Thursday, September 29, 2011

Making Sense of Superman’s Legal Kryptonite

For some while now we’ve reported about the ongoing legal woes surrounding the Superman property. Warner Bros could lose ownership rights to a significant part of the early Superman universe in a schism that would see many of the most fundamental aspects of the character’s mythology revert back to the estates of Superman creators Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster, if a settlement cannot be reached by 2013.
And the battle is heating up as the opposing parties dig in their heels; the Siegel & Shuster estates on the one hand, and DC Comics on the other.
Even Doomsday couldn’t do a better job of tearing the Man of Steel apart.
It all began back in 2008 and 2009 when a series of rulings were handed down by U.S. District Judge Stephen Larson. Larson “ruled that Siegel’s heirs had successfully reclaimed their share of the copyright to Action Comics No. 1, which marked Superman’s 1938 debut; Action Comics No. 4; and other early depictions of the character and storyline. (Shuster’s heirs are on a separate timeline that begins in 2013). Larson was acting on a provision of the 1976 Copyright Act that allows authors to regain the copyrights to their creations after a certain period of time, subject to a series of intricate conditions.”
Like most legal battles over properties of this stature, it’s a complicated matter, but Variety has detailed the original ruling as follows:
In a recent article published in the Columbia Journal of the Law & the Arts, Anthony Cheng writes that 7th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Richard Posner’s decision in Neil Gaiman’s suit against Todd McFarlane “could provide the rationale for both parties to continue legally exploiting” Superman. Posner determined that Gaiman’s “Medieval Spawn” was “sufficiently distinct” to justify a separate character copyright from the original Spawn.
Along this line of reasoning, one way to settle the Superman dispute would be to “split the character in two — a 1938 Superman and a Modern Superman — and allow both sides to create new works based on their versions,” Cheng writes.
Moreover, because both sides would independently be exploiting their respective versions of the Man of Steel, they wouldn’t have to go through the tricky work of accounting for each others’ profits. They’d own what they own. One downside, though, Cheng writes, is that DC would have the more valuable version of the character, given the length of time it has been transforming Man of Steel projects into popular culture.
The other, more obvious, option is that all parties come together. But that’s no easy feat. The heirs’ attorney, Marc Toberoff, is appealing Larson’s decision to the 9th Circuit to get a more definitive ruling on who owns what, while DC is proceeding with its suit against Toberoff, charging that he has poisoned their relationship with the Siegels and Shusters.
Amid all the acrimony, it’s easy to forget the original intent of the “rights termination” clause of the Copyright Act: to give authors another opportunity to share in the rewards of their creations, not to parcel them out in bits and pieces.
Larson’s point wasn’t to parcel out the rights but to compel everyone to come to the same table for potentially mutual benefit. As he wrote in one ruling, Superman is an “aggregate whole,” not “a red cape here, a particular villain there.”
What does that mean for Zack Snyder’s new Superman reboot? Shortly after the director was hired to helm Man of Steel, there was speculation that one of the main reasons he’d landed the gig was that Warner Bros believed he’d be able to complete the film so that the studio could release it with minimal turnaround time. And while this shouldn’t be a problem, the fate of future films, not to mention the character’s larger integrity, is obviously being called into question.
In 2013, DC could move forward with the Superman projects it has already made, but under the Copyright Act, the company could not create new “derivative” works based on Action Comics No. 1 and other properties held by the heirs. More sequels though, would add up to more legal roadblocks.
If it sounds messy, it is. Ironically, the whole reason for splitting the rights in the first place was to give each side critical components of the Superman mythos, and encourage both sides to work together.
Our take on all of this is that the property is simply too well-established, and too important, to be divided into multiple variations. To do so would negate decades of established history and water down Superman’s value. And by value we also mean monetary value. Fan interest would likely wane. If the heirs owned important parts of the character, but not the trademark, this would pose a significant limitation on marketing and merchandising. Moreover, their reclamation of the copyright applies only to the United States, so international rights would remain in the hands of DC.
A fragmented Superman serves no one.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Angelina Jolie Set to Return for Salt Sequel, But Does Anyone Care?

Director Phillip Noyce’s Salt certainly wasn’t an awful film. But it hardly broke any new ground or offered any pleasant surprises. In an era where films like The Bourne saga and Casino Royale show us how good espionage-thrillers can be, lesser films seem like just so much filler.
Mind you, it might be arrogant to suggest that a Salt sequel is the answer to a question no one was asking. The film did decently at the box office. On a budget of approximately $110M, it managed a respectable world wide gross of $292M. Such numbers typically lead to sequels, which is where we find ourselves today.
According to Deadline, development has begun on a second installment, with Kurt Wimmer (who wrote the original) also penning the follow-up. Moreover, Angelina Jolie is expected to return to the title role.
For those who missed it, the original film starred Jolie as CIA officer Evelyn Salt who, after being accused of being a Russian spy, goes on the run in an attempt to prove her innocence.
So to answer the question posited in our own headline, while we might not care whether Salt gets a sequel, there are clearly enough people out there — at least according to the financial arithmetic — who may care enough to see Jolie take at least one more turn as Evelyn Salt.
Meanwhile, Jolie is next expected to make her directorial debut with In the Land of Blood and Honey, a romance set against the Bosnian war, which she also wrote.
Does a sequel to Salt interest you? Let us know below.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Somali Pirates Nab Paul Greengrass

