Weta Digital to Create Silver Surfer FX

From The Hollywood Reporter (via superherohype.com): 20th Century Fox has picked Academy Award-winning visual effects house Weta Digital to oversee the upcoming film Fantastic Four: Rise of The Silver Surfer. The studio tapped Weta to create a state-of-the-art version of the Marvel Comics character Silver Surfer. Noted character actor Doug Jones (Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy) will provide performance and movement references for Weta, in a process similar to the way Andy Serkis portrayed Gollum in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. The voice casting of Silver Surfer has yet to be determined. The Hollywood Reporter says Weta has developed an advanced computer-generated animation process that employs motion-capture techniques updated to add further dimensionality to the liquid-metal hero.

DVD Tuesday: Whose Line S1, Bettie Page, Kids in the Hall & More!

A ton of interesting new films are out on DVD this week. Take an early look on our 'DVD Tuesday' feature...every Monday! Check out some TV goodies like 'Brotherhood - S1', 'One Tree Hill - S3' & 'Whose Line Is It Anyway? - Season 1, Vol. 1'. Be sure to check out the 'A Nightmare on Elm Street: Infinifilm' Collection and a vew DVD sets of Gene Autry films. There are quite a few DVDs on the Iraq war and 9/11, check out 'Iraq For Sale: The War Profiteers', 'Parallel Lines', 'The Ground Truth', 'Combat Diary: The Marines of Lima Company' & '9/11: Press For the Truth'. Personally I'm excited about 'Kids in the Hall-Best of', 'Transformers Armada: Season 1 - Part 2', 'Voltron, Vol. 1: Defender of the Universe' & 'Whose Line Is It Anyway? - Season 1, Vol. 1'. Check out the whole list here! [More]

Da Vinci exhibition big London art success story

LONDON, Sept 22 (Reuters Life!) - The building blocks of geometry hardly rank as the perfect formula for a blockbuster art show. But take 60 Leonardo da Vinci drawings, display them in a darkened room with animated versions of his soaring scientific imagination -- and the result is a sellout exhibition at London's Victoria and Albert Museum. The Renaissance Man hailed by critics as one of the world's greatest painters and thinkers certainly is a big draw -- and the furor surrounding Dan Brown's "Da Vinci Code" certainly does no harm at the box office. [More]

Study: 'Da Vinci' tops summer profitability

NEW YORK -- "The Da Vinci Code" outperformed boxoffice record-breaker "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" in terms of profitability this summer, according to a study released Friday by Kagan Research. Sony Pictures' "The Da Vinci Code" should generate nearly $1.2 billion in worldwide revenue, according to Kagan estimates. It cost $367 million to produce and market. Disney's "Pirates" should generate more overall revenue, or about $1.8 billion by Kagan estimates, but cost an estimated $75 million, or 17%, more to produce and market than "Da Vinci." [More]

Back to Bolton basics for McKellen

Hollywood actor Sir Ian McKellen will return to his roots this weekend and perform a one-man show to an audience of just 160 people. The Lord of the Rings and X-Men star has agreed to appear at Bolton Little Theatre as part of its 75th anniversary. Sir Ian went to school in the town and was a member of the theatre as a teenager. He will perform A Knight Out In Gas Street for the second time. He premiered the show in Los Angeles last year. [More]

DVD Tuesday: Battlestar Galactica, Chucky Collection, The Unit S1 & More!

A ton of interesting new films are out on DVD this week. Take an early look on our 'DVD Tuesday' feature...every Monday! Check out some TV goodies like 'Battlestar Galactica - Season 2.5', 'Everybody Loves Raymond - Season 7'. Be sure to check out the 'Boris Karloff Collection', 'Chucky: The Killer DVD Collection'. Personally I'm excited about 'He-Man & The Masters of the Universe Season 2 V.2'. Check out the whole list here! [More]

DVD Tuesday: Original Star Wars, Smallville, Lucky Number Slevin & More!

A ton of interesting new films are out on DVD this week. Take an early look on our 'DVD Tuesday' feature...every Monday! Check out some TV goodies like 'The Office: Season 2', 'Smallville: Season 5'. Be sure to check out the original un-messed-with editions of 'Star Wars - The Original Trilogy', plus a whole lot more! [More]

Da Vinci Code Cracked

Pre-Order 'The Da Vinci Code (Full Screen Edition)' on Amazon.com today!
Pre-Order 'The Da Vinci Code (Widescreen Edition)' on Amazon.com today!

From IGN: September 5, 2006 - On November 14, 2006, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release The Da Vinci Code (Special Edition) on DVD. The controversial star-studded escapade adapts Dan Brown's fictional exploration of secrets contained in many of the world's most famous paintings, and will feature tons of bonus materials and extra features. It will be available for the MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price) of $29.96.

The Da Vinci Code (Special Edition) DVD will feature the following bonus materials:

• First Day on the Set with Ron Howard Featurette
  
• A Discussion with Dan Brown Featurette
  
• A Portrait of Langdon Featurette
  
• Who is Sophie Neveu? Featurette
  
• Unusual Suspects Featurette
  
• Magical Places Featurette
  
• Close-up on Mona Lisa Featurette
  
• The Filmmaking Experience Part 1 Featurette
  
• The Filmmaking Experience Part 2 Featurette
  
• The Codes of "The Da Vinci Code" Featurette
  
• The Music of "The Da Vinci Code" Featurette
  
• DVD ROM- Da Vinci Code Puzzle Game PC Demo
  
• Bonus Previews

Pre-Order 'The Da Vinci Code (Full Screen Edition)' on Amazon.com today!
Pre-Order 'The Da Vinci Code (Widescreen Edition)' on Amazon.com today!

'Why the Da Vinci Code is great for the church'

The church should be grateful to the controversial book The Da Vinci Code - for revealing what people think of conventional religion, says a Newbury church leader. The Rev David Stone,Rector of St Nicholas, Newbury, says Dan Brown's best-selling book gives us "a very helpful snapshot" of how modern culture and the Christian faith view each other. And all is not well for conventional religions, like the Church of England, he believes. [More]

DVD Tuesday: Lost S2, United 93, Old School Doctor Who & More!

A ton of interesting new films are out on DVD this week. Take an early look on our 'DVD Tuesday' feature...every Monday! Check out some TV goodies like 'LOST: Season 2', 'Supernatural: Season 1', and two great episodes of classic Doctor Who 'The web Planet' & 'Inferno'. Be sure to check out the Criterion Collection edition of 'Seven Samurai', Blu-Ray edition of 'Full Metal Jacket' and the 9/11 film 'United 93', plus a whole lot more! [More]