Written By: Dan Geer

When Guillermo del Toro left the director’s chair on The Hobbit trilogy, Peter Jackson stepped up and took the reins once again for Middle Earth and decided to direct. This posed a huge problem for Jackson and his team of designers and writers, and put a tremendous amount of pressure on everyone because Jackson’s vision differed greatly from del Toro’s. They basically had to redesign the films all over again, essentially throwing out a year and a half’s work of pre-production time out the window. What this meant for Jackson was that he was not able to have that same amount of prep time for his version of the films, and the vast majority of the time he had to wing it on set.

Now that the Extended Edition of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies has finally been released, one of the special features on this release chronicles what it was like for the director, as well as the designers and writers to go through this trial of getting these films completed in light of what happened. A segment of the video has gone viral, with many movie sites claiming this is Jackson owning up to the reason why The Hobbit films were supposedly “a mess.”

I argue the exact opposite. Watch the video below first, and then we’ll dive in!

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Source: Vice | /Film | Posted By: Dan Geer

20th Century Fox has teamed up with Vice to produce three short film prequels that lead up to the new Dawn of the Planet of the Apes film (which, by the way, is getting rave reviews). The project is called Before the Dawn, and the films (each directed by a different director) take place during the ten years in between Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Dawn, chronicling the pandemic caused by the Simian Flu that devastated the human population. Hit the jump to watch!

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Source: Batman News | Posted By: Dan Geer

The Dark Knight Trilogy: Ultimate Collector’s Edition makes it way onto Blu-ray tomorrow, September 24rh, and it arrives with tons of new extras for die-hard bat-fans to behold. In addition to the three films and the bonus features that were included in their original retail releases, this Ultimate set also includes an extra disc with hours more of behind-the-scenes features, as well as a Hot Wheels Batmobile, Batpod, Bat, posters, and even a 48-page hardcover book filled with images from the making of the film.

The highlight of the set is the 76-minute documentary titled The Fire Rises: The Creation and Impact of The Dark Knight Trilogy, which includes interviews with Christopher Nolan, Damon Lindelof, Richard Roeper, Zack Snyder, Michael Mann, Guillermo Del Toro, and various Warner Brothers executives and producers discussing the making of the films. One chapter of the documentary, called Ensemble, includes Christian Bale’s audition for the role of Batman – wearing non other than the Sonar Bat Suit actor Val Kilmer wore in Joel Schumaker’s Batman Forever! Warner Brothers was nice enough to release this awesome footage online, and you can check it out after the jump!

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Source: IGN | Posted By: Dan Geer

Well, it looks like featurettes from the upcoming release of Marvel’s The Avengers on Blu-ray will be making their way online every so often until the film actually gets released next month. That’s okay by me, since we’re mostly getting small clips from the Blu-ray, just to simply tease us a bit until we can finally get our hands on the film to enjoy whenever we want.

Yesterday saw the emergence of a gag reel, as well as a featurette talking about Samuel L. Jackson and his role as Nick Fury. Today, we get a clip that focuses on actors Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner/The Hulk) and Chris Evans (Steve Rodgers/Captain America), which you can now view after the jump.

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Source: Daily Motion | EW | Empire

A few special feature clips from the upcoming September release of Marvel’s The Avengers on Blu-ray have surfaced in the last couple of days to hold over fans who can’t wait until next month to check them out.

First off, a deleted scene went online yesterday expanding the conversation that Bruce Banner has with the security guard after he fell from the S.H.I.E.L.D. hellicarrier and plummeted to earth. Today, two more features have emerged; one being a gag reel, and the other a one-minute clip from the documentary called Building A Cinematic Universe which features some of the cast and crew talking about how cool Samuel L. Jackson is.

I have only chosen to watch the clip from the documentary since it’s really only a very small teaser for it. However, I have not watched the gag reel or deleted scene. Personally, I like to wait until a Blu-ray hits store shelves to check out the special features, since it gives me even more to look forward to. But, if you don’t care either way, hit the jump to watch these clips!

