Arctic Air is coming back for a second season.

The Canadian adventure-drama series Arctic Air has been renewed for a second season. The show, which airs on CBC, is centered on a Yellowknife-based maverick airline.

The first season of Arctic Air was watched by the largest audience for a new CBC drama series in 15 years. According to a press release, it premiered to more than 1.2 million viewers in January and then drew an average audience of 965,000 viewers each week.

Over the course of the first season almost 7.3 million viewers tuned in to some part of the program, according to the CBC. That is about 22% of the population or about 1 in 5 Canadians.

“With a star-studded cast, stunning aerial footage and the incredible natural beauty of the Northwest Territories, we were confident that Canadians would make Arctic Air fly high. This is a terrific achievement and we congratulate everyone involved with the production of this outstanding show,” said Trevor Walton, CBC’s Executive Director, Commissioned and Scripted Programming.

Arctic Air stars Adam Beach (Cowboys and Aliens, Flags of our Fathers, Law & Order: SVU), Pascale Hutton (Fringe, Rookie Blue, Sanctuary) and Kevin McNulty (The Killing, End Game, Battlestar Galactica). It was created by Ian Weir and produced by Omni Film in development with CBC.

Omni Film Productions is also one of the companies behind the upcoming sci-fi spinoff Primeval: New World, which is currently filming in Vancouver. Omni is producing and developing that series in association with Bell Media, German broadcaster ProSieben, and UK channel Watch.

Both Season Two of Arctic Air and Primeval: New World are expected to debut later this year. The latter will air in Canada on SPACE.

Company is coming to Haven for Audrey Parker (Emily Rose).

The creepy Maine town of Haven is getting a new resident: Bree Williamson is moving in. The actress, who has previously been seen in Gossip Girl and One Life to Live, joins stars Emily Rose, Lucas Bryant and Eric Balfour in the upcoming third season of the show that bears the town’s name. She will play psychiatrist Dr. Claire Callahan.

Haven, which airs on Showcase in Canada and Syfy in the U.S., is loosely based on the novella The Colorado Kid by Stephen King. The titular seaside town has a chequered history as a result of the so-called ‘troubles’ that afflict the local residents. Front and center in events is former FBI agent Audrey Parker (Rose) who becomes a cop in the town and soon discovers it has many secrets, some of which have an odd connection to her past.

According to a press release, Dr. Callahan becomes a close friend and confidant to Parker. She also uses her skills to help “profile” potential perpetrators and, as a psychiatrist, she helps the troubled citizens of Haven deal with their supernatural afflictions.

Season three of Haven will pick up immediately following the events of the season two finale with Audrey having been brutally kidnapped. Meanwhile, the rougish Duke (Eric Balfour) is seemingly engaged in a fight to the death with local cop Nathan Wournos (Bryant) after he discovers his family lineage is to kill Haven citizens with troubles.

Haven is expected to return to Showcase and Syfy this summer. It is filmed in Nova Scotia.

These guys won't be coming back to Alcatraz.

Well, we can’t say we’re surprised by this news: FOX has cancelled Alcatraz. The network has condemned the entertaining but not quite convincing sci-fi-mystery-procedural mash-up to the usually inescapable prison of TV history after only one season (or really just a half-season, given that it ran for only 13 episodes).The cancellation was widely expected because of the series’ so-so ratings.

Alcatraz took time to grow on yours truly but eventually the combination of intriguing mystery and neatly constructed flashbacks built up enough steam to keep me coming back. Even so, the present day sequences didn’t quite add up and the lead characters were neither entirely convincing or particularly interesting. In the final analysis, Alcatraz was a decent show but not a great one. For too many TV watchers, that was seemingly not enough.

Now that its fate has been confirmed, Alcatraz joins Terra Nova as the second high-profile sci-fi series to be chopped by FOX this season. The failure of both shows proves that having a big name attached to the credits is no guarantee of success: Alcatraz was executive produced by J.J. Abrams, while FOX’s dino drama had amongst is producers Brannon Braga, René Echevarria and Steven Speilberg.

The cast of Alcatraz included Sarah Jones, Jorge Garcia, the excellent Jonny Coyne, Parminder Nagra, Sam Neill and Robert Forster. Although set in San Francisco, it was shot in Vancouver.

In better news, FOX announced that it has renewed the Kiefer Sutherland drama Touch. The network has also already promised us 13 more episodes of Fringe. Dinosaur fans in Canada and Britain shouldn’t forget, too, that Primeval spinoff Primeval: New World is in production and could be debuting on your screens later this year.

Are you disappointed Alcatraz has gone? Are you excited to see more Touch? Sound off below.

