This week’s pick is yet another John Carpenter classic. Kurt Russell stars as the first ever action hero of the 1980s in Escape From New York (1981). After success with Halloween and the horror classic The Fog, Carpenter’s next project would be a unique blend of science fiction, action, noir and a western. The result is one of the finest multi genre classics of its time.

Set in a dystopian future (now the past) the United States’ crime rate rises to an astonishing four hundred percent in 1988. To combat the growing crime rate, the United States becomes a totalitarian police state and the great city of New York is turned into the one prison for the whole country. A fifty-foot containment wall is erected around all of Manhattan Island, all the bridges and waterways are mined, and the United States Police Force patrols the wall perimeter to insure no one escapes. Once you go inside the prison, you never come out.

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We here at The Flickcast don’t like to judge films based on their rating. While it might be in vogue to jump on the hate wagon when a popular franchise goes for a PG-13 instead of an R, none of that matters if the story is good. The rating should be dependent on content, and that content should be determined by what ever choices lead to the best possible movie.

That said, it is hard not to feel a little enthusiasm when the current rights holder to the Terminator franchise tweets outs gold like this:

@meganeellison: @terminatorfans We can’t really tell you guys anything about Terminator BUT it will be an R rated film as God and James Cameron intended.

In the years since the release of the first two Terminator films, action and violence has grown more and more accepted by the MPAA, leaving films like T2 as examples of very soft R rated films. The franchise doesn’t “need” an R rating in the same way a Zombie film or a Slasher movie does. However, knowing that at the very center of all things Terminator  an R rated film means in the writing phase there will be no compromises, which is very encouraging after the debacle that was Terminator: Salvation.

It’s probably only a matter of time before every movie ever made is converted to 3D. Fortunately, that’s just an exaggeration as we can’t see something like Ishtar, Heaven’s Gate, Norbit or Catwoman getting the 3D treatment any time soon.

However, that hasn’t stopped James Cameron from going ahead with his plans to convert Titanic to 3D and release it into the wild. And now that blessed event has a firm date: April 6, 2012.

In case you’re wondering, that date kinda makes sense considering it marks the centennial anniversary of the actual Titanic’s maiden voyage, although I believe the date is a little early and the ship actually left port on April 10th. Oh well, details, details.

Considering Cameron himself is not a fan of converting 3D  movies and prefers to shoot them that way from the start, its interesdting that he decided to convert  Titanic. Let’s try not to be cynical and see this as just another grab for cash by a guy who’s already a Billionare.

I’m sure he’s got perfectly altruistic motives for doing this. I’m sure, okay? Get off Jim’s back. Damn.

Check out the full press release from Paramount and Fox after the break.

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What makes a movie a classic? Is it some kind of social significance? Or, is it what the movie meant to people when it first came out? Or maybe its just fondly remembered for its amazing cheesiness and being so bad its good? I’m pretty sure Roger Corman’s Battle Beyond the Stars falls into that last category.

However, even if it happens to be made of 100% real cheese, that doesn’t stop it from also begin pretty awesome and, shall we say it, a classic. Now this film is getting the Blu-ray and DVD treatment it deserves with a super special 30th anniversary edition, soon to be released by Shout! Factory.

To begin to understand the scope of this film’s cult classic status, you have to take a look at the people involved in it. They represent some of the biggest names working in movies today. Back then, they were just a bunch of kids with an idea for a space movie.

Here’s a small list of those involved. See if you recognize any of the names: John Sayles, Richard Thomas, Robert Vaughn, George Peppard, John Saxon, James Horner, Gale Anne Hurd and, of course, Roger Corman. Oh yeah, James cameron also did the special effects for the movie. He’s come a long way since then.

Click throuhg for the full info from Shout! Factory. Look for Battle Beyond the Stars in stores on June 12th. Also after the break we’ve included the original trailer for the film as well. It’s not great quality but watch it and you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about.

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Having just watched the classic original recently this story is of particular interest to me. Following the trend of remaking classic films, next up from Fox and James Cameron is the reboot/remake of 1966 sci-fi adventure Fantastic Voyage, which was based on the novel by acclaimed author Isaac Asimov.

This project has been in the works for some time with several directors, including Darren Aronofsky, Timur Bekmambetoiv, Johnathan Mostow and Louis Leterrier, circling but with no final selection. That is, until now. Today, Fox and Cameron announced their choice to take on directing duties for the remake is Night at the Museum and Date Night helmer Shawn Levy.

The new film, a re-imagining of the original about a team of scientists shrunk to microscopic size inside a submarine and injected into a man to try to save his life, will be a big 3D release for the studio. The script was written by Shane Salerno and Laeta Kalogridis.

If you’ve watched any of Levy’s other movies you can see his talent but, for the most part, they’ve been comedies. His choice as director of this kind of huge budget sci-fi epic that will, undoubtedly, be mostly CG is an interesting one. Good thing James Cameron will be around if things take a turn for the worse once this thing gets going.

Look for Shawn Levy’s Fantastic Voyage to hit theaters sometime in 2013.

James Cameron will combine his signature 3D magic with the incredible acrobatics of Cirque du Soleil in an untitled film that is now in production. The film will be a narrative about a magical world that the lead character finds himself in.

Cirque du Soleil performances will be featured, and are being culled from various live performances of the troupe. Cameron is shooting the footage of the Cirque du Soleil in 3D.

Cameron serves as producer, the movie will be directed by Andrew Adamson (Shrek,Chronicles of Narnia). Cirque du Soleil financed part of the film, and there are plans to make a series of family-themed films using the performers.

