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 is absolutely patently false that there has been any discussion about Harrison Ford being in Blade Runner. To be clear, what we are trying to do with Ridley now is go through the painstaking process of trying to break the back of the story, figure out the direction we’re going to take the movie and find a writer to work on it. The casting of the movie could not be further from our minds at this moment.” That’s Alcon producer Andrew Kosove busting a vein to deny the previous rumor about Ford jumping aboard the forthcoming sci-fi project from Ridley Scott. So, yes, the headline is a joke, but isn’t it a bit incredible how Scott has captured our attention with Prometheus and promises of more replicants? The internet movie nerd world hasn’t seen this level of passionate/absurd argument since nipples were put on the Bat Suit. And it’s all over the distinction of whether Scott’s stories will be continuations or prequels or have the same DNA. It’s downright bizarre, because the movies will be what they are, and the only thing that will matter is if they excite us and transport us. Hopefully after they hit theaters, no one will care anymore what their label is. As for Ford, it’s a harsh rejection from Alcon. They seem more than a bit defensive about the rumor – perhaps because it would injure their ability to craft the story, perhaps because they’re trying to avoid Ford and the credibility/baggage he [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]

Why Watch? If it’s part creepy and part endearing, it must be from Jim Henson, right? io9 keenly celebrated this find from the ATT Tech Youtube channel – a short created by Henson in 1963 for a business owner seminar from The Bell System. Even without seeing his name on the work, you could have guessed it. His unique artistic sense is on display here in a fantastic, desperate monologue from a robot that loves ingesting vast oceans of information smoke. Adorable and unnerving. Yeah, it’s Henson alright. What will it cost? Only 3 minutes. Skip Work. You’ve Got Time For More Short Films.

The found fauxtage superhero flick Chronicle comes out next week, but Max Landis has already lined up his next project over at Disney. According to Variety, The Mouse has taken the bait on a space adventure from the writer. Not only is it untitled (or without a title they can release at least), there’s also essentially no information on it at all. It involves a brother and sister going through an emotional journey. And there’s space. From that, it’s easy to assume that it will be science fiction on a large scale. What’s interesting is that Disney seems to be putting healthy stock in the final frontier and science fiction – with John Carter trying to become a Spring fixture this year, the video game-inspired Wreck-It Ralph, and this new project in the works. It’ll be interesting to see if they stick with the sci-fi tilt and truly move ahead with more Tron movies. They’ve made confidence announcements, sure, but it remains to be seen whether sequels will survive the development process. That’s not to say that they aren’t placing their narrative bets on other genres. They have Frankenweenie and The Odd Life of Timothy Green coming out this year – a Gothic coming-of-age tale and the organic version of a test tube baby story respectively. Beyond that, they’re supplementing with 3D re-releases of Beauty and the Beast and Finding Nemo this year. Hopefully they can take the money made by converting and shipping reels to theaters and invest it [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]

Monty Python veteran Terry Jones has co-written (with Gavin Scott) and will direct a Sci-Fi farce called Absolutely Anything that has been said might be the cause of a mini-Monty Python reunion. Unfortunately, all of the members of the Python crew are no longer with us, but news from Variety says that Jones’ new film is now looking like it will, in fact, manage to get back together at least most of the surviving members. In addition to his own involvement, Jones has already signed up John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, and Michael Palin, and he’s currently negotiating with Eric Idle.

The teaser trailer for the upcoming Guy Pearce vehicle Lockout (formerly Lock-Out) gave us a glimpse at the rogue charm Pearce has mustered up in the lead role, but it didn’t let us in on much of what the movie is actually about. The new full-length trailer over at IGN gives us a bit more of that Pearce sass, but it also lays out pretty much the whole plot. Some of my favorite movies ever take multiple genres and blend them together. Sometimes blending genres creates a tonally weird mess (Cowboys & Aliens), but when you do it right you create something fresh and new out of used parts (Serenity), and it seems like Lockout has some potential to do the latter.

Sy-Fy‘s Being Human made its second season debut last week, recussetating the nerd tv quotient in my life exponentially. Yes, I watch True Blood, and as you now know all-too-well, if it’s on PBS or BBC America, I’m on board. But there isn’t much I watch that I’m wholeheartedly embarassed to admit to, with the exception of Being Human. Well, FSR readers, I’m coming clean. Yep, I’m a SyFy watcher, and semi-proud. Being Human, for those of you not in the know, is the story of three unlikely roommates, a vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost. I mean, totally believable, right? Of course not, but if you’re looking for believable TV, then stick to the Law and Order franchise. It’s across-the-pond counterpart appealed to me after popping up in my “recommended for you” Netflix queue so often that I finally succumbed, plowing through a couple of discs in a matter of days. So you can imagine my delight when SyFy’s incessant bus shelter/subway stop/public transportation domination campaign alerted me to an American reboot. With Jungle 2 Jungle‘s Mimisiku!

