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If James Cameron’s upcoming 3-D blockbuster “Avatar” doesn’t look like your kind of thing, perhaps you’ll be interested in a smaller, more serious 3-D film from the man who gave us “Titanic.” Following all of last week's "Avatar" hype, the Oscar-winning filmmaker is back in the news for a much different project he’s shepherding called “Sanctum.” This film will also be made with Cameron’s new 3-D cameras and technology, but it will be more independent and have a much, much, much lower budget ($30 million).

“Sanctum” is based on a true story about a diving expedition gone wrong, though this is no underwater documentary a la "Ghosts of the Abyss." For one thing, Cameron’s not directing. Instead, Australian filmmaker Alister Grierson will be taking the helm in a partnership being compared to the recent mentoring team-up of Neill Blomkamp and Peter Jackson for “District 9.” Also, the film will be a scripted dramatization of the real events rather than a straight work of nonfiction. Read more...

Tags Alister Grierson, avatar, james cameron, Sanctum

For a brief, glorious moment, "Pirates of the Caribbean" director Gore Verbinski was attached to helm the video game-to-movie adaptation of "BioShock." Unfortunately, it wasn't to be. Verbinski is still set to produce, but he stepped aside as director after scheduling conflicts arose. I wonder if the spotty history games have on film also played a part?

Regardless, the hunt for a director has been on. More than that, we're actually nearing endgame. Variety reports that Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, director of "Intacto" and "28 Weeks Later," is in talks to step in and take the reins. Fresnadillo's confirmation is pending publisher Take-Two Games' approval, as they have the final word. Presumably, Fresnadillo will be working with a budget that falls below the $160 million figure which originally halted the project long enough for Verbinski to jump ship. Read more...

Tags bioshock, gore verbinski, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo

I'm tempted to chastise Warmoth for dipping into the Stamos pool twice in one week, but I can't really blame him. The vintage value of this pic is through the roof. Uncle Jesse and the tiny Olsen twins, Mary-Kate and Ashley, hanging with Minnie Mouse at Disney World (or Land, I suppose). The Olsens are of course wearing those goofy mouse ear hats that every kid who's ever been to a Disney park must wear.

Case in point, I have this photo. The characters are different -- it's Mickey instead of Minnie and me instead of the "Full House" girls -- but this is a scene from my life too. How many others have posed for a photo op with a crouching Disney character? A lot of you, I'd wager. But I digress. Minnie. Uncle Jesse. Olsens. Hilarity. Enjoy. Read more...

Tags ashley olsen, full house, john stamos, mary-kate olsen

1. "Inglourious Basterds" ($38 million)
2. "District 9" ($18.8 million)
3. "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" ($12.5 million)
4. "The Time Traveler's Wife" ($10 million)
5. "Julie & Julia" ($9 million)

It took at least a decade for Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" to emerge from the recesses of his mind and into movie theaters, but it seems the wait was well worth it. After a $14.3 million Friday debut and a $13 million Saturday, analysts are projecting a $38 million weekend for the World War II-era revenge flick, significantly higher than the $30 million best case scenario most experts predicted prior to the film's release. Read more...

Tags district 9, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, inglourious basterds, Julie and Julia, post grad, Shorts, The Time Traveler's Wife

1. "Inglourious Basterds" ($14 million)
2. "District 9" ($5.8 million)
3. "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" ($3.6 million)
4. "The Time Traveler's Wife" ($3.3 million)
5. "Julie & Julia" ($2.7 million)

They say a basterd's work is never done, but Friday night's box office numbers makes it clear that a basterd's work is just beginning. Quentin Tarantino's long-awaited "Inglourious Basterds" opened in the top spot with a surprisingly large $14 million Friday evening, the biggest single-day opening for any of the acclaimed director's films. Prior to the weekend start, most projections pegged "Basterds" at a $30 million weekend at best, but that number has since changed to a likely $35 million. Read more...