Columbia Picture’s untitled big screen adaptation of the harrowing true-life ordeal of Captain Richard Phillips at the hands of Somali pirates is moving forward.
Deadline is reporting that Paul Greengrass has been offered the directorial reigns, very likely teaming with leading man Tom Hanks. According to the report, this could well represent Greengrass’ next project.
Phillips captained the MV Maersk Alabama which, in April of 2009, was hijacked by the pirates. Phillips bravely offered himself as a hostage to protect his crew and spent three days a prisoner before being rescued by a team of U.S. Navy SEALS.
The sale of the project, based off Phillip’s memoir, “A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea,” was announced for development last year with producers Michael DeLuca, Kevin Spacey, Dana Brunetti and Scott Rudin.
In March it was officially announced that Hanks would topline the film.
Greengrass seems like a logical choice for a film like this. His experience with the suspense genre — coupled with his work on
2006′s United 93 — would seem to make him uniquely qualified.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Filming is currently underway on the North Carolina

Filming is currently underway on the North Carolina set of filmmaker Gary Ross’ adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ “The Hunger Games”, and today a new set of images has arrived online courtesy of Fangirltastic. The story revolves around a dystopian future and the annual “Hunger Games”, a fight to the death staged on live television.
Todays images give us our first look at Elizabeth Banks in costume as Effie Trinket, outside the Hall of Justice where the tributes from the various districts are brought before the start of the games. Trinket is the capitol city’s somewhat ditzy liaison to District 12.
Check out the photos to the left and below, then click on the link above to see the rest, including some of Josh Hutcherson, who plays Peeta, Jennifer Lawrence and Willow Shields.
Lionsgate is scheduling a March 23, 2012 release date for The Hunger Games.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Prometheus to Take Us to the Edge of History

If you’re worried that Ridley Scott’s return to the Alien universe he kick-started will just be more of the same, belay that fear. It looks like Prometheus is going to give us much more, based on the description on the film’s official Facebook page. We got wind of the cool-sounding update below courtesy of the website io9‘s twitter feed (@io9):
Ridley Scott, director of “Alien” and “Blade Runner,” returns to the genre he helped define. With PROMETHEUS, he creates a groundbreaking mythology, in which a team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a thrilling journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.
We say thanks to our source because that has got us pretty pumped about the new movie, which is expected in theaters on June 8, 2012. Then again, maybe we shouldn’t have had doubts given the esteemed personnel behind the film. With Scott directing, Damon Lindelof and Jon Spaihts writing and Michael Fassbender, Noomi Rapace; Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce and Ben Foster in the cast, how can it go wrong?
Tell us what you think. Are you excited by this new venture into the Alien mythology or should they have left it well alone, like the ship on LV426?

Friday, September 23, 2011

Daniel Craig Exhibits Some Bond Toughness in New Extended Look from Cowboys & Aliens


A new extended sneak peek from director Jon Favreau’s Cowboys & Aliens has arrived online, courtesy of Universal Pictures. It first premiered during during Friday night’s Spike Guys Choice Awards.
There’s more of Daniel Craig in this extended look, and one scene in particular makes you feel as though he’s brought some 007 along for the ride. You can check it out below.
Plot Summary: Blockbuster filmmaker Jon Favreau directs Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford in an event film for summer 2011 that crosses the classic Western with the alien-invasion movie in a blazingly original way: “Cowboys & Aliens.” Joined by an arsenal of top moviemakers—Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci—he brings an all-new action thriller that will take audiences into the Old West, where a lone cowboy leads an uprising against a terror from beyond our world.
1873. Arizona Territory. A stranger (Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don’t welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford). It’s a town that lives in fear.
But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known.
Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he’s been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of the elusive traveler Ella (Olivia Wilde), he pulls together a posse comprised of former opponents—townsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and Apache warriors—all in danger of annihilation. United against a common enemy, they will prepare for an epic showdown for survival.
The film also stars Sam Rockwell, Adam Beach, Paul Dano, Noah Ringer, Keith Carradine, Clancy Brown, Ana de la Reguera and Abigail Spencer.
Cowboys & Aliens opens in theaters on July 29.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Shatner Tells Fans He’s NOT in the Next ‘Star Trek’

