What is Movie News After Dark? Tonight it’s the column I’m filling in on as Neil Miller journeys to the mystical, frozen land of Chicago. It’s also a list of links to movie or entertainment related things that I either found interesting, noteworthy, or that involved super famous young girls from the Disney channel. Tonight we begin by getting a glimpse at the second season of HBO’s Game of Thrones. WinterisComing.net has a whole host of pictures from the second season that have reminded me of how much I like the show and reinforced the three reasons why I’m looking forward to new episodes so much: boobs, blood, and Brienne. Hopefully we’ll be getting a lot of each.

It looks like your Valentine’s Day movie-going options might now be limited to The Vow, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Safe House, and maybe Rampart if you and your significant other are feeling particularly punchy, as Fox has reportedly ditched their plan to open McG‘s This Means War on the 14th (next Tuesday). Deadline Springwood reports that the studio “hasn’t seen the pic’s poor tracking pick up at all in recent days,” pushing the studio to move the picture back to a wide release date on Friday the 17th, though there will be some sneak peeks sticking around on the 14th. What’s the issue? Well, oddly enough, Nikki Finke herself doesn’t seem to get it – her exclusive post on the matter includes lines like “I don’t get what the moviegoing public’s problem with this pic is: Chris Pine, Tom Hardy, and Reese Witherspoon are just as cool casting as Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams” and “the film didn’t look dumb (and that’s is half the battle with this genre).” Clearly, Finke’s got a short memory on this one – the film went through a protracted cycle of casting, with names like Sam Worthington, Seth Rogen, and Bradley Cooper all getting bandied about before Hardy and Pine finally signed on for the flick (for some, frankly, pretty strange casting – Pine is set as the smooth operator and Hardy is the good boy), and the film was lensed back in 2010. Does the moviegoing public really care about stuff like that? [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]

I’m not sure how we missed this one, but I can only assume it was intentional. If you do a search of our site for the name ‘McG’ you’ll find mostly negative comments, critiques and flat-out insults including us celebrating the idea of the director being launched into space on a one-way ticket. (Of course, you’ll also find my Transformers 2 review that inexplicably calls for an apology to be given to McG.) But while we’re a month late in featuring this trailer for McG’s newest movie, we’re at least covering it with an open mind and a positive attitude. Because surprisingly, This Means War looks like it could actually be kind of fun. Tom Hardy and Chris Pine play CIA agents at the top of their game. They’re partners and friends who have each others backs and would let nothing come between them. Nothing that is, except a hot blonde. When the two discover that they’re both dating the same woman (Reese Witherspoon) they decide to let her choose the better man. But that doesn’t mean they can’t try to hedge their bets using all the skills and equipment at their disposal. So yes, it’s basically Mad Magazine’s Spy vs Spy with a love story angle thrown in as motivation. Check out the trailer below, and get ready to accept the fact that even with Chelsea Handler co-starring it doesn’t look anywhere near as bad as we all feared.

Though it may seem as if Hollywood’s freshest talent is only interested in starring in adapted material if it’s sprung from books that use the words “twilight” or “hunger” or “dreamyvampthing” (maybe not that last one) in their titles, Amanda Seyfried is going a different route. The actress has been attached to the starring role in McG‘s The Girl Who Conned the Ivy League since March, but it wasn’t until today that the director’s Wonderland Sound and Vision, who are producing the project, got around to hiring scribes to adapt the material. Newcomers Chris Shafer and Paul Vicknair will pen the script for the film, which is based on a “Rolling Stone” article of the same name written by Sabrina Rubin Erdely. The film focuses on the incredible real-life story of Esther Reed, a relative nobody from Montana who, by way of a staggering list of crimes, frauds, and out-and-0ut lies, managed to craft a fake identity that got her accepted to Columbia University. Far more than just a whip-smart scammer, Reed also used the identity of a missing girl to meet some of her goals (not cool) and was listed as one of the FBI’s 10 most wanted fugitives (kinda cool). Reed’s story is an interesting, maddening, and ultimately sad one that should make for some compelling cinema. You can read the full article from “Rolling Stone” HERE.

In 2008, Universal made a deal with Hasbro to develop movies based on plastic and particle board. Now, three years later, they’ve dropped Clue, and they’re also more interested in paying Hasbro a $5m penalty than in actually making the Ouija Board Movie. According to Vulture, the project – which was being produced by Michael Bay and directed by McG (a hell of a pair if there ever were one) – is now in turnaround. Bay and McG are now free to shop it around to anyone that wants to take it. This might be just another cautious step in a trend where studios are wising up to what audiences are getting tired of, but it also represents further proof that 90s style filmmaking is dead as a doornail. McG pitched the project as a large-scale adventure ala Jumanji, which sounds like a strong idea, but apparently Universal wasn’t keen on the concept for the price. It’s a signal that that kind of family adventure is done, while blockbusters are still trying to find a type of adventure that does work. Johnny Depp acting drunk seems to work, but apparently not when he’s playing a Native American sidekick. Meanwhile, the only company who’s discovered the formula for consistently bringing in large numbers of adults and children is Pixar. Maybe they should get their busy hands on this one, too.

