James Cameron’s (Terminator, Aliens) highly anticipated smurfs-at-war epic Avatar is set to arrive in theaters and IMAX screens on Dec. 18. The sci-fi actioner boasts groundbreaking 3-D technology and an estimated $230 million budget.
"See that extra over there? I banged her. Twice."
Sam Worthington (Clash of the Titans, Terminator: Salvation) stars in the film as Jake Sullly, a crippled ex-Marine chosen to participate in the government’s Avatar program on the planet of Pandora. As humans aggressively mine the planet for resources, a native species known as the Na’vi plot a revolt to save their blue asses from extinction. Sully, who regains use of his legs while plugged into the Avatar system, soon finds himself forced to choose between his own kind and the love of a young Na’vi female and her family (think Dances with Wolves).
Of course, this being a Cameron film, many of you are wondering if you need to pack meals, medicine, and a toothbrush before heading off to the multiplex. Avatar runs 150 minutes (2 1/2 hours). Cameron, whose Titanic ran a whooping 194 minutes, kept the film’s length down to ensure that it would play on all IMAX screens, including those that have not yet been converted to digital projection and, therefore, can only support a 170 minute run time.
"But, if Jack sets off the bomb, they'll all die. What do you think, Anna Lucia?"
Lionsgate has released new images from its upcoming sci-fi/bloodsucker hybrid Daybreakers. The film is directed by Peter and Michael Spierig and stars Ethan Hawke as a scientist researching a plague that has turned the world’s population into vampires. Click here to see a trailer.
Check out the new stills (I left out the boring ones).
And, back to the island we will go on Feb. 2, 2010 when “Lost” returns for its sixth and final season to ABC. The Emmy award-winning series will premiere with a two-hour episode airing at 9 p.m. A one-hour refresher-clip show will precede the broadcast. ABC has also moved “Lost” from its previous Wednesday night slot to Tuesdays.
As you can see by the above TV promo, “Lost” producers aren’t revealing much about the upcoming season. According to E! Online’s Kristen, they have convinced ABC to not show any footage from the new season. She says:
I’m hearing from Lost sources that every single shot of the first few episodes are so revealing that the producers have convinced ABC to NOT SHOW A SINGLE FRAME before the new season airs. No promo scenes, no photos, no nada! So you will be completely in the dark, but it is for good reason: The twists they’re planning are so good, you will WANT to be surprised.
Of course, that doesn’t mean you can’t look for clues in the newly released poster for season six.
From left-to-right, those in the picture are: Daniel Faraday, Boone Carlyle, Miles Straume, Michael Dawson, Ana Lucia, Charlotte Lewis, Frank Lapidus, Shannon Rutherford, Desmond Hume, Mr. Eko, Kate Austin, Jack Shepard, James “Sawyer” Ford, John Locke, Benjamin Linus, Sayid Jarrah, Libby, Sun Kwon, Jin Kwon, Claire Littleton, Hugo “Hurley” Reyes, Juliet Burke, Charlie Pace, Richard Alpert, Bernard Nadler, Rose Nadler and Walt’s dog Vincent.
I don’t see WALT!!! And, where is Charles Widmore? I’m happy to see Claire (Emilie de Ravin) and know that she will be featured in various episodes throughout the season. Executive producer Carlton Cuse also confirmed Charlotte’s (Rebecca Mader) return via Twitter. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, the actor who plays Mr. Eko, lobbied earlier this year to be brought back for the final curtain. Let’s hope the island granted him his wish.
On the poster, John Locke has got his back turned to us (most likely because he is no longer John Locke) and Ben stands right next to him, staring at us dead-on. The two men of faith are the most prominent figures in the poster, taking center stage away from Jack, Kate, Said, Desmond, Hurley, Sun, and Jin. As things stand, Locke is back from the dead and Ben has murdered his personal jesus, Jacob. I see one crazy metaphysical battle brewing.
And, then there’s Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell). The romantic side to my usually rotten personality was hoping that somehow she survived season five’s finale and ended up with Sawyer (Josh Holloway). I was thrilled to hear executive producers Cuse and Damon Lindelof announce that Juliet will indeed be back.
(Spoiler Alert! Don’t continue reading if you don’t want to know a major plot point)
Unfortunately, she’s dead (Aren’t you sorry you know now?).
As the story is now nearing its conclusion, some characters just aren’t going to make it all the way to the end. Even beloved characters aren’t going to make it all the way to the end. And sometimes we have to do things that are really painful, like killing Juliet, because that’s what makes the story feel like the stakes are genuine, and people feel invested that characters who are beloved can actually perish on our show. It was an enormously powerful story that concluded the entire season of the show. So she was sacrificed in service of the story, and I think was hugely responsible for the season being viewed as successful because that was how it ended.
Daniel Lindelof adds:
Juliet basically birthed season 6 by the actions that she takes in the final seconds of season 5. She is completely responsible for the endgame of the show. So the character is going to be seen in a slightly different light this year. We gave her that action for a reason, and that’s because she’s so important to the fabric of the story.
Man, at this point, I’m just hoping Sawyer makes it out alive. Love this show.
Fang-tastic news for Underworld fans. Yes, I said fang-tastic. I can’t help it. I get giddy at the mere thought of Kate Beckinsale in form-fitting leather. The gorgeous Brit has not yet officially signed on to star in Screen Gems’ Underworld 4, but the flick’s newly appointed writer John Hlavin (“The Shield”) confirms that the new chapter in the blockbuster series won’t be a prequel (hence, keeping hope alive for Beckinsale’s return).
