Oscar-nominated writer-director Oren Moverman returns behind the camera for Rampart, a fantastic second film that sees him to return to work with Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster from his debut, The Messengers.

This time around, Harrelson is front and centre in the corrupt L.A. crime drama, and it’s a role that has been deservedly described as the performance of his career. I saw the film at the London Film Festival late last year (you can read my review of the film here), and it was by far one of the best corrupt cop dramas I’ve seen in years.

“Los Angeles, 1999. Officer Dave Brown is a Vietnam vet and a Rampart Precinct cop, dedicated to doing “the people’s dirty work” and asserting his own code of justice, often blurring the lines between right and wrong to maintain his action-hero state of mind. When he gets caught on tape beating a suspect, he finds himself in a personal and emotional downward spiral as the consequences of his past sins and his refusal to change his ways in light of a department-wide corruption scandal seal his fate. Brown internalizes his fear, anguish and paranoia as his world, complete with two ex-wives who are sisters, two daughters, an aging mentor dispensing bad advice, investigators galore, and a series of seemingly random women, starts making less and less sense. In the end, what is left is a human being stripped of all his pretense, machismo, chauvinism, arrogance, sexism, homophobia, racism, aggression, misanthropy; but is it enough to redeem him as a man?”

To whet our appetites for the film, Millennium Entertainment have now made the first five minutes available to watch online through Yahoo Movies, and if you weren’t interested in seeing this movie already, I highly recommend you watch the clip below to get excited for its release at the end of the month.

James Ellroy, heralded as one of the best crime novelists in America, co-wrote the script with Moverman, and along with Harrelson and Foster, the cast includes terrific performances from Ice Cube, Robin Wright, Brie Larson, Ned Beatty, Anne Heche, Sigourney Weaver, Cynthia Nixon, and another collaboration with Steve Buscemi, who took a role in Moverman’s first film too.

Rampart will be released here in the UK on 24^th February, which will see it opening against Katherine Heigl’s One for the Money and Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds’ Safe House. If you’re heading to the cinema that weekend, I’d definitely recommend choosing Rampart as your film of choice. Harrelson deserves every bit of the recognition he’s been getting for his role, and Moverman shows that the Oscar-nominated The Messengers was clearly no fluke. I’m already excited to see what the writer-director brings us next. For now, here’s the great opening of Rampart, which will be with us in full in less than two weeks. Enjoy.

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.

With Super Bowl Sunday fast approaching, it’s time to get a little NFL-centric.

The Super Bowl is not just about splendid TV spots for upcoming cinema releases, there is a game to be played too. Many of us on this side of the North Atlantic rather look down our noses at American Football. Some dismiss it as rugby for softies (the “too much padding” argument), others as too stop-start (the “not as fluid as proper football” argument), others as too convoluted (the “I don’t really understand what’s happening here” argument).

For what my opinion is worth (please don’t tell me how little that is, I really am quite delicate) I think American Football is hugely entertaining and easily comprehensible, but more than that, the intricate choreography of its set-piece plays is so much better suited to cinema than either rugby or normal football.

Disagree? Tell me of a convincing and realistic portrayal of football in cinema? Mean Machine? Escape to Victory? You see?

Now of course that doesn’t make American Football a better or more compelling sport, but this is a film blog and so what it does make it is a better theme for a Six Of The Best article, in this case, Six of the Best cinematic portrayals of American Football. The film doesn’t need to be wholly or exclusively about Gridiron, but it must be a legitimate theme rather than a mere background detail. The Waterboy would be eligible, but sadly doesn’t make the list because it is deeply and enduringly terrible.

The excellent and exciting American Football-themed opening to Welcome to the Jungle (or “The Rundown” as it is otherwise known) is probably too peripheral a reference to qualify, more’s the pity. So what’s in? Here’s my list, please feel free to lambast me in the comments section for any glaring omissions, but be gentle. Remember, I’m delicate.

