"In The Land Of Blood & Honey" Trailer

FilmDistrict has released the trailer for In the Land of Blood & Honey, Angelina Jolie's directorial debut coming to theaters on December 23. Also written by Jolie, the movie stars Zana Marjanovic, Goran Kostic and Rade Serbedzija.

The film is set against the backdrop of the Bosnian War in the '90s. In the Land of Blood & Honey features a completely local cast, most of whom were children of the war. The film was simultaneously shot in English and their native language.

Yahoo Movies & ComingSoon.Net

The Darth Maul Phenomenon

The moment the second laser blade came out of his Lightsaber hilt in The Phantom Menace trailer, Darth Maul became an icon in a saga filled with icons, yet in truth he had about 3 lines and died at the end of the movie, so why is he so popular?

There's certainly no doubting his popularity, if you check out the poster for The Phantom Menace 3D re-release he is front and center above everyone else, he's about to be resurrected in the Clone Wars series and Sideshow Collectibles just launched this new 40 inch statue worth an eye watering $2,000!

All this is 12 years after his small but exciting role in the first of the Star Wars prequel trilogy, and his popularity and iconic status shows no sign of slowing down and to me it's really pretty simple, he's a visually cool, badass villain.

You see everyone loves to talk about the clever string pulling villains in these types of films and yes they can be cool too, but often they are not physically adept, which is why a cool killer villain will always catch the eye, it was a formula used in the Bond movies with henchmen like Oddjob and Jaws, and to non-fans the character that captured the interest when the trailers for Hellboy hit was Kroenen, because while everyone loves a cool badass hero, a hero is only as good as his villain and the intellectual mastrerminds usually don't provide the big fight we want to see our heroes in.

Darth Maul is the epitome of this type of character with his red and black tattooed face contrasting with his black robes; his duel bladed Lightsaber and feral snarl, he was like a Sith Ninja. Some initially thought he'd be the Vader of the new trilogy but that wasn't to be, he served the purpose of simply being the physical threat to the Jedi while his master pulled the strings, and he was promptly killed by Obi Wan Kenobi at the climax of the movie.

So Maul was not the new Vader but he did have something in common with another Star Wars icon, the bounty hunter Boba Fett!

He, like Maul, gained cult status in the original trilogy and is hugely popular to this day with books and merchandise still regularly produced. However like Maul he had a few lines and was merely a cool looking badass, but also like Maul his popularity was so strong that his uber lame death in Return of the Jedi has since been wiped and official canon says he escaped the sarlac pit.

Now you'd think Lucas would have learned his lesson after Fett, I mean he's allowing Maul back from the dead as well and subsequent prequel villains Count Dooku, Jango Fett and General Grievous don't have a quarter of his status, even though I'd argue Jango plays a more significant role as part of the bigger picture and one of the strongest story elements of the prequels.

So did he make a mistake in killing him off? I'd argue no, he served his purpose and it certainly hasn't prevented Lucas from making loads of money off the character, or allowing many other stories to be written about him, but Maul was what he was, a visually cool badass, but once you've seen him that's it, there's no more to the show, sure there could have been had this been an all new trilogy, but it wasn't and there was a bigger story to tell, and so he was exactly what he was meant to be and I for one miss that type of villain in a movie landscape obsessed with "realism", and at least he got a much better death than poor Boba.

Exclusive: No Go on Nicolas Cage & John Travolta on Expendables 2

Sylvester Stallone already has his hook that'll get audiences back in for The Expendables 2. This time they'll deliver on the promise of him, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis kicking ass and not standing in a church making quips off one another for one scene to be played up in every trailer and TV spot.

Nevertheless, Sly and helmer Simon West have been on the hunt for more past-their-prime (or the more politically correct phrased "veteran") action stars mixed with younger blood for the currently-lensing AARP-approved epic due in theaters next August.

If you were hoping to see Nicolas Cage and John Travolta filing rank next to Sly, Jason Statham, Jett Li, Dolph Lundgren & Co, prepare to be disappointed. Despite attempts, sources tell TMT neither Cage nor Travolta will participate thus depriving the world of that Face/Off reunion. A deal for the former couldn't be worked out and word is Travolta "just didn't go for it."

