After Gary Oldman reportedly passed on the role, Ken Watanabe (an actual Japanese person!) has been offered the part of The Colonel in the remake of Akira. The fine folks at Twitch dropped the news, and they also point out that Watanabe’s work in the United States has all been through Warner Bros. so the partnership makes a lot of sense. What doesn’t exactly make sense is why they didn’t go to him first. His profile is fairly high after so many years in the spotlight, especially after coming through strong in Inception. What also still doesn’t make sense is why all the characters are keeping their Japanese names while being completely white bread. If everyone signs on the dotted line and Watanabe ends up calling Garrett Hedlund and Kristen Stewart by the names from the Manga (while they simply call him The Colonel), it’s going to sound more than a little bizarre. Hooray for Americanized remakes!

This week, Fat Guy Kevin Carr celebrates the summer tent pole season with Christopher Nolan’s Inception, eager to watch the movie again and fall asleep just to see what happens. He also takes his kids to see The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and shows some love for Disney’s family adventures, even if they are a bit silly.

If you read my review of Inception not long ago, you know that I sung the praises of Christopher Nolan and his cast. Inception was an incredible film, almost flawless in its execution, and just plain fun in every conceivable way. After the film, I had the opportunity to participate in the Inception Press Junket — almost the entire cast on stage, and hear all about the development of the film — from concept, to production, and music — I’ve got some behind the scenes goodness to share with you today.

Editor’s Note: Today we launch a brand new column called Pixel to Projector, by Dustin Hucks. It’s our way of staying at the center of where video games and film meet. For more, check out the Pixel to Projector homepage. The five hundred year old Meikyokan Dojo, teaching the disciplines of Master Narukagami Shinto, is hidden within a large modern city; a secret society of assassins knows as Kage reside within. Utsusemi, an honorable swordsman, loses his position as leader of the dojo to the skilled fighter Hanzaki, in a fierce battle. Hanzaki gained respect as the head of Kage, until his discovery of the cursed sword Yugiri. He began to change; disregarding the honor and traditions held by the assassins and the students of the ancient dojo. One day, a Kage escapes the confines of the dojo with its secrets. Several members of the society are sent to dispatch the defector…on penalty of death.

This week, Japanese actor Ken Watanabe introduced and narrated a brand new international trailer for Christopher Nolan’s Inception. And thanks to the wonders of the internet, we’re also seeing it here in the rest of the world.

Warner Bros. has released the second trailer for Christopher Nolan’s upcoming thriller Inception, which was attached to Sherlock Holmes in theaters this past holiday weekend.

Kevin Carr takes a look at this week’s movie releases, including Saw VI, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, Astro Boy and Amelia.

Ever fantasized about Salma Hayek with a giant beard? Of course you haven’t (wink), but if you’re still curious about it, check out the new trailer for The Vampire’s Assistant.

Casting off one of the worst names I’ve seen in a while, The Vampire’s Assistant has gotten a late-October date with audiences who are hopefully not completely burnt out on vampires just yet.

Things are kicking into gear for Christopher Nolan’s next movie, a sci-fi thriller called Inception.