Unless you happen to be from Chile, you might not have ever heard of director Nicolas Lopez. But chances are you soon will. After creating the top grossing Chilean films in both 2010 and 2011 with Que Pena Tu Vida and Que Pena Tu Boda, the director is next moving on to helm Aftershock, the newest film from Eli Roth.

This one is a disaster movie that Roth and Lopez wrote together, and that Roth will be starring in. Apparently the idea for the film came to Lopez after his country was hit with a pretty bad earthquake back in 2010, but it’s got some of Roth’s horror sensibility in there as well. The story is largely about dangerous patients that escape an insane asylum after the quake. If horror fans have any sort of issue with getting some Lopez mixed in with their Roth, then maybe this awesome quote from the director will assuage your fears: “I was a fan of Cabin Fever and Hostel, and I love that we’re mixing our sensibility. People will be shocked when they see this movie. It’s nothing that you could expect. I want this to be my Robocop.” Anybody who doesn’t think their career is complete until they’ve made their Robocop is okay with me.

Roth thinks he’s pretty okay too. When talking about his collaborator he said, “He has the incredible combination of commercial sensibility with an artistic eye, and what he has done here in Chile with their film industry is revolutionary,” then added, “This collaboration marks the beginning of what we call Chilewood, making genre films for the global market using all the resources Chile has to offer.”

And it sounds like their plan to turn Chile into a hotbed of genre filmmaking is already off to a good start, because even at only four weeks into its production, Aftershock is already being sought out by several Hollywood studios. Reports say that names like The Weinstein Company and Relativity Media are currently involved in a bidding war to get the rights to this one, with the final deal likely to get made in Berlin.

Oh yeah, one more thing Disney fans…this movie also has a Selena Gomez cameo! Squee! [Deadline Putre]

Hooper’s next film is a full-scale musical feature version of the done-to-starving-death Les Miserables, and while a new take on Victor Hugo’s classic material doesn’t strike most people as necessary, Hooper is going to give the project its own spin to liven it up. No, no, he’s not going to make it some sort of bizarre “reimagining,” he’s going to make its stars actually sing. No, no, it’s much more interesting than that – he’s going to make them sing live. A “source close to the production” has told the Sun UK that “the director is determined to make the project as authentic as possible.” As such, “the cast will record their vocals live on camera rather than go into a studio first then mime on film to the pre-recorded vocal…First they have to learn the complex songs, then they’ll have to get it right on set in front of the other stars and crew.” This does provide a look inside Hooper’s vision for the film, which may be much more classically theatrical than first suspected.

Hooper has already lined up the bulk of his cast for the film – Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe will face off as Valjean and Javert, Anne Hathaway will play doomed prostitute Fantine, Sacha Baron Cohen is set for the role of the thief Thénardier, with Helena Bonham Carter on as his wife.

While most of Hooper’s stars (save for Bonham Carter and Cohen) have ever been in a full-scale musical feature, they all, strangely enough, have the chops for it. Jackman’s musical prowess is perhaps the most well-known, as he’s appeared on Broadway quite often, and even has a Tony Award under his dance belt. Hathaway’s panache for belting out tunes is well-documented, and Les Mis would be a nice warm-up for her long-teased Judy Garland biopic. Russell Crowe? Well, the Method actor also has his own band (Russell Crowe & The Ordinary Fear of God, naturally). And Cohen? While he’s not often associated with musical stylings, like Hathaway, he’s also got a gestating musical biopic on deck – he’s set to play Queen frontman Freddie Mercury. [Sun UK, via Cinema Blend]

Back in August, Justin Lin vacated the director’s chair for the latest in Hollywood’s seemingly endless string of remakes – jumping off Highlander to spend more time making Vin Diesel and Paul Walker jump off moving trains on to moving cars (or similar) with his next entry into his wildly successful spin on The Fast and the Furious franchise. Summit Entertainment has now announced that Juan Carlos Fresnadillo will take on directorial duties for their Highlander reboot/magination/whatever, so let’s all pause to yell “there can only be one!” and move on with the news.

