The Walking Dead may be taking a seven-month hiatus from AMC airwaves, but Norman Reedus, who plays fan favorite Daryl on the series and who was in The Boondock Saints, is staying plenty busy since the actor has been cast in John Hillcoat’s Triple Nine.

As reported by Deadline, Reedus is joining a stacked cast that includes Woody Harrelson (True Detective), Casey Affleck (Gone Baby Gone), Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave), Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), Anthony Mackie (Captain America: The Winter Soldier), Teresa Palmer (Warm Bodies), and Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman in Batman vs. Superman).

Working from a script by Matt Cook, Triple Nine focuses on a crew of dirty copes who are blackmailed into becoming thieves by pulling off a daring heist while distracting law-enforcement on a wild goose chase following the murder of a rookie cop on the other side of town. One of the gravest offenses, killing a police officer is dispatched as a “9-9-9” and is a sure way to make the dark blue’s blood boil. However, with a director like Hillcoat, the helmer of The Proposition and Lawless, things may be even grimmer than they first appear. Especially when that rookie cop lives, and plans are thrown to the wind.

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The Splinter Cell movie is ever approaching with its 2015 target inching closer and closer, and New Regency and Ubisoft are gunning for it with a new drafted screenplay to be written by Sheldon Turner.

As reported in Deadline, the scribe of Universal Pictures and Baltasar Kormakur’s Everest has been tapped to adapt the long-running game franchise to film after the most recent draft was turned in by American Hustle’s Oscar-nominated co-writer, Eric Warren Singer. This development comes as the film marches closer to its start of principal photography in August.

Splinter Cell is directed by Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Mr. & Mrs. Smith) and is set to star Tom Hardy in the role of Sam Fisher, a superspy of the NSA’s “Third Echelon” black-ops subdivision. Fisher most recently appeared in Splinter Cell: Blacklist, which did not meat Ubisoft expectations in sales despite its refreshingly espionage-focused gameplay. This movie might be the shot of adrenaline Ubisoft is looking for with this franchise.

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47 Roninmay have had a bit of a rough time at the box office this winter, and a difficult road to production and release. The thing is...47 Ronin is actually quite a bit better than you've heard. It's beautifully photographed with some impressive action sequences, and it will probably look even better on Blu-ray than it did in the theater. With that in mind, Universal Studios Home Entertainment have provided us with an exclusive clip from 47 Ronin.

See for yourself in this clip about the creation of some of the creatures from Japanese folklore that are peppered throughout the film! Read our full review of 47 Ronin here.

47 Ronin is out on DVD and Blu-ray on April 1st.

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Sex. If you don't want to dig any deeper, it's easy to claim that's all Danish director Las von Trier wanted to put on screen with his latest endeavor, Nymphomaniac. With more beneath its skin than some may be willing to admit, both volumes of Nymphomaniac do still put some of its high powered stars in some risqué positions. We sat down with two of them, Stacy Martin and Christian Slater, and picked their brains on what it's like working with a director like von Trier and how easy it is to put themselves out there for him. Especially for Martin who at 22-years-old played Young Joe, the teenage and 20-something version of Charlotte Gainsbourg’s sexually adventurous heroine in Nymphomaniac Volume I. Joe developed many a carnal appetite during the film, and Slater played her very kind and intellectual father. Together they made for a fascinating pair to speak with.

What did you guys think of the script when you initially read it?

Stacy Martin: Loved it. I fell in love with the whole story, the humor. I was thinking, “How is this all going to work out?” I mean it’s a crazy story. For me, it was the first script I’ve read, considering a part for. So it was interesting going through that process for the first time.

For such an early role, it was a very vulnerable one for you. Was that a difficult thing?

SM: It was and it wasn’t. When I read Joe, I saw a lot of Charlotte in it, but I also saw someone who was very lonely, but also who’s very determined in her own self. There’s a lot of conflict in her. As an actor, that’s a gift, because you get to work on a character that is so far from who you are, and it’s a lot of work. That’s the magic of being an actor. You get to just completely jump into someone else’s mind. It’s sort of crazy, and different, and difficult.

A lot of times when you’re the person who’s now mirroring somebody later on in the timeframe, you want to kind of get their feelings. Not necessarily mimic them, but kind of see who they are. Your story is really building who she becomes. Did it kind of work the opposite way this time around?

SM: With Charlotte, we didn’t actually talk about Joe, which a lot of people would go, “(gasp) You didn’t do that together?” No, we didn’t. We actually probably talked about family a lot but we didn’t actually prepare together. For me, it was great, because Joe, I play her in her formative years. She’s discovering a lot, so I didn’t want to have a set idea of who she was, because she doesn’t know who she is at that age. I wanted to keep the curiosity and the possibilities. When Charlotte takes over, she knows who she is, she knows what she believes in.

