Robert Altman died Monday night in a Los Angeles hospital at the age of 81, his Sandcastle 5 Productions Company said Tuesday. The cause of death wasn’t disclosed.

Altman is the caustic and irreverent satirist behind M-A-S-H, Nashville and The Player, who made a career out of bucking Hollywood management and story conventions. A five-time Academy Award nominee for best director, most recently for 2001’s Gosford Park, he finally won a lifetime achievement Oscar in 2006.

The Associated Press’s article on his death has an overview of the director’s illustrous career. R.I.P.

Posted in Movies •

HBO on Demand is currently airing a special preview of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, comprised of film footage and behind the scenes clips from the filming.

Compared with the teaser trailer released late yesterday, the superior preview video, which runs just under four minutes, features tons of new footage and first looks at new scenes and characters. A video capture of this exciting clip is online at HPANA, the Harry Potter Automatic News Aggregator.

Click here to discuss Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on the X-Boards.

Posted in Harry Potter, Movies •

IGN Filmforce picked up on a quote from Eva Green, who plays Vesper Lynd in the recently released Casino Royale, which appears to not only give clues as to the degree in which the next Bond film will be linked to Casino Royale, but also who Bond’s (surprising) nemesis in that film will be.

I would advise anyone who hasn’t seen Casino Royale yet to (go and watch it, obviously, but also) skip this quote, as Green talks about her characters motivations in the course of the film and a specific bit of information that is not revealed until the very end of Casino Royale. Everyone who’s already watched the film, however, are invited to read on:

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in James Bond, Movies •

The SCI FI Channel has announced that new episodes of Battlestar Galactica will air during a new Sunday 10pm ET/PT timeslot when the second half of season three commences January 21, 2007. Up until then new episodes will continue airing Fridays at 9pm ET/PT.

SCI FI appears to have undertaken this measure following the dropping ratings of the current season. The only relevant competition during the Sunday timeslot will be the family drama Brothers & Sisters (ABC) and Without A Trace (CBS).

Click here to discuss Battlestar Galactica on the X-Boards.

Posted in Battlestar Galactica, Television •

Back in September we posted a story about Survivor producer Mark Burnett securing the rights to turn children fantasy novelist Michael Scott’s The Immortal Nicholas Flamel into a feature film, a full eight months before the first of the six part book series was even published. Variety now reports that New Line Cinema has jumped on board the project, which means Burnett will receive some serious financial backing. According to the report, Burnett will produce what he and the studio hope will be a six-picture franchise.

The first novel, The Alchemyst (for the adaptation of which Burnet and New Line are currently seeking a screenwriter), is about how two teenage twins find themselves in the adventure of a lifetime when legendary alchemist Nicholas Flamel loses a book holding secrets that could spell the doom of humanity if the novel falls into the wrong hands.

Click here to discuss The Immortal Nicholas Flamel on the X-Boards.

Posted in Movies •

The trailer for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix which was attached to animated feature Happy Feet is now available to view online. Click here to watch. A high-definition version of the teaser is up at Yahoo!Movies.

The movie is the fifth adaptation of the best selling series of fantasy books by J K Rowling and is being directed by David Yates. Order of the Phoenix has been scheduled a North American and UK release date of July 13, 2007, both in conventional and IMAX theatres.

Click here to discuss Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in the Realm of Fantasy on the X-Boards.

Posted in Harry Potter, Movies •

Impawards bave come up with the UK teaser poster for Hot Fuzz. Hot Fuzz is British cop thriller written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright of Shaun of the Dead and Spaced fame starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. The plot, paying homage to the cop movie genre, revolves around London policeman Nicholas Angel (Pegg), who is so good at his job he’s making his colleagues look bad. He’s transferred to the village of Sandford in Somerset, where he’s partnered with the oafish but well-meaning Constable Danny Butterman (Frost), who dreams of being Mel Gibson. Grisly events begin to take place in the rural village, and it’s up to Angel and Butterman to sort it out.

Hot Fuzz also stars Jim Broadbent, Timothy Dalton, Steve Coogan, Paddy Considine, Martin Freeman, Bill Nighy, David Threlfall, Billie Whitelaw and Edward Woodward and is scheduled for release February 16th 2007.

Click here to view the poster and discuss Hot Fuzz on the X-Boards.

Posted in Movies •