Trailer for PASSION PLAY Starring Mickey Rourke, Megan Fox, and Bill Murray

A trailer for the upcoming drama Passion Play has gone online.  The film stars Mickey Rourke as a jazz trumpeter who falls in love with winged circus performance (Megan Fox).  The film was widely panned when it played at the Toronto Film Festival last year and while Image entertainment has set the film for a limited theatrical run on May 6th, it will be dumped on to DVD a few weeks later on May 31st.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  Passion Play also stars Bill Murray and Rhys Ifans.

Here’s the full synopsis for Passion Play:

This strange and lyrical love story blends old-fashioned romanticism with all the fantasy of a fairy tale. It is also a welcome sight to see Mickey Rourke in a role that bores beneath his shambling gruffness to find a tender core. The slow-burning passion that gradually simmers between him and a darkly vulnerable Megan Fox showcases the talents of both actors with finesse. Finally there is Bill Murray, the counterpoint whose role is to act as a cold shower whenever heat blows between the two star-crossed lovers.

Nate (Rourke), a small-time jazz musician, is clearly a hard-luck case. Caught trying to break into a car, he is taken off into the desert where his assailant puts a gun to his head. Game over? Not quite. Stumbling into a circus pitched amidst the vast expanses of the southwest desert, Nate finds himself drawn to the exotic beauty of Lily (Fox), the Bird Woman. Lily is cold and dismissive; socializing with customers is not her scene. But it dawns on her that this gentle giant may well be her way out of a life of eccentric exposition. Nate is protective and understanding, and to him her aquiline beauty is a magic part of her uniqueness. As their bond deepens, Nate finds that his dreams of bliss are about to be thwarted by Happy Shannon (Murray), a cucumber-cool businessman with deep pockets and an eye for the bizarre.

Drawing on the remarkable talents of its high-powered cast, this wonderfully offbeat film is filled with surprises and proves that magic can be found in many places. Mitch Glazer balances the tough-guy moments and the rocky romance with the touch and feel of a high-wire artist. It makes for a spirited and uplifting spectacle with all the spirited colour of the circus.

Check Out Some Very Cool Set Photos from SILENT HILL: REVELATION 3D

As a fan of the video games, I’m always interested in seeing how Silent Hill film adaptations turn out. While I thought the visual style that Christophe Gans brought to the 2006 iteration was on par with the creepy atmosphere present throughout most of the games, some new images from the set of writer/director Michael J. Bassett’s Silent Hill: Revelation 3D match said creepiness and multiply it by a factor of a creepy carnival.

Hit the jump to check out the images. Hitting theaters in 2012, Silent Hill: Revelation 3D stars Radha Mitchell, Sean Bean, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Malcolm McDowell.

Here’s the synopsis for Silent Hill: Revelation 3D:

For years, Heather Mason (Clemens) and her father have been on the run, always one step ahead of dangerous forces that she doesn’t fully understand. Now on the eve of her 18^th birthday, plagued by terrifying nightmares and the disappearance of her father, Heather discovers she’s not who she thinks she is. The revelation leads her deeper into a demonic world that threatens to trap her in Silent Hill forever.

First Look at the Digital Apes in RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES; Live-Chat with WETA on Wednesday

With the first trailer for Rise of the Planet of the Apes set to be released on Thursday, Fox has released a first look at one of the film’s digital apes created by WETA.  There’s not much motion in this brief four-second clip, but I do like the level of detail and it’s a nice reminder that we’ve come a long way since Tim Burton’s atrocious 2001 remake.  I’m also encouraged that Fox recently rescheduled the flick out of a crowded Thanksgiving weekend and into the summer movie season.

Hit the jump to check out the clip, the official logo, and to learn more about a live-chat with WETA.  The film stars James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, Tom Felton, and Andy Serkis.  Rupert Wyatt (The Escapist) will direct from a script by Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver.  Rise of the Planet of the Apes is due out on August 5th.

Here’s the official synopsis for Rise of the Planet of the Apes:

Set in present-day San Francisco, RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES reveals the origins of a war that ultimately led to a global apocalypse – and to Earth becoming the Planet of the Apes. The Oscar-winning visual effects team that brought to life the worlds of Avatar and Lord of the Rings is taking on its most ambitious challenge, creating for the first time a non-human CGI character that delivers a dramatic performance with real emotion and intelligence.

