Today, Warner shared this stunning shot of actress Anita Ekberg. No location or date is provided, other than a note that it is from the fifties, but it appears to be some sort of promotional event.

Ekberg is no stranger to the Famous Monsters set, having appeared in ABBOTT AND COSTELLO GO TO MARS (’53), SCREAMING MIMI (’58), WAY…WAY OUT (’66), FANGS OF THE LIVING DEAD (’69), THE FRENCH SEX MURDERS (’71), THE KILLER NUN (’79).

Not major news, but a little something to make today even more beautiful than it already was. Thank you Warner!

From the We Can Be Heroes website:
Countries in the Horn of Africa (Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya) are facing the worst drought in 60 years, causing a severe hunger crisis. According to the U.S. government, the crisis is unlike any other in terms of displacement, death and starvation of the population. More than 13 million people are in need of critical assistance. In Somalia alone, more than 250,000 people face starvation. Hundreds of thousands have fled to refugee camps seeking help. The situation is so critical that the United Nations officially declared famine for the first time in 21 years.

Humanitarian aid organizations are on the ground working to provide much needed relief to the drought and famine-stricken areas. But they need more help. They need our help.

Join the Justice League and DC Entertainment in raising awareness and funds for three nonprofit partners, Save the Children, International Rescue Committee and Mercy Corps, who are delivering aid where it is needed most. DC Entertainment will match donations 100%, and 50% of the purchase price from We Can Be Heroes products will go to saving lives.

Warner Bros. has confirmed that a prologue to THE DARK KNIGHT RISES will be attached to Imax screenings of the fourth entry in the Tom Cruise MISSION IMPOSSIBLE franchise.  In addition, they released a list of every theater that can be expected to carry said prologue.  Take a peek at the press release below to see if the prologue will be playing within driving distance of your abode:

BURBANK, Calif. — Warner Bros. Pictures’ “The Dark Knight Rises”—the epic conclusion to filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy—is one of the most anticipated films of 2012, but moviegoers won’t have to wait until next year to see the six-minute opening sequence of the film. The film’s prologue will be unveiled exclusively in select 70mm IMAX^® theatres worldwide. The announcement was made today by Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution, and Veronika Kwan-Rubinek, President of International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.

The Prologue will be released in North America on December 16, and in the UK on December 21, 2011. Additional international dates vary by territory and will be announced soon.

In making the 2008 blockbuster “The Dark Knight,” Nolan was the first to use IMAX^® cameras in a major motion picture release, and, as now, audiences were given an advance look at that film’s prologue months prior to the Summer 2008 opening. Nolan employed the extremely high-resolution cameras even more extensively on “The Dark Knight Rises”—including the film’s prologue—to achieve unprecedented crispness and clarity and a truly immersive experience for the moviegoers.

Christopher Nolan stated, “Our experience on ‘The Dark Knight’ shooting and projecting IMAX 15 perf 65mm/70mm film was inspiring. The immersive quality of the image goes beyond any other filmmaking tool available, and in revisiting Gotham, we were determined to shoot even more of the movie in this unique format. Giving the fans an early look at an IMAX sequence is a great way to draw attention to what I believe will be an incredible way to experience our story when it comes out next summer.”

Following is a list of the theatres in North America in which the Prologue of “The Dark Knight Rises” will be revealed on December 16^th:

