First time feature film director Rupert Sanders brought his highly anticipated re-imagining of the Classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale Snow White to WonderCon 2012 in Anaheim, California this year and the film received an enthusiastic response from fans and critics alike. Snow White and the Huntsman, which opens in theaters on June 1st retells the iconic tale in what has been described as “Lord of the Rings-style” starring actress Kristen “Don’t call me Bella” Stewart (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1) in the title role.
The film’s impressive
cast also includes Academy Award-winner Charlize Theron (Young Adult) as the
Queen, Chis Hemsworth (Thor) as the Huntsman, and actors Ian McShane (Pirates
of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides), Johnny Harris (Atonement), Bob Hoskins (Who Framed Roger Rabbit), Toby Jones (The Hunger Games), Eddie Marsan (Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows), Brendan Gleeson (The Guard), Ray
Winstone (Edge of Darkness), and Nick Frost (Attack the Block) as the Dwarves,
which there are now eight of.
After the Snow White and the Huntsman presentation and panel, which featured some of the first footage to be seen from the film, as well as stars Kristen Stewart, and Charlize Theron, director Rupert Sanders had a chance to speak with IAR and several other members of the press about the upcoming film, the classic story it is based on, the cast, magic, and the possibility of a sequel.
Resident Evil: Retribution opened the Sony Panel at WonderCon 2012 in Anaheim this past weekend. “This time it’s global” boasted the film’s promotional push; it’s on the Resident Evil trailer and posters, and certainly evokes the sense that, though this is the fifth of the Resident Evil variations, there is more to witness.
Peter Berg (The Kingdom) brought his upcoming summer blockbuster Battleship, based on the popular Hasbro board game to WonderCon 2012 on Saturday and the director had a lot to answer for as the film has been surrounded by criticism practically since it went into production. In addition to the somewhat ridiculous idea of basing a movie on a board game, it has also received criticism for its cast, which includes non-actors Rihanna, and Brooklyn Decker, as well as the alien invasion aspect of the film that has nothing to do with the original source material it is based on.
After a successful WonderCon presentation and panel, which included co-stars Alexander Skarsgard (HBO’s True Blood), and Brooklyn Decker (Just Go with It), director Peter Berg took some time out of his busy schedule to speak with IAR and several other members of the press about the upcoming film, its controversial cast, the origins of the project, and of course … aliens.
Universal Pictures held court for an hour at WonderCon to present footage and host a panel for the movies Snow White and the Huntsman and Battleship.
First on tap was Snow White and the Huntsman, starring Kristin Stewart (Twilight), Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and Charlize Theron (Young Adult). A movie that comes out later this year, it was directed by Rupert Sanders (a relative directorial newcomer), who stepped on-stage to speak with the panel moderator about filming his own raw medieval take on a story that is traditionally known as a rosy-cheeked fairy tale.
Tim Burton is sick! No, he’s, like, literally sick. That’s the reason he missed being a speaker on the Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, which opened the Fox Films presentation at WonderCon 2012. Burton produced the film adaptation of the novel by the same name, which will be coming out in 3D on June, 22nd. For devotees of his brand and auteurship, he put together a brief but very apologetic clip, complete with a corpse (Burton’s temporary alter-ego, until he feels better), sexy nurses and a fat man in a black shirt and a long white beard (his doctor, of course!)
That’s the way the 20th Century Fox presentation for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter began, before moving forward with the panel’s moderator, Seth Grahame-Smith, who is the novelist presupposing that perhaps Abraham Lincoln saved the country in more ways than one. Grahame-Smith, who appeared all sorts of genuine and happy and amiable, opened the program by saying that it was really weird for him to be on the stage, because for the last ten years he was the one trying to get in on these panels and going and filling his swag bag; it was really emotional and a cool honor to be there. “It feels like this book came out a minute ago, and now we’re talking about a movie.”
Immediately thereafter, he invited director Timor Bekmambetov (Wanted) and actor Benjamin Walker (Flags of our Fathers) out on to the stage, to sit and introduce an actual sequence from the movie, made ready for WonderCon attendees.
At WonderCon 2012 in Anaheim, California on Saturday, director Paul W. S. Anderson (Death Race, The Three Musketeers) appeared in front of a Ballroom full of fans, along with his wife Milla Jovovich (The Fifth Element, The Fourth Kind) to discuss the fifth installment of their popular Resident Evil series entitled Resident Evil: Retribution.
IAR's Managing Editor Jami Philbrick had a chance to speak with director Paul W. S. Anderson before his panel on Saturday about Resident Evil: Retribution and the fan favorite franchise. Anderson discussed the upcoming new film, where it picks up in the aftermath of Resident Evil: Afterlife, flashbacks to Alice's life before the zombie apocalypse, which classic video game characters make their first film appearance in this installment, as well as which Resident Evil actors make their return to the franchise, and if this really will be the final Resident Evil film in the series.
At WonderCon 2012 in Anaheim, California on Saturday, actress Maggie Grace (Taken, TV's LOST) appeared in front of a Ballroom full of fans to discuss her upcoming futuristic action film Lockout, which also stars Guy Pearce (L.A. Confidential, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark) and was written by Luc Besson (Leon: The Professional, The Fifth Element).
IAR's Managing Editor Jami Philbrick had a chance to speak with Maggie Grace before her panel on Saturday about Lockout, as well as the upcoming Taken sequel. Grace discussed her new film, the idea that it is "Taken in Space," working with directing duo James Mather and Stephen St. Leger, Guy Pearce kicking ass, and the plot of Taken 2, which involves Grace's character actually rescuing Liam Neeson and Famke Janssen's characters this time around.
“Catches thieves just like
flies.”
That’s how one of the most
anticipated panels and presentations this year at WonderCon 2012 opened, spoken
by the Sony Pictures Panel moderator in a room brimming with people, young and
old. The quote pertains to the Spider-Man reboot, The Amazing Spider-Man helmed by director Marc Webb ((500) Days of Summer), and distributed by Sony Films.
It is a complete re-imagining of the Spider-Man movie franchise, because Andrew Garfield (The Social Network) plays Peter Parker, Martin Sheen plays Uncle Ben, and MJ is not the love interest. In fact, Emma Stone (The Help) plays Gwen Stacy, Peter’s love interest, who as it turns out, is wildly different than MJ. More importantly, the driving motivator differs from the emotional catalyst put forth by the Raimi trilogy. In all, this story takes a different approach to telling the story of what compels Peter to try to make the world a little bit safer and better.
At WonderCon 2012 in Anaheim, California on Saturday, actress Emma Stone (The Help) and director Marc Webb ((500) Days of Summer) appeared in front of a Ballroom full of fans to discuss their upcoming Spider-Man reboot The Amazing Spider-Man, which stars Andrew Garfield as the web-slinger.
IAR's Managing Editor Jami Philbrick had a chance to speak with both Emma Stone, and Marc Webb before their panel on Saturday about the upcoming film. Webb discussed why his movie will be different than other Spider-man films, and what exactly the teased "Untold Story" really is, while Stone talked about playing the iconic role of Gwen Stacey.
At WonderCon 2012 in Anaheim, California on Saturday, actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Inception) and director Rian Johnson (Brick) appeared to a packed Ballroom crowd to discuss their new time travel film Looper, which also stars Bruce Willis (Die Hard) and Emily Blunt (The Adjustment Bureau).
IAR's Managing Editor Jami Philbrick had a chance to speak with both Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Rian Johnson before their panel on Saturday about their new film. The actor and director discussed the new movie, reuniting together after Brick, and working with Bruce Willis.
