
As 2012 winds down to a close, it’s tough to see us having another year filled with so many good movies anytime soon. Nevertheless, looking to 2013 there’s certainly reason to be excited, and what better way to kick off the new year than to take a look at what 2013 has in store for us by way of blockbuster filmmaking? We’ve compiled a list of 20 “blockbusters” to look forward to in the coming year, and the resulting preview teases some promisingly diverse fare. Naturally there’s no lack of superhero movies headed our way, but we’ve also got a great mix of exciting entries in horror, comedy, sci-fi, and drama to look forward to. Hit the jump to take a look at our 2013 Blockbuster Preview.
Continue Reading

Prepare yourselves, Ender’s Game fans. The first image from director Gavin Hood’s feature film adaptation of the beloved Orson Scott Card novel has landed online, giving us our first look at Asa Butterfield (Hugo) in the title role and Harrison Ford as Colonel Graff. For those unaware, the film tells the story of Andrew “Ender” Wiggin, a young boy sent away to Battle School to hone his military skills and, hopefully, save the world from an impending alien invasion. In addition to this image debut, Hood has also briefly discussed a change that was made from the book and the fact that they’re keeping the same ending from the novel.
Hit the jump to check out the first image and quotes from Hood. The film also stars Sir Ben Kingsley, Hailee Steinfeld, Viola Davis and Abigail Breslin. Ender’s Game opens November 1, 2013.
Continue Reading

Things have been a bit quite on the Ender’s Game front recently, but Summit Entertainment has revealed the full synopsis for the film. Fans of the Orson Scott Card classic will find nothing new here, but those of you who are unfamiliar with the story might find the synopsis surprisingly spoilery. There are no major reveals ruined, but it does give a way more than is necessary as to the progression of title character Ender Wiggin’s promotions in the Battle School.
Starring Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Sir Ben Kingsley, Hailee Steinfeld, Viola Davis and Abigail Breslin, writer/director Gavin Hood’s Ender’s Game will open in theaters November 1st, 2013. Hit the jump to read the new synopsis but beware spoilers.
Continue Reading

For a project that has the epic scope of Ender’s Game, it’s only fitting that the film be released in IMAX. Fans can look forward to seeing the adaptation of the beloved Orson Scott Card novel in IMAX format when it debuts in theaters November 1st, 2013. The sci-fi film from director Gavin Hood (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) follows Andrew “Ender” Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), a boy trained at a military battle school in the hopes that he’ll develop a strategy to defeat the alien menace known as the Formics. This will make two big features for Lionsgate being released in the same month (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire releases November 22nd), two properties the studio hopes will continue to bear box-office fruit. But before Catching Fire can sweep Ender’s Game aside, the sci-fi film will have three weeks to build up a big payday and, hopefully, a bigger following. Hit the jump for more updates on Ender’s Game from the film’s production blog.
Continue Reading

While walking around Comic-Con the past two days, I’ve taken almost 150 pictures of the various things items on the convention floor. If you’re interested in checking out what’s in San Diego this year, hit the jump for tons of posters, costumes, toys, collectibles, people, props, and so much more.
A few of the movies and TV shows you’ll see include Iron Man 3, Breaking Bad, Men in Black, The Walking Dead, Resident Evil, Total Recall, Looper, Ender’s Game, G.I. Joe, Transformers, Star Trek, Back to the Future, Lego, Knight Rider, Star Wars, Sideshow Collectibles, Entertainment Earth, The Hobbit, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, The 5th Element, Thundercats, THX 1138, and more.
Continue Reading

People Like Us is a family dramedy inspired by true events from the life of writer/director Alex Kurtzman. The story follows Sam (Chris Pine), a twenty-something guy who learns that his father has suddenly died, leaving behind a secret 30-year-old daughter (Elizabeth Banks) that Sam never knew about, and he is forced to re-examine his own life and re-think everything he thought he knew about his family.
At the film’s press day, Alex Kurtzman talked to Collider about deciding to share such a personal story with the world, the advantages and disadvantages in writing something without a set deadline, what made him decide to direct, and how important the casting was for the tone of the movie. He also talked about the emotional experience of returning to the Enterprise for the Star Trek sequel, what made he and business partner Roberto Orci want to sign on to write the sequel for The Amazing Spider-Man, how they just wrapped Ender’s Game (which takes place 70 years after a horrific alien war) and Now You See Me (about FBI agents who track a team of illusionists that pull off bank heists during their performances) as producers, and how excited they are to be rebooting Van Helsing and The Mummy. Check out what he had to say after the jump.
Continue Reading

