Tag: 2012

  • Peter Jackson’s ‘The Hobbit’ Production Diaries: Part 3

    Peter Jackson’s ‘The Hobbit’ Production Diaries: Part 3

    The HobbitThe pace of the video diaries for the forthcoming The Hobbit is now cranking up with a third chapter only a few weeks since the last one! Now the bearded Kiwi is back with another 13-minutes or so of behind-the-scenes footage from his prequels to the highly successful The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, to be released in two parts as The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again.

    Speaking of unexpected journeys, Peter Jackson finds himself at Pinewood Studios in the UK, the site of so many James Bond films. Fans will quiver with delight as we see the first glimpses of the scenes in Gollum’s cave, the casting process of the dwarves (with images slowly released over the last few weeks), a bit of the fighting at Trollshaw, interviews with Ian McKellan, Andy Serkis and Peter Jackson. You’ll no doubt squee with delight at the cameo just before the end of the piece too.

    The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is released on 26 December 2012 in Australia from Roadshow.

  • First Look: ‘The Avengers’ poster and website revealed

    First Look: ‘The Avengers’ poster and website revealed

    In a move that is sure to signal its own teaser trailer in the coming weeks, Marvel has revealed both a new poster and teaser website for their forthcoming superhero team-up The Avengers.

    Avengers Assemble! Earth’s mightiest heroes, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and the Hulk unite in this motion picture adventure from Marvel Studios. Directed by Joss Whedon and starring Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Clark Gregg, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgard and Cobie Smulders!

    The Avengers "Assemble" poster (2012)

    The Avengers is released on 4 July 2012 from Disney.

  • First Look: ‘The Amazing Spider-man’ Teaser Trailer

    First Look: ‘The Amazing Spider-man’ Teaser Trailer

    It is a week of superheroes. Hot on the heels of The Dark Knight Rises teaser, and that leaked trailer for The Avengers, comes the “other” massive superhero film of 2012, The Amazing Spider-man.

    This is a definite reboot of Sam Raimi’s successful series of films, as we once again get a glimpse of the origin story in this short teaser. Andrew Garfield (The Social Network) plays Peter Parker/Spider-man, and Emma Stone (Easy A) portrays Gwen Stacey, last seen as Bryce Dallas Howard in the ill-conceived Spider-man 3.

    While it isn’t quite as iconically thrilling as The Dark Knight Rises teaser, even with more footage than that trailer ever gave us, there is still a certain spider-sense tingling at the thought of this reboot. The sour taste of the last near-musical version of the Raimi trilogy hasn’t quite washed out of our mouths yet, but with this solid cast and (500) Days of Summer helmer Marc Webb behind the camera, we are still cautiously optimistic about this one.

    Andrew Garfield is The Amazing Spider-man

    The Amazing Spider-man is released on 4 July 2012 in Australia from Sony.

    The Reel Bits is the cinema arm of DVD Bits. Richard can be found on Twitter @DVDBits and Sarah @swardplay. The Reel Bits is also @The_ReelBits.

  • Lionsgate casts ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D’

    Lionsgate casts ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D’

    Leatherface - Texas Chainsaw MassacreLionsgate, via ComingSoon, have announced that there will indeed be another Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie, it will indeed be in 3D and apparently it will also have a cast.

    Imaginatively titled The Texas Chainsaw Masscare 3D, the film appears to ignore the sequels and the two recent remakes (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning) which is a wise course of action indeed. Instead, it is going back to follow-up the story that began in Tobe Hooper’s 1974 masterpiece of terror, with cameos from Gunnar Hansen, Marilyn Burns, John Dugan and Bill Moseley.

    These remakes are a fact of life now, and while we wish they would stop, there is no killing a franchise once it gets going.  We can only hope that it will not be like the remakes of Amityville Horror, Last House on the Left, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare On Elm Street, My Bloody Valentine, When A Stranger Calls, Prom Night, Black Christmas, House of Wax or The Fog.

    [stextbox id=”grey”]Lionsgate and the filmmakers of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 3D, the next installment in the long standing franchise, are pleased to announce the cast of the film, which picks up the story where the original 1974 film left off and will deliver a new chapter in the Leatherface saga with the goal of making it as horrifying as the original — in 3D.

    The cast includes an all new actor in the iconic villain role of Leatherface, an exciting cast of principle actors, and featured cameos by several cast members of the original 1974 film, famously directed by Tobe Hooper.

