The Australians in Film Awards were held on Friday night and The Dish Rag managed to catch both James Cameron and Sam Worthington on the red carpet. During the interview Cameron, who later presented Sam Worthington with the AIF Breakthrough Award, talks about Avatar and agrees that Worthington will be the next big movie star.

Watch it now:


Later Cameron told the audience that Sam Worthington is in every single Avatar scene and that he chose Worthington out of hundreds of possibles from a one line audition tape where Worthington says, “uh huh”.

“We were making a $200 million-plus movie and it’s all about the journey of one guy, Jake, and he’s in every scene in the film, from beginning to end. It all hangs on that one piece of casting.” “Sam had me at ‘Uh huh,’ ” Cameron told the laughing audience.

Here’s the interview with Sam Worthington in which he emphasizes his no-nonsense attitude to filmmaking.



Terminator Salvation opens in theaters:

USA - May 21
Canada - May 22
UK - June 3
Australia - June 4

Avatar hits theaters:
Australia - December 17
USA & UK - December 18

Sony Pictures are continuing their viral marketing campaign to promote Roland Emmerich’s 2012. They’ve just added a new video to their This is the End website where actor Woody Harrelson (who plays Charlie Frost in 2012) presents underground style broadcasts about the end of the world. In the latest video, Frost explains the connection between the I-Ching (Book of Change) and 2012.



Charlie Frost’s video campaign began back in January and since then numerous video’s have been posted. Visit This is the End and look through the monthly archives for some interesting viewing and really quite accurate reporting.

If you think what you’re hearing in these videos is purely fictional for marketing purposes, think again. 2012 is a fictional movie based upon tons of compelling evidence (whether you believe it or not) and these Charlie Frost videos are quite accurately presenting the information in a reasonable and impartial way. As far as viral marketing goes Sony Pictures are adding some real substance to the film and to the whole 2012 discussion itself. We love it!

2012 will be released in theaters:
Australia - 12 November 2009
USA / UK / Canada - 13 November 2009.

Despite initially expecting rougly $100K-$150K, the gun used by Harrison Ford in Warner Bros. 1982 sci-fi classic Blade Runner has sold at a Live Auctioneers auction for a whopping $270,000.

Only one version of this gun was ever made. It was built to actually fire by mating a Steyr-Mannlicher Model .222 SL receiver on to a Charter Arms .44 police bulldog double-action revolver. It features custom amber grips, dual triggers, and futuristic illuminating LEDs (four red and two green) that can be activated by a small switch mounted beneath the barrel.

One lucky collector can now retire Replicants at will.

Neil Gaiman promoting Coraline sat down with Digital Spy and was asked these questions regarding writing an episode for Doctor Who and the long rumoured Sandman movie.

There have been rumours that Steven Moffat has asked you to write a Doctor Who story for next year’s series…
“I’ve definitely heard those rumours too. I keep getting asked about it in the strangest places. Last year I got a message saying, ‘your daughter’s Visa card has been declined and you have to call Visa and sort it out’. So I phoned Visa and the guy said ‘are you THE Neil Gaiman?’ and I said ‘yeah’. He said ‘are you writing an episode of Doctor Who?’ Strange places. Oddly enough, and delightedly, Steven Moffat came to the screening last night of Coraline.”

What’s the status of the proposed Sandman movie?
“The last thing that I heard was that HBO wanted to do an ongoing, great big Sandman overarching HBO TV series, which would make sense because they’re part of the Time Warner empire and Sandman cannot leave Time Warner. Whether or not that will ever happen I do not know, because it would involve HBO making a deal with DC [Comics] which they may or may not be capable of doing. The truth is they are things in my life that I do not own, that I’ve created but do not own and do not control. What gets really frustrating is people assume that I do and they assume I’m consulted and can say yes or no to things - which of course I can’t.

“It’s like the Death movie. If I owned the character of Death and owned that story there would have been a film 12 years ago, because Miramax wanted to do it, were willing to pay for it there and then. But Time Warner was not willing to let the material go over to Disney in case it was a hit for them. So you wind up in this weird world with that stuff.”