Fresnadillo will direct from Melissa Rosenberg’s script, with the film poised to start filming in the spring of 2012. Summit’s official press release gives a quick plotline for the new film – “In HIGHLANDER, after centuries of dueling to survive against others like him, Connor MacLeod, an immortal Scottish swordsman must confront the last of his kind, a murderously brutal barbarian, who lusts for the Prize” – so, yes, rest easy, this is definitely a Highlander film.

Fresnadillo is best known to filmophiles as the director of such films as Intacto and 28 Weeks Later. He’s currently in Toronto in support of his latest horror flick, the Clive Owen-starring Intruders. Oh, and he also remains on board to direct The Crow remake, which is still without a leading man following the departure of Bradley Cooper. Will Fresnadillo take on Highlander before The Crow can get off the ground? We’ll see. In any case, Fresnadillo is capable of creating dark, moody, and slightly off-kilter films, so it will be interesting to see in what direction he takes both Highlander and The Crow for their latest incarnations.

And, as is becoming my new (least favorite game), how long do we think it will take before Summit announces that the film will be in 3D?

How news of remakes continues to shock me, I’ll never know. There’s been buzz about a Point Break remake for a while now, but Warner Bros. and Alcon Entertainment have finally decided to just get totally radical and announce their planned remake of the 1991 Kathryn Bigelow  film that remains a cinematic classic for surfers, stoners, Angelenos, adrenaline junkies, idiots, and Keanu Reeves fan everywhere (hey, back up, I count myself as one of those idiots).

Alcon snatched up the rights for the film on the eve of its twentieth anniversary, with co-founders and co-CEO’s Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove set to produce the new project, along with Michael DeLuca, John Baldecchi, Chris Taylor, and Kurt Wimmer. As previously rumored, Wimmer penned the screenplay for the remake (hat tip to our pals over Twitch for reporting on this way back in June). The film is without a director as of yet, but it’s being “fast tracked” with a helmer search launching soon.

The new Point Break will, in both completely inexplicable and totally expected news, not necessarily take place in the world of surfing, but “in the world of international extreme sports.” What, like street luge? Parkour? Say it’s parkour, please say it’s parkour. But the remake will still focus on “an undercover FBI agent infiltrating a criminal ring.” That’s all we’ve got for now. Wait, isn’t that The Fast and the Furious? Just tell me said FBI agent has a Johnny Utah-esque name, and all will be forgiven. Frankie New Hampshire? Tommy North Dakota? Stevie Alaska? The possibilities are endless and all are glorious. But let’s get down to the ultimate – this thing has gotta be in 3D, right? 

You can read the full press release after the break, if you’re into takin’ that kind of shrapnel.

ALCON ENTERTAINMENT TO REBOOT CLASSIC ACTION THRILLER ‘POINT BREAK’

LOS ANGELES, CA., SEPTEMBER 12, 2011 – Financing and production company Alcon Entertainment is set to remake the classic 1991 action-thriller POINT BREAK as a feature film for release by Warner Bros, its home studio, it was announced by Alcon co-founders and co-CEO’s Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove.

Alcon principals Kosove and Johnson secured rights to the project the week of the original film’s 20th anniversary from RGM Media, John McMurrick and Chris Taylor. Kosove and Johnson will produce along with Michael DeLuca, John Baldecchi, Chris Taylor and Kurt Wimmer (“Salt,” “Law Abiding Citizen,” upcoming “Total Recall”), who also wrote the screenplay. RGM Media principal Devesh Chetty and investor John McMurrick, Chairman of Marloss Entertainment, will serve as Executive Producers.

The film is being fast tracked, with the filmmakers set to take the project out to directors soon.

The new version is set in the world of international extreme sports, and like the original involves an undercover FBI agent infiltrating a criminal ring, but plot points beyond that have not been revealed by the filmmakers.

