With J.J. Abrams Star Trek Into Darkness now playing around the world, we recently landed an exclusive phone interview with Karl Urban.  During the interview, he talked about making the sequel, his reaction to reading the script, how things changed on set, who was the one who broke the most while filming, filming with IMAX cameras, the 3D, and more.  He also talked about the possibility of a Dredd sequel, his upcoming Fox TV show Almost Human, and The Loft.  Hit the jump for what he had to say.

Fans of the comic series Judge Dredd have been clamoring for a worthy big screen adaptation for years.  The 1995 Sylvester Stallone-fronted iteration missed the mark entirely, but director Peter Travis and screenwriter Alex Garland brought a harneded, R-rated take on the character to the big screen last year with Dredd.  The film received generally positive reviews and a fantastic reception from longtime fans of the comics, but it didn’t exactly strike a chord with general audiences.  Against a budget of $45 million, the pic only grossed $35.6 million worldwide, making the prospect of a sequel rather slim.

Steve recently caught up with Dredd star Karl Urban for a phone interview in anticipation of the release of Star Trek Into Darkness, and Urban revealed that there’s hope yet for a Dredd 2 given the first film’s recent cult status.  The actor noted that he has been in touch with Garland and the prospect of a Dredd sequel is “not off the agenda,” suggesting the fate of the film ultimately lies with the fans.  Hit the jump for more.

How are you going to buy anything in the dystopian future metropolis of Mega City One?  You’re going to need credits (money in the future is always “credits”), and we’ve got some for you.  We’re giving away the credits prop from Dredd.  Various props and costume pieces from the action flick are being auctioned off, but you don’t have to buy these.  You just have to enter for a chance to win fake money.  You’ll notice that the credits say, “Scratch to Win”, so the money is actually lottery tickets, which is a nice little detail.

Hit the jump to check out an image of the credits and find out how to enter.  We’ve also included images of the items up for auction.

While it may not have been a box office success, Pete Travis’ Dredd is getting a much fairer trial on home video having topped the Blu-ray and DVD sales list for a 2012 new release.  Dredd has also come in first in this week’s digital downloads.  It’s great to see the film getting new life after its theatrical release, especially since it’s much closer to the version of Judge Dredd that fans wanted to see.  Karl Urban (Star Trek) is the law and deserves another go-round as the titular peacemaker.  You can check out Phil’s review of Dredd 3D here along with Bill’s glowing review of the Blu-ray.  Hit the jump to watch the trailer and see how you can get your hands on a copy of Dredd.

Dredd was one of my biggest surprises last year.  There’s a straightforward nature to the film that never lets up.  The action is right in that sweet spot of new and familiar.  However, the best part of the film is what separates it from its predecessor: a main character that doesn’t smack of cheesy popcorn films.  Sylvester Stallone‘s variant had a goofy sidekick and lots of helmetless Dredd, which is an egregious change from the comics its based.  This time there is no useless and goofy sidekick along for the ride and Dredd, played here by the excellently-cast Karl Urban, keeps his helmet on.  Then there’s the 3D aspect that doesn’t play by normal conventions and some shocking violence that is made all the more beautiful by the slow-mo drug and third dimension.  This feels like the film 2000 AD fans have been waiting for, and even as a newbie you can find a lot here to sink your teeth into.  Hit the jump for my full review of the disc and why the special features leave you wanting more.

Olivia Thirlby plays a young New York artist who comes to Los Angeles to complete her experimental film in Nobody Walks.  Soon after her arrival, personal connections begin to veer away from professional terrain and everyone is forced to confront the new landscape that emerges in her wake.  The ensemble drama, which opens in theaters on October 19^th, also stars John Krasinski and Rosemarie DeWitt.

During my roundtable interview with Thirlby, she discussed her character, what drew her to the script by Lena Dunham and director Ry Russo-Young, how sexual energy and sexual expression are big themes of the film, and why one of the film’s strengths is that it doesn’t offer the audience any clear cut notions on who’s right or who’s wrong.  Thirlby, who shot Nobody Walks immediately after the action-packed Dredd 3D, also revealed how her appearance changed for the role of Martine, why she enjoyed playing a bad-ass in Dredd, and why she’s a big fan of Girls.  Hit the jump to read more.

Now playing in theaters is Dredd 3D.  As most of you know, Dredd is an adaption of the 2000AD comics character Judge Dredd, and it stars Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, and Lena Headey.  The film follows Dredd (Urban) and rookie Judge Cassandra Anderson (Thirlby) fighting through a tower that’s crawling with thugs in their attempt to bring down drug overlord Ma-ma (Headey).  Unlike the Stallone version from the 90′s, this version of Dredd is gritty, ultra-violent, and really worth your time.  For more on the film, here’s Matt’s review, a featurette, a TV spot, and all our previous coverage.

At this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, I was able to speak with screenwriter Alex Garland before the premiere.  We talked about putting Dredd 3D together, how things changed along the way, the SLO-MO effects, the gritty violence, deleted scenes, the necessity of the reshoots and which scenes were added in later, and more.  In addition, with Garland having written drafts of Logan’s Run and Halo, we talked about what happened on both of those projects and what it will take to make a great video game movie.  Hit the jump for what he had to say.

Opening this weekend is Dredd 3D.  As most of you know, Dredd is an adaption of the 2000AD comics character Judge Dredd, and it stars Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, and Lena Headey.  The film follows Dredd (Urban) and rookie Judge Cassandra Anderson (Thirlby) fighting through a tower that’s crawling with thugs in their attempt to bring down drug overlord Ma-ma (Headey).  Unlike the Stallone version from the 90′s, this version of Dredd is gritty, ultra-violent, and really worth your time.  For more on the film, here’s Matt’s review, a featurette, a TV spot, and all our previous coverage.

