Talks of a sequel to Top Gun have been happening for at least over a year now. It’s clear that at some level, someone from Paramount is trying to make this happen. Details on the project have been pretty lacking, though. What would this sequel be about? Would Tom Cruise star? Would he even appear? Who would be directing? Well, MTV recently sat Cruise down and threw some of these very important questions his way, and his responses we’re actually kind of helpful. When asked about the possibility of this sequel actually coming to fruition Cruise responded, “We’re working on it.” Past that he doesn’t seem to have too many details about what stage the process is in, however. He commented on an old rumor that Christopher McQuarrie was writing the script by saying, “I don’t think Chris [McQuarrie] is going to write it. Chris is directing One Shot right now, which I’m acting in. We’ve got to go back in January and finish it.” Everyone already knew this though, because it’s been widely reported that X-Men: First Class scribes Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz are currently working on the script for the Top Gun sequel. I suppose his input on how far along this project is should be taken with a grain of salt. What this new interview does confirm, however, is that Cruise is the guy firmly in mind to star in this movie, and Tony Scott is definitely the guy who intends to come back to direct. [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 continue our journey through a month of frightening, bloody and violent films. For more, check out our 31 Days of Horror homepage. Synopsis: Miriam and John Blaylock (Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie) share a passionate longtime love affair, traveling the world and indulging their mutual taste for classical music and the blood of the living. Although John’s love for Miriam might last forever, his youthful vigor will not. After centuries at Miriam’s side, he begins aging at an accelerated rate. Like Miriam’s many past paramours, John seems doomed to a fate worse than death. Under the guise of finding a cure, Miriam begins courting her next conquest – sleep researcher Dr. Sarah Roberts (Susan Sarandon).

As the event horizon of Hollywood remakes and reboots approaches (that will be the day when they start remaking and rebooting films within the same year of release, a once-laughable situation that now seems oddly possible), the studios are turning to another way to use retread material as the basis for new theatrical releases. The next frontier? Converting old films to 3D! It’s happening for James Cameron’s Titanic (what a fun way to celebrate the anniversary of the big ship’s tragic end, right?), and now it’s happening for Tony Scott’s Top Gun. Because of course it is. It could be no other way. The danger zone will take on an added dimension thanks to Legend3D, who is converting the 1986 “classic” (really?) for a presumed theatrical release sometime in early 2012. Legend3D is doing the conversion as part of a revenue sharing deal they have with Paramount, with Legend3D footing the bill. So what does Scott think of this? Who knows! The CEO of Legend3D, Rob Hummel, admitted as much, saying that he “knows they want to get Tony Scott’s approval before they go forward.” That sounds…dangerous. Eh, not really, I just need to slip in a Top Gun quote somewhere.

What is Movie News After Dark? It comes and goes as it pleases, dispensing movie news and interesting links for your reading, viewing and listening pleasure. Be honored that it has chosen you to be in its presence. Word. We begin tonight with a bit of a caption contest — because it’s been a boring end to a boring week and this is my column so I’ll do what I want. The above photo is one of a new batch from The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, a behind the scenes pic of Bella (Kristen Stewart, who seems very scantily clad in all photos, if you’re into that sort of thing), Edward (Robert Pattinson, sans sparkle) and director Bill Condon. Dear reader, what do you suppose Mr. Condon is saying to the happy couple?

Between Martin Scorsese with Boardwalk Empire, Michael Mann with his upcoming series Luck, Tony and Ridley Scott with The Good Wife, David Fincher with his upcoming House of Cards, Steven Spielberg with too many upcoming projects to name, and an ungodly amount of smaller names that have directed various pilots, many filmmakers have been trying their hand at a smaller screen. While that’s great, it isn’t enough. So it’s time to discuss what other filmmakers would be suited well for the idiot box. Here are seven filmmakers that should try their hand at television.

When there’s a runaway train loaded up with a half dozen cars of molten phenol, which makes it a missile the size of the Chrysler Building, there’s only one person to call. Scratch that. There’s two people to call: Malcolm X and Captain Kirk. Only they can save the city of Stanton, Pennsylvania from being decimated by anything the size of the Chrysler Building. Grab your engineer’s hat, pull the air horn and knock back a few beers (after all, a train’s on rails, so it’s not really driving). Enjoy a drinking game that is really unstoppable. (Yeah, we went there.)

Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence is a truly unique film by several definitions. Japanese master filmmaker Nagisa Oshima’s first English-language film (and it is worth noting here that much of it is in Japanese) embodies some dense discourses about Japanese identity, yet in many respects this is a film without a nation. But that’s exactly the point, for Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence embodies a host of contradictions in terms of how we’re used to experiencing films of its relative ilk: it is a film about war, yet it is never about patriotism or combat; it is a film about an intersection of cultures, yet it never seeks to deliver a message of sameness of common ground; and it is a film about sexual tensions between males, yet homosexuality is never explicitly addressed in a way that would place it fittingly in the canon of “queer cinema.”

This week, Fat Guy Kevin Carr is like a runaway train filled with toxic chemicals. He could derail and explode at any moment. And it’s a good thing Tony Scott isn’t making a movie of his life because there aren’t enough whip pans and helicopter shots to capture his awesomeness. While he raps Scott’s knuckles with a railroad tie, he also gets giddy over the beautiful Rachel McAdams and gives some props to the Brothers Strause for the effects in Skyline. And then he explodes, and all the toxic chemicals threaten to wipe out a small town in Pennsylvania.

The general consensus on Ridley Scott’s little brother Tony seems to be that he’s the lesser talent. All style, no substance, never met a tripod he didn’t throw to the ground and hump… he’s the rugged and rowdy to Ridley’s respectable and refined. The truth is though that both brothers are hit or miss in general, and when they go head to head the numbers actually favor Tony. In the six times prior that the two have released films in the same year, Tony leads 3:2 (1996 is a draw as the films were White Squall and The Fan, both of which left the audience as the real losers). Which brings us to 2010… one of them released a bloated, confused, and miscast film that removed the magic from a well known legend. The other directed Unstoppable. A cargo train in Pennsylvania is on the move… without a single person on-board. Human error sets the half mile-long train in motion, and soon it’s powering its way through everything in its path. Bad goes to worse when the train’s cargo is revealed to include dangerously combustible chemicals! And the emergency safety systems are inoperable! And a train-load of adorable children are on the tracks ahead! Also ahead are Frank (Denzel Washington) and Will (Chris Pine), two rail employees who’ve just met and already don’t like each other. Frank is an old-timer being forced to retire and Will is the young upstart groomed to replace him. Their train is heading straight towards [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]

Since there are actual human beings thinking it’s a good idea to make a sequel to Top Gun, it seems important to take a look at the hurdles that would face such a production (at least as they pertain to telling a good story and casting people that makes sense). Will Tom Cruise sign on to star? Will Goose’s ghost be involved? Neither of those questions matter, because the possible production has an uphill battle as it is.

The Superman movie Warners is contractually obligated to make by 2012 is still a ways off, but now that Christopher Nolan is involved, there’s even more attention being paid to it. That attention turned this week to the possible directors in line to take on the famous superhero – Tony Scott, Matt Reeves, Zack Snyder, Duncan Jones and Jonathan Liesbesman. Some are denying they know anything about it, some are saying they’ve already turned it down, and none of them are dressing up as Superman and running around their offices pretending to fly. That’s all well and good, but there are some pros and some cons to these names.

Whether you love him, hate him, love to hate him, or hate that you love him there’s no denying that Tom Cruise’s career decisions in terms of what directors he will work for have been second-to-none. Or, maybe they have been. You decide.

Some movies are meant to be slow. It’s not necessarily a bad thing. Slow can be beautiful.

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.

Hot. Nude. Buff. Dudes.

Kevin Carr reviews this week’s new movies: The Taking of Pelham 123 and Imagine That.

After a couple good weeks with at least one good movie to enjoy, Kevin and Neil hit the dog days of the cinematic summer. The Fat Guys debate the ability of John Travolta to be a badass and wonder why Eddie Murphy is still making films. Neil also threatens to stab Kevin in the eyeballs.

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 is basically Deja Vu 2: Pelham 1 2 3, but that’s not such a bad thing.

So Tony Scott is planning a remake of The Warrior that takes a real look at gang life. Is that a wise choice?

Denzel Washington loves trains almost as much as he loves Tony Scott. So much so that the duo may be making a second train-based action thriller together…