MoviePromo.net

Academy (the institution, office, and desk of popularly known “Oscar Awards”) had to come up with several new restrictions effective from this year to control a potential or already existing “coffee-housing” in the quest of winning the award. The new restrictions are:

- After Oscar nominations are announced on January 24 (until Feb. 21), no receptions may be held following screenings.

- During this period, Academy members (and nominees) may not attend non-screening events celebrating that year’s nominees.

- Filmmakers may only participate in two Q&A panels at screenings that Academy members have been invited to.

- Remember, no crap talking the other guys on Twitter or Facebook or other social media. Or else, suspension.

- Also, this will be the first year in which studios may send digital screeners to voting members for consideration.

I wish to start this writing with a line from a movie. After quickly establishing his character as the most stupid and awesomely strange in the start of the movie- Due Date, Zach Galifianakis tells Robert Downey Jr. that “.. But I have 90 friends on facebook. Well 12 of them are still pending but I have 90 friends.” Does not it appear to be a fact that academy awards, the bench mark for excellence in cinema world could be manipulated in to favor and vice versa via so called friendship, lobbying, and baseless marketing through social networks such as facebook and twitter when the academy itself has to come up with such rules?

Denzel Washington is a fabulous actor. But I can never digest the fact that he won the award when Sean Penn for “I am Sam” was a spectator. Leonardo Di Caprio has a strong political voice. No wonder he has not come anywhere near with tremendous movies and performances in “Blood Diamond” and “Departed” where it was worth offering him two different Oscars for the films. Not my personal favorites but movies like “Green Zone” and “Fair Game” did not even come in the competition. Now I have to accept that there are some friendships and animosity beyond personal interaction are at thick in the decision making of the academy.

In my part of the world, the Indian film industry based on Hindi and living in Mumbai is probably the most recognized film fraternity. Call it a coincidence or an inevitable, there also movie awards have lost a considerable amount of dignity and integrity. The national award used to be the most prestigious award inIndia. It is regardless of genre and language and not necessarily Hindi films won it. A victory at the national awards used to put aside the controversy for a most meaningful film or performance. But not anymore. In recent years, a number of awards have been given to films and performances which are not beyond the controversy of deserving. I am a die hard fan of Salman Khan but even after all the most deserving commercial success of Dabaang, I am not beyond the doubt of its winning the national award recently was deserving or not.

So, maybe, actors- directors- producers, count the number of your facebook friends. Or you already have? :p

In November we got word that the Hollywood remake machine was pumping out a new remake of the 1942 classic Arabian Nights courtesy of director Chuck Russell (The Scorpion King). The story follows a young commander (played by Liam Hemsworth, brother of Thor’s Chris Hemsworth) who, after his king is killed in a coup, joins forces with Sinbad, Ali Baba and the Genie from the magic lamp to rescue the queen.

Though Russell’s involvement left something to be desired, Hemsworth makes things a little bit more interesting as does news from Heat Vision today that Anthony Hopkins is in negotiations to play the villain in the film.

Hopkins will play Pharotu, an evil sorcerer who killed Sinbad’s love, a mermaid, and is now amassing more magic for himself. First it was liver, fava beans and a nice chianti and now it’s just magic. Is there anything Hopkins doesn’t want (besides his involvement in The Wolfman)? Russell co-wrote the script with Barry P. Ambrose, and production is slated to begin sometimes towards the end of summer. It’s trivially interesting to note that Hopkins also stars in Thor with Liam’s brother Chris Hemsworth, and if that first image from Marvel’s comic book film is any indication, Liam is going to have to kick some serious ass in Arabian Nights to keep up with his brother.

Source: FirstShowing.

Although Will Smith and Martin Lawrence may both be busy with their respective threequels (Men in Black 3 and Big Momma’s House 3), there might be another threequel that will bring them both together again. We’re talking about Bad Boys 3. While we heard last August that screenwriter Peter Craig, who wrote The Town for Ben Affleck, was going to take a crack at the script, we haven’t heard much since, other than Lawrence’s hopes that it would come together sooner than later. Well, now it looks like super producer Jerry Bruckheimer is also up for a third go round but it’s something that they’re building to gradually.