State Johnson and Kosove: “Who doesn’t love the Kathryn Bigelow original and its pure heart-pounding action and thrills? Kurt’s take infuses the story and characters with new twists and settings. We’re very excited to be in business with Kurt, and Michael DeLuca, Chris Taylor, and John Baldecchi.”

Adds DeLuca “’Point Break’ wasn’t just a film, it was a Zen meditation on testosterone fueled action and manhood in the late 20th century and we hope to create the same for the young 21st!”

In addition to the feature rights, Alcon has also secured television and gaming rights to POINT BREAK.

The Bigelow original, starring Keanu Reeves, Patrick Swayze and Gary Busey, was produced by Largo Entertainment and released by Fox. The film went on to become an instant classic and remains beloved by the youth culture around the world.

Apparently Chicago’s Board of Trade building will serve as the Planet building exteriors (with digitally inserted globe atop, I’m sure) and the interiors of the newspaper office will be filmed inside of the Wesley Willis Memorial Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower). These choices make a lot of sense, because the Board of Trade is a big imposing building that looks nice standing at the end of a street, and the Willis Tower is huge, so there’s probably plenty of room inside to be converted into movie sets. Eagle eyed Chicago enthusiasts or great big super hero nerds might have noticed that there’s a sweet little bit of trivia created by Snyder’s choice though. The Board of Trade looks so good as a big imposing building that it was also used as the headquarters for Wayne Enterprises in Christopher Nolan’s Batman franchise.

Using the same building twice for two big superhero movies shouldn’t be a big deal; you slap a big W on it the first time, you put a big globe on it the second time, and hardly anyone will notice. I’ve met a lot of comic book collectors in my day though, and I’m sure there are a handful of people out there that are just having their OCD killed by landmarks existing both in Gotham and Metropolis. In their eyes this must be a travesty of the highest order, a mockery of the iconic skylines of each fictional city. A slap in the face to comic geeks unheard of until today!

Okay, I admit it, it’s sort of bothering me too.

Daniel Craig

Of course, taking the people off of the roof isn’t a big deal, and director Sam Mendes and crew have already agreed to film the scene with a clear roof instead; but might this not be the end of the problems the film will face trying to shoot in India? Shooting is scheduled to take place starting in February and lasting through March in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and Goa, and they’ve already let officials change one of their scenes. Now that they’ve caved on one thing, might they find their production plagued with ridiculous requests from here on out? Trivedi’s further plans to convince the production to become a commercial for Indian Railways hint that this could be the case. Trivedi says that along with demanding the train sequence be changed, “I have proposed that the spy says something like: ‘Indian Railways is as strong as James Bond.’ It is my suggestion.” Wow, that’s some great dialogue that could very naturally be inserted right into the script without anyone noticing. Trivedi has already rewritten one scene of this high profile spy movie, let’s pray that he doesn’t get to rewrite another. [Hindustan Times via Cinema Blend]

Writer/Director James Gunn has done many things. Most recently, he’s become a beloved Twitter celebrity and delivered the uber-popular web series PG Porn. But beyond that, he’s made movies. He wrote and directed Slither, and wrote both Scooby Doo and the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead. As you can see, the man has range.

For his next trick, Gunn is putting together a big cast for an upcoming comedy called Super. Among the cast are previous co-conspirators in Gunn works as well as newcomers, including Nathan Fillion (Castle, PG Porn), Linda Cardellini (ER, Scooby Doo), Gregg Henry (United 93), Michael Rooker (Jumper) and James’ brother Sean Gunn (Pearl Harbor). These folks join the already stacked cast, which includes The Office‘s Rain Wilson, Juno star Ellen Page, notable hot-person Liv Tyler and Kevin Bacon. Yes, one-degree from Kevin Bacon, this movie will be. The cast will also include Stephen Blackeheart, Mikaela Hoover, Lloyd Kaufman, Valentine Miele, Andre Royo (The Wire) and Steve Agee (The Sarah Silverman Show).