With the entire original run of The Twilight Zone available to watch instantly, we’re partnering with Twitch Film to cover all of the show’s 156 episodes. Are you brave enough to watch them all with us? The Twilight Zone (Episode #146): “I Am The Night – Color Me Black” (airdate 3/27/64) The Plot: A whole lotta racism goin’ on. The Goods: On the morning that a man called Jagger is to be hung for murder, the darkness of night never turns into day. As if to weigh in on the wrongful judgment by a bigoted town, the universe has kept the light out of their city limits. But why? What’s at the center of it all? As it turns out, it’s John F. Kennedy.

With the entire original run of The Twilight Zone available to watch instantly, we’re partnering with Twitch Film to cover all of the show’s 156 episodes. Are you brave enough to watch them all with us? The Twilight Zone (Episode #129): “Probe 7, Over and Out” (airdate 11/29/63) The Plot: An astronaut slams his ship right into a planet, but there’s little chance for him to return home because a nuclear war is destroying everything and everyone he knows. The Goods: Even with the casual gloss of the writing, there’s a deep question that’s been stabbed into the body of this story and remains there, untended to, even as it creates a great amount of aches and pains. That question is one of attempting to put yourself into the moon boots of Colonel Cook (Richard Baseheart) who isn’t just stranded on an alien world – he’s helplessly stranded. He is literally millions of miles away while his world dies. How’s that for powerless?

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.

With the entire original run of The Twilight Zone available to watch instantly, we’re partnering with Twitch Film to cover all of the show’s 156 episodes. Are you brave enough to watch them all with us? The Twilight Zone (Episode #127): “The Old Man in the Cave” (airdate 11/8/63) The Plot: After a massively destructive atomic event, a small band of people try to rebuild a life, aided by the advice of a leader that gets all of his marching orders from a mysterious, unseen old man in a cave – just like the title promises! The Goods: With everything in ruins, it’s tough to think straight. We aren’t used to survival mode, and when we drop into it, the results are pretty ugly. Rod Serling knew this, and it was paramount in his creation of The Twilight Zone. This episode is one of the most direct examples of the show’s philosophy that faith and courage should endure even when fear and violence promise to be our salvation. The story here focuses on the pacific Mr. Goldsmith (John Anderson) as he barely holds on to his leadership position – one he utilizes to organize the people left alive in the area.

Despite not coming with a cool rap video, the new teaser trailer for Men in Black III does everything right. It opens with the familiar faces of Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith doing what they did in the previous movies, then quickly shifts to the high concept problem (and solution) of a missing K (and a trip through time that randomly involves a Hollywood-style stunt to work. Then again, jumping off buildings is all the rage these days. As a bonus, both Smith and new co-star Josh Brolin get to deliver a bright ray of sunshine known as the Tommy Lee Jones Signature Smile. Check it out for yourself:

Just in time for the gift-giving season, the studios have dropped a large number of big name DVDs and Blu-rays on the marketplace. Many of these are the would-be blockbusters from this past summer, including the Jon Favreau sci-fi Western Cowboys & Aliens. It may not have been the biggest hit, but now you can check it out in the comfort of your own home, watching either the theatrical version or the extended one. So pull up a bar stool, as if you’re in your favorite saloon, and knock back a few drinks with James Bond and Indiana Jones in the old West. Though we’d suggest a cup of suds over the harder drinks, or you might not make it through the movie.

Editor’s note: Since his last post was so ridiculously awesome, we’ve asked Gallery 1988 co-owner and pop culture art curator Jensen Karp back to write up another entry. You still might want to wear protection. With the entire original run of The Twilight Zone available to watch instantly, we’re partnering with Twitch Film to cover all of the show’s 156 episodes. Are you brave enough to watch them all with us? The Twilight Zone (Episode #115): “The New Exhibit” (airdate 4/4/63) The Plot: A man takes the wax figures of five famous murderers back to his home despite his wife’s wishes. The Goods: Growing up with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is rather exciting…if you love being nervous all the time. Listen, it’s no fun, and I’m proud of how I’ve healed because it used to be pretty bad (I was a baseball pitcher most of my childhood, so that involved more rituals than a Catholic mass). I was able to kick “counting” with some therapy, and the only real aspect of OCD that stuck with me, even today, involves collecting. Whether it was the dozens of Startling Lineup action figures I had boxed and untouched under my bed or the pristine 12” rap LPs I hoarded throughout the birth and mainstreaming of rap music, I was VERY concerned about having every single one, and keeping them in a mint condition that just isn’t possible once human hands have touched them. Today, this horrid predisposition is still visible with my DVD and [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]

