Based on 70s short story by Richard Matheson, who also wrote I Am Legend, the movie's central premise is simple. A strangely-disfigured man named Arlington offers a strange proposition to a young family. If they press the button on a box he leaves with them, somebody they don't know will die and they will receive $1 million in cash. School teacher Norma and her NASA engineer husband Arthur aren't sure what to do when the mysterious Arlington leaves them to make their decision. Is the box a hoax? If not, is it bad to kill somebody they don't know if it means they'll have enough money to continue their comfortable, middle-class existence?

With Arthur's dreams of becoming an astronaut dashed (he failed the psychological test), and Norma unable to continue getting a discount for their son at the fancy private school where she teaches, money has recently become a source of anxiety for the couple. So Norma decides to press the button, though Arthur is immediately upset that she does it.

Once this fundamental plot point fades into the narrative background, cult auteur Kelly is free to do what he does best: Get weird. He slowly builds a portrait of suburban life haunted by a mystical military-industrial complex ruled by aliens and spies. Another NASA employee's wife is brutally murdered while their daughter cowers upstairs, and Arthur suspects it's because of Norma's button pushing. Meanwhile, people with nosebleeds are spying on the couple, as well as speaking in portentious tones about "going into the light."

Arlington continues to keep them under surveillance, and they discover that he's actually with the NSA. He built the box after being struck by lightning and mysteriously brought back from the dead. And it all has something to do with the Mars probe Voyager that Arthur helped design.

The movie is packed with the memorable, strange imagery that is Kelly's trademark. Boxes made of water hover in the air, a perfect recreation of a low-tech 1970s library becomes a haunting maze, and the NASA sets are lovingly rendered, complete with retro computers and lens flare. And the eponymous box itself is designed like some kind of Cold War objet d'art. Balanced atop a 70s-style wood panel box is a big red button that looks like it could launch nukes.

Kelly manages to weave together mystical moral issues with government conspiracies and godlike alien intelligences, but the result is uneven. It's hard to sympathize with a comfortably middle-class couple who are willing to kill somebody just so they can continue to live in a giant house and send their son to private school. And the moral universe Kelly has created in The Box is woefully black-and-white: Either you push the button and you're bad, or you don't push it and you're good. I kept waiting for Donnie Darko to step out from behind a curtain and yell at everybody for trying to reduce all human problems to the bland binary of "fear" vs. "love."

We also discover that the button is always pushed by wives, which suggests that women are the culprits holding humanity back from achieving the level of moral goodness that the aliens require in order to spare us from annihilation.

Despite these problems, there were flashes of goofy brilliance in The Box. Especially in the woefully short segments where we see Arlington's mysterious laboratory, located in a wind tunnel that the NSA has requisitioned from NASA, we get a glimpse of a truly great science fiction story. Arlington and his "employees" are a more deeply strange and stylized version of characters from Fringe, and that's a good thing. There's an especially great moment when one of Arlington's puppets returns to the alien spy installation at a tiny freeway motel, which is packed with other alien-controlled people and partly papered over with tinfoil. There's even a cheesy motel pool that's been improbably converted into an alien portal.

Kelly is at his best when he's making mind-melting science fiction with allegorical underpinnings, but unfortunately The Box is more like a morality play with a few science fiction characters hanging around in the background. Making matters worse is that the moral here seems like easy, unimaginative misanthropy. Unlike Kelly's previous films, which bristle with complicated hopefulness in the face of horror, The Box paints a simplistically dark picture of humanity. Despite the best of intentions, women keep pressing that button again and again - putting their families in danger, and dooming Earth to a harsh judgment from the godlike aliens.

Why are such complicated characters doomed to be inserted into narrative boxes that only clumsily contain them? Unfortunately, The Box doesn't answer that question.

When a creator invents a fairly consistent set of rules, images, and characters in his or her fiction, often they get referred to collectively as a "mythos" (like the Cthulhu Mythos) or a "verse" (like the Whedonverse). Kelly has said explicitly that there are interconnected ideas underpinning his cult hit Donnie Darko, weirdo political epic Southland Tales, and forthcoming movie The Box (opening tomorrow). Kelly's movies are deliberately crafted to remain open to many interpretations. But there are a few consistent themes that form the shadowy pillars of what I've come to think of as the Darko Mythos.

time travel

In Donnie Darko, the half-mad protagonist Donnie is given a book called The Philosophy of Time Travel by one of his teachers. Reading it, he realizes that he's accidentally entered a "tangent universe" created by a rift or portal in space-time. Tangent universes diverge from reality very dramatically, are extremely unstable, and eventually come to an abrupt end. It appears that Donnie may have entered the tangent universe when a jet engine crashes into his bedroom while he's out sleepwalking with shady figure in a bunny suit named Frank (who turns out to be a figure from Donnie's future). Donnie lives in the tangent universe for a month, then travels back in time to the moment when the jet engine crashes into his room - only this time, he's in the bed. His death allows several other characters to live, and it's possible that they remember the tangent universe in dreams.

Critics have suggested that Southland Tales may also be set in a tangent universe, because the graphic novels accompanying the film describe several of the characters traveling through space-time rifts. The movie begins with two characters, Roland and Boxer, driving through a rift and traveling back in time for an hour. Southland Tales also tells the story of an alternate United States which has been attacked with nukes and hit by an energy crisis nearly as dire as peak oil. It's possible this entire vision of the United States is a tangent universe, which is destroyed at the end of the movie when the twins Ronald and Roland Tavener rise above Los Angeles in a floating ice cream truck and touch their hands together.

Time travel, in the Darko Mythos, is associated with relatively short-lived, parallel worlds headed for an apocalypse.

water flows through everyone and everything

As Kelly told us earlier today, he includes a lot of water imagery in his work because he thinks it represents a force that connects humans with each other and the water-logged Earth itself. In Donnie Darko, many of the characters (including Donnie) sprout long, watery tentacles that emerge from their chests. These watery appendages are connected with the way people move through time, and they are sometimes depicted as tunnels. You could call them souls, or simply a representation of the water that every human - no matter how despised or despicable - carries within them.

Water plays a role in Southland Tales as well. A crazed inventor at the Treer Corporation has created something called "fluid karma" that uses quantum particles to generate energy. It's touted as a replacement for oil, but also seems to be causing rifts in space-time.

Look out for water symbolism in The Box, too. A very strong theme in the Darko Mythos is that all human beings are connected. Every death leads to someone else's survival, and every crime is counterbalanced by an act of (sometimes bizarre) justice. People transform each other's lives across time and vast distances without realizing it.

mirror worlds

One of the iconic moments in Donnie Darko is when Donnie looks into the mirror and sees Frank in his bunny suit. There are several scenes where we look out of the mirror into Donnie's face, and watch him pounding against the mirror with his fists or a knife as the surface of the mirror ripples like water. In Southland Tales, the mirroring is even more bizarre. Two of the main characters are twins (or possibly just alternate versions of the same guy) named Ronald and Roland Tavener. Meanwhile, a character named Boxer (played by Dwayne "Rock" Johnson) has traveled back in time via a tangent universe, but his original self has died (which you see in this image of him looking at his own dead body).

