Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is an upcoming science fiction film due for release on June 26, 2009. It is the sequel to 2007′s Transformers, which was the first live action Transformers film. Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg return respectively as director and executive producer, while Shia LaBeouf reprises the role of Sam Witwicky, the human caught in the war between Autobots and Decepticons. The film introduces many more robots and the scope has been expanded to numerous countries, the most important of which is Egypt. The main hurdle in getting the film produced was overcoming the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, as well as possible strikes by the Directors Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild. Bay met his shooting date with the help of previsualization and a scriptment by his writers Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and series newcomer Ehren Kruger. Shooting from May to November 2008 predominantly took place in the United States, including the majority of scenes set in outside countries, a minimum of which was conducted in those actual nations.

(wiki)

Forget WALL-E! It was a butt-kicking panda that cleaned up at the annual Annie Awards last night.

Skadoosh!

Kung Fu Panda took home 10 trophies, including Best Animated Feature, at the awards show that honors the year’s top achievements in animation.

The DreamWorks flick, which features the voices of Angelina Jolie and Jack Black, beat out Disney’s Bolt and Pixar’s critically acclaimed WALL-E for the top title. Both movies went home empty-handed. All three movies are up for the Best Animated Feature Oscar.

In addition to prizes for animation, Kung Fu Panda‘s Dustin Hoffman picked up a best acting nod for voicing the character Master Shifu, who trained the panda Po in martial arts.

View a list of all the winners on the Annie Awards website.

(eonline)

BEVERLY HILLS, California— With two films opening next weekend, Dakota Fanning’s life is pretty crazy these days. And as soon as she signs on the”Twilight” dotted line, she knows it’s going to get even more insane.

“I know that a lot of people know about it,” the soon-to-be-15-year-old star of ”Push”and ”Coraline” told MTV News on Friday (January 30), referring to her ongoing negotiations to join “New Moon” as Jane. “I’m glad that people are excited about me possibly being in it. That’s so nice!”

The high-profile sequel would mark a huge departure from Fanning’s typical roles, casting her as a sadistic Volturi guard who has the power to inflict immense pain on those who cross her. “It’s definitely something that I look forward to,” she said. “I think you have to do all kinds [of roles], and eventually I am going to be the person you hate in a movie. And that’s the fun thing about acting: You can be sweet and be mean at the same time in different films.”

Explaining why she’d be a good fit for Jane, Dakota added: “We’re both pale. … I don’t think they’d have to put a lot of makeup on me if it works out. I’m pretty pale as it is.”

Fanning also revealed that while she hasn’t read all of Stephenie Meyer’s novels yet, it is her love for Catherine Hardwicke’s film that makes her want to join “New Moon” and take her own character into the franchise’s future movies. “I haven’t read all of them,” she explained. “But I have seen the film, and I’m a very big fan of the cast. I love all of them. I would look forward to getting to work with them.”

And, naturally, since Dakota is a teenage female, we couldn’t resist asking the obvious question: If the actress shot a scene opposite heartthrob Robert Pattinson, could she keep herself under control?

“He is very, very cute,” she giggled. “But I’m sure I would be.

“The part that I play gets to interact with a lot of the characters, so that would be cool,” Fanning added. “[The Volturi] are kind of mean. I think it would be definitely a different part than I’ve ever played — and I’d get to be a little evil for once.”

(mtv)

Monsters vs. Aliens is an upcoming 2009 computer-animated 3-D feature film from DreamWorks Animation. The release date was moved up to prevent competition with James Cameron’s upcoming Avatar. This will be the first computer animated movie which will be produced in real 3-D instead of converting the film into 3-D after it is finished, which will add $15 million extra to the film’s budget. The trailer was seen with the movie Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. The film is scheduled for a March 27, 2009 release. The film is rated PG for “Sci-fi Action, Some Crude Humor, and Mild Language.”

Monsters vs. Aliens is starring the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Hugh Laurie, Seth Rogen, Will Arnett, Rainn Wilson with Stephen Colbert and Kiefer Sutherland.

