Found-footage films are not a new concept; especially in horror movies where the idea goes all the way back to ‘1999’s The Blair Witch Project and has been utilized in such recent hits as Cloverfield, the Paranormal Activity franchise and The Devil Inside. However, two films in particular this year, Chronicle, and Project X, have pushed the envelope by incorporating the found-footage concept into entirely new film genres. With Warner Bros.’ Project X, the technique was used to illustrate a high school party movie, and with 20^th Century Fox’s Chronicle, which is available on Blu-Ray and DVD beginning May 15^th, the concept was fused with the super hero genre to great success as the film was an international box office hit.

First time director Josh Trank, along with screenwriter and childhood friend Max Landis, created a found-footage story about three friends who find something mysterious that gifts them with unthinkable super powers. The film follows Seattle high-school seniors Andrew (Dane DeHaan), his cousin Matt (Alex Russell), and Steve (Michael B. Jordan), as they form a close bond after receiving telekinetic abilities from an unknown object. The boys use their newfound abilities for mischief and personal gain until Andrew begins to utilize them for more nefarious purposes. Since the initial success of the film, Trank has been mentioned as a possible director for several upcoming comic book based films including a Fantastic Four reboot, a Venom Spin-off, and an adaptation of Image Comic’s The Red Star.

In honor of the Blu-ray and DVD release of the film, I recently had a chance to chat with director Josh Trank about Chronicle, as well as his rumored involvement in those upcoming comic book adapted film properties. Trank discussed his recent movie, developing the story with screenwriter Max Landis, marrying the super hero and found-footage genres, his actual cinematic inspirations for the film, what the studio wanted him to change, the technical aspects of directing a found-footage movie, and which comic book-based film he will direct next.

Opening in theaters on April 13th is a new slapstick comedy directed by the Farrelly Brothers (Kingpin, Dumb and Dumber, There's Something About Mary) called The Three Stooges, which is based on the legendary comedic film trio. The movie stars Chris Diamantopoulos (TV's The Kennedys), Sean Hayes (TV's Will & Grace), and Will Sasso (TV's MADtv) as Moe, Larry, and Curly, respectively, as well as a cast that includes Jane Lynch (TV's Glee), Larry David (TV's Curb Your Enthusiasm), Sofia Vergara (TV's Modern Family), Craig Bierko (Cinderella Man), Isaiah Mustafa (Madea's Big Happy Family), Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Kate Upton, the cast of Jersey Shore, and Academy Award-winner Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls).  

IAR's Managing Editor Jami Philbrick recently had a chance to sit down with cinematic legends The Three Stooges about their aptly titled new film The Three Stooges. The three icons discussed their new film, how they prepared for their roles, doing slapstick without getting hurt, if women will like the film, Kate Upton, and how Hollywood has changed them. 

Just yesterday, Disney announced that Maleficent, the live-action retelling of the Sleeping Beauty story starring Angelina Jolie as the eponymous villain, would arrive in theaters on March 14, 2014.  Before she moves into the realm of a fantasy origin tale, though, Jolie might just join a very different type of project for a brief spell.  That would be The Counselor, the next film from Ridley Scott that is attracting attention from very famous people and a potential distributor.

Opening in theaters on April 13th is a new slapstick comedy directed by the Farrelly Brothers (Kingpin, Dumb and Dumber, There's Something About Mary) called The Three Stooges, which is based on the legendary comedic film trio. The movie stars Chris Diamantopoulos (TV's The Kennedys), Sean Hayes (TV's Will & Grace), and Will Sasso (TV's MADtv) as Moe, Larry, and Curly, respectively, as well as a cast that includes Jane Lynch (TV's Glee), Larry David (TV's Curb Your Enthusiasm), Sofia Vergara (TV's Modern Family), Craig Bierko (Cinderella Man), Isaiah Mustafa (Madea's Big Happy Family), Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Kate Upton, the cast of Jersey Shore, and Academy Award-winner Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls).  