In a world riddled with alternate universes, where everybody is connected, it's no surprise that doubling is a major aspect of the Darko Mythos. The mirror represents another version of the self, or perhaps just an imperfect way of looking at yourself. Either way, mirrors in the Darko Mythos remind us that we can never truly know ourselves. Even when we stare right into our faces, we see something mysterious.

apocalypse and redemption

The Darko Mythos possesses what you might call an agnostic form of Christianity. The trajectory of tangent universes seems to be an apocalypse that also inspires redemption: One of the notable aspects of Donnie Darko is that nearly every character is redeemed in some way, partly as a result of Donnie's actions. Even the seemingly-evil bunny Frank finds redemption in the end, when we discover that he's just a regular kid whose death in the tangent universe has turned him into one of the "manipulated dead."

Southland Tales is in some ways a retelling of the Book of Revelation from the New Testament, so it's packed with Christian imagery. But it's also full of psychic porn stars and sympathetic neo-Marxists, who seem to have claims to truth that are equal to the claims of the Bible. I'm going out on a limb here, but I'd venture to say that Kelly's view of redemption is a surreal blend of Christian spiritual love, carnal connection, and Marxist social justice. There is never any specific "God" in Kelly's work, but characters find something akin to godliness when they see and acknowledge their primal connection to other people.

Holiness and redemption in the Darko Mythos often involve a character or characters sacrificing themselves to save other people or to make the world a better place. These are not sacrifices to appease a Christian God, but rather to affirm the connectedness of all humanity. These are sacrifices even a neo-Marxist could get behind, because they aren't about going to heaven, but instead preserving the physical, carnal, human world.

military industrial entertainment complex

Southland Tales is about what happens to the United States when Republicans expand the USA-Patriot Act massively in the wake of nuclear attacks, and then institute a special surveillance agency called USIDent. It's also about how Hollywood movies and reality shows on the internet have intermingled to create a giant war of propaganda and counter-propaganda fought entirely on screen. At the same time, there are hints of government experiments with space-time that may have led to the surreal world of the movie itself, where neo-Marxists and internet porn stars are trying to subvert the surveillance state.

In Donnie Darko, the fate of the tangent universe hinges on a massive airplane engine that travels through time and eventually crushes Donnie. Even though his characters wade through mirrors and erupt with time-traveling spiritual essences, Kelly's Darko Mythos is packed with images drawn from the world of industrial technology.

You can expect to see more of this in The Box, whose main characters are part of the NASA Langley Research Center community. (In fact, The Box has a Space Age era origin in a Richard Matheson short story called "Button, Button" published in 1970.)

The Darko Mythos is also saturated with entertainment technology, from movies to the Web. During one of the pivotal moments in Donnie Darko, Frank opens a portal in a movie screen where Evil Dead is playing, and we see time/water swirling around in the center of an image from Sam Raimi's classic horror movie. One of the main characters in Southland Tales, internet porn reality star Krysta has developed precognition and written about the future of the world in a weird screenplay called "The Power," which is about a porn star trying to save the world (this subplot is mostly in the graphic novels associated with Southland Tales, not in the movie).

Ultimately the Darko Mythos is exploring mysticism in a world ruled by industry and the pseudo-rationalism of high tech propaganda. His characters, through excursions into madness and horror, always discover that beneath the trappings of modern life there lurks a primal spirit that connects all of us - across time and between mirror universes. It's a spirit that flows like water through everyone, from pornographers and NASA engineers to Christians and snotty teenage girls in the Sparkle Motion dance troupe. It's even in you.

Salon's summary of Southland Tales helped me immeasurably in writing this.

At the premiere for The Box we stole a few minutes with director Richard Kelly and finally got to the bottom of a lot of questions that have been plaguing us for years, like his constant use of water imagery, what it's like coming back after Southland Tales and what he really thinks about the Darko sequel made without him.

Why are you drawn to science fiction?

I think that science fiction is something that can capture the imagination of any human being, in the way that it lets us speculate and analyze the mysteries of the world. We live in a world that's filled with a lot of mystery. Fundamentally it gets to the heart of why we pay fourteen bucks to sit in a movie theater for two hours with a bunch of strangers. It's to discover new mysteries. And you know, with something like Avatar coming out, it sort of helps me reclaim the childhood sense of discovery I got from Jim Cameron when I saw Alien or when I saw Terminator for the first time, seeing the trailer for that film brings back all of those memories and makes me realize why I got into this business so… I think science fiction is where some of the most exciting stories are told.

Cameron Diaz and James Marsden are seen getting water dumped all over them in this movie, you've used water before as a supernatural element, can you tell us what that's all about?

Well I think sometimes the concept of saltwater coming from the ocean and the ocean being the driving force of the planet and our bodies being made of saltwater almost entirely… there's something fascinating about embracing that, the essence of it as a higher intelligence, a higher technology of some sort and it allows you to portray a higher intelligence in a visual way that provokes a lot of discussion and interpretation for audiences. So that's sort of been the reason behind my thought process. People may not understand that when they first see it but it plants a seed in your mind. It's something that we actually did with Donnie Darko and a little bit in Southland Tales so hopefully people are kind of connecting the dots.

What was it like directing this movie after doing Southland Tales?

It was a pleasure for me to have a simple concept to embrace, where I could still design an elaborate mystery behind it all and to try to design an elababorate roller coaster ride. And also to work with intimate characters and… really it's a three-character melodrama, it's the husband and the wife and the stranger who knocks on their door. And there's something wonderful about that simplicity and also being able to work within the studio system… is such a relief for me. To know that my film is going to get released and here we are, red carpet, and there's people here! So I'm very grateful for that.

One last question, have you seen S. Darko [the sequel to Donnie Darko]?

I have not seen it.

Are you planning to?

No. I kind of... it's not… I didn't have anything to do with it and I just.. kind of want the movie to exist in my heart the way I made it and I just I won't… I don't have any plans to see it.

The Box is theaters November 6th.

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.

