After an arduous search for the actor who could play John McClane’s son in the newest installment of the Die Hard franchise, 20th Century Fox has finally settled on Jai Courtney.

Courtney is best known for playing Varro in the Starz series Spartacus: Blood And Sand. In the series, Courtney played a close friend and confidante of Spartacus until they were forced into a battle to the death. Courtney has had a bit of a big screen surge as he will next be seen starring opposite Tom Cruise in Paramount’s One Shot, the Christopher McQuarrie directed adaptation of the Lee Child bestseller. He is also attached to star opposite Aaron Eckhart in I, Frankenstein.

A Good Day To Die Hard, the fifth installment of the Die Hard franchise, puts McClane on unfamiliar ground, taking the hard-ass  New York City cop to the streets of Moscow. The flick introduces McClane’s estranged son Jack (Courtney). The McClane’s butt heads due to their similar personalities. Despite their differences, they must work together to keep each other alive and keep the world safe for democracy. This film positions Courtney to become a recurring character alongside Willis, and possibly take over for Willis as the lead as the sequels continue.

Continue Reading →

At last, the film adaptation for Anne Rice’s fourth installment of  The Vampire Chronicles is currently under development as a feature film. Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s production company, Image Entertainment, has taken an interest in the project.

The company has optioned the rights to the book in which popular anti-hero Lestat de Lioncourt has chosen to temporarily trade bodies with a human psychic for another chance at feeling human. Unfortunately, the deal goes South when the human doesn’t want to trade back and Lestat must track down his former body in order to regain his immortality.

The production is working in partnership Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (Star Trek, Eagle Eye) and Lee Patterson,
an upcomming writer who will be writing the screenplay. The film will be treated as though main character Lestat has not been previously been introduced to audiences. The producers hope to present the script to studios within a month.

Lestat was first introduced to film audiences in 1994′s Interview with the Vampire starring Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, and Kirsten Dunst. The film was distributed by Warner Bros.

The second installment, Queen of the Damned, featured Stuart Townsend in the role of Lestat and deceased R&B songstress Aaliyah as Akasha (the mother of all vampires).

With Glee going strong on Fox, The Muppets sweeping across the country, and everyone up to their ears with Christmas song, the last thing anyone wants is yet another dose of musical. And that’s just what they’re getting!

The first trailer for the star-studded film adaptation of the Broadway hit Rock of Ages is finally here, and has plenty of Alec Baldwin, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Tom Cruise for you to shake a stick at.

For those who haven’t heard of this phenomenon that swept the east coast, here’s the premise:

“Rock of Ages” tells the story of small town girl Sherrie and city boy Drew, who meet on the Sunset Strip while pursuing their Hollywood dreams. Their rock ‘n’ roll romance is told through the heart-pounding hits of Def Leppard, Joan Jett, Journey, Foreigner, Bon Jovi, Night Ranger, REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Poison, Whitesnake, and more.

Plenty of rock covers, and even more recognizable faces. Take a look at the trailer after the jump, and catch Rock of Ages in theaters on June 1st.

Continue Reading →

If there’s one thing modern action films lack that their predecessors of the 80s and 90s had it’s gratuitous chick fights. They may have been a bit tacky at times, but they please about 90% of the audience going to see the film, and sometimes, just sometimes, they were even more violent than the rest of the film.

That’s exactly what we’re getting in this brand new clip from the upcoming action blockbuster Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol. Sure, the ladies will get Simon Pegg, Tom Cruise, and Jeremy Renner. But for the fellas, we’ve got Déjà Vu starlet Paula Patton kicking some serious ass.

Take a look at the intense fight sequence after the jump, and be sure to catch Cruise pass the proverbial torch over to Jeremy Renner in Mission: Impossible -Ghost Protocol, in theaters and IMAX on December 21st.

Continue Reading →

Even though the title sounds suspiciously like a video game, the lastest installment in Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible franchise, known as Ghost Protocol, is arriving soon.