Market				Theatre				City
Austin, TX				IMAX Theater Austin				Austin
Boston, MA				Jordan’s IMAX				Natick
Boston, MA				IMAX 3D Theatre in Reading				Reading
Calgary, AB				Scotiabank Theatre Chinook 16 + IMAX				Calgary
Chantilly, VA -Washington, DC				Udvar-Hazy Center IMAX				Chantilly
Chicago, IL				Navy Pier IMAX Theatre				Chicago
Des Moines, IA				SCI IMAX Dome Theater				Des Moines
Detroit, MI				Henry Ford IMAX				Dearborn
Edmonton, AB				Scotiabank Theatre Edmonton + IMAX				Edmonton
Harrisburg, PA				The Whitaker Center for Science & the Arts IMAX				Harrisburg
Houston, TX				Houston Marq*e Stadium 22 + IMAX				Houston
Indianapolis				White River IMAX				Indianapolis
Los Angeles, CA				Irvine Spectrum 20 + IMAX				Irvine
Los Angeles, CA				RAVE 18 + IMAX				Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA				Ontario Palace Stadium 22 + IMAX				Ontario
Los Angeles, CA				Citywalk Stadium 19 with IMAX				Universal City
Madison, WI				Star 18 Fitchburg with IMAX				Fitchburg
Miami, FL				AutoNation IMAX				Fort Lauderdale
Minneapolis, MN				Great Clips IMAX				Apple Valley
Montreal, QC				Cinema Banque Scotia Montreal + IMAX				Montreal
Nashville,TN				Opry Mills Stadium 20 + IMAX				Nashville
New York, NY				Lincoln Square 13 with IMAX				New York
New York, NY				Palisades IMAX				West Nyack
Omaha, NE				Star Cinema 16 with IMAX				Council Bluffs
Orlando, FL				Pointe Orlando Stadium 20 + IMAX				Orlando
Ottawa, ON				Silvercity Gloucester + IMAX				Gloucester-Ottawa
Palm Springs (Los Angeles)				Desert IMAX Theatre				Cathedral City
Philadelphia, PA				IMAX & the Tropicana				Atlantic City
Philadelphia, PA				Tuttleman IMAX – Franklin Institute				Philadelphia
Phoenix, AZ				Arizona Mills 25 with IMAX				Tempe
Providence, RI				Providence Place 16 with IMAX				Providence
Quebec City, QC				IMAX Le Theatre At Quebec				Quebec City
Sacramento, CA				Esquire IMAX				Sacramento
San Antonio, TX				IMAX at RiverCenter				San Antonio
San Francisco, CA				Metreon 16 with IMAX & ETX				San Francisco
Seattle, WA				Boeing IMAX – Pacific Science Center				Seattle
Tampa, FL				Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI)				Tampa
Toronto, ON				Coliseum 12 Mississauga + IMAX				Mississauga
Toronto, ON				Scotiabank Theatre Toronto + IMAX				Toronto
Toronto, ON				Colossus 18 Woodbridge + IMAX				Woodbridge-Vaughan
Vancouver, BC				Colossus Langley + IMAX				Langley
Vancouver, BC				Silvercity Riverport 18 + IMAX				Richmond

 

Below is a list of the theatres in the UK in which the Prologue of “The Dark Knight Rises” will be revealed on December 21^st:

UK			BFI London				London
UK			National Media Museum IMAX Bradford				Bradford
UK			Glasgow Science Centre IMAX Cinema				Glasgow
UK			Odeon Manchester IMAX @ The Printworks				Manchester

 

Opening on July 20, 2012, “The Dark Knight Rises” features an international all-star cast, led by Oscar^® winner Christian Bale (“The Fighter”) in the dual role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. The film also stars Anne Hathaway, as Selina Kyle; Tom Hardy, as Bane; Oscar^® winner Marion Cotillard (“La Vie en Rose”), as Miranda Tate; and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as John Blake. Reprising their roles from both “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight,” Oscar^® winner Michael Caine (“The Cider House Rules”) plays Alfred; Gary Oldman is Commissioner Gordon; and Oscar^® winner Morgan Freeman (“Million Dollar Baby”) plays Lucius Fox.

Nolan directed “The Dark Knight Rises” from a screenplay by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer. The film is produced by Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Charles Roven, who previously teamed on “Batman Begins” and the record-breaking blockbuster “The Dark Knight.” Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Kevin De La Noy and Thomas Tull are the executive producers, with Jordan Goldberg serving as co-producer. “The Dark Knight Rises” is based upon characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Batman created by Bob Kane.

“The Dark Knight Rises” will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. The prologue has been rated PG-13 by the MPAA for “some violence.”

 

Literal depiction of casting rumors.

If you’ve been following our updates on the live-action AKIRA remake, you know that Garrett Hedlund is in line to play the lead role Kaneda with Helena Bonham Carter and Gary Oldman approached for the roles of Lady Miyako and The Colonel.

Now THR tells us that Ezra Miller, the break-out star of indie thriller WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN and Alden Eherenreich of Francis Ford Coppola’s TETRO are the top names in line for playing Tetsuo, the antagonist of the film whom becomes a dangerous telekinetic weapon.

Ezra Miller

Alden Eherenreich

With these casting rumors it looks like the live action remake of AKIRA is really going to happen this time. Jaume Collet-Sera’s adaptation is slated to start production in February. Of these two choices above, who would you choose to play Tetsuo? Is there anyway you think they can adapt the movie successfully, or are you on the camp of any remakes will be terrible?

