At the 2012 San Diego Comic Con we got an exclusive first look at Tom Jane‘s Dirty Laundry, a short film that saw the fan favorite actor return to the role of Frank Castle – The Punisher. It was an awesome, violent piece that got a lot of people hungry for a new bad-ass movie. If you liked the short, which you can see here, or if you just like seeing how things are done, we present to you a Behind-the-Scenes short on the making of Raw Studios’ Dirty Laundry. We get to see plenty of Tom Jane, the active directing style, the fight choreography, and most interesting to me, some insight into how they executed the disgustingly vicious double-leg break!

“We looked back to the silent era of motion pictures when the image was paramount, when all you had was the scope and scale of the location. That’s the kind of storytelling I was interested in exploring,” this quote will perhaps define Christopher Nolan’s vision for The Dark Knight Rises. In the ever-escalating world  of big effects and CGI landscapes, one man is looking back in order to move forward. And luckily for us, he just so happens to be making movies about Batman. In two new featurettes, the scope of The Dark Knight Rises has begun to come into focus. Nolan’s quest to bring things full circle in The Dark Knight Trilogy, as its been aptly called, includes several massive set pieces and stakes provided by a villain who has the potential to be a real terror. “Some men just want to watch the world burn,” says actor Tom Hardy, quoting a line from The Dark Knight. “Bane is the guy who wants to come and pull the pin on the grenade.” And in order to stop him, a hero must rise. And even before that, we all must watch these two new featurettes — one 13-minute piece that revisits the world around Bruce Wayne and another 2.5 teaser spot. Those who want to see the movie with fresh eyes may want to avoid these, but those who have seen trailers already aren’t exactly going to find a whole lot in there that can be considered a spoiler.

Rian Johnson is perhaps as lucky as they come in the game of modern filmmaking. He gets to live in public, with a strong presence on Twitter and Tumblr, connecting with fans via social media. But he’s also been able to make his latest film, Looper, under the radar for the most part. We’ve seen little in the way of set photos or  rumors throughout the production. It’s the sweet spot in the era in social media. And that lack of distraction can, in many cases, allow you to slowly roll things out in a creative way. It isn’t so much about controlling the information that ends up online, but being able to mold the pre-release material into a narrative all its own. Such is the case with this five-minute preview of the Looper score, courtesy of Rian’s brother Nathan, the film’s composer. He walks us through the process of gathering sounds and inspiration on the way toward creating a unique score for the Joseph Gordon Levitt, Bruce Willis-led time travel actioner. It’s a short but substantial peek behind the curtain.

Joss Whedon‘s excellent action geek-out The Avengers hits US theaters this weekend after a storm of anticipation that’s lasted for four years and five movies. Marvel’s ultimate team is finally together, and the results are incredibly impressive. You can read my review here, but while you sit in your Captain America uniform, unwilling to remove it or bathe for the next week, gear up to new giddy levels of excitement with these behind-the-scenes videos. From a disoriented Robert Downey Jr. to Jeremy Renner in fight choreography practice to a running Scarlett Johansson to Mark Ruffalo blissfully posing with a nude mini-Hulk, there are some really fascinating bits here:

Just when you thought the news of an Anchorman sequel would wash away all the talk of The Hunger Games, we’ve got more fun stuff from the movie on fire. The talented folks at the Soundworks Collection have profiled the sound team behind the adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ popular novel, with director Gary Ross, Supervising Sound Editor Lon Bender, Re-recording Mixer Michael Keller, and Re-recording mixer Mike Prestwood Smith weighing in on giving sound to the landscapes of this futuristic young adult battle to the death. As a film, The Hunger Games accomplishes just as much with quiet as it does with sound and score, a delicate balance that can be credited to Bender and team. Because a good sound editor knows when to make noise and when to stay still. It’s a fascinating featurette for those who want to see behind the curtain on one of Hollywood’s hottest new films.

Can you feel it? Now that The Hunger Games has made its way into theaters (and the record books), the only thing left to do now is begin Summer Movie Season 2012. That will happen on May 4, when Marvel Studios delivers the long-anticipated superhero team-up film The Avengers. With a little bit of Iron Man, some Captain America, The Hulk and the rest, The Avengers feels like the perfect place to begin what promises to be an intense summer of movie watching. But before we get to that, there is more excitement to be had (read: Disney has more marketing to be done). So today is the day when we bring you a number of behind the scenes images from the set of The Avengers, along with a new behind the scenes featurette that takes us into the production with Joss and the gang.

