Surrogates

"The Surrogates"

Surrogates is an upcoming 2009 science fiction film, based on the 2005–2006 comic book series of the same name. The film is directed by Jonathan Mostow and stars Bruce Willis. Surrogates is scheduled to be released on September 25, 2009

Premise

In the year 2017, humans live in isolation and interact only via robotic bodies that serve as surrogates. Several humans are killed when their surrogates are destroyed, and a cop (Bruce Willis) investigates the crimes through his own surrogate. After a near fatal encounter, his surrogate is destroyed, which forces him to bring his human form out of isolation and unravel a conspiracy behind the crimes.

Production

In March 2007, Disney acquired feature film rights to the 2005–2006 comic book series The Surrogates with the intent to distribute under Touchstone Pictures. The project was conceived by Max Handelman and Elizabeth Banks, and they enlisted producer Todd Lieberman to move it forward. Under Disney, Jonathan Mostow was attached to direct the film based on an adapted screenplay by Michael Ferris and John Brancato. The following November, Bruce Willis was cast to star in the lead role. Filming was scheduled to begin in February 2008 in Lynn, Massachusetts.It was delayed, beginning on April 29, 2008 in Woburn. Filming also took place in the Massachusetts cities Worcester,Milford, Hopedale, Taunton, LawrenceWayland.^[10][11] Visual Effects were handled by Brickyard VFX.

Cast

• Bruce Willis as Agent Greer, a cop who investigates the murder of others' surrogates.
• Radha Mitchell as Agent Peters, Agent Greer's partner.
• Rosamund Pike as Maggie Greer, Agent Greer's wife.
• Ving Rhames as The Prophet, a cult figure who disdains surrogates and plans an uprising.
• Boris Kodjoe as Anthony Stone
• Jack Noseworthy as Strickland
• James Francis Ginty as Dr. Lionel Canter

A Perfect Getaway

A Perfect Getaway is a 2009 thriller film by director David Twohy, starring Chris Hemsworth, Milla Jovovich, Kiele Sanchez, Timothy Olyphant, Steve Zahn and Marley Shelton. The story is based on a couple of honeymooners (Steve Zahn and Milla Jovovich) in Hawaii where soon they discovered that their tour guides are assassins. The film was shot in Puerto Rico and Hawaii, and is scheduled to be released on August 12th 2009 in advance screening in the UK and August 7th 2009 in the US.

Plot

Two pairs of lovers (Steve Zahn and Milla Jovovich, Timothy Olyphant and Kiele Sanchez) on a Hawaiian vacation discover that psychopaths are stalking and murdering tourists on the islands. Cliff and Cydney are an adventurous young couple celebrating their honeymoon by backpacking to one of the most beautiful, and remote, beaches in Hawaii. Hiking the wild, secluded trails, they believe they've found paradise. But when the pair comes across a group of frightened hikers discussing the horrifying murder of another newlywed couple on the islands, they begin to question whether they should turn back. Unsure whether to stay or flee, Cliff and Cydney join up with two other couples, and things begin to go terrifyingly wrong. Far from civilization or rescue, everyone begins to look like a threat and nobody knows whom to trust. Paradise becomes hell on earth as a brutal battle for survival begins.

Cast

• Steve Zahn as Cliff
• Timothy Olyphant as Nick

A Perfect Getaway is due out in theaters in just two short weeks, and we got our hands on three stills from the upcoming thriller thanks to Coming Soon.

The film stars Timothy Olyphant and Milla Jovovich, who looks quite sexy in this role. Click to enlarge any of the following stills.

Final Destination 4

The Final Destination (known within the franchise as Final Destination 4) is an upcoming 3-D supernatural thriller/horror film written by Eric Bress and directed by David R. Ellis, both of whom also worked on Final Destination 2. Set for an August 28, 2009 release, it is the fourth installment to the Final Destination franchise, and the first of which to be shot in HD 3-D.

