What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly movie news column born exactly one year ago today. And it’s very happy to still be around and well on its way to taking over the planet. It is convinced that it will have a very productive 2012 in that area, especially once humanity’s reign of terror ends later this year. In the mean time, it would like to thank you all for reading. Now enough of that mushy stuff, lets do the news. We begin this evening with an image of biker Jemaine Clement in Men in Black III. He’s playing an alien biker who turns out to be the villain in this time-traveling storyline…. And we wonder why that movie has had so many production problems? Either way, I’ll watch Jemaine Clement eat soap if I have to, as that guy is quite funny.

You’ve seen Michael Shannon before. Many times before. Similar to screen veterans Chris Cooper or Dylan Baker, Shannon is one of those actors who has had an extended career in front of the camera long before anyone really took notice of him. Even though he has been in films since the early 90s, he gained a strong national presence in 2009 with an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor in Revolutionary Road. Shannon is getting more attention now with the independent hit Take Shelter, playing a man named Curtis who starts having apocalyptic visions, leading him to build an underground shelter to protect his family. With Take Shelter in limited release and acting award buzz building, Shannon took part of his lunch break from his “super” schedule to chat with Film School Rejects about his career and what he hopes will happen with this stand-out independent film.

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly movie news column that doesn’t want to hurt anyone, but it will if it doesn’t get exactly what it wants. All it wants, however, is to bring you the news every weeknight and to consume a few cheeseburgers here and there. Nothing much, just links and beef and cheddar. Mmm… cheddar. “Sure, we said that we weren’t going to do any more parody trailers. But we didn’t say anything about parody posters!” Oh Disney, you scoundrels. We begin tonight with a shot of WereRowlf, a character from The Muppet Saga, a parody play from Disney’s The Muppets that came in a package of three posters. If it wasn’t so silly, it would be completely stupid. But it’s the Muppets, so I can’t help but giggle.

Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming spaghetti western type movie Django Unchained includes a lead role that calls for a mean man to do mean things. The character’s name is Ace Woody, and he’s a slave owning creep. Up to this point it was pretty much a lock that the role was going to be played by Kevin Costner, it was even the opinion of this writer that Tarantino might be looking to give Costner’s career a shot in the arm, much like he’s done with a couple aging actors before. But now it’s looking like Costner will be dropping out of the role, and it’s because his career doesn’t need any resuscitating after all. Deadline Chuichu is reporting that due to his duties playing Pa Kent in Man of Steel and his work in the History miniseries The Hatfields and McCoys, Costner’s schedule isn’t going to allow for him to take part in the lengthy two month film shoot that Tarantino has planned. That means Tarantino is going to need to find someone else to play Ace Woody. My unsolicited advice would be to go after either Woody Harrelson or Tom Hanks, both great actors who have lots of experience playing characters named Woody. No need to thank me Quentin. In my heart you already have.

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a movie news column set to the spectacle of a John Williams score. We begin tonight with the latest in scientific discovery. NASA and SETI have discovered a planet that has two stars. Their first thought? Name it “Tatooine.” We approve, but we can’t help but think this is a giant marketing campaign for the new Star Wars Blu-ray release. We’ll know when nude pics of the planet show up online.

Shooting in downtown Chicago for Zack Snyder’s upcoming Superman movie Man of Steel will begin on Wednesday, and local rag Chicago Business has scoops on some of the locations that will be used and what they will be doubling as. More specifically, while they’re not sure of the locations of any street shots, they know what building Snyder plans to use as the headquarters of Metropolis’ number one newspaper The Daily Planet. 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, [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

