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Saturday, July 11, 2015

Latest Movie News From Moviefone

Latest Movie News From Moviefone

SDCC: New 'Batman v Superman' Trailer Reveals Wonder Woman in Action, Lots of Punching

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Clutch the pearls, guys. The new Comic-Con trailer for "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" is here.

Director Zack Snyder, Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill and Gal Godot took the stage at Hall H Saturday, where they revealed new footage that included our first look at Wonder Woman in action. (Yes, fans -- she uses her bracelets. And it's amazbutts.)

We also see what's left of the Batcave, as Affleck's Bruce Wayne looks up with sad eyes at the battle-ravaged husk of a Robin costume, defaced with the Joker's graffiti.

Other highlights include: Superman unleashing a full blast of heat vision on The Dark Knight, moments before Batman grapple-hooks his way to safety; General Zod in a body bag; A figure dressed-up as Batman, in the desert, battling a SWAT-like army that sports the "S" logo on their arms; and Supes tearing the roof off the Batmobile as Bats slowly rises to face him. Pissed.

And now we're shaking and trembling again...

Jury's still out though on Jesse Eisenberg's take on Lex Luthor. The footage shown here has the actor engaging in some questionable line readings ("The red capes are coming...") and wearing an even more questionable wig. See for yourself below:

"BvS" kick-punches into theaters March 25, 2016.

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Comic-Con No-Shows Signal Shifting Times for Blockbusters

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marvel logoLINDSEY BAHR, AP Film Writer

SAN DIEGO (AP) - There's a Hulk-sized hole at Comic-Con this year. Three of the major studios and Disney/Marvel are not hosting a panel in the main hall at the annual fan festival. That means no Iron Man, no Captain America, and no Spider-Man - at least their filmed versions.

Going back to 2010, Marvel has been a main event at Comic-Con, with their Disney properties usually serving as the marquis presentations. With a slate that extends through 2019, a film currently in production ("Captain America: Civil War") and another coming out next week ("Ant-Man"), it seems like an odd choice.

Their absence in the San Diego Convention Center's huge Hall H is not only dispiriting to fans, it's also a subtle sign that the 45-year-old pop-culture extravaganza has become less relevant to the shifting marketing strategies of the major studios.

Sony Pictures, which just announced its new Spider-Man star (Tom Holland) and director (Jon Watts), also decided against a major presence. While it might have been too early to do anything with "Spider-Man," in theaters in 2017, the studio's all-female "Ghostbusters" is currently shooting yet is nowhere to be found at Comic-Con. On Friday, director Paul Feig could only tweet a photo of his cast in their full jumpsuits.

For other studios, like Paramount, there just isn't a Comic-Con friendly property on their slate. Last year, they brought "Interstellar" and a usually Comic-Con shy Christopher Nolan as their big surprise. But the gesture didn't help the film reach stratospheric heights at the domestic box office.

Instead of Hall H, this year they're promoting "Scout's Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse" at an interactive installation outside the Convention Center.

Rotten Tomatoes Editor in Chief Matt Atchity recalls films that were previewed and rapturously received at Comic-Con, and then flopped in mainstream release - like "Dredd" and "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World."

While fans have already been treated to a rousing presentation from the filmmakers and cast of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," and can expect previews of Warner Bros.' "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" and Fox's "The Fantastic Four" and "X-Men: Apocalypse," the Disney/Marvel nonappearance is still striking.

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige talked around the fact that the studio wouldn't be coming.

"I will miss it. I love going. I don't miss the mad scramble we usually go through leading up to Hall H," he said earlier. "I will be excited to experience it like others do when they're not down there. I'm excited for all the announcements."

Feige also noted that Marvel hosted its own event last October, where the studio announced all of its movies for the next five years.

That's another reason why studios might be reconsidering Comic-Con. Time is limited at the fest, participation is expensive and competition to be the buzziest panel is fierce.

As with the Marvel event, there's now a proliferation of studio- and brand-specific gatherings outside of the Comic-Con realm. Disney is one of the leaders of this movement with its D23 convention, where the studio showcases its upcoming live-action and animated fare plus related merchandise, announces castings, and shows preview footage.

And now that Disney oversees Lucasfilm, it also inherited the Star Wars Celebration fan event, which this year debuted the full-length trailer for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," teased some character information and revealed a short synopses for the anthology film "Rogue One."

Disney will likely show more of "The Force Awakens" at the next D23 in August.

Also, while it's not necessarily for fans, there's the competition of Cinema-Con, the annual meeting of studios and theater owners. There, studios trot out major stars, from Tom Cruise to Arnold Schwarzenegger to hype their films.

And there's the issue of Comic-Con timing. July is an unusual stretch to be showing movies that fit the Comic-Con mold. It's in the middle of a blockbuster season that is starting earlier and earlier.

Furthermore, previewing upcoming films years out sometimes backfires. Director Edgar Wright teased "Ant-Man" for years at Comic-Con before he ultimately dropped out of the project.

Devin Faraci, editor of the movie blog Birth.Movies.Death, thinks that the bubble might have burst for studio presence at Comic-Con. He traces overhyping of the convention back to the "Twilight" films. Those feverish fans set an unrealistic standard for movies.