1. Jerry Maguire

Although Cameron Crowe’s 1996 film is not essentially about sport, but rather about a man trying to find his way to being the man he should and wants to be, American Football is threaded through. Very little on-field action is presented to us, save for the nail-biting finale when we wonder whether Rod Tidwell (a never-better Cuba Gooding Jr) will be able to pick himself up from the crunching end zone tackle that leaves him flat on his back, but the world of the NFL is there all the way through, from players getting caught in compromising situations, to the quest for a life-changing multi-year contract, to a splendid cameo from the Cowboys Troy Aikman (“I really liked your memo”).

Ultimately, Jerry Maguire is a great film because of its delicious script, note-perfect performances and deftly handled direction, not because it revolves around the world of the NFL, but revolve it does, commenting on the unpleasant side-effects of exclusive merchandising deals and the impact on the wives and children of professional athletes who continue to put their bodies in danger because they have such a small window within which to make their living. Although these matters are not the principal concern of the film (the condition of Jerry’s heart is), it is a fascinating insight to some of the collateral damage occasioned by American Football.

Here’s a lovely new image from The Hunger Games which as I mentioned in the title, shows Stanley Tucci looking like he’s been in a tanning salon a little too long! He’s joined with Jennifer Lawrence who plays the main character Katniss in the movie which is set for release 23rd March.

From memory, The Hunger Games is the first of 2012 which you’d class as a blockbuster (feel free to shout out all the ones i’ve forgotten!) with an awful lot of time and money being put in from Lionsgate and people are expecting big things from what could be the next big franchise – time will tell!

Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the evil Capitol of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. A twisted punishment for a past uprising and an ongoing government intimidation tactic, The Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which “Tributes” must fight with one another until one survivor remains. Pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives, Katniss is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy. If she’s ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love. THE HUNGER GAMES is directed by Gary Ross, and produced by Nina Jacobson’s Color Force in tandem with producer Jon Kilik. Suzanne Collins’ best-selling novel, the first in a trilogy published by Scholastic that has over 16 million copies in print in the United States alone, has developed a massive global following.

See all our Hunger Games coverage here.

Click to enlarge.

Source: Facebook & Twitter

With just over two months to go until Gary Ross’s adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ novel The Hunger Games enters our cinemas we have a new, and final, poster for the film tonight.

In it we have Jennifer Lawrence front and centre as Katniss Everdeen, one of the twenty four tributes cast into the cruel world of the titular event, and I’m enjoying the tagline ‘The World will be Watching’ as it is both true of the world in the near future of the book but may as well refer to the legion of fans the book has.

Like Twilight and Potter before it The Hunger Games has money-making franchise written all over it and with Ross returning for the sequel, Catching Fire, with Oscar-winner scriptwriter Simon Beaufoy adapting there’s lot riding on this one. On the 23rd of March we’ll see if their faith is well founded.

It’s not the most elegant of posters but it’ll get the expectant juices flowing from the fanbase no doubt.

Another tease from the early part of The Hunger Games for you today, and one which will please fans of Suzanne Collins’ book.

I’m still (still…) getting through the first book and the moment depicted here was one of the most intriguing I’ve read so far. About to enter the arena, to be introduced as the competitors from District 12, Katniss and Peeta get a last-minute pep talk from their stylist (they have a stylist – Battle Royale didn’t have one of those…) and there’s a little hint as to what he has in store for the baying crowds.

EW (via Coming Soon) had the image first  and both have the quote from Gary Ross who praised the work of costume designer Judianna Makovsky, who was tasked with bringing an important part of Collins’ world to the big screen,

What Cinna was trying to do was create something that came out of District 12, out of a coal mining world, with a fresh, bold look to it. So Judianna went to this wonderful black reflective material that glistened like coal or graphite and would obviously work well in the Tribute parade where Katniss becomes the Girl on Fire.

It’s certainly an important moment in the book and is the first indication that there’s something very special about Katniss and her role in the games.