Premise

On December 13, 2008, Warner Bros. released the following plot summary for the film:

On what should have been a fun-filled day at the races, Nick O'Bannon (Bobby Campo) has a horrific premonition in which a bizarre sequence of events causes multiple race cars to crash, sending flaming debris into the stands, brutally killing his friends and causing the upper deck of the stands to collapse on him. When he comes out of this grisly nightmare Nick panics, persuading his girlfriend, Lori (Shantel VanSanten), and their friends, Janet (Haley Webb) and Hunt (Nick Zano), to leave... escaping seconds before Nick's frightening vision becomes a terrible reality. Thinking they've cheated death, the group has a new lease on life, but unfortunately for Nick and Lori, it is only the beginning. As his premonitions continue and the crash survivors begin to die one-by-one — in increasingly gruesome ways — Nick must figure out how to cheat death once and for all before he, too, reaches his final destination."

Production

After the success of Final Destination 3, which was initially planned to be in 3-D, Eric Bress wrote a script, which impressed producer Craig Perry and New Line Cinema enough to green-light a fourth installment. James Wong was on board to direct, but because of scheduling conflicts, he decided to drop out. Consequently, the studio executives opted for David R. Ellis to return because of his work on Final Destination 2, who personally accepted because of the 3-D. For the 3-D, which is the same technology James Cameron used for Avatar, Perry said that he wanted it to add depth to the film instead of just "something pop[ping] out at the audience every four minutes."

Although shooting was to be done in Vancouver, which was where the previous three films were shot, David R. Ellis convinced the producers to shoot in New Orleans instead to bring business in the city, and because the budget was already big. opening crash sequence at "McKinley Speedway" was filmed at Mobile International Speedway in Irvington, Alabama. Filming began on March 2008 and ended late May in the same year. Reshoots were done in April 2009 at Universal Studios Florida

Release

The film will be released in 3-D as well as in conventional theaters on August 28, 2009. It was initially planned for an August 14 release.

The trailer premiered online on June 4, 2009. Like the previous films, it is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for "strong violent/gruesome accidents, language and a scene of sexuality."

Gamer

Gamer is an upcoming science fiction action thriller film written and directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor. The film stars Gerard Butler as an unwilling participant in an online game in which participants can control human beings as players. Gamer will be released in North America on September 4, 2009.

Plot

Set in the near-future, mind-control technology has taken society by storm and a multiplayer on-line game called "Slayers" allows gamers to control human death row prisoners in mass-scale deathmatches, if an inmate lives through 30 matches then he wins his freedom. Simon (Logan Lerman) controls Kable (Gerard Butler) the on-line champion of the game having won 27 matches and lived through them all, with his every move tracked by millions, his ultimate challenge becomes regaining his identity and independence by defeating the game's mastermind (Michael C. Hall) through launching an attack on the system that has imprisoned him.

Cast

• Gerard Butler as Kable, the highest-ranked warrior in the game "Slayers"
• Logan Lerman as Simon, who controls
• Milo Ventimiglia as Rick Rape, described as "Moonraker, silver grill, with a latex outfit making him look like a bumblebee."
• Aaron Yoo as Humanez Dude
• Ludacris Humanez Brother
• Terry Crews as Hackman
• Alison Lohman as Trace
• Kyra Sedgwick as Gina Parker Smith
• Michael C. Hall as Ken Castle
• John Leguizamo as Freek
• Johnny Whitworth as Scotch
• Zoe Bell as Sandra
• Amber Valletta as Angie
• Efren Ramirez as DJ Twist

Production

In May 2007, Lakeshore Entertainment re-teamed with Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, the creators of Crank (2006), to produce a "high-concept futuristic thriller" called Game. Neveldine and Taylor wrote the script for Game and were slated to direct the film, while actor Gerard Butler was cast into the lead role.

Production took place in Albuquerque, New Mexico for a 53-day shoot. Filming was at the Albuquerque Studios and on location around Albuquerque. Multistory sets were built on parking lots in downtown Albuquerque to depict buildings that were blown up in the film, and other sets were built on the backlots near the studios. the Red One digital camera makes Gamer one of the first films to use this technology.