Previously, we brought you the first trailer for the film, which we thought looked pretty darn good. Now, we’ve got a clip from it to share with you today.

We won’t do much to set this one up. Suffice it to say you don’t really need any explanation about what’s going on. It should be pretty obvious.

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is directed by Brad Bird. It co-stars Ving Rhames, Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton, Vladimir Mashkov, Michael Nyqvist, Josh Holloway, Simon Pegg, Lea Seydoux and Anil Kapoor.

Check out the clip after the break. Look for Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol to arrive in theaters on December 16.

Continue Reading →

We now continue our rather infrequent series of car-related posts with this new one containing a video of the world’s most famous actor, Tom Cruise, putting the Red Bull F1 car through its paces. Yes, the car is fast and yes Cruise is a pretty good driver who really shows he’s got some skills.

Sadly, things don’t go completely perfect for the diminutive action star as you can clearly see if you watch. However, that doesn’t mean the video isn’t interesting, it is.

It also makes us very jealous he gets to drive cars like this and we don’t. Damn him.

And damn him for corrupting young Katie Holmes too. Oh well.

Anyway, the video is still pretty cool and we think you’ll enjoy it. Check it out after the jump.

Continue Reading →

Even though Tom Cruise occasionally does some unusual stuff in his personal and public life, that doesn’t mean his movies aren’t often entertaining. Let’s face it, he’s had some pretty good ones over the years from Risky Business and Taps to Top Gun, Jerry Maguire, A Few Good Men and more.

So, when Cruise has another movie coming out soon, we tend to take notice. This time around it’s the fourth installment of the Mission Impossible franchise subtitled Ghost Protocol.

Of course, now that there’s new trailer for the film, courtesy of Yahoo Movies, we’ve got it for you to check out right here. The trailer is also currently playing in front of Transformers: Dark of the Moon but since you probably not dumb enough to go see that flick, we’ll save you the trouble.

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is directed by Brad Bird and hits theaters on December 16th. The film co-stars Ving Rhames, Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton, Vladimir Mashkov, Michael Nyqvist, Josh Holloway, Simon Pegg, Lea Seydoux and Anil Kapoor.

Click through for the trailer and enjoy.

Continue Reading →

It’s that time of year again. Sure, the flowers are coming out and it’s getting warmer, but we’re talking about a brand new season of South Park!

Last season brought us some amazing stories like the 200th episode with Tom Cruise and the profit Muhammad, an epic tale of superheroes vs Cthulu, and Jersey Shore being mocked by way of Teen Wolf. Things are already getting steamy for the upcoming 15th season, and Steve Jobs will be the first to be subject to ridicule.

Here’s the official synopsis for Wednesday’s premiere:

The latest Apple product to hit the market is revealed in the 15th season premiere of South Park titled, “HUMANCENTiPAD,” premiering on Wednesday, April 27 at 10:00 p.m. on Comedy Central.

Kyle is intimately involved in the development of a revolutionary new product that is about to be launched by Apple. Meanwhile, Cartman doesn’t even have a regular iPad yet. He blames his mother.

Check out the hilarious clip after the jump, and catch South Park as they kick off their 15th season this Wednesday at 10PM E/P.

Continue Reading →

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!

• If you’re not watching Showtime’s Shameless, you should be. And if you need an excuse, how about Amy Smart guest starring as a sexy best friend?

• Set phasers to Feng shui! Turn your bland room into a new world with these killer Star Trek wall decals. Who needs a date when you have a full-sized Commander Uhura wall sticker?

• James Cameron says that Tom Cruise is still a potential star for his upcoming adaptation of the HP Lovecraft book At The Mountains of Madness. No, the irony is not lost on us.

• Reality can be pretty bleak sometimes. The one thing that could splice it up? 80′s and 90′s-era video game characters running amok.

• His mask may not have rubber wings, but here are a ton of new pictures of Chris Evans as Cap in Captain America: The First Avenger.