If you’re one of the three people who haven’t read the book then here’s what the fuss is about,

“Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the evil Capitol of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. A twisted punishment for a past uprising and an ongoing government intimidation tactic, The Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which “Tributes” must fight with one another until one survivor remains. Pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives, Katniss is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy. If she’s ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love

Here’s the picture, click to embiggen.

We reported a few months ago on the rumour that Oscar winner Simon Beaufoy, writer of Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours and the forthcoming Salmon Fishing in the Yemen was being courted by Lionsgate to adapt the second book in Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Gamers trilogy, Catching Fire, and a report in The Wrap today now appear to confirm this.

Gary Ross is due back on directing duties and will oversee the script, presumably adding his own take on the continuity of the film world he is creating from the source material, a world we have yet to see with only a few glimpses contained in the trailers and images seen thus far.

Knowing the huge fan base these books have it came as no surprise that all three books were to be adapted for the big screen and that a release date for the second film was announced during the filming of the first film in The Hunger Games series.

Another new look for all you Hunger Games fans today and it looks as if these official pictures are being released chronologically, last time we saw Woody Harrelson and Lenny Kravitz and now we’ve got another picture of Katniss in the middle of her training for the titular event.

With just over two months to go until the 23rd of March release date you can bet that there will be a lot more of this stuff in the coming weeks, with each new peek giving us a better idea of how Gary Ross has adapted Suzanne Collins’ book.

If you’re yet to jump aboard the bandwagon here’s a synopsis,

Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the evil Capitol of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. A twisted punishment for a past uprising and an ongoing government intimidation tactic, The Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which “Tributes” must fight with one another until one survivor remains. Pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives, Katniss is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy. If she’s ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Shockya put this new image out there,

Here’s the first UK poster for Woody Harrelson’s new movie, Rampart which is due here 24th February. Studio Canal have sent over the poster for the movie which boasts an awesome cast which includes Woody Harrelson, Ned Beatty, Ben Foster, Anne Heche, Ice Cube, Cynthia Nixon, Sigourney Weaver, Robin Wright, Steve Buscemi with Oren Moverman at the helm as director. I’ll let the synopsis do the talking but if you missed the trailer that came out back in November, have a watch here.

From a screenplay by James Ellroy (“L.A. Confidential”) and director Oren Moverman (Oscar-nominated “The Messenger”), comes Rampart. Veteran police officer Dave Brown (Woody Harrelson), dedicated to doing “the people’s dirty work” and asserting his own code of justice, is the last of the renegade cops in the LAPD. When he gets caught on tape beating a suspect, he finds himself in a personal and emotional downward spiral as he struggles to take care of his family, and fight for his own survival. With an all star cast including Robin Wright, Sigourney Weaver, Ben Foster and Steve Buscemi, this high octane cop thriller has been labelled “a film to file alongside the great LA noir masterpieces of the 1970s – dazzling, stunning and unique”.

Click the poster and watch it GROW!

Here’s an awesome new awesome image of Elizabeth Banks from The Hunger Games in her roles as Effie Trinket. This image comes from Polish website Capitol Couture after a new viral went live last night while we were sleeping. The chaps over at ComingSoon went through the motions to reveal the password “#lookyourbest” which then allowed them access to this new image. Absolutely loving the makeup they’ve done for Banks’ character. You can see a little more with the make-up branding tie in that was released a while ago.

The movie is based on the three book by series by Suzanne Collins and stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, Wes Bentley, Toby Jones, Amandla Stenberg, Alexander Ludwig, Isabelle Fuhrman, Jacqueline Emerson, Paula Malcomson, Dayo Okeniyi, Jack Quaid, Leven Rambin, Willow Shields, Lenny Kravitz and is directed by Gary Ross. It’ll be with us here in the UK March 23rd.

Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the evil Capitol of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. A twisted punishment for a past uprising and an ongoing government intimidation tactic, The Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which “Tributes” must fight with one another until one survivor remains. Pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives, Katniss is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy. If she’s ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

You can click the image below to make it grow a little bigger.

