Airline pilots, for the most part, are like the mysterious man behind the curtain.  Passengers only get a glimpse of them when exiting the plane and hear their voices  once in a while over the intercom.  These guys have hundreds of lives in their hands and we just take it for granted that they are not drunk out of their minds.  Robert Zemeckis‘ Flight is about a very talented alcoholic pilot who averts a major disaster and winds up nosediving right into his dark inner-demons.  More on Paramount’s Flight Blu-ray after the jump.

For proof that 2012 was a nutty year for awards contenders, look no further than the Best Director category.  Over the past few days, we’ve been looking back how the ebbs and flows of the past 12 months have shaped the awards race in a number of categories, and one of the most dynamic shifts came with Best Director.  After the jump, we run down how the race for Oscar glory progressed over the past few months to give us the five nominees who will be vying for the gold on Oscar Sunday.  Hit the jump to read on.

Last night at The Aero in Santa Monica, Robert Zemeckis hosted a screening of his newest film: the awards-bait Flight.  All weekend The Aero has been hosting a retrospective of Zemeckis and his classic films: Romancing the Stone, Used Cars, Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Castaway.  Last night – the final night of the retrospective – Zemeckis was on hand to discuss the Denzel Washington starring ‘adult’ picture.  Much has been made of Zemeckis’ return to live action and how this is his most serious film — perhaps in part due to the subject matter: alcoholism, drug abuse, sins of the father, etc… But Flight feels at one with the rest of Zemeckis’ filmography — in that all his films tend to focus on overconfident people (Marty Mcfly, Ellie Arroway, Whip Whitaker) whose resolves are challenged by extraordinary circumstances (an impromptu trip to the past, aliens, a plane crash).

The Q&A with Zemeckis veered from topic to topic – covering Zemeckis’ own love of aviation to how he approaches actors to why he hates being on set.  For highlights from the conversation, click through to the jump.

With his latest film, Flight, now in theaters, director Robert Zemeckis reflected on his past movies in a recent interview. Among the pictures discussed was Who Framed Roger Rabbit, a 1988 classic that starred Bob Hoskins and Christopher Lloyd opposite a cavalcade of cartoon critters. Not only did Zemeckis entertain the idea of re-releasing Who Framed Roger Rabbit in post-converted 3D, but he also gave an update on the state of the sequel. Penned by the original writers Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman, Zemeckis said he was happy with the script and that it was quite good. Hit the jump for more, including whether or not Zemeckis thinks any of his other films are due for the 3D treatment or a reboot.

Though much of the East Coast is still a ruin, Hurricane Sandy did not dampen enthusiasm at the weekend box office. Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph was the easy winner with $49.1 million from 3,752 locations. In half as many venues, Paramount’s Flight beat all pre-release projections with its $25 million launch. And while Argo continued to exhibit amazing staying power in third, Universal’s The Man with the Iron Fists was less impressive. The martial arts debut earned an estimated $8.2 million from 1,868 runs for fourth place.

I’ve seen two films that deal with alcoholism this year, and Robert Zemeckis‘ Flight is the weaker of the two.  Earlier this year, I saw Smashed, an honest, unflinching look at a woman struggling to get sober.  In all fairness, Flight isn’t about the quest to get sober, as much as it brushes up against interesting notions of control.  Unfortunately, these notions become overshadowed as the film boils down the protagonist’s weakness into obvious plot points, character motivations, and a sermonizing finish that undermines the promise of a more textured, thoughtful story.

Flight marks the first pairing of Academy Award winners Denzel Washington and director Robert Zemeckis, who returns to live-action dramatic storytelling after a decade of success on the forefront of directing and producing movies utilizing motion capture technology. The screenplay by John Gatins centers on Captain Whip Whitaker (Washington) who miraculously crash lands his plane after a mid-air catastrophe, saving nearly everyone on board, but then becomes the target of a follow-up investigation that raises troubling questions about what really happened. Flight also stars John Goodman, Don Cheadle, Melissa Leo, Kelly Reilly, and Bruce Greenwood.

At the film’s recent press day, Washington, Zemeckis, Gatins, Goodman, Leo, Reilly, and Greenwood discussed making the dramatic thriller, what drew them to the project, the attraction and challenges of portraying complex, morally ambiguous characters, setting up a pivotal scene that pays homage to Hitchcock, and writing a suspenseful script that invites the audience to ride along with virtually every character while deciding which one to root for. Greenwood also shared his own harrowing tale of a real-life air travel experience he will never forget, and Washington revealed his recurring dream about flying and reminisced about the 20^th anniversary of Malcolm X.

Halloween is right around the corner and with it comes Michael J. Bassett’s Silent Hill: Revelation 3D.  The follow-up to Christophe Gans’ 2006 original adaptation of the horror survival game, Silent Hill: Revelation 3D picks up on the even of protagonist Heather Mason’s (Adelaide Clemens) 18th birthday.  This new clip features Clemens and co-star Deborah Kara Unger talking as an air-raid siren signals their approaching doom.

And in case you missed our earlier exclusive clip from director Robert Zemeckis’ Flight, we have a bonus one for you this evening.  The clip features post-plane crash pilot, Whip Whitaker (Denzel Washington) in his hospital room being visited by his friend (John Goodman) who must have been pre-Pharmacy in college.  Hit the jump to check out the clips.