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Source: TheForce.net | Posted By: Dan Geer

If you’re like me, any behind-the-scenes footage from the Star Wars films is irresistible, particularly when it comes to never-before-seen footage from the original trilogy. It’s always like crossing paths with an old friend, but from a different angle or perspective.

Well today, a 7 1/2 minute documentary, simply titled A Documentary By Jeff Broz, has surfaced on YouTube that features 8mm footage of the scenes on Jabba’s sail barge. Allegedly, this particular set from Return of the Jedi wasn’t all that difficult to approach for the general public, and Broz managed to shoot some some great footage of the action, including Mark Hamill lightsaber fighting, Boba Fett flying, and other interesting moments of the cast and crew making the film. Since this is essentially raw, 8mm footage, there is no sound, so you might want to cue up a track or two from the Star Wars films while you watch. Check out the video below!

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Source: Apple | Posted By: Dan Geer

Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows barely slipped out of PopcornMonster.com’s Top 10 Movies to See This Summer list, but it is nevertheless still on my radar. Today, Apple has released a new behind-the-scenes featurette for the film, featuring segments on the history of vampire films, as well as Johnny Depp and Tim Burton’s love for the genre. It even gives us a peek at the cameos of Christopher Lee and the late Jonathan Frid (the original Barnabas Collins) in the film. Hit the jump to watch!

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Source: HBO | Posted By: Dan Geer

Anyone who has read comic books or loves superhero movies has thought about what it would be like to actually disguise oneself and take on a superhero persona to go out and fight crime. Most of us probably pretended to do so when we were kids (I, for one, always wanted to be Batman). Well, believe it or not, there are actually real-life “superheroes” out there who literally wear a mask or some sort of disguise to cover up their identities in order to perform heroic deeds (some actually don’t disguise themselves). Whether it’d be assisting in community service needs such as helping the homeless, or actually combating crime (either by alerting the proper authorities or fighting criminals on their own), these people actually exist.

While they aren’t exactly Batman or Spider-Man, and perhaps have delusions of grandeur, they have set out to help the world with the best intentions. HBO‘s newest documentary, appropriately titled Superheroes (premiering Monday, August 8th at 9PM), dives into the motivations of these people who feel compelled to take the law into their own hands. It features interviews with many of the so-called superheroes, as well as other commentators who give their take on the subject, including Marvel’s own Stan Lee. It really looks like it’ll be quite an amazing documentary to say the least. You can check out the official trailer, press release, photos, and an interview with Superheroes director Michael Barnett after the jump!

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Source: Showrunners Facebook | /Film | Posted By: Dan Geer

The world of TV programming can be quite challenging, especially ever since The X-Files essentially paved the way for modern television shows by producing a mini-movie every week. It is simply the gold standard for today’s hour-long fiction shows, as modern audiences have now come to experience with LOST, Battlestar Galactica, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, Fringe, etc. Anything less just would not make it past TV executives these days; and, even if the quality of the show is great, that does not mean the show will last (as fans of ABC’s V have recently witnessed).

Director Des Doyle’s documentary Showrunners (currentlly in production) dives deeply into the subject of just what it takes to make a quality television show and just how ugly it can get sometimes. It features interviews with many big names in the TV industry, including Damon Lindelof (LOST), Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica), Jeff Pinkner and J.H. Wyman (Fringe). Check out the official synopsis and trailer for the documentary after the jump!

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Source: HBO | Posted By: Dan Geer

Film producer Jerry Weintraub, known for producing such hit films as the Ocean’s Eleven and Karate Kid series, is stepping out from behind the scenes and into the spotlight in what is sure to be a fascinating new documentary called His Way.

Premiering exclusively on HBO on April 4th at 9 PM ET/PT, His Way utilizes personal video, archival footage and one-on-one interviews to chronicle Weintraub‘s five-decade career as a Hollywood entrepreneur. You can check out the official press release, key art, stills and trailer for the documentary after the jump!

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