Iron Man 2:

Sam Rockwell says his character, Justin Hammer, is sort of like Lex Luthor (the Hackman and Spacey versions) mixed with Bill Murray in Kingpin and Richard Gere in American Gigolo. And in case we didn't cover this before, Rockwell also says his character is the one who builds Rhodey's War Machine armor, and Rhodey has no choice but to work with Hammer. But Rhodey doesn't let Hammer try the armor on. [MTV]

Tekken:

At a party for distributors, the studio showed off some footage from this live-action movie adaptation, starring Luke Goss, Jon Foo, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Gary Daniels, Ian Anthony Dale, Kelly Overton, Cung Le, and Tamlyn Tomita. The movie follows Jin Kazama as he struggles to get revenge on Tekken Corp. chairman Heihachi Mishima for the death of his mother. And the only way to get revenge is to enter Tekken's Iron Fist Tournament. Just because.

So the trailer/sizzle reel included captions saying:

One tournament ... decides the fate of millions. ... They fight for power ... They fight for honor ... They fight for pride ... But one man ... fights for revenge. ... Courage fuels him ... Rage drives him.

We see a flying car soaring over an arena in a futuristic city, and a bloodthirsty crowd waits for the action to begin. We see a montage of the movie's fighters, including Raven, Eddie Gordo, Bryan Fury, Craig Marduk, and Yoshimitsu. They all look sort of like their game counterparts. And there's lots of fighting, punching, kicking and general mayhem. Jin Kazama runs along building tops, parkour style, and fights in a cage match, rising up from the streets to the Iron Fist competition. Woo!

Jin Kazama meets Steve Fox (Goss) and the sexy Christie Monteiro (Overton), and then there's a training montage, showing him pummeling a wooden dummy. Steve Fox yells, and Kazuya Mishima (Dale) walks bare-chested in front of a wall of fire. There's a hero shot of Jin looking like his game counterpart, then he's fighting in the ring, and then chicks are fighting in the ring. Jin fights Bryan Fury (Daniels) and one of his blows causes an energy ripple across Fury's chest. Guards pull a distraught woman away, and then there's more fighting, including maces and half-moon axes. Even more details of fighting and posing at the link. [IGN]

Avatar:

This totally ridiculous Coke Zero ad and a couple of new TV spots include a teeny amount of new footage from the movie. [Thanks Slashfilm!]

Resident Evil: Afterlife:

Milla Jovovich is still Tweeting from the set of this movie, and among other things, she explains that her new costume includes a leather gun harness and a "butt bra." And those mysterious figures in all white are "Pod People," who've been subjected to horrific Umbrella Corp. experiments. [ShockTillYouDrop]

The Hobbit:

Guillermo Del Toro explains exactly what he'll be adding to Tolkien's original story:

We will be integrating Gandalf's comings and goings [into the script] because he does disappear in the book quite often. So, as opposed to the book, we see where he goes and what happens to him.

That means we'll see the battle against the Necromancer. And the Wargs will have "a certain beauty" so you don't get the message that everyone beautiful is good, and vice versa. And Smaug the dragon will be unique and look unlike any dragon you've ever seen. [Total Film via MTV]

Twilight:

The Wolf Pack come up on Access Hollywood to talk about their abs and explain why werewolves are better than vampires.

Dark Days: 30 Days Of Night:

Here's your first image from this sequel, showing Kiele Sanchez as Stella Oleson (played by Melissa George in the first film) waving a knife as she prepares to take the fight to the vampires. Also in the film are Lost's Harold Perrineau, Mia Kirshner (as the vampire Lilith), Diora Baird, Rhys Coiro, Troy Ruptash, Jackson Berlin, John De Santis, Marco Sorian and Katherine Isabelle. Full version of the image at the link. [AICN via ShockTillYou Drop]

The Prisoner:

Ian McKellen was on The View, where he showed a brief clip from this remake of the classic 1960s series... and put up with Whoopi Goldberg confusing him with Michael Gambon. Oops. [Cinematical]

Lost:

The show was filming at the Survivors' camp, and actors in attendance included Evangeline Lilly (Kate), Matthew Fox (Jack), Michael Emerson (Ben), Jorge Garcia (Hugo), Emilie de Ravin (Claire), Yunjin Kim (Sun), Jeff Fahey (Frank Lapidus) and Nestor Carbonell (Richard Alpert). [SpoilersLost]

Doctor Who:

Here's a brief new TV spot for this episode, premiering (in the UK) on Sunday!

And Russell T. Davies says this episode is "absolutely terrifying, one of the scariest things we've ever done." The things the Doctor and the people around him are forced to do are totally mad and it's a really exciting hour. [BlogtorWho]

V:

Here are some promo pics from the fourth and final episode of the year, "It's Only Just Beginning." It looks as though someone is getting pregnant... and the father is the last person you would expect! [VisitorSite]

And here are six clips from tomorrow night's new epsiode, including Morena Baccarin turning herself into a virtual paper doll to try out outfits on.

Fringe:

Here's some info about the Nov. 19 episode, "Observer":

An unusual abduction in Boston reveals information about the Observer and bizarre evidence that Walter, Peter and Astrid must sort out in the lab—-in between Walter's constant cravings for a milkshake.

