News from FirstShowing.net

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21 August 2008 6:15 AM, PDT

I woke up yesterday morning to discover an awe-inspiring blog from the one and only Roger Ebert. For the longest time I've preached about my dislike of 3D and have constantly encountered resistance and seen Hollywood continue to make pointless 3D films like Journey to the Center of the Earth. However, if there's one man who could potentially convince our readers that 3D is worthless, it would be Roger Ebert. He writes an article brilliantly titled D-minus for 3-D and briefly outlines how evolution shows that 3D is not what our eyes were meant to see and explains that it's a blatant mistake to believe that 3D is realistic. I haven't felt this much gratification in a very long time after reading an article written by such a legendary journalist as Roger Ebert. He finally puts some much-needed perspective on this entire 3D trend. There's really rational no way you

Alex Billington

21 August 2008 1:59 AM, PDT

Two more new international posters for the upcoming Max Payne movie have hit courtesy of IMPAwards. I'm trying not to use the term badass so much, but I just can't help it - both of these posters are badass! Mark Wahlberg sporting dual shotguns - how is that not badass?! As fantastic as these look, I'm still not completely excited for Max Payne based off of the quality of footage that I saw at Comic-Con. One thing is for sure: if the movie turns out bad, at least we'll have some beautiful posters to make us smile. I just hope director John Moore was able to make the actual movie look like these. I suppose we'll find out in October whether the movie lives up to the hype of the posters. Now that's an odd thing to say... I've put up both posters below full-size courtesy of IMPAwards. I just

Alex Billington

20 August 2008 11:11 PM, PDT

You probably skipped passed this film in the listings for this year's Toronto Film Festival line-up. I would have missed it myself if it weren't for my affinity for filmmaker Richard Linklater. We know that he's directing the upcoming School of Rock 2, but Linklater has also been out working on a project titled Me and Orson Welles. The film tells the story of a 17-year-old boy, played by Zac Efron, who is cast in a young Orson Welles' theatrical production of "Julius Ceasar" in 1937. It's not a comedy, but I can't quite understand why Linklater, who is known for dabbling in the metaphysical, would tackle a period piece like this. Either way, we've got the first few shots of Efron in the film that premieres next month in Toronto. Thanks to the guys over at Twitch, who we'll be joining for 10 days in Toronto, for digging these up. Seventeen

Alex Billington

20 August 2008 10:31 PM, PDT

Ben Affleck is acting again. He joins Mike Judge's latest film Extract, which stares Jason Bateman as a flower extract plant owner dealing with workplace issues and a stream of bad luck, including his wife's affair with a gigolo. No, Affleck will not be playing the gigolo, instead he'll be playing an ambulance-chasing lawyer. With Bateman, Affleck, Mila Kunis, Kristen Wiig, and Clifton Collins Jr. all part of Extract as well, it's starting to sound a lot more like an ensemble comedy than anything purely focused on Bateman's character. Shooting starts in Los Angeles next week and the film will be a Miramax release, meaning it will hopefully have more studio support than Judge's other disastrous film, Idiocracy. Clifton Collins Jr, of Traffic, Capote, and "Thief", who was also announced today, plays a factory worker who loses a body part in a freak accident and is now due for

Alex Billington

20 August 2008 4:03 PM, PDT

The first international trailer for Ron Howard's highly anticipated Frost/Nixon has been revealed. The film retells the story behind the post-Watergate television interviews held between British talk-show host David Frost (played by Michael Sheen) and former president Richard Nixon (played by Frank Langella). Given the Democratic National Convention is about to kick off and the big election is just over two months away, Hollywood is throwing out every big political movie they've got before it all goes down. Frost/Nixon looks to be on the better side, coming from Ron Howard and using the same actors from the theatrical play. This does look like it'll definitely deliver, despite the rather poorly cut international trailer. Watch the international trailer for Frost/Nixon: Trailer removed at the request of Universal Pictures. Sorry! Frost/Nixon is directed by actor and filmmaker Ron Howard, of Backdraft, Apollo 13, Ransom, A Beautiful Mind,

