Steven Spielberg Promises Robopocalypse Isn’t Dead

It has been months since we have had an update regarding the big screen adaptation of “Robopocalypse,” the New York Times best-selling science fiction book by Daniel H. Wilson. The project was announced last year and has since been buried with some wondering if the Steven Spielberg project was dead.

Thankfully, the killer robots are still set to destroy mankind it just may be a little further down the line then initially anticipated. Spielberg initially made the announcement that his sic-fi adaptation, which he had planned to begin shooting this summer for a debut in April 2014, had been put on hold, with no details on when — or if — it might come back on the calendar. It seemed for sure that the anticipated project was heading for the cutting room floor before it even had a chance.

However, Spielberg has said that the films demise is not quite what the reporters are saying. Robopocalypse was reportedly set to begin filming using a script by Cloverfield writer Drew Goddard, and Anne Hathaway and Thor‘s Chris Hemsworth planning to star. Spielberg assured fans that the project is far from dead and that he merely taking his time with the film.

“We found that the film was costing a lot of money and I found a better way to tell the story more economically but also much more personally,” Spielberg said. “I found the personal way into Robopocalypse, and so I just told everybody to go find other jobs, I’m starting on a new script and we’ll have this movie back on its feet soon.”

There is no projected release date for the big screen adaptation but Spielberg estimates that the delay will only set the film back about six to eight months. He even went on to assure that he is working on the script right now with no intentions to drop the film.

“Not at all. I’m working on it as we speak,” he said.

AMC Releases “The Walking Dead” Key Art For Mid-Season Premiere

Fans are anxiously awaiting the second part of season 3 of AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” which premieres on Sunday, February 10th. With it just around the corner, AMC has released the key art for the series return.

Season three returns with the sort of beloved group in tatters and Rick questioning his own sanity while his son worries about his every move. Rick (Andrew Lincoln) must attempt to bring everyone together again to face the threat posed by the Governor (David Morrissey). In order to survive, he must risk everything, including the group’s very humanity.

Season three’s mid-season finale aired December 2, making “The Walking Dead” the first cable series in television history to reign as the biggest show of the fall season among Adults 18-49, beating out all broadcast and cable entertainment series. The episode totaled 15.2 million viewers for the night.

You can see the key art released by AMC above as it features Rick and the Governor.

Casting Update For Sin City: A Dame To Kill For

This week has been flush with casting news regarding the upcoming Sin City sequel, Sin City: A Dame To Kill For. The film was developed by Frank Miller based upon his graphic novel, with a screenplay by Miller. It is being produced by Robert Rodriguez and his Quick Draw Productions, Aldamisa, AR Films, Miramax and Solipsist. International sales are through Aldamisa International.

Similarly to its predecessor, the sequel weaves together two of Miller’s classic stories with new tales in which the town’s most hard-boiled citizens cross paths with some of its more repulsive inhabitants. Several high-profile stars have been added to the project including Josh Brolin, Chris Meloni, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Brolin is set to play the character of Dwight, which is the same character that was previously played by Clive Owen in the 2005 original. But don’t worry, the changing in actors will be explained in the new film. In the adaptation, Dwight is hunted down by the only woman he ever loved, Ava Lord, and then watches his life go straight to hell. Chronologically, this story takes place prior to “The Big Fat Kill” and explains how Dwight came to have a dramatically different face.

“Dwight is a constant character throughout the Sin City world and ‘A Dame To Kill For’ is a defining episode in his life. We’re looking forward to Josh’s take on Dwight,” said Rodriguez and Miller.

Meloni of “Law & Order: SVU” fame as well as a recent stint on “True Blood,” has also joined the cast with very few details revealed. The announcement was made earlier this week and it was noted that he is one of the leads in the film and will be portraying a police office.

One of the most anticipated casting additions was that of Gordon-Levitt signing on to play one of the lead characters. His role is that of “Johnny,” a cocky gambler who disguises a darker mission to destroy his most foul enemy at his best game.

“Johnny is a new character in the Sin City world and we are excited for what Joseph will bring to the role,” said Rodriguez and Miller.

Gordon-Levitt also commented on the role and project saying,

“I love how the first movie uses VFX, not to make fake things look real, but to create a heightened world unburdened by the look and feel of reality. Plus, nobody makes a badass like Mr. Rodriguez.”

Sin City: A Dame To Kill For will also see the return on several actors and characters including Academy Award nominee Mickey Rourke as “Marv,” Jessica Alba as “Nancy,” Rosario Dawson as “Gail” and Jaime King as “Goldie/Wendy.”

Production is currently underway at Rodriguez’s Troublemaker Studios in Austin, Texas.

The film will be released by Dimension Films in the US and Canada on October 4, 2013.