How many times did you go in for the auditions and the callbacks?

SM: I went to two auditions in London and then went to a screen test. At that point, I had no idea what a screen test was. “What do you mean? They’re going to test cameras?” “No. It’s a good sign, if you go in for a screen test.” That’s cool.

How did it work for you [Christian Slater]? Did they just call you up and say, “Do my movie”?

Christian Slater: No. For me, it was my agent. My agent Darren Boghosian was doing some kind of agenty-lecture thing in Denmark. He took the trip out to meet, I think it was an hour and a half drive to Lars’ studio, to meet them. He threw my name out there, and they said, “Oh, that’s definitely not a name we would’ve thought of to play the father but that’s interesting.” Then they wanted to see what I look like now. Did I look old enough to play a father? I did use a little trick, of course. I used some of my wife’s makeup to put some dark circles under my eyes and I sent them a photo and they said, “Oh, yeah. He looks sickly enough. We can do this.”

Did they send flowers too?

CS: Yeah, “We better get him now before he…” So that was it. I was very, very, very happy. I was very thrilled that my name was thrown into it, because it’s definitely not the kind of part people necessarily had seen me in or wouldn’t necessarily see me in, but I thought it was a special part, and I was thrilled, happy, and very surprised. To get the opportunity to work with somebody like Lars, I was equally excited and scared and trepidatious. I was very excited.

If Lars offers you something, do you automatically take it? Or do you want to go through the script and stuff?

CS: No. I was just so excited at the prospect of working with him. I said yes, and all I knew was that I was going to play Joe’s father. That was it. Then I got the script, and it was very daunting and very dense. “Now I’m in this and I’ve got to learn these speeches about trees and ash trees. How is this going to work? And there’s the hospital scene…” The first time I met Lars was in Germany, Cologne, where we shot some of it. He invited me to dinner, and it was just the two of us, and we had a great conversation. He was so phenomenally down to earth, and I just felt immediately safe and comfortable with him. I just felt like I would do anything with this guy.

Was there any adlibbing? Or was it all in the script?

SM: There’s a bit. Not that much.

CS: I wouldn’t say there was so much adlibbing, but in the script, there would be a line like, “Father falls out of the best.” That sort of thing. We were given a lot of freedom and given a lot of room to create. One of the wonderful things I remember, I had one of the speeches about trees, and I think being an actor in Hollywood is so much about, “Let’s get the day. We’ve got a big speech. Let’s get the pages that we’re supposed to get.” That tends to be what it’s all about. This was much more about getting the moments. It was wonderful for me to sort of shift gears and be told, “Slow down. Take it easy. We’re not going anywhere. Nobody wants to be anywhere else. This is really what we’re doing right now. There’s no other party we need to be at. We can really just allow ourselves to be in the moment and not feel rushed and just take our time and get it.”

I read a long time ago that Bjork advised Nicole Kidman not to take on the role in Dogville. Did you feel intimidated, knowing Lars’ track-record and what he puts actors through?

SM: No. I think with Bjork and Lars, it’s too geniuses, and they will not compromise.

So Nicole Kidman’s not a genius?

SM: No she is. (laughs)

CS: People have different experiences with Lars.

SM: It’s person to person.

CS: It is. I think it’s the same thing, like you said earlier, with his movies. People either love them or are scared by them, or completely the opposite. He’s just that type of personality. From the first moment I met him, I loved how sweet he was. To me, he was just phenomenally sweet and gentle, and funny. He’s definitely got a very ironic sense of humor. We would shoot these scenes and they would be very intense, and very actory. He would let the moments happen and then come in at the end and say, “Well, you’ll probably never work again.” If you’re at all insecure or you don’t get it, you’ll be freaked out by it. I just kind of went, “Yeah, okay buddy. That’s hilarious.” I would laugh at these things and try not to take it seriously. I’ve been in other situations where directors will come in and say, “Oh that was amazing. We really got something special.” And then you see it later, and it’s awful. This was the opposite of that.

It’s interesting, I think, for both of you to have these roles. Going forward, will you guys look at things a little different now? Will this make you more likely to want to challenge yourself, or more interested in something different?

SM: It’s completely impacted my life, doing this, because it’s put me in the situation now where I have the luxury to work on something that I feel so passionate about. Whether or not it will be with Lars von Trier or a Hollywood movie, or Disney, I’m open to any kind of opportunity, because it’s my job as an actress. That’s what’s so exciting: to maybe do the opposite of what I’ve just done. I would work with Lars again if he did another movie. A whole new world just opened for me.

What’s your next project?

CS: Well, I did work on this Hot Tub Time Machine Part 2 movie, which was very fun. I had a great time doing that. Those guys, Craig [Robinson] and Rob [Corddry] and Steve Pink were wonderful. Good experience. I think I’m working on this film with Ed Harris next.  After working with somebody like Lars von Trier and having this experience, moving things in a particular direction, you do sort of get addicted to it and that becomes all you want to do. You want to work with artists, and people who are willing to take chances and really push the envelope. This was very exciting.

