News

2017-08-01T14:24:18-07:00Ron Howard: Han Solo Movie Is 'Coming Along Great'

Relax Star Wars fans, production on the Star Wars: Han Solo standalone film is going splendidly, according to Ron Howard.

The Oscar-winning director told Heat Vision on Tuesday the space adventure project is "coming along great."

"It's a fantastic script, a great cast and I am having a fantastic creative experience with it," he said.

Howard took the reins of the film in late June when former directors Christopher Miller and Phil Lord were fired after clashing with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan.

As sources detailed to The Hollywood Reporter then, the directors felt like they were being given "zero creative freedom," while the Star Wars brass was displeased by the directing duo's improvisational style that saw takes deviate from to Kasdan's script. 

Howard, who noted he is still relatively new to the production,...

We are suckers for hand painted posters here at ScreenAnarchy. Some days it feels like it is a lost art with all the generic photoshop efforst out there. If someone has taken the time to create beautiful works of art then we want to take a moment to admire their handiwork. For instance look at this hand painted poster artist Rain Delmar created for the release of the 80s slasher throwback flick Lake Nowhere. This was created for the U.S. Blu-ray/DVD combo release from Brink Vision on August 16th. It is dandy. Lake Nowhere, the 80s-style slasher horror film that Fangoria called “a little slice of heaven for fans of vintage bloodfests” has unveiled a brand new, hand-painted poster to the celebrate its August 16th...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Aardman talked to Screen in Annecy about future projects - including the Eddie Redmayne-voiced Early Man - BFI support and learning curves.

Aardman Animations is the most successful animation company in British film history; its films have generated worldwide box office revenue of close to $1 billion and it is a cherished international brand.

Despite its global success, however, Aardman still considers itself to be a niche player in the ultra competitive Us animation market.

The contrast was acknowledged by Aardman founders Peter Lord and David Sproxton in an interview with Screen at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival last week.

Sproxton and Lord were in Annecy to give a keynote address, Aardman At 40, and to collect a “personality of the year award” from the festival.

Us giants

The company, which has worked closely with DreamWorks and Sony in the past, now finances its films in Europe, often on smaller budgets than those commanded by the Us...

It’s getting down to the wire for fans to pick a side between Captain America and Iron Man, and Entertainment Weekly is helping draw a line in the sand with a collection of new covers for Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War.

The covers (gallery below) come celebrating the popular magazine’s Summer Movie Preview issue, and will provide fans four separate options to choose from (or collect) on each side of the fray depicted in the film. On Cap’s side one cover depicts Hawkeye, Winter Soldier, and Scarlet Witch, while the other shows Cap himself alongside buddy Falcon and Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man.

They’re all doing battle with Iron Man, Black Widow, and Iron Patriot (on the first cover for Iron Man’s side), and newcomer Black Panther and Vision on the second cover for Team Iron Man.

Speaking with EW, Chris Evans noted that it...

Exclusive: Memento releases English-subtitled trailer for Bruno Dumont’s quirky period-whodunnit, starring Fabrice Luchini, Juliette Binoche and Valeria Bruni Tedeschi.

Memento Films International (Mfi) has released the first English-language subtitled trailer for Bruno Dumont’s quirky period comedy-drama Slack Bay (Ma Loute), ahead of its release in May.

Set in the summer of 1910 on the rolling beaches of the northern French coast, the potential Cannes title revolves around a series of mysterious tourist disappearances and two local families, the curious fisherman clan, the Bréforts, and the eccentric, bourgeois Van Peteghems, who spend every summer in their imposing holiday mansion overlooking the bay.

When one of the Bréfort sons, Ma Loute, and the mischievous, teenage Billie Van Peteghem fall in love, the lives of both families are shaken to the core.

Fabrice Luchini, Juliette Binoche and Valeria Bruni Tedeschi head a large ensemble cast.

The new trailer reveals a quirky drama in which the majestic backdrops of France...

