Star Tours Set to Return

If you're one of those Star Wars fans counting down the days till that awesome-looking blu-ray box set release this fall, or even if you're one of those poor souls clamoring for next year's 3D release of The Phantom Menace (seriously, I've been a Star Wars fan virtually since birth and even I'm not excited about that), you might want to start planning a trip to a Disney theme park this summer to get your Star Wars fix while you wait.

Orlando Attractions Magazine has some new details about the updated version of Star Tours, the popular Star Wars-themed motion simulator ride at the Disney parks that shut down last year for a much-needed upgrade.  I have to admit, I was a little sad to see the original ride (which I once rode 12 times during a single vacation) go.  Sure, it was getting old, and the 80s relic that was the ride's safety video had become almost laughable.  And all right, the Back to the Future, Spiderman, and Harry Potter simulator rides at Universal were making Star Tours look positively ancient.  But it was old-school Star Wars, and that still made it awesome.  For god's sake, it went down the Death Star trench!

But the new version of the ride, entitled Star Tours - The Adventures Continue does sound pretty damn amazing.  Where the original ride only had one version in which a flight to Endor takes a wrong turn into a comet storm, a Star Destroyer tractor beam, and a Death Star battle, the new ride will have 54 randomly chosen story combinations.  So even the most die-hard Star Wars fan will have a hard time riding the same version twice.  Although I'm sure some will try.  They're out there.

Since there have been, for better or for worse, a few new Star Wars films since the first incarnation of Star Tours opened in 1987, the update takes place between Episodes 3 and 4 of the Star Wars saga.  Gone is Captain Rex, the hapless robot captain (voiced by Paul Reubens) of the first Star Tours.  The new pilot?  C-3PO, who somehow ends up in the pilot's seat and with the help of R2-D2 frantically tries to guide the Starspeeder through anywhere from a Tatooine podrace, the waters of Naboo, a blizzard on Hoth, the Wookie planet Kashyyk, the cities of Coruscant, to the Death Star (yes!). 

There will also be some familiar faces to be found on Star Tours II, including Yoda, Boba Fett, Admiral "It's a trap!" Ackbar, Darth Vader, and "Skytroopers," the ride-centric version of stormtroopers.

This also should come as no surprise:  the new Star Tours will be in 3D.

You can check out a "travel package" video that will be playing in the queue area of the ride below, detailing some of the planets you can visit on your trip - although I'm not sure about that claim regarding Alderaan:

So the new ride sounds pretty cool.  Definitely better than having to sit through Phantom Menace in 3D next year, anyway.  Star Tours reopens at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida on May 20, and at Disneyland in California on June 3.

Deathly Hallows Part 2 Trailer to Premiere Next Week

The Harry Potter fansite SnitchSeeker has revealed that the official trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 will premiere on ABC Family on Wednesday, April 27.  The trailer will air during between 7-9pm, during a showing of Happy Gilmore.  It would probably make more sense for the trailer to run during one of the network's popular Harry Potter movie marathons, but hey...I guess old Adam Sandler movies need ratings love too.

Details of what will be seen in the trailer for the final Harry Potter film, which opens in theaters on July 15, were included in the official press release:

The premiere of the new trailer will give fans a glimpse at the epic finale of the “Harry Potter™” film series, including moments from such scenes as Harry, Ron and Hermione escaping from Gringotts bank, the Room of Requirement fire storm, Mrs. Weasley taking on Bellatrix Lestrange, and Harry and Voldemort’s last stand. To get fans ready for the trailer, ABCFamily.com will be releasing one exclusive new photo from “Harry Potter™ and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” in support of the trailer’s premiere on ABC Family.

Whoa!  As much as I'm looking forward to finally seeing a trailer, I think I want to wait until I'm actually seeing the movie before I see any of the Mrs. Weasley vs. Bellatrix Lestrange showdown.  But the rest sounds great. 

"The Art of Getting By" Trailer

When did Freddie Highmore get so tall?  MTV has the premiere of the trailer for The Art of Getting By, which premiered at Sundance earlier this year.  Written and directed by Gavin Wiesen, the film is about a slacker teen (Highmore) on the verge of flunking out of school who decides to get motivated enough to graduate when the popular girl he has a crush on (Emma Roberts) suddenly takes an interest in him.

The Art of Getting By (formerly known as Homework) is set for a limited release on June 17.

Jeremy Renner to Star in 'The Bourne Legacy'

The search is over.

Jeremy Renner is set to topline The Bourne Legacy as TOLDJA! reports Universal has officially offered the actor the lead role and that Renner is expected to accept fairly quickly.

The actor beat out the likes of Joel Edgerton (The Thing), Dominic Cooper (The Devil's Double), Garrett Hedlund (Tron: Legacy) and Luke Evans (The Amateur American) who had tested in recent weeks.

This comes as no surprise to many as Latino Review reported earlier this month that Renner was Universal's top choice after writer/director Tony Gilory wanted to go with actor Oscar Issac (Robin Hood) but the studio felt he was not bankable enough to carry the franchise.

The Bourne Legacy will exist in the world set up in the previous three films starring Matt Damon, although the character of Jason Bourne will not appear at all.  Renner will play a new, government trained assassin, who comes from a program even more dangerous than Treadstone, which hatched Bourne.

Renner is definitely on a role lately with landing big roles as he is set to play Clint Barton/Hawkeye in The Avengers, due out next July, will co-star with Tom Cruise in the upcoming Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, and recently filmed Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters with Gemma Arterton.