I thought the soundtrack was incredible for the film. It suited it so perfectly. I talked to Kirsten Dunst after Melancholia. She said when she wasn’t filming, she was obsessed with listening to Beach House over and over again. I was wondering if you guys were listening to any music when you weren’t actually shooting.

SM: No, not any particular music. What’s so great about when you’re on set and you’re not filming is that everyone’s so amazing. He built a family around him. He worked with the same people. The costume designer did Breaking the Waves with him. So it is really amazing. You just end up spending time with them. As much as the experience on set was incredible, what I take back is the experience off set with all these amazing creative people.

CS: You really see how much they love him. They just looked at him with such love. You just get a sense that everyone who’s there is so completely devoted to making whatever the vision is that he has to life.

He is construed as being anti-American sometimes, but he picks out incredible American songs, like that Talking Heads song. Perfect.

CS: He’s got great taste in music. Music has definitely carried me through different times of my life. I’ve had themes that I’ve listened to, and music is certainly a vital part. But my taste, I don’t know. Even listening to Beyonce sing “Survivor” is good for me sometimes. I get into it. But Billy Joel and Frank Sinatra. I kind of find one that I like and I stick to it. It just kind of goes in a loop in my head.

When you were starting out in your career, can you think of any times that stand out in your mind of being terrified?

CS: Yeah. Hell yeah. I grew up in New York and was just a kid goofing around, really, in this business. I did some theater and had some great experiences there, and loved it. I remember being really excited about getting the job at Radio City for the Christmas Spectacular. I thought, “That’s it. I’ve made it!” Then I got this job in The Name of the Rose, where I was playing this 13^th century monk who had a pretty explicit love scene in that film. I was like 15. I remember being particularly scared in that particular moment. And working with Sean Connery, that was intimidating. I was just a kid from the streets of Manhattan, thrust into this, wearing a robe and shaving my head. It was weird. Exciting but crazy.

For such a jarring film, there were some real themes of tenderness between the two of you. I thought that was a really special thing. I think maybe that’s why they paired you together. But there was a certain chemistry. It was something that was, within the whole context of the film, an important element. It was separate from the film, but real nonetheless. Did it evolve as the film went on?

SM: It’s a very delicate relationship. For me, the relationship with the dad is always constant. When he dies, he’s always part of her, and she’s always connected to him in a very intimate way that has nothing to do with the rest of her life. It’s that one anchor that keeps her going. It’s so human. That’s when you see that she has feelings, in a way, because she’s so void of them. You just think, “Is she a robot?” He’s the most important person in her life. You connect to that, because we all at some point go, “Oh shit.”

CS: Yeah. Definitely an important ingredient to have in the movie. Yeah, when I looked at it, the loss of her father, this relationship that was actually appropriate and honest with somebody she really trusted – losing that person creates a very deep well and void within her character. I think she spends a lot of time trying to recapture those feelings.

Can you imagine how you would have felt, as a man, with a daughter like that?

CS: Boy oh boy. I do have a daughter whose 12 now. She is obsessed with One Direction and things like that, and it’s frustrating.

She’s not going to see the movie?

CS: No, she’s not going to see the movie. [Laughs]

*** Interview photography by Matthew Schuchman.

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It is no secret that when we finally had confirmation that Michael B. Jordan would be flaming on as Johnny Storm aka The Human Torch in the upcoming The Fantastic Four reboot, there was some backlash in the fan community. Clearly an outside-the-box choice, comic book fundamentalists have at least initially resisted the idea. But maybe Captain America can change their minds?

Before he was Steve Rogers, Chris Evans played Johnny Storm and the casting highlight in two previous Fantastic Four movies released in 2005 and 2007. And when asked by the NY Daily News during a Captain America: The Winter Soldierpress junket about Michael B. Jordan role, Evans had this to say:

“It's so funny, you almost feel precious over the role that you don't want someone else to do it. But when you hear someone phenomenal is doing it, it's very exciting like you almost can't wait…I couldn't even give that guy any advice if I wanted, that guy is so good… It's exciting to see what he's going to do, because I know he's going to reinvent it in a way that I could never have imagined….It's almost like we're sharing, the character is ours. I feel like I'm connected with him in a way. It's a nice feeling.”

When the Star Spangled Man gives you the thumbs up, you know that you must have done something right.

Jordan is joined in the FF reboot by House of Cards’ Kate Mara as Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman, Miles Teller as Reed Richards, and Jamie Bell as Ben Grimm.

The Fantastic Four jets into theaters on June 19, 2015.

