The Flickcast – Page 1012 of 1030 – Stuff Nerds Love

‘Star Wars: Backstroke of the West’

Not many stories come across The Flickcast news desk about pirated Asian DVD’s, but when one like this does come along, we need to share it. A few months back, we came across a story by blogger Jeremy Winterson about the wild and wacky world of Asian bootleg subtitles, and of one film in particular: Star Wars Episode 3. Take a look at the video of the opening title crawl and following pictures.

Something tells me this isn’t what George Lucas had originally envisioned. At least it makes for a more enjoyable experience than anything Jar Jar Binks ever brought to the table. I present to you Star Wars Episode 3: Backstroke of the West.

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Fox Rebooting ‘Alien’ Franchise?

alien-one-sheetWith all the reboots, rumors of reboots, sequels and prequels coming out of Hollywood lately it should come as no surprise that there’s now talk and rumors of yet another one. According to Bloody Disgusting, the latest franchise getting the reboot treatment is the 1979 horror/sci-fi classic Alien. Yes, the movie that coined the cool catchphrase “In space no one can hear you scream” and showcased a young Sigourney Weaver in her underwear is reportedly going to get the reboot treatment.

Fortunately, or unfortunately depending upon your opinion, it seems Ridley Scott will be involved in the reboot but will only serve as one of the producers, not the director. Taking on the directing chores is first-time feature director Carl Rinsch, who has at least supposedly cut his teeth directing commercials for Ridley and Tony Scott and their Scott Free Productions company.

In case you might not be familiar with original Alien (If not, go rent it) the story starts when the crew of a spacecraft intercepts a transmission from an unknown planet and decides to investigate. Once there they discover an alien creature that has evolved into the perfect killing machine. One by one each of the crew members are killed until only Weaver’s Ripley is left to destroy the terrifying and deadly creature. But how will she be able to do it all alone?

Seeing as this story is only in the rumor stages (Although it does make sense) we will, of course, keep you posted on any new developments. Until then, feel free to enjoy the trailer for the original Alien after the jump.

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Five Things Comic Book Movies Should Stop Doing

spiderman2finalIt’s funny, even though the major (and minor) Hollywood studios seem to be cranking out as many comic book movie adaptations as they can, most of them don’t really end up being much of anything to write home about. And some others, such as Daredevil, Batman & Robin, Ghost Rider and Catwoman really suck.

In fact, last year I did two articles for ComicMix about the what I considered, up to that point, the Best and Worst comic book to film adaptations. Since then, we’ve had several more movie based on comics. But for the most part, I think my picks still stand as they are. In a similar vein is Zac Bertschy new article over at Topless Robot. In the article, Bertschy outlines what he feels are the five things comic book movies need to stop doing.

I don’t want to take anything away from the article by talking about it too much here. However, here’s some highlights that I particularly like. First, according to Bertschy, Hollywood needs to stop trying to cram so many villains into each movie. Second, he feels comic book movies need to stop wasting awesome side characters like they do, for example, in the X-Men movies.

Finally, he feels strongly that Hollywood should stop making feature-length origin stories because most people either already know where Batman comes from or don’t care — they just want to see him in action. Its a great article and covers a lot of ground.

I agree with almost everyting he says in it as well. Although, I did enjoy X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Batman Begins and Iron Man, all of which are origin stories. I guess Hollywood can get it right sometimes.

First Trailer for Guillermo del Toro’s ‘The Strain’

del-toro-thestrainDirector Guillermo del Toro has had a unique and varied career so far. His range of films from Mimic, Blade II and Pan’s Labyrinth to Hellboy I and II, have managed to keep us interested, entertained and sometimes even a little scared. Currently, del Toro is working on a live-action version of J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic The Hobbit. But apparently, that’s not enough to keep him busy.

He’s also co-written a novel with Chuck Hogan called The Strain, which concerns a mysterious virus that turns humans into horrifying vampiric creatures. Over at Wired, they’ve got a first look at the video trailer for the book. Yes, even books have trailers now — especially if they are co-written by directors.

