What is Movie News After Dark? It is a nightly movie news column that is definitely holding a picture of Harvey Dent. Not because it has anything to do with The Dark Knight Rises, but because it still believes in Gotham’s white knight. As any seasoned FSR reader could tell you, we don’t really like running an abundance of set photos. Because, as any filmmaker or film purist might tell you, set photos are never delivered with the right context or polish, thus you’re not really getting a look at the finished project. That said, I’m sure I’d be run out of town if we didn’t at least mention the new Dark Knight Rises set photos floating around the web, as they reveal Batman and a fully costumed Bane (Tom Hardy) duking it out in the snowy streets of Pittsburgh. The lead image tonight is perhaps the best of them, but more can be found over at ComicBookMovie.com.

I’m not a parent, but I know that you’re a bad one. You know why? Because you probably took your kids to see Cars 2 this weekend. I know what you’re thinking: “What’s wrong with Cars 2, it’s just a harmless little kids movie.” Well, it’s destroying America with it’s anti-oil message, indoctrinating our children to become Prius-buying, David Simon-worshipping tree huggers so the late-term-aborting hippie liberals at Pixar can do their part in carrying out Hollywood’s takeover of family values. You’re probably thinking, “But Landon, children typically don’t understand subtext. And when children grow up in a free democratic society such as ours they often question for themselves the values and ideas they were exposed to as children and eventually adopt a perspective that makes the most sense to them, thus making your use of ‘indoctrination’ hyperbolic and short-sighted. Anyway, even if they did understand what Pixar was doing, children don’t give a ratatouille’s ass about politics, the free market, offshore drilling, or our over-reliance on fossil fuels. They just want to watch a movie about talking cars. Also, being a child of the late 80s/early 90s, you grow up with a lot of environmentally-aware children’s entertainment like Jim Henson’s TV show Dinosaurs and movies like FernGully and The Brave Little Toaster, yet those didn’t inform your political perspective in either direction just as they didn’t make you think dinosaurs wore clothes and acted like the cast of All in the Family.” That would all be fine and dandy [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]

Simple, elegant and whimsical. All three words accurately describe this one minute teaser for Pixar’s next original work, Brave. Disney and Pixar released it today, mostly in celebration of the success it’s having attached to Cars 2, which won a decisive victory at the box office this weekend. With all the talk of Pixar sequels, including revelations about a fourth Toy Story film, it’s even more delightful to see them working on something not based on previously existing material. In this brief tease we meet Princess Merida, a Scottish warrior princess who will be voiced by Kelly MacDonald. She’s got red hair, a bow and arrow and she’s about to take down a bear. That’s one badass lady.

If you believe that the ending to Toy Story 3 was perfect, how would you feel about another film in the franchise? Tom Hanks revealed that he believed Pixar was actively working on Toy Story 4, and although the studio hasn’t confirmed the comment, it doesn’t exactly seem out of line considering their current love affair with returning to characters of the past, the amount of money that was made on the last one, and a few other hints and things left unsaid. Director Lee Unkrich commented last year that they would try to find ways for the characters to stay alive (shorts were one method), and Tim Allen even signed a contract for a fourth movie. Apparently he had free time waiting for Galaxy Quest 2 to get ramped up (which isn’t happening but totally should). Although the ending was wrapped up nice and tightly, there’s absolutely narrative room for a return to see what the characters are up to. The question that remains is the same question for all franchises that reach this point: will they overstay their welcome with a fourth film? There’s no real answer, but if Pixar sticks to its guns about creating a movie based on their desire to film a strong story, then it’s difficult to see how it could go wrong. This comes on the heels of Cars 2 hitting toy aisles theaters, but Woody, Buzz and the gang always had more appeal than the giant-eyed automobiles. Still, after an ending so [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]

We applaud you, Pixar. Your cash-cow generating skills are unmatched even when you don’t seem to be putting in the same amount of effort as usual. Such is the case with Cars 2, a Pixar movie that isn’t exactly universally loved. I know. That’s groundbreaking in and of itself. But despite being a critical underachiever, Cars 2 still managed to lap its competitors and fall in line with much of Pixar’s slate. It’s $68m weekend puts it at #5 on the opening chart for the studio, ahead of Wall-E and just under 2009’s Up. This opening also puts the movie at #4 on the all-time biggest June opening in history, a list whose top five includes three Pixar films. Wall-E’s $63m opening weekend in 2008 and Toy Story 3’s $110.3m opening from last year are the other two.