In March 2009, the film's working title was changed from "Game" to "Citizen Game". In May 2009 another name change was announced, the new name being "Gamer"

Lionsgate has premiered the official U.S. trailer for Gamer on XBox Live (is this the first movie to ever premiere a trailer on a video game console? Possibly) The trailer has found its way online. Gamer (previously titled Game) is the new film from Crank madmen, Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor.

The story takes us to the sci-fi future world where prisoners do battle in a real life video game. A test screening was held in October, and you can read our Early Buzz report for the full scoop. It looks like a fun crazy-concept sci-fi film from the 1980’s. Watch the trailer embedded after the jump, remember to hit the HQ button to see high quality video, and leave your thoughts in the comments below.

[Dave's note: I believe the song used in the trailer is Marilyn Manson's cover of "Sweet Dreams," a song originally made popular by Eurythmics. Not the first song I would think of to use, but I think it's employed to great effect!]

Official plot synopsis: Gamer is a high-concept action thriller set in the near future, a time when mind-control technology has taken society by storm. Humans control other humans in a mass-scale, multiplayer online game. Reclusive billionaire Ken Castle (Michael C. Hall) has created the controversial form of entertainment, “Slayers,” a hugely popular game that allows millions to act out their innermost fantasies and desires - online - in front of a global audience. Gaming has evolved into a terrifying new dimension… mind control… mind manipulation… people playing people!

At the center is Kable (Gerard Butler), the superstar and cult hero of “Slayers,” the savage, ultra-violent first-person shooter game. Kable is controlled by Simon, a young gamer with a rock star status who continues to defy all odds by guiding Kable to victory each week. Taken from his family, imprisoned and forced to fight against his will, the modern day gladiator must survive long enough to escape the game to free his family, regain his identity, and to save mankind from Castle’s ruthless technology.

Milo Ventimiglia, Alison Lohman, John Leguizama, Efren Ramirez, Terry Crews, Kyra Sedwick, Zoe Bell and Ludacris co-star.

Gamer is currently scheduled for a September 4th, 2009 release.

2012

2012
Promotional film poster
Directed by	Roland Emmerich
Produced by	Roland Emmerich Mark Gordon Harald Kloser Larry J. Franco Ute Emmerich
Written by	Harald Kloser Roland Emmerich
Starring	John Cusack Amanda Peet Danny Glover Thandie Newton Oliver Platt Chiwetel Ejiofor Woody Harrelson George Segal
Music by	Harald Kloser
Cinematography	Dean Semler
Editing by	David Brenner Peter S. Elliott
Studio	Centropolis Entertainment The Mark Gordon Company
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	November 13, 2009
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$200 million

2012 is an upcoming American science fiction disaster film directed by Roland Emmerich. The film has an ensemble cast, including John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Danny Glover, Thandie Newton, Oliver Platt, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Woody Harrelson. The film will be distributed by Columbia Pictures. Filming began in August 2008 in Vancouver; the film is expected to be released worldwide on November 13, 2009.

Plot

A global cataclysm occurs which leads to the end of the world and has survivors struggling for their lives. The film is inspired by several hypotheses that state that the ancient Mayans predicted a doomsday event will occur sometime around the 2012 winter solstice.

Production

Director Roland Emmerich and composer-producer Harald Kloser co-wrote a spec script titled 2012, which was marketed to major studios in February 2008. Nearly all studios met with Emmerich and his representatives to hear the director's budget projection and story plans, a process that the director had previously gone through with the films Independence Day (1996) and The Day After Tomorrow (2004). The film was shopped around with a production budget of $200 million. Later that month, Sony Pictures Entertainment won the rights for the spec script, planning to distribute it under Columbia Pictures The studio planned to make the film for less than the estimated budget.

Filming was originally scheduled to begin in Los Angeles, California, in July 2008, but instead commenced in Vancouver in August 2008. Due to the possible 2008 Screen Actors Guild strike, filmmakers set up a contingency plan for salvaging the film. Sony Pictures Imageworks was hired to create visual effects for 2012. Thomas Wander co-wrote the score with Harald Kloser.

