A third clip from JJ Abrams’ upcoming film Star Trek is now online.

Watch it here below or in HD at Apple.

This new clip, titled “Answer,” shows the young Spock’s (Zachary Quinto as acting Captain aboard the Enterprise meeting Scotty (Simon Pegg ) for the first time.

In this scene, Scotty somehow managed to beam about the starship while it was traveling at warp speed. When Spock questions him, Kirk (Chris Pine) tells Scotty not to tell him. There’s a bit of humor in this clip as Scotty stands there soaking wet; this looks like it takes place right after the scene where Kirk tries to get Scotty out of the ship’s water system (this footage was shown at the Kids Choice Award) [...]

Gore Verbinski, who directed all three of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, has informed Disney and producer Jerry Bruckheimer that he will not be returning to direct Pirates of the Caribbean 4. While a fourth movie doesn’t technically exist yet, Disney has pretty much always had plans to return to the seas for another movie, and possibly even another trilogy. Considering the multi-billions of dollars the franchise based simply on a ride at the theme park has made them, who could even blame them? Another big time concern is, how much will the director’s departure affect the forward motion of the fourth movie?

Verbinski has multiple other projects lined up, most notably of which is a live-action movie based on the hugely popular video game, BioShock. This would be the biggest and most challenging of projects, and it’s expected that this is what is next in line for the visual director. Another fairly significant and recently-announced option he has, is a new movie based on the popular board game, Clue. Currently, he’s working on an animated movie called Rango in which Pirates star Johnny Depp voices the lead. [...]

I’m not a big fan of Michael Myers, and I never have been. The original Halloween is a decent little indie horror movie in its own right, but overall, the character as a horror icon bores me to no end. That said, this news even blew me away a little, and I can’t imagine what it will have the hardcore fans saying.

Shock Till You Drop was able to chat with make-up artist Wayne Toth on the set of the sequel to director Rob Zombie‘s reboot of Halloween, entitled H2. One of the questions asked was in regard to a set picture the came a little bit back that showed a beastly Tyler Mane as Michael Myers walking around without his mask on (seen above, click for big). Surprisingly, he admitted that this will be how Michael Myers looks for 70% of the movie!

Toth explains:

That’s Michael’s new look for a lot of the film. Fans will be shocked. They seem pretty responsive to it. But it’s like anything else, as long as you’re doing something cool, people get it. [...]

If you watch TV at all, you’ve probably seen previews for Comedy Central’s new show, Kröd Mändoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire. The show takes the comedy that’s obviously fitting for the network and places it in a very fantastical, very Lord of the Rings type of world. In case you haven’t seen previews or forgot all about it, we’re here to remind you all to check it out tonight…it should be a good time.

The show stars Sean Maguire, who’s best known as the dude who says “You got served!” in the trailer for Meet the Spartans, but there’s no doubt Kröd Mändoon will be much, much more entertaining.

Here’s the show’s press release and description:

What is that strange burning sensation? It’s “Kröd Mändoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire,” COMEDY CENTRAL’s epic half-hour, live-action series chronicling the adventures of Kröd Mändoon (Sean Maguire) and his hopelessly inept band of freedom fighters in an ancient fantasy realm. Marking the all-comedy network’s first foray into fantasy-comedy, the groundbreaking series premieres on Thursday, April 9 at 10:00 p.m. marked by a special one-hour episode with limited commercial interruptions. [...]

Entertainment Weekly has revealed that god of geekdom Leonard Nimoy will be joining the cast of the J.J. Abrams sci-fi show, Fringe. Nimoy worked with Abrams very recently, reprising his role as Spock in the newest version of Star Trek set to hit theaters on May 8, 2009.

Mr. Nimoy will be playing the role of William Bell, the former lab partner of Walter Bishop who would go on to become the founder of Massive Dynamic and become a multi-millionaire. Fans of the series will recognize the name as one that has been referred to on the show many times, but has yet to be introduced. The character will look to make his debut in next month’s season finale, which will begin a storyline set for the following season.

Here’s what J.J. Abrams had to say about the iconic actor’s addition to his show:

It was a delight to work with Mr. Nimoy on Star Trek. The idea that he will play the mysterious, much-referenced William Bell is a thrill. [...]

Many video game fans will be happy to learn: the independent and fantastical 2005 Sony Computer Entertainment game Shadow of the Colossus is finally being developed as a feature length motion picture. The game was originally developed and distributed in Japan by Sony Computer Entertainment’s International Production Studio 1 before going world wide. Naturally, Sony is developing the game into a movie instead of letting another studio take it.

Even better, screenwriter Justin Marks has been tapped to pen the script. Marks wrote the script for the recent Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, and is currently working on the scripts for comic adaptation Hack/Slash and the new take on Jules Verne’s classic, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which is being directed by McG.

