Tuesday, November 25

• Spock Stars in Tweaked Trek Trailer

  A new -- well, somewhat new -- trailer for J.J. Abrams' big-budget Star Trek reboot popped up today over at AICN. It's mostly similar to the one that debuted in front of Quantum of Solace, save for a short snippet at the end featuring a certain pointy-eared chap with a bowl cut. No, it's not Zachary Quinto, whose performance in recently-unveiled footage drew mixed reviews from critics, but the original Vulcan himself, Leonard Nimoy.

  
  
  Next Showing: Star Trek opens May 8, 2009

  Posted 11/25/2008 by Thomas

  Related: J.J. Abrams | Leonard Nimoy | Zachary Quinto | Star Trek

Friday, November 21

• Captain Kirk = Will Hunting?

  He's a good-looking whiz kid with daddy issues, a healthy disdain for authority, and a mean self-destructive streak. Ladies and gentleman, meet the hard-partying, barroom-brawling future captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise.

  Chris Pine's new take on James T. Kirk is just one of many surprises to be found in J.J. Abrams' big-budget Star Trek reboot. Find out what else we learned when Paramount unveiled 20 minutes of new footage from the much-anticipated film.

  
  

  Posted 11/21/2008 by Thomas

  Related: Chris Pine | J.J. Abrams | Star Trek | Good Will Hunting

Thursday, November 20

• J.J. Abrams' Star Trek Going Where No Star Trek Has Gone Before

  Captain Kirk and Orion hook up in one of two love scenes that will appear in the J.J. Abrams' version of Star Trek. Chris Pine, who is playing Kirk, tells E! what it was like to film this historic scene: "It was a lot of fun, but I think that day actually was a 20-hour-day. So by the end, the novelty wears off. After many sandwiches and meals through the day, all you want to do is brush your teeth and go home." We're guessing Pine's co-star, Rachel Nichols, might have liked their endless kissing marathon had Pine brushed his teeth before it began, rather than in its aftermath. Sounds like even the famously emotion-free Mr. Spock could teach him a thing or two about love.

  
  

  Posted 11/20/2008 by reelz

  Related: Chris Pine | J.J. Abrams | Rachel Nichols | Star Trek

Monday, November 17

• Saucy, Frenzied Star Trek Trailer Hits Net

  Reckless driving, casual sex, petulant vulcans, and more can be seen in the new Star Trek trailer which unspooled prior to showings of Quantum of Solace over the weekend. It's the first full-length trailer for J.J. Abrams' big-budget reboot of the storied sci-fi franchise, and its message is abundantly clear: This is not your parents' Star Trek.

  Check out the new Star Trek trailer in HD over at Apple.

  
  
  Next Showing: Star Trek opens May 8, 2009

  Posted 11/17/2008 by Thomas

  Related: J.J. Abrams | Star Trek

Wednesday, November 12

• Press Screening of Star Trek Clips Builds Anticipation

  A London press screening of four clips and an upcoming trailer from the upcoming Star Trek movie, drew largely rave reviews from those in attendance and whet fans' appetites for the public release of the trailer this Monday at 10:00 am PST. Blow-by-blow descriptions of the clips and the trailer, with major spoilers of course, can be found here, here and here.

  The film's director JJ Abrams was on hand to introduce the footage and hinted to the audience that his film aimed to deliver on the "promise of adventure" in a way that earlier films had not. And from what they saw, most of the audience agreed. The Guardian reviewer finds a successful echo of the original's wide-eyed, Apollo-era innocence in the film, and dryly notes that, despite some significant re-imagining of the characters, "wearing red is still likely to reduce your life expectancy by several decades."

  
  
  Next Showing: Star Trek scheduled to hit theaters May 8, 2009

  Posted 11/12/2008 by reelz

  Related: J.J. Abrams | Star Trek

Thursday, October 16

• Star Trek Pics Surface on Web

  Paramount has started to distribute the first still images from JJ Abrams' Star Trek reboot to major sites around the web.

  Slashfilm has collected a gallery of the images, and higher-resolution versions can be found on MTV, AICN, JoBlo, and UGO.

  Judging by the comments around the web, the fans seem pleased with the new images. The coolest shot portrays Zachary Quinto's Spock applying what appears to be the Vulcan death grip to an unnamed foe.

  
  

  Posted 10/16/2008 by Jeff

  Related: J.J. Abrams | Zachary Quinto | Star Trek

Tuesday, August 12

• J.J. Abrams Signs On for Next Disaster

  Batten down the hatches and pop some Dramamine. J.J. Abrams, whose last movie Cloverfield was so shaky it looked as if it were filmed by a fidgety drunk on a unicycle, has signed on to produce an earthquake flick for Universal. It won't be a remake -- or even a reshake -- of the 1974 Sensurround masterpiece Earthquake, the Hollywood Reporter informs, but rather something entirely new. Except for the part about there being a huge earthquake. And lots and lots of shaking.

  
  
  
  
  

  Posted 08/12/2008 by reelz

  Related: J.J. Abrams | Earthquake

Friday, June 27

• No Cloverfield 2 Just Yet
  

  Scifiwire reports that the sequel to Cloverfield is currently on hold until director Matt Reeves and co. can find a story that "felt to us as fresh to make as [Cloverfield] did."
  
