Total Film News

First trailer for The Great Gatsby: watch now

George Wales — Fri, 25 May 2012 05:46:34 GMT

The Great Gatsby, Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of the celebrated novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, has released a first official trailer, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as the titular bon vivant.

Set in prosperous 1920s America, the film tells the tale of Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire), a recent Yale graduate and veteran of WW1 who rents a summer house next door to the reclusive Gatsby, before gradually becoming part of his inner circle, including damaged beauty Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan).

The first trailer abounds with Luhrmann's trademark visual flair, with Carraway's new world presented as a whirlwind of extravagant parties, presided over by his enigmatic new neighbour.

Take a look at the new trailer below…

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The contemporary soundtrack will be sure to niggle with some, although remembering that this is the man who paired Shakespeare with The Cardigans, it certainly shouldn't come as a surprise. What can't be debated is the allure of Luhrmann's visual style, used here to inject the roaring twenties with a feeling of manic, untamed energy.

Meanwhile, DiCaprio, Maguire and Mulligan all look well cast, the former in particular looking to have nailed Gatsby's mingled vulnerability and charm. The Great Gatsby will be released in 3D in the UK on 26 December 2012.

Four epic new banners for The Dark Knight Rises

Matt Maytum — Fri, 25 May 2012 05:46:06 GMT

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The Dark Knight Rises has been pumping out some incredible promo material, such as six character posters featuring Batman, Catwoman and Bane, and there are now four new widescreen banners to check out.

What's most impressive about this latest round of one-sheets is undoubtedly the scale.

The first captures Bats on top of a cop car, in a pose reminiscent of the famous promotional image from The Dark Knight. Main difference this time round? The swathes of onlookers being held back by Gotham's finest.

There's also one featuring Anne Hathaway's Catwoman, tearing through the streets on the Batpod, and testing out the firepower of its four front-mounted automatic weapons.

The third sees Bane (Tom Hardy) astride one of a handful of camouflage tumblers, having amassed what looks like a formidable army of rioters behind him.

They possible save the best till last though, with Batman primed to go head-to-head with Bane, the former flanked by a SWAT team, the latter backed by a legion of terrorist followers.

Are we looking at a No Man's Land-type situation here? The only thing we know for sure is that Batman's last stand is going to be HUGE…

Check out the banners now:

[Click on the banners to see them in hi-res]

The Dark Knight Rises opens on 20 July 2012. That's less than two month's folks.

Tom Hardy talks working with Gary Oldman on The Dark Knight Rises

Sam Ashurst — Fri, 25 May 2012 05:35:58 GMT

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Total Film is currently running around Cannes like a crazed movie-pitcher attempting to prove Speed 3 should be set entirely in the world of online journalism, via the medium of a live-action demonstration.

Either that or we're preparing for the Olympics by taking part in the most surreal multi-stage fitness test of all time - "You have 30 seconds to get from the Palais to the Hotel Martinez and back again… go!"

What we're saying is, we're rushed. But when France offers up gems as glorious the one below, we can't help but pause long enough to bash out a news story on it.

Speaking at a generally fairly weird Lawless press conference, Tom Hardy offered up the following information when asked about working with Gary Oldman on three recent projects; Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Dark Knight Rises and Lawless.

The following quote will be of extreme interest to Bat-fans seeking out any possible scraps of information about Christopher Nolan's follow-up to The Dark Knight.

This is the bit where we warn you about spoilers. Spoilers.

"I spent my entire experience with Gary [on Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy] staring at him and not returning any lines because I think he's God. The second time [on The Dark Knight Rises] I was playing God, so I ignored him. Kicked him a bit, that kind of thing. Gary Oldman is one of my heroes, I did nothing but glean from him."

That's the first official confirmation that Bane is directly involved in a fight with - and possibly the hospitalisation of - Commissioner Gordon, glimpsed at in the first teaser trailer.

And Hardy's description of Bane as God gives us an insight into just how powerful and omnipotent the character will be.