With much mystery still surrounding the follow-up to J.J. Abrams Star Trek reboot (we khan’t bring ourselves to call it Star Trek 2), one question that keeps going around is whether William Shatner will be making an appearance as the original (or should that be alternate?) James T. Kirk.
‘No,’ is the word from the man himself. Shatner said as much during a Q&A session hosted by Canada’s SPACE channel at last weekend’s Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo. He was answering a fan’s question about whether he thought he would be in the next movie.
“I’ve become an acquaintance of J.J. Abrams—what a talented guy—and he never mentioned, ‘Get yourself ready; you’re going to be in the next movie,’… [So] no.”
Earlier in the session Shatner commented on his experiences on the CBS sitcom $#*! My Dad Says. He expressed his surprise at the cancellation of the show but said it had been a positive experience.
“I’d never done this sitcom thing with an audience and I had no idea what it was like until I did it,” Shatner said. “It is something totally unique in show business. You either can do it or you can’t. The audience, like yourselves, are there and you’re trying to be funny and the audience immediately tells you that you are or you’re not. And the writers come in and rewrite. The only protection I had was to come out in front of the audience and say, ‘Hey, everybody, look, we don’t know what we’re doing here and we hope you’ll teach us what to do. So here we are. We’re at your mercy,’ and bring them in, encompass them and embrace them so they became part of the making of the show. And it was a joyous three or four hours every Wednesday night for me. I had the best time with the best people I’ve ever met.”
Back on the topic of Star Trek, Shatner also discussed his upcoming documentary, The Captains, in which he interviews each of the actors who have played the lead role in a Star Trek series or the movie reboot (with the exception of Jeffrey Hunter, presumably).
“[It's] an hour and a half of insights into the guys including Chris Pine, who have played the Captains ofStar Trek,” said Shatner. “I have focused on themes like love and hate, divorce and work, intertwining their lives, and I think you will enjoy it. It will be debuting in the States July 22nd and shortly thereafter in Canada.”
EPIX, the premium entertainment channel, video-on-demand and online service announced today that it will preview The Captains on July 22 at Comic-Con in San Diego. In Canada it will air on Movie Central, which co-produced the documentary with Shatner’s production company Melis Productions and Ballinran Productions Limited.
SPACE’s regular genre news show InnerSPACE will feature a segment on the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo this Friday at 11pm ET (8pm PT). We can’t confirm that Shatner will appear but yours truly did witness presenter Teddy Wilson being dragged away from the Expo floor to interview the actor.
Shatner is currently filming the USA Network series Psych in Vancouver.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Shatner Tells Fans He’s NOT in the Next ‘Star Trek’

With much mystery still surrounding the follow-up to J.J. Abrams Star Trek reboot (we khan’t bring ourselves to call it Star Trek 2), one question that keeps going around is whether William Shatner will be making an appearance as the original (or should that be alternate?) James T. Kirk.
‘No,’ is the word from the man himself. Shatner said as much during a Q&A session hosted by Canada’s SPACE channel at last weekend’s Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo. He was answering a fan’s question about whether he thought he would be in the next movie.
“I’ve become an acquaintance of J.J. Abrams—what a talented guy—and he never mentioned, ‘Get yourself ready; you’re going to be in the next movie,’… [So] no.”
Earlier in the session Shatner commented on his experiences on the CBS sitcom $#*! My Dad Says. He expressed his surprise at the cancellation of the show but said it had been a positive experience.
“I’d never done this sitcom thing with an audience and I had no idea what it was like until I did it,” Shatner said. “It is something totally unique in show business. You either can do it or you can’t. The audience, like yourselves, are there and you’re trying to be funny and the audience immediately tells you that you are or you’re not. And the writers come in and rewrite. The only protection I had was to come out in front of the audience and say, ‘Hey, everybody, look, we don’t know what we’re doing here and we hope you’ll teach us what to do. So here we are. We’re at your mercy,’ and bring them in, encompass them and embrace them so they became part of the making of the show. And it was a joyous three or four hours every Wednesday night for me. I had the best time with the best people I’ve ever met.”
Back on the topic of Star Trek, Shatner also discussed his upcoming documentary, The Captains, in which he interviews each of the actors who have played the lead role in a Star Trek series or the movie reboot (with the exception of Jeffrey Hunter, presumably).
“[It's] an hour and a half of insights into the guys including Chris Pine, who have played the Captains ofStar Trek,” said Shatner. “I have focused on themes like love and hate, divorce and work, intertwining their lives, and I think you will enjoy it. It will be debuting in the States July 22nd and shortly thereafter in Canada.”
EPIX, the premium entertainment channel, video-on-demand and online service announced today that it will preview The Captains on July 22 at Comic-Con in San Diego. In Canada it will air on Movie Central, which co-produced the documentary with Shatner’s production company Melis Productions and Ballinran Productions Limited.
SPACE’s regular genre news show InnerSPACE will feature a segment on the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo this Friday at 11pm ET (8pm PT). We can’t confirm that Shatner will appear but yours truly did witness presenter Teddy Wilson being dragged away from the Expo floor to interview the actor.
Shatner is currently filming the USA Network series Psych in Vancouver.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Spy vs Spy Headed to the Big Screen


