Open login

Home

HOT NEWS

American Airlines Announces the 'Find Yourself Up in the Air' Online Auction and Sweepstakes to Cele...

Twilight Author Stephenie Meyer Biography Video Hits iTunes and Mobile Devices as Unique Motion Comi...

The Last son of Krypton is back in Ruby-Spears Superman

New SHERLOCK HOLMES Trailer

The DVD Report 11/03/09

Enter to Win a Special THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS Prize Package!

In a comedic look at real life events that are almost too bizarre to believe, a reporter discovers a top-secret wing of the U.S. military when he accompanies an enigmatic Special Forces operator on a mind-boggling mission. Reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) is in search of his next big story when he encounters Lyn Cassady (Academy Award® winner George Clooney), a shadowy figure who claims to be part of an experimental U.S. military unit. According to Cassady, the New Earth Army is changing the way wars are fought. A legion of "Warrior Monks" with unparalleled psychic powers can read the enemy's thoughts, pass through solid walls, and even kill a goat simply by staring at it. Now, the program's founder, Bill Django (Oscar® nominee Jeff Bridges), has gone missing and Cassady's mission is to find him. Intrigued by his new acquaintance's far-fetched stories, Bob impulsively decides to tag along. When the pair tracks Django to a clandestine training camp run by renegade psychic Larry Hooper (two-time Oscar® winner Kevin Spacey), the reporter is trapped in the middle of a grudge match between the forces of Django's New Earth Army and Hooper's personal militia of super soldiers. In order to survive this wild adventure, Bob will have to outwit an enemy he never thought possible. The Men Who Stare at Goats was inspired by Jon Ronson's non-fiction bestseller of the same name, an eye-opening and often hilarious exploration of the government's attempts to harness paranormal abilities to combat its enemies. The film stars George Clooney (Burn After Reading), Jeff Bridges (Iron Man), Ewan McGregor (Angels & Demons), Kevin Spacey (Moon), Robert Patrick ("The Unit"), Stephen Root (The Soloist), Stephen Lang (Public Enemies) and Rebecca Mader "Lost"). It is directed by Academy Award® nominated Grant Heslov (Good Night, and Good Luck) from a screenplay by Peter Straughan (How to Lose Friends & Alienate People) from the book by Jon Ronson. The Men Who Stare at Goats is produced by Clooney, Heslov and Paul Lister. Director of photography is Academy Award® winner Robert Elswit (There Will be Blood). Editor is Tatiana S. Riegel (There Will Be Blood). Costume designer is Louise Frogley (Quantum of Solace). Production designer is Sharon Seymour (Gone Baby Gone). One (1) lucky IESB winner will receive an official "No Goats, No Glory" T-shirt and copy of the book! Enter to win IESB's THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS sweepstakes by filling out the form below to enter the random drawing! Winners will be notified by email. Contest ends November 13th. For more info on the film head over to the official site themenwhostareatgoatsmovie.com U.S. Residents Only Name: Address: City, State: Zip: Email Address:

More...

Press Conference: The World is Coming to an End on 2012....Thanks Again to Roland Emmerich