Alex Billington

20 August 2008 12:53 PM, PDT

Whoa! I've admitted before that I've got a huge high school crush on the gorgeous Amy Adams, but this tops it all! Screw Hilary Swank, Amy Adams should play beautiful pilots in all movies. Thanks to TheBadandUgly.com, we've got our first look at some photos of Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian, which features Adams as Amelia Earhart. We've talked about this movie before, but we don't exactly know the full story and how Earhart is involved and we won't until next summer. Nor will we know why Sacajawea and the Attila the Hun folk are back down at the Smithsonian. But that won't stop us (or maybe me) from enjoying these photos from the set of Night at the Museum 2 and setting the one with Adams as my new desktop background. Now I'm genuinely excited for this sequel. I'll also admit that I was not

Alex Billington

20 August 2008 12:25 PM, PDT

I don't exactly know why we're excited to bring you this poster for Transporter 3, but something about it makes us smile. Courtesy of filmsactu.com, we've got our first look at the Transporter 3 poster and it's exactly what we expected - a close-up of Jason Statham in black and white and that flaming number 3. There's not much more to add except to question why Lionsgate hasn't actually started marketing the film and (supposedly) is relying 100% on the French marketing. Even the badass trailer we ran in June was a French trailer. It's supposed to be out at Thanksgiving, are they ever going to market it? Maybe it doesn't matter, because this actually looks good, the French seem to know what they're doing. Enjoy! Note: When discussing anything involving the man known as Jason Statham, the term "badass" must be used to describe anything related to or featuring said

Alex Billington

20 August 2008 5:50 AM, PDT

These power struggles just never end in Hollywood. The director wants to make his movie, but the studio executives want to make a movie that they know will make them millions - so who wins? We finally are hearing a solid report from Jeffrey Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere that there is some sort of power struggle going on with X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I've heard this before, and Dark Horizons wrote about it back in March, but this is the first time it's really getting out there. Apparently we've got another case of a studio exec, Fox's Tom Rothman, trying to change a character to fit the widest possible audience when the director, Gavin Hood, who knows what he's doing, has been shooting something they don't like. The story as posted on Hollywood Elsewhere, discusses a huge set being used recently that, according to his source, was "supposed to be on

Alex Billington

20 August 2008 5:45 AM, PDT

Filmmaker Alex Proyas has directed an adaptation of an Isaac Asimov story before, but now he's tackling sci-fi author Robert Heinlein. Proyas will write and direct an adaptation of Heinlein's novella "The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag" for Phoenix Pictures. The story centers on a man who becomes increasingly disturbed when he realizes he cannot account for his activities during the day or even what he does for a living. He explains his problem to a private detective agency and their investigation leads to a series of revelations they could never have fathomed. Sounds an awful lot like Dark City, which was Proyas' own creation from 1998, and a huge cult sci-fi hit itself. The film is described as a complex psychological thriller with plenty of action and is expected to start production in 2010. "I read this story as a kid, and it really stayed with me," Proyas explains. "It's ...

Alex Billington

20 August 2008 5:20 AM, PDT

Our friends from ComingSoon have debuted another full trailer for Isabel Coixet's Elegy starring Ben Kingsley, Penélope Cruz, Patricia Clarkson, Dennis Hopper, and Peter Sarsgaard. There's actually nothing red band about this trailer, but watch it at your own will. I really love the way this trailer is put together: great music, wonderful photography, Ben Kingsley's voiceover, great storytelling. It feels like another indie festival film, obviously, but something that I'll see in theaters and thoroughly enjoy for its filmmaking. Is there Oscar buzz already? I don't think so, but I haven't talked to many who have seen it yet. I definitely suggest watching this trailer, you might be surprised by how good it looks. Watch the red band trailer for Elegy: [flv:http://bitcast-a.bitgravity.com/firstshowing/elegy-redband.flv http://bitcast-a.bitgravity.com/firstshowing/elegy-redband.jpg 480 272] Elegy charts the passionate relationship between a celebrated college professor (Kingsley) and a young woman (Cruz) whose beauty both ravishes and destabilizes him. As their

