Nic Cage is Rage On Wheels in ‘Drive Angry 3D’ Clips, TV Spots, & Poster

Like a bat out of hell, sporting a fresh new blonde hairdo and a nasty scar around his left eye, Nicolas Cage will be back in theaters next month with Drive Angry 3D -- an R-Rated thrill ride from director Patrick Lussier, the man that threw pickaxes at the camera in his 3D remake of My Bloody Valentine.

A couple of new clips and TV spots have been released for the upcoming crazy Cage vehicle (not the one currently in theaters, Season of the Witch), along with another poster that features the Oscar-winner looking… less than utterly pleased.

Drive Angry 3D stars Cage as Milton, a hard-edged, recently-deceased criminal who breaks out of Hell in order to save his infant granddaughter from being sacrificed by a vicious cult (no, not the one that broke Cage’s kneecaps in The Wicker Man). Milton teams up with Piper (Amber Heard), a waitress with a ’69 Charger who is also seeking to make amends for her past deeds, and the two pursue the cult’s merciless leader (Billy Burke) -- all while a demonic agent known only as The Accountant (William Fichtner) attempts to capture Milton and return him to the Devil’s lair.

Those that watched either the international trailer or U.S. theatrical preview know that Drive Angry 3D aims to be a guilty pleasure of the most deliciously exploitative kind -- one that offers tons of explosions, car crashes, gunfire, Amber Heard’s bare legs, and Nic Cage at his most badass in the third dimension. For more of just that, watch Fitchner’s Accountant destroy a blockade of police cars via a hydro-truck in the clip below:

There’s another very NSFW clip online from Drive Angry 3D that answers the question: “What happens when you put a fully-dressed Nic Cage, three thugs, along with some booze, bullets, and a naked broad in a hotel room together?” Check it out HERE - if you dare.

Finally, be sure to check out the tamer but still action-heavy Drive Angry 3D TV spots and poster (via IMP Awards) below:

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Drive Angry 3D crashes into 2D and 3D theaters around the U.S. on February 25th, 2011.

Follow us for more movie and TV news on Twitter @screenrant and @feynmanguy.

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Movie Poster Roundup: Paul, Thor, Hobo with a Shotgun, and More

Everybody loves to look at movie posters (or one-sheets as they are sometimes called in the movie industry) and a well-crafted poster can make or break the buzz for an upcoming film.

Sometimes the poster predominantly features one character from the film or perhaps it depicts the story or plot in an artsy and unique way. Regardless of which direction the marketing department for a film chooses, a poster should either be intriguing, sexy, funny or cool – and it can’t hurt to combine all four.

Today we have wide selection of movie posters from a very diverse selection of films – excellent fan-made art for movies yet to begin filming, horror films with a sexy twist, summer blockbusters, and even a campy SyFy Channel film. No matter what your taste in movie posters may be, we are sure to have something for every movie buff to enjoy. Let’s start off with some fantastic fan-made art.

Undoubtedly director Christopher Nolan’s third installment of his hugely successful Batman trilogy will be one of the most anticipated films of 2012. Casting for The Dark Knight Rises is still underway so there hasn’t been an official poster released yet – but that hasn’t deterred some very talented and creative fans from making their own. Graphic designer Josh Gilbert put together the teaser poster below. Be sure to check out the rest of his work at Shokxone Studios.

Click HERE for a Hi-Res version

Source: Shokxone Studios via Film School Rejects

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Even though TRON:Legacy made it onto our Most Disappointing Films of 2010 the film still had some redeeming qualities. While the story won’t win any awards, the SFX were amazing – as was Daft Punk’s blazing electronic score. Graphic designer Josh Gilbert (yes, the same guy from above) seems to agree with us – since he made the fake Oscar-bid poster below, nominating Daft Punk for Best Original Score. Somebody needs to hire this guy because his work is creative and fun to look at.

