Did the art department at Fox apply some Photoshop to an actual childhood photo of Rainn Wilson? It sure looks like a young Dwight Schrute to me.

This is the poster for The Rocker (click image to enlarge), a comedy starring Wilson that's due this summer. Wilson plays a guy who got kicked out of a hair band in the 1980s and now, 20 years later, joins his nephew's upstart band as a means of reclaiming his former glory. The director is Peter Cattaneo (The Full Monty), with a screenplay by Maya Forbes (various Larry Sanders Show episodes) and Wally Wolodarksy (various Simpsons episodes).

The release date is Aug. 1, but it's premiering at the CineVegas Film Festival in June, so we should have a review for you then. The premise is good, the cast (which also includes Christina Applegate) and personnel are good, and August has been a fertile month for comedies in recent years (Superbad, Talladega Nights, 40-Year-Old Virgin), so we're keeping our fingers crossed for this one.

(And is it me, or is this poster a tad Apatow-esque?)

Does the one-time location for Rebel Without a Cause deserve to be mentioned among the most famous real world locations for science fiction movies? There's a great chart at oobject that they're simply calling "15 scifi movies 15 famous architectural locations." The description reads in part: "Science Fiction Movies and famous architecture have a particularly strong tradition, however the link is not always flattering. Since much science fiction deals with a dystopic vision of the future, architecture is often seen as part of the environmental cause."

Griffith Observatory (pictured above) in Los Angeles is listed as #10 (ranked by their user votes) because of its setting for James Cameron's The Terminator. I put a few samples in the gallery below, along with a couple of my personal favorties; visit oobject to see all their selections and the current rankings.

What do you think? Did they capture the very best real world locations for science fiction movies? What are your favorites? No fair including natural wonders -- i.e. Glen Canyon, Utah, where the first part of the original Planet of the Apes is set, or Vasquez Rocks, where everything from Army of Darkness to Star Trek was filmed -- they have to be man-man structures.

[ Via Digg ]

Maybe I'm just in one of those moods today, but these illustrations cracked me up. I stumbled across the blog for this dude Donald Soffritti while surfing, and though it's all in Italian, it would appear as if the entire site is dedicated to his drawings of superheroes after they've grown old. The image of Batman and Robin above is definitely my favorite, although a close second would be Thor (because he looks exactly like my cousin), Aquaman (the fish bowl and warms got me) and the one of Galactus and Silver Surfer (just because a really old Surfer is amusing). There's also a comic strip on his blog called Super Zeros featuring, what looks like, Batman and Wonder Woman as young, fat kids. No joke. Perhaps someone who reads Italian can let us know what he has to say about some of this; nevertheless, I've had a ball looking at them all. (When is someone gonna make THAT movie!?) You can see a few of my favorites in the gallery below, and head over to Soffritti's blog to see the rest.

Your favorite?

Bonjour! Before I run out to the luncheon and roundtable for Blindness, I thought I'd get up a gallery with some scene pics around the festival and the lovely town of Cannes. I hope they'll give you something of a feel for what it's like to he here.

Cannes is a beautiful city -- lots of old buildings and winding streets, little shops, cafes and restaurants. There's so much to see and do here (besides, of course, watching tons of fabulous films) -- between the view of the Mediterranean Sea, the boats and yachts in the harbor, the islands off in the distance, and the people in designer clothing and fancy cars, it's a bit overwhelming to the senses.

Later in the fest, I plan to get out to wander through the Old Town area of Cannes, and hopefully will take the ferry across to at least one of the islands -- either the Île de Saint-Honorat, which houses a monastery, or the Île Sainte-Marguerite, where the Man in the Iron Mask was held captive. Later tonight or tomorrow, I'll also post some photos of the black-tie folks heading to premieres. Until then, merci, au revoir!

The Cannes Film Festival got off to a kind of dark and depressing start, with two movies about the worst side of humanity screening. But hey, it wouldn't be a film festival without some nice movies about human suffering to brighten your day, right?

