After a listless start, Men in Black 3 kicks into a second gear that is as much fun as I wanted from the sequel.  The exact moment when it reaches second gear is at J’s “time jump,” when Will Smith jumps off the Chrysler building and into 1969.  The visuals that flash by as he plummets may be the most thrilling minute-long sequence I see all summer.  While Sony is saving the whole sequence for theaters, we have a new behind-the-scenes featurette that shows how they transported Smith from a small bluescreen room to the heights of the skyscraper.  Additionally, we have two creature featurettes that elaborate on the design of a) a disturbing, gruesome effect that will haunt me forever and b) a big fish.  Watch all three after the break.

Fifteen years ago, Men in Black was released in theaters.  It further cemented Will Smith‘s star status, gave his high-energy style a perfect foil with Tommy Lee Jones‘ dour-yet-playful performance, and provided a fun, upbeat experience that was delightfully silly and bizarre (I still crack up when Smith tells Jones, “Awww.  You brought that tall man some flowers!”).  Strangely, Men in Black 3 doesn’t draw strength from anything that made the original film an enjoyable experience.  Instead, the latest sequel finds its heart in supporting characters, and letting special-effects makeup guru Rick Baker run absolutely wild as he swings his marvelous alien creations into the 1960s.  It’s a shame that Mr. Smith and Mr. Jones’ performance, and the humor can’t match Baker’s bravado and creativity.

A giant batch of new images from Men in Black 3 have hit the web.  Though we get our fair share of looks at stars Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, and Jermaine Clement, the real highlight of the group is a handful of peeks at legendary makeup artist Rick Baker’s inspired alien designs.  We saw a few of these in a recent batch of alien-centered pics, but this group is of much better quality.  Baker took his inspiration from the sci-fi films of the 50s and 60s, so the impressive group of aliens on display in Men in Black 3 have that retro look down-pat.

Hit the jump to check out the images, but be warned that a few of them might be considered minor spoilers.  The film also stars Alice Eve, Bill Hader, Michael Stuhlbarg, Nicole Scherzinger, and Emma Thompson.  Men in Black 3 opens in 3D on May 25th.

Sony has released six new images from Men in Black 3.  Most of the new images feature the film’s aliens, and makeup artist Rick Baker explained how these extraterrestrials differed from the ones in the previous movies:

”When I saw the ’60s part, I said, ‘I think we should do retro-looking aliens based on a lot of the aliens that were in films from the ’50s and ’60s that I love,”’ says makeup artist Rick Baker. ”It was actually an idea I’d tried to push in the first two movies and they didn’t go for it, but I figured with the time travel it would be perfect.”

The movie has had its share of script problems, but the aliens look terrific.  I’d expect no less from the seven-time Oscar winner.  Hit the jump to the check out the images.  Men in Black 3 opens in 3D on May 25th.

Even if Men in Black 3‘s story turns out to be a complete disaster, at least the makeup special effects will be quality.  New set photos show that makeup artist guru Rick Baker (the white-bearded gent in the above image) has once again worked his magic, and there are going to be more fun aliens this time around.  The set photos also show that, as expected, Jemaine Clement‘s villain has some creepy peepers hiding behind his aviator sunglasses.  There’s also nice set photo of the heavy’s sweet ride.

Hit the jump to check out the set photos.  The film also stars Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Alice Eve, Bill Hader, Michael Stuhlbarg, Nicole Scherzinger, and Emma Thompson.  Men in Black 3 opens in 3D on May 25th.

Scripts for blockbuster movies tend to go through multiple writers, and even on set there are tweaks to the pages.  But it’s rare that movie will start shooting if the script isn’t finished.  We like to joke about movies not having scripts, but really we’re making fun of a threadbare/stupid plot.  Barry Sonnenfeld‘s Men in Black 3 literally started shooting without a finished script.  As we previously reported, the movie took a hiatus so that various screenwriters could figure out a way to wrap up the story, which centers on Agent J (Will Smith) going back in time to team up with past K (Josh Brolin) and save the world.  The movie took a pause to try and take advantage of tax breaks in New York City (Sony was worried the tax incentives would expire; they didn’t) and the spring weather.

So what does Sonnenfeld think about this unusual and risky approach to making a blockbuster feature?  Hit the jump for what he and make-up effects artist Rick Baker had to say on the matter along with a possible spoiler.  Men in Black 3 opens in 3D on May 25th.

If you consider yourself a film geek and you still haven’t seen John Landis’ seminal An American Werewolf in London, please report to the nearest Alamo Drafthouse location and turn in your film geek credentials.  This horror-comedy—one that many have emulated over the years but that virtually none have been able to equal—is one of the best cinematic mash-ups ever made, and when it was announced that Mondo would be screening the film at Fantastic Fest with Rick Baker in attendance (and a special print created by Olly Moss), I knew I had to be there.  How’d the screening turn out?  Find out after the jump, folks.

