This week On the Radar George Lucas seeks to capture the minds of even younger viewers, Image Comics takes a shot at Marvel, and one of the most famous music videos of all time may go 3D.  All that and whole bunch of other fun stuff!

Crispin Glover talks Back to the Future controversy

Personally, I didn’t realize Back to the Future was mired in any kind of controversy, but it is.  Speaking at a promotion for Hot Tub Time Machine, Crispin Glover, who played Marty McFly’s (Michael J. Fox) Dad spoke about the raw deal he was dealt after the first film came out:

“On the DVD to the Back to the Future trilogy, Bob Gale has said something that’s totally fabricated,” Glover told a group of reporters at this weekend’s press junket forHot Tub Time Machine. “He said I asked for twice the amount of money that Michael J. Fox asked for in the first film. In the negotiation for the second film, they offered me less than half of what any of the actors that were being asked to come back in the film—Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson and Tom Wilson. They had all done studio films, and they’d made a lot more money. I was being penalized.”

Interesting stuff.  Mind you, considering the somewhat lackluster opinions of the second and third film maybe Glover got off easy by not being in them.

Jamie Foxx to star in Kane & Lynch video game adaption?

There hasn’t been a lot of talk about the film adaption of video game Kane & Lynch other than it could star Bruce Willis as Kane.  Now, another big name is being tossed around to play opposite Willis, Jamie Foxx.  Developed by IO Interactive Nu Image/Millennium is set to finance with Lionsgate distributing.  While I’m confident in the actors involved, video games are not well known for the best of translations to the big screen.

George Lucas bringing Galactic Heroes to TV

Ask any “real” Star Wars fan and they will probably tell you that The Clone Wars cartoon is pretty childish.  Well, prepared to consider that more mature entertainment.  Looking to draw in even younger viewers to the Star Wars universe, George Lucas is working on a cartoon adaption of the Star Wars: Galactic Heroes toy line.  You know, those chunky figures with a whopping two points of articulation (usually the arms).  Worse yet, this problem means more screen time with the one Star Wars character that can relate best to 3 year olds-Jar Jar Binks.

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“A woman cannot subsist on quality films alone”–Shannon Hood

Let me explain with a food analogy, if I may. For the most part, I am a food Nazi. I try to eat really well, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, watch my fat and sugar intake, and every once in a while I find myself in the McDonald’s drive through That quarter-pounder with cheese is damn delicious when I eat it.

Afterward, I usually feel guilty. I know that it is not good for me.  I know it lacks nutritional value, and really is not a quality offering, but I have to admit that I had a good time consuming it.

Such is the case with Cop Out, the first feature film that has been directed, but not written, by Kevin Smith. There is no way I can possibly sit here and tell you this is a good movie.  It is not, by any stretch of the imagination. It is really, really stupid. But I laughed.  A lot.  *hangs head in shame*

Let’s face facts. If you happened upon the trailer for this a few months ago, and after viewing it, you circled February 26 on your calendar and thought to yourself  ”I cannot WAIT to see that,”  then you will not be disappointed. What you see is what you get. You don’t need my advice here. This is pure cinematic junk food, which may or may not be what you are craving.

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With Kevin Smith causing all kinds of controversy both on land and (almost) in the air, many people feel this could all have something to do with the fact that his film Cop Out hits theaters all over the country this Friday. While that may be the case, we got our hands on some new clips that may speak for themselves.

The film, starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan, was originally titled A Couple of Dicks, and revolves around two New York City cops trying to take down an international drug lord. The premise and comedy solely depend on the “buddy cop” formula, with their dynamic running the entire film.

After the jump, check out three brand new clips from the film. In the first, Paul Hodges (Morgan) questions the fidelity of his wife (Rashida Jones). In the second, the partners observe while a victim explains her crime to a translator. Finally, Paul shows off his acting skills in the interrogation room.

Cop Out hits theaters everywhere this Friday.

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So far, the Cop Out trailer we’ve seen and the TV spots that have popped up haven’t inspired much hope that this latest Kevin Smith film will be very funny. In truth, it just doesn’t seem like a Kevin Smith film at all and instead, plays more like a generic studio buddy-cop picture. Obviously, we were hoping for a bit more.

Perhaps Warner Bros. is concerned as well because they’ve dropped a new Red Band trailer at MySpace that seems to reflect more of the “flavor” we’ve come to expect from Mr. Smith’s movies. Seeing this trailer, the film does look more like a Smith movie (although his name isn’t mentioned at all) and is definitely funnier. I just hope that these aren’t all the funny parts and we get more — and a story — when the film hits theaters on February 26.

The new Cop Out trailer is available after the break. Keep in mind this is a Red Band so it’s NSFW.

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It’s almost February and some really great movies are hitting store shelves this week for the first time and for the first time on Blu-ray. This week’s releases include This Is It, Surrogates, Whip It, Saw IV, the complete run of NBC’s canceled-too-soon Southland and the Blu-ray release of Wim Wenders’ classic Paris, Texas with Nastassja Kinski and Harry Dean Stanton. (pictured above).