Plot

When California resident Susan Murphy (Reese Witherspoon) mysteriously grows to 49 ft 11 in, she is labelled a monster and taken in by the military to an institution housing for other monsters: Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D., an insect-headed mad scientist (Hugh Laurie), the Missing Link, a thousands-of-years-old fish-man (Will Arnett), B.O.B., a gelatin-like, jolly, indestructible monster (Seth Rogen) and Insectosaurus, a fuzzy bug that stands at 350 feet tall, making even Susan look tiny by comparison. When a UFO lands and an alien overlord named Gallaxhar (Rainn Wilson) demands that Earth be given to them, General W.R. Monger (Kiefer Sutherland) suggests to the President (Stephen Colbert) that the monsters can provide the firepower to defeat the aliens.

Directed by	Conrad Vernon Rob Letterman
Produced by	Lisa Stewart Jill Hopper (co-producer) Lisa Stewart (co-producer) Latifa Ouaou(co-producer)
Written by	Maya Forbes Wallace Wolodarsky Rob Letterman Jonathan Aibel Glenn Berger Conrad Vernon (Story) Rob Letterman (Story)
Starring	Reese Witherspoon Rainn Wilson Hugh Laurie Seth Rogen Will Arnett Kiefer Sutherland Stephen Colbert Paul Rudd
Music by	Henry Jackman
Distributed by	USA: DreamWorks Animation though Paramount Pictures International: United International Pictures Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	March 27, 2009 (USA)[1]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	150 million $ + 15 million $ (for 3-D conversion)

(wiki)

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs also known as Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs or simply Ice Age 3 is an upcoming 2009 computer animated film to be the third installment of the Ice Age film series. It was announced and approved by Fox president Hutch Parker on January 30, 2007 and is slated for a July 1, 2009 release. The film is being produced by Blue Sky Studios and will be distributed by 20th Century Fox.

After the events of “Ice Age: The Meltdown”, life begins to change for Manny and his friends: Scrat is still on the hunt to hold onto his beloved acorn, while finding a possible romance in a female sabre-toothed squirrel named Scratte. Manny and Ellie, having since become an item, are expecting a baby, which leaves Manny anxious to ensure that everything is perfect for when his baby arrives. Diego is fed up with being treated like a house-cat and ponders the notion that he is becoming too laid-back. Sid begins to wish for a family of his own, and so steals some dinosaur eggs which leads to Sid ending up in a strange underground world where his herd must rescue him, while dodging dinosaurs and facing danger left and right, and meeting up with a one-eyed weasel known as Buck who hunts dinosaurs intently.

Directed by	Carlos Saldanha
Produced by	Lori Forte John Donkin
Written by	Michael Berg Peter Ackerman
Starring	Ray Romano Queen Latifah Denis Leary John Leguizamo Seann William Scott Josh Peck
Music by	John Powell
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	July 1, 2009
Country	USA
Language	English
Preceded by	Ice Age: The Meltdown

 Genre  Animation | Action | Comedy | Romance

(wiki)

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a 2009 film based on the sixth novel by J.K. Rowling. It is the sixth film in the Harry Potter film series. David Yates, the director of the fifth film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, is returning as director for this film. David Heyman and David Barron are producing the film, and Steve Kloves, though he did not write the fifth film, has returned as screenwriter for this instalment. Filming began on September 24, 2007 and the film is scheduled for a UK and US release on July 17, 2009.  Like the previous film, the sixth film will be simultaneously released in regular theatres and IMAX 3-D.
As of July 29, 2008, editing of the movie was complete and studio officials will soon see the finished product. The film has was chosen to be screened at this year’s Royal Film Performance on November 17, 2008, but due to the date of release pushed back, it was not shown. On January 2, 2009, the film recieved a PG rating in the USA.

