Martin McDonagh made his feature debut back in 2008 with In Bruges, a film that earned him an Oscar nomination for his screenplay and a substantial cult following since its release. His follow-up this year with Seven Psychopaths has the making to be another big success for him, assembling a fantastic cast that includes Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson, and Christopher Walken in the leads.

We got the first images from the set at the end of last year, and we’ve now got the great first official images to share with you, courtesy of EW via Collider, in which we can see a few moments of serious tension between the above cast.

The film revolves around,

“a savage gangster (Woody Harrelson) goes on a rampage after his beloved shih tzu Bonny goes missing, snatched by an out-of-work actor (Sam Rockwell) who pays the bills by helping a professional dognapper (Christopher Walken) pick up pooches and return them for the reward money.

Farrell stars as a struggling screenwriter, working on a script titled Seven Psychopaths, who gets caught up in his pal Rockwell’s troubles… but also finds a lot of great material in the life-and-death conflict playing out over the kidnapped dog.”

EW visited the set of the film and talked to McDonagh, Farrell, and Rockwell (you can read their interviews here), and had a few more updates on the characters played by the rest of the cast:

“As for the rest of the cast, Precious star Gabourey Sidibe turns up as an unlucky dog-walker who faces Harrelson’s wrath, and Bond girl Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace) turns up as the mobster’s girlfriend.

Abbie Cornish (Bright Star) co-stars as Kaya, the screenwriters patient and supportive girlfriend, nursing him through his writer’s block, and Tom Waits turns up as Zachariah, a rabbit-petting weirdo who offers up strange stories from his past for the Seven Psychopaths screenplay.”

Farrell is of course returning to work with McDonagh having led In Bruges alongside Brendan Gleeson, and Rockwell and Walken both worked with the writer-director on his Broadway play, A Behanding in Spokane, which saw Walken earn a Tony nomination for his performance.

No word yet on a release date, but Seven Psychopaths is expected to be released later on this year, so hopefully we’ll have a date set in stone before long. It’s definitely shaping up to be a very promising project; here are the great first photos to whet your appetite. As usual, you can click to enlarge.

Jonah Hill may appear to have grown up in Moneyball, and got some intellectual credibility in an adult environment, but he reverts back to the same self-depreciating man-boy role we all know him for in David Gordon Green’s new mainstream comedy, The Sitter. It’s really a half-hearted, mischievous Noughties twist on zany 1980s comedy adventure, A Night on the Town – more commonly known as Adventures in Babysitting, starring Elizabeth Shue, but minus the hot babysitter and the child-friendly fun.

Hill is immature Noah Griffith, a suspended college student fixated on one sexy girl down the road, Marisa (Ari Graynor), who he gives ‘personal favours’ to. Planning to hook up again later that night, Noah begrudgingly agrees to stand in and baby-sit instead, so that his mother can go on a date. Inexperienced and out of his depth, Noah is tasked with looking after the neighbours’ three dysfunctional kids: an anxiety-riddled, pill-popping, closeted son called Slater (Where The Wild Things Are’s Max Records), a potty-mouthed, celebrity-wannabe daughter called Blithe (Landry Bender), and adopted Hispanic son Rodrigo (Kevin Hernandez) who is hell-bent on causing maximum disruption and has an unhealthy interest in cherry bombs. Against the parents’ wishes or knowledge, and with an urgent errand from Marisa, Hill ventures into New York City with the kids to visit drug kingpin Karl (Sam Rockwell). What seems like a fairly straightforward task snowballs into utter chaos, and a few life lessons are learned by all.

Green and writers Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka never step out of the original 1980s’ mould, delivering the inevitable wild night combination of freaked-out anti-hero babysitter, out-of-control weirdo kids who come to respect their minder, and crazed bad guys on their tail; even the drug explosion incident in the car fails to be fully exploited, sidelined in favour of safer flatulence jokes. However, in true Pineapple Express style, the filmmakers have overloaded the expletives and borderline-offensive racial stereotypes, dished out the serious drugs and turned up the volume, possibly so Hill’s character Noah doesn’t seem as annoying as first thought. That said Hill easily plays within his comfort zone here, dripping with sarcasm and harsh home truths that it merely helps enforce what makes him appealing to fans in such coming-of-age comedies, rather than offers anything new to his CV.

In all honesty, the film’s hit-or-miss first impression all hangs on the opening scene, which gets down to business and firmly establishes this film’s R-rated, frat-boy stance of the Apatow-school ilk. Unlike the original, Green and co aim for the outrageous, rather than the genuinely funny to grab shock laughs; even down to young Blithe’s musical tastes and choice street slang – it’s only funny because it’s a naïve and corrupted kid delivering the adult lines, even though Bender does a commendable job. The real humour is actually in the background and random supporting acts that bolster the whole insanity, especially around Karl’s aerobics lair. Nevertheless, Rockwell is still enjoyable to watch, camping it up with guns blazing, but never giving anything different from the token drug dealers in Pineapple Express and the like.

