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Roland Emmerich May or May Not Blow Up the World Again

Filed under: Action, Drama, Thrillers, New Releases, Sony, 20th Century Fox, Movie Marketing, Remakes and Sequels

At a press junket earlier this summer for 2012, Roland Emmerich told reporters he's not doing any more blow-'em-up flicks. "I would not know how to top this... It's just one of these things, you know. I had a hard time deciding to do another disaster movie, but... you cannot make a disaster movie if there's not something --- an idea in this disaster which elevates it to something more than a disaster. And so it was this idea, you know, that there will be a global flood and it's a retelling of Noah's Arc."

Later he added, "It's not my last film, it's my last disaster film. And that's because I wouldn't know what else to do. It's just, you know what, I really didn't want to do this movie at first... But when I decided that the idea was too good to not do it for the reason I had done before, I said, okay, if I do it, I will do it in such a spectacular manner that nobody can top it for a long time. I have that pride in my work."

Eek! A First Look at the New Freddy Krueger Toys

Filed under: Horror, Fandom, Movie Marketing, Remakes and Sequels



Horror fans will be slipping back into a new Nightmare on Elm Street on April 30th, 2010, but we're already being teased with new Freddy Krueger toys, thanks to Entertainment Earth and Mezco Toyz. You can buy a little Freddy of your own in plastic or vinyl next April just in time for Jackie Earle Haley's debut as the mutilated monster who haunts our dreams.

The first question I had when I saw the plastic toy was, why does he look like those little dolls with dried apple heads that are sold at craft fairs by sweet grandmas? But thanks to a wily blogger over at Albotas and the wonders of Photoshop, you can see that Earle Haley's Freddy definitely looks more like this toy than Robert Englund's Freddy.



I'm not sure which I prefer -- the menacing creep with a big smile or the flat-faced, expressionless killer. An early review from a test screening posted at Ain't It Cool News praises Earle Haley for his performance (although not much else in the movie), but will old fans be won over too?

Either one is sure to give me, well, nightmares. It's too bad that Johnny Depp won't be there this time around.

Do you collect movie toys? And, more importantly, do you leave them in the box or take them out?

Check out a larger version of the toy after the jump.

(Via Dread Central)

You Do Not Talk About 'Fight Club' and Its New Blu-ray Website

Filed under: New Releases, Home Entertainment, Movie Marketing

I am Jack's raging annoyance.

If you haven't heard yet, Fight Club is finally hitting Blu-ray on November 17, jam-packed full features including new bits about sound design, a search index, a bajillion commentaries, those great PSA's, and behind-the-scenes fare. In other words: a must-have disc if it is even half as good as it sounds. (Read the press release after the jump.)

To kick off the event, a new website has been created at www.welcometofc.com. As Coming Soon says: "The site connects to your Facebook and... you'll have to see what happens next!" For me, that means 30 minutes of annoyance as it "loads" whilst phrases get spray-painted on the wall over, and over, and over again. Marketers might be trying new techniques to connect with the audience, but something tells me that grating on their audience's last nerve is not one of them. With the help of Horror Squad writer Alison Nastasi, I found out this is what happens: You need to have an account with pictures, and then the website will create a video with Fight Club highlights and classic text laid over the photos in your account.

If Tyler Durden and his more passive self were ever told to sign up for a popular website notorious for shady practices, they'd ... well, there'd be big acts of vandalism, maybe some hacking, and possibly even an unsanitary soup or two. The first-come, first-serve soap that came with the big DVD release years ago, that was a cool marketing twist.

Nevertheless, this release is yet another reason to go Blu-ray.

Lloyd Dobler Mob Invades New York For 'Say Anything' Anniversary

Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Home Entertainment, Movie Marketing



The 20th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray and DVD of Say Anything came out yesterday, and to mark the occasion, numerous men with lots of free time dressed up in trench coats and hoisted boomboxes above their heads and marched throughout New York City serenading people with the strains of Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes," and a cover version of the same song by The Lloyd Dobler Effect. Check them out in the gallery below.