At this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, I was able to speak with Urban before the premiere.  We talked about how the last few months have been since we spoke at Comic-Con (watch that interview here), what does it mean to premiere at TIFF, has he thought about Dredd sequels, his involvement in the post production, what props he’s taken home from set, and more.  In addition, we also talked about the Riddick sequel, the Star Trek video game, The Loft, what kind of projects is he looking to do in the future, and will he be going to the premiere of The Hobbit in New Zealand.  Hit the jump to watch.

Film festivals and comic book movies typically don’t mix. Movies based on popular paneled heroes generally get their start at conventions or through marketing departments. Yet, thanks to TIFF’s Midnight Madness program a certain gruff helmet sporting antihero from the long running British comic book series 2000 A.D. is getting the red carpet film festival treatment. That’s right Judge Dredd has returned to the big screen in the hopes of erasing all the painful memories of Sylvester Stallone and Rob Schneider ruining the image of the darkly satirical and viciously violent character with one of the worst examples of overblown 90s blockbuster tripe. Finally put into the hands of filmmakers who are fans of the blood-soaked pulpy roots, Dredd 3D manages to get the tone and style of John Wagner’s uniquely twisted world right. It’s not perfect, but it is an appropriately nasty blast of B-movie thrills that effectively reintroduces Judge Dredd on the big screen and would be a welcome starting point for a franchise. Hit the jump to find out why. 

Collider is hosting a screening of Dredd 3D on Thursday, September 13, and I am excited to announce that it will take place in my backyard, Boston.  I saw Dredd at Comic-Con, and it is audaciously violent and chock full of one-liners capably tossed off by Karl Urban (the ultimate man) as Judge Dredd.  As of this writing, Dredd sits at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes after 19 reviews (not counting Matt’s take).  So if you are an action fan in the Boston area, take notice and hit the jump to find out how to win tickets.

A new clip from the upcoming Judge Dredd reboot Dredd 3D has gone online.  Though the clip is short, it should pique fan interest given that it showcases star Karl Urban uttering the character’s signature line.  I caught the film at Comic-Con and thought it was fairly entertaining, but I was in the minority since most everyone else really loved it.  Director Pete Travis utilizes an effect to showcase the effects of the drug “Slo-Mo” in which we watch the action play at 4000 frames-per-second, and this makes the film’s seriously brutal violence even more intense.  The plot’s a bit reminiscent of The Raid, but I assume die-hard fans of the comic will be big fans of this adaptation regardless.

Hit the jump to watch the clip.  The film also stars Olivia Thirlby and Lena Headey.  Dredd 3D will play at the Toronto Film Festival and Fantastic Fest, and opens nationwide on September 21st.

Lionsgate has released a new 60-second TV spot for Dredd 3D, a new adaptation of the Judge Dredd comics.  The TV-spot basically plays like an abbreviated trailer, and since it’s not red-band, it can’t show one of the film’s distinctive features, which is the hard-R gore.  There are some brutal kills in Dredd, and I suppose it’s a good thing that they haven’t been spoiled.  The studio has also released a new featurette high-lighting the drug “Slo-Mo” which is taking over Mega City One.  The drug makes the user feel like everything is moving at 1% its normal speed, and it’s neat to see the visuals play at 4000-frames per second.  I’m particularly grateful that director Pete Travis didn’t overuse the effect.

Hit the jump to check out the TV spot and the featurette.  The film will play at the Toronto International Film Festival and Fantastic Fest before opening nationwide on September 21st.  You can click here to read my review.

It’s exactly one month until Dredd 3D blasts onto screens, so now seems like a good time to roll out their first TV spot and a new viral site.  The thirty-second spot does a decent job at summing up the trailer while establishing the tone of the picture and giving you a listen to Karl Urban’s affected Judge voice. The viral site, called “Dredd Report,” is a decent satire of the “Drudge Report,” but as far as marketing goes, it’s not all that appealing.  There are a host of real-life links to news stories on legitimate sites, which makes it difficult to hunt down the movie-related content.

Also starring Lena Headey and Olivia Thirlby, director Pete Travis’ Dredd 3D opens in theaters on September 21st.  Hit the jump to watch the TV spot and for links to the viral site.

One of the big surprises at this year’s Comic-Con was Dredd.  For those unfamiliar with the film, Dredd is an adaption of the 2000AD comics character Judge Dredd, and it stars Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, and Lena Headey.  The film follows Dredd (Urban) and rookie Judge Cassandra Anderson (Thirlby) fighting through a tower that’s crawling with thugs in their attempt to bring down drug overlord Ma-ma (Headey).  Lionsgate premiered the film in San Diego, and it’s pretty great.  Unlike a lot of films that get an R rating due to one violent scene, Dredd is borderline NC-17 due to tons of blood and violence.  Trust me, Dredd is going to surprise you and it’s definitely worth checking out when it premieres on September 21.

Lionsgate has just released a very cool graffiti-style outdoor billboard for the film and they’re letting us premiere it online.  If you live in New York City, you might have noticed it when riding the subway.  Hit the jump to check it out, and here’s my recent interviews with Karl Urban and Olivia Thirlby.

New posters have been released for Django Unchained, Dredd, and Looper.  The Django Unchained poster is the same as the previous one except it crams in just a few of the names of the stellar cast (it’s also an international poster, so U.S. readers shouldn’t freak out about the “2013″ at the bottom; we still get the movie this year).  As for Dredd, my fellow editor Adam Chitwood made an astute observation regarding its similarity to another poster.  Finally, the Looper poster makes a huge reveal about the plot: Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are actually giants fighting for the fate of a city.

Hit the jump to check out the posters.  Django Unchained opens December 25th.  Dredd opens September 21st.  Looper opens the Toronto International Film Festival and then opens nationwide on September 28th.