Exclusive: Memento releases English-subtitled trailer for quirky period-whodunnit, starring Fabrice Luchini, Juliette Binoche and Valeria Bruni Tedeschi.

Memento Films International (Mfi) has released the first English-language subtitled trailer for Bruno Dumont’s quirky period comedy-drama Slack Bay (Ma Loute), ahead of its release in May.

Speculation is rife that the film will premiere in Official Selection at Cannes but the Paris-based sales company would not comment on its chances. Its May 11 release date in France, by sister company Memento Distribution, suggests, however, that it will make its debut at the festival.

Set in the summer of 1910 on the rolling beaches of the northern French coast, the film revolves around a series of mysterious tourist disappearances and two local families, the curious fisherman clan, the Bréforts, and the eccentric, bourgeois Van Peteghems, who spend every summer in their imposing holiday mansion overlooking the bay.

When one of the Bréfort sons, Ma Loute, and the mischievous...

Marvel

Football! Beer! Chicken Wings!

All valid reasons to enjoy the Super Bowl, but from a film fan’s point of view, it’s all about the new spots for some of the year’s biggest movie’s. It’s prime real estate, so unsurprisingly we get a look at some pretty huge films; it’s basically like movie trailer Christmas.

2016 was no exception, with trailers for X-Men: Apocalypse, Independence Day: Resurgence, Jason Bourne, The Jungle Book, and, of course, Captain America: Civil War.

(Arguably) the biggest film of the year meeting the biggest sporting event of the year, this was a great example of how to build excitement without really giving anything away. Sure, fans who haven’t kept up with the promotional material might’ve been surprised at some of the team members – Black Panther and Vision on Team Iron Man; Ant-Man siding with Cap – but beyond that...

Captain America: Civil War is going to be one of the biggest movie events of 2016. It's going to take the McU to a new level, and it will raise the stakes for our favorite heroes, not only in this film but in the films to come.

Earlier this year, The Vision was introduced into the McU in Avengers: Age of Ultron. He's an awesomely fascinating character whose story will continue in Captain America: Civil War. The film pits hero against hero. They turn on each other because of the Superhero Registration Act.

In Captain America: Civil War, they are either for or against the Sokovia Accords, which state that the heroes "shall no longer operate freely or unregulated, but instead operate under the rules, ordinances and governances of the afore mentioned United Nations panel, acting only when and if the panel deems it appropriate and/or necessary."

I'm curious to...

Marvel have remained tight lipped concerning which Avengers will be siding with Captain America and which will be with Iron Man. And whilst there has been speculation concerning who's with who (with Jeremy Renner letting slip his allegiance) you can speculate no more! Below you can check out the video four images (one of which we've seen before) that place War Machine, Black Widow, Black Panther and Vision on team Stark with Bucky Barnes, Sam Wilson, Hawkeye, Ant-Man and the (surprise?) addition addition of Sharon Carter on team Cap. As of yet there's no word on the likes of Spider-Man, Scarlet Witch or even Bruce Banner (who's rumoured to be involved in the project) but it's definitely raised my anticipation for May of next year. But what are your thoughts on the confirmed sides and where do you think Spider-man's allegiance will lie? Sound off with your thoughts in the usual place!

The latest, and probably final, trailer for Joss Whedon's Avengers: Age Of Ultron offered yet more clues. We take a deeper look...

Yesterday, Marvel released the final Avengers: Age Of Ultron trailer before the film's release. And that means one last look at the interesting things the trailer has revealed. Everyone ready?

Inevitably, some spoilers for Avengers: Age Of Ultron lie ahead...

If You Build It…

"I tried to create a suit of armor around the world," says Tony Stark, accompanied by footage of his trademark robotic arms assembling… something. It's pretty clear by this point that Ultron is the result of Tony Stark's attempt to come up with a way to protect the planet from another Chitauri-style invasion, but is this just one of the drones, or is it Ultron assembling himself?

Of course, the nature of Ultron means that there are going to be a lot of...

Tony Hart, who died at the age of 83 back in 2009, inexplicably trended this morning on social media.