Talks about a prequel project to “Inglourious Basterds” have been thrown in recently by Quentin Tarantino. The director/producer/writer of the forthcoming World War II drama reveals his plan of another “Basterds” movie to The New York Times, saying “I have a half-written prequel ready to go if this movie’s a smash.”

In the Times’ article, it is suggested that the prequel could be dealing with the shelved “Basterds” subplot. “Once the Basterds get through with Europe, they could go to the South and do it to the Kluxers in the ’50s. That’s another story you could tell,” the publication quotes the filmmaker, before pointing out on the supposed plot. “Not to mention a shelved subplot about African-American soldiers stuck behind enemy lines.”

“Inglourious Basterds” itself centers its story on a group of disgraced U.S. soldiers at the period of World War II. It tells an intertwined story between the soldiers sent to blow up a Parisian theaters premiering a Nazi propaganda film and a French Jewish teenager whose family is brutally murdered by the Nazi.

The star-studded cast ensemble of “Basterds” include Brad Pitt, Mike Myers, Diane Kruger, Michael Fassbender, Julie Dreyfus, Paul Rust and Melanie Laurent. Before opening wide in theaters across the U.S. on August 21, this ensemble war film will make its world premiere on May 20 at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival.

More fresh footage from “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” have been shared and this time they came from the film’s first TV spot. Debuted on The CW Friday night, May 8, the made-for-television promo video highlights mostly on the romance within the wall of Hogwarts with Ron Weasley being portrayed as somewhat of a heartthrob.

The spot is filled with fast-paced snippets and brings forth glimpses of never-before-seen scenes. The new footage includes Harry sitting down in a coffee shop reading a Daily Prophet when noticing that the waitress smiles at him, Lavender Brown leaning over a hospital bed and saying “I happen to be his girlfriend”, and Hermione looking up at the Quidditch stands, smiling at Ron.

“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” will deal with a darker matter than previous “Harry Potter” films. In it, dark wizard Lord Voldemort has expanded his terror, even to the safest haven of all, Hogwarts. And with the threat getting even closer now, Dumbledore prepares Harry for the worst that will ultimately strike them.

Directed by “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” helmer David Yates, it features the likes of Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Julie Walters and many others. Initially set to be released on November 21, it has been pushed back to be debuted in U.S. theaters on July 15.

“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” - TV Spot:

An extended preview to “Surrogates” has been provided by the film’s newly-released featurette. With a run time for about a minute and a half, the first footage from the movie adaptation of Robert Venditti-written comic books peels off what the movie is all about, presenting snippets from the film as well as commentary from both director Jonathan Mostow and star Bruce Willis.

“Surrogates” takes place in the near future where humans live in the comfort and safety of their own homes and only interact through robotic bodies that serve as surrogates. But, when the murder of a college student his surrogate leads to other murders, an FBI agent goes to investigate. As the investigation falls deeper, he is forced to venture out without using his surrogate and unravel a conspiracy behind the crimes.

Coming from the man who directed “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines“, this sci-fi thriller is starred by Bruce Willis in addition to Radha Mitchell, Rosamund Pike and Ving Rhames. It will be coming out in U.S. theaters on September 25.

“Surrogates” Featurette:

A brand new trailer for “Gamer“, the sci-fi thriller which was used to be called “Game” and “Citizen Game“, has been unleashed. Slash Film reported that this promotional video has been premiered on XBox Live. The trailer itself presents a look at lots of the film’s actions and explosions as well as gives the first look at Gerard Butler’s and Michael C. Hall’s character.

Set in the near-future where mind-control technology has taken society by storm, the movie tells that a multiplayer on-line game called “Slayers” allows humans control other humans in mass-scale. In it, a death row inmate named Kable is drafted into this deadly online video game in which he has to fight against other convicts. Though he is controlled by young gamer Simon and his every move being tracked by millions, he seeks to defeat the game’s mastermind Ken Castle and regain his independence.