Director Robert Zemeckis puts a decade of motion capture behind him and returns to live-action fare with Flight, starring Denzel Washington.  The John Gatins screenplay centers on a pilot (Washington) who miraculously lands a malfunctioning plane, only to become the focus of a follow-up investigation.  Today, we have an exclusive clip to share with you and it is a doozy.  It shows off the inciting incident of Flight while highlighting Washington’s grace under pressure, though the same can’t be said for his co-pilot (is it his first day?).

Also starring John Goodman, Don Cheadle, Melissa Leo and James Badge Dale, Flight opens on November 2nd.  Hit the jump to check out our exclusive clip, and click here for over 20 images from the film. 

Over 20 new images from director Robert Zemeckis’ new drama Flight have been released.  Denzel Washington stars as a commercial airline pilot who is heralded as a hero after safely landing a disabled jet, but then comes under fire for possibly operating the plane under the influence of alcohol.  It’s been ten long years since we’ve seen a live-action effort from Zemeckis, and I’m eager to see his take on this intense-looking character drama.

Hit the jump to check out the images.  The film also stars Don Cheadle, Bruce Greenwood, Kelly Reilly, John Goodman, Melissa Leo, and James Badge Dale.  Flight opens on November 2nd.

After tooling around with motion-capture for the last decade, director Robert Zemeckis makes his return to live-action this year with the drama Flight.  It’s a welcome change for the Back to the Future filmmaker, and it now looks like he plans on sticking with non-rubber faced people for the time being as Tom Hanks has provided a promising update on the space adventure Major Matt Mason.  The 3D pic is an adaptation of the popular action figure and will star Hanks as the titular Mason, an astronaut trapped on a moon base with a group of people.  The story is one of survival, as the film won’t feature any aliens or antagonists.

Major Matt Mason has been in development for some time, and last we heard Zemeckis was in talks to direct the pic.  Now it looks like things are finally moving forward, as Hanks has co-written the screenplay and is now on the hunt for buyers.  Hit the jump for more.

Our latest poster round-up includes:

• Cloud Atlas, from the Wachowski Siblings (or Wachowski Starship?) and Tom Tykwer, starring Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent and Hugo Weaving.  Cloud Atlas opens October 26th.
• Flight, from director Robert Zemeckis, stars Denzel Washington, John Goodman and Don Cheadle and opens November 2nd.
• Rise of the Guardians, the animated film from director Peter Ramsey, features the voices of Hugh Jackman, Alec Baldwin, Isla Fisher, Jude Law and Chris Pine, and opens November 21st.
• Silent Hill: Revelation 3D, from director Michael J. Bassett, stars Sean Bean, Radha Mitchell, Carrie-Anne Moss and Kit Harington, and opens October 26th.
• The Impossible, from Juan Antonio Bayona, stars Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts and opens in New York and Los Angeles on December 21st.

Hit the jump for the new posters and synopses.

A new extended TV spot for director Robert Zemeckis’ drama Flight has been released.  Denzel Washington stars as a commercial airline pilot who is heralded as a hero after safely landing a disabled jet, but then comes under fire for possibly operating the plane under the influence of alcohol.  This clip shows off more of the ridiculously tense plane crash, and it looks to be even more harrowing than the one Zemeckis crafted for Cast Away (which still gives me nightmares).  I’m happy to see Zemeckis back in live-action and Washington looks poised to give an unsurprisingly impressive performance, so hopefully Flight delivers the goods.

Hit the jump to watch the 90-second TV spot.  The film also stars John Goodman, Don Cheadle, James Badge Dale, Melissa Leo and Bruce Greenwood.  Flight opens on November 2nd.

New clips have gone online for two of our most anticipated films of the end of 2012.  First up is an extended look at the stunt sequence we saw in the trailer for Sam Mendes’ James Bond flick, Skyfall.  Daniel Craig does his best train-jumping work here as he transitions from construction vehicle to train carriage in debonair fashion.

Speaking of debon-air (sorry), Denzel Washington is featured in this official TV spot for Robert Zemeckis’ Flight.  The thirty-second ad, titled “Hero,” focuses on the vantage point of Washington’s character as a savior when he rescues his passengers by successfully crash-landing a jumbo jet.  Skyfall opens stateside November 9th; Flight lands a week earlier on November 2nd.  Hit the jump to see both videos.

We’ve got a few poster debuts to share this afternoon.  Briefly:

• Flight – Two new posters have been released for director Robert Zemeckis’ excellent-looking character drama.  Denzel Washington stars as a commercial airline pilot who is heralded as a hero after safely landing a disabled jet, but then comes under fire for possibly operating the plane while intoxicated.  The film opens on November 2nd.
• Broken City – The first poster for director Allen Hughes’ political crime drama puts stars Mark Wahlberg and Russell Crowe front and center.  Wahlberg plays a private detective hired to identify the lover of a powerful politician’s wife who soon uncovers more than he expected to find.  The film opens on January 18th, 2013.
• Not Fade Away – The first poster for Sopranos creator David Chase’s feature directorial debut.  The pic tells the story of three best friends growing up in the New Jersey suburbs who decide to start a rock band.  The film opens on December 21st.

Hit the jump to check out the posters.