Click HERE for a Hi-Res version

Source: Shokxone Studios via Film School Rejects

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There isn’t a whole lot to say about Jason Eisner’s upcoming Grindhouse spin-off Hobo with a Shotgun starring Rutger Hauer. It’s a movie about a hobo – with shotgun – shooting people – and some guy dressed as a knight riding a motorcycle makes an appearance. The red band trailer and all of the images we’ve seen make the film look like off-the-wall campy fun – and hopefully it will deliver.

Click Here for a Hi-Res version

Source: IGN

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It’s too bad this special limited edition poster was only given to the cast and crew of the movie Thor because its minimalist art deco style is very cool – and would look good hanging on the wall of any film buff. At first director Kenneth Branagh seemed to be an odd choice to helm the project but after watching the first trailer a lot of those fanboy “fears” seemed to have been quelled. Thor stars Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman and Ray Stevenson.

Source: Sci Fi Wire

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Movie Poster Roundup: ‘Green Hornet’, ‘Sucker Punch’, ‘Thor’

A sleek black automobile that’s been enhanced with machine guns, rocket launchers, and beanie bag throwers (you read that correctly); gorgeous young women armed to the teeth for combat; and a big, blonde, bearded superhuman carrying his deadly hammer are on display in today’s movie poster roundup.

There’s a new one-sheet for this week’s release, The Green Hornet; an elaborate banner for Zack Snyder’s upcoming Sucker Punch; and a French poster for the comic book flick that will kick off the Summer 2011 movie season, Thor, to check out as well.

Director Michel Gondry’s The Green Hornet gets the honor of being the first anticipated tentpole pic to be released in 2011 (sorry, Season of the Witch). Evan Goldberg co-wrote the radio serial/TV show/comic book movie adaptation with his Superbad pal Seth Rogen, who also stars as the Green Hornet (a.k.a., playboy Britt Reid). Asian pop star Jay Chou takes over Bruce Lee’s iconic role as Kato, the brains and brawn behind the Hornet and his operation to fight crime in the streets of Los Angeles.

Recent clips and TV spots have done a good job highlighting the stylish action scenes from Green Hornet (specifically, the “Kato Vision” combat sequences), promoting the movie as mostly just a fast and fun popcorn flick. The film attracted a fair amount of negative buzz back in mid-2010, but recent word of mouth has been much more positive (check back here on Friday to read our verdict).

The Green Hornet and Kato get to wreak havoc on the streets of L.A., thanks to their virtually indestructible and technologically-advanced ride, the Black Beauty. Have a look at the damage left in the vehicle’s wake in the Green Hornet poster (via IMP Awards) below:

There’s a good chance you were more interested in admiring the snazzy visual design of the images or footage released for Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch than actually bothering to find out what exactly the film’s plot is. For those who want to know, here’s the basic gist of said plot:

She has been locked away against her will, but Babydoll (Emily Browning) has not lost her will to survive.  Determined to fight for her freedom, she urges four other young girls—the outspoken Rocket (Jena Malone), the street-smart Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens), the fiercely loyal Amber (Jamie Chung) and the reluctant Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish)—to band together and try to escape their terrible fate at the hands of their captors, Blue (Oscar Isaac), Madam Gorski (Carla Gugino) and the High Roller (Jon Hamm).

These girls’ attempts to escape their cruel captors is brought to life via vivid fantasy sequences that pit the leather-and-fishnet-clad ladies against samurai, deadly soldiers, fire-breathing dragons, and giant mechanical monsters. Sucker Punch may not have the most well-developed or layered of storylines, but Snyder knows how to create beautiful visuals and stunning action – so that definitely works in the film’s favor.

Check out the new Sucker Punch banner below:

(CLICK FOR LARGER VERSION)
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Son of Odin and owner of the all-too-cool silver hammer Mjolnir (not Maxwell – kudos for getting this joke), Thor makes the jump to the big screen this summer, under the direction of Shakespeare lover Kenneth Branagh. The film adaptation of the mythological tale-turned-Stan Lee comic book stars Chris Hemsworth as the titular blonde bruiser, who is cast down to live amongst the mortals on Earth after his dad (Anthony Hopkins) tires of his arrogance and thoughtless action.

