by Sebastian Suchecki, Mar 22 2012 // 7:30 AM

Good news for all you Ender’s Game fans out there as there is finally some forward motion on the film. Ender’s Game has had a long journey getting from a novel to the big screen and finally has a production blog. Even though there is only a single image posted so far, producer Roberto Orci promises to have exclusives from the film over the next year. This would include guest appearances by well known cast members.
For those of you unfamiliar with the Orson Scott Card book series, here is a synopsis. Set in Earth’s future, the plot presents an imperiled humankind who have barely survived two conflicts with the Formics, an insect like alien species that are usually called “Buggers”. These aliens act much like gigantic super smart Earth ants and are very protective of their queen. In preparation for an anticipated third invasion, an international fleet maintains a school to find and train future fleet commanders.
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Posted in: Action · Adaptation · Books · Movies · News · Sci-Fi · Web
Tagged: abigail breslin, Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley, Ender Wiggin, Enders Game, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Gandhi, Gavin Hood, hailee steinfeld, Harrison Ford, Hugo, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Little Miss Sunshine, Orson Scott Card, Roberto Orci, Shutter Island, Star Wars, The Help, true grit, Viola Davis, X-men Origins:Wolverine, Zombieland
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by The Flickcast, Feb 24 2011 // 3:00 PM
This may be the biggest year for the Academy Awards, as some major Hollywood players are going up against some fresh newcomers. Eyeballs everywhere will be glued to ABC on Sunday, February 27th at 8PM E/5PM P when the awards show goes live. But before that, we decided to do some picking of our own with the staff’s predictions for each award.
For a full list of the nominees, check out our previous article on the subject. Now, on to the predictions.
Best Picture
Shannon Hood-The Social Network. It had early and consistent momentum all year, and the Academy appears to be trying to shake up their stodgy image. This would be the perfect film to put their money where their mouth is.
Matt Raub – True Grit. Not only are the Coens a regular in the “I Have an Oscar” club, but this testament to classic western films is definitely one for record books, between its all-star cast and gritty (no pun intended) visual style, this one definitely deserves the golden statue.
Chris Ullrich – True Grit. Even though this was a pretty great year for movies and there are many excellent choices in this category, True Grit stands on its own as my pick. As an example of pure movie storytelling, this Coen Brothers masterpiece excels on every level and delivers a pure entertainment experience you will want to revisit many more times in the future.
Cortney Zamm – The Social Network. There’s a lot of great films in this category, some of them from my favorite directors and starring my favorite people. But the one that combined all of the essential elements of filmmaking into a truly gorgeous, compelling, and memorable film was The Social Network.
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Posted in: Academy Awards · Awards · Drama · Events · Exclusive · Features · Flickcast Picks · Flickcast Presents · Movies
Tagged: 127 Hours, Aaron Sorkin, Academy Awards, Alice in Wonderland, Amy Adams, Annette Bening, Another Year, Atticus Ross, Barney's Version, Biutiful, Black Swan, Christian Bale, Colin Firth, Country Strong, Darren Arronofsky, David Fincher, David O Russell, Day & Night, Ethan Coen, Exit Through the Gift Shop, Flickcast Picks, Geoffrey Rush, God of Love, hailee steinfeld, Harry Potter, Helena Bonham Carter, Hereafter, How to Train Your Dragon, I Am Love, Incendies, Inception, Iron Man 2, Jacki Weaver, James Franco, Javier Bardem, Jeff Bridges, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner, jesse eisenberg, Joel Coen, John Hawkes, Let's Pollute, mark ruffalo, Melissa Leo, Michelle Williams, Na Wewe, Natalie Portman, Nicole Kidman, Oscars, Salt, Tangled, The Confession, The Crush, The Fighter, The Gruffalo, The Illusionist, The Kids Are All Right, The King's Speech, The Lost Thing, The Social Network, The Tempest, The Way Back, The Wolfman, Tom Hooper, Toy Story 3, Trent Reznor, Tron Legacy, true grit, Unstoppable, Winter's Bone, Wish 143
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by Matt Raub, Feb 1 2011 // 9:00 AM
We all love LEGO. Everybody grew up with them, so they all hold a special place in our collective hearts. Except for those who grew up with Mega Bloks, but nobody liked those kids growing up anyway.