Cast

• John Cusack as Jackson Curtis, a science fiction book writer who occasionally works as a limousine driver.
• Amanda Peet as Kate, Jackson's ex-wife.
• Danny Glover as President Wilson, the President of the United States.
• Thandie Newton as Laura Wilson, the First Daughter.
• Oliver Platt as Carl Anheuser, the President's Chief of Staff
• Chiwetel Ejiofor as Adrian Helmsley, scientific advisor to the President.
• Woody Harrelson as Charlie Frost a man who prophesies the end of the world and is considered crazy by others. Alex Jones claimed in an interview with Eric "Mancow" Muller that Harrelson told him that Frost's character was based on him. compared his character to the mythological Greek figure Cassandra, whose predictions were dismissed.
• Ng Chin Han as Lin Pang, a worker in Tibet.
• Thomas McCarthy as Gordon, Kate's current boyfriend and a plastic surgeon.
• Liam James as Noah Curtis, Jackson and Kate's son.
• Morgan Lily as Lilly Curtis, Jackson and Kate's daughter.

Marketing

On November 12, 2008, the studio released the first teaser trailer for 2012 that showed a tsunami surging over the Himalayas and interlaced a purportedly scientific message suggesting that the world would end in 2012, and that the world's governments were not preparing its population for the event. The trailer ended with a message to viewers to "find out the truth" by searching "2012" on search engines. The Guardian criticized the marketing approach as "deeply flawed" and associated it with "websites that make even more spurious claims about 2012".

The studio also launched a viral marketing website operated by the fictional Institute for Human Continuity, where filmgoers could register for a lottery number to be part of a small population that would be rescued from the global destruction. A second trailer was released, it was telling that we were warned by the Mayans. It showed disasters like an earthquake destroying the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil, the eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano, Las Vegas being split in half by a canyon, and California drifting into the Pacific. There are also references to the government building ships for survivors, Air Force One being overtaken by water and destroyed, and the USS John F. Kennedy being thrown into the White House as a megatsunami floods Washington D.C.

Release

2012 was originally scheduled to be released on July 10, 2009.

Beastly

Beastly
First promotional logo
Directed by	Daniel Barnz
Produced by	Susan Cartsonis Roz Weisberg Michael Flynn
Written by	Screenplay: Daniel Barnz Novel: Alex Flinn
Starring	Alex Pettyfer Vanessa Hudgens Mary-Kate Olsen
Cinematography	Mandy Walker
Distributed by	CBS Films Storefront Films
Release date(s)	July 30, 2010
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$20 Million

Beastly is an upcoming 2010 fantasy, romance film, based on Alex Flinn's 2007 novel, of the same name The lead roles will be played by Vanessa Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer. It will be written and directed by Daniel Barnz and will be under CBS Films with a July 30, 2010 release date. Susan Cartsonis, Roz Weisberg, and Michael Flynn are all set to produce.

Plot

Kyle Kingson (Alex Pettyfer) has it all – looks, intelligence, wealth and opportunity – and a wicked cruel streak. Prone to mocking and humiliating “aggressively unattractive” classmates, he zeroes in on Goth classmate Kendra Hilferty (Mary Kate Olsen), inviting her to the school’s extravagant environmental bash. Kendra accepts, and, true to form, Kyle blows her off in a particularly savage fashion. She retaliates by casting a spell that physically transforms him into everything he despises. Enraged by his horrible and unrecognizable appearance he confronts Kendra and learns that the only solution to the curse is to find someone that will love him as he is – a task he considers impossible.

Repulsed by his appearance, Kyle’s callous father (Peter Krause) banishes him to Brooklyn with a sympathetic housekeeper (Lisa Gay Hamilton) and blind tutor (Neil Patrick Harris). As Kyle ponders how to overcome the curse and get his old life back, he chances upon a drug addict in the act of killing a threatening dealer. Seizing the opportunity, Kyle promises the addict freedom and safety for his daughter, Linda Taylor (Vanessa Hudgens) if she will consent to live in Kyle’s Brooklyn home. Thus begins Kyle’s journey to discover true love in this hyper-modern retelling of the classic “Beauty and the Beast” story.

