'The Divergent Series: Insurgent' to Open in 3D; New Motion Poster Featuring Ansel Elgort

As The Hunger Games begins to wind down with next month's 'Mockingjay', Divergent is just getting off the starting blocks. The Shailene Woodley-led film, based on the best selling YA series, pulled in a solid $288M for Lionsgate earlier this year, and with the sequel coming next March the studio has announced The Divergent Series: Insurgent will open in 3D. Cha-ching! Of course, there will also be a 2D option for those who don't necessarily need to see Theo James coming right at them, although I wouldn't complain if it was Maggie Q.

To celebrate this announcement, Lionsgate is releasing eight interactive 3D motion posters, the first featuring Ansel Elgort as Caleb, the brainy sibling to Woodley's "Tris" Prior, and of course her co-star in The Fault in Our Stars. A new poster will be revealed each hour, so all you need to do is come back here and click on the image to see which one is next!

The Divergent Series: Insurgent opens March 20th 2015. 

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New 'Guardians of the Galaxy' TV Spot, Star Wars-Style Poster, and IMAX 3D Details

One way Marvel can get everyone to stop talking about Ant-Man is by way of distraction, and the next shiny object to be dangled is Guardians of the Galaxy. Actually, the two movies are related by way of their quirkiness and Marvel's reluctance to have two major projects with a similar tone. James Gunn is at the helm and penned the script for 'Guardians', which has taken on a new level of importance with recent revelations about its ties to The Avengers 3 plus the addition of Josh Brolin as the voice of lunatic villain, Thanos. But there will be other surprises in store for those who check out the film in IMAX 3D, as revealed by Gunn on his Facebook page...

As an EXTRA benefit for those who see the film in IMAX 3D, we will be changing aspect ratios throughout the film in a way that makes the experience even fuller and more encompassing. I've personally chosen all the places where the changes occur and, again, I love how it's coming along. The changing aspect ratios in this case are actually a part of the storytelling.

It'll be interesting to see when and why these shifts occur but it's just another thing to keep an eye out for while on the hunt for Easter Eggs. Gunn has also endorsed an awesome unofficial poster done in the style of the original Star Wars one-sheet, along with more done by the artist collective known as the Poster Posse. While the Star Wars one is my favorite, the Marvel Comics poster is great too. There are actually a lot more images than this, which you can find here. Do go and check them out, then demand they be made into t-shirts. 

Finally, a new TV spot has hit the screen that serves up more of Bradley Cooper's Rocket Raccoon and Glenn Close's ridiculous hair as the Nova Corps leader, Irani Rael. Guardians of the Galaxy opens August 1st.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY - Official TV Spot 2 by itsartmag

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3D Re-Releases of Pixar's 'The Incredibles' and 'Ratatouille' On the Way

Pixar hasn't just gone sequel crazy, they've gone re-release crazy of late. So far we've seen a couple of Toy Story movies re-released in 3D, as well as Monsters Inc. and Finding Nemo. And now it looks like they're basically bringing back their entire library of past classics back into theaters to further milk these cash cows for all they are worth.

According to Screen Daily, Pixar's director of 3D production Josh Hollander revealed at the 3D Creative Summit in London that The Incredibles and Ratatouille are returning in the third-dimension...

Hollander: "Right now we’re working on The Incredibles, which is a lot of fun in 3D. I’m not sure what the release strategy for it will be. It’s been an interesting challenge to work on technology because – while the film was released 10 years ago – the technology is even older as it took four years to make."

He then went on to add...

 Hollander: "We have a version of Ratatouille, which works really well in 3D and we’re trying to figure out exactly what the release strategy for that will be."

Perhaps Ratatouille can come in smell-o-vision, too? 3D aromas wafting throughout the theater? Hollander also acknowledges there may have been some audience blowback thanks to the overuse of 3D. No kidding.

Hollander: "I think that we as an industry may have lost some of our audience for 3D with releases that didn’t beg for the medium or didn’t warrant the medium or didn’t use the median in a nuanced and sophisticated and comfortable way. I think it’s possible that we drove some folks away from 3D with the higher ticket price or whatever else. But I also think that as the industry settles on a more nuanced approach, I really hope and believe that the audiences will return."

Whatever you say, hoss. Of all the Pixar movies The Incredibles seemed like the most obvious one that deserved a sequel, but instead it looks like we'll have to settle for watching the original with silly glasses on.

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Special 3D trailer for 'Star Trek Into Darkness'

Hey, still have your Iron Man 3 3D glasses left over from last night? Then you'll be able to fully enjoy this special 3D cut of the Star Trek Into Darkness trailer. I guess Paramount figures there are enough folks who have 3D Blu-Ray players in their house to make something like this worth it. Or they just know people aren't inclined to give their glasses back like they're supposed to.  Enjoy. Star Trek Into Darkness opens in IMAX 3D on May 15th, everywhere else on May 17th.



PLOT: In the wake of a shocking act of terror from within their own organization, the crew of The Enterprise is called back home to Earth. In defiance of regulations and with a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads his crew on a manhunt to capture an unstoppable force of destruction and bring those responsible to justice.

As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

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Review: 'Jurassic Park 3D'

The year of 1993 was pretty awesome in terms of years in pop culture. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers started, Mortal Kombat II was released into arcades and politicians nightmares, and A Tribe Called Quest released 'Midnight Marauders'. But in film it should be of note that Steven Spielberg changed the game of film once again with Jurassic Park that summer. It was one of the most built up movies at the time from the release of the trailer at that point no had seen CGI that real before on screen or on anything else.  This film was a phenom, it was released during the times when a film would be in the theater for months on end and it wasn’t on home video in 10 weeks.  Now in 2013 on the 20^th anniversary of its release they are bringing it back in 3D.

So for those that might be a bit foggy on this twenty year-old film, Jurassic Park is a theme park owned by John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) CEO of InGen. After a mishap where a park employee dies on the job the investors wants experts to visit the park to certify if it’s safe. Hammond goes and finds paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neil) and Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern). The investors are being represented by attorney Donald Gennaro who brings mathematician Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) who is also a chaos theorist to be the investors’ expert. The park is unlike any other park since its main attraction is that it has real live dinosaurs. As Hammond shows the scientists around and explains how they were able to bring dinosaurs back to life, Hammond’s two grandchildren join them in touring the entire park.

So really what do you say about this film that is a cinematic classic? What is there to critique now? Clearly the film stands the test of time and is also one of the most influential films in terms of the
history of special effects. The one thing that is very open to critique is the addition of 3D to the film. To tell the truth the 3D really adds nothing since it’s never consistent throughout the entire runtime. A lot of things that they tried to add depth to is really unnoticeable , as it's mostly in the viewer’s peripheral vision.

Another thing that’s an issue is that there are long segments of the film with really no noticeable 3D going on the screen. It makes it feel that this decision was rushed to do this and that even though it’s a quick money grab you’d hope that the people doing the conversion would take a bit more care to actually make it impressive and awesome enough to compare with the many other 3D conversions coming out all the time.

One great thing about seeing this re-released in 3D is the chance to not only re-experience it in the cinema again, or the first time for some people, is the chance to see this landmark film in IMAX. No
matter your feelings on post-converted 3D films being shown in the format it’s still really cool to see this film with dinosaurs on a screen that large. It makes something already larger than life even grander. This is a film that still holds up well after 20 years and even though the 3D really isn’t worth the price of admission the film itself totally is.

The film score

3D score

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'Star Wars' 3D Re-releases halted. Disney, apparently, on the right track.

Now hear this, now hear this Star Wars theatrical film grab halted by studio! That's right folks, after an underwhelming, to say the least, return to theaters by Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace sporting only a 3D upgrade (?) new owner Disney has decided to stop any movement on re-releasing old films in favor of focusing on it's new trilogy. It is causing some anxiety for me to say this but could it be possible that the regime change we witnessed was not Old Republic to Empire but rather Empire to New Republic?? It seems the Watto like ways of Lucas are gone in favor of, dare I say it, dedication to new material and actual value to fans. I'll even throw in a side note that JJ Abrams does seem to have the idealistic wide eyed inherent goodness of a Luke Skywalker. Now...re-reading those last few lines I will close this post before the Jedi in-jokes get to critical mass. So, in summation, no re-released Star Wars films in crappy post production 3D and a brand spanking new trilogy coming in 2015 to be directed by J.J. Abrams.

John's final thought: Should Abrams successfully restore faith to the franchises of Star Trek and Star Wars fans of both series will, for the first time, have a MAJOR element in common. I believe that if, due to this commonality, the two factions which have been warring since their inception come to peace. We should all fully recognize that one of the J's in the young directors name obviously stands for Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

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Josh Trank's 'Fantastic Four' gets 2015 release; 'X-men', 'The Wolverine', and more in 3D

If there's anyone out there who perhaps had their fill of superhero movies during this last, overstuffed summer, then 2015 is going to be a nightmare. Already with The Avengers 2, Justice League, Ant-Man, and Star Wars: Episode VII(ok, not a superhero movie but come on) slotted for that year, you can now add Josh Trank's Fantastic Four reboot into the mix. 

Titled simply The Fantastic Four, the film has been set for release on March 6th 2015. It will be Trank's first after striking it big with Chronicle earlier this year. Penned by Jeremy Slater, we don't know any plot details right now but one would have to expect we'll see a younger, fresher take on Marvel's First Family of Superheroes.

Fox was pretty busy firming up details on a whole slate of their upcoming franchise flicks, revealing that a number of them will be released in 3D. The Wolverine and X-men: Days of Future Past are getting the 3D treatment, and there's been some speculation that Bryan Singer may shoot the latter in 3D and in 48fps just like The Hobbit films. Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters will be post-converted, and Dawn of the Planet of Apes could be shot in 3D by director Matt Reeves.[Exhibitor Relations]

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Sure Shots: Kristen Wiig; Philip Noyce; 'Man of Steel'

* Kristen Wiig will get a chance to re-team with her Adventureland co-star and fellow SNL alum Bill Hader in The Skeleton Twins. She'll be replacing Anna Faris in the film from co-writer Mark Heyman and director Craig Johnson, which follows "estranged twins Maggie and Milo, who coincidentally cheat death on the same day, prompting them to reunite and confront how their lives went so wrong. For Maggie, that means re-examining her marriage to sweet "nature frat boy" Lance (Wilson), while her gay brother Milo revisits his old flame Rich, a former teacher with a past he'd rather keep quiet. As the twins' reunion reinvigorates them both, they realize the key to fixing their lives may lie in fixing their relationship with each other" Luke Wilson has also come aboard to play Lance, and the Duplass Brothers(Jeff, Who Lives At Home) are producing. That's a hell of a lot of talent on all corners. Production begins next month. [Variety]

* 20 years ago Jeff Bridges snagged the rights to Lois Lowry's novel, The Giver, with the hopes of producing it for his father Lloyd to star in. The film has gone through various stages of development over the years, once having Vadim Perlman(House of Sand and Fog) directing based on his own script. But he's out, and now Philip Noyce(Salt) appears to be stepping in to fill the void. Jeff Bridges will remain as producer and will take over the lead role, although it's unclear if Perlman's script will stay in play. The story is set in a utopian society where memories of the past are kept sage old figure known as the "Giver". When his replacement is found in a 12-year old boy, the child learns that the things he's been taught aren't necessarily the truth.

* Back in July Warner Bros. accidentally let slip their plans to convert Zack Snyder's Man of Steel for 3D and IMAX. The studio quickly tried to pull back by saying it wasn't confirmed, but now they've gone ahead and done it anyway. So be prepared to pay a few extra bucks to see those heat vision rays pop off the screen. This decision probably doesn't surprise anybody, especially if you followed their recent decision to have Guillermo Del Toro's Pacific Rim converted.

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Guillermo Del Toro explains the 'Pacific Rim' 3D conversion

It came as a shock when it was recently revealed that Guillermo Del Toro's Pacific Rim would be converted for 3D, mainly because the director has been so vocal against it. He's more than once stated that the film was not intended to be in 3D, and certainly wasn't shot that way, and when the report came down we were all led to believe that it was Warner Bros. who put their foot down. Well, that wasn't totally accurate, at least not according to Del Toro who explains he agreed to it but only if it was done to his liking.

Talking to Shocktilyoudrop, Del Toro revealed the factors that played into changing his mind, and even manages to take a jab at a certain robotic Presidential candidate in the process....

Del Toro: "What happened was, in the weeks and months following Comic-Con, what I asked from the studio was to agree to four points that I wanted to do. The more the ILM shots arrived, the more I realized that there were only a few shots that would miniaturize. I asked the studio, number one, that we would not hyper-stereo-lize the thing. That we would not force 3D on the beauty shots. That we would keep the giant dimensions. They agreed. Number two, they agreed to something very unusual. Normally a conversion takes a few weeks. I asked to start it immediately so we could take the full 40 weeks to do the conversion. As an example, 'Titanic' took about 50 weeks to convert. The final thing that I asked that they agreed to, which was amazing, was that I asked them to give me an extra budget, which is considerable, to actually have ILM composite the shots that are CG native 3D. We're not giving elements. ILM is giving the composite in 3D from the get-go. That's a huge, huge element. Now I'm going to be involved in supervising it. What can I tell you? I changed my mind. I'm not running for office. I can do a Romney."

So...bigger budget...extra time....ok, I'm not concerned anymore. Honestly, Del Toro is such a perfectionist that we probably shouldn't have been worried in the first place.  He's not going to do anything to jeopardize his creative vision, and now I feel justified in spending a few extra bucks to see how those gigantic monsters measure up in 3D. Pacific Rim stars Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Ron Perlman, and is expected to hit theaters on July 12th 2013.

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Guillermo Del Toro's 'Pacific Rim' to be converted for 3D

Whether we like it or not, 3D isn't going anywhere. Even though it may not be quite the draw it used to be, and 2D movies are still capable of raking in hundreds of millions of dollars, studios recognize that the increased revenue from 3D can bump a tentpole feature into the highest grossing films of all-time, and unfortunately that trumps any director's creative vision.

We just heard yesterday about how Roland Emmerich's Independence Day sequels were going to be converted for 3D, even though the director has always shunned the process. Now the latest to have the same thing happen to him is Guillermo Del Toro, with Variety reporting that Warner Bros. has decided to convert Pacific Rim despite the director's push back against it.

From the studio's perspective I can totally see why that's the decision they've made. The film seems especially built for 3D, following a group of humans who band together in giant Jaeger mechs to battle invading monsters. The amount of money they'll be able to haul in, especially on the international market, is too significant to ignore. But purely from a fan perspective, Del Toro shot the film in 2D for a reason and I'd like to see it in the way he originally intended.

Pacific Rim stars Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi, Idris Elba, Charlie Day, Max Martini, Ron Perlman, and Clifton Collins Jr. It'll now open in 2D and 3D on July 12th 2013.

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'Star Wars' Episodes II & III get back-to-back 2013 3D re-releases

Turns out the 3D re-release of Star Wars Episode I-The Phantom Menace did well enough for LucasFilm to bump up the release of the next two installments. The Phantom Menace hit theaters earlier this year and hauled in close to $44M, adding to its overall total of $1.02B worldwide. Not bad for a film originally released in 1999 and has been on DVD/Blu-Ray in a thousand different ways. Now it's been revealed at Star Wars Celebration VI and confirmed via the LucasFilm Facebook page that Episodes II & III, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, will be re-released into theaters 3D on September 20, 2013 and October 11, 2013 respectively.

I'm kinda proud of myself for not paying to see The Phantom Menace again because honestly there isn't enough technology in the world that'll make that bird fly. The next two movies are a totally different beast, though, and they may be worth plunking down a few bucks to see what Lucas can do, especially since they were shot digitally unlike The Phantom Menace. I think this move makes it all the more certain that the original trilogy will be in theaters before too long. Why? Because Lucas doesn't just want some of our money. He wants it all. And because we're nerds we're going to keep giving it to him. Me included.

While I was in St. Maarten for my honeymoon a few weeks ago I had the chance to talk to Nick Manley, one of the great make-up and visual effects gurus ever and the guy who helped create Yoda. He and I are on the same page in thinking Lucas is re-releasing these movies in order to set us up for an all-new trilogy. I know he's debunked that idea in the past, but there's simply too much money for him not to. Hopefully we can get Nick on here to talk about his career and his thoughts on the future of the Star Wars franchise.

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*UPDATE* 'Man of Steel' to be converted for IMAX 3D

 *UPDATE* Variety has tweeted that the reports of Warner Brothers converting Man of Steel for IMAX 3D aren't true. They say that a decision has yet to be finalized, but since IMAX already had a page set up for the IMAX 3D Experience for the film, it sounds to me like a done deal. We'll find out soon enough.

So far we haven't seen much of Zack Snyder's Superman reboot, Man of Steel, other than that one image of Henry Cavill that...oh hey, it's right there at the top of this post.  That should all change in a couple of days when Warner Brothers hosts their Man of Steel panel, but before that we're actually hearing a lot about the film all of a sudden. With exec-producer Christopher Nolan making it clear Man of Steel will be his last superhero flick for awhile, we're also learning that the film itself is going to released in IMAX 3D.

Not that Snyder shot it that way, though. So this is clearly going to be a post-conversion sort of deal. The IMAX website briefly announced that Man of Steel would be an "IMAX 3D Experience", to open on June 14th 2014. Nolan has always been a fan of IMAX, as we know The Dark Knight Rises has at least an hour of footage specific for it, but not so much in favor of 3D. Snyder is familiar with IMAX, though, having released Sucker Punch in IMAX just last year, and even converting it for 3D. His Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'hoole was released in 3D, and looked gorgeous I might add.

With two years until the film actually opens, there shouldn't be any fear of this being some rushed hatchet job.  Man of Steel stars Henry Cavill, Russell Crowe, Michael Shannon, Amy Adams, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Laurence Fisbhburne, Julia Ormond, Christopher Meloni, Antje Traue, and Ayelet Zurer.

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'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' reshoots will feature more Channing Tatum

Paramount has had nothing but trouble with their G.I. Joe franchise so far. The 2010 film was directed by Stephen Sommers, and with the nostalgia craze in full swing, plus a big name star in Channing Tatum, it should have been a surefire hit. And yet it wasn't, despite making just over $300M. That's what happens when a franchise flick costs over $200M. With that one mostly going down the drain, they still eagerly jumped into a sequel, feeling confident in the direction of Jon Chu and the additions of Bruce Willis and Dwayne Johnson to help bring in the big bucks. With the film just a few weeks away from opening, the Internet cracked in half when Paramount announced suddenly that G.I. Joe: Retaliation was being bumped to March 29th 2013, with the reason given that they just wanted to a little 3D post-conversion.

Hey, it makes sense. The film would have been an afterthought in this crowded summer season, and 3D would certainly add the value of higher ticket prices. Johnson came out the next day and said that reshoots were definitely taking place, and now we're learning from Deadline that those scenes aren't just to take advantage of the technology, but to fix what test audiences say is a glaring weakness in the story.

Apparently, Paramount got a little worried when audiences noted that they wanted to see more of Tatum and Johnson on screen together, and is rushing back to fix that right now. Oh, and they also add that audiences wanted 3D, which to me sounds like hogwash. Whatever. Anyway, clearly it's a move that makes sense from a business perspective. It's been one of the worst kept secrets that Tatum's Duke character would be taking a dirt nap in the the first few minutes, which was a surprise considering his popularity. The combination of Johnson, Willis, and Tatum makes for a powerful trio with a lot of box office pull.

It's clear that Paramount has made some colossal missteps with the film, but they're going out of their way to fix that. They don't want to see another big budget flop like Battleship or John Carter. Fortunately, G.I. Joe isn't nearly as expensive as those films were. I expect that the sequel will be in a much better position to succeed when it finally opens next year.

The question now is how this will effect Tatum's character? Will he not be killed off now? Maybe he'll simply be captured or presumed dead only to return later? Surely they aren't going to completely write off the guy after he's had a pair of $100M+ grossing hits this year already, with another one potentially in Magic Mike?

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Trailer Time: Beauty and the Beast 3D

Because $380M isn't enough. Because Disney saw The Lion King re-released into theaters and earn nearly $100M, even as the studio told you "Hey, we're putting it out on Blu-Ray in just a few days, y'know!". For those reasons, Beauty and the Beast is making it's grab for more cash long awaited return to theaters in 3D, on January 13th.

This'll mark the first of four re-releases from Disney/Pixar coming our way over the next couple of years. Finding Nemo, Monster's Inc., and The Little Mermaid are next on the list.  Disney has brought online the first trailer for Beauty and the Beast 3D, and this time....the Beast is back for revenge!!!!! I wish.

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The Hulk says "Avengers no 3D"!!

When given the choice, I chose to attend the Green Lantern screenign that was not in 3D.  Why? I'm not one of those haters who thumb their nose at anything using the format. I look at it as an extended phase that will eventually burn itself out, the way 3D always does. My reason for attending the 2D event was that Warner Brothers chose to add 3D to the film in post-conversion, a technique I am not at all fond of, with the trail of broken films(Clash of the Titans, Alice in Wonderland, The Last Airbender) to back me up. But 3D, whether done natively or in post, isn't going away anytime soon, with pretty much every major tentpole film promised to use it in some way.

The biggest superhero movie on the horizon is The Avengers, Joss Whedon's all-star jam of Marvel heroes both new(Hawkeye, Captain America), and old(Iron Man, The Hulk) to the big screen. One question that has evaded answer for months is whether or not it would be in 3D. Well now we know, courtesy of a tweet by star Mark Ruffalo, who plays Bruce Banner in the film. He says...

“Avengers is not being shot in 3D.”

Simple and to the point. He might've been couching his words there, though. The film won't be shot in 3D, but what about post-conversion? I wouldn't be surprised at all if that's what happens, considering the extra ticket prices helped Thor keep it's head above water. With the May 4th 2012 release date, let's hope Disney has enough time to get it right if that's the route they're taking.

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The Governator to be a 3D feature film in 2013

While most of us hoped that Arnold Schwarzenegger's big jump back into the world of entertainment(although I found his term as Governor extremely entertaining) would be something along the lines of..oh, say Predators 2? Or The Running Man 2? Anything to remind of us of the action hero he used to be. Instead we learned his big comeback would be an animated TV series and comic book venture called The Governator.  He'd play what sounds like a cross between Iron Man and Ronald Reagan, fighting terrorists with a slew of kid sidekicks.  Stan Lee was on board as producer, and the series would tie in somewhat to Schwarzenegger's real life.

But any hope that The Governator would be relegated to the easily avoidable TV and comic book avenues has been dashed. At the MIPTV press conference to announce the project, Andy Heyward of A Squared Entertainment also announced that we can expect a 3D feature film to be released as well, landing some time in 2013.  Oi.  Whether or not it'll be animated wasn't made clear, but I'm guessing it will be. Although if it were made more adult and edgy, a live-action Governator film could be pretty sweet.

So expect to see an animated Schwarzy battling some of the world's real life bad guys.  In fact, somebody even asked him about the possibility of taking on Muʿammar Al-Qaḏḏâfî(sp?), and Schwarzenegger immediately jumped into politician mode...

Schwarzenegger: “Who knows? I don’t want to make headlines, that means you won’t write about The Governator. That might be going in the wrong direction. But the way things are going, we may have a chance of selling our series down there.”

There's a healthy mouthful of non-speak for ya, kiddies. Deadline also notes that Schwarzenegger continues to press on the idea of looking at a number of different scripts for his real big screen return. I'm sure that's true, and hopefully none of them include the words "Kindergarten", "Jingle", or "Connecticut".

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