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.

This week, Fat Guy Kevin Carr is inspired by Larry the Cable Guy and his character of Mater in the Cars movies. After all, if a buck-toothed rusty redneck pick-up truck can travel the world, why can’t a bald-yet-hairy fat guy from Ohio can do so as well. Kevin lurked in the streets of Tokyo, hoping to stumble onto some classy British spies and uncover a plot to undermine green energy sources. Then he brushed off his teaching degree and got a job at a middle school where he drank profusely, slept through the day and threw dodge balls at the kids. When he tried to explain to the cops that he was just following in the way of Cameron Diaz’s character from Bad Teacher, they just laughed at him and hauled him away.

What is Movie News After Dark? It is not a sentient being sent to Earth to bring you nightly doses of absolute and unquestionable brilliance. It is not the wittiest chap at the tea party. It is not an ad-free experience. It is, however, a nightly gathering of entertainment news and views that works very hard to win your affection. Except for last night, when its usually diligent author felt pain so bold that it had him contemplating watching Glitter again… Breaking tonight is the news that Seth Gordon, director of such films as The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters and Four Christmases, is now attached to direct a remake of the 1983 film WarGames. This news will undoubtedly be met with mixed reactions, as their is a delicate balance between people’s hatred for remakes and their enjoyment of the works of Seth Gordon. Which will win out? More at 11…

Why Watch? Because it’s early magic. Pixar has another movie hitting theaters tomorrow, and it seems like the consensus points to a bit of the magic that makes their animation stand out being lost on this one (just as it was lost on its predecessor). But even if you’re not interested in Larry the Cable Guy making a lot of jokes as a tow truck, this short is a nice shot of history and heartwarming to brighten the day. It’s easy to see Toy Story being born from this short directed by John Lasseter, but it’s a good thing the technology evolved. What does it cost? Just 4 minutes of your time. Check out Tin Toy for yourself:

Five years after the success of Cars, Pixar finally drops the second installment on waiting audiences in Cars 2. I am unabashedly a Pixar fan; I’ve loved almost everything they’ve offered up since ’95′s Toy Story. This noted, Cars 2 is one of the most unintentionally weird and schizophrenic mainstream features I’ve seen in theaters in a long time. Film-goers are thrust into the current plot via a violent, ten minute intro to the newest character in the Cars universe, Finn McMissile (Michael Caine), as he attempts to uncover the nefarious scheming of Professor Zündapp (Thomas Kretschmann) on an ocean oil rig. It’s showy and fun, but the eventual payoff is, again, very weird.

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly movie news round-up that takes place after the sun has set, as the title suggests. On Sunday’s it is a relaxed, refreshed look at what happened over the weekend. Which usually isn’t much, but we do our best. We open tonight with a new photo from Captain America: The First Avenger, a surprisingly detailed look at Red Skull released this weekend by Paramount Pictures. Surprisingly detailed in the make-up effects, which I believe to be some of the best we’ve seen this year. We’ll see how sinister Hugo Weaving plays it, but he looks good thus far. And because I love you, I’ve set up a full Captain America photo gallery here.

What is Movie News After Dark? Usually it’s a pretty straightforward look at what’s happening in the world of film. But sometimes, mostly on Friday nights when we’ve run out of actual news, it becomes an eclectic mix of notes and links that will tickle your cinema-loving fancy. It’s full of things you might want to read after heading out to see this week’s new releases. So read it, before you fall asleep and dream of what’s in Super 8‘s mystery box… Roger Ebert has extended the reach of his ever-growing empire. He will now be on your iPad, should you choose to download him. Ebert’s Greatest Movies app has hit iOS devices, recommending to you all the greatest that cinema has to offer. Think of it as a Cliff’s Notes version of his books, and a great cheat-sheet for filling up your Netflix queue.