As if the letter-writing campaign started turning some heads, Fox is going to shoot McG into space for an as-yet-untitled action film. This is actually perfect for the director, especially considering the project was scripted from Doom and Expendables screenwriter David Callaham. Why is it perfect? Because it’ll be completely generic, harmless action set in space with CGI as the main character. This is based completely on the director’s past work, to be fair. It also keeps in mind that he’s not a terrible director; he’s just aggressively average. Fortunately, he might have some surprises up his sleeve with his forthcoming black comedy This Means War, but it’s unlikely that he’s suddenly gained talent beyond middling-hood. If there was any doubt that we were in the zone of diminished returns on the sci-fi craze started by District 9, this should eradicate it. On the other hand, there’s no word on how this will affect, if at all, the Ouija board movie McG is set to do, but they should already have a prop that can give us that information. [Deadline Gainesville]

Despite the optimism that comes with any new film being announced (who wants to be bored for two hours?), it was already difficult to work up some happy thoughts about a movie based on the Ouija board. If they made it like a long, more polished episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark?, maybe it could be interesting. Plus, a super natural thriller of any quality would be enough to stomach the ridiculously blatant product placement. Now, it’s almost impossible to get excited because a music video director that should have stuck to music videos is now reported to be in final negotiations to direct the project. According to Deadline Gaithersburg, McG will be bringing his unique talents to the long-form commercial, putting a strain on positive outlooks everywhere.

Hey, you. Yes, you. No, not that person behind you who seems curiously intent on strangling you with a stand of fishing line. You. I’m guessing you are here because you want to know what’s going on in the world of movies? And chances are you’ve had about enough of the “Film School Rejects attitude” seen in other, more wordy editorials. I’m here to rescue you and give you only the news that you crave as we both stare up at the moon together. And just as you realize that the guy behind you was, in fact, killing you this whole time, you are also going to realize something else: I’m delivering the news with attitude, as well. What can I say, it’s late…

This week, on a very special episode of Reject Radio, Brian Salisbury joins us with his own theme music, and Robert Fure joins us with enough anger and rage to make you think you’re hearing music. We bash the idea of an animated Terminator film, sneak the word “taint” into almost every discussion, and then my guests go head-to-head in a huge action film trivia face-off. Who will emerge victorious? How many times will we mention Michael Dudikoff? You’ll have to listen to find out. Or at least skip ahead to the end where I announce the winner. Plus, we find time to review Scott Pilgrim vs The World and The Expendables.

Prepare to have that slightly awkward crush you’ve always had on the absurdly petite fairy Tinkerbell amplified in the near future. It has something to do with Elizabeth Banks and all of the costume possibilities. Tinkerbell always did wear skimpy outfits, did she not? Alas, this is a story about a new live-action romantic comedy called Tink, in which Banks will play the beloved spreader of pixie dust. It’s being said that with this McG, Adam Shankman produced film “plays with the mischievous nature of the Tinkerbell character.” I’m not sure what that means, but having McG and Adam Shankman involved isn’t making me feel any easier about it. Banks works, but the guy who is responsible for Cheaper by the Dozen 2 does not. The good news is that the project is yet to attach a director, meaning that it still could go either way. For now, consider me hopeful as I ponder Elizabeth Banks in a Tinkerbell outfit. Don’t judge me. [Variety]

After the success of both Wedding Crashers and The Hangover, Bradley Cooper seemed ready to jump all over the wave of good fortune and get to work on becoming a genuine movie star. And since, he’s made a series of good choices.Today we learned of another good choice made by the young actor: to stay far away from Terminator Salvation director McG.

After dispensing upon the world a movie (Terminator Salvation) that probably made James Cameron cry, sometimes not-so-bad director McG is heading to the world of formula action-comedy. And of course he’s bringing along his keen eye for telling the story of romance, with action.

So here we are with a fourth Terminator movie, helmed by McG no less. This time, it’s Batman versus Perseus in a post-apocalyptic smackdown. It may not be the best of the series, but you just might believe it is after playing this game.

With the exit of Disney studio chief Dick Cook, a few projects that were once on the fast track would ultimately be left behind in the wake of change. Enter the first victim, the McG directed Captain Nemo: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

Randall Wallace (Braveheart) has been brought aboard the vessel that will carry director McG and the folks at Disney 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

We’re feeding grist into the mill with the non-news that the next Terminator installment might be set in Merry Olde England.

Just because we’d rather terminate Terminator Salvation rather than watch it again doesn’t mean we don’t want a sequel. We just want one that meets all of our demands.

In honor of just how big of a summer movie Terminator Salvation is, we doubled up our normal 10 and 5 column. Unfortunately, McG doubled up the bad so we’re all pretty disappointed.

The reviews for Terminator Salvation are mixed. Not exactly what the studio would hope for with a summer tentpole. Does that mean they should stop the franchise? The usual idiots verbally spar it out for this week’s Shouting Match.

Kevin defends what some have called a death threat to McG.