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18 articles
Exclusive: Creating the Alien Weapons in District 9
17 minutes ago
Sony Pictures has provided us with an exclusive clip from the DVD/Blu-ray release of District 9, giving us a look into what was involved in designing the prop alien guns used in the film. Watch the clip after the jump, along with a gallery of a few pieces of alien weaponry concept art created for the film.
Gallery of Alien Weapon Concept Art:
[gallery columns="2" orderby="ID"]
Clip:
[flv:http://media2.slashfilm.com/slashfilm/trailers/d9desig.flv 500 280]
District 9 hits DVD/Blu-ray on December 22nd 2009.
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- Peter Sciretta
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Sundance Photo Preview: John Wells’ The Company Men
1 hour ago
John Wells' The Company Men will screen at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival as part of the Premieres category. The film tells the story of three men trying to survive a round of corporate downsizing at a major company, and how that affects them, their families and communities over the course of one year. The film stars Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Costner, Chris Cooper, Maria Bello, Craig T Nelson, and Rosemarie DeWitt.
This is the feature directorial debut of Wells, who is best known for writing and producing hundreds of episodes of both ER and The West Wing. A lot of people are interested to see what he will be able to do with a feature film. It's also worth mentioning that eight-time Academy Award nominated cinematographer Roger Deakins shot the film.
Here is the official description from Sundance:
One of the first casualties of a corporate downsize is Bobby Walker,
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- Peter Sciretta
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Three Films Added to 2010 Sundance Film Festival
1 hour ago
The Sundance Institute announced today the addition of three world premieres which will screen out of competition at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival:
It's a Wonderful Afterlife: Bend it Like Beckham director Gurinder Chadha and co-screenwriter Paul Mayeda Berges return to Sundance with a comedy centered on an Indian mother who discovers that finding the perfect son-in-law can be murder. Staring Shabana Azmi, Goldy Notay, Sendhil Ramamurthy, and Sally Hawkins.
The Kids are Alright: Laurel Canyon director Lisa Cholodenko returns to Sundance with a soty of two children conceived by artificial insemination who bring their birth father into their family life. Written by Stuart Blumberg and Lisa Cholodenko, and starring Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Hutcherson, Mark Ruffalo, and Annette Bening. Cholodenko received the 1998 Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance for High Art.
The Romantics: Director and screenwriter Galt Niederhoffer returns to Sundance with an adaptation of her novel,
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- Peter Sciretta
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Second Teaser Poster For Christopher Nolan’s Inception
2 hours ago
Last week a viral for Christopher Nolan's Inception began, revealing the first one sheet for the film. It was discovered at the completion of an internet mini game called Mind Crime, which involved users creating a maze for people to play around in.
With only a few days before the second teaser trailer hits theaters (attached to Sherlock Holmes), another teaser poster has supposedly been uncovered in the game (found via nolanfans). This poster features the film's logo, in the form of skyscrapers, in a view from the sky (another image similar to that seen in the first teaser trailer).
I have not been able to confirm the legitimacy of this latest poster, and I'm a little bit skeptical considering no high resolution version has been posted (the previous teaser poster was released in a super high resolution digital image file). It's very possible that this is a fan creation,
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- Peter Sciretta
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Cool Stuff: Olly Moss’ The Food Chain T-Shirt
3 hours ago
We've featured the work of UK artist Olly Moss, in past editions of Cool Stuff. He is probably best known for his popular t-shirt designs which have virally spread across the interwebs (the Spoilers t-shirt and a series of retro movie poster remakes that we previously featured in Cool Stuff, and Shoot The Baddies), but we've also featured some of his prints, like the Olly Moss's Saul Bass inspired poster for the underground Lost art project.
I think I own nearly every one of the t-shirts designed by Moss, except this one -- as it sold out in record time. Thankfully, Threadless has decided to reprint his Zombie-themed infographic tee The Food Chain. And what's even better - Threadless is having a Holiday sale, and the normally priced $18 tee is on sale for only $10.Check out the full design, in large resolution, after the jump.
Cool Stuff is a daily
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- Peter Sciretta
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Marmaduke Movie Trailer
3 hours ago
20th Century Fox has released the teaser trailer for Marmaduke, the big screen adaptation of the Brad Anderson-created comic strip.
For Phil and Debbie Winslow, moving their family from Kansas to the O.C. is a big deal. For their enormous Great Dane "Marmaduke," (voiced by Owen Wilson) however, the move means a whole new way of life. It's chaos at home and awkward at work as the Winslows struggle to control their angsty teenage canine.
