Last night in the US, the DVD and Blu-ray went on sale for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 and fans of the movie were given a sneak peak of a clip from the final movie which is released in November and sees the final chapter of the movie which stars Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson. This clip follows the news that the first trailer for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 will hit before The Hunger Games when it’s released in March.

Both the shots of the clip below come from footage filmed on mobile phones or the like in-store but no doubt the clips will be officially released online in the coming days.

Thanks Collider for finding these. Check out the clip below which features a very pale looking Bella!

To mark the release of Red Dog in cinemas 24^th February, with advanced previews from February 19^th, we’ve been given 5 pairs of tickets to give away to a special screening of the film on the 20th February at Vue West End at 6pm for a 6.30 start.

Red Dog is based on the novel by Louis de Bernieres, is directed by Kriv Stenders and stars Josh Lucas, Rachael Taylor, Noah Taylor, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Luke Ford, Arthur Angel.

Dampier, Western Australia, 1971. A wild and desolate place where workers from all over the world come here to sweat away. When the sun goes down, these grafters make their way to the industrial hick town’s only pub where they drink, recall their homes and get involved in fights. But this particular night things are somewhat quieter than usual. In the back room a dog is drawing its last breath. But this isn’t just any old cur, this is Red Dog, a dog everybody here knows and loves, and about whom everyone has a story to tell. No doubt about it, Red Dog really is a character –and tonight everyone is prepared to agree for once.

Directed by Kriv Stenders (The Illustrated Family Doctor, Blacktown), written by Dan Taplitz (Chaos Theory, Breakin’ All the Rules, Commandments), the film was shot on location in Western Australia, and is based on the novel by Louis De Bernieres (Captain Corelli’s Mandolin).

Check out the website for full cinema listings: www.reddogthemovie.co.uk

To be in with a chance of winning this great prize, simply click next to be taken to the entry form and question….

To mark the release of X: Night of Vengeance on DVD 20th February, Revolver Entertainment have given us 3 copies of the movie to give away. The movie is directed by Jon Hewitt and stars Viva Bianca, Hanna Mangan Lawrence, Peter Docker, Stephen Phillips, Eamon Farren and Belinda McClory.

VIVA BIANCA (Spartacus: Blood & Sand) and HANNA MANGAN-LAWRENCE (Acolytes) star as a jaded call-girl and a fledging hooker caught up in a night from hell in the action-packed, sizzling X: NIGHT OF VENGEANCE, coming to DVD on 20^th February 2012 (RRP £15.99)

Holly (Bianca) is retiring, kissing her successful life as a high-class escort goodbye. She just has to get through one last night on the job. Shay (Mangan-Lawrence) is a teenage runaway, broke and alone. She just has to get through her first night on the streets.

When a twist of fate throws the two women together on a job that goes horribly wrong, they suddenly find themselves racing through Sydney’s criminal underworld in a desperate attempt to stay alive.

From the director of award winning smash hit horror ‘Acolytes’, X: NIGHT OF VENGEANCE is a steamy thriller following two beautiful women on one ugly night that will change their lives forever.

X: Night of Vengeance is out on DVD on February 20, courtesy of Revolver Entertainment.

To be in with a chance of winning this great prize, simply click next to be taken to the entry form and question….

John Cusack (Being John Malkovich) and Evan Peters (Kick-Ass) are in advanced talks to star in Adult World.

Cusack and Peters will appear opposite Emma Roberts (Scream 4) in the adult themed drama.

Adult World centers on a recent college graduate (Roberts) who believes she’s destined to be a great poet, instead winds up working for an adult book store.

Scott Coffey (Ellie Parker) will direct from a screenplay written by Andy Cochran (Super Sweet 16: The Movie).

Adult World, which is currently in production, is a co-production between TreeHouse Pictures and Anonymous Content.

Source: Deadline

There’s good news from Berlin today as Dominic Burns’ latest film Airborne has found UK distribution with Chelsea Films, part of the Curzon Artificial Eye Group.

The film marks the return to the big screen of Mark Hamill, and his name will undoubtedly draw an audience keen to see the Star Wars actor again and the cast is rounded off with a number of Burns’ regulars including Simon Phillips, Gemma Atkinson, Alan Ford and Billy Murray. If you’re a very keen Star Wars fan then you’ll be pleased to know that Julian Glover is also part of the cast.

We’ve been following production the film for a while, and if you’re interested in finding out more you can check Dave’s set visit report which includes a lengthy interview with Hamill and we hope to bring you more on the film as it comes in. Chelsea Films are keeping the 2012 release but have not specified a release date as of yet.

THR were sourcey.

You know that Osama Bin Laden zombie movie that no one hoped would ever happen? And that no one even thought possible or indeed tactful? No? Well that’s probably because the concept never really entered your head, or because you had better things to do, or because you aren’t a moron with the IQ of a commercially savvy infant.