Deadline reports that the film is about a third finished, and currently shopping distributors. It seems likely that Cirque du Soleil paired with well-done 3D might be pretty amazing to watch.

As for other Cameron projects, Avatar 2 and 3 are listed as being in the pre-production phase.

James Cameron’s been a busy guy. Between raking in millions for Avatar, and talking about his plans to recreate that with another sequel or two, the man’s got plenty going on. So why wouldn’t he want to executive produce a brand new adventure about a few folks trapped in a cave?

There aren’t any aliens in this one, but the synopsis and trailer do give a bit of an Abyss vibe. Here’s the rundown.

When a tropical storm forces them deep into the caverns, they must fight raging water, deadly terrain and creeping panic as they search for an unknown escape route to the sea. Master diver Frank McGuire (Richard Roxburgh) has explored the South Pacific’s Esa-ala Caves for months. But when his exit is cut off in a flash flood, Frank’s team–including 17-year-old son Josh (Rhys Wakefield) and financier Carl Hurley (Ioan Gruffudd)–are forced to radically alter plans.

With dwindling supplies, the crew must navigate an underwater labyrinth to make it out. Soon, they are confronted with the unavoidable question: Can they survive, or will they be trapped forever?

Before you even ask, you had better believe that the film will be in Real D 3D (now a Cameron trademark), so be prepared to pop on those bulky plastic glasses on February 4th. In the meantime, check out the trailer after the jump.

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This week on The Flickcast Chris and Matt dive into more topics of interest and discuss issues affecting society. No, not really. They mostly just bitch about the current state of Hollywood and the lack of creativity in most studio films.

They also manage to talk about a few other things including upcoming premieres of new and returning TV programs such as Community, Fringe, The Big Bang Theory and Chuck as well as the success and relative merits of the latest Resident Evil franchise film. They also talked about more TV programs this week including James Cameron’s True Lies, Ryan Reynolds returning to TV as a producer and new scripted series coming from MTV.

Of course, Chris and Matt also made some picks this week including Matt’s pick of the 1988 Gary Busey film Bulletproof and Chris’ pick of the new Shawn Ryan TV series Terriers.

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

Much like J.J. Abrams and Joss Whedon’s epic team-up during Comic-Con to show they are probably way geekier than you are, two other powerful film titans that you love (or love to hate) have decided to team up for a project as well. That’s right, Guillermo del Toro and James Cameron are working together on a big screen adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness with del Toro directing and Cameron producing.

Of course, the film will be shot in 3D for studio Universal Pictures. According to reports, the studio was a bit nervous about he high budget project but Cameron’s stamp of approval and support for del Toro apparently won them over. Cameron had said in the past that he wouldn’t put his name on many future movies outside of the 3D reboot of Fantastic Voyage at Fox, but he’s apparently making an exception for del Toro and this project.

In case you’re not familiar with Lovecraft’s work, this particular story centers around a gruesome discovery made during a scientific expedition to the South Pole in the 1930s. This discovery hints at the true origin of mankind and our having come from elder gods from another planet. Of course, bad things start to happen when those life forms are awakened. If you’ve ever read any Lovecraft, you know if they stay faithful to the source material this movie will be one wild time.

At the Mountains of Madness is expected to being filming next Summer for a 2012 release.

Yep, the one and the same Linda Hamilton that we all remember from the Terminator franchise is going to grace a geek property once again. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hamilton will be playing the long lost mother of Chuck (Zachary Levi) and Ellie (Sarah Lancaster.)  Right now Hamilton’s character, Mary Bartowski, is listed as being on recurring status.

At a press conference at the San Diego Comic-Con, executive producer Josh Schwartz said that Hamilton was actually inspired by fans who wrote in online.  Schwartz added that Hamilton’s character will drive a lot of the plot next season, as Chuck and Ellie search for their mom, whose identity has been a mystery throughout the show.

Hamilton will make her first appearance in the season opener, which will also feature a bit role for Olivia Munn. “Old Spice” phenom Isaiah Mustafa will also appear next season.

I can’t wait to see Hamilton in this role. What do you think?

Welcome to this week’s On the Radar where we delve into all corners of the entertainment, tech and geek Internets for news, views and whatnot that may have escaped our regular coverage this week. Let is know if we missed something interesting. Otherwise, on to the links!

• A fan-made alternate ending to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory has surfaced. Michael Bay would love this one.

• Of course there is a real life Kick-Ass, and he prefers to be called “The Viper”.

• Kevin Bacon is allegedly in talks to be the main villain in X-Men: First Class. No word on who he’ll play, we just hope it’s not the same character he played in The Woodsman.

• Just in case you weren’t excited enough for The Expendables, here’s an 8-bit video game to keep you occupied.

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Here’s a list of things that made a blip on The Flickcast’s radar this week from around the Internets, Twitter and beyond. Let us know if we missed anything cool so we can include it in the next installment of On the Radar.

• Planning a LOST finale party? Well, no party is complete without LOST BINGO!

• Morgan Spurlock, Harry Knowles, Stan Lee and Joss Whedon teaming up to fight crime. . . er make a documentary about San Diego Comic-Con.

• Apparently, nobody in the US gives a crap about Manga. We could have told you that.

• James Cameron’s Avatar has sold a metric butt load of DVDs and Blu-rays. Color us blue for surprised.

• Larry David and friends head to NYC to do the last season of Curb. That show is still on?

• Are you a fan of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air? How about Lord of The Rings? Well, what if Gandalf sang the opening theme? Mind = Blown!

• Did you get a chance to check out Maggie Q in the new show Nikita? If not, what are you waiting for?

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