Synopsis

Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and Wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Harry suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. Together they work to find the key to unlock Voldemort’s defences and, to this end, Dumbledore recruits his old friend and colleague, the well-connected and unsuspecting bon vivant Professor Horace Slughorn, whom he believes holds crucial information. Meanwhile, the students are under attack from a very different adversary as teenage hormones rage across the ramparts. Harry finds himself more and more drawn to Ginny, but so is Dean Thomas. And Lavender Brown has decided that Ron is the one for her, only she hadn’t counted on Romilda Vane’s chocolates! And then there’s Hermione, simmering with jealously but determined not to show her feelings. As romance blossoms, one student remains aloof. He is determined to make his mark, albeit a dark one. Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same again.

Production

Development

Before David Yates was officially chosen to direct the film, many others had been offered the job, and previous directors had expressed an interest in returning. Alfonso Cuarón, the director of the third film, stated he “would love to have the opportunity” to return. Goblet of Fire director Mike Newell declined a spot to direct the fifth film, and was not approached for this one either. Terry Gilliam was Rowling’s personal choice to direct Philosopher’s Stone. However, when asked whether he would consider directing a later film, Gilliam said, “Warner Bros. had their chance the first time around, and they blew it.”

Yates has retained composer Nicholas Hooper, costume designer Jany Temime, visual effects supervisor Tim Burke, creature and make-up effects designer Nick Dudman, and special effects supervisor John Richardson from the fifth film. Since February 2007, Stuart Craig, the production designer of the first five films as well, has been designing sets, including the cave, and the astronomy tower, where the climax of the film takes place. Academy Award nominated Bruno Delbonnel is the film’s cinematographer.

Yates and Heyman have noted that some of the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows may influence the script of the film, and that there will not be as many memories in the film as in the book. Yates noted: “We’re making a decision right now to compress those a wee bit, but we’ve still got some really cool ones.”. Steve Kloves, who wrote the first four films, returned for the sixth adaptation. Rowling has read Kloves’ script and crossed out a passage in which Dumbledore recalls a past female love, penning in the margin “Dumbledore is gay.”

Filming

Filming began on 24 September 2007, with one week of rehearsals, and principal photography ended May 2008. Some sources stated that filming may move from the UK, where all of the previous five films have been shot. This is North Scotland reported filming will take place in New Zealand, due to the “more agreeable economy and climate” and lack of Scottish funding. The Sunday Business Post in Ireland has noted that the film’s producers and WB executives have been scouting there, specifically Leinster and Munster because they “believe they have now exhausted possible locations in Britain.” They are “particularly keen on Ireland, as the landscape is similar to Britain and will appear similar to the settings of the previous films.” The crew also scouted around Cape Wrath in Scotland, for use in the cave scene. Filming is scheduled to return to Glen Coe and Glenfinnan, both locations that have appeared in the previous films, to preserve the continuity of the landscape.

On the weekend of 6 October 2007, the crew shot scenes involving the Hogwarts Express in the misty and dewy environment of Fort William, Scotland. A series of night scenes have been filmed in the village of Lacock and the cloisters at Lacock Abbey for three nights starting 25 October 2007. Filming took place from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily, and residents of the street were asked to black out their windows with dark blinds. On set reports indicated that the main scene filmed was Harry and Dumbledore’s visit to Slughorn’s house. Further filming took place in Surbiton railway station in October 2007, Gloucester Cathedral, where the first and second films were shot, in February 2008, and at the Millennium Bridge in London in March 2008.

Though Radcliffe, Gambon and Broadbent started shooting in late September 2007, some other cast members started much later: Watson did not begin until December 2007, Rickman until January 2008, and Bonham Carter until February 2008. Principal photography wrapped up on May 17 2008. And a confirmation that editing was complete was released on July 29, 2008, though we do not know when they finished exactly.

On January 6th, 2008, websites reported that the movie had been rated “PG” by the MPAA, for scary images, some violence, language and mild sensuality. This is the first time since the third movie that a Harry Potter film has been rated PG.