Even "The Hunger Games," which has a fan base that rivals "Twilight" in size, can't compete with the crowds once attracted to Comic-Con by "Twilight."

Still, for "Hunger Games" producer Nina Jacobson, participation in the fest is a no-brainer.

"It's the epicenter of fandom. Our fans have been everything to us," she said. "We feel at home here."

Moviepilot CEO Tobi Bauckhage also thinks that fans are wising up to the fact that they don't have to trek to San Diego and wait in line overnight to engage with the properties they love.

"Moviepilot is a good example how Comic-Con is losing its monopoly as a platform to engage with super fans at scale and create buzz," he said. Moviepilot reaches 28 million on social media and there are others like it - not to mention Google and YouTube.

"Today big studios have alternatives to Comic-Con," he said. "And with a big impact."

AP Entertainment Writer Derrik Lang contributed to this report.

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SDCC: New 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Character, Plot Details Revealed

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Star Wars: The Force Awakens Panel At San Diego Comic Con - Comic-Con International 2015LINDSEY BAHR, AP Film Writer

SAN DIEGO (AP) - The cast and filmmakers of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" debuted a new behind-the-scenes reel and teased some new information at Comic-Con about the highly secretive film to a rapturous Hall H audience.

Filmmaker J.J. Abrams and Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy were eventually joined on stage Friday by "Star Wars" veterans and "Force Awakens" stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher.

Ford, making his first public appearance since his plane crash in March left him hospitalized and injured, assured the audience and host Chris Hardwick that he was fine. The already excitable crowd exploded when Ford, the last to be introduced, walked out.

Seated next to Hamill, the gruff Ford was not hesitant to talk about his reluctance to revisit the world of "Star Wars" and the character of Han Solo.

"It should have felt ridiculous, it was 30 years ago," Ford said. "I sort of grew up."

He never thought that he'd do another film after the original trilogy.

"I was very gratified when I read the script because I read something that I thought was really remarkable, really well-written and with some very intriguing developments," Ford said. "I was delighted to be involved and I was very happy to be part of the story and the cast again."

"The Force Awakens," which hits theaters on Dec. 18, picks up about 30 years after the events of "Return of the Jedi."

Before fans were treated to the "Star Wars" veterans, they were introduced to the newcomers on the light side of the force and, for the first time, those on the dark side.

Adam Driver, Gwendoline Christie and Domhnall Gleeson were on hand representing the bad guys. As the mysterious three-pronged lightsaber-wielding Kylo Ren, Driver tried to skirt any questions about his character.

When pressed, he talked vaguely about the philosophy of evil.

"We didn't really have a lot of conversations about bad or evil when we were shooting it," said Driver. "It was more the difference between being bad and being right."

Gleeson, whose character's name was revealed to be General Hux, didn't hesitate to say that he was evil. While talking about getting the role, Gleeson accidentally "spoiled" the name of his command station, much to the dismay of Abrams.

It's "Starkiller Base."

Christie, who plays the chrome stormtrooper Captain Phasma, talked about how neat it was to be playing a character in full costume who is "not about the way she looks in the flesh."

Representing the light side of the force were Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Oscar Isaac, who had spoken previously about their roles at the annual Star Wars Celebration event in Anaheim.

Though not much else was gleaned about Ridley's scavenger Rey, Boyega's stormtrooper Finn or Isaac's X-Wing pilot Poe Dameron, all offered anecdotes about their time on set.

To prepare for his role, Isaac asked Ford for some advice about piloting in "Star Wars."

Ford just said, "It's fake."

There was no new footage to be seen. Abrams is currently editing the film and has a cut, but wants to keep tweaking to make it the film "it wants to be." He also said another trailer will come out in the fall.

But Abrams did debut a behind-the-scenes reel that was made available online shortly after the panel concluded.

In addition to interviews with Hamill, Ridley and others, it focused on the practical effects used in the film - a recurring theme in all of Abrams' comments about the film, which hopes to re-create the aesthetic of the original trilogy.

"Everything's changed but nothing's changed," said Hamill in the clip. "That's the way you want it to be."

Not to be outdone, Abrams and Kennedy, who had already treated the ravenous Hall H fans to coffee and doughnuts before the panel started, announced that there was one more surprise: An imminent "Star Wars" concert at an adjacent stage. All 6,500 Hall H attendees were invited.

And their escorts?

Stormtroopers, of course.

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SDCC: 'Game of Thrones' Cast Dodges Jon Snow, Season 6 Questions

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Comic-Con International 2015 - LINDSEY BAHR, AP Film Writer

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Jon Snow isn't the only one who knows nothing. Fans who attended the "Game of Thrones" panel at Comic-Con found themselves in a similar position Friday afternoon.

The large cast who gathered at the annual comic book convention danced around questions about the future of the story, Jon Snow's fate, and even the hotly debated treatment of its female characters in Season 5.

Showrunners David Benioff, D.B. Weiss and "Game of Thrones" author George R. R. Martin were not present to help tease out even the slightest bit of information about Season 6 of the popular HBO show.

