by A.J. Focht

After a few weeks with no new updates, The Dark Knight Rises released several updates this last week. The first photos of Joseph Gordon-Levitt on set have spread across the internet. A full synopsis of the film has been leaked, but it doesn’t reveal much more than what we’ve already known. Finally, the movie’s second official trailer will release with Sherlock Holmes:Game of Shadows on Dec 16.

That’s not the end of the Batman news either. WB Interactive has announced Batman: Arkham City has shipped 4.6 million copies for PS3/Xbox360. Despite some tough competition, Arkham City is looking more and more like Game of the Year.

Iron Man 3 is taking a change in scenery. After shooting the past two films in California, the next installment in the franchise is filming in North Carolina. The change in location is likely the first in a wave of updates bound to come now that The Avengers has wrapped.

Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel will use the infamous villain General Zod, but unfortunately, the character is not likely to use the immortal line, “Kneel before Zod.” It’s sad to see such a famous line being excluded; it would be like not having The Terminator say, “I’ll be back.” Even Smallville used the line when they introduced General Zod.

Speaking of Smallville, it looks like the show isn’t as dead as we may have thought. A new IMDB has been created for a show titled, Metropolis. Currently, Tom Welling, Erica Durance, Aaron Ashmore, and Michael McKean are listed in the credits. Is it possible the show is getting a reboot/remake?

While we’re on the note of remakes, that’s apparently exactly what the new Evil Dead project is, minus Ash. A synopsis has been released for the film that sounds exactly like Evil Dead with different characters.

Five twenty-something friends become holed up in a remote cabin where they discover a Book Of The Dead and unwittingly summon up dormant demons living in the nearby woods, which possess the youngsters in succession until only one is left intact to fight for survival.

Evil Dead isn’t the only undead movie making a return, reports confirm that Michael Keaton is returning to his role in the Beetlejuice sequel. I’m not sure how I feel about a sequel, but it sounds like they’re at least trying to do it right.

One last thing, I present you the best video game based movie to date, and it’s based on Duck Hunt. This new ten minute short film is by far one of the best video game to film adaptations I’ve ever seen.

by Daniel Robert Epstein

Along with such comedy geniuses as Robert Smigel and Dino Stamatopoulos, Louis CK is a master of sketch comedy. That’s why it will be very interesting when his sitcom, Lucky Louie, premieres on HBO. Not only is CK applying his comedic skills to the sitcom but it will be the first time he is stretching himself as an actor.

Read our exclusive interview with Louis CK on SuicideGirls.com.

by Daniel Robert Epstein

Lewis Black is best known for his politically charged rants called Back in Black that are featured on The Daily Show. But he’s been a working standup comedian for 20 years. He’s just released his new comedy album, The Carnegie Hall Performance.

Read our exclusive interview with Lewis Black on SuicideGirls.com.

by A.J. Focht

Joss Whedon is no mere mortal in need of rest and relaxation. After wrapping up The Avengers, Whedon used his month long vacation to do a secret shooting of an adaptation of Shakespeare’s masterpiece Much Ado About Nothing

JOSS WHEDON: Well, it’s not a bit secret that I’ve done these [Shakespeare] readings before, and I always had a vague notion of shooting Much Ado. But I didn’t really have a take on it. And then, for some reason, I kinda sorta did. As we were finishing The Avengers in New York, my wife and I were planning our vacation for our 20th anniversary. And she said, “Let’s not take the vacation. Make a movie instead.” I was like, “I’m not even sure if I can adapt the script, cast the movie, and prep it in a month.” And she was like, “Well, that’s your vacation time, so you do it.” And so I did.

–Source EW

Starring several members of the Whedonverse, the cast includes: Nathan Fillion, Alexis Denisof (Angel), and Fran Kranz (Dollhouse), amongst others. Shooting the film in only twelve days, the entire cast managed to keep the project secret until it was announced via a press release.

Whedon isn’t the only one moving past The Avengers in a hurry. Marvel has announced several superhero sequels for 2013. All the usual suspects are present: Iron Man 3, Thor 2, Captain America 2, and the long rumored Ant-Man is still on the list.

With three exceedingly mediocre movies based on The Punisher, it’s surprising to hear that he’s getting another chance, this time on TV. If anything could make this situation more shaky, Fox has purchased the rights to the series. Odds are it will either be fantastic and immediately get cancelled, or it’s going to be another agonizing hour of prime time that they’ll keep around for years to come.

