RIP Don LaFontaine

Don LaFontaine, the gravelly voice of a thousand trailers has died aged 68, LaFontaine's famous voice made him a cult star in his own right, as his website shows.

Source: Aint It Cool News

Gremlins

From Slashfilm.com:-

"Sacha Feiner created this incredible alternative fan sequence using the Gremlins 2 Film break scene. Created over two months using computer enhanced puppets. Sacha writes: “I made a new mold out of a hard cast of one of the original sculptures from the production. I created a batch of new foam puppets especially for this project. Their performances are enhanced by computer effects, which makes them able to do nearly anything, from running to jumping or facial expressions. The entire shooting takes place in a bluescreen studio, arranged in my basement, in order to superimpose the gremlins in the chosen movies.” … “This is a fan, non profit project. I did everything alone, from the filming to the compositing. I only had assistants for the puppeteering. The overall budget, including the purchasing of the original sculpture, the HD and studio equipment, the molding and painting of the puppets and the editing, was about US $3000.” Thanks to the Movie Blog for the tip."

Quantum of Solace

Well the film is being released next month, so I guess they're sticking with the title. Heres a new image of Daniel Craig s Bond, courtesy of Slashfilm. Follow the link for more images.

Nowhere Boy

Matt Greenhalgh, the writer of Control, the Ian Curtis / Joy Division biopic, is sticking with the genre with a new film centering on John Lennon. Artist Sam Taylor_wood will make her feature debut as director.

The film will concentrate on Lennon's "childhood and subsequent journey to icon status." according to the Hollywood Reporter, and will portray his personal life as "a lonely teenager growing up as his aunt and the mother who gave him up fight for his love. His only escape is music, art, and his fateful friendship with Paul McCartney."

Source: Cinematical

Wright / Reitman Unplugged

Directors Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead) and Jason Reitman (Juno) interviewed each other for the Just Comedy festival 2008. Slashfilm has video of the event, which can be found here

Source: slashfilm.com

max Payne

Yahoo movies has the bizarre new trailer for Mark Wahlberg's forthcoming action film, loosely based on the computer game series of the same name. Whilst people were expecting a straight action film, this trailer suggests something slightly more off kilter.

The film is released October 17th

Saw V

The final poster for Saw V is the most disappointing one so far. Whilst the films themselves havent been great, the poster design has always been original and boundary pushin. This one however looks just like a generic horror poster.

Also, despite the tagline this is not the end of the franchise, with Saw VI already in production for release next year. Saw V hits theaters October 31st

Source: Creature Corner

Body of Lies

Source: Cinematical.com

Happiness 2 : Electric Boogaloo

... is probably not the title of Todd Solonz's next film. However the film is intended to be a 'quasi-sequel' to his controversial art house pic, perhaps most famous for Dylan Baker's tour de force turn as a (quasi-sympathetic) paedophile.

Variety has a vague outline for the film, described as revolving around a group of struggling individuals. struggling to find a place for themselves in an unpredictable and volatile world. The narrative is told through a series of intersecting love stories.; the past haunts the present and imperils the future: ghosts circle and loom, trouble and console.

Source: CHUD.com

Righteous Kill

Coming soon has a new clip from the De Niro / Pacino starrer Righteous Kill, which is released (US) on September 12th

Source: Aint It Cool News

Babylon AD

Ouch...

Babylon AD director Mathieu Kassovitz has given a no hold barred interview with AMC in which he discusses the troubled production, which gets an American release Friday. Amongst the choice quotes are Kossovit stating that "I never had a chance to do one scene the way it was written or the way I wanted it to be. The script wasn't respected. Bad producers, bad partners, it was a terrible experience." Of the final film the director believes that "It's pure violence and stupidity [...] instead parts of the movie are like a bad episode of 24."

Source: Cinematical

Smodcast 62

Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier are back after a weeks break with the new episode of their podcast, available now at www.quickstopentertainment.com and next week at Itunes*

SMod 62: The Human Quilt - In which our heroes accost a rocker in the cereal aisle, get unruly on a plane, fear the wrath of a pent-up Paul Bunyan, and go to the movies.


*BTW if anyone can figure out a way to download podcasts directly on to the Iphone please let me know.