Alex Billington

20 August 2008 2:24 AM, PDT

In an attempt to calm the angry fans, Warner Brothers President and Coo Alan Horn (pictured above) has released a public statement regarding the surprising release date change of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. As we all know, Warner Bros moved the release of Half-Blood Prince from November this year all the way to July 17th next summer, causing outrage amongst Harry Potter fans. We ran a follow-up article last Friday that outlined the anger that the fans, and myself, were experiencing in response to the move, and questioned whether Warner Bros might end up moving it back in fear of protests or boycotts. This obviously shows they're not going to budge, but does show that they're at least responsive. Straight from Warner Brothers in Burbank, CA, here is Alan Horn's official statement in response to the fans who have written in expressing the anger towards the Half-Blood Prince delay.

Alex Billington

20 August 2008 12:27 AM, PDT

Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro have officially announced that they're writing The Hobbit and its follow-up themselves. I never thought so much buzz could come from an announcement about writing, but that's what happens when it's The Hobbit! The news first hit on TheOneRing.net, where Guillermo confirmed that writing had begun on Hobbit. Additionally, reports from Hollywood Reporter confirmed the news and added that they originally had been searching for a writer to tackle the monumental task, but decided that there was no one better suited for the job than they are. Joining the two will be Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, who wrote the screenplays for the first three Lord of the Rings with Jackson. When the announcement about The Hobbit was first made last year, Peter Jackson had said that he would not be writing any of the Hobbit movies due to other commitments. However, three

Alex Billington

19 August 2008 11:33 PM, PDT

Robert Downey Jr. is one of two big actors coming up who will play the legendary Sherlock Holmes on the big screen, the other being Sacha Baron Cohen. As we announced first back in early July, British filmmaker Guy Ritchie has cast Downey Jr. in his film about the classic British super sleuth and plans to show us a much different version of Holmes than we might all be familiar with. Premiere caught up briefly with Downey Jr. recently and talked with the actor about the kind of character he'd be playing, who he says is a buff bare-knuckle boxer and martial arts expert in addition to a detective. Although they're not shooting until October, it's refreshing to hear him talking about finding thi character already. Downey Jr. explains that this will be like Zack Snyder's 300, "the idea of doing a period piece where you don't modernize it, you

Alex Billington

19 August 2008 11:02 PM, PDT

Theater Hopper is a webcomic about all things movies written and illustrated by Tom Brazelton. Starring Tom, his wife Cami, and best friend Jared, Theater Hopper perfectly captures Tom's feelings and reactions to recent and upcoming movies in a way that will easily have you laughing. New updates will be posted every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. This is the webcomic that every movie-lover out there can't miss! Wednesday's comic, #862 - Wherefore Art Thou, Rufio?, has been posted below. Enjoy! #862 - Wherefore Art Thou, Rufio? If you're new to Theater Hopper, you can visit the archives to catch up on all of the history and past comics. New updates will run here on FirstShowing.net every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The official website for Tom Brazelton's Theater Hopper is located at: theaterhopper.com.

Tom Brazelton

19 August 2008 3:43 PM, PDT

Back in May we brought you news that Tyrese Gibson might step up and assume the mo-hawk, gold jewelry-wearing crown of '80s hero B.A. Baracus (originally played by Mr. T) in John Singleton's A-Team remake. Latino Review updates us today on that front with a eloquent quote from the former fashion model: "Soon as that script come back in and they tweak that thing out, we gonna go ahead and get movin'." I can just see Tyrese turning to Murdoch's character and retorting, "You crazy fool!," can't you? But I wouldn't count your gold chains just yet, according to Latino Review. The outlet draws a somewhat stretch conclusion from Tyrese's short comment on the subject - namely that since the actor didn't reiterate assuming Mr. T's role, he might actually play another character in the film. Does that rumor hold water? Maybe. Tyrese certainly doesn't present