And outside anything else, it's just a nice quote. Gary Oldman's our God too, and Cannes is a fitting place to pay tribute to him, as this 50 Greatest Cannes Breakthroughs feature will attest.

Anyway, that's about as much time as we can spare for this particular pitstop, as we've got Jan de Bont on the phone about our Speed 3 idea. He's telling us it's rubbish. Fair enough.

Killing Them Softly: Screening Reaction

Total Film — Fri, 25 May 2012 05:35:56 GMT

Brad Pitt always brings something to Cannes – be it Angelina Jolie, hoards of paparazzi or legions of fans.

So you could sense the anticipation for the 8.30am screening of Andrew Dominik’s Killing Them Softly, as Pitt reunites with the director who so beautifully framed him in The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford.

Last time Pitt was in competition in Cannes, he gave a career best turn in Terrence Malick's Palme d'Or winner The Tree Of Life, and the time before that he carved a Swastika in Christoph Waltz’s head in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds.

This time, as no-nonsense mob enforcer Jackie Coogan, hired to root out two chancers (Scoot McNairy, Ben Mendelsohn) who rob a high-stakes gambling den run by Ray Liotta’s crook, he’s leaving his mark on just about everyone in town.

Call it this year’s Drive if you like, but Killing Them Softly is the most striking crime flick of 2012, updating George V. Higgins’ 1974 novel Cogan’s Trade to include the backdrop of the 2008 US elections and economic meltdown. Some of Dominik’s shots are pure poetry – brave, breath-taking, beautiful sequences that leave the jaw hanging.

If the reaction to the screening afterwards was somewhat mixed – the story is rather thin, the violence horrific and James Gandolfini’s ageing, booze-addled hitman an awkward creation – this still has the feeling of a modern-day Point Blank.

Dominik is never less than thoughtful; much like Jesse James, you will find low-key philosophising about the moment before the act of murder.

As for Pitt, hair slicked back, dressed in a leather jacket and brandishing a pump-action shotgun, it’s a lean, mean turn – destined for similar cult status to his Tyler Durden from Fight Club.

Big claim? Maybe. But this is Brad at his coolest, and for those who yearn for the glory days of 1970s US cinema, this feels like a wonderful throwback.

2 new TV spots for The Dark Knight Rises: watch now

George Wales — Fri, 25 May 2012 05:31:31 GMT

The Dark Knight Rises has released a glut of new promotional material this morning, including seven new images and a pair of brand new TV spots.

Naturally, it's the latter that's got us most excited, containing as they do a few new snippets of footage alongside the usual pyrotechnics we've come to expect from Bane and his reign on terror.

Despite all the doom-laden talk of ending legends, there's a particular focus on the film's sense of humour in these latest clips, with Alfred, Lucius Fox and Catwoman all having a chuckle at the Bat's expense. Gotham may be ashes, but at least there's still time for a laugh.

Take a look at the new spots below…

Exciting stuff, no? In the meantime, there is also a new set of official stills available online, featuring a closer look at Joseph Gordon-Levitt's cop, along with a few more images of Bane, Batman and Catwoman.

The Dark Knight Rises opens in the UK on 20 July 2012. Put those holiday plans firmly on hold...

Tom Cruise to star in Magnificent Seven remake?

George Wales — Fri, 25 May 2012 05:30:46 GMT

MGM are thought to have their latest remake in their sights, with Variety reporting that Tom Cruise is set to star in a new version of The Magnificent Seven.

The film is the latest in a long line of remakes currently in the works at the studio, with versions of Carrie, Poltergeist and RoboCop all at various stages in the production process.

Cruise himself is also on a remake tip at present, with this latest news coming hot on the heels of the announcement that he will star in Universal's forthcoming Van Helsing remake. Cruise has apparently been a long-standing fan of The Magnificent Seven, although he's thought to be waiting for the film to be greenlit before officially signing on.