Whilst promoting his other film Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Bruckheimer spoke with ComingSoon and this is what he had to say about the potential of a Bad Boys 3, “It’s a wish and a hope and a dream. We’ve been working on a screenplay, which is excellent. It’s an idea Will gave us, so hopefully, it will come to fruition, we would love it to.” Since Lawrence said he’s waiting for Bruckheimer to tell him it was “really real,” it seems like we only have to wait for Will Smith’s schedule to open up. If all goes well maybe Michael Bay will have an opening after Transformers 3 wraps shooting, then maybe we’ll see some real movement.

Source: FirstShowing.

Warner Bros debuted the full-length theatrical trailer for Chris Nolan’s Inception in theaters in front of Iron Man 2 a few days back. There aren’t many words to describe how incredibly epic and amazing this looks, but beautiful and stunning and mesmerizing are a few that fit best. Watching this trailer, you will agree that Inception is the most anticipated movie this summer. This just looks so phenomenal.

Inception is both written and directed by acclaimed Oscar nominated British filmmaker Christopher Nolan, of Memento, Insomnia, Batman Begins, The Prestige and The Dark Knight. Nolan previously co-wrote the scripts for Memento, Batman Begins, The Prestige, and The Dark Knight with his brother Jonathan Nolan. Warner Bros is bringing Inception to theaters starting on July 16th this summer.

Source: FirstShowing.

Now that you’ve seen it, what did you think? Its been 29 years since Ray Harryhausen and Desmond Davis unleashed the original Clash of the Titans upon the world and now the Greek gods are all back again for another battle. Louis Leterrier’s new Clash of the Titans remake hits theaters this weekend. But is it any good? How does it compare to the original? Do the effects look better in contrast to Ray Harryhausen’s work? How is the story?

How are the characters and performances, including Sam Worthington and Gemma Arterton? If you’ve seen it, leave a comment below, and let us know what you thought of Clash of the Titans!

To fuel the fire, actually really enjoyed this Clash of the Titans remake. I don’t think that it’s better than the original Ray Harryhausen movie and it’s not one of my favorites of this year, but I actually had a good time. There’s a lot of really badass elements to it that I loved seeing. Hades looked awesome and kicked ass, the tall desert creatures (seen above – I forget their name) were awesome, one of my favorite new characters in any “fantasy” movie in a long time. However, the story felt a little dull, like it needed more to make it a little edgier. It was hard to watch this when the original is one of my all-time favorites, but I was able to still enjoy it, and I don’t think it’s a bad movie, despite what others may be saying. Note: I saw this in 2D, not in 3D.

Sony has debuted the first official trailer for Resident Evil: Afterlife, with Milla Jovovich and Ali Larter, today and you can check it out below. I’m not sure why, but the studio is trying to hype up this fourth new sequel as much as possible, mainly now that it’s in 3D, but because this is the fourth movie, I’m not sure why they think anyone will be excited for this besides the the usual fans.

Anyway, this looks as action cheesy as it can get, but I am a bit amused by the fact that they chose to say in the trailer that this was shot in 3D. At least these guys know that converting to 3D is a bad idea! Watch if you’re interested.

She’s back… And she’s bringing a few of her friends. Milla Jovovich and Ali Larter co-star with Wentworth Miller, Kim Coates, Kacey Barnfield, Shawn Roberts, Spencer Locke, Norman Yeung and also Boris Kodjoe.

Resident Evil: Afterlife is both written and directed by British director Paul W.S. Anderson, who introduced us to the cinematic Resident Evil franchise back in 2002, then helped write the sequels, but hasn’t directed another Resident Evil movie since. After last using Russell Mulcahy for Extinction, Anderson has returned to continue on this franchise with old faces but new excitement. Sony / Screem Gems is bringing Resident Evil: Afterlife to theaters everywhere n 3D on September 10th, 2010 this year. Planning on seeing this?

Source: FirstShowing.

Although we’re probably going to hear plenty more throughout the summer about this, since WonderCon was this weekend, it was the perfect place to bring this up. Chris Evans made his first big appearance at WonderCon since officially landing the role of Captain America in Marvel’s upcoming movie. He was there to promote The Losers and Warner Bros tried as hard as they could to prevent anyone from talking about Cap.

Somehow, SuperHeroHype finally got Evans to talk very briefly about why he took on the role and why he decided to play another superhero after playing Johnny Storm in Fantastic Four. Find out!

