In today’s big budget movies, almost anything you see could be a visual effect. From buildings to cars to giant flying robots and more, the men and women who create today’s modern visual effects are masters of their craft and are able to take an ordinary scene of two people staring into the void and turn it into a piece of movie magic.

We’ve seen the “after” of all this work in hundreds blockbuster movies, but what about the “before”? Well, a new website wants to highlight just that. Over at Before VFX, they’ve collected a ton of photos from various blockbuster movies that show what the site calls “The Canvas” of the visual effects shot.

In other words, they show what the scene was actually like before any visual effects were added and before an audience ever saw one frame. It’s a fascinating look into just how much goes into the making of a modern movie blockbuster and how much we owe the VFX artists who do this work every day.

Plus, as Dustin Rowles at Pajiba put it, it shows us “how little credit we give A-list actors for their ability to interact and engage with green screens.” How little credit indeed. It can’t be that easy.

Check out several pics after the break and head over to Before VFX for a ton more.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance co-director Brian Taylor is set to write and direct a live action adaptation of the iconic video game Twisted Metal. Sony Pictures has offered Taylor a 7-figure deal to head up the film.

Like the game, the film will revolve around an underground event that pits a number of combatants in a fight to the death. They are outfitted in armored weaponized cars that are pimped out with heavy weaponry that includes missiles and machine guns. Each character is set to have their own specialty weapons and style similar to the game. The sole survivor will get any wish granted.

It is rumored that the film will include such signature contestant characters as Sweet Tooth, a homicidal clown who drives an ice cream truck, and Doll Face, a young woman who is trapped behind a porcelain mask and who drives an 18-wheeler.

This is the first project that Taylor will helm solo. He has always teamed with Mark Neveldine on such films as the Crank series. There have been two so far, and they are talking about making a third, in 3D, as well as a possible future Ghost Rider. The team will continue to write and direct films together.

Drunk History is back on the web, but this time they’re showing the holiday spirit with guest stars Ryan Gosling, Eva Mendes, and Jim Carrey.

The mother of all video game fan films has arrived as the Left 4 Dead flick hits the web. Be sure to stick around till the end for some awesome gaming cameos.

Speaking of fan films, we stumbled across the best real life gaming adaptation in the history of the web. Say hello to Battlefield 3 In Real Life.

It’s Christmas time everywhere in the world (well, almost everywhere), even in Arkham City. But instead of visits from a man in red, they get a famous caped crusader.

It’s a close race as to which comic book adaptation I despise most. Daredevil and Elektra are right up there with the worst comic book movies ever made, but in many ways the first Ghost Rider movie is just as bad.

Fortunately, at least from what we’ve seen so far, it looks like Directors Neveldine and Taylor have realized the problems with the first one. With their version of things and their crack at a sequel, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, they’ve taken things in a new direction — as in they’re actually trying to make it good.

Judge for yourself as Sony has released a new tailer for the film today and we’ve got it for you. In this one, we get a bit more of the story and, of course, lots of Nic Cage doing his “acting” thing.

Although, I don’t dislike him as much as our own Matt Raub does. In fact, he’s been good in some movies. Watch Adaptation if you don’t believe me. Plus, his middle name is Kim, so he’s also had that to deal with.

Check out the new Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance trailer after the break. Look for it in theaters on February 17 of 2012.

If you’re like us (and we know you are) it’s pretty unlikely you thought the first Ghost Rider movie was any good. To be honest, we thought it kinda sucked.

However, that hasn’t stopped Nic Cage and company from trying to make another one. In fact, judging from the clip we have for you today from the movie (which was shown at last night’s Scream Awards) they succeeded.

Of course, the burning question is did they just succeeded in making another movie or did this one actually turn out to be good? We’ve already seen the first trailer for the film which, reluctantly, we think made it look potentially ok.

This new clip shows Cage as Johnny Blaze and his brand new bike which, due to his hellified condition, gets turned into a flaming bike from hell. Yeah, that’s kinda cool.

Take a look after the jump and let us know what you think. See Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance in theaters on February 17th, 2012.

We all remember the taste that was left in our mouth the moment we first heard Nicolas Cage would be playing our favorite damned motorcyclist from Hell, Johnny Blaze in 2007’s Ghost Rider, and that feeling didn’t go away after walking out of the theater.

With that said, it’s hard to believe that the new trailer for the sequel looks halfway decent, but you may want to start believing. Directed by Neveldine & Taylor, the guys that brought you the Crank films and the good parts of Jonah Hex, and a story written by Dark Knight’s David Goyer, the film looks like it may be the bad ass we were missing back in ’07. Here’s the overly detailed synopsis.

In the successor to the worldwide hit Ghost Rider, Johnny – still struggling with his curse as the devil’s bounty hunter – is hiding out in a remote part of Eastern Europe when he is recruited by a secret sect of the church to save a young boy (Fergus Riordan) from the devil (Ciaran Hinds). At first, Johnny is reluctant to embrace the power of the Ghost Rider, but it is the only way to protect the boy – and possibly rid himself of his curse forever.

You may be thinking to yourself “a sequel with a kid sidekick? Pass!”, but after looking at the style Neveldine and Taylor are best known for, you can only imagine what insane ideas they can bring to a character and universe like this. One hint? Fire piss.

Take a look after the jump and let us know what you think. See Spirit of Vengeance in theaters on February 17th.