Sure, Film School Rejects is an international publication. But as far as the IRS is concerned, we’re a resident of the great city of Austin, Texas. And as residents of Austin, we’re required to celebrate all that is weird. It’s just part of the cost of living here. It helps that much of our staff is already into the strangest that cinema can provide, from the depths of the horror genre to oddities from around the world. As a general rule, we love a good midnight movie. Chillerama is said to be the “ultimate midnight movie,” at least according to its Blu-ray packaging. This genre anthology features films from the likes of Adam Green, Joe Lynch, Adam Rifkin and Tim Sullivan bringing you titles like Wadzilla, I Was A Teenage Werebear, The Diary of Anne Frankenstein, and Zom-B-Movie. It’s quite a treat for anyone with a little moviegoing courage. And to celebrate its DVD and Blu-ray release today, we’ve rounded up an exclusive behind the scenes clip in which star Sean Paul Lockhart explains what its like to be a Teenage Werebear, struggling with animalistic urges, suggen hair growth and his own sexuality.

Paramount Pictures has released a first look featurette for their upcoming winter action release Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, the first live-action film from long-time Pixar company man Brad Bird and the return of Tom Cruise to the character of Ethan Hunt, rogue spy undoubtedly trying to clear his own name of some misunderstanding. This one has Jeremy Renner as a fellow spy and just like Mission: Impossible III, it’s got Simon Pegg as Ethan Hunt’s go-to tech nerd, Benji. He’s got wit and social awkwardness, along with a few other tricks that involve fake apendages and an outfit from Aladin. It’s all in this new featurette. 

It’s impossible not to be impressed by the folks at the SoundWorks Collection. Time and time again, they find great projects to feature and highlight one of the most atmospherically impactful elements of modern film: sound. In a time when we’re talking Oscar for a unique film without sound (The Artist), it’s also important to continue to celebrate the incredible work that goes into engulfing us with audible stimuli. In this particular instance, they feature Supervising Sound Editor Lon Bender’s work on the throbbing world of Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive. Combined with the incredible Clint Martinez (which Allison featured as part of Aural Fixation a few weeks back). Through this behind the scenes featurette, you get a look at what it took to move back and forth between the moments driven by score and the moments driven without score, a perfectly balanced effort.

Do you remember Gheorghe Mureşan, the 7’7″ tall basketball player who once starred in the film My Giant? Of course you do. Now keep the memory of that large man and his acting skills in your mind and behold Mengke Bateer, the larger-than-life star of Bodyguards and Assassins, an upcoming release also starring Donnie Yen and a host of other stars. It’s out on DVD July 26th, and this will surely give you reason to check it out. It’s a giant man beating ass with kung-fu. Seriously.

If you’re not excited about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, I would direct you to the review written by our own Cole Abaius. If you can’t be bothered to read such things in advance of the final Potter episode, you could watch this new featurette released by Warner Bros. today. “The Story of Snape” includes some spoilers from two movies ago, so tread lightly if you feel the need. If you’re up on your Hogwarts tales, this one seems like a necessary primer for what is to come where the final chapter hits theaters this week.

Peter Jackson and his team on The Hobbit are about to do something no major production has done to date: give you, the fans, unprecedented access into the production process. Most impressively, you’ll be seeing it as it happens. It makes us wonder what will be left when the DVD comes out, but right now we’re not worried about that. For now it’s a nice little treat for Hobbit fans to get a look inside the process. This might be the neatest film-related thing that will happen on the web this year.

You won’t find anyone around here who will argue against the quality of the films of Pixar. And even less likely is the chance that you’ll find someone around here who wouldn’t jump at the chance to peek at the next great Pixar short film. Every one of their features comes equipped with a short, usually one that is both brilliant and inventive. And not to mention fun. This new short appears to be no exception.

According to the LA times, New Line’s Gears of War adaptation has stalled and is set to be re-jiggered with a lower budget and new director.

It’s not every day that we get to take into the mind of a mad man. This isn’t one of those days either, but it’s a close as we’ll get for a while. First Look Pictures has provided us with an exclusive behind the scenes clip from Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans.

Want even more zombie perfection from Zombieland? Have we got a deal for you!

Fox Movie Channel (via Hulu) has released a brand new 10-minute long behind the scenes look at James Cameron’s upcoming film Avatar, which has already been called a “game-changer” by industry insiders who attended a recent private screening.

No, we don’t have 60 minutes of the upcoming film Avatar, from director James Cameron, to show you. In fact, all we have is this behind the scenes look that aired as part of the CBS show 60 Minutes last night.

One of our beloved readers, Marcus G., sent this over to me this morning and it is more than worth sharing — especially if you’re looking to cleanse your pallet from all of the Twilight: New Moon news this weekend.

Sometimes a great shot can be attained through the wonders of visual effects — the fine folks at ILM can do just about anything with a computer these days. But there is a certain brutality, a certain aesthetic beauty that can only be achieved in the practical realm.