From time to time I like to use the opening paragraph to discuss my latest screenprint investments and/or dream items. This week I’m playing a similar note as I recently picked up Olly Moss‘ “Batman’s Rogues Gallery” set on eBay for very close to what the timed edition went for originally. Those of you who follow posters and prints know how redeeming it can be to finally get an item you originally missed out on without having to pay exponentially more than its original asking price. Now, if only Ken Taylor‘s Halloween print would stop being so rare/expensive, I could officially run out of room on my walls.

I’ll stop gushing and leave any more in-depth poster/print talk to our own Limited Paper. For my part, this week’s Top 5 includes the first trailer and a video blog recap of 10 minutes of footage from Neill Blomkamp‘s Elysium, our White House Down set visit recap, an exclusive interview with Legendary Pictures CEO Thomas Tull, the first trailers for Ron Howard‘s Rush, and an extended interview with Mondo CEO Justin Ishmael. As is customary, a brief recap and link to each is ready and waiting for your attention after the jump.

As most of you know, everyone at Collider are huge fans of Mondo.  It seems like every time they put out a limited screenprint that blows us away, a short time later, they do it again.  This probably explains their ever growing fan base, and why their posters sell out in minutes.  For more on Mondo, here’s our previous coverage.  You can also check out everything they’ve released on their website.  Be warned: some of their older posters are rare and expensive.

A few days ago, I got on the phone with Mondo CEO Justin Ishmael.  During our hour long conversation, we talked about a wide variety of subjects.  Hit the jump if you’re curious about upcoming gallery shows, if they’re going to be at Comic-Con, the status of Drew Struzan‘s Dark Tower print, Olly Moss‘ Spirited Away, future Mondo Mystery Movies, new licenses, if they’ll being doing more HBO prints, how they decide on the size of a print run, if Aaron Horkey will do more Lord of the Rings prints, and so much more.

You probably don’t need to be told that Mondo—the collectible-art-producing arm of Tim League’s Alamo Drafthouse empire—is the reigning champ of kickass, screenprinted movie posters.  Oh, sure:  many may have attempted to challenge the Mondo crew at their own game, but the Austin-based company’s ever-expanding stable of brilliant artists, their consistent quality, and the geek-friendly collection of licenses in the Mondo arsenal have ensured cemented their status.  But even for a company known for casually leapfrogging each new high-watermark it establishes, 2012 has been a notable year.

I sat down with Mondo’s three head honchos—creative directors Justin Ishmael, Mitch Putnam, and (and Grammy-winner!) Rob Jones—to find out what Mondo’s learned in 2012, what we should expect from next month’s Universal Monsters gallery show, and what may lie beyond (prepare for non-committal responses!).  It’s all after the jump in an exclusive video interview, folks:  meet me there.

While the infamously awesome San Diego Comic-Con may be over for another year, Limited Paper’s coverage from last week’s “gathering of the geeks” is far from over:  for the next week or so, we’re going to be bringing you a ton of post-Con coverage, including interviews with Olly Moss,  Jason Edmiston, and rising screenprint superstar Mark Englert, video footage from the frontlines of Mondo’s biggest Comic-Con poster-drop (that’d be Moss’ The Dark Knight Rises) and much, much more.  But before we get into all that, we wanted to share something a little different:  a ton of photos, taken in and around “Club 437” (the wink-wink name a few of us gave to booth #437—the booth Mondo called home during the Con) by the latest addition to the Limited Paper team, Billy Garrett.

Want to see what you missed if you weren’t at SDCC last week?  Meet me after the jump.

Limited Paper just keeps on coming, people!  Last time, we told you all about the Phone Booth Gallery’s amazing A Distant Winter gallery show (and showed up some pretty kick-ass photos, to boot), and this time we’ve got even more exciting news for all the limited paper-collecting poster-freaks in the audience:  want details on Mondo’s drop schedule at the 2012 San Diego Comic Con? Wanna see the newest prints from Gallery1988’s Breaking Bad series?  What is the Horror Die-Cut Collection, anyway (hint:  it’s awesome)?  Find out after the jump, people.

