Given that the Mayans had a portion of the population convinced that this is the last year on the planet, it makes sense that Hollywood would be willing to exploit the apocalypse by taking it to the world of Romantic Comedies. That’s exactly the plan from with Seeking a Friend for the End of the World.

From writer/director Lorene Scafaria, who last brought us Michael Cera and Kat Dennings running around New York City in Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist comes yet another lengthy-titled film. This time, the twist is a bit more enticing. Here’s the rundown.

Steve Carell and Keira Knightley star in the comedy Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, which marks the feature directorial debut of screenwriter Lorene Scafaria. Set in a too-near future, the movie explores what people will do when humanity’s last days are at hand. As the respective journeys of Dodge (Carell) and Penny (Knightley) converge, the two spark to each other and their outlooks – if not the world’s – brighten.

A full cast of funny, with folks like TJ Miller, Patton Oswalt, and Rob Huebel making the end of the world a bit funnier. Take a look at the trailer after the jump, and catch the flick on June 22nd.

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Even though some may criticize us for a bit of self promotion, I don’t care. When one of our team does something cool outside of their work at The Flickcast, I want to make sure to bring it to as many people’s attention as possible.

Case in point today is The Flickcast co-founder Chris Ullrich’s new venture into indie comics and comics publishing. The first comic out of the gate for this new venture is called Believer. Here’s the synopsis:

Believer tells the story of Jack Hollenbeck, disgraced Los Angeles police detective turned tabloid reporter and occasional private investigator who is hired by a mysterious woman and her aging father to locate an an ancient object of incredible value . . . and incredible power.

During the course of Jack’s investigation and search for the object, he soon realizes things are not what they seem as sinister forces, human and otherwise, converge on Los Angeles to prevent him, by any means necessary, from finding the object.

Aided by a woman he doesn’t really trust and relying on his wits, a few friends in the police who don’t hate him, and his knowledge of ancient magics he’s extremely reluctant to use, Jack must brave all manner of hardship to find the object before someone else does and uses its power to enslave mankind.

Believer was written by Chris Ullrich and Joseph Dilworth with pencils by Kris Carter. Economics being what they are in the startup world, the creators are currently running a Kickstarter campaign to help raise finishing funds for the comic series. Why not give them a buck or two?

You can check out some preview pages for Believer after the break.

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One thing we’ve always supported is independent production of film, tv, comics and games. As an independently operated news site, we understand how hard it is to break through to that next level. It is also great to hear when one of The Flickcast’s supporters gets an opportunity to bring one of their artistic visions to life.

Alex Greenfield is one of those supporters. Alex is best known for being the former lead writer on WWE’s SmackDown brand as well as two TV movies, Street Warrior and Jack’s Family Adventure. Last week, Alex and his writing partner Michael K Eitelman released The Temple through Amazon Studios.

We got the chance to talk briefly with Alex and he told us about both his inspiration behind The Temple as well as a little bit of the creative process.

My dad read me “The Rats in the Walls” when I was like five, literally sitting around a campfire. Let’s agree to ignore the parenting questions that anecdote raises and skip right to the fact that I became a Lovecraft addict before I could read. It was only a matter of time before I would dip my pen in the Mythos well.

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Originally intending to auction off the rights to Red State at its Sundance premiere last year, Mr. Smith turned-tail and decided to self distribute through Smodcast Pictures instead. The film was shown in the “road show” format in select cities before receiving an official release. Smith’s sudden change of heart naturally erupted into accusations of dishonesty from some attending distributors.

One year after the controversy, Smith has once again stepped forward and struck a partnership with Phase 4 Films in what seems to be an abandonment of his rebel ways. On Monday, Smith released an official statement regarding the exclusive distribution in cooperation with Smodcast, the production company founded by Smith himself.

Phase 4 gains U.S. and Canadian rights for the option to distribute up to a maximum of twelve films alongside the newly entitled Kevin Smith and Smodcast Pictures Presents label. Four features will release theatrically and include a film tour similar to that of Red State.

