What is Movie News After Dark? If you have to ask, then maybe it’s not for you. We begin this evening with a shot of Noomi Rapace in Prometheus. The former Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is going interstellar for director Ridley Scott, whose return to big sci-fi has made my own 5 most anticipated of 2012 short list when I delivered such picks on this week’s Reject Radio. It seems a fitting start to the final News After Dark of the week.

All I want for Christmas is for the bizarre trickle (leaks and all) of Prometheus marketing (teaser trailers for teaser trailers? seriously?) to stop and for everyone to stop ruminating on how Ridley Scott‘s latest fits into the Alien universe. It’s clearly a prequel, but that could just be the eggnog talking. The film stars a seriously wonderful cast that includes Noomi Rapace (in just her second English-language role), Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender, and Idris Elba. The film was once touted as a direct prequel to Scott’s 1979 sci-fi classic Alien, though since the film’s initial conception, the cast and crew of the film have turned cagey, tossing off terms like “being in the same universe of” the Alien films, which was weird enough already. And that was until said marketing trickle, with all signs pointing to “yes, this is a prequel.” And, today, finally the first trailer for the film, which hits two notes – “incredibly awesome” and “totally a prequel.” I’ll stop hemming and hawing now and let you take in the trailer for one of 2012′s most anticipated new releases. Check out the first (really, actually, truly official) trailer for Prometheus after the break.

Guy Ritchie was far from the most obvious choice to direct a big budget, period action comedy that hoped to turn the Sherlock Holmes name into a 21st century franchise. But half a billion dollars (worldwide) later he found himself the man behind a monster hit… and its inevitable sequel. Two years later, that sequel is now a reality, and the question becomes can Ritchie strike gold twice in a row with another entertaining blockbuster? Or has he delivered the Victorian equivalent of Speed 2: Cruise Control… Depending on how you look at it the answer sits somewhere in between. A Game of Shadows brings back the two major players in Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and Watson (Jude Law), but instead of a generic villain with mysterious motivations we get Arthur Conan Doyle’s most notorious and evil mastermind pulling the strings and doling out the pain. Ritchie’s sequel tries to stick with the first film’s mix of stylish camera work, exciting set pieces, and witty banter between its leads, but unfortunately it falters almost as often as it succeeds.

The ridiculous trend of foreign language films getting English-language remakes immediately after they leave theaters marches on. This time around we’ve got Brian De Palma looking to remake the French film Crime d’amour, which just opened in U.S. theaters in September. The original film is a sort of psychological thriller in which a high-powered executive played by Kristin Scott Thomas takes on a young assistant, played by Ludivine Sagnier, so that she can toy with and corrupt her. A turn happens, however, when Thomas’s character overestimates the Sagnier character’s innocence and naiveté, and eventually the student becomes the master of manipulation. I haven’t seen it, but it sounds kind of sexy. De Palma is taking the film, which was released in the U.S. as Love Crime, and remaking it as Passion. And according to a report from Indiewire, he’s got his two lead actresses in mind. Apparently he’s looking to Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows co-stars Noomi Rapace and Rachel McAdams to fill the roles, and is currently in negotiations to sign them up.

The Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows junket included a massive press conference that featured so much talent from the sequel to Guy Ritchie‘s 2009 film that they needed to be arranged in stadium seating, including stars Robert Downey Jr., Noomi Rapace, and Jared Harris, director Ritchie, producers Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, and Susan Downey, screenwriters Michele Mulroney and Kieran Mulroney, and composer Hans Zimmer. Jude Law couldn’t make it because, as RDJ put it, “his son had a soccer game.” For forty-five minutes, the group fielded questions from the Los Angeles press (let’s be honest, Downey fielded questions from the press, frequently begging for someone to toss a query at one of the nine other people sitting around and behind him), and all the microphone-grabbing and cracks at banter did yield some interesting tidbits. Mainly, a story about Hans Zimmer essentially kidnapping thirteen gypsies, but that’s for later. After the break, break out your steampunk-inspired magnifying glasses and try to follow along, Watson, as we investigate the case of the eleven things we learned at the Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows press conference.

Last week, the Internet was swarmed with a bevy of information and bootlegged marketing from Ridley Scott‘s upcoming Prometheus, his Alien maybe-kinda-sorta-in a way-prequel. Various spots around the web posted a variety of material, from a bootlegged trailer to some scanned stills from the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, and (most interestingly enough) a reported official synopsis. If you saw any of those things, this batch of official stills from the film will look quite familiar, but you didn’t, these five photos will be pretty intriguing. Scott’s latest crack at his own mythology features an all-star cast that includes Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender, and Noomi Rapace. And, well, you know, a giant metal head. What does it all mean? I don’t know either, but at least we’ve got something much more officially official to look at until the film opens on June 8, 2012. Check out four more stills from Prometheus after the break.

