Could a first-look photo be more dull than this? It’s just James Bond sitting poolside, like any other Joe Shmoe. Where’s the excitement? Where’s the guns? Where’s, I dunno, James Bond’s face? This is a photo which could be from almost any type of film, nothing screams “Bond.” It’s such an odd photo to release, but, then again, it’s a still for a film almost a year away.

By looking at this photo, a part of me can’t help but to imagine the parody version of Sam Mendes‘s Bond outing, since it only features the character staring down all sad-like. Imagine Bond narrating, “My name is James Bond. This is my neighborhood. This is my street. This is my life. I’m 42 years old. In less than a year, I’ll be dead,” as a whimsical but sad Thomas Newman score abruptly plays over Bond’s snark. If the franchise character gets even an inch mopier than what we saw in Quantum of Solace, I could see it being something along those lines. Or maybe Mendes will get the franchise back on the right track, which I feel fairly confident about.

Take a look at Bond seriously debating if he should go back in the pool or not:

Skyfall opens on November 9. [Empire]

Somehow, I just knew that our “52 Most Anticipated Movies of 2012″ would pay off! You know, eventually. Included on that massive list is 50/50 director Jonathan Levine‘s next film, and while the idea of a sexy zombie story about teens might turn some of you off, I beg you to give it a chance. Based on Isaac Marion‘s 2011 novel of the same name, the film follows young zombie R (Nicholas Hoult) as he grapples with a new twist on the classic zombie story – he’s not dealing with the fall-out of turning into a zombie, he’s trying to come to terms with becoming a human (again).

Young R has been a zombie for, well, he doesn’t even know how long (but not too long, he’s still got meat on his bones), and everything else pre-zombification is just weird memory ether. It’s not there. But all that changes when a beautiful human girl (Teresa Palmer) and some weird happenings begin to dull the desire for brains and blood in R, while also awakening the human that might still lurk inside him. R’s change has not only personal implications, but effects on human-zombie relations at large. That may seem somewhat hard to picture, which is why I’m glad we get our first look at Hoult in his zombie get-up today. Readers of Marion’s excellent book will surely approve of his look, as it matches up with the author’s description of R quite handily.

Check out the full look at Hoult after the break, along with the film’s official synopsis (and some pieces that appear to be missing, as if the body of the book has had a few bites taken out of it by a totally metaphorical zombie).

The full synopsis of Warm Bodies is below. Readers of the book will notice that there’s something missing here – a somewhat essential element of the story, which I’ll discuss a bit after the synopsis, for those spoiler-adverse.

“Zombies love people, especially their brains. But R (Nicholas Hoult) is different. He’s alive inside, unlike the hundreds of other grunting, drooling undead—all victims of a recent plague that drove the remaining survivors into a heavily guarded city. Now the Zombies roam about an airport terminal, searching for human prey and living in fear of the vicious Boneys, the next undead incarnation.

One day, R and his best friend M lumber toward the city in search of food. There, R first sets his eyes on JULIE (Teresa Palmer), a beautiful human. Determined to save her—first from the other Zombies and then from the Boneys—R hides her in his home, a cluttered 747 aircraft. Julie is terrified, and R’s grunted assurances of “Not…eat” do little to calm her. But when R begins to act more human than Zombie, coming to her defense, refusing to eat human flesh, and even speaking in full sentences, Julie realizes that R is special.

After a few close calls with the Boneys, and with her father mounting an armed search for her, Julie realizes she can’t hide forever. So she sneaks back home, leaving R broken-hearted. Desperate to see her, R decides to comb his hair, stand a little straighter, and impersonate a human long enough to get past the city guards. If only he can prove to the humans that Zombies can change, maybe R and Julie’s love might stand a chance. But with the rampaging Boneys heading toward the city and Julie’s father intent on killing R and his Zombie friends, the stage is set for an all-out battle between the living and the undead.

A genre-bending tale of love and transformation, WARM BODIES is a story about a boy who loves a girl…for more than just her body.”

