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Kyle Pinion takes in the new 3 hour cut of the much maligned superhero clash.

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The co-writers of MOON GIRL AND DEVIL DINOSAUR and creative team behind ROCKET GIRL weigh in on the first big blockbuster of the year!

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To dig into Heidi’s interests a little bit, they have these things in baseball called Player-managers, where one of the stars of the team ends up running the dugout at the same time. Guys like Ty Cobb, Joe Torre, and Frank Robinson had all held this all too uncommon role. I’m not sure why that […]

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Did you enjoy Batfleck? I did and I hope you did too, because guess what? He’s contracted for a couple of more features with the studio, Sadfleck or not. In a report at THR, the outlet spoke with William Morris Endeavor’s CEO’s Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell, here’s what they had to say on the […]

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Warner Bros. Pictures has unleashed the final official trailer for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The video embedded above and below offers glimpses of the battle between Henry Cavill as Superman (a.k.a. Clark Kent) and Ben Affleck as Batman (a.k.a. Bruce Wayne).

Other members of the cast include Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, and Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. The theatrical release date for this film adaptation has been scheduled for March 25.

Click on these links to watch a few teasers, the first trailer, and the second trailer. Who’s your favorite super hero from the comic book world?

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While much of America was watching its favorite Winter pastime, they got a glimpse of what may have been their first real look at Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (unless they saw trailer #2 in front of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, I know I didn’t.) Here are the two new tv spots for […]

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Over the weekend, Warner Bros. Pictures unleashed two short promotional pieces for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The video embedded above and below features scenes with Henry Cavill as Superman (a.k.a. Clark Kent) and Ben Affleck as Batman (a.k.a. Bruce Wayne).

Entertainment Weekly reports that Zack Snyder served as the director on this project. The filmmaking team recently introduced a “brand new Twitter emoji for each hero, and in a video posted to Twitter today, Snyder encouraged fans to pick a side on social media by tweeting using the hashtags #Batman or #Superman. (Sadly, there’s no Wonder Woman option.)”

This film adaptation will hit theaters on Mar. 25. Follow these links to watch the first teaser, the second teaser, the first trailer, and the second trailer. Who’s your favorite comic book super hero? (via IGN)

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We're going to get hurt really, really badly on January 19th.

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We're all about Lex Luthor's golden locks this week on Podcorn Podcast. Brandon Montclare and Alex Lu analyze the trailer and talk about the outlook of the movie.

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According to the folks at JoBlo, they’re hearing from their sources that the still not yet actually announced solo Batman film (that is reportedly co-written by Ben Affleck and Geoff Johns, with Affleck in place to direct), will center on The Red Hood: The basic plotline of Affleck’s solo Batfilm is that Jason Todd has […]

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Why wait for the September issue of Empire when you can meticulously critique some fresh Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice images right now on your phone? I’m sure there will be more images of the highly anticipated Warner Bros. film in the print edition, but this is the best we can for now. Here’s a glimpse of the handsome […]

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Over the weekend, a new trailer for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was unveiled at Comic-Con International. The video embedded above offers glimpses of stars Henry Cavill as Superman (a.k.a. Clark Kent), Ben Affleck as Batman (a.k.a. Bruce Wayne), and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman (a.k.a. Diana Prince).

This movie, helmed by filmmaker Zack Snyder, will hit theaters on March 25, 2016. Click on this link to watch the teaser trailer.

Even though this adaptation hasn’t been released yet, the executives at DC Comics have been busy developing plans for future film projects. Deadline reports that Affleck intends to collaborate with Geoff Johns on a script for a stand-alone Batman movie. Once they complete this task, production will move forward with Affleck serving as the director and taking on the lead role. (via Rolling Stone)

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In news that will surely be discussed at some length this Saturday at Warner Bros’ expected to be massive Hall H panel, it has been reported that Ben Affleck will become the first Batman actor to write and direct the feature in which he is starring.

As a long time fan of his Best Picture-winning Argo (and my co-editor, Hannah, enjoying Gone Baby Gone), this is very welcome news. When I watch an Affleck-directed feature, I’m often reminded of Robert Redford in how gracefully his films unfurl on screen, and after the heavily stylized work, yet also grounded work of Christopher Nolan, I look forward to seeing what approach Affleck will take with the project.

Joining him to co-write is DC Entertainment’s Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns, who in his current role has overseen the development of the entire slate of DC-related programming on television and now looks to be moving into the film space to a greater degree. According to Deadline, the story that Affleck and Johns have cracked together has them working “in sync” and they may have their script turned in before the end of the Summer.