The original film (itself a remake of Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai) tells the story of a group of gunslingers hired by a village of Mexican peasants to run off a marauding gang of banditos. Yul Brynner, Charles Bronson and Steve McQueen headed up the all-star cast.

No word as yet on release dates or further casting, but MGM will look to get this one off the ground as soon as possible so as to secure a spot in Cruise's busy schedule. Time to start assembling those fantasy ensembles...

Gary Oldman signs up for RoboCop

George Wales — Fri, 25 May 2012 05:20:48 GMT

RoboCop, Jose Padilha's remake of the classic sci-fi action film, has added a genuine heavyweight to its cast with the announcement that Gary Oldman has signed on to play one of the leads.

Oldman will play Norton, the scientist responsible for creating RoboCop, who finds himself conflicted by the demands of his employers, and the struggle of a former human to rediscover his old self.

Oldman will be joining new RoboCop Joel Kinnaman (star of the US version of The Killing), who spoke recently about how adult a version of the story audiences will be treated to.

"I sincerely hope they’re going for an R rating, because I can’t imagine how RoboCop could be PG-13," he said. "That would be a huge mistake. If I have any say in it, I will fight very hard for it. It has to be violent."

Production has yet to begin on the film, but with RoboCop currently scheduled to open on 9 August 2013, expect some more casting announcements sooner rather than later...

Robert Pattinson to join Catching Fire?

George Wales — Fri, 25 May 2012 05:10:54 GMT

With his latest film Cosmopolis set to capture the imagination of the Cannes crowd on Friday, and the finale of the Twilight saga set to drop later in the year, Robert Pattinson's stock has never been higher in Tinseltown.

Rumour has it however, that he could be about to gain a whole new army of fans, with sources linking Pattinson to a role in Catching Fire, the forthcoming sequel to The Hunger Games.

Word is that Lionsgate want Pattinson and his prodigious cheekbones to take on the role of Finnick Odair, a former tribute with an eye for the ladies, who gets dragged into the Third Quarter Quell (a Hunger Games contested by previous winners).

Now while we're slightly sceptical as to whether Pattinson would really want to throw his lot in with another teen franchise post-Twilight, the fact that his Water For Elephants collaborator Francis Lawrence is now filling the director's chair could make this one a goer.

If he does accept the role, expect future Hunger Games premieres to take on the hysterical quality of their Twilight counterparts. In the meantime, you can see Pattinson in more adult fare, when Cosmopolis opens in the UK on 15 June 2012.

Two new clips from Lawless: watch now

George Wales — Fri, 25 May 2012 05:06:10 GMT

Lawless is currently wowing festivalgoers at Cannes this week, but for those of us stuck at home, John Hillcoat's western has released a new pair of clips to savour.

The film follows the notorious Bondurant brothers (played by Hardy and Shia LaBeouf), a pair of bootleggers operating outside the law in Prohibition-era America, who find their operation under threat from Guy Pearce's ruthless Special Agent.

The first clip shows Hardy and Pearce squaring up to each other in an electrifying confrontation, while the second features a quiet conversation between the two brothers, in which Hardy attempts to convince LaBeouf he has what it takes.

Take a look at the new clips, below...

The standout of the new footage is surely Guy Pearce's performance as a truly creepy villain, what with his array of nervous tics and weirdly androgynous appearance. If you want no-good varmints to respect you, shaving off your eyebrows looks like the way to go.

Co-starring Gary Oldman, Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska and Noah Taylor. Lawless opens in the US on 29 August 2012, with a UK release to be confirmed. The western is well and truly back...

Charlize Theron says Mad Max sequel begins in June

George Wales — Fri, 25 May 2012 03:32:13 GMT

Mad Max: Fury Road has been lingering in development hell for quite some time now, but according to star Charlize Theron, filming is set to begin on the project as soon as 2 June.

Pre-production on the film began way back in 2009, when Theron and Tom Hardy were signed to pick up the reins from the departing Mel Gibson. A location had been found in Australia, and filming was set to begin in 2010.

