When you’re in the news business and things move as fast as they do these days (i.e at the “speed of the Internerts”) sometimes a story will slip through the cracks. This is one of those stories.

A few days ago French video game publisher Ubisoft announced it is launching Ubisoft Motion Pictures to adapt its game franchises for film and TV. Heading up this new venture will be Jean-Julien Baronnet, former CEO of Luc Besson’s EuropaCorp., producer Didier Lupfer is in charge of production and development and Jean de Rivieres, former head of distribution at Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures France, will handle marketing and international sales.

Some of Ubisoft’s titles that could be movies include Assassin’s Creed and Splinter Cell. You also may recall Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time was recently brought to the big screen by Jerry Bruckheimer, with Jake Gyllenhaal in the lead. Yeah, we kinda tried to forget that one too.

With this new division it will be interesting to see if the company can do a better job with turing its games into films than others have done. My guess is they probably won’t have much luck. Turning games into movies is very difficult, just ask all the people who’ve tried to do it.

In 2009, director Duncan Jones made a splash on the indie scene by bringing us a smart, trippy sci-fi film called Moon. The film was warmly received by critics, but fell short of being a commercial success.

Despite the fact that Source Code has all the trappings of a studio film (bigger budget, bigger stars, bigger advertising campaign) Jones has remained remarkably faithful to his indie roots. The result is the rare mix of a smart thriller with wide audience appeal. We’ve seen that audiences don’t always shy away from smart films (case in point, Christopher Nolan’s Inception); maybe we are finally starting to see the studios warm to the idea that smart and commercially viable are not necessarily mutually exclusive concepts.

Source Code proves that the two can concepts can co-exist in perfect harmony. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Captain Colter Stevens, who finds himself on a train in Chicago one day and is completely panicked to find out that he has no idea who the woman sitting with him is, and he doesn’t know how he got on the train. Before he can put the pieces of the puzzle, the train blows up.

Colter finds himself waking up in a pod-type device, listening to the soothing voice of Colleen (Vera Farmiga), a military officer who explains that he has been sent back in time (before the train exploded) to find out who placed the bomb on the train. They believe that another attack is planned, and the only way to stop it is to find the perpetrator of the attack on the first train.

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Sci-Fi is the new action in 2011 as one of the bigger films, Duncan Jones’ Source Code has gotten it’s second, and International trailer. This is Jones’ second major science fiction release after last year’s thriller Moon. The film follows a pretty simple premise…for sci-fi nerds.

When decorated soldier Captain Colter Stevens wakes up in the body of an unknown man, he discovers he’s part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train. In an assignment unlike any he’s ever known, he learns he’s part of a government experiment called the ‘Source Code,” a program that enables him to cross over into another man’s identity in the last 8 minutes of his life. With a second much larger target threatening to kill millions in Downtown Chicago, Colter relives the incident over and over again, gathering clues each time, until he can solve the mystery of who is behind the bombs and prevent the next attack.

A little bit Twelve Monkeys, a little bit Quantum Leap, with the charm of Jake Gyllenhaal and the unique guerrilla directing style of Duncan Jones. Check out the new international trailer after the jump, and catch Source Code in theaters on April 15th.

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Jamie Randall (Jake Gyllenhaal) is your average all-American boy: born and raised in Chicago to a wealthy family of doctors, super intelligent, and ultra charming to all the ladies. “This is my Thai friend,” coos Lisa, one of his soon-to-be conquests, “I’m a little Thai-curious myself. She’s a little Jamie-curious” You can imagine where it goes from there.

Wait, that’s not what happens to everyone? Oh. Well, everyone makes mistakes. Everyone, that is, except Jamie.

Love and Other Drugs is based on the book Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman by, not surprisingly, the real Jamie Randall (whose real last name is Reidy), and it sits back in awe of its protagonist, who’s portrayed as close a thing we mortals shall ever get to seeing an actual god.

And so it’s no surprise that when he meets the woman of dreams, Parkinson-sufferer Maggie Murdock (Anne Hathaway), the conflict in their relationship is driven almost entirely by her reluctance to fall in love with anyone due to her condition. “I hope you’re full of shit,” she says when they decide to become purely physical lovers, “Blow it out your a$$,” I think.

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Duncan Jones passed the writer’s strike test and managed to put out an amazing sci-fi thriller called Moon back in 2009. Now that things are back on an even(ish) playing field, Jones is getting another attempt to bend the minds of moviegoers with his newest psychological thriller, Source Code. Here’s the studio’s extensive synopsis.

