News Update: The Dark Knight Rises, Hansel & Gretel, Star Trek 2 and more!

• More vampires and werewolves are on the horizon.  Deborah Harkness' book The Discovery of Witches is being adapted for the big screen by David Auburn (Proof) for Warner Bros.
• So this is why we never got a trailer.  The studio behind the film, Paramount, has pushed back Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters all the way into January 2013.  Now I will have to cross it off my 2012 movie list.  Are there too many Jeremy Renner films coming out this year?  I really did want to see this one.
• The sequel to JJ Abrams' Star Trek starts filming this week and we have some newcomers to add to the cast.  Benedict Cumberbatch, fresh off of BBC's Sherlock (which I can't get enough of), is rumored to play the villain.  Previously, Benicio Del Toro was supposedly slated for the role.  Noel Clarke (Doctor Who), Naazneen Contracter (24), Alice Eve (Starter for 10), Joseph Gatt (Thor) also join the cast as new characters.  
• Midnight showings of The Dark Knight Rises have already been sold out in New York and Los Angeles.  The most anticipated release of 2012?  Yeah, I'd say so.  In case this didn't fully register, the movie is being released on July 19th.  That's nearly six months from now.  Hardcore Nolan fans!

Jennifer Lawrence to announce Oscar nominations!

On January 24th, Katniss Everdeen is going to announce the nominees for the 84th Academy Awards!  No, not really, but Jennifer Lawrence is.  The young actress has already been nominated for Academy Award herself for Winter's Bone and will be playing Katniss in the upcoming The Hunger Games trilogy releasing in March.  She will unveil the nominees for this year along with Tom Sherak, president of the AMPAS early morning at 5:30 am PST.  

Visual Effects Society's best of the year

Also announcing their top nominated work of the past year were the Visual Effects Society (VES) for their 10th annual awards.  Let's see who got nominated.

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture
Captain America: The First Avenger
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture
Anonymous
Hugo
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Source Code
War Horse

Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
Arthur Christmas
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango
The Adventures of Tintin

Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - Ukranian Ironbelly
Paul - Paul
Rise of the Planet of the Apes - Caesar
The Thing - Edvard/Adam

Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
Puss in Boots - Puss
Rango - Rango
Rio - Nigel
The Adventures of Tintin - Tintin

Outstanding Created Environment in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture
Anonymous - London
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - Hogwarts
Thor - Heimdall's Observatory
Transformers: Dark of the Moon - 155 Wacker Drive

Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
Puss in Boots - The Cloud World
Rango - Main Street Dirt
The Adventures of Tintin - Bagghar
The Adventures of Tintin - Docks
The Adventures of Tintin - Pirate Battle

Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture
Hugo
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Thor
Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
Arthur Christmas
Cars 2
Rango
The Adventures of Tintin

Outstanding Models in a Feature Motion Picture
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - Hogwarts School Buildings
Hugo - Train Crash
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol - Parking Garage
Transformers: Dark of the Moon - Driller

Outstanding Compositing in a Feature Motion Picture
Captain America: The First Avenger
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Looks like The Adventures of Tintin is leading the pack with both Rise of the Planet of the Apes and the final Harry Potter right behind it.  Good luck to all the nominees, your hard work makes all the wonderful visuals onscreen look so effortless.  The awards will be announced on February 7th, 2012.

The Directors Guild Nominations

The Directors Guild of America (DGA) has announced their list of the best director of the past year.  And they are...

• Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris (Sony Pictures Classics)
• David Fincher, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Columbia Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures)
• Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist (The Weinstein Company)
• Alexander Payne, The Descendants (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
• Martin Scorsese, Hugo (Paramount Pictures)

Pretty surprising not to see Steven Spielberg's name on the above short list.  He came out with two big movies in the last month.  But great to see two of the living legends of American cinema, Woody Allen and Martin Scorsese still at it.  And a big hurray to David Fincher for making the list despite the not-so-promising box office stats.  One of these days, he is definitely going to win it.  This year, I feel it's a competition between The Artist and Hugo.

Oscars: New promo "Off the Grid"

The AMPAS teamed up with the people over at Funny or Die to create a brand new promo, "Off the Grid", in the search of returning Oscar host Billy Crystal.  Also starring Robin Williams, Vinnie Jones, William Fichtner, Josh Duhamel and Megan Fox, the trailer features Duhamel and Fox in a long journey across the globe to find Crystal.  If they are getting so elaborate just on the promo for the show, I can't imagine how much funnier and extensive Crystal's movie montages will be during the actual show.  So glad that he's back!

New photos from USA Today's 2012 Preview

The first week of the new year has yielded so many new looks to some anticipated movies of 2012.  Thanks to USA Today and the preview guide for 2012, we have some new photos from The Avengers, The Bourne Legacy and more.

Thor meets Captain America in The Avengers.

First look at Jeremy Renner in The Bourne Legacy.

Who are these adorable redheaded moppets with Merida from Brave?

I spy The Hobbit's feet.

Noomi Rapace in Ridley Scott's Prometheus.

It's Daniel. Daniel Craig in Skyfall, the next James Bond film.

Charlize Theron reigns as Queen in Snow White and the Hunstsman.

New clip from Tangled Ever After!

Wow, I didn't know there was a new short from Tangled premiering in front of the re-release of Beauty and the Beast in 3D.  Thanks to Big Screen Animation for finding this out.  I'm glad that will be more stories to tell in the Tangled universe.  I really liked Rapunzel and Flynn Rider.  The short is called "Tangled Ever After" and here's a summary of what it is about:

The Kingdom is in a festive mood as everyone gathers for the royal wedding of Rapunzel and Flynn. However, when Pascal and Maximus, as flower chameleon and ring bearer, respectively, lose the gold bands, a frenzied search and recovery mission gets underway.
As the desperate duo tries to find the rings before anyone discovers that they’re missing, they leave behind a trail of comical chaos that includes flying lanterns, a flock of doves, a wine barrel barricade and a very sticky finale. Will Maximus and Pascal save the day and make it to the church in time? And will they ever get Flynn’s nose right?

I can't wait to see this! Looks absolutely gorgeous!