Kevin Powers

19 August 2008 3:31 PM, PDT

By the end of 2020, we'll probably see every horror movie remade, it's inevitable. As we first announced last October, Child's Play is one of the latest horror franchises being rebooted. The same producers who brought us all five of the previous Child's Play movies are doing this reboot, which should be a good sign, considering that doesn't usually happen. Additionally, Don Mancini, who wrote all of the Child's Play movies and directed Seed of Chucky, is both writing and directing this reboot, too. Quint from Ain't It Cool News caught up with Don and producer David Kirschner to talk about the Special Edition DVD and ended up spending some time chatting about the reboot - and it actually doesn't sound that bad. First and foremost, Mancini explains why they decided to restart this franchise with a reboot. "I think what we are mainly responding to, David and I, is the

Alex Billington

19 August 2008 1:36 PM, PDT

With the Democratic National Convention starting up in Denver in just about a week, Lionsgate is smartly targeting that city for some extra promo boosts for Oliver Stone's W. I'm not sure that pasting posters of Bush around a city full of democrats will actually help, but it is a good way to grab the attention of politicos and democrats alike. We've finally got high res clean versions of the two posters, in addition to a billboard, and they're rather awkward. I'm liking these a lot more than anything else we've seen for W. previously, but I really still don't know what to think about this movie! Good? Bad? What is Oliver Stone thinking?! The phrase on the posters says "A Life Misunderestimated" while the one on the billboard says "Anyone Can Grow Up to Be President." That last one makes me smile - because it couldn't be more accurate!

Alex Billington

19 August 2008 1:15 PM, PDT

Guy Ritchie's RocknRolla's domestic future may be uncertain, but we're hearing from across the pond today that the forthcoming film - arguably a true return to the kinetic complexity of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch - is "brilliant" and "absolute class." Bear in mind, we're hearing this from the oft-suspect U.K. publication The Sun (warning: source story contains a small spoiler), but I have no doubt in my mind that the chaps are correct this time around. The praise is some of the first to hit the mainstream, but it's not necessarily surprising. What is an eye-opener is that Ritchie has revealed that he's "written a second and sketched out a third" film already! We've know the film's trilogy direction for some time, but it's great to hear work is actually being put against those early claims. I'm going to revel in the promise

Kevin Powers

19 August 2008 5:15 AM, PDT

Instead of just reporting this news today, I thought I'd open it up to some discussion, since that seems the logical conclusion anyway. Warner Brothers and DC Comics have encountered a dilemma with Superman. Christopher Nolan took DC's other popular character, Batman, and turned him into a huge success, as well all know. But in 2006, right after Batman Begins the year before, Bryan Singer's Superman Returns not only didn't perform as well as they had hoped it would, but most didn't like what Singer did with the character and the story. That left them in a tough spot - continue with Singer or dump his series and start from scratch. Most people are crying out for another Superman, but they're not sure what to do. We've provided numerous updates on the Superman situation, but Anne Thompson from Variety has the latest. She reports in a brief update that Warner

Alex Billington

19 August 2008 5:02 AM, PDT

The Coen Brothers are definitely on a roll recently. Not that they were ever at a point where they weren't making great movies in their 24 year career, but coming off of No Country for Old Men, they're some of the most well-respected directors around and their next film already looks fantastic. Joel and Ethan also never take a break. The two have already finished casting their next feature film after Burn After Reading, a period black comedy called A Serious Man. They've cast both Michael Stuhlbarg (seen above left), a Tony-nominated stage actor with little cinematic acting experience, and Richard Kind (seen above right), a character actor whose name you won't necessarily recognize, but his face and voice you will. Not only are these guys fantastic directors, but they write and produce all of their own movies as well. A Serious Man is another original creation written by Joel and

Alex Billington

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