However, torrential rains meant the area was no longer suitable for Mad Max's sun-blasted locales, and director George Miller was forced to announce that the film would be pushed back until 2012.

Since then, things have gone pretty quiet, save for the transport of some of the film's souped-up vehicles to a new location in Namibia. Now, however, it seems that things are fully up and running, with Theron confirming cameras are set to roll in just a couple of weeks time.

The positive side of the massive delay is that it freed Theron up to star in Prometheus and Snow White And The Huntsman, roles she would previously have had to turn down. So if filming does indeed go forward as planned, it might all have worked out for the best…

Studio Canal to re-release classic British films this summer

Matt Maytum — Fri, 25 May 2012 03:06:19 GMT

[Click on the poster to see it in hi-res]

Studio Canal are joining the revellers who’ll be celebrating all things British this summer, as they host a season of British films.

As a result of the London Olympics/Paralympics and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, there’s a rare sense of pride boosting our fair nation's ego, and Studio Canal’s Made In Britain season looks set to capitalise on that.

The national screening event, which runs from 5 June to 3 July, aims to show off the variety in Britain’s movie history, showcasing the likes of Passport To Pimlico, The Plague Of The Zombies, The Man Who Fell To Earth, Quatermass And The Pit and Hobson’s Choice.

So, if you’re in the mood for anything from light comedy to iconic sci-fi, you’re covered. Screenings are taking place at various locations across the country.

Check out the full list of screenings.

For more info, like the Made In Britain Facebook page.

Two new viral videos for The Amazing Spider-Man: watch now

George Wales — Fri, 25 May 2012 02:45:31 GMT

The Amazing Spider-Man has released a pair of new viral videos featuring Rhy Ifans as Curt Connors, updating his video diary with the progress of his latest experiments.

Initially seeming despondent, Connors relays that his latest experiments with reptile DNA have proved fruitless, with animal subjects showing little or no reaction to his genetic tinkering.

However, the second video suggests that a breakthrough has been made. "Chalk it up to a case of spoke to soon," says Connors, practically quivering with excitement. Oh dear. Looks like those human trials will be happening sooner rather than later...

Take a look at the new clips, below...

A set of new viral images have also emerged online, including a letter from Peter Parker's mother to his father, and an article from the Daily Bugle documenting Oscorp's latest charitable initiative.

All of which is serving to whet our appetites for the film's UK release on 4 July 2012. For comic-book fans, it's the summer that just keeps on giving…

G.I. Joe: Retaliation pushed back to 2013

George Wales — Fri, 25 May 2012 02:36:14 GMT

G.I. Joe: Retaliation has been pushed back to 2013, with Paramount claiming the delay is necessary in order to give the film the 3D treatment in post production.

The film was initially set to open in the US on 29 June 2012, a prime weekend in the summer schedule, but will now be shunted all the way back to 29 March 2013.

The news comes as something of a surprise given the amount of money the studio spent on securing advertising space at this year's Superbowl, but a studio source told Deadline the move will pay off in the long run.

"We’re going to do a conscientious 3D job because we’ve seen how it can better box office internationally," said the source. "Jim Cameron did all of Titanic‘s 3D in post, and look how well that movie turned out."

Sounds like fans of musclebound men firing big guns will have to wait a little bit longer to see Bruce Willis and The Rock do their stuff. Meanwhile, Paramount will have to start saving their pennies ahead of next year's Superbowl...

Mark Millar talks Kick-Ass 2

George Wales — Fri, 25 May 2012 01:54:15 GMT

Kick-Ass 2 has finally got the official greenlight from Universal, and with filming set to start in September, original creator Mark Millar has been dropping a few details about what we can expect from the sequel.

A few of the things Millar reveals could be interpreted as a mite spoilery, so if you want to go into the film knowing absolutely nothing, it might be an idea not to read on…

"Hit-Girl will be the first 30 minutes of the movie," explains Millar of how the movie will play out structurally, "and then the next 70 minutes is Kick-Ass 2. So Hit-Girl is structured as the first act."