Source: zap2it.com

Daniel Craig as James Bond 007 in a still from Skyfall. The actor has defended the film's use of product placement.

James Bond may have thwarted the evil plans of S.P.E.C.T.R.E. and Quantum, but another powerful global entity is lurking that will always trump the superspy’s best game, time and time again: movie marketing.

Movies cost money to make. Lots and lots of money. And as we all know, increasing product placement has become an unfortunate byproduct of that necessity. Bond star Daniel Craig has recently come under scrutiny for taking $45M worth of product placement deals from Dutch brewer Heineken to help finance the 23rd installment in the 007 franchise, Skyfall.

Craig told Moviefone that marketing such products in blockbuster movies is simply a necessary evil.

“We have relationships with a number of companies so that we can make this movie,” said Craig. “The simple fact is that, without them, we couldn’t do it. It’s unfortunate but that’s how it is.”

So, Bond will swig a Heineken and we’ll all get to enjoy, hopefully, a terrific movie experience.

“This movie costs a lot of money to make, it costs as nearly as much again if not more to promote, so we go where we can,” Craig added, matter-of-factly. “The great thing is that Bond is a drinker, he always has been, it’s part of who he is, rightly or wrongly, you can make your own judgment about it, having a beer is no bad thing, in the movie it just happens to be Heineken.”

One can’t really argue with that logic. Truthfully, product placement is not necessarily a big issue, when it is integrated organically. In fact, it often feels more real than when products are intentionally obscured, like, for example, when an actor is shooting with a camera and the camera’s name is blacked out. You’re more likely to be taken out of the film in that sort of situation, than if a scene requires a product, and that product happens to exist in the real world.

We actually considered Photoshopping the above image to show Daniel Craig holding a Heineken, but didn’t think we could get the Dutch company to pay for product placement on CinemaSpy.

Robert De Niro

Yesterday, it was reported that Michael Douglas may be playing the lead in Jon Turtletaub’s ensemble comedy Last Vegas for CBS Films. Today, Vulture is reporting that Robert De Niro in in negotiations to play one of Douglas’ bachelor party-attending buddies, in what is essentially The Hangover meets Grumpy Old Men.

Multiple sources are suggesting that Christopher Walken could also join the ensemble as the third of four long-time buddies who gather in Vegas for a bachelor party blow-out.

Should the three sign aboard, it will leave just one more septuagenarian male role to be cast in the film, that of African-American Air Force vet Archibald Clay.

Can a bachelor buddy film for the Geritol crowd earn box office green? Let us know your thoughts below.

Jeremy Renner and Edward Norton in a scene from The Bourne Legacy.

Universal Pictures has unveiled new photos from The Bourne Legacy, the fourth installment in the Jason Bourne franchise that stars Jeremy Renner. You can check out the photos to your left and below, the one to your left featuring the first look at Edward Norton.

The new movie is directed by Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton), who discussed with MTV how The Bourne Legacy fleshes out the larger universe of machinations in which Jason Bourne operated.

“Everything that happened was completely real, but you thought you knew what was going on,” Gilroy explained. “You thought you were seeing the world, and this movie is telling you that there’s a much larger world, a much larger conspiracy beyond this.”

“The events of the other three films are incredibly present, but they’re not really in this very much,” he added. “What happens in ‘Bourne Ultimatum’ is really the spark that’s blowing open the door to this movie because the Jason Bourne story is exploding out into the public. Being impossible to conceal any further is causing problems for this much larger conspiracy.”

The Bourne Legacy co-stars Rachel Weisz, Oscar Isaac, and Joan Allen.

The film arrives in theaters August 3.

Darren Aronofsky is in negotiations with Paramount pictures to produce and direct a biopic about George Washington.

With the popularity of historical mashups these days — Abraham Lincoln fighting vampires and zombies invading Jane Austen novels — it seems almost surprising to hear of a George Washington biopic that doesn’t feature werewolves or aliens.

Yet that is precisely the case with Adam Cooper and Bill Collage’s script “The General”, to which Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan, The Wrestler) is attached to produce and direct. According to Variety, Paramount Pictures is currently in negotiations to acquire the project.

Paramount has a first-look deal with Aronofsky. If the studio doesn’t close a deal in the next couple of days, other studios will have a chance to bid on the project.

Plot details are being kept under wraps, but sources tell the trade that the script is similar to “Unforgiven”, as opposed to a straightforward historical drama.

Cooper and Collage’s were the scripting team behind Tower Heist and Accepted.

Should this biopic fail to launch, Aronofsky has several projects from which to choose right now, including the Jackie Kennedy story Jackie, the half man/half robot pic Machine Man and the sci-fi tale Human Nature.