Pendleton Ward’s Adventure Time offers a bright, weird, subversively funny experience to its viewers, so it should come as no surprise that Justin Ishmael (creative director at Mondo and a known fan of the weird, colorful, and subversive things in life) would be amongst the show’s ever-expanding army of fans.  And as such, it should come as no surprise that the Mondo Gallery’s second-ever show would end up being based on Ward’s series.  On Friday, that show opened in Austin, TX, and was quickly followed by an Adventure Time marathon/screening at the Alamo Drafthouse.   Wanna see some art from the show?  Hear what an Adventure Time marathon (and specialty menu) was like for someone who’d never seen the series?   Wanna read an exclusive interview with Pen Ward and Adventure Time star Tom Kenny?  It’s all after the jump, folks.

This weekend, there were a ton of things that you could’ve been doing on Saturday afternoon in Austin, TX:  the 2012 SXSW Film Festival was in full swing, with something like 90 movies available to badgeholders;  celebrity encounters  were to be had all over downtown;  there was drinking to do, restaurants to frequent, panel discussions to attend at the Austin Convention Center.  Any of these options would’ve been great, of course, but the biggest draw of the day was—without question—the opening of the Mondo Gallery just north of downtown.  Wanna know what the opening was like, what new prints were made available, and what Mondo’s creative director, Justin Ishmael, has to say about the company’s new headquarters?  Read on for the news, after the jump.

We’re big fans of Mondo—the collectible boutique arm of the legendary Alamo Drafthouse—here at Collider. They commission and make available gorgeous works of art inspired by movies small and large, commercial and cult hits. This past weekend Mondo opened their first ever gallery in Austin, TX, right in the middle of the SXSW Film Festival. The gallery opening was a huge success, and I’m incredibly jealous as both Steve and Matt got a chance to attend and take a gander. For those of us not lucky enough to make the trip, Mondo has made available images of some of the prints they had on display for their inaugural sci-fi show. They include stunning works including Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, A Trip to the Moon, War of the Worlds and more.

Hit the jump to take a look at some of the prints on display.

With awards-season upon us, I’ve been doing my best to catch up with any potential contenders that I may have missed up to this point. Without a doubt, the standout of late has been writer/director Tate Taylor‘s The Help. I had heard from several friends that the pic was solid but nothing special. After finally getting a chance to sit down with it myself, I have to say that I disagree. I think it’s better than that. Not only is it filled with great performances, but it also finds a way to be more than a story of how a caring white person can help those otherwise hopeless black people. If only 2009′s The Blind Side could go back in time and take note.

But enough of my own cinematic experiences, in this week’s “Top 5″ you’ll find a recap of our visit to the Romanian set of Ghost Rider Spirit of Vengeance, Benedict Cumberbatch talking about his villainous role in J.J. Abrams‘ Star Trek sequel, our interview with Mondo creative director Justin Ishmael, the possibility of a Bridesmaids world without Kristen Wiig, and video interviews with War Horse‘s Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, Tom Hiddleston and more. Hit the jump for a brief recap and link to each.

Austin’s Alamo Drafthouse theater chain—owned by film-geekdom’s very own Willy Wonka, Tim League—has enjoyed an outstanding couple of years, with 2011 arguably being their most successful yet.  But for as good as 2011 was for the Drafthouse, it was even better for League’s Drafthouse offshoot, Mondo.  This year, Mondo hosted a number of popular events (the ongoing Mondo Mystery Movie series), ventured into music production (a soundtrack for William Lustig’s Maniac), and ended up having its prints cataloged by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, all while continuing to churn out the most gorgeously-designed movie posters on the open market.  With a new year in front of us, it seemed like a good time to sit down with Mondo’s creative director, Justin Ishmael, to discuss the year that just wrapped, what Mondo’s got planned for 2012, and to find out what Ishmael has to say to Mondo’s few—but vocal—critics.  Read on for the interview, after the jump.