Shanghai Noon/Failure to Launch director Tom Dey approached the film like "a John Hughes movie with dogs,” and the dog park is "like high school for dogs" filled with all the kinds of characterizations you might expect. The script "sees Marmaduke navigate a volatile Mutts vs. Pedigrees turf war, woo the purebred of his dreams and overcome a fall from grace." The movie co-stars Emma Stone, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Ron Perlman, Judy Greer,
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- Peter Sciretta
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The Buzz: Filmmakers React to Avatar
7 hours ago
James Cameron's Avatar has been unleashed upon this world. We've run reviews from half of the /Film staff: David Chen, Brendon Connelly, Russ Fischer, and Hunter Stephenson. You might have even added your own mini-review. But you might be wondering, with all the talk of game-changing advances in the tech side of filmmaking, what do the writers and directors in Hollywood think of Avatar? Here is a round-up of quotes:
Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer: "Went to a special screening of Avatar last night where James Cameron did a Q&A after the film. I can’t tell you how much I loved the movie, or how clearly Cameron cemented himself as the world’s greatest living filmmaker. This is an incredible movie. I recommend seeing it in IMAX. So next level. So awesome. Avatar is a game changer. James Cameron wins."
Back to the Future, Indiana Jones and
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- Peter Sciretta
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Updated: Avatar Box Office Opening: $77 Million Domestic, $242 Million Worldwide, Biggest Debut Ever for an Original Film
8 hours ago
[Update: This morning, the estimates for Avatar's domestic and worldwide box office take were revised. Avatar performed better on Sunday than initial estimates. The headline has been updated with the correct figures. The following article will be updated as more details come in.]
On this week's episode of the /Filmcast: After Dark, veteran film journalist Anne Thompson stopped by to discuss Avatar and its box office prospects. While our full podcast review of Avatar won't happen until Tuesday night, Anne made two points/predictions that I found particularly interesting: 1) She predicted a $1 billion worldwide box office take for the film when all is said and done - a remarkable achievement for any movie, but not as high as the $1.8 billion of Cameron's Titanic, and 2) There was a high possibility that Avatar would not open as strong as other blockbusters (i.e. over $100 million domestic for opening weekend); it's
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- David Chen
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Star Wars Weather Compares Local Weather Conditions to Star Wars Planets
8 hours ago
For everyone who's always wished that your vast and encyclopedic knowledge of the Star Wars films could somehow come in handy, Star Wars Weather has arrived! This brilliant meteorological system explains what your local weather conditions are by comparing them to one of the planets in the Star Wars universe. All you do is enter in your Zip code. Here in Boston, Ma, where we were just hit by a massive blizzard, "It's like Hoth out there...cold, ice, freezing desolation."
Check out the site and feel free to post your location and your corresponding Star Wars planet in the comments below.
via Gizmodo
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- David Chen
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Teaser Trailer and Behind-the-Scenes Footage For Luc Besson’s Adele Blanc-Sec
10 hours ago
Right near the top of my 2010 most-anticipated list is Luc Besson's Adele Blanc-Sec, a film I previously described as a "little bit Indiana Jones, a little bit Tintin and a little bit Hellboy".
Our first look at the film came via a teaser poster, then there were some gorgeous stills unveiled and now there's a wonderful trailer. You can see it embedded below the break.
This is the first teaser for what looks like Besson's most lavish production since The Fifth Element, and for my money his most exciting prospect since Leon/The Professional.
If you follow the URL at the end of the trailer to the movie's official site, you'll get a click through to a news report from the French TF1 station. There's a goodly amount of behind the scenes footage within, even showing the shooting of some of the stuff you see in the trailer, and
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- Brendon Connelly
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Robert Rodriguez Sequel Log-Jam: More Machete, Sin City 2 and Spy Kids Reboot
10 hours ago
This story will eventually get along to news of a potential original film from Robert Rodriguez but first of all, we need to tidy up a lot of loose ends regarding his ever mounting pile of in-the-works sequels. He's a franchisomaniac.
All of this info comes from the fact that a number of online press were last week invited down to the set of Predators and they duly squeezed Rodriguez for all they could. We'll take it one franchise at a time.
Here's the man on future Machete movies:
We always talked about making him a franchise character. Danny and I talked about it in ‘94…maybe Desperado that’s when I first mentioned the Machete character. So imagine that…he’s been bugging me since ‘94.
Add into the mix a bit of light, hype-building and pot-stirring by Machete himself, Danny Trejo:
We want Machete, Machete Kills, and Machete Kills Again.
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- Brendon Connelly
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Lucasfilm Tests Out HD Capable Dslr Cameras for Red Tails, Possibly Star Wars TV Series
14 hours ago
Somehow, I'm not surprised that Lucasfilms is the first major Hollywood production company (that we've heard of) to look into consumer-level Dslr digital cameras that can shoot HD video. For better or worse, George Lucas has always been a pioneer in digital filmmaking. Learning how to use these small DSLRs (at least, compared to large professional-grade HD cameras) could help them immensely with future projects.