James Cameron

In a new interview with MTV, James Cameron revealed his thoughts on Battle Angel, the Manga adaptation that he has been developing. The director told the site that while the project is still very much in the cards, it will have to wait until after he is done with the two back-to-back sequels to his smash sci-fi hit, Avatar. And for fans, that means Battle Angel is still a ways off.

“‘Battle Angel’ is just a great, kick-ass story,” said Cameron, “…[But] I see the good that the ‘Avatar’ franchise can do in terms of keeping a world audience cognizant of our relationship with nature, but doing it in an entertainment context. Ultimately, I think there’s more good to be done there than with ‘Battle Angel’.”

Based on the Japanese Manga by Yukito Kishiro, Battle Angel is set in a cyborg-dominated 26th century, 300 years after society fell to a catastrophic war. The main character is a young girl in a cyborg body who, after being found in wreckage and repaired, realizes that she has lost her memory and doesn’t even know who she really is.

Laeta Kalogridis has written the latest updates to the screenplay for the project, which would combine the first three graphic volumes of Kishiro’s work, “Ido,” “Alita” and “Hugo.”

Asked if he might step back and turn directorial duties for Battle Angel over to someone else, Cameron answered with an emphatic “no.”

“It would have to be pried out of my cold, dead fingers,” he says, “but on the other hand I don’t want to take it to my grave, either.”

Michael Fassbender stars in Prometheus.

This might be the summer of the superhero, but sci-fi fans have much to be excited about, too. With director Ridley Scott’s Alien prequel, Prometheus, set to arrive in theaters on June 8, anticipation is high in many quarters to see if the filmmaker can do in 2012 what he did in 1979; that is, create a seminal sci-fi/horror epic that will stand the test of time.

Meanwhile, Twentieth Century Fox is wasting no time pushing the viral campaign for the film. Today, a new ad, “David” has surfaced, thanks to the folks over at Mashable, which showcases the latest generation android (played by Michael Fassbender) from the Weyland Corporation. Watch the the ad below, which is (as might be expected) predictably a bit creepy, and also check out some of the new artwork, too.

Story synopsis: Prometheus takes a team of scientists and explorers on a thrilling journey that will test their physical and mental limits and strand them on a distant world, where they will discover the answers to our most profound questions and to life’s ultimate mystery.

Prometheus also stars Noomi Rapace, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-Green and Charlize Theron.

The film opens in conventional, 3D and IMAX 3D theaters June 8.

James Cameron has offered Arnold Schwarzenegger advise concerning the next Terminator film.

In a recent interview with MTV, filmmaker James Cameron (Titanic, Avatar) offered his thoughts about where a new Terminator film should take the franchise.

Though he won’t be involved himself, he has spoken with Arnold Schwarzenegger about this subject, advising that the focus should be on the T-800.

“I was trying to be as encouraging as possible. Frankly, at that time, I thought it needed to be more about him,” Cameron said. “I told him he should not do it until it’s focused on his character or he shouldn’t do it. I think there are some great stories that can be told about that character that haven’t even been thought of yet.”

To watch the interview, click on the player below, then let us know where you think the Terminator franchise should go next.

Iron Man and Thor do battle in a scene from The Avengers.

In what is probably the most exciting Avengers clip yet to be released from Marvel Studios (courtesy of iTunes), Iron Man and Thor do battle on a mountain top. This is likely before Captain America arrives on the scene. Everything about the clip — which you can watch using the player below — is exciting and well choreographed. Composer Alan Silvestri’s epic score seems perfectly suited to the action as well.

In a cool little twist, the energy from Thor’s hammer actually appears to charge Tony Stark’s suit, though the two heroes seem fairly evenly matched, overall. Writer/director Joss Whedon seems to balance the whole encounter nicely.

Story summary: When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as SHIELD, finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins.

The Avengers stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Cobie Smulders and Samuel L. Jackson.

The film arrives in conventional, 3D and IMAX 3D theaters on May 4, a scant 18 days from now.

Also starring Socratis Otto, Yvonne Strahovski and Miranda Otto, the project tells the modern-day tale of Dr. Frankenstein’s creature, who nearly centuries after his “birth”, has found himself in a gothic city, caught up in a war between two immortal clans.

Though the film is based upon the comic by Kevin Grevioux, Eckhart has told the press that he is basing the character on Mary Shelley’s original “Frankenstein” novel.

I, Frankenstein is scheduled to be released in theaters on February 22, 2013.