Who among us hasn’t grown up spending lazy summer afternoons with a ratty copy of Mad magazine? From Mort Drucker’s caricatures, Don Martin’s zany sound effects, Sergio Aragonés’ silly marginal cartoons, and finishing up with Al Jaffee’s brilliant fold-ins, it’s where many of our comedic identities were shaped.
And remember Spy vs Spy, those never-ending gags of one upmanship that would make Wile E. Coyote proud? Well, it seems Warner Brothers does, and they are bringing together the talents of Ron Howard, David Koepp, and Brian Grazer to do so.
Deadline reports that a live action feature is being developed for Ron Howard to direct and produce with Koepp and Grazer. Although Cuban artist Antonio Prohías’ Spy vs Spy cartoons were short and simple, it remains to be seen whether the idea can sustain a two-hour movie. And what would our black and white spies look like? It would be truly surreal if they kept their comic book look…

Trailer for Disney’s John Carter Arrives!

Writer Edgar Rice Burroughs was well known for writing pulpy adventure novels, of which Tarzan was probably his most popular creation. However, among his other works is A Princess of Mars, which chronicles the adventures of John Carter, a civil war soldier who mysteriously finds himself transported to Mars.
Now Disney has released the first official trailer for their blockbuster adaptation of Burroughs’ story. Directed by Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo) the upcoming film stars Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Willem Dafoe, and Mark Strong.
Check out their official website.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Pitt coaches underdog 'Moneyball' onto big-screen

  TORONTO (AP) — Brad Pitt's about as free a free agent as they come in Hollywood, a superstar so big he could play ball with just about any team, on any film project he likes.
Yet he wanted to make "Moneyball" so much that he stuck with it for years, even after pal Steven Soderbergh, his director on the "Ocean's Eleven" flicks, departed the film in a script squabble with Sony Pictures.
Pitt was obsessed with making a movie out of Michael Lewis' best-seller "Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game," which chronicles Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane's revolutionary experiment to build a winning team out of unlikely prospects and castoff players chosen because they could be had cheaply and fit new mathematical models that ran counter to traditional baseball scouting stats.
"I couldn't let go of the book," Pitt said in an interview at the Toronto International Film Festival, where "Moneyball" premiered ahead of its theatrical release Friday. "It was just something I wanted to put out there."
The Soderbergh-directed version of "Moneyball" fell apart two years ago after Sony pulled the plug on it a few days before filming was to start. Soderbergh had submitted dramatic revisions to the script from Academy Award-winning screenwriter Steven Zaillian ("Schindler's List"), and Sony was unwilling to go along with the changes, which reportedly included interview segments with real players and team officials and re-enactments to tell the story as realistically as possible.
Just as Beane had to rebuild his team in 2002 after losing key players to free agency, Sony brought in fresh talent to revive "Moneyball." Hollywood heavyweight Scott Rudin joined producers Pitt, Michael De Luca and Rachael Horovitz to help jump-start the film. Aaron Sorkin, who collaborated with Rudin on last year's "The Social Network" and won an Oscar for the screenplay, did a new draft of the "Moneyball" script, sharing the writing credit with Zaillian.
The studio took a risk on a director to replace Soderbergh, choosing Bennett Miller, a 2005 Oscar nominee for his fiction feature debut "Capote." Miller came from the artsier, lower-budgeted independent world and had made only one film, a documentary, before "Capote."
The timing was right for Miller, who had spent a few years trying to get a film of his own off the ground and "had just conceded it wasn't going to happen," he said.
"Moneyball" probably wouldn't have happened either without Pitt going to bat for it, Miller said.
"It needed a champion for it to happen, because there's not a ton in the book that screams box office. It's not an obvious translation to film. Baseball movies are not really attractive to investors because the markets are limited once you get out of the United States," Miller said. "Unless you have Brad Pitt saying, 'I want this to happen, and I'm going to see this thing through,' I'm sure it goes away."
So Miller and Pitt met, they connected, and "Moneyball" was back on the base paths.
The result is impressive. Like "The Social Network," ''Moneyball" crackles with sharp, insightful dialogue. Like "Capote," it's a rich character portrait of a driven figure (and it doesn't hurt to have Philip Seymour Hoffman, who won the best-actor Oscar in the title role of Miller's Truman Capote drama, on board as the A's skeptical field manager).
And Beane is a character Pitt wears like a second skin, the actor applying all his charm and charisma as he cuts deals, butts heads with the team's scouting staff, absorbs the reproaches of scornful fans and sports commentators and champions the unorthodox numbers crunching of his new aide (Jonah Hill).
"It speaks to the power of a role fitting someone so powerfully," said co-star Chris Pratt, who plays one of Beane's new acquisitions, player Scott Hatteberg. "Put them in a room together, you're like, wow. If you're looking at Billy Beane, the first person you're going to think to play him is Brad Pitt."
Hill plays Peter Brand, a composite of a number of economic analysts Beane enlisted as the A's adopted sabermetrics, a system that places more value on a player's ability to get on base and produce runs than on such traditional stats as batting averages.
A small-market team, the A's had to find a way to compete with deep-pocketed franchises such as the New York Yankees, who had the money to go out and buy the talent they wanted.
"I'm very interested in equality, and here you had a team with $38 million, and how are they going to compete with a team that has $140 million?" Pitt said. "How do you level that playing field? So by necessity, they had to tear it all down and question everything, and then the (crap) they took for doing it. They were called heretics and fools and boobs. And yet they punched through and did something that just altered the game a couple degrees."
Among Beane's unconventional moves recounted in the film: trading for former Atlanta Braves star David Justice, who was injury-prone and aging; signing catcher Hatteberg and retraining him as a first baseman, a position he had never played; and bringing in relief pitcher Chad Bradford, who had an unusual side-armed delivery and not much speed to his fastballs.
The moves pay off as the A's earn the American League West title, with Hatteberg the surprise hero as the team wins an AL record 20-straight games along the way.
The story of that pioneering season, finding a way to win against the odds, parallels the story of how "Moneyball" made it to the screen after most in Hollywood had written it off.
"This whole idea of failure, and how failure can be a tombstone written as the end," Pitt said. "To me, there's no win without failure. Failure becomes impetus for the next win. It's this ongoing part of your trip."

