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.

Check out the exclusive Blu-ray clip below. Chillerama is on Blu-ray and DVD today, November 29, 2011.

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. 

Watch the featurette below:

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol hits IMAX theaters on December 16, wide release on December 21.

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.

Watch the featurette for yourself below:

Drive sound credits:

• Lon Bender – Supervising Sound Editor
• Kerry Ann Carmean – Sound Effects Editor
• Mark DeSimone – Adr Mixer: New York
• Robert Eber – Sound Mixer
• Scott Edelson – Boom Operator
• Victor Ray Ennis – Supervising Sound Editor
• Robert Fernandez – Sound Re-recording Mixer
• Paul Hackner – Foley Editor
• Catherine Harper – Foley Artist
• Darrin Mann – Foley Mixer
• Christopher Moriana – Foley Artist
• Dave Patterson – Sound Re-recording Mixer
• John C- Stuver – Dialogue Editor
• Greg Zimmerman – Adr Recordist
• Peter Zinda – Sound Effects Editor

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.

Watch the exclusive clip below:

Official Synopsis: Donnie Yen (Blade II, IP Man, Hero) and MMA fighter Cung Le star in this gripping martial arts blockbuster set in the bustling metropolis of Hong Kong in 1905. The revolutionary movement has spread throughout China, but the corrupt Qing dynasty will do anything to hold on to its power. As Sun Yat-Sen prepares for a historic meeting that will shape the future of the country, a motley crew of men and women are entrusted to protect him from a group of deadly assassins who will stop at nothing to kill him. Winner of eight Hong Kong Film Awards, including Best Film, and featuring an hour-long battle sequence unlike anything attempted before, it’s a pivotal action epic that’s being hailed as “a satisfying mix of politics, personal sacrifice and death-or glory combat” (Richard Kuipers, Variety).

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.

Watch the featurette below:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 is in theaters July 15.

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.

Watch the first 10-minute video blog below, courtesy of Peter Jackson himself.

The Hobbit is currently shooting in New Zealand. You can keep current with the production blogs on the film’s official Facebook page.

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.

There’s a lot that we can learn from Pixar’s shorts, aside from the fact that their campus in Emeryville, CA houses some of the most creative minds in the world of entertainment, let alone animation. Many of their short film directors are names that you wouldn’t recognize, as they don’t always go on to direct feature films (save for John Lasseter, who has directed several shorts and features), but they are important names in the world of Pixar. Peter Sohn, for example, wrote and directed Partly Cloudy, the short attached to the 2009 release Up. Sohn has long been one of Pixar’s most talented story artists, and could very well make the jump to features in the future. The same could be said for Gary Rydstrom, who directed Lifted, the short attached to 2007′s Ratatouille. He was slated to direct the 2012 release Newt before it was canceled.

All of these names are worth knowing. If not for now, then for the future. They are the ones who will carry on the inventiveness of Pixar well after names like Brad Bird, Andrew Stanton and Pete Docter have moved on to other things. And speaking of inventiveness, today brings us a first look at Pixar’s next short Day & Night, which will be in theaters with Toy Story 3. It’s directed by Teddy Newton, who co-wrote the 2005 short film Jack-Jack Attack. It is perhaps the most bold premise that we’ve seen from a Pixar short to date, one that you simply must see to believe.

Check out the behind the scenes featurette below, courtesy of Upcoming Pixar. Day & Night and Toy Story 3 will be in theaters on June 18, 2010.

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. The article states that the Gears script by Chris Morgan (Wanted) and Billy Ray (State of Play, Flightplan) was originally planned as a “multi-generational epic with a big-canvas feel.” Sounds awesome right?! But of course with any good multi generational epic there comes a big ol’ price tag, in this case around $100 million. New Line decided this was too steep and the studio will search out a new team of writers to make a “more simple, straight-ahead invasion story” and significantly pared down budget.