We know that Lucasfilm is interested in these cameras because they invited filmmaker and Dslr blogger Philip Bloom over to the Skywalker Ranch to demonstrate what, exactly, they're capable of. Bloom wrote up his experience on his blog, and also compiled a mesmerizing bit of HD footage filmed around the ranch. They also revealed to Bloom that they're interested in using the cameras for cockpit footage in their upcoming Tuskagee airmen feature, Red Tails --- and possibly even in the upcoming live-action Star Wars TV
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- Devindra Hardawar
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Roger Ebert’s Best Film Lists for 2009
15 hours ago
It's that time of the year again. Top ten lists are popping up everywhere (the /Filmcast's will hit next week), and the annual movie list aggro war is in full swing (it's a thing, trust me). Roger Ebert has finally unveiled his selections, and this time he's going against the grain by releasing two separate top ten lists --- his top mainstream films, and his top indies. He explains the move as a response to complaints about his top twenty list last year, and in doing so reminds us of his genius, "Which is is my official Top Ten? They both are equal, and every film here is entitled to name itself 'One of the Year's 10 Best!'"
Find both of Ebert's lists, with selections ordered alphabetically (yet another reason to love him), after the break.
Top Ten Mainstream Films for 2009
Bad Lieutenant
Crazy Heart
An Education
The Hurt Locker
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- Devindra Hardawar
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Cloudy with A Chance of Meatballs Directing Duo in Talks for Jonah Hill’s 21 Jump Street
17 hours ago
Jonah Hill's upcoming 21 Jump Street remake is getting weirder (and more awesome) the more we hear about it. First, Hill mentioned that he wanted to make a "Bad Boys meets John Hughes" R-rated action film, and now we've learned that Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are in negotiations to direct. I personally loved the heck out of Cloudy, and have firmly committed myself to following Lord and Miller's careers very closely. The duo also created the MTV animated series Clone High, and have written and co-exec produced for How I Met Your Mother. Basically, they rank high on the scales of awesome.
Originally, we thought that Jonah Hill was write/exec-produce and possibly star in the remake, but since then screenwriter Michael Bacall (Manic, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) has taken over the writing duties. Hill will still star and produce. The
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- Devindra Hardawar
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Bond 23 to Have a Shocking Story, Says Screenwriter Peter Morgan
18 hours ago
I'm still reeling from the crushingly disappointing Quantum of Solace, but I'm continuing to hope for the best regarding future Daniel Craig Bond outings. And if we're to believe Bond 23 (the film is still untitled) scribe Peter Morgan (The Queen, The Last King of Scotland), the next entry in the franchise may be different than the typical Bond film. Speaking to Bond fansite MI6, Morgan said that the next Bond film has a "shocking story." It's easy to read a lot into such a short statement, but as the first real bit of news about the next Bond film, it's making me hopeful that it'll resemble Casino Royale more so than Quantum.
Morgan is writing the script along with Bond regulars Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, but it's Morgan's involvement in particular that's making me hopeful about Bond 23. While Purvis, Wade, and Paul Haggis succeeded in writing one
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- Devindra Hardawar
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New Lost and 24 Television Promos
19 hours ago
A bunch of new television spots for the Sixth Season of Lost have started airing, and are now online. And while all of the spots feature no new footage, each tv spot hints at a cliffhanger which will finally be resolved in this final season. Also available after the jump are six new television spots for the new season of 24.
Why Do You Find it So Hard To Believe?
Tell Him He's Gonna Have To Die
Love Triangle
Chance to Change Things
The Bomb
Lost: Oceanic Air flight 815 tore apart in mid-air and crashed on a Pacific island, leaving 48 passengers alive and stranded on a remote island in the South Pacific. The survivors include a diverse group of people from different walks of life -- a doctor, an escaped fugitive, a con man, an Iraqi interrogator, a married Korean couple and a man formerly confined to a wheelchair who is now inexplicably healed.
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- Peter Sciretta
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Wes Craven’s New Killer Revealed
20 hours ago
Wes Craven's next thriller, and the first that he's written himself since New Nightmare, has settled on the title My Soul to Take. I first heard of it by the name of Bug, then it was 25/8 - as in 24/7 but one louder. After the break, there's a picture of the film's evil killer and, apparently, this image is something of a spoiler. Click on at your own peril.
Here's the official synopsis for the film, which also seems to be giving an awful lot away:
In the sleepy town of Riverton, legend tells of a serial killer who swore he would return to murder the seven children born the night he died. Now, 16 years later, people are disappearing again. Has the psychopath been reincarnated as one of the seven teens, or did he survive the night he was left for dead? Only one of the kids knows the answer.
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- Brendon Connelly
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Votd: Rodrigo Blaas’ Alma
22 hours ago
Pixar animator Rodrigo Blaas took time off to make his directorial debut with an animated short film titled Alma. Originally from Spain, Rodrigo Blaas has worked in animation for more than ten years, and was able to collect some of the best artists in the field to be part of his independent project: French animator Bolhem Bouchiba, character designer Carlos Grangel and Sergio Pablos, ArtDirector Alfonso Blaas, music composer Mastretta and sound designer Tom Myers.
At the 2009 Fantastic Fest, I was on the jury for Best Animated Short film, and fought hard for Alma. And while I was unable to convince my fellow jurors to name the movie Best Animated Short Film, we were able to award the film with a "special mention", which is basically the runners up prize. The short tells the story of a young girl who becomes intrigued by the contents of a mysterious toy shop.
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- Peter Sciretta
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18 articles