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It looks like 20th Century Fox have landed their Doctor Doom for Josh Trank's Fantastic Four movie. According to Variety, Toby Kebbell will play the young Victor von Doom in the reboot of the Fantastic Four film franchise, and it's just a matter of the deal getting done. This would probably qualify as Mr. Kebbell's most high profile role, Doctor Doom is a big fish in the Marvel pond...even if he has to do some of his villainy from behind a full face mask.

This puts to death those rumors that Fox was considering gender-swapping the Doctor Doom role or that the production was in such trouble that the studio was considering a near ground-up fresh start. If and when the deal is finalized, Kebbell will join Miles Teller as Reed "Mr. Fantastic" Richards, Kate Mara as Susan "The Invisible Girl" Storm, Michael B. Jordan as Johnny "The Human Torch" Storm, and Jamie Bell as Ben "The Thing" Grimm.

Unlike so many other superhero franchises populating the big screen, the Fantastic Four come with built in villainous cred with Doctor Doom. Victor von Doom is not only the Fantastic Four's greatest villain, he's also one of the greatest baddies in all of comics. His striking appearance, tragic origin, and intolerance for incompetence and failure all manifested in another famous masked villain, Darth Vader. Hopefully, Mr. Kebbell is up to the task!

The Fantastic Four opens on June 19, 2015, with Fantastic Four 2coming on July 14th, 2017. No word yet on whether Mr. Kebbell's Doctor Doom will appear in multiple films. He can next be seen in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

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David Goyer has made revitalizing DC superheroes for the big screen one of his calling cards. The man who helped script the Christopher Nolan Dark Knighttrilogy and who recently gave Superman a new lease on life in Man of Steel has his hands in an awful lot of DC projects, including the upcoming ConstantineTV series. At one point he was even set to direct a Flash movie (from a screenplay he wrote), and was even rumored for the director's chair of the Justice League movie. In other words, David Goyer knows his DC superheroes. But there's still one that he'd like to take a crack at.

"I would love to do Green Lantern," Mr. Goyer told Collider. Now, to be fair, this was a direct answer to a question about the very alien Krypton on display in Man of Steel, and how the gentleman conducting the interview felt that it would be a fine starting point for a Green Lantern movie (I happen to agree with him). Goyer quickly got back on track, though. "I really wanted to showcase Krypton as a truly alien world...at its heart Superman has always been a science fiction story. I wanted to lean into that."

Man of Steel, divisive as it was, did a fine job of establishing the science fiction elements of a big screen DC Universe. While Batman and Wonder Woman are the most bankable logical progressions from Superman, and the disappointing 2011 Green Lantern film may still be a little too fresh in the minds of some fans, it does stand to reason that there is a Green Lantern Corps watching over the same universe that Man of Steel's Krypton resides in. And the sooner we see them, the better. Given Mr. Goyer's unofficial position as steward of most things DC at Warner Bros (not to mention his first-look deal with the studio), it's quite possible that if he "would love to do Green Lantern" he will get his chance.

You can watch the lengthy interview with David S. Goyer over at Collider. He dishes on all manner of Da Vinci's Demons goodies, and chats a little more about Man of Steeland his future projects. Get going!

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The subject of invasion and visitors from beyond the stars is a theme as common in cinema as romance and lone altruism. Yet, even the most avid sci-fi aficionado would be hard pressed to uncover something more alien and otherworldly than Jonathan Glazer’s cryptic signal, Under the Skin. Flickering between images like a veiled threat of extraterrestrial assimilation, this is a truly foreign world presented to unsuspecting viewers.

Obviously a passion project for the director of Sexy Beast and Birth, and even moreso for star Scarlett Johansson who goes out on a flying saucer to stratospheric limits never before traveled, Under the Skin aims to do exactly what the title implies. It crawls inside audiences’ expectations and stimulations, lulling the most susceptible into a world of seductive annihilation, not unlike its onscreen marks. And yet, it feels strangely like a space voyage that many may dither about approaching.

A relatively simple conceit, Johansson is Laura, a posh English-speaking predator who prowls Scotland in her jalopy like a carnivore at a butcher shop. The choice meat is easy to spot: loners, introverts, and any male walking alone. There is a certain type she might take a special pleasure in ensnaring, if in fact she takes pleasure in anything. As ultimately an alien succubus from another world who has come to ours in the tantalizing form of Scarlett Johansson, men don’t stand a chance at avoiding a kiss from this demon lover. What exactly that demon loves to do with her victims is unclear, save for that there are more than one of her kind (though she appears to be the only female) and that humanity’s titular skin goes a long way for a purpose that seems less than peaceful.