Life-Changing Advice Can Come From an Unlikely Source - Like Dr. Hannibal Lecter

Success is hard-won. That's why people turn to life coaches. Ideally, a life coach would be passionate, intelligent, and awe-inspiring. Based on those criteria, you can see why Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) turned to sociopathic killer Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) to catch Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine) in The Silence of the Lambs. Dr. Lecter might not be your typical go-to guru, but if you look at the example he sets you may find clues to reaching your full potential.
1. Dress for Success
Let people know you take pride in your appearance. As Dr. Lecter tells Clarice, "You know what you look like to me, with your good bag and your cheap shoes? You look like a rube." Nobody wants to be a rube. So splurge on your wardrobe.
2. Make a Fresh Start
Old habits can be stifling. The same surroundings, routine, or acquaintances may be holding you back. Break free! Begin anew. Get yourself out there and mingle. It did wonders for Dr. Lecter (and gave him an opportunity to show off a snazzy new hat and suit).
3. Get Organized
You can't focus on goals when you work amid chaos. Dr. Lecter moved some of his belongings into a rented storage unit, a strategy that is a relatively inexpensive way to deal with baggage no longer in your day-to-day life. For you, that might be old files and clothes; for Lecter, it was a severed head.
4. Educate Yourself
Win friends and influence people with your knowledge. Then reference obscure artists, use Latin phrases, and quote Roman emperors. Have guests over and enthrall them with riddles. It kept Clarice coming back to visit Dr. Lecter time and time again. It could work for you!
5. Want It, See It, Get It!
Dr. Lecter says, "We begin by coveting what we see every day." So seize the day by grabbing what you want. Not to say you should snatch your neighbor's possessions. But allow yourself to be inspired. Just don't covet thy neighbor's actual skin.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Are You Prepared for Grave Encounters?

If you’ve seen Session 9, you know that indie horror movies about abandoned lunatic asylums can be pretty damn creepy. Today we got the trailer for Grave Encounters, another film in this sub-genre that could soon be doing the rounds. From what we’ve seen, it could be another screamer. You can judge for yourself by checking out the trailer below, courtesy of Tribeca Film.
Grave Encounters is about the crew of a paranormal investigation reality television show, à la Syfy’s Ghost Hunters, that decides to lock themselves inside the disused Collingwood Psychiatric Hospital for an episode of their show. Guess what? It’s proves to be no Comfort Inn. As they go about filming their investigation of the unexplained phenomena that have been reported there over the years they find that the building seems to be trying to add their names to the list of mentally disturbed people it has housed.
Initially Grave Encounters is scheduled for only a limited theatrical run. Screenings are set for midnight on Friday, August 19th & Saturday, August 20th in Los Angeles (Sunset 5) and New York (Village East Cinema), followed by a week-long engagement in New York City beginning September 9th. The makers are hoping, however, that fan enthusiasm and word-of-mouth will lead to a nationwide run through a so-called Eventful DemandIt campaign. More information can be found at the official movie site.
Grave Encounters was screened as part of this year’s Tribeca Film Festival and will be available in the U.S. via Tribeca Film On Demand from August 25th. It is directed by The Vicious Brothers with a cast that includes Ben Wilkinson, Sean Rogerson, Merwin Mondesir, Ashleigh Gryzko, Juan Riedinger and Mackenzie Gray.