IAR's Managing Editor Jami Philbrick recently had a chance to sit down with director Peter Farrelly, one half of the Farrelly Brothers, to discuss The Three Stooges. The accomplished director talked about the new movie, the importance of casting the right actors to play the iconic lead characters, Three Stooges boot camp, why he deserves an award for directing the cast of Jersey Shore, Jennifer Hudson's contractual obligation to sing in the film, Larry David's performance as a nun, and why Shemp Howard (Moe and Curley's brother, and the unofficial forth Stooge) does not appear in the movie but might be used in a sequel. 

Based on his unabashed aquatic preoccupation, I'd bet that James Cameron's Malibu estate has a beautiful ocean view.  In addition to The Abyss, Titanic, and his many submersible adventures, Cameron has long developed The Dive, a drama based on a real life free-diving couple.  While the world's preeminent blockbuster-maker is busy with his Avatar sequels, though, The Dive is being handed off to director Martin Campbell.

The incredible domestic trailer for Prometheus that premiered over the weekend concludes with Michael Fassbender's character, David, saying, "Big things have small beginnings."  He might as well have been talking about the film's marketing.  20th Century Fox has kept an exceptionally tight lid on Ridley Scott's oh-so mysterious Alien prequel for more than a year, but with less than three months until release, the floodgates have opened in spectacular fashion.

Tim Burton is sick! No, he’s, like, literally sick. That’s the reason he missed being a speaker on the Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, which opened the Fox Films presentation at WonderCon 2012. Burton produced the film adaptation of the novel by the same name, which will be coming out in 3D on June, 22nd. For devotees of his brand and auteurship, he put together a brief but very apologetic clip, complete with a corpse (Burton’s temporary alter-ego, until he feels better), sexy nurses and a fat man in a black shirt and a long white beard (his doctor, of course!)

That’s the way the 20th Century Fox presentation for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter began, before moving forward with the panel’s moderator, Seth Grahame-Smith, who is the novelist presupposing that perhaps Abraham Lincoln saved the country in more ways than one. Grahame-Smith, who appeared all sorts of genuine and happy and amiable, opened the program by saying that it was really weird for him to be on the stage, because for the last ten years he was the one trying to get in on these panels and going and filling his swag bag; it was really emotional and a cool honor to be there. “It feels like this book came out a minute ago, and now we’re talking about a movie.”

Immediately thereafter, he invited director  Timor Bekmambetov (Wanted) and actor Benjamin Walker (Flags of our Fathers) out on to the stage, to sit and introduce an actual sequence from the movie, made ready for WonderCon attendees.

Here’s the thing about Prometheus, the 3D sci-fi movie coming out in June of this year. Prometheus was made by a genius. Its story is connected to, by degrees, one of the most important science-fiction narratives in movie history. In short, hardcore followers of Ridley Scott and the tetralogy inspired by his brainchild, Alien, have been waiting for this moment since it was first announced several years ago.

That anticipation was palpable at the WonderCon 2012 Fox Film Panel. The crowd cheered at length before one of the Prometheus script’s writers and panel moderator, Damon Lindelhof, came out to introduce the trailer. (It was to have been the first time an audience saw the Prometheus trailer, but unfortunately, someone leaked the trailer online 12 hours ago).

The crowd was understandably excited. Sir Ridley Scott is directly responsible for stunning movies of visual and narrative splendor across genres. From Alien (1979) to Bladerunner (1982) to Thelma and Louise (1991), Black Hawk Down (2001) and Gladiator (2000), his mythology is specific, humanistic, and resounding.

What if Zorro, rather than being the masked hero swashbuckling about in Spanish-colonial California, were a revenge-obsessed masked avenger in a possibly post-apocalyptic landscape far in the future?  That's the idea behind Zorro Reborn, a reinvention of Don Diego de la Vega, the enduring and dashing hero created by Johnston McCulley in the 1919 pulp tale The Curse of Capistrano.  20th Century Fox may have found a director for Zorro Reborn, with Ricardo de Montreuil emerging as a strong contender.

Most movies involving superpowered characters are ridiculously costly affairs, but last month's Chronicle, a sort of found footage superheroic origin story, was far more cost effective.  The film was a pleasant surprise for critics and audiences, proving quite commercially successful over the last month.  For the film's younger director, Josh Trank, and writer, Max Landis, this has meant a huge jump in their respective profiles.  Now they're both lining up new projects, and Landis has signed on to write a Chronicle sequel for 20th Century Fox.