Well brace yourselves for an onslaught by “the axis of evil dead” as Bin Laden hunts for brains in Osombie – I think I’ll let the official plot synopsis fill you in:

“The story follows Dusty, a yoga instructor from Colorado, who is on a desperate rescue mission to save her crazy brother Derek, a conspiracy theorist who is convinced Osama Bin Laden is still alive, despite having been buried at sea. In Afghanistan, Dusty falls in with a team of NATO Special Forces on a secret assignment. Turns out Derek is not so crazy after all, and that Osama has returned from his watery grave and is making an army of zombie terrorists. When the group crashes headlong into the growing zombie apocalypse, Dusty and the troops must find and destroy the root of the zombie insurgency before it infests the rest of the world.”

The trailer promises that “Bin Laden. Will Die. Again.” And I guess that in the film he will. Although bringing up his death again isn’t exactly the least contentious thing one can do.

If you want a hands around the world, heal the poor, hug a puppy sort of movie I’m guessing don’t go and buy the straight-to-DVD DVD but many (well, a few) more will, if only to laugh at it. The trailer seems to be laughing at itself that’s for sure.

It really doesn’t matter though, hardly anyone will see it and even less will take it at all seriously:

Source: GeekTyrant

Cindy Lowry is an American environmental activist and the former executive director of Greenpeace in Alaska who has dedicated more than 25 years to protect marine wildlife and the marine environment. She is also the founder of Oceans Public Trust Initiative, developed out of a concern over the rapid expansion of offshore renewable energy development, as well as oil and gas.

Back in September 1988, she played the lead role in the rescue of Gray Whales trapped in the ice off the coast of Barrow, Alaska, and is the inspiration behind Drew Barrymore’s Greenpeace activist character, Rachel Kramer, in the new family film Big Miracle.

We spoke to her about meeting and bonding with Barrymore, as well as events leading up to the dramatic global rescue, as well as what issue she finds most pressing.

What were your first thoughts when you were told the events of September 1988 were going to be made into a feature film?

Cindy Lowry: I was really excited. They seemed very interested in my perspective of the event. Knowing they had picked Drew Barrymore to play me was great – I just couldn’t think of a better person, such a great actor and also just really down-to-earth as I am. She is also passionate about the issues she cares about. So I thought this was like a great opportunity.

Even thought Drew’s character is very much based on you, why is she called Rachel in this?

Cindy Lowry: I guess it’s just part of the creative licence that the movie companies take because it’s not a documentary. I know they could have used my name – I gave them the rights to do that.

Can you describe what it was like first meeting Drew, and how you helped her get into the part?

Cindy Lowry: We first met in New York and for whatever reason we just had this instant bonding. We just started talking immediately; at first I think she wanted to get my voice down and just talk about experiences – she had her iPhone and she was recording my voice for a while. It was over several hours as we were just walking New York together, and we just connected in a great way. She and I are both dog people so we talked about our dogs, and not just about the whale rescue – I spent ten years in Alaska with Greenpeace and so many other years with other projects. We talked about how I approach issues and my internal playbook that I use when I approach issues, and how I take some of these things on. She wanted me to come out to California later that summer and spend time with her at her home. We got along so well – she set aside the tape recorder thing. We just spent time together.

Then we went up to Alaska together – I was there for about three weeks. The first few days we really spent a lot of time together walking around where I used to live then I took her to some of my favourite places out in the wilds of Alaska to hike – she had one of her dogs with her at the time. It was fun. I think it really helped that we connected on such a deep level and just talked about life issues as well, childhood and things like that. We had a lot of similarities.

Did you both get to see some whales out there? 

Cindy Lowry: We didn’t up in Alaska; I did take her out to Turnagain Arm that feeds into Cook Inlet [south of Anchorage, Alaska]. Usually Beluga whales are in, and we did go out there a couple of times but we didn’t see any Belguas. We did see the typical things like moose. One of the places I wanted to take her hiking, I didn’t, just because I knew the bears were coming down and getting ready to den – I didn’t want Drew to have too much of an up close and personal experience [laughs]. Of course, there were tonnes of migratory birds because it was in the fall – we saw eagles, but no whales.

Casting your mind back to events in September 1988, what were your very first thoughts on seeing the three California Gray whales trapped under the ice?

Cindy Lowry: I spent a couple of days making a million calls to get things going – I talked to the Governor’s office; they weren’t interested in helping at the time with the US Coastguard. I knew we had a Moscow office so that’s how I first started talking with folks about getting the Soviets involved – I knew we had an agreement between the Soviets and the US, even though it was during the Cold War: If a ship was in trouble we would help each other. That kind of got rolling, and I went up to Barrow a day and a half later, and flew out in a helicopter with an NBC crew.