Emily Blunt

Emily Blunt is in talks to join Tom Cruise in director Doug Liman’s sci-fi/action project, All You Need Is Kill, reports Variety. The film is an adaptation of the Japanese graphic novel by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, and is described as follows:

There’s one thing worse than dying. It’s coming back to do it again and again… When the alien Gitai invade, Keiji Kiriya is just one of many raw recruits shoved into a suit of battle armor and sent out to kill. Keiji dies on the battlefield, only to find himself reborn each morning to fight and die again and again. On the 158th iteration though, he sees something different, something out of place: the female soldier known as the B*tch of War. Is the B*tch the key to Keiji’s escape, or to his final death?

Blunt will play a soldier who fights alongside Cruise.

Joby Harold and Dante Harper wrote the script. Erwin Stoff, Tom Lassally and Jason Hoffs are producing through 3 Arts Entertainment.

Cruise has another sci-fi/graphic novel adaptation in the hopper right now, too, director Joseph Kosinksi’s Oblivion.

Bane (Tom Hardy) and Batman (Christian Bale) go mano-a-mano in The Dark Knight Rises.

If you’ve been wondering how the character of Bane in The Dark Knight Rises will differ from The Joker in terms of how Batman is threatened, then you’ll be interested to read actor Tom Hardy’s remarks during a recent interview with EW. Hardy — who plays the antagonist Bane — draws a clear differentiation between his villain in the forthcoming film with the clown prince of crime that Heath Ledger played in The Dark Knight.

“The Joker didn’t care,” Hardy explains. “He just wanted to see the world burn, and he was a master of chaos and destruction, unscrupulous and crazy. Bane is not that guy. There is a very meticulous and calculated way about Bane. There is a huge orchestration of organization to his ambition. He is also a physical threat to Batman. There is nothing vague about Bane. No jokes. He’s a very clean, clear villain.”

Directed by Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight Rises also stars Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Anne Hathaway, Gary Oldman, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Morgan Freeman.

The film opens in both conventional and IMAX theaters on July 20.

Bill Murray remains vague about his participation in a second Ghostbusters sequel.

There have been rumblings for years now about a new Ghostbusters sequel, and both Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray have talked, albeit somewhat circuitously, about the status of said project, but at the end of the day it never quite seems as though the project — said to focus on a younger generation of ghostbusters — gains any traction.

Back in February, Dan Aykroyd was quoted as saying that Bill Murray would not be involved with Ghostbusters 3, yet Murray himself has revealed to WGN TV (via The Playlist) that it is indeed still a “possibility.”

Aykroyd previously said that the film was in “suspended animation. The studio, director Ivan Reitman and Harold Ramis feel there must be a way to do it, but Bill Murray will not do the movie. He doesn’t want to be involved.”

Bearing in mind, of course, that many things are a “possibility,” Murray is artful during the interview and merely refuses to say that he won’t do a second sequel.

Given Ghostbusters 2 rather “spiritless” implementation, it’s not hard to understand Murray’s lack of enthusiasm for a franchise that may no longer be viable to a young, contemporary audience.

Story synopsis: The Amazing Spider-Man is the story of Peter Parker (Garfield), an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Sheen) and Aunt May (Field). Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy (Stone), and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents’ disappearance – leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors (Ifans), his father’s former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors’ alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.

Directed by Marc Webb, the film arrives in conventional, 3D and IMAX 3D theaters on July 3, and stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Irrfan Khan, Martin Sheen and Sally Field.

Sean Penn

It seems the plan may be to surround Kinnaman with major Hollywood talent, a proven strategy for over 30 years now when it comes to box office appeal. According to Tracking-Board, Edward Norton, Gael Garcia Bernal (Babel), Rebecca Hall (The Town) and Sean Penn are in talks to join the cast.

If cast, Norton will play a character also named “Norton”, a brilliant mastermind behind bringing RoboCop to life.

Bernal would likely play Jack Lewis, Alex Murphy’s handsome police partner who eventually begins a relationship with Murphy’s former wife, to be played by Hall.

Meanwhile, Sean Penn may end up in the role of Novack, a right-wing news reporter.

Eric Newman (Children of Men) and Marc Abraham (Dawn of the Dead) are producing the film.

RoboCop is scheduled to arrive in theaters on August 9, 2013.

Meanwhile, a fourth clip from Marvel’s The Avengers has arrived online courtesy of Digital Spy, and features Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Captain America (Chris Evans) taking on Loki’s army in the streets of New York. You can watch it using the player directly beneath.

And if you missed our recent coverage (including positive early critical response to the film’s premiere), you can find more coverage here and here.

In the film, an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, leading Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as SHIELD, to put together a very special team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins.

The Joss Whedon-helmed adventure also stars Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Cobie Smulders and Samuel L. Jackson.

To say we’re getting excited about this release is an understatement. Let us know your thoughts to all the positive early buzz in the comments section below.

The Avengers opens in both conventional, 3D and IMAX 3D theaters on May 4.

