When science fiction wants to present thoughtful subtext, it can’t go broad.  The freedom to construct a world has to come down to precise themes.  The world can be derivative (or “inspired by” if you want to be charitable), and the themes can be universal, but they have to be cohesive.  In casting a wide net for influences, Joseph Kosinski‘s Oblivion mashes-up the ideas from better movies, and doesn’t put them towards abstraction or ambiguity, but towards ambivalence.  The film is more concerned with its gorgeous visuals and rousing score while the emotions become lost in a shuffle of reveals and fragmented ideas.

Joeseph Kosinski’s new Tom Cruise starrer Oblivion, opening tomorrow, is the rarest of all things, a big budget scifi film aimed squarely at adults. While the trailers might seem like they give away the whole movie, I assure you they only scratch the surface. Things get really weird and far more ambitious than the I Am Legend-style one sheet implies.

Last week, Collider sat down with writer/director Kosinski to talk about his film. During the interview, Krosinski discussed the challenges of making an original idea into a major film, designing the film for IMAX, shooting in 8k resolution on the new Sony CineAlta F65 camera and more.

While AMC is set to lose two of its flagship series fairly soon (Breaking Bad ends its run this summer while Mad Men is poised to conclude with next year’s season seven), the network is making arrangements to ensure that it remains at the forefront of cable programming.  This summer will see the debut of the Mark Strong-fronted crime drama series Low Winter Sun, and now AMC is making moves on a sci-fi series with a pedigreed team behind the scenes: Oblivion director Joseph Kosinski and Pacific Rim screenwriter Travis Beacham.  Hit the jump for much more.

Producer/director Joseph Kosinski’s visionary sci-fi epic, Oblivion, was inspired by his graphic novel written in 2005 which became the pitch for the film.  Set in the year 2077, the story centers on Jack Harper (Tom Cruise), a security repairman stationed on an evacuated, post-apocalyptic Earth who is part of a massive operation to extract vital resources after decades of war with a terrifying alien threat.  When Jack rescues a beautiful stranger (Olga Kurylenko) from a downed space craft, her arrival triggers a chain of events that forces him to question everything he thought he knew.  Opening this Friday, the film also stars Morgan Freeman, Andrea Riseborough and Melissa Leo.

At the recent press day at Universal Studios, Kosinski discussed how the finished film compared to what he had originally envisioned, why he likes movies that ask big questions but don’t necessarily answer all of them, the challenges of creating a sci-fi world that’s never been seen before, getting M83’s Anthony Gonzalez to compose the cool score, what the actors brought to their roles, how his background in mechanical engineering and industrial design influenced the film’s groundbreaking visual design, collaborating with DP Claudio Miranda on the high definition front projection, and why he chose not to do 3D.  Hit the jump for the interview.

We’ve got 27 new hi-res images from writer/director Joseph Kosinski’s sci-fi thriller Oblivion to share with you today.  You may have seen some of these visual treats in previous gallery articles, but now we have them in the highest of resolutions so that you might enjoy zooming in on each of Morgan Freeman’s freckles.  There are also some bonus behind-the-scenes shots from the set of Oblivion that features Kosinski looking rather pensive.

Starring Tom Cruise, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, NIkolaj Coster-Waldau, Melissa Leo and Zoe Bell, Oblivion opens April 19th in IMAX and traditional screenings.  Hit the jump to partake of the new images.

Disney’s plan for a remake of their 1979 sci-fi film The Black Hole now includes screenwriter Jon Spaihts (Prometheus).  Spaihts has been tapped to rewrite the script for director Joseph Kosinski (TRON: Legacy).  The original film starred Maximilian Schell, Anthony Perkins and Ernest Borgnine in a story that followed space explorers aboard the USS Palomino who come across a lost ship near a black hole. Inside the ship, the explorers meet a scientist who has plans of entering the black hole with his army of faceless robots in tow.  Travis Beacham (Clash of the Titans) previously worked on the script after Disney began developing the remake back in 2009.  Hit the jump for more, including the trailer for the original film.

With writer/director Joseph Kosinski’s Oblivion opening April 19th, we’ve been provided with four clips from the sci-fi film.  The story takes place on a dystopian Earth and stars Tom Cruise as a drone repairman who holds the future of mankind in his hands after discovering a crashed spaceship. Oblivion also stars Olga Kurylenko, Morgan Freeman, Andrea Riseborough, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Melissa Leo. 

Over the past few months we’ve seen tons of images, posters, images, and featurettes.  Based on what I’ve seen thus far, I’m counting down the days, especially since Kosinski told us that Oblivion will be presented “in IMAX will be full frame 1.9 through the whole thing.”  Needless to say, if you’re going to see the film, see it in IMAX!  Hit the jump to watch the clips and look for my video interviews with the cast week of release.

The folks at Universal, in conjunction with IMAX, have released two new featurettes for their post-apocalyptic, sci-fi thriller Oblivion.  The film, directed by Joseph Kosinski (TRON: Legacy), stars Tom Cruise as Jack Harper, a veteran sent on a mission to Earth 60 years after everything on the planet has been obliterated.  The first of these featurettes shows the visually-stunning canvas that encompasses the world of Oblivion, while Cruise and Kosinski talk about its “haunting beauty” and the decision to make the film in IMAX full frame.  The second featurette is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film in the desolate, volcanic landscapes of Iceland.  The stunning setting is sure to be a hit with IMAX viewers and quite the treat for the eyes.

Hit the jump to watch the featurettes.  Oblivion opens in theaters April 19, 2013 and also stars Morgan Freeman, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and Olga Kurylenko.

