Click here if the video file above doesn’t play properly. (Hat tip to the Nord Report.) Read more

I haven’t commented on recent Terminator developments yet. Last week, the newly-formed Halcyon Co. bought the rights to the franchise and announced that it planned to make not one new movie, but a whole trilogy of new movies — and this was quickly followed by rumours that the new films might include a digital Arnold Schwarzenegger and an actual Nick Stahl. One detail that I don’t think was cleared up is whether MGM is still involved. Then, yesterday, Fox TV... Read more

It wasn’t all that long ago that a $100 cheque from an American newspaper or magazine would pay me over $150 in Canadian currency. But these days, I’m lucky to get $110. So I cannot help but note these sentences from today’s Globe and Mail: “The Canadian dollar hit its highest intraday level in almost three decades Friday, and many strategists believe the currency has further to go. The loonie touched 91.63 cents (U.S.) on Friday after a much stronger-than-expected... Read more

Bizarre. Colleagues of mine in New York, Chicago, Seattle and Washington DC have all told me that they won’t be getting a chance to see Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End until Monday the 21st. And as far as I can tell, Vancouver won’t be getting any previews of the film — which opens Thursday the 24th at 8pm — at all, though critics and whatnot might be allowed to see it for free on opening night. This is... Read more

The New Haven Register says a car chase in Indiana Jones IV will be shot on the outskirts of Yale University next month: Indiana Jones will be racing up Chapel Street next month, a spokesman for director Steven Spielberg confirmed Monday. The fourth installment of the hugely popular series, arriving in theaters almost 20 years after the third, will include some kind of car chase on Chapel between College and High streets. A pre-production crew was in the city last... Read more

As various blogs and news sites have noted, the grandparents of a 12-year-old girl are suing the Chicago Board of Education because a substitute teacher showed Brokeback Mountain to her class. I like the approach taken by J.R. Jones of the Chicago Reader: Cultural politics aside, this seems like an open-and-shut case. The movie is rated R — “under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian” — and according to the suit, the school principal permitted the viewing without consulting... Read more

Remember how Steven Spielberg was reportedly going to make a live-action version of the Tintin comic books? It turns out his plans were a little more complicated than that. Variety reports: Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson are teaming to direct and produce three back-to-back features based on Georges Remi’s beloved Belgian comic-strip hero Tintin for DreamWorks. Pics will be produced in full digital 3-D using performance capture technology. The two filmmakers will each direct at least one of the movies;... Read more

Recognize the Oscar-winning actor who plays Dracula? Click here if the video file above doesn’t play properly. Read more

Hollywood North Report thinks so. In fact, they claim that Zack Snyder, director of the surprisingly successful 300, and the rest of the Watchmen team will be opening their production office here as early as June, with shooting set to start in August. Then again, there were rumours at one point that 300 would be shot in Vancouver too, but then it ended up going to Montreal — so until we hear something more official, take this with a grain... Read more

Here are the figures for the past weekend, arranged from those that owe the highest percentage of their take to the Canadian box office to those that owe the lowest. Hot Fuzz — CDN $2,440,000 — N.AM $18,991,668 — 12.8%Fracture — CDN $3,880,000 — N.AM $31,032,946 — 12.5%The Ex — CDN $173,708 — N.AM $1,394,229 — 12.5%Georgia Rule — CDN $691,179 — N.AM $6,773,870 — 10.2%Spider-Man 3 — CDN $22,270,000 — N.AM $240,236,828 — 9.3%Blades of Glory — CDN $10,310,000... Read more