Look, I love these "Hey, I'm on the set and everything is going super awesome" reports from actors, directors and what have you, but I'm not sure what we're supposed to do with this latest one from Zack Snyder on the set of Watchmen. When I first spotted the video, on a site that promoted it as "Zack Snyder Offers a Watchmen Update!!!," I thought -- cool -- he's going to be giving us something we haven't seen before. Why else would they use three exclamation points? So then I clicked over to the video, it started playing and Snyder -- all unshaven and disheveled, as if he'd been up for 48 hours straight -- is standing in front of a door. "Oooh, is he going to open the door and introduce someone in costume?" No. He's not.

Here's what I took away from the video, which you can feel free to check out for yourself: Snyder is stoked to be directing the film, he's "excited," things are "amazing," it's been super "fun," lots of "fun," the cast have been "really cool," and he's promised more stuff in the future. Oooh, Zack, will you be standing in front of a window next time? I know, I'm being a bit of a loser about it, but I just really wish these videos would do more to get me excited about the film. Give us something! The guy looks tired as all hell, he just wrapped the first week of filming -- help him out a bit, give him a prop. All that being said, I am pretty excited about the film as I truly believe it will be unlike any of the superhero-themed flicks we've seen over the past few years. I mean, heck, it's set in a gritty and alternate 1985 -- hopefully that means Snyder will throw a little Whitesnake on the soundtrack. Little Def Leppard, maybe. See, that's what this video needed -- a Pour Some Sugar on Me intro, followed by Snyder and Patrick Wilson (who plays the Nite Owl) rocking out on set. Hell yeah! Oh well, maybe next time. Watchmen is due out in theaters on March 6, 2009.

For the record, I'm not a huge fan of the recent crop of "horror" films such as House of a Thousand Corpses, Hostel or Captivity. I prefer my horror with more brains and a little less seemingly senseless over-the-top gore. As Alfred Hitchcock once said: "There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it." I tend to agree with him. After all, he did make a few pretty good films. That said, I did actually like the first Saw film and found it to be the most clever and intelligent of the franchise so far.

Of course, my opinion didn't stop the Saw franchise from becoming hugely successful, and it shouldn't have. Many people obviously love this kind of film and that's great for them to feel that way. To each his (or her) own. Naturally, as the films were so successful, we were treated to a Saw II, III and the soon-to-be-released Saw IV. Which brings us to today and the fact that, via IESB, you are now able to watch the supposed first five minutes of the new Saw IV right now online.

After watching the footage, however, I don't know for sure if it is, in fact, the first five minutes of the film. What I can tell you for sure is that this is the same footage shown during the Comic-Con presentation given by Lionsgate. At the time, it wasn't identified as the first minutes of the film, but it's definitely the same footage. Given the quality of the video, I would bet that it was probably recorded during the Comic-Con panel even though that is a strict no-no and it was repeatedly announced that anyone caught video taping during the panels would be ejected. I guess maybe someone was able to make a recording after all. Then again, judging by the amount of time it's been up on IESB, perhaps it was "leaked" on purpose.

I was able to catch up with Sean Young during the special Blade Runner: The Final Cut DVD event where she says the rumors about her and Harrison Ford not getting along on set are false, talks about some upcoming projects, and wants to get back on the A-list.

She also wants to return to comedies like Ace Ventura, and wouldn't mind meeting guys like Will Ferrell. Will, are you watching? Maybe she needs to star in a Quentin Tarantino comeback vehicle as a leather-clad vixen who offs loud cell-phone talkers or something. I'm just saying.

Anyhow, check out the video above, and let us know what you think would be Sean's best shot at climbing back up the alphabet onto the fabled A-list.

Some raw behind-the-scenes footage of Cloverfield has popped up online, and someone says they snapped a photo of the possible teaser poster. All of this ... and Andy Rooney ... on this edition of Unsolved Cloverfield. Cue theme music, raise lights -- and here we are, back again with more Cloverfield nonsense to keep you busy for all of about five minutes. First up, someone has posted a minute or so of video showing Cloverfield shooting a few "everyone run for their lives" scenes over on YouTube. The clips are cut together pretty well, so either this person is a spy who knows how to edit (which wouldn't surprise me in the least considering this is the footage that was shot in Los Angeles), or this person has something to do with the production. Meaning, all of this was leaked on purpose. I guess we'll know soon enough; Paramount loves to go after these sorts of things. Interestingly enough, I saw no cameras present. And that last shot is positioned so well, it definitely leaves me a bit skeptical. But it's Cloverfield (supposedly), and those people are running for a reason.