A juicy premise that sounds far, far more commercial than it is, Under the Skin takes bountifully from its influences of The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) and the more exploitative Species (1995). Yet, despite the latter’s influences, and the much ballyhooed rumors that Ms. Johansson fully disrobes in this picture (true), this is not a movie for sci-fi fetish enthusiasts. Johansson’s fleeting skin baring is firstly eclipsed by the many men she lures to a truly indescribable fate, and the movie tends to provoke and confound in preference over titillating or seducing.

Barely disqualified from the category of silent films, Under the Skin quietly observes like a secondary, voyeuristic species of alien during Laura’s nightly and sometimes daily rituals. Her driving through industrial and urban Scotland is accompanied by a pulsating score from Mica Levi that takes on a hypnotic quality with each passing street and every wayward lamb for the slaughter. The movie eventually morphs into a nightmarish funhouse, where every surface reflects a distortion that’s even more deceptive than Laura’s comely form. The room in which she finalizes her ceremonial temptations is little more than an empty void of blackness as nebulous as the movie’s hushed ambiance. Nevertheless, Johansson’s presence is so alluring that no man notices that the only other item in their room is their naked reflection staring back at them from a glassy slate floor. Nor do they take into account that the floor literally turns into a pool that swallows them whole.

Indeed, it is in that blackness and its binary inverse where Under the Skin most appropriately exists. Being the only two colors of choice for Laura’s habitation away from the highland streets, they represent her initially absolutist viewpoint about her strange mission of finding and retrieving. Despite fleshy overtures, the most memorable sequence in the film centers on Laura’s dispassionate observance of a couple drowning in the Irish Sea (she did not facilitate their demise) and her absent-minded ignorance of their small wailing child on the crusty coast. Not meeting her obvious specimen requirements, she leaves the babe for many of the other predators that were likely scouting the impending tide.

Unfortunately, the movie’s unrelenting atmosphere must give way to a form of perceived growth in its protagonist, if only to reach the necessary 100-plus minutes to qualify as a feature. The result is the very Man Who Fell to Earth self-awareness and character arc that begins with Laura meeting a human so pitiable that even she can no longer ignore our appeal. Falling in love with her skin as much as many of her male viewers from The Avengers and other Marvel movies, Johansson’s Laura becomes something of a stoic reveler in the human experience, ultimately opting to go renegade from her fellow travelers and get lost in the Scottish wilds. This third act evolution for the character feels obligatory and causes the movie’s spell to break as it stumbles along wooded paths to an abrupt and not particularly satisfying conclusion.

Nonetheless, the project is obviously meant to be a performing coup for its star. As an actress who has spent much of her career avoiding roles that embrace her blond bombshell image, as well as suffering from a few miscastings that have left the more snarky and smug to write off her talents, Johansson has never allowed herself to be more visibly vulnerable onscreen than in Glazer’s aberrant hands. The result is clearly not exploitative, but it isn’t quite the triumph that either may have been hoping for. To be sure, Johansson turns in an excellent performance that proves many naysayers wrong with its ability to mesmerize despite lacking much in the way of dialogue (or, in the end, plotting). Ironically, her disembodied performance in Spike Jonze’s Her from last year was the far more substantial victory that she was looking for: a metaphysical turn that haunted and moved millions of moviegoers without even a pair of eyes to reflect the undoubted soul found in shapeless Samantha.

Something of a companion piece to that movie, Under the Skin is the complete reversal of Her with the way it relies not at all on her voice and instead seeks to use the human form to demystify that body in the guise of something wholly biological and devoid of the divine spark that Laura so desperately seeks by the movie’s final scenes. It evades her as much as the film, yet is still too enticing to look away from. In that sense, Johansson makes it impossible to resist the movie’s tractor beam.

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Before Divergent's $54 million opening weekend, there was much uncertainty about how the adaptation of the first book in Veronica Roth’s blockbuster Young Adult series would fare in theaters. With its similarities to Suzanne Collins’s Hunger Games, and a budget close to $100 million at a bad time for YA novel film adaptations not starring a character named Katniss, there was mostly only hope for success.

With so many YA book series being turned into films, one must wonder: What determines whether a hit YA novel will have success when it’s adapted into movie form, and why are there such disparities between the successes and the failures? To understand where we are now with YA film adaptations, we have to go back to move forward.

More than 1,000 bookstores closed nationwide from 2000-2007. Though most people would have you believe that books are failing, the climate of the publishing industry—in recent memory—is surprisingly solid, partly due to the rise of e-books. From 2008 to 2012 there was an increase of 1.7 billion dollars in trade book publishing revenue (from $13.17 billion in 2008 to $14.97 billion 2012) including a boost in nearly 150 million e-books sold from 2011-2012.