Cast

• Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, who is now entering his sixth year at Hogwarts, with the wizarding world at war.
• Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, one of Harry’s two best friends. He develops a relationship with Lavender Brown.
• Emma Watson as Hermione Granger, one of Harry’s two best friends. Watson considered not returning for the sixth film, but eventually decided that “the pluses outweighed the minuses” and could not bear to see anyone else play Hermione.
• Michael Gambon as Albus Dumbledore. The legendary wizard and headmaster of Hogwarts. The revelation of Dumbledore’s sexuality prompted Gambon to “camp up” around the set when off camera, but his on-screen performance is expected to remain unchanged from the previous films.
• Jim Broadbent as Horace Slughorn, the newly appointed Hogwarts Potions master. Broadbent described his costumes as “tweedy”, and his character as “comic”, while Radcliffe noted that “[Slughorn's] tragedy will outweigh the comedy”.
• Alan Rickman as Severus Snape, the former Potions master, who finally achieves his goal of becoming Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.
• Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy, a classmate of Harry, who Harry suspects of carrying out a task for Voldemort across the year, and son of Narcissa Malfoy and nephew to Bellatrix. Unknown actor Tony Coburn will play Lucius Malfoy in a Hogwarts flashback.
• Bonnie Wright as Ginny Weasley, Ron’s younger sister in her fifth year, for whom Harry develops intense romantic feelings. Her feelings for Harry never changed and they finally become a couple right after the final quidditch match.
• Matthew Lewis as Neville Longbottom, a friend of Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny.
• Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood, a friend of Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Ginny.
• Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper and Care of Magical Creatures teacher.
• Maggie Smith as Minerva McGonagall, the Hogwarts Transfiguration teacher, deputy headmistress and head of Gryffindor.
• David Thewlis as Remus Lupin a member of the Order of the Phoenix and former Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.Natalia Tena as Nymphadora Tonks, a member of the Order of the Phoenix.
• Helen McCrory as Narcissa Malfoy, Draco’s mother and younger sister of Bellatrix. McCrory was originally cast as Bellatrix Lestrange in Order of the Phoenix, but had to drop out due to pregnancy. Naomi Watts was previously reported as having accepted the role, only for it to be denied by her agency.
• Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange, one of Voldemort’s principal Death Eaters, older sister of Narcissa Malfoy, and aunt to Draco, cousin of Sirius Black.
• Timothy Spall as Peter Pettigrew, one of Voldemort’s principal Death Eaters.
• Mark Williams and Julie Walters as Arthur and Molly Weasley, Ron and Ginny’s parents.
• James Phelps and Oliver Phelps as Fred Weasley and George Weasley
• Jessie Cave as Lavender Brown, Ron’s girlfriend. Watson described her as “perfect for the role,” although Cave did not attend the open auditions. An open casting call was held for the part on 1 July, 2007. Over 7,000 girls turned out for the audition and read from a scene with Madam Pomfrey, Hermione, and Ron. Yates tested Grint with the top five choices for Lavender, reading certain lines and kissing, to see which pairing had the best chemistry.
• Hero Fiennes-Tiffin and Frank Dillane will each play Tom Marvolo Riddle, the child who becomes Lord Voldemort, at age eleven and as a teenager respectively. Tiffin is the 9-year-old nephew of Ralph Fiennes, who plays the adult Voldemort in the fourth and fifth films. Yates commented at the U.S. Order of the Phoenix premiere, that one of the two actors was “really interesting.” An open casting call was held for the part in July 2007, with applicants reading from a scene involving Riddle trying to persuade Horace Slughorn to explain what Horcruxes are. Christian Coulson, who played Riddle in Chamber of Secrets, expressed an interest in returning. However, Yates responded that Coulson was too old, nearing 30, to be playing the role. Jamie Campbell Bower, who appeared in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, previously noted that he had his “fingers crossed” he would be cast as a young Riddle.

