Various video ads for New Line’s The Golden Compass that have been airing on US television this past week are now available online.

IGN has a scene between Lyra and icebear Iorek Byrnison, MySpace is showing the beginning of the epic icebear clash between Iorek and Ragnar Sturlusson, MSN videos has a clip showing Lyra and Lee Scoresby at Trollesund, Yahoo! Movies has one of Iorek recovering his armor and another depicting Mrs. Coulter’s (Nicole Kidman) arrival at Jordan College, and UGO has Lyra and Serafina Pekkala (Eva Green) speaking about Bolvangar. Finally, you can listen to Kate Bush’s title song “Lyra” at this link. 

The film opens in cinemas around the world December 7. Look for our review later this week!

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Posted in His Dark Materials, Movies •

The Wachowski brothers’ Speed Racer is looking to be one of next summer’s big blockbusters, and its star Emile Hirsch spoke to Empire about the film’s production.

‘It’s all green screen There were no sets, just us and the green background. I haven’t seen anything of it finished yet, there was a lot of trust [in the Wachowskis] involved. It’s going to be crazy. Was the monkey real? Yes.’

Based on the 1960s Japanese cartoon series, the film directed by Andy and Larry Wachowski (The Matrix trilogy) will follow the adventures of the youthful Speed (Hirsch) as he tries to obtain victory in his tricked-out Mach 5 racecar, built by his father. Speed is often bailed out of danger by Racer X, a rival with a mysterious connection to Speed. 

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Posted in Movies, Speed Racer •

According to DarkHorizons, the Doctor Who spin-off show Torchwood will begin its second season in January.

The season opener will air in the United States on BBC America on January 26. No date has been set for the UK so far, but it is expected to be only a few days prior to the US broadcast.

Torchwood is a science fiction drama television programme, created by Russell T. Davies and starring John Barrowman and Eve Myles. It deals with the machinations and activities of the Cardiff branch of the fictional Torchwood Institute, who deal with supernatural and alien occurrences.

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Posted in Doctor Who, Television •

John August, screenwriter on J.J. Abrams’ upcoming Star Trek restart film, has revealed on his blog how the Writer’s Guild strike has been affecting the film’s production:

‘Neither J.J. nor Damon are writers on the movie. But they are writers, and WGA members. During a WGA strike, you’re not allowed to write on movies or television shows, period. So they can’t change a word of the script, nor can anyone else. The script they had at 11:59 p.m. November 5th is the script they have to shoot.

‘It’s maddening. J.J. was describing a scene he was shooting the day before. Midway through it, he got a great idea for a new line. Which he couldn’t write. Couldn’t shoot. Couldn’t be in his movie. Damon described it like having one of your superpowers taken away.’

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Posted in Movies, Star Trek •

Brad Pitt pulled out of the Universal’s State of Play last week over script concerns, which prevented the thriller from kicking off production last Thursday.

Variety reports that the studio spent this weekend trying to convince Russel Crowe to take over the role, a politician turned journalist who spearheads his newspaper’s investigation into a killing that leads to a fast-rising pol.

Edward Norton, Helen Mirren, Rachel McAdams, Jason Bateman and Robin Wright Penn remain committed to director Kevin Macdonald’s (The Last King of Scotland) adaptation of the acclaimed 2003 British mini-series.

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Posted in Movies •