When decorated soldier Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) wakes up in the body of an unknown man, he discovers he’s part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train. In an assignment unlike any he’s ever known, he learns he’s part of a government experiment called the “Source Code,” a program that enables him to cross over into another man’s identity in the last 8 minutes of his life.

With a second, much larger target threatening to kill millions in downtown Chicago, Colter re-lives the incident over and over again, gathering clues each time, until he can solve the mystery of who is behind the bombs and prevent the next attack. Filled with mind-boggling twists and heart-pounding suspense, Source Code is a smart action-thriller directed by Duncan Jones also starring Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, and Jeffrey Wright.

From what we can see, consider this film Twelve Monkeys meets Quantum Leap, with a few Inception elements thrown in. Check out the full trailer after the jump, and catch the film in theaters on April 15th.

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In Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, Jake Gyllenhal stars as Prince Dastan, a former orphan who caught the eye of the king with a heroic deed, and was adopted into the royal family. Alongside his adoptive brothers he learns to fight like a warrior, but he is a bit scrappier that the other two, and can’t resist a good street fight from time to time.

He can nimbly traverse the city’s rooftops and his fancy footwork allows him to escape many a predicament that would have felled a lesser man. Prince Dastan is definitely supposed to be a throwback swashbuckler like Indiana Jones, or Richard O’Connell from The Mummy. Jake Gyllenhal almost pulls it off, but in the end, this story felt like a wanna-be Indiana Jones movie. Unfortunately, it comes up a bit short in every way.

The story begins when the Persian King believes that a neighboring kingdom harbors weapons of mass destruction, so they must invade and occupy the city. This will be Dastan”s big chance to to lead the army and prove his worth.

And so they invade the neighboring kingdom of Alamut under false pretenses. In Alamut, they encounter a beautiful, stubborn princess named Tamina, who takes a an instant dislike to Daston, but later, when Daston is accused of a committing a horrible crime, Tamina (Gemma Arterton, of Clash of the Titans) leads him to safety.

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Earlier this week, we brought you three exciting new clips from the upcoming Disney blockbuster Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. We got our first look at the drama between Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Nizam (Ben Kingsley), as well as some of the immense action that the film plans to deliver.

Today, we’re bringing you even more. The screenplay comes from Boaz Yakin who was set to originally write the Batman Year One project directed by Darren Aronofsky. That film later became Chris Nolan’s Batman Begins. Also, the team of Doug Miro and Carlo Bernard helped move the Prince script along. They also wrote the script for Disney’s upcoming The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

In the clips today, we get our first look at Alfred Molina in the film, sporting a spiffy tan. Also, we get a bit more action and roof-jumping from Gyllenhaal’s Dastan, and a cool “Sand Trap” scene showing off some of the CG effects of the film.

Check out those clips after the jump. Catch Disney’s Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time as early as midnight tonight across the U.S.

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This week could mark the the continuation of an epic summer blockbuster season as Disney comes out of the box swinging with Prince of Persia. Robin Hood and MacGruber had pretty lame opening week’s, while Iron Man 2 and Shrek Forever After took home a nice chunk of change. Disney, along with Bruckheimer and most of Hollywood, believe they will continue that success with this Jake Gyllenhaal-starring vehicle.

In the film, Gyllenhaal plays Dastan, a character made famous by the classic side-scrolling video game Prince of Persia. The movie is set against an epic historical backdrop, with plenty of fantasy elements thrown in for good measure. Joining Gyllenhaal are Gemma Arterton (Clash of the Titans), Ben Kingsley, and Alfred Molina.

In the first three clips we’ve got for you (that’s right, there will be more), Dastan and Nizam (Kingsley) prepare for battle, we get some nighttime sneak attacks, and Dastan and Tamina (Arterton) have a lover’s quarrel.

Check out the clips after the jump, and catch Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time in theaters Friday, May 28th.

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year. It’s finally here! After a long and cold winter (well for the East Coast anyways- us West Coasters only had the infrequent earthquake) the glory of Summer movies is upon us. Can’t you tell I’m excited?

In an effort to make your choices clear, I’ve devised a list of movies in May based on their geekiness, hotness, and a few other gauges of greatness. Read on to see which films you should wait in line for and which should wait for you in your Netflix queue.

MAY MOVIES

May 7th
Iron Man 2

Pure, unadulterated, awesomeness.  I will be going, as in I bought my 12:01 Arclight ticket weeks ago. I expect Iron Man himself to introduce my movie-going experience. If I’m lucky John Favreau and a host of Marvelites will be sitting behind me watching my every emotion with bated breath.

