by A.J. Focht

The New Year is off to a good start as nerd rage scores one over the film industry. After the massive amount of complaints surrounding Bane’s voice in The Dark Knight Rises, Warner Bros. has cracked and made it easier to understand in the audio mix. While Christopher Nolan had no intentions of changing the voice, the studio’s fear of the fan outrage won out.

That wasn’t the only news from The Dark Knight Rises to break last week. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Anne Hathaway released some previously unknown details about scenes in the film. As if that wasn’t enough, the forty second montage from the prologue was leaked last week, and promptly removed.

Marvel Studios has released a new movie poster for The Avengers. The poster taps into the recent fad for classic looking movie posters. While the art style rather interesting, the poster is just about what you would have expected.

After five years of legal wrangling, the courts have made a decision as to the proper owners of Ghost Rider. No shocker, but Marvel will retain the rights. The case was brought to the court by Gary Friedrich, the modern re-creator of Ghost Rider. Marvel commissioned him to update their original Ghost Rider, a cowboy, and he delivered with the well-known skeleton motorcycle rider. Unfortunately for Mr. Friedrich, he signed over all rights of his character to Marvel, twice. It was on this grounds that the court decided that Marvel would keep all rights, and Friedrich, whose complaint stemmed from being cut out of the profits from the first movie, won’t be seeing profits from the upcoming sequel either. Just a good reminder to all artists to make sure they keep track of their intellectual rights.

Some more legal bullshitting coming out of Marvel; their lawyers are now proposing the case that the X-Men are not human. While the Mutant versus Human status has long been an issue in the comics, this time it’s being used in the real world for capitalistic gain. Certain countries tax less on figures that are not human, and thus, Marvel must insist that the X-Men are not humans. Perhaps these countries should change the wording to ‘humanoid’ to avoid confusion.

The largest scale model of Serenity has been found in the depths of the Universal Archives. The replica builders at Quantum Mechanix came across the model used in the Firefly series and had a chance to take several photos. Someone really should consider rescuing this piece and putting it some sort of science fiction museum, lest it disappears again into the depths, never to be seen again.

One last bit of news, Netflix has released a three minute trailer for their first original series Lilyhammer. It follows the story of an ex-mobster who enters the witness protection program. Sopranos veteran Steven Van Zandt plays the role of the protagonist, Frank ‘The Fixer’ Tagliano. This is the debut original series to come from Netflix, but they have several others in the works, including the final season of Arrested Development.

by Daniel Robert Epstein

For the internet crowd Ultraviolet is one of the most highly anticipated movies of the year. Writer/director Kurt Wimmer’s last film was Equilibrium, which even though it did not do well at the box office, became a major hit on DVD. Equilibrium’‘s unique blend of martial arts and guns, called gunkata, has spawned a cult of its own.

In Ultraviolet Milla Jovovich plays Violet who is part of a subculture of humans who have been genetically modified by a vampire-like disease giving them enhanced speed, incredible stamina, and acute intelligence. They are at war with the humans and now Violet must protect a nine-year old boy who has been marked for death by the human government.

I got a chance to talk with Jovovich at the first New York Comicon.

Read our exclusive interview with Milla Jovovich on SuicideGirls.com.

by Daniel Robert Epstein

Alexandre Aja is turning into a great horror auteur. He first broke into the American market with the disturbing thriller High Tension. Now he is releasing his first American horror film, a remake of the classic The Hills Have Eyes. This version casts Silence of the Lambs star Ted Levine as a loving father with a whole town fill irradiated mutants to fight.

Read our exclusive interview with Alexandre Aja on SuicideGirls.com.

By Fred Topel

Ti West is becoming a major name in horror movies. His 2009 film, The House of the Devil, harkened back to 1980s atmospheric horror, to the point where it was available on VHS in a big plastic shell case. He’s been invited to speak on numerous panels, such as the 2010 South by Southwest Film Festival’s Directing the Dead one, where he joined Zombieland’s Ruben Fleischer, and Cloverfield and Let Me In’s Matt Reeves, and memorably spoke about the awkward moment when you have to direct a woman to show her naked breasts.