Extract

Mike Judge hasn't had the best of luck cinematically, wth his first two films, Office Space and Idiocracy, having been essentially dumped by their distributors, before fifinding new life on DVD.

Judge's newest film, 'Extract' sounds like it may attract more attention, with a big(ger) name cast on board. Ben Affleck is the latest actor to sign on, joining Arrested Development's Jason Bateman. Affleck will play the best friend of Bateman’s character, a flower extract factory owner dealing with workplace problems and a streak of bad luck, including his wife’s affair with a gigolo.

Source: Newsaskew.com

The Fast and Furious 4

On the downward pathe of their careers, most of the original cast reunite for the third Fast and the Furious sequel. Here's the trailer, for those who care.

Fast & Furious


Source:Myspace Movies

Frost / Nixon

Yahoo Movies has the full trailer for Frost/Nixon, Ron Howard's adaptation of the award winning stage play about David Frost's famous interviews with the disgraced former president. Michael Sheen and Frank Langella reprise their roles from the original production.

The film is released December 2008 and is already considered a possible frontunner for the academy award nominations.

Source:Slashfilm

The Transporter 3

They may not be art, but the sheer ridiculousness of the Transporter movies makes them somewhat endearing. Heres a teaser trailer for the third in the series, coming briefly to a cinema near you soon.



Source:IGN.com

How to Lose Friends and Alienate People

The adaptation of Toby Jones's memoir of his short lived stint as a Vanity Fair journalist hits UK screens October 3rd. Star Simon Pegg is featuring in a series of video diaries for The Granuaid, the first of which can be found here.

Source: The Guardian

Up

A short teaser for Pixar's next is now available here

Source: Cinematical.com

Superman

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Warner Brothers executive Jeff Robinov confirmed that the next Superman will be a Batman Begins / Incredible Hulk style reboot rather than a follow on to Bryan Singers (incredibly dull) Superman Returns.

"Superman [Returns] didn't quite work as a film in the way that we wanted it to," says Robinov. "It didn't position the character the way he needed to be positioned. Had Superman worked in 2006, we would have had a movie for Christmas of this year or 2009. But now the plan is just to reintroduce Superman without regard to a Batman and Superman movie at all."

Rabinov also confirms a third Batman is on the way together with films based on two other (as yet unnamed) DC characters.

Source: Cinematical.com

Friday 13th

/New close up of Jason Vorhees from the Friday 13th reboot. Whilst the overall look isn't too bad, whats with the hair?

Source: Chud.com

It's Alive

Horror remake fever continues apace with the (looonnggg) trailer for the updated version of Larry Cohens 1974 cult classic about rampaging killer mutant babies. Which is a lot better than it sounds



Source: Aint It Cool News

Australia

New poster for Baz Luhrmann's Australia, starring Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman.

Source: Cinematical

Poltergeist

MGM is moving ahead with its pointless remake of poltergiest, having hired 'Boogeyman' screenwriters Stiles White and Juliet Snowden.


The duo have already endeared themselves to horror fans everywhere by deciding people want a remake of The Birds.

So far The Exorcist is the only movie avoiding the 're-imagining' plague, but surely it's only a matter of time.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

New image from the sixth Harry Potter film, which has just been bumped from it's original November release until Summer 2009. Apparently the film is ready to go, but Warner Brothers are holding the film back due to a lack of other product for next seasons summer blockbuster season (a lingering effect of the writers strike)

Eight more new images can be found here.

Source: Slashfilm.com

100 Years of Animation

100 years ago (17 August to be exact) saw the release of the first animated film,Fantasmagorie. Animated by French artist Émile Cohl the short consists of over 700 double exposed drawings, and runs less than two minutes.

The original cartoon is above.

Source: Slashfilm.com

Babylon AD

New poster for Vin Diesel's comeback flick. This sci-fi thriller, with more than a few visual hints of Bladerunner stars Vin Diesel and Michelle Yeoh. Diesel plays Toorop, a mercenary who takes on the task of escorting a mysterious woman from Eastern Europe to a futuristic New York.

The film opens August 29th in the USA

Source: Cinematical

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

New TV spot for the Benjamin Button, released on December 18th.