"Every horrible scene in the book will be in the film," he continues. "The c**t line in the first one, everybody said ‘there’s no way you’re getting that in the movie’, but it happened and it’s the same thing with this. Everybody is saying ‘you can’t have a gang rape scene with supervillains’ and ‘you can’t have the dog’s head cut off’, but every single one of those scenes will go in it."

And speaking of supervillains, Millar is excited to send Christopher Mintz-Plasse down some very dark alleys indeed.

"To see the guy you know as the charming McLovin doing awful things, it’s going to be doubly upsetting," says Millar, "and that was always the plan. He’s a very, very underrated actor. I think sometimes if you do comedy, people don’t accept that you are a serious actor, but he’s one of those guys who can turn his mind to anything."

Kick-Ass 2 is expected to arrive in 2013, with a specific release date yet to be confirmed.

New poster for The Dark Knight Rises

George Wales — Fri, 25 May 2012 01:37:58 GMT

The Dark Knight Rises has debuted a new poster online, which takes the design aesthetic of the original teaser poster and adds a healthy dose of flame to the mix.

“A fire will rise” warns the new tagline, and sure enough, there’s plenty of flaming wreckage to complement Gotham’s already crumbling skyline.

Meanwhile, Batman stands helplessly in the foreground, shoulders bowed and eyes cast down to the ground. Never has the secondary tagline, “the legend ends”, looked more appropriate. Has the Bat really been broken?

It’s very reminiscent of the poster for The Dark Knight, which also used the fire motif to good effect. Though while the Joker just wanted to see Gotham burn, Bane seems hell bent on reducing it to a heap of smouldering rubble…

The Dark Knight Rises opens on the UK on 20 July 2012, as if you didn’t already know. In the meantime you can check out the new poster in all its glory, below…

Six new character posters for The Dark Knight Rises

George Wales — Fri, 25 May 2012 00:48:09 GMT

The Dark Knight Rises has stepped its promotional push up a notch this week, following yesterday's official poster with the release of six new character-specific one-sheets.

The new posters profile Batman, Catwoman and Bane, and are split into two distinctive groups. The first three posters show the trio shrouded in darkness, their shapes crumbling slightly at the edges as the rain lashed down around them.

The second set of posters show the three characters staring off into the middle distance, against a midnight blue backdrop reminiscent of the Dark Knight poster. "The legend ends," reads the tagline, ominously.

All six are pretty cool, although we definitely prefer the darker set in terms of atmosphere. The Bane poster is particularly good, with Tom Hardy's face half-obscured by shadow, and looking more menacing than ever.

The Dark Knight Rises opens in the UK on 20 July 2012. Until then, you can feast your eyes on the full range of posters, below...

Two new TV spots for Prometheus: watch now

George Wales — Fri, 25 May 2012 00:21:11 GMT

Prometheus has released a pair of new TV spots, in which a little more is revealed of what Noomi Rapace and her team discover on their spacebound mission of discovery.

The new spots are largely made up of footage we've already seen, but there are a couple more glimpses of the creatures blithely referred to by Rapace as "engineers", including something with a worrying number of tentacles…

There's also a little more of Idris Elba's captain Janek, who sums the situation up nicely by remarking, "You know what this place is? Hell." Oh dear…

Take a look at the new spots, below…

While we can't help worrying that Fox is revealing a little too many of Prometheus's secrets, we can't deny that our expectation levels for the film have pretty much hit boiling point. Whatever that thing is gripping onto Rapace, it made us do a little shout of excitement!

Prometheus opens in the UK on 1 June 2012. Not long now...

Django Unchained Footage Revealed: Cannes Reaction

Total Film — Thu, 24 May 2012 21:09:38 GMT

Cannes was treated to a sneak peak of Quentin Tarantino's tale of an escaped slave seeking both revenge and his stolen wife tonight, and judging by the clips we saw, Django Unchained is going to be... well, off the chain.

