Poster For Documentary "Miss Tibet: Beauty In Exile"

High in the Indian Himalayas, in the epicenter of the exiled Tibetan world, a maverick Tibetan impresario stages an unexpected spectacle: a western-style beauty pageant. When Tibetan-American teenager Tenzin Khecheo travels to India to participate in this 'pageant with a difference,' she finds herself not just competing for a crown, but confronting the intersection between her cultural identity and life in the western world.

Pageant founder Lobsang Wangyal seeks to fill a void within the Tibetan exile community by bringing a bit of glamour into his corner of the world. Complete with catwalks and evening gowns, he sees his pageant as an opportunity for exiled Tibetan women to both immerse themselves in Tibetan culture and to add their voices to global fight for a free Tibet by using the pageant as a unlikely political platform.

First Poster and Red-Band Trailer for 'The Gambler' Starring Mark Wahlberg

Who would have ever thought you'd see Marky Mark playing a literature professor?

Now who ever thought that literature professor would be the remake of the 1974 James Caan starrer, The Gambler?

Well if you actually thought it, you're pretty damn special.

The first poster and trailer (red-band which means lots of swearing) has hit for Paramount Pictures remake of The Gambler starring Mark Wahlberg and directed by Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes).

The film - as you would expect - is based around a gambling addict (a very lean looking Wahlberg) who happens to be a brilliant literature professor that gets in deep with the wrong people.

The flick also starts the always terrific John Goodman as well as Brie Larson and Jessica Lange.

Be on the lookout for the film this Christmas as it hits theaters in a limited Oscar qualifying run on December 19th before going wide on January 2nd of next year.

Source:  Paramount Pictures

Batman Works Out With The Michigan State Spartans

A college footbal team shouldn't require that much motivation going into a game on a Saturday afternoon, but it would be pretty cool if The Dark Knight was there to motivate the hell out of you.

As all you nerds know Ben Affleck has been in and around Michigan shooting Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice including most recently on the MSU campus. Tweets from the actor and the football team's Twitter page and their fans have revealed shots of the actor hamming it up with the players.

Courtesy Of BEN AFFLECK TWITTER & @FOOTBALLWIDOW

Warner Bros Reveals Possible Flim Slate During Earnings Call

Earnings calls are a nice way for publicly traded companies to keep investors apprised of a company's current status and the future direction they might be taking. During today's Warner Bros earnings call the studio revealed a blueprint for their DC characters that will be tearing up the big screen in the coming years.

Keep in mind this is an earnings call and these dates are subject to change. Think of this as a rallying of investors rather than something set in stone.

~Batman Vs Superman & Suicide Squad: 2016

~Wonder Woman & Justice Leuage: 2017

~The Flash & Aquaman: 2018

~Shazam & Justice League 2: 2019

In addition to the penciled in but erasable dates above there are also Cyborg, Green Lantern, and stand alone Batman and Superman films in the works.

Also nestled within this call was the fact that Ezra Miller would be playing the Flash and triple confirmation that Jason Mamoa would be taking on a solo Aquaman.

The freaks and geeks on Twitter like this.

'The Terminator' Celebrates 30th Anniversary with Special Screening

Though James Cameron's sci-fi classic, The Terminator, came out four years before I was born, I've probably seen the film more times than I can count (its sequel, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, is a count I wouldn't even attempt).

With the original's 30th anniversary this year, the American Cinematheque Egyptian Theater in Hollywood will be holding a special screening on October 15th with none other than James Cameron, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Gale Anne Hurd in attendance.  The date in particular is just 11 days shy of the film's initial release of October 26th, 1984.

Cameron, Schwarzengger, and Hurd will also be answering questions following the screening (here's hoping someone has the brains and the balls to ask Cameron what he thinks about the franchise rights reverting back to him in 2019 and if he plans to do anything with them).

