The world may be waiting for the dark brood of THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, but before the first trailer for that film hits, it is time for something considerably more charming and lighter.

Thanks to both Apple and The Guardian (via The Playlist), two, count them two trailers for the upcoming Aardman animation film, THE PIRATES! BAND OF MISFITS have hit, and it looks to be one hell of a fun and light-hearted romp on the open sea.

Boasting a voice cast including Hugh Grant, David Tennant, Imelda Staunton, Martin Freeman, and Jeremy Piven, PIRATES looks like a really charming bit of animation from a studio that doesn’t really know how to make anything else. Best known for the WALLACE & GROMIT pictures, Aardman Animation are easily one of the biggest names in animation, and this looks to be one of their most entertaining pictures yet. (more...)

Pack your Bat-bags, Batman fans, because you may want to plan a little road trip soon. That is unless you already live in Pittsburgh, because that's where THE DARK KNIGHT RISES will be filming a scene on Saturday, August 7th and they're in need of extras for a sequence in which Gotham City's football team, the Rogues, faces off against the Rapid City Monuments. Big crowd. Gotham City. Batman. Villains. Something tells me there's more to this scene than just a football game.

While this is not a paid extra gig, just the chance to be in what is sure to be the epic conclusion to Christopher Nolan's trilogy is an experience money can't buy. And to sweeten the deal for you, they're going to have free food and a bunch of raffle prizes like TDKR swag, comics, DVDs, a flat screen TV, and even a role as a featured extra! (more...)

Despite being behind the absolute mess that was CLASH OF THE TITANS, not only can Louis Leterrier find quite a bit of backing for potential projects, but he can fill those projects with some top-notch talent.

Variety is reporting that Melanie Laurent, who is currently being seen in theaters in BEGINNERS, is in talks to join Leterrier’s next film, NOW YOU SEE ME. The film will be a heist picture that follows a group of illusionists who steal things during the duration of their performances, and will co-star Jesse Eisenberg, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Olivia Wilde.

The outlet also mentions that Jake Gyllenhaal has passed on the project, so I guess you win some, and you lose some. While I have yet to see BEGINNERS, I am a huge fan of Laurent’s performance in INGLORIOUS BASTERDS, so her inclusion in this project definitely makes it all the more interesting. (more...)

Fantastic Fest should legally change its name to Fun. Not Fantastic Fun Fest. Not Fun Fest. Just Fun. Fun 2011. Because the Alamo Drafthouse-run film festival is exactly what you would find next to the definition of that simple yet all encompassing three-letter word in a dictionary. That and maybe a picture of Tim League in some kind of star-spangled outfit, likely jumping over flaming cars on a flaming dirtbike or Greco-Roman wrestling a bear (that is, of course, on fire).

I digress. Fantastic Fest (AKA Fun) has announced their first wave of programming for the 2011 festival and, as to be expected, it's badass. Highlights include, but are not limited to, the theatrical premieres of 2K digitally restored versions of Lucio Fulci's ZOMBIE and HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY, a restored print of the '80s 3D classic COMIN' AT YA!, not to mention 20 other films that span the globe from the US, Japan, Belgium, Mexico, Russia, Hong Kong, and Korea. 1 world premiere, 3 North American premieres, 6 US premieres, 4 regional premieres, 4 Texas premieres, and 2 theatrical premieres!

Check out all the films after the break and be sure to stay tuned to GATW, as we will surely be updating you when more of the schedule is announced. (more...)

As fellow Pixar helmer Brad Bird is basking in the wake of the first amazing trailer for his upcoming live-action feature MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL, Pixar stalwart Andrew Stanton has given the world the first trailer for his take on live action filmmaking, JOHN CARTER. And I must say, it’s a bit underwhelming.

The film is based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ book John Carter Of Mars, and stars a huge ensemble cast led by Taylor Kitsch, Samantha Morton, Dominic West, Polly Walker, Willem Dafoe, Lynn Collins, Bryan Cranston, Ciaran Hinds, James Purefoy, Thomas Haden Church, Mark Strong, and Daryl Sabara. CARTER tells the story of a Civil War soldier who is put on Mars and must help a group of aliens save their world. Check out the trailer after the break. (more...)

Cary Fukanaga is definitely a director to keep an eye on. His 2009 film, SIN NOMBRE, was a Sundance award winner and his most recent film, JANE EYRE, received much praise as well. The two films, while vastly different somehow encompass Fukanaga's signature eclectic style respectively. In the past Fukanaga has also mentioned interest in or plans for doing a musical, a time travel film, and as of May he was attached to direct the film NO BLOOD NO GUTS NO GLORY, a Civil War heist film. All these films are at different ends of the spectrum, but somehow, none are shocking.

The Playlist has dug up some interesting news about a possible future Fukunaga project. A tweet from back in May by screenwriter Jeff Vintar (I, ROBOT) spilled that Fukunaga may be teaming up with him. The tweet says, "More good news as Cary Fukunaga (Sin Nombre/Jane Eyre) is in talks to direct my script SPACELESS for producer Gore Verbinski and Universal-." The Playlist has discovered that it is true, and that Fukunaga is in early talks to direct the film, even though it is in the pretty early stages apparently. (more...)

It’s about time we start seeing stuff from this project.

Apple has just released the first trailer for Steven Soderbergh’s latest film, CONTAGION, and good heavens is it one hell of a piece of footage.

The film stars a kick-ass cast including Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, and Laurence Fishburne just to name a few, and follows the story of a mass disease outbreak that is threatening humanity itself. The film is one of many that Soderbergh will be giving us over the next couple of years, and seems to be a weird blend of Soderbergh’s patented style and some really intriguing discussions of disease. (more...)

Deadline reports that Scott Eastwood, who will most likely never read a news item about himself that does not mention that he is Clint Eastwood's youngest son, has signed on as the male lead of the THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 3D. Eastwood will be playing the role of Carl. Eastwood joins the recently-announced female lead Alexandra Daddario and co-star Tania Raymonde.

THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 3D is capitalizing on a number of hot trends to get buzz going - from the use of 3D to turning the film into a (planned) trilogy. However, John Luessenhop's take is thankfully not going the straight remake route - instead, the film is meant to serve as a direct sequel to Tobe Hooper's original 1974 film. At this point, these are the things we're happy for - that things are not remakes. (more...)

In"no duh" news of the day, Natasha Lyonne is set to rejoin her castmates from AMERICAN PIE for AMERICAN REUNION. As of now, the film boasts a huge number of the film's original cast coming back for another slice of the pie (forgive me), including Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Tara Reid, Seann William Scott, Mena Suvari, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Jennifer Coolidge, and Eugene Levy. It's no surprise they've got Lyonne on board now, too.

Lyonne's character, Jessica, only appeared in the first two AMERICAN PIE films and was never quite a central piece of the pie (again, forgive me). However, Jessica's smartass nature served as a fun counterpoint to a lot of the silliness of the films, so I am looking forward to seeing where the whiskey-voiced wise-cracker is nearly a decade on. I am guessing she won't be too stoked about returning to East Great Falls to mingle with her high school cohorts, which could certainly lend itself to some big laughs. (more...)

Geek Tyrant peeped a new photo from the set of Marc Webb's THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, giving us our first really good look at the fine details in the costume.

Instead of the sheeny, Under Armour-like material that we see a lot of superhero suits made out of, the updated Spidey suit almost resembles the surface and patterns of a basketball and appears to be mesh, with the same being said for the eye shields. Another thing to notice is the way his symbol is designed, whereas it is in different parts and sections versus being one solid shape. Check it out after the break! (more...)