This is the week of casting no-goes on The Expendables 2 it seems. Apparently we weren't the only ones to get that memo. Earlier this week came word Mickey Rourke was sitting this one out and mere minutes ago Sandwich John Films got a hold of Antonio Banderas who confirmed while an olive branch was extended his way to participate, he cordially turned them down.

A full cast list is rumored to be officially released later this week.

The Walking Dead Cast Talks Season 2

In a raucous edition of CBR TV, “The Walking Dead” castmates Jon Bernthal, Chandler Riggs and Laurie Holden answer some of the more offbeat questions we’ve ever posed, from their personal assessment of their own zombie outbreak survival abilities to which cast member would prove the tastiest to an undead palette. They also discuss the second season of the hit AMC show, teasing at what fans can expect in the weeks to come from the overall storyline to their characters’ personal arcs.

"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1" Wedding Sneak

In the highly anticipated next chapter of the blockbuster The Twilight Saga, the newfound married bliss of Bella Swan​ (Kristen Stewart) and vampire Edward Cullen​ (Robert Pattinson) is cut short when a series of betrayals and misfortunes threatens to destroy their world. After their wedding, Bella and Edward travel to Rio de Janeiro for their honeymoon, where they finally give in to their passions. Bella soon discovers she is pregnant, and during a nearly fatal childbirth, Edward finally fulfills her wish to become immortal.

But the arrival of their remarkable daughter, Renesmee, sets in motion a perilous chain of events that pits the Cullens and their allies against the Volturi, the fearsome council of vampire leaders, setting the stage for an all-out battle. The suspenseful and deeply romantic Breaking Dawn​ continues the epic tale of supernatural fantasy and passionate love that has made The Twilight Saga a worldwide phenomenon.

TheDailyBlam.Com

The Battlestar Galactica Movie Only Bryan Singer Cares About Has a Writer

Let's play a game, kids – Six Degrees of Bryan. I'll start.

Bryan Singer is directing Battlestar Galactica, which (according to "TOLDJA") will be written by John Orloff who earlier wrote Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole that was directed by Zack Snyder who is directing The Man of Steel and the previous Superman movie was Superman Returns directed by Bryan Singer.

I'm just not psyched about a $200-$300 million of Battlestar Galactica on the silver screen. Thing is I'm a big fan of his work and friends with associates of his. So I can, and have, asked them what the Hell is up with this?

"He's in love with his youth," they tell me. Bryan's big into nostalgic geek properties from his childhood including the afore-mentioned Superman, Galactica (which before this movie-centric version was developed as a TV series) and the ill-fated remakes of Logan's Run and Excalibur he was long attached to direct. Much like Spielberg and Lucas took their love of the serials from the 1940s and made Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark Singer has been attempting to do the same with the products of his youth.

That's all well and good but at least with those guys they didn't just outright sequelize or reboot something clearly established. They took those archetypes and turned them into their own thing. One could see the influence but also how they'd made something original out of it. This far along into his career, I'd much prefer him go back to the thriller genre which gave us The Usual Suspects, Apt Pupil and Valkyrie instead of another homage/sequel and this is coming from someone who loves Singer's Superman!

Sony Pictures To Adapt Assassins Creed

I have only played the first game and I found it boring but I'm told the subsequent sequels were far superior and I do like the concept, plus the lead character design is cool and riffs off the Jedi look.

It will be interesting to see if Sony see this as a tentpole summer film after the mediocre performance of The Prince of Persia, or if they'll do a lower budget R rated version and stick it in the Resident Evil release slot.

Comingsoon.Net got the news via Variety.

Back in May, Ubisoft Motion Pictures, the film and TV production arm of the game publishing company, announced it was developing 3D feature films based on Assassin's Creed, Splinter Cell and Ghost Recon. Variety now says that the Assassin's Creed adaptation has found a home at Sony Pictures.

The trade says that the studio is in final negotiations to adapt and distribute the movie, landing the film rights in a bidding war after Ubisoft started shopping the property over the last several months.

The fourth installment of the games, Assassin's Creed: Revelations is set to hit the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC on November 15.

Earlier this year, Jean de Rivieres, Ubisoft's senior VP of international marketing and distribution, said "Our strategy is not to diversify but to bolster the appeal of our franchises -- that's why we want to make sure our films will reflect the brands accurately and consolidate our fan base while expanding beyond the games' primary target audience."