For Gunn, this project will be a family affair, uniting him quite a few people with whom he’s successfully worked in the past. “From Nathan to Rooker to Gregg to my brother Sean,” he explains. “Some of my closest relationships have been fortified during films I’ve done in the past. These are people I like and admire but with whom I also share common creative goals. It helps imbue Super with an uncommon life, warmth, and energy. Super is an act of love for all of us, and it’s wonderful having the people I love the most helping me make it.”

Rain Wilson will play Frank, a seemingly average Joe who is madly in love with his troubled wife Sarah (Tyler). But when Sarah leaves Frank for Jacques (Bacon), a smooth-talking drug dealer, Frank transforms into pseudo superhero The Crimson Bolt, stakes out Jacques sleazy hideaway, and wages a one-man war on crime. What he lacks in superpowers, he makes up for with a trusty pipe wrench. Every superhero needs a sidekick and so enters Libby (Page), a cute sociopathic teen working at the local comic book store, who morphs into ‘Boltie’ and teams with Frank to take Jacques down.

It all feels very much in the vein of Kick-Ass, but with Dwight Schrute. I say sign me up. There’s a consistently dark comedic tone to everything that Gunn has written, one that will surely spill into this superhero story. And with that in mind, I couldn’t be more interested in such a project. That, and who can resist the surefire combination of Rain Wilson and Nathan Fillion.

“From Nathan to Rooker to Gregg to my brother Sean, some of my closest relationships have been fortified during films I’ve done in the past. These are people I like and admire but with whom I also share common creative goals. It helps imbue Super with an uncommon life, warmth, and energy. Super is an act of love for all of us, and it’s wonderful having the people I love the most helping me make it,” said James Gunn.

Danny Huston is joining the cast of the upcoming Ridley Scott film Robin Hood, which is currently shooting in England, says the folks at The Hollywood Reporter.

Huston, who was most recently seen playing William Stryker in X-Men Origins: Wolverine earlier this summer and has both Edge of Darkness and Clash of the Titans on the horizon, will step into the famous chain-mail gear of King Richard, also known as Richard the Lionheart. He will carry the torch of cinematic King Richards, one that has been carried before by Sean Connery (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves), Richard Harris (Robin and Marian) and Patrick Stewart (Robin Hood: Men in Tights).

Huston joins Russell Crowe, who plays the bow-wielding hero, Cate Blanchett as Maid Marian, Scott Grimes as Will Scarlet, Kevin Durand as Little John and William Hurt as William Marshall. Mark Strong will also star, with Imagine’s Brian Grazer producing.

Robin Hood is scheduled for release on May 14, 2010.

What do you think of Danny Huston as King Richard?

FSR reader Christopher M. sent us over a tip early this morning about some new photos from the set of Jonah Hex. And no, they weren’t of Megan Fox in her wild west hooker costume. This time we actually get to see Josh Brolin as the film’s title character, a rough-n-tough gun slinger if there ever was one.

As you can see in the images above, which come to us via the gossip site Lainey Gossip, Brolin has the classic Hex snarl down thanks to some excellent make-up. He also looks angry, which is another one of the character’s more popular traits. Beyond that, his costume fits the period. Beyond that, I have nothing more to say. Lets get a trailer soon, shall we?

Jonah Hex hits theaters on August 6, 2010.

Our brothers in arms over at Crave Online have scored a few photos from the set of the Louis Leterrier directed epic Clash of the Titans today, giving us our first look at Terminator Salvation star Sam Worthington in a skirt.

In the remake of the 1981 film from director Desmond Davis, Worthington will play Perseus, the story’s main character who goes after Medusa and takes on a giant sea beast. In the scene being filmed in these photos though, he only appears to be tumbling with a currently unknown character played by Pete Postlethwaite. More to come on story details later. For more, click on over to Crave and check them out. Side note: is it just me, or is it continually funny to see pictures from sets of period pieces — seeing a woman with a clipboard and a dude with a baseball cap standing next to costumed actors dressed for another time makes me giggle, I’m sorry.