Vampire Layer
In addition, Hlavin had this to say:
It will satisfy old fans and excite new audiences, meaning that we don’t want to redo the first three movies, so steps are being taken to honor what fans have loved but at the same time introduce fresh elements.
Beckinsale hasn’t been faring too well at the box office lately. Her Antarctica set thriller Whiteout got the cold shoulder from moviegoers and her role in the upcoming Robert De Niro headlined family drama Everybody’s Fine looks about as exciting as a plate of brussel sprouts. Here’s hoping her peeps convince her to return to the franchise and that Hlavin writes in plenty of ass-hugging rubber outfits for her to wear … you know, to better fight werewolves.
DreamWorks TV is looking to develop author Stephen King’s newest novel Under the Dome as a potential cable miniseries. King and DreamWorks founder Steven Spielberg will serve as executive producers.
According to the folks at Variety, DreamWorks TV plans to lock a writer to the project before shopping it around to prospective buyers. King and Spielberg collaborated once before on the yet-to-be-released screen adaptation of King’s 1984 thriller Talisman.
Under the Dome was released on Nov. 10 to positive reviews. The book’s story centers around the havoc caused by a mysterious force field that mysteriously drops over a small resort town in Maine. While “Simpsons” fans will surely make plot comparisons between King’s novel and 2007’s The Simpsons Movie, in which a dome is dropped over Springfield, it should be noted that Dome is a project King has been working on since the 70’s when it was called The Cannibals. Doh!
Under the Dome is available now everywhere books are sold. While you’re at, pick up my personal King favs Thinner and It.
Warner Brothers has acquired the rights to director Abel Ferrara’s (Bad Lieutenant) Jekyll and Hyde, a re-imagining of Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Oscar winner Forest Whitaker (Where the Wild Things Are) and rap heavyweight 50 Cent star in the lead roles, with Fiddy, of course, playing the homicidal Mr. Hyde.
50's Money Back Guarantee
The film’s synopsis reads:
Dr. Jekyll is a rich doctor of great generosity who lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Mr. Hyde is a sadistic murderer with a reputation that strikes fear in the hearts of people throughout New York. Peter Utterson, Dr. Jekyll’s lawyer and friend, investigates the mystery of who Mr. Hyde is and why he is the sole beneficiary of Jekyll’s will.
The devastating answer is that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are the same person, and the urgent problem is how to kill the beast without destroying the man
Earlier this year, Universal Pictures announced that it too would produce a film adaptation of the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde tale with Keanu Reeves (The Matrix) playing double duty as the story’s titular characters. Simply entitled Jekyll, the film is being directed by Nicolas Winding Refn from a script by Revolutionary Road scribe Justin Haythe.
Two Jekyll's? Whoa.
If this turns into a Jekyll standoff, someone is gonna end up shot to death in an SUV in Vegas. Just saying.
Films based on video games sure have come a long way since 1993’s Super Mario Bros.
Disney’s Prince of Persia: Sands of Time is producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s adaptation of Ubisoft’s time-traveling, action-adventure game. The film is directed by Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) and scripted by Jordan Mechner, creator of the Prince of Persia game.
Jake Gyllenhaal (Zodiac, Donnie Darko) plays the Prince who must acquire and then protect the “Dagger of Time” from evil men hellbent on world domination. The movie also stars Ben Kingsley (Shutter Island, Suspect Zero), Alfred Molina (Spiderman 2, Identity), and Gemma Arterton (Clash of the Titans 2010).
He's Good. But, He's No Bob Hoskins.
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time swings into theaters on May 28, 2010.
Twilight heartthrob Robert Pattinson confessed to the Ellen DeGeneres Show that he deeply regretted offhandedly asking a female fan to disrobe for his viewing pleasure while waiting backstage. Pattinson explain to Ellen:
It was after a period of signing 500 signatures, and one of [the fans] just came up. You kind of get 10 seconds with each person and you never really say anything, and I kind of got bored of saying, ‘Hey, how are you doing?’ And [the fan] said in her 10 seconds, ‘What can I do to get your attention?’ I was like, ‘Um, just take your clothes off.’ And she stood there and frantically started taking her clothes off and got dragged out of the room by security. I never felt more terrible.
Pattinson should heed the words of wisdom bestowed upon Peter Parker by his uncle Ben in Spiderman: “With great power comes great responsibility.” That’s why I never ask Clatto readers to send me photos of their vaginas and butt-holes. It would be an abuse of power.
To see Pattinson tell the story, tune into the Ellen DeGeneres Show on Friday, Nov. 20 (check your local TV listings).
Carmen Electra reminds us that she can tickle more than our funny bones with a “leaked” sex video showcasing her Sapphic tendencies. The sexy star of Scary Movie is seen drinking, dancing, and stripping with a brunette girlfriend in the clip.
While many will dismiss Carmen Electra’s lesbian video as a cheap ploy to get attention, we at Clatto realize that the video is a brave and impassioned plea to our country’s leaders to provide all fundamental rights for gay citizens … and by gay we mean beautiful, big-busted women who like to stick their tongues down each others throats when being watched by inebriated men with cameras. You go, Carmen!
Jackson Rathbone, aka Jasper Hale, one of the brooding and sensitive (and vegetarian for fuck’s sake) vampires in the Twilight saga, has sunk his teeth into the bloody and meaty role of Stephen Grace in director Anthony Diblasi’s psychological terror flick Dread. Adapted from a short story in author Clive Barker’s horror anthology The Books of Blood, Dread is the story of two film students out to exploit their classmates’ fears for their own twisted reasons.
Check out the Korean (don’t ask) trailer for Dread:
Dread will take over theaters on Jan 29 as part of After Dark Horrorfest’s 8 Films to Die For.
