movie
Latest
MGM switches home-video arm from Sony to Fox
In a curious move, MGM (despite being 20% owned by Sony) has decided to take their home video distribution business elsewhere, and go to Fox. Fox is still within the Blu-ray fold, so no major changes there however Sony loses control over timing and pricing, as noted by VideoBusiness. mediabistro suggests that the synergy of Sony picking up MGM to keep them from Time Warner in the first place was a mistake, which seems to be borne out by their sudden desire to have all their internation and domestic video releases under one roof at Fox. The upcoming James bond film, Casino Royale, will still be distributed by Sony. Read - VideoBusinessRead - mediabistro
WoW Moviewatch: 500 Miles
Which is approximately the distance that I was willing to walk to get away from any radio station playing this song back in 1993. Fortunately, this version is much cooler...it's actually kinda heartwarming. And it doesn't have those annoying Poindexter guys screaming in my face...
Xbox gets X-tra X-Men product placement
You didn't have to be a telepathic mutant to predict that X-men: The Official Game would be a half-assed, Hollywood cash-in, similar in artistic merit to the cinematic rush-job it seeks to cross-promote. Those who broke down and paid money to see Halle Berry void her Oscar over the weekend may have noticed that the under-developed power-sucking character was playing an Xbox 360 to pass the time in his cell. I couldn't tell what game, though thankfully it wasn't the current king of obnoxious in-game advertising, Fight Night Round 3. Hard to believe the suits who sold this film franchise down the river, then insulted us with a crappy game, would miss the opportunity for a rare tri-level Burger King product placement.
WoW Moviewatch: Guild Wars Vs. WoW
Ever wonder what it would be like if two big contenders in the MMO sweepstakes squared off against each other, MC Hammer-style? Yeah, me either...but it's pretty dang funny...
Universal announces August HD DVD lineup
We're not sure why we're finding out about these more than a week in advance, but it looks like Universal is planning to release Ray on HD DVD August 8th, followed by The Interpreter, Spy Game and The Bone Collector. The suggested price tag is $34.98, however other than Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 soundtracks on the first three, additional special features are currently unknown.
New Ninety-Nine Nights trailer
N3 is only a few months away, but it's been a long time coming. It's hard not to get excited over such massive warfare and dizzying battles. If you're interested in checking out the new trailer for this 360 exclusive, head on over and pick your flavor (HD or SD).[EDIT: Make that a June release date. Thanks Johny!]
Warner Bros. queues up three new HD DVD titles [Update 2]
Warner just likes surprising people, announcing that they will be releasing three new HD DVD movies June 6, including one day-and-date with the DVD release, Harrison Ford's Firewall. The other two movies are Constantine and The Perfect Storm, which will list at $28.99. Firewall will be the second hybrid HD DVD/DVD disc after Rumor Has It (thanks WiFiSpy) and cost $39.99. Their HD DVD release plan must make sense to someone, but since you can't even pre-order them from Amazon.com or queue some of them on Netflix just a week before release, it will be hard for potential customers to keep up.[Updated price of Firewall, combo disc]
WoW Moviewatch: Amish Azeroth
Even though I once vowed to shoot someone if I was ever forced to hear this song again, I have to admit, this is a pretty clever adaptation...
Blizzard's Paul Sams on the Wow Movie
Everyone has been buzzing about the announcement last week of a live-action Warcraft film, and now Gamespot has an interview with Blizzard exec Paul Sams, where he discusses some of the goals in bringing WoW to the big screen." We're not trying to take what we've done and...try to make a literal translation to the big screen. What we want to do is to make a great movie that happens to be set in a video game universe. That's a differentiator, and a key differentiator."It sounds to me like they have the right attitude about the project, as no direct adaptation, if one is even possible, is going to please everyone. The best idea is for them to craft a solid, compelling story that happens to be set in the gameworld we all know & love, and just try to make a good film first & foremost. From this interview, it seems that's exactly what they're trying to do, so lets just hope the suits don't stick too many fingers in the pie between script & screen...
Metal Gear Solid movie confirmed definitively
Metal Gear Solid creator, Hideo Kojima, has already ruled out Uwe Boll ("it's impossible") as a directorial candidate of a possible cinematic adaptation of the celebrated series, without confirming that such a project was even under way ... until now, that is. Gamespot reports that the Kojima Productions spoof of the E3 Show Daily, dubbed "Show Maybe," teases, "In a late-breaking surprise announcement, director Hideo Kojima revealed that his most famous creation -- Metal Gear Solid -- is getting the live-action treatment."On the back page Kojima writes, "I have received many offers to adapt Metal Gear Solid. It has taken a long time, but we have finally settled on an arrangement ... False facts aside, a movie project is underway. I have finalized a Class-A contract with a party in Hollywood." Now that the cat's out of the bag, expect periodic updates leading up to the 2007 release of Metal Gear Solid 4. Who's directing? Whose starring? For once, fans can't complain about lengthy cut scenes!
WoW Moviewatch: Live Action Leeroy
In the latest example of the emerging trend of live-action machinima remakes, our good friend Leeroy Jenkins finally gets the flesh & blood treatment. And no, it's still not all that funny...
Animal Crossing: The Movie
Apparently an Animal Crossing movie is in the works and slated for a Japanese release in December. The proposed director, Jouji Shimura, is known for his work on titles such as Master Keaton and Shin Angyo Onshi. No release date for America is set and the animated feature is supposedly to remain true to the game's source material.
WoW Moviewatch: He-Man & The Masters of WoW
To anyone born before 1978, this video needs no introduction. To the rest of you, just know that it might be the coolest thing ever. Or at least all day...
WoW Moviewatch: Naxxramas Trailer from E3
This video, Shadow of the Necropolis, gives us our first glimpse of action in the upcoming Naxxramas instance, included in the 1.11 patch, from the Blizzard previews at E3. Those are some seriously gnarly spiders...
WoW Moviewatch: The Darkmoon Faire trailer from E3
This is the first part of a series of press release videos from E3; this one spotlighting the events at the Darkmoon Faire. It probably doesn't contain anything that most of us haven't seen, but it's a nice little video, in any case...although it could really use one of those carnival barkers yelling "Sunday, SUNday, SUNDAY!". Enjoy...
Dirty Harry coming to HD DVD in 2007
Dirty Harry is back, hitting your screen in high definition in a couple of different ways. First up is a new Dirty Harry videogame coming to next generation consoles (360, PS3, Wii?). To coincide with the game, Warner will be re-releasing all the Dirty Harry movies -- Dirty Harry, Magnum Force, The Enforcer, Sudden Impact and The Dead Pool -- on HD DVD as the definitive Dirty Harry Collection, along with a host of (mostly unspecified, but expect audio upgrades and behind the scenes featurettes) extras. No Blu-ray release mentioned, however the films will on a moratorium of at least a year starting September meaning two things. If you want them on DVD buy them now while you can still find them, and expect the game and movie pack next fall.(You have no idea how difficult it was to write this post without including some "Do you feel lucky, punk?"-related humor.)
Warner Bros. keeps pumping out HD DVD movies
A couple of titles we already knew were coming to HD DVD but didn't know when, have gotten a date. May 16 the few, the proud, the...$800/$500 lighter in the wallet can look forward to high definition copies of Unforgiven and Full Metal Jacket coming to stores near them. The price is set to $28.99, and will include the bonus features in SD just like previous HD DVD releases. Since these titles are also slated for Blu-ray release, it will be interesting to see if bonus features for that format will be included in HDTV resolutions as some Blu-ray supporters have suggested.
Breakfast Topic: Game to Movie
So the recent movie rumors have been confirmed as legitimate - but how well will Azeroth really translate in a live action movie? The World of Warcraft we all know and love has such an exaggerated and cartoony style, and while I can see that easily translating into a CGI film, I have trouble envisioning it transferring into a film with live actors. Of course WoW has the advantage of a detailed world environment and history to work from, so all may not yet be lost. But what do you think - is will Azeroth be able to go Hollywood, or will it be another video game film flop?
Blizzard's Word: WoW Movie Officialy a Go
We reported yesterday about the news of a new WoW motion picture in development, and now it looks like the boys in blue have indeed confirmed that report. An official press release went out today, announcing the joint development of the film, with producers Legendary Pictures at the reigns.The release quotes both the Blizzard creative team and the filmmakers, and shines some light on what we can expect to see from the upcoming epic. No talent or crew have been signed as of yet, but I'm sure that the rumors will start flying anytime now, and the fans will have plenty to chew upon as the project comes to fruition.Aside from my wary words yesterday, I do indeed hope for the best with this adaptation; aside from being a fantasy fan in general, I would enjoy a property I'm familiar with being given the proper screen treatment. I'm sure every WoW fan under the sun has their own idea of what the ideal Warcraft movie would be, and I'm sure the filmmakers are going to be listening to those ideas as the project moves forth, so start your dream casting now, folks!
WoW: Coming to a Theater Near You?
Well, we knew it had to be on the drawing board somewhere. It seems that Legendary Pictures, producers of both the latest Superman & Batman films, are interested in bringing World of Warcraft to the big screen, according to this IGN article. The film would likely hit screens via Warner Bros., as they have handled most of the distribution for Legendary's releases so far.This could be exciting news for all Warcraft fans, but we all know just how well video games usually survive translation into the film medium. Alone in the Dark, Doom, Silent Hill....Super Mario Brothers, anyone? Still, just by the law of averages, they have to get one right sometime...here's hoping the best for WoW's big-screen maiden voyage.