With the entire original run of The Twilight Zone available to watch instantly, we’re partnering with Twitch Film to cover all of the show’s 156 episodes. Are you brave enough to watch them all with us? The Twilight Zone (Episode #112): “No Time Like The Past” (airdate 3/7/63) The Plot: A man goes to the past to right some wrongs…but can he? The Goods: Stupid, crappy old time travel. It’s such a spectacular innovation, but we can never do anything good with it (except that one time I stole Hitler’s wallet). As it turns out, things are pretty much set in stone. But Paul Driscoll (Dana Andrews) doesn’t believe that. So, he sets out into the ether of things already seen to try to change history’s course.

With the entire original run of The Twilight Zone available to watch instantly, we’re partnering with Twitch Film to cover all of the show’s 156 episodes. Are you brave enough to watch them all with us? The Twilight Zone (Episode #110): “Miniature” (airdate 2/21/63) The Plot: A man becomes obsessed with the contents of a dollhouse. The Goods: On a trip to the museum, the timid Charley Parkes (Robert Duvall) believes he sees movement inside a dollhouse. As any normal human would do, he keeps heading back to see if he can spy the same motion or find out what it is. What he finds, is a young woman with whom he falls in tiny love.

With the entire original run of The Twilight Zone available to watch instantly, we’re partnering with Twitch Film to cover all of the show’s 156 episodes. Are you brave enough to watch them all with us? The Twilight Zone (Episode #107): “Mute” (airdate 1/31/63) The Plot: A little girl is treated like dog feces because she has a special gift. The Goods: When Ilse (Ann Jillian) was born, her parents decided to do a little experiment. Instead of talking to her like a normal child, they deprived her of language in order to exercise her natural psychic abilities. As a result, she became incredibly strong at speaking telepathically with the other children in a school where such a thing was the norm. Sadly, the school wasn’t run by a bald guy in a wheelchair, and when her parents die in a fire, she’s sent to the United States with a new set of parents. Her life is now filled with people who speak, a bunch of schoolmates who think she’s an idiot, and a teacher who also has the gift of telepathy but views it as a curse. Good times ahead!

It’s wholly unfair that we compare a forthcoming John Carter movie to Return of the Jedi (considering how much older the Carter books are), but there’s definitely something going on in this new picture that should take fans back to the Rancor pit. The image comes from the latest edition of Entertainment Weekly (which explains the crease). After all these years, it’s great to see the film finally ready to get launched into theaters. Take into consideration that Carter might have been the first character done animation style for Disney, and it offers some context into how long Edgar Rice Burroughs‘s character has been waiting on deck. Ironically, it’s Andrew Stanton, a director known for animation, that’s chosen this to be his first live-action project. It sees theaters March 2012.

With the entire original run of The Twilight Zone available to watch instantly, we’re partnering with Twitch Film to cover all of the show’s 156 episodes. Are you brave enough to watch them all with us? The Twilight Zone (Episode #105): “Valley of the Shadow” (airdate 1/17/63) The Plot: An intrepid reporter follows a sweet lead (his runaway dog) into a small, hidden town to find a wondrous place of peace and prosperity that demands he stay there forever. The Goods: Written by Charles Beaumont, this episode tills some difficult soil. At its heart is the question of whether ultimate power is safe to deliver to the masses and into the hands of our leaders. It asks whether the world is even ready for salvation. If it isn’t, what’s the price and point of trying to save it? Philip Redfield (Ed Nelson) is an outsider, an alien who wanders into a tucked-away town that has the ability to manipulate atoms to create, destroy or move anything they care to. With great power comes great responsibility, but Redfield sees it as his responsibility to take the secrets of peace to the greater world beyond the town’s borders.

Can it be? Is it true? Have the stars aligned to ensure that J.J. Abrams is ready to start rolling cameras on Star Trek 2. According to Star Trek Movie, January 15, 2012 is the day that Abrams takes a seat in the director’s chair, tugs his uniform down and calmly says, “Make it so.” Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof are currently polishing a script to fit within the budgetary confines that Paramount has outlined. Apparently Industrial Light and Magic is already working on some of the effects shots that can be done before filming even starts. So it’s finally happening. Now, the only real question is whether it will be ready for its vague 2013 release date. With a full year of production, it seems more than likely. How will you celebrate?