With the seal broken on the RotK:EE, news is starting to fly fast and furious. DVD Answers has posted a few screenshots which include Aragorn challenging Sauron in the palantir and the names of some of the 18 new chapters (Eowyn’s Dream, The Decline of Gondor, The Corsairs of Umbar, Merry’s Simple Courage). Meanwhile, USA Today shares a new shot of Saruman atop Orthanc, tiny images of the Mouth of Sauron and Faramir at the Houses of Healing pop up here, and E! News (and Elflady) share an extended Paths of the Dead sequence. Update: High-res images here.
Tag: Cinema
Love Hurts.
Dueling spies Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie face marital strife and each other in the trailer for Mr. and Mrs. Smith. This looks like fluff, but then again The Bourne Identity (also by Doug Liman) turned out to be surprisingly solid.
Filming the Fantasy Shelf.
Much recent news on fantasy-fiction-to-film projects has materialized of late: Christopher Nolan preps for The Prestige post-Batman, WETA readies Prince Caspian as the second film in the Narnia series (after The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe), and director Chris Weitz discusses his adaptation of His Dark Materials.
Aiya Earendil Elenion Ancalima!
“Mr. Frodo, there’s light and beauty up there, that no shadow can touch.” Really, Sam? Tell it to the Witch-King. At long last, New Line officially announces the Return of the King Extended Edition, with 50 new minutes of footage, to be released on December 14. (Pre-orders begin Oct. 1.) For this, I am very thankful. Update: More info here, including a good bet at who kills PJ the Corsair Captain.
Nursing a Grudge.
You’re in deep this time, Slayer…Sarah Michelle Gellar battles an unspeakable (and very limber) evil in the trailer for the American remake of The Grudge. Looks creepy and Ring-esque, as it should.
Heroes of the Future.
AICN points the way to a slew of striking photos from Wong Kar Wai’s sci-fi romance 2046, starring Hero‘s Tony Leung and Zhang Zi-Yi. (Apparently, a trailer was up before, but it’s gone now.) I definitely like the look, but I hope it comes off better than the similarly named and themed Code 46.
Homer and the Butterfly.
The trailer for Ray Bradbury’s A Sound of Thunder, starring Ed Burns and Ben Kingsley, shows up online, and I’m getting the sense the Treehouse of Horror V version might just be more entertaining. And what’s up with Kingsley’s flat-top? With this, Thunderbirds, and Suspect Zero, he must be making a huge down payment on a house or something.
Invisible Touch.
As The Fantastic Four begins shooting, USA Today posts this shot of Jessica “Honey Daniels” Alba as the Invisible Woman, and SuperHeroHype has kindly scanned in the rest of the cast. I must admit, Alba looks more like the character than I originally suspected — indeed, she may be the closest fit of these four: Ioan Gruffudd’s Mr. Fantastic looks too young, Chris Evans’s The Human Torch looks nothing like Johnny Storm, and Michael Chiklis’s Thing…well, I’m thinking Peter Boyle in Young Frankenstein at the moment. Update: High-quality versions of all four are now up.
Please, Sir, I Want Some More.
Also online today is our first look at Roman Polanski’s Oliver Twist. Hard to tell much from these few shots, but the kid — Barney Clark — looks just about perfect.
Joey and the Bat / Gary vs. the Empire.
In the fanboy bin, Bruce Wayne’s girl-of-the-moment Katie Holmes talks a little about Batman Begins, and Gary Oldman opts out of Revenge of the Sith due to its being a non-SAG production.