If you’ve read Marion’s book (and I have), you’ll know that R’s transformation doesn’t happen just because of the lovely Julie – it’s aided immeasurably by an unfortunate (and previously unrecorded) side effect of his chowing down on human flesh. R first meets Julie during an intimate battle between R and his friend M (to be played in the film by Rob Corddry, a weird but intriguing choice for the role) and a pack of young humans. During the battle, R takes a bite out of Perry Kelvin, who oops! just so happens to be Julie’s longtime boyfriend. What happens after the feeding shocks R to his core – he begins to experience Perry’s memories and emotions, memories and emotions that allow R to feel some very human feelings, most of them directed at Julie.

Makes a touch more sense, right? But while the exclusion of that plot point (and one that has not been hidden in the marketing of the book) from the official synopsis seems a bit weird, with Dave Franco cast in the role of Perry, I think we’ll be seeing (or feeling) the character more often than not.

Oh, and Perry, the former suitor? And R, the lovestruck new gentleman caller? And Julie, the beautiful young lady? And, well, you wouldn’t be surprised if I told you there was a balcony scene in Warm Bodies, would you? Because there is.

Warm Bodies opens August 10. [Collider]

That’s a ridiculous idea, so scoff if you must, but I’m starting to think this movie might actually do pretty well. We’ve already written about how awesome it is that Peter Stormare is set to play the villain of this piece, and now Entertainment Weekly has revealed the first official image from the film, which has Renner and Arterton all butched up in black leather with big guns (check out the full photo after the break), and they’re throwing around buzz words like “dark” and “violent” in the accompanying interview. All the talk of darkness and grittiness isn’t just casual though, it’s hammered home in a way that suggests they’ve been instructed by the studio to push how decidedly not for kids this movie is going to be.

Arterton told EW, “You see a series of flashbacks with their experience of killing that first witch, which is brilliant. I remember being on set for the final few days of that. The candy house, and the witches are really repulsive and quite frightening. The make-up is out of this world. It’s this bone-chilling scene. Very dark.” Did I read that right? The candy houses are repulsive?

She goes on to describe the movie overall as, “very, very dark, and bloodthirsty and there’s a lot of cursing. It’s kind of got a [Quentin] Tarantino feel, really.” I was prepared for this movie to have a bunch of action and whatnot, but cursing? Why on Earth is there a bunch of cursing in a Hansel and Gretel movie? This thing is starting to sound just too ridiculous and too exploitative, for seemingly no reason, and that has my interest peaked. I always like it when I get a hint of Hollywood being weird. Is anybody else looking forward to a bloodthirsty version of a timeless children’s tale? Now with added F bombs?

Yesterday the web was all aflutter with a “first look” at The Lizard from The Amazing Spider-Man that came via a Pez dispenser mock-up. Yes, it’s come down to this. Waiting to see a wicked new baddie through the eyes of a candy-related toy. As you’ll note if you read us daily, we missed out on covering it. Something about the entire situation screams “There’s something better for those who wait.” And lo, there is something better that’s come along this morning: some leaked concept art of what Rhys Ifans may look like as Spider-Man’s foe.

Check it out after the jump if you dare be spoiled (but only a little).

Click to enlarge

Source: SpiderMedia.ru (via Coming Soon)

While I am not entirely sure that fans of animation and puppets and joy and wonder and childhood dreams need yet another reason to check out The Muppets when it opens over Thanksgiving weekend, Disney and Pixar are not taking any chances, loading up the fleecy feel-good film of the holidays with an extra gift – a new Pixar short. But it’s not just any new Pixar short, it’s a Toy Story short.

Small Fry returns us to a post-Toy Story 3 world, with (spoiler alert if for some horrific reason you’ve yet to see the third film, you cold-hearted bastard) all the toys happily living out a play-filled existence with wee lass Bonnie. Ever equal when it comes to said play time, Small Fry opens with Bonnie and her mom going on a fast food-outing, accompanied by both Buzz and Rex. But a tiny little tyrant capitalizes on some ball-room confusion, usurping Buzz’s place in Bonnie’s backpack and leaving ol’ Lightyear to fend for himself. Happy Meal toys will never look the same after you see Small Fry.

Angus MacLane (who previously contributed to the Burn-E short) directs the film, which features voice work from Pixar director Teddy Newton as the bite-sized Buzz and Jane Lynch as newcomer Neptuna, along with the whole rest of the recognizable Toy Story gang, including Tim Allen, Tom Hanks, John Ratzenberger, and Joan Cusack. After the break, sate your appetite for delicious new Toy Story fare and check out larger versions of two new pictures from Small Fry.