The world of LEGO has been celebrated more lately as franchises like LEGO Batman and LEGO Star Wars have taken over our consoles. Now we get even more of this fully manifested world as one cinema fan has captured some of our favorite Oscar nominated films and turned them into LEGO.
The remade scenes come from LEGO artist Alex Eylar, who has tons of creations over at MOCPaged. This site is completely dedicated to people making stuff out of their favorite LEGOs so it’s particularly awesome.
While you try to ponder that business model, take a look at some of our favorite Oscar nominated scenes after the jump and comment with guesses on which films these scenes are inspired from. Good luck!
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Posted in: Academy Awards · Awards · Comedy · Geek · Kids · Movies · News
Tagged: 127 Hours, Black Swan, King's Speech, Lego, Oscars, Social Network, The Fighter, The Kids Are Alright, true grit, Winter's Bone
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by Joe Gillis, Jan 26 2011 // 3:00 PM
This week on The Flickcast brings more insight, innovation and innuendo from your favorite co-hosts. That’s right, Chris and Matt are back and discussing all sorts of new and returning topics.
Some of those topics include the Oscars, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, Call of Duty: Black Ops Map Packs, the Verizon iPhone, Fantastic Four developments, Smallville’s final season and potential spin-offs, the Dead Space 2 ads and much more.
Chris and Matt also made new picks this week including Matt’s pick of the Sam Raimi film Darkman the and Chris’ pick of the new Starz series Spartacus: Gods of the Arena.
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.
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeartRadio | Stitcher | TuneIn |
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Posted in: News · Podcasts
Tagged: Call of Duty: Black Ops, Christopher Nolan, Darkman, Dead Space 2, Fantastic Four, Inception, Leonardo DiCaprio, Liam Neeson, Podcasts, Smallville, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, true grit
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by Shannon Hood, Jan 25 2011 // 7:00 AM
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominees for the 83rd annual award ceremony this morning. The King’s Speech was the front-runner with 12 nominations. Overall, there weren’t too many surprises.
Many were disappointed that Christopher Nolan did not receive a best director nod, but as a consolation prize, Inception was nominated as a contender for best picture.
True Grit did quite well, with Hailee Steinfeld nabbing a best supporting actress nod, and nominations for best picture, best director(s), best actor, and best adapted screenplay. Winter’s Bone was recognized for best actress, best picture, and best adapted screenplay. Dogtooth, Jackie Weaver, and Javier Bardem were nice surprises.
Here are the nominees in the order that they were announced.
Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter The King’s Speech
Melissa Leo The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld True Grit
Jackie Weaver Animal Kingdom
Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale The Fighter
John Hawkes Winter’s Bone
Jeremy Renner The Town
Mark Ruffalo The Kids Are All Right
Jeffrey Rush The King’s Speech
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Posted in: Academy Awards · Awards · Movies · News
Tagged: 127 Hours, Academy Awards, Amy Adams, Annette Bening, Black Swan, Christian Bale, Colin Firth, Darren Aronofsky, David Fincher, David O Russell, hailee steinfeld, Helena Bonham Carter, Inception, Jackie Weaver, James Franco, Javier Bardem, Jeff Bridges, Jeffrey Rush, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner, jesse eisenberg, Joel and Ethan Coen, John Hawkes, mark ruffalo, Melissa Leo, Michelle Williams, Natalie Portman, Nicole Kidman, Oscars, The Fighter, The Kids Are All Right, The King's Speech, The Social Network, Tom Hooper, Toy Story 3, true grit, Winter's Bone
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by Shannon Hood, Jan 24 2011 // 12:00 PM
Natalie Portman continues to impress, as she has not one, but two films in the top ten this week. The romantic comedy No Strings Attached, featuring Portman and Ashton Kutcher, nabbed the top spot at the box office over the weekend by selling about $20.3 M in tickets. The film is directed by Ivan Reitman, and is the first movie starring Portman to win the box office since 2006, when she starred in V For Vendetta. It attracted a mostly female audience, typical for a romantic comedy.
