Empire Magazine (Australia) x Joshua Budich Pays Homage To The Best Auteurs Of Our World...

Joshua Budich is a very talented artist and certainly one I assume would be up to the task of creating a epic cover for a magazine. But when it comes to tackling the amount of talent that is present in the "Filmmaker" issue of Australia's Empire Magazine, it is definitely a challenge for any artist to get it just right. Budich nails it, not only featuring 7 top filmmakers on the cover (Copolla, Spielberg, Weedon, del Torro, Fincher, Lynch and Cameron) but also including interesting tidbits of art from past works of the auteurs. But Budich based his art choices on what these directors ACTUALLY contributed to this issue, so there are Easter Egg hints as to what is discussed right there on the cover! The final result is nothing short of amazing, pretty much as good as a Mondo poster in its entirety. The issue is packed full of contributions from everyone mentioned above, as well as even more... I HAVE to get my hands on a copy of this magazine! You can enjoy the beautiful cover in its full glory after the jump...

Guillermo del Torro's 'The Strain' Is Must Watch TV This Summer

As a fan of genre work, particularly the horror genre, I am absolutely amazed (and secretly quite happy) with the takeover of mainstream and cable television by genre programming. I know there is a copycat effect in place, and that channels are green-lighting genre shows because they want to piggyback on the success of others before them but, the new shows are getting better and better than their predecessors. So, in effect they are not only continuing the trend but, making more sustainable programs in the process. When these shows succeed it makes it easier for them to be taken seriously, and boy they should be! Would you ever have imagine a world where we would have shows like 'Sleepy Hollow', 'Grimm', 'Hannibal', 'Penny Dreadful', 'American Horror Story', 'The Walking Dead', 'From Dusk Til Dawn', 'Being Human' and many more in regular rotation? I certainly never did but, boy am I happy we do. The next big program to come down the pipeline has the pedigree, creative forces behind it, and the premise to garner my attention for the summer. It's called 'The Strain', comes from the mind of Guillermo del Torro & Chuck Hogan, and will air on FX this summer...

Check after the jump for more....

Guillermo Del Toro Takes A Stab At The Simpsons Couch Gag In The 'Tree House of Horror: XXIV'

Guillermo del Toro is a Master of Horror. Actually, right now del Toro is THE Master of Horror. He is the man, and has been since his film debut in Cronos. So who better to script the Couch Gag (opening credit reel) for this years Simpsons Halloween episode, Tree House of Horror: XXIV. In the clip del Torro pays homage to all of his own films (love the nod to Cronos and Mimic in the supermarket!), horror films he loves (The Universal Movie Monsters chasing the villagers? Priceless...), and even finds time to pay homage to his favorite horror writers & directors (Stephen King, Poe, Alfred Hitchcock...). I really love the little nods he threw in:  Godzilla's bones underground, Blade hunting Mutant Vampire Homer, Cthulu terrorizing Springfield, and the scene that steals them all: Mr. Burns as The Pale Man! Great idea for my favorite character on the show... and he owns it!. Del Toro did a great job, and ideas like this are the reason why the Simpsons keep on keeping on after 26 seasons on TV! I look forward to another 26 years of The Simpsons. But for now, enjoy this del Toro masterpiece of an open after the jump...

New Poster And Trailer For Pacific Rim

Really looking forward to this movie. Cal sent over this brand new poster and newly cut trailer to help us quell the anticipation of the biggest movie that is coming out this summer. The robots look amazing, and they are not the most interesting part... that would go to the kaiju monsters!!!! This one is going to be epic. New poster and new trailer after the jump....

The Jaegers Of 'Pacific Rim'

When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity’s resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes — a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi) — who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind’s last hope against the mounting apocalypse. Posters after the jump...

Evolution Of... by Jeff Victor

Jeff Victor is a terrific artists who obviously loves movies. He is trying to figure out a way to portray some of his favorite film characters in an interesting and original light, so he decided to go with a timeline format for some of our favorite actors & actresses. This allows him to draw someone like Tom Hanks in a plethora of characters that he has portrayed over the years. I think this is a cool idea, and shows us just how much a characters roles have varied over the years. You can see a ton of his timeline pieces and other fantastic art that he has to offer by clicking over to his page, or you can continue after the jump and see my faves in his 'Evolution Of...' series...

Pacific Rim: Holy F'n Shit... Giant Robots vs Kaiju's

I am speechless... I am without speech. Guillermo del Torro is back and he is bringing along two Sons of Anarchy, one of the owners of Paddy's Pub, and Stringer Bell along for the ride in the battle of giant robots vs. kaiju's (giant Japanese monsters) in Pacific Rim. The movie stars Charlie Hunam & Ron Pearlman (Jax and Clay from Sons), Charlie Day (It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia) and Idris Elba (The Wire) taking on classic Japanese monsters that are reminiscent of Ultraman & Godzilla. If anyone is going to bring back the genre, I am glad that it is Guillermo. I met the dude at NY Comic Con this year and when I asked him about Pacific Rim he just smiled a creepy little kid grin and said "You'll see... and you will love it!". After this full length trailer and with the cast, I would say that is a safe bet. The movie comes out July 11th, 2013. Click after the jump for the full trailer...

2012 NY Comic Con - Day #1 In Pictures (10/11/2012)

We are on the floor of the NY Comic Con snapping up as many cool shots as we possibly can of whats going on for all of you guys out there that can't make it here. Cosplay, displays, promotions, products, cartoons, TV shows, movies, video games, and especially COMICS will all be represented in the insane pics we take. My main man Joe Fletch got the Canon on full blast, so sit back and enjoy the show. This is what was going on at the 2012 NY Comic Con...