[TV Guide]

FlashForward:

In upcoming episodes, we'll meet the adult version of the mysterious scarred Somalian child from episode three, and he may be played by The Wire's Michael K. Williams. Also, we'll be meeting Miles Fogel (Michael Ealy) who becomes a thorn in Benford's side and becomes a regular character starting in episode ten. Episode nine will be all about Dr. Bryce Yarley, and we'll be meeting the Japanese woman from his flashforward, Keiko. Callum Keith Rennie will be back at least a couple more times this season, says David S. Goyer. [MTV]

A new featurette focuses on Dominic Monaghan, showcasing his role as Simon and the actor's thoughts on quantum physics:

And here are a few stills from an upcoming episode — but we're not sure which one. [SpoilerTV]

And here's a sneak peek from the next episode, in which Monaghan talks about being oh-so-tawdry:

A casting call for episode 14 details a couple new characters we'll be meeting:

[DON SESTITO] 50s-60s, open to all ethnicities. Wry, very sharp. A veteran Federal judge for some 20-plus years, he's seen and heard it all and cuts to the chase. one scene

[JOSH BARKHAM] late 20s-early 30s, open to all ethnicities. Intelligent, well-spoken, argues in court. A once-idealistic attorney, experience has worn the shine off his former earnestness. one scene

[SpoilerTV]

Supernatural:

As you've seen already, Lucifer gets Castiel trapped in a ring of holy fire — but he doesn't just question the angel. He tries to convince Castiel to join him as a rebel angel, according to Misha Collins. Also, we might see Castiel using his supernatural tolerance for alcohol to win some drinking games. [Huffington Post]

Chuck:

Season three will be like "The Matrix," says Zachary Levi. Plus Brandon Routh explains his new character. [AOL via ChuckTV]

Smallville:

Zatanna will be back in an episode early next year, entitled "Warrior." [TV Guide Magazine]

And here's the description for the Nov. 20 episode, "Pandora":

Lois is kidnapped by Tess and forced to reveal what she learned during the weeks of her disappearance. She witnessed a future with Metropolis controlled by Zod and Clark left without his powers because of the red sun. With this information, Clark makes a big decision about Zod.

[TV Guide]

Stargate Universe:

Eli may get to handle some guns sometime soon, hints David Blue. And he would like to have a long scene where he and Rodney McKay geek out about stuff. [SF Universe]

And here are some pics from the episode "Time" — in which, I'm guessing, they're running out of time, until they get some more somehow. [SpoilerTV]

Additional reporting by Mary Ratliff.

First off, it's so good to see Milla in her ass-kicking Alice gear again. We can't wait to find out what happened to her sexy naked clone army and what new mind powers she'll have in this movie. Also, you can see Ali Larter — so it's nice that she survived the last movie. Still, it looks like they never made it to Alaska, ah well.

For a better look check out all the strange white hospital like garb over at Shock Til You Drop, which has a bigger picture. Let's go ahead and assume that these white-dressed extras are part of some exceedingly excellent experiment group.

Meanwhile, Milla has been Twittering up a storm while on set, and I have to say, it sounds like fantastic, violence heavy, mayhem. Exactly how we like our Resident Evil. Here are a few highlights, including a couple items we touched on in yesterday's morning spoilers:

"When Ali and i were doing the fight in the shower block, i had to point my shotgun into camera and shoot...but when i did, the glass protecting the camera completely shattered! that is definitely going on the gag reel for the dvd! lol!"

"and its supposed to be super heroic with all of us shooting thru a wall of undead as we run towards a potential escape route..."

"They were of the big action sequence with Alice and Claire fighting THE EXECUTIONER who in reality is an 8 ft. tall heavy weight boxer! He has a HUGE axe and we're in a prison shower, so every time he swings the axe, showers explode! So thru the whole scene its literally raining! so beautiful!"

"I fly a small aircraft in this film and they did a shot of it landing on the boat we're on the night before last and get this, all the people who live in the skyscrapers around the harbor phoned 911 reporting a plane crash on the ship! how rad! they got HUNDREDS of call!"

The Avengers:

More on Edward Norton's will-he-won't-he dance, with regards to returning as the Hulk. It doesn't sound like Norton's had any talks with Marvel, and he says he has no idea where they're at with this project. Nor is he terribly interested, unless Marvel comes to him with something especially fascinating. (But I'd be shocked if Marvel doesn't have Norton under contract for one or two more movies, in which case his interest, or lack thereof, would be irrelvevant.) [AICN]

Resident Evil 4:

Milla Jovovich Tweeted from the set of this film, and mentioned that the final shot of the film is a 3-D shot from high up, so they had to hoist a 3-D camera using a custom-made rig. And there's a scene where she lands a plane on a boat, and it looks like it's crashing — hundreds of neighbors called 911 to report a plane crash. And Alice and Claire fight the Executioner, an eight-foot-tall boxer toting a huge axe. They fight him in a prison shower, and every time he swings his axe, showers explode, so it's sort of raining. [ShockTillYouDrop]

Red Dawn:

The China-invades-America movie involves blowing up all of downtown Detroit, says Josh Hutcherson. And he describes his character, based on C. Thomas Howell's from the original: "In the story, I start out as not a geek, but sort of a tech guy. And by the end, I'm a total warrior, drinking blood from the animals and going crazy." [MTV]

Ghost Rider 2:

This movie will be darker and "more existential" than the first movie, but won't be a reboot, says writer David S. Goyer. Not that much is changing from his old screenplay, which is available online somewhere, but it'll be toned down to get a PG-13 rating. And it takes place eight years after the first film, when Ghost Rider is in a darker place. [MTV]

Doctor Who:

OMG new trailer for "The Waters Of Mars." So scary. [Oh No They Didn't]

And here are three whole minutes of the episode, of which about two minutes are new. Cannot. Wait. [Guardian]

And here are the episode descriptions for the (incredibly poorly) animated adventure "Dreamland":

Episode 1: Dry Springs, Nevada, 1958. The Doctor befriends a young waitress, Cassie, and her friend, Jimmy, at a diner. The Doctor activates an alien artefact and, after finding further signs of alien activity, the US Army intervenes and takes him and his new companions to the mysterious Area 51 in Roswell, where they find out about Operation Fallen Angel. Will Operation leader Colonel Stark succeed in making the curious trio forget what they have just seen?

Episode 2: Seeking refuge in the abandoned town of Solitude, Jimmy stumbles across a disconcerting discovery and the trio encounter Viperox royalty.

Episode 3: The Doctor cannot understand why the Alliance of Shades' mop-up team are more concerned with the whereabouts of a piece of space flight hardware than the hordes of Viperox pods hidden underground. Things start to fall into place when Jimmy's grandfather, Night Eagle, introduces the Doctor to Rivesh Mantilax.