Here’s a nice new image of Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) in their district 12 uniforms getting ready or in The Hunger Games. If you’ve not seen or heard of anything from The Hunger Games before, you need to brace yourself as the wave of pandemonium is about hit us on March 23rd. You can see all our coverage including the trailers here.

The movie stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, Wes Bentley, Toby Jones, Amandla Stenberg, Alexander Ludwig, Isabelle Fuhrman, Jacqueline Emerson, Paula Malcomson, Dayo Okeniyi, Jack Quaid, Leven Rambin, Willow Shields, Lenny Kravitz and is directed by Gary Ross.

Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the evil Capitol of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. A twisted punishment for a past uprising and an ongoing government intimidation tactic, The Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which “Tributes” must fight with one another until one survivor remains. Pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives, Katniss is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy. If she’s ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

You can click the image below to make it grow a little bigger.

Source: Yahoo

Ok, I finally cracked and have started reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and it’s quite a fun page-turner at the moment (Katniss has just fired an arrow at some judges and it’s all very tense, etc) and I can see exactly why this trilogy is being hailed as the new Twilight by marketing executives.

Knowing that the books are being adapted for the big screen has the disorienting effect of the various actors appearing in my own personal version of the story, and though the character of Haymitch seemed quite similar to the crazy guy Woody Harrelson played in 2012 my mental image is complete as we have our first look at both Harrelson and Lenny Kravitz as the stylist Cinna in these new pictures from the film.

Movieweb (via The Playlist) gave us a look at the images, some of which have been glimpsed before and I have to say I’m rather looking forward to seeing a) how the book turns out and b) if the film does as well as is hoped.

Here are the pics, click to make them all big,

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

The Hunger Games could well become the new big franchise in 2012 – at least that’s what Lionsgate are hoping for. Connected to the movie is a brand new line of fashion and beauty products with the first poster be launched on The Hunger Games Facebook page. It features a brand new image of Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket in the movie who is being used to promote Capital Colours by China Glaze. I’m not up on current make-up (!) but I guess it’s coming to a shop near you soon!

The Hunger Games is based on the book by Suzanne Collins and is released in the UK 23rd March 2012.

The Hunger Games stars Jennifer Lawrence​​, Josh Hutcherson​​, Liam Hemsworth​​, Woody Harrelson​​, Elizabeth Banks​​​, Stanley Tucci​​, Donald Sutherland​​​, Wes Bentley​​, Toby Jones, Amandla Stenberg, Alexander Ludwig​​ ​, Isabelle Fuhrman​​, Jacqueline Emerson, Paula Malcomson, Dayo Okeniyi, Jack Quaid, Leven Rambin​​, Willow Shields, Lenny Kravitz​​ and is directed by Gary Ross.

Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the evil Capitol of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. A twisted punishment for a past uprising and an ongoing government intimidation tactic, The Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which “Tributes” must fight with one another until one survivor remains. Pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives, Katniss is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy. If she’s ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love. THE HUNGER GAMES is directed by Gary Ross, and produced by Nina Jacobson​’s Color Force in tandem with producer Jon Kilik. Suzanne Collins​​ ’ best-selling novel, the first in a trilogy published by Scholastic that has over 16 million copies in print in the United States alone, has developed a massive global following.

For Rampart, writer-director Oren Moverman has reteamed with Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster, the stars of his Oscar-nominated debut, The Messenger, and he’s made what I think is the best cop crime drama since L.A. Confidential. I got to see the film at its UK premiere at the BFI London Film Festival back in October, and I absolutely loved it; it deserved every one of the 5 stars I gave it in my review (which you can read here).

Since then, we’ve seen the release of the film’s terrific first poster, along with an immense first trailer that really whets the appetite – and makes me want to see it again so much – and ComingSoon.net have now got a great new extended clip to share with us from the film.