Check out this week’s new releases:

Movies

Atonement ~ James McAvoy (Blu-ray)

Bright Star ~ Abbie Cornish, Ben Whishaw (Blu-ray and DVD)

Fame (1980) ~ Irene Cara (Blu-ray)

Give ‘Em Hell Malone ~ Doug Hutchison, Thomas Jane (Blu-ray and DVD)

I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell ~ Matt Czuchry, Geoff Stults (Blu-ray and DVD)

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This week on The Flickcast, Matt and Chris fly solo again as they take on Conan’s last episode and the classy way he handles it as well as the casting of a different Conan in a reboot of Conan the Barbarian. In addition they also talk about the upcoming Powers TV series, The Goon going digital and the amazing success of Avatar. They also discuss some other topics including the new Fox show Human Target, Jackie Earle Haley’s career, Spactacus: Blood and Sand, the nature of modern movies and the greatness of Die Hard.

Chris and Matt also made more picks this week. Matt went with Swimming with Sharks, and Chris picked the cult classic Coogan’s Bluff starring Clint Easwood as a cowboy in the big city who teaches those city slickers a thing or two about justice.

As usual, if you have any comments, questions, critiques or offers of sponsorship, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitterand at Facebook, MySpace or via email.

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After months of debate, Warner Bros. and Kevin Smith have finally come to terms on a title for their newest picture The movie, now known as Cop Out, stars Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan, and Sean William Scott.

The film, originally titled “Couple of Dicks” then a “Couple of Cops”, is the story of two cops who are trying to find a rare and very expensive baseball card, and the fanatical gangster who wants it. Willis’ character, Jimmy, needs to get the card back in order to pay for his daughter’s wedding. His partner, Paul (Morgan), is too obsessed with his wife’s infidelity to really stay focused on the job.

Having gone through that synopsis, this trailer covers none of that. What we get is a lot of Willis and Morgan being funny, and a movie that looks (almost) nothing like anything that Kevin Smith has ever done before. The script comes from fresh screenwriters Robb and Mark Cullen (TV’s Las Vegas).

Check out the first trailer for the film after the jump, and catch Smith’s Cop Out in theaters on February 26th.

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Summit Entertainment (The Twilight franchise) has announced the release date for the upcoming film Red. In case you’re not familiar, the film features Bruce Willis as Paul Moses, a former CIA assassin, who after years of retirement ends up hunted by the government for the things he knows. Red has been set for release on October 22, 2010.

The film, based off the mini-series by Warren Ellis (Transmetropolitan) and illustrator Cully Hamner, has an A-list ensemble cast lined up including Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, John C. Reilly, Mary-Louise Parker, Brian Cox, Richard Dreyfuss and just announced the other day, James Remar (Dexter).

The film is being directed by Robert Schwentke (The Time Traveler’s Wife), from a script by Jon and Erich Hoeber, who gave us another recent comic-book adaptation, Whiteout.

This week, Chris and Matt are joined by special guest Rick Marshall, editor of MTV’s Splashpage site, to talk about movies, tv, comics, games and all things geek. Among the topics covered are what holiday movies the three are looking forward to such as Kick-Ass and Sherlock Holmes, Avatar, cool video game releases, Thor casting, the performance of 2012 at the box office, the upcoming release of The Twilight Saga: New Moon and a whole lot more.

As usual, the guys made some cool picks for you to check out this week including Rick’s pick of the upcoming Warner Bros. action flick Ninja Assasin, Matt’s pick of the classic Bruce Willis action/romance film Die Hard and Chris’ dual picks of the Chuck Norris action film The Octagon (shown at right) and AMC’s currently running reboot The Prisoner, starring Ian McKellan and Jim Caviezal.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques or offers of sponsorship, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter and at Facebook, MySpace or via email.

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According to THR’s Heat Vision Blog, John C. Reilly and Mary-Louise Parker are now in negotiations to join the cast of Red, Summit Entertainment’s adaptation of the Wildstorm/DC Comics miniseries written by Jon and Erich Hoeber and being directed by Robert Schwentke. If they do end up signing up for the film, they will join a cast that already includes Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman and Helen Mirren.

Originally published in 2003 and 2004, Red was co-created by writer Warren Ellis and artist Cully Hammer. It centers on a former black-ops agent Paul Moses (Bruce Willis), now in retirement, who has to contend with younger, more high-tech assassins who want to kill him and keep his former exploits from going public. Naturally, the first hit squad fails and alerts Moses that he’s being targeted. So, he goes on the offensive in order to stay alive.

If cast, Reilly would play a retired CIA agent who is paranoid that everyone is out to kill him. Parker would play Willis’ character’ love interest, a federal pension worker who becomes embroiled in the Willis character’s struggle to stay alive. Red is expected to begin filming in January in Toronto with an projected release later in 2010.