I for one enjoyed Johns’ take on the Batman mythos in the “Earth One” line, at least as a fairly straight-forward early Caped Crusader tale with exceptional Gary Frank art. This film is expected to begin production after Affleck’s adaptation of Live by Night.

We’ll see if this gets confirmed come Saturday, along with hopefully a few other announcements that will win over the weekend.

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Warner Bros. Pictures has released the teaser trailer for the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice adaptation. This movie, helmed by filmmaker Zack Snyder, will hit theaters on March 25, 2016.

The video embedded above offers glimpses of stars Henry Cavill as Superman (a.k.a. Clark Kent) and Ben Affleck as Batman (a.k.a. Bruce Wayne). Some of the other stars who will appear in the film include Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, and Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor.

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It was a slow news weekend on the entertainment front these past few days, but here are the the headlines that grabbed my attention in the past 48 hours:

– Both of the casts and creative teams for The Flash and Arrow were on hand at PaleyFest over the weekend. Nothing really earth shattering was announced, but there were a few teases that might excite fans, particularly for The Flash. According to TVLine, Greg Berlanti has hopes that they’ll tackle Wally West or Bart Allen, though no sooner than Season 2. They also hinted that the series will be adapting a major Flash comics storyline soon. Flashpoint, Crisis on Infinite Earths, or a meld of the two seem the obvious answers there, but who knows?

– James O’Barr‘s The Crow is getting another shot at the big screen, directed by Corin Hardy, and according to O’Barr, the film has already found its lead (per Dread Central):

O’Barr said that “Jack Huston has definitely been cast,” that he was “really happy with that choice,” and that the film “will shoot in a couple of months.” He also said the film will essentially be a straight adaptation of his original graphic novel, which differs quite a bit from the (still awesome) 1994 Brandon Lee vehicle.

Jack Huston is a fan favorite from Boardwalk Empire, so this makes for a fairly compelling choice. Whether or not the world needs another Crow film…I’ll leave that up to your discretion.

- The folks over at Latino Review have really been nailing the Suicide Squad news over the past week, dropping some choice tidbits about Jared Leto‘s Joker before the weekend hit. Now they have a few details regarding Batman’s appearance in the David Ayer directed ensemble picture:

According to sources, in the film Batman is some sort of big boogeyman that the government REALLY hates. Get this, prior to the events in #BatmanvSuperman, THE JOKER is the only one to really ever meet him or know him and that’s why he’s so important to Amanda Waller. They have footage of Batman in action which they watch. There is a bit of dialogue where they say Batman is the key to tracking down all “the supers.” Very cool stuff.

- I never find myself terribly excited about Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for a number of reasons that have been covered by enough people, but it was pointed out to me this morning by Hannah that in the most recently released episode synopsis, Lucy Lawless‘ Isabelle Hartley is coming back:

“One Door Closes” – War comes to Coulson’s doorstep in a way he never anticipated as shocking revelations are brought to light, and Skye struggles to control her new abilities but will soon make a decision that irrevocably changes her life, on “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” Tuesday, March 31 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET) on the ABC Television Network.

“Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” stars Clark Gregg as Director Phil Coulson, Ming-Na Wen as Agent Melinda May, Brett Dalton as Grant Ward, Chloe Bennet as Agent Skye, Iain De Caestecker as Agent Leo Fitz, Elizabeth Henstridge as Agent Jemma Simmons, Nick Blood as Lance Hunter and Adrianne Palicki as Bobbi Morse.

Guest starring are Henry Simmons as Alphonso “Mack” Mackenzie, Lucy Lawless as Isabelle Hartley, Edward James Olmos as Robert Gonzales, Jamie Harris as Gordon, Christine Adams as Agent Weaver, Kirk Acevedo as Agent Calderon, Cornelius Smith, Jr. as Case, Sai Rao as Susanna, Mackenzie Astin as Tim Maguire and Rick Otto as lead Hydra agent.

So, in other words, the pattern of no one ever actually staying dead in the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues, then again, I guess that’s pretty true to the comics.

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The Gone Girl film adaptation has enjoyed great popularity and earned more than $366 million at the box office. Gillian Flynn fans will feel riled up again thanks to a hilarious \"Honest Trailer\" thanks to the team behind the ScreenJunkies YouTube channel.

The video embedded above features glimpses of Rosamund Pike playing Amy Elliott Dunne and Ben Affleck as Nick Dunne. What do you think? (via TIME)

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An Amazing Amy spin-off story will be printed. MTV.com reports that this 36-page children’s book, entitled Tattle Tale, will be included in the package for the Gone Girl movie blu-ray.