Brave is scheduled for release on June 22.

Disney/Pixar has sent us a new character featurette for their upcoming animated adventure Brave. You can see it below along with character poses and concept art that we also received this week and new banners that were released by Disney/Pixar last week.

The featurette, subtitled Merida’s Brave Story, introduces us to the passionate and fiery titular character. Merida is described in the official biography as “a headstrong teenager of royal upbringing who is struggling to take control of her own destiny.” Merida will be voiced by Kelly Macdonald.

According to Disney/Pixar, “[Merida] feels most at home in the outdoors honing her impressive athletic skills as an archer and swordfighter, and racing across the magnificent Highland countryside with her faithful horse, Angus. With a spirit as vibrant as her untamed hair, Merida also has a softness of heart, especially when it comes to her wee triplet brothers. As the daughter of the King and Queen, her life is weighted with responsibilities and expectations, causing her to yearn to preserve her freedom and independence. When Merida blatantly defies an ancient tradition, the consequences of her actions prove disastrous for the kingdom. She must race against time to make right the result of her reckless behavior, her journey compelling her to look inside to discover the meaning of bravery and reveal her true fate.”

Brave follows the heroic journey of Merida, a skilled archer and headstrong daughter of King Fergus (voice of Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (voice of Emma Thompson). Determined to carve her own path in life, Merida defies an age-old custom sacred to the unruly and uproarious lords of the land: massive Lord MacGuffin (voice of Kevin McKidd), surly Lord Macintosh (voice of Craig Ferguson) and cantankerous Lord Dingwall (voice of Robbie Coltrane). Merida’s actions inadvertently unleash chaos and fury in the kingdom, and when she turns to an eccentric Witch (voice of Julie Walters) for help, she is granted an ill-fated wish. The ensuing peril forces Merida to harness all of her skills and resources – including her clever and mischievous triplet brothers – to undo a beastly curse before it’s too late, discovering the meaning of true bravery.

Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman have directed Brave, with Katherine Sarafian producing. Andrews served as story supervisor for the Disney/Pixar films Ratatouille and The Incredibles, and was Oscar-nominated as the co-writer/co-director of the Pixar short One Man Band. He also contributed to the screenplay as co-screenwriter and served as second unit director for John Carter. Chapman directed DreamWorks Animation’s The Prince of Egypt and was story supervisor for the Disney classic The Lion King. Sarafian produced the Oscar-nominated Pixar short film Lifted and served as production manager for The Incredibles.

Brave will be released on June 22, 2012, and will be presented in Disney Digital 3D™ in select theatres.

NOTE: All images are copyright 2012 Disney/Pixar or as otherwise indicated.

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Also of note: Walt Disney Pictures and Marvel Studios have released 20 minutes of behind-the-scenes B-Roll footage for the film, which you can watch in four parts below, thanks to Coming Soon. At the same time, Robert Downey Jr. told the site today: “We’re actually not done shooting. We’re shooting another scene tonight. I’m not kidding.”

Presumably this is for a final scene at the very close of the film’s credits, where Marvel typically likes to add some content that teases a future installment from the franchise(s).

Meanwhile, during a Reddit Ask Me Anything session Tuesday, director Joss Whedon spoke about working with such a stellar cast on The Avengers.

“Handling that many stars was easy, because they looked after each other. They cared about the work. They one time did what I said (well, asked). No, it really was a dream ensemble. … [It was] like herding adorable kittens.”

Last, but not least, when asked by The New York Times if he has discussed making another Avengers movie with Marvel, Whedon said the following:

They’ve mentioned it. I’ve told them, never in a million years because I’m so tired. [laughs] They’ve talked about it enough to make me feel wanted, but not so much that they’ve signed themselves away, in case this thing bombs.

Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and the Hulk in a scene from The Avengers.

Speaking about the film’s fight scenes (we’ve all seen the clip where Black Widow kicks some serious bad guy ass with her hands tied behind a chair), Johansson told the trade the following:

“I think just kind of going back day after day, knowing that you’re going to get the crap kicked out of you and you do it willingly is sort of a challenge in itself, a mental challenge. But also I have to say that every time you fail at a stunt, it hurts until you get it right.”

Meanwhile, Mark Ruffalo told THR that he wanted to use motion capture to bring his character to life “in a way that we haven’t seen it before.”

“There was a lot of talk about whether Marvel wanted The Hulk to look like the actor and [director] Joss [Whedon] and I felt very strongly that it should,” he said.

Ruffalo was shown a big sculpture of what he would look like as The Hulk. “I got a huge, huge smile on my face,” he remarked, but added that “It scared the hell out of me, as well.” The actor joked that it reminded him of his dad when “he was really mad.”