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Sure, we may get Abraham Lincoln fighting vampires later this year, but before that even happens, you’ll be getting another American icon kicking some supernatural ass and leaving historical fact at the door.

That’s right, the film FDR: American Badass! is a real film starring the likes of Bruce McGill (Animal House), Ray Wise (Twin Peaks), Kevin Sorbo (Hercules) , Lin Shaye (Austin Powers Films), and Barry Bostwick (Rocky Horror Picture Show) as Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Here’s a brief synopsis if you don’t believe us.

In this throwback to the original 1966 Batman movie, FDR rides a “wheelchair of death” to stop the world from werewolves who carry the polio virus, including werewolf versions of Hitler, Mussolini, and Emperor Hirohito.

Imagine FDR taking on Nazi werewolves, riding a gun-wielding wheelchair, and saying things like “F*ck Polio!”. That’s exactly what you’re going to get from the “straight to Netflix” writing/directing duo of Ross Patterson and Garret Brawith in this flick.

Take a look at the awe inspiring trailer after the jump, and keep your eyes on all forms of distribution for when this movie hits later this year.

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Take a look at Part One of the Horror 2012 movie preview here. We’ve already talked about Women wearing Black, Ravens, and a few other things that go bump in the night, but this spring and summer is when we’re going to get some true horror in theaters. Let’s get started, shall we?

April 13, 2012 – Cabin in the Woods

The Cabin in the Woods (Distributed by Lionsgate Films) Produced by Joss Whedon, this film promises a new spin on the basic remote thriller concept in this voyeuristic slasher.

April 20, 2012 – House at the End of the Street

(Distributed by Relativity Media) Based on a treatment and short story written by Jonathan Demme and Mostow, the story focuses on a girl’s discovery of the murder in the home across the street from her new home.  Things become complicated when she befriends the victim’s son.

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There aren’t that many current directors who have a laser-pointed style that can be seen from a mile away. Thankfully, Wes Anderson is one of those directors. You can spot a film like The Royal Tenenbaums or Life Aquatic from space and know that they came from the retro dreams of Anderson. Now, he’s at it again.

This time, in his film Moonrise Kingdom, he’s adding new names like Ed Norton, Frances McDormand, and Bruce Willis to his regular cast of players that includes Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman. Take a look at the fantastically twisted premise below.

Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, MOONRISE KINGDOM tells the story of two twelve-year-olds who fall in love, make a secret pact, and run away together into the wilderness. As various authorities try to hunt them down, a violent storm is brewing off-shore — and the peaceful island community is turned upside down in more ways than anyone can handle. Bruce Willis plays the local sheriff. Edward Norton is a Khaki Scout troop leader.

The flick is set to hit theaters on May 25th, and you better believe that Anderson is going to pull out the stops with his indie band connections for what should be a stellar soundtrack. Take a look at the trailer after the jump.

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It has never been a hotter time to be a fan of Sherlock Holmes. The old chap now has two blockbuster Hollywood movies. Plus, Sherlock has a highly rated and successful BBC television series. The only thing he is missing is a comic book.

His mortal enemy Professor James Moriarty is brilliantly featured in his own series published by Image comics called, what else, Moriarty. It is the beginning of the 20th century, the dawn of World War 1, Sherlock Holmes has been dead for twenty years, and Moriarty has been drafted into service by MI5.

This issue is part four of the storyline called The Lazarus Tree.  A full-scale riot breaks out in the streets of Kyauktada, and the British authorities sweep in to take control. The mystery begins to unravel, and Moriarty becomes aware of the lurking threat of Moran’s sniper rifle hunting him in the shadows.

The characterization of Moriarty is brilliant. He is essentially an evil Sherlock Holmes. He sees common details that people miss, he is a brilliant doctor, and he is even a brilliant professor, dealing with concepts and theories that are way beyond his time. The major problem with the character is that even though he interesting; the writing never truly gives us a reason to like him.