The Indigo Ballroom opened its’ Comic-Con 2011 series with a profile on makeup maestro Rick Baker. The panel celebrated his previous achievements – which include a whopping seven Academy Awards – and highlighted his alien effects for the upcoming 3D three-quel Men in Black 3, which re-teams Baker with franchise mainstays Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones and director Barry Sonnenfeld. The time travel flavored scifi comedy also features new roles for Josh Brolin and Flight of the Conchord’s Jemaine Clement.

The discussion featured many anecdotes from the whole of Baker’s career and life and featured the premiere of the first footage from MIB3. Hit the jump for a description of the new aliens and select quotes from the panel.

While on the red carpet for the 37^th annual Saturn Awards, we got the chance to speak with legendary makeup artist Rick Baker as well as Oscar winning makeup artist Dave Elsey. Baker was gracious enough to talk to us about his approach to makeup effects, how he became attached to monsters at a young age, his favorite creature that he’s designed thus far in his career, and he even spoke a little bit about Men in Black III, commenting on the production troubles the film has encountered. Additionally, Elsey talked about how he approaches makeup effects, and answered which is harder: applying makeup or having makeup applied on you.

Hit the jump to watch the interview, and if you missed our other coverage from the Saturn Awards, be sure to check out our conversations with Brandon Routh, Fringe’s Lance Reddick, and producer Dean Devlin.

The 37^th Annual Saturn Awards were held last night. The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films honored the best in film, television, special effects and more. Inception was the big winner of the night, taking home five awards including Best Science Fiction Film. Other winners in the top categories include Fringe for Best Network Series, Breaking Bad for best Cable Series, Let Me In for Best Horror Film, Alice in Wonderland for Best Fantasy Film and Salt for Best Action/Adventure Film.

Hit the jump to see the full list of winners, and don’t forget to check out Collider’s interviews from the red carpet at the event. We spoke with Brandon Routh, Fringe’s Lance Reddick, and producer Dean Devlin.

Much like a good set of fangs, The Wolfman is all about peaks and valleys. Its peaks are the gory and exciting action scenes. Its valleys are just about everything else. The Blu-ray, which features an unrated directors cut running an extra 16 minutes, does improve the film slightly but not enough to meet the public’s high expectations based on the legacy of the character. On the other hand, the extras are pretty entertaining including some awesome deleted scenes, in depth featurettes and two radically different alternate endings. Read more after the jump.

Sony is getting ready to power up freakishly forearmed sailor Popeye and giving him the CGI and 3D treatment.  Variety reports that Spider-Man producer Avi Arad is on the project with Mike Jones set to write the script.  Says Arad:

“Scott called me and said, ‘I have something for you,’” said Arad, who grew up watching Popeye shorts in movie houses in his native Israel. “I literally started singing the famous Popeye song (after securing the rights). What always blew me away is the level of the animation. It was so beautiful and unbelievably detailed.”

I’m going to go ahead and believe that was the case at the time Arad saw those shorts.  The character was adapted into a live-action film in 1980 starring Robin Williams and directed by Robert Altman.  Sony is already getting into the classic cartoon re-adaptation business with The Smurfs set to hit theaters on July 29, 2011.  For more on the history of the sailor man, hit the jump.

If you look over Rock Baker’s resume, you can’t help but be impressed. As the makeup artist on such films as An American Werewolf in London, Coming to America, Tropic Thunder (he did Robert Downey Jr.’s makeup), and dozens of other high profile movies, the man is a legend in the industry and someone who I was extremely excited to talk to last weekend.

The reason I got to speak with him was for his work in director Joe Johnston’s The Wolfman.  In case you didn’t know, rather than just go with CGI, The Wolfman is a mix of practical effects and CG work.  And that’s one of the reasons the Wolfman looks so awesome in the film…it’s an actor under that makeup and not just a computer generated image!

So if you’re interested in Baker’s work on just curious how he got involved in the film, hit the jump.  Thanks to our partners at Omelete for making this interview happen.

Over the weekend, Universal Pictures held a huge Wolfman press junket for journalists from around the world.  In attendance was the cast, as well as director Joe Johnston and make-up artist Rick Baker.  Over the next few days I’ll be posting a number of Wolfman interviews, as the movie arrives in theaters this Friday.  While I debated who to post first…I decided to go with one of the best actors working in the business, Sir Anthony Hopkins.

During the press conference, the Academy Award Winning actor talked about why he wanted to be involved with The Wolfman and a lot more.  As usual, you can either the transcript of what he said or listen to the audio of the press conference after the jump:

Opening on February 12 is director Joe Johnston’s The Wolfman.  Starring Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving, the film has been the subject of a lot of chatter on the internet.  The reason is due to the reshoots on the film, and the fact that Universal has tested two versions to see which one plays better.  Even the music has been the subject of online articles as Danny Elfman was originally doing the score.  Then he was replaced by Paul Haslinger and then he was brought back.  So…it’s no surprise everyone is speculating if the movie is a train wreck or something cool.

While the film doesn’t show to the press for another week, I’ve spoken to a few people that saw the film and they all said it was good.  We’ll all know soon if they were telling me the truth.  Thankfully, Universal has provided us with seven clips from The Wolfman, so you can judge the footage for yourself after the jump.