Damon Houx
For whatever reason, 'Star Wars' fans petitioned the White House wanting the United States to make a Death Star. That the country our the government has no interest in making one is no surprise. But the Chief of the Science and Space Branch at the White House Office of Management and Budget Paul Shawcross responded to the petition in the nerdiest way possible.
Even though the fourth film in the franchise, 'Pirates of Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,' was the lowest grossing of the franchise domestically, that film - boosted by 3D - managed to make over a billion dollars worldwide. So that a writer has been hired to write 'Pirates of the Caribbean 5' should be no surprise.
With Steven Spielberg's 'Robopocalypse' put on temporary hold, perhaps Universal saw a hole in the 2014 schedule, or perhaps they're just ready to make more dinosaur movies. We say that because -- even though there's no director attached -- Universal has announced that 'Jurassic Park 4' will be hitting theaters June 13, 2014.
With George Lucas out of Lucasfilm, a number of big changes have already happened. They're developing 'Star Wars Episode 7,' and it looks like a long promised spin-off may be coming out of the mothballs. No, not another Ewok adventure, but the long rumored live-action 'Star Wars' television show.
Since most horror movies either spawn or prepare for a sequel, the makers of 'The Last Exorcism' have likely been kicking themselves since the first film's release. The 2010 film made over $40 Million at the box office, so now there's a sequel called 'The Last Exorcism Part 2,' and here's the first trailer for the film and a new still.
Currently, the big Consumer Electronics Show (or CES) is taking place, and we've been hearing some interesting stories coming out of it, but the coolest thing so far is this new trailer for Guillermo del Toro's 'Pacific Rim.' Though it features the same narrative and much of the footage from the last trailer, what's new is even more monster and robot mayhem.
After spending a couple years governating, Arnold Schwarzenegger has returned to the big screen with a vengeance. He's got 'The Last Stand' coming next week, then a film where he's pitted against Sylvester Stallone in September, and another picture lined up for next January, on top of talks of playing Conan the Barbarian again and the proposed 'Twins' sequel. We're going to be seeing a lot of Arnie in the near future, and now there's a new red band trailer trailer for 'The Last Stand.'
Stuntman turned director David R. Ellis has passed away at the age of 60. He was prepping his next movie when he died suddenly of unknown causes. Though Ellis would never be considered an auteur, his no-nonsense approach and eye for good schlock made him one of the best B-movie directors in the business.
It's hard to be a film fan and not love Sam Raimi's 1981 horror movie 'The Evil Dead.' Not only did it kick off the career of one of the great geeks heroes of cinema, it's one of those scrappy no-budget classics that gets over because of the sheer willpower of the director and the ethos that any character can die at any time. It seems like an untouchable classic. But watching the red band trailer for Fede Alvarez's remake 'Evil Dead?' We're sold on this remake.
Though the 2013 Oscar nominations won't be announced until next week, today the Producers Guild of America announced their nominees for best picture, best animated film, and best long form television show, and though all the Oscar favorites were included, there were some surprise nominations, like that of the James Bond film 'Skyfall.'
Though 'Brave' was a welcome respite, Pixar has gone sequel crazy, as their previous two films were sequels and this summer we're getting a prequel in 'Monsters University.' But the studio is also working on three non-sequels for the future, and have released images from each of them.
Charles Durning, one of the great character actors of the modern era, has passed away at the age of 89 from natural causes. If the name doesn't ring a bell, his work should as he's been a reliable supporting player in cinema and television for decades.