This project intrigues the hell out of me in a very similar way to the movie being made based on BioShock. In both games, there’s massive challenges to overcome. With BioShock, your main character isn’t seen and doesn’t speak while most of your supporting characters are just voices; while in Shadow of the Colossus, your main character speaks minimally with pretty much only one speaking support role. These are big issues that have to be figured out with extreme caution. [...]

Two new clips are now online for JJ Abrams‘ upcoming Star Trek, both of which expand upon two scenes previously glimpsed in the trailers.

Watch both videos here below.

The first clip, “Disease and Danger,” which comes courtesy of Yahoo!, spotlights Karl Urban as Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy and his first meeting with James Kirk (Chris Pine) in the scene where he talks about space being “disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence.” In this one short clip, we manage to learn a lot about the young McCoy and Urban has easily convinced me that’s he’s a perfect Bones; DeForest Kelley would be impressed, I’m sure.

The other clip, “Shot of Love,” comes to us from MTV, and expands on the Iowa bar scene where Kirk hits on Starfleet cadet Uhura and ends up in a fight with some of her fellow cadets. We see a little bit of what leads up to the fight, as well as what Kirk was like before he joined Starfleet [...]

If you read Geeks of Doom often, you know I just can’t stand movies that simply need to be rated R based on their source material or previous films, but decided to water it down in the name of making more money with a larger PG-13 audience. It’s something that gets under my skin in ways that are challenging to define, and until I see an example of it working, I’ll continue on this path.

Thankfully, not everyone is so sick in the head that they need to resort to such blasphemies in order to find success. The man directing the theatrical reboot of Stephen King‘s It, Dave Kajganich, wrote in to Dread Central and gave an update on the project; and thankfully, he explained his desire to be faithful to King’s book as well as maintain its R-rated material.

Unfortunately, as we all know, the book is a true giant in size, which means that many things will still be lost along the way. Still, this should please many fans of the novel who hated the 1990 ABC mini-series adaptation. I’ve only ever known the mini-series and love that well-enough, but I’m definitely excited to see a more true-to-source movie. [...]

In case you’ve never heard of it, George Lucas has had a movie called Red Tails that he’s wanted to make for many, many years now. This movie would be set in World War II and tell the story of the Tuskegee Airmen. Now, it’s beginning to look like Lucas finally has the pieces that he’s been waiting for to move forward on the project.

The newest additions to the cast are WWII movie veteran Cuba Gooding Jr. and rapper/actor Method Man. They join a cast that already includes the former War Machine-to-be Terrence Howard, Breaking Bad‘s Bryan Cranston, Ne-Yo, and a chunk of the cast of The Wire in Tristan Wilds, Rick Otto, Michael B. Jordan and Stacie Davis. The movie is to be directed by Anthony Hemingway, who has all kinds of TV show experience, but little in the world of film. He’s been heavily involved in The Wire (explaining the group of cast from the show being used here), acting as Director for two of the episodes as well as an Assistant Director on 23 other episodes. He’s also directed episodes of ER, CSI (NY and Miami), True Blood, Heroes, and Battlestar Galactica. [...]

Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!
Season 2
Starring Eric Wareheim, Tim Heidecker
Warner Home Video
Release Date: February 10, 2009

Launching a sketch comedy series these days often turns out to be a thankless task since very few of them ever manage to catch on during their first season. For every Saturday Night Live there’s a Fridays, for every In Living Color there’s a House of Buggin’, and for every Mr. Show with Bob and David there’s a Cedric the Entertainer Presents. Most sketch comedy series tend to fail because they’re little more than an interesting gimmick and a handful of failed attempts at creating iconic characters and hip catchphrases. There’s never any thought put into crafting skits that are genuinely hilarious and over-the-top performances that mostly veer close to being flat out obnoxious and sour movie parodies that would be rejected by even Cracked magazine become the order of the day.

The Cartoon Network’s nightly Adult Swim programming block has featured live-action shows to compliment their animated shows in the past. Two years ago Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, the creators of the short-lived Adult Swim staple Tom Goes to the Mayor, merged their unique brand of humor with the sketch comedy format and the result was Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!. Of all the shows on Adult Swim Tim and Eric may be the most experimental, each 11-minute episode a strange sculpture built out of the strange programs one could find between cable channels early in the morning. There are a ton of small skits crammed into every show and each one often manages to spin humor out of the most unlikely sources, and some sources ripe for a comedic ripping [...]

It’s been the big news story of the past week — X-Men Origins: Wolverine somehow found its way into a pair of questionable hands and ultimately was leaked onto the Internet in explosive fashion. In what seemed almost like an unavoidable virus, the movie had spread around to thousands of computers in what seemed like moments. It is believed that actual numbers included 70,000 downloads (surely many more by now) and who knows how many viewings.