Richard Kelly's The Box is based on Richard Matheson's story "Button, Button," which was adapted into an episode of the 1980s run of The Twilight Zone. And this clip, in which James Marsden has a strange encounter with a girl he drives home, feels like something out of The Twilight Zone with its ominous dialogue, methodical pacing, and tense soundtrack:

[via /Film]

Thor:

Here's a new casting call, which gives another hint about where the bulk of this film takes place:

[ISABEL ALVAREZ] 50's/60's A sweet small town gal who has lived her whole life in the same little town where she grew up. She's faced plenty of ups and downs in her many years but has everything she's ever wanted or needed in the small slice of Americana, family, friends and the best little restaurant in town

Avatar:

A new pic shows Sully looking at a cool display. [IGN]

Lost:

The show is going to offer us an answer to one of the show's "oldest and most confounding" mysteries, and it's going to be an answer none of us expected to get. [EW]

The show's focus will remain on the characters rather than the mythology, says Damon Lindelof, and season six will explore their relationships (including romantic ones) — just not in the way you expect. And yes, we'll get an answer to the mystery of the numbers, but it may not satisfy us. Also, we may be reading too much into the hieroglyphics on the new poster which seem to say "Who is the leader?" [E! Online]

But talking to USA Today, Lindelof hints that nothing in the show's posters is accidental. Also, the mystery of why Walt was so special, and why the Others wanted to study him, will be addressed in the final season, and will attain a new significance — even if Walt himself doesn't come back. There's still a chance that Cynthia Watros may come back as Libby, but it's up to Watros. Also, Frank Lapidus has been promoted to "series regular" this season. (Yay!) We won't have to wait until the very final episode to start getting the big answers. [USA Today]

Someone sneaked around the show's filming locations, and they found a bunch of new stuff. Out in the jungle near where Claire gave birth, there's a crude lean-to with animal skins on it. At the beach camp, there are those lean-tos made of airplane wreckage and sticks that we showed you a while back. And there's that crude grave we showed you as well. Otherville is looking run-down and destroyed. The Flame has been fixed up and has an updated Dharma logo on it. And there's a new pic of the back of the Temple. [SpoilersLost]

A supposed inside source says Locke is a "man about town" on the island, reconnecting with a bunch of the original Losties, including a gun-toting Claire... and he finds time to get stabbed by a genuine Iraqi. [SpoilersLost]

The Box:

Did you realize this Richard Kelly Twilight Zone-esque movie is coming out a week from Friday? I feel like we've barely heard about it. But fear not, there are TV spots airing on network TV, and here they are:

And a new poster. [ShockTillYouDrop]

Dollhouse:

Eliza Dushku Twittered about the ongoing filming:

We're shooting way outside LA in an underground bunker w/ methane meters, exit plans (one way in & out w/ a 100+ crew!), firearms. G.I.Jane.

Could this be a return to the post-apocalyptic universe of "Epitaph One"? Fingers crossed! [Twitter]

Fringe:

Seems like the show will keep playing with the tension of everybody getting clues that Peter is from an alternate universe, but Peter being unaware, for the rest of the season. [EW]

Leonard Nimoy has one more appearance on the show that he's already filmed — but he hints that he may not come back at all after that. The producers want him to come back, to deepen the "alternate universe" mythology, but he's waiting for them to come up with a story arc, and he'll see if it's compelling. [MTV]

Sarah Jane Adventures:

Here are some more pics from the wedding episode, in which the Doctor shows the kids the TARDIS. [BlogtorWho]

Doctor Who:

Another interview about the animated story "Dreamland," this time with the animator. [BlogtorWho]

Supernatural:

Sam and Dean swap bodies in episode 5x12. (I want to mail Kripke a copy of that Quantum And Woody TPB, but it's probably too late for a shout-out.) [EW]

And here are some pics from the upcoming episode "The Real Ghostbusters". [SpoilerTV]

And a casting call for episode 5x12, "Swap Meat":

[GARY] 17 years old (would prefer 18 and overs), puny, gawky, bespectacled, smart and geek (think "McLovin" from "Superbad"), he's a naive, amateur Satanist who works at a fast food joint and longs to break free from his wealthy, stifling parents. He's granted one of his wishes, and starts to live the life he's always wanted. Please denote age next to your suggestions. GUEST STAR

[NORA] 16 years old (would prefer 18 and over), she is a cute, smart, alternative girl (in the vein of Thora Birch in "American Beauty") who is a naive, conflicted high school student, she's an amateur Satanist, she's not really interested in hurting anyone; she's mostly going along with Gary and Trevor's plot because she has a crush on Gary. Nora's follower-type nature is squelched when she becomes possessed by a dark force. Please denote age next to your suggestions sptv050769. Please submit all ethnicities. GUEST STAR

[SpoilerTV]

V:

Here are a couple of new promos, teaching how you can join the "Peace Ambassador" program:

Also, episodes three and four will be called "A Bright New Day" and "It's Only The Beginning." [VisitorSite]

FlashForward:

Here's a new awesome promo for tonight's episode, featuring Dominic Monaghan:

Paula Newsome (Women's Murder Club) will be joining this show as a doctor, for an arc starting in early 2010 — speculation is, she plays an Ob-GYN. [EW]

Smallville:

Kelly Souders talks about the Lois/Clark relationship:

They both have a few issues, so things never go as smoothly as you think. But what's great about the relationship, because it's sort of more adult, mature relationship, is it actually brings their issues up to the forefront, and makes them start dealing with them instead of being the younger versions of themselves, where they might not have been that conscious of it.

And in episode 9, "Pandora," we go to the future and deal with the fallout from Lois' sex dream, and there is some Lois skin. That episode plays like a finale, and we'll see an alternate ending for everyone in the cast. Also, in the next few episodes, Clark may contemplate wearing glasses. Chloe will have an unexpected love interest, and on a related note, she'll meet a superhero who's not all he's cracked up to be. (Booster Gold? That's my guess.) [EW]

Also, not only will the Martian Manhunter be back, but so will Zatanna. And — this feels like a spoiler at this point — the producers are still talking about Clark eventually turning into Superman. [MTV]

And here are a ton of promotional photos of the upcoming episode "Kandor," on top of the handful we showed you yesterday. [SpoilerTV]

Heroes:

Greg Grunberg Twittered a picture of himself wearing "scary" makeup for an upcoming scene — and it looked sort of zombie-ish. (The pic is down now, alas.) [Twitter]

Also, there are five clips from next Monday's episode, "Once Upon A Time In Texas," but I can't find them in an embeddable format. If you really care, they're here: [TV.Com]

And here is the synopsis for the following episode, "Shadowboxing":

Claire investigates the sorority attacks, which may have a link to Noah. Elsewhere, Peter finds his job performance improved after gaining a new ability, which also provides a means to help Emma, and Sylar escalates his assault on Matt.

[TV Guide]

Chuck:

Here's a casting call for episode 3x10, "Chuck Vs. The Tic Tac":

[COLONEL JAMES KELLER] (55) but needs to be able to play younger in flashbacks. Military man for life, yet relatable and casual despite his rank. GUEST STAR. All ethnicities

[SpoilerTV]

Additional reporting by Josh C. Snyder and Mary Ratliff

Here's the official synopsis:

Norma and Arthur Lewis, a suburban couple with a young child, receive a simple wooden box as a gift, which bears fatal and irrevocable consequences. A mysterious stranger, delivers the message that the box promises to bestow upon its owner $1 million with the press of a button. But, pressing this button will simultaneously cause the death of another human being somewhere in the world; someone they don't know. With just 24 hours to have the box in their possession, Norma and Arthur find themselves in the cross-hairs of a startling moral dilemma and must face the true nature of their humanity.

The Box is released on November 6th.