Tags district 9, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, inglourious basterds, Julie and Julia, post grad, Shorts, The Time Traveler's Wife

MTV contributor Terri Schwartz braved the crowds to see the 16 minute "Avatar" tease today in Massachusetts, speaking to some die-hard James Cameron fans in the process. Meanwhile, MTV News intern Jett Wells hiked over to New York City's AMC Empire 25 in Times Square to gather fan reactions from "Avatar" Day attendees there. Check out the fan response in Jett's video and Terri's write-up below!

"Avatar" Day has come and gone, and the world remains unchanged for most. With the exception of a minute-long montage of clips at the end of the footage shown, the 16-minute clips trailer was basically an extension of what debuted for the public at Comic-Con. Fans in San Diego saw 25 minutes of footage; today's clips were basically a spoiler-free version of the Comic-Con stuff, with the focus almost entirely on visual effects. Read more...

Tags avatar, james cameron, Video

Welcome to Stop Motion! AKA the column formerly known Freeze Frames. In this landmark first edition of the re-branded column, I give you the brand new trailer for James Cameron's "Avatar" in a series of photo stills. Click that image down there to check out the full gallery.

Tags avatar, james cameron

Do you like my punny headline?

A very strange week as far as your clicks go. In an odd change from the norm, not a single one of the top three stories for the week has anything to do with vampires. In fact, "Twilight" news doesn't pop up on the list until position number five. Could my Twilighter readers be slipping?

Before we ponder that question, let's take a quick look at the week's Box Office Poll. To no one's great surprise, Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" leads the voting, with 75% of your clicks. None of the other options really inspired you, with "Post Grad" tying for the second place spot with "staying home and watching TV." Ouch. Read more...

Tags Arnold Schwarzenegger, avatar, bruce willis, district 9, guy ritchie, james cameron, Kristen-Stewart, Neil Blomkamp, New Moon, robert downey jr., sherlock holmes, Sylvester Stallone, the expendables, Twilight

Miley Cyrus felt the need to defend her single status today on Twitter in response to at least one unnamed blog. She sounds pretty adamant that there's no beau in the picture right now. Also adamant today was actor Charlie Bewley, whose body clock was not yet prepared to start filming his first scene for "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse." He joined Cyrus in Twitter-Wood's feed to share his struggle.

John Stamos won my Twitter Pic of the Day honors yet again. Ice-T keeps making a run for it, but Stamos is on a streak right now breaking out images from his photo album. Today, he cued up a classic memory watchers of "Full House" will recognize, featuring the Olsen twins in their youth. Click onward, and you'll see all of this, as well as Tom Felton's reaction to stepping on the "Get Him to the Greek" set and Jon Favreau's micro-review of "District 9." It's in the Twitter-Wood report for August 21, 2009. Read more...

Tags ashley olsen, charlie bewley, diablo cody, district 9, eclipse, john stamos, jon favreau, mary-kate olsen, miley cyrus, paris hilton, shannon elizabeth, tom felton, Twilight, Warren Ellis

"Inglourious Basterds" opens this week with one of the most intentionally Jewish casts of action heroes that any writer or director has ever assembled. Quentin Tarantino's ultra-violent tale sets itself historically during a time that many films have tackled, showcasing the tales of real-life heroes in Jewish history like Oscar Schindler in "Schindler's List" and Anne Frank in "The Diary of Anne Frank." I'm talking of course about World War II.

Tarantino's trademark penchant for extreme black humor and overshooting reality, meanwhile, places his ambitions somewhere between those more somber films and other over-the-top performances, like Adam Goldberg in the Comedy Central TV movie "The Hebrew Hammer." Eli Roth and his fellow Basterds will join a long history of Jewish action heroes in film, though. Here are five of the most famous figures who have earned that distinction. Read more...

Tags Fantastic Four, inglourious basterds, quentin tarantino, Spaceballs, the big lebowski, The Ten Commandments, You Don't Mess With The Zohan