ULTRAMARINES : A WARHAMMER 40k Movie Releases On Blu-ray and DVD March 5, 2013

Anchor Bay Entertainment has announced the March 5th Blu-ray™ and DVD release of the Sci-Fi CGI animated film Ultramarines, a Warhammer® 40,000® Universe film. The film stands as the first ever feature length movie interpretation of the internationally successful Warhammer® 40,000 world.

The official plot is as follows:

It is 41st Millennium, and the only force that stands between humanity and alien hordes are the Space Marines. Genetically enhanced, clad in power armour and knowing no fear they are the angels of death. And the greatest of them are the Ultramarines™. But when a select squad of scarred veterans and raw recruits responds to a distant planet’s distress beacon, they’ll discover that a horrific evil has been unleashed. And amidst a living nightmare of chaos, carnage and daemonic fury, these steel battle-brothers must now survive the ultimate enemy: Themselves.

Ultramarines features the talented voice work of Terence Stamp (Superman II, Wanted), Sean Pertwee (Dog Soldiers, Event Horizon) and John Hurt (Alien, Hellboy) and contains over 45 minutes of bonus features including Into The Void: Making of Ultramarines™, Between Chaos & Darkness: The World Of The Space Marines, Creating the Daemon and a cool Ultramarines™ “prequel” animated onscreen graphic novel.

Warhammer and Ultramarines was created by Games Workshop and has already been developed into a series of successful video games and novels from its roots as the most successful tabletop wargame in the world, Ultramarines™ is the Warhammer® 40,000® universe as you’ve never been able to experience it before.

Shadow of the Colossus Heading To The Big Screen

Film adaptations of video games have often not fared well in the past. (I’m looking at you Alone in the Dark and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation.) Whether it is due to alienation of the gamers or because the film got the “Hollywood treatment,” there have been few exceptions pleasing both fans of the video games and film goers alike. Now it seems the massively popular Playstation 2 game, Shadow of the Colossus, is set to head to the big screen in an attempt to adapt the 2005 action-adventure game published by Sony Computer Entertainment.

Seth Lockhead, the scribe who co-wrote the film Hanna, has been hired on to work on the screenplay for the film adaptation of Shadow of the Colossus. Josh Trank, most known for his film Chronicle, was hired in May 2012 to direct the project. The original script for the adaptation was written by Justin Marks in 2009 and will now be overseen for rewrites by Trank.

Shadow of the Colossus follows the character Wander as he enters a forbidden land. He must travel across the world while defeating sixteen massive beasts known as Colossi. His objective? Love, of course. Wander does the impossible to restore the life of a girl named Mono. What makes this game unique, especially for its time, is that unlike most action/adventure games or RPG’s, Shadow of the Colossus has no towns or dungeons to explore, no characters to interact with or enemies to defeat other than the Colossi.

The game impressed players with its beautiful gameplay and immersive world partnered with the emotional punch of a storyline. It continues to receive wide critical acclaim with an average score of 91.56% at Game Rankings, and 8.7 by GameSpot, and IGN hailed the game as “an amazing experience” and “an absolute must-have title”, rating it 9.7/10.

Kevin Misher is producing. Misher Films’ Andy Berman and Kevin Chang are overseeing.

There is no word yet on who is in the works to star in the silver screen adaptation or a projected release date. Please make this a good one, Hollywood, please.

Rachel Weisz Talks Her “Oz the Great and Powerful” Character

The upcoming big screen adaptation, Oz The Great and Powerful, is set to hit theaters in a few months and lead actress Rachel Weisz recently spoke out about her role. The film, inspired by the classic L. Frank Baum novel, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” is a fresh take on the much beloved story.

Raimi’s film is set before the events of the 1900 book and 1939 film. When Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz. He thinks he’s hit the jackpot, with fame and fortune his for the taking… that is, until he meets the witches Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz), and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone’s been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is really evil before it is too late. Putting his “magical” arts to use through illusion, ingenuity, and even a bit of wizardry, Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz but into a better man as well.

Weisz spoke about her character, the Wicked Witch of the East, with media outlet The Sun saying,

“It was a fun idea to be playing someone who is really, really bad,” Weisz told the outlet. “I can’t think of any roles that I’ve had like that before… She’s really, really a bad person and she revels in being bad.”

The Wicked Witch of the East was originally seen in “Land of Oz” created by Baum in his Oz series of books. The cruel old witch conquered and tyrannized the Munchkin Country in the East, making the Munchkins slave for her night and day. The magical silver shoes (changed to the Ruby Slippers in the popular 1939 MGM film version) were one of her most prized possessions, and she met her demise when Dorothy Gale’s house landed on her. Her dry, withered body quickly turned to dust, leaving only the magic shoes.