You can check out Small Fry for yourself, when it plays in front of The Muppets, which opens on November 23. [USA Today, via The Playlist]

Well, I must have either missed the fact or blocked out the fact that Miley Cyrus is going to be voicing the character of Dracula’s daughter Mavis, because now I’m really starting to get scared about this movie. There are few things in the world I find more gratingly incompetent than the sound of Disney actresses trying to deliver comedy on Disney TV shows. If Cyrus brings the comedic sensibilities of Hannah Montana to the big screen, where comedic delivery means shouting things as loudly as you can, and comedic timing means delivering a quip and then mugging for the (now non-existent) camera, Hotel Transylvania could be a disaster of the highest order. Tartakovsky certainly has his work cut out for him with the cast that’s been assembled, will his talent for animation be able to overcome?

Check out the full picture of Mavis after the break.

Chances are that if you’ve followed the work of actress Paz De La Huerta, most notably in Gaspar Noe’s Enter the Void and HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, you’ve just about all of her. Anything that can be seen without the assistance of a TSA agent, that is. So seeing her in the nude isn’t quite so interesting. Seeing her in the nude, covered from head-to-toe in blood wearing at least 4-inch high heels, however, is really something. It’s all promo for Nurse 3D, a film Lionsgate put into production this week. De La Huerta will play “Abby Russell, a beautiful, dedicated nurse with a sinister side, and a secret life’s work in which she targets and punishes dishonest men.” Are you a dishonest man? You will be if you deny wanting to click through and see the full poster in all of its NSFW, adult eyes-only glory.

Click to enlarge

“In his original nurse photos and the fan conversation that ensued, Tim had clearly scratched the surface of a really great concept – the idea of a film noir depiction of a beautiful nurse who uses her sexuality to very severe ends,” explained Mike Paseornek, Lionsgate’s President of Production and the executive in charge of the film.  “That concept was the perfect germ for this thrilling story, which will be extremely visceral in 3D.”

Added Lionsgate marketing chief Tim Palen, “Paz is the perfect actress for this role and has already been such an inspiration to the whole project. She brings an intensity and a sense of adventure to this role that is so promising.” He continues,  “We learned from the success of My Bloody Valentine 3D that there is a real interest in what 3D filmmaking can add to risqué scenes in R rated films, and this film will deliver those scenes to audiences in a really sophisticated, artful way.”

Principle photography will begin in Toronto on September 6.

After seeing Rutger Hauer in Hobo With a Shotgun, there’s no doubt that he’ll be a complete badass as Van Helsing for Dracula 3D. After all, Van Helsing is effectively a drifter with a 19th century shotgun. How will he stack up against Peter Cushing, Christopher Plummer and, gulp, Hugh Jackman? There’s no telling, but with horror icon Dario Argento at the helm, the movie will at least promise to be absurd and full of the red stuff.

These first shots from the film show off just a little blood, a lot of Hauer, and more proof that Argento is unafraid to make a maiden go bottomless in a barn. Here are 6 of the many, many images over at the film’s official website.

James Franco has been a busy guy lately, hosting the Oscars and getting involved in just about every high-profile project in development. But did you know that he also does direct-to-DVD psycho-thrillers? I didn’t, either. But apparently he does. In Shadows & Lies, Franco plays William Vincent, a quiet and mysterious criminal. When he falls for a New York gangster’s (Josh Lucas) favorite call girl (Julianne Nicholson), Vincent is forced to flee the city, threatened with death if he should ever return. But after four years in exile, Vincent secretly returns intent on rescuing the woman he loves from her dangerous fate.

In this clip, which we are pleased to present exclusively, we see the moment when the quiet criminal, having just stolen a wallet, meets gangster Josh Lucas in a chance encounter. I suspect it won’t be the last time.

Shadows & Lies is available on DVD, Blu-ray and via Digital Download on June 7, 2011.