"We've always tried to maintain a level of surprise for people who watch the show," said "Game of Thrones" producer Carolyn Strauss. They were not going to abandon that premise even for the large Hall H crowd, many of whom waited overnight for the panel.

Host Seth Myers joked that, as a fan of the show, he also tried to mine answers from the cast backstage to no avail. "And I'm kind of famous," he laughed.

Instead, the panel functioned more as a retrospective, with an amusing audition reel from many of the cast reciting some of their most famous lines and a montage of how "Game of Thrones" has permeated pop culture with appearances on everything from "South Park" to "Sesame Street."

Audience members still tried their best to glean any information from the large ensemble, including actors Maisie Williams, Sophie Turner, Alfie Allen and Liam Cunningham, especially about Kit Harington, who was not present.

Fans were left hanging at the end of Season 5 when the pivotal Jon Snow was stabbed to death, but many believe that Harington will still be back for the upcoming season somehow. The cast was little help though, mumbling and laughing nervously when a man in the audience asked, pointedly, what they'll miss most about working with Harington.

Their silence might be telling, but as far as we know for certain, Jon Snow is still dead.

Director David Nutter even told President Barack Obama as much. "Jon Snow is deader than dead," he recalled telling the president just a few weeks ago.

The audience was also eager to discuss some of the treatment of the show's female characters in Season 5, which included rape, death by burning and a naked walk of shame through town.

When asked if they'll more overtly address the criticisms in Season 6, Strauss gave a cryptic answer about just trying to find the best stories to tell in the world. "Things were not great for a lot of people, male and female," she said.

As for the burning of Princess Shireen, Strauss said that, "just because it's painful doesn't mean it's not a good point in the story. It wasn't done because of the pain, it was done in spite of the pain."

Nutter recalled that day on set as a particularly difficult one.

"Everyone needed to feel what was going to happen to this young girl," he said. "It was an amazingly powerful moment that turned out just right."

Actress Lena Headey was not on hand to discuss her character's extended nude shame walk.

And yet, although answers were few, there is still one inevitability with "Game of Thrones": Winter is coming, even if we don't know when.

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33 'Grey's Anatomy' Couples, Ranked From Worst to Best

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"Grey's Anatomy" has mad us laugh, cry, and sometimes throw things at our televisions. But, no matter what, we keep coming back for more emotional torture. And, after 11 seasons, it stands to reason that nearly every character has dated every other character on the show (even though almost half of them are either now dead or have moved on.)

Here, then, is the ranking of "Grey's Anatomy" couples, from worst to best.

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How Willow Shields & Jennifer Lawrence Went From Sisters to Best Friends

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Comic-Con International 2015 - Day 1 Willow Shields has had the pleasure of playing Jennifer Lawrence's sister since 2012, and while their real-life relationship definitely started off as more of a sister bond, it's developed into an even deeper relationship.

"At the beginning, it was like she was a big sister to me, and now it's become more like friends," she told Moviefone Contributing Editor Jessica Wedemeyer during this year's Comic-Con.

Shields also revealed that she thinks growing up around Lawrence definitely strengthened their friendship. "I feel like, as I've gotten older, we've kind of gotten closer in that sense -- and it's interesting to see how that changed too cause I guess in a certain sense you've seen the characters evolve into that a little bit as well -- and even though they're very much so sisters, they're also best friends. So I feel like we can definitely share that similarity."

The biggest benefit of being sister-friends with Lawrence? She has a plethora of wisdom to share. "She's been working in the industry since she was my age, and she's basically like, 'You've got to put a lot of hard work into it because at some point it will pay off.' It may take a while, but it will pay off -- and I'm actually so lucky to already at 15 have some of that work and some of that hard work pay off -- hugely, already! So that's pretty incredible."

And it's a good thing she has that advice to look to because she's spending her formative years in the spotlight. "It's one thing to grow up from 10 to 15, but it's another thing to grow up in the industry," she said. "I feel like I've tried to keep a little more normalcy in my life. I'm home-schooled, but I'm still very involved in schooling and things like that."

One way Shields makes herself feel like a regular teenager is surrounding herself with people who don't live in the Hollywood bubble. "I have friends who are not in the industry. It's hard to grow up in this kind of environment, but I feel like it's forced me to grow up quicker. I think it's incredible though. Not a lot of people can ay that they were playing a character in a huge franchise for years -- a really epic franchise. It's nothing but good things in general."

We think she's going to be great! "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2" hits theaters November 20th.

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SDCC: New 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Video Will Make You Cry

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Han Solo. R2-D2. And a full-sized Millennium Falcon. My emotions!

The Force -- and all the feels -- were strong with Hall H today at Comic-Con, when J.J. Abrams screened new behind-the-scenes footage from "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."

The director and cowriter of "Episode VII" was joined by the cast of both the new trilogy, and the original one, to peel back the curtain on how big and "old school" of a production the film is.

"We wanted to put together a piece that would bring you into the process," Abrams said, moments before unveiling a reel full of alien creatures, on-set explosions, a downed TIE Fighter and more.

The new "Force Awakens" trailer hits theaters this fall. Watch the video below and weep.

"Star Wars" opens December 18.

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