The Weinstein Company has premiered the trailer Tom Ford's A Single Man, the critically acclaimed film which has been receiving extraordinary praise since its premiere at the Venice Film Festival. A Single Man stars Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode, and Ginnifer Goodwin and will be hitting theaters in mid-December for a brief Oscar qualifying run. I've been waiting to see a trailer for it because I have no clue what it's about. And I've got to say, this looks phenomenal, and it's frustrating that I still haven't seen it yet. The cinematography looks gorgeous, I really can't wait to experience this on the big screen. Take a look!

Watch the official trailer for Tom Ford's A Single Man:

A romantic tale of love interrupted, the story centers on an English professor (Colin Firth) who, after the sudden death of his partner, tries to go about his typical day, struggling to find any meaning to his life.

A Single Man is both written and directed by American fashion designer Tom Ford, who is making his directorial debut with this film. David Scearce also help co-write the script, which is based on Christopher Isherwood 's novel of the same name. This first premiered at the Toronto Film Festival a few months ago. The Weinstein Company is finally bringing A Single Man to limited theaters starting on December 11th.

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But seriously. We already know that the classic Hasbro board game, Battleship, is being adapted into a live-action feature film to be directed by Peter Berg. We know that Universal is planning on releasing it on August 5th, 2011. We know that the film will be shooting next Spring. What we didn't know, until now, however, is just who the international five-ship fleet (discussed by Berg) would be fighting. Well, according to Latino Review, we do now. Aliens. Sorry. Let me have another go at that. ALIENS! Oh yes. Sweet Zuul, yes. There's no word on what type of aliens, where they'll be from (aside from OUTER! SPACE!), or which leader they'll demand to see, but, again… we're talking about aliens here. Who cares about the logistics.

Now, in this next paragraph, I could do a couple of different things. I could choose to brutally eviscerate Universal and Peter Berg and Battleship. I could choose to question just why aliens would choose to attack Earth… via the sea (when to even get to our solar system, they obviously had to have some sort of space travel. Unless we're talking about some deep-sea dwelling aliens who've finally had enough of our terrestrial bullshit.) Sure, Earth has a lot of water. You know what else it has? A lot of airspace. Like, one hundred percent. We're surrounded by the stuff. Sure, that's been done. Independence Day. V. But it's been done for a reason. 'Cause it makes sense. Maybe Battleship will take place only partially on the high seas. It'll be about only one arm of the aliens' attack. Who knows? But I'm going to choose not to flay the amphibious skin from Universal's body. That'll be your job, good readers. Instead, I'm going to go for option two:

Fuck. Yes. Aliens. I love aliens. The more movies about aliens, the better. Hell, the only way this news could get better is if Berg said the battle would be alien on alien. Who needs to see another movie about humans?! How blasé. And if it's not already completely obvious, Battleship is going to be based on the game about as much as Transformers was based on the action figures, but probably less literal. It's taking the name alone. And that's just what these crazy-in-theory Hasbro adaptations need to do. They need to take the name, tuck it in an inside pocket, and don a fresh uniform. In this case, a Navy uniform versus an alien shark-skin carapace. I mean, what else are these aliens on Earth for? They're here for our sea water, and they're not leaving without it. Good thing for us, though, that they came with only five sea crafts of moderately increasing size to match up with our own.

You know what else is going to be awesome? When Hasbro eventually releases the updated version of Battleship that's based on the movie that was based on the original game of Battleship. Then you can watch those no-good, slimy aliens get their battleships all blown up while you play along at home! So, where'd this news hit you today? Your patrol boat? Your destroyer? Or–dare I say–your aircraft carrier?!

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Just barely two hours ago we ran what we thought was the first, and only, teaser poster for The Wolfman. It only had Emily Blunt on it, so we thought Universal didn't know what they were doing. However, Ain't It Cool News has just exclusively debuted yet another teaser poster for The Wolfman and it is quite badass. I thought about just updating that old post, but when I actually got a glimpse of this, I thought it deserved its own entire post. Sure it looks a bit noir, but this poster is truly impressive, I love it. It's simple, it's dark, it's sinister, it's pretty much perfect. Hell, throw out that other poster, this is all they need. Check it out below!