The author of the original novels Suzanne Collins, at the very least, seems to think that Lawrence was the perfect choice for the role. When talking to the young actress she said, “I feel like when you said yes the world got lifted off my shoulders.” That’s some pretty dramatic praise. I guess the other girls going after the role weren’t looking so good. But why would there have been any question as to whether Lawrence would take this career-making job? She explains, “I knew that as soon as I said yes, my life would change. And I walked around an entire day thinking ‘It’s not too late, I could still go back and do Indies, I haven’t said yes yet, it’s not too late.’” Apparently Lawrence sees this as the role that is going to make her famous. Did she forget about the fact that she’s about to play Mystique in a huge X-Men movie, or is she just trying to forget it because it ain’t looking so good? More likely she’s just excited about everything that’s happening to her and a little overwhelmed. Despite some initial misgivings, there doesn’t seem like there was ever any chance that she was going to turn this down. “I love this story,” she says, “and if I had said no, I would regret it every day.” I like the story too, and seeing as the entire time I was reading it I was picturing Lawrence’s character from Winter’s Bone as Katniss, I really love this casting.

Regardless of individual opinion, no one can say that AMC doesn’t have one of the most diverse line-ups on television. With the adult, contemporary drama Breaking Bad, the murder mystery The Killing, the horror/thriller The Walking Dead and the period drama Mad Men, there’s no doubt that the network loves their genre work.

And they are about to make another addition to that slate with a western… yes, you read that right. AMC is doing a western titled Hell on Wheels. And here is the first trailer (via Screen Rant):

I’ll say this much, it’s ambitious. But it’s becoming a trend with AMC to see their shows get hyped to the point of no end before they begin, but then really go down in quality as the season goes on (ala The Walking Dead). So I am weary but intrigued by the effort.

Hell on Wheels is set to begin this fall on AMC.

Here’s a fun April Fool’s Day prank you can pull (that will be even more effective now that it’s not April Fool’s Day). Take this four-second-long clip that showcases an ape from Rise of the Planet of the Apes (and, yes, I know I called it a monkey in the headline, and I know they’re vastly different species), and tell your friend that it’s a real ape filmed in a zoo.

I’d bet money that a solid amount of people would buy that it’s real. That solid amount will probably let loose some pant juices because of it.

That’s how scary WETA is. Take a look at this CGI, and think in the back of your mind about the original films and the apes from Tim Burton’s go at it.

Chilling.

There’s a human soul inside there.

Sort of makes you think next time you cut into your ape steak, doesn’t it?

As a huge fan of the original films, my skepticism is still healthy, but now it’s shifted from how things will look to whether or not James Franco will sleepwalk his way through this one.

What do you think?

Source: ComingSoon

The rabid percussionist is drumming his brains out in this first promotional photo for the movie that won’t strike theaters until Christmas of next year, and for some reason, iProduct Placement has wriggled its way in as well.

It’s great to see Jason Segal, and it’s great to see all those familiar faces. Christmas 2011 can’t get here fast enough.

It’s nice to know that Fozzie is pitching a joke while no one’s listening, Rizzo is complaining about over time, and Beeker is solving world hunger from the third step of a ladder.

It looks like the script is coming along quite nicely. Plus, they’ve already got some music started, they’ve already lit the lights, and pretty soon it’ll be time to get things started.

What do you think?

David Tennant (Dr. Who) stars as a popular Las Vegas magician called upon by some uppity teens to face off against pure evil in the form of Jerry the vampire (Colin Farrell).

The role is an updated version of the TV horror host played by Roddy McDowell in the original film. Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse play the aforementioned uppity youngsters.

The image below is of a three-story banner hanging in the lobby of a Hard Rock Hotel & Casino where the Fright Night magic show takes the stage. Behold the mystical stylings of Peter Vincent, Mindfreak!

[Click on the image to largify]

What do you think of Russell Brand as David Tennant as Jack Sparrow as Criss Angel as Peter Vincent?

