Movie News

‘John Carter’ Trailer 2 Arrives

With barely three months until its release, Disney’s big-budget John Carter adaptation is looking to raise some public awareness with a new trailer released yesterday. Probably the most noticeable change in the marketing has been the increased emphasis on the film’s Martian setting, and the big cast of alien creatures that inhabit it. Rather than the split-second glimpse we got in trailer one, the green-skinned and multi-limbed natives of Mars are on full display here, including Willem Dafoe’s Tars Tarkas, who befriends Civil War vet John Carter following his unexpected interplanetary arrival.

The Plot Hole Episode 32

This week, Kieran, Steven and Simon weigh in on the recent Dark Knight Rises reveal, courtesy of Christopher Nolan and then move onto another acclaimed director’s upcoming project with Scorsese’s latest. In addition, we have a review of The Muppets – which is our feature this week – as well as Hugo and The Descendants. Check it all out free on iTunes or our streaming podcast page www.playeraffinity.com/podcast

Be sure to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook! Leave your comments or questions or critiques and we will work them into an upcoming episode.

Hasbro Won’t Let ‘Ouija’ Die, Hires Writer

Seemingly unable to take no for an answer, Hasbro is moving forward with the film version of Ouija, and have hired Marti Noxon to write the script. The news comes just three months after it was announced that Universal Studios, who originally held the film’s rights, would be pulling out of the project, paying off a $5 million penalty fee just to do so.

Noxon could be a good fit for the film, having established herself as a go-to when it comes to writing pithy scripts with supernatural twists, her credentials including 23 episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and this year’s well-received Fright Night remake. She also did doctoring work on Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, though the odds of that script ever going into production seem to change with the weather.

Actresses Audition to Play Eponine in ‘Les Miserables’

Anne Hathaway remains the only female confirmed for a part in Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables, even several months after the project was announced. However, that might change very soon, as four young actresses aim to grab a juicy role in the musical.

As reported by Playbill, Scarlett Johansson, Lea Michele, Taylor Swift, and Evan Rachel Wood have auditioned for the part of street urchin Eponine. This character, by the way, belts the signature ballad “On My Own,” which the aforementioned Hathaway performed at this past year’s Oscar ceremony and Michele sang on her hit television seriesGlee. Michele also had her fair share of experience in stage acting, playing in Les Miserables at the Hollywood Bowl and starring in the Tony Award-winning rock musical Spring Awakening.

‘Muppets’ Can’t Leap-Frog ‘Twilight’ at Box Office

The five-day Thanksgiving
weekend saw three new family films enter the market, but none could dethrone
reigning champ The Twilight Saga:
Breaking Dawn – Part 1, which easily took the number one spot despite the
expected second-weekend plummet.

DVD/Blu-ray DISCussion (New for 11.29.11)

There are a large number of First Releases this week, some of them being very noteworthy and we at Player Affinity have picked the critically acclaimed horror-comedy Tucker & Dale vs. Evil as our Recommendation of the Week. This week’s releases offer movie fans a wide range of movies and genres, from R-Rated comedies in the form of 30 Minutes or Less and Friends With Benefits, the art-house sci-fi movie Another Earth, Werner Herzog’s 3D documentary Cave of Forgotten Dreams and a large number of straight-to-DVD releases.

‘Star Trek 2’ Will Be in 3D, Arrives May 2013

Jonesin’ to rejoin the U.S.S. Enterprise? After Super 8 caused some delays in pre-production, J.J. Abrams and the original 2009 Star Trek cast and crew will return to action next year and Paramount has chosen May 17, 2013 as the day to reveal what the next voyage has in store for them.

Ben Whishaw is Your New Q in ‘Skyfall’

MI6 had a security leak today, as it’s been confirmed that Ben Whishaw will be taking on the role of Q in the latest James Bondfilm, Skyfall. The 31 year-old Brit will be stepping into the shoes previously filled by John Cleese, who himself inherited the role from Desmond Llewelyn, following his death in 1999.

EW Reveals New Pics from Ridley Scott’s ‘Prometheus’

A new batch of images for Ridley Scott‘s next trip to outer space, Prometheus have been released. The new photos premiered in the latest edition of Entertainment Weekly, but scans from the magazine have been making the internet rounds:

Ignoring some of the more suspect photoshop at work here, it seems like Scott wasn’t kidding when he said there was Alien DNA in his newest project. Michael Fassbender, Noomi Rapace and Logan Marshall-Green in spacesuits while investigating an underground chamber (dubbed the Ampule room) seems right out of the first contact scene in Alien. Early internet consensus seems as positive a reaction to photos as can be mustered, thanks to some great set design and what’s probably the sexiest astronaut crew ever assembled. Scott has been cagey about plot details, but you can expect to find out plenty more about Prometheus before its June 8th release date next year.

Scorsese to Return to Crime with ‘The Snowman’

Martin Scorsese has signed on to his next project, The Snowman. This newest effort from the Oscar-winning director is being developed by Working Title Films and is based on Norwegian author Jo Nesbo’s bestselling book.