Lawrence Talbot, a haunted nobleman, is lured back to his family estate after his brother vanishes. Upon his return and after being reunited with his estranged father, Talbot is bitten and cursed by a werewolf.

The Wolfman is directed by visual effects Oscar winner Joe Johnston, of Honey I Shrunk the Kids, The Rocketeer, Jumanji, October Sky, Jurassic Park III, and Hidalgo previously. The screenplay was co-written by Andrew Kevin Walker (Se7en, 8MM, Sleepy Hollow) and David Self (The Haunting, Thirteen Days, Road to Perdition). Universal will be bringing The Wolfman to theaters on February 12th, 2010 early next year.

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I don't know how, but in the last few years, the Broken Lizard guys have lost all their Hollywood support. No studio will make their movies anymore so they've gone the independent route. Their newest feature, Slammin' Salmon, premiered at Slamdance earlier this year, but didn't get a distributor until much later. Now it's finally hitting theaters in December, but probably not near where you live. Either way, Apple has released a new trailer for Slammin' Salmon and it still looks good. I love these guys for exactly who they are - a group of funny guys who love making funny movies. It's not for everyone, but I think it looks hilarious.

Watch the theatrical trailer for Slammin' Salmon:

You can also watch the new Slammin' Salmon trailer in High Definition on Apple

The owner of a restaurant institutes a contest to see which waiter can earn the most money in one night.

Slammin' Salmon is directed by Broken Lizard member, and first-time director, Kevin Heffernan (probably best known as Farva from Super Troopers). The screenplay was co-written by everyone in the Broken Lizard comedy troupe, that's made up of Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, and Erik Stolhanske. Their past films include Puddle Cruiser, Super Troopers, Club Dread, and Beerfest. Anchor Bay Films is finally bringing Slammin' Salmon to very limited theaters starting on December 11th this winter.

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Aww shit dawg! Eminem, aka Marshall Mathers, will star in Shady Talez, his first feature film in seven years (though he did appear briefly in Judd Apatow's Funny People earlier this year). The project, with a style described as "The Twilight Zone meets Creepshow," is a new 3D anthology horror film. Marvel will be publishing a four-issue comic book series based on Shady Talez in 2010 as well. Mathers will produce and star in multiple roles in the film, which will give an "urban wink" to genre classics such as Christine, Aliens, and The Lost Boys. The film is being produced by the newly formed D.J. Classicz/Davis Entertainment.

According to Screen Daily, where this news comes from, the script for Shady Talez is being co-written by Dallas Jackson (who is also writing The Last Dragon remake for Sony) and Kevin Grevioux (creator of the Underworld franchise). They didn't reveal much else, but I think it's best to keep the rest a secret, as this sounds pretty damn cool and I don't want to spoil it all this early. I actually just watched Creepshow for the first time a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it, though I prefer Trick 'r Treat when it comes to anthology horror. I just love that stuff and that's why, even though it's Eminem, I'm interested in this. Thoughts?

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While perusing the halls at AFM this week, ShockTillYouDrop came across a rather interesting new poster for a sequel that we've never heard of until today. It's called The Howling Reborn and is, supposedly, a sequel or remake or reboot of The Howling, the classic werewolf movie from 1981 that was directed by Joe Dante. That original film spawned some six sequels and created the Howling legacy. The last one, titled Howling: New Moon Rising, arrived on DVD in 1995. This is the first time we've heard of this, though that poster looks quite a bit like the original poster. Is this some straight-to-DVD rip off or something more?

The poster says that Joe Nimziki, a first-time director with only one credit on "The Outer Limits", is writing and directing The Howling Reborn. The film was being sold at AFM by Moonstone Entertainment, a production/distribution company with a filmography that includes a bunch of horror titles I've never heard of. Although they're also selling Stephen King's From a Buick 8 adaptation. That's all we really know about this. The project isn't even listed on IMDb. And STYD adds that, "Joe Dante has said in the past that he's been courted for a remake, but nothing has come to fruition." Does this mean they're finally remaking it?

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So who or what is on it, if it's not the Wolfman himself? Just Emily Blunt, who plays Gwen Conliffe, that's all. Cinematical has debuted the first teaser poster for Joe Johnston's The Wolfman, which we've seen two trailers for so far. I think this is a clear sign that Universal does not know how to market this movie. Its been plagued with production problems, even reshoots, and they release two very different trailers. The decision to release a poster without even Benicio Del Toro or Anthony Hopkins on it just shows that they really don't know what they're doing. I'm sure we'll see more posters, but they won't be much better. But who cares?

