Trailer Round up!

I love me some trailers and a bunch of them dropped online over the last few days so Ive rounded them all up in one neat little package like trailer cattle!.

First up we have 'The Time Traveller's Wife' starring Eric Bana and the lovely Rachel McAdams. Now the first thing about this trailer that creeps me out is the way he meets Rachel's character as a young kid and then love develop's later....I dunno it just sits odd with me. It's clear New Line have shredded a lot of the sci fi side of the book for the trailer but hopefully not from the actual movie. What is left is a lush looking romantic drama that looks to have two fine lead performances working hard against a ludicrous premise.

Next up we have some serious thesping in the trailer for 'Creation', a movie about Charles Darwin Based on the book 'Annie’s Box' by Randal Keynes, who is Darwin's great grandson. It stars Paul Bettany and real life wife Jennifer Connelly as Mr and Mrs Darwin. It looks like a BBC period piece with some overaught acting, I'm sure the critics will love it or at least like it, and it will make roughly $5 at the box office. However I expect the sequel 'Darwin vs Newton - Cage Fight!' to do big business.

Last but certainly not least we have the stunning trailer for the new Scorsese/DiCaprio offering 'Shutter Island'. Based on the book by Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone) The film sees Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo as US Marshal's sent to the asylum on Shutter Island in Boston to investigate a missing patient. Now Ive read the book and it is amazing, so the fact the film appears to have captured the atmosphere of the book so perfectly is very pleasing. Judging from the trailer the characters are spot on with Leo set to give another great performance, and visually Scorsese may never have been better. The trailer does everything a trailer should do, it elicits excitement, piques curiosity and stuns visually without giving too much away. This could be a possible Oscar contender for sure.

http://twitter.com/HunterTMT

Movie Moan - IMAX Hates the Brits

Phil, Jamie, Ed and Lou (who joins us about a third into the show) are here with you again for another edition of Movie Moan here at Think McFly Think.

This week, its reviews all around as Ed discusses Moon, Phil and Jamie chat up The Hangover and Lou chimes in with his thoughts on Drag Me to Hell. The now publicly-documented problems behind the forthcoming box-office stinker also known as G.I. Joe is among the topics of debate.

Also on docket is news on Mission: Impossible IV, Bond 3, John Carter of Mars, Pirates 4 and why Jamie is a hypocritical asshole. Meanwhile, Phil reveals his own-inner desires to see Mickey Rooney playing Whiplash in the Iron Man sequel as opposed to Mickey Rourke.

And to wrap things up, Phil gives us a good old fashioned rant against IMAX (i.e. totally racist towards the Brits for you ask me) and asks the guys whether or not they think Avatar will make its Christmas 2009 release date.

Movie Moan - IMAX Hates the Brits

'Follow' Scott Swan Into Movie's Credits

Writer/Director Scott SwanFor filmmakers, Twitter is becoming an increasingly useful tool. The service is a remarkably quick and easy method through which casting news, trailers, posters and other promotional items can be instantly transmitted to mass numbers of people.

And better yet, the information is dispersed to people who have signed on to hear about just those kinds of things.

For Hollywood's biggest names, adding "followers" can be as easy as logging on. For others, who are just starting to make their mark, creating a base of followers can be a far more difficult proposition.

Scott Swan, an up-and-coming writer/director, writes engaging posts and has conversations with people who send messages to him.

However, on the morning of June 12, he had only 80 followers.

Now, on the verge of directing his first feature film, Swan has set a modest goal -- to have 500 followers by July 4 at 6 p.m. PST.

For most Twitter users, the reward for following someone often is that they will follow you back. That's nice, of course, but Swan is offering something much better.

This is the message Swan posted on Twitter June 13: "If I reach 500 followers by July 4, I will thank all my followers in the end credits of the horror flick I'm about to shoot in Pittsburgh."

Swan's credits including writing stints for the "Masters of Horror" series and the television series "Fear Itself."

Up next for the 39-year-old is his debut as a feature film director.

"It's a little horror flick called 'Mask-Head,' produced by Fred Vogel and Toe Tag Pictures," Swan told me June 12. "Fred's the creator of the 'August Underground' series and the director of 'The Redsin Tower.' Most recently, Toe Tag released 'The Murder Collection: Volume 1.'"

Swan said he thinks "Mask-Head" will be released in late 2009.

"'Mask-Head' focuses on a group of underground filmmakers who cross a number of gruesome lines in pursuit of making their video masterpieces," he said. "It really is a bit of underground shock nastiness."

For Swan, getting his name in the credits of a movie has been the product of a lot of hard work. And now, thanks to him, 500 more people will get their names in the credits listed under "the director wishes to thank" merely by pushing the "follow" button.