Many fans mistakenly believed that Hart had only recently died, but his former co-star Morph set the record straight on Twitter.

Over the past 24 hrs, many people on Twitter have reported that Tony Hart has recently died. Tony sadly died in 2009. pic.twitter.com/PLHkjraxdw

— Morph (@AmazingMorph) February 16, 2015

"Over the past 24 hrs, many people on Twitter have reported that Tony Hart has recently died. Tony sadly died in 2009," read a post from Aardman's Morph Twitter feed.

"Here's the final Morph episode in the brand new series which features our tribute to #TonyHart."

Hart first appeared on TV during Saturday Special in 1952 after impressing a BBC TV producer with his art skills.

He later presented his own shows, including Vision On, Take Hart, Hart Beat and Smart Hart, before finally retiring in 2001.

Aardman Animations...

(Cbr) Paul Bettany's vision for The Vision is coming a little more into focus. The actor, who plays both the voice of Tony Stark's A.I. valet J.A.R.V.I.S and also the synthezoid superhero -- who may be one and the same -- hit San Diego Comic-Con International to join his "Avengers: Age of Ultron" co-stars on stage for the big Marvel Studios presentation -- but earlier in the day, he joined a select group of reporters for an intimate roundtable conversation about his still enigmatic new role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Even before the questioning started, Bettany made it clear how tricky his answers were going to be as he tried to stay spoiler-protective. He made a quick check out the adjacent hotel window to gauge his safety. "Let me just look up -- oh, okay. I can't say anything!" he joked, pretending to spot a sniper.

Feature Alex Westthorp 16 Apr 2014 - 07:00

Alex's trek through the film roles of actors who've played the Doctor reaches Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy...

Read the previous part in this series, Doctor Who: the film careers of Patrick Troughton and Tom Baker, here.

In March 1981, as he made his Doctor Who debut, Peter Davison was already one the best known faces on British television. Not only was he the star of both a BBC and an ITV sitcom - Sink Or Swim and Holding The Fort - but as the young and slightly reckless Tristan Farnon in All Creatures Great And Small, about the often humorous cases of Yorkshire vet James Herriot and his colleagues, he had cemented his stardom. The part led, indirectly, to his casting as the venerable Time Lord.

The recently installed Doctor Who producer, John Nathan-Turner, had been the Production Unit Manager on...

Paul Bettany has been a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since the very beginning, providing the voice of Jarvis, Tony Stark's AI companion.  Now it looks like he's getting an upgrade for The Avengers: Age of Ultron and will no longer simply be a voice over...but a brand new hero: The Vision.  

Production on the highly anticipated sequel is set to begin next month, and that means we're starting to hear more and more about who all will be involved.  The latest report sees the already large cast of heroes growing once again in that Paul Bettany will be playing the role of Vision.  Rumors of this started hitting last night thanks to The Daily Mail spotting Bettany and Jeremy Renner near Shepperton Studios doing make-up tests, but it was later confirmed by Variety that Jarvis will be turning into the Vision. 

For those of you not familiar with the character,...

After stepping down as ABC Television.s controller of children.s content, Tim Brooke-Hunt will launch his own banner, Pacific Vision, providing consulting and executive producer services.

Using his expertise in children.s entertainment, he will focus on international co-productions and co-financing, particularly with Asia.

Brooke-Hunt will continue as a member of the board of the Asian Animation Summit and. in the next few months will act as a mentor to producers from Malaysia, Korea, Australia and Thailand whose projects will be presented at the summit in Phuket, Thailand, in December.

He played a key role in the launch of the annual event which is an initiative of ABC TV, Screen Australia, Korea's Kocca and Malaysia's MDeC.

He leaves the ABC at the end of next week and will launch Pacific Vision on October 1. Deirdre Brennan, currently director of content, Australia and New Zealand, for BBC Worldwide, will replace Brooke-Hunt in the New Year.

‘Here Comes Honey Boo Boo’ star Mama June, who is frequently seen squinting on the show, says she has blurry vision stemming from childhood cataracts. Read on for more details.

