Director/co-writer Ariel Vromen’s The Iceman opens this weekend in limited release.  The drama is based on the book by Anthony Bruno that chronicles the life of Richard Kuklinski (played by Michael Shannon), a professional hitman who kept his work secret from his family.  The contract killer received the nickname “The Iceman” because he froze the bodies of his victims in order to disguise their time of death and throw the authorities off track.  The film also stars Chris Evans, Ray Liotta, Winona Ryder, Robert Davi, and Danny Abeckaser.  For more on The Iceman, watch the trailer.

At the recent Los Angeles press day, I landed an exclusive interview with Winona Ryder.  We talked about making The Iceman, the way she prepares for a role, her most challenging role, if she still has to audition, her obsession with The Wire and The Big Lebowski, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to either read or listen to what she had to say.

Opening this weekend is Silent Hill: Revelation 3D.  The film is a sequel to 2006’s Silent Hill, and centers on a daughter and father who are on the run from dangerous forces that remain unknown to the young girl.  When her father (Sean Bean) goes missing, the young girl (Adelaide Clemens) must set out to discover what happened.  When she becomes trapped in a demonic world, the girl learns she’s not who she thinks she is. Silent Hill: Revelation 3D also stars Kit Harington, Carrie-Anne Moss, Radha Mitchell, and Malcolm McDowell.  For more on the film, here’s Matt recap of the NYCC panel, some clips, a TV spot, and the trailer.

Shortly before his panel at Comic-Con, I got to sit down with Kit Harington for an exclusive video interview.  We talked about how he got involved in Silent Hill, did he play the game, what it’s like to be at Comic-Con, what he collects, starring opposite Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore in The Seventh Son, and more.  In addition, for all the Game of Thrones fans, Harington talked about the bigger budget for season three and how the season compares to seasons one and two.  Hit the jump to watch.

It’s been a massively hectic week here at Limited Paper.  In just the past few days, we were contacted about a number of new contests/giveaways (one of which we’ve already revealed);  we touched base with a few of our favorite artists and planned coverage for their as-yet-unannounced-but-oh-so-close drops;  we got a status update on a print that’s been on everyone’s mind lately, and—last but not least— we were granted an exclusive or two.

Earlier today– just when we thought we’d reached this week’s Limited Paper quota– a friend from Spoke Art came knocking with an unexpected bit of info:  having teamed up with the folks over at Thinkspace Gallery, Spoke Art was less than 18 hours away from unleashing a brand-new Big Lebowski poster.  Well…what were we supposed to do?  Not tell you about it?  Find out everything you need to know after the jump, folks. 

In last week’s “Top 5″ I spent the opening paragraph musing about my anticipation for Steven Soderbergh‘s Haywire. I also promised the readers a quick “Before & After” discussion this week which would address whether or not the pic lived up to my expectations. Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but said discussion will have to be postponed. I know, I know, I’m disappointed too. Fear not, though, I’m slated to check out the film tonight which means that I’ll be able to deliver on my promise, albeit a week late. In the meantime…

…This week’s “Top 5″ installment brings you interviews with the cast of Underworld: Awakening and the aforementioned Haywire, a gallery of recent films in retro poster form, an ultra-disturbing Rugrats live-action trailer, and all of our Sundance 2012 coverage to date. Hit the jump for a brief recap and link to each.

Classic films are getting remade left and right, but what if it went the other way?  What if our original films of recent years were thrown back to an earlier era?  Who would star?  Who would direct?  What would the poster look like?  Artist Peter Stults ran with that idea and came up with some wonderfully creative and thoughtful posters based on recent movies.  I’m not sure if I see Leonard Nimoy as John McClane, but I can absolutely see James Dean starring in a 1950s version of Drive.

Hit the jump to check out some of the posters.

Every once in a while, I like to remind readers that our weekly “Top 5″ is a perpetual “work in progress.” That in mind, if you ever find yourself thinking, “Man, I wish Jason wasn’t such an idiot and would do this or that with the ‘Top 5′,” then I’m inviting you to either leave your suggestion in the comments section and/or e-mail me (colliderjason@gmail.com). The goal is to make the weekly feature as beneficial and entertaining to you, the reader, as possible. So, by all means, let us know if there is something missing that you would like to see. Now, with that out of the way…

In this week’s installment, you’ll find all of our video interviews with the cast of Conan the Barbarian, Matt’s editorial documenting what he views as the rise and fall of cult status, the first trailer and 34 hi-res images from Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, news confirming all of our worst fears regarding a Blade Runner follow-up, and our visit to the Alamo Drafthouse to check out the new Fright Night with stars Anton Yelchin and Christopher Mintz-Plasse. Hit the jump for links and brief recaps for each.

It’s strange to have watched the cult of The Big Lebowski grow since release. The film was Joel and Ethan Coen’s follow-up to Fargo, which was an academy award-winning crime drama with a funny center. After the disastrous The Hudsucker Proxy (which has also gained a cult following) Fargo put the boys back in good graces, but the story of Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski (Jeff Bridges), and the kidnapping that turns him into amateur sleuth with sidekick Walter Sobchek (John Goodman) was greeted as a sophomore slump. Now it’s revered as a masterpiece. Our review of the limited edition Blu-ray of The Big Lebowski follows after the jump.

The Film Society of Lincoln Center held an hour-long discussion between Joel and Ethan Coen and fellow filmmaker Noah Baumbach.  Normally I’d bitch and moan about how jealous I was not to be there and then cry myself to sleep.  But not today!  Filmlinc.com has kindly posted the discussion online and I know what I’ll be watching when I get off work today.  Some of the topics covered include how the Coens open their movies, their use of voice-over, how they use misdirection, and how their films compare to Baumbach’s.  The interview is also worth watching because the Coens rarely speak about the films and instead prefer to let them stand on their own.  People continue to speculate on the symbolism of the hat in Miller’s Crossing.