Swan said the idea of adding the names of his first 500 followers to the credits wasn't about innovation or trying to tie into the wave of social networking. He said it is simply a way "to get some attention."

"It just seems like a great way to reach out to a specific fan base," said Swan.

To follow Swan on Twitter, go to www.twitter.com/ScottObiSwan.

New Poster For 'G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra'

I can't even pretend like I care about this movie, but for those that do, ComingSoon.net/Superhero Hype! has an exclusive first look at the new poster for "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra."

"G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" will arrive in theaters Aug. 7.

Writers Officially On Board for Next Bond Film

Why does everyone call the forthcoming Bond installment Bond 23? By all accounts, 2006's Casino Royale was a reboot of the franchise. Thus shouldn't the next one be referred to as Bond 3? I know, I know. Being a total dork about this.

While we're on the subject of 007, either the Broccolis genuinely love their work or Robert Wade & Neal Purvis have incriminating photos of them having sex with retarded babies. AKA: The writing team behind the last decade's worth of Bond films have been hired to yet again pen the exploits of everyone's favorite sexist cold-blooded British secret-agent. To be fair, they did have a big hand in Royale and most folks are of the opinion that it's the series' finest hour - myself included.

Even more encouraging is Peter Morgan (screenwriter behind The Queen, Last King of Scotland and Frost/Nixon) has also been tapped for screenwriting duties. Although not specified, it certainly sounds like this will be not unlike the role that Paul Haggis played on Royale and Quantum of Solace who came in after Wade & Purvis were done with their drafts.

Honestly, if there's anything I really don't want to see is the inclusion of long-time Bond staples Q and Miss Moneypenny in Bond 3 - who were absent from the last two films. Say what you will about Solace (which I personally liked a lot), but it and its predecessor Royale showed one could make an effective Bond film without having to include those characters for "the sake of tradition."

Now all you hear from fans is, "Oh come on. Bring back Q and Moneypenny, guys!" Sorry, but I loved how Martin Campbell (and later Marc Forster) established Daniel Craig's James Bond as someone flying by the seat of his pants and always having to rely on his wits to avoid being killed instead of yet another wacky gadget of Q's that conveniently saves his ass right in the nick of time.

Great Scott! Movie News Recap

~~The Brothers Warner are moving forward on a remake of the 1964 film "The Incredible Mr. Limpet" and have secured "Enchanted" director Kevin Lima to go fishing~~

Reuters: 'Enchanted Directors Signs On For Limpet Remake

~~Danny Boyle, of "Slumdog Millionaire" fame, has signed a three year deal with Pathe Pictures and Fox Searchlight whom will both co-finance and co-produce Boyle's projects~~

Variety: Danny Boyle Signs 3-Year Deal

~~Darin Scott has coaxed Brittany Murphy into joining John Robinson in thriller "Something Wicked" which is shooting in Orego.~~

THR: Britanny Murphy Tapped for 'Wicked Gig

~~Screen Gems has acquired author Michael Cunningham's Pulitzer Prize-winning thriller "Beautiful Girl" with Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher to produce.~~

Dark Horizons: 'Hours' Author Pens Thriller 'Girl'

~~Sources are a buzz that Neil Marshall is a couple steps away from signing on to direct 20th Century Fox's "Predators" which is being set up for Summer 2010 release~~

Bloody Disgusting: You'll Never Guess Who Is In Close Talks For 'Predators'

Pirates 4 Moves Up the 'Priority' Food-Chain

I've been on the "Fuck Pirates!" bandwagon ever since the first sequel Dead Man's Chest "graced" the silver screen three years ago.

You'll have to excuse me for not enjoying a near-three hour film stuffed up the ass with pointless action sequences, damn-near every character from the first Pirates returning and getting their own sub-plot and a bug-eyed Johnny Depp mumbling syllables with a British accent. Sorry, but that character wore out his welcome after the first film - the only good one in the series, not surprisingly. That and the third installment At World's End defined the "Everything and the kitchen sink" mentality of blockbusters.

But they both earned about $2 billion between them. So a fourth film was inevitable and has been in development for awhile now - albeit under-wraps for the most part. We knew that Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott were returning to pen the screenplay, Captain Jack Sparrow himself Johnny Depp had signed on to return and a 2012 release was being targeted.

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer has also been developing The Lone Ranger for Disney - again with Rossio & Elliott on script-duties and Depp as the lead. Strike that, he's more of the co-lead - i.e. playing Indian sidekick Tonto instead of the title character. But that project (which was being geared up to happen sooner) has been delayed in favor of the "higher priority" Pirates 4 the producer tells HitFix.

As for the script to said fourquel, the Bruck called it "funny" and "it's a whole new way of going." Yeah, I can already visualize it. "Captain Jack in Space!"