Cast

• Alex Pettyfer as Kyle Kingson: The self-obsessed teen who plays a joke on a witch and transforms into a grotesque creature.
• Vanessa Hudgens as Linda Taylor: The "beauty" of the story, but not the stereotypical beauty everyone expects. Kyle hopes for her to fall in love with him after her father makes a deal with him.
• Mary-Kate Olsen as Kendra Hilferty: The witch who disguises herself as Kyle's classmate and plays a curse on him.
• Neil Patrick Harris as Will Fratalli: The blind tutor Kyle's father hired to teach Kyle in his mansion in Brooklyn.
• Lisa Gay Hamilton as Zola: The sympathetic maid to the Kingson's.

• Peter Krause as Rob Kingson: The materialistic news anchor in New York and father to Kyle.
• Dakota Johnson as Sloane Hagen: Kyle's girlfriend (at the beginning).
• Erik Knudsen as Trey Parker: Kyle's best friend.

Green Hornet

Stephen Chow For The Green Hornet

Hong Kong actor-director Stephen Chow is making Green Hornet his first Hollywood movie.

The ‘Kung-Fu Hustle’ and ‘Shaolin Soccer’ helmer will take directing duties and co-star as Hornet’s side-kick Kato. Seth Rogen plays the titular character.

Chow is quoted as saying “I’ve been a huge fan of the show since I was a kid. The idea of stepping into Bruce Lee’s shoes as Kato is both humbling and thrilling, and to get the chance to direct the project as my American movie debut is simply a dream come true.” Bruce Lee played Kato in the TV show.

Green Hornet was originally created in the 1930s for radio, became a comic book in the 40s, and was later seen on television in the 60s.

These new hirings suggest the latest incarnation of the Green Hornet will be a manic, kinetic comedy. The film is set for a June 25, 2010 release.

Pandorum

Pandorum

After 3 hours of fighting crowds of 5,000 fanboys and fangirls (intermittently chanting “So say we all!” and “I’m king of the world!”), we were corralled into the illustrious Hall H to witness the lore and wonder of many soon-to-be-blockbusters. Out walked producer Paul Anderson (Resident Evil, Death Race) to hype his latest film, Pandorum. I think it’s safe to say that amidst the highly anticipated names and films of the day, Pandorum, was not the main attraction of Hall H. However, after a few clips of dark, horrifying, claustrophobic action from his upcoming film, the crowd was more than eager to meet his panel of stars.

The initial excerpts of the trailer laid out the plot. What’s immediately apparent is just how much the film was inspired by Ridley Scott’s Alien (which was readily admitted by Anderson). Set in deep space, the crew of a wrecked space station must get to safety before they run out of air. Before they can, however, they realize they are not alone. And before you know it, they’re running for their lives from … well, something faster, stronger, and hungrier-for-flesh than they are.

Actors Ben Foster, Cung Le and Antje Traue were introduced. Then Dennis Quaid appeared on the big screens overhead. The clean-cut smiling Quaid introduced the next clip, then the video cut to a movie-version of Quaid looking haggard, bearded, and bleeding profusely. He spent most of the scene screaming for Ben Foster’s character to run from the scary monsters hidden in just about every nook and cranny on the ship.

Don’t let the poster fool you, it’s not a romantic comedy.

Audience questions were, as always, disappointing: “What was your inspiration?” “…favorite color/stunt/character?” “Can I have Milla Jovovich’s phone number?”

But after a few clips and quips from the panel, it was clear to see the cast was thrilled about the film. All in all, it was exciting to see a panel that was so passionate about a film like Pandorum. And even though I doubt the film will get too many Oscar nods next year, I’m looking forward to checking out this horrifying thriller when it comes out later this Fall.

-Ben Helms

Prince Of Persia

Prince Of Persia

Behold the first posters for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Unfortunately they don’t tell us much more than we already knew, the film will star Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton and Ben “I’ll do anything” Kingsley.

Directed by Mike Newell (Donnie Brasco, Harry Potter & The Goblet Of Fire) the big-screen adaptation of the popular video game follows Prince Dasdan and a mysterious princess called Tamina on a mission to safeguard an ancient dagger that could unlock what is known as the Sands of Time, a force which leaves its possessor able to bend and break the rules of time.