What is Movie News After Dark? Like Lexus, it’s relentless in its pursuit of perfection. Unlike Lexus, it’s a movie news column. It also won’t cost you anything. Take that, Lexus. Pop quiz, hot shot. How many Clash of the Titans movies does this modern world need? One? No. Two? Not even close. How about three Clash of the Titans movies, ah-ha-ha. Yes, Warner Bros. is already prepping a third Clash of the Titans film, which will most likely come complete with a terribly muted, dark and blurry 3D post-conversion. You know, for the kids.

Enjoy playing Count The Explosions in the next trailer for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. While there’s still a subdued kind of excitement to the proceedings, it’s not short on very quick chemical reactions. Hopefully the film will be an improvement on the first. At any rate, Guy Ritchie is raising the stakes by including Moriarty, Holmes’s greatest foe, played by Jared Harris. Of course Robert Downey, Jr. is back alongside Jude Law, and while they’ll be joined by Noomi Rapace, we’ll also apparently see the return of Rachel McAdams to the series. Check it out for yourself:

It was pretty clear from the Prometheus Comic-Con footage that there are more ties to Alien than the film makers are letting on. Whether or not it deals with the Xenomorphs is still up in the air, but the look of the film clearly fits into that universe. Bleak, beautiful, and epic were all adjectives that came to mind while watching the brief footage. This is a pure sci-fi horror film. While it may be PG-13, and I’m betting it will be, that may not matter all that much. As writer Damon Lindelof says below, this is a film that relies heavily on atmosphere. The story also deals with the obvious: playing God. The title alone gives you a big hint as to what the film is about. The tale of Prometheus tells the story of man stealing fire from the Gods. Here, it’s about man searching for answers to questions they probably should not be looking for. Here’s what writer Damon Lindelof had to say about fusing his own sensibilities with Ridley’s, making a hopeful horror movie, and writing distinct women:

Sherlock Holmes has always been a character steeped in a rich tradition of intellectual wit and gamesmanship. He’s a thinker, a strategist and an insane tactician fit to do battle with all the world’s most devious antagonists. But to hell with that, as Guy Ritchie is giving us the more explosive, action hero Sherlock Holmes. And while its not a thinking man’s game, it sure looks like a hell of a lot of fun. With the first trailer for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, the sequel to the fun, stylish, slow-motiony 2009 Robert Downey Jr. led film, Ritchie and crew lay it all on the line: in this round, Sherlock will be dashing and daring in equal measure, while Watson will continue to be frustrated. The boys are back and I’m betting on fun, so lets take a look at the tape. Also, Robert Downey Jr. in drag…

Over the past few years Catherine Hardwicke has become known as something of a hack director, seeing as she’s mostly spent her time churning out a couple of crappy, teenage monster romances in Twilight and Red Riding Hood. But don’t forget that she broke into the business with the indie film Thirteen, which turned a lot of heads and wasn’t anywhere near as poor in quality as her big studio efforts. She does have the potential for more. And it’s looking like, with her next film, she’s going to be trying to get back to things that she’s more interested in as an artist. Recently, when speaking to Collider, Hardwicke made mention of her next project by saying, “It’s in Sweden and Germany, and it’s really wild. I can’t quite talk about it, but we’ll probably do the announcement in a couple of weeks.  It’s a very fun, very crazy story that goes back to more of my Thirteen days. It’s more indie, raw and gritty, and it’s a true story.”

What is Movie News After Dark? First, it is hoping that you had a great weekend. Because it did. It went to the drive-in, had great movie discussions and watched a Michael Bay film about ‘splosions. It looks forward to spending the week sharing with you the hottest tids and bits of the movie news world. Second, it’s not a person. It knows this. This makes it sort of sad. Christian Annyas has curated a very interesting gallery of prints by Saul Bass (a personal favorite of mine), and the DVD covers that have come from his work. It’s sad to see so many companies ditch the poster designs and opt for simpler DVD cover designs, is it not?

There has been a lot of hubbub over Ridley Scott’s upcoming sci-fi epic Prometheus. First it was described as being an Alien prequel, then it wasn’t an Alien prequel, and eventually it settled on being a film that had some strong ties to Alien. The casting has been in full swing, as names like Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, and Noomi Rapace have all been signed up to play key roles. Speculation and anticipation as to what the film will actually end up being is at a fever pitch, and Rapace has sat down with MTV to talk a little bit about her role.