The Avengers arrives in theaters May 4. As we previously reported, early critical response has been exceptionally positive.

And speaking of tough, there’s the movie’s chief henchman, Bane, as played by Tom Hardy. In the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, the character is seen taking hostages in what appears to be Gotham’s equivalent of the New York Stock Exchange. You can check out the new images, courtesy of EW (via Batman-News.com), below.

Director Christopher Nolan, notorious for playing his cards close to the vest when it comes to plot points, chose his words carefully when speaking to the magazine about the character.

“So what can I not tell you about my film,” Nolan said. “[Bane] represents formidable physical strength, combined with absolute evil of intention,” he would only offer. Well, we sort of already knew that.

The Dark Knight Rises stars Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Juno Temple, Josh Pence, Daniel Sunjata, Nestor Carbonell, Matthew Modine, Tom Conti, Joey King, Brett Cullen, Chris Ellis, Josh Stewart, Christopher Judge, Adam Rodriguez and Rob Brown.

The film arrives in both conventional and IMAX theaters July 20.

The film — starring Sir Anthony Hopkins and Dame Helen Mirren — also has a new, one word title. It will simply be called Hitchcock. If you hadn’t noticed already, Hollywood has a current preference for one-word titles. This one happens to work for us.

The film will be directed by first-time helmer, Sacha Gervasi. Production will begin in Los Angeles on Friday.

Gervasi co-wrote Steven Spielberg’s 2004 film The Terminal and also won the Best Documentary award at the 2010 Independent Spirit Awards for Anvil! The Story of Anvil.

Below is the full announcement:

Fox Searchlight Pictures and Montecito Pictures announced today that principal photography for the drama HITCHCOCK will start on April 13th in Los Angeles. The film will star Academy Award® winners Sir Anthony Hopkins as Alfred Hitchcock and Dame Helen Mirren as his wife, Alma. Sacha Gervasi, whose big screen debut, ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL won the 2010 Best Documentary Feature prize at the Independent Spirit Awards, will direct from a screenplay by John McLaughlin, revisions by Ryan Murphy, Stephen Rebello and Sacha Gervasi, based on the book Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho by Stephen Rebello. Ivan Reitman, Tom Pollock and Joe Medjuck of Montecito Pictures (UP IN THE AIR) will produce along with Tom Thayer and Alan Barnette. Ali Bell and Richard Middleton will be executive producers. The film will be co-financed by Fox Searchlight Pictures and Cold Spring Pictures. HITCHCOCK will be released worldwide by Fox Searchlight Pictures.

Claudia Lewis, President of Production and David Greenbaum, Senior Vice President of Production are overseeing the project for Fox Searchlight Pictures.

HITCHCOCK is a love story about one of the most influential filmmakers of the last century, Alfred Hitchcock and his wife and partner Alma Reville. The film takes place during the making of Hitchcock’s seminal movie PSYCHO.

The film will also star Scarlett Johansson (LOST IN TRANSLATION) as Janet Leigh, James D’Arcy (MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD) as Anthony Perkins, Jessica Biel (THE ILLUSIONIST ) as Vera Miles, Michael Stuhlbarg (A SERIOUS MAN) as Lew Wasserman, Toni Collette (LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE) as Hitchcock’s secretary Peggy, Michael Wincott (THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO) as Ed Gein, Kurtwood Smith (TO DIE FOR) as Geoffrey Shurlock, Richard Portnow (GOOD MORNING VIETNAM) as Barney Balaban and Danny Huston (THE CONSTANT GARDENER) as Whitfield Cook.

Sir Anthony Hopkins received the Academy Award for Best Actor for THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and subsequent nominations for THE REMAINS OF THE DAY and NIXON. Hopkins has previously starred in HANNIBAL, MEET JOE BLACK, INSTINCT, TITUS, HOWARD’S END, BRAM STROKER’S DRACULA, LEGENDS OF THE FALL and THE ROAD TO WELLVILLE.

Dame Helen Mirren received the Academy Award for Best Actress for THE QUEEN and was also nominated for THE LAST STATION. She has been nominated for Best Supporting Actress for THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE and GOSFORD PARK. Most recently, she starred in THE DEBT. Mirren played the iconic role of Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison over seven miniseries in the acclaimed British drama “Prime Suspect.”

Sacha Gervasi made his feature film directorial debut with the Independent Spirit Award® winning ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL in 2009. He began his career as a screenwriter with the film THE BIG TEASE with Craig Ferguson, and later, he scripted the screenplay for Steven Spielberg’s THE TERMINAL in 2004.

According to posters, the Hulk is surprisingly good, and the film — in typical Marvel tradition — contains a surprise scene after the credits are done.

