Opening this weekend is director John Moore’s A Good Day to Die Hard.  The fifth Die Hard film has John McClane (Bruce Willis) teaming up with his estranged son, Jack (Jai Courtney), to settle their differences and take down the bad guys.   The film also stars Yulia Snigir, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Sebastian Koch, Cole Hauser, Amaury Nolasco, Megalyn Echikunwoke, and Anne Vyalitsyna.

During the recent Los Angeles press day I got to speak with Jai Courtney. We talked about the audition process, the biggest surprise making the movie, working with Bruce Willis, Spartacus, I, Frankenstein, and more.  Hit the jump to watch.

One of TV’s most popular franchises goes into battle for a final epic season when Spartacus: War of the Damned returns to Starz on January 25^th.  Taking place following the defeat of Roman commander Gaius Claudius Glaber, Spartacus and his men have amassed major victories against the Romans after the Battle of Vesuvius, and Rome is beginning to tremble at the threat this warrior now represents.

During this recent interview to promote the premiere of the final season, actors Liam McIntyre (who plays Spartacus) and Todd Lasance (who plays Julius Caesar), along with show creator Steven S. DeKnight, talked about what went into the decision to end the show, how Spartacus has changed this season, preparing for the inevitable historical ending, just how big of a threat Caesar will be, the possibility of a Caesar spin-off, what they hope to achieve with the final season, the epic battles, what the last day of shooting was like, and how the experience affect their lives.  Check out what they had to say after the jump.

Sarz has announced that its gladiatorial series Spartacus will come to its conclusion with its third season, Spartacus: War of the Damned, which will premiere on Friday, January 25th 2013 at 9pm.  Spartacus fashioned itself initially as a kind of response to HBO’s great but gone-too-soon series Rome, also piggybacking on the popularity of 300, but distinguished itself for being particularly violent, with lots of explicit sexual content.

Aside from having to establish itself among a bevy of currently running period dramas, the series faced difficulties during its first season when its star Andy Whitfield was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which lead Starz to produce a prequel mini-series Spartacus: Gods of the Arena.  Liam McIntyre then replaced Whitfield for the following season, Spartacus: Vengeance, and will finish out the series’ run.  Hit the jump for more on Spartacus, including a sneak peek video of War of the Damned.

Universal Pictures has announced a 25-film Blu-ray collection to commemorate the studio’s 100th anniversary, and it’s a genuinely great box set.  The “Universal 100th Anniversary Collection” includes 25 of the studio’s finest films, a 15-track music CD chock full of iconic film scores, a “100 Years of Universal” 72-page collector’s book and more.  Though the inclusion of HD versions of films like Dracula, Jurassic Park, The Sting, Back to the Future, Jaws, Do the Right Thing, and To Kill a Mockingbird alone would have been worth the purchase, the box set includes a number of vintage cartoons and shorts as well as a collection of featurettes covering the studio’s entire history.

The 25-disc Blu-ray set and 26-disc DVD collection (Schindler’s List is included in the DVD set only) will be available for a limited time starting November 6th.  A price has yet to be announced, but I don’t expect it’ll be cheap.  Hit the jump to read the full rundown of films and special features.

As part of the Starz portion of the TCA Press Tour, President and CEO Chris Albrecht took some time to talk about the shows they currently have in production, and what their upcoming slate will look like.  During the interview, he spoke about how they decide what original programming will be done for Starz and what will be done for Encore, the production challenges of the Michael Bay pirate series Black Sails (currently in pre-production in South Africa), how they came to the decision to end Spartacus, their desire to continue to work with that show’s creator Steven DeKnight, and when Black Sails, Da Vinci’s Demons, Marco Polo and Noir could hit the air.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

I’ve been watching Spartacus since day two.  I somehow missed day one.  Spartacus is much more than sex and gore, it’s about heart.  It’s about the growth of these characters from slaves to freedom fighters.  So getting a chance to sit down with Steven S. DeKnight (executive producer), Liam McIntyre (Spartacus), Manu Bennett (Crixus) and Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Naevia) was a big treat.  They’d flown straight from set in New Zealand to talk about the series.  For what they had to say about the final season Spartacus: War of the Damned, airing on STARZ in January 2013, read on after the break.

In an effort of full disclosure, I am a fan of the Spartacus series.  It’s not the blood and guts, though there’s plenty of both.  It’s not the hyper sexuality/sensuality, though that’s also available in spades.  It’s the character performances that make this series stand out for me.  I couldn’t pass up the chance to get a glimpse at what’s to come in the the final season Spartacus: War of the Damned, airing on STARZ in January 2013.  This panel really brought out the dead.  Find out what I mean after the break.

There’s been three whole seasons of swords, sandals, sex and bloodshed in the Spartacus series (remember there’s a marathon coming later this summer), each jumping around in different time periods, but now it sounds like Starz is bringing it to an end. Today to cable network announced a new season of the series called Spartacus: War of the Damned which will be the final season of the series.