Clash of the Titans is currently scheduled for release on March 26, 2010. It also stars Danny Huston as Poseidon, Liam Neeson as Zeus, Ralph Fiennes as Hades, Alexa Davalos as Andromeda and Gemma Arterton as lo.

Anyone who has seen any of The Matrix trilogy or the wild ride that was Shoot ‘Em Up — not to mention countless other serious films with serious stories (some with serious nudity) — knows about Monica Bellucci. The Italian-born actress is one of the preeminent beauties of our time, her olive skinned curvy figure a star in its own right. And even into her 40s, she’s remained at the top of her game.

Which explains why no matter what she does, I’m always right here to report it. This time around she’s joining up with the Disney production of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. She will play Veronica, a sorceress and the long-lost love of Nicolas Cage’s character, Bathazar Blake.

The modern day sorcerer tale follos the story of an aging sorcerer (Cage) who recruits and trains a young protege (Jay Baruchel) to help him fight the forces of darkness in modern Manhattan. The film will also star Alfred Molina, Transformers 2 hottie Teresa Palmer and RocknRolla Toby Kebbell.

The John Turteltaub (National Treasure) directed film is currently shooting in New York and has been marked for a July 16, 2010 release date.

The production blog for Sylvester Stallone‘s upcoming action film The Expendables has posted a brand new image from the film that features Sly holding on for dear life to a plane that appears to be flying away. Yet another awesome action shot from probably one of the most anticipated films of next year — and even though it’s next year’s film, we just can’t stop talking about it.

Anyway, check out the new image below (click to enlarge):

As well, the production blog also laid down a few smaller photos taken around Cannes of some promotional art for the film. If you ask me, this promo art might be the most badass thing we’ve seen from this film — a film that oozes badass.

The Expendables is scheduled to hit theaters on April 23, 2010. It will star Jason Statham, Mickey Rourke, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Brittany Murphy, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Danny Trejo, Eric Roberts and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.

Earlier today our cheeky British friend Brendan Connelly over at /Film filed an interesting report about Gwyneth Paltrow and the expansion of her role as Pepper Potts in Iron Man 2. Of course this news does come from the folks at The Daily Mail — so I must warn you: it is likely to be complete bullshit. According to The Mail, Gwyneth has been hitting the gym hardcore this past week in order to ““make sure she was in perfect shape for a risqué scene in the movie.”

Here’s the rest from The Mail’s Kate Nicholl:

Gwyneth, who returns as Iron Man’s pretty PA Pepper Potts, filmed the sexy scene alongside Robert Downey Jr, who plays Iron Man. ‘Iron Man imagines Pepper in a dominatrix outfit,’ says a source. ‘Gwyneth had to be filmed in a very revealing black leather corset complete with a bullwhip.’

While this may strike instantly hot on the geek-o-meter, it doesn’t exactly sound like the next logical step for the relationship between Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Pepper Potts. In fact, the last time we saw them they were keeping things professional and subtle. Though after a bit of logic and a discussion with a fellow comics expert, Connelly has come up with a series of connections that might make this “sexy leather corset” scene fit:

Mickey Rourke is apparently playing the character Blacklash. He has whips – so that might be where that imagery comes from and enters Stark’s imagination. Secondly, that Scarlett Johansson is supposedly playing the Black Widow as a rather forthright and, might I say, domineering character – so enter Ms. J to take care of that too.

His logic is strong, but I’m still not buying it. Gwyneth Paltrow is a sultry lady — as you can see in the image above — but a Pepper Potts in leather scene doesn’t exactly fit with what we saw from the tone of the first film. Then again, once again I put trust in the hands of Jon Favreau as a storyteller. If this is true I only have two thoughts: (1) this movie should be all kinds of sexy and (2) why wasn’t a picture of this released instead of the highly lame first image a few days ago? Its a valid question and you know it.

Iron Man 2 will hit theaters on

You may have heard this, but the Louis Leterrier (The Incredible Hulk) directed remake of Clash of the Titans began shooting this week. And with that start of production comes the final stage of casting, which includes adding some supporting characters to the already large cast of Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Sam Worthington, Mads Mikkelsen, Gemma Arterton, Jason Flemyng and Alexa Davalos.