Source: Cinematical

Smodcast 61

Apologies for missing this at the time, but Smodcast 61 is now available for download here (and will be hitting Itunes shortly)

SModcast 61: “Bridge Beach!” -

In which our heroes dream of private tutoring, catalogue questionable laws, survive a star cros’t love affair, rally against lawn art, and unwittingly seduce a funny-book merchant.

Source: www.quickstopentertainment.com

Righteous Kill

Red band trailer for potential pissing on legacy exercise Righteous Kill, starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. Unlike their previous two films together the two actors share a considerable amount of screen time, but other than the talent involved this looks like a generic cop thriller. Having said that, Inside Man writer Russell Gewitz is responsible for the screenplay, which raises the vague hope this might be something more interesting.

DC Comics

Variety has an interesting interview with Warner Brothers regarding the future of their DC comics franchises. Basically, an offer is out for Chris Nolan to direct a third batman movie, whilst Justice League is on the back burner. Good news all round then.

Outlander

Early word on this Jim Caziavel starrer hasn't been good, and this new clip doesn't do anything to change this. But... Vikings vs Aliens is just such a bizarre concept that I cant help but be intrigued. Whilst the film has no US release date (and I get the feeling this may turn up in Blockuster before your local cinema), anyone happening to be in Berlin in the next few days can catch the film as part of the German Fantasy Filmfest



Source: Cinematical

Iron Man

Ahead of the September 30th DVD release of Iron Man, Access Hollywood gives us a first look at one of the deleted scenes.

Source: Aint It Cool News

Zack and Miri

After a successful appeal, Kevin Smiths next film has been awarded an 'r' classification. The film originally garnered an NC-17 rating for language and nudity.

Whilst this guarantees the film a wide release, in one sense it is a shame as this could have been an opportunity for a mainstream film distributor to attempt to overturn the stigma related to the NC-17 rating. The continued refusal of cinemas and some DVD retailers to handle NC-17 films limits filmmakers and prevents the industry from developing movies aimed at an adult audience.

Source: www.newsaskew.com

Source: www.newsaskew.com

Tropic Thunder

Many people expected Robrt Downey Jr in 'blackface' to be the most controversial aspect of Tropic Thunder, which has just opened in the USA. However the film has been hit by protests from disability rights group over the film within a film 'Simple Jack'. This sub plot relates to the Ben Stiller character's previous film, a shameless oscar grab in which he plays 'a retarded man who believes he can speak to the animals'. Clearly a spoof of such films as I am Sam and Rainman, people have taken offence at what they see as poking fun at the disabled, although it seems clear the joke is at the expense of actors who take on such roles.

Dreamworks have indicated they will not alter the film, but have pulled some marketing, with the spoof website advertising Simple Jack having disappeared.

Richard Pryor at the Mos Eisley Cantina

Fun video of the day, courtesy of cinematical.com

A Nightmare on Elm Street

Various sites are reporting that Billy Bob Thornton has been cast as Freddy Kreuger in Platinum Dunes forthcoming Nightmare on Elm Street remake, Whilst I can see Thornton in the role, casting anyone other than Robert Englund seems a bizarre step to take.

Source:Chud.com

The Princess and The Frog

Disney have released some concept art from the Princess and the Frog, their much awaited return to 2d animation. More images can be found here.

The film is due for a Christmas 2009 release

Source: Slashfilm.com

RIP Bernie Brillstein

Bernie Brillstein, Hollywood manager and producer, hhas died aged 77. Brillstein specialised in comedy talent and was responsible in part for shepherding classics such as The Muppet Show, Saturday Night Live and The Larry Sanders Show to the screen. Brillstein represented most of the early Saturday Night Live cast and acted as an executive roducer on such films as The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters.

Read more about his career here.

Source: Aint It Cool News

RIP Isaac Hayes

Star Trek

Aint It Cool News has some more teaser posters for the forthcoming Star Trek reboot. Above is a fairly unrecognisable Simon Pegg as Scotty, and one sheets for Sulu, Dr McCoy and Chekov can be found here

Watchmen

New behind the scenes featurette concentrating on the design of the Owl Ship.


source: IGN.com

The Spirit

A very odd full trailer for 'The Spirit' is now online at Yahoo Movies .