All of the above absurdity needs to have a purpose, and Hill as Noah is perfectly positioned to be the unwitting messenger and ironically, the voice of reason to coax the kids out of their respective troubles. Green peppers the film with elements of Noah’s unsatisfactory existence, conveniently laying the blame for this screw-up on a parent. Disappointingly, this allows Noah to come out of this virtually unscathed, simply by wearing his heart on his sleeve that leads to the inevitable healing process for him and his charges. It’s lazy, write-by-numbers dramatic comedy that even has nauseating time for picking up a foxy lady. The end result is neither poignant nor clever – unless you’re a confused kid with identity issues, aged 15+, so some good could come from watching this.

**~~~ (2/5)

Jonah Hill is a busy man, and with his a sojourn in 21 Jump Street in our future we sat down with the man to talk about his latest film, The Sitter.

The film has David Gordon Green​ behind the camera whose recent Your Highness wasn’t the success the talent promised and it is hoped that The Sitter is a return to form. Along with Hill the film stars Ari Graynor​, Eddie Rouse, Max Records​, Sam Rockwell & D.W. Moffett.

Here’s a succinct synopsis to tease and intrigue,

A comedy about a college student on suspension who is coaxed into babysitting the kids next door, though he is fully unprepared for the wild night ahead of him.

The film is with us on the 20th of January, and here is Mr. Hill to talk about it,

As someone who thinks that 2008’s In Bruges was the best thing ever ever. Ever. The release of the first set of images from the set of Martin McDonagh’s follow up effort Seven Psychopaths fills me with unspeakable excitement.  That they constitute mostly shots of Colin Farrell getting boozed up whilst renowned oddball Christopher Walken walks in and out of shot (we can only assume mostly deliberately) does nothing to diminish my hater-proof attitude of bloody minded optimism.

Yes 2012 may be the year of Batman and Spiderman and The Avengers and The Hobbit and the Mayan Apocalypse and many more adaptations of tried and tested IPs and humongous world ending catastrophes, but here is a film that is guaranteed to be a true original. Yes, all of this fawning enthusiasm is only based upon one script from 3 years ago and the writer/director’s high regard in theatrical circles but damn it if this isn’t something to get over excited about then I don’t know what is.

McDonagh’s brand of jet black humour may not be to everyone’s taste but when he gets it right, he gets it right. Nevertheless, who knows at this early stage how it’s going to turn out? Farrell doesn’t even seem to know what’s going on:

“I wouldn’t know how to break down that fucking plot. Martin McDonagh wrote a great and really original script.”

Well someone has managed to get to grips with the fucking plot, so here it is:

A screenwriter struggles to find the handle on his script called Seven Psychopaths. He then gets drawn into the dog-napping escapades of his friends (played by Sam Rockwell and Christopher Walken). Once the beloved Shih Tzu owned by a psychopathic gangster (Woody Harrelson) goes missing, the screenwriter finds himself fuelled with all the drama he needs for his screenplay, if he can stay alive long enough to write it all down.

Label me disproportionately excited. Click here for the full set.

Source: Film-O-Filia

This summer’s movie event becomes the Christmas holidays must-own Blu-ray^™ and DVD as a lone gunslinger leads an uprising against an alien threat in the explosive, stunningly-imagined film, Cowboys & Aliens.  To celebrate, we’ve teamed up with Paramount Home Entertainment to giveaway a copy of the movie on DVD to three lucky winners!

A blazingly original, cross-genre adventure from acclaimed director Jon Favreau, Cowboys & Aliens features heart-pumping action, spectacular visuals and a first-rate cast. Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford headline as adversaries obliged to join forces against a terrifying enemy, with a supporting cast that includes Olivia Wilde and Sam Rockwell.

Arriving in stores on 26 December from Paramount Home Entertainment, the Blu-ray^™ Triple Play and DVD editions of Cowboys & Aliens bring all of the thrills and fun home. Available to pre-order now here.

To be in with a chance of winning the movie on DVD, simply answer the following question using the form below then click here to see our other competitions:

Who directed the movie Cowboys and Aliens?

Competition now closed.

The small print:

• Open to UK residents only
• Only one entry per household will be counted
• The competition will close 26th December at 23.59 GMT
• The winner will be picked at random from entries received
• No cash alternative is available

The usual T&Cs can be found here. Good Luck!

Here’s the this trailer for Jonah Hill’s new movie which now, after watching makes it look even more like a sequel to Adventures in Babysitting!It’s Directed by David Gordon Green who directed Pineapple Express and also stars Max Records, Ari Graynor, JB Smoove and Sam Rockwell although I don’t think we’ve seen Sam in any of the footage released as yet.

The Sitter will be with us 20th January. This one you’re looking forward to? Tell us in the comments section below.

When the world’s worst babysitter takes three of the world’s worst kids on an unforgettable overnight adventure through the streets of New York City, it’s anyone’s guess who’s going to make it home in one piece. THE SITTER is a new level of twisted and debauched hilarity from the director of Pineapple Express.”