What is Movie News After Dark? Whatever it was last night has been shed, and tonight it is back to its old self: a movie news round-up that appears nightly, pulls no punches and always delivers the goods. For those who were disappointed in last night’s non-entry — especially that guy who called me “LAZY” — please accept my apology in the form of tonight’s exquisite assortment of entertaining goodies. Tonight’s lead image comes from Pixar’s new short, Luna. It’s the coming-of-age story of a young boy who is taught the strange details of his family’s business. As with everything Pixar-related, it looks beautiful. And we can only imagine that it will have some sort of heart-warming human elements. Nothing plucks heart strings like a little lineage and a father with a massive mustache.

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly movie news column that often sits around in its best lingerie a little too much. Like Emma Frost in the new X-Men film, it loves walking around in its skivvies. However, unlike Ms. Frost and her lovely attire, it does not receive a positive response. It’s okay, because this movie news column is not a real thing. It’s just an object. We begin tonight with a scantly glad, hollow-gazing January Jones lounging around in Matthew Vaughn’s uber-stylish X-Men: First Class. What I find interesting about Jones is that whether she’s about to turn into a woman with diamond-coated skin or she’s waiting for Don Draper to come home from a night of whoring around, it’s the same facial expression. That’s consistency.

Every week, Landon Palmer and Cole Abaius log on to their favorite chat client of 1996 as EruditeSmurf007 and NostalgiaFiend238 in order to discuss some topical topic of interest. This week, the pair rewatches the trailer for The Smurfs in an attempt to figure out why something that harmless needs to be modernized. Weren’t they cute and lovable before? Does a movie like that really need to fake appeal to a snarky teenage audience or should children and their parents be enough? Who is responsible for Smurfette flashing her panties at everyone and who on the production thought pop culture references would buoy a terrible film? In shorter terms, why can’t certain film productions get childhood icons right?

What is Movie News After Dark? It is (d) all of the above. “La Luna is the timeless fable of a young boy who is coming of age in the most peculiar of circumstances.” That’s the opening of the synopsis to Pixar’s La Luna, the short that will play the Annecy International Animation Festival next month in France. It’s our adorable headlining image. (Courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures)

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a movie news column that is content with entertaining you on a nightly basis with the best links and tidbits the web has to offer. But in reality, it wishes that it could be out there fighting for the side of humanity in the great world war against the zombie invasion. It has big dreams, this nightly feature. As you know, there are three things I can’t avoid writing about in this here column: Michael Bay movies, Doctor Who and World War Z. The third is perhaps one of the greatest texts ever written about the zombie apocalypse. What I did not know is that it was almost turned into an awesome video game, as this Kotaku investigative report suggests. As you can see from tonight’s headline image, it would have been very cool.

What is Movie News After Dark? Someone said something nice about it the other day, so it’s feeling sort of full of itself. Luckily this means that there will be more news, more snark and even a few surprises in tonight’s entry! There really is nothing like a self-aware movie news column with a sense of purpose. In addition to the surprisingly dark first trailer, Fox has released some HD concept art for the ineptly titled Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The art is also quite stunning, showing off some large scale scenes. Most interesting is the fact that it hints at a movie that focuses much of its time on the actual ape uprising, rather than the build-up. I’m ready to see humanity swallowed by simian rage. Aren’t you?

What is Movie News After Dark? If you have to ask, then you can’t afford to miss it. I’ll admit it, I’m excited about Mortal Kombat Legacy, the web series from Kevin Tancharoen, who put together that excellent Mortal Kombat: Rebirth short film not too long ago. It looks like a solid take on a franchise that is always towing the line between badass and sillidiculous. And the first look at Sub-Zero, as played by Kevan Ohtsji, leans toward the former. The web series premieres April 12 on Machinima’s YouTube Channel.

It’s no surprise that Pixar is going into its bullpen to choose a director for their sequel to Monsters, Inc. Neil cast his vote for Angus MacLane (who directed the Wall-E short Burn-E), but we can now confirm that the job has gone to Dan Scanlon. This will be Scanlon’s first feature film, but he has a writing credit on Cars, a co-director credit on the short Mater and the Ghostlight, and he’s acted as a storyboard artist on several project. It’s difficult to say what kind of job Scanlon will do with Monsters University, but he’s got the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the Pixar team. The question really is, what will fans want to see in the sequel? What kind of partying does a young monster do while away at school?