Additionally, Warwick Davis and David Bradley will reprise their respective roles as Charms teacher Filius Flitwick and caretaker Argus Filch. Georgina Leonidas will play Katie Bell, the Gryffindor Chaser who is injured by a cursed necklace. Anna Shaffer will be portraying Romilda Vane, a student obsessed with Harry; she tries to make him fall in love with her by using love potions. Websites of UK casting agencies reported that Scarlett Byrne will play Pansy Parkinson. Katie Leung will also return as Cho Chang in a very brief role. Two 11-year-old children, Taylor Triphook and Katie Head, who have been noted to be redheads, will play twins in the film, roles not culled from the novel. 12-year-old Ashley Whitehead has been cast as an orphan in the film, while Louis Cordice will play Blaise Zabini. Freddie Stroma, Isabella Laughland, and Robert Knox will play, respectively, Cormac McLaggen, Katie Bell’s friend Leanne and Marcus Belby. Knox was stabbed to death on 24 May 2008, before the film was released. Ralph Ineson will play Amycus Carrow, Suzanne Toase will play Alecto Carrow, and Dave Legeno will play Fenrir Greyback. Tom Moorcroft will portray Regulus Black, and Sanguini, the vampire at Slughorn’s party will be played by Charlie Bennison. Tony Coburn will play a young Lucius Malfoy. Also the two actors Lord John Paul Castrianni and Rod Hunt are part of the new cast, they play Death Eaters Yaxley and Thorfinn Rowle.

There is a strong possibility that Richard Griffiths and Fiona Shaw will return as the Dursleys. Afshan Azad and Shefali Chowdhury have expressed interest in returning as the Patil twins. Both Clémence Poésy and Chris Rankin are interested in returning, but in October 2007 Poésy noted that she will not be reprising her role of Fleur Delacour, and Rankin has stated that he thinks Percy Weasley will be cut. Miriam Margolyes, who has not appeared in her role as Pomona Sprout since Chamber of Secrets, wishes to return as well.It has been confirmed that she will be returning for The Deathly Hallows. After Bill Nighy expressed an interest in appearing, Yates confirmed that Nighy would be his first choice for the role of Minister for Magic Rufus Scrimgeour, providing the character made it into the final screenplay. Although no further reports have been released, Yates told Wizard that he was “struggling with [fitting Scrimgeour in the script] at the moment, and he’s in one moment and he’s out the next.” Madonna’s daughter Lourdes was reportedly offered a role in the film, although it was rejected as Madonna wants her daughter to “have a normal childhood.”

Early auditions took place in England in April 2007, though reports would not state which role the audition was for. One actor who auditioned for the role was Icelandic Jón Páll Eyjólfsson, who went to school with screenwriter Steve Kloves. Official casting news was scarce even as filming began. It was reported that Jack Davenport, Stephen Rea, Peter Rnic, Stuart Townsend, and Joseph Fiennes were each offered unspecified roles, although representatives of Townsend and Fiennes denied the reports. Warner Bros. announced in a press release on 16 November 2007 that casting for the film had been completed.

Film information

Director(s) David Yates

Producer(s)
* David Heyman
* David Barron

Writer(s)
* Novel: J.K. Rowling
* Screenplay: Steve Kloves

Starring
* Daniel Radcliffe
* Rupert Grint
* Emma Watson
* Michael Gambon
* Jim Broadbent
* Alan Rickman
* Tom Felton
* Bonnie Wright
* Evanna Lynch

Music by
* Nicholas Hooper
* Themes by: John Williams

Distributor(s) Warner Bros.

Release Date(s) July 17, 2009

Rated PG

Running Time APPRX: 2 hours 30 minutes

Preceded by Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)

Followed by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (film) (Part 1)

Genre: Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Romance

(wiki)

Crank 2: High Voltage is the upcoming sequel to the action film, Crank. It picks up exactly where the first film left off, retaining its “real-time” feel. The film is rated R for “Frenetic strong bloody violence throughout, crude and graphic sexual content, nudity, and pervasive language”. Crank 2 is written and directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, who both wrote and directed the previous film, Crank.