An official trailer for Thor was released just over a month ago and fans were overall quite receptive to the footage on display – more so than they were after watching the preview for another comic book flick, Green Lantern (for more on that subject, see our Thor vs. Green Lantern trailer showdown).

This new French poster for the film only features the all-mighty Thor in the flesh, but there’s still something cool about the image of Hemsoworth, dressed up in futuristic armor and gazing out dramatically into the distance as his red cape flaps in the wind – we all know it’s true.

Check out the French one-sheet (via CloneWeb and Fantasy.fr) below:

The Green Hornet roars into regular, 3D, and IMAX 3D theaters around the U.S. this Friday, January 14th.

Sucker Punch blasts its way into theaters on March 25th, 2011.

Thor arrives in 2D and 3D theaters on May 6th, 2011.

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Exclusive ‘Project Arbiter’ Poster, Stills & Interview with Director Michael Chance

In late March of 2010, we were introduced to a teaser trailer for a short concept film entitled Project Arbiter. The teaser got us excited to learn more, so we spoke with writer/director Michael Chance about the project.

The 20-minute concept film is designed to pique interest in a proposed feature trilogy that includes trans-media integration -- meaning video games, toys and novels. As the director of a number of short films and commercial projects, Chance is ready for the next level, talking on a potentially career-defining franchise. If a studio is as impressed as we are by the work he has done on Project Arbiter so far, expect big things in the future.

The short film is still a mystery to many, so we discussed it with Chance in detail over an hour-long phone call. All we really knew back in March was that the story twists the reality of World War II into a genre-bending action sci-fi movie. But Chance doesn’t want audiences to see this as an alternate reality like Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds -- it falls closer to an untold story based firmly in reality, according to the director:

“It is NOT an alternative reality or new history. This IS very much rooted in historical events. I would consider it more like a Saving Private Ryan or a Band of Brothers in that we are following a group of people encountering key battles and individuals within the history of World War II.  I think what [Quentin] Tarantino did with Inglourious Basterds was awesome in that you just didn’t see that twist coming at the end. But at the same time I think our film strays away from that type of fantasy in that ours is very much rooted in reality. More so we’ve gone very deep into what is technologically possible and the amount of electrical hertz that can go through a body for example. Jesse Boots and our visual effects team are working hard with me to create a cloaking technology that is visually different from anything you’ve seen -- this is just one way we are taking the WWII experience in a completely new and virtually unexplored territory on film. That type of open collaboration within our team is what has allowed us to continually expand the story and its presence.”

The cloaking technology he refers to is a major aspect of Project Arbiter. While it may look like a run-and-gun action movie, it actually focuses more on the stealthiness of a soldier who finds temporary invisibility with an unprecedented chemical and the situations that ability gets him into.

“In science fiction, there has been much emphasis on weaponry as in explosives, guns, and different kinds of battle armor. I thought what would be more interesting is if a soldier has the ability to go invisible and moreover put the emphasis on the difficulties that come with that responsibility. There are personal moral decisions with such a power and there are severe consequences when using raw chemical materials that have the capability to change you forever. You are basically an invisible person that could go into virtually any room undetected and do whatever you want. The possibilities are limitless and when put in the hands of a trained soldier, it’s a lethal combination.”

Project Arbiter is as much a character study as it is an action film, if not more. Chance is proud of the emphasis on character, stating that the main character of Joseph Colburn has a “darker turmoil inside that is personified by the way the suit looks.”  The engaging short film should have no problem finding a core audience, but the story always takes precedent to cool weaponry.

“The story follows Joseph Colburn [played by Lex Cassar] who is part of the O.S.S. and he is paired with his S.O.E. handler Tom Hardy [played by Jake Lyall]. At the beginning of the film they are on a mission to secure more information on a specific individual who created the German version of the suit. On this journey, they switch up the plan to potentially capture this target, which increases the risks and rewards. The Arbiter parachutes out of a prototype aircraft while they are hit by anti-aircraft flak fire from the location they are trying to infiltrate. Along the way, there is a series of battles and confrontations that the Arbiter encounters with specific individuals on the Nazi side of the story. We focused on creating a conflict that unfolds Joe through action, mystery, and personal growth.”