Lawrence Talbot, a haunted nobleman, is lured back to his family estate after his brother vanishes. Upon his return and after being reunited with his estranged father, Talbot is bitten and cursed by a werewolf.

The Wolfman is directed by visual effects Oscar winner Joe Johnston, of Honey I Shrunk the Kids, The Rocketeer, Jumanji, October Sky, Jurassic Park III, and Hidalgo previously. The screenplay was co-written by Andrew Kevin Walker (Se7en, 8MM, Sleepy Hollow) and David Self (The Haunting, Thirteen Days, Road to Perdition). Universal will be bringing The Wolfman to theaters on February 12th, 2010 early next year.

Discover More: Hype, Opinions, Posters

Now that you've seen it, what did you think? Virginia-born filmmaker Richard Kelly has had a very interesting career so far. His first film, Donnie Darko, is still hailed as a masterpiece by many. His second, Southland Tales, is considered one of the worst films ever. Now he's back with his third film, The Box, not only a more accessible studio thriller, but Kelly's most personal film. But how does this one stack up? Is it closer to Donnie Darko or Southland Tales? Does it have a good story with twists and turns that all pay off? Sound off below, leave a comment or two, and let us know what you thought of Richard Kelly's The Box!

To fuel the fire, I actually really liked The Box a lot. The more I think about it (and once I see it a second time), the more I like it. I do have to admit that I don't think it reaches the same levels of brilliance as Donnie Darko does (will anything?), but it's still a great film with a very mysterious and fascinating story. It got a bit confusing in the later half, but with some clarification from Richard Kelly himself, I now feel like I understand it better. Cameron Diaz was the worst choice he could've made, but James Marsden and Frank Langella are both fantastic. Overall I think it's a great film, but not necessarily a knock out of the park.

What did you think of The Box? One of the best sci-fi thrillers this year or just mediocre?

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This is not the usual project we write about, but I just thought it sounded cool enough to mention. THR has announced the cast for The Mortician 3D, produced by Belladonna Productions, from the on-going AFM. Hip-hop star Method Man (last seen in The Wackness) will headline along with Angelic Zambrana (last seen in Precious). Tom Hardy (Bronson) and Edward Furlong (American History X) are also in talks to join as well. The "gritty, urban drama" was written and is being directed by Gareth Maxwell Roberts (Kill Kill Faster Faster). Shooting starts this month in Louisiana. It may sounds bland, but read on for story details.

The Mortician 3D is a redemption tale where kindness triumphs over cruelty and falls within the genres of urban noir, contemporary fairytale and psychological thriller. The film is set in the nightmare ghetto of a decaying metropolis and is based around about one man's struggle through the violence and corruption of a dying city. The Mortician processes corpses with a steely regard and as a borderline autistic, he is alienated. Through his emotionless and unsympathetic actions he spreads his coldness to all he encounters. This is being produced for $6 million. It actually sounds interesting, will be curious to check it out once its finished.

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If we listed the top movies about break-ups, there's no doubt High Fidelity would be near the top. Well, good news, as the team behind one of John Cusack's best is moving to the arguably more dangerous world of gambling as THR reports that director Stephen Frears and writer D.V. DeVincentis are re-teaming for an adaptation of Beth Raymer's upcoming memoir Lay the Favorite, Take the Dog. Story centers a woman in her early thirties who has made a series of bad choices but achieves a redemption of sorts when she meets a group of fiftyish math geeks who figure out how to work the sportsbook system in Las Vegas.

D.V. DeVincentis says: "It's a less violent, less sketchy version of the mob. This is the version of 50-year-old math geeks from Queens in basketball shorts who have pet guinea pigs." And while this film might seem like a big departure from High Fidelity, De Vincentis explains both films deal with the difficulties of truly maturing into an adult and much like the elitist record store employees of High Fidelity, the gamblers of Lay Your Favorite "have an intense pride in a very specific expertise - and a lack of socialization."

