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It isn't often that a zombie movie rules the box office, but that's just what Warm Bodies did earlier this month, easily winning its opening weekend, joining the ranks of zombie movies like 2004's Dawn of the Dead, 2009's Zombieland and the four Resident Evil sequels, which all achieved the same distinction. With The Walking Dead returning to TV with record ratings and World War Z arriving this summer to show what Brad Pitt can do against the zombie apocalypse, it's clear that zombies are as relevant as ever in the pop culture zeitgeist, and are determined to only evolve further.
It might be easy to dismiss zombies as mindless, killing machines (and they are that, too), but over their long history, zombies have also figured out how to move, how to talk, and, in the case of Warm Bodies, how to love again. For a full history of the evolution of zombies in movies, we only ask that you have 8 hours to spare.
find 8 hours and become a zombie scholar with our picks >> Posted 02.27.13 by Ryan -
Ever since Disney handed the director's chair for the upcoming Star Wars Episode VII to director J.J. Abrams, Star Trek fans have voiced their displeasure. Even William Shatner, the original Captain Kirk, called Abrams a "pig" for indulging himself in both franchises, though Simon Pegg, who has played Scotty in 2009's Star Trek and its upcoming sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness, spoke up for his director. "I've never come across someone who likes Star Trek but hates Star Wars," Pegg told Digital Spy earlier this month. "If you are that, then clearly that's a sign of some sort of illness, 'cause there's room for everybody."
We're not sure how U.K. YouTube movie critic Unusual Suspect2011 feels about Abrams directing Star Wars, but he has created a mash-up trailer of both franchises, taking footage from the Star Wars movies but using the music from a recent Star Trek Into Darkness trailer. While the trailer likely began as a joke, it's interesting to see the change of tone that occurs with the Star Wars footage, making the trailer probably the best preview of what Abrams will do with the Star Wars franchise (minus the lens flares, of course).
watch the trailer >> Posted 02.26.13 by Ryan -
Who Should Play the Ant-Whispering Founding Avenger?
Comic book movie fans were treated to some great news yesterday, courtesy of Walt Disney Studios. In addition to announcing that Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World will be released in 3D, Marvel Studios' parent company finally put co-writer (with Joe Cornish) and director Edgar Wright's (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World) Ant-Man adaptation on its slate of upcoming superhero movies, revealing the movie will be released on November 6, 2015, just six months after The Avengers 2 hits theaters.
Despite being a founding member of The Avengers in the Marvel comic books, Dr. Henry "Hank" Pym, a.k.a. Ant-Man, has yet to make an appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This could be due to Ant-Man's lack of popularity or because Marvel "reserved" the character for Wright, who has been working on his Ant-Man script for years, but the most likely reason is that Wright's Ant-Man won't be scientist-turned-superhero Hank Pym at all, but some other hero, a "bad-ass secret agent" with size-changing powers. Help us cast the Ant-Man movie by telling us who you think has what it takes to play a mini-James Bond with a kookie helmet.
Select the Top 10 Actors Who Could Play Ant-Man >>
Posted 10.17.12 by BrentJS -
Rumors that the long-developing adaptation of Ant-Man could arrive in 2014 continue to grow for Marvel's miniature superhero. The rumors began in May when director Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) vaguely discussed that he would shoot "some" Ant-Man and the upcoming comedy The World's End (with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost) "this year," which was perhaps a bit of a red herring after it was revealed that Wright shot some Ant-Man test footage in June.
That footage was revealed at the San Diego Comic-Con, but instead of announcing a release date for Ant-Man, Marvel gave their second 2014 slot to Guardians of the Galaxy instead. Marvel Studios' co-president Louis D'Esposito later revealed that 2014 "might be an opportunity where we do a third film" instead of their standard two. The latest Ant-Man rumor has production starting as early as spring or summer 2013.
Ant-man to follow Thor 2? >> Posted 08.01.12 by Ryan -
Since Paramount released director J.J. Abrams's 2009 reboot of the beloved Star Trek franchise, fans have been anxiously awaiting Star Trek 2 (working title). While there's still nearly a year before the sequel arrives in theaters, production on Star Trek 2 has finished, which means audiences are one step closer to seeing the movie.