    About The Cast
    GUNNAR HANSEN, the original Leatherface who has never acted in another Texas Chainsaw franchise film, is set to appear in a cameo, with MARILYN BURNS, the original film’s lead actress, playing the role of Verna Carson. Reprising his role as the Grandfather, JOHN DUGAN also makes his first series appearance since the original film.

    Beloved character actor BILL MOSELEY, who played the role of Choptop in Tobe Hooper’s 1983 sequel, will play Drayton Sawyer in this film. Moseley will be standing in for Jim Siedow, who previously played the part before his passing in 2003. The two actors appeared together in the 1983 film and were quite comfortable together. Director Luessenhop explains how “Moseley is the perfect choice to capture some of the essence that Siedow had brought to the character.”

    Playing Leatherface will be discovery DAN YEAGER. Director John Lussenhop knew he was perfect for the role immediately, after a chance meeting. He describes the 6’ 6” actor as having “huge farm boy arms, a brooding brow. He’s quiet, circumspect, and immediately struck a menacing chord with me. After five minutes, I could no longer think of anyone else for the role.”

    ALEXANDRA DADDARIO (PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF, HALL PASS) has been cast in the lead female role of Heather Miller. The story centers around Heather, as she makes a trip to small-town Texas to collect her inheritance, unaware that her inheritance includes a live item – her cousin, the notorious serial killer Leatherface.

    Rounding out the cast of friends visiting the inherited house are TANIA RAYMONDE (“Lost”) playing the role of Heather’s best friend Nikki, with acclaimed R&B singer TREY SONGZ making his film debut as Heather’s boyfriend Ryan and KERAM MALICKI-SANCHEZ (PUNISHER: WAR ZONE and JOHN Q) as Ryan’s friend. SHAUN SIPOS (“Melrose Place,” FINAL DESTINATION 2 and the upcoming HICK) plays Darryl in the film, a hitchhiker along for the ride who knows more than he lets on.

    An all new cast of law enforcement and government professionals take on Leatherface in this chapter of the saga: THOM BARRY (THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS, INDEPENDENCE DAY, “Cold Case,”) plays the role of Sheriff Hooper, with PAUL RAE (TRUE GRIT) in the role of town mayor Burt Hartman. SCOTT EASTWOOD (FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS, INVICTUS, GRAN TORINO) will portray Deputy Carl Hartman, a young officer who is battling a powerful attraction to Heather while hunting Leatherface. Noted character actor RICHARD RIEHLE (OFFICE SPACE) will play Sawyers family attorney Farnsworth.[/stextbox]

    The Reel Bits is the cinema arm of DVD Bits. Richard can be found on Twitter @DVDBits and Sarah @swardplay. The Reel Bits is also @The_ReelBits.

  • First Look: ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ Teaser Trailer

    First Look: ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ Teaser Trailer

    A trailer that needs very little introduction, the highly anticipated The Dark Knight Rises trailer hits the Internet.

    Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ The Dark Knight Rises is the epic conclusion to filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy.

    We don’t know about you, but despite only seconds of new footage, we just got very excited.

    [flowplayer src=’http://pdl.warnerbros.com/wbmovies/thedarkknightrises/teaser/TDKR_TRL1_480.mov’ width=460 splash=https://www.thereelbits.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/darkknightrises004.jpg]

    Download the video file.

    [stextbox id=”grey”]

    Leading an all-star international cast, Oscar® winner Christian Bale (The Fighter) again plays the dual role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. The film also stars Anne Hathaway, as Selina Kyle; Tom Hardy, as Bane; Oscar® winner Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose), as Miranda Tate; and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as John Blake.

    Returning to the main cast, Oscar® winner Michael Caine (The Cider House Rules) plays Alfred; Gary Oldman is Commissioner Gordon; and Oscar® winner Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby) reprises the role of Lucius Fox.

    The screenplay is written by Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer. The film is produced by Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Charles Roven, who previously teamed on Batman Begins and the record-breaking blockbuster The Dark Knight. The executive producers are Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Kevin De La Noy and Thomas Tull, with Jordan Goldberg serving as co-producer. The film is based upon characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by Bob Kane.

    [/stextbox]

    The Dark Knight Rises poster

    The Dark Knight Rises is released on 19 July 2012 in Australia from Roadshow.