Sounds like there's plenty of opportunity for a great coming-of-age comedy to blossom out of this yet-to-be-published-novel adaptation, and it looks like Frears and DeVincentis are the right guys for the job. It can only get better if they get Cusack to join the picture in some capacity (hell, even a pit boss, or something!). As a fan of Cusack's 80's high school movies like Say Anything and Better Off Dead, it'd be great to see an unofficial modern version of his characters from those films. This may not be the same, but at least it sounds pretty damn good. Once we find out about any casting or other developments we'll be sure to let you know.

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DISCLAIMER - Please Read Before Continuing:
So, here's the thing. This past week I found myself in Orlando, Florida. (I'll spare you the details, but it had something to do with me turning yet another year older, a seven-hour game of Monopoly, and a hedgehog.) While in Orlando, William Goss invited me to attend a screening of The Fourth Kind with him. Since I was missing all of the Los Angeles screening dates, I thought, Why not? Truth be told, the trailer was (hell, still is) one of my favorites of the year. It's creepy in all the right ways. It's intriguing without giving too much away, and it's visually stunning. That said, I was pretty damned excited to see The Fourth Kind.

CUT TO: A darkened theatre, more than a few cell phones fleck the blackness like annoying little fireflies. My eyes narrowed, an eyebrow raised: What the fuck just happened? What the fuck just happened was that the film's reels were arranged in the projector out of order. If I were to guess, I'd say reels one and two were placed as they were supposed to be, but reels three and four were swapped and reel five remained at the end. Regardless of the order, the end was in the middle and the middle was at the end. Therefore, I was privy to an unintended cut of The Fourth Kind where the film did its best to end an hour or so in and the middle did its best to set up the end far too late.

I'm telling you all of this because this experience is by no means what you should expect if you choose to see The Fourth Kind in theatres this weekend. I'm also telling you this because it has undoubtedly effected my ability to review The Fourth Kind. However, I'm writing this review anyway because even having seen a butchered cut of the film, I'm quite certain I saw enough to at least provide you all with an honest reaction and critique of parts of the film. I also believe in a semblance of transparency; it's only fair that you know that I didn't see the film as it was intended. Take from that what you will. But even if you choose not to continue reading, if you think that me dubbing The Fourth Kind malarkey is itself malarkey, at least know this: I think having the reels out of order was only an improvement upon the film.

Note: SPOILERS BELOW

The Fourth Kind is fiction. Make no mistake about that. The film is a fictionalized actual account involving actual actors who then reenact those fictionalized actual accounts as themselves, but also as the fictionalized characters from those "actual accounts." Confused? Yeah, well, The Fourth Kind is too. And that's its biggest problem; it's just too much of everything and not enough of one thing. That thing being, in a word, focus. As the film starts, Milla Jovovich introduces herself as herself, actor Millia Jovovich, and lays out the film's plan (as I've stated above, but not in so many words) that she and the other actors in the film will be reenacting the real found-footage recorded, for the most part, by Dr. Abigail Tyler, a psychologist from Nome, Alaska, involving a string of unexplained disappearances. From there, the film layers these reenactments on top of the video recordings from Dr. Tyler's "archive" of "case studies." It also splices in a "real" interview conducted by the actual director of the film, Olatunde Osunsanmi, and the supposedly "real" Dr. Abigail Tyler. Oh, and creepy images of owls. There's lots of those.

After reading that, I'm hoping that your thoughts are synonymous with something along the line of, "That doesn't sound good at all. I thought this was about aliens?" Rest assured, it is. It's very much about aliens, in fact. The premise is actually quite terrifying. Hundreds of unexplained disappearances in the desolate town of Nome, Alaska (a town that can only be reached by air travel). Shared visions, shared black-outs between residents of Nome, collective unconscious style. And when we, the audience, become privy to the "actual" abductions, well, they're affecting. Some of the case studies, in all their grainy video-glory, are pretty creepy. A slack-jawed Dr. Tyler settling back to her couch after being levitated by some other-worldly force. But, alas, there's not enough of them. Those videos will start only to be split-screened with the reenactment, playing side-by-side, just so you know what's going on. As if it's even possible not to know.