Hancock 2:

So much for those reports that the sequel would focus on Jason Bateman's character developing his charity project, and working on his relationship with his superhuman wife. Bateman says he hasn't been contacted about being in the sequel, and it's implied that he may not be in it. (Of course, he may get a call next week, but it's still surprising.) [Collider]

Deadpool:

Rob Liefeld Twittered about his meeting with the producers of this spin-off film, including Lauren Shuler Donner. And Ryan Reynolds, to nobody's surprise, is on board. Also:

Deadpool movie checklist- DP in costume-check! Breaking 4th wall-check! Loads of killing-double check!

And he was excited to talk to the producers about the possibilities of featuring Cable in future X-films. [Twitter via Cinemablend]

The Box:

Here are a few more stills from Richard Kelly's Twilight Zone-esque movie set in the 1970s. [Sci Fi Scoop]

Planet 51:

A new poster for the movie about The Rock accidentally invading an alien planet. [Teaser-Trailer]

2012:

And here are some new stills from Roland Emmerich's latest disaster film. [Movies-Spoilers]

Dollhouse:

Fox released three clips from tomorrow night's season opener, "Vows." [Fox via Whedonesque]

Lost:

More set pics and reports — here's a pic of Jack and Kate at the LAX airport set, plus Claire looking very pregnant. And one pic shows the construction of an elaborate temple set, and another shows the construction of a "rugged rock face." One scene being filmed today involved three gunshots ringing out and a bunch of extras, many of them dressed in the distinctive garb of the Others, running out of the temple. More pics at the link. [Hawaii Weblog]

A source claims both Juliet and Sawyer get "closure" on the island in the season premiere. And the cab driver whom Kate car-jacks is played by David H. Lawrence XVII, the "puppet-master" from last season of Heroes. (And yes, the number 17 is really part of Lawrence's professional name.) [SpoilersLost]

Warehouse 13:

It's not too soon to talk about season two of this hit show, which will air in 2010. Producer Jack Kenny says he's already got some ideas about how to deal with the huge cliffhanger at the end of season one — Leena has been made into "some sort of sleeper agent" and we'll have to "unsleeper her" or use her to trap McPherson. We'll find out where Claudia went and what she's doing, whether trying to clear her name or find McPherson. And we'll deal with the apparent death of Artie.

And then in season two proper, we'll mix it up some more. We may see Pete and Artie go out on a mission together, or Myka and Artie. We'll explore the core foursome (Pete, Myka, Artie and Claudia) in greater detail. We'll find out more about Pete's past alcoholism and possible drug addiction, and the lingering effects of Claudia's instituationalization. And both Pete and Myka will date people — maybe we'll see more of Jeff Weaver, Joe Flannigan's character from "Elements," and Myka can date him. And we'll see their reactions to each other's dating. Also, Claudia will possibly date a "local kid in the town," and maybe Pete, Myka and Artie will have different reactions to him. And we'll see more of the Regents, but maybe not all of them — maybe they'll have a spokesperson.

Also, Kenny says he wants to do an episode about "Hitler's microphone." [iFMagazine]

FlashForward:

Speaking of recovering alcoholics, apparently FBI agent Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes) is one. And his nanny is a devout Christian, who's making out with her boyfriend on the couch when the "flash forward" happens — so she takes the "flash forward" as a sign of divine retribution. [NY Times]

The Benfords' daughter Charlie says "I had a bad dream. I dreamt that there are no more good days." (And that's where the episode's title comes from.) By the end of the first episode, we get our first hint as to who/what is responsible for the flash. [Boston Herald]

Sonya Walger's surgeon character, Olivia, is put out that the entire surgical team flops to the floor in the middle of an operation. And her fellow doctor Bryce, played by Zachary Knighton, has gone to a pier to contemplate suicide when the flash happens. [Washington Post]

Here's the official synopsis of episode four, "Black Swan":

Olivia struggles to accept Bryce's suggestion that a patient's flashforward holds the key to a correct diagnosis and treatment. Meanwhile, Demetri accuses Mark of waiting for the future he saw in his flashforward to come true without incident, while Mark feels Demetri is letting his fear of what he witnessed envelop his life; and Nicole returns to work as Mark and Olivia's daughter's baby-sitter, and discloses her shocking future vision - involving a murder.

And some pics. [TV Overmind]

House:

In episode nine of this season, House tells someone he loves Cuddy. [EW]

True Blood:

And it's not too soon to talk season three of this show. Alan Ball says he's currently seeking someone to play Talbot, the "trophy husband" of the queer "vampire king of Mississippi" (played by Denis O'Hare). [EW]

Chuck:

Emmy winner Armand Assante guest stars as a Castro-esque dictator whom Casey has tried to assassinate numerous times. [EW]

Viktor Sakhay says that there will be more tension with the management at Buy More. And Lester will temporarily change something drastically about himself. [E! Online]

Sanctuary:

Here's a new trailer for season two of this Syfy show:

Smallville:

In his new quest to become the perfect hero, Clark is pretty icy to everyone, but especially to Chloe, for whom he refuses to go back in time and save Jimmy. But he does come to Lois in her hour of need. And Lois has sex on the brain — at least when she's sleeping. [TV Guide]

More on that: Lois has a scary/sexy dream sequence at the end of tomorrow night's season premiere, full of sweat, sex and blood. And death. And Jor-El tells Clark the reason he still can't fly is because he still thinks he's human. [E! Online]

We'll learn exactly where Lois went when she was missing for three weeks — and it'll look remarkably similar to the red dust storm sweeping over Sydney. [EW]

Here are two sneak peeks from tomorrow night's season opener:

Eastwick:

Rosanna Arquette will play Greta Noa, a New York gallery owner who's connected to Darryl Van Horne. She'll appear in two episodes, and there's more to her than we realize at first. [TV Guide Magazine]

Tron Legacy

Producer Sean Bailey says that the younger version of Jeff Bridges (depicted using the same techniques done to de-age Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, play a major role in the film. But Bridges will also play a second, older character, though Bailey won't say who. He also said that the computer world of Tron Legacy is not part of the Internet, but an isolated space that evolved on its own, much like the Galapagos Islands. He also reiterated that we'll be seeing light runner vehicles traveling off-road. [SCI FI Wire]

Surrogates

Radha Mitchell talks a bit about playing her character as both her human self and her robotic surrogate:

It's great to be able to change your costume in one story, and have these two different identities, but what I guess the story really gets at is the abstraction of social interaction and I guess also the obsession with perfection. So there are the robots that are all supposed to have this particular aesthetic look that I guess currently we would consider better than the other look, but if you can change your costume like that, you lose the bias, and then you go for comfort. I had a padded ass in the second costume, and, like, buckteeth, but ultimately when you can wear high heels, or you can sit around in a padded ass? So you can do either or by choice and you choose the ass. Then there's the idea that you could change your gender, and you could change your race, so what is intrinsic to who we are? We feel like it's this sort of physical thing, but maybe we are just these creatures of the mind.