Episode 4: Captured by the US Army, Rivesh is finally reunited with his wife, Saruba Velak. Meanwhile, the Doctor discovers the unsettling truth about his real identity.

Episode 5: The Doctor and Saruba have to confront the mysterious alien force in the vault housing her space ship if they are to save her husband and stop Lord Azlok from rousing his sleeping army.

Episode 6: As sunset falls, the Viperox drones start to attack the US Army base. Can the Doctor find a way to halt the seemingly unstoppable aliens in their tracks?

[BlogtorWho]

Fringe:

In tonight's Broyles-centric episode, Broyles will step on quite a few toes to solve the case that's personal to him. And there be cosmonauts and cover-ups, and we'll discover the CIA's extraterrestrial connection. [EW]

Also, turns out the Broyles in the alternate universe is a happily married man. [TV Guide]

Here are a few characters we'll meet in episode 2x13, from a casting call. [SpoilerTV]

[ALFRED] Mid 30's to early 40's male, blond hair and blue eyes, with a slight German accent. He's a young Aryan with a bad boys vibe. Guest Star

[NANA] Nana is 80 with a slight Eastern European accent. Really good Co-Star or possible Guest Star.

[ELIZA] Mother of the groom in her 60's. She's warm and sympathetic. Really good Co-Star or possible Guest Star

A few new set pics show our heroes hanging out by a police car. [SpoilerTV]

And a couple sneak peeks:

The Box:

The early reviews for this Richard Kelly tripfest are out, and... they're not very positive, sadly. But there are spoilers! Apparently, the box with the mysterious money-making, stranger-killing button is somehow connected to Arthur (James Marsden)'s work with NASA's Mars mission. The couple traces the license plate of the limo carrying around the burnt-faced Frank Langella to NASA, and then one of Arthur's NASA colleagues kills wife. Children get kidnapped, zombie civil servants chase the couple around, and then there are hints that aliens are behind the whole thing. There are bleeding noses, and Norma (Cameron Diaz) hires a babysitter without checking her references. Oh, and Arthur and Norma aren't broke, like in the original version of the story — they're well off, but their kid's tuition is going up slightly. [Reuters]

The Men Who Stare At Goats:

Here's a new TV ad showcasing this whimsical psychic-soldier film:

Supernatural:

In the upcoming body-switching episode, Sam and Dean swap bodies with each other, and with a couple other characters. [EW]

I think we mentioned a while back that Lucifer would be trapping Castiel in an upcoming episode. Here are a couple behind-the-scenes pics. [LilMissX on TwitPic via Chicago Tribune]

And here are some pics from the last episode of the year, "Abandon All Hope," in which an all-star cast goes up against Lucifer. And Mark Shepherd's demon character, Crowley, has the Colt! [Chicago Tribune and SpoilerTV]

Caprica:

We already showed you some new TV spots for this BSG prequel, but here's a bit more footage... including our first look at James "Spike" Marsters as terrorist leader Barnabus Greeley. [CapricaTV]

Chuck:

Chuck meets Batman! At least, Dietrich Bader will guest star in the ninth episode of the season, "Chuck Vs. The Beard," directed by Zachary Levi. [EW]

FlashForward:

This week's episode is supposed to be a great improvement over recent outings, and we may actually learn the significance of the blue hand. [EW]

And in case you're not getting the message that tonight's episode is going to be good for a change, David S. Goyer tells MTV it may be the best thing he's ever worked on, including The Dark Knight. It's a gamechanger, and here's what happens:

Titled "The Gift," this week's episode focuses on Agents Al Gough (Lee Thompson Young) and Demetri Noh's (John Cho) continued investigation into the mysterious Blue Hand, which Goyer described as an organization "with a very specific purpose in mind." Over the course of their investigation, a shadowy figure by the name of Jeff Slingerland (Callum Keith Rennie of "Battlestar Galactica") is revealed as a new nemesis with connections to the Blue Hand.

In addition to the Blue Hand, the episode deals with Demetri's lack of a flashforward and his subsequently tenuous relationship with fiance Zoey (Gabrielle Union).

[MTV]

And a casting call for episode 13 makes it sound like we're going to Somalia:

[MALVEAUX] 40s, Male, Caucasian. A tough-looking mercenary working security on a dangerous job. A more muscular Jean Reno..

[KORFA] 9-11, Somalian, Male. A young Somali boy fighting with a friend over a toy. Dialogue in Somali..

[SpoilerTV]

True Blood:

Terry and Arlene will make a surprising discovery that brings them closer together — sounds like all their loving under the influence of Maryann's spell has left Arlene pregnant. [TV Guide]

Smallville:

Rumor control: There's no official word that the show is going to turn into a sequel called Metropolis. Michael Rosenbaum hung out with the writers recently, but there are no plans for Lex to come back — even though everyone wishes he would. Also, Perry White isn't reappearing any time soon. [EW]

Heroes:

Hiro will stay with the carnies at least through the Thanksgiving episode, which sees ballroom dancing with weird masks, and zzzzzzzzz. Oh sorry. Dozed off. Anyway. Hiro is with the carnies for a while. [TV Guide]

And here's the description for that episode, "Thanksgiving":

H.R.G. hosts an unconventional Thanksgiving dinner; the Petrelli family receives a surprise guest; Lydia searches for the truth.

[SpoilerTV]

Additional reporting by Mary Ratliff.

Sony Screen Gems finally announced the official synopsis. Sounds like the prison we heard about earlier inside the the burning remnants of Los Angeles may be a trap. But I'm loving that Alice is going after the evil Umbrella Corp, where the last film left off. Kill em all Alice!

In a world ravaged by a virus infection, turning its victims into the Undead, Alice continues on her journey to find survivors and lead them to safety. Her deadly battle with the Umbrella Corporation reaches new heights, but Alice gets some unexpected help from an old friend. A new lead that promises a safe haven from the Undead leads them to Los Angeles, but when they arrive the city is overrun by thousands of Undead and Alice and her comrades are about to step into a deadly trap.