His new film, The Innkeepers, premiered at this year’s SXSW. After continuing to play the festival circuit, it’ll finally creep into homes via VOD on December 30 (and will get a theatrical release on February 3, 2012).

The Innkeepers is a horror comedy about two clerks working at a soon-to-be defunct hotel during its last weekend in business. Claire (Sara Paxton) and Luke (Pat Healy) pass the time by speculating about ghostly inhabitants and attempting to record EVP.

Claire’s slapstick bumbling and Luke’s sarcastic comments are a change in tone from the popular House of the Devil (a satanic cult movie that exploited the power of silence with nary a laugh). West has also directed The Roost and Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever, although he disowns the latter because it was taken away from him in editing. He also directed segments of the forthcoming films V/H/S and The ABCs of Death.

Midway through the SXSW festival in Austin, I caught up with West at a point when we didn’t have a full night’s sleep between us. I was going on three hours and he just barely had me beat. Those are the glorious moments when you just push through the exhaustion on pure adrenaline because you just have to keep up with the prevailing film geekery.

Read my exclusive interview with Ti West on SuicideGirls.com.

by Blogbot

SuicideGirls’ team of Bloggers and Agony Aunts share their suggestions on how you can give 2012 a kick-ass kick start.

1. There’s someone you haven’t spoken to in a long time. Too long. You fear by now you’ve procrastinated so long that it’s lame to reach out, so you’ve effectively paralyzed a valuable friendship that could easily re-blossom with a single call. You’re not paralyzed, it’s just a head trip. Guilt is useless. Make that call. Say Hi. Apologize. Laugh. Love. Life’s too short. Do it right now. “Happy New Year! I suck” is a great way to start a conversation! – Steve Altman

2. Cut off deadwood! Start by defriending, hiding or blocking the toxic individuals from your Facebook and Twitter feeds. – Dalila Suicide

3. Spend time with people that make you feel taller, brighter, and more capable than you did before. – Darrah de jour

4. Try dating someone you wouldn’t ordinarily date. Like, say, maybe an introverted writer-type that contributes to your favorite alt-beauty blog. Or an evangelical Christian. Those are your only two choices though: the writer or the evangelical. Choose wisely. – Matt Dunbar

5. Spend some time with a niece, nephew or cousin who are growing up and could use your advice. – Atlea Suicide

6. Talk to someone from your Facebook list face-to-face. – CoyoteMike

7. Come to terms with the fact that you mom has a Facebook. – Shotgun Suicide

8. Eating vegetarian style meals reduces the green house gas production. Try to incorporate this in to your lifestyle one day a week. It’s good for you and the earth. – Aadie Suicide

9. Eat lots and lots of cupcakes!!!! What? They’re epic and always put a smile on my face! – Kraven Suicide

10. Unfuck your habitat! There’s nothing like vastly improving your quality of life by having a clean, organized living space. Need tips and/or motivation? Visit unfuckyourhabitat.tumblr.com/, because “no matter what our situations are, we deserve better than to live in filth.” – Perdita Suicide

11. Clean your car and your house through and through. – Atlea Suicide

12. Rearrange a room to get a fresh perspective on life. – Rambo Suicide

13. Go through all your clothes and decide if someone could make better use of some of them. Drop the excess baggage off at a shelter or contributing organization in your area. – Atlea Suicide

14. Donate those holiday presents that you don’t like. – Shotgun Suicide

15. Shop local whenever possible. – Salome Suicide

16. Eat at your favorite mom & pop restaurant, before it goes bankrupt too. – Shotgun Suicide

17. Set up a computer backup plan. Be ready for World Backup Day. – Bob Suicide

18. Start and finish a project you’ve had in mind for a long time. Renovations, painting a vase, knitting, really anything. – Atlea Suicide

19. Set a stupid goal and accomplish it, to prove to yourself that you can. – Darrah de jour

20. Quit saying you will do something and actually do it. When tasks, errands, and commitments are followed through with you feel much more productive. – Kraven Suicide