Schwarzenegger, Willis Back for Substantial Roles in Expendables Sequel



Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis will not only return for the sequel to Sylvester Stallone’s The Expendables, but now comes word from Deadline that the two actors have officially closed deals for “substantial” roles in the film.
Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews and Randy Couture are also returning. The ensemble will be joined by Chuck Norris, Scott Adkins and Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Story: After Tool (Mickey Rourke) is brutally murdered on a mission, his comrades swear to avenge him. They’re not the only ones who want blood. Tool’s beautiful young and wild daughter Fiona embarks on her own revenge mission, complicating matters when she is captured and ransomed by a ruthless dictator plotting to destroy a resistance movement. Now Barney (Sylvester Stallone) and the Expendables must risk everything to save her and humanity.
Universal Pictures has unveiled the first clip from the prequel to John Carpenter’s The Thing, which you can check out below.
While it’s impossible to glean much from this footage, the clip here seems to borrow most of the beats of the cliched horror film: Person is given a scare by a colleague just for fun, leading to an exhale from the audience…right before the real scare comes along—pretty standard stuff.
  Though again, one clip does not a movie make, and we’ll have to wait to see if this effort equals more than the sum of its parts.
The sequel stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) and Joel Edgerton (Animal Kingdom).
Story: At an Antarctica research site, the discovery of an alien craft leads to a confrontation between graduate student Kate Lloyd (Winstead) and scientist Dr. Sander Halvorson (Ulrich Thomsen).
Directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr, the The Thing prequel arrives in theaters on October 14.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Is This the Movie Superman of the Future?

Last week, the world got its first look at the new Superman courtesy of Justice League #1, in which the character made a brief, one-page cameo. That major event was fleshed out a little further this past Wednesday thanks to Action Comics #1, which introduced the Man of Steel’s new status quo. “New” is definitely the operative word here, as decades of history have been tossed out in favor of a younger, less-experienced Superman who is just starting out his career as a hero.
Now obviously, a brand-new take on a character as iconic as this one is exciting news in and of itself. But we at CinemaSpy also found ourselves wondering, Is what we’re witnessing here in any way indicative of what Man of Steel, the upcoming Superman movie directed by Zack Snyder and scheduled for a 2013 release, is going to be like?
In fact, a pic from the set of Man of Steel, which found its way onto the web this past August and features star Henry Cavill, shows him in a costume that seemingly reflects the attitude accompanying the character’s relaunch (in both instances, the signature red trunks are gone, and Superman’s suit looks more battle-ready than in most incarnations). This costume does not appear in Action Comics #1, but is featured prominently in Superman #1.
Admittedly, Action Comics only represents half the core Superman books; Superman #1 debuts at the end of September, and while Action chronicles the hero’s early exploits, the other book will pick up on his present-day adventures. But Man of Steel is reported to be an origin story, and DC Comics’ parent company Time Warner appears to be trying to keep a close continuity between its comic book properties and tie-ins to other media.
So an argument can be made that Snyder’s film, which is co-written by David Goyer and produced by Christopher Nolan (of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight fame), will likely resemble these newly-released comics (and this is assuming that the revamp of the Superman line was conceived long enough in advance that it could have affected the development of Man of Steel). If such is the case, and ifAction #1 is any indication, the final product will more closely resemble Nolan’s recent Batman films than either the classic Richard Donner movies or Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns, which failed to revitalize the franchise in 2006.
But what does this mean, exactly? Well, for one thing, the Superman of Action Comics is less of the god-like figure depicted in recent comics or in Superman Returns. In this new variation, he’s strong, but he can’t move planets; he can hurdle skyscrapers, but he can’t fly; he’s fast, but not enough to break the sound barrier, yet. As a result, fight scenes seem more intense and thrilling than Superman has known in a while, positively street-level since he can’t just fly away. In the first half of Action #1, the character leads police on a high-speed chase through the streets of Metropolis, which quickly escalates into explosions and chaos. It’s not so dissimilar to the kind of visceral thrills of either Batman Begins or The Dark Knight.
Adding to the edginess (and Nolan-era Batman comparisons) is that Superman this time around is clearly a vigilante, at least during the start of his career (for the past few decades worth of comics, the story is that he had been deputized by the city). The book kicks off with him performing an act that seems very un-Superman-like: standing at the edge of a balcony, threatening to drop a corrupt old man who has broken laws and bribed city officials, to his death. Not only that, but he subsequently declares that he’ll let the man go, “just as soon as he makes a full confession. To someone who still believes the law works the same for rich and poor alike. Because that ain’t Superman.” Not exactly your dad’s Christopher Reeve Superman talking there.  Finally, the comic gives us a Metropolis that is darker and grittier than fans and moviegoers may be accustomed to. In the past, the city was partially inspired by its adopted hero to reach for the skies, but at this point it’s too early for that to have happened. So instead, the Metropolis of Action resembles Nolan’s Gotham City: large in scale, relatively-modern in look, and dilapidated at the edges (Interestingly, like inBatman Begins, there’s a commuter train that plays a pivotal role). Also, while both Superman and his reporter alter-ego Clark Kent are crusaders for the common man, there are indications (via previews of future issues) that the populace may not totally trust the Man of Steel, much less be in awe of him. If translated to the big screen, that would be a far cry from how the average Metropolis citizen reacted to Superman in the Donner films.
You make the call: Does Henry Cavill in his Superman costume on the set of Man of Steel  Now again, this is just an early projection of how the tone and style of Man of Steel could turn out, based on just one of the two new Superman comics hitting the stands. But given how Superman Returnsunderperformed, and how there was a subsequent call for a darker, grittier take on the character, this all-new version just might serve as the basis for revitalizing the franchise. Meanwhile, Superman #1 hits comic shops and the digital realm in a few weeks, and it should offer a more complete view of how the title character fits into his new world, as well as a full look at his modernized costume.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Rue La La Launches “Little Rue”