The future of Project Arbiter relies heavily on the reactions to the 20-minute concept short. While it has been designed as its own short film, it exists for the greater purpose of jump-starting a franchise. But as any independent filmmaker will tell you, getting the right attention is the hard part. Chance has made the rounds by attending 2010 San Diego Comic-Con, speaking with the press and simply getting the word out through social media. We noticed the work before filming even finished, so he must be doing something right.

But the big question is how Chance, producer Vicki de Mey, and the rest of the Project Arbiter team will push the film to the next level. Independent filmmaking is a tough market, but short films have been picked up in greater numbers lately and Chance sees his opportunity to pounce.

“What’s been interesting is having the comparison to District 9 or The Raven, which was recently picked up by Mark Wahlberg. It is a really exciting time for independent filmmakers to get their films seen. The biggest thing that Hollywood and the industry looks for is an immediate reaction to a concept. If you can solidify your concept within two minutes, and then gather enough steam to create a concept short that’s 20-minutes, you can show beyond the concept that the group of filmmakers that created it have the ability to follow through on a feature film.”

TRON: Legacy was pitched to Disney with a concept short in the same vein as Project Arbiter and that resulted in a mega-million investment. While Project Arbiter may not have a predetermined fan base like TRON, there is enough to get excited about in just the teaser trailer from last year.

Chance says they are at the halfway point in post-production, with nearly 50% of the 220 visual effects shots finished and an original score in the works by composer Ryan Leach. If you have any doubts about the visuals in the original teaser, rest assured only a half-year has passed since production wrapped and they are already enhancing it further. Below are the first stills to be released. Chance expressed how thrilled he is with the imagery and detail that cinematographer Jason Beckwith and colorist Tashi Trieu have created.

It will be interesting to see the finished product and follow the attempt to turn this into a bankable franchise.

Original concepts are difficult to come across these days in the movie business. While it is an appealing aspect of Project Arbiter, it will also be its biggest enemy. With a few strokes of genius marketing, like the unexpected Arbiter custom LEGO mini-figure created by Amazing Armory in Hong Kong, Arbiter has a chance to mimic Neill Blomkamp’s journey from Alive in Joburg to District 9. But Michael Chance will be the first to urge you to stray away from comparison and experience Project Arbiter as its own entity.

If you haven’t seen the teaser from last year, watch it one more time and share your thoughts with us on the short film.

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Finally, check out the exclusive new Project Arbiter “CODE: Red” poster below, by concept artist Robert Simons (Click for a larger version):

You can visit the Project Arbiter website for more details and follow production updates on Twitter and Facebook.

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‘Limitless’ Trailer & Poster Will Open Your Mind

Chances are good that when someone drops the name Bradley Cooper, you think “the handsome goofball from The A-Team and The Hangover” -- not “the most intelligent man on Earth.” But that’s exactly the role Mr. Cooper will be playing in the upcoming sci-fi thriller/satire, Limitless.

An official trailer and poster have been released for Limitless (formerly, The Dark Fields), which stars Cooper alongside Sucker Punch gal Abbie Cornish and Little Fockers star acting legend Robert De Niro.

Limitless is officially described as “a paranoia-fueled action thriller” that revolves around Eddie, a lowly copywriter and aspiring novelist who turns his life around by taking a new drug that allows him to use 100% of his total mental capacity. But exterior forces, including that of Wall Street type Carl Van Loon (De Niro -- yes, that’s really his character’s name), threaten to destroy his newfound existence of wealth and riches -- even as Eddie begins to experience the troubling side effects of his new medication.

The theatrical preview for Limitless more than hints at the film’s main themes (the dangers of science, the corrupting nature of power and money), but it’s difficult to asses whether the movie is more satire, sci-fi cautionary tale, drama, or thriller. Elements from all these genres will likely be present in Limitless, but is that a recipe for success -- or disaster?