You may recall that Len Wiseman (Live Free or Die Hard, Underworld) was attached to direct Gears for the past few years. Well Len is seemingly departing the project to instead direct a post apocalyptic film called Nocturne (about a group who survives the apocalypse and how they came to be there).

For those non-gamers out there, Gears of Wars is an adaptation of an Xbox 360 third person shooter that followed the gritty and futuristic story of Marcus Fenix, a hardened veteran/ex con battling against an alien threat known as the Locust Horde. The game memorably featured the iconic Lancer assault rife which happens to be a big gun with a chainsaw attached to it for bloody close range attacks(!).

As cool as it would have been to have an epic “multi generational” Gears of War film, it seems a bit ambitious for a game adaptation under the direction of the highly questionable Len Wiseman. The scaled back version could still be cool if they get a solid director…like Neill Blomkamp (my campaign for Blomkamp to direct every sci-fi action film until he dies officially starts here and now). Here’s to hoping New Line nails it.

Discuss: In your opinion who and/or what could save Gears of War from development hell?

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, which is on DVD and Blu-ray now. You’ll know this because both myself (in This Week in Blu-ray) and Rob Hunter (in This Week in DVD) put this title at the top of our buy lists. That is quite possibly the most glowing recommendation a movie could get from Film School Rejects — recommended by two writers who are usually on opposite ends of the spectrum.

In the clip below, we pick up with the production on day 6 of shooting. In this scene, Terence McDonagh (Nicolas Cage) is going out to the highway to see if he can get a speeding ticket erased for his bookie’s daughter. He meets resistance from a highway patrolman, only to reignite a little flame he has with a hot lady cop (played by Fairuza Balk). However, much of this behind the scenes clip is about the dead alligator in the middle of the road — which I had previously thought to be fake. As well as the very real alligator on the side of the road. Those who have seen the film will be surprised as to how very real this little alligator sequence actually was…

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans is available on DVD and Blu-ray now. Warning: Some of the content in the video below may be a little gross. It might not be suitable for children or people with weak stomachs.

Admit it. If someone asked whether you wanted to see Zombieland or Lawrence of Arabia right now. Right this second. You’d choose Zombieland. Peter O’Toole wandering around in the desert is phenomenal, sure, but it doesn’t involve any somnambulist children getting run over by a van. Except in David Lean’s director’s cut.

Well, have we got a deal for you! Four bonus clips from that zombie-tastic flick featuring:

• Zombies!
• Amber Heard being turned into a zombie!
• Woody Harrelson killing a zombie!
• The proper use of Zip-loc bags!
• Zombies!
• Emma Stone saying the word ‘sticky!’
• Abagail Breslin wanting to be turned into a zombie!
• …and zombies!

If we had gotten bonus clips from Lawrence, you could have just replaced the word ‘zombies’ with ‘sand.’

Anyway, check them out before they dig their crooked teeth into your skull:

Now that wasn’t so bad was it?

Does anyone know what the hell they were using the Zip-locs for?

Seriously. Do you know? Something about moisture?

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. And while I don’t know if everyone on the blogosphere (or yours truly) is ready to throw in on the “game-changer” claim, we will know soon enough. Most press will screen the film on December 10th.

But until then, we all have only the many, many behind the scenes featurettes that have already been released. Thanks to these featurettes, we know almost the entire plot of the film — luckily it’s a three-hour movie and there’s probably plenty left to be discovered. One particular sequence that we’ve seen a lot it the banshee sequence, when Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and Jake (Sam Worthington) fly together on the mythical bird creatures through the forest of Pandora. It’s a cool sequence, but the visual spectacle (to me) isn’t as impressive as what went into bringing it to life. There are very few filmmakers like James Cameron, whose work celebrates the art and magic of filmmaking. This featurette is a great example of such things. See for yourself below.

Avatar is in theaters December 18, 2010.