It was just so heartbreaking because there were two holes, one was a little larger than the other, but even in the larger hole only two of the three whales could come up and breathe at the same time. My immediate reaction was this was definitely one of those moments you wished you were Superman and you could just go in and swoop them out of there. All bets were off; whatever it took to get them out of there, we’ll do it.

Did the real-life rescue differ from the film version?

Cindy Lowry: We definitely had our ups and downs over a two-and-a-half, three-week period. Looking back on it, it’s interesting to me how everything happened at the right time, at the right moment. We’d go a day or two, and we’d be thinking the barge was coming to help and find out that it wasn’t. Then the brothers from Minnesota came up in the eleventh hour with their de-icer, which we called the ‘Whale Jacuzzi’. I mean we were out on the ice thinking the whales might not survive that night as it was like 30-40 degrees below zero and we were getting really slushy ice in the holes, and the whales were having a hard time coming up through the slush. We were thinking, I don’t know how we’re going to keep these things open. We tried out the de-icers, and amazingly enough they worked. Some seemed to come in at the last moment all the time, like the Inuits being able to chainsaw all the holes and then me getting word from my Washington D.C. office that the Soviets would come.

We weren’t inundated with the news crews just, but maybe later on. They did not want to be up there in the middle of the night. At lot of the time I was out there during the night, which were really my favourite moments when it was quiet. One of the moments that was really lovely between me and the whales was the night or two before the Soviets finally came in – they were making their first try coming in, and were supposed to stay out a mile or so and actually came in much closer. When you’re out 12 miles on the ice it’s pitch-black. We had a little spotlight at the last hole so the whales knew where to come, and a few other lights. We had to keep filling up the generators every few hours or they would run out of oil, so at that time we had five or six holes that were still open that the whales were using.

I think the whales could sense that there was open water close by because they started getting really frisky, and started swimming back and forth really fast between the last four or five holes. They would come up to the last one, and a wave of water would go over the last part of the hole. Folks were worried that some of the ice might start splitting because the icebreaker was coming in too soon, so they were asking us to get off and move back. So I thought I want to say goodbye, and I just knelt down by that last hole, and they were just so frisky and were becoming more like their true selves, and one of them came up and just blew water out of its blowhole all over me. As it was 30 or 40 below, my hair just frosted and I had this entire frozen whale breathe on my Parka. He just came up and rested his head or his chin on the ice in front of me. I didn’t pet him as they had been through enough, but I did have the most amazing eye contact with him and thought, oh gosh, you guys are going home. That was just an incredible moment for the whale and me to have by ourselves.

What was the moment like when they were finally free and swam off?

Cindy Lowry: I didn’t actually see them leave in that moment. Once the icebreaker came through, I think it shows in the film that the whales turned around and went in the wrong direction because there was so much commotion going on. They actually ordered everybody off the ice to give them a chance to move out. It was getting dark and some of the whale biologists who were good friends of mine, they told me they would stay with the whales that night because I was really worried about them surviving until the icebreaker could come through. The next morning we went out and they were gone.

What is the most pressing environmental issue that the public should know about that isn’t getting due attention?

Cindy Lowry: I continue to work on ocean issues and different marine manual issues like sea otters and the whales. But the one I’ve been working on here for the last eight years is the offshore wind development in Nantucket South. It’s the first project they’ve wanted to do in the US, and unfortunately, it’s in one of the worst places you can think of, as far as harming whales and other marine life. So I’ve been trying to get folks to start looking at marine spatial planning and ecosystem planning, and look at the global aspect of it. There are Right whales there and there are only 300 left in the world and they are in that area. Therefore we have been pushing for these things to be developed in other places, and also come up with an offshore wind development national policy on how you look at sites and where you put them. We all want green energy but it has an impact like every other energy does. I do have a website, oceanmiracle.org, were people can find out more.

I think folks can look more at their own communities and find issues that they’re interested in and want to help with – I think you can do it both locally and nationally.

Big Miracle is in cinemas from 10 February.

Star Wars hits cinemas today with one extra dimension than we saw back in 1999 when the movie was first released, back then there was so much hype and anticipation for the movie that everyone thought was going to be the greatest prequel of all time. Unfortunately, although the movie made an absolute fortune, it is inherently rubbish (feel free to disagree in the comments below) making you want to punch the screen in anger.

This video has found it’s way onto YouTube and is a special MTV screening from 1999 at Skywalker Ranch that George Lucas put on for as many celebs as possible before anyone had really seen it. Like I say, the movie had so much hype that literally everyone wanted to be there as this video shows.

In the video, we get to see interviews with a very young looking Elijah Wood, Justin Timberlake (as part of N-Sync at the time), Ozzy Osbourne, Tori Spelling, Katie Holmes (before she’d married her now-husband Tom Cruise) to name but a few all with The Backstreet Boys playing in the background. It’s all rather surreal but what get’s me is the anticipation for something so great!