A few weeks ago, I traveled to a small town near Yellowstone National Park, Jackson Hole in Wyoming. Beautiful little town in one of the greatest states in the lower 48. But instead of going for a mountain bike or ski trip, the press was flown in to chat with John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet and the man who loves to destroy large cities and the White House, Roland Emmerich, to discuss their upcoming feature film 2012. I am sure by now you've seen the trailers and film clips and know that in Roland Emmerich's 2012 the world as we know it will come to an end. The big question is, how cool will the destruction be on the big screen? The 2012 phenomenon has become very popular in the last few decades, from black holes, to planet collisions, to polar shifts, there isn't a shortage of theories of what will happen on December 21, 2012. The IESB along with other members of the press where able to chat with the cast and director of 2012 to get their thoughts on the making of this blockbuster but also their thoughts on if we are just a few years away from the end of the world. What are your personal thoughts of what will happen in 2012? Roland Emmerich: It is peculiar how 2012 is this date that there are a lot of ideas about it, and we chose the destructive one. I think destruction works better in the movie. The preparations, well, I will go ski. It is December 21st, which is skiing season. I will chose the highest mountainthere is. If the world ends, you know, what can I do? If not, I will skidown. John Cusack: I will try to get on Roland's trip to be on that mountain. Amanda Peet: Yeah, can I come? John Cusack: Do you know the book, The Return of Queztacoatl? That book, I think, is a little more in line with what I think will happen; a shift in consciousness. That seemed to be more of what I think will happen rather than an actual end of days. Chiwetel Ejiofor: I don't ski, so I can't join them. Unfortunately. Besides, I think avalanches are something to worry about, so I'll just spend it kind of quietly with family and friends and hope for the best. I don't have a real opinion about 2012. I think it is, like John said, a shift inconsciousness. It feels like things are converging and that something has to change, and maybe it will center around that time. Amanda Peet: I am kind of a hypochondriac, and I worry about a lot of things, so I'm really going try to not worry about it too much. How much scientific research was done for this script? Emmerich: From the beginning, there was the Earth's crust displacement theory, which we found was a theory that was big enough, in a way, to cause all this flooding. That was the main reason why I chose this one. Before we started writing the script, we actually met with a professor of science at USC, in Los Angeles, and asked him how it could all unfold. He told us first that he doesn't believe in the displacement theory. We asked him if he couldgive us some insight, and he said the only way this could work is if a molecule mutated into another kind of particle. He said from that moment, all bets are off. No scientist would say that this could not happen because this has never happened before. That was the concept we chose. I also believe that there has some sort of feeling of believability in the movie. Is this the most physical movie you have ever done, and what was it like working in front of a green screen? Cusack: Yeah, this was pretty action packed for sure. It wasn't any different than a lot of films, in a way, because of the production design. Usually, you have the entire set built, and then in back of the set would be a green screen. There was a massive production design team working on the set. When we were on the mountain at the end, there would be a huge glacier field and there would be blue screens in the background, so we were alwaysacting with regular sets; it was the backgrounds that were being digitally enhanced...Yeah, a lot of running, jumping, and tumbling. You got to stay stretched out or you could pull a hamstring, for sure. Ejiofor: I got off pretty lightly being in the government. Yeah, I had a couple of days of fun work, but that was it. I was slightly envious not to be able to work on the shaky floor. It looked pretty cool. What would you like audiences to take away from this film? Emmerich: I liked it because what you really are doing is celebrating life and what are the most important things in life. It is about survival and regular people becoming heroes, and I think people can identify with that. They will ask themselves if they would be as brave as Jackson Curtis. That is what I hope they take from it. Emmerich: Yeah, it was intentional because we cannot make a movie like this and end it badly. It would be kind of sad. They have to figure it out. In a sense, this is modern retelling of Noah's Ark. You know, in Noah's Ark there were survivors and if you look at the end there is hope. That is exactly what we wanted to convey. John, what was the hardest thing for you to do in this movie? Cusack: I thought it was pretty fun actually. It was a great group of people, the story was great, and the studio was great. Roland has done this so many times before. What would be a crushing technical process for other directors, he seems to do very effortlessly, so he just focuses on the characters. I got to work with Amanda again. It was a great part. It waskind of a good gig all the way around. Roland, what are you going to destroy next? Emmerich: Actually, I destroyed the image of Shakespeare. Are you done with the disaster genre? Emmerich: I think so because I had a hard time convincing myself to do it. I actually only did it because it was such an incredible idea. Then I said to myself, if I do it one more time, I would do it in the biggest way it could possibly be done. So, hopefully, I have it out of my system. I also say, "Never say never." You tend to add in a lot of humor with the disaster films, and this film had a lot of funny dialogue. Did you intentionally try to insert the funny dialogue to offset the catastrophic events? Emmerich: Yeah, it was a little like that in a way. I had this discussion with, Harold, my co-writer. We kind of asked ourselves what the tone of the movie should be. I always believe that when such an extreme thing happens, and it is about survival, you have to give the people release. If they cannot laugh once in a while, they will not enjoy the movie. We went for the tone of Independence Day, which is similar. For The Day After Tomorrow, Ididn't want to do that because I thought with the theme of the movie, andwhat I wanted to tell, it was too serious. John, can you talk a little about your film, Hot Tub Time Machine? Cusack: Yeah, well that is set in the past. It is about four losers who get stuck back in the 1980s. John, what attracted you to this film? Cusack: I think it was the combination of the project, director, and the actors. It was nice to be wanted...I got the call, and they told me, "Roland Emmerich's movie, they want you to do it, and we'll send you the script." I said, "Great!" Then I read the script and it was a real page-turner. I thought it was very surprising. By the end of the film, I actually got quiteemotional and very tense. I just thought it was a really good, big, epic movie all the way around. As you read it, interesting things would happen because they have this scene where Rome burned and Paris fell. How do you shoot that? Then the story got bigger and bigger. The catastrophes got bigger and the geography, of the characters and the places where they were safe, got smaller and smaller. The movie actually got more intimate as it went along...I haven't seen that with most action films. Usually once the explosions start, the characters stop. These were reverse engineered so it got more intimate. I thought that was really clever, so it was a terrific script and I was happy to do it. Do you think of this film as a sort of cautionary tale? Emmerich: I don't think the film is to warn about anything, so it is not a cautionary tale. It is a cautionary tale in a way, maybe in a way of if this is going to happen, what is important in life and what is savable, and how should we save things. For me, I am always a little suspicious of governments, so it is also an expression of that. Then I always think movies have to be fun. If a movie is not fun, I