New Inglourious Basterds Footage and Behind the Scenes Clips

Nobody seems too happy in all directions from Quentin Tarantino being a guest mentor on American Idol last night, but me - I’m surely ecstatic. I’m not in The States, so I didn’t have to see the show but I can reap the rewards remotely. This morning, Film School Rejects have posted an Inglourious Basterds video that was supposed to tell on Idol last night and, sort of, did. A bit. Before getting cut off. Thanks to them, we have it for you below the break. The video contains new trailer-y shots, and the odd bit of behind the scenes footage. There’s more Brad Pitt, there’s more general Basterdry, there’s the first look at Mike Meyers in prosthetics-slash-character as Ed Fenech, a British General. You’ll see Tarantino and DP Robert Richardson before a shot is taken, and then afterward hear Tarantino leading the cast and crew in a bit of call and response. “Let’s do it one more time. Why?” he calls, and then they ‘all’ join in with a chorus of “Because we love making movies.” Hmmmm. If I tell you that the vigilant will see a major spoiler in this video then you’ll probably start staring at it especially hard, but then if I don’t, some eagle-eyed chuck is gonna be staring hard by default and get cross because I didn’t warn them. So, be warned. I’m 99% convinced that this film is going to be the best studi0 funded film of the year - at least as far as live exercise goes. The script was outstanding, Tarantino is a true poet in the language of cinema, and the trailers so far released - the teaser, and this thing - have both put me into rewind and replay frenzy. I’m now expecting a new, full trailer to be unveiled soon with this new footage incorporated. Related Stories Three Posters For Inglourious Basterds Unveiled Inglourious Basterds Teaser Trailer Sneak Preview: Inglourious Basterds Trailer Inglourious Basterds Teaser Trailer To Hit This Week? Is Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds a Summer Blockbuster? Inglourious Basterds Paris Set Photos

Books of the Dead

New York’s Grand Central Publishing are negotiating with George Romero for the rights to publish two new novels set in the world of his …of the Dead films. Dread Central crop to have only spurious that Romero will write the novels - I’m assuming the opposite and betting that, at best, the books are ‘co-written’ by him, or ghostwritten from a premise of his. He has other things to do, I feel. Like making some more of those great …of the Dead films. The report tells us that the first book would be published in the summer of 2010 with the second to follow “sometime after that” - which, frankly, could have been reported as “the first will be published in summer 2010″ but perhaps Uncle Creepy was trying to boost his word count. We’ve all been there. I think one appealing factor of a Dead novel would be that it would totally unfettered by some of the basic limitations of cinema. Budget would be no issue, of course and dead actors could be resurrected, or actors could be made young again. And it might even dare to be more politically forward than Romero’s films (if such a thing is possible) because it doesn’t have to make so many millions from the masses. There are already some Romeroverse zombie comics out there, including The Death of Death from DC’s Toe Tags, which was evidently adapted from an unused film script of Romero’s; and also adaptations of Dawn and Land of the Dead (at least). The zombie movie market has in truth been flooded of late, going so far that I’ve heard word even low-rent distributors are thinking twice before picking up undead-based pictures for straight-to-DVD release. I’m glad it’s going to calm down on the flesh-eating front for a while, despite the zombie subgenre undoubtedly being my particular favourite. Related Stories George Romero’s …Of The Dead Movie Trailer Romero Reveals His Latest Plans For The Dead… And Virtual Reality Cool Stuff: Monroeville Zombie T-Shirts Cast and Plot Revealed for George Romero’s Island Zombie Movie George Romero’s Island Zombie Movie Quote: George Romero Says Zombies Can’t Run