If you want to know what we thought of the movie in 3D, have a read of Jon’s review here.

Anyone know who the heck ‘Maxwell’ is?!

Sally Hawkins (Made in Dagenham), Paul Giamatti (Win Win) and Paul Rudd (Knocked Up) have signed on to star in dramedy Lucky Dog.

Lucky Dog centers on two rival conmen who pair up on a get-rich-quick-scheme to sell Christmas tress in New York.

Phil Morrison, the filmmaker behind the acclaimed Junebug, will direct from a screenplay penned by Melissa James Gibson.

Lucky Dog will be a co-production between Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, HanWay Films and GreeneStreet Films, with shooting expected to begin next month in New York City.

HanWay Films will shop the worldwide distribution rights at the European Film Market in Berlin.

Source: Deadline

I hadn’t really thought about this before but now that Lionsgate own Summit Entertainment, that means they own both The Hunger Games and Twilight. News has just broken from Lionsgate that we will be getting the trailer for the final movie in the Twilight Saga which stars Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson will debut with The Hunger Games when it hits in March and I don’t know about you, but i can hardly contain my excitement!

No doubt the trailer will hit online before we see it at the cinema but this is exciting news for all those Twihards out there desperate to see what the final movie looks like.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 hits UK cinemas November 16th and is directed by Bill Condon.

Source: Lionsgate

Here’s a couple of brand new and exclusive images from Twentieth Century Fox’s new movie, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter which sounds like something we’ve made up but I assure you we haven’t! The film is directed by the man who brought us Wanted, 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.

We’ve been given these two new images from the movie which is set for release 3rd August just like the others that we’ve seen previously (see below), they really set the tone for the movie.

Absolutely love the image of the Vampire Hunter with his axe in the dark! These images are super high res so if you’re on a slow connection, be patient as they’re worth the wait. You can click them to enlarge.

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.

Here’s the other images in high resolution that came out earlier in the week, again, click to enlarge.

We got a look at the new Looney Tunes short, I Tawt I Taw A Puddy Tat, late last year, which played out in the States in front of Happy Feet Two. And now we’ve got a great new clip of another short of fan-favourites Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd battling it out in Daffy’s Rhapsody.

Both shorts have used original recordings of Mel Blanc’s iconic voices recorded back in the 1950s and brought them back to life on the big screen. In this new clip, we also see Billy West, who voices Elmer Fudd, talking about and recording the short along with director Matthew O’Callaghan, who’s directed a spate of recent Looney Tunes shorts, including Coyote Falls, Fur of Flying, and the most recent I Tawt I Taw A Puddy Tat.

I missed Happy Feet Two when it came to cinemas here in the UK, so I’m not sure if we got to see it ahead of the film like they did in the US. And likewise, with Daffy’s Rhapsody being attached to Journey 2: The Mysterious Island across the Atlantic, I’m not sure if the same thing’s happened here in the UK. Journey 2 is in cinemas in the UK already, so let us know if you’ve seen it in the comments below!

And if you’re reading this out in the States, then you can look forward to seeing two of your beloved Looney Tunes characters in 3D before Journey 2, which should be arriving at your local theatre today! Here’s a little teaser to whet your appetites, and you can head over to Yahoo Movies if you’d like to see it in HD. Just listening to the opening music is sure to make you feel nostalgic. Enjoy!

Written by Joe Pearce.

Casting is one of the most important factors to get right when making a film; good actors saying bad lines can save a script (see Sir Ian McKellen in X-Men: The Last Stand); whereas bad actors working with a good script can come close to ruining a film completely (I refer you to Andie MacDowell in Four Weddings and a Funeral). It’s a joy for the audience to watch when a film manages to gather the perfect cast of actors for the roles.

Child casting is notoriously difficult to get right. Often lauded as the greatest decade to grow up in when it came to films; the 80s saw a huge number of popular children’s films. Naturally The Goonies comes to mind immediately; an everlasting favourite for everyone now in their thirties, its nostalgic charm is completely unrivalled. However, it’s Rob Reiner’s Stand by Me which is completely unsurpassed when it comes to casting a group of youngsters.  Following the tragic death of River Phoenix it is often heralded as the example to demonstrate just what a raw talent he was. Reiner once said that when he turned the camera on, Phoenix “just told the truth”; it’s hard to argue with as it is undoubtedly one of the finest child performances of all time. He shines in a group where all four of the lead boys play it to perfection.

It’s hard to think of a seriously miscast actor in a Coen Brothers film; largely due to the fact that they pretty much have a pick-and-choose like power over Hollywood’s finest, but they have a wonderful talent for matching an actor to a role and vice versa. John Goodman; a man who has made more than one lasting impression in a Coen directed film has never impressed more than in The Big Lebowski. Goodman’s chemistry with Jeff Bridges (who immortalised himself with The Dude) is what makes the film such a joy to watch but pretty much every actor with a line seems spot on. The permanently brilliant pair of Philip Seymour Hoffman and Julianne Moore shine in roles that are seemingly against type and Coen regulars John Turturro and Steve Buscemi steal nearly every scene they are in. Even Tara Reid makes a memorable cameo!