[Moviehole]

Pandorum

Here is the German trailer for the scifi thriller:

[via ShockTillYouDrop]

The Green Hornet

Seth Rogen gets suited up (in an actual suit) for his superhero movie, plus Jay Chou in suspenders:

[Accidental Sexiness]

Dollhouse

At the end of the season premiere, Echo will reveal to Paul that she is functioning with multiple personalities in her head and is becoming aware of her situation. And then Paul will start to look upon Echo as something other than a damsel in distress. [EW]

Kick-Ass

Mark Millar says both the Kick-Ass book and the movie will end on a teaser, setting up a sequel. [MTV]

Fringe

Blair Brown, who plays Massive Dynamics COO Nina Sharp, talks a bit about her character and the coming season:

[Zap2it]

Episode nine will feature Dr. Lao Che, an English and Cantonese-speaking herbalist with big plans. [Spoiler TV]

We'll have a fresh encounter with one of Broyles' old cases from his long history with the Fringe Division this season. [EW]

Joshua Jackson said not to expect any Peter-Olivia romance, as he views their relationship more like that of siblings. He also says this season's episodes are about half mythology episodes, and half one-off investigations. [CinemaBlend]

Supernatural

As we mentioned, the season's fourth episode, "The End," features Dean traveling into the future to the year 2014, when a demonic virus is turning people into zombies, and Zachariah explains that this is the world that results from Dean's refusal to help the angels fight Lucifer. Dean also meets his future self.

It's a Dean-heavy episode, to be sure, but Sam will appear about ten minutes before then end, and his appearance will make his absence from the rest of the episode make sense. [E! Online]

For the seventh episode, Hal Ozsan and Pascale Hutton have been cast as Lia and Patrick respectively. [Spoiler TV]

House

Creator David Shore is aware that Taub and Thirteen's three-year fellowships are about to end, but hasn't figured out what to do about it. Also, there are no indications in the early scripts that Cuddy is aware of House getting down and dirty with Franka Potente, but Cuddy may be getting a little action of her own, in the form of scruffy privae detective Lucas Douglas. [EW]

Lost

The third episode of the new season will center on Kate. [EW]

Warehouse 13

Here is the official description and sneak peek for the show's first season finale from Syfy:

"MacPherson" is the thrilling action-packed season finale which features guest appearances by CCH Pounder (ER) and Roger Rees (Cheers). MacPherson, after a failed attempt to take Artie's life, is now selling dangerous artifacts, stolen from the Warehouse shelves, on the black-market. Artie and Leena (Genelle Williams) also suspect there's a mole in the Warehouse who's secretly aligned with MacPherson – could it be Claudia? Meanwhile, as the team hunts down MacPherson, they realize too late that his capture is a carefully orchestrated trap to destroy them.

V

The producers are casting the guest role of Cyrus for episode three. He'll be a jittery man in his late 30s who was, in his youth, a fierce and proud soldier. [Spoiler TV]

Heroes

Actors Ray Park and Robert Knepper say that their characters aren't stereotypical carnival folk, and Knepper described his character Samuel is a "Keith Richards-esque, rock and roller kind of guy." Park said his character, Edgar is a supe speedster like Daphne, with knife skills and acrobatics as a bonus. Samuel, meanwhile, is an earthmover, able to manipulate the ground beneath him. They also said there is a lot of rivalry and jealousy between the pair, saying if they trust each other, they still won't turn their backs on one another for very long. [CBR]

On September 28, NBC is launching ten consecutive weeks of Heroes webisodes, which they say will crossover with the TV series. [Spoiler TV]

The tenth episode of the season is called "Brother's Keeper." [HeroesSite]

Eureka

In the season finale, Zoe heads off to Harvard, Tess is off to Australia, and a magnetic disturbance hovers over the town:

The Box

Cameron Diaz goes groovy in the latest round of publicity stills:

[Spoiler TV]

Priest

Madhcen Amick has been cast in this Paul Bettany-starring vampire Western. She'll be playing the mother of Bettany's kidnapped niece. [ShockTillYouDrop]

Smallville

In the early part of the season, Tess will mostly be interacting with Zod. They'll be allies, but with very different agendas — hers to protect the Blur, his to find him. And episode three will feature a zombified Lois Lane. [EW]

FlashForward

Seven clips from the premiere have been released:

[UGO]

In the third episode, a young Somali herder will see some very surprising things. [Spoiler TV]

MovieWeb has tons of interviews with the producers and cast:

Marc Guggenheim:

Jessika Borsiczky:

David Goyer:

Joseph Fiennes:

Christine Woods:

Courtney B. Vance:

Sonya Walger:

[MovieWeb]

Vampire Diaries

Ian Somerhalder, who plays less human-loving vamp Damon, says that while we'll see flashes of Damon's humanity, he'll stick with the evil thing for a while. He also says that Damon harbors a lot of animosity toward his brother Stefan for something that happened in their past, and any time Stefan finds himself enjoying any happiness, Damon will show up to ruin it. To that end, Damon will try to ingratiate himself to the townsfolk and worming his way into Stefan's life. [E! Online]

Additional reporting by Alexis Brown and Charlie Jane Anders.

Jennifer's Body

A new TV spot shows a little bit of the murder that gets this demonic party started:

[via ShockTillYouDrop]

Lost

Honolulu International Airport was dressed up as LAX for Lost filming, with Matthew Fox (Jack), Evangeline Lilly (Kate), Josh Holloway (Sawyer), and Naveen Andrews (Sayid) expected on set. Visitors spotted the Oceanic Airlines logo as well as Daniel Roebuck, who played the late (exploded) Dr. Leslie Arzt, leading some to speculate that we will see another timeline showing the safe landing of Oceanic Flight 815. [Hawaii Blog]

Another set report comes from the site of the now-demolished Swan Station, and appears to be set after Juliet detonated the bomb. Jack, Kate, Miles, and Jin were all on set, and Sawyer was visibly upset over Juliet's actions. He runs toward the hole, which is now filled with metal from the site. The set reporter also saw stunt doubles climb out of the hole using vines. They also saw Hurley and Sayid on set, but not filming, and Sayid's Dharma uniform was still covered in blood. [KryptonSite]

At Seattle's Bumbershoot festival, a panel of writers and producers claimed that, while the creative team does have a roadmap for mysteries that have to be explained, not every single detail will be made clear. They also said we'll be seeing Charlie and possibly the flight attendant Cindy as well, that season six will have a significant spiritual bent, and that the final shot of the show is already planned. [Pop Distillery]

Starting in the fourth episode of the sixth season, Lost will feature a recurring character, a teenage boy who has dealt with a horrible family accident and has been put in charge of something important, something that weighs heavily on him. He's also described as "wise beyond his years." Could this be the younger version of a character we've already met? An older version of Aaron? [Dark UFO]

Fringe

Photos from the second episode "Night of Desirable Objects" suggest that Charlie is still with us after the season premiere:

[Spoiler TV]

At Dragon*Con, Leonard Nimoy reiterated that he will appear in multiple episodes this season, including one that will air next month set around the alternate universe. [Trek Web]

Supernatural

In the images for the season's third episode "Free to be You and Me," Dean and Castiel pose as FBI agents, and we get our first look at Mark Pellegrino as Lucifer. Evidently, it was Casual Friday in Hell:

[J-Squared]

