Source: Yahoo! Movies | Posted By: Dan Geer

Yes, just like The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Hobbit films are getting extended versions as well. While fans of Peter Jackson’s take on Middle Earth have known this for quite some time now, the official details on the Extended Cut of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey have been released, as well as the first clip, featuring a nice little chat between Elrond and Bilbo that further connects the film with The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Hit the jump to read the press release and watch the clip!

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Source: Star Wars Celebration Europe | Collider | Posted By: Dan Geer

Ever since it was announced that Star Wars: Episode VII is going to be made, one of the big things fans of the Saga have been wondering (besides what the story will be, who will star in it, etc.) is if John Williams, who composed all six of the previous films in the series, would return to score the film. After all, Episode VII director J.J. Abrams usually works with Michael Giacchino to compose his projects, and Williams is getting up there in age (he’s 81 now). While it is still unconfirmed who will score Episodes VIII & IX, it was officially announced at Star Wars Celebration Europe that Williams will indeed be back to score Episode VII (although I’m sure that if he’s still alive and well that they’ll ask him to return for VIII & IX).

This really should come as no surprise to those who have been closely following Episode VII news. Williams recently shared his desire to return to the Saga earlier this year, and director J.J. Abrams later made the comment that Williams would likely be scoring the film. But it is great to finally get confirmation on this, since a great deal of the success of Star Wars and how the films resonate with fans emotionally is due to the genius of John Williams and his iconic musical themes. Hit the jump to read the press release and watch a brief interview with Williams discussing his return to the Saga!

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Source: Collider | Heat Vision | Posted By: Dan Geer

It was only a matter of time.

Man of Steel, while not received that well critically, it did made a ton of money worldwide. Based on this, we knew a sequel would happen, and today it was officially announced at San Diego Comic-Con, although it was not necessarily what people were expecting.

The sequel to Man of Steel will team up Superman with The Dark Knight himself – Batman. As of right now, Zack Snyder will once again direct the sequel, co-writing with David S. Goyer, and the main cast of Man of Steel is set to return, including Henry Cavill as Superman. Batman, however, has not yet been cast, and the following press release confirms that he will be a “new Batman” and a more “fresh” take on the character, supporting previous speculation that they are indeed trying to reboot the character once again (Christian Bale’s recent comments also support this).

But this is not the only news. Even though the following press release deals only with the new Superman/Batman film, Heat Vision is reporting that a film based on DC’s The Flash is also in the works for 2016, followed by the long-gestating Justice League film in 2017. No official details as of yet for these films, but you can read the press release for the Man of Steel sequel (World’s Finest, anyone?) after the jump!

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Source: AMC | Posted By: Dan Geer

As San Diego Comic-Con continues on this weekend, fans of the widely popular AMC series The Walking Dead finally got their first real glimpse at Season Four with an extended trailer for the show, which premiers October 13th at 9PM EST. Essentially, we see in the trailer that the prison Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his groupies have taken up residence in may or may not hold up for much longer, as more and more zombies continue to ravage its defenses, and it appears that a mole may be lurking among the group, trying to actually help out said undead creatures. While The Governor does not make an appearance in this trailer, it is still of course exciting to see all-new footage from the upcoming season nonetheless. Hit the jump to watch!

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Source: MTV | Posted By: Dan Geer

San Diego Comic-Con is currently underway, and MTV got the chance to speak to Harrison Ford there about the prospect of returning for Star Wars Episode VII, and what he thinks of J.J. Abrams taking on the project. Of course, since no official announcement has been made on whether or not any of the cast members from the original Star Wars Trilogy will return for the sequel(s), Ford humorously dodges the question of his return to the franchise. But he does indeed have some very good things to say about Abrams, and anything with Ford talking about Star Wars is worth watching anyways, right? Hit the jump to check it out!

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Source: Film Maker IQ | Posted By: Dan Geer

Have you ever wondered why a film you watch sometimes has black bars on the top and bottom of the image, and sometimes it doesn’t (or why older films and TV shows have them on the left and right)? Or maybe you know why, but don’t really understand terms like “anamorphic widescreen,” or “16×9.” With so much information out there on the subject, even cinephiles don’t always understand everything there is to know about “aspect ratio” (the ratio of the width of an image to the height).

In response, Film Maker IQ has released a wonderful educational video that breaks down this very concept in The Changing Shape of Cinema: The History of Aspect Ratio. While it’s not even 20 minutes long, and doesn’t tell you everything (I wish it covered IMAX in more detail), it does lay out in easy-to-understand terms and visuals just what exactly aspect ratio is and how we got to our current aspect ratio standards, for both film and television. It is definitely for anyone who has ever been confused about the concept, or simply wants to know more about it. Check it out below!

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Source: iTunes Movie Trailers | Posted By: Dan Geer

Obviously the main reason to go see director Guillermo Del Toro’s latest film, Pacific Rim, is to see giant robots (Jaegers) face off against giant monsters (Kaiju) from a different dimension. Every trailer has made sure to show off what looks to be some of the greatest, most ridiculously epic battles of all time.

But the trailers have been missing much of the human element of the story, which, believe it or not, apparently exists. This latest and final trailer for the film actually lets us hang out with a few of the characters (namely those played by actors Charlie Day, Ron Perlman, Idris Elba, Charlie Hunnam, and Rinko Kikuchi), showing us a little bit of how they fit into all of this.

Having said that, the majority of the trailer still centers in on the action, which is really what you’re interested in anyway, right? Have a look after the jump!

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Source: Peter Jackson Facebook | Posted By: Dan Geer

We haven’t had a behind-the-scenes video blog for The Hobbit Trilogy since the first film, An Unexpected Journey, premiered last December. Now, we can finally enjoy more of what Peter Jackson and his film crew are currently up to with Production Video #11, which just made its way online today.

In the new blog, Jackson starts off by bringing us the news that The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug will not have a presence at San Diego Comic-Con this year, due to the extremely busy schedules of everyone involved with the film. But after that, the production blog kicks into high gear, giving us a sneak-peek at the pickups being shot for the last two films in the trilogy. We get to see a plethora of sets (including Laketown and Mirkwood), and have fun with various members of the cast and crew as they begin their final weeks of filming. We even get to hang with the dwarves as they “train” for The Battle of the Five Armies. Hit the jump to watch!

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