And it's official: Paul W.S. Anderson is coming back to direct the fourth film in the series he launched. The film will be released August 27th, 2010.

Superman:

For the umpteenth time, James McTeigue, rumored director of the next Superman film, said that while he's had "some discussions" with Warner Bros., the movie isn't happening any time soon. But as always, McTeigue was happy to talk about what his approach would be if he did take on Big Blue:

Superman is probably ripe for a bit of a change up. I think society has changed around the core idea of what Superman was... And I'm not saying you do the ubiquitous dark Superman, I'm not saying that… I'm just saying that I think there are some things that you could excise from the Superman mythology that people would get into it, if you took the world that he was in and changed that a bit, and maybe even project that into the future a bit. I think you don't really have to play into the origin story anymore. I think there's a whole bunch of things you could do to make that film more alive and exciting again.

So it sounds like McTeigue is backpedaling slightly from the idea he floated a while back, of a darker Superman. But more importantly, it sounds like he wants to put Clark Kent a few years into the future — which might allow for a more science-fictional take on our favorite visitor from space. Color us intrigued. [FirstShowing]

Avatar 2:

If Avatar does well enough, we're bound to get a second helping — and producer Jon Landau offers one suggestion for what the next movie will be about: the first movie only explores the surface of the planet Pandora. "The interior remains to be seen." So there could be some Na'Vi spelunking and subterranean exploration. [Slashfilm]

Paul:

Jane Lynch, who's my new favorite actor thanks to Glee, says she's in one scene of this Simon Pegg film — she's the proprietor of the Ailey-Inn, an alien-themed restaurant that caters to nerds who are drawn to the vicinity of Area 51. (So, just like the alien-themed restaurant in Roswell.) Pegg and Nick Frost show up in the diner, reading their "cartoon books." Adds Lynch:

There's some trail in Nevada that's supposedly [where aliens have landed], and they're on the trail. [My character] owns the Ailey-Inn and she's way into it. She's profiting financially from [all these alien-hunting tourists], so she's their good friend.

[MTV]

Resident Evil: Afterlife:

The fourth Resident movie just started production officially, and the official press release offers just a snippet of new plot info, courtesy of producer Paul W.S. Anderson: "Alice's battle with The Umbrella Corporation isn't finished. Last time we saw Alice, she let them know she was coming after them. It's time to settle the score." [Bloody Disgusting]

Lost:

Another new character we'll be meeting is Detective Rasmussen, who makes a visit to the hospital where Kate brings the pregnant Claire. There's speculation that Rasmussen is investigating Kate, who's still a fugitive in this alternate timeline. [SpoilersLost]

A visitor to Hawaii, Jenni Ranee, posted some pics of this show's set, which include a glimpse of some returning characters: Frank Lapidus, Ethan, and Aaron's nanny. Notice the trailer for "Admitting Nurse" and "OB Nurse" for the hospital scene (as well as one for "Detective Rasmussen," see above.) Also, most of the camp set has been struck, but the ramshackle structure where the castaways kept their Dharma food is still kind of intact — could there be a reason it's been preserved? [JenniRanee on Flickr, via SpoilersLost]

Supernatural:

In episode eight, we'll get to learn what this show would look like as a sitcom. "Laugh track and all." [EW]

Fringe:

Is Walter going back into an institution? The show is seeking an actor to play this role in the tenth episode of the season:

[DOCTOR WEST] In his OR her 40s. He or she is intelligent and is the Director/Doctor in charge of a large mental institution. Guest Star. OPEN TO ALL RACES AND ETHNICITIES.

[SpoilerTV]

FlashForward:

John Cho will need to spend some time playing Sulu in the next Star Trek movie, so does that mean his TV character Demetri is doomed to die? (After all, Demetri didn't see any vision of the future.) Cho says he doesn't know, and in any case the producers of both projects will work it out somehow. (And presumably, the same dilemma applies to Zachary Quinto, unless the inevitable undertakes Heroes first.) [Sci Fi Wire]

Stargate Universe:

Producer John G. Lenic talks about watching Robert Carlyle film an intense scene from early in the series:

[Carlyle] walks into a room, puts his iPod in a docking station, it starts playing. He goes over the side of the bed, looks at a picture, and starts crying. There was about six of us behind the monitors at that moment and we were all in tears. All had watery eyes and it was like, "Holy crap. What an amazing sensation to feel that."

[Gateworld]

Actor Brian J. Smith says his character, Lt. Matt Scott, goes through a lot in the episode "Life," and it's a "real heart-breaker." And the episode "Faith" takes place in a "breathtaking" location. [Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog]

Heroes:

The title of the 11th episode of this season will be "Thanksgiving." [The ODI]

Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths:

Here's a sneak peek at the next DC animated movie, which includes a glimpse of... Justice League Detroit? [MTV]

In an interview with Black Film new cast member Bodjoe Kodjoe talked about his latest role in the next in the long line of Umbrella Corp films. Sadly there is no mention of the cloned Alice army, but he does reveal that the movie takes place in LA:

Boris Kodjoe: : I play the leader of the survivors in LA. Milla Jovovich's character, Alice, is roaming the world looking for survivors and she's wound up in LA, which has been burning for three years. She comes across an LA jail surrounded be these half-dead, uhh…[zombies]. Yeah, they're those monsters, what are they called? Anyway, she comes across the jail and there's a couple of survivors and she lands on top of the roof and partners up with me to fight the guys that are coming after them. We're trying to get all of the survivors out of the jail to safety. We're starting next week, actually.

He goes on to reveal that Ali Larter will also be returning and Miller's new role is someone who already was in prison when everything went down.

Oolong Island
Does an island count as a city? Possibly not, but as anyone who read DC Comics' 52 knows, Oolong is no ordinary island. Populated almost entirely by mad scientists (and maybe a couple of sane ones, too), Oolong Island is a place where the old laws (of physics) no longer apply, and there's no such thing as a bad scientific breakthrough, only one that needs to be stopped from destroying the world as we know it by resident superteam, the Doom Patrol. But what else could you expect from a place where scientists are encouraged to indulge in mind-altering substances to further free their minds?

