Farewell, Iorek.

About a Boy helmer Chris Weitz is off His Dark Materials, apparently on his own cognizance. “It will be an extraordinary film, but at this point in my life I am not the right director to bring it to pass…the technical challenges of making such an epic are more than I can undertake at this point.” If so, bully for him for realizing it…but let’s hope hack directors of the Ratner-W.S. Anderson mold are kept well away from Pullman’s trilogy.

Samurai Bat.

The holiday trailer season continues today, with the first look at Spielberg’s War of the Worlds and, if you’re fast, this early copy of the spiffy new Batman Begins trailer. (If that doesn’t work, there are a number of screencaps here.)

Shadow of the Bat.


A good deal of movie and fanboy news came down the pike this weekend. First and most importantly, the new Batman Begins poster is out (and a new trailer is rumored in front of Ocean’s 12 this Friday.) As one AICN wag put it, it’s very Passion of the Bat. In other news, Harrison Ford says Indy IV is moving again, Chris Columbus is directing Sub-Mariner (uh, oh), and Kevin Spacey is seriously considering Lex Luthor. Finally, the teaser posters for Mr. & Mrs. Smith (a.k.a. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in War of the Roses meets True Lies) are now also floating around the ether, along with the new trailer. Update: The international poster for Batman Begins is now also online.