One big thing that we’ve learned in all of this, is that when movies finish production, they get shipped out in all different directions — sometimes they go to special effect/animation studios, they go to get their music put in, they’re sent to have trailers cut, they’re sent to people to set up the DVD — and this is where many various people get their hands on the movies. Fortunately, most people aren’t stupid and careless enough to actually put the movie on the Internet where millions of people can get to it.

If you’re not familiar with this leak, it was a copy of a workprint version of the film. This means that it’s unfinished and many special effects and other things are incomplete. [...]

Vanity Fair‘s Brigitte Lacombe was able to visit the set of Quentin Tarantino‘s vicious WWII movie, Inglourious Basterds. On this visit, many great images were taken of some of the various cast members which you will be able to enjoy right here.

Inglourious Basterds is getting ready to make its unexpected and Tarantino-promised Cannes Film Festival debut. Very few of us thought that this would actually be happening last year when the unpredictable director made his guarantee, but alas, the man pulled it off with flying colors and a few flying Nazi scalps and we couldn’t be more excited.

As we all know, the movie follows a pair of storylines — one following a band of Jewish-American soldiers on a special mission to brutally dispatch of Nazi soldiers; the other following a young Jewish girl who escapes a Nazi attack and attempts to rebuild her life as a theater owner.

Us regular folk will have to wait until August 21, 2009 to see the movie, and that’s fairly depressing, but for now you can check out these images and wait to see what the feedback is from Cannes!

Click over for the images. [...]

Adventureland
Directed by Greg Mottola
Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Martin Starr, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader
Rated R
Release date: April 3, 2009

We’ve always been told not to judge a book by its cover. That practice is a lot easier in theory than in execution, especially with movies. Before its release, the level of expectation of a movie lives and dies by its trailers and advertising. But all the hype in the world doesn’t replace actually sitting through the movie and forming your own conclusion.

Set in a summer in the late 1980s, Adventureland is the story of James Brennen (Jesse Eisenberg), a recent college graduate who, in lieu of his family’s financial difficulties, is forced to forgo his planned summer in Europe to move home and get a job to pay for college. After being turned down for everything else he reluctantly takes a job at a local amusement park where he begins an awkward relationship of sorts with one of his co-workers, Emily (Kristen Stewart).

There is enough material in that description for some really good comedy; the kind of comedy you would expect from writer/director Greg Mottola given that his name and resume is plastered across every advertisement, trailer, and sandwich board trying to sell you this movie [...]

Tony Gilroy’s Duplicity is the ultimate cinematic cock tease. Duplicity has everything going for it right from the starting gate, but ultimately the film fizzles where it should sizzle. It is not a bad film, far from it, but after all is said and done, one wonders if they have just seen a comedy of manners written with enough reversals to give David Mamet a run for his money. Although “fuck” is never used enough to give it the traditional David Mamet touch, it is con game film. Tony Gilroy’s screenplay may be too smart for its good. Steven Spielberg had confessed that the film was too confusing for him to understand so he passed on directing it.

After Michael Clayton, Tony Gilroy should be directing all of his own screenplays. Michael Clayton is a hard film to top for a variety of reasons — not only is it George Clooney at the top of his game, but it was a fantastic directorial debut for screenwriter, Tony Gilroy. Gilroy deserves a lot of credit for rescuing Robert Ludlum and more specifically, the character of Jason Bourne from the dreaded wasteland of the ABC Television miniseries which starred Richard Chamberlain. Gilroy stripped away the dated Cold War melodrama of the Jason Bourne novels and focused on the personality of Jason Bourne. The result is one of the most groundbreaking action series ever made, the James Bond series reboot its style [...]

Impressions of a Pre-Teen Gamer: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

I had always loved the Metal Gear series and I finally found Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater at a Gamecrazy nearby. Honestly this game was one of the most thrilling games I have ever played and I cherish this game for its greatness. The graphics were amazing, especially because this game was for PS2 so that made me happy from the start. The game play was quite good, but some things were a little aggravating, like how I would always have to check if the food I captured was good enough to eat or if it was going to poison me.

You go through the game as Jack, codenamed Snake, and after you get far enough in the game it isn’t just about saving the weapons expert and maker Sokolov. You are pretty much are guided through the game by Major Zero by Codec. Also if you need some help just press the select button and the Codec screen will show up. Then press down and you can contact Major Zero, Para-Medic, Signt, and The Boss. For those of you who don’t know who any of these characters are, you will learn about them in the game. I will tell who The Boss is though. The Boss is technically the greatest soldier in the world and taught everything she knew to Snake when he was just a young trainee. Then she disappeared for five years until this event happening in the game [...]