Mark Romanek’s Never Let Me Go Shooting, Cast Added, TwitPics Posted

Shooting has this week started on Mark Romanek’s Never Let Me Go, an eerie but tender science fiction drama adapted from the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro. Already announced as starring were Keira Knightley, Andrew Garfield and Carey Mulligan, with Sally Hawkins, Nathalie Richard, Andrea Riseborough and Charlotte Rampling now named as members of the supporting cast by ScreenDaily. Staggering stuff - Garfield, Mulligan, Hawkins and Riseborough are amongst the very best of this new generation of UK actors. To see them all lined up to contribute, and collaborate with Romanek, teases me cruelly with an on the verge of nuts hope for the finished work. More details, and images, after the break. The novel’s story revolves round three friends growing up at a somewhat idyllic boarding school and then, later, their attempts to understand their place in the world. Suffice to say, it’s an odd, strange, sad but ultimately very identifiable role they are expected to play. I’m reticent to give away any more because having now read the novel, and as a result being powerfully moved, I on the verge of want to lure you into the movie as untouched as possible. (Having said that, I knew exactly what the big ideas in the book were going to be before I began reading, and I still wrenched me to the point that I’m sometimes put it down for a day or two, unable to either carry on or to stop thinking round it). The title Never Let Me Go comes from a song featured heavily in the novel, recorded by Judy Bridgwater who, to the best of my knowledge, is a fictional character. Presumably Romanek will have to cast a contemporary singer as Bridgwater’s voice and where I expect he might go for an unknown, or a session artist, he may just plump for a celebrity. I’m very curious to hear the song as featured in the film - an astonishing amount rests upon it, and I’m thankful somebody as knowledgable and sensitive to music as Romanek is in charge. Over the last couple of weeks or so, Romanek has been posting a series of mysterious images to his Twitter account. I fake they could possibly be from his location scouting for the film - they certainly seem to relate to some of the settings necessary - or simply just pictures he’s been taking of the UK while he’s been working here. Either way (and when they aren’t of Spike Jonze) many of them do evoke a perspective he’s presenting on the landscapes and architecture of this fair isle, and therefore perhaps provide a hint of the aesthetic we might expect from the movie. I’ve put some at the bottom of this post, and another at the head. I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again: Romanek is an uncommonly capable filmmaker, with a great sensitivity to imagery and an astonishing skill with the elements of style. One Hour Photo is undoubtedly one of the best films of the last decade, Never Let Me Go seems just as certain to be as impressive. Related Stories Mark Romanek Casts Keira Knightley, Carey Mulligan and Andrew Garfield in Never Let Me Go Mark Romanek to Adapt Never Let Me Go Twitter Update Danny Boyle Puts Teen Assassin On The Backburner For My Fair Lady? The Trades: McGregor and Mulligan in Electric Slide, Sex and the City 2, Hutton in Polanski’s Ghost Sundance Mini-Movie Review: An Education

Moon Man Jones Planning the Berlin Blade Runner

In a rather spoiler-heavy interview with Popular Mechanics, Duncan Jones not only digs deep into his upcoming debut movie, Moon, but reveals his ambitions for the follow up. “It looks like,” he says, “I’m going to be doing another science fiction film next.” Furthermore - he tantalizingly suggests that he intends to pick up where Blade Runner left off. Full quote after the break. I love Blade Runner, it’s one of my favorite films, and I’ve each time been really… depressed that there was never—not a sequel, because I don’t think it’s right to make a sequel prevalent Blade Runner, but no one’s really tried to make a film which was set in the same kind of world or had that same kind of field. So that’s what I’m doing, a big-city mystery story that takes place in a future Berlin. What is it with the Jones family men and Berlin, eh? Anyway, I beg to differ - there have been several films that moved onwards and upwards from Blade Runner. Perhaps the most obvious would be Terry Gilliam’s Brazil, and you’d expect Jones to remember that one in view of the coming quote: Ridley Scott has a copy of Moon right now, in point of fact. I’m a little nervous. I had three people I wanted to watch it: Ridley Scott, Terry Gilliam and Neil Gaiman. Neil Gaiman and Terry Gilliam have both watched it and loved it, so now I’m just waiting for Ridley Scott, which is the big one for me. That’s the really scary one. Perhaps he discounted Brazil because it isn’t set in ‘the future.’ Incidentally, on the DVD audio commentary track to Mirrormask, Gaiman refers to Jones as a friend (he also refers to Gilliam, which suggests something of a tight-knit group). That’s one secret decoder ring I’d wear with pride. Popular Mechanics being what it is, they do in reality speak to Jones quite a bit prevalent the fictional tech in Moon, and the logic behind it. They also apply to Jones prevalent a screening of the film at NASA, possibly some of the harshest critics the film could face. Rather good reading - if you aren’t scared of finding out some key plot points winning of the film’s release. Related Stories Movie Trailer: Duncan Jones’ Moon The News Vacuum: Miscellanious Deals, Rumors, Casting News, Film Flotsam…and Rambo V /Filmcast Ep. 46 - Observe and Report (GUESTS: Katey Rich from Cinemablend and Whitney Matheson from USA Today) Video Blog: Summer Movie Preview Part 2 - June 2009 Robert Rodriguez Talks Machete, Sin City 2 and Neveracker Sundance Review: Moon.