Source: Apple

Here’s a few new images from Jonah Hill’s new movie The Sitter which I am still adamant of the fact is a remake of the 1980s classic, An Adventures in Babysitting. I have nothing to base my theory on but I am sticking to my guns!

It’s directed by David Gordon Green​​ and stars Jonah Hill, Ari Graynor​​, Eddie Rouse, Max Records​​, Sam Rockwell & D.W. Moffett.

Jonah Hill as “The Sitter” is the last person you want watching your kids.  But this time, The Sitter has met his match in three manipulative brats.  When a shady endeavor in which he finds himself in goes bad, The Sitter and the malevolent youngsters embark on a wild chase through Manhattan.  From the director of “Pineapple Express.”

The Sitter is released 20th January. If you’ve missed the trailers and other assets from the movie, check them out here or visit the official Facebook page.

Click the images below to enlarge.

I’m going to start off by stressing that this trailer really earns its red band rating, so if you’re at work or anywhere with kids around, it’s definitely recommended that you check back here later to watch it. But do be sure to check back in, because it’s an awesome trailer.

David Gordon Green, director of Pineapple Express and Your Highness, is teaming up with Jonah Hill this time around to bring us what looks to be a brilliant unadulterated comedy in which Hill stars as the world’s worst (or greatest, depending on how you look at it) babysitter. We’ve seen some great things for the film already, all of which you can catch up on here, and this new trailer, via Collider, only reinforces how much I can’t wait for it to come out.

“When the world’s most irresponsible babysitter takes three of the world’s worst kids on an unforgettable overnight adventure through the streets of New York City, it’s anyone’s guess who’s going to make it home in one piece. THE SITTER is a new level of twisted and debauched hilarity from the director of Pineapple Express, starring Superbad’s Jonah Hill.”

Along with Hill, the film also stars the awesome Sam Rockwell, Ari Graynor, and J.B. Smoove (whose arc in Curb Your Enthusiasm was excellent), and will be hitting the UK on 22nd June next year. The lucky folk across the Atlantic will be getting this on 9th December this year, more than six months ahead of us, which seems a little unfair! But all the same, The Sitter looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun, and it should be a great summer comedy to look forward to when it finally hits here.

Without further ado, here’s the brilliant new trailer to enjoy. I still love the bit where Hill turns around in the car and tells one of the kids not to mess with him. (Though he, of course, doesn’t use the word ‘mess’.) If you want to watch it in stunning HD, then you can head over to IGN here.

We got a brilliant first red band trailer for Jonah Hill’s next movie, The Sitter, back in August, which gave us a fantastic first look at the film, showing it to be really promising on the comedy front.

We’ve now got a new red band TV spot for the film to share with you, courtesy of Collider, and it’s just as brilliant as the trailer.

Granted, that’s partly because some of the things in this new TV spot are from that first trailer, but there’s also some great new stuff in there too, and it’s a good refresher for the film because that red band trailer came out at the start of August.

“When the world’s most irresponsible babysitter takes three of the world’s worst kids on an unforgettable overnight adventure through the streets of New York City, it’s anyone’s guess who’s going to make it home in one piece. THE SITTER is a new level of twisted and debauched hilarity from the director of Pineapple Express, starring Superbad’s Jonah Hill.”

I’m a big fan of David Gordon Green’s direction of Pineapple Express, and despite its not brilliant performance at the box office, I’ve also heard good things of his latest film, Your Highness. So I have every expectation that The Sitter, written by relative newcomers Brian Gatewood and Allesandro Tanaka, will be another brilliant film from Green. America are lucky enough to be getting this on 9th December, but we’ll unfortunately have to wait until 27th January for it to be released over here.

Along with Jonah Hill, the film also stars Ari Graynor (Holy Rollers), J.B. Smoove (TV’s Curb Your Enthusiasm), Method Man (TV’s The Wire), and the brilliant Sam Rockwell (Moon). As Collider point out, this technically isn’t a red band TV spot, as it lacks a rating, and no doubt won’t be aired on TV given the language, so it’s undoubtedly mostly aimed at the Internet – which includes all of us! So enjoy. This one’s for you.

Here’s the first poster for Jonah Hill’s new movie, The Sitter which goes down the same sort of line as the red band version of the trailer showing what will happen if you ask him to look after your kids! If you want to see a trailer with the aforementioned things, click here to view the red band version! This movie looks like a 15 or 18 rated version of Adventures in Babysitting​ from back in the 80s and from what we see here, it looks like it could be rather good!

It’s directed by David Gordon Green​ and stars Jonah Hill, Ari Graynor​, Eddie Rouse, Max Records​, Sam Rockwell & D.W. Moffett. It’ll be with us 27th January.

A comedy about a college student on suspension who is coaxed into babysitting the kids next door, though he is fully unprepared for the wild night ahead of him.

The Sitter is released 27th January.

Source: IMPA

Olivia Wilde, best known for playing Thirteen in House, is currently in talks to replace Jennifer Garner in the upcoming indie dark comedic thriller, Better Living Through Chemistry, Variety report.