Which brings me to my next complaint: The Fourth Kind thinks you're an idiot. It thinks anyone within a half-mile radius of a theatre projecting it is an idiot. On top of the split-screens to usher us into the reenactments, like a mother leading her toddler across a busy intersection, the dialog in the film is just, well, it's just the worst. On the nose, uninteresting, and more like a stream of consciousness of what you, the audience, should be thinking rather than what actual people should be saying. Milla Jovovich is serviceable in her role. Elias Koteas is actually quite good as Jovovich's colleague, Abel. But there's one character, played by Will Patton of all people, who may actually go down as one of my Top 3 worst characters of the year: Sheriff August. Sheriff August is about as stereotypical a small town, bumpkin police officer can be. He's ignorant and needlessly hot-headed. He's downright stupid and is apparently without any sort of deductive reasoning skills. Oh, and he's terrible at his job. It's almost phenomenal how outlandishly bad Sheriff August is. That is, if it wasn't so horrible. Which it is.

So what of the plot? That plot that had so much promise. It all falls a bit flat, not because it's uninteresting, but because it's kept at such a distance from the audience. With nearly four degrees of removal from the "actual" happenings, I was never able to lose myself in the film. And because it's inevitable, due to the film's employment of "self-recorded, found-footage," The Fourth Kind is no Paranormal Activity. The Fourth Kind, in fact, is a spectacular foil for Paranormal Activity, allowing for a direct example to point to that elucidates exactly why Paranormal Activity is such a success. Paranormal Activity is a film by which all of these types of films will be judged for a long while forth. In that film, there's one degree of separation from the events being shown on screen. We're to believe that the events being shown actually happened because there's nothing else being shown on screen to tell us otherwise. No matter what happens on screen, we believe it because we have to. There's no other choice.

But with The Fourth Kind, there is a choice. There's tons of them. At the very beginning we're told that what you're going to see is real, but it's going to be reenacted and embellished. Right there, two degrees of separation. It's easy to remind yourself that what you're watching isn't real when, well, you've been told that it isn't. And when one's film is depending on that hocus-pocus that is convincing an audience that what they're seeing is actually, really real, the last thing that one should do is give the audience a reason not to believe. And when the most frightening scene in The Fourth Kind has half of the screen taken up by a the waveform from an oscilloscope while an alien is speaking broken Sumerian, it really shows that when there's a small degree of separation, the film may have worked.

Though it didn't. It doesn't. It could have further explored the Science vs. Belief in the skewed way that it hinted at, where it's the woman of science who's being persecuted for believing, but it doesn't. Not enough, anyway. And when it ends, we're left with a mishmash of Sumerian history (covered far more interestingly in the book Chariots of the Gods or the History Channel special "Ancient Aliens"), collective unconscious experiences, some creepy abduction scenes, a whole lot of disbelief, and an inconclusive conclusion that points toward Dr. Abigail Tyler's own psychotic break instead of an "actual" abduction. Oh, and did I mention owls. There's lots of those.

It's kind of amazing the lengths the filmmakers went to to assert that The Fourth Kind is based, entirely, on reality. Having the actors who played the characters in the "case studies" uncredited, launching an ill-fated web campaign, and convincing some old-media outlets that the stories are real. It's amazing because all of that work (that really didn't work in the first place) is undermined by the film itself. The Fourth Kind is only mildly entertaining, more often for how ridiculous its characters act and how unbelievable its plot becomes, and it's thoroughly insulting. And I love aliens. I love alien movies. I love abduction theories and UFO sightings and extraterrestrial conspiracy theories. But I did not, I do not, love The Fourth Kind.

I'd say I hated it, but hate is too strong an emotion. I'm merely indifferent to it. And that's the absolute worst a film can do, in my opinion. To evoke nary an emotion at all. Oh, but did I mention there's owls? There's lots of those. And they were pretty cool, I guess.

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Universal has debuted yet another trailer for Nancy Meyers' It's Complicated, the adult comedy starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin, and a whole handful of others. We featured the first trailer for this back in August. This new trailer is pretty much the same - it tells the same story, has most of the same footage, except for a few new scenes (like the nude one at the end). I don't want to get in too much trouble, so I won't say too many bad things about this. Sure, it looks fun, I'm sure lots of people will flock to theaters to see it on Christmas Day, but I'll be skipping it. This is one movie I will be very happy not seeing this year.