BOSTON, Sept. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Today, Rue La La, a leading online retailer, announced the launch of “Little Rue,” a destination for all things stylish for the family. Beginning September 6, every Tuesday evening at 8:00p.m. EST the littlest Members of Rue La La (and their grown-ups) will have access to small-fry style with kid-worthy Boutiques filled with apparel, accessories, experiences and more, specifically tailored to families.
To celebrate the launch, Rue La La will donate 100% of the net profits from the Little Rue Boutiques during the month of September to children’s charities chosen by Rue La La Members and Associates. Over four weeks, Rue La La Members will be able to vote for a charity from a list of four that Rue La La Associates chose as their favorites. Members’ final votes will determine the allocation of the amount to be donated to each charity.
“Little Rue is an exciting addition to the Rue La La family,” said Ben Fischman, CEO, Rue La La. “From sourcing the best offerings from the most sought after brands in the world, to identifying charitable giving for the business — Little Rue has galvanized all of us and become a labor of love here at Rue.”
Little Rue will also feature a unique Facebook-only initiative and “That’s So Little Rue” Tumblr page:http://thatssolittlerue.tumblr.com/ which is full of games, candid photos, Little Rueisms and more. The very first Little Rue boutique will open Tuesday, September 6 at 8:00 p.m. EST.
Little Rue is the latest category expansion for Rue La La joining Women’s Fashion, Men’s Fashion, Home Design and Travel categories, as well as the company’s Rue Local offers, which are currently available to members in Boston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia and Seattle.
About Rue La La
Rue La La is a Members-only online shopping destination for all things related to a life of style and a strategic partner to innovative brands looking for new ways to achieve their business goals. Founded in 2008, Rue La La inspires its members daily with access to a curated selection of the most coveted brands and offerings in fashion, home, beauty, travel, and more within its 48-hour, private sale Boutiques. Experience Rue La La by visiting

Sunday, September 4, 2011

All the lovers are not the poet

All the lovers are not the poet, far, thank God! However, there is something that all lovers are the poet's eye view, that is the object of love.

I appreciate the "object" of the word. Yes, the love of a woman is the object of time and disease damage, and she, like many things, like aging, thus losing all its charm, because the truth of love is appearance of a cult. Contradictory to accuse men who dress and make-up this struggle with years of poor! Jewelry and cosmetics are the things we women shame.

Extremely arrogant to believe their own to be loved, you had better not believe that their love was very unfortunate because as that.Valentine seems to want other people happy even in their own pleasure, but he egoist, because he wanted to make people happy is intended for their own pleasure.The lure of love, encouragement and love of the woman's rash promise of happiness correspond. Therefore, this lure rather than folly, if people can not learn from experience what promises to deceive people.Good pleasure of people like shy; This is a veil to be exposed to excess, is the first one, it adds to the pleasure to conquer pride.Flirtatious woman of punishment is only to miss her love; she felt it would not be a flirt.CUTIE is a sophisticated sense of shame, chastity is informed shame. CUTIE is a sense of security resentment, shame is the only desire of a woman's body and soul completely lost their natural defense, it is the women gave for not only gave the body the soul of disgust; it is integral to prove things.In any case people have a crush on a woman, they fall on the cause of women than men fall more contempt for women is a proof.A real woman with a conscience must also have thought a virtue, because a woman's heart is very delicate. Is sensitive and delicate combination of fine; desire of ill, the idea that it is not lies.Motherhood in moving it into the mother of God, it rarely does not understand their role.Unfortunately, feelings of defect is it because of poverty, while people hate living life because of the desire and admiration.For me, love is to make happy. As I feel love, as exists in the woman's happiness for the sacrifice made in at least the need to contribute.Talk about love, vanity and weakness is meaningless.Just ensure to love a man hidden in the mind; should not be destroyed when it is divided by its very nature. Love is feeling, but also thinking, as is the performance of the United States itself is the same form. No kissing love is incomplete, there is no tenderness of love and respect is not complete. Learn to mix both the source of happiness, by a considerable proportion of mixed, it never dried up, and this is the art of love. When people want a drink of water when the well-being, he felt that nothing. Love the whole area is divided in its fun, and only just savoring that taste good, the reason is very simple: no matter how intense physical pleasure are all limited to a boundary, it can be created with this image not imagine itself more than the limit; generated from a certain disappointment. On the other hand, moral love, affection, no value in mind, it is always a strong body to overcome the crisis; resulting in a heart of love and love to express its lack of coordination between the pain sensory feelings, love each other to meet these linked because they are inseparable. Therefore, there is no easier to make than the lustful deadly things. Who wants to reach a happy end who can be reached soon. Instead, smart people happy carefully, very reserved; he was not run out of his treasure, he knows how to make physical love, like love, like the moral of the endless, inexhaustible.