In both the original novel and the movie, Amy Elliott-Dunne’s psychologist parents co-write the Amazing Amy series with a titular character who is modeled after their own daughter. Artist Kirk Van Wormer created the illustrations for Tattle Tale.

Author and screenwriter Gillian Flynn recently revealed that she is open to creating a sequel for the Gone Girl film adaptation. In an interview with the The New York Daily News, Flynn explained that a follow-up project could examine “what those crazy Dunnes are up to a few years down the road and if they got on — not well I don’t think.”

For Flynn, her one stipulation for such an endeavor would be to have David Fincher return as the director, Ben Affleck to continue playing Nick Dunne, and Rosamund Pike to come back as Amy Elliott-Dunne. Do you have any predictions on how the Dunnes’ story will evolve in the future?

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Twentieth Century Fox has unleashed a new trailer for the Gone Girl movie adaptation. The video embedded above offers scenes with the characters Nick Dunne, Amy Dunne, Desi Collings, Detective Rhonda Boney, and Detective Jim Gilpin.

Over the July 4th holiday weekend, The Huffington Post unveiled a promotional poster featuring a photo that showcases “the central couple (played by Rosamund Pike and Ben Affleck) celebrating their wedding night with friends and a champagne toast. The photo is placed inside an evidence bag, hinting at the mystery that’s to unfold surrounding the pair.” What do you think?

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Actor Jason Momoa has landed the role of Aquaman in the Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice movie. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Momoa has become well-known for his portrayal of the character Khal Drogo in the Game of Thrones HBO series. An announcement on Facebook has received more than 200 "likes." Other confirmed members of the cast include Henry Cavill as Superman, Ben Affleck as Batman, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, and Amy Adams as Lois Lane. The release date for this film, originally scheduled for July 2015, has been moved to May 2016. What do you think?

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I shot this with my @Leica_Camera M Monochrom. #Batman #Batmobile #Gotham http://t.co/WPHKLxgBLM pic.twitter.com/p5DEf6fLzJ

— ZackSnyder (@ZackSnyder) May 13, 2014

Over on twitter Batman vs Superman director Zack Snyder has helpfully passed along a photo with some lens information to help you get that moody gritty look. Another aid in getting just the right note of rage and vengeance is including Batman and his Batmobile in the shot! So this is our first look at Ben Affleck as Batman and it’s clearly the Dark Knight Batman of Frank Miller with a fat Batman symbol (thanks Jock) and the ears of the Miller years. GIven Znyder’s pre-existing Miller relationshp—he directed 300—this is no big surprise.

Also a bigger older Batman.

What do you think?

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Anticipation is steadily growing for the film adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s bestselling thriller, GONE GIRL. The studio has just released the first trailer and it certainly captures the essence of the book. Ben Affleck stars as Nick Dunne, a man who has become a suspect in the disappearance (murder?) of his wife.

Have you read the book? Are you excited about seeing the film?

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Twentieth Century Fox has unveiled a trailer for the Gone Girl movie adaptation. The video embedded above offers glimpses of actor Ben Affleck in the lead role of Nick Dunne and actress Rosamund Pike as his spouse Amy.

Author Gillian Flynn worked with Oscar-nominated filmmaker David Fincher to change the ending of her book for the story featured in this movie. The official release date has been scheduled for October 3rd. (via The Verge)

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By Arthur P. Shimamura

This year’s academy award nominations of Argo, Lincoln, and Zero Dark Thirty, attest to our fascination of watching “true stories” depicted on the screen. We adopt a special set of expectations when we believe a movie is based on actual events, a sentiment the Coen Brothers parodied when they stated at the beginning of Fargo that “this is a true story,” even though it wasn’t. In the science fiction spoof, Galaxy Quest, aliens have intercepted a Star Trek-like TV show and believe the program to be a documentary of actual human warfare. As a result, they come to Earth to enlist Cmdr. Peter Quincy Taggart (Tim Allen), star of the TV show, to help fight the evil warlord Sarris (named after the film critic, Andrew Sarris), as they believe Taggart to be a true war hero rather than merely playing one on TV.