Below are a few of the tweets thus far:

FirstShowing: The Avengers – Epic. EPIC! Everyone fights everyone, but it does deliver. Marvel’s movies get better every single one. Hulk! HULK!!

BadassDigest: AVENGERS is good enough to make me forgive IRON MAN 2.

AintItCool: THE AVENGERS. Finally, a Marvel film with a rousing finish. That third act is more than enough to make THE AVENGERS the best Marvel movie yet.

SlashFilm: I’d tweet about The Avengers but my body is still recovering from non-stop geeking out. So, so, so much fun (for the most part).

Variety: It’s the bomb. I could not possibly say enough. Not a false note. Innovative. BRUTAL. And goddamn funny. Hype = believe it.

SlashFilm: The Avengers is pretty epic. There is probably more action in this film’s climax than all the other Marvel movie combines!

Entertainment Weekly: Just got out of #Avengers premiere. Liked.

GeekDad: So much awesome.

Collider: Absolutely loved THE AVENGERS. Was smiling from beginning to end. Two things that made #THEAVENGERS amazing: the Hulk and the humor. Joss Whedon gets a 10 out of 10 on both of those.

Seth Green: So that was AMAZING. Like, double plus awesome. Thank you Joss Whedon for giving us all the #Avengers movie we deserve.

XXLMag: Just getting out of “The Avengers” world premiere. Thought the film was major. LOT of action, laughs and surprises. Hulk stole the show.

Meanwhile, enjoy the extended clip below of Loki and Tony Stark exchanging witticisms, all part of Joss Whedon’s signature style. And below that, a short featurette that includes an interview with Joss Whedon.

According to Deadline, the show will be a series of heist stories, described by Kirkman as follows: “Much like The Walking Dead brought horror to television in a unique and groundbreaking way, I feel Thief of Thieves can do the same thing for heist stories, showing the humanity of all the characters, including the criminals.”

The story “centers on master thief Conrad Paulson who, while attempting to reconcile with his estranged wife and son, vows to walk the straight and narrow, only to discover he’s completely addicted to the thrill of stealing. Now he must feed his addiction by stealing only what has been stolen, as the Thief of Thieves.”

The comic is being written by Nick Spencer, with artwork created by Shawn Martinbrough. Chic Eglee will come aboard as the potential series showrunner, and will executive produce alongside Kirkman and Walking Dead executive producer David Alpert.

We love the ode to Saul Bass in the comic cover, and the concept sounds like a terrific premise for a television series as well. Much as the 1968-70 series It Takes a Thief revolved around master larcenist Alexander Mundy (Robert Wagner) being recruited to steal for the CIA to avoid being prosecuted as a burglar, Paulson’s attempt to reconcile with his wife and son provide the unique hook in this particular series.

We’re looking forward to seeing what they come up with.

Meanwhile, speaking of all things Saul Bass and ’60s-inspired, check out the title sequence below from It Takes a Thief.

Will Ferrell stars in Anchorman.

The film’s budget has ballooned to $50M, significantly higher than the $35M that studio DreamWorks had planned on. “Originally, I was saying, ‘Hey, $80 million budget because it’ll be period, and you gotta pay the stars,’ and they were, like, ‘Are you crazy?’” McKay told THR. “And then quickly I was like: ‘All right, fine, $60 million, and we can make it work. We’ll all take pay cuts,’ and they were still like, ‘Are you out of your mind?’”

Paramount Pictures agreed to a backend participation in the film, which made it feasible for the cast to return, and a February start date has been tentatively set.

Stars Ferrell and McKay got together for two months at Ferrell’s house to cobble together a first draft.

“We have a basic idea,” McKay adds to THR, and admits that the sequel might bring back Christina Applegate’s Veronica Corningstone character. “We’re staying roughly period, and I would just say it’s the next stage in the development of American media and news. The fun of these characters is they confront change very poorly.”

Speaking with Salon, McKay said, “Keep in mind we’re still writing the story, but I’ll say one phrase for you: custody battle. I’ll give you that. I’ll give you one other one: bowling for dollars.”

The studio plans to release Anchorman 2 during the summer of 2014.

The publication has also revealed a few new tidbits of info about the film…including a bit more of the rationale behind Bane’s (Tom Hardy) mumbly voice. “The audience mustn’t be too concerned about the mumbly voice,” Hardy emphasizes, adding that part of the influence on the sound is Bane’s comic-book-loyal Caribbean upbringing. “As the film progresses, I think you’ll be able to tune to its setting.”

“It’s a risk, because we could be laughed at — or it could be very fresh and exciting,” the actor says.

