the exclusive clip from Restless to get you in the mood.

Mike and Scott – My Own Private Idaho

Van Sant’s third film made good on the promise of Mala Noche and Drugstore Cowboy and features phenomenal performances from Keanu Reeves and River Phoenix who find each other as Phoenix’s Mike washes up on the shores of Portland. Both suffering from difficult relationships with their parents the story is as much about those who take the path mostly travelled as much as it is about freeing oneself from their perceived fate.

In searching for his Mother Mike inspires Scott to travel with him and in doing so shows him that the life he has chosen in denial of rather than in deference to his Father (the town’s rich Mayor) is a moment in time, and one day he’ll wake up and it’ll be as if it was a dream.

Careful performances, with a stunning dreamlike quality in places, with the sad story of its own.

Suzanne and Jimmy – To Die For

It’s a comedy, but it has a very dark heart. The mid-90s was the perfect time for the fame-hungry protagonist in the dazzlingly terrifying form of Nicole Kidman’s Suzanne Stone and her hunger for the spotlight, though necessarily over the top here, can still be felt in today’s world of talent shows and seemingly endless TV auditions.

Through seduction and coercion Suzanne drags the luckless Jimmy, a well placed Joaquin Phoenix, into her murderous plot as her husband, she decides, needs to go once he begins talking of his career-destroying family plans. It’s a tough line to walk, but thanks to a breakout performance from Kidman and Phoenix’s bullied unease the final twist of the knife from Van Sant is a delicious piece of irony.

Will and Chuckie – Good Will Hunting

It was a toss up between this relationship and that of those played out by Robin Williams and Matt Damon. Clearly we spend more time with those two as the therapy unleashes the changes within the genius of the film’s title but it is the casual ease and genuine sense of their strong bond between Affleck and Damon which tips this for me.

Their close relationship is obvious on screen but it takes a considerable talent behind the camera to bring their script and its key moments to life. It is a film which sees Van Sant handling the drama with an almost invisible touch, allowing the rich story to play out. The change in fortune and attitude of Damon’s character happens slowly and in fragments but there is no finer moment in the film than when Affleck’s Chuckie turns up to Will’s apartment one morning, the same as every day, to find it empty and Will gone for good, finally escaping his life. Affleck realises, looks down and smiles and that smile gets me every single time. Van Sant tells their story perfectly and though people decry it as mawkish and unlikely I’m a champion for it.

Alex and Eric – Elephant

In a dramatic change of pace from the Oscar nominated GWH, Elephant is the most impressive of Van Sant’s ‘Death trilogy’ and its impact comes from the dreamlike quality often found in the director’s work being used to incendiary effect as the dark day of Elephant plays out.

Any film which echoes a real life tragedy runs the risk of causing offence and upset, but the strength of Elephant is that it offers no commentary, it doesn’t have to answer any questions because it poses none. The doomed love story of students Alex and Eric begins and ends without change or catharsis, it simply is. Van Sant offers us no clues to the reasons for the tragedy which unfolds, even as the two boys begin getting ready for their killing spree, but the haunting quality of the film is that the answers we seek after a tragedy are as unsatisfying and unsettling as the questions.

It’s a beautiful film, cold, dark and depressing but mesmerizing.

Here’s a new image of Johnny Depp and co-star and former Bond Girl, Eva Green from their new movie Dark Shadows with Eva sporting a lovely blonde barnet. Dark Shadows is the latest from Tim Burton which probably goes without saying when you look at the styling of the image below and those we’ve seen so far from the movie. I’m about to wriote the rest of the cast down. Can you guess who it might be?! OK, let me put you out of your misery.

Te movie also stars…. Michelle Pfeiffer, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller, Bella Heathcote, Chloe Moretz, Gulliver McGrath and someone called Helena Bonham Carter who you may know from every other Tim Burton movie ever!

The image comes from Luces Carmara Blog with a nod to the dudes at ComingSoon. We can expect Dark Shadows on the 11th May.

In the year 1752, Joshua and Naomi Collins, with young son Barnabas, set sail from Liverpool, England to start a new life in America. But even an ocean was not enough to escape the mysterious curse that has plagued their family. Two decades pass and Barnabas has the world at his feet-or at least the town of Collinsport, Maine. The master of Collinwood Manor, Barnabas is rich, powerful and an inveterate playboy…until he makes the grave mistake of breaking the heart of Angelique Brouchard. A witch, in every sense of the word, Angelique dooms him to a fate worse than death: turning him into a vampire, and then burying him alive. Two centuries later, Barnabas is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. He returns to Collinwood Manor to find that his once-grand estate has fallen into ruin. The dysfunctional remnants of the Collins family have fared little better, each harboring their own dark secrets. Matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard has called upon live-in psychiatrist, Dr. Julia Hoffman, to help with her family troubles.