21. Take a risk. – Darrah de jour

22. Spend an hour with a happy dog, scratching his or her ears. – CoyoteMike

23. Try to go outside each day. Go for a walk. Make sure you have at least 20 minutes of “me” time. This way you’re incorporating self-thought and exercise. It’s very important to get to know yourself. You could be pleasantly surprised. – Aadie Suicide

24. Learn a new skill: baking, crocheting, taxidermy, etc. – Rambo Suicide

25. Take a college class that you want to take, not one that you need. – Shotgun Suicide

26. Find a hobby you can dedicate some time to. Something you love and have passion for. It keeps us young at heart and sane when we can lose our selves in something. – Kraven Suicide

27. Splurge on some really fancy underwear. – Rambo Suicide

28. Add a little color to your life however you see fit. A colorful world is so much better than a black and white one. – Kraven Suicide

29. Make time for yourself. Seriously. Put it in your calendar. Whether it is daily, weekly or monthly, schedule some time and don’t cut out on it for anyone. You’re the only one looking out for you. – Smythe Suicide

30. Treat yourself to an energy renewal weekend, be it at the spa or simply just by unplugging the phone and reading a book. – Atlea Suicide

31. Set up an automatic transfer of money into a savings account each month. – Salome Suicide

32. Watch Fight Club. – Darrah de jour

33. Listen to Valleyheart by She Wants Revenge – Nicole Powers

34. Read Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (snag a free copy here) – EisMC2 and JackalAnon

35. See more live comedy and live music. – Squee Suicide

36. Support non-profit journalism – American Independent News Network, Truthout, GregPalast.com, BradBlog.com are all 501c3’s – donate to support the news that you read for free. Oh, and it’s tax deductible. – ZDRoberts

37. Protest the NDAA, unless you don’t care to plead the 5th. – Shotgun Suicide

38. Join the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) if you care about stopping SOPA. If you spend any time online, you should do. (For that matter, if you’re breathing, you should do!) – Nicole Powers

39. Protect your vote. The election is less than a year away, and you’ll need to start working now to make sure your vote actually counts. Find out why and how by downloading Steal Back Your Vote for free. SuicideGirls helped promote the project so you know it’s awesome and worth a read. – ZDRoberts

40. Get to know your presidential candidates. Look beyond the big social issues like abortion, and research their tax plans, health care ideas, and how they’ve voted in the past. You might find out they aren’t who you thought they were based on a few Facebook posts and Twitter campaigns. The election is coming soon. – Damon Martin

41. Stop by and say hi to your local Occupy. Shake someone’s hand and say “Thank you.” You’d be surprised how much it means to them. Oh, and give them a pair of mittens, it gets cold out there. – ZDRoberts

42. Write “Thank You” notes and post them to people who have helped you get through 2011. – Atlea Suicide

43. Send a letter to a friend, the kind with a stamp. – Shotgun Suicide

44. Create good karma. Treat others as you would want to be treated. In this day in age too many people are being hurtful towards one another in many forms. From anonymous hating via the internet, to being rude to a stranger just because your day didn’t go so well, to physical acts of hate out of spite, jealousy or lack of confidence. Think about how you can be a positive impact on others around you, from your family, friends, neighbors and strangers. Small gestures of kindness can go a long ways and karma will make its way back to you. – Dorsal Suicide

45. Pay for the next person in line at the coffee shop. – CoyoteMike

46. Find joy in the small things. It will help you appreciate the big things so much more. – Kraven Suicide

47. Make today count, because one day you will be nostalgic for it. – Shotgun Suicide

48. Spend more time living in the moment, and less time worrying about the past and the future. Neither of these exist – so live in the present! – Fabrizia Suicide

49. The past is over. Now move your ass. Welcome to 2012. – Darrah de jour

50. Have no regrets. It’s a New Year and that means progress. Do not look back, only forward to the happiness ahead! – Kraven Suicide

by Fred Topel

One of my favorite kinds of interviews is when I end up just talking with a filmmaker about what movies they like. That’s exactly how it went when I interviewed Wim Wenders, one of the original icons of the indie film movement.