No word on whether Christian Bale’s Batman will sport the same gravely voice he did during The Dark Knight, which many moviegoers found annoying. Hopefully not, as struggling to understand both the protagonist and antagonist could make for unintended guffaws.

Meanwhile, according to Hathaway, the character of Selina Kyle is less caricature and more “world-class criminal,” which is good to hear, and frankly, what we would expect from a Nolan film.

“She has a very strong way of protecting herself and those she cares about,” Nolan states, “which implies an underlying darkness.”

The Dark Knight Rises arrives in theaters on July 20, and also stars Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard and Juno Temple.

James Bond (Daniel Craig) and the classic Aston Martin DB5.

In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of James Bond, this week several online news sites are slowly beginning to trickle out information about their recent visits to the set of Skyfall—the 23rd installment in the legendary 007 franchise. Included in this story are some new photos from the film, a sampling of which you can see on this page.

We’re loving the return of the classic Aston Martin DB5 in the film (which first appeared in 1964′s Goldfinger), and hope it gets more action than the quick circular cameo it had in Casino Royale. It’s a great homage to classic Bond.

Now if they would only use Shirley Bassey for the theme (we can dream).

Using the player at the bottom of this page you will also find some exclusive Skyfall on-set video interviews.

Here’s what our peers had to say:

Coming Soon:

James Bond (Daniel Craig) looking very serious as 007.

…we had a chance to walk around a few of the existing sets, which included a casino in Macao, a ghost town on Hashima Island in Japan, and they even recreated a part of the London Underground within Pinewood’s largest space, conveniently dubbed the “007 Stage.” It was in that last location where we watched a little bit of filming of a chase scene between Bond and Skyfall’s main villain, Raoul Silva, played by Javier Bardem.

Empire:

We toured sets — including a weirdly convincing fibreglass tube train, a partially flooded subterranean tunnel and a platform of Temple Station, all constructed on the gargantuan 007 Stage — then were also treated to a small but impressive explosion, during a scene in which Bond (Daniel Craig) desperately pursues this movie’s big bad, Silva (Javier Bardem).

“Visually we’re in very safe hands because Roger Deakins is shooting this movie, which is just phenomenal,” said Daniel Craig this morning. “It has a classic feel to it. I won’t lie to you: we’ve tried to sort of bring some of the feelings of older Bond movies into this film — but this is a modern movie.”

Ralph Fiennes as one of the villains from Skyfall.

Daily Mail:

…fans were given a sneak peak of Fiennes in action as the agent in new still from the movie which show him pressed up at a door frame pointing his gun.

…he added about the film itself: ‘If you’re a Bond fan then you’ll be happy. I can tell you that John Logan has written a fantastic screenplay and Sam Mendes is a class act. They’re doing something quite special I think. I think they’re going to be great for Bond.’

Directed by Sam Mendes, Skyfall arrives in North American theaters on November 9.

Speculating on what those words may tell us about the film is always fun, and one must assume that the word “sensuality” likely comes with the addition of the cat-suited Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway). The violence — as most of you probably already know — is a direct reference to the bone-crushing, wrecking ball like physique & persona of Bane (Tom Hardy) who lays the beat-down on our favorite Bat. Action, well, that’s self-explanatory, it’s a Batman film, after all.

In 2005, Batman Begins garnered a PG-13 rating due to “intense action violence, disturbing images, and some thematic elements,” while 2008′s The Dark Knight earned a PG-13 for “intense sequences of violence and some menace.” What the changes in wording from one film to the next tell us is that the final installment will likely break some new ground in the franchise.

Meanwhile, Comic Book Movie has uncovered a brand new image of Catwoman decked out in her catsuit, which you can check out below. “Sensuality” indeed.

Sir Ben Kingsley

Amongst the pantheon of great actors who have played villainous characters, Sir Ben Kingsley would definitely rank in anyone’s list. And now, it seems, he may play the heavy in Marvel’s second Iron Man sequel.

According to THR, the actor is in talks to play the villain in Iron Man 3, however, it apparently won’t be the main villain, which would seem to suggest a more significant heavy yet to come, likely to be played by an actor of equal stature.

Despite director Shane Black’s (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) insistence that he will not use the Mandarin character — going as far as to call him a “racist caricature” — the trade reports that there’s a chance the Mandarin will, indeed, appear in the film and that Kingsley may play him.

To make the Mandarin less of a caricature, the villain’s classic traits may end up being merged with a nanotechnological virus seen in a comic book version storyline, called “Extremis”, upon which Iron Man 3 is rumored to be based.

THR reports that he update is a necessary concession to today’s marketing realities, since the Mandarin, a Chinese ruler who worked with the communists, was introduced in 1963—a different era from today when China is one of the world’s most important film markets.