Mark Hamill tweeted his goodbye to voice acting as the Joker after Arkham City was released. The goodbyes weren’t so final as he quickly reneged on his statement when asked about an adaption of the graphic novel The Killing Joke. After his confirmation he’d come back for such a project, a fan movement started to get the project in motion.

Zombies survive another year. After only two episodes this season, The Walking Dead has been renewed for a third season by AMC.

With so many other interesting TV series popping up, is it surprising to learn that Stephen King’s The Dark Tower has gone from film to television? Producer Brian Gazer reports that the series has been picked up by HBO. There is still the possibility of a movie, but they intend to ‘do it right.’

For those Star Wars fans not heart broken by the series being rereleased in 3D, the trailer for Episode I has made it online (though it was subsequently pulled from YouTube by Fox).

Moving onto more exciting sci-fi movies, Ender’s Game the movie has received an official release date of March 15, 2013. The film is still over a year out, but after a long rollercoaster ride of the project being off and on, it’s great to see a solid date.

First they released the sneakers from the Back to the Future movies, then they announced the rerelease of the DeLorean. As if in an attempt to make Back to the Future’s timeline absolutely correct, development of a real hoverboard is underway. The board currently needs a rail to guide it, but they have two years to fix that.

Pulling one straight from the Disney playbook, Warner Bros. will pull all Harry Potter DVD titles off the shelves on December 29, 2011; this includes the soon to be released Deathly Hallow Part 2. If you haven’t finished your collection, now is your chance. Who knows when Warner Bros. will release the films back into circulation? I’m betting no less than ten years.

Not the most shocking news, but Rockstar has officially announced Grand Theft Auto V. The preview will be released on November 2. I’m hoping they change things up a bit, perhaps a female protagonist?

On a final note, massive video game convention Blizzcon 2011 has come and passed. Several major announcements were made for World of Warcraft, including the introduction of the first neutral race, Pandaren. Most impressively, it looks like Blizzard plans on releasing three games next year, the expansions for World of Warcraft , Starcraft, and Diablo III.

By Fred Topel

Joshua Martson’s debut feature film, Maria Full of Grace, managed to be a suspenseful thriller as well as a gripping drama. It introduced the world to Catalina Sandina Moreno as Maria, a desperate Colombian girl who becomes a drug mule, as many do in real life. Her journey to the U.S. is frought with danger from the law, the criminal element and her own body. After Maria, Marston spent seven years directing television episodes. His prolific career included How to Make It In America, In Treatment and Law & Order. At this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, Marston returned to film with the premiere of his second feature.

The Forgiveness of Blood portrays an even more foreign world than South American drug smuggling. In Albania, two families start a blood feud after one father kills the other’s son. Per tradition, the offending family must stay at home permanently. If the other family sees them out, they vow to kill anyone for retribution. Only one daughter is given a pass to work and bring home supplies. The subject provoked an interesting discussion with Marston in a Toronto hotel room. Even a simple inquiry probably couldn’t help coming across as an accusation and Marston took an objective position, seeing both sides. Forgiveness of Blood opens next year.

Read our exclusive interview with Joshua Marston on SuicideGirls.com.

By Fred Topel

You haven’t heard of Christopher Moynihan yet, but I was sufficiently impressed when I met him at the Television Critics Association summer press tour. He created and wrote the pilot for Man Up, in which he also stars. That’s the kind of self-motivated upstart I can get behind.

Man Up isn’t what it sounds like either. The testosterone heavy title is ironic. These men are 30-something suburbanites who play lots of video games and want healthy relationships with their wives and families. Craig (Moynihan) is the idealistic romantic who tries to stop a wedding to win the girl of his dreams.

Theresa (Teri Polo) and Will (Mather Zickel) are the happily married couple, but Theresa’s brother Kenny (Dan Fogler) still has woman troubles. Mainly that his ex-wife Brenda (Amanda Detmer) is still friends with his sister and brings her new boyfriend Grant (Henry Simmons) to make him crazy.

Shot in the single camera style without a studio audience, the style of Man Up will be familiar to fans of shows like 30 Rock and Modern Family. Man Up premieres October 18 on ABC and Moynihan tells us how he’s going to explore relationships, beautiful ladies and video games in the most product placement heavy interview I think I’ve ever done.

Read our exclusive interview with Christopher Moynihan on SuicideGirls.com.