Garner and her husband Ben Affleck are now expecting their third child, opening up the lead female role for the film, and Wilde sounds perfect for the part. She brilliantly brings out both the good and bad in her characters, and the latter is something she’ll likely be doing a healthy amount of for this project.

Wilde’s popularity has been steadily rising over the past few years, starring alongside Emile Hirsch, Anton Yelchin, and Justin Timberlake in Alpha Dog, becoming one of the leads with Hugh Laurie in House, starring with Garrett Hedlund and Jeff Bridges in TRON: Legacy, and can currently be seen opposite Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, and Sam Rockwell in Jon Favreau’s fantastic Cowboys & Aliens this summer.

Better Living Through Chemistry would see her working again with her Cowboys & Aliens co-star, Sam Rockwell, who will play a quiet small-town pharmacist stuck in a rut and a loveless marriage, who finds himself in affair with a trophy wife, whom Olivia Wilde is set to play. She introduces him to the recreational side of prescription drugs, and things start to spiral out of control when they start plotting her husband’s death.

Michelle Monaghan (Source Code) will be playing Rockwell’s wife, and Dame Judi Dench is expected to be the film’s narrator. Geoff Moore and David Posamentier will be making their writing and directorial debut with this film, which made it onto the last Black List of best unmade films, and it sounds like it should be excellent when it gets made. I only hope that its indie nature won’t mean that it doesn’t get a UK theatrical release.

Wilde has recently finished filming Butter, with Hugh Jackman and Garner, so it could well have been Garner who put forward Wilde’s name to replace her. She’s been absolutely fantastic in everything I’ve seen her in, and it’s always nice when great young actresses get the attention they deserve.

She’ll next be seen on our screens in The Change-Up, alongside Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds, which is due out on 16th September, and will follow that up with Andrew Niccol’s highly anticipated In Time opposite Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried, both of whom she has worked with before on Alpha Dog. (If you’re yet to see Alpha Dog, I cannot recommend enough that you should seek it out.) Things are certainly looking good for Wilde’s career at the moment, and Better Living Through Chemistry is another title we can look forward to seeing her in.

Our man Ben Mortimer is currently at a swanky hotel in London with director Jon Favreau, and cast Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig and Olivia Wilde for their new movie, The Cowboys & Aliens. The movie also has it’s UK Premiere this evening and we’ll be there to interview all the stars.

Before that though we are going to blog the Cowboys & Aliens UK Press Conference live. Just scroll down and you’ll see Ben’s updates coming in as it all happens. The press conference is due to start at 13.30 GMT but it may start a little late as they tend to do.

Cowboys & Aliens hits UK cinemas next Wednesday, 17th August.

Cowboys & Aliens UK Press Conference

(08/11/2011)

  

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1:10	HeyUGuys:  Getting ready for the Cowboys & Aliens UK Press Conference! Those expected to attend include Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig, Olivia Wilde and director Jon Favreau. Yes, we are a little excited! Thursday August 11, 2011 1:10 HeyUGuys

1:36	HeyUGuys:  Looks like we’re running a little late. Currently queuing to get in! More interesting updates should follow shortly! Thursday August 11, 2011 1:36 HeyUGuys

1:46	montimer:  Currently waiting for the talent to arrive at the Cowboys and Aliens premiere. I’ll be live tweeting it on HeyUGuys.co.uk [via Twitter] Thursday August 11, 2011 1:46 montimer

1:51	Who would win in a fight? Indiana Jones  ( 40% ) James Bond  ( 40% ) Quorra  ( 20% ) Thursday August 11, 2011 1:51

2:06	Ben Mortimer:  Sorry to keep you all waiting. The PRs are just adding a few more chairs so they can accommodate all the journalists. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:06 Ben Mortimer

2:07	Ben Mortimer:  In a slightly weird turn of events, it would appear that Jason Schwartzman is working as a waiter at Claridges. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:07 Ben Mortimer

2:07	Ben Mortimer:  Or at least a man who looks a lot like him. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:07 Ben Mortimer

2:08	Ben Mortimer:  The panelists for today are: Jon Favreau Daniel Craig Olivia Wilde Harrison Ford Roberto Orci Thursday August 11, 2011 2:08 Ben Mortimer

2:09	Ben Mortimer:  I won’t lie. Even I’m slightly awestruck by that lineup, and I’m usually the most glib man in the room. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:09 Ben Mortimer

2:09	Ben Mortimer:  Oh, and to make things easier (for me, not you – sorry) I’ll be using initials rather than names when I refer to them. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:09 Ben Mortimer

2:11	Ben Mortimer:  The room’s suddenly got a lot quieter. Hopefully we’ll be starting fairly soon. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:11 Ben Mortimer

2:14

Ben Mortimer:  On the giant poster behind where the panellists will sit is a tagline. It reads: ‘First contact. Last stand’. I’m trying to think of something terribly witty to write about that, but failing. Anyone want to come up with something? Don’t think there’ll be a prize, but you will earn my admiration and respect. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:14 Ben Mortimer