Damn, that movie came out 20 years ago? That makes me feel incredibly old. The first time I saw that movie will be forever burned into my brain since it was my first and only date with the captain of the women's volleyball team in high school. However, the movie on Blu-ray looks better than it ever did back in theaters, circa 1989, and hopefully it'll inspire legions of Lloyd Dobler fans for years to come that will fare better than I did.

The Blu-ray version of the movie is a 1080p high-definition upgrade of the original DVD release from 2002, along with a newly remastered 5.1 audio mix. In addition to the upgraded image and sound, this includes all the features from the previous version (commentary from Cameron Crowe, John Cusack, Ione Skye, deleted scenes, and more), along with three new featurettes. The best of the bunch is "An Iconic Film Revisited: Say Anything... 20 Years Later" featuring new interviews with Crowe, Cusack, Skye, John Mahoney, and Nancy Wilson.

DreamWorks Shows Off 'How to Train Your Dragon'

Filed under: Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Family Films, Newsstand, Dreamworks, Movie Marketing, Trailers and Clips


DreamWorks' How to Train Your Dragon has been on my radar due to its literary roots (it's based on a 2003 book by Cressida Cowell) and its large and charming cast. But we all know that doesn't necessarily make a memorable animated movie. Too many kid flicks end up flimsy, and feel like extended fast food commercials. I figured Dragon would be one of them.

Happily, I might be wrong. A surprisingly charming trailer for Dragon has debuted at Yahoo! Movies. While I'm an easy mark thanks to a weakness for Scottish accents and Viking villages, the trailer is refreshingly free of Shrek's self-conscious hipness . Why, there's barely any snark to be found! It's all about a gentle lad (you'll recognize the voice of Jay Baruchel immediately) and the most adorable dragon you've ever seen. His limpid eyes and froggy mouth immediately makes the Viking-on-dragon violence rather horrific, and may cause you to feel hatred towards the brogue of Gerard Butler. (I know, I didn't think it was possible either.) Plus, there's a young Viking lass who wields an axe! If this could inspire a few girls to don Viking berserker costumes next Halloween, I will praise it no matter what its flaws and Burger King tie-ins.

The trailer is below the jump thanks to an embed from Yahoo! Movies. Watch it, share your thoughts, and squee over that squishy dragon. If there's a plush version that has that skeptical expression, I want it for my desk.

Exclusive 'The Men Who Stare at Goats' Character Posters

Filed under: Comedy, Fandom, Movie Marketing, Posters


Click below to view the full versions of all posters

Cinematical has just received these four exclusive character posters for The Men Who Stare at Goats, which hits theaters this Friday, November 6th. And yes, we freely admit that it sorta freaks us out to see four dudes eerily staring down goats in the above (and below) posters, partly because we never ever thought we'd be premiering posters that feature George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Ewan McGregor and Kevin Spacey all staring at goats, but also because, well, Spacey looks like he wants to make out with the animal.

Based on the book by Jon Ronson and directed by Grant Heslov, The Men Who Stare At Goats follows a reporter (Ewan McGregor) who stumbles across a fantastical story about a secret unit in the US military that employs paranormal powers in their missions. Reviewing the film from Fantastic Fest, Cinematical's William Goss called it "unpredictable" and "amusing", and after you scope out the four character posters below, feel free to check out the trailer after the jump.

The First Trailer For Disney's 'The Prince of Persia'!

Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Disney, Newsstand, Movie Marketing, Games and Game Movies, Trailers and Clips


After so much hype surrounding the casting and a handful of beefy stills, the trailer for Disney's The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is finally here, and we have it courtesy of IGN. From the comments left on Todd's preview of the trailer, I know you've been as eager to see its swashbuckling as we have.

It really looks like Jerry Bruckheimer and Mike Newell have taken the best of Pirates of the Caribbean, and employing it here. The costumes and sets are lush and exotic, the cast is gorgeous, there's plenty of crazy action sequences, and the special effects look as solid as golden sands of time can look. My only issue with it is that we only see a few glimpses of wit and fun. Part of what made Pirates so enjoyable was the chemistry and dialogue, and a cast that seemed to be relishing every moment it spent swashbuckling. There was a healthy sense of the ridiculous inherent in it. Everyone in Persia seems to be taking magical daggers, destines, and demons very, very seriously and such earnestness can be offputting for an audience who wants to be transported. Luckily, there's some promising flickers of humor at the end of the trailer (Do jokes about body searches ever get old? Not if they're delivered with the right twinkle in the eye.), and I hope it's a sign that it's not going to be grim and humorless stuff.