With his final foray with The Twilight Saga on the horizon, Robert Pattinson looks to be setting up a fine post-Twilight career for himself, leading Bel Ami next month and David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis later this year.

Admittedly, Bel Ami at least will be coming before the curtain opens on Breaking Day – Part 2 in November, but with filming finished on the film, Pattinson and Kristen Stewart are both looking on top form to continue with successful careers beyond the franchise’s conclusion.

We’ve now got ten minutes’ worth of clips to share with you from Bel Ami co-directed by Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod, who look to be making a promising directorial debut with this, with Rachel Bennette also making her writing debut, based on the 19th century novel of the same name by Guy de Maupassant.

“Bel Ami is the story of Georges Duroy (Pattinson), who travels through 1890s Paris, from cockroach ridden garrets to opulent salons, using his wits and powers of seduction to rise from poverty to wealth, from a prostitute’s embrace to passionate trysts with wealthy beauties, in a world where politics and media jostle for influence, where sex is power and celebrity an obsession.”

Along with Pattinson, the film has an impressive supporting cast headed up by Uma Thurman, Kristen Scott Thomas, and Christina Ricci, seen one-to-one with Pattinson at the end of these clips. If you’re interested in the movie already, this will no doubt only spur your excitement for its release next month.

Bel Ami will be with us here in the UK on 9th March, a week after its release in the US on the 2nd. You can catch up on all the rest of our coverage for the film here, including the first teaser trailer we caught just before Christmas. And for now, here are those ten minutes of clips with which to dip your toe in the water.

Source: The Playlist.

Here’s Beau Willimon talking about The Ides of March from the red carpet at last nights BAFTA Awards. (see all our BAFTA coverage including the full winners list and other interviews here).

How does it feel to be a BAFTA nominee?

‘It feels thrilling. It feels like a miracle the movie made it from the script to the screen at all. The fact that this movie got made, and that it’s made it’s way across the pond and connected with so many people in the UK is a real thrill for me.’

 Aside from your own movie, what other nominated films are getting you excited?

‘I think Tinker Tailor was amazing, Moneyball was amazing. So many great films have been made this year internationally, it’s a pretty heady group to share some nominations with – a really good year for movies.’

I’m curious, the movie went through quite a long development process didn’t it?

‘I wrote the play eight years ago, and then a couple of years after I wrote the play i t got optioned for a movie with George Clooney producing, and then he decided to direct. I wrote the first feew drafts, and then turned it over to Grant and George, and what you see on the screen is a combination of all our efforts.’

When it comes to giving your baby to George and Grant, what was it like?

‘I’ll raise a baby with George and Grant any day of the week; it turned into a pretty healthy one, and now it’s got its own legs and its own life. George, from the very beginning wanted to remain faithful to the play, it wasn’t one of those stories of just cherry picking things here and there and turning it into something else. He wanted to remain true to the core story, so I was never worried that anything was going to happen to it in a bad way. Adapting it into a story just gave us an opportunity to expand characters deep in the world and really capture the adrenalin of a campaing in a way you can’t do on the stage.’

Aside from the title, there is an air of Roman-esque politics in the film. Did you have that in mind when you wrote it, or did the title come about later?

‘Not even Shakespeare or brutus or Julius Cesar themselves invented ambition or hubris, backstabbing politics. I think that’s been around since men and women could stand upright and hit each other with clubs, It definitely was at the back of our minds. Really we just set out to write a contemporary tale about a young man dealing with some pretty universal and difficult moral choices.’

The Republican primary is going on at the moment…

‘This film could just as easily have been about Republicans. It just so happens that Govenor Mike Morris in the movie is a Democrat, and a fairly liberal one, but you could have switched over to the other side of the isle, because it’s really not a movie about politics, it’s a movie about desire and ambition and loyalty, and that can be true in any number of worlds, whether it’s politics or finance or at home, sibling rivalry. I think it’s poignant right now because there’s quite a happening across the states, but I hope it transcends any given political moment.

Starring Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston in the leads, Wanderlust has the potential to be brilliant. We saw a great first trailer for the film a few months ago, and now we’ve got a great new clip to share with you with Rudd showing off his guitar skills, taking on the Spin Doctors song, Two Princes.

Directed by David Wain and co-written by Wain and Ken Marino, whose Role Models proved a huge success back in 2008, the film has a great supporting cast that includes Justin Theroux, Malin Akerman, Marino himself, Alan Alda, Kathryn Hahn, and Ray Liotta.

“George and Linda are an overextended, stressed out Manhattan couple. After George is downsized out of his job, they find themselves with only one option: to move in with George’s awful brother in Atlanta.