So sad! Mama June Shannon, the blunt head of the Honey Boo Boo household, has revealed that she is legally blind from childhood cataracts that were never properly treated.

Mama June Is Blind — Why Honey Boo Boo’s Mom Is Always Squinting

Now we know why Mama June is always squinting on Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. Unfortunately, Mama June’s vision problems can’t be fixed.

“She can’t have surgery because they believe it could do more harm than good,” a TLC spokesperson tells MailOnline. “The damage is that bad.”

How sad! If only she had been properly treated as a child.

Mama June Shannon Admits To Blurry Vision On ‘Here Comes Honey Boo Boo’

Looking back over...

About two weeks ago, Vin Diesel revealed on his Facebook page that Marvel requested a meeting with him, claiming that he has no idea what the studio wanted to discuss. The actor has now updated his page again, stating that the meeting took place yesterday (July 9th). And while he once again refused to disclose any details, he also posted a photo of himself next to a cover of "The Avengers" comic book, which prominently features Giant-Man (pictured). In the past, Diesel has been rumored to star in "Daredevil" and "Black Panther." But last year, the actor posted an image of Vision on his Facebook page, hinting that he wants to play the character in "The Avengers 2." He quickly took down that image, but has now mentioned Vision again, stating: "I get tunnel vision with my work." It's possible that everything will be revealed during the San Diego Comic-Con later this month.

Vin Diesel has been rumored to star in several Marvel movies, but nothing ever materialized. Now comes word directly from the actor that he's once again in talks with the studio for an undisclosed project. "Marvel has requested a meeting," Diesel wrote on Facebook. "No idea what for... haha, you probably know better than me..." In the past, Diesel was rumored to star in "Daredevil," but that obviously never happened. Then just last year, the actor posted an image of Vision on his Facebook page, hinting that he wants to play the character in "The Avengers 2." Question: What Marvel role would Diesel be perfect for?...

In the grand contemporary tradition of making money off older movies by repackaging and reselling, we have news that Warner Brothers has converted and will re-release in theatres The Wizard Of Oz in IMAX 3D.

That’s right: soon we will see Dorothy and her friends skipping down the Yellow Brick Road in full dioramic closeness. Warner Brothers is way too excited to bring us The Wizard Of Oz – they can’t even wait for the 75th Anniversary next year. We’ll be right up in the face of the Wicked Witch of the West on September 20, 2013.

IMAX President Greg Foster is unsurprisingly optimistic about the re-release. Here’s what he had to say:

The sound was exceptional, the sharpness was exceptional … But it’s the color that stands out. What they could do is truly amazing, maybe what people felt when they first saw it.

Ah, yes, the age-old...

Simon Brew Dean Shepherd Oct 18, 2016

As The Adventure Game arrives at the BBC Store, we revisit an 80s children's TV classic that spawned countless imitators...

Four of the original six episodes of The Adventure Game are now finally available to buy at the BBC Store.

See related Arrow season 5 exclusive: Kevin Smith talks Onomatopoeia Arrow season 4 episode 23 review: Schism Legends Of Tomorrow: exploring season 1’s cliffhanger ending Supergirl: Melissa Benoist talks season 1 cliffhanger, impending crossovers

Take three 80s TV stars, a generous dash of Dungeons & Dragons and a healthy sprinkling of brain-numbing tasks and you have a game show recipe that left guests mystified, mortified and all-too-often vaporised, thanks to transmorphic dragons, green cheese rolls and the Vortex. Yep, we've finally got around to talking about The Adventure Game.

It’s funny how you never seemed to question TV concepts when you were little, especially if it was the BBC.

Feature Simon Brew Dean Shepherd 7 Mar 2013 - 07:00

Set phasers to nostalgia as we revisit eighties children's TV classic, The Adventure Game...