In fact, the new season is already in production in New Zealand with Liam McIntyre reprising the title role and Manu Bennett (Crixus), Dustin Clare (Gannicus), Dan Feuerriegel (Agron), Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Naevia) and Ellen Hollman (Saxa) all returning as well. The final chapter of the series takes place following the defeat of Roman commander Gaius Claudius Glaber. Spartacus and his men have amassed major victories against the Romans after the Battle of Vesuvius.  These victories have not only forged the legend of Spartacus, but have greatly increased the ranks of the rebellion slaves to more than 30,000. Rome is indeed beginning to tremble at the threat Spartacus now represents.  Hit the jump for more.

With the most recent season Spartacus all wrapped up and aired on Starz, the network has decided to have a little fun with their epic series. Starting this summer on June 8th, the cable network will air each and every episode of their series in chronological order. That doesn’t mean they will be airing in the order in which the seasons were released, but airing according to the historical timeline in which each season takes place. Therefore Gods of the Arena will kick off the event on June 8th, Blood and Sand will begin on June 22nd and Vengeance will air all over again starting July 20th. This would be a great way for anyone to catch up who doesn’t want to go renting a bunch of DVD’s from Netflix. There’s plenty of blood, sex, drama and more awaiting if you decide to partake. Check out the full press release and episode schedule after the jump.

The third season of Spartacus is rounding up some new cast members to play a couple iconic figures in Roman history. Starz has just revealed in a press release that Todd Lasance (Cloudstreet) and Simon Merrells (The Wolfman) have landed the roles of Julius Caesar and Marcus Crassus respectively. Lasance’s version of Caesar is a handsome young rogue from an esteemed lineage and his deadly intelligence and skill with a sword will be brought to bear against the rebellion as he begins his ascent towards the all-powerful ruler he will one day become. Meanwhile, Merrells’ Crassus is the richest man in the Roman Republic. Envied and despised by the highborn among the senate, he craves the power and respect that defeating Spartacus and his rebel army would bring.

The two join Liam McIntyre in the third season of the cable series which hasn’t yet been given a proper subtitle like the others. Stay tuned as more information becomes available. Hit the jump to read the full press release.

Australian actor Dustin Clare starred as Gannicus, the former champion of Capua, in the series prequel Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. Now, his character is returning to the current season, Spartacus: Vengeance, in Episode 5, entitled “Libertus,” airing on Starz on February 24^th.

During a recent interview to promote his character’s return, Dustin Clare talked about making the transition from series lead in the prequel to part of the ensemble in Season 2, what Gannicus has been through in the last five years, the challenges he faces as a free man, how Gannicus will be received by the other characters, how he initially got involved with Spartacus, and what it takes to train and prep for the show. Check out what he had to say after the jump.

In the Starz original drama, Spartacus: Vengeance (premiering on January 27, 2012), the gladiator rebellion continues, on the heels of the bloody escape from the House of Batiatus, and begins to strike fear into the heart of the Roman Republic. With all of the blood-soaked action, sexuality, villainy and heroism that has come to distinguish the series, Spartacus (Liam McIntyre) is now presented with the choice of satisfying his personal need for vengeance against the man that condemned his wife to slavery and eventual death, or making the larger sacrifices necessary to keep his budding army from breaking apart.

During this exclusive interview with Collider, Aussie actor Liam McIntyre talked about the challenges of taking over the iconic character for the much-beloved Andy Whitfield, getting in shape for the intensively physical role, saying the “I am Spartacus!” line for the first time, being torn between personal vengeance and responsibility, and how much bigger the scale and scope of Season 2 is. Check out what he had to say after the jump.

Starz has already renewed the epic series Spartacus for a yet-to-be-titled third season, but the second season Spartacus: Vengeance is still on the way with the premiere set to air Friday, January 27th 2012 at 10/9c. And with the season premiere just around the corner, the cable network has now release a bloody and sexy trailer that will surely have fans foaming at the mouth. Marking the debut of Australian actor Liam McIntyre in the title role, it looks like things are going to get pretty intense this season. Thankfully, aside from McIntyre looking heroic and manly, there’s enough Lucy Lawless to go around as well. See the trailer and a whole slew of images from the new season after the jump.

With the debut of the second season of the series coming in the form of Spartacus: Vengeance on Friday, January 27th 2012 at 10/9c, Starz has decided now is the time to announce their renewal of the series for a yet-to-be-titled third season. While some of you might be thinking that the series is already heading into its third season with Vengeance, the prequel series Spartacus: Gods of the Arena is not considered to be in the same line-up as the series that started with Spartacus: Blood and Sand. That certainly seems a bit confusing, but fans should have no trouble keeping things straight. This season, Australian actor Liam McIntyre has assumed the title role for what will likely be another epic and bloody season of Roman action and intrigue. Hit the jump for the full press release.

To fight in the arena, you must have skill, strength and a physique I could never even dream to achieve. In Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, the prequel to the Starz series Spartacus: Blood and Sand, we see the posturing, deception and loss necessary to elevate the House Batiatus as Capua stands on the precipice of the opening of its great arena… More blood and sandals after the jump.