Geekiness Factor: There are cool gadgets only a brilliant mind like Stark or Favreau could devise. There’s a shot in the trailer of Iron Man and War Machine unleashing holy Hell to all comers. It’s also based on a comic book (whowouldathunkit) which ups the geekiness factor dramatically.

Screen Steamer: Robert Downey Jr., or for those thinking they’re cool by calling him RDJ, is in it. He is 5 feet 10 inches of hotness in a scruffy, arrogant, decisive package. And oh yeah, Scarlett Johansson is also wearing tight black leather.

As I have yet to hear more than 2 words from her in the trailer, I will guess the bigwigs believe her bottle of red hair dye #10 is all the hotness needed to make fanboys line up. I, on the other hand, have seen her films and expect her to talk. She has a great personality beyond that pout… really, she does I swear.

Great Expectations: Just a little (note sarcasm). “I am Iron Man.” Tony Stark better bring it in this one. But, does that mean more villains, more suits, more plots, more romance, and more action? Yes, apparently that’s what constituents as better to the studios, to the detriment of us. Hopefully Favreau wised up, but from what I’ve heard and seen, that’s not the case.

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Disney made the most of their WonderCon time this weekend, treating fans and curious spectators alike with two exclusive clips from the Prince of Persia‘s fabled world of 1,001 Nights.

I gotta be honest with you, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Newell and Bruckheimer have already spoken at length at WonderCon about their sensitivity to bringing this adaptation to the big screen, and on paper, it doesn’t seem like an odd bet. Bruckheimer certainly struck gold with the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, and given what Newell was able to do with the much beloved world of Harry Potter, I wasn’t as skeptical of his helming as I was at the odds of something getting completely lost in translation.

That being said, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time looks like it’s going to be a fun ride. The debut clip was an attack on a heavily fortified city and clearly shows off Gyllenhaal’s much talked about stuntwork (thanks to his acrobatic and Parkour training). There’s lots of sneaking around, last minute ingenuity and, of course, swordfighting (the hallmarks of any swashbuckler adventure film), but everything doesn’t always go according to plan. Yes, this is an action flick, but this is also a Newell film.

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Many people are speculating that Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer’s upcoming Prince of Persia will carry on the financial mantle of the team’s previous franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean. After we took a look at the very first trailer, we’re now inclined to agree with that theory.

The film could also be what finally puts Jake Gyllenhaal on the map as an action star, which may be the logical next step in his career. Alongside Jake, the film stars Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina, and Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace), and comes from a script by Doug Miro and Carlo Bernard (The Uninvited).

Disney just released three new character posters, showing off Kingsley, Arterton, and Gyllenhaal looking stoic. Even Ben has a bit of a photoshop’d twinkle in his eye for some reason. Check them out after the jump, and be sure to “Defy The Future” with Prince Of Persia: The Sands of Time on May 28th.

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Even though it seems like there’s quite a few awards shows these days, this one could end up being pretty cool — especially if you happen to be a fan of video games and celebrities from TV, sports and movies. Spike TV’s Video Game Awards, which premiere on Saturday, December 12 at 8PM Eastern, has announced some of its big time celebrity guests and presenters, and we’ve got the “who’s who” scoop right here, direct from the event’s official press release.

BIG NAMES IN GAMES COME OUT FOR
SPIKE TV’S “VIDEO GAME AWARDS 2009”

Academy Award™-Nominated Actor Jake Gyllenhaal, Green Day, Snoop Dogg,
Olivia Wilde And Zachary Quinto Kick-Off All-Star Line Up

Spike TV’s 7th Annual “Video Game Awards 2009” Premiere LIVE On
Saturday, December 12 At 8:00 PM ET

New York, NY, December 7, 2009 – Megastars from the worlds of video games, Hollywood, music, sports and more will gather to pay tribute to the outstanding achievements within the video game industry during the past year at Spike TV’s 7th Annual “Video Game Awards 2009.” Broadcasting in over 180 territories and countries, the VGAs will be a global celebration of all things gaming as it premieres LIVE on Spike TV Saturday, December 12 at 8:00 PM, ET (tape delay west coast).

Academy Award™ nominated Actor Jake Gyllenhaal will be on hand to dole out the night’s most prestigious honor, Game of the Year, as well as to present a special look at his upcoming Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films, future blockbuster “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.”

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