Take three 80s TV stars, a generous dash of Dungeons & Dragons and a healthy sprinkling of brain-numbing tasks and you have a game show recipe that left guests mystified, mortified and all-too-often vaporised, thanks to transmorphic dragons, green cheese rolls and the Vortex. Yep, we've finally got around to talking about The Adventure Game.

It’s funny how you never seemed to question TV concepts when you were little, especially if it was the BBC. That’s why, from mid-way through 1980 up until 1986, no one asked why the likes of Keith Chegwin, Sarah Greene, and Noel Edmonds would suddenly become celebrity time travellers, heading ‘many light years away to the far side of the galaxy’ to pay an unwelcome visit to the dragon-like Argons, the polite but mischievous inhabitants of the planet Arg.

A rumor has hit the web that Vin Diesel could end up playing the character Vision in Marvel's cinematic universe. This is purely speculation, but for fun and the sake of discussion, just roll with it.

A couple of days ago the actor updated his Facebook profile photo with the Vision character. 

Diesel is known for using his social network platforms like Facebook and Twitter to tease information to his fans about upcoming projects and films he's working on. Most recently he's used it for his new Riddick movie. My question is why would he post a picture of Vision on his Facebook page in the first place?

Many believe he did it as a way to let his fans know that he's going to be playing Vision in an upcoming Marvel film, or that maybe he's in talks with the studio to play the character. It could also very...

The BBC has revealed details of its planned coverage of the London 2012 Olympics using Super Hi-Vision, a new broadcast technology that can deliver TV pictures 16 times the resolution of HD. Throughout the Games period (July 23 to August 12), regular screenings will take place at three huge Super Hi-Vision displays at BBC Broadcasting House in London, at BBC Pacific Quay in Glasgow and at Bradford's National Media Museum. Tickets for the screenings in London and Glasgow can be booked through the BBC ticketing website, while Bradford tickets are available through nationalmediamuseum.org.uk. Teams at the three UK venues are now building special public viewing theatres, which can present the Super Hi-Vision on giant screens with special speaker rigs to recreate the 22.2 multichannel sound. The BBC has previously tested Super Hi-Vision, but the London 2012 Olympics will mark the first (more)...

Aardman Animation's latest handmade extravaganza is taking to the high seas. Leo Benedictus visits their studios and finds out why stop-motion beats Jack Sparrow

One ordinary day in 1970, a BBC producer called Patrick Dowling, who was working at the time on the children's TV series Vision On, had a visit from a colleague in religious programming. The colleague explained that his son David, with his friend Peter – both of them still at school – had made a short animated film. Crude and formless, composed on the kitchen table from snipped-out photographs and pastel scrawls, it nevertheless caught Dowling's eye. Shortly afterwards, when he met the boys, he gave them 100ft of film and suggested that they go away and make something interesting. What Peter Lord and David Sproxton made, with a little help here and there, was the British animation industry.

Today, the company they started, Aardman Animations, is a name to conjure with.

My mother, Hannah Kodicek, who has died aged 63 of pancreatic cancer, was a film-maker, actor, writer, educator and creator of children's television classics, who blended artistic vision with erudition and a childlike humour.

Born Zuzana Oprsalova in Czechoslovakia and trained as a pianist at the Prague Conservatoire, she emigrated to Britain in 1968, after the Russian invasion, with her husband, Michal, and young son, Peter. They were lucky enough to be taken under the wing of an English family in Blackheath, south-east London, which enabled Hannah to get on her feet through a succession of low-paid jobs, until she learned the language.

The cold war meant that there were opportunities for a beautiful young woman with an exotic accent and she found a number of acting roles, under the name Susan Kodicek, mostly as some kind of spy. Her most celebrated role was as Irina in the widely acclaimed 1979 TV adaptation...

Despite being killed off as a series when Chairman Vince McMahon announced that WWE would drop the Survivor Series name and rebrand the event in last February, November saw the explosive return of the PPV spectacular, and that show is now available to buy on DVD and Blu-ray.