Platinum Flats
Whereas the real world has Silicon Valley, former Batgirl Barbara Gordon and her Birds of Prey have Platinum Flats, which proclaims itself as "America's High-Tech Capital" and home to all manner of upstart start-ups like YouSpace, MacroWare, NetCracker, Findster (Well, it is an alternate Earth, after all) and has eradicated problems like crime and urban decay thanks to its well-heeled and inventive inhabitants. Better living through technology indeed.

Haven
What's the quickest way to suddenly have a city full of advanced technology in your backyard? Have an alien spacecraft crash into it. That's what happened in the DC Universe's version of California (As if having Green Lantern's "Coast City" midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles wasn't enough), which suddenly found itself with an extra-terrestrial prison full of political prisoners dumped onto its coast in the early '2000s series Haven. On the plus side, the US Government granted them city status, in exchange for some of their tasty new technology. Let's just work on that whole "retro-engineering so we can use it without tentacles" thing, shall we?

Big Town
In 2000, Marvel Comics wondered what would've happened if, instead of using their genius to fight crime, Reed Richards, Tony Stark and the rest of their superheroic scientist buddies actually invented things to benefit society. According to Fantastic Four: Big Town, the result is a futuristic New York, which quickly becomes the center of civilization, expands to include nearby cities in other states, and destabilizes society as we know it. But, on the plus side, unstable molecules really cut down on your laundry costs.

Atlantis
Whether it's Marvel or DC Comics, there's an undersea city of Atlantis, and they're more technologically advanced than us. Marvel's Atlanteans prefer to travel is super-science submarines while they consider their latest plans to invade the surface world for whatever unconvincing reason they've been duped into believing this week, while DC's undersea dwellers have the distinction of having a civilization that started long before man had even crawled from the sea, and therefore having a head-start on the rest of us. Of course, if they were really that smart, they'd have worked out how to stay out of the water for more than an hour at a time, but apparently they were too busy telepathically communicating with whales to be troubled by such thoughts.

Attilan
Maybe the only people who can deal with the world of tomorrow today are scientifically-advanced themselves... like Marvel Comics' Inhumans, whose millennia-old city is so advanced that it has not only withstood being transported throughout space (literally; for awhile, it existed on the moon) but has also proven capable of physically transforming itself into a spaceship when needs be. See? Humans end up turning scientifically-advanced cultures into disasters, but Inhumans are apparently smart enough to turn change to their advantage.

Electropolis
Dean Motter's most recent take on the idea of the futuristic city (from his 1999 series of the same name) offered a different take on the idea: the retrofuturistic city, founded on decades old ideas about the future that're still ahead of their time. "Cathedral-sized Van Der Graaf generators and towering Strickfadden machines" may sound oddly outdated to us now, but this city still managed to have robot detectives, flying cars and an on-time metro service unlike the modern world we live in.

Metropolis
What better home for the Man of Tomorrow than the self-declared City of Tomorrow? Superman's adopted hometown may be best known for its major metropolitan newspaper, but consider all of the mad scientists that Superman faces on a regular basis, to say nothing of the alien technology, scientific establishments to clean up after superbattles and even the wonderfully-named Science Police, and it's pretty clear that there's more to this forward-thinking city than depending on print media. The city even has a street dedicated to scientific institutions called The Avenue of Tomorrow. What could be more perfect than that?

Bloody Disgusting has confirmed a new crop of Resident Evils is on the way after Milla Jovovich's final 3D showdown, Resident Evil 4: Afterlife. The next feature will be all about the secret military operation that tried to infiltrate and destroy Umbrella Corp. It's currently titled Resident Evil Begins.

This is a fantastic idea. Umbrella and Raccoon City will never get old to me, but I have to admit, once they gave Milla mind powers, my mind checked out a bit as well. Good to see this franchise getting back to its conspiracy theory roots.

Iron Man 2:

Justin Hammer may start out as a rival arms dealer to Tony Stark, but actor Sam Rockwell hints he may turn into something else:

I think it's still developing. We don't know what Justin Hammer becomes. He becomes something else. He's starting off one way.

It's not an unreasonable question to ask whether Hammer poses a physical threat to Tony. And Rockwell says Hammer's main motivation is "jealousy," like Salieri in Amadeus. [Cinematical]

Resident Evil 4:

Milla Jovovich says the army of Alice clones will turn up in the fourth movie, filming soon:

The clones are definitely in it. You've got multiple Alice's kicking serious butt. And definitely the real Alice has some pretty major things happen to her that change the stakes a little bit. That's probably all I can give you in a vague sort of way. It's definitely going to be a different Alice than who we're used to.

[Bloody Disgusting]

District 9:

Director Neill Blomkamp says the movie's aliens don't cause trouble by being troublemakers, but just by having valuable technology:

[They're] refugees that bring a hell of a lot of potentially profitable stuff with them. So, it's like worst-case scenario because the humans want whatever the technology may mean for us. And because of that, they're willing to do what they need to do quicker to get there — it's all about the bottom line. So, I think, yeah, the thing that really interests me about the film is the idea about a whole bunch of refugees that were really novel and amazing when they got here. And then [people] very quickly lose interest with [the aliens] and put them in their shanty town.

[Starpulse]

And here are some stills I don't think we've shown you before. [IGN]

Doctor Who:

Russell T. Davies says "Waters Of Mars" is "one of those claustrophobic submarine-type dramas, all trapped in an enclosed space with sort of increasing darkness and intensity. It all takes place in a very small location in Doctor Who terms." And he says the Doctor likes being the Tenth Doctor and will fight against giving that up as hard as he can — even though the writing is on the wall with all that "knock four times" stuff.