Here's the official press release below:

The American Cinematheque, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and SKED TK celebrate the 30th anniversary of sci-fi thriller, THE TERMINATOR, with a special screening and panel discussion on October 15, 2014 at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.  Schwarzenegger joins writer/director James Cameron and writer/producer, Gale Anne Hurd for a conversation moderated by journalist Geoff Boucher.

In THE TERMINATOR, Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as the most fierce and relentless killing machine ever to threaten the survival of mankind!  An indestructible cyborg — a Terminator (Schwarzenegger) — is sent back in time to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), the woman whose unborn son will become humanity’s only hope in a future war against machines. This legendary sci-fi thriller, fires an arsenal of action and heart-stopping suspense that never lets up!

“The Terminator was my first baby, and I’m pleased that people still remember it enough to celebrate its birth 30 years ago,” Cameron said.  “Of course I’ll be there!”

“The Terminator has tremendous sentimental value to me personally and I take great pride in knowing that fans continue to support the film 30 years later,” said Hurd.

Geoff Boucher, CEO of SKED TK and founder of the award-winning Hero Complex and former senior writer for Entertainment Weekly will moderate the Q&A panel. Boucher, through the SKED TK banner, also produces a successful screening and podcast series “HUMANS FROM EARTH” in association with Grant Moninger and Nerdist each month at The Egyptian Theatre.

Tickets for The Terminator 30th anniversary event are available at: www.fandango.com for $25; American Cinematheque members can purchase tickets beginning September 24th with general admission tickets going on sale September 25th.

Source:  American Cinematheque

International Trailer for DRACULA UNTOLD

 

This October will be seeing the rebirth of one of the most timeless "monsters" ever created; but instead of a spooky old castle and a winding Gothic yarn, Universal is giving Dracula a tale more rooted in history and humanity than in nightmares and Horror movies.

Dracula Untold follows Romanian prince Vlad Dracul III, known as Vlad Tepes and the Impaler, played by Luke Evans (Fast and Furious 6, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug ) as he makes the ultimate sacrifice to an ancient evil (Game of Thrones' Charles Dance) to save his kingdom and his family against the Turkish invasion of Romania, lead by the villianous Mehmed (Dominic Cooper). 

The film is directed by Gary Shore and is the start of Universal's latest adventure to reboot their 'monster' films. 

Dracula Untold releases October 10, 2014.  

SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS is Back on Track With MAMA Director

 

The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision set it's sights on the news that Mama director Andres Muschietti would be set to bring Sony's long gestating Shadow of the Colossus to life with Seth Lockhead who penned a dark fairy-tale of his own with 2011's HANNA. 

Muschietti’s sister and producing partner, Barbara Muschietti, is boarding the project and will produce alongside Kevin Misher, who produces through his Misher Films banner.

The film, which has been in development since 2009, got closest to coming to life after the announcement of Chronicle director Josh Trank as the diector, which ultimatley fell through after Trank was faced with tackling the Fantastic Four reboot over at 20th Fox. 

The game, which has sold over two million copies world-wide since it's release on the PlayStation 2 in 2005 to universal critical acclaim, follows the story of a young man named Wander who carries his love, Mono, into a mystical and cursed land where he must slay 16 giants to save her, all while being persued by mysterious tribesmen from his villiage who wish to stop him from tampering with fate itself.

Sony Pictures describes Shadow of the Colossus as "set in an epic-scale world filled with mythic giants and disembodied spirits." The studio says Muschietti is a fan of the game and "has a strong vision for the film and its characters, and seeks to translate the immersive game experience into a film that stays true to the human story of a young man attempting to save his lost love by accomplishing a seemingly impossible task ... the destruction of the colossi who roam the forbidden land."

The video-game has been a constant source in the compelling argument if video-games can be considered "art" or not, and has even made an appearence as a brilliant coping mechanism and back-ground meta plot in the Adam Sandler drama Reign Over Me.  