Watch the second trailer for Nancy Meyers' It's Complicated:

You can also watch the trailer for It's Complicated in High Definition on Apple

A comedy about love, divorce and everything in between. Jane is the mother of three grown kids, owns a restaurant/bakery and has an amicable relationship with her ex-husband, attorney Jake. But when Jane and Jake find themselves out of town for their son's college graduation, things start to get complicated.

It's Complicated is both written and directed by Oscar nominated filmmaker Nancy Meyers, of The Parent Trap, What Women Want, Something's Gotta Give, and The Holiday from 2006 most recently. Universal is bringing It's Complicated to theaters everywhere on Christmas Day, December 25th. Will you see it?

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Freakin' sweet! IGN has debuted the first four character posters for Matthew Vaughn's Kick-Ass tonight. By now everyone has probably heard about this (or seen the leaked Comic-Con footage), so I don't think it needs an elaborate introduction. Kick-Ass is the adaptation of Mark Millar's awesome comic series about a kid who decides to dress up and be a superhero. While it could've been a goofy, Hollywood spoof, Vaughn went all out to make sure it was a bloody, brutal, violent adaptation true to his own pure vision. And that's already starting to show even in the marketing, as these posters definitely look awesome. Check 'em out!

Kick-Ass is both written and directed by British filmmaker Matthew Vaughn, of Layer Cake and Stardust previously. The screenplay was co-written by Vaughn and his writing partner Jane Goldman, of Stardust as well. The story is an adaptation of Mark Millar's comic of the same name that is currently in the middle of its first series. Kick-Ass was funded entirely by Matthew Vaughn and his own private investors and sold once finished to Lionsgate earlier this year. They've currently set an April 16th, 2010 release date for the film, although I hope they change that, because that's a terrible opening day. Hopefully we'll see a trailer soon!

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EW.com just got a big casting scoop on the unnecessary adaptation of the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon Yogi Bear, in addition to revealing a writer and a new director contrary to what we heard when the project was announced over a year ago. Eric Brevig (of Journey to the Center of the Earth previously) is directing a script from Brad Copeland ("Arrested Development", Wild Hogs) with Dan Aykroyd voicing the picnic basket stealing bear and Justin Timberlake taking on the role of Boo-Boo. Meanwhile, Anna Faris (seen in Observe and Report) will play a nature documentarian following Yogi and Boo-Boo for her next project.

While there's not much mentioned in the vein of conflict or plot for this film, I'm left wondering how and if Ranger Smith will fit into this story. The frustrated character was such a huge part of the original cartoon that I can't imagine them leaving him out. In addition, back in March there were rumblings of discussions to bring in B.J. Novak (of NBC's "The Office") to take on the role of the authoritative but bumbling ranger. However, at that point the supposed plot involved a character named "Sergio Bear" who seems like a sophisticated bear from Argentina, but is actually an average bear who has escaped from the Bronx Zoo in an effort to find a legendary goldmine hidden in Jellystone Park. But with a new writer and director, who knows what shape the project is taking.

Personally, while I find an adaptation like this wholly unnecessary and most likely completely lost on a generation that didn't grow up Hanna-Barbera cartoons like Yogi or even Tom & Jerry (which I'm sure we'll see get a contemporary update sooner than later).  And while Dan Aykroyd is one hell of a choice to play Yogi Bear, Bill Murray was also inspired casting for Garfield and I hated that movie as much as the orange cat hates Mondays (and if you've seen Zombieland, you know Murray even hates it, too). We'll see exactly what the story is behind this film soon enough, and otherwise keep you posted on the tomfoolery to come.

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Over a year of go it looked like Steven Spielberg's favorite surrogate son, Mr. LaBeouf, was going to take on the lead role in The Illusionist director Neil Burger's adaptation of the novel Dark Fields, written by Alan Glynn, first published back in 2002. But today Relativity Media announced it will begin production on the thriller with Bradley Cooper (The Hangover) starring as Eddie, a down and out New York writer who finds a pill that gives him the ability to access the full capacity of his brain. But suddenly, some mysterious men are in pursuit as he realizes the full potential of his intelligence comes with unforeseen dangers.