"We wrapped last week, and it’s going to be awesome," said Simon Pegg recently at the Hero Complex Film Festival (via IFC). There's precious few details available about the sequel, which likely explains why Pegg later joked: "It all starts on the Enterprise. Kirk turns to Scotty and goes, 'You want it?'"
more from pegg >> Posted 05.30.12 by Ryan -
First off, we should point out that director Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) is shooting a new movie this year for sure: The World's End with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. The third in Pegg and Wright's Cornetto ice cream–inspired "Blood and Ice Cream" trilogy (which started with Shaun of the Dead and continued with Hot Fuzz), The World's End will see a group of childhood friends reunite for an epic pub crawl they attempted 20 years prior, only to find that their quest to drink their way to the World's End pub is interrupted by a possible end to humankind. Wright co-wrote the movie with Pegg.
Deadline reported last week that The World's End will start shooting this September, which leads to the question: How can Wright also shoot his long-developing Empire podcast.
Things are happening, and other things are happening on other things as well. There’s some interesting plates spinning and I ideally hope I’ll be shooting this year.
more from wright on Ant-Man >> Posted 05.16.12 by Ryan -
It's going on four years since Columbia Pictures announced plans to adapt the indie comic book The Boys for the big screen and more than a year since director Adam McKay (Anchorman, The Other Guys) expressed his intention to keep the adaptation true to its violent comic book roots by going for an R-rating. It's unclear why the project has been delayed, since the screenplay written by Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay (Clash of the Titans) was apparently good enough to interest McKay, who once said that he "would never direct anything" he didn't write, but The Boys still hasn't moved on to the casting stage. That is, with the exception of Simon Pegg, whose likeness was the inspiration for the character Hugh "Wee Hughie" Campbell in the comic book. McKay wants Pegg in the role and Pegg is apparently keen to do it, but the British actor recently admitted to MTV that fears he might be "too old" to play Wee Hughie by the time the movie gets the go-ahead from Columbia.
what did pegg say? >> Posted 12.30.11 by BrentJS -
The Adventures of Tintin opens today but that doesn't mean there isn't time for the release of a few more preview clips. Produced by Peter Jackson and directed by Steven Spielberg, the 3-D motion-capture animated movie is already a success overseas, where it's earned $239 million. The foreign box office isn't surprising given that the movie is based on the characters and situations created by the late Belgian author and illustrator Hergé. As Jackson told The LA Times, "The challenge we have is getting the people who don't love Tintin to see the movie."
The movie follows the intrepid young reporter Tintin (played by Jamie Bell) as he tries to solve a mystery that involves a unicorn, a scroll, and a poem written in Olde English, accompanied by his loyal dog, Snowy, and Captain Haddock (played by go-to motion-capture actor Andy Serkis). Spielberg "shot" the movie in 40 days using performance-capture technologies and then Jackson Weta visual effects team animated the movie, not unlike how the character of Gollum (again played by Serkis) was created for the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Jackson says that Weta, or Tintin for that matter, wouldn't exist without Spielberg's Jurassic Park.
watch the clips >> Posted 12.21.11 by Ryan -
With Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, the fourth installment in the Mission: Impossible franchise, opening in IMAX this weekend (and on December 21st everywhere else), Paramount is going for broke with some new promotional materials including a new poster for the IMAX opening of the movie, as well as two new preview clips.
Ghost Protocol will see Tom Cruise return as Impossible Mission Force (IMF) agent Ethan Hunt, but, outside of Mission: Impossible III's Simon Pegg, Cruise will be working with an all-new crew of agents, including Paula Patton and Jeremy Renner. In an interview with ComingSoon, Renner described how his character Brandt gets involved with the IMF team.
watch the clips and read Renner's comments >> Posted 12.14.11 by Ryan -
"I have arrived at the party," says Simon Pegg in the latest featurette for Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, and while Pegg is talking in character, in a way, the Shaun of the Dead actor is talking about himself. The movie's advertising has basically ignored Pegg so far, and has instead focused on Tom Cruise's stunt work outside the Burj Khalifa building in Dubai (featured in the first featurette and the sequel's trailers), and Jeremy Renner's leap into an air shaft (shown in two preview clips).
The latest featurette concentrates solely on Pegg's character of Impossible Mission Force (IMF) computer expert Benji Dunn, who originally appeared in Mission: Impossible III, and offers new footage from the movie as well. Up next has to be something for Paula Patton, the fourth member of the IMF team.
watch the featurette >> Posted 11.24.11 by Ryan