don't want to do it. Cusack: I think it also taps into the paranoia around the world. Ejiofor: People tend to in tragedies. Obviously, in the tragedies we see in the world now. People tend to find great unity in that. I think that is one of the things this story talks about. I think you have to have a lot of optimism in humanity and people. I think that is part of this story and what it is getting at. There is an inherent good and these things bring them outsometimes. In earlier versions of the script, did you ever have a stronger focus on the cosmology or was that already figured out and get to the disasters? Emmerich: We discussed that too. We said we wanted a little bit of that at the beginning. First of all, there are so many theories and so many different ways to do it. We just felt it has to be over relatively fast. At the end, it is not only a story about 2012, but it is a modern retelling of Noah's Ark. How did you go about casting this film? Emmerich: Well, fortunately we had a very strong script. Pretty much everybody that we went to immediately wanted to do it. It is a very rare thing when this happens. I always say that 80 percent of directing is having the right cast, so I was very happy and fortunate to have that cast. It was also interesting because it is a more somber piece and we discussed which actor we wanted for what part. It was more like how people fit together and I felt that Amanda and John have a good chemistry, which they did. I was lucky that it worked. Do you like to choose which place you will destroy in your films? Emmerich: Well, it is not like I walk around and I think, "Well I could destroy this or I can destroy that." It is like a world tour, "Why did you destroy our city?" It is just the fact that it has to come out of the story.Jackson Curtis lives in LA, and I live in LA. You know, everyone in LAconstantly talks about when California will sink into the ocean, and then wejust decided to do that. It was like a starting point. Yellowstone Park was kind of intricate in the story too. Yes, we knew in the beginning that we wanted to have certain events and then we kind of followed that. Then sometimes it is born from something quite interesting. For example, at one point, we discussed some part you could not save. For example, the SistineChapel and the famous painting where God and Adam touch fingers. I said, "Oh great, we have to show how this gets destroyed." Then we said, "Well we are already there, why don't we have the church fall on people's heads?" I am against organized religion so that is how we thought of it. Cusack: You have to be careful if you are standing outside the church. Emmerich: The message is never pray in front of a big church. Pray by yourself. Then there is this funny thing, where we had one angle where you see the Pope in the background, and these shots were done in England by the same guys who did Angels & Demons. They conveniently left out the Pope, and I said, "We have to see a little bit of him. He is the Chairman after all." What about the JFK Aircraft carrier destroying the White House? Emmerich: Again, Harold said, "If you don't destroy the White House, you will be asked about that." I said, " I cannot destroy the White House again." He said, "Well, just do it in a different way." At that time, I was reading a lot about the Kennedys. As a kid, maybe about twelve and a half, I visited these old war ships in the Chesapeake Bay and they had justinaugurated JFK there. I was really excited as a kid. It was about a wave, and then you know JFK comes back to the White House. I thought it was kind of clever. I told Harold, "Let's go for it!" How are you planning to work with the characters for Foundation because they are separate stories? Emmerich: I was quite interested working with it like in I Robot. That pretty much changed everything, and the fans hated the movie, so I didn't want to do that. On the other hand, Foundation it has a similar problem; these are short stories that were later combined into a book...Bob Rodat came to me and told me he was a fanatic reader of the Foundation. He said, we have to consolidate the characters, and that's what we did. It has worked really, really well in the context...I think in spirit it is totally Foundation, but it is has consolidated characters that go through it. Have you read the script yet? Emmerich: No, but he keeps calling me and saying, "It is fantastic Roland! I have never read such a good script!" I said, "Well maybe you should send it to me!" He is a great guy. I think I will get it soon. He promised me before 2012 comes out. How much did you learn from the experience of making Endgame? And what is the importance of helping young filmmakers? Ejiofor: I had a really interesting time on that project. I didn't know anything about the talks at all. I knew that Thabo Mbeki had been exiled to London...I knew that they were being hunted down by the secret police in South Africa, but I didn't know that William Young had organized these talks between the Africans. When I read the script and got involved in theproject, I was really amazed by how quiet the story was, how accurate the film is, and how much those talks did progress the movement for the release of Nelson Mandela. I think it is an amazing period of history and a real indication that these negotiated talks can really bring extraordinary results. John, you tend to play a flawed, yet kind-hearted characters who find redemption. Do you relate to that type of character? Cusack: I don't know. I think it is a combination of people of what people see me as, or the type of role they want to give me, and there isn't much drama in people that are happy and well-adjusted; not a lot of conflict there. I am definitely flawed so I'm sure it comes through my curtain. It is kind of the human condition. Amanda, can you talk about you saw your character's relationship with John's character when you read the script? Peet: John's character was my true love and I was really hurt by different things. I kind of chose a different path. That's the end of the story. I think that's how I saw it and obviously. Roland, you previously mentioned that you are against organized religion and we see these Christian monuments destroyed. Why not do something really controversial and do another Islamic site? Emmerich: I wanted to do that, but my co-writer, Harold, said, "I will not want to have a [target] on my head because of a movie." He was right. In the Western world, we have to think about it. Did you have any visual references of the destruction to know how to react properly? Peet: Tommy. Emmerich: It was a Scottish accent. Peet: Do it John, come on. Cusack: It was a mascot for me. Does Scottish accent. He is screaming. He is the most fantastic guy in the world. Peet: You have a camera this close to you, and obviously you are looking at nothing. He would have to narrate, basically bit-by-bit, what tragic [event] we were responding to. Emmerich: When it comes down to the scene, you want to do it in one take because you cannot ask the actors to do it in pieces. You have to figure out how to do it. Tommy came to me and said, "Okay, give me the key points." Then we wrote them down and he was just reading them off a piece of paper with great emotion. Everyday he was as enthusiastic as it gets. Peet: It was hard for us new people to know how to calibrate our responses to this incredible destruction. Cusack: He had it all rigged out, almost like a video game. You wouldn't really see it in all it's detail, but you knew that you were going to be flying through these two buildings with a train going over your head, so you knew the sequence. The planes and the cars were all on hydraulics. When I come to pick them up, there is an entire city block with white picket fences and houses and the whole thing was on hydraulics. A whole city block with cars on it was pulsating, so it was like walking onto a pretty wild set. It wasn't all green screen and imagination. You tend to have a lot of melodramatic elements in your films, why do you add in these elements as opposed to just action? Emmerich: When you tell stories about human beings, some people call it melodramatic. I call it heartfelt and true. I think when you make movies like this, you have to make people laugh, cry, and scared. I try to do that. 2012 opens in theaters everywhere on November 13, 2009.