Also, David Tennant's final two-parter, airing later this year, is "a personal epic. That final story, it becomes, yes, epic. Almost like a fairytale. But in that there's, like, a seven-minute scene of David and Bernard Cribbins having a conversation together in a cafe, it's really intimate at the same time." (If it was anybody else having a seven-minute conversation with the Doctor, I'd be dubious. But Bernard Cribbins? Cannot wait.) [Premium Hollywood]

V:

A new "press bundle" offers a bit of a more detailed synopsis for this show's pilot:

While the world quickly becomes fascinated with the V's and their link to wonders just beyond the reach of human understanding, FBI Counter Terrorist Agent Erica Evans (Elizabeth Mitchell) discovers a secret hidden beneath the skin of every V– a secret that may threaten the lives of everyone close to her. Yet for her teenage son, Tyler (Logan Huffman), the V's are his ticket to something big and hopeful — a new chance for mankind to unite in common goals. To Chad Decker (Scott Wolf), a career-hungry news anchor, his exclusive interview with Anna (Morena Baccarin), the leader of the V's, is crucial to his dominating the airwaves. Also unsure about the Visitors is Father Jack (Joel Gretsch), a priest questioning his faith in the wake of the Visitors' arrival. Seeking answers outside the church, Father Jack discovers there are other dissidents who believe the Visitors are not who they say they are, including Ryan Nichols (Morris Chestnut), who is faced with his own life-altering decision when the V's show up. Never has there been more at stake — it truly is the dawning of a new day.

[SpoilerTV]

FlashForward:

And there's a "press bundle" for this show as well:

It's just another normal day in Los Angeles. FBI agent Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes, "Shakespeare in Love") and his partner, Demetri Noh (John Cho, "Star Trek," the "Harold & Kumar" film series), are in the midst of a car chase monitored by their boss, Stanford Wedeck (Courtney B. Vance, "Law & Order: Criminal Intent") and colleague Janis Hawk (Christine Woods); Mark's wife, Dr. Olivia Benford (Sonya Walger, "Lost"), is in the middle of surgery; Dr. Bryce Varley (Zachary Knighton) is weighing a potentially life-ending decision; Mark's friend, Aaron Stark (Brían F. O'Byrne, "The International"), is working high above the ground on power lines; and Nicole (Peyton List) — baby-sitter to Mark and Olivia's daughter, Charlie — is in the throes of passion with her boyfriend when suddenly and without warning, every person on Earth blacks out for two minutes and seventeen seconds and sees a series of events from their own future, taking place on April 29, 2010 at 10:00 p.m., Pacific Time. For some the future will be joyous and hopeful; for others, shockingly unexpected; and for a few, it simply doesn't seem to exist.

Everyone in the world will eventually begin chronicling what they saw in their flashforwards on a worldwide website — the Mosaic Collective — that will further draw people together. And some of the flashforwards just might help Mark and his colleagues piece together the cause of the blackout.

Knowing their fate will alter each person's life in one way or another and poses the questions: Can destiny be changed? And by changing just one destiny, what effect would that have on those of others?

[SpoilerTV]

True Blood:

As you've probably gleaned, Alexander Skarsgard says we'll be seeing more of the loyal, sensitive side to Eric this year. He doesn't care for very many people, but the ones he likes, he's fiercely loyal to. Meanwhile, when Daphne's corpse is discovered, people suspect Sam of being the killer. And Sookie and Eric grow closer, after Eric is injured and Sookie helps him. [E! Online]

Smallville:

Sounds like Tess Mercer gets into a scrap with Zod, right in the first episode. "We start out heavy. In the first episode, we start out really going at it, and it's really fun," says actor Cassidy Freeman. And she'll figure out eventually whether she's bitten off more than she chew. [E! Online]

Warehouse 13:

We'll actually meet the Regents, the secret society who run the warehouse, later this season, and we'll learn more about the dynamic between Artie and Mrs. Frederic. And Pete and Myka go searching for an artifact that's eluded Artie for years, and "unfortunately," they find it, says producer Jack Kenny. And that season-finale twist involving B&B keeper Leena will change everything. [E! Online]

Defying Gravity:

Here's the description for episode five, "Rubicon":

It's a humbling moment for the crew of the spaceship, as each of them deals with a personal point of no return, while the Antares itself crosses a critical boundary when going back to Earth is no longer an option, and the home planet becomes just another twinkling light in a vast canopy of stars.

And here are some pics from the episode.[SpoilerTV]

Eastwick:

Some new casting calls give us some hints for this "Desperate Housewitches" show. In episode three, we'll deal with the divorce between Kat and Randy — the mysterious Darryl Van Horne brings in his beautiful, exotic attorney, Ivanka, to represent Kat. Meanwhile, Randy takes their kids to buy a new puppy, and Kat calls the sheriff because she thinks he's kidnapping them. Randy hires his fishing buddy, Frank, to represent him, and Frank is totally out of his league because he didn't even finish law school. [SpoilerTV]

Additional reporting by Alexis Brown.

Shock Till You Drop has received confirmation that the next movie in the one-time trilogy will be released on September 17, 2010. Called Resident Evil: Afterlife, Paul WS Anderson's fourth movie will - as we revealed last year - feature an army of Milla Jovovich's Alices taking on the Umbrella Corporation. September 2010 seems too far away already.

Confirmed Exclusive: Resident Evil 4 Arriving in Late 2010 [Shock Till You Drop]

For those who like your superheroes square-jawed and old-fashioned, the book of the week has to be DC's Flash: Rebirth, which brings Barry Allen - the character whose creation sparked the industry's "Silver Age" superhero boom - back on a regular basis, courtesy of Green Lantern's Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver. The preview pages released so far promise a fast-moving (fittingly, for the fastest man alive) old-school superhero book, and if Johns and Van Sciver can achieve half of what they managed for GL, it'll be a fun ride.

DC is also releasing the first issue of Seaguy: Slaves of Mickey Eye this week, Grant Morrison's latest deconstruction of modern culture through a superhero lens, which promises to be weird, wonderful and probably more than a little confusing for most folks, but that's okay; they could always look to DC's Wildstorm imprint, which has two videogame tie-ins coming out, Prototype and a special Resident Evil collection called Fire and Ice.