At WonderCon, Universal brought out director Joseph Kosinski (TRON: Legacy) to talk to a few press outlets about his sci-fi action-adventure flick Oblivion, starring Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman, and out in theaters on April 19^th.  The original tale tells the story of Jack Harper (Cruise), a veteran assigned to extract Earth’s remaining resources, after its surface is devastated from decades of war with the alien Scavs, who begins to question what he knows about his mission and himself.  The film also stars Olga Kurylenko, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Melissa Leo and Andrea Riseborough.

During this roundtable interview, filmmaker Joseph Kosinski talked about the lessons he learned from making both TRON: Legacy and Oblivion, how Oblivion has 800 visual effects compared to 1,500 for TRON: Legacy, that he’s been thinking about this world for eight years now, the elements of sci-fi that he wanted to bring into the story, that Oblivion in IMAX will be full frame for the entire film, the input that both Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman gave, why he wants to keep exactly what the Scavs are somewhat vague, including an homage to Top Gun, that his favorite format to see the film in is digital IMAX but he also thinks it’s worth checking out in Dolby Atmos (they’re the first film to have mixed in Atmos from scratch), how the film would have been different if he’d made it at Disney like originally planned, and his plans for the Oblivion illustrated novel.  He also gave an update about how things are progressing with TRON 3, and said that he has a few different scripts currently in development.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

With WonderCon happening this weekend, Universal brought out director Joseph Kosinski to talk to a few press outlets about his sci-fi action-adventure flick Oblivion, starring Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman, and out in theaters on April 19^th.  While we will run the full interview soon, we wanted to share what the filmmaker had to say about a third TRON film today.

Expanding on what he already told us in an interview back in December 2012, Kosinski said that it absolutely feels like Disney wants to make it happen, that he’s two weeks away from getting a draft of the script, that they’ve been working on this story since 2009, and that the story will open up the world and give it a much broader appeal.  He also said that the movie will have a title that is not just TRON 3, but that it’s not officially set in stone yet.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

New images from writer/director Joseph Kosinski’s sci-fi epic Oblivion are now available.  In addition to the futuristic tech and machinery showcased here, we get new looks at characters played by Tom Cruise, Olga Kurylenko, Morgan Freeman and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.  Oblivion finds drone repairman Jack Harper (Cruise) scavenging Earth for scarce resources when a beautiful stranger (Kurylenko) crash lands and turns his world upside-down.

The film also stars Andrea Riseborough, and Melissa Leo.  Oblivion opens in traditional and IMAX theaters on April 19th.  Hit the jump to view the new images.

Universal has unveiled a bounty of goodies from director Joseph Kosinski’s upcoming sci-fi pic Oblivion.  The featurettes focus on Kosinski’s desire to do as many of the film’s visual effects in camera as possible, and it’s absolutely fascinating to see how he pulled off some of these tricks.  For scenes in the film’s skytower, instead of using a blue screen to fill out the sky background, Kosinski actually projected footage of the real sky (which he shot in Maui) 360 degrees around the set, so everything the audience sees in the background is practical.  The other featurette focuses on the creation of the pic’s “bubble ship,” and it’s another interesting look into Kosinski’s strong flair for design.

Hit the jump to take a look at the featurettes and TV spots.  The film also stars The film also stars Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, and Morgan Freeman.  Oblivion opens in traditional and IMAX theaters on April 19th.

Director Joseph Kosinski famously collaborated with the music duo Daft Punk on the score for Tron: Legacy, and for his new film Oblivion, Kosinski has once again reached out to the music community for the pic’s soundtrack.  The filmmaker has been developing Oblivion for a number of years, and in a recent interview with Steve the filmmaker revealed that as early as his first treatment for the script in 2005, he had noted his desire for a soundtrack from the electronic band M83.

Kosinski’s dream came true, as Anthony Gonzales and Co. have composed the entire original score for Oblivion and now the first track from their efforts has been unveiled online.  “StarWaves” is a decidedly synth-heavy cut, but it does a nice job of mirroring the scope and expansiveness of Oblivion that we’ve seen in the trailers.  Hit the jump to take a listen and to see what Kosinski had to say about M83’s score for the film.  Oblivion opens in IMAX and traditional theaters on April 19th.

Universal Pictures has released a new trailer for director Joseph Kosinski’s upcoming sci-fi film Oblivion. The story takes place on a dystopian Earth and stars Tom Cruise as a drone repairman who holds the future of mankind in his hands after discovering a crashed spaceship.  While the film’s first trailer was a tad underwhelming, this is undoubtedly the best trailer yet.  It does an excellent job of setting up the film’s plot while also teasing some absolutely gorgeous visuals and exciting tech.  We also get a good look at the character played by Melissa Leo, who appears to have some mysterious motives.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, and Morgan Freeman.  Oblivion opens on April 12th exclusively in IMAX theaters, and expands nationwide on April 19th. [Update: Universal has also unveiled a batch of high-resolution images and posters, which are now included after the jump.]

A few new TV spots surfaced this weekend for…

• Oblivion – Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, and Olga Kurylenko star in Joseph Kosinski‘s sci-fi actioner set in a future where Earth has been abandoned.
• Pain & Gain – Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, and Anthony Mackie play three personal trainers who band together for a heist and get in way over their heads.  Michael Bay directs.
• Movie 43 -Johnny Knoxville, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Jason Sudeikis, Kate Winslet, Elizabeth Banks, Emma Stone, Liev Schreiber, Anna Faris, Naomi Watts, and many others star in this comedy omnibus.

Watch the TV spots after the jump.