Watch the Limitless trailer (via Apple) below:

Neil Burger (The Illusionist) directed Limitless, which was scripted by Leslie Dixon -- a writer whose credits range from the remakes of The Thomas Crown Affair and Freaky Friday to Mrs. Doubtfire and the musical Hairspray. Going off Dixon’s resume, it seems like Limitless could be more darkly comedic than the trailer lets on -- which makes the casting of Cooper perhaps more appropriate.

It’s difficult to assess from this theatrical preview alone whether Limitless will be simultaneously clever and exciting -- or just fall flat on its face. We will say this: Kanye West’s hit single, “Power,” was much more effectively used in The Social Network TV spot released last summer than it was in the Limitless trailer, truth be told.

Check out the Limitless poster below:

Limitless arrives in U.S. theaters on March 18th, 2011.

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‘Paul’ Trailer & New Poster

Following the teaser trailer back in October, Universal Pictures has released the first full theatrical trailer as well as a new poster for Paul, the forthcoming sci-fi comedy directed by Greg Mottola (Superbad) and starring and written by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz).

The premise for Paul is a simple yet peculiar one: Two Euro buddies decide to go on an American road trip, first paying a visit to the Mecca of all things geek that is the San Diego Comic-Con, before continuing on to Area 51. Along the way, they get into a whole load of trouble after meeting a strange talking alien named Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen) who is being hunted by the government.

The teaser trailer did well to do exactly that – tease. But for those wanting to see a bit more of Paul (often quite literally!) in order to get truly excited about the movie, this first full trailer should do the trick.

Click on the image below to view the  theatrical trailer exclusively over at Yahoo (apologies – we will have an embedded version up ASAP), followed by a unique new poster courtesy of Collider:

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If the latest trailer and poster for Paul aren’t enough to get you shaking with excitement in anticipation of its release next Spring, then I don’t think anything will. The immediate draw for me – aside from the awesome premise – is the duo of Pegg and Frost. Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz (in which they both starred and Pegg co-wrote) are a couple of my favorite comedies of the last ten years. And not only does Paul mark their first outing together without director Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) to guide them, it’s also their first time writing a feature script together.

By the looks of things, Pegg and Frost have delivered a film that’s equal parts hilarious (you can already tell there will be geek references aplenty) and exciting. And in a world where movie aliens are hell bent on attacking mankind in such modern films as War of the Worlds, Skyline and Battle: Los Angeles, Paul is set apart by the eponymous alien just needing a little help to survive.

Alongside Pegg and Frost, Paul sports a killer supporting cast including Seth Rogen (voicing Paul), Kristin Wiig, Jason Bateman, Sigourney Weaver, Bill Hader and Jane Lynch.

Paul is set to open in U.S. theaters on March 18th, 2011, with the UK getting it a month earlier on February 14th, 2011.

Sources: Yahoo and Collider

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Creepy ‘Apollo 18′ Poster

Due to budgetary constraints, scheduling issues and other various setbacks, the final few Apollo missions of the 1960s and 70s were cancelled. Apollo 18, 19 and 20 were all planning to take astronauts to the surface of the Moon again but it just wasn’t meant to be. In early 1970, they pulled the plug on the Apollo 20 mission and later that year NASA also put an end to the Apollo 18  & 19 missions.

But what if Apollo 17 wasn’t actually the last Apollo Lunar mission? What if Apollo 18 actually did happen covertly and conducted its scheduled landing in February of 1972 and found alien life? This is the story behind the upcoming film written by Brian Miller, simply titled Apollo 18.

The Weinstein Company picked up the rights to Miller’s Apollo 18 screenplay and Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted) is attached to produce. Trevor Cawood, a visual effects artist who worked on such films as The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, was attached to direct the “found footage” documentary-style, sci-fi thriller, but the latest news has Spanish director Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego stepping in to helm the project.

IGN has the exclusive on the first Apollo 18 poster which depicts a footprint of an astronaut beside the foot print of… something else.

