Rian Johnson first won the hearts of film fans by mixing the noir and teen movie genres in 2005’s Brick, and coming up in 2012 he’s set to wow us all again by mixing the time travel movie up with the assassin thriller in Looper. This one sees Johnson once again working with Brick star Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who will be playing an assassin that kills people who have been sent back in time; one of those targets being Bruce Willis. You can basically think of Gordon-Levitt as a T-800 and Willis as Michael Biehn. Except, Looper has a twist. While I’m sure this will all be revealed in the film’s advertising, be warned, thar be spoilers ahead.

The powers that be at Film School Rejects were wise enough to include Rian Johnson‘s sci-fi pic Looper as one of our Most Anticipated Films of 2012, and it’s certainly in my top 3 for the year as well. Sadly, the film is still far off and we’ve only gotten a few behind-the-scenes pics (via Looper‘s Twitter feed) and an official shot showcasing Bruce Willis doing what he does best. Now we have gotten another behind-the-scenes picture which may give you a better idea of what to expect. Johnson released this pretty damn cool shot of the film’s time travel machine, and it looks like a down and dirty time machine, a.k.a. it’s not shiny and all that stuff.

Since we all have a million dollars, our minds are almost always tuned to the day dream of what kind of movie we’d make with all that loose cash just lying around (since banks do nothing but lose things). Would it be a romantic horror film? Would it be a silent action film? Would we blow of all of it on lighting and forget the other elements of production design? Probably. Fortunately, we’ve all had a few filmmakers tread before us in using their million bucks with efficiency and artistry. In a world where Michael Bay needs 200 suitcases full of $1m, these directors made it happen with only one of those suitcases (or no suitcases at all), and they created a lasting legacy despite their lack of foldin’ money. If they can do it, why not us? Here are 8 great films made for under a million dollars that we can all learn from. (And if you enter our contest sponsored by Doritos, you might actually win that $1m you need for all those lights.)

In 1985, the Graphics Group in LucasFilm‘s Computer Division was on the chopping block. As Robert Sutton relates, George Lucas wasn’t confident that computer animated films had much of a future, and as a result, department heads Ed Catmull and Alvy Ray Smith (two pioneers of extreme importance) were being pressured to fire some of their workers. Instead, they offered up their own names to be culled, which saved the entire division. At least for that moment. It’s unclear what fate might have fallen on the Graphics Group had the Computer Division not been purchased in 1986 by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs for a tidy $5m. Of course, we know this department by another name: Pixar. Jobs put his money down on a company he believed in, and the result stands currently as 26 Academy Awards, an absurd amount of box office money, a legion of fans worldwide and nearly complete animation dominance in the movie world. In 2006, Disney bought Pixar at an evaluated worth of $7.4b, making Jobs the largest Disney shareholder. He is stepping down as Apple’s CEO today, and even though it’s hard to say what kind of effect that might have on the film world, Jobs’s legacy already extends far beyond Pixar and beyond The Mouse.

What is Movie News After Dark? This is a question that I am almost never asked, but I will answer it for you anyway. Movie News After Dark is FSR’s newest late-night secretion, a column dedicated to all of the news stories that slip past our daytime editorial staff and make it into my curiously chubby RSS ‘flagged’ box. It will (but is not guaranteed to) include relevant movie news, links to insightful commentary and other film-related shenanigans. I may also throw in a link to something TV-related here or there. It will also serve as my place of record for being both charming and sharp-witted, but most likely I will be neither of the two. I write this stuff late at night, what do you expect?

What is Movie News After Dark? This is a question that I am almost never asked, but I will answer it for you anyway. Movie News After Dark is FSR’s newest late-night secretion, a column dedicated to all of the news stories that slip past our daytime editorial staff and make it into my curiously chubby RSS ‘flagged’ box. It will (but is not guaranteed to) include relevant movie news, links to insightful commentary and other film-related shenanigans. I may also throw in a link to something TV-related here or there. It will also serve as my place of record for being both charming and sharp-witted, but most likely I will be neither of the two. I write this shit late at night, what do you expect?

In Looper, a group travels back in time to kill people. It’s their job, and the pay is probably outstanding. Here are the speakers and min-scooters on which they jam to the latest tunes and ride to important business meetings. The fine folks over at / have gotten their hands on some concept props for the movie, designed by the industrial design majors of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Looper has already got Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in starring roles plus whoever else director Rian Johnson can entice into smaller parts for his science fiction attack on linear time structures. One of those smaller roles is going to be played by none other than Paul Dano. According to The Playlist, Dano will play another hitman who uses time travel to kill people. This raises the big question of whether Hitler is going down or not. Maybe they’ll just go back in time and tell him that his artwork is the tops. Would that be enough to prevent the mass killings? Probably. It wouldn’t stop the mustache though. At any rate, Looper starts filming soon, and Johnson will most likely loop even more strong talents into the mix.

This week, on a very special episode of Reject Radio, we have a surprise visit from FSR publisher and beard enthusiast Neil Miller who reminds everyone why he’s really a big softie beneath that rugged exterior. Instead of the usual news and reviews, the show is one large Segment Three where we give thanks for the cinematic wonders of 2010 (and the fact that the year is almost over). If you’re heartbroken that we didn’t review Burlesque, please pick up your consolation prize on your way out. Listen Here: Download This Episode

On Friday, Warners sent out a twitter missive into the world thanking fans for sending them support for Veronica Mars – the erstwhile show about the plucky teenage detective solving cases while she solved her own. In return, the studio set up an email address where fans can write in (ostensibly to give numeric proof that the demand for a movie is there). Warners shouldn’t wait for that numeric proof. They’ve gone that route before by looking at ratings for a show that was on a network no one’s heard of and by looking at DVD sales. The numbers aren’t there, but the character is, and when good writing is staring you in the face, that writing should be reason enough to make things happen. Since that’s the least convincing business argument, here are three better reasons for why Warners needs to make a move on Veronica Mars.

There’s a title I never thought I’d write. But it’s true. In from Cannes is the news that Bruce Willis is joining the cast of Rian Johnson’s science fiction time travel story Looper.

By now, you should all know that Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Brick, 500 Days of Summer, The Lookout) is awesome. So it’s double awesome news that he’s in negotiations to star in TWO action thrillers!

Charles Carter is investigated in the death of President Warren Harding, duels with his nemesis Mysterioso, falls in love, out of love, in love again, and manages to escape life’s harshest dangers even when they have him bound in a straight jacket and thrown into the river.

This week, on a very special episode of Reject Radio, we laugh and cry about the state of independent filmmaking while eating leftover Halloween candy.

Film School Rejects chats with ‘The Brothers Bloom’ director about his love for con man stories, his unique stylistic vision and working with a cast full of famous people, on a big scale, in Eastern Europe.

A beautiful new trailer for Rian Johnson’s new film plus a pretty cool new one sheet. Watch it before going out to buy your own bowler hat.

As I’ve explained in the past, I am more than excited about director Rian Johnson’s sophomore effort The Brothers Bloom. And oddly enough, the fact that Summit Entertainment is moving the film from early January to a May release is a cause for optimism rather than disappointment.

If there is one up and coming director that we are watching closely, it is Rian Johnson. And if there is one sci-fi flick we are now looking forward to, it is Looper.

If it has not yet become clear that I am excited about The Brothers Bloom, the sophomore effort from Brick director Rian Johnson, allow me to spell it out for you: I am very excited about The Brothers Bloom.

Brick director to try sci-fi with his third film, Looper. I need to change now.