Whilst I enjoyed Sin City, this looks a little too much like more of the same, and may suffer from the lack of involvement of Robert Rodriguez. The trailer certainly gives no clues as to the narrative.

Source: Yahoo movies

RIP Bernie Mac

Bernie Mac has died aged 50 from complications arising from Pneumonia. Although best known as a comedian, Mac also had a number of notable film roles, including Oceans 11 and it's sequels and Bad Santa.

Source: Cinematical

What Just Happened?

Trailer for 'What Just Happened?'. Based on Art Linson's memoir, the film sees Rodbert De Niro star as a Hollywood producer. Expect plenty of Hollywood cameos.

Source: Cinematical

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

New trailer for the sixth Potter film. Tom Riddle, AKA the young Voldemort is played by Ralph Fiennes newphew, the amusingly named Hero Fiennes-Tiffin.

Tokyo Underworld

Warner Bros. (and VP Dan Lin) have bought the rights to Robert Whiting's Tokyo Underworld: The Fast Times and Hard Life of an American Gangster in Japan.

The true-life crimebook is based upon taped conversations between the author and gangster Nick Zappetti.

Zappetti came to Japan after WWII, and made a fortune on the black market. Zappetti was eventually deported, but returned illegally in the 60's as a restaurant owner. The restaurant slowy became the center of Tokyo's nightlife, and an integral part in the Yakuza's rise to power.

Frank Baldwin will handle the screen adaptation, with no word yet on a director. The film is being produced by Dan Lin, who was responsible for The Departed.


Source: Cinematical

W

Teaser poster for Stone's George Bush biopic.

Source: Aint It Cool News

Zack and Miri

Kevin Smith's forthcoming comedy has successfully appealed it's NC-17, and will now be released as an R without further cuts. This is the third time Smith has had to appeal an initial rating (Clerks and Jersey Girl being the previous offenders) and he has succeeded each time. The film, starring Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks, is now back on course for an October release.





Source: www.newsaskew.com

Lethal Weapon 5

Cinematical reports that original writer Shane Black is working on a fifth Lethal Weapon film, in which a retiring Mel 'Sugar Tits' Gibson drags an already retired Danny Glover back for one last case.

How to Lose Friends and Alienate People

Source: Moviefone

The Informers

Trailer for the forthcoming Bret Easton Ellis adaptation.

Source: Aint It Cool News

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote

The Independent reports that Terry Gilliam's 'The Man who Killed Don Quixote' will be heading back before cameras early next year. Gilliam originally started shooting the film back in 2000 before a series of mishaps and disasters led to insurers pulling the plug (see the behind the scenes documentary 'Lost in La Mancha' for the full tale).

Gilliam was recently awarded rights to the script, and suggests shooting will begin as soon as star Johnny Depp has space in his schedule.

Smodcast 60

Online now at Quick Stop Entertainment

SModcast 60: The Clone War -

In which our heroes marvel over Pillow Babies, thwart an attack by Stalin’s man-apes, and face off over the love of a human Xerox.

MST3K: Body Care and Grooming and 20th anniversary

We haven't run one of these for a while, but heres another classic MST3K to tide you over whilst we enjoy our holiday. There is a kind of news angle to this, in that MST3k's 20th anniversary is forthcoming, and a special box set including four classic episodes and a slew of new releases is on it's way. Aint it Cool News has an interview with some of the cast members and more detail's on the new set here and here.

Wolfman

Ouch. Rick Baker isnt known for speaking his mind, which makes this interview with Aint it Cool News all the more worrying, and suggests further problems with an already troubled production. CGI in werewolf movies just doesnt work, as anyone unfortunate to see Van Helsing and An American Werewolf in Paris will testify.


It's been coming up on 30 years since we had an entirely successful werewolf movie (although 1994's Wolf had some interesting ideas), and hopes were high for this. The trailer and early posters looked promising and we may yet be surprised, but there seems to be a bad feeling surrounding this film.

Source: Aint It Cool News

Watchmen

Theres not a great deal here so far (unless youve yet to see the trailer), but given the interesting stuff Warner tried with The Dark Knight, the new Watchmen website might be worth keeping an eye on.

Terminator Salvation : The Future Begins

The San Diego Comic Con had a brief teaser for Terminator 4, and also debuted this model of a "T-600", an early model terminator which is one of the films antagonists.

