Poster: The Lovely Bones

DreamWorks just released the first poster for Peter Jackson’s adaptation of The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. We posted the trailer way back in August, but this one is aiming squarely for award season, and as with most of Jackson’s work, it is visually stunning. The film also features Saoirse Ronan, who at 15 already has an Oscar-nomination for her work in Atonement, and the early buzz is she may be a contender for this as well. The Lovely Bones is due out December 11th, and I’m expecting big things. Poster (and a few stills) courtesy of Yahoo after the jump.

Briefs: October 6th

• Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring is coming to Radio City Music Hall this Friday and Saturday (9th and 10th) as the 21st Century Symphony Orchestra, The Collegiate Chorale and Brooklyn Youth Chorus will perform Howard Shore’s score live with the film. As a fan of not only the movies, but soundtracks in general this is great news. If you’re interested tickets are still available. This is similar to what Star Wars has done with the music of John Williams.
  Billy Boyd who played Pippin will also be in attendance.

‘The Hobbit’ Staying Put At MGM

As reported last week, MGM was facing dire concerns on funding its production slate basically waiting on a forbearance to pay off some its debt. New CEO Steve Cooper was able to negotiate enough support with lenders to delay interest payments until December which allows the studio to move forward with its participation on The Hobbit. 

Ian McKellen Speaks On ‘The Hobbit’

Appearing at Spain’s San Sebastian Film Festival where he was being honored, the folks over at Rotten Tomatoes talked to legendary actor Ian McKellen about his role in the upcoming The Hobbit. As a film geek, Tolkein-ite and fan of McKellen’s in general, I’m understandably excited, and judging by the billion-dollar box office take and 17 Oscars Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings film trilogy reeled in, I’m not the only one.

Blomkamp Talks District 9 Sequel and Prequel

Director Neill Blomkamp in an interview with Scifimoviepage shed some light on what ideas he’s working on to capitalize on his well deserved success. With the ending of this summer’s hit District 9 setting up perfectly for a follow-up, Blomkamp suggested that he might be interested in a prequel as well as a sequel.

“The Hobbit” Rumors… In 3D

According to the folks over at Martketsaw there are all sorts of big rumors coming from The Hobbit set to be directed by Guillermo del Toro and produced by Peter Jackson fresh off the success of District 9.

Weekend Review: District 9

There are four progressions through which every genre must go.

First, there is building stage. This is where something new is introduced to the audience that they have never seen before. There are still some issues and kinks that need to be worked out, but a base audience is created that is hungry for more.

The second stage is the classics stage. Directors and writers take on material from the building stage and, using original stories and deep characters, morph it to their own vision. It is during this stage that most of the best material is made.

The third stage is a depression stage. Attempting to capture the same successes that were done during the classics period, there becomes a lack of creativity that stunts the genre and prevents it from moving forward. Be it through exhausted series, overuse of underdeveloped technologies or simply a lack of creativity, the material cannot surpass that which was made before it and audiences begin to feel exhausted by the genre and demand begins to fade.

But then there is the fourth stage: resurrection. A director or writer steps forward with a new idea as to how to treat material that people grew tired of and make it new again. New stories to tell are discovered and ideas begin to be mined, allowing the cycle to begin again.

Neill Blomkamp’s District 9 is the resurrection of the science fiction genre.

Spielberg to Produce Halo Movie?

Obed told you last week that a live-action Halo movie was far from dead, and according to sources reported by IESB, none other than Steven Spielberg is in negotiations to produce the reincarnated film version of Master Chief.

Halo Movie is NOT Dead

Avid video gamers, such as yours truly here at Geek on Film, have been long awaiting for the film adaptation of video game developer Bungie’s brainchild franchise Halo. In what seems reminiscent of your typical high school relationship, Halo’s fan base has endured issues ranging from the constant breaking up and making up between Microsoft and major studios to the uncertainty of a script with several rewrites in recent years.

Trailer: The Lovely Bones

The first trailer for Peter Jackson’s adapation of “The Lovely Bones” from Alice Sebold is out courtesy of Dreamworks. This is one of those books that people keep recommending to me but I’ve never got around to reading, but I can say the trailer looks fantastic. It has a promising cast including Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Surandon, Stanley Tucci and Michael Imperioli with the screenwriting coming from frequent Jackson contributors Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens.

Check out the trailer at apple.com or check after the jump.