With a card boasting the collected talents of Kane, Randy Orton, Edge, Rey Mysterio, Big Show and Alberto Del Rio, the star quality is certainly there, but the question is: how does an event cope with being so cruelly undermined by the man pulling the power strings?

This year’s event was undoubtedly headlined, both in billing and in intrigue by the face-off between Randy Orton and former Nexus leader, and one of few resident Brits on the WWE rosta, Wade Barrett, with the added interest of the outcome supposedly deciding John Cena’s fate as a WWE employee.

Since the Survivor Series...

Bragging Rights is a fairly new PPV concept which first materialised in 2009 and was sold on the premise that it would feature superstars from both Raw and Smackdown brands competing against one another for a trophy that would give their show the ‘bragging rights’ for an entire year. A fine idea were it not for the fact that Raw and Smackdown superstars appear on each others shows almost every week thus heavily diluting the spectacle of seeing these wrestlers interact and combat.

In 2010 the event was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota and whilst entertaining on the whole the repetitive nature of some of the feuds and matches served as another reminder that the WWE is currently plagued with far too many pay per views with only a select few (most noticeably wrestlemania) given enough time to centre meaningful feuds and matches around.

The event was released on Blu-ray and DVD last...

The flyer for Jason Statham's hitman thriller is fittingly terse and drenched in gun oil. But what does it mean?

The humble film poster is not just an ad, it is an A1-sized opportunity for La's Photoshop wizards to dazzle us with their magic. Monet had his waterlilies, Van Gogh had his sunflowers. But neither had a muse to rival gruff British bruiser Jason Statham and his new movie The Mechanic. The result is a work of genius: daubed in pure testosterone, it deserves far better than to hang in a darkened corner of your local Cineplex. So join me as I crank up the Vision On music and put it in the spotlight it deserves.

What's going on 'ere, then?

Gun oil is invariably the lubricant of choice for marketeers attempting to prise cash from the palms of violence-keen teens. In fact, the only way they could...

Epic/Legacy Recordings will release Michael Jackson's Vision on November 22, collecting - for the first time ever - the entire library of short films produced by Michael Jackson during his career as a solo artist.Packaged in collaboration with the estate of Michael Jackson as a deluxe boxed set, Vision contains more than four-and-one-half hours of content on three DVDs.  The sset features more than 40 videos, 10 previously unavailable on DVD and each presented in newly restored color and remastered audio.  The release debuts the short film for the R....

Sci Fi Wire wonders if this is the next District 9. Heat Vision offers this as an example of how over short films Hollywood is. I’m with Heat Vision on this. Unlike “Alive in Jo’burg,” the short that D9 was based on, this is all FX, no story. Unlike “Jo’burg,” which created an entire vibrant world within its short confines, this one doesn’t make me care that the suspect is still alive, or even wonder why he’s wanted. The FX are nice, but that’s not enough...

Fans of Tony Hart have assembled an army of Morphs outside the Tate Modern in honour of the artist who passed away in January at the age of 83. Hart's daughter Carolyn Williams said she was "completely bowled over" by the tribute to the late star of Vision On and Hartbeat. Morph is a cult plasticine stop-motion animated character who first appeared on television with Hart in 1977. Williams said: "It's fantastic. My father would particularly love this because everybody is doing exactly (more)...

Former children's TV presenter Tony Hart has died at the age of 83. The broadcaster, best remembered for hosting art shows Vision On, Take Hart, Hart Beat and Smart Hart, had suffered from health problems for a number of years but passed away peacefully. In September last year, Hart told a magazine that he was no longer able to draw after suffering two strokes. Speaking at the time, he explained: "It has been my lifetime passion, but I endeavour to stay (more)...

Former children's TV presenter Tony Hart has died at the age of 83. The broadcaster, best remembered for hosting art shows Vision On, Take Hart, Hart Beat and Smart Hart, had suffered from health problems for a number of years but passed away peacefully. In September last year, Hart told a magazine that he was no longer able to draw after suffering two strokes. Speaking at the time, he explained: "It has been my lifetime passion, but I endeavour to stay (more)...