“It’s a Disney film,” Weisz continues, “so I shouldn’t say she is ‘turned on’ by evil, but that’s what it is like… She enjoys it, like the meaner she is the more pleasure she gets.”

Oz The Great and Powerful hits theaters in 3D, 2D and IMAX 3D on March 8.

First Official Images Of Firefly in CW’s Arrow Revealed

The CW’s hit new series, “Arrow,” based upon the comic book The Green Arrow, is adding a new character called Firefly. The new character will appear in the an episode called “Burned” which will be the first episode of the show that airs when it returns from its mid-season break on January 16.

“Arrow” stars Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen, Colin Donnell as Tommy, Willa Holland as Thea Queen, with Susanna Thompson as Moira Queen and Paul Blackthorne as Detective Quentin Lance.

From Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg and David Nutter, the hard-hitting action series reinvents the DC hero. After being marooned for five years on a remote island, billionaire Oliver Queen returns home with a mysterious agenda and very lethal new set of skills that he uses in a war on crime.

The show airs on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT. You can see the photos of Firefly below.

Carrie Adaptation Delayed Seven Months

Sony Picture has announced that they have delayed the big screen adaptation of Stephen King’s novel, Carrie. The film was originally supposed to be released on March 15th but has been pushed back seven months to October 18th.

There is no word on why the film has been pushed back so far, but given the horror movie setting that is Carrie, releasing near Halloween doesn’t seem like a bad idea for the studio. The project has been generating buzz over the last few months as posters and teasers have been steadily released online. Halloween seems like the ideal time of the year for the film to hit theaters.

Carrie stars Chloë Grace Moretz, Judy Greer, Portia Doubleday, Alex Russell, Gabriella Wilde, Ansel Elgort and Julianne Moore.

In a small town of Chamberlain, Maine, teenager Carrie White (Chloe Grace Moretz), is a lonely and awkward high school girl who is constanly bullied by her peers led by the popular mean girl, Chris Hargensen (Portia Doubleday), at school and abused by the hands of her religious mother, Margaret White (Julianne Moore) at home. After participanting in mean prank towards Carrie, Chris’ best friend, Sue Snell (Gabriella Wilde), regrets their action and tries to make amends with Carrie by asking her popular boyfriend, Tommy Ross (newcomer Ansel Elgort), to take Carrie to the prom. Meanwhile, Carrie starts to form a friendship with her gym teacher, Miss Desjardin (Judy Greer), who tries in vain to protect Carrie from Chris and her peers.

However, Chris, her boyfriend, Billy Nolan (Alex Russell), and their friends hatch a plan to humiliate Carrie at the prom. However, Carrie uses her telekinetic power for revenge.

The Kimberly Pierce directed adaptation is set to be more of direct remake of the original novel rather than a remake of the cult classic 1976 film.

The First Official Television Spot For Beautiful Creatures Released

Warner Bros. Pictures have officially released the first television spot for the upcoming big screen adaptation, Beautiful Creatures.

Beautiful Creatures is a New York Times bestselling novel written by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl and the first book in the Caster Chronicles series.

The novel tells the tale of two star-crossed lovers. When newcomer Lena Duchannes arrives in the small town of Gatlin she quickly captures the attention of Ethan Wate, who only wants to escape what he views as a boring and dead end town. He quickly gets more excitement than he bargained for, as Lena possesses strange powers that have long kept her at a distance from others in her life. Lena and Ethan are drawn together, but their budding romance is threatened by the dangers posed by Lena’s being a Caster and her family’s Dark heritage, for upon her sixteenth birthday Lena must undergo the Claiming, a process that will decide her fate forever: Light or Dark.

Beautiful Creatures stars Alden Ehrenreich, Alice Englert, Jeremy Irons, Emma Thompson, Viola Davis, Emmy Rossum, Thomas Mann and Zoey Deutch. The film will hit theaters on February 13th and is written and directed by Richard LaGravenese.

You can watch the new television sport for Beautiful Creatures below.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Surpasses $500M Worldwide

It is no surprise that Peter Jackson’s highly anticipated adaptation, The Hobbit: An Unexpected has faired extremely well in the box office. As of date, the film has officially surpassed the $500 million benchmark at the worldwide box office.

Domestically, the film has earned an estimated $179.7 million. Also the film had a record-breaking release in Australia — the biggest Boxing Day opening of all time. So far it has grossed an estimated $344 million internationally, for a global total of $523.7 million.

The joint announcement was made today by Toby Emmerich, President and Chief Operating Officer, New Line Cinema; Gary Barber, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios; Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures; and Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, President of International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.

A production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Pictures, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the acclaimed first film in Oscar®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson’s epic “The Hobbit Trilogy,” based on the timeless novel by J.R.R. Tolkien.

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