Marvel looks to the past this week with Wolverine Omnibus, a movie tie-in collecting some of the X-Man's greatest hits in advance of next month's movie. It's filled with all manner of guest-stars like the Punisher, Spider-Man, the Hulk and Captain America. Talking of the star-spangled Avenger, he's celebrating the 70th birthday of the publisher with the special Captain America Comics #1 70th Anniversary Special.

If your tastes run to the more comedic, then you might prefer the Marvel Assistant-Sized Spectacular, which shows what happens when editorial assistants get to run the show, and fans of European space war can comfort themselves with Universal War One: Revelations, a new series of the translated French space opera.

But that's not all; Dark Horse releases Who Wants To Be A Superhero: The Defuser, reminding us all about Stan Lee's terrible reality show for hopefully one final time.

And Boom! Studios make their bid for being publisher of the week for the second consecutive week with the first issue of Cars: The Rookie, a new mini-series based on the Pixar movie, and Irredeemable, a compelling new superhero series from Kingdom Come's Mark Waid that looks at what happens when the world's greatest superhero goes too far... Consider it the other end of the spectrum from Flash: Rebirth, but just as good.

Even if you find superheroes to be a blight on today's consumer society, the complete list of this week's new comic releases is sure to contain at least one thing that you'll want to pick up at your local comic store... which you can find by using the Comic Shop Locator Service, in case you've never been there before. But, still, go on: believe a man can fly.

Totally Looks Like blew the whistle on Avon for trying to spread this zombie formula over the masses. The product that calls itself "Avon Derma-Full" promises that in three days you'll have less wrinkles....and an unquenchable thirst for human flesh. Don't believe us? Then check out the commercials one from Umbrella Crop. the other from Avon.

Stay away from this product good citizens, at least until I get my shot gun and Ducati escape plan underway.

Avon Commercial

Umbrella Corps Regenerate Commercial

[via saferight]

io9: Are We Going To See An Army Of Alices?

Anderson: We're in very early discussions about all of it, so it's not a definite thing by any means. Mila would like to return, and I would certainly like to see the franchise continue. Last year there were, I think, eight 'threequels' got released. Rush Hour 3, Pirates 3, Spider-Man 3...but there was eight of them. Shrek 3. Six out of the eight, the third movie did worse business than the second movie. There were only two where the third movie did better than the second movie. That was Bourne Ultimatum and Resident Evil. So, you know, it is quite an achievement for a franchise to keep growing like that, and we all feel that the audience is excited to see another one clearly. We would like, if we could put it together, we would do it.

io9: Right, but hypothetically how would you go about using all of those Alices?

Anderson - I'm not going to tell you that. [laughs]... but we would

io9: You would?

Anderson: We would, yes. Absolutely.

I've got two short clips for you here. One comes as the movie begins, after Alice's mind has been wiped by a chemical released by the AI running Umbrella. She starts to remember her "past" in little bits as she enters the Umbrella complex to find out what's gone wrong. There's this early, creepy moment where she remembers that she was supposedly married, but her wedding ring is "property of Umbrella corporation," which makes it seem as if her marriage memories are just implants to keep her in line. So in the second scene, towards the end of the flick, we discover her "husband" is one of the bad guys, and she has to get rid of him with her rediscovered superpowers. This scene is the ultimate breakup moment. Now you know why Alice has serious relationship baggage. [Resident Evil via IMDB]

Does Resident Evil 4 need to be made? Yes, yes, a million times yes. Why? Because I want to see an army of Alices riding in on zombie horses, and storming the gates of Umbrella Corp's many hidden cities across the globe. Anderson agrees with me, saying: “I love the Resident Evil franchise and we always try to make the best possible movie we can. If we could find a good ‘Resident Evil 4’ to make, then we would do it,” he said. “But I wouldn’t just do it for the sake of it, that’s for sure.”

But who will be in this movie as they killed off every single character we cared about, including foxy L.J? Will we get to find out what happened in Alaska? Did Claire make it to the new Earth? And what about all of the Alices? Where did they all find clothes, where will they live, how do we tell them apart? There are so many questions, this movie is just begging to be made. [MTV]

Never Go Through A Tunnel

It seems like a quick and easy way out, but dark and scary passageways usually house bad things that you don't want to bother with in the middle of fleeing for your life. It's simple: tunnels=death, for at least one person in the group. This is a tried and true fact of apocalyptic movies. Take for example the idiot drivers who decided to take the tunnel in Independence Day, toasted via fire ball (except for the ones who had that dog, but more on that later). Also who could forget the night vision moments in Cloverfield walking through New York's subway system. Avoid tunnels at all costs.

Do Not Join A Theme Gang

With the world ending, there will be many sad sacks who will try and recreate a Mad Max road warrior gang. Resist the urge to join anything theme-oriented. Basic rule of thumb: if you look like an idiot with a face tattoo or a fool running around in Medieval garb, you're going to get the sharp end of the death stick. Doomsday spelled this out pretty clearly: everyone who looked ridiculous got a ridiculous ending. Motorcycle gangs count too, don't forget even Romero's Dawn of the Dead leather riders got their just rewards for their hideous outfits and bad attitudes. Stick to the rag-tag refugee look, or lone wolf army motif. If you have to join a gang, stay in the back and never do anything you might later regret — like eat people.

Do Not Go Back For Loved Ones

If the world is ending, you may feel the need to find love ones that are in Princeton, a New York Library or a high rise apartment. This is a bad idea. Let go of your emotions and assume that everyone else in the world is dead, or trying to steal your food supplies. Going after loved ones almost always means your own death or the death of someone in the group. Look at it this way, it your loved one has survived and you meet up with them, bonus for you. But most likely they died from the plague, zombies, earthquake flood or whatever.

Never Be The First

I can't believe this even has to be said but no, do not go exploring in rooms, attic, caves, hallways or apartments where you are the first one in the door. My favorite character from Resident Evil Extinction, L.J., got bit by a zombie lady because he was checking out all the rooms to make sure it was safe. Let someone else do this, get a job as a medic or cook. There is no need for you to be first to go anywhere — let someone else do the exploring. If they find something really good, you can kill them and take it anyway.

