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I'm not sure how much of you are following this film, but it looks really promising. It is directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Revolutionary Road). The first draft of the script was written by Peter Morgan (The Queen, Frost/Nixon) and the final draft is co-written by John Logan (The Aviator, Hugo, amongst many other things). It is also co-written by Patrick Marber (Notes on a Scandal). Neal Purvis and Robert Wade are returning to write the script too. So...I'm sure the story will be great. With regards to the story, the producers says that the storyline of Bond's girlfriend in the past two films has official ended. This Bond film sees 007 defending Mi6 against an onslaught of terrorist organizations (with the organization Quantum from the previous films possibly making a return).
Having Sam Mendes direct this film should be either incredibly successful or not so much. If critics and Bond fans thought Marc Forster did a bad job on Quantum of Solace because he broke away from Casino Royale director Martin Campbell's style, then I'm sure they may have a beef or two with Mendes. Sam Mendes is more of a director like Forster than Campbell. But then again I could be wrong. Mendes' approach to Bond could be so radically different, backed up with a strong script, that the film could be incredible. Also, the film is shot by Roger Deakins---that will bring some points in. If anything, this will be the best shot Bond film ever.

Here's a link to a video blog Mendes released yesterday:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRY55wrWSwM

Francis Ford Coppola returns. Based on a short story he wrote entitled "Twixt Now and Sunrise" (I believe this is the case because the film was originally entitled that). It is based on a dream that he had a year ago and he said that he woke up from the dream without getting the ending, so he worked on trying to end it and this is how he got involved in the film.
This is Coppola's third film in his small-budget, personal-film, streak he has been having lately (starting with 2007's Youth Without Youth and continued more recently with 2009's Tetro). It's interesting to see the man who made The Godfather films and Apocalypse Now returning with these. But all of these films are beautiful and intimate films (I have not seen Tetro though, but I did see Youth Without Youth). Youth Without Youth was interesting but it was a very, very unbalanced film--it was slow at its pace and a hard material to adapt (it probably should have been categorized under science fiction rather than romance and drama). Tetro on the other hand I have not seen but I heard was really good.

This film on the other hand is a full-fledged horror and gothic film. Coppola started out, with his film Dementia 13, doing horror and he returned later on in his filmography with the brilliant Bram Stoker's Dracula with Gary Oldman and Anthony Hopkins. Twixt stars Val Kilmer, Bruce Dern and Elle Fanning amongst a few other well known cast members. Kilmer in the film plays a horror fiction writer who is in a decline and decides to set out on a book tour. He happens across this small town, where the sheriff, played by Dern, recommends that they collaborate on a book about a string of serial murders that occured in the town. Elle Fanning (pictured perfectly above, ha ha), is a young girl Kilmer meets in a dream and this is what prompts him to collaborate on the book; apparently she knows something about the murders. And yes incase you are wondering, that is Edgar Allen Poe in the film (I don't know his role in the film, but Coppola always was a fan of his work and I think Poe was in the dream he had too). You get the sense that this is a very personal film for Coppola.

It is filmed around where he lives in Napa Valley California (some scenes were filmed on the wine vineyard he owns). It is shot by Mihai Malaimare Jr., who has collaborated with Coppola on his previous two films. I'm not sure the technology that he used, but the shots, especially in the dream sequences, are beautiful; it is underexposed and the background is highlighted almost as if it were filmed against a greenscreen of sorts. Malaimare is also shooting Paul Thomas Anderson's next film The Master.

Here's a link to the trailer:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP7cQnOcU7I

Here's a link to the website:
www.twixtmovie.com/

Capture from The Tree of Life; this is the beginning shot of the film, but the flame shows up four times (the beginning, before the city sequence, before the creation sequence and then the last shot of the film).

Have a great Christmas everyone!

Wow. Ridley Scott, after recently doing extravagant dramas such as American Gangster and Robin Hood, has returned to the genre that he helped redefine with Blade Runner and Alien. Now I'm not at all a sci-nut (I really do not care much for the genre; I saw 2001: A Space Odyssey for other reasons) but this film looks interesting. Scott is offering a rare, if not old, form.
This film I guess he has been wanting to do for a while now and it is a prequel-of-sorts to his 1979 film Alien. The images in this film, shot by DP Dariusz Wolzki, much known for his work on the Pirates of the Carribean movies, are gorgeous; even Scott's direction is incredible. You can tell he is finally returning to this "Alien-esque" universe of old because he is now exploiting modern technology to get the shots that he wanted back in the day. There are a lot of shots that are extravagant and grandeur.

Here's a link to the trailer:
trailers.apple.com/trailers/fox/prometheus/

Ha ha, I had no idea a trailer for this would come out this soon. Wow. This looks really good. DP Andrew Lesnie and Peter Jackson have changed the visual tone from The Lord of the Rings trilogy; the lighting is the same, but the camera is more fluid. I think the shots are beautiful. I'm sure this will be a great film

Here's a link to the trailer:
trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/thehobbit/