Scott is doing a great job stirring up a bunch of hype and speculation for his upcoming sci-fi epic Prometheus. First it was supposed to be an Alien prequel, and then it wasn’t an Alien prequel. Eventually it was explained to have some thematic tie to the Alien universe. What has been clear for a while, though, is that the cast looks impressive. Already on board to play key roles were Michael Fassbender, Noomi Rapace, and Charlize Theron. Fassbender and Rapace have become pretty hot properties in the film world over the last year or two, and Theron is a big name that has turned in great performances in the past. This should indicate that the source material of Prometheus is nothing to sneeze at. I can’t imagine this being any sort of cookie cutter sci-fi romp and still being able to lure in all that talent. Well, a couple more names have started to fill out the cast, and I’m excited about one in particular. The Daily Mail reports that Idris Elba, Kate Dickie, and Sean Harris have joined the cast. I’m not familiar with any of Harris or Dickie’s work, but I’m always glad to see Elba signing on for film roles. He is, of course, an actor from the constantly pimped to you everywhere you go HBO series The Wire, which is the best thing on television, ever. That show was full of great acting, and Elba’s role as Stringer Bell was one of the most important

There are few things that demand to be as celebrated as grown men wearing lipstick and dresses for public entertainment. Fortunately, Robert Downey Jr also knows that, happens to be a fan of Some Like It Hot, and came up with the idea of Sherlock Holmes going under cover under some ladies’ undergarments. Even more revelations came to light about the production when Entertainment Tonight went on the set, and they’ve delivered unto the world a video of their exploits. Try not to let the last comments seem too much like Downey Jr claiming he and Jude Law could beat up Noomi Rapace. Even though that’s what he says. Plus, if you stay through the video, ET teases some hot pics of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie at the Golden Globes, plus pictures of Jennifer Aniston with her shirt unbuttoned. Both promise to be hard-hitting.

Those holding their breath for the Alien prequel to go away, or to pass over without doing much damage to the franchise can breathe easy now. They may even want to use that fresh influx of oxygen to cheer. Deadline Bisbee is reporting that from the bones and ashes of the Alien prequel comes Prometheus, rising like a phoenix who invented fire. Mixed metaphors aside, the universe of Alien is expanding and opening its arms for an original story with original characters. Noomi Rapace is on board to play a scientist named Elizabeth Shaw, and the second major role of Vickers is being battled over by Charlize Theron and Angelina Jolie. So what the hell is it about?

This week, on a very special episode of Reject Radio, Luke Mullen and Brian Salisbury stop by to dig into the problems of the MPAA, review three terrible awful no-good very bad films, and share with us 6 things they’ve seen on film that they can’t un-see. It’s incredibly effective, and you’ll be moved. Plus, we make jokes about Pepe Le Pew. En Francais.

Although her husband thinks she’s the new Sigourney Weaver, Milla Jovovich isn’t on the short list of actresses being looked at for the leading role in Ridley Scott’s new 3D Alien movie. The production has seriously looked at Abbie Cornish (who you know and will know from Bright Star and the forthcoming Sucker Punch) and Carey Mulligan (who you know from being adorable and Oscar-worthy in everything), but the front runner is apparently Noomi Rapace from The Original Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. All the usual caveats apply here (including that she’s not actually Ripley because Ripley hasn’t been born yet in this story), but if Rapace gets the job, it tells us one thing about the character Scott and company have in mind: she’s a bad ass. This would be great news not only because Alien is a stand out as far as strong female leads are concerned, but because it would mean introducing Rapace to a larger American audience as a woman who could make you want to move in with her and then beat you in the face with the butt of her gun for thinking it. Sounds like a brilliant casting choice. [Deadline Mansfield]

Jeremy Renner and Noomi Rapace should probably start collecting bread crumbs now as it appears they’ll be playing Hansel and Gretel in the near future. Renner is in Venice promoting his new film, The Town, and he gave an interview where he spoke about upcoming projects. He mentioned production on Mission Impossible IV starts soon but then added that he’s also attached to Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. “I play him [Hansel],” Renner said, “and Noomi Rapace plays Gretel. They have become adults, are damned, and are going on witch hunting.”

Stiegg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy continues to dominate the New York Times bestsellers lists just as it did across Europe, and the film adaptations are doing brisk business as well. The first film, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (review here), didn’t top the US box-office (it is subtitled after all), but it did very well in limited release. It appeared on DVD and Blu-ray this week and both formats currently sit near the top of the sales charts. The inevitable US remake is still in pre-production and cast speculations run rampant, but for those of us who don’t mind reading while we watch the second film in the Swedish trilogy is about to reach our screens. The Girl Who Played With Fire picks up roughly a year after the conclusion of Dragon Tattoo, and our two leads have gone their separate ways. Once-disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) is back in the saddle both as co-publisher of Millennium Magazine and as occasional sex buddy with his long time magazine partner, Erika Berger. He hasn’t seen the odd and fiercely intelligent Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) for quite some time and is unsure why she left and where she’s gone. For those of you with short-term memory loss, Dragon Tattoo saw Blomkvist convicted of libel and decide to take on a forty year-old missing person case while he awaits sentencing. His investigation crosses paths with Salander and the two join forces and genitals to solve the case and stop a present-day killer.