You just fell for some classic false advertising. No, we don’t have 60 minutes of the upcoming film Avatar, from director James Cameron, to show you. We don’t really have more than about 2-3 minutes of footage. In fact, all we have is this behind the scenes look that aired as part of the CBS show 60 Minutes last night. Get it?

3D or not 3D, that is the question. At least, that is the question posed by this 12-minute featurette that aired on 60 Minutes, taking an in-depth look at James Cameron’s aggressive innovation in the long-gestating production of Avatar. It is a fascinating piece, which many of you may write off as “heard it” material. But remember, this may be the first exposure to Avatar for the 60 Minutes crowd, so it begins at square one. Either way, I think we can all find something interesting in there for ourselves.

With screenings for press beginning in the second week of December, we should have all the opinions on the full 3-hour movie soon enough. Avatar opens December 18, 2009.

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. Even if that does mean more video footage from James Cameron’s Avatar. Somehow, I don’t think anyone is going to mind.

This brief, but also quite interesting featurette focuses on Colonel Quaritch, played by Stephen Lang. He’s the head of security for the corporation that is trying to invade Pandora and mine the precious mineral that the exists below the home of the Na’vi. He dispatches the members of the Avatar Program, played by Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver and Joel David Moore, to infiltrate the Na’vi in order to avoid using force. But based on the gigantic scars on this hardened soldier’s face, he’s also no stranger to using force. Have a look at the featurette below.

Avatar is in theaters on December 18, 2009.

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. Such is the scene in Zombieland when Columbus, the character played by Jesse Eisenberg, explains survival rule #4: “seatbelts.” In the accompanying scene, we see an overweight soccer mom being chased by several zombie kids in her minivan. Upon crashing into a truck, this pink-sweatered lady is hurled out of her windshield, landing on the pavement right in front of the camera and sliding a few feet before she comes to rest right in front of the audience. It is one of the many awesome, fun and gruesome scenes that make Zombieland such a fun ride.

Over at The Envelope, stunt coordinator Jill Brown writes about the process of bringing this shot to life, including the hiring of stunt woman Samantha MacIvor, a brave soul with a can-do attitude. Here’s an excerpt:

Problems arose when we couldn’t stick a hefty girl behind a wheel and fly her out safely. We’ll need to lose the roof, steering wheel and front seat. Bring in the power saw.

The next challenge was Samantha’s traveling trajectory. Since we had to fly her over the hood of her car and the flatbed truck, then down to the pavement and slide her 20-something feet toward the camera, George [Aguilar, second unit director] suggested the most accurate approach would be to incorporate a computer-controlled cable system. Bring in the Fisher Winches.

There is also a photo gallery at The Envelope that shows the progression of the shot.

As I mentioned, it is an awesome scene that came together in part because of a dedication to doing something practically, rather than just trying to throw it in digitally after the fact. All the more reason for you to get out there and check out Zombieland, which is still hanging around in theaters. For more on the film, check out our Exclusive Interview with writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick and Brian Salisbury’s Zombieland review from Fantastic Fest.

We were one of the many sites who got out in support of Stephen Sommers’ G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, right before it became a late summer surprise. And rightfully so, as it was a lot of fun. There was some over-the-top action, crazy-fun characters and of course, women in tight costumes kicking the crap out of each other. The latter being a personal favorite of yours truly.

So it’s fitting that we are here today to debut a very cool behind the scenes clip that will show you how the fight scene between Scarlett (Rachel Nichols) and the Baroness (Sienna Miller). As fans of the movie might note, this was a very fun moment in the film. And now you can see what went into constructing this badass babe-beating sequence.

For the record, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is on DVD & Blu-ray November 3rd. For more, check out the official site: GIJoeMovie.com

CanalPlus.fr has published a brand new behind the scenes report from the set of Iron Man 2, complete with interviews with director Jon Favreau and star Robert Downey Jr.

The report features a bunch of new footage, including a look at Tony Stark’s at-home particle accelerator project. There is also a series of shots with Scarlett Johansson, who plays Black Widow, and some shots of Mickey Rourke as Whiplash. It’s interesting to hear that things are getting “a bit darker,” while keeping with the tone of the first film.