More...

Win a copy of the 15th Anniversary Edition of STARGATE on Blu-Ray from IESB!

IESB has got five (5) copies of the 15th Anniversary Edition of STARGATE on Blu-Ray to give away to five lucky readers! Stargate, the film that spawned three television series, two movies and a galaxy of fans, celebrates its 15th anniversary with a special edition Blu-ray Disc! The film, written and directed by Roland Emmerich (Independence Day), boasts a critically-acclaimed ensemble cast that includes three-time Emmy winner James Spader, Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Kurt Russell and two-time Academy Award nominee Djimon Hounsou. The Stargate: 15th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Disc contains both the theatrical and extended cuts of the film - for the first time on Blu-ray - in newly remastered 1080P High Definition 16 x 9 Widescreen with English 7.1 DTS-MA Audio and four hours of mind-blowing special features including three new featurettes, a never-before-seen gag reel, an interactive trivia track and more! The Blu-ray will be available on October 27, 2009, timed to coincide with the new television series "Stargate Universe" coming to SyFy this fall! IESB has got your chance to win one of five 15th Anniversary Edition of STARGATE Blu-Rays below! BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES New - "Deciphering the Gate: Concepts and Casting" featurette New - " Opening the Gate: The Making of the Movie" featurette New - "Passing Through the Gate: The Legacy" - featurette New - never-before-seen Gag Reel New - "Master of the Stargate" Interactive Trivia Challenge New - BonusViewTM Picture-in-Picture "Stargate Ultimate Knowledge" "Is There a Stargate?" featurette "The Making-of Stargate" documentary Audio commentary with Director Roland Emmerich and Producer Dean Devlin Enter to win a copy of the 15th Anniversary Edition of STARGATE on Blu-Ray below from IESB! Winners notified by email. Contest ends November 7th! Good luck and thanks for playing! Name: Address: City, State: Zip: Email Address: Incomplete entries will be disqualified, one entry per person

More...

Win a Prize Package from IESB's THE BOX Sweepstakes!

“The Box” is a thriller set around a deceptively simple moral dilemma. An average couple is offered an opportunity to get themselves out of financial difficulty: a million dollars, in exchange for the knowledge that their acceptance of this gift will result in the death of one person somewhere in the world – someone they don’t know. The big question is, “What will they do?” But writer/director Richard Kelly is also asking, “What would you do?” In setting up this premise, and the story that unfolds as the couple struggles first with their decision and then with its catastrophic consequences, the film poses larger questions about life, love, responsibility and human nature. Richard Kelly is best known for the sci-fi mystery thriller “Donnie Darko,” a provocative cult classic that earned honors at film festivals around the world and brought him two Independent Spirit Award nominations. “The Box” is based on a short story by master of suspense fiction, Richard Matheson, who also wrote the story behind the movie “I Am Legend.” “The Box” will appeal to fans of Kelly, fans of Matheson, and to anyone who appreciates a dramatic thrill ride of a story with an underlying mystery and lingering questions that will leave audiences with something to think about. Enter IESB's THE BOX sweepstakes for your chance to win some really cool prizes from the film! THE BOX In Theaters November 6th Check out the official site located at www.thebox-movie.com One (1) Grand Prize Winner from IESB will receive: Replica of ‘the box' prop!YOU ARE THE EXPERIMENT TeesYOU ARE THE EXPERIMENT Hats"The Box" Key Chains Two (2) Runners Up will receive: YOU ARE THE EXPERIMENT TeesYOU ARE THE EXPERIMENT Hats"The Box" Key Chains Pictures of Prizes are Below! Be the first to know! Receive exclusive Warner Bros. Movie News Updates! JAMES MARSDEN as Arthur Lewis and CAMERON DIAZ as Norma Lewis in Warner Bros. Pictures', Radar Pictures' and Media Rights Capital's thriller "The Box," a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo by Dale Robinette Winners will be notified by email! Contest ends November 9th! Name: Email Address: Street Address: City, State: Zip Code: Incomplete entries will be disqualified. Entrants must be over 18 and residents of the United States. Additional rules below apply - RELEASE AND INDEMNIFICATION: BY ENTERING THE SWEEPSTAKES, ENTRANTS RELEASE AND HOLD HARMLESS WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT INC. AND EACH OF ITS RESPECTIVE PARENTS, DIVISIONS, AFILIATES, SUBSIDIARIES, AGENTS AND ADVERTISING AGENCIES (COLLECTIVELY, WBEI) FROM AND AGAINST ANY AND ALL LOSSES, DAMAGES, RIGHTS, CLAIMS, AND ACTIONS OF ANY KIND ARISING IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, FROM THE SWEEPSTAKES OR PARTICIPATION IN ANY SWEEPSTAKES-RELATED ACTIVITY (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THE REMOVAL FROM THE SITE OF, OR DISCONTINUATION OF ACCESS TO, ANY MATERIALS), OR RESULTING DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, FROM ACCEPTANCE, POSSESSION, USE, OR MISUSE OF ANY PRIZE AWARDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE SWEEPSTAKES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION PERSONAL INJURY, DEATH, AND/OR PROPERTY DAMAGE, AS WELL AS CLAIMS BASED ON PUBLICITY RIGHTS, DEFAMATION, AND/OR INVASION OF PRIVACY. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY: IN NO EVENT WILL THE WBEI BE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR LOSSES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, ARISING OUT OF ANY ACCESS TO AND/OR USE OF THE SWEEPSTAKES SITE, THE DOWNLOADING FROM AND/OR PRINTING MATERIAL DOWNLOADED FROM THE SWEEPSTAKES SITE, THE REMOVAL FROM THE SWEEPSTAKES SITE OF, OR DISCONTINUATION OF ACCESS TO, ANY MATERIALS, OR THE ACCEPTANCE, POSSESSION, USE, OR MISUSE OF, OR ANY HARM RESULTING FROM THE ACCEPTANCE, POSSESSION, USE OR MISUSE OF, OR PARTICIPATION IN, ANY PRIZE AWARDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE SWEEPSTAKES. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, THE SWEEPSTAKES, ALL PRIZES, AND ALL MATERIALS PROVIDED ON OR THROUGH THE SITE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