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Here are four clips from the computer-animated food fest:

[via CinemaBlend]

True Blood

HBO has put together a teaser trailer for Sunday's season finale:

[via Spoiler TV]

Heroes

The new promo pledges our heroes (and presumably the writers) will be "back at their best:"

[NBC]

The Box

Here's the French poster for Richard Kelly's adaptation of Richard Matheson's short story, "Button, Button:"

[ShockTillYouDrop]

Pandorum

The Brazilian one-sheet for Pandorum features what appears to be a countdown clock:

[ShockTillYouDrop]

New Moon

The latest still shows Edward in a bedroom with Bella, although it's not clear if he's the real Edward, or just a figment of her imagination:

[MTV Movies Blog]

Smallville

In the sixth episode, "Crossfire," Lois and Clark kiss, which is the first time that their attraction is mutually acknowledged without any external forces or time alterations. This episode sets up Lois's departure in the seventh episode "Kandor" and her return in the eighth episode "Idol." Also, there will be an ominous revelation about Lois's futuristic time flashes. [KryptonSite]

And here are a few more images from the season opener, "Savior:"

[KryptonSite]

FlashForward

Below is a UK promo, slightly different from the promos airing in the US:

[via FlashForward.pl]

Eastwick

ABC describes the characters in a press release for the pilot. Roxie is an extroverted artist, Kat an overworked wife and mother, and Joanna a wallflower local reporter, and the three didn't get along for many years because of their preconceived notions about one another. But a strange encounter in the park prompts them to bond over martinis and wish for change in their lives. This unlocks a power within each of them and brings the wealthy, mysterious Darryl Van Horne into town, who will help them discover their powers. We'll also meet Penny, Joanna's co-worker and best friend, Bun, the fun and kooky head of the Eastwick Historical Society (who may have the key to Darryl's true identity), and Mia, Roxie's teenaged daughter. Certain men in Eastwick, including Joanna's crush Will and Kat's layabout husband Raymond become unintentional targets of the women's powers. [Spoiler TV]

The titles of the first four episodes will be "Pilot," "Reaping and Sewing," "Madams and Madames," and "Fleas and Casserole." [Eastwick-Fans.net]

Additional reporting by Alexis Brown and Charlie Jane Anders.

X-Men Origins: Magneto:

With rumors swirling around that this prequel could start filming in the next year or so, Patrick Stewart hints that he'll be back. Stewart told an audience at Dragon*Con that he's eager to revisit the role of Professor X. He was recently in a production of Waiting For Godot with Ian McKellen, and the two actors agreed they weren't done with the Xavier/Magneto relationship and would like to do more with it. Oh, and Stewart said he's left Jean-Luc Picard behind, but would be open to a cameo in a future film. [CNN]

9:

The ragdolls in the movie aren't just moping around pathetically feeling bad that the human race has been wiped out — they're actually quite optimistic, seeing the post-apocalyptic world as full of raw materials for themselves. They're constantly building lots of weird gadgets and stuff. [L.A. Times]

The Box:

This Richard Kelly-directed mindfrak of a film released a new trailer, but it looks pretty much identical to the trailer we featured back in June. Which could be why it's labeled as "Trailer 1B".

New Moon:

Some new pics from the most eagerly anticipated film starring Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart of the year. Possibly. [SpoilerTV-Movies]

Doctor Who:

A poster on the GallifreyBase forums claims that David Tennant's Doctor is alone when he dies/regenerates. It's heartbreaking and you won't see it coming. [GallifreyBase]

And this won't come as much of a shock to those of you who've been paying attention, but the Daleks are fighting for Winston Churchill in World War II, in a season five episode. The new bit is that the Daleks will supposedly be painted "battle green" and have the Union Jack painted on their top helmet thingies. [Digital Spy]

And The Sun, a British tabloid which is known for its pinpoint accuracy (if you have a large enough pin, that is) claims that Blackadder creator Richard Curtis will write an episode of season five, featuring Matt Smith. And Curtis reportedly says "There will be a monster. And a famous historical figure will battle the monster." [The Sun]

Dollhouse:

A new promo (sorry for the bad quality) spells out a bit more of the first episode's plot, and how Paul Ballard fits in now.

Fringe:

While the show's producers and actors were tweeting the other night, they answered your questions. Among other things, we learned we'll find out in season two whom the Observer was talking to at the beginning of "The Arrival." The Observer does not work for William Bell. And we'll learn much more, generally, about the Observer this year.

There will be a lot more clues embedded in the show this year. Peter will definitely have some romantic interest this year. Walter may or may not get to visit the other dimension — they're still working that one out. The books in the girl's apartment (including Childhood's End) offer a clue. And Emmanuel Grayson, the Trekkie seen in "The Road Not Taken," will turn up more in season two, and will be very helpful. And that "alternate reality" reveal is crucial to all of season two. [The ODI]

And here's an extended version of the "Paranoia" trailer, with more scenes from the season's first two episodes. [Fringe Television]

Smallville:

Here are some images from the season premiere, including Clark Kent's new Superman-ish costume. [OSCK and MovieWeb]

Stargate Universe:

Robert Carlyle did a morning TV interview and talked about his character, plus they showed a new snippet from the first episode:

MediaPundit posted scans of the promo booklet that came with the screener DVDs of this series, and they include a few nice images of the cast, plus a few plot details. The crew will struggle with the most basic necessities of obtaining food, water and air on board the Ancient ship Destiny. Robert Carlyle's character, Nicholas Rush, has dedicated his life to exploring the "ninth chevron" since the death of his wife, and he's solely responsible for the situation that strands everybody on the other side of the universe. But he has no remorse.

Chloe Armstrong is the daughter of Senator Armstrong, but she's also his aide, and she's responsible for influencing the decision to continue funding to the Stargate program. She has a wild streak.

Col. Everett Young is at the end of his military career and has a hard time hanging up his wings — but when he's chosen for one last mission, it pushes his marriage to the breaking point. Camile Wray (Ming-Na) is a human resources executive, but finds herself the highest ranking member of the International Oversight Committee on the Destiny.

Alaina Huffman's character, 1st. Lt. Tamara Johnson, wanted to be a doctor but was unable to afford medical school. The strong-willed, self-taught medic was days away from leaving the program, then found herself the only one aboard the Destiny with any medical training. And 1st. Lt. Matthew Scott (Brian J. Smith) is a new member of the Stargate team with a troubled past, who's completely unprepared when he's thrust into a leadership role at a time of crisis. He struggles to maintain accord between people who have different agendas. Master Sgt. Ronald Greer has a troubled past, which has yet to be revealed. And he's got a short fuse, with no apologies. More images at the link. [Media Pundit]

Supernatural:

A new promo for the season opener from the Canadian channel Space. [Oh No They Didn't]

And it looks like our heroes will be visiting Canton in episode 5x05, judging from these awesome set pics. Way more great photos at the link. [The Scenery via SpoilerTV]

True Blood:

It's a nice day for a white wedding, in some stills from the final episode of the season, "Beyond Here Lies Nothin." [BSC Review]

Eastwick:

The evil-ish Darryl Van Horne makes his first appearance in this show stark naked, stepping out of an indoor pool in his playboy mansion. He hits on Roxie (Rebecca Romijn) who tells him he's "vain, charmless, creepy, pretentious, arrogant, your hair is from 1982. And you aren't nearly as handsome as you think you are." (And then I'm assuming they have sex.) [SpoilerTV]

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies:

Some more images from this direct to DVD movie, coming soon. [Warner Bros.]