When it comes to old-school R-rated comedies, Revenge of the Nerds is definitely up there with the best.

This raunchy 1984 comedy follows two best friends, Lewis Skolnick (Robert Carradine) and Gilbert Lowe (Anthony Edwards), whose horn-rimmed eyeglasses, high-waisted high-water slacks, and pocket protectors immediately label as them “nerds” on their new college campus, where the dumb football jocks have all the power.

After the jock fraternity, Alpha Beta, accidentally burns down their frat house, they take over the freshman dorm leaving the freshmen class to sleep in the gym until they can join fraternities or find another place to live. After being rejected and abused, Lewis and Gilbert and a handful of other undesirables find a condemned house, which they renovate and move into. But the spiteful jocks are satisfied to leave the nerds be, so they continue their cycle of harassment … until the nerds strike back [...]

Another TV spot for containing new footage is now online for Star Trek.

Watch the 5th TV spot here below.

The new footage includes extended scenes of James Kirk (Chris Pine) in the bar fight in Iowa, then leaving his motorcycle behind to join Starfleet Academy, and eventually at the Academy wearing cadet red.

Star Trek arrives in theaters May 8, 2009.

The greatest adventure of all time begins with “Star Trek,” the incredible story of a young crew’s maiden voyage onboard the most advanced starship ever created: the U.S.S. Enterprise. On a journey filled with action, comedy, and cosmic peril, the new recruits must find a way to stop an evil being whose mission of vengeance threatens all of mankind.

The fate of the galaxy rests in the hands of bitter rivals. One, James Kirk (Chris Pine), is a delinquent, thrill-seeking Iowa farm boy. The other, Spock (Zachary Quinto), was raised in a logic-based society that rejects all emotion. As fiery instinct clashes with calm reason, their unlikely but powerful partnership is the only thing capable of leading their crew through unimaginable danger, boldly going where no one has gone before! [...]

Fast Company has a first look at what Helena Bonham Carter‘s character, Serena, might look like in Terminator Salvation. The image is an artist’s conceptual vision of the human/CGI combination special effects that will be used in the film.

Terminator Salvation is directed by McG and stars Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Moon Bloodgood, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anton Yelchin, and Common, with some voice over work by Linda Hamilton and may Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. In fact, this concept may be a peek at one of the options for Schwarzenegger’s T-800; maybe grab him for the voice and use Arnie-clone Roland Kickinger along with this technique for the look. Who knows.

Click over to the other side for a look at the image. Be warned, it may be considered a little bit of a spoiler image for some of you, so click cautiously. I hate spoilers and I was able to check it out with no problem, so it shouldn’t be too bad for anyone to look at, but I have not seen the movie yet and I could be very wrong. Also, make sure you click the above link to Fast Company to watch video interviews with McG. [...]

There’s a spec script out there by screenwriter Aaron Guzikowski entitled Prisoners, and it seems to be getting some top-notch attention. The Endeavor-represented script already has Mark Wahlberg attached to it as well as word from Bryan Singer that he would like to direct the project. Now comes word that Christian Bale is also attaching himself to the project, and eyes begin looking.

Unfortunately, all of this is a pretty shaky foundation. While the talent is interested, no one is officially signed on yet. The plan for Endeavor is to get these gentlemen to declare their desire to be involved and then shop the script with the potential names attached as eye candy. With names like that saying they want in, I can’t imagine it will take long to sell and get thrown on the fast track to ensure no scheduling conflicts remove anyone, but you never know these days.

Risky Business Blog was able to read the script, which they say is very dark, and that it’s a page-turner. Sounds like it would likely be of the R-rated variety. [...]

There’s only one name that was ever legitimately rumored to be up for the role of Freddy Krueger in the new Platinum Dunes reboot of A Nightmare on Elm Street, and that name is Jackie Earle Haley. Haley was first rumored to be up for the part by Latino Review back in February, and now, after Bloody-Disgusting received the exclusive that he was officially in-talks for the role, it’s been confirmed that Haley will indeed play Freddy Krueger.

Jackie Earle Haley has been around since the ’70s where he appeared in The Bad News Bears, but after that he disappeared for a long, long time. He stormed back into sight with his Academy Award nominated performance as a pedophile (practicing for Freddy?) in Little Children. Most recently he was the man that brought the iconic Rorschach to life in Zack Snyder’s Watchmen.

With filming for the Wesley Strick scripted A Nightmare on Elm Street set to start filming next month in Chicago, the deal almost didn’t get done as Haley is currently working on the TV show Human Target. Thankfully, schedules were looked at and adjusted to make it all work out. [...]