Hit the jump to check out the video and quotes pulled from the interview.

One of my favorite cinematographers is Roger Deakins.  If you look over his amazing resume, you’ll see he’s shot so many memorable films, you’d be hard pressed to have not seen at least a few of them.  Some of the standouts include The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, No Country for Old Men, The Big Lebowski, The Shawshank Redemption, and True Grit. As you may have noticed by the titles I just listed, Deakins has a very close relationship with the Coen Brothers, as he shoots most of their movies.

The other day I got to do an exclusive phone interview with Deakins and we talked about a wide range of subjects: what kinds of cameras and lenses he likes to use, his relationship with the Coen brothers and how they work together, making True Grit, digital vs. film, his next movie Now which he shot digitally with the Arriflex Alexa (his first time using digital), his relationship with DreamWorks and his involvement on How to Train Your Dragon and the upcoming sequel, 3D, and when I asked him about what’s coming up next, he said, “I’ll probably do a film with Sam Mendes next.”  When I asked him if that meant he was shooting Bond 23, he said, “it might, yeah.”

If you’re interested in cinematography, or just a fan of Deakins work, hit the jump to either read or listen to our conversation:

One of the many documentaries I enjoyed at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was Paul Mariano and Kurt Norton’s These Amazing Shadows.  The movie takes a look at the films that are in the National Film Registry and the work of preservationists to keep film history alive.  While at Sundance, I got the chance to sit down with the two directors and talk about the picture.  We discussed how they first became interested in the Registry, areas where the National Film Preservation Board could improve, and which films they want to see get into the Registry, among other topics.

Hit the jump to check out the interview and click here to read my review of These Amazing Shadows.

My favorite film of all time? The Big Lebowski. The film is endlessly quotable and it gets better every time I watch it. Oscar-winning actor Jeff Bridges happens to be a big fan of the film as well, who of course plays The Dude, aka Jeffrey Lebowski, in the film. This week will see the continuation of PBS’ American Masters series and the episode will focus on Bridges in a 90-minute documentary entitled Jeff Bridges: The Dude Abides. To promote the show, which will air tomorrow at 8 P.M. EST, PBS premiered a clip where Bridges visits a shop in New York called The Little Lebowski. Yea, man! Hit the jump for the full clip and make sure to record/watch the documentary about Bridges tomorrow.

Entering its 25^th season on PBS, American Masters has produced an exceptional library of more than 160 biographies since its inception, and has deepened public knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the arts and artists of every kind. Premiering on January 12^th, Jeff Bridges: The Dude Abides examines the Academy Award winner’s incredible body of work and stable of memorable characters, while telling the fascinating and surprising story of the man himself.

While at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour, actor Jeff Bridges talked about his journey as an actor, his desire not to create a strong identifiable personality, his interest in expressing himself in a variety of art forms, his favorite film roles and his love of playing music. He also admitted to having no film work currently lined up. Check out what he had to say after the jump.

A couple of cool t-shirts are on sale today and today only.  First up from Teefury is a cute Lost t-shirt called “Rockem Sockem Candidates”  [Spoilers if you haven't seen Lost] It’s a little sad but also slightly true to diminish Jack and Locke to minor pawns in Jacob and The Man in Black’s game.  But while chess may be more sophisticated, the pieces rarely rock or sock.

The other shirt comes from RIPT Apparel and is a nice sketch of everyone’s favorite pederast, The Jesus from The Big Lebowski.  If you’re the kind of person that can pull of wearing purple, then you’ll want to wear this shirt down to the bowling alley and fuck people in the ass (figuratively speaking).  Hit the jump to check out both shirts.

A brilliant friend of mine joked on Twitter last week that because of his busy schedule, he would need to combine his December Jeff Bridges films into one fantastic flick called “True Grid”.  Artist image “spacemonkeydr” over at TeeFury has switched out True Grit for The Big Lebowski in his Tron mash-up, but I don’t have a clever title for what that movie would be called.  However, if–according to the TRON: Legacy tagline–”The Game Has Changed”, then I imagine that they’ll be playing with light balls and light pins as they try to get the score light strikes.  As Program Walter might say, “Fuck it, Dude.  Let’s go light bowling.”

Hit the jump to check out the shirt, which costs $9 and is available for purchase today only.  TRON: Legacy opens December 17th.  True Grit opens December 22nd.  True Grid opens in my awesome dreams every night.

On top of landing the news that Jeff Bridges is in talks with director Peter Bogdanovich about a third sequel to the American classic The Last Picture Show, Steve learned at the press junket for the upcoming TRON: Legacy that Bridges is currently hard at work on a full length album.

“I’m making an album with T-Bone Burnett right now. After I leave here I’m goin’ to the studio and we’re cutting some more tracks with this band that’s just phenomenal.”

Bridges said to expect the album to be released “sometime next year.” When asked if he was going on tour, he replied “Absolutely,” so The Dude may soon be coming to a venue near you! So what’s the band called, and what’s its Big Lebowski connection? “We’re calling ourselves The Royal We.”  If that’s a bit too “Lebowski inside” for you, we’ve included the clip after the jump. But it’s a quote from the Coen brothers film in which The Dude has some fun with grammar. For more on Bridges’ band, including his reunion with Crazy Heart producer T-Bone Burnett, hit the jump.