Welcome to another edition of 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 during the week. Let is know if we missed something interesting.

Let’s get started!

• Jamie Foxx is no Will Smith, but that didn’t stop Quentin Tarantino from getting him to play his slave (in a non-offensive way) in Django Unchained.

• We’ll be getting the final film in a mere weeks, but that hasn’t stopped J.K. Rowling from keeping the Harry Potter franchise top-of-brain with the newest marketing ploy, Pottermore.

• Pixar is being pretty secretive about their newest film, Brave. The first thing we’re getting, however, is a glimpse at the very stylized characters of the film.

• We know that Entourage is a pretty douchey show, but this new poster makes us feel like they may just know themselves, and feel really bad about it.

• A Russian company called Stoyn has helped make every 80s fanboy’s dream come true by releasing Pop Culture Popsicles. We have a feeling the Darth Vader flavor may taste more like plastic than anything else.

• The very first images of Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy have hit the web. Strangely, they look identical to Peter Jackson’s last trilogy about a ring…

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This summer may have 90% of fantasy audiences salivating at a brand new theatrical blockbuster every weekend, but there is one epic story that we can’t wait to happen, and it’s on HBO. We’re talking, of course, about this April’s upcoming serialized adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s A Son of Fire and Ice fantasy novels, now simply called Game of Thrones.

The adaptation looks to borrow some visuals from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, while bringing new lift to Martin’s world of magic and Medieval politics. David Benioff, who helped bring the books to the screen, jokingly referred the adaptation to “The Sopranos in Middle-Earth.”

Needless to say, it’s already drawing some pretty big attention.

The series begins on April 17th, only a few weeks away, but HBO has graciously brought us the first 15 minutes of the pilot, in which we get fully inundated in Martin and Benioff’s world of kings and magic. Take a look at the sneak preview after the jump.

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After some time off for the Thanksgiving holiday to consume copious amounts of food and drink, Chris and Matt are back with an all-new episode of The Flickcast. On this week’s show the boys discuss all sorts of new topics and touch on a few recurring ones as well.

Some of those topics include the new Harry Potter film, the tragic passing of both Leslie Nielsen and Irvin Kershner, James Franco and Anne Hathaway hosting the next Oscars, The Hobbit not in 3D, the future on the Internet and services like Netflix and a whole lot more. They also made some great picks this week including Matt’s pick of the animated series Young Justice and Chris’ pick of the Scott Pilgrim vs. The World Blu-ray.

Want more Chris and Matt? Be sure to check out this week’s episode of This Week in Walking Dead, which stars Matt, guest stars Chris, and series star Andy Rothenberg even stops by.

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.

I remember my first video camera. It was kinda big and the quality wasn’t really that great but still, it was all mine. I used it to create what I thought were some pretty cool little movies using my friends and kids from the neighborhood. I’ll bet Peter Jackson must be feeling a bit like I did today considering he’s got some new video cameras as well.

That’s right tech and film buffs, Mr. Jackson has gone ahead and purchased 30 new Red Epic 3D cameras so he can use them to film The Hobbit. Of course, these 5K resolution cameras are a bit nicer than the one I used all those years ago. Each camera package sports a host of cutting edge features including the EPIC-M camera body itself, titanium mount, 5-inch touchscreen LCD, REDmote, four batteries, a four-pack of 128-GB SSD cards to capture video onto and a charger. Total cost per package? $58,000.

The folks at Red expect to being making the cameras by hand starting next month and have them to Jackson in time for him to start filming The Hobbit next February. If any of the rest of you want to get your hands on one of these babies, I guess you’ll just have to wait in line.

Of course, the other bit of news we can deduce from this purchase is that The Hobbit will be shot in 3D. Do we like that? Hard to say. I guess, as always, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

Empire Magazine’s December 2010 issue is giving us our first look at Stephen Spielberg and Peter Jackson’s collaborative effort, ‘The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn,’ which is due in theaters in late 2011. The outrageously popular ‘Tintin’ series by Hergé is being adapated by the duo into a feature-length motion-captured 3D flick.