Black Swan, the psychological thriller, was her second film to place in the top ten. Coming in at number six, the movie picked up $6.2 M in its eighth week in release, bringing its box office total to $83.5 M. If the film picks up a few Oscar nominations (announced on Tuesday morning), it is sure to continue a steady march toward $100 M.
Last week’s winner, The Green Hornet, dropped off 46% from its opening week total. It came in at number two this week with $18 M, bringing its two week total to $63 M. It was a costly production to make ($120 M) so it still needs to sell quite a few seats to earn back its budget.
The Dilemma had an almost identical drop off, and made an additional $9.7 M. The King’s Speech is now in its 9th week of release, and only dropped 2% from last week. This is another film that will surely enjoy a boost from multiple Oscar nominations on Tuesday.
True Grit came in at number five with $8 M, making it the second highest grossing western of all time (Dances With Wolves holds the record). The Housemaid, Barney’s Version, The Company Men, The Illusionist, and Another Year all fared nicely in limited release.
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Posted in: Box Office · Movies · News
Tagged: Black Swan, Box Office, Natalie Portman, No Strings Attached, The Dilemma, The Green Hornet, The King's Speech, true grit
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by Shannon Hood, Jan 17 2011 // 11:00 AM
Despite some tepid reviews, Green Hornet ran away with the top spot this weekend. The Seth Rogan comedy/action hybrid made about $34 M, which is good enough to be the third highest January opening ever. About 69% of the film’s take was from 3D screens. It was a pricey film to make ($110 M), so it will need to build on its opening weekend momentum.
Vince Vaughn’s latest film The Dilemma made about $17 M, placing it solidly in second place. True Grit only dropped 23%, and made an additional $11 M. This $38 M film just passed the $125 M mark. Kind of reaffirms your faith in movie audiences, doesn’t it?
If that tidbit of intel warms your heart, then wait for the next news: we had a trifecta of terrific movies occupying the top five this week. In addition to True Grit, The Kings Speech and Black Swan had great weekends.
The King’s Speech actually surged 41% in its eighth week in release for a cool $9 M. It is still playing on less than 1600 screens, so those are some impressive numbers. Very quietly, the film has made $44 M to date.
Black Swan has also done remarkably well. Made on a shoestring budget of $13 M, Natalie Portman’s star vehicle now totals almost $73 M in box office receipts, without a 3D screen in sight. Gwyneth Paltrow has not been as lucky. Her movie Country Strong fell completely out of the top ten this week, coming in at number twelve. In four weeks, the movie has only made $13 M.
Barney’s Version opened on only four screens, but it managed to make $17,925 per/screen.
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Posted in: Box Office · Movies · News
Tagged: Barney's Version, Black Swan, Box Office, Country Strong, Green Hornet, News, The Dilemma, The King's Speech, true grit
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by Shannon Hood, Jan 10 2011 // 7:30 AM
It’s very rare for a film to hit the number one spot at the box office several weeks after its release, but that is exactly what the Coen Brothers’ True Grit accomplished this weekend. The film finally shook the monkey (Little Fockers) off its back for a clear shot at the number one slot.
Grit made about $15 M over the weekend, and because it was a god-awful weekend at the box office, that was good enough for a first place finish. Business was down almost 30% from last weekend. Entertainment Weekly reports that it could be the worst January weekend since 2000!
The good news is that the Coen Brothers just surpassed the $100M milestone for the very first time. This is the first film they have made that has made it to into the club, so to speak. Good for them. True Grit will surely continue to succeed in theaters, particularly if the film receives any Oscar nominations.