Apart from this video, some dude named Tom emailed us a tip regarding a cellphone photo the photographer claims is some sort of teaser poster for Cloverfield. It's important to note that in no way do I think this is legit, but I figured I'd toss it out there for you folks to judge as well. The poster itself features the Statue of Liberty without a head, the New York skyline in the distance, the date 1-18-08 in the bottom right-hand corner and the title -- wait for it -- Monstrous. The photo itself is a blurry mess, and the entire thing wreaks of photoshop. Coupled with the fact that the person who shot the pic claims they saw the poster at some sort of collectibles booth probably means there ain't much truth to this. Then again, you never know. Cloverfield/Slusho/Monstrous is due out in theaters on January 18, 2008.

Long before I was a writer for this fine online publication, I was an avid reader of both Cinematical and TV Squad. One of the things that made me very jealous about TVS (aside from the fact that all their writers are more talented than I am) was that they got to write about two series I'm very passionate about: The phenomenally brilliant Arrested Development and the hilariously geeky Futurama. And now that the latter series is about to make the leap into movie-ville, that means that now *I* get to write about it! As Tobias Funke would say: Huzzah!

Granted, the four Futurama movies are being produced directly for the DVD marketplace, but with Matt Groening and all of his original producers / writers / cast members on hand, I predict that these animated flicks will prove to be a real gold mine for the old-school Planet Express fans. While browsing through my bible I came across some info that might not be brand-new to the die-hard Futurama freaks -- but it was the first I heard about it, so I got all excited and logged in to Cinematical to start sharing the nerdiness.

According to the IMDb, the Futurama movies are called Bender's Big Score!, Bender's Game, Into the Wild Green Yonder and The Beast with a Billion Backs. Aside from those titles, that's about all the info that the IMDb has to impart. But being a longtime and unquestioning supporter of The Hypnotoad, I'm of course very familiar with the excellent fansite called CGEF.com. If you need a website to bookmark and refresh constantly in an effort to learn the latest on these Futurama movies, I highly recommend the CGEF.

Anyway, their news bin informs us of the following: Actress Lauren Tom told IGN that the voice-work on all four movies is done. (Apparently the movies will also break down into 16 episodes for Cartoon Network Comedy Central, which is just fine by me. Just give me the DVD versions!) A little more poking around yields the news that the first flick (Bender's Big Score!) will be in DVD stores before the end of the year with the others to follow in short order throughout 2008. Awesome. (And really, if you've never seen Futurama and you're wondering why I'm this psyched about the new flicks, just do yourself a favor and buy / rent the first two seasons. And then the second two. And then you won't wonder anymore.)

Leave it to the eclectic director Todd Haynes to come up with the wacky idea of getting Cate Blanchett in the role of Bob Dylan -- and if anyone can pull it off it would be Blanchett, who is easily the best actress working today. Ain't it Cool News has a clip from Haynes' Dylan biopic I'm Not There in a scene that shows Dylan (Blanchett) receiving an impromptu pep-talk from the poet Allan Ginsberg, as played by comedian David Cross. Cross is another unlikely casting choice in the movie, but he does bear a passing resemblance to the late great poet. Last month, Erik had news of the first poster for the film, and there had already been a few glimpses of Blanchett decked out as Dylan, but it's something else to see the actress doing a pretty admirable job of channeling the legendary singer.

Haynes is obviously going for poetic spin on the narrative here and the film will feature Dylan's original music, so at least fans aren't going to have to sit through another thinly veiled caricature à la Factory Girl. This is Haynes' second feature film steeped in music history, having also directed Velvet Goldmine, a loose retelling of the relationship between David Bowie and Iggy Pop. Blanchett's role in I'm Not There has garnered the most attention obviously, because of the gender-bending, but the cast also includes well-known names like Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, and Richard Gere -- they're all playing Dylan in different stages of his career. So if you like what you see in this clip, then you'll be happy to know that I'm Not There is set for release on September 21st.

The more time they go between Superman flicks, the easier it is for people to forget who Brandon Routh is ... or was. IESB recently stopped Routh for a little video interview, and the dude said he's "itching to get back into the suit." The Superman suit, that is. But here's my question: Why wouldn't he be itching to get back into the suit? I don't see anyone else knocking down his door, and all the guy really has going for him right now is the fact that he's the new Superman. Problem with that is, you need to have a Superman film out or in the pipeline in order to be enjoying some decent work. Look, I'm aware the guy is doing a few little indie films here and there, but, for example, it's nothing like the work Daniel Craig is getting in between Bond pictures. So, is Routh really the right guy to talk to about these things?

Naturally, the Justice League movie also came up, and -- guess what -- Routh said he'd be down for that as well. Really? There's a shocker. Of course, Routh knows nothing about the project except that a script has been turned in and Superman is rumored to be involved in some capacity. If he is needed, though, Routh said he'd love to work alongside Christian Bale's Batman. As far as that Man of Steel (aka Superman Returns 2) project goes, Routh said he's currently scheduled to begin working on it early next year. "The sooner, the better," he noted. Exactly. You have to figure at some point those unemployment checks are going to run out. Last thing we need is to show up to some Hollywood restaurant and realize -- holy crap -- Brandon Routh is our waiter!