Erotic women should know the more we respect, we deal with a woman to get the more fun the more sweet and intoxicating. Pleasure and shame on itself.Very few women have enough to forget their moral and intellectual beauty.We love a woman makes them sweet and happy in our love; if we do not love her, that her love for us is painful, do not impress us. Only the person you love is the love of happiness.When love not love, when love was not love, I do not know what kind of men with a conscience more painful.Been before in love, people think the ugliest woman in love can make him happy, at this point that people feel disappointed.Love, very common; love, quite rare. Love is a law, love is a coincidence.And deprived of a life dedicated to his life are equally important. In this or that case, you do not know what fate has brought him; in this or that case you hold him. Like love, like a hidden sin, as evil as hesitant as evil as regret. Can love when people do not realize that they have lost their lives in doing; they are happy domination, when this happy marriage becomes legal because, they both know the secret, do not know which of hesitation and guilt. But nature makes them uneasy to understand this behavior may be the importance of shaking it on them it; only it creates should be suffering, but some people love blind accomplice.

Some people prefer to see them get sick do not want to see them disloyal, which is called love!When love is no other use, in addition to the trivial value of things, this love is sacred.Love can never repair the ruins. It only hit the heart, love, it may perish.Jealousy is love customs. It is always looking for if there is anything to customs; be smuggled goods is so great! Customs Law and how hateful! We are not opposed in principle to the Customs Law, but who do not comply. How many times have people jealous of the keys to the key to put the people before it! It did it.

In true love, trust is the only shelter jealous.Tenderness, the patron saint of the mind. Tenderness is characterized by feeling and speculation.The struggle of love, indifference is always the upper hand, because only it can think about: the least gentle always justified.Gallant is a transaction, love is sacrifice.Love, desire, and like I have Yinhai span; This seems to mean a sacred threshold crossed, this step is how great ah ... but the door of the rapid surprising; so clear in the language of "you" and "you" blurred the distinction between, and soon, too emotional; sudden, people are surprised by the way "you" match up; love the "you" because it is proportionate to each other with two hearts and with the lifting of limits; it eliminates the distinction between status and capacity, equivalent to two people.

People loved the name became an adjective, can be used to decorate.Wife's name is not an ordinary word, it has a special face, there is life, gentle and sacred; people tend to head down, low voice say, pretending to look casual, it is difficult to say the name, if it imprudent with a mark of our love, love will reveal the same. However, people still feel very happy to hear it, because it is worth the sound, it is a sound, when it was written down, people gave it a lovely face ... ...

Speaker to meet a wide variety of listeners, the poet looking for elite, lovers prefer an individual, not the person he felt an unbearable loneliness.Did not respect the passion may exist, but there is no respect for warmth.Love is forced to accept the offspring.Exhausted prior to the exhaustion of tenderness tenderness of the language, I was disappointed. I also told her how many years? I envy the children's expressive language of stuttering.Women's pity is painful, and not rational.Tenderness of love, as in the in the beauty of grace; tender grace of love.Woman, the embodiment of God's smile.To be loved means that individuals want to help us, commit to us, when we think of this, we will feel all the value of love, especially in this increasingly selfish society.The first attempt to create a happy marriage life as a woman and create a life with her own well-being of people may very reckless, and perhaps it is love.Not say "I will always love you" is not love. Said, is to prove the legality of the marriage.According to Code, the Marriage Law is this: the law in their lives drew two parallel lines, it couples said: "walking in the middle of these two lines; allow you to meet there, to prohibit them."Between men and women to live productive lives is not a natural combination of the most reckless people can imagine the most horrible things.Decentralization of a magnet in the paper, paper can not move the needle. Discretionary obedience steel magnet. Merging them together, they will be completely useless. But once separated, they are also in the new state of being dominated. Women know this secret.Some would say my example is not so satisfactory, because the combination of needle and permanent magnet only violence can break up. I will answer that the disintegration of marriage is a non-contact; my good example, because the combination of acupuncture and magnet magnet to attract without prejudice to the other a needle, which indicates that its the first one needle of apathy. This is a reflection of many couples.

Out of friendship and love, man, people want to see him happy; out of love and love of a woman, people want to see her struggling to help her out of trouble. Her happiness will not make us happy, unless it is being created.Love in a selfish element can never be in friendship. One is lending, real love can produce a resistance against the fate of the invincible force that can produce a kind of lucky contempt.Love to have a reliable standard, it is time for people to pay.