All signs still pointing to Iron Man 2 being awesome. Have your own look at the new stuff below.

Iron Man 2 is in theaters May 7, 2010.

Darren Lynn Bousman (director Saw IV and Repo! The Genetic Opera) debuted via Twitter the first official image (seen above) of his horror-thriller film remake, Mother’s Day. Also found on the net today is a short, ADD-style behind-the-scenes peek. Best moment of the video? Bousman showing off a text message and saying, “Quote of the day from Jamie King: ‘Oh my God, you seriously just dragged my ass!’”. That’s better than the quote of the day here at Reject HQ, which was Dr. Cole Abaius saying, “Hey guys, the apartment’s on fire.” (Everything’s okay now. Worry not.)

Mother’s Day is a Charles Kaufman directed exploitation piece from 1980, about three women terrorized by two guys who will do anything to impress their mother — including rape, torture, and murder.  That’s an Oedipus complex that not even Freud would touch. Well played, Bousman. The Mother’s Day remake is currently filming in Canada. Have a look at the video below, courtesy of IGN.

If there’s one thing I think we can all agree on when it comes to Michael Bay’s latest opus Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, it is that the damn robots looked really cool. Whoever designed those things should get at the very least, a pat on the back. The story is one thing, the action shots another and Michael Bay’s gigantic ego something completely different, but those Transformers sure did look cool.

With that in mind, we’ve received an awesome new exclusive clip from the folks at Paramount Home Entertainment that focuses on Ben Procter, the film’s Robot Art Director. In the clip below, which is from the upcoming Blu-ray and DVD release of TF2, Procter explains the process behind the design of each robot. He also shows off some very early concept art, some of which didn’t make it anywhere near the movie. It’s the perfect little feature for concept art hounds like myself, and those who dream of what could’ve been. Check it out below.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen will be released on Blu-ray and DVD October 20th. You can find more cool extras over at TransformersMovie.com/Choose, including an app that will have Optimus Prime call your phone and the infamous “Robotize Me” application.

Fox Searchlight has provided Film School Rejects with an exclusive look behind the scenes of their upcoming release Gentlemen Broncos, from Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess. As you might recall, we covered this film as part of Fantastic Fest ’09, where it made it’s North American premiere. In the film, Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords) plays Roland Chevalier, a once-famous sci-fi writer who pilfers a story from a budding home-schooled kid named Benjamin (Michael Angarano) and passes it off as his own. Sam Rockwell stars as Bronco, the central character in Benjamin’s story.

In the design of the film — which fits perfectly with previous Jared Hess works in that it is super-kitschy and very middle America weird — production designer Richard Wright had to capture the home of Benjamin and his eccentric clothing designer mother (played by Jennifer Coolidge) with a bunch of very odd little touches. One of these touches is a cloth Jesus who is going to meet the dinosaurs, a creationist’s wet-dream. It sounds a bit odd, but then again, that’s the whole point. Check out the video below to see Wright as he finds inspiration for Dino-loving Jesus.

Gentlemen Broncos opens in limited markets on October 30, 2009.

For some reason, Neil couldn’t (or wouldn’t) steal all the cool Red Band video clips for Away We Go directly from their site. I blame professional ethics and the ham sandwich he was going to town on at the time. However, I highly recommend that you jet on over to the film’s website to check them out for yourself – just as long as you are old enough or have no moral dilemma with entering a fake date in the age gate.

Personally, it didn’t even need John Krasinki or Maya Rudolph to get me excited about this project, because I’m a major Dave Eggers fan. Thus, I’m fan-tastically bound to check out anything he’s written, even if it’s in movie form. Oh, and Sam Mendes is directing as if you needed anymore reason to get excited about this bad boy.

Luckily, aside from those Red Band scenes that we are hiding from you, there’s also a pretty cool featurette that you can check out below: