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The Academy expanded the field of visual effects contenders to 20 films this year.

The post 20 Films Shortlisted for Visual Effects Oscar appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

The durable Bond is back once more in Spectre. Little has changed and there has even been reversion. M has back-morphed into a man, Judi Dench giving way to Ralph Fiennes. 007 still works miracles, and not the least of these is financial – Pinewood Studios hope for another blockbuster movie. Hollywood roll over and die.

The post Spectre and Bond do the damage appeared first on OUPblog.

Now’s the moment to be a fan of the Bond songs. SPECTRE, the new film, comes out this November. That means we’ll hear an official unofficial leak of the title song sometime this summer. Everybody’s been guessing who the singer is. Twitter says it'll be Sam Smith or Lana Del Rey. Sam Smith says it isn’t him and claims that he “heard Ellie Goulding was going to do it.” The Telegraph wants to know why no one has considered Mumford and Sons (don’t answer that). Even Vegas is paying attention. Who would you put your money on?

The post Who will be singing the next Bond song? Who should be? appeared first on OUPblog.

I’m not one to rush the Summer away, as it is my favorite season after all, but the enticement of new Sam Mendes James Bond is just too strong.

Here’s the new trailer for SPECTRE, which emerged this morning, and reveals just how personal an antagonist he’s facing (and who may or may not be the new version of Blofeld?):

A cryptic message from the past sends James Bond on a rogue mission to Mexico City and eventually Rome, where he meets Lucia Sciarra (Monica Bellucci), the beautiful and forbidden widow of an infamous criminal. Bond infiltrates a secret meeting and uncovers the existence of the sinister organisation known as SPECTRE.

Meanwhile back in London, Max Denbigh (Andrew Scott), the new head of the Centre for National Security, questions Bond’s actions and challenges the relevance of MI6, led by M (Ralph Fiennes). Bond covertly enlists Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and Q (Ben Whishaw) to help him seek out Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux), the daughter of his old nemesis Mr White (Jesper Christensen), who may hold the clue to untangling the web of SPECTRE. As the daughter of an assassin, she understands Bond in a way most others cannot.

As Bond ventures towards the heart of SPECTRE, he learns of a chilling connection between himself and the enemy he seeks, played by Christoph Waltz.

SPECTRE hits theaters on November 6th.

It’s new comic book day, the best day of the week! Before I rush off to my LCS, let’s round-up the few relevant entertainment headlines that are out and about:

– Last night’s episode of The Flash was pretty excellent, with easily the best final 10 minutes that I’ve seen in a superhero television adaptation. Some of the key players of the latest installment spoke with the press yesterday about the ramifications of Barry’s actions and what’s to come:

SPOILERS!!!!!! Look away now if you’re behind on your viewing….

What happens when you interrupt the space/time continuum on The Flash?

ANDREW KREISBERG: Like Wells has said in a previous episode, there are different versions of time travel. There’s the fixed loop, and then there’s the version where time is more plastic and mutable. One of the fun things is discovering what’s a fixed point in time, what can’t be changed and what things always have to happen, and then what things are changeable and are mutable. It’s a mixture of both. Obviously, none of us knows how time travel really works, but we’ve come up with our rules and we try to stick by them. Not to pat ourselves on the back, but a lot of what we’re doing now is stuff we set up in the pilot. You can go back and watch the pilot and go, “Oh, I get it! That’s why that stream of things is happening!

Will Barry still have to stop Mark Mardon (Liam McIntyre) again?

KREISBERG: The ramifications of this episode are the fun of Episode 16, and seeing how much of what happened in Episode 15 still happens and how much of it might possibly change.

Cisco is a very smart guy. Will he still be suspicious of Dr. Wells, even though they’ve gone back in time?

KREISBERG: Part of the fun of Episode 16 is watching that when time changes, certain events will occur that prevent Cisco from following along the same trajectory. You’ll see how things play out, but in a completely different way.

Now we know that Harrison really is Eobard Thawne. How will that tie into Eddie Thawne, and what will their connection be?

KREISBERG: You can take him at his word that there obviously is a family connection between the two of them. There are some great scenes coming up, between Tom and Rick [Cosnett], that starts to become a storyline. It’s cool stuff. We’re not trying to purposely trick the comic book fans. Being one myself, you can get upset when it’s not quite the way it was in the book. But, the show has to live on its own and it has to be for everybody. It can’t just be an adaptation of comic books that people have already read and know so well. Obviously, we’ve thought of this, from the very beginning, and it’s been leading up to this.

And then there’s the kicker:

Is there a parallel universe now, where there is no Flash?

KREISBERG: Is there?

TOM CAVANAGH: Is there? Answer a question with a question.

