Epic Trailer for new Josh Hutcherson film
Here’s the first trailer for Epic, the new CGI animated adventure from 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky the studio behind Rio and the Ice Age franchise. The film boasts an all-star voice cast with Amanda Seyfried & The Hunger Games Josh Hutcherson taking lead roles; with the eclectic support of Colin Farrell, Beyonce Knowles, Jason Sudeikis, Aziz Ansari, Pitbull & Steven Tyler.
Borrowing liberally from FernGully the Last Rainforest the basic plot sees a young girl discovering a friendly race of tiny woodland warriors & their pet talking slugs, after she finds herself inadvertently shrunk to miniature size.
Screenwriter Nora Ephron Dies Aged 71
Nora Ephron the beloved screenwriter responsible for award winning films that included Silkwood, Sleepless In Seattle, You’ve Got Mail, When Harry Met Sally and most recently Julia & Julia has died today aged 71.
Prolifically successful, Ephron will perhaps be best remembered for crafting many of the most memorable and iconic romantic comedies. Her films were bright, witty and joyously celebrated love in all its wonderful forms.
Writing elegantly on the subject of mortality in her 2012 book ‘I Remember Nothing: and Other Reflection’ Ephron wrote:
”You do get to a certain point in life where you have to realistically, I think, understand that the days are getting shorter, and you can’t put things off thinking you’ll get to them someday. If you really want to do them, you better do them. There are simply too many people getting sick, and sooner or later you will. So I’m very much a believer in knowing what it is that you love doing so you can do a great deal of it.”
Ephron is survived by her husband, screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi and her two sons, Jacob and Max Bernstein. A memorial has been planned for Thursday, June 28, in New York.
Ashton Kutcher’s Steve Jobs Film Gets Cast & New Name
In April it was announced that Ashton Kutcher was the unlikely casting choice to star as visionary genius Steve Jobs in one of the two upcoming biopics based on the Apple co-founder. Kutcher’s effort is based on a screenplay by Matt Whiteley and directed by Swing Vote’s Joshua Micael Stern. It’s not to be confused with the Sony Pictures project based on Walter Isaacson’s international bestseller Steve Jobs.
Ashton Kutcher has now officially been joined by cast members James Woods, Ron Eldard, John Getz and Lesley Ann Warren. The film has also picked up a new name, abandoning Jobs: Get Inspired! in favour of jOBS. Clearly hoping that sceptical audiences will appreciate vague iPod references more than someone shouting at them to get inspired!
jOBS will apparently focus on Steve Jobs transformation from awkward young hippie to corporate technology guru. James Woods is playing Job’s dean of students at Reed College, Getz & Warren are playing his adoptive parents, while Ron Eldard lands the part of Apple designer Rod Holt.
Production is expected to start in May as soon as Kutcher takes a break from hearing people complain they miss Charlie Sheen on the set of Two And A Half Men.
Indiana Jones Arrives on Blu-Ray
Indiana Jones the man in the hat is back and this time he’s in glorious crystal clear HD quality. Paramount has confirmed that the complete collection of the Indiana Jones movies is finally swinging it way onto Blu-Ray on September 18th.
No doubt there will be a few new special features to entice fans to buy the familiar classics yet again. But even if a few new featurettes doesn’t having you frantically reaching for your wallet, at least it’s reassuring to know that Steven Spielberg and legendary sound designer Ben Burtt have personally been overseeing the restoration process
Official Press release below for those who like their archaeology themed adventure technically precise.:
“The original negative was first scanned at 4K and then examined frame-by-frame so that any damage could be repaired. The sound design was similarly preserved using Burtt’s original master mix, which had been archived and unused since 1981. New stereo surrounds were created using the original music tracks and original effects recorded in stereo but used previously only in mono. In addition, the sub bass was redone entirely up to modern specifications and care was taken to improve dialogue and correct small technical flaws to create the most complete and highest quality version of the sound possible while retaining the director’s vision. The result is an impeccable digital restoration that celebrates the film and its place in cinematic history.”
James Cameron Plans Three Avatar Sequels
Speaking at a premiere event for her new series Political Animals, Sigourney Weaver has apparently confirmed that James Cameron is planning on filming three more Avatar films back to back. Weaver who played environmentalist scientist Grace Augustine in the first film admitted she had no idea how long it will take to complete the new trilogy of Pandora based adventures, admitting “I just show up”.
Weaver’s involvement in the sequels is particularly miraculous given the apparent demise of her character in the first film, so it remains to be seen just how she will be featuring in the trinity of sequels.
James Cameron has proclaimed “I’m in the Avatar business. Period”, with his Lightstorm Entertainment production company ceasing development on all other projects to focus exclusively on continuing development of the Avatar sequels and the world of Pandora.
News that there may already be plans for a forth film on top of the previously expected Avatar trilogy would likely see Cameron tied up in production for many years, with first Avatar sequel likely not due hitting cinemas till around 2016.