A big reason for this upswing was the booming popularity of YA novels. Authors like John Green (The Fault in our Stars, Looking for Alaska), Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games trilogy), and Stephenie Meyer (the Twilightseries) sold and continue to sell millions of books at a time when the publishing industry was supposed to be in freefall. Not only that, but the success of the fledgling genre even led to a reclassification of some classic novels; The Catcher in the Rye (now considered the original YA novel), Fahrenheit 451, the Lord of the Rings series, and To Kill a Mockingbird all graced NPR’s 100 Best-Ever Teen Novels. The YA genre played a hand in steadying the publishing industry...while simultaneously lending a helping hand to the film industry.

We’ve seen almost unprecedented monetary success with the Hunger Games films and the Twilightfranchise. Even the Percy Jackson and Princess Diaries movies performed quite well. However, there have also been instances recently where plans for film franchises were scrapped when first installments like Ender’s Game, Beautiful Creatures, and Vampire Academy failed. Later this year, we will see film adaptations of blockbuster YA books like John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, Lois Lowry’s The Giver, James Dashner’s The Maze Runner, and Part 1 of Suzanne Collins’s Mockingjay.

Let’s take a look at what factors can affect a film series’ chances for success.

Given that there have been nearly 500 million copies of the Harry Potter books sold—a book that is considered to be middle reader and not YA—it would be hard to imagine a world in which the films would have failed. Though Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson have gone on to become household names, those names didn’t guarantee success at the time. This is also the case with Twilight. Though Kristen Stewart is—due to the success of Twilight—one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood (at $20 million per film according to Forbes) her starring-roles outside Twilighthaven't been all that profitable, with the exception of Snow White and the Huntsman. Rob Pattinson’s post-Harry Potter and Twilight box office gross (outside of Water for Elephants) has been sub-par and the same can be said for Taylor Lautner. While Jennifer Lawrence was a critical darling pre-Katniss—and has scored big fan points for her recent turn as Mystique in the X-Men franchise—her role as Suzanne Collins’s heroine has led her to become one of the biggest celebrities on the planet.

While there are times when a big name attached to adaptations can guarantee success, there are examples of films that failed monetarily that had big names attached, too.

Beautiful Creatures had Emma Thompson and Jeremy Irons, The Host had Saoirse Ronan and William Hurt, and though it wasn’t necessarily a failure, The Lovely Bones couldn’t turn its huge book audience into box office success...even with Peter Jackson in the director's chair and a cast comprised of Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Susan Sarandon, Rachel Weisz, and Saoirse Ronan. But this could have been due to its subject matter, and confusion over who the market audience was.

Which brings us to the next possibility: Could confusion over who in fact is reading these books be part of the issue? Though Harry Potter, Twilight, and Hunger Games are all beloved middle reader/YA novels, it’s an open secret in the publishing industry that a vast section of their reading audiences are adults. Knowing one’s intended audience is far more important in the film industry than in the book industry. Could this be what holds some of these films back?

A December 2009 LA Times article discussing the marketing push of The Lovely Bonesposited that Paramount Pictures had originally believed that the film would be aimed at an adult audience (and not coincidentally around award season), but right before the release decided that the film resonated more with teenage girls than any other audience member and changed their strategy. This sort of confusion, literally up until the date of release, is troubling. Twilight, backed by the newly-independent Summit Entertainment, only had a budget of $37 million, which helped Summit become one of the most powerful studios in Hollywood (has since been bought by Lionsgate Entertainment). Lionsgate/Summit are also responsible for the surprise success of the adaptation of Isaac Marion’s Warm Bodies, which was only given a $35 million budget, but pulled in just under $117 million worldwide. Conversely, Hugowas given a production budget in excess of $150 million, Ender’s Game had $110 million, and Beautiful Creatures and Mortal Instruments: City of Bones were both given $60 million—and none of those did “well” monetarily in relation to its budget.

This is really a question that could be expanded over the entire film industry, the mindboggling logic behind so many studios banking on finding the next Iron Man, or Avatar, and overloading a film’s budget hoping to pull in a billion dollars (ahem, World War Z, anyone?). It’s also a question that is especially debatable when it comes to YA book adaptations: How much money is too much, and how are we to tell when a book audience’s fandom will translate to film?

According to the website The Numbers, all of the least profitable movies of all-time have been released since 2006. These movies include Mars Needs Moms, John Carter, Jack the Giant Slayer, Hugo, The Lovely Bones, and Cowboys and Aliens. All in all, nearly half of the list is comprised of movies that were adapted from a children’s or teen’s book/story or (in the case of Cowboys and Aliens) a graphic novel. Is it surprising that all of the aforementioned films have tonal issues (among other problems) that arguably stem from not knowing who will be watching? Due to all of the ways we can see a movie in the current day and age, it feels as if studios know their audiences less now than ever before.