Cool Stuff: The USS Enterprise Art Project

You may have noticed that Paramount commissioned a couple dozen respected graffiti, FX, and pop artists to give custom paint jobs to the USS Enterprise, or a small 34-inch long scale model of the famous spaceship. The models have been on display at various parties, events and movie theaters to help promote the release of the upcoming JJ Abrams-directed Star Trek reboot. You may remember that LucasFilm held a similar promotion with Darth Vader helmets. The studio has launched an online subterfuges gallery collecting digital photos of the models. My favorite is #12, created by Amy Vatanakul — a Slusho styled spacecraft. As you probably know by now, JJ Abrams includes the fictional frozen drink in most of his films. The brand was also a key part of the Cloverfield viral campaign. It is even included in the bar scene in Star Trek. Other notable artists include #23 created by comic book artist Jim Lee and #4 which was painted by director Robert Rodriguez. I’ve included photos of those ships after the jump. Jim Lee: Robert Rodriguez: Cool Stuff is a daily feature of slashfilm.com. Know of any geekarific creations or cool products which should be featured on Cool Stuff? E-Mail us at orfilms@gmail.com. Related Stories /Filmcast Ep. 46 - Observe and Report (GUESTS: Katey Rich from Cinemablend and Whitney Matheson from USA Today) Star Trek on May 7th /Filmcast Ep. 45 - Fast and Furious (GUEST: Jen Yamato from Rotten Tomatoes) Star Trek IMAX Poster Doesn’t Even Try; Plus Seven New Photos Terminate or Trek Yourself Star Trek Clip #3: Spock Meets Scotty.

Steven Spielberg Thinks Transformers 2 Might Be Michael Bay’s Best Film; New Trailer Cut

Michael Bay screened Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen for Steven Spielberg today on the Sony Lot, and according to Bay, Steven loved it. “Steven Spielberg sat next to me in a big 100 person theater at Sony today,” wrote Bay on his online forum. “There were 98 empty seats. The lights came up after we just watched my cut of Revenge of the Fallen. He turned to me and said ‘It’s awesome’ He felt this movie was better then the first - and probably my best, who knows - at this point in a movie you start to lose your objectivity. I just hope the fans like it.” Of course, this is all according to the guy who made the movie. Bay went on to say that they just got done cutting a new trailer for the film, which will be fond of to X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which hits theaters on May 1st. So if you needed a reason to see Wolverine on the big screen, you might now have one. Related Stories BOOM!! - The Real Michael Bay Has Joined Twitter Michael Bay Thinks 3D “Might Be a Gimmick” Transformers 2: Michael Bay Confirms He’s a Liar, then… Lies Again? Michael Bay, You Sir, Are a Liar: Megatron Returns in Transformers 2 and New MTV Featurette Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Teaser Trailer Michael Bay Says Transformers 2 Will Be Bigger and Darker.

