Ice Age: Continental Drift Featurette Gets Artsy

The Artist may be the first black-and-white (mostly) silent movie to be widely released in the US in decades, but a recently released featurette for Ice Age: Continental Drift points out that many of us are very familiar with some common elements of silent movies.

In "The Scratist," we see the familiar, unlucky hero from the Ice Age franchise dealing with both classic and new variations on his usual, acorn-based frustrations. It turns out that many cartoons have been relying on dialogue-free physical comedy, dramatic pantomimes of love and loss, and adorable fuzzy animals to tell stories for years. Maybe the Oscar-nominated pic is more accessible to the typical movie-going audience member than would be expected.

Zac Efron and Taylor Swift Deny Dating Rumors with Ellen Duet

The Lorax co-stars Zac Efron and Taylor Swift appeared on Ellen yesterday to promote the upcoming Dr. Seuss movie. While they definitely brought on the cute, true to Ellen DeGeneres form, things got "weird."

After denying any rumors of dating (multiple times), discussing the animated movie, and even talking about Swift's cats, the duo serenaded DeGeneres with their own special version of Foster the People's "Pumped Up Kicks." With lyrics like "every single time I come on this show it's really weird, really weird, all because of Ellen" the host couldn't help but laugh .

Director Sam Mendes Discusses Skyfall in First Videoblog

Fans of James Bond are going to love the first videoblog from Skyfall, especially if they also like director Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Jarhead). Mendes discusses his focus while working on a movie like Skyfall, and why he was interested in working on a James Bond movie in the first place.

If you're expecting the videoblog to fill in some of the questions about the plot of the 23rd movie featuring Agent 007, though, think again. While we learn that Bond's loyalty to M (Judi Dench) is tested when her past comes back to haunt her, no other plot clues are revealed. But it does show Mendes and star Daniel Craig on the same neon-lit set that was the background of the movie's most recent photo.

Creatures and Action Galore in New Snow White and the Huntsman Photos

It's hard not to compare Universal's gritty, live-action Snow White adaptation, Snow White and the Huntsman with Relativity Media's candy-colored, slapstick Mirror, Mirror, and not only because they are both based on the same fairytale, but because both are such boldly different takes on the same subject. Mirror, Mirror is the whimsical version, intent on extrapolating the Snow White story for the gain of silly and pun-based comedy, while Snow White and the Huntsman posits the title character as a sword-wielding bad-ass, ready to fight the armies of the evil Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron).

Evidence can be found in recent photos for both movies. Last week, several new photos from Mirror, Mirror showed off director Tarsem Singh's vibrant color palette for the movie, including bright costumes and picturesque landscapes, while new photos for Snow White and the Huntsman seem to have been almost completely stripped of color, particularly when Snow White (Kristen Stewart) is revealed lying in the snow after eating the poisoned apple. The rest of the photos show even further distinctions, as Snow White appears in the midst of battle and hides behind a tree with the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) and discovers a large creature in the mist of a spooky forest. Even the photo of Sam Claflin (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) as the young Prince William shows an intense expression, in contrast to the smiles in Mirror, Mirror.

Twilight Museum Planned for Forks, Washington

The town of Forks, Washington is planning a big birthday party for Twilight's Bella Swan, and one resident is hoping some of the party decorations become a permanent feature in the town.

The Forks Forum reported last week that community member Rosemary Colendrea, who is helping to plan Bella's birthday event, is hoping to launch a museum dedicated to Stephenie Meyer's series. So far, the town owns an arch used in 2008's Twilight, and is hoping to buy a private collection of Twilight props later this year. The items will be on display for the three-day Stephenie Meyer's Day event, which will also feature a nighttime reenactment of Bella and Edward's wedding. No word if Alice Cullen will be available to decorate for the event. While these items will be lovely to showcase at a short festival, a rather more extensive collection of items will probably be necessary if a museum is to be built.

Colendrea is also hopeful that a Twilight television series could be filmed in the town. While a TV spin-off of the series is a fantastic idea, our favorite concept for a Twilight television series would have to be set in Seattle, since it would take place at the office of J. Jenks.

Mike Myers Teaches Kevin Kline "Oscar Etiquette" in Funny or Die Video

Those lucky enough to win an Oscar should at least know how to hold it, right?

Good thing for Academy Award winners there is British Oscar expert, Sir Cecil Worthington.

Mike Myers plays Worthington in new Oscar video, produced by Funny or Die. In the video, Kevin Kline, who won the 1989 Best Supporting Actor for A Fish Called Wanda, is forced to take a "refresher course" on Oscar Etiquette. And the proper way to hold an Oscar? "Keep the thumb below the bum."

Oscar winners also apparently need to know everything there is to know about the Oscar. How much does an Oscar weigh? 8.5 pounds.

Interesting to see Myers working with the Academy given that he's yet to win or even be nominated for an Oscar.

Andrew Garfield on the Tone of The Amazing Spider-Man

The success and failure of the omnipresent amount of comic book movie adaptations has often relied heavily on the tone achieved for the individual character. The gritty realism of director Christopher Nolan's Batman movies has served as a lightning rod for Warner Bros.' approach to its DC Comics characters, with the studio including Nolan as a producer on its upcoming Superman reboot, Man of Steel. Marvel has been less afraid to add humor to support their super-powered characters, relying heavily on Robert Downey Jr.'s loose and improvisational cool, as Iron Man, and Thor's numerous fish-out-of-water jokes as the god of thunder acclimated to life on Earth.

That same approach of mixing action and humor failed to galvanize much success for Columbia's recent sequel, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, which opened last weekend below expectations. The studio has arguably more at stake with its upcoming Spider-Man reboot, The Amazing Spider-Man, which opens this July, but director Marc Webb has already revealed that the movie won't shy from the character's signature humor from the comic books. In an interview in the print edition of Total Film (via Comic Book Movie) Andrew Garfield, who steps into the role of Peter Parker for the first time in the movie, talked about the reboot and admitted that it won't embrace a "darker" tone.

Tom Hiddleston Discusses Loki's Battles With Captain America and the Hulk in The Avengers

One thing's for sure, actor Tom Hiddleston enjoyed torturing the members of the Avengers as the treacherous Loki in the upcoming movie adaptation of the Marvel comic book.

While we still don't know what "army" Loki will employ against "Earth's Mightiest Heroes", Hiddleston admitted last September that Loki will "fight with everybody" in The Avengers and, last December, described his joy in throwing Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) out of a window.

While Hiddleston's favorite scene was admittedly one where he "flew around like a trapeze artist" in a NASA facility "in the company" of Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson, Hiddleston revealed in the latest print edition of Total Film (via Comic Book Movie) that he also enjoyed beating the snot out of the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Captain America (Chris Evans).