Baronnet added, "We want to keep ownership, retain control over the film content, and we're open to work with studios on the development of our projects, and eventually collaborate on the pre-casting, pre-budget and script."

Sony is also developing big screen adaptations of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and inFAMOUS.

The Flowers Of War Trailer

Wow! This looks to be both a powerful drama and visually stunning and visceral war movie. Good to see Bale branching out again and in this case interestingly taking a role in a war movie where he plays a character not involved in the actual fighting.

Based on a screenplay by Heng Liu (Assembly, The Story of Qiu Ju), The Flowers of War is adapted from Geling Yan's historical novel 13 Flowers of Nanjing. Produced by Zhang Weiping, THE FLOWERS OF WAR features award winning filmmakers Director of Photography Zhao Xiaoding (Under the Hawthorn Tree, House of Flying Daggers), Production Designer Yohei Taneda (Kill Bill: Vol. 1, Villain), and Sound Designer Tao Jing (Hero, House of Flying Daggers).

Inspired by true life events, The Flowers of War tells a genuine story of hope, love and sacrifice. Set in 1937, Nanking stands at the forefront of a war between China and Japan. As the invading Japanese Imperial Army overruns China's capital city, desperate civilians seek refuge behind the nominally protective walls of a western cathedral. Here, John Haufman (Bale), an American trapped amidst the chaos of battle and the ensuing occupation takes shelter, joined by a group of innocent schoolgirls and thirteen courtesans, equally determined to escape the horrors taking place outside the church walls.

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Launch Trailer

I've said it before, the second game in the series was the best summer blockbuster never made, this looks like it will take things to yet another level! check out the awesome launch trailer below

A search for the fabled "Atlantis of the Sands" propels fortune hunter Nathan Drake on a daring trek into the heart of the Arabian Desert, a journey that pits him and his mentor Victor Sullivan against the occult treachery of a shadowy clandestine organization and its ruthless leader. When the terrible secrets of this lost city are unearthed, Drake's quest descends into a desperate bid for survival that strains the limits of his endurance and forces him to confront his deepest fears.

Developed by Naughty Dog, UNCHARTED 3 is the next game in the critically acclaimed UNCHARTED series, exclusively for the PS3 system.

UNCHARTED 3: Drake's Deception will be released on November 1, 2011 in North America and November 2011 in the rest of the world.

Visit the official UNCHARTED 3 website at: http://www.unchartedthegame.com/

Akira Has Been Greenlit

In a time when Peter Jackson can turn New Zealand into Middle Earth, Sam Raimi made Spider-Man swing through Manhattan for a decade and Zack Snyder can faithfully (too much so according to some) adapt Watchmen, we can’t truthfully say a live-action take of Akira is unfilmable.

It's doable with today's advanced technology, yes. That doesn't mean it's necessarily a good idea. If you've read the manga or like most saw the 1988 anime film, anyone would think to themselves, "OK, how do you turn that into a movie and spend more money than James Cameron did on Avatar?"

Such a task has been tried by Warner Brothers and the Leonardo DiCaprio-co run production-company Appian Way dating back to 2008. During the build-up to the WGA Strike in the fall of 2007 and fear of SAG following suit the next summer, Akira was one of several properties the studio announced they intended to fast-track to fill their empty-summer 2009 slots.

It went through several directors like Ruairi Robinson and Albert Hughes, many of the "Hot" twenty-to-thirtysomething actors for the lead roles of Kaneda and Tetsuo and even serious intentions for this to be a two-film series. None of those plans transpired but the studio kept fighting the good fight with the hiring of Spanish filmmaker Jaume Collet-Serra (recently delivering the Liam Neeson-starring actioner Unknown) this past July.

I never thought Akira was going to happen. Honestly, I still don't but this wouldn't be the first time I'm wrong. Variety reports after months worth of budget-trimmings and number-crunching WB has greenlit the production with the end of February/beginning of March being eyed as the start date and Garrett Hedlund (who didn't light the world on fire after Tron: Legacy) is a front-runner for one of the afore-mentioned leads; probably Kaneda if you want me to guess.

Besides the obvious "We'll shoot the whole damn thing on green-screen" approach, I don't see how they can pull this off for the reported below $100 million budget. But again, I'm in the "I'll believe it when I see it" stage with this one.