They’re going to milk this cow forever, aren’t they?

The article mentioned that the prologue will only screen at 70mm IMAX screens, not smaller or low-res digital IMAX screens.

Do you think the prologue is going to play in front of MISSION IMPOSSIBLE? Are you interested in seeing MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL or will you go see it just for the chance to get a taste of RISES?

ARKHAM CITY is five times the scope of the previous installment, with Batman’s rogues gallery of villains running amok in Gotham City. The list of villains Bats faces off against include the nefarious Joker, Riddler, Catwoman, Two-Face, Harley Quinn, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy and The Penguin.

”The true test for any game is what the players think and we have been thrilled by their reaction to ‘Batman: Arkham City,’” said Sefton Hill, Game Director at Rocksteady Studios, the studio responsible for producing the game. ”The team at Rocksteady put every ounce of effort into making the best Batman experience we possibly could, so we are overwhelmed by the incredible feedback from the community.”

Of special note is the game’s main story being written by Paul Dini, writer of the both ARKHAM ASYLUM and most famously, as a producer, writer and editor on the much beloved BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES back in the early ’90s.

BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY is available now on Playstation 3, XBOX 360 and Microsoft Windows.

Gary Oldman and Helena Bonham Carter have been offered the roles of The Colonel and Lady Miyako, respectively.  The original film shows the story of two teenage boys surviving in a futuristic Tokyo when one of them discovers he possesses extreme psychic powers. The Colonel leads a government team researching psychic test subjects, and Lady Miyako is a former test subject whom becomes an ally to Kaneda.

AKIRA is one of the most cherished anime films of all-time so the expectations are vast for the adaptation. Snagging two acting gems like this pair will certainly help push the remake into higher favor. We can only hope that with their busy schedules they’ll take the project and the continuing news for AKIRA brings promising details.

What do you think about the AKIRA remake being greenlit? Will you see it? Do you think Oldman and Carter are a good fit for the roles?

Although the 1983 version shared four directors (Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante, George Miller and John Landis) between separate sequences, they are looking for a single director to helm the new version, which is suggested to have a single storyline showcasing themes from the Rod Serling TV series.

Leonardo DiCaprio is producing through his company Appian Way, which suggests favor on INCEPTION collaborator Chris Nolan, whom is reported to be the lead contender of the bunch. With this choice in mind, one could suspect DiCaprio acting in the film, but this early in the game it’s only speculation.

Kotobukiya’s DC Comics x Bishoujo Statue Series
honored by Warner Bros.

Kotobukiya is proud to announce that we have been awarded Best Hardlines (Retail Product) Licensee by Warner Bros. Consumer Products for our DC Comics x Bishoujo Statue Series.
Kotobukiya’s long time partnership with Warner Bros. led to the development of the DC Comics x Bishoujo Statue Series, which has been highly praised for its uniquely Japanese interpretation of popular DC superheroes under the artistic direction of Shunya Yamashita.

These annual Warner Bros. Awards are bestowed to a select number of companies (from over 60 countries) that Warner Bros. Consumer Products have partnered up with. There are 5 main categories for the awards, and it is given to the most outstanding licensees or projects. Companies are evaluated on criteria ranging from “contract scale”, “media value”, “enhancement of property value”, and “strategic significance”.

Under the international category this year, 3 out of 5 awards were given to Japanese companies with remarkable accomplishments; amongst them were Toyota, UNIQLO and Kotobukiya. The results for the 2010 awards were first announced this past June in Los Angeles at the main office of Warner Bros. Consumer Products. For the Japanese companies, the awards reception was held at The Ritz Carlton in Tokyo on December 8th.

For more information about Kotobukiya please visit:
http://www.kotous.com/

About Kotobukiya:
With over 50 years experience in the toy industry, Kotobukiya has grown into Japan’s number one collector toy company, with a peerless reputation for quality and craftsmanship. Many international fans first learned of Kotobukiya from the famous line of Final Fantasy merchandise, and more recently, collectors have been thrilled by Kotobukiya’s high end line of Star Wars and Batman ARTFX Statues. Kotobukiya is always striving to further improve the material, detail, and design of all products. Kotobukiya continues to attract the attention of not only top artistic talents, but also the favor of publishers and licensors who wish to work with only the best the toy and collectibles industry has to offer.