Video from the first day of shooting on Indiana Jones 4 (or, as some are calling it, Indiana Jones and the City of the Gods) has been handed over to the folks from IndianaJones.com. But don't get your hopes up too high, there's not much to see. In it, we watch Steven Spielberg give a sweet champagne toast to his crew before setting out to shoot some car scenes. Then you have a few shots of George Lucas standing around, looking important. Cars driving down a dirt road. Spielberg giving directions while on top of a car. And then the money shot -- Spielberg and Lucas driving off into the sunset. Sadly, none of the principal cast members appear in the video, but since production is heading to New Haven, Connecticut later this week, I assume we'll be seeing a lot more of the guy in the fedora hat.

Personally, I like how they're attempting to stay one step ahead of the spy photos by releasing their own stuff before Jimmy Macman has time to snap shots from inside a garbage can at three in the morning. That said, there's still a host of Indy-related photos to grab. What does Shia LaBeouf's greaser kid character look like? Or how about Cate Blanchett? Indy looks fabulous sitting in a chair, but what will he look like during some hand-to-hand combat? So look for everyone and their mother's mother to be camped out in New Haven come June 28 at 6 a.m., as that's when the first shot is scheduled to take place. IGN tells us (via the New Haven Register) that it will be a 10-day shoot with production taking off July 1 and July 4.

Some buildings have already taken on a retro transformation; for example, a building on Chapel Street has been turned into a Woolworth's department store. If you're in the area, you might want to know that most of the shooting will take place on Yale's Old Campus, in and around Chapel, High, Elm and College streets. Oh, and the sequence that had Indy catching a football on the Yale practice field has been ditched, and replaced with a brand new scene set to take place inside Yale Law School. So, New Haven residents, keep you eyes and ears open, and let us know if you see anything cool.

I don't know what the Mancow radio show is, nor do I really care -- but what I am interested in is the undercover video they've been shooting from The Dark Knight set in Chicago. There seems to be a lot of folks going undercover in the wee hours of the morning in an attempt to grab some never-before-seen Dark Knight images, and so far they've achieved mild success. In this latest video (edited together with a hip techno-centric theme, which kind of makes you want to grab a couple of glow sticks while you watch), Mancow makes their way around Gotham City, showing us street signs, license plates, the Gotham bank and the school bus (apparently driven by the joker) that has crashed through it. But most importantly, the video also includes the first footage of Batman's tumbler in action. (Note: Click on the Batman for Mancow link in order to watch video).

It's not much -- all we currently see is the Tumbler crashing through a wall -- but it's certainly something, and should further whet the appetites of those die hard Bat-fanatics. Recently, we also reported on some spy video that supposedly showed Cillian Murphy (as Scarecrow) meeting a group of well-dressed guys in a parking lot. Although it was hard to make him out, it looked as if the person in question was wearing some sort of mask. However, it's also important to note that no one else has confirmed Murphy's involvement, and this spy is currently the only one claiming Murphy's presence on set. This Tumbler footage also comes shortly after Warner Bros. revealed a few photos of the new Batpod -- another souped-up vehicle with which Batman uses to kick a lot of ass. The Dark Knight is set to hit theaters on July 18, 2008.

[via JoBlo]

Shooting is officially underway on Indiana Jones and the City of the Gods (working title), and surprisingly no photos have leaked online yet. Of course, as I type this, I'm sure someone is uploading an image of something related to the next Indiana Jones adventure. A pair of socks, perhaps? To kick things off, however, the powers that be have decided to follow in the footsteps of Speed Racer and throw up a little promotional video interview with Shia LaBeouf so that he can talk about how much he loved watching the Indy films as a kid, and about how strong Harrison Ford's handshake is. I'm not sure what it is about this kid, but one minute in and you feel like you've known him forever. He's extremely personable, very down to earth, and almost has an orgasm talking about the first time he watched Ford walk out of his trailer with the fedora on. Buddy, I'd probably feel the same way.

Apart from the video, IGN tells us that word has it the film will "begin with a bang," literally. Apparently, the opening scene will involve some sort of nuclear detonation - which would follow along the lines of those reports that indicate director Steven Spielberg and his gang are recreating Nellis Air Force Base in Deming, New Mexico (a site that tested nuclear weapons in the late 50s, which is right around the time when this fourth installment takes place). Expect a lot more reports from the set of Indy 4 as production heads to New Haven, Connecticut on June 28. Since it's pretty much a given that every movie news site on the planet will be sending someone to New Haven, I'll be curious to see if the studio releases their own pics ahead of time in an attempt to beat the inevitable spy photos that are sure to make their way online during the shoot. Indiana Jones and the City of the Gods is scheduled to swing into theaters on May 22, 2008.