A couple weeks ago a spy photo from the set of Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel made the Internet rounds. It contained what appeared to be Michael Shannon wearing what appeared to be a motion capture suit. If that was the case, then that would mean General Zod, the Evil Kryptonian General that Shannon is playing in the film, would have a completely computer generated outfit akin to the super suits in the recent, awful looking Green Lantern. Okay, so your opinion may vary, but I thought that the effects in Green Lantern looked horrible. Depending on whether you agree with me or not, a recent interview that Shannon did with MovieFone could either make you weep or make you cheer. It turns out that yes, that was Michael Shannon in that photo, and yes, the General Zod costume will be created using CG. When asked about the motion capture suit Shannon said, “ … it’s funny because when I met with Zack we were talking about it before it started and he mentioned that there was going to be a lot of CGI, or whatever. I said, ‘Just don’t make me wear one of those silly suits.’ He said, ‘Oh, yeah, don’t worry, I know exactly what you’re talking about.’” It turns out that Zack Snyder is a liar. Shannon is wearing the suit. However, even though Shannon was forced to wear a silly suit because of Snyder’s lies, he assures everyone that fans will be happy with how [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s hard to say, really. All we know for sure is that NASA is trying to cover it up. Chances are that you’ve seen tonight’s lead photo before — it’s one of many spy shots from the set of Man of Steel featuring Henry Cavill’s new look as Superman. But lets talk about this for a moment. What do we think about this? Is it the fanboy kryptonite as Hero Complex might suggest? I’m not convinced that anything is good or bad for the Superman franchise anymore. Perhaps staying dormant would have been a good idea. But then again, I’m the guy who liked Superman Returns. If Zack Snyder is going for different, he’s certainly found it.

What is Movie News After Dark? Usually it’s a nightly movie news column that finds a way to be verbose. Tonight, not so much. But it’s still going to do the news. We begin tonight with a look at Rooney Mara’s Girl with the Dragon Tattoo meeting with what we can only assume is her parole officer. Those familiar with the original film or the books know how that relationship turns out. It makes my skin crawl — Rooney Mara is exactly the right amount of creepy.

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly movie news column, sure. But at its core, it is a hunter. A hunter of the most interesting film-related tidbits of the day. Can you feel the heat? It’s not enough for director Alex Proyas will make Paradise Lost, the story of the break between Heaven and Hell. But he’s also bringing Djimon Hounsou as the Angel of Death. If there is one actor that I look at on a consistent basis and think, “that man would bring death to me,” it’s Hounsou. It sure beats Bradley Cooper as Lucifer, so we’ll see how it shakes out.

What is Movie News After Dark? It is a nightly film industry news column dedicated to hacking away with the precision of a drunkenly wielded axe at the world of entertainment news. It has lopped off a few heads in its day, so keep your eye on it. We begin tonight with an image from the special Fright Night event held at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin last night. In attendance were McLovin (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), Anton Yelchin and Dave Franco, who looks just a little bit less stoned than his brother James. They made people drink other people’s blood and whatnot. Photo by Jack Plunkett

This week, on a very special episode of Reject Radio, 30 Minutes or Less star Nick Swardson stops by to talk action comedy, and John Gholson from Movies.com makes the case for more female Avengers. Plus, Fat Guy Kevin Carr battles Stan Lee Sound-a-Like Jim Napier from Geek Tyrant in the Movie News Pop Quiz, and the results would make children weep. Listen Here: Download This Episode

Here’s a nice little surprise to start your Thursday morning. Warner Bros. has released a first look image of Henry Cavill as Superman in Zack Snyder’s upcoming reboot, Man of Steel. At first glance, it all looks a little darker and broodier than the Sups men of the past. Even Brandon Routh’s stoic demeanor didn’t look quite as menacing. Cavill’s version, based on this one lone image, looks a little like Danny Zuko crossed with Clark Kent, with something potentially sinister mixed in. Are we sure they’re not doing a remake of Superman III with evil Superman? Also, that suit has a little grunge thing going on. It’s a fascinating indicator as to what sort of style Zack Snyder will be delivering. After the jump you can see the official press release (with no mention of Danny Zuko) and an image you can make full size. Now just try and imagine it all moving in slow-motion.