  Reeves was on hand at the Saturn awards where he was awarded the Filmmaker's Showcase Award. He went on to add that the sequel plans are currently in the "baby stages" and that he and producer J.J. Abrams are also discussing other, non-Cloverfield projects.
  
  Read the full story on Scifiwire.
  
  
  
  

  Posted 06/27/2008 by Jeff

  Related: J.J. Abrams | Matt Reeves | Cloverfield

Wednesday, January 16

• Early Cloverfield Review

  Does the J.J. Abrams-produced monster movie live up to the monstrous hype generated by its endless viral marketing campaign? Or is it just an overblown Blair Witch-rehash, as some of us suspect? Check out Jeff Otto's early Cloverfield review to find out.

  Cloverfield opens nationwide this Friday, January 18th.

   

  
  
  

  Cloverfield - Trailer

  A monster of a movie

  Posted 01/16/2008 by Thomas

  Related: J.J. Abrams | Cloverfield

Tuesday, November 20

• Spock's dad cast in new Star Trek prequel

  According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ben Cross has joined the crew on the Starship Enterprise.
  
  The British actor has been cast as Spock's father in the J.J. Abrams'-directed upcoming Star Trek prequel for Paramount.
  
  Cross will play the father of Zachary Quinto, who has been cast as the young Spock, and husband to the human Amanda (Winona Ryder). Leonard Nimoy, who originated the role, also will be a part of the film.
  
  The movie, which began filming this month, revolves around the early days of the Enterprise crew.
  
  

  Posted 11/20/2007 by

  Related: J.J. Abrams | Winona Ryder | Ben Cross | Zachary Quinto | Star Trek

Friday, November 9

• Ryder to play Spock's inappropriately hot mom in new Trek flick

  The already robust cast of JJ Abrams' upcoming Star Trek prequel has expanded again, with Variety reporting that Winona Ryder (Mr. Deeds, Saks Fifth Avenue Security Camera) has been cast as the Vulcan mother of young Spock, who'll be played by Heroes' Zachary Quinto.

  The prequel's story, written by Transformers scribes Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, chronicles the Enterprise crew's heady Starfleet Academy days, when Spock, James T. Kirk, Scotty and Dr. McCoy all met for the first time.

  While little is known about the film's plot, Ryder's casting does provide some insight into the roots of Mr. Spock's famously impassive personality. Clearly traumatized by his peers' constant ogling of his hot mom, a sensitive young Spock must have had no choice but to shut down his emotions entirely, direct his rage inward and seek refuge in the cold, clinical realm of "logic."

  
  

  Posted 11/09/2007 by Thomas

  Related: J.J. Abrams | Winona Ryder | Zachary Quinto | Star Trek

Friday, October 12

• Star Trek newz aplenty

  Slashfilm posted an excellent article last night aggregating the latest on J.J. Abrams' Star Trek. Evidently Abrams is continuing along with his unusual casting choices.

  First, as reported in today's Variety, British cult-favorite funnyman Simon Pegg (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead) will join the cast as Scotty. And according to TrekMovie, John Cho (American Pie, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle) will be playing Sulu.

  Finally, Moviehole is claiming that the budget for the highly anticipated feature is said to be in the neighborhood for $150 to $160 million. We're pretty sure you could find a real Klingon for that kind of dough.

  
  

  Posted 10/12/2007 by Heather

  Related: J.J. Abrams | Simon Pegg | John Cho | Star Trek

Wednesday, August 8

• Yelchin officially a "Trekkie"      

  MTV reports that Alpha Dog star Anton Yelchin has joined the cast of J.J. Abrams upcoming reworking of the Star Trek franchise.

  Yelchin will portray Pavel Chekov and fans will be happy to learn that Yelchin himself is, in fact, Russian by birth.

  The character was first introduced during the second season of the original Star Trek series, an inexperienced crewmember of the initial Enterprise.

  ReelzChannel brought the prior Star Trek casting news from Comic-Con of Zachary Quinto as the new Spock, but many big roles are as-yet unfilled. Of course, the biggest fan speculation revolves around Captain Kirk, which was previously played by the irreplaceable William Shatner. Matt Damon has been rumored as has Ben Affleck, although those rumors seem to have been dispelled by this point.

  We'll keep you posted as more casting news comes down from the deck of the future Enterprise!

  
  

  Posted 08/08/2007 by Jeff

  Related: J.J. Abrams | Anton Yelchin | Zachary Quinto | Star Trek

• Movie newz: Kidman, Thompson, and Abrams

  Variety is reporting a couple of big deals rolling out:

  First, Universal will be remaking Al final del espectro (which loosely translates to The Last Ghost), a Columbian horror movie about a shut-in who sees a ghost. Nicole Kidman will star and produce, Fernley Phillips (The Number 23) will adapt the script, and the original director (Juan Felipe Orozco) will come back for the remake.

