As Superman is to superheroes, Steven Spielberg is to directors.  He's the biggest, the most immediately identifiable by the vast majority of moviegoers, and he's the first guy people think of when they hear the word "director."  It makes a certain kind of sense, then, that the biggest director around would be attracted to one of the biggest stories ever told.  According to Deadline, The Bearded One is nearing a deal with Warner Bros to direct Gods and Kings, a new take on the tale of Moses that frames the Old Testament figure principally as a warrior.

Available on Blu-ray and DVD on December 13th is last summer's blockbuster hit film Rise of the Planet of the Apes, a prequel/reboot of the classic Charlton Heston sci-fi series. The film is directed by Rupert Wyatt (The Escapist) and begins to tell the story of how our Earth was eventually taken over by super-intelligent primates and became the futuristic, Ape-controlled Earth that Heston discovers in the original film. The movie features an all-star cast of actors that includes Academy Award-nominated actor James Franco (Spider-Man), Frieda Pinto (Immortals), Tom Felton (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1), Brian Cox (X2: X-Men United), John Lithgow (Shrek), and motion-capture actor Andy Serkis (King Kong, The Adventures of Tintin) as Caesar, the future leader of the apes revolution. 

IAR is proud to present an exclusive behind-the-scenes featurette about the making of Rise of the Planet of the Apes and just how the filmmakers were able to digitally create the apes using performance capture technology. In the clip, director Rupert Wyatt, and motion-capture actor Terry Notary, who played Rocket and Bright Eyes in the film, discuss the technology they used to create all of the primates for the movie.

If you're looking to tell an epic tale, then look no further than the Old Testament story of Moses, from his being set afloat on the Nile River as a pup though his personal chats with Yahweh to the liberation of his people from their oppression in Egypt and possibly including a forty year trek through the desert. 

If you're doing a new take on Moses, it's going to have to stack up against The Ten Commandments, Cecil B. Demille's three hour and forty minute 1956 epic.  So who could possibly deliver an appropriately massive new version of Moses' story?  How about Steven Spielberg, who, according to an as yet unconfirmed rumor, is in talks to direct Gods and Kings.

Opening in theaters on August 5th is the long awaited new film Rise of the Planet of the Apes, a prequel/reboot of the classic Charlton Heston sci-fi series.The film is directed by Rupert Wyatt (The Escapist) and promises to tell the story of how our Earth was taken over by super-intelligent primates and became the futuristic, Ape-controlled Earth that Heston discovers in the original film. The movie features an all-star cast that includes Academy Award nominated actor James Franco (Spider-Man), Frieda Pinto (Immortals), Tom Felton (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince), Brian Cox (X2: X-Men United), John Lithgow (Shrek), and motion-capture actor Andy Serkis (King Kong, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy) as Caesar, the future leader of the apes revolution.

IAR's Jami Philbrick had a chance to catch up with director Rupert Wyatt, and actor Andy Serkis at this year's Comic-Con International in San Diego last month to discuss the new film, Serkis' experience portraying primates on screen, and exactly how this film will line up with the other movies in the franchise.

Netflix's streaming Watch Instantly service is fast becoming America's favorite way to watch movies. The library of available titles is so vast and mutable that you, the avid instant watcher, could no doubt use a guide as you navigate the streaming frontier.

Luckily for you, we'll be here every Tuesday to update you on the latest titles available for instant-watching, as well as bringing attention some gems and even some enjoyable calamities out there in the instantly watchable wilds.

Previous trailers for this summer's reboot/quasi-sequel Rise of the Planet of the Apes have focused principally on the action-packed simian uprising that jumpstarts the ape-ocalypse, a new international trailer puts the spotlight on Caesar, the scientifically-altered chimp who serves as patient zero for the hand off of global power from man to ape.  Andy Serkis provides the motion capture performance for Caesar, and this trailer gives a good idea of how Weta Digital will give emotive life to the character.  Of course, the trailer also proceeds to the requisite large-scale action beats, with apes hitting the town in San Francisco.