Here's 8 things we now know about QT's 'Southern'.

1) It's going to be widescreen stunning

Opening with a beautiful wide desert landscape shot that recalls Leone, we're introduced to a chain-gang of slaves dragging their weary feet over rock and stones, stumbling over their shackles and watched over by their captors on horseback.

Among them is Jamie Foxx's Django - raggedly bearded and wild eyed, clearly in mental torment and seething with rage, as Johnny Cash sings hauntingly over the soundtrack. Mood-wise and lensing-wise (he's shooting anamorphic on 35mm), Tarantino is clearly looking to deliver epic.

2) Christoph Waltz's Dr King Shultz is going to equal Hans Landa

In a night-time woodland scene, we were treated to Waltz's intro to the film - riding through the gloom in a tiny carriage with a bobbing model of a molar on top (he moonlights as a dentist) Schultz stops to introduce his horse (who bows on command) to the chain-gang masters. Impeccably-dressed, the good doctor greets all before expertly filling the bad guys with lead.

He's calm, collected, sardonic and morally ambiguous. Another classic character in the making?

3) It's bloody

Like any good QT flick, Django Unchained promises unflinching fisticuffs. In the footage we saw, Waltz plugs holes in heads and splatter's blood like a good 'un and Foxx's Django is deadly with a bull whip - lashing one fat slave trader to shreds amid the Spanish moss-laden oak trees of a plantation.

4) Leonardo is going bad to the bone

As Calvin Candie, a sadistic slave owner who enjoys making his slaves fight gladiatorial battles at his Candie Land plantation, DiCaprio is oily (in both hair and manner), puffing on his cigarette-holder and leering at Foxx across his opulent salon.

"You had my curiosity," he drawls in a molasses accent while toying with a hammer, "Now you have my attention." Django wants to rescue his wife Broomhilda (Kerry Washington) from Candie Land, so what's going to go down?

5) This is the coolest Foxx has ever been

Whether he's rocking leather cowboy duds or a frilly blue valet suit (in a scene where Django is ridiculed by houseslaves for his choice of outfit), Foxx's Django is the epitome of cool, a heat-seeking missile looking for his wife.

Foxx has described Django as "Richard Roundtree meets Clint Eastwood" and watching him ride his fine horse through a town of staring shop-keepers, hat-brim dipped low, we can attest that he's making all the right moves. "My name's Django," he drawls at one point, "the D is silent." What a dude.

6) Don Johnson is channelling the Colonel

Dressed all in dazzling white, with pointy goatee and slow, slow Southern drawl, Don Johnson is all mighty fine manners as a plantation owner Shultz and Django call on. His exchanges with the duo look fun, but we're hoping there's a darkness to Johnson's charming KFC schtick.

7) Schultz and Django are like Butch and Sundance

Bound together in a mutual aim, Schultz teaches Django to shoot by aiming at a snowman and treats the emancipated slave as an equal. From the clips we saw it's clear this relationship grows into a bond that could make it one of cinema's greatest buddy movies. The title may be all about Django, but the dramatic arc is all about the duo.

8) The N word crops up a lot

Tarantino has written a film set in the pre-civil war South and his script reflects all the realities of that. So expect the N-bomb to be dropped everywhere by everyone

Django Unchained opens in the US on 25 December 2012 (and 18 January 2013 in the UK).

Lovely Molly UK poster: world exclusive

Sam Ashurst — Thu, 24 May 2012 14:32:53 GMT

It's been 13 years since Eduardo Sánchez reinvigorated the found footage horror genre with The Blair Witch Project, creating a Cannibal Holocaust for the information age and spawning a million imitators in the process.

So it seems fitting that, on the film's 13-year anniversary, Sánchez is returning to the genre - with an eye on evolving it even further.

Lovely Molly's haunted house tale - a young girl moves into the house her father died in and starts seeing spooks - is rooted in traditional narrative cinema and interspersed with the sort of shaky-cam found footage on which Sánchez made his name.