    The Reel Bits is the cinema arm of DVD Bits. Richard can be found on Twitter @DVDBits and Sarah @swardplay. The Reel Bits is also @The_ReelBits.

  • First Look: ‘John Carter’ trailer

    First Look: ‘John Carter’ trailer

    John Carter posterDisney’s John Carter trailer debuted overnight, following the unveiling of some concept artwork earlier in the week.

    From Academy Award(R)-winning filmmaker Andrew Stanton comes “John Carter”–a sweeping action-adventure set on the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars). John Carter is based on a classic novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, whose highly imaginative adventures served as inspiration for many filmmakers, both past and present. The film tells the story of war-weary, former military captain John Carter (Taylor Kitsch), who is inexplicably transported to Mars where he becomes reluctantly embroiled in a conflict of epic proportions amongst the inhabitants of the planet, including Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe) and the captivating Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins). In a world on the brink of collapse, Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes that the survival of Barsoom and its people rests in his hands.

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHXTBW5gb5U

    John Carter has all the makings of being a modern fantasy classic, or a camp classic of the highest order, depending on whether they are going for the Conan or Flash Gordon vibe. Appearing in a series of Edgar Rice Burroughs (Tarzan) novels and stories between 1911 and 1917, Disney is no doubt hoping to manufacture a second major franchise to go with their Pirates of the Caribbean box office magnificence. Without the presence of Johnny Depp – reportedly attached to a number of upcoming Disney projects, including supernatural investigator Kolchak: The Night Stalker, in an adaptation of the 1970s TV series – can this achieve the same level of success? Either way, we could do without the dodgy cover of Arcade Fire’s “My Body is a Cage”.

    John Carter is due in cinemas on 8 March 2012 from Disney.

  • Australian Film Festival 2012 – Call for Entries

    Australian Film Festival 2012 – Call for Entries

    Australian Film Festival LogoEarlier this year, we covered the Australian Film Festival, a festival that is dedicated to giving unseen Australian films a screening. Our good friends at the Australian Film Festival are now welcoming submissions for their 2012 festival, running in March 2012!

    The Australian Film Festival is now welcoming submissions for our 2012 festival! Now in its third year, the AFF is a highlight on Australia’s film festival calendar, continuing to grow year to year in both size and stature. This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase your work in an exciting festival; so get involved and send us your Australian Features, Documentaries, Short Films and scripts!

    DEADLINES:
    FILMS (Feature and Short): 6th JANUARY  2012

    FUTUREFILM SCREENPLAY COMPETITION: 20th JANUARY 2012

    Check the website for Early Bird discounts on submission fees!

    Based in the iconic Randwick Ritz Cinema, the festival promises to deliver an inclusive program with an array of film screenings and events. The diverse nature of the AFF and its program ensures that audiences of all types and ages can find something that interests and excites them! The official program will include feature films from a variety of genres, family friendly outdoor screenings and a series of interactive workshops, seminars and Q & A’s for all the aspiring filmmakers out there. One of the festival’s highlights is The Spot Food & Film street festival, where audiences and filmmakers alike gather outside the Randwick Ritz cinema in festive celebration. The festival closes with the induction of Australian actors and actresses to the iconic Australian Film Walk of Fame, an opportunity to honor and catch a glimpse of some of Australia’s best talent. Past recipients have included Jack Thompson, Gary Sweet, Claudia Karvan and Michael Caton!

    The 2012 AFF is a fantastic opportunity to have your work screened and appraised by both audiences and industry professionals; past judges have included Bruce Beresford, Jan Chapman, David Field, Andrew Traucki and Rachel Ward. The Australian Short Film Festival and FutureFilm Screenplay Competition promise to deliver exciting prizes and wider exposure for your films in what is a renowned and popular festival platform.

    How to Enter: via Without A Box: Entries can be submitted via the link:

    https://www.withoutabox.com/03film/03t_fin/03t_fin_fest_01over.php?festview=&festival_id=6845

    For more information please email us at info@australianfilmfestival.com.au

    YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/AustralianFilmFest1

    Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/AustralianFilmFestival

    Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/AussieFilmFest

    The Australian Film Festival will run from 7-18 March 2012 in Sydney.

    The Reel Bits is the cinema arm of DVD Bits. Richard can be found on Twitter @DVDBits and Sarah @swardplay. The Reel Bits is also @The_ReelBits.