Plot Synopsis

Set three months after his destructive run through Los Angeles, Hitman Chev Chelios (Statham) launches himself on a literally electrifying chase through Los Angeles in pursuit of the Chinese mobster who has stolen his nearly indestructible heart and replaced it with a battery-powered heart that requires regular jolts of electricity to keep working.

Cast

* Jason Statham as Chev Chelios
* Amy Smart as Eve
* Efren Ramirez as Venus
* Dwight Yoakam as Doc Miles
* Reno Wilson as Orlando
* Clifton Collins, Jr. as El Huron
* Bai Ling as Ria
* Geri Halliwell as Debbie Spellman
* Nick Manning as TBA

Former child actor Corey Haim will have a cameo appearance in the film, as will porn star Jenna Haze and also Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington (who also had a short appearance in the first film).

Production

Mike Patton, of Faith No More and Mr. Bungle fame, will be producing the score for Crank 2: High Voltage.

Lionsgate Films will handle North American distribution of the film, while Lakeshore Entertainment will handle international distribution. Filming started in April 2008. The writers and directors confirmed there will be more sex and violence within an R rating. Like the first film, the production budget will be lower than $20 million. In order to help keep costs low, the filmmakers have taken advantage of low cost prosumer HDV cameras such as the Canon XH-A1, as well as a consumer model, the Canon HF10.

The movie has received an R rating by the MPAA based on an interview with Amy Smart. She was photographed brandishing taped nipples and disclosed that her character Eve has become a pole dancer. and said that there will be another public sex scene with Jason Statham; this time taking place on a horse racing track.

Release date is tentatively for April 17, 2009.

Directed by Mark Neveldine
Brian Taylor

Produced by Michael Paseornek
Tom Rosenberg
Gary Lucchesi
Skip Williamson
Richard Wright
David Rubin

Written by Mark Neveldine
Brian Taylor

Starring Jason Statham
Amy Smart

Cinematography Brandon Trost

Distributed by

International:
Lakeshore Entertainment
North America:
Lionsgate Films

Release date(s) April 17, 2009

Country Flag of the United States United States

Language English

Budget $20,000,000 USD

Preceded by Crank

Genre: Action

(wiki)

Goku (Justin Chatwin) goes on a journey to find Master Roshi (Chow Yun-Fat) and gather the seven mystical Dragon Balls before the evil Lord Piccolo (James Marsters) can. Along his way, he meets Bulma (Emmy Rossum) who then joins him to help him in his mission. When arriving at Roshi’s place, he is not welcomed with an embrace but has to fight Roshi. Roshi soon learns that Goku is the grandson of Gohan (Randall Duk Kim) and thus trains him to prepare him for the ultimate battle with Lord Piccolo to prevent him from collecting the powerful Dragon Balls.

Cast

• Justin Chatwin as Goku: A powerful warrior who protects the Earth from an endless stream of rogues bent on dominating the universe and controlling the mystical namesakes of the film.
• James Marsters as Lord Piccolo: The villain of the film. Marsters explained that this incarnation of the character is “thousands of years old and a very long time ago he used to be a force of good, but [he] got into a bad argument and was put into prison for 2000 years. It got him very angry, and he finds a way to escape and then tries to destroy the world.” Marsters is a fan of the television series, which he described as being “the coolest television cartoon in the last 50,000 years [because] it’s got a Shakespearean sense of good and evil.” Piccolo was intended to look handsome, but Marsters and the make-up artist chose to give him a decrepit complexion, having been trapped for thousands of years. Although the make-up process tended to take four hours, the first time it took seventeen hours to apply, and Marsters had difficulty breathing. Ron Perlman was offered the role of Piccolo, but turned it down to work on Hellboy II: The Golden Army.
• Jamie Chung as Chi Chi: Goku’s love interest. Stephen Chow had been interested in casting Zhang Yuqi, whom he worked with on CJ7, in the part.
• Emmy Rossum as Bulma: She aids Goku after her father’s Dragonball is stolen by Piccolo.
• Chow Yun-Fat as Master Roshi: Goku’s mentor.
• Joon Park as Yamcha: A desert bandit that aids Goku and Bulma on their quest. James Kyson Lee auditioned for the role.
• Eriko Tamura as Mai: She is a chief enforcer of Piccolo’s and a shapeshifter.
• Texas Battle as Carey Fuller: A high school bully. He is an original character created for the film.
• Luis Arrieta as Weaver: A classmate and friend of Goku. He is an original character created for the film.
• Randall Duk Kim as Grandpa Gohan: The adoptive father and grandfather of Goku who teaches Goku everything he knows about martial arts.
• Ernie Hudson as Master Mutaito: Master Roshi’s former sensei and the one who sealed Lord Piccolo away for centuries.
• Shavon Kirksey as Emi: A high school friend of Chi Chi. She is an original character created for the film.