It’s not just The Coen’s however. Great directors have always had the ability to pick the right actor for a part. Looking back at any Billy Wilder film; it really is hard to imagine anyone else playing one of his fantastic characters. The trio in Some Like it Hot will forever be adored, but it is one of his other collaborations with Jack Lemmon, which is completely unimaginable with a different set of actors. Lemmon is the finest actor in history at walking the line between hilarity and tragedy; and this has never been better demonstrated than in The Apartment (hilarious and tragic are two adjectives perfectly applicable to the film itself); and Shirley MacLaine is completely adorable as the object of his affections.

When there are less characters in a screenplay, there is even more pressure on actors; they have more screen time; more lines; and therefore more attention. Jaws set the standard from this perspective but a less obvious and more recent example is Zombieland. For the opening half an hour, Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson make for a wonderful double act in a post zombie apocalypse world. It would have been a shame to have had their dynamic interrupted if it wasn’t for Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin completing the group so wonderfully. It is even hard to imagine someone else making that cameo; even that just works.

A small group is one thing; but when basing a film on a couple, finding two actors who not only have the talent but the chemistry to make a relationship both moving and realistic is absolutely critical if it is to be a success. Lost in Translation has such chemistry. Whilst not a romantic film it is a love story. It’s beautiful; moving; and most of all, believable. Scarlett Johansson has never been better whilst Bill Murray reminds people of what a great dramatic actor he is; something which is often forgotten.

We’ve just been sent the first press release, poster and synopsis for Jonathan Sothcott’s new movie, The Mask of Red Death which is an adaption of the Edgar Allan Poe short story, The Masque of the Red Death published in 1842.

The movie adaption has been undertaken before with the most prominent version being the 1964 version but Roger Corman starring Vincent Price and Hazel Court. This new $1.5m version is due for release in 2013 with Sothcott (Elfie Hopkins, Strippers Vs Werewolves)  producing and British film maker Robert Pratten (Mindflesh, London Voodoo) helming the movie as Director. The press release informs us that the movie will be a a post-apocalyptic, steampunk-styled adaptation of the classic horror story.

The marketing for this is going to take a rather new form of ‘transmedia’ and will be be integrated with a new technology called Conducttr which allows audiences to take a participatory role in the storyworld.

“Although audiences can’t affect the outcome of the movie – it plays like any other – they will be incentivised  to collect items across the web and physical locations in order to have a heightened experience of the movie when it screens.”

Sounds fun!

No cast has been announced as yet but read on for the synopsis and click the poster to enlarge and we’ll update you with more information when we get it. Shooting is due to commence 1st June 2012 so stay tuned for more.

Synopsis:

London. 2020 as the radioactive clouds begin to fade after a devastating nuclear war, the last dregs of humanity fight to survive – drought and famine cripple this cracked, broken world. Electricity is a thing of the past. Hideous mutants stalk the night, desperately searching for food and warmth. A cold planet.A dying planet. Superstition is rife. Evil rises. Through the husk of the once great metropolis stalks a lone figure, The Red Death: to some a God, to others a freedom fighter. To all a nightmare of agonising death.

From the shell of a once great building, all that remains of his empire, corrupt billionaire Marzo rules what is left of London. His kill squads murder, pillage and rape. His group of friends indulge in every excess. Yet neither money or power can save Marzo from the Red Death… and it is coming for him.

Sothcott and Pratten team for steampunk ‘Red Death’ adaptation

 London. On the eve of the Berlin film market, prolific independent producer Jonathan Sothcott (Elfie Hopkins, Strippers Vs Werewolves) has announced ambitious plans for a post-apocalyptic, steampunk-styled adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s classic horror story The Mask of the Red Death, to be directed by acclaimed British film maker Robert Pratten (Mindflesh, London Voodoo).

“London. 2020 as the radioactive clouds begin to fade after a devastating nuclear war, the last dregs of humanity fight to survive – drought and famine cripple this cracked, broken world. Electricity is a thing of the past. Hideous mutants stalk the night, desperately searching for food and warmth. A cold planet.A dying planet. Superstition is rife. Evil rises. Through the husk of the once great metropolis stalks a lone figure, The Red Death: to some a God, to others a freedom fighter. To all a nightmare of agonising death.

From the shell of a once great building, all that remains of his empire, corrupt billionaire Marzo rules what is left of London. His kill squads murder, pillage and rape. His group of friends indulge in every excess. Yet neither money or power can save Marzo from the Red Death… and it is coming for him.”