“I think Marvel is doing a lot of good things right now, and it’s a fun character. Even if it wasn’t a comic book. I think the story of Steve Rogers is great. He’s a great guy. Even if it was just a script about anybody, I would probably want to do it. So it wasn’t necessarily about the comic itself. He’s a great character. He’s a great character to play. He just happens to be a comic book character.”

Damn straight. It’s about time Hollywood stopped looking at comic books as a lesser medium. The stories and characters in comics are a lot better than most of the Hollywood crap that gets churned out all year long anyway. Quint of AICN snapped that photo you see above of Evans at WonderCon yesterday. The joke of the day was that Evans was looking pretty damn buff already and if only we didn’t know he was officially playing Cap, this would be real confirmation that he was getting ready for the role. He’s definitely been beefing up and I’m already starting to warm up to Evans as Cap. Can’t wait to hear more from him in the near future!

Source: FirstShowing.

After a recent casting addition that brought Rose McGowan aboard the brand new Conan film, rampant speculation began that she might be playing Red Sonja, a well-known character from the Conan universe. After all, she has been attached to play the character for a couple years in a Robert Rodriguez produced adaptation, despite endless delays getting the project started which Rodriguez recently confirmed himself. Though he cites a desire from other producers to get Conan off the ground first, Pajiba has discovered that all previous developments on the project have been nixed, and an offer is now out to Megan Fox to star.

This sounds like a better idea, not only because McGowan isn’t really young enough to take on a potential franchise like this, but because Fox is going to need a new franchise where she’s not just the love interest. With Red Sonja, she can still be stunningly hot, potentially badass and rake in the money from fanboys who just want to see her fight in the skimpiest outfit that PG-13 will allow. And let’s be honest, McGowan is to Rodriguez what Helena Bonham Carter is to Tim Burton. We get it. Stop working together on everything.

So this news coupled with Rodriguez’ somewhat disassociating words about the project makes a Red Sonja cameo from McGowan all the less likely, but it sounds like the feature project is still moving along in some capacity. Though McGowan and apparently director Douglas Aarniokoski are off the project, producers are looking for someone to take another pass at David N. White’s script as this new incarnation of the project takes form. Fox hasn’t shown much actual talent yet, but she might be able to pull this off. McGowan is one kick ass chick, but I’m just not sure she was right for Red Sonja from the start. What do you guys think?

Source: FirstShowing.

The official website of the hit movie Paranormal Activity just released an announcement from director Oren Peli that Kip Williams, better known as Tod Williams, will direct the sequel. “We are thrilled to have Kip working with us,” Peli states. “He is the guy we want at the helm, because he knows exactly what we want to deliver to the fans… and I can’t wait to be a part of what he’s putting together.” Let’s hope he does a good job with this still unnecessary sequel, as I don’t want it to suck.

Williams previously directed The Adventures of Sebastian Cole and The Door in the Floor and is attached to a drama called Jar City, but it looks like Paranormal is now top priority, that is if Paramount is still trying to get it shot and ready by October 22nd this year, as originally planned. Peli also says, “I don’t want to spoil the story but I promise it’ll surprise you.” To be honest, although I know nothing about Williams, I’m glad they didn’t choose any of the more mainstream directors, as this needs someone with that indie low-budget sensibility to deliver a proper sequel. We’ll keep you updated as this continue to move forward.

Source: FirstShowing.net

During the 2010 Kids’ Choice Awards on Nickelodeon, Paramount debuted the first TV spot for Jon Favreau’s Iron Man 2. Looks like Marvel really is trying to be as family friend or family appealing as possible with this franchise. That said, this movie looks better and better the more we see and the closer we get to release. I’m sure new digital effects shots are coming in every day; we get just a glimpse of each of them in every new bit of footage. The trailers both looked great but now we’re down to the last month or so until this hits. I love that Nick Fury’s role has been expanded, too.

ron Man 2 takes place only six months after Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) revealed his identity as Iron Man at the end of the first movie. Mickey Rourke stars as a powerful new Russian villain named Whiplash.

Iron Man 2 is directed by actor-turned-filmmaker Jon Favreau, who previously directed Made, Elf, Zathura, and the first Iron Man. The screenplay for this was also written by an actor, Justin Theroux, who became a screenwriter a few years ago and co-wrote Tropic Thunder’s script. Paramount will be bringing Iron Man 2 to theaters everywhere starting on May 7th, 2010 this summer. See everyone in theaters in May for this!

Source: FirstShowing.net.