Production

In March 2002, 20th Century Fox acquired feature film rights to the Dragon Ball franchise. In June 2004, Ben Ramsey, who wrote The Big Hit, was paid $500,000 to adapt Dragon Ball Z. In 2007, James Wong and Stephen Chow were announced as director and producer respectively, and the project was retitled Dragonball Evolution. Wong rewrote the script. The first full color image of Justin Chatwin as Goku was released in the 24th issue of Weekly Young Jump. Chow was a Dragon Ball fan, citing its “airy and unstrained story [which] leaves much room for creation”, but explained he would only serve as producer because he believes that he should only direct stories he had created. 87Eleven, the stunt performance company that worked on The Matrix and 300, is working on the film. Ariel Shaw, who worked on Wong’s entries in the Final Destination series and 300, is visual effects supervisor. Robert MacLachlan, who also worked on Wong’s Final Destination films, serves as cinematographer.

Shooting began on December 3, 2007, in Mexico City, Mexico. Locations included the Universidad Tecnológica de México. From January 2, 2008, the crew shot at Durango. The crew will move to Estado de México in March for some shots at Nevado de Toluca. Shooting is also scheduled at Los Angeles, California. In adapting the Dragon Ball manga, the futuristic cities were kept, however, the anthropomorphic creatures and talking animals (such as Turtle, Oolong and Puar) were dropped. Many of the locations are very Oriental, and there will be some Aztec influence too, particularly from their temples. It was thought that Rossum would wear a blue wig to resemble her anime counterpart, but due to some promotional images, it was turned out that she would not be wearing a blue wig. Instead she will have her natural brown with a blue streak down the middle of her hair. Chatwin will not wear a wig as the director felt Chatwin’s hair resembled Goku’s. A large amount of Dragonball Evolution was shot in an abandoned jeans factory, also located in Durango, Mexico.

Dragonball Evolution special effects are being done by Amalgamated Dynamics, while the visual effects are being done by Ollin Studios, Zoic Studios, and Imagine Engine. The film will also have the anime style of fighting in Dragon Ball Z, such as chi energy blasts and auras.

On December 9, 2008, it was confirmed that the theme song will be “Rule” by Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki. The choice was because director James Wong wanted the movie adaptation of a manga/anime born in Japan to be sung by a Japanese person and was particularly impressed with Hamasaki. “Rule” will be used as the theme song for every country’s release.

The film was originally slated to be named Dragonball, however on December 10, 2008, a trailer was released using the name Dragonball Evolution and Fox licensed the domain name “DragonballEvolutionMovie.com” indicating the film had been renamed.

Release

Dragonball Evolution was initially scheduled to be released in North America on August 15, 2008, then moved to April 10, 2009, to allow time to do additional filming and post-production work. On November 11, 2008, it was formally announced that the film’s release had been changed to April 8, 2009.

Though an American film, Dragonball Evolution will be released in Japan on March 13, 2009, nearly a month before its American release.