Awesome Movie Title Sequences

Many of the team here at FG HQ are movie fans. I myself am a loser for title sequences in movies and over the years there have been some epic intros to movies. An astounding title sequence will catch your breath from the first second and immediately put you in the right mood for what follows. Today I am listing my favourite movie intro titles. This list is by no means a list of the best movie title sequences, it’s MY list. Feel free to recommend more titles though. David Fincher Title Sequences David Fincher is a specialist and usually pulls all stops out when creating title sequences. Therefore he deserves no less than 3 mentions in our list. Fight Club The title sequence in Fight Club is not eternally heralded as his best title sequence but defines the spirit of the movie from the first second: fast, mind-screwing (psychedelic almost) and full of delightful visuals. The title sequence was budgetted separately from the movie and the budget was only granted after the first movie previews were shown to the studio. Panic Room The title sequence of Panic Room is rather simple but has a mysterious feel to it. The title sequence is composed of shots of Manhattan with the names of the actors. Simple but it works well and creates a perfect ambiente for what follows. Seven The title sequence of Seven is probably one of the best title sequences in history. As soon as the sequence starts you realize that this movie is something different, you are going to watch something special. Weird and practically gory. This thriller will rock your socks! Saul Bass Saul Bass is more than just a name when it comes to titles sequences. Bass was the first one to make an faculty out of title sequences, he’s a legend. It would be way too boring and make our list too long if we added all the intro sequences by Saul Bass, so I will limit myself to only two. Vertigo The Master, Alfred Hitchcock, himself has worked regularly with Saul Bass, this resulting in several formidable title sequences. Although most of times the intro sequence of Psycho mentioned is to illustrate this formidable collaboration, I in actuality do prefer the work Bass did for the Vertigo opening credits. North by Northwest I don’t think this title and intro sequence requires any more information as it is mentioned on every single list. 37Signals. Tomas Cobb: The Island of Dr. Moreau There probably is very little one has to know to this movie. The movie was utterly uninteresting and boring, some might call it amusing, but the intro to the movie is ace and contains some astounding type motion. Dominic Sena: Swordfish The intro sequence of Swordfish admittedly lacked in creativity but the content, John Travolta’s dialogue, was so much better for it: biting criticism on Hollywood’s quality… in a Hollywood blockbuster. Casino Royale Casino Royale was the 21st film of the James Bond franchise and the first one with Daniel Craig. The reboot of the franchise was not only a great movie in the real Bond spirit with an formidable Craig. For the title sequence Daniel Kleinman used the original design of Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale, using cards and hearts. In the intro credits the silhouettes of the actors were integrated in the shadows of several digitally lively sequences. Kyle Cooper: Mimic Mimic is a 1997 science fiction horror movie directed by Guillermo del Toro. The title sequence make subtle usage of typography, insects and repeated patters. Although Guillermo del Toro not happy was with the movie, this intro is definitely worthwhile. We could not find an embeddable version of the intro, click the image below to watch the title sequence at The Art of the Title. Image credits: The Art of the Title Trainspotting is an often forgotten title sequence, mainly because of the very strong toilet scene immediately after the title credits. The intro perfectly resumes the pace and ridiculousity/hilarity of the movie at times though. Catch Me If You Can As far as I’m concerned a rather forgettable movie by Spielberg if it weren’t for the catching Pink Panther-alike title sequence. The Fall The Fall is what you get when you combine some of the best directors of the last 2 decades: Spike Jonze, David Fincher and Tarsem Singh. Make everything in black and white and you’re sure not to be disappointed. Lord of War The intro sequence of Lord of War can be resumed in some words only: Life of a bullet. In these few minutes you get taken on the bullet cam and follow the complete manufacturing process of a bullet Dawn of The Dead: Remake Zack Snyder’s remake start with an epic title sequence. Natural Born Killers Oliver Stone’s rendition of Tarantino’s script was full of wicked imaginery and ardency, spiced up with lots of humour. The title scene to this thriller is no exception to this. The Naked Gun 33 1/3 Most hilarious title sequence ever.