More...

Enter to Win a Special G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA DVD Prize Package!

On November 3rd, Paramount Home Entertainment will release G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra on DVD and Blu-Ray! THE NEXT GENERATION OF HEROES STORMS INTO ACTION ON BLU-RAY AND DVD IN THE WORLDWIDE BLOCKBUSTER To celebrate, Paramount Home Entertainment has provided the IESB with one (1) DVD prize packages to giveaway to a lucky reader! One (1) Grand Prize Winner will receive: Two-disc Special Edition G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA DVDNight Raven Jet with Air Viper (Toy)M.A.R.S. Troopers (Action Figures)Poster The ultimate elite fighting force hit the big screen to defend the world and ended up conquering it in the worldwide smash hit G.I. JOE: The Rise of Cobra, which earned over $280 million at the global box office. The action-packed, visually arresting adventure based on Hasbro's immensely popular action figures including DUKE, SNAKE EYES, STORM SHADOW and the BARONESS makes its eagerly-awaited Blu-ray and DVD debut in two-disc sets and a single-disc DVD on November 3, 2009 from Paramount Home Entertainment. Directed by Stephen Sommers (The Mummy), G.I. JOE: The Rise of Cobra stars a hot young cast including Channing Tatum (Public Enemies), Marlon Wayans (Dance Flick), Sienna Miller (Factory Girl), Joseph Gordon-Levitt ((500) Days of Summer), Rachel Nichols ("Alias") and Ray Park (X-Men), as well as veteran actors Dennis Quaid (Vantage Point) and Christopher Eccleston (Gone in Sixty Seconds). The G.I. JOE team travels the world from the Egyptian desert to the polar ice caps and the streets of Paris in a high stakes pursuit of COBRA, an evil international organization threatening to use a technology that could bring the world to its knees. Armed with the coolest hi-tech gadgets and weapons, including jaw-dropping accelerator and camouflage suits, G.I. JOE is the last line of defense against those intent on world domination. The G.I. JOE: The Rise of Cobra two-disc Blu-ray and DVD include a digital copy of the film, commentary by director Stephen Sommers and producer Bob Ducsay, "The Big Bang Theory: The Making of G.I. JOE", which takes viewers behind-the-scenes for a look at how the filmmakers turned the perennially popular action figures into a summer blockbuster and "Next-Gen Action: The Amazing Visual FX and Design of G.I. JOE", which showcases the incredible work that went into creating over 1,650 visual effect shots and the challenges the filmmakers faced in bringing the world of G.I. JOE and COBRA to life. The film also will be available on a single disc DVD, which includes the commentary. The two-disc DVD and Blu-ray packages will also feature augmented reality technology that will allow owners to participate in an exclusive 3D holographic G.I. JOE combat experience, utilizing their webcams and a special website. Fans will be able to choose between SNAKE EYES and STORM SHADOW, two of the most popular G.I. JOE and COBRA characters, and battle against their enemies one-on-one in an immersive 3D video game. Two-Disc DVD & Blu-ray: The G.I. JOE: The Rise of Cobra two-disc and single-disc DVDs are presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 televisions with Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround, French 5.1 Surround and Spanish 5.1 Surround with English, French and Spanish subtitles. The two-disc Blu-ray is presented in 1080p High Definition with English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French 5.1 Dolby Digital and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital with English, English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles. The following special features are in standard definition: Disc 1: * Feature commentary by director Stephen Sommers and producer Bob Ducsay Disc 2: * Digital Copy * The Big Bang Theory: The Making of G.I. JOE- Join the G.I. JOE team as they set out to "Sommer-size" the summer action epic and bring G.I. JOE to the big screen. * Next-Gen Action: The Amazing Visual FX and Design of G.I. JOE- With over 1,650 visual effect shots, G.I. JOE was a truly massive endeavor. Showcasing the hard work and creativity of the film's effects and design team, this piece looks at the unique challenges of bringing the world of G.I. JOE and COBRA to life, while immersing viewers in the incredible thrills and various FX challenges of the film's major action sequences. Want more? Head over to the official site http://www.gijoemovie.com or check out the "G.I Joe Faceoff Game" on Facebook: http://apps.facebook.com/gijoe_faceoff/ Enter to win IESB's sweepstakes by filling out the form below to enter the random drawing! Winners will be notified by email. Contest ends November 7th. U.S. Residents Only Name: Address: City, State: Zip: Email Address:

More...

Interview: GENTLEMEN BRONCOS with Jared and Jerusha Hess

The writing and producing husband and wife team of Jared and Jerusha Hess have established their unexpected humor with the success of their previous films, Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre. In their latest film, Gentlemen Broncos, the filmmaking duo are bringing audiences the misunderstood underdog Benjamin Purvis (Michael Angarano), a young man whose passion for writing science-fiction novels is thrown into upheaval when his idol (played by Jemaine Clement) steals his story at a writers camp. At the film's press day, the Hesses talked about why it's important that they stay true to what inspires them. Q: Where did you get the title, Gentlemen Broncos? Jared: The title of the film comes from my mom, who had this really weird parenting book when I was growing up. I have five younger brothers, and it was this book, called So You Want to Raise a Boy?, written in the ‘50's. There's a chapter in there where it talks about the age from 16 to 17 and the author referred to it as the gentlemen bronco phase of life, where teenage boys like to take their shirts off and mow the lawn. Q: Were you both able to identify with these characters? Jared: Yeah, definitely. A lot of the things that happened to Benjamin, in the film, happened to me, other than the plagiarism thing. We used that as a device to see the different bastardized versions of his work. Jerusha: The mother is very much like both of our mothers. Q: Do you really make out to celebrate when something works in the scriptwriting process? Jared: I wish that would happen. Jerusha: I don't know what Jared is saying. It totally happens that way. He's just being shy right now. Every time something good is written, he's like, "Hey, baby!" I think his mind just goes numb, at that point, and he wants to stop working for the day. Jared: Jerusha will be like, "That was not good. You can't stop working for the day." Q: Are you both sci-fi fans? Jared: I'm a big sci-fi fan. All my favorite movies, growing up, were science fiction. I actually really wanted to be a special effects dude, working for Industrial Light & Magic, or something, so a lot of my first movies were really lame. The Yeast Lords movie that Lonnie Donaho (Hector Jimenez) makes is an accurate representation of my early works. Jerusha: I'm not the big sci-fi fan, like Jared is, but I do like my Battlestar Galactica. Q: Are you guys predictable with one another, since you've worked together for so many years now? Jared: I can't predict what she's going to say, but I think she can predict every single dumb idea that I bring to the table. Jerusha: Every time. Q: Jerusha, do you ever want to get involved with the directing, when you're so involved with the writing process for these films? Jerusha: I'm so find with Jared being the director. I love having my little stamp on it, in the beginning, but he's such a great director. I know what it's going to be and I trust him completely. I'm not even on set the whole time, but when I'm on set, I often whisper in his ear. Jared: When I'm about to do something real dumb. Jerusha: No. He never does anything dumb. I'll just whisper, "Hey, maybe you should change the line to this?" Q: How did you end up casting Michael Angarano in this? Jared: The first time that I had seen Michael Angarano was in Snow Angels, and he's a very convincing, really genuine person. He really brought the character to life in the way that we had seen him. For a lot of the other characters, we knew people that we wanted to work with. We knew that we wanted Jennifer [Coolidge] to play the mom, and we knew that Mike White would be Dusty, but we had no idea who was going to play the main character of the movie. Michael came to the audition and just really was effortless. He did a great job. Q: What made you think of Sam Rockwell to play Bronco and Brutus? Jared: I'm a big fan of all of Sam's films, like Galaxy Quest and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. And, he was so funny in that Brad Pitt movie about Jesse James. That's a dark movie, but he's funny as crap in that movie. Q: How much input did he have into those roles, or were they written that way? Jared: We wanted Bronco to be this super-macho cowboy of the Yeast Lords world. Just to make the distinction, we wanted to have something completely different and opposite that Chavelier had created. Initially, we didn't know if we were going to have Sam play Brutus, but he was like, "I wanna do it, man. I wanna do both." He's one of the few people that could have pulled it off like that. If we hadn't cast Sam as Bronco, we probably would have had two different people playing those roles. Q: How did you decide to cast Jemaine Clement? Jared: We were fans of the show (Flight of the Concords). We didn't know if we'd be able to work with him, just because most TV people are really busy, but we sent him the script and he was like, "Yeah, man, I'm into it. I'll do whatever you want." He wanted to play the guy as an American, but we said, "Check out Logan's Run. I wanna hear you try to do Michael York's voice." And, that was it. Q: Did the role change at all, after he was cast? Jared: One of the funnier scenes in the film, where he's doing the writers workshop, was actually going to be played by an unknown actor. But, when he came on board, we were like, "Jemaine should give that workshop. It will be a lot funnier." Jerusha: When he first read it, he was like, "Do you have anyone for Bronco yet?" Jared: We said, "We've got Sam Rockwell," and he was like, "Oh, yeah, he'll be way better than me, man." Q: Is this film perpetuating the stereotype of sci-fi fans, or is it paying homage to their passion? Jared: To me, it's a love fest. We tried to populate the film with genuine science fiction fans. In the Q&A scene with Benjamin, the guy that asks Dr. Chavelier about Gorgana's lullaby, from the Cyborg Harpie novels, is named Steve Burg. He is awesome. After we were done shooting, he gave me one of the original screenplays for the movie Krull. His goal for that year was to read every Phillip K. Dick novel. Everything was done with affection, but there are some characters that are quite funny. Jerusha: We're paying homage to this group of people, but we made a crappy sci-fi and we want them to enjoy it for its crappiness. Hopefully, they'll laugh a bit and not take it too seriously. Q: Do you like crappy sci-fi? Jared: Absolutely! I love it all. I don't want to call it crappy, but I love the ones that are made with limited resources, like Turkish Star Wars. That is mind-blowing. I think there's clips of it on YouTube, but I own a DVD of it. The training sequence in that film might be the best training sequence ever put on film. It was made in Turkey, probably 20 years after the original came out. The main guys are fairly well-known Turkish actors and they would project scenes from Star Wars, like the Death Star, while they were sitting with a helmet on a chair, speaking Turkish. And then, there are really weird sequences where it looks like they're beating up characters from Sesame Street. It's pretty unbelievable. Jerusha: You can see our real love in the opening credit sequence where we got to peruse all these great sci-fi novel covers. That's