
You’d be forgiven for forgetting that there’s a Tom Cruise rock musical coming this summer in between all the superhero fare. While we’ve only gotten brief glimpses of the musical numbers from Rock of Ages in the film’s trailers, a full music video for the stars’ rendition of Journey’s “Any Way You Want It” has gone online. I actually think the idea for Rock of Ages is solid, but I absolutely cannot stand the production on these songs. Director Adam Shankman recruited Glee’s music producer Adam Anders to produce the songs for Rock of Ages, and all the choruses sound way, way, way overproduced. “Any Way You Want It” doesn’t sound terrible thanks to Mary J. Blige, but any time the chorus comes in I’m immediately taken out of the number.
In addition to the music video, an audio sample of Cruise singing “Pour Some Sugar On Me” has also landed online. Again, it’s overproduced, but Cruise doesn’t sound terrible on his own. Hit the jump to take a listen to the songs. Rock of Ages opens on June 15th.

When Warner Bros. Pictures Group President Jeff Robinov took the stage at CinemaCon today, the big debate was over what footage he would showcase. While rumors were flying that he’d show ten minutes of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit in 48fps, and that Christopher Nolan would show something from The Dark Knight Rises, no one was sure of anything. But when he stepped off the stage after the presentation had ended, he had shown clips from some of the biggest films of 2012 and he also made history by world premiering the rumored Hobbit footage.
During the presentation we saw footage from Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows, Jay Roach’s The Campaign, Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby in 3D, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, Adam Shankman’s Rock of Ages, and it ended with 10 minutes of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit in 48fps. Hit the jump for more:

We’ve got a few new posters to share with you this evening. Briefly:
Hit the jump to check out the new posters.

We’ve got a few high resolution images from the musical Rock of Ages and the horror flick The Apparition to share this afternoon. Directed by Adam Shankman, Rock of Ages stars Julianne Hough as a small-town girl with big dreams who falls for a rock star (Tom Cruise). The musical is full of 1980s hits and features a pretty impressive ensemble cast that includes Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Diego Boneta, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Paul Giamatti. The film opens on June 15th.
Additionally, The Apparition centers on a young couple played by Ashley Green (Twilight) and Sebastian Stan (Captain America) who accidentally conjure a terrifying apparition that feeds on their fear. Naturally, they turn to Harry Potter’s Tom Felton to help them get rid of the dastardly creature. These images confirm that Greene is, in fact, very good looking. The film opens on August 24th.

If the first trailer for director Adam Shankman’s Rock of Ages didn’t blow your denim miniskirt up, perhaps this new one will. The Hairspray director leads this feature film adaptation of the Broadway musical by the same name. Centering on a small town girl (Julianne Hough) who falls in love with an all-star rocker (Tom Cruise), Rock of Ages will feature 1980s hits by such classic bands as Journey, Foreigner, Styx, and REO Speedwagon. This particular trailer ends on a high note of sorts with Cruise rocking out to Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive.” Rock of Ages, also starring Diego Boneta, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Malin Akerman, Bryan Cranston, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Mary J. Blige, opens June 15th. Hit the jump to check out the new trailer.

In the hilarious new comedy Wanderlust, over-extended and over-stressed Manhattanites George (Paul Rudd) and Linda (Jennifer Aniston) leave their over-priced micro-loft in the West Village and stumble upon Elysium, an idyllic community populated by very colorful, sexually adventurous characters, including alpha male Seth (Justin Theroux) and free-spirit Eva (Malin Akerman). Surrounded by nudists, a former porn star, and a woman with no boundaries, even in the bathroom, this seemingly refreshing way of looking at things quickly makes George and Linda question whether staying there is the right thing for them to do.
During a press conference at the film’s press day, co-stars Justin Theroux and Malin Akerman talked about working with director David Wain, how much input they had into their characters, how awkward it is to be wearing clothes when you’re surrounded by nudists, how hard it was to keep a straight face (Akerman was the one to break character the most), and how excited they both are for their next feature film, Rock of Ages (Akerman has a role in it while Theroux co-wrote it), due out in theaters in June. Check out what they had to say after the jump:

Not long after Warner Bros. was reportedly getting cold feet with the swelling budget of David Dobkin’s Arthur & Lancelot, it looks like the studio has officially hit the pause button. The film, starring Kit Herington (Game of Thrones) and Joel Kinnaman (The Darkest Hour) in a reimagined Arthurian legend, was supposed to open March 15, 2013. Dobkin (The Wedding Crashers) reportedly informed cast and crew that it “wasn’t looking good,” although studio insiders confirm they’re trying to make the project work. Warner envisions the tone of Arthur & Lancelot to be in a similar vein to their Sherlock Holmes franchise, but will have to negotiate budget and scheduling difficulties. Herington, will return to Game of Thrones this spring while Kinnaman is expected to segue into the film shoot after wrapping on AMC’s The Killing. The project may move forward without one or both of the actors. Hit the jump for news regarding the delay of Bryan Singer’s Jack the Giant Killer 3D and Rock of Ages.

2012 has begun and that means fresh optimism! Fresh movies! Fresh images from those movies! After the jump you’ll find 21 new images from upcoming movies like The Hunger Games, Men in Black 3, Rock of Ages, The Five-Year Engagement, The Gangster Squad, and plenty more (for our purposes, plenty = 16).

Warner Bros. has released new images and official synopses for director Nima Nourizadeh‘s Project X, Walter Hill‘s Bullet to the Head, Adam Shankman‘s Rock of Ages, and Todd Lincoln‘s The Apparition. While we’ve already seen an extremely funny trailer for Project X (which was produced by Todd Phillips) and a mediocre first trailer for Rock of Ages, WB has yet to release any footage from Bullet to the Head (which stars a shirtless Sylvester Stallone) and The Apparition (which was originally scheduled for release last year). With these first images being released, I’d imagine we’ll be getting the first trailers very soon. As a big fan of Walter Hill (48 Hours, Brewster’s Millions, The Warriors, The Driver), I’m really hoping Bullet to the Head is awesome. Hit the jump for more.

Admittedly, I have fallen off of the beaten path with regards to checking out awards season contenders in the theaters this year. That said, I’m hoping to begin turning all of that around this afternoon as a matinee of director Jason Reitman’s Young Adult is currently on my Saturday itinerary. While I can’t claim to be a huge Diablo Cody fan (I tend to think her characters all sound the same…as in, exactly like Diablo Cody), I’m almost always happy with Reitman’s work. Moreover, Charlize Theron looks to be in rare comedic form (an arena she doesn’t always find herself in, but one she undoubtedly has the chops to pull off). All in all, here’s to hoping that my Young Adult screening is just the tip of my awards season iceberg. In the meantime…
…In this week’s “Top 5″ installment, you’ll find a slew of interviews for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, a number of new assets from director Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man, a recap of this crazy week in trailers, a rundown of the 69th Annual Golden Globes nods, and a light musing regarding Bridesmaids‘ awards season chances. Hit the jump for a brief recap and link to each of the above.

Warner Bros. has released the first trailer for the feature adaptation of the Broadway musical Rock of Ages. The film tells the story of a small town girl (Julianne Hough) who falls in love with a larger-than-life rocker (Tom Cruise) set against the backdrop of the 1980s music scene, featuring songs from the likes of Journey, Foreigner, Styx, and REO Speedwagon. The gist of the trailer is that if you like 80s rock, you’ll probably like a musical that only features 80s rock and uses it as a basis for the plot. But there’s also an important lesson: When sleazy guy played by Paul Giamatti give you a chance at fame, you take him up on his obviously legit offer.
Hit the jump to check out the trailer and poster. The film also stars Diego Boneta, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Malin Akerman, Bryan Cranston, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Mary J. Blige. Directed by Adam Shankman (Hairspray), Rock of Ages opens on June 1, 2012.