Variety is reporting today that Danny Huston (X-Men Origins: Wolverine, 30 Days of Night) has joined the cast in the role of Poseidon, the god of the sea. In the original 1981 film directed by Desmond Davis, the role was played by Jack Gwillim.

In Clash of the Titans, the ultimate struggle for power pits men against kings and kings against gods. But the war between the gods themselves could destroy the world. Born of a god but raised as a man, Perseus (Worthington) is helpless to save his family from Hades (Fiennes), vengeful god of the underworld. With nothing left to lose, Perseus volunteers to lead a dangerous mission to defeat Hades before he can seize power from Zeus (Neeson) and unleash hell on earth. Leading a daring band of warriors, Perseus sets off on a perilous journey deep into forbidden worlds. Battling unholy demons and fearsome beasts, he will only survive if he can accept his power as a god, defy his fate and create his own destiny.

Update: Turns out that this news was reported earlier in the week by the folks at UGO. Way to go Variety, good job giving credit to those real journalists out here on the web.

Since it has become apparent that all of you need updates on everything that happens in the lives of Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren — two of Hollywood’s greatest B-movie action stars — we are happy to share with you a few photos from the set of their upcoming collaboration, Universal Soldiers: The Next Generation. The folks over at Quiet Earth have an entire gallery of images, including a few shots of various set pieces used in the filming of the direct-to-DVD threequel, but the one above is easily the most important.

For more pics from the set of the John Hyams directed actioner, click over to Quiet Earth. You may also want to check out the video below, courtesy of MySpace, which shows some of the action being filmed — go ahead, count the bodies on the ground. There’s a lot. And I don’t think any of us are going to complain about that. Look for Universal Soldiers: The Next Generation sometime in late 2009.

The folks over at the Hollywood Reporter have announced this morning that Kate Mara (Shooter) and Clark Gregg have officially signed on to the production of Iron Man 2, which is currently shooting at Marvel’s Manhattan Beach, California studios. They join the already solid cast of Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sam Rockwell, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson and Don Cheadle.

Kate Mara’s role is being kept under wraps for the time being, leading this reporter to believe that it is either (a) super insignificant or (b) a very recognizable comic book character that Jon Favreau is going to surprise us with. That is assuming that the beans don’t get spilled over the course of the next year. Either way, Kate Mara just adds additional hotness to the project.

Clark Gregg will reprise the role as Agent Phil Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D that he played in the first Iron Man.

In other Iron Man 2 news, director Jon Favreau continues to make Twitter updates from the set of the film, despite a noticable slowing due to the folks at Paramount getting a little nervous about him taking shots with his iPhone camera. Either way, he has provided some information that may be of use. First up was yesterday, in which Favs tweeted about Black Widow (Johansson) and Tony (Downey Jr.) doing some shooting in the Stark Mansion:

“Scarlett and Downey in Stark manor.”

Mmm, sexy. As well, Favreau also tweeted about shooting a scene with Mad Men’s John Slattery, who I was not even aware was involved with the project. For those who watch Mad Men, Slattery plays Roger Sterling in the AMC series and is an awesome actor. Rumor has been that Slattery plays Tony Stark’s father Howard, a role previously rumored to be played by Tim Robbins. Of course, we don’t have any concrete answers on that right this moment, but we’re still digging. Either way, I would argue that Slattery is an awesome addition to the Iron Man 2 cast — now if only they took Howard Stark and made him a drunk, it would be Roger Sterling running the Manhattan Project. As a Mad Men fan, that makes me happy even though I know it won’t happen.

What do you think of Kate Mara joining Iron Man 2? Anyone want to take guesses as to who she might play?

I love John Carpenter’s original Halloween, but I’ll admit up front that I’m no fan of Rob Zombie‘s 2007 redux.  Between his lack of subtlety and style and that annoying, little, pouty girl playing the young Michael Myers throughout the film’s first half?  Fucking dreadful, monotonous, and boring.  But like a stereotypical abused wife I’m happy to give additional chances to folks who probably don’t deserve it, so I’ve been looking at Zombie’s upcoming sequel with an open mind.