2:17	montimer:  @HeyUGuysLive Might be worth retweeting that with a . before my username. [via Twitter] Thursday August 11, 2011 2:17 montimer

2:18	Ben Mortimer:  Oops. Just managed to not only not send a DM on Twitter, but to also post it to the live blog. D’oh! Thursday August 11, 2011 2:18 Ben Mortimer

2:19	Ben Mortimer:  Sorry to keep you all waiting by the way. The panellists are still hiding out back. We’re assured that this will start soon enough though. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:19 Ben Mortimer

2:22	Ben Mortimer:  It begins. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:22 Ben Mortimer

2:22	Ben Mortimer:  For those of you interested, they’re all wearing clothes. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:22 Ben Mortimer

2:22	Ben Mortimer:  Q: Which side of the movie appealed to you more: the cowboy side, or the alien side. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:22 Ben Mortimer

2:23	Ben Mortimer:  JF: Huge sci-fi fan, but I became aware of westerns throguh science fiction Thursday August 11, 2011 2:23 Ben Mortimer

2:23	Ben Mortimer:  DC: The western – ‘I always wanted to play a cowboy’ Thursday August 11, 2011 2:23 Ben Mortimer

2:24	Ben Mortimer:  OW – The western – ‘I didn’t think there’d be a female role this strong in a western’ Thursday August 11, 2011 2:24 Ben Mortimer

2:24	Ben Mortimer:  HF – ‘I don’t care which genre – I’m in it for the money.’ Thursday August 11, 2011 2:24 Ben Mortimer

2:24	Ben Mortimer:  HF – ‘The character is the main draw for me’ Thursday August 11, 2011 2:24 Ben Mortimer

2:25	Ben Mortimer:  Q: For Daniel – What did your 9 year old self think about sharing a screen with Harisson Ford? Thursday August 11, 2011 2:25 Ben Mortimer

2:25	Ben Mortimer:  DC – I went to the cinema on my own and saw Blade Runner, and thought to myself: ‘I want to work with that man’ Thursday August 11, 2011 2:25 Ben Mortimer

2:26	Ben Mortimer:  Q: For Olivia – I hear you’re a trekkie, and have a burning desire to play Captain Kirk. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:26 Ben Mortimer

2:28	Ben Mortimer:  OW – I grew up watching Star Trek with my family. There have been great female characters in Trek over the years, but I would love to play more powerful women in science fiction. I love the genre and I’d love to do more of it. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:28 Ben Mortimer

2:28	Ben Mortimer:  RO – Do you mind if we paint you green? Thursday August 11, 2011 2:28 Ben Mortimer

2:29	Ben Mortimer:  Q: For Daniel – When a stranger arrives in a western town you immediately think of Clint Eastwood. Do you go with it, or try to fight it? Thursday August 11, 2011 2:29 Ben Mortimer

2:29	Ben Mortimer:  DC – You go with it. I watched loads of westrns for research, and stole everything I could. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:29 Ben Mortimer

2:30	Ben Mortimer:  By the way, unless the quotes are in inverted commas, they’re paraphrased. Badly. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:30 Ben Mortimer

2:31	Ben Mortimer:  JF – Our start gift from Steven Spielberg on this movie was an iPad filled with classic westerns. We’d watch a classic western every night. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:31 Ben Mortimer

2:32	Ben Mortimer:  Q: For Harrison – Your character starts out quite feared. Was it fun to play a villain? Thursday August 11, 2011 2:32 Ben Mortimer

2:32	Ben Mortimer:  HF – It was fun. I didn’t know where it was going in the script, but I was pleased with what I read, and it was fun to do. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:32 Ben Mortimer

2:32	Ben Mortimer:  Q: Favourite westerns? Thursday August 11, 2011 2:32 Ben Mortimer

2:32	Ben Mortimer:  JF – Seven Samurai Thursday August 11, 2011 2:32 Ben Mortimer

2:33	Ben Mortimer:  DC – Little Big Man. Fave Sci-fi: Alien Thursday August 11, 2011 2:33 Ben Mortimer

2:33	Ben Mortimer:  OW: Alien Thursday August 11, 2011 2:33 Ben Mortimer

2:33	Here’s an image of Harrison Ford and Olivia Wilde courtesy of @FilmFan1971 Thursday August 11, 2011 2:33

2:33	Ben Mortimer:  HF – ‘I’m going to opt out of this’ Thursday August 11, 2011 2:33 Ben Mortimer

2:34	Ben Mortimer:  Q: Harrison – I gather you weren’t too keen on the project when you first read it. What changed your mind? Thursday August 11, 2011 2:34 Ben Mortimer

2:35	And one of Daniel Craig & Director Jon Favreau courtesy of @FilmFan1971 Thursday August 11, 2011 2:35

2:35	Ben Mortimer:  HF – I didn’t know what I was reading, and was impatient a bit. Then when I spoke to Jon about what tone he was looking for in the script. I was reassured that JF wasn’t making a tongue in cheek poke at westerns. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:35 Ben Mortimer