Bring Your Pet

If you don't have a pet, I suggest you go to the pet store and steal one, looter style, or take care of your dead neighbors'. You may need this pet to help you keep your sanity or sacrifice its life for you, like in I Am Legend. Either way, animals are good luck when the chips are down for humans. You never know when a pair of love birds will come in handy to calm down a flock of murderous seagulls and crows. The same rule sometimes applies to children, but you will have to feed them considerably more.

Ditch The Biggest Guy In Your Group

They will turn into a zombie or rage machine, it's proven. Kill them before they kill you, or just ditch them at the next pass.

Don't Trust People In Uniform Unless They Have Defected From The System

Never trust the government, especially when the world is ending. It's a terrible idea, they would rather nuke the whole place than deal with people. If you see the military, run the other way or hide. Do not do what they say. The friendly people of Hollywood followed the advice of the government from Right At Your Door, and what happened to them? Same with the people of Raccoon City, from Resident Evil Apocalypse. Granted an ex-military person hell-bent on sticking it to the man can be a wonderful asset during the end of the world, just be sure to know the difference between the two.

Don't Barricade Yourself In

It always seems like a good idea, but 9 times out of 10 whatever you're trying to keep out gets in and now you're trapped. Think of the mess it caused for the cute little family in the beginning of28 Weeks Later and Shaun of the Dead. I say build a sky city in the trees.

Finally if all else fails, find the closest fridge, step in, and pray for a miracle.

I already mentioned Alien, but the prison planet on Alien 3 was actually even creepier than the smashed alien ship. That bleak, abandoned planet with its industrial freakshow prison was so depressing and hopeless that audiences stayed away from this film in droves — even though it was directed by David "Se7en" Fincher, a guy who certainly knows how to give good setting. William Gibson worked on an early version of the script. If you haven't seen this one in a while, give it a second viewing. You might be surprised.

One of the all-time most horrifying scifi settings is the hallucinatory, hellish veterans hospital in Jacob's Ladder. This film about a guy given weird "super soldier" drugs during Vietnam has strange religious overtones, but mostly is about someone driven crazy by government-conspiracy pharmaceuticals and high-tech warfare. Played with wide-eyed hysteria by a very young Tim Robbins, the guy begins seeing himself in a hospital hell, which is full of these twitchy-headed, masked demons who make the scariest dry-shuffling noises I've ever heard. Watch if you dare.

A cult movie from the mists of time (ie, 1975) called A Boy and His Dog wins for best scary, underground city long before City of Ember locked us into its spell. Featuring Don Johnson and a talking, mutant dog who is smarter than he is (yes, I know that's believable), the post-apocalyptic flick chronicles Don's foray into an underground city called "Topeka" where everybody wears weird clown makeup and lives a horrifying nightmare of suburban life, complete with enforced church-going and scary, ultra-trimmed lawns. Unfortunately for poor Don, radiation has made all the men sterile and they want to keep him prisoner and milk him for sperm (but not in a fun way). Jason Robards does an amazing job as the underground city's demented mayor. Actually, this trailer may scare you for reasons other than the underground city.

Laboratories — especially where They are experimenting on humans — are always frightening. That's what made so many scenes from The X-Files compelling.

And it's also what makes us love to fear the lab featured in Resident Evil: Extinction, where Milla Jovovich's clones kept getting tested and killed over and over again. But for sheer horror in set design, nothing can beat THX 1138, George Lucas' film about a completely sanitized, emotion-free society where everyone wears white (except the cops), every room is white, and everything is lit with insanely bright floodlamps. Filmed partly in one of San Francisco's ultra-white subway stations (the Powell St. BART station, to be exact), the whole film is saturated with a freaky fascist feeling created by Lucas' minimalist but frightening setting.

It's best to think of post-apocalyptic movies as "survival movies." There's never been a post-apocalyptic film where the global nightmare killed every single human — unless it was some 1960s avant-garde experiment showing an empty wasteland for two hours. The point of post-apocalyptic movies is that people do survive, even if they have to endure horrible things in the process.

In I Am Legend, we spend a lot of time admiring how well Will Smith has preserved normal life, including stir fried veggies and DVDs. Just like Heston's swinging pad in Omega Man, Smith's living space looks comfy, even luxurious. When I talked to I Am Legend production designer David Lazan, he mentioned that his goal with Will Smith's house was to make it look as much like a normal Washington Square townhouse as possible — until the shutters come down at night.

And the TV show Jericho is all about how the lucky Kansas town clings to domesticity in the face of the mass slaughter of half the United States. The show lingers lovingly over its characters' pristine kitchens and nice clothes, even as they indulge in the greatest luxury of all — petty soap-opera drama.

Part of the thrill of survival movies is witnessing the extreme stuff people have to do to remain alive. It's the same reason we love watching people eat bugs on Survivor, or kids terrorizing each other in the short-lived Kid Nation. When it's not being cozy, Jericho spends a lot of time lingering over the near-starvation of the townspeople and the frozen corpses they have to step over just outside of town.

A few things have changed since 2000, when the nastiest catastrophe to hit the world was John Travolta in a crappy headpiece. These days, the hardest thing is guessing which decaying-orbit bomb will hit us first. Climate crash, Krugmaniac economic collapse, terrorism, peak oil, wars, a nuclear North Korea, avian flu, etc. But more than that, it's increasingly clear that the early 21st. century way of life in America is unsustainable. We can't keep up our current level of energy use or foreign debt forever. It feels a lot like the 1970s, the last time huge disaster movies were this popular.

So we try to imagine what it could be like when the American empire falls and/or the globalized post-industrial economy collapses. And we look for stories that show how we might possibly salvage our asses in that situation.

But maybe there's another explanation: we actually want to tear down our world of maxi-corps, sprawl and environmental destruction. And we can't imagine any way that could happen other than through some kind of omni-fucking calamity.

(Note: Children of Men came out in the U.S. on Dec. 25, 2006, which means almost everybody here saw it in 2007.)