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OK, so maybe not the first time, but this video from the folks at Dogfood Films is pretty hilarious. Already going viral, the video uses the hilariously awkward video of Harrison Ford playing Uncharted 3 in his lofty living room and splices in scenes from the first (and best) three Indiana Jones films.

Sure, we have to believe that Ford has seen all of these films at least a few times, but the reactions he has to some of the timeless scenes, especially the epic cringe that he pulls off while watching Temple of Doom are pretty hilarious.

Dogfood Films have been known for doing a few other film mashups, such as How Jingle All the Way  Should Have Been and a few others. It just goes to show that, if you’ve got the time, and you can obtain the footage, there is absolutely no limit to the things that can be drawn out for us to laugh at on YouTube.

Take a look at the video after the jump and check out Dogfood’s channel for more goodies.

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It’s been said that if you screw up once, it’s a mistake, but if you do it three times it’s a style.

Don’t get me wrong, Submarine is a good film with a strong voice, but that’s not to say it’s not without pros and cons.  With a unique tone, interesting characters, and distinctive editing, director Richard Ayoade obviously had a strong vision for this film from the beginning.  The only problem was with the main character, Oliver Tate, who was written as such an offbeat character that there were times at which he was hard to relate to.

Submarine is a film full of feature film newcomers.  Ayoade makes his narrative feature debut as writer/director, a departure from his career as a TV actor and director.  Both of the young actors, as well, come fresh to the big screen.  Craig Roberts, playing Oliver Tate, takes on his first feature lead in this film (he has since starred in Jane Eyre), and Yasmin Paige, coming only from small parts in obscure films, gives a surprisingly beautiful performance as his love interest, Jordana Bevan.

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The nominations for the 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards are out. These awards highlight the best in independent cinema and have often helped Academy Awards voters who don’t see indie films realie there’e more to life than what they get at the local multi-plex. Not that Academy Awards voters actually ever go to a multi-plex either.

Looking over the list we can guess what you’re thinking: where’s Michael Fassbender’s nomination for Shame? We don’t know either. We are, however, very happy to see Ryan Gosling, Nicolas Winding Refn and Albert Brooks get nods for their work on Drive. Great movie and great performances.

Here’s all the nominees:

BEST FEATURE
50/50 Producers: Evan Goldberg, Ben Karlin, Seth Rogen
Beginners Producers: Miranda de Pencier, Lars Knudsen, Leslie Urdang, Dean Vanech, Jay Van Hoy
Drive Producers: Michel Litvak, John Palermo, Marc Platt, Gigi Pritzker, Adam Siegel
Take Shelter Producers: Tyler Davidson, Sophia Lin
The Artist Producer: Thomas Langmann
The Descendants Producers: Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor

BEST DIRECTOR
Michel Hazanavicius The Artist
Mike Mills Beginners
Jeff Nichols Take Shelter
Alexander Payne The Descendants
Nicolas Winding Refn Drive

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With Juno, Diablo Cody and Jason Reitman solidified themselves in cinematic history with Cody even winning an Oscar for best screenplay. So it makes sense the duo would try to strike gold again with a whole new gang of wacky characters and off-beat tone in their latest collaboration Young Adult.

That seems to be the plan for the movie, or at least what we can gather from this new red-band trailer. For those who need a bit more other than seeing the amazing cast of Charlize Theron, Patrick Wilson, and Patton Oswalt, here’s the synopsis:

Charlize Theron plays Mavis Gary, a writer of teen literature who returns to her small hometown to relive her glory days and attempt to reclaim her happily married high school sweetheart (Wilson). When returning home proves more difficult than she thought, Mavis forms an unusual bond with a former classmate (Oswalt) who hasn’t quite gotten over high school, either.

Take a look at the new trailer after the jump in which Theron gets a bit nuts. Young Adult is set to hit theaters on December 9th.

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