The plot of Apollo 18 is not dissimilar from Cloverfield and revolves around archived Russian footage discovered from the 1970s which reveals that President Nixon didn’t actually cancel Apollo 18 and that it did happen, offering a new reason as to why the Apollo missions ended after that. Here’s a snippet from the press release which offers more detail about the plot:

A quintessential Cold War story, Apollo 18 casts light on the covert and undocumented lunar mission that officially “never happened.” Bekmambetov, hired by Russia to shoot a documentary about the Russian space station, recently came across footage in its space archives that bolsters the idea that an Apollo 18 mission did, in fact, take place, and reveals startling evidence of extraterrestrial life forms. This actual footage will be part of Apollo 18, a paranormal thriller that will interpolate fact and fiction.

As long as the footage doesn’t involve a seizure-inducing style of film like Cloverfield than I am absolutely on board with Apollo 18 and its story. Apollo 18 is in early production but hasn’t begun shooting yet for its early 2011 release, giving it a very short window for completion.

Apollo 18 is scheduled to release March 4, 2011.

Follow us on Twitter @rob_keyes and @screenrant.

Source: IGN

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‘Red Riding Hood’ Trailer and Poster

Fans that sneak out to see the latest Harry Potter movie this weekend will get a glimpse at another dark, and far more risque, fantasy tale in the form of director Catherine Hardwicke’s Red Riding Hood.

Warner Bros. has released the trailer and poster for the flick, which refashions the classic story of Little Red Riding Hood as more of a supernatural horror thriller than a mildly creepy tale about a young girl’s misbegotten trip to her grandmother’s house.

Amanda Seyfried stars in Red Riding Hood as Valerie, a lovely young lady who’s “torn” between two gentlemen -- and by that we mean she’s in love with broody loner Peter (Shiloh Fernandez), but is betrothed to rich boy Henry (Max Irons). The forbidden romance between Valerie and Peter is made all the more complicated by the presence of a werewolf -- which their medieval village has long kept at bay via animal sacrifices. Until, under the cover of a blood red moon, the creature decides to begin feeding on humans instead.

Enter famed werewolf hunter (and flamboyantly dressed) Father Solomon (Gary Oldman), who informs the villagers that the hairy monster takes human form during the day -- which means it could very well be a resident of the small town and possibly even (*gasp*) someone close to Valerie herself.

Check out the Red Riding Hood trailer below:

This mixture of contemporary music, broody romance, and ominous visuals in the Red Riding Hood trailer might seem curious (and more than boarderline silly) until one remembers that Hardwicke was responsible for the original Twilight movie adaptation as well. There’s more than a hint of Bella and Edward in Seyfried’s Valerie and Fernadez’ Peter in the footage shown here.

The use of supernatural creatures as metaphors in edgier (re: sexual) coming of age stories that revolve around young adults are all the rage nowadays (just watch the Teen Wolf TV show trailer for further proof) and Red Riding Hood could very well tap into that craze when it hits theaters.

Check out the Red Riding Hood poster below:

Red Riding Hood arrives in theaters in the U.S. on March 11th, 2011.

Source: iTunes Movie Trailers

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Jon Favreau Talks Cowboys & Aliens (Plus Trailer Preview & Poster)

Cowboys & Aliens is already generating enough buzz to make it one of the most eagerly anticipated films of 2011. Last week, the buzz started to increase over the impending release of the film’s trailer. Folks have been speculating about which movie (or movies) the trailer would appear with, and when it would be available online.

We were fortunate enough to be among the few to get a sneak-peak at the Cowboys And Aliens trailer in an edit bay visit with director Jon Favreau last week, and can assure fans that they will not be disappointed when it becomes available online this coming Wednesday.

In addition to an advance look at the trailer, we were also given the opportunity to view very early, work-in-progress footage from the film and will be bringing you a full report on our edit bay visit in the coming weeks.

What we are able to report now is that the trailer that you will see on Wednesday is highly reflective of the extended footage we’ve seen from the film. There is always the danger of misleading a film’s audience with an deceptive marketing campaign. Thankfully, that’s not the case with Cowboys & Aliens.

Favreau himself reflects “what I like about it as a filmmaker, is that it feels like they are selling the same movie that we’re making.” He goes on to say that this trailer encapsulates “the tone of the first act of the movie, and as we get deeper, and as more trailers come out – more will be revealed.”