• Stephen King has had a pretty big week, but that hasn’t stopped him from giving us 10 things he knows about The Stand coming to theaters.

Continue Reading →

While things are a bit shaky in terms of what we’re calling the newest Mission: Impossible film, one thing is for sure: the cast is going to kick ass. Hawkeye himself, Jeremy Renner joined the cast a few weeks back, which was already headed by returning Cruise, Ving Rhames, and Simon Pegg, and the newly added Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Maggie Q.

Now, a brand new face of awesome is jumping in, as LOST star Josh Holloway has been signed to join Cruise’s new team of super spies. This marks Holloway’s first major role since leaving the island, or dying, or staying in purgatory, or however you want to interpret that ending.

Between this cast, Incredibles director Brad Bird taking the helm, and J.J. Abrams supplying the story, there is very little room for this film to fail, or at least we hope. Megastar Cruise even took a pay cut in order for this film to get made, so it has that going for it.

The movie is set to go into production before the end of the year, with a release date of December 16th, 2011. Expect to hear plenty more news coming out of this camp in the coming weeks as we lead up to principal photography.

It’s rare when two different pieces of news come together to form an even more awesome story. That’s the case here, as Jeremy Renner, star of last year’s critical success Hurt Locker, will be joining the ever growing greatness which is the upcoming Mission: Impossible 4 film.

Why is this such a big deal? That’s a three-part answer.

One: Renner has been a huge deal ever since working on Locker and even got cast as a fan favorite in the upcoming Avengers film helmed by Joss Whedon as Hawkeye. As if that wasn’t enough, two: he’s joining M:I4, which will be directed by Brad Bird, famous for his work on The Incredibles, Ratatouille, and The Simpsons. Three, the script comes from lord of all things geek, J.J. Abrams.  From Deadline:

Renner will star alongside Tom Cruise in the fourth installment of a franchise that will begin production in the fall. It is the second major role for Renner coming out of his  turn as the reckless explosives specialist in the Oscar-winning The Hurt Locker. Renner also will star in Marvel Studios’ The Avengers, playing the role of Hawkeye. Renner will next be seen in the Ben Affleck-directed The Town, the GK Films-produced drama that Warner Bros opens September 17.

Paramount has struggled to find the right co-star to play an operative opposite Cruise, and one factor was to selecting an actor who could potentially carry the series down the line, should Cruise’s Ethan Hunt character not continue to be the emphasis.

So there you have it, Renner will be showing off his archery in The Avengers, fighting alongside the former Daredevil in The Town, and now costarring in one of the highest grossing action film franchises in the past decade. What will he do next? Let’s hope he doesn’t go the way of Vin Diesel and pull a Pacifier.

I just saw Knight and Day and in a summer notably lacking in quality, this one stands out as being the worst film in terms of the script and editing. The 2 and a half minute trailer was better than the entire film. In the film a rogue FBI agent, Roy Millerand the FBi, steals a never-ending battery that looks like the generic D Energizer kind. June, a hapless bystander, gets caught up in the action. Together they must keep the battery safe while on the run from arms dealers and the FBI.

In editing class you’re taught that if a movie is well edited then you won’t question the loopholes until hours later when you’re at home, hence the term refrigerator moment. Quite apropos when you consider Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. In Knight and Day, however, I started questioning the flick while it was still playing.

For starters, whenever characters would mention anything of importance, it was never once brought up again or answered in any kind of way. None of the characters had any semblance of a back story. There was no time limit set for the mission, no sense of urgency, and no one saved anything, much less the world. In essence the film lacked discernible goals. This film brings new meaning to the term, “We’ll fix it in post”.

What follows is a list of questions. I would say there are spoilers, but since there are absolutely zero twists, turns, or creativity in the script, there are no spoilers. Anyone who can answer these questions solely based on the film will receive a highly valued, Flickcast Certified No. Prize. Go ahead smarty pants, make my day.

Continue Reading →