Source: Cinematical.com

Holidays!

OK, We've only been back for a week, but it's another holiday for us. Apologies, and we'll be back August 2nd.

In the meantime, go see the Dark Knight again. Best superhero movie ever?

W

Embedding has been blocked, so you'll have to follow this link, but heres the teaser trailer for Oliver Stone's Bush biopic, W., which hits theatres in October.

Source: Aint It Cool News

Max Payne

A couple of suprisingly effective posters for Marky Mark starring videogame adaptation Max Payne.

Source: Aint it Cool News

Friday the 13th

First close up images of the new look Jason Vorhees from the Friday 13th reboot.

Source: www.enewsi.com

Terminator Salvation

Teaser trailer for 2009's sequel, which loses Schwarzenegger and takes the series into the apocalyptic future referred to in the earlier films.

Kevin Smith on The Dark Knight

Director Kevin Smith guests on the slashfilm podcast, reviewing The Dark Knight amongst other subjects.

Source:slashfilm

Lakeview Terrace

Poster for forthcoming thriller Lakeview Terrace, in which racist cop Samuel L Jackson goes over the edge when an interracial couple moves in next door.

Source: Cinematical.com

Yes Man

Trailer for the Jim Carrey comedy, loosely based on the Danny Wallace book in which the writer agreed to answer 'Yes' to every question.

Source: Aint It Cool News

The Weinstein Company

Interesing article at The Telegraph (via cinematical) regarding the current state of the Weinstein Brothers new production company, formed in 2005 following their split from Disney and Miramax

Ghostbusters

Whilst it's not strictly a film, this upcoming video game is the closest to A Ghostbusters sequel we are likely to see, The game features the original cast providing voiceovers and the storyline, by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis iss based loosely on their abortive Ghostbusters 3 script.



Source: Cinematical

Ghost Town

So-so trailer for Ricky Gervais' first starring cinema role. Gervais plays an unikeable dentist who after an operation goes wrong, wakes up with the ability to see the dead. The film seems looks like a comedic cross between the sixth sense and ghost, if that sort of thing appeals.

Smodcast 58

New Smodcast online today at Quick Stop Entertainment:

SModcast 58: Kodachrome -

In which our heroes talk a little shop, muse over collegiate nudes, wax Parisian, and seek salvation in Shrewsbury.

Also available are episodes 56 and 57 which went live during our break.

Watchmen

We're back!

Here's the first trailer for Watchmen, which premiered with The Dark Knight. The imagery certainly captures the spirit of the comic book, but there's not a lot to go on narrative wise.

Holidays!

Farthing film is taking a break for a couple of weeks whilst we enjoy a well earned vacation. We will be back with all the latest news and features on 21 July.

In the meantime, enjoy the Count

Metropolis

In exciting news for Cinema historians and lovers of classic Sci-Fi, the long thought lost original 210 minute cut of Metropolis has been located in a Buenos Aires vault. Professor Martin Koerber, who is behind the discovery and restoration, stated that "No matter how bad the condition of the material may be, the original intention of the film, including all of its minor characters and subplots, is now once again tangible for the normal viewer. The rhythm of the film has been restored,".

Source: Chud.com

X Files 2

TV spot for the sequel / TV spin off.

Source: Aint It Cool News

Sherlock Holmes

A new version of Sherlock Holmes is being prepped by ubiquitous comedy producer Judd Apatow. The comedy will feature Sacha Baron Cohen as Holmes and Will Ferrell as sidekick Dr Watson. Etan Cohn, the writer of summer comedy Tropic Thunder, is handling screenplay duties.

Source: Variety

The Dark Knight

Two weeks to go...

Quantum of Solace

The official James Bond site, www.007.com, has the first trailer for new adventure Quantum of Solace.

Zack and Miri

New still from Zack and Miri, courtesy of www.silentobspeaks.com, where Kevin Smith has also posted his brief review of The Dark Knight

RIP Tartan Films

Variety reports that Tartan Films has gone out of business after more than 26 years.  Tartan were responsible for an eclectic range of DVD releases, and were responsible for bringing a wide variety of Japanese and Korean action and horror movies (including the works of Takashii Miike and Park Chan Wook) to a western audience, together with introducing a new generation to classic 70's horror and exploitation with it's 'Grindhouse' label.