Seriously, though, we can see light-hearted rom-coms anytime; a festival like Cannes is where you go to see movies that make you ponder life, wax philosophical with friends about the use of voice-over in film and the deeper metaphorical meanings of this or that scene, and geek out over things like editing and cinematography.

I spent three days at the very first Marfa Film Festival, plus two days in transit -- more than 1,000 hard miles of driving -- and it was worth every effort to get there; even the post-fest illness that felled me for an entire week. I saw wonderful outdoor screenings, enjoyed some good docs and short films, and witnessed the debut of two music videos directed by Heath Ledger. Oh, and met many friendly local residents, talented filmmakers, and visiting film lovers.

Located in West Texas, roughly halfway between El Paso and San Antonio, the town of Marfa (population 2121) has the rare distinction of being the setting for two recent films that won Academy Awards: No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood. Some of the sets for the latter film are still standing, and I traveled there on a sunny afternoon with a small group of intrepid friends over a bumpy, curving, tail-bouncing dirt road that stretched for miles across a ranch just south of town. After depositing our load of bottled water for the opening night reception that would begin a few hours later, we wandered around the fictional town of Little Boston.

As authentically aged and real as the buildings look, it's not a real town, of course, it's a set, meant to evoke Bakersfield, California, circa 1911. Check out the gallery for pictures of the Blood set, visiting filmmakers and other sights of the festival. Read on for more about the festival itself.

This morning James and I and a couple thousand other press folks took in a screening of the Opening Film at Cannes 2008, Fernando Meirelles's Blindness, starring Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Danny Glover and Gael Garcia Bernal. You can check out James' review here, and tomorrow I'll be attending a luncheon/roundtable for the film. And in related Cannes news, Jack Black arrived at the 2008 Festival de Cannes in style. He's here to promote Kung Fu Panda, which premieres later in the week. Check out our gallery of Black and tons of panda bears down below.

Meantime, though, my take on Blindness is that it's ambitious and good, but falls short of being great. In part, I think, this is because the source material was challenging to adapt to a visual experience, but it's also due to some clunky expositional voiceover that detracts from the experience more than it adds. I don't want to be told how this or that person feels or reacts, I want to see it.

Yup, she's at it again. Not long ago, Jessica Alba recreated several memorable scenes from classic horror movies for Latina Magazine. Now she's back, and in honor of her upcoming comedy The Love Guru, the actress posed for a photo as comedy legend Charlie Chaplin for the June issue of Allure magazine. It's actually a pretty funny photo, considering Alba's pretty pregnant under all those clothes. Definitely not as bad as those horror shots; in those pics, the gal barely looked like she was trying. Here, at least, she widens her eyes and does a little something with her mouth. Eh? Can you tell I'm reaching here? Let's not even touch the fact that she's posing as Chaplin to promote The Love Guru. I think we should make a rule right now: No one is allowed to pose as a comedy icon unless, ya know, that person also happens to be kinda funny on the big screen.

Check out Alba's last "recreation stint" in the gallery below.



[via People]

Cinematical has received two brand new exclusive Blindness images ahead of the film's world premiere tonight at the 2008 Festival de Cannes. Directed by Fernando Meirelles (The Constant Gardener), Blindness was selected as the opening night film for this year's Festival de Cannes, and it stars Julianne Moore as the wife of a doctor (Mark Ruffalo) who suddenly becomes the only one who can see in a town where everyone is struck with a mysterious case of blindness. Based on the novel by José Saramago (adapted by Don Mckellar), Blindness also stars Gael García Bernal, Alice Braga and Danny Glover.

Cinematical is on the ground in Cannes, and both James and Kim have already seen Blindness. We'll have our review of the festival's opening night film later on in the day. Check out our second exclusive photo below, then head to the gallery for more. Blindness arrives in theaters on September 19.

