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by Brian Phares

They say the first time is the hardest, but I beg to differ. With the news that J.J. Abrams is officially at the helm of the next installment in his “Star Trek” reboot, I’m sure Mr. Abrams is finding himself with some rather large shoes to fill -- and no shoes could be larger than his own (I think they must hover somewhere around Shaq’s rumored size 23).

In order for his next “Star Trek” movie to ascend to the heights of “Empire Strikes Back” (and not go the way of “Die Hard 2,” or countless other terrible sequels), Abrams truly has to outdo himself, in almost every way. Here are my tips on what has to happen next to prove to the public that 2009’s “Star Trek” wasn’t just a one-off, and that Abrams can do it once again, and this time, even better.

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Tags jj abrams, Star Trek 2

When you work in the heart of Times Square every single day, you're bound to see some strange stuff. Naked cowboys? Check. Rebellious rappers hanging on traffic lights? Absolutely. But even for this seriously devoted "Star Wars" fan, the Manhattan staple's latest guests were a bit freaky to behold today. See for yourself...

That's right, three Jawas and an Imperial Stormtrooper. No, they're not in town to pitch a new sitcom -- though it's one I would watch religiously, mind you -- but instead to peddle copies of the new "Star Wars" Blu-ray collection hitting stores tomorrow (September 16). If you see these guys on the streets today, stop and say hi, maybe buy a Blu-ray or two... just don't buy any of their droids; they're not the ones you're looking for.

Tags star wars

by Dionne Buxton

Disney has been on a binge with the publicity of the new "Muppets" movie, previously poking fun at "The Hangover 2" with "The Fuzzy Pack" and "Green Lantern" through "Being Green." Now, the haywire marketing extravaganza continues with a new trailer called "The Pig with the Froggy Tattoo," toying around with -- you guessed it -- David Fincher's "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo."

This upbeat trailer is oozing with celebrity appearances from the likes of Chris Cooper, Neil Patrick Harris, and Sarah Silverman to name a few. And it’s packed with random scenes and intrepid blinking text that takes jabs not just at the "Dragon Tattoo" trailer, but at their own use of parodies to publicize the movie.

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Tags The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Muppets

We're just two months away from "Breaking Dawn Part 1," so the wait for further "Twilight" goodness isn't too long. But for fans of the supernatural romance saga, it's an excruciating wait, especially given the latest tease-filled "Breaking Dawn" trailer that premiered this week.

In fairness, though, director Bill Condon gave fans exactly what they wanted: weddings, honeymoons, plenty of action and a whole lot of danger for poor Bella Swan. It was an epic trailer with a whole lot to unpack, so to keep you guys filled in on everything you need to know about the new "Twilight" flick, MTV News' Jocelyn Vena and I sat down and dissected the latest "Breaking Dawn" trailer.

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Tags breaking dawn, Twilight

We sure hope that Matt Damon's character in "We Bought A Zoo" played a lot of Dino Park Tycoon. If he intends on running a zoo, he might be able to use that knowledge. Then again he does proudly proclaim in the just-released trailer that "the sellers say you don't even need any special knowledge to own a zoo, what you need is a lot of heart."

Well, this film certainly seems to have a lot of it. The Christmas release, from director Cameron Crowe, boasts an all-star cast, led by Damon with assists from the likes of Thomas Haden Church and Scarlett Johansson. And while we're unsure how much a zoo actually costs, Damon, a widowed dad with two kids, and his motley crew seem pretty intent that they can make it work with the funds that he's got.

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Tags we bought a zoo

FROM MTV MOVIES: Damn, those two lovebirds are simpatico!

For a while now, we've been trying to get Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt to dish details about her directorial debut, "In the Land of Blood and Honey," and his rumored cameo in the project. Last December, all Jolie would say about whether Pitt was involved in the film, a love story about a relationship between a Serbian man and a Bosnian woman in the lead-up to the 1992 Bosnian war, was this: "Possibly."