“Gamer” is written and directed by the creators of “Crank“, Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor. It stars Gerard Butler as Kable, Logan Lerman as Simon and Michael C. Hall as Ken Castle. Other stars include Milo Ventimiglia, Ludacris, Amber Valletta and Kyra Sedgwick. This Lionsgate Films movie will see a U.S. debut on September 4.

“Gamer” Trailer:

Before the full trailer of “The Princess and the Frog” comes out in theaters attached to “Up”, Walt Disney Animation Studios have premiered it earlier. Displaying a sneak peek to Disney’s return to their hand-drawn animation, the trailer first made its way out during an episode of “Wizards of Waverly Place” on Disney Channel.

Clocking at 2:23, the trailer opens with a look at past 2-D animations done by the studio from “Aladdin” to “Lion King”. The footage following shows that Disney are bringing another classic tale to life, displaying the time the Princess sees the frog for the first time and offers him a kiss. The frog then answers the princess, before explaining his condition and getting himself a much needed kiss. But, to their surprises, the kiss doesn’t work like it supposed to.

“The Princess and the Frog”, an animated comedy set in the great city of New Orleans, takes on a modern twist on a classic tale. It follows a young African-American girl named Tiana, a frog prince who desperately wants to be human again, and a fateful kiss that leads them both on a hilarious adventure through the mystical bayous of Louisiana.

This 2-D animation features the voices of Anika Noni Rose, Oprah Winfrey, Keith David and many others. Directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, it will get a limited release in New York and Los Angeles starting on November 25, before going wide in theaters across the U.S. on December 11.

“Princess and the Frog” Trailer:

“Star Trek” has beamed itself to the #1 North American box office over the weekend. Pushing aside last week’s champion “X-Men Origins: Wolverine“, this J.J. Abrams-directed sci-fi collected an estimated $72.5 million from approximately 7,400 screens at 3,849 sites in its first weekend in theaters.

The stellar number has given the movie starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Eric Bana among many others the biggest Trek opening yet, beating out the franchise’s previous record opening weekend by 1996’s “Star Trek: First Contact”. While among franchise restarts its opening bow could not overshadow “Wolverine”’s $85.1 million debut, it did outdo 2005’s “Batman Begins” and 2006’s “Superman Returns”.

“Star Trek” also made an IMAX history by becoming the biggest-grossing weekend ever in IMAX. Hauling in an estimated $8.3 million at 138 IMAX venues, it surpassed the $6.3 million pulled in by “The Dark Knight”. On its international sales, it won 23 territories from the total of 54 markets in its opening weekend and raked in $35.5 million. Top “Star Trek” sales came from the U.K., Germany, Australia, France, Russia, South Korea and Spain.

“X-Men Origins: Wolverine”, on the other hand, slipped down to the second place at the box office. With 68.3% decline in sales, the Hugh Jackman’s action fantasy scored around $27 million. The additional earning brought “Wolverine” to the total of $129.6 million on its second week. Keeping positive mind despite the sales decline, Chris Aronson of 20th Century Fox said, “We think we withstood the attack of ‘Star Trek,’ if you will, and will settle into a long, successful run.”

Third on the chart was “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past”. The romantic comedy about a man getting a visit from the ghosts of his jilted girlfriends grossed about $10.5 million to the cume of around $30.2 million. Rounding up the top five were “Obsessed” and “17 Again” in respective order. The Beyonce Knowles-starring “Obsessed” took in approximately $6.6 million, while the Zac Efron-toplined “17″ garnered about $4.4 million over the weekend.

Top Ten Movies at Weekend Box Office for May 8 - 10:

1. “Star Trek” - $72.5 million

2. “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” - $27 million

3. “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past” - $10.5 million

4. “Obsessed” - $6.6 million

5. “17 Again” - $4.4 million

6. “Next Day Air” - $4 million

7. “The Soloist” - $3.6 million

8. “Monsters vs. Aliens” - $3.4 million

9. “Earth” - $2.5 million

10. “Hannah Montana: The Movie” - $2.4 million