Having made movies since the ‘60s, Wenders has seen a lot of world cinema firsthand. His impact peaked in the ‘80s when Paris, Texas and Wings of Desire captivated arthouse cinemas. He’s made music videos for U2 and pretty much a movie a year, 33 in all plus shorts, television and segments in anthology films.

Wenders’ latest movie is worth discussing too. Pina is a documentary profile of the dancers in Pina Bausch’s company. Bausch unfortunately died before filming was finished so she herself could not be in the film more. Shot in 3D, Wenders captures her dancers occupying real space in their avant-garde performances.

Over a cup of coffee one morning during the AFI Film Festival in Los Angeles, Wenders sat with me to talk about Pina. In a quiet, unassuming German accent, Wenders revealed his art with a confidence and vulnerability. If you’re interested in dance or just looking for some obscure movie recommendations, here is my candid chat with Wim Wenders.

Read our exclusive interview with Wim Wenders on SuicideGirls.com.

by A.J. Focht

Another batch of photos from the Amazing Spider-Man have been released. Unlike the previous photos that have focused on Andrew Garfield and the Spider-Man suit, these photos include shots of Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy as well.

Despite all the drama surrounding Patty Jenkins’ departure from Thor 2, Marvel studios is pushing forward and has announced that Game of Thrones director Helmer Alan Taylor will now be directing the film. Assuming there are no other delays, the film should be set to meet the previously scheduled November 15, 2013 release date.

Walt Disney, parent company of Marvel, is getting their greedy hands into the comic giant’s upcoming projects. Despite all of the calls not to, Disney will be releasing The Avengers in 3D. The film was not shot in 3D, and the 3D will all be added in postproduction. The good news is Joss Whedon has come out and said that the film will not be “obnoxiously 3D.”

Speaking of Disney messing with the Marvel movies, they have also announced that an unnamed Marvel project has been bumped up from June 2014 to April 2014. With one other unnamed project scheduled for May 2014, there are rumors that it is because the films will be related in some way. As the two movies are still unannounced though, speculation is rife as to what they might be.

There is confirmation that Watchmen 2 is underway. Bleeding Cool published the cover art to Watchemen 2, but was then contacted by DC and asked to remove it. Most of the reposts have also been taken down, but we can tell you they featured Nite Owl by Andy Kubert and Joe Kubert.

The cast of Ender’s Game has just gained some true star power. Harrison Ford has officially signed on to play Colonel Hyram Graff. And in case Ford doesn’t provide enough box office oomph, they have also landed Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit) to portray Petra Arkanian. This cast of the film is really giving me high hopes that it will end up a sci-fi classic rather than a dud.

On the day the Prometheus trailer was to release, it was leaked. Just hours after, the official trailer was “debuted” by the studio. It finally sheds some light on what the movie is about. Simply put: as humans search for their beginning, they may find their end.

More news from Middle-earth; To help celebrate the holidays, Peter Jackson posted his fifth production blog. This video focused on the location of the shooting, and includes some reasoning for filming in New Zealand.

It’s always fun to see the power of the internet in action. It’s even more fun to see the power of fanboys and fangirls – especially when they’re angry that their favorite sci-fi show has been cancelled unduly early. A few months ago, University of Wisconsin-Stout theater professor James Miller, who was also such a fanboy, posted an infamous Firefly quote outside his office to protest against the show’s untimely demise at the hands of Fox.

You don’t know me, son, so let me explain this to you once: If I ever kill you, you’ll be awake. You’ll be facing me. And you’ll be armed.

The campus police failed to appreciate the geeky reference, or the irony – that the quote isn’t about killing but about playing fair – and removed the “offending” quotation. But it didn’t end there. The school authorities threatened Miller with criminal charges, and fearing for his job, he contacted the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) to defend his right to free speech. After the school refused to back down, the case was taken to the internet jury. This video explains how the online massive – and Neil Gaiman – helped Miller defeat the close-minded educational institution.

A final cheerful clip to brighten the last of the holidays, for those who didn’t catch it, Stan Lee had an amazing cameo in Chuck’s holiday special.