Rejoice, Shaun of the Dead/Hot Fuzz faithful! At long last, the eagerly anticipated threequel in Edgar Wright's "Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy" (AKA "The Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy" -- Wright's version of Kieślowski's Colors series) is on its way. Deadline reports that The World's End, to be directed by Wright with collaborators Simon Pegg and Nick Frost starring, is set to begin filming this September with fingers crossed for a spring 2013 release. But wait, there's more! Get a taste of the trio's upcoming shenanigans from the film's synopsis, which promises adventure, friendship, and -- what else? -- pubs.
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Sorry to follow up news of The Avengers' record-breaking box office with just another ho-hum bit of Marvel Studios supremacy, but leave it to Edgar Wright to commit a little thunder thievery with his tweet reminding us not to forget about his long, long gestating Marvel adaptation Ant-Man.
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"By 2013, film will slip to niche status, shown in only a third of theaters. By 2015, used in a paltry 17 percent of global cinemas, venerable old 35 mm film will be mostly gone." The epic life and death struggle between film and digital rolls on, and in LA Weekly's cover story must-read Gendy Alimurung details the sobering -- and imminent -- sea change in film production and exhibition with insights from figures at every stop on the cinematic food chain: Filmmakers, arthouse/rep theaters, film curators, projectionists, preservationists, and even the cold, lonely (and increasingly studio-blocked) vaults that house the dwindling ranks of cinema's remaining 35mm prints.
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In what seems like a smart move for everyone involved, Disney has hired Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim, Shaun of the Dead) to direct Johnny Depp in The Night Stalker, a feature remake of the 1972 ABC made for TV movie of the same name and the series spin-off it inspired. The property follows reporter Carl Kolchak, whose investigations into criminal happenings lead him to all manner of supernatural villains; Depp will star as Kolchak, which sounds promising given Wright's proven track record in genre work, even if it feels like similar stories have come and gone of late with nary a blip (the Vegas-set, vampire-themed Fright Night remake, for one).
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In the decade or so since Nick Frost first made a name for himself on the BBC comedy series Spaced, much has happened. For starters, he's not waiting tables at that Mexican restaurant. He's moved with ease from television to film, most famously in genre riffs Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz (with Spaced comrades Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg), and in the alien geek ode Paul (which he co-wrote and stars in with Pegg). Also notably, Frost has ventured out from the fold in films like Pirate Radio and the forthcoming Snow White and the Huntsman. And, with this week's The Adventures of Tintin, he notches another milestone: Working with his hero, Steven. Steven Spielberg.
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After programming his favorite cult and classic films in two "Wright Stuff" slates at the New Beverly Cinema, Edgar Wright is returning this month with an unusual twist: For eight nights starting December 9, the Scott Pilgrim director will present double features of films he hasn't seen. Last time he told you to "envy these virgins;" this time, he's the virgin! It's the ultimate game of cinematic catch-up that embraces the bashful truth about cinephilia; no matter how many of the greats you've seen, there's always one (or two or a hundred) classics you have yet to check off the list.
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Now that his feature film debut as a hoodlum-turned-savior in Attack the Block is finally hitting theaters stateside, 19-year-old John Boyega is savoring his big moment. As Moses, the hardened teen anti-hero of Joe Cornish's British alien invasion romp, Boyega leads a gang of misfit delinquents into battle against a horde of vicious E.T.s to defend a South London council block. Off-screen, the charismatic up-and-comer has a new territory in his sights: Hollywood.
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Movieline hero Clint Culpepper strikes again! Sony announced today that it will distribute Joe Cornish's debut feature, the London kids vs. aliens action comedy Attack the Block, via its Screen Gems division. "The film is, at once, charming, scary, funny, hip, clever and completely hits its mark," said Screen Gems president Culpepper in a press release. Guess all that geek cred from SXSW did the film some good after all! Hit the jump for more info and a look at the film's nerdgasm-inducing trailer.
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Universal's geek bonding road trip flick Paul screens shortly tonight at SXSW, but another sci-fi alien pic with ties to the Nick Frost-Edgar Wright-Simon Pegg universe may have already stolen its thunder: Attack the Block, director Joe Cornish's horror comedy about inner-city London kids who channel their delinquent ways into survival skills when vicious space invaders descend.
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