"We knew we had our director once we heard Andy's take on the material — it was genius," said Sony Pictures president of production Michael De Luca in a release. "The themes, characters and supernatural elements of the story have incredible international appeal with fans of the game in the millions."

All the pieces are now in place, and after the lack-luster returns of Sony's latest big-budget spectacle, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and their video-game cash-cow Resident Evil franchise drawing to a close, perhaps it's time for the studio to set it's sights on something broader. 
Played right, it's hard not to imagine Sony turning the game into a trilogy; if done carefully.

The project has the potential to be a mega hit, now to see where the casting department decides to go. 

Margot Robbie In Talks for GHOST IN THE SHELL

 

Things have been quiet on the front of Dreamwork's and Steven Spielberg's passion project, Ghost in the Shell since it was announced in late January that Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders would be helming the cyber-punk live-action adaptation of the 1995 anime masterpiece.

Now, word from The Wrap, in an Exclusive, comes that Australian actress Margot Robbie, who took a star-making role in Scorcese's The Wolf of Wall Street just last year, is in talks to star as the film's lead- "Major" Motoko Kusanagi (although I can predict a name change, obviously.) 

Margot Robbie is in early talks to star in “Ghost in the Shell,” which Rupert Sanders is directing for DreamWorks, multiple individuals familiar with the project told TheWrap.

A live-action film based on the popular Japanese manga created by Masamune Shirow, the story follows the exploits of a member of a covert ops unit of the Japanese National Public Safety Commission that specializes in fighting technology-related crime.

Ghost in the Shell  was released in 1995 directed by Mamoru Oshii and based off of the manga of the same name which ran from 1989 to 1997 by Masamune Shirow and went on to spawn a sequel, an Anime series, an OVA, and 3 video-games. 

The film follows Section 9, a high-tech security division led by Motoko Kusanagi, as they track down a cyber-terrorist known as The Puppet Master, which draws them into a web of political corruption and intrigue.

I've long speculated that if the comic-book bubble ever bursts, anime and manga will be the next hot commodity for Hollywood.  
What do you think of Robbie for Ghost in the Shell? 

Scorsese, DiCaprio, Pitt & De Niro To Team for A Casino Short Film

Well that title might be a bit misleading.

Not it's not a sequel to Casino, but Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Robert De Niro will indeed team for a short film about a casino under the direction of Martin Scorsese.

If all that talent isn't enough for you, Terrence Writer - writer of last year's Scorsese/DiCaprio flick, The Wolf of Wall Street, and creator of Boardwalk Empire - penned the script.

The short will be used as a campaign for Melco-Crown Entertainment (MCE), Lawrence Ho and James Packer's global resorts and casino brand.

This teaming marks the first time Pitt will act opposite DiCaprio in a project as well as be directed by Scorsese, while this marks the 6th collaboration DiCaprio will have with the legendary director, the 9th for De Niro.

The short film is expected to premeire next year at the opening of Melco-Crown's newest movie-themed resort Studio City in Macau, China.

Speculation is that this teaming will serve as a warm-up to Scorsese's long in-development Frank Sinatra biopic, thought as much as I like DiCaprio as an actor, he's not Sinatra to me.  Neither is Pitt.  James Marsden perhaps?  The guy looks more like Frank and definitely has some very underrated acting chops.

We'll see.

Source:  Deadline

Amanda Seyfried & Mark Wahlberg Film In My Neck Of The Woods

Seth MacFarlane's Ted was a surprise hit in 2012 pulling in almost 220 Million domestically against a 50 Million plus budget. With margins like that, of course there was going to be a sequel.

Local boy Wahlberg was spotted filming Ted 2 in and around Boston with the lovely Amanda Seyfried. You don't really lose much going from Mila Kunis to Amanda if you ask me. Ted himself was also in attendance, or at least a fluffy stuffed representation of the foul mouthed bear.

Head over to JUST JARED for the photos.