In case you’re not familiar with the inspiration for the film, ‘The Adventures of Tintin’ series is one of the most popular European comics of the 20th century, with translations published in more than 50 languages and more than 200 million copies of the books sold to date. Created by Belgian artist Georges Rémi, who wrote under the pen name of Hergé, the series follows the adventures of Tintin, a young Belgian reporter and his fox terrier Snowy. The duo are involved in many swashbuckling adventures with elements of fantasy, mysteries, political thrillers, and even science fiction.

Jackson commented on the transition to CGI and what that might look like for fans of the popular comic. ”It’s not really going to feel like the Tintin Hergé drew. It’s going to be somewhat different. With CGI we can bring Hergé’s world to life, keep the stylised caricatured faces, keep everything looking like Hergé’s artwork, but make it photo-real.”

Be sure to hit the jump for some more insightful quotes from the creators as well as a couple of amazing production stills from the flick.

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Now that the dust has settled, and we’ve adjusted to the fact that Guillermo Del Toro is not taking the director’s chair, as Middle Earth native Peter Jackson is taking the reins back, it’s time to look to the film as, well…a film. That means finally casting some of the characters we’ve treasured since first reading the book decades ago.

Last week, news came forward that Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy star Martin Freeman will fill the very big feet of Bilbo Baggins, and now Jackson has decided to let us in on the rest of the cast, and who exactly they’ll be playing. Here’s the full list from Deadline.

Jackson has cast several other significant Dwarf characters. Richard Armitage (MI-5 and Captain America: The First Avenger) will play Thorin Oakenshield, leader of the Company of Dwarves which sets off to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from a thieving dragon. Aidan Turner (Being Human) and Rob Kazinsky (EastEnders) will play Kili and Fili, members of the Company of Dwarves. Graham McTavish (Secretariat) will play Dwalin, John Callen (Power Rangers Jungle Fury) will play Oin; Stephen Hunter (All Saints) will play Bombur, and Mark Hadlow (King Kong) plays Dori, while Peter Hambleton (The Strip) will play Gloin.

As if these names weren’t enough, there are rumors that David Tennant (Doctor Who) and James Nesbitt (Jekyll) will make an appearance, and also possible speculation that Andy Serkis and Sir Ian McKellan will reprise their roles.

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Diane here and fresh off  the red carpet premiere of Universal Studios’ Hollywood latest attraction, King Kong 360 3D.  If you have a chance to swing on by this summer, it is worth the wait.

Yesterday while walking among a 360lb Bengal Tiger, a 13 foot Python, a feisty monkey, and tribal dancers who kept on telling me to touch their dinosaur bones I became entranced with the world of Skull Island and a gorilla who’s eaten one too many Big Macs.

I was not alone, The Office’s Craig Robinson, Oscar Nunez, and Kate Flannery, along with Kevin Smith, Yvette Nicole Brown of Community, Wayne Brady,Wanted and King Kong’s Thomas Kretschmann, and a very shy Christopher Lloyd were all there sampling the gourmet apps and reveling in a filmed introduction to the experience by none other than a slimmed down Peter Jackson in 3D.

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Well folks, it looks like it’s pretty much a done deal that Peter Jackson will, much to the delight of fans everywhere, take on directing duties of both Hobbit films. After the departure of Guillermo del Toro recently speculation ran rampant that Jackson, who’s Lord of the Rings films are the definitive cinematic incarnation of the beloved trilogy, would take over for del Toro.

However, Jackson’s camp denied the speculation citing his commitments elsewhere. However, that seems not to be the case now as Jackson is in active negotiations to take on both films that will bring J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit to the big screen. According to reports, another of the stumbling blocks was money and the current financial state of MGM.

However, it seems the case is being made to MGM’s owners that two Jackson-directed Hobbit films would almost guarantee box office success. So, it remains to be seen if this very hopeful development will prove to be accurate. Let’s hope so for fans of The Hobbit everywhere.

Jackson is an immensely talented filmmaker and his Rings trilogy are examples of some of the best literary adaptations ever made. So, his version of The Hobbit should also be extraordinary. Let’s hope for every fan’s sake he really does end up as the director. More on this story as it comes to us.

