The first official poster for the latest installment in the Tom Cruise action franchise, Mission:Impossible-Ghost Protocol, has hit the web. I'm not sure what it means, although it is interesting that Cruise's face is composed of code, just like the posters for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. The image is essentially a re-do of a previously released pic of Cruise in the hoodie, so we don't really learn anything, certainly not what the title means.

The fourth in the series, Mission:Impossible-Ghost Protocol is directed by Brad Bird, known primarily for The Iron Giant, The Incredibles  and Ratatouille, in his live action debut. The plot of this one see the IMF shut down when it's implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his new team to 'go rogue' to clear their organization's name.

Love that term, 'go rogue'. It can be used to explain so many things. No doubt, judging from what we saw in this summer's previously released first trailer, it will take them all over the world, including its tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.  (There is NO way, for no reason for, for nobody, you would catch me even IN that building, let alone on the outside of it.)

Bird and Cruise have assembled another great international cast, including returning vets Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg, as well as Paula Patton, Josh Holloway, Lea Seydoux, the great Tom Wilkinson, Michael Nyqvist and Anil Kapoor. Jeremy Renner's character, Brandt was written specifically so that Renner could take over the franchise from Cruise…someday. Who knows when that will be. I would assume it depends on how successful MI4 becomes.

Mission:Impossible-Ghost Protocol opens everywhere on December 21, and then will self-destruct on December 22. I'm kidding!

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You have to see this. I'm not quite sure what to make of writers/directors Jason and Brandon Trost's The FP. Is it a parody? Are they playing this straight?  (The writers/directors adapted their own short film of the same name from 2008). Here's the premise: Set in a a near apocalyptic future, two rival gangs fight for control of Frazier Park (The FP) — a deadly arena in competitive dance-fight video game "Beat-Beat Revolution. (aka in the real world, Dance Dance Revolution) which becomes an all-out turf war.  

Watch the red band trailer below (definitely NSFW):

So you can see how I might be confused right? Kind of reminds me of Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo if it were made in 2011. The FP"stars" Jason Trost as 'JTro' (clever) Lee Valmassy, Art Hsu, Caitlyn Foley (who seems to be channeling Chloe Webb in Sid and Nancy, Nick Principe, Brandon Barrera, Dash Mihok, James Remar and Clifton Collins, Jr. (hey I know those last three!). It played SXSW last March and Fantasia Int'l Film Festival in July and just played the Lund Fantastik Film Festival in Sweden. It's expected to get a limited release in early 2012

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Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' Taylor Armstrong allegedly received $125,000 from Entertainment Tonight for the photo of her with a black eye as the result of (an alleged) brutal beating by her late husband Russell Armstrong. Keep in mind by using the word alleged I'm not saying I don't believe her.

Page Six is reporting that sources close to Taylor say other stations wouldn't pay anywhere near that amount but that she is so desperate for money she held out to the highest bidder. The photo was a teaser for an upcoming interview that Entertainment Tonight will air tomorrow night between Taylor and Nancy O'Dell (who I heart very badly). This will be Taylor's first interview since the suicide of Russell. 

This 'source' says the figure is definitely six figures.

You always have to take these 'sources' with a grain of salt. They could be legit or just someone with an axe to grind. 

Will you be watching the interview? What are your thoughts on this alleged payment for the abuse photo?

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Photo: ETOnline

Six new clips from the beautiful new film The Artist that has taken the festival circuit by storm this year, have been found on Portuguese film site C7nema. Shot in black and white and nearly silent, it tells the story of silent film star George Valentin, played by Jean Dujardin, who wonders if the arrival of talking pictures will cause him to fade into oblivion. He meets and sparks with Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo), a young dancer set for a big break. 

These clips are fantastic, but I have to wonder if anyone will take the time to watch them that isn't already interested in the film. The idea of a silent movie in this age of CGI and technical wizardry is not just old-school, it's ancient. For a lot of today's movie-goers, black and white alone is asking a lot. I hope I'm wrong. This is obviously all things charming.

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#1 George meets Peppy:

#2

#3 (My personal favorite. Love the use of the mirrors. Can't wait to see it within the context of the film)

#4 (In a bit of verisimilitude, the action that George watches onscreen echoes his meeting with Peppy in clip #1)

#5

Clip #6 features some fancy footwork:

The Weinstein Company has set the US release of The Artist for November 23, positioning it for an awards season run.

Colin Farrell and Jessica Biel are still in downtown Toronto filming scenes for Total Recall. Colin is in a futuristic vehicle that looks to have sustained a bit of damage which I apologized a thousand times for I just wanted a pretty picture of Colin . The film is being directed by Kate Beckinsale's uber-cute husband Len Wiseman and he's given the wife a starring role in it as well (Lori).

In the film Colin plays Doug Quaid/Hauser and Jessica plays Melina. So far we haven't seen any outlandish costumes in the on-set pics that we've posted, but that doesn't mean there aren't any. You've got to love the futuristic vehicles though, right? I wonder what else will wow us when the film comes out.

The film is scheduled for its American and Canadian release on August 3, 2012.

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Photos: I. Kavanaugh/WENN

Tribeca Films finally announced that it will release Tony Kaye's Detachment in early 2012 in theaters as well as VOD and DVD. Woot! I admittedly have an Adrien Brody 'jones', so I have been awaiting some word on this since it played the Tribeca Film Festival last Spring. Both star and director (whose American History X reinvented Edward Norton and is a modern classic) got very good notices. 

Synopsis: Detachment is a chronicle of three weeks in the lives of several high school teachers, administrators and students through the eyes of a substitute teacher named Henry Barthes. Henry roams from school to school, imparting modes of knowledge, but never staying long enough to form any semblance of sentient attachment. A perfect profession for one seeking to hide out in the open. One day Henry arrives at his next assignment. Upon his entry into this particular school, a secret world of emotion is awakened within him by three women. A girl named Meredith in his first period. A fellow teacher Ms. Madison, and a street hooker named Erica, whom Henry has personally granted brief shelter from the streets. Each one of these women, like Henry, are in a life and death struggle to find beauty in a seemingly vicious and loveless world. 

The trailer is gripping. I love the tight shots of Brody's expressive face, coupled with the dispassionate delivery of his lines. This certainly left me wanting more.

Detachment also stars Christina Hendricks, Bryan Cranston (another great actor having a great year), James Caan, Lucy Liu, Blythe Danner, Maria Gay Harden, William Petersen, Tim Blake Nelson and Doug E. Doug. 

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