It's an intriguing twist on the both the traditional horror movie, and the found footage format.

Which is why we're pleased we've got our paws on this lovely UK poster, which looks a little bit like it's been created using a Hipstamatic camera - mixing the best of digital technology with the scratchy nostalgia of a box of photos discovered in the attic.

We're big fans of the glitchy distortion on the title itself, making it look like a VHS caught mid-pause on the title screen - a very nice detail considering the context.

[Click on the poster to see it in hi-res]

Lovely Molly is released on 29 June.

First trailer for P.T. Anderson's The Master: watch now

George Wales — Thu, 24 May 2012 11:37:43 GMT

The Master, the forthcoming drama from P.T. Anderson, has released a first trailer in which a slightly raddled-looking Joaquin Phoenix answers a series of questions from a military psychologist.

The new film, which is Anderson's first in five years, is set in the '50s, and tells the story of a charismatic intellectual known as "the Master" (played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman), whose cult-like organisation begins to soar in popularity across the United States.

Phoenix plays a disenfranchised drifter who falls in with Hoffman's character, eventually becoming his second in command. You can take a look at him in action in the new trailer, below…

The Master is Phoenix's first major film since his "retirement", and he looks astonishing in this early footage, combining menace and vulnerability with real panache. His return is as welcome as Anderson's, the director having been off the radar since There Will Be Blood in 2007.

Jonny Greenwood has written the score once again, and has done another unsettlingly brilliant job of things going by what we've heard so far. Co-starring Amy Adams, The Master will open in the US on 12 October 2012, with a UK release date yet to be confirmed. There will be awards…

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues teaser trailer arrives online

Matt Maytum — Thu, 24 May 2012 07:37:16 GMT

Anchorman fans rejoice: the teaser trailer for the long awaited sequel (tentatively dubbed Anchorman: The Legend Continues), has arrived online for your viewing pleasure.

The wee snippet of footage has been doing the rounds in cinemas with The Dictator, but it’s now online for you to watch. Again and again. Repeatedly.

Unsurprisingly, given that the film won’t open for another year, the teaser contains not a single plot point. Its big sell is the unfettered joy of seeing Ron Burgundy, Champ Kind, Brian Fontana, and Brick Tamland back together on the big screen (or in this case, a YouTube video).

It’s little more than a round of introductions, but it’s reassuring to see the actors segue so comfortably back into their roles, despite the fact the first film was released the best part of a decade ago.

Check out the Anchorman 2 teaser now:

For a similarly nostalgic high, remind yourself of the teaser poster below:

Anchorman: The Legend Continues is set to open at some point in 2013.

Two new clips for On The Road: watch now

George Wales — Thu, 24 May 2012 07:35:15 GMT

On The Road has released a pair of new clips, in which Sam Riley's Sal Paradise gets to know the former and current wives of his travelling buddy, Dean Moriarty (Garrett Hedlund).

The first clip shows Paradise in conversation with Marylou (Kristen Stewart), Dean's first wife, who expresses a desire to settle down and build a life for herself. Despite her free-spirit persona, she's tired of her wild lifestyle, and laments Dean's lack of responsibility.

The second has Sal sharing a dance with Camille (Kirsten Dunst), Dean's new beau, who doesn't seem to have any more of a hold over him than his last wife.

Take a look at the new clips, below…

From both of those scenes, you can sense the tangible sense of melancholy director Walter Salles has brought to proceedings. This might be a story about the open road, but those who are travelling are as much adrift as they are free.

On The Road opens in the UK on 21 September 2012.

Chris Hemsworth talks Huntsman spin-off

George Wales — Thu, 24 May 2012 07:00:11 GMT

Snow White And The Huntsman may still be a couple of weeks away from release but talk is already afoot of a potential prequel focussing on Chris Hemsworth's character, the Huntsman.