The video, according to Wired, “includes brief NSFW language and some monstrous imagery, (and) offers a glimpse of the gory horrors that await upon The Strain’s printed pages.”

The Strain, published by William Morrow, goes on sale June 2. Meanwhile, click through to check out the trailer.

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New ‘G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra’ International Poster Hits the ‘Net

gijoeinternationalpostersmall1We’ve been covering this one for a bit now and are pretty darn excited for it to come out. Well, at least some of us are. Now, over at Empire Online, they’ve got the first look at the brand new international poster for G.I.Joe: Rise of Cobra.

The film, based on the hugely successful line of toys, features Sienna Miller, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Dennis Quaid and Channing Tatum as Duke, the hero who is part of an elite military force that must take down an evil organization bent on world domination: the sinister and mysterious Cobra.

The Stephen Sommers directed film hits theaters on on August 7, 2009. Until then, be sure to check out the full poster after the jump.

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New ‘Iron Man 2’ Set Photos Hit the ‘Net

We’re all eagerly anticipating the next installment of the Iron Man movie franchise here at The Flickcast and have been excited to bring you pretty much any bits of information or photos from the film. Now, we’ve got a few more pictures to share thanks to the men and woman of Edward’s Air Force Base. Direct from Edward’s own site are pictures taken and information concerning the Iron Man 2 team filming at the base from May 11 – 13.

Although the pictures don’t really reveal anything about what was being shot (And that’s not a surprise, is it?) they do show a happy Jon Favreau and Robert Downey, Jr. spending time with the servicemen who work at the base. Favreau also commented recently on Twitter that he was having a great time at the base and working with “some cool toys.”

Iron Man 2 hits theaters May 7, 2010.

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Thomas Jane Gets ‘Hung’ for HBO

thomas-janeComing to you directly from the “this sounds interesting but could really end up sucking” department (yes, we have on of those here at The Flickcast) is this bit of news from Variety about a new series for HBO called Hung. The show, which stars Thomas Jane (The Punisher), concerns a man with a rather large member (read penis) who decides he wants to make some money with it. Yes, you read that correctly.

How does he want to make money with it? Well, you’ll just have to wait for the show to debut to find out. Fortunately, that won’t be too long from now as it starts on June 28th and will run at 10:00 pm — right after the second season of True Blood, which returns on June 12th.

Also according to Variety, the first episode will run for 45 minutes, with all others being 30 minutes in length. Co-Starring with Jane in the series are Jane Adams and Anne Heche. Also of note is that the pilot for Hung was directed by Alexander Payne, who directed, and won the Oscar for writing, Sideways. He was also nominated for directing Sideways and for writing Election.

Jane and Payne together again for the very first time. Could be interesting. I guess we’ll find out on June 28th.

Weblink Wednesday: RunPee.com

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Just about everybody has lived this scenario at one time or another: you go out on a Friday night to see that movie you’ve been looking forward to, be it a Transformers or Night at the Museum, and about 30 minutes in, that gigantic, watered-down soda you were talked into buying is now sitting in your bladder but ready to find an exit. There’s no way you can hold it in but you don’t want to leave the theater, thinking that you’ll miss the awesome scene where R2-D2 pops up next to the Enterprise. So, you stay, squirming and holding it until the bitter end, turning what could have been a great experience into a nightmare.

You can now forget about those moments, all thanks to RunPee.com. RunPee, which is currently in beta, was designed to be a bible for fans who need to know when is the best time during a movie to leave the theater and hit the restroom. The site not only gives you the minute mark and accurate description of the scene in which you can leave, but it even tells you how long you’ll have to do your business and get back.

This probably also works for smokers who need to get in that last cigarette and can’t miss the pivotal scene. The films are as recent as each week’s releases, and as old as A Haunting in Connecticut, so you can check back often to find out when is the best time to do your business during the latest movie. This probably also makes for a better movie experience in general because if you go out to pee, you’ll be missing the weakest part of the film — almost like it never even happened!