2:36	Ben Mortimer:  JF – We thought long and hard about whether to keep the title ‘Cowboys and Aliens’. They had tried to make it as a comedy, but with a more ridiculous premise, you need to play it straight. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:36 Ben Mortimer

2:37	Ben Mortimer:  Favreau just said, ‘You have an expression around here ‘It does what it says on the tin” – Ronsil will be pleased/ Thursday August 11, 2011 2:37 Ben Mortimer

2:38	Ben Mortimer:  JF – What I’m most proud of is that these are real characters with real stakes, and we’ve made them work together. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:38 Ben Mortimer

2:39	Ben Mortimer:  Q: We are seeing a number of movies that are based in comic books. Why do you think that is? Thursday August 11, 2011 2:39 Ben Mortimer

2:40	Ben Mortimer:  JF – It’s to do with marketing. Piracy has killed the DVD market, so the main market is in the theatre. Young people still do that, and they respond strongly to branded product Thursday August 11, 2011 2:40 Ben Mortimer

2:40	Ben Mortimer:  JF – The independent film market is being replaced by television with shows like Mad Men and The Wire. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:40 Ben Mortimer

2:41	Ben Mortimer:  JF – We hope that C&A might introduce young people to the western. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:41 Ben Mortimer

2:41	Ben Mortimer:  Q: For Harrison – As an actor how has working with special effects changed over the years Thursday August 11, 2011 2:41 Ben Mortimer

2:43

Ben Mortimer:  HF – For an actor special effects require only an active imagination, and I don’t find it that much more difficult to imagine an alien scampering in front of me than I do to ignore the grip pulling a carriage through a period drama. We now have the ability to replace a man in an alien suit with a computer generated alien, and what I was pleased with with Jon’s creations was that they didn’t move like a man in a suit. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:43 Ben Mortimer

2:44	Ben Mortimer:  HF – There is a tendency with directors to replace practical effects with visual effects and loose human scale. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:44 Ben Mortimer

2:44	Ben Mortimer:  Q: For Olivia – Can you talk about your research into the small number of women like your character in the film. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:44 Ben Mortimer

2:46

Ben Mortimer:  OW – There’s a great museum in LA that had a great exhibition called ‘Women of the Old West’, and I found it interesting researching them. In terms of characters from films, I didn’t really look at women in films, I looked at the same guys we all were. When I grew up watching westerns I wanted to be Steve McQueen, I didn’t want to be the girl. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:46 Ben Mortimer

2:47	Ben Mortimer:  OW – In the wide shots we were all spinning the guns, and Jon would say ‘Guys, not all of you can spin your guns.’ Thursday August 11, 2011 2:47 Ben Mortimer

2:47	Ben Mortimer:  Robert Orci has just described the cast as ‘The finest acttors in their price range’ Thursday August 11, 2011 2:47 Ben Mortimer

2:48	Ben Mortimer:  Obviously he didn’t stutter on the ‘t’, I just can’t type. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:48 Ben Mortimer

2:50	Ben Mortimer:  Q: Why do you think there are so many films this summer that feature aliens? Thursday August 11, 2011 2:50 Ben Mortimer

2:51

Ben Mortimer:  JF – There’s a lot of people who’s job it is to work out what films made money, and which films don’t, and Avatar made money, so it’s considered a safe genre. It’s also because the worldwide market is driving the industry now, and alien movies tend to be less divisive than films with political themes. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:51 Ben Mortimer

2:53	Ben Mortimer:  HF on Air Force One 2 – Sardonically – What’s ludicrous about Air Force One? I think a sequel’s a good idea. I’m trying to think if there’s a sequel pitched that I didn’t go for. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:53 Ben Mortimer

2:53	Ben Mortimer:  HF – When we did the sequels to Indiana Jones my ambition was that we would take the audiences knowledge of the character, and expand upon the character. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:53 Ben Mortimer

2:55	Ben Mortimer:  Final question – hope it’s a good one. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:55 Ben Mortimer

2:56	Ben Mortimer:  For Jon – In view of the film’s bloody opening, and the need to appeal to a younger audience, did you want to go further with the violence? Thursday August 11, 2011 2:56 Ben Mortimer

2:57	Ben Mortimer:  JF – We wanted to feel the bloodiness of the 80s style alien films, but I still wanted to make a film that I could show to my children. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:57 Ben Mortimer

2:57	Ben Mortimer:  JF – In the extended cut we’re going for a bit bloodier for the effects stuff, but we didn’t have to trim anything for the ratings. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:57 Ben Mortimer

2:58	Ben Mortimer:  That’s it boys and girls. Press conference over. Hope you enjoyed it. We’ll be covering the premier this evening. If anyone said anything that you’d like some more detail about, let us know and we’ll ask them. Thursday August 11, 2011 2:58 Ben Mortimer

3:04

 

 

Spawned from a graphic novel and possessing the kind of high-concept, easy-sell title which studio executives must have salivated over upon optioning it, Cowboys & Aliens reaches the big screen under the direction of actor-turned A-list director (and seemingly a regular fixture in this season of big-scale blockbusters), Jon Favreau.