Check out the trailer below the jump, and let us know what you think. Thanks again to IGN for the embed.

Cinematical Previews the 'Prince of Persia' Trailer

Filed under: Disney, Movie Marketing, Trailers and Clips


Tuesday afternoon at no less than the offices of Jerry Bruckheimer himself, Cinematical joined a small group of reporters from other online entertainment and gaming sites to screen the forthcoming theatrical trailer for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Mike Newell's adaptation of the popular video game series of the same name. Following two screenings of the trailer, which runs approximately two and a half minutes, Bruckheimer and game creator Jordan Mechner answered questions from the group and discussed the development of the film.

While I'm no video game aficionado, the trailer seemed to have the right kind of quasi-interactive action that most modern games do – the "Prince," played by Jake Gyllenhaal, breezily navigates several death-defying scenarios in the short clip, including dodging an avalanche, diving off of a precipice into a swordfight, and fighting off the attention of the comely Gemma Arterton. According to dialogue and voiceover narration, the film essentially follows the Prince as he discovers and protects a sword that can literally turn back time; after several bullet-time sequences where Gyllenhaal transforms into a golden statue (well, more golden than normal), villain Ben Kingsley confesses that he wants to take control of the weapon in order to destroy the world, or control it, or something.

'Avatar' Behind the Scenes Featurette

Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fandom, Movie Marketing, Trailers and Clips

While we await the next full-length Avatar trailer (a similar international version is up over at SciFi Squad for those interested), a new four-minute behind-the-scenes featurette has found its way online. Basically this takes you through the film's backstory, featuring interviews with James Cameron and the cast mixed with scenes from the film. Yes, it's your basic featurette, but since we're all dying to see as much as we can of this film before it hits theaters on December 18, it's stuff like this that should hold you over.

The brand new domestic Avatar trailer will arrive online later today at about 1pm EST (10am PST), and at that time we'll let you know where you can go check it out in HD. After all, if we can't be watching these trailers and featurettes on the big screen, the next best thing is HD (and, in my opinion, we really shouldn't judge the film until then). I still have concerns about the story, though, which just seems full of cliches and stuff we've seen countless times before, but I'm personally more excited for the visual experience than I am for any story. Cameron has been talking up the 3D technology in his film for a long time now, and so that's what we should all be looking forward to -- a kickass, monumental moviegoing experience. Until then, everything else is just a tasty little appetizer.

Watch the featurette after the jump.

The First Official Photo From 'The A-Team'

Filed under: Action, 20th Century Fox, Newsstand, Movie Marketing, Remakes and Sequels, Images, War


We've had a lot of unofficial parparazzi shots of The A-Team and their van, but now you can go into your weekend having seen the real deal, courtesy of Salon Del Mal. Try to contain your excitement, as no one around you is going to understand it. Just keep the joy to yourself, and then when a coworker or friend says "Oh my God, did you see that official photo of The A-Team?", you can talk freely.

In all seriousness (well, as serious as one can get), this photo is kind of creepy. I have to echo Drew McWeeny of HitFix, who declared that Liam Neeson looked like he was wearing a George Peppard Halloween costume. I have to extend that to the entire cast, especially Sharltro Copley as Howling Mad Murdock. With all their talk of going dark and gritty, I expected the cast and crew of this would make this A-Team their own characters. The names would be the same, there'd be a few nostalgic nods, but they'd go in a unique direction. Instead, they just shrugged and made an exact replica of Mr. T. They really do look like a group of dedicated costumers that youd meet at DragonCon.

I don't mean to sound disappointed or negative. I'm not invested enough in the original to mind, and I like the cast Joe Carnahan has assembled. I think this could be fun. Even if it's not, at least I can gaze at Bradley Cooper and his leonine hair which is still very much intact. Never trust those grainy paparazzi images that say otherwise.

Sound off what you think of your official look. A bigger photo is included in the gallery.

Gallery: The A-Team

 
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