The Prince of Persia video game series has been around for a long time (first one was released in 1989) and are very popular amongst gamers so it perhaps seems strange that it has taken until now to receive cinematic treatment.

These posters haven’t exactly whet my appetite for the film. In fact they look more like perfume adverts than film posters.

Prince of Persia, the new fragrance by Jake Gyllenhaal…..Defy the Future

Jake Gyllenhaal

Two new pictures of the young Mr. Gyllenhaal on the set of the next big video game to movie adaptation ‘Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time’ have popped up online.

The look of the character seems pretty spot on what we saw in the video game, and the plot seems quite faithful to the original (such as there was one).

The film is based on the video game of the same name and features Gyllenhaal as “an adventurous prince who teams up with a rival princess to stop an angry ruler from unleashing a sandstorm that could destroy the world.”

The one thing that gives me hope that this film might break the mould of video game adaptations being lousy is that there is plenty of scope for Harry Potter 4 director Mike Newell to show off some crazy time-bending special effects, and insane hand to hand combat meaning it may work on the level of a summer blockbuster. What do you think about Gyllenhaal’s look here, and about the viability of this movie?

“Prince of Persia” Slips to 2010

The eagerly awaited Bruckheimer-led adaptation of videogame classic Prince of Persia: Sands of Time has been pushed back to 2010 by Disney. The reason is apparently that they want more time to be spent in post-production. This suggests that, in a complete career-breaking move for Jerry Bruckheimer, the movie might have a shitload of CGI.

It makes sense in a way. If Disney want to pillage as many wallets as possible in a single franchise (see also, Pirates of the Children’s Allowances) then the movie will need to be superb quality. And, given that the game Sands of Time was the first part in a trilogy, it only seems more plausible that Disney are going to make sure this is solid gold.

This shift in dates now leaves next summer a bit clearer for Transformers 2: Robots On Holiday (made up title), and puts the Prince up against Shrek Goes Forth (sadly not a made up title*).

Castlevania

Castlevania Movie Takes A Trip To Development Hell

Well, we all saw it coming. Paul W.S Anderson’s long gestating Castlevania adaptation has finally hit the skids. Stomp the Yard director Sylvain White was going to take the reigns, but it seems that the script by Anderson and Ian Jeffers has been passed on, and nobody seems particularly interested in picking it up.

Maybe it’s the trend of no single video-game adaptation being particularly good, or maybe Anderson’s mysterious mojo with studios has finally run out. Either way, don’t expect to see Castlevania on your screen anytime soon.

Source: Bloody Disgusting

Fathom

Megan Fox On Her Love Of ‘Fathom’

A rep of Aspen Comics, publishers of comic book series Fathom, has spoken about the casting of Megan Fox in the titular role for the movie. She’ll play Aspen Matthews, a marine biologist who discovers she is part of an amphibian race known as the Blue.

Frank Mastromauro told Wizard [Magazine], “I think she’s fantastic for this part. She knows so much about Fathom, which is spectacular. Growing up she was a huge fan of the book and a huge fan of Michael’s. When we met her, she was already well versed in [Fathom] volume one and [was] asking us questions about the book. And it’s just really great to have someone who is enthusiastic about the material. Not because it’s another movie they’re making, but because it’s a movie that in their heart they want to make because they love the character and they love Michael [Turner, creator of Fathom] and the people who created it so much. Of course it’s fantastic that she’s in some great movies … she’s definitely the ‘it’ girl right now. And I think she’s going to do a fantastic job. I’ve met her several times and I know she’s really into the project. When [Michael Turner] met Megan he thought she was fantastic. He was 100 percent for it and couldn’t have been happier. He honestly couldn’t have pictured someone else doing this right now, just due to the fact that Megan was so into the character. It’s a no-brainer. She just translates Mike’s beautiful woman into live action perfectly.”

Ha, Megan Fox told them she grew up reading comic books and they believed her.

Michael Turner, the creator of Fathom, died of cancer in 2008 aged 37. He’d previously stated that he thought Wild Things-era Denise Richards would have been good for the role.

Source: Comic Book Resources