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Posted in: Box Office · Movies · News · Reboots and Remakes · Westerns
Tagged: Black Swan, Box Office, Country Strong, Little Fockers, Season of the Witch, the Coen brothers, Tron Legacy, true grit
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by Shannon Hood, Jan 6 2011 // 12:00 PM

So yesterday, we ran part one of this post. In case you missed it, here were my picks:
- Waiting for Superman
- Winter’s Bone
- The Company Men
- Rabbit Hole/Blue Valentine (tie)
- The Fighter
Now, without further ado, are the rest of my picks for best movies of the year.
5. The Kids Are All Right
This quirky drama won me over in no time. Annette Bening and Julianne Moore play a lesbian couple raising two children who were the product of an anonymous sperm donor. When the kids are old enough, they seek out and find their donor, who is played by Mark Ruffalo.
His character Paul is a perpetually laid-back restaurateur who drives a motorcycle and lives a bohemian lifestyle. The kids are instantly captivated, and develop a relationship with the guy, much to the chagrin of their uptight mom Nic (Bening).
I admire writer/director Lisa Cholodenko for her sensitive handling of the subject matter. A lesser director could have turned this into a slapstick farce, but ultimately the film is funny, touching, and wholly original. It is also universally relatable. Bening is a standout in the film for her performance.
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Posted in: Best of 2010 · Movies · News
Tagged: 127 Hours, 2010 best movies, Aaron Sorkin, Annette Bening, Aron Ralston, Barbara Hershey, Black Swan, Danny Boyle, Darren Aronofsky, David Fincher, hailee steinfeld, James Franco, Jeff Bridges, jesse eisenberg, Julianne Moore, Justin TImberlake, Lisa Cholodenko, mark ruffalo, Matt Damon, Mila Kunis, Natalie Portman, the Coen brothers, The Kids Are All Right, The Social Network, top ten movies of 2010, Trent Reznor, true grit
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by Shannon Hood, Jan 5 2011 // 9:00 AM
I was surprised at how much trouble I had narrowing down my top ten movies this year. My top 20 were all very close, but here are the movies that I ultimately enjoyed the most. I readily admit that I did not see near as many foreign films as I would have liked, but by the time I cover most of the mainstream fare, there is simply no time left.
Honorable Mentions: Fair Game, Tiny Furniture, Greenberg, Cyrus, The Tillman Story, The American, Mother and Child, Scott Pilgrim.
10. Waiting for Superman
This Documentary was equal parts frustrating, inspirational, and heartbreaking. Director Davis Guggenheim (No End in Sight) sheds light on the dismal state of our public school system. He follows the plight of several children who live in various geographic regions who are placing all of their hope for an decent education into lottery systems for charter or private schools. Guggenheim relies on their compelling stories for a narrative, while interspersing lots of graphics and cartoons illuminating some pretty harrowing statistics.
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Posted in: Best of 2010 · Exclusive · Features · Flickcast Presents · Movies
Tagged: 127 Hours, Aaron Eckhart, Aaron Sorkin, Amy Adams, Annette Bening, Aron Ralston, Ballet, Barbara Hershey, Ben Affleck, Blue Valentine, Chris Cooper, Christian Bale, Danny Boyle, Darren Aronofsky, David Fincher, Davis Guggenheim, Debra Granik, Facebook, hailee steinfeld, James Cameron Mitchell, James Franco, Jeff Bridges, Jennifer Lawrence, jesse eisenberg, Julianne Moore, Justin TImberlake, Lisa Cholodenko, Maria Bello, mark ruffalo, Mark Wahlberg, Matt Damon, Melissa Leo, Michelle Williams, Natalie Portman, Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole, Revenge Movies, Rosemarie DeWittBlack Swan, Ryan Gosling, Swan Lake, the Coen brothers, The Company Men, The Fighter, The Kids Are All Right, The Social Network, Tommy Lee Jones, Trent Reznor, true grit, Waiting for "Superman", Westerns, Winter's Bone
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by Chris Ullrich, Jan 4 2011 // 10:30 AM
Indeed it is the time of year when inevitability the lists appear and people pick their favorites of 2010. Some have already done their lists and some, like me, like to wait a bit. That said and since I don’t want to be accused of not following trends, I will also be making a list (or two) of my picks of the best of 2010. However, in the interest of clarity and brevity (or neither), I’m going to pick my top 5 (or so) things in the main categories we cover here at The Flickcast.