  • Trailer: ‘Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows’

    Trailer: ‘Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows’

    Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows posterIt has only been a few days since we unveiled the new posters for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, the sequel to Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes, and now thanks to iTunes Trailers we have a look at the first footage from the film.

    The trailer is introduced by none other than Robert Downey Jr, who tells us that we can see the trailer exclusively on iTunes. Thanks to the magic of the Interwebs, you can also find it on YouTube and just about every other film website today, including our own vessel.

    Filled with the same frenetic energy that filled the first entry, we are introduced to new characters and the same slowing down/speeding up really quickly action that has characterised many recent action films. Let’s hope that it is not too overused in the final film.

    We can’t help but be a little bit excited by this one.

    Robert Downey Jr. reprises his role as the world’s most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, and Jude Law returns as his formidable colleague, Dr. Watson, in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Sherlock Holmes has always been the smartest man in the room…until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large–Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris)–and not only is he Holmes’ intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may actually give him an advantage over the renowned detective. When the Crown Prince of Austria is found dead, the evidence, as construed by Inspector Lestrade (Eddie Marsan), points to suicide. But Sherlock Holmes deduces that the prince has been the victim of murder–a murder that is only one piece of a larger and much more portentous puzzle, designed by one Professor Moriarty. Mixing business with pleasure, Holmes tracks the clues to an underground gentlemen’s club, where he and his brother, Mycroft Holmes (Stephen Fry) are toasting Dr. Watson on his last night of bachelorhood. It is there that Holmes encounters Sim (Noomi Rapace), a Gypsy fortune teller, who sees more than she is telling and whose unwitting involvement in the prince’s murder makes her the killer’s next target.

    Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is released in Australia on 5 January 2012 from Roadshow.

    The Reel Bits is the cinema arm of DVD Bits. Richard can be found on Twitter @DVDBits and Sarah @swardplay. The Reel Bits is also @The_ReelBits.

  • First Look: More characters from ‘The Hobbit’ revealed

    First Look: More characters from ‘The Hobbit’ revealed

    Another day, another couple of characters from Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey revealed. When Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freedman) takes his unexpected journey, he will be accompanied by 13 dwarves and our old friend Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellan). We already known what the last one looks like, so thanks to MSN’s The Hitlist we are getting a few pictures of the other companions at a time.

    The latest dwarf photo is of Dean O’Gorman as Fili and Aidan Turner as Kili.

    Dean O'Gorman as Fili and Aidan Turner as Kili

    The previously released photos are also below, for Jed Brophy as Nori, Adam Brown as Ori and Mark Hadlow as Dori in the first photo, and John Callen as Oin and Peter Hambleton as Gloin in the second.

    Jed Brophy as Nori, Adam Brown as Ori and Mark Hadlow as Dori in "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"

    John Callen as Oin and Peter Hambleton as Gloin in "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"

    The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is released on 26 December 2012 in Australia from Roadshow.

    The Reel Bits is the cinema arm of DVD Bits. Richard can be found on Twitter @DVDBits and Sarah @swardplay. The Reel Bits is also @The_ReelBits.

  • First Look: ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ poster revealed

    First Look: ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ poster revealed

    The Dark Knight Rises is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated films of 2012, and with its teaser trailer set to play in front of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 in cinemas, Warner goes and drops the teaser poster in our laps this fine July day for the third film in Christopher Nolan‘s Batman series.

    For all of the viral campaigns, image leaks, casting decisions and other rumours, this poster just screams “iconic”, and its crumbling Gotham walls give us hints of the devastation and brutality that Bruce Wayne/Batman, portrayed by Christian Bale, will have to face when he in rises in mid-2012.

    The film also stars Anne Hathaway, as Selina Kyle; Tom Hardy, as Bane; Oscar® winner Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose), as Miranda Tate; and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as John Blake.

    Returning to the main cast, Oscar® winner Michael Caine plays Alfred; Gary Oldman is Commissioner Gordon; and Oscar® winner Morgan Freeman reprises the role of Lucius Fox.

    Now doesn’t this poster remind you just a little bit of Inception?

    The Dark Knight Rises poster

    The Dark Knight Rises is released on 19 July 2012 in Australia from Roadshow.

    The Reel Bits is the cinema arm of DVD Bits. Richard can be found on Twitter @DVDBits and Sarah @swardplay. The Reel Bits is also @The_ReelBits.