what we really like. Q: What made you decide to use the song "In the Year 2525"? Jared: Jerusha had heard it on the radio, when we first started dating. Jerusha: I heard it 10 years ago. Jared: I had never heard it, and she'd always try to sing it to me. I was like, "Oh, man, that sounds weird." Jerusha: I'd sing it to him and he'd be like, "That's not a song. I don't know what that is." Jared: But, Randy Poster, our music supervisor, sent us the song and it worked. He was like, "I think this is going to be great for the movie." It was a lot of fun. And then, I played it for Jerusha and she was like, "I told you!" Q: Do you feel like the studios have typecast you now, for the type of films that you do? Jared: That hasn't happened yet, but I'm sure, if we ever wanted to direct a really sad drama, they'd probably be like, "What?" Jerusha: You'd think, by now, they'd be used to us. Jared: I'm sure we'd be met with some eyebrows raised. Maybe we just need time to prove them otherwise. Q: Being writers and artists in this industry, how do you deal with plagiarism? What's your general attitude toward it? Jared: We haven't ever dealt with it. We just thought it would be a funny device and a way to be able to see the different perspective on the kid's work in the film, and see how plagiarism ultimately results in sadness. Jerusha: I think I like plagiarism. It gets funnier and funnier. Q: Is this the first time you've done any special effects? Jared: Yeah. I wanted to be a special effects dude as a kid, so being able to do that on the film was fun. We used a lot of models and tried to do as much in-camera as we could. That has a little more comedic charm than doing all of the CG stuff that you have now. It was fun to see the awkward deer's legs that didn't move at all. It was a lot of fun. Jerusha: When I saw the effects, I was like, "Oh, my gosh. How can we write these out?" Q: And, you had a real bobcat? Jared: The bobcat was real. Jerusha: It was partially real. Jared: That cat actually had a larger role on paper, but we could not get that sucker to do anything. It was trained with cell phone beeps. They'd put a big thing of cat food on a phone and make it ring. So, while we were shooting, a grips phone went off and the cat turned and looked at him. We were really lucky, after it was munching on the gonad in the desert scene, that cat ran off for four hours. We were at the Great Salt Lake and they were like, "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty." They couldn't get it to do anything. So, we actually had a dummy that we threw through the window, when it lands on the guy. I wanted it to look real, but then I thought, "Dude, embrace the cheese." Q: How was it to work with the snake? Jared: One year, when I was at scout camp at 14, a buddy of mine had gone into the woods and caught this black rat snake. He was showing it off, right before a Court of Honor, where you get all dressed up and get your merit badges. He was like, "Yeah, I caught this in the woods. It's so awesome." And then, it crapped all over him. I didn't even know that snakes had a butt. I thought that they just barfed, or something. Q: Why will the audience that embraced Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre embrace this? Jared: A common theme in all of our films is the idea of an outsider with big dreams trying to achieve what he wants to do in life, with limited social skills or means. We've really tried to stay true to our inspirations, from film to film. Most of our inspirations come from family members, people that we've grown up with or people that we know on an intimate level. For us, as artists, staying true to what originally inspired us and the things that we're passionate about, we've definitely done in this film and that's the most that anybody can hope for. The fans of Napoleon will definitely like this film. Jerusha: We make these movies about underdogs, and that's the one common through-line between all the films. We have a different audience for Nacho than we did for Napoleon, but this film is definitely going to grab the Napoleon audience again. I think they'll be excited. Q: Do you target a cult audience? Jared: Not really. With Napoleon and the cult status that it's taken, you can't anticipate that. You just try to make the film that you've always wanted to see, and the monster that it becomes is out of your control. But, I don't know if anybody ever goes into it thinking, "I want to make a cult film." We definitely don't do that at all. We just want to make films about the people that we're interested in and the stories that inspire us. Q: What will be on the DVD that wasn't in the film? Jared: There's a very good outtake reel. Jerusha: There's an outtake of Jennifer Coolidge doing 14 lines of the same thing, talking about a dress that she's designed, that's pretty funny. Jared: It was actually for a montage sequence in the film, so you don't hear a voice, but she is so funny. There are some good nuggets. A lot of my favorite scenes that didn't end up in the film are on the DVD. There's a part of the final battle scene with a funny dialogue between Bronco and Daysius having a stand-off on their battle stags, hovering in the air. That's a real funny scene that I wish we could have kept. Q: Are you finding it harder or easier to make independent films, in this day and age? Jared: I think the economy has affected every level of film production, both independent and at the studio level. Jerusha: It seems like independent has an edge, though, since we can keep the budgets down. Jared: The more filmmakers keep their budgets down, the more creative control they have and the more license they have to cast who they want. The bigger the budget, the more you've got to fill it with big names as an insurance policy. Q: You guys have created this cult of amazingly idiosyncratic characters. What's the next one? Jared: We're probably going to have to go to Wal-Mart a few more times. No, I'm just kidding. It might be at the Hess family Christmas party. We might get some new relatives. Jerusha: That's where we got the popcorn idea. Jared: My grandma had made these popcorn centerpieces that were Christmas trees, but they were with Christmas Captain Crunch that she'd bought 10 years before and it was as hard as a rock. Family members were getting knives and trying to break off pieces because they couldn't pull any of it off. It was a dangerous weapon. People's teeth were breaking. Q: Are you guys currently writing any new projects? Jerusha: I just wrote a romantic comedy without Jared. He doesn't have anything to answer to that question. Jared: I've been holding her back, all these years. Q: Do you have a director in mind? Jerusha: I've asked him. I said, "You know, you would make a lot more directing this than I would." Jared: I don't know if anyone would trust me with a romantic comedy. Jerusha: It's heavy on the comedy. Q: What was it like to write that on your own? Jerusha: It was fun and fast. Jared: I'm slow. Q: Do you find it easier to get actors for your films, now that you have a track record? Jared: Yeah. Once you have a couple of films under your belt, it's easier to get actors. Jerusha: Jared is being humble. People call him, all the time. GENTLEMEN BRONCOS opens on October 30th