This time around, the Iron Man helmer turns his attention towards a band of frontier folk who find themselves tussling with some unidentifiable flying objects who have stolen members of their community for equally mysterious purposes.  A gunslinger (Daniel Craig) who is suffering from amnesia awakens in the desert to find his right wrist is attached to his some kind of otherworldly artifact which he is unable to pry open and remove. Setting foot in the one-horse town of Absolution, he immediately makes his presence known by tangling with the son of the town’s rich and powerful cattleman, Colonel Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford). Both are arrested and when daddy shows up to try and intervene and stop his son being carted away (alongside Craig) to court, the town is suddenly besieged by an array of large, laser-firing aircrafts, which proceed to turn the place into a fiery wreck, whilst scooping up a number of townsfolk, including Dolarhyde’s son and the local, mild-mannered saloon owner’s wife.

Finding tracks belonging to a creature from one of the invader’s ships, a posse head out at sunrise, intent on retrieving their stolen family members and loved-ones. Dolarhyde ropes in the stranger to help them (he is suffering from flashbacks which reveal snippets of the alien environment) and a mysterious girl from the town (Tron Legacy’s Olivia Wilde), who appears to know more about the situation than she cares to divulge.

The title alone gives you a clear idea of what’s in store here, and the coupling of those two diverse genres actually works well for the most part. These characters are from an age before modern science and pop culture permeated down through the masses, giving us endless stories of supposed other forms of life beyond the stars, and there’s a fun stoicism to the cowboys as they track down this mysterious force of which they have zero knowledge or reference of. However, this can’t quite disguise the flimsiest of premises and ultimately, a formulaic script which doesn’t offer enough surprises (neither the western and sci-fi tropes interwoven throughout offer anything much in the way of originality) to really stand out from the crowd.

Favreau, unsurprisingly, manages to coax some strong performances out of his starry cast. Ford (who seems to be still carrying some of that gruffness left over from his role in Morning Glory) is always a welcome addition to films of this nature (excluding ‘Crystal Skulls’, of course), but even so, he has to wrestle with some wonky  character continuity and actions, an issue which Wilde also suffers a little bit from. Craig is pretty solid, and cuts a lean, mean, figure, although there’s always that nagging doubt which leaves you thinking original lead Robert Downey Jr. may have brought a lightness of touch that the film (and character) needs. Rounding out the cast is the saloon proprietor, Sam Rockwell, bringing his normal reliable and likable quality to the film (and let’s face it, who wouldn’t love to have him serve booze for them at their local watering hole?)

Cowboys & Aliens is still a decent enough adventure flick for the most part, but for a film of this scope, and one which is chock-full of figures from the industry, many of whom have a solid track record for churning out big, audience-friendly hits from the past (Ron Howard and Imagine partner Brian Grazer are onboard as producers, while the big cheese himself, Steven Spielberg, is credited as executive producer) it’s all the more disappointing that this isn’t THE film of the summer.

While there are a couple of admittedly thrilling set-pieces (the terrifying alien attack on the town is well-crafted and a huge, upturned boat which has been left slap bang in the middle of the desert by the unwelcome ET’s, offers a surreal and wondrous sight), they can’t disguise the meagre plot and an unimaginative alien species (their lair, look and even the meaning behind their decision to come to earth, echoes that of the other big-profile creature feature of this summer, Super 8).

Many may enjoy what’s on offer here, and it’s certainly an enjoyable romp for a Saturday night out at the local multiplex. Just don’t go in there expecting to see much originality or freshness – something which would have been welcomed and embraced in yet another season crammed with the overly familiar.

***~~ (3/5)

With far less organisms and swear words, here we have the green band trailer for Jonah Hill’s new movie, The Sitter. If you want to see a trailer with the aforementioned things, click here to view the red band version! This movie looks like a 15 or 18 rated version of Adventures in Babysitting from back in the 80s and from what we see here, it looks like it could be rather good!

It’s directed by David Gordon Green and stars Jonah Hill, Ari Graynor, Eddie Rouse, Max Records, Sam Rockwell & D.W. Moffett. It’ll be with us 27th January.

A comedy about a college student on suspension who is coaxed into babysitting the kids next door, though he is fully unprepared for the wild night ahead of him.

The Sitter is released 27th January.

The title of this post pretty much does what it says on the tin! New movie, The Sitter is in fact, an 18 rated version of 1987 movie Adventures in Babysitting and therefore it looks awesome! Where as AiB starred Elizabeth Shue, this one sees Jonah Hill take the reigns as the babysitter in what has the potential to be a very funny movie!

It’s directed by David Gordon Green and stars Jonah Hill, Ari Graynor, Eddie Rouse, Max Records, Sam Rockwell & D.W. Moffett. It’ll be with us 27th January.