Keep an eye out here on Screen Rant as we continue to bring you the latest about the film.

In addition to Wednesday’s trailer countdown clock and film experience page, the first Cowboys & Aliens teaser poster debuted on Yahoo this morning and we have it for you below.

Take a look at the official teaser poster below:

Poster source: Yahoo! Movies.

Here is the official synopsis for the film:

1873. Arizona Territory. A stranger (Daniel Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don’t welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford). It’s a town that lives in fear.

But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky.  Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known.

Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation.  As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he’s been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force.  With the help of the elusive traveler Ella (Olivia Wilde), he pulls together a posse comprised of former opponents—townsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and Apache warriors—all in danger of annihilation. United against a common enemy, they will prepare for an epic showdown for survival.

As film-goers, we have become comfortable, and used to “genre-bending” films; in fact, the tricks and tropes of genre-bending (or blending) have become so familiar and shorthand, that filmmakers now must essentially bend the bending in order to surprise audiences.

In his 2001 essay on The French Connection, writer Todd Berliner explains that, “genre-bending films rely on viewers’ habitual responses to generic codes, misleading audiences into expecting conventional outcomes.” In other words, genre-bending films typically set viewers up for the expected, only to then twist the tropes, “creating a more unsettling experience than the genre traditionally provides.”

Audiences have become sophisticated enough that most genre-films are now self-reflexive in some way, or ways.

In casting Harrison Ford, Favreau is tipping his hat (metaphorically) at fans; and said hat tip plays into the tone of the film. He likens the casting choice to that of a classic Western star, explaining that “when John Wayne stepped onto the screen, he brought his entire body of work with him, and you have to acknowledge that. You can go with expectation or against expectation…”. However, both filmmaker and audience are well aware that a wealth of history comes with the casting choice – a lesson Favreau learned while working with Robert Downey Jr., on Iron Man.

A wealth of history is also intrinsically present in any genre film; that element of the past is heightened in a film that blends genres, as Cowboys & Aliens does. Self-reflexive, and genre-blending it may be, and yet, from what we have seen, Cowboys & Aliens feels like a film that honors its predecessors far more than many films that attempt to genre-blend, or bend, do.

Wild, Wild West This is not.

Continue to more about the Cowboys & Aliens experience…

Cowboys & Aliens presented an opportunity for Jon Favreau to do something he had longed to do; direct a classic Western, in a time when audience appetites are geared towards sci-fi and fantasy films in general, and alien-invasion films specifically.

Cowboys & Aliens does not “go for the easy joke” that many filmmakers would have been tempted to go for with this particular brand of genre mash-up, however.“You can work in humor” Favreau explains (and we assure you that the humor will be present), but “in the way that the old Westerns did; a little bit here, a character actor there – but really at its core, like the John Ford films, which were unflinching in what the main characters are up against.”

Cowboys & Aliens emphasizes character, and as such, the actors “all played it straight.” The film does not “back-off of the Western genre”, and as Favreau says “young it up”, in a way that degrades the particular beauty of the style.

Rather, by drawing on films like The Magnificent Seven (and Kurosawa’s prior film, Seven Samurai), Stagecoach, She Wore A Yellow Ribbon, High Planes Drifter and The Professionals, this film embraces the genre, approaching it with a sensibility that is simultaneously modern and faithful in tone to the classic Western.

Cowboys And Aliens will be one of the only summer event films of 2011 that was neither shot in 3D, or converted to 3D in post-production. It was shot in traditional 35mm anamorphic, in the vein of a traditional Western, by the phenomenally talented cinematographer Matthew Libatique (Iron Man, The Fountain, Black Swan), giving the film an organic quality that audiences will (hopefully) be thirsty for.

Favreau was able to go straight to the source, executive producer Steven Spielberg, to explore some of the late 1970s/1980s science fiction movies that he used as both template and inspiration for this movie. Films like Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, Alien/Aliens, E.T and even Jaws. Science fiction that, often by necessity, invited the audience members to participate in the storytelling by actively engaging their imaginations.