]]> http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/news/peter-vincent-mindfreak-first-image-of-david-tennant-in-fright-night.php/feed 8 http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/news/first-look-christina-aguilera-in-burlesque.php http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/news/first-look-christina-aguilera-in-burlesque.php#comments Wed, 30 Jun 2010 22:40:17 +0000 Neil Miller http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/?p=82683 The first images of both Christina Aguilera and Cher in Steven Antin's musical drama Burlesque are online today, and they certainly capture the spirit of a burlesque show (read: serious lack of clothing). For Aguilera, this will be a coming out party in the world of film -- her first feature film role. But she's not alone. She will star alongside Cher, Stanley Tucci, Eric Dane and Cam Gigandet. For the pop princess, things certainly could be worse. They couldn't, however, be much sexier.]]>

The first images of both Christina Aguilera and Cher in Steven Antin’s musical drama Burlesque are online today, and they certainly capture the spirit of a burlesque show (read: serious lack of clothing). For Aguilera, this will be a coming out party in the world of film — her first feature film role. But she’s not alone. She will star alongside Cher, Stanley Tucci, Eric Dane and Cam Gigandet. For the pop princess, things certainly could be worse. They couldn’t, however, be much sexier.

“It’s sexy, it’s sensual,” she told USA Today, who broke the first photo. “The whole idea of burlesque has always intrigued me. The art of the tease, the dance, beautiful women — need I say more?”

Aguilera will play Ali Rose in the film, a young girl who travels to LA hoping to make it big, only to find herself at a burlesque club. Of the journey, Aguilera had this to say: “It wasn’t just a girl who comes to L.A. and makes it big. It was a girl who had suffered and felt pain, been in seven foster homes. She doesn’t let her past make her a victim. And that to me was so appealing.”

Girl suffers through pain and overcomes her awful childhood by dancing with limited amount of clothing. Yeah, that feels new. But new or not, Burlesque certainly appears to have a bit of style. Along with the photos, I would encourage you to check out the piece on director Steven Antin over at USA Today. Is this movie an early Oscar contender? It’s difficult to be sure this early in the game. It one to watch, however.

Photos are below. Burlesque is due in theaters on November 24, 2010.

When I was still working in Los Angeles as a production coordinator, I was wheeling my way downtown to a music video set when, in the back of my rearview mirror, I saw a car fly into the air and hit another car. It was awesome. It was also the huge New York City-looking set from Transformers, and it made me think we’d had an earthquake the night before when I first saw it. Fortunately, I saw the camera cranes, and Michael Bay was yelling over the sound of a dozen jackhammers. The guy has range.

Transformers sets are notoriously secretive because Michael Bay is a guy who doesn’t have to leak information in order to make a metric ton of cash at the box office. Plus, he likes to mislead and give fake information because the internet is dumb and we act like salivating dogs around rancid meat simply because he doesn’t give us enough to eat. Normally I would mean that metaphorically, but Michael Bay actually mails me rancid meat every other Wednesday (fingers crossed for tomorrow!).

Just Jared got some spy pictures of Mr. Labeouf and the new Megan Fox, Rosie Huntington-Whitely, walking and doing a bit of what professionals call “crouch-acting.” Here are two, but you should check out Just Jared for the others.

As a bonus, some intrepid people (who I assume is the cast of Cloverfield) caught some spy footage of a shot where an office building, held up by a sky crane, has some explosions and armed men rolling around. Breaking news: an office building is going to fall down in Transformers 3. Spoiler alert.

Skip to 0:38. You’ll know you’re there when it says, “shut shut this is the main part.”

That’s falling with style.

Sorry about the spoiler. I’m guessing you thought Bay would have a No Explosions policy this go ’round.

Spend enough time with horror-loving fankind, and you will undoubtedly hear a lot of conversation about visual effects — and the great debate between computer generated and practical. In the world of horror, this is a daily discussion. Why? Because practical effects are an art form that is being phased out. But in the rare case that they are done, and done right, it makes all the difference. Such is the case with non-horror movies. For example, Shawn Levy’s upcoming robot boxing film Real Steel. On concept, it’s a cool idea. But when you see this first look images, you might just be a believer.

What makes this production special is the fact that instead of generating CGI boxing robots, Levy and the kids at Dreamworks have built 19 full-size boxing robots that will interact with actors like Hugh Jackman, Anthony Mackie and Evangeline Lilly. In an article at USA Today, Anthony Breznican explains: “Motion-capture animation is used in the film when the machines are brawling (with boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard working as an adviser on those), but 19 real-life animatronic giants were created for scenes with the human actors.”