Burger will direct the Leslie Dixon (The Thomas Crown Affair, Hairspray) written script sometime later in the spring of 2010 and he sounds pumped, "I am really delighted that all of the elements of this project have come together in such a great way. I have been intrigued by the prospect of bringing this story to the screen for quite some time and I am very much looking forward to collaborating with Bradley, who I think is one of our finest working actors today." While I haven't read Glynn's novel, the concept is certainly intriguing. Stories of realizing full human potential in a sci-fi way are just my cup of tea. What do you guys think?

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Sundance is coming to you! Yesterday, the Sundance Institute announced that they would be launching Sundance Film Festival U.S.A., a groundbreaking initiative in which the Sundance Film Festival will expand nationwide on the night of Thursday, January 28th, 2010 to local theatres in eight cities. On that day, eight filmmakers and their films will be dispatched from Park City to cities across America, for the first time providing audiences the opportunity to experience screenings direct from the Festival in their home town art houses and to engage in live conversation with Festival artists. Now this is a really cool idea!

"The concept behind Sundance Film Festival U.S.A. is to ignite dialogue as people across the country engage in a collective film experience. It is an extension, really, of the work we have done for decades: supporting the independent voice, bringing artists to the table and inserting art more and more into the social context of how we live," said Robert Redford, Sundance Institute President. "We hope by speaking with artists about their work and experiencing the Festival as it is happening, audiences will be inspired to share opinions, discuss the key issues of our day and reflect on the role art plays in social change."

The eight cities and the respective theaters hosting the screening include: Ann Arbor, MI (Michigan Theater), Brookline, MA (Coolidge Corner Theatre), Brooklyn, NY (BAM), Chicago, IL (Music Box Theatre), Los Angeles, CA (Downtown Independent), Madison, WI (Sundance Cinemas), Nashville, TN (The Belcourt Theatre), and San Francisco, CA (Sundance Kabuki Cinemas). An introduction video featuring Robert Redford and highlights from the Festival will precede the screenings. Select films have not been announced yet (in December). Tickets will be available through each theatre’s individual box office.

As a die-hard fan of the Sundance Film Festival, I think this is a great idea, and I love the concept. Other festivals have tried similar at-home events, but none of them are effective. This seems like a much more well thought out event that will go over very well in each of the eight cities. If only they could expand wider and to other locations (I vote for Colorado!), but I'm sure that will happen in future years if this goes well. If you're in one of those eight cities, make sure you check this out! Seems like it'll be a great opportunity to see a new Sundance film. As always, you can get more info on the official festival website: festival.sundance.org.

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Bam! First line: "Sam's dead!" Wow, Lionsgate is really throwing everyone head first right in to the thick of this. Yahoo has debuted another new trailer for Jim Sheridan's Brothers starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Tobey Maguire, and Natalie Portman. We featured the first trailer for this back in July, but they've now released a newer, more dramatic cut (that plays like a sequel to Obsessed) to try and persuade moviegoers to see this movie in December. There's lots of screaming in the later half, but it still looks pretty good. I'll probably see this because of the cast more than anything. I just hope it's a great movie as well. What do you guys think?

Watch the second trailer for Jim Sheridan's Brothers:

You can also watch this trailer for Brothers in High Definition on Yahoo

In a small, snowy Pennsylvania town, a young man (Jake Gyllenhaal) comforts his older brother's wife (Natalie Portman) and their children after her husband (Tobey Maguire) goes missing in Afghanistan.

Brothers is directed by Oscar nominated filmmaker Jim Sheridan, of In the Name of the Father, The Boxer, In America, and Get Rich or Die Tryin' previously. The screenplay was written by David Benioff of 25th Hour, Troy, The Kite Runner, and X-Men Origins: Wolverine previously. This is also a remake of Susanne Bier's 2004 Danish film Brødre. Lionsgate is bringing Brothers to theaters on December 4th this winter.

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"I was calmly laying out the next decade of my life when The Hobbit appeared. I was preparing all these things and all of a sudden The Hobbit shows up and takes over my life." Total Film has published an epic 10-page Q&A with director Guillermo del Toro on all things The Hobbit. Of course, we still don't know who is playing Bilbo or when they'll start shooting (considering MGM may go under), but if you're a J.R.R. Tolkien fanatic, you've just got to read it anyway. Plus, it's always great listening to Guillermo talk about making movies! Especially a movie as very highly anticipated as The Hobbit - so just keep on reading!