Fox has also released the official logo for the film.  It’s a nice throwback to the logos of the original series:

Finally, there will be a live chat with WETA’s Joe Letteri and Dan Lemmon on Facebook on Wednesday, April 13th at 2:30 PDT.  Here’s the press release:

LIVE FROM WETA: “APES” REVEALED!

WETA DIGITAL TO HOST LIVESTREAM EVENT ON FACEBOOK

FOR RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

OSCAR®-WINNING VFX HOUSE (AVATAR, THE LORD OF THE RINGSTRILOGY)

TO PROVIDE A BEHIND-THE-SCENES LOOK AT THE MAGIC OF RENDERING, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE FILM SERIES, A PHOTO-REAL APE

LOS ANGELES, April 11, 2011 –WETA Digital, the industry-leading and Academy Award® winning visual effects house behind the wizardry of films such as Avatar, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and District 9, will host a livestream event on Facebook, for RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES. On April 13, at 2:30PM PDT, from WETA’s headquarters in Wellington, New Zealand, WETA’s Joe Letteri and Dan Lemmon will give viewers an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at their work on the film, a reality-based cautionary tale that blends science fiction and science-fact – and is the last big event movie of the summer.

The event will live on Facebook’s official fan page for Avatar(http://www.facebook.com/officialavatarmovie), which has 14.2 million followers.  Last year, WETA won an Academy Award for its groundbreaking visual effects work in rendering an entire fantasy world in James Cameron’s history-making epic.   WETA’s work on RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES presented very different challenges and opportunities. In addition to creating a CG character that gives a performance of unprecedented emotion and intelligence, WETA is applying some of the technology it developed for Avatar to bring to life a real world – the film is set in modern-day San Francisco – and epic battles on which rest the upended destinies of man and primate.

Letteri, a five-time Oscar® winner, and Lemmon will provide a look into WETA’s process, and explain how working on a Planet of the Apes film has long been the “holy grail” of visual effects wizardry – and a driving force behind their own careers.  In addition, visitors to the livestream event will hear from other RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES filmmakers, including director Rupert Wyatt, and get a behind-the-scenes look at the work of actor Andy Serkis, whose nuanced performance is playing a key role in WETA’s rendering of Caesar, the film’s principal ape character.

A five-second preview of WETA’s work on RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES is available on the film’s official Facebook page:

(http://www.facebook.com/ApesWillRise)

In the film’s story, a single act of both compassion and arrogance leads to a war unlike any other — and to the RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES.  It stars James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, Tom Felton, David Oyelowo and Andy Serkis as Caesar. Peter Chernin and Dylan Clark are producing for Chernin Entertainment under its pact with Fox.  Rupert Wyatt is directing from a screenplay by Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver, who are also producing.

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES opens in theaters everywhere August 5, 2011.

54 High Resolution Images from FAST FIVE

With Justin Lin’s Fast Five opening April 29, Universal has released the full press kit and included are a ton of new images from the fifth installment starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Jordana Brewster, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Matt Schulze, Tego Calderon and Don Omar.  The latest chapter in the franchise is set in Rio de Janeiro and features a federal agent (Johnson) hot on the trail of a jail-skipping Dom Toretto (Diesel). Hit the jump for all the images and the official synopsis.

Here’s the synopsis:

Vin Diesel and Paul Walker lead a reunion of returning all-stars from every chapter of the explosive franchise built on speed in Fast Five. In this installment, former cop Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) partners with ex-con Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) on the opposite side of the law. Dwayne Johnson joins returning favorites Jordana Brewster, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Matt Schulze, Tego Calderon and Don Omar for this ultimate high-stakes race. Since Brian and Mia Toretto (Brewster) broke Dom out of custody, they’ve blown across many borders to elude authorities. Now backed into a corner in Rio de Janeiro, they must pull one last job in order to gain their freedom. As they assemble their elite team of top racers, the unlikely allies know their only shot of getting out for good means confronting the corrupt businessman who wants them dead. But he’s not the only one on their tail. Hard-nosed federal agent Luke Hobbs (Johnson) never misses his target. When he is assigned to track down Dom and Brian, he and his strike team launch an all-out assault to capture them. But as his men tear through Brazil, Hobbs learns he can’t separate the good guys from the bad. Now, he must rely on his instincts to corner his prey…before someone else runs them down first.