Photos after the jump

I Can Not wait To See "Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark"!!!

I am really looking forward to this film that is written and produced by Guillermo del Toro and directed by Troy Nixey. Often times you hear of films cutting out scenes to get a lower rating. The complete opposite is true here. Guillermo and the crew had aimed for this one to be rated PG-13, but didn't want to scrimp on the scariness of the film. This lead to an R rating for "pervasive scariness". Yup... sounds like they did their job a bit TOO WELL!!! I can't wait to see this one. Check after the jump for the full length trailer that shows off some of the impressive monsters/creatures from the film. Great poster as well, right? The movie is coming out August 26th.

There And Back Again

It's been quite the long road for 'The Hobbit'. There have been rights issues, union disputes, and of course the bankruptcy of one of the biggest movie studios in the world. It got so confusing, that even star Ian McKellen didn't have all the delays sorted out and showed up 5 weeks early. I guess sometimes a wizard is late eh? And there was of course the big Director switcheroo.

Part of me is is definitely disappointed that I won't get to see Guillermo Del Toro's version of Middle Earth, but he has like 9000 other projects that I'm salivating for as well so he's got plenty to keep himself busy.

In the end though, it makes sense that Peter Jackson is back in charge. He did such an excellent job with the trilogy why not have him finish (or begin) the story. It's hard to believe it's been 10 years since Fellowship of the Ring came out, but here we are and the cameras are about to roll on the 2 part movie version of "The Hobbit."

A few pics came out of Mr. Jackson relaxing in Bag End.





It's got to be pretty surreal for him being back in The Shire. He's come a long way, made some more movies, won some Oscar's, and lost about a person's worth of weight.

Here's ol' PJ in 1999 just as LOTR was getting underway...


Yikes!

A lot of things have changed since the trilogy came out. Much of that as a result of the films themselves. The trilogy showed there was a market for the fantasy genre and they've been cranking out the films ever since. Can Jackson and some hairy footed folk cause lightning to strike twice? I can't wait to find out.

The first part of "The Hobbit" is scheduled to release December 19th, 2012.

Yup, Guillermo del Torro Has Been Batshit Crazy For Quite A While...

Need proof that the man behind the camera of such visually disturbing movies as Pan's Labrinth and the Hellboy films is truly batshit insane? Look no further then his 1991 Mexican Alka Seltzer commercial where the maniac director uses his 30 seconds of commercial for a stomach medicine to have himself (yup, thats him!) turn into a full on werewolf due to a stomach ailment. Yup, I just wrote that. He becomes a werewolf cause he got heartburn. Check it out:

 

Holy shit. Nic Cage may be the craziest mofo in Hollywood, but del Torro is certainly up there. Thanks to /Film for the screenshot & link to this wonderful video.

Who Is The Guy In All Those Costumes & Makeup??? Oh, Thats Just Doug Jones!!!

Abe Sapien. The Faun. The Pale Man. The Silver Surfer... if you have ever seen these characters on the big screen in their respective movies (Hellboy I & II, Pan's Labyrinth, Fantastic Four 2:Rise of the Silver Surfer) than you have seen Doug Jones in action, even if you didn't know it. Under all that makeup and digital effects lies the man who truly brings those characters to life... and frankly, the actor that makes those movies as great as they are. Jones steals everything he is in, and its a combination of his sweepingly graceful body motions and ability to bring humanity through layers of latex & paint. The dude is just a beast, and he is the best at what he does.

I had the pleasure of meeting Doug at the 2010 Big Apple Comic Con last week. When it comes to celebrities, Jones is really a breath of fresh air. He is so nice, and caring when he speaks to you. When Tommy & I came up to his table and asked him for an interview, he damn near hurdled the table to get in front of the camera for us. No begging or pleading necessary... he was more then happy to oblige. Also, let me be clear, it was not because no one was coming up to his table. He was constantly getting visits from fans, as you will see in our video clip (a fan bum rushes our interview for like 2 minutes... hysterical). Listen to Doug's thoughts on playing characters in makeup, bringing the Silver Surfer to life, recommending lines to the director that disn't get into the FF film, what kind of comics he read as a kid, whether or not he will appear in Guillermo del Torro's anticipated Lovercraftian opus "At The Mountains of Madness", and much more. We chatted with Doug for quite a bit, and here are the videos to prove it. Watch for yourself:

So, Doug has tons of stuff on the horizon. Make sure you pre-order a copy of My Name Is Jerry (click here), check out Carnies, and Pretend Time on Comedy Central. Also make sure you have seen Hellboy I & II and the animated Hellboy Films, Fantastic Four 2: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and Pan's Labyrinth. Thanks for all the love Mr. Jones... we wish you all the best!!!

Monster Faces with the man himself, Doug Jones

P.S.- On a side note, I brought my son Mikey to the con the next day and Doug was unbelievable towards him. He came around the table, hugged him, took pictures, and even gave us some autographed pictures for nothing!!! He signed Mikey's Silver Surfer picture "Listen to the hero in your heart" and he signed my photo of the infamous Hellboy 2 "Drunk Karaoke" scene "You know I can't smile without Mike". I can not wait to get Ron Pearlman's signature on that pic to complete the piece!!! Very cool dude. Thanks for all the love!!!!