This weekend, Collider got to participate in the press junket for People Like Us, a family dramedy inspired by true events from the life of writer/director Alex Kurtzman. The story follows Sam (Chris Pine), a twenty-something guy who learns that his father has suddenly died, leaving behind a secret 30-year-old daughter (Elizabeth Banks) that Sam never knew about, and he is forced to re-examine his own life and re-think everything he thought he knew about his family.
While we will post what Kurtzman had to say about his feature film debut closer to its June 29th release, we did want to share what he had to say to us about the emotional experience of returning to the Enterprise for the Star Trek sequel, how insane it was to be able to really walk around the ship, how the set was built for the hallways to connect so that director J.J. Abrams could play whole scenes without a cut, and how they’re still in discussion about when the first official images or teaser trailer might be released. He also talked about what made he and business partner Roberto Orci want to sign on to write the sequel for The Amazing Spider-Man, how they just wrapped Ender’s Game (which takes place 70 years after a horrific alien war) and Now You See Me (about FBI agents who track a team of illusionists that pull off bank heists during their performances) as producers, and how excited they are to be rebooting Van Helsing and The Mummy. Check out what he had to say after the jump.
Continue Reading

You’re driving down the street, and it’s suddenly blocked off. You notice these weird yellow signs with nonsensical letters or numbers. There’s unusual glow lighting up a neighborhood you can’t usually see from your house. What you might have here is a film company shooting in your town. It happens a lot, and you never know where they might pop up…until now.
The following is a semi-comprehensive list of films currently shooting, what they’re shooting, and where they’re shooting. We’ll be telling you where you might get to see the very famous, the kinda famous and (if all goes well) the soon-to-be famous. While we can’t list every single movie, television show, or student film in production, you’ll get a pretty good idea of what the heck is going on where all those people are buzzing about. Want to know where in the world are Matt Damon, Harrison Ford, Sylvester Stallone, Woody Harrelson, and Leonardo DiCaprio? Hit the jump for more.
Continue Reading

Harrison Ford reportedly called Ender’s Game, “one of the most emotional science fiction movies he has ever seen.” If you’re a fan of Orson Scott Card’s award-winning novel, this article should let you breathe a little easier about the upcoming Gavin Hood adaptation. While I was a bit leery about Hood’s attachment to my beloved property (see X-Men Origins: Wolverine), the Ender’s Game production blog has been shedding some interesting light on the filmmaker’s approach. Hood and producer Roberto Orci (Star Trek) really seem to get the gist of the novel; that should elicit a sigh of relief followed quickly by a jolt of excitement from fans. Orci recently participated in a Q&A on the blog in which he commented on the tone of the picture, the relationship between Colonel Hyrum Graff (Harrison Ford) and Ender (Asa Butterfield), as well as his favorite scenes.
Ender’s Game tells the story of Andrew “Ender” Wiggin, a young boy sent away to Battle School to hone his military skills and, hopefully, save the world from an impending alien invasion. Also starring Abigail Breslin, Sir Ben Kingsley, Hailee Steinfeld, Nonso Anozie and Viola Davis, the picture opens November 1st, 2013. We’ve also got some images from the production, so hit the jump to check it out!
Continue Reading

Inventions dreamed up in science fiction novels have preempted the availability of practical technology numerous times (ie submarines, military drones, the internet); Ender’s Game is no exception. Author Orson Scott Card wrote about multimedia tablets, the power held by the written word on the internet and electronic monitoring devices in his 1985 novel. These things are, more or less, commonplace today. So it’s fitting that these new images from the Ender’s Game film production show this technology not as obtrusive, but as practical. One of the understated but necessary devices is “the monitor,” an implant that connects Andrew “Ender” Wiggin to his overseers. We’ve got a first look at that piece of technology, as well as more images from the production for you to check out. Ender’s Game, starring Asa Butterfield, Abigail Breslin, Harrison Ford and Sir Ben Kingsley and directed by Gavin Hood, opens November 1st, 2013. Hit the jump to check out the new images.
Continue Reading