  And the man with the golden touch, J.J. Abrams, has yet another supernatural thriller in the works under his Bad Robot banner for Paramount. Other than the fact that it will be written and directed by Josh Marston (Maria Full of Grace), Abrams is keeping mum on details of the untitled project--as is his custom.

  Finally, MTV is reporting that Reece Daniel Thompson, the star of this weekend's much-buzzed-about indie comedy, Rocket Science, has been cast in Sophomore--another high school comedy, described as an "homage to Chinatown." In this one, Thompson will play a dorky sophomore who helps Mischa Barton get to the bottom of a stolen SAT scam. Bruce Willis and his daughter Rumer will costar, and Brett Simon will direct.

  For our exclusive interview with Thompson's director on Rocket Science, Jeffrey Blitz, click here.

  
  

  Posted 08/08/2007 by Heather

  Related: J.J. Abrams | Nicole Kidman | Reece Daniel Thompson | Sophomore

Thursday, July 26

• J.J. Abrams talks Cloverfield, Star Trek at Comic-Con!

  More in from the boys! J.J. Abrams has just taken the stage and is finally opening up about the much-discussed Cloverfield trailer.

  The poster on stage shows the Statue of Liberty ripped in half, with a wake of water flowing into Manhattan and smoke billowing up from the city's buildings.

  Of the movie, which he says is untitled and still shooting, Abrams says: "I wanted something that was insane and intense."

  As far as Star Trek is concerned, the big news is the Spock casting has been locked. The vulcan one will be played, as rumored, by Zachary Quinto (Heroes)... AND Leonard Nimoy, the latter of whom is making a surprise appearance at Comic-Con as I type!

  
  

  Posted 07/26/2007 by Heather

  Related: J.J. Abrams | Star Trek

• Cloverfield website confirmed!!

  This just in! Our men at Comic-Con have gotten the scoop that, as we recently mentioned, the Slusho website is indeed the (next) website for the enigmatic J.J. Abrams movie, Cloverfield. The trailer, with no movie title or recognizable actors, appeared before Transformers showings on opening weekend and quickly created a stir.

  During the Paramount presentation today at Comic-Con, gift bags with telling Iron Man, Star Trek and SLUSHO T-shirts were handed out. That pretty much says it all.

  What clues are to be found on the Slusho website? Is the title "Cloverfield" just a red herring? There's no telling yet, but more details are expected from Comic-Con today, so check back with us later!!

  
  

  Posted 07/26/2007 by Heather

  Related: J.J. Abrams

Sunday, July 22

• Damon on Star Trek

  At the junket for The Bourne Ultimatum this weekend, Matt Damon dropped some news about the J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie that is in the works.

  When IGN asked him whether or not he was going to play Kirk, Damon disavowed the casting as Internet rumor. "It's the early years. I think he's hiring probably like a 20-year-old actor," Damon said of Abrams.

  If you've watched the video, you can decide for yourself  whether or not he's telling the truth. In the meantime, we'll let you know as soon as we hear anything!

  
  

  Posted 07/22/2007 by Heather

  Related: J.J. Abrams | Matt Damon | Star Trek

Thursday, July 19

• Who cut the Cloverfield trailer?

  At least some of the mystery behind Lost-creator J.J. Abrams' enigmatic Cloverfield trailer that ran before Transformers showings on opening weekend has been solved.

  The trailer, which showed Manhattan hipsters under some sort of siege, quickly gained viral spreading power when no movie title or recognizable A-list actors were shown--just the release date of 1-18-08. Within hours the trailer showed up on YouTube and became the buzz of the weekend.

  AdAge has reported that the likely culprit behind the Cloverfield trailer's unusual editing (i.e. not showing a movie title, for example) was Abrams himself. Abrams has also revealed that at least one website for Cloverfield is 1-18-08.com, although he claims there are others to be found.

  According to Wikipedia, Abrams says these other websites are yet to be found. However, a reporter for the NBC affiliate in Denver has reported that clues are to be found on the not-so-suspicious-seeming Slusho website.

  
  
  Next Showing: Cloverfield, whatever it is, opens 1-18-08.

  Posted 07/19/2007 by Heather

  Related: J.J. Abrams

Monday, July 9

• J.J. Abrams hops aboard the viral marketing bandwagon

  The latest craze among Hollywood PR mavens is something known as "viral marketing," a practice that essentially involves studios having the customers do their promotion for them. Here's how it works: instead of merely being shown an advertisement, viewers are given a series of clues hidden within cryptic messages that, once deciphered, eventually lead to the advertisement. Each successive clue triggers intense discussion across the internet, providing the film with millions of dollars in free publicity. Sound familiar? It's the same process the Zodiac Killer used in the 1960s to keep the media apprised of his grisly endeavors.

  The latest incarnation of viral marketing comes courtesy of director J.J. Abrams (Mission: Impossible III, TV's Alias), who set the fanboy world abuzz with the inscrutable trailer for his super-secret new project, currently dubbed Cloverfield, which ran before screenings of Transformers in theaters across the country last week. You can check out the trailer here. Cloverfield, or whatever the hell it's eventually going to be called, opens January 18, 2008, apparently.

  
  

  Posted 07/09/2007 by Thomas

  Related: J.J. Abrams | Transformers