“There are some things only visual effects can pull off,” said Shawn Levy, a director whose past work (Night at the Museum) wouldn’t lead you to believe that he’s the kind of ballsy director to go practical with 8-foot tall robots. “But when you give an actor a real thing, in this case a real 8-foot-tall machine, to interact with and do dialogue opposite, you get a more grounded reality to the performance.”

As I said, this is a rad concept to begin with. But putting in motion a lot of practical effects only increases the room for optimism around it. It has me hopeful that the film will live up to its name.

Check out the two high resolution photos from the set below, courtesy of Dreamworks Pictures.

This morning brings the first look at Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie in their upcoming crime thriller The Tourist — or as its known to many of us, That Movie That’s Changed Cast and Directors a Thousand Times. The project is in the hands of director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (The Lives of Others), who recently joined the project a second time after leaving once already. He was almost replaced by Alfonso Cuaron, only to come back and pick back up once casting was figured out.

Speaking of casting. This is the film that once starred Tom Cruise and Charlize Theron. Cruise would later be replaced by Sam Worthington, who would eventually vacate the role and be replaced by Johnny Depp. Theron also left the project, allowing Angelina Jolie to slide in. Is this an upgrade? It certainly might be.

But all that is in the past (we hope). Here’s what The Sun says the movie is about. “[Depp plays] Frank, an American tourist visiting Italy after experiencing heartache in his personal life. While taking in the sights of Venice, he meets Elise (Jolie) who deliberately crosses his path. Frank falls for her charms and the pair are soon caught in a whirlwind of intrigue and danger.”

At least we have proof that this movie exists. Having covered it from the beginning, following each twist and turn, I can’t say I believe that it’s gotten this far.

If you’re into classic animated series turned into sub-par movies this is your day: the first images of Yogi Bear and Booboo have been leaked to the interwebs over at Slash Film. On the plus side: from the looks of the images, Yogi and Boo-Boo will be faithful to the show’s original look. On the negative side: there really is going to be a full length Yogi Bear film.

Joking aside, there is still a chance Yogi Bear could be good thanks mainly to good casting: Dan Ackroyd as the voice of Yogi, Anna Faris (Scary Movie, House Bunny), TJ Miller (She’s Out Of My League, Cloverfield) and Andy Daly (Semi Pro, East Bound and Down).

On the flip side we have Justin Timberlake (Shrek 3) voicing Booboo. To top it all off this Yogi film was written by Brad Copeland who brought us Wild Hogs (in his defense he also wrote on “Arrested Development”). In the directing chair is the relatively unproven Eric Brevig (Journey To The Center of the Earth).  No word yet on how many fart jokes will be included in the film…

On the side: Check out TJ Miller’s audition tape for Yogi Bear…featuring an actual bear:

Do you think Yogi Bear will be any good?

The folks at USA Today have debuted the first look at the upcoming animated adventure Legend of the Guardians, from 300 and Watchmen director Zack Snyder. As we reported a few days ago, this film was recently retitled from Guardians of Ga’Hoole, the title of the book upon which it’s based. Now that the title is settled, Warner Bros. has released the first five photos from the film — and they look beautiful.

The ultimate test of this animation — which looks to be closing the uncanny valley in a similar way to Avatar, creating an environment that looks more real than animated, without looking hokey — will be in how it moves. But for the moment, the still shots looks great.

I’ve grabbed a few favorites from the gallery and posted them below. More can be found over at USA Today. Check them out. They’re certainly worth a look.

Nyra is an evil queen of the St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls, where the birds are actually brainwashed into becoming soldiers. Helen Mirren, who played a conflicted monarch in The Queen, gets to “become kind of a female Darth Vader” this time around, Snyder says. Though she has a reputation for being regal, Mirren plays a vicious leader “who pulls some of the strings and has a need for power.”

Emilie de Ravin plays Eglantine, left, a good friend of Soren, center, and a member of the owls’ search-and-rescue team. Jim Sturgess plays Soren, while Ryan Kwanten provides the voice for Kludd, right, Soren’s jealous brother. “Soren is a classic hero,” Snyder says. “He loves his sister, who is sweet, but smart beyond her years. He’s a dreamer. He loves myths and stories. Kludd sees all that as weakness.”

Richard Roxburgh plays Boron, center-left, the kindly King of Ga’Hoole. He’s fond of scatological humor and carousing with sea gulls, which keeps things lively in the tree.