Co-written by James Ellroy, often heralded as one of the greatest crime novelists in America, Rampart is led by Harrelson in what is being described as the best performance of his career, supported by a cast that includes Foster, Ice Cube, Robin Wright, Ned Beatty, Brie Larson, Anne Heche, Sigourney Weaver, Steve Buscemi, and Cynthia Nixon.

“Los Angeles, 1999. Officer Dave Brown (two-time Academy Award nominee Woody Harrelson) is a Vietnam vet and a Rampart Precinct cop, dedicated to doing “the people’s dirty work” and asserting his own code of justice, often blurring the lines between right and wrong to maintain his action-hero state of mind. When he gets caught on tape beating a suspect, he finds himself in a personal and emotional downward spiral as the consequences of his past sins and his refusal to change his ways in light of a department-wide corruption scandal seal his fate. Brown internalizes his fear, anguish and paranoia as his world, complete with two ex-wives who are sisters, two daughters, an aging mentor dispensing bad advice, investigators galore, and a series of seemingly random women, starts making less and less sense. In the end, what is left is a human being stripped of all his pretense, machismo, chauvinism, arrogance, sexism, homophobia, racism, aggression, misanthropy; but is it enough to redeem him as a man?”

In this new clip, we get to see Harrelson at the head of his dysfunctional family, involved with two sisters, each of whom has mothered one of his two daughters, and we see him here as a terrible father, a terrible partner, a terrible human. It’s an incredible performance from him, and I am truly hoping that it will be recognised when the nominations are announced for the Academy Awards in January, and again when the winners are announced at the end of February.

Rampart has had its Oscar-qualifying run in the US and will be opening wide there on 27^th January, and will be coming to the UK very shortly after on 10^th February. I can’t tell you how excited I am to see it again.

Here’s the list of Golden Globe Awards nominations that have just been revealed by Sofia Vergara, Gerard Butler, Rashida Jones and Woody Harrelson minutes ago at the Beverley Hilton in LA. We’ll update the list as fast as we can!

As the list is fully unveiled, let us know what you think of the lists below and who was missed off in the comments below. Also make sure you let us know who you think will win also in the comments.

Best Film (Drama)

• The Descendants
• The Help
• Hugo
• The Ides of March
• Moneyball
• War Horse

Best Film (Musical or Comedy)

• 50/50
• The Artist
• Bridesmaids
• Midnight in Paris
• My Week with Marilyn

Best Actor (Drama)

• George Clooney (The Descendants)
• Leonardo DiCaprio (J. Edgar)
• Michael Fassbender (Shame)
• Ryan Gosling (The Ides of March)
• Brad Pitt (Moneyball)

Best Actor (Musical or Comedy)

• Jean Dujardin (The Artist)
• Brendan Gleeson (The Guard)
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt (50/50)
• Ryan Gosling (Crazy, Stupid, Love)
• Owen Wilson (Midnight in Paris)

Best Actress (Drama)

• Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs)
• Viola Davis (The Help)
• Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
• Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady)
• Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin)

Best Actress (Musical or Comedy)

• Jodie Foster (Carnage)
• Charlize Theron (Young Adult)
• Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids)
• Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn)
• Kate Winslet (Carnage)

Best Director

• Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris)
• George Clooney (The Ides of March)
• Michael (The Artist)
• Alexander Payne (The Descendants)
• Martin Scorsese (Hugo)

Best Supporting Actor

• Kenneth Branagh (My Week with Marilyn)
• Albert Brooks (Drive)
• Jonah Hill (Moneyball)
• Viggo Mortensen (A Dangerous Method)
• Christopher Plummer (Beginners)

Best Supporting Actress

• Berenice Bejo (The Artist)
• Jessica Chastain (The Help)
• Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs)
• Octavia Spencer (The Help)
• Shailene Woodley (The Descendants)

Best Foreign Language Film

• The Flowers of War
• In the Land of Bloody and Honey
• The Kid with the Bike
• A Separation
• The Skin I Live In

Best Screenplay

• Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris)
• George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon (The Ides of March)
• Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)
• Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash (The Descendants)
• Steven Zallian, Aaron Sorkin (Moneyball)

Best Original Score

• The Artist
• W.E.
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
• Hugo
• War Horse

Best Original Song

• ‘Lay Your Head Down’ (Albert Nobbs)
• ‘Hello Hello’ (Gnomeo & Juliet)
• ‘The Living Proof’ (The Help)
• ‘The Keeper’ (Machine Gun Preacher)
• ‘Masterpiece’ (W.E.)