The feature film adaptation of Ender’s Game is undergoing a slight release date shift. Previously scheduled for March 15th, 2013, Summit has opted for a more holiday-friendly release of November 1st, 2013. Currently the only other film schedule to open on that date is Roland Emmerich’s sci-fi pic Singularity, with DreamWorks Animation’s Me and My Shadow opening a week later (followed by Thor 2 and The Hunger Games sequel Catching Fire). It’s unknown why the release date change was made, but it should be interesting to see if Fox moves Singularity off that date to prevent a sci-fi showdown with a beloved literary adaptation. Hit the jump for more, including a synopsis of Orson Scott Card’s novel.
Continue Reading

At the newly up-and-running production blog for Ender’s Game, the producers have teased a glimpse of Ender’s world at the Battle School and have promised us more to come in the weeks ahead. If that’s not enough to whet your appetite, producer Roberto Orci also dropped a few comments in response to fans’ fears about how the filmmakers were treating the source material and questions about potential sequels as well as author Orson Scott Card’s involvement in the project. Ender’s Game, based on the award-winning novel by Card, follows a young student training in military school who may be the last hope for humanity in a futuristic war against a hostile alien race. The movie, directed by Gavin Hood, stars Asa Butterfield, Abigail Breslin, Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis and Hailee Steinfeld. Fans will definitely want to hit the jump to check out the new photo and to see what Orci had to say.
Continue Reading

After years of starts and stops, a feature film adaptation of Ender’s Game is finally on the way. X-Men Origins: Wolverine director Gavin Hood is at the helm, and Hugo‘s Asa Butterfield plays the titular boy who’s recruited to develop military strategies in an attempt to prepare for an intergalactic battle. A production blog for the film has just been launched, with an inaugural entry highlighting the big shoes Butterfield has to fill for the long-awaited adaptation. The blog will be run by producer Roberto Orci (Star Trek) and will feature guest updates from the cast and crew.
I’m only a few chapters into Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game, but I’m enjoying the sci-fi story so far. Hood’s involvement gave me pause, but he’s assembled a top-notch cast that includes Harrison Ford, Viola Davis, Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin and Ben Kingsley. Hit the jump to read a synopsis of the book, and head over to the official production blog to check out the first entry. Ender’s Game opens on March 15th, 2013.
Continue Reading

In between rebooting his own series with Transformers 4 and producing a live-action reboot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Michael Bay has finally managed to find some time for his passion project, Pain and Gain. John Turturro, a familiar face to the Transformers franchise, is reportedly circling a role. The dark comedy is based on the true story of two Miami bodybuilders who get caught up in an extortion scam and a kidnapping gone awry.
Other casting news reports that Adrianne Palicki (Friday Night Lights) will join Glenn Howerton (Always Sunny in Philadelphia) for the R-rated CollegeHumor picture, Coffee Town. Production is set to begin next week in Los Angeles. Finally, the most recent addition to the superb Ender’s Game cast is The Grey’s Nonso Anozie. Hit the jump for details on each project.
Continue Reading

It’s a good day to be a cast member of The Help. We’ve already reported a couple of high-profile casting stories regarding Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain, and now the third Oscar-nominated actress from The Help has booked not one, but two new gigs. Best Actress nominee Viola Davis is set as the lead in Beautiful Creatures, and will take a supporting role in Ender’s Game. Directed by Richard LaGravenese (P.S. I Love You), the film is an adaptation of the novel by Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia and centers on two star-crossed teens who uncover dark secrets about their families, their history and their town. Davis will play a seer who looks after the boy and his father after the boy’s death. Beautiful Creatures is the first in a series of novels, and Warner Bros. is hoping that the film will kick off a franchise.
Hit the jump for more, including the addition of Davis to the increasingly impressive ensemble for Ender’s Game.
Continue Reading