"Coriolanus" Trailer

Coriolanus (Ralph Fiennes), a hero of Rome, is a great soldier but despises the people. His extreme views ignite a mass riot and he is banished from Rome.  Coriolanus allies with a sworn enemy (Gerard Butler) to take his revenge on the city. As director and star, Ralph Fiennes brings William Shakespeare’s visceral history play to the big screen for the first time. Coriolanus is a drama for the ages, a commentary on the precarious draw of war and an auspicious directorial debut from one of the world’s great classical actor.

CC2k

"Twilight: Breaking Dawn" Stars Grace Magazine Cover

In the highly anticipated next chapter of the block buster The Twilight Sage, the new found 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 fulfils 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 fear some 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 world wide phenomenon.

Entertainment Weekly

WB Hoping For Harry Potter Magic on The Stand

Huge news over at HitFix. Warner Brothers is closing in on deals for David Yates and Steve Kloves to, respectively, direct and write a new multi-film version of Stephen King's The Stand.

As a fan of King's work, particularly The Stand, this is the news-item of the week for me. The 1994 television mini-series Mick Garris spearheaded is good, mind you. But at times you felt the restrictions of network-television in terms of both the book’s content and just the budget. Remember how cheap the hand of God looked on the small screen?

They're not saying at the moment how many films are on docket, but we're all assuming a trilogy. If you've read the book (and if you haven't do so), then you know there's enough material to fill three two-hour theatrical features. Having adapted all but one of the Harry Potter books (with the exception of Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix), Kloves can pull this off with King's one, admittedly complex, novel and Yates managed to exceed everyone's expectations with Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows – Part II making it the most successful and, in my opinion and that of many others, best installment of the franchise.

Issues like casting and how much WB will allow them to get away with (As much as I'd love to see it, I can't imagine them signing off on a big-budget hard-R rated trilogy in this environment) are topics for another day. But The Stand is getting the big screen treatment and that's news to celebrate.

Images From Warner Bros Fall Movies

Comingsoon.Net via Warner Bros. Pictures has landed a bunch of new images from the studios fall releases, and really they go all the way up to their Holiday releases.

Below are images from Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and Happy Feet Two, check out several more from other movies at the link.

Harold and Kumar Take on the Holidays - In 3D

Neil Patrick Harris seems like a great guy - how come he keeps ending up in movies like this and The Smurfs?  Oh well.  Yahoo Movies has premiered the new trailer for A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, which I presume is just like the other two Harold & Kumar movies, only with 3D and Christmas stuff:

I'm trying to envision a theater full of stoners trying to watch this in 3D.  That might be worth the price of admission alone. 

A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas opens in theaters on November 4.

Eddie Murphy Aiming to Sink Career Lower – Voicing Hong Kong Phooey

The Shrek films were a great-paying, in-and-out job for Eddie Murphy over the last decade. But now they're over and I guess Murphy likes the thought of phoning it in for shitty cartoons instead of shitty live-action features. Hence the announcement he'll voice Hong Kong Phooey for a forthcoming film on the Hanna-Barbera cartoon blending live-action with animation.

Here's the press release:

"Eddie Murphy will give voice to the animated lead character in Alcon Entertainment's live action/animated big screen adaptation of the of the 1970s Hanna-Barbera animated TV series Hong Kong Phooey, it was announced by Alcon co-founders and co-CEO's Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove.

In addition to voicing the character of Donkey in the box-office hit "Shrek" franchise, Murphy was also the voice of Mushu, the Dragon, in the successful animated epic Mulan. Murphy will next be seen in the comedies Tower Heist, co-starring Ben Stiller from Universal Studios and A Thousand Words, from DreamWorks.

Alex Zamm (Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts, Tooth Fairy 2) will direct. Kosove and Johnson will produce with Jay Stern and Brett Ratner. Steven P. Wegner will executive produce.

Stated Johnson and Kosove: 'We could not be happier that Eddie Murphy will star as Phooey. There is no overstating his contributions to cinema, and to such enduring stars of family entertainments such as 'Shrek' and 'Dr. Dolittle.' We look forward to watching him re-imagine yet another classic character.'

Based on the 70's cult classic Hanna Barbera animated TV series, a mild-mannered dog named Penry (Murphy) stumbles into a mystic ceremony and is accidentally granted mystic powers, including the ability to walk, talk, and do kung fu. Under the tutelage of his kung fu master, Penry dons a costume and becomes Hong Kong Phooey, and with the help of his trusting sidekick Spot the cat cleans up a rogues gallery of wacky criminals."

To think I was just starting to get a little confidence in him from that Tower Heist trailer.

Sony Drops Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Character Profiles

In case you didn't read the book or see the original Swedish film version, the official website for David Fincher's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo has mug-shots of its cast with accompanying character-descriptions for each.

But since most of you only know Daniel Craig and "that freaky looking chick," you can read their profiles here and follow the link above for the rest if you wish.

Bruce Willis In Talks For G.I. Joe 2

Filming for G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation is about to start down here in New Orleans and, according to Heat Vision, the filmmakers are saving the biggest casting bit for last.

Bruce Willis is in talks to join the production as General Joe Colton. That's the original Joe himself who starts the team and, in turn, gains the nick-name "G.I. Joe."

I get it. Bring him onboard as the old-school ass-kicker, show the new generation how it's done (maybe provide a flash-black origin story during the Reagan presidency) and pass the torch to Channing Tatum, Dwayne Johnson & Co.

What's funny to me is by casting a huge name like Willis (who still draws big bucks in the international markets) they're crying "Bullshit!" about why most of The Rise of Cobra's cast was fired from this sequel. It's not because they couldn't afford them due to a tighter budget. They just want to distance themselves from the Stephen Sommers as much as possible and committing to people like Willis and Johnson helps that cause.

Henry Cavill On The Man of Steel Set

Things are in such air-tight security on The Man of Steel (currently lensing up in Illinois) that the working-Joes in the crew aren't allowed to flash a cell-picture from the set. But that hasn't stopped pictures from surfacing from someone. Who is anyone's guess? I mean look at the countless snap-shots taken from The Dark Knight Rises set.

Anyway, the Superman: Man of Steel Facebook page uploaded new pictures including, what appears to be, our first look at Henry Cavill on set. No, not in the McG Superman: Flyby...err...Zack Snyder Man of Steel suit but in plain apparel. He's in pre-disguise Clark Kent mode.

There Will Be More Smurfs

If you are a parent to a small child and/or are currently expecting one with your spouse, then Sony has given you a heads-up. There's going to be a Smurfs sequel. Prepare to be bragged by the little one(s) to sit through another one. Unless you have one of those cool toddlers who want to see Pacific Rim or Thor 2 instead.

This afternoon, the studio officially set an August 3, 2013 release date on Smurfs 2 following its success here and aboard. As stands, it's made just under $80 million in the states (judging  by its hold, it's looking towards a $135-$140 million haul) and around $140 million total thanks to foreign markets.

So no, your small children forcing you to sit through crap is universal.