Best Animated Feature Film

• The Adventures of Tintin
• Arthur Christmas
• Cars 2
• Puss in Boots
• Rangon

The Golden Globes will be be broadcast live Jan. 15, 2012 with hosted by Ricky Gervais.

There’s a new image from Gary Ross’s adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games online tonight and it’s a good look at the group of Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, Josh Hutcherson as Peeta and Liam Hemsworth as Gale.

The Hunger Games has a pretty eclectic cast lining up alongside the three young actors here with Elizabeth Banks​, Lenny Kravitz​​, Stanley Tucci and Woody Harrelson​​ each taking a role in a film which is being talked up as The Next Big Thing*.

The image is below this lengthy synopsis, which most of you know already,

In a not-too-distant future, the United States of America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war, to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 12 districts. Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts, the televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss’ young sister, Prim, is selected as the mining district’s female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart, Peeta, the son of the town baker who seems to have all the fighting skills of a lump of bread dough, will be pitted against bigger, stronger representatives who have trained for this their whole lives.

ShockYa gave us the picture, enjoy.

The studio have asked us to take down the picture. Hopefully it’ll be relelased officially soon.

*moneyspinner

Gary Ross’ upcoming adaptation of the first in Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games trilogy is set to be one of the biggest films of next year, and we’ve been treated to some pretty great insights into the film in the past few weeks (all of which you can catch up on here), including the long-awaited first theatrical trailer, which I thought was pretty damn awesome.

Variety are now reporting that Danny Elfman, who was originally to compose the score for the film, has had to exit the project due to scheduling conflicts, and James Newton Howard will be stepping in in his place.

It had been previously announced that Elfman would be collaborating with T-Bone Burnett for the film, and Burnett will be continuing his involvement with the project, for which he’ll also be serving as executive music producer, now alongside Howard.

“Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the evil Capitol of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. A twisted punishment for a past uprising and an ongoing government intimidation tactic, The Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which “Tributes” must fight with one another until one survivor remains. Pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives, Katniss is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy. If she’s ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love. THE HUNGER GAMES is directed by Gary Ross, and produced by Nina Jacobson​’s Color Force in tandem with producer Jon Kilik. Suzanne Collins​’ best-selling novel, the first in a trilogy published by Scholastic that has over 16 million copies in print in the United States alone, has developed a massive global following.”

Both Howard and Elfman are incredibly well respected composers, both receiving several nominations at the Academy Awards, and if Elfman’s schedule’s conflicting, then it only seems right that someone of a similarly brilliant calibre will take up the role in his stead. I’m a huge fan of Howard’s, whose credits include films as huge and varied as The Dark Knight, Space Jam, French Kiss, I Am Legend, Love And Other Drugs, and many more, including composing the somewhat iconic theme to TV’s E.R., and I’m already excited to hear his ideas for The Hunger Games’ score.

Elfman has Men in Black III and Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows on his plate at the moment, both of which are set to be released in the spring next year, and juggling a third film due around the same time naturally sounds like a pretty difficult task. Howard also has two big films to score now too, in the form of Snow White and the Huntsman and The Bourne Legacy, but with both of those due, fitting The Hunger Games’ spring release into his schedule gives him a little more room to breathe.

The film will be led by Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth, with a terrific supporting cast that includes Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, and the brilliant Wes Bentley, with a UK release date scheduled for 23^rd March next year. Signs are definitely pointing to a huge box office success, and there’s every reason to expect an immense score to match those successes from Howard. I can’t wait.