Mask of Red Death will be a transmedia project encompassing a feature film, mobile app, web videos and social media. All media and marketing for the project will be integrated with a new technology called Conducttr which allows audiences to take a participatory role in the storyworld. Although audiences can’t affect the outcome of the movie – it plays like any other – they will be incentivised  to collect items across the web and physical locations in order to have a heightened experience of the movie when it screens.

Sothcott, Head of Programming for the Horror Channel prior to his successful career as a film producer, said “I have been looking for a project to work on with Robert that was more than just a film. As a producer I am constantly looking for new ways to tell stories and transmedia represents a very exciting opportunity. This version of Poe’s most famous story has everything the modern horror audience could want – its terrifying, sexy, action-packed and gory. As a film maker, Robert has a unique visual style that will make for an incredibly stylish film – this will be every bit as shocking as Mindflesh was and the post-apocalyptic setting allows us to give it a unique flavour – part steampunk, part cyber goth.”

Pratten commented“”When Jonathan mentioned the idea to me my mind first went to Tenpenny Tower in Fallout 3. It’s not quite like that at all but it does give you the idea of a rich dude trying to protect himself from the inevitability of death after an apocalypse.

This is a great opportunity to show how society might look after a reboot from a damaged hard drive: there’s a lot of what we recognize mashed up with medieval behavior we thought had been erased.In a world today in which many are predominantly hostile to spirituality, all they’ve done is replace faith in God with a faith in silicon chips and silicon breasts. In an post-apocalyptic Britain set in 2020, with life as we know irretrievably lost, new leaders will need to create myths in order to bring hope to the hopeless. And where there is no hope there’ll be violence, drugs, superstition and lust driven by the fear of facing our own mortality.”

The $1.5 million picture is scheduled to begin principal photography on June 1^st 2012. No casting has been announced as yet.

Edgar Allan Poe’s short story The Mask of the Red Death was first published in 1842 and has been filmed a number of times, most notably by Roger Corman in 1964 with a cast including Vincent Price and Hazel Court.

To date, there are currently ten films that have crossed that almost unimaginable threshold of taking more than a billion dollars at the worldwide box office, a record first broken in 1998 by James Cameron’s epic, Titanic, which stayed at the top of the US box office for fifteen straight weeks, a record it still holds today.

Titanic stood alone in the $1bn. club for six years before being joined by Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, and over the following years, it has since been joined by eight others, and has only ever been beaten in its worldwide gross by one, Cameron’s Avatar, which took almost $2.8bn. against Titanic’s $1.85bn.

Currently, the billion-dollar club looks like this, courtesy of Wikipedia, in order of highest to lowest:

1. Avatar
2. Titanic
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
4. Transformers: Dark of the Moon
5. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
6. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
7. Toy Story 3
8. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
9. Alice in Wonderland
10. The Dark Knight

Of course, there is certainly an argument to say that a list like this is meaningless, since it doesn’t account for inflation or ticket price variations, and thus makes it difficult to compare the films’ grosses. Nonetheless, that doesn’t change the fact that these ten films are the only ones to pass that boundary Titanic first leaped over just before the turn of the century.

In 2011, we saw three additions to the club, in the form of Harry Potter, Transformers, and Pirates of the Caribbean, making it a record year for the number of films to reach that milestone. And so with that in mind, I thought it would be appropriate before the year’s coming blockbusters are released to make a few predictions of who might be joining the club this year.

Technically speaking, with its 3D re-release coming this week, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is looking like a very likely candidate. Its gross currently stands at just shy of $925m., and if the re-release of The Lion King in 3D last year is anything to go by, earning more than $100m. across the globe, then The Phantom Menace could well be the first one to be added to the list this year. (Though it could be argued either way as to whether or not a re-release’s earnings should be taken into account; I leave that up to you to decide.)

Looking forward, things start to get exciting. The candidates looking strongest this year are of course the superhero blockbusters, and we’ve got plenty to look forward to in 2012.

Thank you so much Funny or Die for bringing this video into our lives! French actor, Jean Dujardin has recently hit the big time in the English speaking world after his stunning performance in The Artist (our coverage here) and with the Oscars coming up, there was no better time to get involved with the terrific people at Funny or Die to create an brilliant skit about European actors who end up playing the villain in movies after they’ve made their debut performance -  Christoph Waltz is one example.

In this video embedded below, you will see Dujardin in amazing audition performances for The Muppets 2, Die Hard 5, Pirates of the Caribbean 4, Skyfall, The Bourne Legacy, The Smurfs 2 and many many more.

Enjoy!

Thirteen years earlier I was in Leicester Square to witness a moment which had long been rumoured, promised then teased when the first of the Star Wars prequel trilogy was released.

It hadn’t started well. The Phantom Menace seemed too quirky a title, however the cast was good – Ewan McGregor as a young Alec Guinness, Liam Neeson and Natalie Portman were on board and Ian McDiarmid turning up to reprise his role as Palpatine.

