On Monday, Hasbro CEO and franchise executive producer Brian Goldner revealed that talks between the toymaker, Steven Spielberg, Michael Bay, and Paramount Pictures were actively in discussions regarding a fourth installment in the Transformers franchise.  Then yesterday, word emerged that Paramount is considering shooting two sequels back-to-back, possibly with Jason Statham starring and with a remote possibility of Bay returning as more than a producer.  Well, the director himself has called shenanigans on these reports.  Michael Bay will not stand for inaccurate information circulating online, and the man behind Bad Boys, The Rock, and Armageddon has denied that he's in talks for any further Autobot adventures.

Another new trailer for The Adventures of Tintin has debuted online, and this time its a domestic preview for North American audiences, who must wait until December to see the film.  Which is a damn shame, since every new bit of footage suggests that the latest from director Steven Spielberg and producer Peter Jackson is an exceedingly joyous ride that utilizes cutting edge performance capture and 3D tech to tell an old-fashioned globe-trotting yarn.  As the movie nears its late-October release in many international territories, review have been popping up, and many suggest that The Adventures of Tintin is the spiritual heir to Raider of the Lost Ark that everyone hoping Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull would be.  This trailer certainly supports that assertion, so watch away.

Just yesterday, Hasbro CEO and franchise executive producer Brian Goldner confirmed that discussions between the toymaker, Paramount Pictures, and executive producers Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg are taking place regarding a fourth film in the Transformers series.  Not terribly surprising, given that Transformers: Dark of the Moon was the most commercially successful entry in the franchise.  Goldner said he hoped to have official news early in 2012, and word from inside Paramount suggests that the news could be big for robot-action fans, as the studio is reportedly giving serious consideration to shooting Transformers 4 and Transformers 5 back-to-back as one big production.

So The Adventures of Tintin has been having European premieres in advance of its late October to early November debuts in most countries on the continent where Herge's boy reporter is basically an icon known and beloved across all demographics.  Here in America, though, we have to wait until late December to see Steven Spielberg's first 3D performance capture film.  Our consolation prize today is a new domestic poster for the inaugural 3D Tintin movie, featuring the titular adventurer, played by Jamie Bell, and his faithful canine sidekick, Snowy the dog.  The intrepid duo poses in front of a flaming ship, which just so happens to be the Unicorn referred to in the film's international title, The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon made more than a billion dollars globally over the summer, and given that its two predecessors raked in about a billion and a half with their grosses combined, it doesn't take an elaborate formula to conclude that the Transformers franchise will continue, and will likely do so sooner rather than later.  Hasbro, the toy company that owns the extraterrestrial robots and a plethora of other recognizable properties being developed as features, is evidently in active discussions with Paramount, Steven Spielberg, and Michael Bay to get Transformers 4 up and running.  That's according to company CEO Brian Goldner, who also provided updates on several other Hasbro movie hopefuls, including Ouija and Monopoly.

Hey, remember this morning when the first official clip from The Adventures of Tintin made its way online, introducing the 3D motion-capture version of Herge's classic comic creation, as played by Jamie Bell, and Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as Inspectors Thompson and Thomson?  If not, refresh your memory here.  Unbeknownst to us, that clip was a mere appetizer, and there's now a full meal of Tintin deliciousness online.  Three more clips give some time to the digital versions of Andy Serkis and Daniel Craig, while a fourth proves just how badass Tintin's dog Snowy can be.  A side order of three behind-the-scenes clips provide a good idea of the motion-capture process, with actors running around in goofy mo-cap suits, Steven Spielberg directing, and Peter Jackson producing.

Tintin, the intrepid boy reporter created by Belgian artist Herge in 1929, isn't hugely well known here in America, but he's kind of a big deal pretty much everywhere else on Earth.  As such, his first big screen, 3D motion-capture tale of derring-do, The Adventures of Tintin, begins dropping in international territories later this month, but doesn't arrive Stateside until Christmas time.  In order to tide us over in the meantime, the first official clip from Steven Spielberg's foray into 3D high-tech filmmaking has arrived online.

On Tuesday, a new UK trailer for The Adventures of Tintin provided out best look at Steven Spielberg's first 3D motion capture movie (aside from the footage shown at San Diego Comic-Con, anyways), and it was pretty spectacular.  Based on that trailer, the film's  textures are lifelike, the characters are just cartoonish enough to avoid being stranded in the Uncanny Valley, and most importantly the action set-pieces look like ten tons of wonderful, with a certain Looney Tunes craziness to them.  So good was that trailer that another international trailer arrived today, and it's basically just a slight remix of the last one.

For consumers looking to get the most possible bang for their buck, big summer movies filled with visual effects are the most obvious means of showing off the capabilities of their Blu-ray player.  Overwhelming visuals, subwoofer-straining bass, and window-rattling sound design are the standard for such movies, and this summer's Cowboys & Aliens has all three, so the just-announced Blu-ray and DVD release is an ideal means of showcasing an outrageously big television.  You know what else Cowboys & Aliens has?  Aliens.  And Cowboys, as played by Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, and Sam Rockwell.

Both eponymous figures, from the old west and outer space, respectively, will be present and accounted for when the Jon Favreau-directed, Steven Spielberg-produced spectacle arrives in stores on December 6th.  While the Blu-ray will, of course, feature all the accoutrements that are expected in the format, it will also boast an extended version of the film, a full seventeen minutes longer than the cut seen in theaters.

As you've no doubt heard by now, Steven Spielberg has not one, but two big feature films arriving in American theaters less than a week apart this December.  A British trailer released yesterday for the WWI drama War Horse suggested that the movie will be an Oscar-caliber piece of emotional storytelling.  Today, a British trailer for The Adventures of Tintin suggests that the movie will be a two-fisted joyride very much in the vein of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Spielberg is widely acknowledged as the the reigning master of exquisite set-up and payoff in his construction of set pieces and even low-key scenes.  From the look of this trailer's action, the virtual camera of his first motion-capture feature allows for an even more fluid and inventive sense of action that borders on ludicrous in the best, most glee-inducing way.  The way the camera glides effortlessly along with Jamie Bell and Andy Serkis as Tintin and Captain Haddock is just about joyous, and The Adventures of Tintin can't get here soon enough*.