Taking a cue from his lip-sealed lady, Pitt was determined at the Toronto International Film Festival this week not to say a peep about "Blood and Honey."

"I will say nothing," he declared. "Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing."

Read the full story at MTV Movies!

Tags Angelina-Jolie, brad pitt, In the Land of Blood and Honey

FROM MTV MOVIES: Sometimes, if you wait long enough (and blog hard enough), the universe will hear your cries of anguish and soothe them with a big glass of thirst-quenching Romulan Ale. Or, better yet, provide confirmation that J.J. Abrams has finally committed to directing the "Star Trek" sequel.

Either way, you're pretty psyched.

After indicating that he was still up in the air about directing the anticipated sequel to his wildly successful reboot of the space franchise, New York Magazine's Vulture blog is reporting that Abrams is onboard and that pre-production is under way. Citing unnamed insiders familiar with the "Super 8" director's plans, Vulture reported that the script is expected to be done by month's end and that shooting could begin this winter. Entertainment Weekly confirmed the news on Wednesday (September 14).

Abrams recently finished shooting the fourth "Mission: Impossible" movie, "Ghost Protocol" — which again stars Tom Cruise, along with Ving Rhames, Jeremy Renner, Josh Holloway and Paula Patton — has hedged in the past about whether he would take up another tour on the Enterprise before a killer script was in place. In August, he told Collider, "Once you say, 'We're ready to go, but we don't have a finished script yet,' or, 'I'm directing the thing and here's the release date, but we don't have a finished script,' what starts to happen is that you're suddenly in production on a movie where you're thinking, 'Oh my God, we weren't really ready!' "

Read the full story at MTV Movies!

Tags jj abrams, Star Trek 2

Ever since the "World War Z" film synopsis hit the Internets last month, the most loyal fans of the beloved Max Brooks novel have been up in arms about the fact that the movie is trading out Brooks' post-war setting in favor of having star Brad Pitt's character, a U.N. staffer, fight to stop the Zombie pandemic from wiping out the entire population.

MTV News recently caught up with director Marc Forster during the Toronto International Film Festival where he was promoting his upcoming film "Machine Gun Preacher" to find out how he is approaching the translation of Brooks' novel from page to big screen.

"The idea, obviously the book is not written as a narrative, you try to take things from the book, but at same time you're changing certain things," Forster explained. "I do feel we're trying to keep it in the spirit of the book because it's important.

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Tags marc forster, News, Video, world war z

By John Mitchell

The first image of Johnny Depp in character as Barnabus Collins for Tim Burton's hotly anticipated big screen adaptation of the late-60s soap opera "Dark Shadows" found its way online today and it is … well, it's just so wrong.

Depp wears heavy white makeup and exaggerated sideburns to play Collins, a 200-year-old vampire awakened during an attempted jewel theft in the Collins family mausoleum by Willie Loomis (Oscar nominee Jackie Earle Haley), and, frankly, the character appears to more closely resembles Depp's takes on Willy Wonka or the Mad Hatter than the mysterious, sexy vampire introduced on the cult classic series.

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Tags dark shadows, johnny depp

"The Twilight Saga" is officially entering the end game, and director Bill Condon certainly doesn't seem to be pulling his punches. A brand new trailer for the first part of "Breaking Dawn," the two-part "Twilight" finale, sunk its teeth into the web late last night, and to say it's a doozy is a bit of an understatement.

Extended look at Bella Swan's wedding? Check! An even closer peek at Bella and vampire husband Edward Cullen's hotly awaited honeymoon? Oh, you bet'cha. And on top of the romance, there's enough action (werewolves on the run!) and potential horror (ain't nothing cute about a rapidly growing vampire fetus) to balance things out.

Needless to say, if you're a "Twilight" fan and you missed last night's "Breaking Dawn" trailer premiere, you're about to set the bar for having a really awesome day.

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Tags breaking dawn, Twilight