On the way there, George and Linda stumble upon Elysium, an idyllic community populated by colorful characters who embrace a different way of looking at things. Money? It can’t buy happiness. Careers? Who needs them? Clothes? Only if you want them.

Is Elysium the fresh start George and Linda need? Or will the change of perspective cause more problems than it solves?”

This new clip, via Metacafe and Collider, sees Rudd go up against Theroux on the guitar and coming out a little worse for wear, with Aniston looking brilliantly impressed by Theroux instead of Rudd.

Wanderlust is set to hit the big screen here on 2^nd March, a week after its US release on 24^th February, and by all accounts looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun. Here’s the new clip to give you an idea of what we can expect.

Just a short post here, Branagh on Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe. (see all our BAFTA coverage including the full winners list and other interviews here).

What was it like for you to play such an iconic character against such an iconic character?

‘The big learning curve was just watching Michelle Williams transform into Marilyn Monroe. On the first day her coming on to set and watching every head turning, and you got this sense of what [The Marilyn Effect must have been], she walks on and just stops time. She walks on – well, she floats on, and everything stops. The thing that Marilyn – Michelle did, was to, not only recreate this icon, so she had the look and the voice and the sound and the hair and everything, but she also just kept making you feel that she was real, that she was believable in the here and now, so I found that great inspiration –to play the human being, not just the pictures and the legend as it were.’

‘It was fun every morning to go in and meet before going to the makeup trailer and be a little beaten up at five AM, and then you’d go in there and I’d wink at here, and I’d put my headphones on and listen to Lawrence Olivier reading the Bible, and then they’d put my prosthetic chin on and I’d turn around two or three hours later and Michelle had gone, she’d left the building. Instead Marilyn Monroe was there, seemed bigger in the chair, seemed as though there was a kind of aura around her. I felt that every day was a journey back in time, and I felt that I was getting a trip to the movies myself through seeing the magic she created.’

BAFTA have just released this rather nice photo of all the people who won an award at the 2012 BAFTA Film Awards which took place last night and it’s rather nice I have to say. The shot was taken on the stage after the event and includes among many, Adam Deacon who won the Orange Rising Star award, Octavia Spencer who won Best Supporting Actress for The Help, for Meryl Streep who won for The Iron Lady, John Hurt who took the award for Outstanding Contribution to British Cinema, Martin Scorsese who took the Fellowship Award, Asif Kapadia and his team behind the awesome movie, Senna. The big winners of the night were the team behind silent black and white movie, The Artist which came away with seven awards.

Jon, Ben and myself were all working last night to bring you as much coverage as we could from the awards. If you missed the winners list, you can see it in full right here. We also live blogged the event which you can catch up on here and and Ben is currently posting his red carpet interviews throughout the day so keep your eyes peeled for those.

Click the image below to enlarge.

Photo comes courtesy of BAFTA / Richard Kendal / Rex Features

Photo by BAFTA / Rex Features

Lionsgate have just sent over the first UK poster and trailer for their new movie starring Mel Gibson with the title ‘How I Spent My Summer Vacation. he movie sees Mel Gibson in his first action movie for some years and I’m really hoping (like The Beaver) that he puts in an amazing performance. Could it be a new Lethal Weapon or has that time been and gone for Mel? I guess we’ll see.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation is directed by Adrian Grunberg and also stars Peter Stormare, Bob Gunton, Dean Norris, Scott Cohen, Patrick Bauchau. It’ll be with us May 11th.

It’s been a bad day for Driver (Gibson) and it’s not getting any better. He just made a big haul of millions that would give him a nice summer vacation on easy street.  A good idea that went south – literally.

During a high-speed car chase with the US Border Patrol, and a bleeding body in his back seat, Driver flips his car smashing through the border wall, tumbling violently, coming to a stop … in Mexico.  Apprehended by the Mexican authorities, he is sent to a hard-core prison where he enters the strange and dangerous world of “El Pueblito”, the worst prison in all of Mexico.  Not an easy place for an outsider such as Driver to survive, unless it’s with the help of someone who knows the ropes – a 10 year-old kid.

Directed by Adrian Grunberg, How I Spent My Summer Vacation, is produced by Mel Gibson, Bruce Davey and Stacy Perskie and stars Mel Gibson, Daniel Gimenez Cacho, Jesus Ochoa, Roberto Sosa, Dolores Heredia, Kevin Hernandez, Fernando Becerril, Mayra Serbullo, Mario Zaragoza, Gerardo Taracena, Tenoch Huerta and Peter Gerety.

This new poster echos one of the first images (from The Film Stage) from the movie which I’ve placed below. Have a watch of the trailer and let us know what you think.