Tom Cruise‘s bread-and-butter is action movies, but every now and then he’s willing to try something new like he did with Collateral (the only movie where he plays a villain), Magnolia (the biggest supporting role in his career), and disappearing under the make-up and personality of Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder. His newest challenge will be playing rocker Stacee Jaxx in Adam Shankman‘s adaptation of the rock musical Rock of Ages. The plot centers on a small-town-girl (Julianne Hough) who falls for Jaxx against the backdrop of 80s rock like Journey, SEO Speedwagon, and Styx. Cruise recently spoke about what drew him to the project, and how he prepared for his role.
Hit the jump for more. The outstanding cast also includes Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Alec Baldwin, Malin Akerman, Bryan Cranston, Will Forte, Mary J. Blige, and Diego Gonzalez Boneta. Rock of Ages opens June 1, 2012.

After conquering the ballroom on Dancing with the Stars and soaring to the top of the country music charts with her singing, of course Julianne Hough would also want to try her hand at acting on the big screen. And, what better way for her to do so then as the female lead in director Craig Brewer’s take on the 1984 classic Footloose. As Ariel, the rebellious preacher’s daughter, Hough got to utilize her known talent as a dancer, while drawing from her own experiences growing up in a religious family where she had to fight for attention among her brothers and sisters. What results is a performance that not only can she be proud of, but that will also establish her as a true triple threat.
At the film’s press day, Julianne Hough sat down with Collider for this exclusive interview about the challenge of starting from scratch with her acting career, her desire to fight for the role because it was something she wanted to show people that she could do, how much she really identified with Ariel, the instant chemistry that she had with her co-star Kenny Wormald, and how important dancing is, in her own life. She also talked about how incredible the experience of making Rock of Ages was, how excited she is to work with Diablo Cody for Lamb of God, and how she plans to start a production company with her brother, Derek Hough. Check out what she had to say after the jump:

At this year’s Toronto Film Festival, I was able to speak with Paul Giamatti about starring in director George Clooney’s political drama The Ides of March. Starring Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood and Jeffrey Wright, the pic takes place during the tension-filled moments leading up to an all-important Ohio presidential primary where a press secretary (Gosling) finds himself in the middle of a scandal that could upend his candidates’ (Clooney) shot at winning. Loaded with great performances and a smart script, The Ides of March is really well done and definitely worth your time.
During the wide ranging interview, Giamatti talked about how he got involved in the project,what kind of research he did, and how the film isn’t heavy handed. In addition, he talked about playing Tom Cruise’s manager in Rock of Ages and singing Journey, David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis (where he plays Robert Pattinson’s stalker), John Dies at the End, and reveals that he wants to do a western or a private eye movie. Hit the jump to watch.

This past weekend, Collider got the opportunity to sit down with the stars and director of Footloose, to talk about their take on the classic ‘80s film. Clearly fans of the original, and equally as passionate about this version of the story, which has some minor additions and updates that allow for a grittier feel, everyone involved is eager to share stories about their experience making it.
While we will hold that portion of the interview until closer to the film’s October 14th release, we did want to share what Julianne Hough had to say about her experience making Rock of Ages, about a small-town girl who arrives in Hollywood at the height of the 1980′s rock music scene. Admitting that she almost didn’t sign on because she wasn’t sure about doing another musical until she learned about who would be in the cast, she was very excited to perform such songs as a “More than Words” and “Heaven” mash-up (which apparently almost didn’t make it into the finished product), “Rock You Like A Hurricane” (which she did with Tom Cruise), and “Harden my Heart” and “Shadows of the Night” (which she got to do with Mary J. Blige). She also talked about how scary it is to take a straight acting role, for Diablo Cody’s Lamb of God, but said that she’s up for the challenge. Check out what she had to say after the jump:
Oren Peli Talks CHERNOBYL DIARIES, Found Footage Movies, and More
Screenwriter David Koepp Pens Sci-Fi Film THE WIND for Warner Bros and Debut Director Nic Mathieu
IAm8Bit in Los Angeles Hosts NOTEBOOK NERD Featuring the Artwork of Jim Rugg
THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER, THE TALL MAN and PITCH PERFECT All Get Release Dates
Copyright ©2005 - 2012. All Rights Reserved. California web design ![]()