Although, as our own John Carle covered the best of 2010 in games so well already, I won’t make much (if any) a list of those and will just mention my two favorites. In case you’re not familiar with those main categories we cover, they are as follows: Movies, TV, Comics, Games, Tech and all things Geek.
So, to that end, here’s my list (or lists really) of my picks of the top stuff of 2010.
Movies
Inception – I love smart movies and this one is pretty damn smart. Featuring great performances, a mind-bending plot and twists galore, director Christopher Nolan delivers with one entertaining ride I was talking about for weeks (and months) afterward. And with all the ways I can get distracted by other things, to still be taking about this movie now is a testament to just how great it is.
True Grit – I love Westerns and this one will go down as truly one of the best I’ve seen in a long time. Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and the rest of the cast are superb and newcomer Hailee Steinfeld owns the screen. She is definitely one to watch. Plus, the Coen brothers have a genuine love and reverence for the classic Western conventions, even when they twist and turn them into new and even more compelling shapes.
The Social Network – When I first heard of this movie I was skeptical, as probably most were, about how interesting a movie about Facebook really could be. I had nothing to worry about. This brilliant film, directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin, delivers on all levels and tells a compelling story of one of the most impressive success stories in history. Along the way it also shows us a little something about the nature of greed, friendship and the real cost of success.
Winter’s Bone – This tale of a real heroes journey to find out what happened to her father before the bank forecloses on her home resonated with me for quite some time after watching this film. Jennifer Lawrence as the young mother and John Hawkes as her meth-snorting uncle really deliver top performances. Part crime movie, part thriller and part coming-of-age-story this film’s stark realism takes you into a world you didn’t know existed and holds you there until the lights come up.
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Posted in: Comics · Geek · Movies · News · NYCC · Tech · TV
Tagged: 30 Rock, Aaron Sorkin, American Vampire, Apple TV, Boardwalk Empire, Christian Bale, Community, David Fincher, Fringe, grant morrison, hailee steinfeld, HTC, HTC Droid Incredible, Inception, iOS4, iPad, Jeff Bridges, Jennifer Lawrence, Jesse Eisneberg, John Hawkes, Kindle, Mark Wahlberg, Monsters, Terriers, The Fighter, The Social Network, The Walking Dead, true grit, Winter's Bone
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by Shannon Hood, Jan 3 2011 // 7:30 AM
True Grit and Little Fockers dropped off little from their opening weekend attendance, but in the end those Fockers reigned supreme. The movie managed to make about $26.3 Million in its second week of release. That’s a 15% drop, which sounds impressive, but its cumulative ($103 Million) can’t touch its predecessors (Meet the Fockers) total of $162 Millon in the same time frame.
A bit more impressive was the 1% drop of True Grit, which came in at number two with $24.5 Million. If you are a Coen Brothers fan (or even a staunch indie supporter) you should find this quite exciting. After two short weeks, True Grit has grossed over $86 million, officially making it the highest grossing movie for the directing duo.
Box Office Mojo reports that True Grit is the best attended Western since 1993, when Tombstone graced the screen.
No Country for Old Men (2007) made just upward of $74 Million during its entire theatrical run, and that included an Oscar “bump” at the box office. True Grit seems a lock to surpass $100 Million during its run. The film had a (relatively) modest budget of about $38 Million, so it will be a success story.
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Posted in: Box Office · Movies · News
Tagged: Box Office, Little Fockers, Movies, News, Tron Legacy, true grit, Yogi Bear
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