These films relied on the imaginations of viewers to fill in the blanks that were left by the technological limitations of the day. What many of us have come to realize since that time is that our individual fears will, more often than not, serve the emotional current of a film far more than overblown CGI ever could. Though there will certainly be plenty of action available in Cowboys & Aliens.

Soon enough you will be able to see for yourself that the classic Western style blends beautifully with the particular brand of sci-fi this film will be expressing.

As far as the Cowboys & Aliens are concerned, as Favreau says, “they (the aliens) didn’t know they were coming to the old-west, and they (the cowboys) didn’t know there were aliens coming – they were both coming from their own place.”

We believe the two worlds will seamlessly collide, come summer 2011.

We look forward to bringing you the trailer this Wednesday – as well as further details from our incredible edit bay visit – in the coming weeks. In the interim, you can find the countdown clock for the Cowboys & Aliens trailer below, so we can all count the minutes together:

Cowboys & Aliens

The trailer will also be appearing in theaters, beginning this weekend with Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 1.

Cowboys & Aliens has a powerhouse team of Hollywood heavy-hitters behind it; starring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford, written and produced by Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci (Star Trek) and Damon Lindelof (television’s Lost); produced by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, with executive producers Steven Spielberg and Denis L. Stewart.

Cowboys & Aliens is scheduled for release on July 29th, 2011.

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‘Cars 2′ Teaser Poster, Image, And Official Synopsis

A teaser poster has been released for Disney/Pixar’s ‘Cars 2', along with the first image and official synopsis for the animated sequel.

Glistening metallic vehicles with colorful personalities and pun-heavy names will ride rampant onscreen in Disney/Pixar’s sequel, Cars 2, which arrives in theaters next summer.

The first image from the followup to the 2006 merchandising hit Cars has been unveiled and with it comes an official plot description and teaser poster for the new adventure with hot red racing stud Lightning McQueen (whose engine made noises eerily similar to Owen Wilson’s voice in the first film ).

Wilson will return to voice McQueen in Cars 2 and will be joined by Pixar stalwart John Ratzenberger, along with Bonnie Hunt, who provides the vocals for the royal blue Porsche and McQueen love interest (still not sure how that works), Sally Carrera. Monk‘s Tony Shalhoub and Cheech Marin (last seen onscreen as Machete‘s “holy” brother, Padre) will also lend their voices to the Cars sequel, along with the redneck funnyman himself, Larry the Cable Guy, as the trusty rusty tow truck, Mater.

Read the official Cars 2 synopsis below, followed by the first image released from the animated pic:

Star racecar Lightning McQueen and the incomparable tow truck Mater take their friendship to exciting new places in ‘Cars 2' when they head overseas to compete in the first-ever World Grand Prix to determine the world’s fastest car. But the road to the championship is filled with plenty of potholes, detours and hilarious surprises when Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage.  Torn between assisting Lightning McQueen in the high-profile race and towing the line in a top-secret spy mission, Mater’s action-packed journey leads him on an explosive chase through the streets of Japan and Europe, trailed by his friends and watched by the whole world.  Adding to the fast-paced fun is a colorful new all-car cast that includes secret agents, menacing villains and international racing competitors.

Pixar chief creative officer John Lasseter is co-directing Cars 2, alongside Rataouille producer Brad Lewis. The story for the first Cars bore a resemblance to the Michael J. Fox comedy, Doc Hollywood (with cars instead of southern townies, naturally) and had its charms, but the sequel looks to both amp up the number of racing sequences – which can be glimpsed in 3D this time – and give more screen time to Mater, in the hopes that he’ll work as more than just a one-note comic relief.

A teaser trailer for Cars 2 was released last month and it suggested that the film will be a fun adventure for the whole family that avoids the tear-inducing drama of this year’s Toy Story 3 – and, given the nature of the Cars universe, that’s probably for the best.

Check out the Cars 2 teaser poster below:

Cars 2 rolls into 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D theaters in the U.S. on June 24th, 2011.

Source: Disney/Pixar, Yahoo! Movies

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