I've been obsessed with Outlander's amazing conceit for ever since I first head about the movie, oh, two years ago. Back in early June, I posted this update, indicating that the movie still existed, albeit in the iron grip of the Weinstein Company.

Now we finally have a trailer, which confirms that the movie is, indeed, about a man from another planet who allies with the Vikings in 6th Century A.D. to kill an alien predator that he accidentally unleashed on earth. All of that remains as awesome as it was in 2006. Some of the footage in the trailer looks a bit murky and generic, which is disappointing, but at least it's clear that they don't back away from that killer plot hook. Jim Caviezel does indeed arrive in Viking-ruled Norway on a spaceship, and that's basically all I need to hear. Let the geek-out commence.

The movie, which co-stars Sophia Myles (ooooh), John Hurt (aaaah) and Ron Perlman (holy crap!), has no American release date, but I'd be stunned if it doesn't at least appear on DVD in the next year. Keep your eyes peeled. Meanwhile, I welcome estimates of the probability that Outlander will live up to the expectations I've set. Myself, I can't imagine it's over 25%. But we'll see.

Very cool of rowthree to catch the trailer appearing on the film's official website.

I stumbled out of Hellboy II: The Golden Army feeling as if my imagination had eaten too much. In terms of sheer spectacle and visual invention, Hellboy II is an absolute knockout, frames stuffed with bizarre creatures and mystic runes and arcane weaponry and wondrous design. And yet, Hellboy II has more than a little heart to it; it's scrappy and self-aware, and never out of touch with what it is. Adapting Mike Mignola's post-superhero retro-styled comic series Hellboy for the second time, writer-director Guillermo del Toro corrects some of the mistakes of the first Hellboy, makes a few mistakes of its own, picks itself up, keeps going. And, on the way, knocks the back of your eyeballs for a loop. As our British friends say, Hellboy II: The Golden Army does what it says on the tin: It is a sequel about a character named Hellboy (Ron Perlman), and yes, an army of golden warrior-robots is involved, the mystical weapon of mass destruction that the elf-prince Nuada (Luke Goss) hopes to seize control of so as to wage war against humanity ... I know I'm getting ahead of myself. Then again, so does Hellboy II, right from the jump, and it doesn't slow down.

Hey, remember Outlander, the movie about Vikings fighting space monsters in 6th Century A.D.? I had forgotten all about it, until the sci-fi blog io9 brought it back to my attention yesterday. The film -- about a man from another planet (Jim Caviezel) who lands on earth in the year 509 and accidentally unleashes an alien predator on Earth, forcing him to ally with the Vikings to kill it -- played the Cannes market to mixed reactions. But the folks behind UK's FrightFest called it "an absolute joy to watch," praising the performances from Caviezel and John Hurt, the action, and the CGI. There are also some new stills, a couple of which you can find after the jump (a larger gallery is available here).

Alas, there is no American release date for Outlander. The Weinstein Company has the rights, and given their track record we may never see it. That would be a shame, because any movie with a concept that monumentally goofy should -- emphasis on should -- at least be interesting. Vikings vs. aliens has to be a genre film devotee's wet dream. Of course it could also somehow become a completely generic battle flick, which is what some of the photos seem to suggest. On the other hand, that image of what I think is Caviezel's spaceship underwater is awfully tantalizing...

The cast and crew of New York, I Love You keeps growing and growing. There's not even enough room on the headline to list all the names that were just added. New York is a collection of short stories, part of a "Cities of Love" anthology that was begun by Paris, je ta'ime. New York will reportedly be followed by Shanghai, and then cities in South America and Africa.

The stories are showcasing an incredible variety of actors and directors. Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson are both making their directing debut, there's a good representation of international talent, and Brett Ratner hasn't been driven away by pitchforks and torches. Variety reported that Orlando Bloom, Olivia Thirlby, Hayden Christensen, and Ethan Hawke had climbed aboard the film. No word on who's segments they will appear in yet -- but a far better choice for Bloom's career than Prince of Persia, wouldn't you say?