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly conglomeration of movie news and editorial links that doesn’t see color. It just sees people. Because it’s people that matter. Tonight’s top story: Great Caesar’s Ghost! Lawrence Fishburne will play Perry White in Man of Steel, Zack Snyder’s upcoming Superman reboot. He will be the first non-white version of the Daily Planet editorin any film, comic or television show. It’s a bold choice, no matter how you slice, adding further intrigue to what Snyder and producer Christopher Nolan have in-store for Kal-El.

Despite having a director, a script, and a huge chunk of its cast ready to go, Warner Bros’ upcoming re-re-boot of the Superman franchise is going to have to wait a while before it comes to theaters. Originally the film was scheduled to have a December 2012 release, but Warners has officially announced, while all eyes are on the San Diego Comic Con and comic properties in general, that they are pushing the film back six months to June 14, 2013. No reasons for the move are explicitly given, but there are a few that can be inferred. This is a project that has been rushed and in a bit of turmoil ever since its inception, largely due to copyright issues that Warners is having with the families of Superman’s creators. In order to hold on to the rights for this film, the studio has to have it in production by the end of 2012. That will still happen under the new plan, the film just won’t be released until 2013.

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly column dedicated to links. These links will take you places. Mostly to great articles with topics rooted in the entertainment industry. Sometimes to shenanigans. You just never know. Especially if you don’t read before clicking. Comic-Con begins this week, and as you might expect, our team will be there to bring you all the play-by-play. If you’re around the San Diego Convention Center this coming weekend, keep an eye out for the Rejects. Also, you should read this 25 easy rules of Comic-Con etiquette over at io9. We will adhere to at least 10 of these. We promise.

What is Movie News After Dark? It hasn’t been around for an entire week, so to be honest it’s not really sure. It knows that its primary function is to collect movie news links, but then what? Is there some sort of witty commentary that must be placed before and after said links, or can it just dump the links below? In the haze following its ruckus celebration of America and the death of colonialism, it seems to have forgotten how to do this. Maybe its like riding a bike… with no hands… while holding sprinklers and drinking from a beer helmet… Lets hope so, because that’s all it knows how to do at the moment. Perhaps one of the most overlooked and delightful animated films of the last decade, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs has earned its place atop my Netflix Instant watch queue. I watch it what feels like weekly. And rightly so, as it’s a vibrant display of Sony Pictures Animation’s ability to carve out own unique place inside the shadows of Pixar and Dreamworks. So the fact that Cloudy is getting a sequel makes me happy. Time to go watch it again.

When it was recently mentioned in Movie News After Dark that Christopher Meloni would be joining Zack Snyder’s upcoming Superman film Man of Steel I was left struggling with an overwhelming mix of emotions. There was joy at what an awesome actor Meloni is, whether he’s fondling sweaters in Wet Hot American Summer or looking grim as a detective on Law & Order: SVU. But there was also pain at being left in the dark about exactly which role he would be taking. Would he be playing a big role in the Superman mythos that we hadn’t hear the casting for yet, could he be doing a super secret cameo as a character we’re not supposed to know appears in the film, or would he just be playing a guy in a hard hat who looks up and says something like, “it’s a bird …”?

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly round-up of movie news and informational links that will marry whomever it damn well pleases, male, female, alien or otherwise. Except /Film’s Page 2, that bitch never called it back. She thinks she’s so cool because she’s on a “legitimate” film site that “people actually read.” Bitches be trippin’. Our most photogenic story tonight, a first official look at John Cusack in The Raven (working title) as the tormented Edgar Allen Poe. Lets face it, if that hair (facial and cranial) is real, we should be impressed. Also impressive is the expansive amount of Cusack-related news included in tonight’s edition of Movie News After Dark, so stick around.

At this point it’s starting to become a certainty that Zack Snyder’s upcoming Superman movie Man of Steel is going to be mostly about a young Superman developing an Oedipal complex. First came the news that super sultry Diane Lane was on board to play Superman’s kindly, old earthbound mom Martha Kent. And now it appears that super sexy British actress Julia Ormond is close to signing on as his spacemom Lara. That’s a lot of MILF for one superhero movie. I’m jealous of Superman’s dads, who happen to be Kevin Costner and Russell Crowe.