Source: Peter Jackson Facebook | Posted By: Dan Geer

It has been since July that we received the last video blog from Peter Jackson for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, so it is actually quite a pleasant surprise to get another one. I honestly thought they were done.

This is the first Video Blog for the film that we have received since it was announced that The Hobbit will be a trilogy, and yet they don’t really make a big point about it in the blog, only briefly mentioning that there are two more films to go after this one. Peter Jackson and company continue with business as usual here, mainly dealing with the various facets of post-production. We get a fun look behind what goes into the last few weeks of making the film, including the soundtrack, computer effects, and even pre-visualization – which is apparently still going on even in post-production! It is simply a great behind-the-scenes tour of the madness that engulfs this massive production, which is far from over. There are even quite a few laughs to be had along the way, including some hilarity dealing with dwarven beards…

… you’ll know what I mean when you watch…

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Source: Star Wars Official Website | Posted By: Dan Geer

With the news of Disney buying Lucasfilm and their plans for producing more Star Wars films being the hot topic of conversation among geek circles these days, one of the things fans of the series have been looking forward to these last few weeks are the video blogs from StarWars.com, featuring Lynne Hale interviewing newly-appointed Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy and Founder George Lucas talking about the future of Star Wars.

Sadly, Part 3 of the five-part video series isn’t as exciting as the first two, since it doesn’t reveal any more news on Star Wars: Episode VII-IX, but it is still worth a watch. In the video, Lucas and Kennedy talk about their 35+ year working relationship, and how Lucas approached Kennedy to talk about passing the baton down to her to lead Lucasfilm and Star Wars into the future. Check out the video below!

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Source: Amazon.com | Posted By: Dan Geer

PopcornMonster.com’s “Monster Bargain” posts feature current Amazon.com deals relating to movies and television, usually for Blu-ray and DVD releases (although occasionally you might see other items, such as movie-related books). A small percentage of the sale goes toward PopcornMonster.com by clicking on the link(s) and purchasing the feature item(s).

This week, Amazon is offering mega deals on various Blu-rays for Black Friday, including the Star Wars Saga, Alien Anthology, Prometheus, Marvel’s The Avengers, the Planet of the Apes 5 Film Collection, and more. Hit the jump for the best deals!

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Source: Trek Movie | Posted By: Dan Geer

For those of you hoping to catch more than just three frames of film from J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek Into Darkness by the end of the year can now celebrate, as the first nine minutes of the film, as well as the first trailer, will be premiering December 14th. Read on for more info!

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Source: Apple | Posted By: Dan Geer

It looks like promotion is really starting to move on Sam Raimi’s Wizard of Oz prequel, Oz the Great and Powerful, hitting theaters this coming March. While not much has been made public since this past July with the first trailer, USA Today revealed some some new images this week, and now Apple has finally released the second trailer for the film.

This new trailer starts out almost exactly like the first one from July, but then focuses more on the three witches (played by Mila Kunis, Rachel Wiesz, and Michelle Williams), and their mysterious reasons for recruiting a small-time circus magician from Kansas (James Franco) to defeat the wicked Witch, who has laid waste to entire towns within the Land of Oz. Hit the jump to check it out!

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Source: Empire Online | Posted By: Dan Geer

One of the greatest aspects of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings is composer Howard Shore’s score for the films. The music of The Lord of the Rings functions as much more than just filler to get us from one scene to the next without awkward silence. Memorable themes and musical cues were meticulously crafted for specific characters and fantastical environments, giving the soundrack that rare ability to immediately take you back to an iconic fictional world without having to even re-watch the trilogy, something that few composers achieve. John Williams (Star Wars, Superman, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter) is really the only other film composer that comes to mind that has that gift.

So the question is, will Shore’s new score for The Hobbit Trilogy live up to what he created for The Lord of the Rings? Well, fans can now preview the entire soundtrack to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey over at Empire Online and decide for themselves. As a fan myself, I can say with confidence that the film’s score will live up to the legacy of The Lord of the Rings, more specifically The Fellowship of the Ring. Cues from various Lord of the Rings themes are scattered throughout, and the rest, while completely new, still feels like a part of Middle Earth. Head on over to Empire Online and have a listen!

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Source: Comic Book Movie | Posted By: Dan Geer

Peter Jackson’s new Middle Earth trilogy finally kicks off about a month from now with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey on December 14th, and of course everything from trailers, to TV spots, to production photos are blasting their way online for all to see so that we can spoil ourselves silly before we even get to see the film.

However, a gallery of 150 behind-the-scenes images from the film made its way online today that fortunately doesn’t give much away in terms of how the finished film will look. There are a few pics included from the movie itself, but not much more than what has been revealed in the trailers, so you shouldn’t have too much to worry about in terms of seeing more from the film than you already have. Hit the jump for a fun look at what went on during production!

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Source: Access Hollywood | Posted By: Dan Geer

Now that Star Wars creator George Lucas has handed over Lucasfilm to Disney, and given the green light for Star Wars: Episodes VII-IX, the biggest question on everyone’s mind is who will step into the director’s chair, now that Lucas has stated he will not direct.

Countless websites have compiled their wishlists, and posted various rumors of who will now direct. Probably the biggest name to come up is Steven Spielberg, who has been a long time friend of Lucas, and of course directed the four Indiana Jones movies that Lucas developed. Kathleen Kennedy, now President of Lucasfilm, has produced quite a number of Spielberg-directed films as well. So it really does make him the obvious choice to take over Star Wars, given his relationship with both Kennedy and Lucas.

However, according to Access Hollywood, this will unfortunately not be the case. Read on for what Spielberg had to say!

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Source: Michael Bay | Posted By: Dan Geer

Lately, rumors were going around stating that actor Mark Wahlberg, who is currently starring in director Michael Bay’s upcoming film, Pain and Gain, was in talks to star in Bay’s other little film coming up, Transformers 4. Bay was quick to shoot down that rumor, but then started to have a change of heart and saw fit to dream up a role for the actor in his new giant alien robot flick.

As of yesterday, Wahlberg has been officially confirmed to star in the new Transformers film, and you can read the official press release below!

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Source: Deadline | Vulture | StarWars.com | Posted By: Dan Geer

Star Wars has been the top story topic for the last week now, ever since Disney and Lucasfilm announced their recent partnership, as well as their intent to release the long-awaited, always rumored Star Wars: Episodes VII-IX, starting in 2015. So, if you see tons of news articles on this website regarding the upcoming films, you shouldn’t be surprised, since this is literally the biggest news in recent movie history, and tidbits are flying in just about every day.

The latest comes from Deadline, which states that Oscar-winning writer Michael Arndt is the man responsible for the treatments of Episodes VII-IX. Read on for further details!

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