And then there was Jar-Jar…

In many ways The Phantom Menace was a tipping point in our collective pop culture. Never before was the maxim ‘When the Gods want to punish you, they give you what you want’ more appropriate and we stumbled out of the cinema a little older, far wiser and wondering if The Matrix was still playing across the road.

Years later, and the trilogy complete, The Phantom Menace takes the stage once again, this time in 3D, and while the extra dimension was never going to change the film in any epiphanic way, it’s a shame that the 3D adds nothing to the film. For those who took issue with the film in 1999 you’ll find that time has not been kind and a dull curiosity may tempt you back into the cinema but the numerous problems of the film will always weigh this film down.

The final light sabre duel still looks great, though riddled with narrative oddities, and there’s no doubting that Darth Maul is an excellent addition to the Sithsphere, but the bloodless Jedi characters and feckless narrative drive are still like cinematic molasses. Dave commented during the early part of the film, ‘zzzzzzzzz’.

The 3D post conversion varies wildly in quality, adding nothing save for one soaring shot of a  floating platform high above the surface of Coruscant which induces a moment of stomach-churning vertigo. The pod race has its moments when the vast engines of the racers loom large over the manically paced background but these are sparse exceptions to the rule.

This is not Clash of the Titans/Viewmaster bad 3D, but it is a far cry from what we’ve seen so far of James Cameron’s Titanic 3Ding which is due out in April.

Perhaps this conversion will set a new standard and the subsequent Star Wars episodes will make use of 3D, and I can’t deny I’m curious about seeing how the original trilogy will look in 3D but this isn’t the best advert for the process, nor will it convince many that the addition of a third dimension is anything more than another money spinner.

And The Muppets is out today. I think you know what to do.

Oscar Nominated “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” starring Academy Award® winners Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock is in cinemas everywhere from 17^th February. Adapted from the acclaimed bestseller by Jonathan Safran Foer “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”   tells the story from inside the young mind of Oskar Schell an inventive eleven year-old New Yorker.

Oskar’s discovery of a key in his deceased father’s belongings sets him off on an urgent search across the city for the lock it will open.  A year after his father died in the World Trade Center on what Oskar calls “The Worst Day,” he is determined to keep his vital connection to the man who encourages him into confronting his wildest fears.

To celebrate the release, we are giving you the chance to win a beautiful digital photo frame courtesy of Prezzybox.com!

The star of the film Oskar saves photographs to remember his journey, so to celebrate this release we have teamed up with Prezzybox.com to offer you a fantastic Digital Photo Frame to store your favourite photos and memories. Prezzybox.com have 1000′s of unusual, comical and quirky, yet extremely useful presents for all of the family.

To be in with a chance of winning this great prize, simply click next to be taken to the entry form and question….

Welcome to the first edition of our weekly guide to the various movies arriving at your local cinema this coming weekend.

If you’re unsure what to go and see with your hard earned cash then look no further than our handy guide to help you make the right decision.

Here are the releases for this Friday 10th February:

The Muppets  *Pick of the week*

After what seems like a lifetime the much-anticipated Muppet movie finally arrives in the UK this weekend. It’s already been out for several months on the other side of the Atlantic and has received almost unanimously positive reviews.  The plot sees Walter (Peter Linz) his brother Gary, (Jason Segel) and friend Mary (Amy Adams) striving to raise $10 million to save the Muppet Theatre from Tex Richman (Chris Cooper), else the wealthy businessman will tear the building down and drill for oil.

Expect the usual Muppet mayhem lovingly crafted by unashamed Muppets super fan and co-writer Jason Segal . We can also expect a good catchy musical number or two courtesy of Flight of the Conchords co-creator James Bobin who is on directorial duties.

Here’s what Lisa Giles-Keddie made of the film in her glowing review.

Emma Thrower adds:

I unashamedly love The Muppets. I also love Flight Of The Conchords. So the pairing of Kermit and crew plus James Bobin and Bret McKenzie makes me want to weep tears of joy. Growing up on Sesame Street (well, not literally), Jim Henson’s creations naturally have a very special place in my heart, so the incredible amount of time and effort Jason Segel has taken over getting the fuzzy friends onto the Big Screen again is both extremely admirable and very exciting. Throw in the delightful Amy Adams, who seems to be able to do anything, and cameos from a whole range of stars, The Muppets is guaranteed to be a wholesome and wonderfully nostalgic family film. Mahna mahna indeed.

Star Wars Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace in 3D

George Lucas once again returns to his indomitable cash-cow and this time it’s delivered to you in three dimensions.  The Phantom Menace in 3D was actually released to selected screens on the 9th February but receives it’s far wider release on Friday 10th.