Additional research by Alexis Brown.

The Fourth Kind
It's the unofficial sequel to Close Encounters of the Third Kind as Milla Jojovich plays a therapist dealing with survivors of alien abductions (which are, apparently, close encounters of the fourth ki - Oh, you're there already). The movie claims to be based on real-life video footage, but feel free to take that with a Blair Witch-sized piece of salt.

The Men Who Stare At Goats
Adapted from the non-fiction reporting of British journalist Jon Ronson, George Clooney's new film goes inside the more-than-slightly ridiculous world of a US military unit dedicated to investigating possible uses for telepathy and psychic powers in warfare. Yes, there really is goat staring involved... as well as Kevin Spacey as a runaway psychic and Ewan MacGregor as the reporter who's out to tell the world about the whole thing.

November 13th
2012
The end of the world is very nigh in Roland Emmerich's disaster porn to beat all disaster porn. John Cusack, in a part that screams "Nicolas Cage was busy" is one man trying to hold his family together as every prophecy about the world ending in December 2012 simultaneously comes true, and we all marvel at the work of the special effects folk.

November 20th
Planet 51
As if Monsters Vs. Aliens wasn't enough, here comes another cute CG movie about tolerance and cute aliens, with voice stars including Dwayne Johnson, Justin Long and Seann William Scott. Call us cynical, but only the involvement of Gary Oldman gives us that much hope about this one.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Be warned: You only have two months to prepare for the next Twilight movie, in which werewolves come into the equation and the boys take their shirts off. Or something. The controversial (Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke was fired from the franchise and replaced on this movie by The Golden Compass' Chris Weitz, and there was fan outcry when Taylor Lautner, who played best friend Jacob in the first movie looked to be replaced as well - he wasn't) second movie offers less Robert Pattinson and, hopefully, less teen angst, than the first, but also more special effects and topless lupine thrills. But will that be enough to keep the faithful happy? Two months until we find out and counting.

With September already underway, we're a little late in providing this guide, but try not to hold it too far against us. We've split everything up month-by-month, to help you fill your calendar without too much worry - Just click on the links below.

September
October
November
December

We saw a ton of gorgeous footage, which sort of spelled out the movie's storyline: a man missing half his face comes to visit Norma (Cameron Diaz) in 1976, and offers her a million dollars. All she has to do, to earn it, is press a button on a wooden box in the next 24 hours — and someone she's never met will die. Her husband Arthur (James Marsden) is a scientist, and he's skeptical about the box, which appears to be just a plain wooden box with a glass dome and a button inside. And eventually, she winds up pressing the button, and then regrets it. Norma and Arthur track down the family of the person who died as a result of their button-pressing, and try to give them the money, to no avail. The movie is based on a short story by Richard Matheson, but Darko takes the original concept and runs with it.

More importantly, the footage we saw was like Donnie Darko, only more grown up and suburban. There was lots of trippy imagery, including people moving weirdly in unison, and the images look color-enhanced and creepy. There are some of those liquidy surreal globs that you'll recognize from Darko, and clearly Diaz and Marsden fall into a weird, scary world as a result of their decision to press the button. The film is scored by Arcade Fire.

In the press conference after the panel, Kelly told us that the movie puts Arthur and Norma through a more extreme test in the film's second and third acts, which push them to the outer limits (so to speak) of their very being. And the movie's ending is incredibly intense and emotional, as they're tested to the brink.

So who's behind this weird moral test, of pressing a deadly button for money? The biggest clues came from Diaz. (And this is a huge spoiler, so beware.) In the press conference, she talked about a higher power that's overseeing humans and trying to decide whether we deserve to go on living, as a species. But she got even more specific in the actual panel, referring to Martians who are pulling the strings. There's an existential question: "Are we alone, or is there somebody else out there pushing the button as well?" says Diaz. Also, Kelly says the movie ties in with specific events at NASA in 1976, where Arthur works.

Kelly adds that the movie is his most personal, and the film's main characters are based on his parents. He set it in the 1970s, because you couldn't have a film about "somebody you don't know" dying set today, with all the social networks and search engines. "I didn't want to write the scene where [the main characters] google arlington steward and then tweet it," says Kelly.

The film is intended to be a Hitchcockian suspense drama of the sort Kelly's parents would like, with no swearing in it whatsoever.

Adds Kelly:

I'd love to do bigger films, to play with big toys like motion capture and 3D within the studio system. But this is still the most personal film I've ever made and it's within my sensibility. I'd like to make a movie that makes more than $1 million.

He added in the press conference afterwards that it's "a real relief to know that I'm making a film that's going to be on a big screen and in a lot of theaters." He was able to navigate the studio system in a way that allowed him to make exactly the movie he wanted to make.

So we were curious about the symbolism of this random button, with its power to kill and enrich — since the movie is set during the Cold War, and that's when the source material comes from, we asked Kelly if the button is sort of linked back to the fear of nuclear war. And he responded:

The button can be a symbol of many things. It's a very pronounced metaphor. What Matheson designed, with his short story, feels like it's from myth. It feels like an old myth... and that was waht was so fascinating about it for me. It's just a wooden contraption, with a glass dome and a red button on it, and it's not something fancy. It doesn't have elaborate technology. But there's something about its simplicity, that makes your head kind of explode with the possibilities of what it could mean, and I think you can draw parallels to all sorts of things, [like] the red button that our president has that will launch nuclear missiles, or pressing a button to vote for a politician or launch a bomb.

Adds Marsden: "Or end a friendship via email. Hit send." (He makes a sort of "boom" noise.) And Diaz compares it to the "easy button," which you can get at office supply stores. "How easy is it, really?" asks Diaz.

But when you come right down to it, Kelly says it's foolish to blame a piece of technology for our own violent acts — technology makes it easier to kill another person without looking him or her in the eye, unlike the more personal, visceral feeling of stabbing someone.

Additional reporting by Annalee Newitz.

The Box, from director Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko), is based on the short story Button Button by Richard Matheson, and it looks disturbing as hell. Granted, it is a speedy trailer with hyper suspension cuts, but the premise itself is fascinating. Also, wow Frank's "watchers" (the opened mouth creep at the window) gives me the heebie jeebies. And um Frank, you've got a little something on your face...

The Box will be in theaters October 30th, fingers crossed it's more Darko and less Southland.