There is no one factor that will determine whether a movie floats or sinks; who produces the movie, who directs it, who stars in it, who writes the script, how much money is put behind it—these things are all important, but none of these is necessarily going to make or break it. Twilightwas a terrible script that had the cinematography of a high school video production project...with the worst line in the history of film, no less: “You better hold on tight, spider monkey”— yet it still made nearly $400 million on a $37 million dollar budget under Catherine Hardwicke. And New Moon made over $700 million on a $50 million dollar budget while changing directors, with the same writer (Melissa Rosenberg). But Rosenberg also wrote a good portion of the series Dexter, which most consider to be rather nuanced and brilliant. Yet regardless of director, low budget, script writer, or even film/acting quality, the Twilightfranchise is one of the ten most profitable of all-time.

So what can be said of all this, taking everything into consideration? There’s certainly no surefire way to guarantee a film’s success from the studio’s end. They simply must take books that people love, hire a talented (or, at the very least, gorgeous) ensemble, find an able crew/director/screenwriter, put a conservative production behind it, aim it conservatively at a widespread audience, and hope for the best.

However, all of this uncertainty—at least in my opinion—was eased a great deal when Divergentopened to nearly $55 million domestically, and as of this week has topped $100 million worldwide. The success of Divergentis a good sign for the continued bankability of YA novels in the film world, and will absolutely green light adaptations for the remaining two books in Roth’s series. It’s also good news for Oscar-nominated Shailene Woodley, who Sony may now considering rehiring as the Mary Jane Watson to Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man. The success of Divergentmay affirm her as the new “it” girl of the moment, with John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars still to come this year. With outstanding performances in The Descendants and The Spectacular Now, it would be justified. The occasional missed opportunity aside, YA adaptations have a history of launching the careers of actors, actresses, writers, and directors into the stratosphere. Maybe that's all the proof we need of their current cultural significance.

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Just when you think there are no surprises left on the internet, Marvel goes and pulls the rug out from under you. Announced today (and available today!) is Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Prequel Infinite Comic, which is a bit of a mouthful, but it's worth it when you see who are involved. Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning (whose work really helped shape the version of the Guardians we're going to see on the screen in August) with art by Daniel Govar, Andrea Di Vito, and Laura Villari. 

"Calling all Marvel Cosmic fans! This all-new Infinite Comic was built just for you," said editor Bill Rosemann. "First we have the return of the fan-fave writing team of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. Then we have art by Andrea Di Vito, artist of the original Annihilation mini. Add on to that some slicing and dicing by Gamora and some scene-stealing by the Collector, and you have a must-read story that will steer you directly into Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy!"

Here's the official description: 

Before you see this summer’s blockbuster film, meet one of its stars! Gamora – the most dangerous woman in the galaxy has her sights set on the crime-ridden world known as Conjunction. Deadly forces and lethal threats wait around every dark corner – and Gamora stands alone. The Collector has a job for her, one that’s going to set her on a collision course with this summer’s highly anticipated film!

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Prequel Infinite Comic is available on the Marvel Comics app and in the Marvel Digital Comics Shop.

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For U.S. audiences Captain America: The Winter Soldier is almost here, and the good news is that with it comes a truth we all know: In heroes we trust. And if you’ve read our review for the upcoming superhero movie, you know there’s a good reason for that!

To remind the world of this heroic truism, Marvel Studios and The Walt Disney Company have released the following TV spot and clip for the superhero epic. And in this one, we see a reminder of his Avengers roots, as well as a daring car chase involving everyone’s favorite cycloptic SHIELD Director, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson).

Captain America: The Winter Soldier stars Chris Evans, Anthony Mackie, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Robert Redford, and Samuel L. Jackson, and its own winter comes April 4, 2014 in the U.S.

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Last year, Amy Adams made first contact with an alien being from another world whose intentions were as clear as the red cape on his back. However for her next project, a follow-up to the Oscar nominated turn she enjoyed in American Hustle, Adams will be dealing with extraterrestrials of a far more ambiguous purpose.

As first reported by Deadline, Adams is in talks to star in the lead part of Denis Villeneuve’s (Prisoners) next film, Story of Your Life. Adapted from a short story by science fiction author Ted Chiang, and from a script by Eric Heisserer, the film offers a slightly more thrilling mystery than most sci-fi invasion stories when a highly respected linguist (Adams) is called in after aliens land on Earth. She is requested to start a dialogue with the visitors and to ascertain whether they are friend or foe. As she speaks with them, incidents from her own life become crucial via flashback in the telling of these current events. The movie is being produced by FilmNation Entertainment and 21 Laps’ Shawn Levy.

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Folks really should learn that in a Luc Besson movie, it is not nice to pull guns on movie stars. Yet, that is what happens when shady bad guys force Scarlett Johansson’s title character of Lucy to smuggle an experimental drug in her stomach at gunpoint. Of course, if that experimental drug is meant to expand higher-functioning and unused brain cells (think Limitless) and it were to then leak…we could be in for one wild ride of an action movie.