Until then, how do you guys feel? Is Jackson the best choice for The Hobbit?

If you were one of many fans who thought that if Peter Jackson wasn’t going to direct The Hobbit a really great alternative was Guillermo del Toro, prepare to be disappointed. After spending the last two years developing the adaptation of the J.R.R. Tolkien classic as his next directing effort, Guillermo del Toro has announced he is now stepping down as director of the project.

The director was obviously disappointed about the decision but said: “In light of ongoing delays in the setting of a start date for filming “The Hobbit,” I am faced with the hardest decision of my life,” Guillermo wrote in his announcement on “Lord of the Rings” fansite TheOneRing.net. “After nearly two years of living, breathing and designing a world as rich as Tolkien’s Middle Earth, I must, with great regret, take leave from helming these wonderful pictures.”

However, all is not completely lost as the director also indicted he would stay on the project co-writing the screenplays for parts one and two with Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Phillippa Boyens. Of course, now that del toro has stepped down it would seem like a perfect choice would be for Jackson to step up and take over the film.

After all, he’s been intimately involved with the production and did a pretty good job with those Lord of the Rings movies. Sadly, with Jackson’s other commitments, he won’t be taking on the film either.

“New Line and Warner Bros. will sit down with us this week, to ensure a smooth and uneventful transition, as we secure a new director for ‘The Hobbit,’ said Jackson. “We do not anticipate any delay or disruption to ongoing pre-production work.”

Well, there you go. With del Toro out and Jackson out, who’s the best choice to take on The Hobbit now?

Since 2007, studios and fans alike have been contemplating, worrying, speculating, and spewing rumors about the upcoming prequel to Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit. The news that we do know is that Jackson is teaming up with Hellboy director Guillermo del Toro, the story will be split into two films over two years, and now we have a release date for the two films. From Heat Vision:

Warner Bros. is scheduling Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro’s two-part adaptation of “The Hobbit” for December 2012 and December 2013.

Back in 2005 an unknown director named Neill Blomkamp made a science fiction short with a few friends, a modest budget, and a Canadian production team. The short, titled Alive in Joburg, blew away many powerful people with its premise and blend of CG effects and documentary stock footage. Included in those powerful people was mega-director Peter Jackson, who decided to aid Blomkamp in adapting his low-budget short into a larger film called District 9, which turned into an overnight success.

Now, independent writers, directors, and 3D render artists everywhere ran back to their typewriters to come up with interesting and original new ideas, knowing that Hollywood is turning to them for a fresh start to an industry bogged down with sequels and reboots.

There are hundreds of nice attempts, but none of them have really stuck out as something that could be expanded into a major film. A year ago, a Uruguayan science fiction short titled Panic Attack!, by Fede Alvarez was the subject of a Hollywood bidding war, in which Sam Raimi got the rights to adapt the short. Now, it looks like we’re getting another great short for Hollywood to set their sights on with Ricardo de Montreuil’s The Raven.

The film is set in a dystopian future (2074), where futuristic robot cops have the authority to take down those who break the law with extreme force. The only person who has the potential to change everything is Chris Black, aka The Raven. Black has supernatural abilities that, if used in the right way, could save the free world.

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MGM is one of those staple studios that has been around since the beginning. To this day, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer is one of the oldest studios that is still producing films, but sadly it looks like that won’t be for very long. The studio has been hemorrhaging money for some time, and when put up for sale, it hasn’t gotten large enough bids from other studios to consider a deal.

At this point, MGM obtained to sole distribution rights to one major franchise in James Bond. They teamed up with Sony to produce and distribute Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, but that didn’t seem enough to keep the studio afloat long enough to produce the next film.

In a recent press release from EON Productions Ltd., a production company who has worked with the franchise since Dr. No back in 1962, they seem to think this is the end of production for Bond 23.

“Due to the continuing uncertainty surrounding the future of MGM and the failure to close a sale of the studio, we have suspended development on ‘Bond 23′ indefinitely,” the duo said. “We do not know when development will resume and do not have a date for the release.”

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