[via Moviefone]

Spider-Man 4:

A somewhat unlikely comeback: Michael Papajohn, who played the carjacker who kills Uncle Ben in the first movie, reportedly told a convention he'll be back in the fourth. A flashback? Or is the carjacker getting out of prison? Or something else? It could be just a bit part, but it's odd that Papajohn claims to have this gig already, when the script was probably just finished a week ago. Of course, Papajohn may not have said this at all, and it may just be a garbled report. [Superhero Hype]

Star Trek 2:

Co-writer Roberto Orci tells ComicBookMovie it's "tempting" to introduce Khan in this sequel, because the sequel will probably weave in and out of the original continuity the way the first one did. But it's risky, because you open yourself up to comparisons. [ComicBookMovie]

Inception:

Chris Nolan's "architecture of the mind" thriller has reportedly started shooting, and our only real spoiler is that locations reportedly include Tokyo, Tangiers, London, Paris, Calgary and Los Angeles. And did we already pass along the rumor that Ken Watanabe plays an exec who blackmails Leonardo DiCaprio's character? [Slashfilm]

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen:

Here's another new clip from this movie — Shia drops a fragment of the Allspark, and it sets his floor on fire and makes all the household appliances freak out. Hilarity, as they say, ensues.

The Box:

So you might have wondered just how Richard "Southland Tales" Kelly manages to turn Richard Matheson's six-page short story into a feature-length movie. Apparently, it's by treating the original story as the "first act" of a three-act structure. In the original 1970 story, a young couple receive a box with a button in it, and a man tells them that if they press the button, they receive $50,000 but someone they don't know will die. And there's a twist ending you can see coming a mile off if you've ever encountered a twist ending in your life. Kelly continues the story after the twist ending, as the couple struggle to survive and to discover the secrets behind the box. He keeps the story in the 1970s, but ups the reward to a cool million dollars. [Sci Fi Wire]

Doctor Who:

Timothy Dalton "plays a terrifying judge who puts the Doctor on trial in an intergalactic court case," claims a Welsh newspaper. (But I suspect this is made up — I think they're getting this from the Sun, which invented this plot strand when they were running our photos without attribution last week.) [Wales Online]

Fringe:

J.J. Abrams explains what's coming in season two:

First of all, I would say that the first year was about learning there is an enemy and I would say that Season 2 is about knowing the enemy. As the show progresses, and in the second season, it's building to a specific confrontation and a really interesting shift in the fundamental paradigm on the show in a very cool way. Without going into any details about it, it has a fun, fresh way in next year that I think you never know how it's going to work, but cross your fingers people are going to like it. Next season is thrilling for me, not in that they audience is coming back to experience what we're doing, but the excitement is not just these characters, but now playing with [those characters].

[IF Magazine via HeyUGuys]

FlashForward:

We will find out why everyone on Earth blacks out for exactly two minutes and 17 seconds, in particular. Alex Kingston (River Song from Doctor Who) has a role in the pilot and it's hinted she'll be back. The show's first thirteen episodes take place in six countries, including one episode in Dubai (with subtitles.) There are 10 main characters and each of them has his/her plot arc mapped out on a "mega bulletin board" made out of six regular-sized boards. And the MosaicCollective website will be an actual plot device on the show — everyone on Earth can go on there and map out what their flashforwards were, and cross-reference with other people's. It's the new Facebook. Saying "I Mosaiced you" will become common and grammatical.

There's an aspiring musician who has a "flashforward" showing that he becomes a huge rock star, but the two minutes and 17 seconds end just before he's about to play his signature song — leaving him uncertain what that song might be, and whether he's written it yet. None of the people who are in the audience during that flashforward know what the song is, either. And we'll find out if animals also experienced the "flashforward" phenomenon. [Zap2It]

Heroes:

New set photos show Milo Ventimiglia and Zachary Quinto on set together. Are Peter and Sylar going to have an encounter, after Matt's incredibly inept brainwashing wears off for the first time? (Really, it was more like a brain-splashing. Or even a brain-sprinkling.) Way more pics at the link. [Just Jared via SpoilerTV]

Warehouse 13:

Star Eddie McClintock describes his character, Pete Latimer:

He's a very impulsive, intelligent, man-child who has joined the Secret Service, in order to make good on some feelings of guilt that he has, in relation to the death of his father, when he was a child. He wants to make the world right.

And there's an episode where he's stuck in a cave and an artifact is trying to attach itself to his body, and he's in pain and terrified. Also, Myka (his fellow agent) gets into an altercation with Pete at one point, where she's punching and kicking him, and he's getting thrown over a table, knocking over lamps, and then falls down a hole.

Normally, though, Pete and Myka have a sort of brother-sister relationship, with Pete being the annoying younger brother. Over the course of the show, the Warehouse full of arcane artifacts becomes more of a main character itself, with the artifacts serving as antagonists. But around episode four, we meet a flesh-and-blood antagonist who's someone from warehousekeeper Artie (Saul Rubinek)'s past. [IESB]

Batman: The Brave And The Bold:

A few more details about that upcoming musical episode starring Neil Patrick Harris. Apparently, it co-stars Aquaman, voiced by John "Bender" DiMaggio, who also voices Gorilla Grodd — and Aquaman sings! Given how boastful and shallow DiMaggio's version of Arthur Curry is, that ought to be fun to watch. [Newsarama]

Additional reporting by Alexis Brown.

After the critical and commercial misstep that was Southland Tales, writer-director Kelly is looking for a comeback - and when your cinematic strengths are in science fiction and horror, it's hard to think of a firmer foundation than adapting from Richard Matheson, whose 1970 short story "Button, Button" provides the basis for the The Box.

The film follows Cameron Diaz and James Marsden as a couple in 1976 struggling with marital and financial issues. A mysterious stranger (Frank Langella) gives them a box and a simple proposition: push the button on the box and they get a million dollars… but someone they don't know will die. This is the second major adaptation of Matheson's story, following a 1986 episode of The New Twilight Zone.

According to a post on Kelly's Myspace, the film was shot last March and completed post-production at the end of 2008. The extensive, eight-month post-production period was due to the 300 visual effects shots the film required, which is triple what Kelly used in Southland Tales. Warner Brothers, the film's distributor, considered releasing the film this March, but all parties involved quickly agreed it made much more sense to put the film out during Halloween season, hence the release date of October 30, 2009.

Kelly writes that this is his most personal film yet, which, considering how weird and uncompromising his first two movies were, must really be saying something. Fans of sweeping baroque pop indie-rock (guilty as charged) will be interested to know that Arcade Fire's Win Butler and Regine Chassagne, and their frequent collaborator Owen Pallett provided over eighty minutes of score for the film. There will also be music from the Grateful Dead, Derek and the Dominos, Wilson Pickett, The Marshall Tucker Band, and Scott Walker. The film clocks in at an hour and fifty-five minutes, including the end credits.

So how about it? I've got to admit that Donnie Darko left me cold when I watched it a few years ago, and I've yet to summon up the raw courage necessary to work through Southland Tales. Still, there is a delightful strangeness to Kelly's films, and this does sound rather promising. Is this the sort of commercially viable film with a recognizable cast that can finally introduce the public at large to the insanity of a Richard Kelly movie?

[Richard Kelly's Myspace]