James Rocchi and I got into Cannes this afternoon, checked into our flat, and then promptly headed out to the Croisette to get our press badges and take a slew of pics. Movie posters abound on the Croisette. They're draped on luxury hotels and adorning the sidewalks; pretty much everywhere you look, it's movie marketing central around here. I'll have a Live from Cannes post up later with some other pics of the Cannes scene and the lovely Croisette, but in the meantime, here's a bunch of movie poster pics for your viewing pleasure.

We'll be up bright and early tomorrow to catch the opening film, Blindness, and we'll be posting regularly throughout the fest, so keep checking back for more. Let us know what you're most interested in hearing about from the fest, and we'll do our best to oblige.

Another new (and improved, in my opinion) image of Samuel L. Jackson as The Octopus in The Spirit has been revealed, courtesy of Comic Con Magazine (click image to enlarge). Directed by Frank Miller (Sin City, 300), and based on the graphic novel by Will Eisner, The Spirit follows rookie cop Denny Colt (Gabriel Macht) who returns from the dead to fight crime in Central City. Jackson plays The Octopus, The Spirit's main nemesis -- a villain who plans to wipe out all of Central City and kills anyone unlucky enough to see his face. (That said, I guess we're all doomed -- damn you Comic Con magazine for showing us this dude's face!)

Also starring in the flick are Scarlett Johansson (as the Octopus' secretary, Silken Floss), Eva Mendes (as Sand Saref), Jaime King (as Lorelei Rox) and Paz Vega (as Plaster of Paris). Gotta love the names in this one. If I may recommend myself for the sequel; I could play Dynamo Clorox III. Sweet! The first trailer for The Spirit was released during New York Comic Con, and I'm sure the cast and crew will have plenty of goodies for the folks attending San Diego Comic Con in July.

The Spirit arrives in theaters on December 25 (Happy Birthday Jesus, indeed!). Check out our gallery below.



[via Coming Soon]

Ahem. Where were we? Oh yes -- a few nude, er, new photos from the set of Jennifer's Body have arrived online, and it seems the lovely Megan Fox (pictured above) has finally transformed into a girl that doesn't wear any clothes. About damn time! (Last week she transformed into a motorcycle and we were all, like, what the F!) These new images come to us via The Bad and Ugly, who have a few more of Fox in and out of the lake, and let's just say they're a tad more revealing. For those who don't remember, Fox was recently named the sexiest woman in the world by FHM magazine -- and these new photos definitely help the girl live up to that title.

Written by Diablo Cody (Juno), Jennifer's Body stars Megan Fox as a newly-possessed cheerleader who begins killing her male classmates; specifically, those trying to woo her. Amanda Seyfried stars as Jennifer's best friend and the film's hero, while guys like Adam Brody show up as the lead singer of a band (see images of Brody's Nikolai character over at Just Jared).

Man, looking at that image above reminds me of those days when I was applying to be "guy who holds blanket over naked actress on set." Never got the job, of course, because I didn't have 3-5 years experience, but it was still fun to try. Jennifer's Body arrives in theaters next year ... as well as on the desktops of every horny male teenager in the world right ... about ... now.

A whole new batch of images from the next James Bond flick, Quantum of Solace, have just arrived online. So, in honor of a badly beaten-up Daniel Craig, we've decided that now is definitely the right time to launch our official Quantum of Solace photo gallery -- complete with good guys, bad guys and women who may or not be good or bad. (Can I just say that I absolutely love this photo above. Obviously they've had a long night -- and even though he's all sorts of damaged, Bond has that "I bet I could still tap that" look on his face.)

What do we know about Quantum of Solace? Well, it picks up right where Casino Royale left off, and it follows 007 on a mission to figure out which moron came up with the name for this film. I kid, I kid. Actually, we're with Bond as he attempts to figure out more about the organization that blackmailed Vesper -- a mission that ultimately leads him to several countries and to a couple of men; one of which, Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), is conspiring to take total control of one of the world's most important natural resources. There's double the action, double the intensity and (we hope) double the love-making.

Quantum of Solace arrives in theaters on November 7. Check out our brand new gallery below.