Our very own Jon Lyus says,

The Phantom Menace in 3D is just as satisfying and thrilling as it is in 2D.

Make of that what you will dear readers. Asim Burney points out however that the spectacular pod race is sure to look amazing in 3D as the good people at ILM do know their onions when it comes to impressive effects.

I’m sure a lot of Star Wars fans will be unable to resist the lure of another chance to see the movies on a big screen but  we’ll leave it up to you to decide whether the addition of 3D improves the movie or not.

A Dangerous Method

Perhaps the movie’s own official website can offer the best synopsis:

On the eve of World War I, Zurich and Vienna are the setting for a dark tale of sexual and intellectual discovery. Drawn from true-life events, A Dangerous Method explores the turbulent relationships between fledgling psychiatrist Carl Jung, his mentor Sigmund Freud and Sabina Spielrein, the beautiful but disturbed young woman who comes between them.

With two of the most lauded actors working in Hollywood today in the lead roles, Viggo Mortenson as Freud and Michael Fassbender as his protégé Carl Jung, there’s high hopes for this cerebral psychoanalysis flick. Director David Cronenberg has a proven track record of producing exciting and unique movies and it will be interesting to see what he can do with a film focused primarily on highly intelligent conversations.

Emma Thrower adds,

How can you not be excited by this? It’s Aragorn and Magneto! As someone who is pro-Knightley and believes there’s far more to her than the posh accent and the pouting, I’m looking forward to seeing her joining man of the moment Fassy and the legend that is Viggo. Although the project has had a rather quiet road to release, we mustn’t forget that Knightley’s name was banded around as a potential Academy Award nominee for this for a while, so her Russian Sabina sounds pretty intriguing and, from the trailers, far different to what we’re used to seeing from her. Plus, it’s Cronenberg in the director’s chair – he loves a bit of angry Viggo.

The Vow

If you fancy something a touch more romantic, (Valentine’s Day is coming up chaps, quick reminder for you all there) then The Vow would appear to be the choice for you. The plot centres on a young couple whose perfect relationship is shattered when Paige (Rachel McAdams) is involved in a car accident and enters a coma. Once she wakes up with serious memory loss it’s up to her husband Leo (Channing Tatum) to win her heart all over again.  Reviews seem to suggest it’s just slightly above average on the rom-com-o-meter but needless to say, it won’t be to everybody’s taste.

Big Miracle

A heart-warming family tale that is based on a real life event called ‘Operation Breakthrough’. ‘Operation Breakthrough’ was an international effort to release a pod of gray whales that had  found themselves trapped in ice in deepest snowiest Alaska.  The rescue operation brings the community and even governments together as they work as one to free the whales. Again, this isn’t one that’s going to appeal to everybody really. Could well be a schmaltz-fest.

Here’s what Lisa Giles-Keddie made of the film.

The Woman in Black

Daniel Radcliffe stars in this horror thriller courtesy of the legendary Hammer film studios. The story follows a young lawyer, Arthur Kipps (Radcliffe) who after taking a job which sees him relocated to a country estate, begins to see the titular ‘Woman in Black’. The townsfolk tell of a legend which suggests that the mysterious woman kills stalks their children as revenge for her own being taken away from her. It’s a classic-style horror which focuses on chills and tension rather than blood and gore. It’s interesting to see Radcliffe tackling something so far removed from Harry Potter.

Ben Mortimer called it ‘the scariest film he’s ever seen in his review.

Casablanca

To mark its 70th anniversary, the legendary Casablanca is receiving a timely theatrical re-release. Simply one of the greatest films of all time, if you haven’t seen it before, here’s the perfect chance to find out why it is so highly regarded. The simple tale of a cynical bar owner, a torrid love triangle and wartime intrigue is simply timeless.

Full of outstanding acting performances and arguably the most quotable script of all time, few films can match Casablanca for sheer volume of memorable moments and what better place to see them than up on the big screen.

Yes we’re a few days early but that’s so that you can get a heads up on what to buy for next week on the most romantic day of the year… Valentine’s Day! V-Day is just around the corner folks and for those of you who don’t see it as another way for Clinton’s to make some money (I am a proper romantic right here), the Blu-ray Disc Association have created this top 10 list of Blu-rays that you should buy or watch for / with your loved ones this Valentine’s Day!

All of these are now available to buy on Blu-ray and I’ve provided links for you on each page. So without further ado, let’s get started!

10) Cleopatra (1963)

• Studio: (20^th Century Fox)
• Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Pamela Brown
• Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
• Buy here

Why not have a glamorous and seductive evening with Cleopatra? Re-mastered in stunning HD so you can see the Egyptian queen (Elizabeth Taylor) like never before, this Blu-ray follows Cleopatra’s triumphs and tragedies with Roman leaders Julius Caesar and Marc Antony. The film was also where Taylor and co-star Richard Burton began their epic, off-screen romance.