In case you missed the great first trailer last month, I’ve embedded it below for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy.

Following on from the fantastic new image we saw last week of Elizabeth Banks and Jennifer Lawrence together in Gary Ross’ upcoming adaptation of The Hunger Games, based on the first novel in Suzanne Collins’ original trilogy, we’ve now got a brilliant new shot from the film, courtesy of Bloody Disgusting.

This time around, the focus is just on Lawrence, being escorted down a brightly lit tunnel by some pretty menacing guards (who almost look a little bit like the Star Wars Stormtroopers). Though the picture’s not a close-up of Lawrence, you can still tell she’s got an excellent look of determination on her face, clearly very much in character as Katniss Everdeen.

“Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the evil Capitol of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. A twisted punishment for a past uprising and an ongoing government intimidation tactic, The Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which “Tributes” must fight with one another until one survivor remains. Pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives, Katniss is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy. If she’s ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love. THE HUNGER GAMES is directed by Gary Ross, and produced by Nina Jacobson’s Color Force in tandem with producer Jon Kilik. Suzanne Collins’ best-selling novel, the first in a trilogy published by Scholastic that has over 16 million copies in print in the United States alone, has developed a massive global following.”

Starring alongside Lawrence and Elizabeth Banks will be a terrific cast that includes the likes of Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, and Wes Bentley, who can be seen rocking the most awesome beard ever committed to screen in the film’s pretty spectacular first trailer. (And you can catch up with everything else The Hunger Games-related right here.)

The film is due out on 23rd March next year, so we’ve got just under four months to wait to see how it turns out. It’s certainly expected (without wanting to jinx anything) to do excellent business for Lionsgate when it gets released next year, so here’s to hoping that it will be a great success for everyone involved. You can be sure that as we get closer to March next year, we’ll have plenty more to share with you by way of posters, images, clips, and trailers, so be sure to check in often to see how the film’s ad campaign is progressing; so far, it’s been pretty sweet. Without further ado, here’s the great new image of Lawrence. As usual, click to enlarge.

Gary Ross’ upcoming adaptation of the first novel in Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games trilogy is naturally one of the several highly anticipated films due out next year, and we were treated to an absolutely brilliant first trailer for the film ten days ago.

Judging by the trailer, we’re in for the start of a pretty immense ride next year, with there already being talk, somewhat expectedly, of a sequel getting the go-ahead, with Simon Beaufoy being targeted for penning the script.

We’ve now got a great new image from the film, courtesy of People, that gives us a look at Elizabeth Banks, starring as Effie Trinket, standing alongside Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen. As we saw in the trailer, Banks looks almost entirely unrecognisable with all of her make-up and clothing on, and you can barely tell that it’s her in this new image, which is a real testament to the film’s make-up department.

“Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the evil Capitol of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. A twisted punishment for a past uprising and an ongoing government intimidation tactic, The Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which “Tributes” must fight with one another until one survivor remains. Pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives, Katniss is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy. If she’s ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love. THE HUNGER GAMES is directed by Gary Ross, and produced by Nina Jacobson’s Color Force in tandem with producer Jon Kilik. Suzanne Collins’ best-selling novel, the first in a trilogy published by Scholastic that has over 16 million copies in print in the United States alone, has developed a massive global following.”

Along with Lawrence and Banks, the film has a great supporting cast that includes the likes of Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, and Wes Bentley, the last of whom was sporting by far the coolest beard I’ve ever seen in the trailer.

The Hunger Games is already being pushed as the next franchise to fill the gap left by Harry Potter and the gap that will be left by the conclusion of The Twilight Saga next year, and with its 23^rd March release date just a few months away, we’ve not got that long before we get an idea of how true that really is. I definitely wouldn’t be surprised if it’s spot on. Without further ado, here’s the new image of Banks and Lawrence from the film, both looking pretty brilliant in character. You can also catch up on all our other coverage for the film right here.