One of the first questions he was asked was whether they'll keep the same structure as the book and whether they'll be adding or changing anything beyond that (as in, pulling more stories from other Tolkien works).

"We are respecting the structure established by Professor Tolkien because the order of the adventures in The Hobbit is well known to generations and generations of kids. You don't want to be moving stuff like that.

But we will be integrating Gandalf's comings and goings because he does disappear in the book quite often. So, as opposed to the book, we see where he goes and what happens to him."

We suggest you read the whole thing, but I've pulled a few of the better answers. Del Toro is known for his creatures and their designs, so he was asked whether they'll be sticking to the creature designs from Lord of the Rings or creating their own creatures. They're changing quite a bit, del Toro revealed. "I also wanted some of the monsters in The Hobbit to be majestic." Majestic? Might not make sense, but he explains.

"I wanted the Wargs to have a certain beauty so that you don't have a massively clear definition: what is beautiful is good and what is ugly is not. Some of the monsters are absolutely gorgeous."

What about the Spiders of Mirkwood? "They are visually quite striking and in a different way to Shelob," he explains. "They are more creatures of the shadow, more creatures of the deep forest… Our spiders have to feel massive but be very nimble." I'm already getting creeped out just thinking about the spiders that they're going to come up with for this. And what about the dragon Smaug (who has also been addressed before)?

"I think one of the designs I'm the proudest of is Smaug. Obviously he took the longest.

Early in production I came up with a very strong idea that would separate Smaug from every other dragon ever made. The problem was implementing that idea. But I think we've nailed it."

Obviously we won't know what it is until sometime in 2011, but I'm already very excited. Del Toro goes on to talk about working with Peter Jackson, making the battles in The Hobbit stand out, the tone and color palette (which will be different from Lord of the Rings slightly, focusing more on the seasons), and making it more magical. But I think it's best to leave you with this quote: "All I can say is that we have an incredibly good team of people who know we are not making another Rings. We are not trying to make a quadrilogy, or a pentilogy. We're tying to make two films that flow with those but that stand on their own completely."

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What is it with all these robot movies? Earlier this week a story on Robopocalypse being adapted hit, and now there's news today that J.J. Abrams is looking at adapting the Micronauts toys from Japan. The Wall Street Journal (via SHH) is reporting that Abrams is looking to take the miniature toys and turn them into a big movie. He even references how actors always get questioned when they're cast in big roles, but then they turn into big stars, and no one questions them anymore. Apparently he thinks Micronauts is going to be huge as well. I've never heard of them until now, but they sound pretty damn cool, so maybe he's right?

First released in Japan in 1974, the toys (under the original name Microman) were imported to the US by Mego Corp. in 1976. The line consisted of 3.75-inch tall toys, featuring figures, vehicles, and robots, which used a universal, five millimeter inter-connective design. Mego canceled the line in 1980. Then in 2002, Palisades Toys bought the rights to reproduce them and Hasbro announced today that they're bringing back the toy line. Marvel has also published a Micronauts comic, the first issue appearing in 1979. I'm not sure if there's even a good backstory in the Micronauts world, but if J.J. Abrams thinks there's something, I'm in!

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Fox debuted this brand new 30-second TV spot for James Cameron's Avatar during the World Series game just last night. Thanks to our friends at TheMovieBox it's been added online for your viewing pleasure. They obviously cut this as a much more manly trailer for the sports crowd, without all the lovey dovey stuff in it, just a bunch of guns and badass action. I also love that they keep the machine noise going throughout the whole thing. I doubt this TV spot alone will change the minds of those who still thinks it looks terrible, but it is pretty impressive for a TV spot, so check it out! And let us know if you're still excited for Avatar?

Watch the World Series TV spot for James Cameron's Avatar:

Avatar is the story of an ex-Marine on the planet Pandora who, as an Avatar - a human mind in an alien body - finds himself in a desperate fight for his survival and that of the indigenous beings called Na'vi.

Avatar is both written and directed by Oscar winning visionary filmmaker James Cameron, of Piranha II, The Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, True Lies, and Titanic previously. He has been developing the technology to make this movie for the last 10 years. 20th Century Fox is bringing James Cameron's Avatar to both IMAX and regular theaters in 3D around the world on December 18th.

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