More...

Latest Headlines

American Airlines Announces the 'Find Yourself Up in the Air' Online Auction and Sweepstakes to Celebrate Paramount's 'Up in the Air'

American Airlines has introduced a unique online auction to celebrate the new Paramount Pictures film, "Up in the Air," from Oscar®-nominated director Jason Reitman and starring Oscar winner George Cl...

Twilight Author Stephenie Meyer Biography Video Hits iTunes and Mobile Devices as Unique Motion Comic

Eagle One Media is proud to announce the release of Twilight: Unbound - The Stephenie Meyer Story motion comic is now available through such outlets as iTunes, Nokia's Ovi Store, and Android's Marketp...

The Last son of Krypton is back in Ruby-Spears Superman

Back in 1988 DC Comics' Man of Steel was hitting his 50th anniversary, and what better way to celebrate than be given a brand-new Saturday morning cartoon show. Now fast forward 21 years and fans of ...

New SHERLOCK HOLMES Trailer

A new trailer for Guy Ritchie's SHERLOCK HOLMES starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law has premiered online over at Spike.com. In a dynamic new portrayal of Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous characte...

The DVD Report 11/03/09

November spawned a monster. A short but sweet week in the world of home video releases. As the first week of November rolls on in the cavalcade of summer blockbusters and re-released catalog faves ...

Marvel Reports Third Quarter Earnings Plus THOR and CAPTAIN AMERICA Video Games

Marvel has released their third quarter financial report this morning that included release dates for the THOR and CAPTAIN AMERICA video games based on the feature films. Marvel Entertainment, Inc., ...

AT&T Draws in Moviegoers with Advance Screenings of Summit Entertainment's "The Twilight Saga: New Moon"

The second film installment of Summit Entertainment's phenomenally successful TWILIGHT SAGA franchise will bring the romance between mortal and vampire to a whole new level. And while the wait is on f...

Peter Ramsey, Director of Hit TV Special, 'Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space' to Direct DreamWorks Animation's 'The Guardians'

DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. today announced that Peter Ramsey, director of the Company's hit Halloween special, "Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space," is set to direct "The Guardi...