Until now.

Per Shock Till You Drop, Michael Myers will spend about 70% of H2 without a mask.  Myers, the iconic masked boogie man, will walk around for most of the new film with a beard on his face instead of a mask.  Note to Zombie… a dude that looks like the lost and retarded fourth member of ZZ Top is not scary.  Special effects man Wayne Toth says “That’s Michael’s new look for a lot of the film. Fans will be shocked. They seem pretty responsive to it. But it’s like anything else, as long as you’re doing something cool, people get it.“  Check out STYD for more disappointing quotes from the man including how the eventual reveal of Myers’ brand new mask will throw “fans for a loop.”  I can only assume William Shatner is gonna be pissed…

Should this even be called a Halloween film anymore?

The folks at Paramount Pictures have revealed to the world, with the help of Yahoo and USA Today, the list of robots that will be featured in Michael Bay’s upcoming sequel Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. And instead of making you go to two different places and read the reports for yourself, I’ve picked apart the lists and combined them to make one awesome list below.

AUTOBOTS

• OPTIMUS PRIME: The Autobots’ leader – alternate form: Peterbilt truck.
• IRONHIDE: Weapons specialist – GMC Topkick.
• RATCHET: Medic – Hummer H2.
• BUMBLEBEE: Friend and mode of transportation for Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) – 2010 Chevorlet Camaro.
• ARCEE: A female Autobot – Megan Fox’s hot-pink motorcycle.
• JETFIRE: As in the original, this fighter plane crash-landed on Earth a long time ago, and he will become a reformed Decepticon now fighting for the humans. His alternate form is the SR-71 Blackbird, the outdated but still-sleek Cold War spy plane.
• JOLT: the original toy was a Decepticon, but in the movie he’s a good guy – Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid.
• SKID & MUDFLAP: a.k.a. “The Twins” – Chevrolet Beat and Trax concept cars.
• SIDESWIPE: A candy-apple red Lamborghini in the original, joins the cast this time as General Motor’s silver Corvette Stingray concept car.

DECEPTICONS

• STARSCREAM: Formerly Megatron’s second in command, he escaped at the end of the first movie (see photo); F-22 Raptor jet.
• SCORPONOK: The mechanical scorpion that attacked the American troops in the desert.
• THE FALLEN: an ancient robot, sort of the Transformers’ version of Lucifer. He’s one of the original robot aliens, and his defiance and arrogance led to his banishment into another dimension. The screenwriters say that The Fallen holds the key to life on both Earth and Cybertron, the Transformers’ home planet.
• SIDEWAYS: The Audi R8 seen crashing through a building in the trailer.
• SOUNDWAVE: A cassette player in the original toys; his alternate mode will fly. According to the screenwriters, this evil communications officer will appear as a orbiting space satellite.
• RAVAGE: A four-legged, cat-like robot (seen in the trailers and pictured above).
• THE DOCTOR: A spider-like droid that transforms into various implements of torture and has a not-so-nice encounter with star Shia LaBeouf.
• WHEELIE: A small, radio-controlled truck.
• DEMOLISHER: One of the Constructicons that transform into construction vehicles.
• DEVASTATOR: A giant robot formed by the Constructicons joining together; individually, they are: Scavenger, Scrapper, Hightower, Longhaul, Rampage, Overload and Mixmaster.

In addition these lists, the USA Today also had a few quotes from Michael Bay and members of his creative team. One in particular that stuck out was Bay describing the reaction Steven Spielberg had when he first saw The Fallen in action: “Spielberg saw it and said, ‘This is (expletive) awesome!’ ” Bay says, and adds: “It’s always nice when you can make him swear.”

If you ask me, I think it’s all ****ing awesome as well. Yet another thing Mr. Spielberg and I have in common.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen hits theaters on June 24, 2009. Check out some new photos below — mostly courtesy of Megan-Fox.net — including a first look at The Doctor, the Decepticon mentioned above.