I’m still predicting that the season ends with Barry saving his mom and the time ramifications of that taking shape in some way to set up Season 2 (someone else is The Flash perhaps? Wally? Jay?). Make sure you check out the link above for more quotes including further details from Tom Cavanagh about Dr. Wells’ latest revelation and Candice Patton on the future of Barry and Iris.

– Latino Review has a new report this morning with the rumored front-runner to direct Star Wars Episode IX, J.J. Abrams. The Star Wars: The Force Awakens director would make some level of sense given that Episode VIII director Rian Johnson is reportedly scripting Episode IX, and were Abrams to helm it, it would be a sort of “synthesis” of their two visions for the franchise.

– Here’s the first SPECTRE poster, looking as non-descript as possible, but if any of you are like my significant other, any picture of Daniel Craig is a good picture:

We’re creeping ever so closer to the end of the week, here’s your round-up of entertainment headlines for this morning!

– While on the press tour for his new film, Chappie; Neill Blomkamp has, to no one’s surprise, been receiving a number of questions about his recently announced Alien sequel. Having Sigourney Weaver on-hand as a part of the Chappie cast likely provided additional temptation in that regard. SkyMovies (via Collider) got some pretty great details out of him in a recent interview, where he discussed the continuity of the new film:

I want this film to feel like it is literally the genetic sibling of Aliens, so it’s Alien, Aliens and then this film.

From the sounds of things, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection are being wiped from continuity, which I have mixed feelings about if that is indeed how things play out. It didn’t quite work for Superman Returns, and I’d be worried that it might lead to confusion here.

Blomkamp continued:

It’s a Freudian nightmare. That element to me is what is so appealing; to put the audience on the edge of their seat the whole time in a traditional, monster-stalking-you, dark-corridor-way. I love that. And then when you mix in all of the deign elements and the life cycle of the alien, it’s a powder keg of creativity for me.

Weaver also chimed in, basically confirming her involvement and the return of Ripley:

I would love to take Ripley out of sort of orbiting around in space and give a proper finish to what was such an excellent story. So when someone like Neill Blomkamp said, ‘Well, I’m interested in finishing the story,’ my little ears perked up… I think it’s a great series. It deserves a proper ending—I know the fans would love that.

– Empire has some new photos of Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan, and Jamie Bell from Fantastic Four:

CBM has also pulled together the interview that features in that issue with director Josh Trank.

– Empire also brings us new Spectre images featuring Dave Bautista as henchman Mr. Hinx:

Bautista had this to say about taking on the role:

When I came over to meet Sam [Mendes], I only asked two questions. I asked him if Mr. Hinx was a badass. He said, ‘Yes, he’s a badass.’ I said, ‘Well, is Mr. Hinx intelligent?’ He said, ‘Very.’ That’s what I like about Mr. Hinx. He’s very well-dressed and very well-mannered. I’m not just here to fight people. He has a sense of humour. He definitely knows what a metaphor is.

Lea Seydoux also spoke to her new character, Dr. Madeleine Swann, seen below:

I don’t consider myself a Bond girl. I think I’m not really the stereotyped Bond girl. I feel quite different. You can’t be like, ‘Oh, James.’ You have to find something else. She’s not a fighter, she’s a doctor. She fights in another way.

The production team has also released another video featuring Sam Mendes elaborating on why he returned for another Bond film:

– Lastly, Steven Markus and Christopher McFeely spoke with Entertainment Weekly (spoilers at the link) about Agent Carter‘s finale, indicating that if a Season 2 were to happen they’d like to focus on Peggy’s background further:

MARKUS: When we were figuring out the show and the backstory of the show, we had a really nice story about who Peggy is and where she came from. We just didn’t have any time. I would love to tell that story.

MCFEELY: That’s one of our strongest ideas for the second season: What makes Peggy, Peggy? We like what Peggy is, but if you ask some hard questions, you might wonder: but why is she that way? We have some thoughts on that.

Sadly, the future of the series is in doubt given its ratings struggle. This week’s finale only pulled a 1.3 in the 18-49 demo, which on ABC is not a good sign.

Wasn’t Skyfall just the best?

I know there are a few people that disliked the walk back into Bond’s past from the slightly grittier first two Daniel Craig offerings, but beyond that, its hard to deny the technical marvel that was Sam Mendes‘ first foray into the adventures of 007.

With the sequel, Spectre, just around the corner, the production team has released a fun little Behind the Scenes vignette to whet your appetite a bit:

Here’s the official synopsis for the film, which releases on November 6th and stars Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Ralph Fiennes, Lea Seydoux, Monica Bellucci, Dave Bautista, Ben Whishaw, Andrew Scott, Naomie Harris, and Rory Kinnear:

A cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.