The great futurist now belongs to history; AP reports that Arthur C. Clarke was found dead in his home in Sri Lanka. Others can write about Clarke's contributions to technology ... for example his 1945 scientific paper "Extra-Terrestrial Relays" describing the possibilities of the communication satellite, which was as essential to modern living as electricity was to earlier generations. Let's talk about movies. 2001: A Space Odyssey is in some ways a collaboration between Clarke and Kubrick ... or as the author said, "the film should be credited to Kubrick and Clarke and the novel should be credited to Clarke and Kubrick."

This account from wikipedia notes the genesis of one of the ultimate science fiction films was a 1950 short story by Clarke, titled "The Sentinel." The classic spawned a 1984 sequel, 2010. Various short stories were adapted for television (unfortunately not enough of them from Tales From the White Hart, still waiting for its time on screen.) It's been announced that David Fincher will film Rendezvous With Rama, with Morgan Freeman in the lead; here's Jessica Barnes' item on it from 2007. The film concerns a close encounter of the third kind with an alien spacecraft. And John Hurt is definitely playing a Clarke figure in this Jodie Foster outer-space movie.

Clarke was born in England, and was a radar expert with the RAF during World War 2. Years of astronomical research gave way to a later-life interest in the ocean; hence his life in Sri Lanka, where he could scuba dive. He is remembered, among numerous accomplishments, for the fostering of Clarke's Three Laws: 1."When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong." 2."The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible." 3."Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

So, in theory, the trailer for The Oxford Murders hit the web a few months ago; but unless you were fluent in Spanish, there was not a lot you were going to get out of it. Stale Popcorn has finally gotten their hands on the international trailer, and now we actually get a sense of what the hell is going on. The Oxford Murders is based on the novel of the same name by Argentinian author Guillermo Martínez. The book was published in 2003, and was a best-seller that went on to be published into over fifteen languages.

The Oxford Murders stars John Hurt and Elijah Wood as a professor and a graduate student who become involved in solving a series of gruesome murders at the legendary university. Through the course of their investigations, they discover that the murderer is committing his crimes on principles of mathematical theories. So of course, the only way to stop the murders is to figure out the 'equations' before the killer strikes again. I guess you could consider it kind of like The Da Vinci Code, but with way more trigonometry.

Álex de la Iglesia wrote and directed the adaptation. The film has already been slated for release in Spain (where it opened on January 18th), Argentina, France, and Italy. Unfortunately, The Oxford Murders has yet to find a U.S distributor or release date in North America. Until then, Elijah Wood fans will just have to get their fix elsewhere. So keep your fingers crossed that the Iggy Pop movie gets made, or hold out for the possibility of just a little more Frodo after all.

Matt from Premiere.com has landed a whopper of an interview, talking to John Hurt at length about his role in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Hurt is, of course, playing Abner Ravenwood, father of Marion, in the film and his part is thought to have been a small role that was cooked up after Sean Connery decided not to partake in the fourth film. Although Hurt is contractually prevented from saying anything specific about what will happen in the movie or who he's even playing -- he just smiles when asked the question directly -- he does have some hilariously unscripted things to say about the film in general. For one thing, he wasn't terribly impressed with it, or at least his part, it seems. He describes the role as "lightweight for me, at least for that sort of time commitment" but says "I enjoyed working with Steven hugely, and we had a great cast. I just wish we'd had something of fabulous interest between each other to act!"

Hurt also says that he simply refused to do the film unless they sent him the script in advance and they blinked, sending it to him with a courier who waited around to snatch it back after he was done reading. He also says that despite what Spielberg says, there is CGI work in the film -- "they had some massive blue screens" he notes -- and he also apparently didn't connect with George Lucas. "George is a bit socially crippled, really. Not good with people. So I just left him alone." Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull -- nope, still don't like that title -- is opening Memorial Day, 2008.