David Koepp is currently in talks to write a follow-up to the forthcoming fairy tale, and one of the most persistent rumours is that it will be a Huntsman-centric tale. As far as Hemsworth himself is concerned, he's happy to keep an open mind.

"I’ve heard probably the same rumours you have about possible sequels to this or prequels as far as the Huntsman’s storyline goes," says Hemsworth, when asked whether he would be interested in such a project. "If there’s an audience for it and people wanna see it and there’s a great script and room to do something different with it, absolutely."

As for the Huntsman's back-story, there would appear to be plenty of scope for further exploration. "We’re pretty elusive for the most of it," explains Hemsworth. "He begins having suffered some sort of trauma in a whole life before this point, and then at the end it’s left open as well."

"We had endless discussions about ‘where does he come from and why does he do this and what’s this about?’" he continues, "and it all of a sudden opened up all these ideas about his whole life prior to this."

Snow White And The Huntsman opens in the UK on 1 June 2012. Sounds like there's a new franchise in the offing...

Bonnie Wright talks directing and prostitution

Rosie Fletcher — Thu, 24 May 2012 05:31:43 GMT

Bonnie Wright, aka Ginny Weasley from the Harry Potter series screened her directorial debut short Separate We Come, Separate We Go in the Cannes market place this afternoon.

It’s wistful tale of the friendship between a lonely child (Bonnie Wright lookalike Emily Dunham) and a bereaved man (Harry Potter alum David Thewlis) set again the barren beaches of Dungeness.

Total Film caught up with Bonnie post screening.

“The place has a big connection for me. I spent a lot of time there when I was younger” she revealed.

“I’ve learnt so much from doing that short. I really respond to putting myself out of my own depth and finding my feet. That idea of going for it – there’s nothing else to lose - the story paralleled the process of making it.”

Wright is planning to follow it up with further shorts though she won’t be giving up acting. Her latest project, In Want Of A Wife, begins shooting at the end of this year.

“I play a character called Lydia, it's set in the late 1700s and she starts as a eloped young daughter of a clergyman. She's eloped with a lieutenant and they go into what you think is a little hotel but she wakes up to find the lieutenant is gone and she’s left there alone and the hotel is actually a brothel.” Wright explains.

“She’s trapped. She has to pay for the night before that she’s spent with the lieutenant, she can’t go back to her father because she’s eloped - it’s basically how she has to turn to prostitution. “

This will be Wright's first leading role. It’s a big leap from Harry Potter’s love interest, but it’s a challenge Wright is happy to embrace.

And will there (gulp), be any nudity required?

“Within that period it was very untoward to see any flesh.” Grins Wright. “If there is it’s just a shoulder…”

First trailer for Skyfall: watch now

George Wales — Thu, 24 May 2012 03:36:44 GMT

Skyfall has released a first official trailer online, in which Daniel Craig's Bond appears more grizzled, non-nonsense and generally badass than ever before.

The new teaser is fairly light on plot details, settling instead for recreating the mixture of grit and glamour that made Casino Royale such an energising kick-start to the franchise.

Dealings with the plot itself are restricted to a single question and answer session between Bond and an MI6 psychologist. Giving glib, one-word answers to trigger-words like "agent" and "gun", 007 is stopped in his tracks by the mention of the word "Skyfall".

Take a look at the new teaser, below…

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It's difficult to know whether Bond and M are on the same page in this first trailer. At first, it seems as though she and Ralph Fiennes look satisfied by Bond's hesitation, although when he eventually snaps, "done", the reaction is unclear. Is Bond done with Skyfall, or simply done with the questions?

Elsewhere, there's plenty of action to savour, as a silhouetted Javier Bardem strolls away from a blazing mansion, and Bond prepares an unseen partner for some unpleasant business ahead. "Some men are coming to kill us," he explains, "we're going to kill them first."

Skyfall opens in the UK on 26 October 2012. Ready the Martinis...

And if you fancy catching up on your 007 movies before Skyfall hits, there's a big Bond 50 Blu-ray boxset available to pre-order.