This is a great loss for fans of genre and foreign cinema, and hopefully someone will step up to the plate and ensure that UK and USA audiences still have access to this material.

Saw V

Teaser poster for this years entry in the Saw series.  Whilst the first film was entertaining in a low budget, grimy way the sequels have become increasingly disappointing and convoluted.  Still they certainly bring in the money and I assume Lionsgate will keep churning them out as long as this is the case.

Source: Bloodydisgusting.com

Hellboy 2 - The Golden Army

New, presumably final trailer here.

Death Defying Acts

Awful poster for forthcoming romance / drama 'Death Defying Acts'. The film stars Guy Pearce as Harry Houdini and tells of his affair with a Scottish psychic, played by Michael Douglas's nurse, Catherine Zeta Jones.

The Dark Knight

Rolling Stone's Peter Travers has the first review of The Dark Knight

Death Race

New poster for the Death Race remake.

Source: Aint It Cool News

Hostel 3

Despite the disappointing box office for Hostel 2, talks are underway for a third
entry in the series. Eli Roth, director and writer of the first two films, is not involved.

Source: www.bloodydisgusting.com

The Day the Earth Stood Still

Poster for Keanu Reeve's sci fi remake.

The Dark Knight

Five new tv spots for the new Batman film are available here

Gotham Knight

Five minute clip from Gotham Knight, courtesy of www.mtv.com

Tyranosaurus Rex

Rob Zombie, hoping to claw back some respectability after his godawful Halloween remake, has unveiled a teaser poster for his next film, Tyranosaurus Rex, due in 2009. Little else is known about the movie, but the poster art certainly invokes 1980s exploitation cinema at it's best.

Source: Chud.com

RIP George Carlin

Although best known as a stand up comic, George Carlin, who has died aged 71, had a number of movie roles to his name. Perhaps best known to cinema goers as Rufus in Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure, Carlin was also a regular in Kevin Smith movies, notably as Cardinal Glick in Dogma and Ben Afflecks father in Jersey Girl.

Zack and Miri

It looks like Kevin Smith's latest comedy may have hit rating problems in the US, according to star Seth Rogen. In an interview with MTV, Rogen is quoted as saying

"The MPAA is gunning for us, I think,"[...] "It's a really filthy movie. I hear they are having some problems getting an R rating from an NC-17 rating, which is never good."

Rogen goes on to point out the strange double standards at the US rating boards, where films like Hostel come through relatively unscathed but scenes showing (or even discussing) intercourse are frowned upon.

Of course, this is not the first time Kevin Smith has had trouble with the ratings board, with his debut film Clerks initially been given an NC-17 rating before distributor Miramax appealed.

Source: MTV.com

Wall-E

The films final trailer before this film's Friday release has a stange Star Wars vibe about it and plays up the action far more than previous advertising.

Source: IGN.com

Spirit

The above series of posters highlights the female cast of Frank Millers solo directorial debut, Spirit, namely Eva Mendes, Scarlet Johansson, Jaime King and Sarah Paulson. Spirit is getting a christmas day release in the States, and should make it's way to the UK early next year.

Source: Cinematical

Burn After Reading

The international teaser trailer for the Coen Brothers next is now online here

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Teaser trailer for Benjamin Button, which reunites Brad Pitt and director David Fincher

The Dark Knight

For a brief clip from The Dark Knight (and a potential spoiler for those who have managed to studiously avoid such things), follow the link below.



http://www.whysoserious.com/myhero/



Source: Aint It Cool News

Teeth

The somewhat bizarre and controversial horror comedy 'Teeth' is finally getting a UK release this week. Empire online has the original poster, which was supposedly banned from use.

Burn After Reading

Saul Bass inspired poster for the fothcoming Coen Brothers' comedy Burn After Reading.

Source: Cinematical

RIP Stan WInston

Smodcast 54

Available now at www.quickstopentertainment.com

SModcast 54: SModder’s Day -


In which, fittingly, our heroes talk about childish things.

X Files: I Want to Believe

New X files trailer. not much too say about this, other than it's probably ten years too late.

Source: IGN.com