On October 11, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls officially wrapped production, and a new video has popped up on the official Indiana Jones website celebrating the occasion. Earlier this year, the first video revealed a toast from director Steven Spielberg to his crew on the first day of shooting. There wasn't much to see, except for George Lucas in a "Han Shot First' t-shirt, but in this latest video they actually go back to each Indiana Jones film and show footage from the last day of shooting. On both the first and the third film, we see Spielberg call it a wrap, but on the second -- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom -- I'm not quite sure if it is the last shot, but we see video of them shooting the final bridge sequence.

So basically, we go through each film before settling in on the fourth. We see shots of the entire cast (we get a brief look at Cate Blanchett and John Hurt for the first time) in what appears to be interview mode, leading me to believe that future videos will incorporate interviews with the cast. Finally, we see Spielberg, with a glass of champagne, toasting his crew once again ... however, unfortunately, we do not get to see the final shot. Additionally, it appears the website is gearing up for a big marketing run leading up to its May 22, 2008 release -- adding top bars for stuff like galleries, news, adventures, games, merch, community and one for Marshall College. The majority of them only show a "coming soon" at this point, but I expect the website to be hella active in the coming months. Next up: Our first trailer?

I was talking with a friend the other day about the shocking decline in the quality of Kevin Spacey's films. It seems as though that Oscar for American Beauty was some sort of horrific curse, sending him into a long run of ill-advised, disastrous movie projects. Look at the man's filmography pre and then post Beauty. It's distressing! But Variety is reporting on a flick that sounds like it might turn things around. HBO Films' Recount will tell the story of the Florida results in the 2000 election, one of the most controversial political events of recent years. As Monika recently told you, Sydney Pollack was supposed to direct but dropped out due to "an undisclosed illness." Jay Roach, a director primarily known for broad comedy (Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Meet the Parents, and their lesser sequels), will now direct. Danny Strong wrote the screenplay. The film will document "the legal and political maneuvering from the point of view of both the Bush and Gore camps."

Spacey will star as Ron Klain, "former chief of staff to vice president Al Gore and one of the lead attorneys who challenged the voting results in Florida." In addition to Spacey, Recount has lined up one hell of a supporting cast: Laura Dern will play Katherine Harris, the Florida secretary of state who certified that George W. Bush had won the state. Denis Leary (what went wrong on this season of Rescue Me, DL?) plays Michael Whouley, a Democrat pollster. John Hurt plays Warren Christopher, a key player for Gore. Tom Wilkinson plays James Baker, brought in by the Republicans to see that the disputed results held up. And two Christopher Guest alums will duke it out in the courtroom. Ed Begley, Jr will play David Boies, the lawyer who appealed the results and argued for the Democrats. Bob Balaban plays Ben Ginsberg, head attorney for George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. See what I mean about that supporting cast? You won't have to demand a Recount -- look for the film on HBO during the 2008 presidential election.

The upcoming futuristic thriller Franklyn will offer something for the fellas (the gorgeous Eva Green) and something for the ladies (the man-gorgeous Ryan Phillippe). The film will be set simultaneously in both contemporary London and a faith-dominated future metropolis without separation of church and state. According to Variety, the film will tell the story of "four lost souls divided by two parallel worlds on course for an explosive collision when a single bullet will decide all their fates." It's Sliding Doors meets The Matrix! Sounds mighty confusing, but I'm intrigued. The film will co-star Sam Riley, who plays Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis in Control (read James' positive review here).

First-time director Gerald McMorrow wrote the screenplay and will direct the film. According to IMDb, John Hurt is in the Franklyn cast as well, but since that's not part of the Variety announcement, take that with a grain of salt for now. The movie has undergone a lot of casting changes, it seems. Last we heard about the project, Ewan McGregor was attached to star, but it appears that is no longer the case. Paul Bettany was attached to the Riley role at one point. I don't know much about Riley, but I do know getting Phillippe for McGregor is something of a step down. Phillippe is improving, though, I must give him props for holding his own against an incredible Chris Cooper performance in the too little-seen Breach. Green is probably best known as Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale, but holds a special place in my pants heart for her almost entirely nude performance in The Dreamers. Dreamy.