Movies that are “based on a true story” blur the boundary between documentary and make-believe. We, much like the aliens in Galaxy Quest, expect such movies to depict an authentic portrayal of actual events. The story of Argo — about a CIA agent who helps individuals escape from Iran by having them pose as a film crew — would almost have to be based on actual events, otherwise no one would buy into such a preposterous plot! Interestingly, the climatic chase scene on the airport runway is completely fictional, though I think we forgive the filmmakers for some poetic license, particularly as the scene is so exciting. We are much less forgiving in the portrayal of torture in Zero Dark Thirty, to the point where producer Mark Boal and director Kathryn Bigelow have been reprimanded by Senators Feinstein, Levin, and McCain for suggesting that torture was effective in the hunt for Osama bin Laden. Yet even documentaries distort the “truth” by slanting history through biased portrayals. Should movies “based on a true story” be viewed as completely accurate documents of history?

One psychological point is clear: our emotional involvement with a movie depends on the degree to which we expect or “appraise” the events to be real. Studies by Richard Lazarus and others have shown that physiological markers of emotion, such as skin conductance (i.e. sweaty palms), increase when subjects believe a film to depict an actual event. In one study, subjects watched a film clip depicting an industrial accident involving a power saw. Those who were told that they were watching footage of an actual accident (rather than actors re-enacting the event) exhibited heightened emotional responses. Thus, people watching the same movie may engage themselves differently depending on the degree to which they construe the events as realistic portrayals.

Even when we know we are watching a re-enactment, as with Argo, Lincoln, and Zero Dark Thirty, I suspect we become more emotionally attached when we believe we are witnessing actual events. We more readily empathize with characters and buy into the story. Of course, the authenticity of a movie depends not only on us having prior knowledge that a movie is based on actual events but also on how realistic the characters appear in their actions and predicaments. As wonderfully realistic and engaging as Argo, Lincoln, and Zero Dark Thirty were, in my opinion the most “realistic” movie among this year’s Academy Award nominees is the entirely fictitious Amour, in which the elderly Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) must care for his wife (Emmanuelle Riva), whose mental abilities are deteriorating from strokes. The superb acting and unusual editing (e.g. exceedingly long takes) amplify emotions and engage us as if we are watching a true and heart-wrenching story.

Arthur P. Shimamura is Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley and faculty member of the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute. He studies the psychological and biological underpinnings of memory and movies. He was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in 2008 to study links between art, mind, and brain. He is co-editor of Aesthetic Science: Connecting Minds, Brains, and Experience (Shimamura & Palmer, ed., OUP, 2012), editor of the forthcoming Psychocinematics: Exploring Cognition at the Movies(ed., OUP, March 2013), and author of the forthcoming book, Experiencing Art: In the Brain of the Beholder (May 2013). Further musings can be found on his blog, Psychocinematics: Cognition at the Movies.

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The post Based on a “true” story: expecting reality in movies appeared first on OUPblog.

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As Ben Affleck‘s Argo opens today, we caught up with the real life CIA agent behind the movie–getting advice for writing a more realistic espionage story.

We spoke with former CIA agent Antonio Mendez about his book, Argo: How the CIA and Hollywood Pulled Off the Most Audacious Rescue in History. Mendez explained how he assembled a team of agents to rescue stranded diplomats in Iran at the height of a hostage situation that erupted in 1979.

Press play below to listen to the interview, but here’s an excerpt: “We get the question quite often, ‘what is the difference between a CIA officer and James Bond?’ The answer is the espionage agent doesn’t burn up the building and blow up the surroundings on their way out. James always comes out in a flamboyant way. You want to do something that’s innocuous and not so attention-getting. In this case, we created a story that would deflect interest, that would be non-alerting.”

Argo was also inspired by a Wired magazine article about the incident. Follow this link to read that story.

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Scene Quiz: From a Harvard Bar to Your Scenes

Yesterday, we talked about what you’d find if you dissected a good scene. Today, we’ll apply this information by studying a scene from the classic movie, Good Will Hunting. (Warning: Adult language) Then, you can apply it to your own scenes.

Watch this four minute scene and identify the following:

1. What happens in the beginning phase?
2. What happens in the middle phase?
3. What is the turning point or focal point of the story?
4. How does the scene end? In a disaster (tragedy), in success, or somewhere in between? At the end, what has changed for each character?
5. What is the setting for this scene? Why is this an appropriate scene for the action that happens?
6. What is the underlying emotions of this scene, the pulse, as Sandra Scofield calls it?
7. List at least 3 reasons why this is a necessary scene for this story.
8. What else do you notice about scenes by studying this film clip?

Repeat this analysis for each of the scenes in your novel.
If you want confirmation of your answers, or want to discuss the analysis, please leave a comment.

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