In the new trailer for Lucy that looks exactly like what is about to happen.

From the writer and director of La Femme Nikita, Leon: The Professional, and The Fifth Element comes another movie about a woman people may underestimate at their own peril. Also set to star Morgan Freeman, the movie looks to take advantage of late summer movie demand for something a little edgier in its story of a genius turned universe-defying warrior.

Lucy opens August 8, 2014.

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Son of Batman, the 20th DC Universe Animated movie, will arrive on May 6th. The film, loosely based on Grant Morrison's Damian Wayne stories from the Batman comics (that kicked off with his and Andy Kubert's "Batman and Son" story arc), looks to be plenty action packed (with Deathstroke and Killer Croc joining the party with Man-Bat, Talia al Ghul, and others), and even boasts a screenplay by genre legend Joe R. Lansdale!

To celebrate, though, Warner Bros. will host a world premiere event for Son of Batman at WonderCon on Friday, April 18th, which will feature Jason O'Mara (Batman) and Sean Maher (Nightwing) in attendance, along with some others.

Here's the official synopsis of Son of Batman:

Batman learns he has a son, Damian – and to further complicate matters, the mother is Talia al Ghul, daughter of one of his most dreaded enemies, Ra’s Al Ghul. When the odds quickly turn against Batman and Damian, Batman must become both father and mentor to the aggressive, agile new Robin. Together they form an uneasy alliance to try and thwart the criminal enterprise of Deathstroke and his army of ninja man-bats before there are international consequences.

Don't worry, "ninja man-bats" isn't a typo. It's quite amazing, in fact. Fans of the comic story this is based on will appreciate just how cool ninja man-bats will be in animation. Anyway, I digress...

“Son of Batman delivers all the elements to create a memorable film – powerful villains, treacherous plot twists and tensions amongst allies,” said Mary Ellen Thomas, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Vice President, Family & Animation and Partner Brands Marketing. “Showcasing a cast that brings together some of today’s popular primetime television actors, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is proud to release this title as the 20th DC Universe Animated Original Movie.”

Need more on Son of Batman? Oh, don't worry. Check out this trailer...

And this clip:

And while we're at it, why not some images?

And then there are the special features...these DC Animated Universe films tend to be reasonably loaded with them:

- Featurette – “The Fang and the Demon Head: The League of Assassins”
- Featurette – “Strange Blood Tie: Damian Wayne”
- A Sneak Peek at  the next DCU Animated Movie -  Batman: Assault on Arkham - From the DC Comics Vault – 4 Bonus Cartoons

We will leave you, dear reader, at the end of this rather Bat-heavy news item, with the cast and crew of Son of Batman.

Primetime television stars Jason O’Mara (Terra Nova, The Good Wife) and Stuart Allan (Grey’s Anatomy), the voices of Batman/Bruce Wayne and Damian, respectively, unite with several television greats to fashion these famed animated roles. Adding to the celebrity-laden voice cast is Thomas Gibson (Criminal Minds) as Deathstroke, Morena Baccarin (Homeland) as Talia, Xander Berkeley (Nikita) as Langstrom, David McCallum (NCIS) as Alfred, Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad, Revolution) as Ra’s Al Ghul, Sean Maher (Firefly) as Nightwing/Dick Grayson, and Bruce Thomas (Kyle XY) as Gordon.

Produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment, Son of Batman is directed by Ethan Spaulding from a screenplay by Joe R. Lansdale, and based on a story by James Robinson. James Tucker is producer. Phil Bourassa is character designer. Sam Register (Young Justice, Teen Titans), Michael Uslan (The Dark Knight Rises) and Benjamin Melniker (The Dark Knight Rises) are executive producers.

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I miss James Gandolfini. It still feels like he should be arriving on Sunday nights for some after-dinner espresso like he did during The Sopranos’ heyday. The trailer for James Gandolfini's last movie The Drop dropped today and it’s a crime thriller set in Brooklyn. James Gandolfini is a gangster again. He’s not Tony Soprano, mob boss, he’s just an earner. And maybe not even a good one.

The Drop was written by Dennis Lehane, who also wrote Mystic River. It also stars Noomi Rapace and Tom Hardy. According to the press release and the trailer, James Gandolfini plays Marv, a low-level criminal who runs swag out of the bar he used to own, but now is the bartender at. Tom Hardy plays Bob, who’s in his crew. The bar gets robbed after local wise guys make a cash drop and it looks like Bob and Marv get fingered in the heist.

This will be James Gandolfini’s second and, I believe but hope I’m wrong, posthumous film. Gandolfini starred with Julia Louis-Dreyfus in the critically acclaimed romantic comedy Enough Said.

James Gandolfini died of a heart attack in Rome on June 19, 2013. He was 51.

The Drop is Rated R and will hit theaters on Sept. 19.

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