A candid look back at the past twelve months at a business that is headquartered in the San Fernando Valley. more ›

Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson have teamed up for the motion-capture 3D collaboration, The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn. The trailer for the widely anticipated film has pushed into the media vein seven months before the movie is set to premiere. more ›

It's the most epic Egyptian weekend since they unveiled the pyramids! Celebrate the 10th anniversary of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films with 10+ hours of magic & mayhem, as the entire trilogy screens back-to-back-to-back in the extended director's cuts. The all-day affair begins in the Egyptian's courtyard, with the Renaissance Pleasure Faire bringing medieval mirth, merchants, music & munchies. Hope they have 'taters! more ›

Ken Russell's The Devils is one of the most controversial films ever made. Based on the Loudun possessions of medieval France, it's a brutal critique of theocracy and power, and its own poster frankly warns the matrimony of sex, violence, and sacrilege "is not for everyone". Nearly 40 years on, The Devils has yet to be released uncut on home media. But BAFTA and the American Cinematheque bring it to the Aero this weekend to tempt fate and pay tribute to Ken Russell. The "Brave New Worlds" series also features sci-fi-devo-mind-warp Altered States, the D.H. Lawrence adaptation Women in Love, and Tchaikovsky biopic The Music Lovers. If the name Ken Russell still leaves you wondering, "Who?", then head up to Hollywood, where the Egyptian hosts Russell's film version of The Who's Tommy, paired with Lisztomania, another Roger Daltrey-starring bizarro rock opera. more ›

3-D televisions are still a technology of the near-future so everyone who buys Avatar will be watching it in good old-fashioned 2-D. Absent the gloriously immersive world created by James Cameron, will audiences be distracted by the obvious plotting and tinny dialogue? Jeff Bridges should have won an Oscar long before getting one for Crazy Heart (The Fisher King anyone?). While his turn as Bad Blake didn't blow me away, it was a solidly professional turn in an otherwise mild movie. A year ago, smart money pegged Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones as a surefire Oscar contender. Nope! We need more movies like 44-Inch Chest. Is Ray Winstone ever not awesome? Don't worry -- Solar Anus Cinema isn't what you think. It's, you know, arty. more ›

If you have somehow avoided watching Battlestar Galactica up till now (and God damn you if that's the case), you can finally watch it as God (e.g. Ron Moore) intended: the complete series on Blu-Ray. Sure, it's expensive but how could you more wisely spend your money? On health insurance? On fucking food? Please! I love everything that Werner Herzog even walks past, so naturally I loved Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. Nicolas Cage is in full freak mode (see trailer here for proof) and Werner's direction is as daffy and counter-intuitive as ever. Is Peter Jackson trying to assume the dick mantle from George Lucas (click the link!)? Today we get The Lords of the Rings trilogy in Blu-ray, but it's only the theatrical editions. I'm sure in a few months we'll get another high-priced version of the extended editions in Blu-Ray. Sigh. Greed. Party Down! more ›

After a week in limited release, Disney's The Princess and the Frog went wide this weekend and easily topped the box-office chart ($25M | $27.8M). See Hollywood -- traditionally animated films featuring African-American characters can succeed! The still-strong The Blind Side held onto second place ($15.4M | $150.2M), well ahead of the disappointing Invictus which debuted to $9M and only a so-so per-screen average of $4,275. New Moon continues to pull in squealing teenagers and lonely old women ($8M | $267.3M) while A Christmas Carol is proving to be a sturdier performer than originally thought ($6.8M | $124.4M). more ›

If ever a movie screamed Oscar-bait it is Invictus. Big-name cast? Check! Big-name director? Check! Poignant, life-affirming, yet complex story about human triumph? Check. The Princess and the Frog is significant because it is the first Disney film to feature an African-American lead. Thank God those racists at Disney were finally drummed out! The Lovely Bones was a, uh, lovely book that is apparently being blown up into this bloated thing by Peter Jackson. Peter -- less effects, more story. more ›

In a rare show of good taste, Americans flocked to the alien civil rights drama, District 9, as it rang up a surprising $37M in sales to top the weekend box office. Last week's champ, G.I. Joe: Didn't Suck As Much As Transformers, had a decent second frame ($22.5M | $98.7M), managing to hold off newcomer The Time Traveler's Wife ($19.2M). After that it was the mostly delightful Julie & Julia ($12.4M | $43.6M), the stupid G-Force ($6.9M | $99M) and The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, which debuted to a disappointing $5.3M. more ›

District 9 is generating the sort of low-level buzz that is often the sign of an unexpected, breakout hit. Thank God, the plug got pulled on Halo or District 9 never would have been made. Also, thank God that the increasingly on-the-nose Peter Jackson didn't direct it. Davis Guggenheim isn't nearly the documentary filmmaker that a Kirby Dick or an Errol Morris is, but the subject matter of It Might Get Loud kept me enthralled (LAist review here). What Zeppelin fan wouldn't love to see Jimmy Page not only play with The Edge and Jack White but show off his record collection, too. Not sure what to make of The Goods. Critics are torching it, but someone compared it to Wet Hot American Summer which was only incredibly hilarious and inventive. more ›

Hersheys announced Thursday that it will stop production of Ice Breakers Pacs in response to complaints by law enforcement that the nickel-sized bags resemble drug packets. Associated Press writer Peter Jackson reports on Hershey CEO David West's announcement: more ›

MGM and New Line will co-finance and co-distribute two films, "The Hobbit" and a sequel to it. New Line will distribute in North America and MGM will distribute internationally. more ›

Who isn't a Halo fan-boy at this point *cough* me, 'cause I heart my trusty Wii, but maybe I could still get down with some Halo-the-movie live action phun. Description: Fans of Halo eagerly await the feature film version of the hugely popular Xbox game from Microsoft and its subsidiary Bungie. Neill Blonkamp will make his directorial debut from a script by Alex Garland (The Beach). Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh will serve as... more ›

From time to time, LAist will take a look at the many book-to-film projects underway in Hollywood. We'll explore the books we love and why we're over-the-moon excited or just plain worried about the film projects that bear their name. more ›

I've recently discovered a new paperback series worth checking out if you're into fantasy at all (I grew up on it but have since dropped out, leaning more towards magical realism these days). more ›

From time to time, LAist will take a look at the many book-to-film projects underway in Hollywood. We'll explore the books we love and why we're over-the-moon excited or just plain worried about the film projects that bear their name. When it was announced a few weeks ago that Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson were teaming up to make a film out of Alice Sebold's outstanding The Lovely Bones, we wondered if they'd make it... more ›

A fairly mundane week of new releases. is coming this Christmas. Kevin Dillon's career shows eerie parallel to Johnny Chase's. Psycho religious freaks raise normal son. The HD/Blu-Ray assault continues... more ›

The Giant Japanese Film Festival begins tomorrow evening with Godzilla vs. Mecha-Godzilla and Terror of Mecha-Godzilla (along with an episode of Spectreman). You can catch the double feature at the Egyptian and then try to see all the rest of the 20 films that will run during the one week of classic (and new) movies featuring sub-titles and actors in rubber costumes. Amongst the 20 flicks are the latest Ultraman and Godzilla movies and, if you want to whet your whistle for Peter Jackson's coming King Kong remake, you can get tickets for King Kong Escapes on Sunday. American Cinematheque members even get to mix and mingle before the movies on Sunday. more ›