It’s an obvious connection, but if we’re about to learn anything from these first photos from Thomas Jane‘s directorial debut Dark Country, it is that its going to be a very dark film. It also has a very unique, Sin City-esque design to it. And I don’t mean that in a bad way. The actor, whom you may know from The Mist, The Mutant Chronicles and our Comic-Con 2008 floor report (a performance which shook us to our core), is making his directorial debut in an incredibly unique and interesting way — Dark Country is going to be a 3D noir style thriller. Have you ever seen something like that before? Didn’t think so.

It will tell the story of a couple (Jane and Hostel II star Lauren German) who are en route to Las Vegas when they come across a dead body out in the desert, turning their honeymoon into a “hellish ride.” The film will also star Hellboy’s Ron Perlman.

What I find most interesting is that while studios such as Disney and Dreamworks are gearing up big, sleek family films in 3D, Jane and Sony’s Stage 6 Films are actually using the format to do something unique. And it’s a risk, for sure. But lets consider the fact that My Bloody Valentine 3D, which was made for around $15 million, brought in almost $70 million worldwide with a January release. I’m no statistician, but that appears to be a solid draw for an R-rated film with a 3D schtick. And with Jane’s film being rumored in the $5 million dollar budget range, I can see it turning a quick, easy profit if Sony chooses to give it a properly supported release.

This is all fitting news, as we’ve seen dozens of reports from our friends around the web about the future of 3D as studios roll out their plans this week at ShoWest in Las Vegas. As our friend Pete at Slashfilm reports, Disney is working hard to adapt Beauty and the Beast in 3D for an upcoming theatrical run. As well, Disney is also prepping another run of Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in the fall in 3D, complete with a trailer for the upcoming 3D adventure Toy Story 3 attached. Also, as Coming Soon reports, Disney will also be giving Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland an IMAX 3D release.

What I’m looking for in all of this 3D craze is inventive use of the format, as we saw earlier this year with Henry Selick’s Coraline. Because if you’re like me, you are already sick of 3D as a gimmick, the silliness that we see in kid-friendly movies such as Journey to the Center of the Earth, in which 3D is used as a gag. Hollywood has invested an unquantifiable amount of money in advancing 3D with the RealD format and IMAX — and not to mention whatever the hell James Cameron is doing in his basement — so its high time we see them do something really cool with it. And from what I can tell, Thomas Jane is a filmmaker who is trying to do just that. So kudos to him. The ball’s in your corner, Tim Burton.

Dark Country is currently pending a release date. For now, just enjoy these new images below, courtesy of the folks over at Quiet Earth.

I don’t know how to make this story not sound at least a little dirty, despite the fact that it’s all about a damn kids movie. Empire has revealed today the Shaun of the Dead and Star Trek star Simon Pegg has joined the voice cast of Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. Pegg will voice a character named Buck, a “larger than life, swashbuckling, one-eyed weasel”. Buck will help Manny the Mammoth (Ray Romano), Sid the sloth (John Leguizamo) and Diego the sabretooth tiger (Dennis Leary) when they fall into the world beneath the ice, where dinosaurs run wild. And according to Empire’s report, Buck has a Captain Ahab-like obsession with a Baryonyx dinosaur named Rudy, who is the reason that he only has one eye. Sounds like a cool character, if you ask me. Sort of like Puss in Boots from Shrek, but darker.

I’m not sure how all of you feel about the Ice Age franchise, but I’ve always been a fan. It’s some of the most interesting animation work that we’ve seen from any studio outside of the two-horse race that is Pixar and Dreamworks Animation. I’m sure it has something to do with my undying devotion to Scrat, the resourceful and scrappy prehistoric whatchamacalit that is just trying to get a nut, but I also find the characters to be relatively engaging and the animation is sharp. See how I did that — took it to a dirty place. I can’t write about kids movies any more.

Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs hits theaters on July 1, 2009.