Uh-Oh for Joe

To say that G.I. Joe looks nothing short of an unmitigated box-office disaster would be an understatement. Hell when I went to see Star Trek, the trailer for Year One (another flop-in-the-making) got a bigger reaction than Joe did from my audience. Then again, that's what happens when you rush a film into production during the WGA Strike even though said film requires a rewrite or ten.

A poster by the name of EndTimes (how appropiate) explained what's been going down with the future Razzie winner over at the Don Murphy message board.

Highlights from said post include the shit-canning of director Stephen Sommers and Hasbro's (rather-wise) decision to distance themselves from the final product - among others.

It only makes matters worse that the good folks over at Latino Review have confirmed this via their sources. And if there's anything we've learned from the past is if Latino Review heard something, it happened. One word about this ordeal: ouch.

Oh well. Paramount is still bathing themselves in all the dough Star Trek is making them and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen will only make matters better.

Update: Speaking directly to Latino Review, G.I. Joe producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura has denied all claims from the original forum post. Personally, I think it's nothing more than 100% spin-control. But there you have it...

It's 'Impossible" For Cruise To "Trek" On Without Abrams

Tom Cruise's stock has certainly experienced a steady climb due to his turn as poison tongued movie executive Les Grossman in "Tropic Thunder" and his performance as the heroic Claus von Stauffenberg in "Valkyrie". He has come a long way from jumping on couches and making himself available as a target for water squirting faux microphones. This new found swagger seems to have Tom feeling a little bit nostalgic according to J.J. Abrams from an interview in the latest TV Guide.

The man behind “Lost,” “Fringe” and the latest Star Trek smash is reteaming with Tom Cruise to resurrect superspy Ethan Hunt for a fourth installment of the popular franchise. “I am incredibly honored that Tom has invited me back as a producer on Mission Impossible 4,” says J.J. Abrams, who directed 2006’s MI: 3, but hasn’t yet committed to directing the fourth. “Tom and I have come up with a really cool idea we are pursuing.” Send Ethan to the “Lost” island to find out what the hell’s going on. That mission is really impossible!

It isn't really breaking news that Tom Cruise would want J.J. Abrams on board with him for a possible "MI:4". Abrams is responsible for the most talked about film of the summer in "Star Trek". Sure, MI:3 didn't fair all that well at the box office, but do you think that is the fault of the spectacled Abrams or the once overzealous antics of Tom Cruise? I would have to say that some bad buzz created by Tom Cruise himself didn't really help what was considered by critics the best of the "Mission Impossible" series.

Cruise previously mentioned that he was writing MI:4 but the question remains will step back into the shoes of Ethan Hunt? At one point Brad Pitt was beeing coddled by Paramount to take on the role as a new agent and breath some life back into the series, this of course fell through. Later the studio threw the idea against the wall of bringing on Brandon Routh to either play a young Ethan Hunt or a different character all together in a reboot of the series, which also fell by the way side.

I guess the bigger question might be the level of Abrams involvement if this small piece of news ever actually turns into a "Mission Impossible 4" later down the line. Many fans think that Abrams continuing on as the director of a Star Trek Sequel is a sure thing at this point but I wouldn't tell Scottie to beam him up just yet. Abrams could very well produce and help with the writing process on a possible sequel and move on to other projects. Does that leave him open to a bigger role with Cruise on MI:4, or the more likely scenario, he moves on to something else all together.

Lost: In Space

Financial Crunch Trips Up Two Movies

Brandon Routh on the set of "Unthinkable."The economic situation besieging us all has had an effect in Hollywood and the most recent company to feel the pinch is indie distributor Senator U.S.

The cash-strapped unit is being forced to indefinitely postpone the release of a pair of movies: "Unthinkable" and "Brooklyn's Finest."

The second movie is a Antoine Fuqua-directed picture that has gone through a series of tweaks in post-production to fix some problems. The movie also has legal issues involving the distribution rights. The movie, which was scheduled to come out in November, features a quality cast, including: Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, Wesley Snipes, Vincent D'Onofrio, Ellen Barkin and Will Patton. Word on the street is that the movie may have had trouble being released even without the financial concerns.

More disappointing is the postponement of "Unthinkable," which had been gearing up for an October release. The movie stars Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Sheen, Carrie-Anne Moss, Brandon Routh, Stephen Root and Martin Donovan. 

According to The Hollywood Reporter: "Releasing the pic involves the relatively straightforward matter of locating the P&A -- not easy, but not legally complicated -- and then finding someone to help release the pic, since the company's marketing and distribution staff have been depleted."

Senator U.S. already has an agreement with Sony Worldwide Acquisitions Group for "DVD and other ancillary revenue" for its existing movies -- including "Unthinkable" and "Brooklyn's Finest." The trick now, however, will be finding partners to get the movies into theaters.