The Bourne Legacy is set to start filming this September for an August 3rd, 2012 release date.

New Green Lantern One-Sheet Showcases Finger-Lickin' Good Superhero

While we wait for a second Green Lantern trailer (that will in all likelihood be a variation of the WonderCon footage), Yahoo! Movies has a new one-sheet. No, it isn't yet another one centered on Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) but instead the chicken-looking, Geoffrey Rush-sounding Tomar-Re.

I'm really looking forward to see how Martin Campbell's cosmic superhero epic plays out; easily one of the biggest question-marks this summer. Can't imagine these odd-looking characters are doing it any favors with the public though.

30 Minutes or Less Trailer Effectively Sells the Comedy Side of Action/Comedy

It's a delicate line to walk with action/comedies. On the one hand, you want to make the audience laugh (hence the genre we're discussing - duh). But you don't want to go too far "out there" or let your actors mad-lib like there's no tomorrow and depend on that entirely for the gags/humor. And on the action-front, it can't suddenly turn into an exaggerated action parody – a big weakness for Tropic Thunder for me.

On the comedy front, the red-band trailer courtesy of IGN succeeds in spades. Perhaps the next trailer will focus on the action side of things, and we're good to go.

But until then, I really like what I see with the Ruben Fleischer-directed, Aziz Ansari, Jessie Eisenberg and Danny McBride-starrer.

Universal Hearts Joel Edgerton; Wanted for Both Snow White & the Huntsman and Bourne Legacy

There might be some haggling going on between Tony Gilroy and Universal over The Bourne Legacy. But one thing is clear: everyone likes Joel Edgerton (Animal Kingdom) and he seems posed for one of their big 2012 releases.

Vulture says the Australian actor is writer/director Gilroy's pick for Matt Damon's replacement in the new Bourne movie. The problem is while Universal likes him, they're antsy about getting an actor unknown to the masses for a role of this caliber where everyone is going to pay their eight-bucks and then go, "Hey! Where's Matt Damon?"

Understandably, they want someone already recognized by John & Jane-Doe Moviegoer and hence are eyeing the likes of Shia LaBeouf (as first reported by What's Playing) and James McAvoy (That's a new one) instead.

What appears more in line for Edgerton is Snow White & the Huntsman - which he could very well end up getting. That would go against the studio's original intentions for getting a big-name actor to star alongside Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron. But they've been playing musical chairs with Viggo Mortensen and Hugh Jackman and neither party it turns out wanted to play. Maybe they just plain have to take the risk - can't think of too many A-list actors with an open schedule this fall to fill that role.

Shouldn't the action-oriented revisionist take be enough to sell without worrying if the public knows who's that fighting next to Stewart? Pure guess on my part, but if Edgerton gets either role, it's Huntsman.

Kate Beckinsale Up for That Total Recall Remake None of You Care About

Len Wiseman didn't have to look too terribly far for one of the two female leads for his Total Recall remake.

"TOLDJA" says Kate Beckinsale (aka Mrs. Wiseman) got the offer for Lori, the double-agent covering as the protagonist's "wife" – played by Sharon Stone in the '90 Paul Verhoeven/Arnold Schwarzenegger classic. This time out the memory-troubled lead is played by Colin Farrell and nobody will be getting their ass to mars this time around. Yeah, it sounds stupid to me too.

No word on if and/or when she accepts or declines. But one assumes the couple will talk about on their way home from dropping the kids off at school.

Robert Zemeckis in Talks to Direct Flight

Robert Zemeckis has been flirting with returning to the cinematic world of human actors with a pulse and constructed sets (with nary a motion-capture suit in sight!) since last fall. He was hovering over a number of gigs including a Wizard of Oz remake (*Sigh*), The Man of Steel and a time-travel project called Timeless.

While the first two didn't work out and the third is still a mystery, he still has his eyes for his glorious return to live-action filmmaking. According to THR, the Back to the Future helmer is in negotiations to direct Flight, set up at Paramount.

The script, penned by Reel Steel writer John Gatins, centers on a pilot afflicted by alcohol and drug abuse, rescuing an airplane and its passengers until while the influence, his being heralded as a hero, the FAA's attempt to cover up his problems when they discover the truth and his fight to clean up his life after the fact. Denzel Washington is said to be "loosely attached" for the role – that's an actor/director pairing I like the sound of.

This would certainly return Zemeckis to what made him such a successful director in the first place: the human component. Back to the Future, Contact, Forest Gump and even Who Framed Roger Rabbit worked, at the end of the day, not because of their slick visual-effects, but the story and its characters. It's about time Zemeckis put away his shiny, new toys that have lulled his career for the past decade, and this sounds like a good one to get him back up and running.

The Change-Up Trailer - Big on Talent, Low on Laughs

Two funny bits: "freckles on my taint" and the "revelation" that women do, in fact, take shits and they do, in fact, smell as bad as yours.

The rest however from The Change-Up (aka the other Ryan Reynolds-centered release this summer – for some reason I thought this was a Warner Brothers production; me = dumbass) resulted in nothing more than a blank-stare from yours truly. Moviefone (via Coming Soon) has both the red-band trailer and the one-sheet.

Perhaps it's just me. But it's not like I'm actively against this. I like the key-players involved (the afore-mentioned Reynolds and Jason Bateman as the leads and director David Dobkin) and dig the notion of a filthy, R-rated body-swap comedy. But if you're gonna go for that, why not go balls-out and have the body-swap in question happen to a man and woman (both in their sexual prime) or a straight guy and a gay guy?