A comedy about a college student on suspension who is coaxed into babysitting the kids next door, though he is fully unprepared for the wild night ahead of him.

The trailer is introduced by a very slight looking Jonah Hill who has also had a haircut since he made this movie. The intro is as funny as the rest of the trailer so click play and enjoy.

Please remember, this is a Red band trailer for a reason and is NSFW.

Source: IGN

The movie is out in the US tomorrow, unfortunately we have to wait another few weeks but keep keep Cowboys & Aliens at the forefront of our mind, Paramount have released these three new posters for the movie showing off three of the main cast, Olivia Wilde, Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig.

The movie is is helmed by Iron Man director, Jon Favreau and also stars Sam Rockwell, Noah Ringer, Paul Dano, Clancy Brown, Keith Carradine, Adam Beach, Abigail Spencer and Walton Goggins.

1873. Arizona Territory. A stranger (Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don’t welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford). It’s a town that lives in fear. But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known. Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he’s been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of the elusive traveler Ella (Olivia Wilde), he pulls together a posse comprised of former opponents–townsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and Apache warriors–all in danger of annihilation. United against a common enemy, they will prepare for an epic showdown for survival.

Cowboys & Aliens will premiere at the Empire BIG SCREEN event taking place over the weekend of 12th-14th August and then goes on general release in the UK on August 17th.

Source: Empire

Paramount have released two new featurettes giving us a great look at both Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford’s characters in their new movie, Cowboys and Aliens. The movie is is helmed by Iron Man director, Jon Favreau and as well as Ford and Craig, stars Sam Rockwell and Olivia Wilde, Noah Ringer, Paul Dano, Clancy Brown, Keith Carradine, Adam Beach, Abigail Spencer and Walton Goggins.

1873. Arizona Territory. A stranger (Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don’t welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford). It’s a town that lives in fear. But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known. Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he’s been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of the elusive traveler Ella (Olivia Wilde), he pulls together a posse comprised of former opponents–townsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and Apache warriors–all in danger of annihilation. United against a common enemy, they will prepare for an epic showdown for survival.

Check out both of these new featurettes for the movie below. Cowboys & Aliens will be released in the UK on August 19th.

Source: Apple

Ahead of Comic Con, Universal Studios / Dreamworks have released the fourth trailer for Jon Favreau’s new movie, Cowboys vs. Aliens. The movie stars James Bond, Daniel Craig and Indiana Jones Harrison Ford . What’s not to like?! Sam Rockwell and Olivia Wilde also star in a movie which looks set to blow our socks off!

1873. Arizona Territory. A stranger (Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don’t welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford). It’s a town that lives in fear. But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known. Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he’s been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of the elusive traveler Ella (Olivia Wilde), he pulls together a posse comprised of former opponents–townsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and Apache warriors–all in danger of annihilation. United against a common enemy, they will prepare for an epic showdown for survival.

Directed by Jon Favreau (Iron Man), Cowboys & Aliens stars Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford , Olivia Wilde , Sam Rockwell , Noah Ringer, Paul Dano , Clancy Brown , Keith Carradine , Adam Beach , Abigail Spencer and Walton Goggins.

Cowboys & Aliens will be released in the UK on August 19th and gets its premiere at the Empire Big Screen weekend in a few weeks time!

Ignore the fact the title of this video says it’s the 3rd trailer, we have three up already and you can see them all along with the rest of our coverage here.

Paramount have released the third trailer for their new movie, Cowboys and Aliens which is helmed by Iron Man director, Jon Favreau and stars James Bond, Daniel Craig and Indiana Jones Harrison Ford. What’s not to like?! Sam Rockwell and Olivia Wilde also star in a movie which looks set to blow our socks off, especially after you see this new trailer released for the movie over the weekend.

1873. Arizona Territory. A stranger (Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don’t welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford). It’s a town that lives in fear. But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known. Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he’s been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of the elusive traveler Ella (Olivia Wilde), he pulls together a posse comprised of former opponents–townsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and Apache warriors–all in danger of annihilation. United against a common enemy, they will prepare for an epic showdown for survival.

Directed by Jon Favreau (Iron Man), Cowboys & Aliens stars Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford , Olivia Wilde , Sam Rockwell , Noah Ringer, Paul Dano, Clancy Brown , Keith Carradine , Adam Beach , Abigail Spencer and Walton Goggins.

Cowboys & Aliens will be released in the UK on August 19th.

In what sounds like a foolhardy mash up of two Will Smith movies Cowboys and Aliens may not be as well known as your average Marvel comic book adaptation but it’s got some decent talent behind it, not least director Jon Favreau who is riding high on his very successful Iron Man films.

I have no familiarity with the source material and the concept doesn’t shiver any of my timbers but what’s keeping me interested is something that this new TV spot puts front and centre. Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell and Daniel Craig make up the main cast for Favreau’s film and they look pretty tasty in this little glimpse.

Tip your hat and take a look below,

Fancy an internet centipede source report? Here you go: First Showing had it from TheMovieBox (via ComingSoon).