Directed by James Wong

Produced by Stephen Chow, James Wong

Written by Screenplay: James Wong, Ben Ramsey

Manga: Akira Toriyama

Starring: Justin Chatwin, James Marsters, Jamie Chung, Emmy Rossum, Joon Park, Eriko Tamura, Randall Duk Kim, Texas Battle, Ernie Hudson, Chow Yun-Fat

Music by Brian Tyler

Cinematography Robert MacLachlan

Editing by Chris G. Willingham

Distributed by 20th Century Fox

Release date(s)

Japan:
March 13, 2009
United States:
April 8, 2009

Running time 100 minutes

Country United States

Language English

Budget $100 million+

Genre: Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi | Thriller

(wiki)

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li is an upcoming film and the second live-action film based on the Street Fighter series of video games. It follows the quest of Street Fighter character Chun-Li, who will be portrayed by Smallville star Kristin Kreuk^. The story follows Chun Li’s personal history and her journey for justice. The film co-stars Neal McDonough as M. Bison, Chris Klein as Charlie, Michael Clarke Duncan as Balrog, and Black Eyed Peas Taboo as Vega. Rick Yune was originally cast as Gen but has been replaced by Robin Shou, who portrayed Liu Kang in the singer Mortal Kombat films. The film is scheduled for release in February 27, 2009. (wiki)

Directed by	Andrzej Bartkowiak
Produced by	Patrick Aiello Ashok Amritraj
Written by	Justin Marks
Starring	Kristin Kreuk as Chun-Li Neal McDonough as M. Bison Chris Klein as Charlie Nash Michael Clarke Duncan as Balrog Taboo as Vega Robin Shou as Gen Moon Bloodgood as Detective Maya Sunee Edmund Chen as Huang, Chun-Li’s father
Music by	Stephen Endelman
Cinematography	Geoff Boyle
Editing by	Derek Brechin Niven Howie
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	February 27, 2009 (USA) February 28, 2009 (JAP)
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$60 million
Preceded by	Street Fighter

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Terminator Salvation is an upcoming American science fiction war film set for release on May 22, 2009. Directed by McG, it is the fourth Terminator film and stars Christian Bale as John Connor and Sam Worthington as the Terminator Marcus Wright. It also introduces a young version of the first film’s hero, Kyle Reese, played by Anton Yelchin. The film, set in 2018, focuses on the war between humanity and Skynet. It abandons the formula of previous entries in the series, which involved the Terminator and various other characters traveling through time to protect or kill John Connor.

Plot

Set in post-apocalyptic 2018, John Connor (Christian Bale), the man fated to be the leader of the human resistance against Skynet and its army of Terminators, and the future he was raised to believe in is altered in part by the appearance of Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), an stranger whose last memory is of being on death row. Connor must decide whether Marcus has been sent from the future or rescued from the past. As Skynet prepares its final onslaught, Connor and Marcus both embark on an odyssey that takes them into the heart of Skynet’s operations, where they find out a terrible secret that may lead to the possible annihilation of mankind.

Directed by McG

Produced by Derek Anderson, Victor Kubicek, Jeffrey Silver, Moritz Borman

Written by

Screenplay:
Jonathan Nolan
Anthony E. Zuiker
Shawn Ryan
Paul Haggis

Story:
John D. Brancato
Michael Ferris
David C. Wilson

Characters:
James Cameron
Gale Anne Hurd

Starring Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin, Bryce Dallas Howard, Moon Bloodgood, Common, Helena Bonham Carter

Music by Danny Elfman

Cinematography Shane Hurlbut

Editing by Conrad Buff

Distributed by

North America:
Warner Bros.
International:
Sony Pictures Entertainment

Release date(s)

North America: May 22, 2009
Australia: June 4, 2009
United Kingdom: June 5, 2009

Genre: Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Running time 130 mins

Country United States

Language English

Budget $200 million

Preceded by Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

Followed by Terminator 5

(wiki)

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